Tuesday, September 3rd, 2024
A Most Important Question
Years back, when I was visiting my mother in a nursing home in Hankinson, North Dakota, I asked her a question to make sure she would be safely tucked away in heaven when she died.
“Mother, if you died tomorrow and were standing outside the gates of heaven, and St. Peter asked why he should let you in, what would you say?”
My mother was a Catholic of great faith, who was choir director of Holy Rosary Church in Detroit Lakes for decades, was the soloist for Bobby Vee’s and Karen Bergen’s wedding, was a prayer warrior of deep conviction, fed transients who came to our back door for food, and was otherwise a very caring and loving person. I was uneasy that she might have brought up all the heavenly works she did to earn her way into heaven, as if anyone could earn their way into heaven by good works. If that were possible, there would have been no reason for Jesus to be crucified.
My mind was put at ease when she said, “I’d point to Jesus and say to St. Peter, ‘Because He loves me and I love Him.'” Essentially, she was saying, “Not because of anything I’ve done but because of what Jesus did for me.”
Over the years, I’ve asked different people why they wanted to go to heaven. Too often the answer has been that they want to see their dear mother, Uncle Louie, a child that died too soon, a spouse of 50 years, or talk to Mother Theresa. “How about seeing Jesus?” I sometimes ask. The answer is often something like, “Well, I guess I’d like that too.”
How about you? What would you say to St. Peter if you died and he asked you why he should let you in?