HELL (I've never heard it mentioned from the pulpit)

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My parish is pretty orthodox doctrinally, but it’s been decads since I’ve heard a sermon about hell.
 
HELL ! What about the words

SIN , DAMNATION, OBEY and SOUL .
 
It’s not that Hell isn’t in our minds. The Church leaders have chosen in our time to accenturate the positive and to eliminate the negative, as the old song goes.

This agrees with the teaching method of Jesus. He cast out devils, so we know there is a hell. But he did not let Satan dominate his agenda. Neither should we. The more we think about and hear and follow Jesus, the less we need to worry about the Devil’s need to dominate our thoughts and fears.

There are sufficient reminders in the world around us that hell and evil and the devil exist. Church should be for God, not for the Devil.
 
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Carl:
It’s not that Hell isn’t in our minds. The Church leaders have chosen in our time to accenturate the positive and to eliminate the negative, as the old song goes
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I’m reminded of an old saying. “If you can’t work up enough faith to worship God at least have enough brains to fear hell”
 
Avoiding the subject of Hell has not been the practice of the Saints. In fact, God has transported many Saints to hell so that they could see for themselves what horrors await the damned. If God himself chooses even in the 20th century to ''preach on Hell", and he is our goal, our perfect example, then perhaps it is not of God to “eliminate the negative”.
 
I hate to say this, but I think there are a fair number of priests who don’t believe in Hell themselves. Still more want to be liked by everyone so they avoid the tough subjects. We need strong, good men in the priesthood. Pray for vocations.
 
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NWUArmyROTC:
I’ve walked out of a homily before.

It was after the priest called American soldiers, terrorists. I checked out at that point.
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As a soldier, you would do well to determine whom you are really serving.
 
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WhiteDove:
Well, I’ve taken care of dying patients who, to all appearances to me, appeared to be going to Hell. I can think of two unfortunate men in particular. It was almost like watching them get sucked into the underworld by demons. It’s very disturbing and frightening to watch. It still haunts me.

These days, death is antiseptic and removed from so many people. Perhaps people really are unaware of it’s reality. But, in my work as a nurse, I’ve encountered death in all it’s ugliness. The death of an apparently unrepentant soul is a frightening spectacle.
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This is cetainly an intersesting statment. My 21 year old daughter is in the process of becoming a nurse. She is taking this resposibility very seriously.

I’d like to know mre about your experiencess in this regard.
You are in a unique position, seeing people as pass from this world to the next.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by NWUArmyROTC
I’ve walked out of a homily before.

It was after the priest called American soldiers, terrorists. I checked out at that point.
As a soldier, you would do well to determine whom you are really serving.
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I heard once that if a priest says/teaches something that is his own opinion, he is supposed to remove his collar so people know it is not Church teaching.

Mind you, many don’t wear the Roman collar these days and don’t seem to know Church teaching for that matter.
 
Say, does the Church even teach about Hell anymore or is it considered a forbidden topic?
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Many people don’t want to talk or hear about hell anymore- they don’t want to be admonished for their sins, and people are afraid to say what others need to hear- even if it won’t gain them popularity points. This is a significant problem today. We all need to be humbled now and then. (remember today’s Gospel reading- “the first shall be last, the last shall be first”)

The best confessors I have ever had haven’t been the ones who downplayed my sins- telling me not to feel too bad or acting like they’re no big deal. The best confessors have been the ones who have made me think about what I have done wrong- how it offends God- and what could happen to my soul if I don’t turn my life around- but at the same time showed they cared about me.

I once heard Fr. Corapi, on one of his EWTN shows, tell a story of a man who told a woman he didn’t believe in hell. Her reply was “you will when you get there.”
 
Our PP once said “To HELL with political correctness!” then he said it again to emphasise the point he was making.
LOL
 
I must say that at our parish the priests manage to frequently work into the homilies warning of hell. Last Sunday I remeber a reference to Lazzurus dieing and going up to Abraham’s bosom and the rich man asking to send word to his brothers. I never heard a whole sermon on it maybe that’s because the readings don’t focus on it as often as they might
 
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