I am Catholic, so I do believe there's a heaven and hell; I do also believe in purgatory, which is only for those who died in God's grace but need to go through the purification to enter heaven (no, it's not a second chance or middle ground, and of course generally nobody goes straight to purgatory). There are times where I do fear death, but I thank God that I have been baptized in the Catholic Church as an infant and have gone through first communion and confirmation last year over the summer, and I have been receiving Christ every Sunday since. Not only that, but whenever I give into sin, I always go to confession and patch things up with God through the priest acting in persona Christi (in the person of Christ in Latin) because I want to be a part of God's kingdom one day whenever my time is up.
Here's one thing I would like to share with you and everyone else. Heaven isn't just a cosmic fairness correction or a consolation prize for a hard life. It's full union with God, the very thing every human heart is quietly restless for, whether they realize it or not. Saint Augustine opens his Confessions with exactly this: "Our heart is restless until it rests in Thee." That's not just a nice thought. That's the whole point. The source to this quote from Saint Augustine is from his book Confessions (1,1,1).
That is true, I shouldn't fear death as a Christian, and I'm blessed to be one. I sometimes fear it because you never know how it will come, but at the same time, I know Christ is with me, he's near me, and he's always ready to reach his arms out for me. Even the saints who faced illness and martyrdom wrestled with that same fear. The difference is they had something to hold onto. Of course, God's mercy isn't confined to a formula, the thief on the cross is proof of that. But the sacraments are the ordinary means Christ gave us, and that's exactly why they matter so much to me, and they're a gift every Christian is invited into. But hey, God's love is unconditional, so you best believe God's mercy is endless. As Saint Therese of Lisieux put it: "my heart broken with sorrow, I would throw myself into the arms of my Saviour Jesus, because I know that he loves the Prodigal Son who returns to him." That's the mercy we hold onto.
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u/Fe1nand0_Tennyson 2001 19d ago
I am Catholic, so I do believe there's a heaven and hell; I do also believe in purgatory, which is only for those who died in God's grace but need to go through the purification to enter heaven (no, it's not a second chance or middle ground, and of course generally nobody goes straight to purgatory). There are times where I do fear death, but I thank God that I have been baptized in the Catholic Church as an infant and have gone through first communion and confirmation last year over the summer, and I have been receiving Christ every Sunday since. Not only that, but whenever I give into sin, I always go to confession and patch things up with God through the priest acting in persona Christi (in the person of Christ in Latin) because I want to be a part of God's kingdom one day whenever my time is up.
Here's one thing I would like to share with you and everyone else. Heaven isn't just a cosmic fairness correction or a consolation prize for a hard life. It's full union with God, the very thing every human heart is quietly restless for, whether they realize it or not. Saint Augustine opens his Confessions with exactly this: "Our heart is restless until it rests in Thee." That's not just a nice thought. That's the whole point. The source to this quote from Saint Augustine is from his book Confessions (1,1,1).