Jonathan Ekene Ifeanyi
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| Hell |
In the
Gospel according to St. Luke we read the following, spoken by the Lord Himself:
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| Lazarus while on earth |
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| The rich man |
“There was a certain rich man, who was clothed in
purple and fine linen, and feasted sumptuously every day. And there was a
certain beggar, named Lazarus, who lay at his gate, full of sores, desiring to
be filled with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table, and no one did
give him; moreover the dogs came, and licked his sores. And it came to pass,
that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. And
the rich man also died: and he was buried in hell. And lifting up his eyes when
he was in torments, he saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he
cried, and said: Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he
may dip the tip of his finger in water, to cool my tongue: for I am tormented
in this flame. And Abraham said to him: Son, remember that thou didst receive
good things in thy lifetime, and likewise Lazarus evil things, but now he is
comforted; and thou art tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there
is fixed a great chaos: so that they who would pass from hence to you, cannot,
nor from thence come hither. And he said: Then, father, I beseech thee, that
thou wouldst send him to my father’s house, for I have five brethren. That he
may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torments. And
Abraham said to him: They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. But
he said: No, father Abraham: but if one went to them from the dead, they will
do penance. And he said to him: If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither
will they believe, if one rise again from the dead.” (Luke 16:
19-31).
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| The reality |
This story is just an example of hell well
documented in the Bible. But today many people—including “Christians”—don’t
believe in hell, and they behave as if they are 100% sure that there is no
hell. Apart from people who openly deny its existence there are also millions
out there who pretend to be Christians but don’t talk about it at all. And why? Because they too don’t
believe in its existence, though many think they do. Nigerian prosperity-believing
Pentecostals and some Novus Ordo priests quickly come to mind!
Here, I have taken time to study and compare
Our Lord’s revelations to Rev. Sister Hamanna Guadalupe about hell in 1989 to
Sister Josefa Menendez’s revelations about the same subject, given to her in
the early twentieth century—precisely between 1922-1923—and what I find is just
a perfect match!
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| Josefa Menendez |
Sister Josefa Menendez (1890--1923), a
Spanish nun of the Society of the Sacred Heart, was chosen by Our Lord, not
only to be a victim for souls, especially for consecrated ones, but that
through her Christ’s message of love and mercy might reach the world. Josefa
suffered so much for the salvation of sinners—she was even allowed by Our Lord
to suffer the pains of hell. From her revelations, so frightening, but also
consoling, we learn that those who despise to carry the cross of Christ in this
world will have to carry the “cross” of the devil for all eternity in hell
fire. Josefa lived only four years as a religious, at the convent of Les
Feuillants in Poitiers, France, where she died at the age of 33 in 1923.
In The
Way of Divine Love, Sister Josefa’s book published after her death, we read
the following endorsement:
Letter from the Cardinal Protector
H.E. CARDINAL E. PACELLI
(Now H.H.
Pope Pius XII happily reigning)
April 1938
VERY REVEREND MOTHER,
I have no
doubt whatever that the publication
of these pages,
filled as they are with the great
love which His
grace inspired in His very humble
Servant Maria
Josefa Menendez, will be agreeable to
His Sacred
Heart.
May they efficaciously
contribute to develop in
many souls a confidence ever more
complete and
loving in the
infinite mercy of this Divine Heart
towards poor
sinners such as we all are.
These are
the good wishes which, with my
blessing, I
send you and all the Society of the
Sacred Heart.
E. CARD. PACELLI.
Josefa’s mission was
only gradually unfolded to her by Our Lord; several times He had told her that
He meant to make use of her to “carry out His plans” (9th February,
1921) for the saving of many souls that had cost Him so dear (15th
October, 1920). On the night of 24th February, 1921 He gave her a
yet more explicit call during her Holy Hour. “The world does not know the Mercy
of My Heart,” He said to her. “I intend to enlighten them through you...I want
you to be the Apostle of My Love and Mercy. I will teach you what this means;
forget yourself.”
Please pause to mark
the words: “Apostle of My Love and Mercy.” As I pointed out in my article, ‘Why
do we reject Sister Maria Faustina, Maria Divine Mercy and John Paul II, but
promote the SSPX?’ it is actually Sister Josefa, and not Sister
Maria Faustina, who is a true Apostle of Our Lord’s Divine Mercy. “Divine Mercy
Diary of Sister Maria Faustina, as I learnt, is a counterfeit of The Way of Divine Love, which is also
written in diary form, but of the Sacred Heart's messages to Sister Josefa
Menendez.” (See: Why do we reject Sister Maria Faustina, Maria Divine Mercy and John Paul II, but promote the SSPX?).
Thus when, talking about the Devotions, in the message of Sister Hermana
Guadalupe given on October 13, 1989, Our Lord says, “I have also left for these
times the devotion of the divine mercy”—which people like Mr. Patrick Oke
falsely use as an excuse to propagate Sister Faustina’s false divine mercy
devotion—He adds, “of my mercy which is going to be poured out through Our
Hearts and by means of these Hearts we will save the world. And this is very important
because my mercy is going to be poured out over the world and on my children
through Our Hearts. Don’t forget this.”
