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by Robert Bellarmine (Author)
"If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire." (Mark 9:43)
Hell is a terrible place...but how horrific is it actually?What would happen to me if I were to be there eternally? St. Robert Bellarmine, Doctor of the Church, explains the horrors of Hell in clear detail in Hell and its Torments. St. Robert explains why Our Lord repeatedly mentions the "fires of Gehenna" and the fate of the souls who turn against him. Of Judas he says. "it would be better for that man if he had never been born" (Matt 26:24). Our dear loving Lord's numerous references to Hell and warnings against it should prompt us to consider it in detail and understand its horror. If we cannot be inspired to run towards God by the rewards and joys of Heaven, let us at the least begin our movement towards our loving God by fleeing the fires of Hell. Originally one part of a four-part sermon, St. Robert Bellarmine's vigorous examination of the reality of Hell will inspire you to amend your life and desire, even more, the blessedness of Heaven. This small and powerful booklet is perfectly composed so as to focus our minds on the essential realities of Hell. The meditations on the pains of Hell, written in 1574, remain surprisingly relevant to our modern world. The sermon considers the tremendous gravity of sin, the complete and unthinkable suffering of those in Hell, and the contrast of Hell with the blessed souls in Heaven. In all these considerations, St. Robert Bellarmine vigorously pursues the truth of Hell and its relevance to us as sinners. The brief and powerful lessons in Hell and Its Torments will touch your soul and inspire to abandon sin and turn to the grace that God constantly offers so that we can become saints.
Author Biography
St. Robert Bellarmine was born Roberto Bellarmino in 1542 at Montepulciano, Italy. A Jesuit Cardinal and Doctor of the Church, he was born of noble patronage and became a Roman novice in 1560 though the influence of his mother. After his ordination, he rapidly gained popularity as a professor and for his preaching, which drew in both Catholics and Protestants. He was also significantly active in the Counter-Reformation, and composed several works of literature, including The Mind's Ascent to God, The Art of Dying Well, The Seven Words on the Cross, and Hell and Its Torments. St. Bellarmine died on the seventeenth of September, 1621, at Rome, and was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1930.
