SanctaSapientia

Easter Sermon of St. John Chrysostom

2009-04-17T22:10:00.000-07:00

St. John Chrysostom

Are there any who are devout lovers of God?
Let them enjoy this beautiful bright festival!

Are there any who are grateful servants?
Let them rejoice and enter into the joy of their Lord!

Are there any weary with fasting?
Let them now receive their wages!

If any have toiled from the first hour,
let them receive their due reward;
If any have come after the third hour,
let him with gratitude join in the Feast!
And he that arrived after the sixth hour,
let him not doubt; for he too shall sustain no loss.
And if any delayed until the ninth hour,
let him not hesitate; but let him come too.
And he who arrived only at the eleventh hour,
let him not be afraid by reason of his delay.
For the Lord is gracious and receives the last even as the first.
He gives rest to him that comes at the eleventh hour,
as well as to him that toiled from the first.

To this one He gives, and upon another He bestows.
He accepts the works as He greets the endeavor.
The deed He honors and the intention He commends.
Let us all enter into the joy of the Lord!

First and last alike receive your reward;
rich and poor, rejoice together!
Sober and slothful, celebrate the day!
You that have kept the fast, and you that have not,
rejoice today for the Table is richly laden!

Feast royally on it, the calf is a fatted one.
Let no one go away hungry. Partake, all, of the cup of faith.
Enjoy all the riches of His goodness!

Let no one grieve at his poverty,
for the universal kingdom has been revealed.

Let no one mourn that he has fallen again and again;
for forgiveness has risen from the grave.

Let no one fear death, for the Death of our Savior has set us free.
He has destroyed it by enduring it.
He destroyed Hell when He descended into it.
He put it into an uproar even as it tasted of His flesh.

Isaiah foretold this when he said,
"You, O Hell, have been troubled by encountering Him below."
Hell was in an uproar because it was done away with.
It was in an uproar because it is mocked.
It was in an uproar, for it is destroyed.
It is in an uproar, for it is annihilated.
It is in an uproar, for it is now made captive.

Hell took a body, and discovered God.
It took earth, and encountered Heaven.
It took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see.

O death, where is thy sting?
O Hell, where is thy victory?

Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated!
Christ is Risen, and the evil ones are cast down!
Christ is Risen, and the angels rejoice!
Christ is Risen, and life is liberated!

Christ is Risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead;
for Christ having risen from the dead,
is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

To Him be Glory and Power forever and ever. Amen!

Blessed Pope Urban II's Speech at Clermont

2009-04-10T15:31:00.000-07:00

Blessed Pope Urban II at the Council of Clermont

The speech that launched the Crusades

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Oh, race of Franks, race from across the mountains, race chosen and beloved by God as shines forth in very many of your works set apart from all nations by the situation of your country, as well as by your catholic faith and the honor of the holy church! To you our discourse is addressed and for you our exhortation is intended. We wish you to know what a grievous cause has led us to Your country, what peril threatening you and all the faithful has brought us.

From the confines of Jerusalem and the city of Constantinople a horrible tale has gone forth and very frequently has been brought to our ears, namely, that a race from the kingdom of the Persians, an accursed race, a race utterly alienated from God, a generation forsooth which has not directed its heart and has not entrusted its spirit to God, has invaded the lands of those Christians and has depopulated them by the sword, pillage and fire; it has led away a part of the captives into its own country, and a part it has destroyed by cruel tortures; it has either entirely destroyed the churches of God or appropriated them for the rites of its own religion. They destroy the altars, after having defiled them with their uncleanness. They circumcise the Christians, and the blood of the circumcision they either spread upon the altars or pour into the vases of the baptismal font. When they wish to torture people by a base death, they perforate their navels, and dragging forth the extremity of the intestines, bind it to a stake; then with flogging they lead the victim around until the viscera having gushed forth the victim falls prostrate upon the ground. Others they bind to a post and pierce with arrows. Others they compel to extend their necks and then, attacking them with naked swords, attempt to cut through the neck with a single blow. What shall I say of the abominable rape of the women? To speak of it is worse than to be silent. The kingdom of the Greeks is now dismembered by them and deprived of territory so vast in extent that it cannot be traversed in a march of two months. On whom therefore is the labor of avenging these wrongs and of recovering this territory incumbent, if not upon you? You, upon whom above other nations God has conferred remarkable glory in arms, great courage, bodily activity, and strength to humble the hairy scalp of those who resist you.

Let the deeds of your ancestors move you and incite your minds to manly achievements; the glory and greatness of king Charles the Great, and of his son Louis, and of your other kings, who have destroyed the kingdoms of the pagans, and have extended in these lands the territory of the holy church. Let the holy sepulcher of the Lord our Savior, which is possessed by unclean nations, especially incite you, and the holy places which are now treated with ignominy and irreverently polluted with their filthiness. Oh, most valiant soldiers and descendants of invincible ancestors, be not degenerate, but recall the valor of your progenitors.

But if you are hindered by love of children, parents and wives, remember what the Lord says in the Gospel, "He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me." "Every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name's sake shall receive an hundredfold and shall inherit everlasting life." Let none of your possessions detain you, no solicitude for your family affairs, since this land which you inhabit, shut in on all sides by the seas and surrounded by the mountain peaks, is too narrow for your large population; nor does it abound in wealth; and it furnishes scarcely food enough for its cultivators. Hence it is that you murder one another, that you wage war, and that frequently you perish by mutual wounds. Let therefore hatred depart from among you, let your quarrels end, let wars cease, and let all dissensions and controversies slumber. Enter upon the road to the Holy Sepulcher; wrest that land from the wicked race, and subject it to yourselves. That land which as the Scripture says "floweth with milk and honey," was given by God into the possession of the children of Israel Jerusalem is the navel of the world; the land is fruitful above others, like another paradise of delights. This the Redeemer of the human race has made illustrious by His advent, has beautified by residence, has consecrated by suffering, has redeemed by death, has glorified by burial. This royal city, therefore, situated at the centre of the world, is now held captive by His enemies, and is in subjection to those who do not know God, to the worship of the heathens. She seeks therefore and desires to be liberated, and does not cease to implore you to come to her aid. From you especially she asks succor, because, as we have already said, God has conferred upon you above all nations great glory in arms. Accordingly undertake this journey for the remission of your sins, with the assurance of the imperishable glory of the kingdom of heaven.

When Pope Urban had said these and very many similar things in his urbane discourse, he so influenced to one purpose the desires of all who were present, that they cried out, "It is the will of God! It is the will of God!" When the venerable Roman pontiff heard that, with eyes uplifted to heaven he gave thanks to God and, with his hand commanding silence, said:

Most beloved brethren, today is manifest in you what the Lord says in the Gospel, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them." Unless the Lord God had been present in your spirits, all of you would not have uttered the same cry. For, although the cry issued from numerous mouths, yet the origin of the cry was one. Therefore I say to you that God, who implanted this in your breasts, has drawn it forth from you. Let this then be your war-cry in combats, because this word is given to you by God. When an armed attack is made upon the enemy, let this one cry be raised by all the soldiers of God: It is the will of God! It is the will of God!

And we do not command or advise that the old or feeble, or those unfit for bearing arms, undertake this journey; nor ought women to set out at all, without their husbands or brothers or legal guardians. For such are more of a hindrance than aid, more of a burden than advantage. Let the rich aid the needy; and according to their wealth, let them take with them experienced soldiers. The priests and clerks of any order are not to go without the consent of their bishop; for this journey would profit them nothing if they went without permission of these. Also, it is not fitting that laymen should enter upon the pilgrimage without the blessing of their priests.

Whoever, therefore, shall determine upon this holy pilgrimage and shall make his vow to God to that effect and shall offer himself to Him as a, living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, shall wear the sign of the cross of the Lord on his forehead or on his breast. When,' truly',' having fulfilled his vow be wishes to return, let him place the cross on his back between his shoulders. Such, indeed, by the twofold action will fulfill the precept of the Lord, as He commands in the Gospel, "He that taketh not his cross and followeth after me, is not worthy of me."

The Jesus Prayer

2009-04-09T22:10:00.000-07:00

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner

On the lips of Christians since the Desert Fathers, this prayer is by far one of the most powerful and important prayers in Christianity. The prayer has a dual nature- one being a cry for mercy, the other being an affirmation of one's faith in Jesus Christ. Praying "Lord Jesus Christ" testifies to the Kingship of Christ - that is, testifying that Christ is the Supreme All-Ruler, Lord of all things Spiritual and Temporal, but more importantly, the King of one's soul. Praying "Son of the Living God" testifies to one's belief that Christ is the long-awaited Messiah promised to Israel and prophesied by the Prophets.

In addition, when praying on a chotki- or prayer rope- one prays "O Most Holy Theotokos, save us" on the divider beads. It is said that Heaven is unattainable without the aid of the Mother of God, "Help of Christians", and thus it is most fitting to beseech Her aid alongside Her Son's.

The prayer is meant to be said either mentally or verbally and is to be repeated endlessly- however, it is important never to say it in haste or to allow it to become a mere rote recitation of this most ancient and holy prayer.

Although the prayer is today indigenous to Eastern Christianity, Latin-Rite Christians may by all means make use of this prayer, as it is universal. The Holy Apostle Paul instructs Christians to
"pray without ceasing", and by use of this prayer, along with the Holy Rosary one can fulfill that instruction with relative ease.

