I was wondering what to write about this topic because I realized somehow I don't think I say this often anymore. 😅 Well I think I've never really been quite vindictive even before I became a practicing Catholic so it took a while before my mind came up with something.

^source

A day or so ago I thought of how I could relate this to how I live my life now. Of course for your reference, here's the Ladies of Hive writing prompt for this week:

^{The Ladies of Hive question I chose to answer. | screenshot source}

Somehow I don't feel great when writing about situations where someone would say "I told you so." But here we go...

What Do I Think About "I Told You So"

If I did something wrong and someone said "I told you so", I would accept it. However in the last 2 years I don't think I've heard anyone tell me these words yet. 🤔

Been working on the virtue of humility so if ever somebody also told me I was wrong but I was proven right, I wouldn't say the words back to them. Unfortunately if I'm under great stress or feeling insulted I would still do!!! 😆 (Heck I'm not a saint yet. 😂)

Looking back, it's more of me saying it to others because people tend to not believe me even when I'm telling the truth. I've been noticing it for years actually.

^{As proof, here are my 2 old posts about such written in 2018 & 2019:
• Honest People Don't Get Hired!
• Lies & Deceit: When Everyone is Dishonest, You're Fcked}

That's the problem with people, when we hear the truth we rarely believe it. We prefer to hear lies rather than the real deal. This is why fake news is so popular, corrupt politicians win elections and sales people aren't appreciated.

Would I Say These Words to Someone Else?

Well the most recent incident of me "saying" such happened a few months ago. I joined a church organization last year with mostly senior ladies as members. One of them is quite feisty w/ a bad temper despite her age and belonging in such a group.

On one occasion we were in church waiting for the mass to start and she asked who would be the priest to celebrate the novena mass on a certain day. And since I just saw it flashed on the TV screen I told her the name. Guess what happened? She didn't believe me! 😂

She kept asking but because her eyesight isn't good anymore she refused to believe me. Well I told her we could make a bet on it and she can give me P100 ($2) if I'm right. 😆 But of course she never agreed to such and just ambled off to check the big banner announcement outside the parish.

Actually for two different topics I told her the information and she didn't believe me until she proved it herself. I didn't exactly tell her the words "I told you so," but I said something similar when she came back to the pew.

_{Parish of the Lord of Divine Mercy in Sikatuna Village, Quezon City. Regally decorated for Divine Mercy Sunday fiesta 2024.}

And being proven right twice by her on that day got me thinking it was the perfect setup for me to tell her something. I told everyone I could to also go to confession on Divine Mercy Sunday (DVS) and so I told her about it. I know of a certain incident in the past which involved her and someone else. People are still getting negatively affected by what happened that's why I mentioned confession to her as well.

Long story short, unfortunately I failed in that regard because she never went on that day. She already did it during Holy Week, more than a week before DVS and didn't wanna do it again. I even gave her a pamphlet of Examination of Conscience to help her out. Ah so much for trying...

Telling her "I told you so" for that situation wouldn't matter on Earth though. I can only assume that upon death she might think she should have listened to me but heck that's not a good attitude at all. That's already out of my league for only God knows what's in our minds and hearts and will judge us accordingly when the time comes.

"I Told You So" Could Be Torture in Hell

In Catholic doctrine, when we die that's when we will know if we deserve to go to Hell or Heaven. We will be judged by Jesus immediately upon dying. If we can merit going to Purgatory that's well and good but it's still as painful as Hell according to many saints whom God showed it to.

^{Related posts I wrote 2 yrs ago:
• Catholicism, Non-Catholics and How We Can Avoid Going to Hell (1/2)
• Angels vs. Demons and Purgatory vs. Heaven (2/2)}

Now why am I talking about this all of a sudden? Because as mentioned above, many people don't want to believe the truth no matter how it is presented. So when someone goes to Hell because they never believed anything Jesus and the Catholic Church said and taught then that's terrible.

I can only imagine them chained and suffering in the abyss, having repeated thoughts of regret. Maybe with some demons beside them too, derisively saying, "They told you so but you didn't listen, fool!" And perhaps a mix of wailing and evil laughter would be heard next. Oh what a terrifying scenario.

But hey don't take my words for it. As mentioned, I'm not even holy at all even now. So I will leave you with information from a 17th century saint.

^source

Only found out about him early this year and apparently St. Leonard of Port Maurice has a well-known sermon called "The Little Number of Those Who Are Saved." Read through it and then maybe you can share your thoughts too.

Otherwise search for "A Soul in Hell: The Story of Annette." This is said to have happened in Germany and originally written in French. Fortunately it has already been translated to English. 😁

And that's it, that's the end of my thoughts on this topic. Feel free to comment what you think too. 😉


XOXO,
@artgirl