Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven, But Nobody Wants to Go Now

Years ago, Kenny Chesney sang a song: “Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to go now.”

When you discuss death and final judgment, most people freak out. The mention of these topics makes us face our fragility. It reminds us that any notion of invincibility we may have is an illusion.

Reflecting on the familiar passage of St. John of the Cross, Madeleine L’Engle wrote: “In the evening of life we shall be judged on love, and not one of us is going to come off very well, and were it not for my absolute faith in the loving forgiveness of my Lord I could not call on him to come” (Madeleine L’Engle).

Love in Action

We live in a world that enslaves us to our past, whereas the Kingdom of God beckons us into a future of promise and hope. The One Who will judge us at the end of time is the One we have served all our lives and upon whose providence we have depended.

The love of God assures us of God’s love for us. Love teaches us to be willing to endure pain and suffering for the sake of the kingdom. Recall these words written to Timothy: “If we endure, we will also reign with him” (2 Tim. 2:12).

When the Lord returns in glory, we will be standing in the presence of the One Who loved us so much that He sent His only Son to rescue us from the evil in the world and in us.

“And all of us who have had the veil removed can contemplate the glory of the Lord. And the Lord will transform us into His image with increasing glory. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18).


The Synod Fathers expressed it this way: “[Jesus] showed the true meaning of mercy which implies the restoration of the Covenant. This appears clearly in his encounters with the Samaritan woman and the woman taken in adultery, in whom the awareness of sin is awakened in the presence of the gratuitous love of Jesus. Conversion is an ongoing commitment for the Church which embraces sinners in her midst and holy and at the same time in need of purification applies herself ceaselessly to penance and renewal. This striving for conversion is not a human activity alone. It is the dynamism of a contrite heart drawn and moved by grace in response to the merciful love of God who has loved us first. God offers the free gift of his forgiveness to anyone who is open to the action of his grace” (Final Relatio, #41; translated by Bishop Michael G. Campbell).

When we stand before the Flame of Divine Love, the whole mystery of the Cross will be revealed to us. Illumined by the Light of Love, our eyes will be opened and we shall be able to see clearly, knowing ourselves for the first time as we are known.

We shall have the Light of Life and our faces will radiate the glory of the Lord. If we open ourselves to the power of His boundless and eternal love, then the Father will see in us what He sees and loves in His Son.

Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner and when you come again in glory, remember me and receive me into your kingdom.

--Father Jerome Machar, OSCO

Only What's Done for Christ Will Last

In the readings that lead up to the end of the church year we find graphic and awe inspiring descriptions of the end of the world. They tell of a time of great tribulation and cosmic unrest. They powerfully remind us that the world as we know it is passing away and that there will be a time of reckoning and judgment. The persons to be judged are the dead, small and great; young and old, low and high, poor and rich. No one will be considered so insignificant as to be lacking in talents to account for; and no one will be so great, as to opt out of giving an account of them. These images are sobering and daunting because they bring us face-to-face with our own mortality, something that we keep trying to ignore. They remind us that our time is limited and that we will be held accountable for how we used the time allotted us. However, while facing the stark reality of judgment, we also need to recall this comment attributed to St. John of the Cross, “In the evening of life, we will be judged by love alone.”

"In the evening of life, we will be judged by love alone."

God, Who is Love, will test the purity of our love. He will look into our hearts, as into a mirror trying to find a reflection of Himself. When we find ourselves face-to-face with God, He will not ask us how wealthy we are, or how educated we are, or how prominent we are. When we stand before the throne of judgment, God will ask us how much we loved others and how much we poured ourselves out in the service of the poor. God will ask us how much we sought to understand and comprehend the hearts of our brothers and sister so as to encourage them to become the best selves they could be. As we stand before the Flame of Divine Love we will be judged by love, and the measure of our love will decide the measure of our happiness. In the presence of the consuming fire of Divine Love, we will either be transformed by love or consumed by it. Standing before the Throne of the Lamb, we shall know as we are known.

