Today, the Gospel raises the theme of the salvation of our souls. This is the essence of Christ’s message and the “supreme law of the Church” (in fact, this is stated this way in our Code of Canon Law). The salvation of the soul is a fact insofar as it is a gift from God, but for those of us that have not yet crossed the threshold of death, salvation is still only a possibility. Will you be saved or will you be condemned? That is, will you accept or will you reject God's everlasting offer of love?

St. Augustine said “…he who destroyed in himself a good which might have been eternal, became worthy of eternal evil.” We have only two possibilities in our life: either God or nothing, for without God nothing has any meaning. In this sense, when one does not partake in the essence of God, life, death, joy, pain, love, etc., are just concepts without any logic. When a person sins, he or she avoids the Creator's glance. God is constantly looking at the sinner with love, and in order not to force his freedom He expects a small gesture of willingness to get back to him.

"Lord, will only a few people be saved?" (Lk 13:23). Christ does not respond to this question. Therefore, it remained unanswered, just as it is today, for “this is a mystery, truly inscrutable, which embraces the holiness of God and the conscience of man. The silence of the Church is, therefore, the only appropriate position for the Christian faith” (Saint John Paul II). The Church does not state any opinion about those who dwell in hell, but —based on Christ's words— it does state an opinion about its existence and the fact there will be many damned in the Final Judgment. And whoever denies this, whether clerical or lay thereby denies a truth of our faith.

We are free to turn our soul towards the Savior, and we are also free to be obstinate in our refusal to do so. Our death will seal our decision forever…