Very worried about hell

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I am greatly distressed and deeply terrified, please someone try to encourage me

Some backgroud, I am 23 years old., in the last month, I’ve been having a terrible time with OCD, Panic Disorder, and social anxieties, and other anxieties, I can’t leave the house, have constant panic attacks, and constant obsessive thoughts about how I will die(not suicidal in any way, just a fear of death), and most disturbingly an obsessive fear of hell and a judgemental God. yes I am seeing doctors, on meds, and paying a therapist like $400 a week, but it hasn’t helped much yet…

I feel very angry at God for creating me and allowing me to be born.

I feel free will is a terrible curse, because the consequence of rejecting God (the eternity in hell) is so great, that while heaven may be infinitely good, the risk involved to get there is way too great given our fallen world, and I seriously wish nothing more then that God would annihilate my soul completely, so I would not risk hell…

i’m obsessed with how there is no way of knowing when I leave and return to the State of Grace, if my confession is valid, if my scruples are really unconfessed mortal sin, if there is a God, if any of the Catholic faith is even true, etc. I have doubts about the Catholic faith relating to morality, philosophy, etc, and there is no time to figure it all out, as I need to have my stuff together as I could die at any moment, or else I may just find myself in hell…(perahps because I didn’t take my faith more seriously earlier in life; as we know God only gives us so many chances to respond to his grace, before our final decision is made, whether we are ready or not)…

let’s say as an example that I DO live a very holy life and persevere to the end as many of the great saints did, I have a very hard time accepting that living this holy life, makes me more worthy of heaven, than someone who lives a life completely ignoring God. I mean I understand the Church teaching, but the terror and the uncertainty of the whole ordeal, which some even call a loving relationship with God, is taking over my life in a very unhealthy way…

I’m tempted to give up the faith entirely, but I know thats a mortal sin, and will send me straight to hell, I’m deeply distressed, as I try to work out my salvation in fear and trembling, and how great is my fear and trembling!!! if you look at Church teaching, and Tradition, you cannot deny that there are at least some people in hell, and maybe even lots of people…the uncertaintly and even more so the REALITY of this, is TOO MUCH TO BEAR, and is making it impossible for me to function…how do I escape from this terrible free will of mine, can the fear and trembling stop ever.these thoughts I’m having now may even be mortally sinful because I don’t trust God enough …even now I imagine myself descending into the flames… help…
 
Joe,

Always remember that God loves you more than you can fathom. I think you can find reassurance in your fear of hell, since it constitutes an *imperfect contrition. *Though it is imperfect, it still grants you the same grace and forgiveness as sacramental confession, should you die suddenly. I’m assuming that you go to confession regularly when I say that.

In more general terms, I encourage you to try to trust God. My layman’s understanding of OCD leaves me to believe it is very important for those afflicted by it to have a sense of control. We can’t earn salvation, we can only say yes or no to the salvation that God offers us.

Also, consider the following passage from the catechism: [1260](javascript:openWindow(‘cr/1260.htm’)😉 "Since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partakers, in a way known to God, of the Paschal mystery."63 Every man who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it, can be saved. It may be supposed that such persons would have desired Baptism explicitly if they had known its necessity.

I hope that helps.
 
Joe147 said:
I am greatly distressed and deeply terrified, please someone try to encourage me

Some backgroud, I am 23 years old., in the last month, I’ve been having a terrible time with OCD, Panic Disorder, and social anxieties, and other anxieties, I can’t leave the house, have constant panic attacks, and constant obsessive thoughts about how I will die(not suicidal in any way, just a fear of death), and most disturbingly an obsessive fear of hell and a judgemental God. yes I am seeing doctors, on meds, and paying a therapist like $400 a week, but it hasn’t helped much yet…

I feel very angry at God for creating me and allowing me to be born.

