A Detached Account of the Descent into Hell.
When Jesus, after uttering a loud cry, expired, I saw his heavenly
soul under the form of a bright meteor pierce the earth at the foot of
the Cross, accompanied by the angel Gabriel and many other angels. His
Divine nature continued united to his soul as well as to his body,
which still remained hanging upon the Cross, but I cannot explain how
this was, although I saw it plainly in my own mind. The place into
which the soul of Jesus entered was divided into three parts, which
appeared to me like three worlds; and I felt that they were round, and
that each division was separated from the other by a hemisphere.
I beheld a bright and beautiful space opposite to Limbo; it was
enamelled with flowers, delicious breezes wafted through it; and many
souls were placed there before being admitted into Heaven after their
deliverance from Purgatory. Limbo, the place where the souls were
waiting for the Redemption, was divided into different compartments,
and encompassed by a thick foggy atmosphere. Our Lord appeared radiant
with light and surrounded by angels, who conducted him triumphantly
between two of these compartments; the one on the left containing the
patriarchs who lived before the time of Abraham, and that on the right
those who lived between the days of Abraham and St. John the Baptist.
These souls did not at first recognise Jesus, but were filled
nevertheless with sensations of joy and hope. There was not a spot in
those narrow confines which did not, as it were, dilate with feelings
of happiness. The passage of Jesus might be compared to the wafting of
a breath of air, to a sudden flash of light, or to a shower of
vivifying dew, but it was swift as a whirlwind. After passing through
the two compartments, he reached a dark spot in which Adam and Eve were
standing; he spoke to them, they prostrated and adored him in a perfect
ecstasy of joy, and they immediately joined the band of angels, and
accompanied our Lord to the compartment on the left, which contained
the patriarchs who lived before Abraham. This compartment was a species
of Purgatory, and a few evil spirits were wandering about among the
souls and endeavouring to fill them with anxiety and alarm. The
entrance through a species of door was closed, but the angels rapped,
and I thought I heard them say, 'Open these doors.' When Jesus entered in
triumph the demons dispersed, crying out at the same time, 'What is there
between thee and us? What art thou come to do here? Wilt thou crucify
us likewise?' The angels hunted them away, having first chained them. The
poor souls confined in this place had only a slight presentiment and
vague idea of the presence of Jesus; but the moment he told them that
it was he himself, they burst out into acclamations of joy, and
welcomed him with hymns of rapture and delight. The soul of our Lord
then wended its way to the right, towards that part which really
constituted Limbo; and there he met the soul of the good thief which
angels were carrying to Abraham's bosom, as also that of the bad thief
being dragged by demons into Hell. Our Lord addressed a few words to
both, and then entered Abraham's bosom, accompanied by numerous angels
and holy souls, and also by those demons who had been chained and
expelled from the compartment.
This locality appeared to me more elevated than the surrounding
parts; and I can only describe my sensations on entering it, by
comparing them to those of a person coming suddenly into the interior
of a church, after having been for some time in the burial vaults. The
demons, who were strongly chained, were extremely loth to enter, and
resisted to the utmost of their power, but the angels compelled them to
go forwards. All the just who had lived before the time of Christ were
assembled there; the patriarchs, Moses, the judges, and the kings on
the left-hand side; and on the right side, the prophets, and the
ancestors of our Lord, as also his near relations, such as Joachim,
Anna, Joseph, Zacharias, Elizabeth, and John. There were no demons in
this place, and the only discomfort that had been felt by those placed
there was a longing desire for the accomplishment of the promise; and
when our Lord entered they saluted him with joyful hymns of gratitude
and thanksgiving for its fulfilment, they prostrated and adored him,
and the evil spirits who had been dragged into Abraham's bosom when our
Lord entered were compelled to confess with shame that they were
vanquished. Many of these holy souls were ordered by our Lord to return
to the earth, re-enter their own bodies, and thus render a solemn and
impressive testimony to the truth. It was at this moment that so many
dead persons left their tombs in Jerusalem; I regarded them less in the
light of dead persons risen again than as corpses put in motion by a
divine power, and which, after having fulfilled the mission entrusted
to them, were laid aside in the same manner as the insignia of office
are taken off by a clerk when he has executed the orders of his
superiors.
