Well, I hope the title of this post has captured your attention for the next minute or so.
Whatever you conceive it to be, hell does exist all right! It may be an ever-burning everlasting fire mixed with the acrid smell of burning flesh and sulphur. Or it may be just a state of consciousness in the total absence of God’s presence and love.
When I was at school, many moons ago, a schoolboy described hell as being upside-down for eternity in a pile of manure. Now, there’s an image you’d probably never thought of.
And as sure as hell exists we can be certain that the devil exists too.
He is not just a euphemism for evil, wickedness and wrong-doings. He is a living being, with us here and now, every day, and intent on the destructions of souls.
As Christians we cannot possibly believe in God and not believe in the devil. Yet, sadly for us, and fortunately for him, he has been cleverly air-brushed away from our sermons and our churches and our lives.
When is the last time you heard a sermon on Sunday about the dangers of the devil? I haven’t for at least a lifetime!
Yet, the devil belongs to the priest’s sermon as surely as God does.
You wouldn’t expect to drive on a perilous road without any warning signs of sharp bends, steep hills, and blind corners, would you? Yet we seem happy to live our lives oblivious of the very existence of a cunning and dangerous enemy ever eager to lead us to damnation when we least expect it.
There are indeed people who believe in the devil to the point of worshipping him. Whilst I cannot understand why anyone should wish to do so, at least I acknowledge their honesty in so doing; which is more honest than the millions of so-called Christians who attend church every Sunday yet don’t know exactly what to believe.
In December 2007, I understand, the Pope issued a directive to the Church to train and appoint priest exorcists in every Diocese to combat the spread of Satanism.
Well, at least he believes in the devil and is prepared to do something about it.
Has this message reached all priests I wonder? And if it hasn’t, then surely it is evidence of the success of the devil himself.
Perhaps we should all ask our priests about this Pope’s message!
I don’t know whether we have an exorcist priest in our Diocese. Do you know about yours?
Has the Church globally heeded the Pope’s warning and taken any action?
More pertinent point, do our priests everywhere, regardless of denomination, actually believe in the existence of the devil as a living being; or do they espouse the milder euphemism of what he represents?
Do you?
Or are there millions of Christians everywhere sleep-walking their way into hell?
Since there have been some conferences for exorcists in Rome, I'm guessing the bishops are appointing them as the Pope asked. I don't know if our diocese has an exorcist, but since you raised the question, for sure I'm going to ask one of the priests.
ReplyDeleteVictor, you sure know how to grab someone's attention ;-) I wasn't aware of this directive by our Holy Father...or I forgot... either way, thanks for posting this.
ReplyDeleteThank you Barbara and Esther,
ReplyDeleteIt will be worth knowing whether our priests are aware of the Pope's directive to appoint exorcists. I'll ask my priest and let you know here.
God bless.
You know, I read this somewhere about an exorcist in every diocese, yet my parish priest has never said a thing.
ReplyDeleteVictor, when I saw the title of this post I thought it would be from you! Barbara is right, you sure can grab a person's attention!!!!
Victor,
ReplyDeleteThank you for grabbing our attention. Unfortunately I can't remember the last time I heard a priest preach on hell or the devil~they are afraid it will drive people from the pews. Like I said to you earlier, the greatest accomplishment by the devil is to make people think he does not exist.
On a related note: This is why holy water is such an important sacramental. A prayer of exorcism is prayed during the blessing of holy water and that prayer attaches it self to whatever the holy water touches. (I learned this from listening to Fr. Corapi while he still was Fr. Corapi)We all need to have it in our homes.
Thanks for one "hell" of a post. Sorry~ I couldn't resist. :)
Thank you Daily Grace and Karinann,
ReplyDeleteI had read of the Pope's message some years ago, but it was never mentioned in our church.
God bless.
Isn't that famous saying that the greatest deed the devil ever did was convincing the world he didnt exist?
ReplyDeleteI, too, often wonder if hell is some pit of fire or just the absence of God. Or both. Either way, I dont want to find out!
Thanks for the wake up call.
P.S. To answer your question, I have no idea if we have an exorcist at our parish. I will have to check that out!
Hi Michael,
ReplyDeleteI think it's a good idea if we all check with our Parishes.
I asked my priest this morning. He said that the Diocese did receive the Pope's message and that they have appointed an exorcist priest. However, no mention has been made of this because the church does not wish to attract unwelcome attention. Should the need arise, the church can ask the appointed priest to take the necessary action. So that's some good news in our church at least.
God bless.
Great article.... on my side of the globe many have allowed the reality of the devil and hell to fade from the minds, they must have, or they wouldn't do the things that they do...
ReplyDeleteWe need courageous clergy that can remind us of the truths in life and then we need to pray for them as they will be attacked.
Thank you Deacon Pat for a very clear and thought-provoking message. Indeed, we should pray for our clergy, and deacons.
ReplyDeleteWelcome Deacon as a new follower of this Community Blog. We look forwards to your many visits and comments.
I encourage and invite our readers to visit and follow your Blog.
God bless.
Victor,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you brought up the subject of hell. I cannot remember the last time I heard a sermon about hell and I have no idea if we have an exorcist in our diocese or not but I am going to ask my pastor. The last time I heard there were only eighteen exorcists in the entire U.S. so I am guessing most don't have one.
Excellent post, Victor.
Great article. There is speak of evil during the Homily, but the the huge amount of children who attend Mass it is limited to an extent. During my guild meetings each month, we have a speaker come in to discuss different matters. One of our priests lived in Italy and studied there, as well. He spoke of Angels during one of his visits and he was telling all of us about exorcisms that he had attended - scared the mess out of me - and what we can do (simple as carrying our Rosary and/or crucifix with us always) do combat it daily.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do think that there should be more talk of this subject, I go back to my earlier statement about it being limited. I would not want young children hearing about that subject. I feel that is more of a matter to be discussed within the family or when it is brought up. Granted, my oldest is 2 and may not understand what the Priest is saying, but still, you know?
I do know that it is discussed in more depth our in the Adult Education classes that happen when the children are in Sunday School. Maybe that is an option for some Parishes.
Greetings Mary and Heather,
ReplyDeleteThanx for your kind comments. I suspect many priests don't want to mention hell and the devil in their sermons because they're afraid that they might frighten their congregations. I think they are wrong.
Jesus was not afraid to warn His followers about hell and satan.
God bless.
Great post Victor!
ReplyDeleteThank you Judy.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.