Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Megethius And The Fires Of Hell

Megethius And The Fires Of Hell

Last updated on: March 22, 2021 at 3:07 am by Henry Karlson

Megethius And The Fires Of Hell 2021-03-22T03:07:50-05:00 Henry Karlson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Lumen roma: Deir as-Suriani Monastery in Wadi Natrun (Egypt)/ Wikimedia Commons

When we are new to the faith, or when we find our faith has become renewed, we often find ourselves filled with zeal. We are happy. We are filled with good will for others. This can be seen in the way we treat each other while on a spiritual high. We lift each other up. We encourage each other. We help each other to overcome the faults of the past and ignore them so that we can find a way to come together and have peace and joy in that union. But, for so many of us, as times goes by, that enthusiasm leaves us. We start acting differently. No longer filled with peace ourselves, we treat others in a way that resembles our own internal discord. We become rude and indignant. We want to feel good, so we prop ourselves up, trying to make ourselves look better than others, thinking the feelings which we get with such vainglory will replace the peace which we once had. Thus, over time, we find that as our love grows cold, we become divided against each other. The unity which we had is lost.

Every new, authentic movement in the church has the potential to follow this pattern, where we start out with great love for others, and slowly find that love fade away. Thus, even authentic reforms slowly decay and finds themselves tainted. Abba Megethius, one of the desert fathers, saw this happening in his lifetime:

He [Megethius] also said, ‘Originally, when we met together we spoke of edifying things, encouraging one another and we were “like the angels”; we ascended up to the heavens. But now when we come together, we drag one another down by gossiping, and so we go down to hell.’[1]

The desert once was said to be like a city of angels; however, as Megethius explained, that was when the ascetics first came together. As time went by, even the desert community became “like hell” in the way the ascetics started to gossip and fight against one another. This shows us we must not romanticize the desert fathers and their community, thinking they lived in an ideal utopia without difficulties or conflicts of its own. They didn’t think so. Once they lost their love for one another, they lost their center, and so the ascetic labors they embraced no longer brought them peace and joy but rather reinforced the hell of their own creation. No wonder many of them started to engage worldly contests, embracing vainglory as they tried to outdo one another in their ascetic accomplishment. For, when they received accolades for what they had done, they received a semblance of the joy which they had lost, but such joy was as transitory as the accolades they received. Unless they continued to do more, greater things, someone would come along doing something greater than those who had come before, and all those who had come before would be forgotten; all the joy they had received from the way they were praised would vanish. This is when they would find that if their labors were not done with the right spirit, they would do them no long-lasting good. This is not to say ascetic labors are worthless, for those who are filled with love can find in them a means by which their love can be strengthened and confirmed.

We must realize that when we get into contentious fight with others, gossiping about them and their faults, judging and condemning them, we find ourselves moving further away from the love which we should have. If we are bitter, if we engage slander, if we let hate develop, we create the space and condition we need for our own private little hell. Indeed, James warns us, the more we let such bitterness take control, so that we become judgmental, the more we turn ourselves away from the mercy of the Gospel. Eventually, we risk encountering justice without mercy, and if we do, we will find it will judge and condemn us for our own faults and sins:

Do not speak evil against one another, brethren. He that speaks evil against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you that you judge your neighbor (Jas. 4:11-12 RSV).

If we embrace judgment, we will get judgment. If we embrace justice without mercy, we will get justice without mercy – that is, we will get hell. We will produce such hell for ourselves, for we will deny the grace which comes with mercy, the grace which is necessary if we do not want to experience the pains of hell. Without mercy, without grace, we will experience the fires of unmerciful justice, which is the fires of hell. The more judgmental we become, the more condemnatory we become, the more we will receive what we dish out; the more we try to send others to hell, the more we will experience hell in and for ourselves. If we are not lifting each other up with love, we will find ourselves lost in hell.

We must be aware that the kingdom of God is at hand, that it is in our midst. The end has come to us. The eschaton is immanent. Though we do not know when the end of time will take place, we do know that the end, the eschaton, has come and dwelt among us. The Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, has been revealed to us as the God-man, Jesus Christ. The end has come and we can encounter and experience the glory of the kingdom of God. Our time is always short. We should not sleep. We should strive to be awake, doing all things in relation to the immanent eschaton so that we can experience the glory of the kingdom of God for ourselves:

So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But, since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we wake or sleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing (1 Thes. 5:6-11 RSV).

