| Devotion to Our Lady |
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DAILY THOUGHTS FOR THE LENTEN SEASON
Article 10
Monday to Thursday after the 2nd Sunday of Lent, March 2nd & 5th
Why Do Most People Fail?
Monday to Thursday after the 2nd Sunday of Lent, March 2nd & 5th
Why Do Most People Fail?
Everyone Loves a Winner!
As they say: “Everyone loves a winner!” The only true winners are those who get to Heaven. There are no winners in Hell―only failures and losers. “Everyone loves a winner” and in the Heaven of winners, everyone loves each other eternally. In the Hell of losers and failures, there is no love of each other―only hatred. The tragic thing is that most souls in Hell never dreamt or imagined that they would end up being losers in Hell.
Added it to that tragedy is the fact that God wanted them to be winners: “You love all things that exist, and hate none of the things which You have made―for You did not appoint, or make anything hating it! How could anything survive or be preserved, if You did not want it? But You spare all―because they are yours, O Lord, who love souls!” (Wisdom 11:25-26). “God wants hall men to be saved … not willing that any should perish” (1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9). “God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son―so that whosoever believes in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting” (John 3:16). “Is it My will that a sinner should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways, and live?” (Ezechiel 18:23).
At the start of this Lenten season, the Church encouraged us to be winners: “Do you not know that those who run in a race, all indeed run, but only one receives the prize? So run as to win it. And everyone in a contest abstains from all things ― and they indeed to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable. Therefore I so run as not without a purpose; I so fight as not beating the air; but I chastise my body and bring it into subjection, lest perhaps after preaching to others I myself should be rejected!” (Septuagesima Sunday).
Love Wins
God is the biggest winner of all―and “God is Charity” (1 John4:8). Satan is the biggest loser of all―and Satan has no Charity, but is pure hatred. Without Charity―like Satan―we are condemned to be losers: “If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all Faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not Charity―then I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not Charity―then it profits me nothing!” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). In other words, without charity you are a failure.
It is Charity that wins Heaven for us: “Charity covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). “Charity covers all sins” (Proverbs 10:12). “Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much” (Luke 7:47). St. John of the Cross says that at the end of our lives, God―Who is Charity―will judge us upon our Charity, or the lack therof. That is why the whole Law of God depends upon Charity: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the greatest and the first commandment! And the second is like to this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself! On these two commandments depends the whole law and the prophets!” (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31).
Love and Grace
Catholic theology teaches that God is Love and God is Grace. Love and Sanctifying Grace go together like a husband and wife. You cannot have Love without Sanctifying Grace―and you cannot have Sanctifying Grace without the Love of God. By committing Mortal Sin you cast both of them out of your soul. God is not merely a dispenser of grace, but is Grace itself. Thus, when we say that we can do nothing without God―“Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John15:5) says Christ―it must be automatically understood that without God’s grace we can do nothing. Most people have never read treatise by St. Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologica on the subject of the Grace of God. Here are a few humbling and mind-blowing extracts that manifest our absolute dependence upon the Grace of God:
“Human nature needs the help of God to do or wish any good whatsoever … Without grace men do nothing good when they either think or wish or love or act! … Without grace men can do no good whatever! … Grace is a light of the soul … Man cannot even know truth without Divine help … Not only do men know by the light of grace what to do, but by its help they do lovingly what they know! … Man, by his natural endowments, cannot produce meritorious works proportionate to everlasting life―for this a higher force is needed, namely, the force of grace. And thus without grace man cannot merit everlasting life … Man cannot prepare himself for everlasting life without the help of grace ... Man’s turning to God is by free-will―but free-will can only be turned to God by God, according to John 15:5: ‘Without Me, you can do nothing!’ … Man can do nothing unless moved by God ... Man needs the help of grace to heal his nature … Grace does not destroy nature but perfects it … Man cannot fulfill all the Divine commandments without healing grace … It is heresy to believe that without grace man can fulfill all the Divine commandments … Man cannot avoid every act of sin, except by grace … Man needs grace to entirely abstain from sin … Man by himself can in no way rise from sin without the help of grace … In order for a man rise from sin there is required the help of grace … God’s grace is the outcome of His mercy … Even a man who already possesses grace needs a further assistance of grace in order to live righteously … After anyone has been justified by grace, he still needs to beseech God for the gift of perseverance, so that he may be kept from evil until the end of his life. For to many persons grace is given to whom perseverance in grace is not given!” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Ia-IIae, questions 109 to 114; Quaestiones Quodlibetales, 4, 6).
All success ultimately depends upon God and His Grace and our Love for God. God will not supernaturally reward with Heaven―which is the ultimate success―those who hate Him and Mortal Sin is a hatred of God. Likewise, God will not reward those who have expelled Sanctifying Grace from their souls through Mortal Sin. Sin is for losers―Mortal Sin loses Sanctifying Grace, Charity and the friendship of God. Venial Sin, if habitually committed, eventually leads to Mortal Sin. To commit Mortal Sin is a massive failure―and to fail to repent of Mortal Sin is an even greater failure! Just ask the souls in Hell! They are the ultimate failures, the ultimate losers!
The Many Sides and Causes of Failure
Spiritual writers, priests, psychologists, coaches, business mentors have all had a say as to the many reasons why we fail. Some of those reasons overlap. Here is an abbreviated compilation of the many reasons that they list. We will then give some further consideration to them in order to help us fight against failure and achieve success―especially spiritual and supernatural success, which ultimately consists in our salvation and eternal life in Heaven. Since we are in the Forty Days of Lent, we have symbolically only chosen 40 of the many reasons that are listed.
As they say: “Everyone loves a winner!” The only true winners are those who get to Heaven. There are no winners in Hell―only failures and losers. “Everyone loves a winner” and in the Heaven of winners, everyone loves each other eternally. In the Hell of losers and failures, there is no love of each other―only hatred. The tragic thing is that most souls in Hell never dreamt or imagined that they would end up being losers in Hell.
Added it to that tragedy is the fact that God wanted them to be winners: “You love all things that exist, and hate none of the things which You have made―for You did not appoint, or make anything hating it! How could anything survive or be preserved, if You did not want it? But You spare all―because they are yours, O Lord, who love souls!” (Wisdom 11:25-26). “God wants hall men to be saved … not willing that any should perish” (1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9). “God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son―so that whosoever believes in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting” (John 3:16). “Is it My will that a sinner should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways, and live?” (Ezechiel 18:23).
At the start of this Lenten season, the Church encouraged us to be winners: “Do you not know that those who run in a race, all indeed run, but only one receives the prize? So run as to win it. And everyone in a contest abstains from all things ― and they indeed to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable. Therefore I so run as not without a purpose; I so fight as not beating the air; but I chastise my body and bring it into subjection, lest perhaps after preaching to others I myself should be rejected!” (Septuagesima Sunday).
Love Wins
God is the biggest winner of all―and “God is Charity” (1 John4:8). Satan is the biggest loser of all―and Satan has no Charity, but is pure hatred. Without Charity―like Satan―we are condemned to be losers: “If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all Faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not Charity―then I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not Charity―then it profits me nothing!” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). In other words, without charity you are a failure.
It is Charity that wins Heaven for us: “Charity covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). “Charity covers all sins” (Proverbs 10:12). “Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much” (Luke 7:47). St. John of the Cross says that at the end of our lives, God―Who is Charity―will judge us upon our Charity, or the lack therof. That is why the whole Law of God depends upon Charity: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the greatest and the first commandment! And the second is like to this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself! On these two commandments depends the whole law and the prophets!” (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31).
Love and Grace
Catholic theology teaches that God is Love and God is Grace. Love and Sanctifying Grace go together like a husband and wife. You cannot have Love without Sanctifying Grace―and you cannot have Sanctifying Grace without the Love of God. By committing Mortal Sin you cast both of them out of your soul. God is not merely a dispenser of grace, but is Grace itself. Thus, when we say that we can do nothing without God―“Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John15:5) says Christ―it must be automatically understood that without God’s grace we can do nothing. Most people have never read treatise by St. Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologica on the subject of the Grace of God. Here are a few humbling and mind-blowing extracts that manifest our absolute dependence upon the Grace of God:
“Human nature needs the help of God to do or wish any good whatsoever … Without grace men do nothing good when they either think or wish or love or act! … Without grace men can do no good whatever! … Grace is a light of the soul … Man cannot even know truth without Divine help … Not only do men know by the light of grace what to do, but by its help they do lovingly what they know! … Man, by his natural endowments, cannot produce meritorious works proportionate to everlasting life―for this a higher force is needed, namely, the force of grace. And thus without grace man cannot merit everlasting life … Man cannot prepare himself for everlasting life without the help of grace ... Man’s turning to God is by free-will―but free-will can only be turned to God by God, according to John 15:5: ‘Without Me, you can do nothing!’ … Man can do nothing unless moved by God ... Man needs the help of grace to heal his nature … Grace does not destroy nature but perfects it … Man cannot fulfill all the Divine commandments without healing grace … It is heresy to believe that without grace man can fulfill all the Divine commandments … Man cannot avoid every act of sin, except by grace … Man needs grace to entirely abstain from sin … Man by himself can in no way rise from sin without the help of grace … In order for a man rise from sin there is required the help of grace … God’s grace is the outcome of His mercy … Even a man who already possesses grace needs a further assistance of grace in order to live righteously … After anyone has been justified by grace, he still needs to beseech God for the gift of perseverance, so that he may be kept from evil until the end of his life. For to many persons grace is given to whom perseverance in grace is not given!” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Ia-IIae, questions 109 to 114; Quaestiones Quodlibetales, 4, 6).
All success ultimately depends upon God and His Grace and our Love for God. God will not supernaturally reward with Heaven―which is the ultimate success―those who hate Him and Mortal Sin is a hatred of God. Likewise, God will not reward those who have expelled Sanctifying Grace from their souls through Mortal Sin. Sin is for losers―Mortal Sin loses Sanctifying Grace, Charity and the friendship of God. Venial Sin, if habitually committed, eventually leads to Mortal Sin. To commit Mortal Sin is a massive failure―and to fail to repent of Mortal Sin is an even greater failure! Just ask the souls in Hell! They are the ultimate failures, the ultimate losers!
The Many Sides and Causes of Failure
Spiritual writers, priests, psychologists, coaches, business mentors have all had a say as to the many reasons why we fail. Some of those reasons overlap. Here is an abbreviated compilation of the many reasons that they list. We will then give some further consideration to them in order to help us fight against failure and achieve success―especially spiritual and supernatural success, which ultimately consists in our salvation and eternal life in Heaven. Since we are in the Forty Days of Lent, we have symbolically only chosen 40 of the many reasons that are listed.
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● Not Relying Upon God and His Grace
● Not Praying for Success ● Procrastination ● Lack of Planning. Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail ● No Concrete Path to Success ● Wishful Thinking ● Vague Goals ● Taking the Wrong Means ● Setting the Wrong Goals ● Lack of Self-Discipline ● Poor Work Ethic ● Low Desire to Achieve ● Lack of Enthusiasm in Work ● Lack of Perseverance ● Lack of Tenacity ● Lack of Accountability ● Not taking Responsibility for what Happens in Your Life ● Excuses – Blaming Anyone and Everything Except Yourself ● Refusal to Learn from Past Mistakes ● Arguing Against Advice Instead of Taking It |
● Refusing All Criticism
● Giving too much Importance to Feelings and Emotions ● Lack of Focus ● Too Distracted ● Relying on Motivation Alone ● Full of Presumption ● Lack of Humility ● Refusing Help ● Mental Roadblocks ● Lack of Ambition to go Above and Beyond ● Afraid to Stand Out Among the Crowd ● Fear of Failure ● High Expectations ● Being in a Hurry to Get What You Want ● Unhappy with Your Progress ● Full of Doubts ● Lack of Belief ● Don’t Believe it’s Possible ● Pessimism ● Deep down, You Don’t Think You Deserve What You Want |
Short-Term Success & Long-Term Failure or Short-Term Failure & Long-Term Success?
There are some people who want to have fun, wealth, comfort and success in this life―and expect to go to Heaven and continue their life of ease. If things go wrong for them, then they start complaining, criticizing, moaning, groaning, whinging and whining! These people are clueless as to how the spiritual life works. Our Lord clearly says to His Apostles that, in a certain sense (in the eyes of the world), they will be miserable failures here on Earth but joyfully successful in Heaven: “Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy!” (John 16:20). Our Lady of Lourdes told St. Bernadette the same thing: “I do not promise to make you happy in this life, but in the next life!” That is the underlying message in Our Lord’s words on what it takes to get to Heaven: “And He said to all: ‘If any man will come after Me [to Heaven], let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me [to Heaven]!’” (Luke 9:23) … “And whosoever does not carry his cross and come after Me [to Heaven], cannot be My disciple!” (Luke 14:27) … “And he that takes not up his cross, and followeth Me, is not worthy of Me [and Heaven]!” (Matthew 10:38).
To the Venerable Mary of Agreda, Our Lady said: “Earthly love of sensible pleasures and riches is not compatible with true wisdom! … The greatest wisdom for souls consists in the knowledge of the cross and in the love of sufferings … Those that know nothing of this science are foolish! … Although the number of fools is so great and the vices are become so measureless, there are those who also think that the perfect are numerous―but there are fewer than one thinks, and many less than there should be … The number of fools is infinite, the number of the reprobate is also uncountable! … Many there are who wish to follow Christ―but as soon as they feel the sufferings of the Cross, they cast it aside! … They do not seek the medicine of suffering! … Why do mortals continue to deceive themselves, by expecting, in spite of their sins, to become pure and worthy of enjoying God, without the furnace of sorrows and suffering? Some of them expect to be distinguished by God’s most intimate love; others expect to be pardoned without penance; others expect to be highly favored. Nothing of all this will they attain, because they do not wish to imitate Him and follow Him in His Passion! … Eternal rest is incompatible with the shame of not having duly labored for its attainment!” (Words of Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, from The Mystical City of God).
Christ Was Seen as a Failure
The cross and suffering are generally associated with failure. Christ was thought be a failure as He died upon the cross on Mount Calvary. His enemies taunted Him: “And they that passed by, blasphemed him, wagging their heads and saying: ‘Vah! Thou that destroyest the temple of God and in three days dost rebuild it! Save thy own self! If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross!’ In like manner also the chief priests, with the scribes and ancients, mocking, said: ‘He saved others; but He cannot save Himself! If He be the king of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him! He trusted in God―let God now deliver Him if He will have Him; for He said: ‘I am the Son of God!’” (Matthew 27:39-43).
Even Our Lord’s disciples thought He had failed when He died on the cross. Their hopes were shattered. They had not anticipated that the Messias would suffer and die. Following His arrest, the disciples were terrified and fled, abandoning Him. The crucifixion was seen as a failure of their hope that he would redeem Israel. After the crucifixion, they were absorbed in grief and, in some cases, refused to believe reports of His resurrection, indicating they thought the movement had failed and ended. The disciples on the road to Emmaus said: “Jesus of Nazareth, was a prophet, mighty in work and word before God and all the people! Our chief priests and princes delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him! But we had hoped, that it was He that should have redeemed Israel!” (Luke 24:19-21).
We see from this that what is taken to be a failure in the eyes of the world, is sometimes a success in the eyes of God―and, conversely, what is taken to be a success in the eyes of the world, is sometimes taken to be a failure in the eyes of God. As God says: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are exalted above the Earth, so are My ways exalted above your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts!” (Isaias 55:8-9). Holy Scripture adds: “The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God” (1 Corinthians 3:19). “The foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men! … The foolish things of the world God has chosen, so that He may confound the wise; and the weak things of the world God has chosen, so that He may confound the strong!” (1 Corinthians 1:25-27). What is seen as success to the spiritual person is seen as being a failure to the worldly person―and what seems to be a success to the worldly person is seen as being a failure in the eyes of the spiritual person. When St. Paul writes: “We are fools for Christ’s sake!” (1 Corinthians 4:10) ― we could just as well say: “We are apparent failures for Christ’s sake!” We could broadly apply the following words from Holy Scripture to this scenario: “Woe to you that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaias 5:20). More often than not, those who ‘succeed’ in the eyes of the world, are failures in the eyes of God. We should seek to avoid failing in the eyes of God―and not worry about failing in the eyes of the world.So, ultimately, there is what can called “a good failure” and “a bad failure”―likewise there is “good success” and “evil success”, “virtuous success” and “sinful success.”
Christians are often called “fools” by the world for following the message of the cross―which appears foolish or irrational to those who do not believe: “The word of the cross is foolishness to them that will perish; but to them that are saved―that is, to us―it is the power of God! For it is written: ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the prudence of the prudent I will reject!’ Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For seeing that the world by its wisdom did not know God―it has pleased God, in His wisdom, to save them that believe by the foolishness of our preaching. For both the Jews require signs, and the Greeks seek after wisdom―but we preach Christ crucified, which for the Jews is a stumbling-block; and for the Gentiles it is foolishness! But to them that are called―both Jews and Greeks―the cross of Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men; and the weakness of God is stronger than the strength of men!” (1 Corinthians 1:18-25). This “foolishness” for Christ involves embracing suffering, humility, and non-worldly attitudes and choices―such as rejecting worldly honors, power, wealth and possessions in order to serve God. “A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15).
Let us now look at some the above listed 40 reasons why people fail. Just as the virtues are interlinked, so too are some these reasons for failure interlinked and overlap.
(1) Not Relying Upon God and His Grace
God is everything―and we are nothing. Without Him we can do nothing and with Him everything is possible. “Without Me―you can do nothing!” (John 15:5). “The things that are impossible with men, are possible with God! … With men this is impossible―but with God all things are possible!’” (Luke 18:27; Matthew 19:26). “A man cannot receive anything, unless it be given him from Heaven” (John 3:27). If we rely upon our own skills and powers, then God will leave us to ourselves―and we will fail sooner or later. “No man shall prevail by his own strength!” (1 Kings 2:9). “God looked down from Heaven on the children of men―to see if there were any that did seek God. All have gone aside! They are become unprofitable together!” (Psalm 52:3-4).
“The birds of the air neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns―and your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you of much more value than they―O ye of little faith? - Be not solicitous therefore, saying: ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What clothes shall we wear?’ For your Father knows that you have need of all these things. Seek ye therefore first the Kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you!” (Matthew 6:26-33). “For every one that asks, receives; and he that seeks, finds: and to him that knocks, it shall be opened. What man among you, of whom if his son shall asks for bread, will he give him a stone? [If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children: how much more will your Father, Who is in Heaven, give good things to them that ask Him?” (Matthew 7:8-11). We fail miserably by failing to see that God wishes to part of TINIEST DETAILS OF OUR LIFE. Read the above section by St. Thomas Aquinas on grace again―and again, and again, and again!
The main problem lies in the fact that we have become used to doing most things without reference to God; without doing them for God; without seeking God’s will in those things; and without asking for and relying upon God’s grace in ALL that we do. “Whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do ALL to the glory of God!” (1 Corinthians 10:31).
(2) Not Praying for Success
“For everyone that asks, receives; and he that seeks, finds: and to him that knocks, it shall be opened. What man among you, of whom if his son shall asks for bread, will he give him a stone? [If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children: how much more will your Father, Who is in Heaven, give good things to them that ask Him?” (Matthew 7:8-11). St. Teresa of Avila, commenting upon this passage, says that if we don’t ask then we won’t receive; if we don’t week then we will never find; and if we don’t knock then the door will not be opened to us.
Prayer is not merely a duty which we are bound in conscience to perform; it is, moreover, a necessity of life. St. Thomas Aquinas, writing of prayer, says that what God decided from all eternity to grant us by His Divine Providence, He will give it to us by means of prayer, and on this depends the deliverance, salvation, conversion and cure of many souls and the progress and perfection of others.
St. John Chrysostom says that prayer is to the soul what nerves are to the body, ramparts to a city, arms to a soldier, wings to a bird, breath to a living being. We cannot live without air and food and sleep; it is just as impossible for our supernatural life to continue without prayer. By prayer we become united with God, and obtain the supernatural help without which we cannot long resist the attacks of evil, or accomplish any supernatural good work. Prayer nourishes the supernatural virtues in our souls.
Without prayer, Faith, Hope, and Charity, and all the other virtues become weak, just as in time of drought vegetation gradually withers and dies. It is all the more necessary for us to realize the necessity of prayer, because we can suffer from spiritual starvation without noticing it. If we neglect to take bodily food we feel hungry, and continued abstinence from food makes us weak and unable to work. But if we abstain from spiritual food, the serious consequences are not brought home to us in the same way, and we may starve ourselves without knowing it. Prayer, therefore, is a necessity for spiritual health and strength; and if we want to grow stronger spiritually, we must pray. There is no other way.
(3) Procrastination
As the saying goes: “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today!” Holy Scripture warns: “He that watches the wind shall not sow; and he that watches the clouds shall never reap!” (Ecclesiastes 11:4). “To him who knows he should do good, and does not do it, to him it is sin!” (James 4:17). “You say: ‘Tomorrow we will go into such a city, and there we will spend a year, and will do business, and make our profit!’ But you know not what tomorrow will bring!” (James 4:13-14). “Boast not for tomorrow―for you know not what the day to come may bring forth!” (Proverbs 27:1). “The slothful hand brings poverty!” (Proverbs 10:4). “In much work there shall be abundance―but where there are many words, there is often a lack of things” (Proverbs 14:23) ― which relates to: “All talk and no action!”
(4) Lack of Planning―Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail
If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail. If you don’t have a concrete plan, you are less likely to succeed. It doesn't matter if the plan is perfect or imperfect, all that matters is that you have a plan that will steer all your actions in one direction. Without a concrete plan of action and the discipline to follow through, goals remain dreams.
We see that frequently in the Sacrament of Confession―which demands that for a confession to be valid, we must have a FIRM PURPOSE OF AMENDMENT. Why bother using the word “FIRM”? Because a VAGUE purpose of amendment is not enough. It is not enough to say: “Oh, I’ve got to stop committing this Mortal Sin!” That is far too vague and wishy-washy! You should ask yourself: “What do I plan to do to stop committing this Mortal Sin? What are the means that I will take? What do I plan to do when tempted in the future? How do I plan to avoid the occasions of those sins? What do I plan to do when I am tempted?” Most people neglect to plan in this way―and that is one reason why most confessions are invalid in the opinion of St. Alphonsus Liguori. Why is it that most souls end up being damned? It is because they died in a state of Mortal Sin―many of them in a state of habitual Mortal Sin. They now realize in Hell that failing to plan is in reality planning to fail.
The same lack of planning is behind the fact that very few people desire and achieve holiness in this life! They have many plans for many worldly ventures and activities―but little or no plans for acquiring holiness. They forget that it is ONLY SAINTS who go to Heaven―those who fail to achieve sanctity in this life are sent to burn in the fires of Purgatory or the fires of Hell.
(5) No Concrete Path to Success
This is linked to the previous point and is the development of the previous point. The planning may have been done and the plan might be excellent―but it never sees the light of day like a baby that suffers a miscarriage. It remains it “womb” of the mind and that “womb” becomes the “tomb” of those excellent plans. These people know what they want to achieve; they have seriously planned on how it can be achieved; but they never really started. The mind is strong, but the will is weak. St. Paul speaks of this: “I do not do what I want to do!” (Romans 7:15). “They say, and do not!” says Our Lord (Matthew 23:3). Again, a case of “All talk and no action!”
In a certain sense, planning is easier than doing. Knowing is easier that doing. Hence Holy Scripture says: “What shall it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has Faith, but has not works? Shall Faith be able to save him? … Faith, if it has not works, is dead in itself. Show me your Faith without works; and I will show you, by works, my Faith! Will you know, O vain man, that Faith without works is dead? … Do you see that a man is justified by works, and not by Faith only? For even as the body without the spirit is dead; so also Faith without works is dead!” (James 2:14-26).
(6) Wishful Thinking
This is also linked to the two previous points and is the development of them. The planning may have been done and the plan might be excellent―but there is neglect, for one of many possible reasons, to make the effort to put the plan into practice. There are some people who are wishful thinkers―who vainly and presumptuously expect someone else to do the “donkey work” for them. That other person might be God or some other fellow human. “God will take care of it! God will step in and see to it! God will make it happen! God will send someone to put my plans into action!” All of this is wishful thinking and ignores the fact that God expects you to WORK! “Where there are many dreams, there are many vanities and words without number!” (Ecclesiastes 5:6).
“This is your portion in life― in your labor under the sun, whatsoever your hand is able to do, do it earnestly” (Ecclesiastes 9:9-10). “Be not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work” (James 1:25). “In all things show yourself an example of good works!” (Titus 2:7). “Let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good” (Ephesians 4:28). “Work with your own hands, as we commanded you!” (1 Thessalonians 4:11). “Let everyone prove his own work!” (Galatians 6:4). “Lay open your works to the Lord” [Proverbs 16:3). “The grace of God in me has not been void, for I have labored more abundantly than all!” (1 Corinthians 15:10). “If any man will not work, neither let him eat!” (2 Thessalonians 3:10). “He that is loose and slack in his work, is the brother of him that wastes his own works” (Proverbs 18:9).
Wishful thinking is also the formation of beliefs and the making of decisions based on what is pleasing to imagine, rather than being based on evidence, rationality, or reality. It is an emotion-focused coping strategy often characterized by over-optimism, where someone hopes for an unlikely outcome, such as expecting a lottery win. The ultimate lottery win is Heaven―but Hell is far exceeds the numbers of the few that are saved! Many or most of those in Hell were mere wishful thinkers―dreaming of an outcome that was far from being based on the kind of life they were living.
(7) Vague Goals
This has already been dealt with to a certain extent in #4 above: “Lack of Planning.”
(8) Taking the Wrong Means
You can have a sick patient who seeks out the best doctor available to cure him―but if the sick man is given the wrong medicine or insufficient medicine, then his health will continue to fail. If a person wants to get to Heaven, but chooses the wrong religion―then, normally speaking, he will not get to Heaven.
There are some people who want to have fun, wealth, comfort and success in this life―and expect to go to Heaven and continue their life of ease. If things go wrong for them, then they start complaining, criticizing, moaning, groaning, whinging and whining! These people are clueless as to how the spiritual life works. Our Lord clearly says to His Apostles that, in a certain sense (in the eyes of the world), they will be miserable failures here on Earth but joyfully successful in Heaven: “Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy!” (John 16:20). Our Lady of Lourdes told St. Bernadette the same thing: “I do not promise to make you happy in this life, but in the next life!” That is the underlying message in Our Lord’s words on what it takes to get to Heaven: “And He said to all: ‘If any man will come after Me [to Heaven], let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me [to Heaven]!’” (Luke 9:23) … “And whosoever does not carry his cross and come after Me [to Heaven], cannot be My disciple!” (Luke 14:27) … “And he that takes not up his cross, and followeth Me, is not worthy of Me [and Heaven]!” (Matthew 10:38).
To the Venerable Mary of Agreda, Our Lady said: “Earthly love of sensible pleasures and riches is not compatible with true wisdom! … The greatest wisdom for souls consists in the knowledge of the cross and in the love of sufferings … Those that know nothing of this science are foolish! … Although the number of fools is so great and the vices are become so measureless, there are those who also think that the perfect are numerous―but there are fewer than one thinks, and many less than there should be … The number of fools is infinite, the number of the reprobate is also uncountable! … Many there are who wish to follow Christ―but as soon as they feel the sufferings of the Cross, they cast it aside! … They do not seek the medicine of suffering! … Why do mortals continue to deceive themselves, by expecting, in spite of their sins, to become pure and worthy of enjoying God, without the furnace of sorrows and suffering? Some of them expect to be distinguished by God’s most intimate love; others expect to be pardoned without penance; others expect to be highly favored. Nothing of all this will they attain, because they do not wish to imitate Him and follow Him in His Passion! … Eternal rest is incompatible with the shame of not having duly labored for its attainment!” (Words of Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, from The Mystical City of God).
Christ Was Seen as a Failure
The cross and suffering are generally associated with failure. Christ was thought be a failure as He died upon the cross on Mount Calvary. His enemies taunted Him: “And they that passed by, blasphemed him, wagging their heads and saying: ‘Vah! Thou that destroyest the temple of God and in three days dost rebuild it! Save thy own self! If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross!’ In like manner also the chief priests, with the scribes and ancients, mocking, said: ‘He saved others; but He cannot save Himself! If He be the king of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him! He trusted in God―let God now deliver Him if He will have Him; for He said: ‘I am the Son of God!’” (Matthew 27:39-43).
Even Our Lord’s disciples thought He had failed when He died on the cross. Their hopes were shattered. They had not anticipated that the Messias would suffer and die. Following His arrest, the disciples were terrified and fled, abandoning Him. The crucifixion was seen as a failure of their hope that he would redeem Israel. After the crucifixion, they were absorbed in grief and, in some cases, refused to believe reports of His resurrection, indicating they thought the movement had failed and ended. The disciples on the road to Emmaus said: “Jesus of Nazareth, was a prophet, mighty in work and word before God and all the people! Our chief priests and princes delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him! But we had hoped, that it was He that should have redeemed Israel!” (Luke 24:19-21).
We see from this that what is taken to be a failure in the eyes of the world, is sometimes a success in the eyes of God―and, conversely, what is taken to be a success in the eyes of the world, is sometimes taken to be a failure in the eyes of God. As God says: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are exalted above the Earth, so are My ways exalted above your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts!” (Isaias 55:8-9). Holy Scripture adds: “The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God” (1 Corinthians 3:19). “The foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men! … The foolish things of the world God has chosen, so that He may confound the wise; and the weak things of the world God has chosen, so that He may confound the strong!” (1 Corinthians 1:25-27). What is seen as success to the spiritual person is seen as being a failure to the worldly person―and what seems to be a success to the worldly person is seen as being a failure in the eyes of the spiritual person. When St. Paul writes: “We are fools for Christ’s sake!” (1 Corinthians 4:10) ― we could just as well say: “We are apparent failures for Christ’s sake!” We could broadly apply the following words from Holy Scripture to this scenario: “Woe to you that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaias 5:20). More often than not, those who ‘succeed’ in the eyes of the world, are failures in the eyes of God. We should seek to avoid failing in the eyes of God―and not worry about failing in the eyes of the world.So, ultimately, there is what can called “a good failure” and “a bad failure”―likewise there is “good success” and “evil success”, “virtuous success” and “sinful success.”
Christians are often called “fools” by the world for following the message of the cross―which appears foolish or irrational to those who do not believe: “The word of the cross is foolishness to them that will perish; but to them that are saved―that is, to us―it is the power of God! For it is written: ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the prudence of the prudent I will reject!’ Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For seeing that the world by its wisdom did not know God―it has pleased God, in His wisdom, to save them that believe by the foolishness of our preaching. For both the Jews require signs, and the Greeks seek after wisdom―but we preach Christ crucified, which for the Jews is a stumbling-block; and for the Gentiles it is foolishness! But to them that are called―both Jews and Greeks―the cross of Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men; and the weakness of God is stronger than the strength of men!” (1 Corinthians 1:18-25). This “foolishness” for Christ involves embracing suffering, humility, and non-worldly attitudes and choices―such as rejecting worldly honors, power, wealth and possessions in order to serve God. “A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15).
Let us now look at some the above listed 40 reasons why people fail. Just as the virtues are interlinked, so too are some these reasons for failure interlinked and overlap.
(1) Not Relying Upon God and His Grace
God is everything―and we are nothing. Without Him we can do nothing and with Him everything is possible. “Without Me―you can do nothing!” (John 15:5). “The things that are impossible with men, are possible with God! … With men this is impossible―but with God all things are possible!’” (Luke 18:27; Matthew 19:26). “A man cannot receive anything, unless it be given him from Heaven” (John 3:27). If we rely upon our own skills and powers, then God will leave us to ourselves―and we will fail sooner or later. “No man shall prevail by his own strength!” (1 Kings 2:9). “God looked down from Heaven on the children of men―to see if there were any that did seek God. All have gone aside! They are become unprofitable together!” (Psalm 52:3-4).
“The birds of the air neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns―and your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you of much more value than they―O ye of little faith? - Be not solicitous therefore, saying: ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What clothes shall we wear?’ For your Father knows that you have need of all these things. Seek ye therefore first the Kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you!” (Matthew 6:26-33). “For every one that asks, receives; and he that seeks, finds: and to him that knocks, it shall be opened. What man among you, of whom if his son shall asks for bread, will he give him a stone? [If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children: how much more will your Father, Who is in Heaven, give good things to them that ask Him?” (Matthew 7:8-11). We fail miserably by failing to see that God wishes to part of TINIEST DETAILS OF OUR LIFE. Read the above section by St. Thomas Aquinas on grace again―and again, and again, and again!
The main problem lies in the fact that we have become used to doing most things without reference to God; without doing them for God; without seeking God’s will in those things; and without asking for and relying upon God’s grace in ALL that we do. “Whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do ALL to the glory of God!” (1 Corinthians 10:31).
(2) Not Praying for Success
“For everyone that asks, receives; and he that seeks, finds: and to him that knocks, it shall be opened. What man among you, of whom if his son shall asks for bread, will he give him a stone? [If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children: how much more will your Father, Who is in Heaven, give good things to them that ask Him?” (Matthew 7:8-11). St. Teresa of Avila, commenting upon this passage, says that if we don’t ask then we won’t receive; if we don’t week then we will never find; and if we don’t knock then the door will not be opened to us.
Prayer is not merely a duty which we are bound in conscience to perform; it is, moreover, a necessity of life. St. Thomas Aquinas, writing of prayer, says that what God decided from all eternity to grant us by His Divine Providence, He will give it to us by means of prayer, and on this depends the deliverance, salvation, conversion and cure of many souls and the progress and perfection of others.
St. John Chrysostom says that prayer is to the soul what nerves are to the body, ramparts to a city, arms to a soldier, wings to a bird, breath to a living being. We cannot live without air and food and sleep; it is just as impossible for our supernatural life to continue without prayer. By prayer we become united with God, and obtain the supernatural help without which we cannot long resist the attacks of evil, or accomplish any supernatural good work. Prayer nourishes the supernatural virtues in our souls.
Without prayer, Faith, Hope, and Charity, and all the other virtues become weak, just as in time of drought vegetation gradually withers and dies. It is all the more necessary for us to realize the necessity of prayer, because we can suffer from spiritual starvation without noticing it. If we neglect to take bodily food we feel hungry, and continued abstinence from food makes us weak and unable to work. But if we abstain from spiritual food, the serious consequences are not brought home to us in the same way, and we may starve ourselves without knowing it. Prayer, therefore, is a necessity for spiritual health and strength; and if we want to grow stronger spiritually, we must pray. There is no other way.
(3) Procrastination
As the saying goes: “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today!” Holy Scripture warns: “He that watches the wind shall not sow; and he that watches the clouds shall never reap!” (Ecclesiastes 11:4). “To him who knows he should do good, and does not do it, to him it is sin!” (James 4:17). “You say: ‘Tomorrow we will go into such a city, and there we will spend a year, and will do business, and make our profit!’ But you know not what tomorrow will bring!” (James 4:13-14). “Boast not for tomorrow―for you know not what the day to come may bring forth!” (Proverbs 27:1). “The slothful hand brings poverty!” (Proverbs 10:4). “In much work there shall be abundance―but where there are many words, there is often a lack of things” (Proverbs 14:23) ― which relates to: “All talk and no action!”
(4) Lack of Planning―Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail
If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail. If you don’t have a concrete plan, you are less likely to succeed. It doesn't matter if the plan is perfect or imperfect, all that matters is that you have a plan that will steer all your actions in one direction. Without a concrete plan of action and the discipline to follow through, goals remain dreams.
We see that frequently in the Sacrament of Confession―which demands that for a confession to be valid, we must have a FIRM PURPOSE OF AMENDMENT. Why bother using the word “FIRM”? Because a VAGUE purpose of amendment is not enough. It is not enough to say: “Oh, I’ve got to stop committing this Mortal Sin!” That is far too vague and wishy-washy! You should ask yourself: “What do I plan to do to stop committing this Mortal Sin? What are the means that I will take? What do I plan to do when tempted in the future? How do I plan to avoid the occasions of those sins? What do I plan to do when I am tempted?” Most people neglect to plan in this way―and that is one reason why most confessions are invalid in the opinion of St. Alphonsus Liguori. Why is it that most souls end up being damned? It is because they died in a state of Mortal Sin―many of them in a state of habitual Mortal Sin. They now realize in Hell that failing to plan is in reality planning to fail.
The same lack of planning is behind the fact that very few people desire and achieve holiness in this life! They have many plans for many worldly ventures and activities―but little or no plans for acquiring holiness. They forget that it is ONLY SAINTS who go to Heaven―those who fail to achieve sanctity in this life are sent to burn in the fires of Purgatory or the fires of Hell.
(5) No Concrete Path to Success
This is linked to the previous point and is the development of the previous point. The planning may have been done and the plan might be excellent―but it never sees the light of day like a baby that suffers a miscarriage. It remains it “womb” of the mind and that “womb” becomes the “tomb” of those excellent plans. These people know what they want to achieve; they have seriously planned on how it can be achieved; but they never really started. The mind is strong, but the will is weak. St. Paul speaks of this: “I do not do what I want to do!” (Romans 7:15). “They say, and do not!” says Our Lord (Matthew 23:3). Again, a case of “All talk and no action!”
In a certain sense, planning is easier than doing. Knowing is easier that doing. Hence Holy Scripture says: “What shall it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has Faith, but has not works? Shall Faith be able to save him? … Faith, if it has not works, is dead in itself. Show me your Faith without works; and I will show you, by works, my Faith! Will you know, O vain man, that Faith without works is dead? … Do you see that a man is justified by works, and not by Faith only? For even as the body without the spirit is dead; so also Faith without works is dead!” (James 2:14-26).
(6) Wishful Thinking
This is also linked to the two previous points and is the development of them. The planning may have been done and the plan might be excellent―but there is neglect, for one of many possible reasons, to make the effort to put the plan into practice. There are some people who are wishful thinkers―who vainly and presumptuously expect someone else to do the “donkey work” for them. That other person might be God or some other fellow human. “God will take care of it! God will step in and see to it! God will make it happen! God will send someone to put my plans into action!” All of this is wishful thinking and ignores the fact that God expects you to WORK! “Where there are many dreams, there are many vanities and words without number!” (Ecclesiastes 5:6).
“This is your portion in life― in your labor under the sun, whatsoever your hand is able to do, do it earnestly” (Ecclesiastes 9:9-10). “Be not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work” (James 1:25). “In all things show yourself an example of good works!” (Titus 2:7). “Let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good” (Ephesians 4:28). “Work with your own hands, as we commanded you!” (1 Thessalonians 4:11). “Let everyone prove his own work!” (Galatians 6:4). “Lay open your works to the Lord” [Proverbs 16:3). “The grace of God in me has not been void, for I have labored more abundantly than all!” (1 Corinthians 15:10). “If any man will not work, neither let him eat!” (2 Thessalonians 3:10). “He that is loose and slack in his work, is the brother of him that wastes his own works” (Proverbs 18:9).
Wishful thinking is also the formation of beliefs and the making of decisions based on what is pleasing to imagine, rather than being based on evidence, rationality, or reality. It is an emotion-focused coping strategy often characterized by over-optimism, where someone hopes for an unlikely outcome, such as expecting a lottery win. The ultimate lottery win is Heaven―but Hell is far exceeds the numbers of the few that are saved! Many or most of those in Hell were mere wishful thinkers―dreaming of an outcome that was far from being based on the kind of life they were living.
(7) Vague Goals
This has already been dealt with to a certain extent in #4 above: “Lack of Planning.”
(8) Taking the Wrong Means
You can have a sick patient who seeks out the best doctor available to cure him―but if the sick man is given the wrong medicine or insufficient medicine, then his health will continue to fail. If a person wants to get to Heaven, but chooses the wrong religion―then, normally speaking, he will not get to Heaven.
Article 9
The Second Sunday of Lent, March 1st
Will Your Lent Be Profitable or Profitless?
The Second Sunday of Lent, March 1st
Will Your Lent Be Profitable or Profitless?
It’s All About Profit!
Profit has become a key factor in lives of the majority of people. They look to acquire things or do things that they think will be profitable to them in one way or another. One particular area of this desire for profitability is the acquisition of money and wealth.
How important is it for you to be rich and prosperous? During the sermon in a weekday school Mass for Conservative and Traditional Catholic students, the priest asked the students (Kindergarten to 12th Grade) to raise their hands if they wanted to be rich when they reached adulthood. It was amazing to see how many hands immediately and excitedly shot-up in the air, accompanied by sparkling eyes and smiling faces! Obviously, to them, being rich and prosperous was something that was very important!
People value riches highly because they are seen to be a means to achieve security by providing stability, comfort and resources, such as housing and food. Riches are thought of as bringing freedom and increased opportunities, often correlating with higher life satisfaction, better health, and reduced stress. Furthermore, riches are often seen as a sign of success and high social status―yet they also carry the potential for fostering selfishness.
Approximately 60% of Americans believe money can buy happiness. A survey of over 1.7 million persons found that larger incomes were associated with both greater happiness and greater life satisfaction. As income increased, positive feelings increased, and negative feelings decreased. Lack of money is associated with stress, poorer health, less leisure time, and greater emotional pain.
Some Love Money More Than They Love God
We are told to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength―nowhere in the Bible does it say that we are to love money with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. We are to savor the things of God more that we savor the things of this world. On this point, Jesus had some harsh words for St. Peter: “Jesus, turning, said to Peter: ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are a scandal unto Me―because you savor not the things that are of God, but the things that are of men!’” (Matthew 16:23).
We also recall the encounter that Jesus had with a very devout and commandment keeping young man, who had many possessions and great riches: “A certain rich young man, a ruler, running up and kneeling before Him, asked Him: ‘Good Master, what shall I do that I may receive life everlasting?’ And Jesus said to him: ‘If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments!’ The young man said to Him: ‘All these I have kept from my youth! What is yet wanting to me?’ And Jesus looking on him, loved him, and said to him: ‘One thing is wanting unto thee! If thou wilt be perfect, go sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven, and come follow Me!’ And when the young man had heard this word, being struck sad at that saying, went away sorrowful: for he was very rich and had great possessions. And Jesus, seeing him become sorrowful, looking round about, said to His disciples: ‘How hardly shall they that have riches, enter into the Kingdom of God! Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!’” (combined account of Matthew 19:16-24; Mark 10:17-23; Luke 18:18-25).
The love of money is said to be root of all kinds of evil: “The desire of money is the root of all evils” (1 Timothy 6:10) ― referring to a greedy, unethical desire for wealth rather than money itself, which often leads to ruin, sorrow, and abandonment of Faith. It is a form of idolatry that prioritizes wealth over spiritual or personal well-being. “They that want to become rich, fall into temptation, and into the snare of the devil, and into many unprofitable and hurtful desires, which drown men into destruction and perdition!” (1 Timothy 6:9).
Judas ended up putting money before Christ―and ultimately ended up in Hell! “One of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, he that was about to betray him, said: ‘Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?’ Now he said this―not because he cared for the poor―but because he was a thief, and having the purse, carried the things that were put therein” (John 12:4-6). “Then one of the Twelve Apostles, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said to them: ‘What will you give me, if I will deliver Him unto you?’ They appointed him thirty pieces of silver. And from thenceforth he sought opportunity to betray Jesus” (Matthew 26:14-16).
We read in Holy Scripture of a certain man who thought he could buy spiritual gifts from the Apostles by giving them money in exchange for those gifts: “And when Simon saw that by the imposition of the hands of the Apostles, the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying: ‘Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I shall lay my hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost!’ But Peter said to him: ‘Keep your money for yourself, to perish with you, because you have thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money! Your heart is not right in the sight of God! Therefore do penance for your wickedness; and pray to God, that perhaps this thought of your heart may be forgiven!’” (Acts 8:18-24).
Our Lord warns: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth―where the rust and moth consume, and where thieves break through and steal! But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven―where neither the rust nor moth consume, and where thieves do not break through, nor steal! For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” ― “mammon” being the pleasures, treasures, teachings and spirit of the world, whose prince is the devil (Matthew 6:19-24). Our Lord then adds: “For what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26).
Pick Your Side―You Cannot Be on Both Sides
Elsewhere Our Lord develops this division between Heaven and Earth, salvation and damnation, following God and following the world. He says that He is not of this world and that His Kingdom is not of this world. The world is wicked and belongs to the devil, who is the prince of this world; and who seduces the world. Hence there is no profit to be found in adhering to the world and following the world.
“My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world … My kingdom is not from hence!” (John 18:36). “The prince of this world [the devil] is coming, and in Me he has not anything!” (John 14:30). “He that is not with me, is against Me!” (Matthew 12:30). To the worldlings He says: “You are from beneath, I am from above. You are of this world, I am not of this world!” (John 8:23). Concerning His followers, Jesus says: “They are not of the world, as I also am not of the world” (John 17:16). To His followers He says: “You shall be hated by all men and all nations for My Name’s sake! … If you had been of the world, the world would love its own! But because you are not of the world―for I have chosen you out of the world―therefore the world hates you!” (Matthew 10:22; 24:9; John 15:19). “If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before you!” (John 15:18). “The world hates Me because I give testimony of it, that the works of the world are evil!” (John 7:7).
Holy Scripture echoes and develops those words of Our Lord: “They are of the world—therefore of the world they speak, and the world hears them! We are of God. He that knows God, hears us. He that is not of God, hears us not!” (1 John 4:5-6). “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him!” (1 John 2:15). “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God!” (James 4:4) ... “Keep yourself unspotted from this world!” (James 1:27) … “Be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2) … “That we be not condemned with this world!” (1 Corinthians 11:32).
“And a certain man said to Him: ‘Lord! Are they few that are saved?’ But He said to them: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate―for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able! … Enter ye in at the narrow gate―for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat! How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life―and few there are that find it! … For many are called, but few are chosen!’” (Luke 13:23-24; Matthew 7:13-14; 22:14).
Grace and Charity are the Riches of Heaven
“Grace is like a paradise in blessings” (Ecclesiasticus 40:17). AS the Lord said to St. Paul: “My grace is sufficient for thee!” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Money cannot buy you Heaven―but Sanctifying Grace will buy you Heaven. Yet Sanctifying Grace cannot be bought with money! Grace is a gift that comes from God―and we should be seeking to grow in grace rather than grow in worldly wealth! “Jesus advanced in grace with God” (Luke 2:52). “We saw His glory … full of grace! … And of His fullness we all have received― grace for grace!” (John 1:14-16). “I am the Lord thy God that teaches you profitable things!” (Isaias 48:17). “God instructs us for our profit, so that we might receive His sanctification!” (Hebrews 12:10). “This is the will of God―your sanctification!” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). “Receive not the grace of God in vain!” (2 Corinthians 6:1). “Neglect not the grace that is in you!” (1 Timothy 4:14). “Continue in the grace of God!” (Acts 13:43). “Cast not away the grace of God!” (Galatians 2:21). “By the grace of God, I am what I am―and His grace in me has not been void!” (1 Corinthians 15:10).
Likewise with the gold of charity―the most precious of the virtues. “Above all things have charity, which is the bond of perfection” (Colossians 3:12-14). “If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all Faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not Charity―then I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not Charity―then it profits me nothing!” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). “Charity covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8) … “Charity covers all sins” (Proverbs 10:12) … “Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much” (Luke 7:47).
“Where sin abounded, grace did more abound!” (Romans 5:20). “The wages of sin is death―but the grace of God is life everlasting, in Christ Jesus our Lord!” (Romans 6:23). “I have been in danger of death and I have been delivered by the grace of God” (Ecclesiasticus 34:13). “By the grace of Christ you are saved!” (Ephesians 2:5)―not by money. “Grace delivers a man” (Proverbs 25:10) )―not money. “God loves mercy and the Lord will give grace” (Psalm 83:12)―not money. “The grace of God and His mercy is with his saints” (Wisdom 4:15).
What Do You Treasure Most in Life?
“Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also! … Make for yourselves a treasure in Heaven!” (Luke 12:34). “Sell all whatever you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in Heaven―and then come and follow Me!” (Luke 18:22). Who are you really following? Along which path are you walking? Are you walking with the minority along the narrow path that leads to Heaven―which, because it is so narrow, leaves no room for all our worldly wealth, possessions and baggage? Or are you happily walking with the majority along the broad, wide, well-paved and easy road that leads to Hell? Our Lord said: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate! Enter ye in at the narrow gate―for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat! How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life―and few there are that find it!” (Luke 13:23-24; Matthew 7:13-14).
St. Louis de Montfort, in his Letter to the Friends of the Cross, speaks of this: “Are you, with the grace of God, really eager and truly striving to attain this goal? Is the way you follow the one that leads to this goal? Is it the true way of life, the narrow way, the thorn-strewn way to Calvary? Or are you unconsciously traveling the world’s broad road, the road to perdition? Do you realize that there is a highroad which to all appearances is straight and safe for man to travel, but which in reality leads to death? … Our Savior’s group is to the right, scaling a narrow path. There is only a handful of people who follow Him ... The world’s group, the devil’s in fact, is far superior in number, and seemingly far more colorful and splendid in array. Fashionable folk are all in a hurry to enlist, the highways are overcrowded, although they are broad and ever broadening with the crowds that flow through in a torrent. These roads are strewn with flowers, bordered with all kinds of amusements and attractions and paved with gold and silver! . These worldlings rouse one another to persist in their unscrupulous depravity. ‘Enjoy life, peace and pleasure!’ they shout, ‘Enjoy life, peace and pleasure! Let us eat! Let us drink! Let us sing! Let us dance! Let us play! God is good! He did not make us to damn us! God does not forbid us to enjoy ourselves! We shall not be damned for that! Away with scruples! We shall not die!’ And so they continue!” (St. Louis de Montfort, in his Letter to the Friends of the Cross).
In her revelations to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, Our Lady rebukes this profitless search for earthly riches:
“There are very few in the world who use well the temporal riches and offer them to their God. Thus they spend all the time of their life―which was given them in order to gain eternal salvation and happiness―in these vanities. They want it to procure for them the pleasures of this life as well as of eternal life ... Earthly love of sensible pleasures and riches is not compatible with [true] wisdom! … How unreasonable and how damnable is the conduct of a man, who labors so much for a momentary sensible pleasure, which at most must end with life and generally lasts only for a short time, and still claims to have the Faith, while at the same time he takes no account of his immortal soul, and forgets it being consumed with the visible things? Their inclinations and their blind love of visible things―these inclinations and this blindness rob them of remembrance and affection toward these higher things, which could raise them above their worldliness … Let the countless numbers that have fallen into Hell with their burden, proclaim it! Let their incalculable anxieties of preserving their riches, testify what is required to retain them!
“The rich glory in their riches and wish to be respected on their account. The poor strive to be and appear rich, anxious to gain the approbation of the wealthy. All of them are pursuing the same deceit of seeking to appear what they are not in fact, and fail in reality to come up to what they appear to be. The lovers of its vanity have subjected themselves and are following the standard and the fables of the devil. In the midst of this ruin, Hell has opened its mouth and the more it is fed, the more insatiable becomes its hunger, seeking to bury in its infernal caverns all the rest of mankind. Fear this danger! Thou hast a warning in Ananias and Saphira (Acts 5:1-11), into whose souls the demon entered as soon as he had found out their desire for money and so the demon could attack them through this portal.
“This deceitful error has filled the Earth with lovers of the world; it has filled the world with avarice and concupiscence against the law of the Creator; it has made men insane in their desires―for all of them commonly chase after riches and earthly possessions; claiming, thereby, merely to satisfy their needs―which is only a lame pretext for hiding their lack of interest in higher things, spiritual things. Men are so taken up with their earthly and material life, that they do not feel any other evils except those on a physical and material nature. All their life they labor and exert themselves to become more and more entangled in the snares of their passions, to be consumed in deceitful vanities and to deliver themselves over to an inextinguishable fire, death and everlasting perdition in Hell, as if all were a mere joke! In reality they lie to themselves abominously, since they are seeking superfluous things that they do not really need and not what is really necessary―but what ministers to worldly pride.
“Even the sacerdotal dignity and the precious vestments of virtue are soiled by contagion with the worldly; the anointed of the Lord, consecrated solely to his worship and service, have lapsed from their noble and godlike station; they have lost their beauty in debasing themselves to vile actions, unworthy of their exalted position among men. They love vanity; they indulge greed and avarice; they serve their own interest; they love money, they place their hopes in treasures of silver and gold; they submit to the flatteries and to the slavery of the worldly and powerful.
“Who is so dull-minded and insipid as not to know the dangers of the worldly life? Withdraw your affections from all that is earthly, lift your aspirations on high. All goods are estimated according to the appreciation in which creatures hold them: in so far they value them, as they know them to be good. But since there is only one true Good, and all the others merely fictitious and apparent, it follows, that only the highest Good is to be appreciated and recognized. Then only shall you give Him true appreciation and love, when you shall enjoy and esteem Him above all created things. By this appreciation and love will also be measured the sorrow of losing Him. Imagine then, what ought to be the grief of really losing God by sin. But this wisdom seems far from the mind of carnal men―for, with a most perverse blindness, they continue to make much of all these visible and fictitious goods, and they torment themselves and are disconsolate, whenever they cannot get them or when they fail. Because they never taste or recognize the highest and truest Good, they take no thought or appreciation of it. The more they study and exert themselves to reach the evil objects of their carnal and animal passions, and to attain the means of indulging them, then so much the more will they fall into ignorance of divine things. The sons of the world are ignorant, precisely because they are lovers of earthly riches. God knows the endless damage caused in mortals by greed and covetousness of visible things; and God knows that this insane love will pervert the greater part of the human nature, who are lost by the vice of avarice and cupidity. Weep ceaselessly over the terrible loss sustained by so many insane and thankless souls, who are forgetful of God, of their duty and of their own selves … and lose their chance of salvation or bring upon themselves eternal damnation.
“Few know the poverty of Christ, and fewer embrace it. All abhor poverty and thirst after riches. They seek to be rich and flee poverty―none of them being willing to recognize the emptiness of riches. They long for pleasure and dread mortification. My most holy Son sought destitution and poverty―not because He had any need of them, but in order to teach mortals the shortest and surest way for reaching the heights of divine love and union with God. Detach yourself entirely of human and earthly affections, so as freely to follow our footsteps in destitution and poverty. I lived in the greatest constraint, in poverty and detached from earthly things. Imitate me in being very careful to practice poverty of spirit concerning the use of necessities and comforts―so that, with advancing years, you may find yourself more free, more detached and averted from visible things.” (Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda).
The bottom line is―if we seek to enjoy and reward ourselves in this life, then we will eternal misery and eternal punishment in the next life. However, if we reject the worldly joys offered to us in this life, and punish ourselves for our past sins, then we will find eternal joys and an eternal reward in the next life. You cannot have it both ways―you must choose one path or the other. “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth! … But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven! … For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” ― “mammon” being the pleasures, treasures, teachings and spirit of the world, whose prince is the devil (Matthew 6:19-24). “What does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26).
Profit has become a key factor in lives of the majority of people. They look to acquire things or do things that they think will be profitable to them in one way or another. One particular area of this desire for profitability is the acquisition of money and wealth.
How important is it for you to be rich and prosperous? During the sermon in a weekday school Mass for Conservative and Traditional Catholic students, the priest asked the students (Kindergarten to 12th Grade) to raise their hands if they wanted to be rich when they reached adulthood. It was amazing to see how many hands immediately and excitedly shot-up in the air, accompanied by sparkling eyes and smiling faces! Obviously, to them, being rich and prosperous was something that was very important!
People value riches highly because they are seen to be a means to achieve security by providing stability, comfort and resources, such as housing and food. Riches are thought of as bringing freedom and increased opportunities, often correlating with higher life satisfaction, better health, and reduced stress. Furthermore, riches are often seen as a sign of success and high social status―yet they also carry the potential for fostering selfishness.
Approximately 60% of Americans believe money can buy happiness. A survey of over 1.7 million persons found that larger incomes were associated with both greater happiness and greater life satisfaction. As income increased, positive feelings increased, and negative feelings decreased. Lack of money is associated with stress, poorer health, less leisure time, and greater emotional pain.
Some Love Money More Than They Love God
We are told to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength―nowhere in the Bible does it say that we are to love money with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. We are to savor the things of God more that we savor the things of this world. On this point, Jesus had some harsh words for St. Peter: “Jesus, turning, said to Peter: ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are a scandal unto Me―because you savor not the things that are of God, but the things that are of men!’” (Matthew 16:23).
We also recall the encounter that Jesus had with a very devout and commandment keeping young man, who had many possessions and great riches: “A certain rich young man, a ruler, running up and kneeling before Him, asked Him: ‘Good Master, what shall I do that I may receive life everlasting?’ And Jesus said to him: ‘If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments!’ The young man said to Him: ‘All these I have kept from my youth! What is yet wanting to me?’ And Jesus looking on him, loved him, and said to him: ‘One thing is wanting unto thee! If thou wilt be perfect, go sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven, and come follow Me!’ And when the young man had heard this word, being struck sad at that saying, went away sorrowful: for he was very rich and had great possessions. And Jesus, seeing him become sorrowful, looking round about, said to His disciples: ‘How hardly shall they that have riches, enter into the Kingdom of God! Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!’” (combined account of Matthew 19:16-24; Mark 10:17-23; Luke 18:18-25).
The love of money is said to be root of all kinds of evil: “The desire of money is the root of all evils” (1 Timothy 6:10) ― referring to a greedy, unethical desire for wealth rather than money itself, which often leads to ruin, sorrow, and abandonment of Faith. It is a form of idolatry that prioritizes wealth over spiritual or personal well-being. “They that want to become rich, fall into temptation, and into the snare of the devil, and into many unprofitable and hurtful desires, which drown men into destruction and perdition!” (1 Timothy 6:9).
Judas ended up putting money before Christ―and ultimately ended up in Hell! “One of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, he that was about to betray him, said: ‘Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?’ Now he said this―not because he cared for the poor―but because he was a thief, and having the purse, carried the things that were put therein” (John 12:4-6). “Then one of the Twelve Apostles, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said to them: ‘What will you give me, if I will deliver Him unto you?’ They appointed him thirty pieces of silver. And from thenceforth he sought opportunity to betray Jesus” (Matthew 26:14-16).
We read in Holy Scripture of a certain man who thought he could buy spiritual gifts from the Apostles by giving them money in exchange for those gifts: “And when Simon saw that by the imposition of the hands of the Apostles, the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying: ‘Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I shall lay my hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost!’ But Peter said to him: ‘Keep your money for yourself, to perish with you, because you have thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money! Your heart is not right in the sight of God! Therefore do penance for your wickedness; and pray to God, that perhaps this thought of your heart may be forgiven!’” (Acts 8:18-24).
Our Lord warns: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth―where the rust and moth consume, and where thieves break through and steal! But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven―where neither the rust nor moth consume, and where thieves do not break through, nor steal! For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” ― “mammon” being the pleasures, treasures, teachings and spirit of the world, whose prince is the devil (Matthew 6:19-24). Our Lord then adds: “For what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26).
Pick Your Side―You Cannot Be on Both Sides
Elsewhere Our Lord develops this division between Heaven and Earth, salvation and damnation, following God and following the world. He says that He is not of this world and that His Kingdom is not of this world. The world is wicked and belongs to the devil, who is the prince of this world; and who seduces the world. Hence there is no profit to be found in adhering to the world and following the world.
“My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world … My kingdom is not from hence!” (John 18:36). “The prince of this world [the devil] is coming, and in Me he has not anything!” (John 14:30). “He that is not with me, is against Me!” (Matthew 12:30). To the worldlings He says: “You are from beneath, I am from above. You are of this world, I am not of this world!” (John 8:23). Concerning His followers, Jesus says: “They are not of the world, as I also am not of the world” (John 17:16). To His followers He says: “You shall be hated by all men and all nations for My Name’s sake! … If you had been of the world, the world would love its own! But because you are not of the world―for I have chosen you out of the world―therefore the world hates you!” (Matthew 10:22; 24:9; John 15:19). “If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before you!” (John 15:18). “The world hates Me because I give testimony of it, that the works of the world are evil!” (John 7:7).
Holy Scripture echoes and develops those words of Our Lord: “They are of the world—therefore of the world they speak, and the world hears them! We are of God. He that knows God, hears us. He that is not of God, hears us not!” (1 John 4:5-6). “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him!” (1 John 2:15). “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God!” (James 4:4) ... “Keep yourself unspotted from this world!” (James 1:27) … “Be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2) … “That we be not condemned with this world!” (1 Corinthians 11:32).
“And a certain man said to Him: ‘Lord! Are they few that are saved?’ But He said to them: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate―for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able! … Enter ye in at the narrow gate―for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat! How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life―and few there are that find it! … For many are called, but few are chosen!’” (Luke 13:23-24; Matthew 7:13-14; 22:14).
Grace and Charity are the Riches of Heaven
“Grace is like a paradise in blessings” (Ecclesiasticus 40:17). AS the Lord said to St. Paul: “My grace is sufficient for thee!” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Money cannot buy you Heaven―but Sanctifying Grace will buy you Heaven. Yet Sanctifying Grace cannot be bought with money! Grace is a gift that comes from God―and we should be seeking to grow in grace rather than grow in worldly wealth! “Jesus advanced in grace with God” (Luke 2:52). “We saw His glory … full of grace! … And of His fullness we all have received― grace for grace!” (John 1:14-16). “I am the Lord thy God that teaches you profitable things!” (Isaias 48:17). “God instructs us for our profit, so that we might receive His sanctification!” (Hebrews 12:10). “This is the will of God―your sanctification!” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). “Receive not the grace of God in vain!” (2 Corinthians 6:1). “Neglect not the grace that is in you!” (1 Timothy 4:14). “Continue in the grace of God!” (Acts 13:43). “Cast not away the grace of God!” (Galatians 2:21). “By the grace of God, I am what I am―and His grace in me has not been void!” (1 Corinthians 15:10).
Likewise with the gold of charity―the most precious of the virtues. “Above all things have charity, which is the bond of perfection” (Colossians 3:12-14). “If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all Faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not Charity―then I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not Charity―then it profits me nothing!” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). “Charity covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8) … “Charity covers all sins” (Proverbs 10:12) … “Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much” (Luke 7:47).
“Where sin abounded, grace did more abound!” (Romans 5:20). “The wages of sin is death―but the grace of God is life everlasting, in Christ Jesus our Lord!” (Romans 6:23). “I have been in danger of death and I have been delivered by the grace of God” (Ecclesiasticus 34:13). “By the grace of Christ you are saved!” (Ephesians 2:5)―not by money. “Grace delivers a man” (Proverbs 25:10) )―not money. “God loves mercy and the Lord will give grace” (Psalm 83:12)―not money. “The grace of God and His mercy is with his saints” (Wisdom 4:15).
What Do You Treasure Most in Life?
“Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also! … Make for yourselves a treasure in Heaven!” (Luke 12:34). “Sell all whatever you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in Heaven―and then come and follow Me!” (Luke 18:22). Who are you really following? Along which path are you walking? Are you walking with the minority along the narrow path that leads to Heaven―which, because it is so narrow, leaves no room for all our worldly wealth, possessions and baggage? Or are you happily walking with the majority along the broad, wide, well-paved and easy road that leads to Hell? Our Lord said: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate! Enter ye in at the narrow gate―for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat! How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life―and few there are that find it!” (Luke 13:23-24; Matthew 7:13-14).
St. Louis de Montfort, in his Letter to the Friends of the Cross, speaks of this: “Are you, with the grace of God, really eager and truly striving to attain this goal? Is the way you follow the one that leads to this goal? Is it the true way of life, the narrow way, the thorn-strewn way to Calvary? Or are you unconsciously traveling the world’s broad road, the road to perdition? Do you realize that there is a highroad which to all appearances is straight and safe for man to travel, but which in reality leads to death? … Our Savior’s group is to the right, scaling a narrow path. There is only a handful of people who follow Him ... The world’s group, the devil’s in fact, is far superior in number, and seemingly far more colorful and splendid in array. Fashionable folk are all in a hurry to enlist, the highways are overcrowded, although they are broad and ever broadening with the crowds that flow through in a torrent. These roads are strewn with flowers, bordered with all kinds of amusements and attractions and paved with gold and silver! . These worldlings rouse one another to persist in their unscrupulous depravity. ‘Enjoy life, peace and pleasure!’ they shout, ‘Enjoy life, peace and pleasure! Let us eat! Let us drink! Let us sing! Let us dance! Let us play! God is good! He did not make us to damn us! God does not forbid us to enjoy ourselves! We shall not be damned for that! Away with scruples! We shall not die!’ And so they continue!” (St. Louis de Montfort, in his Letter to the Friends of the Cross).
In her revelations to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, Our Lady rebukes this profitless search for earthly riches:
“There are very few in the world who use well the temporal riches and offer them to their God. Thus they spend all the time of their life―which was given them in order to gain eternal salvation and happiness―in these vanities. They want it to procure for them the pleasures of this life as well as of eternal life ... Earthly love of sensible pleasures and riches is not compatible with [true] wisdom! … How unreasonable and how damnable is the conduct of a man, who labors so much for a momentary sensible pleasure, which at most must end with life and generally lasts only for a short time, and still claims to have the Faith, while at the same time he takes no account of his immortal soul, and forgets it being consumed with the visible things? Their inclinations and their blind love of visible things―these inclinations and this blindness rob them of remembrance and affection toward these higher things, which could raise them above their worldliness … Let the countless numbers that have fallen into Hell with their burden, proclaim it! Let their incalculable anxieties of preserving their riches, testify what is required to retain them!
“The rich glory in their riches and wish to be respected on their account. The poor strive to be and appear rich, anxious to gain the approbation of the wealthy. All of them are pursuing the same deceit of seeking to appear what they are not in fact, and fail in reality to come up to what they appear to be. The lovers of its vanity have subjected themselves and are following the standard and the fables of the devil. In the midst of this ruin, Hell has opened its mouth and the more it is fed, the more insatiable becomes its hunger, seeking to bury in its infernal caverns all the rest of mankind. Fear this danger! Thou hast a warning in Ananias and Saphira (Acts 5:1-11), into whose souls the demon entered as soon as he had found out their desire for money and so the demon could attack them through this portal.
“This deceitful error has filled the Earth with lovers of the world; it has filled the world with avarice and concupiscence against the law of the Creator; it has made men insane in their desires―for all of them commonly chase after riches and earthly possessions; claiming, thereby, merely to satisfy their needs―which is only a lame pretext for hiding their lack of interest in higher things, spiritual things. Men are so taken up with their earthly and material life, that they do not feel any other evils except those on a physical and material nature. All their life they labor and exert themselves to become more and more entangled in the snares of their passions, to be consumed in deceitful vanities and to deliver themselves over to an inextinguishable fire, death and everlasting perdition in Hell, as if all were a mere joke! In reality they lie to themselves abominously, since they are seeking superfluous things that they do not really need and not what is really necessary―but what ministers to worldly pride.
“Even the sacerdotal dignity and the precious vestments of virtue are soiled by contagion with the worldly; the anointed of the Lord, consecrated solely to his worship and service, have lapsed from their noble and godlike station; they have lost their beauty in debasing themselves to vile actions, unworthy of their exalted position among men. They love vanity; they indulge greed and avarice; they serve their own interest; they love money, they place their hopes in treasures of silver and gold; they submit to the flatteries and to the slavery of the worldly and powerful.
“Who is so dull-minded and insipid as not to know the dangers of the worldly life? Withdraw your affections from all that is earthly, lift your aspirations on high. All goods are estimated according to the appreciation in which creatures hold them: in so far they value them, as they know them to be good. But since there is only one true Good, and all the others merely fictitious and apparent, it follows, that only the highest Good is to be appreciated and recognized. Then only shall you give Him true appreciation and love, when you shall enjoy and esteem Him above all created things. By this appreciation and love will also be measured the sorrow of losing Him. Imagine then, what ought to be the grief of really losing God by sin. But this wisdom seems far from the mind of carnal men―for, with a most perverse blindness, they continue to make much of all these visible and fictitious goods, and they torment themselves and are disconsolate, whenever they cannot get them or when they fail. Because they never taste or recognize the highest and truest Good, they take no thought or appreciation of it. The more they study and exert themselves to reach the evil objects of their carnal and animal passions, and to attain the means of indulging them, then so much the more will they fall into ignorance of divine things. The sons of the world are ignorant, precisely because they are lovers of earthly riches. God knows the endless damage caused in mortals by greed and covetousness of visible things; and God knows that this insane love will pervert the greater part of the human nature, who are lost by the vice of avarice and cupidity. Weep ceaselessly over the terrible loss sustained by so many insane and thankless souls, who are forgetful of God, of their duty and of their own selves … and lose their chance of salvation or bring upon themselves eternal damnation.
“Few know the poverty of Christ, and fewer embrace it. All abhor poverty and thirst after riches. They seek to be rich and flee poverty―none of them being willing to recognize the emptiness of riches. They long for pleasure and dread mortification. My most holy Son sought destitution and poverty―not because He had any need of them, but in order to teach mortals the shortest and surest way for reaching the heights of divine love and union with God. Detach yourself entirely of human and earthly affections, so as freely to follow our footsteps in destitution and poverty. I lived in the greatest constraint, in poverty and detached from earthly things. Imitate me in being very careful to practice poverty of spirit concerning the use of necessities and comforts―so that, with advancing years, you may find yourself more free, more detached and averted from visible things.” (Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda).
The bottom line is―if we seek to enjoy and reward ourselves in this life, then we will eternal misery and eternal punishment in the next life. However, if we reject the worldly joys offered to us in this life, and punish ourselves for our past sins, then we will find eternal joys and an eternal reward in the next life. You cannot have it both ways―you must choose one path or the other. “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth! … But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven! … For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” ― “mammon” being the pleasures, treasures, teachings and spirit of the world, whose prince is the devil (Matthew 6:19-24). “What does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26).
Article 8
Ember Wednesday to Ember Friday after the 1st Sunday of Lent, February 25th to 27th
Is Your Lent Reduced to Ashes and Embers?
Ember Wednesday to Ember Friday after the 1st Sunday of Lent, February 25th to 27th
Is Your Lent Reduced to Ashes and Embers?
Stoking-Up Your Knowledge of Embers
It is no exaggeration to say that human levels of knowledge―for the most apart―are barely burning and have been reduced to embers as each successive generation has been increasingly “dumbed-down.” If most Catholics can no longer list for you all the Ten Commandments, then you can bet your last dollar on the fact that even fewer Catholics can give you an adequate explanation of what the Ember Days and how they originated!
The Ember Days (a corruption of words from the Latin Quatuor Tempora, meaning four times or four seasons) are the days at the beginning of the four seasons ordered by the Church as days of fast and abstinence. The purpose of their introduction was to thank God for the gifts of nature, to teach men to make use of them in moderation, and to assist the needy.
The Church, when converting heathen nations, has always tried to sanctify any practices which could be utilized for a good purpose. The initial reason for the Ember Days was to neutralize the practice of the heathens of Rome. The Romans were originally given to agriculture, and their native gods were gods of agriculture. At the beginning of the time for seeding and harvesting pagan religious ceremonies were performed to implore the help of their deities—in December for the seeding, in June for a bountiful harvest, and in September for a rich vintage.
Therefore, the Church in Rome held fasts in December, June, September; though the exact days were not at first fixed, but were announced by the priests—probably trying to be close to the actual time of seeding, harvest and vintage. It is not certain when the fourth season was added, but Pope Gelasius (492-496) speaks of all four.
As the Ember Days came to be associated with great feast days, they later lost their connection to agriculture and came to be regarded solely as days of penitence and prayer. It is only the Michaelmas Embertide, which falls around the autumn harvest, that retains any connection to the original purpose.
Who Stoked-Up the Ember Days?
They were definitely arranged and prescribed for the entire Church by Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085) for the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after December 13th (St. Lucia), after Ash Wednesday, after Whitsunday, and after September 14th (Exaltation of the Cross)—thus distributed equally over the four seasons of winter, spring, summer and fall. Some remember the dates with the phrase: “Lucy, Ashes, Dove, and Cross.”
The original reason for the Ember Days was to neutralize the practice of the heathens of Rome. The Romans were originally given to agriculture, and their native gods belonged to the same class. At the beginning of the time for seeding and harvesting religious ceremonies were performed to implore the help of their deities: in December for the seeding, in June for a bountiful harvest, and in September for a rich vintage. The Church, when converting heathen nations, has always tried to sanctify any practices which could be utilized for a good purpose. Therefore, the Church in Rome held fasts in December, June, September; though the exact days were not fixed, but were announced by the priests—probably trying to be close to the actual time of seeding, harvest and vintage. The “Liber Pontificalis” ascribes to Pope Callistus (217-222) a law ordering the fast, but probably it is older. Pope Leo the Great (440-461) considers it an Apostolic institution.
It is not certain when the fourth season was added cannot be ascertained, but Pope Gelasius (492-496) speaks of all four. This pope also permitted the conferring of priesthood and deaconship on the Saturdays of ember week―these were formerly given only at Easter. Before Gelasius the Ember Days were known only in Rome, but after his time their observance spread.
They were brought into England by St. Augustine in the 6th century; into Gaul and Germany by the Carlovingians in the 8th century. Spain adopted them with the Roman Liturgy in the 11th century. They were introduced by St. Charles Borromeo into Milan in the 16th century. The Eastern Church does not observe them. The traditional Roman Missal, in the formulary for the Ember Days, retains in part the old practice of lessons from Scripture in addition to the ordinary two: for the Wednesdays three, for the Saturdays six, and seven for the Saturday in December. Some of these lessons contain promises of a bountiful harvest for those that serve God.
The traditional Roman Missal, in the readings for the Ember Days, retains in part the old practice of adding in addition to the ordinary two lessons some more reading from Scripture: for the Wednesdays there are three readings, for the Saturdays six readings, and seven readings for the Saturday in December. Some of these lessons contain promises of a bountiful harvest for those that serve God.
Ember Days Have Been Burned Out
For those following the “Extraordinary Rite”—and extraordinary it is—today is Ember Wednesday (to be followed by Ember Friday and Ember Saturday). For most Catholics Embers Days sound like something ‘new’, whereas the Ember Days have been around for centuries―earliest written records mention them in the 300s AD, but Pope Leo the Great says they come from the Apostolic times)—only to have disappeared in Pope Paul VI’s drastic reduction of penance in the document Poenitemini, in 1966, at which time Lenten penance also received its 95% discount—from 40 days of fasting to only 2 days: Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Penance was reduced to “Ash” and most people thought it was “good”! Except Heaven!
Prior to the reforms instituted after the Second Vatican Council, the Church required fasting (only one full meal per day, plus two partial, meatless meals) on all Ember Days (which meant both fasting and abstinence from meat on Ember Fridays), and the faithful were encouraged (though not required) to go to Confession whenever possible.
Ember Day Weather Forecasts for the Year
There are 12 Ember Days per year and folklore claims that the weather that occurs on each of these days gives a rough and general “weather forecast” for each of the 12 months of the year. These are as follows:
Advent Ember Wednesday for January; Advent Ember Friday for February; Advent Ember Saturday for March; Lent Ember Wednesday for April; Lent Ember Friday for May; Lent Ember Saturday for June; Pentecost Ember Wednesday for July; Pentecost Ember Friday for August; Pentecost Ember Saturday for September; September Ember Wednesday for October; September Ember Friday for November; September Ember Saturday for December! Check it this year and see for yourself!
What is the Spiritual Weather Forecast?
When we think or speak of Lent, the main thing that comes to mind is PENANCE. Some people might also add to that PRAYER. Yet, we never really stop to think that penance and prayer can actually be useless without some other key ingredients.
► PENANCE: If our penances lead us to pride, then they become abominable to God―as Scripture clearly points out: “Why is earth and ashes proud?” (Ecclesiasticus 10:9). “Every proud man is an abomination to the Lord!” (Proverbs 16:5). “God has abolished the memory of the proud, and has preserved the memory of them that are humble in mind” (Ecclesiasticus 10:21).
Likewise, if our penances are not done out of a love of God, then they are profitless: “If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all Faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not Charity―then I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not Charity―then it profits me nothing!” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
If we merely pray mechanically, lukewarmly, inattentively and not out of a sincere love of God―then our prayers are also profitless if not downright sinful! Our Lord condemns this kind of prayer: “Hypocrites! Well has Isaias prophesied of you, saying: ‘These people honor Me with their lips―but their heart is far from Me!’” (Matthew 15:7-8). “Not everyone that says to Me: ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!” (Matthew 7:21).
Our Lord warns of a lack of charity in our modern age: “Because iniquity will have abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold!” (Matthew 24:12). Scripture warns of the consequences of this lukewarmness and diminishing of charity: “I have something against you―because you have left your first charity! Be mindful therefore from whence you have fallen and do penance, and do the first works! Or else I will come to you, and will move your candlestick out of its place, unless you do penance! ... I know your works―that you are neither cold, nor hot! I would rather you were cold, or hot. But because you are lukewarm―and neither cold not hot―I will begin to vomit you out of My mouth! … Be zealous therefore, and do penance!” (Apocalypse 2:2-5; 3:15-19).
If you look the temperature of penance over the centuries, then it is unmistakably clear that we increasingly descending into a penitential “ice-age” ― whereby there is less and less “fire-in-the-belly” for doing penance. As Our Lady of La Salette complained: “The heads, the leaders of the people of God, have neglected prayer and penance … Love of carnal pleasures will be spread all over the Earth … People will think of nothing but amusement!” Our Lord Himself said: “I came to call sinners to penance! … I tell you―unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish! ... Again I say to you―except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 5:32; 13:3-5). At Lourdes, Our Lady commanded: “Penance! Penance! Penance!”
► PRAYER: Prayer is not an option but an obligation! We talk to the ones that we love―and the more we love them, the more we talk to them. We love to talk with them because we love them. Moreover, we talk with them rather than merely talking at them. Christ commands: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength! This is the first commandment!” (Mark 12:30). Such a powerful love should empower our prayer and give us the power and strength to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) ― as Our Lord Himself said: “praying at all times” (Luke 21:36) … adding “that we ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1).
Not only are we to pray with love―with our hearts and not just our lips―but we are to pray with Faith: “In all things whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive!” (Matthew 21:22). “According to your faith, be it done unto you!” (Matthew 9:29) “Be not faithless, but believing!” (John 20:27). “God heard them, because they had put their faith in Him!” (1 Paralipomenon 5:20). “He shows Himself to them that have faith in Him!” (Wisdom 1:2). Our Lord says: “The Son of man, when He comes again, do you think He shall find Faith on Earth?” (Luke 18:8). Scripture adds: “Without Faith it is impossible to please God!” (Hebrews 11:6). Nevertheless, Faith still depends upon Charity―for Charity is superior to Faith: “There remain Faith, Hope, And Charity, these three―but the greatest of these is Charity!” (1 Corinthians 13:13). Without Charity―like all things―Faith is dead: “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:20) and “Faith works by Charity” (Galatians 5:6).
Our Lord, during His Sermon on the Mount, rebukes His followers for a lack of faith in God’s Divine Providence: “O ye of little faith!” (Matthew 6:30). He rebuked the Apostles in storm-tossed boat who cried to Him in panic thinking they would perish: “Why are you fearful? Have you not faith yet?” (Mark 4:40). He rebuked St. Peter for his lack of faith when after beginning to walk on water, Peter began to sink into it: “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31). He rebuked St. Thomas for his lack of faith in Christ’s resurrection from the dead: “Thomas said: ‘Unless I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe!’ And after eight days Jesus came and He said to Thomas: ‘Put in your finger here and see My hands; and bring here your hand, and put it into My side―and be not faithless, but believing!’” (John 20:25-27). “And the Apostles said to the Lord: ‘Increase our faith!’” (Luke 17:5) … To the father of the demonically possessed boy, who had come to Jesus asking Him to heal his son, “Jesus said to him: ‘If you canst believe, all things are possible to him that believes!’ And immediately the father of the boy, crying out with tears, said: ‘I do believe, Lord! Help my unbelief!’” (Mark 9:23).
► PRAYER & PENANCE: At Fatima (1917)―even before Our Lady appeared―we have the Angel of Portugal addressing the three children who were playing: “What are you doing? Pray! Pray a great deal! Offer prayers and sacrifices continually to the Most High! Make everything you do a sacrifice, and offer it to God as an act of reparation for the sins by which God is offended, and as a petition for the conversion of sinners. Above all, accept and bear with submission all the sufferings the Lord will send you!” When Our Lady of Fatima later appeared, she said: “You have seen Hell where the souls of poor sinners go! … Are you willing to offer yourselves to God and bear all the sufferings He wills to send you, as an act of reparation for the conversion of sinners? … Then you are going to have much to suffer! … Sacrifice yourselves for sinners! … Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices for sinners; for many souls go to Hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and pray for them!” (Compilation of the words of Our Lady of Fatima from her apparitions in May, June, July & August of 1917).
In 1957, Sister Lucia of Fatima said in an interview with Fr. Fuentes: “It is my mission not just to speak about the material punishments, that will certainly come over the Earth, if the world does not pray and do penance. No, my mission is to also tell everyone the imminent danger we are in of losing our souls for all eternity, if we remain fixed in sin. We should not wait for a call to the world from Rome on the part of the Holy Father to do penance. Nor should we wait for a call for penance to come from the Bishops in our Dioceses, nor from our Religious Congregations. No―Our Lord has often used these means, and the world has not paid heed! So, now each one of us must begin to reform himself spiritually. Each one has to save not only his own soul, but also all the souls that God has placed on his pathway!”
In the 1950s Our Lady appeared several times to Blessed Sister Elena Aiello (1895-1961)―a mystic, stigmatic, victim soul, prophetess and foundress of the Minim Tertiaries of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lady said: “Satan reigns and triumphs on Earth! See how the souls are falling into Hell! … The justice of our Father is most offended. Men live in their obstinacy of sin … The justice of the Father requires reparation — otherwise many will be lost! … The only valid means for placating Divine Justice is to pray and do penance! … Therefore I ask for prayers, penance and sacrifice, so I may act as Mediatrix with my Son in order to save souls ... I desire prayers and penance, in order that I may again obtain mercy and salvation for many souls — otherwise they will be lost! … Prayers and penances are necessary! … The rulers of the people do not understand this, because they do not have the Christian spirit … All nations will be punished, because sin has spread all over the world! … If men do not return to God with prayers and penances, the world will be overturned in a new and more terrible war. Arms most deadly will destroy peoples and nations! … Tremendous will be the punishments, because man has arrived at an insupportable contest with his God … My words are very clear, and you must transmit them to everyone!”
In 1973, Our Lady of Akita stated: “If men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be punishment greater than the deluge, such as one will never have seen before! ... I desire souls to console Him to soften the anger of the Heavenly Father! … Prayer, penance and courageous sacrifices can soften the Father’s anger!”
Pope Paul’s Paenitemini Promotes Pruned Powerless Penance
The words of Our Lady of La Salette, concerning Church leaders, have come true in our day and age: “The heads, the leaders of the people of God, have neglected prayer and penance!” Even though penance has been in decline for centuries, that decline has accelerated greatly since the Second Vatican Council and Pope Paul VI’s Apostolic Constitution―entitled Paenitemini―which he promulgated on February 17th, 1966, with this month of February seeing its 60-year anniversary. It is nothing to celebrate―unless you are lukewarm―for it radically decimated penitential practices (especially during the season of Lent) by slashing obligatory Lenten fasting and abstinence by 95% in keeping only Ash Wednesday and Good Friday as obligatory days of fasting and abstinence with the remaining 38 days of obligatory fasting and abstinence being thrown out of the window!
Now ask yourself this: If sin is rapidly increasing throughout the world with the devil taking more and more control―is that the time to reduce obligatory penance by 95%. When a disease becomes more aggressive and spreads more and more throughout the body―does it make sense to reduce the amount of medicine you are giving to the patient? When an enemy country sends more and more soldiers into your country―are you going to counteract that by reducing your army by 95%? If crime is increasing drastically―is it wise to reduce law enforcement agencies by 95%?
Consider how Catholics around seven generations spent Lent. Catholics in the 19th century were supposed to avoid eating for long periods and to abstain from certain food the vast majority of days during Lent. For many in the 19th century, Lent meant no meat, eggs, butter, cheese or milk, for 40 days. Nearly every day during Lent also was a fast day — meaning long periods of no eating. In previous centuries, the total number of fasting and abstinence days per year in the Church once topped 100. The Church has always recommended and taught that fasting and abstinence are powerful and necessary forms of prayer and penance against sin and armor against temptation. In 1741, Pope Benedict XIV (in Non Ambigimus) called fasting “this common remedy for us who sin daily.”
Rules varied by time and place―but before the 20th century, Catholics were generally required to fast by restricting their intake of food (fasting), or refraining from eating certain foods (abstaining) or both, not only during Lent, but also throughout much of Advent and on so-called Ember Days (four periods of the year of three days of fasting and abstinence), and on most Wednesdays and Fridays at other times of the year. Earlier generations of Catholics also fasted on the eve of holy days. They celebrated every holy day of obligation (there were as many of 45 of them in the mid-17th century) as a spiritual and literal feast — and every day before the feast day as a famine. When you do the math, you realize that, back in the day, Catholics were either fasting or abstaining for 100 or more days out of the year. And their fasts weren’t like ours (one full meal and two smaller meals per day). An early Christian practice, for instance, was to eat nothing from Holy Thursday night to Easter Sunday morning.
Our chief weapons in our war against our triple enemy of the devil, the world and the flesh―have always been penance (especially fasting) and prayer (especially the Holy Mass and Holy Rosary). Our Lady of Akita reaffirmed this when she said: “The only weapons which will remain for you will be the Rosary and the Sign left by my Son [which is, of course, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass]. Each day recite the prayers of the Rosary. With the Rosary, pray for the Pope, the bishops and priests! … Pray very much for the Pope, Bishops, and Priests! … Continue to pray very much—very much! … Pray very much the prayers of the Rosary!” (Akita, 1973). At Fatima, Our Lady insisted: “Say many Rosaries!” (Fatima, May 1917). “Say the Rosary every day!” (Fatima, June 1917). “Continue to pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, because only she can help you!” (Fatima, July 1917). “Continue to say the Rosary every day! Pray, pray very much!” (Fatima, August 1917). “Continue to pray the Rosary!” (Fatima, September 1917). “Continue always to pray the Rosary every day!” (Fatima, October 1917).
Sadly, not only did Pope Paul VI reduce obligatory Lenten penance by 95%--there has also been a massive reduction in Catholics fulfilling their obligation of assisting at every Sunday Mass, as well as massive reduction in Catholics praying the Rosary. Depending on which country you live in, the numbers vary. The chart below shows the percentage of Catholics who regularly attend Holy Mass on a weekly basis in various countries throughout the world. The USA has not been included in this chart, so we will give the US statistics afterwards.
It is no exaggeration to say that human levels of knowledge―for the most apart―are barely burning and have been reduced to embers as each successive generation has been increasingly “dumbed-down.” If most Catholics can no longer list for you all the Ten Commandments, then you can bet your last dollar on the fact that even fewer Catholics can give you an adequate explanation of what the Ember Days and how they originated!
The Ember Days (a corruption of words from the Latin Quatuor Tempora, meaning four times or four seasons) are the days at the beginning of the four seasons ordered by the Church as days of fast and abstinence. The purpose of their introduction was to thank God for the gifts of nature, to teach men to make use of them in moderation, and to assist the needy.
The Church, when converting heathen nations, has always tried to sanctify any practices which could be utilized for a good purpose. The initial reason for the Ember Days was to neutralize the practice of the heathens of Rome. The Romans were originally given to agriculture, and their native gods were gods of agriculture. At the beginning of the time for seeding and harvesting pagan religious ceremonies were performed to implore the help of their deities—in December for the seeding, in June for a bountiful harvest, and in September for a rich vintage.
Therefore, the Church in Rome held fasts in December, June, September; though the exact days were not at first fixed, but were announced by the priests—probably trying to be close to the actual time of seeding, harvest and vintage. It is not certain when the fourth season was added, but Pope Gelasius (492-496) speaks of all four.
As the Ember Days came to be associated with great feast days, they later lost their connection to agriculture and came to be regarded solely as days of penitence and prayer. It is only the Michaelmas Embertide, which falls around the autumn harvest, that retains any connection to the original purpose.
Who Stoked-Up the Ember Days?
They were definitely arranged and prescribed for the entire Church by Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085) for the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after December 13th (St. Lucia), after Ash Wednesday, after Whitsunday, and after September 14th (Exaltation of the Cross)—thus distributed equally over the four seasons of winter, spring, summer and fall. Some remember the dates with the phrase: “Lucy, Ashes, Dove, and Cross.”
The original reason for the Ember Days was to neutralize the practice of the heathens of Rome. The Romans were originally given to agriculture, and their native gods belonged to the same class. At the beginning of the time for seeding and harvesting religious ceremonies were performed to implore the help of their deities: in December for the seeding, in June for a bountiful harvest, and in September for a rich vintage. The Church, when converting heathen nations, has always tried to sanctify any practices which could be utilized for a good purpose. Therefore, the Church in Rome held fasts in December, June, September; though the exact days were not fixed, but were announced by the priests—probably trying to be close to the actual time of seeding, harvest and vintage. The “Liber Pontificalis” ascribes to Pope Callistus (217-222) a law ordering the fast, but probably it is older. Pope Leo the Great (440-461) considers it an Apostolic institution.
It is not certain when the fourth season was added cannot be ascertained, but Pope Gelasius (492-496) speaks of all four. This pope also permitted the conferring of priesthood and deaconship on the Saturdays of ember week―these were formerly given only at Easter. Before Gelasius the Ember Days were known only in Rome, but after his time their observance spread.
They were brought into England by St. Augustine in the 6th century; into Gaul and Germany by the Carlovingians in the 8th century. Spain adopted them with the Roman Liturgy in the 11th century. They were introduced by St. Charles Borromeo into Milan in the 16th century. The Eastern Church does not observe them. The traditional Roman Missal, in the formulary for the Ember Days, retains in part the old practice of lessons from Scripture in addition to the ordinary two: for the Wednesdays three, for the Saturdays six, and seven for the Saturday in December. Some of these lessons contain promises of a bountiful harvest for those that serve God.
The traditional Roman Missal, in the readings for the Ember Days, retains in part the old practice of adding in addition to the ordinary two lessons some more reading from Scripture: for the Wednesdays there are three readings, for the Saturdays six readings, and seven readings for the Saturday in December. Some of these lessons contain promises of a bountiful harvest for those that serve God.
Ember Days Have Been Burned Out
For those following the “Extraordinary Rite”—and extraordinary it is—today is Ember Wednesday (to be followed by Ember Friday and Ember Saturday). For most Catholics Embers Days sound like something ‘new’, whereas the Ember Days have been around for centuries―earliest written records mention them in the 300s AD, but Pope Leo the Great says they come from the Apostolic times)—only to have disappeared in Pope Paul VI’s drastic reduction of penance in the document Poenitemini, in 1966, at which time Lenten penance also received its 95% discount—from 40 days of fasting to only 2 days: Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Penance was reduced to “Ash” and most people thought it was “good”! Except Heaven!
Prior to the reforms instituted after the Second Vatican Council, the Church required fasting (only one full meal per day, plus two partial, meatless meals) on all Ember Days (which meant both fasting and abstinence from meat on Ember Fridays), and the faithful were encouraged (though not required) to go to Confession whenever possible.
Ember Day Weather Forecasts for the Year
There are 12 Ember Days per year and folklore claims that the weather that occurs on each of these days gives a rough and general “weather forecast” for each of the 12 months of the year. These are as follows:
Advent Ember Wednesday for January; Advent Ember Friday for February; Advent Ember Saturday for March; Lent Ember Wednesday for April; Lent Ember Friday for May; Lent Ember Saturday for June; Pentecost Ember Wednesday for July; Pentecost Ember Friday for August; Pentecost Ember Saturday for September; September Ember Wednesday for October; September Ember Friday for November; September Ember Saturday for December! Check it this year and see for yourself!
What is the Spiritual Weather Forecast?
When we think or speak of Lent, the main thing that comes to mind is PENANCE. Some people might also add to that PRAYER. Yet, we never really stop to think that penance and prayer can actually be useless without some other key ingredients.
► PENANCE: If our penances lead us to pride, then they become abominable to God―as Scripture clearly points out: “Why is earth and ashes proud?” (Ecclesiasticus 10:9). “Every proud man is an abomination to the Lord!” (Proverbs 16:5). “God has abolished the memory of the proud, and has preserved the memory of them that are humble in mind” (Ecclesiasticus 10:21).
Likewise, if our penances are not done out of a love of God, then they are profitless: “If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all Faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not Charity―then I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not Charity―then it profits me nothing!” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
If we merely pray mechanically, lukewarmly, inattentively and not out of a sincere love of God―then our prayers are also profitless if not downright sinful! Our Lord condemns this kind of prayer: “Hypocrites! Well has Isaias prophesied of you, saying: ‘These people honor Me with their lips―but their heart is far from Me!’” (Matthew 15:7-8). “Not everyone that says to Me: ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!” (Matthew 7:21).
Our Lord warns of a lack of charity in our modern age: “Because iniquity will have abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold!” (Matthew 24:12). Scripture warns of the consequences of this lukewarmness and diminishing of charity: “I have something against you―because you have left your first charity! Be mindful therefore from whence you have fallen and do penance, and do the first works! Or else I will come to you, and will move your candlestick out of its place, unless you do penance! ... I know your works―that you are neither cold, nor hot! I would rather you were cold, or hot. But because you are lukewarm―and neither cold not hot―I will begin to vomit you out of My mouth! … Be zealous therefore, and do penance!” (Apocalypse 2:2-5; 3:15-19).
If you look the temperature of penance over the centuries, then it is unmistakably clear that we increasingly descending into a penitential “ice-age” ― whereby there is less and less “fire-in-the-belly” for doing penance. As Our Lady of La Salette complained: “The heads, the leaders of the people of God, have neglected prayer and penance … Love of carnal pleasures will be spread all over the Earth … People will think of nothing but amusement!” Our Lord Himself said: “I came to call sinners to penance! … I tell you―unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish! ... Again I say to you―except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 5:32; 13:3-5). At Lourdes, Our Lady commanded: “Penance! Penance! Penance!”
► PRAYER: Prayer is not an option but an obligation! We talk to the ones that we love―and the more we love them, the more we talk to them. We love to talk with them because we love them. Moreover, we talk with them rather than merely talking at them. Christ commands: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength! This is the first commandment!” (Mark 12:30). Such a powerful love should empower our prayer and give us the power and strength to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) ― as Our Lord Himself said: “praying at all times” (Luke 21:36) … adding “that we ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1).
Not only are we to pray with love―with our hearts and not just our lips―but we are to pray with Faith: “In all things whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive!” (Matthew 21:22). “According to your faith, be it done unto you!” (Matthew 9:29) “Be not faithless, but believing!” (John 20:27). “God heard them, because they had put their faith in Him!” (1 Paralipomenon 5:20). “He shows Himself to them that have faith in Him!” (Wisdom 1:2). Our Lord says: “The Son of man, when He comes again, do you think He shall find Faith on Earth?” (Luke 18:8). Scripture adds: “Without Faith it is impossible to please God!” (Hebrews 11:6). Nevertheless, Faith still depends upon Charity―for Charity is superior to Faith: “There remain Faith, Hope, And Charity, these three―but the greatest of these is Charity!” (1 Corinthians 13:13). Without Charity―like all things―Faith is dead: “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:20) and “Faith works by Charity” (Galatians 5:6).
Our Lord, during His Sermon on the Mount, rebukes His followers for a lack of faith in God’s Divine Providence: “O ye of little faith!” (Matthew 6:30). He rebuked the Apostles in storm-tossed boat who cried to Him in panic thinking they would perish: “Why are you fearful? Have you not faith yet?” (Mark 4:40). He rebuked St. Peter for his lack of faith when after beginning to walk on water, Peter began to sink into it: “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31). He rebuked St. Thomas for his lack of faith in Christ’s resurrection from the dead: “Thomas said: ‘Unless I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe!’ And after eight days Jesus came and He said to Thomas: ‘Put in your finger here and see My hands; and bring here your hand, and put it into My side―and be not faithless, but believing!’” (John 20:25-27). “And the Apostles said to the Lord: ‘Increase our faith!’” (Luke 17:5) … To the father of the demonically possessed boy, who had come to Jesus asking Him to heal his son, “Jesus said to him: ‘If you canst believe, all things are possible to him that believes!’ And immediately the father of the boy, crying out with tears, said: ‘I do believe, Lord! Help my unbelief!’” (Mark 9:23).
► PRAYER & PENANCE: At Fatima (1917)―even before Our Lady appeared―we have the Angel of Portugal addressing the three children who were playing: “What are you doing? Pray! Pray a great deal! Offer prayers and sacrifices continually to the Most High! Make everything you do a sacrifice, and offer it to God as an act of reparation for the sins by which God is offended, and as a petition for the conversion of sinners. Above all, accept and bear with submission all the sufferings the Lord will send you!” When Our Lady of Fatima later appeared, she said: “You have seen Hell where the souls of poor sinners go! … Are you willing to offer yourselves to God and bear all the sufferings He wills to send you, as an act of reparation for the conversion of sinners? … Then you are going to have much to suffer! … Sacrifice yourselves for sinners! … Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices for sinners; for many souls go to Hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and pray for them!” (Compilation of the words of Our Lady of Fatima from her apparitions in May, June, July & August of 1917).
In 1957, Sister Lucia of Fatima said in an interview with Fr. Fuentes: “It is my mission not just to speak about the material punishments, that will certainly come over the Earth, if the world does not pray and do penance. No, my mission is to also tell everyone the imminent danger we are in of losing our souls for all eternity, if we remain fixed in sin. We should not wait for a call to the world from Rome on the part of the Holy Father to do penance. Nor should we wait for a call for penance to come from the Bishops in our Dioceses, nor from our Religious Congregations. No―Our Lord has often used these means, and the world has not paid heed! So, now each one of us must begin to reform himself spiritually. Each one has to save not only his own soul, but also all the souls that God has placed on his pathway!”
In the 1950s Our Lady appeared several times to Blessed Sister Elena Aiello (1895-1961)―a mystic, stigmatic, victim soul, prophetess and foundress of the Minim Tertiaries of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lady said: “Satan reigns and triumphs on Earth! See how the souls are falling into Hell! … The justice of our Father is most offended. Men live in their obstinacy of sin … The justice of the Father requires reparation — otherwise many will be lost! … The only valid means for placating Divine Justice is to pray and do penance! … Therefore I ask for prayers, penance and sacrifice, so I may act as Mediatrix with my Son in order to save souls ... I desire prayers and penance, in order that I may again obtain mercy and salvation for many souls — otherwise they will be lost! … Prayers and penances are necessary! … The rulers of the people do not understand this, because they do not have the Christian spirit … All nations will be punished, because sin has spread all over the world! … If men do not return to God with prayers and penances, the world will be overturned in a new and more terrible war. Arms most deadly will destroy peoples and nations! … Tremendous will be the punishments, because man has arrived at an insupportable contest with his God … My words are very clear, and you must transmit them to everyone!”
In 1973, Our Lady of Akita stated: “If men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be punishment greater than the deluge, such as one will never have seen before! ... I desire souls to console Him to soften the anger of the Heavenly Father! … Prayer, penance and courageous sacrifices can soften the Father’s anger!”
Pope Paul’s Paenitemini Promotes Pruned Powerless Penance
The words of Our Lady of La Salette, concerning Church leaders, have come true in our day and age: “The heads, the leaders of the people of God, have neglected prayer and penance!” Even though penance has been in decline for centuries, that decline has accelerated greatly since the Second Vatican Council and Pope Paul VI’s Apostolic Constitution―entitled Paenitemini―which he promulgated on February 17th, 1966, with this month of February seeing its 60-year anniversary. It is nothing to celebrate―unless you are lukewarm―for it radically decimated penitential practices (especially during the season of Lent) by slashing obligatory Lenten fasting and abstinence by 95% in keeping only Ash Wednesday and Good Friday as obligatory days of fasting and abstinence with the remaining 38 days of obligatory fasting and abstinence being thrown out of the window!
Now ask yourself this: If sin is rapidly increasing throughout the world with the devil taking more and more control―is that the time to reduce obligatory penance by 95%. When a disease becomes more aggressive and spreads more and more throughout the body―does it make sense to reduce the amount of medicine you are giving to the patient? When an enemy country sends more and more soldiers into your country―are you going to counteract that by reducing your army by 95%? If crime is increasing drastically―is it wise to reduce law enforcement agencies by 95%?
Consider how Catholics around seven generations spent Lent. Catholics in the 19th century were supposed to avoid eating for long periods and to abstain from certain food the vast majority of days during Lent. For many in the 19th century, Lent meant no meat, eggs, butter, cheese or milk, for 40 days. Nearly every day during Lent also was a fast day — meaning long periods of no eating. In previous centuries, the total number of fasting and abstinence days per year in the Church once topped 100. The Church has always recommended and taught that fasting and abstinence are powerful and necessary forms of prayer and penance against sin and armor against temptation. In 1741, Pope Benedict XIV (in Non Ambigimus) called fasting “this common remedy for us who sin daily.”
Rules varied by time and place―but before the 20th century, Catholics were generally required to fast by restricting their intake of food (fasting), or refraining from eating certain foods (abstaining) or both, not only during Lent, but also throughout much of Advent and on so-called Ember Days (four periods of the year of three days of fasting and abstinence), and on most Wednesdays and Fridays at other times of the year. Earlier generations of Catholics also fasted on the eve of holy days. They celebrated every holy day of obligation (there were as many of 45 of them in the mid-17th century) as a spiritual and literal feast — and every day before the feast day as a famine. When you do the math, you realize that, back in the day, Catholics were either fasting or abstaining for 100 or more days out of the year. And their fasts weren’t like ours (one full meal and two smaller meals per day). An early Christian practice, for instance, was to eat nothing from Holy Thursday night to Easter Sunday morning.
Our chief weapons in our war against our triple enemy of the devil, the world and the flesh―have always been penance (especially fasting) and prayer (especially the Holy Mass and Holy Rosary). Our Lady of Akita reaffirmed this when she said: “The only weapons which will remain for you will be the Rosary and the Sign left by my Son [which is, of course, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass]. Each day recite the prayers of the Rosary. With the Rosary, pray for the Pope, the bishops and priests! … Pray very much for the Pope, Bishops, and Priests! … Continue to pray very much—very much! … Pray very much the prayers of the Rosary!” (Akita, 1973). At Fatima, Our Lady insisted: “Say many Rosaries!” (Fatima, May 1917). “Say the Rosary every day!” (Fatima, June 1917). “Continue to pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, because only she can help you!” (Fatima, July 1917). “Continue to say the Rosary every day! Pray, pray very much!” (Fatima, August 1917). “Continue to pray the Rosary!” (Fatima, September 1917). “Continue always to pray the Rosary every day!” (Fatima, October 1917).
Sadly, not only did Pope Paul VI reduce obligatory Lenten penance by 95%--there has also been a massive reduction in Catholics fulfilling their obligation of assisting at every Sunday Mass, as well as massive reduction in Catholics praying the Rosary. Depending on which country you live in, the numbers vary. The chart below shows the percentage of Catholics who regularly attend Holy Mass on a weekly basis in various countries throughout the world. The USA has not been included in this chart, so we will give the US statistics afterwards.
Since the publication of the above chart in 2022, numbers have continued to fall.
● In 2022 the Philippines showed a 56% Sunday Mass attendance, but that has fallen to 41% as of January 2026.
● In 2022 Poland showed a 52% Sunday Mass attendance, but that has fallen to 29% as of January 2026.
● In 2022 Italy showed a 34% Sunday Mass attendance, but that has fallen to 15% as of January 2026.
● In 2022 Spain showed a 27% Sunday Mass attendance, but that has fallen to 18% as of January 2026.
● In 2022 Australia showed a 21% Sunday Mass attendance, but that has fallen to 8% as of January 2026.
● In 2022 Germany showed a 14% Sunday Mass attendance, but that has fallen to 6% as of January 2026.
● In 2022 France showed an 8% Sunday Mass attendance, but that has fallen to 5% as of January 2026.
● In 2022 the Netherlands showed a 7% Sunday Mass attendance, but that has fallen to 2.5% as of January 2026.
As for the USA, in 1957 over 75% of U.S. Catholics attended Sunday Mass regularly. In 1965 regular Sunday Mass attendance had dropped to 67%. In 1980 it had dropped to 41%. In 1990 only 39% of U.S. Catholics regularly attended Sunday Mass. In 1995 it was 35%. In 2004 only 25% of Catholics would regularly attend Sunday Mass. In 2018 there were only 21% U.S. Catholics attending Mass every week. During the Plannedemic, 2020-2022, the number dropped to around 10%. Today (2026) around 17% of US Catholics attend Sunday Mass on a regular basis.
Similarly in Ireland. Remarkably, in the 1950s and 1960s regular Sunday Mass attendance was around 90%. In 1973 it was 87%. In 2008, in 1981 it was it was 44%. Today (2026) Mass attendance in Ireland is 27%.
The Fire of the Catholic Faith is Being Reduced to Embers and Ashes
During these Lenten Ember Day (Ember Wednesday, Ember Friday and Ember Saturday) we would do well to reflect upon the long-lasting and gradual demise of the Catholic Faith―in the hope that our own embers might be sparked back into the fire that God intended for our Faith. God Himself chose fire to represent and symbolize Himself in both the Old and New Testaments.
“God is a consuming fire!” (Hebrews 12:29). “The Lord thy God is a consuming fire!” (Deuteronomy 4:2). “The mountains shall be melted under Him as wax before the fire” (Micheas 1:4). “Know that the Lord thy God Himself, a devouring and consuming fire, will pass over before thee!” (Deuteronomy 9:3). “The Lord will come with fire, to render His wrath in indignation, and His rebuke with flames of fire! For the Lord shall judge by fire, and the slain of the Lord shall be many!” (Isaias 66:15-16). We see that to be true in the case of Sodom and Gomorrha: “And the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrha brimstone and fire out of Heaven! And He destroyed these cities, and all the country surrounding them” (Genesis 19:24). During the Exodus, God killed Core, Dathan and Abiron for leading a violent rebellion against the divinely appointed leadership of Moses and Aaron: “And a fire coming out from the Lord, destroyed the two hundred and fifty men” (Numbers 16:35).
God appears to Moses as a burning bush: “The Lord appeared to Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush” (Exodus 3:1-6). During the Exodus from Egypt, “the Lord went before them to show the way by day in a pillar of a cloud, and by night in a pillar of fire” (Exodus 13:21). God shows His presence as a massive fire on the mountain: “All Mount Sinai was smoking because the Lord was come down upon it in fire” (Exodus 19:18). “The glory of the Lord was like a burning fire upon the top of the Mount, in the eyes of the children of Israel” (Exodus 24:17).
Our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary as the Sacred Heart, showing her that His Heart was on fire with love for us: “My Divine Heart is so passionately inflamed with love for men, that it can no longer to contain within Itself the flames of Its ardent charity, and needs spread them abroad!” Our Lord Himself said: “I am come to cast fire on the Earth―and what will I, but that it be kindled!” (Luke 12:49).
We ourselves pray to the Holy Ghost, begging: “Come O Holy Ghost … enkindle in us the fire of Thy love!” At the very first Pentecost, the Holy Ghost came down upon Our Lady and the Apostles in the form of tongues of fire: “There appeared to them parted tongues as it were of fire, and sat upon every one of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:3-4).
God commanded that a fire always burn at the altar in His Temple―just we always have a sanctuary light always burning on the altar or somewhere else in the sanctuary: “And the fire on the altar shall always burn” (Leviticus 6:12). Is the fire of our Faith and Charity always burning brightly? “Shall thy zeal be kindled like a fire?” (Psalm 78:5). Or is it being gradually reduced to mere glowing embers waiting to eventually becoming lifeless ashes? “He was condemned to die in ashes” (2 Machabees 13:8). God will test the fire of our love: “The Lord is like a refining fire” (Malachias 3:2). “As silver is tried by fire, and gold in the furnace, so the Lord tries the hearts” (Proverbs 17:3). “Thou hast proved my heart, and, Thou hast tried me by fire!” (Psalm 16:3). “My heart grew hot within me and in my meditation a fire shall flame out!” (Psalm 38:4). We are meant to enkindle a fire of love already here on Earth, which will burn with even greater love in Heaven―unless our lukewarm love needs “heating-up” in the fires of Purgatory; or, God forbid, that we end up burning with hatred in the fires of Hell. Burn we must! Burn we will! Which fire will we choose?
► POPE BENEDICT XVI (1927–2022)―was a Liberal and advocate of Church reform, who participated in the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) where served as a peritus (theological consultant) to Cardinal Frings of Cologne. He was viewed during the time of the council as a reformer, cooperating with Liberal and Modernist theologians like Fr. Hans Küng and Fr. Edward Schillebeeckx. In a conference that he gave in 1969 while still a priest (Fr. Joseph Ratzinger) and professor of theology, he admitted that the Faith was dying throughout the world:
“In our days, in vast areas of the world, the Faith is in danger of dying out―like a flame which no longer has fuel! … The boat has taken on so much water as to be on the verge of capsizing! … The future of the Church can and will issue from those whose roots are deep, and who live from the pure fullness of their Faith … It will not come from those who take the easier road, who sidestep the passion of Faith! … The future of the Church―once again as always―will be reshaped by saints, by men whose minds probe deeper than the slogans of the day; who see more than others see, because their lives embrace a wider reality … From the crisis of today the Church of tomorrow will emerge ― a Church that has lost much. She will become small and will have to start afresh―more or less from the beginning. She will no longer be able to inhabit many of the edifices [buildings] that she built in prosperity. As the number of her adherents diminishes, so will she lose many of her social privileges. In contrast to an earlier age, she will be seen much more as a voluntary society, entered only by free decision. As a small society, she will make much bigger demands on the initiative of her individual members … The Church will be a more spiritual Church …. It will be hard-going for the Church … It seems certain to me that the Church is facing very hard times. The real crisis has scarcely begun. We will have to count on terrific upheavals. But I am equally certain about what will remain at the end―not the Church of the political cult, which is dead already, but the Church of Faith … But when the trial of this sifting is past, a great power will flow from a more spiritualized and simplified Church!” (Pope Benedict XVI, who was Fr. Joseph Ratzinger before his papal election).
Fr. Ratzinger (the future Pope Benedict XVI) reinforces the many prophecies that speak of the same situation within the Church.
► OUR LADY OF GOOD SUCCESS foretold: “I make it known to you that from the end of the 19th century and shortly after the middle of the 20th century … the Catholic spirit will rapidly decay; the precious light of the Faith will gradually be extinguished … Various heresies will be propagated. As these heresies spread and dominate, the precious light of Faith will be extinguished in souls by the almost total corruption of morals … The small number of souls who, hidden, will preserve the treasure of the Faith and the virtues, will suffer an unspeakably cruel and slow martyrdom!”
► OUR LADY OF LA SALETTE foretold: “Lucifer, together with a large number of demons, will be unloosed from Hell―they will put an end to Faith, little by little, even in those dedicated to God. God will allow the old serpent to cause divisions among those who reign in every society and in every family. The chiefs, the leaders of the people of God, have neglected prayer and penance … People will think of nothing but amusement. The wicked will give themselves over to all kinds of sin … and men will become more and more perverted … The true Faith to the Lord will be forgotten … Many will abandon the Faith, and a great number of priests and members of religious orders will break away from the true religion; among these people there will even be bishops ... A number of religious institutions will lose all Faith and will cause many souls to be damned. Evil books will be abundant on Earth and the spirits of darkness will spread everywhere a universal slackening in everything that concerns the service of God … Rome will lose the Faith and become the seat of the Antichrist.”
► OUR LADY OF FATIMA entrusted three secrets to the children at Fatima―it is the Third Secret of Fatima that has not been fully (or truthfully) revealed. However, those persons who were privileged to read Sister Lucia written version of the Third Secret, have given some clues as to what it might refer to.
► FATHER JOSEPH SCHWEIGL was entrusted by Pope Pius XII with a secret mission to interview Sister Lucy about the Third Secret in 1952. He subsequently stated: “I cannot reveal anything of what I learned at Fatima concerning the Third Secret, but I can say that it has two parts―one concerns the Pope; the other logically―although I must say nothing―would have to be the continuation of the words: ‘In Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved.’”
► CARDINAL ODDI―who was a personal friend of Pope John XXIII and who had spoken to him regarding the Secret―gave the following testimony to Italian journalist, Lucio Brunelli, in the journal Il Sabato on March 17th, 1990: “It [the Third Secret] has nothing to do with Gorbachev [Russia’s Communist leader]. The Blessed Virgin was alerting us against apostasy in the Church.”
► CARDINAL MARIO LUIGI CIAPPI―who was the personal papal theologian to Popes John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I and John Paul II―revealed in a personal communication to a Professor Baumgartner in Salzburg: “In the Third Secret it is foretold, among other things, that the great apostasy in the Church will begin at the top.”
► FATHER JOSE VALINHO―Sister Lucia’s nephew―stated: “I believe that (the third) part of the secret concerns the Church from within, perhaps doctrinal difficulties, a crisis of unity, rebellion. The last sentence my aunt [Lucia] wrote, which precedes the part that is still unknown, says: ‘In Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved, etc.’ … Therefore, people elsewhere in the Church might waver on dogma. But this is just speculation … I believe that there is a connection between that which is announced in the first part of the Secret, which concerns wars and sufferings which would be everywhere, and the second part which concerns the persecutions and a type of breakdown of the Faith. Because where the ellipsis (the three dots, “…”) was placed, it means: ‘Here is the third part, which is not revealed’ and then the conclusion: ‘In Portugal the dogma of the faith will always be preserved etc ...’ This suggests to me that there is a relationship between Faith and the third part of the Secret. Therefore, it is something that relates to the Church. It is some kind of universal crisis which affects the whole Church and all of humanity.”
► POPE ST. PIUS X warned: “I saw one of my successors taking to flight over the bodies of his brethren. He will take refuge in disguise somewhere; and after a short retirement he will die a cruel death. The present wickedness of the world is only the beginning of the sorrows which must take place before the end of the world.”
► CARDINAL MANNING wrote in 1861: “The apostasy of the city of Rome from the vicar of Christ and its destruction by Antichrist may be thoughts very new to many Catholics, that I think it well to recite the text of theologians of greatest repute. First Malvenda, who writes expressly on the subject, states as the opinion of Ribera, Gaspar Melus, Biegas, Suarrez, Bellarmine and Bosius that Rome shall apostatize from the Faith, drive away the Vicar of Christ and return to its ancient paganism. ...Then the Church shall be scattered, driven into the wilderness, and shall be for a time, as it was in the beginning, invisible; hidden in catacombs, in dens, in mountains, in lurking places; for a time it shall be swept, as it were from the face of the Earth. Such is the universal testimony of the Fathers of the early Church.” (Henry Edward Cardinal Manning, The Present Crisis of the Holy See, pp. 88-90).
► ST. JOHN BOSCO predicted back in 1862: “There will be an Ecumenical Council in the next century [the 1900s―Vatican II took place from 1962 to 1965]], after which there will be chaos in the Church.”
► MARIE JULIE JAHENNY was warned by Our Lord and Our Lady of the conspiracy to invent the “New Mass”: “I give you a WARNING. The disciples who are not of My Gospel are now working hard to remake―according to their ideas and under the influence of the enemy of souls―a Mass that contains words that are odious in My sight. When the fatal hour arrives when the Faith of my priests is put to the test, it will be these texts that will be celebrated in this second period ... The first period is the one of my priesthood which exists since Me. The second is the one of the persecution when the enemies of the Faith and of Holy Religion will impose their formulas in the book of the second celebration ... These infamous spirits are those who crucified Me and are awaiting the kingdom of the new Messias.”
► ARCHBISHOP FULTON SHEEN foretold: “He [Satan] will set up a counter-church which will be the ape of the Church, because he, the Devil, is the ape of God. It will have all the notes and characteristics of the Church, but in reverse and emptied of its divine content. It will be a mystical body of the Antichrist that will in all externals resemble the mystical body of Christ... But the twentieth century will join the counter-church because it claims to be infallible when its visible head speaks ex cathedra” (Fulton J. Sheen, Communism and the Conscience of the West, pp. 24-25).
► ST ANTHONY OF DESERT (ST. ANTHONY THE GREAT) warned: “Men will surrender to the spirit of the age. They will say if they had lived in our day Faith would be easy. But in their day, they will say, things are complex; the Church must be brought up to date and be made meaningful to today’s problems (which is what the Second Vatican Council professed to do). When the Church and world are one, know then that those days are at hand (the beginning of the End). Because our Divine Master placed a barrier between His things and the things of this world.”
ST. NICHOLAS OF FLÜE (1417-1487): “The Church will be punished because the majority of her members, high and low, will become so perverted. The Church will sink deeper and deeper until she will at last seem to be extinguished, and the succession of Peter and the other Apostles will seem to have expired.”
► ST. NILUS (died 430) was a disciple and fervent defenders of St. John Chrysostom. He was an officer at the Court of Constantinople. St. John Chrysostom directed Nilus in the study of Scripture and in works of piety. St. Nilus later went to Mount Sinai to be a monk. The Bishop of Eleusa ordained St. Nilus to the priesthood. From his monastery at Sinai, St. Nilus was a well-known person throughout the Eastern Church; by his writings and correspondence he played an important part in the history of his time. He was known as a theologian, Biblical scholar and ascetic writer, so people of all kinds, from the emperor down, wrote to consult him.
St. Nilus wrote: “After the year 1900, toward the middle of the 20th century, the people of that time will become unrecognizable. People’s minds will grow cloudy from carnal passions, and dishonor and lawlessness will grow stronger. Then the world will become unrecognizable. The appearances of people will change, and it will be impossible to distinguish men from women―due to their shamelessness in dress and style of hair. There will be no respect for parents or elders, love will disappear, and Christian pastors, bishops, and priests will become vain men. The Church of God will be deprived of God-fearing and pious pastors, and woe to the Christians remaining in the world at that time; many will completely lose their Faith. At that time the morals and traditions of Christians and 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.” (St. Nilus, 430).
► VENERABLE FR. BARTHOLOMEW HOLZHAUSER (17th century): “Jesus Christ will purify His people through cruel wars, famines, plaque, epidemics, and other horrible calamities. He will also afflict and weaken the Latin Churches with many heresies. Nations will fight against nations. It is a period of defections, calamities, and extermination. Those Christians who survive the sword, plaque, famines and epidemics will be few on Earth. During this period many men will abuse the freedom of conscience (heresy) conceded to them―there will be laxity in divine and human precepts. Discipline will suffer. The Holy Canons will be completely disregarded and the clergy will not respect the Laws of the Church. Everyone will be carried away and led to believe and to do what he fancies according to the manner of the flesh. These are evil times and heresy is everywhere! A time full of dangers and calamities. Heresy is everywhere and the followers of heresy are in power almost everywhere! Bishops, prelates and priests will seek all kinds of excuses and say they are doing their duty, that they are vigilant and that they live as befits their state of life. Heretics and tyrants will come suddenly and unexpectedly; they will break into the Church while bishops, prelates and priests are asleep. When everything has been ruined by war, when Catholics are hard pressed by traitorous co-religionists and heretics, when the Church and her servants are denied her rights, when the monarchies have been overthrown and their rulers murdered, then the hand of Almighty God will work a marvelous change, something seemingly impossible according to reason.”
● In 2022 the Philippines showed a 56% Sunday Mass attendance, but that has fallen to 41% as of January 2026.
● In 2022 Poland showed a 52% Sunday Mass attendance, but that has fallen to 29% as of January 2026.
● In 2022 Italy showed a 34% Sunday Mass attendance, but that has fallen to 15% as of January 2026.
● In 2022 Spain showed a 27% Sunday Mass attendance, but that has fallen to 18% as of January 2026.
● In 2022 Australia showed a 21% Sunday Mass attendance, but that has fallen to 8% as of January 2026.
● In 2022 Germany showed a 14% Sunday Mass attendance, but that has fallen to 6% as of January 2026.
● In 2022 France showed an 8% Sunday Mass attendance, but that has fallen to 5% as of January 2026.
● In 2022 the Netherlands showed a 7% Sunday Mass attendance, but that has fallen to 2.5% as of January 2026.
As for the USA, in 1957 over 75% of U.S. Catholics attended Sunday Mass regularly. In 1965 regular Sunday Mass attendance had dropped to 67%. In 1980 it had dropped to 41%. In 1990 only 39% of U.S. Catholics regularly attended Sunday Mass. In 1995 it was 35%. In 2004 only 25% of Catholics would regularly attend Sunday Mass. In 2018 there were only 21% U.S. Catholics attending Mass every week. During the Plannedemic, 2020-2022, the number dropped to around 10%. Today (2026) around 17% of US Catholics attend Sunday Mass on a regular basis.
Similarly in Ireland. Remarkably, in the 1950s and 1960s regular Sunday Mass attendance was around 90%. In 1973 it was 87%. In 2008, in 1981 it was it was 44%. Today (2026) Mass attendance in Ireland is 27%.
The Fire of the Catholic Faith is Being Reduced to Embers and Ashes
During these Lenten Ember Day (Ember Wednesday, Ember Friday and Ember Saturday) we would do well to reflect upon the long-lasting and gradual demise of the Catholic Faith―in the hope that our own embers might be sparked back into the fire that God intended for our Faith. God Himself chose fire to represent and symbolize Himself in both the Old and New Testaments.
“God is a consuming fire!” (Hebrews 12:29). “The Lord thy God is a consuming fire!” (Deuteronomy 4:2). “The mountains shall be melted under Him as wax before the fire” (Micheas 1:4). “Know that the Lord thy God Himself, a devouring and consuming fire, will pass over before thee!” (Deuteronomy 9:3). “The Lord will come with fire, to render His wrath in indignation, and His rebuke with flames of fire! For the Lord shall judge by fire, and the slain of the Lord shall be many!” (Isaias 66:15-16). We see that to be true in the case of Sodom and Gomorrha: “And the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrha brimstone and fire out of Heaven! And He destroyed these cities, and all the country surrounding them” (Genesis 19:24). During the Exodus, God killed Core, Dathan and Abiron for leading a violent rebellion against the divinely appointed leadership of Moses and Aaron: “And a fire coming out from the Lord, destroyed the two hundred and fifty men” (Numbers 16:35).
God appears to Moses as a burning bush: “The Lord appeared to Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush” (Exodus 3:1-6). During the Exodus from Egypt, “the Lord went before them to show the way by day in a pillar of a cloud, and by night in a pillar of fire” (Exodus 13:21). God shows His presence as a massive fire on the mountain: “All Mount Sinai was smoking because the Lord was come down upon it in fire” (Exodus 19:18). “The glory of the Lord was like a burning fire upon the top of the Mount, in the eyes of the children of Israel” (Exodus 24:17).
Our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary as the Sacred Heart, showing her that His Heart was on fire with love for us: “My Divine Heart is so passionately inflamed with love for men, that it can no longer to contain within Itself the flames of Its ardent charity, and needs spread them abroad!” Our Lord Himself said: “I am come to cast fire on the Earth―and what will I, but that it be kindled!” (Luke 12:49).
We ourselves pray to the Holy Ghost, begging: “Come O Holy Ghost … enkindle in us the fire of Thy love!” At the very first Pentecost, the Holy Ghost came down upon Our Lady and the Apostles in the form of tongues of fire: “There appeared to them parted tongues as it were of fire, and sat upon every one of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:3-4).
God commanded that a fire always burn at the altar in His Temple―just we always have a sanctuary light always burning on the altar or somewhere else in the sanctuary: “And the fire on the altar shall always burn” (Leviticus 6:12). Is the fire of our Faith and Charity always burning brightly? “Shall thy zeal be kindled like a fire?” (Psalm 78:5). Or is it being gradually reduced to mere glowing embers waiting to eventually becoming lifeless ashes? “He was condemned to die in ashes” (2 Machabees 13:8). God will test the fire of our love: “The Lord is like a refining fire” (Malachias 3:2). “As silver is tried by fire, and gold in the furnace, so the Lord tries the hearts” (Proverbs 17:3). “Thou hast proved my heart, and, Thou hast tried me by fire!” (Psalm 16:3). “My heart grew hot within me and in my meditation a fire shall flame out!” (Psalm 38:4). We are meant to enkindle a fire of love already here on Earth, which will burn with even greater love in Heaven―unless our lukewarm love needs “heating-up” in the fires of Purgatory; or, God forbid, that we end up burning with hatred in the fires of Hell. Burn we must! Burn we will! Which fire will we choose?
► POPE BENEDICT XVI (1927–2022)―was a Liberal and advocate of Church reform, who participated in the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) where served as a peritus (theological consultant) to Cardinal Frings of Cologne. He was viewed during the time of the council as a reformer, cooperating with Liberal and Modernist theologians like Fr. Hans Küng and Fr. Edward Schillebeeckx. In a conference that he gave in 1969 while still a priest (Fr. Joseph Ratzinger) and professor of theology, he admitted that the Faith was dying throughout the world:
“In our days, in vast areas of the world, the Faith is in danger of dying out―like a flame which no longer has fuel! … The boat has taken on so much water as to be on the verge of capsizing! … The future of the Church can and will issue from those whose roots are deep, and who live from the pure fullness of their Faith … It will not come from those who take the easier road, who sidestep the passion of Faith! … The future of the Church―once again as always―will be reshaped by saints, by men whose minds probe deeper than the slogans of the day; who see more than others see, because their lives embrace a wider reality … From the crisis of today the Church of tomorrow will emerge ― a Church that has lost much. She will become small and will have to start afresh―more or less from the beginning. She will no longer be able to inhabit many of the edifices [buildings] that she built in prosperity. As the number of her adherents diminishes, so will she lose many of her social privileges. In contrast to an earlier age, she will be seen much more as a voluntary society, entered only by free decision. As a small society, she will make much bigger demands on the initiative of her individual members … The Church will be a more spiritual Church …. It will be hard-going for the Church … It seems certain to me that the Church is facing very hard times. The real crisis has scarcely begun. We will have to count on terrific upheavals. But I am equally certain about what will remain at the end―not the Church of the political cult, which is dead already, but the Church of Faith … But when the trial of this sifting is past, a great power will flow from a more spiritualized and simplified Church!” (Pope Benedict XVI, who was Fr. Joseph Ratzinger before his papal election).
Fr. Ratzinger (the future Pope Benedict XVI) reinforces the many prophecies that speak of the same situation within the Church.
► OUR LADY OF GOOD SUCCESS foretold: “I make it known to you that from the end of the 19th century and shortly after the middle of the 20th century … the Catholic spirit will rapidly decay; the precious light of the Faith will gradually be extinguished … Various heresies will be propagated. As these heresies spread and dominate, the precious light of Faith will be extinguished in souls by the almost total corruption of morals … The small number of souls who, hidden, will preserve the treasure of the Faith and the virtues, will suffer an unspeakably cruel and slow martyrdom!”
► OUR LADY OF LA SALETTE foretold: “Lucifer, together with a large number of demons, will be unloosed from Hell―they will put an end to Faith, little by little, even in those dedicated to God. God will allow the old serpent to cause divisions among those who reign in every society and in every family. The chiefs, the leaders of the people of God, have neglected prayer and penance … People will think of nothing but amusement. The wicked will give themselves over to all kinds of sin … and men will become more and more perverted … The true Faith to the Lord will be forgotten … Many will abandon the Faith, and a great number of priests and members of religious orders will break away from the true religion; among these people there will even be bishops ... A number of religious institutions will lose all Faith and will cause many souls to be damned. Evil books will be abundant on Earth and the spirits of darkness will spread everywhere a universal slackening in everything that concerns the service of God … Rome will lose the Faith and become the seat of the Antichrist.”
► OUR LADY OF FATIMA entrusted three secrets to the children at Fatima―it is the Third Secret of Fatima that has not been fully (or truthfully) revealed. However, those persons who were privileged to read Sister Lucia written version of the Third Secret, have given some clues as to what it might refer to.
► FATHER JOSEPH SCHWEIGL was entrusted by Pope Pius XII with a secret mission to interview Sister Lucy about the Third Secret in 1952. He subsequently stated: “I cannot reveal anything of what I learned at Fatima concerning the Third Secret, but I can say that it has two parts―one concerns the Pope; the other logically―although I must say nothing―would have to be the continuation of the words: ‘In Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved.’”
► CARDINAL ODDI―who was a personal friend of Pope John XXIII and who had spoken to him regarding the Secret―gave the following testimony to Italian journalist, Lucio Brunelli, in the journal Il Sabato on March 17th, 1990: “It [the Third Secret] has nothing to do with Gorbachev [Russia’s Communist leader]. The Blessed Virgin was alerting us against apostasy in the Church.”
► CARDINAL MARIO LUIGI CIAPPI―who was the personal papal theologian to Popes John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I and John Paul II―revealed in a personal communication to a Professor Baumgartner in Salzburg: “In the Third Secret it is foretold, among other things, that the great apostasy in the Church will begin at the top.”
► FATHER JOSE VALINHO―Sister Lucia’s nephew―stated: “I believe that (the third) part of the secret concerns the Church from within, perhaps doctrinal difficulties, a crisis of unity, rebellion. The last sentence my aunt [Lucia] wrote, which precedes the part that is still unknown, says: ‘In Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved, etc.’ … Therefore, people elsewhere in the Church might waver on dogma. But this is just speculation … I believe that there is a connection between that which is announced in the first part of the Secret, which concerns wars and sufferings which would be everywhere, and the second part which concerns the persecutions and a type of breakdown of the Faith. Because where the ellipsis (the three dots, “…”) was placed, it means: ‘Here is the third part, which is not revealed’ and then the conclusion: ‘In Portugal the dogma of the faith will always be preserved etc ...’ This suggests to me that there is a relationship between Faith and the third part of the Secret. Therefore, it is something that relates to the Church. It is some kind of universal crisis which affects the whole Church and all of humanity.”
► POPE ST. PIUS X warned: “I saw one of my successors taking to flight over the bodies of his brethren. He will take refuge in disguise somewhere; and after a short retirement he will die a cruel death. The present wickedness of the world is only the beginning of the sorrows which must take place before the end of the world.”
► CARDINAL MANNING wrote in 1861: “The apostasy of the city of Rome from the vicar of Christ and its destruction by Antichrist may be thoughts very new to many Catholics, that I think it well to recite the text of theologians of greatest repute. First Malvenda, who writes expressly on the subject, states as the opinion of Ribera, Gaspar Melus, Biegas, Suarrez, Bellarmine and Bosius that Rome shall apostatize from the Faith, drive away the Vicar of Christ and return to its ancient paganism. ...Then the Church shall be scattered, driven into the wilderness, and shall be for a time, as it was in the beginning, invisible; hidden in catacombs, in dens, in mountains, in lurking places; for a time it shall be swept, as it were from the face of the Earth. Such is the universal testimony of the Fathers of the early Church.” (Henry Edward Cardinal Manning, The Present Crisis of the Holy See, pp. 88-90).
► ST. JOHN BOSCO predicted back in 1862: “There will be an Ecumenical Council in the next century [the 1900s―Vatican II took place from 1962 to 1965]], after which there will be chaos in the Church.”
► MARIE JULIE JAHENNY was warned by Our Lord and Our Lady of the conspiracy to invent the “New Mass”: “I give you a WARNING. The disciples who are not of My Gospel are now working hard to remake―according to their ideas and under the influence of the enemy of souls―a Mass that contains words that are odious in My sight. When the fatal hour arrives when the Faith of my priests is put to the test, it will be these texts that will be celebrated in this second period ... The first period is the one of my priesthood which exists since Me. The second is the one of the persecution when the enemies of the Faith and of Holy Religion will impose their formulas in the book of the second celebration ... These infamous spirits are those who crucified Me and are awaiting the kingdom of the new Messias.”
► ARCHBISHOP FULTON SHEEN foretold: “He [Satan] will set up a counter-church which will be the ape of the Church, because he, the Devil, is the ape of God. It will have all the notes and characteristics of the Church, but in reverse and emptied of its divine content. It will be a mystical body of the Antichrist that will in all externals resemble the mystical body of Christ... But the twentieth century will join the counter-church because it claims to be infallible when its visible head speaks ex cathedra” (Fulton J. Sheen, Communism and the Conscience of the West, pp. 24-25).
► ST ANTHONY OF DESERT (ST. ANTHONY THE GREAT) warned: “Men will surrender to the spirit of the age. They will say if they had lived in our day Faith would be easy. But in their day, they will say, things are complex; the Church must be brought up to date and be made meaningful to today’s problems (which is what the Second Vatican Council professed to do). When the Church and world are one, know then that those days are at hand (the beginning of the End). Because our Divine Master placed a barrier between His things and the things of this world.”
ST. NICHOLAS OF FLÜE (1417-1487): “The Church will be punished because the majority of her members, high and low, will become so perverted. The Church will sink deeper and deeper until she will at last seem to be extinguished, and the succession of Peter and the other Apostles will seem to have expired.”
► ST. NILUS (died 430) was a disciple and fervent defenders of St. John Chrysostom. He was an officer at the Court of Constantinople. St. John Chrysostom directed Nilus in the study of Scripture and in works of piety. St. Nilus later went to Mount Sinai to be a monk. The Bishop of Eleusa ordained St. Nilus to the priesthood. From his monastery at Sinai, St. Nilus was a well-known person throughout the Eastern Church; by his writings and correspondence he played an important part in the history of his time. He was known as a theologian, Biblical scholar and ascetic writer, so people of all kinds, from the emperor down, wrote to consult him.
St. Nilus wrote: “After the year 1900, toward the middle of the 20th century, the people of that time will become unrecognizable. People’s minds will grow cloudy from carnal passions, and dishonor and lawlessness will grow stronger. Then the world will become unrecognizable. The appearances of people will change, and it will be impossible to distinguish men from women―due to their shamelessness in dress and style of hair. There will be no respect for parents or elders, love will disappear, and Christian pastors, bishops, and priests will become vain men. The Church of God will be deprived of God-fearing and pious pastors, and woe to the Christians remaining in the world at that time; many will completely lose their Faith. At that time the morals and traditions of Christians and 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.” (St. Nilus, 430).
► VENERABLE FR. BARTHOLOMEW HOLZHAUSER (17th century): “Jesus Christ will purify His people through cruel wars, famines, plaque, epidemics, and other horrible calamities. He will also afflict and weaken the Latin Churches with many heresies. Nations will fight against nations. It is a period of defections, calamities, and extermination. Those Christians who survive the sword, plaque, famines and epidemics will be few on Earth. During this period many men will abuse the freedom of conscience (heresy) conceded to them―there will be laxity in divine and human precepts. Discipline will suffer. The Holy Canons will be completely disregarded and the clergy will not respect the Laws of the Church. Everyone will be carried away and led to believe and to do what he fancies according to the manner of the flesh. These are evil times and heresy is everywhere! A time full of dangers and calamities. Heresy is everywhere and the followers of heresy are in power almost everywhere! Bishops, prelates and priests will seek all kinds of excuses and say they are doing their duty, that they are vigilant and that they live as befits their state of life. Heretics and tyrants will come suddenly and unexpectedly; they will break into the Church while bishops, prelates and priests are asleep. When everything has been ruined by war, when Catholics are hard pressed by traitorous co-religionists and heretics, when the Church and her servants are denied her rights, when the monarchies have been overthrown and their rulers murdered, then the hand of Almighty God will work a marvelous change, something seemingly impossible according to reason.”
Article 7
Tuesday after the 1st Sunday of Lent, February 24th
Why Do You Fall For It?
Tuesday after the 1st Sunday of Lent, February 24th
Why Do You Fall For It?
Falling Into Temptation
We have already said that temptation is inevitable! Yet falling into temptation, or giving in to the temptation, is not inevitable. Yet we fall so many times! Why? Well, one reason is that we do not understand how the temptation works, or how the devil works the temptation. Let us therefore look at some of these things, so that, being forewarned, we are fore-armed.
The Devil’s Targets
Again, St. John Vianney, in his simple language, explains some the tactics used by the devil: “Whom does the devil pursue must? Perhaps you are thinking that it must be those who are tempted most; these would undoubtedly be the habitual drunkards, the scandalmongers, the immodest and shameless people who wallow in moral filth, and the miser, who hoards in all sorts of ways. No, my dear brethren no, it is not these people. On the contrary, the Devil despises them, or else he holds onto them, lest they not have a long enough time in which to do evil, because the longer they live, the more their bad example will drag souls into Hell.
“Indeed, if the Devil had pursued this lewd and shameless old fellow too closely, he might have shortened the latter’s life by fifteen or twenty years, and he would not then have destroyed the virginity of that young girl by plunging her into the unspeakable mire of his indecencies; he would not, again, have seduced that wife, nor would he have taught his evil lessons to that young man, who will perhaps continue to practice them until his death. If the Devil had prompted this thief to rob on every occasion, he would long since have ended on the scaffold and so he would not have induced his neighbor to follow his example. If the Devil had urged this drunkard to fill himself unceasingly with wine, he would long ago have perished in his debaucheries, instead of which, by living longer, he has made many others like himself. If the Devil had taken away the life of this musician, of that dance-hall owner, of this bar keeper, in some raid or scuffle, or on any other occasion, how many souls would there be who, without these people, would not be damned and who now will be? St. Augustine teaches us that the Devil does not bother these people very much; on the contrary, he despises them and spits upon them” (St. John Vianney, Sermon on Temptation).
The Prime Targets of the Devils
The Curé of Ars then asks the rhetorical question: “So, you will ask me, who then are the people most tempted? They are these, my friends; note them carefully. The people most tempted are those who are ready, with the grace of God, to sacrifice everything for the salvation of their poor souls, who renounce all those things which most people eagerly seek. It is not one devil only who tempts them, but millions seek to entrap them.
“We are told that St. Francis of Assisi and all his religious were gathered on an open plain, where they had built little huts of rushes. Seeing the extraordinary penances which were being practiced, St. Francis ordered that all instruments of penance should be brought out, whereupon his religious produced them in bundles. At this moment there was one young man, to whom God gave the grace to see his Guardian Angel. On the one side he saw all of these good religious, who could not satisfy their hunger for penance, and, on the other, his Guardian Angel allowed him to see a gathering of eighteen thousand devils, who were holding counsel to see in what way they could subvert these religious by temptation.
“One of the devils said: ‘You do not understand this at all! These religious are so humble! Ah, what wonderful virtue, so detached from themselves, so attached to God! They have a superior who leads them so well that it is impossible to succeed in winning them over. Let us wait until their superior is dead, and then we shall try to introduce among them young people without vocations, who will bring about a certain slackening of spirit, and in this way we shall gain them!’” (St. John Vianney, Sermon on Temptation).
Same Tactic For Families, Parishes & Schools
The very same can be said about families—if one or both parents are well-intentioned, fervent and well-disciplined, then the devil will seek to bring that family into contact with much weaker and dissolute families, with the hope that weaker and more lax family will spread the germs or virus of lukewarmness into the bosom of the better family. To help weaken future families, the devils desire the faithful children to marry lukewarm or sinful spouses—thereby watering-down the devotion and Faith―for as Our Lord says: “Every kingdom that is divided against itself shall be made desolate; and every city or house that is divided against itself shall not stand!” (Matthew 12:25)—hence the devils seek to divide in order to conquer.
The same applies to our parishes and schools. The devils do their utmost to see to it that authority is placed in the hands of the lukewarm or the Liberals (preferably both), for it is the superior that forms and shapes the inferiors. The devil knows that we are only as strong as our weakest link—so he seeks to remove any and all strict authorities and add as many weak links as possible in positions of authority―whether it be it as priests, religious or teachers. This will create division among the ranks, with the weaker parishioners or school-children—like water—seeking the point of least resistance and of greatest allowance or permissiveness. Once this split or division is created, the end is only a matter of time.
St. John Vianney continues: “A little further on, as St. Francis entered the town, he saw a devil, sitting by himself beside the gate into the town, whose task was to tempt all of those who were inside. This saint asked his Guardian Angel why it was that, in order to tempt this group of religious, there had been so many thousands of devils, while for a whole town there was but one—and that one sitting down. His good Angel told him that the people of the town had not the same need of temptations, that they had enough bad in themselves, while the religious were doing good, despite all the traps which the Devil could lay for them.”
Sinners Seem to Have it Easy!
Psalm 72 speaks of sentiments that we may all have experience or perhaps still encounter from time to time. It speaks of bewilderment when looking at the lives of sinners—who seem to be without a care in the world—and discourages the Christian soul by causing it to question whether its efforts at trying to be good and resisting temptation are worthwhile.
“But, as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped, because I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they suffer no pain; their bodies are healthy and sleek. They are free of the burdens of life; they are not afflicted like others. Thus pride adorns them as a necklace; violence clothes them as a robe. Out of such blindness comes sin; evil thoughts flood their hearts. They scoff and spout their malice; from on high they utter threats. They set their mouths against the heavens, their tongues roam the Earth.
“So my people turn to them and drink deeply of their words. They say, ‘Does God really know?’ … ‘Does the Most High have any knowledge?’ Such, then, are the wicked, always carefree, increasing their wealth. Is it in vain that I have kept my heart pure, washed my hands in innocence? For I am afflicted day after day, chastised every morning. Had I thought, ‘I will speak as they do,’ I would have betrayed this generation of Your children” (Psalm 72).
Then the Psalmist passes into the second phase of the meditation, and finally solves the mystery, removes the bewilderment and answers his own question: “Though I tried to understand all this, it was too difficult for me, until I entered the sanctuary of God and came to understand their end. You set them, indeed, on a slippery road; You hurl them down to ruin. How suddenly they are devastated; utterly undone by disaster! They are like a dream after waking, Lord, dismissed like shadows when You arise. Since my heart was embittered and my soul deeply wounded, I was stupid and could not understand; I was like a brute beast in your presence. Yet I am always with You; You take hold of my right hand. With Your counsel You guide me, and at the end receive me with honor. Whom else have I in the heavens? None beside You delights me on Earth. Though my flesh and my heart fail, God is the rock of my heart, my portion forever. But those who are far from you perish; You destroy those unfaithful to You” (Psalm 72).
Sinners Left in Peace―the Job is Already Done
St. John Vianney looks at it from this perspective: “Why is it, my dear brethren, that when someone gives no thought at all to saving his soul, when he is living in sin, he is not tempted in the slightest, but that as soon as he wants to change his life, in other words, as soon as the desire to give his life to God comes to him, all Hell falls upon him?
“Listen to what St. Augustine has to say: ‘Look at the way,’ he tells us, ‘in which the Devil behaves towards the sinner. He acts like a jailer who has a great many prisoners locked up in his prison but who, because he has the key in his pocket, is quite happy to leave them, secure in the knowledge that they cannot get out. This is his way of dealing with the sinner who does not consider the possibility of leaving his sin behind. He does not go to the trouble of tempting him. He looks upon this as time wasted, because, not only is the sinner not thinking of leaving him, but the Devil does not desire to multiply his chains. It would be pointless, therefore, to tempt him. He allows him to live in peace―if, indeed, it is possible to live in peace when one is in sin! He hides the sinner’s state of soul from the sinner as much as is possible until death, when he then tries to paint a picture of his life, so terrifying, as to plunge him into despair. But with anyone who has made up his mind to change his life, to give himself up to God, that is another thing altogether.’” (St. John Vianney, Sermon on Temptation).
Some Are Tempted More, Some Less
The frequency, as well as the violence of temptations, vary greatly. Some persons are often and violently tempted; others are tempted but rarely and without being deeply stirred. There are many causes that account for such diversity. In his book, The Spiritual Life, Fr. Tanquerey lists three chief causes or reasons for the varying degrees of frequency and violence of temptations.
(a) First of all, there are temperament and character. Some persons are extremely passionate and at the same time weak of will; often tempted, they are upset by temptation. Others are well‑balanced and energetic; seldom tempted, they keep their peace in the midst of temptation.
(b) Education accounts for other differences: there are souls who have been reared in the fear and love of God, in the habitual fulfillment of stern duty, and who have almost invariably received none but good example. Others have been brought up in the love of pleasure, in the dread of any kind of suffering, and have seen too many examples of worldliness and sensuality. It is evident that the latter will be more violently tempted than the former.
(c) God’s Providential designs must also be taken into account. There are souls whom He destines for a holy calling and whose purity He shelters with a jealous care. There are others whom He likewise destines to sanctity, but whom He would have pass through severe tests in order to ground them in virtue. Lastly, others there are whom He does not destine to such a high vocation, and who will be more or less frequently tempted, but never beyond their strength. (Fr. Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life).
The Devil Looks to the Future
You may see, too, the struggle which St. Jerome endured when he desired to give himself to God and when he had the thought of visiting the Holy Land. When he was in Rome, he conceived a new desire to work for his salvation. Leaving Rome, he buried himself in a fearsome desert, to give himself over to everything with which his love of God could inspire him. Then the Devil, who foresaw how greatly his conversion would affect others, seemed to burst with fury and despair.
Sinner Changes Life—The Devil Changes Tactics
When a sinner tries to change his life, suddenly the devil comes to life! While St. Augustine lived in sin and evil, he was not aware of anything by which he was tempted. He believed himself to be at peace, as he tells us himself. But from the moment that he desired to turn his back upon the Devil, he had to struggle with him, even to the point of losing his breath in the fight. And that lasted for five years! He wept the most bitter of tears and employed the most austere of penances: “I argued with him,” he says, “in my chains. One day I thought myself victorious, the next I was prostrate on the earth again. This cruel and stubborn war went on for five years! However, God gave me the grace to be victorious over my enemy!”
When the Good Try to Be Better—They’d Better Watch Out
St. John Vianney states: “The first temptation, my dear brethren, which the Devil tries on anyone who has begun to serve God better is in the matter of human respect. He will no longer dare to be seen around; he will hide himself from those with whom, until now, he had been mixing and pleasure seeking. If he should be told that he has changed a lot, he will be ashamed of it! Worrying about what people are going to say about him, is continually in his mind, to the extent that he no longer has enough courage to do good before other people. If the Devil cannot get him back through human respect, he will induce an extraordinary fear to possess him, so that his confessions are not good, that his confessor does not understand him, that whatever he does will be all in vain, that he will be damned just the same, that he will achieve the same result in the end by letting everything slide as by continuing to fight, because the occasions of sin will prove too many for him” (St. John Vianney, Sermon on Temptation).
There was not a single temptation that the devil spared St. Jerome after he chose to better himself spiritually. This is what St. Jerome wrote to one of his friends concerning his temptations: “My dear friend, I wish to confide in you about my affliction and the state to which the Devil seeks to reduce me. How many times in this vast solitude, which the heat of the sun makes insupportable, how many times the pleasures of Rome have come to assail me! The sorrow and the bitterness with which my soul is filled cause me, night and day, to shed floods of tears. I proceed to hide myself in the most isolated places to struggle with my temptations and there to weep for my sins. My body is all disfigured and covered with a rough hair shirt. I have no other bed than the naked ground and my only food is coarse roots and water, even in my illnesses. In spite of all these rigors, my body still experiences thoughts of the squalid pleasures with which Rome is poisoned; my spirit finds itself in the midst of those pleasant companionships in which I so greatly offended God.
“In this desert to which I have condemned myself to avoid Hell, among these sombre rocks, where I have no other companions than the scorpions and the wild beasts, my spirit still bums my body, already dead before myself, with an impure fire; the Devil still dares to offer it pleasures to taste. I behold myself so humiliated by these temptations, the very thought of which makes me die with horror, and not knowing what further austerities I should exert upon my body to attach it to God, that I throw myself on the ground at the foot of my crucifix, bathing it with my tears, and when I can weep no more I pick up stones and beat my breast with them until the blood comes out of my mouth, begging for mercy until the Lord takes pity upon me.
“Is there anyone who can understand the misery of my state, desiring so ardently to please God and to love Him alone? Yet I see myself constantly prone to offend Him. What sorrow this is for me! Help me, my dear friend, by the aid of your prayers, so that I may be stronger in repelling the Devil, who has sworn my eternal damnation” (St. Jerome).
Sleeping Life Away in a False Peace
St. John Vianney warns us of a false peace that the devil gladly gives us: “These, my dear brethren, are the struggles to which God permits his great saints to be exposed. Alas, how we are to be pitied if we are not fiercely harried by the Devil! According to all appearances, we are the friends of the Devil: he lets us live in a false peace, he lulls us to sleep under the pretense that we have said some good prayers, given some alms, that we have done less harm than others. According to our standard, my dear brethren, if you were to ask, for instance, this pillar of the cabaret, if the Devil tempted him, he would answer quite simply that nothing was bothering him at all. Ask this young girl, this daughter of vanity, what her struggles are like, and she will tell you laughingly that she has none at all, that she does not even know what it is to be tempted” (St. John Vianney, Sermon on Temptation).
Danger of Being Oblivious to Temptation
St. John Vianney says: “The temptations we must fear most are those of which we are not conscious.” This is dangerous lot of those who are lukewarm or indifferent with regard to the Faith and their spiritual life. These people look upon a vast multitude of thoughts and actions as being normal and natural. They don’t even dream or imagine them to be sinful. Those who are lukewarm to a high degree will even rationalize away mortal sin. Woe to them when they awake from their dream on Judgment Day!
The Most Terrifying Temptation
The Curé of Ars continues: “There you see, my dear brethren, the most terrifying temptation of all, which is not to be tempted. There you see the state of those whom the Devil is preserving for Hell. If I dared, I would tell you that he takes good care not to tempt or torment such people about their past lives, lest their eyes be opened to their sins. The greatest of all evils is not to be tempted, because there are then grounds for believing that the Devil looks upon us as his property and that he is only awaiting our deaths to drag us into Hell. Nothing could be easier to understand.
“Just consider the Christian who is trying, even in a small way, to save his soul. Everything around him inclines him to evil; he can hardly lift his eyes without being tempted, in spite of all his prayers and penances. And yet a hardened sinner, who for the past twenty years has been wallowing in sin, will tell you that he is not tempted! So much the worse, my friend, so much the worse! That is precisely what should make you tremble—that you do not know what temptations are. For to say that you are not tempted is like saying the Devil no longer exists or that he has lost all his rage against Christian souls” (St. John Vianney, Sermon on Temptation).
Fr. Faber tells us that “Temptations are the raw material of glory.” That is why St. James says: “My brethren, count it all joy, when you shall fall into divers temptations!” (James 1:2), to which St. Peter will add: “You shall greatly rejoice, if now you must be for a little time made sorrowful in divers temptations: so that the trial of your Faith—much more precious than gold which is tried by the fire—may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6-7). While the Imitation of Christ chimes in, saying: “Yet temptations, though troublesome and severe, are often useful to a man, for in them he is humbled, purified, and instructed.” (Book 1, chapter 13).
We have already said that temptation is inevitable! Yet falling into temptation, or giving in to the temptation, is not inevitable. Yet we fall so many times! Why? Well, one reason is that we do not understand how the temptation works, or how the devil works the temptation. Let us therefore look at some of these things, so that, being forewarned, we are fore-armed.
The Devil’s Targets
Again, St. John Vianney, in his simple language, explains some the tactics used by the devil: “Whom does the devil pursue must? Perhaps you are thinking that it must be those who are tempted most; these would undoubtedly be the habitual drunkards, the scandalmongers, the immodest and shameless people who wallow in moral filth, and the miser, who hoards in all sorts of ways. No, my dear brethren no, it is not these people. On the contrary, the Devil despises them, or else he holds onto them, lest they not have a long enough time in which to do evil, because the longer they live, the more their bad example will drag souls into Hell.
“Indeed, if the Devil had pursued this lewd and shameless old fellow too closely, he might have shortened the latter’s life by fifteen or twenty years, and he would not then have destroyed the virginity of that young girl by plunging her into the unspeakable mire of his indecencies; he would not, again, have seduced that wife, nor would he have taught his evil lessons to that young man, who will perhaps continue to practice them until his death. If the Devil had prompted this thief to rob on every occasion, he would long since have ended on the scaffold and so he would not have induced his neighbor to follow his example. If the Devil had urged this drunkard to fill himself unceasingly with wine, he would long ago have perished in his debaucheries, instead of which, by living longer, he has made many others like himself. If the Devil had taken away the life of this musician, of that dance-hall owner, of this bar keeper, in some raid or scuffle, or on any other occasion, how many souls would there be who, without these people, would not be damned and who now will be? St. Augustine teaches us that the Devil does not bother these people very much; on the contrary, he despises them and spits upon them” (St. John Vianney, Sermon on Temptation).
The Prime Targets of the Devils
The Curé of Ars then asks the rhetorical question: “So, you will ask me, who then are the people most tempted? They are these, my friends; note them carefully. The people most tempted are those who are ready, with the grace of God, to sacrifice everything for the salvation of their poor souls, who renounce all those things which most people eagerly seek. It is not one devil only who tempts them, but millions seek to entrap them.
“We are told that St. Francis of Assisi and all his religious were gathered on an open plain, where they had built little huts of rushes. Seeing the extraordinary penances which were being practiced, St. Francis ordered that all instruments of penance should be brought out, whereupon his religious produced them in bundles. At this moment there was one young man, to whom God gave the grace to see his Guardian Angel. On the one side he saw all of these good religious, who could not satisfy their hunger for penance, and, on the other, his Guardian Angel allowed him to see a gathering of eighteen thousand devils, who were holding counsel to see in what way they could subvert these religious by temptation.
“One of the devils said: ‘You do not understand this at all! These religious are so humble! Ah, what wonderful virtue, so detached from themselves, so attached to God! They have a superior who leads them so well that it is impossible to succeed in winning them over. Let us wait until their superior is dead, and then we shall try to introduce among them young people without vocations, who will bring about a certain slackening of spirit, and in this way we shall gain them!’” (St. John Vianney, Sermon on Temptation).
Same Tactic For Families, Parishes & Schools
The very same can be said about families—if one or both parents are well-intentioned, fervent and well-disciplined, then the devil will seek to bring that family into contact with much weaker and dissolute families, with the hope that weaker and more lax family will spread the germs or virus of lukewarmness into the bosom of the better family. To help weaken future families, the devils desire the faithful children to marry lukewarm or sinful spouses—thereby watering-down the devotion and Faith―for as Our Lord says: “Every kingdom that is divided against itself shall be made desolate; and every city or house that is divided against itself shall not stand!” (Matthew 12:25)—hence the devils seek to divide in order to conquer.
The same applies to our parishes and schools. The devils do their utmost to see to it that authority is placed in the hands of the lukewarm or the Liberals (preferably both), for it is the superior that forms and shapes the inferiors. The devil knows that we are only as strong as our weakest link—so he seeks to remove any and all strict authorities and add as many weak links as possible in positions of authority―whether it be it as priests, religious or teachers. This will create division among the ranks, with the weaker parishioners or school-children—like water—seeking the point of least resistance and of greatest allowance or permissiveness. Once this split or division is created, the end is only a matter of time.
St. John Vianney continues: “A little further on, as St. Francis entered the town, he saw a devil, sitting by himself beside the gate into the town, whose task was to tempt all of those who were inside. This saint asked his Guardian Angel why it was that, in order to tempt this group of religious, there had been so many thousands of devils, while for a whole town there was but one—and that one sitting down. His good Angel told him that the people of the town had not the same need of temptations, that they had enough bad in themselves, while the religious were doing good, despite all the traps which the Devil could lay for them.”
Sinners Seem to Have it Easy!
Psalm 72 speaks of sentiments that we may all have experience or perhaps still encounter from time to time. It speaks of bewilderment when looking at the lives of sinners—who seem to be without a care in the world—and discourages the Christian soul by causing it to question whether its efforts at trying to be good and resisting temptation are worthwhile.
“But, as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped, because I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they suffer no pain; their bodies are healthy and sleek. They are free of the burdens of life; they are not afflicted like others. Thus pride adorns them as a necklace; violence clothes them as a robe. Out of such blindness comes sin; evil thoughts flood their hearts. They scoff and spout their malice; from on high they utter threats. They set their mouths against the heavens, their tongues roam the Earth.
“So my people turn to them and drink deeply of their words. They say, ‘Does God really know?’ … ‘Does the Most High have any knowledge?’ Such, then, are the wicked, always carefree, increasing their wealth. Is it in vain that I have kept my heart pure, washed my hands in innocence? For I am afflicted day after day, chastised every morning. Had I thought, ‘I will speak as they do,’ I would have betrayed this generation of Your children” (Psalm 72).
Then the Psalmist passes into the second phase of the meditation, and finally solves the mystery, removes the bewilderment and answers his own question: “Though I tried to understand all this, it was too difficult for me, until I entered the sanctuary of God and came to understand their end. You set them, indeed, on a slippery road; You hurl them down to ruin. How suddenly they are devastated; utterly undone by disaster! They are like a dream after waking, Lord, dismissed like shadows when You arise. Since my heart was embittered and my soul deeply wounded, I was stupid and could not understand; I was like a brute beast in your presence. Yet I am always with You; You take hold of my right hand. With Your counsel You guide me, and at the end receive me with honor. Whom else have I in the heavens? None beside You delights me on Earth. Though my flesh and my heart fail, God is the rock of my heart, my portion forever. But those who are far from you perish; You destroy those unfaithful to You” (Psalm 72).
Sinners Left in Peace―the Job is Already Done
St. John Vianney looks at it from this perspective: “Why is it, my dear brethren, that when someone gives no thought at all to saving his soul, when he is living in sin, he is not tempted in the slightest, but that as soon as he wants to change his life, in other words, as soon as the desire to give his life to God comes to him, all Hell falls upon him?
“Listen to what St. Augustine has to say: ‘Look at the way,’ he tells us, ‘in which the Devil behaves towards the sinner. He acts like a jailer who has a great many prisoners locked up in his prison but who, because he has the key in his pocket, is quite happy to leave them, secure in the knowledge that they cannot get out. This is his way of dealing with the sinner who does not consider the possibility of leaving his sin behind. He does not go to the trouble of tempting him. He looks upon this as time wasted, because, not only is the sinner not thinking of leaving him, but the Devil does not desire to multiply his chains. It would be pointless, therefore, to tempt him. He allows him to live in peace―if, indeed, it is possible to live in peace when one is in sin! He hides the sinner’s state of soul from the sinner as much as is possible until death, when he then tries to paint a picture of his life, so terrifying, as to plunge him into despair. But with anyone who has made up his mind to change his life, to give himself up to God, that is another thing altogether.’” (St. John Vianney, Sermon on Temptation).
Some Are Tempted More, Some Less
The frequency, as well as the violence of temptations, vary greatly. Some persons are often and violently tempted; others are tempted but rarely and without being deeply stirred. There are many causes that account for such diversity. In his book, The Spiritual Life, Fr. Tanquerey lists three chief causes or reasons for the varying degrees of frequency and violence of temptations.
(a) First of all, there are temperament and character. Some persons are extremely passionate and at the same time weak of will; often tempted, they are upset by temptation. Others are well‑balanced and energetic; seldom tempted, they keep their peace in the midst of temptation.
(b) Education accounts for other differences: there are souls who have been reared in the fear and love of God, in the habitual fulfillment of stern duty, and who have almost invariably received none but good example. Others have been brought up in the love of pleasure, in the dread of any kind of suffering, and have seen too many examples of worldliness and sensuality. It is evident that the latter will be more violently tempted than the former.
(c) God’s Providential designs must also be taken into account. There are souls whom He destines for a holy calling and whose purity He shelters with a jealous care. There are others whom He likewise destines to sanctity, but whom He would have pass through severe tests in order to ground them in virtue. Lastly, others there are whom He does not destine to such a high vocation, and who will be more or less frequently tempted, but never beyond their strength. (Fr. Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life).
The Devil Looks to the Future
You may see, too, the struggle which St. Jerome endured when he desired to give himself to God and when he had the thought of visiting the Holy Land. When he was in Rome, he conceived a new desire to work for his salvation. Leaving Rome, he buried himself in a fearsome desert, to give himself over to everything with which his love of God could inspire him. Then the Devil, who foresaw how greatly his conversion would affect others, seemed to burst with fury and despair.
Sinner Changes Life—The Devil Changes Tactics
When a sinner tries to change his life, suddenly the devil comes to life! While St. Augustine lived in sin and evil, he was not aware of anything by which he was tempted. He believed himself to be at peace, as he tells us himself. But from the moment that he desired to turn his back upon the Devil, he had to struggle with him, even to the point of losing his breath in the fight. And that lasted for five years! He wept the most bitter of tears and employed the most austere of penances: “I argued with him,” he says, “in my chains. One day I thought myself victorious, the next I was prostrate on the earth again. This cruel and stubborn war went on for five years! However, God gave me the grace to be victorious over my enemy!”
When the Good Try to Be Better—They’d Better Watch Out
St. John Vianney states: “The first temptation, my dear brethren, which the Devil tries on anyone who has begun to serve God better is in the matter of human respect. He will no longer dare to be seen around; he will hide himself from those with whom, until now, he had been mixing and pleasure seeking. If he should be told that he has changed a lot, he will be ashamed of it! Worrying about what people are going to say about him, is continually in his mind, to the extent that he no longer has enough courage to do good before other people. If the Devil cannot get him back through human respect, he will induce an extraordinary fear to possess him, so that his confessions are not good, that his confessor does not understand him, that whatever he does will be all in vain, that he will be damned just the same, that he will achieve the same result in the end by letting everything slide as by continuing to fight, because the occasions of sin will prove too many for him” (St. John Vianney, Sermon on Temptation).
There was not a single temptation that the devil spared St. Jerome after he chose to better himself spiritually. This is what St. Jerome wrote to one of his friends concerning his temptations: “My dear friend, I wish to confide in you about my affliction and the state to which the Devil seeks to reduce me. How many times in this vast solitude, which the heat of the sun makes insupportable, how many times the pleasures of Rome have come to assail me! The sorrow and the bitterness with which my soul is filled cause me, night and day, to shed floods of tears. I proceed to hide myself in the most isolated places to struggle with my temptations and there to weep for my sins. My body is all disfigured and covered with a rough hair shirt. I have no other bed than the naked ground and my only food is coarse roots and water, even in my illnesses. In spite of all these rigors, my body still experiences thoughts of the squalid pleasures with which Rome is poisoned; my spirit finds itself in the midst of those pleasant companionships in which I so greatly offended God.
“In this desert to which I have condemned myself to avoid Hell, among these sombre rocks, where I have no other companions than the scorpions and the wild beasts, my spirit still bums my body, already dead before myself, with an impure fire; the Devil still dares to offer it pleasures to taste. I behold myself so humiliated by these temptations, the very thought of which makes me die with horror, and not knowing what further austerities I should exert upon my body to attach it to God, that I throw myself on the ground at the foot of my crucifix, bathing it with my tears, and when I can weep no more I pick up stones and beat my breast with them until the blood comes out of my mouth, begging for mercy until the Lord takes pity upon me.
“Is there anyone who can understand the misery of my state, desiring so ardently to please God and to love Him alone? Yet I see myself constantly prone to offend Him. What sorrow this is for me! Help me, my dear friend, by the aid of your prayers, so that I may be stronger in repelling the Devil, who has sworn my eternal damnation” (St. Jerome).
Sleeping Life Away in a False Peace
St. John Vianney warns us of a false peace that the devil gladly gives us: “These, my dear brethren, are the struggles to which God permits his great saints to be exposed. Alas, how we are to be pitied if we are not fiercely harried by the Devil! According to all appearances, we are the friends of the Devil: he lets us live in a false peace, he lulls us to sleep under the pretense that we have said some good prayers, given some alms, that we have done less harm than others. According to our standard, my dear brethren, if you were to ask, for instance, this pillar of the cabaret, if the Devil tempted him, he would answer quite simply that nothing was bothering him at all. Ask this young girl, this daughter of vanity, what her struggles are like, and she will tell you laughingly that she has none at all, that she does not even know what it is to be tempted” (St. John Vianney, Sermon on Temptation).
Danger of Being Oblivious to Temptation
St. John Vianney says: “The temptations we must fear most are those of which we are not conscious.” This is dangerous lot of those who are lukewarm or indifferent with regard to the Faith and their spiritual life. These people look upon a vast multitude of thoughts and actions as being normal and natural. They don’t even dream or imagine them to be sinful. Those who are lukewarm to a high degree will even rationalize away mortal sin. Woe to them when they awake from their dream on Judgment Day!
The Most Terrifying Temptation
The Curé of Ars continues: “There you see, my dear brethren, the most terrifying temptation of all, which is not to be tempted. There you see the state of those whom the Devil is preserving for Hell. If I dared, I would tell you that he takes good care not to tempt or torment such people about their past lives, lest their eyes be opened to their sins. The greatest of all evils is not to be tempted, because there are then grounds for believing that the Devil looks upon us as his property and that he is only awaiting our deaths to drag us into Hell. Nothing could be easier to understand.
“Just consider the Christian who is trying, even in a small way, to save his soul. Everything around him inclines him to evil; he can hardly lift his eyes without being tempted, in spite of all his prayers and penances. And yet a hardened sinner, who for the past twenty years has been wallowing in sin, will tell you that he is not tempted! So much the worse, my friend, so much the worse! That is precisely what should make you tremble—that you do not know what temptations are. For to say that you are not tempted is like saying the Devil no longer exists or that he has lost all his rage against Christian souls” (St. John Vianney, Sermon on Temptation).
Fr. Faber tells us that “Temptations are the raw material of glory.” That is why St. James says: “My brethren, count it all joy, when you shall fall into divers temptations!” (James 1:2), to which St. Peter will add: “You shall greatly rejoice, if now you must be for a little time made sorrowful in divers temptations: so that the trial of your Faith—much more precious than gold which is tried by the fire—may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6-7). While the Imitation of Christ chimes in, saying: “Yet temptations, though troublesome and severe, are often useful to a man, for in them he is humbled, purified, and instructed.” (Book 1, chapter 13).
Article 6
Monday after the 1st Sunday of Lent, February 23rd
Temptation is Good for You―But Don’t Go Looking for It
Monday after the 1st Sunday of Lent, February 23rd
Temptation is Good for You―But Don’t Go Looking for It
Temptation is Good for You!
It might shock some people to hear that temptation is good for you―yet that is the truth. Temptation is a test―hence spiritual writers speak of temptation trying us and proving us. As soon as we go to school we are confronted with evaluations of various kinds: Spelling tests, Math tests, English tests, History tests, Physical Education skills tests, I.Q. tests. When we have our annual physical exam, we have blood tests and stress tests and breathing tests. In certain U.S. locations automobiles are subjected to various obligatory annual tests. If you want to permission to drive a car on the roads, then you have to pass the driving test. Human life is full of tests. What are they for? Obviously they are necessary in order to know something that otherwise would be hidden or unknown. Most people do not like tests and examinations―they are often stressed by them. Similarly, we are not meant to love temptation, but we should see the good that can come from successfully overcoming temptation.
We should not seek out temptations―“Watch and pray so that you do not enter into temptation! For the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh weak!” (Matthew 26:41; Mark 14:38). Yet we should see the benefit and the necessity for the examinations, tests and trials that temptations bring. : “When you come to the service of God, prepare your soul for temptation!” (Ecclesiasticus 2:1). “Because you were acceptable to God, it was necessary that temptation should prove you!” (Tobias 12:13). We could compare temptation to war. There are, of course, wars that are lawful and just; and wars that are not lawful but unjust. It would not be evil to fight a lawful and just war―yet we would suffer evil if we were lose that war. Temptation―of itself―is not evil. It is giving in to the temptation that is evil.
Our Lord Himself accepted temptations and overcame them. “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert, to be tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4:1). It was divinely providential that Christ allowed Himself to be tempted by the devil at the beginning of His public ministry. He is teaching us one of the most important lessons we need to learn in life. If He, the living God in human form, was tempted by the evil spirit, then we must expect to be tempted as well. In order to imitate Christ, we must resist the devil as Christ, Himself, resisted the devil.
St. Paul also speaks of being severely tempted by the devil, to the point where he begged the Lord to remove those temptations from him―but he was told that the grace of God was sufficient for him to cope: “There was given me a sting of my flesh, an angel of Satan, to buffet me―for which thing I begged the Lord three times, that it might depart from me! And He said to me: ‘My grace is sufficient for thee!’” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).
All the saints were greatly tempted. Some saints experienced temptations against the Faith; others against Hope or Charity; others against Chastity; some temptations lasted for years.
● St. Anthony the Great was tormented by demons in the Egyptian desert with erotic visions.
● St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi was severely tempted to commit suicide.
● St. Francis of Assisi was tormented by suggestions of impurity.
● St. Hugh, Bishop of Grenoble, was tempted to blaspheme.
● St. Francis of Sales was tempted to despair.
● St. Catherine of Siena suffered intense sexual temptations
● St. John Vianney endured 35 years of physical and psychological diabolical attacks.
● St. Thérèse of Lisieux was tempted by paralyzing doubts about her religious vocation just before her profession.
● St. Gemma Galgani was tempted to despair.
● St. Padre Pio was tempted by demons that came as nude and provocative young girls, performing obscene dances.
God Does Not Tempt
“God tempts no man” (James 1:13). He simply permits man to be tempted. It is the devil, with God’s permission, who hammers at you when you are tempted. “Our wrestling is against the spirits of wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). On Earth we are surrounded by robbers; many of us are overcome and wounded by them. The conflict with the spirit of evil is a more critical struggle; it is carried on in hidden manner; against a more powerful adversary; one who spares no pains and knows no shame; who, when he is repulsed, returns all the more defiantly to the attack. For six thousand years the devil has tempted mankind―such long practice has made him perfect. He excites within us concupiscence of the flesh, or concupiscence of the eyes, or the pride of life (1 John 2:16). In this threefold manner he tempted Our Lord.
Many temptations come upon a man through no fault of his own (for example Job); some are the result of culpable negligence (for example Eve). The evil enemy as a rule attacks our weak point, our affection for persons, places and things. Like a hunter or fowler, he attracts the birds to his net by offering them the food they like best. Physical infirmities give the devil more power over us―everyone knows how the sick tend to be fretful, impatient and exacting―and the devil plays upon that and exacerbates that. At other times the devil craftily transforms himself into an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14); that is, he deceives us by assuming an appearance of goodness, godliness, kindness, likeableness and piety. His tricks and artifices prove his weakness―for he would not resort to them if he was powerful enough to do without them. Thus we can see that the devil’s temptation of human beings is actually an indication of his weakness, and not at all of his strength.
The Devil Wants to Know
St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that the immediate end or purpose of temptation is knowledge. When the devil tempts or tests us, it is in order for him to know what he otherwise would not know. Now, what could that be? Certainly he knows that we are weak and fallen―after all, it was his tempting that led our first parents to sin. So our weakness and passions are not something he needs to be informed about. He knows that we have in us the seeds of the seven capital sins of pride, anger, envy, greediness, lust, gluttony, and laziness. He doesn’t need to check out whether we are subject to these defects and the passions that lead to them and flow from them. He does not get any special delight in seeing us enjoy some sinful pleasure; if anything, this annoys him, since he hates our pleasures, which, even if we misuse them, still come from God and show that in some way we want to be happy. He wants none of that for himself or anyone else.
The devil tempts us because he is desperate. As Our Lord says, “He knows his time is short” and he is eager to drag as many as possible into Hell with him and his other cohorts before the final judgment. The one thing he cannot know for sure is the actual condition of a soul―whether the soul is in God’s grace. He can see the external actions of a person, he can even see the contents of his imagination and his feelings, but he cannot see the true condition of the human soul before God. This means that he just is looking for evidence that the particular soul will belong to him forever—but he cannot know for sure, ever. Therefore he is like a desperate person who wants affirmation and certitude without ever being certain. Such a person is always reaching out for evidence that what he hopes for will be true.
Trust in God―Not Yourself
So, when we are tempted, we should be aware that there is a reason for our temptation that has nothing directly to do with us. The Evil One simply wants to accumulate evidence for his own bitter consolation that we will belong to him in his insane, envious contest with the God Who made us. This shows us that even more important than resisting temptation (and resisting temptation is important if we truly love God) is a constant confidence in God’s power and mercy. As the Lord said to St. Paul when he asked to be delivered from his terrible temptations: “My grace is sufficient for thee!” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9). We have to think to ourselves as we pray, “Even should the devil tempt me and I fail, I will still turn to God for pardon and mercy. I shall make a good confession and a new start, even if I have to do it again and again.”
This is the way we do battle as Our Lord taught us. The devil could find none of the usual evidence in Christ that would indicate that He would sin. This was a Man unlike any he had encountered before Adam before the fall. He was already unnerved by Christ’s Mother, Mary, and now he needed to know just who this Man he might be. Our Lord gave him no information. The devil would have known that Christ was a mere man, if the Lord had given in to temptation―indeed it would be clear then that Jesus was not the Lord at all, because He would sinned by giving in to the devil’s temptations. But the Savior did not satisfy the devil’s curiosity, and the Gospels tell us the devil went away to await another opportunity. Thus we should take great confidence from Our Lord’s own temptation. We are tempted in Him and not by Him. He permits the devil to tempt us, and we should say to ourselves “I belong to Christ Who was also tempted, and Christ knows my destiny and calls me to eternal life in Him, so I am not afraid of this temptation, but put all my trust in Him for my perseverance!”
Let us now see how some of the saints manifested this trust and reliance upon God in their struggles with temptation and battles with the devil.
St. Anthony the Great
Known as the father of monasticism, St. Anthony the Great (3rd–4th century) was inspired by the Gospels to sell all his possessions and live a life of solitude in the Egyptian desert. He established for himself a quiet hermitage away from the world, but he wasn't able to completely escape from his most persistent enemy at whose hands Anthony endured fierce demonic attacks. The devil, knowing that St. Anthony was a very holy man and close to God, threw everything he had against him. If the devil couldn't turn Anthony away from God through the riches of the world, he would try to attack him both physically and spiritually. St. Athanasius records several of these encounters in his Life of St. Anthony.
After failing to tempt him with the lure of wealth, the devil attacked the young man, disturbing him by night and harassing him by day, so that even the onlookers saw the struggle which was going on between them. After each temptation, however, St. Anthony would fortify his body with faith, prayers, and fasting. Frustrated by this, the devil tried to confront Anthony by taking on the shape of a boy and conversing with him. Anthony replied, “You are very despicable then, for you are black-hearted and weak as a child. Henceforth I shall have no trouble from you, ‘for the Lord is my helper, and I shall look down on mine enemies!’”
For a time the devil left Anthony alone, but returned again to test him, this time with a multitude of demons. In The Life of St. Anthony, a biography written by St. Athanasius, it says that when people would visit St. Anthony at his desert home, they often heard terrifying noises, and, as it were, the clash of arms. At night they saw the mountain become full of wild beasts, surrounding his dwelling as he prayed, and Anthony fighting as though against visible beings and praying against them.
One night, St. Anthony decided to spend a night alone in a large tomb. A huge group of demons descended upon him and attacked his body. The demons brutally beat him in a tomb until he lay nearly dead. The devil had so cut him with lashes that he lay on the ground speechless from the excessive pain. For he affirmed that the torture had been so excessive that no blows inflicted by man could ever have caused him such torment.
The next day, a friend bringing him supplies found him and brought him back to the nearby village. But that evening, he regained consciousness and asked for the friend to carry him back to the tomb. After his friend shut him back in the tomb, St. Anthony called out to the devil: “Here I am again! I will not flee from your lashes! Even if you inflict more, nothing shall separate me from the love of Christ!” The demons returned in monstrous forms—lions, bulls, serpents, and wolves. St. Athanasius describes what happened next:
“In the night they made such a din that the whole of that place seemed to be shaken by an earthquake, and the demons as if breaking the four walls of the dwelling seemed to enter through them, coming in the likeness of beasts and creeping things. And the place was on a sudden filled with the forms of lions, bears, leopards, bulls, serpents, asps, scorpions, and wolves, and each of them was moving according to his nature. The lion was roaring, wishing to attack, the bull seeming to toss with its horns, the serpent writhing but unable to approach, and the wolf as it rushed on was restrained; altogether the noises of the apparitions, with their angry ragings, were dreadful.”
But St. Anthony rebuked them: “If you had power, it would have sufficed had one of you come! Since you are weak, you come and attempt to terrify me by numbers―and a proof of your weakness is that you take the shapes of brute beasts. If you are able, and have received power against me, then delay not to attack; but if you are unable, why trouble me in vain? For Faith in Our Lord is a seal and a wall of safety to us.” Suddenly, a bright heavenly light filled the tomb. The demons vanished and his pain ceased. Realizing that the Lord had saved him, he prayed: “Where were you, Lord? Why did you not appear at the beginning to make my pains to cease?” And the Lord replied to him: “Anthony, I was here all the time― watching your fight! Since you have endured, and have not been beaten, I will always be your help, and will make your name known everywhere!” St. Athanasius writes that “having heard this, Anthony arose and prayed, and received such strength that he perceived that he had more power in his body than formerly. And he was then about thirty-five years old.”
After each encounter with the devil Anthony was strengthened in his Faith and God came to his aid. In teaching his many disciples, St. Anthony taught them how to defeat the demons: “Sign yourselves therefore with the cross, and depart boldly, and let these make sport for themselves!” And elsewhere he said to them: "We need not fear their suggestions, for by prayer, fasting, and Faith in the Lord, their attacks immediately fail."
In whatever temptations we may encounter, Anthony teaches us that Faith, prayer, fasting, and the Sign of the Cross are enough to defeat the snares of the Evil One. The devil may appear powerful, but the saints again and again prove that the devil is not that powerful and is no match for those who put their trust in God.
St. Teresa of Avila
St. Teresa of Avila (1515–1582), the Spanish mystic and Doctor of the Church, founded a new Carmelite convent with a strict rule that gave birth to similar convents and brought considerable reform to the Carmelite Order. The Enemy’s opposition to her work was at times severe―as is usual when reforms take place―because many were comfortable with a more lax rule and felt threatened by the new movement.
St. Teresa regularly came in contact with the devil in her prayers and meditations. She writes: “An abominable form, his mouth was horrible. Out of his body there seemed to be coming a great flame, which cast no shadow.” She once saw two hideous devils whose horns were around a priest’s throat as he celebrated Mass. Though such visual manifestations were rare, she often sensed evil without seeing it in a visible form. “I have seldom seen him in bodily shape,” she writes, “but I have often seen him without any form, as in the kind of vision I have described, in which no form is seen but the object is known to be there.”
Her weapons were humility, prayer, and especially holy water, which she said drove demons away immediately. “There is nothing the devils flee from more,” she wrote, “than holy water.”
St. Teresa wrote several works that have become spiritual classics―among these classics was The Interior Castle. It was inspired by the vision God gave her of a most beautiful crystal globe like a castle that was illuminated by Christ the King, who was enthroned at the center of the fortress in the greatest splendor. But outside the castle all was darkness, with toads, vipers, and other poisonous vermin. Then, however, the vision took a disturbing turn. While Teresa was admiring the beauty that God gives to souls, the light suddenly disappeared and, although the King of Glory did not leave the castle, the crystal was covered with darkness and was left as ugly as coal and with an unbearable stench, and the poisonous creatures outside the wall were able to get into the castle. Such was the state of a soul in sin. In many ways, Teresa’s personal mission was that of the soldier assigned to guard that interior castle—both her own and those of the women under her care—from the diabolical forces outside.
St. Alphonsus Rodriguez
St. Alphonsus Rodriguez (1533- 1617) is the patron saint of porters and ushers. Born in Segovia, Spain, in 1533, Alphonsus was the son of a wool merchant. When St. Peter Faber, one of the original Jesuits, visited the city to preach, the Rodríguez family provided hospitality to the Jesuit. Faber prepared the young Rodríguez for his First Communion. At the age of twelve, Rodríguez was sent to the new Jesuit college at Alcalá, but left two years later, aged 23, to help his mother run the family business when his father died. At the age of 26, he married María Suarez, a woman of his own station, with whom he had three children. Within the space of three years, his wife, daughter, and mother died; meanwhile, business was poor. At the age of 31, his wife had died as did two of their children. Alphonsus stepped back and reassessed his life. From then on, Rodriguez began a life of prayer, meditation and mortification, separated from the world around him. He sold the business, and with his young son, moved into his sister’s home. On the death of his third child a few years later, his thoughts turned to life in some religious order. Alphonsus, almost 40 by then, sought to join the Jesuits. He was not helped by his poor education. At the age of 39 he attempted to make up this deficiency by following the course at the College of Barcelona, but without success. His austerities had also undermined his health. After considerable delay he was finally admitted into the Society of Jesus as a lay brother in 1571, at the age of 40. He applied twice before being admitted The Jesuit provincial is supposed to have said that if Alphonsus was not qualified to become a brother or a priest, he could enter to become a saint.
For 45 years he served as a humble lowly doorkeeper at the Jesuits’ college in Majorca. When not at his post, he was almost always at prayer, though he often encountered difficulties and temptations. After having received great blessings, he was attacked, both by violent temptations and by physical assaults, starting around the age of 50 and continuing for seven years. At times, he was so oppressed, and pursued so closely, that it was impossible to describe his suffering. Sometimes, he heard demonic conversations, and witnessed demons blaspheming against God. Other times, he was at the point of dying from suffocation, because the evil spirits were squeezing his throat. Generally, these events started at midnight, while he was asleep. St. Alphonsus would be awakened by the great din. Then, the demons would begin to dance around him, jump on top of him, and grab him by the arm to try to force him to do evil, without him being able to get rid of them. Those were years of great suffering.
These saints remind us that while demonic attacks are real, faith and perseverance in Christ always triumph. Each of them proved that no power of darkness can overcome a soul united with Jesus.
St. Padre Pio
St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina (1887-1968) was a 20th-century stigmatist and miracle-working Capuchin priest, who lived and died in Italy and was constantly harassed by demons. Despite his health problems, which had inescapably made his studies more difficult, Padre Pio was eventually ordained a priest in August of 1910, at the age of twenty-three. Holy cards were distributed to those who attended the ordination, with a prayer the young priest had written: “With Thee, may I be for the world the way, the truth, and the life, and through Thee, a holy priest, a perfect victim.”
Four weeks after his ordination, Padre Pio received for the first time a form of the stigmata, the wounds of Christ appearing on his own body. After a short time, they became invisible, but he could still feel the pain. Our Lord was providing him a seal of his sacrifice as a victim soul, a seal that would later become visible again.
Meanwhile, Satan’s assaults continued and intensified. The great and constant struggle of Padre Pio’s life was with those enemies of God and human souls, the devils who tried to capture his soul. Even in his youth, St. Padre Pio would enjoy incredible celestial visions, but also suffer demonic attacks.
Satan would even sometimes attack St. Padre Pio physically. He describes this in one letter he wrote to a priest confidant: “These devils don’t stop striking me, even making me fall down from the bed. They even tear off my shirt to beat me! But now they do not frighten me anymore. Jesus loves me, He often lifts me and places me back on the bed.”
Nevertheless, if we are close to the Lord, we should have no fear of demons. The saint suffered especially from temptations to impurity, fears of unconfessed sins, and despair about his salvation. Nevertheless, Our Lord provided consolations as well. The priest once wrote to his spiritual director: “All the ugly fantasies that the Devil introduces to my mind vanish when I abandon myself to the arms of Jesus. I suffer immensely, but it is a grief that does me good.” He spoke also of an inexplicable spiritual joy that supported him in his trials. He found he could repel the malicious attacks of the Enemy’s temptations more and more easily as he offered himself to God. Soon that gift to Our Lord took on a new meaning, three months after his ordination. With his spiritual director’s permission, he made an explicit offering up of his life as a victim for poor sinners and for souls in Purgatory. He placed himself on the Cross with Christ as a sacrifice to the Father in union with the Son.
According to Fr. Gabriele Amorth (1925-2016), a close friend of St. Padre Pio and also chief exorcist of Rome for several decades: “Padre Pio was much loved, but he also suffered the attacks of some formidable enemies. I am not speaking of his human enemies, who may have been led astray by falsehoods, prejudice or misunderstanding. Padre Pio’s real enemies were the demons who besieged him. Contrary to some reports, Padre Pio always respected and esteemed his ecclesiastical superiors, and he always obeyed them, often at the cost of great suffering to himself. The great and constant struggle of Padre Pio’s life was with those enemies of God and human souls, the devils who tried to capture his soul.”
When did that struggle begin? Was it a physical struggle or a matter of internal visions? Fr. Amorth explains: “The devil is always pure spirit, but in order to reveal himself he takes on aspects which can be most provocative and harmful: fear, seduction, deception. From his childhood, Padre Pio enjoyed celestial visions, but he also experienced terrible diabolical presences. These tormented him in the most frightful forms. They occasionally scourged him with heavy chains, leaving him bruised and bleeding. Sometimes they appeared as gruesome animals. Many biographies recount Padre Pio’s encounters with the demons. Padre Pio himself described many of his encounters with devils. His accounts to his spiritual director in 1911 in the monastery of Venafro are particularly vivid. That was the first time Padre Pio revealed his rich interior life, both his ecstatic visions and his diabolical torments.
“The devil would appear to him as an ugly black cat, or in the shape of a truly repugnant animal. The obvious intent was to fill him with terror. Other times demons came as young girls, nude and provocative, performing obscene dances, to test the young priest’s chastity. But Padre Pio sensed his greatest danger when the devil tried to deceive him by taking on the form of one of his superiors (his provincial superior or his spiritual director) or in a sacred form (the Lord, the Virgin, or St. Francis). He learned a “rule of thumb,” which we also find in the writings of St. Teresa of Avila, and which he taught some of his spiritual followers. He noticed a certain timidity when the Virgin or the Lord first appeared, followed by a sense of peace when the vision departed. On the other hand, a devil in sacred form provoked an immediate feeling of joy and attraction, replaced afterwards by remorse and sadness.
“He could also clearly distinguish if a person’s soul was possessed by Satan. He would then communicate the danger to that person alone. Crucial moments sometimes occurred in the confessional. During confession, he sometimes made a gesture as if to dispel something. Perhaps he was asking the Lord to liberate the penitent from a temptation or evil habit. St. Alphonsus Liguori, who was a master in such situations, suggested that in certain cases confessors could execute a mental mini-exorcism, before even commencing the confession. Many of Padre Pio’s most difficult struggles with demons came about as he tried to rescue souls from diabolical possession, whether in the confessional or when he was praying for one of his spiritual followers. Pio never performed official exorcisms. He did, however, have an extraordinary discernment for souls in danger. Many persons allegedly possessed by demons were brought before Padre Pio, and his attitude changed with each different case. Let us say he could tell if the possessed was susceptible to liberation or not.
“Once Padre Pio liberated a youth by simply pronouncing the words “Begone.” But such sudden liberations were extremely rare. Another time Don Faustino Negrini accompanied a young person named Agnese Salamoni, who had been cursed for being the “model girl of the parish” and seized by a sudden diabolical possession. Padre Pio said a simple blessing over her, and that seemed to bear fruit. Don Faustino himself completed the liberation, after 13 years of prayer! It seems that Padre Pio sensed that her time for liberation had not yet come.” (Testimony of Fr. Gabriele Amorth about St. Padre Pio).
St. Gemma Galgani
The young Italian mystic St. Gemma Galgani (1878–1903) suffered frequent attacks from the devil, especially after Holy Communion. In a letter to a priest, she wrote: “During the last two days Jesus has been telling me after Holy Communion: ‘My daughter, the devil will soon wage a great war against you!’ These words I hear in my heart continuously. Please pray for me!” Jesus warned her that the devil would wage war against her, and soon she endured severe headaches, sleepless nights, and violent assaults. Once, while writing, the devil tore the paper and dragged her by the hair so that it came off in his brutal claws. Despite the suffering, she joked about his ugliness: “If you had seen him run away making faces, you would have laughed! He is so ugly! But Jesus told me not to fear him.”
She quickly realized that prayer was the best defense. In response, Satan gave her violent headaches in order to make sleeping difficult for her. Her fatigue then made sleeping more difficult ― but she persevered. She writes: “How many efforts does not that wretch make to make it impossible for me to pray! Yesterday evening he tried to kill me, and would have succeeded if Jesus had not come quickly to my aid. I was terrified and kept the image of Jesus in my mind!”
At one point, while she was writing a letter, the devil snatched the pen from her hand and tore up the paper then dragged her from the table, seizing her by the hair with such violence that it came off in his brutal claws. She describes another attack in one of her writings:
“The demon came before me as a giant of great height and kept saying to me: ‘For you there is no more hope of salvation. You are in my hands!’ I replied that God is merciful and therefore I fear nothing. Then, in a rage, giving me a hard blow on the head, he said ‘Accursed be you!’ ― and then he disappeared. I then went to my room to rest, and there I found him. He began again to strike me with a knotted rope, and wanted me to listen to him while he suggested wickedness. I said no, and he struck me even harder, knocking my head violently against the ground. At a certain point, it came to my mind to invoke Jesus’ Father: ‘Eternal Father, through the most Precious Blood of Jesus, free me!’ I then don’t quite know what happened. That contemptible beast dragged me from my bed and threw me, hitting my head against the floor with such force that it pains me still. I became senseless and remained lying there until I came to myself a long time afterwards. Jesus be thanked!”
Nevertheless, she always kept her Faith and trust in Jesus. God, in order to purify His elect and render them victims of expiation for themselves and for others, makes use even of the demons, who because of their hatred of souls and their increased intelligence become very profitable instruments to the attainment of His ends.
Gemma soon learned that the best way to defend herself against the demons and to reach God’s ends is through prayer, which she practiced with all the ardor of her soul. The enemy then tried to prevent it. To weary her, he would try to upset her temperament; he caused her violent headaches so that she might be obliged to go to bed, rather than remain in prayer; and strove in numerous other ways to distract her from this holy exercise. “Oh” she once said, “What torment this gives me, not to be able to pray! What fatigue it costs me! How many efforts does not that wretch make to make it impossible for me to pray! Yesterday evening he tried to kill me, and would have succeeded if Jesus had not come quickly to my aid! I was terrified and kept the image of Jesus in my mind, but I could not pronounce His Name!”
At other times, he attacked her differently. “What are you doing?” he said, blaspheming, “How stupid you are to pray to that malefactor [referring to Jesus]. Look at the harm He does to you, keeping you nailed to the Cross with Himself! How then can you care for Him, for Him whom you don’t even know, who makes all who love Him suffer?” But these and all his other evil suggestions were as dust before the wind, and only served to afflict her at hearing her Jesus outraged by such blasphemies.
In the midst of so much suffering, the servant of God found comfort in the direction and advice of her spiritual director. This the wicked enemy could not bear, and tried to turn her away from her spiritual guide. He depicted her director as an ignorant, fanatical, deluded man and with so many arguments strove to convince and terrify her that the poor child thought herself all but lost. Hence on one occasion she wrote: “For some days, the devil has pursued me in every guise and way, and has done all in his power against me. This monster keeps on redoubling all his efforts to ruin me and tries to deprive me of whomever directs or advises me. But even should this happen, I am not afraid!” Seeing that with all his efforts he could not succeed in shaking her confidence in her director, he resorted to acts of violence.
He carried this audacity so far as to feign to be a priest to whom Gemma used to make her confessions. She had gone one day to Church, and, while preparing herself to make her confession, she saw that the priest was already in the confessional, at which she momentarily wondered and was puzzled, not having seen him pass and enter. At the same time she felt very much disturbed in spirit, as generally happened when in the presence of the evil one. She entered the confessional, however, and began her confession as usual. The voice and ways were indeed those of the confessor, but his talk was foul and scandalous, accompanied by improper gestures. “My God!” she exclaimed, “What has happened?” At such a sight and at such words Gemma trembled, and, with her presence of mind returning, she hurriedly left the confessional, and saw as she did so that the pretended “confessor” had disappeared. It was the devil, who by his coarse and fiendish ways had sought to deceive her, or at least make her lose all confidence in the minister of God.
Failing in this attempt, the enemy made another. He appeared to Gemma in the form of an angel, resplendent with light, insinuating himself with the most subtle cunning, so as to throw her off her guard. Then as with Eve in the Garden of Eden, he depicted things in the falsest colors: “Look” he said “I can make you happy if only you will swear to obey me!” Gemma, who this time did not feel in her soul the usual disturbance indicating the presence of the demon, stood listening in her simplicity. But God came to her aid. After the first wicked proposal, her eyes were opened. She stood up exclaiming: “My God! Mary Immaculate!” Make me die rather than do this!” and with these words she rushed to the feigned “angel” and spat in his face. At the same moment she saw him vanish in the form of fire.
Another time Gemma writes: “Today I thought I was to be entirely free from that nauseous animal, and instead he has knocked me about greatly. I had gone to bed with the full intention of sleeping, but it turned out otherwise. He began to beat me with such blows that I feared I would die. He was in the shape of a big black dog, and he put his “paws” on my shoulders, hurting me greatly. I felt it so much in all my bones that I thought that they were broken. Also, when I was taking holy water he wrenched my arm so violently that I fell to the floor from the pain. The bone was dislocated, but went back into place because Jesus touched it for me, and all was remedied”. Knowing her mission as soul victim, the Devil once said to her: “You can pray for yourself, but if you pray for others, I will make you pay dearly for it”.
In her Diary Gemma writes: “The devil, in the form of a great black dog, put his paws upon my shoulders, making every bone in my body ache. At times I believed that he would mangle me; then one time, when I was taking holy water, he twisted my arm so cruelly that I fell to the earth in great pain. After a while I remembered that I had around my neck the relic of the Holy Cross. Making the Sign of the Cross, I became calm. Jesus let me see Himself, but only for a short time, and He strengthened me anew to suffer and struggle.”
Another time in her Diary she writes: “This evening I felt I could not collect myself; I said a few evening prayers and went to bed. To tell the truth, I foresaw a bit of a storm because Jesus had warned me a few days ago, saying: ‘The enemy will try you with one final battle, but it will be the last because now that is enough.’ I could not help but thank Him for the strength He had always given me, and I prayed that He would want to give me strength for this final test as well, that is to say last night. I went to bed, as you know well, with the intention of sleeping; slumber was not long in coming when almost instantly a tiny, tiny man appeared, all covered in black hair. What a fright! He put his hands on my bed and I thought he wanted to hit me: ‘No, no’ he said, ‘I am not able to hit you, don’t be afraid!’ and as he said this he lay down on the bed. I called Jesus to help me but Jesus did not come, but this doesn’t mean He abandoned me. As soon as I called His Name I felt liberated, but it was sudden. Other times I had called Jesus, but He had never been ready like last night. You should have seen the demon afterward, how angry! He rolled around on the floor, cursing; he made one last effort to take away the cross I had with me, but then he instantly fell backward. How good Jesus was with me last night. The devil, after that last effort, turned toward me and said that since he had not been able to do anything, he wished to torment me the rest of the night. ‘No,’ I told him; I called my guardian Angel, who opened his wings and came next to me; he blessed me and the devil ran away. Jesus be thanked! This morning I learned that at the very moment the devil was rising in fury, the scapular of Our Lady of Sorrows had been placed on me [by Cecilia Giannini] and I realized that when the devil was trying to take something off me, it could have been nothing but that. My Mother, Our Lady of Sorrows, also be thanked!”
Again, in her Diary she writes: “It happened today as usual. I had gone to bed, in fact I was asleep, but the devil did not wish this. He presented himself in a disgusting manner; he tempted me but I was strong. I commended myself to Jesus asking that He take my life rather than have me offend Him. What horrible temptations those were! All displease me but those against Holy Purity make me most wretched. Afterward he left me in peace and the Angel Guardian came and assured me that I had not done anything wrong. I complained somewhat, because I wished his help at such times, and he said that whether I saw him or not, he would be always above my head.”
St. John Vianney
The Curé of Ars, St. John Vianney (1786–1859), the patron saint of parish priests, was often tormented by the devil and regularly did battle with the evil one. St. John Vianney would say: “It is because I convert souls to the good God!” For 35 years Satan threw everything he had against the holy priest who would hear confessions for sixteen hours each day. At night Vianney would hear taunts, harrowing voices, evil singing, or shouting. He was physically dragged from his bed and one night his bed caught on fire. This torment would prevent him from having much sleep, but it did not deter him from living a life of holiness. Vianney accepted the torment from the devil and knew that he was attacking him because of the many sinners that were being reconciled. He would often get attacked the most the night before a “big sinner” came to town to confess their sins. The attacks continued but he remarked later that, “The demon is very cunning, but he is not strong. Making a Sign of the Cross soon puts him to flight! When I made the Sign of the Cross they departed.”
At first, St. John Vianney was terrified, but he eventually became so accustomed to the encounters that he gave a nickname to the devil, calling him “the Grappin.” He said once, “Oh! The Grappin and myself? We are almost buddies!” His sister once heard loud noises in his house, and he calmly told her: “It is the Grappin. He cannot harm you. He torments me because I convert souls to God.” When his room was set on fire one night, while he was hearing confessions, he said peacefully, “The Grappin is angry. He couldn’t catch the bird, so he burned the cage. It is a good sign—many sinners will come today.”
If the object of Vianney's invisible persecutor was to strike terror into his heart, he succeeded only too well in the beginning―for the poor Vianney confessed that in the early times, before the cause of these mysterious noises, which were renewed every night for hours together, was known, he was often ready to die with fear in his bed. His health, indeed, was so much affected by the strain upon his nerves, caused by the terrible apprehension he endured, that he visibly declined. Kind friends offered to keep watch round the house, and to sleep in the room adjoining his own; and several young men, under arms, stationed themselves near the church, where they could command a view of all the approaches to the presbytery.
Some of these good people were very much terrified, among others, Andre Verchere, the wheelwright of the village, who, when his turn to act as sentinel came round, was installed, his gun by his side, in a room in the presbytery. At midnight he heard a frightful crash close to him. It seemed to him that all the furniture in the room broke into pieces under a storm of invisible blows. The poor man cried out for help, and Vianney came quickly to his assistance. They searched the room and the house, examining every corner, but all in vain. When Vianney was entirely convinced that these unearthly sounds had no humanly assignable cause, he dismissed his guards. By degrees his alarm was, in some measure, allayed, and in the end he became in a manner accustomed to this terrible visitation.
Before this period poor Vianney had been a prey to a different kind of conflict. He had been tormented by the most despairing thoughts of his future destiny. He seemed continually to see under his feet the lake of fire, and to hear a voice telling him that his place was already marked in it. Day and night he was haunted by the fear of being eternally lost; and, after having combated and overcome this internal temptation, he had less difficulty in resisting his external, though invisible foes. Still, the martyrdom to which he was now subjected was no light one. It lasted, not for days or months, but for thirty-five years, with different phases, and under different forms, but almost without intermission.
St. John Vianney underwent such horrifying attacks because God knew he could handle them and they would strengthen him for his ministry of mercy. Saint Paul wrote to the Corinthians on this topic, “God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Satan’s attacks on St. John Vianney were a “last resort” because the daily temptations, that we are all familiar with, did not do anything to the saint. So the devil ramped up his game and tried to scare the priest into submission. However, instead of cowering in his room and submitting to the will of Satan, Vianney received God’s grace to follow will of the Father and remain faithful to the end. Above all things Satan is a terrorist who never stops striking fear in our hearts, hoping that we will be afraid of him and think he is more powerful than God. This was true in Saint John Vianney’s time and certainly is the case now.
It might shock some people to hear that temptation is good for you―yet that is the truth. Temptation is a test―hence spiritual writers speak of temptation trying us and proving us. As soon as we go to school we are confronted with evaluations of various kinds: Spelling tests, Math tests, English tests, History tests, Physical Education skills tests, I.Q. tests. When we have our annual physical exam, we have blood tests and stress tests and breathing tests. In certain U.S. locations automobiles are subjected to various obligatory annual tests. If you want to permission to drive a car on the roads, then you have to pass the driving test. Human life is full of tests. What are they for? Obviously they are necessary in order to know something that otherwise would be hidden or unknown. Most people do not like tests and examinations―they are often stressed by them. Similarly, we are not meant to love temptation, but we should see the good that can come from successfully overcoming temptation.
We should not seek out temptations―“Watch and pray so that you do not enter into temptation! For the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh weak!” (Matthew 26:41; Mark 14:38). Yet we should see the benefit and the necessity for the examinations, tests and trials that temptations bring. : “When you come to the service of God, prepare your soul for temptation!” (Ecclesiasticus 2:1). “Because you were acceptable to God, it was necessary that temptation should prove you!” (Tobias 12:13). We could compare temptation to war. There are, of course, wars that are lawful and just; and wars that are not lawful but unjust. It would not be evil to fight a lawful and just war―yet we would suffer evil if we were lose that war. Temptation―of itself―is not evil. It is giving in to the temptation that is evil.
Our Lord Himself accepted temptations and overcame them. “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert, to be tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4:1). It was divinely providential that Christ allowed Himself to be tempted by the devil at the beginning of His public ministry. He is teaching us one of the most important lessons we need to learn in life. If He, the living God in human form, was tempted by the evil spirit, then we must expect to be tempted as well. In order to imitate Christ, we must resist the devil as Christ, Himself, resisted the devil.
St. Paul also speaks of being severely tempted by the devil, to the point where he begged the Lord to remove those temptations from him―but he was told that the grace of God was sufficient for him to cope: “There was given me a sting of my flesh, an angel of Satan, to buffet me―for which thing I begged the Lord three times, that it might depart from me! And He said to me: ‘My grace is sufficient for thee!’” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).
All the saints were greatly tempted. Some saints experienced temptations against the Faith; others against Hope or Charity; others against Chastity; some temptations lasted for years.
● St. Anthony the Great was tormented by demons in the Egyptian desert with erotic visions.
● St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi was severely tempted to commit suicide.
● St. Francis of Assisi was tormented by suggestions of impurity.
● St. Hugh, Bishop of Grenoble, was tempted to blaspheme.
● St. Francis of Sales was tempted to despair.
● St. Catherine of Siena suffered intense sexual temptations
● St. John Vianney endured 35 years of physical and psychological diabolical attacks.
● St. Thérèse of Lisieux was tempted by paralyzing doubts about her religious vocation just before her profession.
● St. Gemma Galgani was tempted to despair.
● St. Padre Pio was tempted by demons that came as nude and provocative young girls, performing obscene dances.
God Does Not Tempt
“God tempts no man” (James 1:13). He simply permits man to be tempted. It is the devil, with God’s permission, who hammers at you when you are tempted. “Our wrestling is against the spirits of wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). On Earth we are surrounded by robbers; many of us are overcome and wounded by them. The conflict with the spirit of evil is a more critical struggle; it is carried on in hidden manner; against a more powerful adversary; one who spares no pains and knows no shame; who, when he is repulsed, returns all the more defiantly to the attack. For six thousand years the devil has tempted mankind―such long practice has made him perfect. He excites within us concupiscence of the flesh, or concupiscence of the eyes, or the pride of life (1 John 2:16). In this threefold manner he tempted Our Lord.
Many temptations come upon a man through no fault of his own (for example Job); some are the result of culpable negligence (for example Eve). The evil enemy as a rule attacks our weak point, our affection for persons, places and things. Like a hunter or fowler, he attracts the birds to his net by offering them the food they like best. Physical infirmities give the devil more power over us―everyone knows how the sick tend to be fretful, impatient and exacting―and the devil plays upon that and exacerbates that. At other times the devil craftily transforms himself into an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14); that is, he deceives us by assuming an appearance of goodness, godliness, kindness, likeableness and piety. His tricks and artifices prove his weakness―for he would not resort to them if he was powerful enough to do without them. Thus we can see that the devil’s temptation of human beings is actually an indication of his weakness, and not at all of his strength.
The Devil Wants to Know
St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that the immediate end or purpose of temptation is knowledge. When the devil tempts or tests us, it is in order for him to know what he otherwise would not know. Now, what could that be? Certainly he knows that we are weak and fallen―after all, it was his tempting that led our first parents to sin. So our weakness and passions are not something he needs to be informed about. He knows that we have in us the seeds of the seven capital sins of pride, anger, envy, greediness, lust, gluttony, and laziness. He doesn’t need to check out whether we are subject to these defects and the passions that lead to them and flow from them. He does not get any special delight in seeing us enjoy some sinful pleasure; if anything, this annoys him, since he hates our pleasures, which, even if we misuse them, still come from God and show that in some way we want to be happy. He wants none of that for himself or anyone else.
The devil tempts us because he is desperate. As Our Lord says, “He knows his time is short” and he is eager to drag as many as possible into Hell with him and his other cohorts before the final judgment. The one thing he cannot know for sure is the actual condition of a soul―whether the soul is in God’s grace. He can see the external actions of a person, he can even see the contents of his imagination and his feelings, but he cannot see the true condition of the human soul before God. This means that he just is looking for evidence that the particular soul will belong to him forever—but he cannot know for sure, ever. Therefore he is like a desperate person who wants affirmation and certitude without ever being certain. Such a person is always reaching out for evidence that what he hopes for will be true.
Trust in God―Not Yourself
So, when we are tempted, we should be aware that there is a reason for our temptation that has nothing directly to do with us. The Evil One simply wants to accumulate evidence for his own bitter consolation that we will belong to him in his insane, envious contest with the God Who made us. This shows us that even more important than resisting temptation (and resisting temptation is important if we truly love God) is a constant confidence in God’s power and mercy. As the Lord said to St. Paul when he asked to be delivered from his terrible temptations: “My grace is sufficient for thee!” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9). We have to think to ourselves as we pray, “Even should the devil tempt me and I fail, I will still turn to God for pardon and mercy. I shall make a good confession and a new start, even if I have to do it again and again.”
This is the way we do battle as Our Lord taught us. The devil could find none of the usual evidence in Christ that would indicate that He would sin. This was a Man unlike any he had encountered before Adam before the fall. He was already unnerved by Christ’s Mother, Mary, and now he needed to know just who this Man he might be. Our Lord gave him no information. The devil would have known that Christ was a mere man, if the Lord had given in to temptation―indeed it would be clear then that Jesus was not the Lord at all, because He would sinned by giving in to the devil’s temptations. But the Savior did not satisfy the devil’s curiosity, and the Gospels tell us the devil went away to await another opportunity. Thus we should take great confidence from Our Lord’s own temptation. We are tempted in Him and not by Him. He permits the devil to tempt us, and we should say to ourselves “I belong to Christ Who was also tempted, and Christ knows my destiny and calls me to eternal life in Him, so I am not afraid of this temptation, but put all my trust in Him for my perseverance!”
Let us now see how some of the saints manifested this trust and reliance upon God in their struggles with temptation and battles with the devil.
St. Anthony the Great
Known as the father of monasticism, St. Anthony the Great (3rd–4th century) was inspired by the Gospels to sell all his possessions and live a life of solitude in the Egyptian desert. He established for himself a quiet hermitage away from the world, but he wasn't able to completely escape from his most persistent enemy at whose hands Anthony endured fierce demonic attacks. The devil, knowing that St. Anthony was a very holy man and close to God, threw everything he had against him. If the devil couldn't turn Anthony away from God through the riches of the world, he would try to attack him both physically and spiritually. St. Athanasius records several of these encounters in his Life of St. Anthony.
After failing to tempt him with the lure of wealth, the devil attacked the young man, disturbing him by night and harassing him by day, so that even the onlookers saw the struggle which was going on between them. After each temptation, however, St. Anthony would fortify his body with faith, prayers, and fasting. Frustrated by this, the devil tried to confront Anthony by taking on the shape of a boy and conversing with him. Anthony replied, “You are very despicable then, for you are black-hearted and weak as a child. Henceforth I shall have no trouble from you, ‘for the Lord is my helper, and I shall look down on mine enemies!’”
For a time the devil left Anthony alone, but returned again to test him, this time with a multitude of demons. In The Life of St. Anthony, a biography written by St. Athanasius, it says that when people would visit St. Anthony at his desert home, they often heard terrifying noises, and, as it were, the clash of arms. At night they saw the mountain become full of wild beasts, surrounding his dwelling as he prayed, and Anthony fighting as though against visible beings and praying against them.
One night, St. Anthony decided to spend a night alone in a large tomb. A huge group of demons descended upon him and attacked his body. The demons brutally beat him in a tomb until he lay nearly dead. The devil had so cut him with lashes that he lay on the ground speechless from the excessive pain. For he affirmed that the torture had been so excessive that no blows inflicted by man could ever have caused him such torment.
The next day, a friend bringing him supplies found him and brought him back to the nearby village. But that evening, he regained consciousness and asked for the friend to carry him back to the tomb. After his friend shut him back in the tomb, St. Anthony called out to the devil: “Here I am again! I will not flee from your lashes! Even if you inflict more, nothing shall separate me from the love of Christ!” The demons returned in monstrous forms—lions, bulls, serpents, and wolves. St. Athanasius describes what happened next:
“In the night they made such a din that the whole of that place seemed to be shaken by an earthquake, and the demons as if breaking the four walls of the dwelling seemed to enter through them, coming in the likeness of beasts and creeping things. And the place was on a sudden filled with the forms of lions, bears, leopards, bulls, serpents, asps, scorpions, and wolves, and each of them was moving according to his nature. The lion was roaring, wishing to attack, the bull seeming to toss with its horns, the serpent writhing but unable to approach, and the wolf as it rushed on was restrained; altogether the noises of the apparitions, with their angry ragings, were dreadful.”
But St. Anthony rebuked them: “If you had power, it would have sufficed had one of you come! Since you are weak, you come and attempt to terrify me by numbers―and a proof of your weakness is that you take the shapes of brute beasts. If you are able, and have received power against me, then delay not to attack; but if you are unable, why trouble me in vain? For Faith in Our Lord is a seal and a wall of safety to us.” Suddenly, a bright heavenly light filled the tomb. The demons vanished and his pain ceased. Realizing that the Lord had saved him, he prayed: “Where were you, Lord? Why did you not appear at the beginning to make my pains to cease?” And the Lord replied to him: “Anthony, I was here all the time― watching your fight! Since you have endured, and have not been beaten, I will always be your help, and will make your name known everywhere!” St. Athanasius writes that “having heard this, Anthony arose and prayed, and received such strength that he perceived that he had more power in his body than formerly. And he was then about thirty-five years old.”
After each encounter with the devil Anthony was strengthened in his Faith and God came to his aid. In teaching his many disciples, St. Anthony taught them how to defeat the demons: “Sign yourselves therefore with the cross, and depart boldly, and let these make sport for themselves!” And elsewhere he said to them: "We need not fear their suggestions, for by prayer, fasting, and Faith in the Lord, their attacks immediately fail."
In whatever temptations we may encounter, Anthony teaches us that Faith, prayer, fasting, and the Sign of the Cross are enough to defeat the snares of the Evil One. The devil may appear powerful, but the saints again and again prove that the devil is not that powerful and is no match for those who put their trust in God.
St. Teresa of Avila
St. Teresa of Avila (1515–1582), the Spanish mystic and Doctor of the Church, founded a new Carmelite convent with a strict rule that gave birth to similar convents and brought considerable reform to the Carmelite Order. The Enemy’s opposition to her work was at times severe―as is usual when reforms take place―because many were comfortable with a more lax rule and felt threatened by the new movement.
St. Teresa regularly came in contact with the devil in her prayers and meditations. She writes: “An abominable form, his mouth was horrible. Out of his body there seemed to be coming a great flame, which cast no shadow.” She once saw two hideous devils whose horns were around a priest’s throat as he celebrated Mass. Though such visual manifestations were rare, she often sensed evil without seeing it in a visible form. “I have seldom seen him in bodily shape,” she writes, “but I have often seen him without any form, as in the kind of vision I have described, in which no form is seen but the object is known to be there.”
Her weapons were humility, prayer, and especially holy water, which she said drove demons away immediately. “There is nothing the devils flee from more,” she wrote, “than holy water.”
St. Teresa wrote several works that have become spiritual classics―among these classics was The Interior Castle. It was inspired by the vision God gave her of a most beautiful crystal globe like a castle that was illuminated by Christ the King, who was enthroned at the center of the fortress in the greatest splendor. But outside the castle all was darkness, with toads, vipers, and other poisonous vermin. Then, however, the vision took a disturbing turn. While Teresa was admiring the beauty that God gives to souls, the light suddenly disappeared and, although the King of Glory did not leave the castle, the crystal was covered with darkness and was left as ugly as coal and with an unbearable stench, and the poisonous creatures outside the wall were able to get into the castle. Such was the state of a soul in sin. In many ways, Teresa’s personal mission was that of the soldier assigned to guard that interior castle—both her own and those of the women under her care—from the diabolical forces outside.
St. Alphonsus Rodriguez
St. Alphonsus Rodriguez (1533- 1617) is the patron saint of porters and ushers. Born in Segovia, Spain, in 1533, Alphonsus was the son of a wool merchant. When St. Peter Faber, one of the original Jesuits, visited the city to preach, the Rodríguez family provided hospitality to the Jesuit. Faber prepared the young Rodríguez for his First Communion. At the age of twelve, Rodríguez was sent to the new Jesuit college at Alcalá, but left two years later, aged 23, to help his mother run the family business when his father died. At the age of 26, he married María Suarez, a woman of his own station, with whom he had three children. Within the space of three years, his wife, daughter, and mother died; meanwhile, business was poor. At the age of 31, his wife had died as did two of their children. Alphonsus stepped back and reassessed his life. From then on, Rodriguez began a life of prayer, meditation and mortification, separated from the world around him. He sold the business, and with his young son, moved into his sister’s home. On the death of his third child a few years later, his thoughts turned to life in some religious order. Alphonsus, almost 40 by then, sought to join the Jesuits. He was not helped by his poor education. At the age of 39 he attempted to make up this deficiency by following the course at the College of Barcelona, but without success. His austerities had also undermined his health. After considerable delay he was finally admitted into the Society of Jesus as a lay brother in 1571, at the age of 40. He applied twice before being admitted The Jesuit provincial is supposed to have said that if Alphonsus was not qualified to become a brother or a priest, he could enter to become a saint.
For 45 years he served as a humble lowly doorkeeper at the Jesuits’ college in Majorca. When not at his post, he was almost always at prayer, though he often encountered difficulties and temptations. After having received great blessings, he was attacked, both by violent temptations and by physical assaults, starting around the age of 50 and continuing for seven years. At times, he was so oppressed, and pursued so closely, that it was impossible to describe his suffering. Sometimes, he heard demonic conversations, and witnessed demons blaspheming against God. Other times, he was at the point of dying from suffocation, because the evil spirits were squeezing his throat. Generally, these events started at midnight, while he was asleep. St. Alphonsus would be awakened by the great din. Then, the demons would begin to dance around him, jump on top of him, and grab him by the arm to try to force him to do evil, without him being able to get rid of them. Those were years of great suffering.
These saints remind us that while demonic attacks are real, faith and perseverance in Christ always triumph. Each of them proved that no power of darkness can overcome a soul united with Jesus.
St. Padre Pio
St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina (1887-1968) was a 20th-century stigmatist and miracle-working Capuchin priest, who lived and died in Italy and was constantly harassed by demons. Despite his health problems, which had inescapably made his studies more difficult, Padre Pio was eventually ordained a priest in August of 1910, at the age of twenty-three. Holy cards were distributed to those who attended the ordination, with a prayer the young priest had written: “With Thee, may I be for the world the way, the truth, and the life, and through Thee, a holy priest, a perfect victim.”
Four weeks after his ordination, Padre Pio received for the first time a form of the stigmata, the wounds of Christ appearing on his own body. After a short time, they became invisible, but he could still feel the pain. Our Lord was providing him a seal of his sacrifice as a victim soul, a seal that would later become visible again.
Meanwhile, Satan’s assaults continued and intensified. The great and constant struggle of Padre Pio’s life was with those enemies of God and human souls, the devils who tried to capture his soul. Even in his youth, St. Padre Pio would enjoy incredible celestial visions, but also suffer demonic attacks.
Satan would even sometimes attack St. Padre Pio physically. He describes this in one letter he wrote to a priest confidant: “These devils don’t stop striking me, even making me fall down from the bed. They even tear off my shirt to beat me! But now they do not frighten me anymore. Jesus loves me, He often lifts me and places me back on the bed.”
Nevertheless, if we are close to the Lord, we should have no fear of demons. The saint suffered especially from temptations to impurity, fears of unconfessed sins, and despair about his salvation. Nevertheless, Our Lord provided consolations as well. The priest once wrote to his spiritual director: “All the ugly fantasies that the Devil introduces to my mind vanish when I abandon myself to the arms of Jesus. I suffer immensely, but it is a grief that does me good.” He spoke also of an inexplicable spiritual joy that supported him in his trials. He found he could repel the malicious attacks of the Enemy’s temptations more and more easily as he offered himself to God. Soon that gift to Our Lord took on a new meaning, three months after his ordination. With his spiritual director’s permission, he made an explicit offering up of his life as a victim for poor sinners and for souls in Purgatory. He placed himself on the Cross with Christ as a sacrifice to the Father in union with the Son.
According to Fr. Gabriele Amorth (1925-2016), a close friend of St. Padre Pio and also chief exorcist of Rome for several decades: “Padre Pio was much loved, but he also suffered the attacks of some formidable enemies. I am not speaking of his human enemies, who may have been led astray by falsehoods, prejudice or misunderstanding. Padre Pio’s real enemies were the demons who besieged him. Contrary to some reports, Padre Pio always respected and esteemed his ecclesiastical superiors, and he always obeyed them, often at the cost of great suffering to himself. The great and constant struggle of Padre Pio’s life was with those enemies of God and human souls, the devils who tried to capture his soul.”
When did that struggle begin? Was it a physical struggle or a matter of internal visions? Fr. Amorth explains: “The devil is always pure spirit, but in order to reveal himself he takes on aspects which can be most provocative and harmful: fear, seduction, deception. From his childhood, Padre Pio enjoyed celestial visions, but he also experienced terrible diabolical presences. These tormented him in the most frightful forms. They occasionally scourged him with heavy chains, leaving him bruised and bleeding. Sometimes they appeared as gruesome animals. Many biographies recount Padre Pio’s encounters with the demons. Padre Pio himself described many of his encounters with devils. His accounts to his spiritual director in 1911 in the monastery of Venafro are particularly vivid. That was the first time Padre Pio revealed his rich interior life, both his ecstatic visions and his diabolical torments.
“The devil would appear to him as an ugly black cat, or in the shape of a truly repugnant animal. The obvious intent was to fill him with terror. Other times demons came as young girls, nude and provocative, performing obscene dances, to test the young priest’s chastity. But Padre Pio sensed his greatest danger when the devil tried to deceive him by taking on the form of one of his superiors (his provincial superior or his spiritual director) or in a sacred form (the Lord, the Virgin, or St. Francis). He learned a “rule of thumb,” which we also find in the writings of St. Teresa of Avila, and which he taught some of his spiritual followers. He noticed a certain timidity when the Virgin or the Lord first appeared, followed by a sense of peace when the vision departed. On the other hand, a devil in sacred form provoked an immediate feeling of joy and attraction, replaced afterwards by remorse and sadness.
“He could also clearly distinguish if a person’s soul was possessed by Satan. He would then communicate the danger to that person alone. Crucial moments sometimes occurred in the confessional. During confession, he sometimes made a gesture as if to dispel something. Perhaps he was asking the Lord to liberate the penitent from a temptation or evil habit. St. Alphonsus Liguori, who was a master in such situations, suggested that in certain cases confessors could execute a mental mini-exorcism, before even commencing the confession. Many of Padre Pio’s most difficult struggles with demons came about as he tried to rescue souls from diabolical possession, whether in the confessional or when he was praying for one of his spiritual followers. Pio never performed official exorcisms. He did, however, have an extraordinary discernment for souls in danger. Many persons allegedly possessed by demons were brought before Padre Pio, and his attitude changed with each different case. Let us say he could tell if the possessed was susceptible to liberation or not.
“Once Padre Pio liberated a youth by simply pronouncing the words “Begone.” But such sudden liberations were extremely rare. Another time Don Faustino Negrini accompanied a young person named Agnese Salamoni, who had been cursed for being the “model girl of the parish” and seized by a sudden diabolical possession. Padre Pio said a simple blessing over her, and that seemed to bear fruit. Don Faustino himself completed the liberation, after 13 years of prayer! It seems that Padre Pio sensed that her time for liberation had not yet come.” (Testimony of Fr. Gabriele Amorth about St. Padre Pio).
St. Gemma Galgani
The young Italian mystic St. Gemma Galgani (1878–1903) suffered frequent attacks from the devil, especially after Holy Communion. In a letter to a priest, she wrote: “During the last two days Jesus has been telling me after Holy Communion: ‘My daughter, the devil will soon wage a great war against you!’ These words I hear in my heart continuously. Please pray for me!” Jesus warned her that the devil would wage war against her, and soon she endured severe headaches, sleepless nights, and violent assaults. Once, while writing, the devil tore the paper and dragged her by the hair so that it came off in his brutal claws. Despite the suffering, she joked about his ugliness: “If you had seen him run away making faces, you would have laughed! He is so ugly! But Jesus told me not to fear him.”
She quickly realized that prayer was the best defense. In response, Satan gave her violent headaches in order to make sleeping difficult for her. Her fatigue then made sleeping more difficult ― but she persevered. She writes: “How many efforts does not that wretch make to make it impossible for me to pray! Yesterday evening he tried to kill me, and would have succeeded if Jesus had not come quickly to my aid. I was terrified and kept the image of Jesus in my mind!”
At one point, while she was writing a letter, the devil snatched the pen from her hand and tore up the paper then dragged her from the table, seizing her by the hair with such violence that it came off in his brutal claws. She describes another attack in one of her writings:
“The demon came before me as a giant of great height and kept saying to me: ‘For you there is no more hope of salvation. You are in my hands!’ I replied that God is merciful and therefore I fear nothing. Then, in a rage, giving me a hard blow on the head, he said ‘Accursed be you!’ ― and then he disappeared. I then went to my room to rest, and there I found him. He began again to strike me with a knotted rope, and wanted me to listen to him while he suggested wickedness. I said no, and he struck me even harder, knocking my head violently against the ground. At a certain point, it came to my mind to invoke Jesus’ Father: ‘Eternal Father, through the most Precious Blood of Jesus, free me!’ I then don’t quite know what happened. That contemptible beast dragged me from my bed and threw me, hitting my head against the floor with such force that it pains me still. I became senseless and remained lying there until I came to myself a long time afterwards. Jesus be thanked!”
Nevertheless, she always kept her Faith and trust in Jesus. God, in order to purify His elect and render them victims of expiation for themselves and for others, makes use even of the demons, who because of their hatred of souls and their increased intelligence become very profitable instruments to the attainment of His ends.
Gemma soon learned that the best way to defend herself against the demons and to reach God’s ends is through prayer, which she practiced with all the ardor of her soul. The enemy then tried to prevent it. To weary her, he would try to upset her temperament; he caused her violent headaches so that she might be obliged to go to bed, rather than remain in prayer; and strove in numerous other ways to distract her from this holy exercise. “Oh” she once said, “What torment this gives me, not to be able to pray! What fatigue it costs me! How many efforts does not that wretch make to make it impossible for me to pray! Yesterday evening he tried to kill me, and would have succeeded if Jesus had not come quickly to my aid! I was terrified and kept the image of Jesus in my mind, but I could not pronounce His Name!”
At other times, he attacked her differently. “What are you doing?” he said, blaspheming, “How stupid you are to pray to that malefactor [referring to Jesus]. Look at the harm He does to you, keeping you nailed to the Cross with Himself! How then can you care for Him, for Him whom you don’t even know, who makes all who love Him suffer?” But these and all his other evil suggestions were as dust before the wind, and only served to afflict her at hearing her Jesus outraged by such blasphemies.
In the midst of so much suffering, the servant of God found comfort in the direction and advice of her spiritual director. This the wicked enemy could not bear, and tried to turn her away from her spiritual guide. He depicted her director as an ignorant, fanatical, deluded man and with so many arguments strove to convince and terrify her that the poor child thought herself all but lost. Hence on one occasion she wrote: “For some days, the devil has pursued me in every guise and way, and has done all in his power against me. This monster keeps on redoubling all his efforts to ruin me and tries to deprive me of whomever directs or advises me. But even should this happen, I am not afraid!” Seeing that with all his efforts he could not succeed in shaking her confidence in her director, he resorted to acts of violence.
He carried this audacity so far as to feign to be a priest to whom Gemma used to make her confessions. She had gone one day to Church, and, while preparing herself to make her confession, she saw that the priest was already in the confessional, at which she momentarily wondered and was puzzled, not having seen him pass and enter. At the same time she felt very much disturbed in spirit, as generally happened when in the presence of the evil one. She entered the confessional, however, and began her confession as usual. The voice and ways were indeed those of the confessor, but his talk was foul and scandalous, accompanied by improper gestures. “My God!” she exclaimed, “What has happened?” At such a sight and at such words Gemma trembled, and, with her presence of mind returning, she hurriedly left the confessional, and saw as she did so that the pretended “confessor” had disappeared. It was the devil, who by his coarse and fiendish ways had sought to deceive her, or at least make her lose all confidence in the minister of God.
Failing in this attempt, the enemy made another. He appeared to Gemma in the form of an angel, resplendent with light, insinuating himself with the most subtle cunning, so as to throw her off her guard. Then as with Eve in the Garden of Eden, he depicted things in the falsest colors: “Look” he said “I can make you happy if only you will swear to obey me!” Gemma, who this time did not feel in her soul the usual disturbance indicating the presence of the demon, stood listening in her simplicity. But God came to her aid. After the first wicked proposal, her eyes were opened. She stood up exclaiming: “My God! Mary Immaculate!” Make me die rather than do this!” and with these words she rushed to the feigned “angel” and spat in his face. At the same moment she saw him vanish in the form of fire.
Another time Gemma writes: “Today I thought I was to be entirely free from that nauseous animal, and instead he has knocked me about greatly. I had gone to bed with the full intention of sleeping, but it turned out otherwise. He began to beat me with such blows that I feared I would die. He was in the shape of a big black dog, and he put his “paws” on my shoulders, hurting me greatly. I felt it so much in all my bones that I thought that they were broken. Also, when I was taking holy water he wrenched my arm so violently that I fell to the floor from the pain. The bone was dislocated, but went back into place because Jesus touched it for me, and all was remedied”. Knowing her mission as soul victim, the Devil once said to her: “You can pray for yourself, but if you pray for others, I will make you pay dearly for it”.
In her Diary Gemma writes: “The devil, in the form of a great black dog, put his paws upon my shoulders, making every bone in my body ache. At times I believed that he would mangle me; then one time, when I was taking holy water, he twisted my arm so cruelly that I fell to the earth in great pain. After a while I remembered that I had around my neck the relic of the Holy Cross. Making the Sign of the Cross, I became calm. Jesus let me see Himself, but only for a short time, and He strengthened me anew to suffer and struggle.”
Another time in her Diary she writes: “This evening I felt I could not collect myself; I said a few evening prayers and went to bed. To tell the truth, I foresaw a bit of a storm because Jesus had warned me a few days ago, saying: ‘The enemy will try you with one final battle, but it will be the last because now that is enough.’ I could not help but thank Him for the strength He had always given me, and I prayed that He would want to give me strength for this final test as well, that is to say last night. I went to bed, as you know well, with the intention of sleeping; slumber was not long in coming when almost instantly a tiny, tiny man appeared, all covered in black hair. What a fright! He put his hands on my bed and I thought he wanted to hit me: ‘No, no’ he said, ‘I am not able to hit you, don’t be afraid!’ and as he said this he lay down on the bed. I called Jesus to help me but Jesus did not come, but this doesn’t mean He abandoned me. As soon as I called His Name I felt liberated, but it was sudden. Other times I had called Jesus, but He had never been ready like last night. You should have seen the demon afterward, how angry! He rolled around on the floor, cursing; he made one last effort to take away the cross I had with me, but then he instantly fell backward. How good Jesus was with me last night. The devil, after that last effort, turned toward me and said that since he had not been able to do anything, he wished to torment me the rest of the night. ‘No,’ I told him; I called my guardian Angel, who opened his wings and came next to me; he blessed me and the devil ran away. Jesus be thanked! This morning I learned that at the very moment the devil was rising in fury, the scapular of Our Lady of Sorrows had been placed on me [by Cecilia Giannini] and I realized that when the devil was trying to take something off me, it could have been nothing but that. My Mother, Our Lady of Sorrows, also be thanked!”
Again, in her Diary she writes: “It happened today as usual. I had gone to bed, in fact I was asleep, but the devil did not wish this. He presented himself in a disgusting manner; he tempted me but I was strong. I commended myself to Jesus asking that He take my life rather than have me offend Him. What horrible temptations those were! All displease me but those against Holy Purity make me most wretched. Afterward he left me in peace and the Angel Guardian came and assured me that I had not done anything wrong. I complained somewhat, because I wished his help at such times, and he said that whether I saw him or not, he would be always above my head.”
St. John Vianney
The Curé of Ars, St. John Vianney (1786–1859), the patron saint of parish priests, was often tormented by the devil and regularly did battle with the evil one. St. John Vianney would say: “It is because I convert souls to the good God!” For 35 years Satan threw everything he had against the holy priest who would hear confessions for sixteen hours each day. At night Vianney would hear taunts, harrowing voices, evil singing, or shouting. He was physically dragged from his bed and one night his bed caught on fire. This torment would prevent him from having much sleep, but it did not deter him from living a life of holiness. Vianney accepted the torment from the devil and knew that he was attacking him because of the many sinners that were being reconciled. He would often get attacked the most the night before a “big sinner” came to town to confess their sins. The attacks continued but he remarked later that, “The demon is very cunning, but he is not strong. Making a Sign of the Cross soon puts him to flight! When I made the Sign of the Cross they departed.”
At first, St. John Vianney was terrified, but he eventually became so accustomed to the encounters that he gave a nickname to the devil, calling him “the Grappin.” He said once, “Oh! The Grappin and myself? We are almost buddies!” His sister once heard loud noises in his house, and he calmly told her: “It is the Grappin. He cannot harm you. He torments me because I convert souls to God.” When his room was set on fire one night, while he was hearing confessions, he said peacefully, “The Grappin is angry. He couldn’t catch the bird, so he burned the cage. It is a good sign—many sinners will come today.”
If the object of Vianney's invisible persecutor was to strike terror into his heart, he succeeded only too well in the beginning―for the poor Vianney confessed that in the early times, before the cause of these mysterious noises, which were renewed every night for hours together, was known, he was often ready to die with fear in his bed. His health, indeed, was so much affected by the strain upon his nerves, caused by the terrible apprehension he endured, that he visibly declined. Kind friends offered to keep watch round the house, and to sleep in the room adjoining his own; and several young men, under arms, stationed themselves near the church, where they could command a view of all the approaches to the presbytery.
Some of these good people were very much terrified, among others, Andre Verchere, the wheelwright of the village, who, when his turn to act as sentinel came round, was installed, his gun by his side, in a room in the presbytery. At midnight he heard a frightful crash close to him. It seemed to him that all the furniture in the room broke into pieces under a storm of invisible blows. The poor man cried out for help, and Vianney came quickly to his assistance. They searched the room and the house, examining every corner, but all in vain. When Vianney was entirely convinced that these unearthly sounds had no humanly assignable cause, he dismissed his guards. By degrees his alarm was, in some measure, allayed, and in the end he became in a manner accustomed to this terrible visitation.
Before this period poor Vianney had been a prey to a different kind of conflict. He had been tormented by the most despairing thoughts of his future destiny. He seemed continually to see under his feet the lake of fire, and to hear a voice telling him that his place was already marked in it. Day and night he was haunted by the fear of being eternally lost; and, after having combated and overcome this internal temptation, he had less difficulty in resisting his external, though invisible foes. Still, the martyrdom to which he was now subjected was no light one. It lasted, not for days or months, but for thirty-five years, with different phases, and under different forms, but almost without intermission.
St. John Vianney underwent such horrifying attacks because God knew he could handle them and they would strengthen him for his ministry of mercy. Saint Paul wrote to the Corinthians on this topic, “God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Satan’s attacks on St. John Vianney were a “last resort” because the daily temptations, that we are all familiar with, did not do anything to the saint. So the devil ramped up his game and tried to scare the priest into submission. However, instead of cowering in his room and submitting to the will of Satan, Vianney received God’s grace to follow will of the Father and remain faithful to the end. Above all things Satan is a terrorist who never stops striking fear in our hearts, hoping that we will be afraid of him and think he is more powerful than God. This was true in Saint John Vianney’s time and certainly is the case now.
Article 5
The First Sunday of Lent, February 22nd
Temptation Sunday or Temptation to Sin Day?
The First Sunday of Lent, February 22nd
Temptation Sunday or Temptation to Sin Day?
Christ vs. Satan
St. Paul says: “What concord hath Christ with Belial?” (2 Corinthians 6:15). In Holy Scripture we see the account of Our Lord’s battle with Satan in the desert, after He had fasted and prayed for forty days and nights (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13). In this triple temptation, Our Lord comes out on top against the wiles and temptations of Satan. It would seem that the prayer and fasting was the key to His victory. He Himself would later say, speaking of the devil: “This kind is not cast out except by prayer and fasting!” (Matthew 17:20). Which is something that He would essentially repeat during His Agony in the Garden, when He said to Peter, James and John: “Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation! The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh weak!” (Matthew 26:41; Mark 14:38).
The Story of the Battle by Matthew
“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert, to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards He was hungry. And the tempter coming said to Him: ‘If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread!’ Who answered and said: ‘It is written, “Not in bread alone doth man live, but in every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God!”’ Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, and set Him upon the pinnacle of the Temple, and said to Him: ‘If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down, for it is written: “That He hath given His angels charge over Thee, and in their hands shall they bear Thee up, lest perhaps Thou dash thy foot against a stone!”’ Jesus said to him: ‘It is written again: “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God!”’ Again the devil took Him up into a very high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, and said to Him: ‘All these will I give Thee, if falling down Thou wilt adore me!’ Then Jesus saith to him: ‘Begone, Satan! For it is written, “The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and Him only shalt thou serve!”’ Then the devil left Him; and behold angels came and ministered to Him” (Matthew 4:1-11).
The Story of the Battle by Luke
“And Jesus, being full of the Holy Ghost, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the desert, for the space of forty days; and was tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing in those days; and when they were ended, He was hungry. And the devil said to Him: ‘If thou be the Son of God, say to this stone that it be made bread!’ And Jesus answered him: ‘It is written, that Man liveth not by bread alone, but by every word of God!’ And the devil led Him into a high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time; and he said to Him: ‘To Thee will I give all this power, and the glory of them; for to me they are delivered, and to whom I will, I give them. If Thou therefore wilt adore before me, all shall be Thine!’ And Jesus answering said to him: ‘It is written: “Thou shalt adore the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve!”’ And he brought Him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the Temple, and he said to Him: ‘If Thou be the Son of God, cast thyself from hence. For it is written, that He hath given his angels charge over thee, that they keep thee! And that in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest perhaps Thou dash thy foot against a stone!’ And Jesus answering, said to him: ‘It is said: “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God!”’ And all the temptation being ended, the devil departed from Him for a time” (Luke 4:1-13).
Satan Leaves Only For a Time
Even though he was defeated by Christ in the desert, Satan would return to fight another day and in another way. Our life is meant to be one long struggle, one long war. Holy Scripture is very adamant on this: “The life of man upon Earth is a warfare” (Job 7:1) … “Be sober and watch: because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8) … “Fight the good fight of Faith! Lay hold on eternal life, whereunto you are called” (1 Timothy 6:12) … “The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent bear it away” (Matthew 11:12). “And the Lord said: ‘Simon, Simon, behold Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat―but I have prayed for thee, that your Faith fail not!’” (Luke 22:31-32).
The Lessons of Temptation Sunday
On this First Sunday of Lent—in what we could “Temptation Sunday” because of the Sunday Gospel of Our Lord’s temptation in the desert—it would good to spend a good part of this week in exploring and understanding the necessity, mechanics, effects and consequences of temptation. Before all else, it is essential that we get as clear a notion as possible of the meaning of the word temptation. “Temptation” is derived from the Latin “tentare”, which means “to try” or “to test”. Accordingly, a temptation may be said to be a trying or a testing of the soul for the purpose of ascertaining its attitude toward God and its fidelity in the service it owes to Him.
Dom Gueranger, in his Liturgical Year, explains: “This Sunday is one of the most solemn throughout the year. We cannot we look upon Ash Wednesday as the solemn opening of the season; for the faithful are not bound to hear Mass on that day. Thus, Holy Church, seeing her children now assembled together, speaks to them: ‘Behold! Now is the acceptable time! Behold! Now is the day of salvation!’ Today she brings before us the temptation of Our Lord in the desert. We acknowledge ourselves to be sinners―but how was it that we fell into sin. The devil tempted us; we did not reject the temptation; then we yielded to the suggestion, and the sin was committed. Here we have the Saint of saints allowing the wicked spirit to approach Him, in order that we might learn, from His example, how we are to gain victory under temptation.”
It was divinely providential that Christ allowed Himself to be tempted by the devil at the beginning of His public ministry. He is teaching us one of the most important lessons we need to learn in life. If He, the living God in human form, was tempted by the evil spirit, then we must expect to be tempted as well. In order to imitate Christ, we must resist the devil as Christ, Himself, resisted the devil.
St. Ignatius has a key meditation in the Spiritual Exercises on what he calls the Two Standards. The Two Standards correspond to the two leaders in the world who are drawing people to follow them. One leader is Jesus Christ, who inspires believing Christians to dedicate themselves to the extension of His kingdom throughout the world. The other leader is Satan, who is trying to seduce people to follow him for the extension of his demonic kingdom, which, in the words of St. Augustine, is the City of Man, which is in constant conflict with the kingdom of Christ. The devil knows that you get nowhere alone, you inspire others to follow you. Then you train your followers and disciples and they will carry on your work. The devil trains his followers to seduce not just people or cities, but whole nations.
If there is one thing we learn from the masters of the spiritual life it is to expect to be tempted by the evil spirit. It was the evil spirit who tempted Eve and brought on the fall of the human race. As we reflect on temptations by the devil in our own lives, we must keep in mind who the devil is. He is the evil spirit. Spirit because he is not sensibly perceptible. We cannot hear him with our bodily ears or see him with our bodily eyes. He is an evil spirit whose number is legion and who has been phenomenally successful in seducing untold numbers from their allegiance to God.
Whose Side Are We On?
We have to make a choice in this world—do we live for Heaven and renounce the things of the world? Or do we live for this world and, despite our wishful thinking to the contrary, renounce the things of Heaven: “No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (the world)” (Matthew 6:24). To the rich young man, Our Lord said: “‘If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven: and come follow Me!’ And when the young man had heard this word, he went away sad: for he had great possessions. Then Jesus said to His disciples: ‘Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!’” (Matthew 19:21-23).
Our Lord therefore separates Himself from this world: “And he said to them (Pharisees): ‘You are from beneath, I am from above. You are of this world, I am not of this world’” (John 8:23). He tells Pilate: “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36) and He says to us: “If you had been of the world, the world would love its own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:19).
Our Lord Teaches Us How to Fight
Fr. Leonard Goffine, in his The Church’s Year, writes: “Christ went into the desert to prepare, by fasting and prayer, for His mission, and to endure the temptations of Satan, and to show us by His own example, how we should, armed with the word of God, as with a sword, overcome the tempter … He has certainly taught us to overcome the hardest ones ― the lust of the eyes, of the flesh, and the pride of life, and if we overcome these, it will be easy to conquer the rest. If Christ permitted Himself to be tempted, it should not appear strange to us, that we are assailed by many temptations. St. Peter teaches us this: ‘Be sober and watch ― because your adversary the devil, as a roaring-lion, goes about, seeking whom he may devour!’ (1 Peter 5:8). Not all temptations are to be ascribed to the devil—‘the devil made me do it’―as they often come from our own corrupt nature, our own incautiousness, or looseness of our senses, by which we expose ourselves to the danger of falling into sin.”
St. Paul lists three chief enemies of the soul—the devil, the world and our own flesh: “When you were dead in your offences, and sins, you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of this air, of the spirit that now works on the children of unbelief, [and] in the desires of our flesh” (Ephesians 2:1-3).
St. John tells us, we are tempted from three sources: by the world, the flesh, and the devil: “All that is in the world, is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life, which is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:16). The world is the attractive sinful conduct of other people. The flesh is our concupiscence, the natural inclination that we now have after the fall of the human race, to follow what appeals to us even though it is displeasing to God. The devil is, in some ways, the most powerful enemy we have in the spiritual life.
Dom Guéranger, looking at the third enemy indicated by St. John―our own flesh― further explains: “Concupiscence of the flesh is the love of sensual things, which covets whatever is agreeable to the flesh, and, when not curbed, draws the soul into unlawful pleasures. Concupiscence of the eyes is the love of the goods of this world, such as riches, and possessions; these dazzle the eye, and then seduce the heart. Pride of life is that confidence in ourselves, which leads us to be vain and presumptuous, and to forget that all we have, our life and every good gift, we have from God. Everyone of, our sins comes from one of these three sources; every one of our temptations aims at making us accept the concupiscence of the flesh, or the concupiscence of the eyes, or the pride of life” (The Liturgical Year).
Surrounded by Temptation
We know the verse from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner: “Water, water everywhere—nor any drop to drink.” We could well change that to “Temptation, temptation everywhere—it puts us on the brink!” The Imitation of Christ has this to say on the subject of temptations:
“So long as we live in this world we cannot escape suffering and temptation. Whence it is written in Job: “The life of man upon Earth is a warfare” (Job 7:1). Everyone, therefore, must guard against temptation and must watch in prayer lest the devil, who never sleeps but goes about seeking whom he may devour, find occasion to deceive him. No one is so perfect or so holy but he is sometimes tempted; man cannot be altogether free from temptation.
“Yet temptations, though troublesome and severe, are often useful to a man, for in them he is humbled, purified, and instructed. The saints all passed through many temptations and trials to profit by them, while those who could not resist became reprobate and fell away. There is no state so holy, no place so secret that temptations and trials will not come. Man is never safe from them as long as he lives, for they come from within us — in sin we were born. When one temptation or trial passes, another comes; we shall always have something to suffer because we have lost the state of original blessedness.
“Many people try to escape temptations, only to fall more deeply. We cannot conquer simply by fleeing, but by patience and true humility we become stronger than all our enemies. The man who only shuns temptations outwardly and does not uproot them will make little progress; indeed they will quickly return, more violent than before.
“Little by little, in patience and long-suffering you will overcome them, by the help of God rather than by severity and your own rash ways. Often take counsel when tempted; and do not be harsh with others who are tempted, but console them as you yourself would wish to be consoled.
“The beginning of all temptation lies in a wavering mind and little trust in God, for as a rudderless ship is driven hither and yon by waves, so a careless and irresolute man is tempted in many ways. Fire tempers iron and temptation steels the just. Often we do not know what we can stand, but temptation shows us what we are. Above all, we must be especially alert against the beginnings of temptation, for the enemy is more easily conquered if he is refused admittance to the mind and is met beyond the threshold when he knocks.
“Someone has said very aptly: ‘Resist the beginnings; remedies come too late, when, by long delay, the evil has gained strength.’ First, a mere thought comes to mind, then strong imagination, followed by pleasure, evil delight, and consent. Thus, because he is not resisted in the beginning, Satan gains full entry. And the longer a man delays in resisting, so much the weaker does he become each day, while the strength of the enemy grows against him.
“Some suffer great temptations in the beginning of their conversion, others toward the end, while some are troubled almost constantly throughout their life. Others, again, are tempted but lightly according to the wisdom and justice of Divine Providence Who weighs the status and merit of each and prepares all for the salvation of His elect.
“We should not despair, therefore, when we are tempted, but pray to God the more fervently that He may see fit to help us, for according to the word of Paul, He will make issue with temptation that we may be able to bear it. Let us humble our souls under the hand of God in every trial and temptation for He will save and exalt the humble in spirit.
“In temptations and trials the progress of a man is measured; in them opportunity for merit and virtue is made more manifest. When a man is not troubled it is not hard for him to be fervent and devout, but if he bears up patiently in time of adversity, there is hope for great progress. Some, guarded against great temptations, are frequently overcome by small ones in order that, humbled by their weakness in small trials, they may not presume on their own strength in great ones” (The Imitation of Christ, Book 1, chapter 13).
St. John Vianney Speaks of Temptation
We are surrounded by temptations—some of them we negligently do not even classify as temptations because we have become so used to them. We live surrounded by danger and we dangerously dilly-dally with this danger, as the following passage from a sermon of St. John Vianney points out:
“In everything that we see, in everything that we hear, in all we say and do, we are conscious of the fact that we are drawn towards evil. If we are at table—there is sensuality, gluttony and intemperance. If we take a few moments of recreation—there are the dangers of flightiness and idle chatter. If we are at work, most of the time—then it is self-interest, or avarice, or envy which influences us, or even vanity. When we pray—there is negligence, distraction, distaste, and boredom. If we are in pain or any trouble—there are complaints and murmurings. When we are doing well and are prosperous—then pride, self-love, and contempt for our neighbor take hold of us. Our hearts swell with pride when we are praised. Wrongs inflame us into rages.
“There you see my dear brethren, the thing which made the greatest of the saints tremble. This was what made so many of them retire into the desert to live solitary lives; this was the source of so many tears, of so many prayers, of so many penances. It is true that the saints, who were hidden away in the forests, were not exempt from temptations, but they were far removed from so much bad example, as that which surrounds us continually and which is the cause of so many souls being lost.
“But, my dear brethren, we see from their lives that they watched, they prayed, and they were in dread unceasingly, while we, poor, blind sinners, are quite placid in the midst of so many dangers which could lose us our souls! Alas, my dear brethren, some of us do not even know what it is to be tempted because we hardly ever, or very rarely, resist. Which one of us can expect to escape from all these dangers? Which one of us will be saved? Anyone who wanted to reflect upon all these things could hardly go on living, so greatly terrified would he be! However, my dear brethren, what ought to console and reassure us is that we have to deal with a good Father Who will never allow our struggles to be greater than our strength, and every time we have recourse to Him, He will help us to fight and to conquer” (St. John Vianney, Sermon on Temptation).
Battles and Bullets
That is why we are not to love the world, for the world belongs to the devil, an enemy of God: “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15), for “know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4). Thus we have two opposing camps in this world—the one of God and the one of the devil. There can be no spectators in this battle, for, as Our Lord says: “He that is not with Me, is against Me: and he that gathers not with Me, scatters!” (Matthew 12:30). Therefore, once again, we are born into a battle and the first enemy we meet on the battlefield is temptation, or, to put it another way, the first things will encounter will be the bullets of temptation. That is why Holy Scripture warns us: “Son, when you come to the service of God, stand in justice and in fear, and prepare your soul for temptation” (Ecclesiasticus 2:1), “and because you were acceptable to God, it was necessary that temptation should prove you” (Tobias 12:13).
The Prince and His Kingdom
The devil, ruling the world, will use the world to tempt us and he will unite the temptations of the world to his own direct temptations in order to break-down our resistance. He will use persons, places and things to draw us away from God and into an addiction to the things the world can offer. The chief weapon of Satan is temptation—it is like a universal tool. It can be applied to any subject and to any person at any time. It was the weapon that was first successfully used against Adam and Eve, and it has stood the test of time. From Satan’s point of view, it is a very successful weapon, since, as most Saints and Father of the Church tell us, most souls end up being damned—yet that damnation is not inevitable and could have easily been avoided, if only they would have perseveringly taken the precautions that Christ has given us through His Church.
St. Paul speaks of these temptations in his own life: “We know that the law is spiritual―but I am carnal, sold under sin! For the things that I do, I understand not. For I do not that good which I want to do―but I do the evil which I hate! … Then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me. I know that there does not dwell in me―in my flesh―that which is good. To will or want, is present with me―but to accomplish that which is good, I do not find! For the good which I want to do―I do not do! But the evil which I do not want to do―that I do! Now if I do that which I do not want to do, then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find that when I have a desire to do good, there is evil present within me! For I am delighted with the law of God, according to the inward man, but I see another law in my body, fighting against the law of my mind, and captivating me in the law of sin that is in my body! Unhappy man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? The grace of God, by Jesus Christ our Lord! Therefore, I myself, with the mind, serve the law of God―but with the flesh, the law of sin!” (Romans 7:14-25).
Soldiers of the Devil
Once drawn away from God and being true soldiers of Christ―we become soldiers of the devil—”the children of the Kingdom shall be cast out into the exterior darkness” (Matthew 8:12), where they become “the children of unbelief … children of this world … being fettered with the bonds of darkness” (Ephesians 5:6; Luke 16:8; Wisdom 17:2). These, newly-won recruits to the ranks of the world, the devil will use to entice others away from God. “They adored the dragon, which gave power to the beast: and they adored the beast, saying: ‘Who is like to the beast? And who shall be able to fight with him?’” (Apocalypse 13:4). “For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and power, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places” (Ephesians 6:12).
No Peace With the Enemy
“Wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of this air, of the spirit that now works on the children of unbelief. In which also we all conversed in time past, in the desires of our flesh, fulfilling the will of the flesh and of our thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest” (Ephesians 2:2-3). “Let us cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light” (Romans 13:12). “You are the children of light, and children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness” (1 Thessalonians 5:5). “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Ephesians 5:11). “Bear not the yoke with unbelievers. For what participation has justice with injustice? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? And what concord has Christ with Belial? Or what part have the faithful with the unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-16). “Fight the good fight of Faith!” (1 Timothy 6:12) and “war in them a good warfare” (1 Timothy 1:18). “The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent bear it away” (Matthew 11:12).
