Why Easter is Everything: The Heart of Every Catholic
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The question of who goes to heaven is as old as the Gospel itself. It stirs both hope and humility in the Christian heart. From the beginning, the Church has taught with confidence that salvation is found only in Jesus Christ, who declared, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).1 There is no other path, no other mediator. Salvation is not a matter of human invention or self-effort but a pure gift of grace flowing from the pierced side of Christ.
Salvation Through the Church
Because Christ willed the Church as the sacrament of salvation, she proclaims with confidence: “Outside the Church there is no salvation” (extra Ecclesiam nulla salus).2 The Catechism explains this rightly, not as a rejection of those outside her visible bounds, but as a reminder that every grace of salvation comes through Christ and His Body, the Church (CCC 846–848).3 Even those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ but sincerely seek God may be saved—yet always through the grace of Christ and His Paschal Mystery. Thus, the Church is not a gatekeeper jealously guarding heaven but the instrument through which God pours His saving love into the world.
Israel and the Covenant of God
No discussion of salvation would be complete without addressing the mystery of Israel. From the beginning, God chose the Jewish people to be His own, entering into a covenant with Abraham and reaffirming it through Moses and the prophets. They are, as St. Paul says, “beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:28–29).4
The Church teaches that God’s covenant with the Jewish people has never been revoked. As the Catechism explains, “When she delves into her own mystery, the Church, the People of God in the New Covenant, discovers her link with the Jewish People, ‘the first to hear the Word of God’” (CCC 839).5 Vatican II’s Nostra Aetate declared that the Jews remain “most dear to God,”6 and Lumen Gentium §16 affirms that God’s plan of salvation embraces them in a unique way.7
This truth enters even the Church’s liturgy. On Good Friday, in the Solemn Intercessions, we pray specifically “for the Jewish people, the first to hear the word of God, that they may continue to grow in the love of His name and in faithfulness to His covenant.” St. John Paul II, speaking in Mainz in 1980, called the Jewish people “our elder brothers in the faith,”8 a phrase that captured the enduring closeness between the Old and New Covenants.
The mystery of how God will bring Israel into the fullness of salvation is entrusted to His providence. St. Paul glimpsed this when he wrote, “a hardening has come upon part of Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles comes in, and so all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:25–26).9 The Church holds this hope with humility, never presuming on God’s timing but trusting His plan. In the end, heaven will be filled with the sons and daughters of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—together with every nation, tribe, and tongue redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb.
The Vision of Heaven
But what is this heaven we speak of? The saints, mystics, and theologians have reached for words, knowing that “eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).10 St. Augustine imagined heaven as the eternal Sabbath, a rest and joy in the presence of God beyond all earthly delight.11 St. Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor, described the “Beatific Vision,” the direct seeing of God “face to face” (1 Corinthians 13:12), in which the human intellect and will are satisfied in perfect love and truth.12
Even questions about whether animals, the companions of our earthly pilgrimage, will share in heaven are not foreign to the Christian imagination. Augustine spoke of the renewal of creation,13 while Aquinas reminded us that heaven’s perfection is found in God alone,14 though the new creation promised in Revelation (“a new heaven and a new earth”—Revelation 21:1) will surely be more wondrous than we can comprehend. In Christ’s second coming, “God will be all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28), gathering creation into harmony with the Father’s plan.
The Demands of Discipleship
Still, heaven is not gained cheaply. Jesus reminds us, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). The road is not broad but narrow: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:13–14).
During every Mass, when the priest elevates the chalice and recalls the words of Christ, “This is the chalice of my Blood… which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins,” we are confronted with a sobering mystery.15 Christ died for all, but not all will accept the gift. The “for many” is not meant to restrict God’s mercy but to warn us: salvation is offered universally, but it must be received personally. Grace is not forced upon us; it requires assent, conversion, and a willingness to walk the way of the Cross.
It was in this spirit that a wise monsignor once remarked: “If I make it to heaven, I’m going to be surprised who is there and who is not.” Beneath this simple phrase lies a deep philosophical truth: God’s judgments are not our judgments, and heaven may hold those we never expected while missing those we assumed secure. The statement calls us to humility—never presuming our place, never despairing of another’s, and always remembering that the final verdict rests in God’s infinite justice and mercy.
Divine Mercy: The Depth of God’s Love
Yet into this narrow way, Christ Himself has revealed the boundless depths of His mercy. To St. Faustina Kowalska, the humble Polish nun, Jesus entrusted the message of Divine Mercy for our times. He told her that if anyone prays the Chaplet of Divine Mercy with trust, even the most hardened sinner can be forgiven. In her Diary, Jesus speaks with urgency: “The greater the sinner, the greater the right he has to My mercy” (Diary, 723).16 And again: “Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this Chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite mercy” (Diary, 687).17
This does not mean presumption, as if mercy excuses sin. Rather, it means that no soul should despair. At the very moment a person turns to Christ, even at the hour of death, God’s mercy can penetrate the hardest heart. The Chaplet is a weapon of hope against despair, a reminder that heaven is not for the perfect but for the forgiven.
