What’s this preoccupation with Heaven, Purgatory, and hell? Depth, Facunda, depth.
It’s fashionista to dig up and flaunt hidden wisdom on the Quirino grandstand hostage taking, tackle politics under Pres. Noynoy, dive deep into the fast paced sea of technology,live out sophistication the way glossy magazines portray the rich and famous, but we know what’s vogue now is memory tomorrow and probably totally zilch before the next generation takes over. Shallow.
Not even the most powerful in this world provides enough depth. The Rothschilds? Rockefellers? Even they, with their stupendous wealth coating them in mystique almost divine, are not exempt from rushing to toilets to take on the same posture that equalizes us all mortals: the squat. Temporal, nay, scatological.
Concern over what’s not as passing is depth. And, yes, Facunda, mankind is not short of testimonies, reliable and accessible, on where we’re headed to, whether we like it or not: Heaven, Purgatory, hell. Eternity. So this space, in a swerve from the usual journalistic flow, has lately been explicitly eschatological. There find depth, Facunda.
Past testimonies on Heaven in the last two pieces, we skirt Purgatory to plunge into hell. The most famous account of hell is from Sr. Lucia, one of the three visionaries of Fatima in 1917. Remember that she, Jacinta and Francisco (then children) vanished physically to be taken by the Blessed Mother to hell. Curious people who had surrounded them witnessed them vanish into thin air. When they reappeared a few seconds later, the children were screaming in fear. They had been bodily brought to and were shown hell.
Here are the exact words of Sr. Lucia describing what they saw:
"…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."
In Medjugorje where the Blessed Virgin’s apparitions started in 1981 and continues to our time and visionaries were either also physically taken to hell or were merely allowed to peek into it.
Again, excerpts from an interview done by Fr. Janko Bubalo with three of the four visionaries.
Vicka Ivancovic: "We saw many people in hell. Many are there already, and many more will go there when they die…The Blessed Mother says that those people who are in hell are there because they chose to go there. They wanted to go to hell…We all know that there are persons on this earth who simply don’t admit that God exists, even though He helps them, gives them life and sun and rain and food. He always tries to nudge them onto the path of holiness. They just say they don’t believe, and they deny Him. They deny Him, even when it is time to die. And they continue to deny Him, after they are dead. It is their choice. It is their will that they go to hell. They choose hell.
Question: "Describe hell as you remember it.
Vicka: "In the center of this place is a great fire, like an ocean of raging flames. We could see people before they went into the fire, and then we could see them coming out of the fire. Before they go into the fire, they look like normal people. The more they are against God’s will, the deeper they enter into the fire, and the deeper they go, the more they rage against Him. When they come out of the fire, they don’t have human shape anymore; they are more like grotesque animals, but unlike anything on earth. It’s as if they were never human beings before…They were horrible. Ugly. Angry. And each was different; no two looked alike…When they came out, they were raging and smashing everything around and hissing and gnashing and screeching.
Question: "Has seeing hell changed how you pray?
Vicka: ""Oh, yes! Now I pray for the conversion of sinners! I know what awaits them if they refuse to convert."
Vicka: "People turn away from God by choices they make. In this way they choose to enter the fire of hell where they burn away all connection to God. That’s why they can never get back to God. It takes God’s mercy to get back to Him. In hell, they no longer have access to God’s mercy…They choose to destroy their beauty and goodness. They choose to be ugly and horrible. People do this all the time. Each choice that is against God, God’s Commandments, God’s Will, singes God’s image in us…They become one with hell even while they have their body. At death they go on as they were when they had a body."
The following is what Marija has shared about hell:
Question: "Marija, have you ever seen hell?
Marija Pavlovic: "Yes, it’s a large space with a big sea of fire in the middle. There are many people there. I particularly noticed a beautiful young girl. But when she came near the fire, she was no longer beautiful. She came out of the fire like an animal; she was no longer human. The Blessed Mother told me that God gives us all choices. Everyone responds to these choices. Everyone can choose if he wants to go to hell or not. Anyone who goes to hell chooses hell.
Question: "Marija, how and why does a soul choose hell for himself for all eternity?
Marija: "In the moment of death, God gives us the light to see ourselves as we really are. God gives freedom of choice to everybody during his life on earth. The one who lives in sin on earth can see what he has done and recognize himself as he really is. When he sees himself and his life, the only possible place for him is hell. He chooses hell, because that is what he is. That is where he fits. It is his own wish. God does not make the choice. God condemns no one. We condemn ourselves. Every individual has free choice. God gave us freedom.
Question: "Marija, what about people who grow up spiritually deceived, people who have been told that God does not exist, that there is no God?
Marija: "People, as they grow up, can think. Everyone knows and can recognize what is good and what is bad by the time they grow up. God gives us freedom of choice. We can choose good or bad. Everybody chooses here in this life whether he goes to Heaven or hell.
Question: "How do we choose Heaven or hell or Purgatory for ourselves?
Marija: "At the moment of death, God gives everyone the grace to see his whole life, to see what he has done, to recognize the results of his choices on earth. And each person, when he sees himself in the divine light of reality, chooses for himself where he belongs. Every individual chooses for himself what he personally deserves for all eternity.
Question: "Jakov, did you see hell?
Jakov Colo: "Yes.
Question: "Can you tell us about it?
Jakov: "Very seldom do I talk about hell…I choose not to think about hell. The self-chosen suffering there is beyond your ability to comprehend.
Question: "Does it cause you pain?
Jakov: "More than you can understand…Because no one needs to go to hell. It is the ultimate waste.
Question: "What can people do to keep from going to hell?
