Hell

Hell. I am thinking a lot about hell. Truthfully: since Vatican II, hell is not a reality for us. No one really talks about, preaches about or seriously thinks about hell. It is a taboo subject: the "null curriculum" of our culture. Most of us believe in heaven and presume (important word: presume) that we are all going there...with a few possible exceptions like Hitler. Even my own beloved, ultra-Catholic Von Balthasar affirms the creed about hell but radically reconfigures it with his hope that Jesus, by his literal descent into the hell of the damned, has triumphed in his mercy and won for heaven even those damned by their own choice in this life. Ralph Martin, in Will Many Be Saved? is theologically "incorrect" in a bold and fearless way as he talks about a real, vital, populated hell. He argues persuasively that revelation, scripture, Jesus' own words, tradition, the magisterium and the witness of the saints are unanimous, unambiguous, definite, unflinching, and lucid: there is a hell, many are going there, and all of us are at risk, including and especially those (I include myself here) who are gifted with rich graces. This is a awesome, quietly terrifying, sobering and salutary thought. It has become fashionable to contrast reverential, loving, filial "fear of the Lord" with "servile fear" but I am thinking that a degree of servile fear (I am afraid of hell, sin, damnation...for myself and others) can complement and fortify the filial kind. As I ponder the reality of hell, I personally feel a dread of sin; an urgency to repent and become holy; a deep and desperate desire for the Holy Spirit; a virile, militant sense of urgency; a sense of vulnerability and need for sacramental support; and a desire to become holy to help others to get away from hell and into heaven. For me at least, such thinking about hell is most helpful. Thank you, Ralph Martin!