It Ain't Gonna Fit!

Jesus said to his disciples:

"Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich

to enter the Kingdom of heaven.

Again I say to you,

it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle

than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God."

When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said,

"Who then can be saved?"

Jesus looked at them and said,

"For men this is impossible,

but for God all things are possible."

OH MY GOSH - HE'S GOTTA BE KIDDING

NO WAY A CAMEL CAN GET THROUGH

THE EYE OF A NEEDLE - CANT BE DONE!

Now calm down, this is NOT what Jesus had in mind. 

This is what he was referring to:

The eye of the needle was a place in a wall that would admit only a camel and rider and that at a very slow pace indeed.  If the camel was laden with merchandise, the rider would have to dismount and remove all of the parcels and only then could the camel and rider enter.  This made it possible for the city fathers to collect taxes on each parcel as it was handed through and prevented armies mounted on animals from invading and pillaging their city.  All in all, quite a smart thing to have in your city wall. Also if your rider was bent on causing mischief, you had time to size him up and summon help before his weapons were pushed through. 

For us, entering heaven will be like this.  Everyone thinks that you die and you go to heaven or hell.  That is not the case.  In heaven, no sin or evil is permitted to arrive with you.  That has to be left outside the gate.  You can't bring in your love of lust, love of gold, hatred, or any other thing that separates you from God.  Purgatory functions as the eye of the needle where we cast off the things that separate us from God.  True, some of us will not have to go to Purgatory but I fear that will be very few of us.  It is very logical.  Say for example for some reason you confessed to me that in third grade you stole my favorite pencil just to annoy me and you threw it away because you thought that was funny.  You confess this to me on your death bed and immediately die.  You end up in Purgatory for that theft and it isn't too long you are brought into heaven.  I die and there is a mix up in the paperwork and they let me into heaven and I meet you.  I still hate you because you stole my pencil and when I see you coming to greet me and welcome me, I wait until you get close and bang I punch you right in the nose.  This cannot happen in heaven and there will be no mix up in paperwork so, in reality, I will end up in Purgatory to get rid of those things that don't belong there.  On the day I finally let go of the anger I have for you, I will mount my camel and right straight through the eye of the needle and will accept your welcoming hug. 

Purgatory is not a "second chance."  If you die in mortal sin you will not go to Purgatory, you will go to hell and hell is forever. Purgatory is where you clean the stain of your sins from your soul.  Jesus died on the cross for us and our sins are forgiven, but we have to pay for the effect that our sins had on the world around us.  You can break a window and the home owner can forgive you, but he still wants to have the window fixed. 

The time for making up for our sins easily is here on earth where we can pray, do penance, do sacrifices, acts of charity, and make up for what we have done.  Failure to do this here will mean we will spend time in Purgatory.  Once in Purgatory, you will be kept there until you have paid the last penny as it says in the Gospel of Mark.  You will have no way to remit even one second of your time there.  You will need to have help from the people that you left behind at home.  If they won't pray for you, who will?  Strangers from all around the world make it one of their ministries to pray for the poor souls in Purgatory. Some of us, if left to the mercies of our family and friends could expect quite a long layover in Purgatory.  Thank God for those people who use their time wisely and pray for the poor souls.  They realize two things. First, they realize that they will most likely end up in Purgatory and their hope is that someone prays for them. And second, they know that if they help even one soul leave the purging fires and arrive in heaven even one minute early. they will make an eternal friend who will not forget about them. 

I am sorry to be such a preacher about this somewhat unpleasant subject.  No one likes to think of ending up in a place of pain after death even though the joy those souls feel cannot be described in human terms for they know that they will end up in heaven with God.  That they cannot see Him now is what causes the part of the pains that they feel.  

Please, make an investment today in your future.  Pray for your friends and relatives that have gone before you and pray for the souls that have no one to pray for them.  When you go to Mass, dedicate that Mass to the poor souls.  When you go to Communion, dedicate that grace that comes from the presence of Jesus within you.  Those that you pray for will remember you and will come to your aid when it is needed.