Lời Vô Ích

GCG1: X Lời Vô Ích
§ Lm Lê Bá Tư

Nói ít

Bạn hãy hết sức lánh xa những đám đông người. Vì dù con không có ý xấu, nhưng bàn soạn việc đời bao giờ cũng tai hại lắm.

Nó làm cho linh hồn ta chóng dơ nhớp và nô lệ tính phô trương.

Thà nín lặng những khi phải gặp người đời và đừng xen vào giữa đám đông là hơn.

Đã biết rằng chả mấy khi từ đám chuyện gẫu ra về mà lương tâm không cắn rứt, thế sao còn cứ ngứa ngáy muốn nói, muốn bàn ?

Thường ta thích nói là vì nhờ trao đổi cảm tình, ta có thể yên ủi lẫn nhau và trút cho lòng trí khỏi những tư tưởng bực dọc.

Những lúc đó ta thường hay nói về mình, về những cái ta ưa thích và ước ao, hoặc những điều làm ta khó chịu.

Nói cho khôn

Nhưng thường ta không được toại ý ! Vì chính những cái bên ngoài ấy, làm cho ta mất rất nhiều ơn Chúa yên ủi bên trong.

Vì thế ta phải tỉnh táo và cầu nguyện đừng để thì giờ qua đi vô ích.

Nếu được phép nói hay nói có lợi, bạn cũng chỉ nên nói những cái có thể giúp bạn tiến đức hơn.

Tập quán xấu, tính ươn hèn trong đường tiến đức ngăn trở ta rất nhiều trong việc giữ miệng lưỡi.

Lời nói đạo đức về những vấn đề thiêng liêng bao giờ cũng giúp ta tiến bộ rất nhiều trong đường đạo đức, nhất là giữa những người đồng tâm nhất trí đoàn kết trong Chúa.

Đừng Suồng Sã

GCG1: VIII Đừng Suồng Sã
§ Lm Lê Bá Tư

Chọn bạn mà chơi

"Đừng thổ lộ tâm tình với bất cứ ai" (Giảng viên 8, 22). Việc bạn, bạn hãy đem bàn với những người khôn ngoan và kính sợ Chúa.

Đừng thường xuyên đi lại với những người trẻ và những người ham thế tục.

Đừng nịnh người giàu cũng đừng luôn tới lui với người quyền quý.

Hãy quen thân những người khiêm nhượng, đơn sơ, những người có đời sống đạo hạnh, ngay thẳng, chỉ nên nói, nên bàn những chuyện hữu ích.

Đừng kết thân với người khác phái. Bạn hãy phú thác cho Chúa tất cả các anh chị em đạo đức.

Hãy ước mong kết thân với một mình Chúa và các Thiên Thần và hãy tránh đừng để người đời biết đến Bạn.

Bác ái

Phải bác ái đối với mọi người, nhưng đừng vì đấy mà suồng sã.

Có người, khi còn xa ta khen lấy khen để, mà vừa giáp mặt đã ghét cay ghét đắng.

Có lúc ta nghĩ kết thân với người khác như thế là vừa ý họ lắm, nhưng ngờ đâu chính lúc ấy lại là lúc họ bắt đầu chán ta, vì gần ta, họ đã khám phá ra những khuyết điểm của ta.

Theo Gương Chúa Và Khinh Thường Thế Tục

Quyển I: Những Nguyên Tắc Hướng Dẫn Đời Sống Tâm Linh
I. Theo Gương Chúa Và Khinh Thường Thế Tục
Con đường sáng

Lời Chúa Giêsu : "Ai theo Ta, người ấy không đi trong u tối" (Gioan 8,12).

Lời ấy, Chúa dùng để khuyên nhủ ta bắt chước tính hạnh và hành vi Chúa, nếu ta muốn được sáng suốt và thoát khỏi mọi tối tăm nội tâm.

Bài học chính của ta sẽ là suy gẫm về tính hạnh Chúa Kitô.

Tinh thần Chúa

Học thuyết Kitô trổi vượt trên học thuyết các thánh. Ai thấu nhập được tinh thần Chúa Giêsu, người ấy gặp được kho lương thực tiềm tàng.

Sở dĩ nhiều người nghe giảng Phúc Âm luôn mà vẫn không xúc động, là vì họ không có tinh thần Chúa Kitô.

Muốn hiểu tỏ và nếm thử thi vị của Lời Chúa, cần phải tập sống đời sống của Chúa.

Sự thông giỏi thế tục

Lý luận cao kỳ về Chúa Ba Ngôi có ích chi, một khi lòng đầy kiêu hãnh. Vì đó bạn sẽ phụ lòng chính Chúa Ba Ngôi.

Không phải hễ lý luận cao mà nên được người lành người thánh, trái lại chỉ có đời sống đạo đức mới là bạn thiết của Chúa !

Thà biết sám hối còn hơn biết giải thích nghĩa sám hối là gì.

Thuộc lòng toàn pho Thánh Kinh và danh ngôn các triết gia, mà không có đức ái và ân tình với Chúa : tất cả chỉ là vô ích.

"Phù hoa nối tiếp phù hoa,

Của đời hết thảy chỉ là phù hoa" (Giảng viên 1, 2)

trừ kính ái và phụng thờ một Chúa.

Khôn ngoan nhất là người biết từ cái đẹp trần gian vươn lên Nước Trời.

Của đời, của chóng qua

Không gì phù phiếm bằng tích góp cho nhiều của mau qua và để hết lòng trí vào đó !

Không gì phù phiếm bằng ham hố danh vọng và ưa tìm ăn trên ngồi trước !

Không gì phù phiếm bằng bê tha nhục dục và đam mê những thứ làm cho đời mai sau của mình bị nghiêm phạt !

Không gì phù phiếm bằng thích sống lâu mà không cố gắng sống cho thánh thiện !

Không gì phù phiếm bằng chỉ để tâm đến của hiện tại mà không màng gì của tương lai !

Không gì phù phiếm bằng chỉ mải miết đuổi theo của mau qua mà không màng đến điều sẽ làm cho mình được hạnh phúc muôn đời !

Của vô hình

Hãy luôn tâm niệm lời này của Đấng Khôn ngoan : "Mắt không bao giờ no, tai không bao giờ thỏa" (Giảng viên 1,8)

Bạn, bạn hãy cố gắng giữ lòng khỏi quyến luyến của hữu hình và hãy chuyên lo tìm của vô hình.

Ai sống theo nhục dục, người ấy làm nhọ lương tâm mình và mất ơn Chúa.

Of Man's Last End

Of Man’s End
Firʃt Point. Man was created to ʃerve God
Second Point. Man was created to ʃave himʃelfe in ʃerving God

Firʃt Point.
Conʃider that we came not into the world by chance, God had an end in drawing us out of nothing, and that end was no other then his own glory: he created us only to know, love & ʃerve him; we glorify him by knowing and loving him, we ʃhew our love by ʃerving him, and we ʃerve him when we keep his Commandments.

This was his End & deʃign in our Creation, he could have not created us, but he could not create us for another End: the diʃorders of our Lives may indeed make us forget our duty but it cannot change our ultimate End. Let us be never so diʃʃolute it will ʃtill be true, that we are not ʃent into the world to heap up Riches, to acquire honours, to enjoy a multitude of pleaʃures & become great, we are ʃent into the world only to ʃerve God. Kings and their people, the learn’d & the ignorant, the Rich and the poor are in the World only for this End. Tho there be a great difference in mens conditions and a ʃubordination among them, tho some are born Masters and others ʃubjects, they are all made for the same ultimate End, & all agree in this point that they are created only to know, to love & to ʃerve God.

The fire is not more created to give heat, and the ʃun light, then man is to love and ʃerve God, who has made that almost infinite number of Creatures only to help us in attaining this End, there being not one among them all which in its ʃelfe do’s not fourniʃh us with a means to know God, a motive to love, and a way to ʃerve him.

We need only conʃult our own hearts on this ʃubject, and we shall find that the extreme deʃire to be happy which is implanted in our natures, and the abʃolute impoʃʃibility of being ʃo in this Life are a ʃensible proof that man was not made for any created object. He must elevate his heart to God, & he will immediately find a full and perfect peace which alone fixes all his deʃires; he feels a ʃweetness which he never felt any where elʃe, & which is an evident mark that God alone is his End, and the Center of his Reʃt.

We are then in the world only to ʃerve God, this is the End of all Men; but do all men live for that End? This is the only thing neceʃʃary of which the ʃon of God ʃpeaks in Goʃpel, do we look upon it as ʃuch?

How earneʃt are we to accompliʃh our deʃigns? To acquit ourʃelves, well of our employments, and to ʃerve our Princes? Are we as earneʃt to ʃerve God? Do not men generally act as if they valued every thing but him? How often is the title of a man of the Gown or of the ʃword, prefer’d to that of God’s ʃervant? How often do the Maxims of the World get the better of the Duty’s of a Chriʃtian? Every one has his deʃigns and ʃeeks his own Ends, ʃurely we are not perʃuaded that God is our End ʃeeing we take so little pains to ʃeek him as ʃuch.

This Truth of God being our End is one of the firʃt Truths we learn, yet it is that which we think leaʃt of, and are leaʃt affected with when we do think of it. We are uʃed from our Cradles to hear that we are created only to ʃerve God, but we are not at all touch’d with the meaning of thoʃe words, which in all probability we never truly underʃtood much leʃs foreʃaw their conʃequences. For if it be true that I live in this World only to ʃerve God, then every one of my actions ought to be directed to him, and it may be I have not in all my Life done any one ʃinge action only for him.

This is the fundamental Verity of our Religion, do we live up to this important Truth? The whole Goʃpel is founded on this as its chief maxime, but who that examines our manner & maxims can think that God is our ultimate End? We think of every thing but God, as if we thought him nothing.
We find time for every thing except for loving and ʃerving God, we are delighted with riches, honours, and pleaʃures, God alone hath no charms for us: And yet where can we find any true pleaʃure but in him only? Thou Lord hast created for thy ʃelfe ʃaith ʃaint Auguʃtine, and our hearts will be allwayes uneaʃy and unquiet till they reʃt in thee.