I feel free will is a terrible curse, because the consequence of rejecting God (the eternity in hell) is so great, that while heaven may be infinitely good, the risk involved to get there is way too great given our fallen world, and I seriously wish nothing more then that God would annihilate my soul completely, so I would not risk hell…

i’m obsessed with how there is no way of knowing when I leave and return to the State of Grace, if my confession is valid, if my scruples are really unconfessed mortal sin, if there is a God, if any of the Catholic faith is even true, etc. I have doubts about the Catholic faith relating to morality, philosophy, etc, and there is no time to figure it all out, as I need to have my stuff together as I could die at any moment, or else I may just find myself in hell…(perahps because I didn’t take my faith more seriously earlier in life; as we know God only gives us so many chances to respond to his grace, before our final decision is made, whether we are ready or not)…

let’s say as an example that I DO live a very holy life and persevere to the end as many of the great saints did, I have a very hard time accepting that living this holy life, makes me more worthy of heaven, than someone who lives a life completely ignoring God. I mean I understand the Church teaching, but the terror and the uncertainty of the whole ordeal, which some even call a loving relationship with God, is taking over my life in a very unhealthy way…

I’m tempted to give up the faith entirely, but I know thats a mortal sin, and will send me straight to hell, I’m deeply distressed, as I try to work out my salvation in fear and trembling, and how great is my fear and trembling!!! if you look at Church teaching, and Tradition, you cannot deny that there are at least some people in hell, and maybe even lots of people…the uncertaintly and even more so the REALITY of this, is TOO MUCH TO BEAR, and is making it impossible for me to function…how do I escape from this terrible free will of mine, can the fear and trembling stop ever.these thoughts I’m having now may even be mortally sinful because I don’t trust God enough …even now I imagine myself descending into the flames… help…
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young pepole have it hard these days… They were not generally raised w/ the same kinds of morals and societal structures that older people had… so i feel for you… you live in an amoral society… and if you life in a city, it is much worse…

i would suggest: stop watching TV except for maybe the news and i dont’ even know if that is recommended…

anyway, have you ever spent time with Jesus @ the blessed Sacrament? sometimes i will feel guilty about this or that sin but when i go spend time with Him @ the Real Presence, i find that Jesus doesn’t look at things (sins) the same wy i do… and the longer you sit there with Him, the more he … well, i hate to put words on it, but he deals with all your… problems… or (and/or) perceived problems.

rememer that the devil is in the world, the prince of the power of the air, as the Word calls him. he wants you to fear God in an unhealthy way, even to hate God. As devout as i am in the Church, etc… i have had moments recently where i felt hatred toward God… Then i stopped and asked myself, "where did THAT come from? i don’t hate God. not hardly… " and i realized it was the god of this world that i hate… He is the one who is destructive, unjust… antagonizing… hateful… and so, that was a scary chapter in my life… but i noticed that i felt this way only when i was around people… When i am alone with God and/or at the Real Presence, i don’t feel such things… so what i am saying is that the devil rules the world and so he can get us to feel this kind of way or think this kind of way… and he will… he is jealous because he is lost forever and so he want others to be lost forever as well…

i hope you find time to be alone with God. God is love. He is pure love. And He is all-powerful and big enough to handle your sins… and your frailties… it is the devil who says you are on your way to Hell…& etc… Technically, all we sinners are on our way to Hell… if we do not repent…

and True, Jesus said that the way to Heaven is narrow and there are few who find it. i think one reason few find that road is because few are willihng to give up their lives ($$, prestige, whatever) in this world and be alone with God… and do His work instead of their own “work” or what they wnat to do… which oftne is just the devil’s work. for example, everyone thinks working 8 or more hrs a day is a good and healthy thing, but is it??? well, it can be a productive thing, if you need the $$ or whatever… but some people just work, work, work all the time… and never take time to be with God… and so they start believing things that aren’t true, about themselves, about others, about God…

and the guilt piles up…

in a nutshell, people should spend as much with Jesus as they can… in the Real Presence… 🙂
 
Oh Joe, you poor, poor fellow. Often I have wondered what a cross it must be to bear for those who are mentally ill–to be afflicted so. To be tormented, to be in a prison of your own strange, out of control thoughts and emotions. I can’t say I’ve been there, but I do feel so badly for you. You have been so brave to put your feelings forward like this and seek help. Good for you! God has brought you here for a reason, Joe. May you find that reason.

I have no real advice for you, just empathy, really. And I offer prayers for you, so that God may calm the storm that rages within you. St. Dymphna, patroness of the mentally ill, pray for him. Let yourself rest in God.
 
