Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli

The “everyone-gets-an-award” syndrome has swept across America. Fifty years ago, a student had to work hard and achieve consistently good grades before receiving recognition for academic excellence. Today, for fear of damaging someone’s self-esteem, some schools will not grade below a “C.” One school even handed out honors awards alphabetically so that no student would feel slighted (cf. Michael Sigman, “When Everyone Gets a Trophy,” Huffington Post, June 18, 2012).

A trophy was once a prized possession. A coveted reward. Something crafted and precious. But, trophies are now mass produced, inexpensive to purchase and casually handed out. “Trophies used to be awarded only to winners, but are now little more than party favors: reminders of an experience, not tokens of true achievement. When awards are handed out like candy to every child who participates, they diminish in value” (Betty Berdan, “Participation Trophies Send a Dangerous Message,” The New York Times, October 6, 2016).

The same attitude that considers everybody a winner regardless of their effort and performance manifests itself in the religious opinion that, in the end, no matter how good or bad one lives, all people will be saved. It has always been the common teaching of Christian churches that there really exists a hell and those who die estranged from God suffer eternal separation from him. But, ever since the beginning of the 19th century, more and more Christians have been abandoning this doctrine.

As far back as the third century, the famous theologian Origen had proposed the doctrine of apocatastasis. According to apokatastasis (the restoration of all to their original condition), at the end of time, all intelligent creatures will enjoy friendship with God. However, the happiness of each will differ according to their lives on earth. More recently, some people felt that Pope Francis was reviving this unusual teaching.

In a homily Pope Francis said, “The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! … Even the atheists. Everyone!” (Pope Francis, Homily at Mass, May 22, 2013). Some interpreted his words as an endorsement of the doctrine of Universalism, that is, the teaching that everyone gets into heaven. However, he was merely repeating what the Church has consistently taught: Christ died for all.

There is an ancient tradition that says that Adam was buried on the exact spot where Jesus died on the cross. At the moment of Jesus’ death, there was an earthquake, splitting open the rock of Golgotha. Through that opening, Jesus’ blood trickled down, touching the skull of Adam and redeeming all humanity. This tradition portrays in a graphic form the Catholic teaching that Christ died for all and, by his death and resurrection, he has redeemed the entire human race.

According to the Church’s most recent catechism, “By his glorious Cross Christ has won salvation for all men. He redeemed them from the sin that held them in bondage” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1741). St. John Paul II proclaimed this same teaching on his pastoral visit to the Philippines. He said, “All are redeemed and called to share in glory in Jesus Christ, without any distinction of language, race, nation or culture” (Pope John Paul II, Message to the People of Asia, February 21, 1981).

Through Christ, God has offered to every single individual eternal life. This is redemption. It is the objective offer of divine love, given freely, without any merit on our part. Redemption is pure grace. But, the gift of redemption must be accepted personally, individually and freely. We are redeemed, but we choose by the way we live either to accept or to reject God’s grace. So serious is our choice that Paul admonishes us to “work out [our] salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12). But, how exactly can we do this?

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48). The Greek word for “be perfect” (esthe teleioi) means to achieve the end for which we have been made. And, since we are made in God’s image and likeness, our end, our purpose for which we have been made, is to be God-like.

In Luke’s version of the same saying of Jesus about being God-like, Jesus says, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful (Lk 6:36). In this way, Luke makes it quite clear in what our likeness of God means on a practical level. It means being people of mercy. “Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned...” (Lk 6:37). Not being condemned, being on the way to salvation, means nothing less than showing mercy and compassion to one another. How else could one appear in the presence of God who is Mercy to each of us? The door to heaven is only open to those who are merciful like our heavenly Father.