Now you only need to study the writings of both Josefa and Faustina to
really understand whose divine mercy devotion is being spoken about here! In
fact, Our Lord makes this known in the same message (of Sister Guadalupe):
“Today I have come to talk to you about these devotions which we have given to
our children the seers throughout the centuries, and the devotions which we
reserved for these last times which are devotions to My Sacred Heart and of the
Immaculate Heart of my Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary. ...I come again so that
all those who have not consecrated themselves to my Sacred Heart and to the
Immaculate Heart of my Blessed Mother may do so. And this will signify that you
have received my Mercy. With this devotion you are going to be marked with the
Cross and with my Mercy, and the punishment which has been foretold will not
reach you, and you will be freed from this punishment because this is the
meaning of these promises. All of those that consecrate themselves to my Sacred
Heart will attain my Mercy and my Love, but not my Justice; and all of those
who don’t want to receive my Love will receive my Justice on the day of my
Great Wrath..”
This is, put simply, not the
message of Sister Faustina. In Sister Josefa’s message we see the true image of
God’s Mercy which is the Sacred Heart of Jesus pierced with a lance, crowned
with thorns, and dripping precious blood, which calls for devotion of reparation. Our Lord emphasises
more in the message of Sister Guadalupe: “...it
is very important for you because these devotions, these roses which we left
for these times are precisely to help you when the devil is among you. And
that’s why it’s urgent that you begin observing the First Friday and Saturday Devotions,
Friday in honour of my Sacred Heart and Saturday in honour of the Immaculate
Heart of my Blessed Mother...because what is lacking is that the world sees
their God with love and that humanity comprehends this love of their God that
will be made known by way of the Two Hearts.”
Again we read, in the same message of Sister Guadalupe, “We have given many graces throughout the
centuries and we deposited them in my Church, and many people, many of my
children have accepted them and I had the opportunity to offer them my Love,
and when I give them my Love I forget about their sins; I help them to walk the
narrow path and on the day of punishment they will be my most loved children and
my Blessed Mother and I will look after them and help them get to heaven.”
Again, “You know that at Fatima, my
Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary, asked that the world be consecrated to Her
Immaculate Heart, but this was not done as the Eternal Father had asked and now
the time has come when sin demands punishment because these calls were not
heeded and my children do not want to understand that by means of these Hearts,
and from these graces which we give will come the salvation of the world...The
devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary was going to take away all of these
errors, all of this darkness, but you didn’t obey, and because of this evil
gained strength, great strength...” Again, “A call was made in Fatima by my Blessed Mother and she said: ‘Obey, or
the world will suffer and evil will be propagated throughout the whole world,
the whole world.’ And because no one paid any attention, you can see how the
world is; the world is at the point of dying in sin, unrepentant, and with a
great forgetfulness of their God.”
At Fatima in 1917, Our Lady asked for the Consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart for the
salvation of the world—that is, the
consecration of the world to Her Immaculate Heart was to be done only this way.
But in 1984 Pope John Paul II consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart, without mentioning Russia. This is just
what the message means by “but this was
not done as the Eternal Father had asked.”
In short, as I pointed out in my article cited above, “...in Faustina’s messages, there is so much
emphasis on God’s mercy as to exclude His justice. Our sins and the
gravity of the offence that they inflict on God is pushed aside as being of
little consequence. That is why the aspect of reparation for sin is
omitted or obscured. ...The true image of God’s mercy is the Sacred Heart of
Jesus, pierced with a lance, crowned with thorns, dripping precious blood. The
Sacred Heart calls for devotion of reparation, as the popes have always
requested. However, this is not the case with the Divine Mercy
devotion. The image has no heart! It is a Sacred Heart without a heart,
without reparation, without the price of our sins being clearly evident.
It is this that makes the devotion very incomplete and makes us suspicious of
its supernatural origin, regardless of Sister Faustina’s own good intentions
and personal holiness. This absence of the need for reparation for sins
is manifest in the strange promise of freedom from all temporal punishment due
to sin for those who observe the 3:00 p.m. Low Sunday devotions. How
could such a devotion be more powerful and better than a plenary indulgence,
applying the extraordinary treasury of the merits of the saints? How
could it not require as a condition that we perform a penitential work of our
own? How could it not require the detachment from even venial sin that is
necessary to obtain a plenary indulgence?”
Now back to Sister Josefa’s mission: In answer to the fears Josefa
expressed—that is, after He told her to forget herself—Our Lord responded: “Love and fear nothing. I want what you do
not want, but I can do what you cannot.” Again, “It is not for you to choose, you have only to resign yourself into My
Hands.”
A few months later, on Monday, 11th June, 1922, a few days
after the Feast of the Sacred Heart, when she had received many graces, He
said: “Remember My Words and believe
them. My Heart has but one desire, which is to enclose you in It, to possess
you in My Love, then to make of your frailty and littleness a channel to convey
mercy to many souls who will be saved by your means. Later on, I will reveal to
you the burning secrets of My Heart and many souls will profit by them. I want
you to write down and keep all I tell you. It will be read when you are in
Heaven. Do not think that I make use of you because of your merits, but I want
souls to realise how My Power makes use of poor and miserable instruments.”
