The approaching New Year is the perfect opportunity for us to make - and follow through on - a positive resolution which will impact our eternal future.

How about this one: Working on getting to Heaven?

Where Are We All Headed?

I am currently reading The Urgency of the New Evangelization: Answering the Call by Ralph Martin, (OurSundayVisitor, 2013).

Martin wants us to understand now – not later – that whatever the prevailing culture tells us, hell is real and we are all going there if we don’t wake up to the Truth – not some ‘tolerant’ and ‘relative’ version of it.

“Out of His profound compassion God reveals to us the ways that lead to life and death. We neglect them at our eternal peril. And not to tell the truth to those we love is to be guilty of a genuine lack of compassion.”

The world around us wants us to believe that God doesn’t exist, and His commandments don’t apply to us anymore. (Code for 'don't tell me what to do - I don't want to behave myself.')

We Christians are becoming increasingly marginalized, and branded at best as irrelevant, at worst as ‘intolerant’ and indulging in ‘hate speech.’
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“As Christian culture collapses and we again face a situation that has more in common with the early Church than anything we’ve known in our lifetime, the words of the early Church become more and more meaningful and applicable.” (My italics.)

What Is Hell?

In 1936 St. Faustina was led through hell by an angel.

Among the terrifying sights she beheld were the “special tortures destined for particular souls. These are the torments of the senses. Each soul undergoes terrible and indescribable sufferings, related to the manner in which it has sinned.” And not just temporarily, mark you – this is for all eternity.

She explains further, “I am writing this at the command of God, so that no soul may find an excuse by saying there is no hell, or that nobody has ever been there, and so no one can say what it is like…I noticed one thing: that most of the souls there are those who disbelieved that there is a hell.” (My italics.)

St. Catherine of Siena was also given a vision of hell and God told her that those in hell “see the devil as he really is – more horrible than the human heart can imagine. ….Even with all you have seen you do not really know how horrible he is.”

By giving into sin and the devil’s deceptions and lies we gradually become as extreme in ugliness and horror as he is and ready to join him in hell.

Unlike what the world today wants us to believe, there is no glamor in evil, no beauty in perversion and no happy ending for those of us who persist in sin and lies.

Who then Can Be saved?

(See also my post Divine Mercy Sunday. Jesus is desperate for us to repent and ask forgiveness before it is too late.)

Martin points out how the devil has turned the current emphasis on God’s mercy to his own evil purposes. Focusing only on the merciful side of God, and forgetting the consequences of sin and lack of repentance, “some people have, mistakenly, gotten the impression … that sin is no big deal and that God in His mercy will never allow anyone to be lost. This is not at all … what the Lord showed to Faustina.”

This way of thinking has resulted in “a dangerous presumption on God’s mercy” which is also a sin.

As St. Paul tells us, we “must obey the truth” – The Truth, not some twenty-first century ‘progressive’ version of it. “He will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness. (Rom. 2:8)”

However, St. Paul says “He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers (Rom. 2:7)”

God longs to offer us His mercy, but can only do so if we ask for it with a repentant heart and the determination not to sin anymore.

Yes, we will fall – time and time again – but we have to get up time and time again and ask for God’s forgiveness with a penitent and humble heart. 

We cannot approach God with the attitude that He somehow ‘owes us.’ He owes us nothing – His mercy is a free gift which we cannot earn. He wishes to give it to us, but we have to ask properly for it, with humility and an awareness of our human failings.

If you recall, Lucifer refused to fulfill those conditions, and look where that got him.

The additional good news is, says Martin, that “The Father tells Catherine that (our loved ones who are) already with Him continually intercede for us who are still on the journey and that the Father will do everything to answer their prayer ‘provided only that you do not foolishly resist my mercy.’” (My italics.)

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​What to Choose?

Consider what Martin writes here:
“It’s interesting to note how the Father shows Catherine that as each person dies they actually rush to where they want to be. In a very real way each person chooses their own destiny over the course of a lifetime and at the moment of death embraces what has truly become their choice.”

I know where I want to spend eternity. How about you?

It makes us desperately want to warn our loved ones, doesn’t it? Like the rich man in hell who wanted Abraham to warn his five brothers so they not end up like him.

"Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.' (Luke 16:29)”
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Let's heed the warnings in the Bible – those Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth – before it’s too late for us, as well!

​Endnote:

Here are a few excerpts from the book's impressive endorsements. They may help you better understand what the book is about and how powerful its message is.

“Ralph Martin masterfully develops a biblically based summons to the critical work of evangelizing, a work on which depends the very salvation of countless souls.” Monsignor Charles Pope, pastor, blogger and Our Sunday Visitor columnist.

“(Ralph Martin) effectively establishes that the primary reason for the urgency of the New Evangelization is that the eternal destinies of people we love – indeed all people – are at stake.” Janet Smith, who holds the Father Michael J. McGivney Chair of Life Ethics at Sacred Heart Major Seminary.

“After reading it, you are called to decision.” Gavin D’Costa, Professor of Catholic Theology, University of Bristol.

“The book will be of particular value to the laity, many of whom continue to believe that the duty to evangelize falls mainly on the clergy and religious. Martin shows … the error of this view.” Colin Donovan, S.T.L., Vice President for Theology, EWTN.

Have you ever thought about how the way we drive on the roads is a great indicator of our humility level?

