“.. for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it; . . but small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. .” – Matthew 7:13.

Truth Of Hell

2019-June-19   . . .   By: ncdm

Whenever Saint Padre Pio met people who doubted the existence of hell, his retort was always: “wait till you get there.” He knew hell very well – he’d toured it extensively.

All Saints from the time of Jesus have seen the vision of hell, they being the co-sufferers and co-redeemers of Jesus in His mission for the salvation of souls. And they have one common observation: most of the souls in hell didn’t believe there is hell, or they knew there is but were apathetic – they just didn’t care. Hell was the least of their concern, and many of them were Catholic. Their most concern is their ego, money, and pleasures.

“.. they are lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure . .” – 2 Timothy 3:2.

Various surveys show that one in four Americans don’t believe in hell outright, and still ten percent are not sure. Has the Church been remiss in it’s job? Personally, I observed a dearth of emphasis about the truth of hell. True, hell is always mentioned in the Holy Mass but only during the Lord’s Prayer, never in homilies or sermons. What are they afraid of? Hell should not cause despair. Rather let the light shine on it and see the gravity of sin and the seriousness of its eternal consequence. The Bible describes hell sparingly as “that lake of fire where souls are gnashing their teeth forever.” But the Saints, having seen it, were relating awfully horrifying tales.

And those pastors outside of the Church, they all consider this subject of Hell a taboo, because they know this may convict and displease their flocks who, after tithing tons of money, now are proudly and confidently “assured of heaven.” So they stick to what they do best – entertainment, to raising of wallets and passports as they dance, and singing “thy word is a lamp unto my feet . . “.

So in 1950-Jan-23, Jesus communicated this to Padre Pio:

“.. Pray!  Make reparation!  Be fervent and practice mortification. Great things are at stake!  Pray!  Men are running toward the abyss of hell in great rejoicing and merry-making, as though they were going to a masquerade ball or the wedding feast of the devil himself!  Assist Me in the salvation of souls. The measure of sin is filled!  The day of revenge, with its terrifying happenings is near – nearer then you can imagine!  And the world is sleeping in false security!  The Divine Judgment shall strike them like a thunderbolt!  These godless and wicked people shall be destroyed without mercy, as were the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorra of old. Yes, I tell you their wickedness was not as great as that of our human race today!” — Padre Pio: Three Days Of Darkness – [mgr.org]

Mga kapatid, where is that narrow road?  Who have found it?

“.. I saw two roads. One was broad, covered with sand and flowers, full of joy, music and all sorts of pleasures. People walked along it, dancing and enjoying themselves. They reached the end without realizing it. And at the end of the road there was a horrible precipice; that is, the abyss of hell. The souls fell blindly into it; as they walked, so they fell. And their number was so great that it was impossible to count them. “

“.. And I saw the other road, or rather, a path, for it was narrow and strewn with thorns and rocks; and the people who walked along it had tears in their eyes, and all kinds of suffering befell them. Some fell down upon the rocks, but stood up immediately and went on. At the end of the road there was a magnificent garden filled with all sorts of happiness and all these souls entered there. At the very first instant they forgot all their sufferings.” — DIARY of Saint Faustina, #153

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First Secret Of Fatima: Vision of Hell

1917-July-13, [ Fatima, 90 miles north of Lisbon, Portugal ]- – this was the third Apparition of Our LADY, that began in May, to the three shepherd children Lucia-10, Francisco-9, and Jacinta-7. Before Our Lady showed them the vision of hell “where the souls of poor sinners go”, She made this urgent plea for acts of prayer and sacrifice to save souls:

“Make sacrifices for sinners, and say often, especially while making a sacrifice: O Jesus, this is for love of Thee, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for offences committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.“

In her Memoirs, Sister Lucy -[Lucia Dos Santos]- described this vision of hell that Our Lady showed them.

“She opened Her hands once more, as She had done the two previous months. The rays of light appeared to penetrate the earth, and we saw, as it were, a vast sea of fire. Plunged in this fire, we saw the demons and the souls of the damned. The latter were like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, having human forms. They were floating about in that conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames which issued from within themselves, together with great clouds of smoke. Now they fell back on every side like sparks in huge fires, without weight or equilibrium, amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fright. The demons were distinguished from the souls of the damned by their terrifying and repellent likeness to frightful and unknown animals, black and transparent like burning coals. That vision only lasted for a moment, thanks to our good Heavenly Mother, who at the first apparition had promised to take us to Heaven. Without that, I think that we would have died of terror and fear.”

That vision immediately and profoundly transformed the three children. Right thereafter, they began their sacrifices with: “Let’s give our lunch to those poor children, for the conversion of sinners.” The most affected was Jacinta, that seven year old little girl, so young and fragile, so innocent and naive, uneducated and immature, and yet became a superwoman in spirituality and virtue. She made it her life’s effort to offer as many sacrifices for the conversion of sinners. Exactly a year after the Apparitions have ended, in 1918-October, she became ill, became bedridden, and never recovered from it. What started as a flu worsened to pneumonia, and then to tuberculosis. But Jacinta accepted everything, and gave everything, in total submission to the Lord, as she offered herself and all her suffering for the salvation of sinners. At nine years old, Jacinta had achieved the triumph of Jesus on the Cross. She died of the disease on 1920-Feb-20, and was canonized by Pope Francis on 2017-May-13.

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OTHER SOURCES:
Jacinta’s Sufferings to Save Sinners – [americaneedsfatima.org]
Fatima and Visions of Hell – [bibleprobe.com]
1917-July-13, Our Lady of Fatima Showed a Vision of Hell – [ncregister.com]
Jacinta Marto: 9-year old Patron Saint – [tfp.org]

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