One devout prayer better than repetition

2009-04-09T18:38:00.000-07:00

taken from St. Francis de Sales' Introduction to the Devout Life

The Three Days of Darkness

2009-03-18T20:49:00.001-07:00

by Yves Dupont

The Act of God

The most spectacular aspect of the Act of God will be the three days of darkness over the whole earth. The Three Days have been announced by many mystics, viz., Bl.Anna-Maria Taigi, Padre Pio, Elizabeth Canori-Mora, Rosa-Colomba Asdente, Palma d'Oria, in Italy; Father Nectou, in Belgium; St. Hildegard, in Germany; Pere Lamy, Marie Baourdi, Marie Martel, Marie-Julie Jahenny, in France. (This list is not exhaustive; many more mystics have announced the Three Days.)

The Church does not oblige us to believe in any particular prophecy as a matter of faith, but we are indeed obliged to believe that prophecies may be made even in our own times, for this is in the Gospel: the Holy Ghost will speak to many in the Latter Days.

Moreover, when an identical prophecy has been made by widely separated people in time and space, when this particular prophecy was accompanied by other predictions which have already come to pass, and when the holiness of the mystics in question has been recognized by the Church, we would be foolish indeed not to believe that the prophecy must come to pass. Such is the case concerning the Three Days of Darkness. How else could we explain that an illiterate peasant woman of Brittany is describing the very thing that another mystic in, say, Germany or Italy is also describing?

The Proximate Signs

Here are the proximate signs in their probable order of occurrence. This, to be sure, is only my own opinion, and I may be wrong for I am no prophet myself; but, after studying a large number of prophecies, this order appears to me to be the most likely:

I. Flouting of church laws, irreverence and immodesty in church, fall in attendance at church.

II. Lack of charity towards others, heartlessness, indifference, divisions, contentions, godlessness, pride in human knowledge.

III. Breakdown of family life: immorality, adultery, perversion of youth (e.g. homosexuals giving lectures in schools), immodest fashions (e.g. mini-skirts and hot pants, bikinis and see-throughs), people concerned only with eating, drinking, dancing and other pleasures.

IV. Civil commotions, contempt for authority, downfall of governments, confusion in high places, corruption, coups d'etat, civil war, revolution. (The first four proximate signs have already come to pass, at least partly; for we are yet to see civil war and revolution in the West. But the sequence of events is not strictly chronological; there is room for some overlapping. Thus, the 5th proximate sign seems to have begun also.)

V. Floods and droughts, crop failures, unusual weather, tornadoes, earthquakes, tidal waves, famines, epidemics, unknown diseases (e.g. new strains of viruses).

The Warning and the Miracle

These will take place between the proximate and the immediate signs. Both will be supernatural occurrences, and the Miracle will closely follow the Warning. There will be a solar prodigy; a Cross will be visible in the sky all over the world. The Warning will be associated with the letter "A"; it will not fall on a Feast day of Our Lady, nor on the l8th of the month.

The Miracle will fall on the Feast day of a young martyr of the Eucharist; this will be on a Thursday evening, and it will coincide with an important Church event.

Since the Miracle is to be seen only in Northern Spain and in Rome, and since the Cross in the sky is to be seen everywhere, it seems that the latter occurrence will take place with the Warning, not with the Miracle. However, the Miracle may also have a Cross in the sky.

During the Warning, everyone will be made aware of his/her own sinfulness, and many will wish to die, but the Warning itself will be completely harmless.

Both the Warning and the Miracle must be viewed as the last act of mercy from God, a final appeal to mankind to do penance before the three days of darkness and the destruction of three-quarters of the human race. At a time when the murder of unborn babies and the sin of Sodom and Lesbos have become respectable and sometimes legal, we should not wonder why God is going to punish mankind.

By that time, war and revolution will have already caused a high deathtoll, and Communism will be victorious, but all this will be as nothing compared with the deathtoll caused by the Three Days.

The Immediate Sign

It will be a bitterly cold winter night in the Northern hemisphere. (Presumably, a very cold summer night in Australia or, by contrast, a torrid night.) The wind will howl and roar. Lightning and thunderbolts of an unprecedented magnitude will strike the earth. The whole earth will shake, heavenly bodies will be disturbed – (this will be the beginning of the Three Days). Every Demon, every evil spirit will be released from hell and allowed to roam the earth. Terrifying apparitions will take place. Many will die from sheer fright. Fire will rain forth from the sky, all large cities will be destroyed, poisonous gases will fill the air, cries and lamentations everywhere. The unbelievers will burn in the open like withered grass. The entire earth will be afflicted; it will look like a huge graveyard.

As soon as you notice that bitterly cold night, go indoors, lock all doors and windows, pull down the blinds, stick adhesive paper on vents and around windows and doors. Do not answer calls from outside, do not look at the windows, or you will die on the spot: keep your eyes down to make sure you do not see the windows; the Wrath of God is mighty and no one should attempt to behold it. Light blessed wax candles; nothing else will burn, but the candles will not be extinguished once lit. Nothing will put them out in the houses of the faithful, but they will not burn in the houses of the godless. Sprinkle holy water about the house and especially in the vicinity of doors and windows: the devils fear holy water. Bless yourself with it and anoint your five senses with it: eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hands, feet, and forehead. Keep on hand a sufficient supply of drinking water and, if possible, food also (but you can live without food for three days.) Kneel down and pray incessantly with outstretched arms, or prostrate on the floor. Make acts of contrition, faith, hope, and charity. Above all say the Rosary and meditate on the Sorrowful mysteries.

Some people, especially children, will be taken up to Heaven beforehand to spare them the horror of these days. People caught outdoors will die instantly. Three-quarters of the human race will be exterminated, – more men than women. No one will escape the terror of these days.

But, when all seems lost and hopeless, then, in the twinkling of an eye, the ordeal will be over: the sun will rise and shine again as in springtime over a purified earth.

Some nations will disappear entirely, and the face of the earth will be changed. There will be no more "Big Business" and huge factories which sap men's souls. Craftsmanship will revive, and assembly lines will give way to the working bench

People will return to the land, but food will be scarce for about three years. Married women will bear many children, for it will be regarded as a disgrace not to have children, – no more "career women" addicted to the "pill". Unmarried females, – there will be many, will enter the religious orders and form large congregations of Nuns within the reborn Church. Disease will decrease dramatically, and mental illnesses will be rare, for man will have retrieved his natural environment. It will be an age of faith, true brotherhood between neighbors, civil harmony, peace, and prosperity. The land will yield crops as never before. Police will have little work to do: crime will disappear almost entirely. Mutual trust and honesty will be universal. There will be little work for lawyers, either. All the manpower which is currently taken up by the wickedness of the modern world will be released and available for the production of useful commodities. Thus, prosperity will be very great. This wonderful period will probably last 30 years approximately

As soon as you see the sun rise again at the end of the Three Days, drop to your knees and give thanks to God.

Be warned, SPREAD THE MESSAGE, but do not fear: it would be an offense to God to show lack of confidence in His protection. Those who spread the message will be protected, but the scoffers, the skeptics, and those who dismiss the message because they are frightened, will not escape the chastisement.

What to do now

SPREAD THE MESSAGE; do not be put out by those who laugh it off or think you are a bit odd. This is the price we have to pay, for no disciple of Christ can escape scorn or even persecution. Remain in the state of grace. Go to Mass, and regularly receive Holy Communion. Say your rosary every day. Obtain some wax candles and have these blessed by a Traditionalist priest. Do not buy ordinary white candles; they are not made of wax. Do not trust either a "new-breed" priest to bless your candles. Pray for the Church and for the Pope in particular; it is not for us to judge the Pope, no matter what he does or says, – this is God's prerogative, but we must pray for him. Say the prayer to St. Michael which Leo XIII composed after witnessing a terrifying vision of Satan's power. Wear the Brown Scapular and the miraculous medal. Deny yourself some legitimate pleasures and entertainment; many seers insist on this. Eat sparingly, frugally, to sustain life more than to gratify the palate. When the proximate signs are over, i.e., war and revolution culminating in the victory of communism, when you behold the Warning, then store up food, drinking water, blankets and other necessities.

taken from www.olrl.org

Prophecy of Saint Nilus concerning modern times

2009-03-18T20:38:00.000-07:00

After the year 1900, toward the middle of the 20th century, the people of that time will become unrecognizable. When the time for the Advent of the Antichrist approaches, people's minds will grow cloudy from carnal passions, and dishonor and lawlessness will grow stronger. Then the world will become unrecognizable. People's appearances will change, and it will be impossible to distinguish men from women due to their shamelessness in dress and style of hair. These people will be cruel and will be like wild animals because of the temptations of the Antichrist. There will be no respect for parents and elders, love will disappear, and Christian pastors, bishops, and priests will become vain men, completely failing to distinguish the right-hand way from the left. At that time, the morals and traditions of Christians and of the Church will change. People will abandon modesty, and dissipation will reign. Falsehood and greed will attain great proportions, and woe to those who pile up treasures. Lust, adultery, homosexuality, secret deeds and murder will rule in society.

At that future time, due to the power of such great crimes and licentiousness, people will be deprived of the grace of the Holy Spirit, which they received in Holy Baptism and equally of remorse

The Churches of God will be deprived of God-fearing and pious pastors, and woe to the Christians remaining in the world at that time; they will completely lose their faith because they will lack the opportunity of seeing the light of knowledge from anyone at all. Then they will separate themselves out of the world in holy refuges in search of lightening their spiritual sufferings, but everywhere they will meet obstacles and constraints. And all this will result from the fact that the Antichrist wants to be Lord over everything and become the ruler of the whole universe, and he will produce miracles and fantastic signs. He will also give depraved wisdom to an unhappy man so that he will discover a way by which one man can carry on a conversation with another from one end of the earth to the other. At that time men will also fly through the air like birds and descend to the bottom of the sea like fish. And when they have achieved all this, these unhappy people will spend their lives in comfort without knowing, poor souls, that it is deceit of the Antichrist. And, the impious one! – he will so complete science with vanity that it will go off the right path and lead people to lose faith in the existence of God in three hypostases.

Then the All-good God will see the downfall of the human race and will shorten the days for the sake of those few who are being saved, because the enemy wants to lead even the chosen into temptation, if that is possible... then the sword of chastisement will suddenly appear and kill the perverter and his servants.

taken from www.olrl.org

Penitential Prayer of Saint Ephrem the Syrian

2009-03-18T20:17:00.000-07:00

St. Ephrem the Syrian

To be prayed daily on weekdays during Lent

O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, faint-heartedness, lust of power, and idle talk. (prostration)

But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to thy servant. (prostration)

Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own errors, and not to judge my brother, for thou art blessed from all ages to all ages. Amen. (prostration)

Lord have mercy (12 times)

Repeat the prayer with only one prostration at the end.

Litany of the Sacred Heart

2009-03-13T12:59:00.000-07:00

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us

Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

V. Lord, have mercy on us.
R. Christ, have mercy on us.
V. Lord, have mercy on us.
V. Christ, hear us.
R. Christ, graciously hear us.

V. God the Father of Heaven
R. Have mercy on us.
V. God the Son Redeemer of the world
R. Have mercy on us.
V. God the Holy Spirit
R. Have mercy on us.
V. Holy Trinity, one God
R. Have mercy on us.

V. Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father
R. Have mercy on us.
V. Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mother's womb
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God.
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, of infinite majesty.
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, holy temple of God.
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, tabernacle of the Most High.
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, house of God and gate of heaven.
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, glowing furnace of charity.
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, vessel of justice and love.
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love.
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues.
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise.
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, King and center of all hearts.
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead.
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father was well pleased.
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received.
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills.
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, patient and rich in mercy.
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, rich to all who call upon You.
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, fount of life and holiness.
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our offenses.
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, overwhelmed with reproaches.
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, bruised for our iniquities.
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, obedient even unto death.
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance.
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation.
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection.
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation.
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins.
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who hope in You.
R. Have mercy on us
V. Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in You.
R. Have mercy on us
V.Heart of Jesus, delight of all saints.
R. Have mercy on us

V. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world
R. Spare us, O Lord.
V. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world
R. graciously hear us, O Lord.
V. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world
R. Have mercy on us.

V. Jesus, meek and humble of Heart
R. Make our hearts like unto Thine.

Let us pray.

Almighty and eternal God, look upon the Heart of Thy most beloved Son and upon the praises and satisfaction which He offers Thee in the name of sinners; and to those who implore Thy mercy, in Thy great goodness, grant forgiveness in the name of the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who livest and reignest with Thee forever and ever. Amen.

Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary

2009-03-11T15:14:00.000-07:00

The Theotokos

V. Lord, have mercy on us.
R. Christ, have mercy on us.
V. Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us.
R. Christ, graciously hear us.

God, the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.

Holy Mary , pray for us.
Holy Mother of God, pray for us.
Holy Virgin of virgins, pray for us.
Mother of Christ, pray for us.
Mother of the Church, pray for us.
Mother of divine grace, pray for us.
Mother most pure, pray for us.
Mother most chaste, pray for us.
Mother inviolate, pray for us.
Mother undefiled, pray for us.
Mother most amiable, pray for us.
Mother most admirable, pray for us.
Mother of good counsel, pray for us.
Mother of our Creator, pray for us.
Mother of our Savior, pray for us.
Virgin most prudent, pray for us.
Virgin most venerable, pray for us.
Virgin most renowned, pray for us.
Virgin most powerful, pray for us.
Virgin most merciful, pray for us.
Virgin most faithful, pray for us.
Mirror of justice, pray for us.
Seat of wisdom, pray for us.
Cause of our joy, pray for us.
Spiritual vessel, pray for us.
Vessel of honor, pray for us.
Singular vessel of devotion, pray for us.
Mystical rose, pray for us.
Tower of David, pray for us.
Tower of ivory, pray for us.
House of gold, pray for us.
Ark of the covenant, pray for us.
Gate of heaven, pray for us.
Morning star, pray for us.
Health of the sick, pray for us.
Refuge of sinners, pray for us.
Comforter of the afflicted, pray for us.
Help of Christians, pray for us.
Queen of Angels, pray for us.
Queen of Patriarchs, pray for us.
Queen of Prophets, pray for us.
Queen of Apostles, pray for us.
Queen of Martyrs, pray for us.
Queen of Confessors, pray for us.
Queen of Virgins, pray for us.
Queen of all Saints, pray for us.
Queen conceived without original sin, pray for us.
Queen assumed into heaven, pray for us.
Queen of the most holy Rosary, pray for us.
Queen of the family, pray for us.
Queen of Peace, pray for us.

V. Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world
R. Spare us, O Lord!.
V. Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world
R. Graciously hear us, O Lord!
V. Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world
R. Have mercy on us.
V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
V. Let us pray. Grant, we beg you, O Lord God, that we your servants, may enjoy lasting health of mind and body, and by the glorious intercession of the Blessed Mary, ever Virgin, be delivered from present sorrow and enter into the joy of eternal happiness. Through Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.

Or:

V. Let us pray. Pour forth, we beseech You, O Lord, Thy Divine grace grace into our hearts, that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel. May we, by His Passion passion and cross, be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.

Or:

Let us pray. O God, whose only begotten son, by his life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grant, we beseech you, that meditating upon these mysteries of the most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain, and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.

During Advent

V. Let us pray. O God, you willed that, at the message of an angel, your Word should take flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary; grant to your suppliant people, that we, who believe her to be truly the Mother of God, may be helped by her intercession with you. Through the same Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.

From Christmas to the Purification

V. Let us pray. O God, by the fruitful virginity of Blessed Mary, you bestowed upon the human race the rewards of eternal salvation; grant, we beg you, that we may feel the power of her intercession, through whom we have been made worthy to receive the Author of life, our Lord Jesus Christ your Son. Who lives and reigns with you forever and ever.
R. Amen.

During Paschaltime

V. Let us pray. O God, who by the Resurrection of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, granted joy to the whole world; grant, we beg you, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, his Mother, we may attain the joys of eternal life. Through the same Christ our Lord.

R. Amen.

The Athanasian Creed

2009-03-11T15:10:00.000-07:00

St. Athanasius the Great

Whoever wants to be saved should above all cling to the catholic faith.
Whoever does not guard it whole and inviolable will doubtless perish eternally.
Now this is the catholic faith: We worship one God in trinity and the Trinity in unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the divine being.
For the Father is one person, the Son is another, and the Spirit is still another.
But the deity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, equal in glory, coeternal in majesty.
What the Father is, the Son is, and so is the Holy Spirit.
Uncreated is the Father; uncreated is the Son; uncreated is the Spirit.
The Father is infinite; the Son is infinite; the Holy Spirit is infinite.
Eternal is the Father; eternal is the Son; eternal is the Spirit:
And yet there are not three eternal beings, but one who is eternal;
as there are not three uncreated and unlimited beings, but one who is uncreated and unlimited.
Almighty is the Father; almighty is the Son; almighty is the Spirit:
And yet there are not three almighty beings, but one who is almighty.
Thus the Father is God; the Son is God; the Holy Spirit is God:
And yet there are not three gods, but one God.
Thus the Father is Lord; the Son is Lord; the Holy Spirit is Lord:
And yet there are not three lords, but one Lord.
As Christian truth compels us to acknowledge each distinct person as God and Lord, so catholic religion forbids us to say that there are three gods or lords.
The Father was neither made nor created nor begotten;
the Son was neither made nor created, but was alone begotten of the Father;
the Spirit was neither made nor created, but is proceeding from the Father and the Son.
Thus there is one Father, not three fathers; one Son, not three sons; one Holy Spirit, not three spirits.
And in this Trinity, no one is before or after, greater or less than the other;
but all three persons are in themselves, coeternal and coequal; and so we must worship the Trinity in unity and the one God in three persons.
Whoever wants to be saved should think thus about the Trinity.
It is necessary for eternal salvation that one also faithfully believe that our Lord Jesus Christ became flesh.
For this is the true faith that we believe and confess: That our Lord Jesus Christ, God's Son, is both God and man.
He is God, begotten before all worlds from the being of the Father, and he is man, born in the world from the being of his mother --
existing fully as God, and fully as man with a rational soul and a human body;
equal to the Father in divinity, subordinate to the Father in humanity.
Although he is God and man, he is not divided, but is one Christ.
He is united because God has taken humanity into himself; he does not transform deity into humanity.
He is completely one in the unity of his person, without confusing his natures.
For as the rational soul and body are one person, so the one Christ is God and man.
He suffered death for our salvation.
He descended into hell and rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
At his coming all people shall rise bodily to give an account of their own deeds.
Those who have done good will enter eternal life,
those who have done evil will enter eternal fire.
This is the catholic faith.
One cannot be saved without believing this firmly and faithfully.

