KINNELON It is a rather unsettling question: what fate awaits the souls of the saved — and the condemned — at the final judgment? Many Scripture passages paint a stark picture: from God sentencing unbelievers to be burned in a lake of fire for all eternity to Jesus separating the saved and unsaved like a shepherd separates his sheep.
But perhaps Catholics might think about the Final Judgment like a giant lively party that lasts for eternity, Father Steven Shadwell, pastor of Our Lady of the Magnificat (OLM) Parish here, suggested in the third and final talk in his recent Chapel Chats series on June 16. Those souls that were loving and giving to other people on earth will enjoy heaven as the life of the party — meeting other believers and drinking in the experience. By contrast, those souls, who refused to show compassion and generosity in their earthly lives will live out the afterlife as party poopers — always complaining and refusing to get involved, said Father Shadwell, who was raised in OLM.
“There is an end to physical death but there is no end to moral death [in eternity]. It means that we have pulled away from God and from all that is good, right, and just. That happens if you lack love, an ability to forgive, and have hatred in your heart. It’s a matter of if you choose to participate in life on earth — or not. The afterlife is a banquet: life or death. You will choose which one by the way you participate in life here,” said Father Shadwell in his last short presentation of the Chapel Chats series, “Final Judgment.” “It’s about your fundamental orientation. Did I live a life of caring for and loving others? It’s your choice. At that party, you will be eternally fixed in either death or happiness,” the priest said.
This spring, Father Shadwell gave two other Chapel Chats in OLM’s historic stately stone chapel, which the Morris County parish used as its first church starting in 1954. He previously spoke about the Eucharist on May 19 and Forgiveness: God’s Mercy and Grace on June 2. Held on Thursday nights, the presentations started with an opening prayer and continued with a short talk by Father Shadwell and a question-and-answer period and followed by a final blessing by the pastor. Audience members chose the topics, the pastor said.
The Chapel Chats series continued OLM’s efforts over the last few months to provide more opportunities for spirituality and faith formation as the parish keeps moving beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. The parish has hosted a rosary for Advent and reflections by parishioners for Lent, said Annmarie Scorzo, an OLM parishioner and member of the Cornerstone retreat ministry that helped organize the Chapel Chats events.
“This [the Chapel Chats] is keeping the momentum going,” said Scorzo, who gave the opening prayer for all three talks. She told the audience at Father Shadwell’s final talk, “Knowledge is power. For us Catholics, our priests are a wealth of knowledge of the faith, especially Father Steven. He has a way of bringing it down to our level, so we can understand it and hold on to that knowledge. We are grateful to Father Steven for sharing his time with us.”
In his final talk, Father Shadwell encouraged the faithful, who filled the chapel that night, to look to an unlikely Scripture story for insights about the Final Judgment: the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The party poopers in eternity are like the brother of the prodigal son on earth. He is jealous that their father is throwing such a lavish party for his brother, “who was lost and now is found,” leaving him uninterested in participating, the priest said.
“The more we participate in life and in God’s creation, the closer we are to God. We want to be a good brother to the Prodigal Son, who says, ‘Let’s kill the fatted calf for my brother has come home.’ Choose life, not death,” Father Shadwell said.
Father Shadwell gave the three series Chapel Chats in OLM’s chapel on its wooded campus. In 1952, Henry Wise Miller and his second wife, Audrey Frazier, bequeathed to the Diocese 80 acres of land, specifically for a future Catholic parish in Kinnelon. On the property, Miller constructed a chapel in honor of his first wife, Alice Duer, a columnist, screenwriter, and poet, whose most famous poem is “The White Cliffs (of Dover),” according to OLM history.
A devout Anglican, Miller had the chapel designed to resemble a 13th century Anglican chapel that he frequented in Harescombe, Gloucester, England, during World War I while serving the Red Cross. While showing the design to Bishop James A. McNulty, then ordinary of the Paterson Diocese, he told the bishop that he had a devotion to Our Lady and he especially liked her Canticle, the Magnificat. The bishop suggested that the chapel be called Our Lady of the Magnificat, OLM history states.
On July 2, 1954, Bishop McNulty dedicated the chapel. Miller died and his was the first funeral Mass held in the chapel on that Sept. 15. In 1961, OLM began as a mission parish in Kinnelon, and a year later, was elevated to parish status. The parish school was completed in 1964, as was a new church in 1983 to accommodate a growing parish. Today OLM continues to use the chapel for smaller Masses, devotions, faith-formation events, and special occasions, such as baptisms and weddings, according to OLM’s history.
Speaking to The Beacon after the Chapel Chats, Father Shadwell reminisced about serving Mass in the chapel as an altar boy growing up in OLM Parish.
“It’s an incredible worship space,” Father Shadwell said. Of the series, he said, “I enjoyed giving the talks. It’s an intellectual crowd. They are searching for a higher level of meaning in life and are seeking the truths of our Catholic faith.”