Have you ever noticed that we don’t hear much about hell anymore? Come to think of it, we don’t hear much about heaven either. Why do you think that is?

Since I have been regularly attending Mass over the last few years, I can’t remember hearing any homilies about either. I’ve heard plenty about Jesus and how we should follow Him, how we shouldn’t sin, and even (once) how we shouldn’t vote against pro-choice politicians, but not a one about heaven or hell.

Don’t you think we should be reminded about these places and what we should be doing to maybe we sway Jesus’s opinion when it comes to the final judgment? I don’t know if the Catholic Church has any kinds of rules regarding what can or cannot be preached in the homilies so I don’t know how that decision would be made. But I do have a theory as to why.

We live in a world where everything has to be all rainbows and lollipops. Everyone has to be made to feel good. We don’t want people to think things like their lives might end badly. Everyone gets a cupcake and a drink. The problem is that isn’t going to happen for everyone.

Hell is a bad place to be. You will be there for eternity. Eternity is a really long time. We really need to be thinking about this stuff. We don’t know when the end will come, be it our own personal life or the end of the world. Both will come, and once we are dead, we can’t change God’s mind on where we are going to end up.

Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. ⁴¹  The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, ⁴²  and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:40–42, RSV2CE)