HELL
IS REAL!
THE
GREATEST LIE EVER TOLD IS THAT HELL DOES NOT EXIST!
Why
do we have such a page? It isn't to scare you, but to make you aware.
We must do wall we can to avoid the fires of hell.
We
must keep our focus on good and holy things. It is hard to do living
in our sinful society. Each day we must ask God for forgiveness
for our sins and be aware of what is causing us to sin. We must
cut off all that leads us to offend God! If we need a little help,
let us not forget to ask Our Blessed Mother!
Let
us reflect on the following and then wake up every day with the
intention of being holy in everything we say and do!
Sister
Josefa Menendez' Description of Hell
The following material is quoted verbatim from the book "Way
of Divine Love" of Sister Josefa Menendez (1890--1923). It
first appeared in 1938 in French and was quickly translated into
numerous languages and spread throughout the world. Sister Josefa
was a Spanish nun of the Society of the Sacred Heart and lived only
four years as a religious, at the convent of Les Feuillants in Poitiers,
France, where she died at the age of 33. "The Way of Divine
Love" consists largely of her notebooks, that she wrote down
under obedience from our Lord, with the revelations of his Sacred
Heart, plus portions of her biography. This material was composed
after Rev. Schouppe wrote his book on Hell. It is appended here,
because it is similar to what he wrote in his book, and exemplifies
still further the points he is trying to make.
Sister Josefa wrote with
great reticence on this subject. She did it only to conform to Our
Blessed Lord's wishes, Our Lady having told her on October 25, 1922:
"Everything that Jesus allows you to see and to suffer of the
torments of Hell, is... that you may make it known to your Mothers.
So forget yourself entirely, and think only of the glory of the
Heart of Jesus and the salvation of souls."
...She repeatedly dwelt
on the greatest torment of Hell, namely, the soul' inability to
love.
One of these damned souls
cried out: "This is my torture... that I want to love and cannot;
there is nothing left me but hatred and despair. If one of us could
so much as make a single act of love... this would no longer be
hell... But we cannot, we live on hatred and malevolence... "
(March 23, 1922).
Another of these unfortunates
said: "The greatest of our torments here is that we are not
able to love Him whom we are bound to hate. Oh! How we hunger for
love, we are consumed with desire of it, but it is too late... You
too will feel this same devouring hunger, but you will only be able
to hate, to abhor, and to long for the loss of souls... nothing
else do we care for now!" (March 26, 1922).
The following passage
was written by obedience, through it was extremely repugnant to
Josefa's humility:
"Every day now,
when I am dragged down to Hell and the devil orders them to torture
me, they answer: 'We cannot, for her members have undergone torture
for Him...' (then they blasphemously name Our Blessed Lord)... then
he orders them to give me a draught of sulfur... and again the reply
is: 'She has voluntarily deprived herself of drink...' Try to find
some part of her body to which she has given satisfaction and pleasure.'
"I have also noted
that when they shackle me to take me down to Hell, they never can
bind me where I have worn instruments of penance. I write all this
simply out of obedience." (April 1, 1922).
She records, too, the
accusations made against themselves by these unhappy souls: "Some
yell because of the martyrdom of their hands. Perhaps they were
thieves, for they say: 'Where is our loot now?... Cursed hands...
Why did I want to possess what did not belong to me.. and what in
any case I could keep only for a few days...?'
"Others curse their
tongues, their eyes... whatever was the occasion of their sin...
'Now, O body, you are paying the price of the delights you granted
yourself!.. and you did it of your own free will... '" (April
2, 1922). (That is, illegitimate delights).
"It seemed to me
that the majority accused themselves of sins of impurity, of stealing,
of unjust trading; and that most of the damned are in Hell for these
sins." (April 6, 1922).
"I saw many worldly
people fall into Hell, and no words can render their horrible and
terrifying cries: 'Damned forever... I deceived myself; I am lost...
I am here forever... There is no remedy possible... a curse on me...'
"Some accused people,
others circumstances, and all execrated the occasions of their damnation."
(September 1922).
"Today, I saw a
vast number of people fall into the fiery pit... they seemed to
be worldlings, and a demon cried vociferously: 'The world is ripe
for me... I know that the best way to get hold of souls is to rouse
their desire for enjoyment... Put me first... me before the rest...
no humility for me! but let me enjoy myself... This sort of thing
assures victory to me... and they tumble headlong into Hell.'"
(October 4, 1922).
"I heard a demon,
from whom a soul had escaped, forced to confess his powerlessness.
