Search Page

Those who refuse to obey God and refuse to repent of their sins, and persist in rebellion until death, fall into Hell when they die; and although the smoke still rises up from Hell, we need to remember that Christ has already won the great war between good and evil, and the evil one has been thrown into the depths.

The Catholic Faith is simple. Through Christ, our Saviour, we can change. Every person on earth has decisions to make about his or her behaviour. Every decision forms part of a life in the service of God, or life in the pursuit of selfish endeavours, to the exclusion of God. Everyone will be judged, at death, on earthly behaviour - whether a housewife or doctor, cleaning lady, victim of crime, or criminal. Each finally reaches Heaven or Hell.

We are wise to pray: "O Sacred Heart of Jesus, Have mercy on us". Christ holds in His heart and love and affections the entire world, and every person on it. No-one can escape from His concern, even though some people insist on ignoring, rejecting or opposing Christ - and, from love, He respects their freedom to walk away.

We are on a long climb, as if up a rope, on a cliff-face, in our efforts to reach Heaven in a state of holiness. We sometimes grow weary. We are in pain, or tempted to let go of the rope to enjoy some freedom from our daily routine of service. If we really let go - by deliberate mortal sin - we are doomed, except for a miracle. By faith and prayer, we can persevere to the top.

Although God holds everyone in existence, a person in earthly life who refuses to believe in God, or refuses to give up his sins, is by his own free will cut off from the influence and joy of God's love. It is as if he or she sits in darkness in a large box, whilst the graces of God pour around, outside it. People in a state of grace are bathed in that grace.

People who are deliberately and directly involved in passing laws which permit the neglect or abuse of children or the killing of tiny infants by abortion - or who practice those evils - by their own actions build a wall between themselves and God. Unless they repent, they cannot join Him when they die, but must be damned.

People are co-operating with the evil one when they frame laws which permit a greater number of abortions or which permit the neglect or abuse of children - or when they carry out such acts. Unless these people repent, they cannot break down the wall they have built between themselves and God, and must go down, when they die, to join the evil one forever.

When a person deliberately commits an act offensive to God - whether by sexual immorality or uncharitable acts against a neighbour - it is as if he releases into the world some of the smoke of Hell, from underground, and is glad to have done so, hoping to be hidden with his misdeeds. But God can see everything, including that soul's desperate need of rescue, before he dies.

It is a terrible thing, for a person to die, who has tried to lead a good life but who has refused to believe in the Catholic Church, to discover that everything to do with the Catholic Faith is true: The Risen Jesus, the Church, the Papacy, the constant teachings about union with God, morality, and the sacraments and prayer!

When a man or woman selfishly deserts the vocation to which he or she had freely consented, that person turns away from Christ, Who had called that person, and Who was willing to help that person through every difficulty. It is a dreadful matter to desert a spouse or to abandon one's own children.

There are good people of other religions who have never heard of Christ, or learned of His true nature. When they die, it's as if they will be shown that only through His mercy can they cross the bridge He has made, which takes people from earthly life, across the Abyss to Heaven. Those who see and accept him will be saved.

As a river follows its course, downwards, so a person freely sets his own course. If he chooses - by the grace of Christ - to aim for sanctity and Heaven, in the love of Christ, he will move in that direction - if he chooses selfishness and sinful pleasures he will be choosing to move steadily towards Hell, unless he repents in time.

People wonder if Christ and the Saints can be joyful, if they know that some souls are in Hell. The answer is that anyone in Hell has got what he wanted. If he freely chose to reject Christ, until death, he now has no contact with Christ: just as he chose; nor has he the joy, peace and beauty which are found in Christ, alas. So the Saints pity the lost souls, but realise that the damned choose their destination.

Some people say: How can the Saints be happy, if they know that some souls are in Hell? Just as an adventurous person, centuries ago, risked death in the Wild West, because he longed for excitement, and took no notice of friends' advice, so some souls risk damnation for the excitement of sinful pleasures; they listen to no-one and will arrive in Hell unless they repent before they die; and the arrival will be their own choice.

A person who is plagued with unhappy memories can freely choose to avoid them, and to dwell on present joys, just as a sensible person who is extremely upset by distressing scenes in a cinema is free to leave, to go into the daylight and enjoy the real world outside that darkened enclosure.

Whether we suffer from frail minds, or assaults from the evil one, if sad memories of past times keep on cruelly returning, we can freely choose with God's help to turn away, and to dwell on present-day gifts and grace. We can be like a sensible person who, instead of staying in a cinema to finish watching a horrifying film, for 'entertainment', goes through the exit, to enjoy sunlight, and real life.

Just before Christ ascended in triumph to Heaven, after His Resurrection, He sent out His disciples, so that they would tell the world the truth about Christ. He asked them to say: "He who believes and is baptised will be saved, but he who refuses to believe is condemned", which means, condemns himself through refusing the Eternal Life which is given with Baptism. To say 'no' to God, and His Son, brings terrible consequences, through one's own fault.

Christ teaches us, through His Church; so Catholics who refuse to believe in the teachings of the Church and even lead others astray by promoting their opposing views will arrive, at death, at the same place as the unbelievers, which is to say, at the edge of the Abyss, at some distance from the only crossing, which is Christ Himself, our bridge to Heaven. Unless they repent, and run to Him, they are doomed, because of their own freely-made choices and decisions.

There are deep caverns in Hell, crammed with sinful souls who have refused to repent of their sins, but have freely chosen to walk on the path to Hell, despite all sorts of warnings. There, they are tormented by the demons whose advice they have followed in life, instead of listening to God.

In Hell, nothing can be more horrible than the sadism practiced on unrepentant sinners by the demons. People go on ghost trains on earth, or watch horror films, knowing that the horrible shocks and surprises will end. In Hell, unhappy souls have no hope of rescue. By their own fault, they have surrendered to evil, and are trapped with evil forever.