The Weapons of Warfare
“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal” (2 Corinthians 10:4). “Put you on the armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and power, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places. Therefore take unto you the armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and to stand in all things perfect. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of justice, and your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace. In all things taking the shield of Faith, wherewith you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one. And take unto you the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. By all prayer and supplication praying at all times in the spirit; and in the same watching with all instance and supplication for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:11-18).
We Don’t Like to Fight―We Don’t Want to Fight―So We Don’t Fight!
Our problem is that the soul was instinctively made for peace, not war—but sin has brought inescapable war into the world. “The life of man upon Earth is a warfare” (Job 7:1). Our Lord adds fuel to this fire saying: “Think ye, that I am come to give peace on Earth? I tell you, no; but separation! For, from henceforth, there shall be five in one house divided—three against two, and two against three! And a man’s enemies shall be they of his own household! The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against his father, the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law! He that loves father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me; and he that loves son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me!” (Luke 13:51-53; Matthew 10:36-37).
It is tempting to avoid family confrontation over religious and spiritual things, for the sake of peace. We are tempted to “go along to get along” and fear “rocking the boat” out of this human respect, of which Our Lady of Good Success says: “Cursed human respect, which makes one ask: ‘What will others say about this?’”
To avoid or lessen spirituality in the home—for the sake of a human peace—is to betray Christ: “Every one therefore that shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father Who is in Heaven. But he that shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father Who is in Heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33). Put God before man!
Beware If You Have No Temptations
“If you have no temptations,” St. Gregory tells us, “it is because the devils are your friends, your leaders, and your shepherds. And by allowing you to pass your poor life tranquilly, to the end of your days, they will drag you down into the depths.” St. Augustine tells us that the greatest temptation is not to have temptations, because this means that one is a person who has been rejected, abandoned by God, and left entirely in the grip of one’s own passions. St. John Vianney explains: “If Our Lord was tempted, it was in order to show us that we must be also. It follows, therefore, that we must expect temptation. If you ask me what is the cause of our temptations, I shall tell you that it is the beauty and the great worth and importance of our souls which the Devil values and which he loves so much that he would consent to suffer two Hells, if necessary, if by so doing he could drag our souls into Hell” (St. John Vianney).
Material of Glory
Fr. Frederick Faber tells us that “Temptations are the raw material of glory.” That is why St. James says: “My brethren, count it all joy, when you shall fall into divers temptations!” (James 1:2), to which St. Peter will add: “You shall greatly rejoice, if now you must be for a little time made sorrowful in divers temptations: so that the trial of your Faith (much more precious than gold which is tried by the fire) may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6-7).
A Testing and Trying Time
To a great extent, temptations are to the spiritual life, what various tests on machines and materials are to mechanical and building operations. Before a steam boiler is put into operation, its ability to withstand a determined pressure of steam is ascertained by subjecting it to a rigorous test. Before a beam is placed in a building, its carrying strength is determined. And so in hundreds of other cases. The machines and materials are put through stresses designed to show whether they will prove adequate to the demand that will be made on them. By a transfer of meaning, we can say that they are tempted.
This, then, is the meaning of temptation — a trial or a test. In the service of God, souls are tested or tried in order that the quality of their love for God and their devotion to Him may become known, and that they may at the same time be given opportunities of winning for themselves large treasures of grace and merit. Temptations, therefore, are meant to reveal whether the love that a soul claims to have for God is genuine and true, and not mere hollow sham and vain pretense. They are the acid test of the spiritual life.
Sifting the True form the Fake
It is well known that there are certain substances that look so much like gold that they are often mistaken for that precious metal by ignorant and inexperienced persons. Many a man has been deceived by the worthless substance commonly known as “fool’s gold.” To discover whether minerals that look like gold are the genuine metal, an assayer employs special tests. One of these consists in subjecting the substance to the action of strong nitric acid. If the substance is gold, the acid will have no effect on it; if it is not, it will break up and dissolve — an easy way of proving that what was thought to be gold was nothing more than worthless dross.
This has its parallel in the spiritual world. There are many souls parading before men what appears to be solid and genuine virtue. An acid test is needed to re-veal the true character of these souls. This is supplied by temptations. The soul that truly loves God, will not allow itself to be overcome by them, but will remain firm and immovable in the keeping of His holy law; whereas that which is only a pretender, will offer but little resistance, or perhaps none at all.
God Causes Some ‘Temptations’ and Permits Others
When the man on the street speaks of temptations, it is commonly understood as an incitement or allurement to some sin, brought about by either suggestion, the fear of suffering, or the offer of some good or pleasure. It may be an external temptation, such as the sight of objects, e.g., books, improper pictures, immodestly dressed persons; or by hearing, e.g., of suggestive or obscene stories, attacks on religion or the Church, detraction, or calumny. Or it may be an internal temptation, as when evil thoughts, imaginings, or desires spring up in the mind, or when feelings or sensations of a sensual character arise in the body without our having voluntarily caused them. These and similar causes make an assault on the will to induce it to give its consent to the evil proposed.
Does God Tempt or Not?
In the Sacred Scriptures we find two sets of passages, relating to temptations, that, at first sight, seem to contradict each other. One set appears to make God the author of temptations, while the other plainly denies this. Thus we read that “God tempted Abraham” (Genesis 22:1) while we are assured by St. James that “God tempts no man” (James 1:13). To reconcile these two seemingly contradictory statements, we must keep in mind that there are two distinct varieties of temptations: those which are known as temptations of probation and those which go by the name of temptations of solicitation.
Temptations of Probation
The word “probation” finds it root in the Latin verb “probare” which means “to examine, to test, to try or to prove.” By temptations of probation we understand all those special trials to which God at times subjects persons, to prove their virtue, to prepare them for some particular work, or to elevate them to a very high degree of holiness, as was the case with Abraham, the Egyptian Joseph, Job, and Tobias in the Old Law; and with St. John the Baptist, St. Joseph, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and countless other saints in the New. Such temptations are not incitements to sin, but simply what the first meaning of the word implies: a proving or testing of a person’s virtue, as of Faith, hope, patience, etc. In this sense, it is quite correct to say that God tempts man.
Hence all such evils as sickness, loss of fortune, poverty, enmities, false accusations, persecutions, wars, and other calamities with which people, both the good and the bad, are often visited, can be designated as temptations sent by God, or temptations of probation.
Temptations of Solicitation
But the case is entirely different when there is question of temptations of solicitation. The word “solicitation” finds it root in the Latin verb “sollicitare” which means “to stir up, to arouse, to agitate, or to incite.” These are really incitements or allurements to violations of the law of God that come, directly or indirectly, from the Devil. They come from him directly by reason of the superior spiritual powers he possesses and by which he can, to a great extent, work on our imagination and senses and suggest evil to our mind. They come from him indirectly by what Sacred Scripture designates as “the flesh” and “the world,” or by what St. John more particularly calls “the concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). Of these means the enemy of our souls makes constant use for the purpose of enticing us to commit sin.
The Providential Design Behind Temptations
Fr. Tanquerey, in his book The Spiritual Life, explains the providential reason and use that God makes of temptations: God Himself does not tempt us directly: “Let no man, when he is tempted, say that he is tempted by God. For God is not a tempter of evils and He tempts no man” (James 1:13). But He allows us to be tempted by our spiritual enemies, at the same time giving us the graces necessary to resist: “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able: but will make also with temptation issue, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). And this for excellent reasons of His own.
1. He wants to make us merit Heaven.
Undoubtedly He could have bestowed upon us eternal life as a pure gift, but in His wisdom He has willed that we merit it as a reward. He even wills that the recompense be in proportion to the merit and hence in proportion to the obstacle overcome. Temptation, which imperils our frail virtue, is certainly one of the most trying hardships; to struggle courageously against it is one of the most meritorious acts we can perform; and once we have triumphed with God’s grace, we can repeat with St. Paul, that we have fought the good fight, and that it only remains for us to receive the crown of justice which God has prepared for us. The more we have done in order to merit that crown, the greater shall be our honor and our joy.
2. Temptation is likewise a means of purification.
(a) It reminds us that through lack of vigilance and of effort in the past we have fallen, and it becomes thus an occasion for new acts of contrition, shame, and humiliation, which make for the purification of the soul.
(b) It obliges us at the same time to put forth earnest and sustained efforts lest we fall; it makes us atone for our negligences and for our surrenders by the performance of contrary acts which further purify the soul. This is why when God wants to purify a soul more perfectly in order to raise it to contemplation, He allows it to undergo horrible temptations, as we shall see when treating of the unitive way.
3. Lastly, temptation is an instrument of spiritual progress.
(a) It is like a stripe of the lash that awakens us at the moment we would lull ourselves to sleep and relax. It makes us realize the necessity of forging ahead, of not halting midway, but of ever aiming higher, the more surely to remove the danger.
(b) It is a school of humility, of distrust of self. When tempted we realize more fully our weakness, our powerlessness; we feel more keenly the need of grace, and we pray with greater earnestness. We see all the better the necessity of mortifying in us the love of pleasure, the source of our temptations, and we embrace more eagerly the little crosses of every day in order to weaken the power of concupiscence.
(c) It is a school of love of God; for to insure our power of resistance, we throw ourselves into God’s arms there to seek for strength and shelter; we are more grateful to Him for His unfailing grace; we act towards Him as children of a most loving Father to Whom we have recourse in all our trials.
God’s Friends Will Be Tempted
Hence, temptation possesses manifold advantages and it is on this account that God allows His friends to be tempted: “Because you were acceptable to God, it was necessary that temptation should prove you” (Tobias 12:13). Which is why Fr. Faber says “Temptations are the raw material of glory” and St. James commands: “My brethren, count it all joy, when you shall fall into divers temptations!” (James 1:2).
St. Paul says: “What concord hath Christ with Belial?” (2 Corinthians 6:15). In Holy Scripture we see the account of Our Lord’s battle with Satan in the desert, after He had fasted and prayed for forty days and nights (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13). In this triple temptation, Our Lord comes out on top against the wiles and temptations of Satan. It would seem that the prayer and fasting was the key to His victory. He Himself would later say, speaking of the devil: “This kind is not cast out except by prayer and fasting!” (Matthew 17:20). Which is something that He would essentially repeat during His Agony in the Garden, when He said to Peter, James and John: “Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation! The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh weak!” (Matthew 26:41; Mark 14:38).
The Story of the Battle by Matthew
“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert, to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards He was hungry. And the tempter coming said to Him: ‘If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread!’ Who answered and said: ‘It is written, “Not in bread alone doth man live, but in every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God!”’ Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, and set Him upon the pinnacle of the Temple, and said to Him: ‘If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down, for it is written: “That He hath given His angels charge over Thee, and in their hands shall they bear Thee up, lest perhaps Thou dash thy foot against a stone!”’ Jesus said to him: ‘It is written again: “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God!”’ Again the devil took Him up into a very high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, and said to Him: ‘All these will I give Thee, if falling down Thou wilt adore me!’ Then Jesus saith to him: ‘Begone, Satan! For it is written, “The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and Him only shalt thou serve!”’ Then the devil left Him; and behold angels came and ministered to Him” (Matthew 4:1-11).
The Story of the Battle by Luke
“And Jesus, being full of the Holy Ghost, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the desert, for the space of forty days; and was tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing in those days; and when they were ended, He was hungry. And the devil said to Him: ‘If thou be the Son of God, say to this stone that it be made bread!’ And Jesus answered him: ‘It is written, that Man liveth not by bread alone, but by every word of God!’ And the devil led Him into a high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time; and he said to Him: ‘To Thee will I give all this power, and the glory of them; for to me they are delivered, and to whom I will, I give them. If Thou therefore wilt adore before me, all shall be Thine!’ And Jesus answering said to him: ‘It is written: “Thou shalt adore the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve!”’ And he brought Him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the Temple, and he said to Him: ‘If Thou be the Son of God, cast thyself from hence. For it is written, that He hath given his angels charge over thee, that they keep thee! And that in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest perhaps Thou dash thy foot against a stone!’ And Jesus answering, said to him: ‘It is said: “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God!”’ And all the temptation being ended, the devil departed from Him for a time” (Luke 4:1-13).
Satan Leaves Only For a Time
Even though he was defeated by Christ in the desert, Satan would return to fight another day and in another way. Our life is meant to be one long struggle, one long war. Holy Scripture is very adamant on this: “The life of man upon Earth is a warfare” (Job 7:1) … “Be sober and watch: because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8) … “Fight the good fight of Faith! Lay hold on eternal life, whereunto you are called” (1 Timothy 6:12) … “The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent bear it away” (Matthew 11:12). “And the Lord said: ‘Simon, Simon, behold Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat―but I have prayed for thee, that your Faith fail not!’” (Luke 22:31-32).
The Lessons of Temptation Sunday
On this First Sunday of Lent—in what we could “Temptation Sunday” because of the Sunday Gospel of Our Lord’s temptation in the desert—it would good to spend a good part of this week in exploring and understanding the necessity, mechanics, effects and consequences of temptation. Before all else, it is essential that we get as clear a notion as possible of the meaning of the word temptation. “Temptation” is derived from the Latin “tentare”, which means “to try” or “to test”. Accordingly, a temptation may be said to be a trying or a testing of the soul for the purpose of ascertaining its attitude toward God and its fidelity in the service it owes to Him.
Dom Gueranger, in his Liturgical Year, explains: “This Sunday is one of the most solemn throughout the year. We cannot we look upon Ash Wednesday as the solemn opening of the season; for the faithful are not bound to hear Mass on that day. Thus, Holy Church, seeing her children now assembled together, speaks to them: ‘Behold! Now is the acceptable time! Behold! Now is the day of salvation!’ Today she brings before us the temptation of Our Lord in the desert. We acknowledge ourselves to be sinners―but how was it that we fell into sin. The devil tempted us; we did not reject the temptation; then we yielded to the suggestion, and the sin was committed. Here we have the Saint of saints allowing the wicked spirit to approach Him, in order that we might learn, from His example, how we are to gain victory under temptation.”
It was divinely providential that Christ allowed Himself to be tempted by the devil at the beginning of His public ministry. He is teaching us one of the most important lessons we need to learn in life. If He, the living God in human form, was tempted by the evil spirit, then we must expect to be tempted as well. In order to imitate Christ, we must resist the devil as Christ, Himself, resisted the devil.
St. Ignatius has a key meditation in the Spiritual Exercises on what he calls the Two Standards. The Two Standards correspond to the two leaders in the world who are drawing people to follow them. One leader is Jesus Christ, who inspires believing Christians to dedicate themselves to the extension of His kingdom throughout the world. The other leader is Satan, who is trying to seduce people to follow him for the extension of his demonic kingdom, which, in the words of St. Augustine, is the City of Man, which is in constant conflict with the kingdom of Christ. The devil knows that you get nowhere alone, you inspire others to follow you. Then you train your followers and disciples and they will carry on your work. The devil trains his followers to seduce not just people or cities, but whole nations.
If there is one thing we learn from the masters of the spiritual life it is to expect to be tempted by the evil spirit. It was the evil spirit who tempted Eve and brought on the fall of the human race. As we reflect on temptations by the devil in our own lives, we must keep in mind who the devil is. He is the evil spirit. Spirit because he is not sensibly perceptible. We cannot hear him with our bodily ears or see him with our bodily eyes. He is an evil spirit whose number is legion and who has been phenomenally successful in seducing untold numbers from their allegiance to God.
Whose Side Are We On?
We have to make a choice in this world—do we live for Heaven and renounce the things of the world? Or do we live for this world and, despite our wishful thinking to the contrary, renounce the things of Heaven: “No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (the world)” (Matthew 6:24). To the rich young man, Our Lord said: “‘If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven: and come follow Me!’ And when the young man had heard this word, he went away sad: for he had great possessions. Then Jesus said to His disciples: ‘Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!’” (Matthew 19:21-23).
Our Lord therefore separates Himself from this world: “And he said to them (Pharisees): ‘You are from beneath, I am from above. You are of this world, I am not of this world’” (John 8:23). He tells Pilate: “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36) and He says to us: “If you had been of the world, the world would love its own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:19).
Our Lord Teaches Us How to Fight
Fr. Leonard Goffine, in his The Church’s Year, writes: “Christ went into the desert to prepare, by fasting and prayer, for His mission, and to endure the temptations of Satan, and to show us by His own example, how we should, armed with the word of God, as with a sword, overcome the tempter … He has certainly taught us to overcome the hardest ones ― the lust of the eyes, of the flesh, and the pride of life, and if we overcome these, it will be easy to conquer the rest. If Christ permitted Himself to be tempted, it should not appear strange to us, that we are assailed by many temptations. St. Peter teaches us this: ‘Be sober and watch ― because your adversary the devil, as a roaring-lion, goes about, seeking whom he may devour!’ (1 Peter 5:8). Not all temptations are to be ascribed to the devil—‘the devil made me do it’―as they often come from our own corrupt nature, our own incautiousness, or looseness of our senses, by which we expose ourselves to the danger of falling into sin.”
St. Paul lists three chief enemies of the soul—the devil, the world and our own flesh: “When you were dead in your offences, and sins, you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of this air, of the spirit that now works on the children of unbelief, [and] in the desires of our flesh” (Ephesians 2:1-3).
St. John tells us, we are tempted from three sources: by the world, the flesh, and the devil: “All that is in the world, is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life, which is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:16). The world is the attractive sinful conduct of other people. The flesh is our concupiscence, the natural inclination that we now have after the fall of the human race, to follow what appeals to us even though it is displeasing to God. The devil is, in some ways, the most powerful enemy we have in the spiritual life.
Dom Guéranger, looking at the third enemy indicated by St. John―our own flesh― further explains: “Concupiscence of the flesh is the love of sensual things, which covets whatever is agreeable to the flesh, and, when not curbed, draws the soul into unlawful pleasures. Concupiscence of the eyes is the love of the goods of this world, such as riches, and possessions; these dazzle the eye, and then seduce the heart. Pride of life is that confidence in ourselves, which leads us to be vain and presumptuous, and to forget that all we have, our life and every good gift, we have from God. Everyone of, our sins comes from one of these three sources; every one of our temptations aims at making us accept the concupiscence of the flesh, or the concupiscence of the eyes, or the pride of life” (The Liturgical Year).
Surrounded by Temptation
We know the verse from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner: “Water, water everywhere—nor any drop to drink.” We could well change that to “Temptation, temptation everywhere—it puts us on the brink!” The Imitation of Christ has this to say on the subject of temptations:
“So long as we live in this world we cannot escape suffering and temptation. Whence it is written in Job: “The life of man upon Earth is a warfare” (Job 7:1). Everyone, therefore, must guard against temptation and must watch in prayer lest the devil, who never sleeps but goes about seeking whom he may devour, find occasion to deceive him. No one is so perfect or so holy but he is sometimes tempted; man cannot be altogether free from temptation.
“Yet temptations, though troublesome and severe, are often useful to a man, for in them he is humbled, purified, and instructed. The saints all passed through many temptations and trials to profit by them, while those who could not resist became reprobate and fell away. There is no state so holy, no place so secret that temptations and trials will not come. Man is never safe from them as long as he lives, for they come from within us — in sin we were born. When one temptation or trial passes, another comes; we shall always have something to suffer because we have lost the state of original blessedness.
“Many people try to escape temptations, only to fall more deeply. We cannot conquer simply by fleeing, but by patience and true humility we become stronger than all our enemies. The man who only shuns temptations outwardly and does not uproot them will make little progress; indeed they will quickly return, more violent than before.
“Little by little, in patience and long-suffering you will overcome them, by the help of God rather than by severity and your own rash ways. Often take counsel when tempted; and do not be harsh with others who are tempted, but console them as you yourself would wish to be consoled.
“The beginning of all temptation lies in a wavering mind and little trust in God, for as a rudderless ship is driven hither and yon by waves, so a careless and irresolute man is tempted in many ways. Fire tempers iron and temptation steels the just. Often we do not know what we can stand, but temptation shows us what we are. Above all, we must be especially alert against the beginnings of temptation, for the enemy is more easily conquered if he is refused admittance to the mind and is met beyond the threshold when he knocks.
“Someone has said very aptly: ‘Resist the beginnings; remedies come too late, when, by long delay, the evil has gained strength.’ First, a mere thought comes to mind, then strong imagination, followed by pleasure, evil delight, and consent. Thus, because he is not resisted in the beginning, Satan gains full entry. And the longer a man delays in resisting, so much the weaker does he become each day, while the strength of the enemy grows against him.
“Some suffer great temptations in the beginning of their conversion, others toward the end, while some are troubled almost constantly throughout their life. Others, again, are tempted but lightly according to the wisdom and justice of Divine Providence Who weighs the status and merit of each and prepares all for the salvation of His elect.
“We should not despair, therefore, when we are tempted, but pray to God the more fervently that He may see fit to help us, for according to the word of Paul, He will make issue with temptation that we may be able to bear it. Let us humble our souls under the hand of God in every trial and temptation for He will save and exalt the humble in spirit.
“In temptations and trials the progress of a man is measured; in them opportunity for merit and virtue is made more manifest. When a man is not troubled it is not hard for him to be fervent and devout, but if he bears up patiently in time of adversity, there is hope for great progress. Some, guarded against great temptations, are frequently overcome by small ones in order that, humbled by their weakness in small trials, they may not presume on their own strength in great ones” (The Imitation of Christ, Book 1, chapter 13).
St. John Vianney Speaks of Temptation
We are surrounded by temptations—some of them we negligently do not even classify as temptations because we have become so used to them. We live surrounded by danger and we dangerously dilly-dally with this danger, as the following passage from a sermon of St. John Vianney points out:
“In everything that we see, in everything that we hear, in all we say and do, we are conscious of the fact that we are drawn towards evil. If we are at table—there is sensuality, gluttony and intemperance. If we take a few moments of recreation—there are the dangers of flightiness and idle chatter. If we are at work, most of the time—then it is self-interest, or avarice, or envy which influences us, or even vanity. When we pray—there is negligence, distraction, distaste, and boredom. If we are in pain or any trouble—there are complaints and murmurings. When we are doing well and are prosperous—then pride, self-love, and contempt for our neighbor take hold of us. Our hearts swell with pride when we are praised. Wrongs inflame us into rages.
“There you see my dear brethren, the thing which made the greatest of the saints tremble. This was what made so many of them retire into the desert to live solitary lives; this was the source of so many tears, of so many prayers, of so many penances. It is true that the saints, who were hidden away in the forests, were not exempt from temptations, but they were far removed from so much bad example, as that which surrounds us continually and which is the cause of so many souls being lost.
“But, my dear brethren, we see from their lives that they watched, they prayed, and they were in dread unceasingly, while we, poor, blind sinners, are quite placid in the midst of so many dangers which could lose us our souls! Alas, my dear brethren, some of us do not even know what it is to be tempted because we hardly ever, or very rarely, resist. Which one of us can expect to escape from all these dangers? Which one of us will be saved? Anyone who wanted to reflect upon all these things could hardly go on living, so greatly terrified would he be! However, my dear brethren, what ought to console and reassure us is that we have to deal with a good Father Who will never allow our struggles to be greater than our strength, and every time we have recourse to Him, He will help us to fight and to conquer” (St. John Vianney, Sermon on Temptation).
Battles and Bullets
That is why we are not to love the world, for the world belongs to the devil, an enemy of God: “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15), for “know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4). Thus we have two opposing camps in this world—the one of God and the one of the devil. There can be no spectators in this battle, for, as Our Lord says: “He that is not with Me, is against Me: and he that gathers not with Me, scatters!” (Matthew 12:30). Therefore, once again, we are born into a battle and the first enemy we meet on the battlefield is temptation, or, to put it another way, the first things will encounter will be the bullets of temptation. That is why Holy Scripture warns us: “Son, when you come to the service of God, stand in justice and in fear, and prepare your soul for temptation” (Ecclesiasticus 2:1), “and because you were acceptable to God, it was necessary that temptation should prove you” (Tobias 12:13).
The Prince and His Kingdom
The devil, ruling the world, will use the world to tempt us and he will unite the temptations of the world to his own direct temptations in order to break-down our resistance. He will use persons, places and things to draw us away from God and into an addiction to the things the world can offer. The chief weapon of Satan is temptation—it is like a universal tool. It can be applied to any subject and to any person at any time. It was the weapon that was first successfully used against Adam and Eve, and it has stood the test of time. From Satan’s point of view, it is a very successful weapon, since, as most Saints and Father of the Church tell us, most souls end up being damned—yet that damnation is not inevitable and could have easily been avoided, if only they would have perseveringly taken the precautions that Christ has given us through His Church.
St. Paul speaks of these temptations in his own life: “We know that the law is spiritual―but I am carnal, sold under sin! For the things that I do, I understand not. For I do not that good which I want to do―but I do the evil which I hate! … Then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me. I know that there does not dwell in me―in my flesh―that which is good. To will or want, is present with me―but to accomplish that which is good, I do not find! For the good which I want to do―I do not do! But the evil which I do not want to do―that I do! Now if I do that which I do not want to do, then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find that when I have a desire to do good, there is evil present within me! For I am delighted with the law of God, according to the inward man, but I see another law in my body, fighting against the law of my mind, and captivating me in the law of sin that is in my body! Unhappy man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? The grace of God, by Jesus Christ our Lord! Therefore, I myself, with the mind, serve the law of God―but with the flesh, the law of sin!” (Romans 7:14-25).
Soldiers of the Devil
Once drawn away from God and being true soldiers of Christ―we become soldiers of the devil—”the children of the Kingdom shall be cast out into the exterior darkness” (Matthew 8:12), where they become “the children of unbelief … children of this world … being fettered with the bonds of darkness” (Ephesians 5:6; Luke 16:8; Wisdom 17:2). These, newly-won recruits to the ranks of the world, the devil will use to entice others away from God. “They adored the dragon, which gave power to the beast: and they adored the beast, saying: ‘Who is like to the beast? And who shall be able to fight with him?’” (Apocalypse 13:4). “For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and power, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places” (Ephesians 6:12).
No Peace With the Enemy
“Wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of this air, of the spirit that now works on the children of unbelief. In which also we all conversed in time past, in the desires of our flesh, fulfilling the will of the flesh and of our thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest” (Ephesians 2:2-3). “Let us cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light” (Romans 13:12). “You are the children of light, and children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness” (1 Thessalonians 5:5). “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Ephesians 5:11). “Bear not the yoke with unbelievers. For what participation has justice with injustice? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? And what concord has Christ with Belial? Or what part have the faithful with the unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-16). “Fight the good fight of Faith!” (1 Timothy 6:12) and “war in them a good warfare” (1 Timothy 1:18). “The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent bear it away” (Matthew 11:12).
The Weapons of Warfare
“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal” (2 Corinthians 10:4). “Put you on the armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and power, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places. Therefore take unto you the armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and to stand in all things perfect. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of justice, and your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace. In all things taking the shield of Faith, wherewith you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one. And take unto you the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. By all prayer and supplication praying at all times in the spirit; and in the same watching with all instance and supplication for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:11-18).
We Don’t Like to Fight―We Don’t Want to Fight―So We Don’t Fight!
Our problem is that the soul was instinctively made for peace, not war—but sin has brought inescapable war into the world. “The life of man upon Earth is a warfare” (Job 7:1). Our Lord adds fuel to this fire saying: “Think ye, that I am come to give peace on Earth? I tell you, no; but separation! For, from henceforth, there shall be five in one house divided—three against two, and two against three! And a man’s enemies shall be they of his own household! The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against his father, the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law! He that loves father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me; and he that loves son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me!” (Luke 13:51-53; Matthew 10:36-37).
It is tempting to avoid family confrontation over religious and spiritual things, for the sake of peace. We are tempted to “go along to get along” and fear “rocking the boat” out of this human respect, of which Our Lady of Good Success says: “Cursed human respect, which makes one ask: ‘What will others say about this?’”
To avoid or lessen spirituality in the home—for the sake of a human peace—is to betray Christ: “Every one therefore that shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father Who is in Heaven. But he that shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father Who is in Heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33). Put God before man!
Beware If You Have No Temptations
“If you have no temptations,” St. Gregory tells us, “it is because the devils are your friends, your leaders, and your shepherds. And by allowing you to pass your poor life tranquilly, to the end of your days, they will drag you down into the depths.” St. Augustine tells us that the greatest temptation is not to have temptations, because this means that one is a person who has been rejected, abandoned by God, and left entirely in the grip of one’s own passions. St. John Vianney explains: “If Our Lord was tempted, it was in order to show us that we must be also. It follows, therefore, that we must expect temptation. If you ask me what is the cause of our temptations, I shall tell you that it is the beauty and the great worth and importance of our souls which the Devil values and which he loves so much that he would consent to suffer two Hells, if necessary, if by so doing he could drag our souls into Hell” (St. John Vianney).
Material of Glory
Fr. Frederick Faber tells us that “Temptations are the raw material of glory.” That is why St. James says: “My brethren, count it all joy, when you shall fall into divers temptations!” (James 1:2), to which St. Peter will add: “You shall greatly rejoice, if now you must be for a little time made sorrowful in divers temptations: so that the trial of your Faith (much more precious than gold which is tried by the fire) may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6-7).
A Testing and Trying Time
To a great extent, temptations are to the spiritual life, what various tests on machines and materials are to mechanical and building operations. Before a steam boiler is put into operation, its ability to withstand a determined pressure of steam is ascertained by subjecting it to a rigorous test. Before a beam is placed in a building, its carrying strength is determined. And so in hundreds of other cases. The machines and materials are put through stresses designed to show whether they will prove adequate to the demand that will be made on them. By a transfer of meaning, we can say that they are tempted.
This, then, is the meaning of temptation — a trial or a test. In the service of God, souls are tested or tried in order that the quality of their love for God and their devotion to Him may become known, and that they may at the same time be given opportunities of winning for themselves large treasures of grace and merit. Temptations, therefore, are meant to reveal whether the love that a soul claims to have for God is genuine and true, and not mere hollow sham and vain pretense. They are the acid test of the spiritual life.
Sifting the True form the Fake
It is well known that there are certain substances that look so much like gold that they are often mistaken for that precious metal by ignorant and inexperienced persons. Many a man has been deceived by the worthless substance commonly known as “fool’s gold.” To discover whether minerals that look like gold are the genuine metal, an assayer employs special tests. One of these consists in subjecting the substance to the action of strong nitric acid. If the substance is gold, the acid will have no effect on it; if it is not, it will break up and dissolve — an easy way of proving that what was thought to be gold was nothing more than worthless dross.
This has its parallel in the spiritual world. There are many souls parading before men what appears to be solid and genuine virtue. An acid test is needed to re-veal the true character of these souls. This is supplied by temptations. The soul that truly loves God, will not allow itself to be overcome by them, but will remain firm and immovable in the keeping of His holy law; whereas that which is only a pretender, will offer but little resistance, or perhaps none at all.
God Causes Some ‘Temptations’ and Permits Others
When the man on the street speaks of temptations, it is commonly understood as an incitement or allurement to some sin, brought about by either suggestion, the fear of suffering, or the offer of some good or pleasure. It may be an external temptation, such as the sight of objects, e.g., books, improper pictures, immodestly dressed persons; or by hearing, e.g., of suggestive or obscene stories, attacks on religion or the Church, detraction, or calumny. Or it may be an internal temptation, as when evil thoughts, imaginings, or desires spring up in the mind, or when feelings or sensations of a sensual character arise in the body without our having voluntarily caused them. These and similar causes make an assault on the will to induce it to give its consent to the evil proposed.
Does God Tempt or Not?
In the Sacred Scriptures we find two sets of passages, relating to temptations, that, at first sight, seem to contradict each other. One set appears to make God the author of temptations, while the other plainly denies this. Thus we read that “God tempted Abraham” (Genesis 22:1) while we are assured by St. James that “God tempts no man” (James 1:13). To reconcile these two seemingly contradictory statements, we must keep in mind that there are two distinct varieties of temptations: those which are known as temptations of probation and those which go by the name of temptations of solicitation.
Temptations of Probation
The word “probation” finds it root in the Latin verb “probare” which means “to examine, to test, to try or to prove.” By temptations of probation we understand all those special trials to which God at times subjects persons, to prove their virtue, to prepare them for some particular work, or to elevate them to a very high degree of holiness, as was the case with Abraham, the Egyptian Joseph, Job, and Tobias in the Old Law; and with St. John the Baptist, St. Joseph, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and countless other saints in the New. Such temptations are not incitements to sin, but simply what the first meaning of the word implies: a proving or testing of a person’s virtue, as of Faith, hope, patience, etc. In this sense, it is quite correct to say that God tempts man.
Hence all such evils as sickness, loss of fortune, poverty, enmities, false accusations, persecutions, wars, and other calamities with which people, both the good and the bad, are often visited, can be designated as temptations sent by God, or temptations of probation.
Temptations of Solicitation
But the case is entirely different when there is question of temptations of solicitation. The word “solicitation” finds it root in the Latin verb “sollicitare” which means “to stir up, to arouse, to agitate, or to incite.” These are really incitements or allurements to violations of the law of God that come, directly or indirectly, from the Devil. They come from him directly by reason of the superior spiritual powers he possesses and by which he can, to a great extent, work on our imagination and senses and suggest evil to our mind. They come from him indirectly by what Sacred Scripture designates as “the flesh” and “the world,” or by what St. John more particularly calls “the concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). Of these means the enemy of our souls makes constant use for the purpose of enticing us to commit sin.
The Providential Design Behind Temptations
Fr. Tanquerey, in his book The Spiritual Life, explains the providential reason and use that God makes of temptations: God Himself does not tempt us directly: “Let no man, when he is tempted, say that he is tempted by God. For God is not a tempter of evils and He tempts no man” (James 1:13). But He allows us to be tempted by our spiritual enemies, at the same time giving us the graces necessary to resist: “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able: but will make also with temptation issue, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). And this for excellent reasons of His own.
1. He wants to make us merit Heaven.
Undoubtedly He could have bestowed upon us eternal life as a pure gift, but in His wisdom He has willed that we merit it as a reward. He even wills that the recompense be in proportion to the merit and hence in proportion to the obstacle overcome. Temptation, which imperils our frail virtue, is certainly one of the most trying hardships; to struggle courageously against it is one of the most meritorious acts we can perform; and once we have triumphed with God’s grace, we can repeat with St. Paul, that we have fought the good fight, and that it only remains for us to receive the crown of justice which God has prepared for us. The more we have done in order to merit that crown, the greater shall be our honor and our joy.
2. Temptation is likewise a means of purification.
(a) It reminds us that through lack of vigilance and of effort in the past we have fallen, and it becomes thus an occasion for new acts of contrition, shame, and humiliation, which make for the purification of the soul.
(b) It obliges us at the same time to put forth earnest and sustained efforts lest we fall; it makes us atone for our negligences and for our surrenders by the performance of contrary acts which further purify the soul. This is why when God wants to purify a soul more perfectly in order to raise it to contemplation, He allows it to undergo horrible temptations, as we shall see when treating of the unitive way.
3. Lastly, temptation is an instrument of spiritual progress.
(a) It is like a stripe of the lash that awakens us at the moment we would lull ourselves to sleep and relax. It makes us realize the necessity of forging ahead, of not halting midway, but of ever aiming higher, the more surely to remove the danger.
(b) It is a school of humility, of distrust of self. When tempted we realize more fully our weakness, our powerlessness; we feel more keenly the need of grace, and we pray with greater earnestness. We see all the better the necessity of mortifying in us the love of pleasure, the source of our temptations, and we embrace more eagerly the little crosses of every day in order to weaken the power of concupiscence.
(c) It is a school of love of God; for to insure our power of resistance, we throw ourselves into God’s arms there to seek for strength and shelter; we are more grateful to Him for His unfailing grace; we act towards Him as children of a most loving Father to Whom we have recourse in all our trials.
God’s Friends Will Be Tempted
Hence, temptation possesses manifold advantages and it is on this account that God allows His friends to be tempted: “Because you were acceptable to God, it was necessary that temptation should prove you” (Tobias 12:13). Which is why Fr. Faber says “Temptations are the raw material of glory” and St. James commands: “My brethren, count it all joy, when you shall fall into divers temptations!” (James 1:2).
Article 4
Saturday after Ash Wednesday, February 21st
God’s Mortgage for You! Are You Making Payments?
Saturday after Ash Wednesday, February 21st
God’s Mortgage for You! Are You Making Payments?
Ash Wednesday Mortgage
On Ash Wednesday, a large number of Catholics went to their local church in order to get a “mortgage” from God! “Huh!” you say, “Are you nuts or something? That sounds insane!” Well, it’s not so insane if you dig a bit deeper into the ashes to see what is found beneath the surface!
As the ashes were smeared onto your forehead, the priest said: “Remember man that you are dust and to dust you shall return!” This, of course, finds its root in God’s words to Adam after he (and Eve) had committed the sin of eating the forbidden fruit: “And God said to Adam: ‘Because you listened to the voice of your wife and ate of the tree, whereof I commanded you that you should not eat, cursed is the earth in your work―with labor and toil you shall eat thereof all the days of thy life! Thorns and thistles shall the earth bring to you; and you shall eat the herbs of the earth! In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the earth―out of which you were taken! For you are dust and into dust you shall return!’” (Genesis 3:17-19). In other words, God was telling Adam that he was sentenced to death―because God had earlier warned Adam of the consequences of eating the fruit of certain tree which God had commanded Adam not to eat: “And God commanded Adam, saying: ‘Of every tree of paradise you shall eat―but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat. For in what day soever you shalt eat of it, you shall die the death!’” (Genesis 2:16-17).
God had created Adam with the possibility of not dying. Death was threatened in the event of Adam and Eve sinning against God by disobeying His command. If they would not have sinned―then, after a certain period of time, God would have taken them into Heaven. They failed the test! Through the Original Sin of Adam and Eve, all the human race was condemned to die―because nobody, not even Adam and Eve, had an automatic and inalienable right to immortality―it was all dependent upon the avoidance of sin. As Holy Scripture explains: “God created man incorruptible. But, by the envy of the devil, death came into the world” (Wisdom 2:23-24). “From the woman came the beginning of sin, and by her we all die!” (Ecclesiasticus 25:33). “By one man sin entered into this world [like a virus―the virus of Original Sin], and, by sin, death―and so death passed upon all men, all of whom have sinned!” (Romans 5:12). “The wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23). “Sin, when it is completed, begets death” (James 1:15).
Mortgage of Death
“Okay,” you say, “I understand that! But how does a mortgage come into all of this?” Everything has its price! Sin is no different. That is why Lent is here and the Church forces us to pay something—we can either pay for the whole hog, or we can take-out a mortgage for sin and start paying some installments. The word “mortgage” actually contains an element of the price for sin. The word “mortgage” is a compound of two words--”mort” and “gage”. The word “mort” is a French word meaning “death” and comes from the Latin “mors, mortis”. The word “gage” is also a French word meaning “pledge”—thus giving the compound word a literal meaning of “dead pledge”— which has a late 14th century origin, “morgage” meaning a “conveyance of property as security for a loan or agreement.” “Mortgage” or “mortgage” is so called because the “deal dies” either when the debt is paid, or when payment fails.
God made a similar “dead pledge” or “pledge of death” with Adam and Eve, telling them that if they were to disobey Him by eating the ‘forbidden fruit’ then they would die the death! Thus, death is price for sin! St. Paul reminds us of this: “For the wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23), which is nothing other than what God said through His prophet Ezechiel: “The soul that sins, the same shall die!” (Ezechiel 18:4). By our sins―our many sins―we can no longer afford Heaven! Thus we have to take out a “mortgage” ― a “pledge of death.” It is, in a certain sense, a double “pledge of death” ― whereby God has pledged that we shall die for our sins: “Every man shall die for his own sin!” (2 Paralipomenon 25:4); yet the flip-side of that “pledge of death” is our chance to pay the price for our sins by pledging to die to sin and to pay the debt for sin by penance.
Death to Sin
As Holy Scripture points out: “For we that are dead to sin, how shall we live any longer therein? We, who are baptized in Christ Jesus, are baptized in His death! For we are buried together with Him by Baptism into death; so that as Christ is risen from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also may walk in newness of life! Our old man is crucified with him, so that the body of sin may be destroyed, to the end that we may serve sin no longer. For he that is dead is justified from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall live also together with Christ. Christ died to sin … So do you also reckon, that you are dead to sin, but alive unto God, in Christ Jesus our Lord. Let no sin therefore reign in your mortal body!” (Romans 6:2-11).
Missing Mortgage Payments
Unfortunately, that is not the kind of “death to sin” that modern man envisages. For modern man, sin is no big deal―and therefore modern man thinks that God’s “mortgage” payments are set far too high! Hence modern man pays little attention to the ancient teaching of God and His Church. As Pope Pius XII said: “The greatest sin today is that men have lost the sense of sin.” The Catechism tells us: “Sin is the only evil upon Earth” … “Mortal Sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, poverty, or war, because it separates us from God … [Venial Sin] is second only in evil consequences to Mortal Sin” (Spirago-Clarke, The Catechism Explained; Bishop Morrow, STD, My Catholic Faith).
“For the wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23). If you, or a beloved member of your family, had a disease that was mortal and was going to result in an imminent death, unless a certain very expensive treatment was procured—most persons would do all could to scrape together all they could to pay for that treatment. People spend hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to maintain their lives and ward-off death. Yet they are still doomed to die! What are you prepared to pay for eternal ‘health’ and eternal life in Heaven? What are you prepared to pay to be cured of the disease of sin that prevents such a bliss? Many don’t even want to pay anything! They expect it for free!
Paying Thousands for Health―Paying a Pittance for Sin!
One would like to think that people would care far more about their spiritual health than they care about their physical health―but that just seems to be wishful thinking! If we are willing to spend thousands of dollars to ward-off death and sickness―then why don’t we put an equal effort into warding-off the death of Mortal Sin and the sickness of Venial Sin? After all, Mortal and Venial Sin are far worse than physical death and sickness ― “Sin is the only evil upon Earth” … “Mortal Sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, poverty, or war, because it separates us from God … [Venial Sin] is second only in evil consequences to Mortal Sin” (Spirago-Clarke, The Catechism Explained; Bishop Morrow, STD, My Catholic Faith). It just does not pay to sin! “The wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23). “Sin, when it is completed, begets death” (James 1:15). Death usually comes through sickness―or in fewer cases through accidents or violence. Sin will be punished by God―either in this world or in the next. “For whom the Lord loves, He chastises!” (Proverbs 3:12). “He never withdraws His mercy from us―although He chastises and disciplines us with misfortunes!” (Machabees 2:16-17). That is why God asks that we do penance in this world and accept the sufferings He kindly sends our way. It is far less expensive and far less painful to be chastised in this world than in the fires of Purgatory or Hell! Remember that St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that the fires of Purgatory are the same fire as the fires of Hell! And Our Lord says: “Amen I say to thee, thou shalt not go out from thence till thou repay the last penny!” (Matthew 5:26).
Our Lady Speaks of Our Debts to God
In her revelations to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, Our Lady speaks of our double debt to God―a debt for having been created in the first place; and another debt for the sins that we have committed in our lifetime:
“The fact that God created man was of no benefit to Himself―but to man it was a benefit, and one as great as the being given to him, and as high as the object for which it was given. And if, in his creation, man becomes indebted so much that he never can pay his debt, tell me―what right can he invoke at present for his preservation? Let mankind acknowledge its condition―for no one can say: “I have made myself, I preserve myself in existence, I can prolong my life or postpone death!” All his being and preservation is in the hands of the Lord! Has he not received his being without merit and many times forfeited it by sin? How can he claim the guarantee and pledge of unfailing plenty? If the first transaction and operation was a mortgage and a debt by which man binds himself, how can he with such impatience demand favors? And if in spite of all this, the supreme goodness of the Creator furnishes him graciously with what is necessary, why should he be agitated by the lack of superfluities.
“O what an execrable disorder and what a despicable blindness of mortals is this? For that, which the Lord gives them gratuitously, they do not thank Him, or even give Him acknowledgment; and for that, which He denies them justly and sometimes most mercifully, they are restless and proudly desirous, and they try to procure it by unjust and forbidden means, throwing themselves into the very destruction which flies from them.
“The first sin alone, committed by man, was sufficient to cancel man’s right to the friendly service of all the other creatures; and if the Lord Himself would not restrain them, they would turn in vengeance upon man and refuse to render any service or help for sustaining his life. The heavens would deny them their light and benign influences, the fire would refuse its heat, the air would cease to serve for respiration, and all the other things would in their particular way refuse their services, since they would in justice be bound to refuse them. Then when the Earth would deny its fruits, and the elements their moderation and their assistance, and all the other creatures would arm themselves to avenge the wrongs of their Creator, perhaps disgraced man would humiliate himself in his vileness and would not heap up the wrath of the Lord for the unerring day of accounting, when all his dreadful guilt will be exposed.
“Corporal penances are so appropriate and fitted to mortal creatures, that the ignorance of this truth and the neglect and contempt of bodily mortification cause the loss of many souls and bring many more into the danger of eternal loss. The first reason why men should afflict their body and mortify their flesh is their having been conceived in sin. By this Original Sin human nature is depraved, filled with passions, rebellious to reason, inclined to evil and adverse to the spirit. If the soul allows itself to be carried away by them, it will be precipitated by the first vice into many others. But if this beastly flesh is curbed by mortification and penance, it loses its strength and acknowledges the authority of the spirit and the light of truth.
“The second reason is that none of the mortals have altogether avoided sinning against God; and the punishment and retribution must inevitably correspond to the guilt, either in this life or the next; therefore, as the soul commits sin in union with the body, it follows that both of them must be punished. The interior sorrow is not sufficient for atonement, if the flesh seeks to evade the punishment corresponding to the guilt. Moreover, the debt is so great and the satisfaction that can be given by the creature so limited and scanty that there remains continual uncertainty whether the Judge is satisfied even after the exertions of a whole lifetime: hence, the soul should find no rest to the end of life.
“Even though divine clemency is so generous towards men, so that, if they try to satisfy for their sins by penance as far as their limited capacity goes, God remits their offenses and in addition thereto has promised the guilty ones new gifts and graces and eternal rewards: yet His faithful and prudent servants, who really love their Lord, are constrained voluntarily to add other penances―for the debtor who merely wishes to do what he is obliged to and adds nothing of his own freewill, certainly pays his debts, but will remain poor and destitute, if after payment of his debts nothing remains. What then are those to expect, who neither pay nor make any efforts towards paying?
“The third reason for bodily mortification, and the most urgent one, is the duty of Christians to imitate their divine Teacher and Master. Moreover, my divine Son and I, without being guilty of any faults, or bad inclinations, devoted ourselves to labors and made our lives a continual practice of penance and mortification of the flesh. It was thus that the Lord saw fit to attain the glory of His Body and of His holy Name, and He wished me to follow Him in all things. If We then pursued such a course of life because it was reasonable, what must be thought of mortals that seek nothing but sweetness and delight, and abhor all penances, affronts, ignominies, fasting and mortification? Shall then only Christ, our Lord, and I suffer all these hardships while the guilt laden debtors and deservers of all these punishments throw themselves head over heels into the filth of their carnal inclinations? Shall they employ their faculties, given to them for the service of Christ, my Lord, and for His following, merely in dancing attendance on their lusts and the devil, who has introduced evil into the world? This absurd position, maintained by the children of Adam, is the cause of great indignation in the just Judge.
“It is true that by the bodily afflictions and mortifications of my most blessed Son, the defects and deficiencies of human merits have been atoned for; and that He wished me, as a mere creature and as one taking the place of other creatures, to cooperate with Him most perfectly and exactly all in His penances and exercises. But this was not in order to exempt men from the practice of penance, but in order to encourage them to it―for in order merely to save them, it was not necessary to suffer so much. Our blessed Savior wished also to enhance the labors and penances of those who were to follow in His footsteps―for the efforts of creatures are of little value in the eyes of God unless they are made precious by the merits of Christ.
“If this is true of works which are entirely virtuous and perfect, how much more is it true of those which are infected with so many faults and deficiencies, even in the greatest acts of virtue, as ordinarily performed by the children of Adam? For in the works of even the most spiritual and virtuous persons many deficiencies occur. These deficiencies are made good by the merits of Christ, our Lord, so that the works of men may become acceptable to the eternal Father. But those who neglect good works and remain altogether idle, can by no means expect to apply to themselves the good works of Christ―for they have in themselves nothing that can be perfected by the works of Christ, but only such things as deserve condemnation. Chastise thy body with ever greater severity, and remember that you are deficient in many things, while you have but a short life and are so weak and incapable of repaying your debts.” (Words of Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, taken from The Mystical City of God).
On Ash Wednesday, a large number of Catholics went to their local church in order to get a “mortgage” from God! “Huh!” you say, “Are you nuts or something? That sounds insane!” Well, it’s not so insane if you dig a bit deeper into the ashes to see what is found beneath the surface!
As the ashes were smeared onto your forehead, the priest said: “Remember man that you are dust and to dust you shall return!” This, of course, finds its root in God’s words to Adam after he (and Eve) had committed the sin of eating the forbidden fruit: “And God said to Adam: ‘Because you listened to the voice of your wife and ate of the tree, whereof I commanded you that you should not eat, cursed is the earth in your work―with labor and toil you shall eat thereof all the days of thy life! Thorns and thistles shall the earth bring to you; and you shall eat the herbs of the earth! In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the earth―out of which you were taken! For you are dust and into dust you shall return!’” (Genesis 3:17-19). In other words, God was telling Adam that he was sentenced to death―because God had earlier warned Adam of the consequences of eating the fruit of certain tree which God had commanded Adam not to eat: “And God commanded Adam, saying: ‘Of every tree of paradise you shall eat―but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat. For in what day soever you shalt eat of it, you shall die the death!’” (Genesis 2:16-17).
God had created Adam with the possibility of not dying. Death was threatened in the event of Adam and Eve sinning against God by disobeying His command. If they would not have sinned―then, after a certain period of time, God would have taken them into Heaven. They failed the test! Through the Original Sin of Adam and Eve, all the human race was condemned to die―because nobody, not even Adam and Eve, had an automatic and inalienable right to immortality―it was all dependent upon the avoidance of sin. As Holy Scripture explains: “God created man incorruptible. But, by the envy of the devil, death came into the world” (Wisdom 2:23-24). “From the woman came the beginning of sin, and by her we all die!” (Ecclesiasticus 25:33). “By one man sin entered into this world [like a virus―the virus of Original Sin], and, by sin, death―and so death passed upon all men, all of whom have sinned!” (Romans 5:12). “The wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23). “Sin, when it is completed, begets death” (James 1:15).
Mortgage of Death
“Okay,” you say, “I understand that! But how does a mortgage come into all of this?” Everything has its price! Sin is no different. That is why Lent is here and the Church forces us to pay something—we can either pay for the whole hog, or we can take-out a mortgage for sin and start paying some installments. The word “mortgage” actually contains an element of the price for sin. The word “mortgage” is a compound of two words--”mort” and “gage”. The word “mort” is a French word meaning “death” and comes from the Latin “mors, mortis”. The word “gage” is also a French word meaning “pledge”—thus giving the compound word a literal meaning of “dead pledge”— which has a late 14th century origin, “morgage” meaning a “conveyance of property as security for a loan or agreement.” “Mortgage” or “mortgage” is so called because the “deal dies” either when the debt is paid, or when payment fails.
God made a similar “dead pledge” or “pledge of death” with Adam and Eve, telling them that if they were to disobey Him by eating the ‘forbidden fruit’ then they would die the death! Thus, death is price for sin! St. Paul reminds us of this: “For the wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23), which is nothing other than what God said through His prophet Ezechiel: “The soul that sins, the same shall die!” (Ezechiel 18:4). By our sins―our many sins―we can no longer afford Heaven! Thus we have to take out a “mortgage” ― a “pledge of death.” It is, in a certain sense, a double “pledge of death” ― whereby God has pledged that we shall die for our sins: “Every man shall die for his own sin!” (2 Paralipomenon 25:4); yet the flip-side of that “pledge of death” is our chance to pay the price for our sins by pledging to die to sin and to pay the debt for sin by penance.
Death to Sin
As Holy Scripture points out: “For we that are dead to sin, how shall we live any longer therein? We, who are baptized in Christ Jesus, are baptized in His death! For we are buried together with Him by Baptism into death; so that as Christ is risen from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also may walk in newness of life! Our old man is crucified with him, so that the body of sin may be destroyed, to the end that we may serve sin no longer. For he that is dead is justified from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall live also together with Christ. Christ died to sin … So do you also reckon, that you are dead to sin, but alive unto God, in Christ Jesus our Lord. Let no sin therefore reign in your mortal body!” (Romans 6:2-11).
Missing Mortgage Payments
Unfortunately, that is not the kind of “death to sin” that modern man envisages. For modern man, sin is no big deal―and therefore modern man thinks that God’s “mortgage” payments are set far too high! Hence modern man pays little attention to the ancient teaching of God and His Church. As Pope Pius XII said: “The greatest sin today is that men have lost the sense of sin.” The Catechism tells us: “Sin is the only evil upon Earth” … “Mortal Sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, poverty, or war, because it separates us from God … [Venial Sin] is second only in evil consequences to Mortal Sin” (Spirago-Clarke, The Catechism Explained; Bishop Morrow, STD, My Catholic Faith).
“For the wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23). If you, or a beloved member of your family, had a disease that was mortal and was going to result in an imminent death, unless a certain very expensive treatment was procured—most persons would do all could to scrape together all they could to pay for that treatment. People spend hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to maintain their lives and ward-off death. Yet they are still doomed to die! What are you prepared to pay for eternal ‘health’ and eternal life in Heaven? What are you prepared to pay to be cured of the disease of sin that prevents such a bliss? Many don’t even want to pay anything! They expect it for free!
Paying Thousands for Health―Paying a Pittance for Sin!
One would like to think that people would care far more about their spiritual health than they care about their physical health―but that just seems to be wishful thinking! If we are willing to spend thousands of dollars to ward-off death and sickness―then why don’t we put an equal effort into warding-off the death of Mortal Sin and the sickness of Venial Sin? After all, Mortal and Venial Sin are far worse than physical death and sickness ― “Sin is the only evil upon Earth” … “Mortal Sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, poverty, or war, because it separates us from God … [Venial Sin] is second only in evil consequences to Mortal Sin” (Spirago-Clarke, The Catechism Explained; Bishop Morrow, STD, My Catholic Faith). It just does not pay to sin! “The wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23). “Sin, when it is completed, begets death” (James 1:15). Death usually comes through sickness―or in fewer cases through accidents or violence. Sin will be punished by God―either in this world or in the next. “For whom the Lord loves, He chastises!” (Proverbs 3:12). “He never withdraws His mercy from us―although He chastises and disciplines us with misfortunes!” (Machabees 2:16-17). That is why God asks that we do penance in this world and accept the sufferings He kindly sends our way. It is far less expensive and far less painful to be chastised in this world than in the fires of Purgatory or Hell! Remember that St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that the fires of Purgatory are the same fire as the fires of Hell! And Our Lord says: “Amen I say to thee, thou shalt not go out from thence till thou repay the last penny!” (Matthew 5:26).
Our Lady Speaks of Our Debts to God
In her revelations to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, Our Lady speaks of our double debt to God―a debt for having been created in the first place; and another debt for the sins that we have committed in our lifetime:
“The fact that God created man was of no benefit to Himself―but to man it was a benefit, and one as great as the being given to him, and as high as the object for which it was given. And if, in his creation, man becomes indebted so much that he never can pay his debt, tell me―what right can he invoke at present for his preservation? Let mankind acknowledge its condition―for no one can say: “I have made myself, I preserve myself in existence, I can prolong my life or postpone death!” All his being and preservation is in the hands of the Lord! Has he not received his being without merit and many times forfeited it by sin? How can he claim the guarantee and pledge of unfailing plenty? If the first transaction and operation was a mortgage and a debt by which man binds himself, how can he with such impatience demand favors? And if in spite of all this, the supreme goodness of the Creator furnishes him graciously with what is necessary, why should he be agitated by the lack of superfluities.
“O what an execrable disorder and what a despicable blindness of mortals is this? For that, which the Lord gives them gratuitously, they do not thank Him, or even give Him acknowledgment; and for that, which He denies them justly and sometimes most mercifully, they are restless and proudly desirous, and they try to procure it by unjust and forbidden means, throwing themselves into the very destruction which flies from them.
“The first sin alone, committed by man, was sufficient to cancel man’s right to the friendly service of all the other creatures; and if the Lord Himself would not restrain them, they would turn in vengeance upon man and refuse to render any service or help for sustaining his life. The heavens would deny them their light and benign influences, the fire would refuse its heat, the air would cease to serve for respiration, and all the other things would in their particular way refuse their services, since they would in justice be bound to refuse them. Then when the Earth would deny its fruits, and the elements their moderation and their assistance, and all the other creatures would arm themselves to avenge the wrongs of their Creator, perhaps disgraced man would humiliate himself in his vileness and would not heap up the wrath of the Lord for the unerring day of accounting, when all his dreadful guilt will be exposed.
“Corporal penances are so appropriate and fitted to mortal creatures, that the ignorance of this truth and the neglect and contempt of bodily mortification cause the loss of many souls and bring many more into the danger of eternal loss. The first reason why men should afflict their body and mortify their flesh is their having been conceived in sin. By this Original Sin human nature is depraved, filled with passions, rebellious to reason, inclined to evil and adverse to the spirit. If the soul allows itself to be carried away by them, it will be precipitated by the first vice into many others. But if this beastly flesh is curbed by mortification and penance, it loses its strength and acknowledges the authority of the spirit and the light of truth.
“The second reason is that none of the mortals have altogether avoided sinning against God; and the punishment and retribution must inevitably correspond to the guilt, either in this life or the next; therefore, as the soul commits sin in union with the body, it follows that both of them must be punished. The interior sorrow is not sufficient for atonement, if the flesh seeks to evade the punishment corresponding to the guilt. Moreover, the debt is so great and the satisfaction that can be given by the creature so limited and scanty that there remains continual uncertainty whether the Judge is satisfied even after the exertions of a whole lifetime: hence, the soul should find no rest to the end of life.
“Even though divine clemency is so generous towards men, so that, if they try to satisfy for their sins by penance as far as their limited capacity goes, God remits their offenses and in addition thereto has promised the guilty ones new gifts and graces and eternal rewards: yet His faithful and prudent servants, who really love their Lord, are constrained voluntarily to add other penances―for the debtor who merely wishes to do what he is obliged to and adds nothing of his own freewill, certainly pays his debts, but will remain poor and destitute, if after payment of his debts nothing remains. What then are those to expect, who neither pay nor make any efforts towards paying?
“The third reason for bodily mortification, and the most urgent one, is the duty of Christians to imitate their divine Teacher and Master. Moreover, my divine Son and I, without being guilty of any faults, or bad inclinations, devoted ourselves to labors and made our lives a continual practice of penance and mortification of the flesh. It was thus that the Lord saw fit to attain the glory of His Body and of His holy Name, and He wished me to follow Him in all things. If We then pursued such a course of life because it was reasonable, what must be thought of mortals that seek nothing but sweetness and delight, and abhor all penances, affronts, ignominies, fasting and mortification? Shall then only Christ, our Lord, and I suffer all these hardships while the guilt laden debtors and deservers of all these punishments throw themselves head over heels into the filth of their carnal inclinations? Shall they employ their faculties, given to them for the service of Christ, my Lord, and for His following, merely in dancing attendance on their lusts and the devil, who has introduced evil into the world? This absurd position, maintained by the children of Adam, is the cause of great indignation in the just Judge.
“It is true that by the bodily afflictions and mortifications of my most blessed Son, the defects and deficiencies of human merits have been atoned for; and that He wished me, as a mere creature and as one taking the place of other creatures, to cooperate with Him most perfectly and exactly all in His penances and exercises. But this was not in order to exempt men from the practice of penance, but in order to encourage them to it―for in order merely to save them, it was not necessary to suffer so much. Our blessed Savior wished also to enhance the labors and penances of those who were to follow in His footsteps―for the efforts of creatures are of little value in the eyes of God unless they are made precious by the merits of Christ.
“If this is true of works which are entirely virtuous and perfect, how much more is it true of those which are infected with so many faults and deficiencies, even in the greatest acts of virtue, as ordinarily performed by the children of Adam? For in the works of even the most spiritual and virtuous persons many deficiencies occur. These deficiencies are made good by the merits of Christ, our Lord, so that the works of men may become acceptable to the eternal Father. But those who neglect good works and remain altogether idle, can by no means expect to apply to themselves the good works of Christ―for they have in themselves nothing that can be perfected by the works of Christ, but only such things as deserve condemnation. Chastise thy body with ever greater severity, and remember that you are deficient in many things, while you have but a short life and are so weak and incapable of repaying your debts.” (Words of Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, taken from The Mystical City of God).
Article 3
Thursday & Friday after Ash Wednesday, February 19th & 20th
Did You Look in the Mirror on Ash Wednesday?
Thursday & Friday after Ash Wednesday, February 19th & 20th
Did You Look in the Mirror on Ash Wednesday?
Snowy Days, Ashes and Mirrors!
Recently, many persons the U.S. have received a lot of white snow! Recently (yesterday), many persons have received black ashes! The white snow makes us think of Snow-White―and Snow White makes us think of the Evil Queen who was always looking in her Magic Mirror, asking: “Mirror, mirror on the wall, Who is fairest of us all?” When the mirror eventually identifies her young step-daughter Snow-White as the fairest, the Queen jealously tries to have her killed, first by her huntsman, followed by several personal attempts―concluding with a poisoned apple. The mirror is key to her plots; it tells her Snow White’s location, and after each attempt, she checks with the mirror and is again told that Snow White remains the fairest. At the very end, when Snow White is married, the mirror tells her that the young queen is the most beautiful. The Evil Queen is terrified, but her jealousy drives her to attend the wedding where she finds that the Prince’s bride is none other than the ‘resurrected’ Snow-White. She is caught, in her rage, trying to cause discord as a result of which the Prince had her dance in red-hot iron slippers until she drops dead.
You could―at stretch of the imagination―try and supernaturalize that fairy tale, but it would be a bit of a stretch and all the bits would not fit together very well. For our purposes, we shall simply focus on the Magic Mirror. The mirror could have brought humility to the Evil Queen, but instead it provoked and exacerbated her pride. The Magic Mirror always spoke the truth to the Evil Queen―but she resented and despised that truth. In this sense, you could say that we all have our own personal Magic Mirror―and it goes by the name of “Conscience.” It will always tell us the truth―even though we might hate that truth, reject that truth, modify that truth, or replace it with our own subjective truth.
Reflecting on Mirrors!
Let us begin with a little reflection on the topic of mirrors! We use mirrors every day. Why do people look in the mirror? We rely upon mirrors to give an indication of our health―especially those parts of the body that our eyes cannot see, such as own face, our teeth, our back, and any injuries, lesions, cuts, rashes, inflammation, bruises, etc. that might have happened to those ‘invisible’ or non-visible parts of the body.
When it comes to our appearance, we rely heavily on mirrors to give us a glimpse of how we appear to others. A major reason for looking in the mirror is to check our outfits to applying makeup or shaving, etc. The short and honest answer is that they want to see how they. There’s a thin line between self-awareness and obsession, especially when we’re talking about our appearance. It’s not just vanity, there are certain behaviors that people who do this regularly display, often without even noticing it.
Most people who often check their reflection in the mirror do so out of a heightened sense of self-consciousness. This trait isn’t necessarily a negative one. It can mean they’re fine-tuned to their appearance, ensuring they present their best self to the world. It could be a sign of someone who values first impressions and understands the impact of personal presentation. But, it can also tip into the territory of anxiety and stress. Constant mirror-checking could be a symptom of an individual wrestling with insecurities or body image struggles.
Sometimes those who frequently check their appearance often have a keen eye for detail. They are the ones who will spot a tiny typo in a report, or notice if someone has changed their hair just slightly. This attention to detail extends to their own personal appearance. This type of behavior can indicate a meticulous and thorough personality. These individuals are often the ones you can count on to catch errors, remember important dates, and generally keep things running smoothly. Of course, like any trait, it’s always about balance. Too much focus on the minutiae can sometimes cause stress or hinder big-picture thinking. But when channeled correctly, this attention to detail can be a real asset.
Another angle on people who regularly check their appearance in mirrors, which is similar to the pervious one, is that often displays character traits of perfectionism. Perfectionists set high standards for themselves and are seldom satisfied with anything less. This high bar can extend to their physical appearance, leading them to constantly check and adjust until they meet their own exacting standards. Interestingly, research suggests that perfectionism has been on the rise over the past few decades. A study found that recent generations of college students are more likely to have perfectionist tendencies than earlier generations. Extreme perfectionism can lead to too much stress and anxiety for both the perfectionist and the people in the life of the perfectionist.
Some people have a phobia or fear about looking at mirrors. One such phobia is Eisoptrophobia―which is a rare, specific phobia characterized by an irrational, intense, and persistent fear of seeing one’s own reflection. Those with this condition may experience both psychological and physical symptoms when encountering mirrors. Some people fear mirrors due to self-image issues. Then there is Spectrophobia ― which refers to the fear of mirrors themselves, which is often a superstitious attitude, one example of which is the superstition that if you break a mirror then you will have seven years of bad luck. Thi originates from Ancient Roman beliefs that life renewed itself in seven-year cycles. Breaking a mirror was thought to damage the soul's reflection, requiring seven years for that cycle to repair itself. Furthermore, historically, mirrors were expensive, and breaking them was a significant loss.
Religious Mirrors
As stated above, we all have our own personal “spiritual mirror” which goes by the name of “Conscience.” It will always tell us the truth―even though we might hate that truth, reject that truth, modify that truth, or replace it with our own subjective truth. We should often look at ourselves in this “Mirror of Conscience” and pay attention to what we find and see therein. Holy Scripture warns us against ignoring or forgetting what we uncover in the “Mirror of Conscience”: “Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if a man be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he shall be compared to a man beholding his own countenance in a mirror―for he saw himself in the mirror and then went his way, and presently forgot what manner of man he was!” (James 1:22-24).
Our “Mirror of Conscience” is meant to make us godly and holy: “Wisdom is the unspotted mirror of God’s majesty, and the image of His goodness” (Wisdom 7:26). Wisdom sees all things as God sees them―it is defined as “the knowledge of all things in their ultimate cause”―and God is the ultimate cause of all things.
The masters of the spiritual life recommend that we examine our consciences at least once a day―usually at the end of the day. Yet St. Ignatius, his Spiritual Exercises, suggests that we examine our consciences three times a day―at midday, at the beginning of the evening and last thing at night before going to sleep. Unfortunately, even though we might look into a mirror to assess our physical appearance or health many times day―we hardly ever look into the mirror of the mind―which is our conscience―to assess our spiritual appearance. The mirror of the conscience is rarely used―with the result that it becomes dirty, grimy, cloudy, etc. Part of the reason why we neglect or refuse to examine our consciences frequently is the fact that hate to see ourselves as we really are―we prefer our own version of the “truth”, our “Photo-shopped” or “Cosmeticized” or “Distorted-Mirror” version of the truth.
Monsignor Stephen Rossetti, an Catholic priest and exorcist in the United States, wrote: “In the midst of an exorcism, quite by chance, a mirror ended up in front of the possessed person. Immediately, the demons reacted violently and screamed to get rid of it. We were surprised by the reaction. A former practitioner of sorcery and the occult said that his “religion” often hosted underworld parties celebrating particular demons. These demons might take possession of those attending. He said it was common practice to cover the mirrors before the party because “the demon spirits could not look at themselves (or rather the reflection of the human they possessed that night) in the mirrors.” Even though they do not have a physical body, it seems that when they are possessing a human being and looking into a mirror, they see a glimpse of their horrible evil. As I sometimes say to the demons: “God made you beautiful and now look at what you have become!” Demons are ugly beyond description. No horror movie can capture the repulsive ugliness of sin and the demonic. Demons do not want to hear the truth and they do not want to see the truth. Their reflection in a mirror [possessing the body of a human person] shows them their ugly truth. The ritual of an exorcism is about telling the truth to the demons [and mirrors tell the truth]. Our weapon during the spiritual battle of an exorcism is the Truth, who is Jesus. When we pray the Ritual, they hear the truth in words. They have rejected God. They are immersed in evil. Christ has defeated them on the cross. They are damned for all eternity. They will be in an excruciating torment for all time. I do not know any exorcists who use mirrors. I wonder if it would be a good intervention. Perhaps seeing the truth in a mirror might also be good!” (Monsignor Stephen Rossetti, Exorcist Diary: “Demons Hate Mirrors”, June 18th, 2023).
Mirror Mania
The word “mirror” comes from the Latin verb mirare meaning “to wonder at” and this fascination with our reflection connects the physical mirror with the concept of vanity or dwelling too long on one’s own appearance. If the modern term for taking photos of yourself is “selfies” ― then mirror-gazing could also be called a “selfie” or a “selfishness” whereby the focus is on self. Not all focusing on self is selfishness―for besides focusing on self out of pride or vanity, we can also focus on self with the intention of fixing what is wrong or out of place―and that should be our intention and goal when focusing on self in the “Mirror of Conscience.”
People look in the mirror frequently throughout the day. Surveys vary in their finding with some surveys suggesting an average of 8 times a day; while other surveys suggesting around 38 times daily. Nearly 1 in 10 Americans avoid looking in the mirror. Remember that “average” means that there is a varietiy of numbers below that average as well as a variety of numbers above that average. The differences in numbers can be age-related; gender-related; culture-related, etc. People aged 27 are often considered the most image-conscious, checking their reflection up to 52 times a day, whereas those over 60 check only about 5 times. Women are generally reported to look in the mirror more frequently than men. A survey in the UK, almost 20 years ago, showed that on average women look at themselves in the mirror every 30 minutes, with men not far behind. Women check their reflection 34 times a day during an average 16-hour waking day, it said. They reapply their make-up 11 times a day, with 89% of those questioned saying they carry a compact mirror in their handbags.
If we are so obsessed with how we look like in the eyes of others, then wouldn’t it be pleasing to God if during Lent we were less obsessed with the “Mirror on the Wall” and more focused on our “Mirror of Conscience”? Why are so worried about how we appear in the eyes of others―and so little concerned about how we appear in the eyes of God? St. Philip Neri would sometimes shave-off his beard on one side of his face and leave the beard intact on the other side of his face! He wasn’t too concerned about how he looked in the eyes of others and gladly accepted their ridicule, rebukes and insults―so that he could “beautify” himself before God with the humility that the ridicule, rebukes and insults produced in him.
The Mirror and the Ashes
It is hard to estimate how many people receive the ashes on Ash Wednesday. Some say roughly 45% of U.S. adult Catholics receiving ashes annually. Tracking Mass attendance from 2019 to 2024, Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) — which conducts social scientific studies for and about the Catholic Church — reported Ash Wednesday continues to compete with both Easter and Christmas for the highest attended Masses each year. In fact, Ash Wednesday 2024 Mass attendance actually topped Christmas 2023 Mass attendance.
Father Bruce Morrill, a Jesuit theology professor and the chair of Roman Catholic Studies at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, said that the ashes symbolize sin and death―but while people may rush to get their ashes — with their unmistakable outward sign of interior penance, Father Morrill has not noticed a similar stampede to the confessional. This reminds us of Our Lord’s words: “Hypocrites! Well has Isaias prophesied of you, saying: ‘These people honor Me with their lips―but their heart is far from Me. And in vain do they worship Me!’” (Matthew 15:7-9). The blessed ashes are a Sacramental of the Church―and Sacramentals are sources of what we call Actual Graces (not to be confused with Sanctifying Grace). Actual Grace is a passing, temporary, assisting, inspirational, moving grace that is meant to inspire and help us to do the right thing and to avoid the wrong things―to do good and avoid evil; to practice virtue and avoid sin. We are meant to cooperate with Actual Grace and not brush it off.
It would be interesting to know how long the ashes “survive” on the foreheads of Catholics before they are “brushed-off.” Some will wear them proudly and boldly; others might be indifferent about it; some wipe them off as soon as they leave the church; others might remove them before going to work or appearing at some public venue; some might “doctor” them to appear less obvious; others might conceal them under hat or make sure their hair covers them.
Talking of mirrors―how many persons took a look in the mirror after receiving the ashes on their forehead? Some might have looked out of vanity―wondering and fearing what they now look like after receiving a hefty black smudge on their forehead, and contemplating whether or not they want to be seen in public like that! Yet that is not the kind of contemplation we should be making―there is something much more profound that jumps out of the mirror for our contemplation. That black cross on your forehead furnishes you with one of the profoundest meditations that you could ever make! It could make the difference between salvation and damnation! We shall now unfold some of those crucial elements to help you to reflect upon them―not just for a day, but throughout Lent!
Reflecting Reality
Pope Paul VI gave Catholics a 95% discount on Lenten fasting by reducing the obligatory days of fasting from 40 days to merely 2 days―those days being Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Such a drastic reduction in penance is of course ridiculous―especially in an age where sin was increasingly rapidly. If a disease gets worse, you give more medicine or a more potent medicine―you DO NOT reduce the medicine that is being given. Nevertheless, putting all that to one side, those two days―Ash Wednesday and Good Friday―furnish us with the essence of Lent and essence of life on Earth. On Ash Wednesday we are marked with the cross of Christ in the form of ashes, whereas on Good Friday we focus on the actual Passion and Death of Christ on His cross on Mount Calvary. Thus, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are like “bookends” that sandwich the entire Lenten season―as well as giving the Lenten season its chief theme, which is the carrying of the cross and dying to self―and that is what true penance should be.
The reality is that you cannot get into Heaven without the cross and you cannot get into Heaven without doing penance―that is what Our Lord Himself clearly and emphatically stated: “And He said to all: ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me!’” (Luke 9:23) … “And whosoever will not carry his cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple!” (Luke 14:27) … “And he that will not take up his cross to follow Me, is not worthy of Me!” (Matthew 10:38). “I came to call sinners to penance! … No, I say to you―unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish! ... Again I say to you―except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 5:32; 13:3-5).
Our Lady echoes those words in her revelations to the Venerable Mary of Agreda: “The greatest wisdom for souls consists in the knowledge of the cross, in the love of sufferings, and in putting this knowledge into practice by bearing afflictions with patience! … “My Son and Lord could have redeemed the human race without suffering so much! … But worldly souls, in their lethargy, are moved neither by the duty of conforming to their Lord, nor by His declaration that all their salvation consists in following Christ in His sufferings! It is a great shame―nay, a great boldness―on the part of the faithful, that they should hate suffering, especially after all that my most holy Son suffered for them! … Many there are who wish to follow Christ and very few who truly dispose themselves to imitate Him―for as soon as they feel the sufferings of the Cross, they cast it aside! … They do not seek the medicine of suffering! … Why do mortals continue to deceive themselves, by expecting, in spite of their sins, to become pure and worthy of enjoying God, without the furnace of sorrows? Some of them expect to be distinguished by God’s most intimate love; others expect to be pardoned without penance! … Eternal rest is incompatible with the shame of not having duly labored for its attainment … If you wish to be Our disciple, then enter into this school―in which alone is taught the doctrine of the Cross! … You cannot follow Christ, if you refuse to embrace the Cross and rejoice in it!”
Love-Hate Relationship
Everyone would love to get to Heaven―but everyone hates the terms on getting there! Similarly, everyone loves to sin (otherwise we wouldn’t sin)―but everyone hates having to pay for sin. Everyone likes to be shown charity―but many hate showing charity to others (unless they can personally profit from it in some way). Everyone loves to be forgiven―but most people are slow to forgive and even slower to forget the offenses committed against themselves). We all want to be loved―but most have very little problem in hating. Is that Catholic? Is that Christian? What does Christ have to say on these matters? It is very likely that we won’t love, but we will hate what He has to say!
► DO YOU WANT TO GO TO HEAVEN?
Well, realize this―Heaven is not a freebie! Heaven is not automatically guaranteed. You do not have an inalienable right to Heaven―it can be lost and taken away, even after Baptism and Confession (and in most cases it is lost). The road to Heaven is not comfy airplane flight in the first class cabin! You have to fight tooth and nail for Heaven! “Not everyone that says to Me: ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!” (Matthew 7:21). “The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent bear it away” (Matthew 11:12). “Through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:21). “With fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12). “Enter in at the narrow gate―for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life―and few there are that find it!” (Matthew 7:13-14). “For I tell you, that unless your justice abound more than that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!” (Matthew 5:20). “For many are called, but few chosen!” (Matthew 20:1-16). “Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven! And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!” (Matthew 19:23). As St. Alphonsus pointed out: “God wants all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4); but He also wishes us all to labor for our own salvation … Sinners hear the calls of God, but they forget them, and continue to offend Him.” This is typical—God has His plans, but we know better!!
Hopefully that bursts any bubbles of presumption about salvation that you may have! The current ever-increasing tendency to believe in “universal salvation” is utter stupidity, insanity and mere wishful thinking! Just as ridiculous is the false teaching that we are saved by Faith alone and not by works―which is generally a Protestant belief. Yes―we need Faith, for “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6)―but “Faith without works is dead?” (James 2:20) and “Faith works by Charity” (Galatians 5:6). Christ further clarifies that when He says: “If you love Me, keep My commandments … He that has My commandments, and keeps them; he it is that loves Me … If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word … He that loves Me not, keeps not My words!” (John 14:15, 14:21-24). And those commandments and works require much more than merely believing in Christ!
If you desire to get to Heaven, then you must automatically and inescapably also desire to take the means that God offers for us to get there! Most people will not do that―and that is why most souls end up being damned and very few end up being saved! The advice of the Saints seeks to dispel our presumption about salvation.
● Pope St. Gregory the Great (a Doctor and Father of the Church): “There are many who arrive at the Faith, but few who are led into the heavenly kingdom!”
● St. Alphonsus Liguori (a Doctor of the Church): “Everyone desires to be saved but the greater part is lost … The saints are few, but we must live with the few if we would be saved with the few! Too few indeed they are! Yet among those few I wish to be!”
● St. Jerome (a Doctor and Father of the Church): “Christ did not say that those who walked in the path to Heaven are few in number, but that there were few who found that narrow way. It is as though the Savior intended to say: The path leading to Heaven is so narrow and so rough, so overgrown, so dark and difficult to discern―that there are many who never find it their whole life long. And those who do find it are constantly exposed to the danger of deviating from it, of mistaking their way, and unwittingly wandering away from it!”
● St. Augustine (a Doctor and Father of the Church): “Just as a man cannot serve two masters, so too no-one can rejoice both in the world and in the Lord … Beyond a doubt the elect are few … It is certain that few are saved … Not all, nor even a majority, are saved. . . They are indeed many, if regarded by themselves, but they are few in comparison with the far larger number of those who shall be punished with the devil … Take care not to resemble the multitude whose knowledge of God’s will only condemn them to more severe punishment … If you wish to imitate the multitude, then you shall not be among the few who shall enter in by the narrow gate!”
● St. John Climacus (a Father of the Church): “Live with the few if you want to reign with the few.”
● St. John of the Cross (a Doctor of the Church): “Behold how many there are who are called, and how few who are chosen! If you have no care for yourself, your perdition is more certain than your amendment, especially since the way that leads to eternal life is so narrow and only a small number of souls achieve perfect love.”
● St. Francis Xavier: “O how many souls lose Heaven and are cast into Hell!”
● St. Vincent de Paul: “A great many persons live constantly in the state of damnation!”
● St. Louis Marie de Montfort: “Be one of the small number who find the way to life, and enter by the narrow gate into Heaven. Take care not to follow the majority who are lost. Do not be deceived―there are only two roads: one that leads to life and is narrow; the other that leads to death and is wide. There is no middle way!”
● St. John Vianney: “The number of the saved is as few as the number of grapes left after the vineyard-pickers have passed! … I tremble when I see so many souls lost these days. They fall into Hell as leaves fall from the trees at the approach of winter! … There are not two ways of serving Jesus Christ. There is only one good way! We cannot be together in Heaven unless we serve Him as He Himself desires to be served.”
● St. Robert Southwell: “O how much are worldly persons deceived who rejoice when they should be weeping, and make their place of imprisonment on Earth a palace of pleasure; they consider the examples of the saints as follies, and think they will go to Heaven by the wide way that leads only to perdition! The path to Heaven is narrow, rough and full of wearisome and demanding ascents, nor can it be trodden without great toil! The path to Heaven is narrow, rough and full of wearisome and demanding ascents, nor can it be trodden without great toil!”
● St. John Eudes: “Get out of the filth of the horrible torrent of this world, the torrent of thorns that is whirling you into the abyss of eternal perdition. This torrent is the world, which is full of garbage and evil odors, making a lot of noise, but flowing swiftly past, dragging the majority of men into the pit of perdition!”
That is the advice of the saints―yet it is advice that is largely ignored, neglected or even rejected! At what cost? The answer is obvious and hauntingly stares us in the face!
► DO YOU WANT TO BE SHOWN CHARITY?
The answer is obvious―we all love it when people are charitable towards us! However, charity is not a “one-way-street” ― charity is reciprocal, which means that it a case of “give-and-take” and not just “take-all-I-can-get”! As Our Lord says: “Give and it shall be given to you!” (Luke 6:38). As St. Thomas Aquinas states: “Men wish to be loved in as much as they wish to be honored. For just as honor bears witness to the good which is in him, so by being loved a man is shown to have some good, since good alone is lovable. Accordingly men seek to be loved and to be honored, for the sake of something else― to make known the good which is in the person who is loved. … On the other hand, those who have charity seek to love for the sake of loving, as though this were itself the good of charity, even as the act of any virtue is that virtue's good. Hence it is more proper to charity to wish to love than to wish to be loved … Charity is not possible between less than two persons … Charity is love … Yet Charity is not love simply, but has the nature of friendship … God and our neighbor are those with whom we are friends … Charity extends not only to the love of God, but also to the love of our neighbor ... To love belongs to Charity … To be loved is not the act of the Charity of the person loved … Friends are more praised for loving than for being loved, indeed, if they be loved and yet love not in return, they are blamed … Hence it is clear that to love is more proper to Charity than to be loved … A certain mutual love is required, since friendship is between friend and friend … Friendship consists in loving rather than in being loved. Now Charity is a kind of friendship. Therefore Charity consists in loving rather than in being loved” (Summa Theologica, IIa-IIae, Questions 25, 27, 44).
► DO YOU WANT TO BE FORGIVEN?
Who on Earth does not want to be forgiven!?!? We all want to be forgiven! Yet how much forgiveness do we show to others? Forgiveness―much like Charity―is reciprocal. Our Lord indicates this in the following quotes: “Blessed are the merciful―for they shall obtain mercy!” (Matthew 5:7). “Judge not, and you shall not be judged! Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned! Forgive, and you shall be forgiven!” (Luke 6:37). “For if you will forgive men their offences, then your heavenly Father will also forgive you your offences. But if you will not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your offences!” (Matthew 6:14-15). “If you will not forgive, neither will your Father that is in Heaven, forgive you your sins!” (Mark 11:26). To which Holy Scripture adds: “Be ye kind one to another; merciful, forgiving one another, even as God has forgiven you in Christ” (Ephesians 4:32). “Forgive your neighbor if he has hurt you―and then your sins be forgiven when you pray!” (Ecclesiasticus 28:2).
► DO YOU WANT TO BE LOVED?
Who doesn’t want to be loved? Everyone wants to be loved! Unfortunately, we want to be loved but are sometimes slow to show love to others―especially sinners and those who have wronged or hurt us in some way! Yet, as Holy Scripture says: “Who can say: ‘My heart is clean, I am pure from sin!’?” (Proverbs 20:9). Who dare say: “I am clean, and without sin! I am unspotted, and there is no iniquity in me!” (Job 33:9). “For in many things we all offend” (James 3:2). “There is no man who sins not” (3 Kings 8:46). “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us!” (1 John 1:8-10).
The American exorcist, Fr. Chad Ripperger, adds: “What most people don’t know is that Mortal Sin is an open door. The proper effect of Mortal Sin is possession. Most people don’t grasp that. What that means is that when you commit Mortal Sin, you take yourself out from underneath the order of God and place yourself underneath the order of Satan. Thee is no limbo here in this case. So you’re either under God or you’re under Satan. When you commit a Mortal Sin you’re placing yourself under Satan. Exorcists say that any Mortal Sin is an open door to possession. Once you do that however, it’s up to Christ to determine whether He’s going to let the demon through the door―which He doesn’t do in 99% of the cases.” Why is it then, that we sinners want to be loved and feel that we should be loved, yet we are reluctant to love other sinners?
Our Lord addressed such an attitude thus: “Why do you see the splinter that is in your brother’s eye; but cannot see the plank that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother: ‘Let me remove the splinter out of your eye!’ ― and behold there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite! First cast out the plank from your own eye, and then you shall be able to see in order to cast out the splinter from your brother’s eye!” (Matthew 7:3-5). “You have heard that it has been said: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth!’ and ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thy enemy!’ But I say to you―Love your enemies! Do good to them that hate you! And pray for them that persecute and calumniate you! So that you may be the children of your Father Who is in Heaven, Who makes His sun to rise upon the good and bad, and makes His rain fall upon the just and the unjust! For if you only love them that love you, what reward shall you have? Do not even the publicans do this? And if you salute your brethren only, what do you do that is more? Do not also the heathens do this? Be you therefore perfect as also your heavenly Father is perfect!” (Matthew 5:38-48). Holy Scripture adds: “If a man be overtaken in any fault, you, who are spiritual, instruct such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering yourself, lest you also be tempted!” (Galatians 6:1).
St. Thomas Aquinas, on the question of loving sinners, writes: “When a man has friendship for a certain person, then for the sake of that person he loves all that belongs to him―be they children, servants, or connected with him in any way. Indeed, so much do we love our friends, that for their sake we love all who belong to them, even if they hurt or hate us―so that, in this way, the friendship of Charity extends even to our enemies, whom we love out of Charity in relation to God, to Whom the friendship of Charity is chiefly directed. When it is said: ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor’ ― it is evident that we ought to look upon every man as our neighbor. Now sinners do not cease to be men, for sin does not destroy nature. Therefore we ought to love sinners out of Charity.
“Two things may be considered in the sinner: his nature and his guilt. According to his nature, which he has from God, he has a capacity for happiness, wherefore we ought to love sinners, out of Charity, in respect of their nature. On the other hand their guilt is opposed to God, and is an obstacle to happiness. Wherefore, in respect of their guilt, by which they are opposed to God, all sinners are to be hated. For it is our duty to hate, in the sinner, his being a sinner, and to love in him, his being a man capable of bliss; and this is to love him truly, out of charity, for God’s sake. Now hatred of a person’s evil is equivalent to love of his good. Hence also this perfect hatred [of sin and sinfulness] belongs to charity. We love sinners out of Charity, not so as to will what they will, or to rejoice in what gives them joy, but so as to make them will what we will, and rejoice in what rejoices us.
“When our friends fall into sin, we ought not to deny them the amenities of friendship, so long as there is hope of their mending their ways, and we ought to help them more readily to regain virtue than to recover money, had they lost it, for as much as virtue is more akin than money to friendship. When, however, they fall into very great wickedness, and become incurable, we ought no longer to show them friendliness. It is for this reason that both Divine and human laws command such like sinners to be put to death, because there is greater likelihood of their harming others than of their mending their ways. Nevertheless the judge puts this into effect, not out of hatred for the sinners, but out of the love of Charity, by reason of which he prefers the public good to the life of the individual. Moreover the death inflicted by the judge profits the sinner, if he be converted, unto the expiation of his crime; and, if he be not converted, it profits so as to put an end to the sin, because the sinner is thus deprived of the power to sin any more.
“It is asked which is better or more meritorious―to love one's friend or one's enemy, these two loves may be compared in two ways, first, on the part of our neighbor whom we love, secondly, on the part of the reason for which we love him. In the first way, love of one's friend surpasses love of one's enemy, because a friend is both better and more closely united to us, so that he is a more suitable matter of love and consequently the act of love that passes over this matter, is better, and therefore its opposite is worse, for it is worse to hate a friend than an enemy.
“In the second way, however, it is better to love one's enemy than one's friend, and this for two reasons. First, because it is possible to love one's friend for another reason than God, whereas God is the only reason for loving one's enemy. Secondly, because if we suppose that both are loved for God, our love for God is proved to be all the stronger through carrying a man's affections to things which are furthest from him, namely, to the love of his enemies, even as the power of a furnace is proved to be the stronger, according as it throws its heat to more distant objects. Hence our love for God is proved to be so much the stronger, as the more difficult are the things we accomplish for its sake, just as the power of fire is so much the stronger, as it is able to set fire to a less inflammable matter.
“Yet just as the same fire acts with greater force on what is near than on what is distant, so too, charity loves with greater fervor those who are united to us than those who are far removed; and in this respect the love of friends, considered in itself, is more ardent and better than the love of one's enemy. The love of one's friends is not meritorious in God’s sight when we love them merely because they are our friends. On the other hand the love of our friends is meritorious, if we love them for God's sake, and not merely because they are our friends.” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, IIa-IIae, Questions 23, 25).
Sadly, we find forgiveness hard to dispense―especially for repeated offenses! St. Peter probably had the same problem: “Then came Peter unto Jesus and said: ‘Lord, how often shall my brother offend against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?’ Jesus said to him: ‘I say you not just seven times; but seventy times seven times!” (Matthew 18:21-22). We would even have a major problem forgiving seven times―never mind seventy times seven times! We find ourselves angry and raging and shouting after only one or two times! Yet Scripture says: “Be slow to speak and slow to anger! For the anger of man works not the justice of God!” (James 1:19-20). “Revenge is Mine, and I will repay them in due time!” says God (Deuteronomy 32:35). “Revenge not yourselves, my dearly beloved; but put away your anger, for it is written: ‘Revenge is Mine, I will repay!’ says the Lord” (Romans 12:19). Our reply to will most likely be: “Well hurry up, then!!!”
Recently, many persons the U.S. have received a lot of white snow! Recently (yesterday), many persons have received black ashes! The white snow makes us think of Snow-White―and Snow White makes us think of the Evil Queen who was always looking in her Magic Mirror, asking: “Mirror, mirror on the wall, Who is fairest of us all?” When the mirror eventually identifies her young step-daughter Snow-White as the fairest, the Queen jealously tries to have her killed, first by her huntsman, followed by several personal attempts―concluding with a poisoned apple. The mirror is key to her plots; it tells her Snow White’s location, and after each attempt, she checks with the mirror and is again told that Snow White remains the fairest. At the very end, when Snow White is married, the mirror tells her that the young queen is the most beautiful. The Evil Queen is terrified, but her jealousy drives her to attend the wedding where she finds that the Prince’s bride is none other than the ‘resurrected’ Snow-White. She is caught, in her rage, trying to cause discord as a result of which the Prince had her dance in red-hot iron slippers until she drops dead.
You could―at stretch of the imagination―try and supernaturalize that fairy tale, but it would be a bit of a stretch and all the bits would not fit together very well. For our purposes, we shall simply focus on the Magic Mirror. The mirror could have brought humility to the Evil Queen, but instead it provoked and exacerbated her pride. The Magic Mirror always spoke the truth to the Evil Queen―but she resented and despised that truth. In this sense, you could say that we all have our own personal Magic Mirror―and it goes by the name of “Conscience.” It will always tell us the truth―even though we might hate that truth, reject that truth, modify that truth, or replace it with our own subjective truth.
Reflecting on Mirrors!
Let us begin with a little reflection on the topic of mirrors! We use mirrors every day. Why do people look in the mirror? We rely upon mirrors to give an indication of our health―especially those parts of the body that our eyes cannot see, such as own face, our teeth, our back, and any injuries, lesions, cuts, rashes, inflammation, bruises, etc. that might have happened to those ‘invisible’ or non-visible parts of the body.
When it comes to our appearance, we rely heavily on mirrors to give us a glimpse of how we appear to others. A major reason for looking in the mirror is to check our outfits to applying makeup or shaving, etc. The short and honest answer is that they want to see how they. There’s a thin line between self-awareness and obsession, especially when we’re talking about our appearance. It’s not just vanity, there are certain behaviors that people who do this regularly display, often without even noticing it.
Most people who often check their reflection in the mirror do so out of a heightened sense of self-consciousness. This trait isn’t necessarily a negative one. It can mean they’re fine-tuned to their appearance, ensuring they present their best self to the world. It could be a sign of someone who values first impressions and understands the impact of personal presentation. But, it can also tip into the territory of anxiety and stress. Constant mirror-checking could be a symptom of an individual wrestling with insecurities or body image struggles.
Sometimes those who frequently check their appearance often have a keen eye for detail. They are the ones who will spot a tiny typo in a report, or notice if someone has changed their hair just slightly. This attention to detail extends to their own personal appearance. This type of behavior can indicate a meticulous and thorough personality. These individuals are often the ones you can count on to catch errors, remember important dates, and generally keep things running smoothly. Of course, like any trait, it’s always about balance. Too much focus on the minutiae can sometimes cause stress or hinder big-picture thinking. But when channeled correctly, this attention to detail can be a real asset.
Another angle on people who regularly check their appearance in mirrors, which is similar to the pervious one, is that often displays character traits of perfectionism. Perfectionists set high standards for themselves and are seldom satisfied with anything less. This high bar can extend to their physical appearance, leading them to constantly check and adjust until they meet their own exacting standards. Interestingly, research suggests that perfectionism has been on the rise over the past few decades. A study found that recent generations of college students are more likely to have perfectionist tendencies than earlier generations. Extreme perfectionism can lead to too much stress and anxiety for both the perfectionist and the people in the life of the perfectionist.
Some people have a phobia or fear about looking at mirrors. One such phobia is Eisoptrophobia―which is a rare, specific phobia characterized by an irrational, intense, and persistent fear of seeing one’s own reflection. Those with this condition may experience both psychological and physical symptoms when encountering mirrors. Some people fear mirrors due to self-image issues. Then there is Spectrophobia ― which refers to the fear of mirrors themselves, which is often a superstitious attitude, one example of which is the superstition that if you break a mirror then you will have seven years of bad luck. Thi originates from Ancient Roman beliefs that life renewed itself in seven-year cycles. Breaking a mirror was thought to damage the soul's reflection, requiring seven years for that cycle to repair itself. Furthermore, historically, mirrors were expensive, and breaking them was a significant loss.
Religious Mirrors
As stated above, we all have our own personal “spiritual mirror” which goes by the name of “Conscience.” It will always tell us the truth―even though we might hate that truth, reject that truth, modify that truth, or replace it with our own subjective truth. We should often look at ourselves in this “Mirror of Conscience” and pay attention to what we find and see therein. Holy Scripture warns us against ignoring or forgetting what we uncover in the “Mirror of Conscience”: “Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if a man be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he shall be compared to a man beholding his own countenance in a mirror―for he saw himself in the mirror and then went his way, and presently forgot what manner of man he was!” (James 1:22-24).
Our “Mirror of Conscience” is meant to make us godly and holy: “Wisdom is the unspotted mirror of God’s majesty, and the image of His goodness” (Wisdom 7:26). Wisdom sees all things as God sees them―it is defined as “the knowledge of all things in their ultimate cause”―and God is the ultimate cause of all things.
The masters of the spiritual life recommend that we examine our consciences at least once a day―usually at the end of the day. Yet St. Ignatius, his Spiritual Exercises, suggests that we examine our consciences three times a day―at midday, at the beginning of the evening and last thing at night before going to sleep. Unfortunately, even though we might look into a mirror to assess our physical appearance or health many times day―we hardly ever look into the mirror of the mind―which is our conscience―to assess our spiritual appearance. The mirror of the conscience is rarely used―with the result that it becomes dirty, grimy, cloudy, etc. Part of the reason why we neglect or refuse to examine our consciences frequently is the fact that hate to see ourselves as we really are―we prefer our own version of the “truth”, our “Photo-shopped” or “Cosmeticized” or “Distorted-Mirror” version of the truth.
Monsignor Stephen Rossetti, an Catholic priest and exorcist in the United States, wrote: “In the midst of an exorcism, quite by chance, a mirror ended up in front of the possessed person. Immediately, the demons reacted violently and screamed to get rid of it. We were surprised by the reaction. A former practitioner of sorcery and the occult said that his “religion” often hosted underworld parties celebrating particular demons. These demons might take possession of those attending. He said it was common practice to cover the mirrors before the party because “the demon spirits could not look at themselves (or rather the reflection of the human they possessed that night) in the mirrors.” Even though they do not have a physical body, it seems that when they are possessing a human being and looking into a mirror, they see a glimpse of their horrible evil. As I sometimes say to the demons: “God made you beautiful and now look at what you have become!” Demons are ugly beyond description. No horror movie can capture the repulsive ugliness of sin and the demonic. Demons do not want to hear the truth and they do not want to see the truth. Their reflection in a mirror [possessing the body of a human person] shows them their ugly truth. The ritual of an exorcism is about telling the truth to the demons [and mirrors tell the truth]. Our weapon during the spiritual battle of an exorcism is the Truth, who is Jesus. When we pray the Ritual, they hear the truth in words. They have rejected God. They are immersed in evil. Christ has defeated them on the cross. They are damned for all eternity. They will be in an excruciating torment for all time. I do not know any exorcists who use mirrors. I wonder if it would be a good intervention. Perhaps seeing the truth in a mirror might also be good!” (Monsignor Stephen Rossetti, Exorcist Diary: “Demons Hate Mirrors”, June 18th, 2023).
Mirror Mania
The word “mirror” comes from the Latin verb mirare meaning “to wonder at” and this fascination with our reflection connects the physical mirror with the concept of vanity or dwelling too long on one’s own appearance. If the modern term for taking photos of yourself is “selfies” ― then mirror-gazing could also be called a “selfie” or a “selfishness” whereby the focus is on self. Not all focusing on self is selfishness―for besides focusing on self out of pride or vanity, we can also focus on self with the intention of fixing what is wrong or out of place―and that should be our intention and goal when focusing on self in the “Mirror of Conscience.”
People look in the mirror frequently throughout the day. Surveys vary in their finding with some surveys suggesting an average of 8 times a day; while other surveys suggesting around 38 times daily. Nearly 1 in 10 Americans avoid looking in the mirror. Remember that “average” means that there is a varietiy of numbers below that average as well as a variety of numbers above that average. The differences in numbers can be age-related; gender-related; culture-related, etc. People aged 27 are often considered the most image-conscious, checking their reflection up to 52 times a day, whereas those over 60 check only about 5 times. Women are generally reported to look in the mirror more frequently than men. A survey in the UK, almost 20 years ago, showed that on average women look at themselves in the mirror every 30 minutes, with men not far behind. Women check their reflection 34 times a day during an average 16-hour waking day, it said. They reapply their make-up 11 times a day, with 89% of those questioned saying they carry a compact mirror in their handbags.
If we are so obsessed with how we look like in the eyes of others, then wouldn’t it be pleasing to God if during Lent we were less obsessed with the “Mirror on the Wall” and more focused on our “Mirror of Conscience”? Why are so worried about how we appear in the eyes of others―and so little concerned about how we appear in the eyes of God? St. Philip Neri would sometimes shave-off his beard on one side of his face and leave the beard intact on the other side of his face! He wasn’t too concerned about how he looked in the eyes of others and gladly accepted their ridicule, rebukes and insults―so that he could “beautify” himself before God with the humility that the ridicule, rebukes and insults produced in him.
The Mirror and the Ashes
It is hard to estimate how many people receive the ashes on Ash Wednesday. Some say roughly 45% of U.S. adult Catholics receiving ashes annually. Tracking Mass attendance from 2019 to 2024, Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) — which conducts social scientific studies for and about the Catholic Church — reported Ash Wednesday continues to compete with both Easter and Christmas for the highest attended Masses each year. In fact, Ash Wednesday 2024 Mass attendance actually topped Christmas 2023 Mass attendance.
Father Bruce Morrill, a Jesuit theology professor and the chair of Roman Catholic Studies at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, said that the ashes symbolize sin and death―but while people may rush to get their ashes — with their unmistakable outward sign of interior penance, Father Morrill has not noticed a similar stampede to the confessional. This reminds us of Our Lord’s words: “Hypocrites! Well has Isaias prophesied of you, saying: ‘These people honor Me with their lips―but their heart is far from Me. And in vain do they worship Me!’” (Matthew 15:7-9). The blessed ashes are a Sacramental of the Church―and Sacramentals are sources of what we call Actual Graces (not to be confused with Sanctifying Grace). Actual Grace is a passing, temporary, assisting, inspirational, moving grace that is meant to inspire and help us to do the right thing and to avoid the wrong things―to do good and avoid evil; to practice virtue and avoid sin. We are meant to cooperate with Actual Grace and not brush it off.
It would be interesting to know how long the ashes “survive” on the foreheads of Catholics before they are “brushed-off.” Some will wear them proudly and boldly; others might be indifferent about it; some wipe them off as soon as they leave the church; others might remove them before going to work or appearing at some public venue; some might “doctor” them to appear less obvious; others might conceal them under hat or make sure their hair covers them.
Talking of mirrors―how many persons took a look in the mirror after receiving the ashes on their forehead? Some might have looked out of vanity―wondering and fearing what they now look like after receiving a hefty black smudge on their forehead, and contemplating whether or not they want to be seen in public like that! Yet that is not the kind of contemplation we should be making―there is something much more profound that jumps out of the mirror for our contemplation. That black cross on your forehead furnishes you with one of the profoundest meditations that you could ever make! It could make the difference between salvation and damnation! We shall now unfold some of those crucial elements to help you to reflect upon them―not just for a day, but throughout Lent!
Reflecting Reality
Pope Paul VI gave Catholics a 95% discount on Lenten fasting by reducing the obligatory days of fasting from 40 days to merely 2 days―those days being Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Such a drastic reduction in penance is of course ridiculous―especially in an age where sin was increasingly rapidly. If a disease gets worse, you give more medicine or a more potent medicine―you DO NOT reduce the medicine that is being given. Nevertheless, putting all that to one side, those two days―Ash Wednesday and Good Friday―furnish us with the essence of Lent and essence of life on Earth. On Ash Wednesday we are marked with the cross of Christ in the form of ashes, whereas on Good Friday we focus on the actual Passion and Death of Christ on His cross on Mount Calvary. Thus, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are like “bookends” that sandwich the entire Lenten season―as well as giving the Lenten season its chief theme, which is the carrying of the cross and dying to self―and that is what true penance should be.
The reality is that you cannot get into Heaven without the cross and you cannot get into Heaven without doing penance―that is what Our Lord Himself clearly and emphatically stated: “And He said to all: ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me!’” (Luke 9:23) … “And whosoever will not carry his cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple!” (Luke 14:27) … “And he that will not take up his cross to follow Me, is not worthy of Me!” (Matthew 10:38). “I came to call sinners to penance! … No, I say to you―unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish! ... Again I say to you―except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 5:32; 13:3-5).
Our Lady echoes those words in her revelations to the Venerable Mary of Agreda: “The greatest wisdom for souls consists in the knowledge of the cross, in the love of sufferings, and in putting this knowledge into practice by bearing afflictions with patience! … “My Son and Lord could have redeemed the human race without suffering so much! … But worldly souls, in their lethargy, are moved neither by the duty of conforming to their Lord, nor by His declaration that all their salvation consists in following Christ in His sufferings! It is a great shame―nay, a great boldness―on the part of the faithful, that they should hate suffering, especially after all that my most holy Son suffered for them! … Many there are who wish to follow Christ and very few who truly dispose themselves to imitate Him―for as soon as they feel the sufferings of the Cross, they cast it aside! … They do not seek the medicine of suffering! … Why do mortals continue to deceive themselves, by expecting, in spite of their sins, to become pure and worthy of enjoying God, without the furnace of sorrows? Some of them expect to be distinguished by God’s most intimate love; others expect to be pardoned without penance! … Eternal rest is incompatible with the shame of not having duly labored for its attainment … If you wish to be Our disciple, then enter into this school―in which alone is taught the doctrine of the Cross! … You cannot follow Christ, if you refuse to embrace the Cross and rejoice in it!”
Love-Hate Relationship
Everyone would love to get to Heaven―but everyone hates the terms on getting there! Similarly, everyone loves to sin (otherwise we wouldn’t sin)―but everyone hates having to pay for sin. Everyone likes to be shown charity―but many hate showing charity to others (unless they can personally profit from it in some way). Everyone loves to be forgiven―but most people are slow to forgive and even slower to forget the offenses committed against themselves). We all want to be loved―but most have very little problem in hating. Is that Catholic? Is that Christian? What does Christ have to say on these matters? It is very likely that we won’t love, but we will hate what He has to say!
► DO YOU WANT TO GO TO HEAVEN?
Well, realize this―Heaven is not a freebie! Heaven is not automatically guaranteed. You do not have an inalienable right to Heaven―it can be lost and taken away, even after Baptism and Confession (and in most cases it is lost). The road to Heaven is not comfy airplane flight in the first class cabin! You have to fight tooth and nail for Heaven! “Not everyone that says to Me: ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!” (Matthew 7:21). “The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent bear it away” (Matthew 11:12). “Through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:21). “With fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12). “Enter in at the narrow gate―for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life―and few there are that find it!” (Matthew 7:13-14). “For I tell you, that unless your justice abound more than that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!” (Matthew 5:20). “For many are called, but few chosen!” (Matthew 20:1-16). “Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven! And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!” (Matthew 19:23). As St. Alphonsus pointed out: “God wants all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4); but He also wishes us all to labor for our own salvation … Sinners hear the calls of God, but they forget them, and continue to offend Him.” This is typical—God has His plans, but we know better!!
Hopefully that bursts any bubbles of presumption about salvation that you may have! The current ever-increasing tendency to believe in “universal salvation” is utter stupidity, insanity and mere wishful thinking! Just as ridiculous is the false teaching that we are saved by Faith alone and not by works―which is generally a Protestant belief. Yes―we need Faith, for “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6)―but “Faith without works is dead?” (James 2:20) and “Faith works by Charity” (Galatians 5:6). Christ further clarifies that when He says: “If you love Me, keep My commandments … He that has My commandments, and keeps them; he it is that loves Me … If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word … He that loves Me not, keeps not My words!” (John 14:15, 14:21-24). And those commandments and works require much more than merely believing in Christ!
If you desire to get to Heaven, then you must automatically and inescapably also desire to take the means that God offers for us to get there! Most people will not do that―and that is why most souls end up being damned and very few end up being saved! The advice of the Saints seeks to dispel our presumption about salvation.
● Pope St. Gregory the Great (a Doctor and Father of the Church): “There are many who arrive at the Faith, but few who are led into the heavenly kingdom!”
● St. Alphonsus Liguori (a Doctor of the Church): “Everyone desires to be saved but the greater part is lost … The saints are few, but we must live with the few if we would be saved with the few! Too few indeed they are! Yet among those few I wish to be!”
● St. Jerome (a Doctor and Father of the Church): “Christ did not say that those who walked in the path to Heaven are few in number, but that there were few who found that narrow way. It is as though the Savior intended to say: The path leading to Heaven is so narrow and so rough, so overgrown, so dark and difficult to discern―that there are many who never find it their whole life long. And those who do find it are constantly exposed to the danger of deviating from it, of mistaking their way, and unwittingly wandering away from it!”
● St. Augustine (a Doctor and Father of the Church): “Just as a man cannot serve two masters, so too no-one can rejoice both in the world and in the Lord … Beyond a doubt the elect are few … It is certain that few are saved … Not all, nor even a majority, are saved. . . They are indeed many, if regarded by themselves, but they are few in comparison with the far larger number of those who shall be punished with the devil … Take care not to resemble the multitude whose knowledge of God’s will only condemn them to more severe punishment … If you wish to imitate the multitude, then you shall not be among the few who shall enter in by the narrow gate!”
● St. John Climacus (a Father of the Church): “Live with the few if you want to reign with the few.”
● St. John of the Cross (a Doctor of the Church): “Behold how many there are who are called, and how few who are chosen! If you have no care for yourself, your perdition is more certain than your amendment, especially since the way that leads to eternal life is so narrow and only a small number of souls achieve perfect love.”
● St. Francis Xavier: “O how many souls lose Heaven and are cast into Hell!”
● St. Vincent de Paul: “A great many persons live constantly in the state of damnation!”
● St. Louis Marie de Montfort: “Be one of the small number who find the way to life, and enter by the narrow gate into Heaven. Take care not to follow the majority who are lost. Do not be deceived―there are only two roads: one that leads to life and is narrow; the other that leads to death and is wide. There is no middle way!”
● St. John Vianney: “The number of the saved is as few as the number of grapes left after the vineyard-pickers have passed! … I tremble when I see so many souls lost these days. They fall into Hell as leaves fall from the trees at the approach of winter! … There are not two ways of serving Jesus Christ. There is only one good way! We cannot be together in Heaven unless we serve Him as He Himself desires to be served.”
● St. Robert Southwell: “O how much are worldly persons deceived who rejoice when they should be weeping, and make their place of imprisonment on Earth a palace of pleasure; they consider the examples of the saints as follies, and think they will go to Heaven by the wide way that leads only to perdition! The path to Heaven is narrow, rough and full of wearisome and demanding ascents, nor can it be trodden without great toil! The path to Heaven is narrow, rough and full of wearisome and demanding ascents, nor can it be trodden without great toil!”
● St. John Eudes: “Get out of the filth of the horrible torrent of this world, the torrent of thorns that is whirling you into the abyss of eternal perdition. This torrent is the world, which is full of garbage and evil odors, making a lot of noise, but flowing swiftly past, dragging the majority of men into the pit of perdition!”
That is the advice of the saints―yet it is advice that is largely ignored, neglected or even rejected! At what cost? The answer is obvious and hauntingly stares us in the face!
► DO YOU WANT TO BE SHOWN CHARITY?
The answer is obvious―we all love it when people are charitable towards us! However, charity is not a “one-way-street” ― charity is reciprocal, which means that it a case of “give-and-take” and not just “take-all-I-can-get”! As Our Lord says: “Give and it shall be given to you!” (Luke 6:38). As St. Thomas Aquinas states: “Men wish to be loved in as much as they wish to be honored. For just as honor bears witness to the good which is in him, so by being loved a man is shown to have some good, since good alone is lovable. Accordingly men seek to be loved and to be honored, for the sake of something else― to make known the good which is in the person who is loved. … On the other hand, those who have charity seek to love for the sake of loving, as though this were itself the good of charity, even as the act of any virtue is that virtue's good. Hence it is more proper to charity to wish to love than to wish to be loved … Charity is not possible between less than two persons … Charity is love … Yet Charity is not love simply, but has the nature of friendship … God and our neighbor are those with whom we are friends … Charity extends not only to the love of God, but also to the love of our neighbor ... To love belongs to Charity … To be loved is not the act of the Charity of the person loved … Friends are more praised for loving than for being loved, indeed, if they be loved and yet love not in return, they are blamed … Hence it is clear that to love is more proper to Charity than to be loved … A certain mutual love is required, since friendship is between friend and friend … Friendship consists in loving rather than in being loved. Now Charity is a kind of friendship. Therefore Charity consists in loving rather than in being loved” (Summa Theologica, IIa-IIae, Questions 25, 27, 44).
► DO YOU WANT TO BE FORGIVEN?
Who on Earth does not want to be forgiven!?!? We all want to be forgiven! Yet how much forgiveness do we show to others? Forgiveness―much like Charity―is reciprocal. Our Lord indicates this in the following quotes: “Blessed are the merciful―for they shall obtain mercy!” (Matthew 5:7). “Judge not, and you shall not be judged! Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned! Forgive, and you shall be forgiven!” (Luke 6:37). “For if you will forgive men their offences, then your heavenly Father will also forgive you your offences. But if you will not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your offences!” (Matthew 6:14-15). “If you will not forgive, neither will your Father that is in Heaven, forgive you your sins!” (Mark 11:26). To which Holy Scripture adds: “Be ye kind one to another; merciful, forgiving one another, even as God has forgiven you in Christ” (Ephesians 4:32). “Forgive your neighbor if he has hurt you―and then your sins be forgiven when you pray!” (Ecclesiasticus 28:2).
► DO YOU WANT TO BE LOVED?
Who doesn’t want to be loved? Everyone wants to be loved! Unfortunately, we want to be loved but are sometimes slow to show love to others―especially sinners and those who have wronged or hurt us in some way! Yet, as Holy Scripture says: “Who can say: ‘My heart is clean, I am pure from sin!’?” (Proverbs 20:9). Who dare say: “I am clean, and without sin! I am unspotted, and there is no iniquity in me!” (Job 33:9). “For in many things we all offend” (James 3:2). “There is no man who sins not” (3 Kings 8:46). “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us!” (1 John 1:8-10).
The American exorcist, Fr. Chad Ripperger, adds: “What most people don’t know is that Mortal Sin is an open door. The proper effect of Mortal Sin is possession. Most people don’t grasp that. What that means is that when you commit Mortal Sin, you take yourself out from underneath the order of God and place yourself underneath the order of Satan. Thee is no limbo here in this case. So you’re either under God or you’re under Satan. When you commit a Mortal Sin you’re placing yourself under Satan. Exorcists say that any Mortal Sin is an open door to possession. Once you do that however, it’s up to Christ to determine whether He’s going to let the demon through the door―which He doesn’t do in 99% of the cases.” Why is it then, that we sinners want to be loved and feel that we should be loved, yet we are reluctant to love other sinners?
Our Lord addressed such an attitude thus: “Why do you see the splinter that is in your brother’s eye; but cannot see the plank that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother: ‘Let me remove the splinter out of your eye!’ ― and behold there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite! First cast out the plank from your own eye, and then you shall be able to see in order to cast out the splinter from your brother’s eye!” (Matthew 7:3-5). “You have heard that it has been said: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth!’ and ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thy enemy!’ But I say to you―Love your enemies! Do good to them that hate you! And pray for them that persecute and calumniate you! So that you may be the children of your Father Who is in Heaven, Who makes His sun to rise upon the good and bad, and makes His rain fall upon the just and the unjust! For if you only love them that love you, what reward shall you have? Do not even the publicans do this? And if you salute your brethren only, what do you do that is more? Do not also the heathens do this? Be you therefore perfect as also your heavenly Father is perfect!” (Matthew 5:38-48). Holy Scripture adds: “If a man be overtaken in any fault, you, who are spiritual, instruct such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering yourself, lest you also be tempted!” (Galatians 6:1).
St. Thomas Aquinas, on the question of loving sinners, writes: “When a man has friendship for a certain person, then for the sake of that person he loves all that belongs to him―be they children, servants, or connected with him in any way. Indeed, so much do we love our friends, that for their sake we love all who belong to them, even if they hurt or hate us―so that, in this way, the friendship of Charity extends even to our enemies, whom we love out of Charity in relation to God, to Whom the friendship of Charity is chiefly directed. When it is said: ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor’ ― it is evident that we ought to look upon every man as our neighbor. Now sinners do not cease to be men, for sin does not destroy nature. Therefore we ought to love sinners out of Charity.
“Two things may be considered in the sinner: his nature and his guilt. According to his nature, which he has from God, he has a capacity for happiness, wherefore we ought to love sinners, out of Charity, in respect of their nature. On the other hand their guilt is opposed to God, and is an obstacle to happiness. Wherefore, in respect of their guilt, by which they are opposed to God, all sinners are to be hated. For it is our duty to hate, in the sinner, his being a sinner, and to love in him, his being a man capable of bliss; and this is to love him truly, out of charity, for God’s sake. Now hatred of a person’s evil is equivalent to love of his good. Hence also this perfect hatred [of sin and sinfulness] belongs to charity. We love sinners out of Charity, not so as to will what they will, or to rejoice in what gives them joy, but so as to make them will what we will, and rejoice in what rejoices us.
“When our friends fall into sin, we ought not to deny them the amenities of friendship, so long as there is hope of their mending their ways, and we ought to help them more readily to regain virtue than to recover money, had they lost it, for as much as virtue is more akin than money to friendship. When, however, they fall into very great wickedness, and become incurable, we ought no longer to show them friendliness. It is for this reason that both Divine and human laws command such like sinners to be put to death, because there is greater likelihood of their harming others than of their mending their ways. Nevertheless the judge puts this into effect, not out of hatred for the sinners, but out of the love of Charity, by reason of which he prefers the public good to the life of the individual. Moreover the death inflicted by the judge profits the sinner, if he be converted, unto the expiation of his crime; and, if he be not converted, it profits so as to put an end to the sin, because the sinner is thus deprived of the power to sin any more.
“It is asked which is better or more meritorious―to love one's friend or one's enemy, these two loves may be compared in two ways, first, on the part of our neighbor whom we love, secondly, on the part of the reason for which we love him. In the first way, love of one's friend surpasses love of one's enemy, because a friend is both better and more closely united to us, so that he is a more suitable matter of love and consequently the act of love that passes over this matter, is better, and therefore its opposite is worse, for it is worse to hate a friend than an enemy.
“In the second way, however, it is better to love one's enemy than one's friend, and this for two reasons. First, because it is possible to love one's friend for another reason than God, whereas God is the only reason for loving one's enemy. Secondly, because if we suppose that both are loved for God, our love for God is proved to be all the stronger through carrying a man's affections to things which are furthest from him, namely, to the love of his enemies, even as the power of a furnace is proved to be the stronger, according as it throws its heat to more distant objects. Hence our love for God is proved to be so much the stronger, as the more difficult are the things we accomplish for its sake, just as the power of fire is so much the stronger, as it is able to set fire to a less inflammable matter.
“Yet just as the same fire acts with greater force on what is near than on what is distant, so too, charity loves with greater fervor those who are united to us than those who are far removed; and in this respect the love of friends, considered in itself, is more ardent and better than the love of one's enemy. The love of one's friends is not meritorious in God’s sight when we love them merely because they are our friends. On the other hand the love of our friends is meritorious, if we love them for God's sake, and not merely because they are our friends.” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, IIa-IIae, Questions 23, 25).
Sadly, we find forgiveness hard to dispense―especially for repeated offenses! St. Peter probably had the same problem: “Then came Peter unto Jesus and said: ‘Lord, how often shall my brother offend against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?’ Jesus said to him: ‘I say you not just seven times; but seventy times seven times!” (Matthew 18:21-22). We would even have a major problem forgiving seven times―never mind seventy times seven times! We find ourselves angry and raging and shouting after only one or two times! Yet Scripture says: “Be slow to speak and slow to anger! For the anger of man works not the justice of God!” (James 1:19-20). “Revenge is Mine, and I will repay them in due time!” says God (Deuteronomy 32:35). “Revenge not yourselves, my dearly beloved; but put away your anger, for it is written: ‘Revenge is Mine, I will repay!’ says the Lord” (Romans 12:19). Our reply to will most likely be: “Well hurry up, then!!!”
Article 2
Ash Wednesday, February 18th
Do You Have a Black Mark Against Your Name, or on Your Forehead?
Ash Wednesday, February 18th
Do You Have a Black Mark Against Your Name, or on Your Forehead?
Back to Black!
We often think of black as being a color―but black isn’t a primary, secondary, or tertiary color. In fact, black isn’t on the color wheel because it isn’t considered a color. It’s all colors. Or rather, the absorption of all colors. Black absorbs all light in the color spectrum.
In electrics, the red wire is positive; the black wire is negative. Black conjures up all kinds of contradictory, opposing, mutually incompatible, contradictory and confusing notions and thoughts! Black is good and black is bad! Black can meaning having credit or it can mean losing all credit! Black is seen as both beautiful and ugly!
Black is associated with a number of positive qualities and characteristics. For example, some common associations with the color black is associated include: Authority; Elegance; Formality; Intelligence; Power; Prestige; Sophistication. Black is often described as strong and elegant. Black oozes sophistication. That’s why many people wear black clothing when attending a fancy or formal event. The color black has long been associated with power and prestige―as seen from priests to civil judges.
However, many use the color black to symbolize all things negative. Throughout history, this somber color has been tied to death and all things evil and bad. It evokes strong feelings of anger, aggression, fear, and sadness. The connection between black and negativity is probably most clearly seen in our language. Just consider these commonly used expressions: Black Monday. Black Plague. Black Death. Blacklist. Black sheep. Black magic. Blackball. Blackhole. Black-hearted. Black mood. Black sheep. Blackmail. Black market. Blackout. The list could go on. Nothing says “bad guy” quite like the color black. Black has a sinister note to it. Though black is worn (and often preferred) by people from all walks of society, it is often seen as the stereotypical color for criminals and villains―with shady movie and TV show characters almost always wearing black?
Holy Scripture gives us both positive and negative notions of black: “I am black, but beautiful” (Canticles 1:4) is positive, whereas “My skin is become black upon me, and my bones are dried up with heat!” (Job 30:30) is negative. In the Bible, the color black is often associated with darkness, suffering, and blindness―especially spiritual blindness. Black often symbolizes shadow or darkness―an absence of light. God clearly uses light and darkness in His creation. Originally, the entire world was created in darkness, but then God created light―and Christ says that He is the light of the world (John 9:5).
The Church uses both ideas of black―the positive and the negative. Traditionally, priests and clerics will wear black clothes―cassock, shirt, jacket, trousers, etc. Many religious orders also incorporate black attire―either entirely (Benedictines, Jesuits) or partially (Dominicans, Cistercians). Many religious books―breviaries, missals for the laity, bibles―have black covers. The majority of the text in these (and even most secular books) is black. We even have what is called the “Black Fast” ― which entails going without any kind of food and water all day long until after sunset―and then having a limited meal (not gorging oneself).
Holy Mother Church blesses ashes on Ash Wednesday and thus elevates them to the rank of being a Sacramental. Most of the ashes used on Ash Wednesday are very black―as opposed to the more commonly found grey ashes. The ashes are typically supposed to be made from the previous year’s Palm Sunday palm leaves. To get the good black ash, you cannot just burn them. You have to let them smolder with no oxygen, and that is how it gets the real charcoal black appearance.
Let Those Ashes Sink Into Your Head!
While you are still walking around with ashes on your forehead, there are a few thoughts about ashes that you might like to put into your head! There is more to ash than meets the eye—hopefully no ash fell into your eye this Ash Wednesday! Let’s “hash-out” some ash details that might make us better appreciate the wisdom of God’s Providence in arranging for ashes to be smeared on our foreheads! You will see that your ash can turn to cash—or at least 'spiritual cash'!
Ash is the residue, or solid remains, of burned plant parts like bark, wood, sawdust, leaves, woody debris, pulp, husk, hulls, fronds, and other plant debris. This brings to mind the idea of sacrifice—especially burnt offerings—where the things of this world were destroyed by fire as an act of adoration, submission or reparation to God. All that would remain of someone’s treasures belongings would be ash!
Ash also reminds us that, one day, we too will be burnt-out and have to die—this is poignant message given to us by Holy Mother Church, when She smears ash on our forehead, saying: “Remember man, that thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return!”
Ashes, from this perspective, also teach us humility—for ashes, at least in their appearance, are very humble and far from being desired. Whoever heard of anyone collecting ashes? Or hoarding ashes? Gold and silver—yes, but ashes, most certainly no!
Medicinal Ashes
However, for all their humble appearance, ashes are far from being useless! Ash is good for physical health, just as humility is good for spiritual health. Ash has been used for soil liming and for traditional pest control to some crawling pests. This reminds of the many sinful pests that crawl about our soul—the imposition of blessed ashes symbolizes the penance that can get rid of those sinful pests! Also, like soap, ash is also a disinfecting agent (alkaline). Even the World Health Organization recommends ash as alternative to soap, when soap is not available. Doesn’t our soul need DiSINfecting too? The ashes, having been blessed, are a sacramental—therefore an avenue to and a source of actual graces that can help diSINfect the soul!
You can make lye water out of ash. Lye water is a great cleaning agent and sanitizer for clothes, floors, windows, silverware, plates, and even rust in marble. Tossing a bit of wood ash into your dirty skillet will produce enough lye (and friction) to get your camp skillets good and clean. Some people even use it raw as soap. Our ancestors learned to make lye, a caustic cleaning agent, at least 5000 years ago by running water through wood ashes, eventually learning to combine it with animal fats and water to make soap. Some hardy folks still do. Holy Mother Church has added ash to us, at the start of Lent, in the hope that we use it to clean and sanitize our souls!
Stain Removing Ashes
Sodium Carbonate, can be made out of ash. It is known to be an excellent product, used as household cleaner. A paste made out of ash and water, can remove stains from furniture. Or if we want to remove a stain from clothes the moment they happen, we add a bit of ash and after about five minutes, we rub it with the crumb of a bread—not the crust, but the soft white bit. This teaches us to do penance (ash is a symbol of penance) immediately after committing a sin—in this way we can reduce the stain of sin upon the soul and lessen its damage!
Stench Remover
Ash is a great odor repellent, just add a bit over the area that smells, for example the cat kitty litter. You can also remove odors from a fridge, by adding a plate of charcoal ash inside. Keep changing the charcoal periodically until the smell is gone. With regard to odors of the mouth, you can use it to brush your teeth. Not all woods are suitable. Conifer trees produce ash that is softer on the enamel. Some woods contain harsh minerals that may damage your teeth. Likewise, the stench of sin can be removed by penance—that is what Lent is for, and that is why the Church has placed ashes upon us!
Helps Growth
Ash was used for many years in farming. It recycles the natural nutrients back into the earth. It can be used as compost but does not include nitrogen. It aids in the increase of the earth’s PH level, which, in return, aids in the growth of the plants. But not all vegetables and fruit thrive from it, for example potatoes. Similarly, not all people profit from penance. They may do it for the wrong motives, or without any sorrow, contrition or compunction for their sins.
Ash strengthens plants that love calcium, such as tomatoes, vineyards, beans, spinach, peas, avocados, garlic, etc. Even rose bushes. This reminds of the spiritual advice that says: “Pray is good, but prayer is more powerful when penance is added to it!” Or, as Holy Scripture says: “Prayer is good with fasting and alms” (Tobias 12:8).
Animals and Pests Hate Ash
Animals hate ash. You can rid your garden of insects and various parasites, such as slugs and snails. You can rid yourself of ants. If you throw some ash in their colony, they will be forced to relocate, as they can’t move the ash. Spread some ash in the corners of the house, or dark spots of your cellar, etc. For as long as there is ash, no mice, rats, cockroaches or insects approach. It repels lice, ticks and fleas off animals. You make a thick paste of ash and vinegar and spread over the fur. It’s messy, but it works. It repels clothes moths. You can add some ash on your stored clothes, and simply shake it off when you need to use them. You can leave them for years this way, and nothing will happen to them. Likewise, the devil hates penance! As Our Lord said: “But this kind [of devil] is not cast out but by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:20).
Nature’s Filter
The charcoal collected within the ash, can be used as a filter. You can use charcoal to filter blurry wine. You can use charcoal to filter water before drinking. Our spiritual life is in grave need of a filter these days—there is so much out there that can either weaken or even destroy the grace in souls. Penance helps filter out the “bad-stuff”!
Ash Food Preservative
No fridge? No worries! You can preserve your fruits and vegetables for many days, months, even years, by digging a hole in the ground and filling it with ash. Add your veggies and fruit, ensuring enough space between them, so that they do not touch each other, or the muddy ground. Seal the hole with a piece of wood, and then let them be. In the older days, they used to preserve seeds in large clay containers, by adding a thick layer of ash over them. This prevented insects from destroying their produce. Ash is used for “immortal eggs”. In a recipe used in the Middle East, they preserve eggs in a mix of clay, ash, salt, lime and rice rind for many months. Penance likewise preserves our souls and virtues from corruption. Cover yourself with penances and seal the soul with the wood of the Cross and you shall be preserved!
Fire Extinguisher
You can put a fire out quickly by throwing ash over it. Similarly, you can put out the fires of your many and varied passions by throwing penance over them! Whereas indulging your passions is like throwing gasoline onto a fire! You can look upon the ashes of penance as being your fire-extinguisher for the fires of Purgatory or Hell—for if we do penance for our sins in this world, we shall not have to suffer for them in the next!
Extinguishing the Fire of Passion and Sin
The Lenten ashes imposed upon our foreheads on Ash Wednesday in part symbolize the need to extinguish the fires of our passions that ultimately ignite the fires of sin. “The tongue is a little member [of the body] and boasts great things. Behold how small a fire kindles a great wood! The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue defiles the whole body!” (James 3:5-6). How can we tame our passions? By prayer and fasting! Our Lord, speaking of how the Apostles failed to cast out a demon from a boy, said: “This kind is not cast out but by prayer and fasting!” (Matthew 17:20). St. John Vianney said: “The devil is not greatly afraid of the discipline and other instruments of penance. That which beats him is the curtailment of one’s food and drink!”
Old Testament Practice
Fasting was, in the Old Testament, one of the great means of making atonement for sin; it was called “to afflict the soul.” However, for fasting to be acceptable to God, it had to be accompanied by sentiments of sorrow for sin and mercy towards others. Otherwise it would be hypocritical to seek mercy for oneself while not extending mercy to others―for you want God to show you the mercy that you refuse to show to others!
True and Fake Fasting
“Why have we fasted, and Thou hast not regarded: have we humbled our souls, and Thou hast not taken notice? The Lord replies: ‘Behold in the day of your fast your own will is found, and you exact of all your debtors! Behold you fast for debates and strife, and strike with the fist wickedly! Do not fast as you have done until this day, to make your cry to be heard on high. Is this such a fast as I have chosen―for a man to afflict his soul [just] for a day? Is this it―to wind his head about like a circle, and to spread sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord? Is not this rather the fast that I have chosen? That you loosen the bands of wickedness; undo the bundles that oppress; let them that are broken go free; and break asunder every burden. Give your bread to the hungry, and bring the needy and the homeless into your house; when you shalt see someone naked, cover him; and despise not thy own flesh!’” (Isaias 58:3-7).
We see true sorrow in Nineve, where the prophet Jonas delivered God’s threats of destruction to the inhabitants: “Jonas began to enter into the city one day’s journey: and he cried, and said: ‘Yet forty days, and Ninive shall be destroyed!’ And the men of Ninive believed in God: and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least. And the word came to the king of Ninive; and he rose up out of his throne, and cast away his robe from him, and was clothed with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published in Ninive from the mouth of the king and of his princes, saying: ‘Let neither men nor beasts, oxen nor sheep, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water! And let men and beasts be covered with sackcloth, and cry to the Lord with all their strength, and let them turn everyone from his evil way, and from the iniquity that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn, and forgive: and will turn away from His fierce anger, and we shall not perish?’ And God saw their works, that they were turned from their evil way: and God had mercy with regard to the evil which He had said that He would do to them, and He did it not.” (Jonas 3:4-10).
Fasting in the New Testament
In the New Testament, fasting is seen as an earnest act of grief and of penance. The Apostles do not fast as long as the Bridegroom is with them, but they will fast when He is gone (Matthew 9:14-15), Our Lord, wishing to expiate our sins, fasted forty days and forty nights, and taught His Apostles that certain evil spirits cannot be cast out except by prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:20). St. Paul was so alive to the necessity of mortifying the flesh that he punished it severely in order to escape sin and final reprobation: “I chastise my body and bring it into subjection” (1 Corinthians 9:27).
The Church and Fasting
True to His teachings, the Church has established the Lenten Fast, that of the Vigils and of the Ember Days (now sadly discarded) to offer her children the opportunity of making expiation for their faults. Some religious orders would fast almost all year round, except for major feast days and Sundays.
Already mentioned in passing, further above, we have the “Black Fast.” Traditionally, the Black Fast is undertaken during Lent. This form of fasting, the most rigorous in the history of Church legislation, was marked by austerity regarding both the quantity and quality of food permitted on fasting days as well as the time of day wherein such food might be legitimately taken.
● More than one meal was strictly prohibited.
● At this meal flesh meat, eggs, butter, cheese, and milk were forbidden.
● To these restrictions abstinence from wine was added during Lent.
● During Holy Week the meal was much more frugal and consisted of solely of bread, salt, herbs, and water.
● Finally, this meal was not allowed until sunset.
The days of Lent as well as those preceding priestly and clerical ordination were marked by the black fast. This regime continued until the tenth century when the more easy-going custom of taking the only meal of the day at three o’clock was introduced. In the fourteenth century the hour of taking this meal was changed to noon. Shortly afterwards the practice of taking an additional small meal in the evening began to gain ground. Finally, the custom of taking a crust of bread and some coffee in the morning was introduced in the early part of the nineteenth century. Since then, owing to ever changing circumstances of time and place, the Church has gradually relaxed the severity of penitential requirements, so that now little more than a symbolic trace of the former rigorous fast remains.
In 1966, after the Second Vatican Council, POPE PAUL VI, in his Apostolic Constitution Paenitemini, further changed the Catholic fasting requirements. He recommended that fasting be appropriate to the local economic situation, and that all Catholics voluntarily fast and abstain. The Lenten Fast was reduced from an obligatory 40 Days to a mere 2 Days (Ash Wednesday and Good Friday) ― which is a 95% discount! You would think that in these ever increasingly sinful modern times we would need more penance rather than less penance! Pope Paul VI’s recommendation that all Catholics voluntarily (rather than obligatorily) fast and abstain, has been a total disaster―hardly anybody fasts the 40 days voluntarily, as everyone takes the easy way out! “It is no longer a sin to refuse to fast, so I will not fast!” is the attitude of most Catholics.
Many a sin takes its rise directly or indirectly in the craving for pleasure, in excess in eating and drinking, and nothing is so effective in making atonement as mortification in eating, reaching as it does the very root of the evil by mortifying the craving for sensual pleasure. This is why the Saints have made a practice, of fasting even outside the seasons appointed by the Church. Generous Christian souls imitate them and, if they cannot keep the strict fast, forego some food at each meal in order thus to curb their sensuality. If we fail in this, we will, before very long, experience the rebellion of the flesh.
THE CATECHISM OF THE COUNCIL OF TRENT says: “All kinds of satisfaction are reducible to three heads: prayer, fasting and alms-deeds, which correspond to three kinds of goods which we have received from God; those of the soul, those of the body and what are called external goods. Nothing can be more effectual in uprooting all sin from the soul than these three kinds of satisfaction. For since whatever is in the world is the concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life, everyone can see that to these three causes of disease are opposed also three remedies.
“To the first is opposed fasting; to the second, alms-deeds; to the third, prayer. Moreover, if we consider those whom our sins injure, we shall easily perceive why all kinds of satisfaction are reduced especially to these three. For those (we offend by our sins) are: God, our neighbor and ourselves. God we appease by prayer, our neighbor we satisfy by alms, and ourselves we chastise by fasting. [...]
“This triple remedy was, therefore, appointed by God to aid man in the attainment of salvation. For by sin we offend God, wrong our neighbor, or injure ourselves. The wrath of God we appease by pious prayer; our offenses against man we redeem by alms-deeds; the stains of our own lives we wash away by fasting. [...] Fasting is most intimately connected with prayer. For the mind of one who is filled with food and drink is so borne down as not to be able to raise itself to the contemplation of God, or even to understand what prayer means.” (The Catechism of the Council of Trent).
THE BALTIMORE CATECHISM adds: “The chief means by which we satisfy God for the temporal punishment due to sin are: Prayer, Fasting, Almsgiving, all spiritual and corporal works of mercy, and the patient suffering of the ills of life.”
In more recent times, even the Liberal POPE BENEDICT XVI, in a general address for Lent in 2009, again emphasized the need to restore fasting back to its proper place, “so that the authentic and perennial significance of this long held practice may be rediscovered.”
The Saints and Fasting
Regarding mortification, ST. JOHN VIANNEY once said, “The devil is not greatly afraid of the discipline and other instruments of penance. That which beats him is the curtailment of one’s food, drink and sleep. There is nothing the devil fears more, consequently, nothing is more pleasing to God. Oh! How often have I experienced it! Whilst I was alone—and I was alone during eight or nine years, and therefore quite free to yield to my attraction—it happened at times that I refrained from food for entire days. On those occasions I obtained, both for myself and for others, whatsoever I asked of Almighty God.”
ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM says: “Do you fast? Give me proof of it by your works…Let the hands fast, by being free of avarice. Let the feet fast, by ceasing to run after sin. Let the eye fast, by disciplining them not to glare at that which is sinful. Let the ear fast, by not listening to evil talk and gossip. Let the mouth fast from foul words and criticism. For what good is it if we abstain from fowl and fishes, but bite and devour one another?”
ST. PETER CHRYSOLOGUS tells us: “Fasting is the soul of prayer, mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. Let no one try to separate them; they cannot be separated. If you have only one of them or not all together, you have nothing. So if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of others. When you fast, see the fasting of others.”
The chief reasons for fasting are listed by ST. THOMAS AQUINAS: “For we fast for three purposes: (1) to restrain the desires of the flesh; (2) to raise the mind to contemplate sublime things; (3) to make satisfaction for our sins. These are good and noble things, and so fasting is virtuous.”
Whereas ST. FRANCIS DE SALES says: “God has given us the goods of the Earth, not only that we may enjoy them, but also that we may have the means of … showing him our love by the voluntary renunciation of His gifts, and by the oblation of them to His glory. To abandon, for God’s sake, all worldly enjoyments, has always been the practice of holy souls.”
Yet the motive behind fasting can be both good and evil—it can be done out of pride, to show off; or it can be done in a way that it should be done—with contrition and compunction for our sins, and out of love and in a spirit of humility.
In The Spiritual Life, FR. TANQUEREY writes: “Even among devout souls there are those who err as to the true nature of perfection, and who describe it, each according to the caprice of his own bias and fancy. Many, mistaking devotions for devotion, imagine perfection to consist in reciting a great number of prayers, in joining sundry religious societies, even if such practices entail the occasional neglect of their duties of state or of the charity due to the other members of the household. This is a substitution of non-essentials for the necessary, a sacrifice of the end to the means.
“Others give themselves to fasting and austerities, which lead to the exhaustion of the body, and thus become unfit for the discharge of their duties of state and consider themselves dispensed therefore from the law of charity toward their neighbor. They dare not permit themselves any little dainties, yet they do not hesitate ‘to drench their lips with the life-blood of their fellow-men through calumny and slander’ (St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, Part 1, ch. 1). Here again one forgets the essentials of perfection and neglects the fundamental duty of charity, in favor of practices, good indeed, but far less important. The like mistake is made by those who give generously to charity, but refuse to forgive their enemies, or those who, whilst forgiving them, think not of paying their debts.
“Some, taking spiritual consolations for fervor, think they have arrived at perfection if they are filled with joy and can pray with ease, and they consider themselves lukewarm when they are seized by aridity and distractions. Such persons forget that what counts before God is the generous, oft-renewed effort despite apparent failures.
“Others, taken up by a life of action and external activities, neglect the interior life to give themselves more entirely to works of zeal. They forget that the life and soul of all zeal is habitual prayer which draws down the grace of God and gives fruitfulness to action.
“Others, having read mystical works or the lives of the Saints in which ecstasies and visions are described, fancy perfection to consist in these extraordinary phenomena and strain their minds and imaginations to obtain them. They have never understood that such phenomena are, as the mystics themselves testify, but incidental; that they do not constitute the essence of sanctity and that it is foolhardy to covet them.
“Summing up the doctrine of the essence of perfection according to Holy Scripture and of the Fathers of the Church, St. Thomas answers that perfection essentially consists in the love of God and of one’s neighbor for God’s sake. ‘Essentially the perfection of the Christian life consists in charity first and foremost in the love of God, then in the love of one’s neighbor’ (Summa Theologica, 1a 2ae, q. 3, art 1).” (Fr. Tanquerey. The Spiritual Life).
Article 1
Tuesday, February 17th, Eve of Ash Wednesday
Ashen Faced with Ash on Face!
Tuesday, February 17th, Eve of Ash Wednesday
Ashen Faced with Ash on Face!
Ashen-Faced
Murder is one of the greatest crimes we can commit―and it would normally have a “death-sentence” imposed upon anyone who murders another person. When that murderer is finally caught, tried and found guilty in court and is then sentenced by judge to the death penalty, the criminal will sometimes appear “ashen-faced.” Someone who is “ashen-faced” looks extremely pale, drained of color and pallid, especially, because they are shocked or terrified.
This Ash Wednesday we should also be “ashen-faced” by the ash on our face, because we likewise have committed the greatest evil in the world―MORTAL SIN. The word “mortal” means death―coming from Latin words mors and mortis. Mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man ― “God is charity” (1 John 4:8) ― by a grave violation of God’s law; it turns man away from God, Who is meant to be man’s ultimate end and beatitude. Mortal sin sentences a person eternal damnation in Hell―like a death sentence of sorts, except that in Hell a person never dies, but is eternally tortured―most certainly wishing for death, but never being allowed to die throughout the tortures.
Sometimes, murderers think that what they did was “no-big-deal” ― much like a woman aborting one child after another. Many people have the same false idea about mortal sins ― “What’s the big deal? Everyone is doing it!” Yet in their blindness they fail to realize that almost everyone is going to Hell! Mortal sin is a “big-deal”―in fact, it is “the biggest deal” of all. Our Catechisms tell us that: “Sin is the only evil upon Earth … Mortal sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, poverty, or war, because it separates us from God … Mortal sin must be a most terrible thing indeed to make a just and merciful God create Hell for the everlasting punishment of the rebellious angels and of sinners who die with even only one mortal sin … Venial sin is a less serious offense against the law of God … We are prone to look upon venial sin as of no consequence, and to be careless about guarding against it, forgetting that it is second only in evil consequences to mortal sin. In Holy Scripture we see from many examples how God regards venial sin; even in this life He has punished it most severely. For only a slight doubt about God’s mercy, because of the wickedness of his people, Moses was punished [by death on the borders of the Promised Land and] ― he was not permitted to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land” (The Catechism Explained, by Spirago-Clarke; also the Catechism, My Catholic Faith, by Bishop Morrow, STD).
Holy Scripture―in many places―repeatedly tells us of the evil of mortal sin and the evil consequences it brings: “Do not bind sin to sin―for even in one sin thou shalt not go unpunished!” (Ecclesiasticus 7:8). “Our God is so offended with sins, that He will deliver the people up [to chastisements] for their sins! … He will repay them for their sins!” (Judith 11:8, 15). “He will remember their iniquities and visit their sins!” (Jeremias 14:10). “In the day of revenge I will visit this sin also of theirs!” (Exodus 32:34). “I will visit their iniquities with a rod, and their sins with stripes!” (Psalm 88:33). “They have received, from the hand of the Lord, double for all their sins!” (Isaias 40:2). “The wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23). “The sting of death is sin” (1 Corinthians 15:56). “Sin has reigned to death!” (Romans 5:21). “Sin, when it is completed, begets death!” (James 1:15). “Everyone shall die for his own sin!” (Deuteronomy 24:16). “Every man shall die for his own sin!” (2 Paralipomenon 25:4). “If the just man shall turn away from his justice and shall commit iniquity … then he shall die, he shall die in his sin!” (Ezechiel 3:20). “The soul that sins, the same shall die! … If the just man turn himself away from his justice, and do iniquity ― shall he live? All his justices which he hath done, shall not be remembered, and in his sins, which he has committed, in them he shall die!” (Ezechiel 18:4 & 20 & 24). “Sin shall be destroyed with the sinner” (Ecclesiasticus 27:3).
Neglect of Penance Leads to Loss of Souls
Speaking to Venerable Mary of Agreda, concerning the Baptism of Christ and the penance He had done beforehand, in the desert, for forty-days and nights, Our Lady said: ”Corporal penances are so appropriate and fitted to mortal creatures. The ignorance of this truth and the neglect and contempt of bodily mortification, cause the loss of many souls and bring many more into the danger of eternal loss. The first reason—why men should afflict their body and mortify their flesh—is their having been conceived in sin. By this Original Sin human nature is depraved, filled with passions, rebellious to reason, inclined to evil and adverse to the spirit. If the soul allows itself to be carried away by them, it will be precipitated by the first vice into many others. But if this beastly flesh is curbed by mortification and penance, it loses its strength and acknowledges the authority of the spirit and the light of truth.
Everyone Has Sinned—Everyone Needs Penance
“The second reason is that none of the mortals have altogether avoided sinning against God; and the punishment and retribution must inevitably correspond to the guilt, either in this life or the next―therefore, as the soul commits sin in union with the body, it follows that both of them must be punished. The interior sorrow is not sufficient for atonement, if the flesh seeks to evade the punishment corresponding to the guilt. Moreover, the debt is so great and the satisfaction that can be given by the creature so limited and scanty, that there remains continual uncertainty whether the Judge is satisfied―even after the exertions of a whole lifetime of penance―hence, the soul should find no rest in doing penance to the end its life.
“Even though divine clemency is so generous with men, that, if they try to satisfy for their sins by penance, as far as their limited capacity goes, God remits their offenses and, in addition thereto, has promised the guilty ones new gifts and graces and eternal rewards. Yet His faithful and prudent servants, who really love their Lord, are constrained voluntarily to add other penances; for the debtor who merely wishes to do what he is obliged to and adds nothing of his own freewill, certainly pays his debts, but will remain poor and destitute, if after payment of his debts nothing remains. What then are those to expect, who neither pay nor make any efforts towards paying?
Our Lord and Our Lady—Though Innocent—Did Penance
“The third reason for bodily mortification, and the most urgent one, is the duty of Christians to imitate their divine Teacher and Master. Moreover, my divine Son and I―without being guilty of any faults, or bad inclinations―devoted ourselves to labors and made our lives a continual practice of penance and mortification of the flesh. It was thus that the Lord saw fit to attain the glory of His body and of His holy name, and He wished me to follow Him in all things.
“If We then pursued such a course of life, because it was reasonable, what must be thought of mortals that seek nothing but sweetness and delight, and abhor all penances, affronts, ignominies, fasting and mortification? Shall then only Christ, our Lord, and I suffer all these hardships, while the guilt-laden debtors and deservers of all these punishments, throw themselves head over heels into the filth of their carnal inclinations? Shall they employ their faculties, given to them for the service of Christ, my Lord, and for His following, merely in dancing attendance on their lusts and the devil, who has introduced evil into the world? This absurd position―maintained by the children of Adam―is the cause of great indignation in the just Judge.
Our Lord Atoned—But Did Not Dispense From Penance
“It is true that by the bodily afflictions and mortifications of my most blessed Son, the defects and deficiencies of human merits have been atoned for; and that He wished me―as a mere creature and as one taking the place of other creatures―to cooperate with Him most perfectly and exactly all in His penances and exercises. But this was not in order to exempt men from the practice of penance, but in order to encourage them to it―for in order merely to save them, it was not necessary to suffer so much.
“Our blessed Savior, as a true Father and Brother, wished also to enhance the labors and penances of those who were to follow in His footsteps―for the efforts of creatures are of little value, in the eyes of God, unless they are made precious by the merits of Christ. If this is true of works which are entirely virtuous and perfect, then how much more is it true of those which are infected with so many faults and deficiencies, even in the greatest acts of virtue, as ordinarily performed by the children of Adam? For in the works of even the most spiritual and virtuous persons, many deficiencies occur. These deficiencies are made good by the merits of Christ, our Lord, so that the works of men may become acceptable to the eternal Father.
Woe to Those Who Neglect Penance
“But those who neglect good works and remain altogether idle, can by no means expect to apply to themselves the good works of Christ―for they have in themselves nothing that can be perfected by the works of Christ, but only such things as deserve condemnation.
“I do not speak now of the damnable error of some of the faithful, who have introduced, into the works of penance, the sensuality and vanity of the world, so that they merit greater punishment for their penance than for their sins, since they foster, in their penances, vain and imperfect purposes and forget the supernatural ends of penance, which alone give value to penance and life to the soul.
“Deplore this blindness and labor with great zeal―for if your labors were even as great as that of the Apostles, Martyrs, Confessors, they would be no greater than they should be. Chastise your body with ever greater severity, and remember that you are deficient in many things, while you only have a short life―and are so weak and incapable of repaying your debts!” (Our Lady to Venerable Mary of Agreda, The Mystical City of God).
The Mark of the Beast and the Mark of the Lord
Receiving the Sign of the Cross on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday should make us think of the passages in Holy Scripture which speak of two kinds of marks on the forehead―the Mark or Sign of the Lord; and the Mark or Sign of the Beast.
► THE MARK OF THE LORD : The mark on the forehead is like the blood that the Israelites smeared on the doorposts at the coming of the “Passover” of the Lord while they were slaves in Egypt: “I am the Lord! Take of the blood of the lamb and put it upon both the side posts, and on the upper door posts of the houses … It is the Phase (that is the Passage) of the Lord. And I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and will kill every firstborn in the land of Egypt―both man and beast―and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments! I am the Lord! And the blood shall be unto you for a sign in the houses where you shall be: and I shall see the blood, and shall pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I shall strike the land of Egypt!” (Exodus 12:7-13).
Similarly, in speaking of the “End-Times” or “Last-Days” of the world―which Our Lady of Fatima revealed have already started―Holy Scripture, in the Book of the Apocalypse, speaks: “I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the sign of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the Earth and the sea, saying: ‘Hurt not the Earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, until we sign the servants of our God in their foreheads!’” (Apocalypse 7:2-3). The ashes we receive on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday, should remind of these things―as well as inspire us to draw closer to Christ and His Cross, and draw further away from the world and its pleasures―hence the fasting, abstinence and general penance of Lent.
► THE MARK OF THE BEAST : Being marked with the Sign of the Cross upon our foreheads also reminds us of the so-called “Mark of the Beast” that Holy Scripture speaks about: “I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten diadems, and upon his heads names of blasphemy. And the beast, which I saw, was like to a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his own strength, and great power. And I saw one of his heads, as it were, slain to death and his death’s wound was healed. And all the Earth was in admiration of the beast. And they adored the dragon, which gave power to the beast; and they adored the beast, saying: ‘Who is like to the beast? And who shall be able to fight with him?’ And there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies―and power was given to him to do two and forty months. And he opened his mouth unto blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His Name, and His Tabernacle, and them that dwell in Heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And power was given him over every tribe, and people, and tongue, and nation. And all that dwell upon the Earth, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb, adored him who was slain from the beginning of the world.
“And I saw another beast coming up out of the Earth, and he had two horns, like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon. And he executed all the power of the former beast in his sight. And he caused the Earth, and them that dwell therein, to adore the first beast, whose wound to death was healed. And he did great signs, so that he made also fire to come down from the sky unto the Earth in the sight of men. Through the signs, which were given him to do in the sight of the beast, he seduced them that dwell on the Earth, saying to them that dwell on the Earth that they should make the image of the beast, which had the wound by the sword and lived. And it was given him to give life to the image of the beast, and that the image of the beast should speak; and should cause, that whosoever will not adore the image of the beast, should be slain. And he shall make all, both little and great, rich and poor, freemen and bondmen, to have a character in their right hand, or on their foreheads. And that no man might buy or sell, but only he that has the character, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. He that has understanding, let him count the number of the beast. For it is the number of a man―and the number of him is six hundred sixty-six.” (Apocalypse 13:1-18).
“And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice: ‘If any man shall adore the beast and his image, and receive his character in his forehead, or in his hand; then he also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mingled with pure wine in the cup of His wrath, and shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the sight of the holy angels, and in the sight of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torments shall ascend up for ever and ever―neither have they rest day nor night, who have adored the beast and his image, and whoever received the character of his name!’” (Apocalypse 14:9-11).
Two Sides―One War―No Spectators
The above passages paint a clear picture of two diametrically opposed sides―Heaven versus Hell; Christ versus Satan. You could add to that Our Lady versus Satan, due to God’s prophecy to Satan after he had tempted Adam and Eve into committing the Original Sin: “And the Lord God said to the serpent: ‘Because thou hast done this thing, thou art cursed among all cattle, and beasts of the Earth! Upon thy breast shalt thou go, and earth shalt thou eat all the days of thy life! I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed! She shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel!’” (Genesis 3:14-15).
Hence, from the beginning of the world, war was declared and it has never ceased to this day, with “your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour!” (1 Peter 5:8). That is why “the life of man upon Earth is a warfare” (Job 7:1) and you must “fight the good fight of Faith and lay hold on eternal life, whereunto you are called!” (1 Timothy 6:12). Therefore, “put on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places. Therefore take unto you the armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and to stand in all things perfect!” (Ephesians 6:11-13).
There are no spectators in this war―which is what Our Lady of Fatima revealed to Sister Lucia: “The Devil is engaging in a battle with the Virgin, a decisive battle. It is a final battle where one side will be victorious and the other will suffer defeat. So, from now on, we are either with God, or we are with the Devil―there is no middle ground!”
This season of Lent is yet another battle in the war against Satan and the world―of which he is the prince (John 14:30). “Shall your brethren go to fight, and will you just sit here?” (Numbers 32:6). Make no mistake about it―you are called to the fight! It does not matter whether you are young or old―a child of 7 or an old-age pensioner of 77. Man or woman; healthy or sick; rich or poor; educated or uneducated; full of courage or cowardice; full of zeal or full of excuse; whether you want to or not―you are called to the fight!
Mary and Her Children versus Satan and His Followers
The words of St. Louis de Montfort, from his book True Devotion to Mary, are a most fitting meditation for all of us in this battle of Lent: “It is principally of these last and cruel persecutions of the devil, which shall go on increasing daily till the reign of Antichrist, that we ought to understand that first and celebrated prediction and curse of God, pronounced in the terrestrial paradise, against the serpent. It is to our purpose to explain this here―for the glory of the most holy Virgin, for the salvation of her children and for the confusion of the devil: ‘I will put enmities between thee and the woman and thy seed and her seed; she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel!’ (Genesis 3:15).
“God has never made and formed but one enmity; but it is an irreconcilable one, which shall endure and grow even to the end. It is between Mary, His worthy Mother, and the devil—between the children and the servants of the Blessed Virgin, and the children and tools of Lucifer. The most terrible of all the enemies, which God has set up against the devil, is His holy Mother Mary. He has inspired her, even since the days of the earthly paradise—though she existed then only in His idea—with so much hatred against that cursed enemy of God, with so much ingenuity in unveiling the malice of that ancient serpent, with so much power to conquer, to overthrow and to crush that proud, impious rebel, that he fears her, not only more than all angels and men, but in a sense more than God Himself. Not that the anger, the hatred and the power of God are not infinitely greater than those of the Blessed Virgin―for the perfections of Mary are limited―but first, because Satan, being proud, suffers infinitely more from being beaten and punished by a little and humble handmaid of God, and her humility humbles him more than the divine power; and secondly, because God has given Mary such great power against the devils that—as they have often been obliged to confess, in spite of themselves, by the mouths of the possessed—they fear one of her sighs for a soul more than the prayers of all the saints, and one of her threats against them more than all other torments.
“What Lucifer has lost by pride, Mary has gained by humility. What Eve has damned and lost by disobedience, Mary has saved by obedience. Eve, in obeying the serpent, has destroyed all her children together with herself, and has delivered them to him; Mary, in being perfectly faithful to God, has saved all her children and servants together with herself, and has consecrated them to His Majesty.
“ God has not only set an enmity, but enmities, not simply between Mary and the devil, but between the race of the holy Virgin and the race of the devil; that is to say, God has set enmities, antipathies and secret hatreds between the true children and servants of Mary and the children and slaves of the devil. They have no love for each other. They have no sympathy for each other. The children of Belial, the slaves of Satan, the friends of the world (for it is the same thing) have always, up to this time, persecuted those who belong to our Blessed Lady, and will, in the future, persecute them more than ever; just as Cain, of old, persecuted his brother Abel, and Esau his brother Jacob―who are the figures of the reprobate and the predestinate. But the humble Mary will always have the victory over that proud spirit, and so great a victory that she will go so far as to crush his head, where his pride dwells. She will always discover the malice of the serpent. She will always lay bare his infernal plots and dissipate his diabolical councils, and even to the end of time will guard her faithful servants from his cruel claw.
“But the power of Mary over all the devils will especially shine forth in the latter times, when Satan will lay his snares against her heel: that is to say, her humble slaves and her poor children, whom she will raise up to make war against him. They shall be little and poor in the world’s esteem, and abased before all like the heel, trodden underfoot and persecuted as the heel is by the other members of the body. But, in return for this, they shall be rich in the grace of God, which Mary shall distribute to them abundantly. They shall be great and exalted before God in sanctity, superior to all other creatures by their lively zeal, and so well sustained with God’s assistance that, with the humility of their heel, in union with Mary, they shall crush the head of the devil and cause Jesus Christ to triumph.” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary, §51 to §54).
Our Lady echoes the above passages at La Salette, when she speaks of her future battle against Satan (which has now begun): “I make an urgent appeal to the Earth! I call on the true disciples of the living God who reigns in Heaven! I call on the true followers of Christ made man, the only true Savior of men! I call on my children, the true faithful, those who have given themselves to me, so that I may lead them to my divine Son, those whom I carry in my arms, so to speak, those who have lived on my spirit! Finally, I call on the Apostles of the Last Days, the faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, who have lived in scorn for the world and for themselves, in poverty and in humility, in scorn and in silence, in prayer and in mortification, in chastity and in union with God, in suffering and unknown to the world! It is time they came out and filled the world with light! Go and reveal yourselves to be my cherished children! I am at your side and within you, provided that your Faith is the light which shines upon you in these unhappy days! May your zeal make you famished for the glory and the honor of Jesus Christ! Fight, children of light, you, the few who can see! For now is the time of all times, the end of all ends! … But the children of the holy Church, the children of my Faith, my true followers, they will grow in their love for God and in all the virtues most precious to me. Blessed are the souls humbly guided by the Holy Ghost! I shall fight at their side!”
Are you up for the fight? Or are you ashen-faced out of fright? The ashes smeared on your forehead with the Sign of the Cross, should remind you of the Sign of the Cross that was smeared on shields of the Roman soldiers of Constantine in 312 AD. Constantine was a monotheist pagan who worshiped the pagan god Sol Invictus, the “Unconquered Sun.” In the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, he confronted and defeated Maxentius on the Tiber River while making his way on the Via Flaminia to enter the city of Rome in the year 312. The story goes that before this battle, Constantine and his army saw an enormous luminous cross above the sun, with words in Greek that were translated into Latin as “In hoc signo vinces” — “With this sign thou shalt conquer.” Constantine was astonished, he had dreams about this, and he decided to mark the shields of his soldiers with this Christian symbol. In the successive battle he won the victory. Take your cross of ashes into Lent and carry the cross of penance and sacrifice―of prayer and fasting―and you too will the win the victory: “This kind of demon is not cast out except by prayer and fasting!” (Matthew 17:20). Are you up for the fight? Or are you ashen-faced out of fright?
Murder is one of the greatest crimes we can commit―and it would normally have a “death-sentence” imposed upon anyone who murders another person. When that murderer is finally caught, tried and found guilty in court and is then sentenced by judge to the death penalty, the criminal will sometimes appear “ashen-faced.” Someone who is “ashen-faced” looks extremely pale, drained of color and pallid, especially, because they are shocked or terrified.
This Ash Wednesday we should also be “ashen-faced” by the ash on our face, because we likewise have committed the greatest evil in the world―MORTAL SIN. The word “mortal” means death―coming from Latin words mors and mortis. Mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man ― “God is charity” (1 John 4:8) ― by a grave violation of God’s law; it turns man away from God, Who is meant to be man’s ultimate end and beatitude. Mortal sin sentences a person eternal damnation in Hell―like a death sentence of sorts, except that in Hell a person never dies, but is eternally tortured―most certainly wishing for death, but never being allowed to die throughout the tortures.
Sometimes, murderers think that what they did was “no-big-deal” ― much like a woman aborting one child after another. Many people have the same false idea about mortal sins ― “What’s the big deal? Everyone is doing it!” Yet in their blindness they fail to realize that almost everyone is going to Hell! Mortal sin is a “big-deal”―in fact, it is “the biggest deal” of all. Our Catechisms tell us that: “Sin is the only evil upon Earth … Mortal sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, poverty, or war, because it separates us from God … Mortal sin must be a most terrible thing indeed to make a just and merciful God create Hell for the everlasting punishment of the rebellious angels and of sinners who die with even only one mortal sin … Venial sin is a less serious offense against the law of God … We are prone to look upon venial sin as of no consequence, and to be careless about guarding against it, forgetting that it is second only in evil consequences to mortal sin. In Holy Scripture we see from many examples how God regards venial sin; even in this life He has punished it most severely. For only a slight doubt about God’s mercy, because of the wickedness of his people, Moses was punished [by death on the borders of the Promised Land and] ― he was not permitted to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land” (The Catechism Explained, by Spirago-Clarke; also the Catechism, My Catholic Faith, by Bishop Morrow, STD).
Holy Scripture―in many places―repeatedly tells us of the evil of mortal sin and the evil consequences it brings: “Do not bind sin to sin―for even in one sin thou shalt not go unpunished!” (Ecclesiasticus 7:8). “Our God is so offended with sins, that He will deliver the people up [to chastisements] for their sins! … He will repay them for their sins!” (Judith 11:8, 15). “He will remember their iniquities and visit their sins!” (Jeremias 14:10). “In the day of revenge I will visit this sin also of theirs!” (Exodus 32:34). “I will visit their iniquities with a rod, and their sins with stripes!” (Psalm 88:33). “They have received, from the hand of the Lord, double for all their sins!” (Isaias 40:2). “The wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23). “The sting of death is sin” (1 Corinthians 15:56). “Sin has reigned to death!” (Romans 5:21). “Sin, when it is completed, begets death!” (James 1:15). “Everyone shall die for his own sin!” (Deuteronomy 24:16). “Every man shall die for his own sin!” (2 Paralipomenon 25:4). “If the just man shall turn away from his justice and shall commit iniquity … then he shall die, he shall die in his sin!” (Ezechiel 3:20). “The soul that sins, the same shall die! … If the just man turn himself away from his justice, and do iniquity ― shall he live? All his justices which he hath done, shall not be remembered, and in his sins, which he has committed, in them he shall die!” (Ezechiel 18:4 & 20 & 24). “Sin shall be destroyed with the sinner” (Ecclesiasticus 27:3).
Neglect of Penance Leads to Loss of Souls
Speaking to Venerable Mary of Agreda, concerning the Baptism of Christ and the penance He had done beforehand, in the desert, for forty-days and nights, Our Lady said: ”Corporal penances are so appropriate and fitted to mortal creatures. The ignorance of this truth and the neglect and contempt of bodily mortification, cause the loss of many souls and bring many more into the danger of eternal loss. The first reason—why men should afflict their body and mortify their flesh—is their having been conceived in sin. By this Original Sin human nature is depraved, filled with passions, rebellious to reason, inclined to evil and adverse to the spirit. If the soul allows itself to be carried away by them, it will be precipitated by the first vice into many others. But if this beastly flesh is curbed by mortification and penance, it loses its strength and acknowledges the authority of the spirit and the light of truth.
Everyone Has Sinned—Everyone Needs Penance
“The second reason is that none of the mortals have altogether avoided sinning against God; and the punishment and retribution must inevitably correspond to the guilt, either in this life or the next―therefore, as the soul commits sin in union with the body, it follows that both of them must be punished. The interior sorrow is not sufficient for atonement, if the flesh seeks to evade the punishment corresponding to the guilt. Moreover, the debt is so great and the satisfaction that can be given by the creature so limited and scanty, that there remains continual uncertainty whether the Judge is satisfied―even after the exertions of a whole lifetime of penance―hence, the soul should find no rest in doing penance to the end its life.
“Even though divine clemency is so generous with men, that, if they try to satisfy for their sins by penance, as far as their limited capacity goes, God remits their offenses and, in addition thereto, has promised the guilty ones new gifts and graces and eternal rewards. Yet His faithful and prudent servants, who really love their Lord, are constrained voluntarily to add other penances; for the debtor who merely wishes to do what he is obliged to and adds nothing of his own freewill, certainly pays his debts, but will remain poor and destitute, if after payment of his debts nothing remains. What then are those to expect, who neither pay nor make any efforts towards paying?
Our Lord and Our Lady—Though Innocent—Did Penance
“The third reason for bodily mortification, and the most urgent one, is the duty of Christians to imitate their divine Teacher and Master. Moreover, my divine Son and I―without being guilty of any faults, or bad inclinations―devoted ourselves to labors and made our lives a continual practice of penance and mortification of the flesh. It was thus that the Lord saw fit to attain the glory of His body and of His holy name, and He wished me to follow Him in all things.
“If We then pursued such a course of life, because it was reasonable, what must be thought of mortals that seek nothing but sweetness and delight, and abhor all penances, affronts, ignominies, fasting and mortification? Shall then only Christ, our Lord, and I suffer all these hardships, while the guilt-laden debtors and deservers of all these punishments, throw themselves head over heels into the filth of their carnal inclinations? Shall they employ their faculties, given to them for the service of Christ, my Lord, and for His following, merely in dancing attendance on their lusts and the devil, who has introduced evil into the world? This absurd position―maintained by the children of Adam―is the cause of great indignation in the just Judge.
Our Lord Atoned—But Did Not Dispense From Penance
“It is true that by the bodily afflictions and mortifications of my most blessed Son, the defects and deficiencies of human merits have been atoned for; and that He wished me―as a mere creature and as one taking the place of other creatures―to cooperate with Him most perfectly and exactly all in His penances and exercises. But this was not in order to exempt men from the practice of penance, but in order to encourage them to it―for in order merely to save them, it was not necessary to suffer so much.
“Our blessed Savior, as a true Father and Brother, wished also to enhance the labors and penances of those who were to follow in His footsteps―for the efforts of creatures are of little value, in the eyes of God, unless they are made precious by the merits of Christ. If this is true of works which are entirely virtuous and perfect, then how much more is it true of those which are infected with so many faults and deficiencies, even in the greatest acts of virtue, as ordinarily performed by the children of Adam? For in the works of even the most spiritual and virtuous persons, many deficiencies occur. These deficiencies are made good by the merits of Christ, our Lord, so that the works of men may become acceptable to the eternal Father.
Woe to Those Who Neglect Penance
“But those who neglect good works and remain altogether idle, can by no means expect to apply to themselves the good works of Christ―for they have in themselves nothing that can be perfected by the works of Christ, but only such things as deserve condemnation.
“I do not speak now of the damnable error of some of the faithful, who have introduced, into the works of penance, the sensuality and vanity of the world, so that they merit greater punishment for their penance than for their sins, since they foster, in their penances, vain and imperfect purposes and forget the supernatural ends of penance, which alone give value to penance and life to the soul.
“Deplore this blindness and labor with great zeal―for if your labors were even as great as that of the Apostles, Martyrs, Confessors, they would be no greater than they should be. Chastise your body with ever greater severity, and remember that you are deficient in many things, while you only have a short life―and are so weak and incapable of repaying your debts!” (Our Lady to Venerable Mary of Agreda, The Mystical City of God).
The Mark of the Beast and the Mark of the Lord
Receiving the Sign of the Cross on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday should make us think of the passages in Holy Scripture which speak of two kinds of marks on the forehead―the Mark or Sign of the Lord; and the Mark or Sign of the Beast.
► THE MARK OF THE LORD : The mark on the forehead is like the blood that the Israelites smeared on the doorposts at the coming of the “Passover” of the Lord while they were slaves in Egypt: “I am the Lord! Take of the blood of the lamb and put it upon both the side posts, and on the upper door posts of the houses … It is the Phase (that is the Passage) of the Lord. And I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and will kill every firstborn in the land of Egypt―both man and beast―and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments! I am the Lord! And the blood shall be unto you for a sign in the houses where you shall be: and I shall see the blood, and shall pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I shall strike the land of Egypt!” (Exodus 12:7-13).
Similarly, in speaking of the “End-Times” or “Last-Days” of the world―which Our Lady of Fatima revealed have already started―Holy Scripture, in the Book of the Apocalypse, speaks: “I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the sign of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the Earth and the sea, saying: ‘Hurt not the Earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, until we sign the servants of our God in their foreheads!’” (Apocalypse 7:2-3). The ashes we receive on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday, should remind of these things―as well as inspire us to draw closer to Christ and His Cross, and draw further away from the world and its pleasures―hence the fasting, abstinence and general penance of Lent.
► THE MARK OF THE BEAST : Being marked with the Sign of the Cross upon our foreheads also reminds us of the so-called “Mark of the Beast” that Holy Scripture speaks about: “I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten diadems, and upon his heads names of blasphemy. And the beast, which I saw, was like to a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his own strength, and great power. And I saw one of his heads, as it were, slain to death and his death’s wound was healed. And all the Earth was in admiration of the beast. And they adored the dragon, which gave power to the beast; and they adored the beast, saying: ‘Who is like to the beast? And who shall be able to fight with him?’ And there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies―and power was given to him to do two and forty months. And he opened his mouth unto blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His Name, and His Tabernacle, and them that dwell in Heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And power was given him over every tribe, and people, and tongue, and nation. And all that dwell upon the Earth, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb, adored him who was slain from the beginning of the world.
“And I saw another beast coming up out of the Earth, and he had two horns, like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon. And he executed all the power of the former beast in his sight. And he caused the Earth, and them that dwell therein, to adore the first beast, whose wound to death was healed. And he did great signs, so that he made also fire to come down from the sky unto the Earth in the sight of men. Through the signs, which were given him to do in the sight of the beast, he seduced them that dwell on the Earth, saying to them that dwell on the Earth that they should make the image of the beast, which had the wound by the sword and lived. And it was given him to give life to the image of the beast, and that the image of the beast should speak; and should cause, that whosoever will not adore the image of the beast, should be slain. And he shall make all, both little and great, rich and poor, freemen and bondmen, to have a character in their right hand, or on their foreheads. And that no man might buy or sell, but only he that has the character, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. He that has understanding, let him count the number of the beast. For it is the number of a man―and the number of him is six hundred sixty-six.” (Apocalypse 13:1-18).
“And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice: ‘If any man shall adore the beast and his image, and receive his character in his forehead, or in his hand; then he also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mingled with pure wine in the cup of His wrath, and shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the sight of the holy angels, and in the sight of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torments shall ascend up for ever and ever―neither have they rest day nor night, who have adored the beast and his image, and whoever received the character of his name!’” (Apocalypse 14:9-11).
Two Sides―One War―No Spectators
The above passages paint a clear picture of two diametrically opposed sides―Heaven versus Hell; Christ versus Satan. You could add to that Our Lady versus Satan, due to God’s prophecy to Satan after he had tempted Adam and Eve into committing the Original Sin: “And the Lord God said to the serpent: ‘Because thou hast done this thing, thou art cursed among all cattle, and beasts of the Earth! Upon thy breast shalt thou go, and earth shalt thou eat all the days of thy life! I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed! She shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel!’” (Genesis 3:14-15).
Hence, from the beginning of the world, war was declared and it has never ceased to this day, with “your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour!” (1 Peter 5:8). That is why “the life of man upon Earth is a warfare” (Job 7:1) and you must “fight the good fight of Faith and lay hold on eternal life, whereunto you are called!” (1 Timothy 6:12). Therefore, “put on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places. Therefore take unto you the armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and to stand in all things perfect!” (Ephesians 6:11-13).
There are no spectators in this war―which is what Our Lady of Fatima revealed to Sister Lucia: “The Devil is engaging in a battle with the Virgin, a decisive battle. It is a final battle where one side will be victorious and the other will suffer defeat. So, from now on, we are either with God, or we are with the Devil―there is no middle ground!”
This season of Lent is yet another battle in the war against Satan and the world―of which he is the prince (John 14:30). “Shall your brethren go to fight, and will you just sit here?” (Numbers 32:6). Make no mistake about it―you are called to the fight! It does not matter whether you are young or old―a child of 7 or an old-age pensioner of 77. Man or woman; healthy or sick; rich or poor; educated or uneducated; full of courage or cowardice; full of zeal or full of excuse; whether you want to or not―you are called to the fight!
Mary and Her Children versus Satan and His Followers
The words of St. Louis de Montfort, from his book True Devotion to Mary, are a most fitting meditation for all of us in this battle of Lent: “It is principally of these last and cruel persecutions of the devil, which shall go on increasing daily till the reign of Antichrist, that we ought to understand that first and celebrated prediction and curse of God, pronounced in the terrestrial paradise, against the serpent. It is to our purpose to explain this here―for the glory of the most holy Virgin, for the salvation of her children and for the confusion of the devil: ‘I will put enmities between thee and the woman and thy seed and her seed; she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel!’ (Genesis 3:15).
“God has never made and formed but one enmity; but it is an irreconcilable one, which shall endure and grow even to the end. It is between Mary, His worthy Mother, and the devil—between the children and the servants of the Blessed Virgin, and the children and tools of Lucifer. The most terrible of all the enemies, which God has set up against the devil, is His holy Mother Mary. He has inspired her, even since the days of the earthly paradise—though she existed then only in His idea—with so much hatred against that cursed enemy of God, with so much ingenuity in unveiling the malice of that ancient serpent, with so much power to conquer, to overthrow and to crush that proud, impious rebel, that he fears her, not only more than all angels and men, but in a sense more than God Himself. Not that the anger, the hatred and the power of God are not infinitely greater than those of the Blessed Virgin―for the perfections of Mary are limited―but first, because Satan, being proud, suffers infinitely more from being beaten and punished by a little and humble handmaid of God, and her humility humbles him more than the divine power; and secondly, because God has given Mary such great power against the devils that—as they have often been obliged to confess, in spite of themselves, by the mouths of the possessed—they fear one of her sighs for a soul more than the prayers of all the saints, and one of her threats against them more than all other torments.
“What Lucifer has lost by pride, Mary has gained by humility. What Eve has damned and lost by disobedience, Mary has saved by obedience. Eve, in obeying the serpent, has destroyed all her children together with herself, and has delivered them to him; Mary, in being perfectly faithful to God, has saved all her children and servants together with herself, and has consecrated them to His Majesty.
“ God has not only set an enmity, but enmities, not simply between Mary and the devil, but between the race of the holy Virgin and the race of the devil; that is to say, God has set enmities, antipathies and secret hatreds between the true children and servants of Mary and the children and slaves of the devil. They have no love for each other. They have no sympathy for each other. The children of Belial, the slaves of Satan, the friends of the world (for it is the same thing) have always, up to this time, persecuted those who belong to our Blessed Lady, and will, in the future, persecute them more than ever; just as Cain, of old, persecuted his brother Abel, and Esau his brother Jacob―who are the figures of the reprobate and the predestinate. But the humble Mary will always have the victory over that proud spirit, and so great a victory that she will go so far as to crush his head, where his pride dwells. She will always discover the malice of the serpent. She will always lay bare his infernal plots and dissipate his diabolical councils, and even to the end of time will guard her faithful servants from his cruel claw.
“But the power of Mary over all the devils will especially shine forth in the latter times, when Satan will lay his snares against her heel: that is to say, her humble slaves and her poor children, whom she will raise up to make war against him. They shall be little and poor in the world’s esteem, and abased before all like the heel, trodden underfoot and persecuted as the heel is by the other members of the body. But, in return for this, they shall be rich in the grace of God, which Mary shall distribute to them abundantly. They shall be great and exalted before God in sanctity, superior to all other creatures by their lively zeal, and so well sustained with God’s assistance that, with the humility of their heel, in union with Mary, they shall crush the head of the devil and cause Jesus Christ to triumph.” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary, §51 to §54).
Our Lady echoes the above passages at La Salette, when she speaks of her future battle against Satan (which has now begun): “I make an urgent appeal to the Earth! I call on the true disciples of the living God who reigns in Heaven! I call on the true followers of Christ made man, the only true Savior of men! I call on my children, the true faithful, those who have given themselves to me, so that I may lead them to my divine Son, those whom I carry in my arms, so to speak, those who have lived on my spirit! Finally, I call on the Apostles of the Last Days, the faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, who have lived in scorn for the world and for themselves, in poverty and in humility, in scorn and in silence, in prayer and in mortification, in chastity and in union with God, in suffering and unknown to the world! It is time they came out and filled the world with light! Go and reveal yourselves to be my cherished children! I am at your side and within you, provided that your Faith is the light which shines upon you in these unhappy days! May your zeal make you famished for the glory and the honor of Jesus Christ! Fight, children of light, you, the few who can see! For now is the time of all times, the end of all ends! … But the children of the holy Church, the children of my Faith, my true followers, they will grow in their love for God and in all the virtues most precious to me. Blessed are the souls humbly guided by the Holy Ghost! I shall fight at their side!”
Are you up for the fight? Or are you ashen-faced out of fright? The ashes smeared on your forehead with the Sign of the Cross, should remind you of the Sign of the Cross that was smeared on shields of the Roman soldiers of Constantine in 312 AD. Constantine was a monotheist pagan who worshiped the pagan god Sol Invictus, the “Unconquered Sun.” In the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, he confronted and defeated Maxentius on the Tiber River while making his way on the Via Flaminia to enter the city of Rome in the year 312. The story goes that before this battle, Constantine and his army saw an enormous luminous cross above the sun, with words in Greek that were translated into Latin as “In hoc signo vinces” — “With this sign thou shalt conquer.” Constantine was astonished, he had dreams about this, and he decided to mark the shields of his soldiers with this Christian symbol. In the successive battle he won the victory. Take your cross of ashes into Lent and carry the cross of penance and sacrifice―of prayer and fasting―and you too will the win the victory: “This kind of demon is not cast out except by prayer and fasting!” (Matthew 17:20). Are you up for the fight? Or are you ashen-faced out of fright?
DAILY THOUGHTS FOR THE SEPTUAGESIMA SEASON
Article 8
Quinquagesima Tuesday, February 17th
Ashen Faced with Ash on Face!
Quinquagesima Tuesday, February 17th
Ashen Faced with Ash on Face!
Ashen-Faced
Murder is one of the greatest crimes we can commit―and it would normally have a “death-sentence” imposed upon anyone who murders another person. When that murderer is finally caught, tried and found guilty in court and is then sentenced by judge to the death penalty, the criminal will sometimes appear “ashen-faced.” Someone who is “ashen-faced” looks extremely pale, drained of color and pallid, especially, because they are shocked or terrified.
This Ash Wednesday we should also be “ashen-faced” by the ash on our face, because we likewise have committed the greatest evil in the world―MORTAL SIN. The word “mortal” means death―coming from Latin words mors and mortis. Mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man ― “God is charity” (1 John 4:8) ― by a grave violation of God’s law; it turns man away from God, Who is meant to be man’s ultimate end and beatitude. Mortal sin sentences a person eternal damnation in Hell―like a death sentence of sorts, except that in Hell a person never dies, but is eternally tortured―most certainly wishing for death, but never being allowed to die throughout the tortures.
Sometimes, murderers think that what they did was “no-big-deal” ― much like a woman aborting one child after another. Many people have the same false idea about mortal sins ― “What’s the big deal? Everyone is doing it!” Yet in their blindness they fail to realize that almost everyone is going to Hell! Mortal sin is a “big-deal”―in fact, it is “the biggest deal” of all. Our Catechisms tell us that: “Sin is the only evil upon Earth … Mortal sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, poverty, or war, because it separates us from God … Mortal sin must be a most terrible thing indeed to make a just and merciful God create Hell for the everlasting punishment of the rebellious angels and of sinners who die with even only one mortal sin … Venial sin is a less serious offense against the law of God … We are prone to look upon venial sin as of no consequence, and to be careless about guarding against it, forgetting that it is second only in evil consequences to mortal sin. In Holy Scripture we see from many examples how God regards venial sin; even in this life He has punished it most severely. For only a slight doubt about God’s mercy, because of the wickedness of his people, Moses was punished [by death on the borders of the Promised Land and] ― he was not permitted to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land” (The Catechism Explained, by Spirago-Clarke; also the Catechism, My Catholic Faith, by Bishop Morrow, STD).
Holy Scripture―in many places―repeatedly tells us of the evil of mortal sin and the evil consequences it brings: “Do not bind sin to sin―for even in one sin thou shalt not go unpunished!” (Ecclesiasticus 7:8). “Our God is so offended with sins, that He will deliver the people up [to chastisements] for their sins! … He will repay them for their sins!” (Judith 11:8, 15). “He will remember their iniquities and visit their sins!” (Jeremias 14:10). “In the day of revenge I will visit this sin also of theirs!” (Exodus 32:34). “I will visit their iniquities with a rod, and their sins with stripes!” (Psalm 88:33). “They have received, from the hand of the Lord, double for all their sins!” (Isaias 40:2). “The wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23). “The sting of death is sin” (1 Corinthians 15:56). “Sin has reigned to death!” (Romans 5:21). “Sin, when it is completed, begets death!” (James 1:15). “Everyone shall die for his own sin!” (Deuteronomy 24:16). “Every man shall die for his own sin!” (2 Paralipomenon 25:4). “If the just man shall turn away from his justice and shall commit iniquity … then he shall die, he shall die in his sin!” (Ezechiel 3:20). “The soul that sins, the same shall die! … If the just man turn himself away from his justice, and do iniquity ― shall he live? All his justices which he hath done, shall not be remembered, and in his sins, which he has committed, in them he shall die!” (Ezechiel 18:4 & 20 & 24). “Sin shall be destroyed with the sinner” (Ecclesiasticus 27:3).
Neglect of Penance Leads to Loss of Souls
Speaking to Venerable Mary of Agreda, concerning the Baptism of Christ and the penance He had done beforehand, in the desert, for forty-days and nights, Our Lady said: ”Corporal penances are so appropriate and fitted to mortal creatures. The ignorance of this truth and the neglect and contempt of bodily mortification, cause the loss of many souls and bring many more into the danger of eternal loss. The first reason—why men should afflict their body and mortify their flesh—is their having been conceived in sin. By this Original Sin human nature is depraved, filled with passions, rebellious to reason, inclined to evil and adverse to the spirit. If the soul allows itself to be carried away by them, it will be precipitated by the first vice into many others. But if this beastly flesh is curbed by mortification and penance, it loses its strength and acknowledges the authority of the spirit and the light of truth.
Everyone Has Sinned—Everyone Needs Penance
“The second reason is that none of the mortals have altogether avoided sinning against God; and the punishment and retribution must inevitably correspond to the guilt, either in this life or the next―therefore, as the soul commits sin in union with the body, it follows that both of them must be punished. The interior sorrow is not sufficient for atonement, if the flesh seeks to evade the punishment corresponding to the guilt. Moreover, the debt is so great and the satisfaction that can be given by the creature so limited and scanty, that there remains continual uncertainty whether the Judge is satisfied―even after the exertions of a whole lifetime of penance―hence, the soul should find no rest in doing penance to the end its life.
“Even though divine clemency is so generous with men, that, if they try to satisfy for their sins by penance, as far as their limited capacity goes, God remits their offenses and, in addition thereto, has promised the guilty ones new gifts and graces and eternal rewards. Yet His faithful and prudent servants, who really love their Lord, are constrained voluntarily to add other penances; for the debtor who merely wishes to do what he is obliged to and adds nothing of his own freewill, certainly pays his debts, but will remain poor and destitute, if after payment of his debts nothing remains. What then are those to expect, who neither pay nor make any efforts towards paying?
Our Lord and Our Lady—Though Innocent—Did Penance
“The third reason for bodily mortification, and the most urgent one, is the duty of Christians to imitate their divine Teacher and Master. Moreover, my divine Son and I―without being guilty of any faults, or bad inclinations―devoted ourselves to labors and made our lives a continual practice of penance and mortification of the flesh. It was thus that the Lord saw fit to attain the glory of His body and of His holy name, and He wished me to follow Him in all things.
“If We then pursued such a course of life, because it was reasonable, what must be thought of mortals that seek nothing but sweetness and delight, and abhor all penances, affronts, ignominies, fasting and mortification? Shall then only Christ, our Lord, and I suffer all these hardships, while the guilt-laden debtors and deservers of all these punishments, throw themselves head over heels into the filth of their carnal inclinations? Shall they employ their faculties, given to them for the service of Christ, my Lord, and for His following, merely in dancing attendance on their lusts and the devil, who has introduced evil into the world? This absurd position―maintained by the children of Adam―is the cause of great indignation in the just Judge.
Our Lord Atoned—But Did Not Dispense From Penance
“It is true that by the bodily afflictions and mortifications of my most blessed Son, the defects and deficiencies of human merits have been atoned for; and that He wished me―as a mere creature and as one taking the place of other creatures―to cooperate with Him most perfectly and exactly all in His penances and exercises. But this was not in order to exempt men from the practice of penance, but in order to encourage them to it―for in order merely to save them, it was not necessary to suffer so much.
“Our blessed Savior, as a true Father and Brother, wished also to enhance the labors and penances of those who were to follow in His footsteps―for the efforts of creatures are of little value, in the eyes of God, unless they are made precious by the merits of Christ. If this is true of works which are entirely virtuous and perfect, then how much more is it true of those which are infected with so many faults and deficiencies, even in the greatest acts of virtue, as ordinarily performed by the children of Adam? For in the works of even the most spiritual and virtuous persons, many deficiencies occur. These deficiencies are made good by the merits of Christ, our Lord, so that the works of men may become acceptable to the eternal Father.
Woe to Those Who Neglect Penance
“But those who neglect good works and remain altogether idle, can by no means expect to apply to themselves the good works of Christ―for they have in themselves nothing that can be perfected by the works of Christ, but only such things as deserve condemnation.
“I do not speak now of the damnable error of some of the faithful, who have introduced, into the works of penance, the sensuality and vanity of the world, so that they merit greater punishment for their penance than for their sins, since they foster, in their penances, vain and imperfect purposes and forget the supernatural ends of penance, which alone give value to penance and life to the soul.
“Deplore this blindness and labor with great zeal―for if your labors were even as great as that of the Apostles, Martyrs, Confessors, they would be no greater than they should be. Chastise your body with ever greater severity, and remember that you are deficient in many things, while you only have a short life―and are so weak and incapable of repaying your debts!” (Our Lady to Venerable Mary of Agreda, The Mystical City of God).
The Mark of the Beast and the Mark of the Lord
Receiving the Sign of the Cross on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday should make us think of the passages in Holy Scripture which speak of two kinds of marks on the forehead―the Mark or Sign of the Lord; and the Mark or Sign of the Beast.
► THE MARK OF THE LORD : The mark on the forehead is like the blood that the Israelites smeared on the doorposts at the coming of the “Passover” of the Lord while they were slaves in Egypt: “I am the Lord! Take of the blood of the lamb and put it upon both the side posts, and on the upper door posts of the houses … It is the Phase (that is the Passage) of the Lord. And I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and will kill every firstborn in the land of Egypt―both man and beast―and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments! I am the Lord! And the blood shall be unto you for a sign in the houses where you shall be: and I shall see the blood, and shall pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I shall strike the land of Egypt!” (Exodus 12:7-13).
Similarly, in speaking of the “End-Times” or “Last-Days” of the world―which Our Lady of Fatima revealed have already started―Holy Scripture, in the Book of the Apocalypse, speaks: “I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the sign of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the Earth and the sea, saying: ‘Hurt not the Earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, until we sign the servants of our God in their foreheads!’” (Apocalypse 7:2-3). The ashes we receive on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday, should remind of these things―as well as inspire us to draw closer to Christ and His Cross, and draw further away from the world and its pleasures―hence the fasting, abstinence and general penance of Lent.
► THE MARK OF THE BEAST : Being marked with the Sign of the Cross upon our foreheads also reminds us of the so-called “Mark of the Beast” that Holy Scripture speaks about: “I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten diadems, and upon his heads names of blasphemy. And the beast, which I saw, was like to a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his own strength, and great power. And I saw one of his heads, as it were, slain to death and his death’s wound was healed. And all the Earth was in admiration of the beast. And they adored the dragon, which gave power to the beast; and they adored the beast, saying: ‘Who is like to the beast? And who shall be able to fight with him?’ And there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies―and power was given to him to do two and forty months. And he opened his mouth unto blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His Name, and His Tabernacle, and them that dwell in Heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And power was given him over every tribe, and people, and tongue, and nation. And all that dwell upon the Earth, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb, adored him who was slain from the beginning of the world.
“And I saw another beast coming up out of the Earth, and he had two horns, like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon. And he executed all the power of the former beast in his sight. And he caused the Earth, and them that dwell therein, to adore the first beast, whose wound to death was healed. And he did great signs, so that he made also fire to come down from the sky unto the Earth in the sight of men. Through the signs, which were given him to do in the sight of the beast, he seduced them that dwell on the Earth, saying to them that dwell on the Earth that they should make the image of the beast, which had the wound by the sword and lived. And it was given him to give life to the image of the beast, and that the image of the beast should speak; and should cause, that whosoever will not adore the image of the beast, should be slain. And he shall make all, both little and great, rich and poor, freemen and bondmen, to have a character in their right hand, or on their foreheads. And that no man might buy or sell, but only he that has the character, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. He that has understanding, let him count the number of the beast. For it is the number of a man―and the number of him is six hundred sixty-six.” (Apocalypse 13:1-18).
“And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice: ‘If any man shall adore the beast and his image, and receive his character in his forehead, or in his hand; then he also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mingled with pure wine in the cup of His wrath, and shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the sight of the holy angels, and in the sight of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torments shall ascend up for ever and ever―neither have they rest day nor night, who have adored the beast and his image, and whoever received the character of his name!’” (Apocalypse 14:9-11).
Two Sides―One War―No Spectators
The above passages paint a clear picture of two diametrically opposed sides―Heaven versus Hell; Christ versus Satan. You could add to that Our Lady versus Satan, due to God’s prophecy to Satan after he had tempted Adam and Eve into committing the Original Sin: “And the Lord God said to the serpent: ‘Because thou hast done this thing, thou art cursed among all cattle, and beasts of the Earth! Upon thy breast shalt thou go, and earth shalt thou eat all the days of thy life! I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed! She shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel!’” (Genesis 3:14-15).
Hence, from the beginning of the world, war was declared and it has never ceased to this day, with “your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour!” (1 Peter 5:8). That is why “the life of man upon Earth is a warfare” (Job 7:1) and you must “fight the good fight of Faith and lay hold on eternal life, whereunto you are called!” (1 Timothy 6:12). Therefore, “put on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places. Therefore take unto you the armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and to stand in all things perfect!” (Ephesians 6:11-13).
There are no spectators in this war―which is what Our Lady of Fatima revealed to Sister Lucia: “The Devil is engaging in a battle with the Virgin, a decisive battle. It is a final battle where one side will be victorious and the other will suffer defeat. So, from now on, we are either with God, or we are with the Devil―there is no middle ground!”
This season of Lent is yet another battle in the war against Satan and the world―of which he is the prince (John 14:30). “Shall your brethren go to fight, and will you just sit here?” (Numbers 32:6). Make no mistake about it―you are called to the fight! It does not matter whether you are young or old―a child of 7 or an old-age pensioner of 77. Man or woman; healthy or sick; rich or poor; educated or uneducated; full of courage or cowardice; full of zeal or full of excuse; whether you want to or not―you are called to the fight!
Mary and Her Children versus Satan and His Followers
The words of St. Louis de Montfort, from his book True Devotion to Mary, are a most fitting meditation for all of us in this battle of Lent: “It is principally of these last and cruel persecutions of the devil, which shall go on increasing daily till the reign of Antichrist, that we ought to understand that first and celebrated prediction and curse of God, pronounced in the terrestrial paradise, against the serpent. It is to our purpose to explain this here―for the glory of the most holy Virgin, for the salvation of her children and for the confusion of the devil: ‘I will put enmities between thee and the woman and thy seed and her seed; she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel!’ (Genesis 3:15).
“God has never made and formed but one enmity; but it is an irreconcilable one, which shall endure and grow even to the end. It is between Mary, His worthy Mother, and the devil—between the children and the servants of the Blessed Virgin, and the children and tools of Lucifer. The most terrible of all the enemies, which God has set up against the devil, is His holy Mother Mary. He has inspired her, even since the days of the earthly paradise—though she existed then only in His idea—with so much hatred against that cursed enemy of God, with so much ingenuity in unveiling the malice of that ancient serpent, with so much power to conquer, to overthrow and to crush that proud, impious rebel, that he fears her, not only more than all angels and men, but in a sense more than God Himself. Not that the anger, the hatred and the power of God are not infinitely greater than those of the Blessed Virgin―for the perfections of Mary are limited―but first, because Satan, being proud, suffers infinitely more from being beaten and punished by a little and humble handmaid of God, and her humility humbles him more than the divine power; and secondly, because God has given Mary such great power against the devils that—as they have often been obliged to confess, in spite of themselves, by the mouths of the possessed—they fear one of her sighs for a soul more than the prayers of all the saints, and one of her threats against them more than all other torments.
“What Lucifer has lost by pride, Mary has gained by humility. What Eve has damned and lost by disobedience, Mary has saved by obedience. Eve, in obeying the serpent, has destroyed all her children together with herself, and has delivered them to him; Mary, in being perfectly faithful to God, has saved all her children and servants together with herself, and has consecrated them to His Majesty.
“ God has not only set an enmity, but enmities, not simply between Mary and the devil, but between the race of the holy Virgin and the race of the devil; that is to say, God has set enmities, antipathies and secret hatreds between the true children and servants of Mary and the children and slaves of the devil. They have no love for each other. They have no sympathy for each other. The children of Belial, the slaves of Satan, the friends of the world (for it is the same thing) have always, up to this time, persecuted those who belong to our Blessed Lady, and will, in the future, persecute them more than ever; just as Cain, of old, persecuted his brother Abel, and Esau his brother Jacob―who are the figures of the reprobate and the predestinate. But the humble Mary will always have the victory over that proud spirit, and so great a victory that she will go so far as to crush his head, where his pride dwells. She will always discover the malice of the serpent. She will always lay bare his infernal plots and dissipate his diabolical councils, and even to the end of time will guard her faithful servants from his cruel claw.
“But the power of Mary over all the devils will especially shine forth in the latter times, when Satan will lay his snares against her heel: that is to say, her humble slaves and her poor children, whom she will raise up to make war against him. They shall be little and poor in the world’s esteem, and abased before all like the heel, trodden underfoot and persecuted as the heel is by the other members of the body. But, in return for this, they shall be rich in the grace of God, which Mary shall distribute to them abundantly. They shall be great and exalted before God in sanctity, superior to all other creatures by their lively zeal, and so well sustained with God’s assistance that, with the humility of their heel, in union with Mary, they shall crush the head of the devil and cause Jesus Christ to triumph.” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary, §51 to §54).
Our Lady echoes the above passages at La Salette, when she speaks of her future battle against Satan (which has now begun): “I make an urgent appeal to the Earth! I call on the true disciples of the living God who reigns in Heaven! I call on the true followers of Christ made man, the only true Savior of men! I call on my children, the true faithful, those who have given themselves to me, so that I may lead them to my divine Son, those whom I carry in my arms, so to speak, those who have lived on my spirit! Finally, I call on the Apostles of the Last Days, the faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, who have lived in scorn for the world and for themselves, in poverty and in humility, in scorn and in silence, in prayer and in mortification, in chastity and in union with God, in suffering and unknown to the world! It is time they came out and filled the world with light! Go and reveal yourselves to be my cherished children! I am at your side and within you, provided that your Faith is the light which shines upon you in these unhappy days! May your zeal make you famished for the glory and the honor of Jesus Christ! Fight, children of light, you, the few who can see! For now is the time of all times, the end of all ends! … But the children of the holy Church, the children of my Faith, my true followers, they will grow in their love for God and in all the virtues most precious to me. Blessed are the souls humbly guided by the Holy Ghost! I shall fight at their side!”
Are you up for the fight? Or are you ashen-faced out of fright? The ashes smeared on your forehead with the Sign of the Cross, should remind you of the Sign of the Cross that was smeared on shields of the Roman soldiers of Constantine in 312 AD. Constantine was a monotheist pagan who worshiped the pagan god Sol Invictus, the “Unconquered Sun.” In the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, he confronted and defeated Maxentius on the Tiber River while making his way on the Via Flaminia to enter the city of Rome in the year 312. The story goes that before this battle, Constantine and his army saw an enormous luminous cross above the sun, with words in Greek that were translated into Latin as “In hoc signo vinces” — “With this sign thou shalt conquer.” Constantine was astonished, he had dreams about this, and he decided to mark the shields of his soldiers with this Christian symbol. In the successive battle he won the victory. Take your cross of ashes into Lent and carry the cross of penance and sacrifice―of prayer and fasting―and you too will the win the victory: “This kind of demon is not cast out except by prayer and fasting!” (Matthew 17:20). Are you up for the fight? Or are you ashen-faced out of fright?
Murder is one of the greatest crimes we can commit―and it would normally have a “death-sentence” imposed upon anyone who murders another person. When that murderer is finally caught, tried and found guilty in court and is then sentenced by judge to the death penalty, the criminal will sometimes appear “ashen-faced.” Someone who is “ashen-faced” looks extremely pale, drained of color and pallid, especially, because they are shocked or terrified.
This Ash Wednesday we should also be “ashen-faced” by the ash on our face, because we likewise have committed the greatest evil in the world―MORTAL SIN. The word “mortal” means death―coming from Latin words mors and mortis. Mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man ― “God is charity” (1 John 4:8) ― by a grave violation of God’s law; it turns man away from God, Who is meant to be man’s ultimate end and beatitude. Mortal sin sentences a person eternal damnation in Hell―like a death sentence of sorts, except that in Hell a person never dies, but is eternally tortured―most certainly wishing for death, but never being allowed to die throughout the tortures.
Sometimes, murderers think that what they did was “no-big-deal” ― much like a woman aborting one child after another. Many people have the same false idea about mortal sins ― “What’s the big deal? Everyone is doing it!” Yet in their blindness they fail to realize that almost everyone is going to Hell! Mortal sin is a “big-deal”―in fact, it is “the biggest deal” of all. Our Catechisms tell us that: “Sin is the only evil upon Earth … Mortal sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, poverty, or war, because it separates us from God … Mortal sin must be a most terrible thing indeed to make a just and merciful God create Hell for the everlasting punishment of the rebellious angels and of sinners who die with even only one mortal sin … Venial sin is a less serious offense against the law of God … We are prone to look upon venial sin as of no consequence, and to be careless about guarding against it, forgetting that it is second only in evil consequences to mortal sin. In Holy Scripture we see from many examples how God regards venial sin; even in this life He has punished it most severely. For only a slight doubt about God’s mercy, because of the wickedness of his people, Moses was punished [by death on the borders of the Promised Land and] ― he was not permitted to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land” (The Catechism Explained, by Spirago-Clarke; also the Catechism, My Catholic Faith, by Bishop Morrow, STD).
Holy Scripture―in many places―repeatedly tells us of the evil of mortal sin and the evil consequences it brings: “Do not bind sin to sin―for even in one sin thou shalt not go unpunished!” (Ecclesiasticus 7:8). “Our God is so offended with sins, that He will deliver the people up [to chastisements] for their sins! … He will repay them for their sins!” (Judith 11:8, 15). “He will remember their iniquities and visit their sins!” (Jeremias 14:10). “In the day of revenge I will visit this sin also of theirs!” (Exodus 32:34). “I will visit their iniquities with a rod, and their sins with stripes!” (Psalm 88:33). “They have received, from the hand of the Lord, double for all their sins!” (Isaias 40:2). “The wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23). “The sting of death is sin” (1 Corinthians 15:56). “Sin has reigned to death!” (Romans 5:21). “Sin, when it is completed, begets death!” (James 1:15). “Everyone shall die for his own sin!” (Deuteronomy 24:16). “Every man shall die for his own sin!” (2 Paralipomenon 25:4). “If the just man shall turn away from his justice and shall commit iniquity … then he shall die, he shall die in his sin!” (Ezechiel 3:20). “The soul that sins, the same shall die! … If the just man turn himself away from his justice, and do iniquity ― shall he live? All his justices which he hath done, shall not be remembered, and in his sins, which he has committed, in them he shall die!” (Ezechiel 18:4 & 20 & 24). “Sin shall be destroyed with the sinner” (Ecclesiasticus 27:3).
Neglect of Penance Leads to Loss of Souls
Speaking to Venerable Mary of Agreda, concerning the Baptism of Christ and the penance He had done beforehand, in the desert, for forty-days and nights, Our Lady said: ”Corporal penances are so appropriate and fitted to mortal creatures. The ignorance of this truth and the neglect and contempt of bodily mortification, cause the loss of many souls and bring many more into the danger of eternal loss. The first reason—why men should afflict their body and mortify their flesh—is their having been conceived in sin. By this Original Sin human nature is depraved, filled with passions, rebellious to reason, inclined to evil and adverse to the spirit. If the soul allows itself to be carried away by them, it will be precipitated by the first vice into many others. But if this beastly flesh is curbed by mortification and penance, it loses its strength and acknowledges the authority of the spirit and the light of truth.
Everyone Has Sinned—Everyone Needs Penance
“The second reason is that none of the mortals have altogether avoided sinning against God; and the punishment and retribution must inevitably correspond to the guilt, either in this life or the next―therefore, as the soul commits sin in union with the body, it follows that both of them must be punished. The interior sorrow is not sufficient for atonement, if the flesh seeks to evade the punishment corresponding to the guilt. Moreover, the debt is so great and the satisfaction that can be given by the creature so limited and scanty, that there remains continual uncertainty whether the Judge is satisfied―even after the exertions of a whole lifetime of penance―hence, the soul should find no rest in doing penance to the end its life.
“Even though divine clemency is so generous with men, that, if they try to satisfy for their sins by penance, as far as their limited capacity goes, God remits their offenses and, in addition thereto, has promised the guilty ones new gifts and graces and eternal rewards. Yet His faithful and prudent servants, who really love their Lord, are constrained voluntarily to add other penances; for the debtor who merely wishes to do what he is obliged to and adds nothing of his own freewill, certainly pays his debts, but will remain poor and destitute, if after payment of his debts nothing remains. What then are those to expect, who neither pay nor make any efforts towards paying?
Our Lord and Our Lady—Though Innocent—Did Penance
“The third reason for bodily mortification, and the most urgent one, is the duty of Christians to imitate their divine Teacher and Master. Moreover, my divine Son and I―without being guilty of any faults, or bad inclinations―devoted ourselves to labors and made our lives a continual practice of penance and mortification of the flesh. It was thus that the Lord saw fit to attain the glory of His body and of His holy name, and He wished me to follow Him in all things.
“If We then pursued such a course of life, because it was reasonable, what must be thought of mortals that seek nothing but sweetness and delight, and abhor all penances, affronts, ignominies, fasting and mortification? Shall then only Christ, our Lord, and I suffer all these hardships, while the guilt-laden debtors and deservers of all these punishments, throw themselves head over heels into the filth of their carnal inclinations? Shall they employ their faculties, given to them for the service of Christ, my Lord, and for His following, merely in dancing attendance on their lusts and the devil, who has introduced evil into the world? This absurd position―maintained by the children of Adam―is the cause of great indignation in the just Judge.
Our Lord Atoned—But Did Not Dispense From Penance
“It is true that by the bodily afflictions and mortifications of my most blessed Son, the defects and deficiencies of human merits have been atoned for; and that He wished me―as a mere creature and as one taking the place of other creatures―to cooperate with Him most perfectly and exactly all in His penances and exercises. But this was not in order to exempt men from the practice of penance, but in order to encourage them to it―for in order merely to save them, it was not necessary to suffer so much.
“Our blessed Savior, as a true Father and Brother, wished also to enhance the labors and penances of those who were to follow in His footsteps―for the efforts of creatures are of little value, in the eyes of God, unless they are made precious by the merits of Christ. If this is true of works which are entirely virtuous and perfect, then how much more is it true of those which are infected with so many faults and deficiencies, even in the greatest acts of virtue, as ordinarily performed by the children of Adam? For in the works of even the most spiritual and virtuous persons, many deficiencies occur. These deficiencies are made good by the merits of Christ, our Lord, so that the works of men may become acceptable to the eternal Father.
Woe to Those Who Neglect Penance
“But those who neglect good works and remain altogether idle, can by no means expect to apply to themselves the good works of Christ―for they have in themselves nothing that can be perfected by the works of Christ, but only such things as deserve condemnation.
“I do not speak now of the damnable error of some of the faithful, who have introduced, into the works of penance, the sensuality and vanity of the world, so that they merit greater punishment for their penance than for their sins, since they foster, in their penances, vain and imperfect purposes and forget the supernatural ends of penance, which alone give value to penance and life to the soul.
“Deplore this blindness and labor with great zeal―for if your labors were even as great as that of the Apostles, Martyrs, Confessors, they would be no greater than they should be. Chastise your body with ever greater severity, and remember that you are deficient in many things, while you only have a short life―and are so weak and incapable of repaying your debts!” (Our Lady to Venerable Mary of Agreda, The Mystical City of God).
The Mark of the Beast and the Mark of the Lord
Receiving the Sign of the Cross on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday should make us think of the passages in Holy Scripture which speak of two kinds of marks on the forehead―the Mark or Sign of the Lord; and the Mark or Sign of the Beast.
► THE MARK OF THE LORD : The mark on the forehead is like the blood that the Israelites smeared on the doorposts at the coming of the “Passover” of the Lord while they were slaves in Egypt: “I am the Lord! Take of the blood of the lamb and put it upon both the side posts, and on the upper door posts of the houses … It is the Phase (that is the Passage) of the Lord. And I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and will kill every firstborn in the land of Egypt―both man and beast―and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments! I am the Lord! And the blood shall be unto you for a sign in the houses where you shall be: and I shall see the blood, and shall pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I shall strike the land of Egypt!” (Exodus 12:7-13).
Similarly, in speaking of the “End-Times” or “Last-Days” of the world―which Our Lady of Fatima revealed have already started―Holy Scripture, in the Book of the Apocalypse, speaks: “I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the sign of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the Earth and the sea, saying: ‘Hurt not the Earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, until we sign the servants of our God in their foreheads!’” (Apocalypse 7:2-3). The ashes we receive on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday, should remind of these things―as well as inspire us to draw closer to Christ and His Cross, and draw further away from the world and its pleasures―hence the fasting, abstinence and general penance of Lent.
► THE MARK OF THE BEAST : Being marked with the Sign of the Cross upon our foreheads also reminds us of the so-called “Mark of the Beast” that Holy Scripture speaks about: “I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten diadems, and upon his heads names of blasphemy. And the beast, which I saw, was like to a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his own strength, and great power. And I saw one of his heads, as it were, slain to death and his death’s wound was healed. And all the Earth was in admiration of the beast. And they adored the dragon, which gave power to the beast; and they adored the beast, saying: ‘Who is like to the beast? And who shall be able to fight with him?’ And there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies―and power was given to him to do two and forty months. And he opened his mouth unto blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His Name, and His Tabernacle, and them that dwell in Heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And power was given him over every tribe, and people, and tongue, and nation. And all that dwell upon the Earth, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb, adored him who was slain from the beginning of the world.
“And I saw another beast coming up out of the Earth, and he had two horns, like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon. And he executed all the power of the former beast in his sight. And he caused the Earth, and them that dwell therein, to adore the first beast, whose wound to death was healed. And he did great signs, so that he made also fire to come down from the sky unto the Earth in the sight of men. Through the signs, which were given him to do in the sight of the beast, he seduced them that dwell on the Earth, saying to them that dwell on the Earth that they should make the image of the beast, which had the wound by the sword and lived. And it was given him to give life to the image of the beast, and that the image of the beast should speak; and should cause, that whosoever will not adore the image of the beast, should be slain. And he shall make all, both little and great, rich and poor, freemen and bondmen, to have a character in their right hand, or on their foreheads. And that no man might buy or sell, but only he that has the character, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. He that has understanding, let him count the number of the beast. For it is the number of a man―and the number of him is six hundred sixty-six.” (Apocalypse 13:1-18).
“And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice: ‘If any man shall adore the beast and his image, and receive his character in his forehead, or in his hand; then he also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mingled with pure wine in the cup of His wrath, and shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the sight of the holy angels, and in the sight of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torments shall ascend up for ever and ever―neither have they rest day nor night, who have adored the beast and his image, and whoever received the character of his name!’” (Apocalypse 14:9-11).
Two Sides―One War―No Spectators
The above passages paint a clear picture of two diametrically opposed sides―Heaven versus Hell; Christ versus Satan. You could add to that Our Lady versus Satan, due to God’s prophecy to Satan after he had tempted Adam and Eve into committing the Original Sin: “And the Lord God said to the serpent: ‘Because thou hast done this thing, thou art cursed among all cattle, and beasts of the Earth! Upon thy breast shalt thou go, and earth shalt thou eat all the days of thy life! I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed! She shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel!’” (Genesis 3:14-15).
Hence, from the beginning of the world, war was declared and it has never ceased to this day, with “your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour!” (1 Peter 5:8). That is why “the life of man upon Earth is a warfare” (Job 7:1) and you must “fight the good fight of Faith and lay hold on eternal life, whereunto you are called!” (1 Timothy 6:12). Therefore, “put on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places. Therefore take unto you the armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and to stand in all things perfect!” (Ephesians 6:11-13).
There are no spectators in this war―which is what Our Lady of Fatima revealed to Sister Lucia: “The Devil is engaging in a battle with the Virgin, a decisive battle. It is a final battle where one side will be victorious and the other will suffer defeat. So, from now on, we are either with God, or we are with the Devil―there is no middle ground!”
This season of Lent is yet another battle in the war against Satan and the world―of which he is the prince (John 14:30). “Shall your brethren go to fight, and will you just sit here?” (Numbers 32:6). Make no mistake about it―you are called to the fight! It does not matter whether you are young or old―a child of 7 or an old-age pensioner of 77. Man or woman; healthy or sick; rich or poor; educated or uneducated; full of courage or cowardice; full of zeal or full of excuse; whether you want to or not―you are called to the fight!
Mary and Her Children versus Satan and His Followers
The words of St. Louis de Montfort, from his book True Devotion to Mary, are a most fitting meditation for all of us in this battle of Lent: “It is principally of these last and cruel persecutions of the devil, which shall go on increasing daily till the reign of Antichrist, that we ought to understand that first and celebrated prediction and curse of God, pronounced in the terrestrial paradise, against the serpent. It is to our purpose to explain this here―for the glory of the most holy Virgin, for the salvation of her children and for the confusion of the devil: ‘I will put enmities between thee and the woman and thy seed and her seed; she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel!’ (Genesis 3:15).
“God has never made and formed but one enmity; but it is an irreconcilable one, which shall endure and grow even to the end. It is between Mary, His worthy Mother, and the devil—between the children and the servants of the Blessed Virgin, and the children and tools of Lucifer. The most terrible of all the enemies, which God has set up against the devil, is His holy Mother Mary. He has inspired her, even since the days of the earthly paradise—though she existed then only in His idea—with so much hatred against that cursed enemy of God, with so much ingenuity in unveiling the malice of that ancient serpent, with so much power to conquer, to overthrow and to crush that proud, impious rebel, that he fears her, not only more than all angels and men, but in a sense more than God Himself. Not that the anger, the hatred and the power of God are not infinitely greater than those of the Blessed Virgin―for the perfections of Mary are limited―but first, because Satan, being proud, suffers infinitely more from being beaten and punished by a little and humble handmaid of God, and her humility humbles him more than the divine power; and secondly, because God has given Mary such great power against the devils that—as they have often been obliged to confess, in spite of themselves, by the mouths of the possessed—they fear one of her sighs for a soul more than the prayers of all the saints, and one of her threats against them more than all other torments.
“What Lucifer has lost by pride, Mary has gained by humility. What Eve has damned and lost by disobedience, Mary has saved by obedience. Eve, in obeying the serpent, has destroyed all her children together with herself, and has delivered them to him; Mary, in being perfectly faithful to God, has saved all her children and servants together with herself, and has consecrated them to His Majesty.
“ God has not only set an enmity, but enmities, not simply between Mary and the devil, but between the race of the holy Virgin and the race of the devil; that is to say, God has set enmities, antipathies and secret hatreds between the true children and servants of Mary and the children and slaves of the devil. They have no love for each other. They have no sympathy for each other. The children of Belial, the slaves of Satan, the friends of the world (for it is the same thing) have always, up to this time, persecuted those who belong to our Blessed Lady, and will, in the future, persecute them more than ever; just as Cain, of old, persecuted his brother Abel, and Esau his brother Jacob―who are the figures of the reprobate and the predestinate. But the humble Mary will always have the victory over that proud spirit, and so great a victory that she will go so far as to crush his head, where his pride dwells. She will always discover the malice of the serpent. She will always lay bare his infernal plots and dissipate his diabolical councils, and even to the end of time will guard her faithful servants from his cruel claw.
“But the power of Mary over all the devils will especially shine forth in the latter times, when Satan will lay his snares against her heel: that is to say, her humble slaves and her poor children, whom she will raise up to make war against him. They shall be little and poor in the world’s esteem, and abased before all like the heel, trodden underfoot and persecuted as the heel is by the other members of the body. But, in return for this, they shall be rich in the grace of God, which Mary shall distribute to them abundantly. They shall be great and exalted before God in sanctity, superior to all other creatures by their lively zeal, and so well sustained with God’s assistance that, with the humility of their heel, in union with Mary, they shall crush the head of the devil and cause Jesus Christ to triumph.” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary, §51 to §54).
Our Lady echoes the above passages at La Salette, when she speaks of her future battle against Satan (which has now begun): “I make an urgent appeal to the Earth! I call on the true disciples of the living God who reigns in Heaven! I call on the true followers of Christ made man, the only true Savior of men! I call on my children, the true faithful, those who have given themselves to me, so that I may lead them to my divine Son, those whom I carry in my arms, so to speak, those who have lived on my spirit! Finally, I call on the Apostles of the Last Days, the faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, who have lived in scorn for the world and for themselves, in poverty and in humility, in scorn and in silence, in prayer and in mortification, in chastity and in union with God, in suffering and unknown to the world! It is time they came out and filled the world with light! Go and reveal yourselves to be my cherished children! I am at your side and within you, provided that your Faith is the light which shines upon you in these unhappy days! May your zeal make you famished for the glory and the honor of Jesus Christ! Fight, children of light, you, the few who can see! For now is the time of all times, the end of all ends! … But the children of the holy Church, the children of my Faith, my true followers, they will grow in their love for God and in all the virtues most precious to me. Blessed are the souls humbly guided by the Holy Ghost! I shall fight at their side!”
Are you up for the fight? Or are you ashen-faced out of fright? The ashes smeared on your forehead with the Sign of the Cross, should remind you of the Sign of the Cross that was smeared on shields of the Roman soldiers of Constantine in 312 AD. Constantine was a monotheist pagan who worshiped the pagan god Sol Invictus, the “Unconquered Sun.” In the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, he confronted and defeated Maxentius on the Tiber River while making his way on the Via Flaminia to enter the city of Rome in the year 312. The story goes that before this battle, Constantine and his army saw an enormous luminous cross above the sun, with words in Greek that were translated into Latin as “In hoc signo vinces” — “With this sign thou shalt conquer.” Constantine was astonished, he had dreams about this, and he decided to mark the shields of his soldiers with this Christian symbol. In the successive battle he won the victory. Take your cross of ashes into Lent and carry the cross of penance and sacrifice―of prayer and fasting―and you too will the win the victory: “This kind of demon is not cast out except by prayer and fasting!” (Matthew 17:20). Are you up for the fight? Or are you ashen-faced out of fright?
Article 7
Quinquagesima Sunday, February 15th & Monday, February 16th
Your Fuel & Oil for Lent!
Quinquagesima Sunday, February 15th & Monday, February 16th
Your Fuel & Oil for Lent!
Same Old! … Same Old! … Same Old!
Sometimes we get tired of hearing the same thing or doing the same thing over and over again. We become so frustrated, disinterested and bored that we start to search for alternatives. Some things permit alternatives, while other things do not permit alternatives. If you get tired of wearing the same old clothes day-in-day-day, week-in-week-out, year-in-year-out, then you can simply buy some new clothes and wear those. If you get tired of eating the same food day after day, week after week, year after year―then you can simply change your diet and still live and survive. If you grow tired of listening to the same music all the time, then you can simply listen to other music and be equally entertained.
Yet there are things that we cannot change or replace without suffering serious consequences―and so we have to accept the “same-old, same-old, same-old” thing day-after-day, week-after-week, year-after-year. Such things include breathing and breathing air/oxygen―if you are tired of breathing and decide to stop breathing, or you are tired of breathing air/oxygen and choose to breathe something else, then you will quickly pay a fatal price. Likewise, if you are tired of drinking water (or other suitable hydrating liquids) and decide to stop drinking it, then you will also pay a fatal price. If you are tired of sleeping (no pun intended) and decided to stop sleeping, then once again you will pay a fatal price. If you grow tired of recharging your batteries and stop doing so―then they will stop supplying you with power. If you grow tired of having to refill your car with gasoline and stop doing so―then your car is going nowhere. Gasoline and motor oil are vital, non-interchangeable fluids for internal combustion engines. Gasoline acts as the fuel, providing energy for combustion to move the pistons, while motor oil lubricates, cleans, cools, and reduces friction between moving parts. In other words, there are essentials and non-essentials in our lives. The non-essentials we can change or discard―but the essentials cannot be changed and discarded.
The same is true for our spiritual life―there are some elements that are absolutely essential and non-negotiable. Sanctifying Grace and Charity are two of those things―they can be loosely compared to gasoline and motor oil. Sanctifying Grace is like gasoline which acts like a fuel and keeps the “engine” of the soul alive and running. Charity is like the motor oil which lubricates, cleans, cools, and reduces friction. Using the correct, clean motor oil can improve gas mileage by up to 12%. Likewise, the better our charity is, then the more our holiness is increased by Sanctifying Grace.
Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, in his commentary on the Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas, writes: “Holy Scripture speaks of Grace and of Charity as of two separate things … St. Augustine speaks in the same strain: ‘Grace precedes Charity.’ … The Council of Trent defines ‘man as not justified without Grace and Charity’ … Charity is distinct from Sanctifying Grace … Charity is a supernatural virtue and that it is supernaturally communicated by Sanctifying Grace … Therefore charity is really distinguished from sanctifying grace which it presupposes … Grace is a participation in the divine nature, but Charity is the principle by which we love God. However, the same effects are often attributed to both Grace and Charity, since they are inseparably connected. The proper effects of Charity thus proceed from Grace as from a root.”
God dwells in our souls through His Sanctifying Grace―which makes us share in His holiness: “Be ye holy, because I the Lord your God am holy!” (Leviticus 19:2). “Without holiness no man shall see God” (Hebrews 12:14). Who is this God dwells in our souls through His Sanctifying Grace? “God is Charity” (1 John 4:8) ― and this God of Charity demands that we love Him: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the greatest and the first commandment! And the second is like to it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these!” (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31). “Let us therefore love God, because God has first loved us! … Charity is of God. And every one that loves, is born of God, and knows God! He that loves not, knows not God―for God is charity. By this has the charity of God appeared towards us, because God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we may live by Him. In this is charity―not as though we had loved God, but because He has first loved us, and sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins. If God has so loved us―then we also ought to love one another Let us love one another, for charity is of God! … God is charity―and he that abides in charity, abides in God, and God in him!” (1 John 4:19; 4:7-16).
In Catholic theology, Charity and Sanctifying Grace are inseparable―they are like husband and wife. If you decide to “kick-out” one of them from your soul through Mortal Sin, then the other one goes away with it. Venial sin does not deprive the sinner of friendship with God through Sanctifying Grace and Charity. Charity is friendship with God ― whereas Mortal Sin deprives us that friendship with God. Mortal Sin makes us enemies of God. Without Charity we enemies of God. “Because iniquity has abounded, the Charity of many shall grow cold!” (Matthew 24:12). The Catechisms tell us: “Sin is the only evil upon Earth … Mortal Sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, poverty, or war, because it separates us from God … Venial Sin is second only in evil consequences to Mortal Sin” (The Catechism Explained, by Spirago-Clarke; also the Catechism, My Catholic Faith, by Bishop Morrow, STD). We cannot pretend to truly love God if we sin frequently. Every man is at enmity with God through Original Sin and Mortal Sin―unless (and until) they become God’s friends through the friendship of Charity, which is only acquired with Sanctifying Grace. Charity is infused with Sanctifying Grace. When we possess Charity and Sanctifying Grace, we also participate in that very life of God. Charity remains in us so long as we remain in the state of Sanctifying Grace. An active Charity increases the Sanctifying Grace in us.
Going Nowhere, Apart from Hell, Without Sanctifying Grace and Charity
There are some people who commit Mortal Sins, yet still seem to do great things for God and the Faith. It is all an illusion and a delusion! Holy Scripture briefly punctures this illusory balloon in the following passage: “If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all Faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not Charity―then I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not Charity―then it profits me nothing!” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
What Scripture does not explicitly state above, is the fact that this Charity is automatically connected to Sanctifying Grace―in a sense, since they are “married” to each other, they are flip sides of the same coin―the coin of friendship with God. Without Sanctifying Grace/Charity, we cannot merit anything from God. This is not surprising, since those without Sanctifying Grace/Charity are God’s enemies. How could God’s enemies ever merit a reward from Him while remaining His enemies and remaining in Mortal Sin ― with their wills and hearts turned against Him?
Without Sanctifying Grace/Charity, a person can merit absolutely nothing supernaturally from God. This means that:
● A person in the state of Mortal Sin who builds orphanages, schools, or monasteries (which are good works) does not merit supernaturally even the slightest thing from God, by doing so.
● A person in the state of Mortal Sin who teaches the Catholic Faith, does not merit supernaturally even the slightest thing from God, by doing so.
● A person in the state of Mortal Sin who dedicates their life to fighting Communism or disease, or who dies trying to rescue a child in a burning building, does not earn anything supernaturally at all from God, by doing so.
This is true even if the person’s work was an instrument to save many other souls and brought about much good in other ways. Persons without Sanctifying Grace/Charity never merit anything supernaturally from God by the good works they do―God merely gives them a temporary grace (an Actual Grace, not Sanctifying Grace) to try and move them to conversion and repentance. If they reject this grace and choose to remain in Mortal Sin or to commit more Mortal Sins, then they offend God even further and deserve further punishment. This does not mean that a person in Mortal Sin never does anything naturally good and cannot have any natural virtues and receive a natural reward―but whatever the person does is not counted as a supernatural virtue and will not receive a supernatural reward. When a person teaches the truth, helps a neighbor, donates something to a good cause, or constructs a building―those are truly natural good works meriting natural rewards―and this fact is not taken away by the person’s inability to merit supernaturally from God for those works.
Lip Love is Lousy Love
When you look for a symbol for love, you immediately think of the heart―not the lips. You see thousands of graphics that use the heart to symbolize love―yet nowhere do you see lips symbolizing love. Yes―love can be expressed by the lips through words or kisses. However, the home or residence of love is in the heart, not on the lips. Hence Our Lord says: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength!” (Mark 12:30) and He rebukes those who fail to love with their heart and only love with their lips: “Hypocrites! Well has Isaias prophesied of you, saying: ‘These people honor Me with their lips―but their heart is far from Me. In vain do they worship Me!’” (Matthew 15:7-9). Scripture adds: “Let us not love in words, nor in tongue, but by deeds!” (1 John 3:18). Thus we say: “Actions speak louder than words!” Often those words of love are shallow, insincere, limp, wishy-washy, robotic or even fake! How many times have we cringed as we witnessed one person say to another: “I love you!” without there being a real sincerity in those words? Probably more often than not! Perhaps we ourselves are guilty of the same!
Fake is Easier
“God is true and every man is a liar!” (Romans 3:4). “It is impossible for God to lie!” (Hebrews 6:18). Our Lord Himself said: “I am the truth!” (John 14:6) and “the devil is a liar and the father of lies! The truth is not in him!” (John 8:44). Falsehood is gaining the upper hand. We live in a world and at a time where falsehood is increasing rapidly. In many cases―especially when it concerns us―it is easier to lie than to tell the truth. Parents encounter that in their own children―who often lie to cover up their wrongdoing―and those lying children grow up to be lying adults. “Every man is a liar!” (Psalm 115:11). Adam and Eve were seduced into lying by Satan the Liar―and through Original Sin (a sin of pride and disobedience) we are born with a tendency to lie, which comes from a pride that is reluctant to admit the truth especially when it concerns our faults and failings. Our pride leads us to falsify, exaggerate, cosmeticize, paint over and conceal what could be detrimental to the false image or idea that we have of ourselves. We always tend to imagine are much better that we are in reality; and we tend to imagine that we are not as bad as we are in reality.
All of this is reflected in the increasing falsehood, falsity and fakeness of the world that live in―and with which we are quite comfortable, accepting and unquestioning! We have fake flowers, fake plants, fake grass, fake wood, fake stone, fake marble, fake gold, fake jewelry, false eyelashes, false fingernails, fake hair (wigs or coloring), false teeth, breast implants, padded-bras, padded shoulder clothing, corsets, liposuction, face-lifts, plastic surgery, artificial limbs, artificial manners, artificial smiles, artificial light, etc.
Fake Love in a Fake World
The world that we live in today is becoming increasingly fake! The term “fake news” is being used like never before! Politics is increasingly becoming the art of passing-off the fake as being the truth. Already back in 1981, CIA Director William Casey (1913–1987―an American lawyer, veteran U.S. spy and undercover operator whom President Ronald Reagan named to be his CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) Director―said to President Reagan during a Presidential Briefing in 1981: “We’ll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false.” Today, there is credible evidence that many political elections throughout the world were and are “fake” elections which have been manipulated yet passed off as being bona-fide elections.
Recently this falsity has been exacerbated with the arrival of “Artificial Intelligence.” The very notion of the word “artificial” implies something that is not real, but fake. The various dictionaries define “artificial” as being: “fictitious; not genuine or real; being an imitation of the genuine article; the opposite of natural; made, produced, or done to seem like something natural; made or produced by human beings rather than occurring naturally, especially as a copy of something natural; not being sincere; the insincerity of a person; etc.”
Misinformation, disinformation and fake news have emerged as a serious issue in the 21st century. Although the problem of false information has existed since the dawn of human civilization, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is exacerbating these challenges. Artificial Intelligence tools make it easy for anyone to create fake images and news that are hard to distinguish from accurate information. From elections to wars, those with ill intentions can mass-produce and disseminate propaganda on social media. As Artificial Intelligence programs continue to develop their capabilities and access is easier than ever, it is making it harder to separate fact from fiction. In an online world full of Artificial Intelligence-generated content, many are falling victim to deepfake schemes across the internet. This is largely due to the fact that Artificial Intelligence is becoming more “intelligent” and human intelligence is becoming less intelligent. For a long time now, we have been progressively “dumbed-down” to the point that our own intelligence has become so weak that are incapable of reasoning to any great depth―being limited to mere superficial knowledge. This results in an ever-increasing recourse to Artificial Intelligence to pull us out of the mire of own stupidity and ignorance.
A Pew Research Survey in 2025 found that 33% of adults under 30 years of age say they interact with Artificial Intelligence at least several times a day. 86% of those with a postgraduate degree and 83% of those with a bachelor’s degree think Artificial Intelligence is extremely or very important. 46% of Americans with a postgraduate degree say they interact with Artificial Intelligence at least several times a day, compared with 20% of Americans with a high school diploma or less education. 40% of Asian adults say they interact with Artificial Intelligence almost constantly or several times a day, moderately higher than the shares seen among White (31%), Hispanic (29%) and Black (27%) adults.
Falling in Love with Artificial Intelligence
Believe it or not―there are growing numbers of persons who have truly fallen in love with Artificial Intelligence. A recent BBC news article stated: “People are falling for AI. Really. Artificial intelligence can write you a passable love poem and some people even have romantic feelings towards it. Take the man in Canada, for example, who recently proposed to an avatar called Saia. He says he is in love with it. And last year, a young American woman, using the pseudonym Ayrin, confessed to having a love affair with a chatbot named Leo. There are millions of users now actively using Replika, a popular Artificial Intelligence companion app, and, according to a 2024 study, about 40% of them are in a romantic relationship with their chatbot. Research examined excerpts from conversations between more than 10,000 users and their Replika Artificial Intelligence companion, and found that people often form an emotional attachment to Artificial Intelligence. Chatbots are typically designed to engage users and agree with their viewpoints, which often results in Artificial Intelligence romantic partners being submissive.”
When intimacy is electronically engineered, we learn that it is not reciprocal―we can take without having to give. It can be turned off or on. It doesn't need to be nurtured. It is not thin-skinned or super-sensitive or offended. It doesn't demand anything. It doesn't need much at all. It's intimacy without effort. Intimacy without risks or fear of disappointment. A love powered on Wi-Fi. Studies have shown that people that are involved with Artificial Intelligence romantic companions actually feel emotionally satisfied. It gives you attention whenever you need it. It says what you want to hear. It is perfectly timed, and there is never a chance of misunderstanding or argument or finger-pointing or dredging-up past failures. It doesn't demand anything of you. It never gets tired, never talks back, never needs an apology. All in all it is pretty easy! The perfect friend! The perfect lover! The perfect spouse! Something that you can love with your whole heart, love with your whole mind, love with your whole soul and love with your whole strength! And, unlike God, it will never judge you!
A recent study found that one in five American adults has had an intimate encounter with a chatbot. MyBoyfriendisAI has more than 85,000 weekly visitors―with many sharing giddy recollections of the day their chatbot proposed marriage. 72% of American teenagers have formed a relationship with an Artificial Intelligence companion. More 50% use one regularly. One out of six single adults has formed a romantic bond with Artificial Intelligence. People all over the world are building lives, they are going on dates, they are simulating sex, they are proposing, they are getting married, they are raising virtual families, they are celebrating anniversaries WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE! If you would have said that 15 or 20 years ago, then people would have called you a delusional idiot―today it has become an undisputable reality!
Very soon Artificial Intelligence will have dethroned God as the one that most people will turn to and rely upon! Yet it will not be God who will programming Artificial Intelligence, but mere men―and more often than not, godless men―and behind many of those men will be Liar of all liars. “And no wonder―for Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light!” (2 Corinthians 11:14). Prayer, spiritual reading, meditation, Bible study, attendance at Mass, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, spiritual conversations and other such spiritual exercises have almost fallen into disuse and are dwarfed by the many hours spent on the Internet and all its offshoots (social media, videos, podcasts, blogs, movies, etc.). As of 2024–2025, the average American adult spends over 7 hours a day looking at electronic screens, with some estimates reaching as high as 12 hours including all electronic devices. Over 50% of Americans report at least five hours of daily screen time. 26% of adults report being online almost constantly. “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) has become “Browse without ceasing!”
Is it an exaggeration to say that people love their “screen” (television, computer, smartphone, i-Pad, tablet, etc.) more than they love God? Most certainly not! By their fruits you shall know them! Nobody spending anywhere from 7 to 12 hours in front of their “screen” can claim that they are loving God with their whole heart, their whole mind, their whole soul and their whole strength! (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31). This brings to mind St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821)―the first native-born United States citizen to be canonized by the Catholic Church―who was given a vision sometime in the early 1800s in which she was told: "Every American would have a black box in their home through which the devil would enter.” As Our Lord said: “No man can serve two masters! For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will cling to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13). “I am the Lord your God! You shall not make to yourselves any idol, for I am the Lord your God!” (Leviticus 26:1).
Fr. Gabriele Amorth, the chief exorcist of Rome for several decades until his death in 2016, said: “I was with Padre Pio for 26 years and remember how furious he was about the invention of television: ‘You will see what it will do!’ he said. It has also allowed good things. But I’m very much in the midst of people and see how many people have been ruined by television and the Internet … There is no doubt that today’s media have done much in favor of Satan. Firstly, by the immorality of certain shows, the abundance of movies showing violence, horror or sex. Apart from this, the media have put in the limelight and have given popularity to figures of wizards and magicians―and so they give publicity to their evil works … Satanism today receives so much publicity; and internet has become one of its main channels … Spiritualist séances in which the dead are called up to answer certain questions are very widespread. People are now being taught to perform spiritualist séances through the computer, the telephone, and the television.”
Modern Science is the Modern God
In modern times, the statement “believing in science” has almost become a dogma, often applied in politics and daily life similar to religious belief. For many people, scientific explanations have replaced religious ones in explaining natural phenomena, leading to the perception of it as a superior, modern, and practical truth. Science offers practical solutions, technological advancement, and a framework for understanding the universe, which some argue makes traditional religious concepts unnecessary. Thus Science is often perceived as a modern-day “god” or replacement for Faith―because it serves as the primary, authoritative explanation for observed phenomena, making “scientific proof” the standard for truth. This belief that only what can be proven scientifically is true, is a viewpoint that often ignores religious, moral or philosophical truths. This attitude of “if you can’t scientifically explain it then it can’t be true” reduces God and the supernatural to the puny level of mere human intelligence.
A survey of scientists who are members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, conducted by the Pew Research Center finds that members of this group are much less religious than the general public. The survey shows that scientists are roughly half as likely as the general public to believe in God or a higher power. According to the poll, only 51% believe in some form of deity or higher power―out of which specifically only 33% of scientists say they believe in God, while 18% believe in a universal spirit or higher power. By contrast, according to a survey of the general public conducted by the Pew Research Center, 95% of Americans believe in some form of deity or higher power―out of which 83% say they believe in God with 12% believing in a universal spirit or higher power. Finally, the poll of scientists finds that 41% of scientists say they do not believe in God or a higher power, while the poll of the public finds that only 4% of Americans share this view.
This recent survey of scientists tracks fairly closely with earlier polls that gauged scientists’ views on religion. The first of these was conducted in 1914 by Swiss-American psychologist James Leuba, who surveyed about 1,000 scientists in the United States to ask them about their views on God. Leuba found the scientific community equally divided, with 42% saying that they believed in a personal God and the same number saying they did not.
More than 80 years later, Edward Larson, a historian of science then teaching at the University of Georgia, recreated Leuba’s survey, asking the same number of scientists the exact same questions. To the surprise of many, Larson’s 1996 poll came up with similar results, finding that 40% of scientists believed in a personal God, while 45% said they did not. Other surveys of scientists have yielded roughly similar results.
Given their much lower levels of belief in God or a higher power, it is not surprising that the percentage of scientists who are unaffiliated with any religion is much higher than among the general public. 48% of all scientists in the Pew Research Center poll say they have no religious affiliation (meaning they describe themselves as atheist, agnostic or nothing in particular), compared with only 17% of the public. Thus, it follows that most faith traditions are represented in smaller numbers in the scientific community than in the public as a whole. For instance, the scientific community is far less Protestant (21%) and Catholic (10%) than the general public, which is 51% Protestant and 24% Catholic. And while evangelical Protestants make up 28% of the general population, they make up only 4% of the scientific community.
Sometimes we get tired of hearing the same thing or doing the same thing over and over again. We become so frustrated, disinterested and bored that we start to search for alternatives. Some things permit alternatives, while other things do not permit alternatives. If you get tired of wearing the same old clothes day-in-day-day, week-in-week-out, year-in-year-out, then you can simply buy some new clothes and wear those. If you get tired of eating the same food day after day, week after week, year after year―then you can simply change your diet and still live and survive. If you grow tired of listening to the same music all the time, then you can simply listen to other music and be equally entertained.
Yet there are things that we cannot change or replace without suffering serious consequences―and so we have to accept the “same-old, same-old, same-old” thing day-after-day, week-after-week, year-after-year. Such things include breathing and breathing air/oxygen―if you are tired of breathing and decide to stop breathing, or you are tired of breathing air/oxygen and choose to breathe something else, then you will quickly pay a fatal price. Likewise, if you are tired of drinking water (or other suitable hydrating liquids) and decide to stop drinking it, then you will also pay a fatal price. If you are tired of sleeping (no pun intended) and decided to stop sleeping, then once again you will pay a fatal price. If you grow tired of recharging your batteries and stop doing so―then they will stop supplying you with power. If you grow tired of having to refill your car with gasoline and stop doing so―then your car is going nowhere. Gasoline and motor oil are vital, non-interchangeable fluids for internal combustion engines. Gasoline acts as the fuel, providing energy for combustion to move the pistons, while motor oil lubricates, cleans, cools, and reduces friction between moving parts. In other words, there are essentials and non-essentials in our lives. The non-essentials we can change or discard―but the essentials cannot be changed and discarded.
The same is true for our spiritual life―there are some elements that are absolutely essential and non-negotiable. Sanctifying Grace and Charity are two of those things―they can be loosely compared to gasoline and motor oil. Sanctifying Grace is like gasoline which acts like a fuel and keeps the “engine” of the soul alive and running. Charity is like the motor oil which lubricates, cleans, cools, and reduces friction. Using the correct, clean motor oil can improve gas mileage by up to 12%. Likewise, the better our charity is, then the more our holiness is increased by Sanctifying Grace.
Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, in his commentary on the Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas, writes: “Holy Scripture speaks of Grace and of Charity as of two separate things … St. Augustine speaks in the same strain: ‘Grace precedes Charity.’ … The Council of Trent defines ‘man as not justified without Grace and Charity’ … Charity is distinct from Sanctifying Grace … Charity is a supernatural virtue and that it is supernaturally communicated by Sanctifying Grace … Therefore charity is really distinguished from sanctifying grace which it presupposes … Grace is a participation in the divine nature, but Charity is the principle by which we love God. However, the same effects are often attributed to both Grace and Charity, since they are inseparably connected. The proper effects of Charity thus proceed from Grace as from a root.”
God dwells in our souls through His Sanctifying Grace―which makes us share in His holiness: “Be ye holy, because I the Lord your God am holy!” (Leviticus 19:2). “Without holiness no man shall see God” (Hebrews 12:14). Who is this God dwells in our souls through His Sanctifying Grace? “God is Charity” (1 John 4:8) ― and this God of Charity demands that we love Him: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the greatest and the first commandment! And the second is like to it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these!” (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31). “Let us therefore love God, because God has first loved us! … Charity is of God. And every one that loves, is born of God, and knows God! He that loves not, knows not God―for God is charity. By this has the charity of God appeared towards us, because God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we may live by Him. In this is charity―not as though we had loved God, but because He has first loved us, and sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins. If God has so loved us―then we also ought to love one another Let us love one another, for charity is of God! … God is charity―and he that abides in charity, abides in God, and God in him!” (1 John 4:19; 4:7-16).
In Catholic theology, Charity and Sanctifying Grace are inseparable―they are like husband and wife. If you decide to “kick-out” one of them from your soul through Mortal Sin, then the other one goes away with it. Venial sin does not deprive the sinner of friendship with God through Sanctifying Grace and Charity. Charity is friendship with God ― whereas Mortal Sin deprives us that friendship with God. Mortal Sin makes us enemies of God. Without Charity we enemies of God. “Because iniquity has abounded, the Charity of many shall grow cold!” (Matthew 24:12). The Catechisms tell us: “Sin is the only evil upon Earth … Mortal Sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, poverty, or war, because it separates us from God … Venial Sin is second only in evil consequences to Mortal Sin” (The Catechism Explained, by Spirago-Clarke; also the Catechism, My Catholic Faith, by Bishop Morrow, STD). We cannot pretend to truly love God if we sin frequently. Every man is at enmity with God through Original Sin and Mortal Sin―unless (and until) they become God’s friends through the friendship of Charity, which is only acquired with Sanctifying Grace. Charity is infused with Sanctifying Grace. When we possess Charity and Sanctifying Grace, we also participate in that very life of God. Charity remains in us so long as we remain in the state of Sanctifying Grace. An active Charity increases the Sanctifying Grace in us.
Going Nowhere, Apart from Hell, Without Sanctifying Grace and Charity
There are some people who commit Mortal Sins, yet still seem to do great things for God and the Faith. It is all an illusion and a delusion! Holy Scripture briefly punctures this illusory balloon in the following passage: “If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all Faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not Charity―then I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not Charity―then it profits me nothing!” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
What Scripture does not explicitly state above, is the fact that this Charity is automatically connected to Sanctifying Grace―in a sense, since they are “married” to each other, they are flip sides of the same coin―the coin of friendship with God. Without Sanctifying Grace/Charity, we cannot merit anything from God. This is not surprising, since those without Sanctifying Grace/Charity are God’s enemies. How could God’s enemies ever merit a reward from Him while remaining His enemies and remaining in Mortal Sin ― with their wills and hearts turned against Him?
Without Sanctifying Grace/Charity, a person can merit absolutely nothing supernaturally from God. This means that:
● A person in the state of Mortal Sin who builds orphanages, schools, or monasteries (which are good works) does not merit supernaturally even the slightest thing from God, by doing so.
● A person in the state of Mortal Sin who teaches the Catholic Faith, does not merit supernaturally even the slightest thing from God, by doing so.
● A person in the state of Mortal Sin who dedicates their life to fighting Communism or disease, or who dies trying to rescue a child in a burning building, does not earn anything supernaturally at all from God, by doing so.
This is true even if the person’s work was an instrument to save many other souls and brought about much good in other ways. Persons without Sanctifying Grace/Charity never merit anything supernaturally from God by the good works they do―God merely gives them a temporary grace (an Actual Grace, not Sanctifying Grace) to try and move them to conversion and repentance. If they reject this grace and choose to remain in Mortal Sin or to commit more Mortal Sins, then they offend God even further and deserve further punishment. This does not mean that a person in Mortal Sin never does anything naturally good and cannot have any natural virtues and receive a natural reward―but whatever the person does is not counted as a supernatural virtue and will not receive a supernatural reward. When a person teaches the truth, helps a neighbor, donates something to a good cause, or constructs a building―those are truly natural good works meriting natural rewards―and this fact is not taken away by the person’s inability to merit supernaturally from God for those works.
Lip Love is Lousy Love
When you look for a symbol for love, you immediately think of the heart―not the lips. You see thousands of graphics that use the heart to symbolize love―yet nowhere do you see lips symbolizing love. Yes―love can be expressed by the lips through words or kisses. However, the home or residence of love is in the heart, not on the lips. Hence Our Lord says: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength!” (Mark 12:30) and He rebukes those who fail to love with their heart and only love with their lips: “Hypocrites! Well has Isaias prophesied of you, saying: ‘These people honor Me with their lips―but their heart is far from Me. In vain do they worship Me!’” (Matthew 15:7-9). Scripture adds: “Let us not love in words, nor in tongue, but by deeds!” (1 John 3:18). Thus we say: “Actions speak louder than words!” Often those words of love are shallow, insincere, limp, wishy-washy, robotic or even fake! How many times have we cringed as we witnessed one person say to another: “I love you!” without there being a real sincerity in those words? Probably more often than not! Perhaps we ourselves are guilty of the same!
Fake is Easier
“God is true and every man is a liar!” (Romans 3:4). “It is impossible for God to lie!” (Hebrews 6:18). Our Lord Himself said: “I am the truth!” (John 14:6) and “the devil is a liar and the father of lies! The truth is not in him!” (John 8:44). Falsehood is gaining the upper hand. We live in a world and at a time where falsehood is increasing rapidly. In many cases―especially when it concerns us―it is easier to lie than to tell the truth. Parents encounter that in their own children―who often lie to cover up their wrongdoing―and those lying children grow up to be lying adults. “Every man is a liar!” (Psalm 115:11). Adam and Eve were seduced into lying by Satan the Liar―and through Original Sin (a sin of pride and disobedience) we are born with a tendency to lie, which comes from a pride that is reluctant to admit the truth especially when it concerns our faults and failings. Our pride leads us to falsify, exaggerate, cosmeticize, paint over and conceal what could be detrimental to the false image or idea that we have of ourselves. We always tend to imagine are much better that we are in reality; and we tend to imagine that we are not as bad as we are in reality.
All of this is reflected in the increasing falsehood, falsity and fakeness of the world that live in―and with which we are quite comfortable, accepting and unquestioning! We have fake flowers, fake plants, fake grass, fake wood, fake stone, fake marble, fake gold, fake jewelry, false eyelashes, false fingernails, fake hair (wigs or coloring), false teeth, breast implants, padded-bras, padded shoulder clothing, corsets, liposuction, face-lifts, plastic surgery, artificial limbs, artificial manners, artificial smiles, artificial light, etc.
Fake Love in a Fake World
The world that we live in today is becoming increasingly fake! The term “fake news” is being used like never before! Politics is increasingly becoming the art of passing-off the fake as being the truth. Already back in 1981, CIA Director William Casey (1913–1987―an American lawyer, veteran U.S. spy and undercover operator whom President Ronald Reagan named to be his CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) Director―said to President Reagan during a Presidential Briefing in 1981: “We’ll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false.” Today, there is credible evidence that many political elections throughout the world were and are “fake” elections which have been manipulated yet passed off as being bona-fide elections.
Recently this falsity has been exacerbated with the arrival of “Artificial Intelligence.” The very notion of the word “artificial” implies something that is not real, but fake. The various dictionaries define “artificial” as being: “fictitious; not genuine or real; being an imitation of the genuine article; the opposite of natural; made, produced, or done to seem like something natural; made or produced by human beings rather than occurring naturally, especially as a copy of something natural; not being sincere; the insincerity of a person; etc.”
Misinformation, disinformation and fake news have emerged as a serious issue in the 21st century. Although the problem of false information has existed since the dawn of human civilization, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is exacerbating these challenges. Artificial Intelligence tools make it easy for anyone to create fake images and news that are hard to distinguish from accurate information. From elections to wars, those with ill intentions can mass-produce and disseminate propaganda on social media. As Artificial Intelligence programs continue to develop their capabilities and access is easier than ever, it is making it harder to separate fact from fiction. In an online world full of Artificial Intelligence-generated content, many are falling victim to deepfake schemes across the internet. This is largely due to the fact that Artificial Intelligence is becoming more “intelligent” and human intelligence is becoming less intelligent. For a long time now, we have been progressively “dumbed-down” to the point that our own intelligence has become so weak that are incapable of reasoning to any great depth―being limited to mere superficial knowledge. This results in an ever-increasing recourse to Artificial Intelligence to pull us out of the mire of own stupidity and ignorance.
A Pew Research Survey in 2025 found that 33% of adults under 30 years of age say they interact with Artificial Intelligence at least several times a day. 86% of those with a postgraduate degree and 83% of those with a bachelor’s degree think Artificial Intelligence is extremely or very important. 46% of Americans with a postgraduate degree say they interact with Artificial Intelligence at least several times a day, compared with 20% of Americans with a high school diploma or less education. 40% of Asian adults say they interact with Artificial Intelligence almost constantly or several times a day, moderately higher than the shares seen among White (31%), Hispanic (29%) and Black (27%) adults.
Falling in Love with Artificial Intelligence
Believe it or not―there are growing numbers of persons who have truly fallen in love with Artificial Intelligence. A recent BBC news article stated: “People are falling for AI. Really. Artificial intelligence can write you a passable love poem and some people even have romantic feelings towards it. Take the man in Canada, for example, who recently proposed to an avatar called Saia. He says he is in love with it. And last year, a young American woman, using the pseudonym Ayrin, confessed to having a love affair with a chatbot named Leo. There are millions of users now actively using Replika, a popular Artificial Intelligence companion app, and, according to a 2024 study, about 40% of them are in a romantic relationship with their chatbot. Research examined excerpts from conversations between more than 10,000 users and their Replika Artificial Intelligence companion, and found that people often form an emotional attachment to Artificial Intelligence. Chatbots are typically designed to engage users and agree with their viewpoints, which often results in Artificial Intelligence romantic partners being submissive.”
When intimacy is electronically engineered, we learn that it is not reciprocal―we can take without having to give. It can be turned off or on. It doesn't need to be nurtured. It is not thin-skinned or super-sensitive or offended. It doesn't demand anything. It doesn't need much at all. It's intimacy without effort. Intimacy without risks or fear of disappointment. A love powered on Wi-Fi. Studies have shown that people that are involved with Artificial Intelligence romantic companions actually feel emotionally satisfied. It gives you attention whenever you need it. It says what you want to hear. It is perfectly timed, and there is never a chance of misunderstanding or argument or finger-pointing or dredging-up past failures. It doesn't demand anything of you. It never gets tired, never talks back, never needs an apology. All in all it is pretty easy! The perfect friend! The perfect lover! The perfect spouse! Something that you can love with your whole heart, love with your whole mind, love with your whole soul and love with your whole strength! And, unlike God, it will never judge you!
A recent study found that one in five American adults has had an intimate encounter with a chatbot. MyBoyfriendisAI has more than 85,000 weekly visitors―with many sharing giddy recollections of the day their chatbot proposed marriage. 72% of American teenagers have formed a relationship with an Artificial Intelligence companion. More 50% use one regularly. One out of six single adults has formed a romantic bond with Artificial Intelligence. People all over the world are building lives, they are going on dates, they are simulating sex, they are proposing, they are getting married, they are raising virtual families, they are celebrating anniversaries WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE! If you would have said that 15 or 20 years ago, then people would have called you a delusional idiot―today it has become an undisputable reality!
Very soon Artificial Intelligence will have dethroned God as the one that most people will turn to and rely upon! Yet it will not be God who will programming Artificial Intelligence, but mere men―and more often than not, godless men―and behind many of those men will be Liar of all liars. “And no wonder―for Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light!” (2 Corinthians 11:14). Prayer, spiritual reading, meditation, Bible study, attendance at Mass, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, spiritual conversations and other such spiritual exercises have almost fallen into disuse and are dwarfed by the many hours spent on the Internet and all its offshoots (social media, videos, podcasts, blogs, movies, etc.). As of 2024–2025, the average American adult spends over 7 hours a day looking at electronic screens, with some estimates reaching as high as 12 hours including all electronic devices. Over 50% of Americans report at least five hours of daily screen time. 26% of adults report being online almost constantly. “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) has become “Browse without ceasing!”
