Hell Exists Even For Those Who Don't Believe In It Until They Get There

"Jesus came to tell us everyone is wanted in paradise, and that hell, about which little gets said today, exists and is eternal for those who shut their hearts to His love.”

 

~ Pope Benedict XVI ~

Gloria Polo Testimony: How She Was Shown The Reality of Hell and Demons

Gloria Polo died after being terribly burned by a lightning bolt on May 5, 1995 in Bogotá, Colombia; she was judged, and then came back to life. This is her testimony.

But first I must tell you something, brothers: I was a “dietetic (cafeteria) Catholic”, I was for my whole life, because my relationship with God was taken care of in a 25 minute Sunday Mass, and that’s all. I went to the Mass where the priest spoke less, because I got tired! What anguish I felt, with those priests who spoke a lot! This was my relationship with God! For this all the worldly currents drug me along: I lacked the protection of prayer well done with faith, even in the Mass! One day, when I was studying for the specialization, I heard a priest affirm that hell does not exist, and not even the demons! It was precisely what I wanted to hear! I immediately thought to myself: if the demons do not exist, and there is no hell, then we all go to Heaven! And thus, what is there to fear?!

What makes me most sad now, and I confess to you with great shame, is that the only tie that still held me in the Church, was the fear of the devil. When I heard that hell does not exist, I immediately said: very good, if we all go to Heaven, it is not important what we are or what we do!

This determined my total moving away from the Lord. I distanced myself from the Church and I began to speak badly, with cusswords, etc. I no longer had any fear of sin, and I began to ruin my relationship with God. I began to say to everyone that the demons do not exist, that they are the inventions of the priests, that they are the manipulations on the part of the Church, and finally… I arrived to the point of saying to my colleagues at the University that God does not exist, that we were products of evolution, etc. etc., succeeding in influencing many people.

Let us return now to the operating room: when I saw myself in that situation, what terrible fright! I finally saw that the demons existed, and how, and they came to seek precisely me! They came to present to me the bill, one could say, since I had accepted their offers of sin! And these offers are not free! One pays!! My sins had their consequences...

In that moment, then, I began to see come out, of the wall of the operating room, so many persons, apparently common, normal, but with a look full of hate, diabolic, frightening, who made my soul tremble: I immediately perceived that we were dealing with demons. I had in myself a special awareness: I understood in fact that to each one of these I owed something, that sin is not gratuitous, and that the principle lie of the devil is to say that he does not exist: this is his best strategy in order to work as he pleases with us. I realized that yes, he exists, and that he came to surround me, to seek me! Just imagine the fright, the terror!!

~ Gloria Polo;  excerpt from here ~

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta: Using Everything for the Glory of God

" I can't bear being photographed,

but I make use of everything for the glory of God.

When I allow a person to take a photograph,

I tell Jesus to take one soul to Heaven out of Purgatory."

~ Blessed Teresa of Calcutta ~

excerpt from The Joy in Loving by Mother Teresa

Pope Benedict XVI: The Promise of Eternal Life

"...the Church invites us to pray for the faithful departed...As human beings, we have a natural fear of death and we rebel against its apparent finality. Faith teaches us that the fear of death is lightened by a great hope, the hope of eternity, which gives our lives their fullest meaning. The God who is love offers us the promise of eternal life through the death and resurrection of his Son. In Christ, death no longer appears as an abyss of emptiness, but rather a path to life which will never end. Christ is the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in him will never die. Each Sunday, in reciting the Creed, we reaffirm our faith in this mystery. As we remember our dear departed ones, united with them in the communion of the saints, may our faith inspire us to follow Christ more closely and to work in this world to build a future of hope."

~ Pope Benedict XVI ~

Rosary Promises From Our Blessed Mother

6. Whoever shall recite the rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its sacred mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life.

7. Whoever shall have a true devotion for the rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.

8. Those who are faithful to recite the rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plenitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.

9. I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the rosary.

10. The faithful children of the rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in heaven.

13. I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death.

All 15 Promises of Our Lady for those who faithfully recite the Rosary:

 

Quotes about the Rosary:

~ How to Pray the Rosary ~

Msgr Charles Pope: The Trivializing of God's Judgment Following Death

Too many make light of judgment today. Too many announce the immediate arrival of the deceased into heaven. They usher Jesus away from the Judgment Seat, take the seat themselves, and pronounce that, “Joe is in heaven!” They usually follow this “canonization” with some triviality such as “He’s probably playing poker with Jesus and Noah right now!” (For presumably “Joe” liked poker here, and thus heaven must include poker (of all things)).

The complete ignoring of the judgement that follows death is emblematic of our age which answers to no one. Even among Christians, there is a widespread trivializing of the notion of judgment. Yet Jesus in ways too countless to set forth here, commands a sobriety about judgment and says, But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken (Matt 12:36). If even our words will be judged, how much more so our deeds which many make light of.

Further God is Truth Himself and he will not simply call good in us what is defective or sinful. Judgement is a moment of truth where the divine physician makes a true diagnosis, not a flattering one. And whatever remains unfinished he, by his grace and power will bring it to completion. This too is part of his mercy as well as his justice. Some purgation is surely a likely reality for most adults who die. St. Paul speaks of us as unfinished works when he says, And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Phil 1:6). Do we really think that “Joe” is just going to walk into heaven just as he died, with a pack of cards in his hands, no less? Perhaps some saints have been fully perfected by their death, but it seems more likely most of us will need purgation and to pass through purifying fire as St. Paul describes.

So, we are back to fire. And fire must be respected. Back-slapping at funerals ought to be replaced with a little more knee-bending and confident but sober prayer for our beloved who have died. They would probably appreciate a little more prayer from us, for they have encountered Truth, unlike a lot of us who still like to entertain fanciful notions, contrary to Scripture that judgment is either non-existent or “no big deal.”

~ Msgr. Charles Pope; excerpts from here ~

Fr. Mark Bozada: Purgatory Is God's Merciful Gift to Us

My Dear People,

It has been the glorious tradition of the Catholic Church to pray for the dead, particularly our own family members. We know that we all sin. We lack perfect contrition for our sin. And so, when we die, everyone with the exception of Our Blessed Mother, carries the stain of sin into eternity. There are no shadows in Heaven, because we are immersed in the Light and Beauty of God. God the Father is merciful. We have the opportunity to have “burned”from our souls any remaining stain of sin. Purgatory is God’s merciful gift to us.

 

Poor souls found there cannot sin nor pray for themselves. That’s where we come into the picture. Our prayers, masses, rosaries, novenas, indulgences, and sacrifices are what “lift up”the poor souls in Purgatory. PLEASE, please remember to pray and sacrifice daily for the deceased members of your family. Your “prayer relief” is the greatest treasure they can receive in their state of being purified. We pray each month at the poor souls mass, for all of your prayer intentions. Please make praying for the dead a daily habit in your life. When you and I find ourselves in Purgatory, after our own death ,it is then that we will thank God for all the prayers we will receive on our behalf.

Entrusting you to the care of Our Lady,

Fr. Mark Bozada

May we always be eager to pray for the repose of the poor souls in purgatory.
(Source)

Jesus Tells Sr. Consolata Betrone How to Console His Suffering Parental Heart

"A true mother will not consider her child ugly, no matter how much it may be so; to her it is always lovely, and so it will always remain in her innermost heart.  That is precisely the way My Heart feels toward souls:  though they be ugly, soiled, filthy, My Love considers them always beautiful.  I suffer when their ugliness is confirmed to Me; on the other hand, I rejoice when, in conformity with my parental sentiments, someone dissuades Me about their ugliness and tells Me that it is not true and that they are still beautiful.  The souls are Mine; for them I have given all My Blood!

"Now do you understand how much My parental Heart is wounded by every severe judgment, reprimand, or condemnation, even though based on truth, and how much comfort, on the other hand is afforded Me by every act of compassion, indulgence and mercy?  You must never judge anyone; never say a harsh word against anyone; instead, console My Heart, distract Me from My sorrow; with eager charity make me see only the good side of a guilty soul.  I will believe you, and then I will hear your prayer in her favor and will grant it.  If you only knew how I suffer when I must dispense justice!  You see, My Heart needs to be comforted; It wishes to dispense mercy, not justice!"

~ Jesus to Sr. Consolata Betrone;

excerpt from Jesus Appeals to theWorld by Fr. Lorenzo Sales, I.M.C. ~

Reflection by Fr. Francis Martin of the Archdiocese of Washington
and the Mother of God Community.

