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Certain authors, attempting to propose a modern
conception of hell, have departed from traditional
doctrine. They hold that the damned are not all
absolutely perverted, that not all are guilty of
hating God. In these cases, then, pain of loss and of
sense would not be as severe as theologians generally
affirm.
Such authors have not reflected sufficiently on the
distinction between the road and the goal. They do
not reflect that these separated souls undergo a
total privation of God, of all goods which flow from
the beatific vision, and also of those created goods
given as means to reach God.
These authors, further, have not reflected
sufficiently on the nature of obstinacy, and its
relation to infinite justice. They lose sight of what
the greatest doctors have said on the finality of
hell. They ignore the imprescriptible rights of the
sovereign good to be loved above all things: rights
which are emphasized in the visions granted to
saints. [312]
Question: Is it proper in our own age to preach on
hell? We answer thus: first, it is certainly better
to go to God by the way of love than that of fear.
The redemptive Incarnation invites us continually to
the way of love. But fear is today a necessary
element of salvation, just as surely as it was when
the Fathers preached the gospel. We conclude, with
the author of the article on hell in the Dictionnaire
de theologique "Preachers must indeed omit all purely
imaginary descriptions. The simple truth is
sufficient. But to keep systematic silence on any
portion of Christian teaching, particularly on
forethought for our last end, is to ignore radically
the spirit of Christianity. This life is a road,
which ends inevitably either in hell or in heaven."
[313]
Further, our Lord deigns frequently to give
privileged souls a higher knowledge of hell, by
contemplation, or by vision, imaginary or
intellectual, in order to carry them on to greater
hatred of sin, to growth in charity, to more burning
zeal for the salvation of souls. It is sufficient
here to recall the visions. Like St. Theresa, many
saints were thus illumined by contrast, on the
infinite greatness of God and the value of eternal
life.
St. Theresa speaks thus: "I often ask myself how it
came that pictures of hell did not lead me to fear
these pains as they deserve. Now I feel a killing
pain at sight of the multitudes who are lost. This
vision was one of the greatest graces the Lord has
given me. From it arise also these vehement desires
to be useful to souls. Yes, I say it with all truth:
to deliver one soul from these terrible torments, I
would gladly, it seems to me, endure death a thousand
times." [314]
Our Lord said to St. Catherine of Siena: [315] "The
first suffering which the damned endure is that they
are deprived of seeing Me. This suffering is so great
that, [316] if it were possible, they would choose to
endure fire and torments, if they could in the
meantime enjoy My vision, rather than to be delivered
from other sufferings without being able to see Me.
This pain is increased by a second, that of the worm
of conscience, which torments them without cessation.
Thirdly, the view of the demon redoubles their
sufferings, because, seeing him in all his ugliness,
they see what they themselves are, and thus see
clearly that they themselves have merited these
chastisements. The fourth torment which the damned
endure is that of fire, a fire which burns but does
not consume. Further, so great is the hate which
possesses them that they cannot will anything good.
Continually they blaspheme Me. They can no longer
merit. Those who die in hate, guilty of mortal sin,
enter a state which lasts forever."
These vivid descriptions confirm the traditional
doctrines. They show by contrast the value of eternal
life, and the value of the time of merit, which is
given to us to attain that life. [317]
Fear of God's chastisements is salutary, though it
diminishes with the growth of charity. The more the
saints love God, the more they fear to be separated
from Him. This filial fear is a gift of the Holy
Spirit. It makes hope perfect. It spurs us on to
desire God still more strongly, and at the same time
it bridles presumption.
A good theologian, Father Gardeil, O.P., in his book,
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit among the Dominican
Saints, speaks as follows: "Christianity has the
honor of transfiguring human passions. Now is there
any passion more difficult to rehabilitate than fear?
Who
dares to defend it? Who would undertake this task in
our own time, ruled by a moral code which is founded
on human respect? Mere human philosophy has but one
fear, not to elevate itself enough." [318]
For these moralists, nothing will do except a
doctrine completely filled with disinterestedness.