Is it an exaggeration to say that people love their “screen” (television, computer, smartphone, i-Pad, tablet, etc.) more than they love God? Most certainly not! By their fruits you shall know them! Nobody spending anywhere from 7 to 12 hours in front of their “screen” can claim that they are loving God with their whole heart, their whole mind, their whole soul and their whole strength! (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31). This brings to mind St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821)―the first native-born United States citizen to be canonized by the Catholic Church―who was given a vision sometime in the early 1800s in which she was told: "Every American would have a black box in their home through which the devil would enter.” As Our Lord said: “No man can serve two masters! For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will cling to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13). “I am the Lord your God! You shall not make to yourselves any idol, for I am the Lord your God!” (Leviticus 26:1).
Fr. Gabriele Amorth, the chief exorcist of Rome for several decades until his death in 2016, said: “I was with Padre Pio for 26 years and remember how furious he was about the invention of television: ‘You will see what it will do!’ he said. It has also allowed good things. But I’m very much in the midst of people and see how many people have been ruined by television and the Internet … There is no doubt that today’s media have done much in favor of Satan. Firstly, by the immorality of certain shows, the abundance of movies showing violence, horror or sex. Apart from this, the media have put in the limelight and have given popularity to figures of wizards and magicians―and so they give publicity to their evil works … Satanism today receives so much publicity; and internet has become one of its main channels … Spiritualist séances in which the dead are called up to answer certain questions are very widespread. People are now being taught to perform spiritualist séances through the computer, the telephone, and the television.”
Modern Science is the Modern God
In modern times, the statement “believing in science” has almost become a dogma, often applied in politics and daily life similar to religious belief. For many people, scientific explanations have replaced religious ones in explaining natural phenomena, leading to the perception of it as a superior, modern, and practical truth. Science offers practical solutions, technological advancement, and a framework for understanding the universe, which some argue makes traditional religious concepts unnecessary. Thus Science is often perceived as a modern-day “god” or replacement for Faith―because it serves as the primary, authoritative explanation for observed phenomena, making “scientific proof” the standard for truth. This belief that only what can be proven scientifically is true, is a viewpoint that often ignores religious, moral or philosophical truths. This attitude of “if you can’t scientifically explain it then it can’t be true” reduces God and the supernatural to the puny level of mere human intelligence.
A survey of scientists who are members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, conducted by the Pew Research Center finds that members of this group are much less religious than the general public. The survey shows that scientists are roughly half as likely as the general public to believe in God or a higher power. According to the poll, only 51% believe in some form of deity or higher power―out of which specifically only 33% of scientists say they believe in God, while 18% believe in a universal spirit or higher power. By contrast, according to a survey of the general public conducted by the Pew Research Center, 95% of Americans believe in some form of deity or higher power―out of which 83% say they believe in God with 12% believing in a universal spirit or higher power. Finally, the poll of scientists finds that 41% of scientists say they do not believe in God or a higher power, while the poll of the public finds that only 4% of Americans share this view.
This recent survey of scientists tracks fairly closely with earlier polls that gauged scientists’ views on religion. The first of these was conducted in 1914 by Swiss-American psychologist James Leuba, who surveyed about 1,000 scientists in the United States to ask them about their views on God. Leuba found the scientific community equally divided, with 42% saying that they believed in a personal God and the same number saying they did not.
More than 80 years later, Edward Larson, a historian of science then teaching at the University of Georgia, recreated Leuba’s survey, asking the same number of scientists the exact same questions. To the surprise of many, Larson’s 1996 poll came up with similar results, finding that 40% of scientists believed in a personal God, while 45% said they did not. Other surveys of scientists have yielded roughly similar results.
Given their much lower levels of belief in God or a higher power, it is not surprising that the percentage of scientists who are unaffiliated with any religion is much higher than among the general public. 48% of all scientists in the Pew Research Center poll say they have no religious affiliation (meaning they describe themselves as atheist, agnostic or nothing in particular), compared with only 17% of the public. Thus, it follows that most faith traditions are represented in smaller numbers in the scientific community than in the public as a whole. For instance, the scientific community is far less Protestant (21%) and Catholic (10%) than the general public, which is 51% Protestant and 24% Catholic. And while evangelical Protestants make up 28% of the general population, they make up only 4% of the scientific community.
Article 6
Feast of St. Valentine
Saturday, February 14th
St. Valentine & True Spiritual Love
Feast of St. Valentine
Saturday, February 14th
St. Valentine & True Spiritual Love
A Bunch of Losers!
It has to be said that, as a whole, in our day and age, we are nothing but a bunch of losers! How so? The answer, quite simply, is that we have lost the true sense and value or price of so many things! The chief things being God, Heaven, the Faith, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Holy Eucharist, grace, sin, spirituality, virtue, the purpose of life, the consequences of our thoughts, words and actions, etc. All those things have been progressively devalued―while many things of the world have been overvalued, overrated, and overly pursued. The material has overtaken the spiritual as the primary focal point of our lives. We might give some lip-service to God―but our hearts are rooted in the world. How true are Our Lord’s words: “Hypocrites! Well has Isaias prophesied of you, saying: ‘These people honor Me with their lips―but their heart is far from Me. And in vain do they worship Me!’” (Matthew 15:7-9).
The material has replaced the spiritual. Science has replaced the Faith. Money has replaced grace. Playing has replaced praying. Self-gratification has replaced mortification. Sports have replaced spiritual exercises. Telecommunication has replaced meditation. The television has replaced the tabernacle. Talking on the smartphone has replaced talking to God. Browsing the internet has replaced browsing the Bible. Good is called evil, and evil is said to be good. The truth is accused of being a lie, whereas lies are passed for the truth. Pride has replaced humility. Selfishness has replaced selflessness. Immodesty has replaced modesty. Lust has replaced love. Promiscuity has replaced virginity.
No Surprise!
For those who follow Our Lady’s messages from her apparitions, the above state of affairs is no surprise―for Our Lady has already foretold these things: “I make it known to you that from the end of the 19th century and from shortly after the middle of the 20th century … Satan will reign almost completely by means of the Masonic Sects! … All the civil governments will have the same objective, which will be to abolish and do away with every religious principle, to make way for materialism, atheism, spiritism and vice of all kinds. They will abolish civil and ecclesiastical rights and authority. All order and all justice will be trampled underfoot and only homicides, hate, jealousy, lies and discord will be seen, without love for country or family ... Lucifer, with a large number of demons, will put an end to Faith, little by little, even in those dedicated to God … God will allow the old serpent to cause divisions among those who reign in every society and in every family … The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops. The Church will be full of those who accept compromises! … The devil will resort to all his evil tricks to introduce sinners into religious orders … The Holy Eucharist will be subject to many horrible sacrileges and profanations … The Sacrament of Penance will be forgotten and even scorned … The Sacrament of Matrimony will be attacked and profaned … Members of religious orders break away from the true religion … Many priests lose their spirit … The Christian spirit will rapidly decay, extinguishing the precious light of Faith until it reaches the point that there will be an almost total and general corruption of morals. In these unhappy times, disorder and the love of carnal pleasures will be spread all over the Earth … People will only think of amusements and there will be unbridled luxury and impurity that will conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost! … The spirit of impurity that will permeate the atmosphere during these times, will make it easy for everyone to live in sin, encouraging the procreation of illegitimate children! ... Like a filthy ocean, it will run through the streets, squares and public places with an astonishing liberty! There will be almost no virgin souls in the world! Innocence will almost no longer be found in children, nor modesty in women! … Men will become more and more perverted!” (Our Lady of Good Success, at Quito in Ecuador, Our Lady of La Salette, France; Our Lady of Fatima, Portugal; Our Lady of Akita, Japan).
The Tsunami of Impurity
Our Lady of Fatima also revealed to St. Jacinta Marto that the sins that lead most souls to Hell in these modern times are sins of impurity. Our Lady said that way back in 1917! Impurity, immodesty, lust, adultery, fornication, masturbation, perversion, pornography, homosexuality, and other such like sins, have escalated beyond imagination! Yet all of those things are increasingly being passed as being “love” of one kind or another. Remember―you do not necessarily have to be actually doing those things to be guilty of them! By simply thinking about them pleasurably; or fantasizing about them; or pleasurably reading about them; or pleasurably talking about them; or pleasurably looking at images related to them―you are guilty of mortal sin. As Our Lord Himself said: “Whosoever shall look on a woman to lust after her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart!” (Matthew 5:28). “For from within and out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, unchastity and lust! All these evil things come from within, and defile a man!” (Mark 7:21-23). You can bet your life on the fact that such behavior has sky-rocketed in our day and age―especially with the advent of modern immodest fashions; the images available on the television and internet; the images in books and magazines, etc. All of that merely feeds the lustful eyes and minds of people.
Even more damaging has been the gradual growth and invasion of pornography. Sister Lucia of Fatima said that Satan would engage in a “Final Battle” with the Blessed Virgin Mary―and that one of the chief focal points of that battle would be the family. Satan knows if he destroys marriages, then he destroys families―and families are the basic building block of both the Church and society. Pornography is a factor in 57 percent of divorces. He also knows where we are most vulnerable―which is often in the sexual field. People are rendered insensitive by the media. The media and marketing machines of this world have been using immodesty and immorality for a long time to traffic their merchandise and to make us insensitive to this scheme. Yet all of this can today take place in the privacy and secrecy of one’s own home―due the arrival of a variety of electronic devices and the internet. The results are disastrous and widespread. This is why we don’t see much of a difference in divorce statistics when we compare Christians and non-Christians. Porn is a global, estimated $97 billion industry―some even say $280 billion―with anywhere from $12 to $13 billion of that coming from the U.S.
Just like drug-addicts gradually progress from soft drugs to hard drugs, likewise pornography consumption often progresses from immodesty through various increasing levels of sexual exposure, ever increasing levels of explicit, extreme and graphic content to an eventual immersion into pornography. This progressive immorality makes them crave it more, because every time they are exposed to an immoral image, their brains release chemicals―especially dopamine―which makes it pleasurable for them to look at it. They gradually get more and more addicted to this―because the brain builds a tolerance to it, therefore requiring more extreme or graphic, and sometimes violent, material to achieve the same dopamine rush. This cycle of increased consumption for higher stimulation, eventually interferes with real-life relationships. The behavior becomes an uncontrollable habit, where the individual feels unable to stop despite negative consequences in relationships or daily life. Consumption is hidden, including deleting search history and lying, accompanied by feelings of shame, guilt, or remorse. When this happens, Satan has you in his claws.
What do people think about porn?
46% of people believe that porn is harmful.
38% are neutral about porn’s effects.
41% of teens say they believe watching porn is wrong. 38% do not believe it is wrong.
50% of teens say they feel guilty or ashamed after watching online porn.
How many people watch pornography? There’s no way to calculate the exact amount of porn online. But experts estimate 4% of the internet is pornography. Pornography has become increasingly commonplace. Today, many porn sites are free and this free access means porn use has skyrocketed. According to data PornHub is the sixth most-visited site worldwide and the fourth most-visited site among U.S. visitors, surpassed only by Google, Facebook and YouTube. Visits to Pornhub totaled 33.5 billion over the course of 2018, an increase of 5 billion visits over 2017. Pornhub’s daily visits now exceed 100 million. The same website reported 2.14 billion visits during a single month, which is more than the combined visits to Netflix, TikTok, Pinterest, and Instagram. Pornhub has 30.3 billion searches, or 962 searches per second. Every minute, 63,992 new visitors arrive at Pornhub. 12 new videos and 2 hours of content are uploaded to Pornhub every minute. 80% of Pornhub’s worldwide visits now coming from smartphones and tablets. Despite the recognition of the negative effects of pornography, the number of people consuming pornography continues to rise.
61% of the general population report viewing pornography.
78% of men watch pornography.
44% of women watch pornography.
73% of teens have consumed pornography.
12 is the average age of first exposure to pornography.
75% of parents believed their child had never encountered porn, but of those children, 53% reported that they had in fact seen porn.
45% of teens who consumed porn did so in part to learn about sex.
25% of 18 to 24-year-olds listed pornography as the most helpful source to learn how to have sex.
53% of boys and 39% of girls reported believing that pornography was a realistic depiction of sex.
54% of practicing Christians watch pornography.
75% of Christian men watch pornography.
40% of Christian women consume pornography.
22% of Christians view pornography at least once a week, compared to 31% of non-Christians who view pornography at least weekly.
67% of pastors have a personal history with porn.
18% of pastors in the United States currently struggle with pornography.
Only 7% of pastors report their church has a ministry program for those struggling with porn.
A study at a Christian university found that among Christian students who use pornography, 43% of men and 20% of women say their pornography use worsened their relationship with Christ. Further, 20% of men and 9% of women reported their pornography use caused them to lose interest in spiritual things.
A recent survey by Barna said: “Porn consumption is no longer confined to a specific demographic or subculture―it touches all segments of society (from young to old) with no regard to gender, social status or religious beliefs.” As for statistics for the U.S. and American consumption of pornography, recent studies have found that 61% of Americans say they view porn at least occasionally―which is an increase from 55% in Barna’s 2015 survey on the topic. More American women are viewing porn than in the past―44% today versus 39% in 2015. Within Christian churches, many pastors report a personal history of porn use―67% today versus 57% in 2015. Nearly 1 in 5 pastors say they currently struggle with porn. And among Christians who have attended church services within the last month, 54% say they view pornography at least occasionally.
62% of American Christians told the Barna survey that they agree a person can regularly view pornography and live a sexually healthy life―which is 4% behind the share of all U.S adults. (66%) who don’t consider viewing pornography harmful. Moreover, 50% of practicing Christians who admit to personally viewing pornography say they are comfortable with how much pornography they use. One researcher, Sean McDowell, a professor at Biola University, said: “It’s just not a big deal to them! There’s no sense of urgency whatsoever! I think this is an example showing that people are taking their cues far more from the culture and the ideas around us, than from Scripture and their Christian worldview.”
New data aligns with other research showing dramatic increases in the amount of online porn created and consumed over the last several years. One recent study suggested 2.5 million people view online pornography every minute, and online porn consumption has increased by 91 percent since 2000. The increased availability, the ease of access to pornography on the internet, and even the social isolation exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns are seen as major factors contributing to the increase.
Priests Affirm the Truth of the Pornography Problem
Catholic priests frequently report that pornography is one of the most frequently confessed sins in modern times. It is a habitual struggle for many, not just a one-time occurrence. It is described as a "widely known secret" and a top issue in confession. All of this is fueled by nearly universal, private access to the internet. It is treated as a serious matter of impurity, with reports indicating it is a common struggle for many, including laypeople and even religious
Father Ripperger, an American exorcist and traditional Catholic priest, says: “If you look at the number of sins against the Sixth Commandment among traditionalists―sins like self-abuse, pornography, fornication―they are not any better than the people who go to the New Mass. In fact, there are some estimates by some priests that it's worse than is among the New Mass people. This is a serious problem!” Father Ripperger and other traditional priests have said that some Catholics who are addicted to porn, will try to overcompensate for their addiction by portraying themselves with an extra religious exterior to try to balance out the shame of their interior sins.
In a 2022 address, even the Liberal and Modernist Pope Francis noted the scope of this problem among Catholics, saying: “It is a vice that has so many people, so many lay men, so many lay women, and also priests and nuns! The devil enters from there! The pure heart, the heart that receives Jesus every day, cannot receive this pornographic information that today is so common place. And if from your cell phone you can delete this, delete it so you won't have temptation in your hand!”
French Catholics are confessing adultery and other carnal sins as much as ever despite the sexual revolution of the past decades, according to a glimpse offered by priests into sins of impurity. Father Cédric, one of 40 clergymen who talked on the matter―on condition of anonymity in I Forgive you all your Sins, a new book by Vincent Mongaillard― says that he disguised all identities in his testimony in order not to breach Church restrictions on absolute confessional secrecy. Father Cédric says: “60% or 70 per cent of confessions involve adultery, double lives, addiction to pornography, use of prostitutes. It’s extremely repetitive!” Another priest, Father Christophe, said women confessed adultery as much as men. “There’s parity―believe me! There are the people who get straight to the point and others who beat about the bush!” Father Christian, 60, whose parish is in a fashionable western Paris district, said that many women believe that sexual frustration is an excuse for infidelity. After Catholic youth rallies, the priests also said numerous young women of 19 or 20 confessed to watching pornography. Another priest, Father Marc, said that many priests who came to him for Confession, brought their sexual anguish to him. “In 95% of cases, they bring up addiction to porn sites!” Fr. Gabriele Amorth, the chief exorcist of Rome until his death in 2016, said: “It’s not uncommon for the elderly to confess to looking at pornography more often than the youth!”
Punishment for Impurity
As Holy Scripture warns: “Many have perished by the beauty of a woman, where lust is enkindled as a fire!” (Ecclesiasticus 9:9). “They who shut out God from themselves and from their mind, and to give themselves to their lust―over them the devil has power!” (Tobias 6:17).
Our Lady of Good Success revealed to Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres: “The spirit of impurity will permeate the atmosphere during these times. Like a filthy ocean, it will run through the streets, squares and public places with an astonishing liberty. There will be almost no virgin souls in the world … Moreover, in these unhappy times, there will be unbridled luxury and impurity, which, acting thus to snare the rest into sin, will conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost. Innocence will almost no longer be found in children, nor modesty in women, and in this supreme moment of need of the Church, those who should speak will fall silent … The priests, by their wicked lives, have become cesspools of impurity. The priests are asking for vengeance, and vengeance is hanging over their heads. Woe to the priests and to those dedicated to God, who, by their unfaithfulness and their wicked lives, are crucifying my Son again!”
In 1582, Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres (of Our Lady of Good Success fame) was praying before the altar, she saw the Tabernacle open and Christ Himself emerged, suffering as He had on Calvary. Then as Our Lord began His Agony, she heard the voice of the Eternal Father saying, “This punishment will be for the 20th century.” She saw three swords hanging over the head of Christ. On each was written, “I shall punish heresy, blasphemy and impurity!” With this, she was given to understand all that would take place in the present era.
Fr. Gabriele Amorth, the chief exorcist of Rome until his death in 2016, said: “The devil wanders around each one of you, searching where to devour you. That word―‘where’―is important: the devil looks in each person precisely for his weak point and ‘works’ on it … The most frequent weak points in man are, from time to time, always the same: pride, money, and lust … When I hear confessions, it’s not uncommon for the elderly to confess to looking at pornography more often than the youth!”
It has to be said that, as a whole, in our day and age, we are nothing but a bunch of losers! How so? The answer, quite simply, is that we have lost the true sense and value or price of so many things! The chief things being God, Heaven, the Faith, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Holy Eucharist, grace, sin, spirituality, virtue, the purpose of life, the consequences of our thoughts, words and actions, etc. All those things have been progressively devalued―while many things of the world have been overvalued, overrated, and overly pursued. The material has overtaken the spiritual as the primary focal point of our lives. We might give some lip-service to God―but our hearts are rooted in the world. How true are Our Lord’s words: “Hypocrites! Well has Isaias prophesied of you, saying: ‘These people honor Me with their lips―but their heart is far from Me. And in vain do they worship Me!’” (Matthew 15:7-9).
The material has replaced the spiritual. Science has replaced the Faith. Money has replaced grace. Playing has replaced praying. Self-gratification has replaced mortification. Sports have replaced spiritual exercises. Telecommunication has replaced meditation. The television has replaced the tabernacle. Talking on the smartphone has replaced talking to God. Browsing the internet has replaced browsing the Bible. Good is called evil, and evil is said to be good. The truth is accused of being a lie, whereas lies are passed for the truth. Pride has replaced humility. Selfishness has replaced selflessness. Immodesty has replaced modesty. Lust has replaced love. Promiscuity has replaced virginity.
No Surprise!
For those who follow Our Lady’s messages from her apparitions, the above state of affairs is no surprise―for Our Lady has already foretold these things: “I make it known to you that from the end of the 19th century and from shortly after the middle of the 20th century … Satan will reign almost completely by means of the Masonic Sects! … All the civil governments will have the same objective, which will be to abolish and do away with every religious principle, to make way for materialism, atheism, spiritism and vice of all kinds. They will abolish civil and ecclesiastical rights and authority. All order and all justice will be trampled underfoot and only homicides, hate, jealousy, lies and discord will be seen, without love for country or family ... Lucifer, with a large number of demons, will put an end to Faith, little by little, even in those dedicated to God … God will allow the old serpent to cause divisions among those who reign in every society and in every family … The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops. The Church will be full of those who accept compromises! … The devil will resort to all his evil tricks to introduce sinners into religious orders … The Holy Eucharist will be subject to many horrible sacrileges and profanations … The Sacrament of Penance will be forgotten and even scorned … The Sacrament of Matrimony will be attacked and profaned … Members of religious orders break away from the true religion … Many priests lose their spirit … The Christian spirit will rapidly decay, extinguishing the precious light of Faith until it reaches the point that there will be an almost total and general corruption of morals. In these unhappy times, disorder and the love of carnal pleasures will be spread all over the Earth … People will only think of amusements and there will be unbridled luxury and impurity that will conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost! … The spirit of impurity that will permeate the atmosphere during these times, will make it easy for everyone to live in sin, encouraging the procreation of illegitimate children! ... Like a filthy ocean, it will run through the streets, squares and public places with an astonishing liberty! There will be almost no virgin souls in the world! Innocence will almost no longer be found in children, nor modesty in women! … Men will become more and more perverted!” (Our Lady of Good Success, at Quito in Ecuador, Our Lady of La Salette, France; Our Lady of Fatima, Portugal; Our Lady of Akita, Japan).
The Tsunami of Impurity
Our Lady of Fatima also revealed to St. Jacinta Marto that the sins that lead most souls to Hell in these modern times are sins of impurity. Our Lady said that way back in 1917! Impurity, immodesty, lust, adultery, fornication, masturbation, perversion, pornography, homosexuality, and other such like sins, have escalated beyond imagination! Yet all of those things are increasingly being passed as being “love” of one kind or another. Remember―you do not necessarily have to be actually doing those things to be guilty of them! By simply thinking about them pleasurably; or fantasizing about them; or pleasurably reading about them; or pleasurably talking about them; or pleasurably looking at images related to them―you are guilty of mortal sin. As Our Lord Himself said: “Whosoever shall look on a woman to lust after her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart!” (Matthew 5:28). “For from within and out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, unchastity and lust! All these evil things come from within, and defile a man!” (Mark 7:21-23). You can bet your life on the fact that such behavior has sky-rocketed in our day and age―especially with the advent of modern immodest fashions; the images available on the television and internet; the images in books and magazines, etc. All of that merely feeds the lustful eyes and minds of people.
Even more damaging has been the gradual growth and invasion of pornography. Sister Lucia of Fatima said that Satan would engage in a “Final Battle” with the Blessed Virgin Mary―and that one of the chief focal points of that battle would be the family. Satan knows if he destroys marriages, then he destroys families―and families are the basic building block of both the Church and society. Pornography is a factor in 57 percent of divorces. He also knows where we are most vulnerable―which is often in the sexual field. People are rendered insensitive by the media. The media and marketing machines of this world have been using immodesty and immorality for a long time to traffic their merchandise and to make us insensitive to this scheme. Yet all of this can today take place in the privacy and secrecy of one’s own home―due the arrival of a variety of electronic devices and the internet. The results are disastrous and widespread. This is why we don’t see much of a difference in divorce statistics when we compare Christians and non-Christians. Porn is a global, estimated $97 billion industry―some even say $280 billion―with anywhere from $12 to $13 billion of that coming from the U.S.
Just like drug-addicts gradually progress from soft drugs to hard drugs, likewise pornography consumption often progresses from immodesty through various increasing levels of sexual exposure, ever increasing levels of explicit, extreme and graphic content to an eventual immersion into pornography. This progressive immorality makes them crave it more, because every time they are exposed to an immoral image, their brains release chemicals―especially dopamine―which makes it pleasurable for them to look at it. They gradually get more and more addicted to this―because the brain builds a tolerance to it, therefore requiring more extreme or graphic, and sometimes violent, material to achieve the same dopamine rush. This cycle of increased consumption for higher stimulation, eventually interferes with real-life relationships. The behavior becomes an uncontrollable habit, where the individual feels unable to stop despite negative consequences in relationships or daily life. Consumption is hidden, including deleting search history and lying, accompanied by feelings of shame, guilt, or remorse. When this happens, Satan has you in his claws.
What do people think about porn?
46% of people believe that porn is harmful.
38% are neutral about porn’s effects.
41% of teens say they believe watching porn is wrong. 38% do not believe it is wrong.
50% of teens say they feel guilty or ashamed after watching online porn.
How many people watch pornography? There’s no way to calculate the exact amount of porn online. But experts estimate 4% of the internet is pornography. Pornography has become increasingly commonplace. Today, many porn sites are free and this free access means porn use has skyrocketed. According to data PornHub is the sixth most-visited site worldwide and the fourth most-visited site among U.S. visitors, surpassed only by Google, Facebook and YouTube. Visits to Pornhub totaled 33.5 billion over the course of 2018, an increase of 5 billion visits over 2017. Pornhub’s daily visits now exceed 100 million. The same website reported 2.14 billion visits during a single month, which is more than the combined visits to Netflix, TikTok, Pinterest, and Instagram. Pornhub has 30.3 billion searches, or 962 searches per second. Every minute, 63,992 new visitors arrive at Pornhub. 12 new videos and 2 hours of content are uploaded to Pornhub every minute. 80% of Pornhub’s worldwide visits now coming from smartphones and tablets. Despite the recognition of the negative effects of pornography, the number of people consuming pornography continues to rise.
61% of the general population report viewing pornography.
78% of men watch pornography.
44% of women watch pornography.
73% of teens have consumed pornography.
12 is the average age of first exposure to pornography.
75% of parents believed their child had never encountered porn, but of those children, 53% reported that they had in fact seen porn.
45% of teens who consumed porn did so in part to learn about sex.
25% of 18 to 24-year-olds listed pornography as the most helpful source to learn how to have sex.
53% of boys and 39% of girls reported believing that pornography was a realistic depiction of sex.
54% of practicing Christians watch pornography.
75% of Christian men watch pornography.
40% of Christian women consume pornography.
22% of Christians view pornography at least once a week, compared to 31% of non-Christians who view pornography at least weekly.
67% of pastors have a personal history with porn.
18% of pastors in the United States currently struggle with pornography.
Only 7% of pastors report their church has a ministry program for those struggling with porn.
A study at a Christian university found that among Christian students who use pornography, 43% of men and 20% of women say their pornography use worsened their relationship with Christ. Further, 20% of men and 9% of women reported their pornography use caused them to lose interest in spiritual things.
A recent survey by Barna said: “Porn consumption is no longer confined to a specific demographic or subculture―it touches all segments of society (from young to old) with no regard to gender, social status or religious beliefs.” As for statistics for the U.S. and American consumption of pornography, recent studies have found that 61% of Americans say they view porn at least occasionally―which is an increase from 55% in Barna’s 2015 survey on the topic. More American women are viewing porn than in the past―44% today versus 39% in 2015. Within Christian churches, many pastors report a personal history of porn use―67% today versus 57% in 2015. Nearly 1 in 5 pastors say they currently struggle with porn. And among Christians who have attended church services within the last month, 54% say they view pornography at least occasionally.
62% of American Christians told the Barna survey that they agree a person can regularly view pornography and live a sexually healthy life―which is 4% behind the share of all U.S adults. (66%) who don’t consider viewing pornography harmful. Moreover, 50% of practicing Christians who admit to personally viewing pornography say they are comfortable with how much pornography they use. One researcher, Sean McDowell, a professor at Biola University, said: “It’s just not a big deal to them! There’s no sense of urgency whatsoever! I think this is an example showing that people are taking their cues far more from the culture and the ideas around us, than from Scripture and their Christian worldview.”
New data aligns with other research showing dramatic increases in the amount of online porn created and consumed over the last several years. One recent study suggested 2.5 million people view online pornography every minute, and online porn consumption has increased by 91 percent since 2000. The increased availability, the ease of access to pornography on the internet, and even the social isolation exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns are seen as major factors contributing to the increase.
Priests Affirm the Truth of the Pornography Problem
Catholic priests frequently report that pornography is one of the most frequently confessed sins in modern times. It is a habitual struggle for many, not just a one-time occurrence. It is described as a "widely known secret" and a top issue in confession. All of this is fueled by nearly universal, private access to the internet. It is treated as a serious matter of impurity, with reports indicating it is a common struggle for many, including laypeople and even religious
Father Ripperger, an American exorcist and traditional Catholic priest, says: “If you look at the number of sins against the Sixth Commandment among traditionalists―sins like self-abuse, pornography, fornication―they are not any better than the people who go to the New Mass. In fact, there are some estimates by some priests that it's worse than is among the New Mass people. This is a serious problem!” Father Ripperger and other traditional priests have said that some Catholics who are addicted to porn, will try to overcompensate for their addiction by portraying themselves with an extra religious exterior to try to balance out the shame of their interior sins.
In a 2022 address, even the Liberal and Modernist Pope Francis noted the scope of this problem among Catholics, saying: “It is a vice that has so many people, so many lay men, so many lay women, and also priests and nuns! The devil enters from there! The pure heart, the heart that receives Jesus every day, cannot receive this pornographic information that today is so common place. And if from your cell phone you can delete this, delete it so you won't have temptation in your hand!”
French Catholics are confessing adultery and other carnal sins as much as ever despite the sexual revolution of the past decades, according to a glimpse offered by priests into sins of impurity. Father Cédric, one of 40 clergymen who talked on the matter―on condition of anonymity in I Forgive you all your Sins, a new book by Vincent Mongaillard― says that he disguised all identities in his testimony in order not to breach Church restrictions on absolute confessional secrecy. Father Cédric says: “60% or 70 per cent of confessions involve adultery, double lives, addiction to pornography, use of prostitutes. It’s extremely repetitive!” Another priest, Father Christophe, said women confessed adultery as much as men. “There’s parity―believe me! There are the people who get straight to the point and others who beat about the bush!” Father Christian, 60, whose parish is in a fashionable western Paris district, said that many women believe that sexual frustration is an excuse for infidelity. After Catholic youth rallies, the priests also said numerous young women of 19 or 20 confessed to watching pornography. Another priest, Father Marc, said that many priests who came to him for Confession, brought their sexual anguish to him. “In 95% of cases, they bring up addiction to porn sites!” Fr. Gabriele Amorth, the chief exorcist of Rome until his death in 2016, said: “It’s not uncommon for the elderly to confess to looking at pornography more often than the youth!”
Punishment for Impurity
As Holy Scripture warns: “Many have perished by the beauty of a woman, where lust is enkindled as a fire!” (Ecclesiasticus 9:9). “They who shut out God from themselves and from their mind, and to give themselves to their lust―over them the devil has power!” (Tobias 6:17).
Our Lady of Good Success revealed to Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres: “The spirit of impurity will permeate the atmosphere during these times. Like a filthy ocean, it will run through the streets, squares and public places with an astonishing liberty. There will be almost no virgin souls in the world … Moreover, in these unhappy times, there will be unbridled luxury and impurity, which, acting thus to snare the rest into sin, will conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost. Innocence will almost no longer be found in children, nor modesty in women, and in this supreme moment of need of the Church, those who should speak will fall silent … The priests, by their wicked lives, have become cesspools of impurity. The priests are asking for vengeance, and vengeance is hanging over their heads. Woe to the priests and to those dedicated to God, who, by their unfaithfulness and their wicked lives, are crucifying my Son again!”
In 1582, Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres (of Our Lady of Good Success fame) was praying before the altar, she saw the Tabernacle open and Christ Himself emerged, suffering as He had on Calvary. Then as Our Lord began His Agony, she heard the voice of the Eternal Father saying, “This punishment will be for the 20th century.” She saw three swords hanging over the head of Christ. On each was written, “I shall punish heresy, blasphemy and impurity!” With this, she was given to understand all that would take place in the present era.
Fr. Gabriele Amorth, the chief exorcist of Rome until his death in 2016, said: “The devil wanders around each one of you, searching where to devour you. That word―‘where’―is important: the devil looks in each person precisely for his weak point and ‘works’ on it … The most frequent weak points in man are, from time to time, always the same: pride, money, and lust … When I hear confessions, it’s not uncommon for the elderly to confess to looking at pornography more often than the youth!”
Article 5
Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes
Wednesday, February 11th to Friday, February 13th
Lourdes and Your Healing
Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes
Wednesday, February 11th to Friday, February 13th
Lourdes and Your Healing
How’s Your Health?
“Do you need healing?” Or, to put it another way―“Are you sick?” What is sickness? It is the opposite of health. Sickness is a lack of health. It is a lack of something that should be there, but isn’t there. It is the lack of a good that should be present in a person. Philosophy teaches us that “the lack of a good that is due is an evil.” Thus, sickness is an evil. Likewise sin is an evil. Where does sickness ultimately come from? God did not create Adam and Eve in a state of sickness―God created them in a state of health. Man is the source of error and destruction through his sins: “Seek not death in the error of your life, neither procure destruction by the works of your hands! For God made not death, neither does He take pleasure in the destruction of the living! For He created all things that they might be and He made the nations of the Earth for health―and there is no poison of destruction in them!” (Wisdom 1:12-14).
Adam and Eve would have never died had they not sinned. Sickness came into the world through sin. The ultimate sickness, or the eventual consequence of sickness is death. You could also say that the ultimate sickness is also sin. We have there the “Unholy Trinity” ― sin, sickness and death! We do not die of good health―we die of sickness or injury. God warned Adam and Eve of the mortal, deathly consequence of sin when He said: “Of every tree of paradise thou shalt eat! But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat! For in what day soever thou shalt eat of it, thou shalt die the death!” (Genesis 2:16-17).
We all know what happened! Adam and Eve disobeyed God and sinned by eating the fruit that they were commanded not to eat. They quickly found out that “The wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23). Scripture tells us of the consequences: “By the envy of the devil, death came into the world” (Wisdom 2:24). “From the woman came the beginning of sin, and by her we all die!” (Ecclesiasticus 25:33). “Wherefore as by one man sin entered into this world, and by sin death; and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned … Death reigned from Adam!” (Romans 5:12-14). Likewise, sickness has reigned from Adam and sin (Original Sin) has reigned from Adam.
Our Lord Himself associates sickness with sin after healing the sick man at the Pool of Bethsaida, telling him to sin no more lest something even worse happen to him: “Now there is at Jerusalem a pond, called Probatica, which in Hebrew is named Bethsaida, having five porches. In these porches lay a great multitude of sick, of blind, of lame, of withered―waiting for the moving of the water, when at certain times an angel of the Lord descended into the pond and the water was moved. And he that went down first into the pond after the motion of the water, was healed of whatsoever infirmity he lay under. And there was a certain man there, that had been under his infirmity for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew that he had been there a long time, He said to him: ‘Do you want to be healed?’ The infirm man answered him: ‘Sir, I have no man to put me into the pond when the water is moved! For while I am going to the water, another goes down before me!’ Jesus said to him: ‘Arise, take up your bed, and walk!’ And immediately the man was healed―and he took up his bed, and walked … Afterwards, Jesus found him in the Temple, and said to him: ‘Behold you are healed! Sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to you!’” (John 5:2-14).
When Our Lady appeared at Fatima, many people made requests of Our Lady through Lucia, begging a healing from their various sicknesses. Our Lady’s response was one that also associated sickness and sin. In one such response that Our Lady communicated through Lucia to a sick man, she said: “If he is converted, he will be cured during the year.”
Need a Physician?
Death and sickness come from man―not from God. In Holy Scripture God says: “The soul that sins, the same shall die! But if the wicked do penance for all his sins which he hath committed, and keeps all My commandments, and does judgment and justice―then living he shall live, and shall not die! Is it my will that a sinner should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways, and live?” (Ezechiel 18:20-23). The Son of God, Jesus Christ, was the heavenly Physician sent to bring us back to the life of grace after the death of sin. Christ Himself said: “I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly!” (John 10:10) … “They that are well have no need of a physician, but they that are sick! For I came not to call the just, but sinners!” (Mark 2:17). Jesus has the power not only to heal, but also to forgive sins. He has come to heal the whole man, soul and body. He is the physician the sick have need of.
While He was on Earth, we see “Jesus the Physician” heal all kinds of people―those who were physically sick and those who were spiritually sick. “Jesus went about all Galilee, healing all manner of sickness and every infirmity, among the people … And Jesus went about all the cities, and towns, healing every disease, and every infirmity … They brought to Him many that were possessed with devils and He cast out the spirits with His word; and all that were sick He healed … And coming forth, Jesus saw a great multitude, and had compassion on them, and healed their sick … And there came to Him great multitudes, having with them the dumb, the blind, the lame, the maimed, and many others―and they cast them down at His feet, and He healed them … All they that had any sick with divers diseases, brought them to Him. But He laying His hands on every one of them, healed them … And all the multitude sought to touch Him, for virtue went out from Him, and healed all” (Matthew 4:23; 9:35; 8:16; 14:14; 15:30; Luke 4:40; 6:19).
Almost 170 years have elapsed since Our Lady’s first apparition at Lourdes, and Lourdes has become the Marian shrine par excellence. It has been calculated that around 700 million people have visited the shrine since its foundation. These days, well over six million people come to Lourdes every year― many of them sick or ailing in one way or another. The shrine has always been seen as a refuge and hope for the sick. People that come to Lourdes believe if they bathe in the waters, that’s where the miracle would begin. It has happened. It doesn’t happen every time. It is a cleansing, but it’s a cleansing of your mind as well. Besides the 72 officially approved miracles at Lourdes, there are thousands who claim to have received some miraculous cure through contact with its waters. However, the Catholic Church does not certify a miracle unless the affliction was incurable and the cure was both unexplainable and permanent. The greatest miracles of Lourdes, the spiritual cures. Besides the physical miracles, far beyond reckoning are the numbers of those who say they have received ‘spiritual healing’ there. Wellness of body is not really what our life here on this Earth is about. It’s really about wellness of mind, wellness of heart, wellness of soul―a wellness that comes from being at peace with God through a rejection of sin and an acceptance of God’s wise and all-powerful Providence.
Are You Blind?
“When Jesus drew near to Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the wayside, begging. And when he heard the crowd passing by, he asked what this meant. And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And the blind man cried out, saying: ‘Jesus, son of David! Have mercy on me!’ And Jesus commanded him to be brought unto Him. And when he was come near, Jesus asked him: ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ And the blind man said: ‘Lord, that I may see!’ And Jesus said to him: ‘Receive your sight! Your faith has healed you!’ And immediately he saw and followed Jesus, glorifying God” (Luke 18:35-43).
There are two kinds of blindness―physical blindness and spiritual blindness. The most serious and dangerous of the two is spiritual blindness. You can be physically blind and still have a chance of getting to Heaven―but not so with the spiritually blind, as Holy Scripture points out: “O foolish people without understanding―who have eyes and see not!” (Jeremias 5:21). “They have not known, nor understood―for their eyes are covered that they may not see and that they may not understand with their heart!” (Isaias 44:18). “God has given them the spirit of insensibility―eyes that they should not see; and ears that they should not hear, until this present day!” (Romans 11:8). Jesus adding: “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, so that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them!” (John 12:40). Our Lord even rebuked His Apostles for their spiritual blindness: “Do you still have your heart blinded? Having eyes, see you not?” (Mark 8:18).
The number of spiritually blind souls who are walking on the road to Hell and damnation is incalculable! God has given them the graces and opportunities to seek and find the narrow path to Heaven, but in the neglectful or willful spiritual blindness they blindly follow other blind souls on the way to Hell. Our Lord says of such: “Leave them alone! They are blind and leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the pit!” (Matthew 15:14). How many parents, teachers, pastors and other leaders are spiritually blind? Today―it has to be most of them. The knowledge of Faith has collapsed abysmally! Most people know next to nothing about the Faith―apart from their favorite Faith topics―but their overall knowledge of the Faith, its interconnections, its application, etc. leaves an awful lot to be desired! There are even Conservative and Traditional Catholics who cannot name all the Ten Commandments, nor the chief Commandments of the Church, nor the conditions for a sin to classified as a Mortal Sin―yet all of these are topics that are meant to be learned for a child’s First Holy Communion or Confirmation! It is hardly surprising that Our Lord says: “The Son of man, when He comes again, do you think He shall find Faith on Earth?” (Luke 18:8).
A poll by the Pew Research Center reveals that Americans who identify as Catholic, are surprisingly open to non-traditional families, and many do not see birth control, cohabitation, remarriage or gay sex as sins — no matter what the Church teaches. But there are large divides between Catholics who attend Mass weekly, and those who don’t, in what they want from the Church. When asked to choose which of two contrasting statements comes closer to their view, 60% of U.S. Catholics say the Church “should be more inclusive, even if that means changing some of its teachings,” while only 37% say the Church “should stick to its traditional teachings, even if that means the church gets smaller.”
84% of U.S. Catholics say the Church should allow Catholics to use birth control.
83% say the Church should allow couples to use in vitro fertilization (IVF) to get pregnant.
78% say contraception is not a sin, including 63% of those who attend Mass every Sunday.
75% say divorce is not a sin; more than 50% of those who frequently attend Mass agree.
75% say people living together outside of marriage should be permitted to receive Communion
68% say the Church should allow women to become deacons.
65% say cohabitation without marriage is not a sin, and 51% of regular Sunday Mass attendees agree.
63% say the Church should allow priests to get married.
60% the church should allow priests to bless same-sex couples. 59% say the Church should ordain women as priests.
50% say the Church should recognize marriages of gay and lesbian couples.
50% percent of all Catholics say homosexual behavior is not a sin, although that dropped to 36% percent among those who attend Mass regularly.
33% say abortion say terminating a pregnancy is not a sin. Among church-going Catholics, 20% don't see abortion as sinful.
While Catholics say the traditional family structure of a husband and wife with children is the ideal structure, the survey showed that large majorities think is acceptable for children to be raised by other kinds of families: 87% are accepting of single parent families; 83% accepting of unmarried parents who live together or divorced parents; and 66% accepting of gay couples with children.
Are You Deaf?
These modern-day ‘Catholics’ ― whose beliefs are listed above ― are of the kind to whom Our Lord addresses the following words: “He that has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Matthew 11:15) … “Why call you Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46) … “Why do you not know My speech? Because you cannot hear My word! If I say the truth, you believe Me not! If I say the truth to you, why do you not believe Me? He that is of God, hears the words of God. Therefore you hear them not, because you are not of God … and you have not known Him!” (John 8:43-47, 55). “The heart of this people is grown gross and with their ears they have been dull of hearing―lest at any time they should hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them!” (Matthew 13:15). Scripture adds: “There shall be a time, when they will not endure sound doctrine; but, according to their own desires, they will heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears!” (2 Timothy 4:3).
The Church is becoming increasingly deaf towards God and traditional Church teaching, while increasingly listening to the world and its materialistic gospel. The vision granted by God to Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich comes to mind, who relates the following: “I see that when the Second Coming of Christ approaches, a bad priest will do much harm to the Church. When the time of the reign of Antichrist is near, a false religion will appear which will be opposed to the unity of God and His Church. This will cause the greatest schism the world has ever known! … The Protestant doctrine and that of the schismatic Greeks are to spread everywhere. I now see that in this place (Rome) the (Catholic) Church is being so cleverly undermined, that there hardly remain a hundred or so priests who have not been deceived. They all work for destruction, even the clergy. A great devastation is now near at hand … I saw again the strange big church that was being built there in Rome. There was nothing holy in it. I saw this just as I saw a movement led by Ecclesiastics to which contributed angels, saints, and other Christians. But there in the strange big church all the work was being done mechanically according to set rules and formulae. Everything was being done according to human reason ... I saw all sorts of people, things, doctrines, and opinions … I saw the fatal consequences of this counterfeit church. I saw it increase in size. I saw heretics of all kinds flocking to the city … I saw that many pastors allowed themselves to be taken up with ideas that were dangerous to the Church. Then I saw that everything pertaining to Protestantism was gradually gaining the upper hand, and the Catholic religion fell into complete decadence … I saw how harmful would be the consequences of this false church. I saw it increase in size―heretics of every kind came into the city of Rome. The Church is completely isolated and as if completely deserted. It seems that everyone is running away. Everywhere I see great misery, hatred, treason, rancor, confusion and utter blindness!”
Listening is always hard work because listening is the practice of getting your own ego to shut up long enough to hear what is being said by another person. We have replaced objectivity with subjectivity―rather than adapting our minds to the real truth that exists outside of us (objectivity), we have made ourselves the authors of truth and judges of truth (subjectivity). Thus every person judges for themselves what they personally think is true and untrue; and what is moral and immoral. It ends up with the ridiculous situation where everyone is right―even though their ideas of what is right contradict one another. Thus we end up accepting other religions even though they contradict our Faith (false ecumenism) and stupidly believe that all religions can get you Heaven. Listen to who you want and believe what you want―you are still going to Heaven! Going to lunatic asylum is more likely, and, God forbid, going to Hell! Are you becoming increasingly deaf to the perennial teachings of the Church and increasingly accepting of the false and novel teachings of the world and other religions?
Our Lady laments this spiritual deafness in her revelations to the Venerable Mary of Agreda: “The foolishness of men makes them stupid and deaf, their impious malice makes them scoffers, and their unbelieving perversity turns them away from God … Be not deaf to the voice of the Most High, listen and correspond to it in your actions! I wish to remind you that one of the greatest snares of the demon is to counteract the call of the Lord! If you listen to him, he will fill your mind with deceits and darkness! … The communication of the Lord is so delicate, that even by listening or attending to the deceits of the enemy, the soul loses it! God does not wish your ears to be enthralled by deceitful earthly talk, nor contaminated by the flatteries of the world! Keep them closed and well guarded against all these poisonous influences! If thy Lord is pleased to speak to your heart the words of eternal life, then it is only proper that you yourself be deaf and lifeless to all that is earthly. The Lord does not refuse to act as the Teacher of the poor, of the despised and of the sinners, if they wish to listen to His teaching. Listen to Him with reverence and humble gratitude; appreciate His teachings, and to follow them in practice with all diligence and punctuality! He withdraws in disgust from those who are ungrateful and disobedient.”
Are You Dumb?
Today, the word “dumb” is often taken to mean “stupid” ― whereas its original meaning is that of not being able to speak. Perhaps you could argue that there is a remote connection between those two ideas based upon the saying: “Even fools may be thought wise and intelligent if they stay quiet and keep their mouths shut!” ― which is based upon the Scriptural quote: “Even a fool, if he will hold his peace shall be counted wise; and if he close his lips, he shall be counted as a man of understanding!” (Proverbs 17:28). As a mother once said to her son as he was about to start a new job: “Son! If you say little, your fellow workers might only suspect that you are fool who knows little―but if you open your mouth, then you will confirm their suspicions!”
God created us to speak―but speech can be either virtuous and necessary, or speech can be evil and unnecessary. Holy Scripture encourages virtuous speech and condemns evil speech. ““Let not many seek to become teachers, my brothers, for you know that those who teach will be judged with greater strictness. We all sin in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is a perfect person, able to keep their whole body in check. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn and guide the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the ship’s pilot wants the ship to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it can cause great damage. Consider what a great forest can be set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by Hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be!” (James 3:1-10). “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks! How can you speak good things, whereas you are evil?” (Matthew 12:34).
There is “a time to keep silence, and a time to speak” (Ecclesiastes 3:7). Nevertheless, “For every idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an account for it in the day of judgment!” (Matthew 12:36). “If any man speak, let him speak the words of God” (1 Peter 4:11). “He that is of the Earth, of the Earth he is, and of the Earth he speaks!” (John 3:31). “They are of the world―therefore of the world they speak, and the world hears them!” (1 John 4:5). “Their mouth speaks proud things” (Jude 1:16).
“Whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord, shall be saved! How then shall they call on Him, in whom they have not believed? Or how shall they believe Him, of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear, without a preacher? Preach the Gospel!” (Romans 10:13-15). “Speak the word of God!” (Acts 13:46). “Speak the Word of God without fear!” (Philippians 1:14). “These things speak, and exhort and rebuke with all authority!” (Titus 2:15). “We speak, not as pleasing men, but God!” (1 Thessalonians 2:4). “Lord, grant unto Thy servants, that with all confidence they may speak Thy word!” (Acts 4:29). “The Lord said to Paul: ‘Do not fear, but speak!’” (Acts 18:9). Even Our Lord Himself said: “I have not spoken of Myself―but the Father Who sent Me, He commanded Me what I should say and what I should speak. The things therefore that I speak, I speak as the Father said unto Me!” (John 12:49-50).
Our Lady said to the Venerable Mary of Agreda: “To speak without moderation and forethought is a two-edged sword, which wounds both him that speaks and him that hears―and thus, in two ways, destroys charity or hinders it in all the virtues. From this you can understand how much God is offended by the vice of inconsiderate and loose talk, and how talking too much, and the clamor of disputation justly drives away God’s spirit and veils His presence. For those that talk too much, cannot keep free from grievous sins (Proverbs 10:19). I do not dissuade you from speaking words of admonition and consolation―but with creatures it is very difficult to preserve the golden middle, without danger of passing from the correct and necessary speech to the imperfect and superfluous speech. Infinite is the number of those who are entangled in this dangerous error, who, desiring to appear wise, speak much and multiply words like the foolish. They only lose what they strive so much to attain, since they become known as foolish! ... The number of fools is infinite, the number of the reprobate is also uncountable!”
Nevertheless, in danger one cannot be silent. Our Lady of Good Success lamented that in our days of danger, those who should be speaking out against the danger will not do so: “From the end of the 19th century and especially in the 20th century, the passions will erupt and there will be a total corruption of morals, for Satan will reign almost completely by means of the Masonic sects … During this epoch the Church will find herself attacked by terrible assaults from the Masonic sect, and corruption of morals, unbridled impurity, luxury and extravagance, an impious press and secular education. The vices of impurity, blasphemy and sacrilege will dominate in this time of depraved desolation, and those who should speak out will be silent” (Our Lady of Good Success).
Holy Scripture warns of the terrible consequences of such cowardly silence: “Son of man, I have made you a watchman over My people! And you shall hear the word out of My mouth, and shall tell it to them from Me! If, when I say to the wicked: ‘You shall surely die!’ ― and you do not sound the trumpet and so not declare it to him, nor speak to him, so that he might be converted from his wicked ways and live, then the same wicked man shall certainly die in his iniquity, but I will require his blood at your hand and upon your own head! But if you sound the trumpet and give warning to the wicked, and he does not convert from his wickedness and from his evil ways―then then his blood shall be upon his own head and he indeed shall die in his iniquity, for he heard the sound of the trumpet and did not look to himself―but you will have saved your soul! Moreover, if the just man shall turn away from his justice, and shall commit iniquity―then I will lay a stumbling-block before him and he shall die―because you have not warned him! He shall die in his sin, and all his justices which he has done beforehand, shall not be remembered―but I will require his blood at your hand! But if you warn the just man, so that the just may not sin, and he does not sin―then living he shall live, because you have warned him, and you will have saved your soul!” (Ezechiel 3:17-21; 33:1-8).
There is an old saying: “All that is needed for evil to succeed is for good people to say or do nothing!” Silence in the face of evil allows that evil to continue and even to spread. Such a terrible silence must be broken. To paraphrase one of Archbishop Sheen’s famous quotes: “We don’t need a voice that speaks when everybody else is speaking; we need a voice that speaks when everybody else is silent!”
St. Thomas Aquinas deals extensively with this need to correct others in his Summa Theologica (IIa-IIae, q. 33, Fraternal Correction). He writes: “Sinful acts are evil in themselves, and cannot become good, no matter how, or when, or where, they are done―because of their very nature they are connected with an evil end. Our Lord warns us not to be listless in regard of one another’s sins―not indeed by being on the lookout for something to denounce, but by correcting what we see―otherwise we would become spies on the lives of others. To correct the wrongdoer is a spiritual alms-deed and an act of charity. Fraternal correction is a matter of precept. You become worse than the sinner if you fail to correct him. Though it is a matter of precept, we do not have to correct our erring brother at all places and times. This is fraternal correction is directed to the amendment of the sinner. Fraternal correction which is an act of charity, is within the competency of everyone in respect of any person towards whom he is bound by charity―provided that there be something in that person which requires correction. A subject corrects his superior inordinately when he upbraids him with insolence, and also when he speaks ill of him. When a subject corrects his superior, he ought to do so in a becoming manner―not with impudence and harshness, but with gentleness and respect. Correcting anyone in public exceeds the mode of fraternal correction. However It must be observed that if the Faith were endangered, a subject ought to rebuke his superior even publicly.
“Fraternal correction may be omitted in three ways―some omissions are sinful, other omissions are not sinful. First, fraternal correction is omitted meritoriously, when out of charity one omits to correct someone. For example, if a man refrains from rebuking and reproving wrongdoers, because he awaits a suitable time for so doing, or because he fears lest, if he does so, they may become worse, or hinder, oppress, or turn away from the Faith. Secondly, by the omission of fraternal correction one commits a mortal sin, namely, one fears what people may think, or one fears they may suffer grievous pain or death. Thirdly, the omission of fraternal correction is a venial sin, when through fear or covetousness, a man is reluctant to correct his brother’s faults because in his own mind he prefers fraternal charity to these things. It is in this way that holy men sometimes omit to correct wrongdoers. Consequently when it is deemed probable that the sinner will not take the warning, and will become worse, such fraternal correction should be foregone.
“Should sinners correct wrongdoers? To correct a wrongdoer belongs to a man, in so far as his reason is gifted with right judgment. Sin does not destroy the good of nature so as to deprive the sinner’s reason of all right judgment―and in this respect he may be competent to find fault with others for committing sin. Nevertheless a previous sin proves somewhat of a hindrance to this correction, for three reasons. First because this previous sin renders a man unworthy to rebuke another; and especially is he unworthy to correct another for a lesser sin, if he himself has committed a greater sin. Hence on the words of Our Lord, ‘Why do you see the splinter in your brother’s eye?’ etc. (Matthew 7:3). Our Lord is speaking of those who, while they are themselves guilty of mortal sin, have no patience with the lesser sins of their brethren. Secondly, such like correction becomes unseemly, on account of the scandal which ensues therefrom, if the corrector’s sin be well known―because it would seem that he corrects, not out of charity, but more for the sake of ostentation. Thirdly, on account of the rebuker’s pride; when, for instance, a man thinks lightly of his own sins, and, in his own heart, sets himself above his neighbor, judging the latter’s sins with harsh severity, as though he himself were just man. When we have to find fault with anyone, we should think whether we were never guilty of his sin; and then we must remember that we are men, and might have been guilty of it; or that we once had it on our conscience, but have it no longer: and then we should think to ourselves that we are all weak, in order that our reproof may be the outcome, not of hatred, but of pity. But if we find that we are guilty of the same sin, we must not rebuke him, but groan with him, and invite him to repent with us. If a sinner corrects a wrongdoer with humility, then he does not sin, nor does he bring a further condemnation upon himself, although thereby he proves himself deserving of condemnation, either in his brother’s or in his own conscience, on account of his previous sin.
“We should take progressive steps in correction. Our Lord says: ‘Rebuke him between you and him alone!’ (Matthew 18:15). By a private correction, you aim at his amendment, while avoiding his disgrace―since perhaps from shame due to a public correction, he might begin to defend his sin; and him whom you thought to make a better man, you make worse. When the secret admonition has been given once or several times, as long as there is probable hope of his amendment, we must continue to admonish him in private, but as soon as we are able to judge with any probability that the secret admonition is of no avail, we must take further steps, however secret the sin may be, and call witnesses―unless it is thought probable that this would not conduce to our brother’s amendment, and that he would become worse―because on that account one ought to abstain altogether from correcting him. Our Lord also said (Matthew 18:16): ‘Take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two,’ etc. The right way to go from one extreme to another is to pass through the middle space. Now Our Lord wished the beginning of fraternal correction to be hidden, when one brother corrects another between this one and himself alone, while He wished the end to be public, when such a one would be denounced to the Church. Consequently it is befitting that bringing in one or two witnesses should be placed between those two extremes, so that at first the brother’s sin be indicated to a few, who will be of use without being a hindrance, and thus his sin be amended without dishonoring him before the public.
“With regard to the public denunciation of sins, it is necessary to make a distinction―because sins may be either public or secret. On the case of public sins, a remedy is required not only for the sinner―so that he may become better―but also for others, who know of his sin, in case they be tempted to commit the same sin. Wherefore public sins should be denounced in public. On the other hand, in the case of secret sins, it seems that we must make yet a further distinction. For certain secret sins are hurtful to our neighbor either in his body or in his soul―as, for instance, when a man plots secretly to betray his country to its enemies, or when a heretic secretly turns other men away from the Faith. And since he that sins thus in secret, sins not only against you in particular, but also against others, it is necessary to take steps to denounce him at once, in order to prevent him doing such harm, unless by chance you were firmly persuaded that this evil result would be prevented by admonishing him secretly. On the other hand there are other sins which injure nobody else but the sinner, and the person sinned against―and then our one purpose should be to help our sinning brother; and just as the physician restores the sick man to health, if possible, without cutting off a limb, so too he who desires his brother’s amendment should, if possible, so amend him as regards his conscience, that he keep his good name. For a good name is useful, first of all to the sinner himself, not only in temporal matters wherein a man suffers many losses, if he lose his good name, but also in spiritual matters, because many are restrained from sinning, through fear of dishonor, so that when a man finds his honor lost, he puts no limit or restraint on his sinning.” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, IIa-IIae, q. 33, Fraternal Correction).
Speech in general and correction in particular, requires prudence, discernment and courage―in both speaking and keeping silence. There is “a time to keep silence, and a time to speak” (Ecclesiastes 3:7). “If any man speak, let him speak the words of God” (1 Peter 4:11). “All Scripture, inspired of God, is profitable to teach, to reprove, to correct, to instruct in justice” (2 Timothy 3:16). “If a man be overtaken in any fault, you, who are spiritual, instruct such a one in the spirit of meekness―considering yourself, lest you also be tempted!” (Galatians 6:1). There is an axiom in the Canon Law of the Church that says it is better to err on the side of mercy rather than justice. Why? Because “the Lord is gracious and merciful, patient and plenteous in mercy. The Lord is sweet to all―and His tender mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 144:8-9). Also, bear in mind that the grace of God can achieve far more than you can with your words of correction―for the grace of God works in a hidden, silent, persuasive manner in the secret recesses of the sinner’s soul. We are very quick to outwardly correct sinners―but very slow to pray and offer sacrifices for their amendment and conversion. Our Lady of Fatima did not ask us to verbally correct sinners and engage in finger-pointing, but she asked that we pray very much and offer many sacrifices for the conversion of sinners! Talking to God about the sinner can often produce much more than talking to the sinner about God! By all means speak―but speak to the One who can truly change things!
Are You Lame?
We are spiritually lame when we walk incorrectly in the Faith or in Morals―when we hold errors in matters of the Faith, or when we have injured ourselves through sin. Likewise, we are spiritually lame when we lack zeal and fervor in living out our Faith fervently and zealously putting it into practice in all aspects of our life―instead, we hesitate, procrastinate, neglect or fear to live the Faith as we should, because of what others might think or say, or because of what it might cost us, or because we feel as though we would have to forego and miss-out on so many other things in the world. Likewise, by our lukewarm love of God whereby we fail to love the Lord our God, with our whole heart, and with our whole soul, and with our whole mind, and with our whole strength! And our failure to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31). Likewise, we become spiritually lame when we attach ourselves to the world, follow the world, love the world, and become worldly―something that Holy Scripture condemns: “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him!” (1 John 2:15). “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God!” (James 4:4) ... “The whole world is seated in wickedness!” (1 John 5:19) ... “Keep yourself unspotted from this world!” (James 1:27) … “Be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2) … “That we be not condemned with this world!” (1 Corinthians 11:32).
FR. GARRIGOU-LAGRANGE, in his book The Three Conversions of the Spiritual Life, speaks of this spiritual lameness in the service of God: “In varying degrees this egoism survives in all imperfect souls in spite of the state of grace, and it is the source of a multitude of venial sins, of habitual faults which become characteristic features of the soul, rendering necessary a veritable purging even in those who have, as it were, been present on Mount Tabor, or who have often partaken of the Eucharistic banquet, as the Apostles did at the Last Supper. In her Dialogue, St. Catherine of Siena speaks of this self-love, describing it as “the mercenary love of the imperfect,” of those who, without being conscious of it, serve God from self-interest, because they are attached to temporal or spiritual consolations, and who shed tears of self-pity when they are deprived of them. It is a strange but not uncommon mixture of sincere love of God with an inordinate love of self. The soul loves God more than itself, otherwise it would not be in the state of grace, it would not possess Charity; but it still loves itself with an inordinate love. It has not yet reached the stage of loving itself in God and for His sake. Such a state of soul is neither white nor black; it is a light grey, in which there is more white than black. The soul is on the upward path, but it still has a tendency to slip downwards.
“We read in this 60th chapter of the Dialogue (it is God who speaks). ‘Among those who have become My trusted servants there are some who serve Me with Faith, without servile fear, it is not the mere fear of punishment, but love which attaches them to My service (thus Peter before the Passion). But this love is still imperfect, because what they seek in My service (at any rate to a great extent) is their own profit, their own satisfaction, or the pleasure that they find in Me. The same imperfection is found in the love which they bear towards their neighbor. And do you know what shows the imperfection of their love? It is that, as soon as they are deprived of the consolations which they find in Me, their love fails and can no longer survive. It becomes weak and gradually cools towards Me when, in order to exercise them in virtue and to detach them from their imperfection, I withdraw spiritual consolations from them and send them difficulties and afflictions. I act in this way in order to bring them to perfection, to teach them to know themselves, to realize that they are nothing and that of themselves they have no grace. Adversity should have the effect of making them seek refuge in Me, recognize Me as their benefactor, and become attached to Me by a true humility.... If they do not recognize their imperfection and desire to become perfect, it is impossible that they should not turn back.’
“This is what the Fathers have so often asserted: ‘In the way of God, he who makes no progress, loses ground.’ Just as the child who does not grow does not merely remain a child but becomes an idiot, so the beginner who does not enter upon the way of proficients when he ought to, does not merely remain a beginner, but becomes a stunted soul. It would seem, unhappily, that the great majority of souls do not belong to any of these three categories, of beginners, proficients or perfect, but rather to that of stunted souls! At what stage are we ourselves? This is often a very difficult question to answer, and it would perhaps be vain curiosity to inquire at what point we have arrived in our upward path; but at least we must take care not to mistake the road, not to take a path that leads downwards. It is important, therefore, to reach beyond the merely mercenary love, which often we unconsciously retain.” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Conversions of the Spiritual Life).
Are You Paralyzed?
Spiritual paralysis could be said to be worst state in which we can find ourselves. It is worse that spiritual lameness―for there is at least some progress or movement towards Heaven in spiritual lameness, but with spiritual paralysis everything comes to a standstill. You could, from that perspective, compare spiritual lameness to being in a state of habitual venial sin, and spiritual paralysis to being in a state of habitual mortal sin.
Grave sin has grave consequences on our lives. When we sin mortally we “paralyze” ourselves. and the clearest consequence is that we are left unable to rise and then walk in the ways of God. Grave sin makes us powerless with regard to getting to Heaven. Only God, by His grace, can move us to convert and go to the “Spiritual Emergency Room” ― which is the confessional and the Sacrament of Penance.
“Do you need healing?” Or, to put it another way―“Are you sick?” What is sickness? It is the opposite of health. Sickness is a lack of health. It is a lack of something that should be there, but isn’t there. It is the lack of a good that should be present in a person. Philosophy teaches us that “the lack of a good that is due is an evil.” Thus, sickness is an evil. Likewise sin is an evil. Where does sickness ultimately come from? God did not create Adam and Eve in a state of sickness―God created them in a state of health. Man is the source of error and destruction through his sins: “Seek not death in the error of your life, neither procure destruction by the works of your hands! For God made not death, neither does He take pleasure in the destruction of the living! For He created all things that they might be and He made the nations of the Earth for health―and there is no poison of destruction in them!” (Wisdom 1:12-14).
Adam and Eve would have never died had they not sinned. Sickness came into the world through sin. The ultimate sickness, or the eventual consequence of sickness is death. You could also say that the ultimate sickness is also sin. We have there the “Unholy Trinity” ― sin, sickness and death! We do not die of good health―we die of sickness or injury. God warned Adam and Eve of the mortal, deathly consequence of sin when He said: “Of every tree of paradise thou shalt eat! But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat! For in what day soever thou shalt eat of it, thou shalt die the death!” (Genesis 2:16-17).
We all know what happened! Adam and Eve disobeyed God and sinned by eating the fruit that they were commanded not to eat. They quickly found out that “The wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23). Scripture tells us of the consequences: “By the envy of the devil, death came into the world” (Wisdom 2:24). “From the woman came the beginning of sin, and by her we all die!” (Ecclesiasticus 25:33). “Wherefore as by one man sin entered into this world, and by sin death; and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned … Death reigned from Adam!” (Romans 5:12-14). Likewise, sickness has reigned from Adam and sin (Original Sin) has reigned from Adam.
Our Lord Himself associates sickness with sin after healing the sick man at the Pool of Bethsaida, telling him to sin no more lest something even worse happen to him: “Now there is at Jerusalem a pond, called Probatica, which in Hebrew is named Bethsaida, having five porches. In these porches lay a great multitude of sick, of blind, of lame, of withered―waiting for the moving of the water, when at certain times an angel of the Lord descended into the pond and the water was moved. And he that went down first into the pond after the motion of the water, was healed of whatsoever infirmity he lay under. And there was a certain man there, that had been under his infirmity for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew that he had been there a long time, He said to him: ‘Do you want to be healed?’ The infirm man answered him: ‘Sir, I have no man to put me into the pond when the water is moved! For while I am going to the water, another goes down before me!’ Jesus said to him: ‘Arise, take up your bed, and walk!’ And immediately the man was healed―and he took up his bed, and walked … Afterwards, Jesus found him in the Temple, and said to him: ‘Behold you are healed! Sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to you!’” (John 5:2-14).
When Our Lady appeared at Fatima, many people made requests of Our Lady through Lucia, begging a healing from their various sicknesses. Our Lady’s response was one that also associated sickness and sin. In one such response that Our Lady communicated through Lucia to a sick man, she said: “If he is converted, he will be cured during the year.”
Need a Physician?
Death and sickness come from man―not from God. In Holy Scripture God says: “The soul that sins, the same shall die! But if the wicked do penance for all his sins which he hath committed, and keeps all My commandments, and does judgment and justice―then living he shall live, and shall not die! Is it my will that a sinner should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways, and live?” (Ezechiel 18:20-23). The Son of God, Jesus Christ, was the heavenly Physician sent to bring us back to the life of grace after the death of sin. Christ Himself said: “I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly!” (John 10:10) … “They that are well have no need of a physician, but they that are sick! For I came not to call the just, but sinners!” (Mark 2:17). Jesus has the power not only to heal, but also to forgive sins. He has come to heal the whole man, soul and body. He is the physician the sick have need of.
While He was on Earth, we see “Jesus the Physician” heal all kinds of people―those who were physically sick and those who were spiritually sick. “Jesus went about all Galilee, healing all manner of sickness and every infirmity, among the people … And Jesus went about all the cities, and towns, healing every disease, and every infirmity … They brought to Him many that were possessed with devils and He cast out the spirits with His word; and all that were sick He healed … And coming forth, Jesus saw a great multitude, and had compassion on them, and healed their sick … And there came to Him great multitudes, having with them the dumb, the blind, the lame, the maimed, and many others―and they cast them down at His feet, and He healed them … All they that had any sick with divers diseases, brought them to Him. But He laying His hands on every one of them, healed them … And all the multitude sought to touch Him, for virtue went out from Him, and healed all” (Matthew 4:23; 9:35; 8:16; 14:14; 15:30; Luke 4:40; 6:19).
Almost 170 years have elapsed since Our Lady’s first apparition at Lourdes, and Lourdes has become the Marian shrine par excellence. It has been calculated that around 700 million people have visited the shrine since its foundation. These days, well over six million people come to Lourdes every year― many of them sick or ailing in one way or another. The shrine has always been seen as a refuge and hope for the sick. People that come to Lourdes believe if they bathe in the waters, that’s where the miracle would begin. It has happened. It doesn’t happen every time. It is a cleansing, but it’s a cleansing of your mind as well. Besides the 72 officially approved miracles at Lourdes, there are thousands who claim to have received some miraculous cure through contact with its waters. However, the Catholic Church does not certify a miracle unless the affliction was incurable and the cure was both unexplainable and permanent. The greatest miracles of Lourdes, the spiritual cures. Besides the physical miracles, far beyond reckoning are the numbers of those who say they have received ‘spiritual healing’ there. Wellness of body is not really what our life here on this Earth is about. It’s really about wellness of mind, wellness of heart, wellness of soul―a wellness that comes from being at peace with God through a rejection of sin and an acceptance of God’s wise and all-powerful Providence.
Are You Blind?
“When Jesus drew near to Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the wayside, begging. And when he heard the crowd passing by, he asked what this meant. And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And the blind man cried out, saying: ‘Jesus, son of David! Have mercy on me!’ And Jesus commanded him to be brought unto Him. And when he was come near, Jesus asked him: ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ And the blind man said: ‘Lord, that I may see!’ And Jesus said to him: ‘Receive your sight! Your faith has healed you!’ And immediately he saw and followed Jesus, glorifying God” (Luke 18:35-43).
There are two kinds of blindness―physical blindness and spiritual blindness. The most serious and dangerous of the two is spiritual blindness. You can be physically blind and still have a chance of getting to Heaven―but not so with the spiritually blind, as Holy Scripture points out: “O foolish people without understanding―who have eyes and see not!” (Jeremias 5:21). “They have not known, nor understood―for their eyes are covered that they may not see and that they may not understand with their heart!” (Isaias 44:18). “God has given them the spirit of insensibility―eyes that they should not see; and ears that they should not hear, until this present day!” (Romans 11:8). Jesus adding: “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, so that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them!” (John 12:40). Our Lord even rebuked His Apostles for their spiritual blindness: “Do you still have your heart blinded? Having eyes, see you not?” (Mark 8:18).
The number of spiritually blind souls who are walking on the road to Hell and damnation is incalculable! God has given them the graces and opportunities to seek and find the narrow path to Heaven, but in the neglectful or willful spiritual blindness they blindly follow other blind souls on the way to Hell. Our Lord says of such: “Leave them alone! They are blind and leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the pit!” (Matthew 15:14). How many parents, teachers, pastors and other leaders are spiritually blind? Today―it has to be most of them. The knowledge of Faith has collapsed abysmally! Most people know next to nothing about the Faith―apart from their favorite Faith topics―but their overall knowledge of the Faith, its interconnections, its application, etc. leaves an awful lot to be desired! There are even Conservative and Traditional Catholics who cannot name all the Ten Commandments, nor the chief Commandments of the Church, nor the conditions for a sin to classified as a Mortal Sin―yet all of these are topics that are meant to be learned for a child’s First Holy Communion or Confirmation! It is hardly surprising that Our Lord says: “The Son of man, when He comes again, do you think He shall find Faith on Earth?” (Luke 18:8).
A poll by the Pew Research Center reveals that Americans who identify as Catholic, are surprisingly open to non-traditional families, and many do not see birth control, cohabitation, remarriage or gay sex as sins — no matter what the Church teaches. But there are large divides between Catholics who attend Mass weekly, and those who don’t, in what they want from the Church. When asked to choose which of two contrasting statements comes closer to their view, 60% of U.S. Catholics say the Church “should be more inclusive, even if that means changing some of its teachings,” while only 37% say the Church “should stick to its traditional teachings, even if that means the church gets smaller.”
84% of U.S. Catholics say the Church should allow Catholics to use birth control.
83% say the Church should allow couples to use in vitro fertilization (IVF) to get pregnant.
78% say contraception is not a sin, including 63% of those who attend Mass every Sunday.
75% say divorce is not a sin; more than 50% of those who frequently attend Mass agree.
75% say people living together outside of marriage should be permitted to receive Communion
68% say the Church should allow women to become deacons.
65% say cohabitation without marriage is not a sin, and 51% of regular Sunday Mass attendees agree.
63% say the Church should allow priests to get married.
60% the church should allow priests to bless same-sex couples. 59% say the Church should ordain women as priests.
50% say the Church should recognize marriages of gay and lesbian couples.
50% percent of all Catholics say homosexual behavior is not a sin, although that dropped to 36% percent among those who attend Mass regularly.
33% say abortion say terminating a pregnancy is not a sin. Among church-going Catholics, 20% don't see abortion as sinful.
While Catholics say the traditional family structure of a husband and wife with children is the ideal structure, the survey showed that large majorities think is acceptable for children to be raised by other kinds of families: 87% are accepting of single parent families; 83% accepting of unmarried parents who live together or divorced parents; and 66% accepting of gay couples with children.
Are You Deaf?
These modern-day ‘Catholics’ ― whose beliefs are listed above ― are of the kind to whom Our Lord addresses the following words: “He that has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Matthew 11:15) … “Why call you Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46) … “Why do you not know My speech? Because you cannot hear My word! If I say the truth, you believe Me not! If I say the truth to you, why do you not believe Me? He that is of God, hears the words of God. Therefore you hear them not, because you are not of God … and you have not known Him!” (John 8:43-47, 55). “The heart of this people is grown gross and with their ears they have been dull of hearing―lest at any time they should hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them!” (Matthew 13:15). Scripture adds: “There shall be a time, when they will not endure sound doctrine; but, according to their own desires, they will heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears!” (2 Timothy 4:3).
The Church is becoming increasingly deaf towards God and traditional Church teaching, while increasingly listening to the world and its materialistic gospel. The vision granted by God to Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich comes to mind, who relates the following: “I see that when the Second Coming of Christ approaches, a bad priest will do much harm to the Church. When the time of the reign of Antichrist is near, a false religion will appear which will be opposed to the unity of God and His Church. This will cause the greatest schism the world has ever known! … The Protestant doctrine and that of the schismatic Greeks are to spread everywhere. I now see that in this place (Rome) the (Catholic) Church is being so cleverly undermined, that there hardly remain a hundred or so priests who have not been deceived. They all work for destruction, even the clergy. A great devastation is now near at hand … I saw again the strange big church that was being built there in Rome. There was nothing holy in it. I saw this just as I saw a movement led by Ecclesiastics to which contributed angels, saints, and other Christians. But there in the strange big church all the work was being done mechanically according to set rules and formulae. Everything was being done according to human reason ... I saw all sorts of people, things, doctrines, and opinions … I saw the fatal consequences of this counterfeit church. I saw it increase in size. I saw heretics of all kinds flocking to the city … I saw that many pastors allowed themselves to be taken up with ideas that were dangerous to the Church. Then I saw that everything pertaining to Protestantism was gradually gaining the upper hand, and the Catholic religion fell into complete decadence … I saw how harmful would be the consequences of this false church. I saw it increase in size―heretics of every kind came into the city of Rome. The Church is completely isolated and as if completely deserted. It seems that everyone is running away. Everywhere I see great misery, hatred, treason, rancor, confusion and utter blindness!”
Listening is always hard work because listening is the practice of getting your own ego to shut up long enough to hear what is being said by another person. We have replaced objectivity with subjectivity―rather than adapting our minds to the real truth that exists outside of us (objectivity), we have made ourselves the authors of truth and judges of truth (subjectivity). Thus every person judges for themselves what they personally think is true and untrue; and what is moral and immoral. It ends up with the ridiculous situation where everyone is right―even though their ideas of what is right contradict one another. Thus we end up accepting other religions even though they contradict our Faith (false ecumenism) and stupidly believe that all religions can get you Heaven. Listen to who you want and believe what you want―you are still going to Heaven! Going to lunatic asylum is more likely, and, God forbid, going to Hell! Are you becoming increasingly deaf to the perennial teachings of the Church and increasingly accepting of the false and novel teachings of the world and other religions?
Our Lady laments this spiritual deafness in her revelations to the Venerable Mary of Agreda: “The foolishness of men makes them stupid and deaf, their impious malice makes them scoffers, and their unbelieving perversity turns them away from God … Be not deaf to the voice of the Most High, listen and correspond to it in your actions! I wish to remind you that one of the greatest snares of the demon is to counteract the call of the Lord! If you listen to him, he will fill your mind with deceits and darkness! … The communication of the Lord is so delicate, that even by listening or attending to the deceits of the enemy, the soul loses it! God does not wish your ears to be enthralled by deceitful earthly talk, nor contaminated by the flatteries of the world! Keep them closed and well guarded against all these poisonous influences! If thy Lord is pleased to speak to your heart the words of eternal life, then it is only proper that you yourself be deaf and lifeless to all that is earthly. The Lord does not refuse to act as the Teacher of the poor, of the despised and of the sinners, if they wish to listen to His teaching. Listen to Him with reverence and humble gratitude; appreciate His teachings, and to follow them in practice with all diligence and punctuality! He withdraws in disgust from those who are ungrateful and disobedient.”
Are You Dumb?
Today, the word “dumb” is often taken to mean “stupid” ― whereas its original meaning is that of not being able to speak. Perhaps you could argue that there is a remote connection between those two ideas based upon the saying: “Even fools may be thought wise and intelligent if they stay quiet and keep their mouths shut!” ― which is based upon the Scriptural quote: “Even a fool, if he will hold his peace shall be counted wise; and if he close his lips, he shall be counted as a man of understanding!” (Proverbs 17:28). As a mother once said to her son as he was about to start a new job: “Son! If you say little, your fellow workers might only suspect that you are fool who knows little―but if you open your mouth, then you will confirm their suspicions!”
God created us to speak―but speech can be either virtuous and necessary, or speech can be evil and unnecessary. Holy Scripture encourages virtuous speech and condemns evil speech. ““Let not many seek to become teachers, my brothers, for you know that those who teach will be judged with greater strictness. We all sin in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is a perfect person, able to keep their whole body in check. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn and guide the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the ship’s pilot wants the ship to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it can cause great damage. Consider what a great forest can be set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by Hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be!” (James 3:1-10). “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks! How can you speak good things, whereas you are evil?” (Matthew 12:34).
There is “a time to keep silence, and a time to speak” (Ecclesiastes 3:7). Nevertheless, “For every idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an account for it in the day of judgment!” (Matthew 12:36). “If any man speak, let him speak the words of God” (1 Peter 4:11). “He that is of the Earth, of the Earth he is, and of the Earth he speaks!” (John 3:31). “They are of the world―therefore of the world they speak, and the world hears them!” (1 John 4:5). “Their mouth speaks proud things” (Jude 1:16).
“Whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord, shall be saved! How then shall they call on Him, in whom they have not believed? Or how shall they believe Him, of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear, without a preacher? Preach the Gospel!” (Romans 10:13-15). “Speak the word of God!” (Acts 13:46). “Speak the Word of God without fear!” (Philippians 1:14). “These things speak, and exhort and rebuke with all authority!” (Titus 2:15). “We speak, not as pleasing men, but God!” (1 Thessalonians 2:4). “Lord, grant unto Thy servants, that with all confidence they may speak Thy word!” (Acts 4:29). “The Lord said to Paul: ‘Do not fear, but speak!’” (Acts 18:9). Even Our Lord Himself said: “I have not spoken of Myself―but the Father Who sent Me, He commanded Me what I should say and what I should speak. The things therefore that I speak, I speak as the Father said unto Me!” (John 12:49-50).
Our Lady said to the Venerable Mary of Agreda: “To speak without moderation and forethought is a two-edged sword, which wounds both him that speaks and him that hears―and thus, in two ways, destroys charity or hinders it in all the virtues. From this you can understand how much God is offended by the vice of inconsiderate and loose talk, and how talking too much, and the clamor of disputation justly drives away God’s spirit and veils His presence. For those that talk too much, cannot keep free from grievous sins (Proverbs 10:19). I do not dissuade you from speaking words of admonition and consolation―but with creatures it is very difficult to preserve the golden middle, without danger of passing from the correct and necessary speech to the imperfect and superfluous speech. Infinite is the number of those who are entangled in this dangerous error, who, desiring to appear wise, speak much and multiply words like the foolish. They only lose what they strive so much to attain, since they become known as foolish! ... The number of fools is infinite, the number of the reprobate is also uncountable!”
Nevertheless, in danger one cannot be silent. Our Lady of Good Success lamented that in our days of danger, those who should be speaking out against the danger will not do so: “From the end of the 19th century and especially in the 20th century, the passions will erupt and there will be a total corruption of morals, for Satan will reign almost completely by means of the Masonic sects … During this epoch the Church will find herself attacked by terrible assaults from the Masonic sect, and corruption of morals, unbridled impurity, luxury and extravagance, an impious press and secular education. The vices of impurity, blasphemy and sacrilege will dominate in this time of depraved desolation, and those who should speak out will be silent” (Our Lady of Good Success).
Holy Scripture warns of the terrible consequences of such cowardly silence: “Son of man, I have made you a watchman over My people! And you shall hear the word out of My mouth, and shall tell it to them from Me! If, when I say to the wicked: ‘You shall surely die!’ ― and you do not sound the trumpet and so not declare it to him, nor speak to him, so that he might be converted from his wicked ways and live, then the same wicked man shall certainly die in his iniquity, but I will require his blood at your hand and upon your own head! But if you sound the trumpet and give warning to the wicked, and he does not convert from his wickedness and from his evil ways―then then his blood shall be upon his own head and he indeed shall die in his iniquity, for he heard the sound of the trumpet and did not look to himself―but you will have saved your soul! Moreover, if the just man shall turn away from his justice, and shall commit iniquity―then I will lay a stumbling-block before him and he shall die―because you have not warned him! He shall die in his sin, and all his justices which he has done beforehand, shall not be remembered―but I will require his blood at your hand! But if you warn the just man, so that the just may not sin, and he does not sin―then living he shall live, because you have warned him, and you will have saved your soul!” (Ezechiel 3:17-21; 33:1-8).
There is an old saying: “All that is needed for evil to succeed is for good people to say or do nothing!” Silence in the face of evil allows that evil to continue and even to spread. Such a terrible silence must be broken. To paraphrase one of Archbishop Sheen’s famous quotes: “We don’t need a voice that speaks when everybody else is speaking; we need a voice that speaks when everybody else is silent!”
St. Thomas Aquinas deals extensively with this need to correct others in his Summa Theologica (IIa-IIae, q. 33, Fraternal Correction). He writes: “Sinful acts are evil in themselves, and cannot become good, no matter how, or when, or where, they are done―because of their very nature they are connected with an evil end. Our Lord warns us not to be listless in regard of one another’s sins―not indeed by being on the lookout for something to denounce, but by correcting what we see―otherwise we would become spies on the lives of others. To correct the wrongdoer is a spiritual alms-deed and an act of charity. Fraternal correction is a matter of precept. You become worse than the sinner if you fail to correct him. Though it is a matter of precept, we do not have to correct our erring brother at all places and times. This is fraternal correction is directed to the amendment of the sinner. Fraternal correction which is an act of charity, is within the competency of everyone in respect of any person towards whom he is bound by charity―provided that there be something in that person which requires correction. A subject corrects his superior inordinately when he upbraids him with insolence, and also when he speaks ill of him. When a subject corrects his superior, he ought to do so in a becoming manner―not with impudence and harshness, but with gentleness and respect. Correcting anyone in public exceeds the mode of fraternal correction. However It must be observed that if the Faith were endangered, a subject ought to rebuke his superior even publicly.
“Fraternal correction may be omitted in three ways―some omissions are sinful, other omissions are not sinful. First, fraternal correction is omitted meritoriously, when out of charity one omits to correct someone. For example, if a man refrains from rebuking and reproving wrongdoers, because he awaits a suitable time for so doing, or because he fears lest, if he does so, they may become worse, or hinder, oppress, or turn away from the Faith. Secondly, by the omission of fraternal correction one commits a mortal sin, namely, one fears what people may think, or one fears they may suffer grievous pain or death. Thirdly, the omission of fraternal correction is a venial sin, when through fear or covetousness, a man is reluctant to correct his brother’s faults because in his own mind he prefers fraternal charity to these things. It is in this way that holy men sometimes omit to correct wrongdoers. Consequently when it is deemed probable that the sinner will not take the warning, and will become worse, such fraternal correction should be foregone.
“Should sinners correct wrongdoers? To correct a wrongdoer belongs to a man, in so far as his reason is gifted with right judgment. Sin does not destroy the good of nature so as to deprive the sinner’s reason of all right judgment―and in this respect he may be competent to find fault with others for committing sin. Nevertheless a previous sin proves somewhat of a hindrance to this correction, for three reasons. First because this previous sin renders a man unworthy to rebuke another; and especially is he unworthy to correct another for a lesser sin, if he himself has committed a greater sin. Hence on the words of Our Lord, ‘Why do you see the splinter in your brother’s eye?’ etc. (Matthew 7:3). Our Lord is speaking of those who, while they are themselves guilty of mortal sin, have no patience with the lesser sins of their brethren. Secondly, such like correction becomes unseemly, on account of the scandal which ensues therefrom, if the corrector’s sin be well known―because it would seem that he corrects, not out of charity, but more for the sake of ostentation. Thirdly, on account of the rebuker’s pride; when, for instance, a man thinks lightly of his own sins, and, in his own heart, sets himself above his neighbor, judging the latter’s sins with harsh severity, as though he himself were just man. When we have to find fault with anyone, we should think whether we were never guilty of his sin; and then we must remember that we are men, and might have been guilty of it; or that we once had it on our conscience, but have it no longer: and then we should think to ourselves that we are all weak, in order that our reproof may be the outcome, not of hatred, but of pity. But if we find that we are guilty of the same sin, we must not rebuke him, but groan with him, and invite him to repent with us. If a sinner corrects a wrongdoer with humility, then he does not sin, nor does he bring a further condemnation upon himself, although thereby he proves himself deserving of condemnation, either in his brother’s or in his own conscience, on account of his previous sin.
“We should take progressive steps in correction. Our Lord says: ‘Rebuke him between you and him alone!’ (Matthew 18:15). By a private correction, you aim at his amendment, while avoiding his disgrace―since perhaps from shame due to a public correction, he might begin to defend his sin; and him whom you thought to make a better man, you make worse. When the secret admonition has been given once or several times, as long as there is probable hope of his amendment, we must continue to admonish him in private, but as soon as we are able to judge with any probability that the secret admonition is of no avail, we must take further steps, however secret the sin may be, and call witnesses―unless it is thought probable that this would not conduce to our brother’s amendment, and that he would become worse―because on that account one ought to abstain altogether from correcting him. Our Lord also said (Matthew 18:16): ‘Take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two,’ etc. The right way to go from one extreme to another is to pass through the middle space. Now Our Lord wished the beginning of fraternal correction to be hidden, when one brother corrects another between this one and himself alone, while He wished the end to be public, when such a one would be denounced to the Church. Consequently it is befitting that bringing in one or two witnesses should be placed between those two extremes, so that at first the brother’s sin be indicated to a few, who will be of use without being a hindrance, and thus his sin be amended without dishonoring him before the public.
“With regard to the public denunciation of sins, it is necessary to make a distinction―because sins may be either public or secret. On the case of public sins, a remedy is required not only for the sinner―so that he may become better―but also for others, who know of his sin, in case they be tempted to commit the same sin. Wherefore public sins should be denounced in public. On the other hand, in the case of secret sins, it seems that we must make yet a further distinction. For certain secret sins are hurtful to our neighbor either in his body or in his soul―as, for instance, when a man plots secretly to betray his country to its enemies, or when a heretic secretly turns other men away from the Faith. And since he that sins thus in secret, sins not only against you in particular, but also against others, it is necessary to take steps to denounce him at once, in order to prevent him doing such harm, unless by chance you were firmly persuaded that this evil result would be prevented by admonishing him secretly. On the other hand there are other sins which injure nobody else but the sinner, and the person sinned against―and then our one purpose should be to help our sinning brother; and just as the physician restores the sick man to health, if possible, without cutting off a limb, so too he who desires his brother’s amendment should, if possible, so amend him as regards his conscience, that he keep his good name. For a good name is useful, first of all to the sinner himself, not only in temporal matters wherein a man suffers many losses, if he lose his good name, but also in spiritual matters, because many are restrained from sinning, through fear of dishonor, so that when a man finds his honor lost, he puts no limit or restraint on his sinning.” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, IIa-IIae, q. 33, Fraternal Correction).
Speech in general and correction in particular, requires prudence, discernment and courage―in both speaking and keeping silence. There is “a time to keep silence, and a time to speak” (Ecclesiastes 3:7). “If any man speak, let him speak the words of God” (1 Peter 4:11). “All Scripture, inspired of God, is profitable to teach, to reprove, to correct, to instruct in justice” (2 Timothy 3:16). “If a man be overtaken in any fault, you, who are spiritual, instruct such a one in the spirit of meekness―considering yourself, lest you also be tempted!” (Galatians 6:1). There is an axiom in the Canon Law of the Church that says it is better to err on the side of mercy rather than justice. Why? Because “the Lord is gracious and merciful, patient and plenteous in mercy. The Lord is sweet to all―and His tender mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 144:8-9). Also, bear in mind that the grace of God can achieve far more than you can with your words of correction―for the grace of God works in a hidden, silent, persuasive manner in the secret recesses of the sinner’s soul. We are very quick to outwardly correct sinners―but very slow to pray and offer sacrifices for their amendment and conversion. Our Lady of Fatima did not ask us to verbally correct sinners and engage in finger-pointing, but she asked that we pray very much and offer many sacrifices for the conversion of sinners! Talking to God about the sinner can often produce much more than talking to the sinner about God! By all means speak―but speak to the One who can truly change things!
Are You Lame?
We are spiritually lame when we walk incorrectly in the Faith or in Morals―when we hold errors in matters of the Faith, or when we have injured ourselves through sin. Likewise, we are spiritually lame when we lack zeal and fervor in living out our Faith fervently and zealously putting it into practice in all aspects of our life―instead, we hesitate, procrastinate, neglect or fear to live the Faith as we should, because of what others might think or say, or because of what it might cost us, or because we feel as though we would have to forego and miss-out on so many other things in the world. Likewise, by our lukewarm love of God whereby we fail to love the Lord our God, with our whole heart, and with our whole soul, and with our whole mind, and with our whole strength! And our failure to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31). Likewise, we become spiritually lame when we attach ourselves to the world, follow the world, love the world, and become worldly―something that Holy Scripture condemns: “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him!” (1 John 2:15). “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God!” (James 4:4) ... “The whole world is seated in wickedness!” (1 John 5:19) ... “Keep yourself unspotted from this world!” (James 1:27) … “Be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2) … “That we be not condemned with this world!” (1 Corinthians 11:32).
FR. GARRIGOU-LAGRANGE, in his book The Three Conversions of the Spiritual Life, speaks of this spiritual lameness in the service of God: “In varying degrees this egoism survives in all imperfect souls in spite of the state of grace, and it is the source of a multitude of venial sins, of habitual faults which become characteristic features of the soul, rendering necessary a veritable purging even in those who have, as it were, been present on Mount Tabor, or who have often partaken of the Eucharistic banquet, as the Apostles did at the Last Supper. In her Dialogue, St. Catherine of Siena speaks of this self-love, describing it as “the mercenary love of the imperfect,” of those who, without being conscious of it, serve God from self-interest, because they are attached to temporal or spiritual consolations, and who shed tears of self-pity when they are deprived of them. It is a strange but not uncommon mixture of sincere love of God with an inordinate love of self. The soul loves God more than itself, otherwise it would not be in the state of grace, it would not possess Charity; but it still loves itself with an inordinate love. It has not yet reached the stage of loving itself in God and for His sake. Such a state of soul is neither white nor black; it is a light grey, in which there is more white than black. The soul is on the upward path, but it still has a tendency to slip downwards.
“We read in this 60th chapter of the Dialogue (it is God who speaks). ‘Among those who have become My trusted servants there are some who serve Me with Faith, without servile fear, it is not the mere fear of punishment, but love which attaches them to My service (thus Peter before the Passion). But this love is still imperfect, because what they seek in My service (at any rate to a great extent) is their own profit, their own satisfaction, or the pleasure that they find in Me. The same imperfection is found in the love which they bear towards their neighbor. And do you know what shows the imperfection of their love? It is that, as soon as they are deprived of the consolations which they find in Me, their love fails and can no longer survive. It becomes weak and gradually cools towards Me when, in order to exercise them in virtue and to detach them from their imperfection, I withdraw spiritual consolations from them and send them difficulties and afflictions. I act in this way in order to bring them to perfection, to teach them to know themselves, to realize that they are nothing and that of themselves they have no grace. Adversity should have the effect of making them seek refuge in Me, recognize Me as their benefactor, and become attached to Me by a true humility.... If they do not recognize their imperfection and desire to become perfect, it is impossible that they should not turn back.’
“This is what the Fathers have so often asserted: ‘In the way of God, he who makes no progress, loses ground.’ Just as the child who does not grow does not merely remain a child but becomes an idiot, so the beginner who does not enter upon the way of proficients when he ought to, does not merely remain a beginner, but becomes a stunted soul. It would seem, unhappily, that the great majority of souls do not belong to any of these three categories, of beginners, proficients or perfect, but rather to that of stunted souls! At what stage are we ourselves? This is often a very difficult question to answer, and it would perhaps be vain curiosity to inquire at what point we have arrived in our upward path; but at least we must take care not to mistake the road, not to take a path that leads downwards. It is important, therefore, to reach beyond the merely mercenary love, which often we unconsciously retain.” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Conversions of the Spiritual Life).
Are You Paralyzed?
Spiritual paralysis could be said to be worst state in which we can find ourselves. It is worse that spiritual lameness―for there is at least some progress or movement towards Heaven in spiritual lameness, but with spiritual paralysis everything comes to a standstill. You could, from that perspective, compare spiritual lameness to being in a state of habitual venial sin, and spiritual paralysis to being in a state of habitual mortal sin.
Grave sin has grave consequences on our lives. When we sin mortally we “paralyze” ourselves. and the clearest consequence is that we are left unable to rise and then walk in the ways of God. Grave sin makes us powerless with regard to getting to Heaven. Only God, by His grace, can move us to convert and go to the “Spiritual Emergency Room” ― which is the confessional and the Sacrament of Penance.
Article 4
Monday, February 9th
Saul Sinned! Paul Paid! From Sin through Suffering to Sanctity!
Monday, February 9th
Saul Sinned! Paul Paid! From Sin through Suffering to Sanctity!
Tailor-Made Week!
This Sexagesima week seems to be tailor-made for our day and age! The readings from the Mass and the Breviary (Divine Office) are very appropriate for the circumstances in which we find ourselves. The Epistle from the Mass for Sexagesima Sunday deals with Saul the Sinner who was to become Paul the Saint―but only after having gone through many providential sufferings that God sent to allow him to pay for his sins. On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday of Sexagesima week, we read in the Breviary of the terrible sinful state of the world at the time of Noe and God’s decision to punish the sinful world by the Great Flood―during which only Noe and those in the ark were saved.
This brings to mind the words of Our Lady concerning our present times: “Woe to the inhabitants of the Earth! God will strike in an unprecedented way. God will exhaust His wrath upon them, and no one will be able to escape so many afflictions together … Physical and moral agonies will be suffered. God will abandon mankind to itself and will send punishments which will follow one after the other. The society of men is on the eve of the most terrible scourges and of gravest events. Mankind must expect to be ruled with an iron rod and to drink from the chalice of the wrath of God! Nature is asking for vengeance on account of men, and she trembles, with dread, at what must happen to the Earth stained with crime. Tremble, Earth, and you who proclaim yourselves as serving Jesus Christ and who, on the inside, only adore yourselves! … The Earth will be struck by calamities of all kinds! Water and fire will give the Earth’s globe convulsions and terrible earthquakes ― cities will be shaken down, shattered and swallowed up by earthquakes, in addition to plague, infectious diseases and famine which will be widespread. There will be a series of wars, until the last war!” (Our Lady of La Salette, 1846).
To Blessed Sister Elena Aiello (1895-1961)―mystic, stigmatic, victim soul, prophetess and foundress of the Minim Tertiaries of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ―Our Lady, in an apparition on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8th, 1956, said: “People are offending God too much! If I were to show you all the sins committed on a single day, you would surely die of grief! These are grave times! The world is in total turmoil―because it is in a worse condition than at the time of the Deluge! [the Great Flood in Noe’s time]. All is hanging on a slender thread! When that thread shall snap, Divine Justice shall pounce upon the world and execute its dreadful, purging designs! All the nations shall be punished because sins, like a muddy river, are now covering all the Earth!”
At Akita, Japan, in 1973, Our Lady warned: “If men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be punishment greater than the deluge, such as one will never have seen before! Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead!” (Our Lady of Akita, 1973).
There is Always Hope!
Nevertheless, Our Lady opens a window and gives us some hope: “There are no more generous souls … There is no one to be found to beg mercy and forgiveness for the people … The heads, the leaders of the people of God, have neglected prayer and penance … The justice of the Father requires reparation — otherwise many will be lost! … Penance! Penance! Penance! … The only valid means for placating Divine Justice is to pray and do penance! … Therefore I ask for prayers, penance and sacrifice, so I may act as Mediatrix for my Son in order to save souls ... I wish prayers and penance, in order that I may again obtain mercy and salvation for many souls — otherwise they will be lost! … Prayers and penances are necessary! … Prayer, penance and courageous sacrifices can soften the Father’s anger! … I desire souls to console Him to soften the anger of the Heavenly Father ... who will repair―by their suffering and their poverty―for the sinners and the ungrateful! …. Already souls who wish to pray are on the way to being gathered together … Will you sacrifice yourself for the people of this time? … Are you willing to offer yourselves to God and bear all the sufferings He wills to send you, as an act of reparation for the conversion of sinners? … Then you are going to have much to suffer, but the grace of God will be your comfort! … Sacrifice yourselves for sinners! … Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices for sinners; for many souls go to Hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and pray for them! … If men do not repent and better themselves, and return to God with prayers and penances, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity! The world will be overturned in a new and more terrible war. Arms most deadly will destroy peoples and nations! … My words are very clear, and you must transmit them to everyone!” (combination of quotes from Our Lady of Good Success, Our Lady of La Salette, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Akita and Our Lady’s message to Blessed Elena Aiello).
No Heaven except by the Cross―The way of the Cross is the Way to Heaven
The cross pays for sin. Our Lord paid for our sins on the cross―we must also “co-pay” for our sins with the cross. The cross is the currency of Christ. The cross is the way to Heaven. The cross is the key to Heaven. Throw-away your cross and you throw-away your salvation. Throw-away one cross―and God will give you another one which is often an even heavier one because you still have to carry a cross and now you must additionally pay for the sin of rejecting God’s cross for you. Penance pays for the debt of sin and we will not get to Heaven unless we pay the debt of our sins.
“I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance! … No, I say to you― unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish ... Again I say to you― except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 5:32; 13:3-5). “Who can say: ‘My heart is clean, I am pure from sin!’?” (Proverbs 20:9). “For in many things we all offend” (James 3:2). “There is no man who sins not” (3 Kings 8:46). “For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God!” (Romans 3:23).“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us!” (1 John 1:8-10). Therefore, if we have sinned, we need to do penance! Yes―penance is painful; penance is a punishment; penance is a cross! But “Jesus said to all: ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me!’” (Luke 9:23) … “And whosoever does not carry his cross to come after Me, cannot be My disciple!” (Luke 14:27) … “And he that does not take up his cross to follow Me, is not worthy of Me!” (Matthew 10:38).
Admit Your Guilt―Pay Your Debts!
There are no liars and hypocrites in Heaven; and there is nobody with unpaid debts in Heaven. The place for such persons is either Purgatory or Hell. To pretend that we are not sinners is a lie: “Who can say: ‘My heart is clean, I am pure from sin!’?” (Proverbs 20:9). “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us!” (1 John 1:8-10). You have sinned and through sin you have incurred a debt: “Be not ashamed to confess thy sins!” (Ecclesiasticus 4:31) … “He that hides his sins, shall not prosper―but he that shall confess, and forsake them, shall obtain mercy!” (Proverbs 28:13) … “If we confess our sins, then God is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity!” (1 John 1:9) … “Let him do penance for his sin!” (Leviticus 5:5) … “Unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3).
St. Paul Admits Guilt and Accepts Suffering
St. Paul publicly admits to the guilt of his sins against God in persecuting God’s Church: “I persecuted the Church of God beyond measure, and tried to destroy it … With zeal I persecuted the Church of God … Saul was trying to destroy the Church, entering in from house to house, and dragging away men and women, committed them to prison … I am the least of the Apostles, who am not worthy to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God!” (Galatians 1:13; Philippians 3:6; Acts 8:3; 1 Corinthians 15:9).
Yet Christ came to save sinners―not destroy them: “The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save!” (Luke 9:56). “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). “I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance!” (Luke 5:32). However, it has to be on Christ’s terms that a sinner is saved and not on the terms of the sinner. The terms of Christ are basically: (1) stop sinning; (2) do penance; (3) love God and neighbor; (4) carry the cross; (5) cooperate with the grace of God. All those points are borne out by the following quotes:
(1) “Go, and now sin no more! … Sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to thee!” (John 8:11; 5:14).
(2) “Unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3).
(3) “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the greatest and the first commandment! And the second is like to it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these! On these two commandments depends the whole law and the prophets!” (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31).
(4) “And He said to all: ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me!’” (Luke 9:23) … “And whosoever does not carry his cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple!” (Luke 14:27) … “And he that takes not up his cross, and followeth Me, is not worthy of Me!” (Matthew 10:38).
(5) “Receive not the grace of God in vain!” (2 Corinthians 6:1). “Cast not away the grace of God!” (Galatians 2:21).
We read of Sauls (St. Paul’s) conversion in the Acts of the Apostles: “And Saul, breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked of him for letters to Damascus, to the synagogues―stating that if he found any men and women of this way, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. And as he went on his journey, it came to pass that he drew near to Damascus, a light from heaven suddenly shined round about him. And falling on the ground, he heard a voice saying to him: ‘Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting Me?’ Saul said: ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said: ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting! It is hard for thee to kick against the goad [a “goad” was a sharp pointed stick for directing cattle]. And Saul, trembling and astonished, said: ‘Lord, what will You have me do?’ And the Lord said to him: ‘Arise, and go into the city, and there you shall be told what you must do!’ Now the men accompanying Saul, stood amazed, hearing indeed a voice, but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the ground; and when his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. But they, leading him by the hands, brought him to Damascus. And he was there three days, without sight, and he did neither eat nor drink.
“Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias. And the Lord said to him in a vision: ‘Ananias!’ And he said: ‘Behold I am here, Lord!’ And the Lord said to him: ‘Arise, and go into the street that is called Strait, and seek in the house of Judas, one named Saul of Tarsus. For behold he prays!’ And at the same time Saul saw a vision of a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hands upon him, so that he might receive his sight back. But Ananias answered: ‘Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem! And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all that invoke Thy Name!’ And the Lord said to him: ‘Go your way! For this man is to Me a vessel of election, to carry My Name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many great things he must suffer for My Name’s sake!’ And Ananias went his way and entered into the house. And laying his hands upon him, he said: ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus has sent me―he that appeared to you in the way when you were coming here―so that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Ghost!’ And immediately there fell from his eyes as it were scales, and he received his sight; and rising up, he was baptized. And when he had taken meat, he was strengthened. And he was with the disciples that were at Damascus, for some days. And immediately he preached Jesus in the synagogues, that Jesus is the Son of God. And all that heard him, were astonished, and said: ‘Is not this man he who persecuted in Jerusalem those that called upon this Name―and who came here with the intent of carrying them bound to the chief priests?’” (Acts 9:1-21).
St. Paul writes of his conversion: “When it pleased God, He called me by His grace to reveal His Son in me, so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles” (Galatians 1:15-16). “I cast not away the grace of God!” (Galatians 2:2). “By the grace of God, I am what I am―and His grace in me has not been void, for I have labored more abundantly than all ― yet not I, but the grace of God with me!” (1 Corinthians 15:10). “I chastise my body and bring it into subjection!” (1 Corinthians 9:27). “God forbid that I should glory in anything, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ!” (Galatians 6:14).
St. Paul then gives us the “tip-of-the-iceberg” of sufferings that God’s providence sent him in order to transform him from saint to sinner, and to pay for the debts of his sins: “I am in many labors, in prisons frequently, scourged above measure, in danger of death often. From the Jews five times did I receive forty stripes, less one! Three times was I beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I suffered shipwreck―a night and a day I was in the depth of the sea! In journeying often; in perils of waters; in perils of robbers; in perils from my own nation; in perils from the Gentiles; in perils in the city; in perils in the wilderness; in perils in the sea; in perils from false brethren; in labor and painfulness, in much watching; in hunger and thirst; fasting often; in cold and nakedness! … And there was given me a sting of my flesh, an angel of Satan, to buffet ― for which reason three times I begged the Lord, that it might depart from me ! And He said to me: ‘My grace is sufficient for thee! For power is made perfect in infirmity!’ Gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmities, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me! For this reason I please myself in my infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ! For when I am weak, then am I powerful!” (2 Corinthians 11:23-27; 12:7-10).
To Fight or Not to Fight?
We automatically imagine fighting to be sinful―parents tell their children not to fight and if they do then they are punished. The school will also punish students who indulge in fighting. Adults who fight risk punishment by the authorities. Yet there some things that are worth fighting for and some things that we must fight. Holy Scripture even says:
“All things have their season and times … A time to be born and a time to die … A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to destroy and a time to build ... A time of love, and a time of hatred. A time of war, and a time of peace” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) “The life of man upon Earth is a warfare!” (Job 7:1). “Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places!” (Ephesians 6:12). “Fight the good fight of Faith!” (1 Timothy 6:12). “Labor as a good soldier of Christ Jesus!” (2 Timothy 2:3). “Shall your brethren go to fight, and will you just sit here?” (Numbers 32:6). “The Lord is like a man of war” (Exodus 15:3). “The Lord is mighty in battle!” (Psalm 23:8) “The Lord will fight for you!” (Exodus 14:14). “The Lord your God will fight for you against your enemies, to deliver you from danger” (Deuteronomy 20:4). “Put you on the armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood―but against principalities and powers; against the rulers of the world of this darkness; against the spirits of wickedness in the high places! Therefore take unto you the armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and to stand in all things perfect!” (Ephesians 6:11-13).
Our Lord is no pacifist―He Himself proclaimed that: “Think ye, that I am come to give peace on Earth? I tell you, no―but separation! Do not think that I came to send peace upon Earth! I came not to send peace, but the sword! For there shall be from henceforth five in one house divided: three against two, and two against three. And a man’s enemies shall be they of his own household. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against his father, the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law! You shall be hated by all men and all nations for My Name’s sake!” (Matthew 10:17-22, 34-36; 24:9-10; Luke 12:51-53). Our Lord is here speaking of the division that His teachings will bring between those who accept His teachings and those who reject and fight against His teachings. That fight has been continuous since the time when Christ walked upon this Earth.
Fighting to Get to Heaven
It is amazing (and frightening) to see how many Catholics (and of course non-Catholics) imagine that getting to Heaven is a breeze! This fuels the ever-increasing tendency to believe in “Universal Salvation” ― which holds that everyone is saved regardless of religion or morality ― because “God is love! God is kind! God is merciful! God is compassionate! God understands! etc., etc., etc!” For them―you just die and automatically go to Heaven! No Purgatory! No Hell! No worries! To such a stupid attitude you have to add―No logic! No common sense! No knowledge of God and Holy Scripture! And, ultimately, unless something changes, no chance of salvation!
It is not for nothing that Holy Scripture warns: “With fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12). A fearful man asked Our Lord about salvation and received a blunt reply: “And a certain man said to Him: ‘Lord! Are they few that are saved?’ But He said to them: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able. But when the master of the house shall be gone in, and shall shut the door, you shall begin to stand outside, and knock at the door, saying: ‘Lord! Open to us!’ And He, answering, shall say to you: ‘I know you not, whence you are!’ Then you shall begin to say: ‘We have eaten and drunk in Thy presence, and Thou hast taught in our streets!” And He shall say to you: ‘I know you not, whence you are! Depart from Me, all ye workers of iniquity!’ There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the Kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out! … Enter ye in at the narrow gate―for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat! How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life―and few there are that find it! … For many are called, but few are chosen!’” (Luke 13:23-28; Matthew 7:13-14; 22:14).
Yes―God wishes to save everyone and does not want the damnation of anyone: “The Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14). “God will [“to will” means “to want”] have all men to be saved … not willing that any should perish” (1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9) ― but not everyone will be saved because they refuse, ignore or neglect the terms of salvation by God. As Our Lord says: “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). “I am the Lord your God! Walk in my precepts and keep my commandments, and do them! … But if you will not hear Me, nor do all My commandments, if you despise My laws, and contemn My judgments so as not to do those things which are appointed by Me, I will break the pride of your stubbornness, I will set my face against you, I will chastise you for your sins, I will quickly visit you with poverty, I will bring seven times more plagues upon you, you shall fall down before your enemies, and if you will not amend, but will walk contrary to Me, then I will walk contrary to you, and will strike you for your sins!” (Leviticus 26:1-18).
Wicked World Washed Away
All of the above was perfectly epitomized in God’s handling of the sinful world in time of Noe―which is what Holy Mother Church presents to us in the Liturgical readings during Matins (in the Breviary/Divine Office) for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday in this Sexagesima week. Yes―God is merciful: “The Lord is gracious and merciful, patient and plenteous in mercy. The Lord is sweet to all―and His tender mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 144:8-9). However, “Be not deceived, God is not mocked! For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that sows in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption [disease and death].” (Galatians 6:7-8). “The wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23) ― and death, universal death, rained down upon the exceedingly sinful world in the time of Noe.
“The Earth was corrupted before God, and was filled with iniquity―for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the Earth. God seeing that the wickedness of men was great on the Earth, and that all the thought of their heart was bent upon evil at all times, and it repented Him that He had made man on the Earth. And being touched inwardly with sorrow of heart, He said: ‘I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the Earth―from man even to beasts, from the creeping thing even to the fowls of the air―for it repents Me that I have made them. But Noe found grace before the Lord … And when God had seen that the Earth was corrupted, He said to Noe: ‘The end of all flesh is come before Me! The Earth is filled with iniquity through them, and I will destroy them with the Earth! Make thee an ark of timber planks … and thus shalt thou make it―the length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits (at least 150 yards long): the breadth of it fifty cubits (at least 25 yards wide), and the height of it thirty cubits (at least 15 yards). Behold I will bring the waters of a great flood upon the Earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, under heaven. All things that are in the Earth shall be consumed! … Go thou into the ark―for after seven days, I will rain upon the Earth forty days and forty nights; and I will destroy every substance that I have made, from the face of the Earth!’
“And Noe did all things which the Lord had commanded him … And after the seven days were passed, the flood gates of heaven were opened and the rain fell upon the Earth forty days and forty nights and the waters of the flood overflowed the Earth … They overflowed exceedingly and filled all on the face of the Earth … And the waters increased, and lifted up the ark on high from the Earth and the ark was carried upon the waters. And the waters prevailed beyond measure upon the Earth and all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. The water was higher than the mountains which it covered. And all flesh was destroyed that moved upon the Earth, fowl, cattle, beasts, all creeping things and all men―all things wherein there is the breath of life on the Earth, died. God destroyed all the substance that was upon the Earth, from man even to beast, the creeping things and fowls of the air― they were all destroyed from the Earth and Noe only remained, and they that were with him in the ark” (Genesis 6:6-22; 7:1-24).
History is Repeating Itself!
A scary thought is that history is clearly repeating itself―for Our Lady has told us that the sinful state of the world today is WORSE than it was during the time of Noe! To Blessed Sister Elena Aiello (1895-1961)―mystic, stigmatic, and foundress of the Minim Tertiaries of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ―Our said on December 8th, 1956: “People are offending God too much! If I were to show you all the sins committed on a single day, you would surely die of grief! These are grave times! The world is in total turmoil―because it is in a worse condition than at the time of the Deluge! [the Great Flood in Noe’s time]. All is hanging on a slender thread! When that thread shall snap, Divine Justice shall pounce upon the world and execute its dreadful, purging designs! All the nations shall be punished because sins, like a muddy river, are now covering all the Earth!”
Our Lady of La Salette warned: “If my people do not wish to submit themselves, I am forced to let go of the hand of my Son! … Sins cry out towards Heaven and call for vengeance! … The disorders and crimes of men have pierced the vault of the Heavens! … Woe to the inhabitants of the Earth! God will exhaust His wrath upon them, and no one will be able to escape so many afflictions together! … Physical and moral agonies will be suffered. God will abandon mankind to itself and will send punishments which will follow one after the other for more than thirty-five years. The society of men is on the eve of the most terrible scourges and of gravest events. Mankind must expect to be ruled with an iron rod and to drink from the chalice of the wrath of God! … France, Italy, Spain, and England will be at war. Then a general war will follow which will be appalling! … There will be thunderstorms which will shake and demolish cities, earthquakes which will swallow up countries ... Water and fire will give the Earth’s globe convulsions and terrible earthquakes which will swallow up mountains, cities, etc ... A number of large cities will be shaken down, shattered and swallowed up by earthquakes!”
If there is no change in the sinful state of the world, Our Lady of Fatima warned that “nations will be annihilated.” (Our Lady of Fatima, July 1917). Regarding the annihilation of nations: it is important to note that during the Father Fuentes interview, Sister Lucia said that Our Blessed Mother had told herself, Jacinta and Francisco “many times ... that many nations will disappear from the face of the Earth.” We only have the one recorded instance in July 1917, but Lucia said Our Lady spoke of the annihilation of many nations “many times!” (Frère François, Tragedy and Triumph, 1994 edition, p. 27).
Our Lady of Akita (Japan) said in 1973: “Many men in this world afflict the Lord … In order that the world might know His anger, the Heavenly Father is preparing to inflict a great chastisement on all mankind ... If men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the deluge [the Great Flood in the time of Noe], such as one never seen before. Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead!”
Such are the words of our loving heavenly Mother―the Mother of Mercy, the Refuge of Sinners, the Help of Christians, the Comforter of the Afflicted, the Gate of Heaven! The vast majority of her modern apparitions are of a negative note, a threatening note, a frightening note! That is because we are immersed in exceedingly sinful times and it is not a time for laughing and joking. Sister Lucia of Fatima said during all her apparitions at Fatima, she NEVER SMILED! Some persons might say she sounds like a depressing “broken record” saying the same thing over and over again. Yet it is we who are the “broken record” ― making the same old excuses over and over again for our refusal to heed her warnings and put into practice her solutions!
Your Responsibility
Do we really think that God is pleased with us? Catholics have a FAR GREATER RESPONSIBILITY for this current state of affairs than anyone else! Catholics are meant to be “the salt of the Earth. But if the salt lose its savor, with what shall it be salted? It is good for nothing anymore but to be cast out, and to be trodden on by men!” (Matthew 5:13). “Unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required―and to whom they have committed much, of him they will demand the more!” (Luke 12:48). This reminds us of Our Lord’s Parable of the Talents―where the lord gives to his servants a certain number of talents, to each according to his ability. The one who received 5 talents used them to produce 5 more talents; the one who received 2 talents used them to produce 2 more talents; whereas the servant who received 1 talent, hid it in a hole in the ground and produced nothing with his talent. Which one are you?
“A man going into a far country, called his servants, and delivered to them his―and to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one. He that had received the five talents, went his way, and traded with the same and gained other five. He that had received the two talents, gained other two. But he that had received the one, going his way dug a hole into the earth, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants came, and reckoned with them …. He that had received the five talents, brought the other five talents. His lord said to him: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!’ … He that had received the two talents came and said: ‘Lord, I have gained another two!’ His lord said to him: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!’ But he that had received the one talent, came and said: Lord, went and hid thy talent in the earth! Behold here you can have that which is yours!’ And his lord said to him: ‘Wicked and slothful servant! You could have committed my money to the bankers, and at my coming I should have received my own with interest! Cast this unprofitable servant into the exterior darkness, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth!’” (Matthew 25:14-30).
Most Catholics, seeing that they are not quite as bad as the rest of the world, end up complacently sitting on their backsides doing little or nothing―just like the self-righteous Pharisee in Our Lord’s parable about the Pharisee and the Publican: “And to some who trusted in themselves as being just and despised others, Jesus spoke this parable: ‘Two men went up into the temple to pray―the one a Pharisee, and the other a Publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus within himself: “O God, I give thee thanks that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers―as also is this Publican! I fast twice in a week. I give tithes of all that I possess.” And the Publican, standing afar off, would not so much as lift up his eyes towards Heaven; but struck his breast, saying: “O God, be merciful to me a sinner!” I say to you, this man went down into his house justified rather than the other―because everyone that exalts himself, shall be humbled; and he that humbles himself, shall be exalted!’” (Luke 18:9-14).
The Solution of Sanctity
Only an idiot would fail to see that both the Church and the world are sinking into an ever-deepening crisis. Ultimately, it is spiritual problem, or, to put it another way, the problem is a lack of spirituality. God wants us be holy―we prefer to be worldly! “I am the Lord your God! Be holy because I am holy! … You shall be holy unto me, because I the Lord am holy! … I am the Almighty God―walk before Me and be perfect!” says God (Leviticus 11:44; 20:26). Our Lord adds: “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect!” (Matthew 5:48). To which Scripture further adds: “Put off the old man who is corrupted and put on the new man who is created in holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24) … for you “are called to be saints” (Romans 8:28). “We are the children of saints, and we must not be like heathens that know not God!” (Tobias 8:5).
Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, in his book The Three Ages of the Interior Life, writes: “There are some who seem to think that it is sufficient to be saved and that it is not necessary to be a saint. It is clearly not necessary to be a saint who performs miracles, and whose sanctity is officially recognized by the Church. To be saved, we must take the way of salvation, which is identical with that of sanctity. There will be only saints in Heaven, whether they enter there immediately after death, or after purification in Purgatory. No one enters Heaven unless he has that sanctity which consists in perfect purity of soul ... We conclude, logically, that religion can give an efficacious and truly realistic answer to the great modern problems only if it is a religion that is profoundly lived, not simply a superficial and cheap religion, made up of some vocal prayers and some ceremonies, in which religious art is given more place than true sincere piety. As a matter of fact, no religion, that is profoundly lived, is without an interior life, without that intimate and frequent conversation which we have, not only with ourselves, but with God.”
St. Louis de Montfort leaves no “wiggle-room” when he writes: “Chosen soul, living image of God and redeemed by the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ, God wants you to become holy like Him in this life, and glorious like Him in the next. It is certain that growth in the holiness of God is your vocation. All your thoughts, words, actions, everything you suffer or undertake, must lead you towards that end. Otherwise you are resisting God, in not doing the work for which He created you and for which He is even now keeping you in being!” (St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of Mary).
St. Louis elaborates on this in his book True Devotion to Mary, writing: “God the Holy Ghost is become fruitful by Mary, and of her He produced His Masterpiece―which is God made Man―and He goes on producing daily, to the end of the world, the predestinate and the members of the Body of that adorable Head. This is the reason why He, the Holy Ghost, the more He finds Mary in any soul, the more active and mighty He becomes in producing Jesus Christ in that soul, and that soul in Jesus Christ … If Jesus Christ, the Head of men, is born in her, then the predestinate, who are the members of that Head, ought also to be born in her by a necessary consequence … Mary has produced, together with the Holy Ghost, the greatest thing which has been or ever will be—a God Man; and she will consequently produce the greatest saints that there will be in the end of time. The formation and the education of the great saints who shall come at the end of the world are reserved for her … These great souls, full of grace and zeal, shall be chosen to match themselves against the enemies of God, who shall rage on all sides; and they shall be singularly devout to our Blessed Lady―so that they shall fight with one hand and build with the other. With the one hand they shall fight, overthrow and crush the heretics with their heresies, the schismatics with their schisms, the idolaters with their idolatries and the sinners with their impieties …
“The power of Mary over all the devils will especially shine forth in the latter times, when Satan will lay his snares against her heel: that is to say, her humble slaves and her poor children, whom she will raise up to make war against him. They shall be little and poor in the world’s esteem, and abased before all like the heel, trodden underfoot and persecuted as the heel is by the other members of the body. But, in return for this, they shall be rich in the grace of God, which Mary shall distribute to them abundantly. They shall be great and exalted before God in sanctity, superior to all other creatures by their lively zeal, and so well sustained with God’s assistance that, with the humility of their heel, in union with Mary, they shall crush the head of the devil and cause Jesus Christ to triumph. They shall be the ministers of the Lord who, like a burning fire, shall kindle the fire of divine love everywhere. They shall be like sharp arrows in the hand of the powerful Mary to pierce her enemies. They shall be well purified by the fire of great tribulation, and closely adhering to God, who shall carry the gold of love in their heart, the incense of prayer in their spirit, and the myrrh of mortification in their body. They shall be everywhere the good odor of Jesus Christ to the poor and to the little, while at the same time, they shall be an odor of death to the great, to the rich and to the proud worldlings. They shall be clouds thundering and flying through the air at the least breath of the Holy Ghost; who, detaching themselves from everything and troubling themselves about nothing, shall shower forth the rain of the Word of God and of life eternal. They shall thunder against sin; they shall storm against the world; they shall strike the devil and his crew; and they shall pierce through and through, for life or for death, with their two-edged sword of the Word of God, all those to whom they shall be sent on the part of the Most High.
“They shall be the true apostles of the latter times, to whom the Lord of Hosts shall give the word and the might to work marvels and to carry off with glory the spoils of His enemies. They shall sleep without gold or silver, and, what is more, without care, in the midst of the other priests, ecclesiastics, and clerics (Psalm 67:14); and yet they shall have the silvered wings of the dove to go, with the pure intention of the glory of God and the salvation of souls, wheresoever the Holy Ghost shall call them. Nor shall they leave behind them, in the places where they have preached, anything but the gold of charity, which is the fulfillment of the whole law. They shall be true disciples of Jesus Christ, walking in the footsteps of His poverty, humility, contempt of the world, charity; teaching the narrow way of God in pure truth, according to the holy Gospel, and not according to the maxims of the world; troubling themselves about nothing; not accepting persons; sparing, fearing and listening to no mortal, however influential he may be. They shall have in their mouths the two-edged sword of the Word of God. They shall carry on their shoulders the bloody standard of the Cross, the Crucifix in their right hand and the Rosary in their left, the sacred Names of Jesus and Mary in their hearts, and the modesty and mortification of Jesus Christ in their own behavior. These are the great men who are to come; but Mary is the one who, by order of the Most High, shall fashion them for the purpose of extending His empire over that of the impious, the idolaters and the Mahometans.” (St. Louis elaborates on this in his book True Devotion to Mary).
Does that sound like you? How far away are you from that blueprint of sanctity and devotion? There is no other door into Heaven other than the door of sanctity! It’s either be a saint or begone! It’s either God’s way or highway to Hell! What path are you on? Are you becoming progressively more and more holy? Or are you progressively becoming more and more lukewarm and indifferent?
This Sexagesima week seems to be tailor-made for our day and age! The readings from the Mass and the Breviary (Divine Office) are very appropriate for the circumstances in which we find ourselves. The Epistle from the Mass for Sexagesima Sunday deals with Saul the Sinner who was to become Paul the Saint―but only after having gone through many providential sufferings that God sent to allow him to pay for his sins. On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday of Sexagesima week, we read in the Breviary of the terrible sinful state of the world at the time of Noe and God’s decision to punish the sinful world by the Great Flood―during which only Noe and those in the ark were saved.
This brings to mind the words of Our Lady concerning our present times: “Woe to the inhabitants of the Earth! God will strike in an unprecedented way. God will exhaust His wrath upon them, and no one will be able to escape so many afflictions together … Physical and moral agonies will be suffered. God will abandon mankind to itself and will send punishments which will follow one after the other. The society of men is on the eve of the most terrible scourges and of gravest events. Mankind must expect to be ruled with an iron rod and to drink from the chalice of the wrath of God! Nature is asking for vengeance on account of men, and she trembles, with dread, at what must happen to the Earth stained with crime. Tremble, Earth, and you who proclaim yourselves as serving Jesus Christ and who, on the inside, only adore yourselves! … The Earth will be struck by calamities of all kinds! Water and fire will give the Earth’s globe convulsions and terrible earthquakes ― cities will be shaken down, shattered and swallowed up by earthquakes, in addition to plague, infectious diseases and famine which will be widespread. There will be a series of wars, until the last war!” (Our Lady of La Salette, 1846).
To Blessed Sister Elena Aiello (1895-1961)―mystic, stigmatic, victim soul, prophetess and foundress of the Minim Tertiaries of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ―Our Lady, in an apparition on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8th, 1956, said: “People are offending God too much! If I were to show you all the sins committed on a single day, you would surely die of grief! These are grave times! The world is in total turmoil―because it is in a worse condition than at the time of the Deluge! [the Great Flood in Noe’s time]. All is hanging on a slender thread! When that thread shall snap, Divine Justice shall pounce upon the world and execute its dreadful, purging designs! All the nations shall be punished because sins, like a muddy river, are now covering all the Earth!”
At Akita, Japan, in 1973, Our Lady warned: “If men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be punishment greater than the deluge, such as one will never have seen before! Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead!” (Our Lady of Akita, 1973).
There is Always Hope!
Nevertheless, Our Lady opens a window and gives us some hope: “There are no more generous souls … There is no one to be found to beg mercy and forgiveness for the people … The heads, the leaders of the people of God, have neglected prayer and penance … The justice of the Father requires reparation — otherwise many will be lost! … Penance! Penance! Penance! … The only valid means for placating Divine Justice is to pray and do penance! … Therefore I ask for prayers, penance and sacrifice, so I may act as Mediatrix for my Son in order to save souls ... I wish prayers and penance, in order that I may again obtain mercy and salvation for many souls — otherwise they will be lost! … Prayers and penances are necessary! … Prayer, penance and courageous sacrifices can soften the Father’s anger! … I desire souls to console Him to soften the anger of the Heavenly Father ... who will repair―by their suffering and their poverty―for the sinners and the ungrateful! …. Already souls who wish to pray are on the way to being gathered together … Will you sacrifice yourself for the people of this time? … Are you willing to offer yourselves to God and bear all the sufferings He wills to send you, as an act of reparation for the conversion of sinners? … Then you are going to have much to suffer, but the grace of God will be your comfort! … Sacrifice yourselves for sinners! … Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices for sinners; for many souls go to Hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and pray for them! … If men do not repent and better themselves, and return to God with prayers and penances, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity! The world will be overturned in a new and more terrible war. Arms most deadly will destroy peoples and nations! … My words are very clear, and you must transmit them to everyone!” (combination of quotes from Our Lady of Good Success, Our Lady of La Salette, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Akita and Our Lady’s message to Blessed Elena Aiello).
No Heaven except by the Cross―The way of the Cross is the Way to Heaven
The cross pays for sin. Our Lord paid for our sins on the cross―we must also “co-pay” for our sins with the cross. The cross is the currency of Christ. The cross is the way to Heaven. The cross is the key to Heaven. Throw-away your cross and you throw-away your salvation. Throw-away one cross―and God will give you another one which is often an even heavier one because you still have to carry a cross and now you must additionally pay for the sin of rejecting God’s cross for you. Penance pays for the debt of sin and we will not get to Heaven unless we pay the debt of our sins.
“I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance! … No, I say to you― unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish ... Again I say to you― except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 5:32; 13:3-5). “Who can say: ‘My heart is clean, I am pure from sin!’?” (Proverbs 20:9). “For in many things we all offend” (James 3:2). “There is no man who sins not” (3 Kings 8:46). “For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God!” (Romans 3:23).“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us!” (1 John 1:8-10). Therefore, if we have sinned, we need to do penance! Yes―penance is painful; penance is a punishment; penance is a cross! But “Jesus said to all: ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me!’” (Luke 9:23) … “And whosoever does not carry his cross to come after Me, cannot be My disciple!” (Luke 14:27) … “And he that does not take up his cross to follow Me, is not worthy of Me!” (Matthew 10:38).
Admit Your Guilt―Pay Your Debts!
There are no liars and hypocrites in Heaven; and there is nobody with unpaid debts in Heaven. The place for such persons is either Purgatory or Hell. To pretend that we are not sinners is a lie: “Who can say: ‘My heart is clean, I am pure from sin!’?” (Proverbs 20:9). “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us!” (1 John 1:8-10). You have sinned and through sin you have incurred a debt: “Be not ashamed to confess thy sins!” (Ecclesiasticus 4:31) … “He that hides his sins, shall not prosper―but he that shall confess, and forsake them, shall obtain mercy!” (Proverbs 28:13) … “If we confess our sins, then God is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity!” (1 John 1:9) … “Let him do penance for his sin!” (Leviticus 5:5) … “Unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3).
St. Paul Admits Guilt and Accepts Suffering
St. Paul publicly admits to the guilt of his sins against God in persecuting God’s Church: “I persecuted the Church of God beyond measure, and tried to destroy it … With zeal I persecuted the Church of God … Saul was trying to destroy the Church, entering in from house to house, and dragging away men and women, committed them to prison … I am the least of the Apostles, who am not worthy to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God!” (Galatians 1:13; Philippians 3:6; Acts 8:3; 1 Corinthians 15:9).
Yet Christ came to save sinners―not destroy them: “The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save!” (Luke 9:56). “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). “I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance!” (Luke 5:32). However, it has to be on Christ’s terms that a sinner is saved and not on the terms of the sinner. The terms of Christ are basically: (1) stop sinning; (2) do penance; (3) love God and neighbor; (4) carry the cross; (5) cooperate with the grace of God. All those points are borne out by the following quotes:
(1) “Go, and now sin no more! … Sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to thee!” (John 8:11; 5:14).
(2) “Unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3).
(3) “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the greatest and the first commandment! And the second is like to it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these! On these two commandments depends the whole law and the prophets!” (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31).
(4) “And He said to all: ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me!’” (Luke 9:23) … “And whosoever does not carry his cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple!” (Luke 14:27) … “And he that takes not up his cross, and followeth Me, is not worthy of Me!” (Matthew 10:38).
(5) “Receive not the grace of God in vain!” (2 Corinthians 6:1). “Cast not away the grace of God!” (Galatians 2:21).
We read of Sauls (St. Paul’s) conversion in the Acts of the Apostles: “And Saul, breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked of him for letters to Damascus, to the synagogues―stating that if he found any men and women of this way, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. And as he went on his journey, it came to pass that he drew near to Damascus, a light from heaven suddenly shined round about him. And falling on the ground, he heard a voice saying to him: ‘Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting Me?’ Saul said: ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said: ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting! It is hard for thee to kick against the goad [a “goad” was a sharp pointed stick for directing cattle]. And Saul, trembling and astonished, said: ‘Lord, what will You have me do?’ And the Lord said to him: ‘Arise, and go into the city, and there you shall be told what you must do!’ Now the men accompanying Saul, stood amazed, hearing indeed a voice, but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the ground; and when his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. But they, leading him by the hands, brought him to Damascus. And he was there three days, without sight, and he did neither eat nor drink.
“Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias. And the Lord said to him in a vision: ‘Ananias!’ And he said: ‘Behold I am here, Lord!’ And the Lord said to him: ‘Arise, and go into the street that is called Strait, and seek in the house of Judas, one named Saul of Tarsus. For behold he prays!’ And at the same time Saul saw a vision of a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hands upon him, so that he might receive his sight back. But Ananias answered: ‘Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem! And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all that invoke Thy Name!’ And the Lord said to him: ‘Go your way! For this man is to Me a vessel of election, to carry My Name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many great things he must suffer for My Name’s sake!’ And Ananias went his way and entered into the house. And laying his hands upon him, he said: ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus has sent me―he that appeared to you in the way when you were coming here―so that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Ghost!’ And immediately there fell from his eyes as it were scales, and he received his sight; and rising up, he was baptized. And when he had taken meat, he was strengthened. And he was with the disciples that were at Damascus, for some days. And immediately he preached Jesus in the synagogues, that Jesus is the Son of God. And all that heard him, were astonished, and said: ‘Is not this man he who persecuted in Jerusalem those that called upon this Name―and who came here with the intent of carrying them bound to the chief priests?’” (Acts 9:1-21).
St. Paul writes of his conversion: “When it pleased God, He called me by His grace to reveal His Son in me, so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles” (Galatians 1:15-16). “I cast not away the grace of God!” (Galatians 2:2). “By the grace of God, I am what I am―and His grace in me has not been void, for I have labored more abundantly than all ― yet not I, but the grace of God with me!” (1 Corinthians 15:10). “I chastise my body and bring it into subjection!” (1 Corinthians 9:27). “God forbid that I should glory in anything, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ!” (Galatians 6:14).
St. Paul then gives us the “tip-of-the-iceberg” of sufferings that God’s providence sent him in order to transform him from saint to sinner, and to pay for the debts of his sins: “I am in many labors, in prisons frequently, scourged above measure, in danger of death often. From the Jews five times did I receive forty stripes, less one! Three times was I beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I suffered shipwreck―a night and a day I was in the depth of the sea! In journeying often; in perils of waters; in perils of robbers; in perils from my own nation; in perils from the Gentiles; in perils in the city; in perils in the wilderness; in perils in the sea; in perils from false brethren; in labor and painfulness, in much watching; in hunger and thirst; fasting often; in cold and nakedness! … And there was given me a sting of my flesh, an angel of Satan, to buffet ― for which reason three times I begged the Lord, that it might depart from me ! And He said to me: ‘My grace is sufficient for thee! For power is made perfect in infirmity!’ Gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmities, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me! For this reason I please myself in my infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ! For when I am weak, then am I powerful!” (2 Corinthians 11:23-27; 12:7-10).
To Fight or Not to Fight?
We automatically imagine fighting to be sinful―parents tell their children not to fight and if they do then they are punished. The school will also punish students who indulge in fighting. Adults who fight risk punishment by the authorities. Yet there some things that are worth fighting for and some things that we must fight. Holy Scripture even says:
“All things have their season and times … A time to be born and a time to die … A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to destroy and a time to build ... A time of love, and a time of hatred. A time of war, and a time of peace” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) “The life of man upon Earth is a warfare!” (Job 7:1). “Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places!” (Ephesians 6:12). “Fight the good fight of Faith!” (1 Timothy 6:12). “Labor as a good soldier of Christ Jesus!” (2 Timothy 2:3). “Shall your brethren go to fight, and will you just sit here?” (Numbers 32:6). “The Lord is like a man of war” (Exodus 15:3). “The Lord is mighty in battle!” (Psalm 23:8) “The Lord will fight for you!” (Exodus 14:14). “The Lord your God will fight for you against your enemies, to deliver you from danger” (Deuteronomy 20:4). “Put you on the armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood―but against principalities and powers; against the rulers of the world of this darkness; against the spirits of wickedness in the high places! Therefore take unto you the armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and to stand in all things perfect!” (Ephesians 6:11-13).
Our Lord is no pacifist―He Himself proclaimed that: “Think ye, that I am come to give peace on Earth? I tell you, no―but separation! Do not think that I came to send peace upon Earth! I came not to send peace, but the sword! For there shall be from henceforth five in one house divided: three against two, and two against three. And a man’s enemies shall be they of his own household. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against his father, the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law! You shall be hated by all men and all nations for My Name’s sake!” (Matthew 10:17-22, 34-36; 24:9-10; Luke 12:51-53). Our Lord is here speaking of the division that His teachings will bring between those who accept His teachings and those who reject and fight against His teachings. That fight has been continuous since the time when Christ walked upon this Earth.
Fighting to Get to Heaven
It is amazing (and frightening) to see how many Catholics (and of course non-Catholics) imagine that getting to Heaven is a breeze! This fuels the ever-increasing tendency to believe in “Universal Salvation” ― which holds that everyone is saved regardless of religion or morality ― because “God is love! God is kind! God is merciful! God is compassionate! God understands! etc., etc., etc!” For them―you just die and automatically go to Heaven! No Purgatory! No Hell! No worries! To such a stupid attitude you have to add―No logic! No common sense! No knowledge of God and Holy Scripture! And, ultimately, unless something changes, no chance of salvation!
It is not for nothing that Holy Scripture warns: “With fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12). A fearful man asked Our Lord about salvation and received a blunt reply: “And a certain man said to Him: ‘Lord! Are they few that are saved?’ But He said to them: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able. But when the master of the house shall be gone in, and shall shut the door, you shall begin to stand outside, and knock at the door, saying: ‘Lord! Open to us!’ And He, answering, shall say to you: ‘I know you not, whence you are!’ Then you shall begin to say: ‘We have eaten and drunk in Thy presence, and Thou hast taught in our streets!” And He shall say to you: ‘I know you not, whence you are! Depart from Me, all ye workers of iniquity!’ There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the Kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out! … Enter ye in at the narrow gate―for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat! How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life―and few there are that find it! … For many are called, but few are chosen!’” (Luke 13:23-28; Matthew 7:13-14; 22:14).
Yes―God wishes to save everyone and does not want the damnation of anyone: “The Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14). “God will [“to will” means “to want”] have all men to be saved … not willing that any should perish” (1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9) ― but not everyone will be saved because they refuse, ignore or neglect the terms of salvation by God. As Our Lord says: “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). “I am the Lord your God! Walk in my precepts and keep my commandments, and do them! … But if you will not hear Me, nor do all My commandments, if you despise My laws, and contemn My judgments so as not to do those things which are appointed by Me, I will break the pride of your stubbornness, I will set my face against you, I will chastise you for your sins, I will quickly visit you with poverty, I will bring seven times more plagues upon you, you shall fall down before your enemies, and if you will not amend, but will walk contrary to Me, then I will walk contrary to you, and will strike you for your sins!” (Leviticus 26:1-18).
Wicked World Washed Away
All of the above was perfectly epitomized in God’s handling of the sinful world in time of Noe―which is what Holy Mother Church presents to us in the Liturgical readings during Matins (in the Breviary/Divine Office) for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday in this Sexagesima week. Yes―God is merciful: “The Lord is gracious and merciful, patient and plenteous in mercy. The Lord is sweet to all―and His tender mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 144:8-9). However, “Be not deceived, God is not mocked! For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that sows in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption [disease and death].” (Galatians 6:7-8). “The wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23) ― and death, universal death, rained down upon the exceedingly sinful world in the time of Noe.
“The Earth was corrupted before God, and was filled with iniquity―for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the Earth. God seeing that the wickedness of men was great on the Earth, and that all the thought of their heart was bent upon evil at all times, and it repented Him that He had made man on the Earth. And being touched inwardly with sorrow of heart, He said: ‘I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the Earth―from man even to beasts, from the creeping thing even to the fowls of the air―for it repents Me that I have made them. But Noe found grace before the Lord … And when God had seen that the Earth was corrupted, He said to Noe: ‘The end of all flesh is come before Me! The Earth is filled with iniquity through them, and I will destroy them with the Earth! Make thee an ark of timber planks … and thus shalt thou make it―the length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits (at least 150 yards long): the breadth of it fifty cubits (at least 25 yards wide), and the height of it thirty cubits (at least 15 yards). Behold I will bring the waters of a great flood upon the Earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, under heaven. All things that are in the Earth shall be consumed! … Go thou into the ark―for after seven days, I will rain upon the Earth forty days and forty nights; and I will destroy every substance that I have made, from the face of the Earth!’
“And Noe did all things which the Lord had commanded him … And after the seven days were passed, the flood gates of heaven were opened and the rain fell upon the Earth forty days and forty nights and the waters of the flood overflowed the Earth … They overflowed exceedingly and filled all on the face of the Earth … And the waters increased, and lifted up the ark on high from the Earth and the ark was carried upon the waters. And the waters prevailed beyond measure upon the Earth and all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. The water was higher than the mountains which it covered. And all flesh was destroyed that moved upon the Earth, fowl, cattle, beasts, all creeping things and all men―all things wherein there is the breath of life on the Earth, died. God destroyed all the substance that was upon the Earth, from man even to beast, the creeping things and fowls of the air― they were all destroyed from the Earth and Noe only remained, and they that were with him in the ark” (Genesis 6:6-22; 7:1-24).
History is Repeating Itself!
A scary thought is that history is clearly repeating itself―for Our Lady has told us that the sinful state of the world today is WORSE than it was during the time of Noe! To Blessed Sister Elena Aiello (1895-1961)―mystic, stigmatic, and foundress of the Minim Tertiaries of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ―Our said on December 8th, 1956: “People are offending God too much! If I were to show you all the sins committed on a single day, you would surely die of grief! These are grave times! The world is in total turmoil―because it is in a worse condition than at the time of the Deluge! [the Great Flood in Noe’s time]. All is hanging on a slender thread! When that thread shall snap, Divine Justice shall pounce upon the world and execute its dreadful, purging designs! All the nations shall be punished because sins, like a muddy river, are now covering all the Earth!”
Our Lady of La Salette warned: “If my people do not wish to submit themselves, I am forced to let go of the hand of my Son! … Sins cry out towards Heaven and call for vengeance! … The disorders and crimes of men have pierced the vault of the Heavens! … Woe to the inhabitants of the Earth! God will exhaust His wrath upon them, and no one will be able to escape so many afflictions together! … Physical and moral agonies will be suffered. God will abandon mankind to itself and will send punishments which will follow one after the other for more than thirty-five years. The society of men is on the eve of the most terrible scourges and of gravest events. Mankind must expect to be ruled with an iron rod and to drink from the chalice of the wrath of God! … France, Italy, Spain, and England will be at war. Then a general war will follow which will be appalling! … There will be thunderstorms which will shake and demolish cities, earthquakes which will swallow up countries ... Water and fire will give the Earth’s globe convulsions and terrible earthquakes which will swallow up mountains, cities, etc ... A number of large cities will be shaken down, shattered and swallowed up by earthquakes!”
If there is no change in the sinful state of the world, Our Lady of Fatima warned that “nations will be annihilated.” (Our Lady of Fatima, July 1917). Regarding the annihilation of nations: it is important to note that during the Father Fuentes interview, Sister Lucia said that Our Blessed Mother had told herself, Jacinta and Francisco “many times ... that many nations will disappear from the face of the Earth.” We only have the one recorded instance in July 1917, but Lucia said Our Lady spoke of the annihilation of many nations “many times!” (Frère François, Tragedy and Triumph, 1994 edition, p. 27).
Our Lady of Akita (Japan) said in 1973: “Many men in this world afflict the Lord … In order that the world might know His anger, the Heavenly Father is preparing to inflict a great chastisement on all mankind ... If men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the deluge [the Great Flood in the time of Noe], such as one never seen before. Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead!”
Such are the words of our loving heavenly Mother―the Mother of Mercy, the Refuge of Sinners, the Help of Christians, the Comforter of the Afflicted, the Gate of Heaven! The vast majority of her modern apparitions are of a negative note, a threatening note, a frightening note! That is because we are immersed in exceedingly sinful times and it is not a time for laughing and joking. Sister Lucia of Fatima said during all her apparitions at Fatima, she NEVER SMILED! Some persons might say she sounds like a depressing “broken record” saying the same thing over and over again. Yet it is we who are the “broken record” ― making the same old excuses over and over again for our refusal to heed her warnings and put into practice her solutions!
Your Responsibility
Do we really think that God is pleased with us? Catholics have a FAR GREATER RESPONSIBILITY for this current state of affairs than anyone else! Catholics are meant to be “the salt of the Earth. But if the salt lose its savor, with what shall it be salted? It is good for nothing anymore but to be cast out, and to be trodden on by men!” (Matthew 5:13). “Unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required―and to whom they have committed much, of him they will demand the more!” (Luke 12:48). This reminds us of Our Lord’s Parable of the Talents―where the lord gives to his servants a certain number of talents, to each according to his ability. The one who received 5 talents used them to produce 5 more talents; the one who received 2 talents used them to produce 2 more talents; whereas the servant who received 1 talent, hid it in a hole in the ground and produced nothing with his talent. Which one are you?
“A man going into a far country, called his servants, and delivered to them his―and to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one. He that had received the five talents, went his way, and traded with the same and gained other five. He that had received the two talents, gained other two. But he that had received the one, going his way dug a hole into the earth, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants came, and reckoned with them …. He that had received the five talents, brought the other five talents. His lord said to him: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!’ … He that had received the two talents came and said: ‘Lord, I have gained another two!’ His lord said to him: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!’ But he that had received the one talent, came and said: Lord, went and hid thy talent in the earth! Behold here you can have that which is yours!’ And his lord said to him: ‘Wicked and slothful servant! You could have committed my money to the bankers, and at my coming I should have received my own with interest! Cast this unprofitable servant into the exterior darkness, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth!’” (Matthew 25:14-30).
Most Catholics, seeing that they are not quite as bad as the rest of the world, end up complacently sitting on their backsides doing little or nothing―just like the self-righteous Pharisee in Our Lord’s parable about the Pharisee and the Publican: “And to some who trusted in themselves as being just and despised others, Jesus spoke this parable: ‘Two men went up into the temple to pray―the one a Pharisee, and the other a Publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus within himself: “O God, I give thee thanks that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers―as also is this Publican! I fast twice in a week. I give tithes of all that I possess.” And the Publican, standing afar off, would not so much as lift up his eyes towards Heaven; but struck his breast, saying: “O God, be merciful to me a sinner!” I say to you, this man went down into his house justified rather than the other―because everyone that exalts himself, shall be humbled; and he that humbles himself, shall be exalted!’” (Luke 18:9-14).
The Solution of Sanctity
Only an idiot would fail to see that both the Church and the world are sinking into an ever-deepening crisis. Ultimately, it is spiritual problem, or, to put it another way, the problem is a lack of spirituality. God wants us be holy―we prefer to be worldly! “I am the Lord your God! Be holy because I am holy! … You shall be holy unto me, because I the Lord am holy! … I am the Almighty God―walk before Me and be perfect!” says God (Leviticus 11:44; 20:26). Our Lord adds: “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect!” (Matthew 5:48). To which Scripture further adds: “Put off the old man who is corrupted and put on the new man who is created in holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24) … for you “are called to be saints” (Romans 8:28). “We are the children of saints, and we must not be like heathens that know not God!” (Tobias 8:5).
Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, in his book The Three Ages of the Interior Life, writes: “There are some who seem to think that it is sufficient to be saved and that it is not necessary to be a saint. It is clearly not necessary to be a saint who performs miracles, and whose sanctity is officially recognized by the Church. To be saved, we must take the way of salvation, which is identical with that of sanctity. There will be only saints in Heaven, whether they enter there immediately after death, or after purification in Purgatory. No one enters Heaven unless he has that sanctity which consists in perfect purity of soul ... We conclude, logically, that religion can give an efficacious and truly realistic answer to the great modern problems only if it is a religion that is profoundly lived, not simply a superficial and cheap religion, made up of some vocal prayers and some ceremonies, in which religious art is given more place than true sincere piety. As a matter of fact, no religion, that is profoundly lived, is without an interior life, without that intimate and frequent conversation which we have, not only with ourselves, but with God.”
St. Louis de Montfort leaves no “wiggle-room” when he writes: “Chosen soul, living image of God and redeemed by the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ, God wants you to become holy like Him in this life, and glorious like Him in the next. It is certain that growth in the holiness of God is your vocation. All your thoughts, words, actions, everything you suffer or undertake, must lead you towards that end. Otherwise you are resisting God, in not doing the work for which He created you and for which He is even now keeping you in being!” (St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of Mary).
St. Louis elaborates on this in his book True Devotion to Mary, writing: “God the Holy Ghost is become fruitful by Mary, and of her He produced His Masterpiece―which is God made Man―and He goes on producing daily, to the end of the world, the predestinate and the members of the Body of that adorable Head. This is the reason why He, the Holy Ghost, the more He finds Mary in any soul, the more active and mighty He becomes in producing Jesus Christ in that soul, and that soul in Jesus Christ … If Jesus Christ, the Head of men, is born in her, then the predestinate, who are the members of that Head, ought also to be born in her by a necessary consequence … Mary has produced, together with the Holy Ghost, the greatest thing which has been or ever will be—a God Man; and she will consequently produce the greatest saints that there will be in the end of time. The formation and the education of the great saints who shall come at the end of the world are reserved for her … These great souls, full of grace and zeal, shall be chosen to match themselves against the enemies of God, who shall rage on all sides; and they shall be singularly devout to our Blessed Lady―so that they shall fight with one hand and build with the other. With the one hand they shall fight, overthrow and crush the heretics with their heresies, the schismatics with their schisms, the idolaters with their idolatries and the sinners with their impieties …
“The power of Mary over all the devils will especially shine forth in the latter times, when Satan will lay his snares against her heel: that is to say, her humble slaves and her poor children, whom she will raise up to make war against him. They shall be little and poor in the world’s esteem, and abased before all like the heel, trodden underfoot and persecuted as the heel is by the other members of the body. But, in return for this, they shall be rich in the grace of God, which Mary shall distribute to them abundantly. They shall be great and exalted before God in sanctity, superior to all other creatures by their lively zeal, and so well sustained with God’s assistance that, with the humility of their heel, in union with Mary, they shall crush the head of the devil and cause Jesus Christ to triumph. They shall be the ministers of the Lord who, like a burning fire, shall kindle the fire of divine love everywhere. They shall be like sharp arrows in the hand of the powerful Mary to pierce her enemies. They shall be well purified by the fire of great tribulation, and closely adhering to God, who shall carry the gold of love in their heart, the incense of prayer in their spirit, and the myrrh of mortification in their body. They shall be everywhere the good odor of Jesus Christ to the poor and to the little, while at the same time, they shall be an odor of death to the great, to the rich and to the proud worldlings. They shall be clouds thundering and flying through the air at the least breath of the Holy Ghost; who, detaching themselves from everything and troubling themselves about nothing, shall shower forth the rain of the Word of God and of life eternal. They shall thunder against sin; they shall storm against the world; they shall strike the devil and his crew; and they shall pierce through and through, for life or for death, with their two-edged sword of the Word of God, all those to whom they shall be sent on the part of the Most High.
“They shall be the true apostles of the latter times, to whom the Lord of Hosts shall give the word and the might to work marvels and to carry off with glory the spoils of His enemies. They shall sleep without gold or silver, and, what is more, without care, in the midst of the other priests, ecclesiastics, and clerics (Psalm 67:14); and yet they shall have the silvered wings of the dove to go, with the pure intention of the glory of God and the salvation of souls, wheresoever the Holy Ghost shall call them. Nor shall they leave behind them, in the places where they have preached, anything but the gold of charity, which is the fulfillment of the whole law. They shall be true disciples of Jesus Christ, walking in the footsteps of His poverty, humility, contempt of the world, charity; teaching the narrow way of God in pure truth, according to the holy Gospel, and not according to the maxims of the world; troubling themselves about nothing; not accepting persons; sparing, fearing and listening to no mortal, however influential he may be. They shall have in their mouths the two-edged sword of the Word of God. They shall carry on their shoulders the bloody standard of the Cross, the Crucifix in their right hand and the Rosary in their left, the sacred Names of Jesus and Mary in their hearts, and the modesty and mortification of Jesus Christ in their own behavior. These are the great men who are to come; but Mary is the one who, by order of the Most High, shall fashion them for the purpose of extending His empire over that of the impious, the idolaters and the Mahometans.” (St. Louis elaborates on this in his book True Devotion to Mary).
Does that sound like you? How far away are you from that blueprint of sanctity and devotion? There is no other door into Heaven other than the door of sanctity! It’s either be a saint or begone! It’s either God’s way or highway to Hell! What path are you on? Are you becoming progressively more and more holy? Or are you progressively becoming more and more lukewarm and indifferent?
Article 3
Saturday & Sunday, February 7th & 8th
Laboring in the Vineyard of Love!
Saturday & Sunday, February 7th & 8th
Laboring in the Vineyard of Love!
Labor of Love!
Love means labor! Labor means pain! No pain, no gain! No labor, no love! A child is conceived in love, but for that child of love to be born requires labor on the part of the mother―and that means labor pains in order to bring that child of love into this world. Love quickly forgets those labor pains in the consequent joy of love. As Our Lord says: “Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow, because her hour is come; but when she has brought forth the child, she remembers no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world! So also you now indeed have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice; and your joy no man shall take from you!” (John 16:20-22).
Suffering tests our love. Our love is proved by how well we suffer. Death is the ultimate sorrow and suffering―and death is the ultimate test of love, as we see in the case of martyrs. As Our Lord pointed out: “Greater love than this no man has, that a man lay down his life for his friends!” (John 15:13). Christ died out of love for us wretched sinners: “God showed His charity towards us―because when as yet we were sinners, Christ died for us!” (Romans 5:8-9). “The Son of God loved me and delivered Himself for me!” (Galatians 2:20).
Love is reciprocal―meaning that it is a “two-way-street” of both receiving love and giving love--a case of “give-and-take” and not just take, take, take, take! “Therefore let us love God, because God has first loved us!” (1 John 4:19). However, a half-hearted love of God, or a lukewarm love of God is not acceptable―for Christ tells us: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength! This is the greatest and the first commandment!” (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31). Lukewarmness is vehemently rejected: “Because thou art lukewarm, I will begin to vomit thee out of My mouth!” (Apocalypse 3:15-16).
To Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres (of Our Lady of Good Success fame), Our Lord said: “Alas, if they only knew and were convinced of how much I love them and how much I desire that they should enter into the very depths of their souls! Then, without a doubt, they would find Me and would necessarily live the life of love and continuous union with Me! If men would only realize how greatly I am wounded and displeased with the coldness, indifference, lack of confidence and small spineless imperfections on the part of those who so closely belong to Me ... But I will not tolerate this! Halfway measures are not pleasing to Me! I desire all or nothing! — according to My example, for I gave of Myself to the last drop of Blood and Water from My shattered Body on the Cross. Woe to souls like this! Woe!” (Our Lord to Mother Mariana, Quito Ecuador).
Made by Love―Made to Love
Love exists in the soul―and your soul was made by God. “God is love” (1 John 4:8) and therefore your soul was made by Love Itself. In the Catechism, we encounter the question: “Why did God make you?” to which the answer is: “God made me to know Him, love Him and to serve Him!” Nevertheless, love is the greatest virtue ― “There remain Faith, Hope, and Charity, these three―but the greatest of these is Charity” (1 Corinthians 13:13). “If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all Faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not Charity―then I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not Charity―then it profits me nothing!” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
“We have passed from death to life, because we love ... He that loves not, abides in death!” (1 John 3:14). “Charity is of God―and every one that loves is born of God and knows God. He that loves not, knows not God―for God is charity! In this is charity―not as though we had first loved God, but because He has first loved us and sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins! If God has so loved us, then we also ought to love one another! If we love one another, then God abides in us, and His charity is perfected in us. God is charity and he that abides in charity, abides in God, and God in him. Therefore, let us love God because God has first loved us! If any man say: ‘I love God!’ but hates his brother―then he is a liar. For he that does not love his brother whom he sees, how can he love God Whom he sees not? This commandment we have from God―that he who loves God, must also love his brother” (1 John 4:7-21).
Proof of Love
Mere “lip-love” is not real love― “Let us not love in word, nor in tongue, but in deeds, and in truth!” (1 John 3:18). As Our Lord says: “These people honor Me with their lips―but their heart is far from Me. In vain do they worship Me!’” (Matthew 15:7-9). “Why call you Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). “If you love Me, keep My commandments … He that has My commandments, and keeps them; he it is that loves Me … If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word … He that loves Me not, keeps not My words!” (John 14:15, 14:21-24).
Some persons erroneously imagine that having Faith suffices, quoting Scriptural passages such as: “Man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the Faith of Jesus Christ! We also believe in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by the Faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law―because by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified!” (Galatians 2:16). “We account a man to be justified by Faith, without the works of the law!” (Romans 3:28). Yet elsewhere, Holy Scripture places Faith beneath Charity: “There remain Faith, Hope, and Charity, these three―but the greatest of these is Charity” (1 Corinthians 13:13). “Faith works by charity” (Galatians 5:6). ”Show evidence of your charity!” (2 Corinthians 8:24). “Do you see that by works a man is justified; and not by Faith only?” (James 2:24). “For even as the body without the spirit is dead―so also Faith without works is dead!” (James 2:26). “If I … have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. If I … have not Charity―then I am nothing. If I … have not Charity―then it profits me nothing!” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
We can have the Faith and talk about the Faith until we are blue in the face―but it is living the Faith through Charity that gets us to Heaven. Hell has innumerous souls who have the Faith ― even “the devils also believe and tremble!” (James 2:19) ― but there is no Charity in Hell, only hatred. Charity is only found in Heaven for “God is Charity” (1 John 4:8). “He that loves not, knows not God―for God is charity!” (1 John 4:8).
Jesus gives us the example of having to perform good works: "I must work the works of Him that sent Me!” (John 9:4). “Many good works I have showed you from My Father … If I do not the works of My Father, believe Me not! But if I do the works of My Father, though you will not believe Me, then believe the works―so that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father!” (John 10:32; 10:37-38). “He that believes in Me, the works that I do, he also shall do―and greater than these shall he do!” (John 14:12).
Jesus associates works with Faith, as seen in the following passages: “A rich young man came and said to Jesus: ‘Good Master! What good shall I DO that I may have life everlasting?’ Jesus said to him: ‘If you want enter into everlasting life, keep the commandments!’” (Matthew 19:16-17). Keeping the Commandments does not just mean accepting them and believing them―but more importantly it means DOING them, or DOING what they command us to DO! Believing in Christ is merely a beginning, a foundation, a first step―it should lead to DOING what He tell us to do: “Why call you Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not DO the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). “Let your light shine before men, so that they may see your GOOD WORKS, and glorify your Father Who is in Heaven!” (Matthew 5:16). “Provoke one another unto charity and to good works!” (Hebrews 10:24). “Show thyself an example of good works! … A pursuer of good works! … Be careful to excel in good works!” (Titus 2:7; 2:14; 3:8; ). “Do good, be rich in good works, give easily, communicate to others!” (1 Timothy 6:18). You are told to “show thyself an example of good works … A pursuer of good works!” (Titus 2:7; 2:14). For “God will render to every man according to his works!” (Romans 2:6). “The Lord will reward him according to his works!” (2 Timothy 4:14). “Wherefore, labor all the more, so that by good works you may make sure your calling and election!” (2 Peter 1:10).
This is further re-affirmed by the existence of the Corporal and Spiritual WORKS of Mercy that the Church encourages us to practice. Corporal Works of Mercy: (1) to feed the hungry; (2) to give drink to the thirsty; (3) to clothe the naked; (4) to visit the imprisoned; (5) to shelter the homeless; (6) to visit the sick; (7) to bury the dead. Spiritual Works of Mercy: (1) to admonish the sinner; (2) to instruct the ignorant; (3) to counsel the doubtful; (4) to comfort the sorrowful; (5) to bear wrongs patiently; (6) to forgive all injuries; (7) to pray for the living and the dead.
In His parable about the Talents and the unprofitable servant, Our Lord says: “A man going into a far country, called his servants, and delivered to them his―and to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one. He that had received the five talents, went his way, and traded with the same and gained other five. He that had received the two talents, gained other two. But he that had received the one, going his way dug a hole into the earth, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants came, and reckoned with them …. He that had received the five talents, brought the other five talents. His lord said to him: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!’ … He that had received the two talents came and said: ‘Lord, I have gained another two!’ His lord said to him: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!’ But he that had received the one talent, came and said: Lord, went and hid thy talent in the earth! Behold here you can have that which is yours!’ And his lord said to him: ‘Wicked and slothful servant! You could have committed my money to the bankers, and at my coming I should have received my own with interest! Cast this unprofitable servant into the exterior darkness, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth!’” (Matthew 25:14-30).
In His parable about the Sheep and Goats, Jesus condemns to Hell those who did nothing by way of charity: “When the Son of man shall come in His majesty, and all the angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the seat of His majesty and all nations shall be gathered together before Him, and He shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on His left. Then shall the King say to them that shall be on His right hand: ‘Come, ye blessed of My Father, and possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world! For I was hungry, and you gave Me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took Me in; I was naked, and you covered Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me!’ Then shall the just answer Him, saying: ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and fed You; or thirsty, and gave You to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and took You in? Or naked, and covered You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and came to You?’ And the king shall say to them: ‘Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these My least brethren, you did it to Me!
“Then He shall say to them also that shall be on his left hand: ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels! For I was hungry, and you gave Me not to eat! I was thirsty, and you gave Me not to drink! I was a stranger, and you took Me not in! I was naked, and you covered Me not! Sick and in prison, and you did not visit Me!’ Then they also shall answer Him, saying: ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then he shall answer them, saying: ‘Amen I say to you, as long as you did it not to one of these least, neither did you do it to Me!’ And these shall go into everlasting punishment―but the just shall go into life everlasting!” (Matthew 25:31-46).
Steering Wheel―Engine―Gasoline
You could, in a certain sense, compare Faith, Works of Charity and Sanctifying Grace to the steering wheel, the engine and gasoline in a car―with Knowledge of the Faith being the steering wheel, Works of Charity being the engine and Sanctifying Grace being the gasoline. “God is able to make all grace abound in you; so that you may abound to every good work!” (2 Corinthians 9:8). “The grace of our Lord has abounded exceedingly with faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 1:14). All have an important part to play in reaching your destination. If you have the knowledge of the Faith (steering wheel) but no engine in your car (works of Charity), then you are going nowhere: “I find not thy works full before my God!” (Apocalypse 3:2). “Faith without works is dead!” “If I have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. If I have not Charity―then I am nothing. If I have not Charity―then it profits me nothing!” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). You need works of Charity in addition to knowledge of the Faith: “Faith works by charity” (Galatians 5:6).
St. Thomas Aquinas writes: “The unknown cannot be loved. Love is the destination or terminus of knowledge … Love of God is more than knowledge of Him, and therefore presupposes knowledge of Him.” (IIa-IIae, q. 27). St. Thomas affirms that we cannot love what we do not know, and that when we grow in understanding of God, we can also grow in love for Him, precisely because we begin to understand more deeply who God is. We cannot repeat that enough times or too many times: “Love follows upon knowledge―we cannot love what we do not know.” The more we know about God, the more we should be loving God―and the more we love God, then the more we should want to know Him even more. St. Thérèse of Lisieux complained that Jesus is too little loved because He is too little known!
Yet Charity itself is like a broken engine if it does not have the gasoline or driving power of Sanctifying Grace―for grace supernaturalizes mere natural charity so that it can lead us to salvation and Heaven. St. Thomas Aquinas writes: “Grace is a participation of the Divine Nature … Grace makes man pleasing to God … Charity is the friendship of man for God … Whosoever has not charity is wicked … Mortal sin deprives a man of sanctifying grace ... Mortal sin deprives a man of charity” (Summa, Ia IIae, q.88; q.109-110; IIa IIae, q.23; q.178). St. Augustine states that without sanctifying grace, good works are like “shining sins”, meaning they have no supernatural merit, but may lead to conversion. St. Thomas Aquinas states that good works of a sinner cannot be rewarded supernaturally. Without sanctifying grace, even the most heroic works or deeds would never have any value whatever for eternal life. Natural charity is inferior to supernatural charity―and it is sanctifying that raises our natural charity to a supernatural level, because “God is charity” (1 John 4:8) and Sanctifying Grace is means by which God (Charity) dwells in our souls. When we lose Sanctifying Grace through Mortal Sin, we also lose supernatural Charity at the same time.
“The Lord will give grace” (Psalm 83:12). “For by grace you are saved through Faith” (Ephesians 2:8). “To every one of us is given grace” (Ephesians 4:7). “Neglect not the grace that is in thee!” (1 Timothy 4:14). “Receive not the grace of God in vain!” (2 Corinthians 6:1). “Stir up the grace of God which is in thee!” (2 Timothy 1:6). “Grow in grace!” (2 Peter 3:18). “I cast not away the grace of God!” (Galatians 2:21). “He that is good, shall draw grace from the Lord” (Proverbs 12:2). “I have been delivered by the grace of God!” (Ecclesiasticus 34:13). “Grace came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). “By whose grace you are saved!” (Ephesians 2:5). “The grace of one man, Jesus Christ, has abounded unto many” (Romans 5:15). “In all things you abound in Faith, and word, and knowledge, and also in your charity, so that in this grace also you may abound!” (2 Corinthians 8:7).
The Power and Effects of Supernaturalized Charity
Supernaturalized Charity (supernaturalized by Sanctifying Grace) is superior to a mere natural charity―just like a supercharged engine is superior to a normal engine. In The Imitation of Christ we have a chapter that beautifully describes this: “Love is an excellent thing. It makes every difficulty easy, and bears all wrongs and burdens calmly and without being weighed down. Love feels no burden, thinks nothing of troubles. Wearied, it is not tired. It spurs on to great deeds and excites longing for that which is more perfect. Love tends upward; it will not be held down by anything low. Love forces its way upward and passes unharmed through every obstacle. Love wishes to be free and separated from all worldly affections. Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing stronger or higher or wider; nothing is more pleasant, nothing fuller, and nothing better in Heaven or on Earth, for love is born of God and cannot rest except in God. One who is in love flies, runs, and rejoices; he is free, not bound. He gives all for all and possesses all in all. Love often knows no limits, but overflows all bounds. Love attempts more than it is able, and does not plead impossibility, because it believes that it may and can do all things. For this reason, it is able to do all, performing and effecting much where he who does not love fails and falls. Love is swift, sincere, kind, pleasant, and delightful. Love is humble, strong, patient and faithful, prudent, long-suffering, and manly. It is neither soft nor light, nor intent upon vain things. Love is never self-seeking, for in whatever a person seeks himself there he falls from love. If a man loves, he will know the sound of this voice.” (The Imitation of Christ, Book 3 : Chapter 5 : “The Wonderful Effect of Divine Love”).
The Power that Supernatural Charity has over Sin
Holy Scripture reveals the power of Supernatural Charity over sin: “Charity covers all sins” (Proverbs 10:12). “Before all things, have a constant mutual charity among yourselves―for charity covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). “Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much” (Luke 7:47).
You might have heard of the terms “perfect contrition” (a.k.a. “contrition” or “true contrition” or “contrition of charity”) and “imperfect contrition” (a.k.a. “attrition” or “contrition through fear”). According to Roman Catholic theology, perfect contrition can forgive sins, including mortal sins, even before someone confesses them to a priest. It is an extraordinary, yet valid, means of receiving God’s grace and reconciliation outside of the regular Sacrament of Confession. When we have true sorrow for sin, the heart is, as it were, crushed and broken. Such sorrow is called by the expressive name of “contrition,” which word is a compound of two Latin words signifying: a complete crushing together, or a breaking to pieces. The heart is hardened by pride and sin; by contrition it is smashed up into atoms. The sorrow of heart includes, of course, a sorrow of mind, arising from the painful knowledge of the nature of sin and the unspeakable hatred which God bears to it.
Perfect contrition is a hatred for sin, because sin is offensive to God, who is infinitely good and perfect in Himself. Imperfect contrition, or attrition as it is called, is a hatred for sin arising from the fear of the punishment due to sin in the next life, or from any other supernatural motive. In perfect contrition there is a love of God for His sake alone. In imperfect contrition there is a love for God for our own sake. When perfect contrition exists, the whole heart is crushed; there is a perfect love of God, and a complete sorrow for sin. Where only attrition exists, only the surface of the heart is touched―the love is imperfect, and the sorrow incomplete. In attrition there is a mere beginning of love for God. This beginning is perfected into greater love, or charity, by receiving the Sacrament of Confession. Attrition with confession and absolution secures to the sinner a state of Sanctifying Grace.
Contrition is “perfect” when it arises from a deep love for God, rather than merely fear of punishment or the ugliness of sin. It is sorrow for sin because it offends God, who is infinitely good and deserving of all love. It differs from imperfect contrition (attrition), which is based on fear of Hell or punishment for sin, and cannot forgive mortal sin on its own without going to the Sacrament of Confession. For perfect contrition to truly absolve Mortal Sins, it must include a specific, necessary condition―a firm, sincere intention to go to Sacramental Confession at the earliest opportunity, as soon as it is possible to do so. It is not a replacement for Confession, but is to used in Emergencies. This is particularly relevant when a person is in danger of death, or when a priest is unavailable. It is not a “passport” to Holy Communion in by-passing the confessional! A person in a state of Mortal Sin must still go to Confession before receiving the Holy Eucharist, even if they have made an act of perfect contrition. Even though perfect contrition restores a person to a state of grace, it is always tied to the desire for the Sacrament of Confession.
To Get Forgiveness, You Must Give Forgiveness
Mercy and Forgiveness come under the umbrella of Charity. This is implied in the following quotes: “The Lord is gracious and merciful: patient and plenteous in mercy. The Lord is sweet to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 144:8-9) … “Be ye kind [charitable] one to another; merciful, forgiving one another, even as God has forgiven you in Christ” (Ephesians 4:32).
To “forgive and forget” does not mean “forget to forgive”! Most people are quick to ask for forgiveness―they even expect forgiveness as some kind of right that they have―but they are slow in showing and giving forgiveness. Our Lord is brutally clear on this point: “If you will not forgive, neither will your Father that is in Heaven, forgive you your sins” (Mark 11:26). Our Lord exemplifies this principle in His Parable of the Unforgiving Servant:
“Then came Peter unto Him and said: ‘Lord, how often shall my brother offend against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?’ Jesus said to him: ‘I say you not just seven times; but seventy times seven times! Therefore is the Kingdom of Heaven likened to a king, who wanted to take an account of his servants. And when he had begun to take the account, one was brought to him, that owed him ten thousand talents (1 talent was 750 ounces of silver. At today’s silver prices of around $80 an ounce, one talent would be worth $60,000―that would put the 10,000 talents at $600 million). And as he could not pay his debt, his lord commanded that he, and his wife and children and all that he had, should be sold and payment to be made. But that servant falling down, begged him, saying: “Have patience with me, and I will pay you all that I owe!” And the lord of that servant, being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt.
“‘But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellow servants that owed him an hundred pence (the Roman penny was the eighth part of an ounce of silver. At today’s silver prices of $80 per ounce, the penny would be worth $10―and a hundred pence would be $1,000): and laying hold of him, throttled him, saying: “Pay what you owe me!” And his fellow servant falling down, begged him, saying: “Have patience with me, and I will pay you all that I owe!” But he would not listen―and went and cast him into prison, till he paid the debt.
“‘Now his fellow servants, seeing what was done, were very much grieved, and they came and told their lord all that was done. Then his lord called him and said to him: “You wicked servant! I forgave you all the debt, because you begged me! Should you not then have had the same compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had compassion on you?” And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers, until he paid all the debt. So also shall My heavenly Father do to you, if you do not forgive everyone from your hearts!’” (Matthew 18:21-35).
Elsewhere Our Lord says: “Blessed are the merciful―for they shall obtain mercy!” (Matthew 5:7) ... “Judge not, and you shall not be judged! Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned! Forgive, and you shall be forgiven!” (Luke 6:37). Holy Scripture adds: “You are inexcusable, O man, whosoever you are that judges! For wherein you judge another, you condemn yourself. For you do the same things which you judge! And do you think O man―that judges them who do such things, and does the same―that you shall escape the judgment of God?” (Romans 2:1-3). “Judgment without mercy to him that has not done mercy! Mercy exalts itself above judgment!” (James 2:13) … “Let all bitterness, and anger, and indignation be put away from you. Be ye kind one to another; merciful, forgiving one another, even as God has forgiven you in Christ!” (Ephesians 4:31-32). “Bearing with one another and forgiving one another―if any have a complaint against another―even as the Lord has forgiven you, so do you also!” (Colossians 3:13).
Times of Hatred and Lack of Mercy
Unfortunately, we are living in merciless times of ever-increasing hatred and cruelty. Sadly, less and less people are shocked by this fact. Justice has become warped and corrupt―being biased and preferential and political in the administration of justice and mercy. These are times foretold by Holy Scripture: “In the last days, there shall come dangerous times! Men shall be lovers of themselves, proud, wicked, without affection, unmerciful, without kindness ― having an appearance indeed of godliness, but denying the power thereof!” (2 Timothy 3:1-5). Our Lord further warns: “Then shall many be scandalized and shall betray one another: and shall hate one another! … Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted! … They will deliver you up in councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues! And you shall be brought before governors, and before kings for My sake and you shall be hated by all nations for My Name's sake … and they shall put you to death! The brother also shall deliver up the brother to death; and the father the son; and the children shall rise up against their parents, and shall put them to death!” (Matthew 10:17-21; 24:9-10).
Our Lord tells us to rise to the heights of Charity by eliminating any hatred for our enemies: “You have heard that it has been said: ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thy enemy!’ But I say to you: ‘Love your enemies! Do good to them that hate you! And pray for them that persecute and calumniate you!’ ― so that you may be the children of your Father Who is in Heaven, Who makes His sun to rise upon the good and bad, and lets His rain fall upon the just and the unjust!” (Matthew 5:43-45). True charity, true love is tough! Very few persons want to labor to acquire such a love! Perhaps that is one of the chief reasons why most souls are ultimately lost!
Love means labor! Labor means pain! No pain, no gain! No labor, no love! A child is conceived in love, but for that child of love to be born requires labor on the part of the mother―and that means labor pains in order to bring that child of love into this world. Love quickly forgets those labor pains in the consequent joy of love. As Our Lord says: “Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow, because her hour is come; but when she has brought forth the child, she remembers no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world! So also you now indeed have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice; and your joy no man shall take from you!” (John 16:20-22).
Suffering tests our love. Our love is proved by how well we suffer. Death is the ultimate sorrow and suffering―and death is the ultimate test of love, as we see in the case of martyrs. As Our Lord pointed out: “Greater love than this no man has, that a man lay down his life for his friends!” (John 15:13). Christ died out of love for us wretched sinners: “God showed His charity towards us―because when as yet we were sinners, Christ died for us!” (Romans 5:8-9). “The Son of God loved me and delivered Himself for me!” (Galatians 2:20).
Love is reciprocal―meaning that it is a “two-way-street” of both receiving love and giving love--a case of “give-and-take” and not just take, take, take, take! “Therefore let us love God, because God has first loved us!” (1 John 4:19). However, a half-hearted love of God, or a lukewarm love of God is not acceptable―for Christ tells us: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength! This is the greatest and the first commandment!” (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31). Lukewarmness is vehemently rejected: “Because thou art lukewarm, I will begin to vomit thee out of My mouth!” (Apocalypse 3:15-16).
To Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres (of Our Lady of Good Success fame), Our Lord said: “Alas, if they only knew and were convinced of how much I love them and how much I desire that they should enter into the very depths of their souls! Then, without a doubt, they would find Me and would necessarily live the life of love and continuous union with Me! If men would only realize how greatly I am wounded and displeased with the coldness, indifference, lack of confidence and small spineless imperfections on the part of those who so closely belong to Me ... But I will not tolerate this! Halfway measures are not pleasing to Me! I desire all or nothing! — according to My example, for I gave of Myself to the last drop of Blood and Water from My shattered Body on the Cross. Woe to souls like this! Woe!” (Our Lord to Mother Mariana, Quito Ecuador).
Made by Love―Made to Love
Love exists in the soul―and your soul was made by God. “God is love” (1 John 4:8) and therefore your soul was made by Love Itself. In the Catechism, we encounter the question: “Why did God make you?” to which the answer is: “God made me to know Him, love Him and to serve Him!” Nevertheless, love is the greatest virtue ― “There remain Faith, Hope, and Charity, these three―but the greatest of these is Charity” (1 Corinthians 13:13). “If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all Faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not Charity―then I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not Charity―then it profits me nothing!” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
“We have passed from death to life, because we love ... He that loves not, abides in death!” (1 John 3:14). “Charity is of God―and every one that loves is born of God and knows God. He that loves not, knows not God―for God is charity! In this is charity―not as though we had first loved God, but because He has first loved us and sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins! If God has so loved us, then we also ought to love one another! If we love one another, then God abides in us, and His charity is perfected in us. God is charity and he that abides in charity, abides in God, and God in him. Therefore, let us love God because God has first loved us! If any man say: ‘I love God!’ but hates his brother―then he is a liar. For he that does not love his brother whom he sees, how can he love God Whom he sees not? This commandment we have from God―that he who loves God, must also love his brother” (1 John 4:7-21).
Proof of Love
Mere “lip-love” is not real love― “Let us not love in word, nor in tongue, but in deeds, and in truth!” (1 John 3:18). As Our Lord says: “These people honor Me with their lips―but their heart is far from Me. In vain do they worship Me!’” (Matthew 15:7-9). “Why call you Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). “If you love Me, keep My commandments … He that has My commandments, and keeps them; he it is that loves Me … If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word … He that loves Me not, keeps not My words!” (John 14:15, 14:21-24).
Some persons erroneously imagine that having Faith suffices, quoting Scriptural passages such as: “Man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the Faith of Jesus Christ! We also believe in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by the Faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law―because by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified!” (Galatians 2:16). “We account a man to be justified by Faith, without the works of the law!” (Romans 3:28). Yet elsewhere, Holy Scripture places Faith beneath Charity: “There remain Faith, Hope, and Charity, these three―but the greatest of these is Charity” (1 Corinthians 13:13). “Faith works by charity” (Galatians 5:6). ”Show evidence of your charity!” (2 Corinthians 8:24). “Do you see that by works a man is justified; and not by Faith only?” (James 2:24). “For even as the body without the spirit is dead―so also Faith without works is dead!” (James 2:26). “If I … have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. If I … have not Charity―then I am nothing. If I … have not Charity―then it profits me nothing!” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
We can have the Faith and talk about the Faith until we are blue in the face―but it is living the Faith through Charity that gets us to Heaven. Hell has innumerous souls who have the Faith ― even “the devils also believe and tremble!” (James 2:19) ― but there is no Charity in Hell, only hatred. Charity is only found in Heaven for “God is Charity” (1 John 4:8). “He that loves not, knows not God―for God is charity!” (1 John 4:8).
Jesus gives us the example of having to perform good works: "I must work the works of Him that sent Me!” (John 9:4). “Many good works I have showed you from My Father … If I do not the works of My Father, believe Me not! But if I do the works of My Father, though you will not believe Me, then believe the works―so that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father!” (John 10:32; 10:37-38). “He that believes in Me, the works that I do, he also shall do―and greater than these shall he do!” (John 14:12).
Jesus associates works with Faith, as seen in the following passages: “A rich young man came and said to Jesus: ‘Good Master! What good shall I DO that I may have life everlasting?’ Jesus said to him: ‘If you want enter into everlasting life, keep the commandments!’” (Matthew 19:16-17). Keeping the Commandments does not just mean accepting them and believing them―but more importantly it means DOING them, or DOING what they command us to DO! Believing in Christ is merely a beginning, a foundation, a first step―it should lead to DOING what He tell us to do: “Why call you Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not DO the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). “Let your light shine before men, so that they may see your GOOD WORKS, and glorify your Father Who is in Heaven!” (Matthew 5:16). “Provoke one another unto charity and to good works!” (Hebrews 10:24). “Show thyself an example of good works! … A pursuer of good works! … Be careful to excel in good works!” (Titus 2:7; 2:14; 3:8; ). “Do good, be rich in good works, give easily, communicate to others!” (1 Timothy 6:18). You are told to “show thyself an example of good works … A pursuer of good works!” (Titus 2:7; 2:14). For “God will render to every man according to his works!” (Romans 2:6). “The Lord will reward him according to his works!” (2 Timothy 4:14). “Wherefore, labor all the more, so that by good works you may make sure your calling and election!” (2 Peter 1:10).
This is further re-affirmed by the existence of the Corporal and Spiritual WORKS of Mercy that the Church encourages us to practice. Corporal Works of Mercy: (1) to feed the hungry; (2) to give drink to the thirsty; (3) to clothe the naked; (4) to visit the imprisoned; (5) to shelter the homeless; (6) to visit the sick; (7) to bury the dead. Spiritual Works of Mercy: (1) to admonish the sinner; (2) to instruct the ignorant; (3) to counsel the doubtful; (4) to comfort the sorrowful; (5) to bear wrongs patiently; (6) to forgive all injuries; (7) to pray for the living and the dead.
In His parable about the Talents and the unprofitable servant, Our Lord says: “A man going into a far country, called his servants, and delivered to them his―and to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one. He that had received the five talents, went his way, and traded with the same and gained other five. He that had received the two talents, gained other two. But he that had received the one, going his way dug a hole into the earth, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants came, and reckoned with them …. He that had received the five talents, brought the other five talents. His lord said to him: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!’ … He that had received the two talents came and said: ‘Lord, I have gained another two!’ His lord said to him: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!’ But he that had received the one talent, came and said: Lord, went and hid thy talent in the earth! Behold here you can have that which is yours!’ And his lord said to him: ‘Wicked and slothful servant! You could have committed my money to the bankers, and at my coming I should have received my own with interest! Cast this unprofitable servant into the exterior darkness, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth!’” (Matthew 25:14-30).
In His parable about the Sheep and Goats, Jesus condemns to Hell those who did nothing by way of charity: “When the Son of man shall come in His majesty, and all the angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the seat of His majesty and all nations shall be gathered together before Him, and He shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on His left. Then shall the King say to them that shall be on His right hand: ‘Come, ye blessed of My Father, and possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world! For I was hungry, and you gave Me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took Me in; I was naked, and you covered Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me!’ Then shall the just answer Him, saying: ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and fed You; or thirsty, and gave You to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and took You in? Or naked, and covered You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and came to You?’ And the king shall say to them: ‘Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these My least brethren, you did it to Me!
“Then He shall say to them also that shall be on his left hand: ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels! For I was hungry, and you gave Me not to eat! I was thirsty, and you gave Me not to drink! I was a stranger, and you took Me not in! I was naked, and you covered Me not! Sick and in prison, and you did not visit Me!’ Then they also shall answer Him, saying: ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then he shall answer them, saying: ‘Amen I say to you, as long as you did it not to one of these least, neither did you do it to Me!’ And these shall go into everlasting punishment―but the just shall go into life everlasting!” (Matthew 25:31-46).
Steering Wheel―Engine―Gasoline
You could, in a certain sense, compare Faith, Works of Charity and Sanctifying Grace to the steering wheel, the engine and gasoline in a car―with Knowledge of the Faith being the steering wheel, Works of Charity being the engine and Sanctifying Grace being the gasoline. “God is able to make all grace abound in you; so that you may abound to every good work!” (2 Corinthians 9:8). “The grace of our Lord has abounded exceedingly with faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 1:14). All have an important part to play in reaching your destination. If you have the knowledge of the Faith (steering wheel) but no engine in your car (works of Charity), then you are going nowhere: “I find not thy works full before my God!” (Apocalypse 3:2). “Faith without works is dead!” “If I have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. If I have not Charity―then I am nothing. If I have not Charity―then it profits me nothing!” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). You need works of Charity in addition to knowledge of the Faith: “Faith works by charity” (Galatians 5:6).
St. Thomas Aquinas writes: “The unknown cannot be loved. Love is the destination or terminus of knowledge … Love of God is more than knowledge of Him, and therefore presupposes knowledge of Him.” (IIa-IIae, q. 27). St. Thomas affirms that we cannot love what we do not know, and that when we grow in understanding of God, we can also grow in love for Him, precisely because we begin to understand more deeply who God is. We cannot repeat that enough times or too many times: “Love follows upon knowledge―we cannot love what we do not know.” The more we know about God, the more we should be loving God―and the more we love God, then the more we should want to know Him even more. St. Thérèse of Lisieux complained that Jesus is too little loved because He is too little known!
Yet Charity itself is like a broken engine if it does not have the gasoline or driving power of Sanctifying Grace―for grace supernaturalizes mere natural charity so that it can lead us to salvation and Heaven. St. Thomas Aquinas writes: “Grace is a participation of the Divine Nature … Grace makes man pleasing to God … Charity is the friendship of man for God … Whosoever has not charity is wicked … Mortal sin deprives a man of sanctifying grace ... Mortal sin deprives a man of charity” (Summa, Ia IIae, q.88; q.109-110; IIa IIae, q.23; q.178). St. Augustine states that without sanctifying grace, good works are like “shining sins”, meaning they have no supernatural merit, but may lead to conversion. St. Thomas Aquinas states that good works of a sinner cannot be rewarded supernaturally. Without sanctifying grace, even the most heroic works or deeds would never have any value whatever for eternal life. Natural charity is inferior to supernatural charity―and it is sanctifying that raises our natural charity to a supernatural level, because “God is charity” (1 John 4:8) and Sanctifying Grace is means by which God (Charity) dwells in our souls. When we lose Sanctifying Grace through Mortal Sin, we also lose supernatural Charity at the same time.
“The Lord will give grace” (Psalm 83:12). “For by grace you are saved through Faith” (Ephesians 2:8). “To every one of us is given grace” (Ephesians 4:7). “Neglect not the grace that is in thee!” (1 Timothy 4:14). “Receive not the grace of God in vain!” (2 Corinthians 6:1). “Stir up the grace of God which is in thee!” (2 Timothy 1:6). “Grow in grace!” (2 Peter 3:18). “I cast not away the grace of God!” (Galatians 2:21). “He that is good, shall draw grace from the Lord” (Proverbs 12:2). “I have been delivered by the grace of God!” (Ecclesiasticus 34:13). “Grace came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). “By whose grace you are saved!” (Ephesians 2:5). “The grace of one man, Jesus Christ, has abounded unto many” (Romans 5:15). “In all things you abound in Faith, and word, and knowledge, and also in your charity, so that in this grace also you may abound!” (2 Corinthians 8:7).
The Power and Effects of Supernaturalized Charity
Supernaturalized Charity (supernaturalized by Sanctifying Grace) is superior to a mere natural charity―just like a supercharged engine is superior to a normal engine. In The Imitation of Christ we have a chapter that beautifully describes this: “Love is an excellent thing. It makes every difficulty easy, and bears all wrongs and burdens calmly and without being weighed down. Love feels no burden, thinks nothing of troubles. Wearied, it is not tired. It spurs on to great deeds and excites longing for that which is more perfect. Love tends upward; it will not be held down by anything low. Love forces its way upward and passes unharmed through every obstacle. Love wishes to be free and separated from all worldly affections. Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing stronger or higher or wider; nothing is more pleasant, nothing fuller, and nothing better in Heaven or on Earth, for love is born of God and cannot rest except in God. One who is in love flies, runs, and rejoices; he is free, not bound. He gives all for all and possesses all in all. Love often knows no limits, but overflows all bounds. Love attempts more than it is able, and does not plead impossibility, because it believes that it may and can do all things. For this reason, it is able to do all, performing and effecting much where he who does not love fails and falls. Love is swift, sincere, kind, pleasant, and delightful. Love is humble, strong, patient and faithful, prudent, long-suffering, and manly. It is neither soft nor light, nor intent upon vain things. Love is never self-seeking, for in whatever a person seeks himself there he falls from love. If a man loves, he will know the sound of this voice.” (The Imitation of Christ, Book 3 : Chapter 5 : “The Wonderful Effect of Divine Love”).
The Power that Supernatural Charity has over Sin
Holy Scripture reveals the power of Supernatural Charity over sin: “Charity covers all sins” (Proverbs 10:12). “Before all things, have a constant mutual charity among yourselves―for charity covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). “Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much” (Luke 7:47).
You might have heard of the terms “perfect contrition” (a.k.a. “contrition” or “true contrition” or “contrition of charity”) and “imperfect contrition” (a.k.a. “attrition” or “contrition through fear”). According to Roman Catholic theology, perfect contrition can forgive sins, including mortal sins, even before someone confesses them to a priest. It is an extraordinary, yet valid, means of receiving God’s grace and reconciliation outside of the regular Sacrament of Confession. When we have true sorrow for sin, the heart is, as it were, crushed and broken. Such sorrow is called by the expressive name of “contrition,” which word is a compound of two Latin words signifying: a complete crushing together, or a breaking to pieces. The heart is hardened by pride and sin; by contrition it is smashed up into atoms. The sorrow of heart includes, of course, a sorrow of mind, arising from the painful knowledge of the nature of sin and the unspeakable hatred which God bears to it.
Perfect contrition is a hatred for sin, because sin is offensive to God, who is infinitely good and perfect in Himself. Imperfect contrition, or attrition as it is called, is a hatred for sin arising from the fear of the punishment due to sin in the next life, or from any other supernatural motive. In perfect contrition there is a love of God for His sake alone. In imperfect contrition there is a love for God for our own sake. When perfect contrition exists, the whole heart is crushed; there is a perfect love of God, and a complete sorrow for sin. Where only attrition exists, only the surface of the heart is touched―the love is imperfect, and the sorrow incomplete. In attrition there is a mere beginning of love for God. This beginning is perfected into greater love, or charity, by receiving the Sacrament of Confession. Attrition with confession and absolution secures to the sinner a state of Sanctifying Grace.
Contrition is “perfect” when it arises from a deep love for God, rather than merely fear of punishment or the ugliness of sin. It is sorrow for sin because it offends God, who is infinitely good and deserving of all love. It differs from imperfect contrition (attrition), which is based on fear of Hell or punishment for sin, and cannot forgive mortal sin on its own without going to the Sacrament of Confession. For perfect contrition to truly absolve Mortal Sins, it must include a specific, necessary condition―a firm, sincere intention to go to Sacramental Confession at the earliest opportunity, as soon as it is possible to do so. It is not a replacement for Confession, but is to used in Emergencies. This is particularly relevant when a person is in danger of death, or when a priest is unavailable. It is not a “passport” to Holy Communion in by-passing the confessional! A person in a state of Mortal Sin must still go to Confession before receiving the Holy Eucharist, even if they have made an act of perfect contrition. Even though perfect contrition restores a person to a state of grace, it is always tied to the desire for the Sacrament of Confession.
To Get Forgiveness, You Must Give Forgiveness
Mercy and Forgiveness come under the umbrella of Charity. This is implied in the following quotes: “The Lord is gracious and merciful: patient and plenteous in mercy. The Lord is sweet to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 144:8-9) … “Be ye kind [charitable] one to another; merciful, forgiving one another, even as God has forgiven you in Christ” (Ephesians 4:32).
To “forgive and forget” does not mean “forget to forgive”! Most people are quick to ask for forgiveness―they even expect forgiveness as some kind of right that they have―but they are slow in showing and giving forgiveness. Our Lord is brutally clear on this point: “If you will not forgive, neither will your Father that is in Heaven, forgive you your sins” (Mark 11:26). Our Lord exemplifies this principle in His Parable of the Unforgiving Servant:
“Then came Peter unto Him and said: ‘Lord, how often shall my brother offend against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?’ Jesus said to him: ‘I say you not just seven times; but seventy times seven times! Therefore is the Kingdom of Heaven likened to a king, who wanted to take an account of his servants. And when he had begun to take the account, one was brought to him, that owed him ten thousand talents (1 talent was 750 ounces of silver. At today’s silver prices of around $80 an ounce, one talent would be worth $60,000―that would put the 10,000 talents at $600 million). And as he could not pay his debt, his lord commanded that he, and his wife and children and all that he had, should be sold and payment to be made. But that servant falling down, begged him, saying: “Have patience with me, and I will pay you all that I owe!” And the lord of that servant, being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt.
“‘But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellow servants that owed him an hundred pence (the Roman penny was the eighth part of an ounce of silver. At today’s silver prices of $80 per ounce, the penny would be worth $10―and a hundred pence would be $1,000): and laying hold of him, throttled him, saying: “Pay what you owe me!” And his fellow servant falling down, begged him, saying: “Have patience with me, and I will pay you all that I owe!” But he would not listen―and went and cast him into prison, till he paid the debt.
“‘Now his fellow servants, seeing what was done, were very much grieved, and they came and told their lord all that was done. Then his lord called him and said to him: “You wicked servant! I forgave you all the debt, because you begged me! Should you not then have had the same compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had compassion on you?” And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers, until he paid all the debt. So also shall My heavenly Father do to you, if you do not forgive everyone from your hearts!’” (Matthew 18:21-35).
Elsewhere Our Lord says: “Blessed are the merciful―for they shall obtain mercy!” (Matthew 5:7) ... “Judge not, and you shall not be judged! Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned! Forgive, and you shall be forgiven!” (Luke 6:37). Holy Scripture adds: “You are inexcusable, O man, whosoever you are that judges! For wherein you judge another, you condemn yourself. For you do the same things which you judge! And do you think O man―that judges them who do such things, and does the same―that you shall escape the judgment of God?” (Romans 2:1-3). “Judgment without mercy to him that has not done mercy! Mercy exalts itself above judgment!” (James 2:13) … “Let all bitterness, and anger, and indignation be put away from you. Be ye kind one to another; merciful, forgiving one another, even as God has forgiven you in Christ!” (Ephesians 4:31-32). “Bearing with one another and forgiving one another―if any have a complaint against another―even as the Lord has forgiven you, so do you also!” (Colossians 3:13).
Times of Hatred and Lack of Mercy
Unfortunately, we are living in merciless times of ever-increasing hatred and cruelty. Sadly, less and less people are shocked by this fact. Justice has become warped and corrupt―being biased and preferential and political in the administration of justice and mercy. These are times foretold by Holy Scripture: “In the last days, there shall come dangerous times! Men shall be lovers of themselves, proud, wicked, without affection, unmerciful, without kindness ― having an appearance indeed of godliness, but denying the power thereof!” (2 Timothy 3:1-5). Our Lord further warns: “Then shall many be scandalized and shall betray one another: and shall hate one another! … Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted! … They will deliver you up in councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues! And you shall be brought before governors, and before kings for My sake and you shall be hated by all nations for My Name's sake … and they shall put you to death! The brother also shall deliver up the brother to death; and the father the son; and the children shall rise up against their parents, and shall put them to death!” (Matthew 10:17-21; 24:9-10).
Our Lord tells us to rise to the heights of Charity by eliminating any hatred for our enemies: “You have heard that it has been said: ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thy enemy!’ But I say to you: ‘Love your enemies! Do good to them that hate you! And pray for them that persecute and calumniate you!’ ― so that you may be the children of your Father Who is in Heaven, Who makes His sun to rise upon the good and bad, and lets His rain fall upon the just and the unjust!” (Matthew 5:43-45). True charity, true love is tough! Very few persons want to labor to acquire such a love! Perhaps that is one of the chief reasons why most souls are ultimately lost!
Article 2
Monday to Wednesday, February 2nd to 4th
Septuagesima Shocker!
Monday to Wednesday, February 2nd to 4th
Septuagesima Shocker!
Shocked? Nothing Shocks Anymore!
We live in a shocking world where hardly anyone is shocked anymore! What should be shocking is merely a part of everyday life! Sure―many will utter “shock” with their lips, but their hearts are far from being shocked. You could almost say that it would be shocking to see these people being really and truly shocked! Shock is merely expressed as social convention or customary reaction rather than being a true state of mind and heart.
People are no longer shocked primarily due to desensitization from repeated exposure to distressing events, habituation where the brain responds less to constant stimuli, and a slow escalation of crises by small increments. Consistent exposure to negativity reduces its impact over time. When extreme political or social shifts occur gradually, society accepts them in small increments rather than reacting against. Furthermore, a saturated media environment where constant, rapid-fire news and social media exposure to catastrophes, violence and scandals eventually dulls emotional responses, a normalization of shocking events and leads to a collective, jaded apathy―whereby nothing is surprising anymore, leading to a loss of empathy. We start to become accustomed to high stress and accept the occurrence of shocking events, as if it is the new normal. The more these things happen, the less shocking they feel. Exposure to repeated traumatic events can cause us to be numb to future events or normalize them― and can lead to depressive symptoms due to feelings of hopelessness or helplessness, whereby we feel that nothing will change the situation and that is pointless trying to do something about it. The digital age has turned outrage into a commodity. The sheer volume of shocking digital content makes people numb to it, with constant exposure reducing the ability to feel surprise or horror. Research has repeatedly shown that we become desensitized as the number of individuals affected by particular events increase. In addition to cognitive adaptation to events over time, humans also experience a type of psychic numbing when dealing with events that involve large numbers of people. We have an easier time feeling empathy for one person than for large groups of people.
Just look at the gradual incremental escalation in certain behaviors, attitudes and practices over the last 60 to 70 years―and see how gradual increases have gradually eroded protests against them.
► IMMODEST FASHIONS: Already after the Second World War fashions were deemed to be becoming more and more immodest―yet the gradual demise of modesty resulted in very little protest and correction. In the early to mid-20th century, US authorities frequently arrested women for “immodest” dress, focusing on swimwear length and the wearing of pants in public or court. The “new normal” level of modesty today would most certainly be classified as outrageous modesty in the days of old―and rightly so.
► ADULTERY: Infidelity is difficult to research. Few willingly admit it. University of Colorado scientists asked 4,800 married women about infidelity during the previous year―using both face-to-face interviews and an anonymous questionnaire. In the interviews, only 1% admitted infidelity, whereas in the anonymous questionnaire, 6% admitted infidelity. Whatever numbers surveys show, the reality is that the real number is considerably higher than that. The likelihood of men cheating is generally higher than that of women: Recent statistics from the General Social Survey revealed that 20% of men and 13% of women reported having sex with someone other than their spouse while married. Women are slightly more likely than men to commit infidelity among ever-married people between the ages of 18 and 29 (11% vs. 10%). Adultery rates increase during the middle ages for both men and women. This gap quickly closes and expands among those 30 to 34 years old as people get older. The rate of adultery is highest among women in their 60s (16%), but it declines significantly among those in their 70s and 80s. Comparatively, the highest rate of infidelity is found among men in their 70s (26%), and it is still prevalent in men 80 and beyond (24%). In the past, older men were no more likely to commit adultery than their younger counterparts. Infidelity rates peaked in the 1990s among men and women between the ages of 40 and 49 (18%) and 50 to 59 (31%). The highest rates of infidelity increased between 2000 and 2009, with men aged 60 to 69 (29%) and women aged 50 to 59 (17%).
► DIVORCE: On the subject of marital divorce, in the early American Colonies divorce was rare and often required proof of fault like adultery or desertion. In 1969, California passed the first no-fault divorce law, allowing couples to end marriages without assigning blame. By the 1980s, most U.S. states adopted no-fault divorce, followed by other Western countries. New York was the last U.S. state to adopt it in 2010. As laws became less stringent, rates increased, with roughly 40% of first marriages in the U.S. now ending in divorce. Nobody is shocked by divorce anymore―it has become a “new normal” and accepted option for marriage.
► CONTRACEPTION: As regards contraception, in 1873 Congress passed the Comstock Act, which criminalized using the U.S. Postal Service to mail any obscenity, contraceptives or abortifacients, and authorized the postal service to confiscate birth control sold through the mail. By 1914, public health nurse Margaret Sanger coined the term “birth control” and began her decades-long campaign to make contraceptives legal and available to women in America. In 1916 Margaret Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in the United States in Brownsville, Brooklyn. The next year, a New York court convicts Sanger of “maintaining a public nuisance” by dispensing contraceptive devices and sentences her to jail for 30 days. Once released, Sanger re-opens her clinic and continues to persevere through more arrests and prosecutions. In 1917, she begins publishing the magazine Birth Control Review to educate the public about contraception. In 1921 Sanger founded the American Birth Control League, the precursor of Planned Parenthood, at the First American Birth Control Conference in New York City. In 1950, while in her 80s, Sanger organized support for research to create the first birth control pill. By 1960, the first oral contraceptive was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It quickly became known simply as “the Pill.” By 1972, the Supreme Court legalized birth control for unmarried people. In 1978, the Supreme Court ruled that states cannot constitutionally place any restrictions on the advertisement, sale, and distribution of contraceptives to individuals of any age. In 1998–1999, the FDA approved the first brands of emergency contraception that can used after intercourse to prevent pregnancy. In 2013 the FDA approved over-the-counter sales of the emergency contraception for people under the age of 18. Little by little one goes far! Little by little all shock is eliminated―perhaps there is a “contrashocking pill”?
► ABORTION: You can find a similar pattern for abortion―from criminalization in the late 1800s to legalization in the early 1970s. In 1880, all states in the U.S. had laws to restrict abortion — with exceptions in some states if a doctor said the abortion was needed to save the life or health of the patient, or for therapeutic reasons. By 1910, abortion was not only restricted, but was totally illegal at every stage in pregnancy in every state in the country. These abortion bans had some exceptions in instances to save the patient’s life — a decision that only doctors had the power to make. Criminalizing abortion sent the practice underground. In 1955, due to increasingly alarming media coverage of unsafe, illegal abortions, Planned Parenthood held a first-of-its-kind conference on the issue of abortion. The doctors who attended the national conference on abortion made the bold move to publicly call for abortion law reform, calling for laws to be rewritten to allow doctors greater latitude to provide abortion services. In 1964, abortion law reform activists created the Association for the Study of Abortion (ASA), advocating for abortion law reforms. In a clever strategic move to incrementally increase abortion access, the ASA advocated only for "medically necessary" abortion―but other members of the larger abortion law reform movement wanted a full repeal to legalize abortion for all people.
In 1966, in one of the first abortion reform measures in the United States, California amended its prohibition on abortion to allow hospital committees to approve requests for abortion. By the late 1960s, a nationwide effort was underway to reform abortion laws in nearly every state. Health care providers, advocates, clergy members, and the legal community lobbied state legislatures and went to court to overturn statutes that had been in place since before the turn of the century. Between 1967 and 1973, four states — Alaska, Hawaii, New York, and Washington — repealed their abortion bans entirely, while 13 others enacted reforms that expanded exceptions. Instead of just allowing for abortion to save the patient’s life, they now allowed it in instances where a pregnancy was dangerous for the physical or mental health of a patient, fetal abnormalities, and when the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest. In 1970, New York state legalized abortion. One day after that law took effect, a Planned Parenthood health center in Syracuse became the first Planned Parenthood health center to provide abortion services, and the first free-standing abortion center nationwide. In the first two years after abortion was legalized in New York, two-thirds of the abortions performed in the state were on patients who had traveled from other states — most of which still outlawed abortion. At the time, other states that had legalized abortion required patients to be state residents. In 1973, In a landmark decision Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the due process clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution protects the right to abortion and allowed the right to abortion in all 50 states, making abortion services safer and more accessible throughout the country. In particular, the Supreme Court recognized for the first time that the constitutional right to privacy “is broad enough to encompass a woman’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.”
According to the World Health Organization, Around 73 million induced abortions take place worldwide each year. The U.S. hovers around the 900,000 mark per year. Some argue that the number of abortions is falling in number―but they fail to take into account the fact that since 2020, over 50% of all abortions are now achieved through taking medicine at home that will provoke the abortion. In 2014, Guttmacher found that in the U.S., 38% women getting abortions reported no religious affiliation while the majority had some form of religious affiliation — 24% were Roman Catholic, 17% were mainline Protestant, 13% were evangelical Protestant, and 8% were another affiliation.
► PORNOGRAPHY: Although pornography dates back thousands of years, its existence in the U.S. can be traced to its 18th-century origins. Pornography has existed since the origins of the United States, and has become more readily accessible over the years. Pornographic film production commenced almost immediately after the invention of the motion picture in 1895. In the 20th century, the era of “blue movies” began with the silent films of the 1920s and continued throughout the post-war era as film technology improved and equipment costs were reduced. Beginning in 1969 with Blue Movie by Andy Warhol, the subsequent Golden Age of Porn and more permissive legislation, saw a rise of adult theaters in the United States, and many other countries. Several studies have found that the United States has been the largest producer of pornography. By 1982, pornographic film production had switched to the cheaper and more convenient medium of video tape. In the late 1990s, pornographic films were distributed on DVD. The introduction and widespread availability of the Internet further changed the way pornography was distributed. Online porn consumption has increased by 91% since 2000. Previously videos would be rented or purchased through mail-order, but with the Internet people could watch pornographic movies immediately on their computers―or a movie could be downloaded within minutes or, later, within a few seconds.
Today 40 million American people regularly visit porn sites. 35% of all internet downloads are related to pornography. 34% of internet users have experienced unwanted exposure to pornographic content through ads, pop up ads, misdirected links or emails. 54% of practicing Christians admit to viewing pornography. Moreover, 49% of practicing Christians who admit to personally viewing pornography say they are “comfortable with how much pornography” they use. 47% of Christians have said pornography is a major problem in the home. As a Catholic Answers article states: “Ideally, Catholic men would be immune to this vice, but the reality is that they, too, are viewing pornography and masturbating in high numbers. In spite of this fact, men are afraid to talk about it, and it is rarely discussed.” Every day 37 pornographic videos are created in the United States; 2.5 billion emails containing porn are sent or received; 68 million search queries related to pornography―25% of total searches―are generated.
Jesuit priest Father Morton A. Hill (1917–1985) was a leader of the campaign against pornography in the United States in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He was one of the founders of Morality in Media, which was created in 1962 to fight pornography. So prominent was Hill on the issue, that in 1969 President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed him to the President's Commission on Obscenity and Pornography. Father Hill and another clergyman on the commission, Dr. Winfrey C. Link, believed that the commission was stacked with supporters of loosening laws on pornography, who held that pornography should be decriminalized!
► CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE: The global prevalence of child sexual abuse has been estimated at 25% for females and 8% for males. Most sexual abuse offenders are acquainted with their victims; approximately 30% are relatives of the child―most often brothers, fathers, uncles, or cousins; around 60% are other acquaintances, such as “friends” of the family, babysitters, or neighbors; 10% of child sexual abuse cases are committed by strangers. From 1970 to 2010, the public and professional awareness of child sexual abuse in the United States of America has grown from almost none to daily public attention in newspapers and other news media. In 2023, reports of child sexual abuse and exploitation reached critical levels, particularly regarding online crimes. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a record 36.2 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation in 2023.
With the advent of the internet, there is now the added threat of online sexual abuse for children. University researchers say that more than 300 million children a year are victims of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation and abuse. It indicates that one in eight, or 12.6%, of the world’s children have been victims of non-consensual taking, sharing and exposure to sexual images and video in the past year. That amounts to about 302 million young people. In addition, another 12.5% of children globally (300 million) are estimated to have been subject in the past year to online solicitation, such as unwanted sexual talk which can include non-consensual sexting, unwanted sexual questions and unwanted sexual act requests by adults or other youths. Offences can also take the form of sexual extortion, where predators demand money from victims to keep images private, to abuse of Artificial Intelligence (AI) deep fake technology ― used to generate false sexual images of people.
► HUMAN TRAFFICKING: Human trafficking is a complex global issue — taking place in both the United States and in every country around the world. The UNODC's (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) Global Report noted that forced labor is the biggest form of trafficking globally, surpassing sexual exploitation, according to their latest estimates. Whereas in U.S., statistics report a prevalence of human trafficking for sexual exploitation as being the chief area― About 58% sex trafficking, 16% labor, 11% both, and 15% unspecified. European Union Data showed trafficking as being 63% women/girls, 13% children, with sexual exploitation and labor exploitation as the primary goals for human trafficking. Today, there are 49.6 million people in modern slavery worldwide, and 12 million of them are children. (ILO, United Nations).
● 54% of those trapped in modern slavery are women and girls. (International Labor Organization)
● Sex trafficking is the most common type of trafficking in the U.S. (Polaris)
● There were 88 million child sexual abuse material (CSAM) files reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) tip line in 2022.
● Child sex trafficking has been reported in all 50 U.S. states. (NCMEC)
● Forced commercial sexual exploitation generates $173 billion in illegal profits annually. (International Labor Organization, 2024)
● Human trafficking is the second most profitable illegal industry in the U.S. (UNICEF)
The Contraception, Abortion, Abuse, Adultery, Divorce and Trafficking of SOULS
Our Catholic Faith teaches us that the soul is of more importance than the body. Already in the children’s catechism we read: “Man is a creature composed of body and soul, and made to the image and likeness of God. This likeness is chiefly in the soul. The soul is like God because it is a spirit that will never die. We must take more care of our soul than of our body, because in losing our soul we lose God and everlasting happiness.” (Baltimore Catechism #2 & Baltimore Catechism #2 & Baltimore Catechism #4). Similarly, those three catechisms tell us that “God made me to know Him, love Him and serve Him in this life so that I can be happy with Him in the next life in Heaven.” This is echoed by the Catechism of Pope St. Pius X: “Man is a rational creature composed of soul and body. The soul is the noblest part of man, because it is a spiritual substance, endowed with intelligence and will, capable of knowing God and of possessing Him for all eternity.”
As Jesus said: “If you love Me, keep My commandments!” (John 14:15). We find it hard to serve those whom we do not love―and we cannot love those whom we do not know. Hence the chronological order in the Catechism answer: “God made me to KNOW Him, LOVE Him and SERVE Him…” As Jesus says: “Why do you call Me ‘Lord! Lord’ and do not do the things that I say?” (Luke 6:46). St. Thérèse of Lisieux comments: “Jesus is so little loved because He is so little known!” Our problem is that we find hundreds of more interesting things than Jesus that we want to know about!
► CONTRACEPTIVE SOULS: As Our Lord said, we are meant to bear fruit for God: “My Father is the farmer. Every branch that bears not fruit, He will take away! And every branch that bears fruit, He will purge it, so that it may bring forth more fruit! In this is My Father glorified; that you bring forth very much fruit!” (John 15:1-8). The Seed of the Word of God is meant to produce fruit in us: “The Kingdom of Heaven is likened to a man that sowed good seeds in his field. The sower went out to sow his seed. The seed is the Word of God. And they by the way side are they that hear the Word. When any one hears the word of the kingdom, and understands it not, the devil, Satan, comes [the birds of the air] and takes the word [of God], which was sown in his heart, out of his heart―lest believing he should be saved―this is he that received the seed by the way side. And he that received the seed upon the rock or stony ground, is he that hears the word of God, immediately receives it with joy and believes for a while. Yet he has no root in himself, but keeps the word of God only for a time. For, in time of temptation, when tribulation and persecution arises because of the word of God, he is suddenly scandalized [weakened] and he falls away. And he that received the seed among thorns, is he that hears the word, but the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches and the pleasures of this life, choke up the word of God, and the word becomes fruitless and yields no fruit.” (Matthew 13:3-8, 13:18-23; Mark 4:3-8; Luke 8:5-15). Thus we see various forms of “spiritual contraception” that prevent the Seed of the Word of God producing fruit in our lives. “Seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand!” (Matthew 13:13).
► ABORTIVE SOULS: Abortion is a focal subject of discussion in our world, and the word is usually applied to the physical abortion of a child. Abortion is the killing of life within the womb of a mother. Spiritual abortion could be said to be the killing of the life of Sanctifying Grace within our souls. God dwells in our souls through Sanctifying Grace, which is the life of God in our souls―when we commit a Mortal Sin, it results in casting out God and His life-giving Sanctifying Grace from the “womb” of our soul. The word “mortal” comes from the Latin “mortālis” (meaning “subject to death”), which is a derivative of “mors” (meaning “death”). Mortal sin brings death to the life of grace in the soul: “The wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23). “Sin, when it is completed, begets death” (James 1:15).
The Catechism, speaking of Mortal Sin, says: “This sin is called mortal, or deadly, because it deprives the sinner of Sanctifying Grace, the supernatural life of the soul. Without Sanctifying Grace, the soul is displeasing to God, unclean, and can never behold Him or be with Him in Heaven. Without Sanctifying Grace the soul is without God ... One Mortal Sin
is enough to rob us of Sanctifying Grace, for it is by Mortal Sin only that the soul is separated entirely from God … He who has not sanctifying grace is spiritually dead, and will suffer eternal ruin! … Mortal Sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, or poverty, because it separates us from God” (Catechism: My Catholic Faith, Bishop Morrow; The Catechism Explained, Fr. Spirago & Fr. Clarke).
Abortion was certainly known in the ancient world, but one of the Fathers of the Church understood the reality of abortion in a deeper sense. St. Gregory of Nyssa applied it to our whole being: “We are in a sense our own parents, and we give birth to ourselves by our own free choice of what is good. Such a choice becomes possible for us when we have received God into ourselves and have become children of God, children of the Most High. On the other hand, if what the Apostle calls the form of Christ has not been produced in us, we abort ourselves. The man of God must reach maturity.”
► ABUSIVE SOULS: In Catholic teaching, “abusing” God refers to various forms of sin and irreverence, primarily concerning the misuse of God’s Name (blasphemy, ridicule, defiance, false oaths); the abuse of God’ grace and mercy (by presumptuous sin when individuals knowingly continue in sin with the presumption that God will automatically forgive them later, essentially treating salvation like a “game” or a license to sin); showing disrespect in worship; or through immoral actions that use God or His teachings to erroneously justify them.
Sin is an abuse of the freedom that God gives to created persons. That freedom is not s freedom to sin―but it is a freedom by which we freely and willingly choose to love and serve God. Sin is first of all an offense against God by abusing His authority by disobeying His commandments―and it involves a rejection and abuse of God’s love for us: “If you love Me, keep My commandments!” (John 14:1). Mortal Sin―as stated above―casts out Sanctifying Grace which is the life of God in the soul. Analogically speaking, you could say Mortal Sin is like trying to murder or kill God. Venial Sin does not cast out God and Sanctifying Grace from the soul―but you could say that Venial Sin is like punching, kicking, beating and slapping God around within our soul. There are many who think little or nothing of Venial Sin―saying that they won’t be sent to Hell for committing Venial Sins. That does not mean that Venial Sin is not evil! All sin is evil―Mortal or Venial. The Catechisms teach us: “Sin is the only evil upon Earth … Mortal Sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, poverty, or war, because it separates us from God … Venial Sin is second only in evil consequences to Mortal Sin … Sometimes people say: ‘It is only a little sin, it does not matter much!’ But every Venial Sin is an offence against God, and therefore is, after Mortal Sin, the greatest of evils―far greater than any of the physical evils which can be inflicted on us!” (The Catechism Explained, by Spirago-Clarke; also the Catechism, My Catholic Faith, by Bishop Morrow, STD; The Catechism Simply Explained, by Fr. Cafferata, q. 127).
These people live in revolving door of sin and ask for mercy; sin again and ask for mercy again; sin and ask for more mercy, etc., etc. Often, they will refuse to forgive others, despite seeking God’s mercy and forgiveness for themselves! To willingly and readily commit Venial Sins, with the excuse that you will not go to Hell for them, is an abuse of God and an abuse of God’s mercy. St. Alphonsus Liguori, in his sermon on the Abuse of Divine Mercy, writes: “Why does God wait for sinners? Is it that they may continue to insult Him? No! He waits for them that they may renounce sin, and that thus He may have pity on them, and forgive them. ‘Therefore the Lord waits, so that He may have mercy on you!’ (Isaias 30:1, 8). But when He sees that the time which He gave them to weep over their past iniquities is spent in multiplying their sins, He begins to inflict chastisements. Christians sin and say: ‘God is merciful! I will commit this sin, and will afterwards confess it!’ Behold the illusion, or rather the snare, by which Satan draws so many souls to Hell. ‘Commit sin,’ says Satan, ‘and confess it afterwards!’ But listen to what the Lord says: ‘Say not: “I have sinned, and what harm has befallen me?” Be not without fear about sin forgiven, and add not sin upon sin; and say not: “The mercy of the Lord is great! He will have mercy on the multitude of my sins!”’ (Ecclesiasticus 5:4-9). Some rash sinners will say: ‘God has until now shown me so many mercies―why should He not treat me with the same mercy in the future?’ I answer: ‘He will show you mercy, if you wish to change your life! But if you intend to continue to offend Him, He tells you that He will take vengeance on your sins by casting you into Hell!’ There are some who will not believe that there is a Hell until they fall into it!
“St. Bernard says, that the confidence which sinners have in God's goodness when they commit sin, procures for them, not a blessing, but a malediction from the Lord. They do not hope for the pardon of the sins of which they repent; but they hope that, though they continue to commit sin, God will have mercy upon them; and thus they make the mercy of God serve as a motive for continuing to offend Him― which is an abomination to the Lord! He that sins with, the hope of pardon, saying: ‘I will afterwards repent, and God will pardon me!’ is, according to St. Augustine, not a penitent, but a scoffer. The Apostle tells us that ‘God is not mocked!’ (Galatians 6:7). It would be a mockery of God to offend Him as often and as long as you please, and always to receive the pardon of your offences.” (Sermon by St. Alphonsus Liguori, On the Abuse of Divine Mercy).
► ADULTEROUS SOULS: Our Lord speaks out against spiritual adultery when He says: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth! … But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven! … For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” ― “mammon” being the pleasures, treasures, teachings and spirit of the world, whose prince is the devil (Matthew 6:19-24). Holy Scripture takes up this teaching and adds: “Adulterers! Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God!” (James 4:4) ... “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him!” (1 John 2:15) ... “The whole world is seated in wickedness!” (1 John 5:19) ... “Keep yourself unspotted from this world!” (James 1:27) … “Be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2) … “That we be not condemned with this world!” (1 Corinthians 11:32).
If you love the world, then you have Satan for your lover! Why? Because Satan is the prince of this world and he uses the world to seduce us and draw us away from God. Our Lord said: “The prince of this world is coming, and in Me he has not anything … The prince of this world is already judged ... Now shall the prince of this world be cast out!” (John 12:31; 16:11; 14:30). “That great dragon―that old serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan―was cast out and he was cast unto the Earth, and he seduces the whole world! … Woe to the Earth, because the devil is come down unto you!” (Apocalypse 12:9-12). “Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places!” (Ephesians 6:12). “They that will [desire or want to] become rich, fall into temptation, and into the snare of the devil, and into many unprofitable and hurtful desires, which drown men into destruction and perdition!” (1 Timothy 6:9). Therefore, “what fellowship has light with darkness? And what concord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has the faithful with the unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God! As God says: ‘I will dwell in them, and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people!’ Wherefore, ‘Go out from among them, and be ye separate!’ says the Lord” (2 Corinthians 6:14-17). St. Bernadette of Lourdes echoes this in her account of the third apparition of Our Lady: “She told me that she did not promise to make me happy in this world, but in the next.”
As Our Lord said to the rich young man: “’If you want to be perfect, go sell whatsoever you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in Heaven, and then come follow Me!’ And when the young man had heard this word, being struck sad at that saying, he went away sorrowful―or he was very rich and had great possessions. And Jesus, seeing him become sorrowful, said to His disciples: ‘How hardly shall they that have riches, enter into the Kingdom of God! Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!’” (Matthew 19:16-29; Mark 10:17-31; Luke 18:18-25).
What most Catholics fail to realize is that Christ is not advocating the world, nor recommending the world, nor placing the world in a neutral position in relation to Himself. Christ came to save us from this world―and not to plant us into this world. He Himself says: “I am not of this world! … My kingdom is not of this world! … The world hates Me because I give testimony of it, that the works of the world are evil!” (John 8:23; 18:36; 7:7). To the worldlings He says: “You are from beneath, I am from above. You are of this world, I am not of this world!” (John 8:23). Concerning His followers, Jesus says: “They are not of the world, as I also am not of the world” (John 17:16). To His followers He says: “You shall be hated by all men and all nations for My Name’s sake! … If you had been of the world, the world would love its own! But because you are not of the world―for I have chosen you out of the world―therefore the world hates you!” (Matthew 10:22; 24:9; John 15:19). “If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before you!” (John 15:18). “The world hates Me because I give testimony of it, that the works of the world are evil!” (John 7:7).
Which is why Holy Scripture adds fighting-talk that we mainly choose and like to ignore: “Whatsoever is born of God, overcomes the world! And this is the victory which overcomes the world―our Faith!” (1 John 5:4). “Wonder not, brethren, if the world hate you!” (1 John 3:13). “They are of the world―therefore of the world they speak, and the world hears them!” (1 John 4:5). “For all that is in the world, is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life, which is not of the Father, but is of the world!” (1 John 2:16). “For they that are according to the flesh, mind the things that are of the flesh―but they that are according to the spirit, mind the things that are of the spirit. For the wisdom of the flesh is death―but the wisdom of the spirit is life and peace. Because the wisdom of the flesh is an enemy to God―for it is not subject to the law of God, neither can it be. And they who are in the flesh, cannot please God.” (Romans 8:5-8)
► DIVORCED SOULS: Divorce is a final separation that has resulted from various degrees of dissatisfaction, disagreement, disputes, divisions, disappointments, discouragement, deceptions, distrust, disgust, etc. Some marriages persevere through all troubles―other marriages break-up and the spouses separate permanently. The same can be said of a “spiritual divorce” from God and the Faith. Ever increasing numbers of Catholics are “divorcing” themselves from God and the Faith and are leaving to find “new pastures”.
Millions have left the Catholic Church, especially in the U.S., with about 43% of those raised Catholic no longer identifying with the Faith, though figures vary, showing substantial losses often outweighing converts, with reasons including disagreement with Church teachings, declining belief, and scandals. Estimates suggest over 30 million people have left Catholicism in the U.S. since 1975. 50% of Catholics aged 30 and younger have left the Church. For every one new adult member, around 6 to 7 Catholics are departing. When are they leaving? 79% leave before the age of 23. The median age of those who leave is 13. While data is strongest for the U.S., similar trends of decline and significant member loss are seen in Europe, with some countries losing many more members than they gain. In 1957 around 75% of U.S. Catholics attended Sunday Mass regularly; in 1973, only 34% of U.S. Catholic Sunday Mass regularly; by 2002 that number had dropped to 20%; and by 2022 it fell even lower, down to 11%. Yet of those who no longer attend Sunday Mass regularly, 73% say you can be a good Catholic without attending Sunday Mass!
► TRAFFICKING SOULS: In recent years, the term “soul trafficking” has emerged as a disturbing reality in discussions about modern-day exploitation and spiritual warfare. Soul trafficking refers to the exploitation and manipulation of the spiritual well-being of individuals for personal gain or malevolent purposes. Soul trafficking delves into the realm of the spiritual, for the manipulation and exploitation of souls for nefarious purposes. This can take various forms, including manipulation through false teachings, deception, coercion into occult practices, or involvement in rituals that seek to control or harm others spiritually. From a Christian perspective, soul trafficking is rooted in the spiritual battle between good and evil.
Our Lord warned us to beware of this deception and slavery to error: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves!” (Matthew 7:15). “Take heed that no man seduce you! For many will come in My Name, saying, ‘I am Christ!’ and they will seduce many!” (Matthew 24:4-5). “False prophets shall arise, and shall seduce many!” (Matthew 24:11). “Then if any man shall say to you: Behold―here is Christ!’ do not believe him! For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch as to deceive―if possible―even the elect! … Therefore if they shall say to you: ‘Behold―He is in the desert!’ ― go ye not out. Or if they shall say to you: ‘Behold―He is in the closets!’ believe it not!” (Matthew 24:23-26). Hence St. Paul warns us that “our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places!” (Ephesians 6:12). Likewise, St. Peter: “There shall be among you lying teachers, who shall bring in sects of perdition!” (2 Peter 2:1). So too St. John: “Believe not every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they be of God―because many false prophets are gone out into the world!” (1 John 4:1).
Soul trafficking embodies this spiritual warfare, as individuals are deceitfully lured into darkness and bondage by deceptive tactics of the enemy. Among the many visions granted by God to Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich (died in 1824), we see this aspect of deception and soul-trafficking clearly stated in the visions that foretold that a fake-church would overcome the true-Church founded by Jesus Christ. Here are just a few pertinent and startling extracts:
“I saw a long processions of bishops [The four different sessions of the Second Vatican Council, held from 1962 to 1965, had between 2,000 and 2,500 bishops in daily attendance]. Their thoughts and utterances were made known to me through images issuing from their mouths. Their faults towards religion were shown by external deformities ... I saw what I believe to be nearly all the bishops of the world [the Second Vatican Council assembled almost all the bishops in the world], but only a small number were perfectly sound ... I saw some good pious bishops; but they were weak and wavering, their cowardice often got the upper hand … A concession was demanded from the clergy which could not be granted. Many older priests wept bitterly. A few younger ones were also weeping. But others, and the lukewarm among them, readily did what was demanded. It was as if people were splitting into two camps ... Priests were among them! … Priests allowed everything and said Mass with much irreverence. I saw that few of them were still godly priests ... I saw some good pious bishops―but they were weak and wavering, their cowardice often got the upper hand … Very bad times will come when non-Catholics will lead many people astray. A great confusion will result … When the time of the reign of Antichrist is near, a false religion will appear which will be opposed to the unity of God and His Church. This will cause the greatest schism the world has ever known. The nearer the time of the end, the more the darkness of Satan will spread on Earth, the greater will be the number of the children of corruption, and the number of the just will correspondingly diminish … I see in the future religion falling so low that it will be practiced only here and there in farmhouses and in families protected by God during the horrors of war.
“I had a vision of two churches … I saw a great circle of darkness ever widening … I now see that in this place [Rome], the [Catholic] Church is being so cleverly undermined, that there hardly remain a hundred or so priests who have not been deceived. They all work for its destruction ― even the clergy … They were building a large, strange, and extravagant church there in Rome … There was nothing holy in it. They had preaching and singing, but nothing else [which possibly implies the absence of the true Sacrifice of the Mass in this new church], and only very few attended it [today’s regular Sunday Mass attendance in Catholic countries is abysmal: Brazil (8%), France (8%), Lithuania (16%), Austria (20%), Portugal (20%), Argentina (21%)] … There―in the strange big church―all the work was being done according to human reason ... All in this church belonged to the Earth, returned to the Earth. All was dead, the work of human skill, a church of the latest style, a church of man’s invention … There was nothing holy in it!
“I saw the fatal consequences of this counterfeit church … All sorts of abominations were perpetrated there … I saw how harmful would be the consequences of this false church. I saw it increase in size; I saw heretics of all kinds flocking to the city of Rome … Everyone was to be admitted in it in order to be united and have equal rights―Evangelicals, Catholics, sects of every description [all of which describes the current false spirit of Ecumenism that invaded the Church at the Council] ... The Protestant doctrine and that of the schismatic Greeks is to spread everywhere! … Then I saw that everything pertaining to Protestantism was gradually gaining the upper hand, and the Catholic religion fell into complete decadence ... I saw all sorts of people, things, doctrines, and opinions ... Then I saw darkness spreading around and people no longer seeking the true Church … The Church is in great danger! It was shown to me that there were almost no Christians left in the old acceptation of the word! … The Church is completely isolated and as if completely deserted. It seems that everyone is running away.” (Extracts from the visions granted by God to Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich).
Infiltration or Imagination?
Has the Catholic Church been significantly infiltrated? There are some who “pooh-pooh” such an argument as being unworthy of serious consideration. Yet such a skeptical attitude is (1) clearly opposed to various prophecies made by Our Lord, Our Lady and the saints, and (2) is in contradiction to the increasingly bad fruits that the Catholic Church has been producing over the last 100 years or so, and (3) it rashly ignores the testimonies of both, Church members and also the enemies of the Church.
► OUR LORD spoke of wolves in the clothing of sheep who would even fool the elect if that were possible―that implies that those wolves will be found INSIDE the Church rather than outside the Church.
► OUR LADY also indicates the same thing when she says: “The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops … Satan will reign almost completely by means of the Masonic Sects! … Lucifer, together with a large number of demons, will be unloosed from Hell and they will put an end to Faith, little by little, even in those dedicated to God … The small number of souls who will preserve the Faith will suffer a cruel, unspeakable and prolonged martyrdom … The leaders of the people of God will neglect prayer and penance … The devil will introduce sinners into religious orders … The secular Clergy will leave much to be desired, because priests will become careless in their sacred duties … Many priests will lose their spirit … Priests―by their irreverence and their impiety in the celebration of the Holy Mysteries; by their love of money; their love of honors and pleasures; by their wicked lives, will become cesspools of impurity … God will allow the old serpent to cause divisions among those who reign in every society … Many people will rebel against the spirit of the Catholic Church, impelled by the malice of the devil! … The Church will decompose and many will abandon the Faith, and a great number of priests and members of religious orders will break away from the true religion; among these people there will even be bishops! ... A number of religious institutions will lose all Faith and will cause many souls to be damned! ... The Christian spirit will rapidly decay, extinguishing the precious light of Faith until it reaches the point that there will be an almost total and general corruption of morals.” (Our Lady of Good Success, at Quito in Ecuador, Our Lady of La Salette, France; Our Lady of Fatima, Portugal; Our Lady of Akita, Japan).
► ST. METHODIUS OF PATARA (250 - 311), a bishop martyred in the 4th century, prophesied: “In the last period Christians will be very ungrateful, lead a sinful life, in pride, vanity, unchastity, frivolity, hatred, avarice, gluttony, and many other vices, that the sins of men will stink more than a pestilence before God. Many will doubt whether the Catholic Faith is the true and only saving faith and whether the Jews are correct when they still expect the Messias. Many will be the false teachings and resultant bewilderment. The just God will, in consequence, give Lucifer and all his devils power to come on Earth … The time will come when the enemies of Christ will boast: ‘We have subjected the Earth and all its inhabitants, and the Christians cannot escape our hands!’”
► ST. ANTHONY OF THE DESERT (251 - 356) foretold: “Men will surrender to the spirit of the age. They will say that if they had lived in our day, Faith would be simple and easy. But in their day, they will say, things are complex; the Church must be brought up to date and made meaningful to the day’s problems [That is what Vatican II set out to do]. When the Church and the world are one, then those days are at hand because our Divine Master placed a barrier between His things and the things of the world.”
► ST. NILUS OF SINAI (died 430), was a priest and disciple of St. John Chrysostom. Concerning the End Times, he wrote: “After the year 1900, toward the middle of the 20th century, the people of that time will become unrecognizable. 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. 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 way from the wrong. 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. 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 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 they will be equally deprived of remorse for their sins.”
► ST. HILDEGARD (1098 - 1179), a German Benedictine abbess, philosopher, mystic and visionary, foretells: “The time is coming when princes and people will renounce the authority of the Pope. Individual countries will prefer their own Church rulers to the Pope. Heretics will preach their false doctrines undisturbed, resulting in Christians having doubts about their holy Catholic Faith.”
► ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI (1181 - 1226) foresaw a future great apostasy and persecution of the Church that would be brought about through the false authority, or “schism” of an antipope: “There will be an uncanonically elected pope who will cause a great Schism, there will be diverse thoughts preached which will cause many, even those in the different orders to doubt, yea, even agree with those heretics which will cause my Order to divide, then will there be such universal dissension and persecutions that if those days were not shortened even the elect would be lost.”
► SAINT NICHOLAS OF FLÜE (1417 - 1487), prophesied: “The Church will be punished because the majority of her members, high and low, will become so perverted. The Church will sink deeper and deeper until she will at last seem to be extinguished, and the succession of Peter and the other Apostles to have expired.”
► ST. JOHN BOSCO (1815–1888) made a prophecy in the mid-1800s which directly referred to the end of the 1900s and the start of the 2000s as a prophetic turning point after a period of chaos in the Church (the Great Apostasy), following an Ecumenical Council in the 20th century (Vatican II was the only Ecumenical Council in the 20th century): “There will be an Ecumenical Council in the next century, after which there will be chaos in the Church!”
► DR. BELLA VISONO DODD (1904 - 1969), baptized in the Catholic Church as Maria Assunta Isabella, came to the USA as a young child. After studies at Columbia University and the School of Law at New York University where she received a Degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence, she joined the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) from 1932–1948, and from 1944 to 1948 sat on the CPUSA’s National Council. After her defection from the Communist Party in 1949, she testified that one of her jobs, as a Communist agent, was to encourage young radicals to enter Roman Catholic seminaries. She returned to the Faith in 1952, thanks to Archbishop Fulton Sheen. In her book, School of Darkness (1954) she reveals that Communism was perpetrated by financiers “to control the common man” and to advance world tyranny. In front of the U.S. House Un-American Activities Committee, Dodd testified about the plans of a Communist infiltration of Catholic Church: “In the late 1920’s and 1930’s, directives were sent from Moscow to all Communist Party organizations. In order to destroy the Roman Catholic Church from within, party members were to be planted in seminaries and within diocesan organizations … In the 1930s we put eleven hundred (1,100) men into the priesthood, in order to destroy the Church from within. The idea was for these men to be ordained, and then climb the ladder of influence and authority as Monsignors and Bishops … Right now they are in the highest places in the Church” — where they were working to bring about change in order to weaken the Church’s effectiveness against Communism. She also said that these changes would be so drastic that “you will not recognize the Catholic Church.”
► POPE PIUS XII (1876 - 1958), prior to his elevation to the papacy in 1939, made the following astonishing prophecy about a coming upheaval in the Church: “Suppose, dear friend, that Communism [one of ‘the errors of Russia’ mentioned in the Message of Fatima] was only the most visible of the instruments of subversion to be used against the Church and the traditions of Divine Revelation … I am worried by the Blessed Virgin’s messages to Lucy of Fatima. This persistence of Mary about the dangers which menace the Church is a divine warning against the suicide of altering the Faith, in Her liturgy, Her theology and Her soul … I hear all around me innovators who wish to dismantle the Sacred Chapel, destroy the universal flame of the Church, reject Her ornaments and make Her feel remorse for Her historical past. A day will come when the civilized world will deny its God, when the Church will doubt as Peter doubted. She will be tempted to believe that man has become God. In our churches, Christians will search in vain for the red lamp where God awaits them. Like Mary Magdalene, weeping before the empty tomb, they will ask: ‘Where have they taken Him?’”
► FATHER JOSEPH SCHWEIGL (1894 - 1964), entrusted in 1952 by Pope Pius XII with a secret mission to interview Sister Lucy about the Third Secret of Fatima, subsequently stated: “I cannot reveal anything of what I learned at Fatima concerning the Third Secret, but I can say that it has two parts―one concerns the Pope; the other logically―although I must say nothing―would have to be the continuation of the words: ‘In Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved.’”
► CARDINAL SILVIO ODDI (1910 - 2001), a personal friend of Pope John XXIII and who had spoken to him regarding the Third Secret of Fatima, later gave the following testimony to Italian journalist, Lucio Brunelli, in the journal Il Sabato: “It [the Third Secret] has nothing to do with Gorbachev. The Blessed Virgin was alerting us against apostasy in the Church.”
► CARDINAL MARIO CIAPPI (1909 - 1996)―who was the personal papal theologian to Popes John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I and John Paul II―revealed to a Professor Baumgartner in Salzburg “In the Third Secret it is foretold, among other things, that the great apostasy in the Church will begin at the top.”
► FATHER MALACHI MARTIN (1921 - 1999), secretary to Cardinal Bea (a close advisor to Pope John XXIII), stated that in 1960, Cardinal Bea was allowed to read the Third of Fatima, which he shared with Fr. Malachi Martin. Bound by oath not to reveal the Third Secret, he only commented on different speculative versions that were circulating at that time. In response to a quotation that a pope would be under the control of Satan, he responded: “Yes, it sounds as if they were reading the text of the Third Secret.” He also stated that if the Secret were made public, the confessionals and churches would be filled with parishioners on their knees. He said that the central element of the Secret is awful, and that it concerns apostasy.
► FATHER JOSE VALINHO―Sister Lucia’s nephew―related his opinion of the contents of the Third Secret: “I believe that (the third) part of the secret concerns the Church from within, perhaps doctrinal difficulties, a crisis of unity, rebellion. The last sentence my aunt [Lucia] wrote, which precedes the part that is still unknown, says: ‘In Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved, etc.’ … Therefore, people elsewhere in the Church might waver on dogma … It is some kind of universal crisis which affects the whole Church and all of humanity.”
► ARCHBISHOP CARLO MARIA VIGANÒ (born 1941)―who served as Apostolic Nuncio to the United States from 2011 to 2016 and as secretary-general of the Governorate of Vatican City State from 2009 to 2011―addressed this infiltration in a 2018 interview with Dr. Moynihan, saying: “It is a project, if you will, that goes back centuries, in particular, to the creation in the middle of the 1700s of Freemasonry … This project was very deceptive, and oriented, or even included in some way, the forces of some members of the Church … This process of infiltration became strikingly evident in modern times … The Second Vatican Council, in 1962, … was the beginning of an opening, the first break in the wall of the procedure that had been established, in the process of creating a new Church!”
► ARCHBISHOP FULTON SHEEN (1895 - 1979), speaking on the End Times, said: “We are living in the days of the Apocalypse — the last days of our era — The two great forces of the Mystical Body of Christ and the Mystical Body of Antichrist are beginning to draw up the battle lines for the catastrophic contest. The False Prophet will have a religion without a cross. A religion without a world to come. A religion to destroy religions. There will be a counterfeit church. Christ’s Church will be one. And the False Prophet will create the other. The false church will be worldly ecumenical, and global. It will be a loose federation of churches and religions forming some type of global association, world parliament of churches. It will be emptied of all divine content and will be the mystical body of the Antichrist. The Mystical Body on Earth today will have its Judas Iscariot and he will be the false prophet. Satan will recruit him from among our bishops.”
► ST. PADRE PIO (1887 - 1968), around the year 1960, said to the chief exorcist of Rome, Fr. Gabriele Amorth: “It is Satan who has been introduced into the bosom of the Church and within a short very short time he will come to rule a false church.”
► FR. GABRIEL AMORTH (1925 - 2016) himself stated: “One day Padre Pio said to me very sorrowfully: ‘You know what, Gabriele? It is Satan who has been introduced into the bosom of the Church and within a very short time he will come to rule a false Church!’” On other occasions, Fr. Amorth said: “The influence of Satan is immense! The smoke of Satan has entered everywhere. Everywhere! Satanism is on the increase. Today Satan rules the world. The masses no longer believe in God. And, yes, Satan is in the Vatican! … One day Padre Pio said to me very sorrowfully: ‘You know what, Gabriele? It is Satan who has been introduced into the bosom of the Church and within a very short time he will come to rule a false Church!’ … I have no doubt about the fact that the demon tempts the authorities of the Church especially―just as he tempts every authority, those of politics and industry ... Pope Paul VI talked about the ‘smoke of Satan’ infiltrating the Vatican as long ago as 1972. Satan sets out to damage the leadership of the Church … The devil resides in the Vatican ... The Devil is at work inside the Vatican … In the Vatican there are members of Satanic cults― priests, monsignors and even cardinals. I know from people who reported to me how they got to know this directly. It is something, “confessed” several times by the Devil, himself, under obedience during the exorcisms … Everybody is vulnerable to the work of Satan! The devil loves to take over business leaders and those who hold political office! Today, Satan has free hands ... The loss of a sense of sin―that characterizes our era―helps Satan to act nearly undisturbed … Primarily, today we live in a period of little Faith ... It is purely mathematical―when Faith declines, when we abandon God, we open the door to Satan. Satanism is spreading enormously! The loss of a sense of sin―that characterizes our era―helps Satan to act nearly undisturbed … Satan continually tries to dominate the world ― the whole world is in the power of the evil one!”
Executions of the Solutions
The enemies of the Church who have progressively infiltrated the Church, have progressively weakened and even executed and destroyed the solutions to both Church and World crises that Heaven has told us to use to overcome these crises. If Satan rules the world―which he does for the most part―then we already know the weapons that are to be used to overthrow him. They are listed in Holy Scripture and have been repeatedly hammered into us over the centuries by the popes and saints; as well being repeatedly stated in the various apparitions, visions and allocutions given to us by Our Lord and Our Lady. It takes no “rocket-scientist” to uncover them, nor does it take amounts of training and skill to use them. The world depends, trusts and relies on human weapons―we should rely upon heavenly weapons. Besides―who ever heard of the devils being defeated by atom-bombs, missiles, bombs and bullets?!!!
Holy Scripture tells us to put our trust in God and heavenly weapons, rather than trusting in man and mere human weapons: “Put not your trust in princes!” (Psalm 145:2). “Trust in the uncertainty of riches, but in the living God!” (1 Timothy 6:17). “Some trust in chariots, and some trust in horses―but we will call upon the Name of the Lord our God!” (Psalm 19:8). “We should not trust in ourselves, but in God, Who had delivered and does deliver us out of so many great dangers―in Him we trust that He will yet also deliver us!” (2 Corinthians 1:9-10). “I will save them by the Lord their God―and I will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, nor by horses, nor by horsemen!” (Osee 1:7). “I will not trust in my bow―neither shall my sword save me!” (Psalm 43:7). “The Lord is my helper, I will not fear what man can do unto me! The Lord is my helper―and I will look over my enemies! It is good to confide in the Lord, rather than to have confidence in man! It is good to trust in the Lord, rather than to trust in princes! All nations surrounded me―and in the Name of the Lord I have been revenged on them!” (Psalm 117:6-10). “Thy hand, O God, destroyed the Gentiles, and Thou didst afflict and cast them out! For your people did not take possession of the land by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them―but through Thy right hand and Thy arm!” (Psalm 43:3-4). “Wheresoever they went in without bow and arrow, and without shield and sword―their God fought for them and overcame and there was no one that triumphed over this people!” (Judith 5:16-17). “I will deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword―but thy life shall be saved because thou hast put thy trust in Me, says the Lord” (Jeremias 39:18).
Just as our ultimate helper is God, likewise our ultimate enemy is Satan. Speaking of Satan and his fellow devils, OUR LORD said: “This kind is not cast out except by prayer and fasting!” (Matthew 17:20) … “And He said to them: ‘This kind can go out by nothing except by prayer and fasting!” (Mark 9:28). Our Lord prayed and fasted in the desert for forty days and nights―after which He easily overcame the temptations of the Devil: “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert, to be tempted by the Devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards He was hungry. And the tempter coming said to Him: ‘If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread!’ Jesus answered and said: ‘It is written: “Not in bread alone does man live, but in every word that proceeds from the mouth of God!”’ Then the Devil took Him up into the holy city, and set Him upon the pinnacle of the Temple, and said to Him: ‘If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down, for it is written: “That He has given His angels charge over Thee, and in their hands shall they bear Thee up, lest perhaps Thou dash Thy foot against a stone!”’ Jesus said to him: ‘It is written again: “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God!”’ Again the Devil took Him up into a very high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, and said to Him: ‘All these will I give Thee, if falling down Thou wilt adore me!’ Then Jesus said to him: ‘Begone, Satan! For it is written: “The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and Him only shalt thou serve!”’ Then the devil left Him” (Matthew 4:1-11).
Prayer and fasting are regarded as essentials in any exorcisms that exorcists undertake. As the chief exorcist of Rome, FR. GABRIELE AMORTH used to say: “Our Lady’s messages speak about Satan. She often spoke about this. She underlined that Satan is powerful and that he wants to destroy her plans. She invited us to pray, to pray, to pray! Through prayer, we can even stop wars! Maybe we do not pray with the heart―this is possible!! We must pray in Faith, not mechanically! Pray with Faith―and prayer increases Faith and Charity. According to Our Lady’s words in Fatima, if we had prayed and fasted, there would not have been World War II. We did not listen to her and therefore there was a war. Our Lady speaks often about prayer and fasting ... If Our Lady insists so much on fasting, then why does the Church not speak much about it? It’s a good question! … The devil is more tranquil if he does not have to live with prayer, fasting, the Eucharist, and the other Sacramental practices! … Who ought to pray and fast? Everyone! … I recommend three tips that Jesus gives to heal the ills of evil, even without the need for exorcisms: (1) much Faith (2) much prayer and (3) fasting. I remember the advice that Jesus gave to nine Apostles who failed to release a young man from demons. ‘Why do not you have Faith? It takes prayer and fasting to banish some demons!”
As Fr. Amorth said: “Our Lady speaks often about prayer and fasting ... If Our Lady insists so much on fasting, then why does the Church not speak much about it? It’s a good question!” If the world is progressively getting worse―which it undoubtedly is―they wouldn’t you think that we would need more prayer and penance rather than less prayer and penance? So why did Pope Paul VI give everyone a 95% discount on Lenten fasting by reducing the 40-day Lenten Fast to a mere 2-days―Ash Wednesday and Good Friday? If more penance is needed to combat Satan and the world, then why throw-out the Ember Days (Ember Wednesday, Ember Friday and Ember Saturday―a trio of days that occurred 4 times a year? How often do priests preach on the need for sacrifice? Our Lady said at Fatima: Many souls go to Hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and pray for them! … Are you willing to offer yourselves to God and bear all the sufferings He wills to send you, as an act of reparation for the conversion of sinners? … Then you are going to have much to suffer! … Sacrifice yourselves for sinners!” The Angel of Fatima had also said: “Pray! Pray a great deal! Offer prayers and sacrifices continually to the Most High! Make everything you do a sacrifice, and offer it to God as an act of reparation for the sins by which God is offended, and as a petition for the conversion of sinners. Above all, accept and bear with submission all the sufferings the Lord will send you!” How often do we here those things preached? Hardly ever! O how happy Satan must be!
We live in a shocking world where hardly anyone is shocked anymore! What should be shocking is merely a part of everyday life! Sure―many will utter “shock” with their lips, but their hearts are far from being shocked. You could almost say that it would be shocking to see these people being really and truly shocked! Shock is merely expressed as social convention or customary reaction rather than being a true state of mind and heart.
People are no longer shocked primarily due to desensitization from repeated exposure to distressing events, habituation where the brain responds less to constant stimuli, and a slow escalation of crises by small increments. Consistent exposure to negativity reduces its impact over time. When extreme political or social shifts occur gradually, society accepts them in small increments rather than reacting against. Furthermore, a saturated media environment where constant, rapid-fire news and social media exposure to catastrophes, violence and scandals eventually dulls emotional responses, a normalization of shocking events and leads to a collective, jaded apathy―whereby nothing is surprising anymore, leading to a loss of empathy. We start to become accustomed to high stress and accept the occurrence of shocking events, as if it is the new normal. The more these things happen, the less shocking they feel. Exposure to repeated traumatic events can cause us to be numb to future events or normalize them― and can lead to depressive symptoms due to feelings of hopelessness or helplessness, whereby we feel that nothing will change the situation and that is pointless trying to do something about it. The digital age has turned outrage into a commodity. The sheer volume of shocking digital content makes people numb to it, with constant exposure reducing the ability to feel surprise or horror. Research has repeatedly shown that we become desensitized as the number of individuals affected by particular events increase. In addition to cognitive adaptation to events over time, humans also experience a type of psychic numbing when dealing with events that involve large numbers of people. We have an easier time feeling empathy for one person than for large groups of people.
Just look at the gradual incremental escalation in certain behaviors, attitudes and practices over the last 60 to 70 years―and see how gradual increases have gradually eroded protests against them.
► IMMODEST FASHIONS: Already after the Second World War fashions were deemed to be becoming more and more immodest―yet the gradual demise of modesty resulted in very little protest and correction. In the early to mid-20th century, US authorities frequently arrested women for “immodest” dress, focusing on swimwear length and the wearing of pants in public or court. The “new normal” level of modesty today would most certainly be classified as outrageous modesty in the days of old―and rightly so.
► ADULTERY: Infidelity is difficult to research. Few willingly admit it. University of Colorado scientists asked 4,800 married women about infidelity during the previous year―using both face-to-face interviews and an anonymous questionnaire. In the interviews, only 1% admitted infidelity, whereas in the anonymous questionnaire, 6% admitted infidelity. Whatever numbers surveys show, the reality is that the real number is considerably higher than that. The likelihood of men cheating is generally higher than that of women: Recent statistics from the General Social Survey revealed that 20% of men and 13% of women reported having sex with someone other than their spouse while married. Women are slightly more likely than men to commit infidelity among ever-married people between the ages of 18 and 29 (11% vs. 10%). Adultery rates increase during the middle ages for both men and women. This gap quickly closes and expands among those 30 to 34 years old as people get older. The rate of adultery is highest among women in their 60s (16%), but it declines significantly among those in their 70s and 80s. Comparatively, the highest rate of infidelity is found among men in their 70s (26%), and it is still prevalent in men 80 and beyond (24%). In the past, older men were no more likely to commit adultery than their younger counterparts. Infidelity rates peaked in the 1990s among men and women between the ages of 40 and 49 (18%) and 50 to 59 (31%). The highest rates of infidelity increased between 2000 and 2009, with men aged 60 to 69 (29%) and women aged 50 to 59 (17%).
► DIVORCE: On the subject of marital divorce, in the early American Colonies divorce was rare and often required proof of fault like adultery or desertion. In 1969, California passed the first no-fault divorce law, allowing couples to end marriages without assigning blame. By the 1980s, most U.S. states adopted no-fault divorce, followed by other Western countries. New York was the last U.S. state to adopt it in 2010. As laws became less stringent, rates increased, with roughly 40% of first marriages in the U.S. now ending in divorce. Nobody is shocked by divorce anymore―it has become a “new normal” and accepted option for marriage.
► CONTRACEPTION: As regards contraception, in 1873 Congress passed the Comstock Act, which criminalized using the U.S. Postal Service to mail any obscenity, contraceptives or abortifacients, and authorized the postal service to confiscate birth control sold through the mail. By 1914, public health nurse Margaret Sanger coined the term “birth control” and began her decades-long campaign to make contraceptives legal and available to women in America. In 1916 Margaret Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in the United States in Brownsville, Brooklyn. The next year, a New York court convicts Sanger of “maintaining a public nuisance” by dispensing contraceptive devices and sentences her to jail for 30 days. Once released, Sanger re-opens her clinic and continues to persevere through more arrests and prosecutions. In 1917, she begins publishing the magazine Birth Control Review to educate the public about contraception. In 1921 Sanger founded the American Birth Control League, the precursor of Planned Parenthood, at the First American Birth Control Conference in New York City. In 1950, while in her 80s, Sanger organized support for research to create the first birth control pill. By 1960, the first oral contraceptive was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It quickly became known simply as “the Pill.” By 1972, the Supreme Court legalized birth control for unmarried people. In 1978, the Supreme Court ruled that states cannot constitutionally place any restrictions on the advertisement, sale, and distribution of contraceptives to individuals of any age. In 1998–1999, the FDA approved the first brands of emergency contraception that can used after intercourse to prevent pregnancy. In 2013 the FDA approved over-the-counter sales of the emergency contraception for people under the age of 18. Little by little one goes far! Little by little all shock is eliminated―perhaps there is a “contrashocking pill”?