Have you religion in your soul?

2009-03-11T15:02:00.000-07:00

by Saint Jean-Marie-Baptiste Vianney
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Alas, my dear brethren, what have we become even since our conversion? Instead of going always forward and increasing in holiness, what laziness and what indifference we display! God cannot endure this perpetual inconstancy with which we pass from virtue to vice and from vice to virtue. Tell me, my children, is not this the very pattern of the way you live? Are your poor lives anything other than a succession of good deeds and bad deeds? Is it not true that you go to Confession and the very next day you fall again -- or perhaps the very same day? .... How can this be, unless the religion you have is unreal, a religion of habit, a religion of long-standing custom, and not a religion rooted in the heart? Carry on, my friend; you are only a waverer! Carry on, my poor man; in everything you do, you are just a hypocrite and nothing else! God has not the first place in your heart; that is reserved for the world and the devil. How many people there are, my dear children, who seem to love God in real earnest for a little while and then abandon Him! What do you find, then, so hard and so unpleasant in the service of God that it has repelled you so strangely and caused you to change over to the side of the world? Yet at the time when God showed you the state of your soul, you actually wept for it and realised how much you had been mistaken in your lives. If you have persevered so little, the reason for this misfortune is that the devil must have been greatly grieved to have lost you because he has done so much to get you back. He hopes now to keep you altogether. How many apostates there are, indeed, who have renounced their religion and who are Christians in name only! But, you will say to me, how can we know that we have religion in our hearts, this religion which is consistent? My dear brethren, this is how: listen well and you will understand if you have religion as God wants you to have it in order to lead you to Heaven. If a person has true virtue, nothing whatever can change him; he is like a rock in the midst of a tempestuous sea. If anyone scorns you, or calumniates you, if someone mocks at you or calls you a hypocrite or a sanctimonious fraud, none of this will have the least effect upon your peace of soul. You will love him just as much as you loved him when he was saying good things about you. You will not fail to do him a good turn and to help him, even if he speaks badly of your assistance. You will say your prayers, go to Confession, to Holy Communion, you will go to Mass, all according to your general custom. To help you to understand this better, I will give you an example. It is related that in a certain parish there was a young man who was a model of virtue. He went to Mass almost every day and to Holy Communion often. It happened that another was jealous of the esteem in which this young man was held, and one day, when they were both in the company of a neighbour, who possessed a lovely gold snuffbox, the jealous one took it from its owner's pocket and placed it, unobserved, in the pocket of the young man. After he had done this, without pretending anything, he asked to see the snuffbox. The owner expected to find it in his pocket and was astonished when he discovered that it was missing. No one was allowed to leave the room until everyone had been searched, and the snuffbox was found, of course, on the young man who was a model of goodness. Naturally, everyone immediately called him a thief and attacked his religious professions, denouncing him as a hypocrite and a sanctimonious fraud. He could not defend himself, since the box had been found in his pocket. He said nothing. He suffered it all as something which had come from the hand of God. When he was walking along the street, when he was coming from the church, or from Mass or Holy Communion, everyone who saw him jeered at him and called him a hypocrite, a fraud, a thief. This went on for quite a long time, but in spite of it, he continued with all of his religious exercises, his Confessions, his Communions, and all of his prayers, just as if everyone were treating him with the utmost respect. After some years, the man who had been the cause of it all fell ill. To those who were with him he confessed that he had been the origin of all the evil things which had been said about this young man, who was a saint, and that through jealousy of him, so that he might destroy his good name, he himself had put the snuffbox in the young man's pocket. There, my brethren, is a religion which is true, which has taken root in the soul. Tell me, if all of those poor Christians who make profession of religion were subjected to such trials, would they imitate this young man? Ah, my dear brethren, what murmurings there would be, what bitternesses, what thoughts of revenge, of slander, of calumny, even perhaps of going to law.... They would storm against religion; they would scorn and jeer at it and say nothing but ill of it; they would not be able to say their prayers any more; they would not be able to go to Mass; they would not know what more to do or to say to justify themselves; they would collect every item of harm that this or that person had done, tell it to others, repeat it to everyone who knew them in order to make them out as liars and calumniators. What is the reason for this conduct, my dear brethren? Surely it is that our religion is only one of whim, of long-standing habit and routine, and, if we were to put it more forcefully, because we are hypocrites who serve God just as long as everything is going according to our wishes. Alas, my dear brethren, all of these virtues which we observe in a great many apparent Christians are but like the flowers of spring, which one gust of hot wind can wither.

On the Jews

2009-03-09T08:51:00.000-07:00

In response to the latest media craze over the supposed "anti-Semitism" of His Excellency, Monsignor Williamson, I have collected some quotes to display that if he is accused of being a "anti-Semite" so must the entire Catholic Church!
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"For all the House of Israel are are a hard forehead and an obstinate heart"~the Holy Prophet Ezechiel 3:7

"They gave Me gall for My food, and in My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink. Let their eyes be darkened, and their backs bend down always. Pour out Thy indignation upon them: and let Thy wrathful anger take hold of them. Lest their habitation be made desolate, and let there be no One to dwell in their tabernacles, because they have persecuted Him Whom Thou has smitten and have added to the grief of My wounds. Add Thou iniquity upon their iniquity: and let them not come into Thy justice. Let them be blotted out of the Book of the Living, and with the Just let them not be written."~Psalm 68:22-29

"And again the Lord said to Moses: See that this people is stiffnecked: Let me alone, that my wrath may be kindled against them, and that I may destroy them, and I will make of thee a great nation." ~Exodus 32:9,10

"What is your iniquity, O daughter of Jacob, that your chastisement is so severe? You have dishonored the King and the King's Son, you shameless one, you harlot!"~Saint Ephrem

"Ungrateful for favors and forgetful of benefits, the Jews return insult for kindness and impious contempt for goodness. They ought to know the yoke of perpetual enslavement because of their guilt. See to it that the perfidious Jews never in the future grow insolent, but that in servile fear they always suffer publicly the shame of their sin."~Pope Gregory IX

"Crucifiers of Christ ought to be held in continual subjection."~Pope Innocent III

"It would be licit, according to custom, to hold the Jews in perpetual servitude because of their crime."~The Angelic Doctor, Saint Thomas Aquinas

"Thou shalt eat bread and cover it with the dung that cometh out of a man. Thus shall the children of Israel eat their bread all filthy among the nations wither I will cast them out."~the Holy Prophet Ezechiel 4:12, 13

"The Jews, who both killed Lord Jesus and the prophets, and have persecuted us, do not please God, and are adversaries to all men, prohibiting us from speaking to the Gentiles that they may be saved, to fill up their sin always: for the wrath of God is come upon them to the end."~The Epistle of Holy Apostle Paul to the Thessalonians 2:14-16

"As for My enemies, who would not have Me rule over them, bring them thither and kill them before Me."~The Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke 19:27

"One who dies a Jew will be dammed!"~Saint Vincent Ferrer

"The Jews are cursed and covered with malediction as with a cloak. The curse has penetrated them like water in their bowels and oil in their bones. They are cursed in the city and cursed in the country, cursed in their coming in and cursed in their going out. Cursed are the fruits of their loins, of their lands, of their flocks; cursed are their cellars, their granaries, their shops, their food, and the crumbs off their tables."~Saint Agobard

"The synagogue is a home of unbelief, a house of impiety, a receptacle of foolishness. If it be objected that I did not set fire to the synagogue on fire, I answer: it began to be burned by the judgment of God, and my work came to an end. And if the very truth were asked, it was I who was the more lax for not expecting that it would be punished."~Saint Ambrose

"O Jewish hearts, harder than rocks! "~Saint Ambrose

The Sacred Six Million

2009-03-03T15:03:00.000-08:00

A critical study of the so-called "Holocaust"

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The Sacred Six Million

by Michael Fishwick

"After the destruction of the Temple (70 AD), the rabbinic exegesis has replaced faith in the Mosaic Messiah with that of the "collective messiah", which is the Jewish people. Christianity can not accept this Jewish sacralization of the Holocaust without the denial of its identity and faith. The only Holocaust is the sacrifice of Christ. To accept another "holocaust" of salvation and 'meta-historical act' next to that of Jesus would be an act of apostasy. Unfortunately, the new Judaic theology of the council, and after the council, has taken hold of progressive Catholics. We hope and pray that it does not pollute Tradition. It is therefore a duty to warn the faithful shepherds."- Don Curzio Nitoglia, translated from Il Caso Williamson, 28th January, 2009.