I next saw our Lord, with his triumphant procession, enter into a
species of Purgatory which was filled with those good pagans who,
having had a faint glimmering of the truth, had longed for its
fulfilment: this Purgatory was very deep, and contained a few demons
compelled to confess the deception they had practised with regard to
these idols, and the souls of the poor pagans cast themselves at the
feet of Jesus, and adored him with inexpressible joy: here, likewise,
the demons were bound with chains and dragged away. I saw our Saviour
perform many other actions; but I suffered so intensely at the same
time, that I cannot recount them as I should have wished.
Finally, I beheld him approach to the centre of the great abyss,
that is to say, to Hell itself; and the expression of his countenance
was most severe.
The exterior of Hell was appalling and frightful; it was an immense,
heavy-looking building, and the granite of which it was formed,
although black, was of metallic brightness; and the dark and ponderous
doors were secured with such terrible bolts that no one could behold
them without trembling. Deep groans and cries of despair might be
plainly distinguished even while the doors were tightly closed; but, O,
who can describe the dreadful yells and shrieks which burst upon the
ear when the bolts were unfastened and the doors flung open; and, O,
who can depict the melancholy appearance of the inhabitants of this
wretched place!
The form under which the Heavenly Jerusalem is generally represented
in my visions is that of a beautiful and well-regulated city, and the
different degrees of glory to which the elect are raised are
demonstrated by the magnificence of their palaces, or the wonderful
fruit and flowers with which the gardens are embellished. Hell is shown
to me under the same form, but all within it is, on the contrary,
close, confused, and crowded; every object tends to fill the mind with
sensations of pain and grief; the marks of the wreath and vengeance of
God are visible everywhere; despair, like a vulture, gnaws every heart,
and discord and misery reign around. In the Heavenly Jerusalem all is
peace and eternal harmony, the beginning, fulfilment, and end of
everything being pure and perfect happiness; the city is filled with
splendid buildings, decorated in such a manner as to charm every eye
and enrapture every sense; the inhabitants of this delightful abode are
overflowing with rapture and exultation, the gardens gay with lovely
flowers, and the trees covered with delicious fruits which give eternal
life. In the city of Hell nothing is to be seen but dismal dungeons,
dark caverns, frightful deserts, fetid swamps filled with every
imaginable species of poisonous and disgusting reptile. In Heaven you
behold the happiness and peaceful union of the saints; in Hell,
perpetual scenes of wretched discord, and every species of sin and
corruption, either under the most horrible forms imaginable, or
represented by different kinds of dreadful torments. All in this dreary
abode tends to fill the mind with horror; not a word of comfort is
heard or a consoling idea admitted; the one tremendous thought, that
the justice of an all-powerful God inflicts on the damned nothing but
what they have fully deserved is the absorbing tremendous conviction
which weighs down each heart. Vice appears in its own grim disgusting
colours, being stripped of the mask under which it is hidden in this
world, and the infernal viper is seen devouring those who have
cherished or fostered it here below. In a word, Hell is the temple of
anguish and despair, while the kingdom of God is the temple of peace
and happiness. This is easy to understand when seen; but it is almost
impossible to describe clearly.
The tremendous explosion of oaths, curses, cries of despair, and
frightful exclamations which, like a clap of thunder, burst forth when
the gates of Hell were thrown open by the angels, would be difficult
even to imagine; our Lord spoke first to the soul of Judas, and the
angels then compelled all the demons to acknowledge and adore Jesus.
They would have infinitely preferred the most frightful torments to
such a humiliation; but all were obliged to submit. Many were chained
down in a circle which was placed round other circles. In the centre of
Hell I saw a dark and horrible-looking abyss, and into this Lucifer was
cast, after being first strongly secured with chains; thick clouds of
sulphureous black smoke arose from its fearful depths, and enveloped
his frightful form in the dismal folds, thus effectually concealing him
from every beholder. God himself had decreed this; and I was likewise
told, if I remember right, that he will be unchained for a time fifty
or sixty years before the year of Christ 2000. The dates of many other
events were pointed out to me which I do not now remember; but a
certain number of demons are to be let loose much earlier than Lucifer,
in order to tempt men, and to serve as instruments of the divine
vengeance. I should think that some must be loosened even in the
present day, and others will be set free in a short time.
