For many of us, the eternal fires of Hell is the only image that keeps us from committing mortal sin. Simply put, we do not enjoy the thought of being burned for all eternity.
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Yet, is that a proper image of Hell? Should the thought of physical pain be the only motivating factor that keeps us on the path towards God? Let’s look at what the Church teaches about Hell and what other images may better motivate us to avoid Hell and seek Heaven.
For starters, the Roman Catechism from the Council of Trent described Hell as a
“most loathsome and dark prison in which the souls of the damned are tormented with the unclean spirits in eternal and inextinguishable fire. This place is called gehenna, the bottomless pit, and is hell strictly socalled.”
This image of Hell is probably the most popular and is derived from these words of Jesus in the Gospel:
“If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire.” (Mark 9:43 NAB, emphasis added)
In Biblical terms, “Gehenna” is the Greek term for a valley southwest of Jerusalem. It was a place where pagan sacrifice occurred, including the burning sacrifice of children. During Jesus’ time, it was a garbage dump where refuse was continually burned. Thus, Hell is associated with a place of perpetual fire and pain.
Sister Lucia in her Memoirs describes a similar image of Hell that Our Lady of Fatima gave to her in a private vision:
“She opened Her hands once more, as She had done the two previous months. The rays [of light] appeared to penetrate the earth, and we saw, as it were, a vast sea of fire. Plunged in this fire, we saw the demons and the souls [of the damned]. The latter were like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, having human forms. They were floating about in that conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames which issued from within themselves, together with great clouds of smoke. Now they fell back on every side like sparks in huge fires, without weight or equilibrium, amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fright (it must have been this sight which caused me to cry out, as people say they heard me). The demons were distinguished [from the souls of the damned] by their terrifying and repellent likeness to frightful and unknown animals, black and transparent like burning coals. That vision only lasted for a moment, thanks to our good Heavenly Mother, Who at the first apparition had promised to take us to Heaven. Without that, I think that we would have died of terror and fear.” (Source, emphasis added)
For most of us, this image is enough to dissuade us from ever committing a mortal sin. The thought of being burned and shrieking in pain does not sit well with us. However, there is more to Hell than fire.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms Hell as a place of “eternal fire,” but also highlights the greatest punishment of all:
1035 The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. 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.” 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. (emphasis added)
Sister Lucia saw that those in Hell were not only suffering great pain, but immense “despair.” Hell is a place of utter desolation. A lonely place that is the opposite of a “party of sinners” that so many people think Hell will be like.
Dante wrote about this aspect of Hell in his Inferno. In contrast to a place of pure fire, he describes it as a lake of “ice.” In particular, Satan is waist-deep in ice and is seen crying:
“The Emperor of the kingdom dolorous
From his mid-breast forth issued from the ice;”“With six eyes did he weep, and down three chins
Trickled the tear-drops and the bloody drivel” (Canto XXXIV).
Instead of a place of burning, it is seen as a place of darkness, cold and despair. These images display perfectly the reality of eternal separation from God. Being separated from God is something that is terrible and extremely lonely.
I often favor this image of Hell, imagining it as a vast lake of ice, where everyone is isolated and alone, unable to have any human or divine contact. A place where you cry-out, but nobody hears your cries. A place where you desire to be next to someone, but can never move. Utter. Total. Despair.
Not only that, but you know God exists and you can not feel the warmth of His love. You have chosen definitively against Him and His love and have refused His embrace. You turned your back on Him and chose to live frozen, forever in ice. Cold. Dark. Alone.
We should fear the pains of Hell, yes. However, we should fear most the pain of eternal separation from Love Itself.
This is echoed in the Church’s “Act of Contrition:”
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee,
and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven, and the pains of hell;
but most of all because they offend Thee, my God,
Who are all good and deserving of all my love.
I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace,
to confess my sins, to do penance,
and to amend my life. Amen. (emphasis added)
In the end, the fear of Hell is only the beginning of the spiritual life. We should start here, but not end here. If we do, it makes God seem like a tyrant who only seeks to punish us because of our sins.
There is so much more to God. He desires us to be in Heaven, because He wants to share with us His eternal joy. Above all things we should desire Heaven, not because it is a place of “un-pain” or “no-pain,” but because it is a place of eternal “union” with Love Itself.
Read the Entire Series
- The Best Description of Heaven
- Do We Choose to Go to Purgatory?
- What is Hell Like and Why Should We Avoid It?