# These Signs Reveal Where Your Soul Is Headed

An episode of [AfterMass](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1823710125), 30 Apr 2026, 18 min.

Audio: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/APO1022301469.mp3

most people assume they’re “good enough” or that they’ll figure it out later, but the reality is eternity isn’t determined by random good moments, it’s determined by direction. in this video, i break down 6 signs from Fr. Chad Ripperger that reveal whether your life is actually moving toward heaven, not based on feelings or appearances, but on real patterns like repentance, prayer, discipline and interior transformation.

## Transcript

[0:00] I recently saw this talk from Father Chad Ripberger that was
[0:02] circulating. And for anybody who might not
[0:04] know who he is, he is a Catholic priest.
[0:07] He's a theologian, A trained exorcist who is known.
[0:10] Actually, he was recently on the Sean Ryan show.
[0:13] Fantastic. I think it was like a three hour
[0:15] episode. But he is known for being
[0:18] extremely precise, extremely direct, and very rooted in the
[0:22] church's traditional spiritual theology, which basically means
[0:25] that when he talks about the soul and sin, grace, eternity,
[0:29] he's, he's not speculating. And he's, I don't think he's
[0:32] ever trying to be motivational. He's really drawing from
[0:35] centuries of Catholic teaching and philosophy and real pastoral
[0:38] experience dealing with spiritual life at its most
[0:41] serious level. What determines eternity isn't
[0:43] isolated moments. It's the consistent direction
[0:46] that's formed by your choices over time.
[0:48] So the first one is sincere repentance.
[0:50] That's the first sign that he gives that it's a life marked by
[0:53] sincere repentance. Repentance is often treated as a
[0:56] reaction and like guilt instead of something that actually,
[1:00] actually reshapes the direction of your life over time.
[1:03] So what Father Chadwick Berger here is pointing to is a pattern
[1:06] where a person does fail. They mess up because everybody
[1:10] does, but there's a consistent return after that failure.
[1:14] There is an interior movement that doesn't allow us to remain
[1:18] in that state without a response, and that response
[1:21] becomes a part of the structure of their life.
[1:24] So this is important because a lot of us experience moments of
[1:27] guilt or conviction and assume in that moment that that
[1:30] indicates spiritual health. But the real question is what
[1:33] happens after that awareness? So after that initial guilt that
[1:36] we feel, because awareness without change doesn't alter our
[1:40] direction, and direction is what determines destination.
[1:44] A life marked by sincere repentance shows itself in
[1:47] repeated choices to return to God, to correct what can be
[1:51] corrected, and to stop allowing the same patterns to continue
[1:54] without resistance, even when those patterns are deeply
[1:57] ingrained. Because over time, those
[2:00] repeated returns begin to form a different interior stability,
[2:04] one that is oriented toward truth instead of drifting away
[2:07] from it. This whole thing requires very
[2:10] real honesty, because it means that we're looking at our life
[2:14] in terms of patterns rather than isolated moments.
[2:17] Which also means that we're asking whether there's real
[2:20] movement away from that sin, or whether there's simply a cycle
[2:24] of recognition without change. Because those are two completely
[2:27] different directions and they don't lead to the same end.
[2:30] What defines this sign is not the absence of failure, because
[2:35] we will always have failure, but it's the presence of return.
[2:39] And that return becomes consistent enough that it can
[2:41] reveal a life that is actually turning toward God in a real and
[2:45] measurable way. The second sign that he talks
[2:47] about is growth in humility and self-awareness.
[2:50] So he points to this growth in humility and self-awareness.
[2:53] And this actually, it sounds like a very obvious, like, duh.
[2:58] But it's, it's goes a lot deeper because it's not about
[3:01] personality, it's about perception.
[3:04] It's about whether you're actually seeing yourself more
[3:06] clearly over time or whether you're continuing to live behind
[3:09] assumptions that keep you comfortable.
[3:12] So what begins to happen when grace is active in a person's
[3:15] life is that their awareness sharpens in a steady and very
[3:19] honest way where things that were once ignored or justified
[3:23] start to become visible to you. And once that happens, they're
[3:26] harder to dismiss or explain. So this creates a shift where
[3:31] the person is no longer relying on comparison to others as a
[3:34] measure of spiritual state. These comparison constantly
[3:38] moves the standard depending on who you're looking at.