Introduction

Some commentary on the statement of Fr. Nitoglia may be instructive in regard to understanding why the figure of 'Six Million Holocaust' victims is sacred to the Jews.The "unquestionable" number of Six Million Jewish holocaust victims is not based upon documented historic fact, nor even particularly upon demographic estimation, but above all is a mystical number that relates in a fundamental manner to the religious belief system of Judaism.The New York based Museum of Jewish Heritage, for example, in regard to "the memory of the six million Jews who perished." reveals that: "Zachor, to remember, is a sacred Jewish obligation." (my bold emphasis).Examples of religious phraseology in regard to Six Million Jewish victims of The Holocaust are plentiful and easily found by use of simple internet searches.On a purely natural level a Christian can understand that Jews might consider the suffering and death of Jewish victims of the Shoah (catastrophe) to be 'Kiddush Hashem' - 'martyrs'. Further investigation using the Jewish chabad.org Knowledge Base reveals that, for Jews, the concept of 'Kiddush Hashem' has a much deeper meaning in that it is a "sanctification of G-d's Name."What is not so commonly realised, or understood, by Christians is how the Six Million figure relates integrally to the occult teachings that the Jewish religion is based upon.Before proceeding further it will be necessary to distinguish between two commonly used words that are often used interchangeably with resulting obfuscation of the subject.'Shoah' is an anglicized spelling of a Hebrew word that means 'catastrophe' or 'calamity'. That millions of Jewish people suffered horrific calamity involving widespread persecution and many deaths during World War Two is not in dispute.Holocaust, by contrast, is a word of Greek origin meaning 'burnt whole' and is defined in the dictionary as "a sacrificial offering that is consumed entirely by flames". The anglicised Hebrew word for 'burnt offering' or 'burnt sacrifice' is 'Olah' (pronounced 'o-law'). It derives from the Hebrew word for 'elevation'. That the corpses of many thousands of Jews (and others) were burnt in crematoriums in Nazi concentration camps after suffering death from typhus and other disease is not at issue either.What is disputed is the claim that Six Million Jews were murdered by cyanide gas in purpose built homocidal gas chambers in Nazi concentration camps.If it is true that Jews, as Jews, collectively suffered genocidal extermination and cremation in concentration camps, then 'holocaust' is indeed a valid historic, as well as Judaic religious, description. If it is not true, then the description of 'holocaust', as well as the "sacred" figure of Six Million, belongs entirely to Jewish religious mythology and must be opposed by Catholics both as a matter of historical truth and religious truth.The enormous amount of data from divers fields of research that indicates very strongly that homicidal gas chambers did not exist in Nazi concentration camps is not the purpose of this study, and will not be summarised here. Rather, the purpose of the study is to reveal, largely from Jewish sources, that the fabled 'Six Million' is a religious mantra recited by Jews as an integral practise of the Jewish religion.

The Sacred Six Million

The Jewish religion is based upon: 1) 'Written Torah' ('Tanakh') which consists of books of the Old Testament;2) 'Oral Torah' ('Mishnah') which Jews believe God taught to Moses and was handed down orally through the generations until being compiled in book form in the second century;3) later rabbinical commentaries on 'Mishnah' called 'Gemara' which were compiled together with 'Mishnah' in the 5th century and became known collectively as 'Talmud';4) 'Midrashim' which are anecdotal stories expanding upon written or oral 'Torah';5) and 'Kabbalah' which is the mystical teaching of Judaism, the primary body of which is known as 'Zohar'.A fundamental constituent of Jewish mystical gnosis is the practice of 'Gematria', a type of numerology that assigns numerical value to the characters of the Hebrew alphabet. It involves the calculation of numerical equivalence and relationship between letters, words and phrases in order to find mystical insights and hidden teaching that Jews believe God planted into 'Torah'. Rabbi Harav Yitzchak Ginsburgh explains that: "Since the world was created through God's 'speech', each letter represents a different creative force."Certain letters, and the corresponding numerical value, are considered in Judaism to have greater mystical power than others because of the frequency with which they are found in 'Torah'. One such value, the expression of which holds a predominant power in the Jewish psyche, is the Hebrew letter 'vav' which has a numerical value of six. As well as its obvious relationship to the six days of creation and the Jewish sabbath Rabbi Harav Yitzchak Ginsburgh reveals much of its esoteric connotation in his book The Alef-Beit: Jewish Thought Revealed Through the Hebrew Letters. For example, one learns that: "the consummate structure of six (as in the form of the Magen David [Star of David], the outer area of whose six 'wings' equals, and therefore folds onto, the area of its inner hexagon), reflected by the six orders of the Mishnah, finds its source in the dimensions of the Tablets given to Moses at Sinai. They were cubes measuring six handbreadths in each direction." A cube has six faces, of course.The superstitious 'power' of 'six' in the Jewish mind can be found, for example, in the fact that the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. was purposely designed so that the display floors of photographs and artifacts of the Permanent Exhibition cover a space of 36,000 square feet. In 'Gematria' it is understood that this represents six thousand multiplied by six thousand. At the end of the tour the visitor enters the six thousand square foot Hall of Remembrance, which has six sides symbolising the six-pointed Star of David, and the six 'extermination' camps where 'Six Million' Jews were slaughtered. One can also find there a collection of six thousand children's hand-painted tiles. Yaffa Sonenson, a member of the U.S. Holocaust Commission donated, according to a sympathetic review of the museum penned by Barbara Beckwith for the online St. Anthony Messenger, a collection of six thousand photographs.We learn from the spirituality section of chabad.org in its "Letters of Light - Vav" that: "Six also represents completion, because something that is surrounded on all six sides—north, south, east, west, above and below—is complete. Similarly we find that when the Jewish people left the land of Egypt, G-d surrounded them with six Clouds of Glory... The number six also signifies the six hundred thousand Jewish men aged 20-60 who left the land of Egypt. It additionally represents the Torah... There are six hundred thousand letters of the Torah, and if one letter of the Torah is missing or broken or cracked, G-d forbid, the entire Torah scroll is declared not kosher—unfit to be read. Similarly, if one Jew strays from the path, or is missing or defiled, the entire Jewish nation is likewise lacking or defiled. We are rendered incomplete... We find another instance of 'six' when the Jewish people were in Egypt and oppressed with backbreaking work. Pharaoh devised many plots against the Jewish people to keep them from multiplying. Yet the Jews continued to propagate at an unbelievable rate. Indeed, the Torah tells us that the Jewish women bore six children at one time... Thus the vav teaches us the monumental effect we have on the world by being connected on high and bringing the Torah down to earth in our thoughts, speech and actions."Rabbi Ginsburgh reveals that the secret of the word 'truth' resides in the "triangle of six" and, for that reason, the Hebrew letter 'vav' is known as "the letter of truth", its numerical value 'six' being "the power which links together the souls of Israel." The triangle of six instantly reminds one again of the six-pointed Star of David that is composed of triangles. It also brings to mind the fact that a triangle consists of three sides or three points. Three points consisting of six? 666?Judaism teaches that God created six hundred thousand Jewish souls and these souls, according to the rabbis, correspond to the six hundred thousand letters in the written 'Torah'. In a translated text entitled "600,000 Souls, 600,000 Letters" Rabbi Rabbeinu Yaakov Abuchatzeira reveals that:"The word 'Israel' can be read as an acronym for 'Yesh Shishim Ribo Otiot LaTorah', meaning: 'There are six hundred thousand letters in the Torah'. Therefore, Israel did not leave Egypt until there were six hundred thousand of them, in order for each soul to be 'supported' by one letter in the Torah, as we have written in a number of places... Since the name 'Israel' alludes to the fact that the number of letters in the Torah corresponds to the number of souls, it follows that when the Jewish People come to count their souls [take a census], the accuser comes and accuses them saying, 'Master of the universe, didn't Israel only reach this size population in order to match the number of letters in the Torah which are hinted at in their name? And now they are negligent in [the Torah]!' This becomes the substance of the accusation. Furthermore, the word 'negef', meaning 'a scourge', has the same numerological value as 'Samael', the Angel of Destruction, short two. ('Negef' equals 133, while 'Samael' equals 131.) The missing two allude to the two Torahs (Oral and Written). When Israel are lax in the two Torahs, two powers are added to those of the forces of evil, and it becomes 'negef', a scourge, and afflicts them, G-d forbid."Rabbi Zev Reichman, in a partly published online book named Chassidus, confirms the rabbinical teaching of 'six hundred thousand souls, six hundred thousand letters'. In footnote, 19, of 'Lesson Six, The Body Can Complement the Soul', the rabbi states plainly that Jewish souls are "pieces of the Divine", part of God Himself."The Zohar teaches that God, Torah, and Israel are one. In truth, God clothed himself in the thoughts and words of Torah, and Jewish souls are pieces of the Divine as well; thus Torah, Israel and God are linked in an intrinsic manner. Rabbi Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev (1740-1810) explained a Scriptural ambiguity with this principle.'As God commanded Moses, he counted them (the Jews) in the Sinai desert.' (Numbers 1:19) One can ask, it should have written, 'He counted them in the Sinai desert as God commanded Moses?' Behold, God gave the Torah to the Jewish people, and the souls of Jews are the essence of the Torah, for there are 600,000 Jewish souls and 600,000 letters in the Torah scroll. In fact, the name 'Yisrael', Israel, is an acronym for 'Yesh shsishim ribo otiyot latorah', there are 600,000 letters to the Torah. Therefore, Jews are the Torah, for each Jew is a different letter in the Torah. When Moses counted the Jews he was learning Torah. This is why the verse changed its usual formulation to hint 'As God commanded Moses he counted the people,' like the Torah that God commanded Moses was the (experience of) counting of the nation.' (Kedushas Levi parshas Bamidbar s.v. Caasher) ."Examples of the Kabbalistic religious use of numbers relating to 'vav', "the power that links together the souls of Israel", and especially of 'six hundred thousand' abound virtually everywhere one cares to look and it becomes obvious that 'six' is related in a very special manner to the Jewish concepts of 'kiddush hashem' and 'olah', of holocaust. 'Kiddush hashem' ,one will remember, means to the Jew 'martyrdom' and the "sanctification of G-d's Name". One will also remember that the Jewish religion teaches that Jewish souls are themselves "pieces of the Divine". Therefore one begins to understand that in the Jewish religion the concept of 'martyrdom' and "sanctification of G-d's Name" is in fact a collective 'sanctification' of the Jewish people, of the six hundred thousand souls.The concept of 'olah' is described by Rabbi Harav Yitzchak Ginsburgh's teaching, thus: "The Sages reply that the olah is first in the Torah recitation. However, in the order of sacrifice, the chatat precedes the olah. According to Kabbalah and Chassidut, the recitation reflects a drawing down of the Supernal Infinite Light from above to below -- as a person calls to his friend to come to him, or as a small child calls to his father to come and join him. In contrast, the actual sacrifice reflects an act of spiritual elevation from below to above -- the secret of the sacrifice ascends to the secret of the Infinite One."Thus 'olah', 'holocaust', involves a religious mantra of recitation aimed at "a drawing down of the Supernatural Infinite light from above to below"As a side note, one may ask, how can it be that only six hundred thousand Jewish souls exist when it is evident that many millions of Jews have existed in time?The rabbinical explanation appears to be that the 600,000 souls are "root souls" and that all other Jewish souls are "offshoots", intrinsically connected and, perhaps, somehow, generated from them.Some examples of the sacred connection that exists in the Jewish religion between religious recitation of the mantra of 'Six' ("the power that links together the souls of Israel"), the 600,000 Jewish souls, 'martyrdom - divine sanctification' that draws down "Supernatural Infinite light from above to below" and holocaust, may be instructive. The religious objective of this 'divine' mantra is obviously meant to culminate in the eventual arrival of the long-awaited Jewish 'Messiah':

