“the fire is not quenched”
Hell is one of what the Church calls the Four Last Things, which also includes Death, Judgment, and Heaven. While it is important that we have a clear understanding of all four, this lesson focuses on Hell. For more information on the other three, see the link below:
Search: All Souls
In today’s Gospel reading Jesus speaks of Gehenna (Hell) several times. Many of us do not want to think of Hell. Others of us completely disregard it. In fact, there is a growing trend among certain Christians to proclaim that there is no such thing as Hell. However, Holy Scripture and the Church teach us that there is a Hell.
Souls who are not in communion with God and have fallen in Mortal Sin are in danger of going to Hell. It is recommended at this time to pray the St. Michael the Archangel prayer for the soul of the readers of this lesson, the protection of all souls living and the souls in purgatory. [The prayer is at the end of this packet]
Just like Heaven, hell is a mystery: “which means that even after the fact has been revealed, we are still unable to understand why it must be so or how the attribute of God’s justice, which stands behind the mystery, can be reconciled with his infinite love.” [1] This does not mean though that we do not know anything about hell. The Catholic Church has never waivered on about this truth that was told by Christ.
What Every Catholic Needs to Know About Hell
This is a quick introduction into what Catholics need to know about hell.
What is “Gehenna”? “’Ge-hinnom’, was a little valley south of Jerusalem, outside the walls and below the city. For centuries it was used as the city dump. Usually garbage was burned to avoid it being a focus of infection. Gehenna was, proverbially, an unclean and unhealthy place: our Lord used this to explain in a graphic way the unquenchable fire of hell.” [2]
What is Hell? “The place and state of eternal punishment for the fallen angels and human beings who die deliberately estranged from the love of God. There is a twofold punishment in hell: the pain of loss, which consists in the deprivation of the vision of God, and the pain of sense, which consists in the suffering caused by outside material things. The punishment of hell is eternal, as declared by Christ in his prediction of the last day (Matthew 25:46), and as defined by the Fourth Lateran Council, stating that the wicked will ‘receive a perpetual punishment with the devil’ (Denzinger 801). The existence of hell is consistent with divine justice, since God respects human freedom and those who are lost actually condemn themselves by their resistance to the grace of God.” [3]
“Reason tells us that there is a just God who will punish sin. It is evident that all sins are not punished in this world; there must, therefore, be a place, where every mortal sin not atoned for by sorrow and penance will be punished, and this place is hell. All nations from the beginning of the world, even those who had not the light of revelation, believed this. But clearer still is the existence of hell shown by holy Scripture. The pious Job (10:22) speaks of a region of misery and darkness, where the shadows of death and no order, but where eternal terror dwells. The Prophet Isaias (30:33) says that hell is deep and wide, and that the fire burning in it, is like a stream of sulphur, ignited by the breath of the Lord. Our Savior expressly says that those who have done evil shall go to everlasting torment (Mt. 25:46) and shall be tortured by everlasting fire (Mt. 25:41). He makes mention of hell, and says that an inextinguishable fire burns there, and a worm which never dies, plagues the wicked (Mk. 9:42-43; Mt. 10:28). All the Fathers of the Church teach and testify to the same doctrine. St. Augustine, among many others, says: ‘The infinite wisdom of God tells us that there is a hell, and the illimitable power of God it is that punishes the damned in a wonderful, but real manner.’” [4]
Is Hell an actual place? “Following the example of Christ, the Church warns the faithful of the ‘sad and lamentable reality of eternal death’ (GCD 69), also called ‘hell.’” [5] The Catechism also says, “Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, ‘eternal fire.’” [6] We can descend in two ways:, we can descend to a physical place, but also descend to an emotional place, as in the phrase they are going into a depression or they are going into a tunnel. Saint Alphonsus Liguori answers the question, “Is Hell a definite place?” He says that Hell is a definite place and that “this assertion is confirmed by a passage of St. Luke (16:22): ‘“But the rich man also died and was buried in hell.’” The sacred test employs the word “buried,” because burials are made within the earth. Moreover, the rich man himself describes Hell as a ‘place of torment’ (Lk 16:28), confirming the opinion that Hell is a determined and definite place. In another place it is called a ‘lake’; ‘Thou hast saved me from those descending into the lake’ (ps. 29:3); and elsewhere, a pool: ‘And the devil who deceived them was cast into the pool of fire and brimstone.’ (Rev. 20:9). It is evident, therefore, that Hell is a determined place, and most probably situated within the earth. But as to where, precisely, it is situated, whether at the very center of the earth or nearer to the surface, cannot be determined from any revealed document. St. Thomas also declared that the dimensions of Hell, which will be the dwelling place of the damned after the resurrection, cannot be determined.” [7]
What does it mean in the Creed when we say Christ descended into hell? “When we say that Christ descended into hell we mean that, after He died, the soul of Christ descended into a place or state of rest where the souls of the just were waiting for Him. The word ‘hell’ here does not mean the place where those souls go who have lost heaven forever. It means the place where the good souls were waiting until heaven was reopened by Christ. The souls of such good people as Abraham, Moses, and St. Joseph were there waiting for Jesus.” [8]
What is hell like? What happens to us in hell? We do not know all of what hell entails. “The discomfort that people sometimes feel at the thought of eternal pain may be due to the imagination dwelling on certain aspects of the subject while overlooking the simple teaching of the Gospel.” [9] Many put images like Dante’s Inferno and attribute it to the Catholic Church’s teaching. This is not so. It is an expression of one man’s opinion. Nevertheless, we can come up with some with some basic points of what happens to us.
