Pope: Eternal damnation is not a torture chamber but
distance from God
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said eternal damnation is not a
torture chamber but distance from God and warned Christians never to converse
with the devil, calling him a seducer who ruins lives. His words came during
his Mass celebrated on Friday morning in the chapel of the Santa Marta
residence.
Continuing his reflections on the end of the world, the
Pope’s homily focused on the day’s reading from the Book of Revelation that
describes how the angel seizes the serpent, chains it up and throws it into the
abyss which is then locked and sealed. He said the serpent or devil is thrown
into the abyss “so that it would no longer lead the nations astray” because it
is the seducer.
“He is a liar and what’s more is the father of lies, he
generates lies and is a trickster. He makes you believe that if you eat this
apple you will be like a God. He sells it to you like this and you buy it and
in the end he tricks you, deceives you and ruins your life. ‘But father, what
can we do to avoid being deceived by the devil?’ Jesus teaches us: never
converse with the devil. One does not converse with him. What did Jesus do with
the devil? He chased him away, he asked his name but did not hold a
dialogue with him.”
Pope Francis went on to explain how when Jesus was in the
wilderness he defended himself when replying to the devil by using the Word of
God and the Word of the Bible. Therefore, he said, we must never converse with
this liar and trickster who seeks our ruin and who for this reason will be
thrown into the abyss.
The Pope noted that the reading from Revelation describes
how the Lord will judge the great and the lowly “according to their deeds” with
the damned being thrown into the pool of fire and he said this is the “second
death.”
“Eternal damnation is not a torture chamber. That’s a
description of this second death: it is a death. And those who will not be
received in the Kingdom of God, it's because they have not drawn close to the
Lord. These are the people who journeyed along their own path, distancing
themselves from the Lord and passing in front of the Lord but then choosing to
walk away from Him. Eternal damnation is continually distancing oneself from
God. It is the worst pain, an unsatisfied heart, a heart that was created to
find God but which, out of arrogance and self-confidence, distances itself from
God.”
Pope Francis said distancing oneself from God who gives
happiness and who loves us so much is the “fire” and the road to eternal
damnation. Noting how the final image in the reading from Revelation ends with
a vision of hope the Pope concluded his homily by saying if we open up our
hearts with humility we too will have joy and salvation and will be forgiven by
Jesus.
“Hope is what opens our hearts to the encounter with Jesus.
This is what awaits us: the encounter with Jesus. It’s beautiful, very
beautiful. And He asks us only to be humble and say ‘Lord.’ It’s enough to say
that word and He will do the rest.”
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