Disinterestedness is the watchword. What! Admit that
man sometimes suffers fear? That with this passion he
spurns himself to good? Oh what shame! No! Let us
conceal this misery. Let it not soil our serene
ordinances. Let us suppress its very name.
"Only the divine Spirit will rehabilitate fear. The
fear adopted by the Holy Spirit has nothing in common
with mundane fear. It is not a fear of man; it is the
fear of God. 'The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of
wisdom.' And the Council of Trent, underlining a long
tradition of Christian centuries, declares that even
the fear of divine punishments is good and salutary."
But filial fear, the fear of sin, the fear of being
separated from God, is evidently still higher in
nature. It is a gift of the Holy Spirit. It grows
with charity. The saints, who know not how to tremble
before men, have this holy fear of God. As Father
Gardeil says: "The Stoic, fearing nothing, is but an
infant beside the saint who fears God alone. The
saint represents human morality made divine by God's
revelation." St. Louis Bertrand, missionary, who
defied the stones and arrows, who ardently desired
martyrdom, still feared God: "Lord, burn me here, cut
me here, spare me not here, that Thou mayest spare me
in eternity." [319]
God speaks by the prophet: "Turn to Me, . . . and I
will turn to you." The soul answers him with Jeremias:
"Convert us, O Lord, to thee, and we shall be
converted." [320] We can find no better words to
express the sweetness of conversion. The response of
the soul is more beautiful than the divine
exhortation, because the divine voice was heard in
order to obtain this response, just as the word of
Jesus to the Cananean woman was meant to inspire her
answer. The sweetness of conversion balances the
rigor of the dogma.
The Three Species of Fear
Before we begin the treatise on purgatory, we must
dwell briefly on the three kinds of fear. One kind is
bad. The two others are good, but so distinct, one
from the other, that growth in charity reduces the
one and augments the other.
Fear, in general, is a shrinking of the soul faced by
grave danger. When fear is a mere emotion, it must be
dominated by the virtue of fortitude. But fear can
exist also in the spiritual will, and can be either
good or evil.
Hence theologians distinguish three kinds of fear.
First, there is mundane fear, which fears the
opposition of the world and turns the soul away from
God. Secondly, servile fear, fear of the punishments
which God many inflict. This fear is useful for
salvation. Thirdly, there is filial fear, a fear of
sin, which grows with love of God, and which
continues to exist in heaven under the form of
reverential fear. Let us see what St. Thomas [321]
teaches us on these three kinds of fear.
In mundane fear, the fear of temporal evils which the
world may bring upon us, the soul is ready to offend
God in order to escape these evils. This fear appears
in many forms: human respect, culpable timidity,
slavery to the judgments of the world. Under this
fear the soul may neglect Mass on Sunday, Communion
at Easter, the duty of confession. Loss of situation
may follow faithfulness. Under the form of cowardice,
it can lead a man to deny his faith, to avoid the
loss of exterior good or of personal liberty or of
life itself. Jesus says: "Fear ye not them that kill
the body and are not able to kill the soul. But
rather fear Him that can destroy both soul and body
in hell." [322] Again He says: "What is a man
advantaged, if he gain the whole world and lose
himself and cast away himself? For he that shall be
ashamed of Me and of My words, of him the Son of man
shall be ashamed, when He shall come in His majesty
and that of His Father and of the holy angels." [323]
Mundane fear, then, is always bad. We must pray God
to deliver us from it. Those who regard the fear of
God as an ignoble sentiment are ruled by mundane
fear. Fear which shrinks from Holy Mass reverses all
values, because the Mass perpetuates sacramentally
the sacrifice of the cross, which has infinite value.
Assistance at Mass is great honor and great profit,
both for time and for eternity.
Servile fear differs very much from mundane fear. It
is not fear of persecution by the world, but the fear
of punishment by God. This fear is good, since it
leads the soul to fulfill the divine commandments.
This fear is meant when the Old Testament is called
the Law of Fear, whereas the New Testament is called
the Law of Love. But this fear, in itself good, can
still become bad, if the soul avoids sin only to
escape punishment. Such a soul would sin, if it did
not fear eternal punishment. In this last case fear
is servilely servile. It has mere fear of God, no
love. It is evil. It cannot exist with charity, the
love of God above all things. [324]
But when this fear is not servilely servile, it is
good, it aids the sinner to approach God. But even
thus it is not a virtue, not a gift of the Holy
Spirit. It is, says St. Catherine of Siena, [325]
like a storm which strikes the sinner down. It is
insufficient for salvation, but it can lead to
virtue. Thus, during a tempest at sea, the sailor may
remember to pray. Even if he is in mortal sin, he
prays as well as he can, moved by the actual grace,
which is given under all such circumstances.
In the just man, servile fear can continue throughout
life, but it grows less with the progress of charity.
The more we love God, the more does selfishness
diminish. The more we love God, the more do we hope
to be recompensed by God. But servile fear, fear of
divine punishment, can certainly not exist in heaven.
Filial fear differs very much from the two preceding
kinds. It is the fear of a son, not that of a
hireling or a servant. It is a fear, not of the
punishments of God, but of sin which separates us
from God. It differs therefore essentially from
servile fear, and still more from mundane fear.
This filial fear is not only good, like servile fear:
rather it is a gift of the Holy Spirit. "Pierce Thou
my flesh," says the Psalmist, "with Thy fear, O
Lord." [326] This filial fear, though it is the least
elevated of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, is
nevertheless the beginning of wisdom. It is true
wisdom to fear sin, which drives us far from God.
Filial fear corresponds to the beatitude of the poor
in spirit, of those who fear the Lord and therefore
already possess Him.
Whereas servile fear diminishes with progress in
charity, filial fear grows continually, because the
more we love God, the more we fear sin and separation
from Him. The seven gifts are connected with charity
and all other infused virtues. These gifts are the
varied functions of our spiritual organism. Hence
they all grow simultaneously just as "the five
fingers of the hand develop simultaneously." [327]
St. Catherine of Siena says that, with progress in
charity, filial fear grows until mundane fear
disappears completely. The apostles, after Pentecost,
began to glory in their tribulations. They rejoiced
in being judged worthy to suffer for our Lord. Before
the Ascension, feeling acutely their own impotency,
they feared the persecutions our Lord had foretold.
On Pentecost they were clarified, fortified,
confirmed in
grace.
Filial fear in heaven is called reverential fear.
"The fear of the Lord is holy, enduring forever and
ever." [328] Thus the psalm. It will no longer be
fear of sin, fear of being separated from God, but
deep reverence. Seeing the infinite grandeur of the
Most High, the soul
sees its own nothingness and fragility. God is
reality itself. "Ego sum qui sum." In this sense, as
we sing in the preface, even the Powers tremble. This
gift of reverential fear exists even in the holy soul
of our Savior, just as do the other gifts of the Holy
Spirit.
Reverential fear appears in the saints even in the
present life. When St. Peter, after the first
miraculous catch of fishes, came to Jesus, he said:
"Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord."
[329] It is then that Jesus said to him: "Fear not,
from henceforth thou shall catch men." And Peter,
James, and John left everything to follow Him.
We see how different these three kinds of fear are
one from the other. Mundane fear is always bad. The
fear of suffering is good, if it does not become
servilely servile, if it does not dispose us to sin.
Filial fear is always good. It grows with charity as
do the other gifts of the Holy Spirit and continues
to exist in heaven as reverential fear. Lord, deliver
us from mundane fear, diminish in us servile fear,
augment in
us filial fear.
This distinction is not owing to human psychology. To
arrive at these distinctions we need revelation,
expression of divine wisdom.
