St. Teresa of Ávila once watched a man get dragged to hell. It's in her autobiography. And it haunted her until the day she died. She knew the man. Everyone did. For years he had lived a hard, godless life. But in his final two years, illness had softened him. He seemed to be changing. Mending his ways. Then he died. Suddenly. Without confession. Even so, Teresa couldn't bring herself to believe he was damned. Surely God had reached him in the end. Surely there was mercy. She held onto that hope. Until she saw what was waiting in the room. As they wrapped his body in its burial shroud, they came. Demons. A great many of them. Swarming the corpse. They seized it. Dragged it. Tossed it between them like a thing of no worth. They sank large hooks into the body and hauled it back and forth, playing with it, mocking it. Teresa stood frozen. Horrified. Half out of her mind at the sight — and forced to hide it from everyone around her, because no one else could see a thing. Then the funeral Mass began. And the demons vanished. For the length of the office, the body was carried in peace, with all the honor and ceremony given to any Christian. Teresa wept inside at the goodness of God, who covered the man's shame and let no one know what she had seen. Maybe, she thought, it was over. It was not over. They lowered the body into the grave. And they were already there. A crowd of them. Waiting at the bottom of the earth. Crawling over one another to take possession of him the instant the dirt received him. Teresa nearly broke. And one terrible thought pierced her: If this is what they do to the BODY... what are they doing to his soul? The memory of that grave frightened her for the rest of her life. Why does this matter to you? Because Teresa begged for one thing: "Would to God that this frightful thing which I saw could be seen by everyone who is leading an evil life." She believed that if souls could SEE what waits for them, they would change. They would run back to Christ before it was too late. We love to talk about God's mercy. And we should — mercy is God's greatest attribute. But you cannot treasure mercy until you understand what you are being saved FROM. This is why Our Lady of Fatima showed three small children a vision of hell. Not to terrify them. To save them and others. A thing is better known by its contrary. You see the light most clearly when compared to the dark. So hear this plainly: You belong to God, or you belong to Satan. There is no middle ground. God is infinitely merciful. He will turn away NO ONE who comes to Him. But you must come on His terms. And He gave us the confessional for a reason. If it's been a while — go. Don't wait. Tomorrow is promised to no one. Lord Jesus, bring back sinners. Give them the grace to return to Confession while there is still time. Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us. St. Teresa of Ávila, pray for us. The enemy is real, and he is fighting for your soul. If you're a Catholic man who's tired of fighting alone — tired of falling to the same sins and losing ground — that's exactly what we do inside TOD Academy. Brotherhood, accountability, and serious formation for men who want to take the spiritual battle seriously. Come fight with us. todacademy.com/interest-form