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In Celebration of the Solemnity of Christ the King, OTWOMD™ Features the theology of the “Last Things” or Eschatology. The End of the liturgical year always dwells on the life of the church and it’s people. Suffice it to say, we are asked to reflect on our own spiritual lives as we prepare ourselves here on earth for our eternal communion with our Lord, who is Christ, the King of Heaven and Earth. In this part of this series, we will discuss briefly the reality and truth of the existence of Hell.

HELL
by Pope John Paul II

At the General Audience of Wednesday, 28 July 1999, the Holy Father reflected on hell as the definitive rejection of God. In his catechesis, the Pope said that care should be taken to interpret correctly the images of hell in Sacred Scripture, and explained that “hell is the ultimate consequence of sin itself… Rather than a place, hell indicates the state of those who freely and definitively separate themselves from God, the source of all life and joy”.

Hell is the State of Those who Reject God

1. God is the infinitely good and merciful Father. But man, called to respond to him freely, can unfortunately choose to reject his love and forgiveness once and for all, thus separating himself for ever from joyful communion with him. It is precisely this tragic situation that Christian doctrine explains when it speaks of eternal damnation or hell. It is not a punishment imposed externally by God but a development of premises already set by people in this life. The very dimension of unhappiness which this obscure condition brings can in a certain way be sensed in the light of some of the terrible experiences we have suffered which, as is commonly said, make life “hell”.

In a theological sense however, hell is something else: it is the ultimate consequence of sin itself, which turns against the person who committed it. It is the state of those who definitively reject the Father’s mercy, even at the last moment of their life.

Hell is a state of eternal damnation

2. To describe this reality Sacred Scripture uses a symbolical language which will gradually be explained. In the Old Testament the condition of the dead had not yet been fully disclosed by Revelation. Moreover it was thought that the dead were amassed in Sheol, a land of darkness (cf. Ez. 28:8; 31:14; Jb. 10:21f.; 38:17; Ps 30:10; 88:7, 13), a pit from which one cannot reascend (cf. Jb. 7:9), a place in which it is impossible to praise God (cf. Is 38:18; Ps 6:6).

The New Testament sheds new light on the condition of the dead, proclaiming above all that Christ by his Resurrection conquered death and extended his liberating power to the kingdom of the dead.

Redemption nevertheless remains an offer of salvation which it is up to people to accept freely. This is why they will all be judged “by what they [have done]” (Rv 20:13). By using images, the New Testament presents the place destined for evildoers as a fiery furnace, where people will “weep and gnash their teeth” (Mt 13:42; cf. 25:30, 41), or like Gehenna with its “unquenchable fire” (Mk 9:43). All this is narrated in the parable of the rich man, which explains that hell is a place of eternal suffering, with no possibility of return, nor of the alleviation of pain (cf. Lk. 16:19-3 1).

The Book of Revelation also figuratively portrays in a “pool of fire” those who exclude themselves from the book of life, thus meeting with a “second death” (Rv. 20:13f.). Whoever continues to be closed to the Gospel is therefore preparing for ‘eternal destruction and exclusion from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might” (2 Thes 1:9).

3. The images of hell that Sacred Scripture presents to us must be correctly interpreted. They show the complete frustration and emptiness of life without God. Rather* than a place, hell indicates the state of those who freely and definitively separate themselves from God, the source of all life and joy. This is how the Catechism of the Catholic Church summarizes the truths of faith on this subject: “To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God’s merciful love means remaining separated from him for ever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called ‘hell’” (n. 1033).

“Eternal damnation”, therefore, is not attributed to God’s initiative because in his merciful love he can only desire the salvation of the beings he created. In reality, it is the creature who closes himself to his love. Damnation consists precisely in definitive separation from God, freely chosen by the human person and confirmed with death that seals his choice for ever. God’s judgement ratifies this state.

We are saved from going to hell by Jesus who conquered Satan

4. Christian faith teaches that in taking the risk of saying “yes” or “no”, which marks the human creature’s freedom, some have already said no. They are the spiritual creatures that rebelled against God’s love and are called demons (cf. Fourth Lateran Council, DS 800-801). What happened to them is a warning to us: it is a continuous call to avoid the tragedy which leads to sin and to conform our life to that of Jesus who lived his life with a “yes” to God.

