How to keep fears of Hell from stealing my peace

[KyivAndrew]

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?

O.K. Great. Sorry, just read this now also. So my points re:saints above may be redundant though check out the First Things article link.

I think throughout history, it way too often appears the Devil is winning many battles. Was the Earth undergoing the Black Plague in the Middle Ages not in a worse situation than we have today. Was the ferocity of the Two World Wars and the inhuman genocides inflicted resulting in some 100 million deaths by both Communists and Nazis in the last century a worse situation than the one we have now?

I do not know. They are legitimate questions. And, on a personal note strictly, I agree that with the influence of the Church and our Civilization’s virtues declining, it seems we are possibly on the precipice of some Great Golgotha I fear. Again, this is just my personal reading and intuition. I surely hope not. But again, compare, say how popular culture was in the 30s movies in Hollywood to what comes out of that den of iniquity now: Saw, Saw 2 and those assorted, disgusting, and if need be said, antihuman Horror movies which debase everything good. And our kids watch this and become desensitized to the incredibly coarsening of today’s culture and yet there is no Christian backlash.

p.s. this is the 2nd time I have come across that “30,000” in heaven quote - does anyone know its provenance?

God Bless.

 

[Tsuwano]

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

Yes! Yes! St. Therese is indeed a gift from God to the Church! This is excellent reading and prayer.

 

[upbeatjonm]

O.K. Great. Sorry, just read this now also. So my points re:saints above may be redundant though check out the First Things article link.

I think throughout history, it way too often appears the Devil is winning many battles. Was the Earth undergoing the Black Plague in the Middle Ages not in a worse situation than we have today. Was the ferocity of the Two World Wars and the inhuman genocides inflicted resulting in some 100 million deaths by both Communists and Nazis in the last century a worse situation than the one we have now?

I do not know. They are legitimate questions. And, on a personal note strictly, I agree that with the influence of the Church and our Civilization’s virtues declining, it seems we are possibly on the precipice of some Great Golgotha I fear. Again, this is just my personal reading and intuition. I surely hope not. But again, compare, say how popular culture was in the 30s movies in Hollywood to what comes out of that den of iniquity now: Saw, Saw 2 and those assorted, disgusting, and if need be said, antihuman Horror movies which debase everything good. And our kids watch this and become desensitized to the incredibly coarsening of today’s culture and yet there is no Christian backlash.

p.s. this is the 2nd time I have come across that “30,000” in heaven quote - does anyone know its provenance?

God Bless.

It is from a sermon from St. Leonard, who received this number from someone who came back from the dead to reveal that on the day he died, there were about 30k people who died that day, and only like 3 people didn’t go to hell. You can google it. That is the kind of stuff that frightens me. In scripture, Jesus speaks of the narrow gate, and how few find it.

thanks for your good thoughts in your post, I appreciate it.

 

[withwind]

Faustina

If you have read Faustina’s diary, I’d suggest that you can read again and know more about Jesus’ mercy.

 

[upbeatjonm]

If you have read Faustina’s diary, I’d suggest that you can read again and know more about Jesus’ mercy.

I am about 1/3 of the way through it. I do think it is very good. However, her diary contains a very scary part on hell, early in the book (don’t have the exact date for you), but it was about a vision where the path to hell is filled with people, with everyone dropping off the edge unexpectedly, and the one to salvation with very few on it. Overall, I agree that the diary is filled with mercy messages.

 

[withwind]

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.

Only God can provide you what you mention above. I think that is what you need to look at and know that God loves you and guides you on the right path. Do you pray the Divine Mercy?

 

[upbeatjonm]

Only God can provide you what you mention above. I think that is what you need to look at and know that God loves you and guides you on the right path. Do you pray the Divine Mercy?

Only on Mercy Sunday. I guess what puzzles me is the mixed message, with the promise of mercy, but the overall bad result (few saved). I presume the answer is that people don’t accept the mercy. It all just saddens me.