First, as the Catechism points out that hell is the “state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God…”. [10] “The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs.” [11] This is means a soul is forever separated from God. God can never touch the soul again. This means the soul is completely devoid of God. As bad as this world can be with all its cruelty and sin, it is nothing like hell because we still have the presence and love of God. Hell is completely empty of this. It makes sense then when Jesus says there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. [12]
Secondly, Jesus tells us in the Gospel today is that hell is the “eternal fire”. It is the unquenchable fire. As said earlier he uses an actual place, Gehenna, to help demonstrate the eternal severity of hell.
How do we know that what we go through on earth is not hell? Many people might say, “My life is a living hell” It is impossible for our life on earth to be hell. As we mentioned earlier, Hell by definition is the complete absence or deprivation of God. God created the world and created each soul and is present to us in this world, whether we see or acknowledge Him or not. No matter how bad a person may feel or how lost they seem, God is still present and offering them grace to come back home. We think of the prodigal son, who left the Father’s physical presence and went against His Father’s wishes, but kept the Father in his mind and eventually came home.
If we were ever to feel that our life is a living hell, this should be even more of a reason to avoid hell. If we feel this bad and yet God is still present, it is impossible to imagine what life would be like with the complete absence of God. Much of the pain in our lives results from removing ourselves from the presence of God. The prodigal son chose to remove himself from the father and when things got bad, he then chose to go back into the presence of the father and things got better.
Is anyone predestined for hell? No. “God predestines no one to go to hell; for this, a willful turning away from God (a mortal sin) is necessary, and persistence in it until the end.” [13] If God has predestined people to hell then God would not be God because He would not be all loving and merciful and we would not have free will. God does not want “any to perish, but all to come to repentance”. [14]
Who is in hell? Why do people end up in hell? “Those [who] are punished in hell who die in mortal sin; they are deprived of the vision of God and suffer dreadful torments, especially that of fire, for all eternity.” [15] We know that Satan and the other fallen angels are in hell, as for humans we don’t know who is in hell, because it is God, not man that knows the heart and mind. A moral sin consists of a grave sin, one that is done with full consent (heart) and full knowledge (mind). While we are able to judge an action (grave sin) only God can fully judge both heart and mind. We can inquire and know what a person is feeling and thinking if they tell us, but even then only God “who searches hearts” [16] can fully know.
Can someone get out of hell once they are in hell? No. It is not because God does not want souls to leave, but because the soul refuses to. C.S. Lewis once said that the door of hell is locked from the inside and not from the outside. “As Lewis pointed out…if there are any human beings in hell, they are there because they absolutely insist on it.” [17]
If God were so good and loving why would He create a place like Hell? This question is thrown in every time the conversation of hell is brought up. While it is absolutely true that God loves and is all-merciful, it is not God who sends souls to Hell, but rather the soul itself due to their sinful ways. “But those who speak thus, forget that God is just, that His love and mercy are indeed always ready to forgive the contrite and penitent, but that His justice must also be satisfied, when the sinner continually rejects the merciful love of God they forget, that every grievous sin which man commits voluntarily and knowingly is an infinite, eternal insult offered to God which can only be atoned for by an eternal punishment. For the perverted and malicious will of a man, who dies in mortal sin, remains perverted and malicious forever, therefore he must also be punished eternally.” [18]
What helps us avoid Hell? We must have Fear of the Lord, a gift of the Holy Spirit, which makes us desire God’s grace. We should seek conversion wherever there is sin in our lives. We must stay vigilant to remain in the life of Christ. St. Paul said we are saved by grace, through faith, and acted in charity [19]. It is because the grace of God and Jesus Christ we have Heaven open for all of us. It is in our faith in Jesus that we are brought into His Bride, the Church, and through the Church we are infused with His graces in the Sacraments that transform and perfects our being.
We should all strive to live and to die in God’s grace and friendship because; “Those who die in God’s grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live for ever with Christ. They are like God for ever, for they ‘see him as he is,’ face to face.” [20] All this being said we must remain “sober and alert. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for [someone] to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your fellow believers throughout the world undergo the same sufferings. The God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory through Christ [Jesus] will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you after you have suffered a little.” [21]
We must guard our soul against the danger of hell. There are many who will attempt to deceive us and even those who will attempt to deceive saying there is no hell. “O my dear Christian, do not listen to such deceivers; for just on account of their sinful life, they fear hell and therefore they endeavor to free themselves from this fear by denying the existence of hell; but they cannot succeed; for Jesus, the Truth, has told us that there is a hell, and His word remains for all eternity. Endeavor rather by a pious life to escape hell, descend there in spirit frequently according to the advice of a saint, contemplate the torments of the damned, and let this reflection urge you to imitate Christ, who has promised the joys of heaven to all His faithful followers.” [22]
[1] Hardon, The Catholic Catechism pg. 268
[2] The Navarre Bible St. Mark Commentary
[3] Hardon, Modern Catholic Dictionary pg. 246
[4] Goffines, The Church’s Year, pg. 440
[5] Catechism of the Catholic Church - 1056
[6] Catechism of the Catholic Church - 1035
[7] St. Alphonsus Liguori, What Will Hell Be Like?
[8] The New Saint Joseph’s Baltimore Catechism, pg. 45, 48.
[9] Hardon, The Catholic Catechism pg. 268
[10] CCC 1033
[11] CCC 1035
[12] cf. Mt. 13:42
[13] CCC 1037
[14] 2Pet. 3:9
[15] Saint Joseph’s Baltimore Catechism, pg. 91, 185.
[16] Romans 8:27
[17] Fr. Barron, Catholicism, pg. 257
[18] Goffines, The Church’s Year
[19] cf. Eph. 2:8-10
[20] CCC 1023
[21] 1Pt. 5:8-10
[22] Goffines, The Church’s Year, pg. 441