At the beginning of this meditation we ask the grace to know at least by imagination the pain the of being definitely lost and damned might be; and pray for that we don’t fall in this danger of rejecting God if not for the love of him at least for the fear of the consequences. - Step-by-Step Retreats, Phase 1, Step 6 overview
Actually, click the link and read the entire overview. It introduces a fascinating approach to this step.
The first "hellish" situations I will reflect on is the feeling of being alone, hopeless, and afraid it's never going to change. This isn't the worst thing I can imagine, though, and I will imagine worse ones in other sessions of this step.
"And in that day, says the LORD, you will call me, `My husband,' and no longer will you call me, `My Ba'al.'" - Hos 2, 16
I don't know yet whether this will be the pattern of the entire step, but clearly this first session's reading (Hos 2, 16-25, though all the versions I see only have 23 verses in chapter 2) is intended to bring the merciful answer to the contemplation of what Hell must be like. It seems to me that many people live with hellish situations in their lives to which they don't believe there is a better answer.
I suspect that my feelings of isolation and loneliness are not nearly so hellish as I imagine them to be, though. They are probably more a case of God drawing me to himself, using my desire for deeper communion to teach me that it can only really be found in one Source.
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