 

[Gottle_of_Geer]

It is from a sermon from St. Leonard, who received this number from someone who came back from the dead to reveal that on the day he died, there were about 30k people who died that day, and only like 3 people didn’t go to hell. You can google it. That is the kind of stuff that frightens me. In scripture, Jesus speaks of the narrow gate, and how few find it.

thanks for your good thoughts in your post, I appreciate it.

First this: “…there were about 30k people who died that day, and only like 3 people didn’t go to hell”. Maybe so - but where does it say this is always the case, every day ? It doesn’t.​

Even if those stats are correct for each & every day - which there is absolutely no way of knowing, nor any reason to believe - that does not make them a rule of life to be obeyed:

• 30K people each day are damned
• You have a duty to be damned, in order to fill up the stats

• are different kinds of utterance: one is asserting something as a fact, while the other is imposing a duty. News that millions of people die of famine each year, is not a command to “go and do likewise”; it does not impose a duty.

It’s not possible to go from assertions that state facts, real or supposed, to statements of duty: for even if 30K people per day are damned, that does not mean they have a duty to be; still less that anyone else has. The logic of the two utterances is entirely different.

What’s more, “30K people per day are damned” is a general statement: not a statement addressed to anyone in particular. So there is no reason for any particular person to imagine that he (or she) is among that group of 30K (or whatever the real figure may be).

People are not damned to fill up a quotum; as though God were an accountant keeping the books straight. God does not say: “1,000,000,000,000,000 people are going to go to Hell, because that’s what I have decided. But in that case, I must make sure enough of them go to Hell each day - otherwise, not enough will be damned each day to come up to the grand total figure”. People are damned, not because God is bothered with totting up stats, but because they damn themselves. People are not fodder for damnation - we are responsible moral agents; not impersonal objects to be manipulated, but personal beings capable of communion with God or else of rejecting God finally.

If God were bothered with keeping stats right, this Divine accountancy would be more mportant than whether God had given grace to people to love Him; & we would have the ridiculous, even blasphemous (as well as nightmarish) picture of people who loved Him being damned, in order to keep up the total of those who had to go to Hell to keep the stats correct. One has to sin in order to be damned - & sin is so voluntary an action, that to sin by mistake or against one’s will is absolutely impossible. And if we fail to sin, we can’t be damned.

FWIW, I can’t believe that the Passion, which is God Himself suffering & dying, could be so unproductive. Add the Resurrection, & all other gifts on top of that - & the notion that the saving work of God should be so barren of results becomes (certainly to me) incredible.

Hope that helps.

 

[Shin]

If you want to see how clear it is that few our saved, read St. Leonard of Port Maurice’s sermon, and then read the list of quotations on this thread.

Whenever a thread like this starts we get the denials.

It is wrong for people to try to re-interpret the tradition of the saints and holy scriptures in regard to the fewness of the saved. Who are you to try to make the message of God fit what you desire and your predispositions rather than accept it and try to understand it? It is too set this tradition, as you will see from reading history – we are not to make Revelation fit our own desires but to accept what Revelation is. If we make something up about cliffs not being there because we’re scared of them, we are serving ourselves and putting others in danger. However difficult it is to face. When we love God we accept all and can become in time reconciled to what is difficult.

What I see is that the reason for the fewness of the saved is in man, it is a lack of willpower – A lack of dedication to God above all things.

All it takes is one mortal sin to enter into Hell, and you -deserve it-. And that is what seems to be missing from some people’s minds.

And what to many people are small sins are mortal.

People nowadays treat mortal sin very casually, or act as if you have to make an act of direct rejection of God in it – No, not necessarily, all you have to do is be lukewarm, or not care at all, and just do it when you know it isn’t right with God.

Now how many people have the love and willpower to never do anything against God when presented with a temptation of serious matter? Ask yourself that question. Do you?

Lust? Gluttony? Sloth? Pride? Greed. . .

If the devil comes to your bedside as you are dying and tempts you with one of these things… will you desire it, and wish you had it, will your will wish for it? There you have it. That was the real extent of your love. You put all the burden on loving on God and not enough on yourself. You were really a traitor, relaxing in the world, rather than someone who loved God truly though you were told how terrible even the smallest sin is. You gave up on giving up on sin. What reward and result then do you expect?

