Topic: Catholicism & Heaven

Date originally posted: March 8, 2002

Source of this posting: Moderator response to emailed question

Moderator who originally posted this source: J. Ruffo

Question:  I have a couple of questions tonight. The first one pertains to Catholicism itself.  I had a friend come up to me at work one day and ask which Christian denomination did I think would be a good denomination to join.  He said him and his wife were interested in joining a church and wanted to find one that fit their beliefs.  I was a little biased in my response - I told him the Catholic Church.  I told him that it was the one true Church that Jesus established here on Earth and that all other Christian denominations were offshoots from the Catholic Church.  He didn't like my answer.  He told me he had a problem with the Pope and some of the Pope's teachings.  After talking to my friend a little more, I began to sense that he didn't want to really find a good Christian church he just wanted to criticize certain Christian beliefs.  That evening, I continue to think about my friends question.  There are people out their with different beliefs.  Baptist who believe that the Baptist Church is the true church that Jesus created on Earth.  American Indians who feel their rituals are sufficient to get them to wherever they go after they die.  Is there something more I can say to someone who asks me what Christian Church is the best to join?  My other question deals with Heaven.  Every time I mention the Saints, a another friend of mine at work replies that he believes that everyone in Heaven is equal (except the Holy Trinity) and that no spirit (I'm not sure if this is the correct word to use here) is greater than another spirit in the eyes of God.  I feel that there will be greater spirits than others but they're all there to worship God and they have no feelings of jealousy as to who is greater in the eyes of God.  This is one of those simplistic questions, I know but I would like to hear how the Catholic Church would respond to this topic.  Thank you for your time and patience and your response.             Sincerely, Philip

Answer:

Dear Philip, 

In response to your first question: “Is there something more I can say to someone who asks me what Christian Church is the best to join?”  After you tell the person what your faith and belonging to the Catholic Church means for you and your family, and after they’ve had some experience with Catholics and other Christians, studied beliefs and practices, attended worship services, and prayed about all this, I would tell them to follow their heart. 

 A lot of folks “shop around” for a faith community to belong to.  Some are born into a particular faith tradition and want to investigate other traditions.  I don’t have a problem with a sincere searching for God.  It’s easy to find fault with any Christian Church; each is comprised of imperfect sinners.  So, if someone wants to shop around for a Church that seems to fit them, God bless them.  We hope they find what they’re looking for and achieve their eternal salvation with that particular community of believers. 

Which brings me to your second question about Heaven.  We Catholics believe that we will be completely happy, totally fulfilled, filled up to our capacity with God’s love, as much as we are able, in Heaven.  There isn’t any competition in Heaven, like “my halo is bigger than your halo”.  Every saint there is completely, uniquely loved by God, and rejoices eternally that this is so!  It’s difficult for us to describe Heavenly realities as we are finite and still so earth-bound.  We tend to talk about Heaven, a spiritual state of being, in material terms because our earthly language and human understanding about Heaven are both limited.  All the souls in Heaven are equal in the sense that they’re all members of the communion of Saints.  Once there, we can then say: “We made it!  Ah, now for an eternity of bliss!”  What that bliss actually entails, we’ll have to wait until we get there to find out. 

I hope this helps, Philip.  If you’d like some further clarification or explanation send it along.  Take care.

Father John