► ABORTION: You can find a similar pattern for abortion―from criminalization in the late 1800s to legalization in the early 1970s. In 1880, all states in the U.S. had laws to restrict abortion — with exceptions in some states if a doctor said the abortion was needed to save the life or health of the patient, or for therapeutic reasons. By 1910, abortion was not only restricted, but was totally illegal at every stage in pregnancy in every state in the country. These abortion bans had some exceptions in instances to save the patient’s life — a decision that only doctors had the power to make. Criminalizing abortion sent the practice underground. In 1955, due to increasingly alarming media coverage of unsafe, illegal abortions, Planned Parenthood held a first-of-its-kind conference on the issue of abortion. The doctors who attended the national conference on abortion made the bold move to publicly call for abortion law reform, calling for laws to be rewritten to allow doctors greater latitude to provide abortion services. In 1964, abortion law reform activists created the Association for the Study of Abortion (ASA), advocating for abortion law reforms. In a clever strategic move to incrementally increase abortion access, the ASA advocated only for "medically necessary" abortion―but other members of the larger abortion law reform movement wanted a full repeal to legalize abortion for all people.
In 1966, in one of the first abortion reform measures in the United States, California amended its prohibition on abortion to allow hospital committees to approve requests for abortion. By the late 1960s, a nationwide effort was underway to reform abortion laws in nearly every state. Health care providers, advocates, clergy members, and the legal community lobbied state legislatures and went to court to overturn statutes that had been in place since before the turn of the century. Between 1967 and 1973, four states — Alaska, Hawaii, New York, and Washington — repealed their abortion bans entirely, while 13 others enacted reforms that expanded exceptions. Instead of just allowing for abortion to save the patient’s life, they now allowed it in instances where a pregnancy was dangerous for the physical or mental health of a patient, fetal abnormalities, and when the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest. In 1970, New York state legalized abortion. One day after that law took effect, a Planned Parenthood health center in Syracuse became the first Planned Parenthood health center to provide abortion services, and the first free-standing abortion center nationwide. In the first two years after abortion was legalized in New York, two-thirds of the abortions performed in the state were on patients who had traveled from other states — most of which still outlawed abortion. At the time, other states that had legalized abortion required patients to be state residents. In 1973, In a landmark decision Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the due process clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution protects the right to abortion and allowed the right to abortion in all 50 states, making abortion services safer and more accessible throughout the country. In particular, the Supreme Court recognized for the first time that the constitutional right to privacy “is broad enough to encompass a woman’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.”
According to the World Health Organization, Around 73 million induced abortions take place worldwide each year. The U.S. hovers around the 900,000 mark per year. Some argue that the number of abortions is falling in number―but they fail to take into account the fact that since 2020, over 50% of all abortions are now achieved through taking medicine at home that will provoke the abortion. In 2014, Guttmacher found that in the U.S., 38% women getting abortions reported no religious affiliation while the majority had some form of religious affiliation — 24% were Roman Catholic, 17% were mainline Protestant, 13% were evangelical Protestant, and 8% were another affiliation.
► PORNOGRAPHY: Although pornography dates back thousands of years, its existence in the U.S. can be traced to its 18th-century origins. Pornography has existed since the origins of the United States, and has become more readily accessible over the years. Pornographic film production commenced almost immediately after the invention of the motion picture in 1895. In the 20th century, the era of “blue movies” began with the silent films of the 1920s and continued throughout the post-war era as film technology improved and equipment costs were reduced. Beginning in 1969 with Blue Movie by Andy Warhol, the subsequent Golden Age of Porn and more permissive legislation, saw a rise of adult theaters in the United States, and many other countries. Several studies have found that the United States has been the largest producer of pornography. By 1982, pornographic film production had switched to the cheaper and more convenient medium of video tape. In the late 1990s, pornographic films were distributed on DVD. The introduction and widespread availability of the Internet further changed the way pornography was distributed. Online porn consumption has increased by 91% since 2000. Previously videos would be rented or purchased through mail-order, but with the Internet people could watch pornographic movies immediately on their computers―or a movie could be downloaded within minutes or, later, within a few seconds.
Today 40 million American people regularly visit porn sites. 35% of all internet downloads are related to pornography. 34% of internet users have experienced unwanted exposure to pornographic content through ads, pop up ads, misdirected links or emails. 54% of practicing Christians admit to viewing pornography. Moreover, 49% of practicing Christians who admit to personally viewing pornography say they are “comfortable with how much pornography” they use. 47% of Christians have said pornography is a major problem in the home. As a Catholic Answers article states: “Ideally, Catholic men would be immune to this vice, but the reality is that they, too, are viewing pornography and masturbating in high numbers. In spite of this fact, men are afraid to talk about it, and it is rarely discussed.” Every day 37 pornographic videos are created in the United States; 2.5 billion emails containing porn are sent or received; 68 million search queries related to pornography―25% of total searches―are generated.
Jesuit priest Father Morton A. Hill (1917–1985) was a leader of the campaign against pornography in the United States in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He was one of the founders of Morality in Media, which was created in 1962 to fight pornography. So prominent was Hill on the issue, that in 1969 President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed him to the President's Commission on Obscenity and Pornography. Father Hill and another clergyman on the commission, Dr. Winfrey C. Link, believed that the commission was stacked with supporters of loosening laws on pornography, who held that pornography should be decriminalized!
► CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE: The global prevalence of child sexual abuse has been estimated at 25% for females and 8% for males. Most sexual abuse offenders are acquainted with their victims; approximately 30% are relatives of the child―most often brothers, fathers, uncles, or cousins; around 60% are other acquaintances, such as “friends” of the family, babysitters, or neighbors; 10% of child sexual abuse cases are committed by strangers. From 1970 to 2010, the public and professional awareness of child sexual abuse in the United States of America has grown from almost none to daily public attention in newspapers and other news media. In 2023, reports of child sexual abuse and exploitation reached critical levels, particularly regarding online crimes. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a record 36.2 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation in 2023.
With the advent of the internet, there is now the added threat of online sexual abuse for children. University researchers say that more than 300 million children a year are victims of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation and abuse. It indicates that one in eight, or 12.6%, of the world’s children have been victims of non-consensual taking, sharing and exposure to sexual images and video in the past year. That amounts to about 302 million young people. In addition, another 12.5% of children globally (300 million) are estimated to have been subject in the past year to online solicitation, such as unwanted sexual talk which can include non-consensual sexting, unwanted sexual questions and unwanted sexual act requests by adults or other youths. Offences can also take the form of sexual extortion, where predators demand money from victims to keep images private, to abuse of Artificial Intelligence (AI) deep fake technology ― used to generate false sexual images of people.
► HUMAN TRAFFICKING: Human trafficking is a complex global issue — taking place in both the United States and in every country around the world. The UNODC's (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) Global Report noted that forced labor is the biggest form of trafficking globally, surpassing sexual exploitation, according to their latest estimates. Whereas in U.S., statistics report a prevalence of human trafficking for sexual exploitation as being the chief area― About 58% sex trafficking, 16% labor, 11% both, and 15% unspecified. European Union Data showed trafficking as being 63% women/girls, 13% children, with sexual exploitation and labor exploitation as the primary goals for human trafficking. Today, there are 49.6 million people in modern slavery worldwide, and 12 million of them are children. (ILO, United Nations).
● 54% of those trapped in modern slavery are women and girls. (International Labor Organization)
● Sex trafficking is the most common type of trafficking in the U.S. (Polaris)
● There were 88 million child sexual abuse material (CSAM) files reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) tip line in 2022.
● Child sex trafficking has been reported in all 50 U.S. states. (NCMEC)
● Forced commercial sexual exploitation generates $173 billion in illegal profits annually. (International Labor Organization, 2024)
● Human trafficking is the second most profitable illegal industry in the U.S. (UNICEF)
The Contraception, Abortion, Abuse, Adultery, Divorce and Trafficking of SOULS
Our Catholic Faith teaches us that the soul is of more importance than the body. Already in the children’s catechism we read: “Man is a creature composed of body and soul, and made to the image and likeness of God. This likeness is chiefly in the soul. The soul is like God because it is a spirit that will never die. We must take more care of our soul than of our body, because in losing our soul we lose God and everlasting happiness.” (Baltimore Catechism #2 & Baltimore Catechism #2 & Baltimore Catechism #4). Similarly, those three catechisms tell us that “God made me to know Him, love Him and serve Him in this life so that I can be happy with Him in the next life in Heaven.” This is echoed by the Catechism of Pope St. Pius X: “Man is a rational creature composed of soul and body. The soul is the noblest part of man, because it is a spiritual substance, endowed with intelligence and will, capable of knowing God and of possessing Him for all eternity.”
As Jesus said: “If you love Me, keep My commandments!” (John 14:15). We find it hard to serve those whom we do not love―and we cannot love those whom we do not know. Hence the chronological order in the Catechism answer: “God made me to KNOW Him, LOVE Him and SERVE Him…” As Jesus says: “Why do you call Me ‘Lord! Lord’ and do not do the things that I say?” (Luke 6:46). St. Thérèse of Lisieux comments: “Jesus is so little loved because He is so little known!” Our problem is that we find hundreds of more interesting things than Jesus that we want to know about!
► CONTRACEPTIVE SOULS: As Our Lord said, we are meant to bear fruit for God: “My Father is the farmer. Every branch that bears not fruit, He will take away! And every branch that bears fruit, He will purge it, so that it may bring forth more fruit! In this is My Father glorified; that you bring forth very much fruit!” (John 15:1-8). The Seed of the Word of God is meant to produce fruit in us: “The Kingdom of Heaven is likened to a man that sowed good seeds in his field. The sower went out to sow his seed. The seed is the Word of God. And they by the way side are they that hear the Word. When any one hears the word of the kingdom, and understands it not, the devil, Satan, comes [the birds of the air] and takes the word [of God], which was sown in his heart, out of his heart―lest believing he should be saved―this is he that received the seed by the way side. And he that received the seed upon the rock or stony ground, is he that hears the word of God, immediately receives it with joy and believes for a while. Yet he has no root in himself, but keeps the word of God only for a time. For, in time of temptation, when tribulation and persecution arises because of the word of God, he is suddenly scandalized [weakened] and he falls away. And he that received the seed among thorns, is he that hears the word, but the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches and the pleasures of this life, choke up the word of God, and the word becomes fruitless and yields no fruit.” (Matthew 13:3-8, 13:18-23; Mark 4:3-8; Luke 8:5-15). Thus we see various forms of “spiritual contraception” that prevent the Seed of the Word of God producing fruit in our lives. “Seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand!” (Matthew 13:13).
► ABORTIVE SOULS: Abortion is a focal subject of discussion in our world, and the word is usually applied to the physical abortion of a child. Abortion is the killing of life within the womb of a mother. Spiritual abortion could be said to be the killing of the life of Sanctifying Grace within our souls. God dwells in our souls through Sanctifying Grace, which is the life of God in our souls―when we commit a Mortal Sin, it results in casting out God and His life-giving Sanctifying Grace from the “womb” of our soul. The word “mortal” comes from the Latin “mortālis” (meaning “subject to death”), which is a derivative of “mors” (meaning “death”). Mortal sin brings death to the life of grace in the soul: “The wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23). “Sin, when it is completed, begets death” (James 1:15).
The Catechism, speaking of Mortal Sin, says: “This sin is called mortal, or deadly, because it deprives the sinner of Sanctifying Grace, the supernatural life of the soul. Without Sanctifying Grace, the soul is displeasing to God, unclean, and can never behold Him or be with Him in Heaven. Without Sanctifying Grace the soul is without God ... One Mortal Sin
is enough to rob us of Sanctifying Grace, for it is by Mortal Sin only that the soul is separated entirely from God … He who has not sanctifying grace is spiritually dead, and will suffer eternal ruin! … Mortal Sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, or poverty, because it separates us from God” (Catechism: My Catholic Faith, Bishop Morrow; The Catechism Explained, Fr. Spirago & Fr. Clarke).
Abortion was certainly known in the ancient world, but one of the Fathers of the Church understood the reality of abortion in a deeper sense. St. Gregory of Nyssa applied it to our whole being: “We are in a sense our own parents, and we give birth to ourselves by our own free choice of what is good. Such a choice becomes possible for us when we have received God into ourselves and have become children of God, children of the Most High. On the other hand, if what the Apostle calls the form of Christ has not been produced in us, we abort ourselves. The man of God must reach maturity.”
► ABUSIVE SOULS: In Catholic teaching, “abusing” God refers to various forms of sin and irreverence, primarily concerning the misuse of God’s Name (blasphemy, ridicule, defiance, false oaths); the abuse of God’ grace and mercy (by presumptuous sin when individuals knowingly continue in sin with the presumption that God will automatically forgive them later, essentially treating salvation like a “game” or a license to sin); showing disrespect in worship; or through immoral actions that use God or His teachings to erroneously justify them.
Sin is an abuse of the freedom that God gives to created persons. That freedom is not s freedom to sin―but it is a freedom by which we freely and willingly choose to love and serve God. Sin is first of all an offense against God by abusing His authority by disobeying His commandments―and it involves a rejection and abuse of God’s love for us: “If you love Me, keep My commandments!” (John 14:1). Mortal Sin―as stated above―casts out Sanctifying Grace which is the life of God in the soul. Analogically speaking, you could say Mortal Sin is like trying to murder or kill God. Venial Sin does not cast out God and Sanctifying Grace from the soul―but you could say that Venial Sin is like punching, kicking, beating and slapping God around within our soul. There are many who think little or nothing of Venial Sin―saying that they won’t be sent to Hell for committing Venial Sins. That does not mean that Venial Sin is not evil! All sin is evil―Mortal or Venial. The Catechisms teach us: “Sin is the only evil upon Earth … Mortal Sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, poverty, or war, because it separates us from God … Venial Sin is second only in evil consequences to Mortal Sin … Sometimes people say: ‘It is only a little sin, it does not matter much!’ But every Venial Sin is an offence against God, and therefore is, after Mortal Sin, the greatest of evils―far greater than any of the physical evils which can be inflicted on us!” (The Catechism Explained, by Spirago-Clarke; also the Catechism, My Catholic Faith, by Bishop Morrow, STD; The Catechism Simply Explained, by Fr. Cafferata, q. 127).
These people live in revolving door of sin and ask for mercy; sin again and ask for mercy again; sin and ask for more mercy, etc., etc. Often, they will refuse to forgive others, despite seeking God’s mercy and forgiveness for themselves! To willingly and readily commit Venial Sins, with the excuse that you will not go to Hell for them, is an abuse of God and an abuse of God’s mercy. St. Alphonsus Liguori, in his sermon on the Abuse of Divine Mercy, writes: “Why does God wait for sinners? Is it that they may continue to insult Him? No! He waits for them that they may renounce sin, and that thus He may have pity on them, and forgive them. ‘Therefore the Lord waits, so that He may have mercy on you!’ (Isaias 30:1, 8). But when He sees that the time which He gave them to weep over their past iniquities is spent in multiplying their sins, He begins to inflict chastisements. Christians sin and say: ‘God is merciful! I will commit this sin, and will afterwards confess it!’ Behold the illusion, or rather the snare, by which Satan draws so many souls to Hell. ‘Commit sin,’ says Satan, ‘and confess it afterwards!’ But listen to what the Lord says: ‘Say not: “I have sinned, and what harm has befallen me?” Be not without fear about sin forgiven, and add not sin upon sin; and say not: “The mercy of the Lord is great! He will have mercy on the multitude of my sins!”’ (Ecclesiasticus 5:4-9). Some rash sinners will say: ‘God has until now shown me so many mercies―why should He not treat me with the same mercy in the future?’ I answer: ‘He will show you mercy, if you wish to change your life! But if you intend to continue to offend Him, He tells you that He will take vengeance on your sins by casting you into Hell!’ There are some who will not believe that there is a Hell until they fall into it!
“St. Bernard says, that the confidence which sinners have in God's goodness when they commit sin, procures for them, not a blessing, but a malediction from the Lord. They do not hope for the pardon of the sins of which they repent; but they hope that, though they continue to commit sin, God will have mercy upon them; and thus they make the mercy of God serve as a motive for continuing to offend Him― which is an abomination to the Lord! He that sins with, the hope of pardon, saying: ‘I will afterwards repent, and God will pardon me!’ is, according to St. Augustine, not a penitent, but a scoffer. The Apostle tells us that ‘God is not mocked!’ (Galatians 6:7). It would be a mockery of God to offend Him as often and as long as you please, and always to receive the pardon of your offences.” (Sermon by St. Alphonsus Liguori, On the Abuse of Divine Mercy).
► ADULTEROUS SOULS: Our Lord speaks out against spiritual adultery when He says: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth! … But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven! … For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” ― “mammon” being the pleasures, treasures, teachings and spirit of the world, whose prince is the devil (Matthew 6:19-24). Holy Scripture takes up this teaching and adds: “Adulterers! Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God!” (James 4:4) ... “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him!” (1 John 2:15) ... “The whole world is seated in wickedness!” (1 John 5:19) ... “Keep yourself unspotted from this world!” (James 1:27) … “Be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2) … “That we be not condemned with this world!” (1 Corinthians 11:32).
If you love the world, then you have Satan for your lover! Why? Because Satan is the prince of this world and he uses the world to seduce us and draw us away from God. Our Lord said: “The prince of this world is coming, and in Me he has not anything … The prince of this world is already judged ... Now shall the prince of this world be cast out!” (John 12:31; 16:11; 14:30). “That great dragon―that old serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan―was cast out and he was cast unto the Earth, and he seduces the whole world! … Woe to the Earth, because the devil is come down unto you!” (Apocalypse 12:9-12). “Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places!” (Ephesians 6:12). “They that will [desire or want to] become rich, fall into temptation, and into the snare of the devil, and into many unprofitable and hurtful desires, which drown men into destruction and perdition!” (1 Timothy 6:9). Therefore, “what fellowship has light with darkness? And what concord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has the faithful with the unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God! As God says: ‘I will dwell in them, and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people!’ Wherefore, ‘Go out from among them, and be ye separate!’ says the Lord” (2 Corinthians 6:14-17). St. Bernadette of Lourdes echoes this in her account of the third apparition of Our Lady: “She told me that she did not promise to make me happy in this world, but in the next.”
As Our Lord said to the rich young man: “’If you want to be perfect, go sell whatsoever you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in Heaven, and then come follow Me!’ And when the young man had heard this word, being struck sad at that saying, he went away sorrowful―or he was very rich and had great possessions. And Jesus, seeing him become sorrowful, said to His disciples: ‘How hardly shall they that have riches, enter into the Kingdom of God! Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!’” (Matthew 19:16-29; Mark 10:17-31; Luke 18:18-25).
What most Catholics fail to realize is that Christ is not advocating the world, nor recommending the world, nor placing the world in a neutral position in relation to Himself. Christ came to save us from this world―and not to plant us into this world. He Himself says: “I am not of this world! … My kingdom is not of this world! … The world hates Me because I give testimony of it, that the works of the world are evil!” (John 8:23; 18:36; 7:7). To the worldlings He says: “You are from beneath, I am from above. You are of this world, I am not of this world!” (John 8:23). Concerning His followers, Jesus says: “They are not of the world, as I also am not of the world” (John 17:16). To His followers He says: “You shall be hated by all men and all nations for My Name’s sake! … If you had been of the world, the world would love its own! But because you are not of the world―for I have chosen you out of the world―therefore the world hates you!” (Matthew 10:22; 24:9; John 15:19). “If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before you!” (John 15:18). “The world hates Me because I give testimony of it, that the works of the world are evil!” (John 7:7).
Which is why Holy Scripture adds fighting-talk that we mainly choose and like to ignore: “Whatsoever is born of God, overcomes the world! And this is the victory which overcomes the world―our Faith!” (1 John 5:4). “Wonder not, brethren, if the world hate you!” (1 John 3:13). “They are of the world―therefore of the world they speak, and the world hears them!” (1 John 4:5). “For all that is in the world, is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life, which is not of the Father, but is of the world!” (1 John 2:16). “For they that are according to the flesh, mind the things that are of the flesh―but they that are according to the spirit, mind the things that are of the spirit. For the wisdom of the flesh is death―but the wisdom of the spirit is life and peace. Because the wisdom of the flesh is an enemy to God―for it is not subject to the law of God, neither can it be. And they who are in the flesh, cannot please God.” (Romans 8:5-8)
► DIVORCED SOULS: Divorce is a final separation that has resulted from various degrees of dissatisfaction, disagreement, disputes, divisions, disappointments, discouragement, deceptions, distrust, disgust, etc. Some marriages persevere through all troubles―other marriages break-up and the spouses separate permanently. The same can be said of a “spiritual divorce” from God and the Faith. Ever increasing numbers of Catholics are “divorcing” themselves from God and the Faith and are leaving to find “new pastures”.
Millions have left the Catholic Church, especially in the U.S., with about 43% of those raised Catholic no longer identifying with the Faith, though figures vary, showing substantial losses often outweighing converts, with reasons including disagreement with Church teachings, declining belief, and scandals. Estimates suggest over 30 million people have left Catholicism in the U.S. since 1975. 50% of Catholics aged 30 and younger have left the Church. For every one new adult member, around 6 to 7 Catholics are departing. When are they leaving? 79% leave before the age of 23. The median age of those who leave is 13. While data is strongest for the U.S., similar trends of decline and significant member loss are seen in Europe, with some countries losing many more members than they gain. In 1957 around 75% of U.S. Catholics attended Sunday Mass regularly; in 1973, only 34% of U.S. Catholic Sunday Mass regularly; by 2002 that number had dropped to 20%; and by 2022 it fell even lower, down to 11%. Yet of those who no longer attend Sunday Mass regularly, 73% say you can be a good Catholic without attending Sunday Mass!
► TRAFFICKING SOULS: In recent years, the term “soul trafficking” has emerged as a disturbing reality in discussions about modern-day exploitation and spiritual warfare. Soul trafficking refers to the exploitation and manipulation of the spiritual well-being of individuals for personal gain or malevolent purposes. Soul trafficking delves into the realm of the spiritual, for the manipulation and exploitation of souls for nefarious purposes. This can take various forms, including manipulation through false teachings, deception, coercion into occult practices, or involvement in rituals that seek to control or harm others spiritually. From a Christian perspective, soul trafficking is rooted in the spiritual battle between good and evil.
Our Lord warned us to beware of this deception and slavery to error: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves!” (Matthew 7:15). “Take heed that no man seduce you! For many will come in My Name, saying, ‘I am Christ!’ and they will seduce many!” (Matthew 24:4-5). “False prophets shall arise, and shall seduce many!” (Matthew 24:11). “Then if any man shall say to you: Behold―here is Christ!’ do not believe him! For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch as to deceive―if possible―even the elect! … Therefore if they shall say to you: ‘Behold―He is in the desert!’ ― go ye not out. Or if they shall say to you: ‘Behold―He is in the closets!’ believe it not!” (Matthew 24:23-26). Hence St. Paul warns us that “our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places!” (Ephesians 6:12). Likewise, St. Peter: “There shall be among you lying teachers, who shall bring in sects of perdition!” (2 Peter 2:1). So too St. John: “Believe not every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they be of God―because many false prophets are gone out into the world!” (1 John 4:1).
Soul trafficking embodies this spiritual warfare, as individuals are deceitfully lured into darkness and bondage by deceptive tactics of the enemy. Among the many visions granted by God to Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich (died in 1824), we see this aspect of deception and soul-trafficking clearly stated in the visions that foretold that a fake-church would overcome the true-Church founded by Jesus Christ. Here are just a few pertinent and startling extracts:
“I saw a long processions of bishops [The four different sessions of the Second Vatican Council, held from 1962 to 1965, had between 2,000 and 2,500 bishops in daily attendance]. Their thoughts and utterances were made known to me through images issuing from their mouths. Their faults towards religion were shown by external deformities ... I saw what I believe to be nearly all the bishops of the world [the Second Vatican Council assembled almost all the bishops in the world], but only a small number were perfectly sound ... I saw some good pious bishops; but they were weak and wavering, their cowardice often got the upper hand … A concession was demanded from the clergy which could not be granted. Many older priests wept bitterly. A few younger ones were also weeping. But others, and the lukewarm among them, readily did what was demanded. It was as if people were splitting into two camps ... Priests were among them! … Priests allowed everything and said Mass with much irreverence. I saw that few of them were still godly priests ... I saw some good pious bishops―but they were weak and wavering, their cowardice often got the upper hand … Very bad times will come when non-Catholics will lead many people astray. A great confusion will result … When the time of the reign of Antichrist is near, a false religion will appear which will be opposed to the unity of God and His Church. This will cause the greatest schism the world has ever known. The nearer the time of the end, the more the darkness of Satan will spread on Earth, the greater will be the number of the children of corruption, and the number of the just will correspondingly diminish … I see in the future religion falling so low that it will be practiced only here and there in farmhouses and in families protected by God during the horrors of war.
“I had a vision of two churches … I saw a great circle of darkness ever widening … I now see that in this place [Rome], the [Catholic] Church is being so cleverly undermined, that there hardly remain a hundred or so priests who have not been deceived. They all work for its destruction ― even the clergy … They were building a large, strange, and extravagant church there in Rome … There was nothing holy in it. They had preaching and singing, but nothing else [which possibly implies the absence of the true Sacrifice of the Mass in this new church], and only very few attended it [today’s regular Sunday Mass attendance in Catholic countries is abysmal: Brazil (8%), France (8%), Lithuania (16%), Austria (20%), Portugal (20%), Argentina (21%)] … There―in the strange big church―all the work was being done according to human reason ... All in this church belonged to the Earth, returned to the Earth. All was dead, the work of human skill, a church of the latest style, a church of man’s invention … There was nothing holy in it!
“I saw the fatal consequences of this counterfeit church … All sorts of abominations were perpetrated there … I saw how harmful would be the consequences of this false church. I saw it increase in size; I saw heretics of all kinds flocking to the city of Rome … Everyone was to be admitted in it in order to be united and have equal rights―Evangelicals, Catholics, sects of every description [all of which describes the current false spirit of Ecumenism that invaded the Church at the Council] ... The Protestant doctrine and that of the schismatic Greeks is to spread everywhere! … Then I saw that everything pertaining to Protestantism was gradually gaining the upper hand, and the Catholic religion fell into complete decadence ... I saw all sorts of people, things, doctrines, and opinions ... Then I saw darkness spreading around and people no longer seeking the true Church … The Church is in great danger! It was shown to me that there were almost no Christians left in the old acceptation of the word! … The Church is completely isolated and as if completely deserted. It seems that everyone is running away.” (Extracts from the visions granted by God to Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich).
Infiltration or Imagination?
Has the Catholic Church been significantly infiltrated? There are some who “pooh-pooh” such an argument as being unworthy of serious consideration. Yet such a skeptical attitude is (1) clearly opposed to various prophecies made by Our Lord, Our Lady and the saints, and (2) is in contradiction to the increasingly bad fruits that the Catholic Church has been producing over the last 100 years or so, and (3) it rashly ignores the testimonies of both, Church members and also the enemies of the Church.
► OUR LORD spoke of wolves in the clothing of sheep who would even fool the elect if that were possible―that implies that those wolves will be found INSIDE the Church rather than outside the Church.
► OUR LADY also indicates the same thing when she says: “The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops … Satan will reign almost completely by means of the Masonic Sects! … Lucifer, together with a large number of demons, will be unloosed from Hell and they will put an end to Faith, little by little, even in those dedicated to God … The small number of souls who will preserve the Faith will suffer a cruel, unspeakable and prolonged martyrdom … The leaders of the people of God will neglect prayer and penance … The devil will introduce sinners into religious orders … The secular Clergy will leave much to be desired, because priests will become careless in their sacred duties … Many priests will lose their spirit … Priests―by their irreverence and their impiety in the celebration of the Holy Mysteries; by their love of money; their love of honors and pleasures; by their wicked lives, will become cesspools of impurity … God will allow the old serpent to cause divisions among those who reign in every society … Many people will rebel against the spirit of the Catholic Church, impelled by the malice of the devil! … The Church will decompose and many will abandon the Faith, and a great number of priests and members of religious orders will break away from the true religion; among these people there will even be bishops! ... A number of religious institutions will lose all Faith and will cause many souls to be damned! ... The Christian spirit will rapidly decay, extinguishing the precious light of Faith until it reaches the point that there will be an almost total and general corruption of morals.” (Our Lady of Good Success, at Quito in Ecuador, Our Lady of La Salette, France; Our Lady of Fatima, Portugal; Our Lady of Akita, Japan).
► ST. METHODIUS OF PATARA (250 - 311), a bishop martyred in the 4th century, prophesied: “In the last period Christians will be very ungrateful, lead a sinful life, in pride, vanity, unchastity, frivolity, hatred, avarice, gluttony, and many other vices, that the sins of men will stink more than a pestilence before God. Many will doubt whether the Catholic Faith is the true and only saving faith and whether the Jews are correct when they still expect the Messias. Many will be the false teachings and resultant bewilderment. The just God will, in consequence, give Lucifer and all his devils power to come on Earth … The time will come when the enemies of Christ will boast: ‘We have subjected the Earth and all its inhabitants, and the Christians cannot escape our hands!’”
► ST. ANTHONY OF THE DESERT (251 - 356) foretold: “Men will surrender to the spirit of the age. They will say that if they had lived in our day, Faith would be simple and easy. But in their day, they will say, things are complex; the Church must be brought up to date and made meaningful to the day’s problems [That is what Vatican II set out to do]. When the Church and the world are one, then those days are at hand because our Divine Master placed a barrier between His things and the things of the world.”
► ST. NILUS OF SINAI (died 430), was a priest and disciple of St. John Chrysostom. Concerning the End Times, he wrote: “After the year 1900, toward the middle of the 20th century, the people of that time will become unrecognizable. 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. 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 way from the wrong. 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. 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 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 they will be equally deprived of remorse for their sins.”
► ST. HILDEGARD (1098 - 1179), a German Benedictine abbess, philosopher, mystic and visionary, foretells: “The time is coming when princes and people will renounce the authority of the Pope. Individual countries will prefer their own Church rulers to the Pope. Heretics will preach their false doctrines undisturbed, resulting in Christians having doubts about their holy Catholic Faith.”
► ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI (1181 - 1226) foresaw a future great apostasy and persecution of the Church that would be brought about through the false authority, or “schism” of an antipope: “There will be an uncanonically elected pope who will cause a great Schism, there will be diverse thoughts preached which will cause many, even those in the different orders to doubt, yea, even agree with those heretics which will cause my Order to divide, then will there be such universal dissension and persecutions that if those days were not shortened even the elect would be lost.”
► SAINT NICHOLAS OF FLÜE (1417 - 1487), prophesied: “The Church will be punished because the majority of her members, high and low, will become so perverted. The Church will sink deeper and deeper until she will at last seem to be extinguished, and the succession of Peter and the other Apostles to have expired.”
► ST. JOHN BOSCO (1815–1888) made a prophecy in the mid-1800s which directly referred to the end of the 1900s and the start of the 2000s as a prophetic turning point after a period of chaos in the Church (the Great Apostasy), following an Ecumenical Council in the 20th century (Vatican II was the only Ecumenical Council in the 20th century): “There will be an Ecumenical Council in the next century, after which there will be chaos in the Church!”
► DR. BELLA VISONO DODD (1904 - 1969), baptized in the Catholic Church as Maria Assunta Isabella, came to the USA as a young child. After studies at Columbia University and the School of Law at New York University where she received a Degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence, she joined the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) from 1932–1948, and from 1944 to 1948 sat on the CPUSA’s National Council. After her defection from the Communist Party in 1949, she testified that one of her jobs, as a Communist agent, was to encourage young radicals to enter Roman Catholic seminaries. She returned to the Faith in 1952, thanks to Archbishop Fulton Sheen. In her book, School of Darkness (1954) she reveals that Communism was perpetrated by financiers “to control the common man” and to advance world tyranny. In front of the U.S. House Un-American Activities Committee, Dodd testified about the plans of a Communist infiltration of Catholic Church: “In the late 1920’s and 1930’s, directives were sent from Moscow to all Communist Party organizations. In order to destroy the Roman Catholic Church from within, party members were to be planted in seminaries and within diocesan organizations … In the 1930s we put eleven hundred (1,100) men into the priesthood, in order to destroy the Church from within. The idea was for these men to be ordained, and then climb the ladder of influence and authority as Monsignors and Bishops … Right now they are in the highest places in the Church” — where they were working to bring about change in order to weaken the Church’s effectiveness against Communism. She also said that these changes would be so drastic that “you will not recognize the Catholic Church.”
► POPE PIUS XII (1876 - 1958), prior to his elevation to the papacy in 1939, made the following astonishing prophecy about a coming upheaval in the Church: “Suppose, dear friend, that Communism [one of ‘the errors of Russia’ mentioned in the Message of Fatima] was only the most visible of the instruments of subversion to be used against the Church and the traditions of Divine Revelation … I am worried by the Blessed Virgin’s messages to Lucy of Fatima. This persistence of Mary about the dangers which menace the Church is a divine warning against the suicide of altering the Faith, in Her liturgy, Her theology and Her soul … I hear all around me innovators who wish to dismantle the Sacred Chapel, destroy the universal flame of the Church, reject Her ornaments and make Her feel remorse for Her historical past. A day will come when the civilized world will deny its God, when the Church will doubt as Peter doubted. She will be tempted to believe that man has become God. In our churches, Christians will search in vain for the red lamp where God awaits them. Like Mary Magdalene, weeping before the empty tomb, they will ask: ‘Where have they taken Him?’”
► FATHER JOSEPH SCHWEIGL (1894 - 1964), entrusted in 1952 by Pope Pius XII with a secret mission to interview Sister Lucy about the Third Secret of Fatima, subsequently stated: “I cannot reveal anything of what I learned at Fatima concerning the Third Secret, but I can say that it has two parts―one concerns the Pope; the other logically―although I must say nothing―would have to be the continuation of the words: ‘In Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved.’”
► CARDINAL SILVIO ODDI (1910 - 2001), a personal friend of Pope John XXIII and who had spoken to him regarding the Third Secret of Fatima, later gave the following testimony to Italian journalist, Lucio Brunelli, in the journal Il Sabato: “It [the Third Secret] has nothing to do with Gorbachev. The Blessed Virgin was alerting us against apostasy in the Church.”
► CARDINAL MARIO CIAPPI (1909 - 1996)―who was the personal papal theologian to Popes John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I and John Paul II―revealed to a Professor Baumgartner in Salzburg “In the Third Secret it is foretold, among other things, that the great apostasy in the Church will begin at the top.”
► FATHER MALACHI MARTIN (1921 - 1999), secretary to Cardinal Bea (a close advisor to Pope John XXIII), stated that in 1960, Cardinal Bea was allowed to read the Third of Fatima, which he shared with Fr. Malachi Martin. Bound by oath not to reveal the Third Secret, he only commented on different speculative versions that were circulating at that time. In response to a quotation that a pope would be under the control of Satan, he responded: “Yes, it sounds as if they were reading the text of the Third Secret.” He also stated that if the Secret were made public, the confessionals and churches would be filled with parishioners on their knees. He said that the central element of the Secret is awful, and that it concerns apostasy.
► FATHER JOSE VALINHO―Sister Lucia’s nephew―related his opinion of the contents of the Third Secret: “I believe that (the third) part of the secret concerns the Church from within, perhaps doctrinal difficulties, a crisis of unity, rebellion. The last sentence my aunt [Lucia] wrote, which precedes the part that is still unknown, says: ‘In Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved, etc.’ … Therefore, people elsewhere in the Church might waver on dogma … It is some kind of universal crisis which affects the whole Church and all of humanity.”
► ARCHBISHOP CARLO MARIA VIGANÒ (born 1941)―who served as Apostolic Nuncio to the United States from 2011 to 2016 and as secretary-general of the Governorate of Vatican City State from 2009 to 2011―addressed this infiltration in a 2018 interview with Dr. Moynihan, saying: “It is a project, if you will, that goes back centuries, in particular, to the creation in the middle of the 1700s of Freemasonry … This project was very deceptive, and oriented, or even included in some way, the forces of some members of the Church … This process of infiltration became strikingly evident in modern times … The Second Vatican Council, in 1962, … was the beginning of an opening, the first break in the wall of the procedure that had been established, in the process of creating a new Church!”
► ARCHBISHOP FULTON SHEEN (1895 - 1979), speaking on the End Times, said: “We are living in the days of the Apocalypse — the last days of our era — The two great forces of the Mystical Body of Christ and the Mystical Body of Antichrist are beginning to draw up the battle lines for the catastrophic contest. The False Prophet will have a religion without a cross. A religion without a world to come. A religion to destroy religions. There will be a counterfeit church. Christ’s Church will be one. And the False Prophet will create the other. The false church will be worldly ecumenical, and global. It will be a loose federation of churches and religions forming some type of global association, world parliament of churches. It will be emptied of all divine content and will be the mystical body of the Antichrist. The Mystical Body on Earth today will have its Judas Iscariot and he will be the false prophet. Satan will recruit him from among our bishops.”
► ST. PADRE PIO (1887 - 1968), around the year 1960, said to the chief exorcist of Rome, Fr. Gabriele Amorth: “It is Satan who has been introduced into the bosom of the Church and within a short very short time he will come to rule a false church.”
► FR. GABRIEL AMORTH (1925 - 2016) himself stated: “One day Padre Pio said to me very sorrowfully: ‘You know what, Gabriele? It is Satan who has been introduced into the bosom of the Church and within a very short time he will come to rule a false Church!’” On other occasions, Fr. Amorth said: “The influence of Satan is immense! The smoke of Satan has entered everywhere. Everywhere! Satanism is on the increase. Today Satan rules the world. The masses no longer believe in God. And, yes, Satan is in the Vatican! … One day Padre Pio said to me very sorrowfully: ‘You know what, Gabriele? It is Satan who has been introduced into the bosom of the Church and within a very short time he will come to rule a false Church!’ … I have no doubt about the fact that the demon tempts the authorities of the Church especially―just as he tempts every authority, those of politics and industry ... Pope Paul VI talked about the ‘smoke of Satan’ infiltrating the Vatican as long ago as 1972. Satan sets out to damage the leadership of the Church … The devil resides in the Vatican ... The Devil is at work inside the Vatican … In the Vatican there are members of Satanic cults― priests, monsignors and even cardinals. I know from people who reported to me how they got to know this directly. It is something, “confessed” several times by the Devil, himself, under obedience during the exorcisms … Everybody is vulnerable to the work of Satan! The devil loves to take over business leaders and those who hold political office! Today, Satan has free hands ... The loss of a sense of sin―that characterizes our era―helps Satan to act nearly undisturbed … Primarily, today we live in a period of little Faith ... It is purely mathematical―when Faith declines, when we abandon God, we open the door to Satan. Satanism is spreading enormously! The loss of a sense of sin―that characterizes our era―helps Satan to act nearly undisturbed … Satan continually tries to dominate the world ― the whole world is in the power of the evil one!”
Executions of the Solutions
The enemies of the Church who have progressively infiltrated the Church, have progressively weakened and even executed and destroyed the solutions to both Church and World crises that Heaven has told us to use to overcome these crises. If Satan rules the world―which he does for the most part―then we already know the weapons that are to be used to overthrow him. They are listed in Holy Scripture and have been repeatedly hammered into us over the centuries by the popes and saints; as well being repeatedly stated in the various apparitions, visions and allocutions given to us by Our Lord and Our Lady. It takes no “rocket-scientist” to uncover them, nor does it take amounts of training and skill to use them. The world depends, trusts and relies on human weapons―we should rely upon heavenly weapons. Besides―who ever heard of the devils being defeated by atom-bombs, missiles, bombs and bullets?!!!
Holy Scripture tells us to put our trust in God and heavenly weapons, rather than trusting in man and mere human weapons: “Put not your trust in princes!” (Psalm 145:2). “Trust in the uncertainty of riches, but in the living God!” (1 Timothy 6:17). “Some trust in chariots, and some trust in horses―but we will call upon the Name of the Lord our God!” (Psalm 19:8). “We should not trust in ourselves, but in God, Who had delivered and does deliver us out of so many great dangers―in Him we trust that He will yet also deliver us!” (2 Corinthians 1:9-10). “I will save them by the Lord their God―and I will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, nor by horses, nor by horsemen!” (Osee 1:7). “I will not trust in my bow―neither shall my sword save me!” (Psalm 43:7). “The Lord is my helper, I will not fear what man can do unto me! The Lord is my helper―and I will look over my enemies! It is good to confide in the Lord, rather than to have confidence in man! It is good to trust in the Lord, rather than to trust in princes! All nations surrounded me―and in the Name of the Lord I have been revenged on them!” (Psalm 117:6-10). “Thy hand, O God, destroyed the Gentiles, and Thou didst afflict and cast them out! For your people did not take possession of the land by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them―but through Thy right hand and Thy arm!” (Psalm 43:3-4). “Wheresoever they went in without bow and arrow, and without shield and sword―their God fought for them and overcame and there was no one that triumphed over this people!” (Judith 5:16-17). “I will deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword―but thy life shall be saved because thou hast put thy trust in Me, says the Lord” (Jeremias 39:18).
Just as our ultimate helper is God, likewise our ultimate enemy is Satan. Speaking of Satan and his fellow devils, OUR LORD said: “This kind is not cast out except by prayer and fasting!” (Matthew 17:20) … “And He said to them: ‘This kind can go out by nothing except by prayer and fasting!” (Mark 9:28). Our Lord prayed and fasted in the desert for forty days and nights―after which He easily overcame the temptations of the Devil: “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert, to be tempted by the Devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards He was hungry. And the tempter coming said to Him: ‘If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread!’ Jesus answered and said: ‘It is written: “Not in bread alone does man live, but in every word that proceeds from the mouth of God!”’ Then the Devil took Him up into the holy city, and set Him upon the pinnacle of the Temple, and said to Him: ‘If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down, for it is written: “That He has given His angels charge over Thee, and in their hands shall they bear Thee up, lest perhaps Thou dash Thy foot against a stone!”’ Jesus said to him: ‘It is written again: “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God!”’ Again the Devil took Him up into a very high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, and said to Him: ‘All these will I give Thee, if falling down Thou wilt adore me!’ Then Jesus said to him: ‘Begone, Satan! For it is written: “The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and Him only shalt thou serve!”’ Then the devil left Him” (Matthew 4:1-11).
Prayer and fasting are regarded as essentials in any exorcisms that exorcists undertake. As the chief exorcist of Rome, FR. GABRIELE AMORTH used to say: “Our Lady’s messages speak about Satan. She often spoke about this. She underlined that Satan is powerful and that he wants to destroy her plans. She invited us to pray, to pray, to pray! Through prayer, we can even stop wars! Maybe we do not pray with the heart―this is possible!! We must pray in Faith, not mechanically! Pray with Faith―and prayer increases Faith and Charity. According to Our Lady’s words in Fatima, if we had prayed and fasted, there would not have been World War II. We did not listen to her and therefore there was a war. Our Lady speaks often about prayer and fasting ... If Our Lady insists so much on fasting, then why does the Church not speak much about it? It’s a good question! … The devil is more tranquil if he does not have to live with prayer, fasting, the Eucharist, and the other Sacramental practices! … Who ought to pray and fast? Everyone! … I recommend three tips that Jesus gives to heal the ills of evil, even without the need for exorcisms: (1) much Faith (2) much prayer and (3) fasting. I remember the advice that Jesus gave to nine Apostles who failed to release a young man from demons. ‘Why do not you have Faith? It takes prayer and fasting to banish some demons!”
As Fr. Amorth said: “Our Lady speaks often about prayer and fasting ... If Our Lady insists so much on fasting, then why does the Church not speak much about it? It’s a good question!” If the world is progressively getting worse―which it undoubtedly is―they wouldn’t you think that we would need more prayer and penance rather than less prayer and penance? So why did Pope Paul VI give everyone a 95% discount on Lenten fasting by reducing the 40-day Lenten Fast to a mere 2-days―Ash Wednesday and Good Friday? If more penance is needed to combat Satan and the world, then why throw-out the Ember Days (Ember Wednesday, Ember Friday and Ember Saturday―a trio of days that occurred 4 times a year? How often do priests preach on the need for sacrifice? Our Lady said at Fatima: Many souls go to Hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and pray for them! … Are you willing to offer yourselves to God and bear all the sufferings He wills to send you, as an act of reparation for the conversion of sinners? … Then you are going to have much to suffer! … Sacrifice yourselves for sinners!” The Angel of Fatima had also said: “Pray! Pray a great deal! Offer prayers and sacrifices continually to the Most High! Make everything you do a sacrifice, and offer it to God as an act of reparation for the sins by which God is offended, and as a petition for the conversion of sinners. Above all, accept and bear with submission all the sufferings the Lord will send you!” How often do we here those things preached? Hardly ever! O how happy Satan must be!
Article 1
Sunday, February 1st
Racing to Heaven? Run to Win! Don't Be a Loser!
Sunday, February 1st
Racing to Heaven? Run to Win! Don't Be a Loser!
Get the Spiritual Engine Serviced Before Lent
Before we know it, Lent will be upon us! This Sunday, Septuagesima Sunday, the Church will place before us the words of St. Paul, about running in a race in such a manner that we may win. “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receives the prize? So run, that ye may obtain” (1 Corinthians 9: 24). In our lazy modern times, the car has replaced the two feet as the chief means of running around; but whether it is the athlete with his feet, or the driver with his car, the bottom line is that, to win a race, the athlete or the car has to be in peak condition. Most Catholic cars (souls) are far from being in peak condition—much like the Israelite ‘cars’ (souls) crossing the desert—most of whom were not pleasing to God, as the reading from the Mass of Septuagesima Sunday points out:
God’s Viewpoint of the Racers
“For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea. And all in Moses were baptized, in the cloud, and in the sea: and did all eat the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink; and they drank of the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the desert” (1 Corinthians 10:1-5).
Hence St. Paul warns us that “Now these things were done in a figure of us, that we should not covet evil things as they also coveted. Neither become ye idolaters, as some of them, as it is written: ‘The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play!’ Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed fornication, and there fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ: as some of them tempted, and perished by the serpents. Neither do you murmur: as some of them murmured, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them in figure: and they are written for our correction, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore he that thinketh himself to stand, let him take heed lest he fall!” (1 Corinthians 10:6-12).
In a certain sense, they all ran in the race for the Promised Land, but only two of the original 4 or so million that started out from Egypt, actually entered the Promised Land and successfully crossed the ‘finish-line’—the remaining finishers were born in desert during those 40 years. With most of the ‘starters’ God was not well pleased! They ended up being starters and losers, not starter and finishers and winners.
Secondly, no athlete will win a competitive race without training beforehand. The car has to be tried out beforehand also, to see if all is running smoothly and well. This is what the Septuagesima season, with its three countdown Sundays (Septuagesima, Sexagesima and Quinquagesima) is for: a serious time of preparation for the even more serious time of Lent.
The means to win are fairly simple, but most engines misfire and overheat by using the means badly. The means, as Our Lady has tried to tell us many times, as PRAYER and PENANCE. You could say prayer is the gasoline and penance is the oil for the engine. Prayer is of the utmost importance to our ‘spiritual engine’; it is what drives our ‘spiritual body’ forwards and it is what gives it power.
The Power of Prayer
“Do we believe in the power of prayer? We know the common teaching of theologians: that true prayer—by which we ask something for ourselves with humility, confidence and perseverance, the graces necessary for salvation—is infallibly efficacious (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, IIa IIae, Q.83, Art.15, ad 2). We know this doctrine, and yet it seems to us, at times, that we have truly prayed without being heard. We believe in, or rather we see, the power of a machine, of an army, of money and of knowledge; but we do not believe strongly enough in the efficacy of prayer.” (Rev. Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Ages of the Interior Life, chapter 23).
The Gasoline of Grace comes through Prayer
“The modern world cannot do without God. This is the root of its ills. The great truth is that we have an absolute need of God…He normally bestows His grace only in response to prayer. Since our need exists at all times....”We ought always to pray and not to faint” (Luke 18:1)....The true nature of Christian prayer is perfectly expressed in the following definition given by St. John Damascene and St. Thomas Aquinas: prayer is “a raising of the mind and heart towards God” to offer Him our homage and to ask Him for all those things of which we stand in need” (Dom Marmion, Abbot of Maredsous, Christ—The Ideal of the Priest, chapter 15).
Spinning Wheels and Going Nowhere
People often pray without realizing what it is that they are doing, or Whom they are addressing! God so rightly complains in Scripture saying: “This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me” (Matthew 15:7).
St. Louis de Montfort―in speaking of praying the Rosary in particular―writes: “A single Hail Mary said properly is worth more than a hundred and fifty said badly … To be guilty of willful distractions during prayer would show a great lack of respect and reverence; it would make our Rosaries unfruitful and make us guilty of sin. How can we expect God to listen to us if we ourselves do not pay attention to what we are saying? … It is sad to see how most people say the Rosary. They say it astonishingly fast, slipping over part of the words. We could not possibly expect anyone, even the most important person, to think that a slipshod address of this kind was a compliment, and yet we imagine that Jesus and Mary will be honored by it! Small wonder, then, that the most sacred prayers of our holy religion seem to bear no fruit, and that, after saying thousands of Rosaries, we are still no better than we were before!” (St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of the Rosary).
Dom Marmion adds: “It happens to some souls that, when they have recited many formulas, they realize that they have said nothing to God from the bottom of their hearts. Our mind may be far distant from the words that fall from our lips....In our prayer, we must give up to God our whole heart and our whole mind....Just as the sanctuary light burns itself up without reserving anything, so our soul, in its conversation with God, must be entirely dedicated to the Almighty. We must free ourselves from preoccupations and from vain thoughts, which tie the soul down to Earth and prevent it from being entirely given over to the Lord” (Dom Marmion, Abbot of Maredsous, Christ—The Ideal of the Priest, chapter 15).
Winning Races Requires Intensity
Many find prayer difficult. That is only natural, since we are trying to communicate with the supernatural world.
“Prayer always requires a certain effort, even from those who find in it their delight, because a certain strain is involved in the concentration necessary to speak to God; it is always more or less difficult to maintain the soul in an atmosphere which is above its usual level. That is why prayer can serve as a sacramental penance. We must not be surprised at this difficulty in applying ourselves to prayer: for to raise ourselves towards God, even in the smallest degree, is to exceed our natural powers” (Dom Marmion, Abbot of Maredsous, Christ—The Ideal of the Priest, chapter 15).
Focus on the Race, the Whole Race and Nothing but the Race
Too many people limit prayer to an isolated part of the day—first thing in the morning or last thing at night. Yet God should be part of our whole day, not just a mere ten minutes.
“Prayer in our life, must not be limited to a number of isolated, passing incidents. We must cultivate a spirit of prayer. What must we understand by this? A spirit of prayer is an habitual disposition of soul whereby, in our troubles and discouragements, as well as in our joys and successes, our hearts turn towards Our Lady and Our Lord, as to our best friends and most intimate confidants of our feelings. And it is not only in the morning and in the evening that the soul should be raised heavenwards, but always: ‘My eyes are ever towards the Lord’ (Psalm 24:15)” (Dom Marmion, Abbot of Maredsous, Christ--The Ideal of the Priest, chapter 15).
All Enter the Race, Not All Finish the Race
Prayer is actually a bending of our will towards the will of God. He wishes the salvation of all, but all will not be saved—and one of the contributory causes of failing to make it to Heaven is a lack of prayer; a lack of prayer by those who will be damned (the driver) and a lack of prayer on the part of others for the conversion of those unfortunate souls (the mechanics and maintenance crew).
“For material harvests, God prepared the seed, the rain that must help it germinate, the sun that will ripen the fruits of the Earth. Likewise, for spiritual harvest, He has prepared spiritual seeds, the divine graces necessary for sanctification and salvation. Prayer is one of the causes meant to produce that sanctification and salvation” (Rev. Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Ages of the Interior Life, chapter 23). We can add to this the Biblical axiom of we reap what we sow: “For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that soweth in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption. But he that soweth in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:8). Prayer is sowing in the spirit. Playing is sowing in the flesh. The Angel said to the children at Fatima: “Don’t play, but pray!”
“St. Gregory the Great says: ‘Men ought, by prayer, to dispose themselves to receive what Almighty God, from eternity, has decided to give them’ (Dialogues, Book 1, chapter 8). Thus, Christ, wishing to convert the Samaritan woman, led her to pray by saying to her: “If thou didst know the gift of God!” In the same way, He granted Mary Magdalen a strong and gentle actual grace, which inclined her to repentance and to prayer. He acted in the same way to Zacheus and the Good Thief. It is, therefore, as necessary to pray in order to obtain the help of God, as it is necessary to sow seed in order to have wheat. To those who say that, what was to happen would happen, whether they prayed or not, is as foolish as to maintain that, whether or not we sowed seed, wheat would still appear once summer came! Therefore, prayer is necessary to obtain the help of God, as seed is necessary for the harvest” (Rev. Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Ages of the Interior Life, chapter 23).
The problems we face, arise from the fact that God is prepared to give far more than we are prepared to ask for—we are so lazy and negligent, lacking in confidence and perseverance, that we receive only a fraction of what God is prepared to give. The efficacy of prayer, correctly made, is infallibly assured by Christ:
“Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you....And which of you, if he ask his father bread, will he give him a stone? Or a fish, will he give him a serpent?...If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father from Heaven give the good Spirit to them that ask Him?” (Luke 11:9-13). The problem does not lie with the Giver, but with us.
Some Racing Tips
Many of us become discouraged with prayer because our prayers are rarely, if ever heard. It is like entering the race just to make up numbers—but we never win! Yet, there are ways in which we can, almost infallibly, get our prayers answered and win that race! The spiritual writers or racers list the following chief tactics as “infallible” or guaranteed means of having our prayers favorably heard and answered:
1. Pray for what is good and not sinful or harmful to our salvation — We should always remember that what we want is not always what we need. At times, adversity is a better route to Heaven than prosperity. St. Augustine says: “We ought to be persuaded that what God refuses to our prayer, He grants to our salvation.”
2. Our prayer must be humble — Remember the prayer of the Pharisee and the Publican. Remember, too, Our Lady’s prayer, the Magnificat, wherein she says that God has “regarded the humility of His handmaid…He hath put down the mighty from their seat and hath exalted the humble.” The Old Testament says: “...nor from the beginning have the proud been acceptable to Thee: but the prayer of the humble and the meek hath always pleased Thee” (Judith 9:16). “May the Lord destroy all deceitful lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things” (Psalm 11:4). “Thou hast rebuked the proud” (Psalm 118:21). “Every proud man is an abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 16:5).
3. Our prayer must be fervent —Too often our prayers are said listlessly, routinely, mechanically; our heart is not in them. Of such Our Lord said: “This people honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me” (Matthew 15:7). Our prayers should be like grains of incense, placed on the hot coals of our hearts.
4. We should amend our life — If we persist in leading a life of sin, even venial sin, then we greatly handicap the chances of having our prayers heard. “He who turns his ears from hearing the law, his prayer is an abomination” (Proverbs 28:9).
5. We should forgive those who have injured us — This was the example of Christ dying on the cross: “Father, forgive them...” “If, therefore, thou offer thy gift at the altar, and there thou remember that thy brother hath anything against thee—Leave there thy offering before the altar, and go first to be reconciled to thy brother: and then, coming, thou shalt offer thy gift” (Matthew 5:23-24). “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7). “Forgive thy neighbor if he hath hurt thee, and then shall thy sins be forgiven to thee, when thou prayest” (Ecclesiasticus. 28:2).
6. Our prayer should be united to good works or sacrifices — “Prayer is good with fasting and alms” (Tobias 12:8). That is why penance is so crucial in strengthening our prayer. Our Lady asks not only for prayer at Fatima, but prayer and sacrifices. The power of this is expressed in Scripture, where the Apostles failed to cast out a demon from one particular person, and asked Our Lord why they had failed. Our Lord replied: “This kind is not cast out but by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:20).
7. We should pray with confidence — Our Lord praised the Faith and confidence of persons on many occasions, saying: “Go, thy Faith has made thee whole…” (Matthew 9:22; Mark 5:34; 10:52; Luke 17:19; 18:42). He also told us that “all things whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive” (Matthew 21:22). Do we have that confidence in prayer?
8. We should pray with perseverance — “He defers the granting to increase our desire and appreciation” says St. Augustine. Our Lord Himself said: “Yet if he shall continue knocking, I say to you, although he will not rise and give him because he is his friend; yet, because of his importunity, he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. And I say to you: Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you” (Luke 11:8-9).
If we would only pray in the above manner, we would be amazed at the response our prayers would bring from Heaven! Keep in mind the words of St. Augustine: “The man who knows how to pray well, is the one who knows how to live well.” Which, for our purposes, translates into “Drive well, and you’ll win the race! Pray well, and you’ll get the grace!”
The Penance Part
You could say that the “prayer part” to Lent is like an athlete’s mental attitude. The “penance part” of Lent to be likened to the athlete’s bodily fitness. Winners are usually those athletes who are both mentally strong and physically fit and strong. The same can be said to be true of the spiritual life—which is why, when asked by His Apostles why they had failed to cast out the devil from a young boy, Our Lord replied: “But this kind is not cast out but by prayer and fasting!” (Matthew 17:20).
Wholly Wholesome Holy & Whole
Therefore, we need to use our WHOLE being in our spiritual warfare and in the spiritual race for Heaven—not just soul, but body too—for a human being is a composite of body and soul. Which is why Holy Scripture powerfully and almost severely commands both elements in unmistakably strong terms: “We ought always to pray, and not to faint!” (Luke 18:1) … “Pray without ceasing!” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) … “Watch ye, therefore, praying at all times, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that are to come, and to stand before the Son of man” (Luke 21:36) … “No, I say to you: but unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish! [and Our Lord then repeats Himself two verses later] … No, I say to you; but except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3-5) … “The Lord delayeth not his promise [of punishment], as some imagine, but dealeth patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance” (2 Peter 3:9) … “God hath given him place for penance, and he abuseth it unto pride” (Job 24:23).
In fact, things are so intertwined, that we could say that prayer and penance are just as necessary for one and the other. We must pray with the mind and mortify the mind. We must pray with the body and mortify the body.
Furthermore, just as in a good healthy, nourishing diet, there has to be a balance and a variety in our prayers and penances. As in a diet we must have proper proportions of proteins, carbohydrates and fats, so too in our spiritual diet we have to have a balance between various bodily ‘proteins’, ‘carbohydrates’ and ‘fats’ and mental ‘proteins’, ‘carbohydrates’ and ‘fats’—in order to avoid become one-dimensional and restricted in our spirituality.
Specific Penances for Specific Sins
Prayer and Fasting are among the best penances that can be undertaken—as Our Lord points out: “This kind is not cast out but by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:20). Yet we must also remember that—in both Hell and Purgatory—sins are punished in a specific way that somehow corresponds to the type of sin committed. Thus, the murderer will be punished differently to the drunkard. The adulterer differently to the slanderer or detractor. The thief differently to the blasphemer, and so on and on and on. Likewise, our penances can and should correspond to our sins, even while we live on Earth. Everyone is different and so everyone’s sins differ from his or her neighbor’s sins. Therefore the appropriate penance will also be different. The general rule of thumb being—as St. Ignatius says in his Spiritual Exercises—“agere contra”, which literally means “act against” or “act in opposition to”—which more precisely means “do the opposite.”
Therefore, if you are naturally a critical person, then be more praising and more accepting. If you are stingy, then be more generous. If you are lazy, be more industrious. If too inattentive, show more attention. If too untidy, show a greater tidiness. If too timid, be more courageous. If too angry, be more meek. If never wrong, start apologizing for your errors. If lukewarm, be more fervent. If a constant complainer, thank God more for your lot in life. If greedy, be temperate. If proud, accept humiliations gladly. If always excusing yourself, blame yourself more. If unhelpful, be more helpful. You see the principle being used—the list is as endless as sins are endless in their nuances. The bedrock or foundation to all this can and should be prayer and fasting, but built on top of the foundation should be an individual building of tailor-made penance that corresponds to one’s own personal sins.
Start Planning Now!
Let’s be honest and admit it—we are not going to plan and put into practice such a tailor-made approach to penance on Ash Wednesday. The only place “winging-it” will get you to is the “Hall of Fame of Failure!” As you sow, so shall you reap. “He who soweth sparingly, shall also reap sparingly: and he who soweth in blessings, shall also reap blessings” (2 Corinthians 9:6).
Take a sheet of paper and write down your CHIEF faults—which are often those we do not want to face, or downplay, or even deny! If you’re not sure—then ask some honest, non-flattering, people around you who know you very well. Just don’t fall-out with them or injure them when the hit the nail on the head!
Once you have a STARTER list (you can add more as you start to diminish the frequency in committing the sins list in this first batch), then start to examine them in detail—when, where, how to they arise? With or against whom? What means are you avoiding to take, that could reduce these sins? Do you pray daily, even many times daily, asking for the grace to overcome them? Do you mortify yourself to avoid them? Do you punish yourself in some way after having committed them? List a variety of ways and methods open to you to overcome them—if unsure, consult with your confessor. Write down a series of heavier and heavier self-inflicted punishments or sanctions for every successive time you fail and fall. Make those sins the regular part of your confession, reporting if they have increased or decreased since your last confession.
Make Lent a Family Affair, Not Just Individual
Our Lord sent out His disciples in pairs—two-by-two—knowing full well that mutual support is necessary for courage, perseverance and success. The Legion of Mary also works this way—sending out its Legionaries in pairs as much as possible. In normal times, parishes had a least two priests stationed there—until the Post-Vatican fall in vocations shot-down that ideal in many places. God even made man and woman as a twosome in marriage. Pilots have their co-pilots. Presidents have Vice-Presidents. We often—though not always—work better as a team than we do alone.
Furthermore, on Judgement Day, it will not only be individuals that are judged, but also nations, states, communities, religious orders, parishes, schools, and even families. Therefore, as a family, it makes sense to approach Lent, not just from an individual perspective, but also from a family perspective. What was said of an individual assessment of one person’s chief sins, can also be applied to a ‘family’s sins’—though this is a little more difficult to pinpoint and address, for everyone’s participation in a ‘family sin’ is likely to be of a different degree—some being more guilty (instigators) and other less guilty (the followers or the coerced).
Nevertheless, there are certain family traits that can be either virtuous or sinful. It takes great humility and honesty to both see and admit to those faults. To attack one or two such family faults would be a marvelous communal penance for Lent. However, this will not happen on Ash Wednesday, at the flick of a switch—serious reflection and discussion is needed to see where a family has, as a group, let God down and offended Him, either directly or indirectly by sinning against our fellow human beings: “Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these My least brethren, you did it to Me!” (Matthew 25:40).
So now is the time, in a general way, to start planning for Lent—both individually or as a family or as a school or class. Parents, especially, should help their children well in advance and talk about Lent often during this Septuagesima Season, to prepare the mind and attitude of their children in good time, so that they hit the road running and with zeal, not distaste and trepidation. Some of the future Daily Thoughts articles will try to help with suggestions—while a special website page has been created to focus on this in particular: Ash Wednesday Countdown—which can be accessed click here.
Before we know it, Lent will be upon us! This Sunday, Septuagesima Sunday, the Church will place before us the words of St. Paul, about running in a race in such a manner that we may win. “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receives the prize? So run, that ye may obtain” (1 Corinthians 9: 24). In our lazy modern times, the car has replaced the two feet as the chief means of running around; but whether it is the athlete with his feet, or the driver with his car, the bottom line is that, to win a race, the athlete or the car has to be in peak condition. Most Catholic cars (souls) are far from being in peak condition—much like the Israelite ‘cars’ (souls) crossing the desert—most of whom were not pleasing to God, as the reading from the Mass of Septuagesima Sunday points out:
God’s Viewpoint of the Racers
“For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea. And all in Moses were baptized, in the cloud, and in the sea: and did all eat the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink; and they drank of the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the desert” (1 Corinthians 10:1-5).
Hence St. Paul warns us that “Now these things were done in a figure of us, that we should not covet evil things as they also coveted. Neither become ye idolaters, as some of them, as it is written: ‘The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play!’ Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed fornication, and there fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ: as some of them tempted, and perished by the serpents. Neither do you murmur: as some of them murmured, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them in figure: and they are written for our correction, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore he that thinketh himself to stand, let him take heed lest he fall!” (1 Corinthians 10:6-12).
In a certain sense, they all ran in the race for the Promised Land, but only two of the original 4 or so million that started out from Egypt, actually entered the Promised Land and successfully crossed the ‘finish-line’—the remaining finishers were born in desert during those 40 years. With most of the ‘starters’ God was not well pleased! They ended up being starters and losers, not starter and finishers and winners.
Secondly, no athlete will win a competitive race without training beforehand. The car has to be tried out beforehand also, to see if all is running smoothly and well. This is what the Septuagesima season, with its three countdown Sundays (Septuagesima, Sexagesima and Quinquagesima) is for: a serious time of preparation for the even more serious time of Lent.
The means to win are fairly simple, but most engines misfire and overheat by using the means badly. The means, as Our Lady has tried to tell us many times, as PRAYER and PENANCE. You could say prayer is the gasoline and penance is the oil for the engine. Prayer is of the utmost importance to our ‘spiritual engine’; it is what drives our ‘spiritual body’ forwards and it is what gives it power.
The Power of Prayer
“Do we believe in the power of prayer? We know the common teaching of theologians: that true prayer—by which we ask something for ourselves with humility, confidence and perseverance, the graces necessary for salvation—is infallibly efficacious (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, IIa IIae, Q.83, Art.15, ad 2). We know this doctrine, and yet it seems to us, at times, that we have truly prayed without being heard. We believe in, or rather we see, the power of a machine, of an army, of money and of knowledge; but we do not believe strongly enough in the efficacy of prayer.” (Rev. Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Ages of the Interior Life, chapter 23).
The Gasoline of Grace comes through Prayer
“The modern world cannot do without God. This is the root of its ills. The great truth is that we have an absolute need of God…He normally bestows His grace only in response to prayer. Since our need exists at all times....”We ought always to pray and not to faint” (Luke 18:1)....The true nature of Christian prayer is perfectly expressed in the following definition given by St. John Damascene and St. Thomas Aquinas: prayer is “a raising of the mind and heart towards God” to offer Him our homage and to ask Him for all those things of which we stand in need” (Dom Marmion, Abbot of Maredsous, Christ—The Ideal of the Priest, chapter 15).
Spinning Wheels and Going Nowhere
People often pray without realizing what it is that they are doing, or Whom they are addressing! God so rightly complains in Scripture saying: “This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me” (Matthew 15:7).
St. Louis de Montfort―in speaking of praying the Rosary in particular―writes: “A single Hail Mary said properly is worth more than a hundred and fifty said badly … To be guilty of willful distractions during prayer would show a great lack of respect and reverence; it would make our Rosaries unfruitful and make us guilty of sin. How can we expect God to listen to us if we ourselves do not pay attention to what we are saying? … It is sad to see how most people say the Rosary. They say it astonishingly fast, slipping over part of the words. We could not possibly expect anyone, even the most important person, to think that a slipshod address of this kind was a compliment, and yet we imagine that Jesus and Mary will be honored by it! Small wonder, then, that the most sacred prayers of our holy religion seem to bear no fruit, and that, after saying thousands of Rosaries, we are still no better than we were before!” (St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of the Rosary).
Dom Marmion adds: “It happens to some souls that, when they have recited many formulas, they realize that they have said nothing to God from the bottom of their hearts. Our mind may be far distant from the words that fall from our lips....In our prayer, we must give up to God our whole heart and our whole mind....Just as the sanctuary light burns itself up without reserving anything, so our soul, in its conversation with God, must be entirely dedicated to the Almighty. We must free ourselves from preoccupations and from vain thoughts, which tie the soul down to Earth and prevent it from being entirely given over to the Lord” (Dom Marmion, Abbot of Maredsous, Christ—The Ideal of the Priest, chapter 15).
Winning Races Requires Intensity
Many find prayer difficult. That is only natural, since we are trying to communicate with the supernatural world.
“Prayer always requires a certain effort, even from those who find in it their delight, because a certain strain is involved in the concentration necessary to speak to God; it is always more or less difficult to maintain the soul in an atmosphere which is above its usual level. That is why prayer can serve as a sacramental penance. We must not be surprised at this difficulty in applying ourselves to prayer: for to raise ourselves towards God, even in the smallest degree, is to exceed our natural powers” (Dom Marmion, Abbot of Maredsous, Christ—The Ideal of the Priest, chapter 15).
Focus on the Race, the Whole Race and Nothing but the Race
Too many people limit prayer to an isolated part of the day—first thing in the morning or last thing at night. Yet God should be part of our whole day, not just a mere ten minutes.
“Prayer in our life, must not be limited to a number of isolated, passing incidents. We must cultivate a spirit of prayer. What must we understand by this? A spirit of prayer is an habitual disposition of soul whereby, in our troubles and discouragements, as well as in our joys and successes, our hearts turn towards Our Lady and Our Lord, as to our best friends and most intimate confidants of our feelings. And it is not only in the morning and in the evening that the soul should be raised heavenwards, but always: ‘My eyes are ever towards the Lord’ (Psalm 24:15)” (Dom Marmion, Abbot of Maredsous, Christ--The Ideal of the Priest, chapter 15).
All Enter the Race, Not All Finish the Race
Prayer is actually a bending of our will towards the will of God. He wishes the salvation of all, but all will not be saved—and one of the contributory causes of failing to make it to Heaven is a lack of prayer; a lack of prayer by those who will be damned (the driver) and a lack of prayer on the part of others for the conversion of those unfortunate souls (the mechanics and maintenance crew).
“For material harvests, God prepared the seed, the rain that must help it germinate, the sun that will ripen the fruits of the Earth. Likewise, for spiritual harvest, He has prepared spiritual seeds, the divine graces necessary for sanctification and salvation. Prayer is one of the causes meant to produce that sanctification and salvation” (Rev. Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Ages of the Interior Life, chapter 23). We can add to this the Biblical axiom of we reap what we sow: “For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that soweth in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption. But he that soweth in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:8). Prayer is sowing in the spirit. Playing is sowing in the flesh. The Angel said to the children at Fatima: “Don’t play, but pray!”
“St. Gregory the Great says: ‘Men ought, by prayer, to dispose themselves to receive what Almighty God, from eternity, has decided to give them’ (Dialogues, Book 1, chapter 8). Thus, Christ, wishing to convert the Samaritan woman, led her to pray by saying to her: “If thou didst know the gift of God!” In the same way, He granted Mary Magdalen a strong and gentle actual grace, which inclined her to repentance and to prayer. He acted in the same way to Zacheus and the Good Thief. It is, therefore, as necessary to pray in order to obtain the help of God, as it is necessary to sow seed in order to have wheat. To those who say that, what was to happen would happen, whether they prayed or not, is as foolish as to maintain that, whether or not we sowed seed, wheat would still appear once summer came! Therefore, prayer is necessary to obtain the help of God, as seed is necessary for the harvest” (Rev. Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Ages of the Interior Life, chapter 23).
The problems we face, arise from the fact that God is prepared to give far more than we are prepared to ask for—we are so lazy and negligent, lacking in confidence and perseverance, that we receive only a fraction of what God is prepared to give. The efficacy of prayer, correctly made, is infallibly assured by Christ:
“Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you....And which of you, if he ask his father bread, will he give him a stone? Or a fish, will he give him a serpent?...If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father from Heaven give the good Spirit to them that ask Him?” (Luke 11:9-13). The problem does not lie with the Giver, but with us.
Some Racing Tips
Many of us become discouraged with prayer because our prayers are rarely, if ever heard. It is like entering the race just to make up numbers—but we never win! Yet, there are ways in which we can, almost infallibly, get our prayers answered and win that race! The spiritual writers or racers list the following chief tactics as “infallible” or guaranteed means of having our prayers favorably heard and answered:
1. Pray for what is good and not sinful or harmful to our salvation — We should always remember that what we want is not always what we need. At times, adversity is a better route to Heaven than prosperity. St. Augustine says: “We ought to be persuaded that what God refuses to our prayer, He grants to our salvation.”
2. Our prayer must be humble — Remember the prayer of the Pharisee and the Publican. Remember, too, Our Lady’s prayer, the Magnificat, wherein she says that God has “regarded the humility of His handmaid…He hath put down the mighty from their seat and hath exalted the humble.” The Old Testament says: “...nor from the beginning have the proud been acceptable to Thee: but the prayer of the humble and the meek hath always pleased Thee” (Judith 9:16). “May the Lord destroy all deceitful lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things” (Psalm 11:4). “Thou hast rebuked the proud” (Psalm 118:21). “Every proud man is an abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 16:5).
3. Our prayer must be fervent —Too often our prayers are said listlessly, routinely, mechanically; our heart is not in them. Of such Our Lord said: “This people honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me” (Matthew 15:7). Our prayers should be like grains of incense, placed on the hot coals of our hearts.
4. We should amend our life — If we persist in leading a life of sin, even venial sin, then we greatly handicap the chances of having our prayers heard. “He who turns his ears from hearing the law, his prayer is an abomination” (Proverbs 28:9).
5. We should forgive those who have injured us — This was the example of Christ dying on the cross: “Father, forgive them...” “If, therefore, thou offer thy gift at the altar, and there thou remember that thy brother hath anything against thee—Leave there thy offering before the altar, and go first to be reconciled to thy brother: and then, coming, thou shalt offer thy gift” (Matthew 5:23-24). “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7). “Forgive thy neighbor if he hath hurt thee, and then shall thy sins be forgiven to thee, when thou prayest” (Ecclesiasticus. 28:2).
6. Our prayer should be united to good works or sacrifices — “Prayer is good with fasting and alms” (Tobias 12:8). That is why penance is so crucial in strengthening our prayer. Our Lady asks not only for prayer at Fatima, but prayer and sacrifices. The power of this is expressed in Scripture, where the Apostles failed to cast out a demon from one particular person, and asked Our Lord why they had failed. Our Lord replied: “This kind is not cast out but by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:20).
7. We should pray with confidence — Our Lord praised the Faith and confidence of persons on many occasions, saying: “Go, thy Faith has made thee whole…” (Matthew 9:22; Mark 5:34; 10:52; Luke 17:19; 18:42). He also told us that “all things whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive” (Matthew 21:22). Do we have that confidence in prayer?
8. We should pray with perseverance — “He defers the granting to increase our desire and appreciation” says St. Augustine. Our Lord Himself said: “Yet if he shall continue knocking, I say to you, although he will not rise and give him because he is his friend; yet, because of his importunity, he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. And I say to you: Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you” (Luke 11:8-9).
If we would only pray in the above manner, we would be amazed at the response our prayers would bring from Heaven! Keep in mind the words of St. Augustine: “The man who knows how to pray well, is the one who knows how to live well.” Which, for our purposes, translates into “Drive well, and you’ll win the race! Pray well, and you’ll get the grace!”
The Penance Part
You could say that the “prayer part” to Lent is like an athlete’s mental attitude. The “penance part” of Lent to be likened to the athlete’s bodily fitness. Winners are usually those athletes who are both mentally strong and physically fit and strong. The same can be said to be true of the spiritual life—which is why, when asked by His Apostles why they had failed to cast out the devil from a young boy, Our Lord replied: “But this kind is not cast out but by prayer and fasting!” (Matthew 17:20).
Wholly Wholesome Holy & Whole
Therefore, we need to use our WHOLE being in our spiritual warfare and in the spiritual race for Heaven—not just soul, but body too—for a human being is a composite of body and soul. Which is why Holy Scripture powerfully and almost severely commands both elements in unmistakably strong terms: “We ought always to pray, and not to faint!” (Luke 18:1) … “Pray without ceasing!” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) … “Watch ye, therefore, praying at all times, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that are to come, and to stand before the Son of man” (Luke 21:36) … “No, I say to you: but unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish! [and Our Lord then repeats Himself two verses later] … No, I say to you; but except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3-5) … “The Lord delayeth not his promise [of punishment], as some imagine, but dealeth patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance” (2 Peter 3:9) … “God hath given him place for penance, and he abuseth it unto pride” (Job 24:23).
In fact, things are so intertwined, that we could say that prayer and penance are just as necessary for one and the other. We must pray with the mind and mortify the mind. We must pray with the body and mortify the body.
Furthermore, just as in a good healthy, nourishing diet, there has to be a balance and a variety in our prayers and penances. As in a diet we must have proper proportions of proteins, carbohydrates and fats, so too in our spiritual diet we have to have a balance between various bodily ‘proteins’, ‘carbohydrates’ and ‘fats’ and mental ‘proteins’, ‘carbohydrates’ and ‘fats’—in order to avoid become one-dimensional and restricted in our spirituality.
Specific Penances for Specific Sins
Prayer and Fasting are among the best penances that can be undertaken—as Our Lord points out: “This kind is not cast out but by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:20). Yet we must also remember that—in both Hell and Purgatory—sins are punished in a specific way that somehow corresponds to the type of sin committed. Thus, the murderer will be punished differently to the drunkard. The adulterer differently to the slanderer or detractor. The thief differently to the blasphemer, and so on and on and on. Likewise, our penances can and should correspond to our sins, even while we live on Earth. Everyone is different and so everyone’s sins differ from his or her neighbor’s sins. Therefore the appropriate penance will also be different. The general rule of thumb being—as St. Ignatius says in his Spiritual Exercises—“agere contra”, which literally means “act against” or “act in opposition to”—which more precisely means “do the opposite.”
Therefore, if you are naturally a critical person, then be more praising and more accepting. If you are stingy, then be more generous. If you are lazy, be more industrious. If too inattentive, show more attention. If too untidy, show a greater tidiness. If too timid, be more courageous. If too angry, be more meek. If never wrong, start apologizing for your errors. If lukewarm, be more fervent. If a constant complainer, thank God more for your lot in life. If greedy, be temperate. If proud, accept humiliations gladly. If always excusing yourself, blame yourself more. If unhelpful, be more helpful. You see the principle being used—the list is as endless as sins are endless in their nuances. The bedrock or foundation to all this can and should be prayer and fasting, but built on top of the foundation should be an individual building of tailor-made penance that corresponds to one’s own personal sins.
Start Planning Now!
Let’s be honest and admit it—we are not going to plan and put into practice such a tailor-made approach to penance on Ash Wednesday. The only place “winging-it” will get you to is the “Hall of Fame of Failure!” As you sow, so shall you reap. “He who soweth sparingly, shall also reap sparingly: and he who soweth in blessings, shall also reap blessings” (2 Corinthians 9:6).
Take a sheet of paper and write down your CHIEF faults—which are often those we do not want to face, or downplay, or even deny! If you’re not sure—then ask some honest, non-flattering, people around you who know you very well. Just don’t fall-out with them or injure them when the hit the nail on the head!
Once you have a STARTER list (you can add more as you start to diminish the frequency in committing the sins list in this first batch), then start to examine them in detail—when, where, how to they arise? With or against whom? What means are you avoiding to take, that could reduce these sins? Do you pray daily, even many times daily, asking for the grace to overcome them? Do you mortify yourself to avoid them? Do you punish yourself in some way after having committed them? List a variety of ways and methods open to you to overcome them—if unsure, consult with your confessor. Write down a series of heavier and heavier self-inflicted punishments or sanctions for every successive time you fail and fall. Make those sins the regular part of your confession, reporting if they have increased or decreased since your last confession.
Make Lent a Family Affair, Not Just Individual
Our Lord sent out His disciples in pairs—two-by-two—knowing full well that mutual support is necessary for courage, perseverance and success. The Legion of Mary also works this way—sending out its Legionaries in pairs as much as possible. In normal times, parishes had a least two priests stationed there—until the Post-Vatican fall in vocations shot-down that ideal in many places. God even made man and woman as a twosome in marriage. Pilots have their co-pilots. Presidents have Vice-Presidents. We often—though not always—work better as a team than we do alone.
Furthermore, on Judgement Day, it will not only be individuals that are judged, but also nations, states, communities, religious orders, parishes, schools, and even families. Therefore, as a family, it makes sense to approach Lent, not just from an individual perspective, but also from a family perspective. What was said of an individual assessment of one person’s chief sins, can also be applied to a ‘family’s sins’—though this is a little more difficult to pinpoint and address, for everyone’s participation in a ‘family sin’ is likely to be of a different degree—some being more guilty (instigators) and other less guilty (the followers or the coerced).
Nevertheless, there are certain family traits that can be either virtuous or sinful. It takes great humility and honesty to both see and admit to those faults. To attack one or two such family faults would be a marvelous communal penance for Lent. However, this will not happen on Ash Wednesday, at the flick of a switch—serious reflection and discussion is needed to see where a family has, as a group, let God down and offended Him, either directly or indirectly by sinning against our fellow human beings: “Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these My least brethren, you did it to Me!” (Matthew 25:40).
So now is the time, in a general way, to start planning for Lent—both individually or as a family or as a school or class. Parents, especially, should help their children well in advance and talk about Lent often during this Septuagesima Season, to prepare the mind and attitude of their children in good time, so that they hit the road running and with zeal, not distaste and trepidation. Some of the future Daily Thoughts articles will try to help with suggestions—while a special website page has been created to focus on this in particular: Ash Wednesday Countdown—which can be accessed click here.
DAILY THOUGHTS FOR THE SEASON OF CHRISTMAS
Article 16
Saturday, January 31st
The Doomsday Clock ― Is it about a Solution? Or is about Collusion?
Saturday, January 31st
The Doomsday Clock ― Is it about a Solution? Or is about Collusion?
Appearances Can Deceive!
The Devil is a deceiver! Satan is seducer! He seeks to fool us by appearing under the guise of good, whereas his intentions are far from being good! “The Devil is a liar and the father of lies!” (John 8:44). “That great dragon, who is called the Devil and Satan, seduces the whole world!” (Apocalypse 12:9). “Satan transforms himself into an angel of light!” (2 Corinthians 11:14). “The Devil, as a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour!” (1 Peter 5:8).
Our Lord calls Satan “the prince of this world” on several occasions: “The prince of this world is coming and in Me he has not anything! … The prince of this world is already judged! ... Now shall the prince of this world be cast out!” (John 12:31; 16:11; 14:30). We too must cast out the prince of this world and the worldly influence that prince uses to seduce us into worldliness. “Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and power, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places” (Ephesians 6:12).
The Prince of this World Deceives us through the World
Our Lord clearly states that the world, in general, is evil and opposed to Him: “I am not of this world! … My kingdom is not of this world! … The world hates Me because I give testimony of it, that the works of the world are evil!” (John 8:23; 18:36; 7:7). “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him!” (1 John 2:15). “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God!” (James 4:4) ... “The whole world is seated in wickedness!” (1 John 5:19) ... “Keep yourself unspotted from this world!” (James 1:27) … “Be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2) … “That we be not condemned with this world!” (1 Corinthians 11:32).
“Bear not the yoke with unbelievers. For what participation has justice with injustice? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? And what concord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has the faithful with the unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God; as God says: ‘I will dwell in them, and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people!’ Wherefore, ‘GO OUT FROM AMONG THEM, AND BE YE SEPARATE!’ says the Lord” (2 Corinthians 6:14-17).
Our Lord adds: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth! But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven! For where your treasure is, there is your heart also! No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” ― “mammon” being the pleasures, treasures, teachings and spirit of the world, whose prince is the devil (Matthew 6:19-24).
There Are Only Two Options
Think what we want; believe what we want; say what we want; do what we want―the ultimate truth is that we are either on the side of Christ or on the side of Satan. Know it or not; like it or not; admit it or not; accept it or not―that is how it is! There is no third option; no third category; no spectatorship; no opting-out―ultimately we either work for Christ, or we work for Satan. We either do God’s work, or we do the Devil’s work. That is why Our Lord said to the Jewish Scribes and Pharisees: “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do! He was a murderer from the beginning, and he stood not in the truth―because truth is not in him. For he is a liar and the father of lies!” (John 8:44).
Regardless of our own personal views, opinions and ideas―we either belong to Christ, or we belong to Satan: “He that is not with Me, is against Me!” (Matthew 12:30; Luke 11:23). “Why call you Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). “If you love Me, keep My commandments … He that has My commandments, and keeps them; he it is that loves Me … You are My friends, if you do the things that I command you!” (John)” (John 14:15, 14:21; 15:14). Whereas, “He that commits sin is of the devil” (1 John 3:8). The American Catholic exorcist, Fr. Chad Ripperger states: “Most people don’t know that the proper effect of every single mortal sin is demonic possession. It’s just that God blocks it in 99.9% of the cases.” Nevertheless, the more we sin mortally, the more we fall under the increasing control of the devil―not necessarily to the point of being possessed by the devil, but, having said that, exorcists have noticed that there is a danger that continually repeated mortal sins can eventually lead to full-blown possession: “He that commits sin is of the devil” (1 John 3:8). Fr. Gabriele Amorth, the recently deceased (2016) chief exorcist of Rome, said: “The most common way a demon can enter into someone’s life is through a habitual state of mortal sin. Those who live in a state of grace, those who pray most fervently, have a much better chance of obtaining divine intervention against the evil one, than those who do not practice their Faith or, worse, who live in a habitual state of mortal sin.” Another exorcist, Fr. Aga Tarog, warns: “Mortal sin is the primary entry point for demonic possession!”
Today's Tsunami of Sin
If those who sin are of the devil ― “He that commits sin is of the devil” (1 John 3:8) ― then today the world is of the devil BIG TIME! Already 70 years ago, Our Lady, in an apparition on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8th, 1956, said: “People are offending God too much! If I were to show you all the sins committed on a single day, you would surely die of grief! These are grave times! The world is in total turmoil―because it is in a worse condition than at the time of the Deluge! [the Great Flood in Noe’s time]. All is hanging on a slender thread! When that thread shall snap, Divine Justice shall pounce upon the world and execute its dreadful, purging designs! All the nations shall be punished because sins, like a muddy river, are now covering all the Earth!”
If it was so bad 70 years ago―how much worse is it today?!!! What would Our Lady say about the state of the world in which we a currently living? If “he that commits sin is of the devil” (1 John 3:8), then most of the world is without doubt of the devil in our day and age! That is essentially what the former chief exorcist of Rome, Fr. Gabriele Amorth (1925- 2016), said:
“The influence of Satan is immense! Today, Satan has free hands … Everybody is vulnerable to the work of Satan! … Satan continually tries to dominate the world ― the whole world is in the power of the evil one … The smoke of Satan has entered everywhere. Everywhere! Satanism is on the increase. Today Satan rules the world … And, yes, Satan is in the Vatican! The devil resides in the Vatican ... Legions of demons have lodged there! … In the Vatican there are members of Satanic cults―there are priests, monsignors and even cardinals! I know from people who reported to me how they got to know this directly. It is also something, that has been “confessed” several times by the Devil, himself, under obedience during the exorcisms … I have no doubt about the fact that the demon tempts the authorities of the Church especially―just as he tempts every authority, those of politics and industry [and even in family]. Evil exists in politics―quite often in fact! The devil loves to take over business leaders and those who hold political office!”
“Everybody is vulnerable to the work of Satan! … We are all subject to it from our birth until our death! … We are all tempted by the devil, and will be for as long as we live! … The Devil does not like to be seen … that is when he is happiest! … Satan hides and disguises himself in a thousand ways … The devil prefers this way and we are all subject to it from our birth until our death! … The devil wanders around each one of you, searching where to devour you. That word―‘where’―is important: the devil looks in each person precisely for his weak point and ‘works’ on it … The most frequent weak points in man are, from time to time, always the same: pride, money, and lust.” (Fr. Gabriele Amorth, former chief exorcist of Rome).
Satan’s Useful Idiots
Yuri Bezmenov, (1939-1993), a Russia KGB agent who defected to the West in 1970, famously used the term “useful idiots” to describe idealistically motivated Westerners—particularly intellectuals, academics, journalists, civil rights activists and Hollywood actors—who were more or less unwittingly manipulated into promoting Communist propaganda, ideology, and subversion. He argued that these individuals (useful idiots) were essential to the first stage of ideological subversion of a nation, helping to destabilize their own nations from within, often without realizing they were acting in the interests of a foreign power.
The same can be said of most of world in relation to Satan―they are Satan’s “useful idiots” who have been more or less derailed from a true path to God (Catholicism, virtue and sinlessness―which is the only true path) and have been deceived into thinking that their false religion, atheism, materialism, hedonism, capitalism, communism, etc. is something inherently good and acceptable. As Our Lady warned:
“I make it known to you that from the end of the 19th century and from shortly after the middle of the 20th century (Vatican II was announced by Pope John XXIII on January 25th, 1959, and took place from 1962-1965), the passions will erupt and there will be a total corruption of customs [morals], for Satan will reign almost completely by means of the Masonic Sects! … All the civil governments will have the same objective, which will be to abolish and do away with every religious principle, to make way for materialism, atheism, spiritism and vice of all kinds. They will abolish civil and ecclesiastical rights and authority. All order and all justice will be trampled underfoot and only homicides, hate, jealousy, lies and discord will be seen, without love for country or family ... Lucifer, together with a large number of demons, will be unloosed from Hell; they will put an end to Faith, little by little, even in those dedicated to God … The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops ... The devil will resort to all his evil tricks to introduce sinners into religious orders, for disorder and the love of carnal pleasures will be spread all over the Earth … The Church will be full of those who accept compromises! … Many will abandon the Faith, and a great number of priests and members of religious orders will break away from the true religion; among these people there will even be bishops! ... A number of religious institutions will lose all Faith and will cause many souls to be damned! … The Christian spirit will rapidly decay, extinguishing the precious light of Faith until it reaches the point that there will be an almost total and general corruption of morals. In these unhappy times, people will only think of amusements and there will be unbridled luxury and impurity that will conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost! … God will allow the old serpent to cause divisions among those who reign in every society and in every family … Many will turn upon Religion! … Many people will rebel against the spirit of the Catholic Church, impelled by the malice of the devil! … The spirit of impurity, that will permeate the atmosphere during these times, like a filthy ocean will run through the streets, squares and public places with an astonishing liberty! … This, in turn, will call down every type of chastisement―such as plagues, famines, internal fighting and external disputes with other nations, and apostasy!” (Our Lady of Good Success, at Quito in Ecuador, Our Lady of La Salette, France; Our Lady of Fatima, Portugal; Our Lady of Akita, Japan).
This rejection of Christ, rejection of the Catholic Faith and Catholic Church that Christ created, rejection of the Commandments of God, rejection of many Christian virtues and acceptance of grossly sinful behaviors―condemns then in the eyes of God. : “He that is not with Me, is against Me!” (Matthew 12:30; Luke 11:23). “He that commits sin is of the devil” (1 John 3:8). “Why call you Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46).
Shocking though it may seem and sound to ears of the worldly―most of the world today is on the side of Satan, either explicitly or implicitly, directly or indirectly, knowingly and unknowingly. This is simply borne out to be true by the fact that most souls end being damned―most Catholics are damned, most priests and bishops are damned, not to even mention all those outside of the Catholic Church. As Our Lord indicated: “And a certain man said to Him: ‘Lord! Are they few that are saved?’ But He said to them: ‘Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life: and few there are that find it! … Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able!’” (Matthew 7:13-14; Luke 13:23-24).
Whose Side is the Doomsday Clock On?
Just as many religions―whether Protestant or some other religion―are not of Christ, even though they might preach and teach many of things the Catholic Church has traditionally preached and taught; the same can be said of many (if not most) of the political and secular institutions of the world―they are not of Christ, they are not of God, they are of the Devil who “seduces the whole world!” (Apocalypse 12:9) and “transforms himself into an angel of light!” (2 Corinthians 11:14). Led by the Devil, whom Our Lord calls “the prince of this world” (John 12:31), these politicians and financiers have for the most part taken over the world ― and are well on the way to creating a New World Order, a One World Government and paving the way for the Antichrist.
When we dig a little deeper into the issue of the Doomsday Clock and the institution that created it ― the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists ― we see that this institution was largely the brainchild of the relatively large number of Jewish scientists who worked on the designing the first Atom Bomb in the so-called Manhattan Project during the Second World War.
The United States’ development of the first atomic bomb would not have been possible without the contribution of Jewish Americans and Jewish refugees who fled Nazi Germany and war-torn Europe throughout the Manhattan Project. In August of 1939, Albert Einstein, Leo Szilard, and Enrico Fermi drafted and sent a letter to President Roosevelt via Alexander Sachs, warning the President of the potential use of atomic power in weaponry. This, in addition to another letter sent by British-Jewish scientists, led Roosevelt to form an advisory committee on uranium and, eventually, create the Manhattan Project.
Significantly, every person involved in the drafting and deliverance of this letter were Jewish or had close Jewish family members. Of the four involved, three were European refugees. Einstein was from a family of German Ashkenazi Jews and fled to the United States in 1933. Szilard was from a Hungarian Jewish family and fled to England in 1933 and then the United States in 1938. Fermi, while himself not Jewish nor German, was married to a Jewish woman which required him and his family to flee his home of Italy in 1938. Sachs was American-Jewish and an important advisor to President Roosevelt. All were impacted by the anti-Semitism of Germany and were respected and prominent enough to sway the President of the United States into forming a committee. Subsequent letters and information, much of which was provided by Jewish scientists, followed and increased the breadth of the project.
Jewish involvement in the Manhattan Project burgeoned as the war continued. J. Robert Oppenheimer, a young American Jew, was placed as the head of the Los Alamos branch of the Manhattan Project. He created four divisions in the Los Alamos lab, with the T-division, the theoretical division, being the most important. Of the 86 members in this division, 18 were Jewish—almost 21%. Even more impressive, of the eight groups in 1945, five were led by Jewish scientists such as Richard Feynman, Hans Bethe, and John von Neumann. Although Jews only constituted around .05% of the US population at the time, they made up a significant portion of the scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was co-founded in December 1945 by Jewish Manhattan Project physicists Eugene Rabinowitch and Hyman Goldsmith. Eugene Rabinowitch was Russian-born Jewish botanist and biophysicist, and Hyman Goldsmith was a Jewish, Austrian-born physicist. Even though the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was founded by Rabinowitch and Goldsmith, it was supported by other prominent scientists and included fellow Jew, J. Robert Oppenheimer, as the first chairman of the board. All had worked on the Manhattan Project, the effort that led to the invention of the first nuclear bomb. Many of the key scientists involved in the Manhattan Project were Jewish. The number of Jews involved in the project was astounding; the vast majority of the scientists were Jewish. Almost all of them were refugees from Germany, Hungary or Austria. The list included: J. Robert Oppenheimer, Project director and nicknamed “The father of atomic bomb,” Edward Teller, Leo Szilard, Otto Frisch, Niels Bohr Felix Bloch, Hans Bethe, John von Neuman, Rudolf Peierls, Franz Eugene Simon, Hans Halban, Joseph Rotblatt, Stanislav Ulam, Richard Feynman, and Eugene Wigner.
Chaim Weizmann, himself a prominent chemist and Israel’s first president later wrote: “Very few people … have any notion of the role which Jews have played in modern science, and particularly of their astounding share in the development of nuclear physics. … I have heard Einstein speak of ninety percent. … I am continuously struck by the utter disproportion of the Jewish contribution.”
The Devil is a deceiver! Satan is seducer! He seeks to fool us by appearing under the guise of good, whereas his intentions are far from being good! “The Devil is a liar and the father of lies!” (John 8:44). “That great dragon, who is called the Devil and Satan, seduces the whole world!” (Apocalypse 12:9). “Satan transforms himself into an angel of light!” (2 Corinthians 11:14). “The Devil, as a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour!” (1 Peter 5:8).
Our Lord calls Satan “the prince of this world” on several occasions: “The prince of this world is coming and in Me he has not anything! … The prince of this world is already judged! ... Now shall the prince of this world be cast out!” (John 12:31; 16:11; 14:30). We too must cast out the prince of this world and the worldly influence that prince uses to seduce us into worldliness. “Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and power, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places” (Ephesians 6:12).
The Prince of this World Deceives us through the World
Our Lord clearly states that the world, in general, is evil and opposed to Him: “I am not of this world! … My kingdom is not of this world! … The world hates Me because I give testimony of it, that the works of the world are evil!” (John 8:23; 18:36; 7:7). “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him!” (1 John 2:15). “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God!” (James 4:4) ... “The whole world is seated in wickedness!” (1 John 5:19) ... “Keep yourself unspotted from this world!” (James 1:27) … “Be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2) … “That we be not condemned with this world!” (1 Corinthians 11:32).
“Bear not the yoke with unbelievers. For what participation has justice with injustice? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? And what concord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has the faithful with the unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God; as God says: ‘I will dwell in them, and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people!’ Wherefore, ‘GO OUT FROM AMONG THEM, AND BE YE SEPARATE!’ says the Lord” (2 Corinthians 6:14-17).
Our Lord adds: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth! But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven! For where your treasure is, there is your heart also! No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” ― “mammon” being the pleasures, treasures, teachings and spirit of the world, whose prince is the devil (Matthew 6:19-24).
There Are Only Two Options
Think what we want; believe what we want; say what we want; do what we want―the ultimate truth is that we are either on the side of Christ or on the side of Satan. Know it or not; like it or not; admit it or not; accept it or not―that is how it is! There is no third option; no third category; no spectatorship; no opting-out―ultimately we either work for Christ, or we work for Satan. We either do God’s work, or we do the Devil’s work. That is why Our Lord said to the Jewish Scribes and Pharisees: “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do! He was a murderer from the beginning, and he stood not in the truth―because truth is not in him. For he is a liar and the father of lies!” (John 8:44).
Regardless of our own personal views, opinions and ideas―we either belong to Christ, or we belong to Satan: “He that is not with Me, is against Me!” (Matthew 12:30; Luke 11:23). “Why call you Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). “If you love Me, keep My commandments … He that has My commandments, and keeps them; he it is that loves Me … You are My friends, if you do the things that I command you!” (John)” (John 14:15, 14:21; 15:14). Whereas, “He that commits sin is of the devil” (1 John 3:8). The American Catholic exorcist, Fr. Chad Ripperger states: “Most people don’t know that the proper effect of every single mortal sin is demonic possession. It’s just that God blocks it in 99.9% of the cases.” Nevertheless, the more we sin mortally, the more we fall under the increasing control of the devil―not necessarily to the point of being possessed by the devil, but, having said that, exorcists have noticed that there is a danger that continually repeated mortal sins can eventually lead to full-blown possession: “He that commits sin is of the devil” (1 John 3:8). Fr. Gabriele Amorth, the recently deceased (2016) chief exorcist of Rome, said: “The most common way a demon can enter into someone’s life is through a habitual state of mortal sin. Those who live in a state of grace, those who pray most fervently, have a much better chance of obtaining divine intervention against the evil one, than those who do not practice their Faith or, worse, who live in a habitual state of mortal sin.” Another exorcist, Fr. Aga Tarog, warns: “Mortal sin is the primary entry point for demonic possession!”
Today's Tsunami of Sin
If those who sin are of the devil ― “He that commits sin is of the devil” (1 John 3:8) ― then today the world is of the devil BIG TIME! Already 70 years ago, Our Lady, in an apparition on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8th, 1956, said: “People are offending God too much! If I were to show you all the sins committed on a single day, you would surely die of grief! These are grave times! The world is in total turmoil―because it is in a worse condition than at the time of the Deluge! [the Great Flood in Noe’s time]. All is hanging on a slender thread! When that thread shall snap, Divine Justice shall pounce upon the world and execute its dreadful, purging designs! All the nations shall be punished because sins, like a muddy river, are now covering all the Earth!”
If it was so bad 70 years ago―how much worse is it today?!!! What would Our Lady say about the state of the world in which we a currently living? If “he that commits sin is of the devil” (1 John 3:8), then most of the world is without doubt of the devil in our day and age! That is essentially what the former chief exorcist of Rome, Fr. Gabriele Amorth (1925- 2016), said:
“The influence of Satan is immense! Today, Satan has free hands … Everybody is vulnerable to the work of Satan! … Satan continually tries to dominate the world ― the whole world is in the power of the evil one … The smoke of Satan has entered everywhere. Everywhere! Satanism is on the increase. Today Satan rules the world … And, yes, Satan is in the Vatican! The devil resides in the Vatican ... Legions of demons have lodged there! … In the Vatican there are members of Satanic cults―there are priests, monsignors and even cardinals! I know from people who reported to me how they got to know this directly. It is also something, that has been “confessed” several times by the Devil, himself, under obedience during the exorcisms … I have no doubt about the fact that the demon tempts the authorities of the Church especially―just as he tempts every authority, those of politics and industry [and even in family]. Evil exists in politics―quite often in fact! The devil loves to take over business leaders and those who hold political office!”
“Everybody is vulnerable to the work of Satan! … We are all subject to it from our birth until our death! … We are all tempted by the devil, and will be for as long as we live! … The Devil does not like to be seen … that is when he is happiest! … Satan hides and disguises himself in a thousand ways … The devil prefers this way and we are all subject to it from our birth until our death! … The devil wanders around each one of you, searching where to devour you. That word―‘where’―is important: the devil looks in each person precisely for his weak point and ‘works’ on it … The most frequent weak points in man are, from time to time, always the same: pride, money, and lust.” (Fr. Gabriele Amorth, former chief exorcist of Rome).
Satan’s Useful Idiots
Yuri Bezmenov, (1939-1993), a Russia KGB agent who defected to the West in 1970, famously used the term “useful idiots” to describe idealistically motivated Westerners—particularly intellectuals, academics, journalists, civil rights activists and Hollywood actors—who were more or less unwittingly manipulated into promoting Communist propaganda, ideology, and subversion. He argued that these individuals (useful idiots) were essential to the first stage of ideological subversion of a nation, helping to destabilize their own nations from within, often without realizing they were acting in the interests of a foreign power.
The same can be said of most of world in relation to Satan―they are Satan’s “useful idiots” who have been more or less derailed from a true path to God (Catholicism, virtue and sinlessness―which is the only true path) and have been deceived into thinking that their false religion, atheism, materialism, hedonism, capitalism, communism, etc. is something inherently good and acceptable. As Our Lady warned:
“I make it known to you that from the end of the 19th century and from shortly after the middle of the 20th century (Vatican II was announced by Pope John XXIII on January 25th, 1959, and took place from 1962-1965), the passions will erupt and there will be a total corruption of customs [morals], for Satan will reign almost completely by means of the Masonic Sects! … All the civil governments will have the same objective, which will be to abolish and do away with every religious principle, to make way for materialism, atheism, spiritism and vice of all kinds. They will abolish civil and ecclesiastical rights and authority. All order and all justice will be trampled underfoot and only homicides, hate, jealousy, lies and discord will be seen, without love for country or family ... Lucifer, together with a large number of demons, will be unloosed from Hell; they will put an end to Faith, little by little, even in those dedicated to God … The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops ... The devil will resort to all his evil tricks to introduce sinners into religious orders, for disorder and the love of carnal pleasures will be spread all over the Earth … The Church will be full of those who accept compromises! … Many will abandon the Faith, and a great number of priests and members of religious orders will break away from the true religion; among these people there will even be bishops! ... A number of religious institutions will lose all Faith and will cause many souls to be damned! … The Christian spirit will rapidly decay, extinguishing the precious light of Faith until it reaches the point that there will be an almost total and general corruption of morals. In these unhappy times, people will only think of amusements and there will be unbridled luxury and impurity that will conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost! … God will allow the old serpent to cause divisions among those who reign in every society and in every family … Many will turn upon Religion! … Many people will rebel against the spirit of the Catholic Church, impelled by the malice of the devil! … The spirit of impurity, that will permeate the atmosphere during these times, like a filthy ocean will run through the streets, squares and public places with an astonishing liberty! … This, in turn, will call down every type of chastisement―such as plagues, famines, internal fighting and external disputes with other nations, and apostasy!” (Our Lady of Good Success, at Quito in Ecuador, Our Lady of La Salette, France; Our Lady of Fatima, Portugal; Our Lady of Akita, Japan).
This rejection of Christ, rejection of the Catholic Faith and Catholic Church that Christ created, rejection of the Commandments of God, rejection of many Christian virtues and acceptance of grossly sinful behaviors―condemns then in the eyes of God. : “He that is not with Me, is against Me!” (Matthew 12:30; Luke 11:23). “He that commits sin is of the devil” (1 John 3:8). “Why call you Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46).
Shocking though it may seem and sound to ears of the worldly―most of the world today is on the side of Satan, either explicitly or implicitly, directly or indirectly, knowingly and unknowingly. This is simply borne out to be true by the fact that most souls end being damned―most Catholics are damned, most priests and bishops are damned, not to even mention all those outside of the Catholic Church. As Our Lord indicated: “And a certain man said to Him: ‘Lord! Are they few that are saved?’ But He said to them: ‘Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life: and few there are that find it! … Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able!’” (Matthew 7:13-14; Luke 13:23-24).
Whose Side is the Doomsday Clock On?
Just as many religions―whether Protestant or some other religion―are not of Christ, even though they might preach and teach many of things the Catholic Church has traditionally preached and taught; the same can be said of many (if not most) of the political and secular institutions of the world―they are not of Christ, they are not of God, they are of the Devil who “seduces the whole world!” (Apocalypse 12:9) and “transforms himself into an angel of light!” (2 Corinthians 11:14). Led by the Devil, whom Our Lord calls “the prince of this world” (John 12:31), these politicians and financiers have for the most part taken over the world ― and are well on the way to creating a New World Order, a One World Government and paving the way for the Antichrist.
When we dig a little deeper into the issue of the Doomsday Clock and the institution that created it ― the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists ― we see that this institution was largely the brainchild of the relatively large number of Jewish scientists who worked on the designing the first Atom Bomb in the so-called Manhattan Project during the Second World War.
The United States’ development of the first atomic bomb would not have been possible without the contribution of Jewish Americans and Jewish refugees who fled Nazi Germany and war-torn Europe throughout the Manhattan Project. In August of 1939, Albert Einstein, Leo Szilard, and Enrico Fermi drafted and sent a letter to President Roosevelt via Alexander Sachs, warning the President of the potential use of atomic power in weaponry. This, in addition to another letter sent by British-Jewish scientists, led Roosevelt to form an advisory committee on uranium and, eventually, create the Manhattan Project.
Significantly, every person involved in the drafting and deliverance of this letter were Jewish or had close Jewish family members. Of the four involved, three were European refugees. Einstein was from a family of German Ashkenazi Jews and fled to the United States in 1933. Szilard was from a Hungarian Jewish family and fled to England in 1933 and then the United States in 1938. Fermi, while himself not Jewish nor German, was married to a Jewish woman which required him and his family to flee his home of Italy in 1938. Sachs was American-Jewish and an important advisor to President Roosevelt. All were impacted by the anti-Semitism of Germany and were respected and prominent enough to sway the President of the United States into forming a committee. Subsequent letters and information, much of which was provided by Jewish scientists, followed and increased the breadth of the project.
Jewish involvement in the Manhattan Project burgeoned as the war continued. J. Robert Oppenheimer, a young American Jew, was placed as the head of the Los Alamos branch of the Manhattan Project. He created four divisions in the Los Alamos lab, with the T-division, the theoretical division, being the most important. Of the 86 members in this division, 18 were Jewish—almost 21%. Even more impressive, of the eight groups in 1945, five were led by Jewish scientists such as Richard Feynman, Hans Bethe, and John von Neumann. Although Jews only constituted around .05% of the US population at the time, they made up a significant portion of the scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was co-founded in December 1945 by Jewish Manhattan Project physicists Eugene Rabinowitch and Hyman Goldsmith. Eugene Rabinowitch was Russian-born Jewish botanist and biophysicist, and Hyman Goldsmith was a Jewish, Austrian-born physicist. Even though the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was founded by Rabinowitch and Goldsmith, it was supported by other prominent scientists and included fellow Jew, J. Robert Oppenheimer, as the first chairman of the board. All had worked on the Manhattan Project, the effort that led to the invention of the first nuclear bomb. Many of the key scientists involved in the Manhattan Project were Jewish. The number of Jews involved in the project was astounding; the vast majority of the scientists were Jewish. Almost all of them were refugees from Germany, Hungary or Austria. The list included: J. Robert Oppenheimer, Project director and nicknamed “The father of atomic bomb,” Edward Teller, Leo Szilard, Otto Frisch, Niels Bohr Felix Bloch, Hans Bethe, John von Neuman, Rudolf Peierls, Franz Eugene Simon, Hans Halban, Joseph Rotblatt, Stanislav Ulam, Richard Feynman, and Eugene Wigner.
Chaim Weizmann, himself a prominent chemist and Israel’s first president later wrote: “Very few people … have any notion of the role which Jews have played in modern science, and particularly of their astounding share in the development of nuclear physics. … I have heard Einstein speak of ninety percent. … I am continuously struck by the utter disproportion of the Jewish contribution.”
Article 15
Wednesday, Thursday & Friday, January 28th, 29th & 30th
The Doomsday Clock Shows We Only Have 85 Seconds Left Before Midnight!
Wednesday, Thursday & Friday, January 28th, 29th & 30th
The Doomsday Clock Shows We Only Have 85 Seconds Left Before Midnight!
What is the Doomsday Clock?
The Doomsday Clock ― a symbol that represents the estimated likelihood of a human-made global catastrophe ― is the brainchild of the nonprofit organization Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, originally known by its former title as the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists of Chicago. Immediately following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was founded in 1945 by Albert Einstein, biophysicist Eugene Rabinowitch, physicist Hyman Goldsmith, J. Robert Oppenheimer (first chairman of the board of the organization), and University of Chicago scientists who had helped develop the first atomic weapons in the Manhattan Project. The first editor of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was biophysicist Eugene Rabinowitch (1901–1973).
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists began as an emergency action undertaken by scientists who saw urgent need for an immediate educational program about atomic weapons. The intention was to educate fellow scientists about the relationship between their world of science and the world of national and international politics. A second was to warn the public about the dangers of nuclear war ― to help the American people understand what nuclear energy and its possible applications to war meant. The Bulletin contributors believed the atom bomb would only be the first of many dangers. The aim of the Bulletin was to carry out the long, sustained effort of educating people about the realities of the scientific age. In addition to educating and warning the American public of the continual danger posed by nuclear weapons, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has most recently added other global dangers ― such as climate change and disruptive technologies in the life sciences to the list of concerns.
The organization has been publishing continuously since 1945―at first in the form of a newsletter, which soon evolved from a mere newsletter to a much broader and voluminous magazine. At the dawn of the nuclear age, these scientists created the Doomsday Clock in 1947 as a symbolic representation of how close humanity is to destroying the world.
The Doomsday Clock imagery was created in 1947 by artist Martyl Langsdorf for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists to symbolize humanity’s proximity to self-destruction, initially focusing on the threat of nuclear weapons. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists co-editor Hyman Goldsmith had asked artist Martyl Langsdorf to come up with a design for the cover of the June 1947 edition of the Bulletin―which was the first issue published as a magazine rather than a newsletter. Martyl—as she was known professionally—was married to a physicist, Alexander Langsdorf, who worked on creating the Atom-Bomb in the Manhattan Project at the University of Chicago. At first, the artist considered using the symbol for uranium. But as she listened to the scientists who had worked on the Atom-Bomb, as they passionately debated the consequences of the new technology and their responsibility to inform the public, she felt their sense of urgency. So she sketched a clock to suggest that we didn’t have much time left to get atomic weapons under control. Thus the clock face first appeared on their June 1947 first magazine cover. The resultant Doomsday Clock, which only has bullets labeling the numbers in the upper left hand corner, has been featured on the cover of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists many times since its creation.
The original time setting that appeared on the Doomsday Clock on that first edition of the magazine was arbitrarily set at 7 minutes before midnight―as the artist, Martyl Langsdorf, herself admitted: “It looked good to my eye!” Including that June 1947 first edition, the Doomsday Clock has been reset 26 times by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists ― with its setting changed to reflect escalating global threats like nuclear risk and climate change, moving closer to or further from “midnight” (symbolizing catastrophe). The proximity of the minute hand to midnight has been the Bulletin leadership's way of warning the public about man-made threats to humanity; the Doomsday Clock is a metaphor, not a prediction. That is to say, the time on the clock is not to be interpreted as actual time, but simply as the level of dangers that we are actually facing at any given time.
The Doomsday Clock is a proxy mechanism for threats to humanity from unchecked scientific and technological advances. A hypothetical global catastrophe is represented by midnight on the Doomsday Clock, according to the opinion of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and its Science and Security Board (SASB). The Science and Security Board (SASB) is a select group of globally recognized leaders with a specific focus on nuclear risk, climate change, and disruptive technologies. The Science and Security Board provides the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists with objective external perspectives on trends and issues in these fields and connects the organization to outside experts. Their opinion on how close the world is to “zero” is represented by a certain number of minutes or seconds to midnight. This is assessed in January of each year. The main factors influencing the Doomsday Clock are nuclear warfare, climate change, and artificial intelligence.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists states: “The Doomsday Clock is not a forecasting tool, and we are not predicting the future. Rather, we study events that have already occurred and existing trends. Our Science and Security Board tracks numbers and statistics—looking, for example, at the number and kinds of nuclear weapons in the world, the parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the degree of acidity in our oceans, and the rate of sea level rise. The board also takes account of the pace of leaders’ and citizens’ efforts to reduce nuclear dangers, and the urgency of actions by governments, markets, and civil society organizations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“The Bulletin is a bit like a doctor making a diagnosis. We look at data, as physicians look at lab tests and x-rays, and also take harder-to-quantify factors into account, as physicians do when talking with patients and family members. We consider as many symptoms, measurements, and circumstances as we can. Then we come to a judgment that sums up what could happen if leaders and citizens don’t take action to treat the conditions. Ensuring the survival of our societies and the human species is not a political agenda. Cooperating with other countries to achieve control of extremely dangerous technologies should not involve partisan politics. If scientists involved with the Bulletin are critical of current policies on nuclear weapons and climate change, it is because those policies increase the possibility of self-destruction.”
January 2026 Doomsday Clock Statement
On January 27th, 2026, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and its Science and Security Board (SASB), which sets the Doomsday Clock, decided to set the Doomsday Clock at 85 seconds to midnight, the closest the Clock has ever been to midnight in its history. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and the Science and Security Board is calling for urgent action to limit nuclear arsenals, create international guidelines on the use of AI (Artificial Intelligence), and form multilateral agreements to address global biological threats.
Here are some chief extracts from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and the Science and Security Board’s January 27th, 2026, Doomsday Clock statement:
“A year ago, we warned that the world was perilously close to global disaster and that any delay in reversing course increased the probability of catastrophe. Rather than heed this warning, Russia, China, the United States, and other major countries have instead become increasingly aggressive, adversarial, and nationalistic. Global understandings are collapsing … and undermining the international cooperation critical to reducing the risks of nuclear war, climate change, the misuse of biotechnology, the potential threat of artificial intelligence, and other apocalyptic dangers. Far too many leaders have grown complacent and indifferent … Because of this failure of leadership, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Science and Security Board today sets the Doomsday Clock at 85 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been to catastrophe ...
“Over the course of 2025, negative trends—old and new—intensified, with three regional conflicts involving nuclear powers all threatening to escalate. The Russia–Ukraine war has featured novel and potentially destabilizing military tactics and Russian allusions to nuclear weapons use. Conflict between India and Pakistan erupted in May, leading to cross-border drone and missile attacks amid nuclear brinkmanship. In June, Israel and the United States launched aerial attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities suspected of supporting the country’s nuclear weapons ambitions. It remains unclear whether the attacks constrained those efforts—or if they instead persuaded the country to pursue nuclear weapons covertly.
“Meanwhile, competition among major powers has become a full-blown arms race, as evidenced by increasing numbers of nuclear warheads and platforms in China, and the modernization of nuclear delivery systems in the United States, Russia, and China. The United States plans to deploy a new, multilayered missile defense system, Golden Dome, that will include space-based interceptors, increasing the probability of conflict in space and likely fueling a new space-based arms race ... Countries with nuclear weapons failed to talk about strategic stability or arms control, much less nuclear disarmament, and questions about US extended deterrence commitments to traditional allies in Europe and Asia led some countries without nuclear weapons to consider acquiring them.
“An array of adverse trends also dominated the climate change outlook in the past year. The level of atmospheric carbon dioxide—the greenhouse gas most responsible for human-caused climate change—reached a new high. Global average temperature in 2024 was the warmest in the 175-year record, and temperatures in 2025 were similar. With the addition of freshwater from melting glaciers and thermal expansion, global average sea level reached a record high. Large swaths of Peru, the Amazon, southern Africa, and northwest Africa experienced droughts. Floods in the Congo River Basin displaced 350,000 people, and record rainfall in southeast Brazil displaced over half a million. The national and international responses to the climate emergency went from wholly insufficient to profoundly destructive … During the past year, developments in four areas of the life sciences have increased potentially catastrophic risks. In December 2024, scientists from nine countries announced the recognition of a potentially existential threat to all life on Earth … At the same time, the accelerating evolution of artificial intelligence poses a different sort of biological threat―the potential for the AI-aided design of new pathogens to which humans have no effective defenses ... The United States, Russia and China are incorporating AI across their defense sectors, despite the potential dangers of such moves. The AI revolution has the potential to accelerate the existing chaos and dysfunction in the world’s information ecosystem.
“These dangerous trends are accompanied by another development that undermines efforts to deal with major global threats―the rise of nationalistic autocracy in countries around the world, including in a number of countries that possess nuclear weapons. Leaders of the United States, Russia, and China greatly vary in their autocratic leanings, but they all have approaches to international relations that favor grandiosity and competition over diplomacy and cooperation. The rise of autocracies is not in itself an existential threat, but an “us-versus-them, zero-sum approach” increases the risk of global catastrophe. The current autocratic trend impedes international cooperation, reduces accountability, and acts as a threat accelerant, making dangerous nuclear, climatic, and technological threats all the harder to reverse … National leaders—particularly those in the United States, Russia, and China—must take the lead in finding a path away from the brink. Citizens must insist they do so.” (January 27th, 2026, Doomsday Clock statement from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and the Science and Security Board).
Doomsday Etymology
“Doomsday” originates from the Old English “dōmes dæg”, and from the later Middle English word “domesdai”. The first element, “dōmes”, is the genitive (possessive) case of “dōm”, which means “judgment, sentence, or law”. It evolved over time—partly through associations with the idea of finality and ruin—to mean total destruction or annihilation.
The second element, dæg (day), comes from the Old English “dæg” meaning “period during which the sun is above the horizon,” and which eventually came to mean “day”
Thus, “Doomsday” has come to signify the “Day of Judgment” or “Judgment Day”, referring specifically to the Christian theological concept of the final, unavoidable judgment of all humanity by God. As such, “Doomsday” was first recorded before 1000 AD, it originally referred to the Christian belief in the Last Judgment at the end of the world. The usage of “doom” to mean “death” or “final fate” was heavily influenced by Shakespeare in the early 17th century.
Heaven’s Doomsday Clock
We can so caught up in all these secular doomsday pronouncements and warnings that we forget that Heaven has long since had its own Doomsday Clock! We see its pronouncements in Holy Scripture; we see its pronouncements coming from Our Lord and Our Lady; and we see its pronouncements coming by way of many prophecies made over the centuries.
The Doomsday Clock of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is not a real prediction, but a metaphorical and symbolic representation of the state of our times―whereas Heaven’s Doomsday Clock is a true and real representation of our times with true and real predictions of the inevitable consequences that will take place if we do not make spiritual changes (more so than mere natural changes) in our own live and that of the world.
All we see from these world leaders and scientists is talk, talk, talk and more talk! Talking will not bring lasting solutions unless we talk to the right person! Our Lord warned: “Without Me―you can do nothing!” (John 15:5). Yet these world leaders and scientists do not want to include Christ, nor talk to Christ, nor seek His solutions―there is no place for Christ in their discussions: “The people devised vain things. The kings of the Earth stood up, and the princes met together, against the Lord and against his Christ, saying: ‘Let us break their bonds asunder, and let us cast away their yoke from us!’” (Psalm 2:2-3).
Biblical “Doom and Gloom”
Bear in mind―as already stated above―that our English word “doomsday” originates from the Old English “dōmes dæg”, and from the later Middle English word “domesdai” ― whereby dōmes” means “judgment, sentence, or law” and “dæg” means “the period during which the sun is above the horizon,” and which eventually came to mean “day.” Therefore, “dōmes dæg” or “domesdai” ultimately means “Day of Sentencing”, “Day of Judgment” or “Judgment Day” and for well over a thousand years has referred to the Christian belief in the Last Judgment at the end of the world―with the word “doom” evolving to mean “death” or “final fate” and “doomsday” ultimately meaning “Judgment at Death”.
Looked upon in such a manner, we can then see that Holy Scripture is filled with “doom and gloom” for sinners and “doom and joy” for saints―death and woe for sinners; death and happiness for saints. For those consigned to Purgatory because they did not pay their debt for their forgiven sins―it is a hybrid case of “doom and gloom” gradually evolving into “doom and joy”; death and woe being increasingly transformed into death and joy. What is absolutely certain for every person (except those who are still living when Christ comes to judge at the end of the world) is that everyone is “doomed to die.” As Scripture says: “The wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23). “Sin, when it is completed, begets death!” (James 1:15). “The soul that sins, the same shall die!” (Ezechiel 18:20). “You shall die in your sin!” (John 8:24). “Everyone shall die for his own sin!” (Deuteronomy 24:16).
Sin begets death and Original Sin begets death for every member of the human race: “From the woman came the beginning of sin, and by her we all die!” (Ecclesiasticus 25:33). “Wherefore as by one man sin entered into this world, and by sin death; and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned … Death reigned from Adam!” (Romans 5:12-14). Everyone must face the “doom of death” not only because of the Original Sin of Adam and Eve, but also because of their own personal sins: “Who can say: ‘My heart is clean, I am pure from sin!’?” (Proverbs 20:9). Who dare say: “I am clean, and without sin! I am unspotted, and there is no iniquity in me!” (Job 33:9). “For in many things we all offend” (James 3:2).
Doom and Gloom for the Sinners of the World
We read of a phenomenal and unprecedented “Doomsday” in the time of Noe: “God seeing that the wickedness of men was great on the earth, and that all the thought of their heart was bent upon evil at all times, it repented him that he had made man on the Earth. And He said: ‘I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the Earth, for it repents Me that I have made them! … I will make it rain upon the Earth for forty days and forty nights; and I will destroy every substance that I have made, from the face of the Earth!’ … And the flood was forty days upon the Earth, and the waters increased, and lifted up the ark on high from the Earth. The waters overflowed exceedingly and filled all on the face of the Earth: and the ark was carried upon the waters. And the waters prevailed beyond measure upon the Earth, and all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. And all flesh was destroyed that moved upon the Earth and all men. And all things wherein there is the breath of life on the Earth, died. And God destroyed all the substance that was upon the Earth, from man even to beast, and the creeping things and fowls of the air: and they were destroyed from the Earth: and Noe only remained, and they that were with him in the ark” (Genesis 6:5-7; 7:4; 7:17-23).
The words of Holy Scripture come to mind, which say: “Be not deceived, God is not mocked! For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that sows in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption! But he that sows in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting!” (Galatians 6:7-8). It seems that there are very few who “sow in the spirit” and countless multitudes who “sow in their flesh” ― as Our Lord Himself indicates: “Strive to enter by the narrow gate―for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able! … Enter ye in at the narrow gate―for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat! How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life―and few there are that find it! … For many are called, but few are chosen!” (Luke 13:24; Matthew 7:13-14; 22:14). If that does not worry you; if that does not scare you; if that does not terrify you ― then it should set off the alarm bells, for you are told: “With fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12). Yet instead of trembling with fear of losing their salvation, most are “happy-go-lucky” with regard to salvation―as epitomized by the following words of St. Louis de Montfort in his Letter to the Friends of the Cross:
“Is the way you follow the true way of life, the narrow way, the thorn-strewn way to Calvary? Or are you unconsciously traveling the world’s broad road, the road to perdition? Do you realize that there is a highroad which to all appearances is straight and safe for man to travel, but which in reality leads to death? … Do you really know the voice of God and grace from the voice of the world and human nature? Do you distinctly hear the voice of God pronouncing His threefold curse upon everyone who follows the world in its concupiscence? … These are two groups ― the followers of Christ and the followers of the world … There is only a handful of people who follow Christ … The world’s group, the devil’s in fact, which is far superior in number … . Those who are Christ’s have crucified their flesh with its concupiscence … Worldlings, on the contrary, rouse one another to persist in their unscrupulous depravity. ‘Enjoy life, peace and pleasure!’ they shout: ‘Enjoy life, peace and pleasure! Let us eat, let us drink, let us sing, let us dance, let us play! God is good, He did not make us in order to to damn us! God does not forbid us to enjoy ourselves! We shall not be damned for that! Away with scruples! We shall not die!’ And so they continue.” (St. Louis de Montfort, Letter to the Friends of the Cross).
Of such folk Holy Scripture and Our Lord say: “I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud; and all passed through the sea and all in Moses were baptized; and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink ― but with most of them God was not well pleased … Neither become ye idolaters, as some of them, as it is written: ‘The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play!’” (1 Corinthians 10:7). To which Our Lord adds: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth! … But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven! … For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” ― “mammon” being the pleasures, treasures, teachings and spirit of the world, whose prince is the devil (Matthew 6:19-24). “What shall it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his soul?” (Mark 8:36). “Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!’” (Matthew 19:23-24). Scripture further adds: “Woe to you that are rich!” (Luke 6:24). “Do not trust in the uncertainty of riches, but in the living God!” (1 Timothy 6:17) … “He that trusts in his riches shall fall!” (Proverbs 11:28) …“Go now, you rich men, weep and howl in your miseries, which shall come upon you! Your riches are corrupted! Your gold and silver is cankered―and the rust of them shall be for a testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up to yourselves wrath against the last days!” (James 5:1-3).
Our Lady Warns Us of Our Doomsday
We often refer to Our Lady under her titles of Mother of Mercy, Refuge of Sinners and Comforter of the Afflicted ― but perhaps we should also create some new titles for her such as Our Lady of Doomsday, Warner of Justice, Admonisher of Sinners and Threatener of Affliction! Why? Because that is exactly what Our Lady has been doing for the last 200 years or so ― warning us of the justice of God; admonishing us for our sins that provoke God’s justice; and threatening us with terrible punishments that will inescapably occur if we refuse to change our lives and heed Heaven’s requests and commands!
Never before in the history of the Church has Our Lady threatened us with such “doom and gloom” as she has over the last few centuries. If you don’t believe that, or don’t know that, or have forgotten that―then just read the following mere “tip-of-the-iceberg” of quotes from Our Lady:
► LA SALETTE (1846): ““If my people do not wish to submit themselves, I am forced to let go of the hand of my Son! It is so heavy and weighs me down so much, that I can no longer keep hold of it! I have suffered all of the time for all of you! If I do not wish my Son to abandon you, I must take it upon myself to pray for this continually! And all of you think little of this! In vain you will pray! In vain you will act! You will never be able to make up for the trouble I have taken over for all of you! … Woe to the inhabitants of the Earth! … The society of men is on the eve of the most terrible scourges and of gravest events! Mankind must expect to be ruled with an iron rod and to drink from the chalice of the wrath of God! … God will exhaust His wrath upon them, and no one will be able to escape so many afflictions together! Physical and moral agonies will be suffered. God will abandon mankind to itself and will send punishments which will follow one after the other for years!” (Our Lady of La Salette).
► OUR LADY TO BLESSED SISTER ELENA AIELLO (1895-1961)―mystic, stigmatic, victim soul, prophetess and foundress of the Minim Tertiaries of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ―Our Lady, in an apparition on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8th, 1956, said: “People are offending God too much! If I were to show you all the sins committed on a single day, you would surely die of grief! These are grave times! The world is in total turmoil―because it is in a worse condition than at the time of the Deluge! [the Great Flood in Noe’s time]. Materialism marches on ever fomenting bloody strifes and fratricidal struggles. Clear signs warn that peace is in danger. That scourge, like the shadow of a dark cloud, is now moving across mankind―only my power, as Mother of God, is preventing the outbreak of the storm. All is hanging on a slender thread! When that thread shall snap, Divine Justice shall pounce upon the world and execute its dreadful, purging designs! All the nations shall be punished because sins, like a muddy river, are now covering all the Earth!” (Our Lady to the Blessed Sister Elena Aiello).
► QUITO (1600s): “The secular Clergy will leave much to be desired, because priests will become careless in their sacred duties. Lacking the divine compass, they will stray from the road traced by God for the priestly ministry, and they will become attached to wealth and riches, which they will unduly strive to obtain. Masonry, which will then be in power, will enact iniquitous laws with the objective of doing away with this Sacrament of Matrimony, making it easy for everyone to live in sin. The Christian spirit will rapidly decay, extinguishing the precious light of Faith until it reaches the point that there will be an almost total and general corruption of morals. In this supreme moment of need of the Church, those who should speak will fall silent. The spirit of impurity that will permeate the atmosphere during these times. Like a filthy ocean, it will run through the streets, squares and public places with an astonishing liberty! In these unhappy times, there will be unbridled luxury and impurity will conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost. Innocence will almost no longer be found in children, nor modesty in women. Corrupted priests will scandalize the Christian people, will incite the hatred of the bad Christians and the enemies of the Roman, Catholic and Apostolic Church to fall upon all priests. This apparent triumph of Satan will bring enormous sufferings to the good pastors of the Church. The small number of souls, who will preserve the treasures of the Faith and practice virtue, will suffer a cruel, unspeakable and prolonged martyrdom! There will be occasions when all will seem lost and paralyzed!” (Our Lady of Good Success).
► LA SALETTE (1846): “The Church will yield to large persecution, a time of darkness and the Church will witness a frightful crisis. Churches will be locked up or desecrated. Priests and religious orders will be hunted down, and made to die a cruel death. Many will abandon the Faith, and a great number of priests and members of religious orders will break away from the true religion; among these people there will even be bishops ... A number of religious institutions will lose all Faith and will cause many souls to be damned. Evil books will be abundant on Earth and the spirits of darkness will spread everywhere a universal slackening in everything that concerns the service of God … Rome will lose the Faith and become the seat of the Antichrist … The Church will be in eclipse, the world will be in dismay ... The righteous will suffer greatly ... The true Faith to the Lord will be forgotten … People will think of nothing but amusement. The wicked will give themselves over to all kinds of sin … and men will become more and more perverted.” (Our Lady of La Salette).
► FATIMA (1917): “Do not offend the Lord our God anymore, because He is already so much offended! … Many souls go to Hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and pray for them! … Say the Rosary every day, to bring peace to the world and the end of the war … If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved! … but if people do not cease offending God , know that God is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father! … Nations will be annihilated!” (Our Lady of Fatima).
Regarding the annihilation of nations: it is important to note that during the Father Fuentes interview, Sister Lucia said that Our Blessed Mother had told herself, Jacinta and Francisco “many times ... that many nations will disappear from the face of the Earth.” We only have the one recorded instance in July 1917, but Lucia said Our Lady spoke many times of the annihilation of many nations―she said this not just once, but she said it “many times!” (Frère François, Tragedy and Triumph, p. 27).
Lucia also said that later on, in 1929, Jesus had spoken to her as follows: “They did not wish to heed My request. Like the king of France, they will repent and do it, but it will be late. Russia will have already spread her errors throughout the world, provoking wars and persecutions of the Church; the Holy Father will have much to suffer.” (Our Lord to Sr. Lucia of Fatima).
The Lord of Doom and Gloom
The above words of Our Lady are nothing other than an echo of the words of Our Lord in the Gospels. There is nothing gloomier that Hell ― and Our Lord speaks often Hell either explicitly or implicitly, directly or indirectly!
“And a certain man said to Jesus: ‘Lord! Are they few that are saved?’ But He said to them: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate―for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able. For wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat! How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life―and few there are that find it! … For many are called, but few are chosen! … Not everyone that says to Me: “Lord! Lord!” shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven: but he that does the will of My Father Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven! Many will say to Me in that day: “Lord! Lord! Have not we prophesied in Thy Name, and cast out devils in Thy Name, and done many miracles in Thy Name!” And then will I profess unto them: “I never knew you! Depart from Me, you that work iniquity!” ... When the master of the house shall be gone in, and shall shut the door, you shall begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying: “Lord! Open to us!” And He, answering, shall say to you: “I know you not, whence you are!” Then you shall begin to say: “We have eaten and drunk in Thy presence, and Thou hast taught in our streets!” And He shall say to you: “I know you not, whence you are! Depart from Me, all ye workers of iniquity!” There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the Kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out! … Why do you call Me, “Lord! Lord!” and do not the things which I say?’” (Luke 13:23-28; Matthew 7:13-14; 7:22-23; 22:14; Luke 6:46). “Take heed, watch and pray! For you know not when the time is!” (Mark 13:33) … “I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance! … No, I say to you― unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish! ... Again I say to you― except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 5:32; 13:3-5). “Woe to you that are rich … Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!’” (Luke 6:24; Matthew 19:23-24).
“Think ye, that I am come to give peace on Earth? I tell you, no―but separation! Do not think that I came to send peace upon Earth! I came not to send peace, but the sword! For there shall be from henceforth five in one house divided: three against two, and two against three. And a man’s enemies shall be they of his own household. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against his father, the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law! You shall be hated by all men and all nations for My Name’s sake! ... Many shall betray one another and shall hate one another! … They shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for My sake! … You shall be brought before governors and before kings for My sake! They will deliver you up in councils and they will scourge you in their synagogues. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall put you to death! The brother also shall deliver up the brother to death; and the father the son; and the children shall rise up against their parents and shall put them to death! But he that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved!” (Matthew 5:11; 10:17-22, 34-36; 24:9-10; Luke 12:51-53).
“Take heed that no man seduce you! For many will come in My name saying: ‘I am Christ!’ ― and they will seduce many! And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you be not troubled. For these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet! For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be pestilences, and famines, and earthquakes in places! Now all these are the beginnings of sorrows! Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall put you to death, and you shall be hated by all nations for My Name’s sake! And then shall many be scandalized, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another! When this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all nations, then shall the consummation come! When therefore you shall see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place―he that reads let him understand―then flee to the mountains! For there shall be then great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, neither shall be! And unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would be saved―but for the sake of the elect those days shall be shortened! And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of Heaven shall be moved! And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in Heaven; and then shall all tribes of the Earth mourn; and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of Heaven with much power and majesty! So when you shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors! But of that day and hour no one knows, not the angels of Heaven, but the Father alone! And as in the days of Noe, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be! For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, even till that day in which Noe entered into the ark―and they knew not till the flood came and took them all away. So also shall the coming of the Son of man be!’” (Matthew 24:4-39).
Who Do You Believe?
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and the Science and Security Board are telling us that they have adjusted the Doomsday Clock to 85 seconds to midnight due to the fact that “Russia, China, the United States, and other major countries have instead become increasingly aggressive, adversarial, and nationalistic. Global understandings are collapsing … and undermining the international cooperation critical to reducing the risks of nuclear war, climate change, the misuse of biotechnology, the potential threat of artificial intelligence, and other apocalyptic dangers. Far too many leaders have grown complacent and indifferent … Because of this failure of leadership, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Science and Security Board today sets the Doomsday Clock at 85 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been to catastrophe” (January 27th, 2026, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and its Science and Security Board).
Some of what they say might well be true―but theirs is more a list of SYMPTOMS rather than the ROOT CAUSE of those symptoms. Our Lady of La Salette “hits the nail on the head” when she says the following as being the root cause of these woes: “The sins of men are the cause of all the woes and troubles on this Earth!” Our Lady then gives the consequences of that SINFUL ROOT CAUSE by listing a whole variety of branches that will sprout forth from that SINFUL ROOT CAUSE―which to some degree dovetail with what the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and the Science and Security Board are telling us:
In her apparitions as Our Lady of Good Success, Our Lady of La Salette, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Akita and Our Lady’s revelations to Blessed Elena Aiello, the Blessed Mother warns: “Many men in this world afflict the Lord … If sins increase in number and gravity, there will be no longer pardon for them … If men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity … In order that the world might know His anger, the Heavenly Father is preparing to inflict a great chastisement on all mankind ... It will be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one never seen before … Woe to the inhabitants of the Earth! … The society of men is on the eve of the most terrible scourges and of gravest events! Mankind must expect to be ruled with an iron rod and to drink from the chalice of the wrath of God! … God will exhaust His wrath upon them, and no one will be able to escape so many afflictions together!
“The chiefs, the leaders of the people of God, have neglected prayer and penance … Lucifer, together with a large number of demons, will be unloosed from Hell; they will put an end to Faith, little by little, even in those dedicated to God ... The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops … The secular clergy will leave much to be desired, because priests will become careless in their sacred duties … The Christian spirit will rapidly decay, extinguishing the precious light of Faith … There will be an almost total and general corruption of morals ... There will be unbridled luxury and impurity that will conquer innumerable frivolous souls … There will be almost no virgin souls in the world … Depraved priests will scandalize the Christian people … Many will abandon the Faith, and a great number of priests and members of religious orders will break away from the true religion; among these people there will even be bishops ... A number of religious institutions will lose all Faith and will cause many souls to be damned. Evil books will be abundant on Earth and the spirits of darkness will spread everywhere a universal slackening in everything that concerns the service of God. The true Faith to the Lord will be forgotten … People will think of nothing but amusement. The wicked will give themselves over to all kinds of sin … and men will become more and more perverted.”
“Satan will reign almost completely by means of the Masonic sects … The evil sect of Masonry will take control of the civil government … The Church will find herself attacked by terrible assaults from the Masonic sect … All the civil governments will have the same objective, which will be to abolish and do away with every religious principle, to make way for materialism, atheism, spiritism and vice of all kinds … All order and all justice will be trampled underfoot and only homicides, hate, jealousy, lies and discord will be seen, without love for country or family ... The rulers of nations speak of peace―but instead, the whole world will soon be at war, because the justice of God will not be delayed and these events are near. Tremendous will be the upheaval of the whole world, because men — as at the time of the Deluge — have lost God’s way, and are ruled by the spirit of Satan. Mankind, defiled in the mire, soon will be washed in its own blood, by disease; by famine; by earthquakes; by cloudbursts, tornadoes, floods, and terrible storms; and by war.”
“Nature is asking for vengeance on account of men, and she trembles, with dread, at what must happen to the Earth stained with crime. The Earth will be struck by calamities of all kinds ― in addition to famine which will be widespread ― there will be plagues and infectious diseases ... A number of large cities will be shaken down, shattered and swallowed up by earthquakes … There will be thunderstorms which will shake and demolish cities; earthquakes which will swallow up countries ... There will be a series of wars, until the last war, a general war, which will be appalling. Men will kill and massacre each other, even in their homes ... Blood will flow on all sides. Blood will flow in the streets ... People will believe that all is lost. Nothing will be seen but murder, nothing will be heard but the clash of weapons and blasphemy. Men will beat their heads against walls, call for their death, yet death will constitute their torment. France, Italy, Spain, and England will be at war ... Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead.”
The Doomsday Clock ― a symbol that represents the estimated likelihood of a human-made global catastrophe ― is the brainchild of the nonprofit organization Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, originally known by its former title as the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists of Chicago. Immediately following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was founded in 1945 by Albert Einstein, biophysicist Eugene Rabinowitch, physicist Hyman Goldsmith, J. Robert Oppenheimer (first chairman of the board of the organization), and University of Chicago scientists who had helped develop the first atomic weapons in the Manhattan Project. The first editor of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was biophysicist Eugene Rabinowitch (1901–1973).
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists began as an emergency action undertaken by scientists who saw urgent need for an immediate educational program about atomic weapons. The intention was to educate fellow scientists about the relationship between their world of science and the world of national and international politics. A second was to warn the public about the dangers of nuclear war ― to help the American people understand what nuclear energy and its possible applications to war meant. The Bulletin contributors believed the atom bomb would only be the first of many dangers. The aim of the Bulletin was to carry out the long, sustained effort of educating people about the realities of the scientific age. In addition to educating and warning the American public of the continual danger posed by nuclear weapons, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has most recently added other global dangers ― such as climate change and disruptive technologies in the life sciences to the list of concerns.
The organization has been publishing continuously since 1945―at first in the form of a newsletter, which soon evolved from a mere newsletter to a much broader and voluminous magazine. At the dawn of the nuclear age, these scientists created the Doomsday Clock in 1947 as a symbolic representation of how close humanity is to destroying the world.
The Doomsday Clock imagery was created in 1947 by artist Martyl Langsdorf for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists to symbolize humanity’s proximity to self-destruction, initially focusing on the threat of nuclear weapons. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists co-editor Hyman Goldsmith had asked artist Martyl Langsdorf to come up with a design for the cover of the June 1947 edition of the Bulletin―which was the first issue published as a magazine rather than a newsletter. Martyl—as she was known professionally—was married to a physicist, Alexander Langsdorf, who worked on creating the Atom-Bomb in the Manhattan Project at the University of Chicago. At first, the artist considered using the symbol for uranium. But as she listened to the scientists who had worked on the Atom-Bomb, as they passionately debated the consequences of the new technology and their responsibility to inform the public, she felt their sense of urgency. So she sketched a clock to suggest that we didn’t have much time left to get atomic weapons under control. Thus the clock face first appeared on their June 1947 first magazine cover. The resultant Doomsday Clock, which only has bullets labeling the numbers in the upper left hand corner, has been featured on the cover of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists many times since its creation.
The original time setting that appeared on the Doomsday Clock on that first edition of the magazine was arbitrarily set at 7 minutes before midnight―as the artist, Martyl Langsdorf, herself admitted: “It looked good to my eye!” Including that June 1947 first edition, the Doomsday Clock has been reset 26 times by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists ― with its setting changed to reflect escalating global threats like nuclear risk and climate change, moving closer to or further from “midnight” (symbolizing catastrophe). The proximity of the minute hand to midnight has been the Bulletin leadership's way of warning the public about man-made threats to humanity; the Doomsday Clock is a metaphor, not a prediction. That is to say, the time on the clock is not to be interpreted as actual time, but simply as the level of dangers that we are actually facing at any given time.
The Doomsday Clock is a proxy mechanism for threats to humanity from unchecked scientific and technological advances. A hypothetical global catastrophe is represented by midnight on the Doomsday Clock, according to the opinion of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and its Science and Security Board (SASB). The Science and Security Board (SASB) is a select group of globally recognized leaders with a specific focus on nuclear risk, climate change, and disruptive technologies. The Science and Security Board provides the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists with objective external perspectives on trends and issues in these fields and connects the organization to outside experts. Their opinion on how close the world is to “zero” is represented by a certain number of minutes or seconds to midnight. This is assessed in January of each year. The main factors influencing the Doomsday Clock are nuclear warfare, climate change, and artificial intelligence.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists states: “The Doomsday Clock is not a forecasting tool, and we are not predicting the future. Rather, we study events that have already occurred and existing trends. Our Science and Security Board tracks numbers and statistics—looking, for example, at the number and kinds of nuclear weapons in the world, the parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the degree of acidity in our oceans, and the rate of sea level rise. The board also takes account of the pace of leaders’ and citizens’ efforts to reduce nuclear dangers, and the urgency of actions by governments, markets, and civil society organizations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“The Bulletin is a bit like a doctor making a diagnosis. We look at data, as physicians look at lab tests and x-rays, and also take harder-to-quantify factors into account, as physicians do when talking with patients and family members. We consider as many symptoms, measurements, and circumstances as we can. Then we come to a judgment that sums up what could happen if leaders and citizens don’t take action to treat the conditions. Ensuring the survival of our societies and the human species is not a political agenda. Cooperating with other countries to achieve control of extremely dangerous technologies should not involve partisan politics. If scientists involved with the Bulletin are critical of current policies on nuclear weapons and climate change, it is because those policies increase the possibility of self-destruction.”
January 2026 Doomsday Clock Statement
On January 27th, 2026, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and its Science and Security Board (SASB), which sets the Doomsday Clock, decided to set the Doomsday Clock at 85 seconds to midnight, the closest the Clock has ever been to midnight in its history. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and the Science and Security Board is calling for urgent action to limit nuclear arsenals, create international guidelines on the use of AI (Artificial Intelligence), and form multilateral agreements to address global biological threats.
Here are some chief extracts from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and the Science and Security Board’s January 27th, 2026, Doomsday Clock statement:
“A year ago, we warned that the world was perilously close to global disaster and that any delay in reversing course increased the probability of catastrophe. Rather than heed this warning, Russia, China, the United States, and other major countries have instead become increasingly aggressive, adversarial, and nationalistic. Global understandings are collapsing … and undermining the international cooperation critical to reducing the risks of nuclear war, climate change, the misuse of biotechnology, the potential threat of artificial intelligence, and other apocalyptic dangers. Far too many leaders have grown complacent and indifferent … Because of this failure of leadership, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Science and Security Board today sets the Doomsday Clock at 85 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been to catastrophe ...
“Over the course of 2025, negative trends—old and new—intensified, with three regional conflicts involving nuclear powers all threatening to escalate. The Russia–Ukraine war has featured novel and potentially destabilizing military tactics and Russian allusions to nuclear weapons use. Conflict between India and Pakistan erupted in May, leading to cross-border drone and missile attacks amid nuclear brinkmanship. In June, Israel and the United States launched aerial attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities suspected of supporting the country’s nuclear weapons ambitions. It remains unclear whether the attacks constrained those efforts—or if they instead persuaded the country to pursue nuclear weapons covertly.
“Meanwhile, competition among major powers has become a full-blown arms race, as evidenced by increasing numbers of nuclear warheads and platforms in China, and the modernization of nuclear delivery systems in the United States, Russia, and China. The United States plans to deploy a new, multilayered missile defense system, Golden Dome, that will include space-based interceptors, increasing the probability of conflict in space and likely fueling a new space-based arms race ... Countries with nuclear weapons failed to talk about strategic stability or arms control, much less nuclear disarmament, and questions about US extended deterrence commitments to traditional allies in Europe and Asia led some countries without nuclear weapons to consider acquiring them.
“An array of adverse trends also dominated the climate change outlook in the past year. The level of atmospheric carbon dioxide—the greenhouse gas most responsible for human-caused climate change—reached a new high. Global average temperature in 2024 was the warmest in the 175-year record, and temperatures in 2025 were similar. With the addition of freshwater from melting glaciers and thermal expansion, global average sea level reached a record high. Large swaths of Peru, the Amazon, southern Africa, and northwest Africa experienced droughts. Floods in the Congo River Basin displaced 350,000 people, and record rainfall in southeast Brazil displaced over half a million. The national and international responses to the climate emergency went from wholly insufficient to profoundly destructive … During the past year, developments in four areas of the life sciences have increased potentially catastrophic risks. In December 2024, scientists from nine countries announced the recognition of a potentially existential threat to all life on Earth … At the same time, the accelerating evolution of artificial intelligence poses a different sort of biological threat―the potential for the AI-aided design of new pathogens to which humans have no effective defenses ... The United States, Russia and China are incorporating AI across their defense sectors, despite the potential dangers of such moves. The AI revolution has the potential to accelerate the existing chaos and dysfunction in the world’s information ecosystem.
“These dangerous trends are accompanied by another development that undermines efforts to deal with major global threats―the rise of nationalistic autocracy in countries around the world, including in a number of countries that possess nuclear weapons. Leaders of the United States, Russia, and China greatly vary in their autocratic leanings, but they all have approaches to international relations that favor grandiosity and competition over diplomacy and cooperation. The rise of autocracies is not in itself an existential threat, but an “us-versus-them, zero-sum approach” increases the risk of global catastrophe. The current autocratic trend impedes international cooperation, reduces accountability, and acts as a threat accelerant, making dangerous nuclear, climatic, and technological threats all the harder to reverse … National leaders—particularly those in the United States, Russia, and China—must take the lead in finding a path away from the brink. Citizens must insist they do so.” (January 27th, 2026, Doomsday Clock statement from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and the Science and Security Board).
Doomsday Etymology
“Doomsday” originates from the Old English “dōmes dæg”, and from the later Middle English word “domesdai”. The first element, “dōmes”, is the genitive (possessive) case of “dōm”, which means “judgment, sentence, or law”. It evolved over time—partly through associations with the idea of finality and ruin—to mean total destruction or annihilation.
The second element, dæg (day), comes from the Old English “dæg” meaning “period during which the sun is above the horizon,” and which eventually came to mean “day”
Thus, “Doomsday” has come to signify the “Day of Judgment” or “Judgment Day”, referring specifically to the Christian theological concept of the final, unavoidable judgment of all humanity by God. As such, “Doomsday” was first recorded before 1000 AD, it originally referred to the Christian belief in the Last Judgment at the end of the world. The usage of “doom” to mean “death” or “final fate” was heavily influenced by Shakespeare in the early 17th century.
Heaven’s Doomsday Clock
We can so caught up in all these secular doomsday pronouncements and warnings that we forget that Heaven has long since had its own Doomsday Clock! We see its pronouncements in Holy Scripture; we see its pronouncements coming from Our Lord and Our Lady; and we see its pronouncements coming by way of many prophecies made over the centuries.
The Doomsday Clock of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is not a real prediction, but a metaphorical and symbolic representation of the state of our times―whereas Heaven’s Doomsday Clock is a true and real representation of our times with true and real predictions of the inevitable consequences that will take place if we do not make spiritual changes (more so than mere natural changes) in our own live and that of the world.
All we see from these world leaders and scientists is talk, talk, talk and more talk! Talking will not bring lasting solutions unless we talk to the right person! Our Lord warned: “Without Me―you can do nothing!” (John 15:5). Yet these world leaders and scientists do not want to include Christ, nor talk to Christ, nor seek His solutions―there is no place for Christ in their discussions: “The people devised vain things. The kings of the Earth stood up, and the princes met together, against the Lord and against his Christ, saying: ‘Let us break their bonds asunder, and let us cast away their yoke from us!’” (Psalm 2:2-3).
Biblical “Doom and Gloom”
Bear in mind―as already stated above―that our English word “doomsday” originates from the Old English “dōmes dæg”, and from the later Middle English word “domesdai” ― whereby dōmes” means “judgment, sentence, or law” and “dæg” means “the period during which the sun is above the horizon,” and which eventually came to mean “day.” Therefore, “dōmes dæg” or “domesdai” ultimately means “Day of Sentencing”, “Day of Judgment” or “Judgment Day” and for well over a thousand years has referred to the Christian belief in the Last Judgment at the end of the world―with the word “doom” evolving to mean “death” or “final fate” and “doomsday” ultimately meaning “Judgment at Death”.
Looked upon in such a manner, we can then see that Holy Scripture is filled with “doom and gloom” for sinners and “doom and joy” for saints―death and woe for sinners; death and happiness for saints. For those consigned to Purgatory because they did not pay their debt for their forgiven sins―it is a hybrid case of “doom and gloom” gradually evolving into “doom and joy”; death and woe being increasingly transformed into death and joy. What is absolutely certain for every person (except those who are still living when Christ comes to judge at the end of the world) is that everyone is “doomed to die.” As Scripture says: “The wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23). “Sin, when it is completed, begets death!” (James 1:15). “The soul that sins, the same shall die!” (Ezechiel 18:20). “You shall die in your sin!” (John 8:24). “Everyone shall die for his own sin!” (Deuteronomy 24:16).
Sin begets death and Original Sin begets death for every member of the human race: “From the woman came the beginning of sin, and by her we all die!” (Ecclesiasticus 25:33). “Wherefore as by one man sin entered into this world, and by sin death; and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned … Death reigned from Adam!” (Romans 5:12-14). Everyone must face the “doom of death” not only because of the Original Sin of Adam and Eve, but also because of their own personal sins: “Who can say: ‘My heart is clean, I am pure from sin!’?” (Proverbs 20:9). Who dare say: “I am clean, and without sin! I am unspotted, and there is no iniquity in me!” (Job 33:9). “For in many things we all offend” (James 3:2).
Doom and Gloom for the Sinners of the World
We read of a phenomenal and unprecedented “Doomsday” in the time of Noe: “God seeing that the wickedness of men was great on the earth, and that all the thought of their heart was bent upon evil at all times, it repented him that he had made man on the Earth. And He said: ‘I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the Earth, for it repents Me that I have made them! … I will make it rain upon the Earth for forty days and forty nights; and I will destroy every substance that I have made, from the face of the Earth!’ … And the flood was forty days upon the Earth, and the waters increased, and lifted up the ark on high from the Earth. The waters overflowed exceedingly and filled all on the face of the Earth: and the ark was carried upon the waters. And the waters prevailed beyond measure upon the Earth, and all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. And all flesh was destroyed that moved upon the Earth and all men. And all things wherein there is the breath of life on the Earth, died. And God destroyed all the substance that was upon the Earth, from man even to beast, and the creeping things and fowls of the air: and they were destroyed from the Earth: and Noe only remained, and they that were with him in the ark” (Genesis 6:5-7; 7:4; 7:17-23).
The words of Holy Scripture come to mind, which say: “Be not deceived, God is not mocked! For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that sows in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption! But he that sows in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting!” (Galatians 6:7-8). It seems that there are very few who “sow in the spirit” and countless multitudes who “sow in their flesh” ― as Our Lord Himself indicates: “Strive to enter by the narrow gate―for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able! … Enter ye in at the narrow gate―for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat! How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life―and few there are that find it! … For many are called, but few are chosen!” (Luke 13:24; Matthew 7:13-14; 22:14). If that does not worry you; if that does not scare you; if that does not terrify you ― then it should set off the alarm bells, for you are told: “With fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12). Yet instead of trembling with fear of losing their salvation, most are “happy-go-lucky” with regard to salvation―as epitomized by the following words of St. Louis de Montfort in his Letter to the Friends of the Cross:
“Is the way you follow the true way of life, the narrow way, the thorn-strewn way to Calvary? Or are you unconsciously traveling the world’s broad road, the road to perdition? Do you realize that there is a highroad which to all appearances is straight and safe for man to travel, but which in reality leads to death? … Do you really know the voice of God and grace from the voice of the world and human nature? Do you distinctly hear the voice of God pronouncing His threefold curse upon everyone who follows the world in its concupiscence? … These are two groups ― the followers of Christ and the followers of the world … There is only a handful of people who follow Christ … The world’s group, the devil’s in fact, which is far superior in number … . Those who are Christ’s have crucified their flesh with its concupiscence … Worldlings, on the contrary, rouse one another to persist in their unscrupulous depravity. ‘Enjoy life, peace and pleasure!’ they shout: ‘Enjoy life, peace and pleasure! Let us eat, let us drink, let us sing, let us dance, let us play! God is good, He did not make us in order to to damn us! God does not forbid us to enjoy ourselves! We shall not be damned for that! Away with scruples! We shall not die!’ And so they continue.” (St. Louis de Montfort, Letter to the Friends of the Cross).
Of such folk Holy Scripture and Our Lord say: “I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud; and all passed through the sea and all in Moses were baptized; and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink ― but with most of them God was not well pleased … Neither become ye idolaters, as some of them, as it is written: ‘The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play!’” (1 Corinthians 10:7). To which Our Lord adds: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth! … But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven! … For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” ― “mammon” being the pleasures, treasures, teachings and spirit of the world, whose prince is the devil (Matthew 6:19-24). “What shall it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his soul?” (Mark 8:36). “Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!’” (Matthew 19:23-24). Scripture further adds: “Woe to you that are rich!” (Luke 6:24). “Do not trust in the uncertainty of riches, but in the living God!” (1 Timothy 6:17) … “He that trusts in his riches shall fall!” (Proverbs 11:28) …“Go now, you rich men, weep and howl in your miseries, which shall come upon you! Your riches are corrupted! Your gold and silver is cankered―and the rust of them shall be for a testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up to yourselves wrath against the last days!” (James 5:1-3).
Our Lady Warns Us of Our Doomsday
We often refer to Our Lady under her titles of Mother of Mercy, Refuge of Sinners and Comforter of the Afflicted ― but perhaps we should also create some new titles for her such as Our Lady of Doomsday, Warner of Justice, Admonisher of Sinners and Threatener of Affliction! Why? Because that is exactly what Our Lady has been doing for the last 200 years or so ― warning us of the justice of God; admonishing us for our sins that provoke God’s justice; and threatening us with terrible punishments that will inescapably occur if we refuse to change our lives and heed Heaven’s requests and commands!
Never before in the history of the Church has Our Lady threatened us with such “doom and gloom” as she has over the last few centuries. If you don’t believe that, or don’t know that, or have forgotten that―then just read the following mere “tip-of-the-iceberg” of quotes from Our Lady:
► LA SALETTE (1846): ““If my people do not wish to submit themselves, I am forced to let go of the hand of my Son! It is so heavy and weighs me down so much, that I can no longer keep hold of it! I have suffered all of the time for all of you! If I do not wish my Son to abandon you, I must take it upon myself to pray for this continually! And all of you think little of this! In vain you will pray! In vain you will act! You will never be able to make up for the trouble I have taken over for all of you! … Woe to the inhabitants of the Earth! … The society of men is on the eve of the most terrible scourges and of gravest events! Mankind must expect to be ruled with an iron rod and to drink from the chalice of the wrath of God! … God will exhaust His wrath upon them, and no one will be able to escape so many afflictions together! Physical and moral agonies will be suffered. God will abandon mankind to itself and will send punishments which will follow one after the other for years!” (Our Lady of La Salette).
► OUR LADY TO BLESSED SISTER ELENA AIELLO (1895-1961)―mystic, stigmatic, victim soul, prophetess and foundress of the Minim Tertiaries of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ―Our Lady, in an apparition on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8th, 1956, said: “People are offending God too much! If I were to show you all the sins committed on a single day, you would surely die of grief! These are grave times! The world is in total turmoil―because it is in a worse condition than at the time of the Deluge! [the Great Flood in Noe’s time]. Materialism marches on ever fomenting bloody strifes and fratricidal struggles. Clear signs warn that peace is in danger. That scourge, like the shadow of a dark cloud, is now moving across mankind―only my power, as Mother of God, is preventing the outbreak of the storm. All is hanging on a slender thread! When that thread shall snap, Divine Justice shall pounce upon the world and execute its dreadful, purging designs! All the nations shall be punished because sins, like a muddy river, are now covering all the Earth!” (Our Lady to the Blessed Sister Elena Aiello).
► QUITO (1600s): “The secular Clergy will leave much to be desired, because priests will become careless in their sacred duties. Lacking the divine compass, they will stray from the road traced by God for the priestly ministry, and they will become attached to wealth and riches, which they will unduly strive to obtain. Masonry, which will then be in power, will enact iniquitous laws with the objective of doing away with this Sacrament of Matrimony, making it easy for everyone to live in sin. The Christian spirit will rapidly decay, extinguishing the precious light of Faith until it reaches the point that there will be an almost total and general corruption of morals. In this supreme moment of need of the Church, those who should speak will fall silent. The spirit of impurity that will permeate the atmosphere during these times. Like a filthy ocean, it will run through the streets, squares and public places with an astonishing liberty! In these unhappy times, there will be unbridled luxury and impurity will conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost. Innocence will almost no longer be found in children, nor modesty in women. Corrupted priests will scandalize the Christian people, will incite the hatred of the bad Christians and the enemies of the Roman, Catholic and Apostolic Church to fall upon all priests. This apparent triumph of Satan will bring enormous sufferings to the good pastors of the Church. The small number of souls, who will preserve the treasures of the Faith and practice virtue, will suffer a cruel, unspeakable and prolonged martyrdom! There will be occasions when all will seem lost and paralyzed!” (Our Lady of Good Success).
► LA SALETTE (1846): “The Church will yield to large persecution, a time of darkness and the Church will witness a frightful crisis. Churches will be locked up or desecrated. Priests and religious orders will be hunted down, and made to die a cruel death. Many will abandon the Faith, and a great number of priests and members of religious orders will break away from the true religion; among these people there will even be bishops ... A number of religious institutions will lose all Faith and will cause many souls to be damned. Evil books will be abundant on Earth and the spirits of darkness will spread everywhere a universal slackening in everything that concerns the service of God … Rome will lose the Faith and become the seat of the Antichrist … The Church will be in eclipse, the world will be in dismay ... The righteous will suffer greatly ... The true Faith to the Lord will be forgotten … People will think of nothing but amusement. The wicked will give themselves over to all kinds of sin … and men will become more and more perverted.” (Our Lady of La Salette).
► FATIMA (1917): “Do not offend the Lord our God anymore, because He is already so much offended! … Many souls go to Hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and pray for them! … Say the Rosary every day, to bring peace to the world and the end of the war … If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved! … but if people do not cease offending God , know that God is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father! … Nations will be annihilated!” (Our Lady of Fatima).
Regarding the annihilation of nations: it is important to note that during the Father Fuentes interview, Sister Lucia said that Our Blessed Mother had told herself, Jacinta and Francisco “many times ... that many nations will disappear from the face of the Earth.” We only have the one recorded instance in July 1917, but Lucia said Our Lady spoke many times of the annihilation of many nations―she said this not just once, but she said it “many times!” (Frère François, Tragedy and Triumph, p. 27).
Lucia also said that later on, in 1929, Jesus had spoken to her as follows: “They did not wish to heed My request. Like the king of France, they will repent and do it, but it will be late. Russia will have already spread her errors throughout the world, provoking wars and persecutions of the Church; the Holy Father will have much to suffer.” (Our Lord to Sr. Lucia of Fatima).
The Lord of Doom and Gloom
The above words of Our Lady are nothing other than an echo of the words of Our Lord in the Gospels. There is nothing gloomier that Hell ― and Our Lord speaks often Hell either explicitly or implicitly, directly or indirectly!
“And a certain man said to Jesus: ‘Lord! Are they few that are saved?’ But He said to them: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate―for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able. For wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat! How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life―and few there are that find it! … For many are called, but few are chosen! … Not everyone that says to Me: “Lord! Lord!” shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven: but he that does the will of My Father Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven! Many will say to Me in that day: “Lord! Lord! Have not we prophesied in Thy Name, and cast out devils in Thy Name, and done many miracles in Thy Name!” And then will I profess unto them: “I never knew you! Depart from Me, you that work iniquity!” ... When the master of the house shall be gone in, and shall shut the door, you shall begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying: “Lord! Open to us!” And He, answering, shall say to you: “I know you not, whence you are!” Then you shall begin to say: “We have eaten and drunk in Thy presence, and Thou hast taught in our streets!” And He shall say to you: “I know you not, whence you are! Depart from Me, all ye workers of iniquity!” There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the Kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out! … Why do you call Me, “Lord! Lord!” and do not the things which I say?’” (Luke 13:23-28; Matthew 7:13-14; 7:22-23; 22:14; Luke 6:46). “Take heed, watch and pray! For you know not when the time is!” (Mark 13:33) … “I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance! … No, I say to you― unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish! ... Again I say to you― except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 5:32; 13:3-5). “Woe to you that are rich … Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!’” (Luke 6:24; Matthew 19:23-24).
“Think ye, that I am come to give peace on Earth? I tell you, no―but separation! Do not think that I came to send peace upon Earth! I came not to send peace, but the sword! For there shall be from henceforth five in one house divided: three against two, and two against three. And a man’s enemies shall be they of his own household. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against his father, the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law! You shall be hated by all men and all nations for My Name’s sake! ... Many shall betray one another and shall hate one another! … They shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for My sake! … You shall be brought before governors and before kings for My sake! They will deliver you up in councils and they will scourge you in their synagogues. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall put you to death! The brother also shall deliver up the brother to death; and the father the son; and the children shall rise up against their parents and shall put them to death! But he that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved!” (Matthew 5:11; 10:17-22, 34-36; 24:9-10; Luke 12:51-53).
“Take heed that no man seduce you! For many will come in My name saying: ‘I am Christ!’ ― and they will seduce many! And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you be not troubled. For these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet! For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be pestilences, and famines, and earthquakes in places! Now all these are the beginnings of sorrows! Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall put you to death, and you shall be hated by all nations for My Name’s sake! And then shall many be scandalized, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another! When this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all nations, then shall the consummation come! When therefore you shall see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place―he that reads let him understand―then flee to the mountains! For there shall be then great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, neither shall be! And unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would be saved―but for the sake of the elect those days shall be shortened! And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of Heaven shall be moved! And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in Heaven; and then shall all tribes of the Earth mourn; and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of Heaven with much power and majesty! So when you shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors! But of that day and hour no one knows, not the angels of Heaven, but the Father alone! And as in the days of Noe, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be! For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, even till that day in which Noe entered into the ark―and they knew not till the flood came and took them all away. So also shall the coming of the Son of man be!’” (Matthew 24:4-39).
Who Do You Believe?
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and the Science and Security Board are telling us that they have adjusted the Doomsday Clock to 85 seconds to midnight due to the fact that “Russia, China, the United States, and other major countries have instead become increasingly aggressive, adversarial, and nationalistic. Global understandings are collapsing … and undermining the international cooperation critical to reducing the risks of nuclear war, climate change, the misuse of biotechnology, the potential threat of artificial intelligence, and other apocalyptic dangers. Far too many leaders have grown complacent and indifferent … Because of this failure of leadership, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Science and Security Board today sets the Doomsday Clock at 85 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been to catastrophe” (January 27th, 2026, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and its Science and Security Board).
Some of what they say might well be true―but theirs is more a list of SYMPTOMS rather than the ROOT CAUSE of those symptoms. Our Lady of La Salette “hits the nail on the head” when she says the following as being the root cause of these woes: “The sins of men are the cause of all the woes and troubles on this Earth!” Our Lady then gives the consequences of that SINFUL ROOT CAUSE by listing a whole variety of branches that will sprout forth from that SINFUL ROOT CAUSE―which to some degree dovetail with what the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and the Science and Security Board are telling us:
In her apparitions as Our Lady of Good Success, Our Lady of La Salette, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Akita and Our Lady’s revelations to Blessed Elena Aiello, the Blessed Mother warns: “Many men in this world afflict the Lord … If sins increase in number and gravity, there will be no longer pardon for them … If men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity … In order that the world might know His anger, the Heavenly Father is preparing to inflict a great chastisement on all mankind ... It will be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one never seen before … Woe to the inhabitants of the Earth! … The society of men is on the eve of the most terrible scourges and of gravest events! Mankind must expect to be ruled with an iron rod and to drink from the chalice of the wrath of God! … God will exhaust His wrath upon them, and no one will be able to escape so many afflictions together!
“The chiefs, the leaders of the people of God, have neglected prayer and penance … Lucifer, together with a large number of demons, will be unloosed from Hell; they will put an end to Faith, little by little, even in those dedicated to God ... The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops … The secular clergy will leave much to be desired, because priests will become careless in their sacred duties … The Christian spirit will rapidly decay, extinguishing the precious light of Faith … There will be an almost total and general corruption of morals ... There will be unbridled luxury and impurity that will conquer innumerable frivolous souls … There will be almost no virgin souls in the world … Depraved priests will scandalize the Christian people … Many will abandon the Faith, and a great number of priests and members of religious orders will break away from the true religion; among these people there will even be bishops ... A number of religious institutions will lose all Faith and will cause many souls to be damned. Evil books will be abundant on Earth and the spirits of darkness will spread everywhere a universal slackening in everything that concerns the service of God. The true Faith to the Lord will be forgotten … People will think of nothing but amusement. The wicked will give themselves over to all kinds of sin … and men will become more and more perverted.”
“Satan will reign almost completely by means of the Masonic sects … The evil sect of Masonry will take control of the civil government … The Church will find herself attacked by terrible assaults from the Masonic sect … All the civil governments will have the same objective, which will be to abolish and do away with every religious principle, to make way for materialism, atheism, spiritism and vice of all kinds … All order and all justice will be trampled underfoot and only homicides, hate, jealousy, lies and discord will be seen, without love for country or family ... The rulers of nations speak of peace―but instead, the whole world will soon be at war, because the justice of God will not be delayed and these events are near. Tremendous will be the upheaval of the whole world, because men — as at the time of the Deluge — have lost God’s way, and are ruled by the spirit of Satan. Mankind, defiled in the mire, soon will be washed in its own blood, by disease; by famine; by earthquakes; by cloudbursts, tornadoes, floods, and terrible storms; and by war.”
“Nature is asking for vengeance on account of men, and she trembles, with dread, at what must happen to the Earth stained with crime. The Earth will be struck by calamities of all kinds ― in addition to famine which will be widespread ― there will be plagues and infectious diseases ... A number of large cities will be shaken down, shattered and swallowed up by earthquakes … There will be thunderstorms which will shake and demolish cities; earthquakes which will swallow up countries ... There will be a series of wars, until the last war, a general war, which will be appalling. Men will kill and massacre each other, even in their homes ... Blood will flow on all sides. Blood will flow in the streets ... People will believe that all is lost. Nothing will be seen but murder, nothing will be heard but the clash of weapons and blasphemy. Men will beat their heads against walls, call for their death, yet death will constitute their torment. France, Italy, Spain, and England will be at war ... Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead.”
Article 14
Monday & Tuesday, January 26th & 27th
Life is Serious! Take it Very Seriously!
Monday & Tuesday, January 26th & 27th
Life is Serious! Take it Very Seriously!
No Re-incarnation ― Only Salvation or Damnation!
As the modern saying states: “First things first!” We need to focus upon and attend to the primary and necessary things before we pay attention to and occupy ourselves with secondary things. Our Lord clearly affirms this in the Gospels:
“Jesus said: ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father, except through Me! … I am the door! By Me, if any man enters in, he shall be saved! I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly! … I am the resurrection and the life! He that believes in Me, although he be dead, shall live! And everyone that lives and believes in Me, shall not die for ever! … He that believes in Me, as Scripture says, “Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water!” … I am the light of the world―he that follows Me, does not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life! … Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth! … But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven! … For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon! Therefore I say to you, do not be anxious about your life and what you shall eat; nor be anxious about your body and what you shall put on! Is not the life more than the meat; and the body more than the clothing? … For he that seeks to save his life, shall lose it―and he that shall lose his life for My sake, shall find it! For what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, but suffers the loss of his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul? … Fear ye not them that kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul―but rather fear Him that can destroy both soul and body in Hell! … Seek ye therefore first the Kingdom of God!” (John 14:6; 10:9-10; 11:25-26; 7:38; 8:12; Matthew 6:19-26, 33; 10:28).
Holy Scripture reinforces those words: “We have not here a lasting city, but we seek one that is to come!” (Hebrews 13:14). “It is appointed for men to die once, and after this the judgment!” (Hebrews 9:27). “None of us lives for himself; and no man dies for himself―for whether we live, we live for the Lord; or whether we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live, or whether we die―we are the Lord’s! For this is why Christ died and rose again―so that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living!” (Romans 14:7-9). “He that has the Son, has life. He that has not the Son, has not life!” (1 John 5:12). “Therefore, ensure that you walk not as unwise, but as wise ― redeeming the time, because the days are evil! Wherefore become not unwise, but understand what is the will of God. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is luxury and impurity; but be filled with the Holy Spirit!” (Ephesians 5:15-17).
Our Lord stresses the importance of putting God above riches in His parable about the Rich Man and Lazarus: “There was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen; and feasted sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar, named Lazarus, who lay at his gate, full of sores, desiring to be filled with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table―but no one gave him any; moreover the dogs came and licked his sores! And it came to pass, that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. And the rich man also died and he was buried in Hell. And lifting up his eyes when he was in torments, he saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said: ‘Father Abraham! Have mercy on me and send Lazarus, so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, to cool my tongue―for I am tormented in this flame!’ And Abraham said to him: ‘Son, remember that you did receive good things in your lifetime, and likewise Lazarus received evil things―but now he is comforted and you are tormented! And besides all this, between us and you, there is fixed a great chaos―so that anyone who would like pass from here to you, cannot do so; nor can anyone from there come here!’ And he said: ‘Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house―for I have five brethren―so that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torments!’ And Abraham said to him: ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them!’ But he said: ‘No, father Abraham―but if someone went to them from the dead, they will do penance!’ And he said to him: ‘If they will hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe if someone rises again from the dead!’” (Luke 16:19-31).
The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola
The Ignatian vision of the purpose of life is contained in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, the book that Ignatius Loyola assembled to help people come into a more intimate relationship with God. Ignatian spirituality offers us a vision. It is a vision that helps us see what is really true about God and about the world that He created. The essence of the Ignatian vision is contained in a reflection at the beginning of the Exercises called the Principle and Foundation. God―Who loves us created ― wants to share life with us forever. In Scripture, Christ says that the most important commandment is that of loving God with our whole soul, mind, heart and strength. Our loving response to God takes shape in our praise and honor and service of the God of our life.
All the things in this world are also created because of God’s love and they are essentially gifts that are presented to us to use wisely, so that we can know God more easily, make a return of love more readily, and serve Him willingly. But if we abuse any of these gifts of creation or, on the contrary, use them unwisely by making them as the center of our lives, and placing them above God in importance, then we break our relationship with God, hinder our spiritual growth, and endanger our salvation. In everyday life, then, we must hold ourselves in balance before all created gifts―insofar as we have a choice and the choices that we make are our own responsibility. We should not fix our desires on health or sickness, wealth or poverty, success or failure, a long life or a short one. For everything has the potential of calling forth in us a more loving response to our life forever with God.
Presumptions on Life
“Now you say: ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and there we will spend a year, and will do business and make our gain!’ Whereas you know not what shall be on the morrow! For what is your life? It is a vapor which appears for a little while, and afterwards shall vanish away! Therefore you should say: ‘If the Lord wills, and if we shall live, then we will do this or that!’” (James 4:13-15). “Man―born of a woman and living only for a short time―is filled with many miseries!” (Job 14:1). “The time of man passes like a shadow” (Ecclesiastes 7:1). “My days have declined like a shadow, and I am withered like grass!” (Psalm 101:12). “For all flesh is like grass; and all the glory of man is like the flower of grass. The grass is withered, and the flower of grass is fallen away!” (1 Peter 1:24). “We are dust! Man’s days are like grass, and like the flower of the field, so too shall he flourish! For the spirit of life shall pass in him, and he shall not exist anymore, and he shall know his place no more!” (Psalm 102:14-16). “The days of our years in them are seventy years. In the strong they be eighty years―but most of them are labor and sorrow!” (Psalm 89:10).
St. Alphonsus Liguori writes: “Time is short, eternity is long! What good is all the greatness of this world at the hour of death? To love God and save my soul is the one thing necessary Fear nothing but sin! For to lose God, is to lose all! To gain all I must leave all! In loving God I have all good things! Eternal Father, give me the grace of perseverance in doing Your will in all things. Grant, O Lord, that I may love You always and never let me be separated from You!”
Life is Short! Death Comes Quickly!
St. Alphonsus Liguori, in his marvelous (but not very popular) book―Preparation for Death―paints a vivid picture of the shortness of life and the rapid approach of death for each and every one of us! Here is an extract from that book:
“What is your life? It is like a vapor or wisp of smoke, which is dissipated by a blast of wind, and is seen no more. All know that they must die; but the delusion of many is that they imagine death as far off as if it were never to arrive. But Job tells us that the life of man is short. Man born of a woman, living for a short time, who comes forth like a flower, and is destroyed. This truth the Lord commanded Isaias to preach to the people: ‘All flesh is grass. Indeed, the people is grass. The grass is withered, and the flower is fallen’ (Isaias 40:6). The life of man is like the life of a blade of grass; death comes, the grass is dried up: behold, life ends, and the flower of all greatness and of all worldly goods falls off.
“‘My days’, says Job, ‘have been swifter than a post’ (Job 9:25). Death runs to meet us more swiftly than a post, and we at every moment run towards death. Every step, every breath brings us nearer to our end. ‘What I write,’ says Jerome, ‘is so much taken away from life’ (Ad Hel. De morte Nep.). ‘During the time I write, I draw near to death.’ We all die, and like the waters that return no more, we fall into the earth (2 Kings 14:14). Behold how the stream flows to the sea, and the passing waters never return! Thus, my friend, your days pass by, and you approach death. Pleasures, amusements, pomps, praises, and acclamations pass away; and what remains? And only the grave remains for me (Job 18:1). We shall be thrown into a grave, and there we shall remain to rot, stripped of all things. At the hour of death the remembrance of the delights enjoyed, and of all the honors acquired in this life, will serve only to increase our pain and our diffidence of obtaining eternal salvation. Then the miserable worldling will say: ‘My house, my gardens, my fashionable furniture, my pictures, my garments, will in a little time be no longer mine, and only the grave remains for me!’
“Ah! At that hour all earthly goods are viewed only with pain by those who have had an attachment for them. And this pain will serve only to increase the danger of their eternal salvation; for we see by experience, that persons attached to the world wish at death to speak only of their sickness, of the physicians to be called to attend them, and of the remedies which may restore their health. When any one speaks of the state of the soul, they soon grow weary, and beg to be allowed repose. They complain of headache, and say that it pains them to hear any one speak. And if they sometimes answer, they are confused, and know not what to say. It often happens that the confessor gives them absolution, not because he knows that they are disposed for the Sacrament, but because it is dangerous to defer it. Such is the death of those who think but little of death.” (St. Alphonsus Liguori, Preparation for Death, Consideration #3: The Shortness of Life).
Universal Salvation Puts Out the Fires of Hell!
However unpopular the topic of our ultimate and inevitable death might be―there is a topic that is even more unpopular! What is that super-unpopular topic? Hell! If there are few people who like to think about their own death and its inevitability―there are even fewer people who like to think about Hell and likelihood that they might up there! Today, it has become increasingly popular to focus on what is called “Universal Salvation” ― meaning that everybody eventually goes to Heaven. Universal salvation, or Christian universalism, is the theological belief that, due to God’s supreme love, mercy, all human beings—and sometimes all fallen beings—will ultimately be reconciled to God and be saved. This doctrine asserts that no one will suffer eternal punishment in Hell, as all will eventually experience redemption and salvation, often viewing punishment after death as remedial rather than final. This mistaken idea makes Hell into being Purgatory.
A clear distinction must be made here―God wants ALL PERSONS to be saved, but ALL PERSONS WILL NOT BE SAVED. Salvation is NOT UNCONDITIONAL, salvation is, on the contrary, CONDITIONAL. Certain conditions have to met and fulfilled in order to be saved―and most persons refuse or neglect to meet and fulfill those conditions. Furthermore, this heretical idea of “Universal Salvation” contradicts what Holy Scripture, Our Lord, Our Lady, saints, popes and theologians have always said on the matter of salvation―which is that MOST SOULS ARE LOST, not saved!
Yes―salvation is desired for all, but not all are saved. Holy Scripture clearly points out both truths ― (1) God wants all persons to be saved, but (2) All persons will not be saved. Here are just some of relevant quotes on both those points:
► GOD WANTS THE SALVATION OF EVERYONE: “God will [“to will” means “to want”] have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). “The grace of God our Savior has appeared to all men, … so that He might redeem us” (Titus 2:11-14). “God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son―so that whosoever believes in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting” (John 3:16). “Is it My will that a sinner should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways, and live?” (Ezechiel 18:23). “The Lord deals patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance” (2 Peter 3:9). “God declares unto men, that all should everywhere do penance!” (Acts 17:30). “God sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). “God sent not His Son into the world, to judge the world, but so that the world may be saved by Him” (John 3:17). “The Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14). “The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save!” (Luke 9:56). “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). “I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance!” (Luke 5:32).
► NOT EVERYONE WILL BE SAVED: Our Lord is clear and unequivocal on the subject: “No, I say to you―unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish! ... Again I say to you―except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3-5). “For what shall it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his soul?” (Mark 8:36). “And a certain man said to Jesus: ‘Lord! Are they few that are saved?’ But Jesus said: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate―for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able! For wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat! How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life―and few there are that find it! … For many are called, but few are chosen! … Not everyone that says to Me: “Lord! Lord!” shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven―but he that does the will of My Father Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven! Many will say to Me in that day: “Lord! Lord! Have not we prophesied in Thy Name, and cast out devils in Thy Name, and done many miracles in Thy Name!” And then will I profess unto them: “I never knew you! Depart from Me, you that work iniquity!” ... When the master of the house shall be gone in, and shall shut the door, you shall begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying: “Lord! Open to us!” And He, answering, shall say to you: “I know you not, whence you are!” Then you shall begin to say: “We have eaten and drunk in Thy presence, and Thou hast taught in our streets!” And He shall say to you: “I know you not, whence you are! Depart from Me, all ye workers of iniquity!” There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the Kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out! … Why do you call Me, “Lord! Lord!” and do not the things which I say?’” (Luke 13:23-28; Matthew 7:13-14; 7:22-23; 22:14; Luke 6:46).
HOLY SCRIPTURE re-affirms and reinforces those words, saying: “With fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12). “Let him do penance for his sin!” (Leviticus 5:5) ... “Hear, I beseech you, and do penance!” (Job 21:2). “Do penance―for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:2). “The Lord delays not His promise, as some imagine, but deals patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance!” (2 Peter 3:9). “God has given him time for penance, and he abuses it in his pride!” (Job 24:23). “Know you not that they that run in the race, all run indeed, but one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain! And everyone that strives for the mastery, refrains himself from all things―and they, indeed, that they may receive a corruptible crown―but we an incorruptible one! I therefore so run, not as at an uncertainty! I so fight, not as one beating the air! But I chastise my body, and bring it into subjection―lest, perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway!” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).
OUR LADY also re-affirms and reinforces the above words in her revelations to the Venerable Mary of Agreda: “Man is full of blindest inclinations, and if he does not restrain them, he will cause his eternal perdition! Men are so taken up with their earthly and material life, that they do not feel any other evils except those on a physical and material nature. Carnal men, with a most perverse blindness, continue to make much of the visible and fictitious good! God knows that this insane love will pervert the greater part of the human nature! Many persons―whom the world has celebrated as great, powerful and wise―have thrown themselves into the eternal darkness of Hell! … The number of fools is infinite and the number of the reprobate is also uncountable! … How many men have thrown themselves into the eternal darkness of Hell! … Countless numbers have fallen into Hell! … Lucifer has hurled into Hell so great a number of souls and continues so to hurl them every day! I will not tell thee how many souls are lost, in order to not cause thee to die of sorrow at this loss! … I have already told thee, that the number of those foreknown as doomed, is so great, and of those that save themselves is so small, that it is not expedient to say more in particular! Weep ceaselessly over the terrible loss sustained by so many insane and thankless souls, who are forgetful of God, of their duty and of their own selves … and lose their chance of salvation or bring upon themselves eternal damnation!” (Words of Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, taken from The Mystical City of God).
OUR LADY further laments our lack of seriousness and neglect in living our lives in the way God desires: “Great is the neglect and the inattention of men! … Men neglect their obligations! ... The cause of God remains neglected! ... What a damage is brought about in souls by the neglect of so many graces, helps, inspirations, callings and other blessings of the Lord! ... Others, who strive after virtue and perform some good works, the enemy leads into a dangerous lukewarmness and negligence! The degrading forgetfulness and neglect of men hinder them from maturing within themselves the fruits of Christ’s Redemption! … Many have been negligent in the reception of the Sacraments! … Weep over the lack of attention displayed by mortals toward these great Sacraments and at the losses sustained by them through their lukewarmness and negligence! … What a horrible crime it is in the eyes of the Lord that men should despise and neglect the frequent reception of the Holy Communion! … Furthermore, how can they be called children of the Church, who neglect to visit Him in the many places where Christ is Sacramentally present in the tabernacle? … Men do not know how much they lose by their negligence in this regard! … Through their negligence and forgetfulness, mortals lose immense treasures of grace and glory! ... Since all men, in their inordinate desire and pursuit of worldly happiness, neglect the Divine Law―where alone happiness can be found―very few really attain happiness! … They content themselves with performing good works negligently or without fervor! … Those who neglect good works and remain idle, can by no means expect to apply to themselves the good works of Christ! … This negligence is much more blamable now, since the eternal Word became man in my womb, taught the world and redeemed it for this very purpose! … The demons instill into the parents a base neglectfulness for their offspring! God will severely punish any negligence in this matter!”
“God withdraws from the lukewarm and negligent! … How great a damage it is to neglect the exercise of any virtue! … Most persons never fail to have some vain excuse for their negligence! … None of the mortals will have any excuse for their foolish negligence! … If man neglects to rise above his low desires and his forgetfulness, then he yields to the enemy of God and man! … The risks of this negligence all the human creatures incur! … What hope have the wicked, the negligent and sinful, who have spent their whole lives in making themselves unworthy of divine favor and grace! … The neglect and contempt of bodily mortification cause the loss of many souls and bring many more into the danger of eternal loss! … What pretense or excuse will lax Christians in their negligence advance for having forgotten their own eternal salvation, when my divine Son and I have desired and sought to obtain it for them with such sacrifices and untiring watchfulness? None of the mortals will have any excuse for their foolish negligence!” She also speaks of “the negligent ministers of the Church in our days.” (Words of Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, taken from The Mystical City of God).
The One Thing Necessary
When visiting Martha and Mary, we see Our Lord speak of the one thing that is necessary: “Jesus entered into a certain town and a certain woman, named Martha, received Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who, sitting at the Lord’s feet, heard His word. But Martha was busy about much serving. Martha stood and said: ‘Lord! Hast Thou no care that my sister has left me alone to serve? Speak to her, therefore, that she help me!’ And the Lord answering, said to her: ‘Martha! Martha! Thou art careful and art troubled about many things! But one thing is necessary! Mary has chosen the best part, which shall not be taken away from her!’” (Luke 10:38-42).
FR. GARRIGOU-LAGRANGE comments upon the above passage, saying: “The one thing necessary — which Jesus spoke of to Martha and Mary — consists in hearing the word of God and living by it. St. Alphonsus Liguori, in The Way of Salvation and of Perfection, writes: ‘One thing is necessary! The salvation of our souls. It is not necessary to be great, noble, or rich in this world, or to enjoy uninterrupted health; but it is necessary to save our souls. For this purpose has God placed us here―not to acquire honors, riches, or pleasures, but to acquire by our good works that eternal kingdom which is prepared for those who, during this present life, fight against and overcome the enemies of their eternal salvation’ (The Way of Salvation and of Perfection, Part 1, Meditation 17). Looked upon in this way, the interior life is something far more profound and more necessary in us than intellectual life, or the cultivation of the sciences, more profound than artistic or literary life, more profound than social or political life. Unfortunately, some great scholars, mathematicians, physicists, and astronomers have no interior life, so to speak, but devote themselves to the study of their science, as if God did not exist. In their moments of solitude they have no intimate conversation with Him. Their life appears to be, in certain respects, the search for the true and the good, in a more or less definite and restricted domain, but it is so tainted with self-love and intellectual pride, that we may legitimately question whether it will bear fruit for eternity. Many artists, literary men, and statesmen never rise above this level of purely human activity, which is, in short, quite exterior. Do the depths of their souls live by God? It would seem not.
“There are some who seem to think that it is sufficient to be saved and that it is not necessary to be a saint. It is clearly not necessary to be a saint who performs miracles, and whose sanctity is officially recognized by the Church. To be saved, we must take the way of salvation, which is identical with that of sanctity. There will be only saints in Heaven, whether they enter there immediately after death, or after purification in Purgatory. No one enters Heaven unless he has that sanctity which consists in perfect purity of soul. Every sin—though it should be only venial—must be effaced, and the punishment due to sin must be borne or remitted, in order that a soul may enjoy forever the vision of God, see Him as He sees Himself, and love Him as He loves Himself. Should a soul enter Heaven before the total remission of its sins, it could not remain there and it would cast itself into Purgatory to be purified.
“The interior life of a just man — who tends toward God and who already lives by Him — is indeed the one thing necessary. To be a saint, neither intellectual culture, nor great exterior activity is a requisite; it suffices that we live profoundly by God. This truth is evident in the saints of the early Church; several of those saints were poor people, even slaves. It is evident also in St. Francis, St. Benedict Joseph Labre, in the Curé of Ars, and many others. They all had a deep understanding of these words of our Savior: ‘For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul?’ (Matthew 16:26).
“If people sacrifice so many things to save the life of the body, which must ultimately die, what should we not sacrifice to save the life of our soul, which is to last forever? Ought not man to love his soul more than his body? ‘Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul?’ (Mark 8:37). Our Lord adds. ‘One thing is necessary,’ He tells us. To save our soul, one thing alone is necessary ― to hear the word of God and to live by it. Therein lies the best part, which will not be taken away from a faithful soul, even though it should lose everything else.” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Ages of the Interior Life).
As the modern saying states: “First things first!” We need to focus upon and attend to the primary and necessary things before we pay attention to and occupy ourselves with secondary things. Our Lord clearly affirms this in the Gospels:
“Jesus said: ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father, except through Me! … I am the door! By Me, if any man enters in, he shall be saved! I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly! … I am the resurrection and the life! He that believes in Me, although he be dead, shall live! And everyone that lives and believes in Me, shall not die for ever! … He that believes in Me, as Scripture says, “Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water!” … I am the light of the world―he that follows Me, does not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life! … Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth! … But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven! … For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon! Therefore I say to you, do not be anxious about your life and what you shall eat; nor be anxious about your body and what you shall put on! Is not the life more than the meat; and the body more than the clothing? … For he that seeks to save his life, shall lose it―and he that shall lose his life for My sake, shall find it! For what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, but suffers the loss of his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul? … Fear ye not them that kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul―but rather fear Him that can destroy both soul and body in Hell! … Seek ye therefore first the Kingdom of God!” (John 14:6; 10:9-10; 11:25-26; 7:38; 8:12; Matthew 6:19-26, 33; 10:28).
Holy Scripture reinforces those words: “We have not here a lasting city, but we seek one that is to come!” (Hebrews 13:14). “It is appointed for men to die once, and after this the judgment!” (Hebrews 9:27). “None of us lives for himself; and no man dies for himself―for whether we live, we live for the Lord; or whether we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live, or whether we die―we are the Lord’s! For this is why Christ died and rose again―so that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living!” (Romans 14:7-9). “He that has the Son, has life. He that has not the Son, has not life!” (1 John 5:12). “Therefore, ensure that you walk not as unwise, but as wise ― redeeming the time, because the days are evil! Wherefore become not unwise, but understand what is the will of God. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is luxury and impurity; but be filled with the Holy Spirit!” (Ephesians 5:15-17).
Our Lord stresses the importance of putting God above riches in His parable about the Rich Man and Lazarus: “There was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen; and feasted sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar, named Lazarus, who lay at his gate, full of sores, desiring to be filled with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table―but no one gave him any; moreover the dogs came and licked his sores! And it came to pass, that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. And the rich man also died and he was buried in Hell. And lifting up his eyes when he was in torments, he saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said: ‘Father Abraham! Have mercy on me and send Lazarus, so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, to cool my tongue―for I am tormented in this flame!’ And Abraham said to him: ‘Son, remember that you did receive good things in your lifetime, and likewise Lazarus received evil things―but now he is comforted and you are tormented! And besides all this, between us and you, there is fixed a great chaos―so that anyone who would like pass from here to you, cannot do so; nor can anyone from there come here!’ And he said: ‘Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house―for I have five brethren―so that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torments!’ And Abraham said to him: ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them!’ But he said: ‘No, father Abraham―but if someone went to them from the dead, they will do penance!’ And he said to him: ‘If they will hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe if someone rises again from the dead!’” (Luke 16:19-31).
The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola
The Ignatian vision of the purpose of life is contained in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, the book that Ignatius Loyola assembled to help people come into a more intimate relationship with God. Ignatian spirituality offers us a vision. It is a vision that helps us see what is really true about God and about the world that He created. The essence of the Ignatian vision is contained in a reflection at the beginning of the Exercises called the Principle and Foundation. God―Who loves us created ― wants to share life with us forever. In Scripture, Christ says that the most important commandment is that of loving God with our whole soul, mind, heart and strength. Our loving response to God takes shape in our praise and honor and service of the God of our life.
All the things in this world are also created because of God’s love and they are essentially gifts that are presented to us to use wisely, so that we can know God more easily, make a return of love more readily, and serve Him willingly. But if we abuse any of these gifts of creation or, on the contrary, use them unwisely by making them as the center of our lives, and placing them above God in importance, then we break our relationship with God, hinder our spiritual growth, and endanger our salvation. In everyday life, then, we must hold ourselves in balance before all created gifts―insofar as we have a choice and the choices that we make are our own responsibility. We should not fix our desires on health or sickness, wealth or poverty, success or failure, a long life or a short one. For everything has the potential of calling forth in us a more loving response to our life forever with God.
Presumptions on Life
“Now you say: ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and there we will spend a year, and will do business and make our gain!’ Whereas you know not what shall be on the morrow! For what is your life? It is a vapor which appears for a little while, and afterwards shall vanish away! Therefore you should say: ‘If the Lord wills, and if we shall live, then we will do this or that!’” (James 4:13-15). “Man―born of a woman and living only for a short time―is filled with many miseries!” (Job 14:1). “The time of man passes like a shadow” (Ecclesiastes 7:1). “My days have declined like a shadow, and I am withered like grass!” (Psalm 101:12). “For all flesh is like grass; and all the glory of man is like the flower of grass. The grass is withered, and the flower of grass is fallen away!” (1 Peter 1:24). “We are dust! Man’s days are like grass, and like the flower of the field, so too shall he flourish! For the spirit of life shall pass in him, and he shall not exist anymore, and he shall know his place no more!” (Psalm 102:14-16). “The days of our years in them are seventy years. In the strong they be eighty years―but most of them are labor and sorrow!” (Psalm 89:10).
St. Alphonsus Liguori writes: “Time is short, eternity is long! What good is all the greatness of this world at the hour of death? To love God and save my soul is the one thing necessary Fear nothing but sin! For to lose God, is to lose all! To gain all I must leave all! In loving God I have all good things! Eternal Father, give me the grace of perseverance in doing Your will in all things. Grant, O Lord, that I may love You always and never let me be separated from You!”
Life is Short! Death Comes Quickly!
St. Alphonsus Liguori, in his marvelous (but not very popular) book―Preparation for Death―paints a vivid picture of the shortness of life and the rapid approach of death for each and every one of us! Here is an extract from that book:
“What is your life? It is like a vapor or wisp of smoke, which is dissipated by a blast of wind, and is seen no more. All know that they must die; but the delusion of many is that they imagine death as far off as if it were never to arrive. But Job tells us that the life of man is short. Man born of a woman, living for a short time, who comes forth like a flower, and is destroyed. This truth the Lord commanded Isaias to preach to the people: ‘All flesh is grass. Indeed, the people is grass. The grass is withered, and the flower is fallen’ (Isaias 40:6). The life of man is like the life of a blade of grass; death comes, the grass is dried up: behold, life ends, and the flower of all greatness and of all worldly goods falls off.
“‘My days’, says Job, ‘have been swifter than a post’ (Job 9:25). Death runs to meet us more swiftly than a post, and we at every moment run towards death. Every step, every breath brings us nearer to our end. ‘What I write,’ says Jerome, ‘is so much taken away from life’ (Ad Hel. De morte Nep.). ‘During the time I write, I draw near to death.’ We all die, and like the waters that return no more, we fall into the earth (2 Kings 14:14). Behold how the stream flows to the sea, and the passing waters never return! Thus, my friend, your days pass by, and you approach death. Pleasures, amusements, pomps, praises, and acclamations pass away; and what remains? And only the grave remains for me (Job 18:1). We shall be thrown into a grave, and there we shall remain to rot, stripped of all things. At the hour of death the remembrance of the delights enjoyed, and of all the honors acquired in this life, will serve only to increase our pain and our diffidence of obtaining eternal salvation. Then the miserable worldling will say: ‘My house, my gardens, my fashionable furniture, my pictures, my garments, will in a little time be no longer mine, and only the grave remains for me!’
“Ah! At that hour all earthly goods are viewed only with pain by those who have had an attachment for them. And this pain will serve only to increase the danger of their eternal salvation; for we see by experience, that persons attached to the world wish at death to speak only of their sickness, of the physicians to be called to attend them, and of the remedies which may restore their health. When any one speaks of the state of the soul, they soon grow weary, and beg to be allowed repose. They complain of headache, and say that it pains them to hear any one speak. And if they sometimes answer, they are confused, and know not what to say. It often happens that the confessor gives them absolution, not because he knows that they are disposed for the Sacrament, but because it is dangerous to defer it. Such is the death of those who think but little of death.” (St. Alphonsus Liguori, Preparation for Death, Consideration #3: The Shortness of Life).
Universal Salvation Puts Out the Fires of Hell!
However unpopular the topic of our ultimate and inevitable death might be―there is a topic that is even more unpopular! What is that super-unpopular topic? Hell! If there are few people who like to think about their own death and its inevitability―there are even fewer people who like to think about Hell and likelihood that they might up there! Today, it has become increasingly popular to focus on what is called “Universal Salvation” ― meaning that everybody eventually goes to Heaven. Universal salvation, or Christian universalism, is the theological belief that, due to God’s supreme love, mercy, all human beings—and sometimes all fallen beings—will ultimately be reconciled to God and be saved. This doctrine asserts that no one will suffer eternal punishment in Hell, as all will eventually experience redemption and salvation, often viewing punishment after death as remedial rather than final. This mistaken idea makes Hell into being Purgatory.
A clear distinction must be made here―God wants ALL PERSONS to be saved, but ALL PERSONS WILL NOT BE SAVED. Salvation is NOT UNCONDITIONAL, salvation is, on the contrary, CONDITIONAL. Certain conditions have to met and fulfilled in order to be saved―and most persons refuse or neglect to meet and fulfill those conditions. Furthermore, this heretical idea of “Universal Salvation” contradicts what Holy Scripture, Our Lord, Our Lady, saints, popes and theologians have always said on the matter of salvation―which is that MOST SOULS ARE LOST, not saved!
Yes―salvation is desired for all, but not all are saved. Holy Scripture clearly points out both truths ― (1) God wants all persons to be saved, but (2) All persons will not be saved. Here are just some of relevant quotes on both those points:
► GOD WANTS THE SALVATION OF EVERYONE: “God will [“to will” means “to want”] have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). “The grace of God our Savior has appeared to all men, … so that He might redeem us” (Titus 2:11-14). “God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son―so that whosoever believes in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting” (John 3:16). “Is it My will that a sinner should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways, and live?” (Ezechiel 18:23). “The Lord deals patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance” (2 Peter 3:9). “God declares unto men, that all should everywhere do penance!” (Acts 17:30). “God sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). “God sent not His Son into the world, to judge the world, but so that the world may be saved by Him” (John 3:17). “The Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14). “The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save!” (Luke 9:56). “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). “I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance!” (Luke 5:32).
► NOT EVERYONE WILL BE SAVED: Our Lord is clear and unequivocal on the subject: “No, I say to you―unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish! ... Again I say to you―except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3-5). “For what shall it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his soul?” (Mark 8:36). “And a certain man said to Jesus: ‘Lord! Are they few that are saved?’ But Jesus said: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate―for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able! For wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat! How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life―and few there are that find it! … For many are called, but few are chosen! … Not everyone that says to Me: “Lord! Lord!” shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven―but he that does the will of My Father Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven! Many will say to Me in that day: “Lord! Lord! Have not we prophesied in Thy Name, and cast out devils in Thy Name, and done many miracles in Thy Name!” And then will I profess unto them: “I never knew you! Depart from Me, you that work iniquity!” ... When the master of the house shall be gone in, and shall shut the door, you shall begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying: “Lord! Open to us!” And He, answering, shall say to you: “I know you not, whence you are!” Then you shall begin to say: “We have eaten and drunk in Thy presence, and Thou hast taught in our streets!” And He shall say to you: “I know you not, whence you are! Depart from Me, all ye workers of iniquity!” There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the Kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out! … Why do you call Me, “Lord! Lord!” and do not the things which I say?’” (Luke 13:23-28; Matthew 7:13-14; 7:22-23; 22:14; Luke 6:46).
HOLY SCRIPTURE re-affirms and reinforces those words, saying: “With fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12). “Let him do penance for his sin!” (Leviticus 5:5) ... “Hear, I beseech you, and do penance!” (Job 21:2). “Do penance―for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:2). “The Lord delays not His promise, as some imagine, but deals patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance!” (2 Peter 3:9). “God has given him time for penance, and he abuses it in his pride!” (Job 24:23). “Know you not that they that run in the race, all run indeed, but one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain! And everyone that strives for the mastery, refrains himself from all things―and they, indeed, that they may receive a corruptible crown―but we an incorruptible one! I therefore so run, not as at an uncertainty! I so fight, not as one beating the air! But I chastise my body, and bring it into subjection―lest, perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway!” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).
OUR LADY also re-affirms and reinforces the above words in her revelations to the Venerable Mary of Agreda: “Man is full of blindest inclinations, and if he does not restrain them, he will cause his eternal perdition! Men are so taken up with their earthly and material life, that they do not feel any other evils except those on a physical and material nature. Carnal men, with a most perverse blindness, continue to make much of the visible and fictitious good! God knows that this insane love will pervert the greater part of the human nature! Many persons―whom the world has celebrated as great, powerful and wise―have thrown themselves into the eternal darkness of Hell! … The number of fools is infinite and the number of the reprobate is also uncountable! … How many men have thrown themselves into the eternal darkness of Hell! … Countless numbers have fallen into Hell! … Lucifer has hurled into Hell so great a number of souls and continues so to hurl them every day! I will not tell thee how many souls are lost, in order to not cause thee to die of sorrow at this loss! … I have already told thee, that the number of those foreknown as doomed, is so great, and of those that save themselves is so small, that it is not expedient to say more in particular! Weep ceaselessly over the terrible loss sustained by so many insane and thankless souls, who are forgetful of God, of their duty and of their own selves … and lose their chance of salvation or bring upon themselves eternal damnation!” (Words of Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, taken from The Mystical City of God).
OUR LADY further laments our lack of seriousness and neglect in living our lives in the way God desires: “Great is the neglect and the inattention of men! … Men neglect their obligations! ... The cause of God remains neglected! ... What a damage is brought about in souls by the neglect of so many graces, helps, inspirations, callings and other blessings of the Lord! ... Others, who strive after virtue and perform some good works, the enemy leads into a dangerous lukewarmness and negligence! The degrading forgetfulness and neglect of men hinder them from maturing within themselves the fruits of Christ’s Redemption! … Many have been negligent in the reception of the Sacraments! … Weep over the lack of attention displayed by mortals toward these great Sacraments and at the losses sustained by them through their lukewarmness and negligence! … What a horrible crime it is in the eyes of the Lord that men should despise and neglect the frequent reception of the Holy Communion! … Furthermore, how can they be called children of the Church, who neglect to visit Him in the many places where Christ is Sacramentally present in the tabernacle? … Men do not know how much they lose by their negligence in this regard! … Through their negligence and forgetfulness, mortals lose immense treasures of grace and glory! ... Since all men, in their inordinate desire and pursuit of worldly happiness, neglect the Divine Law―where alone happiness can be found―very few really attain happiness! … They content themselves with performing good works negligently or without fervor! … Those who neglect good works and remain idle, can by no means expect to apply to themselves the good works of Christ! … This negligence is much more blamable now, since the eternal Word became man in my womb, taught the world and redeemed it for this very purpose! … The demons instill into the parents a base neglectfulness for their offspring! God will severely punish any negligence in this matter!”
“God withdraws from the lukewarm and negligent! … How great a damage it is to neglect the exercise of any virtue! … Most persons never fail to have some vain excuse for their negligence! … None of the mortals will have any excuse for their foolish negligence! … If man neglects to rise above his low desires and his forgetfulness, then he yields to the enemy of God and man! … The risks of this negligence all the human creatures incur! … What hope have the wicked, the negligent and sinful, who have spent their whole lives in making themselves unworthy of divine favor and grace! … The neglect and contempt of bodily mortification cause the loss of many souls and bring many more into the danger of eternal loss! … What pretense or excuse will lax Christians in their negligence advance for having forgotten their own eternal salvation, when my divine Son and I have desired and sought to obtain it for them with such sacrifices and untiring watchfulness? None of the mortals will have any excuse for their foolish negligence!” She also speaks of “the negligent ministers of the Church in our days.” (Words of Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, taken from The Mystical City of God).
The One Thing Necessary
When visiting Martha and Mary, we see Our Lord speak of the one thing that is necessary: “Jesus entered into a certain town and a certain woman, named Martha, received Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who, sitting at the Lord’s feet, heard His word. But Martha was busy about much serving. Martha stood and said: ‘Lord! Hast Thou no care that my sister has left me alone to serve? Speak to her, therefore, that she help me!’ And the Lord answering, said to her: ‘Martha! Martha! Thou art careful and art troubled about many things! But one thing is necessary! Mary has chosen the best part, which shall not be taken away from her!’” (Luke 10:38-42).
FR. GARRIGOU-LAGRANGE comments upon the above passage, saying: “The one thing necessary — which Jesus spoke of to Martha and Mary — consists in hearing the word of God and living by it. St. Alphonsus Liguori, in The Way of Salvation and of Perfection, writes: ‘One thing is necessary! The salvation of our souls. It is not necessary to be great, noble, or rich in this world, or to enjoy uninterrupted health; but it is necessary to save our souls. For this purpose has God placed us here―not to acquire honors, riches, or pleasures, but to acquire by our good works that eternal kingdom which is prepared for those who, during this present life, fight against and overcome the enemies of their eternal salvation’ (The Way of Salvation and of Perfection, Part 1, Meditation 17). Looked upon in this way, the interior life is something far more profound and more necessary in us than intellectual life, or the cultivation of the sciences, more profound than artistic or literary life, more profound than social or political life. Unfortunately, some great scholars, mathematicians, physicists, and astronomers have no interior life, so to speak, but devote themselves to the study of their science, as if God did not exist. In their moments of solitude they have no intimate conversation with Him. Their life appears to be, in certain respects, the search for the true and the good, in a more or less definite and restricted domain, but it is so tainted with self-love and intellectual pride, that we may legitimately question whether it will bear fruit for eternity. Many artists, literary men, and statesmen never rise above this level of purely human activity, which is, in short, quite exterior. Do the depths of their souls live by God? It would seem not.
“There are some who seem to think that it is sufficient to be saved and that it is not necessary to be a saint. It is clearly not necessary to be a saint who performs miracles, and whose sanctity is officially recognized by the Church. To be saved, we must take the way of salvation, which is identical with that of sanctity. There will be only saints in Heaven, whether they enter there immediately after death, or after purification in Purgatory. No one enters Heaven unless he has that sanctity which consists in perfect purity of soul. Every sin—though it should be only venial—must be effaced, and the punishment due to sin must be borne or remitted, in order that a soul may enjoy forever the vision of God, see Him as He sees Himself, and love Him as He loves Himself. Should a soul enter Heaven before the total remission of its sins, it could not remain there and it would cast itself into Purgatory to be purified.
“The interior life of a just man — who tends toward God and who already lives by Him — is indeed the one thing necessary. To be a saint, neither intellectual culture, nor great exterior activity is a requisite; it suffices that we live profoundly by God. This truth is evident in the saints of the early Church; several of those saints were poor people, even slaves. It is evident also in St. Francis, St. Benedict Joseph Labre, in the Curé of Ars, and many others. They all had a deep understanding of these words of our Savior: ‘For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul?’ (Matthew 16:26).
“If people sacrifice so many things to save the life of the body, which must ultimately die, what should we not sacrifice to save the life of our soul, which is to last forever? Ought not man to love his soul more than his body? ‘Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul?’ (Mark 8:37). Our Lord adds. ‘One thing is necessary,’ He tells us. To save our soul, one thing alone is necessary ― to hear the word of God and to live by it. Therein lies the best part, which will not be taken away from a faithful soul, even though it should lose everything else.” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Ages of the Interior Life).
Article 13
Saturday & Sunday, January 24th & 25th
Deceived, Deluded and Damned by the Devil!
Saturday & Sunday, January 24th & 25th
Deceived, Deluded and Damned by the Devil!
The Devil and the D’s
The devil is a deceiver according to Our Lord: “The devil, from the beginning, stood not in the truth―because truth is not in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own―for he is a liar, and the father of lies!” (John 8:44). “Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go forth and seduce the nations!” (Apocalypse 20:7). “Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:4). “I fear lest, as the serpent seduced Eve by his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted, and fall from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3). “Be sober and watch: because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour!” (1 Peter 5:8-9).
The Devil has many sides to himself―and perhaps no other letter is more appropriate to the devil than the letter “D”. It is quite amazing to see how many other languages use the letter “D” for the words DEVIL and DEMON!
The devil is a deceiver according to Our Lord: “The devil, from the beginning, stood not in the truth―because truth is not in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own―for he is a liar, and the father of lies!” (John 8:44). “Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go forth and seduce the nations!” (Apocalypse 20:7). “Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:4). “I fear lest, as the serpent seduced Eve by his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted, and fall from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3). “Be sober and watch: because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour!” (1 Peter 5:8-9).
The Devil has many sides to himself―and perhaps no other letter is more appropriate to the devil than the letter “D”. It is quite amazing to see how many other languages use the letter “D” for the words DEVIL and DEMON!
|
Ecclesiastical Greek ― diabolos and daímonas
Latin ― diabolus and dæmon Italian ― diavolo and demone English ― devil or demon Spanish ― diablo and demono Portuguese ― diabo and demónio German ― dämon French ― diable and démon Dutch ― duivel and demon Albanian ― djall and demoni |
Belarusian ― djabal and deman
Polish ― diabel and demon Lithuanian ― demonas Serbian ― đavola and demon Czech ― dábel and demon Croatian ― demon Hungarian ― démon Norwegian ― djevel and demon Swedish ― demon Danish ― djævel and dæmon |
Furthermore, there are many words beginning with the letter “D” that describe the demonic doings of devils―all of which are geared to lead to the DAMNATION of souls. He will use some or all of them if possible at some time or another in our lives―some often, some not so often. Some of those words are as follows:
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DISTRACTION
DECEPTION DISCUSSION DEBATE DIALECTICS DEGLAMORIZE DISABLE DISARM DISTURBANCE DIFFERENCES DISAGREEMENTS DICHOTOMY DIVISION DISCREDITING DERIDING DETRACTION DEFAMATION DISTORTION DISGRACE |
DISAPPOINTMENT
DISENCHANTMENT DISILLUSIONMENT DISGUST DISDAIN DOUBT DISTRUST DISBELIEF DAZZLE and DANGLE DABBLE and DIP DELIGHT DELUSION DAYDREAMS DESIRE DARE DILEMMAS DEVIATE DOWNPLAY DEVALUE |
DISREGARD
DEFILE DESENSITIZING DEADENING DEPENDENCY DELAYING DEGENERATE DEHUMANIZE DENATURIZE DEMORALIZE DESPISE DESOLATION DISCOURAGEMENT DEJECTION DESPONDENCY DEPRESSION DESPAIR DESTRUCTION DAMNATION |
Devouring Devils
As Holy Scripture warns, the devil seeks to DEVOUR us ― “Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goed about seeking whom he may devour!” (1 Peter 5:8) ― and to do so he will use a variety of the above listed measures, often in a kind of a chronological order, whereby one leads to another ― and so, little by little, and almost imperceptibly, he leads us on the road to damnation ― which, according to Our Lady, he is very successful at doing. In speaking to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, Our Lady says:
“Fear the danger of not paying attention to the cause of the loss of innumerable souls ... How many men have thrown themselves into the eternal darkness of Hell! … Countless numbers have fallen into Hell! … Lucifer has hurled into Hell so great a number of souls and continues so to hurl them every day! … Men are lost in forgetful rest and sleep―as if there were no vigilant and powerful enemies. This dreadful carelessness arises from two causes: on the one hand men are so taken up with their earthly and material life, that they do not feel any other evils except those on a physical and material nature. Anything that is interior seems harmless in their estimation. On the other hand, since the princes of darkness are invisible and unperceived by any of the senses and since carnal men neither touch, nor feel, nor see them―the result is that they forget the fear of them. Yet for this very reason they ought to be more attentive and careful, since invisible enemies are more cunning and skillful in injuring us by their treachery ...
“The neglect and contempt of bodily mortification cause the loss of many souls and bring many more into the danger of eternal loss. I will not tell thee how many souls are lost, in order to not cause thee to die of sorrow at this loss! I have already told thee, that the number of those foreknown as doomed, is so great, and of those that save themselves is so small, that it is not expedient to say more in particular! Weep ceaselessly over the terrible loss sustained by so many insane and thankless souls, who are forgetful of God, of their duty and of their own selves … and lose their chance of salvation or bring upon themselves eternal damnation! The wounds of sin do not distress sinners and the reprobate, and, the more often they are committed, the less regret or sorrow do they cause! ...
“As the Mother of mercy, it is a great cause of sorrow to me to see mortals force me to remain idle, and that, by failing to call upon me, so many souls should be lost! ... This is a sorrow beyond all sorrows, and a misfortune without equal and without remedy. Afflict yourself, lament and grieve without consolation over this ruin of so many souls! ... I will not tell thee how many souls are lost, in order to not cause thee to die of sorrow at this loss! I have already told thee, that the number of those foreknown as doomed, is so great, and of those that save themselves is so small, that it is not expedient to say more in particular. Weep ceaselessly over the terrible loss sustained by so many insane and thankless souls, who are forgetful of God, of their duty and of their own selves … and lose their chance of salvation or bring upon themselves eternal damnation!”
Why the Hell are You Bringing Up Hell so much?
Hell is not a popular subject―and, believe it or not, the devil likes it that way. Fr. Gabriele Amorth (1925–2016), exorcist in Rome for 30 years (1986 to 2016), said: “The influence of Satan is immense! … The Devil does not like to be seen ― that is when he is happiest! … Satan hides and disguises himself in a thousand ways! … Everybody is vulnerable to the work of Satan! … We are all subject to it from our birth until our death! … We are all tempted by the devil, and will be for as long as we live! … The devil wanders around each one of you, searching where to devour you. That word―‘where’―is important: the devil looks in each person precisely for his weak point and ‘works’ on it … The most frequent weak points in man are, from time to time, always the same: pride, money, and lust … Satan weakens the consciences of men and women and leads them toward egoism, closing their hearts, lack of forgiveness.”
The Popes and the Devil
BLESSED POPE PIUS IX (reigned 1846-1878), asked priests to please, please preach more often on Hell.
You have without doubt heard the account of POPE LEO XIII (reigned 1878-1903) having a auditory vision of a conversation between Our Lord and Devil in the late 19th century. Pope Leo XIII had finished saying Mass in the Vatican Chapel, on October 13th, 1884, which was attended by some cardinals and other members of the Vatican staff, when he suddenly stopped at the foot of the altar, and stood for about ten minutes, as if in a trance, his face ashen white. Then, going immediately from the Chapel to his office, he composed the prayer to St. Michael, with instructions that it be said after all the Low Masses everywhere, which it was until the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). When asked what happened, the Pontiff explained that as he was about to leave the foot of the altar, he suddenly heard voices—two voices, one kind and gentle, the other guttural and harsh. They seemed to be coming from near the tabernacle. As he listened, he heard the following conversation:
The guttural voice of Satan, in his pride, boasted to Our Lord: “I can destroy Your Church.”
The gentle voice of Our Lord replied: “You can? Then go ahead and do so.”
Satan said: “To do so, I need more time and power.”
Our Lord asked: “How much time? How much power?”
Satan replied: “75 to 100 years, and a greater power over those who will give themselves over to my service.”
Our Lord concluded: “You have the time, you will have the power. Do with them what you will.”
Pope Leo XIII understood that Satan was to be given a certain amount of time in order to accomplish his purpose; and a greater power to spread evil, through those human agents who would dedicate themselves to his cause. He was given further to understand that, if the devil had not accomplished his purpose at the end of the time limit given, he would suffer a most crushing and humiliating defeat. Furthermore, the forces of good would not be helpless in the face of the onslaught of Satan and his legions. They, too, were given a greater power for good, if only they would use it. Through their prayers and sacrifices and good Catholic lives, they could offset the power of the devil and his human agents.
The Smoke of Satan in the Church according to Pope Paul VI (1963-1978)
► 1972: “We believed that after the [Second Vatican] Council would come a day of sunshine in the history of the Church. But instead there has come a day of clouds and storms, and of darkness ... And how did this come about? We will confide to you … that there has been a power, an adversary power. Let us call him by his name: the Devil. … It is as if from some mysterious crack, no, it is not mysterious, from some crack the smoke of Satan has entered the Temple of God.” (Pope Paul VI, Address On the Occasion of the Ninth Anniversary of His Election, June 29th, 1972).
► 1972: Some months later, on November 15th of 1972, at a General Audience, Pope Paul VI added: “What are the Church’s greatest needs at the present time? Don’t be surprised at Our answer and don’t write it off as simplistic or even superstitious: one of the Church’s greatest needs is to be defended against the evil we call the Devil … Who can forget the highly significant description of the triple temptation of Christ? Or the many episodes in the Gospel where the Devil crosses the Lord’s path and figures in His teaching? (Matthew 12:43) And how could we forget that Christ, referring three times to the Devil as His adversary, describes him as ‘the prince of this world’?” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11).
► 1977: A few years later he repeated the same concern: “The tail of the devil is functioning in the disintegration of the Catholic world. The darkness of Satan has entered and spread throughout the Catholic Church even to its summit. Apostasy, the loss of the Faith, is spreading throughout the world and into the highest levels within the Church” (Pope Paul VI, Address on the Sixtieth Anniversary of the Fatima Apparitions, October 13th, 1977).
CARDINAL RATZINGER, later POPE BENEDICT XVI (reigned 2005-2013), later said: “We have now absorbed into Church teaching, and the Church has opened herself up to, principles which are not hers, but which come from modern society.” Elsewhere he said that with Vatican II, the principles of 1789 [the French Revolution] had entered the Church. Unfortunately, the opening of the windows of the Church to the world, has let worldliness into the Church, while many of the Catholics jumped out of the windows and joined the world! This opening up to the world (the devil, in reality, for he is “the prince of the world” John 12:31, says Our Lord) has wounded the very Heart of the Church and the Precious Blood has been spilled and wasted.
FR. GABRIELE AMORTH: “It’s true, unfortunately, because even in the Church there are adherents to Satanic cults. Pope Paul VI reported this detail about the smoke of Satan on June 29th, 1972. Of course, this broke the ice, lifting a veil of silence and censorship that has lasted too long, but it had no practical consequences. It took someone like me ― who was a nobody ― to spread the alarm in order to get results.”
FR. MALACHI MARTIN, in his book, The Kingdom of Darkness, describes what is meant by “the smoke of Satan”. He tells of an interview that Pope Paul VI gave to his close friend, Jean Guitton, not long before the pope died. When Guitton asked Pope Paul VI about his often-quoted remark regarding “the smoke of Satan”, Paul VI replied: “Yes, the smoke of Satan is in the sanctuary. Due to the presence of Satan, Catholics are destined to become an infinitesimally small part of humanity.”
Father Martin adds: “We must remember this. A new assault has been launched! The assault is very simple. The temptation is: ‘Just be like the rest of men. Adore a general god. Be good. Be compassionate. Be humanitarian. Join the rest of humanity in building man’s earthly world.’”
“In Rome, there is a force which at the present moment is immovable. It cannot be dislodged by ordinary human means. This is where, again, one’s Faith in Our Lady of Fatima comes in, because she said that only she can save the Church, because that is what her Son has willed. It is not so because it was her own choice, but because it what Christ has chosen. Christ chose that His Mother should be the one to come and finally save the Church. If you read carefully what Our Lady told Sister Lucia, you get a strong message that things are going bad. Many of the elect will lose their Faith.” (Fr. Malachi Martin, in his book, The Kingdom of Darkness).
St. Alphonsus Liguori’s Sermon on the Devil
“On this Earth we all walk in the midst of a thousand snares; that is, in the midst of the temptations of the devil, dangerous occasions, bad companions, and our own passions, which frequently deceive us. Only they who avoid these snares shall be saved. How shall we avoid them? ‘Take heed, therefore, that the light which is in thee be not darkness.’ (Luke 11:45). The light which you think you possess will be your ruin; it will lead you into a pit. The devil, who, because he could not bear to see men in Heaven, from which he had been banished, tempted Adam to rebel against God. ‘But by the envy of the devil death came into the world; and they follow him that are of his side.’ (Wisdom 2:25).
“O men, fools, how long will you fix the affections of your hearts on this Earth? Why do you love the goods of this world, which are all vanity and lies? Do you imagine that you shall find peace by the acquisition of these goods? ? Behold how David describes the condition of worldlings. ‘Destruction and unhappiness in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known.’ (Psalm 13:3). You hope to obtain peace from the world; but how can the world give you that peace which you seek, when St. John says, ‘that the whole world is seated in wickedness?’ (1 John 5:19). The world is full of iniquities; hence worldlings live under the despotism of the wicked one that is, the Devil.
“The devil employs vicious friends as decoys, to draw so many souls into the snare of sin. How many, because they are afraid of forfeiting the favor of a friend, sell their souls to the devil! Sinners hope to find peace in their sins; but what peace can they enjoy? Instead of seeking to be the friends of God, sinners wish to be the slaves of Satan, who is a cruel and merciless tyrant to all who submit to his yoke. Why do we allow ourselves to be so easily deceived by the Devil? We do not weigh things in the balance of God, which cannot deceive, but in the balance of Satan, who seeks only to deceive us, that he may bring us with himself into Hell.
“St. Augustine says that the devil deludes Christians in two ways: by despair and hope. After a person has committed sin, the enemy, by placing before his eyes the rigor of divine justice, tempts him to despair of the mercy of God. But, before he sins, the devil by representing to him the divine mercy, labors to make him fearless of the chastisement due to sin. Hence the saint gives the following advice: ‘After sin, hope for mercy; before sin, fear justice.’ If, after sin, you despair of God’s pardon, then you offend Him by a new and more grievous sin. Have recourse to His mercy, and He will pardon you. But, before sin, fear God’s justice, and trust not to His mercy; for, they who abuse the mercy of God to offend Him, do not deserve to be treated with mercy. Abulensis says, that the man who offends justice may have recourse to mercy; but to whom can they have recourse, who offend and provoke mercy against themselves?
“During the administration of the Extreme Unction, the devil is employed in reminding the sick man of all the sins he committed by the senses by the eyes, the ears, the tongue, the hands; and says to him: ‘After so many sins can you expect to be saved?’ O what terror is then caused by every one of those mortal sins, which are now called human frailties, and which, worldlings say, God will not punish! Now they are disregarded; but then every mortal sin shall be a sword that will pierce the soul with terror. At the moment of death, the devil exerts all his powers to secure the soul that is about to leave this world; for he knows, from the symptoms of the disease, that he has but little time to gain her for eternity. O how terrible are the assaults and snares of the devil against the souls of dying persons, even though they have led a holy life!
“We read in the life of St. Andrew Avellino, that in his agony he had so fierce a combat with Hell, that all the religious present were seized with trembling. They perceived that, in consequence of the agitation, his face swelled, and became black, all his members trembled, and a flood of tears gushed from his eyes. All began to weep through compassion, and were filled with terror, at the sight of a saint dying in such a manner. But they were afterwards consoled, when they saw that as soon as an image of most holy Mary was held before him, he became perfectly calm, and breathed forth his blessed soul with great joy. Now, if this happens to the saints, what shall become of poor sinners, who have lived in sin till death? At that awful moment the devil does not come alone to tempt them in a thousand ways, but in order to bring them to eternal perdition, he calls companions to his assistance.
“When a Christian is about to leave this world, his house is filled with devils, who unite together in order to effect his ruin. All his enemies will encompass him in the straits of death. One shall say: ‘You have been for so many years deaf to the calls of God, and can you now expect that he will save you?’ Another will ask: ‘How can you repair the frauds of your past life, and the injuries you have done to your neighbor in his property and character?’ Another shall ask: ‘What hope can there be for you? Do you not see that all your confessions have been null that they have been made without true sorrow, and without a firm purpose of amendment? How can you repair them with this heart, which you feel so hard? Do you not see that you are lost?’ And in the midst of these straits and attacks of despair, the dying sinner, full of agitation and confusion, must pass into eternity.
“In this life everything menaces ruin to the poor soul the world, the devils, the flesh, the passions, all draw her to sin and to eternal death. Pope St. Leo the Great says, our life is full of dangers, of snares, and of enemies. The first enemy of the salvation of every Christian is his own corruption. Along with the corrupt inclinations which live within us, and drag us to evil, we have many enemies from without that fight against us. We have the devils, with whom the contest is very difficult, because they are ‘stronger than we are’ says Cassiodorus (In Psalm 5). Hence, because we have to contend with powerful enemies, St. Paul exhorts us to arm ourselves with the divine aid: ‘Put you on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the Devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in high places.’ (Ephesians 6:11-12). The Devil, according to St. Peter, is a lion who is continually going about roaring, through the rage and hunger which impel him to devour our souls. ‘Your adversary, the Devil, like a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour.’ (1 Peter 5:8) St. Cyprian says that Satan is continually lying in wait for us, in order to make us his slaves. Hence St. Augustine exclaims: ‘The enemy sleeps not, and you are asleep.’ The enemy is always awake to injure you, and you slumber.
“The Devil brings sinners to Hell by closing their eyes to the dangers of perdition. He first blinds them, and then leads them with himself to eternal torments. To escape the deceits of the enemy of salvation, place before your eyes the delusion by which the devil tempts men to sin and to persevere in sin, so that you may know how to guard yourselves against his deceitful artifices.
“To understand these delusions better, let us imagine the case of a young man who, seized by some passion, lives in sin, the slave of Satan, and never thinks of his eternal salvation. My son, I say to him, what sort of life do you lead? If you continue to live in this manner, how will you be able to save your soul? But, behold, the devil, on the other hand, says to him: ‘Why should you be afraid of being lost? Indulge your passions for the present: you will afterwards confess your sins, and thus all shall be remedied.’ Behold the net by which the devil drags so many souls into Hell. ‘Indulge your passions: you will hereafter make a good confession.’ But, in reply, I say, that in the meantime you lose your soul. Tell me: if you had a jewel worth an enormous amount of money, would you throw it into a river with the hope of afterwards finding it again? What if all your efforts to find it were fruitless? My God! You hold in your hand the invaluable jewel of your soul, which Jesus Christ has purchased with His own Blood, and you cast it into Hell! Yes; you cast it into Hell; because according to the present order of providence, for every mortal sin you commit, your name is written among the number of the damned.
“You say: ‘I cannot at present resist this passion.’ Behold the third delusion of the devil, by which he makes you believe that, at present, you have not strength to overcome certain temptations. But St. Paul tells us that God is faithful, and that He never permits us to be tempted above our strength. ‘And God is faithful, who will not permit you to be tempted above that which you are able’ (1 Corinthians 10:13). I ask, if you are not now able to resist the temptation, how can you expect to resist it hereafter? If you yield to it, the devil will become stronger, and you shall become weaker; and if you be not now able to extinguish this flame of passion, how can you hope to be able to extinguish it when it shall have grown more violent?
“The devil tells you: ‘Commit this sin, and confess it afterwards.’ Behold the deceitful artifice by which the devil has brought so many thousands of Christians to Hell. We scarcely ever find a Christian so sunk in despair as to intend to damn himself. All the wicked sin with the hope of afterwards going to confession. But, by this illusion, how many have brought themselves to perdition! For them there is now no time for confession, no remedy for their damnation. They fell, but failed to rise. They fell once too often.
“‘But God is merciful.’ Behold another common delusion by which the devil encourages sinners to persevere in a life of sin! A certain author has said, that more souls have been sent to Hell by the mercy of God than by His justice. This is indeed the case; for men are induced by the deceits of the devil to persevere in sin, through confidence in God’s mercy; and thus they are lost. ‘God is merciful.’ Who denies it? But, great as His mercy, how many does He every day send to Hell? God is merciful, but He is also just, and is, therefore, obliged to punish those who offend Him. ‘And His mercy,’ says the divine Mother, ‘to them that fear Him.’ (Luke 1:50). But with regard to those who abuse His mercy and despise Him, He exercises justice. The Lord pardons sins, but He cannot pardon the determination to commit sin. St. Augustine says, that he who sins, with the intention of repenting after his sins, is not a penitent but a scoffer. But the Apostle tells us that God will not be mocked. ‘Be not deceived; God is not mocked.’ (Galatians 6:7). It would be a mockery of God to insult Him as often and as much as you pleased, and afterwards to expect eternal glory.
“Whenever, then, the devil tempts you to sin, by holding out the hope that you will go to confession and repair the evil you have done, say to him in answer: ‘How do I know that this shall not be the last day of my life? And should death overtake me in sin, and not give me time to make my confession, what shall become of me for all eternity?’ Alas! How many poor sinners have been struck dead in the very act of indulging in some sinful pleasure, and have been sent to Hell! How many has God sent to Hell for the first offence? You say: ‘I am young: there are many who have committed more sins than I have!’ But is God, on that account, obliged to wait for your repentance if you offend him? You must, then, tremble at the thought of committing a single mortal sin, particularly if you have already been guilty of mortal sins. ‘Be not without fear about sins forgiven, and add not sin to sin.’ (Ecclesiasticus 5:5). Say not then, O sinner: ‘As God has forgiven me other sins, so He will pardon me this one if I commit it!’ Say not this; for, if to the sin which has been forgiven you add another, you have reason to fear that this new sin shall be united to your former guilt, and that thus the number will be completed, and that you shall be abandoned.
“Should the Devil, in reply, say: ‘Fear not, God is merciful!’ answer him by saying: ‘What certainty or what probability have I, that, if I return again to sin, God will show me mercy or grant me pardon?’ Because the threat of the Lord against all who despise His calls: ‘Behold I have called and you refused. . . I also will laugh in your destruction, and will mock when that shall come to you which you feared.’ (Proverbs 1:24-26). Mark the words I also; they mean that, as you have mocked the Lord by betraying Him again after your confession and promises of amendment, so He will mock you at the hour of death. ‘I will laugh and will mock.’ But ‘God is not mocked.’ (Galatians 6:7). ‘As a dog,’ says the Wise Man, ‘that returns to his vomit, so is the fool that repeats his folly.’ (Proverbs 26:11). Blessed Denis the Carthusian gives an excellent exposition of this text. He says that, as a dog that eats what he has just vomited, is an object of disgust and abomination, so the sinner who returns to the sins which he has detested and confessed, becomes hateful in the sight of God.
“O folly of sinners! If you purchase a house, you spare no pains to get all the securities necessary to guard against the loss of your money; if you take medicine, you are careful to assure yourself that it cannot injure you; if you pass over a river, you cautiously avoid all danger of falling into it; and for a transitory enjoyment, for the gratification of revenge, for a beastly pleasure, which lasts but a moment, you risk your eternal salvation, saying: ‘I will go to confession after I commit this sin.’
“And when, I ask, are you to go to confession? You say: ‘Tomorrow!’ But who promises you tomorrow? Who assures you that you shall have time for confession, and that God will not deprive you of life, as He has deprived so many others, in the act of sin? You cannot be certain of living for another hour, and you say: ‘I will go to confession tomorrow!’ Listen to the words of St. Gregory: ‘He who has promised pardon to penitents, has not promised tomorrow to sinners!’ (Hom. xii. in Evan). God has promised pardon to all who repent; but He has not promised to wait till tomorrow for those who insult Him. Perhaps God will give you time for repentance, perhaps He will not. But, should He not give it, what shall become of your soul? In the meantime, for the sake of a miserable pleasure, you lose the grace of God, and expose yourself to the danger of being lost forever.
Would you, for such transient enjoyments, risk your money, your honor, your possessions, your liberty, and your life? No, you would not. How then does it happen that, for a miserable gratification, you lose your soul, Heaven, and God? Tell me: do you believe that Heaven, Hell, eternity, are truths of Faith? Do you believe that, if you die in sin, you are lost forever?
“St. Augustine says, that to prevent the sheep from seeking assistance by her cries the wolf seizes her by the neck, and thus securely carries her away and devours her. The devil acts in a similar manner with the sheep of Jesus Christ. After having induced them to yield to sin, he seizes them by the throat, that they may not confess their guilt; and thus he securely brings them to Hell. For those who have sinned grievously, there is no means of salvation but the confession of their sins. But, what hope of salvation can he have who goes to confession and conceals his sins, and makes use of the tribunal of penance to offend God, and to make himself doubly the slave of Satan? What hope would you entertain of the recovery of the man who, instead of taking the medicine prescribed by his physician, drank a cup of poison?
“The devil does not bring sinners to Hell with their eyes open: he first blinds them with the malice of their own sins. ‘For their own malice blinded them!’ (Wisdom 2:21). He thus leads them to eternal perdition. Before we fall into sin, the enemy labors to blind us, that we may not see the evil we do and the ruin we bring upon ourselves by offending God. After we commit sin, he seeks to make us dumb, that, through shame, we may conceal our guilt in confession. Thus, he leads us to Hell by a double chain, inducing us, after our transgressions, to consent to a still greater sin the sin of sacrilege. I will speak on this subject and will endeavor to convince you of the great evil of concealing sins in confession.
“To be silent when we are impelled to utter words injurious to God or to our neighbor, is an act of virtue; but, to be silent in confessing our sins, is the ruin of the soul. After we have offended God, the devil labors to keep the mouth closed, and to prevent us from confessing our guilt. St. Antonine relates, that a holy solitary once saw the devil standing beside a certain person who wished to go to confession. The solitary asked the fiend what he was doing there. The enemy said in reply: ‘I now restore to these penitents what I before took away from them; I took away from them shame while they were committing sin; I now restore it that they may have a horror of confession.’ ‘My sores are putrefied and corrupted, because of my foolishness’ (Psalm 37:6). Gangrenous sores are fatal; and sins concealed in confession are spiritual ulcers, which mortify and become gangrenous.
“God has made sin shameful, that we may abstain from it, and gives us confidence to confess it by promising pardon to all who accuse themselves of their sins. But the devil does the contrary: he gives confidence to sin by holding out hopes of pardon; but, when sin is committed, he inspires shame, to prevent the confession of it.
“If, then, brethren, there be a single soul among you who has ever concealed a sin, through shame, in the tribunal of penance, let him take courage, and make a full confession of all his faults. ‘Give glory to God with a good heart’ (Ecclesiasticus 35:10). Give glory to God, and confusion to the devil. A certain penitent was tempted by Satan to conceal a sin through shame; but she was resolved to confess it; and while she was going to her confessor, the devil came forward and asked her where she was going. She courageously answered: ‘I am going to cover myself and you with confusion.’ Act you in a similar manner; if you have ever concealed a mortal sin, confess it candidly to your director, and confound the devil.
“But you say: ‘I am afraid that my confessor, when he hears my sin, will rebuke me with great severity.’ God! Do you not see that all these are deceitful artifices of the devil to bring you to Hell? No; the confessor will not rebuke you, but he will give an advice suited to your state. A confessor cannot experience greater consolation than in absolving a penitent who confesses his sins with true sorrow and with sincerity. If a queen were mortally wounded by a slave, and you were in possession of a remedy by which she could be cured, how great would be your joy in saving her life! Such is the joy which a confessor feels in absolving a soul in the state of sin. By his act he delivers her from eternal death: and by restoring to her the grace of God, he makes her a queen of Paradise.
“The devil keeps an account of your sins, to charge you with them at the tribunal of Jesus Christ. Arise, then Christian souls, and if you are bound by any bad habit, burst your chains, and remain no longer the slaves of Satan. Loose the bonds of your sins, which make you the slave of Satan. Loose the bonds before the habit of sin gains such power over you, as to render your conversion morally impossible, and thus to bring you to eternal perdition. Give glory to God, and confusion to the devil. A certain penitent was tempted by Satan to conceal a sin through shame; but she was resolved to confess it; and while she was going to her confessor, the devil came forward and asked her where she was going. She courageously answered: ‘I am going to cover myself and you with confusion.’ Act you in a similar manner; if you have ever concealed a mortal sin, confess it candidly to your director, and confound the devil. Remember that the greater the violence you do yourself in confessing your sins, the greater will be the love with which Jesus Christ will embrace you. Do not give the devil time to continue to tempt you and to make you put off your confession: go immediately: for Jesus Christ is waiting for you.
As Holy Scripture warns, the devil seeks to DEVOUR us ― “Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goed about seeking whom he may devour!” (1 Peter 5:8) ― and to do so he will use a variety of the above listed measures, often in a kind of a chronological order, whereby one leads to another ― and so, little by little, and almost imperceptibly, he leads us on the road to damnation ― which, according to Our Lady, he is very successful at doing. In speaking to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, Our Lady says:
“Fear the danger of not paying attention to the cause of the loss of innumerable souls ... How many men have thrown themselves into the eternal darkness of Hell! … Countless numbers have fallen into Hell! … Lucifer has hurled into Hell so great a number of souls and continues so to hurl them every day! … Men are lost in forgetful rest and sleep―as if there were no vigilant and powerful enemies. This dreadful carelessness arises from two causes: on the one hand men are so taken up with their earthly and material life, that they do not feel any other evils except those on a physical and material nature. Anything that is interior seems harmless in their estimation. On the other hand, since the princes of darkness are invisible and unperceived by any of the senses and since carnal men neither touch, nor feel, nor see them―the result is that they forget the fear of them. Yet for this very reason they ought to be more attentive and careful, since invisible enemies are more cunning and skillful in injuring us by their treachery ...
“The neglect and contempt of bodily mortification cause the loss of many souls and bring many more into the danger of eternal loss. I will not tell thee how many souls are lost, in order to not cause thee to die of sorrow at this loss! I have already told thee, that the number of those foreknown as doomed, is so great, and of those that save themselves is so small, that it is not expedient to say more in particular! Weep ceaselessly over the terrible loss sustained by so many insane and thankless souls, who are forgetful of God, of their duty and of their own selves … and lose their chance of salvation or bring upon themselves eternal damnation! The wounds of sin do not distress sinners and the reprobate, and, the more often they are committed, the less regret or sorrow do they cause! ...
“As the Mother of mercy, it is a great cause of sorrow to me to see mortals force me to remain idle, and that, by failing to call upon me, so many souls should be lost! ... This is a sorrow beyond all sorrows, and a misfortune without equal and without remedy. Afflict yourself, lament and grieve without consolation over this ruin of so many souls! ... I will not tell thee how many souls are lost, in order to not cause thee to die of sorrow at this loss! I have already told thee, that the number of those foreknown as doomed, is so great, and of those that save themselves is so small, that it is not expedient to say more in particular. Weep ceaselessly over the terrible loss sustained by so many insane and thankless souls, who are forgetful of God, of their duty and of their own selves … and lose their chance of salvation or bring upon themselves eternal damnation!”
Why the Hell are You Bringing Up Hell so much?
Hell is not a popular subject―and, believe it or not, the devil likes it that way. Fr. Gabriele Amorth (1925–2016), exorcist in Rome for 30 years (1986 to 2016), said: “The influence of Satan is immense! … The Devil does not like to be seen ― that is when he is happiest! … Satan hides and disguises himself in a thousand ways! … Everybody is vulnerable to the work of Satan! … We are all subject to it from our birth until our death! … We are all tempted by the devil, and will be for as long as we live! … The devil wanders around each one of you, searching where to devour you. That word―‘where’―is important: the devil looks in each person precisely for his weak point and ‘works’ on it … The most frequent weak points in man are, from time to time, always the same: pride, money, and lust … Satan weakens the consciences of men and women and leads them toward egoism, closing their hearts, lack of forgiveness.”
The Popes and the Devil
BLESSED POPE PIUS IX (reigned 1846-1878), asked priests to please, please preach more often on Hell.
You have without doubt heard the account of POPE LEO XIII (reigned 1878-1903) having a auditory vision of a conversation between Our Lord and Devil in the late 19th century. Pope Leo XIII had finished saying Mass in the Vatican Chapel, on October 13th, 1884, which was attended by some cardinals and other members of the Vatican staff, when he suddenly stopped at the foot of the altar, and stood for about ten minutes, as if in a trance, his face ashen white. Then, going immediately from the Chapel to his office, he composed the prayer to St. Michael, with instructions that it be said after all the Low Masses everywhere, which it was until the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). When asked what happened, the Pontiff explained that as he was about to leave the foot of the altar, he suddenly heard voices—two voices, one kind and gentle, the other guttural and harsh. They seemed to be coming from near the tabernacle. As he listened, he heard the following conversation:
The guttural voice of Satan, in his pride, boasted to Our Lord: “I can destroy Your Church.”
The gentle voice of Our Lord replied: “You can? Then go ahead and do so.”
Satan said: “To do so, I need more time and power.”
Our Lord asked: “How much time? How much power?”
Satan replied: “75 to 100 years, and a greater power over those who will give themselves over to my service.”
Our Lord concluded: “You have the time, you will have the power. Do with them what you will.”
Pope Leo XIII understood that Satan was to be given a certain amount of time in order to accomplish his purpose; and a greater power to spread evil, through those human agents who would dedicate themselves to his cause. He was given further to understand that, if the devil had not accomplished his purpose at the end of the time limit given, he would suffer a most crushing and humiliating defeat. Furthermore, the forces of good would not be helpless in the face of the onslaught of Satan and his legions. They, too, were given a greater power for good, if only they would use it. Through their prayers and sacrifices and good Catholic lives, they could offset the power of the devil and his human agents.
The Smoke of Satan in the Church according to Pope Paul VI (1963-1978)
► 1972: “We believed that after the [Second Vatican] Council would come a day of sunshine in the history of the Church. But instead there has come a day of clouds and storms, and of darkness ... And how did this come about? We will confide to you … that there has been a power, an adversary power. Let us call him by his name: the Devil. … It is as if from some mysterious crack, no, it is not mysterious, from some crack the smoke of Satan has entered the Temple of God.” (Pope Paul VI, Address On the Occasion of the Ninth Anniversary of His Election, June 29th, 1972).
► 1972: Some months later, on November 15th of 1972, at a General Audience, Pope Paul VI added: “What are the Church’s greatest needs at the present time? Don’t be surprised at Our answer and don’t write it off as simplistic or even superstitious: one of the Church’s greatest needs is to be defended against the evil we call the Devil … Who can forget the highly significant description of the triple temptation of Christ? Or the many episodes in the Gospel where the Devil crosses the Lord’s path and figures in His teaching? (Matthew 12:43) And how could we forget that Christ, referring three times to the Devil as His adversary, describes him as ‘the prince of this world’?” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11).
► 1977: A few years later he repeated the same concern: “The tail of the devil is functioning in the disintegration of the Catholic world. The darkness of Satan has entered and spread throughout the Catholic Church even to its summit. Apostasy, the loss of the Faith, is spreading throughout the world and into the highest levels within the Church” (Pope Paul VI, Address on the Sixtieth Anniversary of the Fatima Apparitions, October 13th, 1977).
CARDINAL RATZINGER, later POPE BENEDICT XVI (reigned 2005-2013), later said: “We have now absorbed into Church teaching, and the Church has opened herself up to, principles which are not hers, but which come from modern society.” Elsewhere he said that with Vatican II, the principles of 1789 [the French Revolution] had entered the Church. Unfortunately, the opening of the windows of the Church to the world, has let worldliness into the Church, while many of the Catholics jumped out of the windows and joined the world! This opening up to the world (the devil, in reality, for he is “the prince of the world” John 12:31, says Our Lord) has wounded the very Heart of the Church and the Precious Blood has been spilled and wasted.
FR. GABRIELE AMORTH: “It’s true, unfortunately, because even in the Church there are adherents to Satanic cults. Pope Paul VI reported this detail about the smoke of Satan on June 29th, 1972. Of course, this broke the ice, lifting a veil of silence and censorship that has lasted too long, but it had no practical consequences. It took someone like me ― who was a nobody ― to spread the alarm in order to get results.”
FR. MALACHI MARTIN, in his book, The Kingdom of Darkness, describes what is meant by “the smoke of Satan”. He tells of an interview that Pope Paul VI gave to his close friend, Jean Guitton, not long before the pope died. When Guitton asked Pope Paul VI about his often-quoted remark regarding “the smoke of Satan”, Paul VI replied: “Yes, the smoke of Satan is in the sanctuary. Due to the presence of Satan, Catholics are destined to become an infinitesimally small part of humanity.”
Father Martin adds: “We must remember this. A new assault has been launched! The assault is very simple. The temptation is: ‘Just be like the rest of men. Adore a general god. Be good. Be compassionate. Be humanitarian. Join the rest of humanity in building man’s earthly world.’”
“In Rome, there is a force which at the present moment is immovable. It cannot be dislodged by ordinary human means. This is where, again, one’s Faith in Our Lady of Fatima comes in, because she said that only she can save the Church, because that is what her Son has willed. It is not so because it was her own choice, but because it what Christ has chosen. Christ chose that His Mother should be the one to come and finally save the Church. If you read carefully what Our Lady told Sister Lucia, you get a strong message that things are going bad. Many of the elect will lose their Faith.” (Fr. Malachi Martin, in his book, The Kingdom of Darkness).
St. Alphonsus Liguori’s Sermon on the Devil
“On this Earth we all walk in the midst of a thousand snares; that is, in the midst of the temptations of the devil, dangerous occasions, bad companions, and our own passions, which frequently deceive us. Only they who avoid these snares shall be saved. How shall we avoid them? ‘Take heed, therefore, that the light which is in thee be not darkness.’ (Luke 11:45). The light which you think you possess will be your ruin; it will lead you into a pit. The devil, who, because he could not bear to see men in Heaven, from which he had been banished, tempted Adam to rebel against God. ‘But by the envy of the devil death came into the world; and they follow him that are of his side.’ (Wisdom 2:25).
“O men, fools, how long will you fix the affections of your hearts on this Earth? Why do you love the goods of this world, which are all vanity and lies? Do you imagine that you shall find peace by the acquisition of these goods? ? Behold how David describes the condition of worldlings. ‘Destruction and unhappiness in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known.’ (Psalm 13:3). You hope to obtain peace from the world; but how can the world give you that peace which you seek, when St. John says, ‘that the whole world is seated in wickedness?’ (1 John 5:19). The world is full of iniquities; hence worldlings live under the despotism of the wicked one that is, the Devil.
“The devil employs vicious friends as decoys, to draw so many souls into the snare of sin. How many, because they are afraid of forfeiting the favor of a friend, sell their souls to the devil! Sinners hope to find peace in their sins; but what peace can they enjoy? Instead of seeking to be the friends of God, sinners wish to be the slaves of Satan, who is a cruel and merciless tyrant to all who submit to his yoke. Why do we allow ourselves to be so easily deceived by the Devil? We do not weigh things in the balance of God, which cannot deceive, but in the balance of Satan, who seeks only to deceive us, that he may bring us with himself into Hell.
“St. Augustine says that the devil deludes Christians in two ways: by despair and hope. After a person has committed sin, the enemy, by placing before his eyes the rigor of divine justice, tempts him to despair of the mercy of God. But, before he sins, the devil by representing to him the divine mercy, labors to make him fearless of the chastisement due to sin. Hence the saint gives the following advice: ‘After sin, hope for mercy; before sin, fear justice.’ If, after sin, you despair of God’s pardon, then you offend Him by a new and more grievous sin. Have recourse to His mercy, and He will pardon you. But, before sin, fear God’s justice, and trust not to His mercy; for, they who abuse the mercy of God to offend Him, do not deserve to be treated with mercy. Abulensis says, that the man who offends justice may have recourse to mercy; but to whom can they have recourse, who offend and provoke mercy against themselves?
“During the administration of the Extreme Unction, the devil is employed in reminding the sick man of all the sins he committed by the senses by the eyes, the ears, the tongue, the hands; and says to him: ‘After so many sins can you expect to be saved?’ O what terror is then caused by every one of those mortal sins, which are now called human frailties, and which, worldlings say, God will not punish! Now they are disregarded; but then every mortal sin shall be a sword that will pierce the soul with terror. At the moment of death, the devil exerts all his powers to secure the soul that is about to leave this world; for he knows, from the symptoms of the disease, that he has but little time to gain her for eternity. O how terrible are the assaults and snares of the devil against the souls of dying persons, even though they have led a holy life!
“We read in the life of St. Andrew Avellino, that in his agony he had so fierce a combat with Hell, that all the religious present were seized with trembling. They perceived that, in consequence of the agitation, his face swelled, and became black, all his members trembled, and a flood of tears gushed from his eyes. All began to weep through compassion, and were filled with terror, at the sight of a saint dying in such a manner. But they were afterwards consoled, when they saw that as soon as an image of most holy Mary was held before him, he became perfectly calm, and breathed forth his blessed soul with great joy. Now, if this happens to the saints, what shall become of poor sinners, who have lived in sin till death? At that awful moment the devil does not come alone to tempt them in a thousand ways, but in order to bring them to eternal perdition, he calls companions to his assistance.
