Hello all,

I thought it would be fun to discuss various books/documents related to the afterlife. I'll start with two from Father F. X. Shouppe, SJ:

The Dogma of Hell (plus "How To Avoid Hell" by Thomas A. Nelson)

I read this book a few years ago. The first half of this book details Church teaching on the reality of Hell including Biblical references to it and has detailed accounts of apparitions of those condemned to Hell. The second half ("How to avoid Hell") discusses sin and vice, virtue and grace, the role of conscience, the necessity of prayer, and indications that one is on the way to salvation.

PURGATORY Explained by the Lives and Legends of the Saints

I'm just beginning the book on Purgatory. :-)

I wonder what other books people recommend (and why) that cover this topic.

God bless,

Mateo

-- (MattElFeo@netscape.net), March 31, 2003

Answers

I read both of those a few years ago and I recently started reading Purgatory again. They were very good. Thanks for bringing them up. I'll go through my collection and see if there's any I can suggest. ~Michelle

-- Michelle (tlavake@hotmail.com), March 31, 2003.

Mateo

I wouldn't want to got to Hell. What are the "indications that one is on the way to salvation"? (from your book)

Mike H.

-- Mike H. (michael.hitzelberger@vscc.cc.tn.us), April 01, 2003.

Hi Mike,

Here are the notes from the book.

Indications that One is on the Way to Salvation

1. A love of prayer.

2. A sense of dedicating one's life entirely to God.

3. A love for the Holy Sacrafice of the Mass.

4. A serious effort to examine one's conscience daily and go often to Confession.

5. A love of Charity

6. A life of penance and sacrifice

7. Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary

8. Devotion to the Most Holy Rosary

Despite the title, the book was a really inspiring. I hope all of you read it.

God bless you all,

Mateo

-- (MattElFeo@netscape.net), April 01, 2003.

Thanks Mateo, I wrote that down.

It is good to meditate on the Four Last Things...Death, Judgement, Heaven and Hell. Although I havn't read these, I have heard others recommend them:

Four Last Things-Death/Judgement/Hell/Heaven by Martin Von Cochem

Preparation for Death: Considerations on Death, Judgement, Heaven and Hell by St. Alphonsus Liguori

-- Mike H. (michael.hitzelberger@vscc.cc.tn.us), April 01, 2003.

Here is part of St. Francis Desales Introduction to the Devout Life

Fifth Meditation - Death Preparation

1. Place yourself in the Presence of God and ask Him to inspire you.

2. Imagine yourself on your death-bed, incurably ill.

Considerations

1. Consider the uncertainty of the day of your death. One day, my soul, you must depart from this body. When will it be? In winter or summer? In town or country? At home or afar? During the day or the night? With or without warning? As a result of illness of accident? Shall I have a chance to go to Confession? Shall I be assisted by a Priest? Will I be prepared? Unhappily, I know the answer to none of these things. Only one thing is certain - that I shall die, and sooner than I imagine.

2. Consider that then, the world will come to an end as far as you are concerned. You will have no more part in it. It will turn upside down before your eyes, for worldly joys and pleasures and the things you loved in vain will turn into empty dreams and shadows. Fool that I am to offend God for the sake of such trifling vanities. I have forsaken God, and for what - for nothing! On the other hand, devotion and good deeds will be seen as desirable and delightful to and you will ask yourself - why did I not take this beautiful and pleasant path of everlasting joy? At that hour, your sins - which at the time seemed so small - will appear as vast as mountains and your devotions truly small.

3. Consider how reluctantly your soul will bid farewell to this world, to all its riches and vanities, to amusements, friends, family, to everything - and last of all, to your own body, leaving it pale, wasted away, hideous and fearful.

4. Consider how your body will be hurried to the grave and then the world will give no more thought to you than you have given to others. They will say, ‘God rest his soul’ - and that will be the end of it. Such is the pitiless power of death.

5. Consider the destination of your soul once it has left the body. In which direction will it go? It will continue in the same direction as it went on earth!

link: http://www.cfpeople.org/Books/DeSales/MEDITATEp5.htm

-- Mike H. (michael.hitzelberger@vscc.cc.tn.us), April 02, 2003.

Jmj
Hello, Mateo.

I don't know how highly you value the opinion of Fr. Benedict Groeschel [I think he's very special], but ...
He considers Fr. Schouppe's old [19th century?] book on Purgatory to be one of the worst religious books ever written.
I believe that he says that it does not reflect authentic Catholic doctrine.
I think that he says that the book serves only to unnecessarily frighten people and to mislead non-Catholics about us.
I believe that he says it depicts Purgatory (under the influence of Dante) as though it were a mild "corner" of hell, a place of horror (with unbearable, resented, joyless physical pain) -- instead of a sort of "antechamber" or "doorstep" of heaven, wherein the soul "hurts so good," full of joyful anticipation and willing to suffer.

God bless you.
John

-- J. F. Gecik (jfgecik@hotmail.com), April 03, 2003.

Mateo

I did look at The Dogma of Hell (plus "How To Avoid Hell" by Thomas A. Nelson) and it has the frightening element in it. I suppose in small doses at the right time that may be helpful.

I looked up what Nelson said on masturbation and he said it is worse than fornication and closer to that of a homosexual act. Nelson sites St. Thomas Aquinas saying that masturbation is an "unnatural act" making it a worse perversion than fornication. I asked my priest about that, he is a former seminary professor at the Josephinum pontifical and a canon law expert. A good man all around. He said he disagreed with Nelson because fornication involves drawing another soul into the sin who may have true feelings which the fornicator simply discards only hoping to satisfy their lust. In contrast, masturbation only involves one individual, no one else is dragged down directlyby the sin. And most confessors will say that immaturity can be a big factor in the guilt of this which Nelson says is not a valid reason to consider it to be a venial offence only. So young children or an adolescent who masturbates will go to hell according to Nelson.

Anyway, the other feeling I got from the Dogma of Hell is that it is full of visions and private revelations, something I see all too much of. And this "message addiction", as I call it, is often done at the expense of listening to our confessors as we ought or to all of Church teaching as a total package.

I agree that meditation on the Four Last Things is good to do but I am with John on this.

Sincerely,

-- Mike H. (michael.hitzelberger@vscc.cc.tn.us), April 11, 2003.