Creeds

Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way.” Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:1-6)

Too many of us have troubled hearts.  We worry and fret over just about everything.  We especially worry about death and our fate – heaven or hell.  Frankly, Jesus has nothing to do with hell [except harrowing].  There are no places prepared for us there, although many of us do our own preparatory work through evil behavior and no repentance,  

About that harrowing I’ve read from our Catechism: 

Next time I say the Apostles Creed I might pause to remember this descent or “harrowing.”  Our Catechism, however, has a remarkable description of that which is impossible to describe or understand.  It troubles me because I’ve often placed my belief in Hell way back on my mind’s back-burner.  Perhaps because I associate Hell with a Devil and his pitchfork – a fanciful image we all share, I suspect.  

I remember telling my two little boys many years ago: “Do not be afraid; there is no Devil; there is no Hell.  We have a loving and merciful God who looks after and over you.  Hell and the Devil are just make-believe boogeymen.”  If I had been a Catholic and then a deacon when they were small, what would I have told them about 35 years ago?  What would I tell children today?  Again, I’m troubled by this Catholic belief with which I struggle, and the Catechism’s intricate and imaginative explanation isn’t much help.  

Perhaps I’d best focus on the Nicene Creed we all pray at Mass.  There is no reference to descending into Hell.  The focus is on heaven: “For us men [and women, or us] and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.” I much prefer Jesus’s descent from and ascent to heaven.  That’s where we all want our dwelling places.

Deacon David Pierce