May 11, 2018

Letters to the Editor

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Heaven or hell? We are called to evangelize, spread the word of God with sense of urgency

In his April 20 editorial, Daniel Conway reminds us that souls go to hell because, ultimately, they refuse to respond to God’s love. While that principle is true as far as it goes, it needs to be clarified: The Church teaches, more specifically, that anyone who dies in a state of mortal sin is irredeemably lost.

I must, therefore, respectfully disagree with his assertion that the ultimate sin (rejecting God) “is not easy to commit or, once committed, to sustain.” On the contrary, it is very easy to reject God by committing a single mortal sin, which is a deliberate and conscious decision to reject God’s law of love. It is not necessary to engage in a prolonged pattern of sinful behavior to lose God’s friendship.

Yes, if they are given time and the opportunity, sinners may turn to God at life’s end, but their deathbed repentance will not suffice unless they love God more than they fear hell—except for those who receive the last sacraments (by making an act of perfect contrition). That is why the good thief, motivated by a love of Christ, is the Bible’s only example of a successful end-of-life conversion.

Conway asserts that we cannot know if anyone is in hell, but this idea is not consistent with the teachings of sacred Scripture. Our Lord has told us that there will be many who “are not able” to enter through the narrow gate. At the last judgment, he will separate the sheep from the goats. Under the circumstances, we can safely assume that there will be a significant number of goats on the other side of that divide.

Though it is a generous gesture to pray for everyone, including God’s enemies, we do not have a “reasonable hope that all men will be saved.” It is that realization that prompts us to evangelize and spread the word of God with the appropriate sense of urgency.

- Stephen Bussell | Indianapolis

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