How to keep fears of Hell from stealing my peace

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upbeatjonm

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Here is my dilemma; I feel that I am progressing well in the faith, going to confession monthly, going to daily mass a couple of times a week, trying to avoid sin, etc. However, I am fearful of Hell, especially as a result of things said by certain Saints, such as Leonard, Faustina, etc. who warn that most people go to Hell. Most meaning that only a few out of 30 thousand are saved!

So even though I feel I am progressing, these stats leave me almost in despair. I certainly don’t feel that I am the most sin-free of 30,000. I don’t even know that many people, so even if I am the lucky one, everyone else I know won’t make it.

How do we as Catholics make sense of this? Is our humanity so doomed, even with a mighty Savior like Jesus?:confused:
 
Saints, although important figures in the Church, are not really authoritative like the Church. They cannot possibly judge what is in one’s heart (unless given the power through God). Just steer clear of mortal sin. Know that a mortal sin requires knowledge that it is a grave matter. If you do sin, be truly sorry. I believe the Church teaches that if you have the intent to confess and die, it is the same as dying with sins confessed. God knows what’s in your heart, keep following his commands by confessing sins. Pray for peace of mind. Know that hell, although scary, has no power over God. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, but a healthy fear and trembling 🙂
 
upbeatjonm said:
Here is my dilemma; I feel that I am progressing well in the faith, going to confession monthly, going to daily mass a couple of times a week, trying to avoid sin, etc. However, I am fearful of Hell, especially as a result of things said by certain Saints, such as Leonard, Faustina, etc. who warn that most people go to Hell. Most meaning that only a few out of 30 thousand are saved!

So even though I feel I am progressing, these stats leave me almost in despair. I certainly don’t feel that I am the most sin-free of 30,000. I don’t even know that many people, so even if I am the lucky one, everyone else I know won’t make it.

How do we as Catholics make sense of this? Is our humanity so doomed, even with a mighty Savior like Jesus?:confused:
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Do what I did/am doing:
  1. Get a Brown Scapular and get it blessed and wear it
  2. Pray the Rosary daily (part of the Brown Scapular devotion)
  3. Do the daily Devotion of the Three Hail Marys
The first and third one have direct promises that those who practice such devotions will avoid the fires of Hell. Just make sure you don’t fall into the mistake of then sinning more and presuming on God’s grace/mercy and the Virgin Mary’s intercession–sadly, this is an issue I am having to deal with now.
 
Magnus’ advice is very sensible.

If you stay clear of deliberate mortal sin and if you do happen to commit a mortal sin say an act of contrition and go to confession you are unlikely to end up in hell.

You can’t commit a mortal sin by accident; God is not out to trap you.

Never think that your sins are too many in kind or degree for God’s mercy.

Remember that private revelations are only binding on those who receive them. Private revelations may be filtered through the culture of the person who receives them.

If the Church hasn’t said how many souls are in Hell or if many or few are in Hell then don’t worry about it.

Jesus said that the Father desired that all would be saved so it is highly unlikely that humanity as a whole would be doomed.

Be careful that you are not seeking out private revelations which will tell you what you may want to hear - that you are an unworthy person who will probably go to Hell.

If I were you I would leave private revelations alone and concentrate on approved devotions which will feed your Faith and not leave you fearful. 🙂
 
Always call out for Christ’s Mercy. Pray the Rosary and add the Fatima prayer at the end of each decade. Pray the chaplet of Divine Mercy.

God never rejects the cry for mercy.
 
upbeatjonm said:
Here is my dilemma; I feel that I am progressing well in the faith, going to confession monthly, going to daily mass a couple of times a week, trying to avoid sin, etc. However, I am fearful of Hell, especially as a result of things said by certain Saints, such as Leonard, Faustina, etc. who warn that most people go to Hell. Most meaning that only a few out of 30 thousand are saved!

So even though I feel I am progressing, these stats leave me almost in despair. I certainly don’t feel that I am the most sin-free of 30,000. I don’t even know that many people, so even if I am the lucky one, everyone else I know won’t make it.

How do we as Catholics make sense of this? Is our humanity so doomed, even with a mighty Savior like Jesus?:confused:
Click to expand...
You’re not alone in this, I’m right here with you and have had the same feelings along with others feelings as of late. It actually increased after my confirmation this past Pentecost.

