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

Những Câu Pháp Ngôn Các Tu Sĩ Thật Nên Suy Niệm

Những Câu Pháp Ngôn Các Tu Sĩ Thật Nên Suy Niệm

của Thánh Anphong

1. Được cả thế gian mà mất linh hồn nào ích lợi gì?

2. Mọi sự đều qua đi hết thảy: nhưng sự đời đời không hề qua.

3. Mất hết mọi sự còn hơn mất Đức Chúa Tròi.

4. Một tội dầu nhẹ cũng không phải là một sự dữ nhẹ.

5. Muốn đẹp lòng Chúa thì phải bỏ mình đi.

6. Làm việc để theo sở thích riêng mình, đó là mất công uổng sức.

7. Chỉ có kẻ lúc nào cũng sợ hư đi đời đời, mới được rỗi.

8. Tội, đó là sự dữ đáng sợ nhất. Chúa chỉ muốn lợi ích cho ta; ta hãy muốn những gì Chúa muốn.

9. Kẻ muốn được chỉ một mình Chúa thôi, sẽ bầng lòng luôn về hết mọi sự xảy đến cho.

10. Con phải ăn ở như dưới thế gian này chỉ có một mình Chúa và con.

11. Cả thế gian cũng không thể làm cho lòng con được thỏa mãn: chỉ một mình Chúa làm cho con được thỏa mãn thôi.

12. Tất cả hạnh phúc là ở tại kính mến Chúa. Mà kính mến Chúa tất là làm theo ý Người.

13. Mọi của cải ta được đều bỏi lòi cầu nguyện: kẻ cầu nguyện thì được mọi sự nó muốn.

14. Ngày nào không nguyện ngắm là ngày bỏ đi. Bà thánh Terêsa nói: "Bỏ nguyện ngắm là tự gieo mình xuống hỏa ngục".

15. Đừng bỏ ngày nào qua đi mà không đọc sách thiêng liêng.

16. Chú trọng đến danh giá. sẽ không còn sự sống siêu nhiên.

17. Đẻ được khiêm nhường thật, chứ không phải chỉ ngoài môi, thì chỉ nói mình đáng khinh bỉ chưa đủ, còn phải vui thích chịu người ta khinh bỉ nữa.

18. Người tu sĩ mà không chịu được mọt sự sỉ nhục vì Chúa, thì làm được việc gì? Khi con bị sỉ nhục, con phải tươi cười.

19. Con hãy suy tưởng đền hỏa ngục mà con đã đáng phải chịu vì tội: như thế con sẽ thấy mọi sự khó khác thành ra nhẹ nhàng.

20. Kẻ yêu thích khó khăn thì làm chúa cả thế gian. Hãy chọn những gì hèn hạ hơn cả về của thế gian; còn về của Chúa, thì hãy trọn những gì cao trọng tốt lành hơn cả.

21. Người tu sĩ hay vâng lời làm cho Chúa vui mừng và làm cho nhà dòng cũng được vui mừng.

22. Nhân đức thương yêu thật ở tại làm ơn lành cho kẻ làm hại mình và lấy lòng kẻ nghịch ta.

23. Của cải danh giá chức quyền nào có ích gì cho kẻ sắp chết sao?

24. Được Chúa gọi đẻ kính mến Người là được một ơn rất cao trọng.

25. Không hề có một ước ao lành nào mà Chúa không thưởng.

26. Quyến luyến yêu mến dầu một sự lành cũng chả lợi gì.

27. Hãy biết ơn kẻ làm ơn, nhưng trước hết, phải biết ơn Chúa. Hãy quyết chí đừng chối một sự gì Người xin và hãy quyết chí hằng làm những việc đẹp lòng Người hơn.

28. Cách nguyện ngắm tốt hơn cả cho kẻ ốm yếu là vâng theo thánh ý Chúa.

29. Tự cậy sức mình sẽ hư mất. Kẻ trông cậy Chúa thể làm được mọi sự.

30. Nào có sự vui sướng gì thỏa thích bằng biết mình đẹp lòng Chúa sao?

31. Chúa sẵn lòng ban trót mình Người cho kẻ bỏ mọi sự vì kính mến Người.

32. Con đường độc nhất đẻ nên thánh là con đường đau khổ.

33. Chúa thử thách các bạn thân của Người bằng những khó khăn và chước cám dỗ.

34. Kẻ kính mến Chúa và trông cậy Người, thì không thể hư đi được.

35. Trông nhìn vào Chúa Giêsu trên Thánh giá sẽ chịu mọi đau khổ cách nhẫn nại.

36. Càng kính mến Chúa nhiều, càng được thỏa mãn nhiều.

37. Mọi việc làm không vì Chúa sẽ hóa ra khõ nhọc vất vả.

38. Không sự bối rối nào dầu với ý tốt mà bở Chúa mà ra.

39. Đừng bao giờ đứng lại, hẳn sẽ đến nơi.

40. Kẻ chỉ muốn được một mình Chúa thì được giàu có, thỏa mãn không thiếu thốn sự gì, và khinh thường cả thế gian.

41. Nếu Chúa không đủ, thì không gì đủ được cả, Chúa, một mình Chúa thôi không gì khác nữa.