What Heaven Requires

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

    There are definitely a few extended family members of mine that think, quite incorrectly, that just because I am a priest and they are related to me, they will automatically go to heaven.  Sometimes people joke about that, but I’m pretty sure some of my extended family members are quite serious.
    There are also probably large amounts of people who think that, as long as you’re not Hitler or Stalin, then you can go to heaven, too.  We presume Hell is only for those who are the worst of the worst, and that you have to do something horribly evil even to be considered for Hell.  In contrast to that, Jesus says in today’s Gospel that “many…will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough” to go through the narrow gate.  It’s not even enough to have dined with Jesus and listen to His teaching.  There is something more that is required. 
    We honestly don’t know much about what exactly it will take for us to go to heaven.  Jesus didn’t give us a list to check off or leave blank, and if we get everything done, and don’t do any of the things on the naughty list, then we’ll get in.  We do know that the ordinary way of preparing to go to heaven is through baptism.  But even that is simply a beginning to our salvation, not the end.  We also know that part of our judgment is how we treated Jesus by the way we treated the least of His brothers and sisters (see Matthew 25, and the parable about the Rich Man and Lazarus).  But even in those accounts, there is surprise: surprise by those who cared for Jesus when He was in need; surprise by those who didn’t care for Jesus when He was is need; surprise by the Rich Man who enjoyed a pleasant life on earth, but then ended up in Hell. 
    I think part of our issue is that we often view heaven like becoming an Eagle Scout: if I get all the right merit badges by the time I die, then God has to give me the reward.  Instead, I believe the Lord, in today’s Gospel, is inviting us to view our path to heaven in a similar way to a marriage.
    After all, a good, happy, and holy marriage is not about doing this and not doing that.  Certainly there are things you should do, and things you shouldn’t do.  Do remember your anniversary and your spouse’s birthday; don’t have an affair.  Do things that your spouse will appreciate; don’t verbally or physically abuse your spouse.  Do things that make your spouse’s life easier and more enjoyable; don’t treat your spouse like you would treat a maid or butler.  And the list goes on. 
    But, the loving husband (the image that comes easiest to me as a guy; but ladies, just flip it around for yourselves as a loving wife) isn’t checking-off the boxes of things that need to be done.  He anticipates his beloved’s needs and wants, and does his best to fulfill them.  He prioritizes his wife above everything other than God, and shows that priority by the way he works, the way he takes time off, the words he says to her, the things he does for her, the way he loves their children, etc.  The couple who has been happily married for 50 years didn’t get there by only having a great wedding and celebration, or only doing the things that were the bare minimum for the relationship.  The happily married couple was always looking for new ways to grow in their love for each other and express it in word and deed.
    Is that how we view our relationship with God?  Because heaven is simply being with God forever, and God will not force us to be with Him if we don’t want to be.  If we’re not in love with God, then we may find the teaching that skipping Mass without a good reason (and no, sports is not a good reason) could lead you to Hell very difficult.  But if we love God, we work the rest of our day, even our recreation, around Him, because we want to spend time with Him.  If we’re not in love with God, then following the Church’s teaching to not use artificial contraception is going to seem “out of touch.”  But if we love God, we see that the sexual act has a meaning given to it by God, and when we go against that meaning, we do not express love in the way God wants us to express it. 
    The key that Jesus gives us today, it seems to me, on how to get to heaven is precisely about if we showed our love for Him by following Him.  It wasn’t simply about being the Chosen People; people “from the east and the west and from the north and the south” would be entering the kingdom of God because they fell in love with God and made Him the most important part of their life.  I think Jesus would say to us that it’s not simply about being a baptized Catholic, or going through the motions of what our faith requires (hearing the teachings of Jesus, getting the right sacraments, and making sure to avoid the big sins).  It’s about being in love with Him and letting that love be manifest by the choices we make in our home, in our office, in our recreation, in our voting, and in every aspect of our life.  Listen to the words of the Letter to the Hebrews: “Make straight paths for your feet.”  Set out for heaven, not as a task to be accomplished with certain actions to be avoided, but as the final destination of a heart transformed by the love of God which seeks to grow ever more deeply in love with the One who first loved us.