You have to be a person who could never give into temptation.

This is why Christ says to pick up your cross and follow Him, and why the way of the saints is one of defeating our vices with virtues, giving up worldly values, things and entertainments. This is why Christ went into the desert, and the saints followed Him there.

Because it is so important, and sin is so terrible against God, though we do not admit it. God comes and comes again with His mercy, but we do not listen – We want mercy without justice, a God who has no justice at all – and that does not exist.

The fewness of the saved should light a fire under your feet to serve God. Fear is the beginning – only the beginning of wisdom.

But you need peace and trust as well as fear. The fear is of offending God for love of Him, and fear of Hell – and as you become more and more perfect it becomes truly for love of Him. You can have all these feelings at once, at heart peace and hope and love, and yet also fear.

To get back to the real topic of the thread, dealing with the fear in the context of what we do know rather than denying what we know…

I find making acts of faith, hope, and love – the traditional prayers helpful. And truly working on conversion of the will. If you can make acts of perfect contrition and strive to strengthen and convert the will every day – If you put in your effort, with faith, hope, and love, if you give your all – well you have done your all for God. He is a loving Father full of mercy. A Father. . and a friend. He sees are terrible condition and does all He can to change it. . . We simply have to be willing to put our whole selves, in a proper way, into that change in Christ. Anything less is not enough.

If we read about all the goods and gifts of God we will be happy and have strength and vigor to do what we should do.

Mortification, penance, prayers of love and offering and the work of doing the will of God, each hour, each minute – I am not saying to not pursue it with peace and hope in heart, but to do it with vigor. To change, convert.

Give up and detest like poison any near occasions of sin and devote yourself to the spiritual for all things, what you think God’s will will approve of in all things.

The rewards of love are great, and we should always reflect on God’s gifts with gratitude to give us the happiness and thankfulness to continue to pursue Him. We contemplate His goodness to fill our hearts with the strength to serve Him in Christ and love Him.

‘Let us continue the fight on the day of the Lord. The days of anguish and of tribulation have overtaken us; if God so wills, “let us die for the holy laws of our fathers,” so that we may deserve to obtain an eternal inheritance with them.’

St. Boniface

‘Do you want the Lord to give you many graces? Visit Him often. Do you want Him to give you few graces? Visit Him rarely. Do you want the devil to attack you? Visit Jesus rarely in the Blessed Sacrament. Do you want him to flee from you? Visit Jesus often. Do you want to conquer the devil? Take refuge often at the feet of Jesus. Do you want to be conquered by the devil? Forget about visiting Jesus. My dear ones, the Visit to the Blessed Sacrament is an extremely necessary way to conquer the devil. Therefore, go often to visit Jesus and the devil will not come out victorious against you.’

St. John Bosco

 

[Shin]

Here’s some encouragement for meditation:

‘I beseech you, my brother, should not we also, since we have the same aim [as the saints] and seek the same Easter, bravely and courageously bear our present condition, not falling, not succumbing to despondency, but rather roused with greater fervor watching for the wicked serpent who works to deceive us by the passions, transforming himself into an angel of light, and altering things from what they are; show dark as light, bitter as sweet. This was how he ensnared our forefather, bewitching his sight and depicting as beautiful what was not, and as a result through food casting him out of Paradise. But let us, who have learned by experience what a deceiver he is, not leave the paradise of God’s commandments, nor, when he indicates to us that the fruit is beautiful, let the eye of soul or body be directed there, otherwise we are being caught in the snare. But let us flee by every means from looking. What the is the fruit which seems beautiful? The love of the flesh, the evil lust of every one of the destructive passions. If we avoid experiencing them, my brothers, we shall be saved and Easter to age on age, with all the Saints in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and might with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.’

St. Theodore the Studite

‘Let all our actions be directed to the end that God may be glorified in all things.’

