What is Heaven and What is Hell?

What is Heaven and What is Hell?

The profession of the Catholic Faith includes the acknowledgement that “Christ ascended into Heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.” And today we call to memory that glorious moment when after forty days of his resurrection, Christ ascended into Heaven. But what does it mean to say that Christ ascended into Heaven? Speaking of which, what and where is heaven if we are to ask? Is it a place somewhere above the clouds? Is God simply seated in some place called Heaven, watching us from a far, and has sort of abandoned this earth, or left it to men to figure things out? What is going on here? What does Christ mean when he says, “I am with you until the end of the age”? What will this “end of the age” look like or come about? Pope Benedict XVI has written some beautiful commentary of the articles of the Creed, (see his Introduction to Christianity book), and he will be my authority here. And, living in a society which appears to have lost sight of God, it is necessary that we talk about Heaven and Hell and how to get there.

Well, first, the Catholic Faith teaches that “Heaven is the Ultimate end and fulfilment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness. This perfect communion of life and love with God and the Saints is called Heaven,” CCC 1024. On the other hand, “The state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the Saints is called Hell,” CCC 1033. Now, you see that from this point of view, it is obvious that Heaven or Hell is not some sort of geographical location, but a state of being. Hell is a self-made, self-chosen state of life resulting from a free choice of the rejection of God. And Heaven is the acceptance of a gift that is freely given, God Himself. It is up to us to choose, but we can only choose as long as we still breath.

According to Pope Benedict XVI, “the ascension of Christ points to the opposite end of human existence, which stretches out an infinite distance above and below.” And by this he means the two opposites of human existence which is heaven and hell. This is what is commonly known as “above” and “below,” heaven is “above,” and hell is “below.” These are the two different states of being. Christ ascended into the “above” which is heaven. Scripture says, “No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, Jesus, the Son of God,” (Ephesians 4:8-10). In the Incarnation of Christ, is the joining of the human to the divine. And in this way, Christ was able to descend into the “below,” to where mankind had estranged itself from God. And Christ, in his human nature, felt the pains of this separation when he cried out on the Cross, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” A cry of mankind separated from God. Pope Benedict says, “Hell consists in man’s being unwilling to receive anything, in his desire to be self-sufficient. It is the expression of enclosure in one’s being alone.” And this is said in light of man’s vertical relationship with God, which in turn defines man’s relationship to his fellow man. And when someone dies in that state of life, of separation, and of rejection of God, then one dies in a state of mortal sin, and is condemned to eternal damnation. Those who go to hell have completely and persistently rejected the gift of salvation. And there is no salvation outside Jesus Christ. Only Christ Jesus, firstborn from the dead, who ascended into heaven, can give to mankind access to heaven. Christ is the “door” (John 10:9) to heaven, and by ascending into heaven, He has taken with him, redeemed humanity. Christ has joined together once for all, the human to the divine. Christ is our life, our peace, our happiness, our joy, our destiny.

Also, Pope Benedict XVI says, “Heaven is to be defined as the contact of the being “man” with the being “God.” And according to the Pope, this meeting took place once and for all in Christ when he went from death to life. This means that Heaven, which is communion with God, has already happened in Christ, yet, Heaven, for us here and now, is also in the process of being realized, and in that sense, Heaven is also the future of mankind, at the “end of the age.” God is present here and now, with us in the sacraments. We can hear Him, we can see Him, we can touch Him. God has redeemed this cosmos, and He is doing His work of transforming this entire cosmos into a new creation. We ought not to think that we are on our own, and therefore we should start building our own world, no! This transformation is taking place here and now. God who is present in His creation is doing His work, and we need only to cooperate with Him, to accept this gift of heaven that is given to us. The “end of the age” doesn’t mean the annihilation of the physical structure of the cosmos unto nothingness, but a good change, a complete triumph of love over evil, a gathering of the entire human race into one in the divinity of Christ. Christian love does not get rid of the non-believer, but it transforms him into a believer, into a true lover.

Leon Bloy, a French novelist, once said, “the only real sadness, the only real failure, the only great tragedy in life, is not to become a Saint.” Once one’s earthly life ends, there are no more decisions to make. And if one ends up in hell, then the pain of losing heaven is unbearable. You see, my friend, the perfect happiness and the greatest joy and satisfaction that we all seek everyday of our lives is walking with us all the time. And what a sadness it will be when you realize that though you had all the time to choose perfect happiness, at the end of the age, it slipped away just like that.

I have lived, I have searched for happiness, but now, in these few years of priesthood, I behold Heaven in my hands. There is nothing, absolutely nothing that will ever satisfy you and bring you happiness and joy, more than Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He is here, and He is asking for you.

Amen.

Homily given by Fr. Wasswa on the Ascension of our Lord 2023