Have we not found this by frequent experience in thoʃe very things whereof we have been most fond? Were we ʃatiʃfied when we had obtain’d them? Has not the very poʃʃeʃʃion been ʃufficient to diʃguʃt us with them, and make us ʃlight them? ‘tis to no purpoʃe to deceive our ʃelves that we may ʃin with leʃs fear, theʃe very diʃguʃts, theʃe continual diʃquiets, are a ʃecret voice which admoniʃhes us that we are not made for the Creatures, that every thing in the world is but vanity, amuʃement, and vexation of ʃpirit, and that we are made only for God.

We cannot chooʃe or make any other End to our ʃelves, he who gave us our being hath put us under an indiʃpensable neceʃʃity of returning to him; If he had left us at Liberty to make choice of God the infinite good for our laʃt End, could we have thought of any other? And now that he has ʃubjected us to the happy neceʃʃity of having no other, we are very little concerned to attain it.

Ingrateful men! Are you not well enough provided for to have God for your laʃt End? How long will you halt between two opinions? If the Lord be God follow him: why will you be divided between God and the World? If God be your only maʃter, why do you not ʃerve him alone?

My God! What do I ʃtay for? Am I too young? Have I too much health? Am I afraid to ʃerve thee to long if I begin ʃo ʃoon, I whom am left in the world only to ʃerve thee.

Alas! I made no difficulty of ʃpending the beʃt part of my Life in unprofitable amuʃements in the ʃervice of the World, and now that I am diʃabus’d and convinc’d of my folly, ʃhall I refuʃe thee the reʃt of my Life? ʃhall I balance one moment to love thee?

‘Tis ʃtrange that I ʃtand in need of ʃo many reaʃons & reflections to reʃolve upon a thing of this importance, & of which I am fully convinc’d, but it is yet ʃtranger that all theʃe reflections do not make me reʃolve.

Do I ʃtall till I am at last Extremity? Till I am told that I have but a few days left to think ʃeriously of my Converʃion?

No my God! It is reʃolv’d; thou haʃt made me only for thy ʃelfe, and for the future I will be wholly thine: ‘tis true I begin late to ʃerve thee, but I am reʃolv’d to have this ʃatiʃfaction in Death whenever it comes, that I did begin to ʃerve thee.

Second Point.

Conʃider that God who has created us only to ʃerve him, is pleaʃ’d by a ʃingular goodneʃs ʃo to order it, that we cannot ʃerve him without ʃerving our ʃelves. He did from the beginning deʃign our Eternal happineʃs in creating us for his Glory; & ʃeeing that Eternal happineʃs is no otherwiʃe propoʃ’d then as a reward, our whole life is given us only that we may deʃerve it by obedience to thoʃe Laws and Commandments which he hath made for that End. And the deʃire of happineʃs which is natural to every man do’s as it were by inʃtinct advertiʃe us in the midʃt of our diʃorders that we are plac’d in the world only to work out our Eternal ʃalvation in Heaven.

The Checks of our Conʃciences which are hardly ever quite ʃtifled, cry loud to us that we put our ʃelves in danger of being loʃt when we get our end never ʃo little. And are not the fears of hell, and of the dreadful judgments of God, which ʃhake the most hardened ʃinners, a ʃufficient monitor telling us inceʃʃantly that we are in the world only to be ʃaved?

This is the only buʃineʃs of all the world, this is our laʃt end. We are not here to obtain great Employments or dignity’s, to render ourʃelves excellent in this or that profeʃʃion, nor to eʃtablish a reputation by our good qualities; You are raiʃ’d to that dignity, you are put in that dignity, you are put in that ʃtation, God has given you those qualitys, & made you ʃucceʃʃful only that theʃe may be helps to your ʃalvation, may be the means to bring you more eaʃily to him your laʃt End.

We are then created only that we may be ʃaved, that we may avoid an Eternity of woe in Hell, and obtain a happineʃs in Paradiʃe which ʃhall never end. We are made only for Heaven, we are but baniʃh’d men here, or at beʃt but travelers who ʃhould rejoice when they find themʃelves near the End of their journey and of their baniʃhment.

But do we look upon ourʃelves as ʃuch? Have we theʃe thoughts of Heaven? Would any one that examines our conduct think that we believe our ʃalvation to be our laʃt End? Men eaʃily find means to attain their ends, ʃurely there are but few who make heaven their great deʃign ʃince there are ʃo few who take the right methods to obtain it.

The End of a Merchant in his Trade, of a ʃcholar in his ʃtudy’s, of a courtier in his carriage, of a ʃoldier in the midʃt of dangers is eaʃily known; but it is as viʃible that every man in his ʃtation and employment ʃeeks only God, and the ʃalvation of his ʃoul as his laʃt End.

Yet what do’s it profit a man to raiʃe a great fortune to gain the whole world and looʃe his ʃoul? What is there in all the world that can make him amends for the loʃs of that? It would have been much better for him not to have been born, then not to be ʃaved.

Let us remember that if we do not make God our ʃovereign happiness, he will be our sovereign misery; we may be without every thing elʃe but we cannot be without this good; tho a man be poor, forʃaken, deʃpiʃ’d or forgotten, if he ʃave his ʃoul he will be happy to all Eternity and want nothing; but let him be never ʃo rich, happy, and eʃteem’d in the world, if he be damn’d he is miʃerable forever.
What are those great & extraordinary men who fill’d the world with their brave actions, what are they the better for all the honour they gain’d, if they are damn’d? ʃuppose you ʃaw the richeʃt man in the world on his Deathbed, one who had enjoy’d all ʃorts of pleaʃures, who had arriv’d to the higheʃt pitch of Glory and greatneʃs, who had been succeʃʃful in all his undertakings, and had only neglected his ʃoul; aʃk him, what do all your wealth, your greatneʃs, and your pleaʃures avail you? All theʃe are paʃʃ’d and gone as if they had never been, but your ʃoul which you have loʃt, & thoʃe pains which are the ʃad conʃequences, of that loʃs, will never paʃs away.

Let us conʃider what thoughts we ʃhall have in thoʃe laʃt moments: what ʃhall we then think of everything that is now an obʃtacle to our ʃalvation? How will all our great deʃigns and projects which took us up entirely appear then?

We venture our ʃouls rather than diʃoblige a friend, then looʃe an opportunity of enriching our Children, or of diʃtinguiʃhing our ʃelves in the world. What will our opinion of all this be when Death comes? Will the remembrance of all paʃt greatneʃs comfort a man who knows he is falling into Hell? Will thoʃe pretended friends be much oblig’d to us for having ruin’d our ʃelves to pleaʃe them? ʃhall we be much oblig’d to them who are the cauʃe of our damnation, and for whose ʃakes we are loʃt?
Wretched Father! That labours and ʃweats that ruins his health and ʃhortens his Life to get an Eʃtate for his Children, and is damn’d for his pains; who will thank him for it?

Who would not be rich if an earneʃt deʃire to be ʃo were ʃufficient, we may be ʃaints if we will by the help of grace which is never wanting, & yet we are unwilling to be ʃo: And indeed if we are not ʃaints it is because we will not.

‘Tis ʃurprising that men who love themʃelves ʃo much ʃhould reflect ʃo little on a matter of this conʃequence: that men who in all other things are wiʃe and prudent, ʃhould yet every day go out of the world without having once ʃeriouʃly conʃidered why they were ʃent into it, whence they came, and whither they are to go after Death. And yet cheat themʃelves at laʃt with an appearance of converʃion.

O Divine ʃavior! Where is that paʃʃionate deʃire of our ʃalvation which mov’d thee to do ʃuch great things? How long wilt thou ʃuffer ʃo many ʃouls to be loʃt, for whom thou haʃt paid ʃo great a price? Art not thou ʃtill our God, and are not we thy people? Canʃt thou ever forget that thou art my ʃavior? I have not indeed made a right uʃe of my happineʃs in being deʃign’d only for thee, I have forgot thee to place my affections upon the Creatures. I have wander’d out of the way that leads to my laʃt End, and refuʃ’d to obey the voyce of the good ʃhepherd who call’d me. Bu now I ʃee and repent of my wandering; however unfaithful I have been, the ʃenʃe thou haʃt given me of my unfaithfulneʃs, makes me hope that thou wilt have mercy on me: thou lovedʃt me when I did not love thee, and when I did all that I could to make thee hate me thou ʃought’ʃt even when I fled moʃt from thee. O my God! Wilt thou refuʃe me now that I am reʃolv’d to love thee? Wilt thou hide thy ʃelfe from me now that I ʃeek thee? I cannot fear this from ʃo infinitely good and merciful a God.

I acknowledge that I was made only to love and ʃerve thee, and I am reʃolv’d O my God by the aʃʃiʃtance of thy Grace that I will both love and ʃerve thee. And I hope in thy mercy that ʃince thou haʃt patiently born with my diʃobedience ʃo long thou wilt now be ʃo gracious as to pardon and forgive it.

from A Meditation for Each Day in the Month by Fr. Jean Croiset

Of the little progress we make in Virtue

We should be very much asham'd to own our selves or to be thought as ignorant after ten and twenty years study of the sciences, as we were the first half year; and much more asham'd to have it thought that we are contented to be so. And yet how many who make profession of piety, whose great business it is to become perfect, are not asham'd to confess, and to have it believe, that they would think themselves happy if after as many years study in the sublime science of Salvation, they were but as fervent, as mortifyed, and as near being Saints, as when they were but six months converted? they do indeed strive to banish those thoughts by giving themselves up to the insipid pleasures of a careless Life, but sooner or later Death will come, and what will their thoughts be then?

from Christian Reflections by Fr. Jean Croiset

Of the importance of Salvation

What is this Salvation of which we talk so much? this soul? this Eternity? Is it true that I am sent into the world onely to secure it? is it true that I am undone if I do not secure it, though I should gain the whole world? is it true and do I indeed believe that the business of my Salvation is the greatest business I can have? That is is indeed my only business? That nothing else deserves my care? that this requires all my application, and alone depends on it? if I do not believe this I am lost forever; and if I do believe it, do not I deserve to be severely punish'd for my indifference, which degenerates into a downright contempt of Salvation?

