The liturgical year reflects the life of Christ, and we now reach the fruition of His earthly life with the approach of Holy Week.  All the images are veiled to remove all consolations so that we may better unite with the desolation Christ endured in those moments.  The great mystic, Josefa Menéndez, received visions of Purgatory and Hell.  Our Lord spoke of these punishments of the next life very often.  Sister Josefa frequently spoke of the inability of the lost souls to love, and that if even the slightest act of love were permitted it would no longer be Hell.  She saw that a soul which had gone to great lengths to deprive and mortify itself on Earth would not endure the sufferings of Hell.  We should have an undying fear of this eternal punishment, practice the virtue of hope, and respond to the continual graces God offers.
#20120325K