And as Josefa asked if she was to tell Reverend Mother even that, He answered: “Write it; it will be read after your
death.”
So by degrees Our Lord unfolded His plan: Josefa was chosen by Him, not
only to be a victim for souls, especially for consecrated ones, but that
through her Christ’s message of Love and
Mercy might reach the world. A two-fold mission—Victim and Messenger—and
between the two missions there is a close connexion. If Victim then Messenger,
and because Messenger, necessarily Victim.
Why did John Paul II rush to canonise Faustina, leaving Josefa, even
though Josefa’s messages came before those of Faustina and were endorsed by no
less a personage than Cardinal Pacelli (later Pope Pius XII), whereas
Faustina’s messages were not only not approved before Vatican II but
condemned?
The material above and below is quoted
verbatim from The Way of Divine Love of Sister Josefa Menendez. The Way of Divine Love consists largely
of Josefa’s notebooks, which she wrote down under obedience from Our Lord, with
the revelations of His Sacred Heart, plus portions of her biography. This
material was composed after Rev. Schouppe wrote his book on Hell.
This young Spanish sister, who had a
short religious life of great suffering, experienced revelations throughout
much of her life, compiled in The Way Of Divine Love. More than once,
Sister Josefa was taken to Hell to witness and feel the suffering first-hand.
Sister Josefa was reluctant to write on the subject of Hell, and did so only to
conform to Our Lord's wishes. Josefa repeatedly dwelt on what she described as
the greatest torment of Hell, namely, the soul's inability to love. One of these
damned souls cried out: “This is my
torture...that I want to love and cannot; there is nothing left me but hatred
and despair. If one of us could so much as make a single act of love...But we
cannot, we live on hatred and malevolence...” (March 23, 1922).
She records, too, the accusations made
against themselves by these unhappy souls: “Some yell because of the martyrdom
of their hands. Perhaps they were thieves, for they say: ‘Where is our loot
now?’ ...Cursed hands... Others curse their tongues, their eyes...whatever was
the occasion of sin... ‘Now, O body, you are paying the price of the delights
you granted yourself!...and you did it of your own free will...’ ” (April 2,
1922).
“I saw several souls fall into Hell, and
among them was a child of fifteen, cursing her parents for not having taught
her to fear God nor that there was a Hell. Her life had been a short one, she
said, but full of sin, for she had given in to all that her body and passions
demanded in the way of satisfaction...” (March 22, 1923).
“My soul fell into abysmal depths, the
bottom of which cannot be seen, for it is immense...; Then I was pushed into
one of those fiery cavities and pressed, as it were, between burning planks,
and sharp nails and red-hot irons seemed to be piercing my flesh. I felt as if
they were endeavouring to pull out my tongue, but could not. This torture
reduced me to such agony that my very eyes seemed to be starting out of their
sockets. I think this was because of the fire which burns, burns.... not a
finger nail escapes terrifying torments, and all the time one cannot move even
a finger to gain some relief, not change posture, for the body seems flattened
out and [yet] doubled in two. Sounds of confusion and blasphemy cease not for
an instant.
“A sickening stench asphyxiates and
corrupts everything, it is like the burning of putrefied flesh, mingled with
tar and sulphur.... a mixture to which nothing on earth can be compared....
although these tortures were terrific, they would be bearable if the soul were at
peace. But it suffers indescribably... All I have written is but a shadow of
what the soul suffers, for no words can express such dire torment.” (September
4, 1922).
“Others curse their tongues, their
eyes... whatever was the occasion of their sin... ‘Now, O body, you are paying
the price of the delights you granted yourself!... and you did it of your own
free will...’ ” (April 2, 1922). (That is, illegitimate delights).
“It seemed to me that the majority
accused themselves of sins of impurity, of stealing, of unjust trading; and
that most of the damned are in Hell for these sins.” (April 6, 1922).
“I saw many worldly people fall into
Hell, and no words can render their horrible and terrifying cries: 'Damned
forever... I deceived myself; I am lost... I am here forever... There is no
remedy possible... a curse on me...’
“Some accused people, others
circumstances, and all execrated the occasions of their damnation.’ ” (September
1922).
“Today, I saw a vast number of people
fall into the fiery pit...they seemed to be worldlings and a demon cried
vociferously: ‘The world is ripe for me...I know that the best way to get hold
of souls is to rouse their desire for enjoyment . . . Put me first...me before
the rest... no humility for me! but let me enjoy myself...This sort of thing
assures victory to me... and they tumble headlong into hell.’ ” (October 4,
1923).
“I heard a demon, from whom a soul had
escaped, forced to confess his powerlessness. 'Confound it all... how do so
many manage to escape me? They were mine’ (and he rattled off their sins)... ‘I
work hard enough, yet they slip through my fingers... Someone must be suffering
and repairing for them.’” (January 15, 1923). (“Repairing,” that is, “making
reparation” for them).
“Tonight I was transported to a place
where all was obscure... Around me were seven or eight people; I could see them
only by the reflections of the fire. They were seated and were talking
together. One said: 'We'll have to be very careful not to be found out, for we
might easily be discovered.’