Do I apply my selfe to this great business? am I much concern'd about it? And what ground have I to hope for sucess while I take so little pains? should not I conclude a man ruin'd if he minded his temporal business no more than I do this difficult, this important business of Salvation?

from Christian Reflections by Fr. Jean Croiset

Of the Source of our Imperfections

Though the greatest part of Christians pretend to aspire to Perfection yet very few attain it, because they are not really willing to be perfect; they readily believe the Doctrines of the Gospel, and the important maximes upon which all true Piety is grounded, but they are not sincere in the application of them. They do not dispute the necessity of doing violence to our inclinations in order to obtain heaven, but they find out specious Reasons to excuse themselves from that violence in certain occasions which require much pains: they own themselves bound to subdue their passions, and they fight with them, and frequently gain a kind of victory over them, but they do not meddle with their reigning passions, and this is the cause that all their other victory's signify nothing, for they should have begun with this.

We must set a continual watch upon our selves and upon every motion of our hearts that we may suppress all our carnal desires, that many almost imperceptible but continual selfish designs, which make us seek only, though secretly, to advance our interests, and a thousand other insinuations of selfe Love which surprise the most virtuous, and mingling themselves with their best actions take away all their merit, or at least diminish their Perfection.

from Christian Reflections by Fr. Jean Croiset

Of Hell

First Point. The damn'd in Hell suffer all the torments that can possibly be suffer'd

Second Point. The Damn'd suffer to Eternity

First Point.

Consider there is an Hell, that is a place of torments prepar'd for those Souls who dye in their Sins; we are so us'd to hear of Hell that we are very little affected with the thoughts of it; but if we were truly sensible what Hell is, we should never thinki of it without more and more horrour.
Imagine that you see in the center of the Earth a vast and bottomless lake of fire and flames, the damn'd plung'd and rowling in it, all cover'd and transperc'd with fire, which they suck in with their breath, and which enters at their eyes and ears; their mouths and nostrils casting forth dreadful flames, their skin scorch'd, their flesh, blood, humours, and brains boyling and bubling up with the violence of the burning, their bones and marrow all on fire like a piece of iron taken red hott out of the furnace, all the parts of their body on fire and the fire in every part of it.

How glad would these wretches be to suffer only from our fire, notwithstanding the horrour of being thrown into a burning gulph, but alas! there is no comparison between it and the fire of Hell: my God! what tourments! Ours is lightsome, theirs dark; Ours is an effect of the goodness and bounty of God, theirs is the product of his incens'd Omnipotence, and of the infinite hatred he bears to Sin: tis a fire which the Almighty do's all he can to render furious and raging; and alas! it is not their onely torment, this fire makes them feel at the same time all sorts of pains.

Represent to your selfe a man tormented with the gout or a violent colique; what pains do's he feel? how do's he cry out? how willingly would he dye to put an end to his torture? and yet he suffers onely in one part of his body, he hath the Liberty of complaining and the satisfaction of seeing himselfe pityed; what would it be if every member suffer'd the same torment? if instead of helping him the standersby abus'd him without suffering him to complain?

In hell, the damn'd do not onely suffer the pains to which we are subject in this Life, they suffer all these and infinitely more, their torments are universal, violent, complicated, and all excessive in one instant they feel them all, and in the midst of all they cannot receive or so much as hope for any ease, what would one drop of water be against a whole Sea of flames? And yet that poor refreshment, that nothing is deny'd them.

The sick find some ease in rumbling and removing from one place to another, but the damn'd shall be eternally in the fire, unmovable as a rock.

Yet all these dreadful torments are nothing to their despair when they look back on the time that is lost, and the ill use they have made of it. The thoughts of the damn'd will be employ'd to all Eternity in calling to mind the vanity of those objects which made them forget God. I have plung'd my selfe in this abyss of darkness and everlasting flames for the love of a trifling pleasure, of an imaginary honour; which I could possess but a moment, and of which I have scarce any Idea left: where are now all those fantomes of glory, greatness, and reputation, which took up all my Time, and made me forget Eternity? Where is that fortune to which I sacrific'd my all? Where are all those whom I lov'd so well? Where are those of whose vain opinion, censures, and power I stood so much in awe? Yet these I preferr'd to the favour and love of God and for these I have lost my Soul.

The opportunitys of Salvation which he hath abus'd and the reward that he hath lost, will take up the thoughts of a dman'd soul to all Eternity: How easyly might I have confess'd such a Sin? God offer'd me his Love, he gave me warning, he press'd and sollicited me so long, and gave me so many years of health since my fall; I pass'd for a wise man in the world: Oh! how came I to deferr my conversion to the hour of Death? How often have I trembled at teh thought of my danger, at the apprehension of damnation? And yet am damn'd at last: I needed onely have done those good worke which such a friend, such a companion, such a Relation, have done; I began well, it would have cost me little to persevere, and if it had cost me never so much, could I take too much pains to avoid damnation?

And to these inconcevable torments, to these cruel regrets, the irreconciliable loss of the supreme Good; the sence of a God irated to Eternity, of a God lost without recovery, lost for ever, this is the height and perfection of their misery; they never cease to be the Victims of the Divine wrath and vengeance; we must know what God is before we can be able to conceive what it is to loose him without hope: tho we are so little affected with it now, they who have lost him have other thoughts. How insupportable will be the remembrance that I had a Redeemer. but I slighted the price by which I was redeemed? that my Saviour lov'd me to such a degree, and that it is impossible for me to love him, that I am hated by him, and that he will never have any compassion on my misery.

O! my Dear Saviour! who hast suffer'd so much so recall me, who hast bought me with so great a price that I might not be lost; thou will take pleasure to see me plung'd into this fiery gulph: thou will heap everlasting misery on me without mercy, thou wilt be no longer my Father, nor my Saviour: no wonder if Hell be a place of weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, of despair and woe, since the Almighty who made the world by one act of his will, do's all he can, seems to exert all his power and force to make a wretched Creature suffer.

There is an Hell, and yet there are Sinners; Christians believe there is an Hell, and yet this hell is full of Christians.

There is an Hell; and at this very moment an infinite number of miserable Souls are tormented in it: 'tis certain that many of those who read this, and who meditate on the torments of Hell, will one day be cast into those everlasting flames.

And am not I like to be one of them? Divine Saviour! thou hast not bought me to destroy me: but hast not thou also shed thy blood for those that are lost? This makes me fear and tremble; but what good will this fear do me if I loose my Soul? Oh! my good Master! I will be sav'd what ever it cost me; I humbly beseech thee by thy precious blood suffer me not to be damn'd; what will it advance thy glory to shut me up forever in that abyss of fire and flames? They who do go down to Hell do not praise thy name, they do not love thee there: if thou sufferest me to fall into Hell it will only augment the number of those who hate and blaspheme thee. My God! I will be sav'd, tho all the rest of the world were lost; thou wouldst have me sav'd, I trust in thy mercy, and hope that thou will place me among thy Elect.

Second Point.

Consider that the torments of Hell are not onely universall, excessive, and dreadfull, they are Eternal too; notwithstanding all their horror, there is no hope that they can either end or diminish.

What must be the thoughts of a damn'd Soul when after infinite millions of years she casts her eyes from that abyss of Eternity, upon the short moment of her Life and can hardly find it after that vast number of ages which are past since she came there? Life tho consider'd never so near appears but a moment; the time past of it, seems but an instant to us who live, and when we come to dye tho we have liv'd long we can hardly persuade our selves that there hath been any interval between the day of our births, and the present Day: all that is past seems a Dream; what then will it be after Death? when so many millions of years are over, when our descendants for many generations are all forgotten; when time has ruin'd our houses, destroy'd the Citys, and overturn'd the Kingdoms wherein we liv'd: when the end of Ages shall have bury'd the whole Universe in its own ashes, and infinite millions of Ages after?

This is dreadful, but all this is not Eternity; when a damn'd soul shall ahve suffered all theis while, and an hundred thousand tiems as much, 'tis nothing to Eternity.

Were one of the damn'd oblidg'd to fill the hollow of a mans hand with his tears, and to drop but one single tear at the end of each thousand years, what a terrible duration would this be? Cain the first of the damn'd, would have shed but six or seven. Judas but one; but if he were oblidg'd at the same rate to make a brook or a river of his tears, to fill the Sea or the vast extent between heaven and Earth, what a prodigious length of time would this require? Our imagination is lost and confounded in so vast a duration; but all this great and inconcevable extent of time is nothing to Eternity: A time will come when every one of those wretched Souls will be able to say, one tear for every thousand years that I have been in Hell would have drown'd the Universe and fill'd up the immense space between Heaven and Earth, and yet I have an Eternity of unspeakable torments still to suffer; all I have suffered is nothing to this Eternity; after millions of Ages as many times multiplyed, after an extensive duration in which our thoughts are lost, the fire of Hell will be as violent and fierce, the damn'd will be as capable of torment, and as sensible of their pains and God as incens'd and as far from being appeas'd as the first moment.

Oh! dreafull, Oh! incomprehensible Eternity! were we only to burn for every wicked thoguht as many millions of Ages as we have liv'd days, hours, or minutes, our pains would have an end at last; but to know certainly that our torments will never end, always to suffer, and be assured that we shall alwayes suffer, to be allwayes thinking on the happiness we have lost, on the torments we have brought upon our selves, on the means of avoiding them which we have had; to have continually before our eyes the vanity of every thing we have preferr'd to God, and the little while that our pleasures have lasted, the unutterable sweetness we might have tasted in his service, the vast difference between the pains we fear'd in the practise of virtue and those which we are now forc'd to suffer in the flames of Hell; to have the thoughts of this Eternity allwayes present, and to burn, rage, and despair for ever: my God! what misery!

If these reflections do not convert us, if the prospect of those Torments, of this Eternity do's not touch us, if the fear of this everlasting regret do's not wean us from Sin, and from our vain amusements, are we rational creatures? are we Christians?