“When a Christian is about to leave this world, his house is filled with devils, who unite together in order to effect his ruin. All his enemies will encompass him in the straits of death. One shall say: ‘You have been for so many years deaf to the calls of God, and can you now expect that he will save you?’ Another will ask: ‘How can you repair the frauds of your past life, and the injuries you have done to your neighbor in his property and character?’ Another shall ask: ‘What hope can there be for you? Do you not see that all your confessions have been null that they have been made without true sorrow, and without a firm purpose of amendment? How can you repair them with this heart, which you feel so hard? Do you not see that you are lost?’ And in the midst of these straits and attacks of despair, the dying sinner, full of agitation and confusion, must pass into eternity.
“In this life everything menaces ruin to the poor soul the world, the devils, the flesh, the passions, all draw her to sin and to eternal death. Pope St. Leo the Great says, our life is full of dangers, of snares, and of enemies. The first enemy of the salvation of every Christian is his own corruption. Along with the corrupt inclinations which live within us, and drag us to evil, we have many enemies from without that fight against us. We have the devils, with whom the contest is very difficult, because they are ‘stronger than we are’ says Cassiodorus (In Psalm 5). Hence, because we have to contend with powerful enemies, St. Paul exhorts us to arm ourselves with the divine aid: ‘Put you on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the Devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in high places.’ (Ephesians 6:11-12). The Devil, according to St. Peter, is a lion who is continually going about roaring, through the rage and hunger which impel him to devour our souls. ‘Your adversary, the Devil, like a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour.’ (1 Peter 5:8) St. Cyprian says that Satan is continually lying in wait for us, in order to make us his slaves. Hence St. Augustine exclaims: ‘The enemy sleeps not, and you are asleep.’ The enemy is always awake to injure you, and you slumber.
“The Devil brings sinners to Hell by closing their eyes to the dangers of perdition. He first blinds them, and then leads them with himself to eternal torments. To escape the deceits of the enemy of salvation, place before your eyes the delusion by which the devil tempts men to sin and to persevere in sin, so that you may know how to guard yourselves against his deceitful artifices.
“To understand these delusions better, let us imagine the case of a young man who, seized by some passion, lives in sin, the slave of Satan, and never thinks of his eternal salvation. My son, I say to him, what sort of life do you lead? If you continue to live in this manner, how will you be able to save your soul? But, behold, the devil, on the other hand, says to him: ‘Why should you be afraid of being lost? Indulge your passions for the present: you will afterwards confess your sins, and thus all shall be remedied.’ Behold the net by which the devil drags so many souls into Hell. ‘Indulge your passions: you will hereafter make a good confession.’ But, in reply, I say, that in the meantime you lose your soul. Tell me: if you had a jewel worth an enormous amount of money, would you throw it into a river with the hope of afterwards finding it again? What if all your efforts to find it were fruitless? My God! You hold in your hand the invaluable jewel of your soul, which Jesus Christ has purchased with His own Blood, and you cast it into Hell! Yes; you cast it into Hell; because according to the present order of providence, for every mortal sin you commit, your name is written among the number of the damned.
“You say: ‘I cannot at present resist this passion.’ Behold the third delusion of the devil, by which he makes you believe that, at present, you have not strength to overcome certain temptations. But St. Paul tells us that God is faithful, and that He never permits us to be tempted above our strength. ‘And God is faithful, who will not permit you to be tempted above that which you are able’ (1 Corinthians 10:13). I ask, if you are not now able to resist the temptation, how can you expect to resist it hereafter? If you yield to it, the devil will become stronger, and you shall become weaker; and if you be not now able to extinguish this flame of passion, how can you hope to be able to extinguish it when it shall have grown more violent?
“The devil tells you: ‘Commit this sin, and confess it afterwards.’ Behold the deceitful artifice by which the devil has brought so many thousands of Christians to Hell. We scarcely ever find a Christian so sunk in despair as to intend to damn himself. All the wicked sin with the hope of afterwards going to confession. But, by this illusion, how many have brought themselves to perdition! For them there is now no time for confession, no remedy for their damnation. They fell, but failed to rise. They fell once too often.
“‘But God is merciful.’ Behold another common delusion by which the devil encourages sinners to persevere in a life of sin! A certain author has said, that more souls have been sent to Hell by the mercy of God than by His justice. This is indeed the case; for men are induced by the deceits of the devil to persevere in sin, through confidence in God’s mercy; and thus they are lost. ‘God is merciful.’ Who denies it? But, great as His mercy, how many does He every day send to Hell? God is merciful, but He is also just, and is, therefore, obliged to punish those who offend Him. ‘And His mercy,’ says the divine Mother, ‘to them that fear Him.’ (Luke 1:50). But with regard to those who abuse His mercy and despise Him, He exercises justice. The Lord pardons sins, but He cannot pardon the determination to commit sin. St. Augustine says, that he who sins, with the intention of repenting after his sins, is not a penitent but a scoffer. But the Apostle tells us that God will not be mocked. ‘Be not deceived; God is not mocked.’ (Galatians 6:7). It would be a mockery of God to insult Him as often and as much as you pleased, and afterwards to expect eternal glory.
“Whenever, then, the devil tempts you to sin, by holding out the hope that you will go to confession and repair the evil you have done, say to him in answer: ‘How do I know that this shall not be the last day of my life? And should death overtake me in sin, and not give me time to make my confession, what shall become of me for all eternity?’ Alas! How many poor sinners have been struck dead in the very act of indulging in some sinful pleasure, and have been sent to Hell! How many has God sent to Hell for the first offence? You say: ‘I am young: there are many who have committed more sins than I have!’ But is God, on that account, obliged to wait for your repentance if you offend him? You must, then, tremble at the thought of committing a single mortal sin, particularly if you have already been guilty of mortal sins. ‘Be not without fear about sins forgiven, and add not sin to sin.’ (Ecclesiasticus 5:5). Say not then, O sinner: ‘As God has forgiven me other sins, so He will pardon me this one if I commit it!’ Say not this; for, if to the sin which has been forgiven you add another, you have reason to fear that this new sin shall be united to your former guilt, and that thus the number will be completed, and that you shall be abandoned.
“Should the Devil, in reply, say: ‘Fear not, God is merciful!’ answer him by saying: ‘What certainty or what probability have I, that, if I return again to sin, God will show me mercy or grant me pardon?’ Because the threat of the Lord against all who despise His calls: ‘Behold I have called and you refused. . . I also will laugh in your destruction, and will mock when that shall come to you which you feared.’ (Proverbs 1:24-26). Mark the words I also; they mean that, as you have mocked the Lord by betraying Him again after your confession and promises of amendment, so He will mock you at the hour of death. ‘I will laugh and will mock.’ But ‘God is not mocked.’ (Galatians 6:7). ‘As a dog,’ says the Wise Man, ‘that returns to his vomit, so is the fool that repeats his folly.’ (Proverbs 26:11). Blessed Denis the Carthusian gives an excellent exposition of this text. He says that, as a dog that eats what he has just vomited, is an object of disgust and abomination, so the sinner who returns to the sins which he has detested and confessed, becomes hateful in the sight of God.
“O folly of sinners! If you purchase a house, you spare no pains to get all the securities necessary to guard against the loss of your money; if you take medicine, you are careful to assure yourself that it cannot injure you; if you pass over a river, you cautiously avoid all danger of falling into it; and for a transitory enjoyment, for the gratification of revenge, for a beastly pleasure, which lasts but a moment, you risk your eternal salvation, saying: ‘I will go to confession after I commit this sin.’
“And when, I ask, are you to go to confession? You say: ‘Tomorrow!’ But who promises you tomorrow? Who assures you that you shall have time for confession, and that God will not deprive you of life, as He has deprived so many others, in the act of sin? You cannot be certain of living for another hour, and you say: ‘I will go to confession tomorrow!’ Listen to the words of St. Gregory: ‘He who has promised pardon to penitents, has not promised tomorrow to sinners!’ (Hom. xii. in Evan). God has promised pardon to all who repent; but He has not promised to wait till tomorrow for those who insult Him. Perhaps God will give you time for repentance, perhaps He will not. But, should He not give it, what shall become of your soul? In the meantime, for the sake of a miserable pleasure, you lose the grace of God, and expose yourself to the danger of being lost forever.
Would you, for such transient enjoyments, risk your money, your honor, your possessions, your liberty, and your life? No, you would not. How then does it happen that, for a miserable gratification, you lose your soul, Heaven, and God? Tell me: do you believe that Heaven, Hell, eternity, are truths of Faith? Do you believe that, if you die in sin, you are lost forever?
“St. Augustine says, that to prevent the sheep from seeking assistance by her cries the wolf seizes her by the neck, and thus securely carries her away and devours her. The devil acts in a similar manner with the sheep of Jesus Christ. After having induced them to yield to sin, he seizes them by the throat, that they may not confess their guilt; and thus he securely brings them to Hell. For those who have sinned grievously, there is no means of salvation but the confession of their sins. But, what hope of salvation can he have who goes to confession and conceals his sins, and makes use of the tribunal of penance to offend God, and to make himself doubly the slave of Satan? What hope would you entertain of the recovery of the man who, instead of taking the medicine prescribed by his physician, drank a cup of poison?
“The devil does not bring sinners to Hell with their eyes open: he first blinds them with the malice of their own sins. ‘For their own malice blinded them!’ (Wisdom 2:21). He thus leads them to eternal perdition. Before we fall into sin, the enemy labors to blind us, that we may not see the evil we do and the ruin we bring upon ourselves by offending God. After we commit sin, he seeks to make us dumb, that, through shame, we may conceal our guilt in confession. Thus, he leads us to Hell by a double chain, inducing us, after our transgressions, to consent to a still greater sin the sin of sacrilege. I will speak on this subject and will endeavor to convince you of the great evil of concealing sins in confession.
“To be silent when we are impelled to utter words injurious to God or to our neighbor, is an act of virtue; but, to be silent in confessing our sins, is the ruin of the soul. After we have offended God, the devil labors to keep the mouth closed, and to prevent us from confessing our guilt. St. Antonine relates, that a holy solitary once saw the devil standing beside a certain person who wished to go to confession. The solitary asked the fiend what he was doing there. The enemy said in reply: ‘I now restore to these penitents what I before took away from them; I took away from them shame while they were committing sin; I now restore it that they may have a horror of confession.’ ‘My sores are putrefied and corrupted, because of my foolishness’ (Psalm 37:6). Gangrenous sores are fatal; and sins concealed in confession are spiritual ulcers, which mortify and become gangrenous.
“God has made sin shameful, that we may abstain from it, and gives us confidence to confess it by promising pardon to all who accuse themselves of their sins. But the devil does the contrary: he gives confidence to sin by holding out hopes of pardon; but, when sin is committed, he inspires shame, to prevent the confession of it.
“If, then, brethren, there be a single soul among you who has ever concealed a sin, through shame, in the tribunal of penance, let him take courage, and make a full confession of all his faults. ‘Give glory to God with a good heart’ (Ecclesiasticus 35:10). Give glory to God, and confusion to the devil. A certain penitent was tempted by Satan to conceal a sin through shame; but she was resolved to confess it; and while she was going to her confessor, the devil came forward and asked her where she was going. She courageously answered: ‘I am going to cover myself and you with confusion.’ Act you in a similar manner; if you have ever concealed a mortal sin, confess it candidly to your director, and confound the devil.
“But you say: ‘I am afraid that my confessor, when he hears my sin, will rebuke me with great severity.’ God! Do you not see that all these are deceitful artifices of the devil to bring you to Hell? No; the confessor will not rebuke you, but he will give an advice suited to your state. A confessor cannot experience greater consolation than in absolving a penitent who confesses his sins with true sorrow and with sincerity. If a queen were mortally wounded by a slave, and you were in possession of a remedy by which she could be cured, how great would be your joy in saving her life! Such is the joy which a confessor feels in absolving a soul in the state of sin. By his act he delivers her from eternal death: and by restoring to her the grace of God, he makes her a queen of Paradise.
“The devil keeps an account of your sins, to charge you with them at the tribunal of Jesus Christ. Arise, then Christian souls, and if you are bound by any bad habit, burst your chains, and remain no longer the slaves of Satan. Loose the bonds of your sins, which make you the slave of Satan. Loose the bonds before the habit of sin gains such power over you, as to render your conversion morally impossible, and thus to bring you to eternal perdition. Give glory to God, and confusion to the devil. A certain penitent was tempted by Satan to conceal a sin through shame; but she was resolved to confess it; and while she was going to her confessor, the devil came forward and asked her where she was going. She courageously answered: ‘I am going to cover myself and you with confusion.’ Act you in a similar manner; if you have ever concealed a mortal sin, confess it candidly to your director, and confound the devil. Remember that the greater the violence you do yourself in confessing your sins, the greater will be the love with which Jesus Christ will embrace you. Do not give the devil time to continue to tempt you and to make you put off your confession: go immediately: for Jesus Christ is waiting for you.
Article 12
Monday to Thursday, January 19th to 22nd
Mercy, Grace, Salvation & You!
Monday to Thursday, January 19th to 22nd
Mercy, Grace, Salvation & You!
A Holy Trinity for You!
At the end of our life on Earth, as we find ourselves dying, there are three things that should occupy our thoughts and perhaps even make us tremble! We could loosely term those three things as our own personal trinity―mercy, grace and salvation. Just as the Holy Trinity is three Persons in one God―likewise we could say that these three things must be a part of us. There is no salvation without sanctifying grace in the soul; and we are undeserving of sanctifying grace without the mercy of God being shown to us.
Scary thought, huh? Yes―as Holy Scripture says: “With fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12) … “By grace you are saved, and that not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God!” (Ephesians 2:8) … “The wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23) … “Who can say: ‘My heart is clean, I am pure from sin!’?” (Proverbs 20:9) … Who dare say: “I am clean, and without sin! I am unspotted, and there is no iniquity in me!” (Job 33:9) … “For in many things we all offend” (James 3:2) … “There is no man who sins not” (3 Kings 8:46) … “For all have sinned, and do need the glory [mercy and grace] of God!” (Romans 3:23) ... “The soul that sins, the same shall die … Is it My will that a sinner should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways, and live? … Be converted and do penance for all your iniquities and iniquity shall not be your ruin! … For I desire not the death of him that dies, says the Lord God, return ye and live!” (Ezechiel 18:20-32). “If the wicked do penance for sins committed … and keep all My commandments … I will be merciful to their iniquities, and their sins I will remember no more” (Ezechiel 18:21; Hebrews 8:12) … “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy; and I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy!” (Romans 9:15) … “Your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36) … “The Lord is merciful, plenteous in mercy. His tender mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 144:8-9).
If God is so merciful, then why is it that most souls end up in Hell? We must make an important distinction here between (1) the mercy that is within God and (2) the mercy that God shows to us. Within God, mercy has no limits, it is infinite just as God is infinite. Yet, with regard to us finite sinful creatures, He does not show infinite mercy to every sinner. We know that by the very fact that Hell exists―if God showed infinite mercy to every sinner, there would be no Hell. If God showed infinite mercy to every sinner, then He would not have destroyed everyone by the Great Flood in the days of Noe. If God showed infinite mercy to every sinner, then He would not have destroyed Sodom and Gomorrha with fire from Heaven. If God showed infinite mercy to every sinner, then why would Our Lord say that most souls end up being damned: “And a certain man said to Him: ‘Lord! Are they few that are saved?’ But He said to them: ‘Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life: and few there are that find it! … Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able!’” (Matthew 7:13-14; Luke 13:23-24).
If God showed infinite mercy to every sinner, then why did Our Lady of Fatima say that many souls go to Hell? Why did Our Lady say to the Venerable Mary of Agreda: “Many persons―whom the world has celebrated as great, powerful and wise―have thrown themselves into the eternal darkness of Hell! … The number of fools is infinite and the number of the reprobate is also uncountable! … How many men have thrown themselves into the eternal darkness of Hell! … Countless numbers have fallen into Hell! … Lucifer has hurled into Hell so great a number of souls and continues so to hurl them every day! I will not tell thee how many souls are lost, in order to not cause thee to die of sorrow at this loss! … I have already told thee, that the number of those foreknown as doomed, is so great, and of those that save themselves is so small, that it is not expedient to say more in particular!” (The Mystical City of God).
Presume Not On God’s Mercy
Elsewhere, Holy Scripture echoes this truth: “Be not without fear about sin forgiven, and add not sin upon sin! And say not: ‘The mercy of the Lord is great, He will have mercy on the multitude of my sins!’” (Ecclesiasticus 5:5-6). “He that commits sin is of the devil!” (1 John 3:8). “Be not deceived, God is not mocked! For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that sows in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption. But he that sows in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:7-8).
St. Alphonsus Liguori, a Doctor of the Church and patron saint of moral theologians, writes: “Sinners hear the calls of God, but they forget them, and continue to offend Him. But God does not forget them. He numbers the graces which He dispenses, as well as the sins which we commit. Hence, when the time which He has fixed arrives, God deprives us of His graces, and begins to inflict chastisement. The sinner who abandons himself to sin without striving to resist temptations―or without at least asking God’s help to conquer them and hopes that the Lord will one day draw him from the precipice―tempts God to work miracles, or rather to show to him an extraordinary mercy that is not extended to the generality of Christians. God has fixed for each person the number of the days of his life, and the degrees of health and talent which He will give him, so He has also determined for each the number of sins which He will pardon; and when this number is completed, He will pardon no more. God is ready to heal those who sincerely wish to amend their lives, but cannot take pity on the obstinate sinner. The Lord pardons sins, but He cannot pardon those who are determined to offend Him.” (Sermon for the First Sunday of Lent: “On The Number Of Sins Beyond Which God Pardons No More”).
Bad Confessions Lose the Mercy of God
St. Teresa of Avila stated: “Bad confessions damn the majority of Christians.” St. Alphonsus Liguori also warns of bad confessions: “The preacher should often speak against bad confessions―in which sins are concealed through shame. This is an evil not of rare occurrence, but is frequent―and which consigns innumerable souls to Hell!” As Scripture warns: “He that commits sin is of the devil” (1 John 3:8). The American exorcist, Fr. Chad Ripperger, explains: “Most people don’t know that the proper effect of every single mortal sin is demonic possession. It’s just that God blocks it in 99.9% of the cases.” If you were to be mortally wounded by a gunshot, then you would race to the Emergency Room of the nearest hospital. Yet when our soul is mortally wounded by mortal sin, we feel little urgency to rush to the Emergency Room of the nearest confessional. Once the demons have enticed you to sin mortally, then the next step is to try and keep you in that state of mortal sin. If they see that you intend to go to Confession and confess your mortal sins, then they will try and make that confession an invalid confession by making you confess badly.
There is a grave danger of presuming on the mercy of by getting caught in the vicious circle of constant “commit mortal sin―confess the mortal sin―commit the mortal sin again―confess the mortal sin again―and so on again and again and again. This reduces the Sacrament of Confession and the Precious Blood of Jesus to the level of a weekly carwash―don’t worry about mortal sin, you can wash it off in Confession each week! That is the sin of presumption!
Closely linked to this sin of presumption is what could be called “the sin of deception” during Confession, whereby the person “fudges”, “masks”, “misrepresents” or “puts cosmetics” on their mortal sin(s) to make it seem less serious or less numerous than it really is. These people forget that they are bound to confess their mortal sins according to (1) the precise kind of mortal sin that it is; (2) the number of times they have committed each different kind of mortal sin; (3) and mention any circumstances that might affect the gravity of that mortal sin (you will often find that #1 and #3 go together). Let us explain.
Our Lady of Fatima said that the most common sin that damns most souls is the sin of impurity. Yet it is not enough to simply say in Confession: “Father, I have been impure!” Sexual impurity is a mortal sin―but there are different kinds of sexual impurity, all of which, though they are all mortal sins, have different degrees of gravity: (1) impurity in thoughts; (2) impurity in words; (3) impurity in actions. Then there are various different circumstances that can also increase the gravity of these mortal sins. For example: (1) Was it impurity of thought, word, or action by yourself with nobody else being involved; (2) was it impurity with a person under the age of consent; (3) was it impurity with a family member―father, mother, child, brother, sister, relative, etc.; (4) was it impurity with a religious person―bishop, priest, monk, nun, etc. (5) was the act of impurity forced upon the other person, e.g. rape; (6) was it impurity with an animal. All of these varying circumstances affect the gravity of the mortal sin of impurity. The same also applies to other kinds of mortal sin. By neglecting or hiding these distinctions, it is very easy to make a bad, invalid, sacrilegious confession.
Today, this is compounded and made much more frequent due to what recent popes have called “the loss of the sense of sin.”
● Pope Pius XII said in 1946: “Perhaps the greatest sin in the world today is that men have begun to lose the sense of sin!”
● Pope John Paul II, in 2005, wrote: “We live in a society that seems to have lost the sense of God and of sin!”
● Pope Benedict XVI, in 2011, said: “The word ‘sin’ is not accepted by many.”
● Pope Francis, in 2014, stated: “The sense of sin is lost … When we lose the sense of sin, when we let the Kingdom of God crumble!”
Not only do “we let the Kingdom of God crumble”, but we also let our state of sanctifying grace crumble due to our warped notions of what is sinful and what is not sinful! The demons are unbelievably intelligent, and so when the demons coax us into making bad (invalid) confessions they do so in a very subtle way―they do not advertize it, nor blow trumpets, nor wave the fact before our eyes. The perfect “con” is to “con” somebody and leave them oblivious to the fact that they have been conned. So when it comes to “conned” confessions, the demons want to have us thinking that we have confessed sufficiently well, whereas we have “botched” our confession and confessed badly (invalidly).
Sanctifying Grace―Out of Sight, Out of Mind, Out of Soul
As the Catechism, My Catholic Faith states: “Sanctifying grace is a sharing in the life of God Himself ... By Sanctifying Grace, our souls are made holy and pleasing to God ... Sanctifying grace is necessary for salvation because it is the supernatural life which alone enables us to attain the supernatural happiness of Heaven … One cannot gain any merit for Heaven as long as he is not in Sanctifying Grace, what is termed “in the state of grace.” For without Sanctifying Grace one is an enemy of God, and cannot enter His Kingdom … With Sanctifying Grace, the Holy Spirit enters our soul; we are led by His Spirit … The Holy Spirit does not sleep within us, but expands our heart with His grace, and urges our will to do good … The presence of God in the soul gives it life. When the Holy Spirit is dwelling in the soul, it is enabled to know and love God, to do supernatural works … St. Paul refers to this acquisition of Sanctifying Grace as the putting off of the old man and the putting on of the new ... When we are in possession of Sanctifying Grace, we are free from mortal sin; the two cannot dwell together … Mortal sin makes the soul displeasing to God, and thus deprives it of Sanctifying Grace.” (Catechism, My Catholic Faith).
There is nobody in Heaven without Sanctifying Grace in their soul―and there is nobody in Hell with Sanctifying Grace in their soul. Grace is everything―it is all that really matters. If you are the richest person in world, but do not have Sanctifying Grace in your soul, then you cannot enter Heaven, you cannot buy your way into Heaven, nor can you bribe your way into Heaven. You might be the most famous person in the world―but without Sanctifying Grace your fame will get you nowhere when it comes to Heaven. You might be the most powerful person in the world―but without Sanctifying Grace in your soul, you will be powerless in getting to Heaven.
You might be the poorest person on Earth―but with Sanctifying Grace in your soul you are richer than the richest person on Earth. You may be hated by everyone and have no friends―but with Sanctifying Grace in your soul you are loved by God and all the angels and saints in Heaven. You may have been the biggest sinner the world has ever seen―but with Sanctifying Grace in your soul you will avoid Hell and eventually get to Heaven. Yes―grace is everything. Grace is everything we need to get to Heaven.
For most persons, God is out of sight and therefore God is also out of their mind―they think very little of the God that they cannot see, and think a lot about the world that they can see! Statistics vary, but on average the American spends anywhere from 3 to 5 minutes a day on God related matters! That number does not include attending church services on Sundays. Obviously, that number also encompasses Catholics and Protestants. Modern science and technology have distracted man from God and dethroned God! It is not so much that people have stopped believing in God, it is more a case of them no longer having time for God.
Yet this attitude blatantly spits in the face of Holy Scripture, which says: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth! … But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven! … For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” ― “mammon” being the pleasures, treasures, teachings and spirit of the world, whose prince is the devil (Matthew 6:19-24). “Be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2). “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him!” (1 John 2:15). “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God!” (James 4:4). “Watch ye, therefore, praying at all times!” (Luke 21:36). “Pray without ceasing!” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). “We ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1).
Prayer is one of the chief sources of God’s graces. Here are some quotes on prayer from the saints: “The power of prayer is really tremendous” (St. Thérèse of Lisieux, 1873-1897). “He who prays most receives most” (St. Alphonsus Liguori, 1696-1787). “Prayer is necessary for salvation!” (St. Alphonsus Liguori, 1696-1787). “Prayer is the key to Heaven! Prayer ascends and mercy descends.” (St. Augustine, 354-430). “It is simply impossible to lead a virtuous life without the aid of prayer” (St. John Chrysostom, 347-407). “We must pray without tiring―because the salvation of mankind does not depend on material success; nor on sciences that cloud the intellect.” (St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, 1850-1917). “Prayer reveals to souls the vanity of earthly goods and pleasures.” (St. Rose of Viterbo, d. 1252).
St. Alphonsus Liguori writes on prayer: “First, I ask the pardon of all the offences I have committed … Secondly, I ask Thy Divine light, which will make me see the vanity of all the goods of this Earth … Thirdly, I ask Thy holy love, which will detach me from all creatures … “Fourthly, I ask for confidence in the merits of Jesus Christ and in the patronage of Mary … Fifthly, I ask holy perseverance in Thy grace … Eternal Father, grant me the grace of prayer, the grace to pray always! Amen.”
What Does Grace Do?
What does grace do? Grace does everything―everything that is not sinful. That is why St. Thérèse of Lisieux used to say: “Everything is grace!” Our Lord Himself said: “Without Me―you can do nothing!” (John 15:5). We can expand upon that and have Our Lord say: “Without My grace―you can do nothing!” What is it about the word “NOTHING” that we fail to understand? “Nothing” means zero, nichts, nič, ništa, nada, niente, natin, nekas, rien ― or whatever other language you choose to use! We truly underestimate and misunderstand the extent to which grace works in our lives. If you read St. Thomas Aquinas speaking about grace (Summa Theologica, Ia-IIae, questions 109 to 114) then you will better understand our total and humiliating dependence upon grace. Here are a few key extracts from St. Thomas:
“Human nature needs the help of God to do or wish any good whatsoever … Without grace men do nothing good when they either think or wish or love or act! … Without grace men can do no good whatever! … Grace is a light of the soul … Man cannot even know truth without Divine help … Not only do they know by the light of grace what to do, but by its help they do lovingly what they know! … Man, by his natural endowments, cannot produce meritorious works proportionate to everlasting life―for this a higher force is needed, namely, the force of grace. And thus without grace man cannot merit everlasting life … Man cannot prepare himself for everlasting life without the help of grace―a gratuitous gift of God, Who moves the soul inwardly or inspires the good wish ... Man’s turning to God is by free-will―but free-will can only be turned to God when God turns it, according to John 15:5: ‘Without Me, you can do nothing!’ … Man can do nothing unless moved by God.
“Grace is a gift of God … The gift of grace surpasses every capability of created nature … In the state of corrupt nature [after Original Sin] man needs the help of grace to heal his nature … In the state of corrupted nature man cannot fulfill all the Divine commandments without healing grace … St. Augustine says that it is part of the Pelagian heresy to believe that without grace man can fulfill all the Divine commandments …
“Sanctifying Grace is called ‘gratuitous grace’ since it is bestowed on a man beyond the capability of human nature and beyond the merits of the person … Man’s free-will is moved by something which is above the human mind, that is to say, by God … The mind of man is not so great a master of its act that it does not need to be moved by God … God leads everything to love of Himself … … for this it is necessary that the will of man should be prepared with grace by God …
“In the state of corrupt nature, it cannot be that man remains for a long time without mortal sin … Man cannot avoid every act of sin, except by grace … God’s grace is the outcome of His mercy … Man needs grace to heal his nature, in order that he may entirely abstain from sin … Man by himself can in no way rise from sin without the help of grace … In order for a man rise from sin there is required the help of grace ... According to Jeremias 31:18: ‘Convert me and I shall be converted, for Thou art the Lord, my God!’ and Lamentations 5:21: ‘Convert us, O Lord, to Thee, and we shall be converted!’ … Correction is useful … Correction is necessary in order to abstain from sin; yet correction is not sufficient without God’s help. Hence after anyone has been justified by grace, he still needs to beseech God for the gift of perseverance, so that he may be kept from evil until the end of his life. For to many persons grace is given to whom perseverance in grace is not given!” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Ia-IIae, questions 109 to 114).
Clearing Up Misunderstandings and Ignorance About Grace
Sadly to say, most Catholics would have a hard time explaining what grace is and what kinds of graces there are and what are the roles of these different kinds of grace. Catholics can fall into the trap of thinking that God is like a “vending machine” of grace. We go to church, we put our money in the basket, we say our prayers, we do something nice for someone and then we expect God to give us our grace. And, when He doesn’t―or we don’t immediately sense or feel that the grace is given―we kick the “vending machine,” grumble and walk away feeling ripped-off. However, God is not a vending machine and “owes” us nothing.
You cannot love what you do not know; you cannot use to maximum potential something that you know little about. One would imagine that most people would want to know all there is to know about grace―especially since there can no salvation without grace: “The grace of God [brings] life everlasting” (Romans 6:23) … “By grace you are saved, and not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8) … “By Christ’s grace you are saved!” (Ephesians 2:5). “Being justified by His grace, we may be heirs to life everlasting” (Titus 3:7). “Let us go therefore with confidence to the throne of grace―so that we may obtain mercy!” (Hebrews 4:16). So let us try to dispel the darkness of our ignorance and profit from the potential that grace offers.
Grace is Given to Everyone
God does not wish to exclude anyone from His grace: “God sent not His Son into the world, to judge the world, but that the world may be saved by Him!” (John 3:17). “Every man has received grace” (1 Peter 4:10). “To every one of us is given grace, according to the measure of the giving of Christ” (Ephesians 4:7). Even the pagans are offered God’s graces: “The grace of the Holy Ghost was poured out upon the Gentiles also! … God gave them the same grace, as to us also who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ!” who was I, that could withstand God?” (Acts 10:45; 11:17). “The grace of God our Savior has appeared to all men―instructing us, that by denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly, and justly, and godly in this world” (Titus 2:11-12).
Unfortunately, with our God-given free will, we can stubbornly and tragically refuse to accept and cooperate with God’s graces: “The light shined in darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it! … That was the true light, which enlightens every man that comes into this world. He was in the world and the world was made by Him―and the world knew him not. He came unto His own―and His own received Him not! … The light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light―for their works were evil” (John 1:5-11; 3:19).
The More Grace You Get―the More Fruit You Should Produce
Our Lord says: “I am the true vine and My Father is the gardener. Every branch in Me that bears not fruit, He will take away! And every branch that bears fruit, He will purge it, so that it may bring forth more fruit!” [John 15:1-2]. “Unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required―and to whom they have committed much, of him they will demand the more!” (Luke 12:48). We see this implied in Our Lord’s parable of the talents: “And to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, to everyone according to his proper ability: and immediately he took his journey. He that had received the five talents, went his way and traded and gained other five. And he that had received the two, gained another two. But he that had received the one, going his way dug into the earth and hid his lord’s money” (Matthew 25:15-18). We are expected to profit from the graces that God gives us―and not profitlessly bury them in the ground. “Receive not the grace of God in vain!” (2 Corinthians 6:1). “Stir up the grace of God which is in thee!” (2 Timothy 1:6). “Grow in grace” (2 Peter 3:18). “Neglect not the grace that is in thee!” (1 Timothy 4:14). “I cast not away the grace of God!” (Galatians 2:21). “His grace in me has not been void, but I have labored more abundantly than all they―yet not I, but the grace of God with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10).
Everything Revolves Around Grace
As already stated above―God saves you―but it through His grace that He does that saving. Our Lady can lead you to salvation―but not without the grace of God (and she is the Mediatrix of All Grace, the treasure chest of all God’s graces, through whom God gives all His graces). Baptism saves souls―but it is only by giving souls the grace of God. The Sacrament of Confession can save a soul from Hell merited by mortal sin―but it can only do this with the grace of God. Our Lady said that one day, through the Rosary and the Scapular, she would save the world―but this requires the grace of God. An act of perfect contrition can save a soul―but it only does this by restoring the grace of God to the soul in mortal sin.
All the countless events of everyday life revolve around and depend upon the grace of God―as shown in the above quotes of St. Thomas Aquinas. The actions of Divine Providence are the workings of the grace of God. Dom Chautard, in his book The Soul of the Apostolate, speaks of grace prodding, inspiring and moving us at every moment of the day, all throughout the day―he calls this “the grace of the present moment”. Dom Chautard writes: “At every instant Jesus presents Himself to you by the GRACE OF THE PRESENT MOMENT C every time there is a prayer to say, a Mass to celebrate or to hear, reacting to be done, or acts of patience, of zeal, of renunciation, of struggle, confidence, or love to be produced.” Sadly, most people are totally oblivious and ignorant of this―they fail to see the ceaseless actions of grace all throughout their day in all the little things of life.
Different Kinds of Grace
A man is different to a woman―yet both are called human beings. Both priests and laity are members of the Catholic Church―but they have different functions within the Church. A hammer has a different function than a screwdriver―yet both are called tools. Likewise, there are different forms of grace―which, even though they are all geared to get us to Heaven―they function differently. Let us then take a look at these different kinds of graces.
Sanctifying Grace and Actual Grace
There are two kinds of grace: Sanctifying Grace and Actual Grace.
(1) Sanctifying Grace gives us the very life of God. Sanctifying Grace is not God Himself, but is a share in certain aspects of the life of God. It is an interior grace, which should habitually dwell in the soul and transform it, making it holy―hence it is sometimes called Sanctifying Grace because it makes us holy, and Habitual Grace because it should be a permanent grace that habitually reside in our souls. The ordinary way we receive Sanctifying Grace is through the Sacraments―beginning with its first reception at Baptism. It is Sanctifying Grace that is the basis for our salvation and is infused in us upon our Baptism. If we lose Sanctifying Grace, then we can regain in through the Sacrament of Confession.
(2) Actual Grace is supernatural help from God (like inspirations, suggestions, nudges to do the right thing according to the Will of God). Actual Grace is Grace given to us when God acts in a particular moment in time; it is not continuous and does not stay with us. The unique feature of Actual Grace is that it comes and goes, not remaining permanently with the Christian. It serves a purpose such a moving the Christian to do good during a certain period of time. Actual Grace is not a permanent grace like Sanctifying Grace (unless lost by mortal sin), but Actual Grace is a temporary, passing, short-term grace that is meant to guide us through some particular thing or circumstance. It is external grace, working on us from the outside only; it does nothing to change the state of our soul. It does not remove mortal sin and it does not make us holy by itself―it is meant to inspire, lead and guide to do the things that will make us holy. Everyone receives Actual Grace, and it comes to us when we need it. We have the free will to cooperate with it or ignore it.
St. Thomas Aquinas says: “There is a twofold grace: (1) one whereby man himself is united to God, and this is called SANCTIFYING GRACE or HABITUAL GRACE, inasmuch as it heals and justifies the soul, and makes it pleasing to God; (2) the other is that whereby one man cooperates with another in leading him to God, and this gift is called GRATUITOUS GRACE [modern theology also calls it “ACTUAL GRACE”], since it is bestowed on a man beyond the capability of nature, and beyond the merit of the person.”
The most important type is sanctifying Grace, which is the grace that makes us holy, and which therefore obtains for us salvation. Actual Grace―of itself―does not directly make us holy, nor does it lead directly to salvation. Even pagans are given Actual Graces, but that does not guarantee their salvation―those graces are merely meant to lead them to the waters of Baptism, which imparts to Sanctifying Grace to the soul and begins the pilgrimage to Heaven.
Different Kinds of Actual Grace―Prevenient, Concomitant and Perservering
In Latin, theologians speak of (1) gratia praeveniens, (2) gratia concomitans, and (3) gratia perseverans. What are these three kinds of Actual Grace?
(1) Prevenient Grace is based on the Latin words “prae” or “pre” meaning “before” and “veniens” from the verb “venire” meaning “to come” ― hence “to come before” or to “precede.” Therefore, Grace is an Actual Grace (temporary passing grace) that comes before the other two―Concomitant Grace and Persevering Grace. Prevenient Grace is like a first impulse, an initial idea or suggestion that God sends―a kind of a “Hey! Why don’t you do this good thing?” The devil acts likewise in temptations to sin and evil. Prevenient Grace is like bait on the end of fishing line and hook―God uses it to attract us to some good thought, word or action.
(2) Concomitant Grace is based on the Latin words “con” meaning “with” and “mittens” from the verb “mittere” meaning “to send” ― hence “to send with.” Sometimes called Cooperating Grace, it is assistance given when we respond to a Prevenient Grace. It has been compared to a mother who, after coaxing a child to walk, actually takes it by the arms and assists it to take a few more steps. Or like a parent that suggests to the child that his or her bedroom should be cleaned and tidied―and then goes with the child to help the child get started. In Prevenient Graces God acts without man’s cooperation―God merely suggests or coaxes a person to do something; but in Concomitant Grace God acts together with the free cooperation of a person’s free-will by, so to speak, “jump-starting” the person into action.
(3) Persevering Grace comes from the Latin verb “perseverare” meaning “to continue, to persist, to persevere.” Starting something is usually far easier than seeing something through to the end―ask anyone who got married! Our Lord speaks of this perseverance when He says: “He that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved!” (Matthew 10:22). The word “persevere” could be divided into two ― “per” meaning “through” and the word “severe” meaning “very serious, something causing very great pain, difficulty, worry, damage, etc.” The way to Heaven is not a “cake-walk” but a fight―it is a fight against the devil, the world and our own wicked tendencies. God knows how hard this is―and He is willing to give the grace to persevere through all our trials and tribulations―but we must ask for that grace! St. Thomas Aquinas says: “Hence after anyone has been justified by grace, he still needs to beseech God for the gift of perseverance, so that he may be kept from evil till the end of his life. For to many persons grace is given to whom perseverance in grace is not given.”
Different Kinds of Actual Grace―Sufficient Grace and Efficient (Efficacious) Grace
Some theologians speak of a Sufficient Grace and an Efficient Grace (also called an Efficacious Grace). What are these graces and what do they do? Sufficient and Efficient/Efficacious Graces are Actual Graces that describe how those Actual Graces work. If you like, they describe the power or efficacity that God puts into each and every Actual Grace that He sends to us. You could use an analogy with cars ― car engines can be supercharged or turbocharged, which may increase engine power up to 50%. This enables a small engine to perform like a naturally aspirated larger engine. Loosely speaking―and all analogies limp―Sufficient Grace could be compared to a normal car engine and Efficient/Efficacious Grace could be compared to a supercharged or turbocharged engine.
Human freedom, under grace, is a dogma. According to the Councils of Trent and the First Vatican Council, human freedom means that man has the power to resist grace, to answer it with dissent rather than consent. Freedom means a choice of two things―a power to do or not to do, to do this or that, to dissent or consent. It is possible to resist both Sufficient Grace and Efficient/Efficacious Grace and thus thwart God’s plans for us and risk our own damnation. Sufficient Grace has all it takes to “get the job done” yet it is also less ‘persuasive’ than Efficient/Efficacious Grace. Normally, if we do not resist Sufficient Grace, then it eventually progresses into an Ordinary Efficient/Efficacious Grace―like a seed becomes a plant. However, sometimes God will directly send an Extraordinary Efficient/Efficacious Grace which is far more powerful and far more persuasive that, so to speak, “makes us an offer that we cannot refuse”! Nevertheless, at all times our will remains free to either reject or accept the movement and guidance of God’s grace, regardless if which kind it is.
God Helps Those Who Help Themselves
St. Augustine says that the help of God’s grace should be more sought for things pertaining to our justification (returning and keeping ourselves in a state of Sanctifying Grace) so that we can achieve salvation―that is what he means when her refers to the word “justice” in the following paragraphs. He points out that God’s help does not exempt us from making our own efforts by cooperating with God’s grace:
“Remove yourself, I repeat, remove yourself from yourself―you just get in your own way! If it’s you that are building yourself, it is a ruin you are building. ‘Unless the Lord has built the house, they have labored in vain, who build it!’ (Psalm 127:1). God made you without you! You didn’t, after all, give any consent to God making you! How could you consent, if you didn’t yet exist? So while God made you without you, nevertheless, He does not justify you without you ... So stop wishing to have your own justice [justification/salvation]. Do not have your own justice [justification/salvation]―the Apostle Paul counts it as dung! But the whole thing is from God―not, however as though we were asleep, as though we did not have to make an effort, as though we did not have to be willing. Without your will, there will be no justice [justification/salvation] of God in you. The will, indeed, is only ours, the justice [justification/salvation] is only God’s. There can be such a thing as God’s justice [justification/salvation] without your will, but it [justification/salvation] cannot be in you apart from your will, without your will. You have been shown what you have to do. The law has laid down: ‘Do not do that, nor that; do this and that!’ It has been shown to you, laid down for you, your mind has been opened for you―you have understood what you should do. Beg for the power to do it!
“Do not think that just because you call yourself a Christian, you cannot for that reason stumble over the stone of stumbling. When you abuse God’s grace, you stumble over Him. Let there be justice [justification/salvation] in you―but let it be from grace, let it come to you from God―do not let it be your own! Sigh to obtain it, weep to obtain it, believe in order to obtain it. ‘Whoever calls upon the Name of the Lord,’ He says, ‘shall be saved’ (Romans 10:13; Joel 2:32). Or do you suppose that when it says: ‘Whoever calls upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved’ ― it means saved from malaria, or the pox, or the gout, or any other pain of the body? Not so! But ‘will be saved’ means ‘will be just.’ Because: ‘The doctor is not needed by the healthy, but by the sick.’ He explained that when he said: ‘I have not come to call the just, but sinners!’ (Mark 2:17).” (St. Augustine, Father and Doctor of the Church, Sermon 169).
At the end of our life on Earth, as we find ourselves dying, there are three things that should occupy our thoughts and perhaps even make us tremble! We could loosely term those three things as our own personal trinity―mercy, grace and salvation. Just as the Holy Trinity is three Persons in one God―likewise we could say that these three things must be a part of us. There is no salvation without sanctifying grace in the soul; and we are undeserving of sanctifying grace without the mercy of God being shown to us.
Scary thought, huh? Yes―as Holy Scripture says: “With fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12) … “By grace you are saved, and that not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God!” (Ephesians 2:8) … “The wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23) … “Who can say: ‘My heart is clean, I am pure from sin!’?” (Proverbs 20:9) … Who dare say: “I am clean, and without sin! I am unspotted, and there is no iniquity in me!” (Job 33:9) … “For in many things we all offend” (James 3:2) … “There is no man who sins not” (3 Kings 8:46) … “For all have sinned, and do need the glory [mercy and grace] of God!” (Romans 3:23) ... “The soul that sins, the same shall die … Is it My will that a sinner should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways, and live? … Be converted and do penance for all your iniquities and iniquity shall not be your ruin! … For I desire not the death of him that dies, says the Lord God, return ye and live!” (Ezechiel 18:20-32). “If the wicked do penance for sins committed … and keep all My commandments … I will be merciful to their iniquities, and their sins I will remember no more” (Ezechiel 18:21; Hebrews 8:12) … “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy; and I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy!” (Romans 9:15) … “Your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36) … “The Lord is merciful, plenteous in mercy. His tender mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 144:8-9).
If God is so merciful, then why is it that most souls end up in Hell? We must make an important distinction here between (1) the mercy that is within God and (2) the mercy that God shows to us. Within God, mercy has no limits, it is infinite just as God is infinite. Yet, with regard to us finite sinful creatures, He does not show infinite mercy to every sinner. We know that by the very fact that Hell exists―if God showed infinite mercy to every sinner, there would be no Hell. If God showed infinite mercy to every sinner, then He would not have destroyed everyone by the Great Flood in the days of Noe. If God showed infinite mercy to every sinner, then He would not have destroyed Sodom and Gomorrha with fire from Heaven. If God showed infinite mercy to every sinner, then why would Our Lord say that most souls end up being damned: “And a certain man said to Him: ‘Lord! Are they few that are saved?’ But He said to them: ‘Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life: and few there are that find it! … Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able!’” (Matthew 7:13-14; Luke 13:23-24).
If God showed infinite mercy to every sinner, then why did Our Lady of Fatima say that many souls go to Hell? Why did Our Lady say to the Venerable Mary of Agreda: “Many persons―whom the world has celebrated as great, powerful and wise―have thrown themselves into the eternal darkness of Hell! … The number of fools is infinite and the number of the reprobate is also uncountable! … How many men have thrown themselves into the eternal darkness of Hell! … Countless numbers have fallen into Hell! … Lucifer has hurled into Hell so great a number of souls and continues so to hurl them every day! I will not tell thee how many souls are lost, in order to not cause thee to die of sorrow at this loss! … I have already told thee, that the number of those foreknown as doomed, is so great, and of those that save themselves is so small, that it is not expedient to say more in particular!” (The Mystical City of God).
Presume Not On God’s Mercy
Elsewhere, Holy Scripture echoes this truth: “Be not without fear about sin forgiven, and add not sin upon sin! And say not: ‘The mercy of the Lord is great, He will have mercy on the multitude of my sins!’” (Ecclesiasticus 5:5-6). “He that commits sin is of the devil!” (1 John 3:8). “Be not deceived, God is not mocked! For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that sows in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption. But he that sows in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:7-8).
St. Alphonsus Liguori, a Doctor of the Church and patron saint of moral theologians, writes: “Sinners hear the calls of God, but they forget them, and continue to offend Him. But God does not forget them. He numbers the graces which He dispenses, as well as the sins which we commit. Hence, when the time which He has fixed arrives, God deprives us of His graces, and begins to inflict chastisement. The sinner who abandons himself to sin without striving to resist temptations―or without at least asking God’s help to conquer them and hopes that the Lord will one day draw him from the precipice―tempts God to work miracles, or rather to show to him an extraordinary mercy that is not extended to the generality of Christians. God has fixed for each person the number of the days of his life, and the degrees of health and talent which He will give him, so He has also determined for each the number of sins which He will pardon; and when this number is completed, He will pardon no more. God is ready to heal those who sincerely wish to amend their lives, but cannot take pity on the obstinate sinner. The Lord pardons sins, but He cannot pardon those who are determined to offend Him.” (Sermon for the First Sunday of Lent: “On The Number Of Sins Beyond Which God Pardons No More”).
Bad Confessions Lose the Mercy of God
St. Teresa of Avila stated: “Bad confessions damn the majority of Christians.” St. Alphonsus Liguori also warns of bad confessions: “The preacher should often speak against bad confessions―in which sins are concealed through shame. This is an evil not of rare occurrence, but is frequent―and which consigns innumerable souls to Hell!” As Scripture warns: “He that commits sin is of the devil” (1 John 3:8). The American exorcist, Fr. Chad Ripperger, explains: “Most people don’t know that the proper effect of every single mortal sin is demonic possession. It’s just that God blocks it in 99.9% of the cases.” If you were to be mortally wounded by a gunshot, then you would race to the Emergency Room of the nearest hospital. Yet when our soul is mortally wounded by mortal sin, we feel little urgency to rush to the Emergency Room of the nearest confessional. Once the demons have enticed you to sin mortally, then the next step is to try and keep you in that state of mortal sin. If they see that you intend to go to Confession and confess your mortal sins, then they will try and make that confession an invalid confession by making you confess badly.
There is a grave danger of presuming on the mercy of by getting caught in the vicious circle of constant “commit mortal sin―confess the mortal sin―commit the mortal sin again―confess the mortal sin again―and so on again and again and again. This reduces the Sacrament of Confession and the Precious Blood of Jesus to the level of a weekly carwash―don’t worry about mortal sin, you can wash it off in Confession each week! That is the sin of presumption!
Closely linked to this sin of presumption is what could be called “the sin of deception” during Confession, whereby the person “fudges”, “masks”, “misrepresents” or “puts cosmetics” on their mortal sin(s) to make it seem less serious or less numerous than it really is. These people forget that they are bound to confess their mortal sins according to (1) the precise kind of mortal sin that it is; (2) the number of times they have committed each different kind of mortal sin; (3) and mention any circumstances that might affect the gravity of that mortal sin (you will often find that #1 and #3 go together). Let us explain.
Our Lady of Fatima said that the most common sin that damns most souls is the sin of impurity. Yet it is not enough to simply say in Confession: “Father, I have been impure!” Sexual impurity is a mortal sin―but there are different kinds of sexual impurity, all of which, though they are all mortal sins, have different degrees of gravity: (1) impurity in thoughts; (2) impurity in words; (3) impurity in actions. Then there are various different circumstances that can also increase the gravity of these mortal sins. For example: (1) Was it impurity of thought, word, or action by yourself with nobody else being involved; (2) was it impurity with a person under the age of consent; (3) was it impurity with a family member―father, mother, child, brother, sister, relative, etc.; (4) was it impurity with a religious person―bishop, priest, monk, nun, etc. (5) was the act of impurity forced upon the other person, e.g. rape; (6) was it impurity with an animal. All of these varying circumstances affect the gravity of the mortal sin of impurity. The same also applies to other kinds of mortal sin. By neglecting or hiding these distinctions, it is very easy to make a bad, invalid, sacrilegious confession.
Today, this is compounded and made much more frequent due to what recent popes have called “the loss of the sense of sin.”
● Pope Pius XII said in 1946: “Perhaps the greatest sin in the world today is that men have begun to lose the sense of sin!”
● Pope John Paul II, in 2005, wrote: “We live in a society that seems to have lost the sense of God and of sin!”
● Pope Benedict XVI, in 2011, said: “The word ‘sin’ is not accepted by many.”
● Pope Francis, in 2014, stated: “The sense of sin is lost … When we lose the sense of sin, when we let the Kingdom of God crumble!”
Not only do “we let the Kingdom of God crumble”, but we also let our state of sanctifying grace crumble due to our warped notions of what is sinful and what is not sinful! The demons are unbelievably intelligent, and so when the demons coax us into making bad (invalid) confessions they do so in a very subtle way―they do not advertize it, nor blow trumpets, nor wave the fact before our eyes. The perfect “con” is to “con” somebody and leave them oblivious to the fact that they have been conned. So when it comes to “conned” confessions, the demons want to have us thinking that we have confessed sufficiently well, whereas we have “botched” our confession and confessed badly (invalidly).
Sanctifying Grace―Out of Sight, Out of Mind, Out of Soul
As the Catechism, My Catholic Faith states: “Sanctifying grace is a sharing in the life of God Himself ... By Sanctifying Grace, our souls are made holy and pleasing to God ... Sanctifying grace is necessary for salvation because it is the supernatural life which alone enables us to attain the supernatural happiness of Heaven … One cannot gain any merit for Heaven as long as he is not in Sanctifying Grace, what is termed “in the state of grace.” For without Sanctifying Grace one is an enemy of God, and cannot enter His Kingdom … With Sanctifying Grace, the Holy Spirit enters our soul; we are led by His Spirit … The Holy Spirit does not sleep within us, but expands our heart with His grace, and urges our will to do good … The presence of God in the soul gives it life. When the Holy Spirit is dwelling in the soul, it is enabled to know and love God, to do supernatural works … St. Paul refers to this acquisition of Sanctifying Grace as the putting off of the old man and the putting on of the new ... When we are in possession of Sanctifying Grace, we are free from mortal sin; the two cannot dwell together … Mortal sin makes the soul displeasing to God, and thus deprives it of Sanctifying Grace.” (Catechism, My Catholic Faith).
There is nobody in Heaven without Sanctifying Grace in their soul―and there is nobody in Hell with Sanctifying Grace in their soul. Grace is everything―it is all that really matters. If you are the richest person in world, but do not have Sanctifying Grace in your soul, then you cannot enter Heaven, you cannot buy your way into Heaven, nor can you bribe your way into Heaven. You might be the most famous person in the world―but without Sanctifying Grace your fame will get you nowhere when it comes to Heaven. You might be the most powerful person in the world―but without Sanctifying Grace in your soul, you will be powerless in getting to Heaven.
You might be the poorest person on Earth―but with Sanctifying Grace in your soul you are richer than the richest person on Earth. You may be hated by everyone and have no friends―but with Sanctifying Grace in your soul you are loved by God and all the angels and saints in Heaven. You may have been the biggest sinner the world has ever seen―but with Sanctifying Grace in your soul you will avoid Hell and eventually get to Heaven. Yes―grace is everything. Grace is everything we need to get to Heaven.
For most persons, God is out of sight and therefore God is also out of their mind―they think very little of the God that they cannot see, and think a lot about the world that they can see! Statistics vary, but on average the American spends anywhere from 3 to 5 minutes a day on God related matters! That number does not include attending church services on Sundays. Obviously, that number also encompasses Catholics and Protestants. Modern science and technology have distracted man from God and dethroned God! It is not so much that people have stopped believing in God, it is more a case of them no longer having time for God.
Yet this attitude blatantly spits in the face of Holy Scripture, which says: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth! … But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven! … For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” ― “mammon” being the pleasures, treasures, teachings and spirit of the world, whose prince is the devil (Matthew 6:19-24). “Be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2). “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him!” (1 John 2:15). “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God!” (James 4:4). “Watch ye, therefore, praying at all times!” (Luke 21:36). “Pray without ceasing!” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). “We ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1).
Prayer is one of the chief sources of God’s graces. Here are some quotes on prayer from the saints: “The power of prayer is really tremendous” (St. Thérèse of Lisieux, 1873-1897). “He who prays most receives most” (St. Alphonsus Liguori, 1696-1787). “Prayer is necessary for salvation!” (St. Alphonsus Liguori, 1696-1787). “Prayer is the key to Heaven! Prayer ascends and mercy descends.” (St. Augustine, 354-430). “It is simply impossible to lead a virtuous life without the aid of prayer” (St. John Chrysostom, 347-407). “We must pray without tiring―because the salvation of mankind does not depend on material success; nor on sciences that cloud the intellect.” (St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, 1850-1917). “Prayer reveals to souls the vanity of earthly goods and pleasures.” (St. Rose of Viterbo, d. 1252).
St. Alphonsus Liguori writes on prayer: “First, I ask the pardon of all the offences I have committed … Secondly, I ask Thy Divine light, which will make me see the vanity of all the goods of this Earth … Thirdly, I ask Thy holy love, which will detach me from all creatures … “Fourthly, I ask for confidence in the merits of Jesus Christ and in the patronage of Mary … Fifthly, I ask holy perseverance in Thy grace … Eternal Father, grant me the grace of prayer, the grace to pray always! Amen.”
What Does Grace Do?
What does grace do? Grace does everything―everything that is not sinful. That is why St. Thérèse of Lisieux used to say: “Everything is grace!” Our Lord Himself said: “Without Me―you can do nothing!” (John 15:5). We can expand upon that and have Our Lord say: “Without My grace―you can do nothing!” What is it about the word “NOTHING” that we fail to understand? “Nothing” means zero, nichts, nič, ništa, nada, niente, natin, nekas, rien ― or whatever other language you choose to use! We truly underestimate and misunderstand the extent to which grace works in our lives. If you read St. Thomas Aquinas speaking about grace (Summa Theologica, Ia-IIae, questions 109 to 114) then you will better understand our total and humiliating dependence upon grace. Here are a few key extracts from St. Thomas:
“Human nature needs the help of God to do or wish any good whatsoever … Without grace men do nothing good when they either think or wish or love or act! … Without grace men can do no good whatever! … Grace is a light of the soul … Man cannot even know truth without Divine help … Not only do they know by the light of grace what to do, but by its help they do lovingly what they know! … Man, by his natural endowments, cannot produce meritorious works proportionate to everlasting life―for this a higher force is needed, namely, the force of grace. And thus without grace man cannot merit everlasting life … Man cannot prepare himself for everlasting life without the help of grace―a gratuitous gift of God, Who moves the soul inwardly or inspires the good wish ... Man’s turning to God is by free-will―but free-will can only be turned to God when God turns it, according to John 15:5: ‘Without Me, you can do nothing!’ … Man can do nothing unless moved by God.
“Grace is a gift of God … The gift of grace surpasses every capability of created nature … In the state of corrupt nature [after Original Sin] man needs the help of grace to heal his nature … In the state of corrupted nature man cannot fulfill all the Divine commandments without healing grace … St. Augustine says that it is part of the Pelagian heresy to believe that without grace man can fulfill all the Divine commandments …
“Sanctifying Grace is called ‘gratuitous grace’ since it is bestowed on a man beyond the capability of human nature and beyond the merits of the person … Man’s free-will is moved by something which is above the human mind, that is to say, by God … The mind of man is not so great a master of its act that it does not need to be moved by God … God leads everything to love of Himself … … for this it is necessary that the will of man should be prepared with grace by God …
“In the state of corrupt nature, it cannot be that man remains for a long time without mortal sin … Man cannot avoid every act of sin, except by grace … God’s grace is the outcome of His mercy … Man needs grace to heal his nature, in order that he may entirely abstain from sin … Man by himself can in no way rise from sin without the help of grace … In order for a man rise from sin there is required the help of grace ... According to Jeremias 31:18: ‘Convert me and I shall be converted, for Thou art the Lord, my God!’ and Lamentations 5:21: ‘Convert us, O Lord, to Thee, and we shall be converted!’ … Correction is useful … Correction is necessary in order to abstain from sin; yet correction is not sufficient without God’s help. Hence after anyone has been justified by grace, he still needs to beseech God for the gift of perseverance, so that he may be kept from evil until the end of his life. For to many persons grace is given to whom perseverance in grace is not given!” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Ia-IIae, questions 109 to 114).
Clearing Up Misunderstandings and Ignorance About Grace
Sadly to say, most Catholics would have a hard time explaining what grace is and what kinds of graces there are and what are the roles of these different kinds of grace. Catholics can fall into the trap of thinking that God is like a “vending machine” of grace. We go to church, we put our money in the basket, we say our prayers, we do something nice for someone and then we expect God to give us our grace. And, when He doesn’t―or we don’t immediately sense or feel that the grace is given―we kick the “vending machine,” grumble and walk away feeling ripped-off. However, God is not a vending machine and “owes” us nothing.
You cannot love what you do not know; you cannot use to maximum potential something that you know little about. One would imagine that most people would want to know all there is to know about grace―especially since there can no salvation without grace: “The grace of God [brings] life everlasting” (Romans 6:23) … “By grace you are saved, and not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8) … “By Christ’s grace you are saved!” (Ephesians 2:5). “Being justified by His grace, we may be heirs to life everlasting” (Titus 3:7). “Let us go therefore with confidence to the throne of grace―so that we may obtain mercy!” (Hebrews 4:16). So let us try to dispel the darkness of our ignorance and profit from the potential that grace offers.
Grace is Given to Everyone
God does not wish to exclude anyone from His grace: “God sent not His Son into the world, to judge the world, but that the world may be saved by Him!” (John 3:17). “Every man has received grace” (1 Peter 4:10). “To every one of us is given grace, according to the measure of the giving of Christ” (Ephesians 4:7). Even the pagans are offered God’s graces: “The grace of the Holy Ghost was poured out upon the Gentiles also! … God gave them the same grace, as to us also who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ!” who was I, that could withstand God?” (Acts 10:45; 11:17). “The grace of God our Savior has appeared to all men―instructing us, that by denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly, and justly, and godly in this world” (Titus 2:11-12).
Unfortunately, with our God-given free will, we can stubbornly and tragically refuse to accept and cooperate with God’s graces: “The light shined in darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it! … That was the true light, which enlightens every man that comes into this world. He was in the world and the world was made by Him―and the world knew him not. He came unto His own―and His own received Him not! … The light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light―for their works were evil” (John 1:5-11; 3:19).
The More Grace You Get―the More Fruit You Should Produce
Our Lord says: “I am the true vine and My Father is the gardener. Every branch in Me that bears not fruit, He will take away! And every branch that bears fruit, He will purge it, so that it may bring forth more fruit!” [John 15:1-2]. “Unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required―and to whom they have committed much, of him they will demand the more!” (Luke 12:48). We see this implied in Our Lord’s parable of the talents: “And to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, to everyone according to his proper ability: and immediately he took his journey. He that had received the five talents, went his way and traded and gained other five. And he that had received the two, gained another two. But he that had received the one, going his way dug into the earth and hid his lord’s money” (Matthew 25:15-18). We are expected to profit from the graces that God gives us―and not profitlessly bury them in the ground. “Receive not the grace of God in vain!” (2 Corinthians 6:1). “Stir up the grace of God which is in thee!” (2 Timothy 1:6). “Grow in grace” (2 Peter 3:18). “Neglect not the grace that is in thee!” (1 Timothy 4:14). “I cast not away the grace of God!” (Galatians 2:21). “His grace in me has not been void, but I have labored more abundantly than all they―yet not I, but the grace of God with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10).
Everything Revolves Around Grace
As already stated above―God saves you―but it through His grace that He does that saving. Our Lady can lead you to salvation―but not without the grace of God (and she is the Mediatrix of All Grace, the treasure chest of all God’s graces, through whom God gives all His graces). Baptism saves souls―but it is only by giving souls the grace of God. The Sacrament of Confession can save a soul from Hell merited by mortal sin―but it can only do this with the grace of God. Our Lady said that one day, through the Rosary and the Scapular, she would save the world―but this requires the grace of God. An act of perfect contrition can save a soul―but it only does this by restoring the grace of God to the soul in mortal sin.
All the countless events of everyday life revolve around and depend upon the grace of God―as shown in the above quotes of St. Thomas Aquinas. The actions of Divine Providence are the workings of the grace of God. Dom Chautard, in his book The Soul of the Apostolate, speaks of grace prodding, inspiring and moving us at every moment of the day, all throughout the day―he calls this “the grace of the present moment”. Dom Chautard writes: “At every instant Jesus presents Himself to you by the GRACE OF THE PRESENT MOMENT C every time there is a prayer to say, a Mass to celebrate or to hear, reacting to be done, or acts of patience, of zeal, of renunciation, of struggle, confidence, or love to be produced.” Sadly, most people are totally oblivious and ignorant of this―they fail to see the ceaseless actions of grace all throughout their day in all the little things of life.
Different Kinds of Grace
A man is different to a woman―yet both are called human beings. Both priests and laity are members of the Catholic Church―but they have different functions within the Church. A hammer has a different function than a screwdriver―yet both are called tools. Likewise, there are different forms of grace―which, even though they are all geared to get us to Heaven―they function differently. Let us then take a look at these different kinds of graces.
Sanctifying Grace and Actual Grace
There are two kinds of grace: Sanctifying Grace and Actual Grace.
(1) Sanctifying Grace gives us the very life of God. Sanctifying Grace is not God Himself, but is a share in certain aspects of the life of God. It is an interior grace, which should habitually dwell in the soul and transform it, making it holy―hence it is sometimes called Sanctifying Grace because it makes us holy, and Habitual Grace because it should be a permanent grace that habitually reside in our souls. The ordinary way we receive Sanctifying Grace is through the Sacraments―beginning with its first reception at Baptism. It is Sanctifying Grace that is the basis for our salvation and is infused in us upon our Baptism. If we lose Sanctifying Grace, then we can regain in through the Sacrament of Confession.
(2) Actual Grace is supernatural help from God (like inspirations, suggestions, nudges to do the right thing according to the Will of God). Actual Grace is Grace given to us when God acts in a particular moment in time; it is not continuous and does not stay with us. The unique feature of Actual Grace is that it comes and goes, not remaining permanently with the Christian. It serves a purpose such a moving the Christian to do good during a certain period of time. Actual Grace is not a permanent grace like Sanctifying Grace (unless lost by mortal sin), but Actual Grace is a temporary, passing, short-term grace that is meant to guide us through some particular thing or circumstance. It is external grace, working on us from the outside only; it does nothing to change the state of our soul. It does not remove mortal sin and it does not make us holy by itself―it is meant to inspire, lead and guide to do the things that will make us holy. Everyone receives Actual Grace, and it comes to us when we need it. We have the free will to cooperate with it or ignore it.
St. Thomas Aquinas says: “There is a twofold grace: (1) one whereby man himself is united to God, and this is called SANCTIFYING GRACE or HABITUAL GRACE, inasmuch as it heals and justifies the soul, and makes it pleasing to God; (2) the other is that whereby one man cooperates with another in leading him to God, and this gift is called GRATUITOUS GRACE [modern theology also calls it “ACTUAL GRACE”], since it is bestowed on a man beyond the capability of nature, and beyond the merit of the person.”
The most important type is sanctifying Grace, which is the grace that makes us holy, and which therefore obtains for us salvation. Actual Grace―of itself―does not directly make us holy, nor does it lead directly to salvation. Even pagans are given Actual Graces, but that does not guarantee their salvation―those graces are merely meant to lead them to the waters of Baptism, which imparts to Sanctifying Grace to the soul and begins the pilgrimage to Heaven.
Different Kinds of Actual Grace―Prevenient, Concomitant and Perservering
In Latin, theologians speak of (1) gratia praeveniens, (2) gratia concomitans, and (3) gratia perseverans. What are these three kinds of Actual Grace?
(1) Prevenient Grace is based on the Latin words “prae” or “pre” meaning “before” and “veniens” from the verb “venire” meaning “to come” ― hence “to come before” or to “precede.” Therefore, Grace is an Actual Grace (temporary passing grace) that comes before the other two―Concomitant Grace and Persevering Grace. Prevenient Grace is like a first impulse, an initial idea or suggestion that God sends―a kind of a “Hey! Why don’t you do this good thing?” The devil acts likewise in temptations to sin and evil. Prevenient Grace is like bait on the end of fishing line and hook―God uses it to attract us to some good thought, word or action.
(2) Concomitant Grace is based on the Latin words “con” meaning “with” and “mittens” from the verb “mittere” meaning “to send” ― hence “to send with.” Sometimes called Cooperating Grace, it is assistance given when we respond to a Prevenient Grace. It has been compared to a mother who, after coaxing a child to walk, actually takes it by the arms and assists it to take a few more steps. Or like a parent that suggests to the child that his or her bedroom should be cleaned and tidied―and then goes with the child to help the child get started. In Prevenient Graces God acts without man’s cooperation―God merely suggests or coaxes a person to do something; but in Concomitant Grace God acts together with the free cooperation of a person’s free-will by, so to speak, “jump-starting” the person into action.
(3) Persevering Grace comes from the Latin verb “perseverare” meaning “to continue, to persist, to persevere.” Starting something is usually far easier than seeing something through to the end―ask anyone who got married! Our Lord speaks of this perseverance when He says: “He that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved!” (Matthew 10:22). The word “persevere” could be divided into two ― “per” meaning “through” and the word “severe” meaning “very serious, something causing very great pain, difficulty, worry, damage, etc.” The way to Heaven is not a “cake-walk” but a fight―it is a fight against the devil, the world and our own wicked tendencies. God knows how hard this is―and He is willing to give the grace to persevere through all our trials and tribulations―but we must ask for that grace! St. Thomas Aquinas says: “Hence after anyone has been justified by grace, he still needs to beseech God for the gift of perseverance, so that he may be kept from evil till the end of his life. For to many persons grace is given to whom perseverance in grace is not given.”
Different Kinds of Actual Grace―Sufficient Grace and Efficient (Efficacious) Grace
Some theologians speak of a Sufficient Grace and an Efficient Grace (also called an Efficacious Grace). What are these graces and what do they do? Sufficient and Efficient/Efficacious Graces are Actual Graces that describe how those Actual Graces work. If you like, they describe the power or efficacity that God puts into each and every Actual Grace that He sends to us. You could use an analogy with cars ― car engines can be supercharged or turbocharged, which may increase engine power up to 50%. This enables a small engine to perform like a naturally aspirated larger engine. Loosely speaking―and all analogies limp―Sufficient Grace could be compared to a normal car engine and Efficient/Efficacious Grace could be compared to a supercharged or turbocharged engine.
Human freedom, under grace, is a dogma. According to the Councils of Trent and the First Vatican Council, human freedom means that man has the power to resist grace, to answer it with dissent rather than consent. Freedom means a choice of two things―a power to do or not to do, to do this or that, to dissent or consent. It is possible to resist both Sufficient Grace and Efficient/Efficacious Grace and thus thwart God’s plans for us and risk our own damnation. Sufficient Grace has all it takes to “get the job done” yet it is also less ‘persuasive’ than Efficient/Efficacious Grace. Normally, if we do not resist Sufficient Grace, then it eventually progresses into an Ordinary Efficient/Efficacious Grace―like a seed becomes a plant. However, sometimes God will directly send an Extraordinary Efficient/Efficacious Grace which is far more powerful and far more persuasive that, so to speak, “makes us an offer that we cannot refuse”! Nevertheless, at all times our will remains free to either reject or accept the movement and guidance of God’s grace, regardless if which kind it is.
God Helps Those Who Help Themselves
St. Augustine says that the help of God’s grace should be more sought for things pertaining to our justification (returning and keeping ourselves in a state of Sanctifying Grace) so that we can achieve salvation―that is what he means when her refers to the word “justice” in the following paragraphs. He points out that God’s help does not exempt us from making our own efforts by cooperating with God’s grace:
“Remove yourself, I repeat, remove yourself from yourself―you just get in your own way! If it’s you that are building yourself, it is a ruin you are building. ‘Unless the Lord has built the house, they have labored in vain, who build it!’ (Psalm 127:1). God made you without you! You didn’t, after all, give any consent to God making you! How could you consent, if you didn’t yet exist? So while God made you without you, nevertheless, He does not justify you without you ... So stop wishing to have your own justice [justification/salvation]. Do not have your own justice [justification/salvation]―the Apostle Paul counts it as dung! But the whole thing is from God―not, however as though we were asleep, as though we did not have to make an effort, as though we did not have to be willing. Without your will, there will be no justice [justification/salvation] of God in you. The will, indeed, is only ours, the justice [justification/salvation] is only God’s. There can be such a thing as God’s justice [justification/salvation] without your will, but it [justification/salvation] cannot be in you apart from your will, without your will. You have been shown what you have to do. The law has laid down: ‘Do not do that, nor that; do this and that!’ It has been shown to you, laid down for you, your mind has been opened for you―you have understood what you should do. Beg for the power to do it!
“Do not think that just because you call yourself a Christian, you cannot for that reason stumble over the stone of stumbling. When you abuse God’s grace, you stumble over Him. Let there be justice [justification/salvation] in you―but let it be from grace, let it come to you from God―do not let it be your own! Sigh to obtain it, weep to obtain it, believe in order to obtain it. ‘Whoever calls upon the Name of the Lord,’ He says, ‘shall be saved’ (Romans 10:13; Joel 2:32). Or do you suppose that when it says: ‘Whoever calls upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved’ ― it means saved from malaria, or the pox, or the gout, or any other pain of the body? Not so! But ‘will be saved’ means ‘will be just.’ Because: ‘The doctor is not needed by the healthy, but by the sick.’ He explained that when he said: ‘I have not come to call the just, but sinners!’ (Mark 2:17).” (St. Augustine, Father and Doctor of the Church, Sermon 169).
Article 11
Thursday, Friday & Saturday, January 15th, 16th & 17th
Do You Give and Take or Do You Merely Take and Give Nothing?
Thursday, Friday & Saturday, January 15th, 16th & 17th
Do You Give and Take or Do You Merely Take and Give Nothing?
Give and Take
You may have heard it said that “Love is reciprocal” ― meaning that it is a “two-way-street” and not just a “one-way-street” whereby we don’t just expect love, but we receive love and we give love. Holy Scripture says: “By this has the charity of God appeared towards us―because God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, so that we may live by Him. In this is charity―not as though we had first loved God, but because He has first loved us, and sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins! My dearest, if God has so loved us; we also ought to love one another!” (1 John 4:9-11).
Without that reciprocity―give and take, or mutual love―there can be no true love. The Holy Trinity gives us the perfect example of this reciprocity. There is God the Father, God the Son and it is said that Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Love between the Father and the Son. Love does not exist unless these three Persons of the Trinity are united as one by the Holy Spirit of Love. Thus, in the prayer to the Holy Spirit, we beg: “Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in us the fire of Thy love!”
At the Last Supper. Our Lord speaks of this Spirit of Love: “A new commandment I give unto you: That you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another! By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love one for another!” (John 13:34-35). The words “one for another” mean reciprocity―give and take, to show love and accept love.
Holy Scripture further adds: “Dearly beloved, let us love one another, for charity is of God. And everyone that loves, is born of God, and knows God! He that loves not, knows not God―for God is charity! By this has the charity of God appeared towards us, because God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we may live by Him! In this is charity―not as though we had first loved God, but because He has first loved us, and sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins! If God has so loved us, then we also ought to love one another! If we love one another, God abides in us, and His charity is perfected in us! God is charity―and he that abides in charity, abides in God, and God in him! Let us therefore love God, because God has first loved us! If any man says: ‘I love God!’ but hates his brother, then he is a liar. For he that does not love his brother whom he sees, how can he love God whom he sees not? And this commandment we have from God, that he, who loves God, must also love his brother!” (1 John 4:7-21).
Our Lord had also stated the same truth in the Gospels: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the greatest and the first commandment! And the second is like to it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these! On these two commandments depends the whole law and the prophets!” (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31).
Love Is More Than Just Words!
Our Lord complained of a fake love, a hypocritical love, when He said: “Well did Isaias prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me!’” (Mark 7:6). “Not everyone that says to Me: ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven―but he that does the will of My Father Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!” (Matthew 7:21). “Why call you Me: ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46).
At the Last Supper, on the eve proving His love by His Passion and Death for our sins, Our Lord said: “If you love Me, keep My commandments! … He that has My commandments, and keeps them; he it is that loves Me. And he that loves Me, shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him! … If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and will make Our abode with him. He that loves Me not, keeps not My words! … As the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you. Abide in My love! If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in My love; as I also have kept My Father’s commandments, and do abide in His love!” (John 14:15; 14:21-24; 15:9-10)
Hence Holy Scripture says: “Let us not love in words, nor in tongue, but by deeds!” (1 John 3:18). Thus we say: “Actions speak louder than words!” Our Lord confirms this, saying: “If you love Me, keep My commandments!” (John 14:15). This is also affirmed elsewhere: “Love the Lord thy God and observe His precepts!” (Deuteronomy 11:1) … “Love the Lord your God, and serve Him with all your heart and all your soul!” (Deuteronomy 11:13) … “Love the Lord thy God, and walk in His ways at all times!” (Deuteronomy 19:9) … “Love the Lord thy God, and obey His voice, and adhere to Him!” (Deuteronomy 30:20) … “Love the Lord your God, and walk in all His ways, and keep all His commandments, and cleave to Him, and serve Him with all your heart, and with all your soul!” (Josue 22:5) … “They that love Him, will keep His way … and they that love Him, shall be filled with His law!” (Ecclesiasticus 2:18-19).
The Highest Love Goes Beyond Reciprocity
Jesus urges us to great heights of perfection when He says: “You have heard that it has been said: ‘You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy!’ But I say to you: ‘Love your enemies! Do good to them that hate you and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you!’ so that you may be the children of your Father Who is in Heaven, Who makes his sun to rise upon the good, and bad, and makes His rain fall upon the just and the unjust. For if you only love them that love you―what reward shall you have? Do not even the publicans do this? And if you only salute your brethren―what do you do that is more? Do not the heathens also do this? Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect!” (Matthew 5:43-48).
“As you would that men should do to you, do you also to them in like manner! And if you only love them that love you―then what thanks are due to you? For sinners also love those that love them! And if you only do good to them who do good to you―then what thanks are due to you? For sinners also do this! And if you only lend to them of whom you hope to receive―then what thanks are due to you? For sinners also lend to sinners, in order to receive as much! But love your enemies; do good and lend, hoping for nothing thereby, and your reward shall be great, and you shall be the sons of God―for He is kind to the unthankful, and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful!” (Luke 6:31-36).
Holy Scripture adds: “The love of our neighbor works no evil. Love, therefore, is the fulfilling of the law!” (Romans 13:10). “For all the law is fulfilled in one word: ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself!’” (Galatians 5:14).
True Love is Tough Love
True love is not a blind love―a love that turns a blind-eye to faults and failings; a love that is over-indulgent and that spoils a person. Such is not the kind of love shown by God. God chastises those whom He loves: “Such as I love, I rebuke and chastise!” (Apocalypse 3:19). “Persevere under discipline! God deals with you as with His sons―for what son is there, whom the father does not correct?” (Hebrews 12:7). “He that spares the rod hates his son―but he that loves his son corrects him in good time” (Proverbs 13:24). That may sound tough and sorrowful―but it leads to eternal joy and peace!
“Neglect not the discipline of the Lord; neither be thou wearied whilst thou art rebuked by Him! For whom the Lord loves, He chastises; and He scourges every son whom He receives! Persevere under discipline! God deals with you as with His sons―for what son is there, whom the father does not correct? But if you be without chastisement―of which we must all partake―then are you bastards, and not sons! Moreover we have all had fathers of our flesh for instructors, and we reverenced them―shall we not much more obey the Father of spirits, and live? And they indeed instructed us for a few days, according to their own pleasure―but God instructs us for our profit, so that we might receive His sanctification! Now all chastisement, for the present moment, indeed seems not to bring with it joy, but sorrow―but afterwards it will yield, to them that are exercised by it, the most peaceable fruit of justice!” (Hebrews 12:5-11).
The Old Testament echoes the above tough love: “He that loves his son, frequently chastises him, so that he may rejoice in his latter end, and not grope after the doors of his neighbors. He that instructs his son shall be praised in him, and shall glory in him in the midst of them of his household. He that teaches his son, makes his enemy jealous, and, in the midst of his friends, the father shall glory in him. When his father is dead, he will be as if he were not dead―for he will have left a son behind him that is like himself. While he lived he saw and rejoiced in him; and when he died he was not sorrowful, neither was he confounded before his enemies. For he left behind him a defender of his house against his enemies, and one that will show kindness to his friends. A horse not broken becomes stubborn, and a child left to himself will become headstrong. If you let thy son have his way, he shall make thee afraid; play with him, and he shall make thee sorrowful. Laugh not with him, lest thou have sorrow, and in the end thy teeth be set on edge. Give him not freedom in his youth, and wink not at his devices. Bow down his neck while he is young, and beat his sides while he is a child―lest he grow stubborn, and disregard thee, and so be a sorrow of heart to thee. Instruct thy son, and labor about him, lest his lewd behavior be an offence to thee!” (Ecclesiasticus 30:1-13).
Tough Love is a Tolerating Love
How much can your love tolerate? How much can it take? How much can it suffer offense, injury, hatred and neglect? Now this does not mean to say that we must love sin, tolerate sin, turn a blind-eye to sin, become indifferent to sin. Not even God―Who is Love itself: “God is charity” (1 John 4:8), tolerates sin―but it means that even when rightfully and justly punishing the sin, we also have compassion on the sinner. God is never just without also being merciful; and He is never merciful without also showing His justice. God’s anger is not an emotion, nor vindictiveness, but His total, unrelenting opposition to evil―because evil is opposed to what is good; evil is a lack of goodness―and God is good and goodness itself. St. Thomas Aquinas says: “God alone is good. Essentially everything else is called good according to its perfection.” In other words, God is infinite uncreated being, infinite, uncreated goodness.
Saying that “love is tough” or “love is hard” or “love is a pain” indicates that true and genuine love requires real effort. It has to deal with things like selflessness versus selfishness; dealing with flaws of others and oneself; overcoming past hurts, let-downs, failures and infidelities; creating rules, limits and boundaries; and confronting difficult emotions that inevitably arise in dealing with fallen human nature―all of which makes love to be more than just a fleeting emotional feeling, but a continuous process by mind and heart (intellect and will) of choosing to support someone through all aspects, both easy and tough, of life; and to acknowledge one’s own failures, limitations and prejudices.
Holy Scripture teaches that true love can be tough―involving hard truths; requiring discipline, boundaries, and sacrifice; all of this coming from a pure heart that seeks the salvation of others, not from harshness that seeks to inflict revenge. , as seen in God's correction, Nathan confronting David, Jesus's challenge to the rich young ruler, and Paul's tough love for the Corinthians, all aimed at growth, not destruction. It is all about doing what is best long-term―even if it is painful now―like setting firm boundaries, or speaking hard truths, in order to help someone change their destructive sinful patterns. Love needs truth and truth needs love―just like God sprinkles His justice with mercy and sprinkles His mercy with justice. Love does not allow sinners to get-away with their sins, but love wants sinners to get-away from sin. “A soft tongue shall break hardness” (Proverbs 25:15). Hence Our Lord mercifully prevents the Scribes and Pharisees from stoning to death the woman they had caught in adultery―saying to her: “Go, and sin no more!” (John 8:3-11). Likewise, He mercifully cured the man by the Pool of Bethsaida, who had been sick for 38 years, saying to Him: “Behold thou art made whole! Sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to thee!” (John 5:2-15). Likewise, He showed mercy to “Mary Magdalen, out of whom he had cast seven devils” (Mark 16:9).
St. Peter (one of the three favorite Apostles of Lord―Peter, James and John) sought to put limits to how much mercy we should show to others by suggesting that we forgive someone seven times―no doubt referring to Our Lord’s words elsewhere: “If thy brother sin against thee, reprove him: and if he do penance, forgive him. And if he sin against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day be converted unto thee, saying, ‘I repent!’― then forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4). Jewish rabbis taught forgiveness up to three times, so Peter's suggestion of seven times was considered generous. “Then came Peter unto Him and said: ‘Lord, how often shall my brother offend against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?’ Jesus said to him: ‘I say you not just seven times; but seventy times seven times!” (Matthew 18:21-22). The point was not a literal number of 490 acts of forgiveness. Instead, Jesus used 70 x 7 to represent a boundless, continual posture of forgiveness toward others. Nobody will “get-way” with anything with God―do not worry, God will see to it that everyone gets what they deserve! We must remember that “forgiving the guilt” is different to “forgiving the debt for sin” ― we might have received forgiveness for the guilt of our sins in the Sacrament of Confession, but we still have to pay for the debt of our sins by doing penance here on Earth or in the fires of Purgatory. “Unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3).
We also have the incident where the other two favorite Apostles of Our Lord, James and John, wanted to call fire down from Heaven to destroy the Samaritan town that had just refused to accept Jesus: “Jesus sent messengers before His face; and going, they entered into a city of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. And they received Him not, because His face was of one going to Jerusalem [to the ‘enemy’ city’] ... And when His disciples James and John had seen this, they said: ‘Lord, wilt Thou that we command fire to come down from Heaven, and consume them?’ And turning, He rebuked them, saying: ‘You know not of what spirit you are! The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save!’” (Luke 9:52-56). Of what spirit are we? The indignant and vengeful spirit of James and John? Or the charitable and merciful spirit of Our Lord?
It is tough to love the way in which Christ wants us to love: “You have heard that it has been said: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth!’ But I say to you not to resist evil―but if one strike thee on thy right cheek, turn to him also the other; and if a man will contend with thee in judgment and take away thy coat―then let thy cloak also go unto him; and whosoever will force thee to go one mile―go with him another two. Give to him that asks of thee and from him that would borrow of thee turn not away. You have heard that it has been said: ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thy enemy!’ But I say to you: Love your enemies! Do good to them that hate you! And pray for them that persecute and calumniate you! ― so that you may be the children of your Father Who is in Heaven, Who makes His sun to rise upon the good, and bad, and rains upon the just and the unjust. For if you only love them that love you, what reward shall you have? Do not even sinners [publicans] do this? And if you only salute your brethren, what do you do that is more? Do not the heathens and pagans also do this? Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:38-48).
Hell is Tough Love
“He that shall sin against Me, shall hurt his own soul. All that hate Me love death!” (Proverbs 8:36). Love is tough and true-love is truly tough! If we refuse to practice true tough love here on Earth, then we will experience the tough love of Hell! Hell is not a place of love, but of hatred. Nevertheless, God loves all the souls in Hell― The love of God still penetrates Hell through His mercy―which sees to it that nobody in Hell is punished as much they deserve and justice demands. God does not want to inflict Hell on anybody and God does not send anyone to Hell―the damned inflict Hell upon themselves by freely preferring sin to God and thus they automatically choose Hell as a consequence. Even after they have freely chosen Hell, God’s love for them remains―even though God respects their choice, while all the time seeking their free-will conversion before their death: “You have mercy upon all, because You can do all things, and You overlook the sins of men for the sake of repentance! For You love all things that are, and You hate none of the things which You have made―for You did not appoint, or make anything, hating it!” (Wisdom 11:24-25). “The Lord deals patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance!” (2 Peter 3:9). Nevertheless, “Unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3).
The Law of God does not come from our consensus. The Law of God is not made on Earth but made in Heaven. We are free to accept or reject it―but we are not free to accept or reject the consequences. If we turn away from truth, love, goodness, purity, fidelity, honesty, compassion or responsibility; if we turn from God deliberately and enter into the realm of sin in any of its many forms, then we carry the consequences of our personal choices with us into eternity. We ratify what we have chosen to become. If we leave this world locked into our own ego, then this choice of self, that excludes God or God’s Law, becomes final, irrevocable and complete. This is Hell―an absence of God; an absence of eternal joy; a presence of eternal suffering; and the presence of eternal hatred! That is tough! What makes it even more tough is the knowledge that God still loves us in Hell and shows His mercy by not allowing us to be punished as much we deserve―while also eternally knowing what we could have been, but refused to become!
Do You Love to Hate?
Everyone loves someone or something. Everyone hates someone or something. We can love what is good and hate what is evil. Or we can hate what is good and love what is evil. Heaven is full of love. Hell is full of hatred. Those in Heaven loved good and hated evil. Those in Hell loved evil and hated good―or they falsely thought and made out evil to be good, and good to be evil (or too hard). “Woe to you that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaias 5:20).
There are many who “know not the difference of good and evil” (Deuteronomy 1:39). “Give to Thy servant, O Lord, an understanding heart, to discern between good and evil!” (3 Kings 3:9). “Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good!” (Romans 12:21). “You have heard it said: ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy!’ But I say to you: ‘Love your enemies! Do good to them that hate you! Pray for them that persecute and calumniate you!’ so that you may be the children of your Father in Heaven, who makes His sun rise and rain fall upon the good and bad, upon the just and the unjust! If you only love them that love you, what reward shall you have? Do not sinners also do this? If you only salute your friends, what do you do that is more? Do not heathens also do this? Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect!” (Matthew 5:43-48).
A Rejection of Grace is a Rejection of Love
“God wants all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). “The grace of God our Savior has appeared to all men, … that He might redeem us” (Titus 2:11-14). “God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son―so that whosoever believes in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting” (John 3:16). “Is it My will that a sinner should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways, and live?” (Ezechiel 18:23). It is to everyone that God offers and gives His graces of potential salvation: “To every one of us is given grace” (Ephesians 4:7) ― but very few persons accept and use those graces as they should be used: “They repaid me evil for good, and hatred for my love!” (Psalms 108:5). “God has given him time for penance, and he abuses it in his pride!” (Job 24:23). Penance pays the debt of our sins against God and God’s creatures. How can we pretend to love God if we refuse to pay what we owe Him? Make no mistake about it ― each one of us owes a massive debt because sin is a massive evil! “Sin is the only evil upon Earth … Mortal sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, poverty, or war, because it separates us from God … Venial sin is second only in evil consequences to mortal sin … Sometimes people say: ‘It is only a little sin, it does not matter much!’ But every venial sin is an offence against God, and therefore is, after mortal sin, the greatest of evils―far greater than any of the physical evils which can be inflicted on us!” (The Catechism Explained, by Spirago-Clarke; also the Catechism, My Catholic Faith, by Bishop Morrow, STD; also The Catechism Simply Explained, by Fr. Cafferata).
How Much or Little Do You Love Grace?
O how little do most Catholics value and treasure the graces of God! How precious and important are the graces of God for our salvation! It is impossible to be saved without the grace of God. Actual graces (passing or temporary graces) initially lead us to God and help us find Him so that we can enter into a loving friendship with Him; while sanctifying grace is an habitual grace that is not meant to be temporary but permanent (unless lost through mortal sin) by which God in a mystical way dwells in our soul all the time―thus opening to us the chance of a perpetual loving friendship with Him. We cannot get into Heaven without sanctifying grace―that’s how precious it is. Sadly, for most Catholics, it is not all that precious! Let us take just a few quotes from Holy Scripture that underline the importance of God’s graces:
“Of His fullness we all have received, grace for grace!” (John 1:16) … “Every man has received grace … of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10) … “For by grace you are saved ― and that not of yourselves ― for it is the gift of God!” (Ephesians 2:4) … “That being justified by His grace, we may be heirs of life everlasting!” (Titus 3:7) … “We are justified freely by His grace, through redemption in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24) … “We believe we are saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 15:11) … “Trust perfectly in the grace which is offered you in Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13) … As Jesus said: “Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5) … “Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17) … “Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!” (2 Peter 3:18) … “God is able to make all grace abound in you; so that you may always abound to every good work!” (2 Corinthians 9:8) … “He called me by His grace” (Galatians 1:15) … “The Lord said to me: ‘My grace is sufficient for thee; for power is made perfect in infirmity!’” (2 Corinthians 12:9) … “The grace of God with me … By the grace of God, I am what I am―and His grace in me has not been void!” (1 Corinthians 15:10) … “I do not cast away the grace of God” (Galatians 2:21) … “Receive not the grace of God in vain!” (2 Corinthians 6:1) … “Neglect not the grace that is in thee!” (1 Timothy 4:14) … “Be strengthened by grace!” (Hebrews 13:9) … “Stir up the grace of God which is in thee!” (2 Timothy 1:6) … “God―Who is rich in mercy, in His exceeding charity with which He loved us―even when we were dead in sins, has brought us to life in Christ, by Whose grace you are saved, so that He might show in the ages to come the abundant riches of His grace. For by grace you are saved … and that not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God!” (Ephesians 2:4-8) ... “For where sin abounded, grace did more abound!” (Romans 5:20) … “There is a remnant saved according to the election of grace―and if by grace, it is not now by works―otherwise grace is no more grace!” (Romans 11:5-6) … “God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble!” (James 4:6) … “Let us go with confidence to the throne of grace―so that we may obtain mercy and find grace in seasonable aid” (Hebrews 4:16) … “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit!” (Philemon 1:25) … “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all!” (Apocalypse 22:21).
To the above Scriptural quotes, we can add some key quotes by St. Thomas Aquinas on the absolute necessity, power and importance of the grace of God: “Human nature needs the help of God to do or wish any good whatsoever … Without grace men do nothing good when they either think or wish or love or act! … Without grace men can do no good whatever! … Grace is a light of the soul … Man cannot even know truth without Divine help! … Not only do men know by the light of grace what to do, but by its help they do lovingly what they know! … Man, by his natural endowments, cannot produce meritorious works proportionate to everlasting life―for this a higher force is needed, namely, the force of grace. And thus without grace man cannot merit everlasting life! … Man cannot prepare himself for everlasting life without the help of grace! ... Man’s turning to God is by free-will―but free-will can only be turned to God, according to John 15:5: ‘Without Me, you can do nothing!’ … Man can do nothing unless moved by God! ... Man needs the help of grace to heal his nature! … Grace does not destroy nature but perfects it … Man cannot fulfill all the Divine commandments without healing grace … It is heresy to believe that without grace man can fulfill all the Divine commandments! … Man cannot avoid every act of sin, except by grace! … Man needs grace to entirely abstain from sin! … Man by himself can in no way rise from sin without the help of grace! … In order for a man rise from sin there is required the help of grace! … God’s grace is the outcome of His mercy! … Even a man who already possesses grace needs a further assistance of grace in order to live righteously! … After anyone has been justified by grace, he still needs to beseech God for the gift of perseverance, so that he may be kept from evil until the end of his life. For to many persons grace is given to whom perseverance in grace is not given!” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Ia-IIae, questions 109 to 114; Quaestiones Quodlibetales, 4, 6).
How Little or Much Do You Appreciate Mercy?
The mercies of God are above all His works! “The Lord is gracious and merciful: patient and plenteous in mercy. The Lord is sweet to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 144:8-9). If mercy is the greatest of all God’s works, then why do we appreciate mercy so little, or even fail to appreciate it at all? One reason why we fail to appreciate the mercy of God is the fact that we have diluted or devalued the magnitude of sin. We have lost the sense of sin and so we have lost appreciation for mercy. This has been the complaint of not only traditional Catholic popes (such as Pius XII), but surprisingly also the complaint of Modernist and Liberal popes (John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis).
● Pope Pius XII remarked in 1946: “Perhaps the greatest sin in the world today is that men have begun to lose the sense of sin!”
● Pope John Paul II, in 2005, wrote: “We live in a society that seems to have lost the sense of God and of sin!”
● Pope Benedict XVI, in 2011, said: “The word ‘sin’ is not accepted by many, because it presupposes a religious vision of the world and of man. If we eliminate God from the horizon of the world, then we cannot speak of sin ... The meaning of sin ― which is a different thing from ‘guilt feelings’ as understood in psychology ― is only grasped in discovering the meaning of God!”
● Pope Francis, in 2014, stated: “When the Kingdom of God is forgotten, when the Kingdom of God diminishes, one of the signs is that the sense of sin is lost … When you lose the sense of sin, you also lose the sense of the Kingdom of God … When we lose the sense of sin, when we let the Kingdom of God crumble!”
Mercy is like love―in fact it is a room in the mansion of love―and thus being part of the family of love, it also has to be reciprocal―that is to say, it not a “one-way-street” whereby all the traffic of mercy travels towards you alone, but it is a “two-way-street” whereby the traffic of mercy also travels from you to others. You receive mercy. You give mercy. Your are forgiven by God and others―so God expects you to also show that mercy to others. That is what Our Lord commanded and demanded: “Blessed are the merciful―for they shall obtain mercy!” (Matthew 5:7) and “Judgment without mercy to him that has not shown mercy!” (James 2:13). “If thy brother sin against thee, reprove him: and if he do penance, forgive him. And if he sin against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day be converted unto thee, saying, ‘I repent!’― then forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4). “If you will forgive men their offences, then your heavenly Father will also forgive you your offences. But if you will not forgive men, then neither will your Father forgive you your offences!” (Matthew 6:14-15).
Mercy―like love―is tough! We all want to be loved―but we love little. We all want to be shown mercy―but we show little mercy to others. Few people truly love as we are meant to love. Few people practice mercy like it ought to practiced. That is why few people end up being saved!
How Much Can Your Love Give?
Love has no limits―for “God is charity” (1 John 4:8) and God and God’s charity has no limits. It is impossible to love God too much―because, being infinite, God deserves infinite love―which is something that we, as finite being beings, can never achieve, but we can and should never cease growing in our love of God and showing our love of God. Nevertheless, it is possible to love our neighbor TOO MUCH, to the point that we become over-indulgent toward other people, spoiling and corrupting them through excessive love. Not even God loves us too much―for His love (and mercy) is inextricably joined to His justice and punishment. God says: “Those that I love―I rebuke and chastise!” (Apocalypse 3:19). “For whom the Lord loves, He chastises; and He scourges every son whom He receives!” (Hebrews 12:6). Nevertheless, “God never withdraws His mercy from us―even though He chastises His people with adversity!” (Machabees 2:16).
Being conceived and born in a state of Original Sin (which is an absence of sanctifying grace and an absence of the love of God―for those two things go hand-in-hand), we must therefore have the love of God enkindled in us by the fire of His love (as we say in the prayer to the Holy Ghost). The fire of love must be enkindled in our souls and then, like any good fire, it must grow. We cannot love what we do not know―therefore our love of God will normally be in proportion to our knowledge of God. St. Thérèse of Lisieux used to say: “Jesus is so little loved because He is so little known!”
Levels of Love
Just are there are three basic stages of the spiritual life that everyone must pass through before they are admitted into Heaven―the Way of Beginners (also known as The Purgative Way); the Way of the Proficient (also known as The Illuminative Way); and the Way of the Perfect (also known as The Unitive Way) ― likewise there are three chief stages of love or charity that we must attain and pass through if we wish to be admitted into Heaven and avoid Purgatory or (God forbid) Hell.
► The lowest level of love corresponds to the first stage of the spiritual life ― the Way of Beginners (also known as The Purgative Way) ― and entails the keeping of the commandments of God: “Love the Lord your God, and walk in all His ways, and keep all His commandments, and cleave to Him, and serve Him with all your heart, and with all your soul” (Josue 22:5). Our Lord Himself said: “Why call you Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). “If you love Me, keep My commandments … He that has My commandments, and keeps them; he it is that loves Me … If anyone loves Me, he will keep My words … He that does not love Me, keeps not My words!” (John 14:15, 14:21-24). To be a beginner in the spiritual life requires the elimination of habitual or frequent mortal sin. Mortal sin must be a rare thing―something that is hated and vehemently fought against. Unfortunately and tragically, spiritual authors and masters such Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange and Fr. Faber are of the opinion that most souls do not even reach and enter into the category of The Way of Beginners in the spiritual life!
► The next level of love corresponds to the second stage in the spiritual life ― the Way of the Proficient (also known as The Illuminative Way) ― and entails fighting against deliberate venial sins; increasing conversations with God through prayer; and the carrying of the cross with ever-increasing willingness: “He that commits sin is of the devil” (1 John 3:8). “Do not bind sin to sin―for even in one sin thou shalt not be unpunished!” (Ecclesiasticus 7:8). “Be not without fear about sin forgiven, and add not sin upon sin! And say not: ‘The mercy of the Lord is great, He will have mercy on the multitude of my sins!’” (Ecclesiasticus 5:5-6). “Go, and now sin no more!” (John 8:10-11). “We ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1) ... “Praying at all times!” (Luke 21:36) ... “Pray without ceasing!” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) … “And He said to all: ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me!’” (Luke 9:23) … “And whosoever does not carry his cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple!” (Luke 14:27) … “And he that will not take not up his cross and follow Me, is not worthy of Me!” (Matthew 10:38).
As the Imitation of Christ so truly says: “To many the saying: ‘Deny thyself, take up thy cross and follow Me!’ seems hard, but it will be much harder to hear that final word: ‘Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire!’ Those who hear the word of the cross and follow it willingly now, need not fear that they will hear of eternal damnation on the Day of Judgment … Why, then, do you fear to take up the cross when through it you can win a kingdom? In the cross is salvation, in the cross is life, in the cross is protection from enemies, in the cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness, in the cross is strength of mind, in the cross is joy of spirit, in the cross is highest virtue, in the cross is perfect holiness. There is no salvation of soul nor hope of everlasting life except in the cross. Behold, in the cross is everything, and upon your dying on the cross everything depends. There is no other way to life and to true inward peace than the way of the holy cross and daily mortification. Go where you will, seek what you will, you will not find a higher way, nor a less exalted but safer way, than the way of the holy cross. The cross, therefore, is always ready; it awaits you everywhere. No matter where you may go, you cannot escape it, for wherever you go you take yourself with you and shall always find yourself. Turn where you will — above, below, without, or within — you will find a cross in everything, and everywhere! If you carry the cross willingly, it will carry and lead you to the desired goal where indeed there shall be no more suffering, but here there shall be. If you carry it unwillingly, you create a burden for yourself and increase the load, though still you have to bear it. If you cast away one cross, you will find another and perhaps a heavier one. Do you expect to escape what no mortal man can ever avoid? Take up your cross, therefore, and follow Jesus, and you shall enter eternal life!” (The Imitation of Christ, Book 2, Chapter 12).
► The third level of love corresponds to the third stage in the spiritual life ― the Way of the Perfect (also known as The Unitive Way). The first way centered around the elimination of all mortal sin; the second way focused on the elimination of all venial sin; this third way has as its target the elimination of all imperfections—which are all thoughts, words and actions that are not sinful in any way, but could be more perfectly done. In short, it means trying to always do the most perfect thing, to take the most perfect option or solution ― hence it is called the Way of Perfection. This can be an excruciating crucible of suffering. To further add to the trial, at this stage or level, God often pulls away from the soul—much more than in the second way, where the pulling away of God only meant a kind of dryness being experienced in the spiritual life. In this third stage, the soul has the impression that it has been completely abandoned by God, so much so that it feels an unworthiness so great that it feels it will be damned. You can read of this in the lives of many of the saints. It is the final test for the soul, whereby God purifies it of all self-interest and self-love, and examines the soul to see if it seeks God for His own sake, or if it was only seeking it for consolations and self-interest. As the saying goes: “Do you seek the consolations of God, or do you seek the God of consolations?”
Focus on Giving, Not on Getting
If we give love, we get love. If we give hate, we get hate. It’s a law, like gravity, that we can resist, but we cannot break. Giving is a response to God’s love. “Remember the word of the Lord Jesus, how He said: ‘It is a more blessed thing to give, rather than to receive!’” (Acts 20:35). The mark of a giver―who has been touched and deeply affected by God’s love―is their selflessness in giving. These are the people who give, expecting nothing in return — though what they receive is often greater than they have ever thought to give. As Our Lord said: “Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours, do not demand it back … If you lend to them from whom you hope to receive―what thanks are due to you? For sinners also lend to sinners, so as to receive as much in return! Do good and lend, hoping for nothing thereby! Give and it will be given to you and your reward shall be great!” (Luke 6:30-38). “He who sows sparingly, shall also reap sparingly!” (2 Corinthians 9:6).
Jesus makes it clear that the motives behind our giving are very important. We don’t “give to get.” “Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:8). In the following prayers, St. Francis of Assisi echoes the words of Our Lord:
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is error, truth;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
You may have heard it said that “Love is reciprocal” ― meaning that it is a “two-way-street” and not just a “one-way-street” whereby we don’t just expect love, but we receive love and we give love. Holy Scripture says: “By this has the charity of God appeared towards us―because God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, so that we may live by Him. In this is charity―not as though we had first loved God, but because He has first loved us, and sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins! My dearest, if God has so loved us; we also ought to love one another!” (1 John 4:9-11).
Without that reciprocity―give and take, or mutual love―there can be no true love. The Holy Trinity gives us the perfect example of this reciprocity. There is God the Father, God the Son and it is said that Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Love between the Father and the Son. Love does not exist unless these three Persons of the Trinity are united as one by the Holy Spirit of Love. Thus, in the prayer to the Holy Spirit, we beg: “Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in us the fire of Thy love!”
At the Last Supper. Our Lord speaks of this Spirit of Love: “A new commandment I give unto you: That you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another! By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love one for another!” (John 13:34-35). The words “one for another” mean reciprocity―give and take, to show love and accept love.
Holy Scripture further adds: “Dearly beloved, let us love one another, for charity is of God. And everyone that loves, is born of God, and knows God! He that loves not, knows not God―for God is charity! By this has the charity of God appeared towards us, because God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we may live by Him! In this is charity―not as though we had first loved God, but because He has first loved us, and sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins! If God has so loved us, then we also ought to love one another! If we love one another, God abides in us, and His charity is perfected in us! God is charity―and he that abides in charity, abides in God, and God in him! Let us therefore love God, because God has first loved us! If any man says: ‘I love God!’ but hates his brother, then he is a liar. For he that does not love his brother whom he sees, how can he love God whom he sees not? And this commandment we have from God, that he, who loves God, must also love his brother!” (1 John 4:7-21).
Our Lord had also stated the same truth in the Gospels: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the greatest and the first commandment! And the second is like to it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these! On these two commandments depends the whole law and the prophets!” (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31).
Love Is More Than Just Words!
Our Lord complained of a fake love, a hypocritical love, when He said: “Well did Isaias prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me!’” (Mark 7:6). “Not everyone that says to Me: ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven―but he that does the will of My Father Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!” (Matthew 7:21). “Why call you Me: ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46).
At the Last Supper, on the eve proving His love by His Passion and Death for our sins, Our Lord said: “If you love Me, keep My commandments! … He that has My commandments, and keeps them; he it is that loves Me. And he that loves Me, shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him! … If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and will make Our abode with him. He that loves Me not, keeps not My words! … As the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you. Abide in My love! If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in My love; as I also have kept My Father’s commandments, and do abide in His love!” (John 14:15; 14:21-24; 15:9-10)
Hence Holy Scripture says: “Let us not love in words, nor in tongue, but by deeds!” (1 John 3:18). Thus we say: “Actions speak louder than words!” Our Lord confirms this, saying: “If you love Me, keep My commandments!” (John 14:15). This is also affirmed elsewhere: “Love the Lord thy God and observe His precepts!” (Deuteronomy 11:1) … “Love the Lord your God, and serve Him with all your heart and all your soul!” (Deuteronomy 11:13) … “Love the Lord thy God, and walk in His ways at all times!” (Deuteronomy 19:9) … “Love the Lord thy God, and obey His voice, and adhere to Him!” (Deuteronomy 30:20) … “Love the Lord your God, and walk in all His ways, and keep all His commandments, and cleave to Him, and serve Him with all your heart, and with all your soul!” (Josue 22:5) … “They that love Him, will keep His way … and they that love Him, shall be filled with His law!” (Ecclesiasticus 2:18-19).
The Highest Love Goes Beyond Reciprocity
Jesus urges us to great heights of perfection when He says: “You have heard that it has been said: ‘You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy!’ But I say to you: ‘Love your enemies! Do good to them that hate you and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you!’ so that you may be the children of your Father Who is in Heaven, Who makes his sun to rise upon the good, and bad, and makes His rain fall upon the just and the unjust. For if you only love them that love you―what reward shall you have? Do not even the publicans do this? And if you only salute your brethren―what do you do that is more? Do not the heathens also do this? Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect!” (Matthew 5:43-48).
“As you would that men should do to you, do you also to them in like manner! And if you only love them that love you―then what thanks are due to you? For sinners also love those that love them! And if you only do good to them who do good to you―then what thanks are due to you? For sinners also do this! And if you only lend to them of whom you hope to receive―then what thanks are due to you? For sinners also lend to sinners, in order to receive as much! But love your enemies; do good and lend, hoping for nothing thereby, and your reward shall be great, and you shall be the sons of God―for He is kind to the unthankful, and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful!” (Luke 6:31-36).
Holy Scripture adds: “The love of our neighbor works no evil. Love, therefore, is the fulfilling of the law!” (Romans 13:10). “For all the law is fulfilled in one word: ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself!’” (Galatians 5:14).
True Love is Tough Love
True love is not a blind love―a love that turns a blind-eye to faults and failings; a love that is over-indulgent and that spoils a person. Such is not the kind of love shown by God. God chastises those whom He loves: “Such as I love, I rebuke and chastise!” (Apocalypse 3:19). “Persevere under discipline! God deals with you as with His sons―for what son is there, whom the father does not correct?” (Hebrews 12:7). “He that spares the rod hates his son―but he that loves his son corrects him in good time” (Proverbs 13:24). That may sound tough and sorrowful―but it leads to eternal joy and peace!
“Neglect not the discipline of the Lord; neither be thou wearied whilst thou art rebuked by Him! For whom the Lord loves, He chastises; and He scourges every son whom He receives! Persevere under discipline! God deals with you as with His sons―for what son is there, whom the father does not correct? But if you be without chastisement―of which we must all partake―then are you bastards, and not sons! Moreover we have all had fathers of our flesh for instructors, and we reverenced them―shall we not much more obey the Father of spirits, and live? And they indeed instructed us for a few days, according to their own pleasure―but God instructs us for our profit, so that we might receive His sanctification! Now all chastisement, for the present moment, indeed seems not to bring with it joy, but sorrow―but afterwards it will yield, to them that are exercised by it, the most peaceable fruit of justice!” (Hebrews 12:5-11).
The Old Testament echoes the above tough love: “He that loves his son, frequently chastises him, so that he may rejoice in his latter end, and not grope after the doors of his neighbors. He that instructs his son shall be praised in him, and shall glory in him in the midst of them of his household. He that teaches his son, makes his enemy jealous, and, in the midst of his friends, the father shall glory in him. When his father is dead, he will be as if he were not dead―for he will have left a son behind him that is like himself. While he lived he saw and rejoiced in him; and when he died he was not sorrowful, neither was he confounded before his enemies. For he left behind him a defender of his house against his enemies, and one that will show kindness to his friends. A horse not broken becomes stubborn, and a child left to himself will become headstrong. If you let thy son have his way, he shall make thee afraid; play with him, and he shall make thee sorrowful. Laugh not with him, lest thou have sorrow, and in the end thy teeth be set on edge. Give him not freedom in his youth, and wink not at his devices. Bow down his neck while he is young, and beat his sides while he is a child―lest he grow stubborn, and disregard thee, and so be a sorrow of heart to thee. Instruct thy son, and labor about him, lest his lewd behavior be an offence to thee!” (Ecclesiasticus 30:1-13).
Tough Love is a Tolerating Love
How much can your love tolerate? How much can it take? How much can it suffer offense, injury, hatred and neglect? Now this does not mean to say that we must love sin, tolerate sin, turn a blind-eye to sin, become indifferent to sin. Not even God―Who is Love itself: “God is charity” (1 John 4:8), tolerates sin―but it means that even when rightfully and justly punishing the sin, we also have compassion on the sinner. God is never just without also being merciful; and He is never merciful without also showing His justice. God’s anger is not an emotion, nor vindictiveness, but His total, unrelenting opposition to evil―because evil is opposed to what is good; evil is a lack of goodness―and God is good and goodness itself. St. Thomas Aquinas says: “God alone is good. Essentially everything else is called good according to its perfection.” In other words, God is infinite uncreated being, infinite, uncreated goodness.
Saying that “love is tough” or “love is hard” or “love is a pain” indicates that true and genuine love requires real effort. It has to deal with things like selflessness versus selfishness; dealing with flaws of others and oneself; overcoming past hurts, let-downs, failures and infidelities; creating rules, limits and boundaries; and confronting difficult emotions that inevitably arise in dealing with fallen human nature―all of which makes love to be more than just a fleeting emotional feeling, but a continuous process by mind and heart (intellect and will) of choosing to support someone through all aspects, both easy and tough, of life; and to acknowledge one’s own failures, limitations and prejudices.
Holy Scripture teaches that true love can be tough―involving hard truths; requiring discipline, boundaries, and sacrifice; all of this coming from a pure heart that seeks the salvation of others, not from harshness that seeks to inflict revenge. , as seen in God's correction, Nathan confronting David, Jesus's challenge to the rich young ruler, and Paul's tough love for the Corinthians, all aimed at growth, not destruction. It is all about doing what is best long-term―even if it is painful now―like setting firm boundaries, or speaking hard truths, in order to help someone change their destructive sinful patterns. Love needs truth and truth needs love―just like God sprinkles His justice with mercy and sprinkles His mercy with justice. Love does not allow sinners to get-away with their sins, but love wants sinners to get-away from sin. “A soft tongue shall break hardness” (Proverbs 25:15). Hence Our Lord mercifully prevents the Scribes and Pharisees from stoning to death the woman they had caught in adultery―saying to her: “Go, and sin no more!” (John 8:3-11). Likewise, He mercifully cured the man by the Pool of Bethsaida, who had been sick for 38 years, saying to Him: “Behold thou art made whole! Sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to thee!” (John 5:2-15). Likewise, He showed mercy to “Mary Magdalen, out of whom he had cast seven devils” (Mark 16:9).
St. Peter (one of the three favorite Apostles of Lord―Peter, James and John) sought to put limits to how much mercy we should show to others by suggesting that we forgive someone seven times―no doubt referring to Our Lord’s words elsewhere: “If thy brother sin against thee, reprove him: and if he do penance, forgive him. And if he sin against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day be converted unto thee, saying, ‘I repent!’― then forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4). Jewish rabbis taught forgiveness up to three times, so Peter's suggestion of seven times was considered generous. “Then came Peter unto Him and said: ‘Lord, how often shall my brother offend against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?’ Jesus said to him: ‘I say you not just seven times; but seventy times seven times!” (Matthew 18:21-22). The point was not a literal number of 490 acts of forgiveness. Instead, Jesus used 70 x 7 to represent a boundless, continual posture of forgiveness toward others. Nobody will “get-way” with anything with God―do not worry, God will see to it that everyone gets what they deserve! We must remember that “forgiving the guilt” is different to “forgiving the debt for sin” ― we might have received forgiveness for the guilt of our sins in the Sacrament of Confession, but we still have to pay for the debt of our sins by doing penance here on Earth or in the fires of Purgatory. “Unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3).
We also have the incident where the other two favorite Apostles of Our Lord, James and John, wanted to call fire down from Heaven to destroy the Samaritan town that had just refused to accept Jesus: “Jesus sent messengers before His face; and going, they entered into a city of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. And they received Him not, because His face was of one going to Jerusalem [to the ‘enemy’ city’] ... And when His disciples James and John had seen this, they said: ‘Lord, wilt Thou that we command fire to come down from Heaven, and consume them?’ And turning, He rebuked them, saying: ‘You know not of what spirit you are! The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save!’” (Luke 9:52-56). Of what spirit are we? The indignant and vengeful spirit of James and John? Or the charitable and merciful spirit of Our Lord?
It is tough to love the way in which Christ wants us to love: “You have heard that it has been said: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth!’ But I say to you not to resist evil―but if one strike thee on thy right cheek, turn to him also the other; and if a man will contend with thee in judgment and take away thy coat―then let thy cloak also go unto him; and whosoever will force thee to go one mile―go with him another two. Give to him that asks of thee and from him that would borrow of thee turn not away. You have heard that it has been said: ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thy enemy!’ But I say to you: Love your enemies! Do good to them that hate you! And pray for them that persecute and calumniate you! ― so that you may be the children of your Father Who is in Heaven, Who makes His sun to rise upon the good, and bad, and rains upon the just and the unjust. For if you only love them that love you, what reward shall you have? Do not even sinners [publicans] do this? And if you only salute your brethren, what do you do that is more? Do not the heathens and pagans also do this? Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:38-48).
Hell is Tough Love
“He that shall sin against Me, shall hurt his own soul. All that hate Me love death!” (Proverbs 8:36). Love is tough and true-love is truly tough! If we refuse to practice true tough love here on Earth, then we will experience the tough love of Hell! Hell is not a place of love, but of hatred. Nevertheless, God loves all the souls in Hell― The love of God still penetrates Hell through His mercy―which sees to it that nobody in Hell is punished as much they deserve and justice demands. God does not want to inflict Hell on anybody and God does not send anyone to Hell―the damned inflict Hell upon themselves by freely preferring sin to God and thus they automatically choose Hell as a consequence. Even after they have freely chosen Hell, God’s love for them remains―even though God respects their choice, while all the time seeking their free-will conversion before their death: “You have mercy upon all, because You can do all things, and You overlook the sins of men for the sake of repentance! For You love all things that are, and You hate none of the things which You have made―for You did not appoint, or make anything, hating it!” (Wisdom 11:24-25). “The Lord deals patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance!” (2 Peter 3:9). Nevertheless, “Unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3).
The Law of God does not come from our consensus. The Law of God is not made on Earth but made in Heaven. We are free to accept or reject it―but we are not free to accept or reject the consequences. If we turn away from truth, love, goodness, purity, fidelity, honesty, compassion or responsibility; if we turn from God deliberately and enter into the realm of sin in any of its many forms, then we carry the consequences of our personal choices with us into eternity. We ratify what we have chosen to become. If we leave this world locked into our own ego, then this choice of self, that excludes God or God’s Law, becomes final, irrevocable and complete. This is Hell―an absence of God; an absence of eternal joy; a presence of eternal suffering; and the presence of eternal hatred! That is tough! What makes it even more tough is the knowledge that God still loves us in Hell and shows His mercy by not allowing us to be punished as much we deserve―while also eternally knowing what we could have been, but refused to become!
Do You Love to Hate?
Everyone loves someone or something. Everyone hates someone or something. We can love what is good and hate what is evil. Or we can hate what is good and love what is evil. Heaven is full of love. Hell is full of hatred. Those in Heaven loved good and hated evil. Those in Hell loved evil and hated good―or they falsely thought and made out evil to be good, and good to be evil (or too hard). “Woe to you that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaias 5:20).
There are many who “know not the difference of good and evil” (Deuteronomy 1:39). “Give to Thy servant, O Lord, an understanding heart, to discern between good and evil!” (3 Kings 3:9). “Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good!” (Romans 12:21). “You have heard it said: ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy!’ But I say to you: ‘Love your enemies! Do good to them that hate you! Pray for them that persecute and calumniate you!’ so that you may be the children of your Father in Heaven, who makes His sun rise and rain fall upon the good and bad, upon the just and the unjust! If you only love them that love you, what reward shall you have? Do not sinners also do this? If you only salute your friends, what do you do that is more? Do not heathens also do this? Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect!” (Matthew 5:43-48).
A Rejection of Grace is a Rejection of Love
“God wants all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). “The grace of God our Savior has appeared to all men, … that He might redeem us” (Titus 2:11-14). “God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son―so that whosoever believes in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting” (John 3:16). “Is it My will that a sinner should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways, and live?” (Ezechiel 18:23). It is to everyone that God offers and gives His graces of potential salvation: “To every one of us is given grace” (Ephesians 4:7) ― but very few persons accept and use those graces as they should be used: “They repaid me evil for good, and hatred for my love!” (Psalms 108:5). “God has given him time for penance, and he abuses it in his pride!” (Job 24:23). Penance pays the debt of our sins against God and God’s creatures. How can we pretend to love God if we refuse to pay what we owe Him? Make no mistake about it ― each one of us owes a massive debt because sin is a massive evil! “Sin is the only evil upon Earth … Mortal sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, poverty, or war, because it separates us from God … Venial sin is second only in evil consequences to mortal sin … Sometimes people say: ‘It is only a little sin, it does not matter much!’ But every venial sin is an offence against God, and therefore is, after mortal sin, the greatest of evils―far greater than any of the physical evils which can be inflicted on us!” (The Catechism Explained, by Spirago-Clarke; also the Catechism, My Catholic Faith, by Bishop Morrow, STD; also The Catechism Simply Explained, by Fr. Cafferata).
How Much or Little Do You Love Grace?
O how little do most Catholics value and treasure the graces of God! How precious and important are the graces of God for our salvation! It is impossible to be saved without the grace of God. Actual graces (passing or temporary graces) initially lead us to God and help us find Him so that we can enter into a loving friendship with Him; while sanctifying grace is an habitual grace that is not meant to be temporary but permanent (unless lost through mortal sin) by which God in a mystical way dwells in our soul all the time―thus opening to us the chance of a perpetual loving friendship with Him. We cannot get into Heaven without sanctifying grace―that’s how precious it is. Sadly, for most Catholics, it is not all that precious! Let us take just a few quotes from Holy Scripture that underline the importance of God’s graces:
“Of His fullness we all have received, grace for grace!” (John 1:16) … “Every man has received grace … of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10) … “For by grace you are saved ― and that not of yourselves ― for it is the gift of God!” (Ephesians 2:4) … “That being justified by His grace, we may be heirs of life everlasting!” (Titus 3:7) … “We are justified freely by His grace, through redemption in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24) … “We believe we are saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 15:11) … “Trust perfectly in the grace which is offered you in Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13) … As Jesus said: “Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5) … “Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17) … “Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!” (2 Peter 3:18) … “God is able to make all grace abound in you; so that you may always abound to every good work!” (2 Corinthians 9:8) … “He called me by His grace” (Galatians 1:15) … “The Lord said to me: ‘My grace is sufficient for thee; for power is made perfect in infirmity!’” (2 Corinthians 12:9) … “The grace of God with me … By the grace of God, I am what I am―and His grace in me has not been void!” (1 Corinthians 15:10) … “I do not cast away the grace of God” (Galatians 2:21) … “Receive not the grace of God in vain!” (2 Corinthians 6:1) … “Neglect not the grace that is in thee!” (1 Timothy 4:14) … “Be strengthened by grace!” (Hebrews 13:9) … “Stir up the grace of God which is in thee!” (2 Timothy 1:6) … “God―Who is rich in mercy, in His exceeding charity with which He loved us―even when we were dead in sins, has brought us to life in Christ, by Whose grace you are saved, so that He might show in the ages to come the abundant riches of His grace. For by grace you are saved … and that not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God!” (Ephesians 2:4-8) ... “For where sin abounded, grace did more abound!” (Romans 5:20) … “There is a remnant saved according to the election of grace―and if by grace, it is not now by works―otherwise grace is no more grace!” (Romans 11:5-6) … “God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble!” (James 4:6) … “Let us go with confidence to the throne of grace―so that we may obtain mercy and find grace in seasonable aid” (Hebrews 4:16) … “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit!” (Philemon 1:25) … “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all!” (Apocalypse 22:21).
To the above Scriptural quotes, we can add some key quotes by St. Thomas Aquinas on the absolute necessity, power and importance of the grace of God: “Human nature needs the help of God to do or wish any good whatsoever … Without grace men do nothing good when they either think or wish or love or act! … Without grace men can do no good whatever! … Grace is a light of the soul … Man cannot even know truth without Divine help! … Not only do men know by the light of grace what to do, but by its help they do lovingly what they know! … Man, by his natural endowments, cannot produce meritorious works proportionate to everlasting life―for this a higher force is needed, namely, the force of grace. And thus without grace man cannot merit everlasting life! … Man cannot prepare himself for everlasting life without the help of grace! ... Man’s turning to God is by free-will―but free-will can only be turned to God, according to John 15:5: ‘Without Me, you can do nothing!’ … Man can do nothing unless moved by God! ... Man needs the help of grace to heal his nature! … Grace does not destroy nature but perfects it … Man cannot fulfill all the Divine commandments without healing grace … It is heresy to believe that without grace man can fulfill all the Divine commandments! … Man cannot avoid every act of sin, except by grace! … Man needs grace to entirely abstain from sin! … Man by himself can in no way rise from sin without the help of grace! … In order for a man rise from sin there is required the help of grace! … God’s grace is the outcome of His mercy! … Even a man who already possesses grace needs a further assistance of grace in order to live righteously! … After anyone has been justified by grace, he still needs to beseech God for the gift of perseverance, so that he may be kept from evil until the end of his life. For to many persons grace is given to whom perseverance in grace is not given!” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Ia-IIae, questions 109 to 114; Quaestiones Quodlibetales, 4, 6).
How Little or Much Do You Appreciate Mercy?
The mercies of God are above all His works! “The Lord is gracious and merciful: patient and plenteous in mercy. The Lord is sweet to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 144:8-9). If mercy is the greatest of all God’s works, then why do we appreciate mercy so little, or even fail to appreciate it at all? One reason why we fail to appreciate the mercy of God is the fact that we have diluted or devalued the magnitude of sin. We have lost the sense of sin and so we have lost appreciation for mercy. This has been the complaint of not only traditional Catholic popes (such as Pius XII), but surprisingly also the complaint of Modernist and Liberal popes (John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis).
● Pope Pius XII remarked in 1946: “Perhaps the greatest sin in the world today is that men have begun to lose the sense of sin!”
● Pope John Paul II, in 2005, wrote: “We live in a society that seems to have lost the sense of God and of sin!”
● Pope Benedict XVI, in 2011, said: “The word ‘sin’ is not accepted by many, because it presupposes a religious vision of the world and of man. If we eliminate God from the horizon of the world, then we cannot speak of sin ... The meaning of sin ― which is a different thing from ‘guilt feelings’ as understood in psychology ― is only grasped in discovering the meaning of God!”
● Pope Francis, in 2014, stated: “When the Kingdom of God is forgotten, when the Kingdom of God diminishes, one of the signs is that the sense of sin is lost … When you lose the sense of sin, you also lose the sense of the Kingdom of God … When we lose the sense of sin, when we let the Kingdom of God crumble!”
Mercy is like love―in fact it is a room in the mansion of love―and thus being part of the family of love, it also has to be reciprocal―that is to say, it not a “one-way-street” whereby all the traffic of mercy travels towards you alone, but it is a “two-way-street” whereby the traffic of mercy also travels from you to others. You receive mercy. You give mercy. Your are forgiven by God and others―so God expects you to also show that mercy to others. That is what Our Lord commanded and demanded: “Blessed are the merciful―for they shall obtain mercy!” (Matthew 5:7) and “Judgment without mercy to him that has not shown mercy!” (James 2:13). “If thy brother sin against thee, reprove him: and if he do penance, forgive him. And if he sin against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day be converted unto thee, saying, ‘I repent!’― then forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4). “If you will forgive men their offences, then your heavenly Father will also forgive you your offences. But if you will not forgive men, then neither will your Father forgive you your offences!” (Matthew 6:14-15).
Mercy―like love―is tough! We all want to be loved―but we love little. We all want to be shown mercy―but we show little mercy to others. Few people truly love as we are meant to love. Few people practice mercy like it ought to practiced. That is why few people end up being saved!
How Much Can Your Love Give?
Love has no limits―for “God is charity” (1 John 4:8) and God and God’s charity has no limits. It is impossible to love God too much―because, being infinite, God deserves infinite love―which is something that we, as finite being beings, can never achieve, but we can and should never cease growing in our love of God and showing our love of God. Nevertheless, it is possible to love our neighbor TOO MUCH, to the point that we become over-indulgent toward other people, spoiling and corrupting them through excessive love. Not even God loves us too much―for His love (and mercy) is inextricably joined to His justice and punishment. God says: “Those that I love―I rebuke and chastise!” (Apocalypse 3:19). “For whom the Lord loves, He chastises; and He scourges every son whom He receives!” (Hebrews 12:6). Nevertheless, “God never withdraws His mercy from us―even though He chastises His people with adversity!” (Machabees 2:16).
Being conceived and born in a state of Original Sin (which is an absence of sanctifying grace and an absence of the love of God―for those two things go hand-in-hand), we must therefore have the love of God enkindled in us by the fire of His love (as we say in the prayer to the Holy Ghost). The fire of love must be enkindled in our souls and then, like any good fire, it must grow. We cannot love what we do not know―therefore our love of God will normally be in proportion to our knowledge of God. St. Thérèse of Lisieux used to say: “Jesus is so little loved because He is so little known!”
Levels of Love
Just are there are three basic stages of the spiritual life that everyone must pass through before they are admitted into Heaven―the Way of Beginners (also known as The Purgative Way); the Way of the Proficient (also known as The Illuminative Way); and the Way of the Perfect (also known as The Unitive Way) ― likewise there are three chief stages of love or charity that we must attain and pass through if we wish to be admitted into Heaven and avoid Purgatory or (God forbid) Hell.
► The lowest level of love corresponds to the first stage of the spiritual life ― the Way of Beginners (also known as The Purgative Way) ― and entails the keeping of the commandments of God: “Love the Lord your God, and walk in all His ways, and keep all His commandments, and cleave to Him, and serve Him with all your heart, and with all your soul” (Josue 22:5). Our Lord Himself said: “Why call you Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). “If you love Me, keep My commandments … He that has My commandments, and keeps them; he it is that loves Me … If anyone loves Me, he will keep My words … He that does not love Me, keeps not My words!” (John 14:15, 14:21-24). To be a beginner in the spiritual life requires the elimination of habitual or frequent mortal sin. Mortal sin must be a rare thing―something that is hated and vehemently fought against. Unfortunately and tragically, spiritual authors and masters such Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange and Fr. Faber are of the opinion that most souls do not even reach and enter into the category of The Way of Beginners in the spiritual life!
► The next level of love corresponds to the second stage in the spiritual life ― the Way of the Proficient (also known as The Illuminative Way) ― and entails fighting against deliberate venial sins; increasing conversations with God through prayer; and the carrying of the cross with ever-increasing willingness: “He that commits sin is of the devil” (1 John 3:8). “Do not bind sin to sin―for even in one sin thou shalt not be unpunished!” (Ecclesiasticus 7:8). “Be not without fear about sin forgiven, and add not sin upon sin! And say not: ‘The mercy of the Lord is great, He will have mercy on the multitude of my sins!’” (Ecclesiasticus 5:5-6). “Go, and now sin no more!” (John 8:10-11). “We ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1) ... “Praying at all times!” (Luke 21:36) ... “Pray without ceasing!” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) … “And He said to all: ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me!’” (Luke 9:23) … “And whosoever does not carry his cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple!” (Luke 14:27) … “And he that will not take not up his cross and follow Me, is not worthy of Me!” (Matthew 10:38).
As the Imitation of Christ so truly says: “To many the saying: ‘Deny thyself, take up thy cross and follow Me!’ seems hard, but it will be much harder to hear that final word: ‘Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire!’ Those who hear the word of the cross and follow it willingly now, need not fear that they will hear of eternal damnation on the Day of Judgment … Why, then, do you fear to take up the cross when through it you can win a kingdom? In the cross is salvation, in the cross is life, in the cross is protection from enemies, in the cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness, in the cross is strength of mind, in the cross is joy of spirit, in the cross is highest virtue, in the cross is perfect holiness. There is no salvation of soul nor hope of everlasting life except in the cross. Behold, in the cross is everything, and upon your dying on the cross everything depends. There is no other way to life and to true inward peace than the way of the holy cross and daily mortification. Go where you will, seek what you will, you will not find a higher way, nor a less exalted but safer way, than the way of the holy cross. The cross, therefore, is always ready; it awaits you everywhere. No matter where you may go, you cannot escape it, for wherever you go you take yourself with you and shall always find yourself. Turn where you will — above, below, without, or within — you will find a cross in everything, and everywhere! If you carry the cross willingly, it will carry and lead you to the desired goal where indeed there shall be no more suffering, but here there shall be. If you carry it unwillingly, you create a burden for yourself and increase the load, though still you have to bear it. If you cast away one cross, you will find another and perhaps a heavier one. Do you expect to escape what no mortal man can ever avoid? Take up your cross, therefore, and follow Jesus, and you shall enter eternal life!” (The Imitation of Christ, Book 2, Chapter 12).
► The third level of love corresponds to the third stage in the spiritual life ― the Way of the Perfect (also known as The Unitive Way). The first way centered around the elimination of all mortal sin; the second way focused on the elimination of all venial sin; this third way has as its target the elimination of all imperfections—which are all thoughts, words and actions that are not sinful in any way, but could be more perfectly done. In short, it means trying to always do the most perfect thing, to take the most perfect option or solution ― hence it is called the Way of Perfection. This can be an excruciating crucible of suffering. To further add to the trial, at this stage or level, God often pulls away from the soul—much more than in the second way, where the pulling away of God only meant a kind of dryness being experienced in the spiritual life. In this third stage, the soul has the impression that it has been completely abandoned by God, so much so that it feels an unworthiness so great that it feels it will be damned. You can read of this in the lives of many of the saints. It is the final test for the soul, whereby God purifies it of all self-interest and self-love, and examines the soul to see if it seeks God for His own sake, or if it was only seeking it for consolations and self-interest. As the saying goes: “Do you seek the consolations of God, or do you seek the God of consolations?”
Focus on Giving, Not on Getting
If we give love, we get love. If we give hate, we get hate. It’s a law, like gravity, that we can resist, but we cannot break. Giving is a response to God’s love. “Remember the word of the Lord Jesus, how He said: ‘It is a more blessed thing to give, rather than to receive!’” (Acts 20:35). The mark of a giver―who has been touched and deeply affected by God’s love―is their selflessness in giving. These are the people who give, expecting nothing in return — though what they receive is often greater than they have ever thought to give. As Our Lord said: “Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours, do not demand it back … If you lend to them from whom you hope to receive―what thanks are due to you? For sinners also lend to sinners, so as to receive as much in return! Do good and lend, hoping for nothing thereby! Give and it will be given to you and your reward shall be great!” (Luke 6:30-38). “He who sows sparingly, shall also reap sparingly!” (2 Corinthians 9:6).
Jesus makes it clear that the motives behind our giving are very important. We don’t “give to get.” “Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:8). In the following prayers, St. Francis of Assisi echoes the words of Our Lord:
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is error, truth;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Article 10
Monday & Tuesday, January 12th & 13th
Does Christ Divide Families?
Monday & Tuesday, January 12th & 13th
Does Christ Divide Families?
Heaven! We Have a Problem!
Sometimes Holy Scripture seems to “serve-up” contradictory statements. We see Our Lord apparently seem to do the same when on the one hand He says that He desires all to be one―as He is one with Father. Yet on the other hand He says that He has come―not to bring peace―but to bring the sword and division!
Addressing His Father, Jesus says: “I pray that they all may be one, as thou, Father, in Me, and I in Thee; that they also may be one in Us; so that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me! And the glory which Thou hast given Me, I have given to them; so that they may be one, as We also are one― I in them, and Thou in Me; so that they may be made perfect in one; and the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast also loved Me!” (John 17:21-23).
Yet Jesus also says: “I am come to cast fire on the Earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled! … Think ye, that I am come to give peace on Earth? I tell you, no―but separation! Do not think that I came to send peace upon Earth! I came not to send peace, but the sword! For there shall be from henceforth five in one house divided: three against two, and two against three. And a man’s enemies shall be they of his own household. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against his father, the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law! He that loves father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me; and he that loves son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me! The brother also shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the son: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and shall put them to death. For they will deliver you up in councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues. And you shall be brought before governors, and before kings for My sake … And you shall be hated by all men for My Name’s sake―but he that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved. And when they shall persecute you in this city, flee into another!” (Matthew 10:17-22; 10:32-37; Luke 12:49-53).
The Problem Lies with Us and the Devil―Not with God!
God is all about harmony and unity―as in Three Persons in One God. God created and placed that same harmony and unity in nature―until the Original Sin of Adam and Eve, which broke their unity with God and merited that nature should rebel against them and no longer be in total harmony with them. Furthermore, Original Sin destroyed the harmony in human nature―with the body now rebelling against the soul, of which St. Paul writes:
“Wherefore as by one man sin entered into this world, and by sin death; and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned! … What shall we say, then? Shall we continue in sin? … The body of sin must be destroyed, to the end that we may serve sin no longer! … We know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin! For that which I do, I understand not. For I do not that good which I want to do; but the evil which I hate, that I do! If then I do that which I do not want to do, then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me! For I know that there dwells not in me, in my flesh, that which is good. The desire to do good is present within me; but to accomplish that which is good, I find not! For the good which I want to do, I do not―but the evil which I do not want to do, that I do! Now if I do that which I do not want to do, then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me! I find then a law, that when I have a desire to do good, there is also evil present within me. For I am delighted with the law of God, according to the soul―but I see another law in my body, fighting against the law of my mind, heart and soul, and captivating me in the law of sin, that is to say, in my body. Unhappy man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? The grace of God, by Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore, I myself, with the mind, serve the law of God―but with the body, I serve the law of sin!” (Romans 5:12; 6:1-6; 7:14-25).
It is sin that creates disharmony and destroys harmony and unity with God and creates a unity with Satan: “Give not place to the devil!” (Ephesians 4:27). “He that commits sin is of the devil!” (1 John 3:8). “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do!” (John 8:44). “Your iniquities have divided you and your God, and your sins have made Him hide His face from you, so that He should not hear you!” (Isaias 59:2). We see this division and its fatal consequences in an unprecedented and horrendous manner with God’s destruction of the almost every living creature during the Great Flood in the time of Noe:
“And the Earth was corrupted before God, and was filled with iniquity. God seeing that the wickedness of men was great on the Earth, and that all the thought of their heart was bent upon evil at all times … And when God had seen that the Earth was corrupted … it repented Him that He had made man on the Earth. And being touched inwardly with sorrow of heart, He said: ‘I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the Earth!’” (Genesis 6:5-7, 11-12).
As We Sow, so Shall We Reap!
“Be not deceived, God is not mocked! For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap! For he that sows in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption! But he that sows in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting!” (Galatians 6:7-8). God does not want to destroy man―He wants to save man from Satan, sin and the sinful world: “Is it My will that a sinner should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways, and live? … Cast away from you all your transgressions, by which you have transgressed, and make to yourselves a new heart, and a new spirit―and why will you die? For I desire not the death of him that dies! Return ye and live, says the Lord God” (Ezechiel 18:23, 31-32). Death does not come from God―death comes from sin―and sin comes from man: “The wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23). “From the woman came the beginning of sin, and by her we all die!” (Ecclesiasticus 25:33). “By one man sin entered into this world and, by sin, death; and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned!” (Romans 5:12). “Death reigned from Adam” (Romans 5:14). “Sin shall be destroyed with the sinner” (Ecclesiasticus 27:3). “Every man shall die for his own sin!” (2 Paralipomenon 25:4).
Nevertheless, Christ came to seek and save that which was lost in His desire to re-unite the sinner with God: “God will [“to will” means “to want”] have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). “The grace of God our Savior has appeared to all men, … that He might redeem us” (Titus 2:11-14). “God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son―so that whosoever believes in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting” (John 3:16). “Is it My will that a sinner should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways, and live?” (Ezechiel 18:23). “The Lord deals patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance” (2 Peter 3:9). “God declares unto men, that all should everywhere do penance!” (Acts 17:30). “God sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). “God sent not His Son into the world, to judge the world, but so that the world may be saved by Him” (John 3:17). “The Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14). “The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save!” (Luke 9:56). “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). “I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance! … No, I say to you―unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish! ... Again I say to you―except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 5:32; 13:3-5).
Divide and Damn―Unite and Save
It is Satan that is the original divider. He created division among the angels and led a third of them to damnation. He divided Eve from God, and through her he divided Adam from God―and thus brought death and damnation into the world: “By the envy of the devil, death came into the world” (Wisdom 2:2). “He that commits sin is of the devil―for the devil sinned from the beginning” (1 John 3:8) … “And there was a great battle [division] in Heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels! And they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in Heaven! And that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who seduces the whole world; and he was cast unto the Earth, and his angels were thrown down with him” (Apocalypse 12:7-9). “Woe to the Earth, because the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, knowing that he has but a short time!” (Apocalypse 12:12).
Nailed to the Cross―United to Christ
It is the cross of Christ that saves us―it is through the cross of Christ that we are united to Christ and to God: “reconciled to God in one body by the cross” (Ephesians 2:16). Satan seeks to divide us from the cross of Christ and attach us to the pleasures of the world. Jesus said: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth! … But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven! … For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:19-24). “Blessed are they that suffer!” (Matthew 5:10). “Jesus began to show to His disciples, that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the ancients and scribes and chief priests, and be put to death. And Peter taking Jesus, began to rebuke Him, saying: ‘Lord, be it far from Thee! This shall not happen to Thee!’ Jesus, turning, said to Peter: ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are a scandal unto Me―because you savor not the things that are of God, but the things that are of men!’ Then Jesus said to His disciples: ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me!’” (Matthew 16:21-24).
“Calling the multitude together with His disciples, Jesus said to them: ‘If any man will follow Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me!’” (Mark 8:34). “And He said to all: ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me!’” (Luke 9:23). “And he that takes not up his cross, and follows Me, is not worthy of Me!” (Matthew 10:38). “And whosoever does not carry his cross and comes after Me, cannot be My disciple!” (Luke 14:27).
“And going out, they found a man of Cyrene, named Simon―him they forced to take up the cross of Jesus” (Matthew 27:32). “And they forced one Simon, a Cyrenian who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and of Rufus, to take up the cross of Jesus” (Mark 15:21). “And as they led Jesus away, they laid hold of one Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country; and they laid the cross on him to carry after Jesus” (Luke 23:26).
“The word of the cross, to them indeed that perish, is foolishness; but to them that are saved, that is, to us, it is the power of God!” (1 Corinthians 1:18). “For many walk―of whom I have told you often and now tell you weeping―that they are enemies of the cross of Christ! Whose end is destruction; whose God is their belly; and whose glory is in their shame; who mind earthly things … so that they may not suffer the persecution of the cross of Christ” (Philippians 3:18-19; Galatians 6:12).
“And bearing His own cross, Jesus went forth to Calvary” (John 19:17). “He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross!” (Philippians 2:8). “And through Him to reconcile all things unto Himself, making peace through the Blood of His cross, both as to the things that are on Earth, and the things that are in Heaven!” (Colossians 1:20). “Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame, and now He sits on the right hand of the throne of God!” (Hebrews 12:2).
Thus St. Paul writes: “God forbid that I should glory in anything, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world!” (Galatians 6:14). “With Christ I am nailed to the cross!” (Galatians 2:19). “Furthermore I count all things to be but a loss compared to the excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord―for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but as dung, so that I may gain Christ!” (Philippians 3:8). ). “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, so that the body of sin may be destroyed, to the end that we may serve sin no longer” (Romans 6:6). “For I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come!” (Romans 8:18).
The Liturgy of Holy Mother Church (Hymn in Vespers for Passiontide) says: “Ave crux! Spes unica!” meaning “Hail Cross! Our only hope!” The cross is our hope of salvation―without the cross we have no hope―we are hopeless by being crossless. St. Paul says: “With Christ I am nailed to the cross!” In other words, I am united to Christ by being nailed to the cross of Christ. If you disassociate yourself from the cross, walk away from the cross, refuse the cross, then you divide yourself from Christ: “He that takes not up his cross, and follows Me, is not worthy of Me!” (Matthew 10:38). “And whosoever does not carry his cross and comes after Me, cannot be My disciple!” (Luke 14:27).
Mercy Unites Us to God
Sin divides us from God and mercy re-unites us to God. We have all sinned and we all need the mercy of God. Nevertheless, if we wish to obtain mercy from God, we must also show mercy to others. We reap what we sow―mercy begets mercy. “Blessed are the merciful―for they shall obtain mercy!” (Matthew 5:7). “Judgment without mercy to him that has not shown mercy!” (James 2:13). “The Lord is gracious and merciful: patient and plenteous in mercy. The Lord is sweet to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 144:8-9). “If thy brother sin against thee, reprove him: and if he do penance, forgive him. And if he sin against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day be converted unto thee, saying, ‘I repent!’― then forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4). “If you will forgive men their offences, then your heavenly Father will also forgive you your offences. But if you will not forgive men, then neither will your Father forgive you your offences!” (Matthew 6:14-15).
Our Lord emphasizes the truth of the above in His parable about the Merciless Steward: “Then came Peter unto Him and said: ‘Lord, how often shall my brother offend against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?’ Jesus said to him: ‘I say you not just seven times; but seventy times seven times! Therefore is the Kingdom of Heaven likened to a king, who wanted to take an account of his servants. And when he had begun to take the account, one was brought to him, that owed him ten thousand talents (1 talent was 750 ounces of silver. At today’s silver prices of around $90 an ounce (January 2026), one talent would be worth $67,500―that would put the 10,000 talents at just over $675 million). And as he could not pay his debt, his lord commanded that he, and his wife and children and all that he had, should be sold and payment to be made. But that servant falling down, begged him, saying: “Have patience with me, and I will pay you all that I owe!” And the lord of that servant, being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt.
“‘But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellow servants that owed him an hundred pence (the Roman penny was the eighth part of an ounce of silver. At today’s silver prices of $90 per ounce (January 2026), the penny would be worth $11.25―and a hundred pence would be $1,125): and laying hold of him, throttled him, saying: “Pay what you owe me!” And his fellow servant falling down, begged him, saying: “Have patience with me, and I will pay you all that I owe!” But he would not listen―and went and cast him into prison, till he paid the debt.
“‘Now his fellow servants, seeing what was done, were very much grieved, and they came and told their lord all that was done. Then his lord called him and said to him: “You wicked servant! I forgave you all the debt, because you begged me! Should you not then have had the same compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had compassion on you?” And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers, until he paid all the debt. So also shall My heavenly Father do to you, if you do not forgive everyone from your hearts!’” (Matthew 18:21-35).
$675 million compared to $1,125―one heck of a difference, huh? How big is our debt for past forgiven sins? How reluctant are we in forgiving others for sins committed against us? Is the “glue” of mercy becoming “unglued” and “unstuck” in our lives with the consequence that we fall away from what binds us to Christ? Notice, too, that Our Lord speaks of forgiving from the heart: “So also shall My heavenly Father do to you, if you do not forgive everyone from your hearts!” The “heart” is associated with “charity.” What is often forgotten―or not even known―is that, according to St. Thomas Aquinas, mercy is a “subsection” of charity, or, so to speak, a room in the mansion of charity―and “charity is the bond [glue] of perfection” (Colossians 3:14).
Charity Unites Us to God
As the proverb says: “Birds of a feather flock together!” is based upon the Scriptural quote: “Birds resort unto their like!” (Ecclesiasticus 27:9). The proverb means that people with similar personalities, interests, backgrounds, attitudes, or beliefs tend to associate with each other, forming groups or “flocks”. It highlights the natural human tendency to gravitate towards like-minded individuals. The same is true when it comes to our relationship and union with God. “God is charity” (1 John 4:8) and if we want to be united to God, we have to be charitable.
“Charity is of God―and every one that loves is born of God and knows God. He that loves not, knows not God―for God is charity! ” (1 John 4:7-8). If “God is charity”, then a lack of charity separates us from God. “If any man say: ‘I love God!’ but hates his brother―then he is a liar. For he that does not love his brother whom he sees, how can he love God Whom he sees not? This commandment we have from God―that he who loves God, must also love his brother” (1 John 4:20-21). This is why St. John of the Cross says that, at our Last Judgment, we will ultimately judged upon our charity: “At the end of our life, we shall all be judged by charity.”
That is why Holy Scripture warns: “If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all Faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not Charity―then I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not Charity―then it profits me nothing!” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
Finger-Pointing is Preferred to Charity Today
As Scripture says: “If I have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. If I have not Charity―then I am nothing. If I have not Charity―then it profits me nothing!” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). Increasingly, today, we see more and more Catholics becoming tinkling cymbals, who are profitless nothings. Today we prefer to point and wag the finger at the sinner, rather pray and sacrifice for the sinner. We scream for avenging justice, rather than pleading for a charitable mercy.
We forget that we ourselves are sinners and that as we judge other sinners, so too shall we be judged: “For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged!” (Matthew 7:2). “Why do you see the splinter that is in your brother’s eye; but cannot see the plank that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother: ‘Let me remove the splinter out of your eye!’ ― and behold there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite! First cast out the plank from your own eye, and then you shall be able to see in order to cast out the splinter from your brother’s eye!” (Matthew 7:3-5). “But if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged!” (1 Corinthians 11:31). “Who can say: ‘My heart is clean, I am pure from sin!’?” (Proverbs 20:9). Who dare say: “I am clean, and without sin! I am unspotted, and there is no iniquity in me!” (Job 33:9). “For in many things we all offend” (James 3:2). “There is no man who sins not” (3 Kings 8:46). “For all have sinned, and do need the glory [mercy and grace] of God!” (Romans 3:23). “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us!” (1 John 1:8-10).
Unfortunately, we prefer to see and focus on the sins of neighbor more than our sins. It is a very useful tactic to deflect attention being paid upon our sins to being more attentive to the sins of others―as they say: “Attack is the best form of defense!” Therefore, we prefer to attack others before we ourselves are attacked. We make mountains out of their molehills―and make molehills out of our mountains! We expect God to show us mercy―but we will not show mercy to others, nor do we really want God to show mercy to them either! All of this shows and betrays our lack of charity―which, in effect, is a lack of God and godliness in our hearts. Christ came “to seek and save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10) … “The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save!” (Luke 9:56). We, on the other hand, desire the detraction of sinners―forgetting that we are grouped among them!
The Scribes and the Pharisees wanted to stone to death the woman whom they had caught committing adultery―but Our Lord showed her His mercy! Many would have instinctively condemned the ‘Good’ Thief on the cross to Hell―but Our Lord showed him His mercy! Our Lord mercifully cast-out the seven devils with whom the impure and adulterous Mary Magdalen was possessed―and, furthermore, Scripture says Jesus loved her, rather than hated her! What is our reaction towards such like sinners? Is our instinctive reaction one of charity and mercy? Or is one of hatred and vengeance?
This lack of charity, in these end times of the world, was foretold by Christ and Holy Scripture: “The charity of many shall grow cold!” (Matthew 24:12). “Know also this, that, in the last days, shall come dangerous times! Men shall be lovers of themselves, haughty, proud, without affection, unmerciful, without kindness … Having an appearance indeed of godliness, but denying the power thereof!” (2 Timothy 3:1-5).
In the imitation of Christ, seek to save sinners―and leave justice and punishment to God: “Revenge not yourselves, my dearly beloved, but give place unto wrath, for it is written: ‘Revenge is Mine, I will repay!’ says the Lord” (Romans 12:19). “Revenge is Mine, and I will repay them in due time!” (Deuteronomy 32:35). “Therefore judge not before the time; until the Lord comes, Who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts!” (1 Corinthians 4:5).
One Head, One Body, One Baptism, One Faith
So―ultimately, God seeks to unite everyone so that there is “One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism” (Ephesians 4:5). To achieve this, Christ said to His followers: “Go, therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you!” (Matthew 28:19-20) … “If you love Me, keep My commandments … He that has My commandments, and keeps them; he it is that loves Me … If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word … He that loves Me not, keeps not My words!” (John 14:15, 14:21-24) ― we prove our love of God (and hence our unity with God) by doing what He tells us, by obeying Him, by keeping His commandments.
All of this brings and maintains a spiritual “health” within the Mystical Body of Christ. “We, being many, are one body in Christ― everyone being members one of another!” (Romans 12:5). “For as the body is one and has many members; and all the members of the body, whereas they are many, yet are one body―so also is Christ. For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one Body and in one Spirit―whether Jews or Gentiles, whether bond or free. For the body also is not one member, but many. If the foot should say: ‘Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body!’ ― is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say: ‘Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body!’ ― is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were the eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole body were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set every one of the members in the body as it has pleased Him. And if they all were one member, where would be the body? But now there are many members indeed, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand: ‘I need not thy help!’ Nor again can the head say to the feet: ‘I have no need of you!’ Likewise, those that seem to be the more feeble members of the body, are more necessary” (1 Corinthians 12:12-22). Christ wants us to be “reconciled to God in one body by the cross” (Ephesians 2:16).
Separation from the World and Worldliness
To do what is good, virtuous and correct is something that is usually hard―it is a cross―for it goes against the grain of world; it means swimming upstream against the tide of the world. Christ did not come to separate the good from the good―but He came to separate the good from the evil. We were already divided from God before Our Lord came into this world―divided from God by our sins. He who sins is of the devil. Our Lord comes to seek and save that which was lost―lost to sin and lost to the devil. Our Lord seeks to divide us from the devil and divide us from sin. Just as Christ has nothing to do with His enemy, the devil―likewise we should have nothing to with those that follow the devil, which is chiefly the world and the worldly―of whom he is the prince. “The prince of this world is coming and in Me he has not anything! … The prince of this world is already judged! ... Now shall the prince of this world be cast out!” (John 12:31; 16:11; 14:30). We too must cast out the prince of this world and the worldly influence that prince uses to seduce us into worldliness.
We do not separate ourselves from what is true, good and godly―but we MUST separate ourselves from lies, evil and worldliness. Hence it is that Scripture says: “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him!” (1 John 2:15). “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God!” (James 4:4) ... “The whole world is seated in wickedness!” (1 John 5:19) ... “Keep yourself unspotted from this world!” (James 1:27) … “Bear not the yoke with unbelievers! What fellowship has light with darkness? And what concord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has the faithful with the unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God! As God says: ‘I will dwell in them, and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people!’ Wherefore, ‘Go out from among them, and be ye separate!’ says the Lord” (2 Corinthians 6:14-17).
Disease requires separation. That is we quarantine persons who have infectious diseases. Sin is the most infectious of all diseases. It is the most evil ‘disease’ in the world. “Sin has reigned to death!” (Romans 5:21). “The wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23). “Sin, when it is completed, begets death” (James 1:15). Not only has sin reigned to death―but sin also condemns to Hell. That is why the Catechism tells us: “Sin is the only evil upon Earth … Mortal sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, poverty, or war, because it separates us from God … Venial sin is second only in evil consequences to mortal sin” (The Catechism Explained, by Spirago-Clarke; also the Catechism, My Catholic Faith, by Bishop Morrow, STD). That is why we MUST separate ourselves from the fatal disease of sin.
God has made the human body in such a way that its immune system attacks what is harmful and expels what is toxic. Doctors, hospitals and their medical staff are trained to fight disease and eradicate it from their patients―even to extent of performing invasive surgery or even amputation. Likewise, God has seen to it that animals and insects have sophisticated immune systems using barriers (skin, mucus) and cellular/molecular defenses (phagocytes, antimicrobial peptides) to identify, neutralize, and expel harmful invaders like bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Plants have an innate immune system that is their sole mechanism of defense. They lack specialized immune cells like those found in animals, but their individual cells can recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and trigger a localized hypersensitive response to prevent the spread of disease, often by undergoing rapid cell death at the infection site. They also produce chemical signals and antimicrobial peptides to fight off infections.
In human society, this idea of separation of good from evil can also be seen whereby the Church excommunicates those who threaten the Faith or Morals of the Church. Likewise, civil authorities imprison, or even put to death, criminals who are a serious threat to common good of society. So we can see this thread of separation of good from evil as being a continuous thread throughout society and throughout nature―without which grave consequences will inevitably result. When we fail to follow this common sense rule―we open ourselves to potential disaster. When we do this on a spiritual level, then we open ourselves to the potential disaster of eternal damnation.
Sometimes Holy Scripture seems to “serve-up” contradictory statements. We see Our Lord apparently seem to do the same when on the one hand He says that He desires all to be one―as He is one with Father. Yet on the other hand He says that He has come―not to bring peace―but to bring the sword and division!
Addressing His Father, Jesus says: “I pray that they all may be one, as thou, Father, in Me, and I in Thee; that they also may be one in Us; so that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me! And the glory which Thou hast given Me, I have given to them; so that they may be one, as We also are one― I in them, and Thou in Me; so that they may be made perfect in one; and the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast also loved Me!” (John 17:21-23).
Yet Jesus also says: “I am come to cast fire on the Earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled! … Think ye, that I am come to give peace on Earth? I tell you, no―but separation! Do not think that I came to send peace upon Earth! I came not to send peace, but the sword! For there shall be from henceforth five in one house divided: three against two, and two against three. And a man’s enemies shall be they of his own household. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against his father, the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law! He that loves father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me; and he that loves son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me! The brother also shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the son: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and shall put them to death. For they will deliver you up in councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues. And you shall be brought before governors, and before kings for My sake … And you shall be hated by all men for My Name’s sake―but he that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved. And when they shall persecute you in this city, flee into another!” (Matthew 10:17-22; 10:32-37; Luke 12:49-53).
The Problem Lies with Us and the Devil―Not with God!
God is all about harmony and unity―as in Three Persons in One God. God created and placed that same harmony and unity in nature―until the Original Sin of Adam and Eve, which broke their unity with God and merited that nature should rebel against them and no longer be in total harmony with them. Furthermore, Original Sin destroyed the harmony in human nature―with the body now rebelling against the soul, of which St. Paul writes:
“Wherefore as by one man sin entered into this world, and by sin death; and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned! … What shall we say, then? Shall we continue in sin? … The body of sin must be destroyed, to the end that we may serve sin no longer! … We know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin! For that which I do, I understand not. For I do not that good which I want to do; but the evil which I hate, that I do! If then I do that which I do not want to do, then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me! For I know that there dwells not in me, in my flesh, that which is good. The desire to do good is present within me; but to accomplish that which is good, I find not! For the good which I want to do, I do not―but the evil which I do not want to do, that I do! Now if I do that which I do not want to do, then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me! I find then a law, that when I have a desire to do good, there is also evil present within me. For I am delighted with the law of God, according to the soul―but I see another law in my body, fighting against the law of my mind, heart and soul, and captivating me in the law of sin, that is to say, in my body. Unhappy man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? The grace of God, by Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore, I myself, with the mind, serve the law of God―but with the body, I serve the law of sin!” (Romans 5:12; 6:1-6; 7:14-25).
It is sin that creates disharmony and destroys harmony and unity with God and creates a unity with Satan: “Give not place to the devil!” (Ephesians 4:27). “He that commits sin is of the devil!” (1 John 3:8). “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do!” (John 8:44). “Your iniquities have divided you and your God, and your sins have made Him hide His face from you, so that He should not hear you!” (Isaias 59:2). We see this division and its fatal consequences in an unprecedented and horrendous manner with God’s destruction of the almost every living creature during the Great Flood in the time of Noe:
“And the Earth was corrupted before God, and was filled with iniquity. God seeing that the wickedness of men was great on the Earth, and that all the thought of their heart was bent upon evil at all times … And when God had seen that the Earth was corrupted … it repented Him that He had made man on the Earth. And being touched inwardly with sorrow of heart, He said: ‘I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the Earth!’” (Genesis 6:5-7, 11-12).
As We Sow, so Shall We Reap!
“Be not deceived, God is not mocked! For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap! For he that sows in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption! But he that sows in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting!” (Galatians 6:7-8). God does not want to destroy man―He wants to save man from Satan, sin and the sinful world: “Is it My will that a sinner should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways, and live? … Cast away from you all your transgressions, by which you have transgressed, and make to yourselves a new heart, and a new spirit―and why will you die? For I desire not the death of him that dies! Return ye and live, says the Lord God” (Ezechiel 18:23, 31-32). Death does not come from God―death comes from sin―and sin comes from man: “The wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23). “From the woman came the beginning of sin, and by her we all die!” (Ecclesiasticus 25:33). “By one man sin entered into this world and, by sin, death; and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned!” (Romans 5:12). “Death reigned from Adam” (Romans 5:14). “Sin shall be destroyed with the sinner” (Ecclesiasticus 27:3). “Every man shall die for his own sin!” (2 Paralipomenon 25:4).
Nevertheless, Christ came to seek and save that which was lost in His desire to re-unite the sinner with God: “God will [“to will” means “to want”] have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). “The grace of God our Savior has appeared to all men, … that He might redeem us” (Titus 2:11-14). “God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son―so that whosoever believes in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting” (John 3:16). “Is it My will that a sinner should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways, and live?” (Ezechiel 18:23). “The Lord deals patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance” (2 Peter 3:9). “God declares unto men, that all should everywhere do penance!” (Acts 17:30). “God sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). “God sent not His Son into the world, to judge the world, but so that the world may be saved by Him” (John 3:17). “The Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14). “The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save!” (Luke 9:56). “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). “I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance! … No, I say to you―unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish! ... Again I say to you―except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 5:32; 13:3-5).
Divide and Damn―Unite and Save
It is Satan that is the original divider. He created division among the angels and led a third of them to damnation. He divided Eve from God, and through her he divided Adam from God―and thus brought death and damnation into the world: “By the envy of the devil, death came into the world” (Wisdom 2:2). “He that commits sin is of the devil―for the devil sinned from the beginning” (1 John 3:8) … “And there was a great battle [division] in Heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels! And they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in Heaven! And that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who seduces the whole world; and he was cast unto the Earth, and his angels were thrown down with him” (Apocalypse 12:7-9). “Woe to the Earth, because the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, knowing that he has but a short time!” (Apocalypse 12:12).
Nailed to the Cross―United to Christ
It is the cross of Christ that saves us―it is through the cross of Christ that we are united to Christ and to God: “reconciled to God in one body by the cross” (Ephesians 2:16). Satan seeks to divide us from the cross of Christ and attach us to the pleasures of the world. Jesus said: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth! … But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven! … For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:19-24). “Blessed are they that suffer!” (Matthew 5:10). “Jesus began to show to His disciples, that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the ancients and scribes and chief priests, and be put to death. And Peter taking Jesus, began to rebuke Him, saying: ‘Lord, be it far from Thee! This shall not happen to Thee!’ Jesus, turning, said to Peter: ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are a scandal unto Me―because you savor not the things that are of God, but the things that are of men!’ Then Jesus said to His disciples: ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me!’” (Matthew 16:21-24).
“Calling the multitude together with His disciples, Jesus said to them: ‘If any man will follow Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me!’” (Mark 8:34). “And He said to all: ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me!’” (Luke 9:23). “And he that takes not up his cross, and follows Me, is not worthy of Me!” (Matthew 10:38). “And whosoever does not carry his cross and comes after Me, cannot be My disciple!” (Luke 14:27).
“And going out, they found a man of Cyrene, named Simon―him they forced to take up the cross of Jesus” (Matthew 27:32). “And they forced one Simon, a Cyrenian who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and of Rufus, to take up the cross of Jesus” (Mark 15:21). “And as they led Jesus away, they laid hold of one Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country; and they laid the cross on him to carry after Jesus” (Luke 23:26).
“The word of the cross, to them indeed that perish, is foolishness; but to them that are saved, that is, to us, it is the power of God!” (1 Corinthians 1:18). “For many walk―of whom I have told you often and now tell you weeping―that they are enemies of the cross of Christ! Whose end is destruction; whose God is their belly; and whose glory is in their shame; who mind earthly things … so that they may not suffer the persecution of the cross of Christ” (Philippians 3:18-19; Galatians 6:12).
“And bearing His own cross, Jesus went forth to Calvary” (John 19:17). “He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross!” (Philippians 2:8). “And through Him to reconcile all things unto Himself, making peace through the Blood of His cross, both as to the things that are on Earth, and the things that are in Heaven!” (Colossians 1:20). “Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame, and now He sits on the right hand of the throne of God!” (Hebrews 12:2).
Thus St. Paul writes: “God forbid that I should glory in anything, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world!” (Galatians 6:14). “With Christ I am nailed to the cross!” (Galatians 2:19). “Furthermore I count all things to be but a loss compared to the excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord―for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but as dung, so that I may gain Christ!” (Philippians 3:8). ). “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, so that the body of sin may be destroyed, to the end that we may serve sin no longer” (Romans 6:6). “For I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come!” (Romans 8:18).
The Liturgy of Holy Mother Church (Hymn in Vespers for Passiontide) says: “Ave crux! Spes unica!” meaning “Hail Cross! Our only hope!” The cross is our hope of salvation―without the cross we have no hope―we are hopeless by being crossless. St. Paul says: “With Christ I am nailed to the cross!” In other words, I am united to Christ by being nailed to the cross of Christ. If you disassociate yourself from the cross, walk away from the cross, refuse the cross, then you divide yourself from Christ: “He that takes not up his cross, and follows Me, is not worthy of Me!” (Matthew 10:38). “And whosoever does not carry his cross and comes after Me, cannot be My disciple!” (Luke 14:27).
Mercy Unites Us to God
Sin divides us from God and mercy re-unites us to God. We have all sinned and we all need the mercy of God. Nevertheless, if we wish to obtain mercy from God, we must also show mercy to others. We reap what we sow―mercy begets mercy. “Blessed are the merciful―for they shall obtain mercy!” (Matthew 5:7). “Judgment without mercy to him that has not shown mercy!” (James 2:13). “The Lord is gracious and merciful: patient and plenteous in mercy. The Lord is sweet to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 144:8-9). “If thy brother sin against thee, reprove him: and if he do penance, forgive him. And if he sin against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day be converted unto thee, saying, ‘I repent!’― then forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4). “If you will forgive men their offences, then your heavenly Father will also forgive you your offences. But if you will not forgive men, then neither will your Father forgive you your offences!” (Matthew 6:14-15).
Our Lord emphasizes the truth of the above in His parable about the Merciless Steward: “Then came Peter unto Him and said: ‘Lord, how often shall my brother offend against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?’ Jesus said to him: ‘I say you not just seven times; but seventy times seven times! Therefore is the Kingdom of Heaven likened to a king, who wanted to take an account of his servants. And when he had begun to take the account, one was brought to him, that owed him ten thousand talents (1 talent was 750 ounces of silver. At today’s silver prices of around $90 an ounce (January 2026), one talent would be worth $67,500―that would put the 10,000 talents at just over $675 million). And as he could not pay his debt, his lord commanded that he, and his wife and children and all that he had, should be sold and payment to be made. But that servant falling down, begged him, saying: “Have patience with me, and I will pay you all that I owe!” And the lord of that servant, being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt.
“‘But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellow servants that owed him an hundred pence (the Roman penny was the eighth part of an ounce of silver. At today’s silver prices of $90 per ounce (January 2026), the penny would be worth $11.25―and a hundred pence would be $1,125): and laying hold of him, throttled him, saying: “Pay what you owe me!” And his fellow servant falling down, begged him, saying: “Have patience with me, and I will pay you all that I owe!” But he would not listen―and went and cast him into prison, till he paid the debt.
“‘Now his fellow servants, seeing what was done, were very much grieved, and they came and told their lord all that was done. Then his lord called him and said to him: “You wicked servant! I forgave you all the debt, because you begged me! Should you not then have had the same compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had compassion on you?” And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers, until he paid all the debt. So also shall My heavenly Father do to you, if you do not forgive everyone from your hearts!’” (Matthew 18:21-35).
$675 million compared to $1,125―one heck of a difference, huh? How big is our debt for past forgiven sins? How reluctant are we in forgiving others for sins committed against us? Is the “glue” of mercy becoming “unglued” and “unstuck” in our lives with the consequence that we fall away from what binds us to Christ? Notice, too, that Our Lord speaks of forgiving from the heart: “So also shall My heavenly Father do to you, if you do not forgive everyone from your hearts!” The “heart” is associated with “charity.” What is often forgotten―or not even known―is that, according to St. Thomas Aquinas, mercy is a “subsection” of charity, or, so to speak, a room in the mansion of charity―and “charity is the bond [glue] of perfection” (Colossians 3:14).
Charity Unites Us to God
As the proverb says: “Birds of a feather flock together!” is based upon the Scriptural quote: “Birds resort unto their like!” (Ecclesiasticus 27:9). The proverb means that people with similar personalities, interests, backgrounds, attitudes, or beliefs tend to associate with each other, forming groups or “flocks”. It highlights the natural human tendency to gravitate towards like-minded individuals. The same is true when it comes to our relationship and union with God. “God is charity” (1 John 4:8) and if we want to be united to God, we have to be charitable.
“Charity is of God―and every one that loves is born of God and knows God. He that loves not, knows not God―for God is charity! ” (1 John 4:7-8). If “God is charity”, then a lack of charity separates us from God. “If any man say: ‘I love God!’ but hates his brother―then he is a liar. For he that does not love his brother whom he sees, how can he love God Whom he sees not? This commandment we have from God―that he who loves God, must also love his brother” (1 John 4:20-21). This is why St. John of the Cross says that, at our Last Judgment, we will ultimately judged upon our charity: “At the end of our life, we shall all be judged by charity.”
That is why Holy Scripture warns: “If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all Faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not Charity―then I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not Charity―then it profits me nothing!” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
Finger-Pointing is Preferred to Charity Today
As Scripture says: “If I have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. If I have not Charity―then I am nothing. If I have not Charity―then it profits me nothing!” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). Increasingly, today, we see more and more Catholics becoming tinkling cymbals, who are profitless nothings. Today we prefer to point and wag the finger at the sinner, rather pray and sacrifice for the sinner. We scream for avenging justice, rather than pleading for a charitable mercy.
We forget that we ourselves are sinners and that as we judge other sinners, so too shall we be judged: “For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged!” (Matthew 7:2). “Why do you see the splinter that is in your brother’s eye; but cannot see the plank that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother: ‘Let me remove the splinter out of your eye!’ ― and behold there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite! First cast out the plank from your own eye, and then you shall be able to see in order to cast out the splinter from your brother’s eye!” (Matthew 7:3-5). “But if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged!” (1 Corinthians 11:31). “Who can say: ‘My heart is clean, I am pure from sin!’?” (Proverbs 20:9). Who dare say: “I am clean, and without sin! I am unspotted, and there is no iniquity in me!” (Job 33:9). “For in many things we all offend” (James 3:2). “There is no man who sins not” (3 Kings 8:46). “For all have sinned, and do need the glory [mercy and grace] of God!” (Romans 3:23). “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us!” (1 John 1:8-10).
Unfortunately, we prefer to see and focus on the sins of neighbor more than our sins. It is a very useful tactic to deflect attention being paid upon our sins to being more attentive to the sins of others―as they say: “Attack is the best form of defense!” Therefore, we prefer to attack others before we ourselves are attacked. We make mountains out of their molehills―and make molehills out of our mountains! We expect God to show us mercy―but we will not show mercy to others, nor do we really want God to show mercy to them either! All of this shows and betrays our lack of charity―which, in effect, is a lack of God and godliness in our hearts. Christ came “to seek and save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10) … “The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save!” (Luke 9:56). We, on the other hand, desire the detraction of sinners―forgetting that we are grouped among them!
The Scribes and the Pharisees wanted to stone to death the woman whom they had caught committing adultery―but Our Lord showed her His mercy! Many would have instinctively condemned the ‘Good’ Thief on the cross to Hell―but Our Lord showed him His mercy! Our Lord mercifully cast-out the seven devils with whom the impure and adulterous Mary Magdalen was possessed―and, furthermore, Scripture says Jesus loved her, rather than hated her! What is our reaction towards such like sinners? Is our instinctive reaction one of charity and mercy? Or is one of hatred and vengeance?
This lack of charity, in these end times of the world, was foretold by Christ and Holy Scripture: “The charity of many shall grow cold!” (Matthew 24:12). “Know also this, that, in the last days, shall come dangerous times! Men shall be lovers of themselves, haughty, proud, without affection, unmerciful, without kindness … Having an appearance indeed of godliness, but denying the power thereof!” (2 Timothy 3:1-5).
In the imitation of Christ, seek to save sinners―and leave justice and punishment to God: “Revenge not yourselves, my dearly beloved, but give place unto wrath, for it is written: ‘Revenge is Mine, I will repay!’ says the Lord” (Romans 12:19). “Revenge is Mine, and I will repay them in due time!” (Deuteronomy 32:35). “Therefore judge not before the time; until the Lord comes, Who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts!” (1 Corinthians 4:5).
One Head, One Body, One Baptism, One Faith
So―ultimately, God seeks to unite everyone so that there is “One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism” (Ephesians 4:5). To achieve this, Christ said to His followers: “Go, therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you!” (Matthew 28:19-20) … “If you love Me, keep My commandments … He that has My commandments, and keeps them; he it is that loves Me … If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word … He that loves Me not, keeps not My words!” (John 14:15, 14:21-24) ― we prove our love of God (and hence our unity with God) by doing what He tells us, by obeying Him, by keeping His commandments.
All of this brings and maintains a spiritual “health” within the Mystical Body of Christ. “We, being many, are one body in Christ― everyone being members one of another!” (Romans 12:5). “For as the body is one and has many members; and all the members of the body, whereas they are many, yet are one body―so also is Christ. For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one Body and in one Spirit―whether Jews or Gentiles, whether bond or free. For the body also is not one member, but many. If the foot should say: ‘Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body!’ ― is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say: ‘Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body!’ ― is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were the eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole body were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set every one of the members in the body as it has pleased Him. And if they all were one member, where would be the body? But now there are many members indeed, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand: ‘I need not thy help!’ Nor again can the head say to the feet: ‘I have no need of you!’ Likewise, those that seem to be the more feeble members of the body, are more necessary” (1 Corinthians 12:12-22). Christ wants us to be “reconciled to God in one body by the cross” (Ephesians 2:16).
Separation from the World and Worldliness
To do what is good, virtuous and correct is something that is usually hard―it is a cross―for it goes against the grain of world; it means swimming upstream against the tide of the world. Christ did not come to separate the good from the good―but He came to separate the good from the evil. We were already divided from God before Our Lord came into this world―divided from God by our sins. He who sins is of the devil. Our Lord comes to seek and save that which was lost―lost to sin and lost to the devil. Our Lord seeks to divide us from the devil and divide us from sin. Just as Christ has nothing to do with His enemy, the devil―likewise we should have nothing to with those that follow the devil, which is chiefly the world and the worldly―of whom he is the prince. “The prince of this world is coming and in Me he has not anything! … The prince of this world is already judged! ... Now shall the prince of this world be cast out!” (John 12:31; 16:11; 14:30). We too must cast out the prince of this world and the worldly influence that prince uses to seduce us into worldliness.
We do not separate ourselves from what is true, good and godly―but we MUST separate ourselves from lies, evil and worldliness. Hence it is that Scripture says: “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him!” (1 John 2:15). “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God!” (James 4:4) ... “The whole world is seated in wickedness!” (1 John 5:19) ... “Keep yourself unspotted from this world!” (James 1:27) … “Bear not the yoke with unbelievers! What fellowship has light with darkness? And what concord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has the faithful with the unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God! As God says: ‘I will dwell in them, and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people!’ Wherefore, ‘Go out from among them, and be ye separate!’ says the Lord” (2 Corinthians 6:14-17).
Disease requires separation. That is we quarantine persons who have infectious diseases. Sin is the most infectious of all diseases. It is the most evil ‘disease’ in the world. “Sin has reigned to death!” (Romans 5:21). “The wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23). “Sin, when it is completed, begets death” (James 1:15). Not only has sin reigned to death―but sin also condemns to Hell. That is why the Catechism tells us: “Sin is the only evil upon Earth … Mortal sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, poverty, or war, because it separates us from God … Venial sin is second only in evil consequences to mortal sin” (The Catechism Explained, by Spirago-Clarke; also the Catechism, My Catholic Faith, by Bishop Morrow, STD). That is why we MUST separate ourselves from the fatal disease of sin.
God has made the human body in such a way that its immune system attacks what is harmful and expels what is toxic. Doctors, hospitals and their medical staff are trained to fight disease and eradicate it from their patients―even to extent of performing invasive surgery or even amputation. Likewise, God has seen to it that animals and insects have sophisticated immune systems using barriers (skin, mucus) and cellular/molecular defenses (phagocytes, antimicrobial peptides) to identify, neutralize, and expel harmful invaders like bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Plants have an innate immune system that is their sole mechanism of defense. They lack specialized immune cells like those found in animals, but their individual cells can recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and trigger a localized hypersensitive response to prevent the spread of disease, often by undergoing rapid cell death at the infection site. They also produce chemical signals and antimicrobial peptides to fight off infections.
In human society, this idea of separation of good from evil can also be seen whereby the Church excommunicates those who threaten the Faith or Morals of the Church. Likewise, civil authorities imprison, or even put to death, criminals who are a serious threat to common good of society. So we can see this thread of separation of good from evil as being a continuous thread throughout society and throughout nature―without which grave consequences will inevitably result. When we fail to follow this common sense rule―we open ourselves to potential disaster. When we do this on a spiritual level, then we open ourselves to the potential disaster of eternal damnation.
Article 9
Sunday, January 11th
The Holy Family & Your Family
Sunday, January 11th
The Holy Family & Your Family
Christmas and the Family
Christmas is a time to focus on the family; not only your own family, but also the Holy Family—meaning, Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The family is the building block of society. If you can sanctify the family, you can sanctify society through the family. “The Holy Family” should not just be the title for the family containing Jesus, Mary and Joseph, but it should be the title for every family, for God wants every family to be holy. Just as Jesus was born and lived among us for our imitation; likewise the Holy Family was created and lived among us as an example of godly family life.
God is holy and He requires us to be holy―there is no entrance into Heaven without that required and obligatory holiness: “Without holiness no man shall see God” (Hebrews 12:14). “I am the Lord your God―be holy because I am holy. Defile not your souls!” (Leviticus 11:44). “There shall not enter into Heaven anything defiled!” (Apocalypse 21:27). “I am the Lord who sanctify you!” (Leviticus 22:32). “Sanctify yourselves, and be ye holy because I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 20:7). “You shall be holy men to Me!” (Exodus 22:31). “You shall be holy unto Me, because I the Lord am holy, and I have separated you from other people, that you should be Mine!” (Leviticus 20:26). “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and unspotted in His sight!” (Ephesians 1:4).
THE HISTORY
The Feast of the Holy Family
The Feast of the Holy Family is of recent origin, being instituted by Pope Leo XIII in 1892. It used to be celebrated on the third Sunday after the Epiphany, but has now been moved, by Benedict XV to the first Sunday after the Epiphany. The feast serves as an example of family life. Like other liturgical feasts, it can be a source of many graces in our daily lives. The prayer of the Mass indicates this, when it pleads for the grace to imitate the example of the Holy Family.
The Exiled Holy Family
Joseph and Mary and the Child Jesus had been living in Egypt only a few months when Herod died. Before long, an angel appeared to the head of the Holy Family, St. Joseph, and reported this latest intelligence. It was time to go home. Without any hemming and hawing or seeking after additional details, Joseph and Mary quietly packed up and started off. They had no sooner arrived in Judea than a new problem presented itself in the person of Archelaus.
Herod’s kingdom had been split up among his sons: Archelaus, Antipas, and Philip. Archelaus was to inherit the throne of Judea and therefore control of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. He already had a reputation for diabolical wickedness. The Jews sent a fifty-man delegation to Rome to plead with Caesar Augustus to break up the Herodian dynasty. They had no success. However, Archelaus’ reign was short-lived. He was so cruel and tyrannical that the Jews combined with their old enemies, the Samaritans, and sent off a fresh delegation in 6 A.D. This time Augustus summoned Archelaus to Rome and speedily banished him to Vienne in Gaul. When the Holy Family arrived in Judea, however, Archelaus was apparently still in power and St. Joseph, as guardian of Jesus and Mary, was afraid to settle in his territory. Once again his confidence in God was rewarded by the now familiar visit of the angel. “Being warned in a dream, he withdrew into the region of Galilee.”
The Hidden Life of the Holy Family
Now begins the hidden life of Christ. All we know about the next eleven years is packed into a single verse from St. Luke: “And the Child grew and became strong. He was full of wisdom and the grace of God was upon Him.” Although we have no facts, it is easy to picture Mary stealing occasional glances at her mysteriously wonderful Boy and wondering with a mother’s tender sadness about the prophetic visit of the Magi and the soul-searing prophecy of old Simeon. Her intuitions proved to be correct for the next time Christ appears in the Gospel, now a boy of twelve, we see her heart wrung anew.
The Trials of the Holy Family
Every Jewish male thirteen years of age or older was obliged to visit the Temple in Jerusalem three times a year on the big feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. Women and children frequently accompanied the men of the family. If they came from a distance such as Galilee they traveled in a caravan. Once a caravan got started for the day it usually splintered up into small groups and anyone could float from one group to another as the spirit moved him. At the evening stopover, everybody got back together again. It was all very free and easy and a holiday mood prevailed.
We must not suspect Mary or Joseph of the least neglect of duty when Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem. They had every reason to assume He was visiting with friends or neighbors along the way as He no doubt had done on the way down from Nazareth and perhaps even many times before on previous trips. It was at the end of the first day’s travel that the disappearance of Jesus was discovered.
In our own day we hear enough about kidnapped and missing children to appreciate the panic that grips with steel fingers the hearts of mothers or fathers who have lost a child. Imagine, then, how Mary and Joseph must have felt when the slow-dawning, truth burst full upon them: Their personal charge, their exclusive responsibility, the Boy Messias had vanished!
It took almost a full day to retrace the route to Jerusalem and another doubt and fear-filled twenty-four hours of buffeting holiday crowds before Jesus could be found. The rest of the story we know. Jesus was in the Temple and had been engaged in a discussion with the teachers and doctors.
And all who were listening to him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when they saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why hast thou done so to us? Behold, thy father and I have been seeking thee sorrowing.” And he said to them, “How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?” And they did not understand the word that he spoke to them. And he went down with them and, came to Nazareth, and was subject to them; and his mother kept all these things carefully in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and grace before God and men.
The Holy Family in Complete Obscurity
When Jesus left Jerusalem to go back to Nazareth and be subject to His parents, He began the second phase of His hidden life. He lived in complete obscurity, an unknown, and was subject in humility and obedience to His earthly mother and father. The incarnate Second Person of the Trinity, the Messias, who later on would dazzle the public with miracles, this God of all mankind hid Himself away in a small town and performed the dull tasks of a carpenter’s helper. Later, after Joseph died, Jesus supported His mother by the work of His hands. In fact, when He afterward came back to His home town and spoke in the local synagogue, neighbors and relatives who had known Him almost since birth and had watched Him grow up, referred to Him by His trade: “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary ... ?”
THE MEANING
The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph serves in many ways as the model for the family virtues. One virtue of the Holy Family that modem families might well emulate is humility. Humility can do much to smooth out the petty frictions and molehill mountains that inevitably rise to the surface when human beings live close together for long periods of time. The young Creator, the God who shaped the cosmos with one effortless volition, now bends to learn the carpenter’s skill from a human foster father and struggles with crude tools to shape stubborn lumber into a useful bit of furniture.
The Humility of the Holy Family
This resplendent example of divine humility should be enough to inspire, for instance, the unsung housewife who goes along for years doing the menial, humdrum jobs without any particular recognition or praise. There may be no glamour in this kind of existence, but it already shines with the far brighter brilliance of paradise. If you are not hounded by the demands of public life, if you are not in the limelight, if you are not soiled with the dust and smut of the world, it is much easier to give yourself to God, to dedicate yourself entirely to the one single purpose of life, saving your immortal soul.
How much harder it must be for the wealthy businessman, the big movie star, the socialite, the politician, for anyone who wastes so much time chasing after money or fame or power. The peace and tranquility that goes with the hidden life is a valuable possession, certainly much more to be prized than the glamour and glitter and noise of the world. If you ever have any doubts about this, remember that when God became man He could have had His pick of any type of life at all. Christ could have been a rich merchant, an idol of the Roman circus, the admired leader of Roman high society, Caesar himself. Christ had His choice. He chose to be a workingman.
The Obedience of the Holy Family
Another virtue perfectly mirrored in the Holy Family is obedience, the virtue that inclines us to submit our will to that of our lawful superiors insofar as they are the representatives of God. The most important words of that definition are the last ones. When we obey a superior whether it be husband, mother or father, a policeman on the comer, the president of the United States, our pastor or bishop-we are obeying God at least indirectly.
It is difficult for us to grasp the concept of obedience because we have been educated in a tradition that glorifies independence. What we are talking about here, however, is a question of order. In nature we find a God-instituted order: on the lowest rung of the ladder of creation are minerals, then plants, animals, men, and finally angels. The higher creatures use the lower ones to their own advantage and to achieve their ends. Thus plants, which utilize minerals, are in turn eaten by animals, and animals are used by men. This is God’s plan and it is His will that inferiors be subject to superiors. It is also God’s plan to manifest His will to us through our fellow men. And that’s where the rub comes in. We would be delighted and privileged to obey God if He came down on earth and delivered His orders to us in person, but that is not God’s way and we should try to see in our superiors the envoys of God.
We pay a good deal of attention to obedience because it is the rock-bottom foundation of family life. Children must be obedient to their parents and—despite feminist propaganda and modern heresies—wives must be obedient to their husbands as head of the family.
Role Models in Jesus, Mary & Joseph
This is not to say that husbands are free to act as tyrants. They must carry their authority lightly and rule with justice and kindness. They should take St. Joseph as their ideal of the model father.
Mary, of course, is par excellence the model mother. Children have as their pattern none other than the Boy Jesus Himself. Although children need not obey their parents after they are themselves married and have homes of their own or after they reach their majority, they are never exempt from the command to love and respect their parents. Even after our parents die, we still have the obligation to pray for them that they may not be detained long in Purgatory.
Supreme Lesson of the Holy Family
The supreme lesson of the Holy Family is this: If the God-Man, Jesus Christ, could subject Himself to earthly parents, if God could obey us, His creatures, cannot we obey God? He has clearly spelled out His will for us in His commandments and in the commandments of His Church. The practice of the virtue of obedience is the first and most necessary step in making your family a holy family.
The Family is a Microcosm of the Church
The family is a microcosm of the Church and has, therefore, a hierarchical structure. The husband is the head of the family (I Corinthians 11:3). Yet the woman is not a slave, but a help-mate for the man, just as the priest is a collaborator of the bishop, i.e. someone who labors with the bishop. The man can be likened to the head, the woman to the heart. The body of the family needs both and they both have an important role to play. Without them to form their children, they become ‘headless chickens’ or ‘heartless animals’. For both man and wife have complementary abilities and strengths, each of which greatly contributes to the well being of family life.
The flock that husband and wife must look after are their children. Yet how few parents realize the gravity and magnitude of the task entrusted to them. They often forget that God will judge them as to how they have raised or failed to raise their children. Parents cannot selfishly live for themselves, they have a responsibility in justice towards their children, they also have a responsibility towards God, who created the souls of those children. Too many parents have abdicated from the authority and responsibility of parenting, with disastrous results. When the world gets its often derailed family life back on the tracks, then too will society at large live as it ought. And what most often derails family life is a lack of authority and discipline, joined to an absence of God and His grace.
To Which Family Do We Belong?
Our Lord even goes as far as to call those who do not believe in Him, as being children of the devil: “Why do you not know My speech? Because you cannot hear My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he stood not in the truth; because truth is not in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof. But if I say the truth, you believe Me not” (John 8:43-45). Unpleasant, but true—we belong to whoever’s spirit we follow: if we follow the Spirit of God, we are the children of God; if we follow the spirit of the world, then we are the children of the devil. “He that is not with Me, is against Me!” (Matthew 12:30). “Not everyone that says to Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven: but he that does the will of My Father Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
The Adopted Children of God will be Hated
“Wonder not, brethren, if the world hate you” (1 John 3:13). “If you had been of the world, the world would love its own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:19). Much like Joseph was hated by his many brothers, and Abel was hated by Cain. “Cain, who was of the wicked one, killed his brother. And wherefore did he kill him? Because his own works were wicked: and his brother’s just” (1 John 3:12). “Woe unto them, for they have gone in the way of Cain” (Jude 1:11).
Yet there are countless Cain and Abel situations in families, in parishes, at work and in the community at large—those who SINCERELY (as opposed to superficially) try to live a godly life, will be hated. Those who merely pray with their lips, deep down hate those who pray with their hearts. Those who love God with only a fraction of their heart, mind, soul and strength, hate those who love God with their whole heart, mind, soul and strength. This is not just a problem between the ‘saved’ and the damned, but even among those whose will be saved in the end. Those who have just started out on the spiritual path to Heaven, feel uncomfortable, envious or even hate those who have reached greater heights! Those who strive to reform things are hated by those who do want reforming—look at the case of St. John of Cross, who was imprisoned and even scourged by his fellow monks for his attempts at reforming the Order for the better.
At the root of this hatred lies the Word of God, which the world hates. Our Lord tries to plant the “good seed” of the Word in our souls—whereas the devil tries to plant ‘bad seed of cockle’ of worldliness in our souls. “The seed is the word of God” (Luke 8:11) … “He that sows the good seed, is the Son of man” (Matthew 13:37) … “I have given them Thy word [Father], and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world; as I also am not of the world” (John 17:14) … “And the servants said to him: “Didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? Whence then hath it cockle?’ And he said to them: ‘An enemy hath done this!’” (Matthew 13:27-28).
Christmas is a time to focus on the family; not only your own family, but also the Holy Family—meaning, Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The family is the building block of society. If you can sanctify the family, you can sanctify society through the family. “The Holy Family” should not just be the title for the family containing Jesus, Mary and Joseph, but it should be the title for every family, for God wants every family to be holy. Just as Jesus was born and lived among us for our imitation; likewise the Holy Family was created and lived among us as an example of godly family life.
God is holy and He requires us to be holy―there is no entrance into Heaven without that required and obligatory holiness: “Without holiness no man shall see God” (Hebrews 12:14). “I am the Lord your God―be holy because I am holy. Defile not your souls!” (Leviticus 11:44). “There shall not enter into Heaven anything defiled!” (Apocalypse 21:27). “I am the Lord who sanctify you!” (Leviticus 22:32). “Sanctify yourselves, and be ye holy because I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 20:7). “You shall be holy men to Me!” (Exodus 22:31). “You shall be holy unto Me, because I the Lord am holy, and I have separated you from other people, that you should be Mine!” (Leviticus 20:26). “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and unspotted in His sight!” (Ephesians 1:4).
THE HISTORY
The Feast of the Holy Family
The Feast of the Holy Family is of recent origin, being instituted by Pope Leo XIII in 1892. It used to be celebrated on the third Sunday after the Epiphany, but has now been moved, by Benedict XV to the first Sunday after the Epiphany. The feast serves as an example of family life. Like other liturgical feasts, it can be a source of many graces in our daily lives. The prayer of the Mass indicates this, when it pleads for the grace to imitate the example of the Holy Family.
The Exiled Holy Family
Joseph and Mary and the Child Jesus had been living in Egypt only a few months when Herod died. Before long, an angel appeared to the head of the Holy Family, St. Joseph, and reported this latest intelligence. It was time to go home. Without any hemming and hawing or seeking after additional details, Joseph and Mary quietly packed up and started off. They had no sooner arrived in Judea than a new problem presented itself in the person of Archelaus.
Herod’s kingdom had been split up among his sons: Archelaus, Antipas, and Philip. Archelaus was to inherit the throne of Judea and therefore control of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. He already had a reputation for diabolical wickedness. The Jews sent a fifty-man delegation to Rome to plead with Caesar Augustus to break up the Herodian dynasty. They had no success. However, Archelaus’ reign was short-lived. He was so cruel and tyrannical that the Jews combined with their old enemies, the Samaritans, and sent off a fresh delegation in 6 A.D. This time Augustus summoned Archelaus to Rome and speedily banished him to Vienne in Gaul. When the Holy Family arrived in Judea, however, Archelaus was apparently still in power and St. Joseph, as guardian of Jesus and Mary, was afraid to settle in his territory. Once again his confidence in God was rewarded by the now familiar visit of the angel. “Being warned in a dream, he withdrew into the region of Galilee.”
The Hidden Life of the Holy Family
Now begins the hidden life of Christ. All we know about the next eleven years is packed into a single verse from St. Luke: “And the Child grew and became strong. He was full of wisdom and the grace of God was upon Him.” Although we have no facts, it is easy to picture Mary stealing occasional glances at her mysteriously wonderful Boy and wondering with a mother’s tender sadness about the prophetic visit of the Magi and the soul-searing prophecy of old Simeon. Her intuitions proved to be correct for the next time Christ appears in the Gospel, now a boy of twelve, we see her heart wrung anew.
The Trials of the Holy Family
Every Jewish male thirteen years of age or older was obliged to visit the Temple in Jerusalem three times a year on the big feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. Women and children frequently accompanied the men of the family. If they came from a distance such as Galilee they traveled in a caravan. Once a caravan got started for the day it usually splintered up into small groups and anyone could float from one group to another as the spirit moved him. At the evening stopover, everybody got back together again. It was all very free and easy and a holiday mood prevailed.
We must not suspect Mary or Joseph of the least neglect of duty when Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem. They had every reason to assume He was visiting with friends or neighbors along the way as He no doubt had done on the way down from Nazareth and perhaps even many times before on previous trips. It was at the end of the first day’s travel that the disappearance of Jesus was discovered.
In our own day we hear enough about kidnapped and missing children to appreciate the panic that grips with steel fingers the hearts of mothers or fathers who have lost a child. Imagine, then, how Mary and Joseph must have felt when the slow-dawning, truth burst full upon them: Their personal charge, their exclusive responsibility, the Boy Messias had vanished!
It took almost a full day to retrace the route to Jerusalem and another doubt and fear-filled twenty-four hours of buffeting holiday crowds before Jesus could be found. The rest of the story we know. Jesus was in the Temple and had been engaged in a discussion with the teachers and doctors.
And all who were listening to him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when they saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why hast thou done so to us? Behold, thy father and I have been seeking thee sorrowing.” And he said to them, “How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?” And they did not understand the word that he spoke to them. And he went down with them and, came to Nazareth, and was subject to them; and his mother kept all these things carefully in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and grace before God and men.
The Holy Family in Complete Obscurity
When Jesus left Jerusalem to go back to Nazareth and be subject to His parents, He began the second phase of His hidden life. He lived in complete obscurity, an unknown, and was subject in humility and obedience to His earthly mother and father. The incarnate Second Person of the Trinity, the Messias, who later on would dazzle the public with miracles, this God of all mankind hid Himself away in a small town and performed the dull tasks of a carpenter’s helper. Later, after Joseph died, Jesus supported His mother by the work of His hands. In fact, when He afterward came back to His home town and spoke in the local synagogue, neighbors and relatives who had known Him almost since birth and had watched Him grow up, referred to Him by His trade: “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary ... ?”
THE MEANING
The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph serves in many ways as the model for the family virtues. One virtue of the Holy Family that modem families might well emulate is humility. Humility can do much to smooth out the petty frictions and molehill mountains that inevitably rise to the surface when human beings live close together for long periods of time. The young Creator, the God who shaped the cosmos with one effortless volition, now bends to learn the carpenter’s skill from a human foster father and struggles with crude tools to shape stubborn lumber into a useful bit of furniture.
The Humility of the Holy Family
This resplendent example of divine humility should be enough to inspire, for instance, the unsung housewife who goes along for years doing the menial, humdrum jobs without any particular recognition or praise. There may be no glamour in this kind of existence, but it already shines with the far brighter brilliance of paradise. If you are not hounded by the demands of public life, if you are not in the limelight, if you are not soiled with the dust and smut of the world, it is much easier to give yourself to God, to dedicate yourself entirely to the one single purpose of life, saving your immortal soul.
How much harder it must be for the wealthy businessman, the big movie star, the socialite, the politician, for anyone who wastes so much time chasing after money or fame or power. The peace and tranquility that goes with the hidden life is a valuable possession, certainly much more to be prized than the glamour and glitter and noise of the world. If you ever have any doubts about this, remember that when God became man He could have had His pick of any type of life at all. Christ could have been a rich merchant, an idol of the Roman circus, the admired leader of Roman high society, Caesar himself. Christ had His choice. He chose to be a workingman.
The Obedience of the Holy Family
Another virtue perfectly mirrored in the Holy Family is obedience, the virtue that inclines us to submit our will to that of our lawful superiors insofar as they are the representatives of God. The most important words of that definition are the last ones. When we obey a superior whether it be husband, mother or father, a policeman on the comer, the president of the United States, our pastor or bishop-we are obeying God at least indirectly.
It is difficult for us to grasp the concept of obedience because we have been educated in a tradition that glorifies independence. What we are talking about here, however, is a question of order. In nature we find a God-instituted order: on the lowest rung of the ladder of creation are minerals, then plants, animals, men, and finally angels. The higher creatures use the lower ones to their own advantage and to achieve their ends. Thus plants, which utilize minerals, are in turn eaten by animals, and animals are used by men. This is God’s plan and it is His will that inferiors be subject to superiors. It is also God’s plan to manifest His will to us through our fellow men. And that’s where the rub comes in. We would be delighted and privileged to obey God if He came down on earth and delivered His orders to us in person, but that is not God’s way and we should try to see in our superiors the envoys of God.
We pay a good deal of attention to obedience because it is the rock-bottom foundation of family life. Children must be obedient to their parents and—despite feminist propaganda and modern heresies—wives must be obedient to their husbands as head of the family.
Role Models in Jesus, Mary & Joseph
This is not to say that husbands are free to act as tyrants. They must carry their authority lightly and rule with justice and kindness. They should take St. Joseph as their ideal of the model father.
Mary, of course, is par excellence the model mother. Children have as their pattern none other than the Boy Jesus Himself. Although children need not obey their parents after they are themselves married and have homes of their own or after they reach their majority, they are never exempt from the command to love and respect their parents. Even after our parents die, we still have the obligation to pray for them that they may not be detained long in Purgatory.
Supreme Lesson of the Holy Family
The supreme lesson of the Holy Family is this: If the God-Man, Jesus Christ, could subject Himself to earthly parents, if God could obey us, His creatures, cannot we obey God? He has clearly spelled out His will for us in His commandments and in the commandments of His Church. The practice of the virtue of obedience is the first and most necessary step in making your family a holy family.
The Family is a Microcosm of the Church
The family is a microcosm of the Church and has, therefore, a hierarchical structure. The husband is the head of the family (I Corinthians 11:3). Yet the woman is not a slave, but a help-mate for the man, just as the priest is a collaborator of the bishop, i.e. someone who labors with the bishop. The man can be likened to the head, the woman to the heart. The body of the family needs both and they both have an important role to play. Without them to form their children, they become ‘headless chickens’ or ‘heartless animals’. For both man and wife have complementary abilities and strengths, each of which greatly contributes to the well being of family life.
The flock that husband and wife must look after are their children. Yet how few parents realize the gravity and magnitude of the task entrusted to them. They often forget that God will judge them as to how they have raised or failed to raise their children. Parents cannot selfishly live for themselves, they have a responsibility in justice towards their children, they also have a responsibility towards God, who created the souls of those children. Too many parents have abdicated from the authority and responsibility of parenting, with disastrous results. When the world gets its often derailed family life back on the tracks, then too will society at large live as it ought. And what most often derails family life is a lack of authority and discipline, joined to an absence of God and His grace.
To Which Family Do We Belong?
Our Lord even goes as far as to call those who do not believe in Him, as being children of the devil: “Why do you not know My speech? Because you cannot hear My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he stood not in the truth; because truth is not in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof. But if I say the truth, you believe Me not” (John 8:43-45). Unpleasant, but true—we belong to whoever’s spirit we follow: if we follow the Spirit of God, we are the children of God; if we follow the spirit of the world, then we are the children of the devil. “He that is not with Me, is against Me!” (Matthew 12:30). “Not everyone that says to Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven: but he that does the will of My Father Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
The Adopted Children of God will be Hated
“Wonder not, brethren, if the world hate you” (1 John 3:13). “If you had been of the world, the world would love its own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:19). Much like Joseph was hated by his many brothers, and Abel was hated by Cain. “Cain, who was of the wicked one, killed his brother. And wherefore did he kill him? Because his own works were wicked: and his brother’s just” (1 John 3:12). “Woe unto them, for they have gone in the way of Cain” (Jude 1:11).
Yet there are countless Cain and Abel situations in families, in parishes, at work and in the community at large—those who SINCERELY (as opposed to superficially) try to live a godly life, will be hated. Those who merely pray with their lips, deep down hate those who pray with their hearts. Those who love God with only a fraction of their heart, mind, soul and strength, hate those who love God with their whole heart, mind, soul and strength. This is not just a problem between the ‘saved’ and the damned, but even among those whose will be saved in the end. Those who have just started out on the spiritual path to Heaven, feel uncomfortable, envious or even hate those who have reached greater heights! Those who strive to reform things are hated by those who do want reforming—look at the case of St. John of Cross, who was imprisoned and even scourged by his fellow monks for his attempts at reforming the Order for the better.
At the root of this hatred lies the Word of God, which the world hates. Our Lord tries to plant the “good seed” of the Word in our souls—whereas the devil tries to plant ‘bad seed of cockle’ of worldliness in our souls. “The seed is the word of God” (Luke 8:11) … “He that sows the good seed, is the Son of man” (Matthew 13:37) … “I have given them Thy word [Father], and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world; as I also am not of the world” (John 17:14) … “And the servants said to him: “Didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? Whence then hath it cockle?’ And he said to them: ‘An enemy hath done this!’” (Matthew 13:27-28).
Article 8
Saturday, January 10th
The Collapsing Modern-Day Family
Saturday, January 10th
The Collapsing Modern-Day Family
Focus on the Family
One has to be blind, stupid or in a perpetual coma not to be able to see the disintegration of the family over the last 80 or so years. As we approach tomorrow’s feast of the Holy Family, it is not a bad idea to preface that with a brief look at how the family structure has been weakened, altered and decimated in recent times.
Attacks on the Catholic Family
The Catholic Family is the base unit or “building-brick” in the Catholic Church, which is the Mystical Body of Christ. The attack on Catholicism, in general, inevitably translates into an attack on Catholic Families in particular. We all know the saying: “With each brick you take out of the wall, the wall becomes weaker and weaker.” How true is this today for the “bricks” of Catholic Families. With each “brick” that is loosened and removed―a person within the family, or a family within the Church―there is an increased weakening in the family or the Church.
Sister Lucia of Fatima warned that the devil would launch a massive attack upon the Family. He knows that the Catholic Family is the basic building-block of the Church. Since Sister Lucia spoke of this, we can, in retrospect, see the tragic collapse of Catholic Families throughout the world—they might still be families, but they are less and less Catholic Families. This has reached such dangerous levels, that even the modern Catholic Church and some of few remaining somewhat ‘Conservative’ and/or ‘Conservative-Liberals’ are trying to make a “last-ditch-stand” against the erosion of the Catholic Family.
Our Lady Warned of these Attacks
The Blessed Virgin Mary has also, on many occasions, foretold of the fight that is to come: “I make it known to you that from the end of the 19th century and from shortly after the middle of the 20th century … Lucifer, together with a large number of demons, will be unloosed from Hell. God will allow the demons to cause divisions among those who reign in every society and in every family … They will put an end to Faith, little by little, even in those dedicated to God … This apparent triumph of Satan will bring enormous sufferings―evil will seem to triumph … Satan will reign almost completely by means of the Masonic Sects! … All the civil governments will have the same objective, which will be to abolish and do away with every religious principle, to make way for materialism, atheism, spiritism and vice of all kinds making it easy for everyone to live in sin, encouraging the procreation of illegitimate children! ... All order and all justice will be trampled underfoot and only homicides, hate, jealousy, lies and discord will be seen, without love for country or family ...
“The Church will be full of those who accept compromises … The Church will decompose and the devil will make himself the king of all hearts … Many will abandon the Faith! … Many will turn upon Religion! … Many people will rebel against the spirit of the Catholic Church, impelled by the malice of the devil! … The Christian spirit will rapidly decay, extinguishing the precious light of Faith until it reaches the point that there will be an almost total and general corruption of morals. As true Faith fades ― false light will brighten the people … The true Faith to the Lord having been forgotten … disorder and the love of carnal pleasures will be spread all over the Earth ... In these unhappy times, people will only think of amusements and there will be unbridled luxury and impurity that will conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost!
“As for the Sacrament of Matrimony, which symbolizes the union of Christ with His Church, it will be attacked and profaned in the fullest sense of the word. Masonry, which will then be in power, will enact iniquitous laws with the objective of doing away with this Sacrament, making it easy for everyone to live in sin, encouraging the procreation of illegitimate children born without the blessing of the Church ... The spirit of impurity that will permeate the atmosphere during these times. Like a filthy ocean, it will run through the streets, squares and public places with an astonishing liberty. Innocence will almost no longer be found in children, nor modesty in women … There will be almost no virgin souls in the world … (Our Lady of Good Success, at Quito in Ecuador, Our Lady of La Salette, France; Our Lady of Fatima, Portugal; Our Lady of Akita, Japan).
Definition of Divide and Conquer
In the above quotes of Our Lady, she says: “God will allow the demons to cause divisions among those who reign in every society and in every family.” Satan seeks to divide so that he can conquer. The phrase ― “Divide and Conquer” ― is defined as: “To make a group of people disagree and fight with one another so that they will not join together against one” (Merriam Webster Dictionary). “The policy of maintaining control over one's subordinates or opponents by encouraging dissent between them, thereby preventing them from uniting in opposition.” (Oxford Dictionary) “A way of keeping yourself in a position of power by causing disagreements among other people so that they are unable to oppose you” (Cambridge Dictionary). “A strategy by which someone remains in power by making sure that the people under their control quarrel among themselves and so cannot unite to achieve their aims and overthrow their leader.” (Collins Dictionary).
Divide and Conquer―Tactics in Practice
The tactic ― “Divide and Conquer” ― is as old as mankind. There are many instances in the Bible where we see the “divide and conquer” tactic used―either by Satan, or by men, or a combination of both.
● Satan waited until Eve was alone and away from Adam before he tempted her. After Eve had fallen, Adam fell through Satan using Eve to tempt him―and thus both ended up being separated from God through their Original Sin.
● Satan divided Cain and Abel, by making Cain envious and resentful towards Abel―to the point that Cain eventually murdered Abel.
● The Tribes of Israel were divided among themselves after the death of King Solomon. The Kingdom of Israel became divided when the nation split into the Northern Kingdom of Israel and Southern Kingdom of Juda, making them vulnerable to conquest by other powers.
● The Apostles were divided when they argued among themselves as to who was the greatest among them.
● Judas was divided from the rest of the Apostles in spirit, and betrayed Christ.
● Peter the first pope, was divided or separated from the other Apostles when he denied Christ during the Passion.
● The other Apostles fled and abandoned Christ at His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane.
● Heresy divided the Church from the earliest times and continues to do so until this day.
The Roman Empire is traditionally associated with a policy of “divide et impera”, when, in its early years, the expanding
Roman Republic routinely divisive tactics. When Rome was conquering the rest of Italy in the 4th and early 3rd centuries BC, her enemies rarely showed that harmony among themselves and that singleness of purpose which characterized the Romans, and Rome did her best to develop the spirit of discord among them by turning community against community and turning the aristocracy against the democracy. Rome refused to deal with its adversaries as a block, and instead made a separate treaty with each one of the communities, with the express purpose of preventing future confederations arising between them. In order to destroy channels of communication and to limit interaction between potential cooperators, these Roman treaties with the local communities deprived them, not only of the right to trade with one another, but also of the right to intermarry.
Divide and Conquer has played a crucial role in military tactics throughout history. From ancient battles to modern warfare, military leaders have utilized this approach to gain strategic advantages. The strategic encirclement employed by Hannibal at the Battle of Cannae and the fragmentation tactics of Genghis Khan are just a few examples of how Divide and Conquer has secured victories against formidable opponents. Even in more recent times, renowned leaders like Napoleon Bonaparte and General Zhukov employed Divide and Conquer strategies to outmaneuver their adversaries, disrupt enemy formations, and achieve significant military successes. Moreover, in the Battle of Stalingrad, Soviet General Georgy Zhukov utilized Divide and Conquer by encircling the German Sixth Army, cutting off their supplies and support, leading to a major turning point in World War II.
Divide and Conquer in Politics
“Divide and Rule” (Latin: “divide et impera”), or more commonly known as “Divide and Conquer”, in politics refers to an entity gaining and maintaining political power by using divisive measures. This includes the exploitation of existing divisions within a political group by its political opponents, and also the deliberate creation or strengthening of such divisions. It uses a strategy that breaks up existing power structures, and especially prevents smaller power groups from linking up, causing rivalries and fomenting discord among the people to prevent a rebellion against the elites or the people implementing the strategy. The goal is either to pit the lower classes against themselves to prevent a revolution, or to provide a desired solution to the growing discord that strengthens the power of the elites.
Our Lord speaks of Divide and Conquer
In the Gospels we see Our Lord refer to the divide and conquer tactic: “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan be risen up against himself, he is divided and cannot stand, but has an end!” (Mark 3:23-26). “Every kingdom divided against itself shall be made desolate; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand! And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself―how then shall his kingdom stand?” (Matthew 12:25-26). “Every kingdom divided against itself, shall be brought to desolation, and house upon house shall fall. And if Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand?” (Luke 11:17-18).
Our Lord even says that He Himself will be a source of division as He seeks to conquer souls by redeeming them from the clutches of Satan and leading them to Heaven: “I am come to cast fire on the Earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled! … Think ye, that I am come to give peace on Earth? I tell you, no―but separation! Do not think that I came to send peace upon Earth! I came not to send peace, but the sword! For there shall be from henceforth five in one house divided―three against two, and two against three. And a man’s enemies shall be they of his own household. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against his father, the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law! He that loves father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me; and he that loves son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me! The brother also shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the son: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and shall put them to death. They will deliver you up in councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues. And you shall be brought before governors, and before kings for My sake … And you shall be hated by all men for My Name’s sake―but he that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved. And when they shall persecute you in this city, flee into another!” (Matthew 10:17-22; 10:32-37; Luke 12:49-53).
As regards this division, Our Lord adds: “Why call you Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). “If you love Me, keep My commandments … He that has My commandments, and keeps them; he it is that loves Me … If anyone loves Me, he will keep My words … He that does not love Me, keeps not My words!” (John 14:15, 14:21-24). “He that is not with Me, is against Me; and he that gathers not with Me, scatters!” (Matthew 12:30). “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do!” (John 8:44). “Not everyone that says to Me: ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven: but he that does the will of My Father Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Many will say to Me in that day: ‘Lord! Lord! Have not we prophesied in Thy Name, and cast out devils in Thy Name, and done many miracles in Thy Name?’ And then will I profess unto them: ‘I never knew you! Depart from Me, you that work iniquity!’” (Matthew 7:21-23).
Divided and Conquered by the World
The division within families and the division between one family and another family has reached unprecedented levels! Never before have we seen so much division in the world! This division can be seen in the political field, the social field, the religious field, and of course the family field. Ultimately, those divisions can be traced back to Christ. As Christ said―we are either for Him or against Him. There is no third option; there are no seats for spectators in this world.
“The life of man upon Earth is a warfare!” (Job 7:1). “Fight the good fight of Faith!” (1 Timothy 6:12). “The Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away!” (Matthew 11:12). “Labor as a good soldier of Christ Jesus! No man, being a soldier to God, entangles himself with worldly things; so that he may please Him to Whom he hath engaged himself” ― namely God (2 Timothy 2:3-4). “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth! … But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven! … For where your treasure is, there is your heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon! [the world with its pleasures and treasures]” (Matthew 6:19-24). “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him!” (1 John 2:15). “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God!” (James 4:4) ... “Keep yourself unspotted from this world!” (James 1:27) … “Be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2) … “That we be not condemned with this world!” (1 Corinthians 11:32). All of the above is what God expects from us―but that is not what God gets from us and our families!
“The Lord has looked down from Heaven upon the children of men, to see if there be any that understand and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are become unprofitable together! The fool has said in his heart: ‘There is no God!’ There is no fear of God before their eyes! They are corrupt, and are become abominable in their ways―there is none that does good, no, not one! Their throat is an open sepulcher―with their tongues they acted deceitfully; the poison of asps is under their lips! Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness! Their feet are swift to shed blood! Destruction and unhappiness is in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known! They have not called upon God! They are of the world—therefore of the world they speak, and the world hears them! There have they trembled for fear, where there was no fear. God has scattered the bones of them that please men! They have been confounded, because God has despised them!” (Psalm 13:1-3; Psalm 52:1-6; 1 John 4:5).
Divided and Conquered Families
There is very little or no doubt that the vast majority of Catholics today have been seduced and conquered by what the modern world has to offer! Just as they say, “Everyone has his price”, so too you could say, “Everyone has their preferred thing” that the world tantalizingly dangles before their eyes―and which conquers the soul and divides it from God. Our Lord says: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth! … But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven! … For where your treasure is, there is your heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:19-24).
It is the treasures and pleasures of the world that have seduced and divided so many souls from God. Not only have they divided souls from God, but they have often caused division within families―especially the technological treasures and pleasures! Increasingly, people find more pleasure by being on their smartphone/tablet/laptop/computer than they do in spending time with other members of the family―they cannot wait to get away from other family members to spend time with their treasured smartphone/tablet/laptop/computer. They find it impossible to reconcile Our Lord’s command with their own preferences: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength! This is the greatest and the first commandment!” (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31). They have no time to “pray without ceasing!” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Below you will find a 2024 survey on how much screen time is spent by those aged 18 and above―in other words, all adults.
Media Weekly screen time Daily screen time
Total use of TV 32 hours 18 minutes 4 hours 37 minutes
Internet on a computer 4 hours 56 minutes 42 minutes
Video on a computer 1 hour 59 minutes 17 minutes
App/web on a smartphone 16 hours 24 minutes 2 hours 21 minutes
App/web on a tablet 4 hours 19 minutes 37 minutes
Total 59 hours 56 minutes 8 hours 34 minutes
The Screen Religion
Electronics are the modern-day idols. The smartphone―now combined with Artificial Intelligence―has become a secular ‘tabernacle’ in the hand; a god with all the answers; a secular ‘guardian angel’; a person’s best friend. People cannot imagine living without their smartphone―but they feel that they can live without God! “The Lord has looked down from Heaven upon the children of men, to see if there be any that understand and seek God … They are all gone aside, they are become unprofitable together―there is none that does good; no, not one! … There is no fear of God before their eyes!” (Psalm 13:1-3). Screen time replaces God time! When someone spends an excessive amount of time on their electronic devices, it can effectively take the place of their spiritual connection and devotion to God, acting as a distraction from prayer, reflection, and essentially becoming an idol in their life that consumes their attention and focus away from their Faith.
● Screens have become the objects of our worship. Anything that commands our attention nine hours a day can be accurately described as an idol. Christians now spend the vast majority of their free time interacting with screens. Not God. Not people.
● Screen time is displacing spiritual disciplines. There is less and less time available to devote to spiritual reading, meditation, prayer and spiritual reflection. Those spiritual disciplines just cannot compete with instant gratification that people feel that they can get from their screens.
● Screen time is shortening our attention spans. The human brain is built to seek novelty. Our screens are novelty machines – presenting us with a never-ceasing stream of new images to look at. Over time our brains get used to rapid-fire visuals. Tasks that lack visual novelty or require concentration (such as prayer or Bible reading) feel unpleasant. They simply cannot compete with the pleasure of web surfing, TV watching or video gaming.
● Screens tempt us. says, “For all that is in the world, is the concupiscence [desires] of the flesh, and the concupiscence [desires] of the eyes, and the pride of life―which is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:16). No single verse better describes what screens do to us. They inflame our lusts with an endless gallery of sensual images (desires of the flesh), objects and lifestyles to covet (desires of the eyes), and people to look down upon (the pride of life).
● Screens are anxiety and fear producing machines. Bad news attracts more attention than good news. The producers of screen content know this, so they highlight content designed to make us anxious and alarmed. The more we consume these stories, the more we come to believe the world is falling apart. Instead of moving forward in faith, we retreat into fear. But the Bible is clear: God has not given us a spirit of fear. The most frequently repeated command in all of scripture is fear not.
● Screen content stokes interpersonal conflict. Holy Scripture says, “If it be possible, as much as is in you, have peace with all men” (Romans 12:18). Yet the internet is tearing us apart—dividing us into warring tribes, even within the church. When Christians take to social media to defend their values, they often do so with such vitriol and contempt that they come across as self-righteous jerks.
A single, 30-minute sermon can’t compete with the 60+ hours we spend glued to our screens each week.
Your screens are making disciples of you – far more effectively than the Church is. Both screens and Church teach and preach. Whereas the average churchgoer might be exposed to a single, 30-minute sermon every seven days, the typical social media user spends more than 1,000 minutes on social platforms each week.
Your spiritual life is being displaced by your screen life, and you probably don’t even realize it. Every day, hundreds of former believers join the ranks of the religious “nones” [= having no religious affiliation] because of something they saw on their screens. The Gospel isn’t outdated, it is being overwhelmed.
One has to be blind, stupid or in a perpetual coma not to be able to see the disintegration of the family over the last 80 or so years. As we approach tomorrow’s feast of the Holy Family, it is not a bad idea to preface that with a brief look at how the family structure has been weakened, altered and decimated in recent times.
Attacks on the Catholic Family
The Catholic Family is the base unit or “building-brick” in the Catholic Church, which is the Mystical Body of Christ. The attack on Catholicism, in general, inevitably translates into an attack on Catholic Families in particular. We all know the saying: “With each brick you take out of the wall, the wall becomes weaker and weaker.” How true is this today for the “bricks” of Catholic Families. With each “brick” that is loosened and removed―a person within the family, or a family within the Church―there is an increased weakening in the family or the Church.
Sister Lucia of Fatima warned that the devil would launch a massive attack upon the Family. He knows that the Catholic Family is the basic building-block of the Church. Since Sister Lucia spoke of this, we can, in retrospect, see the tragic collapse of Catholic Families throughout the world—they might still be families, but they are less and less Catholic Families. This has reached such dangerous levels, that even the modern Catholic Church and some of few remaining somewhat ‘Conservative’ and/or ‘Conservative-Liberals’ are trying to make a “last-ditch-stand” against the erosion of the Catholic Family.
Our Lady Warned of these Attacks
The Blessed Virgin Mary has also, on many occasions, foretold of the fight that is to come: “I make it known to you that from the end of the 19th century and from shortly after the middle of the 20th century … Lucifer, together with a large number of demons, will be unloosed from Hell. God will allow the demons to cause divisions among those who reign in every society and in every family … They will put an end to Faith, little by little, even in those dedicated to God … This apparent triumph of Satan will bring enormous sufferings―evil will seem to triumph … Satan will reign almost completely by means of the Masonic Sects! … All the civil governments will have the same objective, which will be to abolish and do away with every religious principle, to make way for materialism, atheism, spiritism and vice of all kinds making it easy for everyone to live in sin, encouraging the procreation of illegitimate children! ... All order and all justice will be trampled underfoot and only homicides, hate, jealousy, lies and discord will be seen, without love for country or family ...
“The Church will be full of those who accept compromises … The Church will decompose and the devil will make himself the king of all hearts … Many will abandon the Faith! … Many will turn upon Religion! … Many people will rebel against the spirit of the Catholic Church, impelled by the malice of the devil! … The Christian spirit will rapidly decay, extinguishing the precious light of Faith until it reaches the point that there will be an almost total and general corruption of morals. As true Faith fades ― false light will brighten the people … The true Faith to the Lord having been forgotten … disorder and the love of carnal pleasures will be spread all over the Earth ... In these unhappy times, people will only think of amusements and there will be unbridled luxury and impurity that will conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost!
“As for the Sacrament of Matrimony, which symbolizes the union of Christ with His Church, it will be attacked and profaned in the fullest sense of the word. Masonry, which will then be in power, will enact iniquitous laws with the objective of doing away with this Sacrament, making it easy for everyone to live in sin, encouraging the procreation of illegitimate children born without the blessing of the Church ... The spirit of impurity that will permeate the atmosphere during these times. Like a filthy ocean, it will run through the streets, squares and public places with an astonishing liberty. Innocence will almost no longer be found in children, nor modesty in women … There will be almost no virgin souls in the world … (Our Lady of Good Success, at Quito in Ecuador, Our Lady of La Salette, France; Our Lady of Fatima, Portugal; Our Lady of Akita, Japan).
Definition of Divide and Conquer
In the above quotes of Our Lady, she says: “God will allow the demons to cause divisions among those who reign in every society and in every family.” Satan seeks to divide so that he can conquer. The phrase ― “Divide and Conquer” ― is defined as: “To make a group of people disagree and fight with one another so that they will not join together against one” (Merriam Webster Dictionary). “The policy of maintaining control over one's subordinates or opponents by encouraging dissent between them, thereby preventing them from uniting in opposition.” (Oxford Dictionary) “A way of keeping yourself in a position of power by causing disagreements among other people so that they are unable to oppose you” (Cambridge Dictionary). “A strategy by which someone remains in power by making sure that the people under their control quarrel among themselves and so cannot unite to achieve their aims and overthrow their leader.” (Collins Dictionary).
Divide and Conquer―Tactics in Practice
The tactic ― “Divide and Conquer” ― is as old as mankind. There are many instances in the Bible where we see the “divide and conquer” tactic used―either by Satan, or by men, or a combination of both.
● Satan waited until Eve was alone and away from Adam before he tempted her. After Eve had fallen, Adam fell through Satan using Eve to tempt him―and thus both ended up being separated from God through their Original Sin.
● Satan divided Cain and Abel, by making Cain envious and resentful towards Abel―to the point that Cain eventually murdered Abel.
● The Tribes of Israel were divided among themselves after the death of King Solomon. The Kingdom of Israel became divided when the nation split into the Northern Kingdom of Israel and Southern Kingdom of Juda, making them vulnerable to conquest by other powers.
● The Apostles were divided when they argued among themselves as to who was the greatest among them.
● Judas was divided from the rest of the Apostles in spirit, and betrayed Christ.
● Peter the first pope, was divided or separated from the other Apostles when he denied Christ during the Passion.
● The other Apostles fled and abandoned Christ at His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane.
● Heresy divided the Church from the earliest times and continues to do so until this day.
The Roman Empire is traditionally associated with a policy of “divide et impera”, when, in its early years, the expanding
Roman Republic routinely divisive tactics. When Rome was conquering the rest of Italy in the 4th and early 3rd centuries BC, her enemies rarely showed that harmony among themselves and that singleness of purpose which characterized the Romans, and Rome did her best to develop the spirit of discord among them by turning community against community and turning the aristocracy against the democracy. Rome refused to deal with its adversaries as a block, and instead made a separate treaty with each one of the communities, with the express purpose of preventing future confederations arising between them. In order to destroy channels of communication and to limit interaction between potential cooperators, these Roman treaties with the local communities deprived them, not only of the right to trade with one another, but also of the right to intermarry.
Divide and Conquer has played a crucial role in military tactics throughout history. From ancient battles to modern warfare, military leaders have utilized this approach to gain strategic advantages. The strategic encirclement employed by Hannibal at the Battle of Cannae and the fragmentation tactics of Genghis Khan are just a few examples of how Divide and Conquer has secured victories against formidable opponents. Even in more recent times, renowned leaders like Napoleon Bonaparte and General Zhukov employed Divide and Conquer strategies to outmaneuver their adversaries, disrupt enemy formations, and achieve significant military successes. Moreover, in the Battle of Stalingrad, Soviet General Georgy Zhukov utilized Divide and Conquer by encircling the German Sixth Army, cutting off their supplies and support, leading to a major turning point in World War II.
Divide and Conquer in Politics
“Divide and Rule” (Latin: “divide et impera”), or more commonly known as “Divide and Conquer”, in politics refers to an entity gaining and maintaining political power by using divisive measures. This includes the exploitation of existing divisions within a political group by its political opponents, and also the deliberate creation or strengthening of such divisions. It uses a strategy that breaks up existing power structures, and especially prevents smaller power groups from linking up, causing rivalries and fomenting discord among the people to prevent a rebellion against the elites or the people implementing the strategy. The goal is either to pit the lower classes against themselves to prevent a revolution, or to provide a desired solution to the growing discord that strengthens the power of the elites.
Our Lord speaks of Divide and Conquer
In the Gospels we see Our Lord refer to the divide and conquer tactic: “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan be risen up against himself, he is divided and cannot stand, but has an end!” (Mark 3:23-26). “Every kingdom divided against itself shall be made desolate; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand! And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself―how then shall his kingdom stand?” (Matthew 12:25-26). “Every kingdom divided against itself, shall be brought to desolation, and house upon house shall fall. And if Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand?” (Luke 11:17-18).
Our Lord even says that He Himself will be a source of division as He seeks to conquer souls by redeeming them from the clutches of Satan and leading them to Heaven: “I am come to cast fire on the Earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled! … Think ye, that I am come to give peace on Earth? I tell you, no―but separation! Do not think that I came to send peace upon Earth! I came not to send peace, but the sword! For there shall be from henceforth five in one house divided―three against two, and two against three. And a man’s enemies shall be they of his own household. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against his father, the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law! He that loves father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me; and he that loves son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me! The brother also shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the son: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and shall put them to death. They will deliver you up in councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues. And you shall be brought before governors, and before kings for My sake … And you shall be hated by all men for My Name’s sake―but he that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved. And when they shall persecute you in this city, flee into another!” (Matthew 10:17-22; 10:32-37; Luke 12:49-53).
As regards this division, Our Lord adds: “Why call you Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). “If you love Me, keep My commandments … He that has My commandments, and keeps them; he it is that loves Me … If anyone loves Me, he will keep My words … He that does not love Me, keeps not My words!” (John 14:15, 14:21-24). “He that is not with Me, is against Me; and he that gathers not with Me, scatters!” (Matthew 12:30). “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do!” (John 8:44). “Not everyone that says to Me: ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven: but he that does the will of My Father Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Many will say to Me in that day: ‘Lord! Lord! Have not we prophesied in Thy Name, and cast out devils in Thy Name, and done many miracles in Thy Name?’ And then will I profess unto them: ‘I never knew you! Depart from Me, you that work iniquity!’” (Matthew 7:21-23).
Divided and Conquered by the World
The division within families and the division between one family and another family has reached unprecedented levels! Never before have we seen so much division in the world! This division can be seen in the political field, the social field, the religious field, and of course the family field. Ultimately, those divisions can be traced back to Christ. As Christ said―we are either for Him or against Him. There is no third option; there are no seats for spectators in this world.
“The life of man upon Earth is a warfare!” (Job 7:1). “Fight the good fight of Faith!” (1 Timothy 6:12). “The Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away!” (Matthew 11:12). “Labor as a good soldier of Christ Jesus! No man, being a soldier to God, entangles himself with worldly things; so that he may please Him to Whom he hath engaged himself” ― namely God (2 Timothy 2:3-4). “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth! … But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven! … For where your treasure is, there is your heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon! [the world with its pleasures and treasures]” (Matthew 6:19-24). “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him!” (1 John 2:15). “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God!” (James 4:4) ... “Keep yourself unspotted from this world!” (James 1:27) … “Be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2) … “That we be not condemned with this world!” (1 Corinthians 11:32). All of the above is what God expects from us―but that is not what God gets from us and our families!
“The Lord has looked down from Heaven upon the children of men, to see if there be any that understand and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are become unprofitable together! The fool has said in his heart: ‘There is no God!’ There is no fear of God before their eyes! They are corrupt, and are become abominable in their ways―there is none that does good, no, not one! Their throat is an open sepulcher―with their tongues they acted deceitfully; the poison of asps is under their lips! Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness! Their feet are swift to shed blood! Destruction and unhappiness is in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known! They have not called upon God! They are of the world—therefore of the world they speak, and the world hears them! There have they trembled for fear, where there was no fear. God has scattered the bones of them that please men! They have been confounded, because God has despised them!” (Psalm 13:1-3; Psalm 52:1-6; 1 John 4:5).
Divided and Conquered Families
There is very little or no doubt that the vast majority of Catholics today have been seduced and conquered by what the modern world has to offer! Just as they say, “Everyone has his price”, so too you could say, “Everyone has their preferred thing” that the world tantalizingly dangles before their eyes―and which conquers the soul and divides it from God. Our Lord says: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth! … But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven! … For where your treasure is, there is your heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:19-24).
It is the treasures and pleasures of the world that have seduced and divided so many souls from God. Not only have they divided souls from God, but they have often caused division within families―especially the technological treasures and pleasures! Increasingly, people find more pleasure by being on their smartphone/tablet/laptop/computer than they do in spending time with other members of the family―they cannot wait to get away from other family members to spend time with their treasured smartphone/tablet/laptop/computer. They find it impossible to reconcile Our Lord’s command with their own preferences: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength! This is the greatest and the first commandment!” (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31). They have no time to “pray without ceasing!” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Below you will find a 2024 survey on how much screen time is spent by those aged 18 and above―in other words, all adults.
Media Weekly screen time Daily screen time
Total use of TV 32 hours 18 minutes 4 hours 37 minutes
Internet on a computer 4 hours 56 minutes 42 minutes
Video on a computer 1 hour 59 minutes 17 minutes
App/web on a smartphone 16 hours 24 minutes 2 hours 21 minutes
App/web on a tablet 4 hours 19 minutes 37 minutes
Total 59 hours 56 minutes 8 hours 34 minutes
The Screen Religion
Electronics are the modern-day idols. The smartphone―now combined with Artificial Intelligence―has become a secular ‘tabernacle’ in the hand; a god with all the answers; a secular ‘guardian angel’; a person’s best friend. People cannot imagine living without their smartphone―but they feel that they can live without God! “The Lord has looked down from Heaven upon the children of men, to see if there be any that understand and seek God … They are all gone aside, they are become unprofitable together―there is none that does good; no, not one! … There is no fear of God before their eyes!” (Psalm 13:1-3). Screen time replaces God time! When someone spends an excessive amount of time on their electronic devices, it can effectively take the place of their spiritual connection and devotion to God, acting as a distraction from prayer, reflection, and essentially becoming an idol in their life that consumes their attention and focus away from their Faith.
● Screens have become the objects of our worship. Anything that commands our attention nine hours a day can be accurately described as an idol. Christians now spend the vast majority of their free time interacting with screens. Not God. Not people.
● Screen time is displacing spiritual disciplines. There is less and less time available to devote to spiritual reading, meditation, prayer and spiritual reflection. Those spiritual disciplines just cannot compete with instant gratification that people feel that they can get from their screens.
● Screen time is shortening our attention spans. The human brain is built to seek novelty. Our screens are novelty machines – presenting us with a never-ceasing stream of new images to look at. Over time our brains get used to rapid-fire visuals. Tasks that lack visual novelty or require concentration (such as prayer or Bible reading) feel unpleasant. They simply cannot compete with the pleasure of web surfing, TV watching or video gaming.
● Screens tempt us. says, “For all that is in the world, is the concupiscence [desires] of the flesh, and the concupiscence [desires] of the eyes, and the pride of life―which is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:16). No single verse better describes what screens do to us. They inflame our lusts with an endless gallery of sensual images (desires of the flesh), objects and lifestyles to covet (desires of the eyes), and people to look down upon (the pride of life).
● Screens are anxiety and fear producing machines. Bad news attracts more attention than good news. The producers of screen content know this, so they highlight content designed to make us anxious and alarmed. The more we consume these stories, the more we come to believe the world is falling apart. Instead of moving forward in faith, we retreat into fear. But the Bible is clear: God has not given us a spirit of fear. The most frequently repeated command in all of scripture is fear not.
● Screen content stokes interpersonal conflict. Holy Scripture says, “If it be possible, as much as is in you, have peace with all men” (Romans 12:18). Yet the internet is tearing us apart—dividing us into warring tribes, even within the church. When Christians take to social media to defend their values, they often do so with such vitriol and contempt that they come across as self-righteous jerks.
A single, 30-minute sermon can’t compete with the 60+ hours we spend glued to our screens each week.
Your screens are making disciples of you – far more effectively than the Church is. Both screens and Church teach and preach. Whereas the average churchgoer might be exposed to a single, 30-minute sermon every seven days, the typical social media user spends more than 1,000 minutes on social platforms each week.
Your spiritual life is being displaced by your screen life, and you probably don’t even realize it. Every day, hundreds of former believers join the ranks of the religious “nones” [= having no religious affiliation] because of something they saw on their screens. The Gospel isn’t outdated, it is being overwhelmed.
Article 7
Friday, January 9th
Modern-Day Kings Take a Wrong Turn!
Friday, January 9th
Modern-Day Kings Take a Wrong Turn!
Living Like Kings and Queens!
Today, most of us live like kings and queens, but we don’t even realize it! How many kings and queens had access to the variety of food and drink that modern man can find in any supermarket? How many had the medical support that is available today? How many had such comfortable, economical life, with central heating and air-conditioning? They would have jumped at the chance to trade-in their horse and carriage for one of our cars! They could not even imagine the communications and electronic appliances available to us today, with their possibilities of instant communications with anyone anywhere in the world. The list of advantages that we have over the kings and queens of old is endless.
The following words were written by a newspaper columnist, and they essentially echo what has just been said: “We live in largely peaceful times, with better access to medicine and education ― the world is easily in the best place it’s ever been. Humanity as a whole is doing better than it ever has: the world is becoming more prosperous, cleaner, increasingly peaceful and healthier. We are living longer, better lives. Virtually all of our existing problems are less bad than at any previous time in history.”
The problem with all this is that when we have so much available; when we enjoy so much relative security; when we can rely on the insurance gods to look after our health, wealth and loved ones, then the danger is that we can led into a neglect, an indifference, a laxity or lukewarmness with regard to our heavenly provider, almighty God and His Divine Providence. We pay thousands of dollars annually to the insurance gods, but how much do pay by way of prayers and attention to the real God?
This attitude of complacency hits everyone without exception. It was also the underlying feature of the relationship between God and His Chosen People in the Old Testament. When things were going well for them, they forgot about God and at times even took on board false idols. So God had to do something about the cause of this neglect, indifference and idolatry. God’s solution was always to make things go badly for His fallen away Chosen People; this would bring them to their knees and their senses, and they would come pleading to God for help and mercy.
Who Needs God Anymore?
What on Earth do we need God for now? We have health insurance; we have car accident insurance to replace the car or pay for its repair; we have house insurance to guarantee the replacement of certain things; we can even have insurance on the gas, electricity and water supplies and the repair of their pipes and lines; we have the possibility of insurance on the multitude of appliances and articles that we buy for ourselves and our homes; we have the insurance of welfare if we lose our jobs; we have life insurance to care for our loved ones from beyond the grave! What a bevy of assurance through insurance! God is almost redundant and unnecessary! All that we need Him for is insurance against Hell!
Sadly, that is the case with an increasing number of people today, either explicitly or at least implicitly. The current statistics show that over 90% of graduates will cease to practicing their Faith on a regular basis once their schooling is over. In other words, once school is finished, God is finished (unless they live at home and are made to practice their Faith by their parents).
But it is not just youngsters that offend and irritate God; the oldsters are at it too! Only 24% of Catholic adults regularly attend Sunday Mass. Most of the weekly Mass goers (90%) believe that Jesus is really present in the Holy Eucharist. Those numbers fall significantly among less frequent attendees. Of those who attend Mass around once a month, only 65% believe in the Real Presence; whole among those who only attend a few times a year, only 40% believe in the Real Presence. The words of Jesus come hauntingly back to mind: “The Son of man, when He cometh, shall He find, think you, Faith on Earth?” (Luke 18:8), “and because iniquity hath abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold” (Matthew 24:12).
Materially Rich, Spiritually Poor
It is clear that a treasure of goods does not beget plenty of Faith; nor does an abundance of comfort beget abundant charity. Earthly riches impoverish spirituality, and ultimately greatly handicap our chances of salvation. Our Lord Himself said: “Then Jesus said to His disciples: ‘Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!’ And when they had heard this, the disciples wondered very much, saying: ‘Who then can be saved?’ And Jesus beholding, said to them: ‘With men this is impossible―but with God all things are possible!’” (Matthew 19:23-26).
In the words of Our Lord, God and His Providence seems to be the best insurance policy we can have (not that we should quit paying insurance, but our primary agent should be God and not man). “No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon [riches, worldly interest]. Therefore I say to you―be not solicitous for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than the meat; and the body more than the clothing? Behold the birds of the air! For they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns―and your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you of much more value than they? And which of you by being anxious, can add to his stature by one cubit? And for clothing―why are you solicitous? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow―they labor not, neither do they spin. But I say to you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed as one of these. And if the grass of the field, which is today, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, God doth so clothe: how much more you, O ye of little Faith? Be not solicitous therefore, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘With what shall we be clothed?’ For after all these things do the heathens seek. For your Father knows that you have need of all these things. Seek ye therefore first the Kingdom of God and His justice, and all these things shall be added unto you!” (Matthew 6:24-33).
The opulence of the modern world has not much time for Jesus, cribs or mangers, kings and gifts. Once the lip service is accomplished and the human parties have been attended, it is time to take down the Christmas Tree and get back to the usual business. The whole idea of Forty Days of Christmas is foreign to modern man. Some hang on their Christmas decorations until January 6th, and though the decorations may be standing, the meditations have long since been dead and buried. Material Christmases have long since buried Spiritual Christmases. We are more or less spiritual naked, yet like the “King with No Clothes”, modern-man proudly parades around in his self-satisfied smugness of having acquired most of what he wants, without anyone’s help. Our Lord condemns him saying: “Without Me you can do nothing!” (John 15:5).
Apocalyptic Times
The Apocalypse has even stronger words to say: “I know thy works―that thou art neither cold, nor hot! I would thou wert cold, or hot. But because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, not hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of My mouth! Because thou sayest: ‘I am rich, and made wealthy, and have need of nothing!’ ― and knowest not, that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked! I counsel thee to buy of Me gold, fire tried, so that thou mayest be made rich; and mayest be clothed in white garments, and that the shame of thy nakedness may not appear; and anoint thy eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see” (Apocalypse 3:14-18).
Yes, we are spiritually poor, blind and naked, as the Apocalypse just said. Just as the three kings brought three gifts, so do the three Persons of the Holy Trinity counsel us to turn to Them for the solution: to buy from Them gold, white garments, and eye-salve. These three are an echo of the three gifts offered to Jesus by the Magi.
Symbolic Gifts
All three gifts were the usual gifts given to a king. Gold, besides being the most precious metal and represents power, also symbolizes the most precious and powerful virtue—which is Charity. Frankincense symbolizes the sweet odor of prayer coming from a burning heart, like grains of sweet incense on hot coals. Myrrh is called a “bitter-sweet perfume” and was used as both incense and embalming ointment in funerals. It symbolizes the sweetness of suffering, that earns for us an unimaginable heavenly reward.
There is a deliberate and logical progression in the order in which these gifts are listed in Scripture—first gold, then frankincense, and finally myrrh; much like the catechism response to “Why did God make you?” — “To know Him, love Him and serve Him” is the answer. We cannot love what we do not know, and we will not serve anyone very well or very long if we don’t like or love them. Similarly with the three gifts: gold symbolizes love; when we love someone we talk to them, and prayer (represented by frankincense) is talking to God; finally, if we deeply love someone, we will suffer much for them and this suffering is symbolized by the myrrh—”Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). So, in short, the gifts give us a natural order in this matter: first we love, then we pray to the One we love, then we go beyond mere words into actions whereby we suffer for the One we love.
The Gold in both cases is the gold of charity, which, as we said with the Scriptural quote above, will have grown cold in many souls.
The white garments correspond to the Myrrh. The Myrrh is a symbol of suffering, being used both as a painkiller and for embalming the dead. The white garments reflect that suffering, as shown by this quote: “These are they who are come out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Apocalypse 7:14).
The Eye-Salve corresponds to the frankincense of prayer, which rises like smoke to Heaven. The blind man is begging and praying to Jesus for his blindness to be removed. “Jesus asked him saying: ‘What wilt thou that I do to thee?’ But he said: ‘Lord, that I may see!’” (Luke 18:41). His prayer is the eye-salve that removes his blindness.
Today there is not enough gold, frankincense and myrrh in our lives. We love too little; we pray too little; we suffer too little. That is why we risk having little chance for salvation unless we follow the example of the three kings and follow the counsels of the Apocalypse in our apocalyptic times! Love, pray and suffer!
An Exchange of Gifts
God’s gift to the world is His Son, born in the Town of Bread—which foreshadows the greatest gift that Christ left behind when He returned to Heaven. That gift is the Holy Eucharist.
The Epiphany and the Holy Eucharist
► The Epiphany is the manifestation of the WORD MADE FLESH, and in the Holy Eucharist, the Word becomes Flesh once more, but under the appearance of bread.
► Just as the Epiphany is the manifestation of Jesus to the Gentiles, so too is the Holy Eucharist the manifestation of Jesus to the world. Anyone in the world can go into a Catholic Church and adore Jesus, really and truly present, with His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.
► But to go there and adore Him, means that, like the three Magi Kings, we have to make our journey to the modern-day Bethlehem or “Town of Bread”, which is the nearest Catholic Church.
► Yet when the Magi arrived, they did not see God in all His glory and splendor, but instead they saw a tiny little baby wrapped-up and hidden, so to speak, in swaddling clothes. They had to have eyes of Faith to see God in that baby. Similarly, when we enter a Catholic church, we do not see Jesus in His divine glory and splendor, but under the appearance of tiny pieces of bread, ‘wrapped-up’ or veiled in the tabernacle. We need those same eyes of Faith to adore our hidden God.
► God is worshiped and adored (whether in the Eucharist or elsewhere) through the three theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity; these are the kings of all other virtues. The three adoring kings prostrate before Jesus in the cave at Bethlehem remind us of this truth and these three kingly virtues.
► The three gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh also remind us of Holy Eucharist in another way. (1) The Holy Eucharist is our most precious treasure on Earth, just like gold is regarded as the most precious metal. (2) The Holy Eucharist as the Sacrifice of the Mass is the most powerful prayer that we have, and frankincense is the most precious of all brands of incense, and incense is a symbol of prayer: “The smoke of the incense of the prayers of the saints ascended up before God” (Apocalypse 8:4). (3) The Holy Eucharist is also the greatest sacrifice that can be offered to God, and this what the Eucharist as the Sacrifice of the Mass does daily. The Sacrifice of the Mass brings healing graces to world. Likewise, Myrrh is a symbol of the supreme sacrifice, as it is used for embalming after the supreme sacrifice of death has taken the life of person; and myrrh also has healing ‘graces’, for it is also used for medicinal purposes.
Reverse Divine Psychology
That is how things should be; but there are some who do not love God, and therefore do not pray to Him, let alone suffering for Him. What then? Well, in that case, God reverses the order. He begins by making them suffer, and He goes on increasing the intensity or frequency (or both) until He brings the soul to its knees in desperation. The soul, crushed and helpless, turns to God in prayer and begs for mercy and help. God then shows that mercy and gives that help in the hope that it will now lead the soul to be grateful and to start loving Him. So, in this case, the reverse order is used: sufferings increase (the myrrh); the helpless soul turns to God in prayer (the frankincense); when God responds, the soul in gratitude finds a spark of love (the gold) in itself towards God.
Life Changing Encounter With Christ
The next point to consider is that this encounter with Jesus and Mary totally changes their lives. This is symbolized by the fact that they go back home by a different route to the one that had brought them to Bethlehem. This is commanded to them by an angel and they correspond with the grace that is given them. A very wise thing to do!
The fact that they are told to avoid traveling through Jerusalem, because of King Herod, who wanted to find out the whereabouts of Jesus in order to kill Him, in very instructive for our own lives. Outside of own wounded and weak souls, there is the devil and the world who are perpetually seeking to kill the life and influence of grace in our souls. The world hates God, because the laws and counsels of God are diametrically opposed to the laws and counsels of the world. The world, or part of the world, fakes a love of God (like Herod did) and would have us believe that it is not opposed to God, telling us that it is possible to know, love and serve both the world and God. But this is a principle that comes from the father of lies, the devil, for Our Lord told us: “No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24), and St. James adds: “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4).
Follow the Fleeing Magi
That is why we must flee the world as much as possible. To those who seek to love both the world and God, this is a shocking and painful thought. They ‘feel’ (not think) that this must be somehow wrong; that it is too radical, too extreme. Yet that is what our good God is, He is radical and extreme: He is extreme mercy and extreme justice; He is extreme patience and extreme anger. Perfection is an extreme; somebody who is perfect at doing something, is EXTREMELY good at doing that particular thing. God is perfect in all things, therefore He is extreme in all things, and Jesus told us: “Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).
As was said before, Christmas is not a time of fuzzy sentimentality; Christmas is all about sin and redemption from sin. Christ does not come to party, Christ comes to change and save the world. He offers a hand of mercy to all comers. But, as in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago, there are not many ‘comers.’ “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, He gave them power to be made the sons of God” (John 1:11-12).
From Sinners to Saints
The Magi came as sinners and left as the sons of God. Their idolatrous lives changed and their remains are now buried in the Cathedral of Cologne, Germany. Today there is a sweet odor in Cologne, the odor of sanctity achieved by the three wise men, the three kings who came, who saw and who conquered themselves, the world and the devil. May their dogged pursuit of the Christ-Child and their fidelity to the inspirations of Heaven, be our guiding star that also leads us find Christ, one day, in Heaven.
Today, most of us live like kings and queens, but we don’t even realize it! How many kings and queens had access to the variety of food and drink that modern man can find in any supermarket? How many had the medical support that is available today? How many had such comfortable, economical life, with central heating and air-conditioning? They would have jumped at the chance to trade-in their horse and carriage for one of our cars! They could not even imagine the communications and electronic appliances available to us today, with their possibilities of instant communications with anyone anywhere in the world. The list of advantages that we have over the kings and queens of old is endless.
The following words were written by a newspaper columnist, and they essentially echo what has just been said: “We live in largely peaceful times, with better access to medicine and education ― the world is easily in the best place it’s ever been. Humanity as a whole is doing better than it ever has: the world is becoming more prosperous, cleaner, increasingly peaceful and healthier. We are living longer, better lives. Virtually all of our existing problems are less bad than at any previous time in history.”
The problem with all this is that when we have so much available; when we enjoy so much relative security; when we can rely on the insurance gods to look after our health, wealth and loved ones, then the danger is that we can led into a neglect, an indifference, a laxity or lukewarmness with regard to our heavenly provider, almighty God and His Divine Providence. We pay thousands of dollars annually to the insurance gods, but how much do pay by way of prayers and attention to the real God?
This attitude of complacency hits everyone without exception. It was also the underlying feature of the relationship between God and His Chosen People in the Old Testament. When things were going well for them, they forgot about God and at times even took on board false idols. So God had to do something about the cause of this neglect, indifference and idolatry. God’s solution was always to make things go badly for His fallen away Chosen People; this would bring them to their knees and their senses, and they would come pleading to God for help and mercy.
Who Needs God Anymore?
What on Earth do we need God for now? We have health insurance; we have car accident insurance to replace the car or pay for its repair; we have house insurance to guarantee the replacement of certain things; we can even have insurance on the gas, electricity and water supplies and the repair of their pipes and lines; we have the possibility of insurance on the multitude of appliances and articles that we buy for ourselves and our homes; we have the insurance of welfare if we lose our jobs; we have life insurance to care for our loved ones from beyond the grave! What a bevy of assurance through insurance! God is almost redundant and unnecessary! All that we need Him for is insurance against Hell!
Sadly, that is the case with an increasing number of people today, either explicitly or at least implicitly. The current statistics show that over 90% of graduates will cease to practicing their Faith on a regular basis once their schooling is over. In other words, once school is finished, God is finished (unless they live at home and are made to practice their Faith by their parents).
But it is not just youngsters that offend and irritate God; the oldsters are at it too! Only 24% of Catholic adults regularly attend Sunday Mass. Most of the weekly Mass goers (90%) believe that Jesus is really present in the Holy Eucharist. Those numbers fall significantly among less frequent attendees. Of those who attend Mass around once a month, only 65% believe in the Real Presence; whole among those who only attend a few times a year, only 40% believe in the Real Presence. The words of Jesus come hauntingly back to mind: “The Son of man, when He cometh, shall He find, think you, Faith on Earth?” (Luke 18:8), “and because iniquity hath abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold” (Matthew 24:12).
Materially Rich, Spiritually Poor
It is clear that a treasure of goods does not beget plenty of Faith; nor does an abundance of comfort beget abundant charity. Earthly riches impoverish spirituality, and ultimately greatly handicap our chances of salvation. Our Lord Himself said: “Then Jesus said to His disciples: ‘Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!’ And when they had heard this, the disciples wondered very much, saying: ‘Who then can be saved?’ And Jesus beholding, said to them: ‘With men this is impossible―but with God all things are possible!’” (Matthew 19:23-26).
In the words of Our Lord, God and His Providence seems to be the best insurance policy we can have (not that we should quit paying insurance, but our primary agent should be God and not man). “No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon [riches, worldly interest]. Therefore I say to you―be not solicitous for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than the meat; and the body more than the clothing? Behold the birds of the air! For they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns―and your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you of much more value than they? And which of you by being anxious, can add to his stature by one cubit? And for clothing―why are you solicitous? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow―they labor not, neither do they spin. But I say to you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed as one of these. And if the grass of the field, which is today, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, God doth so clothe: how much more you, O ye of little Faith? Be not solicitous therefore, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘With what shall we be clothed?’ For after all these things do the heathens seek. For your Father knows that you have need of all these things. Seek ye therefore first the Kingdom of God and His justice, and all these things shall be added unto you!” (Matthew 6:24-33).
The opulence of the modern world has not much time for Jesus, cribs or mangers, kings and gifts. Once the lip service is accomplished and the human parties have been attended, it is time to take down the Christmas Tree and get back to the usual business. The whole idea of Forty Days of Christmas is foreign to modern man. Some hang on their Christmas decorations until January 6th, and though the decorations may be standing, the meditations have long since been dead and buried. Material Christmases have long since buried Spiritual Christmases. We are more or less spiritual naked, yet like the “King with No Clothes”, modern-man proudly parades around in his self-satisfied smugness of having acquired most of what he wants, without anyone’s help. Our Lord condemns him saying: “Without Me you can do nothing!” (John 15:5).
Apocalyptic Times
The Apocalypse has even stronger words to say: “I know thy works―that thou art neither cold, nor hot! I would thou wert cold, or hot. But because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, not hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of My mouth! Because thou sayest: ‘I am rich, and made wealthy, and have need of nothing!’ ― and knowest not, that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked! I counsel thee to buy of Me gold, fire tried, so that thou mayest be made rich; and mayest be clothed in white garments, and that the shame of thy nakedness may not appear; and anoint thy eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see” (Apocalypse 3:14-18).
Yes, we are spiritually poor, blind and naked, as the Apocalypse just said. Just as the three kings brought three gifts, so do the three Persons of the Holy Trinity counsel us to turn to Them for the solution: to buy from Them gold, white garments, and eye-salve. These three are an echo of the three gifts offered to Jesus by the Magi.
Symbolic Gifts
All three gifts were the usual gifts given to a king. Gold, besides being the most precious metal and represents power, also symbolizes the most precious and powerful virtue—which is Charity. Frankincense symbolizes the sweet odor of prayer coming from a burning heart, like grains of sweet incense on hot coals. Myrrh is called a “bitter-sweet perfume” and was used as both incense and embalming ointment in funerals. It symbolizes the sweetness of suffering, that earns for us an unimaginable heavenly reward.
There is a deliberate and logical progression in the order in which these gifts are listed in Scripture—first gold, then frankincense, and finally myrrh; much like the catechism response to “Why did God make you?” — “To know Him, love Him and serve Him” is the answer. We cannot love what we do not know, and we will not serve anyone very well or very long if we don’t like or love them. Similarly with the three gifts: gold symbolizes love; when we love someone we talk to them, and prayer (represented by frankincense) is talking to God; finally, if we deeply love someone, we will suffer much for them and this suffering is symbolized by the myrrh—”Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). So, in short, the gifts give us a natural order in this matter: first we love, then we pray to the One we love, then we go beyond mere words into actions whereby we suffer for the One we love.