[3:40] And instead there is this growing recognition that truth
[3:44] isn't determined by what other people are doing.
[3:47] It's something that's stable, that you're either aligned with
[3:50] or you're not. At the same time, there is
[3:52] movement away from relying on our emotions as a measure of
[3:56] whether things are spiritually OK, because emotionally can
[3:59] reflect many different things that aren't necessarily
[4:02] connected to moral truth. And as a result, the person
[4:05] begins to ask different questions, not whether they feel
[4:08] at peace, but whether their choice over time is actually
[4:11] forming a life that's ordered toward God.
[4:14] And this is where humility takes on a very direct and concrete,
[4:18] almost tangible meaning. Because it's no longer about how
[4:23] a person presents themselves externally, it's about their
[4:26] willingness to see what's actually there without
[4:29] distortion and without minimizing it or building a
[4:32] narrative that protects our own comfort.
[4:35] That kind of clarity is very difficult.
[4:38] It's not easy because it removes the ability to hide behind maybe
[4:43] vague ideas about being a good person or having good
[4:47] intentions. And instead it replaces that
[4:50] with a more precise awareness of our patterns and our motives and
[4:54] repeated choices, which is where real change actually begins.
[4:59] So over time, this creates a more honest relationship with
[5:02] yourself, where denial becomes less appealing because it no
[5:06] longer works as a way to avoid reality.
[5:09] And that honesty becomes the foundation for growth because
[5:12] without it, there's nothing stable to build on.
[5:15] So this sign shows up as a gradual increase in clarity,
[5:19] where a person is becoming more aware of their interior life and
[5:23] more aware of their patterns, and then more willing to
[5:26] confront them directly. And that clarity is a sign that
[5:29] graces actively working to bring that person into alignment with
[5:34] truth. The third sign is desire for
[5:36] prayer and spiritual discipline. So this is where the interior
[5:41] life starts to take on structure because prayer is no longer
[5:45] treated as something occasional or even situational, and instead
[5:49] begins to function as something that's necessary for yourself
[5:52] for maintaining direction. So what develops over time is a
[5:56] shift in how prayer is understood because it's no
[5:59] longer limited to just that moment of need or that emotional
[6:04] intensity, spiritual intensity that we feel when we pray.
[6:07] And instead becomes kind of like a consistent point of alignment
[6:11] where a person is reorienting themselves toward truth and re
[6:15] establishing clarity and then stepping back into a life that's
[6:19] intentionally ordered rather than reactive.
[6:22] This also changes how discipline is perceived because it's no
[6:25] longer seen as something that's restrictive or burdensome, and
[6:29] it begins to serve as a stabilizing force that protects
[6:34] the direction a person is trying to go or trying to maintain.
[6:37] Especially in a life where so many things are constantly
[6:40] shifting and pulling our attention in different
[6:42] directions. O As this develops practices
[6:45] like prayer, examination of conscience, and confession,
[6:49] those things stop feeling like optional additions and instead
[6:53] start functioning as anchors that interrupt patterns before
[6:57] they become permanent. And that interruption is what
[7:00] allows a person to maintain consistency instead of drifting
[7:04] back into old habits that were formed through repetition.
[7:07] So this kind of creates an interior stability where a
[7:10] person is no longer depending on how they feel in order to mean
[7:15] consistent, because the structure itself carries them
[7:19] through the moments where the motivation is low or
[7:21] distractions are high. And over time, that consistency
[7:25] begins to shape your life in a less scattered way, and instead
[7:31] in a more intentional way. So what defines this sign isn't
[7:35] how intense a person's prayer life is, or how their prayer
[7:39] routine is, or even how emotional their spiritual life
[7:42] appears from the outside. It's really the presence of a
[7:45] steady rhythm that continues even when nothing feels
[7:49] particularly inspiring. That rhythm is what preserves
[7:52] direction over time, and as that rhythm becomes more stable,
[7:57] prayer is no longer something that happens on the side of life
[8:01] and it becomes something that orders the rest of your life
[8:04] because it continually brings the person back to something
[8:08] that is actually real and keeps their will aligned with it.
[8:12] Now the 4th sign is detachment from sin and worldly disorder.
[8:17] This one sounds easy, obviously, but when you start to see a
[8:21] deeper shift inside yourself, it's because you're moving past
[8:25] beyond simply recognizing sin, and it can affect what you as a
[8:29] person are actually drawn to over time.