Planning and God's Will

 Third Sunday of Easter
    I am a planner.  I like lining my ducks up in a row, and planning for what is ahead.  As an Eagle Scout, I took to heart the Boy Scout motto of “Be Prepared.”  Part of my vocation story is that, at the ripe old age of 13, I wanted to know what I wanted to be as an adult, so I could go to a good college for that profession, which means that I needed to know which college was good for that profession, and to get in to that college I needed to do well in high school, especially in the subjects that would get me admitted to the right college.  After hearing that part of my vocation story, one person commented that I was a Type AA personality (not just type A).
    Planning like that helps me a lot in some ways.  Generally, I’m well-prepared for anything I’m going to do.  I send in RSVPs to parties.  I usually get cheaper airfare for my trips because I buy the tickets far out in advance.  
    But in other ways, it does not help me be a good disciple of Christ.  It is very easy for me to plan things out, but not always to check to see what God’s plan is.  And being open to God’s plan is very important, both in the big decisions in life (like whether to become a priest, get married, or become a consecrated man or woman), and also in the small decisions of life (like what the Lord wants me to accomplish on a particular day).  
    In our first reading, we hear about St. Peter being brought before the Sanhedrin.  They had been ordered to stop proclaiming the Gospel, that Jesus was raised from the dead.  The old Peter, the Peter who did not often work with the Holy Spirit, would have probably found some practical way to appease both the Sanhedrin and also his fellow Apostles.  But the new Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, knew that God wanted him to share the Gospel, and help others to believe in Christ, no matter what the cost.  
    How did Peter know this?  Jesus had called Peter; not just the original call on the Sea of Galilee, when Jesus told Peter to go out into the deep and fish, even though Peter had fished all night and caught nothing.  This time, on the same body of water (the Sea of Galilee was also know as the Sea of Tiberias, or Lake Tiberias), Peter cannot catch anything until Jesus shows up.  And then, having brought in the miraculous catch, Peter gets some alone time with Jesus.  Jesus asks Peter to renew his love for the Lord (to make up for Peter’s threefold denial of the Lord on Good Friday), and then sends Peter to tend the sheep of the Lord’s flock.  Jesus even tells Peter that spreading the Gospel will lead him to have another dress him and lead him where he does not want to go.  Likely, as Peter was led by the Temple guards before the Sanhedrin, he was thinking about how the Lord’s prophecy was being fulfilled, as he was led somewhere he didn’t want to go.  It would ring even more true as he was led by Roman guards to an upside cross at Vatican Hill in Rome.

A depiction of the crucifixion of St. Peter outside Rome

    So how often do you invite God to be a part of your planning?  How often do you ask God what His plans are?  Sometimes God’s plans are made known through others (e.g., the bishop assigning a priest to a particular parish, or a wife sitting down to dinner and saying, “Honey, we’re pregnant).  Other times God can speak directly, especially in the silence of our hearts (which is why it’s so important to plan for silent time with God when we can reasonably do so).  Other times, God doesn’t so much have a message for us, but wants to be consulted before we decide to do anything, rather than just hoping that He’s going to go along with what we choose.  
    And the best place to put our ideas before God is here at Mass.  It may not look like it, but as we come to Mass we are before the throne of God, with the angels joining in our prayer, as well as the saints in countless number.  We give honor and glory to God, who sits on the throne.  Maybe you’re wondering about your job, or about your family size.  Maybe you’re wondering what to have for dinner later this week, or if you’ll even have time to cook dinner this week due to a busy schedule.  Maybe you know of someone who needs prayers and/or maybe some nice conversation, but you’re not sure what to say.  Bring all those things to God, and listen for what He has to say.  He may not answer how or when you want, but God always answers.
    To our first communicants, too, you are getting a new way to be close to God, who desires good things for you.  God loves you so much, and wants to guide you in your life.  And now that Jesus will be entering into you in a new way through Holy Communion, you’ll have a new, special access to God.  I know that we put a lot of emphasis on receiving Jesus, which is good, but it’s also important, in these minutes after you receive Holy Communion, to pray silently.  There are special graces for prayers said after Holy Communion, and both after you receive as you get back to your pew, and immediately after Mass, I encourage you to kneel down and pray in silence, listening carefully for what God wants to say you.  Don’t just run out to get donuts, or run to see your best friend who also came to church.  Take one minute to tell Jesus you love Him, to thank Him for being so close to you, and then be silent and listen for what God wants to tell you.  That’s the best time to hear God say something to you.
    So for all of us, children and adults alike, don’t just make your own plans, and then loop God in as an afterthought, or when things aren’t going the way you planned.  Go to God; listen for His voice and His plans.  And recognize that, whatever God’s plans are, as God says through the Prophet Jeremiah:
 

For I know well the plans I have in mind for you…plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope.  When you call me, and come and pray to me, I will listen to you.  When you look for me, you will find me.  Yes, when you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me.