Certain authors, as we have seen, teach a moral
system based completely on disinterestedness, which
neither fears divine punishment nor desires
recompense. They blush to admit that at times they
suffer this passion of fear, for such admission would
upset their doctrine. [330]
It belongs to the Holy Spirit to rehabilitate fear.
[331] And this in three ways: in condemning human
respect; in showing that fear of punishment is good;
and especially in showing that filial fear is a fear
of separation from God, and consequently a
supernatural gift which grows simultaneously with
charity. This last species of fear inspired the
saints' lives of reparation to obtain the conversion
of sinners. St. Dominic nightly scourged himself to
blood, in favor of sinners to whom he was preaching.
This same holy fear inspired the mortifications of
St. Catherine of Siena, of St. Rose of Lima, and of
many other saints. But there is something higher than
filial fear, even in its highest forms in heaven.
Christian doctrine recognizes the pre-eminent place
of charity, of love for God and for neighbor, that
corresponds to the divine precepts. Read the
description of this love in The Imitation of
Christ. [332] |
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| 312. |
Dict. theol.. cath., "L'Enfer." |
| 313. |
Ibid., col. 119. |
| 314. |
Autobiography, chap. 32. |
| 315. |
Dialogue of St. Catherine of Siena, chaps. 38-40. |
| 316. |
The pain here spoken of is that of not possessing
the supreme Good, source of joy; a pain that is more
severe because the soul has already lost other joys. |
| 317. |
We refer to a recent book: Un appel a l'amour,
Toulouse, Apostolate of Prayer, 1944. As is shown by
Father Vinard, S.J., in the introduction to this
book,
and by Father Charmot, S.J., in its conclusion, the
visions of hell and purgatory reported in this book
are
in harmony with the teachings of theology. The
diabolical nature of these sufferings may frighten
the
imagination, but does not destroy poise and peace in
the souls of God's servants; it rather gives them new
zeal to suffer for the salvation of souls. |
| 318. |
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Paris, 1903, p. 60. |
| 319. |
Ibid. |
| 320. |
Zach. 1:3; Isa. 45:22; Lament. 5:21. |
| 321. |
IIa IIae, q. 19. |
| 322. |
322 Matt. 10:28. |
| 323. |
Luke 9:26. |
| 324. |
Servile fear is in its essence good, but its mode
is bad, since it fears the chastisements of God more
than sin and separation from God. The soul loves
itself
more than God. It retains affection for mortal sin,
which it would commit if it did not fear eternal
punishment. |
| 325. |
Dialogue, chap. 94. |
| 326. |
This fear is called initial fear. It is still
united with servile fear, until charity has grown
strong enough to expel all servility. Ps. 118:120. |
| 327. |
Ia IIae, q. 61, a. 2. |
| 328. |
Ps. 18:10. |
| 329. |
Luke 5:8. |
| 330. |
The position here described is that of Kant. The
rationalists gave great importance to his doctrine,
since it includes the negation of revealed truth. But
if we take the standpoint of revelation, many who are
ordinarily called great philosophers appear as strong
spirits, but false, who have special ingenuity in
presenting error. They are great Sophists. Many of
them
are like intellectual monsters, false in fundamental
conceptions of God, of man, of our destiny. This is
particularly true in the case of Spinoza, Hume, and
Hegel. The thought of the Catholic theologian agrees
with what St. Augustine said of the great Sophists:
"Magni passus sel extra viam" ("Long steps but aside
from the road") . We shall see this clearly in
eternity, when the horizontal view, where error seems
to be on the same level as truth, yields to the
vertical view. The vertical view judges everything
from
on high in the manner of God, the supreme cause and
the
last end. Perspectives given us by histories of
philosophy will then be wonderfully changed.
Superficial judgments will emphasize the value of
definitive judgments. |
| 331. |
Gifts of the Holy Spirit, 1903, p. 60. |
| 332. |
Imitation of Christ, Bk. III, chap. 5. |
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