St. Louis IX: Advice From a Wise and Holy King and Father

3. Therefore, dear son, the first thing I advise is that you fix your whole heart upon God, and love Him with all your strength, for without this no one can be saved or be of any worth.

20. If you have anything belonging to another, either of yourself or through your predecessors, if the matter is certain, give it up without delay, however great it may be, either in land or money or otherwise. If the matter is doubtful, have it inquired into by wise men, promptly and diligently. And if the affair is so obscure that you cannot know the truth, make such a settlement, by the counsel of s of upright men, that your soul, and the soul your predecessors, may be wholly freed from the affair. And even if you hear some one say that your predecessors made restitution, make diligent inquiry to learn if anything remains to be restored; and if you find that such is the case, cause it to be delivered over at once, for the liberation of your soul and the souls of your predecessors.

35. Finally, most sweet son, I conjure and require you that, if it please our Lord that I should die before you, you have my soul succored with masses and orisons, and that you send through the congregations of the kingdom of France, and demand their prayers for my soul, and that you grant me a special and full part in all the good deeds which you perform.

36. In conclusion, dear son, I give you all the blessings which a good and tender father can give to a son, and I pray our Lord Jesus Christ, by His mercy, by the prayers and merits of His blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary, and of angels and archangels and of all the saints, to guard and protect you from doing anything contrary to His will, and to give you grace to do it always, so that He may be honored and served by you. And this may He do to me as to you, by His great bounty, so that after this mortal life we may be able to be together with Him in the eternal life, and see Him, love Him, and praise Him without end. Amen. And glory, honor, and praise be to Him who is one God with the Father and the Holy Spirit; without beginning and without end. Amen.

~ St. Louis IX: excerpts from Saint Louis' Advice to His Son ~

Reflection for 8/25/11

Meditation on the Pains of Hell

CHAPTER 20

The Pains of Hell

CHRIST:

MY CHILD, I have proved My goodness by My numberless gifts to men. They cannot mention a single good thing in their daily life which does not belong to Me. My love for them was proved by My earthly life of labor, work, suffering and prayer to obtain forgiveness for their sins. Anyone who takes time to think of what I deserve, cannot deny that he owes Me more than he can ever repay. Yet, in spite of My goodness and love, some people choose to walk away from Me. They refuse to follow My directions. As a result they fall into sin. Though I made them for Heaven, they shall never see it because they are refusing to do what it takes to get there.

2. Hell was made for the devil and his rebel angels. Man was made for Heaven. In refusing to live for Heaven, a man chooses to exist without Me. He shall have his wish--he shall join the rebel angels in hell. In refusing to follow My law, a man actually turns his back on Me as the fallen angels did. If he dies in this condition, he condemns himself to hell. The jury which convicts him is his own sinful life. I merely pronounce sentence on what he himself has chosen.

3. There is nothing on earth which can compare with hell. It is beyond all description. One must see it to know it. Though I may try to give you some small idea of it in this chapter, remember, this is a tiny and very imperfect idea of the real thing. Words fall far short of the reality which is hell. I make no threats here. I simply want you to face this fact: Unless you live for Heaven, you shall one day be in hell.

4. All the sufferings known to man are as nothing in comparison with the sufferings of hell. The wise man would rather bear any trial on earth than place himself in danger of hell. One single hour of hell will be harder than a hundred years of suffering on earth. In this earthly life people have some rest from their labors and trials. They get some measure of consolation from their friends. In hell, however, there is no rest, no consolation, and no friends.

5. The fires of hell will never die. There will be no end to suffering. One will find no comfort in knowing that he has been there a thousand years. He can never hope for an end to his tortures. All the other sufferings would be bearable if only the damned could hope for relief. Despair is hell's bitterest pain.

6. In hell a man will be punished through the same faults by which he sinned on earth. Each sin will have its own particular torment. The lazy will be forced to work continuously. The gluttonous will be tormented with extreme hunger and thirst. The proud will be filled with confusion, and the greedy will feel the pinch of miserable want.

7. And yet, the worst pain of hell is none of these. The people in hell would gladly bear all of this and much more if only they could hope for My friendship and love, no matter how long it might take, be it even a billion years from now. Their keenest torment is that they have forever lost Me, the Source of all true joy and perfect happiness. This suffering makes hell the home of despair and undying hatred.