St. Benedict

'Brethren and fathers, at Christ’s resurrection creation too, putting away its winter gloom, like a deadness puts out fresh shoots and as it were comes to life again. And yes, we see the earth wearing green, the plants flourishing, the animals skipping around, the sea tamed and everything being changed for the better.

But I must explain why I have said this. If inanimate and irrational creatures are made radiant and lovely by the resplendent resurrection, how much more ought we, who have been honoured with reason and the image of God, make ourselves bright by our life and give off sweet fragrance by the spirit. For one who strives after virtue is truly the sweet fragrance of Christ, and the Apostle bears witness to this when he says, For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ for God among those who are being saved and those who are perishing, for the latter a scent of death leading to death, for the former an scent of life leading to life [2 Cor. 2,15-16].’

St. Theodore the Studite

‘Our Queen and Lady, if you wish again to hear us speak of the tokens of thy beloved that we know of, consider that He is beauty itself and that He contains within Himself all the perfection’s beyond all desire. He is amiable without defect, delightful beyond comparison, pleasing without the least flaw. In wisdom He is inestimable, in goodness without measure, in power boundless, in greatness immeasurable, in essence infinite. In judgements He is terrible, His counsels inscrutable, in His words most true, in His works holy, rich in mercies. Space cannot overreach Him, narrowness cannot confine Him, sorrow cannot disturb Him, joy cannot cause any change in Him; nor does He ever fail in His Wisdom, or change in His will; abundance cannot overwhelm or want come near Him; memory adds nothing, forgetfulness takes nothing from His knowledge; what was is not past for Him; the beginning gave no origins to His being, and time will bring to Him no end. Without being caused, He causes all things, and He has not need of anything but all things need participation in Him; He preserves them without labor, He governs them without confusion. Those who know Him are happy, who love and extol Him, are blessed; for He exalts His friends, and at last glorifies them by His eternal vision and loving companionship.’

Ven. Mary of Agreda, “The Mystical City of God” (a description of God, given by holy angels to the Blessed Virgin Mary)

‘In between these resplendent lilies her Son placed seven precious gems. The first gem is her outstanding virtuousness, for there exists no virtue in any other spirit or in any other body, which she does not possess more excellently. The second gem is her perfect purity, for the Queen of Heaven was so pure that not a single stain of sin was ever to be found in her from the beginning when she first entered the world up to the final day of her death. Not all the devils together could find enough impurity in her to fit on the head of a pin. She was truly pure, for it was not fitting for the King of glory to lie in any but the purest, cleanest, and most select vessel among angels and men. The third gem was her beauty, for God is praised constantly by his saints for the beauty of his Mother. Her beauty completes the joy of the holy angels and of all holy souls. The fourth precious gem in the crown is the Virgin Mothers’ wisdom, for she was filled with all divine wisdom in God and through her all wisdom is completed and perfected. The fifth gem is power, for she is so powerful before God that she can crush anything that has been created or made. The sixth gem is her shining clarity, for she shines so clear that she even sheds light on the angels, whose eyes shine more clearly than light, and the demons do not dare to look upon her shining clarity. The seventh gem is the fullness of every delight and spiritual sweetness, since her fullness is such that there is no joy that she does not add to, no delight that is not made fuller and more perfect through her and through the blessed vision of her, for she is filled and replete with grace beyond all the saints. She is the pure vessel in which lay the bread of angels and in which all sweetness and beauty is found. Her Son placed these seven gems in between the seven lilies in her crown. Wherefore, bride of her Son, honor and praise her with all your heart, for she is truly worthy of all praise and honor!’

St. John the Baptist to St. Bridget of Sweden in a vision, describing the Blessed Virgin Mary

 

[withwind]

Only on Mercy Sunday. I guess what puzzles me is the mixed message, with the promise of mercy, but the overall bad result (few saved). I presume the answer is that people don’t accept the mercy. It all just saddens me.

You can pray it every day. Many pray at 3:00pm.

