["The Transfiguration," Raphael, 1516-1520; Note: The transfiguration is a symbol of the future transfiguration of our humanity with the Divine presence in heaven.] By all accounts, hell is a horrible, horrible place. It might seem that God, whom we proclaim to be merciful, is anything but. On several occasions, Jesus himself spoke of it as a place of "weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth" (Mt 8:12, 13:42, 13:50, 22:13; 24:51, 25:30 and Luke 13:28). And while individual accounts of...

[The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Siena, Giovanni di Paolo, 1460] A woman came to me who had practiced witchcraft for a dozen years. She had started her own coven and had all the paraphernalia including a large cache of books on the occult. The first thing that struck me was the dark cloud around her and the gloom on her face. When I mentioned it, she said she was aware of it and agreed that it was likely the result of her life in the occult. She said the practice of witchcraft...

[Good Angel of Death, Evelyn De Morgan 1880] At the moment of death, some people have reported being tempted and harassed by Satan. A famous case was St. Martin of Tours. At his death in 397 AD, he saw Satan present and he exclaimed: “Why do you stand there, you bloodthirsty brute? Murderer, you will not have me for your prey. Abraham is welcoming me into his embrace.” With that, he died and passed on to the Kingdom of God. Not uncommonly, people also report receiving special graces...