What do we know about Hell
Many
Christians today rationalize that teaching about hell is unimportant. But, if
we take a closer look at the concept of hell in Scripture and trace its
development through history, we find that it is indeed a major theme, which
would be foolish to ignore.
1. What is Hell?
· We cannot be united with God unless
we freely choose to love him. But we cannot love God if we sin gravely against
him, against our neighbor or against ourselves . . . To die in mortal sin
without repenting and accepting God’s merciful love means remaining separated
from him forever by our own free choice. This state of definitive
self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called
"hell." (CCC 1033)
· But we must understand that hell is
a choice. To experience hell, one must die in the freely chosen state of mortal
sin. The Catechism explains that mortal sin is "sin whose object is
grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate
consent" (CCC 1857). Such an act is contrary to the love we owe God so, in
essence, the state of mortal sin is the freely chosen state of not loving God.
If one dies in such a state, God honors that choice and allows such a soul to
remain separated from him.
· Hell is indeed eternal because the
soul’s state at death determines its state for eternity. If person dies in the
state of mortal sin, God honors that choice forever. The Catechism
explains, "If it is not redeemed by repentance and God’s forgiveness,
[mortal sin] causes exclusion from Christ’s kingdom and the eternal death of
hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices forever, with no turning
back" (CCC 1861).
2. A little history in Hell.
· Evidence shows that at least some
Jews believed in an eternal afterlife which was good for some, bad for others.
For example, Daniel records, "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the
earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting
contempt" (Dan. 12:2).
· Jesus’ parable of the rich man and
Lazarus helps us to understand this better as it gives us insight into the
afterlife as it was understood in Jesus’ time: The rich man called out,
"Father Abraham, have mercy upon me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of
his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this
flame."
· Scripture calls the abode of the
dead, to which the dead Christ went down, "hell"— Sheol in
Hebrew or Hades in Greek—because those who are there are deprived of the
vision of God. Such is the case for all the dead, whether evil or righteous,
while they await the Redeemer: which does not mean that their lot is identical.
(CCC 633)
· A good example of this general
rendering of the word "hell" is found in the Apostles’ Creed which
states that, after Jesus’ crucifixion and death, "he descended into
hell." How are we to understand this?
· The frequent New Testament
affirmations that Jesus was "raised from the dead" presuppose that
the crucified one sojourned in the realm of the dead prior to his Resurrection.
This was the first meaning given in the apostolic preaching to Christ’s descent
into hell: that Jesus, like all men, experienced death and in his soul joined
the others in the realm of the dead. But he descended there as Savior,
proclaiming the Good News to the spirits imprisoned there . . . It is precisely
these holy souls, who awaited their Savior in Abraham’s bosom, whom Christ the
Lord delivered when he descended into hell. Jesus did not descend into hell to
deliver the damned, nor to destroy the hell of damnation, but to free the just
who had gone before him. (CCC 632-633)
· Also note here that "Abraham’s
Bosom" was sometimes referred to by the Jews as "Paradise"
(Greek, Paradaiso). This might explain why Jesus told St. Dismas, the
good thief, "you will be with me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43). A
Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture explains, "‘Paradise’ . . .
signified for the Jews the abode of the blessed. Here, if taken literally in
its context, it signifies primarily the limbo of the just, to which Christ’s
soul was presently to descend" (968).
3. Visions of Purgatory and Hell.
a. Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich
·
I next saw our Lord, with his
triumphant procession, enter into a species of Purgatory which was
filled with those good pagans who, having had a faint glimmering of the truth,
had longed for its fulfilment: this Purgatory was very deep, and contained a
few demons, as also some of the idols of the pagans. I saw the demons compelled
to confess the deception they had practised with regard to these idols, and the
souls of the poor pagans cast themselves at the feet of Jesus, and adored him
with inexpressible joy: here, likewise, the demons were bound with chains and
dragged away. I saw our Saviour perform many other actions; but I suffered so
intensely at the same time, that I cannot recount them as I should have wished.
· The exterior of Hell
was appalling and frightful; it was an immense, heavy-looking building, and the
granite of which it was formed, although black, was of metallic brightness; and
the dark and ponderous doors were secured with such terrible bolts that no one
could behold them without trembling. Deep groans and cries of despair might be
plainly distinguished even while the doors were tightly closed; but, 0, who can
describe the dreadful yells and shrieks which burst upon the ear when the bolts
were unfastened and the doors flung open; and, 0, who can depict the melancholy
appearance of the inhabitants of this wretched place!
b. Visionaries of Medjugorje
·
Mirjana’s
description of Purgatory:
“There are several levels in
Purgatory. The more you pray on earth, the higher your level in Purgatory will
be…The lowest level is the closest to hell, where the suffering is the most
intense. The highest level is closest to Heaven, and there the suffering is the
least. What level you are on depends on the state of purity of your soul. The
lower the level the people are on in Purgatory, the less they are able to pray
and the more they suffer. The higher the level a person is in Purgatory, the
easier it is for him to pray, the more he enjoys praying and the less he
suffers…The Blessed Mother has asked us to pray for the souls in Purgatory.