'Confound it all... how do so many manage to escape me? They were
mine' (and he rattled off their sins)... 'I work hard enough, yet
they slip through my fingers... Someone must be suffering and repairing
for them.'" (January 15, 1923). ("Repairing," that
is, "making reparation" for them).
"Tonight,"
wrote Josefa, "I did not go down into Hell, but was transported
to a place where all was obscure, but in the center was a red smoldering
fire. They had laid me flat and so bound me that I could not make
the slightest movement. Around me were seven or eight people; their
black bodies were unclothed, and I could see them only by the reflections
of the fire. They were seated and were talking together.
"One said: 'We'll
have to be very careful not to be found out, for we might easily
be discovered.'
"The devil answered:
'Insinuate yourselves by inducing carelessness in them... but keep
in the background, so that you are not found out... by degrees they
will become callous, and you will be able to incline them to evil.
Tempt these others to ambition, to self-interest, to acquiring wealth
without working, whether it be lawful or not. Excite some to sensuality
and love of pleasure. Let vice blind them...' (Here they used obscene
words).
"'As to the remainder...
get in through the heart... you know the inclinations of their hearts...
make them love... love passionately... work thoroughly.. take no
rest... have no pity; the world must go to damnation.. and these
souls must not be allowed to escape me.'
"From time to time
Satan's satellites answered: 'We are your slaves... we shall labor
unceasingly, and in spite of the many who war against us, we shall
work night and day. We know your power!'
"They all spoke
together, and he whom I took to be Satan used words full of horror.
In the distance I could hear a clamor as of feasting, the clinking
of glasses... and he cried: 'Let them cram themselves with food!
It will make it all the easier for us... Let them get on with their
banqueting. Love of pleasure is the door through which you will
reach them...'
"He added such horrible
things that they can neither be written nor said. Then, as if engulfed
in a whirl of smoke, they vanished." (February 3, 1923).
"The evil one was
bewailing the escape of a soul: 'Fill her soul with fear, drive
her to despair. All will be lost if she puts her trust in the mercy
of that...' (here they used blasphemous words about Our Lord). 'I
am lost; but no, drive her to despair; do not leave her for an instant,
above all, make her despair.'
"Then Hell re-echoed
with frenzied cries, and when finally the devil cast me out of the
abyss, he went on threatening me. Among other things he said: 'Is
it possible that such weaklings have more power than I, who am mighty...
I must conceal my presence, work in the dark; any corner will do
from which to tempt them... close to an ear.. in the leaves of a
book... under a bed... some pay no attention to me, but I shall
talk and talk... and by dint of suggestion, something will remain..
Yes, I must hide in unsuspected places.'" (February 7, 8, 1923).
Josefa, on her return
from Hell, noted the following: "I saw several souls fall into
Hell, and among them was a child of fifteen, cursing her parents
for not having taught her to fear God, nor that there was a Hell.
Her life had been a short one, she said, but full of sin, for she
had given in to all that her body and passions demanded in the way
of satisfaction. Especially she had read bad books." (March
22, 1923).
Again, she wrote: "Souls
were cursing the vocation they had received, but not followed...
the vocation they had lost, because they were unwilling to live
a hidden and mortified life..." (March 18, 1922.
"On one occasion
when I was in Hell, I saw a great many priests, religious and nuns,
cursing their vows, their order, their Superiors and everything
that could have given them the light and the grace they had lost...
"I saw, too, some
prelates. One accused himself of having used the goods belonging
to the Church illicitly..." (September 28, 1922).
"Priests were calling
down maledictions on their tongues which had consecrated, on their
fingers that had held Our Lord's Sacred Body, on the absolution
they had given while they were losing their own souls, and on the
occasion through which they had fallen into Hell." (April 6,
1922).
"One priest said:
'I ate poison, for I used money that was not my own... the money
given me for Masses which I did I not offer.'
"Another said he
belonged to a secret society which had betrayed the Church and religion,
and he had been bribed to connive at terrible profanations and sacrileges.
"Yet another said
that he was damned for assisting at profane plays, after which he
ought not to have said Mass... and that he had spent about seven
years thus."
Josefa noted that the
greater number of religious plunged into hell-fire were there for
abominable sins against chastity... and for sins against the vow
of poverty... for the unauthorized use of the goods of the community...
for passions against charity (jealousy, antipathies, hatred, etc.),
for tepidity and relaxation; also for comforts they had allowed
themselves and which had led to graver sins... for bad confessions
through human respect and want of sincerity and courage, etc.
Here, finally, is the
full text of Josefa's notes on "the hell of consecrated souls."