The Gold in both cases is the gold of charity, which, as we said with the Scriptural quote above, will have grown cold in many souls.
The white garments correspond to the Myrrh. The Myrrh is a symbol of suffering, being used both as a painkiller and for embalming the dead. The white garments reflect that suffering, as shown by this quote: “These are they who are come out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Apocalypse 7:14).
The Eye-Salve corresponds to the frankincense of prayer, which rises like smoke to Heaven. The blind man is begging and praying to Jesus for his blindness to be removed. “Jesus asked him saying: ‘What wilt thou that I do to thee?’ But he said: ‘Lord, that I may see!’” (Luke 18:41). His prayer is the eye-salve that removes his blindness.
Today there is not enough gold, frankincense and myrrh in our lives. We love too little; we pray too little; we suffer too little. That is why we risk having little chance for salvation unless we follow the example of the three kings and follow the counsels of the Apocalypse in our apocalyptic times! Love, pray and suffer!
An Exchange of Gifts
God’s gift to the world is His Son, born in the Town of Bread—which foreshadows the greatest gift that Christ left behind when He returned to Heaven. That gift is the Holy Eucharist.
The Epiphany and the Holy Eucharist
► The Epiphany is the manifestation of the WORD MADE FLESH, and in the Holy Eucharist, the Word becomes Flesh once more, but under the appearance of bread.
► Just as the Epiphany is the manifestation of Jesus to the Gentiles, so too is the Holy Eucharist the manifestation of Jesus to the world. Anyone in the world can go into a Catholic Church and adore Jesus, really and truly present, with His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.
► But to go there and adore Him, means that, like the three Magi Kings, we have to make our journey to the modern-day Bethlehem or “Town of Bread”, which is the nearest Catholic Church.
► Yet when the Magi arrived, they did not see God in all His glory and splendor, but instead they saw a tiny little baby wrapped-up and hidden, so to speak, in swaddling clothes. They had to have eyes of Faith to see God in that baby. Similarly, when we enter a Catholic church, we do not see Jesus in His divine glory and splendor, but under the appearance of tiny pieces of bread, ‘wrapped-up’ or veiled in the tabernacle. We need those same eyes of Faith to adore our hidden God.
► God is worshiped and adored (whether in the Eucharist or elsewhere) through the three theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity; these are the kings of all other virtues. The three adoring kings prostrate before Jesus in the cave at Bethlehem remind us of this truth and these three kingly virtues.
► The three gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh also remind us of Holy Eucharist in another way. (1) The Holy Eucharist is our most precious treasure on Earth, just like gold is regarded as the most precious metal. (2) The Holy Eucharist as the Sacrifice of the Mass is the most powerful prayer that we have, and frankincense is the most precious of all brands of incense, and incense is a symbol of prayer: “The smoke of the incense of the prayers of the saints ascended up before God” (Apocalypse 8:4). (3) The Holy Eucharist is also the greatest sacrifice that can be offered to God, and this what the Eucharist as the Sacrifice of the Mass does daily. The Sacrifice of the Mass brings healing graces to world. Likewise, Myrrh is a symbol of the supreme sacrifice, as it is used for embalming after the supreme sacrifice of death has taken the life of person; and myrrh also has healing ‘graces’, for it is also used for medicinal purposes.
Reverse Divine Psychology
That is how things should be; but there are some who do not love God, and therefore do not pray to Him, let alone suffering for Him. What then? Well, in that case, God reverses the order. He begins by making them suffer, and He goes on increasing the intensity or frequency (or both) until He brings the soul to its knees in desperation. The soul, crushed and helpless, turns to God in prayer and begs for mercy and help. God then shows that mercy and gives that help in the hope that it will now lead the soul to be grateful and to start loving Him. So, in this case, the reverse order is used: sufferings increase (the myrrh); the helpless soul turns to God in prayer (the frankincense); when God responds, the soul in gratitude finds a spark of love (the gold) in itself towards God.
Life Changing Encounter With Christ
The next point to consider is that this encounter with Jesus and Mary totally changes their lives. This is symbolized by the fact that they go back home by a different route to the one that had brought them to Bethlehem. This is commanded to them by an angel and they correspond with the grace that is given them. A very wise thing to do!
The fact that they are told to avoid traveling through Jerusalem, because of King Herod, who wanted to find out the whereabouts of Jesus in order to kill Him, in very instructive for our own lives. Outside of own wounded and weak souls, there is the devil and the world who are perpetually seeking to kill the life and influence of grace in our souls. The world hates God, because the laws and counsels of God are diametrically opposed to the laws and counsels of the world. The world, or part of the world, fakes a love of God (like Herod did) and would have us believe that it is not opposed to God, telling us that it is possible to know, love and serve both the world and God. But this is a principle that comes from the father of lies, the devil, for Our Lord told us: “No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24), and St. James adds: “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4).
Follow the Fleeing Magi
That is why we must flee the world as much as possible. To those who seek to love both the world and God, this is a shocking and painful thought. They ‘feel’ (not think) that this must be somehow wrong; that it is too radical, too extreme. Yet that is what our good God is, He is radical and extreme: He is extreme mercy and extreme justice; He is extreme patience and extreme anger. Perfection is an extreme; somebody who is perfect at doing something, is EXTREMELY good at doing that particular thing. God is perfect in all things, therefore He is extreme in all things, and Jesus told us: “Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).
As was said before, Christmas is not a time of fuzzy sentimentality; Christmas is all about sin and redemption from sin. Christ does not come to party, Christ comes to change and save the world. He offers a hand of mercy to all comers. But, as in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago, there are not many ‘comers.’ “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, He gave them power to be made the sons of God” (John 1:11-12).
From Sinners to Saints
The Magi came as sinners and left as the sons of God. Their idolatrous lives changed and their remains are now buried in the Cathedral of Cologne, Germany. Today there is a sweet odor in Cologne, the odor of sanctity achieved by the three wise men, the three kings who came, who saw and who conquered themselves, the world and the devil. May their dogged pursuit of the Christ-Child and their fidelity to the inspirations of Heaven, be our guiding star that also leads us find Christ, one day, in Heaven.
Article 6
Monday, January 5th
Winners and Losers! Free-Will Users and Abusers!
Monday, January 5th
Winners and Losers! Free-Will Users and Abusers!
Win or Lose―You Choose!
Win or lose! You get to choose! No spectators! No fence sitters! No opt-outs! You will either be a winner or a loser! You will either end up in Heaven or Hell―for eternity! Everyone wants to be a winner―but most end up as losers. God wants everyone to win―but very few will win! God damns nobody―we damn ourselves. “God will [“to will” means “to want”] have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). “The grace of God our Savior has appeared to all men, … that He might redeem us” (Titus 2:11-14). “God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son―so that whosoever believes in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting” (John 3:16). “Is it My will that a sinner should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways, and live?” (Ezechiel 18:23).
God does not compare us to any fellow human beings. Rather, He compares every soul to Himself. God is all righteous, all just, and all merciful. God tell us: “I am the Almighty God! Walk before Me and be perfect!” (Genesis 17:1). “Therefore be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect!” (Matthew 5:48). “You shall be holy, because I am holy!” (Leviticus 11:46). For I am the Lord your God―be holy because I am holy. Defile not your souls!” (Leviticus 11:44). “You shall be holy unto Me, because I, the Lord, am holy!” (Leviticus 20:26). “You shall be holy men to Me!” (Exodus 22:31). “Without holiness no man shall see God” (Hebrews 12:14). “There shall not enter into Heaven anything defiled!” (Apocalypse 21:27).
How many times have you heard that a kind, loving, gracious, merciful God would never send anyone to Hell? St. Leonard of Port Maurice says: “Ungrateful sinner! Learn today that if you are damned, it is not God who is to blame, but you and your self-will.” The reprobate chooses perdition. God does not damn; the human being damns himself. The Father eternally offers sinners mercy and forgiveness; but those who exist in the state of perdition irrevocably refuse the offer.
St. Leonard of Port Maurice never wasted words. His preaching cut straight to the bone, and his warning about self-will is one of the most unfiltered statements in classic Catholic spirituality. He wasn’t interested in modern sensitivities or the soft illusions we use to shield ourselves from responsibility. He confronted the central issue head-on: the human will is the battlefield on which salvation or damnation is chosen.
In Catholic theology, God does not predestine anyone to destruction. Grace is offered, sometimes relentlessly. But grace is not coercion. Human beings can reject it out of pride, stubbornness, or moral laziness. St. Leonard’s point is brutally simple: if someone ends up separated from God, it is the logical consequence of choices made in sustained opposition to truth.
This isn’t fatalism; it’s moral realism. Every person is equipped with intellect and free will. When those faculties are misused—when self-will becomes the standard instead of God’s law—the person moves away from the source of life. Damnation, in this framework, is not an arbitrary punishment but the final state of a soul that has consistently chosen itself over God.
St. Leonard’s sermon “The Little Number of Those Who Are Saved” is intentionally provocative. It forces the listener to confront complacency. Comfort is an enemy of conversion. His message dismantles the popular idea that spiritual effort is optional or that God will simply overlook unrepented sin. He insists that moral seriousness, repentance, and the surrender of self-will are non-negotiable.
His warning isn’t meant to inspire despair― but to inspire us with a sense of urgency. The call to conversion is NOW, not later, or eventually. The human heart can harden gradually, and St. Leonard exposes that danger with unflinching clarity. The path to salvation is open, but it requires a willingness to let go of pride, self-will, selfishness, excuses, a fake idea of freedom―and a humble acceptance of God’s non-negotiable terms for salvation. The bottom line is―it is His way or the highway; His way to Heaven, or the highway to Hell. The choice is ours―there is no prejudice or animosity on the part of God.
His quote remains relevant because it dismantles the modern tendency to externalize blame. St. Leonard points the finger back at the individual—not as condemnation, but as a wake-up call. It’s a reminder that eternity is shaped by choices made in ordinary life, and ignoring that truth doesn’t erase its consequences.
When read in context, his message is both severe and liberating. God wants to save everyone. God does not fail anyone; we only fail ourselves and damn ourselves when we refuse His graces. The weight of that truth can be unsettling, but it is the kind of unsettling that pulls a person toward real change.
The God of Comfort Does Not Always Make Us Comfortable
Holy Scripture speaks of God being a God of comfort. That sounds very comforting―but we must take that reference in its full context and not try to twist it to fit our notions and desires for comfort! “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort! Who comforts us in all our tribulation; so that we also may be able to comfort them who are in all distress by the exhortation with which we also are exhorted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so also by Christ does our comfort abound! Now whether we be in tribulation, it is for your exhortation and salvation; or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation; or whether we be exhorted, it is for your exhortation and salvation, which works the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer!” (2 Corinthians 1:3-6).
Notice that comfort and tribulation, comfort and suffering seem to go hand-in-hand a lot of the time. We suffer and then we are comforted. We are punished for our sins and then we are comforted. We suffer persecution and then we are comforted. If we desire the comfort of eternal life in Heaven, then we must carry the cross of Christ on Earth! The following Scriptural quotes echo and reinforce that truth:
“Come to Me, all you that labor, and are burdened, and I will refresh you! Take up My yoke [= cross/suffering] upon you, and learn of Me, because I am meek, and humble of heart―and you shall find rest to your souls! For My yoke is sweet and My burden light!” (Matthew 11:28-30). “Blessed are they that mourn―for they shall be comforted!” (Matthew 5:5). “Blessed are they that suffer persecution for the sake of justice―for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven! Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for My sake! Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in Heaven! For so they persecuted the prophets that were before you!” (Matthew 5:10-12). “Thy word has comforted me in my humiliation!” (Psalm 118:50). “Though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils, for Thou art with me! Thy rod and thy staff, they have comforted me!” (Psalm 22:4).
To expect comfort without having worked and suffered for Christ is like expecting to get paid for doing no work.
An Abuse of God’s Kindness and Mercy
Today, there are many―far too many―who seem to think that they know better than God. They even play at being God with their endless pronouncements, judgments, criticisms, condemnations, interpretations, dogmatizations, etc. about anything and everything that is going on in the world, in politics, in society, in the Church and beyond. Let them answer these questions. Who made you? Did you make yourself? Who made the world that you live in? Whose air is it that you breathe? Did you make your own air? Whose water do you use? Did you create water? Whose fruits, vegetables and herbs do you eat? Did you create them? In whose soil do you grow them? Is soil your creation? Did you make the sun―without which life would be impossible? Did you create the animals that use for food? Did you create the incredible masterpiece of the human body, with its mind-boggling interactions and self-healing mechanisms?
That is how God rebuked and questioned Job―to which Holy Scripture dedicates five whole chapters! Here is the account in simplified English:
“The Lord spoke to Job from the middle of the storm. This is what He said: ‘Who do you think you are? Why do you ask questions about My wisdom? You speak many words, but you do not understand anything! Prepare yourself for a difficult job! I will ask you some questions and you must answer them. Were you with Me when I made the world? If you think you are so clever, tell me all about it! It was Me who decided the size of the world. You surely must know that! I measured it as I made it. Tell me how I fixed the foundations of the Earth. Who made it stay in its right place? I did! At the dawn of that day, the stars sang together. They sang for joy with all the angels. When the sea poured out of the ground, I decided where its borders should be. I kept the water in its right place. I caused the clouds to come over the sea. I covered it with complete darkness. I put a border around the sea. I locked it in its place. I said to the sea: ‘This is as far as you can come! You may come no further! Your powerful waves must stop there!’
“‘But you, Job, did you ever command the morning to begin? No! You have never in your whole life told the sun when it should rise. You have not told the light of day to cover the Earth. You have not told it to chase away the wicked things that happen in the night. When the light of day comes, people see the land clearly. Its shape and colors show like bright clothes. The light of day is too bright for wicked people. It destroys their power to do cruel things. You have not gone to the springs that fill the seas with water. You have not walked on the bottom of the deep seas. Nobody has showed you the gates of death. People go through them to that very dark place. You do not understand the great size of the Earth. If you know all about that, tell Me!
“‘You do not know where light comes from. You do not know where darkness has its home. Can you take them to the places where they belong? Do you know the roads that go there? Surely you must know all this, because you have lived for so long! It seems that you were already born when I created these things! Have you visited the place where I keep all the snow? Or the place where I keep the hail? I keep the snow and the hail ready to use. I use them in times of trouble and wars. You do not know where lightning comes from. Or where the east wind starts when it blows across the Earth. I make a path for the storms to travel along. I tell the thunder and the strong rain which way to go. I cause rain to fall in places where no person lives. It makes even a desert become a wet place. The rain falls on dry ground where nothing grows. It causes grass to grow there again. Do you know if the rain has a father? Who is a father to the dew? Who is a mother to the ice? Who gives birth to the frost that makes the air so cold? It causes the water to become as hard as stone. The water of the sea also becomes ice. You cannot make the stars of the Pleiades stay in their places. You cannot change the shape of Orion.
“‘You bring out the groups of stars for people to see at different times of the year. You cannot put the stars of the Great Bear and the Little Bear in their right places in the sky. You do not know the rules that the stars above obey. You cannot make the earth obey those rules. You cannot shout commands to the clouds. You cannot tell them to pour down their rain, so that a flood of water covers you. You cannot send the lightning to hit the place that you want it to go. The lightning does not say to you: ‘We are ready to go wherever you want.’
“‘Who has given people wisdom, so that they understand things with their minds? Is anyone wise enough to count the clouds? Can anyone cause the clouds to pour down rain from above? The rain causes the dust of the dry ground to become hard. The dry soil becomes pieces of mud. When the lions become hungry, can you find food for the young lions to eat? You cannot do that for them when they sit in their caves. You cannot help them as they hide in the bushes, ready to attack other animals. You cannot find food for the ravens to eat. You cannot help them when their babies cry to Me because they are weak and hungry.’
“‘Job, do you know that time when the goats on the mountains give birth? Do you watch the wild deer when their babies are born? Can you count the number of months that these animals are pregnant? How long must they wait until they give birth? They bend down low to the ground. They give birth to the babies that they have carried inside them. The young animals grow and they become strong in the fields. Then they leave their parents and they do not return to them. Did you send out the wild donkeys to go wherever they want? No! It was Me who gave them the desert as their home. I let them live in places where the ground has salt. They stay far away from the busy cities. They do not allow anyone to make them work. Instead, they live on the hills, where they find fresh plants to eat.
“‘Can you tell a wild ox to work for you? No! At night, it will not stay to feed at your farm. It will not let you tie it to a plough. It will not agree to prepare your fields in the valleys. A wild ox is very strong. But you cannot trust it to help you with your difficult work. It will not help you to bring in your harvest of grain. It will not take the grain to your threshing floor. When an ostrich is happy, it waves its wings. But it cannot use its wings to fly, as a stork can do. A mother ostrich leaves her eggs on the ground. She lets the sand cause them to be warm. She does not realize that people or wild animals might break the eggs with their feet. She does not take care of her babies, as if they did not belong to her. She does not worry that all her work might be useless. This is because I did not give wisdom to ostriches. I did not give them minds that understand things. But when an ostrich begins to run, it can run very fast. It can run faster than a horse and someone who rides on it.
“‘Did you, Job, give horses their strength? Did you give them the long hair that they have on their necks? You did not make horses able to jump like locusts. They frighten people when they blow air out through their noses. They stamp their feet on the ground, as they prepare to go to a battle. They are ready to go and attack the enemy. A horse is brave and it is not afraid of anything. It does not run away from the enemy's weapons. The soldier who is riding it has his arrows ready at the horse's side. Swords and spears shine brightly in the sun. The horse shakes with joy as it runs to the battle. When the battle trumpet makes its noise, the horse wants to run even faster! When it hears the sound of the trumpet, it makes a happy noise. From far away, it recognizes the smell of the battle. It hears the army officers as they shout their commands.
“‘Was it your wisdom, Job, that taught hawks how to fly? No! You could not teach them to fly towards the south in winter. Do eagles wait for your command to fly high into the sky? No! You could not teach them how to build their nests high up in the mountains. They live among the highest rocks. That is where they stay at night. They are safe on the sharp rocks. From the high rocks, eagles look for their food. They see small animals far away, that they can catch and eat. They come together around the bodies of dead animals. The young eagles drink the blood.’ The Lord said to Job: ‘Do you still want to argue with Me, the Almighty God? You say that I have not been fair. Now you must explain what you mean.’
“Then Job answered the Lord. This is what he said: ‘I am only a foolish man. I cannot answer your questions. I cover my mouth with my hand so that I say nothing. I have already spoken too many times. I will say no more.’
“Then the Lord spoke to Job from inside the storm. This is what he said: ‘Prepare yourself for a difficult job! I will ask you some more questions and you must answer them. Do you say that I am not a fair judge? Do you want to show that I am guilty, not you? Then you could say that you are right. Do you have the same power to do great things as I have? Can you speak with a voice as loud as thunder? I can! If you think that you can do all this, show how great you are! Show everyone your power and your glory! Show everyone your great anger! Look at all the people who like to boast and bring them down low! Yes, cause all the proud people to be humble. Knock down wicked people to the ground. Bury them all together in the dust of the ground. Cover their faces and put them in their graves. If you can do these things, Job, I will praise you. I will agree that you have the power to save yourself.
“‘Listen! I created the monsters called Behemoth. I made you and I made them too. They eat grass, as cows do. But look at the strength of their legs and their body! Their tails are like the branches of a cedar tree. Their legs are thick and very strong. Their bones are like sticks made of bronze. Their legs are as strong as iron. These monsters are some of the greatest animals that I have made. But I who made them can take my sword and go near to them. They eat the grass that grows on the hills. That is where the wild animals play. They lie down under the thorn trees. They hide among the reeds at the edge of the water. They rest in the shadow of the thorn trees, and among the willow trees beside the water. Even when the river is deep and dangerous, these monsters are not afraid. The water of the Jordan River may cover their mouths, but they still feel safe. There is no way that anyone can catch one of them. No one can make its eyes blind. No one can put a ring in its nose and lead it away.’
“‘It is the same with the sea monsters called Leviathan. Can you catch them with a hook? Can you use a rope to keep their mouths shut? Can you tie a rope through their noses? Can you put a hook into their mouths. No! They will not ask you nicely to be kind and let them go free. They will not make any agreement with you. You cannot make them your slaves to work for you as long as they live. Leviathan is not something to enjoy at home, like a bird. You cannot tie it with a rope, so that your girls can play with it. Traders do not buy it at the market. They do not cut it up to sell it. Job, can you throw spears into Leviathan's body to kill it? Can you shoot arrows into its head? If you try to take hold of it, you will never forget the fight! You will never try to do that again! If anyone hopes to catch it, he is deceiving himself. As soon as he sees it, he no longer feels so brave! No one is brave enough to wake it. So is anyone brave enough to argue against me? Nobody has ever won against me to make Me pay them anything.
“‘Everything in the whole world belongs to Me! I must tell you how strong Leviathan's legs are. Their bodies are very strong and they have a wonderful shape. Nobody is able to remove their thick skin. It is like armor that nobody can cut through. Nobody is strong enough to open its mouth. Its teeth make everyone afraid. Its back is like rows of shields. They are as hard as stone with no spaces between them. Each shield is very near the next one. Not even air can pass between them. They are strongly joined together, and nothing can pull them apart. When Leviathan breathes out loudly, bright light shines from its nose. Its eyes shine like the red sun at dawn. Fire comes out from its mouth. Bright flames shoot out! Smoke pours out from its nose, like reeds that burn under a pot. Its breath is hot enough to light a fire! Flames pour out of its mouth. Its neck is very strong. Wherever it goes, people shake with fear. There are no weak places in its skin. Its skin is as hard as iron. It is cruel and it has no fear. Its heart is as hard as stone.
“‘Even the bravest people are afraid when Leviathan appears. They run away when it starts to move. If you hit it with a sword, you will not hurt it. Spears, arrows and knives will be useless. It can easily break iron or bronze weapons. It breaks them as easily as grass or soft wood. If you shoot arrows at it, it will not run away. If you use a sling to throw stones at it, the stones will hurt it no more than bits of chaff. If you hit it with a heavy stick, that hurts it no more than a piece of straw. If you throw a spear at it, it laughs! Its stomach has sharp pieces, like bits of a pot that someone has broken. When it moves along, it ploughs the soil under it. When it swims in the deep water of the sea, the water seems to boil. It makes big waves, like oil that is boiling in a pot. As it swims, the water behind it shines. It makes waves that look like white hair on the sea. There is no other animal like it in the whole world. It is not afraid of anything. It does not respect any other great animal. It rules as king over all the proud animals.’
“Then Job replied to the Lord. He said this: ‘I know that You can do all things. You can do anything that You want to do. Nobody can stop You. You asked me: “Why do you ask questions about My wisdom, when you do not understand anything?” It is true. I was speaking about things that I do not understand. They are things that are too wonderful for me to know. You said to me: “Listen carefully to what I will say. I will ask you questions and you must answer them.” In the past, I had heard about You from other people. Now I have seen You for myself. So I am ashamed of the things that I said. I sit here in dirt and in ashes to show You that I am very sorry.’” (Book of Job, chapters 38 to 42).
Win or lose! You get to choose! No spectators! No fence sitters! No opt-outs! You will either be a winner or a loser! You will either end up in Heaven or Hell―for eternity! Everyone wants to be a winner―but most end up as losers. God wants everyone to win―but very few will win! God damns nobody―we damn ourselves. “God will [“to will” means “to want”] have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). “The grace of God our Savior has appeared to all men, … that He might redeem us” (Titus 2:11-14). “God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son―so that whosoever believes in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting” (John 3:16). “Is it My will that a sinner should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways, and live?” (Ezechiel 18:23).
God does not compare us to any fellow human beings. Rather, He compares every soul to Himself. God is all righteous, all just, and all merciful. God tell us: “I am the Almighty God! Walk before Me and be perfect!” (Genesis 17:1). “Therefore be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect!” (Matthew 5:48). “You shall be holy, because I am holy!” (Leviticus 11:46). For I am the Lord your God―be holy because I am holy. Defile not your souls!” (Leviticus 11:44). “You shall be holy unto Me, because I, the Lord, am holy!” (Leviticus 20:26). “You shall be holy men to Me!” (Exodus 22:31). “Without holiness no man shall see God” (Hebrews 12:14). “There shall not enter into Heaven anything defiled!” (Apocalypse 21:27).
How many times have you heard that a kind, loving, gracious, merciful God would never send anyone to Hell? St. Leonard of Port Maurice says: “Ungrateful sinner! Learn today that if you are damned, it is not God who is to blame, but you and your self-will.” The reprobate chooses perdition. God does not damn; the human being damns himself. The Father eternally offers sinners mercy and forgiveness; but those who exist in the state of perdition irrevocably refuse the offer.
St. Leonard of Port Maurice never wasted words. His preaching cut straight to the bone, and his warning about self-will is one of the most unfiltered statements in classic Catholic spirituality. He wasn’t interested in modern sensitivities or the soft illusions we use to shield ourselves from responsibility. He confronted the central issue head-on: the human will is the battlefield on which salvation or damnation is chosen.
In Catholic theology, God does not predestine anyone to destruction. Grace is offered, sometimes relentlessly. But grace is not coercion. Human beings can reject it out of pride, stubbornness, or moral laziness. St. Leonard’s point is brutally simple: if someone ends up separated from God, it is the logical consequence of choices made in sustained opposition to truth.
This isn’t fatalism; it’s moral realism. Every person is equipped with intellect and free will. When those faculties are misused—when self-will becomes the standard instead of God’s law—the person moves away from the source of life. Damnation, in this framework, is not an arbitrary punishment but the final state of a soul that has consistently chosen itself over God.
St. Leonard’s sermon “The Little Number of Those Who Are Saved” is intentionally provocative. It forces the listener to confront complacency. Comfort is an enemy of conversion. His message dismantles the popular idea that spiritual effort is optional or that God will simply overlook unrepented sin. He insists that moral seriousness, repentance, and the surrender of self-will are non-negotiable.
His warning isn’t meant to inspire despair― but to inspire us with a sense of urgency. The call to conversion is NOW, not later, or eventually. The human heart can harden gradually, and St. Leonard exposes that danger with unflinching clarity. The path to salvation is open, but it requires a willingness to let go of pride, self-will, selfishness, excuses, a fake idea of freedom―and a humble acceptance of God’s non-negotiable terms for salvation. The bottom line is―it is His way or the highway; His way to Heaven, or the highway to Hell. The choice is ours―there is no prejudice or animosity on the part of God.
His quote remains relevant because it dismantles the modern tendency to externalize blame. St. Leonard points the finger back at the individual—not as condemnation, but as a wake-up call. It’s a reminder that eternity is shaped by choices made in ordinary life, and ignoring that truth doesn’t erase its consequences.
When read in context, his message is both severe and liberating. God wants to save everyone. God does not fail anyone; we only fail ourselves and damn ourselves when we refuse His graces. The weight of that truth can be unsettling, but it is the kind of unsettling that pulls a person toward real change.
The God of Comfort Does Not Always Make Us Comfortable
Holy Scripture speaks of God being a God of comfort. That sounds very comforting―but we must take that reference in its full context and not try to twist it to fit our notions and desires for comfort! “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort! Who comforts us in all our tribulation; so that we also may be able to comfort them who are in all distress by the exhortation with which we also are exhorted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so also by Christ does our comfort abound! Now whether we be in tribulation, it is for your exhortation and salvation; or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation; or whether we be exhorted, it is for your exhortation and salvation, which works the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer!” (2 Corinthians 1:3-6).
Notice that comfort and tribulation, comfort and suffering seem to go hand-in-hand a lot of the time. We suffer and then we are comforted. We are punished for our sins and then we are comforted. We suffer persecution and then we are comforted. If we desire the comfort of eternal life in Heaven, then we must carry the cross of Christ on Earth! The following Scriptural quotes echo and reinforce that truth:
“Come to Me, all you that labor, and are burdened, and I will refresh you! Take up My yoke [= cross/suffering] upon you, and learn of Me, because I am meek, and humble of heart―and you shall find rest to your souls! For My yoke is sweet and My burden light!” (Matthew 11:28-30). “Blessed are they that mourn―for they shall be comforted!” (Matthew 5:5). “Blessed are they that suffer persecution for the sake of justice―for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven! Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for My sake! Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in Heaven! For so they persecuted the prophets that were before you!” (Matthew 5:10-12). “Thy word has comforted me in my humiliation!” (Psalm 118:50). “Though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils, for Thou art with me! Thy rod and thy staff, they have comforted me!” (Psalm 22:4).
To expect comfort without having worked and suffered for Christ is like expecting to get paid for doing no work.
An Abuse of God’s Kindness and Mercy
Today, there are many―far too many―who seem to think that they know better than God. They even play at being God with their endless pronouncements, judgments, criticisms, condemnations, interpretations, dogmatizations, etc. about anything and everything that is going on in the world, in politics, in society, in the Church and beyond. Let them answer these questions. Who made you? Did you make yourself? Who made the world that you live in? Whose air is it that you breathe? Did you make your own air? Whose water do you use? Did you create water? Whose fruits, vegetables and herbs do you eat? Did you create them? In whose soil do you grow them? Is soil your creation? Did you make the sun―without which life would be impossible? Did you create the animals that use for food? Did you create the incredible masterpiece of the human body, with its mind-boggling interactions and self-healing mechanisms?
That is how God rebuked and questioned Job―to which Holy Scripture dedicates five whole chapters! Here is the account in simplified English:
“The Lord spoke to Job from the middle of the storm. This is what He said: ‘Who do you think you are? Why do you ask questions about My wisdom? You speak many words, but you do not understand anything! Prepare yourself for a difficult job! I will ask you some questions and you must answer them. Were you with Me when I made the world? If you think you are so clever, tell me all about it! It was Me who decided the size of the world. You surely must know that! I measured it as I made it. Tell me how I fixed the foundations of the Earth. Who made it stay in its right place? I did! At the dawn of that day, the stars sang together. They sang for joy with all the angels. When the sea poured out of the ground, I decided where its borders should be. I kept the water in its right place. I caused the clouds to come over the sea. I covered it with complete darkness. I put a border around the sea. I locked it in its place. I said to the sea: ‘This is as far as you can come! You may come no further! Your powerful waves must stop there!’
“‘But you, Job, did you ever command the morning to begin? No! You have never in your whole life told the sun when it should rise. You have not told the light of day to cover the Earth. You have not told it to chase away the wicked things that happen in the night. When the light of day comes, people see the land clearly. Its shape and colors show like bright clothes. The light of day is too bright for wicked people. It destroys their power to do cruel things. You have not gone to the springs that fill the seas with water. You have not walked on the bottom of the deep seas. Nobody has showed you the gates of death. People go through them to that very dark place. You do not understand the great size of the Earth. If you know all about that, tell Me!
“‘You do not know where light comes from. You do not know where darkness has its home. Can you take them to the places where they belong? Do you know the roads that go there? Surely you must know all this, because you have lived for so long! It seems that you were already born when I created these things! Have you visited the place where I keep all the snow? Or the place where I keep the hail? I keep the snow and the hail ready to use. I use them in times of trouble and wars. You do not know where lightning comes from. Or where the east wind starts when it blows across the Earth. I make a path for the storms to travel along. I tell the thunder and the strong rain which way to go. I cause rain to fall in places where no person lives. It makes even a desert become a wet place. The rain falls on dry ground where nothing grows. It causes grass to grow there again. Do you know if the rain has a father? Who is a father to the dew? Who is a mother to the ice? Who gives birth to the frost that makes the air so cold? It causes the water to become as hard as stone. The water of the sea also becomes ice. You cannot make the stars of the Pleiades stay in their places. You cannot change the shape of Orion.
“‘You bring out the groups of stars for people to see at different times of the year. You cannot put the stars of the Great Bear and the Little Bear in their right places in the sky. You do not know the rules that the stars above obey. You cannot make the earth obey those rules. You cannot shout commands to the clouds. You cannot tell them to pour down their rain, so that a flood of water covers you. You cannot send the lightning to hit the place that you want it to go. The lightning does not say to you: ‘We are ready to go wherever you want.’
“‘Who has given people wisdom, so that they understand things with their minds? Is anyone wise enough to count the clouds? Can anyone cause the clouds to pour down rain from above? The rain causes the dust of the dry ground to become hard. The dry soil becomes pieces of mud. When the lions become hungry, can you find food for the young lions to eat? You cannot do that for them when they sit in their caves. You cannot help them as they hide in the bushes, ready to attack other animals. You cannot find food for the ravens to eat. You cannot help them when their babies cry to Me because they are weak and hungry.’
“‘Job, do you know that time when the goats on the mountains give birth? Do you watch the wild deer when their babies are born? Can you count the number of months that these animals are pregnant? How long must they wait until they give birth? They bend down low to the ground. They give birth to the babies that they have carried inside them. The young animals grow and they become strong in the fields. Then they leave their parents and they do not return to them. Did you send out the wild donkeys to go wherever they want? No! It was Me who gave them the desert as their home. I let them live in places where the ground has salt. They stay far away from the busy cities. They do not allow anyone to make them work. Instead, they live on the hills, where they find fresh plants to eat.
“‘Can you tell a wild ox to work for you? No! At night, it will not stay to feed at your farm. It will not let you tie it to a plough. It will not agree to prepare your fields in the valleys. A wild ox is very strong. But you cannot trust it to help you with your difficult work. It will not help you to bring in your harvest of grain. It will not take the grain to your threshing floor. When an ostrich is happy, it waves its wings. But it cannot use its wings to fly, as a stork can do. A mother ostrich leaves her eggs on the ground. She lets the sand cause them to be warm. She does not realize that people or wild animals might break the eggs with their feet. She does not take care of her babies, as if they did not belong to her. She does not worry that all her work might be useless. This is because I did not give wisdom to ostriches. I did not give them minds that understand things. But when an ostrich begins to run, it can run very fast. It can run faster than a horse and someone who rides on it.
“‘Did you, Job, give horses their strength? Did you give them the long hair that they have on their necks? You did not make horses able to jump like locusts. They frighten people when they blow air out through their noses. They stamp their feet on the ground, as they prepare to go to a battle. They are ready to go and attack the enemy. A horse is brave and it is not afraid of anything. It does not run away from the enemy's weapons. The soldier who is riding it has his arrows ready at the horse's side. Swords and spears shine brightly in the sun. The horse shakes with joy as it runs to the battle. When the battle trumpet makes its noise, the horse wants to run even faster! When it hears the sound of the trumpet, it makes a happy noise. From far away, it recognizes the smell of the battle. It hears the army officers as they shout their commands.
“‘Was it your wisdom, Job, that taught hawks how to fly? No! You could not teach them to fly towards the south in winter. Do eagles wait for your command to fly high into the sky? No! You could not teach them how to build their nests high up in the mountains. They live among the highest rocks. That is where they stay at night. They are safe on the sharp rocks. From the high rocks, eagles look for their food. They see small animals far away, that they can catch and eat. They come together around the bodies of dead animals. The young eagles drink the blood.’ The Lord said to Job: ‘Do you still want to argue with Me, the Almighty God? You say that I have not been fair. Now you must explain what you mean.’
“Then Job answered the Lord. This is what he said: ‘I am only a foolish man. I cannot answer your questions. I cover my mouth with my hand so that I say nothing. I have already spoken too many times. I will say no more.’
“Then the Lord spoke to Job from inside the storm. This is what he said: ‘Prepare yourself for a difficult job! I will ask you some more questions and you must answer them. Do you say that I am not a fair judge? Do you want to show that I am guilty, not you? Then you could say that you are right. Do you have the same power to do great things as I have? Can you speak with a voice as loud as thunder? I can! If you think that you can do all this, show how great you are! Show everyone your power and your glory! Show everyone your great anger! Look at all the people who like to boast and bring them down low! Yes, cause all the proud people to be humble. Knock down wicked people to the ground. Bury them all together in the dust of the ground. Cover their faces and put them in their graves. If you can do these things, Job, I will praise you. I will agree that you have the power to save yourself.
“‘Listen! I created the monsters called Behemoth. I made you and I made them too. They eat grass, as cows do. But look at the strength of their legs and their body! Their tails are like the branches of a cedar tree. Their legs are thick and very strong. Their bones are like sticks made of bronze. Their legs are as strong as iron. These monsters are some of the greatest animals that I have made. But I who made them can take my sword and go near to them. They eat the grass that grows on the hills. That is where the wild animals play. They lie down under the thorn trees. They hide among the reeds at the edge of the water. They rest in the shadow of the thorn trees, and among the willow trees beside the water. Even when the river is deep and dangerous, these monsters are not afraid. The water of the Jordan River may cover their mouths, but they still feel safe. There is no way that anyone can catch one of them. No one can make its eyes blind. No one can put a ring in its nose and lead it away.’
“‘It is the same with the sea monsters called Leviathan. Can you catch them with a hook? Can you use a rope to keep their mouths shut? Can you tie a rope through their noses? Can you put a hook into their mouths. No! They will not ask you nicely to be kind and let them go free. They will not make any agreement with you. You cannot make them your slaves to work for you as long as they live. Leviathan is not something to enjoy at home, like a bird. You cannot tie it with a rope, so that your girls can play with it. Traders do not buy it at the market. They do not cut it up to sell it. Job, can you throw spears into Leviathan's body to kill it? Can you shoot arrows into its head? If you try to take hold of it, you will never forget the fight! You will never try to do that again! If anyone hopes to catch it, he is deceiving himself. As soon as he sees it, he no longer feels so brave! No one is brave enough to wake it. So is anyone brave enough to argue against me? Nobody has ever won against me to make Me pay them anything.
“‘Everything in the whole world belongs to Me! I must tell you how strong Leviathan's legs are. Their bodies are very strong and they have a wonderful shape. Nobody is able to remove their thick skin. It is like armor that nobody can cut through. Nobody is strong enough to open its mouth. Its teeth make everyone afraid. Its back is like rows of shields. They are as hard as stone with no spaces between them. Each shield is very near the next one. Not even air can pass between them. They are strongly joined together, and nothing can pull them apart. When Leviathan breathes out loudly, bright light shines from its nose. Its eyes shine like the red sun at dawn. Fire comes out from its mouth. Bright flames shoot out! Smoke pours out from its nose, like reeds that burn under a pot. Its breath is hot enough to light a fire! Flames pour out of its mouth. Its neck is very strong. Wherever it goes, people shake with fear. There are no weak places in its skin. Its skin is as hard as iron. It is cruel and it has no fear. Its heart is as hard as stone.
“‘Even the bravest people are afraid when Leviathan appears. They run away when it starts to move. If you hit it with a sword, you will not hurt it. Spears, arrows and knives will be useless. It can easily break iron or bronze weapons. It breaks them as easily as grass or soft wood. If you shoot arrows at it, it will not run away. If you use a sling to throw stones at it, the stones will hurt it no more than bits of chaff. If you hit it with a heavy stick, that hurts it no more than a piece of straw. If you throw a spear at it, it laughs! Its stomach has sharp pieces, like bits of a pot that someone has broken. When it moves along, it ploughs the soil under it. When it swims in the deep water of the sea, the water seems to boil. It makes big waves, like oil that is boiling in a pot. As it swims, the water behind it shines. It makes waves that look like white hair on the sea. There is no other animal like it in the whole world. It is not afraid of anything. It does not respect any other great animal. It rules as king over all the proud animals.’
“Then Job replied to the Lord. He said this: ‘I know that You can do all things. You can do anything that You want to do. Nobody can stop You. You asked me: “Why do you ask questions about My wisdom, when you do not understand anything?” It is true. I was speaking about things that I do not understand. They are things that are too wonderful for me to know. You said to me: “Listen carefully to what I will say. I will ask you questions and you must answer them.” In the past, I had heard about You from other people. Now I have seen You for myself. So I am ashamed of the things that I said. I sit here in dirt and in ashes to show You that I am very sorry.’” (Book of Job, chapters 38 to 42).
Article 5
Thursday & Friday, January 1st & 2nd
The Race! The Grace! The Place!
Thursday & Friday, January 1st & 2nd
The Race! The Grace! The Place!
Staring You In The Face!
Sometimes we see something but fail to see it as it really is! Something obvious stares us in the face, but we obviously fail to see it as we should, or we fear to see it because of the consequences it may hold of us! Our Lord, in Holy Scripture, speaks of this phenomenon: “The heart of this people has grown gross; and with their ears they have been dull of hearing; and their eyes they have shut, lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them!” (Matthew 13:15). You would imagine that anyone and everyone would want to be converted by Christ and converted to Christ―but that is very far from the truth. As Holy Scripture says of Christ: “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shone in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it … He came unto His own, and His own received him not! … The light came into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light―for their works were evil. For every one that does evil hates the light, and comes not to the light, so that his works may not be reproved!” (John 1:4-5, 11; 3:19-20).
Christ said of Himself: “I have come as a light into the world; so that whosoever believes in Me, may not remain in darkness! … I am the light of the world! He that follows Me, walks not in darkness, but shall have the light of life!” (John 12:46; 8:12). Unfortunately, “the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ should not shine unto them!” (2 Corinthians 4:4). “For all the gods of the Gentiles are devils!” (Psalm 95:5).
How can we fail to see that Christ is not of this world, nor does He want us to be of this world. He calls us to be heavenly, not worldly; to be spiritual, not materialistic; to be supernatural, not naturalistic and humanistic; to place our hearts in the things of Heaven and not in the things of this Earth: “I am not of this world! … My kingdom is not of this world! … The world hates Me because I give testimony of it, that the works of the world are evil!” (John 8:23; 18:36; 7:7). “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth! But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven! For where your treasure is, there is your heart also! No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” ― “mammon” being the pleasures, treasures, teachings and spirit of the world, whose prince is the devil (Matthew 6:19-24).
“Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him!” (1 John 2:15). “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God!” (James 4:4) ... “The whole world is seated in wickedness!” (1 John 5:19) ... “Keep yourself unspotted from this world!” (James 1:27) … “Be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2) … “That we be not condemned with this world!” (1 Corinthians 11:32).
Listen to Liturgical Lessons!
Holy Mother Church does not select her Liturgical Readings for the Mass and Breviary by blindly picking them out of a hat! The importance of “tip of the iceberg” of readings selected is shown by the fact that those same readings come back each year, one year after another, one decade after another, one century after another―even though there are many other possible alternative that are available and could be selected.
Hence the striking passage that Holy Mother Church has selected for the start of the New Year―January 1st―the feast of the Circumcision of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The passage in question should set the tone for the rest of the year―even the rest of our lives! It is taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to Titus: “Beloved! The grace of God our Savior has appeared to all men, instructing us that, rejecting ungodliness and worldly lusts, we may live temperately and justly and piously in this world; looking for the blessed hope and glorious coming of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for us so that He might redeem us from all iniquity and cleanse for Himself an acceptable people, pursuing good works. Thus speak, and exhort, in Christ Jesus our Lord!” (Titus 2:11-15).
Holy Mother Church then echoes that same message in the Preface of the Mass: “It is truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord … for through the Mystery of the Word made flesh, the new light of Thy glory has shone upon the eyes of our mind, so that while we acknowledge God in visible form, we may through Him be drawn to the love of things invisible.” In the Post-Communion prayer it says: “O Lord, cleanse us from sin and, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, make us sharers of Your heavenly healing!”
Holy Mother Church echoes the same message throughout the Breviary (Divine Office / Liturgy of the Hours) throughout the readings for January 1st. In Matins we again have the repetition of part of the Epistle of St. Paul that was read at Mass: “The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world!” (Titus 2:11-12).
The hymn of Matins speaks of “Jesus, the Ransomer of man! … Salvation’s Author! … Thou, salvation’s source alone! … We who, by Thy Precious Blood are redeemed from sin and marked for God, sing the new song of ransomed Earth!” In other sections of Matins for January 1st we have these additional questions and statements: “Why have the Gentiles raged, and the people devised vain things? The kings of the Earth stood up, and the princes met together against the Lord and against His Christ―saying: ‘Let us break Their bonds asunder and let us cast away Their yoke from us!’” (Psalm 2:1-3). “Who shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord, or who shall stand in His holy place? The innocent in hands and clean of heart!” (Psalm 23:3-4) ... “The law of the Lord is unspotted, converting souls” (Psalm 18:8) ... “Hate evil―you that love the Lord!” (Psalm 96:10).
In the next Office of the Day, that of Lauds, we are once again told the same thing in the Chapter Hymn Verse: “The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world!” (Titus 2:11-12). Then in the Chapter Responsory Verse for the Divine Office of Terce, yet again we are told: “The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world! (Titus 2:11-12). Likewise in Chapter Hymn Verse in the Divine Office of Vespers, it says: “The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world!” (Titus 2:11-12).
Hammering Home Holy Advice
It seems like Holy Mother Church is seeking to hammer home an extremely important point on the opening day of this New Year. This is furthermore seen in many other readings and prayers from the Liturgical Year, whereby we are told to detach ourselves from worldliness and to focus upon Heaven. Here is just the tip of the iceberg of such readings:
● “Teach us to despise the things of Earth and to love those of Heaven” (Post-Communion, 2nd Sunday of Advent).
● “O God, Who knowest us to be set in the midst of so great dangers … O Lord, detach us from earthly pleasures” (Collect & Post-Communion, 4th Sunday after Epiphany).
● “Restrain our senses from hurtful excesses” (Collect, Monday in 3rd week of Lent).
● “…with our earthly affections weakening, we may more easily lay a firm hold on the things of Heaven” (Collect, Thursday of 4th week of Lent).
● “Grant that we always strive after divine things” (Post-Communion, Tuesday of Passion Week).
● “Stand firm with strong minds against the allurements of sin” (Collect, 2nd Lesson, Paschal Vigil).
● “O God, Thou art the Sower of good seed and the Cultivator of chosen branches, grant to Thy people of whom Thou dost refer to as vines and harvest fields, that they may root out all thorns and briars and produce good fruit in abundance” (Collect, 3rd Lesson, Paschal Vigil).
● “We renounced Satan and his works, and the world, likewise an enemy of God” (Renewal of Baptismal Promises, Paschal Vigil).
● “If you be risen with Christ, seek the things that are above! Mind the things that are above, not the things that are upon the Earth!” (Epistle, Easter Midnight Mass).
● “Learn to despise what is earthly and to love what is heavenly” (Post-Communion, Feast of Sacred Heart of Jesus).
● “Pass through things that are temporal, so that we may not lose those which are eternal” (Collect, 3rd Sunday after Pentecost).
● “Grant O Lord that Thy people may shun all the wiles of the devil” (17th Sunday after Pentecost).
● “Love not the world, not the things that are in the world! If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him. For all that is of the world is concupiscence of the flesh, concupiscence of the eyes and the pride of love―which is not of the Father, but of the world!” (Epistle, St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, Feb. 27th).
● “O God, grant that Thy faithful―surrounded by luxury and the snares of the world―may despise earthly things and ever aspire to those of Heaven” (Collect, St. Casimir, March 4th).
● “May we overcome the snares of our spiritual enemies … Break the snares of our enemies! … Defend us from the malicious enemy!” (Collect, Secret & Post-Communion, St. John Capistran, March 28th).
● “May we despise the fleeting things of this time and seek what is eternal” (Collect, St. Heremenegild, April 13th).
● “The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God” (Gradual, St. Justin, April 14th).
● “May we despise all the things of this world and so deserve the rewards which Thou hast promised” (Collect, St. Peter Celestine, May 19th).
● “Shedding all earthly interests, may we be found worthy to enjoy everlasting happiness” (Collect, St. Angela Merici, June 1st).
● “Overcome the wickedness of the world … Hold fast to the noble kingdom of Heaven!” (Alleluia in Eastertide, St. Primus & St. Felician, June 9th).
● “They overcame the guilt of the world and followed Christ, holding fast to the Kingdom of Heaven” (Alleluia, St. John & St. Paul, June 26th).
● “Give victory over the enticements of this life” (Collect, St. Henry, July 15th).
● “May we be enabled to despise the things of Earth and with pure hearts seek Thee alone” (Post-Communion, St. Jane Frances de Chantal, August 21st).
● “May we despise earthly prosperity and always seek heavenly things” (Collect, St. Philip Benizi, August 23rd).
● “For the sake of Thy love, may we despise earthly prosperity and fear no temporal harm” (Collect, St. Hermes, August 28th).
● “May we be lifted up above all earthly desires” (Collect, St. Joseph Cupertino, September 18th).
● “May we despise earthly goods and ever partake of Thy heavenly gifts” (Collect, St. Francis of Assisi, October 4th).
● “May we learn to trample underfoot the perishable delights of this world” (Collect, St. Hedwig, October 16th).
● “Make us renounce the proud vanities of the world” (Post-Communion, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, October 17th).
● “May we despise earthly things and enjoy fellowship with Thee for evermore” (Collect, St. Sylvester, November 26th).
We Have Lost the Sense of Sin
Traditionally, we were always taught that sin was the greatest evil in the world: “Sin is the only evil upon Earth … Mortal sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, poverty, or war, because it separates us from God … Venial sin is second only in evil consequences to mortal sin … Sometimes people say: ‘It is only a little sin, it does not matter much!’ But every venial sin is an offence against God, and therefore is, after mortal sin, the greatest of evils―far greater than any of the physical evils which can be inflicted on us!” (The Catechism Explained, by Spirago-Clarke; also the Catechism, My Catholic Faith, by Bishop Morrow, STD; The Catechism Simply Explained, by Fr. Cafferata, q. 127).
Both Conservative and even Liberal popes agree on the fact that the world has lost the sense of the gravity of sin.
● Pope Pius XII remarked in 1946: “Perhaps the greatest sin in the world today is that men have begun to lose the sense of sin!”
● Pope John Paul II, in 2005, wrote: “We live in a society that seems to have lost the sense of God and of sin!”
● Pope Benedict XVI, in 2011, said: “The word ‘sin’ is not accepted by many, because it presupposes a religious vision of the world and of man. If we eliminate God from the horizon of the world, then we cannot speak of sin ... The meaning of sin ― which is a different thing from ‘guilt feelings’ as understood in psychology ― is only grasped in discovering the meaning of God!”
● Pope Francis, in 2014, stated: “When the Kingdom of God is forgotten, when the Kingdom of God diminishes, one of the signs is that the sense of sin is lost … When you lose the sense of sin, you also lose the sense of the Kingdom of God … When we lose the sense of sin, when we let the Kingdom of God crumble!”
Even Traditional Catholics have lost the sense of sin. Back in the post-Second World War years―when Pope Pius XII made the above quote―there was as yet no Vatican II with its widespread revolution in the Church and progressive dilution of Faith and Morals―yet they had lost the sense of sin even back then! Many of today’s so-called “Traditional Catholics” would probably be labeled as being “Liberal Catholics” back in the 1940s. “There is a way that seems to a man right, but the ends thereof lead to death!” (Proverbs 16:25).
For centuries, most Catholics understood that actions or thoughts contrary to right reason, God’s truth, and right conscience are sins. Such actions or thoughts could place one’s soul in grave danger of being damned. In more recent times, however, many seem to have forgotten what sin is. Or perhaps sin has been so downplayed since Vatican II that sin is not something about which too many are very concerned. The warning words of Holy Scripture come to mind here: “My son, hast thou sinned? Do so no more! But for thy former sins also pray that they may be forgiven thee!” (Ecclesiasticus 21:1). “Be not without fear about sin forgiven, and add not sin upon sin! And say not: ‘The mercy of the Lord is great, he will have mercy on the multitude of my sins!’ For mercy and wrath quickly come from Him, and His wrath looks upon sinners! Delay not to be converted to the Lord and defer it not from day to day! For His wrath shall come on all of a sudden and in the time of vengeance He will destroy You!” (Ecclesiasticus 5:5-9). “The Lord delays not His promise, as some imagine, but deals patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance!” (2 Peter 3:9).
Pope John XXIII stated in his opening address prior to Vatican II that “In our time . . . the Bride of Christ prefers to use the medicine of mercy rather than severity ... The Catholic Church, by raising the torch of religious truth through this Ecumenical Council, wants to show herself to be a kind mother of everyone ― benign, patient, full of mercy and kindness for the children separated from her.” Consequently, following Vatican II, God’s love and mercy took center stage. For many bishops and priests, being pastoral ― focusing on God’s love and mercy ― was ‘in’ and talking about sin was ‘out.’ Even the “New Mass” became pastoral instead of sacrificial. It was no longer a bloodless re-enactment of Christ’s sacrifice for us. Instead, it had become a community celebration of Christ’s victory over death. The altar was no longer an altar, it was a banquet table, and all are welcome at the table.
Vatican II’s Dignitatis Humanae (#3. Par. 4) said: “In all his activity a man is bound to follow his conscience ... ” The rest of the sentence said: “in order that he may come to God, the end and purpose of life.” But it is the first part of the sentence that became popular and the second part was largely ignored. The point being that far too many people have poorly formed consciences and they are content to stroll through life letting their desires control their actions. And at least some of the clergy have been complicit in promoting such sinful actions. The devil has always been really good at convincing people that wants and desires are more important than right reason and God’s truth. Now even the Church seemed to be saying let your poorly formed conscience be your guide.
The Devolution and Deflation of Sin
Catholic teaching on conscience and sin developed in the years following Vatican II, and sin took on some nuances. In addition to venial and mortal sin, there was now the evolution of ‘social sins’. And the term ‘grave matter’ now edged out the words ‘mortal sin.’ Pope John Paul II even addressed the problem of the loss of the sense of sin―he linked it to the conscience problem, saying that “for more or less lengthy periods ... the moral conscience of many people becomes seriously clouded.” This clouding results in a “numbness or ‘deadening’ of conscience.” He also pointed out that, “When the conscience is weakened the sense of God is also obscured, and as a result, with the loss of this decisive inner point of reference, the sense of sin is lost. This explains why one of my predecessors Pius XII, declared, in words that have almost become proverbial, that: ‘The sin of the century is the loss of the sense of sin.’”
The Evolution and Inflation of “Feel Good”
You could argue that the loss of the sense of sin has always been a problem throughout the world. Nevertheless, it has accelerated and grown especially over the last 100 years or so. The devil wasn’t content just pushing greed hate, war, and killing, so he turned his attention to a more basic human desire. Already in 1917, Our Lady of Fatima had warned that the most common sin that damned souls at that time was the sin of lust and impurity. As foretold by Sister Lucia of Fatima, the devil began waging a “final battle” against Our Lady by mainly attacking the Sacrament of Matrimony and pushing the sin of lust.
One of chief encouragements to sin was the idea of “If it feels good, then do it!” This approach to things became widely associated with the seismic cultural shifts of the 1960s and 1970s―particularly the “Hippie Movement”. It became a slogan reflecting a rejection of traditional social norms and an embrace of personal pleasure and freedom. Sexual intercourse had become a pleasurable recreational activity. It was no longer one of the fruits of the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony.
The sin of adultery picked up steam, and no-fault divorce quickly followed. The divorce rate in the 1960s was around 9.2 divorces per 1,000 married women―or around 1 in 100. By the late 1970s, it had more than doubled to 22.6 per 1,000 married women―or just over 2 per 100. In 2021 it was 2.5 divorces per 1,000 married women. Every 42 seconds, there is one divorce in America, That equates to 86 divorces per hour, 2,046 divorces per day, 14,364 divorces per week, and 746,971 divorces per year. 15% of adult women in the United States are divorced or separated today, compared with less than one percent in 1920.
As of 2024, the U.S. divorce rate remains between 40% to 50% for first marriages. On average, a marriage that ends in divorce lasts eight years, according to U.S. Census data. The likelihood of divorce increases with subsequent marriages. Around 60-67% of second marriages end in divorce, compared to 40-50% of first marriages. This trend is even more pronounced for third marriages, where the divorce rate exceeds 70%.
Today, some will point out that divorce rates are going down―but that is simply because people are no longer marrying each other, but are simply practicing “cohabitation”―that is to say, then are living together in sin, but society no longer looks upon it a being sin anymore! “If it feels good, then do it!” Couples who live together before marriage, often experience higher divorce rates. According to research from the Institute for Family Studies, couples who cohabitate before getting engaged are 39% more likely to divorce, compared to those who do not live together before marriage.
Approximately 40% of children in the U.S. experience parental divorce by the age of 18. Additionally, the U.S. Census reports that single-parent households—often formed after divorce—are on the rise, with nearly 20 million children living with a single parent.
Man has overruled God. Today, human pride trumps God’s truth and lust has become love. And, of course, if lust is love then any kind of “love is love,” as the LGBTQ crowd so loudly proclaims. So why not allow same-sex ‘marriage?’ What could be wrong with two males or two females ‘loving’ one another (i.e., disordered lust) sexually? The Church has always taught that homosexuality is intrinsically disordered. Even so, society suddenly began celebrating same-sex ‘marriage’ as something entirely normal. The devil may be jumping for joy over this destruction and corruption of the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony!
The Race and the Rules of the Race
There is an awful lot of talk about racism these days―with it in some cases being deemed a crime! There is also a awful lot of racing that takes place with athletes, cars, boats, horses, dogs, etc. Yet very few people pay attention to, talk about, or take part in the only race that really matters―the race for Heaven. Holy Scripture, through the mouth of St. Paul, speaks of that race for Heaven in very clear and direct terms:
“Know you not that they that run in the race, all run indeed, but one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it! And everyone that strives for the mastery, refrains himself from all things―and they indeed so that they may receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible one! I therefore so run, not as at an uncertainty! I so fight, not as one beating the air! But I chastise my body and bring it into subjection―lest perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway!” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).
Any race that worth anything is usually a tough race, a hard race, a testing race, a race that requires much preparation, much effort and much steel in mind and heart. Without those qualities you will rarely win. The same applies to the race for Heaven. Our Lord came from Heaven to lead us to Heaven, to teach us how to gain Heaven, to teach us how to imitate Him in getting there and winning our crown:
What is Needed for the Race
To win a bicycle race you need a bicycle. To win a car race you a need a car. To win a boat race you need a boat. To win a horse race you need a horse. To win Heaven you need a cross. “And Jesus said to all: ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me!’” (Luke 9:23) … “And whosoever does not carry his cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple!” (Luke 14:27) … “And he that does not take up his cross and follows Me, is not worthy of Me!” (Matthew 10:38). St. Paul takes up that advice and takes up the cross of Christ and glories in the cross of Christ: “Christ humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross!” (Philippians 2:8). “Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel―lest the cross of Christ should be made void! The word of the cross, to them indeed that perish, is foolishness―but to them that are saved, that is to us, it is the power of God! … We preach Christ crucified―which is to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the Gentiles foolishness! But unto them that are called―both Jews and Greeks―it is the power of God, and the wisdom of God!” (1 Corinthians 1:17-19, 23-24). “With Christ I am nailed to the cross! … I do not cast away the grace of God!” (Galatians 2:19). “God forbid that I should glory, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ―by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world!” (Galatians 6:14). “But many walk―of whom I have told you often and now tell you weeping―that they are enemies of the cross of Christ! Their end is destruction; whose God is their belly; and whose glory is in their shame; who mind earthly things!” (Philippians 3:18-19).
Our Lady confirms the above in speaking to the Venerable Mary of Agreda: “Earthly love of sensible pleasures and riches is not compatible with [true] wisdom! … The greatest wisdom for souls consists in the knowledge of the cross, in the love of sufferings, and in putting this knowledge into practice by bearing afflictions with patience! … Those that know nothing of this science are foolish! … The wisdom of the flesh―worldly wisdom―has made men ignorant, foolish and hostile to God! Consider all delights and joys of the world as insanity, and as the source of foolishness! … Since all men, in their inordinate desire and pursuit of worldly happiness, neglect the Divine Law―where alone happiness can be found―very few really attain happiness! … Worldlings, in their lethargy, are moved neither by the duty of conforming to their Lord, nor by His declaration that all their salvation consists in following Christ in His sufferings! … They do not seek the medicine of suffering! … Why do mortals continue to deceive themselves, by expecting, in spite of their sins, to become pure and worthy of enjoying God, without the furnace or the file of sorrows! … Eternal rest is incompatible with the shame of not having duly labored for its attainment!” (Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, The Mystical City of God).
As Catholics, we are baptized into the Mystical Body of Christ. This means that wherever the Head of the Mystical Body goes, then there too must the rest of the Mystical Body go―otherwise you have a decapitation and spiritual suicide. Christ says to us as He said to the Apostles that He chose: “Follow Me!” (Matthew 4:19-22; 8:22; 9:9; 16:24; Mark 1:16-20; 2:14; 8:34; Luke 5:1-11; 5:27; 9:23; 9:59; John 1:43; 10:27; 12:26; 13:36; 21:19; 21:22). To follow Christ means to embrace the cross―which is something that most people fail to do, for they have already embraced the world and love the world and what the world has to offer. We see one such case in the encounter Jesus had with the rich young man:
“And behold, a certain rich young man, a ruler, running up and kneeling before Him, asked Him: ‘Good Master, what shall I do that I may receive life everlasting?’ And Jesus said to him: ‘If you want to enter into eternal life, keep the commandments!’ The young man said to Him: ‘All these I have kept from my youth! What is yet wanting to me?’ And Jesus looking on him, loved him, and said to him: ‘You are lacking one thing! If you want to be perfect, go sell whatsoever you have, and give the proceeds to the poor, and you shall have a treasure in Heaven, and then come follow Me!’ And when the young man had heard these words, being struck sad at that saying, went away sorrowful―for he was very rich and had great possessions. And Jesus, seeing him become sorrowful, looking round about, said to His disciples: ‘How hardly shall they that have riches, enter into the Kingdom of God! Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!’” (combined account of Matthew 19:16-24; Mark 10:17-23; Luke 18:18-25).
The Cross and Grace and Charity
We cannot carry the cross profitably without the assistance of Divine Grace―as Our Lord said: “Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5). If we are not in a state of Sanctifying Grace (if we are in a state of Mortal Sin), then whatever we do is spiritually profitless apart from receiving Actual Graces (temporary passing graces) that are meant to lead to our repentance, conversion and restoration to the State of Sanctifying Grace. Sanctifying Grace can be said to be ‘married’ to Charity―for a Love of God is essential for Sanctifying Grace to remain in the soul. Conversely, Mortal Sin can be said to be ‘married’ to Hatred of God, since that is what Mortal Sin essentially expresses and communicates. Hence, Sanctifying Grace and Charity go hand in hand―if you lose one, then you automatically lose the other.
Just as we need the help of God’s Grace to perseveringly do good and save our soul, likewise we need God’s Charity for all that to bear fruit. “God is Charity” (1 John 4:8) and without that Charity of God, whatever we do is spiritually useless: “If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all Faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not Charity―then I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not Charity―then it profits me nothing!” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). Carrying the cross is not enough without Charity. The ultimate motive for all that we do should be the love of God―hence it is that St. Augustine writes: “Love God and do whatever you please―for the soul trained in love to God will do nothing to offend the One who is Beloved.” That is exactly what Our Lord implies when, at the Last Supper, He says: “If you love Me, keep My commandments … He that has My commandments, and keeps them; he it is that loves Me … If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word … He that loves Me not, keeps not My words!” (John 14:15, 14:21-24).
Furthermore, it is Mortal Sin that separates us from the love of God―and it is Charity that drives away the effects and debts of sin: “Before all things, have a constant mutual charity among yourselves―for charity covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). “Charity covers all sins” (Proverbs 10:12). Of Mary Magdalen, Our Lord says: “Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much” (Luke 7:47).
The Massive Loss of Souls
The fact that most souls end up being damned is tragically evident from what we read in Holy Scripture and in the words coming from Our Lord, Our Lady and many saints, popes and theologians―and we are only speaking of Catholic souls, for there can be no salvation outside of the Catholic Church. “And a certain man said to Jesus: ‘Lord, are there few that are saved?’ But Jesus said: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I tell you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able! … Enter ye in at the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate and how strait is the way that leads to life, and few there are that find it!’” (Luke 13:23-24; Matthew 7:13-14).
Our Lady of Fatima said: “Many souls go to Hell!” To the Venerable Mary of Agreda, Our Lady said: “Fear the danger of not attending to the divine calls, for that is the cause of the loss of innumerable souls ... How many men have thrown themselves into the eternal darkness of Hell! … Countless numbers have fallen into Hell! … Lucifer has hurled into Hell so great a number of souls and continues so to hurl them every day! The neglect and contempt of bodily mortification cause the loss of many souls and bring many more into the danger of eternal loss. I will not tell thee how many souls are lost, in order to not cause thee to die of sorrow at this loss! I have already told thee, that the number of those foreknown as doomed, is so great, and of those that save themselves is so small, that it is not expedient to say more in particular! Weep ceaselessly over the terrible loss sustained by so many insane and thankless souls, who are forgetful of God, of their duty and of their own selves … and lose their chance of salvation or bring upon themselves eternal damnation!”
The Saints have echoed that truth throughout each and every century―here is a mere tip of the iceberg of quotes that are so numerous that they have filled entire books on the subject:
► St. Justin Martyr, Father of the Church (100-165): “The majority of men shall not see God, except those who live justly, purified by righteousness and by every other virtue.”
► St. Jerome, Doctor and Father of the Church (347-420): “So that you will better appreciate the meaning of Our Lord’s words, and perceive more clearly how few the Elect are, note that Christ did not say that those who actually walked in the path to Heaven are few in number, but that there were few who found that narrow way! … Out of one hundred thousand sinners who continue in sin until death, scarcely one will be saved!”
► St. John Chrysostom, Doctor and Father of the Church (347-407): “What do you think? How many of the inhabitants of this city may perhaps be saved? What I am about to tell you is very terrible, yet I will not conceal it from you. Out of this thickly populated city with its thousands of inhabitants not one hundred people will be saved. I even doubt whether there will be as many as that! Furthermore, I do not speak rashly, but as I feel and think. I do not think that many bishops are saved, but that those who perish are far more numerous!”
► St. Augustine, Doctor and Father of the Church (354-430): “Not all, nor even a majority, are saved! … It is certain that few are saved! Take care not to resemble the multitude! … If you wish to imitate the multitude, then you shall not be among the few who shall enter in by the narrow gate! … Beyond a doubt the elect are few!”
► St. Regimius of Rheims (437-533): “Among adults there are few saved because of sins of the flesh. … With the exception of those who die in childhood, most men will be damned!”
► St. John Climacus, Syrian monk (525-600): “Live with the few if you want to reign with the few!”
► Pope St. Gregory the Great (540-604): “There are many who arrive at the Faith, but few who are led into the heavenly kingdom! …They who are to be saved as Saints, and wish to be saved as imperfect souls, shall not be saved!”
► St. Anselm, Doctor of the Church (1033-1109): “If you want to be certain of being in the number of the elect, strive to be one of the few, not of the many! And if you wantt be quite sure of your salvation, then strive to be among the fewest of the few! … Do not follow the great majority of mankind, but follow those who enter upon the narrow way, who renounce the world, who give themselves to prayer, and who never relax their efforts by day or by night, that they may attain everlasting blessedness!”
► St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church (1225-1274): “There are a select few who are saved!” (Summa Theologica, Ia, q.23, art.7, ad 3.) “Those who are saved are in the minority” (Summa Theologica, Ia, q.23, art.8, ad.3).
► St. Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419): “Many religious go straight to Hell because they do not keep their vows!”
► St. John of Avila (1499-1569): “Take care not to resemble the multitude whose knowledge of God's will only condemns them to more severe punishment.”
► Ven. Louis de Granada (1504-1588): “A greater number is lost through false confidence than through excessive fear.”
► St. Francis Xavier (1506-1552): “Ah, how many souls lose Heaven and are cast into Hell!”
► St. Philip Neri (1515-1595): “So vast a number of miserable souls perish, and so comparatively few are saved!”
► St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori, Doctor of the Church (1696-1787): “It is certainly a great happiness for some sinners who, after a bad life, are converted at their death, and are saved; but these cases are very rare! Usually, he that leads a bad life dies a bad death! … The common opinion is that the greater part of adults is lost! … Everyone desires to be saved―but the greater part is lost! … The greater part of men choose to be damned rather than to love Almighty God! … He who abuses too much the mercy of God will be abandoned by Him!”
► St. John Climacus, Father of the Church (579-649): “Live with the few if you want to reign with the few.”
► St. John of the Cross, Doctor of the Church (1542-1591): “Behold how many there are who are called, and how few who are chosen! And behold, if you have no care for yourself, your damnation is more certain than your amendment, especially since the way that leads to eternal life is so narrow! … Only a small number of souls achieve perfect love!”
► St. Veronica Giuliani (1660-1727): “The number of the damned is incalculable.”
► St. Louis Marie de Montfort (1673-1716): “Be one of the small number who find the way to life, and enter by the narrow gate into Heaven. Take care not to follow the majority and the common herd, so many of whom are lost! … The number of the elect is so small ― so small ― that, were we to know how small it is, we would faint away with grief―one here and there, scattered up and down the world!”
► Blessed Anna Maria Taigi, (1769-1837): “The greater number of Christians today are damned. The destiny of those dying on one day is that very few ― not as many as ten ― went straight to Heaven; many remained in Purgatory; and those cast into Hell were as numerous as snowflakes in midwinter.”
► St. John Marie Vianney (1786-1859): “The number of the saved is as few as the number of grapes left after the vineyard-pickers have passed! … We shall find out at the day of judgment that the greater number of Christians who are lost were damned because they did not know their own religion!”
► St. Anthony Mary Claret (1807-1870): “A multitude of souls fall into the depths of Hell, and it is of the Faith that all who die in mortal sin are condemned forever and ever. According to statistics, approximately 80,000 persons die every day [back in the 1800s―today around 170,000 people die each day worldwide]. How many of these will die in mortal sin, and how many will be condemned! For, as their lives have been, so also will be their end!”
► St. Peter Julian Eymard (1811-1868): “And how very small is the kingdom of Jesus Christ! So many nations have never had the Faith!” (St. Peter Julian Eymard).
► St. Joseph Cafasso (1811-1860): “Cast a look round the world, just observe the manner of living, of speaking, and you will see immediately whether the evil of sin is known in the world or whether any attention is paid to it. Not to speak of those who live decidedly irreligious and wicked lives, how few are those who pass for good and who approach the sacraments are aware of the great evil that sin is, and the great ruin it brings with it. It must necessarily happen that, on account of this certainly culpable ignorance in which most men live, an enormous number will come to be damned, because no sin is pardoned which is not detested, and it is impossible to detest sin properly if it is not known as such.” (St. Joseph Cafasso).
► St. John Neumann (1811-1860): “Notwithstanding assurances that God did not create any man for Hell, and that He wishes all men to be saved, it remains equally true that only few will be saved; that only few will go to Heaven; and that the greater part of mankind will be lost forever.” (St. John Neumann).
► St. Francesca Saverio Cabrini, a.k.a. Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917): “How many among these uncivilized peoples do not yet know God, and are sunk in the darkest idolatry, superstition and ignorance! . . . Poor souls! These are they in whom Christ saw, in all the horror of His imminent Passion, the uselessness of His agony for so many souls!” (St. Francesca Saverio Cabrini).
► Lucia Santos of Fatima (1907-1958?): “Taking into account the behavior of mankind, only a small part of the human race will be saved! Most will be lost!”
► St. Jacinta Marto of Fatima (1910-1920): “Lucia found Jacinta sitting alone, still and very pensive, gazing at nothing. ‘What are you thinking of, Jacinta?’ ‘Of the war that is going to come. So many people are going to die. And almost all of them are going to Hell!”
God and Truth Do Not Change
The teaching on this damnation of the majority of souls is not at all popular and is therefore rarely mentioned or largely ignored―but the truth remains the truth and will not go away just because we choose to ignore it and bury our heads in the sand! Fleeing from the truth does not change the truth! Disliking the truth does not change the truth! Arguing against the truth does not change the truth! Rejecting the truth does not change the truth! Being ignorant of truth does not change the truth! Rebelling against the truth does change the truth! God is Truth and God never changes. Scripture says of God: “God is true!” (Romans 3:4). “Thy word is truth!” (John 17:17). The beginning of Thy words is truth! … All thy ways are truth! … Thy law is the truth! … All thy statutes are truth! In Thy truth Thou hast humbled me!” (Psalm 118: verses 160, 151, 142, 86, 75). Our Lord says of Himself: “I am the truth!” (John 14:6). Our Lord speaks of the Holy Ghost being Truth ― “The Father shall give you another Paraclete, the Spirit of truth … I will send you the Spirit of truth from the Father … When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will teach you all truth!” (John 14:16-17; 15:26; 16:13). God says: “I am the Lord, and I change not!” (Malachias 3:6). Scripture adds: “With the Father of lights there is no change, nor shadow of alteration!” (James 1:17).
Our Lord rebukes this refusal to accept the truth of God: “I am the Truth! … For this was I born, and for this came I into the world; that I should give testimony to the truth. Everyone that is of the truth, hears My voice! … He that sent Me is true―and the things I have heard of Him, these same I speak in the world! … My testimony is true! … My judgment is true! ... If you continue in My word, you shall be My disciples! And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free! … But you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you! … You seek to kill Me, a Man Who has spoken the truth to you, which I have heard of God! … I say to you that you shall die in your sins! For if you believe not that I am He, then you shall die in your sin! … Why do you not know My speech? Because you cannot hear My word! You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do! He was a murderer from the beginning, and he stood not in the truth; because truth is not in him! When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own―for he is a liar, and the father of lies! But if I speak the truth, you do not believe Me! If I speak the truth to you, why do you not believe Me? He that is of God, hears the words of God! Therefore you hear them not, because you are not of God!” (John 14:6; 18:37; 8:14-47).
Damnation Is Not Inevitable
Yet damnation is not something that is inevitable and inescapable―just like bad health is not inevitable and inescapable! Do the right things in the physical domain and you will be healthy! Do the right things in the spiritual domain and you will be saved! Ultimately, God neither wants nor seeks the damnation of any soul―no matter how sinful they may be. “He never withdraws His mercy from us―but though He chastises His people with adversity, He forsakes them not!” (Machabees 2:16). “God sent not His Son into the world, to judge the world, but so that the world may be saved by Him” (John 3:17). God says: “Is it My will that a sinner should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways, and live?” (Ezechiel 18:23). Christ Himself said: “The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save!” (Luke 9:56). “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). “I came to call sinners to penance!” (Luke 5:32).
The Only Place Worth Going To!
You guessed it! It is so obvious―or it should be obvious! Or, looking at the above quotes, it is obviously not so obvious! The only place worth going to is HEAVEN. There is only one alternative―HELL. Who the hell wants to go to Hell? Nobody should want that―yet that is where most people end up! Why? A lack of love for God and Heaven! This, in turn, is the result of a lack of knowledge about God and Heaven. As philosophy correctly points out: “You cannot love what you do not know!” You cannot love a person you have never met and know nothing about. You cannot love a particular food if you have never tasted and eaten it. You cannot love a particular city if you have never been there or have little knowledge of it. You cannot love a sport if you have never watched or played it. Hence, “You cannot love what you do not know!” That is also why the Catechism teaches us that in order to get to Heaven we KNOW, LOVE and SERVE GOD. We will not serve very well someone whom we do not love―we cannot love someone whom we know little or nothing about. Hence the foundation of knowledge. The degree of love will usually be in proportion to the degree of knowledge. He who knows little will love little. That is why St. Thérèse of Lisieux used to say: “Jesus is so little loved because He is so little known!”
We read enormous quantities of material about earthly, material, physical, worldly things―but ever so little about heavenly, spiritual, supernatural things. As you sow, so shall you reap! If you fail to sow seeds of knowledge about God, Heaven and things related to them―then you risk not reaping an eternal heavenly harvest. “Be not deceived, God is not mocked! For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that sows in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption [disease and death]. But he that sows in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:7-8). How much time are you spending on earthly, material, physical, worldly things and how much time are you spending on heavenly, spiritual, supernatural things. Our Lord is clear on the matter: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth! … But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven! … For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” ― “mammon” being the pleasures, treasures, teachings and spirit of the world, whose prince is the devil (Matthew 6:19-24). “For what shall it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his soul?” (Mark 8:36).
Is this New Year the time for a new approach? “Cast away from you all your transgressions, by which you have transgressed, and make to yourselves a new heart, and a new spirit!” (Ezechiel 18:31). “I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you―and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you a heart of flesh!” (Ezechiel 36:26). “Put on the new man, who, according to God, is created in justice and holiness of truth!” (Ephesians 4:24).
Sometimes we see something but fail to see it as it really is! Something obvious stares us in the face, but we obviously fail to see it as we should, or we fear to see it because of the consequences it may hold of us! Our Lord, in Holy Scripture, speaks of this phenomenon: “The heart of this people has grown gross; and with their ears they have been dull of hearing; and their eyes they have shut, lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them!” (Matthew 13:15). You would imagine that anyone and everyone would want to be converted by Christ and converted to Christ―but that is very far from the truth. As Holy Scripture says of Christ: “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shone in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it … He came unto His own, and His own received him not! … The light came into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light―for their works were evil. For every one that does evil hates the light, and comes not to the light, so that his works may not be reproved!” (John 1:4-5, 11; 3:19-20).
Christ said of Himself: “I have come as a light into the world; so that whosoever believes in Me, may not remain in darkness! … I am the light of the world! He that follows Me, walks not in darkness, but shall have the light of life!” (John 12:46; 8:12). Unfortunately, “the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ should not shine unto them!” (2 Corinthians 4:4). “For all the gods of the Gentiles are devils!” (Psalm 95:5).
How can we fail to see that Christ is not of this world, nor does He want us to be of this world. He calls us to be heavenly, not worldly; to be spiritual, not materialistic; to be supernatural, not naturalistic and humanistic; to place our hearts in the things of Heaven and not in the things of this Earth: “I am not of this world! … My kingdom is not of this world! … The world hates Me because I give testimony of it, that the works of the world are evil!” (John 8:23; 18:36; 7:7). “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth! But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven! For where your treasure is, there is your heart also! No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” ― “mammon” being the pleasures, treasures, teachings and spirit of the world, whose prince is the devil (Matthew 6:19-24).
“Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him!” (1 John 2:15). “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God!” (James 4:4) ... “The whole world is seated in wickedness!” (1 John 5:19) ... “Keep yourself unspotted from this world!” (James 1:27) … “Be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2) … “That we be not condemned with this world!” (1 Corinthians 11:32).
Listen to Liturgical Lessons!
Holy Mother Church does not select her Liturgical Readings for the Mass and Breviary by blindly picking them out of a hat! The importance of “tip of the iceberg” of readings selected is shown by the fact that those same readings come back each year, one year after another, one decade after another, one century after another―even though there are many other possible alternative that are available and could be selected.
Hence the striking passage that Holy Mother Church has selected for the start of the New Year―January 1st―the feast of the Circumcision of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The passage in question should set the tone for the rest of the year―even the rest of our lives! It is taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to Titus: “Beloved! The grace of God our Savior has appeared to all men, instructing us that, rejecting ungodliness and worldly lusts, we may live temperately and justly and piously in this world; looking for the blessed hope and glorious coming of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for us so that He might redeem us from all iniquity and cleanse for Himself an acceptable people, pursuing good works. Thus speak, and exhort, in Christ Jesus our Lord!” (Titus 2:11-15).
Holy Mother Church then echoes that same message in the Preface of the Mass: “It is truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord … for through the Mystery of the Word made flesh, the new light of Thy glory has shone upon the eyes of our mind, so that while we acknowledge God in visible form, we may through Him be drawn to the love of things invisible.” In the Post-Communion prayer it says: “O Lord, cleanse us from sin and, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, make us sharers of Your heavenly healing!”
Holy Mother Church echoes the same message throughout the Breviary (Divine Office / Liturgy of the Hours) throughout the readings for January 1st. In Matins we again have the repetition of part of the Epistle of St. Paul that was read at Mass: “The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world!” (Titus 2:11-12).
The hymn of Matins speaks of “Jesus, the Ransomer of man! … Salvation’s Author! … Thou, salvation’s source alone! … We who, by Thy Precious Blood are redeemed from sin and marked for God, sing the new song of ransomed Earth!” In other sections of Matins for January 1st we have these additional questions and statements: “Why have the Gentiles raged, and the people devised vain things? The kings of the Earth stood up, and the princes met together against the Lord and against His Christ―saying: ‘Let us break Their bonds asunder and let us cast away Their yoke from us!’” (Psalm 2:1-3). “Who shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord, or who shall stand in His holy place? The innocent in hands and clean of heart!” (Psalm 23:3-4) ... “The law of the Lord is unspotted, converting souls” (Psalm 18:8) ... “Hate evil―you that love the Lord!” (Psalm 96:10).
In the next Office of the Day, that of Lauds, we are once again told the same thing in the Chapter Hymn Verse: “The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world!” (Titus 2:11-12). Then in the Chapter Responsory Verse for the Divine Office of Terce, yet again we are told: “The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world! (Titus 2:11-12). Likewise in Chapter Hymn Verse in the Divine Office of Vespers, it says: “The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world!” (Titus 2:11-12).
Hammering Home Holy Advice
It seems like Holy Mother Church is seeking to hammer home an extremely important point on the opening day of this New Year. This is furthermore seen in many other readings and prayers from the Liturgical Year, whereby we are told to detach ourselves from worldliness and to focus upon Heaven. Here is just the tip of the iceberg of such readings:
● “Teach us to despise the things of Earth and to love those of Heaven” (Post-Communion, 2nd Sunday of Advent).
● “O God, Who knowest us to be set in the midst of so great dangers … O Lord, detach us from earthly pleasures” (Collect & Post-Communion, 4th Sunday after Epiphany).
● “Restrain our senses from hurtful excesses” (Collect, Monday in 3rd week of Lent).
● “…with our earthly affections weakening, we may more easily lay a firm hold on the things of Heaven” (Collect, Thursday of 4th week of Lent).
● “Grant that we always strive after divine things” (Post-Communion, Tuesday of Passion Week).
● “Stand firm with strong minds against the allurements of sin” (Collect, 2nd Lesson, Paschal Vigil).
● “O God, Thou art the Sower of good seed and the Cultivator of chosen branches, grant to Thy people of whom Thou dost refer to as vines and harvest fields, that they may root out all thorns and briars and produce good fruit in abundance” (Collect, 3rd Lesson, Paschal Vigil).
● “We renounced Satan and his works, and the world, likewise an enemy of God” (Renewal of Baptismal Promises, Paschal Vigil).
● “If you be risen with Christ, seek the things that are above! Mind the things that are above, not the things that are upon the Earth!” (Epistle, Easter Midnight Mass).
● “Learn to despise what is earthly and to love what is heavenly” (Post-Communion, Feast of Sacred Heart of Jesus).
● “Pass through things that are temporal, so that we may not lose those which are eternal” (Collect, 3rd Sunday after Pentecost).
● “Grant O Lord that Thy people may shun all the wiles of the devil” (17th Sunday after Pentecost).
● “Love not the world, not the things that are in the world! If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him. For all that is of the world is concupiscence of the flesh, concupiscence of the eyes and the pride of love―which is not of the Father, but of the world!” (Epistle, St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, Feb. 27th).
● “O God, grant that Thy faithful―surrounded by luxury and the snares of the world―may despise earthly things and ever aspire to those of Heaven” (Collect, St. Casimir, March 4th).
● “May we overcome the snares of our spiritual enemies … Break the snares of our enemies! … Defend us from the malicious enemy!” (Collect, Secret & Post-Communion, St. John Capistran, March 28th).
● “May we despise the fleeting things of this time and seek what is eternal” (Collect, St. Heremenegild, April 13th).
● “The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God” (Gradual, St. Justin, April 14th).
● “May we despise all the things of this world and so deserve the rewards which Thou hast promised” (Collect, St. Peter Celestine, May 19th).
● “Shedding all earthly interests, may we be found worthy to enjoy everlasting happiness” (Collect, St. Angela Merici, June 1st).
● “Overcome the wickedness of the world … Hold fast to the noble kingdom of Heaven!” (Alleluia in Eastertide, St. Primus & St. Felician, June 9th).
● “They overcame the guilt of the world and followed Christ, holding fast to the Kingdom of Heaven” (Alleluia, St. John & St. Paul, June 26th).
● “Give victory over the enticements of this life” (Collect, St. Henry, July 15th).
● “May we be enabled to despise the things of Earth and with pure hearts seek Thee alone” (Post-Communion, St. Jane Frances de Chantal, August 21st).
● “May we despise earthly prosperity and always seek heavenly things” (Collect, St. Philip Benizi, August 23rd).
● “For the sake of Thy love, may we despise earthly prosperity and fear no temporal harm” (Collect, St. Hermes, August 28th).
● “May we be lifted up above all earthly desires” (Collect, St. Joseph Cupertino, September 18th).
● “May we despise earthly goods and ever partake of Thy heavenly gifts” (Collect, St. Francis of Assisi, October 4th).
● “May we learn to trample underfoot the perishable delights of this world” (Collect, St. Hedwig, October 16th).
● “Make us renounce the proud vanities of the world” (Post-Communion, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, October 17th).
● “May we despise earthly things and enjoy fellowship with Thee for evermore” (Collect, St. Sylvester, November 26th).
We Have Lost the Sense of Sin
Traditionally, we were always taught that sin was the greatest evil in the world: “Sin is the only evil upon Earth … Mortal sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, poverty, or war, because it separates us from God … Venial sin is second only in evil consequences to mortal sin … Sometimes people say: ‘It is only a little sin, it does not matter much!’ But every venial sin is an offence against God, and therefore is, after mortal sin, the greatest of evils―far greater than any of the physical evils which can be inflicted on us!” (The Catechism Explained, by Spirago-Clarke; also the Catechism, My Catholic Faith, by Bishop Morrow, STD; The Catechism Simply Explained, by Fr. Cafferata, q. 127).
Both Conservative and even Liberal popes agree on the fact that the world has lost the sense of the gravity of sin.
● Pope Pius XII remarked in 1946: “Perhaps the greatest sin in the world today is that men have begun to lose the sense of sin!”
● Pope John Paul II, in 2005, wrote: “We live in a society that seems to have lost the sense of God and of sin!”
● Pope Benedict XVI, in 2011, said: “The word ‘sin’ is not accepted by many, because it presupposes a religious vision of the world and of man. If we eliminate God from the horizon of the world, then we cannot speak of sin ... The meaning of sin ― which is a different thing from ‘guilt feelings’ as understood in psychology ― is only grasped in discovering the meaning of God!”
● Pope Francis, in 2014, stated: “When the Kingdom of God is forgotten, when the Kingdom of God diminishes, one of the signs is that the sense of sin is lost … When you lose the sense of sin, you also lose the sense of the Kingdom of God … When we lose the sense of sin, when we let the Kingdom of God crumble!”
Even Traditional Catholics have lost the sense of sin. Back in the post-Second World War years―when Pope Pius XII made the above quote―there was as yet no Vatican II with its widespread revolution in the Church and progressive dilution of Faith and Morals―yet they had lost the sense of sin even back then! Many of today’s so-called “Traditional Catholics” would probably be labeled as being “Liberal Catholics” back in the 1940s. “There is a way that seems to a man right, but the ends thereof lead to death!” (Proverbs 16:25).
For centuries, most Catholics understood that actions or thoughts contrary to right reason, God’s truth, and right conscience are sins. Such actions or thoughts could place one’s soul in grave danger of being damned. In more recent times, however, many seem to have forgotten what sin is. Or perhaps sin has been so downplayed since Vatican II that sin is not something about which too many are very concerned. The warning words of Holy Scripture come to mind here: “My son, hast thou sinned? Do so no more! But for thy former sins also pray that they may be forgiven thee!” (Ecclesiasticus 21:1). “Be not without fear about sin forgiven, and add not sin upon sin! And say not: ‘The mercy of the Lord is great, he will have mercy on the multitude of my sins!’ For mercy and wrath quickly come from Him, and His wrath looks upon sinners! Delay not to be converted to the Lord and defer it not from day to day! For His wrath shall come on all of a sudden and in the time of vengeance He will destroy You!” (Ecclesiasticus 5:5-9). “The Lord delays not His promise, as some imagine, but deals patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance!” (2 Peter 3:9).
Pope John XXIII stated in his opening address prior to Vatican II that “In our time . . . the Bride of Christ prefers to use the medicine of mercy rather than severity ... The Catholic Church, by raising the torch of religious truth through this Ecumenical Council, wants to show herself to be a kind mother of everyone ― benign, patient, full of mercy and kindness for the children separated from her.” Consequently, following Vatican II, God’s love and mercy took center stage. For many bishops and priests, being pastoral ― focusing on God’s love and mercy ― was ‘in’ and talking about sin was ‘out.’ Even the “New Mass” became pastoral instead of sacrificial. It was no longer a bloodless re-enactment of Christ’s sacrifice for us. Instead, it had become a community celebration of Christ’s victory over death. The altar was no longer an altar, it was a banquet table, and all are welcome at the table.
Vatican II’s Dignitatis Humanae (#3. Par. 4) said: “In all his activity a man is bound to follow his conscience ... ” The rest of the sentence said: “in order that he may come to God, the end and purpose of life.” But it is the first part of the sentence that became popular and the second part was largely ignored. The point being that far too many people have poorly formed consciences and they are content to stroll through life letting their desires control their actions. And at least some of the clergy have been complicit in promoting such sinful actions. The devil has always been really good at convincing people that wants and desires are more important than right reason and God’s truth. Now even the Church seemed to be saying let your poorly formed conscience be your guide.
The Devolution and Deflation of Sin
Catholic teaching on conscience and sin developed in the years following Vatican II, and sin took on some nuances. In addition to venial and mortal sin, there was now the evolution of ‘social sins’. And the term ‘grave matter’ now edged out the words ‘mortal sin.’ Pope John Paul II even addressed the problem of the loss of the sense of sin―he linked it to the conscience problem, saying that “for more or less lengthy periods ... the moral conscience of many people becomes seriously clouded.” This clouding results in a “numbness or ‘deadening’ of conscience.” He also pointed out that, “When the conscience is weakened the sense of God is also obscured, and as a result, with the loss of this decisive inner point of reference, the sense of sin is lost. This explains why one of my predecessors Pius XII, declared, in words that have almost become proverbial, that: ‘The sin of the century is the loss of the sense of sin.’”
The Evolution and Inflation of “Feel Good”
You could argue that the loss of the sense of sin has always been a problem throughout the world. Nevertheless, it has accelerated and grown especially over the last 100 years or so. The devil wasn’t content just pushing greed hate, war, and killing, so he turned his attention to a more basic human desire. Already in 1917, Our Lady of Fatima had warned that the most common sin that damned souls at that time was the sin of lust and impurity. As foretold by Sister Lucia of Fatima, the devil began waging a “final battle” against Our Lady by mainly attacking the Sacrament of Matrimony and pushing the sin of lust.
One of chief encouragements to sin was the idea of “If it feels good, then do it!” This approach to things became widely associated with the seismic cultural shifts of the 1960s and 1970s―particularly the “Hippie Movement”. It became a slogan reflecting a rejection of traditional social norms and an embrace of personal pleasure and freedom. Sexual intercourse had become a pleasurable recreational activity. It was no longer one of the fruits of the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony.
The sin of adultery picked up steam, and no-fault divorce quickly followed. The divorce rate in the 1960s was around 9.2 divorces per 1,000 married women―or around 1 in 100. By the late 1970s, it had more than doubled to 22.6 per 1,000 married women―or just over 2 per 100. In 2021 it was 2.5 divorces per 1,000 married women. Every 42 seconds, there is one divorce in America, That equates to 86 divorces per hour, 2,046 divorces per day, 14,364 divorces per week, and 746,971 divorces per year. 15% of adult women in the United States are divorced or separated today, compared with less than one percent in 1920.
As of 2024, the U.S. divorce rate remains between 40% to 50% for first marriages. On average, a marriage that ends in divorce lasts eight years, according to U.S. Census data. The likelihood of divorce increases with subsequent marriages. Around 60-67% of second marriages end in divorce, compared to 40-50% of first marriages. This trend is even more pronounced for third marriages, where the divorce rate exceeds 70%.
Today, some will point out that divorce rates are going down―but that is simply because people are no longer marrying each other, but are simply practicing “cohabitation”―that is to say, then are living together in sin, but society no longer looks upon it a being sin anymore! “If it feels good, then do it!” Couples who live together before marriage, often experience higher divorce rates. According to research from the Institute for Family Studies, couples who cohabitate before getting engaged are 39% more likely to divorce, compared to those who do not live together before marriage.
Approximately 40% of children in the U.S. experience parental divorce by the age of 18. Additionally, the U.S. Census reports that single-parent households—often formed after divorce—are on the rise, with nearly 20 million children living with a single parent.
Man has overruled God. Today, human pride trumps God’s truth and lust has become love. And, of course, if lust is love then any kind of “love is love,” as the LGBTQ crowd so loudly proclaims. So why not allow same-sex ‘marriage?’ What could be wrong with two males or two females ‘loving’ one another (i.e., disordered lust) sexually? The Church has always taught that homosexuality is intrinsically disordered. Even so, society suddenly began celebrating same-sex ‘marriage’ as something entirely normal. The devil may be jumping for joy over this destruction and corruption of the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony!
The Race and the Rules of the Race
There is an awful lot of talk about racism these days―with it in some cases being deemed a crime! There is also a awful lot of racing that takes place with athletes, cars, boats, horses, dogs, etc. Yet very few people pay attention to, talk about, or take part in the only race that really matters―the race for Heaven. Holy Scripture, through the mouth of St. Paul, speaks of that race for Heaven in very clear and direct terms:
“Know you not that they that run in the race, all run indeed, but one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it! And everyone that strives for the mastery, refrains himself from all things―and they indeed so that they may receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible one! I therefore so run, not as at an uncertainty! I so fight, not as one beating the air! But I chastise my body and bring it into subjection―lest perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway!” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).
Any race that worth anything is usually a tough race, a hard race, a testing race, a race that requires much preparation, much effort and much steel in mind and heart. Without those qualities you will rarely win. The same applies to the race for Heaven. Our Lord came from Heaven to lead us to Heaven, to teach us how to gain Heaven, to teach us how to imitate Him in getting there and winning our crown:
What is Needed for the Race
To win a bicycle race you need a bicycle. To win a car race you a need a car. To win a boat race you need a boat. To win a horse race you need a horse. To win Heaven you need a cross. “And Jesus said to all: ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me!’” (Luke 9:23) … “And whosoever does not carry his cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple!” (Luke 14:27) … “And he that does not take up his cross and follows Me, is not worthy of Me!” (Matthew 10:38). St. Paul takes up that advice and takes up the cross of Christ and glories in the cross of Christ: “Christ humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross!” (Philippians 2:8). “Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel―lest the cross of Christ should be made void! The word of the cross, to them indeed that perish, is foolishness―but to them that are saved, that is to us, it is the power of God! … We preach Christ crucified―which is to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the Gentiles foolishness! But unto them that are called―both Jews and Greeks―it is the power of God, and the wisdom of God!” (1 Corinthians 1:17-19, 23-24). “With Christ I am nailed to the cross! … I do not cast away the grace of God!” (Galatians 2:19). “God forbid that I should glory, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ―by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world!” (Galatians 6:14). “But many walk―of whom I have told you often and now tell you weeping―that they are enemies of the cross of Christ! Their end is destruction; whose God is their belly; and whose glory is in their shame; who mind earthly things!” (Philippians 3:18-19).
Our Lady confirms the above in speaking to the Venerable Mary of Agreda: “Earthly love of sensible pleasures and riches is not compatible with [true] wisdom! … The greatest wisdom for souls consists in the knowledge of the cross, in the love of sufferings, and in putting this knowledge into practice by bearing afflictions with patience! … Those that know nothing of this science are foolish! … The wisdom of the flesh―worldly wisdom―has made men ignorant, foolish and hostile to God! Consider all delights and joys of the world as insanity, and as the source of foolishness! … Since all men, in their inordinate desire and pursuit of worldly happiness, neglect the Divine Law―where alone happiness can be found―very few really attain happiness! … Worldlings, in their lethargy, are moved neither by the duty of conforming to their Lord, nor by His declaration that all their salvation consists in following Christ in His sufferings! … They do not seek the medicine of suffering! … Why do mortals continue to deceive themselves, by expecting, in spite of their sins, to become pure and worthy of enjoying God, without the furnace or the file of sorrows! … Eternal rest is incompatible with the shame of not having duly labored for its attainment!” (Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, The Mystical City of God).
As Catholics, we are baptized into the Mystical Body of Christ. This means that wherever the Head of the Mystical Body goes, then there too must the rest of the Mystical Body go―otherwise you have a decapitation and spiritual suicide. Christ says to us as He said to the Apostles that He chose: “Follow Me!” (Matthew 4:19-22; 8:22; 9:9; 16:24; Mark 1:16-20; 2:14; 8:34; Luke 5:1-11; 5:27; 9:23; 9:59; John 1:43; 10:27; 12:26; 13:36; 21:19; 21:22). To follow Christ means to embrace the cross―which is something that most people fail to do, for they have already embraced the world and love the world and what the world has to offer. We see one such case in the encounter Jesus had with the rich young man:
“And behold, a certain rich young man, a ruler, running up and kneeling before Him, asked Him: ‘Good Master, what shall I do that I may receive life everlasting?’ And Jesus said to him: ‘If you want to enter into eternal life, keep the commandments!’ The young man said to Him: ‘All these I have kept from my youth! What is yet wanting to me?’ And Jesus looking on him, loved him, and said to him: ‘You are lacking one thing! If you want to be perfect, go sell whatsoever you have, and give the proceeds to the poor, and you shall have a treasure in Heaven, and then come follow Me!’ And when the young man had heard these words, being struck sad at that saying, went away sorrowful―for he was very rich and had great possessions. And Jesus, seeing him become sorrowful, looking round about, said to His disciples: ‘How hardly shall they that have riches, enter into the Kingdom of God! Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!’” (combined account of Matthew 19:16-24; Mark 10:17-23; Luke 18:18-25).
The Cross and Grace and Charity
We cannot carry the cross profitably without the assistance of Divine Grace―as Our Lord said: “Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5). If we are not in a state of Sanctifying Grace (if we are in a state of Mortal Sin), then whatever we do is spiritually profitless apart from receiving Actual Graces (temporary passing graces) that are meant to lead to our repentance, conversion and restoration to the State of Sanctifying Grace. Sanctifying Grace can be said to be ‘married’ to Charity―for a Love of God is essential for Sanctifying Grace to remain in the soul. Conversely, Mortal Sin can be said to be ‘married’ to Hatred of God, since that is what Mortal Sin essentially expresses and communicates. Hence, Sanctifying Grace and Charity go hand in hand―if you lose one, then you automatically lose the other.
Just as we need the help of God’s Grace to perseveringly do good and save our soul, likewise we need God’s Charity for all that to bear fruit. “God is Charity” (1 John 4:8) and without that Charity of God, whatever we do is spiritually useless: “If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all Faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not Charity―then I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not Charity―then it profits me nothing!” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). Carrying the cross is not enough without Charity. The ultimate motive for all that we do should be the love of God―hence it is that St. Augustine writes: “Love God and do whatever you please―for the soul trained in love to God will do nothing to offend the One who is Beloved.” That is exactly what Our Lord implies when, at the Last Supper, He says: “If you love Me, keep My commandments … He that has My commandments, and keeps them; he it is that loves Me … If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word … He that loves Me not, keeps not My words!” (John 14:15, 14:21-24).
Furthermore, it is Mortal Sin that separates us from the love of God―and it is Charity that drives away the effects and debts of sin: “Before all things, have a constant mutual charity among yourselves―for charity covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). “Charity covers all sins” (Proverbs 10:12). Of Mary Magdalen, Our Lord says: “Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much” (Luke 7:47).
The Massive Loss of Souls
The fact that most souls end up being damned is tragically evident from what we read in Holy Scripture and in the words coming from Our Lord, Our Lady and many saints, popes and theologians―and we are only speaking of Catholic souls, for there can be no salvation outside of the Catholic Church. “And a certain man said to Jesus: ‘Lord, are there few that are saved?’ But Jesus said: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I tell you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able! … Enter ye in at the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate and how strait is the way that leads to life, and few there are that find it!’” (Luke 13:23-24; Matthew 7:13-14).
Our Lady of Fatima said: “Many souls go to Hell!” To the Venerable Mary of Agreda, Our Lady said: “Fear the danger of not attending to the divine calls, for that is the cause of the loss of innumerable souls ... How many men have thrown themselves into the eternal darkness of Hell! … Countless numbers have fallen into Hell! … Lucifer has hurled into Hell so great a number of souls and continues so to hurl them every day! The neglect and contempt of bodily mortification cause the loss of many souls and bring many more into the danger of eternal loss. I will not tell thee how many souls are lost, in order to not cause thee to die of sorrow at this loss! I have already told thee, that the number of those foreknown as doomed, is so great, and of those that save themselves is so small, that it is not expedient to say more in particular! Weep ceaselessly over the terrible loss sustained by so many insane and thankless souls, who are forgetful of God, of their duty and of their own selves … and lose their chance of salvation or bring upon themselves eternal damnation!”
The Saints have echoed that truth throughout each and every century―here is a mere tip of the iceberg of quotes that are so numerous that they have filled entire books on the subject:
► St. Justin Martyr, Father of the Church (100-165): “The majority of men shall not see God, except those who live justly, purified by righteousness and by every other virtue.”
► St. Jerome, Doctor and Father of the Church (347-420): “So that you will better appreciate the meaning of Our Lord’s words, and perceive more clearly how few the Elect are, note that Christ did not say that those who actually walked in the path to Heaven are few in number, but that there were few who found that narrow way! … Out of one hundred thousand sinners who continue in sin until death, scarcely one will be saved!”
► St. John Chrysostom, Doctor and Father of the Church (347-407): “What do you think? How many of the inhabitants of this city may perhaps be saved? What I am about to tell you is very terrible, yet I will not conceal it from you. Out of this thickly populated city with its thousands of inhabitants not one hundred people will be saved. I even doubt whether there will be as many as that! Furthermore, I do not speak rashly, but as I feel and think. I do not think that many bishops are saved, but that those who perish are far more numerous!”
► St. Augustine, Doctor and Father of the Church (354-430): “Not all, nor even a majority, are saved! … It is certain that few are saved! Take care not to resemble the multitude! … If you wish to imitate the multitude, then you shall not be among the few who shall enter in by the narrow gate! … Beyond a doubt the elect are few!”
► St. Regimius of Rheims (437-533): “Among adults there are few saved because of sins of the flesh. … With the exception of those who die in childhood, most men will be damned!”
► St. John Climacus, Syrian monk (525-600): “Live with the few if you want to reign with the few!”
► Pope St. Gregory the Great (540-604): “There are many who arrive at the Faith, but few who are led into the heavenly kingdom! …They who are to be saved as Saints, and wish to be saved as imperfect souls, shall not be saved!”
► St. Anselm, Doctor of the Church (1033-1109): “If you want to be certain of being in the number of the elect, strive to be one of the few, not of the many! And if you wantt be quite sure of your salvation, then strive to be among the fewest of the few! … Do not follow the great majority of mankind, but follow those who enter upon the narrow way, who renounce the world, who give themselves to prayer, and who never relax their efforts by day or by night, that they may attain everlasting blessedness!”
► St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church (1225-1274): “There are a select few who are saved!” (Summa Theologica, Ia, q.23, art.7, ad 3.) “Those who are saved are in the minority” (Summa Theologica, Ia, q.23, art.8, ad.3).
► St. Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419): “Many religious go straight to Hell because they do not keep their vows!”
► St. John of Avila (1499-1569): “Take care not to resemble the multitude whose knowledge of God's will only condemns them to more severe punishment.”
► Ven. Louis de Granada (1504-1588): “A greater number is lost through false confidence than through excessive fear.”
► St. Francis Xavier (1506-1552): “Ah, how many souls lose Heaven and are cast into Hell!”
► St. Philip Neri (1515-1595): “So vast a number of miserable souls perish, and so comparatively few are saved!”
► St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori, Doctor of the Church (1696-1787): “It is certainly a great happiness for some sinners who, after a bad life, are converted at their death, and are saved; but these cases are very rare! Usually, he that leads a bad life dies a bad death! … The common opinion is that the greater part of adults is lost! … Everyone desires to be saved―but the greater part is lost! … The greater part of men choose to be damned rather than to love Almighty God! … He who abuses too much the mercy of God will be abandoned by Him!”
► St. John Climacus, Father of the Church (579-649): “Live with the few if you want to reign with the few.”
► St. John of the Cross, Doctor of the Church (1542-1591): “Behold how many there are who are called, and how few who are chosen! And behold, if you have no care for yourself, your damnation is more certain than your amendment, especially since the way that leads to eternal life is so narrow! … Only a small number of souls achieve perfect love!”
► St. Veronica Giuliani (1660-1727): “The number of the damned is incalculable.”
► St. Louis Marie de Montfort (1673-1716): “Be one of the small number who find the way to life, and enter by the narrow gate into Heaven. Take care not to follow the majority and the common herd, so many of whom are lost! … The number of the elect is so small ― so small ― that, were we to know how small it is, we would faint away with grief―one here and there, scattered up and down the world!”
► Blessed Anna Maria Taigi, (1769-1837): “The greater number of Christians today are damned. The destiny of those dying on one day is that very few ― not as many as ten ― went straight to Heaven; many remained in Purgatory; and those cast into Hell were as numerous as snowflakes in midwinter.”
► St. John Marie Vianney (1786-1859): “The number of the saved is as few as the number of grapes left after the vineyard-pickers have passed! … We shall find out at the day of judgment that the greater number of Christians who are lost were damned because they did not know their own religion!”
► St. Anthony Mary Claret (1807-1870): “A multitude of souls fall into the depths of Hell, and it is of the Faith that all who die in mortal sin are condemned forever and ever. According to statistics, approximately 80,000 persons die every day [back in the 1800s―today around 170,000 people die each day worldwide]. How many of these will die in mortal sin, and how many will be condemned! For, as their lives have been, so also will be their end!”
► St. Peter Julian Eymard (1811-1868): “And how very small is the kingdom of Jesus Christ! So many nations have never had the Faith!” (St. Peter Julian Eymard).
► St. Joseph Cafasso (1811-1860): “Cast a look round the world, just observe the manner of living, of speaking, and you will see immediately whether the evil of sin is known in the world or whether any attention is paid to it. Not to speak of those who live decidedly irreligious and wicked lives, how few are those who pass for good and who approach the sacraments are aware of the great evil that sin is, and the great ruin it brings with it. It must necessarily happen that, on account of this certainly culpable ignorance in which most men live, an enormous number will come to be damned, because no sin is pardoned which is not detested, and it is impossible to detest sin properly if it is not known as such.” (St. Joseph Cafasso).
► St. John Neumann (1811-1860): “Notwithstanding assurances that God did not create any man for Hell, and that He wishes all men to be saved, it remains equally true that only few will be saved; that only few will go to Heaven; and that the greater part of mankind will be lost forever.” (St. John Neumann).
► St. Francesca Saverio Cabrini, a.k.a. Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917): “How many among these uncivilized peoples do not yet know God, and are sunk in the darkest idolatry, superstition and ignorance! . . . Poor souls! These are they in whom Christ saw, in all the horror of His imminent Passion, the uselessness of His agony for so many souls!” (St. Francesca Saverio Cabrini).
► Lucia Santos of Fatima (1907-1958?): “Taking into account the behavior of mankind, only a small part of the human race will be saved! Most will be lost!”
► St. Jacinta Marto of Fatima (1910-1920): “Lucia found Jacinta sitting alone, still and very pensive, gazing at nothing. ‘What are you thinking of, Jacinta?’ ‘Of the war that is going to come. So many people are going to die. And almost all of them are going to Hell!”
God and Truth Do Not Change
The teaching on this damnation of the majority of souls is not at all popular and is therefore rarely mentioned or largely ignored―but the truth remains the truth and will not go away just because we choose to ignore it and bury our heads in the sand! Fleeing from the truth does not change the truth! Disliking the truth does not change the truth! Arguing against the truth does not change the truth! Rejecting the truth does not change the truth! Being ignorant of truth does not change the truth! Rebelling against the truth does change the truth! God is Truth and God never changes. Scripture says of God: “God is true!” (Romans 3:4). “Thy word is truth!” (John 17:17). The beginning of Thy words is truth! … All thy ways are truth! … Thy law is the truth! … All thy statutes are truth! In Thy truth Thou hast humbled me!” (Psalm 118: verses 160, 151, 142, 86, 75). Our Lord says of Himself: “I am the truth!” (John 14:6). Our Lord speaks of the Holy Ghost being Truth ― “The Father shall give you another Paraclete, the Spirit of truth … I will send you the Spirit of truth from the Father … When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will teach you all truth!” (John 14:16-17; 15:26; 16:13). God says: “I am the Lord, and I change not!” (Malachias 3:6). Scripture adds: “With the Father of lights there is no change, nor shadow of alteration!” (James 1:17).
Our Lord rebukes this refusal to accept the truth of God: “I am the Truth! … For this was I born, and for this came I into the world; that I should give testimony to the truth. Everyone that is of the truth, hears My voice! … He that sent Me is true―and the things I have heard of Him, these same I speak in the world! … My testimony is true! … My judgment is true! ... If you continue in My word, you shall be My disciples! And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free! … But you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you! … You seek to kill Me, a Man Who has spoken the truth to you, which I have heard of God! … I say to you that you shall die in your sins! For if you believe not that I am He, then you shall die in your sin! … Why do you not know My speech? Because you cannot hear My word! You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do! He was a murderer from the beginning, and he stood not in the truth; because truth is not in him! When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own―for he is a liar, and the father of lies! But if I speak the truth, you do not believe Me! If I speak the truth to you, why do you not believe Me? He that is of God, hears the words of God! Therefore you hear them not, because you are not of God!” (John 14:6; 18:37; 8:14-47).
Damnation Is Not Inevitable
Yet damnation is not something that is inevitable and inescapable―just like bad health is not inevitable and inescapable! Do the right things in the physical domain and you will be healthy! Do the right things in the spiritual domain and you will be saved! Ultimately, God neither wants nor seeks the damnation of any soul―no matter how sinful they may be. “He never withdraws His mercy from us―but though He chastises His people with adversity, He forsakes them not!” (Machabees 2:16). “God sent not His Son into the world, to judge the world, but so that the world may be saved by Him” (John 3:17). God says: “Is it My will that a sinner should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways, and live?” (Ezechiel 18:23). Christ Himself said: “The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save!” (Luke 9:56). “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). “I came to call sinners to penance!” (Luke 5:32).
The Only Place Worth Going To!
You guessed it! It is so obvious―or it should be obvious! Or, looking at the above quotes, it is obviously not so obvious! The only place worth going to is HEAVEN. There is only one alternative―HELL. Who the hell wants to go to Hell? Nobody should want that―yet that is where most people end up! Why? A lack of love for God and Heaven! This, in turn, is the result of a lack of knowledge about God and Heaven. As philosophy correctly points out: “You cannot love what you do not know!” You cannot love a person you have never met and know nothing about. You cannot love a particular food if you have never tasted and eaten it. You cannot love a particular city if you have never been there or have little knowledge of it. You cannot love a sport if you have never watched or played it. Hence, “You cannot love what you do not know!” That is also why the Catechism teaches us that in order to get to Heaven we KNOW, LOVE and SERVE GOD. We will not serve very well someone whom we do not love―we cannot love someone whom we know little or nothing about. Hence the foundation of knowledge. The degree of love will usually be in proportion to the degree of knowledge. He who knows little will love little. That is why St. Thérèse of Lisieux used to say: “Jesus is so little loved because He is so little known!”
We read enormous quantities of material about earthly, material, physical, worldly things―but ever so little about heavenly, spiritual, supernatural things. As you sow, so shall you reap! If you fail to sow seeds of knowledge about God, Heaven and things related to them―then you risk not reaping an eternal heavenly harvest. “Be not deceived, God is not mocked! For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that sows in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption [disease and death]. But he that sows in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:7-8). How much time are you spending on earthly, material, physical, worldly things and how much time are you spending on heavenly, spiritual, supernatural things. Our Lord is clear on the matter: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth! … But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven! … For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” ― “mammon” being the pleasures, treasures, teachings and spirit of the world, whose prince is the devil (Matthew 6:19-24). “For what shall it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his soul?” (Mark 8:36).
Is this New Year the time for a new approach? “Cast away from you all your transgressions, by which you have transgressed, and make to yourselves a new heart, and a new spirit!” (Ezechiel 18:31). “I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you―and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you a heart of flesh!” (Ezechiel 36:26). “Put on the new man, who, according to God, is created in justice and holiness of truth!” (Ephesians 4:24).
Article 4
Wednesday, December 31st
Ringing Out the Old? Ringing In the New?
Wednesday, December 31st
Ringing Out the Old? Ringing In the New?
New and Old!
The idea of “new” and “old” is as old as time! In the Bible we have the Old Testament which takes us from the beginning of time to the time of Christ. From the time of Christ to present time we are living in the time of the New Testament. Each day is new day and each moment is a new moment.
Not only do we associate “new” and “old” with time―we also associate it with quality. Usually, most people prefer something new over something old. We buy new cars if we can afford them and not old cars. Likewise, new houses rather than old houses. Similarly, new household appliances rather than old household appliances. The new computer are rated above old computers. New ways of doing things seem to replace old ways of doing things. We seek new recipes because we have grown tired of old recipes.
Our Lord Himself speaks of this “new” and “old” phenomenon: “No man puts new wine into old bottles: otherwise the wine will burst the bottles, and both the wine will be spilled, and the bottles will be lost. But new wine must be put into new bottles” (Mark 2:22). “And no man puts new wine into old bottles: otherwise the new wine will break the bottles, and it will be spilled, and the bottles will be lost. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved.” (Luke 5:37-38). “Neither do they put new wine into old bottles. Otherwise the bottles break, and the wine runs out, and the bottles perish. But new wine they put into new bottles: and both are preserved” (Matthew 9:17). “And Jesus spoke also a similitude to them: ‘No man puts a piece from a new garment upon an old garment; otherwise he both rends the new, and the piece taken from the new agrees not with the old’” (Luke 5:36). “No man sews a piece of raw cloth to an old garment: otherwise the new piecing takes away from the old, and there is made a greater tear” (Mark 2:21).
Holy Scripture urges us to put away our old sinful selves and put on a new self: “Put off, according to former conversation, the old man, who is corrupted according to the desire of error! And be renewed in the spirit of your mind! 2And put on the new man, who according to God is created in justice and holiness of truth!” (Ephesians 4:22-24). “Put you also all away anger, indignation, malice, blasphemy, filthy speech out of your mouth! Do not lie one to another! Stripping yourselves of the old man with his deeds, and putting on the new man―him who is renewed unto knowledge, according to the image of God that created him!” (Colossians 3:10). “If then any be in Christ a new creature, the old things are passed away, behold all things are made new!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). “Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new paste, as you are unleavened” (1 Corinthians 5:7). “Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new paste” (1 Corinthians 5:7).
The Old Man of Sin and Satan―the New Man of God and Virtue
Sin empowers Satan. Sin put us increasingly in the hands of Satan: “He that commits sin is of the devil” (1 John 3:8). “For we that are dead to sin, how shall we live any longer therein? Know you not that all we, who are baptized in Christ Jesus, are baptized in His death? For we are buried together with Him by baptism into death; so that as Christ is risen from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also may walk in newness of life! For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection! Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin may be destroyed, to the end that we may serve sin no longer! For he that is dead is justified from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall live also together with Christ! Knowing that Christ, rising again from the dead, dies now no more, death shall no more have dominion over Him. For in that He died to sin, He died once; but in that He lives, he lives unto God! So do you also reckon, that you are dead to sin, but alive unto God, in Christ Jesus our Lord! Let no sin therefore reign in your mortal body, so as to obey the lusts thereof! Neither yield your bodily members as instruments of iniquity unto sin; but present yourselves to God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of justice unto God!” (Romans 6:2-13).
“New” Should Mean “Better”
Holy Scripture, in the Book of Apocalypse, quotes the following words as coming from Christ: “And He that sat on the throne, said: ‘Behold, I make all things new!’” (Apocalypse 21:5) ― which resonates with “If anyone be in Christ a new creature ― then the old things are passed away, and all things are made new!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). In this case―especially where Christ is involved―we clearly understand “new” to mean “better” or “more perfect.” Similarly, Our Lord infers to a future new wine being superior to the old wine: “Amen I say to you, that I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I shall drink it new in the Kingdom of God!” (Mark 14:25).
Ringing Out the Old Self―Ringing In a New Self
Scripture tells us: “You shall eat the oldest of the old store, and, new coming on, you shall cast away the old!” (Leviticus 26:10). When Our Lord restored to health the sick man by Pool of Bethsaida, who had been sick for 38 years, upon giving the man a “new life” Jesus warned him: “Behold thou art made whole! Sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to thee!” (John 5:14).
You may have heard of and even read Lord Alfred Tennyson’s famous poem that speaks of ringing out the old and ringing in the new--the poem is listed below. Unfortunately, it never came true for Tennyson himself. Alfred Tennyson, (1809-1892) was a famous English poet during much of Queen Victoria’s reign (ruled 1837-1901). Tennyson left much to be desired on the spiritual level―being the son of an Anglican clergyman, he entered Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1827, aged 16, and soon after he was persuaded to join a secret society in the college. He then gradually drifted towards agnosticism and pandeism. Tennyson revealed that his religious beliefs defied convention― his son’s biography confirms that Tennyson was an unorthodox Christian, combining a deep interest in contemporary science with an unorthodox, even idiosyncratic, Christian belief. He wrote: “The churches have killed their Christ!” ― which, especially today, can be said to be truism.
The famous opening line of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem, “Ring Out, Wild Bells,” from his longer work In Memoriam A.H.H., marks the end of the old year and the hope for a better new year, calling for the ringing out of sorrow, injustice, and conflict, and ringing in truth, love, and peace for all humanity. The “wild bells” in question were the bells of the Abbey Church in High Beech, where, according to the local story, Tennyson was staying and heard the bells being rung on New Year's Eve. It is an accepted English custom to ring English Full circle bells to ring out the old year and ring in the new year over midnight on New Year's Eve. Tennyson’s poem is as follows:
Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.
Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
Ring out the grief that saps the mind
For those that here we see no more;
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.
Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.
Ring out the want, the care, the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes
But ring the fuller minstrel in.
Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.
Ring out old shapes of foul disease;
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.
Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.
Are You Ringing? Are You Ready? Are You Preparing?
Another New Year is around the corner! Another New Year that will rapidly become the Old Year! Same old New Year! Same old Old Year! Does anything ever change? Are you preparing for another New Year? How are you preparing? What are you doing? Do you have a party prepared? Do you have balloons and all kinds of other such like glitzy things prepared? Do you have drinks prepared? Is the food prepared? What are you preparing for? What’s the point? What’s the focal point? St. Paul tells us: “Whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of God!” (1 Corinthians 10:31). Is the glory of God your focal point on this New Year’s Eve and this New Year’s Day?
New Year Comes Late!
The Church has already beaten the State to the New Year—the New Liturgical Year started with the First Sunday of Advent! However, since many are partying tonight and waiting for the secular “New Year”, let us look at some aspects of the “new” from a spiritual perspective. To do so, let us primarily turn to the Word of God—Holy Scripture—for a look at the “new.” Then, let us look at what “New Year Resolutions” we could make or take, that we won’t break or forsake!
Our Lord Comes to Make Things New
There are times when the “old” is better, and there are times when the “new” is necessary. Our Lord Himself came to perfect the old with the new—the Old Testament gave way to the New Testament. Our “old” selves, likewise, need to make way for our “new” selves—re”new”ed by the grace of God. Heaven is often called the “New Jerusalem” —a heavenly Jerusalem that replaces or perfects the earthly Jerusalem. We see this focus on the “new” in the words of Our Lord and the New Testament authors. “But we look for new heavens and a new Earth” (2 Peter 3:13).
Don’t Mix the Old with the New
We cannot make a blend of the world and God; nor can we marry spirituality to materialism: “You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24) … “And what concord has Christ with Belial?” (2 Corinthians 6:15). “And you, when you were dead in your offences and sins, wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of this air [the devil], of the spirit that now works on the children of unbelief―in which also we all conversed in time past, in the desires of our flesh, fulfilling the will of the flesh and of our thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, Who is rich in mercy, even when we were dead in sins, has restored us together in Christ, by Whose grace you are saved, and has raised us up together, and has made us sit together in the heavenly places, through Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:1-5).
Purge Out the Old
God wants us to be new creatures, new persons, better creatures, better persons. That is why He came on Earth—the Advent and Christmas liturgy speaks of Our Lord coming to restore, to renew, to recreate what was lost through sin. This is the spirit that we should positively and effectively undertake in the coming New Year—putting on a new man, a new self, created in justice and holiness; becoming a new leaven, renewed in mind and heart, so that we are a new creature in Christ, having put the old ways behind us and having made all things new!
“And He that sat on the throne, said: ‘Behold, I make all things new!’ And He said to me: ‘Write! For these words are most faithful and true!’” (Apocalypse 21:5). “A new commandment I give unto you” (John 13:34) ... “Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new paste” (1 Corinthians 5:7). “Put off, according to former conversation, the old man, who is corrupted according to the desire of error and be renewed in the spirit of your mind: and put on the new man, who according to God is created in justice and holiness of truth” (Ephesians 4:22-24). “And putting on the new, him who is renewed unto knowledge, according to the image of Him that created him” (Colossians 3:10). “If then anyone be in Christ a new creature, the old things are passed away, behold all things are made new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). “In saying ‘a new’, He has made the former old” (Hebrews 8:13).
Vintage Year for God
While others toast the New Year with glasses of wine, we should be preparing to give God a special vintage this coming year—not mixing our old cheap wine with the vintage wine that God expects from us. We repeat the earlier quotes: “Neither do they put new wine into old bottles. Otherwise the bottles break, and the wine runs out, and the bottles perish. But new wine they put into new bottles: and both are preserved” (Matthew 9:17). “No man sews a piece of raw cloth to an old garment” (Mark 2:21). “No man puts a piece from a new garment upon an old garment; otherwise the piece taken from the new agrees not with the old” (Luke 5:36).
God Seeks Improvement
All these Scriptural quotes stress or imply the need for improvement—not just “new” for sake of it being “new”, but “new’ in the sense of something better than was there before. In this sense, we go through school learning new things every year and, thereby, our intelligence becomes better. We learn new skills and thereby become better. Our spiritual life should follow the same pattern—each year we should become better due to new things and changes that we have made; much like a tree that each year grows more, becomes stronger and bears more fruit: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field. Which is the least indeed of all seeds; but when it is grown up, it is greater than all herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come, and dwell in the branches thereof” (Matthew 13:31-32).
The tree or vine should be always improving, as Our Lord points out at the Last Supper: “I am the true vine; and My Father is the gardener. Every branch in Me, that bears not fruit, He will take away; and every branch that bears fruit, He will purge it, that it may bring forth more fruit … I am the vine and you are the branches―he that abides in Me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit. If anyone abides not in Me, he shall be cast forth as a branch and shall wither, and they shall gather him up and cast him into the fire, and he will burn!” (John 15:1-6).
Fruitless and Loveless
The Apocalypse has even stronger words to say: “I know your works, and that you are neither cold, nor hot. I would prefer that you were cold or hot. But because you are lukewarm―and neither cold, not hot―I will begin to vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say: ‘I am rich, and made wealthy, and have need of nothing!’ and do you not know that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy of Me gold fire tried, so that you may be made rich; and may be clothed in white garments, and that the shame of your nakedness may not appear; and anoint your eyes with eye-salve, so that you may see!” (Apocalypse 3:14-18).
This New Year—Buy the Gold of Charity
Yes, we are spiritually poor, blind and naked, as the Apocalypse just said. Just as the Three Kings brought three gifts, so do the three persons of the Holy Trinity counsel us to turn to Them for the solution―which is to buy from Them gold, white garments, and eye-salve. These three things are an echo of the three gifts offered to Jesus by the Magi.
The Gold in both cases—the Apocalypse account and that of the Magi—is the gold of charity, which, as we said with the Scriptural quote above, will have grown cold in many souls: “Because iniquity has abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold!” (Matthew 24:12). Will this be a cold year in my heart, or will I kindle a fire in my heart towards God: “I am come to cast fire on the Earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled?” (Luke 12:49). Will the fire in my heart grow or burn-out?
This New Year—Cloth Yourself with Suffering
The white garments, spoken of in Apocalypse, correspond to the Myrrh. The Myrrh is a symbol of suffering, being used both as a painkiller and for embalming the dead. The white garments reflect that suffering, as shown by this quote: “These are they who are come out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and have made them white in the Blood of the Lamb” (Apocalypse 7:14).
This coming New Year, no doubt, will bring increased suffering in an increasingly sinful world—“Be not deceived, God is not mocked!” (Galatians 6:7). The world cannot sin with impunity―it has to pay for its sins: “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). “Sin has reigned to death” (Romans 5:21). “When concupiscence has conceived, it brings forth sin. But sin, when it is completed, begets death” (James 1:15).
This New Year—Use the Eye-Salve of Fervent Prayer
The Eye-Salve, spoken of in Apocalypse, corresponds to the frankincense of prayer, which rises like smoke to Heaven. The blind man is begging and praying to Jesus for his blindness to be removed. “Jesus asked him saying: ‘What wilt thou that I do to thee?’ But he said: ‘Lord, that I may see!’” (Luke 18:41).
His prayer is the eye-salve that removes his blindness. This blindness corresponds to lukewarmness—as Fr. Faber writes: “The diseases and evils of the body are in a great degree typical of the miseries and misfortunes of the soul. If we seek the correlative of lukewarmness, we shall find it in blindness. It is a blindness which does not know even its own self, and does not suspect that it is blind, or that other men see better than itself” (Fr. Faber, Growth in Holiness). Our Lady of Good Success says: “Others are blinded by self-love, not realizing that they are falling into lukewarmness, that immense evil.”
The lukewarm need the ‘eye-salve’ of prayer to save them from the fate of lukewarmness—which is being vomited out from the mouth of God. Let us resolve to use this ‘eye-salve’ regularly and properly this coming New Year! As Our Lord said: “We ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1).
‘Happy’ New Year! Ouch!
Today there is not enough gold, frankincense and myrrh in our lives. We love too little; we pray too little; we suffer too little. That is why we risk having little chance for salvation unless we follow the counsels of the Apocalypse in our apocalyptic times! Love, pray and suffer! This should be our New Year resolution! Have a charitable New Year! Have a prayerful New Year! Have a painful New Year! Ouch!
But that is what Our Lady herself told us: “The children of the holy Church, the children of my Faith, my true followers, they will grow in their love for God!” (Our Lady of La Salette). “Pray, pray very much!” (Our Lady of Fatima). “Are you willing to bear all the sufferings God wills to send you? Then you are going to have much to suffer … Are you suffering a great deal? Don’t lose heart. I will never forsake you!” (Our Lady of Fatima). “I do not promise to make you Happy [New Year] in this life, but in the next!” (Our Lady of Lourdes).
The idea of “new” and “old” is as old as time! In the Bible we have the Old Testament which takes us from the beginning of time to the time of Christ. From the time of Christ to present time we are living in the time of the New Testament. Each day is new day and each moment is a new moment.
Not only do we associate “new” and “old” with time―we also associate it with quality. Usually, most people prefer something new over something old. We buy new cars if we can afford them and not old cars. Likewise, new houses rather than old houses. Similarly, new household appliances rather than old household appliances. The new computer are rated above old computers. New ways of doing things seem to replace old ways of doing things. We seek new recipes because we have grown tired of old recipes.
Our Lord Himself speaks of this “new” and “old” phenomenon: “No man puts new wine into old bottles: otherwise the wine will burst the bottles, and both the wine will be spilled, and the bottles will be lost. But new wine must be put into new bottles” (Mark 2:22). “And no man puts new wine into old bottles: otherwise the new wine will break the bottles, and it will be spilled, and the bottles will be lost. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved.” (Luke 5:37-38). “Neither do they put new wine into old bottles. Otherwise the bottles break, and the wine runs out, and the bottles perish. But new wine they put into new bottles: and both are preserved” (Matthew 9:17). “And Jesus spoke also a similitude to them: ‘No man puts a piece from a new garment upon an old garment; otherwise he both rends the new, and the piece taken from the new agrees not with the old’” (Luke 5:36). “No man sews a piece of raw cloth to an old garment: otherwise the new piecing takes away from the old, and there is made a greater tear” (Mark 2:21).
Holy Scripture urges us to put away our old sinful selves and put on a new self: “Put off, according to former conversation, the old man, who is corrupted according to the desire of error! And be renewed in the spirit of your mind! 2And put on the new man, who according to God is created in justice and holiness of truth!” (Ephesians 4:22-24). “Put you also all away anger, indignation, malice, blasphemy, filthy speech out of your mouth! Do not lie one to another! Stripping yourselves of the old man with his deeds, and putting on the new man―him who is renewed unto knowledge, according to the image of God that created him!” (Colossians 3:10). “If then any be in Christ a new creature, the old things are passed away, behold all things are made new!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). “Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new paste, as you are unleavened” (1 Corinthians 5:7). “Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new paste” (1 Corinthians 5:7).
The Old Man of Sin and Satan―the New Man of God and Virtue
Sin empowers Satan. Sin put us increasingly in the hands of Satan: “He that commits sin is of the devil” (1 John 3:8). “For we that are dead to sin, how shall we live any longer therein? Know you not that all we, who are baptized in Christ Jesus, are baptized in His death? For we are buried together with Him by baptism into death; so that as Christ is risen from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also may walk in newness of life! For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection! Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin may be destroyed, to the end that we may serve sin no longer! For he that is dead is justified from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall live also together with Christ! Knowing that Christ, rising again from the dead, dies now no more, death shall no more have dominion over Him. For in that He died to sin, He died once; but in that He lives, he lives unto God! So do you also reckon, that you are dead to sin, but alive unto God, in Christ Jesus our Lord! Let no sin therefore reign in your mortal body, so as to obey the lusts thereof! Neither yield your bodily members as instruments of iniquity unto sin; but present yourselves to God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of justice unto God!” (Romans 6:2-13).
“New” Should Mean “Better”
Holy Scripture, in the Book of Apocalypse, quotes the following words as coming from Christ: “And He that sat on the throne, said: ‘Behold, I make all things new!’” (Apocalypse 21:5) ― which resonates with “If anyone be in Christ a new creature ― then the old things are passed away, and all things are made new!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). In this case―especially where Christ is involved―we clearly understand “new” to mean “better” or “more perfect.” Similarly, Our Lord infers to a future new wine being superior to the old wine: “Amen I say to you, that I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I shall drink it new in the Kingdom of God!” (Mark 14:25).
Ringing Out the Old Self―Ringing In a New Self
Scripture tells us: “You shall eat the oldest of the old store, and, new coming on, you shall cast away the old!” (Leviticus 26:10). When Our Lord restored to health the sick man by Pool of Bethsaida, who had been sick for 38 years, upon giving the man a “new life” Jesus warned him: “Behold thou art made whole! Sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to thee!” (John 5:14).
You may have heard of and even read Lord Alfred Tennyson’s famous poem that speaks of ringing out the old and ringing in the new--the poem is listed below. Unfortunately, it never came true for Tennyson himself. Alfred Tennyson, (1809-1892) was a famous English poet during much of Queen Victoria’s reign (ruled 1837-1901). Tennyson left much to be desired on the spiritual level―being the son of an Anglican clergyman, he entered Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1827, aged 16, and soon after he was persuaded to join a secret society in the college. He then gradually drifted towards agnosticism and pandeism. Tennyson revealed that his religious beliefs defied convention― his son’s biography confirms that Tennyson was an unorthodox Christian, combining a deep interest in contemporary science with an unorthodox, even idiosyncratic, Christian belief. He wrote: “The churches have killed their Christ!” ― which, especially today, can be said to be truism.
The famous opening line of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem, “Ring Out, Wild Bells,” from his longer work In Memoriam A.H.H., marks the end of the old year and the hope for a better new year, calling for the ringing out of sorrow, injustice, and conflict, and ringing in truth, love, and peace for all humanity. The “wild bells” in question were the bells of the Abbey Church in High Beech, where, according to the local story, Tennyson was staying and heard the bells being rung on New Year's Eve. It is an accepted English custom to ring English Full circle bells to ring out the old year and ring in the new year over midnight on New Year's Eve. Tennyson’s poem is as follows:
Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.
Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
Ring out the grief that saps the mind
For those that here we see no more;
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.
Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.
Ring out the want, the care, the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes
But ring the fuller minstrel in.
Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.
Ring out old shapes of foul disease;
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.
Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.
Are You Ringing? Are You Ready? Are You Preparing?
Another New Year is around the corner! Another New Year that will rapidly become the Old Year! Same old New Year! Same old Old Year! Does anything ever change? Are you preparing for another New Year? How are you preparing? What are you doing? Do you have a party prepared? Do you have balloons and all kinds of other such like glitzy things prepared? Do you have drinks prepared? Is the food prepared? What are you preparing for? What’s the point? What’s the focal point? St. Paul tells us: “Whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of God!” (1 Corinthians 10:31). Is the glory of God your focal point on this New Year’s Eve and this New Year’s Day?
New Year Comes Late!
The Church has already beaten the State to the New Year—the New Liturgical Year started with the First Sunday of Advent! However, since many are partying tonight and waiting for the secular “New Year”, let us look at some aspects of the “new” from a spiritual perspective. To do so, let us primarily turn to the Word of God—Holy Scripture—for a look at the “new.” Then, let us look at what “New Year Resolutions” we could make or take, that we won’t break or forsake!
Our Lord Comes to Make Things New
There are times when the “old” is better, and there are times when the “new” is necessary. Our Lord Himself came to perfect the old with the new—the Old Testament gave way to the New Testament. Our “old” selves, likewise, need to make way for our “new” selves—re”new”ed by the grace of God. Heaven is often called the “New Jerusalem” —a heavenly Jerusalem that replaces or perfects the earthly Jerusalem. We see this focus on the “new” in the words of Our Lord and the New Testament authors. “But we look for new heavens and a new Earth” (2 Peter 3:13).
Don’t Mix the Old with the New
We cannot make a blend of the world and God; nor can we marry spirituality to materialism: “You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24) … “And what concord has Christ with Belial?” (2 Corinthians 6:15). “And you, when you were dead in your offences and sins, wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of this air [the devil], of the spirit that now works on the children of unbelief―in which also we all conversed in time past, in the desires of our flesh, fulfilling the will of the flesh and of our thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, Who is rich in mercy, even when we were dead in sins, has restored us together in Christ, by Whose grace you are saved, and has raised us up together, and has made us sit together in the heavenly places, through Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:1-5).
Purge Out the Old
God wants us to be new creatures, new persons, better creatures, better persons. That is why He came on Earth—the Advent and Christmas liturgy speaks of Our Lord coming to restore, to renew, to recreate what was lost through sin. This is the spirit that we should positively and effectively undertake in the coming New Year—putting on a new man, a new self, created in justice and holiness; becoming a new leaven, renewed in mind and heart, so that we are a new creature in Christ, having put the old ways behind us and having made all things new!
“And He that sat on the throne, said: ‘Behold, I make all things new!’ And He said to me: ‘Write! For these words are most faithful and true!’” (Apocalypse 21:5). “A new commandment I give unto you” (John 13:34) ... “Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new paste” (1 Corinthians 5:7). “Put off, according to former conversation, the old man, who is corrupted according to the desire of error and be renewed in the spirit of your mind: and put on the new man, who according to God is created in justice and holiness of truth” (Ephesians 4:22-24). “And putting on the new, him who is renewed unto knowledge, according to the image of Him that created him” (Colossians 3:10). “If then anyone be in Christ a new creature, the old things are passed away, behold all things are made new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). “In saying ‘a new’, He has made the former old” (Hebrews 8:13).
Vintage Year for God
While others toast the New Year with glasses of wine, we should be preparing to give God a special vintage this coming year—not mixing our old cheap wine with the vintage wine that God expects from us. We repeat the earlier quotes: “Neither do they put new wine into old bottles. Otherwise the bottles break, and the wine runs out, and the bottles perish. But new wine they put into new bottles: and both are preserved” (Matthew 9:17). “No man sews a piece of raw cloth to an old garment” (Mark 2:21). “No man puts a piece from a new garment upon an old garment; otherwise the piece taken from the new agrees not with the old” (Luke 5:36).
God Seeks Improvement
All these Scriptural quotes stress or imply the need for improvement—not just “new” for sake of it being “new”, but “new’ in the sense of something better than was there before. In this sense, we go through school learning new things every year and, thereby, our intelligence becomes better. We learn new skills and thereby become better. Our spiritual life should follow the same pattern—each year we should become better due to new things and changes that we have made; much like a tree that each year grows more, becomes stronger and bears more fruit: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field. Which is the least indeed of all seeds; but when it is grown up, it is greater than all herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come, and dwell in the branches thereof” (Matthew 13:31-32).
The tree or vine should be always improving, as Our Lord points out at the Last Supper: “I am the true vine; and My Father is the gardener. Every branch in Me, that bears not fruit, He will take away; and every branch that bears fruit, He will purge it, that it may bring forth more fruit … I am the vine and you are the branches―he that abides in Me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit. If anyone abides not in Me, he shall be cast forth as a branch and shall wither, and they shall gather him up and cast him into the fire, and he will burn!” (John 15:1-6).
Fruitless and Loveless
The Apocalypse has even stronger words to say: “I know your works, and that you are neither cold, nor hot. I would prefer that you were cold or hot. But because you are lukewarm―and neither cold, not hot―I will begin to vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say: ‘I am rich, and made wealthy, and have need of nothing!’ and do you not know that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy of Me gold fire tried, so that you may be made rich; and may be clothed in white garments, and that the shame of your nakedness may not appear; and anoint your eyes with eye-salve, so that you may see!” (Apocalypse 3:14-18).
This New Year—Buy the Gold of Charity
Yes, we are spiritually poor, blind and naked, as the Apocalypse just said. Just as the Three Kings brought three gifts, so do the three persons of the Holy Trinity counsel us to turn to Them for the solution―which is to buy from Them gold, white garments, and eye-salve. These three things are an echo of the three gifts offered to Jesus by the Magi.
The Gold in both cases—the Apocalypse account and that of the Magi—is the gold of charity, which, as we said with the Scriptural quote above, will have grown cold in many souls: “Because iniquity has abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold!” (Matthew 24:12). Will this be a cold year in my heart, or will I kindle a fire in my heart towards God: “I am come to cast fire on the Earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled?” (Luke 12:49). Will the fire in my heart grow or burn-out?
This New Year—Cloth Yourself with Suffering
The white garments, spoken of in Apocalypse, correspond to the Myrrh. The Myrrh is a symbol of suffering, being used both as a painkiller and for embalming the dead. The white garments reflect that suffering, as shown by this quote: “These are they who are come out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and have made them white in the Blood of the Lamb” (Apocalypse 7:14).
This coming New Year, no doubt, will bring increased suffering in an increasingly sinful world—“Be not deceived, God is not mocked!” (Galatians 6:7). The world cannot sin with impunity―it has to pay for its sins: “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). “Sin has reigned to death” (Romans 5:21). “When concupiscence has conceived, it brings forth sin. But sin, when it is completed, begets death” (James 1:15).
This New Year—Use the Eye-Salve of Fervent Prayer
The Eye-Salve, spoken of in Apocalypse, corresponds to the frankincense of prayer, which rises like smoke to Heaven. The blind man is begging and praying to Jesus for his blindness to be removed. “Jesus asked him saying: ‘What wilt thou that I do to thee?’ But he said: ‘Lord, that I may see!’” (Luke 18:41).
His prayer is the eye-salve that removes his blindness. This blindness corresponds to lukewarmness—as Fr. Faber writes: “The diseases and evils of the body are in a great degree typical of the miseries and misfortunes of the soul. If we seek the correlative of lukewarmness, we shall find it in blindness. It is a blindness which does not know even its own self, and does not suspect that it is blind, or that other men see better than itself” (Fr. Faber, Growth in Holiness). Our Lady of Good Success says: “Others are blinded by self-love, not realizing that they are falling into lukewarmness, that immense evil.”
The lukewarm need the ‘eye-salve’ of prayer to save them from the fate of lukewarmness—which is being vomited out from the mouth of God. Let us resolve to use this ‘eye-salve’ regularly and properly this coming New Year! As Our Lord said: “We ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1).
‘Happy’ New Year! Ouch!
Today there is not enough gold, frankincense and myrrh in our lives. We love too little; we pray too little; we suffer too little. That is why we risk having little chance for salvation unless we follow the counsels of the Apocalypse in our apocalyptic times! Love, pray and suffer! This should be our New Year resolution! Have a charitable New Year! Have a prayerful New Year! Have a painful New Year! Ouch!
But that is what Our Lady herself told us: “The children of the holy Church, the children of my Faith, my true followers, they will grow in their love for God!” (Our Lady of La Salette). “Pray, pray very much!” (Our Lady of Fatima). “Are you willing to bear all the sufferings God wills to send you? Then you are going to have much to suffer … Are you suffering a great deal? Don’t lose heart. I will never forsake you!” (Our Lady of Fatima). “I do not promise to make you Happy [New Year] in this life, but in the next!” (Our Lady of Lourdes).
Article 3
Monday & Tuesday, December 29th & 30th
Life is No Joke! Christmas is No Party!
Monday & Tuesday, December 29th & 30th
Life is No Joke! Christmas is No Party!
Not an End, but a Beginning!
The Light of the world has arrived amidst the world’s darkness and coldness! Why has He come? He has come to enlighten our minds about the things that really matter and to enkindle in our hearts the fire of His love. As Jesus Himself said: “I am come to cast fire on the Earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled?” (Luke 12:49). The fire, at the same time, gives off warmth and light. God is charity—an inextinguishable fire of love. God is also all knowing—an inextinguishable light. “Jesus spoke to them, saying: ‘I am the light of the world: he that follows Me, walks not in darkness, but shall have the light of life’” (John 8:12). Christmas is not an end in itself, it is merely the beginning of Christ’s life. Christmas does not end the day after December 25th, but is the mere planting of the seed of knowledge and the mere sparking or kindling of the fire of a love of God. It is another year of planting. Will it bring more and better fruit than last year?
Christmas Candlesticks
The seed of knowledge of God is meant to grow; the spark of love is meant to grow into a ‘forest fire’ that sets fire to our family, relatives, friends and colleagues (the forest that surrounds us). “I am come to cast fire on the Earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled?” (Luke 12:49). “Of one spark comes a great fire” (Ecclesiasticus 11:34). “Behold how small a fire kindles a great wood” (James 3:5). Jesus said to them: “Does a candle come in to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? Now no man lighting a candle covers it with a vessel, or puts it under a bed; but sets it upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the house, that they who come in may see the light!” (Matthew 5:15; Mark 4:21; Luke 8:16).
Christmas Fires
“I am come to cast fire on the Earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled?” (Luke 12:49). Moses saw this truth symbolized by encountering God in the burning bush: “Now Moses came to the mountain of God, Horeb. And the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire, out of the midst of a bush: and he saw that the bush was on fire and was not burnt. And Moses said: ‘I will go and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt!’ And when the Lord saw that he went forward to see, He called to him out of the midst of the bush, and said: ‘Moses! Moses!’ And he answered: ‘Here I am!’” (Exodus 3:1-4).
It was not only to Moses that God manifested Himself in the form of fire, but, later, also to the children of Israel: “And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like a burning fire upon the top of the mount, in the eyes of the children of Israel” (Exodus 24:17).
At Christmas, this same divine fire comes to Earth, to enlighten mankind and enkindle in them the divine fire of a love for God: “I am come to cast fire on the Earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled?” (Luke 12:49).
By which Fire are You Standing Warming and Yourself?
“Let us serve, pleasing God, with fear and reverence. For our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:28-29). Some prefer to serve gold—a symbol of riches, money, power and pleasure—but “Neither shall their silver and their gold be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord: all the land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy” (Sophonias 1:18). We can burn with a love of God or we can burn with the love of the world—yet the consequences are different.
Refining Fires
We see this in a twofold or even threefold fire—the fire of God, the fire of Purgatory and the fire of Hell. We cannot escape all of these, and must burn on Earth or in Purgatory before we can get to Heaven—if we do not burn with the fire of God’s love here on Earth, then we will burn in either the fire of Purgatory, or, God forbid, in the fire of Hell after death.
If we burn with a fire of love of God, we shall not be consumed by anything: “I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them, as silver is refined, and I will try them as gold is tried. They shall call on My name, and I will hear them. I will say: ‘Thou art My people!’ And they shall say: ‘The Lord is my God!’” (Zacharias 13:9). “And the Lord went before them to show the way: by day, in a pillar of a cloud, and by night, in a pillar of fire: so that He might be the guide of their journey at both times. There never failed the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, before the people” (Exodus 13:21-22).
If we fail to live, walk and burn in a love of God, then “Every tree that brings not forth good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire” (Matthew 7:19). “If any one abide not in Me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, and shall wither, and they shall gather him up, and cast him into the fire, and he burns” (John 15:6). “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life, was cast into the pool of fire” (Apocalypse 20:15).
The Fire of God
“I am come to cast fire on the Earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled?” (Luke 12:49). God likes to represent Himself by fire: (1) as a fire in the burning bush to Moses, (2) as tongues of fire on the day of Pentecost, (3) as flames of fire coming forth from the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Fire purifies and God must purify us before He accepts us into Heaven. “As silver is tried by fire, and gold in the furnace: so the Lord tries the hearts” (Proverbs 17:3). “For gold and silver are tried in the fire, but acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation” (Ecclesiasticus 2:5). That is why we will have to pass through many fires of tribulation and suffering, before we are good enough for Heaven: “But He knows my way, and has tried me as gold that passes through the fire” (Job 23:10).
Christmas is also a Time for Seeds
Out of one tiny seed comes a great plant: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which is the least indeed of all seeds; but when it is grown up, it is greater than all herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come, and dwell in the branches thereof” (Matthew 13:31-32). Great things should come out of Christmas! Will this be the case in my life this year. Our Lord has tried to sow the seeds of a true Christmas in my soul year after year—perhaps to no purpose and with no fruit coming from His efforts. The Parable of the Sower of the Seed and the parable of the Cockle and the Wheat are beautiful parables and very applicable to the Christmas season. One could almost call them “Christmas Parables”!
SOME CHRISTMAS PARABLES
The Sower of the Christmas Seed
“Behold the sower went forth to sow. And whilst he sowed some seed fell by the wayside, and it was trodden down and the birds of the air came and ate them up. And other some fell upon stony ground, where they had not much Earth: and they sprung up immediately, because they had no deepness of Earth. And when the sun was up they were scorched: and because they had not root, they withered away. And others fell among thorns: and the thorns grew up and choked them. And others fell upon good ground: and they brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixty-fold, and some thirty-fold” (Matthew 13:3-8; Luke 8:5-8).
“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. When any one hears the Word of the Kingdom, and understands it not—this is he that received the seed by the wayside who hears and understands not—there comes the devil comes and and takes the word out that was sown in his heart, lest believing he should be saved.
“And he that received the seed upon stony ground, is he that hears the word, and immediately receives it with joy. Yet hath he not root in himself, but is only for a time: and when there arises temptation, tribulation and persecution because of the word, he is presently scandalized and falls away.
“And he that received the seed among thorns, is he that hears the word, and is choked with the cares and riches and pleasures of this life and the deceitfulness of riches, which choke-up the word in him, and he becomes fruitless.
“But he that received the seed upon good ground, is he that hears the word, in a good and perfect heart and understands, and, hearing the word, keeps it, and brings forth fruit in patience, and yield fruit: the one an hundredfold, and another sixty, and another thirty” (Matthew 13:18-23; Luke 8:11-15).
Christmas Seeds
Christmas sees all these different kinds of seeds—or different reactions to the attempts of God to sow the Word (the Word made flesh) in the hearts of the world each Christmas, just like the sower goes out to sow each year.
The seed that falls by the wayside represents those who put the Word of God aside for later (or never), so that they can indulge in the material fun-things of Christmas. These material things of the world—parties, food, drink, entertainment, etc. ― “tread down” the Word of God and they are the “birds of the air” of the “prince of the world”, the devil, that come an carry away the Word of God, so that it never takes root.
The seed that falls on stony ground—that “had not much Earth”—represents the hard-hearted, or the proud, who do not have much humility (Earth, soil, humus). The Word of God immediately springs up on the spot and dies on the spot—it stays on the surface for these superficial souls, who have no spiritual depth to their lives: all is surface stuff, they are content with appearances. When the heat of the sun comes—which is the world applying its “heat” in the form of mockery, hatred and persecution—these superficial souls cannot “take the heat” and the Word of God withers and dies within them.
The seed that fall among thorns—and is choked by them—represents those souls who are too busy with the world—not necessarily sinful things, but also very busy doing good things, but things that are a lesser good than the superior spiritual goods offered by God through the Word of God. What preoccupies them could their family, their work, their health, their leisure time, etc. All of this forgets the condemnation of Our Lord, when He said: “He that loves father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me; and he that loves son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:37).
These people hide under a false or twisted excuse of following “their duty of state”—whereas they forget that the primary duty of state is to love God first and above anyone or anything else. As Jesus Himself said: “Seek ye therefore first the Kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33) and “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38). These poor deluded souls place the second commandment—of being concerned with one’s neighbor—above the first commandment of being concerned with God and the things of God. Thus is their spiritual life choked to death, or, at best, is left half-dead or sterile.
Finally, the seed that “fell upon good ground” represents the truly spiritual souls, who are detached from the material, sense driven, pleasure seeking mode of Christmas and much prefer the spiritual seeds to the material seeds of Christmas. These hear the Word of God in a good and perfect heart and understand the Word of God, penetrating below the surface of the “Christmas Story” and, hearing the word, keep it, and “bring forth fruit in patience, and yield fruit: the one an hundredfold, and another sixty, and another thirty?
The fruits, of course, are not the exotic fruits on offer in the supermarkets this Christmas season, but the fruits on offer deep within the Word of God. These souls take time to read, to ponder, to wonder, to dig, to sift and seek! They ask for the graces to understand; they knock on the doors of these mysteries; they enter through the doors and carefully explore the spiritual palace they find; they seek the Christ Child like the shepherds and Magi—and they find Him. But these souls are few, the majority are on the wide, busy road of materialism: “Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:24) … “Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life: and few there are that find it!” (Matthew 7:13-14).
The Cockle and the Wheat
“Another parable he proposed to them, saying: The Kingdom of Heaven is likened to a man that sowed good seeds in his field. But while men were asleep, his enemy came and over-sowed cockle among the wheat and went his way. And when the blade was sprung up, and had brought forth fruit, then appeared also the cockle. And the servants of the good man of the house coming said to him: ‘Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? Whence then hath it cockle?’ And he said to them: ‘An enemy hath done this!’ And the servants said to him: ‘Wilt thou that we go and gather it up?’ And he said: ‘No! Lest perhaps gathering up the cockle, you root up the wheat also together with it! Suffer both to grow until the harvest, and, in the time of the harvest, I will say to the reapers: “Gather up first the cockle, and bind it into bundles to burn, but the wheat gather ye into my barn”‘“ (Matthew 13:24-30)
Jesus explains the parable thus: “He that sows the good seed, is the Son of man [born for us on Christmas Day]. And the field, is the world [for our purposes, it is also the field of the Christmas season]. And the good seed are the children of the Kingdom [those who prefer a spiritual Christmas]. And the cockle, are the children of the wicked one [the ones who prefer a worldly Christmas]. And the enemy that sowed them, is the devil [the “prince of the world”, as Our Lord calls him, therefore also the prince of the worldly ones]. But the harvest is the end of the world. And the reapers are the angels. Even as cockle therefore is gathered up, and burnt with fire: so shall it be at the end of the world” (Matthew 13:37-40).
People with Gross Hearts, Shut Eyes, and Deaf Ears
The following passage paints a picture of the two kinds of souls that can be found at Christmas: “I speak to them in parables: because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And the prophecy of Isaias is fulfilled in them, who saith: ‘By hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand: and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive. For the heart of this people is grown gross, and with their ears they have been dull of hearing, and their eyes they have shut: lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. For, amen, I say to you, many prophets and just men have desired to see the things that you see, and have not seen them, and to hear the things that you hear and have not heard them” (Matthew 13:13-17).
Which Frame of Mind?
If we are among the gross, deaf and blind,
And the Word of God we neither seek nor find;
Then the reason may be that we have left behind,
The One Who came to save mankind.
Perhaps we preferred a worldly frame of mind
And to material pleasures we have inclined,
So that in worldliness we were entwined,
While spiritual graces have been declined
And God’s great charity has been maligned.
Yet it is for such sinners that Our Lord appeared,
Seeking to be loved and not just feared.
Yet the devil, as always, has interfered
And Christmas away from God he has steered.
Spirituality is mostly scorned and smeared,
While worldliness is applauded and cheered.
If you wish to recover what has disappeared,
You risk running the gauntlet of being jeered.
True peace and joy arise as God is neared,
And worldly things away are cleared.
When one has in this way persevered―
Where God is sought first and above all revered―
One then will find what the world thinks weird
Joy at being alone with the God, Who has reappeared!
Did You Blunder into the Wrong Christmas Party?
Christmas is not about fun and games, feasting and drinking―it is all about being saved from Hell. Brushing aside the false sentimentality that has been created around Christmas, we should listen to Holy Mother Church as to true purpose of Christmas. Holy Mother Church reveals this in the Christmas Liturgy. The following quotes are taken from the Masses and Divine Office (Breviary) from Christmas Eve onwards:
“This day you shall know that the Lord will come and save us!” (Exodus 16:6-7) … “O God, You gladden us year after year with the expectation of our redemption!” … “Do not be afraid, Joseph, son of David, to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a Son, and you shall call His Name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins!” … “It is fitting and profitable to salvation, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, Lord. For You have promised Him as a Savior for the lost human race … the time of His coming is near, and the day of our liberation is dawning!” … “Lift up your heads, for your redemption is at hand!” … “This day a Savior is born unto thee!” … “The Lord has made known His salvation!” … “The grace of God our Savior has appeared to all men; instructing us, that we should live soberly, and justly, and godly in this world by , denying ungodliness and worldly desires” … “Our Savior Jesus Christ, gave Himself for us, so that He might redeem us from all iniquity” … “These things speak, and exhort and rebuke with all authority!” … “Grant that the birth of Your only begotten Son may set us free, who are held by the bondage and chains of sin!” … “By the birth of Your only begotten Son cleanse us from our sins!” … “Take away from us our iniquities, we beseech Thee, O Lord!”
The Gift of Effort
Being born Catholic has marked advantages over not being born Catholic. Proverbially, it is like being “born with a silver spoon in your mouth”; or like having a three lap start in a four lap race. But even though it has great advantages, God does not give us Heaven on a golden plate. If something is worth doing, then it’s worth doing well; if Heaven is worth getting, then we need to put serious effort into getting there!
Our Lord puts it this way: “Not everyone that says to Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!” (Matthew 7:21) ... “A rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 19:23) ... “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:3) ... “Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:10) ...”Unless your justice abound more than that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:20) … “For many are called, but few are chosen!” (Matthew 22:14) … “The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent bear it away!” (Matthew 11:12) … “He that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved!” (Matthew 10:22).
Painful Prophecy
Our Lord is not full of “sweet talk” but He tells us as it is, without wrapping things up in cotton balls. The following prophecy is worth pondering―since it refers to the so-called “End Times” or “Last Days”, which Our Lady of Fatima said that we have entered:
“And as it came to pass in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat and drink, they married wives, and were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark: and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise as it came to pass, in the days of Lot: they did eat and drink, they bought and sold, they planted and built. And in the day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from Heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man shall be revealed. In that hour, he that shall be on the housetop, and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take them away: and he that shall be in the field, in like manner, let him not return back. Remember Lot’s wife! Whosoever shall seek to save his life, shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose it, shall preserve it. I say to you: in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together: the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left: two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.” (Luke 17:26-35).
The Many and the Few
We see this poignantly fulfilled as Jesus died on the Cross: one thief was saved, the other thief was lost. Even before that, many Jews and Pharisees rejected Him, few accepted Him: “Many are called, but few chosen” (Matthew 20:16). Many are baptized, but few will be saved.
“And a certain man said to Him: ‘Lord, are they few that are saved?’ But He said to them: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:23-24) ... “Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life: and few there are that find it!” (Matthew 7:13-14) ... “With fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12).
Life is No Joke―Christmas is No Party
All this points to the seriousness and gravity of the time allotted to us here on Earth by God. Some live for pleasure and fun; others live to work out their salvation. For some, Christmas is a time for fun, food, drink, gifts and parties. For others, Christmas is a time of seeking Christ in a more profitable way, through better prayer, more spiritual reading and a greater detachment from the world. “He that is not with Me, is against Me!” (Matthew 12:30) ... “You are from beneath, I am from above! You are of this world, I am not of this world!” (John 8:23) … “If you had been of the world, the world would love its own―but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you! … If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before you” (John 15:18-19) … “The world hates Me because I give testimony of it, that the works of the world are evil!” (John 7:7) … “Be not conformed to this world; but be reformed in the newness of your mind!” (Romans 12:2). “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God!” (James 4:4).
Worldly Wise but Heavenly Foolish
“The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God” (1 Corinthians 3:1). “God made foolish the wisdom of this world” (1 Corinthians 1:20). “The foolish things of the world has God chosen, so that He may confound the wise; and the weak things of the world has God chosen, so that He may confound the strong!” (1 Corinthians 1:2).
It is a reflection of the foolish and wise virgins, mentioned by Our Lord in one of His parables. Time is too precious to lose, yet we have all lost much time. “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him!” (1 John 2:15). “If you be risen with Christ, seek the things that are above! Mind the things that are above, not the things that are upon the Earth!” (Colossians 3:1-2). Now is the time to wake up from our illusions and wishful thinking, and face the reality of life, the reality of eternal life, the reality of salvation or ...
Going Out to Meet Christ
So, just like the wise virgins, we must go out to meet our Bridegroom, Christ: “There was a cry made: ‘Behold the bridegroom is coming! Go forth to meet Him!” (Matthew 25:6). Like the wise virgins, we must be ever ready to seek Him, ever ready to go to Him, ever ready to meet Him. Love is reciprocal, meaning it is a “two-way-street” — it is about give and take. At Christmas, Our Lord, out of love, leaves Heaven to come and save us; we must likewise leave the world and go to Him to be saved.
Mary and Joseph had to leave their home and daily occupations in Nazareth to give birth to Him far away in Bethlehem. The Magi had to leave their homes and daily occupations and travel a long way to find and meet Him in Bethlehem. Because of Him, Mary and Joseph had to go even further afield, to distant Egypt, in order to preserve Him in their lives. The Apostles had to leave their jobs and families to be with Him; and would later even have to leave their home country as they were sent into the whole wide world to take His word to others.
Love for Love, Life for Life
He gave His life for us and He demands that we give Him our lives. “For he that will save his life, shall lose it; and he that shall lose his life for My sake, shall find it” (Matthew 16:25) ... “Unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground dies, then it remains alone itself. But if it dies, then it brings forth much fruit. He that loves his life shall lose it; and he that hates his life in this world, keeps it unto life eternal” (John 12:24-25).
Dying to Live for Christ
That “dying” may take all kinds of shapes and forms. The most common form will be that of dying to the world and its worldly spirit and worldly ambitions and worldly fashions and attitudes. Yet another form, more and more common in these modern times of religious indifference, is having to “die” to human respect which makes us “go along so as to get along” with family, relatives, work colleagues and friends. We are tempted to hide our Faith and shut our mouths to avoid rocking the boat. Yet Our Lord has said: “Everyone that shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father Who is in Heaven. But he that shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father Who is in Heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33). Dying to human respect can be one of the most profitable, yet one of the most painful things we could do.
Our perpetual battle is the one against the blatant lie that tries to tell us that we can have the best of both worlds: that we can live like the rest of the world and also save our souls. Yet, He Who is Truth itself, tells us: “You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:24), while His Apostle, St. James, adds: “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4).
But what About My Family and Friends?
But then we are faced with those who surround us—our family, relatives, work colleagues and social acquaintances! Surely we cannot turn our backs on them?!? Surely that cannot be what God wants! There is a prudent path that must be trodden, as the following Scriptural quotes will explain.
First of all, it is certain that God has come to save sinners: “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). “The Pharisees and the Scribes murmured, saying: ‘This man receives sinners, and eats with them!’” (Luke 15:2). He forgave sins and accepted sinners into His entourage—as we see in the case of His choosing St. Matthew as an Apostle, whereas he was a publican; and St. Mary Magdalen, who was an adulteress who had been possessed by seven devils; and the Good Thief on the cross. So we clearly see that He does not avoid sinners, but goes to them. Nevertheless, He does not condone their sins, but says things like: “Go and sin no more!” (John 8:11) … “Sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to thee!” (John 5:14).
Limits to Love
Yet there are limits that Our Lord Himself sets. The first one being the salvation of our own soul and the avoidance of any dangers that may make us lose our salvation: “What does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26).
Secondly, we cannot put family or relatives or friends before God. Do we really want to side with those who are deliberately and stubbornly offending God and are refusing to change their sinful ways? “He that is not with Me, is against Me; and he that gathers not with Me, scatters!” (Matthew 12:30). If they will not follow God, then after trying to change their minds, we cannot let family ties or friendship weaken our Faith, or, worse still, separate us from God.
Jesus Causes Division
Jesus already foresaw and foretold splits in families because of His teaching: “Do not think that I came to send peace upon Earth! I came not to send peace, but the sword! For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law! And a man’s enemies shall be they of his own household! He that loves father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me; and he that loves a son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me! And he that takes not up his cross and follows Me, is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:34-38).
If They Will Not Listen, Then...
Thirdly, where there is opposition to Christ’s teaching, and division because of it, then we are told to first of all try and bring them round to the truth, for that is Christ’s wish.
“For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost! What think you? If a man has an hundred sheep, and one of them should go astray: does he not leave the ninety-nine in the mountains, and go to seek that which is gone astray? And if it so be that he find it: Amen I say to you, he rejoices more for that, than for the ninety-nine that went not astray! Even so it is not the will of your Father, Who is in Heaven, that one of these little ones should perish. But if thy brother shall offend against thee―then go and rebuke him between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother. And if he will not hear thee, take with thee one or two more―so that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand. And if he will not hear them―then tell the church. And if he will not hear the church―then let him be to thee as the heathen and publican” (Matthew 18:11-17). “Whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words― going forth out of that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet!” (Matthew 10:14).
One Bad Apple...
We must separate ourselves from and avoid those who are a danger to our Faith, as St. Paul writes: “Know you not that a little leaven corrupts the whole lump? ... I wrote to you in an epistle, not to keep company with fornicators. I mean not with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or the extortioners, or the servers of idols; otherwise you must needs go out of this world. But now I have written to you, not to keep company, if any man that is named a brother, be a fornicator, or covetous, or a server of idols, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner: with such a one, not so much as to eat! ... Put away the evil one from among yourselves!” (1 Corinthians 5:6-13).
What Really Converts
As for their conversion, prayer and sacrifice (which Our Lady requested at Fatima) will do more to convert souls that mere human words. Faith is a supernatural gift of God, not man; and it is God who freely gives it. We can give nobody the Faith, we can merely plant seeds, and water them, but it is God who sparks Faith to life: “I have planted, Apollo watered―but God gave the increase!” (1 Corinthians 3:6). Because we are too human and not supernatural enough, we place too much emphasis on human efforts, forgetting (or at least twisting) the words of Our Lord, Who said: “Without Me you can do nothing!” (John 15:5).
Limited Edition of Full Version?
At Christmas Christ comes with a challenge; He challenges us to go out of our customary human, self-made (or twisted) partial notion or limited-edition of the Catholic Faith and to embrace the full version or the entire Catholic Faith. It means dying to our personal version of the Faith, a death that will invariably be humiliating and painful, but less humiliating and painful here below, than having to undergo the transformation hereafter! He is there to help us should we decide to do so. Are we among the foolish virgins or the wise virgins? Will we take on the role of the bad thief or the Good Thief? Will we be Simon the Pharisee or Mary Magdalen? We live and die by our choices. Let us choose to die to self and live for Christ. “For to me, to live is Christ; and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). “Whether we live, we live unto the Lord; or whether we die, we die unto the Lord. Therefore, whether we live, or whether we die, we are the Lord’s” (Romans 14:8).
Who are we really living for? Who do we resemble the most? Christ or the world? Can it be said of us: “They are of the world―therefore of the world they speak, and the world hears them!” (1 John 4:5). Life is no joke, nor is Christmas merely party time! The focus of life is salvation not self-gratification. The focus of Christmas is letting Christ take over our lives rather than the world taking over our lives! As Our Lord said to His followers at the Last Supper, on the verge of His Passion and Death: “Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful―but your sorrow shall be turned into joy!” (John 16:20).
Christ comes at Christmas―not to wine and dine, laugh and play, be on social media or watch TV all day―Christ comes to pray, pay and die for our sins and take their just punishment away; He comes to save us from the world, not to immerse us in the world; He seeks lead our love to things above away from our selfish, material, worldly love. Yet Christ will twist no-one’s arm, He offers and leaves the choice to our own free-will ― for better or worse; leading to blessings or a self-inflicted curse! Which Christmas path will you take? “I came to call sinners to penance!” (Luke 5:32). “Strive to enter by the narrow gate―for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able! … Enter ye in at the narrow gate―for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat! How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life―and few there are that find it! … For many are called, but few are chosen!” (Luke 13:24; Matthew 7:13-14; 22:14) ― or should we say: “Few choose to be chosen!”
The Light of the world has arrived amidst the world’s darkness and coldness! Why has He come? He has come to enlighten our minds about the things that really matter and to enkindle in our hearts the fire of His love. As Jesus Himself said: “I am come to cast fire on the Earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled?” (Luke 12:49). The fire, at the same time, gives off warmth and light. God is charity—an inextinguishable fire of love. God is also all knowing—an inextinguishable light. “Jesus spoke to them, saying: ‘I am the light of the world: he that follows Me, walks not in darkness, but shall have the light of life’” (John 8:12). Christmas is not an end in itself, it is merely the beginning of Christ’s life. Christmas does not end the day after December 25th, but is the mere planting of the seed of knowledge and the mere sparking or kindling of the fire of a love of God. It is another year of planting. Will it bring more and better fruit than last year?
Christmas Candlesticks
The seed of knowledge of God is meant to grow; the spark of love is meant to grow into a ‘forest fire’ that sets fire to our family, relatives, friends and colleagues (the forest that surrounds us). “I am come to cast fire on the Earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled?” (Luke 12:49). “Of one spark comes a great fire” (Ecclesiasticus 11:34). “Behold how small a fire kindles a great wood” (James 3:5). Jesus said to them: “Does a candle come in to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? Now no man lighting a candle covers it with a vessel, or puts it under a bed; but sets it upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the house, that they who come in may see the light!” (Matthew 5:15; Mark 4:21; Luke 8:16).
Christmas Fires
“I am come to cast fire on the Earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled?” (Luke 12:49). Moses saw this truth symbolized by encountering God in the burning bush: “Now Moses came to the mountain of God, Horeb. And the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire, out of the midst of a bush: and he saw that the bush was on fire and was not burnt. And Moses said: ‘I will go and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt!’ And when the Lord saw that he went forward to see, He called to him out of the midst of the bush, and said: ‘Moses! Moses!’ And he answered: ‘Here I am!’” (Exodus 3:1-4).
It was not only to Moses that God manifested Himself in the form of fire, but, later, also to the children of Israel: “And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like a burning fire upon the top of the mount, in the eyes of the children of Israel” (Exodus 24:17).
At Christmas, this same divine fire comes to Earth, to enlighten mankind and enkindle in them the divine fire of a love for God: “I am come to cast fire on the Earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled?” (Luke 12:49).
By which Fire are You Standing Warming and Yourself?
“Let us serve, pleasing God, with fear and reverence. For our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:28-29). Some prefer to serve gold—a symbol of riches, money, power and pleasure—but “Neither shall their silver and their gold be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord: all the land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy” (Sophonias 1:18). We can burn with a love of God or we can burn with the love of the world—yet the consequences are different.
Refining Fires
We see this in a twofold or even threefold fire—the fire of God, the fire of Purgatory and the fire of Hell. We cannot escape all of these, and must burn on Earth or in Purgatory before we can get to Heaven—if we do not burn with the fire of God’s love here on Earth, then we will burn in either the fire of Purgatory, or, God forbid, in the fire of Hell after death.
If we burn with a fire of love of God, we shall not be consumed by anything: “I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them, as silver is refined, and I will try them as gold is tried. They shall call on My name, and I will hear them. I will say: ‘Thou art My people!’ And they shall say: ‘The Lord is my God!’” (Zacharias 13:9). “And the Lord went before them to show the way: by day, in a pillar of a cloud, and by night, in a pillar of fire: so that He might be the guide of their journey at both times. There never failed the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, before the people” (Exodus 13:21-22).
If we fail to live, walk and burn in a love of God, then “Every tree that brings not forth good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire” (Matthew 7:19). “If any one abide not in Me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, and shall wither, and they shall gather him up, and cast him into the fire, and he burns” (John 15:6). “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life, was cast into the pool of fire” (Apocalypse 20:15).
The Fire of God
“I am come to cast fire on the Earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled?” (Luke 12:49). God likes to represent Himself by fire: (1) as a fire in the burning bush to Moses, (2) as tongues of fire on the day of Pentecost, (3) as flames of fire coming forth from the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Fire purifies and God must purify us before He accepts us into Heaven. “As silver is tried by fire, and gold in the furnace: so the Lord tries the hearts” (Proverbs 17:3). “For gold and silver are tried in the fire, but acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation” (Ecclesiasticus 2:5). That is why we will have to pass through many fires of tribulation and suffering, before we are good enough for Heaven: “But He knows my way, and has tried me as gold that passes through the fire” (Job 23:10).
Christmas is also a Time for Seeds
Out of one tiny seed comes a great plant: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which is the least indeed of all seeds; but when it is grown up, it is greater than all herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come, and dwell in the branches thereof” (Matthew 13:31-32). Great things should come out of Christmas! Will this be the case in my life this year. Our Lord has tried to sow the seeds of a true Christmas in my soul year after year—perhaps to no purpose and with no fruit coming from His efforts. The Parable of the Sower of the Seed and the parable of the Cockle and the Wheat are beautiful parables and very applicable to the Christmas season. One could almost call them “Christmas Parables”!
SOME CHRISTMAS PARABLES
The Sower of the Christmas Seed
“Behold the sower went forth to sow. And whilst he sowed some seed fell by the wayside, and it was trodden down and the birds of the air came and ate them up. And other some fell upon stony ground, where they had not much Earth: and they sprung up immediately, because they had no deepness of Earth. And when the sun was up they were scorched: and because they had not root, they withered away. And others fell among thorns: and the thorns grew up and choked them. And others fell upon good ground: and they brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixty-fold, and some thirty-fold” (Matthew 13:3-8; Luke 8:5-8).
“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. When any one hears the Word of the Kingdom, and understands it not—this is he that received the seed by the wayside who hears and understands not—there comes the devil comes and and takes the word out that was sown in his heart, lest believing he should be saved.
“And he that received the seed upon stony ground, is he that hears the word, and immediately receives it with joy. Yet hath he not root in himself, but is only for a time: and when there arises temptation, tribulation and persecution because of the word, he is presently scandalized and falls away.
“And he that received the seed among thorns, is he that hears the word, and is choked with the cares and riches and pleasures of this life and the deceitfulness of riches, which choke-up the word in him, and he becomes fruitless.
“But he that received the seed upon good ground, is he that hears the word, in a good and perfect heart and understands, and, hearing the word, keeps it, and brings forth fruit in patience, and yield fruit: the one an hundredfold, and another sixty, and another thirty” (Matthew 13:18-23; Luke 8:11-15).
Christmas Seeds
Christmas sees all these different kinds of seeds—or different reactions to the attempts of God to sow the Word (the Word made flesh) in the hearts of the world each Christmas, just like the sower goes out to sow each year.
The seed that falls by the wayside represents those who put the Word of God aside for later (or never), so that they can indulge in the material fun-things of Christmas. These material things of the world—parties, food, drink, entertainment, etc. ― “tread down” the Word of God and they are the “birds of the air” of the “prince of the world”, the devil, that come an carry away the Word of God, so that it never takes root.
The seed that falls on stony ground—that “had not much Earth”—represents the hard-hearted, or the proud, who do not have much humility (Earth, soil, humus). The Word of God immediately springs up on the spot and dies on the spot—it stays on the surface for these superficial souls, who have no spiritual depth to their lives: all is surface stuff, they are content with appearances. When the heat of the sun comes—which is the world applying its “heat” in the form of mockery, hatred and persecution—these superficial souls cannot “take the heat” and the Word of God withers and dies within them.
The seed that fall among thorns—and is choked by them—represents those souls who are too busy with the world—not necessarily sinful things, but also very busy doing good things, but things that are a lesser good than the superior spiritual goods offered by God through the Word of God. What preoccupies them could their family, their work, their health, their leisure time, etc. All of this forgets the condemnation of Our Lord, when He said: “He that loves father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me; and he that loves son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:37).
These people hide under a false or twisted excuse of following “their duty of state”—whereas they forget that the primary duty of state is to love God first and above anyone or anything else. As Jesus Himself said: “Seek ye therefore first the Kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33) and “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38). These poor deluded souls place the second commandment—of being concerned with one’s neighbor—above the first commandment of being concerned with God and the things of God. Thus is their spiritual life choked to death, or, at best, is left half-dead or sterile.
Finally, the seed that “fell upon good ground” represents the truly spiritual souls, who are detached from the material, sense driven, pleasure seeking mode of Christmas and much prefer the spiritual seeds to the material seeds of Christmas. These hear the Word of God in a good and perfect heart and understand the Word of God, penetrating below the surface of the “Christmas Story” and, hearing the word, keep it, and “bring forth fruit in patience, and yield fruit: the one an hundredfold, and another sixty, and another thirty?
The fruits, of course, are not the exotic fruits on offer in the supermarkets this Christmas season, but the fruits on offer deep within the Word of God. These souls take time to read, to ponder, to wonder, to dig, to sift and seek! They ask for the graces to understand; they knock on the doors of these mysteries; they enter through the doors and carefully explore the spiritual palace they find; they seek the Christ Child like the shepherds and Magi—and they find Him. But these souls are few, the majority are on the wide, busy road of materialism: “Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:24) … “Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life: and few there are that find it!” (Matthew 7:13-14).
The Cockle and the Wheat
“Another parable he proposed to them, saying: The Kingdom of Heaven is likened to a man that sowed good seeds in his field. But while men were asleep, his enemy came and over-sowed cockle among the wheat and went his way. And when the blade was sprung up, and had brought forth fruit, then appeared also the cockle. And the servants of the good man of the house coming said to him: ‘Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? Whence then hath it cockle?’ And he said to them: ‘An enemy hath done this!’ And the servants said to him: ‘Wilt thou that we go and gather it up?’ And he said: ‘No! Lest perhaps gathering up the cockle, you root up the wheat also together with it! Suffer both to grow until the harvest, and, in the time of the harvest, I will say to the reapers: “Gather up first the cockle, and bind it into bundles to burn, but the wheat gather ye into my barn”‘“ (Matthew 13:24-30)
Jesus explains the parable thus: “He that sows the good seed, is the Son of man [born for us on Christmas Day]. And the field, is the world [for our purposes, it is also the field of the Christmas season]. And the good seed are the children of the Kingdom [those who prefer a spiritual Christmas]. And the cockle, are the children of the wicked one [the ones who prefer a worldly Christmas]. And the enemy that sowed them, is the devil [the “prince of the world”, as Our Lord calls him, therefore also the prince of the worldly ones]. But the harvest is the end of the world. And the reapers are the angels. Even as cockle therefore is gathered up, and burnt with fire: so shall it be at the end of the world” (Matthew 13:37-40).
People with Gross Hearts, Shut Eyes, and Deaf Ears
The following passage paints a picture of the two kinds of souls that can be found at Christmas: “I speak to them in parables: because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And the prophecy of Isaias is fulfilled in them, who saith: ‘By hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand: and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive. For the heart of this people is grown gross, and with their ears they have been dull of hearing, and their eyes they have shut: lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. For, amen, I say to you, many prophets and just men have desired to see the things that you see, and have not seen them, and to hear the things that you hear and have not heard them” (Matthew 13:13-17).
Which Frame of Mind?
If we are among the gross, deaf and blind,
And the Word of God we neither seek nor find;
Then the reason may be that we have left behind,
The One Who came to save mankind.
Perhaps we preferred a worldly frame of mind
And to material pleasures we have inclined,
So that in worldliness we were entwined,
While spiritual graces have been declined
And God’s great charity has been maligned.
Yet it is for such sinners that Our Lord appeared,
Seeking to be loved and not just feared.
Yet the devil, as always, has interfered
And Christmas away from God he has steered.
Spirituality is mostly scorned and smeared,
While worldliness is applauded and cheered.
If you wish to recover what has disappeared,
You risk running the gauntlet of being jeered.
True peace and joy arise as God is neared,
And worldly things away are cleared.
When one has in this way persevered―
Where God is sought first and above all revered―
One then will find what the world thinks weird
Joy at being alone with the God, Who has reappeared!
Did You Blunder into the Wrong Christmas Party?
Christmas is not about fun and games, feasting and drinking―it is all about being saved from Hell. Brushing aside the false sentimentality that has been created around Christmas, we should listen to Holy Mother Church as to true purpose of Christmas. Holy Mother Church reveals this in the Christmas Liturgy. The following quotes are taken from the Masses and Divine Office (Breviary) from Christmas Eve onwards:
“This day you shall know that the Lord will come and save us!” (Exodus 16:6-7) … “O God, You gladden us year after year with the expectation of our redemption!” … “Do not be afraid, Joseph, son of David, to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a Son, and you shall call His Name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins!” … “It is fitting and profitable to salvation, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, Lord. For You have promised Him as a Savior for the lost human race … the time of His coming is near, and the day of our liberation is dawning!” … “Lift up your heads, for your redemption is at hand!” … “This day a Savior is born unto thee!” … “The Lord has made known His salvation!” … “The grace of God our Savior has appeared to all men; instructing us, that we should live soberly, and justly, and godly in this world by , denying ungodliness and worldly desires” … “Our Savior Jesus Christ, gave Himself for us, so that He might redeem us from all iniquity” … “These things speak, and exhort and rebuke with all authority!” … “Grant that the birth of Your only begotten Son may set us free, who are held by the bondage and chains of sin!” … “By the birth of Your only begotten Son cleanse us from our sins!” … “Take away from us our iniquities, we beseech Thee, O Lord!”
The Gift of Effort
Being born Catholic has marked advantages over not being born Catholic. Proverbially, it is like being “born with a silver spoon in your mouth”; or like having a three lap start in a four lap race. But even though it has great advantages, God does not give us Heaven on a golden plate. If something is worth doing, then it’s worth doing well; if Heaven is worth getting, then we need to put serious effort into getting there!
Our Lord puts it this way: “Not everyone that says to Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!” (Matthew 7:21) ... “A rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 19:23) ... “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:3) ... “Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:10) ...”Unless your justice abound more than that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:20) … “For many are called, but few are chosen!” (Matthew 22:14) … “The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent bear it away!” (Matthew 11:12) … “He that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved!” (Matthew 10:22).
Painful Prophecy
Our Lord is not full of “sweet talk” but He tells us as it is, without wrapping things up in cotton balls. The following prophecy is worth pondering―since it refers to the so-called “End Times” or “Last Days”, which Our Lady of Fatima said that we have entered:
“And as it came to pass in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat and drink, they married wives, and were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark: and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise as it came to pass, in the days of Lot: they did eat and drink, they bought and sold, they planted and built. And in the day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from Heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man shall be revealed. In that hour, he that shall be on the housetop, and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take them away: and he that shall be in the field, in like manner, let him not return back. Remember Lot’s wife! Whosoever shall seek to save his life, shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose it, shall preserve it. I say to you: in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together: the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left: two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.” (Luke 17:26-35).
The Many and the Few
We see this poignantly fulfilled as Jesus died on the Cross: one thief was saved, the other thief was lost. Even before that, many Jews and Pharisees rejected Him, few accepted Him: “Many are called, but few chosen” (Matthew 20:16). Many are baptized, but few will be saved.
“And a certain man said to Him: ‘Lord, are they few that are saved?’ But He said to them: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:23-24) ... “Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life: and few there are that find it!” (Matthew 7:13-14) ... “With fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12).
Life is No Joke―Christmas is No Party
All this points to the seriousness and gravity of the time allotted to us here on Earth by God. Some live for pleasure and fun; others live to work out their salvation. For some, Christmas is a time for fun, food, drink, gifts and parties. For others, Christmas is a time of seeking Christ in a more profitable way, through better prayer, more spiritual reading and a greater detachment from the world. “He that is not with Me, is against Me!” (Matthew 12:30) ... “You are from beneath, I am from above! You are of this world, I am not of this world!” (John 8:23) … “If you had been of the world, the world would love its own―but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you! … If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before you” (John 15:18-19) … “The world hates Me because I give testimony of it, that the works of the world are evil!” (John 7:7) … “Be not conformed to this world; but be reformed in the newness of your mind!” (Romans 12:2). “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God!” (James 4:4).
Worldly Wise but Heavenly Foolish
“The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God” (1 Corinthians 3:1). “God made foolish the wisdom of this world” (1 Corinthians 1:20). “The foolish things of the world has God chosen, so that He may confound the wise; and the weak things of the world has God chosen, so that He may confound the strong!” (1 Corinthians 1:2).
It is a reflection of the foolish and wise virgins, mentioned by Our Lord in one of His parables. Time is too precious to lose, yet we have all lost much time. “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him!” (1 John 2:15). “If you be risen with Christ, seek the things that are above! Mind the things that are above, not the things that are upon the Earth!” (Colossians 3:1-2). Now is the time to wake up from our illusions and wishful thinking, and face the reality of life, the reality of eternal life, the reality of salvation or ...
Going Out to Meet Christ
So, just like the wise virgins, we must go out to meet our Bridegroom, Christ: “There was a cry made: ‘Behold the bridegroom is coming! Go forth to meet Him!” (Matthew 25:6). Like the wise virgins, we must be ever ready to seek Him, ever ready to go to Him, ever ready to meet Him. Love is reciprocal, meaning it is a “two-way-street” — it is about give and take. At Christmas, Our Lord, out of love, leaves Heaven to come and save us; we must likewise leave the world and go to Him to be saved.
Mary and Joseph had to leave their home and daily occupations in Nazareth to give birth to Him far away in Bethlehem. The Magi had to leave their homes and daily occupations and travel a long way to find and meet Him in Bethlehem. Because of Him, Mary and Joseph had to go even further afield, to distant Egypt, in order to preserve Him in their lives. The Apostles had to leave their jobs and families to be with Him; and would later even have to leave their home country as they were sent into the whole wide world to take His word to others.
Love for Love, Life for Life
He gave His life for us and He demands that we give Him our lives. “For he that will save his life, shall lose it; and he that shall lose his life for My sake, shall find it” (Matthew 16:25) ... “Unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground dies, then it remains alone itself. But if it dies, then it brings forth much fruit. He that loves his life shall lose it; and he that hates his life in this world, keeps it unto life eternal” (John 12:24-25).
Dying to Live for Christ
That “dying” may take all kinds of shapes and forms. The most common form will be that of dying to the world and its worldly spirit and worldly ambitions and worldly fashions and attitudes. Yet another form, more and more common in these modern times of religious indifference, is having to “die” to human respect which makes us “go along so as to get along” with family, relatives, work colleagues and friends. We are tempted to hide our Faith and shut our mouths to avoid rocking the boat. Yet Our Lord has said: “Everyone that shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father Who is in Heaven. But he that shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father Who is in Heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33). Dying to human respect can be one of the most profitable, yet one of the most painful things we could do.
Our perpetual battle is the one against the blatant lie that tries to tell us that we can have the best of both worlds: that we can live like the rest of the world and also save our souls. Yet, He Who is Truth itself, tells us: “You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:24), while His Apostle, St. James, adds: “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4).
But what About My Family and Friends?
But then we are faced with those who surround us—our family, relatives, work colleagues and social acquaintances! Surely we cannot turn our backs on them?!? Surely that cannot be what God wants! There is a prudent path that must be trodden, as the following Scriptural quotes will explain.
First of all, it is certain that God has come to save sinners: “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). “The Pharisees and the Scribes murmured, saying: ‘This man receives sinners, and eats with them!’” (Luke 15:2). He forgave sins and accepted sinners into His entourage—as we see in the case of His choosing St. Matthew as an Apostle, whereas he was a publican; and St. Mary Magdalen, who was an adulteress who had been possessed by seven devils; and the Good Thief on the cross. So we clearly see that He does not avoid sinners, but goes to them. Nevertheless, He does not condone their sins, but says things like: “Go and sin no more!” (John 8:11) … “Sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to thee!” (John 5:14).
Limits to Love
Yet there are limits that Our Lord Himself sets. The first one being the salvation of our own soul and the avoidance of any dangers that may make us lose our salvation: “What does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26).
Secondly, we cannot put family or relatives or friends before God. Do we really want to side with those who are deliberately and stubbornly offending God and are refusing to change their sinful ways? “He that is not with Me, is against Me; and he that gathers not with Me, scatters!” (Matthew 12:30). If they will not follow God, then after trying to change their minds, we cannot let family ties or friendship weaken our Faith, or, worse still, separate us from God.
Jesus Causes Division
Jesus already foresaw and foretold splits in families because of His teaching: “Do not think that I came to send peace upon Earth! I came not to send peace, but the sword! For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law! And a man’s enemies shall be they of his own household! He that loves father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me; and he that loves a son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me! And he that takes not up his cross and follows Me, is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:34-38).
If They Will Not Listen, Then...
Thirdly, where there is opposition to Christ’s teaching, and division because of it, then we are told to first of all try and bring them round to the truth, for that is Christ’s wish.
“For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost! What think you? If a man has an hundred sheep, and one of them should go astray: does he not leave the ninety-nine in the mountains, and go to seek that which is gone astray? And if it so be that he find it: Amen I say to you, he rejoices more for that, than for the ninety-nine that went not astray! Even so it is not the will of your Father, Who is in Heaven, that one of these little ones should perish. But if thy brother shall offend against thee―then go and rebuke him between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother. And if he will not hear thee, take with thee one or two more―so that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand. And if he will not hear them―then tell the church. And if he will not hear the church―then let him be to thee as the heathen and publican” (Matthew 18:11-17). “Whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words― going forth out of that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet!” (Matthew 10:14).
One Bad Apple...
We must separate ourselves from and avoid those who are a danger to our Faith, as St. Paul writes: “Know you not that a little leaven corrupts the whole lump? ... I wrote to you in an epistle, not to keep company with fornicators. I mean not with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or the extortioners, or the servers of idols; otherwise you must needs go out of this world. But now I have written to you, not to keep company, if any man that is named a brother, be a fornicator, or covetous, or a server of idols, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner: with such a one, not so much as to eat! ... Put away the evil one from among yourselves!” (1 Corinthians 5:6-13).
What Really Converts
As for their conversion, prayer and sacrifice (which Our Lady requested at Fatima) will do more to convert souls that mere human words. Faith is a supernatural gift of God, not man; and it is God who freely gives it. We can give nobody the Faith, we can merely plant seeds, and water them, but it is God who sparks Faith to life: “I have planted, Apollo watered―but God gave the increase!” (1 Corinthians 3:6). Because we are too human and not supernatural enough, we place too much emphasis on human efforts, forgetting (or at least twisting) the words of Our Lord, Who said: “Without Me you can do nothing!” (John 15:5).
Limited Edition of Full Version?
At Christmas Christ comes with a challenge; He challenges us to go out of our customary human, self-made (or twisted) partial notion or limited-edition of the Catholic Faith and to embrace the full version or the entire Catholic Faith. It means dying to our personal version of the Faith, a death that will invariably be humiliating and painful, but less humiliating and painful here below, than having to undergo the transformation hereafter! He is there to help us should we decide to do so. Are we among the foolish virgins or the wise virgins? Will we take on the role of the bad thief or the Good Thief? Will we be Simon the Pharisee or Mary Magdalen? We live and die by our choices. Let us choose to die to self and live for Christ. “For to me, to live is Christ; and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). “Whether we live, we live unto the Lord; or whether we die, we die unto the Lord. Therefore, whether we live, or whether we die, we are the Lord’s” (Romans 14:8).
Who are we really living for? Who do we resemble the most? Christ or the world? Can it be said of us: “They are of the world―therefore of the world they speak, and the world hears them!” (1 John 4:5). Life is no joke, nor is Christmas merely party time! The focus of life is salvation not self-gratification. The focus of Christmas is letting Christ take over our lives rather than the world taking over our lives! As Our Lord said to His followers at the Last Supper, on the verge of His Passion and Death: “Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful―but your sorrow shall be turned into joy!” (John 16:20).
Christ comes at Christmas―not to wine and dine, laugh and play, be on social media or watch TV all day―Christ comes to pray, pay and die for our sins and take their just punishment away; He comes to save us from the world, not to immerse us in the world; He seeks lead our love to things above away from our selfish, material, worldly love. Yet Christ will twist no-one’s arm, He offers and leaves the choice to our own free-will ― for better or worse; leading to blessings or a self-inflicted curse! Which Christmas path will you take? “I came to call sinners to penance!” (Luke 5:32). “Strive to enter by the narrow gate―for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able! … Enter ye in at the narrow gate―for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat! How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life―and few there are that find it! … For many are called, but few are chosen!” (Luke 13:24; Matthew 7:13-14; 22:14) ― or should we say: “Few choose to be chosen!”
Article 2
Saturday & Sunday, December 27th & 28th
Are You a Christmas "Born Again"?
Saturday & Sunday, December 27th & 28th
Are You a Christmas "Born Again"?
Born Again?
We speak of Christ coming at Christmas to be born in our hearts. Can Christ be born again? To answer that question it helps to look at another aspect of Christ’s life―His Passion and Death on the Christ on the Cross on Mount Calvary. Holy Scripture tells us: “Christ died for all” (2 Corinthians 5:15) … “Christ died once for our sins” (1 Peter 3:18) … “For in that he died to sin, he died once” (Romans 6:10). Why then do we say that the Mass is a Sacrifice when Holy Scripture indicates that Christ offered only one sacrifice on the cross?
In the Letter to the Hebrews (9:25-28), St. Paul speaks of the sacrifice of Jesus. He essentially says that Christ does not offer Himself again and again physically―if that were so, then He would have had to suffer a violent and bloody death over and over. Elsewhere, (Hebrews 7:27) he states That Christ has no need to physically offer sacrifice day after day, for He did that once for all when He offered Himself on the cross on Calvary. However, it would be grave mistake to isolate these verses from the rest of Sacred Scripture and simply take them at face value, for that would lead one to conclude that there could be no other sacrifice―because since Christ sacrificed Himself, then it is over and done with, and that is it―period. However, such a view is myopic or blind, to say the least.
It must be stated that, as Catholics, in no way do we believe that Christ continues to be crucified physically or die a physical death in Heaven over and over again. However, we do believe that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass does participate in the everlasting Sacrifice of Christ on Calvary.
First, one must not and one cannot separate the Sacrifice of Our Lord on the cross from the events which surround it. The Sacrifice of our Lord is inseparably linked to the Last Supper. Here, On Holy Thursday, Jesus took bread and wine. Looking to St. Matthew’s text (26:26 ff), He said over the bread, “Take this and eat it. This is My Body”; and over the cup of wine, “This is My Blood, the Blood of the covenant, to be poured out in behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.” The next day, on Good Friday, Our Lord’s Body hung on the altar of the cross and His precious Blood was spilt to wash away our sins and seal the everlasting, perfect covenant. The divine life our Lord offered and shared for our salvation in the sacrifice of Good Friday is the same that was offered and shared at the Last Supper. The Last Supper, the Sacrifice of Good Friday, and the Resurrection on Easter―form one saving, life-giving event.
Second, one must have a nuanced understanding of time. One must distinguish chronological time from kairotic time as found in Sacred Scripture. In the Bible, chronos refers to chronological time–past, present, and future–specific deeds which have an end point. Kairos or kairotic time refers to God’s eternal time. In Heaven, for God, there is no chronological time―everything is seen in the present moment, the here and now. The time of the present moment encompasses the entire past as well as containing the entire future. Therefore, while our Lord’s saving event occurred chronologically about the year AD 33, in the kairotic sense of time it is an ever present reality which touches our lives here and now.
Thus―just as Christ’s Sacrifice of the Cross is an ever-present reality in kairotic time, so too is Christ’s birth an ever present reality. Nevertheless, just as Christ does physically suffer a bloody and violent death over and over again since His Sacrifice on Calvary, likewise Christ is not physically born and again and again since His original birth in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago. Yet just as Christ mystically and perpetually continues His Sacrifice on Calvary, so too does Christ mystically and perpetually desire to be born again in the souls of each member of mankind.
Life is One Long Birth
Gestation is the period from conception to birth, and typically lasts about 40 weeks, measured from the last menstrual period, divided into three trimesters where the baby develops from embryo to fetus, culminating in labor and delivery, with “full term” generally considered 37-42 weeks, and premature if born before 37 weeks, all involving complex hormonal changes and critical fetal development stages.
You could say that our true birth is when we born into Heaven after having endured a life of gestation on Earth. St. Louis de Montfort, in his book True Devotion to Mary, quotes St. Augustine on this subject. St. Louis writes: “St. Augustine―surpassing himself, and going beyond all I have yet said―affirms that all the predestinate, in order to be conformed to the image of the Son of God, are in this world hidden in the womb of the most holy Virgin, where they are guarded, nourished, brought up and made to grow by that good Mother, until she has brought them forth to glory after death, which is properly the day of their birth.”
Unfortunately and sadly, most souls never achieve a successful gestation and birth into Heaven―and are lost somewhere along the whole process. Our Lady aborts nobody―but countless souls provoke a miscarriage or a stillbirth. The Church teaches that as baptized Catholics we are all part of one and the same Mystical Body of Christ―of which Christ is the Head. We often speak of Christ being the Head and Mary being the Heart of the Mystical Body―for it is blood that brings life and nourishment to every cell of the body and Mary is the Heart that pumps that life-giving and nourishing blood―which is Grace of God―and thus call Mary the Mediatrix of All Graces.
The heart pumps blood through an extensive network of blood vessels (arteries, veins, capillaries) reaching every tissue. Blood delivers essential oxygen, nutrients (like amino acids), hormones, and water to every cell for energy and function, while also removing waste (carbon dioxide, lactic acid) and defending against infection, making it the vital transport system sustaining life by connecting all body parts. White blood cells fight infections, and platelets form clots to stop bleeding. It helps maintain correct body temperature, pH balance, and fluid volume. Red blood cells contain hemoglobin, which binds to oxygen in the lungs and releases it to cells. In essence, blood acts as the body's internal highway, ensuring all cells receive what they need to live and function and that waste products are efficiently removed, making it truly the carrier of life. Blood is vital for a baby during pregnancy because it's the lifeline delivering oxygen, nutrients, and antibodies from the mother via the placenta and umbilical cord, while also removing waste, with fetal blood carrying these essential supplies throughout the developing body.
Just as we often speak of Our Lady as being the Heart of the Mystical Body, we could also speak of her as being Womb of the Mystical Body. As St. Louis de Montfort stated above: “All the predestinate, in order to be conformed to the image of the Son of God, are in this world hidden in the womb of the most holy Virgin!” He also implies the same idea when he speaks of the Holy Ghost seeking to have children through Mary: “God the Father wishes to have children by Mary till the consummation of the world … God the Holy Ghost wishes to form the elect for Himself in her and by her … Mary has produced, together with the Holy Ghost, the greatest thing which has been or ever will be—a God Man; and she will consequently produce the greatest saints that there will be in the end of time. The formation and the education of the great saints who shall come at the end of the world are reserved for her. For it is only that singular and miraculous Virgin who can produce, in union with the Holy Ghost, singular and extraordinary things” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
Bethlehem, the Holy Mass, and Holy Communion
What is the link between Bethlehem, the Holy Mass and Holy Communion? What is their link to being “born again”? What can we find, uncover, understand and use from all these things? Just as Jesus was born in Bethlehem, so too is Jesus in the Holy Eucharist born in the Sacrifice of the Mass. Jesus is born in Bethlehem to suffer―He is born to undergo His Passion and Death by His Sacrifice on the Cross on Calvary. Likewise, Jesus is ‘born’ in the Holy Eucharist during the Sacrifice of the Mass which is the same Sacrifice as that of Calvary. Jesus is born to teach us how to suffer: “And He said to all: ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me!’” (Luke 9:23) … “And whosoever does not carry his cross and comes after Me, cannot be My disciple!” (Luke 14:27) … “And he that takes not up his cross, and follows Me, is not worthy of Me!” (Matthew 10:38). Jesus in the Holy Eucharist gives us the strength that we need to be able to carry our crosses for Christ and suffer for Him―as Jesus said: “Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5).
The Power of the Holy Eucharist
First of all, it is important to recall that the word “Bethlehem” means “Town of Bread” ― and Our Lord says of Himself: “My Father gives you the true Bread from Heaven … I am the Bread of life … I am the living Bread which came down from Heaven. If any man eat of this Bread, he shall live for ever; and the Bread that I will give, is My Flesh, for the life of the world … Amen, amen I say unto you: Except you eat the Flesh of the Son of man, and drink His Blood, you shall not have life in you. He that eats My Flesh, and drinks My Blood, has everlasting life―and I will raise him up in the last day. For My Flesh is meat indeed: and My Blood is drink indeed. He that eats My Flesh, and drinks My Blood, abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father has sent Me, and I live by the Father; so he that eats Me, the same also shall live by Me. This is the Bread that came down from Heaven. Not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead. He that eats this Bread, shall live for ever!” (John 6:48-59).
The Power of the Mass
In the above quote, Our Lord says: “I will give My Flesh for the life of the world.” That is what He did by His Sacrifice on the Cross on Mount Calvary―and that very same Sacrifice is re-presented and mystically but bloodlessly offered in each and every Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. It is also the Sacrifice of the Mass that gives us the Holy Eucharist―the Bread of Life or Holy Communion. In one sense, Christ’s Sacrifice on Calvary is “born again” in every Sacrifice of the Mass that is offered―and in that Sacrifice of the Mass that is offered, you could say that the Holy Eucharist is “born again” and again and again throughout all time and all places where Mass is offered. Each Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is like a mystical electrical impulse that is trying to “shock” our heart back into a truly spiritual life from the death of worldliness into which it has fallen. Each Holy Communion, similarly, tries to fire-up our lukewarmness back into a true and fervent love of God―and many saints and theologians tell us that one Holy Communion has the power to make anyone of us into a saint, if we would only fully cooperate with its abundant graces.
St. Leonard of Port Maurice, in his book The Hidden Treasure of the Holy Mass, writes: “The holy and tremendous Sacrifice of the Mass, though the greatest treasure which glorifies and enriches the Church of God, is still a hidden treasure, and known to few! … That Sacrifice is the sun of Christianity, the soul of Faith, the centre of the Catholic religion! … The principal excellence of the most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass consists in being essentially, and in the very highest degree, identical with that which was offered on the Cross of Calvary: with this sole difference, that the Sacrifice on the Cross was bloody, and made once for all, and did on that one occasion satisfy fully for all the sins of the world; while the Sacrifice of the Altar is an unbloody Sacrifice, which can be repeated an infinite number of times, and was instituted in order to apply in detail that universal ransom which Jesus paid for us on Calvary. So that the bloody Sacrifice was the instrument of redemption; the unbloody is that which puts us in possession of the merits of Christ Our Lord. Observe that in Mass there is made not just a mere representation, nor a simple commemoration of the Passion and Death of the Redeemer, but there is performed, in a certain true sense, the selfsame most holy act which was performed on Calvary. It may be said, with all truth, that in every Mass Our Redeemer returns mystically to die for us, without really dying―at one and the same time really alive and as it were slain ... That same Body, that same Blood, that same Jesus Who then offered Himself upon Calvary, now offers Himself in the Holy Mass”
“One single Mass is of such efficacy to have sufficed to obtain the salvation of the whole human race. Imagine the case that Our Lord Jesus Christ had not suffered anything on Calvary and, in place of His bloody Sacrifice of the Cross, had solely instituted Mass for our redemption, with an express command that in all the world it should only be celebrated once. Well, then, had this been the case, that single Mass, celebrated by the poorest priest in the world, would have been sufficient to win from God the salvation of all men. Yes; one single Mass― might thus have been made to obtain the conversion of all Mahometans, all heretics, all schismatics, in fine, of all unbelievers, and also that of all bad Christians; closing the gates of Hell to all sinners, and emptying Purgatory of all the souls there obtaining purification!”
A Lifelong ‘Rebirth’ of Christ in Your Soul
In one sense, Christ continually seeks to be ‘reborn’ in your soul all throughout your life in the Mystical Womb of Mary in the hope of helping you achieve the necessary state required to be born into Heaven at the end of your life. Pregnancy has three main stages, called Trimesters―first trimester being weeks 1 to 12; second trimester being weeks 13 to 27, third trimester being weeks 28 to birth―all of which focus on fetal development from cell cluster to mature baby. Once again we have mystical number of three―three Persons in the Holy Trinity (God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost); the three members of the Holy Family (Jesus, Mary and Joseph); the three Theological Virtues (Faith, Hope and Charity); the three essential parts of the Mass (Offertory, Canon and Communion); the three Stages or Conversions of the Spiritual Life (the Way of Beginners, the Way of the Proficient and the Way of the Perfect); the three part of the Church (Church Militant on Earth, Church suffering in Purgatory and the Church Triumphant in Heaven).
No soul can enter Heaven unless it has successfully passed through completed the Three Stages of the Spiritual Life (sometimes called the Three Conversions of the Spiritual Life)―just like a perfect pregnancy or gestation requires the baby to pass through the three trimesters mentioned above. If we fail to pass through the Three Stages of the Spiritual Life (the Way of Beginners, the Way of the Proficient and the Way of the Perfect) then we either end up in Hell or in Purgatory―for nothing can enter Heaven unless it is perfect: “There shall not enter into Heaven anything defiled” (Apocalyps 21:27). Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange comments: “There are some who seem to think that it is sufficient to be saved and that it is not necessary to be a saint. It is clearly not necessary to be a saint who performs miracles, and whose sanctity is officially recognized by the Church. To be saved, we must take the way of salvation, which is identical with that of sanctity. There will be only saints in Heaven, whether they enter there immediately after death, or after purification in Purgatory. No one enters Heaven unless he has that sanctity which consists in perfect purity of soul. Every sin—though it should be only venial—must be effaced, and the punishment due to sin must be borne or remitted, in order that a soul may enjoy forever the vision of God!” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Ages of the Interior Life).
Causes of Miscarriages and Stillbirths
To progress through the Three Stages or Conversions of the Spiritual Life―just like passing through the three trimesters of pregnancy―requires a continual input of what is good and beneficial and the avoidance what is bad and harmful. Just a woman seeks to avoid a miscarriage or a stillbirth―so too Our Lady wants to avoid our spiritual miscarriage or spiritual stillbirth. What are the chief dangers that threaten the development of the baby in the mother’s womb? Maternal health issues like infections, thyroid issues, blood clotting disorders, severe kidney disease, heart conditions, lupus, hormonal imbalances, uncontrolled diabetes, or uterine problems, structural issues in the uterus, issues with the placenta or umbilical cord, fibroids―along with lifestyle factors such as smoking, excessive alcohol, certain drugs, and some medications, or environmental exposures to things like lead, mercury, pesticides, certain solvents, and radiation. While many factors can contribute, chromosomal issues are the most common.
The same is true for our spiritual growth―there are so many variable and numerous factors that can inhibit, slow down or even destroy our spiritual progress. It can come from within ourselves and inherent sinful passions and tendencies that we have; it can come from the example of those family members who surround us―such as parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, uncles, aunts and other relatives; it can come from associates at work, school or our social circle; it can come from the various media outlets―television, radio, internet, music, art, commercials, etc.; it can come through the newspapers, magazines and books that we read; etc. The list is truly endless!
The damage caused and souls that are consequently lost are also truly endless―as Our Lady herself says: How many men have thrown themselves into the eternal darkness of Hell! … Countless numbers have fallen into Hell! … Lucifer has hurled into Hell so great a number of souls and continues so to hurl them every day! The neglect and contempt of bodily mortification cause the loss of many souls and bring many more into the danger of eternal loss. I will not tell thee how many souls are lost, in order to not cause thee to die of sorrow at this loss! I have already told thee, that the number of those foreknown as doomed, is so great, and of those that save themselves is so small, that it is not expedient to say more in particular! Weep ceaselessly over the terrible loss sustained by so many insane and thankless souls, who are forgetful of God, of their duty and of their own selves … and lose their chance of salvation or bring upon themselves eternal damnation!”
“What pretense or excuse will lax Christians in their negligence advance for having forgotten their own eternal salvation? None of the mortals will have any excuse for their foolish negligence! Parents are naturally bound to instruct their children, from their infancy, in this knowledge of God and to direct them with solicitous care, so that they may at once see their ultimate end, and seek it in their first acts of the intellect and will. They should with great watchfulness withdraw them from the childishness and puerile trickery and deceitfulness, to which depraved nature will incline them, if left without direction. The demons instill into the parents a base neglectfulness and carnal love for their offspring; and they incite the teachers to carelessness, so that the children find no support against evil in their education, but become depraved and spoiled by many bad habits, losing sight of virtue and of their good inclinations and going the way of perdition. If the fathers and mothers would be solicitous to prevent these vanities and perverted habits of their children, and would instruct them from their infancy in the knowledge of their God and Creator, then they would afterwards easily accustom them to know and adore Him. Parents must learn to love their children, help them, nourish them, exhort them, correct them and lead them on in the way of salvation without remissness or carelessness!”
You would think that such words―which have been echoed and affirmed by numerous saints over the centuries―would have some major effect upon us and how we approach and conduct our life in this world (or in Mary’s Mystical Womb). But no! That is not the case―most souls blindly and stubbornly pursue their path to a spiritual miscarriage or stillbirth that will see them fail to reach Heaven. They are fools ― “and the number of fools is infinite” (Ecclesiastes 1:1).
Are We in Danger of Miscarriage or Stillbirth? Have We Caused It in Others?
If we are even halfway sane and partially intelligent, we cannot fail to see and tremble at the likelihood of our own spiritual miscarriage or stillbirth! It is not for nothing that Holy Scripture warns us: “With fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12) … “For many are called, but few are chosen!” (Matthew 22:14) … “Wherefore he that thinks himself to stand, let him take heed lest he fall!” (1 Corinthians 10:12). “Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat! How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life―and few there are that find it!” (Matthew 7:13-14).
Sin brings death along with it: “Sin, when it is completed, begets death” (James 1:15). “The wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23). “The sting of death is sin!” (1 Corinthians 15:56). “Sin has reigned to death!” (Romans 5:21). The consequences of sin are not just limited to the person who sins―but the consequences extend far beyond that! “I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me!” (Exodus 20:5). “Who repays the iniquity of the fathers to the children, and to the grandchildren, unto the third and fourth generation!” (Exodus 34:7). “I am the Lord thy God, a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon their children unto the third and fourth generation, to them that hate Me!” (Deuteronomy 5:9). “Who visits the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation!” (Numbers 14:18). As the regards the Original Sin of Adam and Eve, the consequences extend far beyond merely the third and fourth generation―every single generation in the history of time experiences the consequences of their sin and we are all born with the scars and tendencies that resulted from that Original Sin.
There is no impunity or escape from the consequence of sin. “Rejoice not, O Israel― for thou hast committed fornication against thy God! … They shall not dwell in the Lord’s land! … The days of visitation are come, the days of repaying are come for the multitude of thy iniquity! … They have sinned deeply! God will remember their iniquity and will visit their sin! … And though they should bring up their children, I will make them without children among men! A womb without children … They shall yield no fruit. And if they should have children, I will slay the beloved fruit of their womb! God will cast them away, because they listened not to Him!” (Osee 9:1-17).
Life and Death Issues
Satan brought sin to the human race through Adam and Eve―and with that sin came death: “By one man sin entered into this world, and, by sin, death; and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned!” (Romans 5:12). God seeks to bring life to the human through the New Adam (Christ) and the New Eve (Mary)―as Christ said: “I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly!” (John 10:10). “So reckon, that you are dead to sin, but alive unto God, in Christ Jesus our Lord!” (Romans 6:1). “For the wages of sin is death! But the grace of God, life everlasting, in Christ Jesus our Lord!” (Romans 6:23). “All iniquity is sin. And there is a sin unto death and a sin which is not to death” (1 John 5:16-17). The “sin unto death” and the “sin which is not to death” obviously refer to Mortal Sin and Venial Sin. Mortal Sin is so called because it causes spiritual death in the soul by killing or driving out Sanctifying Grace. Venial Sin does to destroy Sanctifying Grace, but it makes it less effective and it also gradually disposes us, more and more, to eventually committing a Mortal Sin.
“Born Again” Catholics
Each time we commit a Mortal Sin, we need to rise from the ‘death’ of Mortal Sin and return to ‘life’ through Sanctifying Grace. This ‘rebirth’ or ‘resurrection’ usually takes place in the ‘tomb’ or the ‘emergency room’ of the confessional in the Sacrament of Confession. We are spiritually “born again” through the Sacrament of Confession after having committed ‘spiritual suicide’ through Mortal Sin. Sadly, the numbers of those going to Confession are decreasing drastically, while Mortal Sin is increasing immensely. As Our Lord said: “And you will not come to Me so that you may have life!” (John 5:40) ― they prefer to live in the darkness and death of Mortal Sin and do not seek to be “born again”.
Some people think that term “born again” is a Protestant invention―but the term was actually used by Our Lord Himself in a conversation with Nicodemus. “And there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night, and said to Him: ‘Rabbi, we know that You have come as a teacher from God―for no man can do these signs which You do, unless God be with him!’ Jesus answered, and said to him: ‘Amen, amen I say to you, unless a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God!’ Nicodemus said to Him: ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and be born again?’ Jesus answered: ‘Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh, is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit! Wonder not, that I said to thee, you must be born again!’” (John 3:1-7).
If you’ve been around Protestants or Evangelicals you will have heard the phrase “born again.” It was an especially popular phrase back in the 1970s and 1980s, when it was common for non-Catholic Christians to identify themselves as “Born Again Christians.” They ask, “Are you a born-again Christian?” or “You’re a Catholic―then you’re not a Christian.” This idea of being a Christian, rather than a Catholic, was tied to this idea of being born again. A Fundamentalist or Evangelical will say: “Baptism does not save you, brother! Jesus says (in John 3:5) we must be born of water and the Spirit.” The Catholic will then be told the “water” of John 3:5 has nothing to do with Baptism. For the Protestant, the “water” will either be interpreted as man’s natural birth (the “water” being amniotic fluid within the mother’s womb), and “the Spirit” would then represent the new birth; or the “water” would represent the “word of God” through which one is born again when he accepts Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior.
For the Catholic, being “born again” is quite simply being born into the spiritual life of God through the Sanctifying Grace received at Baptism. It is through Baptism that we are “born again” into a spiritual life with God after our natural birth. Jesus was baptized. If you compare the parallel passage in St. Matthew’s gospel (3:16-17), you find that when Jesus was baptized, “the Heavens were opened” and “the Spirit of God descended as a dove, upon him. And behold a voice came from Heaven, saying: ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!” Obviously, this was not because Jesus needed to be baptized. In fact, St. John the Baptist noted that he needed to be baptized by Jesus (see Matthew 3:14). Jesus was baptized in order “fulfill all righteousness” and “to give knowledge of salvation to His people in the forgiveness of their sins,” according to Scripture (cf. Matthew 3:15; Luke 1:77). In other words, Jesus demonstrably showed us the way the Heaven would be opened to us so that the Holy Spirit would descend upon us through Baptism.
Holy Scripture echoes this: “We ourselves were at some time unwise, incredulous, erring, slaves to divers desires and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another! But when the goodness and kindness of God our Savior appeared―not by the works of justice, which we have done, but according to His mercy―he saved us by the waters of regeneration and renovation of the Holy Ghost, Whom He has poured forth upon us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Savior―so that, being justified by His grace, we may hope to be heirs of life everlasting!” (Titus 3:3-7).
Catholics see being “born again” as happening primarily through the Sacrament of Baptism, which initiates a lifelong journey of Faith and good works―for “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:20). Protestants, especially Evangelicals, often view being “born again” as a distinct, personal moment of conversion—a conscious decision to accept Jesus as Savior, often marked by an emotional experience or “sinner’s prayer”—resulting in immediate spiritual rebirth. Both Catholics and Protestants believe that Jesus’ words in John 3 (“born of water and the Spirit”) require spiritual rebirth, but they differ on how that rebirth is takes place and the path that it afterwards follows.
The subsequent path after being “born again” differs for Catholics and Protestants―agreeing on some points and disagreeing on other points. For the Catholic Baptism is the primary “birth” where one is washed of Original Sin and receives the Holy Spirit. This initial rebirth in Baptism must be nurtured and deepened through an ongoing reception of Sacraments such as Confession, the Holy Eucharist, Confirmation (a one-time Sacrament), a life of prayer, good works, repentance and penance. Salvation is not a guarantee, but a process of continually cooperating with God’s grace, which is not just a single event, but one that involves the ongoing use of Faith, Sacraments, and especially a life of charity.
Too many Catholics imagine that Baptism is enough and that Mortal Sin is no big deal because you can easily confess it in Confession and have it all “washed away” just like a weekly or monthly car-wash! Why then do most Catholics end up in Hell if it is as easy as that? What infernal stupidity! “Infernal” because it is the devil who spins these false yarns just as did he with Eve―and “stupidity” on the part of Catholics who fall for such tales because their knowledge of Faith is minimal and their desire to know the Faith is equally minimal. “Be not deceived, God is not mocked! For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that sows in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption. But he that sows in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:7-8). “He who sows sparingly, shall also reap sparingly: and he who sows in blessings, shall also reap blessings” (2 Corinthians 9:6). “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord!’ Lord!’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). “Well did Isaias prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me!’” (Mark 7:6).
Born Again Daily
Each day is a “new born” day and not a continuation of the previous day. Each week is a “new born” week and not an extension of the previous week. Each month is a “new born” month and not just a prolongation of the previous month. Each year is a “new born “ year ― a “New Year” ― and not a repetition of the passing year.
The term “born again” (John 3:3) signifies a spiritual rebirth through Faith, a process often associated with constant daily renewal, not just a one-time event ― just like the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is renewed each and every day and offers to us its graces each and every day. The saints would look upon each day as chance to be spiritually reborn to a higher level―just as athletes use each and every day to constantly try and increase their fitness levels and performance levels. Holy Scripture tells us to “put off the old man―who is corrupted according to the desire of error―and be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new man―who according to God is created in justice and holiness of truth!” (Ephesians 4:22-24). St. Philip Neri used to say that each and every day he would throw “the old man” out of the window, but by the evening “the old man” would have climbed back in again―and so the procedure had to be repeated each and every day, whereby Philip was “born again” each and every day to fight his battles anew against “the old man.”
We speak of Christ coming at Christmas to be born in our hearts. Can Christ be born again? To answer that question it helps to look at another aspect of Christ’s life―His Passion and Death on the Christ on the Cross on Mount Calvary. Holy Scripture tells us: “Christ died for all” (2 Corinthians 5:15) … “Christ died once for our sins” (1 Peter 3:18) … “For in that he died to sin, he died once” (Romans 6:10). Why then do we say that the Mass is a Sacrifice when Holy Scripture indicates that Christ offered only one sacrifice on the cross?
In the Letter to the Hebrews (9:25-28), St. Paul speaks of the sacrifice of Jesus. He essentially says that Christ does not offer Himself again and again physically―if that were so, then He would have had to suffer a violent and bloody death over and over. Elsewhere, (Hebrews 7:27) he states That Christ has no need to physically offer sacrifice day after day, for He did that once for all when He offered Himself on the cross on Calvary. However, it would be grave mistake to isolate these verses from the rest of Sacred Scripture and simply take them at face value, for that would lead one to conclude that there could be no other sacrifice―because since Christ sacrificed Himself, then it is over and done with, and that is it―period. However, such a view is myopic or blind, to say the least.
It must be stated that, as Catholics, in no way do we believe that Christ continues to be crucified physically or die a physical death in Heaven over and over again. However, we do believe that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass does participate in the everlasting Sacrifice of Christ on Calvary.
First, one must not and one cannot separate the Sacrifice of Our Lord on the cross from the events which surround it. The Sacrifice of our Lord is inseparably linked to the Last Supper. Here, On Holy Thursday, Jesus took bread and wine. Looking to St. Matthew’s text (26:26 ff), He said over the bread, “Take this and eat it. This is My Body”; and over the cup of wine, “This is My Blood, the Blood of the covenant, to be poured out in behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.” The next day, on Good Friday, Our Lord’s Body hung on the altar of the cross and His precious Blood was spilt to wash away our sins and seal the everlasting, perfect covenant. The divine life our Lord offered and shared for our salvation in the sacrifice of Good Friday is the same that was offered and shared at the Last Supper. The Last Supper, the Sacrifice of Good Friday, and the Resurrection on Easter―form one saving, life-giving event.
Second, one must have a nuanced understanding of time. One must distinguish chronological time from kairotic time as found in Sacred Scripture. In the Bible, chronos refers to chronological time–past, present, and future–specific deeds which have an end point. Kairos or kairotic time refers to God’s eternal time. In Heaven, for God, there is no chronological time―everything is seen in the present moment, the here and now. The time of the present moment encompasses the entire past as well as containing the entire future. Therefore, while our Lord’s saving event occurred chronologically about the year AD 33, in the kairotic sense of time it is an ever present reality which touches our lives here and now.
Thus―just as Christ’s Sacrifice of the Cross is an ever-present reality in kairotic time, so too is Christ’s birth an ever present reality. Nevertheless, just as Christ does physically suffer a bloody and violent death over and over again since His Sacrifice on Calvary, likewise Christ is not physically born and again and again since His original birth in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago. Yet just as Christ mystically and perpetually continues His Sacrifice on Calvary, so too does Christ mystically and perpetually desire to be born again in the souls of each member of mankind.
Life is One Long Birth
Gestation is the period from conception to birth, and typically lasts about 40 weeks, measured from the last menstrual period, divided into three trimesters where the baby develops from embryo to fetus, culminating in labor and delivery, with “full term” generally considered 37-42 weeks, and premature if born before 37 weeks, all involving complex hormonal changes and critical fetal development stages.
You could say that our true birth is when we born into Heaven after having endured a life of gestation on Earth. St. Louis de Montfort, in his book True Devotion to Mary, quotes St. Augustine on this subject. St. Louis writes: “St. Augustine―surpassing himself, and going beyond all I have yet said―affirms that all the predestinate, in order to be conformed to the image of the Son of God, are in this world hidden in the womb of the most holy Virgin, where they are guarded, nourished, brought up and made to grow by that good Mother, until she has brought them forth to glory after death, which is properly the day of their birth.”
Unfortunately and sadly, most souls never achieve a successful gestation and birth into Heaven―and are lost somewhere along the whole process. Our Lady aborts nobody―but countless souls provoke a miscarriage or a stillbirth. The Church teaches that as baptized Catholics we are all part of one and the same Mystical Body of Christ―of which Christ is the Head. We often speak of Christ being the Head and Mary being the Heart of the Mystical Body―for it is blood that brings life and nourishment to every cell of the body and Mary is the Heart that pumps that life-giving and nourishing blood―which is Grace of God―and thus call Mary the Mediatrix of All Graces.
The heart pumps blood through an extensive network of blood vessels (arteries, veins, capillaries) reaching every tissue. Blood delivers essential oxygen, nutrients (like amino acids), hormones, and water to every cell for energy and function, while also removing waste (carbon dioxide, lactic acid) and defending against infection, making it the vital transport system sustaining life by connecting all body parts. White blood cells fight infections, and platelets form clots to stop bleeding. It helps maintain correct body temperature, pH balance, and fluid volume. Red blood cells contain hemoglobin, which binds to oxygen in the lungs and releases it to cells. In essence, blood acts as the body's internal highway, ensuring all cells receive what they need to live and function and that waste products are efficiently removed, making it truly the carrier of life. Blood is vital for a baby during pregnancy because it's the lifeline delivering oxygen, nutrients, and antibodies from the mother via the placenta and umbilical cord, while also removing waste, with fetal blood carrying these essential supplies throughout the developing body.
Just as we often speak of Our Lady as being the Heart of the Mystical Body, we could also speak of her as being Womb of the Mystical Body. As St. Louis de Montfort stated above: “All the predestinate, in order to be conformed to the image of the Son of God, are in this world hidden in the womb of the most holy Virgin!” He also implies the same idea when he speaks of the Holy Ghost seeking to have children through Mary: “God the Father wishes to have children by Mary till the consummation of the world … God the Holy Ghost wishes to form the elect for Himself in her and by her … Mary has produced, together with the Holy Ghost, the greatest thing which has been or ever will be—a God Man; and she will consequently produce the greatest saints that there will be in the end of time. The formation and the education of the great saints who shall come at the end of the world are reserved for her. For it is only that singular and miraculous Virgin who can produce, in union with the Holy Ghost, singular and extraordinary things” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
Bethlehem, the Holy Mass, and Holy Communion
What is the link between Bethlehem, the Holy Mass and Holy Communion? What is their link to being “born again”? What can we find, uncover, understand and use from all these things? Just as Jesus was born in Bethlehem, so too is Jesus in the Holy Eucharist born in the Sacrifice of the Mass. Jesus is born in Bethlehem to suffer―He is born to undergo His Passion and Death by His Sacrifice on the Cross on Calvary. Likewise, Jesus is ‘born’ in the Holy Eucharist during the Sacrifice of the Mass which is the same Sacrifice as that of Calvary. Jesus is born to teach us how to suffer: “And He said to all: ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me!’” (Luke 9:23) … “And whosoever does not carry his cross and comes after Me, cannot be My disciple!” (Luke 14:27) … “And he that takes not up his cross, and follows Me, is not worthy of Me!” (Matthew 10:38). Jesus in the Holy Eucharist gives us the strength that we need to be able to carry our crosses for Christ and suffer for Him―as Jesus said: “Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5).
The Power of the Holy Eucharist
First of all, it is important to recall that the word “Bethlehem” means “Town of Bread” ― and Our Lord says of Himself: “My Father gives you the true Bread from Heaven … I am the Bread of life … I am the living Bread which came down from Heaven. If any man eat of this Bread, he shall live for ever; and the Bread that I will give, is My Flesh, for the life of the world … Amen, amen I say unto you: Except you eat the Flesh of the Son of man, and drink His Blood, you shall not have life in you. He that eats My Flesh, and drinks My Blood, has everlasting life―and I will raise him up in the last day. For My Flesh is meat indeed: and My Blood is drink indeed. He that eats My Flesh, and drinks My Blood, abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father has sent Me, and I live by the Father; so he that eats Me, the same also shall live by Me. This is the Bread that came down from Heaven. Not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead. He that eats this Bread, shall live for ever!” (John 6:48-59).
The Power of the Mass
In the above quote, Our Lord says: “I will give My Flesh for the life of the world.” That is what He did by His Sacrifice on the Cross on Mount Calvary―and that very same Sacrifice is re-presented and mystically but bloodlessly offered in each and every Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. It is also the Sacrifice of the Mass that gives us the Holy Eucharist―the Bread of Life or Holy Communion. In one sense, Christ’s Sacrifice on Calvary is “born again” in every Sacrifice of the Mass that is offered―and in that Sacrifice of the Mass that is offered, you could say that the Holy Eucharist is “born again” and again and again throughout all time and all places where Mass is offered. Each Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is like a mystical electrical impulse that is trying to “shock” our heart back into a truly spiritual life from the death of worldliness into which it has fallen. Each Holy Communion, similarly, tries to fire-up our lukewarmness back into a true and fervent love of God―and many saints and theologians tell us that one Holy Communion has the power to make anyone of us into a saint, if we would only fully cooperate with its abundant graces.
St. Leonard of Port Maurice, in his book The Hidden Treasure of the Holy Mass, writes: “The holy and tremendous Sacrifice of the Mass, though the greatest treasure which glorifies and enriches the Church of God, is still a hidden treasure, and known to few! … That Sacrifice is the sun of Christianity, the soul of Faith, the centre of the Catholic religion! … The principal excellence of the most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass consists in being essentially, and in the very highest degree, identical with that which was offered on the Cross of Calvary: with this sole difference, that the Sacrifice on the Cross was bloody, and made once for all, and did on that one occasion satisfy fully for all the sins of the world; while the Sacrifice of the Altar is an unbloody Sacrifice, which can be repeated an infinite number of times, and was instituted in order to apply in detail that universal ransom which Jesus paid for us on Calvary. So that the bloody Sacrifice was the instrument of redemption; the unbloody is that which puts us in possession of the merits of Christ Our Lord. Observe that in Mass there is made not just a mere representation, nor a simple commemoration of the Passion and Death of the Redeemer, but there is performed, in a certain true sense, the selfsame most holy act which was performed on Calvary. It may be said, with all truth, that in every Mass Our Redeemer returns mystically to die for us, without really dying―at one and the same time really alive and as it were slain ... That same Body, that same Blood, that same Jesus Who then offered Himself upon Calvary, now offers Himself in the Holy Mass”
“One single Mass is of such efficacy to have sufficed to obtain the salvation of the whole human race. Imagine the case that Our Lord Jesus Christ had not suffered anything on Calvary and, in place of His bloody Sacrifice of the Cross, had solely instituted Mass for our redemption, with an express command that in all the world it should only be celebrated once. Well, then, had this been the case, that single Mass, celebrated by the poorest priest in the world, would have been sufficient to win from God the salvation of all men. Yes; one single Mass― might thus have been made to obtain the conversion of all Mahometans, all heretics, all schismatics, in fine, of all unbelievers, and also that of all bad Christians; closing the gates of Hell to all sinners, and emptying Purgatory of all the souls there obtaining purification!”
A Lifelong ‘Rebirth’ of Christ in Your Soul
In one sense, Christ continually seeks to be ‘reborn’ in your soul all throughout your life in the Mystical Womb of Mary in the hope of helping you achieve the necessary state required to be born into Heaven at the end of your life. Pregnancy has three main stages, called Trimesters―first trimester being weeks 1 to 12; second trimester being weeks 13 to 27, third trimester being weeks 28 to birth―all of which focus on fetal development from cell cluster to mature baby. Once again we have mystical number of three―three Persons in the Holy Trinity (God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost); the three members of the Holy Family (Jesus, Mary and Joseph); the three Theological Virtues (Faith, Hope and Charity); the three essential parts of the Mass (Offertory, Canon and Communion); the three Stages or Conversions of the Spiritual Life (the Way of Beginners, the Way of the Proficient and the Way of the Perfect); the three part of the Church (Church Militant on Earth, Church suffering in Purgatory and the Church Triumphant in Heaven).
No soul can enter Heaven unless it has successfully passed through completed the Three Stages of the Spiritual Life (sometimes called the Three Conversions of the Spiritual Life)―just like a perfect pregnancy or gestation requires the baby to pass through the three trimesters mentioned above. If we fail to pass through the Three Stages of the Spiritual Life (the Way of Beginners, the Way of the Proficient and the Way of the Perfect) then we either end up in Hell or in Purgatory―for nothing can enter Heaven unless it is perfect: “There shall not enter into Heaven anything defiled” (Apocalyps 21:27). Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange comments: “There are some who seem to think that it is sufficient to be saved and that it is not necessary to be a saint. It is clearly not necessary to be a saint who performs miracles, and whose sanctity is officially recognized by the Church. To be saved, we must take the way of salvation, which is identical with that of sanctity. There will be only saints in Heaven, whether they enter there immediately after death, or after purification in Purgatory. No one enters Heaven unless he has that sanctity which consists in perfect purity of soul. Every sin—though it should be only venial—must be effaced, and the punishment due to sin must be borne or remitted, in order that a soul may enjoy forever the vision of God!” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Ages of the Interior Life).
Causes of Miscarriages and Stillbirths
To progress through the Three Stages or Conversions of the Spiritual Life―just like passing through the three trimesters of pregnancy―requires a continual input of what is good and beneficial and the avoidance what is bad and harmful. Just a woman seeks to avoid a miscarriage or a stillbirth―so too Our Lady wants to avoid our spiritual miscarriage or spiritual stillbirth. What are the chief dangers that threaten the development of the baby in the mother’s womb? Maternal health issues like infections, thyroid issues, blood clotting disorders, severe kidney disease, heart conditions, lupus, hormonal imbalances, uncontrolled diabetes, or uterine problems, structural issues in the uterus, issues with the placenta or umbilical cord, fibroids―along with lifestyle factors such as smoking, excessive alcohol, certain drugs, and some medications, or environmental exposures to things like lead, mercury, pesticides, certain solvents, and radiation. While many factors can contribute, chromosomal issues are the most common.
The same is true for our spiritual growth―there are so many variable and numerous factors that can inhibit, slow down or even destroy our spiritual progress. It can come from within ourselves and inherent sinful passions and tendencies that we have; it can come from the example of those family members who surround us―such as parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, uncles, aunts and other relatives; it can come from associates at work, school or our social circle; it can come from the various media outlets―television, radio, internet, music, art, commercials, etc.; it can come through the newspapers, magazines and books that we read; etc. The list is truly endless!
The damage caused and souls that are consequently lost are also truly endless―as Our Lady herself says: How many men have thrown themselves into the eternal darkness of Hell! … Countless numbers have fallen into Hell! … Lucifer has hurled into Hell so great a number of souls and continues so to hurl them every day! The neglect and contempt of bodily mortification cause the loss of many souls and bring many more into the danger of eternal loss. I will not tell thee how many souls are lost, in order to not cause thee to die of sorrow at this loss! I have already told thee, that the number of those foreknown as doomed, is so great, and of those that save themselves is so small, that it is not expedient to say more in particular! Weep ceaselessly over the terrible loss sustained by so many insane and thankless souls, who are forgetful of God, of their duty and of their own selves … and lose their chance of salvation or bring upon themselves eternal damnation!”
“What pretense or excuse will lax Christians in their negligence advance for having forgotten their own eternal salvation? None of the mortals will have any excuse for their foolish negligence! Parents are naturally bound to instruct their children, from their infancy, in this knowledge of God and to direct them with solicitous care, so that they may at once see their ultimate end, and seek it in their first acts of the intellect and will. They should with great watchfulness withdraw them from the childishness and puerile trickery and deceitfulness, to which depraved nature will incline them, if left without direction. The demons instill into the parents a base neglectfulness and carnal love for their offspring; and they incite the teachers to carelessness, so that the children find no support against evil in their education, but become depraved and spoiled by many bad habits, losing sight of virtue and of their good inclinations and going the way of perdition. If the fathers and mothers would be solicitous to prevent these vanities and perverted habits of their children, and would instruct them from their infancy in the knowledge of their God and Creator, then they would afterwards easily accustom them to know and adore Him. Parents must learn to love their children, help them, nourish them, exhort them, correct them and lead them on in the way of salvation without remissness or carelessness!”
You would think that such words―which have been echoed and affirmed by numerous saints over the centuries―would have some major effect upon us and how we approach and conduct our life in this world (or in Mary’s Mystical Womb). But no! That is not the case―most souls blindly and stubbornly pursue their path to a spiritual miscarriage or stillbirth that will see them fail to reach Heaven. They are fools ― “and the number of fools is infinite” (Ecclesiastes 1:1).
Are We in Danger of Miscarriage or Stillbirth? Have We Caused It in Others?
If we are even halfway sane and partially intelligent, we cannot fail to see and tremble at the likelihood of our own spiritual miscarriage or stillbirth! It is not for nothing that Holy Scripture warns us: “With fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12) … “For many are called, but few are chosen!” (Matthew 22:14) … “Wherefore he that thinks himself to stand, let him take heed lest he fall!” (1 Corinthians 10:12). “Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat! How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life―and few there are that find it!” (Matthew 7:13-14).
Sin brings death along with it: “Sin, when it is completed, begets death” (James 1:15). “The wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23). “The sting of death is sin!” (1 Corinthians 15:56). “Sin has reigned to death!” (Romans 5:21). The consequences of sin are not just limited to the person who sins―but the consequences extend far beyond that! “I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me!” (Exodus 20:5). “Who repays the iniquity of the fathers to the children, and to the grandchildren, unto the third and fourth generation!” (Exodus 34:7). “I am the Lord thy God, a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon their children unto the third and fourth generation, to them that hate Me!” (Deuteronomy 5:9). “Who visits the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation!” (Numbers 14:18). As the regards the Original Sin of Adam and Eve, the consequences extend far beyond merely the third and fourth generation―every single generation in the history of time experiences the consequences of their sin and we are all born with the scars and tendencies that resulted from that Original Sin.
There is no impunity or escape from the consequence of sin. “Rejoice not, O Israel― for thou hast committed fornication against thy God! … They shall not dwell in the Lord’s land! … The days of visitation are come, the days of repaying are come for the multitude of thy iniquity! … They have sinned deeply! God will remember their iniquity and will visit their sin! … And though they should bring up their children, I will make them without children among men! A womb without children … They shall yield no fruit. And if they should have children, I will slay the beloved fruit of their womb! God will cast them away, because they listened not to Him!” (Osee 9:1-17).
Life and Death Issues
Satan brought sin to the human race through Adam and Eve―and with that sin came death: “By one man sin entered into this world, and, by sin, death; and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned!” (Romans 5:12). God seeks to bring life to the human through the New Adam (Christ) and the New Eve (Mary)―as Christ said: “I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly!” (John 10:10). “So reckon, that you are dead to sin, but alive unto God, in Christ Jesus our Lord!” (Romans 6:1). “For the wages of sin is death! But the grace of God, life everlasting, in Christ Jesus our Lord!” (Romans 6:23). “All iniquity is sin. And there is a sin unto death and a sin which is not to death” (1 John 5:16-17). The “sin unto death” and the “sin which is not to death” obviously refer to Mortal Sin and Venial Sin. Mortal Sin is so called because it causes spiritual death in the soul by killing or driving out Sanctifying Grace. Venial Sin does to destroy Sanctifying Grace, but it makes it less effective and it also gradually disposes us, more and more, to eventually committing a Mortal Sin.
“Born Again” Catholics
Each time we commit a Mortal Sin, we need to rise from the ‘death’ of Mortal Sin and return to ‘life’ through Sanctifying Grace. This ‘rebirth’ or ‘resurrection’ usually takes place in the ‘tomb’ or the ‘emergency room’ of the confessional in the Sacrament of Confession. We are spiritually “born again” through the Sacrament of Confession after having committed ‘spiritual suicide’ through Mortal Sin. Sadly, the numbers of those going to Confession are decreasing drastically, while Mortal Sin is increasing immensely. As Our Lord said: “And you will not come to Me so that you may have life!” (John 5:40) ― they prefer to live in the darkness and death of Mortal Sin and do not seek to be “born again”.
Some people think that term “born again” is a Protestant invention―but the term was actually used by Our Lord Himself in a conversation with Nicodemus. “And there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night, and said to Him: ‘Rabbi, we know that You have come as a teacher from God―for no man can do these signs which You do, unless God be with him!’ Jesus answered, and said to him: ‘Amen, amen I say to you, unless a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God!’ Nicodemus said to Him: ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and be born again?’ Jesus answered: ‘Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh, is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit! Wonder not, that I said to thee, you must be born again!’” (John 3:1-7).
If you’ve been around Protestants or Evangelicals you will have heard the phrase “born again.” It was an especially popular phrase back in the 1970s and 1980s, when it was common for non-Catholic Christians to identify themselves as “Born Again Christians.” They ask, “Are you a born-again Christian?” or “You’re a Catholic―then you’re not a Christian.” This idea of being a Christian, rather than a Catholic, was tied to this idea of being born again. A Fundamentalist or Evangelical will say: “Baptism does not save you, brother! Jesus says (in John 3:5) we must be born of water and the Spirit.” The Catholic will then be told the “water” of John 3:5 has nothing to do with Baptism. For the Protestant, the “water” will either be interpreted as man’s natural birth (the “water” being amniotic fluid within the mother’s womb), and “the Spirit” would then represent the new birth; or the “water” would represent the “word of God” through which one is born again when he accepts Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior.
For the Catholic, being “born again” is quite simply being born into the spiritual life of God through the Sanctifying Grace received at Baptism. It is through Baptism that we are “born again” into a spiritual life with God after our natural birth. Jesus was baptized. If you compare the parallel passage in St. Matthew’s gospel (3:16-17), you find that when Jesus was baptized, “the Heavens were opened” and “the Spirit of God descended as a dove, upon him. And behold a voice came from Heaven, saying: ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!” Obviously, this was not because Jesus needed to be baptized. In fact, St. John the Baptist noted that he needed to be baptized by Jesus (see Matthew 3:14). Jesus was baptized in order “fulfill all righteousness” and “to give knowledge of salvation to His people in the forgiveness of their sins,” according to Scripture (cf. Matthew 3:15; Luke 1:77). In other words, Jesus demonstrably showed us the way the Heaven would be opened to us so that the Holy Spirit would descend upon us through Baptism.
Holy Scripture echoes this: “We ourselves were at some time unwise, incredulous, erring, slaves to divers desires and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another! But when the goodness and kindness of God our Savior appeared―not by the works of justice, which we have done, but according to His mercy―he saved us by the waters of regeneration and renovation of the Holy Ghost, Whom He has poured forth upon us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Savior―so that, being justified by His grace, we may hope to be heirs of life everlasting!” (Titus 3:3-7).
Catholics see being “born again” as happening primarily through the Sacrament of Baptism, which initiates a lifelong journey of Faith and good works―for “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:20). Protestants, especially Evangelicals, often view being “born again” as a distinct, personal moment of conversion—a conscious decision to accept Jesus as Savior, often marked by an emotional experience or “sinner’s prayer”—resulting in immediate spiritual rebirth. Both Catholics and Protestants believe that Jesus’ words in John 3 (“born of water and the Spirit”) require spiritual rebirth, but they differ on how that rebirth is takes place and the path that it afterwards follows.
The subsequent path after being “born again” differs for Catholics and Protestants―agreeing on some points and disagreeing on other points. For the Catholic Baptism is the primary “birth” where one is washed of Original Sin and receives the Holy Spirit. This initial rebirth in Baptism must be nurtured and deepened through an ongoing reception of Sacraments such as Confession, the Holy Eucharist, Confirmation (a one-time Sacrament), a life of prayer, good works, repentance and penance. Salvation is not a guarantee, but a process of continually cooperating with God’s grace, which is not just a single event, but one that involves the ongoing use of Faith, Sacraments, and especially a life of charity.
Too many Catholics imagine that Baptism is enough and that Mortal Sin is no big deal because you can easily confess it in Confession and have it all “washed away” just like a weekly or monthly car-wash! Why then do most Catholics end up in Hell if it is as easy as that? What infernal stupidity! “Infernal” because it is the devil who spins these false yarns just as did he with Eve―and “stupidity” on the part of Catholics who fall for such tales because their knowledge of Faith is minimal and their desire to know the Faith is equally minimal. “Be not deceived, God is not mocked! For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that sows in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption. But he that sows in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:7-8). “He who sows sparingly, shall also reap sparingly: and he who sows in blessings, shall also reap blessings” (2 Corinthians 9:6). “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord!’ Lord!’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). “Well did Isaias prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me!’” (Mark 7:6).
Born Again Daily
Each day is a “new born” day and not a continuation of the previous day. Each week is a “new born” week and not an extension of the previous week. Each month is a “new born” month and not just a prolongation of the previous month. Each year is a “new born “ year ― a “New Year” ― and not a repetition of the passing year.
The term “born again” (John 3:3) signifies a spiritual rebirth through Faith, a process often associated with constant daily renewal, not just a one-time event ― just like the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is renewed each and every day and offers to us its graces each and every day. The saints would look upon each day as chance to be spiritually reborn to a higher level―just as athletes use each and every day to constantly try and increase their fitness levels and performance levels. Holy Scripture tells us to “put off the old man―who is corrupted according to the desire of error―and be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new man―who according to God is created in justice and holiness of truth!” (Ephesians 4:22-24). St. Philip Neri used to say that each and every day he would throw “the old man” out of the window, but by the evening “the old man” would have climbed back in again―and so the procedure had to be repeated each and every day, whereby Philip was “born again” each and every day to fight his battles anew against “the old man.”
Article 1
Friday, December 26th
Let it Be a Mary Christmass and not a Scary Christmess!
Friday, December 26th
Let it Be a Mary Christmass and not a Scary Christmess!
One-Day Wonder? Or Wonderful 40 Days?
For many persons, Christmas is a one-day wonder― a case of “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow!” Now that tomorrow has come―where is Christmas? Where is your Christmas? What on Earth are we of make of Christmas? What is your idea of Christmas? Who on Earth was born? What on Earth is going on? What on Earth is He doing here? Where on Earth is all this going to lead? What ten or twenty things come to mind at the mention of the word “Christmas”?
Different persons have conflicting answers to these questions―depending on whether they are primarily spiritual persons (a minority) or worldly persons (the majority). The words of God would be appropriately applied in this case: “My thoughts are not your thoughts; nor your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the Heavens are exalted above the Earth, so are My ways exalted above your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts” (Isaias 55:8-9).
Questions Answered
If you want the answer to the aforementioned questions, then go to the Mother. Go to the Mother of God and go to Holy Mother Church. They will tell it as it is! From the Breviary readings from Matins for Christmas Day, we have these words of Pope St. Leo the Great (died 461):
“Dearly beloved brethren, “Unto us is born this day a Savior.” ... Today is Life’s Birthday; the Birthday of that Life, Which, for us dying creatures, takes away the sting of death, and brings the bright promise of the eternal gladness hereafter ... Our Lord, Who is the destroyer of sin and of death, is come to make all free. Rejoice, you that are holy, you draw nearer to your crown! Rejoice, you that are sinful, for your Savior offers you pardon! Rejoice also, you Gentile, God calls you to life! For the Son of God ... took upon Him the nature of man, that He might reconcile that nature to Him Who made it.”
Through the readings from the Mass of the Vigil of Christmas, Holy Mother Church explains to us what on Earth is happening regarding the birth of Our Lord, Jesus Christ.
On Christmas Eve, at the Vigil Mass, the Introit told us that “This day you shall know that the Lord will come and save us.” In the Gospel, Joseph is told by the angel not to fear taking Mary for his wife, for “she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus (Savior), for He shall save His people from their sins.” By the time Christmas Eve was over and midnight had arrived, Holy Mother Church, at the first Mass of Christmas, told us: “Why have the people devised vain things” (Introit) ... “Our Savior has appeared to all men; instructing us, that, denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly, and justly, and godly in this world” (Epistle) ... “Grant that we, who rejoice in celebrating the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, may, by dignified conversation, become worthy to attain fellowship with Him” (Postcommunion).
By the following morning’s Dawn Mass, Holy Mother Church continued: “...that we may show forth in our actions that which by Faith shines in our minds” (Collect of 2nd Mass) ... “that the new birth of Thy only-begotten Son, may set us free, whom the old bondage holds under the yoke of sin” (Collect of 3rd Mass).... “and cleanse us from the stains of our sins” (Secret of the 3rd Mass).
The other mother, the Mother of God, in her revelations to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, essentially says the same things in speaking of the mystery of Christmas:
“My most holy Son has set me as the teacher and living example of the love of humility and true contempt of worldly vanity and pride … He also sought destitution and poverty … in order to teach mortals the shortest and surest way for reaching the heights of divine love and union with God ... If men would keep their heart disengaged and if they would rightly and worthily consider this great mystery of the kindness of the Most High towards men, if they would only make use of their freedom to treat this mystery with the reverence due to its greatness, who would be so hardened as not to be moved at the sight of their God become man, humiliated in poverty, despised, unknown, entering the world in a cave, lying in a manger surrounded by brute animals, protected only by a poverty-stricken Mother, and cast off by the foolish arrogance of the world?
“Who will dare to love the vanity and pride, which was openly abhorred and condemned by the Creator of Heaven and Earth in his conduct? No one can despise the humility, poverty and indigence, which the Lord loved and chose for Himself as the very means of teaching the way of eternal life. Few there are, who stop to consider this truth and example: and on account of this vile ingratitude only the few will reap the fruit of these great mysteries ...
“I remind and exhort thee to forget all that is of Earth and lose it out of thy sight; that thou seek nothing, or engage thyself with nothing except what can help thee to withdraw and detach thee from the world and its inhabitants; so that, with a heart freed from all terrestrial affection, thou dispose thyself to celebrate in it the mysteries of the poverty, humility and divine love of the incarnate God ... His coming down from Heaven onto the Earth, His being born in humility and poverty, His living and dying in it, giving such rare example of the contempt of the world and its deceits; the knowledge, which thou hast received concerning His conduct and which thou hast penetrated so deeply by divine intelligence: all these things should be for thee like living voices, which thou must heed and inscribe into the interior of thy heart.” (Words of Our Lady to the Ven. Mary of Agreda, The Mystical City of God, vol. 2, The Incarnation).
The Spirit of Christmas is not the Spirit of the World
The Liturgy of Holy Mother Church seeks to communicate to us and penetrate us with the spirit of her feasts―and none more so than Christmas. It is there that we find the basics, foundation and essentials of the spirit which ought to motivate us and rule within us on this great feast.
In the Midnight Mass of Christmas we read: “Why have the people devised vain things?” (Introit) … “The grace of God our Savior has appeared to all men, instructing us, in order that, rejecting ungodliness and worldly lusts, we may live temperately and justly and piously in this world; looking for the blessed hope and glorious coming of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity and cleanse for Himself an acceptable people, pursuing good works. Thus speak, and exhort, in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Epistle).
Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that the new birth in the flesh of Thine only-begotten Son may set us free, whom the old bondage doth hold under the yoke of sin. (Collect of 3rd Mass of Christmas Day)
In the Breviary, in the Matins for Christmas Day, we read: “This is the day whereon the King of Heaven was pleased to be born of a Virgin, that He might bring back to Heaven man who was lost!” … In the same Matins, Pope St. Gregory the Great says: “Unto us is born this day a Savior! Let us rejoice! It would be unlawful to be sad today―for today is Life's Birthday; the Birthday of that Life, Which, for us dying creatures, takes away the sting of death, and brings the bright promise of the eternal gladness hereafter. It would be unlawful for any man to refuse to partake in our rejoicing! All men have an equal share in the great cause of our joy―for, since our Lord, Who is the destroyer of sin and of death, finds that all are bound under the condemnation, He is come to make all free. Rejoice, you that are holy, you are drawing nearer to your crown! Rejoice, you that are sinful―for your Savior offers you pardon! Rejoice also, you Gentile, God calls you to life!” (Matins of Christmas Day). (Matins of Christmas Day).
Pope St. Gregory the Great adds: “By God's mercy we are to say three Masses today … The Lord is born in Bethlehem. Now the name Bethlehem means the ‘House of Bread’, and thus it is the birth-place of Him Who has said: ‘I am the Living Bread, Which came down from Heaven!’ (John 6:51). We see then that this name of Bethlehem was prophetically given to the place where Christ was born, because it was there that He was to appear in the flesh by Whom the souls of the faithful are fed unto life eternal. He was born, not in His Mother's house, but away from home. And this is a mystery, showing that this our mortality, into which He was born, was not the home of Him Who is begotten of the Father before the worlds. Christ is born, and the shepherds watch; shepherds, to gather together the scattered sheep of the Gentiles, and to lead them into the fold of Christ, that they might no longer be a prey to the ravages of spiritual wolves in the night of this world's darkness. And that shepherd is wide awake, whom the Good Shepherd stirs up. The flock then is the people, the night is the world, and the shepherds are the priests.” (Matins of Christmas Day).
How many Catholics celebrated Christmas Day in the above spirit outlined by the Liturgy of Holy Mother Church? Too few or hardly any! Christmas, for them, was far more secular and materialistic than it was spiritual and religious!
Christmas is About Sin and Mercy―Not Food, Drink and Parties
The well-known story of St. Jerome puts Christmas into persepctive. About four centuries after the birth of Christ, after many years spent in Jerusalem translating the Word of God from various different Bibles and languages into what would be later known as the Latin Vulgate version of the Bible, St. Jerome had finished his grand project just days before Christmas. To celebrate this great forty-year long accomplishment, Jerome decides to spend Christmas Eve in nearby Bethlehem. He comes as a pilgrim to Bethlehem. He longs to venerate the place where Christ was born. He comes to the cave of the Nativity, where he humbly prays. He himself speaks later on about the divine experience he had.
Surprise Visitor! Surpise Request! Surprise Gift!
According to the ancient account, sometime around midnight, Jesus appeared to him, saying: “Jerome, what will you give Me for My birthday?”
Immediately and enthusiastically, Jerome declared: “Lord, I give You my translation of Your Word!”