It would be utterly impossible for me to describe all the things
which were shown to me; their number was so great that I could not
reduce them sufficiently to order to define and render them
intelligible. Besides which my sufferings are very great, and when I
speak on the subject of my visions I behold them in my mind's eye
portrayed in such vivid colours, that the sight is almost sufficient to
cause a weak mortal like myself to expire.
I next saw innumerable bands of redeemed souls liberated from
Purgatory and from Limbo, who followed our Lord to a delightful spot
situated above the celestial Jerusalem, in which place I, a very short
time ago, saw the soul of a person who was very dear to me. The soul of
the good thief was likewise taken there, and the promise of our Lord,
'This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise,' was fulfilled.
It is not in my power to explain the exact time that each of these
events occurred, nor can I relate one-half of the things which I saw
and heard; for some were incomprehensible even to myself, and others
would be misunderstood if I attempted to relate them. I have seen our
Lord in many different places. Even in the sea he appeared to me to
sanctify and deliver everything in the creation. Evil spirits fled at
his approach, and cast themselves into the dark abyss. I likewise
beheld his soul in different parts of the earth, first inside the tomb
of Adam, under Golgotha; and when he was there the souls of Adam and
Eve came up to him, and he spoke to them for some time. He then visited
the tombs of the prophets, who were buried at an immense depth below
the surface; but he passed through the soil in the twinkling of an eye.
Their souls immediately re-entered their bodies, and he spoke to them,
and explained the most wonderful mysteries. Next I saw him, accompanied
by a chosen band of prophets, among whom I particularly remarked David,
visit those parts of the earth which had been sanctified by his
miracles and by his sufferings. He pointed out to them, with the
greatest love and goodness, the different symbols in the old law
expressive of the future; and he showed them how he himself had
fulfilled every prophecy. The sight of the soul of our Lord, surrounded
by these happy souls, and radiant with light, was inexpressibly grand
as he glided triumphantly through the air, sometimes passing, with the
velocity of lightning, over rivers, then penetrating though the hardest
rocks to the very centre of the earth, or moving noiselessly over its
surface.
I can remember nothing beyond the facts which I have just related
concerning the descent of Jesus into Limbo, where he went in order to
present to the souls there detained the grace of the Redemption which
he had merited for them by his death and by his sufferings; and I saw
all these things in a very short space of time; in fact, time passed so
quickly that it seemed to me but a moment. Our Lord, however, displayed
before me, at the same time, another picture, in which I beheld the
immense mercies which he bestows in the present day on the poor souls
in Purgatory; for on every anniversary of this great day, when his
Church is celebrating the glorious mystery of his death, he casts a
look of compassion on the souls in Purgatory, and frees some of those
who sinned against him before his crucifixion. I this day saw Jesus
deliver many souls; some I was acquainted with, and others were
strangers to me, but I cannot name any of them.
Our Lord, by descending into Hell, planted (if I may thus express
myself), in the spiritual garden of the Church, a mysterious tree, the
fruits of which--namely, his merits--are destined for the constant relief of
the poor souls in Purgatory. The Church militant must cultivate the
tree, and gather its fruit, in order to present them to that suffering
portion of the Church which can do nothing for itself. Thus it is with
all the merits of Christ; we must labour with him if we wish to obtain
our share of them; we must gain our bread by the sweat of our brow.
Everything which our Lord has done for us in time must produce fruit
for eternity; but we must gather these fruits in time, without which we
cannot possess them in eternity. The Church is the most prudent and
thoughtful of mothers; the ecclesiastical year is an immense and
magnificent garden, in which all those fruits for eternity are gathered
together, that we may make use of them in time. Each year contains
sufficient to supply the wants of all; but woe be to that careless or
dishonest gardener who allows any of the fruit committed to his care to
perish; if he fails to turn to a proper account those graces which
would restore health to the sick; strength to the weak, or furnish food
to the hungry! When the Day of Judgment arrives, the Master of the
garden will demand a strict account, not only of every tree, but also
of all the fruit produced in the garden.