Only mortal sin has the consequence of Hell.
1860 Unintentional ignorance can diminish or even remove the imputability of a grave offense. But no one is deemed to be ignorant of the principles of the moral law, which are written in the conscience of every man.

The promptings of feelings and passions can also diminish the voluntary and free character of the offense, as can external pressures or pathological disorders
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. Sin committed through malice, by deliberate choice of evil, is the gravest.
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It could be that you have not committed any mortal sin at all due to the pressure of your disorders (“OCD, Panic Disorder, and social anxieties, and other anxieties,”) and mental state of distress (pressure of feelings) and would urge that you have a talk with a priest either in Confession or by appointment. You just could be creating concerns and anxieties for yourself that are not necessary.

TS
 
Joe,
I will let the others continue to comfort you around your worries about hell. I want to address your comments about OCD. First, if you are spending that much on therapy and it isn’t helping… switch therapists!! I don’t know if these people have a therapist near you but www.catholictherapists.com.

Second, there is a new group here for OCD/Scruples. Just click above on Groups and scroll till you find it. You can meet other OCD sufferers here and perhaps the companionship will help.

Prayers
 
Be as kind to those around you as you can be, even in little ways.
Remember that Jesus said what we must do is:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”
“Love your neighbor as yourself.” [Mark 12:29-31]

Jesus also showed, in Matthew 25 verses 31-46,
that what makes the difference between our going to heaven or hell,
is whether or not we give practical acts of kindness to others.
Jesus also said that when we are good towards others He regards that as being good to Him, who is God and the Judge of our souls.

This is very simple yet essential. May God give you peace
 
“In the name of Jesus, I bind you spirit of [fear and anxiety], and send you to the foot of the Cross”.

This is a very effective binding prayer for all kinds of spiritual afflictions. Also say “Jesus, I trust in You” frequently and devoutly.

Edit: OK, I just realized that my advice may be problematic for you, so please don’t go everboard with the “frequently” part. Use it when struggles come.
 
it is better to worry about Hell than to shrug it off and say it doesn’t exist or that you are not going there… (osas, etc…)

i think it is a sign of health when someone is worried about Hell… well, OK, not worried, but… thinking abuot it…

some people just assume they themselves will never go there… Some think that no one will go there, or at least not forever… (but see St Mt 25:31 and others… where it speaks of the eternity of Hell)

a person should NEVER assume that s/he is incapable of going to Helll… except that, well… if you are committed to Christ, and sincerley trying to do what He wants, you should not have to go around, on the other hand… worrying about it or even thinking about it much…

ditch the world and embrace Jesus…

only one of those entitities will embrace ( love ) you back… and has the power to save …

spend time in the Real Presence… He will show you the Truth… about yourself, your life, everything…🙂
 
hope this doesn’t cause more confusion… and this is just my opinion… but for me, therapy seems to often cause more harm than good…

Jesus is the ultimate therapy. He knows you inside and out and loves you unconditionally no matter what your sins or shortcomings or whatever… He understand everything about you, whereas a human therapist does not…

not saying quit therapy… but… i don’t know… 🤷
 
dusza said:
“In the name of Jesus, I bind you spirit of [fear and anxiety], and send you to the foot of the Cross”.

This is a very effective binding prayer for all kinds of spiritual afflictions. Also say “Jesus, I trust in You” frequently and devoutly.
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i think demons should be sent to Hell… not the foot of the cross…

but the cross definitely has power over such things… so uh… hmmm…
 
Joe, how long have you been in treatment for your mental disorders? Sometimes it takes a good bit of trial and error before just the right combination of therapies is discovered. I advise patience in this regard.

I also advise that you make no decisions about giving up the faith until everything has been done for you medically and you begin to see improvement.

Perhaps you could read the Diary of St. Faustina for some comfort regarding God’s mercy and forgiveness.

Also, find yourself one (only one) confessor who is experienced and confident with scruples to help you and obey what he tells you without question.

God wouldn’t have bothered to send His Son to die for you if He wanted you in hell. All those passages in scripture about the tender love of God apply to everyone, not everyone but you. God loves you and wants you with Him. Really.

