The Last Temptation That Could Send You to Hell
Have you ever thought about the moment of your death?
Have you ever thought about your last moments on earth? Have you ever imagined how those last moments could be like?
I’ve thought about it many times. Not that I wanted to be morbid nor that I needed to worry about a life-threatening illness. But life is so short. Sooner or later, that moment would come for all of us. And how would those moments be when they come?
Would I be at peace just like the saints who have devoted their whole lives for God? Would I be tormented with guilt over the things I did or did not do in life? Would I see my guardian angel? Would the Blessed Virgin Mary be there with me?
It is said that there are two temptations that could come to us in our last moments.
The first temptation is that of self-righteousness, thinking about our good works and believing they can get us to heaven. The second one is that of despair. It is being obsessed about our sins and despairing over them, not trusting in God’s infinite love and mercy.
In both cases, I have realized that the final sin that could keep us away from heaven is PRIDE. It is pride that keeps us focused on our good works, and it is pride also that can keep us glued to our guilt for all the wrong things we have done.
These are the last temptations. They can keep us away from heaven for all eternity because they tempt us to continue looking elsewhere rather than begin looking at God.
Our of these two temptations, I think I would be more vulnerable to the second one. And somehow, I think a lot of people also would. After all, not many of us can boast of saintly lives. Our sins are always before us. Day after day, our failures remind us of our guilt. With this in mind, I’d like to tackle this one more in this post.
What is despair?
Despair is when we’re so obsessed with our guilt that we could hardly see anything else anymore.
We’re so ashamed of all the wrong things we did. We’re overwhelmed with sadness, a sadness that could no longer see any hope of being redeemed.
I’d like to give a short excerpt from St. Faustina’s diary (Divine Mercy In My Soul, 1486):
Jesus: O soul steeped in darkness, do not despair. All is not yet lost. Come and confide in your God, who is love and mercy.
— But the soul, deaf even to this appeal, wraps itself in darkness.
Jesus calls out again: My child, listen to the voice of your merciful Father.
— In the soul arises this reply: “For me there is no mercy,” and it falls into greater darkness, a despair which is a foretaste of hell and makes it unable to draw near to God.
Jesus calls to the soul a third time, but the soul remains deaf and blind, hardened and despairing. Then the mercy of God begins to exert itself, and, without any co-operation from the soul, God grants it final grace. If this too is spurned, God will leave the soul in this self-chosen disposition for eternity.
Have you ever imagined a vision of hell like this one?
It’s not the kind of hell where God reminds you of your every sin and then condemns you to hell for not being qualified enough for heaven. But this one is a hell of our own choosing. A hell we go to out of shame, guilt and despair.
Whatever sin we may have at that last hour, I pray that we may have the faith that can continue to trust in God’s infinite mercy.
Instead of looking at ourselves and our sins, let us look to Jesus. Remember that God loved you so much that He sent His only begotten Son to save you. Jesus died so you may have eternal life.
Think about God’s love, not your sins. Think about His mercy, and not your shame.
“It is not because I have been preserved from mortal sin that I lift up my heart to God in trust and love. I feel that even had I on my conscience every crime one could commit, I should lose nothing of my confidence: my heart broken with sorrow, I would throw myself into the Arms of my Saviour. I know that He loves the Prodigal Son, I have heard His words to St. Mary Magdalen, to the woman taken in adultery, and to the woman of Samaria. No one could frighten me, for I know what to believe concerning His Mercy and His Love. And I know that all that multitude of sins would disappear in an instant, even as a drop of water cast into a flaming furnace.” — St. Therese of Lisieux
“And by this we know that we are of the truth and persuade our hearts before him, because if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.” — 1 John 3:19–20, WEBBE
“Write this for the benefit of distressed souls: when a soul sees and realizes the gravity of its sins, when the whole abyss of the misery into which it immersed itself is displayed before its eyes, let it not despair, but with trust let it throw itself into the arms of My mercy, as a child into the arms of its beloved mother…Tell them that no soul that has called upon My mercy has been disappointed or brought to shame.” — Jesus to St. Faustina (Divine Mercy In My Soul. 1541)
My odd little peace was broken when I felt the Lord say to me, “Angelica?” I said, “Yes, Lord?” “Did you see that drop?” I said, “Yes, Lord.” “That drop is like all of your sins, your weaknesses, your frailties, and your imperfections. And the ocean is like my mercy. If you looked for that drop, could you find it?” I said, “No, Lord.” “If you looked and looked, could you find it?” I said, “No, Lord.” And then He said to me, ever so quietly, “So why do you keep looking?
- Mother Angelica’s Answers, Not Promises
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Of Waves and Butterflies: Poems on Grief
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Jocelyn Soriano is a Catholic devotional writer and poet. Aside from Medium, she also writes at I Take Off the Mask and Single Catholic Writer.
I think the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican describes this, in a way. Both temptations have their hazards--far better to do what work we can in this life! Great post!