Eternal damnation remains a real possibility, but we are not granted, without special divine revelation, the knowledge of whether or which human beings are effectively involved in it. The thought of hell — and even less the improper use of biblical images — must not create anxiety or despair, but is a necessary and healthy reminder of freedom within the proclamation that the risen Jesus has conquered Satan, giving us the, Spirit of God who makes us cry “Abba, Father!” (Rm. 8:15; Gal. 4:6).

This prospect, rich in hope, prevails in Christian proclamation. It is effectively reflected in the liturgical tradition of the Church, as the words of the Roman Canon attest: “Father, accept this offering from your whole family … save us from final damnation, and count us among those you have chosen”.

*[Note: The original Italian says, "(Più che) More than a place, hell indicates..." This suggests correctly that although hell is not essentially "a place," rather the definitive loss of God, confinement is included. Thus, after the general resurrection the bodies of the damned, being bodies not spirits, must be in "some place," in which they will receive the punishment of fire.]

Eternal Punishment
by Rev. William G. Most

As we said in speaking of the judgment, those who have turned against God and are not in a state of grace at the time of death are condemned to hell. There can be no change of heart concerning God, for or against His will, after death. Hence hell and heaven must both be without end.

The chief suffering of hell is the loss of God. In this life, we can go comfortably without thinking of Him. But then it will be different. For one thing, our senses now keep telling us this world and this life are the only important things. Then that din of the senses will be gone. But more especially, when we cross into the next life, as it were, the light goes on. In this life, our intelligence has two components, the spiritual intellect proper to the spiritual soul, which is tied to the marvelous, yet material instrument in our heads. The latter limits us greatly. But at death, that limit is gone. Then even if the soul does not at once see God, it carries with it the information on Him, but then really understands, and wants Him intensely. To lose Him forever, or to be in a twisted state of wanting Him, yet in revolt against Him–this is the chief pain of hell.

Scripture often speaks of fire in hell. On May 17, 1979, the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith explained: “She [the Church] believes that there will be eternal punishment for the sinner, who will be deprived of the sight of God, and that this punishment will have a repercussion on the whole being of the sinner.” There will be, then a bodily pain. The imagery of fire means it will be a suffering as intense as that caused by earthly fire.

Of course, those who have sinned more will suffer more. But for all, there is no end to suffering and despair.

Question and Answer on Hell

Who are punished in hell?

Those are punished in hell who die in mortal sin; they are deprived of the vision of God and suffer dreadful torments, especially that of fire, for all eternity.

(a) The souls in hell are beyond all help. They do not belong to the Mystical Body of Christ or to the Communion of Saints. They are not included among our neighbors and are not the objects of charity. They are doomed to the company of the devils for all eternity.

(b) The souls in hell do not have supernatural faith. They believe, however, in the truths revealed by Almighty God, not with divine faith, but because they cannot escape the evidence of God’s authority.

(c) The privation of the beatific vision is called the pain of loss; the torment inflicted by created means on the soul, and on the body after its resurrection, is called the pain of sense.

(d) It is not against God’s mercy to punish souls in hell for eternity. God’s justice demands that He thus punish those who, sinning gravely and refusing to repent, deliberately turn themselves from God, their last end.

(e) The punishment of hell is eternal; Our Lord referred to it as “everlasting fire.”

Reflection:

Hell is where there is no love
by Rev. Patrick J. McHugh

This is damnation: to be in a darkness where the Holy Spirit no longer touches souls with His love and where, as a consequence, there is only rejection, hatred and despair. To be in hell is to be locked into one’s ego forever, to be blind to all that is beautiful and good and true, to be incapable of reaching out to another to say, I love you. The damned are weighed down with a boredom that stifles every aspiration to creativity and joy and that congeals into a hatred that can only think of new ways to undermine, to corrode, to destroy. Guilt and hate go together. Hell is the graveyard of all hopes and dreams. The damned see all that they might have been but refused to become. They hate themselves for what they are.

