Are you Protestants and
Catholics listening?
Most Protestants and
Some Catholics Believe Hell Exists---But who goes There?
Of all those Protestants
who purport to believe in Hell, only smidgens of them believe that they could
possibly go there. That’s to say, everyone is going to Heaven and virtually no
one will be in Hell. If your Church believes that, it’s a “roll your own”
Church that’s
fishing in dangerous waters. It’s saying, for all practical purposes, Hell, a place, an
abode of everlasting torment, but in essence, might only accidentally be there. This general view prevails even among many
Catholics, despite the teaching of the Church, which states that those who die
in the state of mortal sin will be judged and condemned to Hell.
Most Protestants believe that faith in God alone (sola fide) is all that’s needed to get into heaven. Conservative Catholics believe that Faith AND Works are needed for salvation. Here’s one of many Bible quotes:
“But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead” James 2:20
So, why then is it that so many Catholics are optimistic that
no one goes to Hell? Such audaciousness is being shoved–down-the-throat by the
Vatican II poor catechesis and teaching on the Four Last Things - Death,
Judgment, Heaven and Hell.
The progressivist view of Hans Urs von Balthasar
on universal salvation, for example, has become mainstream thinking, even among
so-called conservative Catholic scholars today. Von Balthasar questioned, “That
since the Redemption of Christ was sufficient to have saved all sinners, why
then should it not be so?” In the end, he proposed, one can consider
the possibility that Hell, should it exist, is vacant.
“Pope” Francis during a homily in Rome in May 2014 said: “that God redeems everyone – not just Christians, but atheists, as well.” He went on to say:
“To those who say:
“but I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!” The “Pope” said: “But
do good, we will meet one another there.”
Progressivist, “Father”, Karl Rahner, S.J., assures us that
the dead are not suffering, or even really gone:
“They do not leave us. They remain! Where are they? In
darkness? Oh, No! It is we who are in darkness. We do not see them, but they
see us. Their eyes, radiant with glory, are fixed upon our eyes…. Oh, infinite
consolation! Although invisible to us, our dead are not absent… They are living
near us, transfigured … into light, into power, into love.”
These sham progressivism upholding
parish priests and religious have taken up the practice of “assuring” the faithful that all are in Heaven, or on the way
there. Variations on this theme are found in Catholic periodicals such as (The
Tidings, November 14, 2003) with its feasts of All Saints and All Souls. Here is a meditation on death by “Father”
Ron Rolheiser for the faithful:
“A man suffers a sudden death, and he
automatically goes to Heaven. One minute you’re on earth, the next you’re in
Heaven in God’s arms”.
There’s no mention of a possible Hell. It is by all appearances a very comforting notion, but in the end a deceptive and even devious fiction. Perhaps one of Satan’s greatest triumphs is the fact that he has managed to convince people that no one is going to Hell---or it even exists.
Scriptures recommends a constant meditation on the last four things to keep us from sinning:
“In all thy works remember thy last end, and thou shalt never
sin”. (Ecclesiastes 7:40).
The Saints and Doctors of the Church counsel us to think
often of Hell.
Instead of encouraging inconsistent hopes that Hell is
unpopulated, the Traditional Catholic Church wisely counsels to mediate often
on it, knowing that many would abandon the path of sin by thinking about those
devouring flames, those horrible torments that the human tongue cannot express.
Hell is a real
place. You don’t want to go there!
Here's what the Saints say:
"Poor Judas! Above seventeen hundred years have elapsed since he has been in Hell, and his Hell is still only beginning." St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori
“I was watching souls going down into the abyss as thick and fast as snowflakes falling in the winter mist”. St. Benedict Joseph Labre
“Often go down to Hell during your lifetime, so that you will not have to after death.” St. Bernard
“Shall we all be saved? Shall we go to Heaven? Alas, my children, we do not know at all! But I tremble when I see so many souls lost these days. See, they fall into Hell as leaves fall from the trees at the approach of winter”. St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney
“Do not neglect the grace that is offered to you. The God who offers the sinner pardon, does NOT promise him tomorrow,” St. Wolfrand
Pray the Rosary and wear the Brown Scapular.
Bill Metallo
Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette