On July 17, 1917 three children were given a vision of hell. This is how they described it: “We saw something like an ocean of fire. Inside that fire there were demons and the souls of the damned. These looked like transparent coals, black or bronze, and had a human shape. They appeared suspended among this fire, lifted up by the flames that emanated from them and by clouds of smoke. Then they fell down everywhere, like sparks in a great blaze, amidst loud crying and wailing of pain and desperation. The vision was horrifying and frightening. … The demons were different from the souls of the damned because they had horrible and repulsive shapes of animals, unknown but terrifying, like charcoal that was transformed in cinders.

This vision lasted but one moment, thanks to our good Heavenly Mother, who had promised to bring us to Heaven at her first apparition…. Frightened, we lifted up our eyes towards Our Lady, as though asking for help.”

The three children were Lucia Santos, Francisco Marto and his sister, Jacinta Marto. The place was Fatima. While the apparitions of Fatima are not part of the doctrine of the Church (in other words, we are not required to believe that Our Lady appeared at Fatima), the Church has declared that this was a genuine apparition. Explanation: If the Church, after looking at all the facts, declares that a Marian apparition is genuine, She treats it as a private revelation that may reinforce some point of the official doctrine of the Church, but that can never add anything new to the deposit of faith. Let’s remember then, that the Church will confirm an apparition as worthy of belief, but belief in the apparition is never required by divine faith. The Holy See has officially confirmed the following apparitions: Guadalupe, Saint-Étienne-le-Laus, Paris (Rue du Bac, Miraculous Medal), La Salette, Lourdes, Fátima, Portugal, Pontmain, Beauraing, and Banneux.

Now, back to the vision of Hell by the three children of Fatima. Why would Our Lady show them such a frightening vision? To warn all of us that hell is real, and that many are in danger of falling into that everlasting pit of fire. We don’t know who, how many, or when. We only know that hell is real. The Gospel tells us so, Jesus Himself speaks of hell and warns us against it. And this is why many, many of our saints, once they fell in love with Jesus and realized the
implications of sin, dedicated the rest of their lives to pray for the salvation of sinners.

Jacinta Marto (now Blessed Jacinta) was only seven when she decided that she would dedicate the rest of her life to pray and make sacrifices for the conversion of sinners: she did not want them to end up in the fiery lake. She offered up thirst, hunger, and tiredness for the salvation of souls. She would repeat: “If I could just show hell to sinners, they would stop sinning. How happy I would be if everyone could go to Heaven!”

St. Therese of Lisieux is another saint who offered her life to God for the salvation of sinners. At a young age, she was struck with tuberculosis, but never complained. She offered all of her sufferings for the conversion of sinners.

We may say: “Why would God want us to suffer?” Suffering is a great mystery. We will never understand it, but we know that it obtains graces. As St. Paul tells us: “In my flesh I must complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His Body, that is, the Church.” ( Colossians 1:24) and every Christian is called to imitate him.

What does all this have to do with November 1st and 2nd? (All Saints and All Souls). Plenty. These two days are given to us by the Church to reflect on the last things: Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell. As members of the Body of Christ, we are connected to all the souls in Heaven and Purgatory. The Church tells us that “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of Heaven.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1030). And the Bible tells us of the merits that Judas Maccabeus gathered up because he made sacrifices of atonement for the dead, so that they may be purified and obtain the glory of Heaven (2 Maccabees 12:46). By tying saints (those who are already in Heaven) and the souls of all those who died in Christ, the Church is reminding all of us of the need for intercession, for ourselves and for those who died. The Saints pray for us from Heaven (St. Therese of Lisieux said “I will spend my time in Heaven doing good for those on earth.”). It is up to us to pray and sacrifice for those who are waiting in Purgatory and for the conversion of all sinners: may they avoid the eternal fire of hell.