III. What ought to be done to avoid hell? "Avoid sin and do good." If you would not consent for the whole world to undergo, even for an hour, a very severe corporal pain, with how much more reason ought you to labor to avoid the pains of hell. This cannot be done without avoiding sin. "Let us therefore bewail our sins," as Thomas a Kempis says, "before we come to that place where our tears will be of no other avail than to increase our torments;" and let us avoid sin for the future; for sin is the fuel of hell.
Purgatory.— I.
I. As hell is destined for the punishment of mortal sin, so is purgatory ordained to be the punishment of venial transgressions. In purgatory souls suffer for a time the "pain of loss" and the pains of the senses. Ponder then on their pain of loss. They are deprived of the beatific vision and the enjoyment of God, which they most ardently desire. "Hope that is deferred afflicteth the soul." (Prov. xiii. 12.) Much more is the soul afflicted when those hopes regard an enjoyment so great as is the happiness of heaven. If a high honor, a large sum of money, or any extraordinary enjoyment were promised you, think how uneasy you would be until you had gained possession of it. How great, then, must be the desire of these afflicted souls for the beatific vision, and the grief resulting from that desire! That grief is increased by the reflection that this enjoyment is delayed in consequence of their own carelessness and negligence.
II. Consider the pain of sense which the souls in purgatory experience. 1. The place of punishment is hideous and in the vicinity of hell, as most of the holy Fathers think. 2. The nature of the fire is the same as
