If a person repents while in hell, will He show His mercy and release that person from the pain?
Hello!
I really like this question because it opens up a lot of good discussion. Like a lot of good questions, I think this demand a good answer to be satisfying. And while davidv’s response of “Why would someone in hell do this?” is actually a fair reply all things considered, it doesn’t really satisfy if we don’t understand the will of those in Hell (which would certainly clear all of this up for you), so I’ll try my best to answer it.
I am a fan of Aquinas and his writings in the Summa Theologica, and he addresses the question of repentance and the will of the damned in his Supplement to the Summa, Question 98, Articles 1 and 2.
Here is a link to an online, English-translated webpage of Q. 98 which I will be referencing.
(Emphases will be mine). He begins with objections, gives his reply, then answers the specific objections. Thus, a question you may have for me may already be addressed if you look at the article.
Whether every act of will in the damned is evil?
"…Now men who are damned will be obstinate even as the demons [Cf. I, 64, 2]. Further, as the will of the damned is in relation to evil, so is the will of the blessed in regard to good. But the blessed never have an evil will. Neither therefore have the damned any good will…
A twofold will may be considered in the damned, namely the deliberate will and the natural will. Their natural will is theirs not of themselves but of the Author of nature, Who gave nature this inclination which we call the natural will. Wherefore since nature remains in them, it follows that** the natural will in them can be good. But their deliberate will is theirs of themselves**, inasmuch as it is in their power to be inclined by their affections to this or that.
This will is in them always evil: and this because they are completely turned away from the last end of a right will, nor can a will be good except it be directed to that same end. Hence even though they will some good, they do not will it well so that one be able to call their will good on that account."
As it turns out, the damned
do have a form of repentance according to Aquinas, but not in the sense we might first consider:
Whether the damned repent of the evil they have done?
" A person may repent of sin in two ways: in one way directly, in another way indirectly. He repents of a sin directly who hates sin as such: and he repents indirectly who hates it on account of something connected with it, for instance punishment or something of that kind. Accordingly
the wicked will not repent of their sins directly, because consent in the malice of sin will remain in them; but they will repent indirectly, inasmuch as they will suffer from the punishment inflicted on them for sin…
… The damned will wickedness, but shun punishment: and thus indirectly they repent of wickedness committed…
…
It will be possible for the damned to repent of their sins without turning their will away from sin, because in their sins they will shun, not what they heretofore desired, but something else, namely the punishment."
You may not be completely on board here yet, so luckily there is more to consider here. In the first of the two articles, Aquinas references the obsintance of the demons, and also noted how man will likewise be obstinate in sin.
Here is a link to the previously referenced question.
This question gets pretty thick philosophically (which is either good or bad, depending on where you’re coming from), which is why I’m referencing it here last, and only a brief portion directly relevant to our discussion:
“It was Origen’s opinion [Peri Archon i. 6] that every will of the creature can by reason of free-will be inclined to good and evil; with the exception of the soul of Christ on account of the union of the Word. Such a statement deprives angels and saints of true beatitude, because everlasting stability is of the very nature of true beatitude; hence it is termed “life everlasting.” It is also contrary to the authority of Sacred Scripture, which declares that demons and wicked men shall be sent “into everlasting punishment,” and the good brought “into everlasting life.” Consequently such an opinion must be considered erroneous; while according to Catholic Faith, it must be held firmly both that the will of the good angels is confirmed in good, and that the will of the demons is obstinate in evil.”
Coming at it from another viewpoint here, it isn’t too much of a stretch to see that man’s obstinance in willing evil post-damnation is reasonable, even if it isn’t understood in its entirety. If we made the supposition that made could repent directly after death, what kind of conclusions can you draw about our life here on Earth? Effectively, our test here on Earth is ultimately meaningless in deciding whether or not to choose God, because if we take a detour to Hell, the pains will eventually just coerce us into direct repentance. Thus, while virtue and holiness would certainly be nice things to cultivate while alive, one could easily argue that is not essential to our eternal beatitude because our test on Earth doesn’t have any permanent negative consequence. “Who cares about being good on Earth? We’ll just choose God at some point in Hell anyway.” These kinds of conclusions are very monstrous (but entirely acceptable) if we take the premise that direct repentance is possible in Hell.
There is certainly more to discuss on this subject, but I hope it helps! As to IWantGod, I’ll try answering you posts tomorrow if I have time!
) I’ll try to give the basic overview: