We may not be aware of it, but we choose either heaven or hell all the time.
Everytime we choose to hope, everytime we choose to forgive and to let go of our resentments, we choose heaven, we choose life.
But everytime we choose to hold on to our anger, everytime we decide to seek revenge and to hate, we are choosing hell, we are choosing death.
We can choose to dwell in darkness or we can choose to seek the light. We can choose to wallow in our anguish, or we can choose to find healing for our souls.
We can choose heaven today. We can choose to free ourselves from all the things that burden our hearts. We can choose to be happy. We can choose to love.
…I received a deeper understanding of divine mercy. Only that soul who wants it will be damned, for God condemns no one. – St. Faustina (Diary, 1452)
Behold, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and evil…
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore choose life, that you may live, you and your descendants… – Deuteronomy 30:15, 19 (WEB)
The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, We cannot be united with God unless we freely choose to love him….. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called “hell.” (CCC #1033).
The thing about hope is that it’s a positive force that shines the most when it’s dark. When everything’s going well, we hardly notice it’s there. But when things go against us, when our dreams fade and when we see no immediate reprieve from our troubles, that’s when hope does its best work for us.
"Where Hope Can Be Found"