We want the annoyingly slow person in front of us to get out of our way. In our own estimation we're very important and have places to be NOW—and that vehicle needs to move over to make way for us!

But that slow driver has as much validity God’s eyes as we do. Who are we to say that our needs are more urgent than theirs? Perhaps that slowpoke had a bad accident two weeks ago and this is his or her first time back on the road? Maybe he’s very old and just being careful not to have or cause an accident? Maybe the driver is a nervous teen who’s just got her license?

If we knew any of these scenarios to be true, we would be more caring (I hope!).

Hey! Why Should I Be Humble?

In his terrific new book,  Love Awakened by Love: The Liberating Ascent of Saint John of the Cross*  Father Mark O’Keefe writes that “To walk in…..faith….. requires abiding attitudes of trust, docility, and humility. God is at work in us. …. (and) wants union with us more than we ourselves could possibly desire it.”

God wants to work in our lives, but He can’t if our free will won’t let Him in. There’s no room for God in us if we’re too full of ourselves. We need to empty ourselves of the ‘me’ to make 100% of our souls available for Him.

It’s a difficult task, and one which requires God’s help to achieve. We’re always going to fail in our own eyes (a sure sign of our pride). But if we trust and hope in God to keep us going, He will lift us up every time and make good our deficiencies.

As Father O’Keefe writes: “Hope calls us to place all things in God’s hands, pick oneself up, and get back on course to the future that God makes possible through the divine mercy and help. Christian hope, then, must always walk hand in hand with humility.”

Developing a Healthy pH Level

This all sounds very nice, but how do we achieve our proper pH (personal Humility) level?

My father used to quote from the Automobile Association manual in the United Kingdom, as he was racing another driver (and knew he shouldn’t be): “You must not drive in the spirit of competition.” 


The way we drive is an extremely good indicator of our humility level.

I’ve come up with a few useful ways of keeping my own competitiveness under control (after all, I am a competition rider – that attitude comes naturally to me!).


1. If a driver is cutting in front of me and/or other drivers, blatantly breaking the speed limit or driving in any other infuriatingly bad way, I tell myself: “I used to drive like that—before I knew better,” or, on my more sarcastic days, “before I grew up.”


2. If a person is doddering in front of me and my impulse is to tailgate them (as if this will somehow make them speed up) I remind myself that one day I shall be very old and doddery, too, and will want other drivers to be considerate of my frailty. What goes around comes around.

3. I have a big “Jesus” sign on the back of my vehicle. One way for me to 'evangelize by deed' is to let other drivers come in front of me. Or I move over to the outside lane, to let in a car waiting to come onto the two lane highway. Even if those drivers don’t see the sign on my ancient Expedition, drivers behind me will, and hopefully I shall have led by example.

4. As I’ve written before, saying my rosary while driving is a great way not to need to rush anywhere

Driving is an excellent opportunity for us to gauge our true humility level and perceive any cracks in our charity towards others on the many occasions to be courteous to other road users.

Every journey is an opportunity to increase our humility and make more space for God’s work in our lives.

My mother is in a skilled nursing home in Madison after suffering a stroke. So I have to  fly in two planes each way to visit her from Maryland. Up till now I’ve always prayed silently for God to keep me and the other passengers safe during these flights.

The Closet Christian

But I realized that this was praying on the sly, as it were - not wishing  other passengers to notice that I was talking to God. 
  
One reason for this was that I didn’t want my fear of flying to be obvious. But something more sinister was going on: I was embarrassed to be seen praying.
 
Was I unwilling to let the public know that I was a Christian?
 
That thought upset me. A lot.

(Wo)manning Up...

So I decided to make the Sign of the Cross as the plane was taking off (when I start to pray) and when the plane landed (after my thank-you-God-for-the-safe-flight prayer).

Or Not...
 
But - it would mean acknowledging Christ in public. Gasp!!

You expect priests to be inured to the stares and ridicule of people around them, but it was asking a lot from a member of the laity, who prefers to remain anonymous when traveling, and indeed in general.

Wait a Minute: Doesn't Christ Mention This Topic Somewhere?
 
Then I remembered the words of Scripture:

"I tell you the truth, everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, the Son of Man will also acknowledge in the presence of God's angels.” Luke 12:8 New Living Translation (©2007)

Followed by:

"But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God.” Luke 12:9 New Living Translation (©2007)

There was no pretending I didn't understand the import of those words.
  
(Wo)manning Up - For Real, This Time

Just how humiliating would it really be to make the Sign of the Cross in public? Come on, I wasn’t being called to do something truly scary, like stand up and ask the passengers to join me in prayer!

Was I too weak to give one, small - yet significant - public acknowledgement of Christ?
 
I felt embarrassed about feeling embarrassed, and hoped God would forgive my timidity. If I called myself a Christian, and a Catholic, I had to be prepared to evangelize even in this tiny way. If Christ died on the Cross for me – in a very public humiliation – surely I could manage this minor sacrifice in return?

I am glad to say that as soon as we began taxiing on the runway, I made a big – not furtive – Sign of the Cross and asked God to keep all of us safe. When we landed I did the same, and proceeded to repeat the process for each of my successive three flights.

There, that wasn’t so bad, was it? Baby steps..

God  - One
Satan - A Big Goose Egg

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