hell – The Value of Sparrows

POETRY: Hell by Thomas Ken

December 21, 2018

When, go ye, cursed, God proclaims, And sinners plunge in endless flames, Think, O my soul, what mighty pain, The damned sustain. Self-rage for breach of gracious laws, The worm of conscience which still gnaws, Confusion, terror, trembling, shame, And fierce self-blame. Heaven lost, the choice of torments sure, Souls tempered tortures to endure, Gnashing of teeth, outrageous fire, And darkness dire. How long have I ‘gainst God rebelled? How many gracious calls repelled? More hardships ran to work my bane Than Heaven would gain. My pestilence I oft diffused, Great God’s long suffering I abused, And damned to these eternal woes, Have what I chose. All praise to God who spares me time, To search and mourn for every crime; Souls armed with [...]

POETRY: A Purification by Wendell Berry

July 16, 2017

At start of spring I open a trench in the ground. I put into it the winter’s accumulation of paper, pages I do not want to read again, useless words, fragments, errors. And I put into it the contents of the outhouse: light of the sun, growth of the ground, finished with one of their journeys. To the sky, to the wind, then, and to the faithful trees, I confess my sins: that I have not been happy enough, considering my good luck; have listened to too much noise; have been inattentive to wonders; have lusted after praise. And then upon the gathered refuse of mind and body, I close the trench, folding shut again the dark, the deathless earth. Beneath that seal the old escapes into the [...]

POETRY: A Letter, by Wendell Berry

June 14, 2017

(to Ed McClanahan) Dear Ed, I dreamed that you and I were sent to Hell. The place we went to was not fiery or cold, was not Dante’s Hell or Milton’s, but was, even so, as true a Hell as any. It was a place unalterably public in which crowds of people were rushing in weary frenzy this way and that, as when classes change in a university or at quitting time in a city street, except that this place was wider far than we could see, and the crowd as large as the place. In that crowd every one was alone. Every one was hurrying. Nobody was sitting down. Nobody was standing around. All were rushing so uniformly in every direction, so uniformly frantic, that to average them would have stood them still. It was a place deeply disturbed. [...]

POETRY: Hell, by Thomas Ken

December 11, 2016

When, go ye, cursed, God proclaims, And sinners plunge in endless flames, Think, O my soul, what mighty pain, The damned sustain. Self-rage for breach of gracious laws, The worm of conscience which still gnaws, Confusion, terror, trembling, shame, And fierce self-blame. Heaven lost, the choice of torments sure, Souls tempered tortures to endure, Gnashing of teeth, outrageous fire, And darkness dire. How long have I ‘gainst God rebelled? How many gracious calls repelled? More hardships ran to work my bane Than Heaven would gain. My pestilence I oft diffused, Great God’s long suffering I abused, And damned to these eternal woes, Have what I chose. All praise to God who spares me time, To search and mourn for every crime; Souls [...]

DIABOLOGY: Encounter With Evil, by Malcolm Godwin

August 11, 2016

From Angels: An Endangered Species We now turn to what are claimed to be first-hand accounts of meetings with the enemy. During the five centuries after Christ many Christian hermits and monks withdrew into the wilderness in order to leave worldly temptations. Legions of demons seemed to follow them with enthusiasm, if the contemporary monastic diabology is anything to by by. This diabology was a new type of writing which gave instructions as to how to resist temptation and cope with the threat of demonic attacks. It also gave the writers an opportunity to give the most lurid accounts of the archenemy himself. The most influential of these visionary, yet practical, manuals of how to deal with both angel and Devil was the [...]

HEALING: Perfect Hell

December 4, 2014

I am not obsessive-compulsive. I have actually been tested. The same test, however, showed that I am a perfectionist. When I saw how high on the scale of perfectionism I tested, I felt an urge to sit down right there and write tearful apologies to my children. I had always considered myself a patient parent. But perhaps my patience had really been aimed at generously waiting for them To Get It Right. As I wrote, tearful apologies are way overdue. Back in the days when I roamed the Earth in Brooks Brothers suits, with gleaming nails on hands and feet, when I found myself having to meet the challenge of working with both attorneys, with their own ideas, on one end of the spectrum, and printers, with their own ideas, on the other, [...]

