 July 17th The Precious Blood Quenching the Flames of Hell
Mortal sin can only have two endings: to be
blotted out by the Precious Blood, or incur the
eternal punishment of Hell. By the first it is totally
extinguished; in the second it is retained as
a testimony to the justice of God and to His
infinite holiness, which cannot endure to look upon
iniquity. Pray for a great horror of mortal sin
which involves such consequences; everlasting
misery for the unrepentant sinner, and the pouring
forth of the Precious Blood as the only remedy
even for those who do penance for their sins. The guilt of mortal sin and its eternal punishment is entirely abolished by the Blood of Christ: but the temporal punishment only so far as the sinner has a sufficient contrition for his sin and does all in his power to atone for it. For many, who die in the love and fear of God, there will remain a heavy debt still to be paid. How are we to apply to our souls the Blood of Christ so that we may be free from temporal punishment as well as from guilt? (1) We must offer up our sufferings in union with those of the Son of God, and bear them with meekness and resignation for His sake. (2) We must make frequent acts of the love of God and seek to bear Him in continual remembrance. (3) We must perform some determinate penances for determinate sins; both for sins in the past, and tendencies to sin in the present. (4) We must give alms if we can. (5) We must try to extinguish our own sins by saving others from sin. To prevent one mortal sin is to extinguish a virtual hell. 
 
http://catholicharboroffaithandmorals.com/ |