These terrible veritys have made so many Martyrs, have peopled the deserts and daily fill the Convents; what do we think of these men? did they do wisely? did they do well to neglect nothing, to do all they were able to avoid Hell?

Who would not give all he is worth to be freed from a dungeon? who thinks of any pains too great to prolong his Life? But Oh! what do we do, nay what do we not refuse to do to avoid Hell?

The divine Justice is terrible; God punishes these that offen him with Eternal torments in Hell; yet we offend him in the sight of this Hell; certainly an Eternity of misery is not too severe a punishment for such malice; if ther ewere no hell already, God should make one on purpose for such offenders.

The thoughts of Hell make us tremble; we are unwilling to think of it least it should affright us; and yet we are not afraid to run headlong into it: we are afraid to think of the Eternal duration of those bitter torments, and yet we will not make one step out of the road that leads to them.

There is an Hell and yet we delight in pleasures, and Sin hath still charms for us; we think the practise of virtue difficult, and there are still careless and imperfect Religious, and debauch'd Christians: this seems as incomprehensible as Eternity it selfe.

You object that perfection is not necessary to avoid hell; true it is not necessary, but can you keep to far from a Lake of Fire into which so many fall? Can you take too much care and too many precautions to preserve your selfe from everlasting fire, rage and despair?

How cruel must the thoughts of a damn'd soul be, who knows that he might have been eternall as happy as he is eternally miserable, if he had pleas'd: that he might have been a Saint with ease, and is not because he was not pleas'd to be so: that his Brethren are in heaven, but he is in Hell. He laugh'd at those who being afraid of the condition in which he is now, liv'd otherwise than he did, and now, what would he not do to be what they are? I call'd an holy exactness, melancoly, a Christain modesty and reservedness I call'd Stupidity, and scrupulousness; oh! that I had been so stupid, so scrupulous and melancoly; that exactness, that reserve has made many Saints who are now in heaven absorpt in Joys; what what is become now that I am in flames, of all my mirth and good humour which I affected to shew by rallying everything? If I had imitaed such and such of my acquaintance, if I had made good use of the divine inspirations such a day; if I had been faithful to such a grace, if I had shun'd such an occasion of Sin; if I had practis'd such a virtue, if I had mortifyed my selfe, if I had been truly willing, I should be now in heaven instead of which I am damn'd to Eternity, I am lost, and lost forever. Oh terrible regret! And that which aggravates my misery is the remembrance how often I have thought on the pains I now endure, on that eternal regret I should one day feel if I were damned.

Yet after all this, men damn themselves; Great God! thy vengeance is just: they deserve it all.

Is it possible that we can avoid thinking on Hell? is it possible that we can think on it and not be converted? Is it possible that we are converted, and do not continue to think on it? we must have it all wayes before our eyes after our conversion to prevent our falling; the greatest Saints, those pure Souls whose hearts were all inflam'd with the Love of God thought it absolutely necessary for them to meditate on Hell, and the apprehensions of it made them tremble; and can any who pretend to virtue, can any Religious man imagine that it is unnecessary to think on Hell? certainly such men dare not think on it; they are conscious to themselves that they do not take pains enough to give them ground to hope that they shall not be condemn'd; but have they less cause to fear because they have a greater account to give? And how can they hope to be less severely punish'd because they are under greater obligations?

Christ had good reason to tell us that Hell is the onely evil we ought to fear; for what is a man the worse for being hated and persecuted; for being reduced to a mean and obscure Life, and for being mortify'd if he escape being damn'd?

My God! if thou art resolved to punish me for my Sins, chastise me in this Life, but do not damn me. I will satisfy thy justice here, I will hope in thy mercy, and will love thee; what satisfaction will it be to thee to see me in Hell, surrounded with flames, transported with rage and despair, hating and cursing thee, and eternally blaspheming thy name?

My God! hast thou given me time to think on the pains of Hell, onely to augment my despair one day, for being damn'd after having thought on these pains? Remember I am sprinkled with the blood of Jesus, and 'tis through that blood that I beg and hope for mercy; Thou hast paid too great a price for me to be indifferent whether I be lost or no. I will be sav'd; suffer me not to be lost; if thou wilt punish me, do it in time, but let not my punishment be Eternal.

~from A Spiritual Retreat for One Day Every Month by Fr. Jean Croiset

khi chết xác thịt sẽ ra sao

"Thánh Gioan Kim Khẩu nói rằng: Hỡi con, nếu con muốn biết con là vật gì thì hãy đi đến các mồ mả mà coi. Con hãy xem cho kỹ: xác nọ thây kia nay đã ra thứ gì: Trước thì vàng, sau hóa ra đen, rồi từ từ, trên các phần thân thể, mốc meo mọc lên, coi thật ghê gớm! Ngoài ra, còn thứ nước lợn cợn, thối tha rịn ra, lan khắp đất. Vô số giòi bọ rúc rỉa. Loài chuột cũng bắt mùi tìm đến ăn thây, con thì rúc rỉa ngoài xác, con thì rúc vào trong miệng, đục thủng cả ruột già lẫn ruột non. Mắt môi, tóc tai rã ra từng đống. Sườn ngực rã thịt trước, rồi đến cánh tay, ống chân. Sau khi đã rúc rỉa hết da thịt thây chết, giòi bọ quay sang rúc rỉa nhau, sau cùng, chỉ còn lại một đống xương thối tha; ít lâu sau, cũng rã ra từng cái, để lại cái sọ lăn lóc một góc! Ấy, kết cục của con người chỉ la một nắm đấy bụi giữa sân nhà, chỉ một cơn gió thoảng cũng khiến chúng bay tán hết cả!"

Chân lý đời đời, Thánh Anphongsô

hãy suy ngẫm về sự chết

"...Muốn sống lành, ngày ngày ta hãy xét đến phận riêng của mình, để biết, trong giờ lâm chung, mình sẽ ra thế nào. Do đó, Thánh Bê-na-đô dạy rằng: 'Con hãy xem các tội con phạm thời thanh niên trẻ tuổi để xấu hổ; xem các tội con phạm lúc trưởng thành mà khóc than; và xem các tội con phạm lúc già cả để kính sợ rồi mau chòng tìm cách sửa chữa, chớ có trì hoãn mà phải khốn khổ'.

Thánh Ca-min-lê đệ Len-ly, khi thấy mồ mả, thường suy nghĩ: Nếu những người chết đang nằm đây được trở lại cõi thế, thì có sự khó nhọc nào mà họ tránh né chằng nhận để được sống đời đời? Còn tôi, tôi còn đang có thời giờ mà tôi có làm gì để lo cho đời sống vĩnh cửu không?"

Chân lý đời đời, Thánh Anphongsô

Of the thoughts of Death

The thought of Death is a most powerful argument to convince us of the vanities of this life: we shall easily be disgusted with the empty pleasures of the world, its imaginary honors, and its false riches for which we weary ourselves. If we seriously reflect where they all end: in a winding sheet, in a coffin, in a grave, in worms and dust - there is the end of all human pride and greatness.

Form as many vast projects as you please, rely upon your wisdom, friends, and riches - you must quit them all, whether you will or not, and they will all abandon you.

Only Thou, O God! dost never forsake those who serve Thee, I will therefore love and serve Thee, and none but Thee.

from Christian Reflections by Fr. Jean Croiset

The Little Number of those who are saved

Thanks be to God, the number of the Redeemer's disciples is not so small that the wickedness of the Scribes and Pharisees is able to triumph over them. Although they strove to calumniate innocence and to deceive the crowd with their treacherous sophistries by discrediting the doctrine and character of Our Lord, finding spots even in the sun, many still recognized Him as the true Messiah, and, unafraid of either chastisements or threats, openly joined His cause. Did all those who followed Christ follow Him even unto glory? Oh, this is where I revere the profound mystery and silently adore the abysses of the divine decrees, rather than rashly deciding on such a great point! The subject I will be treating today is a very grave one; it has caused even the pillars of the Church to tremble, filled the greatest Saints with terror and populated the deserts with anchorites. The point of this instruction is to decide whether the number of Christians who are saved is greater or less than the number of Christians who are damned; it will, I hope, produce in you a salutary fear of the judgments of God. Brothers, because of the love I have for you, I wish I were able to reassure you with the prospect of eternal happiness by saying to each of you: You are certain to go to paradise; the greater number of Christians is saved, so you also will be saved. But how can I give you this sweet assurance if you revolt against God's decrees as though you were your own worst enemies? I observe in God a sincere desire to save you, but I find in you a decided inclination to be damned. So what will I be doing today if I speak clearly? I will be displeasing to you. But if I do not speak, I will be displeasing to God. Therefore, I will divide this subject into two points. In the first one, to fill you with dread, I will let the theologians and Fathers of the Church decide on the matter and declare that the greater number of Christian adults are damned; and, in silent adoration of that terrible mystery, I will keep my own sentiments to myself. In the second point I will attempt to defend the goodness of God versus the godless, by proving to you that those who are damned are damned by their own malice, because they wanted to be damned. So then, here are two very important truths. If the first truth frightens you, do not hold it against me, as though I wanted to make the road of heaven narrower for you, for I want to be neutral in this matter; rather, hold it against the theologians and Fathers of the Church who will engrave this truth in your heart by the force of reason. If you are disillusioned by the second truth, give thanks to God over it, for He wants only one thing: that you give your hearts totally to Him. Finally, if you oblige me to tell you clearly what I think, I will do so for your consolation.


It is not vain curiosity but salutary precaution to proclaim from the height of the pulpit certain truths which serve wonderfully to contain the indolence of libertines, who are always talking about the mercy of God and about how easy it is to convert, who live plunged in all sorts of sins and are soundly sleeping on the road to hell. To disillusion them and waken them from their torpor, today let us examine this great question: Is the number of Christians who are saved greater than the number of Christians who are damned? Pious souls, you may leave; this sermon is not for you. Its sole purpose is to contain the pride of libertines who cast the holy fear of God out of their heart and join forces with the devil who, according to the sentiment of Eusebius, damns souls by reassuring them. To resolve this doubt, let us put the Fathers of the Church, both Greek and Latin, on one side; on the other, the most learned theologians and erudite historians; and let us put the Bible in the middle for all to see. Now listen not to what I will say to you – for I have already told you that I do not want to speak for myself or decide on the matter – but listen to what these great minds have to tell you, they who are beacons in the Church of God to give light to others so that they will not miss the road to heaven. In this manner, guided by the triple light of faith, authority and reason, we will be able to resolve this grave matter with certainty. Note well that there is no question here of the human race taken as a whole, nor of all Catholics taken without distinction, but only of Catholic adults, who have free choice and are thus capable of cooperating in the great matter of their salvation. First let us consult the theologians recognized as examining things most carefully and as not exaggerating in their teaching: let us listen to two learned cardinals, Cajetan and Bellarmine. They teach that the greater number of Christian adults are damned, and if I had the time to point out the reasons upon which they base themselves, you would be convinced of it yourselves. But I will limit myself here to quoting Suarez. After consulting all the theologians and making a diligent study of the matter, he wrote, "The most common sentiment which is held is that, among Christians, there are more damned souls than predestined souls." Add the authority of the Greek and Latin Fathers to that of the theologians, and you will find that almost all of them say the same thing. This is the sentiment of Saint Theodore, Saint Basil, Saint Ephrem, and Saint John Chrysostom. What is more, according to Baronius it was a common opinion among the Greek Fathers that this truth was expressly revealed to Saint Simeon Stylites and that after this revelation, it was to secure his salvation that he decided to live standing on top of a pillar for forty years, exposed to the weather, a model of penance and holiness for everyone. Now let us consult the Latin Fathers. You will hear Saint Gregory saying clearly, "Many attain to faith, but few to the heavenly kingdom." Saint Anselm declares, "There are few who are saved." Saint Augustine states even more clearly, "Therefore, few are saved in comparison to those who are damned." The most terrifying, however, is Saint Jerome. At the end of his life, in the presence of his disciples, he spoke these dreadful words: "Out of one hundred thousand people whose lives have always been bad, you will find barely one who is worthy of indulgence."


But why seek out the opinions of the Fathers and theologians, when Holy Scripture settles the question so clearly? Look in to the Old and New Testaments, and you will find a multitude of figures, symbols and words that clearly point out this truth: very few are saved. In the time of Noah, the entire human race was submerged by the Deluge, and only eight people were saved in the Ark. Saint Peter says, "This ark was the figure of the Church," while Saint Augustine adds, "And these eight people who were saved signify that very few Christians are saved, because there are very few who sincerely renounce the world, and those who renounce it only in words do not belong to the mystery represented by that ark." The Bible also tells us that only two Hebrews out of two million entered the Promised Land after going out of Egypt, and that only four escaped the fire of Sodom and the other burning cities that perished with it. All of this means that the number of the damned who will be cast into fire like straw is far greater than that of the saved, whom the heavenly Father will one day gather into His barns like precious wheat. I would not finish if I had to point out all the figures by which Holy Scripture confirms this truth; let us content ourselves with listening to the living oracle of Incarnate Wisdom. What did Our Lord answer the curious man in the Gospel who asked Him, "Lord, is it only a few to be saved?" Did He keep silence? Did He answer haltingly? Did He conceal His thought for fear of frightening the crowd? No. Questioned by only one, He addresses all of those present. He says to them: "You ask Me if there are only few who are saved?" Here is My answer: "Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able." Who is speaking here? It is the Son of God, Eternal Truth, who on another occasion says even more clearly, "Many are called, but few are chosen." He does not say that all are called and that out of all men, few are chosen, but that many are called; which means, as Saint Gregory explains, that out of all men, many are called to the True Faith, but out of them few are saved. Brothers, these are the words of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Are they clear? They are true. Tell me now if it is possible for you to have faith in your heart and not tremble.

But oh, I see that by speaking in this manner of all in general, I am missing my point. So let us apply this truth to various states, and you will understand that you must either throw away reason, experience and the common sense of the faithful, or confess that the greater number of Catholics is damned. Is there any state in the world more favorable to innocence in which salvation seems easier and of which people have a higher idea than that of priests, the lieutenants of God? At first glance, who would not think that most of them are not only good but even perfect; yet I am horror-struck when I hear Saint Jerome declaring that although the world is full of priests, barely one in a hundred is living in a manner in conformity with state; when I hear a servant of God attesting that he has learned by revelation that the number of priests who fall into hell each day is so great that it seemed impossible to him that there be any left on earth; when I hear Saint Chrysostom exclaiming with tears in his eyes, "I do not believe that many priests are saved; I believe the contrary, that the number of those who are damned is greater." Look higher still, and see the prelates of the Holy Church, pastors who have the charge of souls. Is the number of those who are saved among them greater than the number of those who are damned? Listen to Cantimpre; he will relate an event to you, and you may draw the conclusions. There was a synod being held in Paris, and a great number of prelates and pastors who had the charge of souls were in attendance; the king and princes also came to add luster to that assembly by their presence. A famous preacher was invited to preach. While he was preparing his sermon, a horrible demon appeared to him and said, "Lay your books aside. If you want to give a sermon that will be useful to these princes and prelates, content yourself with telling them on our part, 'We the princes of darkness thank you, princes, prelates, and pastors of souls, that due to your negligence, the greater number of the faithful are damned; also, we are saving a reward for you for this favor, when you shall be with us in Hell.'" Woe to you who command others! If so many are damned by your fault, what will happen to you? If few out of those who are first in the Church of God are saved, what will happen to you? Take all states, both sexes, every condition: husbands, wives, widows, young women, young men, soldiers, merchants, craftsmen, rich and poor, noble and plebian. What are we to say about all these people who are living so badly? The following narrative from Saint Vincent Ferrer will show you what you may think about it. He relates that an archdeacon in Lyons gave up his charge and retreated into a desert place to do penance, and that he died the same day and hour as Saint Bernard. After his death, he appeared to his bishop and said to him, "Know, Monsignor, that at the very hour I passed away, thirty-three thousand people also died. Out of this number, Bernard and myself went up to heaven without delay, three went to purgatory, and all the others fell into Hell." Our chronicles relate an even more dreadful happening. One of our brothers, well-known for his doctrine and holiness, was preaching in Germany. He represented the ugliness of the sin of impurity so forceful that a woman fell dead of sorrow in front of everyone. Then, coming back to life, she said, "When I was presented before the Tribunal of God, sixty thousand people arrived at the same time from all parts of the world; out of that number, three were saved by going to Purgatory, and all the rest were damned." O abyss of the judgments of God! Out of thirty thousand, only five were saved! And out of sixty thousand, only three went to heaven! You sinners who are listening to me, in what category will you be numbered?... What do you say?... What do you think?... I see almost all of you lowering your heads, filled with astonishment and horror. But let us lay our stupor aside, and instead of flattering ourselves, let us try to draw some profit from our fear. Is it not true that there are two roads which lead to heaven: innocence and repentance? Now, if I show you that very few take either one of these two roads, as rational people you will conclude that very few are saved. And to mention proofs: in what age, employment or condition will you find that the number of the wicked is not a hundred times greater than that of the good, and about which one might say, "The good are so rare and the wicked are so great in number"? We could say of our times what Salvianus said of his: it is easier to find a countless multitude of sinners immersed in all sorts of iniquities than a few innocent men. How many servants are totally honest and faithful in their duties? How many merchants are fair and equitable in their commerce; how many craftsmen exact and truthful; how many salesmen disinterested and sincere? How many men of law do not forsake equity? How many soldiers do not tread upon innocence; how many masters do not unjustly withhold the salary of those who serve them, or do not seek to dominate their inferiors? Everywhere, the good are rare and the wicked great in number. Who does not know that today there is so much libertinage among mature men, liberty among young girls, vanity among women, licentiousness in the nobility, corruption in the middle class, dissolution in the people, impudence among the poor, that one could say what David said of his times: "All alike have gone astray... there is not even one who does good, not even one." Go into street and square, into palace and house, into city and countryside, into tribunal and court of law, and even into the temple of God. Where will you find virtue? "Alas!" cries Salvianus, "except for a very little number who flee evil, what is the assembly of Christians if not a sink of vice?" All that we can find everywhere is selfishness, ambition, gluttony, and luxury. Is not the greater portion of men defiled by the vice of impurity, and is not Saint John right in saying, "The whole world – if something so foul may be called – "is seated in wickedness?" I am not the one who is telling you; reason obliges you to believe that out of those who are living so badly, very few are saved. But you will say: Can penance not profitably repair the loss of innocence? That is true, I admit. But I also know that penance is so difficult in practice, we have lost the habit so completely, and it is so badly abused by sinners, that this alone should suffice to convince you that very few are saved by that path. Oh, how steep, narrow, thorny, horrible to behold and hard to climb it is! Everywhere we look, we see traces of blood and things that recall sad memories. Many weaken at the very sight of it. Many retreat at the very start. Many fall from weariness in the middle, and many give up wretchedly at the end. And how few are they who persevere in it till death! Saint Ambrose says it is easier to find men who have kept their innocence than to find any who have done fitting penance. If you consider the sacrament of penance, there are so many distorted confessions, so many studied excuses, so many deceitful repentances, so many false promises, so many ineffective resolutions, so many invalid absolutions! Would you regard as valid the confession of someone who accuses himself of sins of impurity and still holds to the occasion of them? Or someone who accuses himself of obvious injustices with no intention of making any reparation whatsoever for them? Or someone who falls again into the same iniquities right after going to confession? Oh, horrible abuses of such a great sacrament! One confesses to avoid excommunication, another to make a reputation as a penitent. One rids himself of his sins to calm his remorse, another conceals them out of shame. One accuses them imperfectly out of malice, another discloses them out of habit. One does not have the true end of the sacrament in mind, another is lacking the necessary sorrow, and still another firm purpose. Poor confessors, what efforts you make to bring the greater number of penitents to these resolutions and acts, without which confession is a sacrilege, absolution a condemnation and penance an illusion? Where are they now, those who believe that the number of the saved among Christians is greater than that of the damned and who, to authorize their opinion, reason thus: the greater portion of Catholic adults die in their beds armed with the sacraments of the Church, therefore most adult Catholics are saved? Oh, what fine reasoning! You must say exactly the opposite. Most Catholic adults confess badly at death, therefore most of them are damned. I say "all the more certain," because a dying person who has not confessed well when he was in good health will have an even harder time doing so when he is in bed with a heavy heart, an unsteady head, a muddled mind; when he is opposed in many ways by still-living objects, by still-fresh occasions, by adopted habits, and above all by devils who are seeking every means to cast him into hell. Now, if you add to all these false penitents all the other sinners who die unexpectedly in sin, due to the doctors' ignorance or by their relatives' fault, who die from poisoning or from being buried in earthquakes, or from a stroke, or from a fall, or on the battlefield, in a fight, caught in a trap, struck by lightning, burned or drowned, are you not obliged to conclude that most Christian adults are damned? That is the reasoning of Saint Chrysostom. This Saint says that most Christians are walking on the road to hell throughout their life. Why, then, are you so surprised that the greater number goes to hell? To come to a door, you must take the road that leads there. What have you to answer such a powerful reason? The answer, you will tell me, is that the mercy of God is great. Yes, for those who fear Him, says the Prophet; but great is His justice for the one who does not fear Him, and it condemns all obstinate sinners. So you will say to me: Well then, who is Paradise for, if not for Christians? It is for Christians, of course, but for those who do not dishonor their character and who live as Christians. Moreover, if to the number of Christian adults who die in the grace of God, you add the countless host of children who die after baptism and before reaching the age of reason, you will not be surprised that Saint John the Apostle, speaking of those who are saved, says, "I saw a great multitude which no man could number." And this is what deceives those who pretend that the number of the saved among Catholics is greater than that of the damned... If to that number, you add the adults who have kept the robe of innocence, or who after having defiled it, have washed it in the tears of penance, it is certain that the greater number is saved; and that explains the words of Saint John, "I saw a great multitude," and these other words of Our Lord, "Many will come from the east and from the west, and will feast with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven," and the other figures usually cited in favor of that opinion. But if you are talking about Christian adults, experience, reason, authority, propriety and Scripture all agree in proving that the greater number is damned. Do not believe that because of this, paradise is empty; on the contrary, it is a very populous kingdom. And if the damned are "as numerous as the sand in the sea," the saved are "as numerous at the stars of heaven," that is, both the one and the other are countless, although in very different proportions. One day Saint John Chrysostom, preaching in the cathedral in Constantinople and considering these proportions, could not help but shudder in horror and ask, "Out of this great number of people, how many do you think will be saved?" And, not waiting for an answer, he added, "Among so many thousands of people, we would not find a hundred who are saved, and I even doubt for the one hundred." What a dreadful thing! The great Saint believed that out of so many people, barely one hundred would be saved; and even then, he was not sure of that number. What will happen to you who are listening to me? Great God, I cannot think of it without shuddering! Brothers, the problem of salvation is a very difficult thing; for according to the maxims of the theologians, when an end demands great efforts, few only attain it. That is why Saint Thomas, the Angelic Doctor, after weighing all the reasons pro and con in his immense erudition, finally concludes that the greater number of Catholic adults are damned. He says, "Because eternal beatitude surpasses the natural state, especially since it has been deprived of original grace, it is the little number that are saved." So then, remove the blindfold from your eyes that is blinding you with self-love, that is keeping you from believing such an obvious truth by giving you very false ideas concerning the justice of God, "Just Father, the world has not known Thee," said Our Lord Jesus Christ. He does not say "Almighty Father, most good and merciful Father." He says "just Father," so we may understand that out of all the attributes of God, none is less known than His justice, because men refuse to believe what they are afraid to undergo. Therefore, remove the blindfold that is covering your eyes and say tearfully: Alas! The greater number of Catholics, the greater number of those who live here, perhaps even those who are in this assembly, will be damned! What subject could be more deserving of your tears? King Xerxes, standing on a hill looking at his army of one hundred thousand soldiers in battle array, and considering that out of all of them there would be not one man alive in a hundred years, was unable to hold back his tears. Have we not more reason to weep upon thinking that out of so many Catholics, the greater number will be damned? Should this thought not make our eyes pour forth rivers of tears, or at least produce in our heart the sentiment of compassion felt by an Augustinian Brother, Ven. Marcellus of St. Dominic? One day as he was meditating on the eternal pains, the Lord showed him how many souls were going to hell at that moment and had him see a very broad road on which twenty-two thousand reprobates were running toward the abyss, colliding into one another. The servant of God was stupefied at the sight and exclaimed, "Oh, what a number! What a number! And still more are coming. O Jesus! O Jesus! What madness!" Let me repeat with Jeremiah, "Who will give water to my head, and a fountain of tears to my eyes? And I will weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people." Poor souls! How can you run so hastily toward hell? For mercy's sake, stop and listen to me for a moment! Either you understand what it means to be saved and to be damned for all eternity, or you do not. If you understand and in spite of that, you do not decide to change your life today, make a good confession and trample upon the world, in a word, make your every effort to be counted among the littler number of those who are saved, I say that you do not have the faith. You are more excusable if you do not understand it, for then one must say that you are out of your mind. To be saved for all eternity, to be damned for all eternity, and to not make your every effort to avoid the one and make sure of the other, is something inconceivable.


Perhaps you do not yet believe the terrible truths I have just taught you. But it is the most highly-considered theologians, the most illustrious Fathers who have spoken to you through me. So then, how can you resist reasons supported by so many examples and words of Scripture? If you still hesitate in spite of that, and if your mind is inclined to the opposite opinion, does that very consideration not suffice to make you tremble? Oh, it shows that you do not care very much for your salvation! In this important matter, a sensible man is struck more strongly by the slightest doubt of the risk he runs than by the evidence of total ruin in other affairs in which the soul is not involved. One of our brothers, Blessed Giles, was in the habit of saying that if only one man were going to be damned, he would do all he could to make sure he was not that man. So what must we do, we who know that the greater number is going to be damned, and not only out of all Catholics? What must we do? Take the resolution to belong to the little number of those who are saved. You say: If Christ wanted to damn me, then why did He create me? Silence, rash tongue! God did not create anyone to damn him; but whoever is damned, is damned because he wants to be. Therefore, I will now strive to defend the goodness of my God and acquit it of all blame: that will be the subject of the second point. Before going on, let us gather on one side all the books and all the heresies of Luther and Calvin, and on the other side the books and heresies of the Pelagians and Semi-Pelagians, and let us burn them. Some destroy grace, others freedom, and all are filled with errors; so let us cast them into the fire. All the damned bear upon their brow the oracle of the Prophet Osee, "Thy damnation comes from thee," so that they may understand that whoever is damned, is damned by his own malice and because he wants to be damned. First let us take these two undeniable truths as a basis: "God wants all men to be saved," "All are in need of the grace of God." Now, if I show you that God wants to save all men, and that for this purpose He gives all of them His grace and all the other necessary means of obtaining that sublime end, you will be obliged to agree that whoever is damned must impute it to his own malice, and that if the greater number of Christians are damned, it is because they want to be. "Thy damnation comes from thee; thy help is only in Me."

In a hundred places in Holy Scripture, God tells us that it is truly His desire to save all men. "Is it My will that a sinner should die, and not that he should be converted from his ways and live?... I live, saith the Lord God. I desire not the death of the sinner. Be converted and live." When someone wants something very much, it is said that he is dying with desire; it is a hyperbole. But God has wanted and still wants our salvation so much that He died of desire, and He suffered death to give us life. This will to save all men is therefore not an affected, superficial and apparent will in God; it is a real, effective, and beneficial will; for He provides us with all the means most proper for us to be saved. He does not give them to us so they will not obtain it; He gives them to us with a sincere will, with the intention that they may obtain their effect. And if they do not obtain it, He shows Himself afflicted and offended over it. He commands even the damned to use them in order to be saved; He exhorts them to it; He obliges them to it; and if they do not do it, they sin. Therefore, they may do it and thus be saved. Far more, because God sees that we could not even make use of His grace without His help, He gives us other aids; and if they sometimes remain ineffective, it is our fault; for with these same aids, one may abuse them and be damned with them, and another may do right and be saved; he might even be saved with less powerful aids. Yes, it can happen that we abuse a greater grace and are damned, whereas another cooperates with a lesser grace and is saved. Saint Augustine exclaims, "If, therefore, someone turns aside from justice, he is carried by his free will, led by his concupiscence, deceived by his own persuasion." But for those who do not understand theology, here is what I have to say to them: God is so good that when He sees a sinner running to his ruin, He runs after him, calls him, entreats and accompanies him even to the gates of hell; what will He not do to convert him? He sends him good inspirations and holy thoughts, and if he does not profit from them, He becomes angry and indignant, He pursues him. Will He strike him? No. He beats at the air and forgives him. But the sinner is not converted yet. God sends him a mortal illness. It is certainly all over for him. No, brothers, God heals him; the sinner becomes obstinate in evil, and God in His mercy looks for another way; He gives him another year, and when that year is over, He grants him yet another. But if the sinner still wants to cast himself into hell in spite of all that, what does God do? Does He abandon him? No. He takes him by the hand; and while he has one foot in hell and the other outside, He still preaches to him, He implored him not to abuse His graces. Now I ask you, if that man is damned, is it not true that he is damned against the Will of God and because he wants to be damned? Come and ask me now: If God wanted to damn me, then why did He create me? Ungrateful sinner, learn today that if you are damned, it is not God who is to blame, but you and your self-will. To persuade yourself of this, go down even to the depths of the abyss, and there I will bring you one of those wretched damned souls burning in hell, so that he may explain this truth to you. Here is one now: "Tell me, who are you?" "I am a poor idolater, born in an unknown land; I never heard of heaven or hell, nor of what I am suffering now." "Poor wretch! Go away, you are not the one I am looking for." Another one is coming; there he is. "Who are you?" "I am a schismatic from the ends of Tartary; I always lived in an uncivilized state, barely knowing that there is a God." "You are not the one I want; return to hell." Here is another. "And who are you?" "I am a poor heretic from the North. I was born under the Pole and never saw either the light of the sun or the light of faith." "It is not you that I am looking for either, return to Hell." Brothers, my heart is broken upon seeing these wretches who never even knew the True Faith among the damned. Even so, know that the sentence of condemnation was pronounced against them and they were told, "Thy damnation comes from thee." They were damned because they wanted to be. They received so many aids from God to be saved! We do not know what they were, but they know them well, and now they cry out, "O Lord, Thou art just... and Thy judgments are equitable." Brothers, you must know that the most ancient belief is the Law of God, and that we all bear it written in our hearts; that it can be learned without any teacher, and that it suffices to have the light of reason in order to know all the precepts of that Law. That is why even the barbarians hid when they committed sin, because they knew they were doing wrong; and they are damned for not having observed the natural law written in their heart: for had they observed it, God would have made a miracle rather than let them be damned; He would have sent them someone to teach them and would have given them other aids, of which they made themselves unworthy by not living in conformity with the inspirations of their own conscience, which never failed to warn them of the good they should do and the evil they should avoid. So it is their conscience that accused them at the Tribunal of God, and it tells them constantly in hell, "Thy damnation comes from thee." They do not know what to answer and are obliged to confess that they are deserving of their fate. Now if these infidels have no excuse, will there be any for a Catholic who had so many sacraments, so many sermons, so many aids at his disposal? How will he dare to say, "If God was going to damn me, then why did He create me?" How will he dare to speak in this manner, when God gives him so many aids to be saved? So let us finish confounding him. You who are suffering in the abyss, answer me! Are there any Catholics among you? "There certainly are!" How many? Let one of them come here! "That is impossible, they are too far down, and to have them come up would turn all of hell upside down; it would be easier to stop one of them as he is falling in." So then, I am speaking to you who live in the habit of mortal sin, in hatred, in the mire of the vice of impurity, and who are getting closer to hell each day. Stop, and turn around; it is Jesus who calls you and who, with His wounds, as with so many eloquent voices, cries to you, "My son, if you are damned, you have only yourself to blame: 'Thy damnation comes from thee.' Lift up your eyes and see all the graces with which I have enriched you to insure your eternal salvation. I could have had you born in a forest in Barbary; that is what I did to many others, but I had you born in the Catholic Faith; I had you raised by such a good father, such an excellent mother, with the purest instructions and teachings. If you are damned in spite of that, whose fault will it be? Your own, My son, your own: 'Thy damnation comes from thee.' "I could have cast you into hell after the first mortal sin you committed, without waiting for the second: I did it to so many others, but I was patient with you, I waited for you for many long years. I am still waiting for you today in penance. If you are damned in spite of all that, whose fault is it? Your own, My son, your own: "Thy damnation comes from thee." You know how many have died before your very eyes and were damned: that was a warning for you. You know how many others I set back on the right path to give you the good example. Do you remember what that excellent confessor told you? I am the one who had him say it. Did he not enjoin you to change your life, to make a good confession? I am the One who inspired him. Remember that sermon that touched your heart? I am the One who led you there. And what has happened between you and Me in the secret of your heart, ...that you can never forget. "Those interior inspirations, that clear knowledge, that constant remorse of conscience, would you dare to deny them? All of these were so many aids of My grace, because I wanted to save you. I refused to give them to many others, and I gave them to you because I loved you tenderly. My son, My son, if I spoke to them as tenderly as I am speaking to you today, how many others souls return to the right path! And you... you turn your back on Me. Listen to what I am going to tell you, for these are My last words: You have cost Me My blood; if you want to be damned in spite of the blood I shed for you, do not blame Me, you have only yourself to accuse; and throughout all eternity, do not forget that if you are damned in spite of Me, you are damned because you want to be damned: 'Thy damnation comes from thee.' " O my good Jesus, the very stones would split on hearing such sweet words, such tender expressions. Is there anyone here who wants to be damned, with so many graces and aids? If there is one, let him listen to me, and then let him resist if he can. Baronius relates that after Julian the Apostate's infamous apostasy, he conceived such great hatred against Holy Baptism that day and night, he sought a way in which he might erase his own. To that purpose he had a bath of goat's blood prepared and placed himself in it, wanting this impure blood of a victim consecrated to Venus to erase the sacred character of Baptism from his soul. Such behavior seems abominable to you, but if Julian's plan had been able to succeed, it is certain that he would be suffering much less in hell. Sinners, the advice I want to give you will no doubt seem strange to you; but if you understand it well, it is, on the contrary, inspired by tender compassion toward you. I implore you on my knees, by the blood of Christ and by the Heart of Mary, change your life, come back to the road that leads to heaven, and do all you can to belong to the little number of those who are saved. If, instead of this, you want to continue walking on the road that leads to hell, at least find a way to erase your baptism. Woe to you if you take the Holy Name of Jesus Christ and the sacred character of the Christian engraved upon your soul into hell! Your chastisement will be all the greater. So do what I advise you to do: if you do not want to convert, go this very day and ask your pastor to erase your name from the baptismal register, so that there may not remain any remembrance of your ever having been a Christian; implore your Guardian Angel to erase from his book of graces the inspirations and aids he has given you on orders from God, for woe to you if he recalls them! Tell Our Lord to take back His faith, His baptism, His sacraments. You are horror-struck at such a thought? Well then, cast yourself at the feet of Jesus Christ and say to Him, with tearful eyes and contrite heart: "Lord, I confess that up till now I have not lived as a Christian. I am not worthy to be numbered among Your elect. I recognize that I deserve to be damned; but Your mercy is great and, full of confidence in Your grace, I say to You that I want to save my soul, even if I have to sacrifice my fortune, my honor, my very life, as long as I am saved. If I have been unfaithful up to now, I repent, I deplore, I detest my infidelity, I ask You humbly to forgive me for it. Forgive me, good Jesus, and strengthen me also, that I may be saved. I ask You not for wealth, honor or prosperity; I ask you for one thing only, to save my soul." And You, O Jesus! What do You say? O Good Shepherd, see the stray sheep who returns to You; embrace this repentant sinner, bless his sighs and tears, or rather bless these people who are so well disposed and who want nothing but their salvation. Brothers, at the feet of Our Lord, let us protest that we want to save our soul, cost what it may. Let us all say to Him with tearful eyes, "Good Jesus, I want to save my soul," O blessed tears, O blessed sighs!

Brothers, I want to send all of you away comforted today. So if you ask me my sentiment on the number of those who are saved, here it is: Whether there are many or few that are saved, I say that whoever wants to be saved, will be saved; and that no one can be damned if he does not want to be. And if it is true that few are saved, it is because there are few who live well. As for the rest, compare these two opinions: the first one states that the greater number of Catholics are condemned; the second one, on the contrary, pretends that the greater number of Catholics are saved. Imagine an Angel sent by God to confirm the first opinion, coming to tell you that not only are most Catholics damned, but that of all this assembly present here, one alone will be saved. If you obey the Commandments of God, if you detest the corruption of this world, if you embrace the Cross of Jesus Christ in a spirit of penance, you will be that one alone who is saved. Now imagine the same Angel returning to you and confirming the second opinion. He tells you that not only are the greater portion of Catholics saved, but that out of all this gathering, one alone will be damned and all the others saved. If after that, you continue your usuries, your vengeances, your criminal deeds, your impurities, then you will be that one alone who is damned. What is the use of knowing whether few or many are saved? Saint Peter says to us, "Strive by good works to make your election sure." When Saint Thomas Aquinas's sister asked him what she must do to go to heaven, he said, "You will be saved if you want to be." I say the same thing to you, and here is proof of my declaration. No one is damned unless he commits mortal sin: that is of faith. And no one commits mortal sin unless he wants to: that is an undeniable theological proposition. Therefore, no one goes to hell unless he wants to; the consequence is obvious. Does that not suffice to comfort you? Weep over past sins, make a good confession, sin no more in the future, and you will all be saved. Why torment yourself so? For it is certain that you have to commit mortal sin to go to hell, and that to commit mortal sin you must want to, and that consequently no one goes to hell unless he wants to. That is not just an opinion, it is an undeniable and very comforting truth; may God give you to understand it, and may He bless you. Amen.

by Saint Leonard de Port Maurice

Of Lukewarmness

Of Lukewarmness

First Point: There is no state more dangerous than a Lukewarm state.
Second Point: It is harder to recover out of a lukewarm state, than from any other.

First Point

Consider that by a lukewarm state is not meant a certain disposition of the soul, in which it contents itself with avoiding heinous sins, but takes little care to avoid small faults: it is negligent in spiritual duties, its prayers are distracted, its confessions without amendment, its communions without fervor and without fruit; it is unfaithful to the divine grace and sins without fear or remorse.

Such a soul grows indifferent to the greatest virtues, and soon after disgusted with them: its affections languish in the service of God, so that the yoke of Christ seems heavy and insupportable; its thoughts are distracted and so very little taken up with God or itself that is suffers them to rove after every object: it dares not retire in to itself because it can find no peace there. In this condition it makes no scruple of exposing itself to the occasions of sin, if it does any good 'tis only by sins, if it performs any duties, 'tis only out of custom: and provided it keeps some measures and avoids the reproaches of those of whom it stands in awe it is not at all solicitous to please God, whom it offends almost by every action.

It makes no difficulty of committing all sorts of venial sins with deliberation, it performs with reluctance and uneasiness those devotions which it cannot avoid: it entertains an aversion for pious Christians, because their virtue is an uneasy reproach to it: it takes pleasure only in the imperfect, because their actions countenance its carelessness.

Hence, proceed those pernicious friendships to which so many pretended friends owe their ruin, those insipid railleries on Christian exactness whereby they stifle the small remainders of their fervour; they are sooner in this wretched state of lukewarmness but they frame to themselves a false conscience, under the shelter of which they frequent the Sacraments and do some good works, yet still indulge themselves in secret aversion, in envious jealousies, in criminal and dangerous engagements, in [...] murmuring against their superiors, in self-love and in pride which influence almost all their actions, and in a hundred other faults of the same nature in the midst of which they live unconcerned. They persuade themselves that there is not great crime in all this, and seek for excuses to palliate those faults which God condemns as heinous sins, and which they themselves will condemn as such when they come to die, for when their passions will be no longer able to hinder them from seeing things as they are in themselves, surely it is no hard matter to discover that the Salvation of a man in such a state as this, is in great danger.

The state of a soul in mortal sin is very dangerous, but our Saviour judges a lukewarm state to be yet worse, for he tells the Angel, or Bishop, of the Church of Laodicea, I would 'thou wert either cold or hot, for because thou art lukewarm and neither cool nor hot, I will cast thee out of my mouth as tainted and offensive.

Does Jesus Christ, who bears with the greatest sinners, who is always ready to pardon them, who did not abhor even Judas himself, does he abhor a lukewarm soul? Hath He, who is so tender towards sinners, no tenderness, no love, for a soul that is neither cold nor hot? What hopes then can such a soul have of being saved?

We ought not to despair of the salvation of the most notorious sinner; though his disorder s and crimes have rendered his conversion difficult, we ought still to hope, for he knows his sins and is therefore more capable of being made sensible of them and of hating them. Tell the greatest sinner of the severe judgments of God, of Death, and of the rigour and duration of eternal tormentsl the force of these terrible verities may alarm and convert him: but all this makes no impression on a lukewarm soul - his condition is without remedy; because it abstains from crying and scandalous sins which startle a soul that hath any fear left, it does not mind spiritual and interior faults, it mingles them with some actions of Piety, so that they easily pass unregarded by a conscience that is not exceeding tender, and thus not knowing the greatness of its danger, it does nothing to prevent it.

Nothing does a soul good in this condition: Prayers, exhortations, reading, Masses, meditations, Sacraments - all our fruitless: whether it be that the little benefit is hath hitherto received by them gives it a disgust, and takes away its desire to make use of them, or that being accustomed to them they have less effect and that having heard these terrible truths discoursed of a hundred times, and having as often discoursed of them itself to no purpose, they make no impression on it.

It receives but few graces because of its unfaithfulness in those which it does receive, its faults are always great because they are attended with a higher contempt, a greater malice and a blacker ingratitude than the faults of others: this odious mixture of good and bad which compose the character of a lukewarm soul discovers clearly how injurious such a conduct is to God: the seeming good works that it does are a convincing proof that it hath not forgotten God, but its careless and imperfect way of doing them shows how little it stands in awe of that God whom it serves with so much indifference and disgust. And indeed, this disgust is mutual, it has an aversion to Christ and Christ hath an aversion to it, no wonder that such men immediately after their communions are ready to return again to and renew their sins as if they had not received. The opinion of their pretended good works tenders them proof against all wholesome advice, they can heart it with all the coldness in the world, and 'tis this that makes so many good thoughts and holy inspirations useless.

Hence proceeds the strange blindness of a lukewarm soul, and that horrible insensibility which is the heaviest of judgments, and the utmost degree of misery. And therefore S. Bernard and S. Bonaventure declare that it is much easier to convert a worldling, though ever so wicked, than a lukewarm religious.

What hope is left for such a soul? There is no remedy for it; it will not be cured, because it is not sensible of its illness: it is a sick creature whose condition is the more desperate because it laughs at those who think it sick; so that there is need of a greater miracle to convert a lukewarm soul than to make the blind to see or to raise the dead to life.

None but Thou my God canst do it, thou art able to cure the most inveterate diseases, but Thou hatest Lukewarmness, and this makes me fear; I cannot pray with that confidence as I would for the most scandalous sinner. I acknowledge that I have been hitherto in a lukewarm state. But since Thou hast made me sensible of it, I am persuaded Thou desirest to draw me out of it. Oh! let not this renewed grace, which perhaps will be that last Thou wilt ever offer me, be ineffectual: Thou wouldst have me to be Saved, I am resolved to be Saved, what then can hinder my Salvation?

Second Point

Consider that a lukewarm state is not only very dangerous, but which is more strange, it is almost impossible to recover a soul out of it, because he that would recover must be sensible of his being in danger, which a tepid soul is not.

A heinous sinner easily knows his danger; there are certain favourable moments where in by the help of grace, he discovers so much deformity in his soul that he presently laments his misery, which knowledge and confession render his conversion much less difficult.

But a lukewarm soul does not believe that he is lukewarm; he hat believes himself tepid ceases to be so, for we are rarely sensible of our condition till we begin to be fervent. This renders the conversion of the lukewarm almost impossible, for which way shall one go about to persuade them that they are in such a state? Blindness is the first effect of tepidity.

Its unfaithfulness being gradual, it is less sensible of them, then its faults grow habitual, and at last it takes pleasures in them: nothing toucheth it when it is in this condition, and is suspects nothing: it is not sensible of any new fault; it grows lukewarm without omitting one of its devotions; 'tis the imperfections of these very devotions that give birth to its tepidity, and help it to deceive itself by covering its real faults with a false appearance of virtue.

God Himself who so loudly alarms the sinner is now silent and will not awake him; but leaves him to die in this mortal lethargy. I will begin, says He, to cast thee out, He does not do it all at once, once He throughs him off by degrees that he may not see it, the unhappy soul is rejected and his reprobation sealed, and he does not perceive it, nor is he in the least sensible of his wretched condition.

And what hope can he have to be cured? How is it possible for him to recover out of this dismal state? The advice of his true friends, the pious counsels of his wise director, and of his zealous Superior, and the best examples, are all ill received. By his insensibility and hardness of heart, he seems to be enchanted, all his actions bear the visible marks of certain reprobation, and that God hath left him.

Saint Bonaventure observes that it is no extraordinary thing to see notorious sinners quit their sins and become truly penitent, but that it is very extraordinary to see a lukewarm soul recover. And to this we may apply the words of S. Paul in that terrible passage at which all those who grow cold after been fervent in the service of God should tremble; it is impossible (that is, extremely difficult) for them who were once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost preferably to many others, and of the sweetness of a spiritual life, and of saving truths, if they fall away, if they grow weary of serving God and return to their sins, it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance.

But my God, what is all this to a lukewarm souls unless by a miracle of mercy Thou art pleased to open his eyes and to make him see his dangers? He does not suspect himself of being fallen away, nor will he suspect it till thou discover it to him by an inward light; and what will it avail him to be convinced of it, unless Thou givest an extraordinary supply of grace to recover him from that wretched state?

Let us now examine if we have no reason to fear. The lukewarm are exceeding curious, they will try all sorts of devotions, and therefore may possibly read this meditation, but let them not deceive themselves, this day of retreat may be profitable if we examine impartially and diligently whether this dangerous tepidity does not influence all our actions, whether the Sacraments are useful to us, and whether we grow daily less imperfect by the exercises of Virtue.

from A Spiritual Retreat for One Day Every Month by Fr. Jean Croiset

Of our indifference for Salvation

Of our indifference for Salvation

Our indifference for Salvation is so great, that we must own that of all our affairs we neglect this most and lay it least to heart. Whence proceeds this unaccountable indifference for eternal happiness? God gave us our lives only to think on it, He judged them all little enough to succeed in it; Death for ought we know is very near us, what part of our life have we spent in this important business? How few years, how few days, nay how few hours have we devoted to it? Have we the confidence to reckon those we spend in the church with so much distraction and voluntary irreverence? Alas! have we made any great progress in those hours? Can we have the face to mention the little time we have given to hasty prayers without devotion, to Confessions without sorrow and without reformation, to Communions without fruit, or to a few pretended good works which we have lost by doing them upon natural, or which were corrupted by bad, motives?

We are so taken up with the superfluous cares and worldly business that we can spare but a little time to think of our Salvation, and we grudge the little time we spend in thinking of it. What reason can we give for such an unreasonably conduct? unless we will own that it proceeds from want of Faith. If we believed that the enjoyment of God, that an Eternity of infinite happiness, or misery (which includes and surpasses all other miseries) depended on our diligence if we did really believe what we repeat so often, that we cannot serve God and the world at once, that time is short, and that Death approaches; that each moment for ought we know may be our last; if we did indeed believe that Salvation is our own work and that we only can secure, it is no matter what becomes of us here if we make sure of Heaven, that we loose all, even temporal, blessings by neglecting our Souls, and that if we be truly careful of them we shall loose nothing not even worldly goods; if we do seriously believe these things, how can we be careful, how can we be solicitous for anything but Salvation?

from Christian Reflections by Fr. Jean Croiset

Of Our Indifference to please God

Of Our Indifference to please God

When we value anyone's friendship we endeavour (says an an eminent Servant of God) to acquire and preserve ourselves in his favour, by a thousand services by showing all the respect and zeal imaginable even in things to which our duty does not absolutely oblige us, and by avoiding everything which may in the least displease him. The fear of punishment keeps us from attempting the life of the man we hate, we do neither good nor harm to those whom we think below our notice; but when we deliberately and frequently affront a man, it is an evident sign that we neither value his love nor fear his hatred; and if we do not offer him the highest injury's tis not because we care for his aversion, but because we fear his power.

They who abstain only from great sins and allow themselves a liberty in everything else, have reason to fear that charity is absolutely extinguished in their hearts: and if they will examine themselves they shall find that it is only the apprehension of the severity with which God punishes heinous sins that keeps them from committing them: they would willingly displease Him if the sight of Hell did not stop them, they wish with all their heart they might sin without punishment.

This is a fearful disposition, yet it is the disposition of those who indulge themselves in deliberate venial sins: God hath no share in the motives that make them abstain from great crimes, and therefore He is not obliged to assist them; which renders it exceeding difficult for a man who desires to avoid only mortal sins, to be long free from them.

from Christian Reflections by Fr. Jean Croiset