Faithful heart Posted November 10, 2003 Share Posted November 10, 2003 We pray for souls in purgetory, is it ok to pray for the souls in hell? Will any amount of prayer free them from the clutches of satan? Are they all doomed, end of story? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted November 10, 2003 Share Posted November 10, 2003 Souls in hell are stuck there, unfortunately. However, souls in hell hated God while on earth, and in hell they hate Him even more. So even if it were possible for souls in hell to repent and go to heaven, they still wouldn't choose to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdewolf2 Posted November 10, 2003 Share Posted November 10, 2003 C.S. Lewis said the gate to hell was locked from the inside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vianney Posted November 10, 2003 Share Posted November 10, 2003 I wouldnt say the souls in hell hate God. The souls in hell will NEVER get out. The souls on Earth didnt neccesarily hate God either they just didnt follow his laws. If I die with a mortal sin on my soul tommrow does that mean that I hate God. NO does it mean I am going to hell? YES CS Lewis description of it was good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Gus Posted November 10, 2003 Share Posted November 10, 2003 Just as in heaven, we are perfected in virtue, in hell we are perfected in vice. We are stripped of our "image of God"ness, we become demonic in nature. In hell, yes, we hate God. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloysius Posted November 10, 2003 Share Posted November 10, 2003 but we didn't necessarily hate him on earth, as we were not perfected in vice that makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theologian in Training Posted November 10, 2003 Share Posted November 10, 2003 Just to play "angel's advocate" and to take a more "pastoral" approach. What about the person who was in the state of mortal sin, was not well-educated in the faith, knew about confession, but never confessed, and merely went to Church because his family went, and died suddenly? Do you really tell their spouse or children that he went to Hell and is damned for eternity? Remember, I am merely playing angel's advocate, and don't want to be attacked for it. It is something that becomes more of a reality the more people you meet, especially in a parish setting. God Bless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Huether Posted November 10, 2003 Share Posted November 10, 2003 Just as in heaven, we are perfected in virtue, in hell we are perfected in vice. We are stripped of our "image of God"ness, we become demonic in nature. In hell, yes, we hate God. Exactly. That reminds me of, Matthew 13:12 Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueRose Posted November 10, 2003 Share Posted November 10, 2003 I'm starting to get annoyed with the Catholic Church. I'm tired of hearing constant, "You'll go to hell if you.." and "You'll go to hell if you don't...". Are all my Baptist friends going to hell because they don't go to confession? How about the Jews and the Non-Denominational's and on and on...? Question: Is it a Mortal Sin when you commit a sin but know you are wrong in the process of doing it? (I'm not clear on this...) Well if that's true, then do you HAVE to confess it to a priest in order to get into heaven? Say you're sorry but don't confess it? Are you going to hell then? This whole thing irks me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironmonk Posted November 10, 2003 Share Posted November 10, 2003 I'm starting to get annoyed with the Catholic Church. I'm tired of hearing constant, "You'll go to hell if you.." and "You'll go to hell if you don't...". Are all my Baptist friends going to hell because they don't go to confession? How about the Jews and the Non-Denominational's and on and on...? Question: Is it a Mortal Sin when you commit a sin but know you are wrong in the process of doing it? (I'm not clear on this...) Well if that's true, then do you HAVE to confess it to a priest in order to get into heaven? Say you're sorry but don't confess it? Are you going to hell then? This whole thing irks me. The Catholic Church was built by Christ and has the keys to the kingdom. If you feel that you are getting annoyed with the Church, then it would be because of misunderstanding... read a little Catechism each day... it will help... http://www.USCCB.org There are three things for something to be mortal. Please see http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14004b.htm#III The Catholic Church does not say anyone is going to hell. If someone dies with mortal sin, their soul is in grave danger... but we do not know why they commited that mortal sin. Who goes to hell is up to God... people from all faiths can be saved on the day of Judgement. God's mercy is beyond our knowledge. I hope this helps in your understanding, if you would like some other links that directly reflect the teachings, let me know... Here is one more link: http://www.catholic-pages.com/dir/last_things.asp (Heaven, Hell, & Purgatory) God Bless, Your Servant in Christ, ironmonk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Huether Posted November 10, 2003 Share Posted November 10, 2003 I'm starting to get annoyed with the Catholic Church. I'm tired of hearing constant, "You'll go to hell if you.." and "You'll go to hell if you don't...". Are all my Baptist friends going to hell because they don't go to confession? How about the Jews and the Non-Denominational's and on and on...? Question: Is it a Mortal Sin when you commit a sin but know you are wrong