This doctrine on hell is the convex side of what is concave in the freedom of the will. God takes our free will seriously. He lets us go our own way; He pours graces on us; He sends messengers into our lives. He batters on the doors of our souls and calls loudly to us just as He called to Lazarus in the tomb: “Come out!”

The theme of judgment resounds all through the New Testament and the Old. Consider, for example, that dramatic scene recounted by Matthew in his Gospel:

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, murderess of prophets and stoner of those who were sent to you! How often have I yearned to gather your children, as a mother bird gathers her young under her wings, but you refused me. Recall the saying, ‘You will find your temple deserted.’ I tell you, you will not see me from this time on until you declare, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ (Mt 13: 37-39).

This is the background against which the teaching on the possibility (the possibility, mark well) of eternal ruin must be placed and seen. God offers grace and light and love. We may choose to say to God what the men possessed by devils screamed: “What do we have to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High?”

The angels, like ourselves, have free will. Some of them turned from God; we humans can also reject grace in our turn. The beginning of hell is to listen to the serpent who urges us to decide for ourselves what is good or evil with out reference to God. Satan knows, if we do not, that there is no goodness or beauty or truth or love that are not sparks cast off from the Pure Source of Goodness and Beauty and Love and Truth that God is. We can no more create moral goodness on our own than we can create the stars. The goodness of honesty or integrity or chastity exists outside and beyond anything we may elect, vote for or decide.

Pope John Paul II has brilliantly analyzed this objectivity of moral goodness in his Encyclical, The Splendor of Truth (Veritatis splendor). What he insists on, if not in these exact words, is the that the moral law, like the law of gravitation, does not come from our consensus. It does not come from earth but from heaven. We are free to accept or reject it but we are not free to accept or reject the consequences. If we turn from the goodness of honesty or fidelity or compassion or responsibility or truth or love, if we turn from God deliberately and with malice, we enter into the realm of disorder, alienation and hate. We carry our personalities with us into eternity. We ratify what we have chosen to become. If we leave this world locked into ego, our choice of self apart from God becomes final, irrevocable and complete. This is known as hell.

Many people raise emotional difficulties here. They ask, how could a good God condemn souls to hell? They have an image of God as an almighty hanging judge. They do not understand that God condemns souls to hell in much the same way that He “condemns” bodies to destruction if they choose to jump from great heights, if they attempt to digest poison, or if they abuse their system with alcohol or drugs. We live in a cosmos, not a chaos. If we choose disorder, disorder we shall have.

In some way the teaching on hell is one of the easiest truths of the Faith to accept, not the hardest. The reason is that we see previews of hell all around us. There are many who not only do evil, they love evil. They go around “looking for trouble” as if rage, violence and hatred are the atmosphere they must exist in. Evil we refuse to repent begins to destroy us deep within. This is the “hell” we refuse to come out of, no matter what grace or light God may send. There is one thing the Lord never does: He does not force our will. Our will is our own . . . literally. God solicits, touches, urges, inspires–all of that–but He never forces. All of this within space and time; at death we leave the chance of change behind: we never change our minds again. We enter into what we have chosen to become.

The teaching of the Church on the demonic and on hell will never become passe. The line between heaven and hell passes through every heart. If we never examine ourselves before God, if we do not cry out for the light to see ourselves as we are, we may begin to rationalize the evil that we do. One of the tragedies of life is here: we imagine that we are “religious,” or even “devout,” but we can too easily be poisoned with malice, with self-will, with hate. We need grace to begin to see ourselves as we are before God. We need even more grace to prepare ourselves to live comfortably in the realm of goodness and love and truth He is calling us to.

Fatima Prayer

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy.

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(1) Taken from: L’Osservatore Romano Weekly Edition in English [Hell: 4 August 1999, 7]
(2) Taken from The Basic Catholic Catechism: PART FOUR: The Apostle’s Creed VI-VIII Seventh Article: “From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead” By William G. Most. (c)Copyright 1990 by William G. Most
(3) The Baltimore Catechism, no. 3, Lesson 14
(4) From Meditations for the Parishioner, 5
Source - Eternal Word Television Network