But instead of congratulating him, Jesus simply replied: “No, Jerome, that is not what I want!”
St. Jerome was speechless. Then he began to complain and remonstrate with Jesus, asking why He had let him go on for forty years, far from home, laboring at something other than what God most wanted from him. But Jesus remained silent. Jerome started suggesting other ways of honoring Jesus’ birthday—fasting, or becoming a hermit, or giving his possessions to the poor.
To each of these Jesus replied, “No. Jerome. That is not what I want most!”
St. Jerome then pleaded: “Oh Lord, You know that it is for You I have abandoned everything … both the court of the rulers, and the majesties of Rome, and the pleasures and the riches… and at this time my mind, my whole heart, my thoughts and even my life, everything belongs to You! What else could I give You? I don’t have anything else to give you today on Your on this feast day of Your birth!”
Jesus replied: “You still have something to give Me, Jerome! You have something which you have forgotten and today I want you to place it at My feet!”
Finally, Jerome protested, “What is that, my Lord? Please tell me! Do I truly have something else to give you? Would I be so evil as to keep something for myself! Tell me, dear Lord, what is there that I can still give You? Tell me, Lord! Tell me what would give You the most joy on Your birthday, and You shall have it!”
“Do you promise, Jerome?” asked Our Lord.
“Yes, Lord, anything at all!” cried Jerome.
Jesus replied, “Give Me your sins!”
“My sins, O Lord? What would You do with my sins?” asked a bewildered Jerome.
“Jerome, give Me all your sins, so that I can forgive them all.”
Hearing this, St. Jerome broke down into tears of emotion, happiness and love at the merciful words of Jesus.
“Give me your sins.” In His limitless humility, more than any service we can render Him, the Lord considers it a gift that we “allow” Him to take away our sins. Why? Precisely because He thirsts for us, because He longs for union with us, and the only obstacle to that union is our sin — which, in His eyes, then, becomes the most precious gift we can offer.
Is the Real Christmas Worth the Effort?
Christmas is not about fun and games, feasting and drinking―it is all about being saved from Hell. Brushing aside the false sentimentality that has been created around Christmas, we should listen to Holy Mother Church as to true purpose of Christmas. Holy Mother Church reveals this in the Christmas Liturgy. The following quotes are taken from the Masses and Divine Office (Breviary) from Christmas Eve onwards:
“This day you shall know that the Lord will come and save us!” (Exodus 16:6-7) … “O God, You gladden us year after year with the expectation of our redemption!” … “Do not be afraid, Joseph, son of David, to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a Son, and you shall call His Name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins!” … “It is fitting and profitable to salvation, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, Lord. For You have promised Him as a Savior for the lost human race … the time of His coming is near, and the day of our liberation is dawning!” … “Lift up your heads, for your redemption is at hand!” … “This day a Savior is born unto thee!” … “The Lord has made known His salvation!” … “The grace of God our Savior has appeared to all men; instructing us, that we should live soberly, and justly, and godly in this world by , denying ungodliness and worldly desires” … “Our Savior Jesus Christ, gave Himself for us, so that He might redeem us from all iniquity” … “These things speak, and exhort and rebuke with all authority!” … “Grant that the birth of Your only begotten Son may set us free, who are held by the bondage and chains of sin!” … “By the birth of Your only begotten Son cleanse us from our sins!” … “Take away from us our iniquities, we beseech Thee, O Lord!”
Being born Catholic has marked advantages over not being born Catholic. Proverbially, it is like being “born with a silver spoon in your mouth”; or like having a three lap start in a four lap race. But even though it has great advantages, God does not give us Heaven on a golden plate. If something is worth doing, then it’s worth doing well; if Heaven is worth getting, then we need to put serious effort into getting there!
Our Lord puts it this way: “Not everyone that says to Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!” (Matthew 7:21) ... “A rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 19:23) ... “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:3) ... “Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:10) ...”Unless your justice abound more than that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:20) … “For many are called, but few are chosen!” (Matthew 22:14).
Painful Prophecy
Our Lord is not full of “sweet talk” but He tells us as it is, without wrapping things up in cotton balls. The following prophecy is worth pondering―since it refers to the so-called “End Times” or “Last Days”, which Our Lady of Fatima said that we have entered:
“And as it came to pass in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat and drink, they married wives, and were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark: and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise as it came to pass, in the days of Lot: they did eat and drink, they bought and sold, they planted and built. And in the day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from Heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man shall be revealed. In that hour, he that shall be on the housetop, and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take them away: and he that shall be in the field, in like manner, let him not return back. Remember Lot’s wife! Whosoever shall seek to save his life, shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose it, shall preserve it. I say to you: in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together: the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left: two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.” (Luke 17:26-35).
The Many and the Few
We see this poignantly fulfilled as Jesus died on the Cross: one thief was saved, the other thief was lost. Even before that, many Jews and Pharisees rejected Him, few accepted Him: “Many are called, but few chosen” (Matthew 20:16). Many are baptized, but few will be saved.
“And a certain man said to Him: ‘Lord, are they few that are saved?’ But He said to them: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:23-24) ... “Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life: and few there are that find it!” (Matthew 7:13-14) ... “With fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12) ... “The Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away” (Matthew 11:12).
Life is No Joke―Christmas is No Party
All this points to the seriousness and gravity of the time allotted to us here on Earth by God. Some live for pleasure and fun; others live to work out their salvation. For some, Christmas is a time for fun, food, drink, gifts and parties. For others, Christmas is a time of seeking Christ in a more profitable way, through better prayer, more spiritual reading and a greater detachment from the world. “He that is not with Me, is against Me!” (Matthew 12:30). “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4). It is a reflection of the foolish and wise virgins, mentioned by Our Lord in one of His parables. Time is too precious to lose, yet we have all lost much time. Now is the time to wake up from our illusions and wishful thinking, and face the reality of life, the reality of eternal life, the reality of salvation or ...
Going Out to Meet Christ
So, just like the wise virgins, we must go out to meet our Bridegroom, Christ: “There was a cry made: ‘Behold the bridegroom cometh! Go ye forth to meet him!” (Matthew 25:6). Like the wise virgins, we must be ever ready to seek Him, ever ready to go to Him, ever ready to meet Him. Love is reciprocal, meaning it is a “two-way-street” — it is about give and take. At Christmas, Our Lord, out of love, leaves Heaven to come and save us; we must likewise leave the world and go to Him to be saved.
Mary and Joseph had to leave their home and daily occupations in Nazareth to give birth to Him far away in Bethlehem. The Magi had to leave their homes and daily occupations and travel a long way to find and meet Him in Bethlehem. Because of Him, Mary and Joseph had to go even further afield, to distant Egypt, in order to preserve Him in their lives. The Apostles had to leave their jobs and families to be with Him; and would later even have to leave their home country as they were sent into the whole wide world to take His word to others.
Love for Love, Life for Life
He gave His life for us and He demands that we give Him our lives. “For he that will save his life, shall lose it; and he that shall lose his life for My sake, shall find it” (Matthew 16:25) ... “Unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, itself remains alone. But if it die, it brings forth much fruit. He that loves his life shall lose it; and he that hates his life in this world, keeps it unto life eternal” (John 12:24-25).
Dying to Live for Christ
That “dying” may take all kinds of shapes and forms. The most common form will be that of dying to the world and its worldly spirit and worldly ambitions and worldly fashions and attitudes. Yet another form, more and more common in these modern times of religious indifference, is having to “die” to human respect which makes us “go along so as to get along” with family, relatives, work colleagues and friends. We are tempted to hide our Faith and shut our mouths to avoid rocking the boat. Yet Our Lord has said: “Everyone that shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father Who is in Heaven. But he that shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father Who is in Heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33). Dying to human respect can be one of the most profitable, yet one of the most painful things we could do.
Our perpetual battle is the one against the blatant lie that tries to tell us that we can have the best of both worlds: that we can live like the rest of the world and also save our souls. Yet, He Who is Truth itself, tells us: “You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:24), while His Apostle, St. James, adds: “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4).
But what About My Family and Friends?
But then we are faced with those who surround us—our family, relatives, work colleagues and social acquaintances! Surely we cannot turn our backs on them?!? Surely that cannot be what God wants!
There is a prudent path that must be trodden, as the following Scriptural quotes will explain.
First of all, it is certain that God has come to save sinners: “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). “The Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying: ‘This man receives sinners, and eats with them!’” (Luke 15:2). He forgave sins and accepted sinners into His entourage—as we see in the case of His choosing St. Matthew as an Apostle, whereas he was a publican; and St. Mary Magdalen, who was an adulteress who had been possessed by seven devils; and the Good Thief on the cross. So we clearly see that He does not avoid sinners, but goes to them.
Limits to Love
Yet there are limits that Our Lord Himself sets. The first one being the salvation of our own soul and the avoidance of any dangers that may make us lose our salvation: “What does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26).
Secondly, we cannot put family or relatives or friends before God. Do we really want to side with those who are deliberately and stubbornly offending God and are refusing to change their sinful ways? “He that is not with Me, is against Me; and he that gathers not with Me, scatters!” (Matthew 12:30). If they will not follow God, then after trying to change their minds, we cannot let family ties or friendship weaken our Faith, or, worse still, separate us from God.
Jesus Causes Division
Jesus already foresaw and foretold splits in families because of His teaching: “Do not think that I came to send peace upon Earth! I came not to send peace, but the sword! For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law! And a man’s enemies shall be they of his own household! He that loves father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me; and he that loves a son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me! And he that takes not up his cross and follows Me, is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:34-38).
If They Will Not Listen, Then...
Thirdly, where there is opposition to Christ’s teaching, and division because of it, then we are told to first of all try and bring them round to the truth, for that is Christ’s wish.
“For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost! What think you? If a man has an hundred sheep, and one of them should go astray: does he not leave the ninety-nine in the mountains, and go to seek that which is gone astray? And if it so be that he find it: Amen I say to you, he rejoices more for that, than for the ninety-nine that went not astray! Even so it is not the will of your Father, Who is in Heaven, that one of these little ones should perish. But if thy brother shall offend against thee―then go and rebuke him between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother. And if he will not hear thee, take with thee one or two more―so that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand. And if he will not hear them―then tell the church. And if he will not hear the church―then let him be to thee as the heathen and publican” (Matthew 18:11-17). “Whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words― going forth out of that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet!” (Matthew 10:14).
One Bad Apple...
We must separate ourselves from and avoid those who are a danger to our Faith, as St. Paul writes: “Know you not that a little leaven corrupts the whole lump? ... I wrote to you in an epistle, not to keep company with fornicators. I mean not with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or the extortioners, or the servers of idols; otherwise you must needs go out of this world. But now I have written to you, not to keep company, if any man that is named a brother, be a fornicator, or covetous, or a server of idols, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner: with such a one, not so much as to eat! ... Put away the evil one from among yourselves!” (1 Corinthians 5:6-13).
What Really Converts
As for their conversion, prayer and sacrifice (which Our Lady requested at Fatima) will do more to convert souls that mere human words. Faith is a supernatural gift of God, not man; and it is God who freely gives it. We can give nobody the Faith, we can merely plant seeds, and water them, but it is God who sparks Faith to life: “I have planted, Apollo watered―but God gave the increase!” (1 Corinthians 3:6). Because we are too human and not supernatural enough, we place too much emphasis on human efforts, forgetting (or at least twisting) the words of Our Lord, Who said: “Without Me you can do nothing!” (John 15:5).
Limited Edition of Full Version?
At Christmas Christ comes with a challenge; He challenges us to go out of our customary human, self-made (or twisted) partial notion or limited-edition of the Catholic Faith and to embrace the full version or the entire Catholic Faith. It means dying to our personal version of the Faith, a death that will invariably be humiliating and painful, but less humiliating and painful here below, than having to undergo the transformation hereafter! He is there to help us should we decide to do so. Are we among the foolish virgins or the wise virgins? Will we take on the role of the bad thief or the Good Thief? Will we be Simon the Pharisee or Mary Magdalen? We live and die by our choices. Let us choose to die to self and live for Christ. “For to me, to live is Christ; and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). “Whether we live, we live unto the Lord; or whether we die, we die unto the Lord. Therefore, whether we live, or whether we die, we are the Lord’s” (Romans 14:8).
May the Infant Jesus grant you all great blessings on His birthday and reward your kindness and love towards Him in a world where “the charity of many has grown cold” (Matthew 24:12). Keep the fires of Christmas burning in your heart and soul!
For many persons, Christmas is a one-day wonder― a case of “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow!” Now that tomorrow has come―where is Christmas? Where is your Christmas? What on Earth are we of make of Christmas? What is your idea of Christmas? Who on Earth was born? What on Earth is going on? What on Earth is He doing here? Where on Earth is all this going to lead? What ten or twenty things come to mind at the mention of the word “Christmas”?
Different persons have conflicting answers to these questions―depending on whether they are primarily spiritual persons (a minority) or worldly persons (the majority). The words of God would be appropriately applied in this case: “My thoughts are not your thoughts; nor your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the Heavens are exalted above the Earth, so are My ways exalted above your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts” (Isaias 55:8-9).
Questions Answered
If you want the answer to the aforementioned questions, then go to the Mother. Go to the Mother of God and go to Holy Mother Church. They will tell it as it is! From the Breviary readings from Matins for Christmas Day, we have these words of Pope St. Leo the Great (died 461):
“Dearly beloved brethren, “Unto us is born this day a Savior.” ... Today is Life’s Birthday; the Birthday of that Life, Which, for us dying creatures, takes away the sting of death, and brings the bright promise of the eternal gladness hereafter ... Our Lord, Who is the destroyer of sin and of death, is come to make all free. Rejoice, you that are holy, you draw nearer to your crown! Rejoice, you that are sinful, for your Savior offers you pardon! Rejoice also, you Gentile, God calls you to life! For the Son of God ... took upon Him the nature of man, that He might reconcile that nature to Him Who made it.”
Through the readings from the Mass of the Vigil of Christmas, Holy Mother Church explains to us what on Earth is happening regarding the birth of Our Lord, Jesus Christ.
On Christmas Eve, at the Vigil Mass, the Introit told us that “This day you shall know that the Lord will come and save us.” In the Gospel, Joseph is told by the angel not to fear taking Mary for his wife, for “she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus (Savior), for He shall save His people from their sins.” By the time Christmas Eve was over and midnight had arrived, Holy Mother Church, at the first Mass of Christmas, told us: “Why have the people devised vain things” (Introit) ... “Our Savior has appeared to all men; instructing us, that, denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly, and justly, and godly in this world” (Epistle) ... “Grant that we, who rejoice in celebrating the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, may, by dignified conversation, become worthy to attain fellowship with Him” (Postcommunion).
By the following morning’s Dawn Mass, Holy Mother Church continued: “...that we may show forth in our actions that which by Faith shines in our minds” (Collect of 2nd Mass) ... “that the new birth of Thy only-begotten Son, may set us free, whom the old bondage holds under the yoke of sin” (Collect of 3rd Mass).... “and cleanse us from the stains of our sins” (Secret of the 3rd Mass).
The other mother, the Mother of God, in her revelations to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, essentially says the same things in speaking of the mystery of Christmas:
“My most holy Son has set me as the teacher and living example of the love of humility and true contempt of worldly vanity and pride … He also sought destitution and poverty … in order to teach mortals the shortest and surest way for reaching the heights of divine love and union with God ... If men would keep their heart disengaged and if they would rightly and worthily consider this great mystery of the kindness of the Most High towards men, if they would only make use of their freedom to treat this mystery with the reverence due to its greatness, who would be so hardened as not to be moved at the sight of their God become man, humiliated in poverty, despised, unknown, entering the world in a cave, lying in a manger surrounded by brute animals, protected only by a poverty-stricken Mother, and cast off by the foolish arrogance of the world?
“Who will dare to love the vanity and pride, which was openly abhorred and condemned by the Creator of Heaven and Earth in his conduct? No one can despise the humility, poverty and indigence, which the Lord loved and chose for Himself as the very means of teaching the way of eternal life. Few there are, who stop to consider this truth and example: and on account of this vile ingratitude only the few will reap the fruit of these great mysteries ...
“I remind and exhort thee to forget all that is of Earth and lose it out of thy sight; that thou seek nothing, or engage thyself with nothing except what can help thee to withdraw and detach thee from the world and its inhabitants; so that, with a heart freed from all terrestrial affection, thou dispose thyself to celebrate in it the mysteries of the poverty, humility and divine love of the incarnate God ... His coming down from Heaven onto the Earth, His being born in humility and poverty, His living and dying in it, giving such rare example of the contempt of the world and its deceits; the knowledge, which thou hast received concerning His conduct and which thou hast penetrated so deeply by divine intelligence: all these things should be for thee like living voices, which thou must heed and inscribe into the interior of thy heart.” (Words of Our Lady to the Ven. Mary of Agreda, The Mystical City of God, vol. 2, The Incarnation).
The Spirit of Christmas is not the Spirit of the World
The Liturgy of Holy Mother Church seeks to communicate to us and penetrate us with the spirit of her feasts―and none more so than Christmas. It is there that we find the basics, foundation and essentials of the spirit which ought to motivate us and rule within us on this great feast.
In the Midnight Mass of Christmas we read: “Why have the people devised vain things?” (Introit) … “The grace of God our Savior has appeared to all men, instructing us, in order that, rejecting ungodliness and worldly lusts, we may live temperately and justly and piously in this world; looking for the blessed hope and glorious coming of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity and cleanse for Himself an acceptable people, pursuing good works. Thus speak, and exhort, in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Epistle).
Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that the new birth in the flesh of Thine only-begotten Son may set us free, whom the old bondage doth hold under the yoke of sin. (Collect of 3rd Mass of Christmas Day)
In the Breviary, in the Matins for Christmas Day, we read: “This is the day whereon the King of Heaven was pleased to be born of a Virgin, that He might bring back to Heaven man who was lost!” … In the same Matins, Pope St. Gregory the Great says: “Unto us is born this day a Savior! Let us rejoice! It would be unlawful to be sad today―for today is Life's Birthday; the Birthday of that Life, Which, for us dying creatures, takes away the sting of death, and brings the bright promise of the eternal gladness hereafter. It would be unlawful for any man to refuse to partake in our rejoicing! All men have an equal share in the great cause of our joy―for, since our Lord, Who is the destroyer of sin and of death, finds that all are bound under the condemnation, He is come to make all free. Rejoice, you that are holy, you are drawing nearer to your crown! Rejoice, you that are sinful―for your Savior offers you pardon! Rejoice also, you Gentile, God calls you to life!” (Matins of Christmas Day). (Matins of Christmas Day).
Pope St. Gregory the Great adds: “By God's mercy we are to say three Masses today … The Lord is born in Bethlehem. Now the name Bethlehem means the ‘House of Bread’, and thus it is the birth-place of Him Who has said: ‘I am the Living Bread, Which came down from Heaven!’ (John 6:51). We see then that this name of Bethlehem was prophetically given to the place where Christ was born, because it was there that He was to appear in the flesh by Whom the souls of the faithful are fed unto life eternal. He was born, not in His Mother's house, but away from home. And this is a mystery, showing that this our mortality, into which He was born, was not the home of Him Who is begotten of the Father before the worlds. Christ is born, and the shepherds watch; shepherds, to gather together the scattered sheep of the Gentiles, and to lead them into the fold of Christ, that they might no longer be a prey to the ravages of spiritual wolves in the night of this world's darkness. And that shepherd is wide awake, whom the Good Shepherd stirs up. The flock then is the people, the night is the world, and the shepherds are the priests.” (Matins of Christmas Day).
How many Catholics celebrated Christmas Day in the above spirit outlined by the Liturgy of Holy Mother Church? Too few or hardly any! Christmas, for them, was far more secular and materialistic than it was spiritual and religious!
Christmas is About Sin and Mercy―Not Food, Drink and Parties
The well-known story of St. Jerome puts Christmas into persepctive. About four centuries after the birth of Christ, after many years spent in Jerusalem translating the Word of God from various different Bibles and languages into what would be later known as the Latin Vulgate version of the Bible, St. Jerome had finished his grand project just days before Christmas. To celebrate this great forty-year long accomplishment, Jerome decides to spend Christmas Eve in nearby Bethlehem. He comes as a pilgrim to Bethlehem. He longs to venerate the place where Christ was born. He comes to the cave of the Nativity, where he humbly prays. He himself speaks later on about the divine experience he had.
Surprise Visitor! Surpise Request! Surprise Gift!
According to the ancient account, sometime around midnight, Jesus appeared to him, saying: “Jerome, what will you give Me for My birthday?”
Immediately and enthusiastically, Jerome declared: “Lord, I give You my translation of Your Word!”
But instead of congratulating him, Jesus simply replied: “No, Jerome, that is not what I want!”
St. Jerome was speechless. Then he began to complain and remonstrate with Jesus, asking why He had let him go on for forty years, far from home, laboring at something other than what God most wanted from him. But Jesus remained silent. Jerome started suggesting other ways of honoring Jesus’ birthday—fasting, or becoming a hermit, or giving his possessions to the poor.
To each of these Jesus replied, “No. Jerome. That is not what I want most!”
St. Jerome then pleaded: “Oh Lord, You know that it is for You I have abandoned everything … both the court of the rulers, and the majesties of Rome, and the pleasures and the riches… and at this time my mind, my whole heart, my thoughts and even my life, everything belongs to You! What else could I give You? I don’t have anything else to give you today on Your on this feast day of Your birth!”
Jesus replied: “You still have something to give Me, Jerome! You have something which you have forgotten and today I want you to place it at My feet!”
Finally, Jerome protested, “What is that, my Lord? Please tell me! Do I truly have something else to give you? Would I be so evil as to keep something for myself! Tell me, dear Lord, what is there that I can still give You? Tell me, Lord! Tell me what would give You the most joy on Your birthday, and You shall have it!”
“Do you promise, Jerome?” asked Our Lord.
“Yes, Lord, anything at all!” cried Jerome.
Jesus replied, “Give Me your sins!”
“My sins, O Lord? What would You do with my sins?” asked a bewildered Jerome.
“Jerome, give Me all your sins, so that I can forgive them all.”
Hearing this, St. Jerome broke down into tears of emotion, happiness and love at the merciful words of Jesus.
“Give me your sins.” In His limitless humility, more than any service we can render Him, the Lord considers it a gift that we “allow” Him to take away our sins. Why? Precisely because He thirsts for us, because He longs for union with us, and the only obstacle to that union is our sin — which, in His eyes, then, becomes the most precious gift we can offer.
Is the Real Christmas Worth the Effort?
Christmas is not about fun and games, feasting and drinking―it is all about being saved from Hell. Brushing aside the false sentimentality that has been created around Christmas, we should listen to Holy Mother Church as to true purpose of Christmas. Holy Mother Church reveals this in the Christmas Liturgy. The following quotes are taken from the Masses and Divine Office (Breviary) from Christmas Eve onwards:
“This day you shall know that the Lord will come and save us!” (Exodus 16:6-7) … “O God, You gladden us year after year with the expectation of our redemption!” … “Do not be afraid, Joseph, son of David, to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a Son, and you shall call His Name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins!” … “It is fitting and profitable to salvation, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, Lord. For You have promised Him as a Savior for the lost human race … the time of His coming is near, and the day of our liberation is dawning!” … “Lift up your heads, for your redemption is at hand!” … “This day a Savior is born unto thee!” … “The Lord has made known His salvation!” … “The grace of God our Savior has appeared to all men; instructing us, that we should live soberly, and justly, and godly in this world by , denying ungodliness and worldly desires” … “Our Savior Jesus Christ, gave Himself for us, so that He might redeem us from all iniquity” … “These things speak, and exhort and rebuke with all authority!” … “Grant that the birth of Your only begotten Son may set us free, who are held by the bondage and chains of sin!” … “By the birth of Your only begotten Son cleanse us from our sins!” … “Take away from us our iniquities, we beseech Thee, O Lord!”
Being born Catholic has marked advantages over not being born Catholic. Proverbially, it is like being “born with a silver spoon in your mouth”; or like having a three lap start in a four lap race. But even though it has great advantages, God does not give us Heaven on a golden plate. If something is worth doing, then it’s worth doing well; if Heaven is worth getting, then we need to put serious effort into getting there!
Our Lord puts it this way: “Not everyone that says to Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!” (Matthew 7:21) ... “A rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 19:23) ... “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:3) ... “Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:10) ...”Unless your justice abound more than that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:20) … “For many are called, but few are chosen!” (Matthew 22:14).
Painful Prophecy
Our Lord is not full of “sweet talk” but He tells us as it is, without wrapping things up in cotton balls. The following prophecy is worth pondering―since it refers to the so-called “End Times” or “Last Days”, which Our Lady of Fatima said that we have entered:
“And as it came to pass in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat and drink, they married wives, and were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark: and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise as it came to pass, in the days of Lot: they did eat and drink, they bought and sold, they planted and built. And in the day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from Heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man shall be revealed. In that hour, he that shall be on the housetop, and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take them away: and he that shall be in the field, in like manner, let him not return back. Remember Lot’s wife! Whosoever shall seek to save his life, shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose it, shall preserve it. I say to you: in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together: the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left: two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.” (Luke 17:26-35).
The Many and the Few
We see this poignantly fulfilled as Jesus died on the Cross: one thief was saved, the other thief was lost. Even before that, many Jews and Pharisees rejected Him, few accepted Him: “Many are called, but few chosen” (Matthew 20:16). Many are baptized, but few will be saved.
“And a certain man said to Him: ‘Lord, are they few that are saved?’ But He said to them: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:23-24) ... “Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life: and few there are that find it!” (Matthew 7:13-14) ... “With fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12) ... “The Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away” (Matthew 11:12).
Life is No Joke―Christmas is No Party
All this points to the seriousness and gravity of the time allotted to us here on Earth by God. Some live for pleasure and fun; others live to work out their salvation. For some, Christmas is a time for fun, food, drink, gifts and parties. For others, Christmas is a time of seeking Christ in a more profitable way, through better prayer, more spiritual reading and a greater detachment from the world. “He that is not with Me, is against Me!” (Matthew 12:30). “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4). It is a reflection of the foolish and wise virgins, mentioned by Our Lord in one of His parables. Time is too precious to lose, yet we have all lost much time. Now is the time to wake up from our illusions and wishful thinking, and face the reality of life, the reality of eternal life, the reality of salvation or ...
Going Out to Meet Christ
So, just like the wise virgins, we must go out to meet our Bridegroom, Christ: “There was a cry made: ‘Behold the bridegroom cometh! Go ye forth to meet him!” (Matthew 25:6). Like the wise virgins, we must be ever ready to seek Him, ever ready to go to Him, ever ready to meet Him. Love is reciprocal, meaning it is a “two-way-street” — it is about give and take. At Christmas, Our Lord, out of love, leaves Heaven to come and save us; we must likewise leave the world and go to Him to be saved.
Mary and Joseph had to leave their home and daily occupations in Nazareth to give birth to Him far away in Bethlehem. The Magi had to leave their homes and daily occupations and travel a long way to find and meet Him in Bethlehem. Because of Him, Mary and Joseph had to go even further afield, to distant Egypt, in order to preserve Him in their lives. The Apostles had to leave their jobs and families to be with Him; and would later even have to leave their home country as they were sent into the whole wide world to take His word to others.
Love for Love, Life for Life
He gave His life for us and He demands that we give Him our lives. “For he that will save his life, shall lose it; and he that shall lose his life for My sake, shall find it” (Matthew 16:25) ... “Unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, itself remains alone. But if it die, it brings forth much fruit. He that loves his life shall lose it; and he that hates his life in this world, keeps it unto life eternal” (John 12:24-25).
Dying to Live for Christ
That “dying” may take all kinds of shapes and forms. The most common form will be that of dying to the world and its worldly spirit and worldly ambitions and worldly fashions and attitudes. Yet another form, more and more common in these modern times of religious indifference, is having to “die” to human respect which makes us “go along so as to get along” with family, relatives, work colleagues and friends. We are tempted to hide our Faith and shut our mouths to avoid rocking the boat. Yet Our Lord has said: “Everyone that shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father Who is in Heaven. But he that shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father Who is in Heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33). Dying to human respect can be one of the most profitable, yet one of the most painful things we could do.
Our perpetual battle is the one against the blatant lie that tries to tell us that we can have the best of both worlds: that we can live like the rest of the world and also save our souls. Yet, He Who is Truth itself, tells us: “You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:24), while His Apostle, St. James, adds: “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4).
But what About My Family and Friends?
But then we are faced with those who surround us—our family, relatives, work colleagues and social acquaintances! Surely we cannot turn our backs on them?!? Surely that cannot be what God wants!
There is a prudent path that must be trodden, as the following Scriptural quotes will explain.
First of all, it is certain that God has come to save sinners: “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). “The Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying: ‘This man receives sinners, and eats with them!’” (Luke 15:2). He forgave sins and accepted sinners into His entourage—as we see in the case of His choosing St. Matthew as an Apostle, whereas he was a publican; and St. Mary Magdalen, who was an adulteress who had been possessed by seven devils; and the Good Thief on the cross. So we clearly see that He does not avoid sinners, but goes to them.
Limits to Love
Yet there are limits that Our Lord Himself sets. The first one being the salvation of our own soul and the avoidance of any dangers that may make us lose our salvation: “What does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26).
Secondly, we cannot put family or relatives or friends before God. Do we really want to side with those who are deliberately and stubbornly offending God and are refusing to change their sinful ways? “He that is not with Me, is against Me; and he that gathers not with Me, scatters!” (Matthew 12:30). If they will not follow God, then after trying to change their minds, we cannot let family ties or friendship weaken our Faith, or, worse still, separate us from God.
Jesus Causes Division
Jesus already foresaw and foretold splits in families because of His teaching: “Do not think that I came to send peace upon Earth! I came not to send peace, but the sword! For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law! And a man’s enemies shall be they of his own household! He that loves father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me; and he that loves a son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me! And he that takes not up his cross and follows Me, is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:34-38).
If They Will Not Listen, Then...
Thirdly, where there is opposition to Christ’s teaching, and division because of it, then we are told to first of all try and bring them round to the truth, for that is Christ’s wish.
“For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost! What think you? If a man has an hundred sheep, and one of them should go astray: does he not leave the ninety-nine in the mountains, and go to seek that which is gone astray? And if it so be that he find it: Amen I say to you, he rejoices more for that, than for the ninety-nine that went not astray! Even so it is not the will of your Father, Who is in Heaven, that one of these little ones should perish. But if thy brother shall offend against thee―then go and rebuke him between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother. And if he will not hear thee, take with thee one or two more―so that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand. And if he will not hear them―then tell the church. And if he will not hear the church―then let him be to thee as the heathen and publican” (Matthew 18:11-17). “Whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words― going forth out of that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet!” (Matthew 10:14).
One Bad Apple...
We must separate ourselves from and avoid those who are a danger to our Faith, as St. Paul writes: “Know you not that a little leaven corrupts the whole lump? ... I wrote to you in an epistle, not to keep company with fornicators. I mean not with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or the extortioners, or the servers of idols; otherwise you must needs go out of this world. But now I have written to you, not to keep company, if any man that is named a brother, be a fornicator, or covetous, or a server of idols, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner: with such a one, not so much as to eat! ... Put away the evil one from among yourselves!” (1 Corinthians 5:6-13).
What Really Converts
As for their conversion, prayer and sacrifice (which Our Lady requested at Fatima) will do more to convert souls that mere human words. Faith is a supernatural gift of God, not man; and it is God who freely gives it. We can give nobody the Faith, we can merely plant seeds, and water them, but it is God who sparks Faith to life: “I have planted, Apollo watered―but God gave the increase!” (1 Corinthians 3:6). Because we are too human and not supernatural enough, we place too much emphasis on human efforts, forgetting (or at least twisting) the words of Our Lord, Who said: “Without Me you can do nothing!” (John 15:5).
Limited Edition of Full Version?
At Christmas Christ comes with a challenge; He challenges us to go out of our customary human, self-made (or twisted) partial notion or limited-edition of the Catholic Faith and to embrace the full version or the entire Catholic Faith. It means dying to our personal version of the Faith, a death that will invariably be humiliating and painful, but less humiliating and painful here below, than having to undergo the transformation hereafter! He is there to help us should we decide to do so. Are we among the foolish virgins or the wise virgins? Will we take on the role of the bad thief or the Good Thief? Will we be Simon the Pharisee or Mary Magdalen? We live and die by our choices. Let us choose to die to self and live for Christ. “For to me, to live is Christ; and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). “Whether we live, we live unto the Lord; or whether we die, we die unto the Lord. Therefore, whether we live, or whether we die, we are the Lord’s” (Romans 14:8).
May the Infant Jesus grant you all great blessings on His birthday and reward your kindness and love towards Him in a world where “the charity of many has grown cold” (Matthew 24:12). Keep the fires of Christmas burning in your heart and soul!
DAILY THOUGHTS FOR THE SEASON OF ADVENT
Article 19
Tuesday & Wednesday, December 23rd & 24th
Latecomers ― Don’t Be Late for Christmas!
Tuesday & Wednesday, December 23rd & 24th
Latecomers ― Don’t Be Late for Christmas!
Missed-Out Again
For many, if not most, Advent will have been a non-starter or, at least, a poor-starter! It happens every year—and not just during Advent, but also Lent. The devil knows that these seasons are potentially loaded with mercy and grace, and, therefore, he does his best to distract us from doing what is essential and of primary importance, and he tries to make us focus on the non-essentials or things of secondary or even of no importance. This way, he makes us “miss-the-boat”—year after year after year. What makes it worse is that, with each passing year, we grow accustomed to “missing-the-boat” and it pains us very little, as we sink into a comfortable, self-excusing, lukewarm preparation, which doesn’t really feel that bad when we look around us and see that most of our fellow Catholics, family, relatives and friends have all “missed-the-boat” too! The fact that they are neither worried, saddened, or upset about it, makes it easier for us to sweep it all under the carpet and make a vague and impotent resolution to “do better next year.”
Our Lord’s parable about the wise and foolish virgins is very appropriate for this time of year as we find ourselves on the brink of Christmas: “Then Kingdom of Heaven can be likenrd to ten virgins, who taking their lamps, went out to meet the bridegroom and the bride. And five of them were foolish, and five wise. But the five foolish, having taken their lamps, did not take oil with them. But the wise took oil in their vessels with the lamps. And the bridegroom tarrying, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made: ‘Behold the bridegroom comes! Go ye forth to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise: ‘Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out!’ The wise answered, saying: ‘Lest perhaps there be not enough for us and for you, go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves!’ Now whilst they went to buy, the bridegroom came: and they that were ready, went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. But at last come also the other virgins, saying: ‘Lord! Lord! Open to us! But He answering said: ‘Amen I say to you, I know you not!’” (Matthew 25:1-12).
Lukewarmness Lurks in ‘Last-Minute-ness’
Usually, though admittedly not always, the phenomenon of leaving something to the ‘last-minute’ betrays a lack of concern or appreciation or esteem or desire for the thing that has been relegated to the back of the line, the end of the day or to the last-minute. Actions speak louder than words. In our words we might say “My God, I love you!”—but when those words are rushed and come at the end of the day, in which we have given everything else our attention, except God, then no matter what we say with our lips, our actions shout louder. “This people honoureth Me with their lips: but their heart is far from Me” (Matthew 15:8).
Of course, we will hurriedly cry out: “But at the wedding-feast at Cana, the best wine came at the end! The Good Thief converted at the last-minute! St. Louis de Montfort says that the greatest saints, that the Church has ever known, will be raised up during the ‘end-times’ of the world!”
All this is very true, but it is also true that we should give the first fruits to God and not something else: ““Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His justice” (Luke 12:31). “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the first commandment” (Matthew 12:30).
Besides, looking at the last-minute conversion of the Good Thief, we must also look at the big picture and not just a selective part of it. The Good Thief may have converted, but the Bad Thief didn’t. For every last-minute success, there are probably countless last-minute failures. As we sow, so shall we reap. “Be not deceived, God is not mocked” (Galatians 6:7). We need to put God first; we need to give God the best. This is the first and greatest commandment.
The ‘Christmas’ Gifts of Cain and Abel
Now, of course, there was no Christmas since Christ as man did not yet exist; but God did exist and Christ is God too! So though we may be ‘stretching-it’ a little bit with the idea of Cain and Abel giving Christmas gifts, we are not ‘stretching-it’ when we look at the notion of giving gifts to God. Abel gave God the first and the best of his flock — “Cain offered, of the fruits of the earth, gifts to the Lord. Abel also offered of the firstlings of his flock, and of their fat: and the Lord had respect to Abel, and to his offerings. But to Cain and his offerings he had no respect: and Cain was exceedingly angry, and his countenance fell” (Genesis 4:3-5).
Looking at the Giver and not the Gift
God did not look at the thing that was given, but scrutinized the giver of the thing. His rejection of Cain did not mean that God preferred the taste of meat better than the taste of fruit and veggies. The Bible commentators say that God “had respect to Abel” means that God showed His acceptance of Abel’s sacrifice as coming from a heart full of devotion. Whereas Cain’s sacrifice, therefore, was not full of devotion, but perhaps routine, insincere and lukewarm. This fits well with the words of God in the Book of the Apocalypse, where God again has no respect for the routine, indifferent, insincere and lukewarm, saying:
“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold, nor hot. I would thou wert cold, or hot. But because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, not hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest: ‘I am rich, and made wealthy, and have need of nothing!’ And knowest not, that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Apocalypse 3:15-17).
“It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 19:24). “Hath not God chosen the poor in this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which God hath promised to them that love Him?” (James 2:5).
Cleaning and Decorating the Soul for Christmas
Even before we get round to our last-minute shopping for Christ this Christmas, we first of all need to clean and decorate our soul to be able to receive Him with confidence. This is more important than cleaning and decorating our house, for our house has no soul, and will cease to exist one day, but our souls are immortal and need far greater attention: “For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul?” (Mark 8:36).
The first thing to be addressed is a plugging-of-the-leaks! Or, in other words, don’t just treat the effects or symptoms, but more importantly, go and deal with the cause of those effects or symptoms. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for life. There is little or no point cleaning and decorating the soul if we don’t deal with what is making it sick in the first place. It will simply papering over the cracks; painting over the mold or the rot.
The frightening and very revealing words of God, quoted above, concerning lukewarmness—posing under various other identities such as tepidity, carelessness, indifference, spiritual sloth, lethargy, or “I’ll do it tomorrow”-ness—show us that God hates this even more than outright hatred of Him. The blatant sinner is more easily converted, in a certain sense, than the lukewarm soul; for the sinner has no excuse for his sin and he knows it, but the lukewarm soul is full of arguments and excuses for its lukewarm condition, and since it is not a socially shocking sin, the lukewarm soul is liable to stay lukewarm for the rest of its life.
Doctoral Diagnosis
Fr. Faber, writing back in the 1800s, when the world was considerably better than it is today, states:
“Lukewarmness is in no sense a beginning. We may begin by being cold, but not by being lukewarm. For lukewarmness implies that a great deal has gone before, that a height has been climbed, and that from cowardice, human respect or weariness, we have come down from it.
“There is nothing in the spiritual life which arrests our attention so forcibly as lukewarmness because of the unusual language in which it has pleased God to express His ineffable disgust with it, and the startling doctrine which accompanies the declaration of His loathing, that coldness is less offensive to Him than tepidity. Who is it then with whom God is so exceedingly displeased, that He is sick of His own redeemed creature? We tremble at the answer. It is the man who is patient when he has nothing to suffer, who is gentle while he is not contradicted, who is humble when men leave his honor untouched, who wishes to be a saint without the trouble of it, who seeks to acquire virtues without mortification, who is willing to do many things, but not to take the Kingdom of Heaven by violence.
“The diseases and evils of the body are in a great degree typical of the miseries and misfortunes of the soul. If we seek the correlative of lukewarnmess, we shall find it in blindness. It is a blindness which does not know even its own self, and does not suspect that it is blind, or that other men see better than itself.
Getting Down to the Causes
The Fr. Faber continues by exposing the causes of lukewarmness, which has to be of primary interest to us:
“It is usual to consider that this blindness is owing principally to three causes: the frequency of venial sins, habitual dissipation of mind and the ruling passion.
(1) “The frequency of venial sins is like travelling in the wilderness, where the bright air is imperceptibly filled with fine sand.
(2) “Habitual dissipation of mind is like reading in the sunshine, and living in a light too strong for our eyes.
(3) “The ruling passion is an external violence which menaces us and makes us shut our eyes, and have them always shut, that we may not see what we would like to hide, and so when we open them after long being used to darkness, it is the very light itself which blinds us.
The Children of the Causes
“The immediate results of this blindness are three also.
(1) “In the first place conscience becomes untrue. The body does not move firmly and in a straight line in the dark. So the conscience also must see in order to keep its balance. But if we falsify the conscience, and still believe it, what is the consequence but error and corruption everywhere? If the light that is in us be darkness, says Our Lord, how great is that darkness! So first there comes a false conscience.
(2) “But in proportion as conscience becomes dark, and so cold, and finally numb, in the same proportion the bad instincts of the human spirit, like owls at night, get more far‑sighted, animated and vivacious. These instincts lead us with uncommon tact to avoid anything which will restore animation to the conscience. Thus they make us shrink from anything like vigorous spiritual direction. We suspect we shall be awakened, and driven, and made too good. Discretion [or prudence], that is, the discretion [and prudence] of the blind conscience, tells us this shrinking is wisdom and sagacity. We must, it says, be moderate in everything, but of all things amazingly moderate in the love of God! So in hearing sermons, reading books, cultivating acquaintances, patronizing works of mercy, it draws back from everything that is likely to come too near or hit too hard. This is the second result of this blindness, which renders the cure still less likely. Indeed it is a characteristic of tepidity that everything we do while we are in that state has a tendency to confirm us as incurable.
(3) “Out of the two preceding results flows a third, which is a profane use of the Sacraments. To go to Holy Communion when we are physically drowsy, yawning and half asleep, or to make our general confession half stupefied with laudanum would be fair types of the way in which we morally use the Sacraments. Thus frequent or even daily Communion seems to have only a negative effect upon us. We do not know how bad things might be without it; and that is all. Weekly confession gives us no additional power over our commonest imperfections. Matters look as if they had come to a standstill, if there were any such phase of the spiritual life. But no! We are blind men, whose faces have been turned unwittingly. We are retracing our steps; and the only wonder is that the easier task of going downhill does not by its contrast make us suspicious of some mistake. Alas! We are asleep as well as blind.
“It is plain from this description that what is of the greatest practical usefulness in this matter of lukewarmness is a thorough acquaintance with the symptoms by which the insidious disease allows itself to be detected. These are seven in number; and according as we perceive that we unite them in ourselves, either in number or degree, so we have reason painfully to doubt whether our spiritual eyesight is not failing”
Do We Want Truthful Doctors, or Lying Doctors?
There we have Fr. Faber’s opening assessment of lukewarmness the key danger to the spiritual life and one of the chief seeds of damnation. The reason that is rarely addressed and rarely cured is due to the sweet, numbing desensitizing poison it injects into our soul when it first imperceptibly bites.
There is no point in going to a doctor if you want him to lie to you and tell you that everything is fine, when in fact it’s not! Of course, it is discouraging to discover you have a fatal illness; but discouragement is not a cure but a poison, a masterful, much tried, successfully applied potion that the devil has insidiously used for centuries. As we shall see tomorrow, the spiritual masters are of the opinion that most of the Catholic world is lukewarm, therefore, according to Fr. Faber’s diagnosis; they are blind without realizing they are blind. Pride blinds us to the truth. Humility and truth are like husband and wife, and Our Lord says “Learn of Me for I am humble of heart ... I am the truth ... and the truth shall make you free!” (Matthew 11:29; John 14:6; 8:32).
There is no sin that cannot be forgiven, there is no disease, physical or spiritual, for which God does not have a physical or spiritual remedy. God’s creation has all the answers, all the cures, all the remedies for our physical and spiritual diseases. But remedies are there to be taken. He who desires the end (the cure), must also necessarily desire the means (the remedies). Of course, God can perform miracles in the twinkling of an eye, but God rarely uses the extraordinary means when the ordinary means are readily available.
Ring the Christmas Changes
We love to look like we are really not! We are often dissatisfied with what we are. We want to be (or appear to be) better than we are. Thus the widespread use of cosmetics, creams, curlers, colorings, corsets, false eyelashes, false nails, false teeth, false shoulder pads, false hair, etc. in order to change our physical appearance. Americans spend significant amounts on cosmetics and beauty products and grooming―with figures varying from hundreds of dollars to thousands of dollars annually, with women often spending more ($1,000+) than men ($700+). Younger women (20s-30s) show higher spending (over $9,000 in some studies), while overall averages hover around $800-$1,700+ yearly, covering skincare, makeup, hair care, and services, with some persons reporting spending over $200 monthly (over $2,400 annually).
If we take so much time over our physical bodies and spend so much money changing the appearance of our physical appearance or bodies―then why do we not spend even more time taking care of our spiritual soul and worry about how our soul must look like in the eyes of God? After all, is not the soul much more important than the body? If our hair is getting too long and shaggy―we do something about it. But if we are becoming lukewarm, we do little or nothing about it!
Christmas is all about change! Christ comes to change! He knows we are lukewarm and would prefer not to vomit us out of His mouth: “I know your works, and that you are neither cold, nor hot. I would prefer that you were cold or hot. But because you are lukewarm―and neither cold, not hot―I will begin to vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say: ‘I am rich, and made wealthy, and have need of nothing!’ and do you not know that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy of Me gold that is fire tried, so that you may be made rich; and may be clothed in white garments, and that the shame of your nakedness may not appear; and anoint your eyes with eye-salve, so that you may see. Such as I love, I rebuke and chastise! Be zealous therefore, and do penance! Behold, I stand at the gate, and knock. If any man shall hear My voice, and open to me the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me” (Apocalypse 3:15-20).
Christ’s Christmas Coming
Christ says: “I am not of this world! … My kingdom is not of this world! … The world hates Me because I give testimony of it, that the works of the world are evil!” (John 8:23; 18:36; 7:7). Christ comes at Christmas―not to play, not to party, not to drink, not to socialize, not to crack jokes, not to watch movies, not to admire the decorations―but He comes to lead you away from such things into something far more important, which is the salvation of your soul and to a payment for all your past sins, sinfulness and lukewarmness. His coming at Christmas is one of offering mercy before you face His justice at the end of your life. “For what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). “I am come to cast fire on the Earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled! … Think ye, that I am come to give peace on Earth? I tell you, no―but separation! For there shall be from henceforth five in one house divided: three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against his father, the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law!” (Luke 12:49-53). Christ comes at Christmas to cast fire upon us―the fire of His love, to enkindle the dying embers of our flimsy love and to “fire-up” our lukewarmness!
Christ came―not stay and ‘enjoy’ life on Earth―but He came to give us eternal life for which we need the life of Sanctifying Grace in our soul, without which there is no entrance into Heaven. “The wages of sin is death. But the grace of God, life everlasting, in Christ Jesus our Lord!” (Romans 6:23). “I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly!” (John 10:10). Eternal life is abundantly greater than any kind of earthly or worldly life.
Christmas Lights?
Christ comes to enlighten those who sit in the darkness of sin and death, for “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). He comes “to enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death” (Luke 1:79). Christ said: “I am come as a light into the world―that whosoever believes in Me, may not remain in darkness!” (John 12:46). “He was the true light, which enlightens every man that comes into this world. He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not!” (John 1:9-11). “The light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light―for their works were evil!” (John 3:19) “Take heed that the light which is in you, be not darkness!” (Luke 11:35). “To them that sat in the region of the shadow of death, light is sprung up!” (Matthew 4:16). “What fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14). “If we say that we have fellowship with Christ and walk in darkness, then we lie and do not the truth!” (1 John 1:6). “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them!” (Ephesians 5:11). “Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light!” (Romans 13:12) “Walk then as children of the light!” (Ephesians 5:8). “Arise from the dead and Christ shall enlighten thee!” (Ephesians 5:14).
The above words are more than ever applicable to the world that we live in―even the Catholic world that we live in. People are far more world-centered than they are Christ-centered. They have foolishly created their own idea of what Catholic life should be like―“and the number of fools is infinite!” (Ecclesiastes 1:15). They have exalted the love and mercy of God, and thrown His justice and judgment into the trash can.
The words of St. Louis de Montfort come to mind: “Two groups that appear before you each day―the followers of Christ and the followers of the world. Our Savior’s group is to the right, scaling a narrow path made all the narrower by the world’s corruption. There is only a handful of people who follow Him. To the left is the world’s group, the devil’s in fact, which is far superior in number, and far more colorful and splendid in array. Fashionable folk are all in a hurry to enlist, the highways are overcrowded, although they are broad and ever broadening with the crowds that flow through in a torrent. These roads are strewn with flowers, bordered with all kinds of amusements and attractions and paved with gold and silver. These worldlings rouse one another to persist in their unscrupulous depravity. “Enjoy life, peace and pleasure!” they shout, ‘Enjoy life, peace and pleasure! Let us eat! Let us drink! Let us sing! Let us dance! Let us play! God is good! He did not make us to damn us! God does not forbid us to enjoy ourselves! We shall not be damned for that! Away with scruples! We shall not die!’ And so they continue!” (St. Louis de Montfort, Letter to the Friends of the Cross).
That is exactly the attitude of most Catholics today―and those fools fail to realize that most Catholics lose their souls and end up being damned in Hell. Those fools forget (or deliberately ignore) the words of the merciful Lord on that subject: “And a certain man said to Him: ‘Lord! Are they few that are saved?’ But He said to them: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate―for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able! … Enter ye in at the narrow gate―for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat! How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life―and few there are that find it! … For many are called, but few are chosen!’” (Luke 13:23-24; Matthew 7:13-14; 22:14).
O the incomprehensible foolishness of Catholics who ignore the warnings of Our Lord in Holy Scripture and the innumerable warnings coming from saints, popes and theologians throughout each and every century concerning the fewness of those who are saved! You would think that they do all that is their power to discover why this is the case and then do everything possible to ensure that they do not make the damnable mistakes of damned majority! But no! They refuse or neglect to do so―and continue living in their own created dreamland! What a terrible tragedy! They prefer the pleasures of the world more than the treasures of Heaven. They seek comfort rather than the cross. They prefer to play rather than pray. They prefer self-gratification rather than mortification. Our Lady laments such souls in her revelations to the Venerable Mary of Agreda:
For many, if not most, Advent will have been a non-starter or, at least, a poor-starter! It happens every year—and not just during Advent, but also Lent. The devil knows that these seasons are potentially loaded with mercy and grace, and, therefore, he does his best to distract us from doing what is essential and of primary importance, and he tries to make us focus on the non-essentials or things of secondary or even of no importance. This way, he makes us “miss-the-boat”—year after year after year. What makes it worse is that, with each passing year, we grow accustomed to “missing-the-boat” and it pains us very little, as we sink into a comfortable, self-excusing, lukewarm preparation, which doesn’t really feel that bad when we look around us and see that most of our fellow Catholics, family, relatives and friends have all “missed-the-boat” too! The fact that they are neither worried, saddened, or upset about it, makes it easier for us to sweep it all under the carpet and make a vague and impotent resolution to “do better next year.”
Our Lord’s parable about the wise and foolish virgins is very appropriate for this time of year as we find ourselves on the brink of Christmas: “Then Kingdom of Heaven can be likenrd to ten virgins, who taking their lamps, went out to meet the bridegroom and the bride. And five of them were foolish, and five wise. But the five foolish, having taken their lamps, did not take oil with them. But the wise took oil in their vessels with the lamps. And the bridegroom tarrying, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made: ‘Behold the bridegroom comes! Go ye forth to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise: ‘Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out!’ The wise answered, saying: ‘Lest perhaps there be not enough for us and for you, go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves!’ Now whilst they went to buy, the bridegroom came: and they that were ready, went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. But at last come also the other virgins, saying: ‘Lord! Lord! Open to us! But He answering said: ‘Amen I say to you, I know you not!’” (Matthew 25:1-12).
Lukewarmness Lurks in ‘Last-Minute-ness’
Usually, though admittedly not always, the phenomenon of leaving something to the ‘last-minute’ betrays a lack of concern or appreciation or esteem or desire for the thing that has been relegated to the back of the line, the end of the day or to the last-minute. Actions speak louder than words. In our words we might say “My God, I love you!”—but when those words are rushed and come at the end of the day, in which we have given everything else our attention, except God, then no matter what we say with our lips, our actions shout louder. “This people honoureth Me with their lips: but their heart is far from Me” (Matthew 15:8).
Of course, we will hurriedly cry out: “But at the wedding-feast at Cana, the best wine came at the end! The Good Thief converted at the last-minute! St. Louis de Montfort says that the greatest saints, that the Church has ever known, will be raised up during the ‘end-times’ of the world!”
All this is very true, but it is also true that we should give the first fruits to God and not something else: ““Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His justice” (Luke 12:31). “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the first commandment” (Matthew 12:30).
Besides, looking at the last-minute conversion of the Good Thief, we must also look at the big picture and not just a selective part of it. The Good Thief may have converted, but the Bad Thief didn’t. For every last-minute success, there are probably countless last-minute failures. As we sow, so shall we reap. “Be not deceived, God is not mocked” (Galatians 6:7). We need to put God first; we need to give God the best. This is the first and greatest commandment.
The ‘Christmas’ Gifts of Cain and Abel
Now, of course, there was no Christmas since Christ as man did not yet exist; but God did exist and Christ is God too! So though we may be ‘stretching-it’ a little bit with the idea of Cain and Abel giving Christmas gifts, we are not ‘stretching-it’ when we look at the notion of giving gifts to God. Abel gave God the first and the best of his flock — “Cain offered, of the fruits of the earth, gifts to the Lord. Abel also offered of the firstlings of his flock, and of their fat: and the Lord had respect to Abel, and to his offerings. But to Cain and his offerings he had no respect: and Cain was exceedingly angry, and his countenance fell” (Genesis 4:3-5).
Looking at the Giver and not the Gift
God did not look at the thing that was given, but scrutinized the giver of the thing. His rejection of Cain did not mean that God preferred the taste of meat better than the taste of fruit and veggies. The Bible commentators say that God “had respect to Abel” means that God showed His acceptance of Abel’s sacrifice as coming from a heart full of devotion. Whereas Cain’s sacrifice, therefore, was not full of devotion, but perhaps routine, insincere and lukewarm. This fits well with the words of God in the Book of the Apocalypse, where God again has no respect for the routine, indifferent, insincere and lukewarm, saying:
“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold, nor hot. I would thou wert cold, or hot. But because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, not hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest: ‘I am rich, and made wealthy, and have need of nothing!’ And knowest not, that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Apocalypse 3:15-17).
“It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 19:24). “Hath not God chosen the poor in this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which God hath promised to them that love Him?” (James 2:5).
Cleaning and Decorating the Soul for Christmas
Even before we get round to our last-minute shopping for Christ this Christmas, we first of all need to clean and decorate our soul to be able to receive Him with confidence. This is more important than cleaning and decorating our house, for our house has no soul, and will cease to exist one day, but our souls are immortal and need far greater attention: “For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul?” (Mark 8:36).
The first thing to be addressed is a plugging-of-the-leaks! Or, in other words, don’t just treat the effects or symptoms, but more importantly, go and deal with the cause of those effects or symptoms. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for life. There is little or no point cleaning and decorating the soul if we don’t deal with what is making it sick in the first place. It will simply papering over the cracks; painting over the mold or the rot.
The frightening and very revealing words of God, quoted above, concerning lukewarmness—posing under various other identities such as tepidity, carelessness, indifference, spiritual sloth, lethargy, or “I’ll do it tomorrow”-ness—show us that God hates this even more than outright hatred of Him. The blatant sinner is more easily converted, in a certain sense, than the lukewarm soul; for the sinner has no excuse for his sin and he knows it, but the lukewarm soul is full of arguments and excuses for its lukewarm condition, and since it is not a socially shocking sin, the lukewarm soul is liable to stay lukewarm for the rest of its life.
Doctoral Diagnosis
Fr. Faber, writing back in the 1800s, when the world was considerably better than it is today, states:
“Lukewarmness is in no sense a beginning. We may begin by being cold, but not by being lukewarm. For lukewarmness implies that a great deal has gone before, that a height has been climbed, and that from cowardice, human respect or weariness, we have come down from it.
“There is nothing in the spiritual life which arrests our attention so forcibly as lukewarmness because of the unusual language in which it has pleased God to express His ineffable disgust with it, and the startling doctrine which accompanies the declaration of His loathing, that coldness is less offensive to Him than tepidity. Who is it then with whom God is so exceedingly displeased, that He is sick of His own redeemed creature? We tremble at the answer. It is the man who is patient when he has nothing to suffer, who is gentle while he is not contradicted, who is humble when men leave his honor untouched, who wishes to be a saint without the trouble of it, who seeks to acquire virtues without mortification, who is willing to do many things, but not to take the Kingdom of Heaven by violence.
“The diseases and evils of the body are in a great degree typical of the miseries and misfortunes of the soul. If we seek the correlative of lukewarnmess, we shall find it in blindness. It is a blindness which does not know even its own self, and does not suspect that it is blind, or that other men see better than itself.
Getting Down to the Causes
The Fr. Faber continues by exposing the causes of lukewarmness, which has to be of primary interest to us:
“It is usual to consider that this blindness is owing principally to three causes: the frequency of venial sins, habitual dissipation of mind and the ruling passion.
(1) “The frequency of venial sins is like travelling in the wilderness, where the bright air is imperceptibly filled with fine sand.
(2) “Habitual dissipation of mind is like reading in the sunshine, and living in a light too strong for our eyes.
(3) “The ruling passion is an external violence which menaces us and makes us shut our eyes, and have them always shut, that we may not see what we would like to hide, and so when we open them after long being used to darkness, it is the very light itself which blinds us.
The Children of the Causes
“The immediate results of this blindness are three also.
(1) “In the first place conscience becomes untrue. The body does not move firmly and in a straight line in the dark. So the conscience also must see in order to keep its balance. But if we falsify the conscience, and still believe it, what is the consequence but error and corruption everywhere? If the light that is in us be darkness, says Our Lord, how great is that darkness! So first there comes a false conscience.
(2) “But in proportion as conscience becomes dark, and so cold, and finally numb, in the same proportion the bad instincts of the human spirit, like owls at night, get more far‑sighted, animated and vivacious. These instincts lead us with uncommon tact to avoid anything which will restore animation to the conscience. Thus they make us shrink from anything like vigorous spiritual direction. We suspect we shall be awakened, and driven, and made too good. Discretion [or prudence], that is, the discretion [and prudence] of the blind conscience, tells us this shrinking is wisdom and sagacity. We must, it says, be moderate in everything, but of all things amazingly moderate in the love of God! So in hearing sermons, reading books, cultivating acquaintances, patronizing works of mercy, it draws back from everything that is likely to come too near or hit too hard. This is the second result of this blindness, which renders the cure still less likely. Indeed it is a characteristic of tepidity that everything we do while we are in that state has a tendency to confirm us as incurable.
(3) “Out of the two preceding results flows a third, which is a profane use of the Sacraments. To go to Holy Communion when we are physically drowsy, yawning and half asleep, or to make our general confession half stupefied with laudanum would be fair types of the way in which we morally use the Sacraments. Thus frequent or even daily Communion seems to have only a negative effect upon us. We do not know how bad things might be without it; and that is all. Weekly confession gives us no additional power over our commonest imperfections. Matters look as if they had come to a standstill, if there were any such phase of the spiritual life. But no! We are blind men, whose faces have been turned unwittingly. We are retracing our steps; and the only wonder is that the easier task of going downhill does not by its contrast make us suspicious of some mistake. Alas! We are asleep as well as blind.
“It is plain from this description that what is of the greatest practical usefulness in this matter of lukewarmness is a thorough acquaintance with the symptoms by which the insidious disease allows itself to be detected. These are seven in number; and according as we perceive that we unite them in ourselves, either in number or degree, so we have reason painfully to doubt whether our spiritual eyesight is not failing”
Do We Want Truthful Doctors, or Lying Doctors?
There we have Fr. Faber’s opening assessment of lukewarmness the key danger to the spiritual life and one of the chief seeds of damnation. The reason that is rarely addressed and rarely cured is due to the sweet, numbing desensitizing poison it injects into our soul when it first imperceptibly bites.
There is no point in going to a doctor if you want him to lie to you and tell you that everything is fine, when in fact it’s not! Of course, it is discouraging to discover you have a fatal illness; but discouragement is not a cure but a poison, a masterful, much tried, successfully applied potion that the devil has insidiously used for centuries. As we shall see tomorrow, the spiritual masters are of the opinion that most of the Catholic world is lukewarm, therefore, according to Fr. Faber’s diagnosis; they are blind without realizing they are blind. Pride blinds us to the truth. Humility and truth are like husband and wife, and Our Lord says “Learn of Me for I am humble of heart ... I am the truth ... and the truth shall make you free!” (Matthew 11:29; John 14:6; 8:32).
There is no sin that cannot be forgiven, there is no disease, physical or spiritual, for which God does not have a physical or spiritual remedy. God’s creation has all the answers, all the cures, all the remedies for our physical and spiritual diseases. But remedies are there to be taken. He who desires the end (the cure), must also necessarily desire the means (the remedies). Of course, God can perform miracles in the twinkling of an eye, but God rarely uses the extraordinary means when the ordinary means are readily available.
Ring the Christmas Changes
We love to look like we are really not! We are often dissatisfied with what we are. We want to be (or appear to be) better than we are. Thus the widespread use of cosmetics, creams, curlers, colorings, corsets, false eyelashes, false nails, false teeth, false shoulder pads, false hair, etc. in order to change our physical appearance. Americans spend significant amounts on cosmetics and beauty products and grooming―with figures varying from hundreds of dollars to thousands of dollars annually, with women often spending more ($1,000+) than men ($700+). Younger women (20s-30s) show higher spending (over $9,000 in some studies), while overall averages hover around $800-$1,700+ yearly, covering skincare, makeup, hair care, and services, with some persons reporting spending over $200 monthly (over $2,400 annually).
If we take so much time over our physical bodies and spend so much money changing the appearance of our physical appearance or bodies―then why do we not spend even more time taking care of our spiritual soul and worry about how our soul must look like in the eyes of God? After all, is not the soul much more important than the body? If our hair is getting too long and shaggy―we do something about it. But if we are becoming lukewarm, we do little or nothing about it!
Christmas is all about change! Christ comes to change! He knows we are lukewarm and would prefer not to vomit us out of His mouth: “I know your works, and that you are neither cold, nor hot. I would prefer that you were cold or hot. But because you are lukewarm―and neither cold, not hot―I will begin to vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say: ‘I am rich, and made wealthy, and have need of nothing!’ and do you not know that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy of Me gold that is fire tried, so that you may be made rich; and may be clothed in white garments, and that the shame of your nakedness may not appear; and anoint your eyes with eye-salve, so that you may see. Such as I love, I rebuke and chastise! Be zealous therefore, and do penance! Behold, I stand at the gate, and knock. If any man shall hear My voice, and open to me the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me” (Apocalypse 3:15-20).
Christ’s Christmas Coming
Christ says: “I am not of this world! … My kingdom is not of this world! … The world hates Me because I give testimony of it, that the works of the world are evil!” (John 8:23; 18:36; 7:7). Christ comes at Christmas―not to play, not to party, not to drink, not to socialize, not to crack jokes, not to watch movies, not to admire the decorations―but He comes to lead you away from such things into something far more important, which is the salvation of your soul and to a payment for all your past sins, sinfulness and lukewarmness. His coming at Christmas is one of offering mercy before you face His justice at the end of your life. “For what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). “I am come to cast fire on the Earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled! … Think ye, that I am come to give peace on Earth? I tell you, no―but separation! For there shall be from henceforth five in one house divided: three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against his father, the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law!” (Luke 12:49-53). Christ comes at Christmas to cast fire upon us―the fire of His love, to enkindle the dying embers of our flimsy love and to “fire-up” our lukewarmness!
Christ came―not stay and ‘enjoy’ life on Earth―but He came to give us eternal life for which we need the life of Sanctifying Grace in our soul, without which there is no entrance into Heaven. “The wages of sin is death. But the grace of God, life everlasting, in Christ Jesus our Lord!” (Romans 6:23). “I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly!” (John 10:10). Eternal life is abundantly greater than any kind of earthly or worldly life.
Christmas Lights?
Christ comes to enlighten those who sit in the darkness of sin and death, for “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). He comes “to enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death” (Luke 1:79). Christ said: “I am come as a light into the world―that whosoever believes in Me, may not remain in darkness!” (John 12:46). “He was the true light, which enlightens every man that comes into this world. He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not!” (John 1:9-11). “The light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light―for their works were evil!” (John 3:19) “Take heed that the light which is in you, be not darkness!” (Luke 11:35). “To them that sat in the region of the shadow of death, light is sprung up!” (Matthew 4:16). “What fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14). “If we say that we have fellowship with Christ and walk in darkness, then we lie and do not the truth!” (1 John 1:6). “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them!” (Ephesians 5:11). “Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light!” (Romans 13:12) “Walk then as children of the light!” (Ephesians 5:8). “Arise from the dead and Christ shall enlighten thee!” (Ephesians 5:14).
The above words are more than ever applicable to the world that we live in―even the Catholic world that we live in. People are far more world-centered than they are Christ-centered. They have foolishly created their own idea of what Catholic life should be like―“and the number of fools is infinite!” (Ecclesiastes 1:15). They have exalted the love and mercy of God, and thrown His justice and judgment into the trash can.
The words of St. Louis de Montfort come to mind: “Two groups that appear before you each day―the followers of Christ and the followers of the world. Our Savior’s group is to the right, scaling a narrow path made all the narrower by the world’s corruption. There is only a handful of people who follow Him. To the left is the world’s group, the devil’s in fact, which is far superior in number, and far more colorful and splendid in array. Fashionable folk are all in a hurry to enlist, the highways are overcrowded, although they are broad and ever broadening with the crowds that flow through in a torrent. These roads are strewn with flowers, bordered with all kinds of amusements and attractions and paved with gold and silver. These worldlings rouse one another to persist in their unscrupulous depravity. “Enjoy life, peace and pleasure!” they shout, ‘Enjoy life, peace and pleasure! Let us eat! Let us drink! Let us sing! Let us dance! Let us play! God is good! He did not make us to damn us! God does not forbid us to enjoy ourselves! We shall not be damned for that! Away with scruples! We shall not die!’ And so they continue!” (St. Louis de Montfort, Letter to the Friends of the Cross).
That is exactly the attitude of most Catholics today―and those fools fail to realize that most Catholics lose their souls and end up being damned in Hell. Those fools forget (or deliberately ignore) the words of the merciful Lord on that subject: “And a certain man said to Him: ‘Lord! Are they few that are saved?’ But He said to them: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate―for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able! … Enter ye in at the narrow gate―for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat! How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life―and few there are that find it! … For many are called, but few are chosen!’” (Luke 13:23-24; Matthew 7:13-14; 22:14).
O the incomprehensible foolishness of Catholics who ignore the warnings of Our Lord in Holy Scripture and the innumerable warnings coming from saints, popes and theologians throughout each and every century concerning the fewness of those who are saved! You would think that they do all that is their power to discover why this is the case and then do everything possible to ensure that they do not make the damnable mistakes of damned majority! But no! They refuse or neglect to do so―and continue living in their own created dreamland! What a terrible tragedy! They prefer the pleasures of the world more than the treasures of Heaven. They seek comfort rather than the cross. They prefer to play rather than pray. They prefer self-gratification rather than mortification. Our Lady laments such souls in her revelations to the Venerable Mary of Agreda:
Article 18
Monday, December 21st
Are You One of Them?
Monday, December 21st
Are You One of Them?
Two Types of People
So many things come in pairs or “in twos” and everything has a positive and a negative aspect ― hot and cold; night and day; health and sickness; life and death; believer and non-believer; fidelity and infidelity; knowledge and ignorance; reality and wishful thinking; humility and pride; love and hate; kindness and nastiness; joy and sadness; truth and lies; fervor and lukewarmness; obedience and disobedience; good and evil; virtue and vice; holiness and sinfulness; reward and punishment; salvation and damnation; etc. Heaven and Hell also fit the bill―for Heaven is a presence of God and Hell is the absence of God. We also speak of the fires of love and the fire of hatred―in that we burn with love or we burn with hatred for someone or something.
God, Our Lord and Holy Scripture speak of these and many more such examples. God made us for Heaven―Satan wants us in Hell. Yet for all this “tug-of-war” between God and Satan over our souls―we are still left to a free choice made by our God-given free will. God will not violate our free will and “make” us go to Heaven. Neither can Satan violate our God-given free will and “make” us go to Hell. Ultimately, we go where we want to go―or where we deserve to go―or, as Holy Scripture says: “For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that sows in his flesh, of the flesh shall reap corruption. But he that sows in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting!” (Galatians 6:8).
At the end of the day, you are either a godly person or a worldly person―you cannot be both, you cannot be two-faced: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth! … But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven! … For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” ― “mammon” being the pleasures, treasures, teachings and spirit of the world, whose prince is the devil (Matthew 6:19-24).
Why can we not be both godly and worldly? Because the world is an enemy of God: “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him!” (1 John 2:15). “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God!” (James 4:4) ... “The whole world is seated in wickedness!” (1 John 5:19) ... “Keep yourself unspotted from this world!” (James 1:27) … “Be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2) … “That we be not condemned with this world!” (1 Corinthians 11:32).
Winners and Losers!
Consequentially and similarly there are only two kinds of persons―winners and losers. God wants you to be a winner, while Satan wants you be a loser. God wants you to save your souls, while Satan wants you to lose your soul―there is no other option to being a winner or a loser; no other to option to an eternity in Heaven as a winner, or an eternity in Hell as a loser! Refusing to face that truth does not change that truth.
To win a race or some other competition, you have to follow the rules―if you break the rules, then you are disqualified. The same is true for God and Heaven―as God Himself clearly points out:
“If you walk in My precepts, and keep My commandments, and do them, then I will give you rain in due seasons. And the ground shall bring forth its increase, and the trees shall be filled with fruit. The threshing of your harvest shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land without fear. I will give peace in your coasts: you shall sleep, and there shall be none to make you afraid. I will take away evil beasts: and the sword shall not pass through your quarters. You shall pursue your enemies, and they shall fall before you. Five of yours shall pursue a hundred others, and a hundred of you ten thousand: your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. I will look on you, and make you increase: you shall be multiplied, and I will establish My covenant with you. You shall eat the oldest of the old store, and, new coming on, you shall cast away the old. I will set My tabernacle in the midst of you, and My soul shall not cast you off. I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be My people. But if you will not hear Me, nor do all My commandments, if you despise My laws, and contemn My judgments so as not to do those things which are appointed by Me, and to make void My covenant, then …” (Leviticus 26:3-14) … then, for not “paying the price”, God says:
“I will quickly visit you with poverty, and burning heat, which shall waste your eyes, and consume your lives. You shall sow your seed in vain, which shall be devoured by your enemies. I will set My face against you, and you shall fall down before your enemies, and shall be made subject to them that hate you. I will break the pride of your stubbornness, and I will make to you the Heaven above as iron, and the Earth as brass! Your labor shall be spent in vain, the ground shall not bring forth her increase, nor the trees yield their fruit. I will bring seven times more plagues upon you for your sins! And I will send in upon you beasts, to destroy you and your cattle, and make you few in number, and that your highways may be desolate. And I will bring in upon you the sword. And when you shall flee into the cities, I will send the pestilence in the midst of you, and you shall be delivered into the hands of your enemies! I will destroy and break your idols. You shall fall among the ruins of your idols, and My soul shall abhor you. I will bring your cities to be a wilderness. And I will destroy your land. And I will scatter you, and I will draw out the sword after you, and your land shall be desert, and your cities destroyed. You shall perish among the Gentiles, and an enemy’s land shall consume you. And if some of them still remain, they shall pine away in their iniquities in the land of their enemies, and they shall be afflicted for the sins of their fathers, and their own―until they confess their iniquities and the iniquities of their ancestors, by which they have sinned against Me, and walked contrary unto Me. Then shall they pray for their sins!” (Leviticus 26:16-41).
“Two of a Kind”
In a relationship, "two of a kind" means two people are very similar in personality, interests, or behavior, leading to strong compatibility, understanding, and a feeling they “click” or think alike, like being “peas in a pod” or “birds of a feather” who naturally get along well. “We are definitely two of a kind" is an English phrase meaning that two people have many similarities and often agree with each other in thoughts, actions, or preferences. This phrase is often used to describe a strong relationship between two people, implying they have many things in common and understand each other well. It is typically used in a positive context to express bond and deep friendship. That is exactly how God wants our relationship to be with Him and with each other: “I beseech you, brethren, by the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no schisms among you; but that you be perfect in the same mind, and in the same judgment!” (1 Corinthians 1:10).
Our Lord and Holy Scripture underline this and make this point abundantly clear on many occasions. At the Last Supper, Our Lord says to His Apostles: “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine: you the branches―he that abides in Me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit―for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone abides not in Me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, and shall wither, and they shall gather him up, and cast him into the fire, and he shall burn. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you shall ask whatever you will, and it shall be done unto you! As the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you. Abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in My love―as I also have kept My Father’s commandments, and do abide in His love!” (John 5:4-10). Our Lord then says to God the Father: “Father, keep them in Thy Name whom Thou has given Me―so that they may be one, as We also are one! … That they all may be one, as Thou, Father, in Me, and I in Thee; so that they also may be one in Us. And the glory which Thou has given me, I have given to them; so that they may be one, as We also are one!” (John 17:11; 7:21-22).
God Himself says: “I am the Almighty God! Walk before Me and be perfect!” (Genesis 17:1). “You shall be holy men to Me!” (Exodus 22:31). “You shall be holy unto Me, because I the Lord am holy, and I have separated you from other people, that you should be Mine!” (Leviticus 20:26). “Let them therefore be holy, because I also am holy, the Lord, Who sanctifies them!” (Leviticus 21:8).
“Be imitators of God!” (Ephesians 5:1). “Without holiness no man shall see God” (Hebrews 12:14). “There shall not enter into Heaven anything defiled, or that works!” (Apocalypse 21:27). “I live, now not I―but Christ lives in me!” (Galatians 2:20). “Be like Him” (1 John 3:2). “Have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect!” (Matthew 5:48). “Let our hearts also be perfect with the Lord our God, so that we may walk in His statutes and keep His commandments” (3 Kings 8:61). “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My words, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and will make our abode with him. He that loves Me not, keeps not My words!” (John 14:23-24). “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord!’ Lord!’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46).
“Opposites Attract”
While Christ (God) expects us to be “two of a kind” in our relationship with Him―meaning that He wants us to be like Him―nevertheless, another principle also applies in our relationship with Christ (God)―it is the principle of “opposites attract”. The definition of this idiom says “people who are very different from each other are often attracted to each other.” Sometimes this is true, sometimes it is not true―for opposites can also repel.
The “opposites attract” idiom can never really be applied to core values ― as regards core values and morals, you have to be “two of a kind.” A marriage will not last very long if one spouse loves to get drunk, take drugs, commit adultery, watch pornography and practice domestic violence―while the other spouse hates all those things and practices the very opposite to them.
Likewise, the “opposites attract” idiom is rarely applied or is not fully applied to the physical sphere―in that a physically fit and slender man rarely seeks an obese and physically unfit woman to be his spouse; nor does a handsome man seek an ugly wife; nor does a young man seek a woman who is 40 years older than him to be his spouse.
The “opposites attract” idiom is more often than not applied to the realm of the four temperaments (choleric, sanguine, melancholic and phlegmatic) and to a lesser degree to the realm of skills. A family can be likened in a broad sense to a toolbox ― which a variety of tools is required rather than a toolbox full of identical tools. Each temperament temperaments (choleric, sanguine, melancholic and phlegmatic) has its inherent strengths and weaknesses ― and it so happens that the weaknesses of one temperament in one area happen to be the strengths of another temperament in the same area. Thus the indecisiveness of a melancholic can be offset by the decisiveness of a choleric; or the extroverted imprudence of the sanguine can be offset by the introverted prudence of the phlegmatic, and so on and so forth in numerous different areas.
Yet the most amazing all instances of “opposites attract” is that of Jesus Christ in relation to us! Christ is in all things perfect and without the slightest blemish of sin―we, on the other hand, are spiritually ugly, crippled, obese, lazy, resentful and worthy of hatred because of our “innumerable sins, offenses and negligences” that we admit to in the Offertory of every single Mass. “Who can say: ‘My heart is clean, I am pure from sin!’?” (Proverbs 20:9). Who dare say: “I am clean, and without sin! I am unspotted, and there is no iniquity in me!” (Job 33:9). “For in many things we all offend” (James 3:2). “There is no man who sins not” (3 Kings 8:46).
And what is sin? The Catechisms tell us: “Sin is the only evil upon Earth … Mortal sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, poverty, or war, because it separates us from God … Venial sin is second only in evil consequences to mortal sin … Sometimes people say: ‘It is only a little sin, it does not matter much!’ But every venial sin is an offence against God, and therefore is, after mortal sin, the greatest of evils―far greater than any of the physical evils which can be inflicted on us!” (The Catechism Explained, by Spirago-Clarke; also the Catechism, My Catholic Faith, by Bishop Morrow, STD; also The Catechism Simply Explained, by Fr. Cafferata).
Sin is revolting―in more ways than one! It is revolting because it revolts and rebels against God. It is revolting to God because it is the total opposite to what God is. God hates sin! “Your iniquities have created a divide between you and your God, and your sins have made Him hide His face from you so that He should not hear! For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue utters iniquity!” (Isaias 59:2-3). “Let none of you imagine evil in your hearts―for all these are the things that I hate, says the Lord” (Zacharias 8:17). “The Lord hates all abomination” (Ecclesiasticus 15:13). “God hates iniquity!” (Judith 5:21). “He that loves iniquity hates his own soul!” (Psalm 10:6). “You are not a God that wills iniquity! Neither shall the wicked dwell near You! You hate all the workers of iniquity!” (Psalm 5:5-7).
God’s Charity Overcomes His Revulsion for Sinners
“God is charity!” (1 John 4:8), “Charity is the bond of perfection” (Colossians 3:14) and “Charity covers all sins” (Proverbs 10:12). “God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son―so that whosoever believes in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting” (John 3:16). “Is it My will that a sinner should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways, and live?” (Ezechiel 18:23). “God sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). “God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world may be saved by Him” (John 3:17).
“The charity of Chris surpasses all knowledge!” (Ephesians 3:19). “When we were still sinners, Christ died for us! When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son!” (Romans 5:8-10). “In times past, you were dead in your offences and sins―in which you walked according to the course of this world. We also we all conversed in the desires of our flesh, fulfilling the will of the flesh and of our thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest of mankind. But God, Who is rich in mercy, out of His exceeding charity―with which He loved us even when we were dead in sins―has restored us to life in Christ, by Whose grace you are saved, and has raised us up and has made us sit together in the heavenly places, through Christ Jesus―so that He might show the abundant riches of His grace, in His kindness towards us in Christ Jesus!” (Ephesians 2:1-7). “In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil. Whosoever is born of God, does not commit sin Whosoever is not just, is not of God” (1 John 3:9-10).
Failing to Profit from the Charity of Christ
“And a certain man said to Him: ‘Lord! Are they few that are saved?’ But He said to them: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able. But when the master of the house shall be gone in, and shall shut the door, you shall begin to stand outside, and knock at the door, saying: ‘Lord! Open to us!’ And He, answering, shall say to you: ‘I know you not, whence you are!’ Then you shall begin to say: ‘We have eaten and drunk in Thy presence, and Thou hast taught in our streets!” And He shall say to you: ‘I know you not, whence you are! Depart from Me, all ye workers of iniquity!’ There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the Kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out! … Enter ye in at the narrow gate―for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat! How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life―and few there are that find it! … For many are called, but few are chosen!’” (Luke 13:23-28; Matthew 7:13-14; 22:14).
What We Sow is What We Reap
Christ has drawn a line in the sand and has divided all of mankind into two categories. Every single man, woman, and child on this planet, every person who has ever lived or will live, falls into one of these two categories. Jesus vividly describes these two types of people, recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. God wants all of us to realize that we belong in one of only two groups that exist in this world. Jesus wants us to think about this continually. The sheer volume of His teachings on this drives home this point. Most of these contrasts are either stated clearly or implied in the Gospel accounts. The goal is to expose this strong emphasis in Christ’s teaching. Read this list devotionally, taking time to read it slowly and prayerfully.
► FOR CHRIST / AGAINST CHRIST ― There are only two ultimate categories that we can fall under: (1) being for Christ, and (2) being against Christ ― there can be no neutrality, so spectators, no “opting out” (Matthew 6:24; 12:30; Luke 11:23; John 1:9-12; 15:23).
► CHRIST versus THE WORLD ― Christ clearly emphasizes that we must choose between Him and the world―because the world is an enemy of Christ’s and for the most part belongs to “prince of this world”, who is Satan. We cannot pretend to love Christ and love the world ― for Christ says it is impossible to embrace contradictory loves (Matthew 6:19-24; 10:32-37; 12:30; Luke 11:23; John 7:7; 8:23; 18:36).
► NARROW GATE / WIDE ROAD ― There are few who believe, who enter by the narrow gate, finding life; the rest includes the masses who are on the wide road leading to eternal destruction (Matthew 7:13-14; 22:14).
► GOOD FRUIT / BAD FRUIT ― Those whose lives bring forth good fruit and remain, versus those whose lives bear bad fruit and must be cut down and thrown into the fire and destroyed (Matthew 7:18-19; Luke 13:6-9; John 15:2,6).
► WISE BUILDER / FOOLISH BUILDER ― There are the wise who build their lives upon the foundation of Christ’s teachings and live, and there are those who build their lives on weak foundations that lead to their destruction (Matthew 7:24-27; Luke 6:46-49).
► WISE VIRGINS / FOOLISH VIRGINS ― There are those who wisely ensure that they have what is required to keep the light of their mind and the fire of love in their hearts burning as they await Christ to come and call them into the heavenly banquet, and there are those who foolishly neglect these things and find the door closed to them (Matthew 25:1-13).
► TWO ETERNAL DESTINATIONS ― Some will join the Old Testament saints in the Kingdom of Heaven while others are thrown into outer darkness, the place of great suffering, fire, weeping, and gnashing of teeth, a place of eternal torment, for Jesus will reject them (Matthew 8:11-12; 22:13; Luke 13:23-28; 16:22-26).
► CROSS-BEARERS / CROSS REJECTORS ― There are those that will take up their cross and follow Jesus, while others will refuse to do so (Matthew 10:38; 16:24-26; Luke 9:23; 14:27)
► SELF-DENIERS / SELF-SEEKERS ― Some will deny themselves and sacrifice for Jesus now, gaining eternal life, while others will choose living for themselves now and lose their own souls (Matthew 10:38-39; 16:24-26; Mark 8:34-37; Luke 9:24; 14:26-27; John 12:24).
► WEIGHED DOWN BY WORLD / FINDING PEACE IN CHRIST ― Many are harassed, helpless, burdened down, and without spiritual guidance, while others know rest for their souls as they serve their gentle Lord whose burden is light (Matthew 5:10-12; 9:36; 11:28-30).
► WHEAT / COCKLE ― Some are like good seed that brings a harvest of righteousness and pleases the Lord while others are like bad seed that fails to produce anything but sin and lawlessness and so must be destroyed in the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:24-30; 36-42)
► GOOD FISH / DISCARDED FISH ― Mankind is compared to a great catch of fish in a net. Good fish are kept, but bad fish are thrown away, illustrating the last judgment of how God will throw the wicked into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:47-50).
► SEEKING EARTHLY TREASURE / SEEKING HEAVENLY TREASURE ― Some live for the master of possessions and wealth, living for what they can get on this Earth, while others live to be rich in ways that please God their Master instead (Matthew 6:19-21; 19:23-24; Luke 12:15-21; 16:13).
► FIRSTWILL BE LAST AND LAST WILL BE FIRST ― There are those who have their prominence and glory now, but will lose it all for eternity, while others, last in this life, according to the world’s standards, will have glory with God for ever (Matthew 19:30; 20:16; Luke 13:30).
► PRIDE / HUMILITY ― Some are condemned by God for their pride, self-righteousness, and hypocrisy, while others are received by God through their humility and repentance (Matthew 23; Mark 2:17; Luke 5:31-32; Luke 18:17).
► FAÇADE OF FAITH / ENDURING FAITH ― There are those who appear to believe for a time, but fall away, and there are others who endure to the end and will be saved (Matthew 24:13; Luke 9:62).
► PREPARED FOR CHRIST’S COMING / UNPREPARED ― Some will be ready when Jesus comes again as Judge, but others will be unprepared, living in sin and weighed down by the affairs of life, and will suffer great punishment (Matthew 24:42-51; 25:13; Luke 12:35-38; 21:34).
► RAISED TO LIFE AND REWARD / RAISED TO JUDGMENT ― On the day of the resurrection of the dead, there will be some who are raised up to receive their reward and eternal life while others will receive judgment (Luke 14:14; John 5:28-29).
► SHEEP / GOATS ― At Christ’s return there will be two kinds of people who will be separated from one another forever. They are described as sheep and goats separated from one another by Jesus the Great Shepherd. The sheep are blessed by God and will inherit God’s Kingdom while the goats will be cast into eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:31-34, 41, 46).
► FALSE WORSHIPERS / TRUE WORSHIPERS ― Some claim to worship God, but they really believe deceitful doctrines made up by men. Others worship the Lord in spirit and in truth (Mark 7:6-7; John 4:24).
► REPENTANT / UNREPENTANT ― There are those that repent, turn away from sin and so find entrance into the Kingdom of God. The rest, however, will find themselves in Hell, the place where the worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:42-29).
► DOING PENANCE / NEGLECTING PENANCE ― Penance, even though disliked, is an essential requirement if we wish to get to Heaven. Jesus says without it we will certainly perish (Matthew 11:21; Luke 5:32; 13:3-5).
► WILLINGLY HEARING / WILLFULLY DEAF ― One hears Jesus and receives Him and His words; another rejects Him and is against Him, so will be judged (Luke 10:16; 11:23; 16:31; 20:17-18; John 1:11-12; 8:47; 12:48; 13:20).
► DOCUMENTED CITIZENS OF HEAVEN / PERSONA NON GRATA ― There are those whose names are written in Heaven while the names of others are absent, for they have no citizenship there (Luke 10:20).
► PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST / ESTRANGED FROM CHRIST― Some know the Son of God, have a relationship with Him, while others don’t know Him (John 1:9ff; 8:19; 10:15; 13:7; 17:3).
► CHILD OF GOD / CHILD OF SATAN ― Every person is either a child of God through Jesus, or a child of Satan (John 1:12; 8:44).
► BORN AGAIN SPIRITUALLY / BORN ONLY ONCE PHYSICALLY ― Everyone is born physically, but few are born spiritually. Baptism is our spiritual birth. A person is ether born again through Baptism and thus has a chance to enter the Kingdom of God, or he/she is not born again spiritually through Baptism and will never see God’s Kingdom (John 3:3-7).
► NO LONGER CONDEMNED / UNDER CONDEMNATION ― There are those who believe on Jesus and have eternal life, and the rest remain condemned before God (John 3:14-18; 36; 5:24; 6:40; 8:24; 11:25-27).
► LOVE LIGHT / LOVE DARKNESS ― Some love the light of God and His truth while others love lies and spiritual darkness (John 3:19-21; 8:12; 12:46; 18:37).
► OVERFLOWING WITH LIVING WATER / DYING OF THIRST ― Some drink of the living water that is Christ, while others remain dying of spiritual thirst in their sins (John 4:13-14; 7:37-39).
► SEEKING GOD’S APPROVAL / SEEKING MAN’S APPROVAL ― There are those who seek God’s approval above all else, while others seek the approval of others above God (John 5:44).
► RECEIVING THE BREAD OF LIFE / STARVING SPIRITUALLY ― The Bread of Life, Jesus, is received by some to give life to their souls, the rest remain in state of spiritual starvation (Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20; John 6:1-70).
► SET FREE FROM SIN / ENSLAVED BY SIN ― Some are set free from sin and death, while others remain enslaved and doomed to die in their sins (John 8:32-26).
► BELIEVE THE SON LIKE ABRAHAM / HATE CHRIST LIKE SATAN ― Some share the same faith of believers throughout all of history while others remain held by Satan who has deceived the masses since the beginning (John 8:38-47).
► LIFE IN THE SPIRIT / LIFE IN THE FLESH ― There are those that live life in the Spirit, abiding in Jesus, while everyone else lives life according to the flesh without God (John 6:63; 14:16-17; 15:5-6).
► OBEDIENT / DISOBEDIENT ― Some obey Jesus, keeping His words, while many refuse to do so (John 8:31, 52).
► SEEING / BLIND ― Spiritual blindness darkens the hearts of many, but some see God and His truth (John 9:39-41).
► FOLLOWERS OF THE TRUE SHEPHERD / FOLLOWERS OF FALSE SHEPHERDS ― Some are God’s sheep and follow the Great Shepherd, Jesus, and have abundant life, but many instead follow false shepherds and are killed and destroyed (John 10:1-10, 27; 12:26).
► SAFE FROM ALL HARM / FEARFUL ― Some are safe in the hand of God the Father and God the Son; these have eternal life and will never perish. Others, however, have no eternal security. They have every reason to fear (John 10:28).
► CLEAN/FILTHY ― There are those that have been made clean by God’s grace as they have responded in faith to God’s Word, while others remain unclean before God in their sins (John 13:10-11; 15:3).
► FOLLOWERS OF THE WAY / NO ACCESS TO THE FATHER ― Some will go to the Father through Jesus ― the Way, the Truth, and the Life ― but others have no way to the Father (John 14:6).
► SECURE IN THE FATHER’S LOVE / HIS LOVE UNKNOWN ― Some love Jesus and so have the Father’s love, while others, without Jesus, cannot know the Father’s love (John 14:21-24; 15:23-24).
► BELONG TO THIS WORLD / BELONG TO CHRIST ― There are those that belong to this sin-cursed world and those that instead now belong to Jesus, God’s Son (John 17:6-11; 17:14-16).
So many things come in pairs or “in twos” and everything has a positive and a negative aspect ― hot and cold; night and day; health and sickness; life and death; believer and non-believer; fidelity and infidelity; knowledge and ignorance; reality and wishful thinking; humility and pride; love and hate; kindness and nastiness; joy and sadness; truth and lies; fervor and lukewarmness; obedience and disobedience; good and evil; virtue and vice; holiness and sinfulness; reward and punishment; salvation and damnation; etc. Heaven and Hell also fit the bill―for Heaven is a presence of God and Hell is the absence of God. We also speak of the fires of love and the fire of hatred―in that we burn with love or we burn with hatred for someone or something.
God, Our Lord and Holy Scripture speak of these and many more such examples. God made us for Heaven―Satan wants us in Hell. Yet for all this “tug-of-war” between God and Satan over our souls―we are still left to a free choice made by our God-given free will. God will not violate our free will and “make” us go to Heaven. Neither can Satan violate our God-given free will and “make” us go to Hell. Ultimately, we go where we want to go―or where we deserve to go―or, as Holy Scripture says: “For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that sows in his flesh, of the flesh shall reap corruption. But he that sows in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting!” (Galatians 6:8).
At the end of the day, you are either a godly person or a worldly person―you cannot be both, you cannot be two-faced: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth! … But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven! … For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” ― “mammon” being the pleasures, treasures, teachings and spirit of the world, whose prince is the devil (Matthew 6:19-24).
Why can we not be both godly and worldly? Because the world is an enemy of God: “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him!” (1 John 2:15). “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God!” (James 4:4) ... “The whole world is seated in wickedness!” (1 John 5:19) ... “Keep yourself unspotted from this world!” (James 1:27) … “Be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2) … “That we be not condemned with this world!” (1 Corinthians 11:32).
Winners and Losers!
Consequentially and similarly there are only two kinds of persons―winners and losers. God wants you to be a winner, while Satan wants you be a loser. God wants you to save your souls, while Satan wants you to lose your soul―there is no other option to being a winner or a loser; no other to option to an eternity in Heaven as a winner, or an eternity in Hell as a loser! Refusing to face that truth does not change that truth.
To win a race or some other competition, you have to follow the rules―if you break the rules, then you are disqualified. The same is true for God and Heaven―as God Himself clearly points out:
“If you walk in My precepts, and keep My commandments, and do them, then I will give you rain in due seasons. And the ground shall bring forth its increase, and the trees shall be filled with fruit. The threshing of your harvest shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land without fear. I will give peace in your coasts: you shall sleep, and there shall be none to make you afraid. I will take away evil beasts: and the sword shall not pass through your quarters. You shall pursue your enemies, and they shall fall before you. Five of yours shall pursue a hundred others, and a hundred of you ten thousand: your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. I will look on you, and make you increase: you shall be multiplied, and I will establish My covenant with you. You shall eat the oldest of the old store, and, new coming on, you shall cast away the old. I will set My tabernacle in the midst of you, and My soul shall not cast you off. I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be My people. But if you will not hear Me, nor do all My commandments, if you despise My laws, and contemn My judgments so as not to do those things which are appointed by Me, and to make void My covenant, then …” (Leviticus 26:3-14) … then, for not “paying the price”, God says:
“I will quickly visit you with poverty, and burning heat, which shall waste your eyes, and consume your lives. You shall sow your seed in vain, which shall be devoured by your enemies. I will set My face against you, and you shall fall down before your enemies, and shall be made subject to them that hate you. I will break the pride of your stubbornness, and I will make to you the Heaven above as iron, and the Earth as brass! Your labor shall be spent in vain, the ground shall not bring forth her increase, nor the trees yield their fruit. I will bring seven times more plagues upon you for your sins! And I will send in upon you beasts, to destroy you and your cattle, and make you few in number, and that your highways may be desolate. And I will bring in upon you the sword. And when you shall flee into the cities, I will send the pestilence in the midst of you, and you shall be delivered into the hands of your enemies! I will destroy and break your idols. You shall fall among the ruins of your idols, and My soul shall abhor you. I will bring your cities to be a wilderness. And I will destroy your land. And I will scatter you, and I will draw out the sword after you, and your land shall be desert, and your cities destroyed. You shall perish among the Gentiles, and an enemy’s land shall consume you. And if some of them still remain, they shall pine away in their iniquities in the land of their enemies, and they shall be afflicted for the sins of their fathers, and their own―until they confess their iniquities and the iniquities of their ancestors, by which they have sinned against Me, and walked contrary unto Me. Then shall they pray for their sins!” (Leviticus 26:16-41).
“Two of a Kind”
In a relationship, "two of a kind" means two people are very similar in personality, interests, or behavior, leading to strong compatibility, understanding, and a feeling they “click” or think alike, like being “peas in a pod” or “birds of a feather” who naturally get along well. “We are definitely two of a kind" is an English phrase meaning that two people have many similarities and often agree with each other in thoughts, actions, or preferences. This phrase is often used to describe a strong relationship between two people, implying they have many things in common and understand each other well. It is typically used in a positive context to express bond and deep friendship. That is exactly how God wants our relationship to be with Him and with each other: “I beseech you, brethren, by the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no schisms among you; but that you be perfect in the same mind, and in the same judgment!” (1 Corinthians 1:10).
Our Lord and Holy Scripture underline this and make this point abundantly clear on many occasions. At the Last Supper, Our Lord says to His Apostles: “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine: you the branches―he that abides in Me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit―for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone abides not in Me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, and shall wither, and they shall gather him up, and cast him into the fire, and he shall burn. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you shall ask whatever you will, and it shall be done unto you! As the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you. Abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in My love―as I also have kept My Father’s commandments, and do abide in His love!” (John 5:4-10). Our Lord then says to God the Father: “Father, keep them in Thy Name whom Thou has given Me―so that they may be one, as We also are one! … That they all may be one, as Thou, Father, in Me, and I in Thee; so that they also may be one in Us. And the glory which Thou has given me, I have given to them; so that they may be one, as We also are one!” (John 17:11; 7:21-22).
God Himself says: “I am the Almighty God! Walk before Me and be perfect!” (Genesis 17:1). “You shall be holy men to Me!” (Exodus 22:31). “You shall be holy unto Me, because I the Lord am holy, and I have separated you from other people, that you should be Mine!” (Leviticus 20:26). “Let them therefore be holy, because I also am holy, the Lord, Who sanctifies them!” (Leviticus 21:8).
“Be imitators of God!” (Ephesians 5:1). “Without holiness no man shall see God” (Hebrews 12:14). “There shall not enter into Heaven anything defiled, or that works!” (Apocalypse 21:27). “I live, now not I―but Christ lives in me!” (Galatians 2:20). “Be like Him” (1 John 3:2). “Have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect!” (Matthew 5:48). “Let our hearts also be perfect with the Lord our God, so that we may walk in His statutes and keep His commandments” (3 Kings 8:61). “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My words, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and will make our abode with him. He that loves Me not, keeps not My words!” (John 14:23-24). “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord!’ Lord!’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46).
“Opposites Attract”
While Christ (God) expects us to be “two of a kind” in our relationship with Him―meaning that He wants us to be like Him―nevertheless, another principle also applies in our relationship with Christ (God)―it is the principle of “opposites attract”. The definition of this idiom says “people who are very different from each other are often attracted to each other.” Sometimes this is true, sometimes it is not true―for opposites can also repel.
The “opposites attract” idiom can never really be applied to core values ― as regards core values and morals, you have to be “two of a kind.” A marriage will not last very long if one spouse loves to get drunk, take drugs, commit adultery, watch pornography and practice domestic violence―while the other spouse hates all those things and practices the very opposite to them.
Likewise, the “opposites attract” idiom is rarely applied or is not fully applied to the physical sphere―in that a physically fit and slender man rarely seeks an obese and physically unfit woman to be his spouse; nor does a handsome man seek an ugly wife; nor does a young man seek a woman who is 40 years older than him to be his spouse.
The “opposites attract” idiom is more often than not applied to the realm of the four temperaments (choleric, sanguine, melancholic and phlegmatic) and to a lesser degree to the realm of skills. A family can be likened in a broad sense to a toolbox ― which a variety of tools is required rather than a toolbox full of identical tools. Each temperament temperaments (choleric, sanguine, melancholic and phlegmatic) has its inherent strengths and weaknesses ― and it so happens that the weaknesses of one temperament in one area happen to be the strengths of another temperament in the same area. Thus the indecisiveness of a melancholic can be offset by the decisiveness of a choleric; or the extroverted imprudence of the sanguine can be offset by the introverted prudence of the phlegmatic, and so on and so forth in numerous different areas.
Yet the most amazing all instances of “opposites attract” is that of Jesus Christ in relation to us! Christ is in all things perfect and without the slightest blemish of sin―we, on the other hand, are spiritually ugly, crippled, obese, lazy, resentful and worthy of hatred because of our “innumerable sins, offenses and negligences” that we admit to in the Offertory of every single Mass. “Who can say: ‘My heart is clean, I am pure from sin!’?” (Proverbs 20:9). Who dare say: “I am clean, and without sin! I am unspotted, and there is no iniquity in me!” (Job 33:9). “For in many things we all offend” (James 3:2). “There is no man who sins not” (3 Kings 8:46).
And what is sin? The Catechisms tell us: “Sin is the only evil upon Earth … Mortal sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, poverty, or war, because it separates us from God … Venial sin is second only in evil consequences to mortal sin … Sometimes people say: ‘It is only a little sin, it does not matter much!’ But every venial sin is an offence against God, and therefore is, after mortal sin, the greatest of evils―far greater than any of the physical evils which can be inflicted on us!” (The Catechism Explained, by Spirago-Clarke; also the Catechism, My Catholic Faith, by Bishop Morrow, STD; also The Catechism Simply Explained, by Fr. Cafferata).
Sin is revolting―in more ways than one! It is revolting because it revolts and rebels against God. It is revolting to God because it is the total opposite to what God is. God hates sin! “Your iniquities have created a divide between you and your God, and your sins have made Him hide His face from you so that He should not hear! For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue utters iniquity!” (Isaias 59:2-3). “Let none of you imagine evil in your hearts―for all these are the things that I hate, says the Lord” (Zacharias 8:17). “The Lord hates all abomination” (Ecclesiasticus 15:13). “God hates iniquity!” (Judith 5:21). “He that loves iniquity hates his own soul!” (Psalm 10:6). “You are not a God that wills iniquity! Neither shall the wicked dwell near You! You hate all the workers of iniquity!” (Psalm 5:5-7).
God’s Charity Overcomes His Revulsion for Sinners
“God is charity!” (1 John 4:8), “Charity is the bond of perfection” (Colossians 3:14) and “Charity covers all sins” (Proverbs 10:12). “God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son―so that whosoever believes in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting” (John 3:16). “Is it My will that a sinner should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways, and live?” (Ezechiel 18:23). “God sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). “God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world may be saved by Him” (John 3:17).
“The charity of Chris surpasses all knowledge!” (Ephesians 3:19). “When we were still sinners, Christ died for us! When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son!” (Romans 5:8-10). “In times past, you were dead in your offences and sins―in which you walked according to the course of this world. We also we all conversed in the desires of our flesh, fulfilling the will of the flesh and of our thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest of mankind. But God, Who is rich in mercy, out of His exceeding charity―with which He loved us even when we were dead in sins―has restored us to life in Christ, by Whose grace you are saved, and has raised us up and has made us sit together in the heavenly places, through Christ Jesus―so that He might show the abundant riches of His grace, in His kindness towards us in Christ Jesus!” (Ephesians 2:1-7). “In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil. Whosoever is born of God, does not commit sin Whosoever is not just, is not of God” (1 John 3:9-10).
Failing to Profit from the Charity of Christ
“And a certain man said to Him: ‘Lord! Are they few that are saved?’ But He said to them: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able. But when the master of the house shall be gone in, and shall shut the door, you shall begin to stand outside, and knock at the door, saying: ‘Lord! Open to us!’ And He, answering, shall say to you: ‘I know you not, whence you are!’ Then you shall begin to say: ‘We have eaten and drunk in Thy presence, and Thou hast taught in our streets!” And He shall say to you: ‘I know you not, whence you are! Depart from Me, all ye workers of iniquity!’ There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the Kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out! … Enter ye in at the narrow gate―for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat! How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life―and few there are that find it! … For many are called, but few are chosen!’” (Luke 13:23-28; Matthew 7:13-14; 22:14).
What We Sow is What We Reap
Christ has drawn a line in the sand and has divided all of mankind into two categories. Every single man, woman, and child on this planet, every person who has ever lived or will live, falls into one of these two categories. Jesus vividly describes these two types of people, recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. God wants all of us to realize that we belong in one of only two groups that exist in this world. Jesus wants us to think about this continually. The sheer volume of His teachings on this drives home this point. Most of these contrasts are either stated clearly or implied in the Gospel accounts. The goal is to expose this strong emphasis in Christ’s teaching. Read this list devotionally, taking time to read it slowly and prayerfully.
► FOR CHRIST / AGAINST CHRIST ― There are only two ultimate categories that we can fall under: (1) being for Christ, and (2) being against Christ ― there can be no neutrality, so spectators, no “opting out” (Matthew 6:24; 12:30; Luke 11:23; John 1:9-12; 15:23).
► CHRIST versus THE WORLD ― Christ clearly emphasizes that we must choose between Him and the world―because the world is an enemy of Christ’s and for the most part belongs to “prince of this world”, who is Satan. We cannot pretend to love Christ and love the world ― for Christ says it is impossible to embrace contradictory loves (Matthew 6:19-24; 10:32-37; 12:30; Luke 11:23; John 7:7; 8:23; 18:36).
► NARROW GATE / WIDE ROAD ― There are few who believe, who enter by the narrow gate, finding life; the rest includes the masses who are on the wide road leading to eternal destruction (Matthew 7:13-14; 22:14).
► GOOD FRUIT / BAD FRUIT ― Those whose lives bring forth good fruit and remain, versus those whose lives bear bad fruit and must be cut down and thrown into the fire and destroyed (Matthew 7:18-19; Luke 13:6-9; John 15:2,6).
► WISE BUILDER / FOOLISH BUILDER ― There are the wise who build their lives upon the foundation of Christ’s teachings and live, and there are those who build their lives on weak foundations that lead to their destruction (Matthew 7:24-27; Luke 6:46-49).
► WISE VIRGINS / FOOLISH VIRGINS ― There are those who wisely ensure that they have what is required to keep the light of their mind and the fire of love in their hearts burning as they await Christ to come and call them into the heavenly banquet, and there are those who foolishly neglect these things and find the door closed to them (Matthew 25:1-13).
► TWO ETERNAL DESTINATIONS ― Some will join the Old Testament saints in the Kingdom of Heaven while others are thrown into outer darkness, the place of great suffering, fire, weeping, and gnashing of teeth, a place of eternal torment, for Jesus will reject them (Matthew 8:11-12; 22:13; Luke 13:23-28; 16:22-26).
► CROSS-BEARERS / CROSS REJECTORS ― There are those that will take up their cross and follow Jesus, while others will refuse to do so (Matthew 10:38; 16:24-26; Luke 9:23; 14:27)
► SELF-DENIERS / SELF-SEEKERS ― Some will deny themselves and sacrifice for Jesus now, gaining eternal life, while others will choose living for themselves now and lose their own souls (Matthew 10:38-39; 16:24-26; Mark 8:34-37; Luke 9:24; 14:26-27; John 12:24).
► WEIGHED DOWN BY WORLD / FINDING PEACE IN CHRIST ― Many are harassed, helpless, burdened down, and without spiritual guidance, while others know rest for their souls as they serve their gentle Lord whose burden is light (Matthew 5:10-12; 9:36; 11:28-30).
► WHEAT / COCKLE ― Some are like good seed that brings a harvest of righteousness and pleases the Lord while others are like bad seed that fails to produce anything but sin and lawlessness and so must be destroyed in the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:24-30; 36-42)
► GOOD FISH / DISCARDED FISH ― Mankind is compared to a great catch of fish in a net. Good fish are kept, but bad fish are thrown away, illustrating the last judgment of how God will throw the wicked into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:47-50).
► SEEKING EARTHLY TREASURE / SEEKING HEAVENLY TREASURE ― Some live for the master of possessions and wealth, living for what they can get on this Earth, while others live to be rich in ways that please God their Master instead (Matthew 6:19-21; 19:23-24; Luke 12:15-21; 16:13).
► FIRSTWILL BE LAST AND LAST WILL BE FIRST ― There are those who have their prominence and glory now, but will lose it all for eternity, while others, last in this life, according to the world’s standards, will have glory with God for ever (Matthew 19:30; 20:16; Luke 13:30).
► PRIDE / HUMILITY ― Some are condemned by God for their pride, self-righteousness, and hypocrisy, while others are received by God through their humility and repentance (Matthew 23; Mark 2:17; Luke 5:31-32; Luke 18:17).
► FAÇADE OF FAITH / ENDURING FAITH ― There are those who appear to believe for a time, but fall away, and there are others who endure to the end and will be saved (Matthew 24:13; Luke 9:62).
► PREPARED FOR CHRIST’S COMING / UNPREPARED ― Some will be ready when Jesus comes again as Judge, but others will be unprepared, living in sin and weighed down by the affairs of life, and will suffer great punishment (Matthew 24:42-51; 25:13; Luke 12:35-38; 21:34).
► RAISED TO LIFE AND REWARD / RAISED TO JUDGMENT ― On the day of the resurrection of the dead, there will be some who are raised up to receive their reward and eternal life while others will receive judgment (Luke 14:14; John 5:28-29).
► SHEEP / GOATS ― At Christ’s return there will be two kinds of people who will be separated from one another forever. They are described as sheep and goats separated from one another by Jesus the Great Shepherd. The sheep are blessed by God and will inherit God’s Kingdom while the goats will be cast into eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:31-34, 41, 46).
► FALSE WORSHIPERS / TRUE WORSHIPERS ― Some claim to worship God, but they really believe deceitful doctrines made up by men. Others worship the Lord in spirit and in truth (Mark 7:6-7; John 4:24).
► REPENTANT / UNREPENTANT ― There are those that repent, turn away from sin and so find entrance into the Kingdom of God. The rest, however, will find themselves in Hell, the place where the worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:42-29).
► DOING PENANCE / NEGLECTING PENANCE ― Penance, even though disliked, is an essential requirement if we wish to get to Heaven. Jesus says without it we will certainly perish (Matthew 11:21; Luke 5:32; 13:3-5).
► WILLINGLY HEARING / WILLFULLY DEAF ― One hears Jesus and receives Him and His words; another rejects Him and is against Him, so will be judged (Luke 10:16; 11:23; 16:31; 20:17-18; John 1:11-12; 8:47; 12:48; 13:20).
► DOCUMENTED CITIZENS OF HEAVEN / PERSONA NON GRATA ― There are those whose names are written in Heaven while the names of others are absent, for they have no citizenship there (Luke 10:20).
► PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST / ESTRANGED FROM CHRIST― Some know the Son of God, have a relationship with Him, while others don’t know Him (John 1:9ff; 8:19; 10:15; 13:7; 17:3).
► CHILD OF GOD / CHILD OF SATAN ― Every person is either a child of God through Jesus, or a child of Satan (John 1:12; 8:44).
► BORN AGAIN SPIRITUALLY / BORN ONLY ONCE PHYSICALLY ― Everyone is born physically, but few are born spiritually. Baptism is our spiritual birth. A person is ether born again through Baptism and thus has a chance to enter the Kingdom of God, or he/she is not born again spiritually through Baptism and will never see God’s Kingdom (John 3:3-7).
► NO LONGER CONDEMNED / UNDER CONDEMNATION ― There are those who believe on Jesus and have eternal life, and the rest remain condemned before God (John 3:14-18; 36; 5:24; 6:40; 8:24; 11:25-27).
► LOVE LIGHT / LOVE DARKNESS ― Some love the light of God and His truth while others love lies and spiritual darkness (John 3:19-21; 8:12; 12:46; 18:37).
► OVERFLOWING WITH LIVING WATER / DYING OF THIRST ― Some drink of the living water that is Christ, while others remain dying of spiritual thirst in their sins (John 4:13-14; 7:37-39).
► SEEKING GOD’S APPROVAL / SEEKING MAN’S APPROVAL ― There are those who seek God’s approval above all else, while others seek the approval of others above God (John 5:44).
► RECEIVING THE BREAD OF LIFE / STARVING SPIRITUALLY ― The Bread of Life, Jesus, is received by some to give life to their souls, the rest remain in state of spiritual starvation (Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20; John 6:1-70).
► SET FREE FROM SIN / ENSLAVED BY SIN ― Some are set free from sin and death, while others remain enslaved and doomed to die in their sins (John 8:32-26).
► BELIEVE THE SON LIKE ABRAHAM / HATE CHRIST LIKE SATAN ― Some share the same faith of believers throughout all of history while others remain held by Satan who has deceived the masses since the beginning (John 8:38-47).
► LIFE IN THE SPIRIT / LIFE IN THE FLESH ― There are those that live life in the Spirit, abiding in Jesus, while everyone else lives life according to the flesh without God (John 6:63; 14:16-17; 15:5-6).
► OBEDIENT / DISOBEDIENT ― Some obey Jesus, keeping His words, while many refuse to do so (John 8:31, 52).
► SEEING / BLIND ― Spiritual blindness darkens the hearts of many, but some see God and His truth (John 9:39-41).
► FOLLOWERS OF THE TRUE SHEPHERD / FOLLOWERS OF FALSE SHEPHERDS ― Some are God’s sheep and follow the Great Shepherd, Jesus, and have abundant life, but many instead follow false shepherds and are killed and destroyed (John 10:1-10, 27; 12:26).
► SAFE FROM ALL HARM / FEARFUL ― Some are safe in the hand of God the Father and God the Son; these have eternal life and will never perish. Others, however, have no eternal security. They have every reason to fear (John 10:28).
► CLEAN/FILTHY ― There are those that have been made clean by God’s grace as they have responded in faith to God’s Word, while others remain unclean before God in their sins (John 13:10-11; 15:3).
► FOLLOWERS OF THE WAY / NO ACCESS TO THE FATHER ― Some will go to the Father through Jesus ― the Way, the Truth, and the Life ― but others have no way to the Father (John 14:6).
► SECURE IN THE FATHER’S LOVE / HIS LOVE UNKNOWN ― Some love Jesus and so have the Father’s love, while others, without Jesus, cannot know the Father’s love (John 14:21-24; 15:23-24).
► BELONG TO THIS WORLD / BELONG TO CHRIST ― There are those that belong to this sin-cursed world and those that instead now belong to Jesus, God’s Son (John 17:6-11; 17:14-16).
Article 17
Thursday, December 18th
It All Depends Upon You!
Thursday, December 18th
It All Depends Upon You!
Leading Horses to Water
You can lead a horse to water―but you cannot make it drink! Christ can suffer and die in order to save souls―but He will not force souls into Heaven! It all depends upon you whether or not you truly want to be saved! It all depends upon you whether or not you accept the terms of Christ’s contract for salvation. He will save you on His terms―not on your terms!
Advent is a time of penitential preparation for the coming of Christ at Christmas! Why did Christ coming at Christmas? What was the purpose of His coming? It the first of two comings―His first coming at Christmas was to be a coming of mercy; His second coming at the end of the world will a coming of justice. At that first Christmas―and at every Christmas celebrated since then―Christ offered and still offers us His mercy before it is too late. Now comes His mercy―later comes His justice. It is better for us to be led to waters of His mercy rather than being led to the waters of His justice! It is better for us to drink of the waters of mercy rather than having to drink of the waters of justice!
St. Paul reminds us of this in the New Testament: “For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea! And all in Moses were baptized, in the cloud, and in the sea! And did all eat the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink; and they drank of the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ! But with most of them God was not well pleased―for they were overthrown in the desert!” (1 Corinthians 10:1-5).
God was not well pleased with most of them! What a horrifying thought! They were His Chosen People—were they not? Yet He was ready to destroy them, He made them wander and die in the desert so that only two (Josue and Caleb) of the original millions who had left Egypt actually entered the Promised Land—the rest were a new generation! With most of them God was not well pleased! What, then, would God think of our ultra-sinful world today? We shiver to think!
Hence Holy Scripture says: “With fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12). Christ has done His part by suffering and dying for you―you must now do your part by cooperating with and profiting from the Passion and Death of Christ. As St. Augustine―a former big sinner himself―said: “God created us without us―but He did not will to save us without us!” Some translate the Latin into the singular: “God, Who created you without you, will not save you without you!” In other words, God created you without your cooperation, but God will not save you without your cooperation.
Entitled Catholics
Sadly, the modern world has bred us with a false sense of entitlement―an attitude whereby we imagine and feel that we are entitled to what we do not deserve and what we have not worked for. We expect “freebies” not only in the secular world, but we also expect “freebies” from Heaven: Good Friday Sales … Salvation Security Handouts … Comfort Confessions … Guilt Bailouts … Auto-Absolutions … Penitential Price Reductions … Fast-Track Masses … Slashed Sermons … Holy Communion “Take-Now-Pray-Later” deals … Low Interest Prayers … Rosary Reductions … Devotional Discounts … Grace Give-Aways … Holiness Handouts … Virtual Virtues … Educational Exemptions … etc., etc.
In one sense, everything that we receive from Heaven, everything that pertains to our salvation is actually a “freebie” which nobody has deserved. Everything is a grace of God, and our catechisms define grace as “a supernatural GIFT of God that FREELY given by God.” God owes salvation to nobody. God owes a place in Heaven to no one. Salvation and Heaven are GIFTS of God’s charity and NOT OBLIGATIONS in justice. Sure―we can falsely imagine that if we do good things and avoid seriously offending God, then God owes us Heaven and salvation. Yet we forget that any good that we do is actually activated, aided and achieved by GOD’S GRACE and not our own independent efforts―hence Our Lord says: “Without Me―you can do nothing!” (John 15:5).
Here are some selected and combined quotes from St. Thomas Aquinas on God’s grace and our total reliance on it: “Human nature needs the help of God to do or wish any good whatsoever … Without grace men do nothing good when they either think or wish or love or act! … Without grace men can do no good whatever! … Grace is a light of the soul … Man cannot even know truth without Divine help … Not only do men know by the light of grace what to do, but by its help they do lovingly what they know! … Man, by his natural endowments, cannot produce meritorious works proportionate to everlasting life―for this a higher force is needed, namely, the force of grace. And thus without grace man cannot merit everlasting life … Man cannot prepare himself for everlasting life without the help of grace ... Man’s turning to God is by free-will―but free-will can only be turned to God, according to John 15:5: ‘Without Me, you can do nothing!’ … Man can do nothing unless moved by God ... Man needs the help of grace to heal his nature … Grace does not destroy nature but perfects it … Man cannot fulfill all the Divine commandments without healing grace … It is heresy to believe that without grace man can fulfill all the Divine commandments … Man cannot avoid every act of sin, except by grace … Man needs grace to entirely abstain from sin … Man by himself can in no way rise from sin without the help of grace … In order for a man rise from sin there is required the help of grace … God’s grace is the outcome of His mercy … Even a man who already possesses grace needs a further assistance of grace in order to live righteously … After anyone has been justified by grace, he still needs to beseech God for the gift of perseverance, so that he may be kept from evil until the end of his life. For to many persons grace is given to whom perseverance in grace is not given!” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Ia-IIae, questions 109 to 114; Quaestiones Quodlibetales, 4, 6).
Those passages of St. Thomas clearly show that even though the chief part of the work of salvation is unquestionably done by God and His grace, the cooperation and efforts of ourselves as nevertheless indispensable―we have to “rise from sin” … “abstain from sin” … “do good” … “produce meritorious works” … “fulfill all the Divine commandments” … “live righteously” … “keep from evil till the end of life” and “persevere in grace.”
Use It or Lose It!
The grace of salvation is a free gift of God’s ― but that gift MUST BE USED. The grace of salvation is like a seed that God freely gives us ― but we then have to plant that seed that was freely given to us, nurture it, nourish it, care for it, make it grow and make it bear fruit. Our Lord says: “I am the true vine; and My Father is the gardener. Every branch in Me, that bears not fruit, then he will take away: and every one that bears fruit, He will purge it, so that it may bring forth more fruit! As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me! I am the vine: you the branches―he that abides in Me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit―for without Me you can do nothing! If anyone does not abide in Me, he shall be cast forth as a branch and shall wither, and they shall gather him up and cast him into the fire, and he will burn!” (John 15:1-6).
Hence, in the Parable of the Talents―where the Lord gave to one of them five talents, and to another two, and to another one talent: “And he that had received the five talents, went his way, and traded with the same, and gained other five. And he that had received the two, gained other two. But he that had received the one, going his way dug a hole into the earth, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants came, and reckoned with them. He that had received the five talents brought the other five talents, saying: ‘Lord, you gave me five talents―behold I have gained other five over and above!’ His lord said to him: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! Because you have been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things! Enter into the joy of your lord!’ And he that had received the two talents came and said: ‘Lord, gave me two talents―behold I have gained other two!’ His lord said to him: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! Because you have been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things! Enter into the joy of your lord!’ But he that had received the one talent, came and said: ‘Lord, I know that thou art a hard man! And being afraid I went and hid your talent in the earth! Behold here is that which is yours!’ And his lord said to him: ‘Wicked and slothful servant! You should have at least committed my money to the bankers, and at my coming I should have received my own with additional usury!’ He then said to his servants: ‘Take away the talent from him, and the unprofitable servant cast ye out into the exterior darkness! There shall there be the weeping and gnashing of teeth!’” (Matthew 25:14-30).
All of that is echoed in Holy Scripture: “Work out your salvation” (Philippians 2:12) … “They say, and do not!” (Matthew 23:3) … “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only―thereby deceiving your own selves!” (James 1:20) … “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46) … “You are saved by grace through Faith and that not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8) … “What shall it profit, my brethren, if a man say he has Faith, but has not works? Shall Faith be able to save him? … Faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself! Show me your Faith without works; and I will show you, by works, my Faith! Know, O vain man, that Faith without works is dead! … Do you see that by works a man is justified; and not by Faith only? For even as the body without the spirit is dead; so also Faith without works is dead” (James 2:14-26) ... “Every man shall receive his own reward, according to his own labor!” (1 Corinthians 3:8) … “Labor as a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:3) … “Labor in all things” (2 Timothy 4:5). Our Lord sums it up: “And He said to ALL: ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross DAILY, and follow Me!’” (Luke 9:23) … “And whosoever does not carry his cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple!” (Luke 14:27) … “And he that does not take up his cross and follows Me, is not worthy of Me!” (Matthew 10:38).
Our Lady along speaks along the same lines to the Venerable Mary of Agreda: “My Son and Lord could have redeemed the human race without suffering so much! … It was not necessary to suffer so much! … Yet He wished to increase His sufferings only on account of the immensity of His love for souls! … But the worldlings, in their lethargy, are moved neither by the duty of conforming to their Lord, nor by His declaration that all their salvation consists in following Christ in His sufferings! … The greatest wisdom for souls consists in the knowledge of the cross, in the love of sufferings, and in putting this knowledge into practice by bearing afflictions with patience! … But they do not seek the medicine of suffering! …Those that know nothing of this science are foolish! … The number of fools is infinite and the number of the reprobate is also uncountable! … Eternal rest is incompatible with the shame of not having duly labored for its attainment! … Why do mortals continue to deceive themselves, by expecting, in spite of their sins, to become pure and worthy of enjoying God, without the furnace or the file of sorrows? Many of the faithful expect to be distinguished by God’s most intimate love, others expect to be pardoned without penance, others expect to be highly favored. Nothing of all this will they attain, because they do not wish to imitate Him and follow Him in His Passion.
“Great is the neglect and the inattention of men! … Men neglect their obligations! ... What a damage is brought about in souls by the neglect of so many graces, helps, inspirations, callings and other blessings of the Lord! ... Through their negligence and forgetfulness, mortals lose immense treasures of grace and glory! ... Those who neglect good works and remain idle, can by no means expect to apply to themselves the good works of Christ! … The neglect and contempt of bodily mortification cause the loss of many souls and bring many more into the danger of eternal loss. I will not tell thee how many souls are lost, in order to not cause thee to die of sorrow at this loss! … I have already told thee, that the number of those foreknown as doomed, is so great, and of those that save themselves is so small, that it is not expedient to say more in particular! Weep ceaselessly over the terrible loss sustained by so many insane and thankless souls, who are forgetful of God, of their duty and of their own selves … and lose their chance of salvation or bring upon themselves eternal damnation!
“My divine Son and I―without being guilty of any faults, or bad inclinations―devoted ourselves to labors and made Our lives a continual practice of penance and mortification of the flesh. If We then pursued such a course of life because it was reasonable, what must be thought of mortals that seek nothing but sweetness and delight, and abhor all penances, affronts, ignominies, fasting and mortification? Shall only Christ, our Lord, and I suffer all these hardships―while the guilt laden debtors and deservers of all these punishments throw themselves head over heels into the filth of their carnal inclinations?” (Words of Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, taken from The Mystical City of God).
You can lead a horse to water―but you cannot make it drink! Christ can suffer and die in order to save souls―but He will not force souls into Heaven! It all depends upon you whether or not you truly want to be saved! It all depends upon you whether or not you accept the terms of Christ’s contract for salvation. He will save you on His terms―not on your terms!
Advent is a time of penitential preparation for the coming of Christ at Christmas! Why did Christ coming at Christmas? What was the purpose of His coming? It the first of two comings―His first coming at Christmas was to be a coming of mercy; His second coming at the end of the world will a coming of justice. At that first Christmas―and at every Christmas celebrated since then―Christ offered and still offers us His mercy before it is too late. Now comes His mercy―later comes His justice. It is better for us to be led to waters of His mercy rather than being led to the waters of His justice! It is better for us to drink of the waters of mercy rather than having to drink of the waters of justice!
St. Paul reminds us of this in the New Testament: “For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea! And all in Moses were baptized, in the cloud, and in the sea! And did all eat the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink; and they drank of the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ! But with most of them God was not well pleased―for they were overthrown in the desert!” (1 Corinthians 10:1-5).
God was not well pleased with most of them! What a horrifying thought! They were His Chosen People—were they not? Yet He was ready to destroy them, He made them wander and die in the desert so that only two (Josue and Caleb) of the original millions who had left Egypt actually entered the Promised Land—the rest were a new generation! With most of them God was not well pleased! What, then, would God think of our ultra-sinful world today? We shiver to think!
Hence Holy Scripture says: “With fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12). Christ has done His part by suffering and dying for you―you must now do your part by cooperating with and profiting from the Passion and Death of Christ. As St. Augustine―a former big sinner himself―said: “God created us without us―but He did not will to save us without us!” Some translate the Latin into the singular: “God, Who created you without you, will not save you without you!” In other words, God created you without your cooperation, but God will not save you without your cooperation.
Entitled Catholics
Sadly, the modern world has bred us with a false sense of entitlement―an attitude whereby we imagine and feel that we are entitled to what we do not deserve and what we have not worked for. We expect “freebies” not only in the secular world, but we also expect “freebies” from Heaven: Good Friday Sales … Salvation Security Handouts … Comfort Confessions … Guilt Bailouts … Auto-Absolutions … Penitential Price Reductions … Fast-Track Masses … Slashed Sermons … Holy Communion “Take-Now-Pray-Later” deals … Low Interest Prayers … Rosary Reductions … Devotional Discounts … Grace Give-Aways … Holiness Handouts … Virtual Virtues … Educational Exemptions … etc., etc.
In one sense, everything that we receive from Heaven, everything that pertains to our salvation is actually a “freebie” which nobody has deserved. Everything is a grace of God, and our catechisms define grace as “a supernatural GIFT of God that FREELY given by God.” God owes salvation to nobody. God owes a place in Heaven to no one. Salvation and Heaven are GIFTS of God’s charity and NOT OBLIGATIONS in justice. Sure―we can falsely imagine that if we do good things and avoid seriously offending God, then God owes us Heaven and salvation. Yet we forget that any good that we do is actually activated, aided and achieved by GOD’S GRACE and not our own independent efforts―hence Our Lord says: “Without Me―you can do nothing!” (John 15:5).
Here are some selected and combined quotes from St. Thomas Aquinas on God’s grace and our total reliance on it: “Human nature needs the help of God to do or wish any good whatsoever … Without grace men do nothing good when they either think or wish or love or act! … Without grace men can do no good whatever! … Grace is a light of the soul … Man cannot even know truth without Divine help … Not only do men know by the light of grace what to do, but by its help they do lovingly what they know! … Man, by his natural endowments, cannot produce meritorious works proportionate to everlasting life―for this a higher force is needed, namely, the force of grace. And thus without grace man cannot merit everlasting life … Man cannot prepare himself for everlasting life without the help of grace ... Man’s turning to God is by free-will―but free-will can only be turned to God, according to John 15:5: ‘Without Me, you can do nothing!’ … Man can do nothing unless moved by God ... Man needs the help of grace to heal his nature … Grace does not destroy nature but perfects it … Man cannot fulfill all the Divine commandments without healing grace … It is heresy to believe that without grace man can fulfill all the Divine commandments … Man cannot avoid every act of sin, except by grace … Man needs grace to entirely abstain from sin … Man by himself can in no way rise from sin without the help of grace … In order for a man rise from sin there is required the help of grace … God’s grace is the outcome of His mercy … Even a man who already possesses grace needs a further assistance of grace in order to live righteously … After anyone has been justified by grace, he still needs to beseech God for the gift of perseverance, so that he may be kept from evil until the end of his life. For to many persons grace is given to whom perseverance in grace is not given!” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Ia-IIae, questions 109 to 114; Quaestiones Quodlibetales, 4, 6).
Those passages of St. Thomas clearly show that even though the chief part of the work of salvation is unquestionably done by God and His grace, the cooperation and efforts of ourselves as nevertheless indispensable―we have to “rise from sin” … “abstain from sin” … “do good” … “produce meritorious works” … “fulfill all the Divine commandments” … “live righteously” … “keep from evil till the end of life” and “persevere in grace.”
Use It or Lose It!
The grace of salvation is a free gift of God’s ― but that gift MUST BE USED. The grace of salvation is like a seed that God freely gives us ― but we then have to plant that seed that was freely given to us, nurture it, nourish it, care for it, make it grow and make it bear fruit. Our Lord says: “I am the true vine; and My Father is the gardener. Every branch in Me, that bears not fruit, then he will take away: and every one that bears fruit, He will purge it, so that it may bring forth more fruit! As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me! I am the vine: you the branches―he that abides in Me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit―for without Me you can do nothing! If anyone does not abide in Me, he shall be cast forth as a branch and shall wither, and they shall gather him up and cast him into the fire, and he will burn!” (John 15:1-6).
Hence, in the Parable of the Talents―where the Lord gave to one of them five talents, and to another two, and to another one talent: “And he that had received the five talents, went his way, and traded with the same, and gained other five. And he that had received the two, gained other two. But he that had received the one, going his way dug a hole into the earth, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants came, and reckoned with them. He that had received the five talents brought the other five talents, saying: ‘Lord, you gave me five talents―behold I have gained other five over and above!’ His lord said to him: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! Because you have been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things! Enter into the joy of your lord!’ And he that had received the two talents came and said: ‘Lord, gave me two talents―behold I have gained other two!’ His lord said to him: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! Because you have been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things! Enter into the joy of your lord!’ But he that had received the one talent, came and said: ‘Lord, I know that thou art a hard man! And being afraid I went and hid your talent in the earth! Behold here is that which is yours!’ And his lord said to him: ‘Wicked and slothful servant! You should have at least committed my money to the bankers, and at my coming I should have received my own with additional usury!’ He then said to his servants: ‘Take away the talent from him, and the unprofitable servant cast ye out into the exterior darkness! There shall there be the weeping and gnashing of teeth!’” (Matthew 25:14-30).
All of that is echoed in Holy Scripture: “Work out your salvation” (Philippians 2:12) … “They say, and do not!” (Matthew 23:3) … “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only―thereby deceiving your own selves!” (James 1:20) … “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46) … “You are saved by grace through Faith and that not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8) … “What shall it profit, my brethren, if a man say he has Faith, but has not works? Shall Faith be able to save him? … Faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself! Show me your Faith without works; and I will show you, by works, my Faith! Know, O vain man, that Faith without works is dead! … Do you see that by works a man is justified; and not by Faith only? For even as the body without the spirit is dead; so also Faith without works is dead” (James 2:14-26) ... “Every man shall receive his own reward, according to his own labor!” (1 Corinthians 3:8) … “Labor as a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:3) … “Labor in all things” (2 Timothy 4:5). Our Lord sums it up: “And He said to ALL: ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross DAILY, and follow Me!’” (Luke 9:23) … “And whosoever does not carry his cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple!” (Luke 14:27) … “And he that does not take up his cross and follows Me, is not worthy of Me!” (Matthew 10:38).
Our Lady along speaks along the same lines to the Venerable Mary of Agreda: “My Son and Lord could have redeemed the human race without suffering so much! … It was not necessary to suffer so much! … Yet He wished to increase His sufferings only on account of the immensity of His love for souls! … But the worldlings, in their lethargy, are moved neither by the duty of conforming to their Lord, nor by His declaration that all their salvation consists in following Christ in His sufferings! … The greatest wisdom for souls consists in the knowledge of the cross, in the love of sufferings, and in putting this knowledge into practice by bearing afflictions with patience! … But they do not seek the medicine of suffering! …Those that know nothing of this science are foolish! … The number of fools is infinite and the number of the reprobate is also uncountable! … Eternal rest is incompatible with the shame of not having duly labored for its attainment! … Why do mortals continue to deceive themselves, by expecting, in spite of their sins, to become pure and worthy of enjoying God, without the furnace or the file of sorrows? Many of the faithful expect to be distinguished by God’s most intimate love, others expect to be pardoned without penance, others expect to be highly favored. Nothing of all this will they attain, because they do not wish to imitate Him and follow Him in His Passion.
“Great is the neglect and the inattention of men! … Men neglect their obligations! ... What a damage is brought about in souls by the neglect of so many graces, helps, inspirations, callings and other blessings of the Lord! ... Through their negligence and forgetfulness, mortals lose immense treasures of grace and glory! ... Those who neglect good works and remain idle, can by no means expect to apply to themselves the good works of Christ! … The neglect and contempt of bodily mortification cause the loss of many souls and bring many more into the danger of eternal loss. I will not tell thee how many souls are lost, in order to not cause thee to die of sorrow at this loss! … I have already told thee, that the number of those foreknown as doomed, is so great, and of those that save themselves is so small, that it is not expedient to say more in particular! Weep ceaselessly over the terrible loss sustained by so many insane and thankless souls, who are forgetful of God, of their duty and of their own selves … and lose their chance of salvation or bring upon themselves eternal damnation!
“My divine Son and I―without being guilty of any faults, or bad inclinations―devoted ourselves to labors and made Our lives a continual practice of penance and mortification of the flesh. If We then pursued such a course of life because it was reasonable, what must be thought of mortals that seek nothing but sweetness and delight, and abhor all penances, affronts, ignominies, fasting and mortification? Shall only Christ, our Lord, and I suffer all these hardships―while the guilt laden debtors and deservers of all these punishments throw themselves head over heels into the filth of their carnal inclinations?” (Words of Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, taken from The Mystical City of God).
Article 16
Wednesday, December 17th
O How He Loves You!
Wednesday, December 17th
O How He Loves You!
Do We Deserve Love?
You may have heard the phrase that is often bandied around: “Jesus love me―this I know―for the Bible tells me so!” Does God really love the likes of you and me? We are sinners! “Who can say: ‘My heart is clean, I am pure from sin!’?” (Proverbs 20:9). “For all have sinned!” (Romans 3:23). “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us!” (1 John 1:8-10). “Whosoever commits sin, is the servant of sin … He that commits sin is of the devil” (John 8:34; 1 John 3:8).
What is sin? “Sin is the only evil upon Earth … Mortal sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, poverty, or war, because it separates us from God … Venial sin is second only in evil consequences to mortal sin … Sometimes people say: ‘It is only a little sin, it does not matter much!’ But every venial sin is an offence against God, and therefore is, after mortal sin, the greatest of evils―far greater than any of the physical evils which can be inflicted on us!” (The Catechism Explained, by Spirago-Clarke; also the Catechism, My Catholic Faith, by Bishop Morrow, STD; The Catechism Simply Explained, by Fr. Cafferata, q. 127).
Think of countless times that you have sinned! Think of many mortal sins you may have committed! Each time you haves sinned you have committed the greatest evil on Earth! Imagine what would happen to you if you committed the greatest crime in your country’s law books―what would they do to you? Would they love you? Would they “let you off the hook”? Or would they give you the maximum punishment for having committed the greatest crime? Holy Scripture says: “The wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23). “Sin, when it is completed, begets death” (James 1:15). “The sting of death is sin!” (1 Corinthians 15:56). “Sin has reigned to death!” (Romans 5:21). “The soul that sins, the same shall die!” (Ezechiel 18:4). “Everyone shall die for his own sin!” (Deuteronomy 24:16).
Losing the Sense of Sin
That is what sin deserves―and, as sinners, that is what we deserve! The problem is that we have lost the sense of sin―which is something that been lamented by recent popes, even the Liberal and Modernist popes as well the Traditional popes.
● Pope Pius XII said in1946:“Perhaps the greatest sin in the world today is that men have begun to lose the sense of sin!”
● Pope John Paul II, in 2005, wrote: “We live in a society that seems to have lost the sense of God and of sin!”
● Pope Benedict XVI, in 2011, said: “The word ‘sin’ is not accepted by many!”
● Pope Francis, in 2014, stated: “When the Kingdom of God is forgotten, when the Kingdom of God diminishes, one of the signs is that the sense of sin is lost! … When we lose the sense of sin, when we let the Kingdom of God crumble!”
Can Sin Destroy Charity?
Sin can and does destroy our charity for God―but sin cannot destroy God’s charity for us. “God is charity” (1 John 4:8) and mercy is a, so to speak, a “room in the mansion of charity”. If God is charity, then God also must be mercy―and Scripture says: “The Lord is gracious and merciful: patient and plenteous in mercy. The Lord is sweet to all; and His tender mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 144:8-9). That is why God Himself says: “If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow: and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool” (Isaias 1:18). “Is it My will that a sinner should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways, and live? … If the wicked does penance for all his sins which he has committed, and keeps all My commandments, and does judgment and justice―then living he shall live and shall not die! I will not remember all his iniquities that he has done―in his justice, which he has done, he shall live!” (Ezechiel 18:21-23). What is that “judgment” and “justice” that God speaks of? We “judge” ourselves to have sinned, and “justice” has to be administered―and that “justice” is done by doing penance for our sins. As Our Lord warns: “I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance! … No, I say to you― unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish! ... Again I say to you― except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 5:32; 13:3-5).
Nevertheless, the charity and mercy of God are there for those who want to profit from them. “God will [“to will” means “to want”] have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). “God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son―so that whosoever believes in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting” (John 3:16). “God sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). “God sent not His Son into the world, to judge the world, but so that the world may be saved by Him” (John 3:17). “The Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14). “The grace of God our Savior has appeared to all men, … that He might redeem us” (Titus 2:11-14). “The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save!” (Luke 9:56). “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). “The Lord deals patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance” (2 Peter 3:9). “I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance!” (Luke 5:32). “God declares unto men, that all should everywhere do penance!” (Acts 17:30).
Don’t Abuse the Charity and Mercy of God!
Charity covers sins. Lack of charity can lead to damnation. “Charity covers all sins” (Proverbs 10:12). “Before all things, have a constant mutual charity among yourselves―for charity covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). “Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much” (Luke 7:47).
St. John of the Cross says that at the end of our life we shall be judged upon our charity―which is why St. Paul writes: “If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all Faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not Charity―then I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not Charity―then it profits me nothing!” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
Let us not abuse God’s charity and mercy by treating Him a like ‘doormat’ upon which we can infinitely wipe our dirty sinful feet! “Be not deceived, God is not mocked! For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that sows in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption! But he that sows in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting!” (Galatians 6:7-8). “Say not: ‘I have sinned―and what harm has befallen me?’ Be not without fear about sin forgiven, and add not sin upon sin! And say not: ‘The mercy of the Lord is great―He will have mercy on the multitude of my sins!’ For mercy and wrath quickly come from Him, and His wrath looks upon sinners. Delay not to be converted to the Lord, and defer it not from day to day. For His wrath shall come on a sudden, and in the time of vengeance He will destroy thee!” (Ecclesiasticus 5:4-9).
Unfortunately, the mercy of God and terms of God’s mercy are being widely abused by the Church these days―both clergy and laity. The loss of the sense of sin (see above) has been compounded by a loss in seeing the need for penance. In the traditional liturgy of the Church, this week sees the so-called “Ember Days” which are traditional days of penance by fasting and abstinence on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. These Ember Days occur used to occur four times a year―but now they are abolished. Likewise with the penance of fasting on the eve (vigil) before major feasts like Christmas, Pentecost, the Assumption, All Saints’ Day, the Immaculate Conception, the Epiphany, and the Apostles Peter and Paul.
Originally, Advent was much longer than today―being a 40-day penitential season of fasting. The fast was later reduced to three obligatory days―Monday, Wednesday, and Friday each week in Advent. This was later reduced to just Friday. Today even that has been thrown out and Advent today has no obligation to fast. Similarly with Lent―the traditional 40-day Lenten obligatory fast has now been reduced to a mere 2 days, which are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday―that is a 95% reduction in obligatory Lenten penance! Yet Jesus told us us that some demons can be exorcised only by prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:21). The Church’s exorcists speak of Satan’s increasing grip on the world―yet there are been a mammoth decrease in one of the chief weapons against Satan―which is penance: “This kind [of devil] is not cast out but by prayer and fasting!” (Matthew 17:20).
“Christ died for our sins!” (1 Corinthians 15:3) … “Christ died once for our sins, the just for the unjust: that he might offer us to God!” (1 Peter 3:18). Our Lord Himself said: “Greater love that this no man has―that a man lay down his life for his friends!” (John 15:13)―and He not only died for His friends, but also His enemies, as He said on the cross: “Father, forgive them! They know not what they do!” ([Luke 23:34). Sure―Christ did the ultimate penance by His Passion and Death which ended with Him being crucified as payment for our sins―but Christ also expects us to “co-pay” through our own penances, which are next to nothing compared to His sufferings, but which indicate and admit our guilt for our sins. That is why Christ demands penance from us: “I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance! … No, I say to you― unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish ... Again I say to you― except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 5:32; 13:3-5).
Our Lord Clearly Indicates His Love for Us
Hence, Our Lord says to Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres (of Our Lady of Good Success fame): “Alas! If men would only realize how greatly I am wounded and displeased with the coldness, indifference, and small spineless imperfections on the part of those who belong to Me ... I will not tolerate this! Halfway measures are not pleasing to Me! I desire all or nothing! — according to My example, for I gave of Myself to the last drop of Blood and Water from My shattered Body on the Cross! ... Woe to souls like this! Woe!” (Our Lord to Mother Mariana, Quito Ecuador).
Similarly, the Sacred Heart revealed to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque: “My Divine Heart is so passionately inflamed with love for men! … Behold this Heart which has so loved men that It spared nothing―even going so far as to exhaust and consume Itself to prove to them Its love! And in return I receive― from the greater part of men―nothing but ingratitude, by the contempt, irreverence, sacrileges and coldness with which they treat Me! … If they would only give Me some return of love―but they have only coldness and contempt for all My endeavors to do them good. This is more grievous to Me than all that I endured in My Passion!”
In the book, Words of Love, by Fr. Bartholomew Gottemuller, which is a compilation of quotes from three other books, we read of the words that Our Lord addressed to three of His mystics―Sr. Josefa Menendez, Sr. Mary of the Holy Trinity and Sr. Consolata Bertrone. Here is the section in which Our Lord speaks of His love for us (we list the references from the original books from which Fr. Gottemuller compiled his quotes):
► WORDS OF OUR LORD TO SR. JOSEFA MENENDEZ: “Ah, if souls only understood how ardently I desire to communicate Myself to them! But how few do understand ... and how deeply this wounds My Heart ... If only they [souls] knew My Heart ... mankind is ignorant of Its mercy and goodness: that is My greatest sorrow ... Behold the Heart that gives life to souls! The fire of this love is stronger than the indifference and ingratitude of men! … I am all love, and how then could I treat severely those I so love? … See My wounds [from the scourging]! Who has suffered for love of you as I have? … Love gives Itself as food to Its own and this food is the substance which gives them their life and sustains them ... The Holy Eucharist is love to the extreme of folly! I have contracted an alliance of love and mercy with you. Does love ever grow weary or mercy come to an end? Nothing, indeed, is lacking to My heavenly happiness―which is infinite―but I yearn for souls.... I thirst for them, and want to save them!” (Our Lord to Sr. Josefa Menendez, The Way of Divine Love, pages 82, 109, 123, 135, 201, 279, 305, 346, 377, 390, 399).
► WORDS OF OUR LORD TO SR. MARY OF THE HOLY TRINITY: “My love for you is so great that it could not be better expressed than through suffering … I have bought you at a great price! … I bought you at the price of My Blood, the Blood of God. That I might not condemn you, I allowed Myself to be condemned in your place … I wish each soul to understand that she has her special place in My Heart―because I have loved her even to dying on the Cross for her―yes, each soul ... As I am happy, yes, happy to show you the marks of My Passion—see how your God has loved you!―will you not also be happy to show Me the marks of your love? Oh, if you knew how I long for you! Not to reproach you, but to overwhelm you with joy in showing you the marks of My love ...
“There is only one reality―I love you! … I love you and I take care of you! … You are Mine! … I love you! Is that not enough to fill every one of your moments with the fullness of joy? I love you and desire that you should know it. Oh, if you knew how much I love you! … Do you understand that I cannot stop loving you—My gifts are without regret—do you understand how ready I am to help you, to give you My grace? You can ask everything of Me! Come to Me! … I wish you to be entirely Mine. You are so miserable! You have such need of Me! … Leave all! Let there no longer be anything else in the world for you, but the love between you and Me! … Oh, if you knew what My love is! And how I long for you to have confidence in it! … Give Me your heart! … It is such a great thing to belong to Me! What does anything else matter to you? Be full of joy at belonging to Me. I want you to be altogether Mine! … Am I not enough for you? Is it not sufficient for you to know that your Jesus loves you? … It is My joy to help you! I can do great things with a soul who unreservedly gives herself to Me, letting Me work in her―and each soul, each one, is called to that! ... Each soul is a matchless treasure to Me! … You cannot do without Me!” (Our Lord to Sr. Mary of the Trinity, The Spiritual Legacy of Sister Mary of the Holy Trinity, Fr. Silvere Van Den Broek, O.F.M., nos. 5, 61, 46, 49, 54, 55, 58, 88, 96, 145, 152, 169, 173, 177, 240, 247, 410, 425, 459, 513, 550, 551).
► WORDS OF OUR LORD TO SR. CONSOLATA BERTRONE: “Do not make Me out to be a God of rigor, whereas I am nothing but a God of Love! Write ‘The Gentle Heart of Jesus’―for everyone knows that I am holy, but not all know that I am gentle!” (Our Lord to Sr. Consolata Betrone, Jesus Appeals to the World, by Lorenzo Sales, I.M.C., p. 36).
You may have heard the phrase that is often bandied around: “Jesus love me―this I know―for the Bible tells me so!” Does God really love the likes of you and me? We are sinners! “Who can say: ‘My heart is clean, I am pure from sin!’?” (Proverbs 20:9). “For all have sinned!” (Romans 3:23). “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us!” (1 John 1:8-10). “Whosoever commits sin, is the servant of sin … He that commits sin is of the devil” (John 8:34; 1 John 3:8).
What is sin? “Sin is the only evil upon Earth … Mortal sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, poverty, or war, because it separates us from God … Venial sin is second only in evil consequences to mortal sin … Sometimes people say: ‘It is only a little sin, it does not matter much!’ But every venial sin is an offence against God, and therefore is, after mortal sin, the greatest of evils―far greater than any of the physical evils which can be inflicted on us!” (The Catechism Explained, by Spirago-Clarke; also the Catechism, My Catholic Faith, by Bishop Morrow, STD; The Catechism Simply Explained, by Fr. Cafferata, q. 127).
Think of countless times that you have sinned! Think of many mortal sins you may have committed! Each time you haves sinned you have committed the greatest evil on Earth! Imagine what would happen to you if you committed the greatest crime in your country’s law books―what would they do to you? Would they love you? Would they “let you off the hook”? Or would they give you the maximum punishment for having committed the greatest crime? Holy Scripture says: “The wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23). “Sin, when it is completed, begets death” (James 1:15). “The sting of death is sin!” (1 Corinthians 15:56). “Sin has reigned to death!” (Romans 5:21). “The soul that sins, the same shall die!” (Ezechiel 18:4). “Everyone shall die for his own sin!” (Deuteronomy 24:16).
Losing the Sense of Sin
That is what sin deserves―and, as sinners, that is what we deserve! The problem is that we have lost the sense of sin―which is something that been lamented by recent popes, even the Liberal and Modernist popes as well the Traditional popes.
● Pope Pius XII said in1946:“Perhaps the greatest sin in the world today is that men have begun to lose the sense of sin!”
● Pope John Paul II, in 2005, wrote: “We live in a society that seems to have lost the sense of God and of sin!”
● Pope Benedict XVI, in 2011, said: “The word ‘sin’ is not accepted by many!”
● Pope Francis, in 2014, stated: “When the Kingdom of God is forgotten, when the Kingdom of God diminishes, one of the signs is that the sense of sin is lost! … When we lose the sense of sin, when we let the Kingdom of God crumble!”
Can Sin Destroy Charity?
Sin can and does destroy our charity for God―but sin cannot destroy God’s charity for us. “God is charity” (1 John 4:8) and mercy is a, so to speak, a “room in the mansion of charity”. If God is charity, then God also must be mercy―and Scripture says: “The Lord is gracious and merciful: patient and plenteous in mercy. The Lord is sweet to all; and His tender mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 144:8-9). That is why God Himself says: “If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow: and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool” (Isaias 1:18). “Is it My will that a sinner should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways, and live? … If the wicked does penance for all his sins which he has committed, and keeps all My commandments, and does judgment and justice―then living he shall live and shall not die! I will not remember all his iniquities that he has done―in his justice, which he has done, he shall live!” (Ezechiel 18:21-23). What is that “judgment” and “justice” that God speaks of? We “judge” ourselves to have sinned, and “justice” has to be administered―and that “justice” is done by doing penance for our sins. As Our Lord warns: “I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance! … No, I say to you― unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish! ... Again I say to you― except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 5:32; 13:3-5).
Nevertheless, the charity and mercy of God are there for those who want to profit from them. “God will [“to will” means “to want”] have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). “God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son―so that whosoever believes in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting” (John 3:16). “God sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). “God sent not His Son into the world, to judge the world, but so that the world may be saved by Him” (John 3:17). “The Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14). “The grace of God our Savior has appeared to all men, … that He might redeem us” (Titus 2:11-14). “The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save!” (Luke 9:56). “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). “The Lord deals patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance” (2 Peter 3:9). “I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance!” (Luke 5:32). “God declares unto men, that all should everywhere do penance!” (Acts 17:30).
Don’t Abuse the Charity and Mercy of God!
Charity covers sins. Lack of charity can lead to damnation. “Charity covers all sins” (Proverbs 10:12). “Before all things, have a constant mutual charity among yourselves―for charity covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). “Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much” (Luke 7:47).
St. John of the Cross says that at the end of our life we shall be judged upon our charity―which is why St. Paul writes: “If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all Faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not Charity―then I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not Charity―then it profits me nothing!” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
Let us not abuse God’s charity and mercy by treating Him a like ‘doormat’ upon which we can infinitely wipe our dirty sinful feet! “Be not deceived, God is not mocked! For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that sows in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption! But he that sows in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting!” (Galatians 6:7-8). “Say not: ‘I have sinned―and what harm has befallen me?’ Be not without fear about sin forgiven, and add not sin upon sin! And say not: ‘The mercy of the Lord is great―He will have mercy on the multitude of my sins!’ For mercy and wrath quickly come from Him, and His wrath looks upon sinners. Delay not to be converted to the Lord, and defer it not from day to day. For His wrath shall come on a sudden, and in the time of vengeance He will destroy thee!” (Ecclesiasticus 5:4-9).
Unfortunately, the mercy of God and terms of God’s mercy are being widely abused by the Church these days―both clergy and laity. The loss of the sense of sin (see above) has been compounded by a loss in seeing the need for penance. In the traditional liturgy of the Church, this week sees the so-called “Ember Days” which are traditional days of penance by fasting and abstinence on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. These Ember Days occur used to occur four times a year―but now they are abolished. Likewise with the penance of fasting on the eve (vigil) before major feasts like Christmas, Pentecost, the Assumption, All Saints’ Day, the Immaculate Conception, the Epiphany, and the Apostles Peter and Paul.
Originally, Advent was much longer than today―being a 40-day penitential season of fasting. The fast was later reduced to three obligatory days―Monday, Wednesday, and Friday each week in Advent. This was later reduced to just Friday. Today even that has been thrown out and Advent today has no obligation to fast. Similarly with Lent―the traditional 40-day Lenten obligatory fast has now been reduced to a mere 2 days, which are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday―that is a 95% reduction in obligatory Lenten penance! Yet Jesus told us us that some demons can be exorcised only by prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:21). The Church’s exorcists speak of Satan’s increasing grip on the world―yet there are been a mammoth decrease in one of the chief weapons against Satan―which is penance: “This kind [of devil] is not cast out but by prayer and fasting!” (Matthew 17:20).
“Christ died for our sins!” (1 Corinthians 15:3) … “Christ died once for our sins, the just for the unjust: that he might offer us to God!” (1 Peter 3:18). Our Lord Himself said: “Greater love that this no man has―that a man lay down his life for his friends!” (John 15:13)―and He not only died for His friends, but also His enemies, as He said on the cross: “Father, forgive them! They know not what they do!” ([Luke 23:34). Sure―Christ did the ultimate penance by His Passion and Death which ended with Him being crucified as payment for our sins―but Christ also expects us to “co-pay” through our own penances, which are next to nothing compared to His sufferings, but which indicate and admit our guilt for our sins. That is why Christ demands penance from us: “I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance! … No, I say to you― unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish ... Again I say to you― except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 5:32; 13:3-5).
Our Lord Clearly Indicates His Love for Us
Hence, Our Lord says to Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres (of Our Lady of Good Success fame): “Alas! If men would only realize how greatly I am wounded and displeased with the coldness, indifference, and small spineless imperfections on the part of those who belong to Me ... I will not tolerate this! Halfway measures are not pleasing to Me! I desire all or nothing! — according to My example, for I gave of Myself to the last drop of Blood and Water from My shattered Body on the Cross! ... Woe to souls like this! Woe!” (Our Lord to Mother Mariana, Quito Ecuador).
Similarly, the Sacred Heart revealed to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque: “My Divine Heart is so passionately inflamed with love for men! … Behold this Heart which has so loved men that It spared nothing―even going so far as to exhaust and consume Itself to prove to them Its love! And in return I receive― from the greater part of men―nothing but ingratitude, by the contempt, irreverence, sacrileges and coldness with which they treat Me! … If they would only give Me some return of love―but they have only coldness and contempt for all My endeavors to do them good. This is more grievous to Me than all that I endured in My Passion!”
In the book, Words of Love, by Fr. Bartholomew Gottemuller, which is a compilation of quotes from three other books, we read of the words that Our Lord addressed to three of His mystics―Sr. Josefa Menendez, Sr. Mary of the Holy Trinity and Sr. Consolata Bertrone. Here is the section in which Our Lord speaks of His love for us (we list the references from the original books from which Fr. Gottemuller compiled his quotes):
► WORDS OF OUR LORD TO SR. JOSEFA MENENDEZ: “Ah, if souls only understood how ardently I desire to communicate Myself to them! But how few do understand ... and how deeply this wounds My Heart ... If only they [souls] knew My Heart ... mankind is ignorant of Its mercy and goodness: that is My greatest sorrow ... Behold the Heart that gives life to souls! The fire of this love is stronger than the indifference and ingratitude of men! … I am all love, and how then could I treat severely those I so love? … See My wounds [from the scourging]! Who has suffered for love of you as I have? … Love gives Itself as food to Its own and this food is the substance which gives them their life and sustains them ... The Holy Eucharist is love to the extreme of folly! I have contracted an alliance of love and mercy with you. Does love ever grow weary or mercy come to an end? Nothing, indeed, is lacking to My heavenly happiness―which is infinite―but I yearn for souls.... I thirst for them, and want to save them!” (Our Lord to Sr. Josefa Menendez, The Way of Divine Love, pages 82, 109, 123, 135, 201, 279, 305, 346, 377, 390, 399).
► WORDS OF OUR LORD TO SR. MARY OF THE HOLY TRINITY: “My love for you is so great that it could not be better expressed than through suffering … I have bought you at a great price! … I bought you at the price of My Blood, the Blood of God. That I might not condemn you, I allowed Myself to be condemned in your place … I wish each soul to understand that she has her special place in My Heart―because I have loved her even to dying on the Cross for her―yes, each soul ... As I am happy, yes, happy to show you the marks of My Passion—see how your God has loved you!―will you not also be happy to show Me the marks of your love? Oh, if you knew how I long for you! Not to reproach you, but to overwhelm you with joy in showing you the marks of My love ...
“There is only one reality―I love you! … I love you and I take care of you! … You are Mine! … I love you! Is that not enough to fill every one of your moments with the fullness of joy? I love you and desire that you should know it. Oh, if you knew how much I love you! … Do you understand that I cannot stop loving you—My gifts are without regret—do you understand how ready I am to help you, to give you My grace? You can ask everything of Me! Come to Me! … I wish you to be entirely Mine. You are so miserable! You have such need of Me! … Leave all! Let there no longer be anything else in the world for you, but the love between you and Me! … Oh, if you knew what My love is! And how I long for you to have confidence in it! … Give Me your heart! … It is such a great thing to belong to Me! What does anything else matter to you? Be full of joy at belonging to Me. I want you to be altogether Mine! … Am I not enough for you? Is it not sufficient for you to know that your Jesus loves you? … It is My joy to help you! I can do great things with a soul who unreservedly gives herself to Me, letting Me work in her―and each soul, each one, is called to that! ... Each soul is a matchless treasure to Me! … You cannot do without Me!” (Our Lord to Sr. Mary of the Trinity, The Spiritual Legacy of Sister Mary of the Holy Trinity, Fr. Silvere Van Den Broek, O.F.M., nos. 5, 61, 46, 49, 54, 55, 58, 88, 96, 145, 152, 169, 173, 177, 240, 247, 410, 425, 459, 513, 550, 551).
► WORDS OF OUR LORD TO SR. CONSOLATA BERTRONE: “Do not make Me out to be a God of rigor, whereas I am nothing but a God of Love! Write ‘The Gentle Heart of Jesus’―for everyone knows that I am holy, but not all know that I am gentle!” (Our Lord to Sr. Consolata Betrone, Jesus Appeals to the World, by Lorenzo Sales, I.M.C., p. 36).
Article 15
Monday & Tuesday, December 15th & 16th
Looking for Joy? It’s Waiting for You at the Crossroads!
Monday & Tuesday, December 15th & 16th
Looking for Joy? It’s Waiting for You at the Crossroads!
True Joy is not Temporary Joy!
Yesterday we celebrated “Gaudete Sunday” ― the Latin word that means “Rejoice”. We can know what “joy” is in theory, but we do not possess it unless we put it into practice―which is by “rejoicing” (or “re-joy-sing”). “Sing joyfully to God, all the Earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come in before His presence with exceedingly great joy!” (Psalm 99:2). “Come let us praise the Lord with joy! Let us joyfully sing to God our Savior!” (Psalms 94:1).
The Introit or Entrance Hymn for Gaudete Sunday commands: “Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I say, rejoice!” Then, in the Epistle reading of the Mass for Gaudete Sunday―lo and behold―the same injunction is repeated: “Brethren! Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4-7). In the Extraordinary Form of the Mass (the Traditional Latin Rite), the day that follows Gaudete Sunday in the year 2025 (Monday, December 15th) is a Ferial day with no feast allocated to it―therefore the Mass of Gaudete Sunday is repeated on the Monday. Thus, we are again told―through the prayers and readings of the Mass―to “Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I say, rejoice!” (Entrance Hymn or Introit) and then again in the Epistle reading of the Mass the same injunction is repeated: “Brethren! Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I say, rejoice!”
The Church is trying to drill into our thick skulls that rejoicing in the Lord is not “a one day wonder” but a perpetual state of being―ALWAYS rejoicing in the Lord. Finding joy in ALL THINGS, in ALL PLACES, at ALL TIMES, as the Preface of the Mass says: “It is truly fitting and proper, right and profitable to salvation, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, Lord, holy Father, Almighty and everlasting God.” This is because “to them that love God, all things work together unto good, to such as, according to His purpose, are called to be saints!” (Romans 8:28).
Looking for Joy?
Are you seeking joy? Who isn’t? Everyone wants pleasure. More deeply, everyone wants happiness. Most deeply, everyone wants joy. St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that joy is more than happiness, just as happiness is more than pleasure. Pleasure is in the body. Happiness is in the mind and feelings. Joy is deep in the heart, the spirit, the center of the self. The way to pleasure is power and prudence. The way to happiness is moral goodness. The way to joy is sanctity, loving God with your whole heart and your neighbor as yourself. St. Thomas Aquinas says, “No man can live without joy. That is why someone who is deprived of spiritual joy, goes over to carnal pleasures.”
It has been proved by experience by many, many people, many, many times. You can repeat the experiment and prove it to yourself. You can be absolutely certain that it is true, just as you can be certain that fire is hot and ice is cold. Millions of people for thousands of years have tried the experiment, and they have found that nobody who ever said to God: “Thy will be done” and meant it with his heart, ever failed to find joy—not just in Heaven, or even down the road in the future in this world, but in this world at that very moment, here and now.
The Joy of Surrender
In the very act of self-surrender to God there is joy. Not just later, as a consequence, but right there and then. Every time anyone has ever said yes to God with something even slightly approaching the whole of their soul, every time they have not only said “Thy will be done”, but also meant it, loved it, longed for it—they have never failed to find joy and peace at that moment. In fact, to the precise extent that they have said it and meant it, to exactly that extent have they found joy. You get as much as you put in ― “He who sows sparingly, shall also reap sparingly!” (2 Corinthians 9:6). “For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap! For he that sows in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption. But he that sows in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting!” (Galatians 6:8).
The Kill-Joy
Every other Christian who has ever lived has found exactly the same thing in his own experience. It is an experiment that has been performed over and over again billions of times, always with the same result. It sounds too good to be true. It sounds like pious exaggeration, a salesman’s pitch. Instant joy? All you have to do is surrender to God? What’s the catch? There is a catch. It’s a big one, but a simple one―you have to really do it, not just think about it. To do it completely requires something we dislike very much―death. Not the death of the body. The body is not the obstacle. The ego is. Self-will is the obstacle We fear giving up our self-will even more than we fear giving up our body to death—even though that ego, the thing St. Paul calls “the old man” in us, or the Adam in us, is the cause of all our misery.
That old self has sold itself to the devil. It’s the devil’s microphone and speaker. It sits there behind our ears chattering away. When we’re about to give ourselves to God, it instantly whispers to us: “Careful, now! Hold back! Don’t get too close to Him! He’s unreasonable! He asks for too much! It will kill you!” The voice speaks some truth. Even the devil has to begin with some truth in order to twist it into a lie. It’s true; God is a killer. If you let him, he will kill your old, selfish, unhappy, bored, wretched, mistrusting, loveless self. You either believe all this, or you don’t. If you do, then do it! If you don’t, then try it. You’ll like it.
Total Joy Only Comes With Total Surrender
In the Epistle for Gaudete Sunday (and today), taken from Paul’s letter to the Philippians, one little is one of the most significant verses in the whole Bible. It states a truth that is absolutely fundamental to the spiritual life: “Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I say, rejoice!”
Within that quote we find one little disconcerting word that makes us uneasy ― the word “always”. We would more readily accept the passages if it were to say: “Rejoice when things are going your way. Rejoice when you’re having a good day! Rejoice when you’ve won a great victory; or you landed a job you’ve always wanted; or you experienced the birth of your first child! ” Rejoice at these times, sure. But always? How could you possibly rejoice when you’ve had a bitter disappointment? You’ve just received terrible news from the doctor. You find your precious dreams are shattered. When someone else got that job that you wanted with all your heart. When you’re lying sick in the hospital. Doesn’t it seem kind of almost callous, a little cruel, someone were to burst in on you at those moments and say: “Hey, rejoice! Always, in every circumstance, rejoice!”
Joy is Born from Effort
The ultimate joy, the only true and complete joy, is the possession of God―and this can only fully happen in Heaven. Therefore, to find joy we must seek God and Heaven―as Our Lord so clearly stated: “Seek ye therefore first the Kingdom of God! … For what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his own soul?” (Matthew 6:33; 16:26). What joy is there is in missing out on your salvation and being sent to Hell? Hence, Holy Scripture warns us: “With fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12). “His salvation is near to them that fear Him” (Psalm 84:10). “The fear of the Lord shall delight the heart, and shall give joy and gladness!” (Ecclesiasticus 1:12).
Notice the Scripture says: “WORK OUT your salvation!” and not “SIT BACK and await your salvation!” As St. James tells us: “What shall it profit a man if he says he has Faith, but has not works? Shall Faith be able to save him? … Faith, if it has not works, is dead in itself! Show me your Faith without works; and I will show you, by works, my Faith! You believe that there is one God. You do well―but the devils also believe and tremble! Will you know, O vain man, that Faith without works is dead?” (James 2:14-26).
Expecting joy while spending the least amount of effort in seeking it, rarely works in life. Joy requires conscious efforts to attain and maintain. Things that bring true joy often require upfront effort―unlike quick-fix pleasures that are merely “off-the-shelf” conveniences. Joy does not come from shortcuts. It is born from effort, grit, and the daily choice to persist in face of adversity, opposition, difficulty, and even failure. Joy is the beautiful reward for investment and toil. Joy often requires a deliberate and concerted effort to discover and cultivate, while sadness seems to effortlessly find its way into our lives without invitation.
Joy requires effort. While sadness can feel easy and effortless― true joy, fulfillment, and lasting happiness are often the result of effort―conscious practices, choices, and actions, like building relationships, practicing gratitude, creating meaning, exercising, and developing positive habits, rather than just waiting for good things to happen. It’s about actively cultivating a positive mindset and engaging in activities that bring intrinsic satisfaction, even when challenging, like the joy of effort in physical activity or personal growth.
Unfortunately, we live in a world that thinks that it is entitled to certain things without having to put forth any effort―a general belief that you are owed certain things. Modern entitlement attitudes involve expecting special treatment; rules not applying to oneself; minimal effort for maximum reward; expecting promotions without work; demanding constant attention in relationships; feeling rules are for others; or believing one deserves success without earning it, often stemming from a sense of superiority or lack of accountability. We expect social security handouts, food stamps, free schooling, subsidies, bailouts, exemptions, etc.
Some Show Effort―But in the Wrong Things
There are those who have placed their search for joy in the basket of the world―they work hard, but not to get to Heaven, but to become successful, famous or rich upon Earth. Our Lord warned: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth! … But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven! … For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” ― “mammon” being the pleasures, treasures, teachings and spirit of the world, whose prince is the devil (Matthew 6:19-24).
Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange writes: “The interior life is something far more profound and more necessary in us than intellectual life, or the cultivation of the sciences, more profound than artistic or literary life, more profound than social or political life. Unfortunately, some great scholars, mathematicians, physicists, and astronomers have no interior life, so to speak, but devote themselves to the study of their science, as if God did not exist. They have no intimate conversation with Him. Their life appears to be a search for the true and the good, in a more or less definite and restricted domain, but it is so tainted with self-love and intellectual pride, that we may legitimately question whether it will bear fruit for eternity. Many artists, literary men, and statesmen never rise above this level of purely human activity, which is, in short, quite exterior. Do the depths of their souls live by God? It would seem not. This shows that the interior life, or the life of the soul with God, well deserves to be called the one thing necessary, since by it we tend to our last end and assure our salvation. If people sacrifice so many things to save the life of the body, which must ultimately die, what should we not sacrifice to save the life of our soul, which is to last forever? Ought not man to love his soul more than his body?
“There are some who seem to think that it is sufficient to be saved and that it is not necessary to be a saint. It is clearly not necessary to be a saint who performs miracles, and whose sanctity is officially recognized by the Church. To be saved, we must take the way of salvation―which is identical with that of sanctity. There will be only saints in Heaven. No one enters Heaven unless he has that sanctity. Every sin—even if it should be only venial—must be effaced, and the punishment due to sin must be borne or remitted, in order that a soul may enjoy forever the vision of God, see Him as He sees Himself, and love Him as He loves Himself. The interior life of a just man — who tends toward God and who already lives by Him — is indeed the one thing necessary. To be a saint, neither intellectual culture, nor great exterior activity is a requisite; it suffices that we live profoundly by God. This truth is evident in the saints of the early Church. It is evident also in St. Francis, St. Benedict Joseph Labre, in the Curé of Ars, and many others. They all had a deep understanding of these words of our Savior: “For what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26). To save our soul, one thing alone is necessary ― to hear the word of God and to live by it. To wish to get along without God, leads to an abyss; not only to nothingness, but also to a physical and moral wretchedness that is worse than nothingness. The present world-wide crisis demonstrates what men can do (or cannot do) when they seek to get along without God.” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Ages of the Interior Life).
Learn from the Attitude of the World
Our Lord laments the fact worldly people show more effort than Christ’s followers: “The children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light!” (Luke 16:8). Many people whom we see as pagans or not Christians are often more successful in their secular endeavors than the so called Christians and Children of God. Their primary efforts are toward material success, personal gain, fame, and fortune within the present world system. This ambition can lead to visible earthly success, high levels of education, professional achievement―and misplaced or false joy. They seek joy―but it is not true joy, nor does it promise to be an everlasting joy. Yet they put out enormous efforts to find that fleeting temporary joy.
For example, if you seek joy in sports, then to find that fulfillment you have to immerse yourself in the struggle, growth, pain and process that will lead to that joy. The desire for that joy of winning, fuels motivation, prevents burnout, and leads to greater success and longevity, making the hard work rewarding through mindset shifts, focusing on intrinsic goals, and making you appreciate the journey. It’s about finding the “joy of effort,” where movement, skill development, and personal progress become inherently satisfying, transforming pressure into presence and passion.
The joy of winning championships, titles and medals in sports fundamentally requires immense effort, encompassing consistent daily training, mental toughness, strategic preparation, and paying attention and showing dedication to “the little things” like nutrition and recovery, beyond just talent; it’s the relentless pursuit and overcoming of challenges that builds the resilience and skill necessary for victory, teaching valuable life lessons along the way. Champions train hard in order to achieve success through relentless hard work, discipline, sacrifice, and superior mental toughness, consistently pushing past comfort zones and preparing more than anyone else, not just relying on talent. This involves early mornings, late nights, extra sessions, and a resilient mindset focused on small, daily improvements to build habits that lead to greatness. But all this is merely for worldly, temporary and vain success―rather than the success of attaining the joy of reaching Heaven through hard work.
St. Paul speaks of this in Holy Scripture: “Know you not that they that run in the race, all run indeed, but one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain! And every one that strives for the mastery, refrains himself from all things―and they, indeed, that they may receive a corruptible crown―but we an incorruptible one! I therefore so run, not as at an uncertainty! I so fight, not as one beating the air! But I chastise my body, and bring it into subjection―lest, perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway!” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).
St. Alphonsus Liguori, in The Way of Salvation and of Perfection, writes: “One thing is necessary! The salvation of our souls. It is not necessary to be great, noble, or rich in this world, or to enjoy uninterrupted health; but it is necessary to save our souls. For this purpose has God placed us here―not to acquire honors, riches, or pleasures, but to acquire by our good works that eternal kingdom which is prepared for those who, during this present life, fight against and overcome the enemies of their eternal salvation” (The Way of Salvation and of Perfection, Part 1, Meditation 17).
The Passion of Joy
Joy is one of the passions of the soul. The passions of the soul are very powerful, but they are also blind; they need to be correctly guided, and this guidance is expected to be given by the reason and the will (popularly known as the mind and the heart, as in the Scriptural command of loving God with your whole mind, heart, etc.). If this guidance is neglected, weak or erroneous, then mayhem results, but a mayhem that the passions find intoxicatingly and deliriously joyful.
Original Sin Turns Original Joy Sour
The passions of the soul are the following: love-hatred, desire-aversion, joy-grief; hope-despair, courage-fear, and anger. Adam and Eve, in the state of innocence, were not subject to the passions that have reference to evil, for they had to face no evil, present or threatening; therefore they were not subject to fear, grief, despair, anger, or inordinate desire. They had only such passions as refer to present and future good: joy, love, hope, orderly desire. And these passions of our first parents were, before the fall, perfectly subject and obedient to their reason and will, which, in turn, were perfectly subject and obedient to the enlightenment of God’s grace.
Once they had rebelled against God through their Original Sin, it was only fitting justice that God allow the inferior passions to rebel against the superior intellect and will, just as the inferior will and intellect rebelled against the superior grace of God, thus causing the inferior Adam and Eve to rebel against the superiority of God.
It is from that Original Sin that our passions beget their rebelliousness and it is from Original Sin that our intellect and our will find themselves wounded and weakened; no longer being in total domination over our passions, who now use false ‘reasoning’ in order to extort from our intellect and will an excess of what they feel will satisfy them. The passions are blind and need to be led by right reason and a strong will, when the passions overpower our reason and the will by their constant nagging and begging, then we have a case of the blind leading the weak—and as Our Lord says, they both fall into the pit (Matthew 15:14). “For the good which I will, I do not; but the evil which I will not, that I do” (Romans 7:19).
Blind Passions Cannot See True Joy
Our passions being blind, do not discern between good and evil; their measurement stick is not a moral measurement, but a measurement of pleasure: “Does this give me pleasure or does it not give me pleasure?” To the uncontrolled and unguided passions, moral good and moral evil do not enter into the equation. For them, if something is pleasurable then it is automatically good; if something is not pleasurable, then it is automatically evil. The result is what Holy Scripture warns us about: “Woe to you that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter” (Isaias 5:20). “Dearly beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that does good, is of God; he that does evil, has not seen God” (3 John 1:11).
Passionate Results
The results brought about by our blind passions are partially listed by St. Paul: “Know also this, that, in the last days, shall come dangerous times. Men shall be lovers of themselves, covetous, haughty, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, wicked, without affection, without peace, slanderers, incontinent, unmerciful, without kindness, traitors, stubborn, puffed up, and lovers of pleasures more than of God: having an appearance indeed of godliness, but denying the power thereof. Now these avoid.” (1 Timothy 3:1-5). Those who practice some or all of the above sins, find joy in them, but it is a misguided joy, a false joy, a sinful joy.
The Greedy Joy of the Passions
The passions are all about themselves and not the common good. Each one is like a gluttonous child taking his place at the dinner table—what results is a “free for all” grab and fight, unless the parents (reason and will) take charge and impose some discipline. Similarly, a child could eat ice-cream all day long and every day, or some other junk food of their choice—however, sickness or tooth decay will sooner or later show the existence of justice. Likewise, God will eventually step-in and with justice He will correct matters. Justice is giving someone their due―whether it be a good effect (a reward) or a bad effect (a punishment). “All things equally happen to the just and to the wicked, to the good and to the evil, to the clean and to the unclean” (Ecclesiastes 9:2).
Happiness and Joy is Every Person’s Goal
Whether we admit it nor and whether we like it or not, we all have the same ultimate supreme good. Our last end is a complete and enduring satisfaction or fulfillment; such a fulfillment is called beatitude or happiness and joy. But all men do not agree about the precise things in which their fulfillment and consequent happiness are to be found. Some think to attain the end by becoming rich, some by enjoying pleasures, some by exercising power, some by being praised and honored, and so on.
The desire for happiness and joy is behind our ceaseless drive towards his supreme and universal good—which, in other words, means seeking something that is wholly complete, perfectly satisfying. The problem lies in the fact that we have different ideas as to what that supreme good is; and we also differ in our opinions on how best to obtain it. Even in our sinful acts, we are seeking what we imagine to be a ‘good’, that is, satisfaction, although we are perversely seeking it in the wrong place, with the wrong persons, with the wrong things, or in the wrong manner.
Everyone seeks fulfillment or satisfaction, happiness and joy. These are the feelings we wish to experience. But those feelings need an object for their fulfillment or realization; the object which, when possessed, will give us complete happiness and joy.
The Joy of Knowing and the Joy of Possessing
We cannot enjoy something that we either know nothing about, nor enjoy something that we do not, at least temporarily, possess. I cannot enjoy a conversation if I am not engaged in one; I cannot enjoy a meal unless I am eating one; I cannot enjoy the weather unless I am actually experiencing it; I cannot enjoy a thought unless I am thinking it, and so on and so forth.
St. Louis de Montfort asks that popular philosophical question: “Is it possible for man to love that which he does not know? Can he love ardently that which he knows but imperfectly? Why then is the adorable Jesus, Eternal and Incarnate Wisdom, loved so little? Because He is not known, or known but little. Very few of us, like St. Paul, make a sincere study of the super-eminent science of Jesus, which is, nevertheless the most noble, the most consoling, the most useful and the most necessary of all sciences in Heaven and on Earth” (St. Louis de Montfort, Love of the Eternal Wisdom).
Joy—the Icing on the Cake of Love
Joy is the fruit or the proverbial “icing-on-the-cake” that comes with possessing of being in the presence of what we love. Love is, in a certain sense, incomplete without the actual union with what we love. In fact, love is driven on powerfully to obtain the object of its love and will not find ultimate peace or joy until it successfully obtains the loved object.
Hence persons, who love food, are happiest and most joyful when they actually engaged in eating food. Lovers of music are happiest and most joyful when they are playing or listening to their favorite music. Sports lovers experience the height of joy only when they are actually engaged in playing or watching their favorite sport. Those who love drugs or alcohol will experience the greatest joy when they are actually united to and are consuming their beloved substance.
False Happiness and Fake Joy
However, our happiness is not to be found in wealth, whether this be natural wealth which serves our normal needs (such as food, clothing, housing), or artificial wealth (money) which provides us with the items of natural wealth. Wealth of any kind is a means for acquiring something else; it is a thing that serves; it does not fulfill. Therefore wealth cannot be the true last end of man and the object that will render him eternally and completely happy.
Nor can power supply us with perfect happiness and joy, because power, like money, is a means to achieving something further, it is not an end in itself, but a means to something else.
Nor can our full happiness be found in being honored, respected and loved on account of some of our qualities or excellence, nor can it be found in fame and glory, because all these things are imperfect, they are not universal (not everybody feels that way about us), nor are they enduring (their opinions about us may change). Any excellence in a man is in him by reason of some good already possessed; it means that he already has some degree of happiness. Honors come to him because of this happiness, and therefore honor, praise and respect cannot themselves be the elements of perfect happiness.
Our ultimate happiness does not consist in goods of the body―life, health, strength, beauty, agility, etc. for these goods preserve the body and its perfections. Merely to preserve life cannot be the end of life. Just like money and power, goods of the body are to be used as a means by reason (intellect and will) and not to be looked upon as end in itself, just like a ship is used by its captain; or a car by its owner. The car is a means of transportation and of carrying cargo, it is not there to be just looked at and enjoyed. The captain does not dock his ship in harbor to be admired, but to carry passengers or profitable cargoes to desired ports. Likewise the goods of the body are means to an end, and not complete ends in themselves. Besides, being a rational being as well as a bodily being; we can never be completely fulfilled and satisfied by bodily goods alone, for the soul ranks higher than the body.
Joy from Above, or Joy from Below?
In fact, no created good or creature can give us perfect happiness, for they all have limits and degrees that allow them to give only partial happiness and a passing joy. No created good is wholly perfect, in all areas and limitless in its degrees of fulfillment; only an uncreated and limitless good can be our ultimate end and joy. And this uncreated good is God.
However, if we listen to our passions more than we listen to God, then problems will arise. As already stated, happiness and joy are our ultimate goals, and if we no longer seek happiness and joy in the things that are above, then, nature abhorring a vacuum, will look for that happiness and joy the things that are below, for the hungry passion needs to be fed on something. If we refuse to eat healthy food, then we will by default eat junk food. Our Lord clearly tells us:
“My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36) ... “You are from beneath, I am from above. You are of this world, I am not of this world” (John 8:23). “You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). To which St. James adds: “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4). “Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy” (John 16:20). That is why St. Paul says: “Be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2).
No doubt friendship with the world, acceptance by the world, the ways of acting of the world, may bring us great happiness and joy, but it is not the happiness and joy of Heaven, it is not a true and enduring happiness: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth! … But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven! … For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:19-24). “For what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26).
Obtaining that Heavenly Joy
True happiness and joy cannot be perfectly attained without rightness or rectitude in our will, where the will is conformed to and obedient to the guidance of grace and the teachings of Christ, Who tells us what to love and what not to love; what to seek and what not to seek. This sets our will in proper alignment with the supreme good, and makes our will love what it loves in perfect subordination to God. Without this subordination and perfection of our human will, we will never be perfectly happy. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His justice, and all these things shall be added unto you!” (Luke 12:31). “Not everyone that saiys to Me: ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven―but he that does the will of My Father Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 7:21). “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). “If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in My love” (John 15:10).
Love, when it is true, brings joy. But love is reciprocal (two-way-street); it means not just being loved, but loving in return; it means not just taking, but giving in return. “He that loves Me, shall be loved of My Father: and I will love him” (John 14:21). If we love Our Lord we must keep His commandments. This will bring, what is known as the “Joy of a Good Conscience.” But that is only the first and lowest level of a love of God. When we love someone, we love to talk to them and talk to them often―do we not? The same is true of our love of God―the more we love Him, the more we want to talk to Him and the more time we find to talk to Him. Yet the pinnacle of love is to suffer for God and Our Lord just a He suffered for us: “Greater love that this no man has―that a man lay down his life for his friends!” (John 15:13). In a sense, love is tested and proved by how much we are willing to suffer for the one whom we love. Christ suffered, died and laid down His life for us―are we willing to suffer and lay down our lives for Christ (and our neighbor whom God created)?
Can You Spot Christ?
We need our supernatural glasses, or contact lenses, to see Jesus in our sufferings―but, as the old adage goes: “Where there is the cross, there too is Christ!” St. Paul understood this and that is why he can speak so joyfully and courageously of the cross and suffering:
“For the word of the cross, to them indeed that perish, is foolishness; but to them that are saved, that is, to us, it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18) ... “That I may live to God: with Christ I am nailed to the cross” (Galatians 2:19) ... “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14) ... “For I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come” (Romans 8:18) ... “I Paul...now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ, in my flesh” (Colossians 1:23-24).
This attitude of St. Paul is approved and ‘rubber-stamped’ by St. Peter, who writes: “If you partake of the sufferings of Christ, then rejoice, that when His glory shall be revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy” (1 Peter 4:13).
St. Peter and St. Paul fully realize, understand and accept that God’s gifts of grace and His promise of future glory, are sufficient at all times to give us a ready and joyful acceptance of God’s will in adversity as well as in prosperity. St. Paul himself “rejoices” in his imprisonment, because his chains have turned out to be a means of spreading the Gospel, and are, for him, a means to his own salvation as well the salvation of others (1:12-20).
Rejoice—No Matter What
There are many lessons we may learn from these words of St. Paul written from a Roman dungeon to the Christians of Philippi, but the principal lesson and the one the Church wishes to place before us today is the lesson of joy. We must rejoice in the Lord—no matter what. For all that happens to us and around us, is only happening because God either wants it to happen (if it something good and not sinful) or God has allowed it to happen (if the action we suffer happens to be unjust or sinful). In all events, we must remember that nothing can happen without God’s permission. This should give us a similar attitude to suffering to that of St. Paul.
Yet our joy should not only be a result of the crosses that come our way, but let us also stop for a moment to count our blessings and see how many positive reasons we have for rejoicing.
We are alive; we are probably reasonably healthy; reasonably well-off compared to the vast majority in this world who live in poverty or near poverty; we are most certainly much better off than the people who lived centuries ago; we are human beings who can think, reason and love; we have a body with many talents and gifts, we have a soul which is destined to last forever.
We have been redeemed and been given a chance to attain eternal happiness in Heaven; we have the means of going there and have a guarantee we will get there if we use those means. We are among the minority in this world who have been baptized; we are part of an even greater minority of the baptized who still practice the Faith; we are able to receive our God and Creator in Holy Communion—daily if we wish (in most cases); we have access to the Sacrament of Confession in the case we fall into mortal sin and lose, thereby, our chance of going to Heaven.
And while we battle and struggle on the road to Heaven, we are allowed to enjoy many temporal gifts offered us from the generous hand of a loving Father. Have we not reason to rejoice, to be glad? Indeed, can any true Christian be sad? Of course, we meet with snags and setbacks on the road. To reach the summit of the everlasting hills of Heaven we have to climb the rugged foothills that lead to the summit, but a true Christian will not moan and murmur because of that. It is only those who are going nowhere, those who are to remain forever in a lowly painful valley, who meet no obstacles and have no hills to climb. For them there is only the broad, wide road that leads downwards. We have a chance of going to Heaven and so we realize that every obstacle we overcome, every little summit we scale, is bringing us nearer to the lofty peaks where everlasting happiness and the “peace of God” will be our eternal reward together with an unending joy! Rejoice!
Joy in the Cross and Suffering―the True Riches!
The only thing worth having a lot of, is having a lot of the cross―for the cross is our key and ticket to Heaven. Holy Mother Church tells us: “Ave crux, spes unica! … In cruce salus!” ― “Hail, cross! Our only hope! … In the cross is salvation!”
The words “Ave crux, spes unica” are based upon the words “O Crux, ave, spes única!” which are sung during the Passiontide Liturgy, in the hymn Vexilla Regis Prodeunt (The Standard of the King Goes Forth)―which is sung at Vespers up until Holy Thursday. It was first sung in the November 19th procession in 569 AD, when a relic of the True Cross, sent by the Emperor Justin II from the East at the request of St. Radegunda, was carried in joyous procession with great pomp and ceremony from Tours to the monastery of Saint-Croix at Poitiers. Its original processional use is commemorated in the Roman Missal on Good Friday, when the Blessed Sacrament is carried in procession from the Repository to the High Altar. Its principal use however, is in the Divine Office, the Roman Breviary assigning it to Vespers from the Saturday before Passion Sunday daily to Maundy Thursday, and to Vespers of feasts of the Holy Cross, such as the Finding of the Cross (May 3rd), the Exaltation of the Cross (September 14th), the Triumph of the Cross (16 July 16th).
The Holy Thursday liturgy, in the Introit at Mass, says: “Nos autem gloriári opórtet in Cruce Dómini nostri Iesu Christi, in quo est salus, vita et resurréctio nostra: per quem salváti et liberáti sumus” ― “But it behooves us to glory in the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ―in Whom is our salvation, life, and resurrection; by Whom we are saved and delivered.”
The following day, at the Good Friday Afternoon Liturgy, we have the adoration of the Cross―during which we sing repeatedly: “Ecce lignum Crucis, in quo salus mundi pepéndit! Veníte, adorémus!” … “Behold the wood of the Cross, on which hung the Savior of the world! Come, let us adore!” … further adding: “We adore Thy Cross, O Lord: and we praise and glorify Thy holy Resurrection―for behold, by the wood of the Cross, JOY has come into the whole world.” This is immediately followed by the magnificent hymn, Crux FIdelis ― O Faithful Cross. Here are just some of the references to the Cross:
Faithful Cross! Above all other,
One and only noble Tree!
None in foliage, none in blossom,
None in fruit thy peer may be;
Sweetest wood and sweetest iron,
Sweetest weight is hung on thee.
Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle!
With completed victory rife!
And above the Cross’s trophy
Tell the triumph of the strife:
How the world’s Redeemer conquer’d
By the offering of His life.
Thirty years among us dwelling,
His appointed time fulfilled,
Born for this, He meets His Passion,
For that this He freely willed:
On the Cross the Lamb is lifted,
Where His life-blood shall be spilled.
Bend thy boughs, O Tree of glory!
Thy relaxing sinews bend;
For awhile the ancient rigor,
That thy birth bestowed, suspend:
And the King of heavenly beauty
On thy bosom gently tend!
Faithful Cross! Above all other,
One and only noble Tree!
None in foliage, none in blossom,
None in fruit thy peer may be.
Sweetest wood and sweetest iron,
Sweetest weight is hung on thee.
Thus we can see why Jesus recommended and insisted upon the cross so much: “And Jesus said to all: ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me!’” (Luke 9:23) … “And whosoever doth not carry his cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple!” (Luke 14:27) … “And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth Me, is not worthy of Me!” (Matthew 10:38).
This is why St. Paul rejoices in being able to carry the Cross of Christ in his own personal life: “God forbid that I should glory, except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ―by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world!” (Galatians 6:14). “For I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us!” (Romans 8:18). “Furthermore I count all things to be but a loss for the excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord―for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as dung, in order that I may gain Christ!” (Philippians 3:8).
Likewise the Apostles: “Then the high priest … and all they that were with him … laid hands on the Apostles and … brought them and set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, saying: ‘Commanding we commanded you that you should not teach in this Name [Jesus]; and behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and you have a mind to bring the Blood of this Man upon us. But Peter and the Apostles answering, said: ‘We ought to obey God, rather than men!’ … And calling in the Apostles, after they had scourged them, they charged them that they should not speak at all in the Name of Jesus; and they dismissed them. And the Apostles went from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were accounted worthy to suffer reproach for the Name of Jesus” (Acts 5:17-41).
Walking Contradictions
Most Catholics are walking contradictions! They put on a Catholic face on Sunday―but a worldly face on Monday! Hypocritically they try to serve both God and the world―imagining that into Hell they won’t be hurled! With their lips to God they pray―but those same lips will a neighbor slay! When corrected―the blame is always rejected and deflected. When persecuted―they react with hatred that’s deep-rooted. When they suffer they mutter―when in pain they complain―in face of rejection they fall into dejection. They seek what is sweet and avoid what is bitter―even though bitter is better. With Heaven they want to be paid―but to earn it they are afraid. They see the cross as a loss―and run to what’s fun.
The Imitation of Christ sums up perfectly this abhorrence for suffering in two consecutive chapters―Book 2, Chapter 11, entitled “Few Love the Cross of Jesus” and Book 2, Chapter 12, entitled “The Royal Road of the Holy Cross”. Here are some pertinent extracts:
Few Love the Cross of Jesus
The Imitation of Christ states: Jesus has always many who love His heavenly kingdom, but few who bear His cross. He has many who desire consolation, but few who care for trial. He finds many to share His table, but few to take part in His fasting. All desire to be happy with Him; few wish to suffer anything for Him. Many follow Him to the breaking of bread, but few to the drinking of the chalice of His passion. Many revere His miracles; few approach the shame of the Cross. Many love Him as long as they encounter no hardship; many praise and bless Him as long as they receive some comfort from Him. But if Jesus hides Himself and leaves them for a while, they fall either into complaints or into deep dejection. Those, on the contrary, who love Him for His own sake and not for any comfort of their own, bless Him in all trial and anguish of heart as well as in the bliss of consolation. Even if He should never give them consolation ― they would continue to praise Him and wish always to give Him thanks. What power there is in pure love for Jesus — love that is free from all self-interest and self-love!
Do not those who always seek consolation deserve to be called mercenaries? Do not those who always think of their own profit and gain prove that they love themselves rather than Christ? Where can a man be found who desires to serve God for nothing? Rarely indeed is a man so spiritual as to strip himself of all things. And who shall find a man so truly poor in spirit as to be free from every creature? If a man give all his wealth, it is nothing; if he do great penance, it is little; if he gain all knowledge, he is still far afield; if he have great virtue and much ardent devotion, he still lacks a great deal, and especially, the one thing that is most necessary to him. What is this one thing? That leaving all, he forsake himself, completely renounce himself, and give up all private affections. Then, when he has done all that he knows ought to be done, let him consider it as nothing, let him make little of what may be considered great; let him in all honesty call himself an unprofitable servant. For truth itself has said: “When you shall have done all these things that are commanded you, say: ‘We are unprofitable servants!’” (The Imitation of Christ, Book 2, Chapter 11: “Few Love the Cross of Jesus”).
The Royal Road of the Holy Cross
The Imitation of Christ continues: To many the saying, “Deny thyself, take up thy cross and follow Me!” seems hard, but it will be much harder to hear that final word: “Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire!” Those who hear the word of the cross and follow it willingly now, need not fear that they will hear of eternal damnation on the Day of Judgment. This sign of the cross will be in the heavens when the Lord comes to judge. Then all the servants of the cross, who, during life, made themselves one with the Crucified, will draw near with great trust to Christ, the judge.
Why, then, do you fear to take up the cross when through it you can win a kingdom? In the cross is salvation, in the cross is life, in the cross is protection from enemies, in the cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness, in the cross is strength of mind, in the cross is joy of spirit, in the cross is highest virtue, in the cross is perfect holiness. There is no salvation of soul, nor hope of everlasting life, except in the cross. Take up your cross, therefore, and follow Jesus, and you shall enter eternal life. He Himself opened the way before you in carrying His cross, and upon it He died for you, that you, too, might take up your cross and long to die upon it. If you die with Him, you shall also live with Him, and if you share His suffering, you shall also share His glory.
Behold, in the cross is everything, and upon your dying on the cross everything depends. There is no other way to life and to true inward peace than the way of the holy cross and daily mortification. Go where you will, seek what you will, you will not find a higher way, nor a less exalted but safer way, than the way of the holy cross. Arrange and order everything to suit your will and judgment, and still you will find that some suffering must always be borne, willingly or unwillingly, and thus you will always find the cross.
Either you will experience bodily pain or you will undergo tribulation of spirit in your soul. At times you will be forsaken by God, at times troubled by those about you and, what is worse, you will often grow weary of yourself. You cannot escape, you cannot be relieved by any remedy or comfort but must bear with it as long as God wills. For He wishes you to learn to bear trial without consolation, to submit yourself wholly to Him that you may become more humble through suffering. No one understands the passion of Christ so thoroughly or heartily as the man whose lot it is to suffer the like himself.
The cross, therefore, is always ready; it awaits you everywhere. No matter where you may go, you cannot escape it, for wherever you go you take yourself with you and shall always find yourself. Turn where you will — above, below, without, or within — you will find a cross in everything, and everywhere you must have patience if you would have peace within and merit an eternal crown.
If you carry the cross willingly, it will carry and lead you to the desired goal where indeed there shall be no more suffering, but here there shall be. If you carry it unwillingly, you create a burden for yourself and increase the load, though still you have to bear it. If you cast away one cross, you will find another and perhaps a heavier one. Do you expect to escape what no mortal man can ever avoid? Which of the saints was without a cross or trial on this Earth? Not even Jesus Christ, our Lord, Whose every hour on Earth knew the pain of His passion. “It behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead ... and so enter into his glory.” How is it that you look for another way than this, the royal way of the holy cross?
The whole life of Christ was a cross and a martyrdom, and do you seek rest and enjoyment for yourself? You deceive yourself, you are mistaken if you seek anything but to suffer, for this mortal life is full of miseries and marked with crosses on all sides. Indeed, the more spiritual progress a person makes, so much heavier will he frequently find the cross, because as his love increases, the pain of his exile also increases.
Yet such a man, though afflicted in many ways, is not without hope of consolation, because he knows that great reward is coming to him for bearing his cross. And when he carries it willingly, every pang of tribulation is changed into hope of solace from God. Besides, the more the flesh is distressed by affliction, so much the more is the spirit strengthened by inward grace. Not infrequently a man is so strengthened by his love of trials and hardship in his desire to conform to the cross of Christ, that he does not wish to be without sorrow or pain, since he believes he will be the more acceptable to God if he is able to endure more and more grievous things for His sake.
It is the grace of Christ, and not the virtue of man, which can and does bring it about that through fervor of spirit frail flesh learns to love and to gain what it naturally hates and shuns.
To carry the cross, to love the cross, to chastise the body and bring it to subjection, to flee honors, to endure contempt gladly, to despise self and wish to be despised, to suffer any adversity and loss, to desire no prosperous days on Earth — this is not man’s way. If you rely upon yourself, you can do none of these things, but if you trust in the Lord, strength will be given you from Heaven and the world and the flesh will be made subject to your word. You will not even fear your enemy, the devil, if you are armed with faith and signed with the cross of Christ.
Set yourself, then, like a good and faithful servant of Christ, to bear bravely the cross of your Lord, Who out of love was crucified for you. Be ready to suffer many adversities and many kinds of trouble in this miserable life, for troublesome and miserable life will always be, no matter where you are; and so you will find it wherever you may hide. Thus it must be; and there is no way to evade the trials and sorrows of life but to bear them.
Drink the chalice of the Lord with affection it you wish to be His friend and to have part with Him. Leave consolation to God; let Him do as most pleases Him. On your part, be ready to bear sufferings and consider them the greatest consolation, for even though you alone were to undergo them all, the sufferings of this life are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come.
When you shall have come to the point where suffering is sweet and acceptable for the sake of Christ, then consider yourself fortunate, for you have found paradise on Earth. But as long as suffering irks you and you seek to escape, so long will you be unfortunate, and the tribulation you seek to evade will follow you everywhere. If you put your mind to the things you ought to consider, that is, to suffering and death, you would soon be in a better state and would find peace.
Although you were taken to the third Heaven with Paul, you were not thereby insured against suffering. Jesus said: “I will show him how great things he must suffer for My Name’s sake!” To suffer, then, remains your lot, if you mean to love Jesus and serve Him forever.
If you were only worthy to suffer something for the name of Jesus, what great glory would be in store for you, what great joy to all the saints of God, what great edification to those about you! For all men praise patience though there are few who wish to practice it. With good reason, then, ought you to be willing to suffer a little for Christ since many suffer much more for the world. Realize that you must lead a dying life; the more a man dies to himself, the more he begins to live unto God.
No man is fit to enjoy Heaven unless he has resigned himself to suffer hardship for Christ. Nothing is more acceptable to God, nothing more helpful for you on this Earth than to suffer willingly for Christ. If you had to make a choice, you ought to wish rather to suffer for Christ than to enjoy many consolations, for thus you would be more like Christ and more like all the saints. Our merit and progress consist not in many pleasures and comforts but rather in enduring great afflictions and sufferings.
If, indeed, there were anything better or more useful for man’s salvation than suffering, Christ would have shown it by word and example. But He clearly exhorts the disciples who follow Him and all who wish to follow Him to carry the cross, saying: “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” When, therefore, we have read and searched all that has been written, let this be the final conclusion — that through much suffering we must enter into the kingdom of God. (The Imitation of Christ, Book 2, Chapter 12: “The Royal Road of the Holy Cross”).
Yesterday we celebrated “Gaudete Sunday” ― the Latin word that means “Rejoice”. We can know what “joy” is in theory, but we do not possess it unless we put it into practice―which is by “rejoicing” (or “re-joy-sing”). “Sing joyfully to God, all the Earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come in before His presence with exceedingly great joy!” (Psalm 99:2). “Come let us praise the Lord with joy! Let us joyfully sing to God our Savior!” (Psalms 94:1).
The Introit or Entrance Hymn for Gaudete Sunday commands: “Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I say, rejoice!” Then, in the Epistle reading of the Mass for Gaudete Sunday―lo and behold―the same injunction is repeated: “Brethren! Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4-7). In the Extraordinary Form of the Mass (the Traditional Latin Rite), the day that follows Gaudete Sunday in the year 2025 (Monday, December 15th) is a Ferial day with no feast allocated to it―therefore the Mass of Gaudete Sunday is repeated on the Monday. Thus, we are again told―through the prayers and readings of the Mass―to “Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I say, rejoice!” (Entrance Hymn or Introit) and then again in the Epistle reading of the Mass the same injunction is repeated: “Brethren! Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I say, rejoice!”
The Church is trying to drill into our thick skulls that rejoicing in the Lord is not “a one day wonder” but a perpetual state of being―ALWAYS rejoicing in the Lord. Finding joy in ALL THINGS, in ALL PLACES, at ALL TIMES, as the Preface of the Mass says: “It is truly fitting and proper, right and profitable to salvation, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, Lord, holy Father, Almighty and everlasting God.” This is because “to them that love God, all things work together unto good, to such as, according to His purpose, are called to be saints!” (Romans 8:28).
Looking for Joy?
Are you seeking joy? Who isn’t? Everyone wants pleasure. More deeply, everyone wants happiness. Most deeply, everyone wants joy. St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that joy is more than happiness, just as happiness is more than pleasure. Pleasure is in the body. Happiness is in the mind and feelings. Joy is deep in the heart, the spirit, the center of the self. The way to pleasure is power and prudence. The way to happiness is moral goodness. The way to joy is sanctity, loving God with your whole heart and your neighbor as yourself. St. Thomas Aquinas says, “No man can live without joy. That is why someone who is deprived of spiritual joy, goes over to carnal pleasures.”
It has been proved by experience by many, many people, many, many times. You can repeat the experiment and prove it to yourself. You can be absolutely certain that it is true, just as you can be certain that fire is hot and ice is cold. Millions of people for thousands of years have tried the experiment, and they have found that nobody who ever said to God: “Thy will be done” and meant it with his heart, ever failed to find joy—not just in Heaven, or even down the road in the future in this world, but in this world at that very moment, here and now.
The Joy of Surrender
In the very act of self-surrender to God there is joy. Not just later, as a consequence, but right there and then. Every time anyone has ever said yes to God with something even slightly approaching the whole of their soul, every time they have not only said “Thy will be done”, but also meant it, loved it, longed for it—they have never failed to find joy and peace at that moment. In fact, to the precise extent that they have said it and meant it, to exactly that extent have they found joy. You get as much as you put in ― “He who sows sparingly, shall also reap sparingly!” (2 Corinthians 9:6). “For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap! For he that sows in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption. But he that sows in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting!” (Galatians 6:8).
The Kill-Joy
Every other Christian who has ever lived has found exactly the same thing in his own experience. It is an experiment that has been performed over and over again billions of times, always with the same result. It sounds too good to be true. It sounds like pious exaggeration, a salesman’s pitch. Instant joy? All you have to do is surrender to God? What’s the catch? There is a catch. It’s a big one, but a simple one―you have to really do it, not just think about it. To do it completely requires something we dislike very much―death. Not the death of the body. The body is not the obstacle. The ego is. Self-will is the obstacle We fear giving up our self-will even more than we fear giving up our body to death—even though that ego, the thing St. Paul calls “the old man” in us, or the Adam in us, is the cause of all our misery.
That old self has sold itself to the devil. It’s the devil’s microphone and speaker. It sits there behind our ears chattering away. When we’re about to give ourselves to God, it instantly whispers to us: “Careful, now! Hold back! Don’t get too close to Him! He’s unreasonable! He asks for too much! It will kill you!” The voice speaks some truth. Even the devil has to begin with some truth in order to twist it into a lie. It’s true; God is a killer. If you let him, he will kill your old, selfish, unhappy, bored, wretched, mistrusting, loveless self. You either believe all this, or you don’t. If you do, then do it! If you don’t, then try it. You’ll like it.
Total Joy Only Comes With Total Surrender
In the Epistle for Gaudete Sunday (and today), taken from Paul’s letter to the Philippians, one little is one of the most significant verses in the whole Bible. It states a truth that is absolutely fundamental to the spiritual life: “Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I say, rejoice!”
Within that quote we find one little disconcerting word that makes us uneasy ― the word “always”. We would more readily accept the passages if it were to say: “Rejoice when things are going your way. Rejoice when you’re having a good day! Rejoice when you’ve won a great victory; or you landed a job you’ve always wanted; or you experienced the birth of your first child! ” Rejoice at these times, sure. But always? How could you possibly rejoice when you’ve had a bitter disappointment? You’ve just received terrible news from the doctor. You find your precious dreams are shattered. When someone else got that job that you wanted with all your heart. When you’re lying sick in the hospital. Doesn’t it seem kind of almost callous, a little cruel, someone were to burst in on you at those moments and say: “Hey, rejoice! Always, in every circumstance, rejoice!”
Joy is Born from Effort
The ultimate joy, the only true and complete joy, is the possession of God―and this can only fully happen in Heaven. Therefore, to find joy we must seek God and Heaven―as Our Lord so clearly stated: “Seek ye therefore first the Kingdom of God! … For what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his own soul?” (Matthew 6:33; 16:26). What joy is there is in missing out on your salvation and being sent to Hell? Hence, Holy Scripture warns us: “With fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12). “His salvation is near to them that fear Him” (Psalm 84:10). “The fear of the Lord shall delight the heart, and shall give joy and gladness!” (Ecclesiasticus 1:12).
Notice the Scripture says: “WORK OUT your salvation!” and not “SIT BACK and await your salvation!” As St. James tells us: “What shall it profit a man if he says he has Faith, but has not works? Shall Faith be able to save him? … Faith, if it has not works, is dead in itself! Show me your Faith without works; and I will show you, by works, my Faith! You believe that there is one God. You do well―but the devils also believe and tremble! Will you know, O vain man, that Faith without works is dead?” (James 2:14-26).
Expecting joy while spending the least amount of effort in seeking it, rarely works in life. Joy requires conscious efforts to attain and maintain. Things that bring true joy often require upfront effort―unlike quick-fix pleasures that are merely “off-the-shelf” conveniences. Joy does not come from shortcuts. It is born from effort, grit, and the daily choice to persist in face of adversity, opposition, difficulty, and even failure. Joy is the beautiful reward for investment and toil. Joy often requires a deliberate and concerted effort to discover and cultivate, while sadness seems to effortlessly find its way into our lives without invitation.
Joy requires effort. While sadness can feel easy and effortless― true joy, fulfillment, and lasting happiness are often the result of effort―conscious practices, choices, and actions, like building relationships, practicing gratitude, creating meaning, exercising, and developing positive habits, rather than just waiting for good things to happen. It’s about actively cultivating a positive mindset and engaging in activities that bring intrinsic satisfaction, even when challenging, like the joy of effort in physical activity or personal growth.
Unfortunately, we live in a world that thinks that it is entitled to certain things without having to put forth any effort―a general belief that you are owed certain things. Modern entitlement attitudes involve expecting special treatment; rules not applying to oneself; minimal effort for maximum reward; expecting promotions without work; demanding constant attention in relationships; feeling rules are for others; or believing one deserves success without earning it, often stemming from a sense of superiority or lack of accountability. We expect social security handouts, food stamps, free schooling, subsidies, bailouts, exemptions, etc.
Some Show Effort―But in the Wrong Things
There are those who have placed their search for joy in the basket of the world―they work hard, but not to get to Heaven, but to become successful, famous or rich upon Earth. Our Lord warned: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth! … But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven! … For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” ― “mammon” being the pleasures, treasures, teachings and spirit of the world, whose prince is the devil (Matthew 6:19-24).
Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange writes: “The interior life is something far more profound and more necessary in us than intellectual life, or the cultivation of the sciences, more profound than artistic or literary life, more profound than social or political life. Unfortunately, some great scholars, mathematicians, physicists, and astronomers have no interior life, so to speak, but devote themselves to the study of their science, as if God did not exist. They have no intimate conversation with Him. Their life appears to be a search for the true and the good, in a more or less definite and restricted domain, but it is so tainted with self-love and intellectual pride, that we may legitimately question whether it will bear fruit for eternity. Many artists, literary men, and statesmen never rise above this level of purely human activity, which is, in short, quite exterior. Do the depths of their souls live by God? It would seem not. This shows that the interior life, or the life of the soul with God, well deserves to be called the one thing necessary, since by it we tend to our last end and assure our salvation. If people sacrifice so many things to save the life of the body, which must ultimately die, what should we not sacrifice to save the life of our soul, which is to last forever? Ought not man to love his soul more than his body?
“There are some who seem to think that it is sufficient to be saved and that it is not necessary to be a saint. It is clearly not necessary to be a saint who performs miracles, and whose sanctity is officially recognized by the Church. To be saved, we must take the way of salvation―which is identical with that of sanctity. There will be only saints in Heaven. No one enters Heaven unless he has that sanctity. Every sin—even if it should be only venial—must be effaced, and the punishment due to sin must be borne or remitted, in order that a soul may enjoy forever the vision of God, see Him as He sees Himself, and love Him as He loves Himself. The interior life of a just man — who tends toward God and who already lives by Him — is indeed the one thing necessary. To be a saint, neither intellectual culture, nor great exterior activity is a requisite; it suffices that we live profoundly by God. This truth is evident in the saints of the early Church. It is evident also in St. Francis, St. Benedict Joseph Labre, in the Curé of Ars, and many others. They all had a deep understanding of these words of our Savior: “For what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26). To save our soul, one thing alone is necessary ― to hear the word of God and to live by it. To wish to get along without God, leads to an abyss; not only to nothingness, but also to a physical and moral wretchedness that is worse than nothingness. The present world-wide crisis demonstrates what men can do (or cannot do) when they seek to get along without God.” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Ages of the Interior Life).
Learn from the Attitude of the World
Our Lord laments the fact worldly people show more effort than Christ’s followers: “The children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light!” (Luke 16:8). Many people whom we see as pagans or not Christians are often more successful in their secular endeavors than the so called Christians and Children of God. Their primary efforts are toward material success, personal gain, fame, and fortune within the present world system. This ambition can lead to visible earthly success, high levels of education, professional achievement―and misplaced or false joy. They seek joy―but it is not true joy, nor does it promise to be an everlasting joy. Yet they put out enormous efforts to find that fleeting temporary joy.
For example, if you seek joy in sports, then to find that fulfillment you have to immerse yourself in the struggle, growth, pain and process that will lead to that joy. The desire for that joy of winning, fuels motivation, prevents burnout, and leads to greater success and longevity, making the hard work rewarding through mindset shifts, focusing on intrinsic goals, and making you appreciate the journey. It’s about finding the “joy of effort,” where movement, skill development, and personal progress become inherently satisfying, transforming pressure into presence and passion.
The joy of winning championships, titles and medals in sports fundamentally requires immense effort, encompassing consistent daily training, mental toughness, strategic preparation, and paying attention and showing dedication to “the little things” like nutrition and recovery, beyond just talent; it’s the relentless pursuit and overcoming of challenges that builds the resilience and skill necessary for victory, teaching valuable life lessons along the way. Champions train hard in order to achieve success through relentless hard work, discipline, sacrifice, and superior mental toughness, consistently pushing past comfort zones and preparing more than anyone else, not just relying on talent. This involves early mornings, late nights, extra sessions, and a resilient mindset focused on small, daily improvements to build habits that lead to greatness. But all this is merely for worldly, temporary and vain success―rather than the success of attaining the joy of reaching Heaven through hard work.
St. Paul speaks of this in Holy Scripture: “Know you not that they that run in the race, all run indeed, but one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain! And every one that strives for the mastery, refrains himself from all things―and they, indeed, that they may receive a corruptible crown―but we an incorruptible one! I therefore so run, not as at an uncertainty! I so fight, not as one beating the air! But I chastise my body, and bring it into subjection―lest, perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway!” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).
St. Alphonsus Liguori, in The Way of Salvation and of Perfection, writes: “One thing is necessary! The salvation of our souls. It is not necessary to be great, noble, or rich in this world, or to enjoy uninterrupted health; but it is necessary to save our souls. For this purpose has God placed us here―not to acquire honors, riches, or pleasures, but to acquire by our good works that eternal kingdom which is prepared for those who, during this present life, fight against and overcome the enemies of their eternal salvation” (The Way of Salvation and of Perfection, Part 1, Meditation 17).
The Passion of Joy
Joy is one of the passions of the soul. The passions of the soul are very powerful, but they are also blind; they need to be correctly guided, and this guidance is expected to be given by the reason and the will (popularly known as the mind and the heart, as in the Scriptural command of loving God with your whole mind, heart, etc.). If this guidance is neglected, weak or erroneous, then mayhem results, but a mayhem that the passions find intoxicatingly and deliriously joyful.
Original Sin Turns Original Joy Sour
The passions of the soul are the following: love-hatred, desire-aversion, joy-grief; hope-despair, courage-fear, and anger. Adam and Eve, in the state of innocence, were not subject to the passions that have reference to evil, for they had to face no evil, present or threatening; therefore they were not subject to fear, grief, despair, anger, or inordinate desire. They had only such passions as refer to present and future good: joy, love, hope, orderly desire. And these passions of our first parents were, before the fall, perfectly subject and obedient to their reason and will, which, in turn, were perfectly subject and obedient to the enlightenment of God’s grace.
Once they had rebelled against God through their Original Sin, it was only fitting justice that God allow the inferior passions to rebel against the superior intellect and will, just as the inferior will and intellect rebelled against the superior grace of God, thus causing the inferior Adam and Eve to rebel against the superiority of God.
It is from that Original Sin that our passions beget their rebelliousness and it is from Original Sin that our intellect and our will find themselves wounded and weakened; no longer being in total domination over our passions, who now use false ‘reasoning’ in order to extort from our intellect and will an excess of what they feel will satisfy them. The passions are blind and need to be led by right reason and a strong will, when the passions overpower our reason and the will by their constant nagging and begging, then we have a case of the blind leading the weak—and as Our Lord says, they both fall into the pit (Matthew 15:14). “For the good which I will, I do not; but the evil which I will not, that I do” (Romans 7:19).
Blind Passions Cannot See True Joy
Our passions being blind, do not discern between good and evil; their measurement stick is not a moral measurement, but a measurement of pleasure: “Does this give me pleasure or does it not give me pleasure?” To the uncontrolled and unguided passions, moral good and moral evil do not enter into the equation. For them, if something is pleasurable then it is automatically good; if something is not pleasurable, then it is automatically evil. The result is what Holy Scripture warns us about: “Woe to you that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter” (Isaias 5:20). “Dearly beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that does good, is of God; he that does evil, has not seen God” (3 John 1:11).
Passionate Results
The results brought about by our blind passions are partially listed by St. Paul: “Know also this, that, in the last days, shall come dangerous times. Men shall be lovers of themselves, covetous, haughty, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, wicked, without affection, without peace, slanderers, incontinent, unmerciful, without kindness, traitors, stubborn, puffed up, and lovers of pleasures more than of God: having an appearance indeed of godliness, but denying the power thereof. Now these avoid.” (1 Timothy 3:1-5). Those who practice some or all of the above sins, find joy in them, but it is a misguided joy, a false joy, a sinful joy.
The Greedy Joy of the Passions
The passions are all about themselves and not the common good. Each one is like a gluttonous child taking his place at the dinner table—what results is a “free for all” grab and fight, unless the parents (reason and will) take charge and impose some discipline. Similarly, a child could eat ice-cream all day long and every day, or some other junk food of their choice—however, sickness or tooth decay will sooner or later show the existence of justice. Likewise, God will eventually step-in and with justice He will correct matters. Justice is giving someone their due―whether it be a good effect (a reward) or a bad effect (a punishment). “All things equally happen to the just and to the wicked, to the good and to the evil, to the clean and to the unclean” (Ecclesiastes 9:2).
Happiness and Joy is Every Person’s Goal
Whether we admit it nor and whether we like it or not, we all have the same ultimate supreme good. Our last end is a complete and enduring satisfaction or fulfillment; such a fulfillment is called beatitude or happiness and joy. But all men do not agree about the precise things in which their fulfillment and consequent happiness are to be found. Some think to attain the end by becoming rich, some by enjoying pleasures, some by exercising power, some by being praised and honored, and so on.
The desire for happiness and joy is behind our ceaseless drive towards his supreme and universal good—which, in other words, means seeking something that is wholly complete, perfectly satisfying. The problem lies in the fact that we have different ideas as to what that supreme good is; and we also differ in our opinions on how best to obtain it. Even in our sinful acts, we are seeking what we imagine to be a ‘good’, that is, satisfaction, although we are perversely seeking it in the wrong place, with the wrong persons, with the wrong things, or in the wrong manner.
Everyone seeks fulfillment or satisfaction, happiness and joy. These are the feelings we wish to experience. But those feelings need an object for their fulfillment or realization; the object which, when possessed, will give us complete happiness and joy.
The Joy of Knowing and the Joy of Possessing
We cannot enjoy something that we either know nothing about, nor enjoy something that we do not, at least temporarily, possess. I cannot enjoy a conversation if I am not engaged in one; I cannot enjoy a meal unless I am eating one; I cannot enjoy the weather unless I am actually experiencing it; I cannot enjoy a thought unless I am thinking it, and so on and so forth.
St. Louis de Montfort asks that popular philosophical question: “Is it possible for man to love that which he does not know? Can he love ardently that which he knows but imperfectly? Why then is the adorable Jesus, Eternal and Incarnate Wisdom, loved so little? Because He is not known, or known but little. Very few of us, like St. Paul, make a sincere study of the super-eminent science of Jesus, which is, nevertheless the most noble, the most consoling, the most useful and the most necessary of all sciences in Heaven and on Earth” (St. Louis de Montfort, Love of the Eternal Wisdom).
Joy—the Icing on the Cake of Love
Joy is the fruit or the proverbial “icing-on-the-cake” that comes with possessing of being in the presence of what we love. Love is, in a certain sense, incomplete without the actual union with what we love. In fact, love is driven on powerfully to obtain the object of its love and will not find ultimate peace or joy until it successfully obtains the loved object.
Hence persons, who love food, are happiest and most joyful when they actually engaged in eating food. Lovers of music are happiest and most joyful when they are playing or listening to their favorite music. Sports lovers experience the height of joy only when they are actually engaged in playing or watching their favorite sport. Those who love drugs or alcohol will experience the greatest joy when they are actually united to and are consuming their beloved substance.
False Happiness and Fake Joy
However, our happiness is not to be found in wealth, whether this be natural wealth which serves our normal needs (such as food, clothing, housing), or artificial wealth (money) which provides us with the items of natural wealth. Wealth of any kind is a means for acquiring something else; it is a thing that serves; it does not fulfill. Therefore wealth cannot be the true last end of man and the object that will render him eternally and completely happy.
Nor can power supply us with perfect happiness and joy, because power, like money, is a means to achieving something further, it is not an end in itself, but a means to something else.
Nor can our full happiness be found in being honored, respected and loved on account of some of our qualities or excellence, nor can it be found in fame and glory, because all these things are imperfect, they are not universal (not everybody feels that way about us), nor are they enduring (their opinions about us may change). Any excellence in a man is in him by reason of some good already possessed; it means that he already has some degree of happiness. Honors come to him because of this happiness, and therefore honor, praise and respect cannot themselves be the elements of perfect happiness.
Our ultimate happiness does not consist in goods of the body―life, health, strength, beauty, agility, etc. for these goods preserve the body and its perfections. Merely to preserve life cannot be the end of life. Just like money and power, goods of the body are to be used as a means by reason (intellect and will) and not to be looked upon as end in itself, just like a ship is used by its captain; or a car by its owner. The car is a means of transportation and of carrying cargo, it is not there to be just looked at and enjoyed. The captain does not dock his ship in harbor to be admired, but to carry passengers or profitable cargoes to desired ports. Likewise the goods of the body are means to an end, and not complete ends in themselves. Besides, being a rational being as well as a bodily being; we can never be completely fulfilled and satisfied by bodily goods alone, for the soul ranks higher than the body.
Joy from Above, or Joy from Below?
In fact, no created good or creature can give us perfect happiness, for they all have limits and degrees that allow them to give only partial happiness and a passing joy. No created good is wholly perfect, in all areas and limitless in its degrees of fulfillment; only an uncreated and limitless good can be our ultimate end and joy. And this uncreated good is God.
However, if we listen to our passions more than we listen to God, then problems will arise. As already stated, happiness and joy are our ultimate goals, and if we no longer seek happiness and joy in the things that are above, then, nature abhorring a vacuum, will look for that happiness and joy the things that are below, for the hungry passion needs to be fed on something. If we refuse to eat healthy food, then we will by default eat junk food. Our Lord clearly tells us:
“My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36) ... “You are from beneath, I am from above. You are of this world, I am not of this world” (John 8:23). “You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). To which St. James adds: “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4). “Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy” (John 16:20). That is why St. Paul says: “Be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2).
No doubt friendship with the world, acceptance by the world, the ways of acting of the world, may bring us great happiness and joy, but it is not the happiness and joy of Heaven, it is not a true and enduring happiness: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth! … But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven! … For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:19-24). “For what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26).
Obtaining that Heavenly Joy
True happiness and joy cannot be perfectly attained without rightness or rectitude in our will, where the will is conformed to and obedient to the guidance of grace and the teachings of Christ, Who tells us what to love and what not to love; what to seek and what not to seek. This sets our will in proper alignment with the supreme good, and makes our will love what it loves in perfect subordination to God. Without this subordination and perfection of our human will, we will never be perfectly happy. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His justice, and all these things shall be added unto you!” (Luke 12:31). “Not everyone that saiys to Me: ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven―but he that does the will of My Father Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 7:21). “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). “If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in My love” (John 15:10).
Love, when it is true, brings joy. But love is reciprocal (two-way-street); it means not just being loved, but loving in return; it means not just taking, but giving in return. “He that loves Me, shall be loved of My Father: and I will love him” (John 14:21). If we love Our Lord we must keep His commandments. This will bring, what is known as the “Joy of a Good Conscience.” But that is only the first and lowest level of a love of God. When we love someone, we love to talk to them and talk to them often―do we not? The same is true of our love of God―the more we love Him, the more we want to talk to Him and the more time we find to talk to Him. Yet the pinnacle of love is to suffer for God and Our Lord just a He suffered for us: “Greater love that this no man has―that a man lay down his life for his friends!” (John 15:13). In a sense, love is tested and proved by how much we are willing to suffer for the one whom we love. Christ suffered, died and laid down His life for us―are we willing to suffer and lay down our lives for Christ (and our neighbor whom God created)?
Can You Spot Christ?
We need our supernatural glasses, or contact lenses, to see Jesus in our sufferings―but, as the old adage goes: “Where there is the cross, there too is Christ!” St. Paul understood this and that is why he can speak so joyfully and courageously of the cross and suffering:
“For the word of the cross, to them indeed that perish, is foolishness; but to them that are saved, that is, to us, it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18) ... “That I may live to God: with Christ I am nailed to the cross” (Galatians 2:19) ... “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14) ... “For I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come” (Romans 8:18) ... “I Paul...now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ, in my flesh” (Colossians 1:23-24).
This attitude of St. Paul is approved and ‘rubber-stamped’ by St. Peter, who writes: “If you partake of the sufferings of Christ, then rejoice, that when His glory shall be revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy” (1 Peter 4:13).
St. Peter and St. Paul fully realize, understand and accept that God’s gifts of grace and His promise of future glory, are sufficient at all times to give us a ready and joyful acceptance of God’s will in adversity as well as in prosperity. St. Paul himself “rejoices” in his imprisonment, because his chains have turned out to be a means of spreading the Gospel, and are, for him, a means to his own salvation as well the salvation of others (1:12-20).
Rejoice—No Matter What
There are many lessons we may learn from these words of St. Paul written from a Roman dungeon to the Christians of Philippi, but the principal lesson and the one the Church wishes to place before us today is the lesson of joy. We must rejoice in the Lord—no matter what. For all that happens to us and around us, is only happening because God either wants it to happen (if it something good and not sinful) or God has allowed it to happen (if the action we suffer happens to be unjust or sinful). In all events, we must remember that nothing can happen without God’s permission. This should give us a similar attitude to suffering to that of St. Paul.
Yet our joy should not only be a result of the crosses that come our way, but let us also stop for a moment to count our blessings and see how many positive reasons we have for rejoicing.
We are alive; we are probably reasonably healthy; reasonably well-off compared to the vast majority in this world who live in poverty or near poverty; we are most certainly much better off than the people who lived centuries ago; we are human beings who can think, reason and love; we have a body with many talents and gifts, we have a soul which is destined to last forever.
We have been redeemed and been given a chance to attain eternal happiness in Heaven; we have the means of going there and have a guarantee we will get there if we use those means. We are among the minority in this world who have been baptized; we are part of an even greater minority of the baptized who still practice the Faith; we are able to receive our God and Creator in Holy Communion—daily if we wish (in most cases); we have access to the Sacrament of Confession in the case we fall into mortal sin and lose, thereby, our chance of going to Heaven.
And while we battle and struggle on the road to Heaven, we are allowed to enjoy many temporal gifts offered us from the generous hand of a loving Father. Have we not reason to rejoice, to be glad? Indeed, can any true Christian be sad? Of course, we meet with snags and setbacks on the road. To reach the summit of the everlasting hills of Heaven we have to climb the rugged foothills that lead to the summit, but a true Christian will not moan and murmur because of that. It is only those who are going nowhere, those who are to remain forever in a lowly painful valley, who meet no obstacles and have no hills to climb. For them there is only the broad, wide road that leads downwards. We have a chance of going to Heaven and so we realize that every obstacle we overcome, every little summit we scale, is bringing us nearer to the lofty peaks where everlasting happiness and the “peace of God” will be our eternal reward together with an unending joy! Rejoice!
Joy in the Cross and Suffering―the True Riches!
The only thing worth having a lot of, is having a lot of the cross―for the cross is our key and ticket to Heaven. Holy Mother Church tells us: “Ave crux, spes unica! … In cruce salus!” ― “Hail, cross! Our only hope! … In the cross is salvation!”
The words “Ave crux, spes unica” are based upon the words “O Crux, ave, spes única!” which are sung during the Passiontide Liturgy, in the hymn Vexilla Regis Prodeunt (The Standard of the King Goes Forth)―which is sung at Vespers up until Holy Thursday. It was first sung in the November 19th procession in 569 AD, when a relic of the True Cross, sent by the Emperor Justin II from the East at the request of St. Radegunda, was carried in joyous procession with great pomp and ceremony from Tours to the monastery of Saint-Croix at Poitiers. Its original processional use is commemorated in the Roman Missal on Good Friday, when the Blessed Sacrament is carried in procession from the Repository to the High Altar. Its principal use however, is in the Divine Office, the Roman Breviary assigning it to Vespers from the Saturday before Passion Sunday daily to Maundy Thursday, and to Vespers of feasts of the Holy Cross, such as the Finding of the Cross (May 3rd), the Exaltation of the Cross (September 14th), the Triumph of the Cross (16 July 16th).
The Holy Thursday liturgy, in the Introit at Mass, says: “Nos autem gloriári opórtet in Cruce Dómini nostri Iesu Christi, in quo est salus, vita et resurréctio nostra: per quem salváti et liberáti sumus” ― “But it behooves us to glory in the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ―in Whom is our salvation, life, and resurrection; by Whom we are saved and delivered.”
The following day, at the Good Friday Afternoon Liturgy, we have the adoration of the Cross―during which we sing repeatedly: “Ecce lignum Crucis, in quo salus mundi pepéndit! Veníte, adorémus!” … “Behold the wood of the Cross, on which hung the Savior of the world! Come, let us adore!” … further adding: “We adore Thy Cross, O Lord: and we praise and glorify Thy holy Resurrection―for behold, by the wood of the Cross, JOY has come into the whole world.” This is immediately followed by the magnificent hymn, Crux FIdelis ― O Faithful Cross. Here are just some of the references to the Cross:
Faithful Cross! Above all other,
One and only noble Tree!
None in foliage, none in blossom,
None in fruit thy peer may be;
Sweetest wood and sweetest iron,
Sweetest weight is hung on thee.
Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle!
With completed victory rife!
And above the Cross’s trophy
Tell the triumph of the strife:
How the world’s Redeemer conquer’d
By the offering of His life.
Thirty years among us dwelling,
His appointed time fulfilled,
Born for this, He meets His Passion,
For that this He freely willed:
On the Cross the Lamb is lifted,
Where His life-blood shall be spilled.
Bend thy boughs, O Tree of glory!
Thy relaxing sinews bend;
For awhile the ancient rigor,
That thy birth bestowed, suspend:
And the King of heavenly beauty
On thy bosom gently tend!
Faithful Cross! Above all other,
One and only noble Tree!
None in foliage, none in blossom,
None in fruit thy peer may be.
Sweetest wood and sweetest iron,
Sweetest weight is hung on thee.
Thus we can see why Jesus recommended and insisted upon the cross so much: “And Jesus said to all: ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me!’” (Luke 9:23) … “And whosoever doth not carry his cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple!” (Luke 14:27) … “And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth Me, is not worthy of Me!” (Matthew 10:38).
This is why St. Paul rejoices in being able to carry the Cross of Christ in his own personal life: “God forbid that I should glory, except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ―by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world!” (Galatians 6:14). “For I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us!” (Romans 8:18). “Furthermore I count all things to be but a loss for the excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord―for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as dung, in order that I may gain Christ!” (Philippians 3:8).
Likewise the Apostles: “Then the high priest … and all they that were with him … laid hands on the Apostles and … brought them and set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, saying: ‘Commanding we commanded you that you should not teach in this Name [Jesus]; and behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and you have a mind to bring the Blood of this Man upon us. But Peter and the Apostles answering, said: ‘We ought to obey God, rather than men!’ … And calling in the Apostles, after they had scourged them, they charged them that they should not speak at all in the Name of Jesus; and they dismissed them. And the Apostles went from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were accounted worthy to suffer reproach for the Name of Jesus” (Acts 5:17-41).
Walking Contradictions
Most Catholics are walking contradictions! They put on a Catholic face on Sunday―but a worldly face on Monday! Hypocritically they try to serve both God and the world―imagining that into Hell they won’t be hurled! With their lips to God they pray―but those same lips will a neighbor slay! When corrected―the blame is always rejected and deflected. When persecuted―they react with hatred that’s deep-rooted. When they suffer they mutter―when in pain they complain―in face of rejection they fall into dejection. They seek what is sweet and avoid what is bitter―even though bitter is better. With Heaven they want to be paid―but to earn it they are afraid. They see the cross as a loss―and run to what’s fun.
The Imitation of Christ sums up perfectly this abhorrence for suffering in two consecutive chapters―Book 2, Chapter 11, entitled “Few Love the Cross of Jesus” and Book 2, Chapter 12, entitled “The Royal Road of the Holy Cross”. Here are some pertinent extracts:
Few Love the Cross of Jesus
The Imitation of Christ states: Jesus has always many who love His heavenly kingdom, but few who bear His cross. He has many who desire consolation, but few who care for trial. He finds many to share His table, but few to take part in His fasting. All desire to be happy with Him; few wish to suffer anything for Him. Many follow Him to the breaking of bread, but few to the drinking of the chalice of His passion. Many revere His miracles; few approach the shame of the Cross. Many love Him as long as they encounter no hardship; many praise and bless Him as long as they receive some comfort from Him. But if Jesus hides Himself and leaves them for a while, they fall either into complaints or into deep dejection. Those, on the contrary, who love Him for His own sake and not for any comfort of their own, bless Him in all trial and anguish of heart as well as in the bliss of consolation. Even if He should never give them consolation ― they would continue to praise Him and wish always to give Him thanks. What power there is in pure love for Jesus — love that is free from all self-interest and self-love!
Do not those who always seek consolation deserve to be called mercenaries? Do not those who always think of their own profit and gain prove that they love themselves rather than Christ? Where can a man be found who desires to serve God for nothing? Rarely indeed is a man so spiritual as to strip himself of all things. And who shall find a man so truly poor in spirit as to be free from every creature? If a man give all his wealth, it is nothing; if he do great penance, it is little; if he gain all knowledge, he is still far afield; if he have great virtue and much ardent devotion, he still lacks a great deal, and especially, the one thing that is most necessary to him. What is this one thing? That leaving all, he forsake himself, completely renounce himself, and give up all private affections. Then, when he has done all that he knows ought to be done, let him consider it as nothing, let him make little of what may be considered great; let him in all honesty call himself an unprofitable servant. For truth itself has said: “When you shall have done all these things that are commanded you, say: ‘We are unprofitable servants!’” (The Imitation of Christ, Book 2, Chapter 11: “Few Love the Cross of Jesus”).
The Royal Road of the Holy Cross
The Imitation of Christ continues: To many the saying, “Deny thyself, take up thy cross and follow Me!” seems hard, but it will be much harder to hear that final word: “Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire!” Those who hear the word of the cross and follow it willingly now, need not fear that they will hear of eternal damnation on the Day of Judgment. This sign of the cross will be in the heavens when the Lord comes to judge. Then all the servants of the cross, who, during life, made themselves one with the Crucified, will draw near with great trust to Christ, the judge.
Why, then, do you fear to take up the cross when through it you can win a kingdom? In the cross is salvation, in the cross is life, in the cross is protection from enemies, in the cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness, in the cross is strength of mind, in the cross is joy of spirit, in the cross is highest virtue, in the cross is perfect holiness. There is no salvation of soul, nor hope of everlasting life, except in the cross. Take up your cross, therefore, and follow Jesus, and you shall enter eternal life. He Himself opened the way before you in carrying His cross, and upon it He died for you, that you, too, might take up your cross and long to die upon it. If you die with Him, you shall also live with Him, and if you share His suffering, you shall also share His glory.
Behold, in the cross is everything, and upon your dying on the cross everything depends. There is no other way to life and to true inward peace than the way of the holy cross and daily mortification. Go where you will, seek what you will, you will not find a higher way, nor a less exalted but safer way, than the way of the holy cross. Arrange and order everything to suit your will and judgment, and still you will find that some suffering must always be borne, willingly or unwillingly, and thus you will always find the cross.
Either you will experience bodily pain or you will undergo tribulation of spirit in your soul. At times you will be forsaken by God, at times troubled by those about you and, what is worse, you will often grow weary of yourself. You cannot escape, you cannot be relieved by any remedy or comfort but must bear with it as long as God wills. For He wishes you to learn to bear trial without consolation, to submit yourself wholly to Him that you may become more humble through suffering. No one understands the passion of Christ so thoroughly or heartily as the man whose lot it is to suffer the like himself.
The cross, therefore, is always ready; it awaits you everywhere. No matter where you may go, you cannot escape it, for wherever you go you take yourself with you and shall always find yourself. Turn where you will — above, below, without, or within — you will find a cross in everything, and everywhere you must have patience if you would have peace within and merit an eternal crown.
If you carry the cross willingly, it will carry and lead you to the desired goal where indeed there shall be no more suffering, but here there shall be. If you carry it unwillingly, you create a burden for yourself and increase the load, though still you have to bear it. If you cast away one cross, you will find another and perhaps a heavier one. Do you expect to escape what no mortal man can ever avoid? Which of the saints was without a cross or trial on this Earth? Not even Jesus Christ, our Lord, Whose every hour on Earth knew the pain of His passion. “It behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead ... and so enter into his glory.” How is it that you look for another way than this, the royal way of the holy cross?
The whole life of Christ was a cross and a martyrdom, and do you seek rest and enjoyment for yourself? You deceive yourself, you are mistaken if you seek anything but to suffer, for this mortal life is full of miseries and marked with crosses on all sides. Indeed, the more spiritual progress a person makes, so much heavier will he frequently find the cross, because as his love increases, the pain of his exile also increases.
Yet such a man, though afflicted in many ways, is not without hope of consolation, because he knows that great reward is coming to him for bearing his cross. And when he carries it willingly, every pang of tribulation is changed into hope of solace from God. Besides, the more the flesh is distressed by affliction, so much the more is the spirit strengthened by inward grace. Not infrequently a man is so strengthened by his love of trials and hardship in his desire to conform to the cross of Christ, that he does not wish to be without sorrow or pain, since he believes he will be the more acceptable to God if he is able to endure more and more grievous things for His sake.
It is the grace of Christ, and not the virtue of man, which can and does bring it about that through fervor of spirit frail flesh learns to love and to gain what it naturally hates and shuns.
To carry the cross, to love the cross, to chastise the body and bring it to subjection, to flee honors, to endure contempt gladly, to despise self and wish to be despised, to suffer any adversity and loss, to desire no prosperous days on Earth — this is not man’s way. If you rely upon yourself, you can do none of these things, but if you trust in the Lord, strength will be given you from Heaven and the world and the flesh will be made subject to your word. You will not even fear your enemy, the devil, if you are armed with faith and signed with the cross of Christ.
Set yourself, then, like a good and faithful servant of Christ, to bear bravely the cross of your Lord, Who out of love was crucified for you. Be ready to suffer many adversities and many kinds of trouble in this miserable life, for troublesome and miserable life will always be, no matter where you are; and so you will find it wherever you may hide. Thus it must be; and there is no way to evade the trials and sorrows of life but to bear them.
Drink the chalice of the Lord with affection it you wish to be His friend and to have part with Him. Leave consolation to God; let Him do as most pleases Him. On your part, be ready to bear sufferings and consider them the greatest consolation, for even though you alone were to undergo them all, the sufferings of this life are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come.
When you shall have come to the point where suffering is sweet and acceptable for the sake of Christ, then consider yourself fortunate, for you have found paradise on Earth. But as long as suffering irks you and you seek to escape, so long will you be unfortunate, and the tribulation you seek to evade will follow you everywhere. If you put your mind to the things you ought to consider, that is, to suffering and death, you would soon be in a better state and would find peace.
Although you were taken to the third Heaven with Paul, you were not thereby insured against suffering. Jesus said: “I will show him how great things he must suffer for My Name’s sake!” To suffer, then, remains your lot, if you mean to love Jesus and serve Him forever.
If you were only worthy to suffer something for the name of Jesus, what great glory would be in store for you, what great joy to all the saints of God, what great edification to those about you! For all men praise patience though there are few who wish to practice it. With good reason, then, ought you to be willing to suffer a little for Christ since many suffer much more for the world. Realize that you must lead a dying life; the more a man dies to himself, the more he begins to live unto God.
No man is fit to enjoy Heaven unless he has resigned himself to suffer hardship for Christ. Nothing is more acceptable to God, nothing more helpful for you on this Earth than to suffer willingly for Christ. If you had to make a choice, you ought to wish rather to suffer for Christ than to enjoy many consolations, for thus you would be more like Christ and more like all the saints. Our merit and progress consist not in many pleasures and comforts but rather in enduring great afflictions and sufferings.
If, indeed, there were anything better or more useful for man’s salvation than suffering, Christ would have shown it by word and example. But He clearly exhorts the disciples who follow Him and all who wish to follow Him to carry the cross, saying: “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” When, therefore, we have read and searched all that has been written, let this be the final conclusion — that through much suffering we must enter into the kingdom of God. (The Imitation of Christ, Book 2, Chapter 12: “The Royal Road of the Holy Cross”).
Article 14
Sunday December 14th
Don’t Fall for Fake Joy! Seek True Joy!
Sunday December 14th
Don’t Fall for Fake Joy! Seek True Joy!
Gaudete Sunday
Today is Gaudete Sunday―which is the third Sunday of Advent and the approximate midpoint of Advent―is so called from the first word of the Introit at Mass, “Gaudete” (which means “Rejoice”). At Christmas, we sing the carol: “Joy to the world!” We speak of the joys of the world, or worldly joys. We speak of heavenly joys and earthly joys. In fact, we use the word “joy” a lot—either alone, ‘stuck-on’ or ‘sandwiched’--joy, joyful, joyfully, joyous, enjoy, enjoyment, enjoyable, rejoice (rejoyce), etc.
In essence, Gaudete Sunday encapsulates the dual nature of Advent – a time for reflection and repentance, balanced with anticipation and rejoicing in the promise of redemption. It serves as a reminder that, even in the midst of our penitential preparations, there is joy to be found in the expectation of the Savior’s imminent arrival. Thus it brings a certain joy to our penances―so that they gain a sense of purpose as a means of gaining Christ and winning Heaven.
What is Joy?
What is joy, anyway? For a true and educated look and understanding of joy, let us turn to ‘sour-faced’ Thomas—or St. Thomas Aquinas, whom artists rarely depict with a smile on his face, but who most certainly had a smile in his heart! St. Thomas tells us—and this is Thomas simplified, for the reading the actual words of Thomas might take that smile off your face, for he can be ‘heavy going’ at times—St. Thomas tells us that joy is more than happiness, just as happiness is more than pleasure. He says that pleasure is in the body. Happiness is in the mind and feelings. Joy is deep in the heart, the spirit, the soul, the center of the self. The way to pleasure is possessions, power and prudence. The way to happiness is moral goodness. The way to joy is sanctity, loving God with your whole heart and your neighbor as yourself. Everyone wants pleasure. More deeply, everyone wants happiness. Most deeply, everyone wants joy. Yet few people find joy, some find happiness, while most are busy chasing pleasures.
St. Thomas Aquinas says that no man can live without joy: “Man cannot live without joy; therefore when he is deprived of true spiritual joys it is necessary that he become addicted to carnal pleasures.” That is why we have so much carnal desire raging throughout the world today—not just sexual desire, but also a desire for things for the body, such as food, alcohol, drugs, fashions, material items, entertainment, etc.—all this due to an absence of spiritual joy which makes a person fill the void with carnal pleasures. This is essentially what Our Lady foretold would happen in our ‘modern’ times: “As true Faith fades and false light brightens the people … Disorder and the love of carnal pleasures will be spread all over the Earth … The true Faith to the Lord having been forgotten … People will think of nothing but amusement … In these unhappy times, there will be unbridled luxury which, acting thus to snare the rest into sin, will conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost!” (Our Lady of Good Success & La Salette).
Holy Scripture commands us to be joyful: “Shout with joy to God, all the Earth!” (Psalm 65:1). “O clap your hands, all ye nations! Shout unto God with the voice of joy!” (Psalm 46:2). “Sing joyfully to God, all the Earth! Serve ye the Lord with gladness! Come into His presence with exceedingly great joy!” (Psalm 99:2). Even God the Father “got in on the act”—as we read in Holy Scripture: “God had made them joyful with great joy―their wives also and their children rejoiced, and the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off!” (2 Esdras 12:42).
Joy in Holiness
Regardless of what we might personally think―there can be no true happiness without holiness. Why? Because for happiness and joy to be real and true, they must be everlasting and eternal―and the only everlasting life in Heaven, which is the reward for holiness (for only saints get into Heaven), is the only place where joy can be everlasting. Lack of holiness or a life of unholiness inevitably leads to Hell, which is also everlasting and eternal, but where everlasting and eternal joy is replaced by everlasting and eternal sorrow. That is why Our Lord and Holy Scripture encourage us to be holy and perfect―for only those things will produce eternal joys. They joys of the world are only passing, temporary, inferior and fake joys that risk the loss of our souls.
● “For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul?” (Mark 8:36).
● “I am the Lord your God! Be holy because I am holy! You shall be holy, because I am holy! Sanctify yourselves, and be ye holy―because I am the Lord your God!” (Leviticus 11:44-46; 20:7).
● “I am the Almighty God! Walk before Me and be perfect!” (Genesis 17:1).
● “Thou shalt be perfect and without spot before the Lord thy God!” (Deuteronomy 18:13).
● “Therefore be perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect!” says Jesus (Matthew 5:48).
● “The joyfulness of the heart is a never failing treasure of holiness! Gather up thy heart His holiness and drive away sadness far from thee!” (Ecclesiasticus 30:23-24)
● “Know you not that your members are the temple of the Holy Ghost, Who is in you, Whom you have from God?” (1 Corinthians 6:19).
● “But the fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy ...” (Galatians 5:22-23).
● St. Thomas Aquinas writes: “‘The charity of God is poured forth into our hearts by the Holy Ghost Who is given to us.’ The necessary result of the love of charity is joy: because the lover rejoices at being united to the beloved. Now charity has always actual presence or God Whom it loves according to I Jn. 4:16: ‘He that abides in charity, abides in God, and God in Him’ ― wherefore the sequel of charity is joy” (Summa Theologica, 1a-2ae, q.7, art.3).
● “And your heart shall rejoice―and your joy no man shall take from you!” (John 16:22).
The Saints on Joy
● Francis de Sales reminds us: “A saint who is sad, is indeed a sad saint!” or in other words: “A saint who is sad is no saint at all.” A sad saint is a contradiction in terms since, “a good tree cannot bear bad fruit.” We must not forget that it is only saints who get into Heaven!
● We should also be reminded of those famous words of St. Teresa: St. Teresa of Ávila spoke out against that kind of deadly serious Catholicism. “From silly devotions and sour-faced saints, good Lord, deliver us! A sad nun is a bad nun! I am more afraid of one unhappy sister than a crowd of evil spirits! …. What would happen if we hid what little sense of humor we had? Let each of us humbly use this to cheer others!”
Joy, humor and laughter are constant threads through the lives of many saints, disproving the stereotype of the dour, depressed, grumpy saint. While St. Teresa’s spirituality was a deeply reverential one, her humor also shows a kind of playfulness in her relationship with God. Once, when she was travelling to one of her convents, St. Teresa of Avila was knocked off her donkey and fell into the mud, injuring her leg. “Lord!” she said indignantly, “Here I am traveling around trying to reform and improve the Carmelite convents and You go and let this happen to me!” And the response she heard was, “But Teresa! That is how I treat My friends!” To which Teresa answered, “And that is why you have so few of them!” Here is a woman whom the Catholic Church has designated as “Doctor of the Church” an eminent teacher of the Faith, prescribing the medicine of a sense of humor.
Someone said, “Good humor is nine-tenths of Christianity.” Of course it is not, nor anything like it. It is merely a “smart saying” whose value lies not in the truth of the saying, but in the ‘smartness’ or ‘smart-aleckness’ of it. But a sense of humor has an important part to play in the spiritual life. Fr. Robert Hugh Benson did not hesitate to call St. Teresa’s gift of humor “a divine gift.” Humor is the “salt of life”, and to some extent it is the salt of the religious life, preserving it from decay. G. K. Chesterton says of St. Francis of Assisi, “The sense of humor salts all his escapades.” The history of many of the heresies is largely a history of the breakdown of the sense of humor. Their errors and absurdities can― apart from the devil―hardly be accounted for otherwise. “Laugh and grow strong!” St. Ignatius of Loyola said; and to one of his novices, “I see you are always laughing, and I am glad of it!”
“What wit that man had,” wrote René Bazin of St. John Vianney, the Curé of Ars. A priest once sympathized with the Curé concerning the anxieties and sufferings he endured at the hands of the devil. “One gets used to everything — even to the Devil,” said the Curé, “he and I are almost friends!” He asked a very talkative lady if there was any month in the year in which she talked less than usual, except February [Lent]. “What must I do to get to Heaven?” asked a lady of very ample chubby proportions. He replied: “Three Lents, my daughter!” A nun said to him: “People believe that you are very ignorant, Father!” To which he replied: “Nevertheless I shall always be able to teach you more than you will ever be able to learn!”
Kinds of Joy
1. Joy of the body (pleasure): satisfying hunger & thirst, taste, smell, sight, ears, touch.
2. Joy of the mind (intellectual joy): discovery of new information, links & connections, imagination.
3. Joy of the soul (spiritual joy): see below
1. Spiritual joy, often called joy in God, is an effect of charity. It is of two kinds.
! Firstly, in what God is in Himself. This is the best.
! Secondly, in what we get from God.
Psalm 131:16. “I will clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints shall rejoice with exceeding great joy.”
2. Spiritual joy admits no admixture of sorrow, for it is joy in the divine wisdom of which Scripture says: “Her conversation has no bitterness” (Wisdom 8:16)
! Psalm 93:19. “According to the multitude of my sorrows in my heart, Thy comforts have given joy to my soul.”
! Proverbs 14:13. “Laughter shall be mingled with sorrow, and mourning takes hold of the ends of joy.”
! John 16:20. “Amen, amen, I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice―and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy!”
! John 16:22. “So also you now indeed have sorrow―but I will see you again and your heart shall rejoice! And your joy no man shall take from you!”
! Acts 5:41. “And they indeed went from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were accounted worthy to suffer reproach for the Name of Jesus.”
! 2 Corinthians 7:4. “I exceedingly abound with joy in all our tribulation.”
! James 1:2. “My brethren, count it all joy, when you shall fall into diverse temptations!”
! 1 Peter 4:13. “But if you partake of the sufferings of Christ, rejoice that, when his glory shall be revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.”
! 2 Corinthians 6:10. “As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing!”
3. Spiritual joy is full and perfect when God is possessed by the soul, and nothing remains to be desired. It is manifest, therefore, that we cannot achieve the fullness of spiritual joy until we reach Heaven.
! Tobias 5:12. “And Tobias said: ‘What manner of joy shall be to me, who sit in darkness and see not the light of Heaven?’”
! Psalm 50:14. “Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation!”
Learning Joy in the School of Saints
In his book, Holy Abandonment, Dom Vitalis Lehodey, writes:
“Abandonment teaches us to repose between the arms of the cross, consequently in the arms of Jesus, and on His wounded Heart. There we discover something more than peace, for we participate in the very joy of Jesus. Sometimes, and not very seldom, this joy is sensible. But at other times, and most often, it is purely spiritual. At all events, abandonment produces the joy of the soul. For that, it would suffice to secure to us liberty and peace. In what should we rejoice if not in being free and peaceful, free in the truth, free in love, and peaceful in our freedom? And, on the other hand, without liberty and peace, what joy can one taste or even imagine?” Would you like to possess the secret of being always joyous? We call it a secret, because although all men seek after joy, very few discover it. Well, the secret of attaining to joy and preserving it when attained, is holy abandonment.
“But how? Listen. Other people have too little faith, too little confidence and love to rejoice in tribulation. But those who have arrived at perfect conformity are endowed with a vivid faith, a firm hope, and a generous charity. They have learned to recognize in every event, even the most insignificant, their heavenly Father, their Savior, their Spouse, their Friend, their Well‑Beloved, busily occupied with the work of their sanctification. They have given Him without any reserve their confidence and their love. Is He not the Sovereign Master of all events? Consequently they feel assured that everything will turn to the profit of their souls, provided they remain trustfully, loyally submissive. How, then, can they help being joyous? On the sixth day of creation God contemplated the works of His hands, and He found them all good, and very good. Hence He vouchsafed to regard them with a joyous satisfaction. Similarly, the abandoned soul experiences in herself something resembling a participation of this divine joy. For the foundation of her abandonment is precisely the approbation she gives to all that God does and wills, and the complacence she takes in all the dispositions of His Providence.
“Here, says the spiritual master, Rodriguez, you have the whole secret of the perfect calm and unalterable joy which manifested themselves on the countenances, in the words, and in the actions of the saints in times past, such as St. Antony, St. Dominic, St. Francis Assisi. The same qualities were remarked, so we read, in St. Ignatius and distinguish, indeed, all true servants of God. But, it may be objected, perhaps these great saints were immune from all the miseries of life; perhaps they were not subject to bodily infirmities; perhaps they had no temptations to combat, no trials to support; perhaps, in fine, God removed from the path of His zealous servants every cause of affliction, every occasion of failing? Nothing could be farther from the truth. The crosses the saints had to support were far heavier than those of other men. Tribulations, sufferings and contempt were their portion in this life, and their crowns were always woven of thorns. God reserves His sharpest trials for the souls He loves most dearly. But these holy men had brought their wills into perfect conformity with the will of God. Hence, pains, mortifications, even temptations, became for them a source of joy and consolation, because they knew that all was the work of the divine will in which they placed the whole of their happiness. They were ingenious in discovering a thousand pious reasons for approving the ways of Providence, even when most trying, and for encouraging themselves to a confident and joyous submission thereto.”