(Biography: Ch. VII--September 4, 1922).
"The meditation
of the day was on the Particular Judgment of religious souls. I
could not free my mind of the thought of it, in spite of the oppression
which I felt. Suddenly, I felt myself bound and overwhelmed by a
crushing weight, so that in an instant I saw more clearly than ever
before how stupendous is the sanctity of God and His detestation
of sin.
"I saw in a flash
my whole life since my first confession to this day. All was vividly
present to me: my sins, the graces I had received, the day I entered
religion, my clothing as a novice, my first vows, my spiritual readings,
and times of prayer, the advice given me, and all the helps of religious
life. Impossible to describe the confusion and shame a soul feels
at that moment, when it realizes: 'All is lost, and I am damned
forever.'"
As in her former descents
into Hell, Josefa never accused herself of any specific sin that
might have led to such a calamity. Our Lord meant her only to feel
what the consequences would have been, if she had merited such a
punishment. She wrote:
"Instantly I found
myself in Hell, but not dragged there as before. The soul precipitates
itself there, as if to hide from God in order to be free to hate
and curse Him.
"My soul fell into
abysmal depths, the bottom of which cannot be seen, for it is immense...
at once, I heard other souls jeering and rejoicing at seeing me
share their torments. It was martyrdom enough to hear the terrible
imprecations on all sides, but what can be compared to the thirst
to curse that seizes on a soul, and the more one curses, the more
one wants to. Never had I felt the like before. Formerly my soul
had been oppressed with grief at hearing these horrible blasphemies,
though unable to produce even one act of love. But today it was
otherwise.
"I saw Hell as always
before, the long dark corridors, the cavities, the flames... I heard
the same execrations and imprecations, for--and of this I have already
written before--although no corporeal forms are visible, the torments
are felt as if they were present, and souls recognize each other.
Some called out, 'Hullo, you here? And are you like us? We were
free to take those vows or not... but no!...' and they cursed their
vows.
"Then I was pushed
into one of those fiery cavities and pressed, as it were, between
burning planks, and sharp nails and red-hot irons seemed to be piercing
my flesh."
Here Josefa repeated
the multiple tortures from which no single member of the body is
excluded:
"I felt as if they
were endeavoring to pull out my tongue, but could not. This torture
reduced me to such agony that my very eyes seemed to be starting
out of their sockets. I think this was because of the fire which
burns, burns... not a finger-nail escapes terrifying torments, and
all the time one cannot move even a finger to gain some relief,
nor change posture, for the body seems flattened out and yet doubled
in two.
"Sounds of confusion
and blasphemy cease not for an instant. A sickening stench asphyxiates
and corrupts everything, it is like the burning of putrefied flesh,
mingled with tar and sulfur... a mixture to which nothing on earth
can be compared.
"All this I felt
as before, and although those tortures were terrific, they would
be bearable if the soul were at peace. But it suffers indescribably.
Until now, when I went down into Hell, I thought that I had been
damned for abandoning religious life. But this time it was different.
I bore a special mark, a sign that I was a religious, a soul who
had known and loved God, and there were others who bore the same
sign. I cannot say how I recognized it, perhaps because of the specially
insulting manner in which the evil spirits and other damned souls
treated them. There were many priests there, too. This particular
suffering I am unable to explain. It was quite different from what
I had experienced at other times, for if the souls of those who
lived in the world suffer terribly, infinitely worse are the torments
of religious. Unceasingly the three words, Poverty, Chastity and
Obedience, are imprinted on the soul with poignant remorse.
"Poverty: You were
free and you promised! Why, then, did you seek that comfort? Why
hold on to that object which did not belong to you? Why did you
give that pleasure to your body? Why allow yourself to dispose of
the property of the Community? Did you not know that you no longer
had the right to possess anything whatsoever, that you had freely
renounced the use of those things?... Why did you murmur when anything
was wanting to you, or when you fancied yourself less well treated
than others? Why?
"Chastity: You yourself
vowed it freely and with full knowledge of its implications... you
bound yourself.. you willed it... and how have you observed it?
That being so, why did you not remain where it would have been lawful
for you to grant yourself pleasures and enjoyment?
"And the tortured
soul responds: 'Yes, I vowed it; I was free... I could have not
taken the vow, but I took it and I was free...' What words can express
the martyrdom of such remorse," wrote Josefa, "and all
the time the jibes and insults of other damned souls continue.
"Obedience: Did
you not fully engage yourself to obey your Rule and your Superiors?
Why, then, did you pass judgment on the orders that were given you?