They are helpless to pray for themselves. Through prayer, we on earth can do
much to help them. The Blessed Mother told me that when souls leave Purgatory
and go to Heaven most go on Christmas Day.”
c. A
special note worthy to know about Purgatory is when you pray for a loved one by
name who is in Purgatory, they can see you, their loved one on earth at that
moment. This also should be an impulse to pray for them on special
occasions or family gatherings, allowing them an apparition of you and your
family on earth at that moment
d. Marija:
“In the moment of death, God gives us the light to see ourselves as we really
are. God gives freedom of choice to everybody during his life on earth. The one
who lives in sin on earth can see what he has done and recognize himself as he
really is. When he sees himself and his life, the only possible place for him
is hell. He chooses hell, because that is what he is. That is where he fits. It
is his own wish. God does not make the choice. God condemns no one. We condemn
ourselves. Every individual has free choice. God gave us freedom.
e. Vicka:
“In the center of this place is a great fire, like an ocean of raging flames.
We could see people before they went into the fire, and then we could see them
coming out of the fire. Before they go into the fire, they look like normal
people. The more they are against God’s will, the deeper they enter into the
fire, and the deeper they go, the more they rage against Him. When they come
out of the fire, they don’t have human shape anymore; they are more like
grotesque animals, but unlike anything on earth. It’s as if they were never
human beings before…They were horrible. Ugly. Angry. And each was different; no
two looked alike…When they came out, they were raging and smashing everything
around and hissing and gnashing and screeching.
4. My personal glimpse of Purgatory.
A friend of mine's husband died and he came to me in a dream. It was very dark. I remember holding him and praying in his ear. He was in danger and needed help. I felt dizzy and the feeling of becoming unconscious was overwhelming! I knew that he committed suicide and he was at the very bottom of purgatory. He needed prayers to get him out. So every year on his birthday I have a mass said for him to help him and all those who have committed suicide to reach heaven. He did come back to me to say thank you. He was still in the dark but there was light enough to see him. Kind of like pre-dawn light and he was in a better place.5. Are Demons for real?
a.
Saints who
encountered demons: Padre Pio, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Faustina Kowalska, St. Joseph of
Copertino, St. Dominic.
b. My personal story of a demon encounter.
It was January 1989. My first year of college and I was living in the dorms. My roomates wanted to play the Ouija board. I told them I would not play because that game is evil. I knew that that game can open up portholes that you can't shut. They left and I went to bed like any normal night but then I remember having a bizarre dream. Then I felt like my pant leg was being twisted. I awoke and sat up to unravel my pant leg. Then I felt frozen and couldn't move. I saw something evil at the end of my bed. I gathered up some courage and said in a stern voice, "LEAVE ME ALONE!' then all of a sudden I was picked up and thrown against the wall knocking the wind out of me. As I was pinned to the wall, I felt the evil demon about two inches from my face. If you ever seen the movie Alien you know what I'm talking about. As my head was turned to the right I looked down and saw my body. I thought to myself, "if I'm out of my body, then I must be dead, if I'm dead then Jesus come get me!" All of a sudden the room turned bright white and the demon was gone. I woke up to realize that it was 3:30am. My room mate was not home. I went to my suite mates room and the lights were on but no one was home. I walked down to the lobby and saw my suite mates. They were talking to some boys, since we lived in an all girl dorm, boys were not allowed in the rooms after curfew. They knew something was wrong. I was white as a ghost and shaking. As I was telling them what happened, the words were coming out in between sobs.6. How to get rid of our demons.
a.
5 little stones
of Medjugorje
i. Prayer, Fasting, Daily Reading of the Bible,
Confession, Eucharist.
7. How should we avoid Hell?
a. The
Screwtape
Letters by C.S. Lewis has a good insight on how evil wedges it way in our lives.
Go to church!
Go to church!
8. Books and References to explore more of the Catholic Eschatology
a.
Videos:
i. What Every Catholic Needs to Know About Hell
ii. Interview with an Exorcist
iii. Catholicism: Episode 10 World Without End ( The Last
Things)
b.
Books:
i. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
ii. Divine Mercy in My Soul ( Diary of St. Faustina)
iii. Offering of Suffering by Paul A. Mihalik
iv. Get Us Out Of Here!! An interview of Maria Simma by
Nicky Eltz
v. The Mist of Mercy by “Anne” a lay apostle
vi. Interview with an Exorcist by Fr. Jose Antonio
Fortea
vii. Deliverance From Evil Spirits by Michael Scanlan
viii.
The Catholic
Warrior by Robert Abel
ix. The Rite The Making of a Modern Exorcist by Matt
Baglio
c.
Other Sources
i. Catholic Answers Magazine
ii. Catholic.com
iii. Medjugorje.com
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