 | Father Richard James Cleary was born and reared in Wichita. After graduation from Cathedral High School in 1947, he attended the seminary operated by the Benedictine monks of Conception Abbey in Northwestern Missouri. There he came to appreciate the life of the monks and, having obtained the permission of Bishop Mark Carroll of Wichita, he became a monk of that monastery. After being ordained a priest in 1955, his superiors sent him to get his master’s degree at the University of Ottawa, Canada, then to study in Athens, Greece, and then in Rome, Italy, where he obtained his doctor’s degree in Theology. Finally, he spent a year of study at Harvard University. Later, Fr. Cleary was assigned to teach for many years in Rome. In 1998, he returned to Wichita, where he served in parish ministry at St. Mary’s Cathedral and at Blessed Sacrament parishes. In 2001, his abbot (superior) transferred him to Arkansas, where he served as chaplain of the Benedictine Sisters of Holy Angels Convent in Jonesboro, and helped in the parishes of northeast Arkansas. In March 2010, he was re-assigned to his monastery, Conception Abbey, Conception, in Missouri 64433. He can be contacted there at, 660-944-2877, or by email: rjcleary@juno.com. |
Religion
2001-11-01 14:08:00
Requirements to enter heaven... same for all?
Question: I read the recent articles in The Q & A Times on heaven and what it will be like. What are the 'requirements' to enter heaven? Are there different requirements for people of different religious persuasions?
Answer: The Apostle Paul, writing to his disciple Timothy, remarks that "Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners" (1 Tim 1:9), and "God our saviour wills everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and the human race, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself as a ransom for all" (1Tim 2:4-5). "To be saved" means: to be able to go to heaven after death. Those who are not saved cannot enter heaven. After death, the non-saved go to hell. In hell there are various degrees of suffering, according to the evil in one's life, but the greatest suffering in hell is the absence of God, to be unable to enjoy the companionship of the saints, and knowing that it is one's own fault to suffer such deprivation: forever. On the other hand, those who are saved go to heaven and enjoy the companionship of God and the saints and are filled with happiness. Their happiness corresponds to the good will they demonstrated in this life, and their obedience to God's law, which is intended to guide each person safely through the present life into life everlasting with God.In addition to the various commandments given by God through Moses and other spiritual leaders, there exists the natural law, planted by God in every human soul, which usually inclines a person to do good rather then evil, and is expressed by what we call conscience. Conscience is a kind of natural knowledge regarding the morality of human acts. The word is derived from Latin conscientia, meaning: with knowledge. Every human person, who has reason, also has a conscience. If a person acts according to their conscience they will be saved. But it is possible for a person, through repeated evil acts, to stifle their conscience, and so continue their evil habits until they end in hell. There exists also the positive law of God, expressed in the Ten Commandments and in religion. Those persons, who observe these teachings, which re-enforce the natural law of conscience, will be saved. Those who choose to ignore the commandments and religion, will not be saved. God the Creator sent his Son, in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, to complete God's instructions given in the Jewish religion. Jesus founded the Church to continue his mission on earth. In this world there are also many other religions, established by individual humans who were charismatic leaders. Most of these religions teach God's truth -- more or less. Jesus established only ONE Church -- not churches!Since we have only one life, in which to gain or lose heaven, it is important that we find that Church and follow it's teachings: so that we can safely pass through this life into heaven. God is Truth, and therefore God cannot contradict himself. A particular teaching cannot be both true and false at the same time and under the same aspect. Since human reason makes mistakes and the human will is weak, it is important also that we find and follow what is true.If we do our best, acting in accord with our conscience, then God will receive us into heaven when we die. If we ignore the truth and stifle our conscience, then at death we will go to hell.As there is one God and one mediator with God, the man Christ Jesus, so there cannot be different requirements for different persons to enter heaven. Every person, who sincerely seeks to do what is good according to his/her conscience, will be saved, will go to heaven. The person, who does evil and does not repent of such evil, acting against their conscience, cannot be saved, i.e. the evil person goes to hell. In the practical order, it is much easier to be saved by living in and with the Church established by Jesus, than it is to live apart from that Church. Everyone who is saved, is saved through the Church, whether they realize it or not. The Church considers as belonging in some way to the Body of Christ: all those persons of good will, who in this life sincerely tried to be good and acted in accord with their conscience. Even if their conscience is in error about a particular matter, the sincere good person can be saved by following their conscience. It is terribly wrong for a person to ignore or stifle his/her conscience. But habitual sinners do just that; and -- unless they repent -- in the end they go to hell. And so, at the end we can expect to find in heaven many persons we didn't expect to find there, individuals who sincerely tried to direct their lives in accordance with God's purpose, as expressed in his Commandments and the teachings of religion, but primarily in the individual conscience. But we will note that some persons, whom we might have expected to be in heaven, are not there; these are the individuals who, against their conscience, violated God's Commandments and taught falsehood and practiced what is wrong to do. Likewise, those who in this life are unconcerned about God and about their neighbor, who are selfish and live for themselves alone, cannot be saved. In this connection, it is well to read Jesus' parables about the rich man and the poor man (Luke 17:19-31), and the scene of the final judgment (Matthew 25:31-46). Those two parables indicate the basic requirements to be saved.
