In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Blessed Bernardo de Hoyos on January 9th, 1730 our Lord Jesus Christ showed Blessed Bernardo
de Hoyos hell.
He found himself suddenly in a spacious field accompanied by his Majesty,
who told his guardian angel to guide him.
Then the angel told him: "Come,
and I will show you this great vision."
I began to follow him, when suddenly from the
earth opened a mouth through which my angel entered, and I followed him to see this great
vision of the condemned in whom the omnipotent arm of divine justice executes its fury.
A few steps away I saw a multitude of demons go out from the same opening in the earth
through which I had entered. These demons were throwing into the infernal flames the many
souls who they won in the numerous slaughter of the past epidemic.
Then these same demons returned to the world to spread their nets to catch and throw other condemned into the abyss.
We would have already walked about twenty steps when my angel told me:
"Go and write"
and when we were leaving that like an alley through which we had entered,
I saw an immense cave of fire wrapped in smoke so thick that it denied even the same light which
it burned.
I tried to measure the width of that immense cave but I could not see the end of it.
I thank God to be at that place with my angel because I felt encouraged by him,
otherwise because of this first sight I was capable of taking my life.
At the same time I sensed an intolerable stench, an awful noise, some wild screams and howls like
mad dogs.
I also saw that impelled with fury and rage
some condemned jumped from the fire and fell
precipitated by the demons like a great stone at its center into the voracity of the flames.
Then the angel turned to me and said: “Pay more attention”
and then I noticed more particularly
how dishonest sinners were punished.
I saw an icy lake next to a scorching fire balloon.
The demons were already throwing those condemned souls into the fire,
and when they were most enraged, they plunged them with great impetus into the frozen water
so when they were passing from one extreme to another their torment would be greater.
The condemned were pierced by fire lances with swords and other hideous instruments.
Their heads were being cut off and to make them suffer more their heads were coming together again.
Their scorched bodies were already destroyed with combs of fire.
The demons were smashing their limbs with
very sharp razor wheels.
With these and other such horrific inventions those cursed furies
condemned were tormented, which broken in eternal despair, bit the instruments of their punishment.
The condemned were vomiting a thousand curses where these condemned were the most cruel
executioners of themselves, wounding themselves with their nails and teeth. In this way they were
rewarded for the delights with which these sinners enjoyed their dishonesties: the fire of lust had
become that fire, which burned their entrails; and the beds where they did their dishonesties
become the icy water in which they suffered such cold that their bones were dislodged.
Then I saw another place where greedy people were in pain.
Their mouths were open to be able to get a little air and even in this way they were lacking of air:
a symbol and punishment of what they did while they lived trying to attract the same air with
their greed.
They wanted to breathe to vent the fire that was consuming them,
and they did not get even this relief.
They were also in a narrow space
that they were not even able to roll, when the demons mistreated them with cruel torments.
Together with them those who had sinned by swearing and blaspheming the goodness of God
hurled serpents from their disgusting mouths,
who girded themselves with them and were tearing them
to pieces.
The demons wounded them in the mouth cutting their tongues, breaking their teeth,
putting bars of burning iron down their throats,
stuffing them with molten lead that penetrated all
their bones and with other diabolical traces with which they caused very bitter pains.
Then the enemies in this world continued their hatred with an insatiable hatred, and being
as close to their enemies as bricks in the oven, they tore each other to pieces with fury and rage.
I also saw various other kinds of torment with which other sins were punished,
that it was long to say one by one.
In the meantime, I was following my angel along a narrow path and we reached another place where
I found many demons that with a great racket tormented a great personage well known in the
world, although I did not understand who he was, but the cause of his condemnation was that he
had impiety towards the poor. I saw an anvil of fire on which the demons spread this condemned
and with various instruments they crushed his body into small parts by force of strong blows. And
after the demons had smashed him into pieces, his pieces were united again. The demons execute their
rage in him, and he cursed, execrated himself and his wealth and delights. The demons made
fun of him, telling him what was he complaining about, when the demons prepare this good bed and
they were taking care of his relief, instead of the conveniences he had had in the world.
Horrified by what I saw, stunned by the blasphemies that I heard against God and His Most
Blessed Mother and our Mother the Virgin Mary, astonished at the monsters that were shown to me,
and out of myself with so much shouting and screaming,
I looked forward and could not distinguish until having walked a great space blind,
my angel told me: "Come and see, and write what you see."
Then the path through which we were going was opened, and I found myself in another lower level,
even more horrifying than the other one. Here were the evil and unworthy priests who had the
courage to sacrilegiously receive in their hands and in their hearts the Son of the Virgin Mary.
The condemned suffered such pains that all those I have said are nothing in comparison.
They were tormented mainly in the parts in which they had the consecrated host:
their hands were full of pain and they were made burning coals, their tongues were torn to pieces
and hanging out of their mouths as a sign of their sacrileges, everything inside especially the heart
was burned in fire, bursting with terrible pain. Here I saw that among the others stood up, like a
snake when it jumps, a bad priest that I knew, and he died suddenly, which had been very scandalous.
He glared at me like a fierce snake, but then he fell deep into the fire.
From this level the angel passed me to another third one, where the pains and torments were
greater. In this level were those who having been more visited by God with His inspirations
and aids, despised them and were ungrateful, stepping on the blood of Jesus Christ.
They suffered much more for their own conscience and memory
that they could have taken advantage of when they had His inspirations.
There are no words to explain the punishment of harm of not seeing and loving God.
This is the greatest and most horrible torment, to be deprived for all eternity of seeing God. All
the torments of the condemned, a thousand times in pain, the eternal suffering is nothing compared to
the fact of not seeing God. My heart breaks and my body shudders at this consideration. I do not
say more about this torment, because the will of the Lord is that I do not speak now of that harm.
Sister Josefa Menéndez many times the Lord allowed the demons to lead Josefa to suffer the torments
of hell so that she could pray and suffer to save sinners. She tells us for example on March 16th,
1922 I began to hear like the previous days, a tremendous noise of chains and screams. I got up,
dressed, and got down on my knees. I was full of fear. The noise continued. I left the bedroom not
knowing where to go or what to do. I went into the chapel of our Blessed Mother for a moment.
I went back to the bedroom and always the same noise. It was a little after twelve,
when suddenly I saw the demon in front of me saying: "Tie her feet, tie her hands."
I felt that they tied me tightly, they pulled me and were dragging me. Other voices said:
"It is not the feet that must be tied, it is the heart." The devil replied, "That is not mine."
They dragged me a very long way. I began to hear a lot of screaming and immediately found myself in a
very narrow hallway. In the wall there was like a niche from which a lot of smoke came out, but
without a flame and a very bad smell. All kinds of blasphemies, impure and terrible words are heard.
Some curse their own body, others curse their father or mother, others reproach themselves.
In front of me and close by there were souls that cursed and blasphemed me.
This is what made me suffer the most, but what has no comparison with any other torment
is the anguish that the soul feels, seeing itself separated from God.
It seemed to me that I spent many years in this hell, although it was only six or seven
hours. Then I felt that they pulled me again and after putting me in a very dark place,
the demon kicking me set me free. I cannot say what my soul felt when I realized that I
was alive and that I could still love God. I see very clearly that everything in the
world is nothing compared to the pain of the soul that cannot love,
because in hell you cannot breathe anything but hatred and desire for the perdition of souls.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.