70 AD: Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus on the destruction of Jerusalem, the Temple, and the slaughter of Jews - "We are told that the number of the besieged, old and young, men and women, amounted to 600,000."

135 AD: Roman historian Cassius Dio is told and records that 600,000 Jews are slaughtered when Rome finally crushes the Bar Kokhba rebellion.

18th century: Ukrainian pogrom where "reliable accounts" record that 60,000 Jews were slaughtered by Gaidamak Cossacks according to the Jewish People's Relief Commitee Report of 1921, mentioned in The Slaughter of the Jews in the Ukraine in 1919, by Elias Heifetz.

1880: The New York Times editorial of 27th February states that: "The war, which has for some time raged in Germany between the natives and the Jews, seems rather to increase than diminish in intensity... The charge is made that of the 600,000 Israelites in the empire, hardly any engage in agricultural or mercantile pursuits; but that they control trade, rule the money markets, and are eating up the country with their avarice and usury."

1900: The New York Times of 11th June reports extracts from an address given by Rabbi Stephen Samuel Wise, founder of the Federation of American Zionists, that "there are 6,000,000 [Six Million] living, bleeding, suffering arguments in favour of Zionism."

1916: The American Jewish Committee publishes a book entitled 'The Jews in the Eastern War Zone' in which it is claimed that eastern Europe is "a kind of prison with six million inmates, guarded by an army of corrupt and brutal jailers."

1917-1920: 60,000 Jews were murdered in pogroms in Poland and Russia according to the Jewish authors of The Jew in the Modern World.

1918: The New York Times of October 18th carries a full page advertisement from the Joint Distribution Committee of the American Funds for Jewish War Sufferers to collect one hundred million dollars to "Rebuild Jewry" and states that "6,000,000 Jews Need Help" (Six Million).

1919: The American Hebrew of 31st October carries an article entitled 'The Crucifixion of the Jews Must Stop!' It claims that "Six million men and women are dying" in what it describes as a "threatened holocaust." "The war is over for everyone but the Jew. The knife is still at his throat and an unreasoning and unreasonable century-old lust for Jewish blood opens his veins".

1936: Chaim Weizmann, president of the World Zionist Organization, testifies in front of the Peel Commission, on November 25th, that: "It is no exaggeration to say that six million Jews are sentenced to be imprisoned in this part of the world, where they are unwanted, and for whom the countries are divided into those, where they are unwanted, and those, where they are not admitted."

1937: Chaim Weizmann reports to the Zionist Congress of London that "the hopes of Europe's six million Jews are centred on emmigration" according to the document "Holocaust Victims Accuse" published by anti-Zionist Jews.

1943: The New York Times of 2nd March reports, on page 4, Rabbi Joseph Hertz, Chief Rabbi of the British Empire, stating that "appalling is the fact that those who proclaim the Four Freedoms have so far done very little to even secure the freedom to live for 6,000,000 [Six Million] of their Jewish fellow men by readiness to rescue those who might still escape Nazi torture and butchery."

1946: The Jewish Black Book Committee, a venture between the Soviet Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee (JAC) and US Jewish organisations publishes The Black Book. It states that "Four million Jews – about two-thirds of the six million who perished in Europe at the hand of the Nazis – were murdered at Oswiecim [Auschwitz] and its subsidiary camps."

1948: Rabbi Menachem Kasher, in the introduction to Kol HaTor in HaTekufah HaGedolah, reports a statistic relating to the year of the establishment of the Zionist State. He states that 1948 was the first year in centuries that there were 600,000 Jews living in 'Eretz Yisrael'.

1948: 600,000 Jews living in Arab countries were forced to flee from surrounding Arab lands to the newly established Israeli State claim the Children of Jewish Holocaust Survivors Los Angeles organization and their political director Omri Ceren, in a press release dated 7th July, 2008.

1948: 600,000 Holocaust survivors moved to Israel during the early years of the State, reports Judy Siegel-Itzkovich for the Jewish Weekly News of northern California, in a story entitled Holocaust Survivors; Handle with Care, on 21st March, 2008.

1967: Rabbi Menachem Kasher, in the introduction to Kol HaTor in HaTekufah HaGedolah, reports a statistic relating to the year of the Six Day War. He states that 1967 was the first year in centuries that there were 600,000 Jewish males above the age of 20 living in 'Eretz Yisrael'.

1999: The Independent reveals in a story of 4th March entitled Holocaust Trial Opens in Croatia that The Encyclopedia of the Holocaust states that 600,000 were killed at the Jasenovac concentration camp but that Croatian historians think 35,000 people died.

2000: CBC News in Canada reports on 27th July that "a judge in the United States has approved the settlement offer between Swiss banks and 600,000 survivors of the Holocaust."

2004: Hungary's first Holocaust Museum opens in Budapest on the 60th anniversary of Hungarian Jews being sent to concentration camps. 60,000 names have been inscribed on the inside face of the wall surrounding the museum in order to remember 600,000 Hungarian Jewish victims.

2004: A memorial for the "600,000 Jews who were killed in gas chambers" at the Belzec "death camp" in Poland is solemnly opened on the 3rd June as a joint project of the American Jewish Committee and the Warsaw-based Council for the Protection of the Memory of Combat and Martyrdom.

2005: The Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem announces on October 10th the figure of 600,000 vistors in the six months since the opening of its new Museum Complex.

2006: A New America Media report of 14th November entitled Israel Encourages Citizens to Return to Homeland, written by Stacey Palevsky, states that "More than 600,000 Israeli's live elsewhere. And Israel wants them back... About 6,000 return each year." The report further reveals that the Israeli Minister of Immigration Absorption, Ze'ev Boim, was visiting as "part of the six-city campaign".

2007: Sidney Zabludoff tells the US House Committee on International Relations: Subcommittee on Europe and Emerging Threats, on 3rd October that "Currently there are approximately 600,000 Holocaust survivors worldwide."

2008: A libel case heard at Jerusalem District Court, initiated by the Claims Conference, reveals that 600,000 Holocaust survivors worldwide have received over $50 billion.2008: German Culture Minister, Bernd Numann, and the chief of the German Foundation for Remembrance, Responsibility and Future, Martin Salm, present to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial site in Jerusalem a completed list of the 600,000 German Jewish population between 1933 and 1945.

