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On the Thoughts of the Reprobate in Hell.
as fond as ever of swearing and cursing, of drunkenness and intemperance, of pride and vanity; yon put oil repentance from day to day; there is no sign of amendment in, you. Therefore you do not wish to be eternally happy, although you have the power of becoming so; you do not wish to go to heaven, and thus your wish is to be lost forever. O blindness and folly! O utter recklessness! Wo to you! One day you will have a far different wish, but for all eternity it will be impossible to fulfil it, and that will be one of your worst torments in hell.
Shown by an example.
Hear what occurred in Spain. Father John Ramirez, of our Society, was once giving a mission in a certain town. He was called to hear a sick person’s confession, and she told her sins with such tears of sorrow that the Father gave her absolution, to his own great consolation. Meanwhile the companion of the Father, who had been looking on at a distance, remarked a large, black hand coming up from the side of the bed and seizing the sick person by the throat as if to choke her. When the two returned home, the companion told his superior of what had occurred; the latter examined him minutely, and found his story a probable one, whereupon he sent back Father Ramirez to the house, although it was a dark night, and recommended him gently to persuade the sick woman to make her confession again. The Father went with the same companion, but when they came near the house they heard sounds of lamentation and weeping, and were told that the sick woman had just died, and that she had lost the use of her tongue after confession and could not receive holy Communion. Father Ramirez, greatly troubled at the tidings, went to the church and prayed for the soul of the deceased before the Blessed Sacrament. During his prayer he heard a noise, and turning round he saw before him a person laden with chains and surrounded by fire. Taking courage, he spoke to her and asked her who she was. I am, she answered with a deep sigh, that unhappy woman whose confession you heard yesterday, and for whom you are now praying to God, though in vain. Some years ago I committed a sin against purity that I could never bear to tell in confession; it was a constant source of trouble to my conscience, and I was always afraid of the pains of hell in which I now am; therefore I often made the resolution of confessing it, but shame prevented me always. Moved by your sermon, I was quite determined to get that sin off my mind, but when I opened my mouth, shame again held me back,