“The devil answered: 'Insinuate
yourselves by inducing carelessness in them.... but keep in the background, so
that you are not found out... by degrees they will become callous, and you will
be able to incline them to evil. Tempt these others to ambition, to
self-interest, to acquiring wealth without working, whether it be lawful or
not. Excite some to sensuality and love of pleasure. Let vice blind them... As
to the remainder... get in through the heart ... you know the inclinations
of their hearts... make them love... love passionately... work
thoroughly... take no rest... have no pity. Let them cram themselves with
food! It will make it all the easier for us... Let them get on with their
banqueting. Love of pleasure is the door through which you will reach them...’
” (February 3, 1923).
“Tonight”, wrote Josefa, “I did not go
down into Hell, but was transported to a place where all was obscure, but in
the centre was a red smouldering fire. They had laid me flat and so bound me
that I could not make the slightest movement. Around me were seven or eight
people; their black bodies were unclothed, and I could see them only by the
reflections of the fire. They were seated and were talking together.
“One said: ‘We’ll have to be very
careful not to be found out, for we might easily be discovered.’
“The devil answered: ‘Insinuate
yourselves by inducing carelessness in them... but keep in the background, so
that you are not found out... by degrees they will become callous, and you will
be able to incline them to evil. Tempt these others to ambition, to
self-interest, to acquiring wealth without working, whether it be lawful or
not. Excite some to sensuality and love of pleasure. Let vice blind them...’
(Here they used obscene words). ‘As to the remainder... get in through the
heart... you know the inclinations of their hearts... make them love... love
passionately... work thoroughly.. take no rest... have no pity; the world must
go to damnation... and these souls must not be allowed to escape me.’
“From time to time Satan’s satellites
answered: ‘We are your slaves... we shall labour unceasingly, and in spite of
the many who war against us, we shall work night and day. We know your power!’
“They all spoke together, and he whom I
took to be Satan used words full of horror. In the distance I could hear a clamour
as of feasting, the clinking of glasses... and he cried: ‘Let them cram
themselves with food! It will make it all the easier for us... Let them get on
with their banqueting. Love of pleasure is the door through which you will
reach them...’
“He added such horrible things that they
can neither be written nor said. Then, as if engulfed in a whirl of smoke, they
vanished.” (February 3, 1923).
“The evil one was bewailing the escape of a soul: ‘Fill her
soul with fear, drive her to despair. All will be lost if she puts her trust in
the mercy of that...’ (here they used blasphemous words about Our Lord). ‘I am
lost; but no, drive her to despair; do not leave her for an instant, above all,
make her despair.’
“Then Hell re-echoed with frenzied
cries, and when finally the devil cast me out of the abyss, he went on
threatening me. Among other things he said: ‘Is it possible that such weaklings
have more power than I, who am mighty... I must conceal my presence, work in
the dark; any corner will do from which to tempt them... close to an ear... in
the leaves of a book... under a bed... some pay no attention to me, but I shall
talk and talk... and by dint of suggestion, something will remain.. Yes, I must
hide in unsuspected places.’ ” (February 7, 8, 1923).
Josefa continues: “Souls were cursing
the vocation they had received, but not followed... the vocation they had lost,
because they were unwilling to live a hidden and mortified life...” (March 18,
1922).
“On one occasion when I was in Hell, I
saw a great many priests, religious and nuns, cursing their vows, their order,
their Superiors and everything that could have given them the light and the
grace they had lost...”
“I saw, too, some prelates. One accused
himself of having used the goods belonging to the Church illicitly...”
(September 28, 1922).
“Priests were calling down maledictions
on their tongues which had consecrated, on their fingers that had held Our
Lord’s Sacred Body, on the absolution they had given while they were losing
their own souls, and on the occasion through which they had fallen into Hell.”
(April 6, 1922).
“One priest said: ‘I ate poison, for I
used money that was not my own... the money given me for Masses which I did not
offer.’
“Another said he belonged to a secret
society which had betrayed the Church and religion, and he had been bribed to
connive at terrible profanations and sacrileges.
“Yet another said that he was damned for
assisting at profane plays, after which he ought not to have said Mass... and
that he had spent about seven years thus.”
Josefa noted that the greater number of
religious plunged into hell-fire were there for abominable sins against
chastity... and for sins against the vow of poverty... for the unauthorized use
of the goods of the community... for passions against charity (jealousy,
antipathies, hatred, etc.), for tepidity and relaxation; also for comforts they
had allowed themselves and which had led to graver sins... for bad confessions
through human respect and want of sincerity and courage, etc.—all these
happening even years before the abominable Second Vatican Council!
Here, finally, is the full text of
Josefa's notes on ‘the hell of
consecrated souls’ (Biography: Ch. VII—September 4, 1922):
“The meditation of the day was on the
Particular Judgment of religious souls. I could not free my mind of the thought
of it, in spite of the oppression which I felt. Suddenly, I felt myself bound
and overwhelmed by a crushing weight, so that in an instant I saw more clearly
than ever before how stupendous is the sanctity of God and His detestation of
sin.
