Sin, Judgment & Perdition

Posted on August 4, 2025 by Father Joe

It is true that both the virtuous and the vile must wrestle with sin. Christ is what gives us the edge against the devil. The natural man has to make the best of the fight while inhibited by ignorance, impeded by Satan and lacking any supernatural protection. The fallen-away believer forfeits his alliance with heaven and shuns the one who desperately wants to save him. It is the new man, born again by grace into the likeness of Christ who can vanquish the devil and know reconciliation and peace in the Lord. Christ’s victory is our victory.

I cannot say how often I have heard a parent regret an adult child’s defection and apostasy. And yet, almost in the same breath, they take consolation that at least he or she still believes in Jesus or goes to a Protestant church or at the bare minimal, is a nice person. But there is no Gospel of Nice. We cannot get to heaven on our own. While this will upset many, I suspect there is a “nice” section to hell, where maybe the flame is not quite so hot and the demons have padded pitchforks. A lapsed Catholic might still believe in “Jesus” but is he the real Messiah, the Christ that comes to us in the Eucharist? No, I suspect it is the caricature of Christ that one might get from movies or a popular but immature recollection of faith. That cannot save us either. As for those who find fellowship in Protestant churches, some which feign being non-denominational, there is no denying that there are elements of the Catholic faith purloined by these confessions. But while some solace and benefit might come to non-Catholics, those who were baptized Catholic will be kept to a higher standard and will be judged as Catholics. If missing even one Mass is a mortal sin that damns a soul for eternity, then how about those who have missed hundreds or thousands of Sunday Masses. No deprecation of ecumenism intended, a faith-fellowship juice and cracker meal cannot compare with the Catholic precious body and blood of our Lord in the Eucharist. If I sound fatalistic I am sorry. God can save whom he wills. But this does not mean that he will necessarily save all those we desperately desire he would save.

Those who count themselves as friends to Christ would have others join their company. They share something of the Lord’s desperation or burning desire for the salvation of souls. They take delight in being instruments of God. They find satisfaction at the sight of sinners on bended knee, contrite and repentant for the wrongs they have committed. They invite the prodigal and reformed reprobate to join them in praising God. Together, they walk hand-in-hand in keeping the commandments. But no matter how hard they try, there are some who will not listen. Indeed, they reject both the message and the messenger (Matthew 23:33-34). This is the legacy of prophets and missionaries. Ears are closed to what they do not want to hear. Voices are silenced. Martyrs are convicted for the crime of believing and urging others to faith. Some face trumped up charges for the sins of others, like the late Cardinal Pell. Reputations are destroyed and preachers are ridiculed as hypocrites. It is not simply that the Gospel finds rejection; there is a dark agency seeking to thwart the Word of God. We battle not just human ignorance and weakness but spiritual powers and principalities. It is not enough that there are those who would damn themselves; they desire to take others down with them.