Ask a Priest: Who Goes to Heaven?

“Who wants to go to heaven?”

When I put the question out in a crowded room every hand goes up, naturally. Notions of heaven differ but in general people perceive it as a place of perfect happiness and love, where pain and suffering are removed, and we are with the ones we love. Yes, we want to go to heaven. But who’s going to be there?

Well, everyone, right? I mean, as long as I’m basically a good person and treat people okay I’m good to go. That’s the prevailing view in our time. But the only reliable information about heaven comes from the one who knows most about it and about us, Jesus Christ.

People asked Jesus: “Lord, will many be saved?” His response: “Wide is the road that leads to destruction, and narrow is the gate that leads to eternal life.” (Matthew 7:13) Turns out the wide road is the one most people follow. The road to heaven exists but it’s one that you have to intentionally choose to travel. Another way of saying it is that we don’t just fall into heaven. Jesus Christ has provided the way. It’s ours to embrace…or not.

So, what is the way? Here are five essentials.

1) Baptism – In John 3, Jesus says we have to be born again of water and the spirit.

2) Eucharist – In John 6, Jesus says that unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood we won’t have eternal life.

3) Faith – Paul says in Romans 10 that if we profess with our lips and believe in our heart we will be saved.

4) Do God’s will – Jesus says that only those who do the will of his Heavenly Father will have eternal life (Matthew 7:21).

5) Love for neighbor – this is a big one. Jesus says that we will be judged on how we care for our neighbor (Matthew 25:31-46).

Where does this leave us? Well, possibly pretty sad. It turns out I can’t just slide into heaven. But the good news is that the ball is in my court. If I orient my life toward heaven in the way Jesus lays out, and continue that course throughout my life, then I’ll end up with God. But, left to my own devices, I won’t. Human beings are born with a wound that pulls them away from God. Without surrendering myself to His way - responding to his invitation – heaven remains out of reach.

“What if someone has never heard about God?”

There are some people who have never heard about the love of the Father as revealed by Jesus Christ. Catholics believed that these souls too can be saved if they carry out the good, as they know it, to the best of their ability. All of this done through the power of his grace.

So, the operative word here is “strive”. Strive to enter through the narrow gate. Don’t compare yourself to others. Choose what is within your control. Embrace the way that Jesus has laid out that leads to the place we all want to go. Heaven is real, but we don’t fall into it. We have to say yes.