“I saw in a flash my whole life since my
first confession to this day. All was vividly present to me: my sins, the
graces I had received, the day I entered religion, my clothing as a novice, my
first vows, my spiritual readings, and times of prayer, the advice given me,
and all the helps of religious life. Impossible to describe the confusion and
shame a soul feels at that moment, when it realizes: ‘All is lost, and I am
damned forever.’ ”
As in her former descents into Hell,
Josefa never accused herself of any specific sin that might have led to such a
calamity. By allowing her to go to Hell Our Lord only meant her to feel what
the consequences would have been, if she had merited such a punishment. She
wrote:
“Instantly I found myself in Hell, but
not dragged there as before. The soul precipitates itself there, as if to hide
from God in order to be free to hate and curse Him.
“My soul fell into abysmal depths, the
bottom of which cannot be seen, for it is immense... at once, I heard other
souls jeering and rejoicing at seeing me share their torments. It was martyrdom
enough to hear the terrible imprecations on all sides, but what can be compared
to the thirst to curse that seizes on a soul, and the more one curses, the more
one wants to. Never had I felt the like before. Formerly my soul had been
oppressed with grief at hearing these horrible blasphemies, though unable to
produce even one act of love. But today it was otherwise.
“I saw Hell as always before, the long
dark corridors, the cavities, the flames... I heard the same execrations and
imprecations, for—and of this I have already written before—although no
corporeal forms are visible, the torments are felt as if they were present, and
souls recognise each other. Some called out, ‘Hullo, you here? And are you like
us? We were free to take those vows or not... but no!...’ and they cursed their
vows.
“Then I was pushed into one of those
fiery cavities and pressed, as it were, between burning planks, and sharp nails
and red-hot irons seemed to be piercing my flesh.”
Here Josefa repeated the multiple
tortures from which no single member of the body is excluded:
“I felt as if they were endeavouring to
pull out my tongue, but could not. This torture reduced me to such agony that
my very eyes seemed to be starting out of their sockets. I think this was
because of the fire which burns, burns... not a finger-nail escapes terrifying
torments, and all the time one cannot move even a finger to gain some relief,
nor change posture, for the body seems flattened out and yet doubled in two.
“All this I felt as before, and although
those tortures were terrific, they would be bearable if the soul were at peace.
But it suffers indescribably. Until now, when I went down into Hell, I thought
that I had been damned for abandoning religious life. But this time it was
different. I bore a special mark, a sign that I was a religious, a soul who had
known and loved God, and there were others who bore the same sign. I cannot say
how I recognised it, perhaps because of the specially insulting manner in which
the evil spirits and other damned souls treated them. There were many priests
there, too. This particular suffering I am unable to explain. It was quite
different from what I had experienced at other times, for if the souls of those
who lived in the world suffer terribly, infinitely worse are the torments of
religious. Unceasingly the three words, Poverty, Chastity and Obedience, are
imprinted on the soul with poignant remorse.
“Poverty:
‘You were free and you promised! Why, then, did you seek that comfort? Why hold
on to that object which did not belong to you? Why did you give that pleasure
to your body? Why allow yourself to dispose of the property of the Community?
Did you not know that you no longer had the right to possess anything
whatsoever, that you had freely renounced the use of those things?... Why did
you murmur when anything was wanting to you, or when you fancied yourself less
well treated than others? Why?’
“Chastity:
‘You yourself vowed it freely and with full knowledge of its implications...
you bound yourself... you willed it... and how have you observed it? That being
so, why did you not remain where it would have been lawful for you to grant
yourself pleasures and enjoyment?’
“And
the tortured soul responds: ‘Yes, I vowed it; I was free... I could have
not taken the vow, but I took it and I was free...’”
“What words can express the martyrdom of
such remorse”, wrote Josefa, “and all the time the jibes and insults of other
damned souls continue.”
“Obedience:
‘Did you not fully engage yourself to obey your Rule and your Superiors? Why,
then, did you pass judgment on the orders that were given you? Why did you disobey
the Rule? Why did you dispense yourself from common life? Remember how sweet
was the Rule... and you would not keep it... and now,’ vociferate satanic
voices, ‘you will have to obey us not for a day or a year, or a century, but
forever and ever; for all eternity... It is your own doing... you were free.’
“The soul constantly recalls how she had
chosen her God for her Spouse, and that once she loved Him above all things...
that for Him she had renounced the most legitimate pleasures and all she held dearest
on earth, that in the beginning of her religious life she had felt all the
purity, sweetness and strength of this divine love, and that for an inordinate
passion... now she must eternally hate the God who had chosen her to love Him.
“This forced hatred is a thirst that
consumes her... no past joys can afford her the slightest relief.
“One of her greatest torments is shame”,
added Josefa. It seems to her that all the damned surrounding her continually
taunt her by saying: ‘That we should be lost who never had the helps that you
enjoyed is not surprising... but you... what did you lack? You who lived in the
palace of the King... who feasted at the board of the elect.’
“All I have written,” she concluded, “is
but a shadow of what the soul suffers, for no words can express such dire
torments.” (September 4, 1922).
Josefa, as I said, lived in the early
twentieth century, and wrote all this in the early 1920s (1922-1923). Now
compare her above revelations to the following revelations of Our Lord to Rev.