This post by RebeccaJ really helped me a lot:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showpost.php?p=5307600&postcount=5

That came from the Spe Salvi, an Encyclical letter by Pope Benedict XVI:

Spe Salvi

It’s long but the first few paragraphs REALLY helped me in gaining some peace.

Sometimes I wonder if Satan instills these images and feelings in us to help sow doubt within us. I used to live my life as, “Well, I’m already doomed to hell, why should I bother with anything?” It is but by the GREAT Grace of God that I did not die in that time of my life.

In our faith we have hope. And say this wee line, I need to say it more often but in times of great distress I do say it once or twice: “Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in thee.”
 
Saint Gemma wondered the same thing as she reflected on her sins. Her guardian angel told her, “God is infinitely merciful.”
 
Fear is almost always of the devil, including a fear of hell so extreme it causes you to doubt the love and mercy of God or your ability to grow with God’s grace.
 
I’ve been struggling with this one for a while too. A couple of months ago I was at a pretty low point, and I was sort of wandering around the house aimlessly feeling sorry for myself when I spotted a copy of The Imitation of Christ. I hadn’t read it in a long time so I opened it to a random page and found this:

One day when a certain man who wavered often and anxiously between hope and fear was struck with sadness, he knelt in humble prayer before the altar of a church. While meditating on these things, he said: “Oh if I but knew whether I should persevere to the end!” Instantly he heard within the divine answer: “If you knew this, what would you do? Do now what you would do then and you will be quite secure.” Immediately consoled and comforted, he resigned himself to the divine will and the anxious uncertainty ceased. His curiosity no longer sought to know what the future held for him, and he tried instead to find the perfect, the acceptable will of God in the beginning and end of every good work.
 
PadraigPearce said:
I’ve been struggling with this one for a while too. A couple of months ago I was at a pretty low point, and I was sort of wandering around the house aimlessly feeling sorry for myself when I spotted a copy of The Imitation of Christ. I hadn’t read it in a long time so I opened it to a random page and found this:

One day when a certain man who wavered often and anxiously between hope and fear was struck with sadness, he knelt in humble prayer before the altar of a church. While meditating on these things, he said: “Oh if I but knew whether I should persevere to the end!” Instantly he heard within the divine answer: “If you knew this, what would you do? Do now what you would do then and you will be quite secure.” Immediately consoled and comforted, he resigned himself to the divine will and the anxious uncertainty ceased. His curiosity no longer sought to know what the future held for him, and he tried instead to find the perfect, the acceptable will of God in the beginning and end of every good work.
Click to expand...
That’s something to meditate on for the rest of one’s life! Thanks!

To the OP: I thought of you this AM and I can’t take a lot of time, because I have to be someplace, but:

I very often find I cannot find the words to pray for myself or others. In one of the epistles, Saint Paul (I think) tells us that the Holy Spirit prays for us, in groanings too deep for words (paraphrase). So I try to pray, “Lord Holy Spirit, Third Person of the Most Holy and Blessed Trinity, pray for me, pray for with with those groanings that are too deep for human understanding.” It helps…I find it also helps me prep. for Confession.

I’d look up the passage, but gotta go. God bless you! May you look upon the Face of Jesus. May you be held close within His Most Sacred Heart.
 
Jon,

Although this article is about avoiding Purgatory, I think the message about trusting God is something you may find helpful:

God’s Mercy Is Greater: The Teaching of St. Therese of Lisieux on Purgatory
You do not have enough trust. You have too much fear before the good God. I can assure you that He is grieved over this. You should not fear Purgatory because of the suffering there, but should instead ask that you not deserve to go there in order to please God, Who so reluctantly imposes this punishment. As soon as you try to please Him in everything and have an unshakable trust He purifies you every moment in His love and He lets no sin remain. And then you can be sure that you will not have to go to Purgatory.
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She even said that we would offend God if we didn’t trust enough that we would get to heaven right after dying.
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Why don’t you do yourself a favor and go uptown this coming Friday and Saturday night, walk into a couple bars, maybe a couple night clubs, and just watch the people. Don’t participate. Just watch. Watch as drunk girls climb on top of bars to dance, as the MC shouts out vulgarities, as guys in the corner do shot after shot of hard liquor. Only then will the statistics make sense to you, and only then will you see what a crazy thing “grace” actually is.
 