The Sobering Warnings
At the same time, the tradition of the Church does not shy away from warning her children. A phrase attributed to St. John Chrysostom, echoed later by other saints, shocks the soul: “The road to hell is paved with the skulls of priests and monks, and the bishops are the lampposts that light the way.”18 Though graphic, this imagery was not meant as mockery but as a prophetic reminder of the weight of responsibility on shepherds of souls. In ages when corruption, negligence, or worldliness infected the clergy, saints cried out in anguish that those entrusted with guiding others could themselves be lost if they failed to live faithfully.
Such words remain relevant today. If those called to holiness in service of God’s people can fall, then none of us can presume salvation. Priests, religious, and laity alike must walk in vigilance, trusting not in titles or positions but in God’s grace. This warning is not meant to instill despair but urgency: to remind us that our vocation is serious, and our salvation cannot be taken for granted.
The Testimony of the Saints
What then do the saints say heaven will be like? St. Catherine of Siena spoke of entering into God’s very fire of love, where the soul becomes one with divine charity.19 St. Thérèse of Lisieux described heaven as “spending my heaven doing good on earth”—a communion of love that overflows even into time.20 St. John Paul II explained that heaven is not a “place” in the material sense, but the living, personal communion of the soul with the Triune God, a fulfillment of every desire of the human heart.21
We do not pretend to have seen heaven, but in Christ we have been given a pledge. At every Mass, heaven bends down to earth; the angels and saints are present, and the sacrifice of Calvary is made present. The Eucharist is the foretaste of glory, the banquet of the Lamb, pointing us to what lies beyond the veil.
The Last Four Things
To ponder heaven is also to ponder death, judgment, heaven, and hell—the last four things.22 Death is the unavoidable passage, judgment the encounter with Christ’s truth and mercy, heaven the eternal embrace of God, and hell the freely chosen separation from Him. The Church reminds us that our lives are a preparation for this meeting. Our choices, our loves, our sacrifices, and our sins—all are gathered up before the merciful Judge who knows us better than we know ourselves.
Funerals, Hope, and the Language of Faith
At funerals, we naturally want to console ourselves with assurances about our loved ones. Yet the Church teaches us to approach death with both hope and humility. We should never presume that a soul is certainly in heaven—or in hell. Unless the Church canonizes a person as a saint, their eternal destiny is known only to God. This is why the liturgy for the dead is filled not with declarations but with prayer: “Remember your servant… grant them rest, and let perpetual light shine upon them.” We entrust the soul to God’s mercy, confident in His love but cautious of our own limits of judgment.
Another frequent misunderstanding at funerals is the claim that the deceased has “become an angel” or that “God needed another angel.” However comforting this may sound, it is not true. Angels are an entirely distinct creation from humanity.6 A human being does not become an angel in death; rather, our hope is that they become saints—members of the heavenly communion, perfected in Christ and joined forever in His praise. Angels and saints are different choirs in God’s plan: angels serve as messengers and guardians, while human beings, redeemed by Christ, are destined for adoption as sons and daughters of God in glory. To confuse the two diminishes the dignity of our true calling: sainthood in heaven.
So who is going to heaven? The answer belongs not to us but to God. What we know is this: only those who are in Christ, who embrace His Cross, who live in His Body the Church, and who remain faithful to grace will find the gates opened. Yet we also know that God’s mercy is wider than our imagination, His patience deeper than our weakness, and His love unrelenting.
Until that day when Christ comes again to hand over all creation to the Father, we walk by faith, nourished by the sacraments, sustained by hope, and strengthened by love. Heaven is real, and it is promised. But the way there is narrow, and the call is urgent: “Today, if you hear his voice, harden not your hearts” (Hebrews 3:15).
A Pastoral Invitation
If we long for heaven, then we must prepare our hearts now by prayer, charity, and conversion. One powerful way Christ has given us is through devotion to His Divine Mercy. To St. Faustina, He promised that souls who trust in His mercy have nothing to fear. The Chaplet of Divine Mercy, prayed with faith, can obtain graces even for the most hardened of sinners.
I invite you, then, to pray it often—for yourself, for your loved ones, and for the whole world. For in the end, heaven is not earned by our strength but received in trustful surrender to the mercy of Jesus.
“Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”
Footnotes
God Bless
Deacon Wally was born and raised in Michigan. In 1987 he joined the United States Marine Corps. Originally, he was not planning on making a career with the Corps, however as time moved on, Calabrese spent 20 years on active duty and retired in 2007 as a Gunnery Sergeant. During his time in the Corps and while stationed overseas in Okinawa Japan, he met his bride, Amy. They married on April 11, 1992, and were blessed with two daughters, Lori (Thomas) and Leeza (Kevin). Both daughters are married and have children. Upon retirement from the Marine Corps, Calabrese began working for the local community college as the campus chair. Calabrese spent 13 years with the college and decided to leave full-time work to pursue writing and speaking extensively. Deacon Wally was ordained to the diaconate June 26, 2010. He was in the second class for the Diocese of Raleigh. Upon ordination, Calabrese was assigned to Annunciation Parish in Havelock, NC. Calabrese authored The Apostles and Me! Deacon Wally also has authored booklets titled, Confirmed and Ready! and Living a Catholic and Moral Life. Calabrese has a passion for spreading the great love of Christ and the Catholic Faith. Deacon Wally earned his bachelor's degree from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, and he holds a master's degree in Pastoral Theology from St. Joseph’s College, Standish, ME. For more information on Deacon Wally Calabrese please visit his website: www.deaconwallycalabrese.com
