Note By Sister Faustina Regarding Hell

The following was written by Sister Faustina following the previous entry of the Chasms of Hell.

"I, Sister Faustina, by the order of God, have visited the abysses of hell so that I might tell souls about it and testify to its existence. I cannot speak about it now; but I have received a command from God to leave it in writing. The devils were full of hatred for me, but they had to obey me at the command of God.

What I have written is but a pale shadow of the things I saw. But I noticed one thing: that most of the souls there are those who disbelieved that there is hell. When I came to, I could hardly recover from the fright. How terribly souls suffer there!

Consequently, I pray even more fervently for the conversion of sinners. I incessantly plead God's mercy upon them. O my Jesus, I would rather be in agony until the end of the world, amidst the greatest sufferings, than offend You by the least sin."

The Chasms of Hell

A painting by Hieronymous Bosch, c.1510, portraying Hell on the right.

The following is from Notebook II of the Diary of St. Faustina, page 296, paragraph 741

"Today, I was led by an Angel to the chasms of hell. It is a place of great torture; how awesomely large and extensive it is! The kinds of tortures I saw:

First torture that constitutes hell - is the loss of God;

Second torture - is perpetual remorse of conscience;

Third torture - is that one's condition will never change;

Fourth torture - is the fire that will penetrate the soul without destroying it - a terrible suffering, since it is a purely spiritual fire, lit by God's anger;

Fifth torture - is continual darkness and a terrible suffocating smell, and, despite the darkness, the devils and the souls of the damned see each other and all the evil, both of others and their own;

Sixth torture - is the constant company of Satan;

Seventh torture - is horrible despair, hatred of God, vile words, curses and blasphemies.

These are the tortures suffered by all the damned together, but that is not the end of the sufferings. There are special tortures destined for particular souls. These are the torments of the senses. Each soul undergoes terrible and indescribable sufferings, related to the manner in which it has sinned. There are caverns and pits of torture where one form of agony differs from another...Let the sinner know that he will e tortured throughout all eternity, in those senses which he made use of to sin. I am writing this at the command of God, so that no soul may find an excuse by saying there is no hell, or that nobody has ever been t here, and so no one an say what it is like."

This one is a medieval painting depicting Hell.

Submission to the Will of God

The following is from Notebook II page page 292 #724 of St. Faustina's Diary

"Faithful submission to the will of God, always and everywhere, in all events and circumstances of life, gives great glory to God. Such submission to the will of God carries more weight with Him than long fasts, mortifications and the most severe penances. Oh, how great is the reward for one act of loving submission to the will of God! As i write, my soul is enraptured at the though of how much God loves it and of the peace that my soul already enjoys, here on earth..."

Send a Message of Thanks to the Troops -Corrected Link

H/T to BECCA

1-800-Flower has a message center set up at their website. Please send a message to our troops and thank them.

CLICK HERE
Thanks for pointing that out Barb ;-)

Another Saintly Quote

Picture courtesy of THIS SITE
Thanks again Sue!

We do not very often come across opportunities for exercising strength, magnanimity, or magnificence; but gentleness, temperance, modesty, and humility, are graces which ought to color everything we do. There may be virtues of a more exalted mold, but... these are the most continually called for in daily life.

St Francis de Sales

Saintly Quote - Suffering

Mahalo Sue!

If there be a true way that leads to the Everlasting Kingdom, it is most certainly that of suffering, patiently endured.

Saint Colette (1381-1447)

Prayer for Priests

Thanks Sue!

OUR LADY’S PRAYER FOR PRIESTS
To obtain the Grace of all World’s Masses

Eternal Father we humbly offer Thee our poor Presence and that of the whole of humanity from the beginning to the end of the world at all the Masses that have ever or ever will be prayed. We Offer Thee all the pains, suffering, prayers, sacrifices, joys and relaxations of our lives, in union with those of our dear Lord Jesus here on earth. May the Most Precious Blood of Christ, all His Blood and Wounds and Agony save us, through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary. Amen

Pray daily and make known

Prayer Requests

1. Bill Peffley, Fr. Peffley's Dad who will be undergoing quadruple by-pass surgery today. Click Here for details.

2. For Nathan, the nephew of former Hawaii Right to Life Director John Long who recently underwent serious surgery for cancer.

3. For Ernesto, a fellow parishioner who recently underwent cataract surgery for a second time and for other health issues.

4. For Phillip, a friend undergoing cancer treatment.

5. For the children of the world. May God and His blessed Mother protect them from all dangers.

6. For the Christians who are forced to flee their home in Iraq. ARTICLE

St. Thomas of Villanova - The Poor

Thanks Sue!

If you want God to hear your prayers, hear the voice of the poor.

If you wish God to anticipate your wants, provide those of the needy without waiting for them to ask you.

Especially anticipate the needs of those who are ashamed to beg.

To make them ask for alms is to make them buy it.

St. Thomas of Villanova

What is the Real Presence?

Out of the 242 folks who voted in the Real Presence Poll, 7 voted that they did not know what the Real Presence was.

Very basically, I would like to say that at the Consecration of the Mass, the ordinary bread and wine, are changed by the Priest (and only by a priest can this be accomplished), into the ACTUAL Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Notice that I do not say, "we Catholic believe this" because, whether or not you believe in this miraculous transubstantiation, it is a fact and it occurs nevertheless.

It was at the last supper that our Lord celebrated the First Mass and it was there that the priesthood was initiated as a way to perpetuate the Eucharist or Real Presence by the priest.

Now, for a more in depth study of what the Real Presence is, click CLICK HERE to read what the late Father John A. Hardon, S.J. has written.