Magnus467 said:
Saints, although important figures in the Church, are not really authoritative like the Church. They cannot possibly judge what is in one’s heart (unless given the power through God). Just steer clear of mortal sin. Know that a mortal sin requires knowledge that it is a grave matter. If you do sin, be truly sorry. I believe the Church teaches that if you have the intent to confess and die, it is the same as dying with sins confessed. God knows what’s in your heart, keep following his commands by confessing sins. Pray for peace of mind. Know that hell, although scary, has no power over God. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, but a healthy fear and trembling 🙂
Click to expand...
Thanks, I understand that the saints are not on the same level as scripture. Hell has no power, I agree, but why does it appear as though the Devil is winning most of the battles?
 
nsper7 said:
Do what I did/am doing:
  1. Get a Brown Scapular and get it blessed and wear it
  2. Pray the Rosary daily (part of the Brown Scapular devotion)
  3. Do the daily Devotion of the Three Hail Marys
The first and third one have direct promises that those who practice such devotions will avoid the fires of Hell. Just make sure you don’t fall into the mistake of then sinning more and presuming on God’s grace/mercy and the Virgin Mary’s intercession–sadly, this is an issue I am having to deal with now.
Click to expand...
I will look into this, thanks for the suggestion.👍
 
yinekka said:
Magnus’ advice is very sensible.

If you stay clear of deliberate mortal sin and if you do happen to commit a mortal sin say an act of contrition and go to confession you are unlikely to end up in hell.

You can’t commit a mortal sin by accident; God is not out to trap you.

Never think that your sins are too many in kind or degree for God’s mercy.

Remember that private revelations are only binding on those who receive them. Private revelations may be filtered through the culture of the person who receives them.

If the Church hasn’t said how many souls are in Hell or if many or few are in Hell then don’t worry about it.

Jesus said that the Father desired that all would be saved so it is highly unlikely that humanity as a whole would be doomed.

Be careful that you are not seeking out private revelations which will tell you what you may want to hear - that you are an unworthy person who will probably go to Hell.

If I were you I would leave private revelations alone and concentrate on approved devotions which will feed your Faith and not leave you fearful. 🙂
Click to expand...
Very good advice, I appreciate it.🙂
 
GodIsGracious said:
You’re not alone in this, I’m right here with you and have had the same feelings along with others feelings as of late. It actually increased after my confirmation this past Pentecost.

This post by RebeccaJ really helped me a lot:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showpost.php?p=5307600&postcount=5

That came from the Spe Salvi, an Encyclical letter by Pope Benedict XVI:

Spe Salvi

It’s long but the first few paragraphs REALLY helped me in gaining some peace.

Sometimes I wonder if Satan instills these images and feelings in us to help sow doubt within us. I used to live my life as, “Well, I’m already doomed to hell, why should I bother with anything?” It is but by the GREAT Grace of God that I did not die in that time of my life.

In our faith we have hope. And say this wee line, I need to say it more often but in times of great distress I do say it once or twice: “Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in thee.”
Click to expand...
The letter from the Pope was terrific, thanks for sharing it. It gives hope.👍
 
Tsuwano said:
Fear is almost always of the devil, including a fear of hell so extreme it causes you to doubt the love and mercy of God or your ability to grow with God’s grace.
Click to expand...
This is likely true. These doubts seem to hit me the most when I am making progress and growing in the faith. So I guess this is the devil trying to get me to throw in the towel, rather than keep growing.
 
