11/17/13 Hell is for Real

Homily from the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time.

"Sometimes people think that sin is just messing up, that sin is slipping up, that sin is an accident. Let's get away from that. Sin is never an accident. If you do an accident, that is just an accident. If you make a mistake, that is just a mistake. It's like spilling milk, it was just an accident. God gets that. He understands that. He is not quick to condemn. In fact, Scripture says this, that God is not fast, He is not quick to condemn. He is not looking to catch you in every little thing, every mistake or every accident. Sin is something different. Sin is like this: sin is when we say to God, 'God, I know what You want, but I don't care. I want what I want.' ... And with that kind of stuff, we actually get what we want. And what is it when I say, God I know what you want, but I don't care. I want what I want? And I choose that? What happens when I get that? Ultimately, that is called hell. ... God does not send anyone to hell. If any of us end up in hell, it is because we chose it. We said, 'I don't want You, I want this other thing.' As C.S. Lewis said, 'Hell is a door locked from the inside.'"

Mass Readings from November 17, 2013:
Malachi 3:19-20
2 Thessalonians 3:7-12
Luke 21:5-19