We must embrace the kingdom of God. We do that in and through love. If we love Jesus, we will keep his commandments, the commandments which are really the expectations of love. We will follow through with love and engage everyone in and through such love. We will do what we can to keep love strong in us so that we can and will experience all things in and through that love. Then, when our personal end comes, we will be able to experience it in and through such love, which means, we will find ourselves glorified in it. But if we do not, then we risk finding the hell which we create for ourselves through our lack of mercy will follow us in our death, so that as long as we hold onto judgment without mercy, we will experience the fires of hell.

[1] The Sayings of the Desert Fathers. Trans. Benedicta Ward (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1984), 150 [Megethius Saying 4].

Stay in touch! Like A Little Bit of Nothing on Facebook.
If you liked what you read, please consider sharing it with your friends and family!

Sayings of the Desert Fathers

Previous Post

March 21, 2021

The Example Of St. Mary Of Egypt

Next Post

March 24, 2021 Two Kinds Of Grief

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion Abraham abuse Aesthetics AI Aliens Ambrose Ancestors and Everything Andrew Angels Animals Anne Anthony Antisemitism apologetics Apophatic Apostle John Aquinas Artificial Intelligence Asanga Ascension Asceticism Assumption Atheism Attachment Augustine Authority Avarice Balthasar Baptism Beauty Biden birthright citizenship Bishops Black History Books Buddhism Bulgakov Byzantine Calendar C.S. Lewis Calcidius Catholic Catholicism Catholicism Celibacy Charity Chastity children Chrismation Christ Christmas Christology Church Climate Change Common Good Communion Confession Confirmation Conscience Constantine conventions conversion councils Covid Creation Cross Dead Death Death Penalty Debate Deception Demagogues Demons Desert Monks Desert Mothers Desire destruction development Dialogue Dignity Dionsyius Dionysius Discipline Diversity Division Doctor Who doctrine dogma Dormition Dualism Easter Easter Series Ecumenical Councils Ecumenism Education Election Empathy Environment Error Eschatology eschaton Eternity Ethics Eucharist Evangelism Eve Evil evolution Faeries Faith Fear femininity Ficino Florence Florensky Folktale Fools Forgiveness Freedom Future gender Gentile Gentiles Glory Gnostic God gods Good Samaritan Goodness Gospel Government Grace Great Fast Guns Hate healing Health Heaven Hell Hellenism Heresy Hierarchy Hildegard Hinduism History Holiness Holy Spirit Holy Week Hope Horror Human rights humanity Humility hypocrisy ICE icon icons Identification Identity Idol II Nicea Immigration incarnation Individualism Informal Reflections Inklings Intention Inter-Religious Interfaith Internet Interpretation Intrinsic evil Irenaeus Islam Israel Jacob Jerome Jesus Jews John Chrysostom John of Damascus John the Baptist Joseph Judaism justice Justification kenosis Kindnesss Kingdom of God Kingdom of Heaven Law Law of Moses Lazarus Leaf by Niggle Lent Lenten Reflection Liberation Theology Lies Life Listen Literature Liturgy locutions Logic Logos Love Marriage Martyrs Mary Mass Maximos The Confessor Meanness Meditation Mercy Middle Path Migrants Mind Miracles Miriam Morals Moses Movies Music Muslims Myths Names Nationalism Native Americans New Year Nicea Nicholas Nothing Novatian Obedience Occam's Razor Ordination Origen Original Sin Orthodox orthopraxis Pagans Palamas Palm Sunday Paradise Paschaltide Paul Peace Pentecost person Peter piety PKD Plato pluralism Plurality Poem Poetry Poiltics Politics Poor Pope Pope Francis Pope Leo XIV Post Office Prayer Pride Pro-life Prodigal Son propaganda Prophecy Prophets Providence Putin Racism Reading Reason Reflection Refugees Relationships Religion Religion Series Religious Liberty Repent Republicans Rest Resurrection Rich Rites Russia Sacraments Saints Salvation Salvian Santa Science Scripture Self-Giving Sexuality Sibyl Sick Silence Sin Singlehood Social Justice Society Sodom Solovyov Speculations Spiritual Reflection St. Cyril of Alexandria St. Justin Martyr Suffering Sunday of the Paralytic Man Sunday of the Samaritan Woman Superhero Supreme Court Teaching Technology Thanksgiving The Father the Universe Theological Reflection Theology Theosis Theotokos Thomas Timaeus Time Tolerenace Tolkien Tradition Transfiguration Trinity Trump Truth Uncategorized Unity Universities USCCB Value Vatican II Vegetarian Vices Violence Virtue Vocations War Water Welcome Wisdom Womanhood Women Work World View Worship Writing Zacchaeus

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz