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Byline: Father Ray Ryland

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Eternal Life

The Fires Of Hell

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Our Lord often referred to “hell” (see Mt 5:29,30; 10:28; 23:15; Mk 9:45,47; Lk 12:5). He warned against “the hell of fire” (Mt 5:22; 18:9); against “the unquenchable fire” (Mk…

Our Lord often referred to “hell” (see Mt 5:29,30; 10:28; 23:15; Mk 9:45,47; Lk 12:5). He warned against “the hell of fire” (Mt 5:22; 18:9); against “the unquenchable fire” (Mk 9:43); against “the eternal fire” (Mt 18:8; 25:41). Our Lord also spoke of “the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mt 13:42). (All references are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible.)

We have no experience or knowledge of fire which is literally unquenchable. Again, we cannot imagine human bodies being literally and eternally burned but never being destroyed. Recall the words from the Creation story: “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good” (Gn 1:31, RSV). Through the processes of nature (like death and decay), God’s creatures are changed, but He never destroys them. The most agonizing pain is that of being burned. To be cast into “the eternal fire” surely refers to the keenest of suffering, but not to being forever incinerated.

On the level of speculation about existence in hell, no one has written more eloquently or more extensively than one of our greatest poets, Dante Alighieri. In 34 cantos he details a journey led by Virgil through all levels of hell in his Inferno. At the sinkhole of hell, Dante finds not fire, but ice. Satan himself is completely sealed in ice.

Whatever one imagines “hell” to be, Our Lord’s words seem to leave no room for a hope that hell will be empty. The Church has condemned the heresy of universalism, which holds that no soul will be lost eternally.

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2 min read
Jesus

What Was The Transfiguration?

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In both the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark, the account of the Transfiguration immediately follows Jesus’ prediction of His passion and His stating the arduous demands of discipleship…

In both the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark, the account of the Transfiguration immediately follows Jesus’ prediction of His passion and His stating the arduous demands of discipleship (see Mt 16:21-28; Mk 8:31-38).

We may assume that the Transfiguration not only clearly revealed Jesus’ divinity for a moment. He also allowed His glory to shine forth for the encouragement of the key apostles who were present: Peter, James and John.

Like so many incidents in Jesus’ earthly ministry, the Transfiguration was foreshad­owed in the Old Testament. In this case, the type (the foreshadowing) is God’s revelation of himself to Moses on Mount Sinai. The “Ignatius Catholic Study Bible (Gospel of Matthew)” lists several parallels between the two epiphanies as recorded in Exodus and in St. Matthew’s Gospel.

Each takes place on a mountain (see Ex 24:13 and Mt 17:1).

Each occurs on a sev­enth day (Ex 24:16 and Mt 17:1).

Each shows forth the glory of God’s presence.

Each reports God speaking through a cloud (Ex 24:16 and Mt 17:5).

Moses and Elijah are the key representa­tives of the Law and the prophets. Their coming to talk with Jesus shows Him to be the fulfillment of God’s revelation to them.

Only Luke specifies the subject of their conversation with Jesus. Moses and Elijah “spoke of his [Jesus’] exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem” (Lk 9:31).

Note the word “accomplish.” It was important for the apostles to know that Jesus did not simply endure His passion; He accomplished it, by totally submitting him­self to it.

A final note: Peter proposed building three booths, one each for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. He may have wished to extend their stay on the Mount of Transfiguration. But St. Mark, who was Peter’s protégé, simply tells us that Peter blurted out this proposal because “he hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified” (9:6). 

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Prayer

What is the Origin of the St. Michael Prayer?

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On Oct. 1, 1884, Pope Leo XIII had a deeply disturbing mystical experience at Mass. He had just finished celebrating in his private chapel when he suddenly stood transfixed in…

On Oct. 1, 1884, Pope Leo XIII had a deeply disturbing mystical experience at Mass. He had just finished celebrating in his private chapel when he suddenly stood transfixed in front of the altar. For perhaps 10 minutes he stood there as if in a trance, his face drained of color. Then he went to his office and composed a prayer to St. Michael. He told his staff the prayer should be offered throughout the Church.

He explained that he had heard two voices in the vicinity of the tabernacle. He believed they were the voices of Our Lord and of Satan. Pope Leo heard Satan boast that he could destroy the Church in 75 or 100 years, if given the opportunity. Then he heard Our Lord give Satan permission to try. (This sounds somewhat similar to what we read in Job 1.)

