"Why Hell Is Welcoming" -Homily for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time-Year C-Post Change.org Petition

Transcript of th Homily:
https://tinyurl.com/Hell-Is-Welcoming

Homilies of significance towards Catholic fidelity at Most Precious Blood:

First Homily at the Parish:    • Homily: Have We Been Introduced?  

Homily on the Use of the Word ‘Brethren’ at Mass:
   • B: 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - “Brethren”  

Homily Preaching to the Choir:
   • C: 3rd Sunday of Easter   Today, I'm Preac...  

Homily to Introduce Kneeling at the Parish:
   • A: 1st Sunday of Lent - I'm pre-diabetic +...  

Homily Addressing a Pigeonwholing of Judgement:
   • C: 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Judgemen...  

Homily Announcing the Recentering of the Tabernacle:
   • A: 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time - How to P...  

Homily on the Parish’s One Star Review:
   • C: 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Our Paris...  

The Homily Referenced in the Denver Post with the phrase ‘mooching’
   • Bee Vomit & Our Wounds - Easter Vigil '25  




Full text here: https://mpbdenver.flocknote.com/dashb...

Below are a few questions and some were cut off because of description length limits.

1. “Isn’t it manipulative to motivate people with fear of hell?”

Fear of hell isn't manipulative; it can serve as a safeguard (Proverbs 9:10). Yet St. John also reminds us: "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18). Fear is a starting point, but love is the lasting safeguard against eternal separation. Healthy fear can alert us to spiritual danger, just as concern over damaging relationships can motivate spouses to act with greater care. Ultimately, love is the perfect motivator because it seeks union rather than merely avoiding punishment.

2. “Why do you focus so much on sin and judgment? Shouldn’t Church be more positive?”

The reality of judgment is central to Christ’s teaching, mentioned explicitly over 70 times in the Gospels. Christ himself repeatedly warned of eternal judgment (Matthew 25:41-46). We cannot be authentically hopeful without honestly acknowledging what we must avoid. True positivity emerges not from avoiding uncomfortable truths, but from the transformative power of mercy, forgiveness, and repentance that Christ offers precisely because sin and judgment are real.

3. “How can a loving God send someone to hell?”

God does not send people to hell; He honors their choices. The Catechism affirms: "Death puts an end to human life as the time open to either accepting or rejecting grace" (CCC 1021). Hebrews emphasizes: "It is appointed to man to die once, then judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). St. John Paul II clarified that hell results from the "free choice of the human person" (General Audience, July 28, 1999). God's love respects human freedom so fully that it allows the tragic possibility of eternal separation.

4. “What about people who’ve never heard the Gospel? Are you saying most people go to hell?”
The Church teaches clearly: those who, through no fault of their own, sincerely seek God and follow their conscience can attain salvation (Lumen Gentium 16). This one is really beautiful so I encourage you to look it up and research it! St. Paul confirms God's desire for universal salvation (1 Timothy 2:4). Yet Jesus also warns of the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13-14). Evangelization remains crucial because ignorance is not always innocent. The urgency to share the Gospel comes not from despair but from deep love and hope for every human soul.

5. “Can’t I be a good person without going to church every Sunday?”

Goodness apart from worship falls short for those who are adequately aware of the Third Commandment. The Sunday obligation has been central since the Church's earliest days. Canon Law reiterates this necessity (Canon 1247). God asks for worship not because He needs it, but because we do. Worship recalibrates our hearts and reminds us who we truly are and to whom we ultimately belong, transforming our daily actions from mere goodness to authentic holiness.

7. “Isn’t it okay to love other things alongside God—as long as I don’t make them idols?”

The Collect of the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time says the following: "O God, who cause the minds of the faithful to unite in a single purpose, grant your people to love what you command and to desire what you promise, that, amid the uncertainties of this world, our hearts may be fixed on that place where true gladness is found. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever." Yet Christ insists, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37). Love must be rightly ordered, or it becomes idolatry. God does not desire to diminish our human loves, but to elevate and purify them so that they become expressions of His divine love rather than distractions from it.