Sister Hermana Guadalupe 27 years ago, that is, in 1989:
Guatemala, August 11,
1989:
Dearly beloved children, I bless you in
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
My children, Jesus of Nazareth, the Son
of the Virgin Mary, the God of Love, the God who died nailed to the Cross out
of love for you, speaks to you.
I come again to speak to you as we have
been doing these past months. My Blessed Mother and I always come to instruct
you so that you will know the truth, so that you will not be confused, and the
subject I am going to speak of today is a most important subject, one which
many people do not want to hear because it frightens them, and they don’t want
to hear about this subject which is so very important for the salvation of
their souls.
Today I will speak about Hell. Many
people do not want to believe that there is a hell, that there is a heaven and
that there is a purgatory. They do not want to understand, they do not want to
comprehend and when they refuse to accept that these three places exist, they
are denying three truths.
Yes, there is a heaven, but there is
also a purgatory and there is a hell. Many of my children don’t want to know
anything about hell because they don’t want to believe that after a life of
many sins they will end in hell. Yes, many deny that hell exists because they
don’t like to hear about it, and now my children are saying that hell is the
suffering that one suffers here on earth but this is not true, no, it is not
true because hell was created for impenitent sinners, those sinners that do not
repent of their sins. And if they die in mortal sin their end will be hell.
Many people do not want to believe this,
not even my sons, and they say: “But God does not punish because He is very
kind, infinitely good”. Yes, He is good, but He is also Just and Wise, and that
is why they must not fall into the error of believing that because God is Good
He does not punish. Look, He did not forgive His perfect work, the angels, and
He condemned them to suffer, and they were the first ones that went to hell and
who many people now know as the devil and the fallen angels. And from that
moment they began spreading out to confuse and induce my children to sin
because their hatred is so big that they do not want my children to be rewarded
with heaven, and they induce them to sin so that my children won’t go to
heaven. Many people obey them but do not realise that with one and another sin,
if they don’t confess them, if they don’t repent and they die in this state their
reward will be hell.
Yes, hell is the abode of all suffering,
of all pains, of all anguish, and heaven is happiness, peace, light, joy and
love; hell on the contrary is darkness, grief, pain, suffering and hatred. The
sinner who does not repent of his sins and dies will understand when he is dead
that his worse torment will be that he despised the happiness that was offered
to him when I died on the Cross. His worse torment will be when he understands
that he despised my Blood, that he despised my Suffering on the Cross, and he
will have this torment eternally, the pain of having lost eternal happiness,
the happiness of heaven, and this will not be his only torment, for there is
also the fire, the fire that will consume him in sadness and anguish and in tremendous
pain, because the infernal fire is a fire that does not die, that does not end,
and it torments the soul.
Many say that this fire is just a figure
of speech, that it doesn’t exist, but no, it does exist, the fire is real. It
is not a fire like the one on earth; because the fire on earth consumes, it
ends, but the fire of hell never ends. And it burns and torments the soul
forever and not only this, it also penetrates into the soul, and all the senses
suffer this fire; the eyes, the nose, the ears, the touch, all the senses feel
it, because this fire penetrates deep inside the soul and it remains there
making the impenitent sinner suffer, this fire that burns, that scorches and
that does not end, and he will have this torment eternally.
I have come to instruct you so that by
knowing all of this you would not fall into sin, but if you do sin, confess it,
because hell is waiting for everyone who does not repent.
In hell the scourgers are the devils and
they make the soul suffer for all eternity. You know that earth is a place of
trial, where you earn heaven or you earn hell. This you know. You know that it
is like this, but people don’t want to understand. They don’t want to believe,
and they say that it is not like this, that these are inventions of crazy
people that don’t want to enjoy themselves, that don’t want to sin, and they go
on and on like this. I come to instruct you because the world is sinning
constantly, and at the end, when the day of your death arrives and you are in
sin you will not be able to do anything. And that is why I am telling you:
Look, it is your soul that is going to suffer for all eternity or it is going
to be happy for all eternity depending on your deeds during this short passage
through this world.
Many people, for a simple pleasure, let
their souls harden in sin and they don’t want to change because they don’t want
to suffer, because they don’t want to do penance. They want happiness and joy,
the happiness that only lasts for a sigh and for this sigh they will have an eternity
of grief, of anguish, of pains, and in hell they will not be able to repent;
they will not be able to do anything.
I have come today to tell you that you
must change your way of living. You must acquire grace. Many don’t want to obey
my words. Many laugh at my messages and the messages of my Blessed Mother. They
laugh at them and my Doctrine, and they say that “today the Lord does not
punish; the Lord doesn’t want suffering; the Lord does not want grief because
He is all Love.” Yes, I am all Love, but I am also Just and very Wise and that
is why all of those who say that God does not punish are in error, because the
first ones that the Eternal Father punished were the angels and He did not
forgive them, and they are eternally condemned and with them are all of those
who reject the Blood that I shed on the cross.
Listen well, I come to instruct you, to
help all of those who are in error to abandon their error because a great
punishment is coming to the world because of sins of men who don’t want to repent,
who don’t want to acquire the true doctrine that I left in my Church...they put
my Doctrine aside for other doctrines that praise their ego, that praise their
vanity and their pride—and this is a demonic trap.