Betsy
 
Joe147 said:
I am greatly distressed and deeply terrified, please someone try to encourage me

Some backgroud, I am 23 years old., in the last month, I’ve been having a terrible time with OCD, Panic Disorder, and social anxieties, and other anxieties, I can’t leave the house, have constant panic attacks, and constant obsessive thoughts about how I will die(not suicidal in any way, just a fear of death), and most disturbingly an obsessive fear of hell and a judgemental God. yes I am seeing doctors, on meds, and paying a therapist like $400 a week, but it hasn’t helped much yet…

I feel very angry at God for creating me and allowing me to be born.

I feel free will is a terrible curse, because the consequence of rejecting God (the eternity in hell) is so great, that while heaven may be infinitely good, the risk involved to get there is way too great given our fallen world, and I seriously wish nothing more then that God would annihilate my soul completely, so I would not risk hell…
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I wonder if practicing the First Five Saturdays devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary would help you. It did wonders for my spiritual life.

The Virgin Mary appeared to Sr. Lucia, one of the visionaries at the Fatima miracle, and asked her to introduce to the Church the First Five Saturdays devotion in reparation for the sins people commit against the Immaculate Heart of Mary. On the first Saturdays of five consecutive months, we are asked to pray the Rosary, spend 15 additional minutes with Our Lady, meditating on the Mysteries of the Rosary, go to Confession (though this doesn’t have to be on that very Saturday; it should just be as close to then as we can make it) and receive Holy Communion on behalf of those that sin against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

The injuries against Mary’s Heart that we make reparation for are:
  1. Blasphemies against the Immaculate Conception
  2. Blasphemies against her Virginity
  3. Blasphemies against her Divine Maternity, her role as Mother of God and Mother of Humanity (for she is mother to all faithful Christians).
  4. Blasphemies of those that seek to convince children to not care about Mary or to scorn or hate her.
  5. Offenses against her holy images.
In return for our offering Mary this devotion on five consecutive First Saturdays, she promises to assist us at the hour of our death with all the graces necessary for salvation :).
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EWTN:
Our Lady Establishes the Devotion of the Five First Saturdays

The Apparition of December 10, 1925

On this day Our Lady, holding Her Immaculate Heart in Her Hand, appeared to Lucia, and by Her side stood the Child Jesus on a luminous cloud. The Child Jesus said: “Have compassion on the Heart of your Most Holy Mother, covered with thorns, with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment, and there is no one to make an act of reparation to remove them.”

Then the Blessed Virgin Mary said to Lucia: “Look, my daughter, at My Heart, surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce Me at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You at least try to console Me and say that I promise to assist at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to Me.”

On another occasion the Child Jesus reappeared to Lucia and asked that those who practice this devotion, receive Him in Holy Communion when in the state of grace.
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ewtn.com/library/MARY/FIRSTSAT.htm

Practicing the devotion may strengthen your confidence in God and help you to build your faith in Christ. Mary promises to give you all the graces necessary for salvation at the hour of your death if you do it. This isn’t “magic,” like an automatic pass into Heaven. We still need to live for God and in God. But Mary promises her great support in bringing us to Heaven at the end if we practice this. I think you may find it comforting and I’m quite sure you WOULD find it strengthening at the end of your life, granting you power to walk according to God’s will :).
 
distracted said:
no audio…

maybe you could summarize??
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I’m using Firefox and the file plays fine on XP and Vista. Did you press on the play button (triangle)? Is volume up on your computer?

Five minutes into the sermon, the priest teaches the faithful this prayer: “In the name of Jesus, I bind you spirit of , and send you to the foot of the cross to be judged by our Lord”. refers to any evil spirit that may be bothering you, such as spirit of anger, lust, fear, laziness, etc. Father also quotes St. Teresa of Avila calling demons flies always ready to pester the soul, hence the name “Spiritual Flyswatters”. I have used these prayers frequently over the last number of months to a success as I have never experienced before in my life.
 
Instead of fearing death, be eager to serve and love God, and receive the reward of His presence in the hereafter.

Do not listen to the thoughts that are provoked or caused by the devils, your illness, and imaginings. Think of them as barking dogs, to be ignored, or told to be quiet! You are who you are at your center, in your deep will, not what tears at you from the outside and pulls and tries to take you outside of peace with God.

