In this article, I am not going to argue against the idea that hell is largely empty. I will simply start with the premise that there are indeed not few, but many in hell, and many more on the way, based on Jesus’s consistent teaching which is especially clear when he compares the wide and narrow gates (see Matthew 7:13-14). So the question is, since there are so many going to hell, what’s the reason?
The answer is not some particular neglected sin, lurking like a shadow beneath the empty pews in your parish (although there are certainly too many of those). No, the answer is more simple and encompasses all serious sin. The reason so many are going to hell is because many people don’t actually want to go to heaven.
That’s right. And that’s why it’s surprising. We often think everyone wants to go to heaven, because who would not want to be happy forever, free from sickness, pain, and suffering? Many people, however, have little idea what heaven is like, and if they did, they would be utterly repulsed by it.
Descriptions will vary, but most people still believe a “heaven” exists where there will be no more sorrow, no more suffering, and where those who are good enough to get there will be happy forever, hopefully reunited with long lost loved ones. There may be further imaginings of fluffy clouds, plumb harp-playing cherubim, and an endless buffet of delectable pastries, among other delightful fantasies.
But do you notice anything missing in this common description of heaven? If not, there is a big problem. The average person’s conception of heaven is void of God. (This is basically the definition of hell!). Sure, some may get around to acknowledging that God or at least some spiritual force is probably there somewhere, but it’s likely an afterthought. We’ll see how this heaven-with-God-as-an-afterthought compares to the real heaven in a minute.
So at the onset, the problem is the heaven of the average person’s imagination doesn’t exist. Their conception of heaven is largely an exalted earthly experience, excised from pesky things like mosquitos and church attendance. It may be something akin to what an atheist conceives as the “best of all possible worlds,” a suffering-free paradise without God watching our every move. Thankfully, the real heaven is nowhere near this dull.
Heaven is overwhelmingly awesome and endlessly euphoric—or unimaginably abhorent—dependent entirely on one’s relationship to the One who made it. There is no in-between. That’s because heaven, first and foremost, is where God’s holy presence resides. And not just confined to some holy throne over there past the dessert lines. In the real heaven, God’s holy, consuming presence pervades every ounce of being and every moment is plunged into the mystery of his essence. Like how a raging fire engulfs a forest, heaven is blazing with the holy presence of God, and this flame engulfs the hearts of the holy ones uniting them in love with their Creator. So yes, the first and most important reality of heaven is that God is there. This is not great news for those who have little interest in God.
The second aspect of heaven, which would be repugnant to so many, is the complete obliteration of one’s will. In heaven, only God’s desires will be carried out for every moment for all eternity. There is not a single moment when a saint could take a breather and opt for something besides God’s will. Of course, for the saints this will be a true freedom, finally being unshackled from their wounded wills that too often offended God despite their deepest desire to serve him always. But for the masses? Come on. They would prefer to suffer in endless agony with their wills untouched rather than have their wills invaded and reshaped by their Maker. This is not so hard to imagine as day after day we see millions choosing to live in flagrant opposition to God’s commands and asserting their rights to live as they please without divine interference. A heaven that requires humility, chastity, mercy, forgiveness, and repentance of one’s sins would be abominable.
Thirdly, heaven is also liturgical. While the average person yawns his way through Sunday morning at home, at Mass we sing, “Holy, holy, holy,” in unison with the saints and angels in heaven. Mass is nothing other than heaven invading earth, where God reveals himself and the faithful unite themselves and offer true worship back to the Father through the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is incredible. But for many, this sounds incredibly boring. “Yeah, churchy stuff, worship, blah, blah, blah … I’d rather sleep in or work on my golf game.” What a shock they would be in for in heaven!
Heaven is filled with liturgy, from the four living creatures night and day saying, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty” (Rev 4:8), to special garments (3:5), incense, prayers of the saints, and an altar (8:3), to—most importantly—a sacrificed Lamb (5:6) whose presence radiates so much light that the sun is no longer needed (22:5). Heaven, to the chagrin of many, will be very “churchy.” Not just an hour a week, but forever, with God inextricably fixed as the focal point—not us.
For those who would find heaven intolerable, God created a more bearable alternative: hell. Now I have no intention of downplaying the horrors of hell. Even if you believe hell exists and is terrifying, it’s much worse than you think.
The reality is, though, that God doesn’t force us to love him. Even if heaven is infinitely better for us, he gave us the freedom to freely choose him or to reject him. So hell, filled with demons who rejected God’s will and surrounded by suffering souls, is a merciful alternative for those who would find heaven even more intolerable because there the focus is entirely on God, not ourselves.
At the end of our earthly lives there will be one phrase that determines our eternal destiny. Either the repentant sinner says to God, “Your will be done” and is caught up into heaven or the damned hears from God, “Your will be done” and is cast into hell. Our fate is sealed with our last breath.
The sexually immoral, covetous, prideful, indifferent, merciless, the heretics and schismatics—the distinctions between all of these people are far less important than what they share in common: My will be done. My sexual preferences. My secret desires. My intellect and accomplishments. My willful neglect of heavenly things. My power over others. My beliefs and interpretation of Scripture. My authority over the authority of Christ’s holy Catholic Church. Not God’s will, my will be done.
Our wills are mortally wounded and our desires are warped inward. Just look around, or better yet, look inside your own heart and you can readily see this is true. This is the sad reality of humanity. But it is not the end of the story.
Although I argued that many people don’t actually want to go to heaven, the good news is our tastes can change. By God’s grace, we can desire heaven, the real heaven, which is what we are made for. So this is not a message of despair but a plea to acquire the taste of heaven by falling in love with Jesus and his Church. If you have already been enraptured by our Savior’s sweet mercy, then fall even deeper for him and bring many others to the divine Doctor to receive healing, hope, and mercy.
The real heaven is an acquired taste. And oh how sweet the taste is, more than all the pleasures of the world, for those who are willing to set aside their preferences, have their hearts refashioned by grace, and choose the One who chose us and loved us first.
