It’s pretty safe to say that none of us want to go to Hell.
Even if we’re not as strong in our faith as we would like or if we’ve fallen out of our spiritual practices, we still want to be happy. And, Hell is not happy.
When we accept the truth that we don’t want to end up in Hell, we must ask ourselves, what are we doing to avoid it?
There’s a lot that could be said about this, but for today, let’s consider these two prevention measures: avoiding sin and praying for grace.
So, what can we do to avoid Hell? First, avoid sin. And, not just avoid sin, but detest it. Recall the Act of Contrition we say in Confession: “I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven, and the pains of hell.” Step one: go to Confession. Seek forgiveness. Detach from sin.
Secondly, we must pray daily. “Ask and it will be given to you.” (Matthew 7:7) What are we asking for? Well, we don’t need to craft a complicated laundry list of requests. For this discussion, we can turn to a very simple prayer:
“O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of thy mercy.”
This prayer goes hand-in-hand with step one. If we want to avoid Hell, pray for the grace and help to do so. A life of unrepentant sin is a path to Hell. So, repent. Pray for the grace of purification and forgiveness.