 

[DrumminFool91]

It is from a sermon from St. Leonard, who received this number from someone who came back from the dead to reveal that on the day he died, there were about 30k people who died that day, and only like 3 people didn’t go to hell. You can google it. That is the kind of stuff that frightens me. In scripture, Jesus speaks of the narrow gate, and how few find it.

thanks for your good thoughts in your post, I appreciate it.

I heard a great quote from Dr. Peter Kreeft on this very issue. He says that there tends to be two prevelant misconceptions about this “narrow gate” business. He stated that either people think strictly of God’s justice and feel that most people go to Hell (as all of us are sinners and thus deserve God’s justice) OR the opposite group focuses on the mercy of God and believe that because God is love and that He loves us, then very few if not any go to hell.

Dr. Kreeft really hits it on the head when he states that nobody (save God) knows the comparative population statistics of Heaven and Hell. He said God is a loving Father, and like the loving father, whether he has only one child or a thousand children, to lose just one to hell is one too many and to have 999 children make it to heaven is one too few. So when Christ says that few find the narrow gate, that speaks only to the difficulty of the righteous path and the merciful fatherhood of God.

Dr. Kreeft of course says it much better than I could, but it really gave me a little peace. Check out some of his stuff at www.peterkreeft.com

 

[DrumminFool91]

You know, it’s a little refreshing to see somebody else who struggles with the same fears as I do.

I often find myself in dispair and being afflicted with severe anxiety about Hell and the justice of God. It has become so bad that I find whenever God blesses me with anything, I wonder when the “other shoe will drop” and he’ll punish me for my sinfulness. I’m keenly aware of the punishment that a sinner such as myself deserves, yet I must think of the mercy of God, if for no other reason than to fight evil. I say this because I know the devil tries to steal my joy and peace in order to cause separation and doubt in God.

I’m to the point, however, with saying that the only thing I can control is the present. I can choose not to commit sin and lead a life of grace. I can’t change the past and I can’t predict the future. I simply must surrender myself to the mercy and will of our Father, Almighty God. Even if all of my worst case scenarios ever come true and life becomes as a nightmare, it is either the will of God or God will use such things for His glory. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.

You and I need to trust in the mercy of Christ. We need to trust the value of His sacrifice. Christ’s sacrificial death is the greatest sacrifice there could ever be. His sacrifice is good enough to cover my sins. All we need to do is repent, pray, give God all of my effort (and when we don’t succeed at this, repent again), and trust Him.

If you like private revelations and saints, check out St. (Padre) Pio. He’s about as medieval as it gets, yet one of his greatest sayings is “Don’t worry” - and he has the ability to read souls.

As I see it, in and of ourselves we don’t deserve the mercy of God… we don’t even deserve the very breath we are taking right now at this moment. Yet here we are - still breathing air that isn’t ours. To me, this indicates a merciful God. The fact that we exist at all is a great mercy of God.

We need to trust the Lord. Please pray for me as I will pray for you - and all the Catholic Answers forum members for that matter

 

[KyivAndrew]

You know, it’s a little refreshing to see somebody else who struggles with the same fears as I do.

I often find myself in dispair and being afflicted with severe anxiety about Hell and the justice of God. It has become so bad that I find whenever God blesses me with anything, I wonder when the “other shoe will drop” and he’ll punish me for my sinfulness. I’m keenly aware of the punishment that a sinner such as myself deserves, yet I must think of the mercy of God, if for no other reason than to fight evil. I say this because I know the devil tries to steal my joy and peace in order to cause separation and doubt in God.

I’m to the point, however, with saying that the only thing I can control is the present. I can choose not to commit sin and lead a life of grace. I can’t change the past and I can’t predict the future. I simply must surrender myself to the mercy and will of our Father, Almighty God. Even if all of my worst case scenarios ever come true and life becomes as a nightmare, it is either the will of God or God will use such things for His glory. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.

You and I need to trust in the mercy of Christ. We need to trust the value of His sacrifice. Christ’s sacrificial death is the greatest sacrifice there could ever be. His sacrifice is good enough to cover my sins. All we need to do is repent, pray, give God all of my effort (and when we don’t succeed at this, repent again), and trust Him.

