Save us from the Fires of Hell

That familiar prayer of the Rosary, the Fatima prayer, reminds us of the fearful reality of Hell: "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of thy mercy". The Roman Canon, too, implores the Heavenly Father to "Grant us... peace in this life, save us from final damnation, and count us among those you have chosen." It may be an unpalatable dogma of the Church, but the reality of the existence of Hell is indisputable, in fact Our Blessed Lord, so full of mercy, so compassionate, so loving, makes it clear that Hell exists: "...if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'" (Mark 9:45-47)

The line between life and death is finer even than a hair's breadth, and the reality of our eternal destiny no further away, how important then that we strive to live in God's grace and avoid the sin which can jeopardise our eternal salvation. As Jesus reminds us, once more: "For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul?" (Mark 8:36)  Nothing this world has to offer, no pleasure, no relationship, no self-indulgence, no desire of ours is worth losing our soul, is worth putting our salvation at risk.

Mortal sin is so serious that the Church teaches the following: "It results in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God's forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ's kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back."(CCC para. 1861)

I think it was Archbishop Fulton Sheen (I may be wrong) who told the story of the nun showing the non-Catholic around the Church, and when the non-Catholic came to the Confessional box he asked: "Sister, what is this?" to which she replied, humorously: "The fire escape!" The story, true or not, makes a valuable point - no soul need ever go to Hell, no matter how grave its sins, God has provided the Fire Escape in the form of the Sacrament of Confession, He offers us the means to remain in His grace, indeed to grow in grace, to be reconciled to Him if we fall, and to avoid the greatest human tragedy of all: eternal damnation.

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

On November the 1st, 1950, invoking his infallible teaching authority, Pope Pius XII, in the Apostolic Constitution entitled: The Most bountiful God, solemnly defined, once and for all, what had been held and believed by Catholics for centuries, namely: that the Blessed Virgin Mary, at the end of her life, was assumed body and soul into the glory of Heaven.

The weight of infallibility accorded to this teaching, highlighted its importance for all Christians, since the dogma of the Assumption of our Blessed Lady body and soul into Heaven not only confirmed her unique role in God’s plan of salvation - chosen, as she was, to be the Mother of God - but it served to further clarify the truth about our destiny as children of God.

Whilst Mary received this particular grace of being assumed into God’s glory in her complete person - her physical body which had nourished and protected our unborn Saviour being preserved from the corruption of the grave - the dogma of the Assumption helps to focus the minds of us all on the hope of reaching Heaven. Mary, as the archetypal Christian, manifests in her person the destiny of the Church as a whole; of all God’s faithful people. “I am going now to prepare a place for you,” Jesus says to us in St. John’s Gospel, “and after I have gone and prepared you a place, I shall return to take you with me; so that where I am you may be too.” - and in the life and example of Mary, in her Assumption, we see this promise fulfilled.

Keeping our eyes fixed on this eternal destiny of ours, on the hope of Heaven, is essential to us getting our priorities in life right. With Heaven in view we see how transient this world truly is, and we understand that whilst engaging in this world, and playing a fruitful and constructive part in it, our hearts must belong to God. With our eyes fixed on God and on Heaven, our lives will then follow - the way we will determine to live will be such that it will lead us in the direction of God and the things of God - and whilst being necessary to our existence in this world, we will have a healthy and proper detachment from, and freedom in regard to, temporal and material concerns. In other words: the hope of Heaven, which is a reality for us all, the hope of remaining for all eternity in the loving embrace of our Heavenly Father, urges us to be faithful to Him in this life, by accepting and living His commandments with willing hearts, and letting go, with the help of His grace, of those things that stand in the way.

What lessons might we then learn from our Blessed Mother, the most perfect of all disciples, who has already attained the complete happiness of Heaven?

We must learn from Mary to be people of prayer, open to listening to God, loving in our conversation with Him, receptive to His Word and His will. We must learn humility, obedience, faith, and trust. We must learn to have the courage and strength of Mary, relying completely on the Lord and on His promises, even when things seem difficult or impossible for us - believing in God’s goodness, believing that God will always support us and never disappoint us. If we imitate Mary in these things we can be sure to imitate her in sharing in God’s life for ever in Heaven. (O Mary assumed into Heaven, pray for us!)

Sentimentality Gone Mad

Watching the BBC this morning highlighted for me once again the absurdity of society's attitudes towards the unborn child. The nonsense of a society which gets sentimental and emotional over too many kittens or puppies without a home, or older animals having to be put down, or over the hunting of foxes, is infinitely frustrating when at the same time it is happy - enthusiastic even - to sanction the abortion of the unborn human child.

When are we going to get a grip on reality, and on the seriousness of murdering our own children before they are born, and see that human life is incomparably more valuable than the life of an animal? As an animal lover I would condemn cruelty, of course, but my love as a Christian is more for my fellow human beings  - those called to share in the life of God - than it is for an animal whose purpose is fulfilled in this world.

What does it say about our society when we hate our children so much that we are happy for them to be killed in the womb? What does it say for society when we are not prepared to take responsibility for our own actions which are the reason for that child being conceived in the first place? What does it say for society when we preach tolerance towards all, rights for all, and yet the most vulnerable are denied any place in that society?

Modern attitudes are absurd and the truth has been twisted. I see society's approach to life as certainly subject to satanic influence - no revelation perhaps! It is the very nature of the Evil One to skew the truth, to turn upside down and inside out, to distort. So that, yes, we stand up for rights and freedoms, but not our real rights and freedoms but a perverted version of them. How can any thinking, feeling, sensible human being prefer the life of an animal to the life of another human, another child of God?