and implore God’s pardon for them.  The other thief remained and died impenitent, that sinners may fear to put off their conversion to the hour of death, thus rashly presuming on God’s mercy.  Persons who willfully delay their conversion and put off their repentance to the last moment, living bad lives with the hope of dying well, may not accept the grace to repent at the last moment, but may, like the unfortunate, impenitent thief, die as they lived, in a state of sin.

83 Q. Why did Christ suffer and die?  A. Christ suffered and died for our sins.

It was not necessary for Our Lord to suffer so much, but He did it to show how much He loved us and valued our souls, and how much He was willing to give for them.  We, alas! do not value our souls as Christ did; we sometimes sell them for the merest trifle—­a moment’s gratification.  How sinful!

84 Q. What lessons do we learn from the sufferings and death of Christ?  A. From the sufferings and death of Christ we learn the great evil of sin, the hatred God bears to it, and the necessity of satisfying for it.

We learn “the great evil of sin” also from the misery it brought into the world; the “hatred God bears to it,” from the punishment He inflicted on the wicked angels and on our first parents for it; and lastly, the “necessity of satisfying for it,” from the fact that God allowed His dear and only Son to suffer death itself for the sins even of others.

85 Q. Whither did Christ’s soul go after His death?  A. After Christ’s death His soul descended into hell.

86 Q. Did Christ’s soul descend into the hell of the damned?  A. The hell into which Christ’s soul descended was not the hell of the damned, but a place or state of rest called Limbo, where the souls of the just were waiting for Him.

Hell had many meanings in olden times.  The grave was sometimes called hell.  Jacob, when he heard that wild beasts had devoured his son Joseph, said:  “I will go down with sorrow into hell.”  He meant the grave.  Limbo is not the same as Purgatory.  It does not exist now, or, if it does, is only for little children who have never committed actual sin and who have died without Baptism.  They will never get into Heaven or see God, but they will not have to suffer pains as they who are in Purgatory or Hell endure.

87 Q. Why did Christ descend into Limbo?  A. Christ descended into Limbo to preach to the souls who were in prison—­that is, to announce to them the joyful tidings of their redemption.

88 Q. Where was Christ’s body while His soul was in Limbo?  A. While Christ’s soul was in Limbo His body was in the Holy Sepulchre.