At present, we are poor reflections of Divine Love. We are short-sighted and our vision is fuzzy. Recall how Saint Paul put it. “For now we see indistinctly as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now my knowledge is partial, but then it will be complete even as I am known completely” (1 Cor. 13:12). In the light of Truth, we shall be set free from all that binds us and we shall grow from glory to glory for all eternity. A heart that will not grow in love will be torn asunder by it. Those who grow in love will be perfected by it. Our great concern must be that when the Lord comes, He will find us open to Love and receptive of its cleansing Flame. I will close with this beautiful poem written by C.T. Studd.

Only one life ‘twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last

“Two little lines I heard one day, Traveling along life’s busy way; Bringing conviction to my heart, And from my mind would not depart; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting hours be done; Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet, And stand before His Judgment seat; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice, Gently pleads for a better choice Bidding me selfish aims to leave, And to God’s holy will to cleave; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years, Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears; Each with its days I must fulfill, living for self or in His will; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

When this bright world would tempt me sore, When Satan would a victory score; When self would seek to have its way, Then help me Lord with joy to say; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Give me Father, a purpose deep, In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep; Faithful and true what e’er the strife, Pleasing Thee in my daily life; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Oh let my love with fervor burn, And from the world now let me turn; Living for Thee, and Thee alone, Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne; Only one life, “twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Now let me say, “Thy will be done”; And when at last I’ll hear the call, I know I’ll say “’twas worth it all”; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last. ”

--Father Jerome Machar, OSCO

O Antiphon for December 20--O Key of David

O Key of David, O royal Power of Israel controlling at your will the gate of heaven: come, break down the prison walls of death for those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and lead your captive people into freedom. (Evening Prayer Antiphon for December 20)

O come, thou key of David, come,

And open wide our heav'nly home;

Make safe the way that leads on high,

That we no more have cause to sigh.

I was dead, and see, I am alive for ever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades. (Revelations 1: 18)

‘And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
These are the words of the holy one, the true one,
   who has the key of David,
   who opens and no one will shut,
     who shuts and no one opens: (Revelations 3:7)

And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit; (Revelations 9:1)

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. (Revelations 20:1)

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’ (Matthew 16:19)

Keys are important implements. They lock things and people in, and they lock things and people out. They permit entry where there would be none, to those who have access to the key, and they foil those who have no key. 

David was a mighty king of Israel from whose line the Messiah would come. The O Antiphon for December 20 speaks of the Key of David as Christ, a descendant of David, Who opened for us our heavenly home through His sacrificial death on the cross. 

Scripture, however, does not call Jesus the Key; rather it tells us that Jesus holds the Keys both to eternal reward in heaven and to eternal punishment in the bottomless pit of hell. So in this sense, the One Who holds the Keys is, in fact, the Key. The angel who opened the bottomless pit from which emerged satan to demolish the faith and to destroy the faithful was given that key by Christ, the Keeper of the Keys. 

Jesus, while on earth, gave the Keys to heaven to Peter as the leader of the Apostles to bind and loose while affirming that Peter, and his successors, would act in the name of Christ. The current Pope is the successor to Peter, with the power given by God to bind and to loose. 

Might death be somewhat like entering an unfamiliar room where there was but one entrance but two exits? Jesus is seated at a table in the center of this room. With understanding eyes, He gazes at each one who enters. Those who gaze back at Him with love and trust receive His smile as He leads them to one of the two doors which He unlocks. "Here you will be made perfect so that You may enjoy My joy forever," Jesus tells them. These individuals enter the "pantry room of heaven" where they remain until completely perfected before entering heaven itself. Those, in the room of death, who look at Jesus with hatred, indifference, or mockery He leads to the other door which He opens into blackness. "Here you will never have to look at Me again," He says, and those who hate or mock our Lord willingly enter. 

Jesus, controlling at Your Will the gate of heaven, and holding also the key to the great abyss of hell, no person escapes Your notice. One or the other portal will open for each individual. You Who came as a helpless Infant are our Eternal Judge. Yet You not Mercy Himself for those who trust in You. Come, Lord Jesus. Free us from the eternal death brought about by evil and give us the grace to embrace eternal life with  You. Amen.