My sons are now preaching that you must
not suffer; that you must not do penance, fast, or make sacrifices because God
does not want this, because He is Love, all Happiness. But no, you must love
the Cross because the Cross will take you to heaven. And all of those who
separate from my Cross, from my Sacrifice, will die, and their place will be in
hell because they despised the redemption I gave them through my Sacrifice on
the Cross.
Many of my children don’t want to
believe this and they mock, laugh and say that there is no hell; that hell is
here on earth and after death there is nothing; and that is why they say, “Let
us enjoy ourselves; let us sing; let us dance because tomorrow we will die and
afterwards there is nothing.” But this is not true. After these trials on earth
the soul will live eternally, and if he has been a good son he will go to
heaven, but if he has been a bad son he will go to hell—and this is terrible.
This is why I have come to instruct you about hell, because some believe in
hell; they believe it, but they only believe partially and they say, “Since the
Lord is infinitely good, even in hell, He will give consolation.” But no, this
is a lie. He who goes to hell, will not have consolation of any kind—the
consolations are here on earth. Here on earth the soul that suffers has
consolation, but not in hell. In hell there is no consolation—there is only
affliction, sadness, bitterness, despair, and torments day and night. There is
no rest from the sufferings of hell.
I left written in the Apocalypse: “All
those who in these latter times adore the beast (and this means that they
harden themselves in sin) and follow the beast when he comes and the beast
marks them—their place will be in hell. And they will be tormented without
rest”. I said this in the Apocalypse and it will be fulfilled. Many don’t want
to understand, but as I told you, the fire that is here on earth is a fire that
burns the flesh but does not penetrate the soul. The fire in hell penetrates
the soul and this penetration into the soul causes the soul to be submerged in
an infinite intense pain—without end, and it shall be like this eternally
because they will have this fire inside and outside of their soul, and they
will be a part of this infernal fire.
This is why some messages say that those
who do not repent will be like logs that will feed the fire of hell. And this
means that they themselves will be this fire that will be inside their souls
torturing them without rest in addition to other torments that exist there and
they are those of the nose, of the eyes, and of the ears because in addition to
the torment of the soul, they will have the sight of horrible things before
their eyes, hear terrible things with their ears, and in the sense of smell a
stench for all eternity, and this is a stench that if someone could experience
here on earth, even if only for an instant, it would kill him. The stench is
such that a human being could not resist it and he would die instantly. All the
things in hell are like this. And I, your loving Father, want to instruct you
about this so that you can see that if the little things of this earth bother
you, ... are pains and anguish that have consolation. Nevertheless, many people
still get desperate and don’t want to suffer; they don’t want to cry, and when
they reach hell and they see that what they suffered on earth is nothing
compared to what is in hell, they will wish they would have suffered, that they
would have believed in my Words because whoever enters hell will never return.
I am calling you so that you will
understand that it is not what many people believe—that these stories about
hell, heaven and purgatory are lies. But no, they are true, very true.
I have come to instruct you so that you
would know that there is a place of torment for all the people and for all my
children that don’t want to repent, that want to stay with a great desire to
commit sin over and over again. And I want to instruct you about this because
it is important for you to know, so that you can instruct those that say that
this is not true.
I come to tell you this because now the
demonic traps have multiplied. Sin abounds in the world and because of sin many
go to hell—and they will understand, they will comprehend and they will know
that this is true when they are in hell. And when they are there, they will not
be able to do anything but suffer and cry, because they did not want to believe
that I came to the world the first time to die on the Cross to rescue them from
this torment. And they will suffer when they understand that it was so easy to
have saved themselves but they did not want to be saved. And when they are in
hell they will not be able to do anything except mourn that because of the
hardness of their hearts they lost heaven and the happiness that they were
looking for here on earth; and they will comprehend too late that they should
have obeyed my words and the words of my Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary.
I come to instruct you so that you would
know that these are not just stories but a cruel reality, and that all of those
who die impenitent—and that means without repenting—will fall into the fire of
hell and they will not be able to do anything once they are there. But much can
be done while here on earth; and I make this call so that you understand that
many, many can be saved while here on earth which is a place of testing. You
must understand this and beginning today, change your way of living because
tomorrow may be too late, because as you have always been told, you don’t know
the day or the hour when you will die—and this is why you must be prepared. And
you that know this, tell it to others so that they can change their lives.
They must believe that I came into the
world the first time to die on the Cross to save them from the eternal
sufferings of hell. Many people do not know why I came to save and they say:
“Save us from what? I don’t understand what they mean because here on earth
nothing is seen; because here on earth His Mercy is not seen; here on earth
everyone suffers because there is much evil.” But the evil that exists in the
world is not because God wanted it, but because men have caused the evil by
their sins, because they did not want to obey my Doctrine. This is why there is
so much evil in the world, so much sin, because all these sins that cry to
heaven are the ones that bring so many evils to the world and this is what men
don’t want to understand, and they do not understand this salvation we are
talking about. And salvation is that you will not go to the world of eternal
suffering, to the world of torments that never end. I came to save you from
falling eternally into the world of afflictions, pain and torment, and this is
why I died on the Cross.
