Those who pray are certainly saved; those who do not pray are certainly damned.
—Saint Alphonsus Liguori
This post is in being shared on the vigil of the Feast of Our Lady of Kibeho, which is celebrated on November 28th.
Our Lady of Kibeho is a Church approved Apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary that took place in Rwanda over several years starting in 1981. Most notably, she warned the people about the Rwandan Genocide before it happened. Mary urged the people to pray the Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows and open their hearts to God to avert the coming disaster.
During this time, Mary appeared to a young girl named Anathalie and showed her Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory.
One of the unique parts about these visions is that Mary did not just show the Anathalie glimpses of Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory, but also gave her insight into what kind of people go to each place.
These visions are described by Immaculee Ilibagiza, a survivor of the Rwandan genocide, in her book “Our Lady of Kibeho,” which I highly recommend you read in its entirety. I quote the portions relating to these visions below, along with Mary’s explanation, in addition to some commentary.
Heaven
The first [place she was taken] was a world where instead of mountains, hills, and valleys, the landscape was comprised of varying shades of vivid color and light, and people travelled from place to place by sliding through the light.
Mary led Anathalie to one strange land illumined only by white light. Here, the girl saw seven handsome men wearing white cloaks and standing in a circle, and they were creating the most beautiful music without any instruments—each note was filled with a different sensation of contentment and joy. She asked, “Where are we, Mother?”
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“Who are those men?”
“They are not men. They are angels.”
“What do they do here?”
“They praise God, watch over Earth, and aid humanity when they are needed or called upon.”
…
At the next place the young lady saw millions of people dressed in white. All of them seemed overwhelmingly happy but not blissful, as the angels had been. “Our Lady told me that this was Isenderezwa z’ibyishimo, the place of the cherished of God.”
This vision of Heaven is reminiscent of what we read in the book of Revelation, when St. John sees a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes (Rev. 7:9).
It’s also interesting to see the description of the Angels, which is very consistent with Catholic theology.
Finally, I’m reminded of the verse God is light and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5).
So who does Our Lady say is counted worthy to attain to this land of happiness and light?
The first place, the happy world of the cherished of God, was reserved for people whose hearts are good, who pray regularly, and who strive always to follow God’s will.
Purgatory
And then we moved on to our next destination, a world where the light was as dim as dusk. Below us were people dressed in clothes of dreary and dull colors in comparison to the other worlds we’d seen. Most of them seemed content, but many seemed quite sad and were even suffering. Mary said, “This is Isesengurwa, a place of purification; the people you see are Intarambirwa, those who persevere.
This part of the vision is, of course, entirely consistent with the Catholic doctrine of purgatory.
The mixture of contentment, sadness, and suffering is exactly what you would expect in a description of Purgatory. Purgatory is not a final destination, but a place of purification on the way to Heaven. Saint Paul alludes to it in 1 Cor. 3:14-16, saying, If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
As such, the souls there are content (and even glad), because they know they have attained everlasting life, but they are also contrite and suffering as they are purified of their past sins, and so prepared for the Glory of Heaven, where nothing unclean shall enter (Rev. 21:27).
Mary gives this description of the people who are in Purgatory:
Our second visit to the place of purification was for those who called on God only during times of trouble, turning away from Him when their troubles were over.
Hell
The last place we visited was a land of twilight where the only illumination was an unpleasant shade of red that reminded me of congealed blood. The heat that rose from that world was stifling and dry—it brushed my face like a flame, and I feared that my skin would blister and crack. I couldn’t look at the countless people who populated that unhappy place because their misery and anguish pained me so greatly. Mary didn’t have to say the name of this place…I knew I was in hell.
Hell is real, it lasts forever, and people go there. Many people, by all accounts.
Jesus warns of Hell more often than anything else he talks about in the Gospels. If you are uncomfortable listening to people talk about Hell, then you would be very uncomfortable listening to Jesus.
Mary describes the disposition of the people who go there:
The last place of heat and no name was for those who never paid God any attention at all.
The cares of this world and the distractions of life are much more dangerous than they seem.
Conclusion
I love hearing Mary’s motherly voice in these visions. Her simple, yet profound, descriptions of who is in each place remind me of how my wife and I explain these truths to our young children. They are explained in such a way that they get to the essence of what is true in a way that even a child can understand, yet leave room for that truth to be unfolded into all it’s fullness.
In light of these visions, I would propose that we each ask ourselves three questions. Be honest with yourself—you can fool others, and even yourself, but you cannot fool God:
Do I have a good heart?
Do I pray regularly?
Do I strive always to do the Will of God?
If you answered “yes” to all three, then praise God! How can you do so even more? How can you ensure that you will persevere unto death?
If you answered “no” to any of them, then when and how are you going to start? If you’re waiting for the right time, then start today. Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation (2 Cor. 6:2).
Don’t put it off. None of us know either the hour or the day that God will call us before the Judgement seat.
Last Note About Private Revelation
Allow me one last note about this or any private revelation in order to prevent confusion. These appearances and messages from Heaven are meant to edify, but they are also meant to be taken within the context of the teaching of the Faith. Mary’s words here are very enlightening, and teach us something very true about who is saved, and who is not. It also affirms the constant teaching of the Church that Hell is real, and by some dreadful mystery, people go there. But make sure you’re taking these lessons in the context of the Church. For example, to read this and infer that an Aztec pagan must go to Heaven because they “prayed” every day while they were offering their human sacrifices would be an error.
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