[8:31] So what develops isn't just an awareness that something is
[8:35] wrong, but a gradual weakening of attachment to it, or maybe
[8:38] certain habits or patterns that you have, or even ways of
[8:42] thinking that once we're totally normal or even desirable to
[8:46] begin, they lose their hold. And it's not because that need
[8:52] or those feelings of attachment disappeared overnight because it
[8:55] doesn't happen overnight. It's more so because you as a
[8:58] person are no longer feeding those things in the same way.
[9:02] And this connects directly to what Father Chad Ripberger
[9:05] explains about repetition. Because repeated choices shape
[9:09] direction, and over time they also shape your desire, which
[9:13] means what a person is consistently allowing or
[9:16] entertaining will eventually feel natural, even if it's
[9:19] disordered, and what we consistently resist and correct
[9:24] will slowly start to lose its influence over us.
[9:26] So detachment isn't about pretending that something has no
[9:30] pull at all. It's about recognizing that that
[9:33] pull weakens when it's no longer reinforced.
[9:36] And that requires consistent decisions day in and day out
[9:40] that interrupts the pattern before it continues building in
[9:43] the same direction. This is where small choices
[9:46] start to matter because they build over time and they're no
[9:50] longer seen as isolated or insignificant no matter how
[9:54] small a choice is, but instead they're understood as part of a
[9:58] larger formation that's either strengthening your attachment or
[10:03] hopefully weakening it. And over time, that accumulation
[10:06] of choices becomes visible and what a person is actually
[10:10] inclined toward. As this process continues, the
[10:13] conscience also becomes more precise, and actions that once
[10:17] felt minor begin to carry more weight because they're seen in
[10:21] the context of repetition and direction.
[10:23] And that clarity leads to a more deliberate way of living where a
[10:27] person isn't simply reacting to impulses, but evaluating them
[10:31] before reacting. What defines this sign is a real
[10:35] shift in orientation, where a person isn't just trying to
[10:38] avoid the sin externally, but you're also gradually becoming
[10:42] less internally aligned with it. And that change doesn't come
[10:46] from just one decision. It comes from repeated choices
[10:50] that slowly reshape what feels natural to us.
[10:52] And over time, that detachment reveals itself in a life that's
[10:56] less driven by impulse and more order towards what's true.
[11:00] And those patterns that once pulled the person in One
[11:03] Direction are no longer being sustained in the same way.
[11:07] The 5th sign is consistent return to God after failure.
[11:11] So the 5th sign here he points to is this consistent return to
[11:15] God after failure. And this actually builds on the
[11:18] first sign about repentance, but it goes deeper into what
[11:21] actually happens over time because the question isn't
[11:24] whether someone fails. We all do.
[11:27] The question is what they do immediately after they recognize
[11:31] that they failed. So what begins to form is a
[11:34] pattern where failure doesn't become the stopping point.
[11:37] That's not where we just throw in the towel and instead becomes
[11:40] a moment of correction that can change everything because
[11:44] instead of allowing failure to define the direction that
[11:47] follows, you allow it to redirect it.
[11:50] So this creates a different relationship with failure
[11:52] altogether, and you're almost training your brain because it's
[11:55] no longer treated as something that justifies drifting further
[11:59] or something that leads to discouragement and avoidance.
[12:03] And it becomes something that reveals where attention is
[12:06] needed and where realignment has to take place.
[12:09] So over time, this consistent return to God builds resistance
[12:14] because the person is no longer remaining in a fallen state for
[12:17] extended periods without a response.
[12:20] There's almost like a quicker recognition and then a quicker
[12:23] correction and a stronger tendency to move back toward God
[12:27] instead of saying where they are.
[12:29] So this is huge because repeated failure without return forms one
[12:33] kind of direction, while repeated return after failure
[12:37] forms a completely different one, even if the external
[12:40] actions kind of look similar. And in that moment, because
[12:43] internally the movement of the will is going in opposite
[12:46] directions. As this pattern continues,
[12:49] failure starts to lose its ability to destabilize you in
[12:52] the same way because it's no longer interpreted as something
[12:55] that's final or identity defining, and instead becomes
[12:59] part of a process where growth is still possible and direction
[13:02] is still being maintained. But what defines this sign isn't
[13:05] how often a person falls, it's how consistently they return.
[13:09] And that return becomes structured enough that it shapes
[13:12] how they respond every single time that they recognize that
[13:16] they've moved out of alignment. And over time, that consistency
[13:20] reveals a life that's not being defined by the moments of
[13:23] failure, but instead by the repeated decision to realign
[13:27] with truth, which is what ultimately preserves direction.
[13:30] And the 6th sign is interior transformation through grace.
[13:34] So this 6th sign, Father Chadwick Burger, points to this
[13:38] interior transformation through grace.
[13:40] And this is where everything becomes a little bit more
[13:43] specific because it moves beyond external behavior and into
[13:48] what's happening inside a person on a consistent basis.
[13:52] So what begins to change isn't just what a person does, but
[13:55] what they entertain and how they think and how they respond
[13:59] internally before anything even becomes an action.
[14:03] Over time, there's this growing awareness that thoughts are
[14:06] forming patterns, and those patterns eventually shape
[14:10] behavior. So this will create a vigilance
[14:13] that's steady and intentional within you, where a person
[14:16] starts to recognize which thoughts lead toward clarity and
[14:20] which ones lead toward confusion.
[14:22] And that recognition allows you to respond earlier in the
[14:26] process instead of waiting maybe until you failed or maybe until
[14:30] something has already taken shape externally.
[14:33] So as this develops, there's also a noticeable shift and how
[14:37] your emotions will function because they're no longer
[14:40] treated as the authority that determines decisions.
[14:43] They're still present and very real, but they're placed in
[14:47] proper order where they support rather than direct, and that can
[14:51] allow for a more intentional response and set of immediate
[14:54] reactions. So this is where the interior
[14:57] life starts to become more unified because your thoughts,
[15:01] your desires, and your actions begin to align more
[15:04] consistently. And that alignment creates
[15:06] stability because the person is no longer being carried by every
[15:11] impulse or fluctuation. Over time, this transformation
[15:15] becomes visible and how a person approaches even ordinary
[15:19] situations, because there's greater capacity to pause, to
[15:23] reflect, and to choose in light of truth rather than simply
[15:27] reacting based on habit or emotion.
[15:30] And that can change the overall direction of your life in a very
[15:34] real way. What defines this sign is an
[15:37] intensity or outward appearance. It's consistency at the level of
[15:41] the interior life where a person is gradually becoming more
[15:46] ordered, more intentional, and more aligned with truth across
[15:50] time. And as that alignment deepens,
[15:53] it reveals that grace isn't something occasional.
[15:56] It's something that's actively shaping the person from the
[15:59] inside out and forming a life that is moving toward God in a
[16:03] steady and structured way. When you hear all six of these
[16:07] signs together, it becomes very clear that none of them are
[16:10] about isolated moments or external appearances.
[16:13] They're all about pointing to something that's much deeper,
[16:16] which is the consistent direction of a person's life
[16:19] over time. Because it's possible to have
[16:21] moments of sincerity and moments of conviction and moments of
[16:25] strong desire for God, and then moments of failure in between
[16:29] all of that, but still remain unchanged if those moments don't
[16:32] translate into patterns. And what Father Chad Ribberger
[16:35] is emphasizing here is that eternity isn't revealed through
[16:39] those moments. It's revealed through direction.
[16:42] And that is where this becomes personal because it moves the
[16:45] focus away from asking whether you're doing enough in isolated
[16:49] situations. And instead it's asking what
[16:52] your life actually looks like when you take a step back and
[16:55] you examine it honestly over time.
[16:57] So it means looking at whether there's a real pattern of
[17:01] returning after failure, whether there's growing clarity about
[17:04] your own interior life, whether prayer has become something
[17:08] stable, whether you're attacked attachments are actually
[17:10] changing, and whether your thoughts and choices are
[17:13] becoming more ordered because those are the things that reveal
[17:17] where you're actually heading. So the question isn't whether
[17:20] you've had good moments or made the right decisions in certain
[17:23] situations. The question is whether your
[17:25] life as a whole, when you're looking at it, is moving toward
[17:28] God in a consistent and structured way.
[17:31] Because in the end, direction doesn't just describe your life,
[17:35] it will determine your eternity. That is all I have for today.
[17:39] Thank you guys so much for listening and I'll see you guys
[17:41] next time. Bye.

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