8. My child, follow My Will in your daily life, and you need never fear hell. In fact you have every reason to be joyful and merry if you are following My commandments and using My sacraments. Do not condemn yourself to hell by refusing to obey My directions. I love you dearly. Do not prevent Me from taking you to Heaven.

THINK:

Hell is a fact. Christ, Our Lord, pointed this out time and again during His earthly life. Whoever rejects this fact is simply denying the word of Christ. He is God. He proved His divine power many times during and after His earthly life. His word is truth. He preached the truth of hell and continues to preach it today through His Church and Holy Scripture.

PRAY:

My Jesus, many find too hard a command in the words: "Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me." Yet a much harder command will be: "Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire." If I become so impatient with a little suffering now, how can I ever stand hell? I cannot expect to have unrestricted enjoyment on earth and still rejoice with You in Heaven. Therefore, dear Lord, that I may be safe from eternal punishment, let me do my best in bearing the burdens of this earthly life. Let me prefer to suffer on earth or even die now rather than commit a mortal sin. Amen.

~ Excerpt from MY DAILY BREAD byAnthony J. Paone, S.J., 1954 ~

Archbishop Charles Chaput: "Our choices shape our eternity."

"None of us lives forever. Or rather, all of us live forever, but only for a very short time in this world. If we lose our money, we can often earn it back. But if we misuse our time, we can never get it back. Where we put our time shows the world what we really value and believe. What we really believe shapes our choices. And our choices shape our eternity.

"...If we took just one hour of the time we waste on television every day and used it to study and pray over the Gospels, we’d be fundamentally different people, and our country and our world would be transformed."

"We were made for better things than silver and gold. We’re more than what we own or think we want. We’re children of God bought back from slavery by the blood of God’s son. Somebody infinitely good, willingly died to make us free. That’s how precious we are in the eyes of God. God loves us infinitely. That’s the source of our faith and hope.

"God’s love is not something anyone can buy. It’s a free gift. But it comes with consequences. If we really believe that God raised his son from the dead in order to raise us along with him, then we need to act like it. We need to submit our time and our actions to what we claim to believe. A meaningful life is a life conformed to imperishable things. And a futile life is a life that puts its time in the wrong places—into things that perish; things that lead us away from conforming our lives to Jesus Christ.

"Those are the two options. We get to choose."

~ Archbishop Charles Chaput; excerpt from here ~

Cardinal Arinze Explains Mortal Sin

Cry of a Lost Soul: Society of the Damned

"We died with willful resolve to be separated from God. Do you now understand why hell lasts forever? It is because our wills were fixed for eternity at the moment of death. We had made our final choice. Our obstinacy will never leave us.

"Under compulsion, I must add that God is merciful even towards us. I affirm many things against my will and must choke the torrent of abuses I should like to vomit out.

“God was merciful to us by not allowing our wicked wills to exhaust themselves on earth as we should have been prepared to do. This would have increased our faults and our pains. He caused us to die before our time, as in my case, or had other mitigating circumstances intervene. Now He shows Himself merciful towards us by not compelling a closer approach than that afforded in this remote inferno. Every step bringing us closer to God would cause us a greater pain than that which a step closer to a burning furnace would cause you." 

"I tell you, the fire of which the Bible speaks does not mean the torment of the conscience. Fire is fire! What He said: ‘Away from Me, you accursed ones, into eternal fire’, is to be understood literally. Literally! How can the spirit be touched by material fire, you will ask? How can your soul suffer on earth when you put your finger on the flame? In fact the soul does not burn; and yet what torture all the individual feels! 

"Our greatest torture consists in the certain knowledge that we shall never see God. How can this torture us so much, since on earth we are so indifferent? As long as the knife lies on the table it leaves you cold. You see how keen it is, but you do not feel it. Plunge the knife into the flesh and you will start screaming in pain. Now we feel the loss of God; before we only thought of it.

"Not all the souls suffer to the same degree. With how greater wickedness and how more systematically one has sinned, the more weighs on him the loss of God and the more the creature he abused is choking him. The lost Catholics suffer more than those of other religions, because they, mostly, received and despised more graces and more light. He who knew more suffers more cruelly than he who knew less. He who sinned out of malice suffers more keenly than he who sinned out of weakness. But nobody suffers more than he deserves. Oh, if that were not true, I should have a motive to hate!"