Jakov: "Believe in God, no matter what happens in a lifetime."
It’s fashionista to dig up and flaunt hidden wisdom on the Quirino grandstand hostage taking, tackle politics under Pres. Noynoy, dive deep into the fast paced sea of technology,live out sophistication the way glossy magazines portray the rich and famous, but we know what’s vogue now is memory tomorrow and probably totally zilch before the next generation takes over. Shallow.
Not even the most powerful in this world provides enough depth. The Rothschilds? Rockefellers? Even they, with their stupendous wealth coating them in mystique almost divine, are not exempt from rushing to toilets to take on the same posture that equalizes us all mortals: the squat. Temporal, nay, scatological.
Concern over what’s not as passing is depth. And, yes, Facunda, mankind is not short of testimonies, reliable and accessible, on where we’re headed to, whether we like it or not: Heaven, Purgatory, hell. Eternity. So this space, in a swerve from the usual journalistic flow, has lately been explicitly eschatological. There find depth, Facunda.
Past testimonies on Heaven in the last two pieces, we skirt Purgatory to plunge into hell. The most famous account of hell is from Sr. Lucia, one of the three visionaries of Fatima in 1917. Remember that she, Jacinta and Francisco (then children) vanished physically to be taken by the Blessed Mother to hell. Curious people who had surrounded them witnessed them vanish into thin air. When they reappeared a few seconds later, the children were screaming in fear. They had been bodily brought to and were shown hell.
Here are the exact words of Sr. Lucia describing what they saw:
"…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."
In Medjugorje where the Blessed Virgin’s apparitions started in 1981 and continues to our time and visionaries were either also physically taken to hell or were merely allowed to peek into it.
Again, excerpts from an interview done by Fr. Janko Bubalo with three of the four visionaries.
Vicka Ivancovic: "We saw many people in hell. Many are there already, and many more will go there when they die…The Blessed Mother says that those people who are in hell are there because they chose to go there. They wanted to go to hell…We all know that there are persons on this earth who simply don’t admit that God exists, even though He helps them, gives them life and sun and rain and food. He always tries to nudge them onto the path of holiness. They just say they don’t believe, and they deny Him. They deny Him, even when it is time to die. And they continue to deny Him, after they are dead. It is their choice. It is their will that they go to hell. They choose hell.
Question: "Describe hell as you remember it.
Vicka: "In the center of this place is a great fire, like an ocean of raging flames. We could see people before they went into the fire, and then we could see them coming out of the fire. Before they go into the fire, they look like normal people. The more they are against God’s will, the deeper they enter into the fire, and the deeper they go, the more they rage against Him. When they come out of the fire, they don’t have human shape anymore; they are more like grotesque animals, but unlike anything on earth. It’s as if they were never human beings before…They were horrible. Ugly. Angry. And each was different; no two looked alike…When they came out, they were raging and smashing everything around and hissing and gnashing and screeching.
Question: "Has seeing hell changed how you pray?
Vicka: ""Oh, yes! Now I pray for the conversion of sinners! I know what awaits them if they refuse to convert."
Vicka: "People turn away from God by choices they make. In this way they choose to enter the fire of hell where they burn away all connection to God. That’s why they can never get back to God. It takes God’s mercy to get back to Him. In hell, they no longer have access to God’s mercy…They choose to destroy their beauty and goodness. They choose to be ugly and horrible. People do this all the time. Each choice that is against God, God’s Commandments, God’s Will, singes God’s image in us…They become one with hell even while they have their body. At death they go on as they were when they had a body."
The following is what Marija has shared about hell:
Question: "Marija, have you ever seen hell?
Marija Pavlovic: "Yes, it’s a large space with a big sea of fire in the middle. There are many people there. I particularly noticed a beautiful young girl. But when she came near the fire, she was no longer beautiful. She came out of the fire like an animal; she was no longer human. The Blessed Mother told me that God gives us all choices. Everyone responds to these choices. Everyone can choose if he wants to go to hell or not. Anyone who goes to hell chooses hell.
Question: "Marija, how and why does a soul choose hell for himself for all eternity?
Marija: "In the moment of death, God gives us the light to see ourselves as we really are. God gives freedom of choice to everybody during his life on earth. The one who lives in sin on earth can see what he has done and recognize himself as he really is. When he sees himself and his life, the only possible place for him is hell. He chooses hell, because that is what he is. That is where he fits. It is his own wish. God does not make the choice. God condemns no one. We condemn ourselves. Every individual has free choice. God gave us freedom.
Question: "Marija, what about people who grow up spiritually deceived, people who have been told that God does not exist, that there is no God?
Marija: "People, as they grow up, can think. Everyone knows and can recognize what is good and what is bad by the time they grow up. God gives us freedom of choice. We can choose good or bad. Everybody chooses here in this life whether he goes to Heaven or hell.
Question: "How do we choose Heaven or hell or Purgatory for ourselves?
Marija: "At the moment of death, God gives everyone the grace to see his whole life, to see what he has done, to recognize the results of his choices on earth. And each person, when he sees himself in the divine light of reality, chooses for himself where he belongs. Every individual chooses for himself what he personally deserves for all eternity.
Question: "Jakov, did you see hell?
Jakov Colo: "Yes.
Question: "Can you tell us about it?
Jakov: "Very seldom do I talk about hell…I choose not to think about hell. The self-chosen suffering there is beyond your ability to comprehend.
Question: "Does it cause you pain?
Jakov: "More than you can understand…Because no one needs to go to hell. It is the ultimate waste.
Question: "What can people do to keep from going to hell?
Jakov: "Believe in God, no matter what happens in a lifetime."