in the process of doing it? (I'm not clear on this...) Well if that's true, then do you HAVE to confess it to a priest in order to get into heaven? Say you're sorry but don't confess it? Are you going to hell then? This whole thing irks me. Short answer to your question, YES. In order for a sin to be Mortal, it has to be an objectively mortal sin, you must know that, and you must do it. Edit: - See the site Ironmonk posted for the more accurate response. If you are ignorant of the fact that it was mortal, then it wasn't a mortal sin that you commited. However, if you later come to realize that it was, then yes you should confess it. And, frankly, I don't see where you're comin' from. We are the furtherst from telling people "you're goin' to hell..." Catholics don't pass judgment on people, only sins. If we say someone is going to hell, it is conditional. And the conditions are such that the three points above must be met + the person would have to be unrepentant when they die. We can say for sure, in general, that if a person dies in mortal sin without confessing they are goin' to hell. But to say for instance that Hitler is "for sure" in hell, is wrong. We can't make that judgment, because we don't know if he repented, nor do we know if he was ignorant as to the mortality of the sins he was commiting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueRose Posted November 11, 2003 Share Posted November 11, 2003 Thanks guys for your reply. I think I have a better understanding of this hell business. Just a few more questions. Ironmonk - I read that link about mortal sins, etc. Not all but most. Is it basically saying that a mortal sin is something that you do that is purposely against God or one of his children? Wow, it's still confusing. I mean I get it but then I wonder, "ok so what about this? and this?" Like maybe calling up a former-friend and chewing him/her out for being rotten to you when maybe it would have been best to leave it alone. Wouldn't that be a venial sin? Or even a sin at all? Hmm... Also, about confession. Say you have a sin on your heart but you go to confession and don't confess it aloud, but are still sorry. Is it absolved? Or if you don't say specifically what it is but make a generalization, like saying that you've committed the sin of greed or hatred or of lust, and keep in special mind the PARTICULAR sin - is it the same? Hmm - good thing about the Cahtolic Church: It is a lot like a family. You can get mad at it, but it won't cast you away for doing so. Instead it continues to teach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faithful heart Posted November 11, 2003 Author Share Posted November 11, 2003 So, do any of you pray for the souls in hell. Would that be against God to do so? Are people in hell just demons out for no good? I know how people get to hell, I am confused about how we should feel about them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IcePrincessKRS Posted November 11, 2003 Share Posted November 11, 2003 Also, about confession. Say you have a sin on your heart but you go to confession and don't confess it aloud, but are still sorry. Is it absolved? Or if you don't say specifically what it is but make a generalization, like saying that you've committed the sin of greed or hatred or of lust, and keep in special mind the PARTICULAR sin - is it the same? You are supposed to confess all your sins. I recall, as a kid, learning from the Balitmore Catechism (maybe some of you all remember them?) The chapter that covered confession showed a boy going into the confessional, his arms laden with boxes. The next picture he comes out, but instead of all those boxes being gone, he still has all of them plus one more because he did not confess all of his sins. There is another boy who goes in and comes out free of boxes, having confessed everything. The point of relating this is that we cannot deliberately not confess a sin that we know we've committed. Forgetting a sin is one thing, but not confessing it on purpose is another. I honestly am not sure if we aren't forgiven for the sins we do confess, but I do believe (I don't know, but I believe) that when we purposly refuse to confess a sin we are committing another sin. Its like lying to the priest, and while he won't know we are holding back and it isn't necessarily hurting him any, it IS hurting our souls. If my opinion here is somehow theologically unsound I know I'll will be corrected by one of our resident Smart People and of course I will conform my belief to the Church's teaching. But what I've stated above is what I've always been taught. Obviously those images made a big impression on my little 7 year old mind if I still remember them 15 years later! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IcePrincessKRS Posted November 11, 2003 Share Posted November 11, 2003 So, do any of you pray for the souls in hell. Would that be against God to do so? Are people in hell just demons out for no good? I know how people get to hell, I am confused about how we should feel about them. In a way, I guess we should feel sorry for them... but they also brought it upon themselves. Our prayers don't do anything to relieve their suffering like they do for the souls in purgatory. There's really nothing we can do for them. We can't say for sure who is in hell, but as I said, we know that we cannot do anything for them. Pray for the souls in purgatory. They need our prayers, and they will pray for us as well, returning the favor. Does that help at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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