READER WRITES:
“Hi, Pat, on a recent blog a man was mentioned who said at his death: “fornicator I have always been but heretic never”.
Who was that? Thanks
I met a lovely man today who trusts he’s going to hell as he believes that all his friends are there.
It reminded me of the dying man thinking out loud in his sleep in his last days saying:
“I’m not sneaky. I understood it that he thought to call upon Jesus after a lifetime of disbelief was sneaky”.
It would be nice to pitch a blog on these last moments in life to give hope. Thanks for all. Kind regards”.
PAT SAYS:
Those of us who are trying to be Christians have to believe in Hell because Jesus taught it as a reality.
I think it a bit childish to think of it literally as a place of physical fire and burning.
I’ve often tokd the following story in a sermon:
A good man died and was welcomed into Heaven by the Lord. God then told him he was going to let him see Hell before he went to Heaven.
They opened the doors of Hell and it was a beautiful palace like room with a big table in the middle that was full of every wonderful food you could think of. But everyone around the table was starving and emaciated.
Then they left and went to Heaven. There, there was the same room with the same food but everyone aroubd the table was well fed and hearty.
God then explained to the man: “Both in Heaven and Hell everyone has to eat with very long chopsticks.
In Hell they all try and feed themselves but the food falls off the long chopsticks before it gets to their mouths and, thus they all starve.
But in Heaven everyone feeds everyone else and they all thrive’.
Hell is eternal selfishness.
Heaven is eternal love.
The way you live in this life decides how you live in the next life.
BAD v WEAK
I dont believe that anyone goes to Hell because they are weak.
To go to Hell you have to be evil.
Many are weak. The few are evil.
Only God decides who goes to Hell.
He created us for Heaven.
I believe Hell is either empty or relatively empty.
God is both a just and merciful judge.
PERFECT AND IMPERFECT CONTRITION
Renember the old distinction between perfect and imperfect contrition?
Perfect contrition is being sorry for your sins because they hurt God whom you love.
Imperfect contrition is being sorry for your sins because you are afraid of going to Hell.
The lesson is:
The more heavenly you nake this life for others the more heavenly your eternity will be.
The more hellish you make this life for others the more hellish your eternity will be.
BISHOP PAT BUCKLEY 