Go inside yourself and find peace and love with God. Read the peaceful psalms, and think of how God is goodness, purity, love and peace, and that peace is what He desires for you.

Fears and such are only useful when they provoke us to holiness, not when they tear us down. As such what is not useful is to be done away with, as a practical matter, and not catered to as if it had weight. It has none because it destroys rather than creates. Tear yourself free of it.

God will listen to your prayers for help, do not fear, trust! He listens to the prayer of even people who are not His friends, because He desires them to become His friends. He desires His love to be with you and you to know His love, and to rest there in peace, as a child in the arms of his parent.

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want; he maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in paths of righteousness for his name sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Dominus pascit me, et nihil mihi deerit: in pascuis virentibus me collocavit, super aquas quietis eduxit me, animam meam refecit. Deduxit me super semitas iustitiae propter nomen suum. Nam et si ambulavero in valle umbrae mortis, non timebo mala, quoniam tu mecum es. Virga tua et baculus tuus, ipsa me consolata sunt. Parasti in conspectu meo mensam adversus eos, qui tribulant me; impinguasti in oleo caput meum, et calix meus redundat. Etenim benignitas et misericordia subsequentur me omnibus diebus vitae meae, et inhabitabo in domo Domini in longitudinem dierum.

‘Lord Jesus Christ, pierce my soul with your love so that I may always long for you alone, who are the bread of angels and the fulfillment of the soul’s deepest desires. May my heart always hunger and feed upon you, so that my soul may be filled with the sweetness of your presence. May my soul thirst for you, who are the source of life, wisdom, knowledge, light and all the riches of God our Father. May I always seek and find you, think upon you, speak to you and do all things for the honor and glory of your holy name. Be always my only hope, my peace, my refuge and my help in whom my heart is rooted so that I may never be separated from you.’

St. Bonaventure

Psalm 103, Extracts

The Lord is compassion and kindness,
full of patience, full of mercy.
He will not fight against you for ever:
he will not always be angry.
He does not treat us as our sins deserve;
he does not pay us back for our wrongdoing.

As high as the sky above the earth,
so great is his kindness to those who fear him.
As far as east is from west,
so far he has put our wrongdoing from us.
As a father cares for his children,
so the Lord cares for those who fear him.

For he knows how we are made,
he remembers we are nothing but dust.
Man - his life is like grass,
he blossoms and withers like flowers of the field.
The wind blows and carries him away:
no trace of him remains.

‘Keep interior peace at every cost; pay no attention to fears or scruples. Experience will teach you that those vain fears of sin, etc., which I call veritable follies, ought to disappear in the fire of love.’

‘Nothing but sin can separate us from God. You do not wish to sin; therefore preserve your heart in peace, and have it constantly turned towards heaven.’

‘The notion that you commit sin in everything you do is a wicked suggestion of the devil; it is not true.’

‘Make of your fears and other silly scruples a bundle, and throw it into the fire of divine charity, which will at once consume it; then keep yourself in interior solitude, and rest on the bosom of your heavenly Father.’

‘Humble yourself before God; lose yourself in the very depths of that sacred desert of which I have, spoken to you; be absorbed by the Sovereign Good, consumed by the sacred fire of love. Believe me, this divine fire will dissipate all the dust and mist of scruples, and your soul will become purer and more beautiful in the eyes of your heavenly Spouse.’

St. Paul of the Cross

O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?

1 Corinthians 15:55

Prayer to the Most Holy Name of Jesus
by St. Bernard of Clairvaux

Jesus, the very thought of Thee with sweetness fills the breast! Yet sweeter far Thy face to see, and in Thy presence rest. No voice can sing, no heart can frame nor can the memory find, a sweeter sound than Jesus’ name, the Savior of mankind. O hope of every contrite heart! O joy of all the meek! To those who fall, how kind Thou art! How good to those who seek! But what to those who find? Ah! this, nor tongue nor pen can show the love of Jesus, what it is, none but His loved ones know. Jesus! our only hope be Thou, as Thou our prize shalt be; In Thee be all our glory now, and through eternity.
 