PadraigPearce said:
I’ve been struggling with this one for a while too. A couple of months ago I was at a pretty low point, and I was sort of wandering around the house aimlessly feeling sorry for myself when I spotted a copy of The Imitation of Christ. I hadn’t read it in a long time so I opened it to a random page and found this:

One day when a certain man who wavered often and anxiously between hope and fear was struck with sadness, he knelt in humble prayer before the altar of a church. While meditating on these things, he said: “Oh if I but knew whether I should persevere to the end!” Instantly he heard within the divine answer: “If you knew this, what would you do? Do now what you would do then and you will be quite secure.” Immediately consoled and comforted, he resigned himself to the divine will and the anxious uncertainty ceased. His curiosity no longer sought to know what the future held for him, and he tried instead to find the perfect, the acceptable will of God in the beginning and end of every good work.
Click to expand...
It sounds like the spirit was helping you! This is good. Although, I have to admit that I am not sure exactly how to apply this in life. How do you put this into practice? How do you persevere and find the acceptable will of God?
 
upbeatjonm said:
Here is my dilemma; I feel that I am progressing well in the faith, going to confession monthly, going to daily mass a couple of times a week, trying to avoid sin, etc. However, I am fearful of Hell, especially as a result of things said by certain Saints, such as Leonard, Faustina, etc. who warn that most people go to Hell. Most meaning that only a few out of 30 thousand are saved!

So even though I feel I am progressing, these stats leave me almost in despair. I certainly don’t feel that I am the most sin-free of 30,000. I don’t even know that many people, so even if I am the lucky one, everyone else I know won’t make it.

How do we as Catholics make sense of this? Is our humanity so doomed, even with a mighty Savior like Jesus?:confused:
Click to expand...
To my mind the Catholic Church has never, ever stated that there are just so many souls in hell, or that most go to hell. Having felt your fears sometimes myself and seeing personally the consequences on loved ones’ faith if they worry day-in-day out about hell, I would venture I could says this with some support:
  1. The Devil’s Greatest Weapon is to convince people he does not exist; and
  2. The Devil’s 2nd Greatest Weapon is to have people believe he has more power in himself than he really has been granted, so that people worry: is the devil behind this thought or action? when in reality a sickness may be involved or more is made of a personal situation than there should.
I believe on earth, we are not all pigeon-holed into identities which respond to Catholicism equally. Some, those perhaps more prone to pride and hurting, profit from the teaching on Hell. Others, perhaps the “poor in spirit” that Jesus speaks of in the Beatitudes, profit more from controlling their inordinate fear in Hell. Do not give the Devil more than his due! God’s Love is Infinite! The Devil’s Power is Not. Hell is there yes.

I will post an interesting link to an article written by perhaps the most well-versed English speaking Cardinal of the time Avery Dulles specifically on the subject of hell and its population in which I ask you to look at what he says of Balthasar’s views on Hell. (Caveat: They are not concrete Catholic teaching, but the theologian Balthasar was respected highly by JP2 and the current Pope). Perhaps if the article slightly reduces your fear of hell, then your faith can also continue to grow.
firstthings.com/article.php?year=2008&month=08&title_link=the-population-of-hell-23

Again, Christ wishes All to be Saved, but it is ultimately up to God. This “30,000” in Heaven quote!!! I’m amazed: where does it come from. It is not up to any saint to proclaim how many are in hell or heaven. This would be heresy. If a Catholic Saint had a vision of Hell, well these visions, even if by saints, are personal revelations which can be either accepted or dismissed. This is in accordance with Catholic Teaching on the allowing of personal saintly revelations not being binding on any faithful. Even the Prophecies and private revelations of the seers in Fatima are not obligatory on all the Faithful!

For instance, St. Anne Katherine Emmerich’s Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ which I greatly enjoyed, had chapters on the torments of demons and such and her mystical visions. However, all these visions counted for ZILCH in the Vatican’s Approval of Sister Anne Katherine for sainthood. In the Catholic Church, it is not the content of a saint’s personal revelations (i.e. what hell looks like) that determine whether the person is to become a saint but the saint’s works and any miracles attributed to them.

Please do not put any saint’s personal mystical observations or revelations on Hell or Purgatory into the same category as to God decreeing How Heaven and Hell will be populated. God decides, not a saint in a personal revelation!

I quote at length because I believe strongly that for many of the overly-worried in the Church, worries about Hell slowly strangle one’s faith, and in the end that is merely a benefit to the devil.

God Bless You! I hope I have not offended but this “fear of hell” situation I have run across countless times in people who truly live upstanding Christ-centred lives. Pray to God for Guidance sincerely and He assures you of His help.🙂
 
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