SERMON: Heaven And Hell — It Is a Matter of the Heart, by C. S. Song

October 26, 2014

From And Their Eyes Are Opened On that day, when evening had come, he [Jesus] said to them, “Let us go across to the other side. And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled [...]

SATURDAY READING: What Happens In Hell, by Charles Baxter

October 25, 2014

From Ploughshares “Sir, I am wondering – have you considered lately what happens in Hell?” No, I hadn’t, but I liked that lately. We were on our way from the San Francisco Airport to Palo Alto, and the driver for Bay Area Limo, a Pakistani American whose name was Naizi, was glancing repeatedly in the rearview mirror to check me out. After all, there I was, a privileged person – a hegemon of some sort – in the back seat of the Lincoln Town Car, cushioned by the camel-colored leather as I swigged my bottled water. Like other Americans of my class and station, I know the importance of staying hydrated. And there he was, up front, behind the wheel on a late sunny Saturday afternoon, speeding down [...]

MYSTICISM: Proverbs Of Hell by William Blake

October 24, 2014

In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy. * Drive your cart and your plow over the bones of the dead. * The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom. * Prudence is a rich, ugly old maid courted by Incapacity. * He who desires but acts not, breeds pestilence. * A cut worm forgives the plow. * Dip him in the river who loves water. * A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees. * He whose face gives no light, shall never become a star. * Eternity is in love with the productions of time. * The busy bee has no time for sorrow. * The hours of folly are measur’d by the clock; but of wisdom, no clock can measure. * All wholesome food is caught without a net or a trap. * Bring out number, weight, & measure in a [...]

HELL: Something Good About Hell, by Jon M. Sweeney

October 23, 2014

From Almost Catholic Here at least We shall be free; the Almighty hath not built Here for his envy, will not drive us hence: Here we may reign secure; and in my choice To reign is worth ambition, though in Hell: Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven. (John Milton, Paradise Lost) Lucifer loved his new digs in hell, according to Milton. But he’s probably the only one. I’m not going there, and neither are any of my friends. In fact, no one I know or have ever met is headed there. Or at least that’s how I like to think about it. Is hell a literal place? I don’t know for sure, and Catholics are divided on that question. But I believe I have known people who are in a very real way in hell right now. [...]

POETRY: Hell, by Franz Wright

October 22, 2014

But if they were condemned to suffer this unending torment, sooner or later wouldn’t they become the [...]

POETRY: Hell, by Sarah Manguso

October 22, 2014

The second-hardest thing I have to do is not be longing’s slave. Hell is that. Hell is that, others, having a job, and not having a job. Hell is thinking continually of those who were truly great. Hell is the moment you realize that you were ignorant of the fact, when it was true, that you were not yet ruined by desire. The kind of music I want to continue hearing after I am dead is the kind that makes me think I will be capable of hearing it then. There is music in Hell. Wind of desolation! It blows past the egg- eyed statues. The canopic jars are full of secrets. The wind blows through me. I open my mouth to speak. I recite the list of people I have copulated with. It does not take long. I say the names of my imaginary children. I [...]

HELL: A Fierce Jesuit, by John Casey

October 21, 2014

From After Lives A famous exponent of Jesuit eloquence was Jeremias Drexel (or Dresselius), a Bavarian Jesuit who lived from 1581 to 1638. His specialty was eternity. He sought to dramatize for his listeners and readers the idea of everlasting punishment, using every possible rhetorical technique. He talks of a “stone in Arcadia, called Asbestos,” which being set on fire burns continually; and of a certain kind of flax “which is so far from being comsum’d by the Fire, that it is wash’d and cleans’d by it. Thus shall the Damn’d Burn, but the Fire shall never be Extinguish’d; they shall always Burn, but never be consum’d; they shall seek for Death in the Flames, but shall never [...]

PRAYER: John The Baptist’s Prayer

October 20, 2014

The Descent Into Hell From The Exeter Book Before it was day the women of noble birth began to get themselves ready to go; the men who were assembled knew that the prince’s body was shut in the sepulcher. The tired women meant to lament the prince’s death with dirges for a while, to mourn in sadness. The place where he lay had grown cold, his passing had been hard. But the men they met at the tomb were brave and cheerful. Mary, the mourner, came at dawn, she told another nobleman’s daughter to go with her, the two sad women looked for God’s victorious son, alone in the sepulcher, where they knew that the men of the Jews had hidden him before. They expected that he would remain in the tomb, alone over Easter Night. [...]