Joe147 said:
i’m obsessed with how there is no way of knowing when I leave and return to the State of Grace, if my confession is valid, if my scruples are really unconfessed mortal sin, if there is a God, if any of the Catholic faith is even true, etc. I have doubts about the Catholic faith relating to morality, philosophy, etc, and there is no time to figure it all out, as I need to have my stuff together as I could die at any moment, or else I may just find myself in hell…(perahps because I didn’t take my faith more seriously earlier in life; as we know God only gives us so many chances to respond to his grace, before our final decision is made, whether we are ready or not)…
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Perhaps reading some about the Miracle of Fatima will help to convince you of the truth of the faith. But truly, reading online the stories of almost any of the saints could do a lot to help convince you, as so many of them lived such supernatural lives.

The confirmation for your faith is that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Perhaps if you read one chapter of Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christ a day, you’ll still feel as “ready for death” as you can be while at the same time finding time to read some Christian apologetics to strengthen your faith.

Ask your Guardian Angel for peace, protection and guidance (both in your studies on Catholicism and in your health, emotions and spiritual life). Speak to him often, appealing for his aid. He is your companion assigned by God from your birth to help you, and if you turn toward him, speak to him of your sufferings and ask him for his aid, his task will be much easier.
Joe147 said:
let’s say as an example that I DO live a very holy life and persevere to the end as many of the great saints did, I have a very hard time accepting that living this holy life, makes me more worthy of heaven, than someone who lives a life completely ignoring God.
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It’s not about “worthiness” so much as it’s about unity. If we live for God and die with love for Him, we are like food that He eats. When He eats us, that is our death to self, our self-abandoning humility. This is completed when we die on Earth. Our earthly destruction is the transformation of our being. We are like food that God eats with his mouth and then swallows. The food flows into the digestive system and becomes one with the body. In the same way this occurs in the physical body, it is true in the Body of Christ, the Church. We are consumed, digested into oneness with God. Then He won’t punish or judge us for in so doing He would be punishing Himself. This is a teaching of unity. Only in God is there Life. People who are without God are without life. Consequently when they die, they won’t live. But for those who truly partake of Life and seek Life and desire Life, wanting that unity with God and coming ever more and more into it, He will render them wholly one with Himself in Heaven, as food becomes one with us through the digestive system.

We are united with God, part of His very being, and consequently one with the salvation He one for us.

Also, remember that everyone saved is saved by God’s mercy, by grace, not by works. As God lives in us, we grow in love, for God is Love and His presence inside us inspires us to love. This love pours out into works. People don’t do works to go to Heaven; they do them because they love God and their neighbor. This is unity with God that comes about through mercy, and we should pray for mercy, grace and faith all the time :).
Joe147 said:
I mean I understand the Church teaching, but the terror and the uncertainty of the whole ordeal, which some even call a loving relationship with God, is taking over my life in a very unhealthy way…
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For them, it is love. Many Christians truly love God. They don’t have their eyes fixed on Hell and sin but on Heaven and virtue. They love virtue and seek it and they love God because He is Love itself. Being fully in His Presence is being in Heaven- it is being fully in love.

Pray for peace and for unity with the God of Love. Pray to understand Him as the God of Love. I’m praying too.

The most frequently repeated command in the New Testament is, “Do not be afraid.” Jesus said, “Peace I give you; my peace I give you.” He also said (and you should like this one), “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Follow the Church’s commands, which are not burdensome. Confession at least once a year, Mass on Sundays, some fasting during Lent . . . and you are obeying His commands, provided you don’t go and commit a mortal sin (and I ASSURE you, these are not as easy to commit as some would have us believe).

Following Him means falling in love, coming to love Him and not fear Him. And why do we love Him? He died on the Cross to save us from our sins, to save us from Hell! He went through the entirety of the Passion for you, and for us. To save you. That is how much He loves you!!! Meditate on it.

He is dwelling in you. His love is inside of you, loving you and telling you through His Word, gently, “Do not be afraid.” If you seek to know Him, pray to love Him, pray to not think about Hell but about God and His love for you . . . if you consider that He endured the agonies of crucifixion, the worst suffering any man on Earth has endured, all for love of you so that you might have eternal bliss with Him . . . what a God, eh? 😉

I recommend during some of your spare time trying to meditate on the Bible passages describing Jesus Christ, His dealings with people during His life on Earth, and imagine yourself as the person He is talking to.
 
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