Can a Person Reject God Forever?
Opening Prayer
Lord,
You desire the salvation of every person.
Help me understand the seriousness of freedom
and the reality of eternal choice.
Guard me from presumption
and from despair.
Amen.
Part One
What the Church Actually Teaches
The Church teaches that hell is real.
Hell is not:
A medieval invention.
A symbol for temporary difficulty.
A dramatic threat to frighten people.
Hell is the state of definitive separation from God.
God does not create anyone for hell.
He desires all to be saved.
But love cannot be forced.
If a person freely and knowingly rejects God,
that rejection has consequence.
Heaven is communion with God.
Hell is separation from Him.
Both respect freedom.
Pause and Reflect
Do I assume that everyone is automatically saved?
Do I take seriously the possibility of rejecting God?
Part Two
Freedom and Final Choice
Freedom is powerful.
You are capable of choosing:
Truth or falsehood.
Love or selfishness.
Grace or sin.
The Church teaches that mortal sin
is a serious rejection of God.
If unrepented,
it leads to separation.
God does not condemn arbitrarily.
Judgment confirms what the person has chosen.
If someone insists on living apart from God,
hell is not imposed externally.
It is the final confirmation of that refusal.
This is difficult.
But it preserves the dignity of freedom.
A world where love is forced
would not be love.
Consider
If someone rejects God persistently,
would forcing them into His presence be love?
Does freedom remain meaningful
if it has no ultimate consequence?
Part Three
Misunderstandings
Some imagine hell as exaggerated physical torture.
The Church speaks more precisely:
The greatest suffering of hell
is separation from God.
Since God is the source of all goodness,
separation means loss of what fulfils the soul.
Hell is not the triumph of evil.
It is the tragic misuse of freedom.
The Church does not claim to know
who is in hell.
She calls all to repentance
and prays for all.
The teaching exists not to produce fear
but seriousness.
Reflect Honestly
Do I presume on God’s mercy
without repentance?
Have I reduced sin to something trivial?
Part Four
Hope Without Presumption
The Church holds two truths together:
God’s mercy is immense.
Hell is real.
Despair says:
“I cannot be forgiven.”
Presumption says:
“I will be saved regardless.”
Both are errors.
The Gospel calls for trust and repentance.
Christ died so that no one need be lost.
But He does not override freedom.
The seriousness of hell
makes grace urgent.
It makes repentance meaningful.
It makes love deliberate.
If Heaven is communion,
hell is its refusal.
The choice begins now.
Quiet Reflection
Sit quietly.
Ask yourself:
Do I treat eternal consequences lightly?
Have I relied on vague optimism
rather than conversion?
Remain in silence.
This Week
Choose one:
• Make a sincere act of contrition.
• Go to Confession if needed.
• Reflect on what it means to choose God daily.
• Pray simply: “Lord, keep me faithful.”
Closing Prayer
Lord,
You desire my salvation.
Strengthen my freedom
to choose You.
Guard me from sin,
from presumption,
and from despair.
Keep me faithful
until the end.
Amen.
St. Mary's, St. John Bosco and St. Edward's 