SERMON: On The Apostles’ Creed, by Thomas Aquinas

October 19, 2014

He descended into hell. As we say, the death of Christ lies in the separation of the soul from the body, just as in the death of other human beings. But, the divinity was so indissolubly united to the humanity of Christ that, although body and soul were separated from each other, nonetheless the very divinity was always perfectly present both to the soul and the body. Therefore, the Son of God was both in the tomb with the body and descended into hell with the soul. And thus the holy apostles said: “he descended into hell.” There are four reasons why Christ as a soul descended into hell. (1) To shoulder the full punishment of sin, and so expiate all of its guilt. The punishment of sin for humanity, however, was not [...]

PRAYER: Ten Meditations, by Francis de Sales

July 28, 2014

From Introduction to the Devout Life (A modern rewriting, making these meditations easier to read and understand, can be found at the website for the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales.) The whole Earth is laid waste with desolation, because there is no one that thinks in his heart. (Jeremiah 12:2) The First Meditation On our creation Preparation 1. Place yourself in the presence of God. Beseech him to inspire [...]

SATURDAY READING: The Governance of the Kingdom of Darkness — A Philosophical Fable, by Diodorus Cronus

September 21, 2013

From Southern Journal of Philosophy Wherein may be discerned the true essence of moral depravity, or that which really does, like a cesspool, corrupt whatever comes under its influence, as containing within itself all evil and ugliness. (Diodorus Cronus) It is rare, so rare that no reliable way of coping with it has even yet been evolved, that the office of Prince of Darkness becomes vacant, and the awesome title of Satan must then be bestowed anew upon some candidate chosen form the denizens of Hell. Lucifer, the first Ruler of Darkness, who was an imperious and exemplary Devil, held sway over the underworld for nearly fourteen thousand years, and it was widely supposed that his tenure of office would be everlasting. [...]

SOUL STRUCTURE: Let’s Talk Evil (includes a diagram of hell)

March 5, 2013

Let's Talk Evil (includes a diagram of hell) by Julia Marks

Well, it is Lent, after all. The time to take a most serious look at all things spiritual. And the more I think about it, the more I believe that the lack of understanding about the soul that permeates the world is one reason why so many people do not heal after trauma and other severe life experiences. In fact, I am becoming so serious about this in my thoughts that I actually want to develop a method of healing souls. But perhaps more on that later. The bottom-line fact of the matter, for me anyway, is that evil is all about stealing soul energy. Our souls contain energy. We are born with it (as in seeing the shine of a newborn). We develop it through our experiences and efforts such as forgiveness and compassion. And [...]

LENTEN FIRE: Saturday After Ash Wednesday

February 17, 2013

From Becoming Fire: Through the Year with the Desert Fathers and Mothers Remember hell, but also remember the day of resurrection Abba Antony said, “As you sit in your cell, gather your thoughts: remember the day of your death; visualize the body’s deadness at that time. Reflect on misfortune; accept suffering; condemn the world’s foolish vanity. Be diligent about being gentle in your zealousness in order to maintain the same peaceful disposition at all times without weakening. Remember also the state of things in hell and reflect on what it is like for the souls there, what sort of very bitter silence and utterly terrible groaning they endure, how great their fear and struggle, what their expectations are like as [...]

GOD 101: On Hell and the Nature of Nothing

March 5, 2012

It is Lent, so it seems that serious subjects are in order. The subject of hell seems to be everywhere these days. And it amazes me how many people grab such a concept and run with it. Just considering it gives me a sizable lump in my throat, and more than a twinge in my stomach. I was a very, very smart girl. When I was young I had two ways of viewing myself. The first was labeling myself as the president and only member of the theory-of-the-day club. I was always, always thinking things over. It was so bad that when I would get comfortable with a friend and start sharing what I was mulling over, my friend would look like something out of a cartoon: bulging eyes, gaping mouth. This isn’t to say that my friendships [...]