Deathbed conversions. The Church teaches that 100% of the souls who willingly die in a state of mortal sin are sent to the proper part of The Inferno. She also teaches that some souls are purified by Purgatory, after which they ascend to Heaven if, unlike Lot’s wife, they do not look back. A fortunate soul may go directly to Heaven when it leaves its body.
One Catholic priest summed up his life’s work: “I want to get people into Purgatory.” To that end, Dante tells us how important deathbed conversions are.
Few things are more heart-breaking than deathbed conversions to the other side. They spend lots of time and energy getting people to sin. There’s they hate more than a sinner repenting seconds before his soul leaves his body.
Most evangelists focus on the here and now, urging “Repent, and be saved.”. It’s also important to encourage a focus on the future. “You may be so caught up enjoying the things The Programmer programmed, including yourself, that you just can’t bear to let yourself think you’re doing anything wrong. Remember, you have until the very moment your soul leaves your body to access The Programmer. It’s not wise to put it off, since there is a risk that you may die so suddenly you don’t have time to ask Him for forgiveness, but it doesn’t have to be done right this second. Think about it.”
We can logically infer that many lasting conversions took place in the baskets beneath the guillotines.