Should any further consideration be necessary to determine the 'sacred' relationship between the Six Hundred Thousand Jewish Souls and The Six Million Holocaust it is only necessary to remember that 'six' is the number of "truth" and represents "completion". It is "the power that links together the souls of Israel" of which there are 600,000. When multiplied by ten we arrive at Six Million.The number 'ten' in the Jewish religion relates to the 'Sefirot' (enumerations) by which, Jews believe, God manifests Himself in the physical and metaphysical planes. 'Ten' is believed by Jews to be the number of "divine perfection". Therefore, the 600,000 souls of Israel, which are "pieces of the Divine", when multiplied by 'divine perfection' come to Six Million."The Hebrew word for 'ye shall return', (TaShuVU), seems to be spelled incorrectly. Grammatically it requires another (vav). It ought to read (TaShUVU). Why is it lacking the letter (vav) which stands for six? [TaShuVU] (without the vav) is a prediction to the Jewish people of ultimate return to their national homeland. [TaShuVU] in numbers adds up to 708: (tav)=400, (shin)=300, (vet)=2, (vav)=6. When we write the year, we ignore the millenia. In 1948 on the secular calendar, we witnessed the miracle of Jewish return to Israel. On the Hebrew calendar it was the year 5708. That was the year predicted by the incomplete word (TaShuVU), you shall return. We did return, lacking 6 - an all important 6 million of our people who perished during the holocaust. Yet the fulfillment of the prediction of return in precisely that year implied by the gematria of (TaShuVU) gives us firm hope that the words of the prophets for Final Redemption will come true as well."- Rabbi Benjamin Blech, The Secret of Hebrew Words, pp 214-215.(The same Rabbi Blech who, along with rabbis Barry Dov Schwartz and Jack Bemporad, "conferred" a "rabbinical blessing" upon Pope John Paul II, in the Apostolic Palace, on 18th January, 2005).

The Dreadful State of the Lukewarm Soul

2009-02-20T20:08:00.000-08:00

"But because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth"

-Apocalypse III:XVI

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by St. Jean-Marie-Baptiste Vianney

The Dreadful State of the Lukewarm Soul

In speaking to you today, my dear brethren, of the dreadful state of the lukewarm soul, my purpose is not to paint for you a terrifying and despairing picture of the soul which is living in mortal sin without even having the wish to escape from this condition. That poor unfortunate creature can but look forward to the wrath of God in the next life. Alas! These sinners hear me; they know well of whom I am speaking at this very moment.... We will go no further, for all that I would wish to say would serve only to harden them more. In speaking to you, my brethren, of the lukewarm soul, I do not wish, either, to speak of those who make neither their Easter duty nor their annual Confession. They know very well that in spite of all their prayers and their other good works they will be lost. Let us leave them in their blindness, since they want to remain that way.... Nor do I understand, brethren, by the lukewarm soul, that soul who would like to be worldly without ceasing to be a child of God. You will see such a one at one moment prostrate before God, his Saviour and his Master, and the next moment similarly prostrate before the world, his idol.

Poor blind creature, who gives one hand to God and the other to the world, so that he can call both to his aid, and promise his heart to each in turn! He loves God, or rather, he would like to love Him, but he would also like to please the world. Then, weary of wanting to give his allegiance to both, he ends by giving it to the world alone. This is an extraordinary life and one which offers so strange a spectacle that it is hard to persuade oneself that it could be the life of one and the same person. I am going to show you this so clearly that perhaps many among you will be hurt by it. But that will matter little to me, for I am always going to tell you what I ought to tell you, and then you will do what you wish about it....

I would say further, my brethren, that whoever wants to please both the world and God leads one of the most unhappy of lives. You shall see how. Here is someone who gives himself up to the pleasures of the world or develops some evil habit.

How great is his fear when he comes to fulfil his religious duties; that is, when he says his prayers, when he goes to Confession, or wants to go to Holy Communion! He does not want to be seen by those with whom he has been dancing and passing nights at the cabarets, where he has been giving himself over to many kinds of licentiousness. Has he come to the stage when he is going to deceive his confessor by hiding the worst of his actions and thus obtain permission to go to Holy Communion, or rather, to commit a sacrilege? He would prefer to go to Holy Communion before or after Mass, that is to say, when there is no one present. Yet he is quite happy to be seen by the good people who know nothing about his evil life and among whom he would like to arouse good opinions about himself. In front of devout people he talks about religion. When he is with those who have no religion, he will talk only about the pleasures of the world. He would blush to fulfil his religious practices in front of his companions or those boys and girls who share his evil ways.... This is so true that one day someone asked me to allow him to go to Holy Communion in the sacristy so that no one would see him. Is it possible, my brethren, that one could think upon such horrible behaviour without shuddering?

But we shall proceed further and you will see the embarrassment of these poor people who want to follow the world without -- outwardly at any rate -- leaving God. Here is Easter approaching. They must go to Confession. It is not, of course, that they want to go or that they feel any urge or need to receive the Sacrament of Penance. They would be only too pleased if Easter came around about once every thirty years. But their parents still retain the exterior practice of religion. They will be happy if their children go to the altar, and they keep urging them, then, to go to Confession. In this, of course, they make a mistake. If only they would just pray for them and not torment them into committing sacrileges. So to rid themselves of the importunity of their parents, to keep up appearances, these people will get together to find out who is the best confessor to try for absolution for the first or second time.

"Look," says one, "my parents keep nagging at me because I haven't been to Confession. Where shall we go?" "It is of no use going to our parish priest; he is too scrupulous. He would not allow us to make our Easter duty. We will have to try to find So-and-So. He let this one and that one go through, and they are worse than we are. We have done no more harm than they have."

Another will say: "I assure you that if it were not for my parents I would not make my Easter duty at all. Our catechism says that to make a good Confession we must give up sin and the occasions of sin, and we are doing neither the one nor the other. I tell you sincerely that I am really embarrassed every time Easter comes around. I will be glad when the time comes for me to settle down and to cease gallivanting. I will make a confession then of my whole life, to put right the ones I am making now. Without that I would not die happy."

"Well," another will say to him, "when that time comes you ought to go to the priest who has been hearing your confessions up to the present. He will know you best." "Indeed no! I will go to the one who would not give me absolution, because he would not want to see me damned either."

"My word, aren't you good! That means nothing at all. They all have the same power."

"That is a good thing to remember when we are doing what we ought to do. But when we are in sin, we think otherwise.

One day I went to see a girl who was pretty careless. She told me that she was not going back to Confession to the priests who were so easy and who, in making it seem as if they wanted to save you, pushed you into Hell." That is how many of these poor blind people behave. I "Father," they will say to the priest, "I am going to Confession to you because our parish priest is too exacting. He wants to make us promise things which we cannot hold to. He would have us all saints, and that is not possible in the world. He would want us never to go to dances, nor to frequent cabarets or amusements. If someone has a bad habit, he will not give Absolution until the habit has been given up completely. If we had to do all that we should never make our Easter duty at all. My parents, who are very religious, are always after me to make my Easter duty. I will do all I can. But no one can say that he will never return to these amusements, since he never knows when he is going to encounter them."

"Ah!" says the confessor, quite deceived by this sincere sounding talk, "I think your parish priest is perhaps a little exacting. Make your act of contrition, and I will give you Absolution. Try to be good now."

That is to say: Bow your head; you are going to trample in the adorable Blood of Jesus Christ; you are going to sell your God like Judas sold Him to His executioners, and tomorrow you will go to Holy Communion, where you will proceed to crucify Him. What horror! What abomination! Go on, vile Judas, go to the holy table, go and give death to your God and your Saviour! Let your conscience cry out, only try to stifle its remorse as much as you can.... But I am going too far, my brethren. Let us leave these poor blind creatures in their gloom.

I think, brethren, that you would like to know what is the state of the lukewarm soul. Well, this is it. A lukewarm soul is not yet quite dead in the eyes of God because the faith, the hope, and the charity which are its spiritual life are not altogether extinct. But it is a faith without zeal, a hope without resolution, a charity without ardour....

Nothing touches this soul: it hears the word of God, yes, that is true; but often it just bores it. Its possessor hears it with difficulty, more or less by habit, like someone who thinks that he knows enough about it and does enough of what he should.

Any prayers which are a bit long are distasteful to him. This soul is so full of whatever it has just been doing or what it is going to do next, its boredom is so great, that this poor unfortunate thing is almost in agony. It is still alive, but it is not capable of doing anything to gain Heaven....

For the last twenty years this soul has been filled with good intentions without doing anything at all to correct its habits.

It is like someone who is envious of anyone who is on top of the world but who would not deign to lift a foot to try to get there himself. It would not, however, wish to renounce eternal blessings for those of the world. Yet it does not wish either to leave the world or to go to Heaven, and if it can just manage to pass its time without crosses or difficulties, it would never ask to leave this world at all. If you hear someone with such a soul say that life is long and pretty miserable, that is only when everything is not going in accordance with his desires. If God, in order to force such a soul to detach itself from temporal things, sends it any cross or suffering, it is fretful and grieving and abandons itself to grumbles and complaints and often even to a kind of despair. It seems as if it does not want to see that God has sent it these trials for its good, to detach it from this world and to draw it towards Himself. What has it done to deserve these trials? In this state a person thinks in his own mind that there are many others more blameworthy than himself who have not to submit to such trials. In prosperous times the lukewarm soul does not go so far as to forget God, but neither does it forget itself. It knows very well how to boast about all the means it has employed to achieve its prosperity. It is quite convinced that many others would not have achieved the same success. It loves to repeat that and to hear it repeated, and every time it hears it, it is with fresh pleasure. The individual with the lukewarm soul assumes a gracious air when associating with those who flatter him. But towards those who have not paid him the respect which he believes he has deserved or who have not been grateful for his kindnesses, he maintains an air of frigid indifference and seems to indicate to them that they are ungrateful creatures who do not deserve to receive the good which he has done them....

