Recently, Pope Francis seemed to fall into the deep well of dogma over a statement that he was purported to have made to an atheist journalist. The journalist claims Pope Francis stated that there is no Hell, and the journalist went on to make a big deal about this. What the Pope was trying to say is, that whether you burn in eternal hellfire or not is beside the point. What really matters is that if you choose Hell over God (and yes it is your choice) you become inconsequential and because all life comes from God Himself it is quite likely that you may at some point cease to exist entirely, as though you never lived.
God has given mankind a free will to either accept or reject Him. The famous German mathematician Gottfried Leibniz once said, that because of free will we live in the best of all possible worlds. Liebniz wrote, "I do not believe that a world without evil, preferable in order to ours, is possible; otherwise it would have been preferred. It is necessary to believe that the mixture of evil has produced the greatest possible good: otherwise the evil would not have been permitted."
The Word of God, in the person of Jesus Christ, speaks to all those who believe in Him and are one with Him in the Mystical Body of Christ, i.e., "Those who love the Lord their God with all their heart and with all their soul and with all their mind, and who love their neighbor as themselves (Matt. 22:37-39)." The sinners who turn their backs on God, trespass against their own souls. They are not "sent" to Hell, according to Pope Francis. They "choose" Hell on their own accord.
At this Eastertide it is the perfect opportunity to forget speculation and quibbling over hellfire and damnation, "For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13).”
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened Matt 7:7-8)."
May God bless with eternal life in union with Himself, His Son, and His Holy Spirit, all who have ears to hear and who heed His message. Amen!
2 comments:
Well stated Brother Bob. You definitely have a "firm foundation" in Catholicism/Christianity. Please keep sharing your knowledge and insights. I am in the process of catching-up on reading your blog posts since I have been absent from here for a while. Please continue to write and share as I find your posts educational and insightful.
Our Father who art in Heaven in the name of Jesus Christ, your Son, in Whose name we ask for help and in Whom we trust, and Who keeps the keys to open our hearts, please bless Michael Jones and his family.
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