The prayer which Pope Leo XIII composed was 10 times the length of the version we use today. Use of the prayer was discontinued in 1964. Thirty years later, in his Regina Coeli address, Pope John Paul II revived use of the prayer. He said, “Although the prayer is no longer recited at the end of Mass, I ask every one not to forget it and to recite it to obtain help in the battle against the forces of darkness and against the spirit of the world.” The pope clearly intended that we should offer this prayer in our homes as well. The prayer, by the way, is as follows:

St. Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou,
O Prince of the heavenly hosts,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan,
and all the evil spirits,
who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

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Saints

St. Isidore the Farmer

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St. Isidore the Farmer, also known as St. Isidore the Laborer, is celebrated with an optional memorial in the United States on May 15. St. Isidore was a Spanish laboring…

St. Isidore the Farmer, also known as St. Isidore the Laborer, is celebrated with an optional memorial in the United States on May 15.

St. Isidore was a Spanish laboring man. Born near Madrid, around 1070, he lived there until his death, May 15,1130. He served on the farm of a Juan de Vargas. Each morning before going to work he attended Mass in one of the churches in Madrid.

There is a story that once his fellow workers complained that Isidore always came to work late. When his master investigated the charge, he found Isidore at prayer while an angel did his plowing. Another time St. Isidore’s master is reported to have seen two angels plowing with the saint, one angel on either side.

St. Isidore’s wife, Maria Torribia, is also a canonized saint. St. Isidore is the patron of peasants and day laborers, and of the cities of Seville, Madrid, Leon and Saragossa. He was canonized on March 12, 1622, by Pope Gregory XV. He was enrolled among the Church’s saints in very distinguished company. St. Teresa of Avila, St. Ignatius, St. Francis Xavier and St. Philip Neri were also canonized at the same time.

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Scripture

The Tree of Life In Genesis

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Genesis 2:9 introduces us to the tree of life: “Out of the ground the Lord God made grow every tree that was delightful to look at and good for food,…

Genesis 2:9 introduces us to the tree of life: “Out of the ground the Lord God made grow every tree that was delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life also in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” According to Genesis 2:16-17, God told Adam, “You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden [evidently including the tree of life] except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. From that tree you shall not eat; when you eat from it you shall die” — that is, become subject to death.

Why did God make Adam and Eve subject to this danger? For Adam and Eve’s wills to be free, there had to be the possibility of misusing them. Otherwise, our first parents would have been mere automatons.

The tempter, the father of lies, persuaded Eve (and through her, Adam) that eating the forbidden fruit would confer divine status on them. Indeed, the tempter spoke the truth, but with an entirely different, ominous meaning. By this act of disobedience, she and Adam certainly would know good and evil. But how? By themselves, actually becoming evil, disobedient to God.

Note that the fruit of the tree of life, which was believed to confer eternal life, was not forbidden to Adam and Eve not prior to their fall, but after their fall. Only then — and for Adam and Eve’s ultimate benefit — did God forbid them to eat the fruit of the tree of life (see Gn 3:22-24). In their condition of disobedience they would eternally have been cut off from God. It was an act of mercy for God to prevent them from plunging themselves into damnation. God had in mind the new Adam through which he would restore to the human race the possibility of eternal life lost in the fall of Adam and Eve.

What became of the tree of life after the fall? God drove out our first parents, “stationing the cherubim and the fiery revolving sword east of the garden of Eden, to guard the way to the tree of life” (Gn 3:24). Again, God took precaution against fallen humanity being eternally separated from Him. We know now the new Adam reopened the way to eternal life.

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Angels

Can Angels Speak or Sing?

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It’s true that angels have no voice box, because they have no physical bodies. But that doesn’t prevent their communicating with human beings. Angels who serve God on earth have…

It’s true that angels have no voice box, because they have no physical bodies. But that doesn’t prevent their communicating with human beings.

Angels who serve God on earth have the capacity for assuming human form in carrying out their divine missions. We see many instances of this in the Old Testament.

Hebrews 13:2 refers to those occasions when it teaches, “Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels.”

In ways keeping with their own nature, angels indeed can speak and sing. Sacred Scripture repeatedly refers to angelic choirs around the heavenly throne. All the prefaces in our liturgy invoke the example of the angels glorifying and praising God. The Epiphany preface thus joins us with the angels’ worship: “Now, with angels and archangels, and the whole company of heaven, we sing the unending hymn of your praise.”

They in their way, we in ours. But there are hints in divine revelation that in heaven we shall have with the angels a common medium of communication.

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