This is what I want you to understand.
Many people do not want to suffer; they don’t want to cry and they only want
happiness, well being, songs and dancing. And they don’t understand when I tell
them that I came to die to save them. They say: “...to save us from what? From
dancing? From singing? From enjoying ourselves?” No, dear children, no. I came
to save you so that you will not fall into the world of eternal suffering where
the devils are the tormentors. Many people are afflicted when people attack
their bodies, but even if they attack the body they cannot attack the soul and
this is what they don’t understand and they believe that the fire of hell that
is talked about so much does not exist.
To give you an idea, I tell you that the
fire of earth is a fire that burns, that consumes but it does not reach the
soul, but the infernal fire burns, embraces and penetrates the soul, but it
does not consume, and this means that this torment will never end and the soul
suffers, suffers all this torment eternally. In addition to what I have already
explained, the five senses: the ears, the eyes, the smell, the touch and the
taste will have only horrible things to see, to hear, to taste, to smell and
feel, and this will be an eternal suffering because it will not only be on the
outside, but the suffering will also be in the inside—inside and outside.
I want you to understand why I came to
this world to die; why I always tell you not to sin but if you sin get rid of
it immediately and put yourself in the grace of God so that this punishment
does not reach you.
I come to instruct you about hell so
that you will know that all that I say is for the good of your soul, for the
good of your body, and that if you obey my words you will not fall into these
torments.
My Blessed Mother cries when one of Her
children is condemned she knows that the torment will be great, much greater
because he had his salvation in his hands and he rejected it. And that is why
my Mother cries for all those children that will be condemned.
You must be alert and instruct others
about this and tell them that here on earth you must suffer. But what you
suffer here is just a little, very little and with this little suffering you
have many consolations; you have tranquillity and rest. But in hell there are
no consolations. There are none.
I have come so that you know and are not
sad when you have troubles or afflictions; offer them up for the atonement of
your sins and you will obtain many fruits. If you have patience in your
illnesses you will obtain many fruits; if you pray when you are sad instead of
being afflicted and feeling sorry for yourselves you will obtain many fruits
and this will help you to gain heaven and avoid hell.
I have come to instruct you so that you
would understand that here on earth when you are thirsty you immediately look
for water to calm your thirst, and when you don’t have it, you suffer and you
are not satisfied until you have the water that will calm the thirst on your
lips. But in hell the thirst that you will feel will increase, tormenting the
soul and the body, and you will never receive even a drop of water to calm this
thirst, and this thirst will increase, increase, increase and in the same way
also all the sufferings of the senses.
I want you to understand that in heaven
the joy will increase, the happiness will increase, and in hell the suffering
will also continually increase.
I also want to tell you that purgatory
exists, and I wanted to speak to you about purgatory because it is where the
souls that have not been completely purified go; but, because they are in the
grace of God, and even if it is at last hour they will not go to heaven or
hell, but they will go to a place where they can purify themselves, and then,
when the moment comes they will go to heaven. And that is why I ask you to pray
for these souls that are detained in purgatory, purifying themselves in order to
be able to enter without stain into heaven. You must pray for these souls so
that their purification will be shortened, and so that they can enter into
heaven. And you must also pray very much so that sinners repent and will be
able to avoid this suffering that I told you about. Pray a lot. Pray the
rosary. Pray very much because times are coming—very hard, difficult, ...cruel
times are coming—when you will have to understand that the suffering that you
will have on earth will be nothing compared to those of hell, and knowing this
you will feel better and you will work better, and when you have a little
sorrow you will say that this is nothing compared to what there is down there
in hell, and you will suffer these little misfortunes, these little sorrows and
problems with joy, and you will see how consolation comes to your hearts...and
you will have a double happiness because you will have understood what the Lord
really wants and that is that you love my Cross, love my Sacrifice, and because
of this love you will be saved.
...From the bottom of my Sacred Heart, I
bless you in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. May
peace, happiness, faith and love remain in your hearts.
Note: Non-Catholic readers who don’t understand
concepts such as Suffering or Cross, Penance, Sacred Heart, Immaculate Heart
and the like, are encouraged to get converted to the Catholic Faith—come back
to their true home—to learn the Faith. This, certainly, may not be an easy task
for many, but what is needed is just COURAGE and CONVICTION! There are
many who have demonstrated this courage. For instance, British Jesuit scholar Frederick
Charles Copleston, born Anglican, was even expelled from Marlborough College for converting from Anglican to the Catholic Faith in the 1920s but he took
courage, joined the Society of Jesus in 1930 and was ordained in 1937. Why did
he convert? Again, why did Tony Blair, born an Anglican, take the same decision—making headlines in
December 2007 when he converted to Roman Catholicism, becoming the first Roman
Catholic Prime Minister of Britain in history? Why did he take such a
courageous decision despite having already been given “Communion”
as an Anglican by anti-Catholic and anti-conversion John Paul II? Why did John
Henry Newman, also born an Anglican, take the same decision in the nineteenth
century—becoming a Catholic Cardinal later? And the great Cardinal Manning,
also born an Anglican? ...etc. There are many others (outside Anglicanism!). It’s all
about COURAGE! It’s all about CONVICTION!