~ Revelation of a Soul from Hell; excerpt from here ~

Jesus Reveals to Sr. Consolata Betrone How Free Will Sends Souls to Hell

"Believe Me, Consolata, into hell go only those who really wish to go there; for though no one can snatch a soul from Me, the soul may , through the free will granted her, flee from Me, may betray Me, deny Me, and so go to Satan of her own volition."

"You see, final impenitence is found only in a soul who purposely wishes to go to hell and therefore obstinately refuses My mercy, for I never refuse to pardon anyone!  I offer the gift of My immense compassion to all, for My Blood was shed for all, for all!  No, it is not the multiplicity of sins which condemns a soul, for I forgive everything if she repents, but it is the obstinacy of not wishing to be pardoned, of wishing to be damned.  Dismas on the cross had only one single act of faith in Me, but many, many sins;  he was pardoned in an instant, however, and on the very day of his repentance he entered into My kingdom and is a saint!  Behold the triumph of My mercy and of faith in Me!"

~ Jesus to Sr. Consolata Betrone;

excerpts from Jesus Appeals to the World by Fr. Lorenzo Sales, I.M.C.~

Fr. William Doyle: Hell--Motivation for Living Each Moment Perfectly

I can imagine I am a soul in hell,

and God in His mercy is saying to me,

" Return to the world for this year

and on your manner of life during the year

will depend your returning to hell or not."

What a life I should lead !

How little I should think of suffering, of mortification !

How I would rejoice in suffering !

How perfectly each moment would be spent !

If God treated me as I deserved, I should be in hell now.

Shall I ever again have cause for grumbling or complaining,

no matter what may happen ?

My habit of constantly speaking uncharitably of others,

and, in general, faults of the tongue,

seem to me the chief reason why I derive so little fruit from my Mass and spiritual duties.
Nothing dries up the fountains of grace so much as an affection for sin.

~ Fr. William Doyle ~

Source

Our Lady of Good Success Messages: The Divine Infant's Revelation on Purgatory

"Mother Francisca of the Angels, my faithful spouse who secretly bears my wounds...will end her earthly life to enter eternity on the fourth day of October at five o'clock in the evening.  Only eight months of her pilgrimage remain, and then, Heaven.  She will not even see Purgatory.

"But in order to cleanse her from the dust of the road, for three months...she will suffer indescribable torments of soul and temptations of every kind against all the virtues, the most difficult being those against Faith...

"During this period of great affliction for My beloved spouse, I will enrich her soul with great merits.  For when I give some souls who are beloved of My Heart their purgatory while they yet live in mortal life, it is so that this purification may be accompanied by merits, which cannot be accrued in the place of expiation outside of mortal life, where souls make amends for the faults they committed without acquiring the least personal merit.  They suffer, like indigent beggars, awaiting the charity of the intercessory prayers of the Church Militant.

"...you have, before your eyes this city of fire, suffering, and pain, filled with countless number of souls of every age, sex, condition, and state of life, suffering what is incomprehensible to mortals.  But since they are souls already confirmed in grace, they possess an admirable peace, resignation, and patience, and give glory to God.  Their greatest suffering results from their supernatural love for their God and Lord and their great desire to contemplate Him in Heaven, but they must remain far from His company."

Raising her eyes, the holy Spanish religious saw this city inhabited by a multitude of souls afflicted by indescribable torments.  With loud voices, they implored her prayers, penances, and intercession.  Her compassionate heart felt great pity for these suffering souls, and she promised them that in the little time that still remained to her on earth, she would do all that she could to alleviate their pains and help as many as possible to enter Heaven. 

~ The Divine Infant Speaks to Mother Mariana and shows her a vision of Purgatory ~ 

Excerpts from The Admirable Life of Madre Mariana de Jesus Torres, Volume II  

by Fr. Manuel Sousa Pereira

Related Posts:

~ Our Lady of Good Success:  Prophecies for Our Times ~

~ Our Lady of Good Success:  Persecution of Priests; St. John Vianney ~

Our Lady of Good Success: Prophecies for Our Times

 "Oh, if only human beings and religious knew what Heaven is and what it is to possess God, how differently they would live, sparing no sacrifice in order to enter more fully into possession of it! But some let themselves be dazzled by the false glamour of honors and human greatness while others are blinded by self-love, not realizing that they are falling into lukewarmness, that immense evil which in religious houses destroys their fervor, humility, self-renunciation and the ceaseless practice of religious virtues and fraternal charity and that child-like simplicity which makes souls so dear to my Divine Son and to me, their Mother."

"O, if mortals only understood how to appreciate the time given to them, and would take advantage of each moment of their lives, how different the world would be! And a considerable number of souls would not fall to their eternal perdition! But this contempt is the fundamental cause for their downfall!"

 
~ Our Lady of Good Success to Venerable Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres; excerpt from here ~

~ Excellent DVD,  Our Lady of Good Success - History, Miracles & Prophecies; order here ~

~ Our Lady of Good Success, Prophecies for Our Times by Marian Therese Horvat, Ph.D. here ~

~ Much more on Our Lady of Good Success from Tradition in Action ~

If We Were to Die Today...

"On earth you simply do not know what God is. There, each one of you has an idea of what you think God is, according to your very limited knowledge, but when we leave our covering of clay and when nothing impedes the liberty of our souls, we at last begin to know God, His goodness, His mercy, His love. After this clearer view and the thirst for union, our souls yearn for God. This is our very life and we are forever repulsed because we are not sufficiently pure. This, in a word, is our worst suffering, the hardest, the most bitter. Oh, if only we were allowed to come back to earth, after knowing what God really is, what a different life we would lead! But what useless regrets, and yet on earth you do not think of these things and live as if you were blind. Eternity is of no account to you. The earth, which is only a journey and receives only the body which in itself turns to dust, is the sole object to which almost all of your desires tend and you do not even think of Heaven while Jesus and His love are entirely forgotten."

~ Sr. M.G., a  soul from Purgatory; excerpt from An Unpublished Manuscript on Purgatory ~ 

Reflection for 5/2/11

Purgatory for Negligence in Preparing for and Receiving Holy Communion

In the year 1589, in the monastery of St. Mary of the Angels, in Florence, died a Religious who was much esteemed by her sisters in religion, but who soon appeared to St. Magdalen de Pazzi to implore her assistance in the rigorous Purgatory to which she was condemned. The saint was in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament when she perceived the deceased kneeling in the middle of the church in an attitude of profound adoration. She had around her a mantle of flames that seemed to consume her, but a white robe that covered her body protected her in part from the action of the fire. Greatly astonished, Magdalen desired to know what this signified, and she was answered that this soul suffered thus for having had little devotion toward the August Sacrament of the Altar. Not withstanding the rules and holy customs of her Order, she had communicated but rarely, and then with indifference. It was for this reason Divine Justice had condemned her to come every day to adore the Blessed Sacrament, and to submit to the torture of fire at the feet of Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, in reward for her virginal purity, represented
by the white robe, her Divine Spouse had greatly mitigated her sufferings.

Such was the revelation which God made to His servant. She was deeply touched, and made every effort to assist the poor soul by all the suffrages in her power. She often related this apparition, and made use of it to exhort her spiritual daughters to zeal for Holy Communion.

To tepidity is allied negligence in the preparation for the Eucharistic Banquet. If the Church unceasingly calls her children to the Holy Table, if she desires that they communicate frequently, she always intends that they should do so with that fervour and piety which so great a mystery demands. All voluntary neglect in so holy an action is an offence to the Sanctity of Jesus Christ, an offence which must be repaired by a just expiation. Venerable Louis of Blois, in his Miroir Spirituel, speaks of a great servant of God who learned in a supernatural manner how severely these faults are punished in the other life. He received a visit from a soul in Purgatory imploring his aid in name of the friendship by which they had formerly been united. She endured, she said, horrible torments, for the negligence with which she had prepared for Holy Communion during the days of her earthly pilgrimage. She could not be delivered but by a fervent Communion which would compensate for her former tepidity.

Her friend hastened to gratify her desire, received Holy Communion with great purity of conscience, with all the faith and devotion possible; and then she saw the holy soul appear, brilliant with an incomparable splendour, and rise towards heaven.

~ Excerpts from Purgatory:  Illustrated by the Lives and Legends of the Saints ~

St. John Bosco: Harmful Conversations

"No matter how good food is,

 if poison is mixed with it, it may cause the death of him who eats it.

So it is with conversation.

A single bad word, an evil action, an unbecoming joke,

is often enough to harm one or more young listeners,

and may later cause them to lose God's grace."

~ St. John Bosco ~