Why did you disobey the Rule? Why did you dispense yourself from
common life? Remember how sweet was the Rule... and you would not
keep it... and now," vociferate satanic voices, "you will
have to obey us not for a day or a year, or a century, but forever
and ever; for all eternity... It is your own doing... you were free.
"The soul constantly
recalls how she had chosen her God for her Spouse, and that once
she loved Him above all things... that for Him she had renounced
the most legitimate pleasures and all she held dearest on earth,
that in the beginning of her religious life she had felt all the
purity, sweetness and strength of this divine love, and that for
an inordinate passion... now she must eternally hate the God who
had chosen her to love Him.
"This forced hatred
is a thirst that consumes her... no past joys can afford her the
slightest relief.
"One of her greatest
torments is shame," added Josefa. "It seems to her that
all the damned surrounding her continually taunt her by saying:
'That we should be lost who never had the helps that you enjoyed
is not surprising... but you... what did you lack? You who lived
in the palace of the King... who feasted at the board of the elect.'
"All I have written,"
she concluded, "is but a shadow of what the soul suffers, for
no words can express such dire torments." (September 4, 1922).
The
Children of Fatima See Hell
The following passages are excerpted from a small booklet entitled
"The Forgotten Secret of Fatima and the Silent Apostolate,"
by Msgr. Joseph A. Cirrincione. The six apparitions of Our Lady
at Fatima on the 13th of each month from May through October, 1917,
constitute the greatest approved Marian apparition ever, and were
witnessed by three young children, ages 6, 7 and 9. Msgr. Cirrincione
quotes the exact words of Sister Lucy, one of the three visionaries
at Fatima, who at this time (1988) is still living and is a Carmelite
sister at the Convent of Our Lady at Coimbra, Portugal. The paragraphs
he quotes are Sister Lucy's exact words. The apparitions at Fatima
occurred after Rev. Shouppe wrote his book. The vision of Hell witnessed
by the three children is given here, because it also exemplifies
the points Rev. Schouppe made in his book.
As Sister Lucy writes
in the Prologue of her Fourth Memoir, she was asked by her Bishop
to write another account of the very same thing (i.e., the vision
of Hell, in the apparition of July 13, 1917), leaving out nothing
that could be revealed. She begins by writing:
"I shall begin,
then, my new task, and thus fulfill the commands received from Your
Excellency as well as the desires of Rev. Dr. Galamba. With the
exception of that part of the secret that I am not permitted to
reveal at present, I shall say everything. I shall not knowingly
omit anything, though I suppose I may forget just a few small details
of minor importance."
After writing about the
apparitions of the angel that occurred three times and of the first
two apparitions of Mary, in May and June of 1917, she takes up once
again the matter of the secret revealed by Mary in the apparition
of July, 1917. After a few preliminary remarks, she writes:
"And she (Our Lady)
continued:
"Sacrifice yourselves
for sinners, and say many times, especially whenever you make some
sacrifice: O Jesus, it is for love of You, for the conversion of
sinners, and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate
Heart of Mary.'
"As Our Lady spoke
these last words, she opened her hands once more, as she had done
during the two previous months. The rays of light seemed to penetrate
the earth, and we saw, as it were, a sea of fire. Plunged in this
fire were demons and souls in human form, like transparent burning
embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, floating about in the
conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames that issued
from within themselves, together with great clouds of smoke, now
falling back on every side like sparks in huge fires, without weight
or equilibrium, and shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which
horrified us and made us tremble with fear. (It must have been this
sight which caused me to cry out, as people say they heard me).
The demons could be distinguished by their terrifying and repellent
likeness to frightful and unknown animals, black and transparent
like burning coals. Terrified, and as if to plead for succor, we
looked up at Our Lady, who said to us, so kindly and so sadly:
"You have seen Hell,
where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to
establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what
I say to you is done, many souls will be saved, and there will be
peace. The war is going to end (i.e. World War I); but if people
do not cease offending God, a worse one will break out during the
pontificate of Pius XI. When you see a night illumined by an unknown
light, know that this is the great sign given you by God, that He
is about to punish the world for its crimes by means of war, famine,
and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father.
"To prevent this,
I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate
Heart, and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. If
my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will
be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world,
causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred,
the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be
annihilated. In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy
Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she will be converted,
and a period of peace will be granted to the world." (Pages
VII-IX).
Let
us go to confession regularly to live in a state of grace.
We must
avoid the pains of the everlasting pit of hell!
Thanks
to http://avalon44.tripod.com/r/h6.htm
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