If you like private revelations and saints, check out St. (Padre) Pio. He’s about as medieval as it gets, yet one of his greatest sayings is “Don’t worry” - and he has the ability to read souls.

As I see it, in and of ourselves we don’t deserve the mercy of God… we don’t even deserve the very breath we are taking right now at this moment. Yet here we are - still breathing air that isn’t ours. To me, this indicates a merciful God. The fact that we exist at all is a great mercy of God.

We need to trust the Lord. Please pray for me as I will pray for you - and all the Catholic Answers forum members for that matter

Amen Brother. That is one of the most thoughtful posts I have ever read by anyone on CAF (and your previous one). May God Bless You Abundantly!

 

[upbeatjonm]

You know, it’s a little refreshing to see somebody else who struggles with the same fears as I do.

I often find myself in dispair and being afflicted with severe anxiety about Hell and the justice of God. It has become so bad that I find whenever God blesses me with anything, I wonder when the “other shoe will drop” and he’ll punish me for my sinfulness. I’m keenly aware of the punishment that a sinner such as myself deserves, yet I must think of the mercy of God, if for no other reason than to fight evil. I say this because I know the devil tries to steal my joy and peace in order to cause separation and doubt in God.

I’m to the point, however, with saying that the only thing I can control is the present. I can choose not to commit sin and lead a life of grace. I can’t change the past and I can’t predict the future. I simply must surrender myself to the mercy and will of our Father, Almighty God. Even if all of my worst case scenarios ever come true and life becomes as a nightmare, it is either the will of God or God will use such things for His glory. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.

You and I need to trust in the mercy of Christ. We need to trust the value of His sacrifice. Christ’s sacrificial death is the greatest sacrifice there could ever be. His sacrifice is good enough to cover my sins. All we need to do is repent, pray, give God all of my effort (and when we don’t succeed at this, repent again), and trust Him.

If you like private revelations and saints, check out St. (Padre) Pio. He’s about as medieval as it gets, yet one of his greatest sayings is “Don’t worry” - and he has the ability to read souls.

As I see it, in and of ourselves we don’t deserve the mercy of God… we don’t even deserve the very breath we are taking right now at this moment. Yet here we are - still breathing air that isn’t ours. To me, this indicates a merciful God. The fact that we exist at all is a great mercy of God.

We need to trust the Lord. Please pray for me as I will pray for you - and all the Catholic Answers forum members for that matter

Well said. I really appreciate the kind thoughts and prayers. I think that part of my problem is that I need to trust more. I am kind of a control freak at times, and it goes against my nature to be out of control and needing to rely on someone else , even God I guess.

 

[upbeatjonm]

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.

I read the First Things article by Cardinal Dulles. Here is a good quotation that I find helpful in warding off this fear:

All told, it is good that God has left us without exact information. If we knew that virtually everybody would be damned, we would be tempted to despair. If we knew that all, or nearly all, are saved, we might become presumptuous. If we knew that some fixed percent, say fifty, would be saved, we would be caught in an unholy rivalry. We would rejoice in every sign that others were among the lost, since our own chances of election would thereby be increased. Such a competitive spirit would hardly be compatible with the gospel.

 

[ML561]

Grace and Peace to all of you. Thanks to everyone for this post. I have been plagued with fears of Hell lately, these fears usually come upon me in the early morning hours such as 3 am, when I am reminded of everything bad I ever did in my life and it is at that time that I become fearful that God will never forgive me–even though I have confessed those sins. I finally went to my parish priest about this, and he told me that these “voices” were lies. He asked me if I was ever plagued with them during daylight, and I said no, only in the darkness. He said that they were lies which cannot tolerate the light shining on them. He told me certain ways to banish those thoughts and fears–such as saying the Rosary, sprinkling my house with holy water to keep those demons at bay, and trusting in God. May God bless each and every one of you and keep you safe from the devil who wanders through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Also, if any of you suffer from a mental illness, as I do, pray to St. Dymphna. She can be of so much help.