Xlvi. Of Hell
XLVI. OF HELL
(A)
Is there a place of eternal damnation?
Yes, and it is called hell (LXIX. 2).
What is hell?
Hell is a place of torments to which are condemned all those who by their sins have revolted against God, and have remained in their sins.
Who are these?
Among the angels all those that sinned; and among men those that die in the state of final impenitence (LXIX. 2).
Since the damned are rooted in evil in such wise that they never repent what is the consequence?
The consequence is that the torments which they have merited by their sins will last for ever.
But could God not put an end to these torments?
Yes, He could do so by His absolute power; but according to the order of His wisdom He will not do so, for according to this order those who arrive at the term of their life are fixed for always either in good or in evil, and since the evil always remains so must the punishment always remain (XCIX. 1, 2).
(B)
What are the torments that the damned will suffer always?
They are twofold: the pain of loss and the pain of sense (XCVII. 1, 2).
What is the pain of loss?
It is the privation of the infinite good which is the beatific vision in heaven.
Whence is it that this punishment will be cruelly felt by the damned?
It arises from this, that having arrived at the term of their life they see the nothingness of all the things they sought in life to the prejudice of the infinite good; they will then appreciate the greatness of the good they have lost, and they will realize that they lost it through their own fault entirely.
Is not this perpetual consciousness of having lost so great a good as the vision of God called by the Gospel "the worm that never dies"?
Yes; and this will be the most terrible punishment of their guilty conscience (XCVII. 2).
(C)
Must one understand in a metaphorical and purely spiritual sense the other punishment of which the Gospel speaks and which it calls "the fire that never dies"?
No; one must understand these words of material fire; for they signify the pain of sense (XCVII. 5).
But how can material fire act upon spirits or upon souls separated from the body?
By a special ordering of His justice, God communicates to this material fire the preternatural power of serving as an instrument of His justice (LXX. 3).
Will all the damned be tormented by the fire of hell in the same way?
No, for since it is used as an instrument of the divine justice, its action will be proportioned to the nature, number, and gravity of the sins committed by each one (XCVII. 5, Obj. 3).