If I wanted to paint you an exact picture, my brethren, of the state of a soul which lives in tepidity, I should tell you that it is like a tortoise or a snail. It moves only by dragging itself along the ground, and one can see it getting from place to place with great difficulty. The love of God, which it feels deep down in itself, is like a tiny spark of fire hidden under a heap of ashes.

The lukewarm soul comes to the point of being completely indifferent to its own loss. It has nothing left but a love without tenderness, without action, and without energy which sustains it with difficulty in all that is essential for salvation. But for all other means of Grace, it looks upon them as nothing or almost nothing. Alas, my brethren, this poor soul in its tepidity is like someone between two bouts of sleep. It would like to act, but its will has become so softened that it lacks either the force or the courage to accomplish its wishes.

It is true that a Christian who lives in tepidity still regularly -- in appearance at least -- fulfils his duties. He will indeed get down on his knees every morning to say his prayers. He will go to the Sacraments every year at Easter and even several times during the course of the twelve months. But in all of this there will be such a distaste, so much slackness and so much indifference, so little preparation, so little change in his way of life, that it is easy to see that he is only fulfilling his duties from habit and routine .... because this is a feast and he is in the habit of carrying them out at such a time. His Confessions and his Communions are not sacrilegious, if you like, but they are Confessions and Communions which bear no fruit -- which, far from making him more perfect and more pleasing to God, only make him more unworthy. As for his prayers, God alone knows what -- without, of course, any preparation -- he makes of these.

In the morning it is not God who occupies his thoughts, nor the salvation of his poor soul; he is quite taken up with thoughts of work. His mind is so wrapped up in the things of earth that the thought of God has no place in it. He is thinking about what he is going to be doing during the day, where he will be sending his children and his various employees, in what way he will expedite his own work. To say his prayers, he gets down on his knees, undoubtedly, but he does not know what he wants to ask God, nor what he needs, nor even before whom he is kneeling. His careless demeanour shows this very clearly. It is a poor man indeed who, however miserable he is, wants nothing at all and loves his poverty. It is surely a desperately sick person who scorns doctors and remedies and clings to his infirmities.

You can see that this lukewarm soul has no difficulty, on the slightest pretext, in talking during the course of his prayers.

For no reason at all he will abandon them, partly at least, thinking that he will finish them in another moment. Does he want to offer his day to God, to say his Grace? He does all that, but often without thinking of the one who is addressed. He will not even stop working. If the possessor of the lukewarm soul is a man, he will turn his cap or his hat around in his hands as if to see whether it is good or bad, as though he had some idea of selling it. If it is a woman, she will say her prayers while slicing bread into her soup, or putting wood on the fire, or calling out to her children or maid. If you like, such distractions during prayer are not exactly deliberate. People would rather not have them, but because it is necessary to go to so much trouble and expend so much energy to get rid of them, they let them alone and allow them to come as they will.

The lukewarm Christian may not perhaps work on Sunday at tasks which seem to be forbidden to anyone who has even the slightest shred of religion, but doing some sewing, arranging something in the house, driving sheep to the fields during the times for Masses, on the pretext that there is not enough food to give them -- all these things will be done without the slightest scruple, and such people will prefer to allow their souls and the souls of their employees to perish rather than endanger their animals. A man will busy himself getting out his tools and his carts and harrows and so on, for the next day; he will fill in a hole or fence a gap; he will cut various lengths of cords and ropes; he will carry out the churns and set them in order. What do you think about all this, my brethren? Is it not, alas, the simple truth? .... A lukewarm soul will go to Confession regularly, and even quite frequently. But what kind of Confessions are they? No preparation, no desire to correct faults, or, at the least, a desire so feeble and so small that the slightest difficulty will put a stop to it altogether. The Confessions of such a person are merely repetitions of old ones, which would be a happy state of affairs indeed if there were nothing to add to them. Twenty years ago he was accusing himself of the same things he confesses today, and if he goes to Confession for the next twenty years, he will say the same things. A lukewarm soul will not, if you like, commit the big sins. But some slander or back-biting, a lie, a feeling of hatred, of dislike, of jealousy, a slight touch of deceit or double-dealing -- these count for nothing with it. If it is a woman and you do not pay her all the respect which she considers her due, she will, under the guise of pretending that God has been offended, make sure that you realise it; she could say more than that, of course, since it is she herself who has been offended. It is true that such a woman would not stop going to the Sacraments, but her dispositions are worthy of compassion. On the day when she wants to receive her God, she spends part of the morning thinking of temporal matters. If it is a man, he will be thinking about his deals and his sales. If it is a married woman, she will be thinking about her household and her children. If it is a young girl, her thoughts will be on her clothes. If it is a boy, he will be dreaming about passing pleasures and so on. The lukewarm soul shuts God up in an obscure and ugly kind of prison. Its possessor does not crucify Him, but God can find little joy or consolation in his heart. All his dispositions proclaim that his poor soul is struggling for the breath of life. After having received Holy Communion, this person will hardly give another thought to God in all the days to follow. His manner of life tells us that he did not know the greatness of the happiness which had been his. A lukewarm Christian thinks very little upon the state of his poor soul and almost never lets his mind run over the past. If the thought of making any effort to be better crosses his mind at all, he believes that once he has confessed his sins, he ought to be perfectly happy and at peace. He assists at Holy Mass very much as he would at any ordinary activity. He does not think at all seriously of what he is doing and finds no trouble in chatting about all sorts of things while on the way there. Possibly he will not give a single thought to the fact that he is about to participate in the greatest of all the gifts that God, all-powerful as He is, could give us. He does give some thought to the needs of his own soul, yes, but a very small and feeble amount of thought indeed. Frequently he will even present himself before the presence of God without having any idea of what he is going to ask of Him. He has few scruples in cutting out, on the least pretext, the Asperges and the prayers before Mass. During the course of the service, he does not want to go to sleep, of course, and he is even afraid that someone might see him, but he does not do himself any violence all the same. He does not want, of course, to have distractions during prayer or during the Holy Mass, yet when he should put up some little fight against them, he suffers them very patiently, considering the fact that he does not like them. Fast days are reduced to practically nothing, either by advancing the time of the main meal or, under the pretext that Heaven was never taken by famine, by making the collation so abundant that it amounts to a full meal. When he performs good or beneficial actions, his intentions are often very mixed -- sometimes it is to please someone, sometimes it is out of compassion, and sometimes it is just to please the world. With such people everything that is not a really serious sin is good enough. They like doing good, being faithful, but they wish that it did not cost them anything or, at least, that it cost very little. They would like to visit the sick, indeed, but it would be more convenient if the sick would come to them. They have something to give away in alms, they know quite well that a certain person has need of help, but they wait until she comes to ask them instead of anticipating her, which would make the kindness so very much more meritorious. We will even say, my brethren, that the person who leads a lukewarm life does not fail to do plenty of good works, to frequent the Sacraments, to assist regularly at all church services, but in all of this one sees only a weak, languishing faith, hope which the slightest trial will upset, a love of God and of neighbour which is without warmth or pleasure. Everything that such a person does is not entirely lost, but it is very nearly so. See, before God, my brethren, on what side you are. On the side of the sinners, who have abandoned everything and plunge themselves into sin without remorse? On the side of the just souls, who seek but God alone? Or are you of the number of these slack, tepid, and indifferent souls such as we have just been depicting for you? Down which road are you travelling? Who can dare assure himself that he is neither a great sinner nor a tepid soul but that he is one of the elect? Alas, my brethren, how many seem to be good Christians in the eyes of the world who are really tepid souls in the eyes of God, Who knows our inmost hearts.... Let us ask God with all our hearts, if we are in this state, to give us the grace to get out of it, so that we may take the route that all the saints have taken and arrive at the happiness that they are enjoying. That is what I desire for you....

The Narrow Path

2009-02-19T18:21:00.000-08:00

"Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat."

-The Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew VII:XIII

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By St. Leonard

How Little are Saved....

Introduction

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.

The Church Fathers

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."

Sacred Scripture

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 after going out of Egypt, and that two Hebrews out of two million entered the Promised Land , 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.

Where do you and I fit in?

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.

The Narrowest of Paths

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 it is easier to find men who have kept their innocence than to find any who have done fitting penance.

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

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?

Most Christians shall be damned

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 as the stars of heaven," that is, both the one and the other are countless, although in very different proportions.

Difficult demands to meet

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."

Denial of God's Justice

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."

God desires all men to be saved

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 reprobate 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."

Ignorace is no excuse

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.'

Abuse of God's Grace

"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!

Conclusion

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.

Quid est Veritas?

2009-02-18T18:34:00.000-08:00

The question above has been on the minds of all peoples since the dawn of time. What is truth? I too asked that question, and found it on the internet. Though today, the internet is an instrument of the damnation of ever-more souls, for those who seek it, the Truth is also available. Through the efforts of countless traditional Catholic bloggers and webmasters, today virtually anyone can access information about the Truths of the Holy Catholic Faith. I hope to bring - to whoever may chance upon this humble blog - the true and holy Catholic faith which alone can bring salvation.

DISCLAIMER: The Holy Catholic Church does not endorse this blog, however, I will be careful not to publish anything contrary to the Church.

In IC XC,

SS