Jesus on Joy—Words of Love
The following words of Jesus are found in Fr. Bartholomew Gottemoller’s book, Words of Love, wherein he furnishes certain quotes of Our Lord given to three of His mystics―St. Josefa Menendez; Sr. Mary of the Holy Trinity and Sr. Consolata Betrone. The scattered quotes have been blended together to make for a cohesive single passage.
“As parents are happy in showing their love to their children, so it is My joy to make My love felt, to reveal it; I do it in a reserved manner, perceptible to those who are attentive to My Presence and who seek it; because I am Spirit, and in order that a soul should really find Me, she must have sought and discovered Me. Then she associates Me with her life and perceives that she had been seeking Me too far away. It is such a great thing to belong to Me! What does anything else matter to you? Be full of joy at belonging to Me! Love Me, and you will be happy; and the more you love Me, the happier you will be! Love will produce light, love will produce strength, and love will produce joy! Oh if people would only love Me―what happiness would reign in this unhappy world!
“Your joy is to strip yourselves and to be dependent on Me alone. A soul who truly surrenders herself to Me gives Me so much joy that in spite of her miseries and imperfections she becomes a very heaven of delight to Me and I take pleasure in abiding in her. I love you! Is that not enough to fill every one of your moments with the fullness of joy? I love you and desire that you should know it. Oh, if you knew how much I love you! I am always in a joyous heart. I would rather see a soul give Me little but with great joy, than see her give Me much, but with sadness. Sadness reigns where I have not been welcomed! Joy of soul―which the world does not always see―is the first of all your messages to rise to Heaven.
“If you could but understand My joy when souls leave Me free and by their deeds say: ‘Lord, Thou art the Master!’ Do you realize how much this comforts Me? Do you think that I am not glorified by it? I have every claim upon you, but you have only one duty―to obey Me. I require a docile will which permits Me to act, which lends itself to everything, which trusts in Me and serves Me always in peace and joy, no matter what the situation is. I need to see all of you happy in My service. Time that is filled with joy, with joy directed toward God, is not lost time.
“I wish to fill you with joy! I want you to be very little and very humble, and always joyful. Humiliations, contempt, being forgotten by other creatures, these are the joys that I will give you. Often choose what costs you, but without loss of joy and gladness, for by serving Me in peace and happiness you will give the most glory to My Heart. The soul that honors Me most is not the one who has suffered most―it is the one who has most perfectly transformed all her sufferings into love and joy―yes, all her sufferings, even the smallest annoyances and little disappointments. Her love glorifies Me already on Earth. You have always the joy of being able to give; and the poorest, those who have nothing to give, can still give their heart and their soul to God―that is the greatest gift: it embraces all others. I would rather see a soul give Me little but with great joy, than see her give Me much, see her consecrate to Me all that human life can consecrate, but with sadness and regret. I can transform all ugliness into beauty―all poverty into spiritual wealth―all sin into a source of grace―all rancor into forgiveness―all bitterness into sweetness―all sadness into joy―all sufferings into Redemption when you give them to Me and let Me act.
“Yes, you are tired; but is it not your greatest joy to have something to offer Me? To bear monotony, the tediousness of the same work coming round regularly, the absence of novelty, while keeping a joyful heart, is to honor Me—that is to conform oneself to My hidden life. To be joyous simply because I am with you, when you have no other reason for being so, that is to prove to Me that you love Me.
“There are sacrifices which I desire, but for which I do not ask―so as to leave to souls the joy of offering them to Me of themselves. My joy is to be able to prove to you the generosity of My love. My Heart takes comfort in forgiving. I have no greater desire, no greater joy, than when I can pardon a soul. When I say that you must forgive one another, it is not a duty that I impose on you―can one impose love? It is a joy that I offer you; it is a share in My way of acting, a share in My Spirit. I love you! Is that not enough to fill every one of your moments with the fullness of joy? I love you and desire that you should know it. Oh, if you knew how much I love you, My little child! Serve Me with joy, give Me much joy!.
Joy Over A Sinner’s Return
We see a similar situation in the parable of the Prodigal Son—for the wayward, sinful son, after having wasted his father’s inheritance in debauchery, decides to return to his father, repentant and contrite, saying within himself: “I will arise, and will go to my father, and say to him: ‘Father! I have sinned against Heaven, and before thee! I am not worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants!’” (Luke 15:18-19). This repentance and return brings joy to his father, who, rightfully, could be extremely indignant and would be within his rights in punishing him severely for the scandal and harm he had perpetrated.
Our Lord, in telling this parable, says: “And rising up he came to his father. And when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and running to him fell upon his neck, and kissed him. And the son said to him: ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, I am not now worthy to be called thy son!’ And the father said to his servants: ‘Bring forth quickly the first robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet! And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat and make merry! Because this, my son, was dead, and is come to life again! Was lost, and is found!’ And they began to be merry” (Luke 15:20-24).
Wrong Kind of Joy
The world is the epitome of the wrong kind of joy. Whereas God loves the sinner and hates the sin, the world attacks the sinner rather than attacking the sin. The world rejoices in what God condemns and hates what God loves. Holy Scripture denounces this attitude: “Woe to you that call evil good, and good evil: that put darkness for light, and light for darkness: that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter” (Isaias 5:20). Our penances may be bitter, but they will lead to sweet things—hence, we can call them bittersweet.
Our Lord tells His Apostles, at the Last Supper: “Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow, because her hour is come; but when she has brought forth the child, she remembers no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. So also you now indeed have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice; and your joy no man shall take from you!” (John 16:20-22).
Rejoice with the World—Perish with the World
Let us not be sucked-into the damning whirlpool of the world—its fate is inevitable! Our Lord and the Apostles in particular, and Holy Scripture in general, repeatedly warn us against the false and fateful joys of the world: “You that rejoice in a thing that is a mere nothing!” (Amos 6:14) … “Rejoice not, O Israel, rejoice not as the nations do!” (Osee 9:1). “Rejoice not in ungodly children, neither be delighted in them, if the fear of God be not with them!” (Ecclesiasticus 16:1).
What Are We Rejoicing Over?
“Let the heart of them rejoice, that seek the Lord!” (1 Paralipomenon 16:10). “Serve ye the Lord with fear, and rejoice unto Him with trembling!” (Psalm 2:11). Rejoice over the greatest gift of God! What is that greatest gift? “The Lord is gracious and merciful, patient and plenteous in mercy! His tender mercies are over all His works!” (Psalm 144:8-9). “Let your soul rejoice in His mercy!” (Ecclesiasticus 51:37). “I have trusted in thy mercy! My heart shall rejoice in Thy salvation!” (Psalm 12:6).
Rejoice Over Mercy!
What is it, above all things, that you will desire in your death throes and agony on your deathbed? It is mercy! Nothing else will matter. Nothing else will be worth anything if you fail to secure that mercy. All your future joy or misery will depend on one thing alone—whether or not you manage to secure the mercy of God. Our joy, on this day of rejoicing—Laetare Sunday—comes from the fact of God’s incredible mercy and pardon, which is to be used, but not abused.
Mercy—A Room in the Mansion of Charity
Lacking hope in that mercy and pardon, leads to despair. Being over-confident in that mercy and pardon, leads to presumption. Both despair and presumption are serious sins. We need to keep that balance between the two—for virtue stands in the middle between excess and neglect—and joyfully do penance for our sins, hoping and trusting in the mercy and pardon of God, Whose “tender mercies are over all His works!” (Psalm 144:9). This is because “God is charity” (1 John 4:8) and mercy is one of the rooms in the divine mansion of charity.
God Does Not Hate His Creation
God cannot hate what He has created—for all that He creates is good. Yet God does hate some things that man has created—and the chief focal point of hatred is sin. As St. Thomas Aquinas says: “…the hatred of something does not befit God. For as love is to the good, so hatred is to evil; for to those we love we will good, and to those we hate, evil. If, then, the will of God cannot be inclined to evil, as has been shown, it is impossible that He should hate anything” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Contra Gentiles, Book 1, chapter 96: “God Hates Nothing, and the Hatred of No Thing Befits Him”).
This is stated in slightly different terms by Holy Scripture: “All things were made by Him” (John 1:3). “The Lord has made all things for Himself” (Proverbs 16:4). Thus mankind was made for God and not for itself. Yet, God’s human creation—mankind—turned away from God through sin.
Nevertheless, God in His infinite mercy, sought a remedy to that rebelliousness, as explained by Our Lord Himself: “God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son; that whosoever believes in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting. For God sent not His Son into the world, to judge the world, but that the world may be saved by Him. He that believes in Him is not judged. But he that does not believe, is already judged: because he believes not in the Name of the Only-begotten Son of God” (John 3:16-18) … “Therefore I said to you, that you shall die in your sins. For if you believe not that I am he, you shall die in your sin” (John 8:24). “For everyone that does evil, hates the light, and comes not to the light” (John 3:20).
Came to Save All—But All Will Not Be Saved
St. Thomas writes: “The power of the divine Incarnation is equal to the salvation ‘of all men, but the fact that some are not saved, thereby comes from their indisposition: they are unwilling to take unto themselves the fruit of the Incarnation; they do not cleave to the incarnate God by Faith and Love. For men were not intended to lose that freedom of choice, by which they are able to cleave or not to cleave to the incarnate God, lest the good of man be produced by coercion” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Contra Gentiles, Book 4, chapter 55: “Arguments Against the Suitability of the Incarnation”).
Thus we are free to choose—and, ultimately, we choose our own salvation or damnation. There will be no coercion from God in that matter.
Abuse of Mercy
Most souls fail to do so and are irrevocably lost—says Our Lord and most theologians of the Church. Yet every soul is capable of securing it. “Christ died for all” (2 Corinthians 5:15). Yet everyone WILL NOT DO what it takes to be saved. “And a certain man said to Jesus: ‘Lord, are they few that are saved?’ But Jesus said to them: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able!’” (Luke 13:23-24).
As St. Paul points out: “For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea. And all in Moses were baptized, in the cloud, and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink; and they drank of the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased!” (1 Corinthians 10:1-5). “For many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). So rejoice—mercy is yours if you choose to abide by it, use it and not abuse it! But woe to you if you abuse it!
Joy Though Pain
The joys of Heaven are not “freebies” but must be painfully earned on Earth or in Purgatory. Mercy, of course, brings joy—but mercy requires payment. This is something that mankind—especially modern man—fails to grasp. Modern man thinks the joys of Heaven are there for sinners, or the lukewarm, or the mediocre man.
Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange dispels this foolish thought: “There are those who seem to think that it is sufficient to be saved and that it is not necessary to be a saint. It is clearly not necessary to be a saint who performs miracles and whose sanctity is officially recognized by the Church. To be saved, we must take the way of salvation, which is identical with that of sanctity.
“There will be only saints in Heaven, whether they enter there immediately after death, or after purification in Purgatory. No one enters Heaven unless he has that sanctity which consists in perfect purity of soul. Every sin, though it should be venial, must be effaced, and the punishment due to sin must be borne or remitted, in order that a soul may enjoy forever the vision of God, see Him as He sees Himself, and love Him as He loves Himself. Should a soul enter Heaven before the total remission of its sins, it could not remain there and it would cast itself into Purgatory to be purified” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Ages of the Interior Life).
Going Cheap…! Cheap Joys!
Most people put a cheap price on sin and cheap admission price to Heaven. How foolish and stupid we are! This stupidity is perhaps one of the chief reasons why so many souls are lost! It does not help matters to see almost everyone around us, living-out this insane sense of values.
These idiots—let us at least hope they are idiots, for idiocy might excuse them somewhat from sin—want joy on Earth and joy in Heaven! They want to neither suffer in this life, nor in the next! They, as the proverb goes, “want their cake and they want to eat it”! Our Lord says: “You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:24)--”You can’t have your cake and eat it!”
Glass Half-Full or Half-Empty?
This brings us to the way in which we can view a glass that contains 50% liquid and 50% air. Some see this glass as being half-full; others see it as being half-empty. The “half-full” people are being positive about it; the “half-empty” people are being negative about it.
The same applies to our Faith and religion. Some see the Faith and religion as being a foretaste of the fullness of joy we shall experience in Heaven. Others sees our Faith and religion as “cramping their style” and robbing of them of many joys they would like to experience here on Earth.
One group sees the Faith, and the practice of it, as being “half-full” and look forward to being fulfilled in Heaven. The other group sees the Faith, and practice of it, as being “half-emptied” of potential Earthly joys, and dread having to give up even more of them. Yet our soul—in which joy resides—was made by God and only God can truly fill it with true joy—“Who satisfies thy desire with good things” (Psalms 102:5).
Cotton Candy Joys
To seek the joys of this world above the joys of Heaven; to seek material joys above spiritual joys—is like eating cotton-candy (candy-floss) in comparison to a highly nutritious and delicious seven course meal. The cotton-candy melts away in your mouth before you know it! On top of that, the high sugar content is the favorite nesting place for disease!
Our Lord puts it this way: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth: where the rust, and moth consume, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven: where neither the rust nor moth consume, and where thieves do not break through, nor steal. For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also” (Matthew 6:19-21).
Different Ideas of Joy
You are, no doubt, familiar with the Scriptural quote: “My thoughts are not your thoughts: nor your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the Heavens are exalted above the Earth, so are My ways exalted above your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts” (Isaias 55:8-9). We could well paraphrase that into “My ideas of joy are not your ideas of joys: nor your joys My joys, says the Lord. For as the Heavens are exalted above the Earth, so are My joys exalted above your joys, and My ideas of joy above your ideas of joy!”
Sour-Faced Sanctity
It almost seems like a sin to talk about joy during Lent! Some sour-faced Christians imagine that sour-faced sanctity is the official face of the Church—yet St. Francis de Sales says: “A saint who is sad, is indeed a sad saint!” Joy, humor and laughter are constant threads through the lives of many saints, disproving the stereotype of the dour, depressed, grumpy saint. St. Teresa of Ávila spoke out against that kind of deadly serious Catholicism. “A sad nun is a bad nun,” she said. “I am more afraid of one unhappy sister than a crowd of evil spirits …. What would happen if we hid what little sense of humor we had? Let each of us humbly use this to cheer others!” And one of her most famous lines, though probably apocryphal, is: “From silly devotions and sour-faced saints, good Lord, deliver us!”
And while Teresa’s spirituality was a deeply reverential one, her humor also shows a kind of playfulness in her relationship with God. Once, when she was travelling to one of her convents, St. Teresa of Avila was knocked off her donkey and fell into the mud, injuring her leg. “Lord!” she said indignantly, “Here I am traveling around trying to reform and improve the Carmelite convents and You go and let this happen to me!” And the response she heard was, “But Teresa! That is how I treat My friends!” To which Teresa answered, “And that is why you have so few of them!” Here is a woman whom the Catholic Church has designated as “Doctor of the Church” an eminent teacher of the Faith, prescribing the medicine of a sense of humor.
Someone said, “Good humor is nine-tenths of Christianity.” Of course it is not, nor anything like it. It is merely a “smart saying” whose value lies not in the truth of the saying, but in the ‘smartness’ or ‘smart-aleckness’ of it. But a sense of humor has an important part to play in the spiritual life. Fr. Robert Hugh Benson did not hesitate to call St. Teresa’s gift of humor “a divine gift.” Humor is the “salt of life”, and to some extent it is the salt of the religious life, preserving it from decay. G. K. Chesterton says of St. Francis of Assisi, “The sense of humor salts all his escapades.” The history of many of the heresies is largely a history of the breakdown of the sense of humor. Their errors and absurdities can― apart from the devil―hardly be accounted for otherwise. “Laugh and grow strong!” St. Ignatius of Loyola said; and to one of his novices, “I see you are always laughing, and I am glad of it!”
“What wit that man had,” wrote René Bazin of St. John Vianney, the Curé of Ars. A priest once sympathized with the Curé concerning the anxieties and sufferings he endured at the hands of the devil. “One gets used to everything — even to the Devil,” said the Curé, “he and I are almost friends!” He asked a very talkative lady if there was any month in the year in which she talked less than usual, except February [Lent]. “What must I do to get to Heaven?” asked a lady of very ample chubby proportions. He replied: “Three Lents, my daughter!” A nun said to him, “People believe that you are very ignorant, Father!” To which he replied: “Nevertheless I shall always be able to teach you more than you will ever be able to learn!”
Our Lord Himself refers to joys on several occasions—so joy can’t be all that bad! At the Last Supper, Our Lord confessed to having joy and was trying to pass some joy around: “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and your joy may be filled!” (John 15:11).
Holy Scripture commands us to be joyful: “Shout with joy to God, all the Earth!” (Psalm 65:1). “O clap your hands, all ye nations: shout unto God with the voice of joy!” (Psalm 46:2). “Sing joyfully to God, all the Earth! Serve ye the Lord with gladness! Come into His presence with exceedingly great joy!” (Psalm 99:2). Even God the Father “got in on the act”—as we read in Holy Scripture: “God had made them joyful with great joy―their wives also and their children rejoiced, and the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off!” (2 Esdras 12:42).
Can You Get To Heaven By Telling Jokes?
It might seem like a funny question, but “Can you get to Heaven by telling jokes?” Well—yes and no! It depends upon what your jokes are about! A professional comedian writes (and this is no joke): “The human condition provides for us to be hard wired to laugh. We love it. We love the feeling it gives us, and why not? When we laugh our bodies release endorphins, the same chemical responsible for making us feel a sense of euphoria. In other words laughter makes us ‘high!’” We can all agree that laughter “makes us ‘high’” but will it get us as high as “high Heaven”? Does it make Hell more bearable? Or do they even laugh in Hell? Hmm!
The same professional comedian goes on to say: “Humor and the human condition hasn’t been really studied until recently. Psychologists still argue over why people laugh. The number one element that triggers human laughter is SURPRISE! … Surprise isn’t the only theory behind why we laugh. According to Psychologist Patricia Keith-Speigel, there are eight theories of laughter. (1) Surprise; (2) Embarrassment; (3) Incongruity ; (4) Recognition; (5) Ambivalence; (6) Release; (7) Superiority; (8) Configurational.”
You would imagine, then, that Hell would be a helluva place for laughs for all the ‘triggers’ of laughter are present—since most people are (1) surprised to find themselves there, they are (2) embarrassed at finding themselves there, being there is (3) incongruous or at odds with their expectations, they finally (4) recognize the stupidity of their lives, they experience (5) ambivalent feelings to everyone else in Hell, they experience some sense of (6) release in that they are not the only person to be damned and that there a lot of damned souls there with them, everyone can experience a sense of (7) superiority by wagging and pointing their finger at everyone else, and everything (8) falls into place and “penny drops” where we don’t know whether to laugh or to cry (the configurational moment, which the comedian defines as: “the humor occurs when unconnected ideas fall into place and in that moment, make sense. It’s what I would call an ‘Ah-ha!’ moment”). As you can see, all the elements for creating laughter are there—but nobody is laughing!
Life is No Laughing Matter
Life is serious and no laughing matter—though we can find many things within life to laugh about! Likewise with salvation—that, too, is a serious business, as St. Paul tells us: “With fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12)—and he’s not joking when he says that—he does not add: “Just kidding!” It would have been nicer had he said: “With jokes and laughs work out your salvation!”—but he didn’t. There are many who thought life was one big long joke--”A fool lifts up his voice in laughter” … “A fool will laugh at sin” (Ecclesiasticus 21:23; Proverbs 14:9)―but those fools cease laughing from the time of their final judgment! “But thou, O Lord, shalt laugh at them! Thou shalt bring all the nations to nothing!” (Psalms 58:9). They frittered away their life in vain laughter and “He that dwelleth in Heaven shall laugh at them: and the Lord shall deride them! … The Lord shall laugh at him: for He foresees that his day shall come!” (Psalm 2:4; 36:13).
Who’s Laughing?
Similarly, Our Lord told His Apostles, at the Last Supper, that life for them was not going to be a series of laughs—and He wasn’t joking: “Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy!” (John 16:20)—which also implies that the joys of worldly will be turned into eternal sorrows. There are many passages in Holy Scripture that bear this out—here is but one of many:
“Because I called, and you refused! I stretched out my hand, and there was none that regarded! You have despised all my counsel, and have neglected my reprehensions! Therefore, I also will laugh in your destruction, and will mock when that shall come to you which you feared! When sudden calamity shall fall on you, and destruction, as a tempest, shall be at hand: when tribulation and distress shall come upon you! Then shall they call upon Me, and I will not hear! They shall rise in the morning and shall not find Me! Because they have hated instruction and received not the fear of the Lord, nor consented to My counsel, but despised all My reproof! Therefore, they shall eat the fruit of their own ways, and shall be filled with their own devices and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them!” (Proverbs 1:24-32).
Some theologians are of the opinion that Our Lord never laughed, for, as they point out, laughter (if honest and not faked) is triggered by surprise, and Our Lord, being both God as well as a man, knew everything and therefore could not be surprised by anything. If you were to tell Him a joke, He would know your punchline before you even started! Our Lady, not being God, could be surprised. Yet, as we read in the book, The Life of Mary As Seen by the Mystics, by Raphael Brown, we read: “As time passed, Mary became more and more serious and recollected. No one ever saw her laugh, but she did occasionally smile with a very touching expression.” This brings to mind the words of Holy Scripture: “A fool lifts up his voice in laughter: but a wise man will scarcely laugh low to himself” (Ecclesiasticus 21:23).
St. Thomas Aquinas was no comedian—even though he wrote about happiness and joy in a profound manner! His Summa Theologiae or Summa Theologica (meaning “Compendium of Theology”) is “hard going” at times and difficult to read and grasp—it would have been far more fun had he written a Summa Jocorum (Compendium of Jokes).
[As a diversion or detour—talking of Latin and talking of jokes—here is one that can only ‘inebriate’ those who have studied Latin: Julius Caesar walks into a bar, sits down, orders a “martinus”. The bartender gives him a weird look and says: “Don’t you mean a martini?” and Caesar says: “If I wanted a double I’d have ordered one!” (To explain: in Latin, “martini” is the plural of “martinus” J). Want another one? Okay! Julius Caesar walks into a bar full of centurions and says “Right, guys, this round’s on me. What will you be having? The centurions stand, salute him and cry out: “Ale, Caesar!” (Get it? “Ale Caesar!” and “Hail Caesar!” J) ].
As for St. Thomas, for all its beauty and depth, the Summa Theologica could be said (from a worldly perspective) to be no fun, but dull and boring—which seems to reflect the personality of St. Thomas, who seemed rather dull—as described by G.K. Chesterton, in a book he wrote about him, contrasting St. Thomas with St. Francis of Assisi, who was far from dull! Here are a few of G.K. Chesterton’s comments:
“St. Thomas was a huge heavy bull of a man, fat and slow and quiet; very mild and magnanimous, but not very sociable; shy, even apart from the humility of holiness; and abstracted, even apart from his occasional and carefully concealed experiences of trance or ecstasy. St. Francis was so fiery and even fidgety that the ecclesiastics, before whom he appeared quite suddenly, thought he was a madman. St. Thomas was so stolid [not easily aroused or excited] that the scholars, in the schools which he attended regularly, thought he was a dunce. Indeed, he was the sort of schoolboy, not unknown, who would much rather be thought a dunce than have his own dreams invaded, by more active or animated dunces. This external contrast extends to almost every point in the two personalities (St. Thomas and St. Francis). It was the paradox of St. Francis, that, while he was passionately fond of poems, he was rather distrustful of books. It was the outstanding fact about St. Thomas that he loved books and lived on books; that he lived the very life of the clerk or scholar in ‘The Canterbury Tales’, who would rather have a hundred books of Aristotle and his philosophy, than any wealth the world could give him. When asked for what he thanked God most, he answered simply, ‘I have understood every page I ever read.’”
A Time to Laugh and a Time to Weep
However, Holy Scripture has no “hang-ups” about laughing! In the famous passage from the Book of Ecclesiastes which lists a whole variety of different actions and attitudes, we read: “All things have their season, and in their times all things pass under Heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted. A time to kill, and a time to heal. A time to destroy, and a time to build. A time to weep, and a time to laugh …” etc. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 ff.). God wants that “thy mouth be filled with laughter, and thy lips with rejoicing” (Job 8:21). Yet, there is a danger in mere vain laughter and superficial mirth, as seen and realized by Solomon, who wrote: “Laughter I counted as error; and to mirth I said: ‘Why are you vainly deceived?’” (Ecclesiastes 2:2).
However, “first things first”―as they say! Life is not one long laugh—it is better to weep over our sins than to laugh at many things: “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy!” (Psalm 125:5). “Blessed are ye that weep now―for you shall laugh! … Woe to you that now laugh―for you shall mourn and weep!” (Luke 6:21, 25). If you have time to laugh after weeping for your sins, go ahead! But first and foremost weep for your sins and do penance while you still have time: “God hath given him time for penance, and he abuses it in his pride!” … “A fool will laugh at sin!” (Job 24:23; Proverbs 14:9). However, “there is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. Even in laughter the heart may ache, and rejoicing may end in grief!” (Proverbs 14:12-13).
As The Imitation of Christ so truly points-out: “If you wish to make progress in virtue, live in the fear of the Lord … and shun inane silliness. Sorrow opens the door to many a blessing which dissoluteness usually destroys … Lighthearted and heedless of our defects, we do not feel the real sorrows of our souls, but often indulge in empty laughter when we have good reason to weep ... Happy is the man who can throw off the weight of every care and recollect himself in holy contrition. Happy is the man who casts from him all that can stain or burden his conscience!” (The Imitation of Christ, Book 1, Chapter 21).
The Imitation of Christ further points out our propensity or tendency for the wrong things: “Lament and grieve because you are still so worldly, so carnal, so passionate and unmortified, so full of roving lust, so careless in guarding the external senses; so often occupied in many vain fancies, so inclined to exterior things and so heedless of what lies within; so prone to laughter and dissipation and so indisposed to sorrow and tears; so inclined to ease and the pleasures of the flesh and so cool to austerity and zeal; so curious to hear what is new and to see the beautiful and so slow to embrace humiliation and dejection; so covetous of abundance, so niggardly in giving and so tenacious in keeping; so inconsiderate in speech, so reluctant in silence; so undisciplined in character, so disordered in action; so greedy at meals, so deaf to the Word of God; so prompt to rest and so slow to labor; so awake to empty conversation, so sleepy in keeping sacred vigils and so eager to end them; so wandering in your attention, so careless in saying the Divine Office and so lukewarm in celebrating Mass; so heartless in receiving Holy Communion, so quickly distracted, so seldom fully recollected; so quickly moved to anger, so apt to take offense at others; so prone to judge, so severe in condemning; so happy in prosperity and so weak in adversity; so often making good resolutions and carrying so few of them into action” (The Imitation of Christ, Book 1, Chapter 21). Ouch! No laughing matter there!
Sinners Smile Sweetly and Losers Laugh Loud!
The saint can smile and the sinner can smile! The saint can laugh and the sinner can laugh too! The saint can have pleasure and the sinner can have pleasure! The saint can be happy and the sinner can be happy (or seem happy) too! Herod smiled and laughed! Pontius Pilate smiled and laughed! Judas smiled and laughed! Annas and Caiphas smiled and laughed! So too did Our Lady, St. Peter, St. John and a whole bunch of saints and sinners throughout history. All of the souls who are in Heaven today, smiled and laughed! All the souls that are in Hell today, smiled and laughed!
Pleasures will make you smile and laugh! Happiness will make you smile and laugh! But neither pleasure, nor happiness are joy. Pleasure is “the joy” of the body and its senses and its imagination. Happiness is the “joy” of the mind and heart, but is still focused on earthly happiness. True joy is the joy of the soul that is focused upon God and is “right” with God, living in a state of sanctifying grace that is constantly growing and not stagnating. Pleasure and happiness can be steps on the way to joy, but joy stands at the top of the mountain. Joy stands at the top of the mountain because it is all about the greatest feeling of well-being that a soul can have—it is about spiritual well-being, it is about being well with God. Telling a joke to others at a party does not bring the same joy as telling your sins to the priest in confession. There is no joy like the joy of “being right” with God, with being “in a state of grace”, with being “in a state of salvation”, with “being with God”, with “being friends with God” and “possessing God.” This is something the devil cannot do and does not want to do—hence he is always sad, forlorn, dejected, angry, full of hatred and misery.
Tell Me … And I’ll Tell You!
We all know the variety of sayings in the “Tell me what…” series: “Tell me who your friends are and I will tell what you are!” … “Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are!” … “Tell me what you … like … listen to … read … watch … etc. and I will tell you what you are!” We are what we think, say, do, read, watch, listen to, mix with, etc. Why? Well, as another saying points out: “You cannot leave clothes in a smoky room without them eventually taking on the smell of smoke!”
Mix with worldly people and you will become worldly. Read or watch bad material and you will be accepting of the ‘badness’. Mix with foul-mouthed persons and you will take on some of their foul vocabulary, or at least become desensitized to it. Mix with those who seek worldly ‘joys’ and you will seek them also. Mix with those who seek spiritual joys and you will seek them too. Talk about worldly things and you will become increasingly worldly. Talk about spiritual things and you will become increasingly spiritual.
Ideas have consequences. Words have consequences. Actions have consequences. We can choose what we wish to think about, talk about and do—and then accept the consequences. “As you sow, so shall you reap!” as they say. Dwell on morose, unhappy, negative, critical, vengeful, unjust, unforgiving thoughts and as sure as Hell you’ll become more and more morose, unhappy, critical, vengeful, unjust and unforgiving! Dwell upon pleasant, happy, positive, charitable, reconciliatory, just and forgiving thoughts and you will become more and more pleasant, happy, positive, charitable, reconciliatory, just and forgiving. “As you sow, so shall you reap!” as they say. The devil wants you to think the former, God wants you to think the latter. The choice (and the consequences) are yours. We cannot choose what happens to us, but we can choose how we think about what happens to us.
To Avoid Thinking Like the World, You Must Step Back From the World
The thoughts and ways of the world are not the thoughts and ways of God—this has been made abundantly clear by the Word of God in Holy Scripture: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts: nor your ways My ways! says the Lord. For as the Heavens are exalted above the Earth, so are My ways exalted above your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts!” (Isaias 55:8-9).
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures on Earth―where the rust and moth consume, and where thieves break through and steal! But lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven―where neither the rust nor moth consume, and where thieves do not break through, nor steal! For where ypur treasure is, there is your heart also! No man can serve two masters! For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other! You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:19-24)
“Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world! If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life―which is not of the Father, but is of the world!” (1 John 2:15).
“Adulterers, know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God! Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you! Cleanse your hands, you sinners: and purify your hearts, you double minded! Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep! Let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into sorrow! Be humbled in the sight of the Lord, and He will exalt you!” (James 4:4-10).
What is there about that which we cannot understand? If you are seeking joy—and who isn’t—then understand that joy is only found in the “Bank of Heaven” and if you do not want to bank with Heaven or bank on Heaven, then you will never find true joy. There is, of course, a fake “currency” of so-called ‘joy’ being passed around by the devil and world, but it finds itself devalued very quickly. You could say it is only “paper-money”, whereas the joy given out by the “Bank of Heaven” is pure gold.
Dem Bones, Dem Bones, Dem Dry Bones!
St. Thomas traces the origins of joy for us in his inimitable problem solving way, which can sometimes be a bit “dry” even though well-connected in thought. Let us first of all put it in the proverbial “nutshell” and then slightly expand on it by “cracking the nutshell” and looking at the pieces inside! Much like the lyrics of famous song: Dem Bones, Dem Bones, Dem Dry Bones—there is a connection that runs from joy through several other virtues. For those who have forgotten the “Dem Bones” song, here is a sample of lyrics:
“The toe bone’s connected to the foot bone
The foot bone’s connected to the heel bone
The heel bone’s connected to the ankle bone
The ankle bone’s connected to the shin bone
The shin bone’s connected to the knee bone
The knee bone’s connected to the thigh bone
The thigh bone’s connected to the hip bone
The hip bone’s connected to the back bone
The back bone’s connected to the shoulder bone
The shoulder bone’s connected to the neck bone
The neck bone’s connected to the head bone
Now hear the word of the Lord!”
Now hear the word of St. Thomas!
Joy is connected to devotion.
Devotion is connected to charity.
Charity is connected to love.
Love is connected to goodness.
Goodness is connected to knowledge.
Knowledge is connected to learning.
Now hear the word of St. Thomas!
That is it in a nutshell. We learn in order to know. Our minds were made to know what is good and true and beautiful. Knowing what is good, true and beautiful leads to loving what is good true and beautiful. Love is of many kinds and types (persons, places, things, etc.) of which charity is the noblest of loves—being firstly a love of God, and secondly a love of self and neighbor. Love of God and neighbor engenders a devotion to God and neighbor. Devotion brings about joy. Joy is not first and foremost about “getting”, but it is a joy about “giving”. The more we give ourselves to God, the more true joy we shall have—though at first, due to Original Sin and self-love, it will seem repugnant and bitter. Yet, as Our Lord says: “Greater love (joy) than this no man has, that a man lay down his life for his friends!” (John 15:13) as Christ did for us.
St. Thomas says that “spiritual joy”—which is the highest and best joy—is often called “joy in God”, and it is produced by a series of causes. Working backwards, joy comes from devotion, and devotion comes from charity, and charity comes from love, and that love comes from knowledge, and the knowledge comes from learning. To love God is the greatest commandment (Mark 12:30) and to love God is the greatest joy! Yet as St. Thérèse of Lisieux once said: “Jesus is so little loved because He is so little known!”
Cracking the Nut of Joy
We cannot LOVE what we do not KNOW. We must first of all KNOW about something—its existence and qualities—before we can LOVE it. Love is an appetite for what is Good”, “Truth” and “Beautiful” (unless the love is perverted). Goodness, truth and beauty is the trinity that is the proper cause or spark of love. The trinity of “Good”, “Truth” and “Beauty” is the goal as well as the cause of love, must be KNOWN before it can it can appeal to us. LOVE seeks either to possess what is loved, and/or to bestow benefits upon what is loved. In either case, LOVE seeks to be united with its object, in fact or in affection. That possession of the “Good”, or the “Truth” or the “Beautiful” begins in the mind by thinking, reflecting, meditating or contemplating “Good”, “Truth” and “Beauty.”
The highest “Good”, the most profound “Truth” and the greatest “Beauty” is God Himself. When a person thinks, learns and acquires knowledge about God and His goodness and loving kindness, he feels stirred to a LOVE OF GOD (which is called CHARITY, the greatest and noblest room in the mansion of LOVE). Hence the need for learning, meditation and contemplation, which will lead to a union with the beloved thing. CHARITY is love and friendship. CHARITY is active friendship and love—and not just empty words. We have CHARITY when we love God and neighbor, and wish for our neighbor the good of God’s friendship. A perfection of CHARITY occurs when souls give their whole hearts habitually to God, not thinking or desiring anything contrary to His love. The mechanism by which we seek to unite ourselves to the “Beloved” is called DEVOTION. CHARITY gives birth to DEVOTION.
DEVOTION, in the religious sense, is the will to give oneself steadily and constantly to the service of God. Seeing his own insufficiency and his faults, a man is moved to turn to God and to lean upon Him; and out of this consideration also, devotion arises. The direct and chief effect of devotion is joy in God. Its secondary and indirect effect is sorrow for one’s shortcomings and sins. On man’s part, charity produces devotion and service to God. Devotion is not a virtue, but the act of the virtue of CHARITY. The external cause of DEVOTION in a person is God and His grace. The internal cause of devotion is meditation or contemplation. Hence begins the chain of causes that pass from knowledge, to love, to charity, to devotion and finally, if the object of our love can be attained and possessed, to the crowning grace of JOY. The direct and chief effect of devotion is joy in God.
Spiritual JOY is full and perfect when God is possessed by the soul, and nothing remains to be desired. It is obvious, therefore, that we cannot achieve the fullness of spiritual JOY until we reach Heaven.
Sinners do not love themselves truly. They love only an apparent good in themselves, and they love external and creatural goods as things worth having for their own sake. And thus sinners miss the goal of charity which is endless happiness in God.
God is Joy Because God is Love
God is love and love is the cause of joy. For, we rejoice either because the object of our love is really present, or because we really find our own good existing, so to say, in the person, or in the object we love.
We rejoice because we find ourselves in the presence of one whom we cherish, or because we have good news from a friend or parent, separated from us by endless stretches of land, or by vast expanses of water; we find an unbounded joy when we know that son or brother called to serve his country’s cause, in the gory battlefields of the world, is well, far removed from harm, or has been honored for his bravery.
Furthermore, our joy is enhanced by our love for the person from whom we receive the news, and is in proportion to it. We feel, for instance, little or no delight in our hearts when we read that a commander of a hostile force has escaped unscathed from battle. Our love is the cause of our joy.
To Find Joy, We Must Find and Love God
But, charity, in its highest object and point, is love of God, Whose good is infinite, unchanging and unchangeable, and, Who, by the very fact that He is loved, dwells in the person who loves Him. “God is charity: and he that abides in charity, abides in God and God in Him” (1 John 4:16). Hence joy is caused by love; hence, too, it follows charity.
What is this spiritual joy? It is not a virtue, separated from charity, spiritual joy is an action of the virtue charity, an effect, a result of charity. Joy of itself could not exist, it owes its very being to the virtue of charity, which is, for it, a fountainhead. Love is the first impulse of our will or heart, and from it proceed joy and desire. Thus joy is not a virtue distinct from charity, it is only an effect of charity, it is an action of charity.
Joy is that gratitude, that happy consciousness we have of the infinite goodness of God, the great object of our love, in Whom we live, move and have our being. Joy is the grand and consoling reward for the victories we have won in the battles with our passions.
A Religion of Joy
Since joy is a Fruit of the Holy Ghost, it follows that where the Holy Ghost is not, there is no joy. Now, the Divine Spirit is the vivifying principle of the Catholic Church and of her faithful. The Catholic Religion, is, then, essentially a religion of joy. Christ being the center of Christianity, there is no joy superior to that which He procures.
Down through the night of forgotten centuries and the fast highway of fleeting years, whatever holy joy was in the world was caused by Him. He was the unsurpassing joy of the patriarchs and prophets, of David, Isaias and Zachary, of Magdalene and John, of Peter and of Paul.
Faith itself is a joyous exposition of the truths that lead to Heaven; its precepts and commands are not merely a burden, but also a pleasure and a joy. Self-control in the service of the commandments makes us strong, and that is a source of joy. In sin we are downcast, and a load seems lifted from our hearts when grace, through the Sacrament of Penance, joy streams into our souls anew.
Once forgiven, we are children of God once again, perfect men and perfect Christians. Penance brings an entire Heaven of joy into our otherwise heavy hearts. “In thy salvation he shall rejoice exceedingly” (Psalm 20:2). “Thou hast turned for me my mourning into joy: Thou hast cut my sackcloth, and hast compassed me with gladness” (Psalm 29:12).
Purgatorial Joys
Penance brings joy to the souls in Purgatory, too! Even though they find themselves in the most unspeakably excruciating pains—which no tongue can describe nor imagination imagine—they are, nevertheless, also immersed in the most unspeakably great joys. They know that they are saved and that these horrendous pains are bringing Heaven and God closer with every excruciating moment. They are the perfect example of how the Catholic on Earth should find joy in suffering.
Those poor souls failed to learn how to suffer and do penance with joy on Earth, so now they have to learn that lesson in Purgatory. Yet their lesson is also a lesson for us—who, like the ill-fated Chosen People, are ever mumbling and grumbling, whining and whinging, moaning and groaning about the least suffering that we have to experience and suffer, by God’s Providence, here on Earth.
Worldly Joys Bring Sadness
At the Last Supper, Our Lord spoke of the two contrary lots that would befall His Apostles on the one hand, at the world on the other. He said: “Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy” (John 16:20). If we take this to the next stage—if the sorrow of His followers shall be turned to joy, then the joy of the world shall be turned to sorrow. This is proven to be the case by other passages in Holy Scripture that depict the rich and the poor.
We have the case of Our Lord’s parable about the beggar, Lazarus, and Rich Man: “There was a beggar, named Lazarus, who lay at his gate, full of sores, desiring to be filled with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table, and no one did give him. Moreover, the dogs came, and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. And the rich man also died: and he was buried in Hell” (Luke 16:20-22).
In a real-life incident, we have the case of the rich young man—who you would have thought would be happy and joyful with all his riches, but he becomes sad and sorrowful because of them: “And behold a certain man running up and kneeling before Him: ‘Good Master, what good shall I do that I may have life everlasting?’ And Jesus said to him: ‘Thou knowest the commandments—keep the commandments!’ The young man said to Jesus: ‘All these I have kept from my youth, what is yet wanting to me?’ And Jesus looking on him, loved him, and said to him: ‘One thing is wanting unto thee: go, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven; and come, follow Me!’ And when the young man had heard this word, being struck sad at that saying, went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
“Then Jesus, looking round about, said to His disciples: ‘Amen, I say to you: How hardly shall they that have riches, enter into the Kingdom of God! And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!’ And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus again answering, said to them: ‘Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches, to enter into the Kingdom of God!’ And when they had heard this, the disciples wondered very much, saying: ‘Who then can be saved?’ And Jesus looking on them, said to them: ‘With men this is impossible: but with God all things are possible!’” (Matthew 19:16-26; Mark 10:17-27).
God Does Bestow Riches, But…
God has enriched many a man as well the Israelites as a nation—but it was always contingent upon their placing God before all riches and wealth. Once those riches and wealth became a hindrance to their love of God and led them down paths of infidelity, lukewarmness, infidelity and sin—God not only brutally removed or destroyed those riches and that wealth, but He also was not averse to slaying some or most of the wayward ones.
The Old Testament history of the Chosen People is a perpetual saga of God’s benefits leading them to forget God, which led God to acting in a way towards them that they would never forget! But forget they did—and foolishly repeated the same behavior.
God has to come first—Our Lord commands in the New Testament what had already been commanded in the Old Testament: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the first commandment” (Mark 12:30), which merely repeats the Old Testament command: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5).
This is what Job did in the Old Testament, and he was abundantly blessed by God. Yet, when God allowed all types of calamities to befall Job—losing his health, his children, his wealth and his properties and flocks—God never ceased to love and bless God, as much in calamity as in prosperity.
His famous quote—which we would well to take to heart—was: “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither! The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away! As it has pleased the Lord, so is it done! Blessed be the name of the Lord!” (Job 1:21). This eventual acceptance of the bitter with the sweet, led to God restoring all things to Job in an abundantly greater measure than he had possessed in the beginning: “And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before” (Job 42:10).
The Joys of Heaven
This doubling of Job’s possessions and wealth, after his tribulations at the hands of the devil, is symbolic of our tests and trials in this life, after which we shall be rewarded with Heaven—if we have been faithful.
Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange writes: “This vision will constitute eternal life. No one can express the joy and love that will be born in us of this vision. It will be so strong, so absolute a love of God, that, thenceforth, nothing will be able to destroy it, or even to diminish it. It will be a love by which we shall, above all, rejoice that God is God, infinitely holy, just, and merciful. We shall adore all the decrees of His providence in view of the manifestation of His goodness … We shall have entered into His beatitude, according to Christ’s own words: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! Because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things! Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord!’” (The Three Ages of the Interior Life).
Today is Gaudete Sunday―which is the third Sunday of Advent and the approximate midpoint of Advent―is so called from the first word of the Introit at Mass, “Gaudete” (which means “Rejoice”). At Christmas, we sing the carol: “Joy to the world!” We speak of the joys of the world, or worldly joys. We speak of heavenly joys and earthly joys. In fact, we use the word “joy” a lot—either alone, ‘stuck-on’ or ‘sandwiched’--joy, joyful, joyfully, joyous, enjoy, enjoyment, enjoyable, rejoice (rejoyce), etc.
In essence, Gaudete Sunday encapsulates the dual nature of Advent – a time for reflection and repentance, balanced with anticipation and rejoicing in the promise of redemption. It serves as a reminder that, even in the midst of our penitential preparations, there is joy to be found in the expectation of the Savior’s imminent arrival. Thus it brings a certain joy to our penances―so that they gain a sense of purpose as a means of gaining Christ and winning Heaven.
What is Joy?
What is joy, anyway? For a true and educated look and understanding of joy, let us turn to ‘sour-faced’ Thomas—or St. Thomas Aquinas, whom artists rarely depict with a smile on his face, but who most certainly had a smile in his heart! St. Thomas tells us—and this is Thomas simplified, for the reading the actual words of Thomas might take that smile off your face, for he can be ‘heavy going’ at times—St. Thomas tells us that joy is more than happiness, just as happiness is more than pleasure. He says that pleasure is in the body. Happiness is in the mind and feelings. Joy is deep in the heart, the spirit, the soul, the center of the self. The way to pleasure is possessions, power and prudence. The way to happiness is moral goodness. The way to joy is sanctity, loving God with your whole heart and your neighbor as yourself. Everyone wants pleasure. More deeply, everyone wants happiness. Most deeply, everyone wants joy. Yet few people find joy, some find happiness, while most are busy chasing pleasures.
St. Thomas Aquinas says that no man can live without joy: “Man cannot live without joy; therefore when he is deprived of true spiritual joys it is necessary that he become addicted to carnal pleasures.” That is why we have so much carnal desire raging throughout the world today—not just sexual desire, but also a desire for things for the body, such as food, alcohol, drugs, fashions, material items, entertainment, etc.—all this due to an absence of spiritual joy which makes a person fill the void with carnal pleasures. This is essentially what Our Lady foretold would happen in our ‘modern’ times: “As true Faith fades and false light brightens the people … Disorder and the love of carnal pleasures will be spread all over the Earth … The true Faith to the Lord having been forgotten … People will think of nothing but amusement … In these unhappy times, there will be unbridled luxury which, acting thus to snare the rest into sin, will conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost!” (Our Lady of Good Success & La Salette).
Holy Scripture commands us to be joyful: “Shout with joy to God, all the Earth!” (Psalm 65:1). “O clap your hands, all ye nations! Shout unto God with the voice of joy!” (Psalm 46:2). “Sing joyfully to God, all the Earth! Serve ye the Lord with gladness! Come into His presence with exceedingly great joy!” (Psalm 99:2). Even God the Father “got in on the act”—as we read in Holy Scripture: “God had made them joyful with great joy―their wives also and their children rejoiced, and the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off!” (2 Esdras 12:42).
Joy in Holiness
Regardless of what we might personally think―there can be no true happiness without holiness. Why? Because for happiness and joy to be real and true, they must be everlasting and eternal―and the only everlasting life in Heaven, which is the reward for holiness (for only saints get into Heaven), is the only place where joy can be everlasting. Lack of holiness or a life of unholiness inevitably leads to Hell, which is also everlasting and eternal, but where everlasting and eternal joy is replaced by everlasting and eternal sorrow. That is why Our Lord and Holy Scripture encourage us to be holy and perfect―for only those things will produce eternal joys. They joys of the world are only passing, temporary, inferior and fake joys that risk the loss of our souls.
● “For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul?” (Mark 8:36).
● “I am the Lord your God! Be holy because I am holy! You shall be holy, because I am holy! Sanctify yourselves, and be ye holy―because I am the Lord your God!” (Leviticus 11:44-46; 20:7).
● “I am the Almighty God! Walk before Me and be perfect!” (Genesis 17:1).
● “Thou shalt be perfect and without spot before the Lord thy God!” (Deuteronomy 18:13).
● “Therefore be perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect!” says Jesus (Matthew 5:48).
● “The joyfulness of the heart is a never failing treasure of holiness! Gather up thy heart His holiness and drive away sadness far from thee!” (Ecclesiasticus 30:23-24)
● “Know you not that your members are the temple of the Holy Ghost, Who is in you, Whom you have from God?” (1 Corinthians 6:19).
● “But the fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy ...” (Galatians 5:22-23).
● St. Thomas Aquinas writes: “‘The charity of God is poured forth into our hearts by the Holy Ghost Who is given to us.’ The necessary result of the love of charity is joy: because the lover rejoices at being united to the beloved. Now charity has always actual presence or God Whom it loves according to I Jn. 4:16: ‘He that abides in charity, abides in God, and God in Him’ ― wherefore the sequel of charity is joy” (Summa Theologica, 1a-2ae, q.7, art.3).
● “And your heart shall rejoice―and your joy no man shall take from you!” (John 16:22).
The Saints on Joy
● Francis de Sales reminds us: “A saint who is sad, is indeed a sad saint!” or in other words: “A saint who is sad is no saint at all.” A sad saint is a contradiction in terms since, “a good tree cannot bear bad fruit.” We must not forget that it is only saints who get into Heaven!
● We should also be reminded of those famous words of St. Teresa: St. Teresa of Ávila spoke out against that kind of deadly serious Catholicism. “From silly devotions and sour-faced saints, good Lord, deliver us! A sad nun is a bad nun! I am more afraid of one unhappy sister than a crowd of evil spirits! …. What would happen if we hid what little sense of humor we had? Let each of us humbly use this to cheer others!”
Joy, humor and laughter are constant threads through the lives of many saints, disproving the stereotype of the dour, depressed, grumpy saint. While St. Teresa’s spirituality was a deeply reverential one, her humor also shows a kind of playfulness in her relationship with God. Once, when she was travelling to one of her convents, St. Teresa of Avila was knocked off her donkey and fell into the mud, injuring her leg. “Lord!” she said indignantly, “Here I am traveling around trying to reform and improve the Carmelite convents and You go and let this happen to me!” And the response she heard was, “But Teresa! That is how I treat My friends!” To which Teresa answered, “And that is why you have so few of them!” Here is a woman whom the Catholic Church has designated as “Doctor of the Church” an eminent teacher of the Faith, prescribing the medicine of a sense of humor.
Someone said, “Good humor is nine-tenths of Christianity.” Of course it is not, nor anything like it. It is merely a “smart saying” whose value lies not in the truth of the saying, but in the ‘smartness’ or ‘smart-aleckness’ of it. But a sense of humor has an important part to play in the spiritual life. Fr. Robert Hugh Benson did not hesitate to call St. Teresa’s gift of humor “a divine gift.” Humor is the “salt of life”, and to some extent it is the salt of the religious life, preserving it from decay. G. K. Chesterton says of St. Francis of Assisi, “The sense of humor salts all his escapades.” The history of many of the heresies is largely a history of the breakdown of the sense of humor. Their errors and absurdities can― apart from the devil―hardly be accounted for otherwise. “Laugh and grow strong!” St. Ignatius of Loyola said; and to one of his novices, “I see you are always laughing, and I am glad of it!”
“What wit that man had,” wrote René Bazin of St. John Vianney, the Curé of Ars. A priest once sympathized with the Curé concerning the anxieties and sufferings he endured at the hands of the devil. “One gets used to everything — even to the Devil,” said the Curé, “he and I are almost friends!” He asked a very talkative lady if there was any month in the year in which she talked less than usual, except February [Lent]. “What must I do to get to Heaven?” asked a lady of very ample chubby proportions. He replied: “Three Lents, my daughter!” A nun said to him: “People believe that you are very ignorant, Father!” To which he replied: “Nevertheless I shall always be able to teach you more than you will ever be able to learn!”
Kinds of Joy
1. Joy of the body (pleasure): satisfying hunger & thirst, taste, smell, sight, ears, touch.
2. Joy of the mind (intellectual joy): discovery of new information, links & connections, imagination.
3. Joy of the soul (spiritual joy): see below
1. Spiritual joy, often called joy in God, is an effect of charity. It is of two kinds.
! Firstly, in what God is in Himself. This is the best.
! Secondly, in what we get from God.
Psalm 131:16. “I will clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints shall rejoice with exceeding great joy.”
2. Spiritual joy admits no admixture of sorrow, for it is joy in the divine wisdom of which Scripture says: “Her conversation has no bitterness” (Wisdom 8:16)
! Psalm 93:19. “According to the multitude of my sorrows in my heart, Thy comforts have given joy to my soul.”
! Proverbs 14:13. “Laughter shall be mingled with sorrow, and mourning takes hold of the ends of joy.”
! John 16:20. “Amen, amen, I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice―and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy!”
! John 16:22. “So also you now indeed have sorrow―but I will see you again and your heart shall rejoice! And your joy no man shall take from you!”
! Acts 5:41. “And they indeed went from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were accounted worthy to suffer reproach for the Name of Jesus.”
! 2 Corinthians 7:4. “I exceedingly abound with joy in all our tribulation.”
! James 1:2. “My brethren, count it all joy, when you shall fall into diverse temptations!”
! 1 Peter 4:13. “But if you partake of the sufferings of Christ, rejoice that, when his glory shall be revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.”
! 2 Corinthians 6:10. “As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing!”
3. Spiritual joy is full and perfect when God is possessed by the soul, and nothing remains to be desired. It is manifest, therefore, that we cannot achieve the fullness of spiritual joy until we reach Heaven.
! Tobias 5:12. “And Tobias said: ‘What manner of joy shall be to me, who sit in darkness and see not the light of Heaven?’”
! Psalm 50:14. “Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation!”
Learning Joy in the School of Saints
In his book, Holy Abandonment, Dom Vitalis Lehodey, writes:
“Abandonment teaches us to repose between the arms of the cross, consequently in the arms of Jesus, and on His wounded Heart. There we discover something more than peace, for we participate in the very joy of Jesus. Sometimes, and not very seldom, this joy is sensible. But at other times, and most often, it is purely spiritual. At all events, abandonment produces the joy of the soul. For that, it would suffice to secure to us liberty and peace. In what should we rejoice if not in being free and peaceful, free in the truth, free in love, and peaceful in our freedom? And, on the other hand, without liberty and peace, what joy can one taste or even imagine?” Would you like to possess the secret of being always joyous? We call it a secret, because although all men seek after joy, very few discover it. Well, the secret of attaining to joy and preserving it when attained, is holy abandonment.
“But how? Listen. Other people have too little faith, too little confidence and love to rejoice in tribulation. But those who have arrived at perfect conformity are endowed with a vivid faith, a firm hope, and a generous charity. They have learned to recognize in every event, even the most insignificant, their heavenly Father, their Savior, their Spouse, their Friend, their Well‑Beloved, busily occupied with the work of their sanctification. They have given Him without any reserve their confidence and their love. Is He not the Sovereign Master of all events? Consequently they feel assured that everything will turn to the profit of their souls, provided they remain trustfully, loyally submissive. How, then, can they help being joyous? On the sixth day of creation God contemplated the works of His hands, and He found them all good, and very good. Hence He vouchsafed to regard them with a joyous satisfaction. Similarly, the abandoned soul experiences in herself something resembling a participation of this divine joy. For the foundation of her abandonment is precisely the approbation she gives to all that God does and wills, and the complacence she takes in all the dispositions of His Providence.
“Here, says the spiritual master, Rodriguez, you have the whole secret of the perfect calm and unalterable joy which manifested themselves on the countenances, in the words, and in the actions of the saints in times past, such as St. Antony, St. Dominic, St. Francis Assisi. The same qualities were remarked, so we read, in St. Ignatius and distinguish, indeed, all true servants of God. But, it may be objected, perhaps these great saints were immune from all the miseries of life; perhaps they were not subject to bodily infirmities; perhaps they had no temptations to combat, no trials to support; perhaps, in fine, God removed from the path of His zealous servants every cause of affliction, every occasion of failing? Nothing could be farther from the truth. The crosses the saints had to support were far heavier than those of other men. Tribulations, sufferings and contempt were their portion in this life, and their crowns were always woven of thorns. God reserves His sharpest trials for the souls He loves most dearly. But these holy men had brought their wills into perfect conformity with the will of God. Hence, pains, mortifications, even temptations, became for them a source of joy and consolation, because they knew that all was the work of the divine will in which they placed the whole of their happiness. They were ingenious in discovering a thousand pious reasons for approving the ways of Providence, even when most trying, and for encouraging themselves to a confident and joyous submission thereto.”
Jesus on Joy—Words of Love
The following words of Jesus are found in Fr. Bartholomew Gottemoller’s book, Words of Love, wherein he furnishes certain quotes of Our Lord given to three of His mystics―St. Josefa Menendez; Sr. Mary of the Holy Trinity and Sr. Consolata Betrone. The scattered quotes have been blended together to make for a cohesive single passage.
“As parents are happy in showing their love to their children, so it is My joy to make My love felt, to reveal it; I do it in a reserved manner, perceptible to those who are attentive to My Presence and who seek it; because I am Spirit, and in order that a soul should really find Me, she must have sought and discovered Me. Then she associates Me with her life and perceives that she had been seeking Me too far away. It is such a great thing to belong to Me! What does anything else matter to you? Be full of joy at belonging to Me! Love Me, and you will be happy; and the more you love Me, the happier you will be! Love will produce light, love will produce strength, and love will produce joy! Oh if people would only love Me―what happiness would reign in this unhappy world!
“Your joy is to strip yourselves and to be dependent on Me alone. A soul who truly surrenders herself to Me gives Me so much joy that in spite of her miseries and imperfections she becomes a very heaven of delight to Me and I take pleasure in abiding in her. I love you! Is that not enough to fill every one of your moments with the fullness of joy? I love you and desire that you should know it. Oh, if you knew how much I love you! I am always in a joyous heart. I would rather see a soul give Me little but with great joy, than see her give Me much, but with sadness. Sadness reigns where I have not been welcomed! Joy of soul―which the world does not always see―is the first of all your messages to rise to Heaven.
“If you could but understand My joy when souls leave Me free and by their deeds say: ‘Lord, Thou art the Master!’ Do you realize how much this comforts Me? Do you think that I am not glorified by it? I have every claim upon you, but you have only one duty―to obey Me. I require a docile will which permits Me to act, which lends itself to everything, which trusts in Me and serves Me always in peace and joy, no matter what the situation is. I need to see all of you happy in My service. Time that is filled with joy, with joy directed toward God, is not lost time.
“I wish to fill you with joy! I want you to be very little and very humble, and always joyful. Humiliations, contempt, being forgotten by other creatures, these are the joys that I will give you. Often choose what costs you, but without loss of joy and gladness, for by serving Me in peace and happiness you will give the most glory to My Heart. The soul that honors Me most is not the one who has suffered most―it is the one who has most perfectly transformed all her sufferings into love and joy―yes, all her sufferings, even the smallest annoyances and little disappointments. Her love glorifies Me already on Earth. You have always the joy of being able to give; and the poorest, those who have nothing to give, can still give their heart and their soul to God―that is the greatest gift: it embraces all others. I would rather see a soul give Me little but with great joy, than see her give Me much, see her consecrate to Me all that human life can consecrate, but with sadness and regret. I can transform all ugliness into beauty―all poverty into spiritual wealth―all sin into a source of grace―all rancor into forgiveness―all bitterness into sweetness―all sadness into joy―all sufferings into Redemption when you give them to Me and let Me act.
“Yes, you are tired; but is it not your greatest joy to have something to offer Me? To bear monotony, the tediousness of the same work coming round regularly, the absence of novelty, while keeping a joyful heart, is to honor Me—that is to conform oneself to My hidden life. To be joyous simply because I am with you, when you have no other reason for being so, that is to prove to Me that you love Me.
“There are sacrifices which I desire, but for which I do not ask―so as to leave to souls the joy of offering them to Me of themselves. My joy is to be able to prove to you the generosity of My love. My Heart takes comfort in forgiving. I have no greater desire, no greater joy, than when I can pardon a soul. When I say that you must forgive one another, it is not a duty that I impose on you―can one impose love? It is a joy that I offer you; it is a share in My way of acting, a share in My Spirit. I love you! Is that not enough to fill every one of your moments with the fullness of joy? I love you and desire that you should know it. Oh, if you knew how much I love you, My little child! Serve Me with joy, give Me much joy!.
Joy Over A Sinner’s Return
We see a similar situation in the parable of the Prodigal Son—for the wayward, sinful son, after having wasted his father’s inheritance in debauchery, decides to return to his father, repentant and contrite, saying within himself: “I will arise, and will go to my father, and say to him: ‘Father! I have sinned against Heaven, and before thee! I am not worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants!’” (Luke 15:18-19). This repentance and return brings joy to his father, who, rightfully, could be extremely indignant and would be within his rights in punishing him severely for the scandal and harm he had perpetrated.
Our Lord, in telling this parable, says: “And rising up he came to his father. And when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and running to him fell upon his neck, and kissed him. And the son said to him: ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, I am not now worthy to be called thy son!’ And the father said to his servants: ‘Bring forth quickly the first robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet! And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat and make merry! Because this, my son, was dead, and is come to life again! Was lost, and is found!’ And they began to be merry” (Luke 15:20-24).
Wrong Kind of Joy
The world is the epitome of the wrong kind of joy. Whereas God loves the sinner and hates the sin, the world attacks the sinner rather than attacking the sin. The world rejoices in what God condemns and hates what God loves. Holy Scripture denounces this attitude: “Woe to you that call evil good, and good evil: that put darkness for light, and light for darkness: that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter” (Isaias 5:20). Our penances may be bitter, but they will lead to sweet things—hence, we can call them bittersweet.
Our Lord tells His Apostles, at the Last Supper: “Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow, because her hour is come; but when she has brought forth the child, she remembers no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. So also you now indeed have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice; and your joy no man shall take from you!” (John 16:20-22).
Rejoice with the World—Perish with the World
Let us not be sucked-into the damning whirlpool of the world—its fate is inevitable! Our Lord and the Apostles in particular, and Holy Scripture in general, repeatedly warn us against the false and fateful joys of the world: “You that rejoice in a thing that is a mere nothing!” (Amos 6:14) … “Rejoice not, O Israel, rejoice not as the nations do!” (Osee 9:1). “Rejoice not in ungodly children, neither be delighted in them, if the fear of God be not with them!” (Ecclesiasticus 16:1).
What Are We Rejoicing Over?
“Let the heart of them rejoice, that seek the Lord!” (1 Paralipomenon 16:10). “Serve ye the Lord with fear, and rejoice unto Him with trembling!” (Psalm 2:11). Rejoice over the greatest gift of God! What is that greatest gift? “The Lord is gracious and merciful, patient and plenteous in mercy! His tender mercies are over all His works!” (Psalm 144:8-9). “Let your soul rejoice in His mercy!” (Ecclesiasticus 51:37). “I have trusted in thy mercy! My heart shall rejoice in Thy salvation!” (Psalm 12:6).
Rejoice Over Mercy!
What is it, above all things, that you will desire in your death throes and agony on your deathbed? It is mercy! Nothing else will matter. Nothing else will be worth anything if you fail to secure that mercy. All your future joy or misery will depend on one thing alone—whether or not you manage to secure the mercy of God. Our joy, on this day of rejoicing—Laetare Sunday—comes from the fact of God’s incredible mercy and pardon, which is to be used, but not abused.
Mercy—A Room in the Mansion of Charity
Lacking hope in that mercy and pardon, leads to despair. Being over-confident in that mercy and pardon, leads to presumption. Both despair and presumption are serious sins. We need to keep that balance between the two—for virtue stands in the middle between excess and neglect—and joyfully do penance for our sins, hoping and trusting in the mercy and pardon of God, Whose “tender mercies are over all His works!” (Psalm 144:9). This is because “God is charity” (1 John 4:8) and mercy is one of the rooms in the divine mansion of charity.
God Does Not Hate His Creation
God cannot hate what He has created—for all that He creates is good. Yet God does hate some things that man has created—and the chief focal point of hatred is sin. As St. Thomas Aquinas says: “…the hatred of something does not befit God. For as love is to the good, so hatred is to evil; for to those we love we will good, and to those we hate, evil. If, then, the will of God cannot be inclined to evil, as has been shown, it is impossible that He should hate anything” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Contra Gentiles, Book 1, chapter 96: “God Hates Nothing, and the Hatred of No Thing Befits Him”).
This is stated in slightly different terms by Holy Scripture: “All things were made by Him” (John 1:3). “The Lord has made all things for Himself” (Proverbs 16:4). Thus mankind was made for God and not for itself. Yet, God’s human creation—mankind—turned away from God through sin.
Nevertheless, God in His infinite mercy, sought a remedy to that rebelliousness, as explained by Our Lord Himself: “God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son; that whosoever believes in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting. For God sent not His Son into the world, to judge the world, but that the world may be saved by Him. He that believes in Him is not judged. But he that does not believe, is already judged: because he believes not in the Name of the Only-begotten Son of God” (John 3:16-18) … “Therefore I said to you, that you shall die in your sins. For if you believe not that I am he, you shall die in your sin” (John 8:24). “For everyone that does evil, hates the light, and comes not to the light” (John 3:20).
Came to Save All—But All Will Not Be Saved
St. Thomas writes: “The power of the divine Incarnation is equal to the salvation ‘of all men, but the fact that some are not saved, thereby comes from their indisposition: they are unwilling to take unto themselves the fruit of the Incarnation; they do not cleave to the incarnate God by Faith and Love. For men were not intended to lose that freedom of choice, by which they are able to cleave or not to cleave to the incarnate God, lest the good of man be produced by coercion” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Contra Gentiles, Book 4, chapter 55: “Arguments Against the Suitability of the Incarnation”).
Thus we are free to choose—and, ultimately, we choose our own salvation or damnation. There will be no coercion from God in that matter.
Abuse of Mercy
Most souls fail to do so and are irrevocably lost—says Our Lord and most theologians of the Church. Yet every soul is capable of securing it. “Christ died for all” (2 Corinthians 5:15). Yet everyone WILL NOT DO what it takes to be saved. “And a certain man said to Jesus: ‘Lord, are they few that are saved?’ But Jesus said to them: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able!’” (Luke 13:23-24).
As St. Paul points out: “For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea. And all in Moses were baptized, in the cloud, and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink; and they drank of the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased!” (1 Corinthians 10:1-5). “For many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). So rejoice—mercy is yours if you choose to abide by it, use it and not abuse it! But woe to you if you abuse it!
Joy Though Pain
The joys of Heaven are not “freebies” but must be painfully earned on Earth or in Purgatory. Mercy, of course, brings joy—but mercy requires payment. This is something that mankind—especially modern man—fails to grasp. Modern man thinks the joys of Heaven are there for sinners, or the lukewarm, or the mediocre man.
Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange dispels this foolish thought: “There are those who seem to think that it is sufficient to be saved and that it is not necessary to be a saint. It is clearly not necessary to be a saint who performs miracles and whose sanctity is officially recognized by the Church. To be saved, we must take the way of salvation, which is identical with that of sanctity.
“There will be only saints in Heaven, whether they enter there immediately after death, or after purification in Purgatory. No one enters Heaven unless he has that sanctity which consists in perfect purity of soul. Every sin, though it should be venial, must be effaced, and the punishment due to sin must be borne or remitted, in order that a soul may enjoy forever the vision of God, see Him as He sees Himself, and love Him as He loves Himself. Should a soul enter Heaven before the total remission of its sins, it could not remain there and it would cast itself into Purgatory to be purified” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Ages of the Interior Life).
Going Cheap…! Cheap Joys!
Most people put a cheap price on sin and cheap admission price to Heaven. How foolish and stupid we are! This stupidity is perhaps one of the chief reasons why so many souls are lost! It does not help matters to see almost everyone around us, living-out this insane sense of values.
These idiots—let us at least hope they are idiots, for idiocy might excuse them somewhat from sin—want joy on Earth and joy in Heaven! They want to neither suffer in this life, nor in the next! They, as the proverb goes, “want their cake and they want to eat it”! Our Lord says: “You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:24)--”You can’t have your cake and eat it!”
Glass Half-Full or Half-Empty?
This brings us to the way in which we can view a glass that contains 50% liquid and 50% air. Some see this glass as being half-full; others see it as being half-empty. The “half-full” people are being positive about it; the “half-empty” people are being negative about it.
The same applies to our Faith and religion. Some see the Faith and religion as being a foretaste of the fullness of joy we shall experience in Heaven. Others sees our Faith and religion as “cramping their style” and robbing of them of many joys they would like to experience here on Earth.
One group sees the Faith, and the practice of it, as being “half-full” and look forward to being fulfilled in Heaven. The other group sees the Faith, and practice of it, as being “half-emptied” of potential Earthly joys, and dread having to give up even more of them. Yet our soul—in which joy resides—was made by God and only God can truly fill it with true joy—“Who satisfies thy desire with good things” (Psalms 102:5).
Cotton Candy Joys
To seek the joys of this world above the joys of Heaven; to seek material joys above spiritual joys—is like eating cotton-candy (candy-floss) in comparison to a highly nutritious and delicious seven course meal. The cotton-candy melts away in your mouth before you know it! On top of that, the high sugar content is the favorite nesting place for disease!
Our Lord puts it this way: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth: where the rust, and moth consume, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven: where neither the rust nor moth consume, and where thieves do not break through, nor steal. For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also” (Matthew 6:19-21).
Different Ideas of Joy
You are, no doubt, familiar with the Scriptural quote: “My thoughts are not your thoughts: nor your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the Heavens are exalted above the Earth, so are My ways exalted above your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts” (Isaias 55:8-9). We could well paraphrase that into “My ideas of joy are not your ideas of joys: nor your joys My joys, says the Lord. For as the Heavens are exalted above the Earth, so are My joys exalted above your joys, and My ideas of joy above your ideas of joy!”
Sour-Faced Sanctity
It almost seems like a sin to talk about joy during Lent! Some sour-faced Christians imagine that sour-faced sanctity is the official face of the Church—yet St. Francis de Sales says: “A saint who is sad, is indeed a sad saint!” Joy, humor and laughter are constant threads through the lives of many saints, disproving the stereotype of the dour, depressed, grumpy saint. St. Teresa of Ávila spoke out against that kind of deadly serious Catholicism. “A sad nun is a bad nun,” she said. “I am more afraid of one unhappy sister than a crowd of evil spirits …. What would happen if we hid what little sense of humor we had? Let each of us humbly use this to cheer others!” And one of her most famous lines, though probably apocryphal, is: “From silly devotions and sour-faced saints, good Lord, deliver us!”
And while Teresa’s spirituality was a deeply reverential one, her humor also shows a kind of playfulness in her relationship with God. Once, when she was travelling to one of her convents, St. Teresa of Avila was knocked off her donkey and fell into the mud, injuring her leg. “Lord!” she said indignantly, “Here I am traveling around trying to reform and improve the Carmelite convents and You go and let this happen to me!” And the response she heard was, “But Teresa! That is how I treat My friends!” To which Teresa answered, “And that is why you have so few of them!” Here is a woman whom the Catholic Church has designated as “Doctor of the Church” an eminent teacher of the Faith, prescribing the medicine of a sense of humor.
Someone said, “Good humor is nine-tenths of Christianity.” Of course it is not, nor anything like it. It is merely a “smart saying” whose value lies not in the truth of the saying, but in the ‘smartness’ or ‘smart-aleckness’ of it. But a sense of humor has an important part to play in the spiritual life. Fr. Robert Hugh Benson did not hesitate to call St. Teresa’s gift of humor “a divine gift.” Humor is the “salt of life”, and to some extent it is the salt of the religious life, preserving it from decay. G. K. Chesterton says of St. Francis of Assisi, “The sense of humor salts all his escapades.” The history of many of the heresies is largely a history of the breakdown of the sense of humor. Their errors and absurdities can― apart from the devil―hardly be accounted for otherwise. “Laugh and grow strong!” St. Ignatius of Loyola said; and to one of his novices, “I see you are always laughing, and I am glad of it!”
“What wit that man had,” wrote René Bazin of St. John Vianney, the Curé of Ars. A priest once sympathized with the Curé concerning the anxieties and sufferings he endured at the hands of the devil. “One gets used to everything — even to the Devil,” said the Curé, “he and I are almost friends!” He asked a very talkative lady if there was any month in the year in which she talked less than usual, except February [Lent]. “What must I do to get to Heaven?” asked a lady of very ample chubby proportions. He replied: “Three Lents, my daughter!” A nun said to him, “People believe that you are very ignorant, Father!” To which he replied: “Nevertheless I shall always be able to teach you more than you will ever be able to learn!”
Our Lord Himself refers to joys on several occasions—so joy can’t be all that bad! At the Last Supper, Our Lord confessed to having joy and was trying to pass some joy around: “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and your joy may be filled!” (John 15:11).
Holy Scripture commands us to be joyful: “Shout with joy to God, all the Earth!” (Psalm 65:1). “O clap your hands, all ye nations: shout unto God with the voice of joy!” (Psalm 46:2). “Sing joyfully to God, all the Earth! Serve ye the Lord with gladness! Come into His presence with exceedingly great joy!” (Psalm 99:2). Even God the Father “got in on the act”—as we read in Holy Scripture: “God had made them joyful with great joy―their wives also and their children rejoiced, and the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off!” (2 Esdras 12:42).
Can You Get To Heaven By Telling Jokes?
It might seem like a funny question, but “Can you get to Heaven by telling jokes?” Well—yes and no! It depends upon what your jokes are about! A professional comedian writes (and this is no joke): “The human condition provides for us to be hard wired to laugh. We love it. We love the feeling it gives us, and why not? When we laugh our bodies release endorphins, the same chemical responsible for making us feel a sense of euphoria. In other words laughter makes us ‘high!’” We can all agree that laughter “makes us ‘high’” but will it get us as high as “high Heaven”? Does it make Hell more bearable? Or do they even laugh in Hell? Hmm!
The same professional comedian goes on to say: “Humor and the human condition hasn’t been really studied until recently. Psychologists still argue over why people laugh. The number one element that triggers human laughter is SURPRISE! … Surprise isn’t the only theory behind why we laugh. According to Psychologist Patricia Keith-Speigel, there are eight theories of laughter. (1) Surprise; (2) Embarrassment; (3) Incongruity ; (4) Recognition; (5) Ambivalence; (6) Release; (7) Superiority; (8) Configurational.”
You would imagine, then, that Hell would be a helluva place for laughs for all the ‘triggers’ of laughter are present—since most people are (1) surprised to find themselves there, they are (2) embarrassed at finding themselves there, being there is (3) incongruous or at odds with their expectations, they finally (4) recognize the stupidity of their lives, they experience (5) ambivalent feelings to everyone else in Hell, they experience some sense of (6) release in that they are not the only person to be damned and that there a lot of damned souls there with them, everyone can experience a sense of (7) superiority by wagging and pointing their finger at everyone else, and everything (8) falls into place and “penny drops” where we don’t know whether to laugh or to cry (the configurational moment, which the comedian defines as: “the humor occurs when unconnected ideas fall into place and in that moment, make sense. It’s what I would call an ‘Ah-ha!’ moment”). As you can see, all the elements for creating laughter are there—but nobody is laughing!
Life is No Laughing Matter
Life is serious and no laughing matter—though we can find many things within life to laugh about! Likewise with salvation—that, too, is a serious business, as St. Paul tells us: “With fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12)—and he’s not joking when he says that—he does not add: “Just kidding!” It would have been nicer had he said: “With jokes and laughs work out your salvation!”—but he didn’t. There are many who thought life was one big long joke--”A fool lifts up his voice in laughter” … “A fool will laugh at sin” (Ecclesiasticus 21:23; Proverbs 14:9)―but those fools cease laughing from the time of their final judgment! “But thou, O Lord, shalt laugh at them! Thou shalt bring all the nations to nothing!” (Psalms 58:9). They frittered away their life in vain laughter and “He that dwelleth in Heaven shall laugh at them: and the Lord shall deride them! … The Lord shall laugh at him: for He foresees that his day shall come!” (Psalm 2:4; 36:13).
Who’s Laughing?
Similarly, Our Lord told His Apostles, at the Last Supper, that life for them was not going to be a series of laughs—and He wasn’t joking: “Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy!” (John 16:20)—which also implies that the joys of worldly will be turned into eternal sorrows. There are many passages in Holy Scripture that bear this out—here is but one of many:
“Because I called, and you refused! I stretched out my hand, and there was none that regarded! You have despised all my counsel, and have neglected my reprehensions! Therefore, I also will laugh in your destruction, and will mock when that shall come to you which you feared! When sudden calamity shall fall on you, and destruction, as a tempest, shall be at hand: when tribulation and distress shall come upon you! Then shall they call upon Me, and I will not hear! They shall rise in the morning and shall not find Me! Because they have hated instruction and received not the fear of the Lord, nor consented to My counsel, but despised all My reproof! Therefore, they shall eat the fruit of their own ways, and shall be filled with their own devices and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them!” (Proverbs 1:24-32).
Some theologians are of the opinion that Our Lord never laughed, for, as they point out, laughter (if honest and not faked) is triggered by surprise, and Our Lord, being both God as well as a man, knew everything and therefore could not be surprised by anything. If you were to tell Him a joke, He would know your punchline before you even started! Our Lady, not being God, could be surprised. Yet, as we read in the book, The Life of Mary As Seen by the Mystics, by Raphael Brown, we read: “As time passed, Mary became more and more serious and recollected. No one ever saw her laugh, but she did occasionally smile with a very touching expression.” This brings to mind the words of Holy Scripture: “A fool lifts up his voice in laughter: but a wise man will scarcely laugh low to himself” (Ecclesiasticus 21:23).
St. Thomas Aquinas was no comedian—even though he wrote about happiness and joy in a profound manner! His Summa Theologiae or Summa Theologica (meaning “Compendium of Theology”) is “hard going” at times and difficult to read and grasp—it would have been far more fun had he written a Summa Jocorum (Compendium of Jokes).
[As a diversion or detour—talking of Latin and talking of jokes—here is one that can only ‘inebriate’ those who have studied Latin: Julius Caesar walks into a bar, sits down, orders a “martinus”. The bartender gives him a weird look and says: “Don’t you mean a martini?” and Caesar says: “If I wanted a double I’d have ordered one!” (To explain: in Latin, “martini” is the plural of “martinus” J). Want another one? Okay! Julius Caesar walks into a bar full of centurions and says “Right, guys, this round’s on me. What will you be having? The centurions stand, salute him and cry out: “Ale, Caesar!” (Get it? “Ale Caesar!” and “Hail Caesar!” J) ].
As for St. Thomas, for all its beauty and depth, the Summa Theologica could be said (from a worldly perspective) to be no fun, but dull and boring—which seems to reflect the personality of St. Thomas, who seemed rather dull—as described by G.K. Chesterton, in a book he wrote about him, contrasting St. Thomas with St. Francis of Assisi, who was far from dull! Here are a few of G.K. Chesterton’s comments:
“St. Thomas was a huge heavy bull of a man, fat and slow and quiet; very mild and magnanimous, but not very sociable; shy, even apart from the humility of holiness; and abstracted, even apart from his occasional and carefully concealed experiences of trance or ecstasy. St. Francis was so fiery and even fidgety that the ecclesiastics, before whom he appeared quite suddenly, thought he was a madman. St. Thomas was so stolid [not easily aroused or excited] that the scholars, in the schools which he attended regularly, thought he was a dunce. Indeed, he was the sort of schoolboy, not unknown, who would much rather be thought a dunce than have his own dreams invaded, by more active or animated dunces. This external contrast extends to almost every point in the two personalities (St. Thomas and St. Francis). It was the paradox of St. Francis, that, while he was passionately fond of poems, he was rather distrustful of books. It was the outstanding fact about St. Thomas that he loved books and lived on books; that he lived the very life of the clerk or scholar in ‘The Canterbury Tales’, who would rather have a hundred books of Aristotle and his philosophy, than any wealth the world could give him. When asked for what he thanked God most, he answered simply, ‘I have understood every page I ever read.’”
A Time to Laugh and a Time to Weep
However, Holy Scripture has no “hang-ups” about laughing! In the famous passage from the Book of Ecclesiastes which lists a whole variety of different actions and attitudes, we read: “All things have their season, and in their times all things pass under Heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted. A time to kill, and a time to heal. A time to destroy, and a time to build. A time to weep, and a time to laugh …” etc. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 ff.). God wants that “thy mouth be filled with laughter, and thy lips with rejoicing” (Job 8:21). Yet, there is a danger in mere vain laughter and superficial mirth, as seen and realized by Solomon, who wrote: “Laughter I counted as error; and to mirth I said: ‘Why are you vainly deceived?’” (Ecclesiastes 2:2).
However, “first things first”―as they say! Life is not one long laugh—it is better to weep over our sins than to laugh at many things: “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy!” (Psalm 125:5). “Blessed are ye that weep now―for you shall laugh! … Woe to you that now laugh―for you shall mourn and weep!” (Luke 6:21, 25). If you have time to laugh after weeping for your sins, go ahead! But first and foremost weep for your sins and do penance while you still have time: “God hath given him time for penance, and he abuses it in his pride!” … “A fool will laugh at sin!” (Job 24:23; Proverbs 14:9). However, “there is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. Even in laughter the heart may ache, and rejoicing may end in grief!” (Proverbs 14:12-13).
As The Imitation of Christ so truly points-out: “If you wish to make progress in virtue, live in the fear of the Lord … and shun inane silliness. Sorrow opens the door to many a blessing which dissoluteness usually destroys … Lighthearted and heedless of our defects, we do not feel the real sorrows of our souls, but often indulge in empty laughter when we have good reason to weep ... Happy is the man who can throw off the weight of every care and recollect himself in holy contrition. Happy is the man who casts from him all that can stain or burden his conscience!” (The Imitation of Christ, Book 1, Chapter 21).
The Imitation of Christ further points out our propensity or tendency for the wrong things: “Lament and grieve because you are still so worldly, so carnal, so passionate and unmortified, so full of roving lust, so careless in guarding the external senses; so often occupied in many vain fancies, so inclined to exterior things and so heedless of what lies within; so prone to laughter and dissipation and so indisposed to sorrow and tears; so inclined to ease and the pleasures of the flesh and so cool to austerity and zeal; so curious to hear what is new and to see the beautiful and so slow to embrace humiliation and dejection; so covetous of abundance, so niggardly in giving and so tenacious in keeping; so inconsiderate in speech, so reluctant in silence; so undisciplined in character, so disordered in action; so greedy at meals, so deaf to the Word of God; so prompt to rest and so slow to labor; so awake to empty conversation, so sleepy in keeping sacred vigils and so eager to end them; so wandering in your attention, so careless in saying the Divine Office and so lukewarm in celebrating Mass; so heartless in receiving Holy Communion, so quickly distracted, so seldom fully recollected; so quickly moved to anger, so apt to take offense at others; so prone to judge, so severe in condemning; so happy in prosperity and so weak in adversity; so often making good resolutions and carrying so few of them into action” (The Imitation of Christ, Book 1, Chapter 21). Ouch! No laughing matter there!
Sinners Smile Sweetly and Losers Laugh Loud!
The saint can smile and the sinner can smile! The saint can laugh and the sinner can laugh too! The saint can have pleasure and the sinner can have pleasure! The saint can be happy and the sinner can be happy (or seem happy) too! Herod smiled and laughed! Pontius Pilate smiled and laughed! Judas smiled and laughed! Annas and Caiphas smiled and laughed! So too did Our Lady, St. Peter, St. John and a whole bunch of saints and sinners throughout history. All of the souls who are in Heaven today, smiled and laughed! All the souls that are in Hell today, smiled and laughed!
Pleasures will make you smile and laugh! Happiness will make you smile and laugh! But neither pleasure, nor happiness are joy. Pleasure is “the joy” of the body and its senses and its imagination. Happiness is the “joy” of the mind and heart, but is still focused on earthly happiness. True joy is the joy of the soul that is focused upon God and is “right” with God, living in a state of sanctifying grace that is constantly growing and not stagnating. Pleasure and happiness can be steps on the way to joy, but joy stands at the top of the mountain. Joy stands at the top of the mountain because it is all about the greatest feeling of well-being that a soul can have—it is about spiritual well-being, it is about being well with God. Telling a joke to others at a party does not bring the same joy as telling your sins to the priest in confession. There is no joy like the joy of “being right” with God, with being “in a state of grace”, with being “in a state of salvation”, with “being with God”, with “being friends with God” and “possessing God.” This is something the devil cannot do and does not want to do—hence he is always sad, forlorn, dejected, angry, full of hatred and misery.
Tell Me … And I’ll Tell You!
We all know the variety of sayings in the “Tell me what…” series: “Tell me who your friends are and I will tell what you are!” … “Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are!” … “Tell me what you … like … listen to … read … watch … etc. and I will tell you what you are!” We are what we think, say, do, read, watch, listen to, mix with, etc. Why? Well, as another saying points out: “You cannot leave clothes in a smoky room without them eventually taking on the smell of smoke!”
Mix with worldly people and you will become worldly. Read or watch bad material and you will be accepting of the ‘badness’. Mix with foul-mouthed persons and you will take on some of their foul vocabulary, or at least become desensitized to it. Mix with those who seek worldly ‘joys’ and you will seek them also. Mix with those who seek spiritual joys and you will seek them too. Talk about worldly things and you will become increasingly worldly. Talk about spiritual things and you will become increasingly spiritual.
Ideas have consequences. Words have consequences. Actions have consequences. We can choose what we wish to think about, talk about and do—and then accept the consequences. “As you sow, so shall you reap!” as they say. Dwell on morose, unhappy, negative, critical, vengeful, unjust, unforgiving thoughts and as sure as Hell you’ll become more and more morose, unhappy, critical, vengeful, unjust and unforgiving! Dwell upon pleasant, happy, positive, charitable, reconciliatory, just and forgiving thoughts and you will become more and more pleasant, happy, positive, charitable, reconciliatory, just and forgiving. “As you sow, so shall you reap!” as they say. The devil wants you to think the former, God wants you to think the latter. The choice (and the consequences) are yours. We cannot choose what happens to us, but we can choose how we think about what happens to us.
To Avoid Thinking Like the World, You Must Step Back From the World
The thoughts and ways of the world are not the thoughts and ways of God—this has been made abundantly clear by the Word of God in Holy Scripture: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts: nor your ways My ways! says the Lord. For as the Heavens are exalted above the Earth, so are My ways exalted above your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts!” (Isaias 55:8-9).
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures on Earth―where the rust and moth consume, and where thieves break through and steal! But lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven―where neither the rust nor moth consume, and where thieves do not break through, nor steal! For where ypur treasure is, there is your heart also! No man can serve two masters! For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other! You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:19-24)
“Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world! If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life―which is not of the Father, but is of the world!” (1 John 2:15).
“Adulterers, know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God! Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you! Cleanse your hands, you sinners: and purify your hearts, you double minded! Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep! Let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into sorrow! Be humbled in the sight of the Lord, and He will exalt you!” (James 4:4-10).
What is there about that which we cannot understand? If you are seeking joy—and who isn’t—then understand that joy is only found in the “Bank of Heaven” and if you do not want to bank with Heaven or bank on Heaven, then you will never find true joy. There is, of course, a fake “currency” of so-called ‘joy’ being passed around by the devil and world, but it finds itself devalued very quickly. You could say it is only “paper-money”, whereas the joy given out by the “Bank of Heaven” is pure gold.
Dem Bones, Dem Bones, Dem Dry Bones!
St. Thomas traces the origins of joy for us in his inimitable problem solving way, which can sometimes be a bit “dry” even though well-connected in thought. Let us first of all put it in the proverbial “nutshell” and then slightly expand on it by “cracking the nutshell” and looking at the pieces inside! Much like the lyrics of famous song: Dem Bones, Dem Bones, Dem Dry Bones—there is a connection that runs from joy through several other virtues. For those who have forgotten the “Dem Bones” song, here is a sample of lyrics:
“The toe bone’s connected to the foot bone
The foot bone’s connected to the heel bone
The heel bone’s connected to the ankle bone
The ankle bone’s connected to the shin bone
The shin bone’s connected to the knee bone
The knee bone’s connected to the thigh bone
The thigh bone’s connected to the hip bone
The hip bone’s connected to the back bone
The back bone’s connected to the shoulder bone
The shoulder bone’s connected to the neck bone
The neck bone’s connected to the head bone
Now hear the word of the Lord!”
Now hear the word of St. Thomas!
Joy is connected to devotion.
Devotion is connected to charity.
Charity is connected to love.
Love is connected to goodness.
Goodness is connected to knowledge.
Knowledge is connected to learning.
Now hear the word of St. Thomas!
That is it in a nutshell. We learn in order to know. Our minds were made to know what is good and true and beautiful. Knowing what is good, true and beautiful leads to loving what is good true and beautiful. Love is of many kinds and types (persons, places, things, etc.) of which charity is the noblest of loves—being firstly a love of God, and secondly a love of self and neighbor. Love of God and neighbor engenders a devotion to God and neighbor. Devotion brings about joy. Joy is not first and foremost about “getting”, but it is a joy about “giving”. The more we give ourselves to God, the more true joy we shall have—though at first, due to Original Sin and self-love, it will seem repugnant and bitter. Yet, as Our Lord says: “Greater love (joy) than this no man has, that a man lay down his life for his friends!” (John 15:13) as Christ did for us.
St. Thomas says that “spiritual joy”—which is the highest and best joy—is often called “joy in God”, and it is produced by a series of causes. Working backwards, joy comes from devotion, and devotion comes from charity, and charity comes from love, and that love comes from knowledge, and the knowledge comes from learning. To love God is the greatest commandment (Mark 12:30) and to love God is the greatest joy! Yet as St. Thérèse of Lisieux once said: “Jesus is so little loved because He is so little known!”
Cracking the Nut of Joy
We cannot LOVE what we do not KNOW. We must first of all KNOW about something—its existence and qualities—before we can LOVE it. Love is an appetite for what is Good”, “Truth” and “Beautiful” (unless the love is perverted). Goodness, truth and beauty is the trinity that is the proper cause or spark of love. The trinity of “Good”, “Truth” and “Beauty” is the goal as well as the cause of love, must be KNOWN before it can it can appeal to us. LOVE seeks either to possess what is loved, and/or to bestow benefits upon what is loved. In either case, LOVE seeks to be united with its object, in fact or in affection. That possession of the “Good”, or the “Truth” or the “Beautiful” begins in the mind by thinking, reflecting, meditating or contemplating “Good”, “Truth” and “Beauty.”
The highest “Good”, the most profound “Truth” and the greatest “Beauty” is God Himself. When a person thinks, learns and acquires knowledge about God and His goodness and loving kindness, he feels stirred to a LOVE OF GOD (which is called CHARITY, the greatest and noblest room in the mansion of LOVE). Hence the need for learning, meditation and contemplation, which will lead to a union with the beloved thing. CHARITY is love and friendship. CHARITY is active friendship and love—and not just empty words. We have CHARITY when we love God and neighbor, and wish for our neighbor the good of God’s friendship. A perfection of CHARITY occurs when souls give their whole hearts habitually to God, not thinking or desiring anything contrary to His love. The mechanism by which we seek to unite ourselves to the “Beloved” is called DEVOTION. CHARITY gives birth to DEVOTION.
DEVOTION, in the religious sense, is the will to give oneself steadily and constantly to the service of God. Seeing his own insufficiency and his faults, a man is moved to turn to God and to lean upon Him; and out of this consideration also, devotion arises. The direct and chief effect of devotion is joy in God. Its secondary and indirect effect is sorrow for one’s shortcomings and sins. On man’s part, charity produces devotion and service to God. Devotion is not a virtue, but the act of the virtue of CHARITY. The external cause of DEVOTION in a person is God and His grace. The internal cause of devotion is meditation or contemplation. Hence begins the chain of causes that pass from knowledge, to love, to charity, to devotion and finally, if the object of our love can be attained and possessed, to the crowning grace of JOY. The direct and chief effect of devotion is joy in God.
Spiritual JOY is full and perfect when God is possessed by the soul, and nothing remains to be desired. It is obvious, therefore, that we cannot achieve the fullness of spiritual JOY until we reach Heaven.
Sinners do not love themselves truly. They love only an apparent good in themselves, and they love external and creatural goods as things worth having for their own sake. And thus sinners miss the goal of charity which is endless happiness in God.
God is Joy Because God is Love
God is love and love is the cause of joy. For, we rejoice either because the object of our love is really present, or because we really find our own good existing, so to say, in the person, or in the object we love.
We rejoice because we find ourselves in the presence of one whom we cherish, or because we have good news from a friend or parent, separated from us by endless stretches of land, or by vast expanses of water; we find an unbounded joy when we know that son or brother called to serve his country’s cause, in the gory battlefields of the world, is well, far removed from harm, or has been honored for his bravery.
Furthermore, our joy is enhanced by our love for the person from whom we receive the news, and is in proportion to it. We feel, for instance, little or no delight in our hearts when we read that a commander of a hostile force has escaped unscathed from battle. Our love is the cause of our joy.
To Find Joy, We Must Find and Love God
But, charity, in its highest object and point, is love of God, Whose good is infinite, unchanging and unchangeable, and, Who, by the very fact that He is loved, dwells in the person who loves Him. “God is charity: and he that abides in charity, abides in God and God in Him” (1 John 4:16). Hence joy is caused by love; hence, too, it follows charity.
What is this spiritual joy? It is not a virtue, separated from charity, spiritual joy is an action of the virtue charity, an effect, a result of charity. Joy of itself could not exist, it owes its very being to the virtue of charity, which is, for it, a fountainhead. Love is the first impulse of our will or heart, and from it proceed joy and desire. Thus joy is not a virtue distinct from charity, it is only an effect of charity, it is an action of charity.
Joy is that gratitude, that happy consciousness we have of the infinite goodness of God, the great object of our love, in Whom we live, move and have our being. Joy is the grand and consoling reward for the victories we have won in the battles with our passions.
A Religion of Joy
Since joy is a Fruit of the Holy Ghost, it follows that where the Holy Ghost is not, there is no joy. Now, the Divine Spirit is the vivifying principle of the Catholic Church and of her faithful. The Catholic Religion, is, then, essentially a religion of joy. Christ being the center of Christianity, there is no joy superior to that which He procures.
Down through the night of forgotten centuries and the fast highway of fleeting years, whatever holy joy was in the world was caused by Him. He was the unsurpassing joy of the patriarchs and prophets, of David, Isaias and Zachary, of Magdalene and John, of Peter and of Paul.
Faith itself is a joyous exposition of the truths that lead to Heaven; its precepts and commands are not merely a burden, but also a pleasure and a joy. Self-control in the service of the commandments makes us strong, and that is a source of joy. In sin we are downcast, and a load seems lifted from our hearts when grace, through the Sacrament of Penance, joy streams into our souls anew.
Once forgiven, we are children of God once again, perfect men and perfect Christians. Penance brings an entire Heaven of joy into our otherwise heavy hearts. “In thy salvation he shall rejoice exceedingly” (Psalm 20:2). “Thou hast turned for me my mourning into joy: Thou hast cut my sackcloth, and hast compassed me with gladness” (Psalm 29:12).
Purgatorial Joys
Penance brings joy to the souls in Purgatory, too! Even though they find themselves in the most unspeakably excruciating pains—which no tongue can describe nor imagination imagine—they are, nevertheless, also immersed in the most unspeakably great joys. They know that they are saved and that these horrendous pains are bringing Heaven and God closer with every excruciating moment. They are the perfect example of how the Catholic on Earth should find joy in suffering.
Those poor souls failed to learn how to suffer and do penance with joy on Earth, so now they have to learn that lesson in Purgatory. Yet their lesson is also a lesson for us—who, like the ill-fated Chosen People, are ever mumbling and grumbling, whining and whinging, moaning and groaning about the least suffering that we have to experience and suffer, by God’s Providence, here on Earth.
Worldly Joys Bring Sadness
At the Last Supper, Our Lord spoke of the two contrary lots that would befall His Apostles on the one hand, at the world on the other. He said: “Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy” (John 16:20). If we take this to the next stage—if the sorrow of His followers shall be turned to joy, then the joy of the world shall be turned to sorrow. This is proven to be the case by other passages in Holy Scripture that depict the rich and the poor.
We have the case of Our Lord’s parable about the beggar, Lazarus, and Rich Man: “There was a beggar, named Lazarus, who lay at his gate, full of sores, desiring to be filled with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table, and no one did give him. Moreover, the dogs came, and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. And the rich man also died: and he was buried in Hell” (Luke 16:20-22).
In a real-life incident, we have the case of the rich young man—who you would have thought would be happy and joyful with all his riches, but he becomes sad and sorrowful because of them: “And behold a certain man running up and kneeling before Him: ‘Good Master, what good shall I do that I may have life everlasting?’ And Jesus said to him: ‘Thou knowest the commandments—keep the commandments!’ The young man said to Jesus: ‘All these I have kept from my youth, what is yet wanting to me?’ And Jesus looking on him, loved him, and said to him: ‘One thing is wanting unto thee: go, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven; and come, follow Me!’ And when the young man had heard this word, being struck sad at that saying, went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
“Then Jesus, looking round about, said to His disciples: ‘Amen, I say to you: How hardly shall they that have riches, enter into the Kingdom of God! And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!’ And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus again answering, said to them: ‘Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches, to enter into the Kingdom of God!’ And when they had heard this, the disciples wondered very much, saying: ‘Who then can be saved?’ And Jesus looking on them, said to them: ‘With men this is impossible: but with God all things are possible!’” (Matthew 19:16-26; Mark 10:17-27).
God Does Bestow Riches, But…
God has enriched many a man as well the Israelites as a nation—but it was always contingent upon their placing God before all riches and wealth. Once those riches and wealth became a hindrance to their love of God and led them down paths of infidelity, lukewarmness, infidelity and sin—God not only brutally removed or destroyed those riches and that wealth, but He also was not averse to slaying some or most of the wayward ones.
The Old Testament history of the Chosen People is a perpetual saga of God’s benefits leading them to forget God, which led God to acting in a way towards them that they would never forget! But forget they did—and foolishly repeated the same behavior.
God has to come first—Our Lord commands in the New Testament what had already been commanded in the Old Testament: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the first commandment” (Mark 12:30), which merely repeats the Old Testament command: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5).
This is what Job did in the Old Testament, and he was abundantly blessed by God. Yet, when God allowed all types of calamities to befall Job—losing his health, his children, his wealth and his properties and flocks—God never ceased to love and bless God, as much in calamity as in prosperity.
His famous quote—which we would well to take to heart—was: “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither! The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away! As it has pleased the Lord, so is it done! Blessed be the name of the Lord!” (Job 1:21). This eventual acceptance of the bitter with the sweet, led to God restoring all things to Job in an abundantly greater measure than he had possessed in the beginning: “And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before” (Job 42:10).
The Joys of Heaven
This doubling of Job’s possessions and wealth, after his tribulations at the hands of the devil, is symbolic of our tests and trials in this life, after which we shall be rewarded with Heaven—if we have been faithful.
Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange writes: “This vision will constitute eternal life. No one can express the joy and love that will be born in us of this vision. It will be so strong, so absolute a love of God, that, thenceforth, nothing will be able to destroy it, or even to diminish it. It will be a love by which we shall, above all, rejoice that God is God, infinitely holy, just, and merciful. We shall adore all the decrees of His providence in view of the manifestation of His goodness … We shall have entered into His beatitude, according to Christ’s own words: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! Because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things! Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord!’” (The Three Ages of the Interior Life).
Article 13
Friday & Saturday December 12th & 13th
No Guadalupe Loophole!
Friday & Saturday December 12th & 13th
No Guadalupe Loophole!
Satanic Head Crusher
Today, December 12th, we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, who appeared several times to Juan Diego in December of 1531. In the early morning hours of December 9th, 1531, a 57-year-old Indian peasant named Juan Diego was walking along the path of Tepayec Hill, on the outskirts of what today is Mexico City. Juan Diego was headed to Mass, because at that time, December 9th was the date for the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception throughout the Spanish Empire. Our Lady appeared to Juan Diego and commanded him to go tell the local bishop, Bishop Zumarraga, of her desire for a church to be built at the site of her apparition.
Tradition holds that Juan Diego asked our Blessed Mother her name. She responded in his native language of Nahuatl: “Tlecuatlecupe,” which means “the one who crushes the head of the serpent” (a clear reference to Genesis 3:15 and perhaps to the prominent symbol of the Aztec religion). “Tlecuatlecupe” when correctly pronounced, sounds remarkably similar to “Guadalupe.” Consequently, when Juan Diego would later tell Bishop Zumarraga her name in his native tongue, he probably confused it with the familiar Spanish name “Guadalupe,” a city in Spain with a famous Marian shrine dating back to the 1300s.
Our Lady added “Know for certain, O least of my sons, that I am the perfect and perpetual Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus, the true God, through whom everything lives, the Lord of all things near and far, the Master of Heaven and Earth. It is my earnest wish that a church be built here to my honor. Here I will demonstrate, I will manifest, I will give all my love, my compassion, my help and my protection to the people! I am your merciful mother, the merciful mother of all of you who live united in this land, and of all mankind, of all those who love me, of those who cry to me, of those who seek me, and of those who have confidence in me! Here I will hear their weeping, their sorrow, and will remedy and alleviate all their multiple sufferings, necessities, and misfortunes.”
Lose Some―Win Some
The Protestant Reformation was the watershed moment marking a turning point in the Catholic Church’s dominance in Europe. There was no census or population records in those days and so nobody can give an exact number of Catholics who left the Catholic Church during the Protestant Reformation―but millions shifted allegiance as large regions in Northern Europe (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, mainly Northern Germany, England, Netherlands) became predominantly Protestant. Southern Europe―France, : Spain, Italy, Portugal, Poland, and mainly Southern Germany remained Catholic, leading to a massive reshuffling of Christianity, not just mass desertion but new denominations forming. Areas like Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Northern Germany, and England saw large populations abandon Catholicism for Lutheran, Calvinist, or Anglican faiths.
While the Catholic Church lost significant ground in Northern Europe due to the Protestant Reformation (which started in 1517), these losses were substantially offset by major Catholic growth through missionary work and expansion into new territories globally, especially in the Americas, Asia, and Africa. During the Protestant Reformation, Catholic expansion in the Americas exploded under Spain and France, driven by the Catholic Church’s Counter-Reformation. This included establishing vast Catholic empires in Latin America, French territories (New France), and parts of North America. During the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Church solidified its massive expansion in Latin America, driven by Spanish and Portuguese colonization, becoming the region's dominant Faith through intense missionary work resulting in bring many converts from paganism and idolatry and intertwining the Faith with colonial rule, effectively sealing the colonies against Protestantism by establishing strict Catholic institutions and using colonial power to create a deeply Catholic cultural bedrock that lasted centuries.
Historical data shows that for most of the 20th century, from 1900 through the 1960s, at least 90% of Latin America’s population was still Catholic. Today Catholicism remains dominant in Latin America, but is declining as a percentage of the population, with figures around 54% in 2024, has fallen greatly from over 90%. Nevertheless, Latin America still holds nearly half the world's Catholics, led by Brazil and Mexico, which are the countries with the most Catholics globally.
Satan’s Bloody Paganism
One must also not forget that Juan Diego had grown up under Aztec oppression. The Aztec religious practices, which included human sacrifice, play an interesting and integral role in this story. Every major Aztec city had a temple pyramid, about 100 feet high, on top of which was erected an altar. Upon this altar, the Aztec priests offered human sacrifice to their god Huitzilopochtli, called the “Lover of Hearts and Drinker of Blood,” by cutting out the beating hearts of their victims, usually adult men but often children. Considering that the Aztecs controlled 371 towns and the law required 1,000 human sacrifices for each town with a temple pyramid, over 50,000 human beings were sacrificed each year. Moreover, the early Mexican historian Ixtlilxochitl estimated that one out of every five children fell victim to this bloodthirsty religion.
In 1487, when Juan Diego was just 13 years old, he would have witnessed the most horrible event: Tlacaellel, the 89-year-old Aztec ruler, dedicated the new temple pyramid of the sun, dedicated to the two chief gods of the Aztec pantheon — Huitzilopochtli and Tezcatlipoca, (the god of hell and darkness) — in the center of Tenochtitlan (later Mexico City).
The temple pyramid was 100 feet high with 114 steps to reach the top. More than 80,000 men were sacrificed over a period of four days and four nights. While this number of sacrifices seems incredible, evidence indicates it took only 15 seconds to cut the heart out of each victim. (For more information, see Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Conquest of Darkness by Dr. Warren Carroll).
“And the land was polluted with blood,” by idolaters who sacrificed their sons and daughters to devils. “The heathens … served their idols … and they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to devils. And they shed innocent blood―the blood of their sons and of their daughters―which they sacrificed to the idols … And the land was polluted with blood” (Psalm 105:35-38).
Such was Mexico when Hernando Cortes arrived there in 1519. Some ten million native Nahuatl Indians formed a vast confederation of tribes at this time. These tribes were dominated by the powerful Aztecs who, for all their intelligence, industry, and valor, were equally barbaric, enslaved by an extravagant system of idolatry which placated its numerous gods with gruesome orgies of human sacrifice and cannibalism. For centuries torrents of blood literally flowed from the temple pyramids, with as many as 20,000 humans being sacrificed in one day.
Nevertheless, in 1520, Hernando Cortes outlawed human sacrifice. He stripped the temple pyramid of its two idols, cleansed the stone of its blood and erected a new altar. Cortez, his soldiers and Father Olmedo then ascended the stairs with the Holy Cross and images of the Blessed Mother and St. Christopher. Upon this new altar, Father Olmedo offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Upon what had been the place of evil pagan sacrifice, now the unbloody, eternal and true sacrifice of our Lord was offered. Such an action, however, sparked the all-out war with the Aztecs, whom Cortez finally subdued in August of 1521. In 1523, Franciscan missionaries came evangelizing the Indian people. They were so successful that the Diocese of Mexico City was established in 1528―three years before the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Cortes came and liberated the Nahuatls from their slavery to Satan, but because of the corruption of some of the Spanish rulers and because of the Aztec’s attachment to polygamy and other pagan practices, very few converted to Catholicism in the first decade of Spanish rule. The saintly Juan de Zumarraga, Mexico’s first bishop, could do little to convert the Aztecs, but he remained confident in the unfailing help of the Queen of Heaven, to whom he entrusted the future of New Spain.
Our Lady of Insurmountable Odds
There are some people who just love having the odds stacked against them, so that they can out and prove everyone was wrong in doubting their abilities and capabilities. In Holy Scripture we have the case of David and Goliath―where everyone thought that all was lost and when the young boy David confidently offered to fight Goliath, they could see no way that David could defeat Goliath―especially since he refused the armor and weapons given to him and instead opted to take into the fight with Goliath his shepherd’s sling and five pebbles!
St. Louis de Montfort, in his book True Devotion to Mary, reports the devils as admitting the following during an exorcism: “One single sigh, that she offers to the Blessed Trinity, is worth far more than all the prayers, desires, and aspirations of all the saints! We fear her more than all the other saints in Heaven together!”
Our Lady herself says of our days: “The Christian spirit will rapidly decay, extinguishing the precious light of Faith until it reaches the point that there will be an almost total and general corruption of customs [morals]. In these unhappy times, people will only think of amusements and there will be unbridled luxury and impurity that will conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost … Many will abandon the Faith, and a great number of priests and members of religious orders will break away from the true religion; among these people there will even be bishops ... A number of religious institutions will lose all Faith and will cause many souls to be damned ... There will be occasions when all will seem lost and paralyzed. This then will be the happy beginning of the complete restoration … This will mark the arrival of my hour, when I, in a marvelous way, will dethrone the proud and cursed Satan, trampling him under my feet … I alone am able still to save you from the calamities which approach. Those who place their confidence in me will be saved! … In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph!” (Words of Our Lady of Good Success, La Salette, Fatima & Akita).
Is History Repeating Itself?
Today’s world is becoming increasingly pagan―at least in practice if not in theory. Many profess that they believe in God, but actually live like pagans. There is no single worldwide number for Sunday Mass attendance, but estimates suggest that around 20% of the 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide actually fulfill their Sunday obligation of attending Mass. There are huge regional differences―the highest being in Africa (Nigeria 94%) and parts of Asia/Latin America (Philippines 56%), but low in Europe and North America (US around 17%, Netherlands and Germany below 10%, and France around 8%). The Catholic Church seems powerless to stop the increasing falling away from the practice of the Faith. Our Lady has stated that she is meant to be the solution to the problem―according to the will of God.
Likewise, Our Lady of Guadalupe was about to achieve what the Catholic Church in the Americas had thus far failed to do in the 16th century. The Spanish colonists had conquered and subdued the pagan Aztecs―but there were hardly any conversions to the Catholic Faith among those Aztecs. The missionaries were convinced that in this new land they had found a place to start a new Church that would learn from the mistakes of the European Church and really re-create the Church of the Gospel. The missionaries could not understand the religious symbolic world of the native people. They believed that whatever was different was diabolical and had to be eliminated. They also had to struggle against the pain that the people could still remember: the trauma of their brutal conquest. The natives would hear the message of the Gospel, the message of God’s love and compassion, but the lifestyle they saw was totally the opposite. So there were two totally antagonistic religions and cultures coming together, but there seemed to be a complete lack of communicability and compatibility.
The Spanish conquest was not about spreading the Faith, but was all about the lure of wealth spurred and laying their hands on the riches available. Massive sections of the Americas rapidly fell to the Spanish crown―a transformation which was begun by the ruthless conqueror of the Aztec Empire, Hernán Cortés. In 1511 he joined an expedition to conquer Cuba and was appointed secretary to the island's first colonial governor, Diego Velázquez. In 1518 Velázquez appointed Cortés to lead an expedition to Mexico. Cortés—as Velázquez was to discover to his cost—was set on becoming a leader rather than a loyal follower. He set off for the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in February 1519 with 11 ships, about 100 sailors, 500 soldiers, and 16 horses. Over the following months Cortés would take matters into his own hands, disobey the governor’s orders, and turn what had been intended to be an exploratory mission into a historic military conquest.
The relationship between the conquered Aztecs and their Spanish conquerors was further strained by the cruelty and immorality of some the Spanish conquerors. According to the chronicler Francisco López de Gómara, Cortés was “very given to women and always gave into temptation.” His biography abounds in romantic entanglements. Throughout his career, Cortés's personal life held a selfish, manipulative streak. In 1514 he married a young Spanish woman named Catalina Suárez, a relative of Governor Diego Velázquez, who soon promoted Cortés after the wedding. But Cortés was not faithful. After the conquest of Mexico, he and Malinche, an Aztec woman who served as his interpreter, had a son together. The marriage to Caralina only ended when she was found dead under mysterious circumstances in 1522. Cortés was suspected of her murder, but never charged. Cortés then took as a consort Princess Isabel Moctezuma, the Aztec emperor's daughter. She and Cortés had a daughter, but he later abandoned them. In 1529 Cortés took a Spanish noblewoman, Juana de Zúñiga, as his bride and became a marquis, securing both a high social status and a rather worldly and immodest reputation.
Today, December 12th, we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, who appeared several times to Juan Diego in December of 1531. In the early morning hours of December 9th, 1531, a 57-year-old Indian peasant named Juan Diego was walking along the path of Tepayec Hill, on the outskirts of what today is Mexico City. Juan Diego was headed to Mass, because at that time, December 9th was the date for the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception throughout the Spanish Empire. Our Lady appeared to Juan Diego and commanded him to go tell the local bishop, Bishop Zumarraga, of her desire for a church to be built at the site of her apparition.
Tradition holds that Juan Diego asked our Blessed Mother her name. She responded in his native language of Nahuatl: “Tlecuatlecupe,” which means “the one who crushes the head of the serpent” (a clear reference to Genesis 3:15 and perhaps to the prominent symbol of the Aztec religion). “Tlecuatlecupe” when correctly pronounced, sounds remarkably similar to “Guadalupe.” Consequently, when Juan Diego would later tell Bishop Zumarraga her name in his native tongue, he probably confused it with the familiar Spanish name “Guadalupe,” a city in Spain with a famous Marian shrine dating back to the 1300s.
Our Lady added “Know for certain, O least of my sons, that I am the perfect and perpetual Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus, the true God, through whom everything lives, the Lord of all things near and far, the Master of Heaven and Earth. It is my earnest wish that a church be built here to my honor. Here I will demonstrate, I will manifest, I will give all my love, my compassion, my help and my protection to the people! I am your merciful mother, the merciful mother of all of you who live united in this land, and of all mankind, of all those who love me, of those who cry to me, of those who seek me, and of those who have confidence in me! Here I will hear their weeping, their sorrow, and will remedy and alleviate all their multiple sufferings, necessities, and misfortunes.”
Lose Some―Win Some
The Protestant Reformation was the watershed moment marking a turning point in the Catholic Church’s dominance in Europe. There was no census or population records in those days and so nobody can give an exact number of Catholics who left the Catholic Church during the Protestant Reformation―but millions shifted allegiance as large regions in Northern Europe (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, mainly Northern Germany, England, Netherlands) became predominantly Protestant. Southern Europe―France, : Spain, Italy, Portugal, Poland, and mainly Southern Germany remained Catholic, leading to a massive reshuffling of Christianity, not just mass desertion but new denominations forming. Areas like Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Northern Germany, and England saw large populations abandon Catholicism for Lutheran, Calvinist, or Anglican faiths.
While the Catholic Church lost significant ground in Northern Europe due to the Protestant Reformation (which started in 1517), these losses were substantially offset by major Catholic growth through missionary work and expansion into new territories globally, especially in the Americas, Asia, and Africa. During the Protestant Reformation, Catholic expansion in the Americas exploded under Spain and France, driven by the Catholic Church’s Counter-Reformation. This included establishing vast Catholic empires in Latin America, French territories (New France), and parts of North America. During the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Church solidified its massive expansion in Latin America, driven by Spanish and Portuguese colonization, becoming the region's dominant Faith through intense missionary work resulting in bring many converts from paganism and idolatry and intertwining the Faith with colonial rule, effectively sealing the colonies against Protestantism by establishing strict Catholic institutions and using colonial power to create a deeply Catholic cultural bedrock that lasted centuries.
Historical data shows that for most of the 20th century, from 1900 through the 1960s, at least 90% of Latin America’s population was still Catholic. Today Catholicism remains dominant in Latin America, but is declining as a percentage of the population, with figures around 54% in 2024, has fallen greatly from over 90%. Nevertheless, Latin America still holds nearly half the world's Catholics, led by Brazil and Mexico, which are the countries with the most Catholics globally.
Satan’s Bloody Paganism
One must also not forget that Juan Diego had grown up under Aztec oppression. The Aztec religious practices, which included human sacrifice, play an interesting and integral role in this story. Every major Aztec city had a temple pyramid, about 100 feet high, on top of which was erected an altar. Upon this altar, the Aztec priests offered human sacrifice to their god Huitzilopochtli, called the “Lover of Hearts and Drinker of Blood,” by cutting out the beating hearts of their victims, usually adult men but often children. Considering that the Aztecs controlled 371 towns and the law required 1,000 human sacrifices for each town with a temple pyramid, over 50,000 human beings were sacrificed each year. Moreover, the early Mexican historian Ixtlilxochitl estimated that one out of every five children fell victim to this bloodthirsty religion.
In 1487, when Juan Diego was just 13 years old, he would have witnessed the most horrible event: Tlacaellel, the 89-year-old Aztec ruler, dedicated the new temple pyramid of the sun, dedicated to the two chief gods of the Aztec pantheon — Huitzilopochtli and Tezcatlipoca, (the god of hell and darkness) — in the center of Tenochtitlan (later Mexico City).
The temple pyramid was 100 feet high with 114 steps to reach the top. More than 80,000 men were sacrificed over a period of four days and four nights. While this number of sacrifices seems incredible, evidence indicates it took only 15 seconds to cut the heart out of each victim. (For more information, see Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Conquest of Darkness by Dr. Warren Carroll).
“And the land was polluted with blood,” by idolaters who sacrificed their sons and daughters to devils. “The heathens … served their idols … and they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to devils. And they shed innocent blood―the blood of their sons and of their daughters―which they sacrificed to the idols … And the land was polluted with blood” (Psalm 105:35-38).
Such was Mexico when Hernando Cortes arrived there in 1519. Some ten million native Nahuatl Indians formed a vast confederation of tribes at this time. These tribes were dominated by the powerful Aztecs who, for all their intelligence, industry, and valor, were equally barbaric, enslaved by an extravagant system of idolatry which placated its numerous gods with gruesome orgies of human sacrifice and cannibalism. For centuries torrents of blood literally flowed from the temple pyramids, with as many as 20,000 humans being sacrificed in one day.
Nevertheless, in 1520, Hernando Cortes outlawed human sacrifice. He stripped the temple pyramid of its two idols, cleansed the stone of its blood and erected a new altar. Cortez, his soldiers and Father Olmedo then ascended the stairs with the Holy Cross and images of the Blessed Mother and St. Christopher. Upon this new altar, Father Olmedo offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Upon what had been the place of evil pagan sacrifice, now the unbloody, eternal and true sacrifice of our Lord was offered. Such an action, however, sparked the all-out war with the Aztecs, whom Cortez finally subdued in August of 1521. In 1523, Franciscan missionaries came evangelizing the Indian people. They were so successful that the Diocese of Mexico City was established in 1528―three years before the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Cortes came and liberated the Nahuatls from their slavery to Satan, but because of the corruption of some of the Spanish rulers and because of the Aztec’s attachment to polygamy and other pagan practices, very few converted to Catholicism in the first decade of Spanish rule. The saintly Juan de Zumarraga, Mexico’s first bishop, could do little to convert the Aztecs, but he remained confident in the unfailing help of the Queen of Heaven, to whom he entrusted the future of New Spain.
Our Lady of Insurmountable Odds
There are some people who just love having the odds stacked against them, so that they can out and prove everyone was wrong in doubting their abilities and capabilities. In Holy Scripture we have the case of David and Goliath―where everyone thought that all was lost and when the young boy David confidently offered to fight Goliath, they could see no way that David could defeat Goliath―especially since he refused the armor and weapons given to him and instead opted to take into the fight with Goliath his shepherd’s sling and five pebbles!
St. Louis de Montfort, in his book True Devotion to Mary, reports the devils as admitting the following during an exorcism: “One single sigh, that she offers to the Blessed Trinity, is worth far more than all the prayers, desires, and aspirations of all the saints! We fear her more than all the other saints in Heaven together!”
Our Lady herself says of our days: “The Christian spirit will rapidly decay, extinguishing the precious light of Faith until it reaches the point that there will be an almost total and general corruption of customs [morals]. In these unhappy times, people will only think of amusements and there will be unbridled luxury and impurity that will conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost … Many will abandon the Faith, and a great number of priests and members of religious orders will break away from the true religion; among these people there will even be bishops ... A number of religious institutions will lose all Faith and will cause many souls to be damned ... There will be occasions when all will seem lost and paralyzed. This then will be the happy beginning of the complete restoration … This will mark the arrival of my hour, when I, in a marvelous way, will dethrone the proud and cursed Satan, trampling him under my feet … I alone am able still to save you from the calamities which approach. Those who place their confidence in me will be saved! … In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph!” (Words of Our Lady of Good Success, La Salette, Fatima & Akita).
Is History Repeating Itself?
Today’s world is becoming increasingly pagan―at least in practice if not in theory. Many profess that they believe in God, but actually live like pagans. There is no single worldwide number for Sunday Mass attendance, but estimates suggest that around 20% of the 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide actually fulfill their Sunday obligation of attending Mass. There are huge regional differences―the highest being in Africa (Nigeria 94%) and parts of Asia/Latin America (Philippines 56%), but low in Europe and North America (US around 17%, Netherlands and Germany below 10%, and France around 8%). The Catholic Church seems powerless to stop the increasing falling away from the practice of the Faith. Our Lady has stated that she is meant to be the solution to the problem―according to the will of God.
Likewise, Our Lady of Guadalupe was about to achieve what the Catholic Church in the Americas had thus far failed to do in the 16th century. The Spanish colonists had conquered and subdued the pagan Aztecs―but there were hardly any conversions to the Catholic Faith among those Aztecs. The missionaries were convinced that in this new land they had found a place to start a new Church that would learn from the mistakes of the European Church and really re-create the Church of the Gospel. The missionaries could not understand the religious symbolic world of the native people. They believed that whatever was different was diabolical and had to be eliminated. They also had to struggle against the pain that the people could still remember: the trauma of their brutal conquest. The natives would hear the message of the Gospel, the message of God’s love and compassion, but the lifestyle they saw was totally the opposite. So there were two totally antagonistic religions and cultures coming together, but there seemed to be a complete lack of communicability and compatibility.
The Spanish conquest was not about spreading the Faith, but was all about the lure of wealth spurred and laying their hands on the riches available. Massive sections of the Americas rapidly fell to the Spanish crown―a transformation which was begun by the ruthless conqueror of the Aztec Empire, Hernán Cortés. In 1511 he joined an expedition to conquer Cuba and was appointed secretary to the island's first colonial governor, Diego Velázquez. In 1518 Velázquez appointed Cortés to lead an expedition to Mexico. Cortés—as Velázquez was to discover to his cost—was set on becoming a leader rather than a loyal follower. He set off for the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in February 1519 with 11 ships, about 100 sailors, 500 soldiers, and 16 horses. Over the following months Cortés would take matters into his own hands, disobey the governor’s orders, and turn what had been intended to be an exploratory mission into a historic military conquest.
The relationship between the conquered Aztecs and their Spanish conquerors was further strained by the cruelty and immorality of some the Spanish conquerors. According to the chronicler Francisco López de Gómara, Cortés was “very given to women and always gave into temptation.” His biography abounds in romantic entanglements. Throughout his career, Cortés's personal life held a selfish, manipulative streak. In 1514 he married a young Spanish woman named Catalina Suárez, a relative of Governor Diego Velázquez, who soon promoted Cortés after the wedding. But Cortés was not faithful. After the conquest of Mexico, he and Malinche, an Aztec woman who served as his interpreter, had a son together. The marriage to Caralina only ended when she was found dead under mysterious circumstances in 1522. Cortés was suspected of her murder, but never charged. Cortés then took as a consort Princess Isabel Moctezuma, the Aztec emperor's daughter. She and Cortés had a daughter, but he later abandoned them. In 1529 Cortés took a Spanish noblewoman, Juana de Zúñiga, as his bride and became a marquis, securing both a high social status and a rather worldly and immodest reputation.
Article 12
Thursday December 11th
I Could, But I Won’t! I Should, but I Don’t!
Thursday December 11th
I Could, But I Won’t! I Should, but I Don’t!
Just Stop and Think About It!
You have no doubt heard the expression: “Ignorance does not excuse from the law!” This modern-day expression is not as modern as most would think! “Ignorantia juris non excusat” or “ignorantia legis neminem excusat” is Latin for “ignorance of the law excuses not” and “ignorance of law excuses no one” and is a legal principle holding that a person who is unaware of a law may not escape liability for violating that law, merely because the person was unaware of its content.
European-law countries, with a tradition of Roman Law, also use an expression from the ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, which was translated into Latin as: “nemo censetur ignorare legem” (meaning: “nobody is thought to be ignorant of the law”) or “ignorantia iuris nocet” (meaning: “not knowing the law is harmful”).
The rationale of the doctrine is that if ignorance were an excuse, then persons charged with criminal offenses, or a subject of a civil lawsuit, would merely claim that they unaware of the law in question to avoid liability, even if those persons really did know what the law in question was. Thus, the law presupposes knowledge of all laws to all persons within the jurisdiction. Even though it would be impossible, even for someone with years of legal training, to be aware of every single law in operation in every aspect of a state's activities, this is the price paid to ensure that willful blindness cannot become the basis of exculpation (escaping blame).
Know and Follow the Laws of the Organization
Therefore, it is an accepted argument that persons wishing to engage in any undertakings or activities outside what is common for a normal person, such as running a nuclear power plant, opening a business venture, importing foreign workers, or even just acquiring a license to drive a car on the roads, will take due diligence to make themselves aware of the all laws that exist and are necessary to engage in that undertaking or business. If they do not take due diligence to research those laws, they cannot complain if they incur liability in breaking them. If you have a license to drive a vehicle on the roads, then it is presumed and understood that you have studied the highway code and are familiar with the laws, rules and regulations contained therein.
Know and Follow the Laws of the Faith
This is also true of the Catholic Faith. If anyone wishes to enter into the business of saving their soul in the Catholic Faith, they must take due diligence to research and find out what the laws of that Faith are—this is based upon the irrefutable and inescapable principle of: “He who desires an end or a goal, must also necessarily desires the means to achieve that end or goal.” In short, or in a nutshell, if you want to save your soul and get to Heaven, you must follow the laws and accept the means that God has put in place for saving your soul and attaining Heaven. Or, if you want it putting more simply and bluntly than that, then it is simply “His way or the highway!” God has the final say and He says: “Take My way to Heaven, or take the highway to Hell!” Our Lord tells us that most take the highway to Hell: “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. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leadeth to life: and few there are that find it!” (Matthew 7:13-14)
When is a Law a Law? When isn’t a Law a Law?
The doctrine of “ignorance of the law does not excuse from the law” assumes that the law in question has been properly promulgated—published and distributed, for example, by being printed in a government publication, made available over the internet, or printed in volumes available for sale to the public at affordable prices. In the ancient phrase of Gratian, “Leges instituuntur cum promulgantur” (meaning: “Laws are instituted when they are promulgated”). In order that a law obtain the binding force which is proper to a law, it must be applied to the men who have to be ruled by it. Such application is made by their being given notice by promulgation. A law can bind only when it is reasonably possible for those to whom it applies to acquire knowledge of it in order to observe it, even if actual knowledge of the law is absent for a particular individual. A secret law is no law at all.
When we apply this to the Law of God and the Laws of the Church, all of these are readily available to everyone—even in the old days—through catechisms, the Bible, other Catholic literature, and now, since the Advent of the Internet, they are available for free and easily found with a “Google search”!
Ignorance Does Not Excuse From Hell
If ignorance of God’s Law could excuse us from going to Hell, then—what the Hell—let’s not bother learning or knowing anything about God and His Laws, then sin as much as we want, then plead ignorance when we die and we are guaranteed to go to Heaven! Hey! What a great idea! What a way to live! You just can’t lose! Well, if that’s our hope or attitude, then we will lose—we will lose our soul to Hell and embark on a helluva an eternity!
If ignorance of God and the Laws of God could excuse our sins and excuse us from Hell, then why the hell does Holy Scripture, not to mention Our Lord Himself, teach us the very opposite? We read the following:
“The Lord spoke to me, saying: ‘Call together the people unto Me, that they may hear my words, and may learn to fear Me all the time that they live on the Earth, and may teach their children … Hear, O Israel, the ceremonies and judgments, which I speak in your ears this day! Learn them and fulfill them!” (Deuteronomy 4:10; 5:1).
“Hear therefore, ye kings, and understand! Learn, ye that are judges of the ends of the Earth! Give ear, you that rule the people, and that please yourselves in multitudes of nations! For power is given you by the Lord, and the most High will examine your works and search out your thoughts! Because, being ministers of His kingdom, you have not judged rightly, nor kept the law of justice, nor walked according to the will of God … For God will not respect any man's person, neither will he stand in awe of any man’s greatness! … To you, therefore, O kings, are these My words, that you may learn wisdom, and not fall from it! For they that have kept just things justly, shall be justified! And they that have learned these things, shall find what to answer. Covet ye therefore My words, and love them, and you shall have instruction.” (Wisdom 6:2-12).
Our Lord Himself says: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life!” (John 14:6). “Take up My yoke upon you, and learn of Me!” (Matthew 11:29). “If you love Me, keep My commandments … He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them; he it is that loveth Me … If any one love me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and will make our abode with him. He that loveth Me not, keepeth not My words. And the word, which you have heard, is not Mine; but the Father’s, Who sent Me” (John 14:15; 14:21-24). It takes a brave man or a fool to say: “I’m not interested in learning about Your words! I’m not interested in knowing what Your commandments are! I’m not interested in keeping Your commandments or following Your word!” Hell is full of such brave men and fools!
Pope St. Pius X also speaks of this damnation through neglect or lack of knowledge through ignorance: “We are forced to agree with those who hold that the chief cause of the present indifference and the serious evils that result from it, is to be found above all in ignorance of things divine … It is a common complaint, unfortunately too well founded, that there are large numbers of Christians, in our own time, who are entirely ignorant of those truths necessary for salvation. We refer not only to the masses or to those in the lower walks of life — but We refer to those especially who do not lack culture or talents and, indeed, are possessed of abundant knowledge regarding things of the world but live rashly and imprudently with regard to religion. It is hard to find words to describe how profound is the darkness in which they are engulfed, and, what is most deplorable of all, how tranquilly they repose there. They rarely give thought to God! … They have no conception of the malice and baseness of sin; hence they show no anxiety to avoid sin or to renounce it. And so they arrive at life's end in such a condition … and then calmly face the fearful passage to eternity without making their peace with God. And so Our Predecessor, Pope Benedict XIV, had just cause to write: ‘We declare that a great number of those who are condemned to eternal punishment, suffer that everlasting calamity because of ignorance of those mysteries of Faith which must be known and believed in order to be numbered among the elect.’ … How many and how grave are the consequences of ignorance in matters of religion! It is indeed vain to expect a fulfillment of the duties of a Christian by one who does not even know them.” (Pope St. Pius X, encyclical Acerbo Nimis, 1905).
No Ignorance in Hell
There are basically two kinds of people in Hell—those who broke the law of God and those who didn’t know the law of God. Ignorance does not excuse a soul from going to Hell! There is no soul who is ignorant as to why there are in Hell! Nobody in Hell is saying: “Why the hell am I here? What the hell did I do? Where the hell is justice?”
No! Everyone in Hell clearly knows why they are in Hell. The moment each person dies, God sheds a light into their minds that lets them see everything that they DID DO and everything that they SHOULD HAVE DONE, BUT DIDN’T DO! Neglect or negligence of an action can be just as serious as the performance of an action.
Our Lord bluntly and powerfully conveys this truth in His parable about the Sheep and the Goats—where the “Goats” are sent to Hell, not so much for what they DID, but for what they NEGLECTED TO DO!
“And when the Son of man shall come in His majesty, and all the angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the seat of His majesty. And all nations shall be gathered together before Him, and He shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats! And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on His left.
“Then shall the King say to them that shall be on His right hand: ‘Come, ye blessed of My Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took Me in; naked, and you covered Me; sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me!’
“Then shall the just answer Him, saying: ‘Lord, when did we see Thee hungry, and fed Thee? Thirsty, and gave Thee drink? And when did we see Thee a stranger and took Thee in? Or naked, and covered Thee? Or when did we see Thee sick or in prison, and came to Thee?’ And the King answering, shall say to them: ‘Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these My least brethren, you did it to Me!’
“Then He shall say to them also that shall be on His left hand: ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels! For I was hungry, and you gave Me not to eat! I was thirsty, and you gave Me not to drink! I was a stranger, and you took Me not in! Naked, and you covered Me not! Sick and in prison, and you did not visit Me!’
“Then they also shall answer Him, saying: ‘Lord, when did we see Thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to Thee?’ Then He shall answer them, saying: ‘Amen I say to you, as long as you did it not to one of these least, neither did you do it to Me!’ And these shall go into everlasting punishment: but the just, into life everlasting” (Matthew 25:31-46). Damned for negligence! Damned—even though they pleaded ignorance! Ignorance of the law does not excuse from the law, because you should know the laws of the business that you choose to practice, and so you should know the laws of the business that saves or damns souls—which are the Laws of God and the laws of the Church.
The Vicious Circle of Lack of Knowledge and Lack of Love
The is a vicious circle that can arise with the process of knowledge and love. On the one hand, we cannot love what we do not know. On the other hand, we will not study and learn about that which we love little. St. Thérèse of Lisieux—the Little Flower—applies this our love (or lack of love) towards Our Lord: “Jesus is so little loved because He is so little known!” To which we could add the second part of the “vicious circle” principle: “Jesus is so little known because He is so little loved!” or “Jesus is so little known because few care to know about Him!” We don’t hate Him, but we don’t love Him. We say we love Him, but it is mere lip-service—it is “lip-talk” and not “heart-talk”—as Our Lord Himself complains: “Well did Isaias prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me!’” (Mark 7:6). Here, Our Lord is referring to the words that God, His Father, spoke to the Israelites through His prophet Isaias: “And the Lord said: ‘Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips glorify Me, but their heart is far from Me!” (Isaias 29:13).
Surface Christianity Can Sink to the Depths of Hell
We, likewise, can easily, readily, comfortably and even happily become “Surface Christians” or “Superficial Catholics” who “surf the Faith” like we “surf the Internet”—skimming and skipping over the surface of things, without having any real inclination or determination to “dive into the waters” of real knowledge and especially staying clear of any risks of “deep-sea-diving” which would truly deepen our knowledge of the Faith, because we hear that “deep-sea-diving” can give you “the bends” when resurfacing—and we feel that too deep a knowledge of the Faith would “drive us round the bend” as we resurface into the superficial surface waters of the world. Thus the seed of knowledge, the seed of God’s words, the seed of the Faith remains more or less unfruitful, the branches of our Faith wither and gradually die-off (as the Faith is dying-off in most souls today) and there remains the ever increasing possibility of being “separated from the vine” and “being cast into the fire”—a reality that Our Lord pointed-out:
“I am the true vine; and My Father is the farmer. Every branch in Me, that bears not fruit, He will take away! And every one that bears fruit, He will purge it, that it may bring forth more fruit! Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine: you the branches! He that abides in Me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit―for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, and shall wither, and they shall gather him up, and cast him into the fire, and he will burn!” (John 15:1-6).
The Devil Wants a Flimsy Faith
Heaven is all about love. Hell is all about hatred. Love is based on knowledge—we cannot love what we do not know. Hence the devil wants us to have a flimsy Faith so that we end up with lousy love. The devil plays a big part making religion, the Faith, the teachings of Faith, the practice of the Faith, seem boring and the world―of which he is prince―seem to be exciting. God tries to ‘sow’ the seed of His word in our minds and hearts, and the devil tries to take away that seed before it has chance to strike its roots in our soul. Our Lord’s parable about the Sower of the Seed illustrates that truth perfectly—wherein He tells us that the Word of God is like seed that God (the Sower) seeks to plant in our soul (soil), but both the cares of the world and riches (thorns) and devil (birds of the air) work together to prevent the seed from eventually bearing fruit. Here is the parable and Our Lord’s explanation of it:
“And Jesus spoke to them many things in parables, saying: ‘The sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and it was trodden down, and the birds of the air came and ate them up and devoured the seed. And other seed fell upon stony ground, upon rock, where they had not much earth, and they sprung up immediately, because they had no deepness of earth. And when the sun was up they were scorched: and because they had not root, they withered away, because that seed had no moisture. And other some fell among thorns, and the thorns growing up with the seed, choked the seed. And other seed fell upon good ground; and being sprung up, yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold!’
“And His disciples asked Him what this parable might be. Jesus answered and said to them: ‘The parable is this: The seed is the Word of God and they by the way side are they that hear. When any one hears the Word of the Kingdom and understands it not, there comes the wicked one, the devil, and takes away that which was sown in his heart, lest by believing it, they should be saved. This is he that received the seed by the way side.
“ ‘And they that received the seed upon stony ground, are they that hear the Word of God, and immediately, when they hear the Word of God, receive the Word with joy. Yet they have no roots in themselves and it is only for a time, for they believe only for a while, and, in time of temptation, when there arises tribulation and persecution because of the Word of God, they are quickly scandalized and they fall away.
“ ‘And they that received the seed among thorns, are they that hear the Word of God, but the cares of this world, the pleasures of this life and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the Word of God, and the Word becomes fruitless and yields no fruit. But those that received the seed upon good ground, are they who, in a good and perfect heart, hear the Word of God and understand it and bring forth fruit in patience, and yield, the one an hundredfold, and another sixty, and another thirty!’” (Combination of Matthew 13:3-23; Luke 8:5-15).
We Hear But Don’t Hear—We Know But Don’t Know―We Love But Don’t Love
For the most part, Catholics are a walking contradiction. They go to church on Sunday, but they don’t go to church with all the mind, heart, soul and strength. They listen to the Word of God, but it goes in one ear and out the other. They know they are Catholics, but they don’t really know Catholicism. They would protest that they love God, but God would protest that they don’t love Him—which is essentially what the Sacred Heart of Jesus said to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque: “My Divine Heart is so inflamed with love for men, that, being unable any longer to contain within Itself the flames of Its burning Charity, It must needs spread them abroad and manifest Itself to them (mankind) in order to enrich them with the precious graces of sanctification and salvation necessary to withdraw them from the abyss of perdition. Behold the Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming Itself, in order to testify Its love; and in return, I receive, from the greater part of mankind, only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrilege, and by the coldness and contempt they have for Me in this Sacrament of Love.”
We Know Much, But the Wrong Things—We Love Much, But the Wrong Things!
Everybody knows a lot about something! Everybody loves something a lot! We never get bored with what we love and we can never know enough about what we love. So let nobody say that they are incapable of much study, much effort, much knowledge, and much love—we all study certain things a lot, we put a lot of effort into certain things, we know a lot about certain things and we love certain things a lot—for a man it might be DIY and maintenance work on the house and cars; it might be watching or participating in sports; it could be politics and current world affairs; or perhaps hunting and guns; or any other hobby or interest. For a woman it might be knowledge and the acquisition of skills that pertain to the raising, the health, the education and general care of the children; or things that pertain to cooking and all the other skills that are classified as “domestic science”; or it could one of a whole myriad of possible hobbies. If we were to really pay attention to how much time, effort, money, long-suffering, patience and perseverance we have put into our favorite subjects, hobbies or pastimes, then we would no doubt be amazed.
You Reap What You Sow—You Get What You Look For!
Yet what is all this in comparison to God? You would think that we had become insane—placing these inferior and temporary things above God, yet that is what 99% of people do! No wonder Holy Scripture says: “The fool said in his heart: ‘There is no God!’ They are corrupted and become abominable in iniquities! There is none that does good! God looked down from Heaven on the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, or did seek God. All have gone aside, they are become unprofitable together, there is none that doth good, no not one!” (Psalm 52:1-4). Is there a connection between that and what Our Lord later said? You tell me! “And a certain man said to Jesus: ‘Lord! Are they few that are saved?’ But Jesus said to them: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able! … Enter 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. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leadeth to life: and few there are that find it!’” (Luke 13:23-24; Matthew 7:13-14).
Why don’t they find it? They do not find it because they have little interest in finding it and little love for it! The world is much more interesting and much more lovable! We certainly know how to love, but we love the wrong things—we love the things that risk bringing about our eternal damnation, and avoid, almost like the plague, those things that are conducive to our eternal salvation. “Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a provoking house: who have eyes to see, and see not; and ears to hear, and hear not―for they are a provoking house!” (Ezechiel 12:2). “Hear, O foolish people, and without any understanding―who have eyes and see not; and ears, and hear not! Will not you then fear Me, saith the Lord, and will you not repent at My presence?” (Jeremias 5:21-22).
Wake-Up Call!—Once Again!
Advent―just like all the fruitless Advents that have slipped by in the past―would be the perfect time to repent, as the Advent liturgy suggests, warns or even commands: “Brethren! Understand, for it is now the hour for us to rise from sleep, because now our salvation is nearer than when we came to believe! The night is far advanced; the day is at hand! Let us therefore lay aside the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light. Let us walk becomingly as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in debauchery and wantonness, not in strife and jealousy! But put on the Lord Jesus Christ!” (Romans 13:11-14).
Advent is not primarily a time of hanging lights, lighting Advent candles, looking at colorful Jesse Tree images, or “pop-out-door” Advent calendars—this is, once again, mere surface Christianity. Such things can help—like striking a match can help light a bonfire—but if there is little or nothing to burn, or little or nothing of true sentiments in the soul, then you will merely have a bunch of beautiful feathers without the bird! All fluff, no substance!
Yet we refuse to rise from our spiritual sleep, or secular slumber, preferring to snore away salvation whilst dreaming of other things! Oh well! O Hell! One day all the sleepers will wake up and Our Lord has already indicated the loveless lot or fate of most of them. “Why call you Me: ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not the things which I say? … Not everyone that saith to Me: ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven: but he that doth the will of My Father Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven! Many will say to me in that day: ‘Lord! Lord! Have not we prophesied in Thy Name, and cast out devils in Thy Name, and done many miracles in Thy Name?’ And then will I profess unto them: ‘I never knew you! Depart from Me!’” (Luke 6:46; Matthew 7:21-23).
Our Lord is Love, He Wants Love, Love is Heaven’s Key
It is amazing how such a great love—as Our Lord has for us—can be so callously spurned! IGNORANCE of God’s love for us is one of chief causes of a lack of a return of love to Him. We need to dispel that IGNORANCE! To Sr. Mary of the Trinity, Our Lord says: “This is the only reality: I love you and I take care of you ... There is only one reality: I love you! You are Mine! I ask only for love! Ah, what are you doing about it?” (Fr. Gottemuller, Words of Love, ch. 14 & 15).
To Sr. Consolata Betrone He says: “Do not make Me out a God of rigor, whereas I am nothing but a God of Love!” … Write ‘The Gentle Heart of Jesus’―for everyone knows that I am holy, but not all know that I am gentle! … Oh, if people would only love Me, what happiness would reign in this unhappy world!” (Fr. Gottemuller, Words of Love, ch. 15 & 16). Why are we so unhappy? Why are you so unhappy? Because we do not really love God! Because you do not really love God! You say that you do—with your lips—but your heart tells Him another story!
To Sr. Josefa Menendez Our Lord says: “Ah, if souls only understood how ardently I desire to communicate Myself to them! But how few do understand ... and how deeply this wounds My Heart … If only they [souls] KNEW My Heart ... mankind is IGNORANT of Its mercy and goodness: that is My greatest sorrow! ... I am all love―and how, then, could I treat severely those I so love?” (Fr. Gottemuller, Words of Love, ch. 15).
Our Lord is Love itself: “God is charity” (1 John 4:8) and wants to share that love—but insanely, we place barriers against that love. The bottom line is that we are afraid of being loved by Christ! That may sound weird, but, deep down, we sense that His true love will expose our fake love; and that His deep love will oblige us sail out of the current shallow waters of love in which we wallow! For, as they say, “Love is reciprocal”—which means it “give and take”. Of course everyone loves to be loved—but very few return that love as they ought.
Speaking to Sr. Mary of the Trinity, Our Lord said: “I love you! Is that not enough to fill every one of your moments with the fullness of joy? I love you and desire that you should know it! Oh, if you knew how much I love you, My little child! Leave all! Let there no longer be anything else in the world for you, but the love between you and Me! Am I not enough for you? Is it not sufficient for you to know that your Jesus loves you? It is such a great thing to belong to Me! What does anything else matter to you? Be full of joy at belonging to Me! I want you to be altogether Mine!” (Fr. Gottemuller, Words of Love, ch. 15).
That is scary! We do NOT want to let go of all that is the world! We are so used to our shallow “lip-service” love of Jesus, we are scared to wade into the deeper waters of a real “heart-service”! Who knows where it all might lead to! So stay in the shallow waters and think to ourselves: “I wish Jesus, that shark of love, would go love someone else and leave me alone! I don’t real care much for His kind of love! It’s too demanding and too scary!”
Love Should Be Ever Increasing—But Not By Mere Externals
St. Thomas Aquinas says that every act of love should be returned or rewarded by a greater act of love—this is something that frightens us. We would prefer to just receive Christ’s love without having to return it—especially if it means “upping” the level of love each time. This sounds and seems to be a “too much”! We are far more comfortable in the realm of “lip-service” and “pretended love” than we are in the realm of “heart-service” and “real love”. We try to offer Christ other things in place of our love—prayers, sacrifices, works, projects, penances, meditations, Mass attendance, Communions, Rosaries, or a thousand other things. These things are not bad in themselves, but they depend upon love for their value. Remember what St. Paul says:
“If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not Charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all Faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not Charity, I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not Charity, it profiteth me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). We can give Our Lord all our prayers, sacrifices, works, projects, penances, meditations, Mass attendance, Communions, Rosaries, or a thousand other things—but if they are not done out of a love of God, then they are worthless!
Our Lord presented the flip-side of the coin as mentioned by St. Paul, when He said to Sr. Consolata Betrone: “I delight in gifts which are offered with all possible love. Then even your trifles become precious to Me!”
Charity Check-List
St. Paul then goes on to give a list of what Charity achieves, or the effects of Charity, or the signs that Charity might be present, a kind of a check-list whereby we can run a check on the engine of Charity in our soul, to see if it is functioning and how well it is functioning. Do we see all of these ‘symptoms’ or ‘signs’ of Charity in our soul, and how often? “Charity is patient, is kind. Charity envies not, deals not perversely; is not puffed up; is not ambitious, seeks not her own, is not provoked to anger, thinketh no evil; rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believeth all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).
That list of fifteen effects of charity—though not exhaustive in number, but certainly exhausting to carry out—is a litmus test that quickly differentiates between mere “lip-love” and real “heart-love”!
► How is your patience? This brings to mind the parable of the unjust steward who owed his master so much for so long that he was about to be thrown into prison, “but that servant falling down, besought him, saying: ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all!’ And the lord of that servant being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt. But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellow servants that owed him an hundred pence: and laying hold of him, throttled him, saying: ‘Pay what thou owest!’ And his fellow servant falling down, besought him, saying: ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all!’ And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he paid the debt” (Matthew 18:26-30). Enough said? We all have a little bit of that inside of us when it comes to patience or impatience with others. Yet there is also impatience with ourselves and the lack of progress in material or spiritual things, impatience with events, circumstances, things, etc. All of this betrays an ignorance of how Divine Providence works!
► How kind are you?—kind actions and words are, in a certain sense, easier than kind thoughts, because everyone can see and hear our words, but nobody can see or read our thoughts! Additionally, we should ask: “Who are we kind to?” Our Lord hits human nature on the head when He rightly points-out: “Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you. If you love them that love you, what thanks are due to you? For sinners also love those that love them. And if you do good to them who do good to you, what thanks are due to you? For sinners also do this. And if you lend to them of whom you hope to receive, what thanks are due to you? For sinners also lend to sinners, for to receive as much. But love ye your enemies: do good, and lend, hoping for nothing thereby: and your reward shall be great” (Luke 6:27-35). Now that’s real kindness! That’s also real tough!
► Envy? That’s a “biggie” these days—envious of others for the spiritual gifts and goods, their material wealth and health, their beauty or strength, their popularity, the praise they get, the successes they have, the list is endless and endless is the number of envious persons too!
► Dealing perversely? This is not so much about sexual perverts as it is about dirty-dealings. How many times have we perversely twisted, exaggerated, misrepresented the truth? How many times have we not given opportunities or benefits to those we simply do not like? How many times have perverted the course of justice or the providence of God because we were envious of someone, or held a grudge against someone, or disliked someone?
► Puffed-up? The puffed-up extrovert is more easily spotted than the puffed-up introvert, but both kinds are liable to being puffed-up—hey, we are living in a puffed-up world, aren’t we? You cannot place clothes in a smoky room for long, without them taking on the smell of smoke! Likewise with living in a puffed-up world! Some hide it better than others!
► Ambitious? Most people are, but won’t always show it, because it can make them unpopular. There is an art to being ambitious without showing it and denying it! Practice makes perfect! Just about everyone is trying to climb one ladder ot another—be it at work, or amongst family and relatives, or in the parish or school, be it for money, for power, for influence, for fame, for popularity, for respect, for a thousand and one other reasons.
► Seeks not one’s own advantage? Is there one such person walking the face of the Earth who does not seek their own advantage in one way or another, in one thing or another? We are born with that tendency and use it very effectively from our infancy onwards! Again, with time and practice, we can hide it pretty well.
► Is not provoked to anger? Once again, the anger of the extroverts is easily seen—for they wear it on their sleeve. The anger of introverts is carried around in the pocket! Yet both kinds of anger are anger! At the root of all anger there ultimately lurks self-love, self-will, and pride. Things do not go for us as favorably as we think—in our Human Providence—that they should go, and so we get angry!
► Thinketh no evil? Hmm! Who knows what you think! And there lies the advantage! If nobody knows what you are thinking, then you can think what you want without any repercussions—until you have to answer to God, that is!
► Rejoices not in iniquity? With the massive growth in the media outlets over the last 20 years—endless TV channels, worldwide internet with its countless blogs and forums, there is a helluva lot of rejoicing in iniquity! People love it because it lowers standards and so they feel better about their own sins and less likely to quit them, if they can read about similar or even greater sins being committed by others! This links in to the “splinter-in-the-eye” and the “plank-in-the-eye” stuff that Our Lord spoke about.
► Rejoices with the truth? Well, yes and no! We are more likely to rejoice in the truth when it comes to the sins of others being exposed, than rejoicing in the truth when our own sins are exposed? What was that about the goose and the gander? We rejoice in the truth when we can point the finger, but not when it is pointed at us?
► Bears all things? How much do you mutter and complain each day? How critical are you each day? Our exterior failings in this regard are merely tips of the iceberg compared to our interior mutterings, murmurings, complaints and criticisms. How well do bear the correction or criticism of others? The insults of others? The calumnies or detractions of others? The mockery of others? The rejection by others? How do we handle things when they go wrong for us? The car won’t start, the wipers smear or don’t clean properly, the red traffic lights, the traffic jams, the bad drivers, losing that open parking space to another car, the rainy day, the broken appliance, the broken dish, the power outage, the pen that won’t write, the misplaced keys/wallet/etc.
► Believes all things? Again, yes and no! We believe it when people say good things about us, but we are in disbelief when they speak ill of us! We will believe all lies if they are about people that we dislike, but we will not believe the painful truth about people that we like! Sometimes believing all things is a vice due to our naivety, gullibility, or lazy ignorance which refuses to check facts and details.
► Hopes all things? Here again, yes and no! We sometimes hope for the wrong things! I hope I win the lottery! I hope I get rich! I hope my enemies drop dead! I hope I can sin and still get to Heaven! At other times, we hope in ourselves more than we hope in God. We think or hope to achieve things without His help or His agreement. Hope in God, hope in Our Lady, hope in attaining holiness and Heaven, hope in overcoming sin, hope in overcoming the world, the flesh and the devil—these should be our chief hopes, our holy hopes, and only hopes in a certain sense—for as Jesus said: “For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul?” (Mark 8:36).
► Endures all things? Everyone, as St. Paul says, starts the race—but only one gets the prize. Run so as to win! Winners need endurance, as Our Lord says: “He that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved!” (Matthew 10:22). What do we have to endure? The cross! “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me!” (Luke 9:23). That cross is found every day, in multiple places, coming from multiple people. Our Lord warned: “If the world hate you, know ye, that it hath hated Me before you … If you had been of the world, the world would love its own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:19). “Think ye, that I am come to give peace on Earth? I tell you, no; but separation! For there shall be from henceforth five in one house divided: three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against his father, the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law!” (Luke 12:51-53). “And you shall be hated by all men for My Name’s sake. But he that shall endure unto the end, he shall be saved!” (Mark 13:13).
Ignorantly Ignoring Unignorable Truths
There is an irrefutable link between damnation and religious ignorance—as the article has tried to show. From the vain and failed pleas of ignorance from the ‘Goats’ in Our Lord’s parable, to the words of the popes--“The chief cause of the present indifference and the serious evils that result from it, is to be found above all in ignorance of things divine … There are large numbers of Christians, in our own time, who are entirely ignorant of those truths necessary for salvation. What is most deplorable of all, how tranquilly they repose there. They rarely give thought to God! … Our Predecessor, Pope Benedict XIV, had just cause to write: ‘We declare that a great number of those who are condemned to eternal punishment, suffer that everlasting calamity because of ignorance of those mysteries of Faith which must be known and believed in order to be numbered among the elect.’” (Pope St. Pius X, encyclical Acerbo Nimis, 1905).
As we wander or blunder through Advent—purposefully or aimlessly—like the Israelites with Moses in the desert, let us use the time at our disposal (or make time to be at disposal) to show a change of attitude to God. Perhaps, like the Israelites in their forty-year meanderings in the desert, we may have been wandering aimlessly from one Advent to another, merely going round in circles. Let us break out of that vicious circle of little knowledge and little love, and at last find, what Our Lord calls, the narrow, strait path that leads to Heaven and that very few people find!
You have no doubt heard the expression: “Ignorance does not excuse from the law!” This modern-day expression is not as modern as most would think! “Ignorantia juris non excusat” or “ignorantia legis neminem excusat” is Latin for “ignorance of the law excuses not” and “ignorance of law excuses no one” and is a legal principle holding that a person who is unaware of a law may not escape liability for violating that law, merely because the person was unaware of its content.
European-law countries, with a tradition of Roman Law, also use an expression from the ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, which was translated into Latin as: “nemo censetur ignorare legem” (meaning: “nobody is thought to be ignorant of the law”) or “ignorantia iuris nocet” (meaning: “not knowing the law is harmful”).
The rationale of the doctrine is that if ignorance were an excuse, then persons charged with criminal offenses, or a subject of a civil lawsuit, would merely claim that they unaware of the law in question to avoid liability, even if those persons really did know what the law in question was. Thus, the law presupposes knowledge of all laws to all persons within the jurisdiction. Even though it would be impossible, even for someone with years of legal training, to be aware of every single law in operation in every aspect of a state's activities, this is the price paid to ensure that willful blindness cannot become the basis of exculpation (escaping blame).
Know and Follow the Laws of the Organization
Therefore, it is an accepted argument that persons wishing to engage in any undertakings or activities outside what is common for a normal person, such as running a nuclear power plant, opening a business venture, importing foreign workers, or even just acquiring a license to drive a car on the roads, will take due diligence to make themselves aware of the all laws that exist and are necessary to engage in that undertaking or business. If they do not take due diligence to research those laws, they cannot complain if they incur liability in breaking them. If you have a license to drive a vehicle on the roads, then it is presumed and understood that you have studied the highway code and are familiar with the laws, rules and regulations contained therein.
Know and Follow the Laws of the Faith
This is also true of the Catholic Faith. If anyone wishes to enter into the business of saving their soul in the Catholic Faith, they must take due diligence to research and find out what the laws of that Faith are—this is based upon the irrefutable and inescapable principle of: “He who desires an end or a goal, must also necessarily desires the means to achieve that end or goal.” In short, or in a nutshell, if you want to save your soul and get to Heaven, you must follow the laws and accept the means that God has put in place for saving your soul and attaining Heaven. Or, if you want it putting more simply and bluntly than that, then it is simply “His way or the highway!” God has the final say and He says: “Take My way to Heaven, or take the highway to Hell!” Our Lord tells us that most take the highway to Hell: “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. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leadeth to life: and few there are that find it!” (Matthew 7:13-14)
When is a Law a Law? When isn’t a Law a Law?
The doctrine of “ignorance of the law does not excuse from the law” assumes that the law in question has been properly promulgated—published and distributed, for example, by being printed in a government publication, made available over the internet, or printed in volumes available for sale to the public at affordable prices. In the ancient phrase of Gratian, “Leges instituuntur cum promulgantur” (meaning: “Laws are instituted when they are promulgated”). In order that a law obtain the binding force which is proper to a law, it must be applied to the men who have to be ruled by it. Such application is made by their being given notice by promulgation. A law can bind only when it is reasonably possible for those to whom it applies to acquire knowledge of it in order to observe it, even if actual knowledge of the law is absent for a particular individual. A secret law is no law at all.
When we apply this to the Law of God and the Laws of the Church, all of these are readily available to everyone—even in the old days—through catechisms, the Bible, other Catholic literature, and now, since the Advent of the Internet, they are available for free and easily found with a “Google search”!
Ignorance Does Not Excuse From Hell
If ignorance of God’s Law could excuse us from going to Hell, then—what the Hell—let’s not bother learning or knowing anything about God and His Laws, then sin as much as we want, then plead ignorance when we die and we are guaranteed to go to Heaven! Hey! What a great idea! What a way to live! You just can’t lose! Well, if that’s our hope or attitude, then we will lose—we will lose our soul to Hell and embark on a helluva an eternity!
If ignorance of God and the Laws of God could excuse our sins and excuse us from Hell, then why the hell does Holy Scripture, not to mention Our Lord Himself, teach us the very opposite? We read the following:
“The Lord spoke to me, saying: ‘Call together the people unto Me, that they may hear my words, and may learn to fear Me all the time that they live on the Earth, and may teach their children … Hear, O Israel, the ceremonies and judgments, which I speak in your ears this day! Learn them and fulfill them!” (Deuteronomy 4:10; 5:1).
“Hear therefore, ye kings, and understand! Learn, ye that are judges of the ends of the Earth! Give ear, you that rule the people, and that please yourselves in multitudes of nations! For power is given you by the Lord, and the most High will examine your works and search out your thoughts! Because, being ministers of His kingdom, you have not judged rightly, nor kept the law of justice, nor walked according to the will of God … For God will not respect any man's person, neither will he stand in awe of any man’s greatness! … To you, therefore, O kings, are these My words, that you may learn wisdom, and not fall from it! For they that have kept just things justly, shall be justified! And they that have learned these things, shall find what to answer. Covet ye therefore My words, and love them, and you shall have instruction.” (Wisdom 6:2-12).
Our Lord Himself says: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life!” (John 14:6). “Take up My yoke upon you, and learn of Me!” (Matthew 11:29). “If you love Me, keep My commandments … He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them; he it is that loveth Me … If any one love me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and will make our abode with him. He that loveth Me not, keepeth not My words. And the word, which you have heard, is not Mine; but the Father’s, Who sent Me” (John 14:15; 14:21-24). It takes a brave man or a fool to say: “I’m not interested in learning about Your words! I’m not interested in knowing what Your commandments are! I’m not interested in keeping Your commandments or following Your word!” Hell is full of such brave men and fools!
Pope St. Pius X also speaks of this damnation through neglect or lack of knowledge through ignorance: “We are forced to agree with those who hold that the chief cause of the present indifference and the serious evils that result from it, is to be found above all in ignorance of things divine … It is a common complaint, unfortunately too well founded, that there are large numbers of Christians, in our own time, who are entirely ignorant of those truths necessary for salvation. We refer not only to the masses or to those in the lower walks of life — but We refer to those especially who do not lack culture or talents and, indeed, are possessed of abundant knowledge regarding things of the world but live rashly and imprudently with regard to religion. It is hard to find words to describe how profound is the darkness in which they are engulfed, and, what is most deplorable of all, how tranquilly they repose there. They rarely give thought to God! … They have no conception of the malice and baseness of sin; hence they show no anxiety to avoid sin or to renounce it. And so they arrive at life's end in such a condition … and then calmly face the fearful passage to eternity without making their peace with God. And so Our Predecessor, Pope Benedict XIV, had just cause to write: ‘We declare that a great number of those who are condemned to eternal punishment, suffer that everlasting calamity because of ignorance of those mysteries of Faith which must be known and believed in order to be numbered among the elect.’ … How many and how grave are the consequences of ignorance in matters of religion! It is indeed vain to expect a fulfillment of the duties of a Christian by one who does not even know them.” (Pope St. Pius X, encyclical Acerbo Nimis, 1905).
No Ignorance in Hell
There are basically two kinds of people in Hell—those who broke the law of God and those who didn’t know the law of God. Ignorance does not excuse a soul from going to Hell! There is no soul who is ignorant as to why there are in Hell! Nobody in Hell is saying: “Why the hell am I here? What the hell did I do? Where the hell is justice?”
No! Everyone in Hell clearly knows why they are in Hell. The moment each person dies, God sheds a light into their minds that lets them see everything that they DID DO and everything that they SHOULD HAVE DONE, BUT DIDN’T DO! Neglect or negligence of an action can be just as serious as the performance of an action.
Our Lord bluntly and powerfully conveys this truth in His parable about the Sheep and the Goats—where the “Goats” are sent to Hell, not so much for what they DID, but for what they NEGLECTED TO DO!
“And when the Son of man shall come in His majesty, and all the angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the seat of His majesty. And all nations shall be gathered together before Him, and He shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats! And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on His left.
“Then shall the King say to them that shall be on His right hand: ‘Come, ye blessed of My Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took Me in; naked, and you covered Me; sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me!’
“Then shall the just answer Him, saying: ‘Lord, when did we see Thee hungry, and fed Thee? Thirsty, and gave Thee drink? And when did we see Thee a stranger and took Thee in? Or naked, and covered Thee? Or when did we see Thee sick or in prison, and came to Thee?’ And the King answering, shall say to them: ‘Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these My least brethren, you did it to Me!’
“Then He shall say to them also that shall be on His left hand: ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels! For I was hungry, and you gave Me not to eat! I was thirsty, and you gave Me not to drink! I was a stranger, and you took Me not in! Naked, and you covered Me not! Sick and in prison, and you did not visit Me!’
“Then they also shall answer Him, saying: ‘Lord, when did we see Thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to Thee?’ Then He shall answer them, saying: ‘Amen I say to you, as long as you did it not to one of these least, neither did you do it to Me!’ And these shall go into everlasting punishment: but the just, into life everlasting” (Matthew 25:31-46). Damned for negligence! Damned—even though they pleaded ignorance! Ignorance of the law does not excuse from the law, because you should know the laws of the business that you choose to practice, and so you should know the laws of the business that saves or damns souls—which are the Laws of God and the laws of the Church.
The Vicious Circle of Lack of Knowledge and Lack of Love
The is a vicious circle that can arise with the process of knowledge and love. On the one hand, we cannot love what we do not know. On the other hand, we will not study and learn about that which we love little. St. Thérèse of Lisieux—the Little Flower—applies this our love (or lack of love) towards Our Lord: “Jesus is so little loved because He is so little known!” To which we could add the second part of the “vicious circle” principle: “Jesus is so little known because He is so little loved!” or “Jesus is so little known because few care to know about Him!” We don’t hate Him, but we don’t love Him. We say we love Him, but it is mere lip-service—it is “lip-talk” and not “heart-talk”—as Our Lord Himself complains: “Well did Isaias prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me!’” (Mark 7:6). Here, Our Lord is referring to the words that God, His Father, spoke to the Israelites through His prophet Isaias: “And the Lord said: ‘Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips glorify Me, but their heart is far from Me!” (Isaias 29:13).
Surface Christianity Can Sink to the Depths of Hell
We, likewise, can easily, readily, comfortably and even happily become “Surface Christians” or “Superficial Catholics” who “surf the Faith” like we “surf the Internet”—skimming and skipping over the surface of things, without having any real inclination or determination to “dive into the waters” of real knowledge and especially staying clear of any risks of “deep-sea-diving” which would truly deepen our knowledge of the Faith, because we hear that “deep-sea-diving” can give you “the bends” when resurfacing—and we feel that too deep a knowledge of the Faith would “drive us round the bend” as we resurface into the superficial surface waters of the world. Thus the seed of knowledge, the seed of God’s words, the seed of the Faith remains more or less unfruitful, the branches of our Faith wither and gradually die-off (as the Faith is dying-off in most souls today) and there remains the ever increasing possibility of being “separated from the vine” and “being cast into the fire”—a reality that Our Lord pointed-out:
“I am the true vine; and My Father is the farmer. Every branch in Me, that bears not fruit, He will take away! And every one that bears fruit, He will purge it, that it may bring forth more fruit! Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine: you the branches! He that abides in Me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit―for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, and shall wither, and they shall gather him up, and cast him into the fire, and he will burn!” (John 15:1-6).
The Devil Wants a Flimsy Faith
Heaven is all about love. Hell is all about hatred. Love is based on knowledge—we cannot love what we do not know. Hence the devil wants us to have a flimsy Faith so that we end up with lousy love. The devil plays a big part making religion, the Faith, the teachings of Faith, the practice of the Faith, seem boring and the world―of which he is prince―seem to be exciting. God tries to ‘sow’ the seed of His word in our minds and hearts, and the devil tries to take away that seed before it has chance to strike its roots in our soul. Our Lord’s parable about the Sower of the Seed illustrates that truth perfectly—wherein He tells us that the Word of God is like seed that God (the Sower) seeks to plant in our soul (soil), but both the cares of the world and riches (thorns) and devil (birds of the air) work together to prevent the seed from eventually bearing fruit. Here is the parable and Our Lord’s explanation of it:
“And Jesus spoke to them many things in parables, saying: ‘The sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and it was trodden down, and the birds of the air came and ate them up and devoured the seed. And other seed fell upon stony ground, upon rock, where they had not much earth, and they sprung up immediately, because they had no deepness of earth. And when the sun was up they were scorched: and because they had not root, they withered away, because that seed had no moisture. And other some fell among thorns, and the thorns growing up with the seed, choked the seed. And other seed fell upon good ground; and being sprung up, yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold!’
“And His disciples asked Him what this parable might be. Jesus answered and said to them: ‘The parable is this: The seed is the Word of God and they by the way side are they that hear. When any one hears the Word of the Kingdom and understands it not, there comes the wicked one, the devil, and takes away that which was sown in his heart, lest by believing it, they should be saved. This is he that received the seed by the way side.
“ ‘And they that received the seed upon stony ground, are they that hear the Word of God, and immediately, when they hear the Word of God, receive the Word with joy. Yet they have no roots in themselves and it is only for a time, for they believe only for a while, and, in time of temptation, when there arises tribulation and persecution because of the Word of God, they are quickly scandalized and they fall away.
“ ‘And they that received the seed among thorns, are they that hear the Word of God, but the cares of this world, the pleasures of this life and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the Word of God, and the Word becomes fruitless and yields no fruit. But those that received the seed upon good ground, are they who, in a good and perfect heart, hear the Word of God and understand it and bring forth fruit in patience, and yield, the one an hundredfold, and another sixty, and another thirty!’” (Combination of Matthew 13:3-23; Luke 8:5-15).
We Hear But Don’t Hear—We Know But Don’t Know―We Love But Don’t Love
For the most part, Catholics are a walking contradiction. They go to church on Sunday, but they don’t go to church with all the mind, heart, soul and strength. They listen to the Word of God, but it goes in one ear and out the other. They know they are Catholics, but they don’t really know Catholicism. They would protest that they love God, but God would protest that they don’t love Him—which is essentially what the Sacred Heart of Jesus said to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque: “My Divine Heart is so inflamed with love for men, that, being unable any longer to contain within Itself the flames of Its burning Charity, It must needs spread them abroad and manifest Itself to them (mankind) in order to enrich them with the precious graces of sanctification and salvation necessary to withdraw them from the abyss of perdition. Behold the Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming Itself, in order to testify Its love; and in return, I receive, from the greater part of mankind, only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrilege, and by the coldness and contempt they have for Me in this Sacrament of Love.”
We Know Much, But the Wrong Things—We Love Much, But the Wrong Things!
Everybody knows a lot about something! Everybody loves something a lot! We never get bored with what we love and we can never know enough about what we love. So let nobody say that they are incapable of much study, much effort, much knowledge, and much love—we all study certain things a lot, we put a lot of effort into certain things, we know a lot about certain things and we love certain things a lot—for a man it might be DIY and maintenance work on the house and cars; it might be watching or participating in sports; it could be politics and current world affairs; or perhaps hunting and guns; or any other hobby or interest. For a woman it might be knowledge and the acquisition of skills that pertain to the raising, the health, the education and general care of the children; or things that pertain to cooking and all the other skills that are classified as “domestic science”; or it could one of a whole myriad of possible hobbies. If we were to really pay attention to how much time, effort, money, long-suffering, patience and perseverance we have put into our favorite subjects, hobbies or pastimes, then we would no doubt be amazed.
You Reap What You Sow—You Get What You Look For!
Yet what is all this in comparison to God? You would think that we had become insane—placing these inferior and temporary things above God, yet that is what 99% of people do! No wonder Holy Scripture says: “The fool said in his heart: ‘There is no God!’ They are corrupted and become abominable in iniquities! There is none that does good! God looked down from Heaven on the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, or did seek God. All have gone aside, they are become unprofitable together, there is none that doth good, no not one!” (Psalm 52:1-4). Is there a connection between that and what Our Lord later said? You tell me! “And a certain man said to Jesus: ‘Lord! Are they few that are saved?’ But Jesus said to them: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able! … Enter 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. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leadeth to life: and few there are that find it!’” (Luke 13:23-24; Matthew 7:13-14).
Why don’t they find it? They do not find it because they have little interest in finding it and little love for it! The world is much more interesting and much more lovable! We certainly know how to love, but we love the wrong things—we love the things that risk bringing about our eternal damnation, and avoid, almost like the plague, those things that are conducive to our eternal salvation. “Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a provoking house: who have eyes to see, and see not; and ears to hear, and hear not―for they are a provoking house!” (Ezechiel 12:2). “Hear, O foolish people, and without any understanding―who have eyes and see not; and ears, and hear not! Will not you then fear Me, saith the Lord, and will you not repent at My presence?” (Jeremias 5:21-22).
Wake-Up Call!—Once Again!
Advent―just like all the fruitless Advents that have slipped by in the past―would be the perfect time to repent, as the Advent liturgy suggests, warns or even commands: “Brethren! Understand, for it is now the hour for us to rise from sleep, because now our salvation is nearer than when we came to believe! The night is far advanced; the day is at hand! Let us therefore lay aside the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light. Let us walk becomingly as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in debauchery and wantonness, not in strife and jealousy! But put on the Lord Jesus Christ!” (Romans 13:11-14).
Advent is not primarily a time of hanging lights, lighting Advent candles, looking at colorful Jesse Tree images, or “pop-out-door” Advent calendars—this is, once again, mere surface Christianity. Such things can help—like striking a match can help light a bonfire—but if there is little or nothing to burn, or little or nothing of true sentiments in the soul, then you will merely have a bunch of beautiful feathers without the bird! All fluff, no substance!
Yet we refuse to rise from our spiritual sleep, or secular slumber, preferring to snore away salvation whilst dreaming of other things! Oh well! O Hell! One day all the sleepers will wake up and Our Lord has already indicated the loveless lot or fate of most of them. “Why call you Me: ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not the things which I say? … Not everyone that saith to Me: ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven: but he that doth the will of My Father Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven! Many will say to me in that day: ‘Lord! Lord! Have not we prophesied in Thy Name, and cast out devils in Thy Name, and done many miracles in Thy Name?’ And then will I profess unto them: ‘I never knew you! Depart from Me!’” (Luke 6:46; Matthew 7:21-23).
Our Lord is Love, He Wants Love, Love is Heaven’s Key
It is amazing how such a great love—as Our Lord has for us—can be so callously spurned! IGNORANCE of God’s love for us is one of chief causes of a lack of a return of love to Him. We need to dispel that IGNORANCE! To Sr. Mary of the Trinity, Our Lord says: “This is the only reality: I love you and I take care of you ... There is only one reality: I love you! You are Mine! I ask only for love! Ah, what are you doing about it?” (Fr. Gottemuller, Words of Love, ch. 14 & 15).
To Sr. Consolata Betrone He says: “Do not make Me out a God of rigor, whereas I am nothing but a God of Love!” … Write ‘The Gentle Heart of Jesus’―for everyone knows that I am holy, but not all know that I am gentle! … Oh, if people would only love Me, what happiness would reign in this unhappy world!” (Fr. Gottemuller, Words of Love, ch. 15 & 16). Why are we so unhappy? Why are you so unhappy? Because we do not really love God! Because you do not really love God! You say that you do—with your lips—but your heart tells Him another story!
To Sr. Josefa Menendez Our Lord says: “Ah, if souls only understood how ardently I desire to communicate Myself to them! But how few do understand ... and how deeply this wounds My Heart … If only they [souls] KNEW My Heart ... mankind is IGNORANT of Its mercy and goodness: that is My greatest sorrow! ... I am all love―and how, then, could I treat severely those I so love?” (Fr. Gottemuller, Words of Love, ch. 15).
Our Lord is Love itself: “God is charity” (1 John 4:8) and wants to share that love—but insanely, we place barriers against that love. The bottom line is that we are afraid of being loved by Christ! That may sound weird, but, deep down, we sense that His true love will expose our fake love; and that His deep love will oblige us sail out of the current shallow waters of love in which we wallow! For, as they say, “Love is reciprocal”—which means it “give and take”. Of course everyone loves to be loved—but very few return that love as they ought.
Speaking to Sr. Mary of the Trinity, Our Lord said: “I love you! Is that not enough to fill every one of your moments with the fullness of joy? I love you and desire that you should know it! Oh, if you knew how much I love you, My little child! Leave all! Let there no longer be anything else in the world for you, but the love between you and Me! Am I not enough for you? Is it not sufficient for you to know that your Jesus loves you? It is such a great thing to belong to Me! What does anything else matter to you? Be full of joy at belonging to Me! I want you to be altogether Mine!” (Fr. Gottemuller, Words of Love, ch. 15).
That is scary! We do NOT want to let go of all that is the world! We are so used to our shallow “lip-service” love of Jesus, we are scared to wade into the deeper waters of a real “heart-service”! Who knows where it all might lead to! So stay in the shallow waters and think to ourselves: “I wish Jesus, that shark of love, would go love someone else and leave me alone! I don’t real care much for His kind of love! It’s too demanding and too scary!”
Love Should Be Ever Increasing—But Not By Mere Externals
St. Thomas Aquinas says that every act of love should be returned or rewarded by a greater act of love—this is something that frightens us. We would prefer to just receive Christ’s love without having to return it—especially if it means “upping” the level of love each time. This sounds and seems to be a “too much”! We are far more comfortable in the realm of “lip-service” and “pretended love” than we are in the realm of “heart-service” and “real love”. We try to offer Christ other things in place of our love—prayers, sacrifices, works, projects, penances, meditations, Mass attendance, Communions, Rosaries, or a thousand other things. These things are not bad in themselves, but they depend upon love for their value. Remember what St. Paul says:
“If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not Charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all Faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not Charity, I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not Charity, it profiteth me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). We can give Our Lord all our prayers, sacrifices, works, projects, penances, meditations, Mass attendance, Communions, Rosaries, or a thousand other things—but if they are not done out of a love of God, then they are worthless!
Our Lord presented the flip-side of the coin as mentioned by St. Paul, when He said to Sr. Consolata Betrone: “I delight in gifts which are offered with all possible love. Then even your trifles become precious to Me!”
Charity Check-List
St. Paul then goes on to give a list of what Charity achieves, or the effects of Charity, or the signs that Charity might be present, a kind of a check-list whereby we can run a check on the engine of Charity in our soul, to see if it is functioning and how well it is functioning. Do we see all of these ‘symptoms’ or ‘signs’ of Charity in our soul, and how often? “Charity is patient, is kind. Charity envies not, deals not perversely; is not puffed up; is not ambitious, seeks not her own, is not provoked to anger, thinketh no evil; rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believeth all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).
That list of fifteen effects of charity—though not exhaustive in number, but certainly exhausting to carry out—is a litmus test that quickly differentiates between mere “lip-love” and real “heart-love”!
► How is your patience? This brings to mind the parable of the unjust steward who owed his master so much for so long that he was about to be thrown into prison, “but that servant falling down, besought him, saying: ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all!’ And the lord of that servant being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt. But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellow servants that owed him an hundred pence: and laying hold of him, throttled him, saying: ‘Pay what thou owest!’ And his fellow servant falling down, besought him, saying: ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all!’ And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he paid the debt” (Matthew 18:26-30). Enough said? We all have a little bit of that inside of us when it comes to patience or impatience with others. Yet there is also impatience with ourselves and the lack of progress in material or spiritual things, impatience with events, circumstances, things, etc. All of this betrays an ignorance of how Divine Providence works!
► How kind are you?—kind actions and words are, in a certain sense, easier than kind thoughts, because everyone can see and hear our words, but nobody can see or read our thoughts! Additionally, we should ask: “Who are we kind to?” Our Lord hits human nature on the head when He rightly points-out: “Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you. If you love them that love you, what thanks are due to you? For sinners also love those that love them. And if you do good to them who do good to you, what thanks are due to you? For sinners also do this. And if you lend to them of whom you hope to receive, what thanks are due to you? For sinners also lend to sinners, for to receive as much. But love ye your enemies: do good, and lend, hoping for nothing thereby: and your reward shall be great” (Luke 6:27-35). Now that’s real kindness! That’s also real tough!
► Envy? That’s a “biggie” these days—envious of others for the spiritual gifts and goods, their material wealth and health, their beauty or strength, their popularity, the praise they get, the successes they have, the list is endless and endless is the number of envious persons too!
► Dealing perversely? This is not so much about sexual perverts as it is about dirty-dealings. How many times have we perversely twisted, exaggerated, misrepresented the truth? How many times have we not given opportunities or benefits to those we simply do not like? How many times have perverted the course of justice or the providence of God because we were envious of someone, or held a grudge against someone, or disliked someone?
► Puffed-up? The puffed-up extrovert is more easily spotted than the puffed-up introvert, but both kinds are liable to being puffed-up—hey, we are living in a puffed-up world, aren’t we? You cannot place clothes in a smoky room for long, without them taking on the smell of smoke! Likewise with living in a puffed-up world! Some hide it better than others!
► Ambitious? Most people are, but won’t always show it, because it can make them unpopular. There is an art to being ambitious without showing it and denying it! Practice makes perfect! Just about everyone is trying to climb one ladder ot another—be it at work, or amongst family and relatives, or in the parish or school, be it for money, for power, for influence, for fame, for popularity, for respect, for a thousand and one other reasons.
► Seeks not one’s own advantage? Is there one such person walking the face of the Earth who does not seek their own advantage in one way or another, in one thing or another? We are born with that tendency and use it very effectively from our infancy onwards! Again, with time and practice, we can hide it pretty well.
► Is not provoked to anger? Once again, the anger of the extroverts is easily seen—for they wear it on their sleeve. The anger of introverts is carried around in the pocket! Yet both kinds of anger are anger! At the root of all anger there ultimately lurks self-love, self-will, and pride. Things do not go for us as favorably as we think—in our Human Providence—that they should go, and so we get angry!
► Thinketh no evil? Hmm! Who knows what you think! And there lies the advantage! If nobody knows what you are thinking, then you can think what you want without any repercussions—until you have to answer to God, that is!
► Rejoices not in iniquity? With the massive growth in the media outlets over the last 20 years—endless TV channels, worldwide internet with its countless blogs and forums, there is a helluva lot of rejoicing in iniquity! People love it because it lowers standards and so they feel better about their own sins and less likely to quit them, if they can read about similar or even greater sins being committed by others! This links in to the “splinter-in-the-eye” and the “plank-in-the-eye” stuff that Our Lord spoke about.
► Rejoices with the truth? Well, yes and no! We are more likely to rejoice in the truth when it comes to the sins of others being exposed, than rejoicing in the truth when our own sins are exposed? What was that about the goose and the gander? We rejoice in the truth when we can point the finger, but not when it is pointed at us?
► Bears all things? How much do you mutter and complain each day? How critical are you each day? Our exterior failings in this regard are merely tips of the iceberg compared to our interior mutterings, murmurings, complaints and criticisms. How well do bear the correction or criticism of others? The insults of others? The calumnies or detractions of others? The mockery of others? The rejection by others? How do we handle things when they go wrong for us? The car won’t start, the wipers smear or don’t clean properly, the red traffic lights, the traffic jams, the bad drivers, losing that open parking space to another car, the rainy day, the broken appliance, the broken dish, the power outage, the pen that won’t write, the misplaced keys/wallet/etc.
► Believes all things? Again, yes and no! We believe it when people say good things about us, but we are in disbelief when they speak ill of us! We will believe all lies if they are about people that we dislike, but we will not believe the painful truth about people that we like! Sometimes believing all things is a vice due to our naivety, gullibility, or lazy ignorance which refuses to check facts and details.
► Hopes all things? Here again, yes and no! We sometimes hope for the wrong things! I hope I win the lottery! I hope I get rich! I hope my enemies drop dead! I hope I can sin and still get to Heaven! At other times, we hope in ourselves more than we hope in God. We think or hope to achieve things without His help or His agreement. Hope in God, hope in Our Lady, hope in attaining holiness and Heaven, hope in overcoming sin, hope in overcoming the world, the flesh and the devil—these should be our chief hopes, our holy hopes, and only hopes in a certain sense—for as Jesus said: “For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul?” (Mark 8:36).
► Endures all things? Everyone, as St. Paul says, starts the race—but only one gets the prize. Run so as to win! Winners need endurance, as Our Lord says: “He that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved!” (Matthew 10:22). What do we have to endure? The cross! “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me!” (Luke 9:23). That cross is found every day, in multiple places, coming from multiple people. Our Lord warned: “If the world hate you, know ye, that it hath hated Me before you … If you had been of the world, the world would love its own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:19). “Think ye, that I am come to give peace on Earth? I tell you, no; but separation! For there shall be from henceforth five in one house divided: three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against his father, the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law!” (Luke 12:51-53). “And you shall be hated by all men for My Name’s sake. But he that shall endure unto the end, he shall be saved!” (Mark 13:13).
Ignorantly Ignoring Unignorable Truths
There is an irrefutable link between damnation and religious ignorance—as the article has tried to show. From the vain and failed pleas of ignorance from the ‘Goats’ in Our Lord’s parable, to the words of the popes--“The chief cause of the present indifference and the serious evils that result from it, is to be found above all in ignorance of things divine … There are large numbers of Christians, in our own time, who are entirely ignorant of those truths necessary for salvation. What is most deplorable of all, how tranquilly they repose there. They rarely give thought to God! … Our Predecessor, Pope Benedict XIV, had just cause to write: ‘We declare that a great number of those who are condemned to eternal punishment, suffer that everlasting calamity because of ignorance of those mysteries of Faith which must be known and believed in order to be numbered among the elect.’” (Pope St. Pius X, encyclical Acerbo Nimis, 1905).
As we wander or blunder through Advent—purposefully or aimlessly—like the Israelites with Moses in the desert, let us use the time at our disposal (or make time to be at disposal) to show a change of attitude to God. Perhaps, like the Israelites in their forty-year meanderings in the desert, we may have been wandering aimlessly from one Advent to another, merely going round in circles. Let us break out of that vicious circle of little knowledge and little love, and at last find, what Our Lord calls, the narrow, strait path that leads to Heaven and that very few people find!
Article 11
Wednesday December 10th
Nasty Sinners Who Became Great Saints!
Wednesday December 10th
Nasty Sinners Who Became Great Saints!
Advent is a Time for Sinners
“Advent” can be seen in the Latin words, advenire (to come to) and adventus (an arrival). The word “Advent” is a compound of two Latin words: “ad” meaning “to” and “venire” meaning “to come”, of which the past participle in Latin is “ventus”. Therefore we see the word “Advent” meaning “to come to”. Advent refers to Christ’s coming into this world. Why is Christ coming? He does not come to play, but to pay—pay for our sins. The Angel Gabriel, speaking of Jesus, says to Mary: “He shall save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
Jesus Himself says: “The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save!” (Luke 9:56). “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). “They that are whole, need not the physician: but they that are sick. I came not to call the just, but sinners…” (Luke 5:31-32). “For I came not to judge the world, but to save the world” (John 12:47). Christ does not come to enjoy life, but to give eternal life—and that comes at a price. That “price” is a payment for our sins through penance:. Our Lord clearly states: “I came to call sinners to penance!” (Luke 5:32). “I say to you―unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3).
The Church teaches that Advent represents the “Two Comings” of Christ. His first coming was at Christmas, when He came to save us from our sins: “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). The second coming will be at the end of the world when Christ will come to judge us and the sins that we have committed. The first coming is one of mercy―the second coming will be one of justice! The focus of Advent is by no means limited to just Christ’s first coming. An equal, if not more important theme found in the Advent Liturgy is the second coming of Christ, when He comes again to judge the world. Consequently, there is a double focus of, firstly, the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in His first Advent, and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in His Second Advent. In His first coming He comes as a Child offering mercy. In His second coming He will come as a Judge administering justice.
Which is why the Old Testament says: “Be not without fear about sin forgiven, and add not sin upon sin” (Ecclesiasticus 5:5) and Our Lord says to Mary Magdalen, the woman caught in adultery: “Go, and now sin no more!” (John 8:11), and to the man diseased for 38 years, who Jesus cured by the pool of Bethsaida: “Behold thou art made whole: sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to thee!” (John 5:14). To this can be added St. Paul’s warning: “Be not deceived, God is not mocked!” (Galatians 6:7). “Wherefore, my dearly beloved, with fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12).
Change—Or Else!
If we refuse to change, the Holy Scripture speaks of the consequences: “God shall humble them. For there is no change with them, and they have not feared God!” (Psalm 54:20). We see an example of this change of life in St. Paul—a sinner who became a saint. He himself relates his sins and his conversion, whereby he became a changed man:
“In the past I thought that I ought to do many things contrary to the Name of Jesus of Nazareth―which I then did at Jerusalem, and having received authority of the chief priests, I shut up in prison many of the saints,and when they were put to death, I brought the sentence. And oftentimes punishing them, in every synagogue, I compelled them to blaspheme―and, being yet more mad against them, I persecuted them even unto foreign cities. Whereupon, when I was going to Damascus with authority and permission of the chief priest, at midday, I saw in the way a light from Heaven above, the brightness of the sun, shining round about me, and them that were in company with me. And when we were all fallen down on the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me in the Hebrew tongue: ‘Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goad!’ And I said: ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord answered: ‘I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting! But now rise up and stand upon your feet―for the reason why I have I appeared to you, is that I may make you a minister, and a witness of those things which you have seen, and of those things wherein I will appear to you, delivering you from the people, and from the nations, unto which now I send you―so as to open their eyes, that they may be converted from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and a lot among the saints, by the Faith that is in Me” (Acts 26:9-18).
Lesson Learned! Lesson Given!
Christ loved Paul, but he had to change—or else Heaven would be shut to him. St. Paul passes on the lesson he has learned, saying: “In times past, you were dead in your offenses, and sins, wherein you walked according to the course of this world, in the desires of your flesh, fulfilling the will of the flesh and of your thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God―Who is rich in mercy, for His exceeding charity wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins―has quickened us together in Christ, by Whose grace you are saved!” (Ephesians 2:1-5). “Therefore, if you be risen with Christ, seek the things that are above; where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God! Mind the things that are above, not the things that are upon the Earth!” (Colossians 3:1-2).
“What shall we say, then? Shall we continue in sin? God forbid! For we that are dead to sin, how shall we live any longer therein? Know you not that all we, who are baptized in Christ Jesus, are baptized in His death? For we are buried together with Him by baptism into death; that as Christ is risen from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also may walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:1-4). “Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new paste!” (1 Corinthians 5:7).
A Damned Good Lesson!
Let no man say or think that God wants him to be damned! Damnation is not caused by God! Damnation comes from man—assisted by man’s wayward and sinful passions and the devil! Advent is a time that focuses on Christ coming in mercy. Let us rejoice in that mercy! Let us celebrate that mercy! Let us profit from that mercy! But let us also realize that this mercy is not unconditional and that God is not a doormat on which we can wipe our dirty, muddy, smelly sinful feet: “Be not deceived, God is not mocked!” (Galatians 6:7).
Advent is a time to “Turn away from evil and do good” (Psalms 33:15). St. Peter repeats the same message Testament: “Let him decline from evil, and do good” (1 Peter 3:11). Our Lady of Fatima also echoes this: “Do not offend the Lord our God anymore, because He is already so much offended.”
The Apostles write the following words of warning―which almost everyone chooses to ignore: “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God!” (James 4:4). “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world! If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him! For all that is in the world, is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life, which is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:15-16). “This is the victory which overcomes the world―our Faith” (1 John 5:4). But sadly, the world has overcome the Faith in most cases today! There are more “men-of -the-world” than “men-of-Faith” ― the lovers of the world are many, whereas the lovers of God are few.
This translates into the fact that many are lost and few are saved―as indicates by Our Lord Himself: “What does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26) … “Strive to enter by the narrow gate―for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able! … Enter ye in at the narrow gate―for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat! How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life―and few there are that find it! … For many are called, but few are chosen!” (Luke 13:24; Matthew 7:13-14; 22:14).
Detesting Sin and Worldliness
One of the chief contributors to the deluge of sin in the world today is the absence of a fear of God and a fear of offending God. This is there has to be a terrible, frightening chastisement—in order to re-establish the foundation of fear. Fear is essential, even when we love God—it is the foundation of the spiritual life. It is even one of the Gifts of the Holy Ghost—a Fear of the Lord. As Holy Scripture says: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalms 110:10). “The fear of God is the beginning of His love” (Ecclesiasticus 25:16). “The fear of the Lord drives out sin” (Ecclesiasticus 1:27). “The fear of the Lord hates evil” (Proverbs 8:13). “The Lord hates all abomination of error, and they that fear Him shall not love it” (Ecclesiasticus 15:13). “Be not without fear about sin forgiven, and add not sin upon sin!” (Ecclesiasticus 5:5).
The Stages We Must Pass Through to get to Heaven
There are many different presentations of the stages that we must pass through before we are finally acceptable for Heaven. Perhaps one of the briefest and most comprehensive of these is that of Dom Chautard. He divides them into 9 stages, which are as follows:
9 STAGES FROM MORTAL SINS TO TOTAL SANCTITY
The following steps are based upon the classic and ancient division into the Three Stages or Three Conversions of the Spiritual Life. They can be found in the book, Soul of Apostolate by Dom Chautard and are repeated in Guidance in Spiritual Direction by Fr. Hugo Doyle.
“Every soul is a world by itself. It has its own shades of difference. Still, as an ordinary rule, we may classify Christians in various groups. We have thought fit to attempt such a classification here below, testing souls on one hand by sin and imperfection, and on the other by their degree of prayer. Let us hope that this classification may lead some of our respected confreres to think over the necessity of studying these things, in order to learn the practical rules for directing each soul according to its state.
“In the first two categories, the priest may not be able to work directly upon the souls in question but if he is a good director he will be able to give much more effective guidance to those relatives and friends who have set their hearts on winning back these dear ones, even though they may be hardened in sin, before they are entirely rejected by God.
1. HARDENED IN SIN
MORTAL SIN:
● Stubborn persistence in sin, either out of ignorance or because of a maliciously warped conscience.
VENIAL SIN:
● Complete acceptance.
● Fails to even recognize and accept them as being sins.
IMPERFECTIONS:
● The soul thinks nothing of imperfections, they are not even on the radar.
● What God would look at being imperfections, the soul thinks them to be virtues!
PRAYER:
● Deliberate refusal to have any recourse to God.
2. SURFACE CHRISTIANITY
MORTAL SIN:
● Considered as a trifling evil, easily forgiven.
● The soul easily gives way and commits mortal sin at every possible occasion or temptation.
● Confession almost without contrition.
VENIAL SIN:
● Complete acceptance.
● Fails to even recognize and accept them as being sins.
IMPERFECTIONS:
● The soul thinks nothing of imperfections, they are not even on the radar.
● Many imperfections are even thought to be virtues!
PRAYER:
● Mechanical; either inattentive, or always dictated by temporal interest.
● Such souls enter into themselves very rarely and superficially.
3. MEDIOCRE PIETY
MORTAL SIN:
● Weak resistance.
● Hardly ever avoids occasions but seriously regrets having sinned, and makes good confessions.
VENIAL SIN:
● Complete acceptance of this sin, which is considered as insignificant.
● Hence, tepidity of the will.
● Does nothing whatever to prevent venial sin, or to extirpate it, or to find it out when it is concealed.
IMPERFECTIONS:
● The soul thinks nothing of imperfections, they are not even on the radar.
● Many imperfections are even thought to be virtues!
PRAYER:
● From time to time, prays well.
● Momentary fits of fervor.
4. INTERMITTENT PIETY
MORTAL SIN:
● Loyal resistance.
● Habitually avoids occasion.
● Deep regrets.
● Does penance to make reparation.
VENIAL SIN:
● Sometimes deliberate.
● Puts up a weak fight.
● Sorrow only superficial.
● Makes a particular examination of conscience, but without any method or coherence.
IMPERFECTIONS:
● The soul thinks nothing of imperfections, they are not even on the radar.
● Many imperfections are even thought to be virtues!
PRAYER:
● Not firmly resolved to remain faithful to meditation.
● Gives it up as soon as dryness is felt, or as soon as there is business to attend to.
5. SUSTAINED PIETY
MORTAL SIN:
● Never. At most very rare, when taken suddenly and violently by surprise.
● And then, often it is to be doubted if the sin is mortal.
● It is followed by ardent compunction and penance.
VENIAL SIN:
● Vigilant in avoiding and fighting it.
● Rarely deliberate.
● Keen sorrow, but does little by way of reparation.
● Consistent daily particular examination of coscience, but aiming only at avoidance of venial sin.
IMPERFECTIONS:
● The soul either avoids uncovering them, so as not to have to fight them, or else easily excuses them.
● Approves the thought of renouncing them, and would like to do so, but makes little effort in that direction.
PRAYER:
● Always faithful to prayer, no matter what happens. Often affective prayer.
● Alternating consolations and dryness, the latter endured with considerable hardship.
6. FERVOR
MORTAL SIN:
● Never
VENIAL SIN:
● Never deliberate.
● By surprise, sometimes, or with imperfect advertence.
● Keenly regretted, and serious reparation made.
IMPERFECTIONS:
● Wants nothing to do with them.
● Watches over them, fights them with courage, in order to be more pleasing to God.
● These imperfections are sometimes accepted, however, but regretted at once.
● Frequent acts of renunciation.
● The Daily Particular Examination of Conscience aims at perfection in a given virtue.
PRAYER:
● Mental prayer gladly prolonged. Prayer on the affective side, or even prayer of simplicity.
● Alternation between powerful consolations and fierce trials.
7. RELATIVE PERFECTION
MORTAL SIN:
● Never.
VENIAL SIN:
● Never.
IMPERFECTIONS:
● Guards against them energetically and with much love.
● They only happen with half-advertence.
PRAYER:
● Habitual life of prayer, even when occupied in external works.
● Thirst for self-renunciation, annihilation, detachment, and divine love.
● Hunger for the Eucharist and for Heaven.
● Graces of infused prayer, of different degree.
● Often passive purification.
8. HEROIC PERFECTION
MORTAL SIN:
● Never.
VENIAL SIN:
● Never.
IMPERFECTIONS:
● Nothing but the first impulse.
PRAYER:
● Supernatural graces of contemplation, sometimes accompanied by extraordinary phenomena.
● Pronounced passive purifications.
● Contempt of self to the point of complete self-forgetfulness.
● Prefers suffering to joys.
9. COMPLETE SANCTITY
MORTAL SIN:
● Never.
VENIAL SIN:
● Never.
IMPERFECTIONS:
● Hardly apparent.
PRAYER:
● Usually, transforming union. Spiritual marriage.
● Purifications by love.
● Ardent thirst for sufferings and humiliations.
“Few and far between are the souls that belong to the last two, even to the last three categories. Nor is it hard to understand that a priest will wait until he actually comes across such a penitent before making a study of what the best authors have to say, in order that his direction may then be prudent and safe.” (taken from Soul of the Apostolate by Dom Chautard & Guidance in Spiritual Direction by Fr. Hugo Doyle).
Sinners Who Changed and Became Saints
St. Dismas
St. Dismas isn’t a saint in the usual or strict sense—for he was never canonized by the Church—but rather a saint by local tradition instead. As the story goes, Dismas asked for Jesus Christ to remember him while he was being crucified next to him. A clue to his past lies in Dismas’ patronage, for he is the patron saint of reformed thieves.
St. Callixtus
St. Callixtus of Rome lived a life of many sins before being taken under the wing of Victor I, a second century pope. Callixtus was a Roman slave whose petty theft and reckless investments resulted in being sentenced to forced labor in the mines of Sardinia. He embezzled money and started a public riot, amongst other criminal affairs, but left that all behind early in the third century when he reformed. Released from the mines by a general pardon, he returned to Rome where Pope St. Victor I gradually brought him to repentance. . He was ordained a priest, served as administrator of one of the catacombs, and ultimately Callixtus went on to become a pope himself, but died a martyr shortly thereafter. His Roman catacombs can be toured today.
St. Hippolytus: Heretic & First Antipope
Hippolytus was an arrogant, unforgiving man who believed that Christians guilty of mortal sin should be expelled from the Church and never readmitted. In his pride, Hippolytus permitted his followers to elect him as the Church’s first anti-pope. Inspired by the true pope’s holiness, Hippolytus eventually repented of his own sin and was reconciled to the Catholic Church.
St. Mary of Egypt
At age 12 Mary (344-421) ran away from home to Alexandria, the most exciting city in the Roman Empire. She became an accomplished seductress, who took special pleasure in corrupting innocent young men. Mary was an expert seductress who ensnared any man who caught her eye. Once, on a whim, she joined a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. By the time the ship reached its destination, Mary had seduced the entire crew and all of the pilgrims. She travelled to Jerusalem where a supernatural force prevented her from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. In Jerusalem she realized the enormity of her sins Filled with remorse, Mary sought the Mother of God’s intercession and made a good confession. In penance, Mary lived out her conversion as a hermit, alone in the Jordanian desert.
St. Moses the Black: Cut-throat & Gang Leader
Moses (330-405) was chief of a violent gang of bandits. Fleeing from law enforcement, he took refuge in a monastery. Moses was inspired by the monk’s example and converted. He took a vow never to raise his hand against another human being, even in self-defense. After years of overcoming temptation, Moses was killed by Berber raiders.
St. Pelagia
The beautiful teenager Pelagia (4th century) would have been every parent’s nightmare. Pelagia, a dancer, was head of a dance troupe in Palestinian Antioch, and lived a life of frivolity and prostitution. Pelagia’s conversion occurred all of a sudden, following a chance encounter with Saint Nonnus, the bishop of Edessa. One day while she was still a dancer, Pelagia was passing by a church dressed with her very elegant and provocative clothing. Bishop Nonnus of Edessa was preaching at that moment. Even though the parishioners turned their faces away from the sinner, the Bishop noticed her great outer beauty and spiritual greatness. Later that day, he prayed in his cell for the sinner and the following day Pelagia went to hear St. Nonnos preach. He was talking about the Last Judgment and its consequences. She was so moved and impressed with the sermon, that with tears of repentance in her eyes, she asked the Bishop to baptize her. Seeing the sincerity of her wishes and repentance, he agreed.
That same night the devil appeared to Pelagia urging her to return to her former life. She started praying and signed herself with the Sign of the Cross, after which the devil vanished. She gave all her wealth and valuables to St. Nonnos so that he could distribute them and give them to aid the poor. She left Antioch dressed in man’s clothes. After that, she journeyed to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, where she became a hermitess and lived in a cell disguised as the monk Pelagius. There she lived in great austerity, performing many penances in a ascetic seclusion which helped her attain many spiritual gifts. At her death she was buried in her cell. She was known as “the beardless monk” until it was discovered that she was women after she had died.
St. Olga
When a neighboring tribe assassinated her husband, Olga (879-969), princess of Kiev, went to war. Olga slaughtered her husband’s murderer and she massacred virtually the entire tribe; the few who did survive, she sold into slavery. Years later, while in Constantinople, to make an alliance with the emperor, Olga visited a church, encountered the splendor and beauty of Christianity and was in awe of the magnificence of the liturgy. She took instruction, was baptized and returned to Kiev, zealous to convert her people. Olga tried very hard to convert her people, but hardly anyone would listen to her. Even her family rejected Christianity. Olga died believing that as a missionary, she was a failure. Yet, she planted a seed of Faith which flourished. Today, Catholic and Orthodox Christians of Russia and Ukraine hail her as “Equal to the Apostles.”
St. Vladimir
Olga’s grandson Vladimir (956-1015) became prince of Kiev by murdering his older half-brother. Then he raped his sister-in-law and added her to his harem of several hundred women. He built a new temple to all the gods; and sacrificed a father and his son to the false gods. When the emperor at Constantinople sought his help in putting down a rebellion, Vladimir demanded as his reward the emperor’s sister as his wife (actually, the unhappy woman would be Vladimir’s eighth wife). The emperor countered that Vladimir must convert to Christianity. In order to marry the emperor’s sister, Vladimir accepted Christian baptism.
Everyone suspected that once he was back in Kiev, Vladimir would return to his old ways, but the grace of baptism changed him. His zeal for the Faith knew no limits and his efforts helped spread Christianity across Russia and Ukraine. He dismissed his extra wives and his harem, tore down the pagan temple, and launched a vigorous campaign to convert his people. The Faith his grandmother, Olga (see above) planted flourished under Vladimir.
St. Margaret of Cortona: Rich Man’s Mistress
Margaret (1247-1297) was born of farming parents in Laviano, Tuscany. Her mother died when Margaret was seven; life with her stepmother was so difficult that Margaret moved out. She was only twelve years old when she became Arsenio’s mistress. For nine years she lived with Arsenio, though they were not married, and she bore him a son. In those years, she had doubts about her situation. Somewhat like Saint Augustine, she prayed for purity—but not just yet. After years of cohabitation, she realized her sins when she discovered Arsenio’s murdered corpse. One day she was waiting for Arsenio and was instead met by his dog. The animal led Margaret into the forest where she found Arsenio murdered. This crime shocked Margaret into a life of penance. Full of the grace of conversion and determined to start a new life, she went to Cortona where the Franciscans ministered to penitent sinners. There, Margaret pursued a life of prayer, penance, and good works. Under the direction of her confessor, who sometimes had to order her to moderate her self-denial, she pursued a life of prayer and penance at Cortona. There she established a hospital and founded a congregation of tertiary sisters. The poor and humble Margaret was, like Francis, devoted to the Eucharist and to the passion of Jesus. These devotions fueled her great charity and drew sinners to her for advice and inspiration.
St. Angela of Foligno
Angela was beautiful, wealthy, and vain. As a rich man’s wife she wallowed in luxury. Her passions were expensive clothes and flashy jewels, extravagant meals and rare wines. She dressed and acted in ways that would provoke envy among women and sexual desire among men. When she was not indulging herself, she spent hours gossiping with her friends and maligning her neighbors. In her autobiography Angela discloses that in 1285 she did something so bad that for the first time in her life she began to live in fear of Hell. Her biographers speculate that Angela committed adultery, and given the intensity of her guilt and shame that seems likely.
Near despair, she prayed to St. Francis of Assisi to help her. As Angela prayed the saint appeared to her. “Sister,” St. Francis said, “if you would have asked me sooner I would have complied with your request sooner. Nonetheless, your request is granted.” That same day Angela offered a sincere confession to a priest. As she stepped from the shadowy interior of the church into the bright sunlight of the piazza, Angela resolved to begin a new life. She sold her fine clothes and jewels to relieve the suffering of Foligno’s poor. After the death of her husband, she gave away all her wealth, associated herself with the Franciscans, and with a handful of other holy women dedicated herself to tending the poor and the sick. Blessed Angela’s life teaches us a timeless lesson about our weakness and God’s mercy. All that he requires is that we repent and make a sincere effort to do better in the future.
St. Thomas Becket
As chancellor of England under Henry II, Thomas Becket (1118-1170) became obscenely wealthy. His wardrobe was larger and more expensive than the king’s. He even had his own private navy. In spite of all his wealth, Becket was cold-hearted and never gave anything to the poor. All that changed after Becket was consecrated archbishop of Canterbury. He gave away all his possessions. He welcomed the poor at his table. And he became a champion of the independence of the Church, for which he was murdered in his own cathedral by four of King Henry’s knights.
St. Philip Howard
Son of one of the wealthiest noble families in England, Philip Howard (1557-1595) could afford any pleasure he liked — and he liked them all. At court he was a notorious playboy, gambler and fop (fop=obsessed with one’s appearance and clothing in an excessive vain manner). He ran up enormous debts, then sold off his wife’s property to pay those debts.
On one occasion he said publicly that he did not really consider himself to be married. In 1581, he joined other members of the court at the Tower of London, to see a debate between several Anglican ministers and a prisoner, the Jesuit priest, St. Edmund Campion. Although the ministers were armed with books and assistants, Father Campion was alone and had only his memory to rely on, yet he did so well in the debate, that the government canceled the debate before a verdict could be given. Inspired by Father Campion, Howard reconciled with his wife, and they both returned to the Catholic Faith. When they tried to leave the country secretly for the Continent of Europe, where they could practice Catholicism freely, they were stopped and Howard was imprisoned in the Tower of London. He died there 10 years later.
St. Camillus of Lellis
Camillus de Lellis was born in Italy in the middle of the 16th century. A hot-tempered, troublesome child, he joined the army when he was 16, though his aggressive behavior only grew after that. Camillus was a mercenary soldier with all the worst habits— drinking, gambling, swearing, chasing prostitutes.
Years of sinful acts followed before his wholehearted reform in 1575. When his father called for a priest on his deathbed, Camillus began to rethink his life. Guided by St. Philip Neri, his spiritual director, Camillus turned away from sin, dedicated himself to the sick, and formed a religious congregation for nursing the poor.
The above mentioned sinners got to Heaven, but they had to make themselves acceptable first! Who knows how much time they may have spent in Purgatory in addition to having suffered for their sins after conversion. With God nothing is impossible—unless we stubbornly resist and reject His graces that move us to change!
“Advent” can be seen in the Latin words, advenire (to come to) and adventus (an arrival). The word “Advent” is a compound of two Latin words: “ad” meaning “to” and “venire” meaning “to come”, of which the past participle in Latin is “ventus”. Therefore we see the word “Advent” meaning “to come to”. Advent refers to Christ’s coming into this world. Why is Christ coming? He does not come to play, but to pay—pay for our sins. The Angel Gabriel, speaking of Jesus, says to Mary: “He shall save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
Jesus Himself says: “The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save!” (Luke 9:56). “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). “They that are whole, need not the physician: but they that are sick. I came not to call the just, but sinners…” (Luke 5:31-32). “For I came not to judge the world, but to save the world” (John 12:47). Christ does not come to enjoy life, but to give eternal life—and that comes at a price. That “price” is a payment for our sins through penance:. Our Lord clearly states: “I came to call sinners to penance!” (Luke 5:32). “I say to you―unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3).
The Church teaches that Advent represents the “Two Comings” of Christ. His first coming was at Christmas, when He came to save us from our sins: “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). The second coming will be at the end of the world when Christ will come to judge us and the sins that we have committed. The first coming is one of mercy―the second coming will be one of justice! The focus of Advent is by no means limited to just Christ’s first coming. An equal, if not more important theme found in the Advent Liturgy is the second coming of Christ, when He comes again to judge the world. Consequently, there is a double focus of, firstly, the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in His first Advent, and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in His Second Advent. In His first coming He comes as a Child offering mercy. In His second coming He will come as a Judge administering justice.
Which is why the Old Testament says: “Be not without fear about sin forgiven, and add not sin upon sin” (Ecclesiasticus 5:5) and Our Lord says to Mary Magdalen, the woman caught in adultery: “Go, and now sin no more!” (John 8:11), and to the man diseased for 38 years, who Jesus cured by the pool of Bethsaida: “Behold thou art made whole: sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to thee!” (John 5:14). To this can be added St. Paul’s warning: “Be not deceived, God is not mocked!” (Galatians 6:7). “Wherefore, my dearly beloved, with fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12).
Change—Or Else!
If we refuse to change, the Holy Scripture speaks of the consequences: “God shall humble them. For there is no change with them, and they have not feared God!” (Psalm 54:20). We see an example of this change of life in St. Paul—a sinner who became a saint. He himself relates his sins and his conversion, whereby he became a changed man:
“In the past I thought that I ought to do many things contrary to the Name of Jesus of Nazareth―which I then did at Jerusalem, and having received authority of the chief priests, I shut up in prison many of the saints,and when they were put to death, I brought the sentence. And oftentimes punishing them, in every synagogue, I compelled them to blaspheme―and, being yet more mad against them, I persecuted them even unto foreign cities. Whereupon, when I was going to Damascus with authority and permission of the chief priest, at midday, I saw in the way a light from Heaven above, the brightness of the sun, shining round about me, and them that were in company with me. And when we were all fallen down on the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me in the Hebrew tongue: ‘Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goad!’ And I said: ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord answered: ‘I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting! But now rise up and stand upon your feet―for the reason why I have I appeared to you, is that I may make you a minister, and a witness of those things which you have seen, and of those things wherein I will appear to you, delivering you from the people, and from the nations, unto which now I send you―so as to open their eyes, that they may be converted from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and a lot among the saints, by the Faith that is in Me” (Acts 26:9-18).
Lesson Learned! Lesson Given!
Christ loved Paul, but he had to change—or else Heaven would be shut to him. St. Paul passes on the lesson he has learned, saying: “In times past, you were dead in your offenses, and sins, wherein you walked according to the course of this world, in the desires of your flesh, fulfilling the will of the flesh and of your thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God―Who is rich in mercy, for His exceeding charity wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins―has quickened us together in Christ, by Whose grace you are saved!” (Ephesians 2:1-5). “Therefore, if you be risen with Christ, seek the things that are above; where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God! Mind the things that are above, not the things that are upon the Earth!” (Colossians 3:1-2).
“What shall we say, then? Shall we continue in sin? God forbid! For we that are dead to sin, how shall we live any longer therein? Know you not that all we, who are baptized in Christ Jesus, are baptized in His death? For we are buried together with Him by baptism into death; that as Christ is risen from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also may walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:1-4). “Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new paste!” (1 Corinthians 5:7).
A Damned Good Lesson!
Let no man say or think that God wants him to be damned! Damnation is not caused by God! Damnation comes from man—assisted by man’s wayward and sinful passions and the devil! Advent is a time that focuses on Christ coming in mercy. Let us rejoice in that mercy! Let us celebrate that mercy! Let us profit from that mercy! But let us also realize that this mercy is not unconditional and that God is not a doormat on which we can wipe our dirty, muddy, smelly sinful feet: “Be not deceived, God is not mocked!” (Galatians 6:7).
Advent is a time to “Turn away from evil and do good” (Psalms 33:15). St. Peter repeats the same message Testament: “Let him decline from evil, and do good” (1 Peter 3:11). Our Lady of Fatima also echoes this: “Do not offend the Lord our God anymore, because He is already so much offended.”
The Apostles write the following words of warning―which almost everyone chooses to ignore: “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God!” (James 4:4). “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world! If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him! For all that is in the world, is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life, which is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:15-16). “This is the victory which overcomes the world―our Faith” (1 John 5:4). But sadly, the world has overcome the Faith in most cases today! There are more “men-of -the-world” than “men-of-Faith” ― the lovers of the world are many, whereas the lovers of God are few.
This translates into the fact that many are lost and few are saved―as indicates by Our Lord Himself: “What does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26) … “Strive to enter by the narrow gate―for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able! … Enter ye in at the narrow gate―for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat! How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life―and few there are that find it! … For many are called, but few are chosen!” (Luke 13:24; Matthew 7:13-14; 22:14).
Detesting Sin and Worldliness
One of the chief contributors to the deluge of sin in the world today is the absence of a fear of God and a fear of offending God. This is there has to be a terrible, frightening chastisement—in order to re-establish the foundation of fear. Fear is essential, even when we love God—it is the foundation of the spiritual life. It is even one of the Gifts of the Holy Ghost—a Fear of the Lord. As Holy Scripture says: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalms 110:10). “The fear of God is the beginning of His love” (Ecclesiasticus 25:16). “The fear of the Lord drives out sin” (Ecclesiasticus 1:27). “The fear of the Lord hates evil” (Proverbs 8:13). “The Lord hates all abomination of error, and they that fear Him shall not love it” (Ecclesiasticus 15:13). “Be not without fear about sin forgiven, and add not sin upon sin!” (Ecclesiasticus 5:5).
The Stages We Must Pass Through to get to Heaven
There are many different presentations of the stages that we must pass through before we are finally acceptable for Heaven. Perhaps one of the briefest and most comprehensive of these is that of Dom Chautard. He divides them into 9 stages, which are as follows:
9 STAGES FROM MORTAL SINS TO TOTAL SANCTITY
The following steps are based upon the classic and ancient division into the Three Stages or Three Conversions of the Spiritual Life. They can be found in the book, Soul of Apostolate by Dom Chautard and are repeated in Guidance in Spiritual Direction by Fr. Hugo Doyle.
“Every soul is a world by itself. It has its own shades of difference. Still, as an ordinary rule, we may classify Christians in various groups. We have thought fit to attempt such a classification here below, testing souls on one hand by sin and imperfection, and on the other by their degree of prayer. Let us hope that this classification may lead some of our respected confreres to think over the necessity of studying these things, in order to learn the practical rules for directing each soul according to its state.
“In the first two categories, the priest may not be able to work directly upon the souls in question but if he is a good director he will be able to give much more effective guidance to those relatives and friends who have set their hearts on winning back these dear ones, even though they may be hardened in sin, before they are entirely rejected by God.
1. HARDENED IN SIN
MORTAL SIN:
● Stubborn persistence in sin, either out of ignorance or because of a maliciously warped conscience.
VENIAL SIN:
● Complete acceptance.
● Fails to even recognize and accept them as being sins.
IMPERFECTIONS:
● The soul thinks nothing of imperfections, they are not even on the radar.
● What God would look at being imperfections, the soul thinks them to be virtues!
PRAYER:
● Deliberate refusal to have any recourse to God.
2. SURFACE CHRISTIANITY
MORTAL SIN:
● Considered as a trifling evil, easily forgiven.
● The soul easily gives way and commits mortal sin at every possible occasion or temptation.
● Confession almost without contrition.
VENIAL SIN:
● Complete acceptance.
● Fails to even recognize and accept them as being sins.
IMPERFECTIONS:
● The soul thinks nothing of imperfections, they are not even on the radar.
● Many imperfections are even thought to be virtues!
PRAYER:
● Mechanical; either inattentive, or always dictated by temporal interest.
● Such souls enter into themselves very rarely and superficially.
3. MEDIOCRE PIETY
MORTAL SIN:
● Weak resistance.
● Hardly ever avoids occasions but seriously regrets having sinned, and makes good confessions.
VENIAL SIN:
● Complete acceptance of this sin, which is considered as insignificant.
● Hence, tepidity of the will.
● Does nothing whatever to prevent venial sin, or to extirpate it, or to find it out when it is concealed.
IMPERFECTIONS:
● The soul thinks nothing of imperfections, they are not even on the radar.
● Many imperfections are even thought to be virtues!
PRAYER:
● From time to time, prays well.
● Momentary fits of fervor.
4. INTERMITTENT PIETY
MORTAL SIN:
● Loyal resistance.
● Habitually avoids occasion.
● Deep regrets.
● Does penance to make reparation.
VENIAL SIN:
● Sometimes deliberate.
● Puts up a weak fight.
● Sorrow only superficial.
● Makes a particular examination of conscience, but without any method or coherence.
IMPERFECTIONS:
● The soul thinks nothing of imperfections, they are not even on the radar.
● Many imperfections are even thought to be virtues!
PRAYER:
● Not firmly resolved to remain faithful to meditation.
● Gives it up as soon as dryness is felt, or as soon as there is business to attend to.
5. SUSTAINED PIETY
MORTAL SIN:
● Never. At most very rare, when taken suddenly and violently by surprise.
● And then, often it is to be doubted if the sin is mortal.
● It is followed by ardent compunction and penance.
VENIAL SIN:
● Vigilant in avoiding and fighting it.
● Rarely deliberate.
● Keen sorrow, but does little by way of reparation.
● Consistent daily particular examination of coscience, but aiming only at avoidance of venial sin.
IMPERFECTIONS:
● The soul either avoids uncovering them, so as not to have to fight them, or else easily excuses them.
● Approves the thought of renouncing them, and would like to do so, but makes little effort in that direction.
PRAYER:
● Always faithful to prayer, no matter what happens. Often affective prayer.
● Alternating consolations and dryness, the latter endured with considerable hardship.
6. FERVOR
MORTAL SIN:
● Never
VENIAL SIN:
● Never deliberate.
● By surprise, sometimes, or with imperfect advertence.
● Keenly regretted, and serious reparation made.
IMPERFECTIONS:
● Wants nothing to do with them.
● Watches over them, fights them with courage, in order to be more pleasing to God.
● These imperfections are sometimes accepted, however, but regretted at once.
● Frequent acts of renunciation.
● The Daily Particular Examination of Conscience aims at perfection in a given virtue.
PRAYER:
● Mental prayer gladly prolonged. Prayer on the affective side, or even prayer of simplicity.
● Alternation between powerful consolations and fierce trials.
7. RELATIVE PERFECTION
MORTAL SIN:
● Never.
VENIAL SIN:
● Never.
IMPERFECTIONS:
● Guards against them energetically and with much love.
● They only happen with half-advertence.
PRAYER:
● Habitual life of prayer, even when occupied in external works.
● Thirst for self-renunciation, annihilation, detachment, and divine love.
● Hunger for the Eucharist and for Heaven.
● Graces of infused prayer, of different degree.
● Often passive purification.
8. HEROIC PERFECTION
MORTAL SIN:
● Never.
VENIAL SIN:
● Never.
IMPERFECTIONS:
● Nothing but the first impulse.
PRAYER:
● Supernatural graces of contemplation, sometimes accompanied by extraordinary phenomena.
● Pronounced passive purifications.
● Contempt of self to the point of complete self-forgetfulness.
● Prefers suffering to joys.
9. COMPLETE SANCTITY
MORTAL SIN:
● Never.
VENIAL SIN:
● Never.
IMPERFECTIONS:
● Hardly apparent.
PRAYER:
● Usually, transforming union. Spiritual marriage.
● Purifications by love.
● Ardent thirst for sufferings and humiliations.
“Few and far between are the souls that belong to the last two, even to the last three categories. Nor is it hard to understand that a priest will wait until he actually comes across such a penitent before making a study of what the best authors have to say, in order that his direction may then be prudent and safe.” (taken from Soul of the Apostolate by Dom Chautard & Guidance in Spiritual Direction by Fr. Hugo Doyle).
Sinners Who Changed and Became Saints
St. Dismas
St. Dismas isn’t a saint in the usual or strict sense—for he was never canonized by the Church—but rather a saint by local tradition instead. As the story goes, Dismas asked for Jesus Christ to remember him while he was being crucified next to him. A clue to his past lies in Dismas’ patronage, for he is the patron saint of reformed thieves.
St. Callixtus
St. Callixtus of Rome lived a life of many sins before being taken under the wing of Victor I, a second century pope. Callixtus was a Roman slave whose petty theft and reckless investments resulted in being sentenced to forced labor in the mines of Sardinia. He embezzled money and started a public riot, amongst other criminal affairs, but left that all behind early in the third century when he reformed. Released from the mines by a general pardon, he returned to Rome where Pope St. Victor I gradually brought him to repentance. . He was ordained a priest, served as administrator of one of the catacombs, and ultimately Callixtus went on to become a pope himself, but died a martyr shortly thereafter. His Roman catacombs can be toured today.
St. Hippolytus: Heretic & First Antipope
Hippolytus was an arrogant, unforgiving man who believed that Christians guilty of mortal sin should be expelled from the Church and never readmitted. In his pride, Hippolytus permitted his followers to elect him as the Church’s first anti-pope. Inspired by the true pope’s holiness, Hippolytus eventually repented of his own sin and was reconciled to the Catholic Church.
St. Mary of Egypt
At age 12 Mary (344-421) ran away from home to Alexandria, the most exciting city in the Roman Empire. She became an accomplished seductress, who took special pleasure in corrupting innocent young men. Mary was an expert seductress who ensnared any man who caught her eye. Once, on a whim, she joined a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. By the time the ship reached its destination, Mary had seduced the entire crew and all of the pilgrims. She travelled to Jerusalem where a supernatural force prevented her from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. In Jerusalem she realized the enormity of her sins Filled with remorse, Mary sought the Mother of God’s intercession and made a good confession. In penance, Mary lived out her conversion as a hermit, alone in the Jordanian desert.
St. Moses the Black: Cut-throat & Gang Leader
Moses (330-405) was chief of a violent gang of bandits. Fleeing from law enforcement, he took refuge in a monastery. Moses was inspired by the monk’s example and converted. He took a vow never to raise his hand against another human being, even in self-defense. After years of overcoming temptation, Moses was killed by Berber raiders.
St. Pelagia
The beautiful teenager Pelagia (4th century) would have been every parent’s nightmare. Pelagia, a dancer, was head of a dance troupe in Palestinian Antioch, and lived a life of frivolity and prostitution. Pelagia’s conversion occurred all of a sudden, following a chance encounter with Saint Nonnus, the bishop of Edessa. One day while she was still a dancer, Pelagia was passing by a church dressed with her very elegant and provocative clothing. Bishop Nonnus of Edessa was preaching at that moment. Even though the parishioners turned their faces away from the sinner, the Bishop noticed her great outer beauty and spiritual greatness. Later that day, he prayed in his cell for the sinner and the following day Pelagia went to hear St. Nonnos preach. He was talking about the Last Judgment and its consequences. She was so moved and impressed with the sermon, that with tears of repentance in her eyes, she asked the Bishop to baptize her. Seeing the sincerity of her wishes and repentance, he agreed.
That same night the devil appeared to Pelagia urging her to return to her former life. She started praying and signed herself with the Sign of the Cross, after which the devil vanished. She gave all her wealth and valuables to St. Nonnos so that he could distribute them and give them to aid the poor. She left Antioch dressed in man’s clothes. After that, she journeyed to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, where she became a hermitess and lived in a cell disguised as the monk Pelagius. There she lived in great austerity, performing many penances in a ascetic seclusion which helped her attain many spiritual gifts. At her death she was buried in her cell. She was known as “the beardless monk” until it was discovered that she was women after she had died.
St. Olga
When a neighboring tribe assassinated her husband, Olga (879-969), princess of Kiev, went to war. Olga slaughtered her husband’s murderer and she massacred virtually the entire tribe; the few who did survive, she sold into slavery. Years later, while in Constantinople, to make an alliance with the emperor, Olga visited a church, encountered the splendor and beauty of Christianity and was in awe of the magnificence of the liturgy. She took instruction, was baptized and returned to Kiev, zealous to convert her people. Olga tried very hard to convert her people, but hardly anyone would listen to her. Even her family rejected Christianity. Olga died believing that as a missionary, she was a failure. Yet, she planted a seed of Faith which flourished. Today, Catholic and Orthodox Christians of Russia and Ukraine hail her as “Equal to the Apostles.”
St. Vladimir
Olga’s grandson Vladimir (956-1015) became prince of Kiev by murdering his older half-brother. Then he raped his sister-in-law and added her to his harem of several hundred women. He built a new temple to all the gods; and sacrificed a father and his son to the false gods. When the emperor at Constantinople sought his help in putting down a rebellion, Vladimir demanded as his reward the emperor’s sister as his wife (actually, the unhappy woman would be Vladimir’s eighth wife). The emperor countered that Vladimir must convert to Christianity. In order to marry the emperor’s sister, Vladimir accepted Christian baptism.
Everyone suspected that once he was back in Kiev, Vladimir would return to his old ways, but the grace of baptism changed him. His zeal for the Faith knew no limits and his efforts helped spread Christianity across Russia and Ukraine. He dismissed his extra wives and his harem, tore down the pagan temple, and launched a vigorous campaign to convert his people. The Faith his grandmother, Olga (see above) planted flourished under Vladimir.
St. Margaret of Cortona: Rich Man’s Mistress
Margaret (1247-1297) was born of farming parents in Laviano, Tuscany. Her mother died when Margaret was seven; life with her stepmother was so difficult that Margaret moved out. She was only twelve years old when she became Arsenio’s mistress. For nine years she lived with Arsenio, though they were not married, and she bore him a son. In those years, she had doubts about her situation. Somewhat like Saint Augustine, she prayed for purity—but not just yet. After years of cohabitation, she realized her sins when she discovered Arsenio’s murdered corpse. One day she was waiting for Arsenio and was instead met by his dog. The animal led Margaret into the forest where she found Arsenio murdered. This crime shocked Margaret into a life of penance. Full of the grace of conversion and determined to start a new life, she went to Cortona where the Franciscans ministered to penitent sinners. There, Margaret pursued a life of prayer, penance, and good works. Under the direction of her confessor, who sometimes had to order her to moderate her self-denial, she pursued a life of prayer and penance at Cortona. There she established a hospital and founded a congregation of tertiary sisters. The poor and humble Margaret was, like Francis, devoted to the Eucharist and to the passion of Jesus. These devotions fueled her great charity and drew sinners to her for advice and inspiration.
St. Angela of Foligno
Angela was beautiful, wealthy, and vain. As a rich man’s wife she wallowed in luxury. Her passions were expensive clothes and flashy jewels, extravagant meals and rare wines. She dressed and acted in ways that would provoke envy among women and sexual desire among men. When she was not indulging herself, she spent hours gossiping with her friends and maligning her neighbors. In her autobiography Angela discloses that in 1285 she did something so bad that for the first time in her life she began to live in fear of Hell. Her biographers speculate that Angela committed adultery, and given the intensity of her guilt and shame that seems likely.
Near despair, she prayed to St. Francis of Assisi to help her. As Angela prayed the saint appeared to her. “Sister,” St. Francis said, “if you would have asked me sooner I would have complied with your request sooner. Nonetheless, your request is granted.” That same day Angela offered a sincere confession to a priest. As she stepped from the shadowy interior of the church into the bright sunlight of the piazza, Angela resolved to begin a new life. She sold her fine clothes and jewels to relieve the suffering of Foligno’s poor. After the death of her husband, she gave away all her wealth, associated herself with the Franciscans, and with a handful of other holy women dedicated herself to tending the poor and the sick. Blessed Angela’s life teaches us a timeless lesson about our weakness and God’s mercy. All that he requires is that we repent and make a sincere effort to do better in the future.
St. Thomas Becket
As chancellor of England under Henry II, Thomas Becket (1118-1170) became obscenely wealthy. His wardrobe was larger and more expensive than the king’s. He even had his own private navy. In spite of all his wealth, Becket was cold-hearted and never gave anything to the poor. All that changed after Becket was consecrated archbishop of Canterbury. He gave away all his possessions. He welcomed the poor at his table. And he became a champion of the independence of the Church, for which he was murdered in his own cathedral by four of King Henry’s knights.
St. Philip Howard
Son of one of the wealthiest noble families in England, Philip Howard (1557-1595) could afford any pleasure he liked — and he liked them all. At court he was a notorious playboy, gambler and fop (fop=obsessed with one’s appearance and clothing in an excessive vain manner). He ran up enormous debts, then sold off his wife’s property to pay those debts.
On one occasion he said publicly that he did not really consider himself to be married. In 1581, he joined other members of the court at the Tower of London, to see a debate between several Anglican ministers and a prisoner, the Jesuit priest, St. Edmund Campion. Although the ministers were armed with books and assistants, Father Campion was alone and had only his memory to rely on, yet he did so well in the debate, that the government canceled the debate before a verdict could be given. Inspired by Father Campion, Howard reconciled with his wife, and they both returned to the Catholic Faith. When they tried to leave the country secretly for the Continent of Europe, where they could practice Catholicism freely, they were stopped and Howard was imprisoned in the Tower of London. He died there 10 years later.
St. Camillus of Lellis
Camillus de Lellis was born in Italy in the middle of the 16th century. A hot-tempered, troublesome child, he joined the army when he was 16, though his aggressive behavior only grew after that. Camillus was a mercenary soldier with all the worst habits— drinking, gambling, swearing, chasing prostitutes.
Years of sinful acts followed before his wholehearted reform in 1575. When his father called for a priest on his deathbed, Camillus began to rethink his life. Guided by St. Philip Neri, his spiritual director, Camillus turned away from sin, dedicated himself to the sick, and formed a religious congregation for nursing the poor.
The above mentioned sinners got to Heaven, but they had to make themselves acceptable first! Who knows how much time they may have spent in Purgatory in addition to having suffered for their sins after conversion. With God nothing is impossible—unless we stubbornly resist and reject His graces that move us to change!
Article 10
Tuesday December 9th
No Room for Immaculate “One-Day-Wonders”!
Tuesday December 9th
No Room for Immaculate “One-Day-Wonders”!
Our Lady was Immaculate for More than a Day!
Even though God made Mary Immaculate in her Conception, God did not take away her free will, nor did He preserve her from temptations. The fact that she had free will was shown in the Annunciation, when Our Lady freely gave her consent to becoming the Mother of our Lord and God, Jesus Christ: “Be it done unto me according to thy word!” (Luke 1:38). As for temptations―if Our Lord Himself was tempted in the desert by Satan, then Our Lady was most certainly not going to be exempt from temptations: “He was in the desert forty days and forty nights, and was tempted by Satan” (Mark 1:13). He was “tempted in all things like as we are, without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
Holy Scripture tells us: “When you come to the service of God, prepare your soul for temptation!” (Ecclesiasticus 2:1). “God is faithful, and will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able!” (1 Corinthians 10:13). “Because you were acceptable to God, it was necessary that temptation should prove you!” (Tobias 12:13). “Blessed is the man that endures temptation; for when he has been proved, he shall receive a crown of life, which God has promised to them that love Him!” (James 1:12). “Count it all joy, when you shall fall into diverse temptations―knowing that the trying of your Faith works patience; and patience has a perfect work; so that you may be perfect and entire, failing in nothing!” (James 1:2-4). “Was not Abraham found faithful in temptation?” (1 Machabees 2:52). “In temptation he was found faithful” (Ecclesiasticus 44:21). Thus temptations make us more immaculate, more holy and stronger if we resist them―just like a person becomes stringer by lifting heavier weights.
Temptation is a danger―and so we must not deliberately flirt with temptations or seek them out: “He that loves danger shall perish in it!” (Ecclesiasticus 3:27). There is a great difference between God allowing certain temptations to test us, and our own deliberate entering into temptations. Hence Scripture says: “Our fathers were tempted so that they might be proved, whether they worshipped their God truly. Remember how our father Abraham was tempted, and being proved by many tribulations, was made the friend of God. So Isaac, so Jacob, so Moses, and all that have pleased God, passed through many tribulations, remaining faithful!” (Judith 8:21-23). Yet just because God allows us to be tempted does not mean that we are allowed to seek temptations and flirt with them. On the contrary―due to the danger of temptations―Our Lord says: “Pray, lest ye enter into temptation!” (Luke 22:40) … “Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation!” (Matthew 26:41). Furthermore, in teaching us “The Lord’s Prayer” or the “Our Father”, Jesus includes the verse: “Lead us not into temptation!” (Matthew 6:13).
The Temptations of Mary
We read in the book, The Life of Mary as seen by the Mystics, by Raphael Brown, how the devils attempted to tempt Mary to sin―but she remained firm in her resolve to avoid all sin and remain immaculate for the honor and glory of God:
“While the Lord continued to hide Himself from Mary, He also allowed Satan to try her, in order to increase her merit and reward. Irritated by her perfect virtue and holiness, the devil vainly attempted to incite her to commit even a slight venial sin of thought, word or deed. During these various tests, Mary never stopped praying to the Lord for help, and though she suffered from the strain and at times she wept, nevertheless without once losing her inner union with God she successfully fought and conquered all these temptations. Lucifer and his devils were sorely puzzled by Mary’s exceptional holiness. Satan was enraged against her, due to her sanctity, and he therefore decided to send seven legions of his devils to tempt her in each of the seven capital sins. But Mary was warned by the Lord.
“Then while Mary was praying alone, left only to her natural force, God allowed the first legion of devils to tempt her to pride. To make her stop praying, they tried to terrify her by howling and roaring at her. But Mary did not change her position or show any fear. She simply repeated the words of the Psalm: ‘Who is like unto God, who dwells on high and looks down upon the humble in Heaven and on Earth?’ Then the devils changed themselves into resplendent angels and tried to convince Mary that they came from God in order to congratulate and praise her, but they gave themselves away when they promised to select her as the Mother of God! The Blessed Virgin, prostrate on the floor, withdrew within herself and quietly yet firmly continued to pray and adore the Lord.
“Next the second legion of demons tried to tempt her to avarice by offering her great wealth in gold and jewels, telling her that God wanted her to distribute it to the poor, since it was far better for a holy person like her to have all these riches than to leave them to be misused by wicked sinners. Mary did not argue with the devils. She merely prayed these words of the Psalmist: ‘I have acquired for my heritage and for my riches the keeping of Thy testimonies and Thy laws, my Lord.’
“When the third group of devils sought to tempt the Blessed Virgin to impurity, she renewed her vow of chastity with such fervor and merit that her enemies were driven from her presence like a cannonball fired from a cannon.
“Then the fourth legion did all they could to provoke her to anger. They posed as some women whom Mary knew and shouted outrageous insults and threats at her and stole the things she needed most. But Mary saw through their tricks and utterly disregarded them. Then one of the devils took on the appearance of a woman of Nazareth and told an easily influenced neighbor that Mary had criticized and slandered her. The deceived woman, who often lost her temper, hastened to go and insult Mary to her face. The Blessed Virgin calmly allowed her to pour forth all her anger and then spoke to her in such a kind and humble way that soon the woman’s heart softened and she apologized. Mary warned her against letting herself be stirred to anger by the devil, and after giving the poor woman some alms dismissed her in peace. Even the demons were astounded, for they had never seen anyone react that way.
“The fifth legion had no success at all in tempting Mary to gluttony. Then the spirits of envy gave her a long list of natural blessings and spiritual favors which God had bestowed on others but denied to her. They also induced several prosperous persons to describe to her the happiness of those who are rich and well off and fortunate in worldly things. But Mary simply told them that they should thank the Lord for all they had and use it well, while she judged herself quite unworthy of such favors.
“Finally the last legion of devils tried to tempt her to idleness by making her feel tired and dejected, suggesting that she postpone certain prayers and good deeds on account of weariness, so that she might do them all the better after having rested. They also sent people to bother her and take up her time in order to prevent her from doing good. But Mary prudently detected these plots and did not allow the devil to keep her from her prayers and good works. By now Lucifer was so enraged against Mary that he himself strove with all his might to hurt her and the Child in her womb, for he feared that anyone born of her would naturally be a great enemy of his.” (The Life of Mary as seen by the Mystics, by Raphael Brown).
Our Lady Speaks of Temptation
Our Lady herself, in speaking to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, warns: “You shall not escape the attacks and temptations, directed against you by Satan with the most cunning astuteness; but you live in continued wariness, lest you be disturbed or disquieted in the interior of your soul. Learn the manner of resisting and overcoming the powers of Hell. The surest way of fighting the demon is to despise him, looking upon him as the enemy of the Most High, who has lost all fear of God and all hope of good; who in his stubbornness has deprived himself of all means of recovery and is without sorrow for his wickedness. Relying on this truth you should show yourself far superior to him, and treat him as a despiser of the honor and worship of his God. Knowing that you are defending so just a cause, and do not let your courage sink; but resist and counteract him with great strength and valor in all his attempts.
“Remember then, that the demons detest and abominate that which you desire and love―namely the honor of God and your eternal happiness―and that they are striving to deprive you of that which they cannot restore to themselves. God has damned the demon, while He offers to you His grace, His virtues and His strength in order to overcome His and your enemy and to obtain for you the happy end of eternal peace. However, to attain this, you must work faithfully and keep the commandments of the Lord. The arrogance of the dragon is great, yet his weakness is greater; and he does not represent more than a weak atom in the face of the Divine power. Yet, as his cunning and malice far exceed that of mortals, it is not advisable to allow the soul to enter into a discussion with him and bandy words back and forth―whether he is present invisibly or visibl― for from his darksome mind, as from a smoking furnace, issue the shadows of confusion, obscuring the judgments of mortals; if they listen to him, he will fill their minds with deceits and darkness, so that they will neither recognize the truth and the beauty of virtue, nor the vileness of his poisonous falsehoods. Thus the souls will be made unable to distinguish the precious from the worthless, life from death, truth from error, and they easily fall into the clutches of this fierce and wicked dragon.
“You must be much more wary in the beginning of the temptations; for there is then greater danger lest the soul, yielding to the concupiscent or the irascible passions, by which the light of reason is obscured and darkened, allows itself to be thrown into confusion. As soon as the demon notices such a state of mind, he will raise a whirlwind of dust in the faculties. His fierceness is so immeasurable and implacable, that it will then increase in fury. He will add flame to flame, thinking that the soul has no one to defend and rescue it from his hands. With the force of his temptations increases also the danger of failing in the necessary resistance, since the soul has commenced to yield in the very beginning. All this I make known to you, in order that you may fear the danger of being remiss in guarding against the first approaches of the demon.
“In temptation let it be your invariable course not to attend to anything which he proposes, not to listen, not to argue with him concerning anything. If you can, then withdraw and place yourself at a distance, so as not to perceive or recognize his wicked attempts, so much the more secure you will be for thus looking upon him only at a distance. The demon always seeks to prepare the way for his deceits, especially in souls which he fears will resist his entrance, unless he can thus facilitate his approach. He is accustomed to begin by causing sorrow or dejection of heart, or he makes use of other trickery or snares, by which he diverts or withdraws the soul from the love of the Lord; then he comes with his poison, concealed in the golden cup, in order to diminish the horror of the soul.
“As soon as you notice in yourself any of these signs, I wish that with the wings of the dove you direct thy flight to the high refuge of the Almighty, calling upon Him for aid and offering Him the merits of my most holy Son. You should also fly to me for protection―for I am thy Mother and Teacher; and turn also to your devoted angels, and to all the rest of your advocates in the Lord. Quickly close up thy senses and consider yourself as dead to them, or as a soul already belonging to the other life, where the jurisdiction and the exacting tyranny of the serpent does not reach. Occupy yourself so much the more earnestly in the exercise of the virtue contrary to the vice to which he tempts you, and especially in acts of Faith, Hope and Charity, which dispel cowardice and doubt, and weaken the influence of discouragement and fear in the human heart.
“The arguments for overcoming Lucifer you must seek in God alone; and do not disclose them to your enemy, lest he meets you with fallacies and confusing pretense. Besides knowing it to be dangerous, esteem it as unworthy of you to argue with him openly, or to pay particular attention to him, who is not only the enemy of thy Beloved, but also of you. Show yourself superior to him and high-mindedly apply thyself to the practice of all virtues. Be content with this treasure and withdraw yourself; for the most skillful battle of the sons of God consists in flying farthest from evil. The devil is proud and is deeply hurt by contempt; in the presumption of his arrogance and vanity, he desires, above all, the attention of men. On this account he is so persistent in pursuing us step by step―for in his deceitfulness he cannot rely upon the force of truth, but on his persistent counterfeiting of the good and the true. As long as this slave of wickedness is not despised, he never believes himself discovered and he continues, like an importunate fly, to buzz about the spot tainted by the greatest corruption.
“Not less warily must you conduct yourself, when thy enemy makes use of other creatures for your destruction. This he does in two ways―either leading them on to immoderate love, or to undue dislike or hatred. As soon as you notice a disorderly affection in those with whom you converse with, observe the same precaution as in flying from the demon; yet with this difference, that while you hate the demon as your enemy, you consider the others as God’s creatures to whom you must not deny the consideration due to them on account of His Majesty. But, in as far as withdrawing from them is concerned, act as if they were your enemies―for in regard to the service, which the Lord requires of you and in regard to your present condition, it is the devil who operates in these persons toward separating you from your God and from your duty.
“If on the other hand they hate and persecute you, answer them with meekness and love, praying for them with intimate affection of thy heart. If it should be necessary, soothe the wrath of your persecutors with sweet words, and undeceive those who are led astray by false reports. Do this, not in order to excuse yourself, but in order to pacify your others and for their inward and outward peace; thus you will, at one and the same time, conquer yourself and those who hate you. In order to be well practiced in this way of acting, it is necessary to cut off the very roots of the capital sins, to tear them out, and to die to the movements of the appetites. For in these appetites the seven capital vices to which the devil leads men, are rooted, and in these disorderly and undisciplined passions he sows the germs of the seven sins.
“Since the flesh is the center of weakness and danger, it is proper that thou carefully resist thy natural likings, and through them the temptations of the demons … When the soul listens to and extemporizes with the animal and carnal part of its nature this latter will engross and overcome the forces of reason and of the spirit, and will reduce them to a dangerous and shameful slavery. This disorder is abominable and much to be feared by all! … The demon then introduces other distractions and temptations, and they begin to weaken in all of them; they esteem them as being light and unimportant matters, and, living on in their false security, come to lose the very perception of true virtue. Guard against this error! Remember, that a voluntary remissness in regard to one imperfection prepares and opens the way for others―these facilitate the commission of venial sins, these again facilitate the commission of mortal sins. Thus the descent is from one abyss to another, until the bottom is found in the disregard of all evil.
“In order to prevent such a misfortune it is necessary to intercept from afar the current of sin, and keep the enemy at a distance. If the demon can break through and gain the outer defenses, he is in better position to gain the inner ones. If then an opening is made in the bulwarks by the commission of sin, although it may not be a very grievous one, then he already has a better opportunity to make an assault on the interior reign of a soul. As the soul finds herself weakened by vicious acts and habits and without strength of grace, she does not resist the attack with fortitude, and the devil, acquiring more and more power over her, begins to subject and oppress her without opposition. Consider, therefore, how great must be thy watchfulness, and how great is the necessity of not falling asleep in the midst of so many dangers” (Our Lady’s words to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, taken from The Mystical City of God).
The Awesome Terrible Sanctity of God Detests Sin
God is Sanctity itself, much more so than the sun is light, and no shadow of sin can endure before His face. “Thy eyes are too pure to behold evil, and Thou canst not look on iniquity” (Habacuc 1:13). The least sin displeases Him infinitely, and, on account of the infinite Sanctity which is offended.
It was sin that led to banishment of the fallen angels to Hell, and it was sin led to Adam and Eve to be cast out of the Garden of Eden and to suffer and die. Both the Angels and our First Parents were created immaculate, that is to say, in a state of grace. Yet many of the angels failed to keep that grace, and both Adam and Eve lost that grace through Mortal Sin. God cannot tolerate sin. Sin is an attack upon the holiness and purity of God. Sin has to be eliminated and reparation has to be made.
The Price and Pain of Sin
Since Adam and Even listened to the devil and fell into sin, they thereby abused and threw away the gifts the gifts that God had given them: (1) the supernatural grace of God; (2) the possibility of never having to die; (3) the possibility of being free from any and all forms of suffering; (4) the harmonious submission and obedience of the soul to God’s grace, and the obedience of the body and its passions to the soul; and finally, (5) they weakened the infused knowledge that God had created them with, to the point that now they would experience a darkened intellect that finds learning difficult, a weak will that struggles with temptation, and rebellious passions.
They had offended God in the name of humanity, all their future descendants would participate in the effects of that sin. As St. Paul writes: “Wherefore as by one man sin entered into this world, and by sin death; and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned” (Romans 5:12). Truly, as St. Paul states later, “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
The gates of Heaven were closed. Humanity had failed the test through Adam and Eve. It is because we downplay sin in our own thoughts, that we have such a wrong notion about what sin really is. As the old, but very clear and simple, Penny Catechism says: “It is the greatest of all evils to fall into mortal sin.” Another catechism, My Catholic Faith, states that “Mortal sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, poverty, or war, because it separates us from God ... Although venial sin is not a grievous offense against God, it is nevertheless a great moral evil, next alone to mortal sin ... We are prone to look upon venial sin as of no consequence, and to be careless about guarding against it, forgetting that it is second only in evil consequences to mortal sin.” (from the catechism My Catholic Faith).
The New Adam, the New Eve
After his fall, man was not abandoned by God. The passage in Genesis, which is called the Proto-evangelium (“first gospel”), makes the first announcement of the Messias and Redeemer, of a battle between the serpent and the Woman, and of the final victory of a descendant of hers. The Christian tradition sees in this passage an announcement of the “New Adam” who, because He “became obedient unto death, even death on a cross”, makes amends super-abundantly for the disobedience, of Adam. Additionally, many Fathers and Doctors of the Church have seen the Woman announced in the Proto-evangelium as Mary, the Mother of Christ, the “New Eve”. Mary benefited first of all and uniquely from Christ’s victory over sin: for she was preserved from all stain of Original Sin and by a special grace of God committed no sin of any kind during her whole earthly life.
Immaculate Mary needs Immaculate Children
We all know the saying: “Like father, like son!” or “Like mother, like daughter!” or “He takes after his father!” and “She’s just like her mother!” Our Lord and Our Lady—the new Adam and Eve—want us to imitate them and Heaven. Of Our Lady, it can be said: “I am clean, and without sin: I am unspotted, and there is no iniquity in me” (Job 33:9) .... “My word is pure, and I am clean in thy sight” (Job 11:4). “I am without sin and am innocent” (Jeremias 2:35). We became her spiritual children at the foot of the Cross, and so we should take on the traits of our spiritual Mother. Children imitate their parents.
Jesus said: “Learn of Me…!” (Matthew 11:29) … “If you love Me, keep my Commandments” (John 14:15) … “Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48) … “I am the Lord your God: be holy because I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44) … “You shall be holy unto Me, because I the Lord am holy, and I have separated you from other people, that you should be Mine” (Leviticus 20:26). St. Peter repeats that command in the New Testament: “According to Him that hath called you, Who is holy, be you also in all manner of conversation holy, because it is written: ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:15-16). While St. Paul writes: “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and unspotted in His sight in charity” (Ephesians 1:4).
Only saints go to Heaven, that is the pedigree of the New Adam and Eve—we have to be immaculate to enter therein: “There shall not enter into it any thing defiled” (Apocalypse 27:21). We have to be wholly holy, or “Holy, Holy, Holy” as we say in the Sanctus at Mass—which, incidentally, should remind of the three ever-increasing stages of holiness that we have to pass through: as beginners in holiness, (2) as proficients in holiness, and (3) as perfect in holiness. Purgatory will be necessary for even the slightest stains of sin or smallest unpaid debts for previously forgiven sin. For, as it was said above, God detests sin. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8).
“For the Highest hates sinners, and has mercy on the penitent” (Ecclesiasticus 12:3). “Six things there are, which the Lord hates, and the seventh his soul detests: (1) Haughty eyes, (2) a lying tongue, (3) hands that shed innocent blood, (4) heart that devises wicked plots, (5) feet that are swift to run into mischief, (6) deceitful witness that utters lies, and (7) him that sows discord among brethren” (Proverbs 6:16-19). “I hate arrogance, and pride, and every wicked way, and a mouth with a double tongue” (Proverbs 8:13).
The Articulate Deception of the World Opposes the Immaculate Conception of Mary
The devil and Mary are irreconcilable enemies―a fact already foretold by God after the first sin of Adam and Eve, what we now call “Original Sin”, after which God solemnly said: “And the Lord God said to the serpent: ‘Because thou hast done this thing, thou art cursed among all cattle, and beasts of the Earth! Upon thy breast shalt thou go and earth shalt thou eat all the days of thy life! I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed! She shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel!’” (Genesis 3:14-15). Thus, Mary and devil are irreconcilable enemies.
The devil, however, is also the “prince of this world” and thus the world is also an enemy of God and Mary―as mentioned by Our Lord on several occasions: “For the prince of this world cometh, and in me he hath not any thing!” (John 14:30). “The prince of this world is already judged!” (John 16:11). “Now is the judgment of the world―now shall the prince of this world be cast out!” (John 12:31). How does Our Lord judge the world, of which the devil is prince? Jesus says: “My kingdom is not of this world … My kingdom is not from hence!” (John 18:36). Jesus “gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present wicked world!” (Galatians 1:4). “He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not” (John 1:10-11)―we forget that it is actually a good sign if the world does not ‘receive’ us or does not like us!
Exposing the Seductive Lies and Deception of the World
To His followers Jesus says: “If you had been of the world, the world would love its own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you!” (John 15:19). “If the world hates you, know ye, that it has hated Me before you!” (John 15:18). “The world hates Me because I give testimony of it, that the works thereof are evil!” (John 7:7). “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth … But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven … For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:19-24).
In the parable of the Sower of the Seed, Jesus says: “He that received the seed among thorns, is he that hears the word of God, but the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches and the pleasures of this life, choke up the word of God, and the word becomes fruitless and yields no fruit” (Matthew 13:3-8, 13:18-23; Mark 4:3-8; Luke 8:5-15). “He that loves his life [in this world] shall lose it; and he that hates his life in this world, keeps it unto life eternal!” (John 12:25). To His Father in Heaven, Jesus prays: “I have manifested Thy Name, Father, to the men whom Thou hast given Me out of the world ... Thine they were, and to Me Thou gavest them … I am not of the world, and these are in the world … I pray for them! … I pray not for the world, but for them whom Thou hast given Me! … I have given them Thy word, and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world; as I also am not of the world” (John 17:6-14).
This inescapable and unpleasant truth―unpleasant to us because we love the world and want the world to love us―is further driven home by the Apostles: “Be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2) … “That we be not condemned with this world!” (1 Corinthians 11:32). “For all that is in the world, is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life, which is not of the Father, but is of the world!” (1 John 2:16). “We are blasphemed [by the world], and we are made as the refuse of this world, the off-scouring of all―even until now!” (1 Corinthians 4:13). “The world is crucified to me, and I to the world!” (Galatians 6:14). “If then you be dead with Christ from the elements of this world, why do you still act as though living in the world?” (Colossians 2:20). “Adulterers! Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God!” (James 4:4). “We have received not the spirit of this world, but the Spirit that is of God; so that we may know the things that are given us from God! … Use this world, as if [you] used it not―for the fashion of this world passes away!” (1 Corinthians 2:12; 7:31). “Keep yourself unspotted from this world!” (James 1:27). “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him!” (1 John 2:15). “What fellowship has light with darkness? And what concord has Christ with Belial? Or what part have the faithful with the unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God! As God says: ‘I will dwell in them, and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people!’ Wherefore, ‘Go out from among them, and be ye separate!’ says the Lord” (2 Corinthians 6:14-17).
The Seductive Lies of the World are the Lies of the Devil
As Our Lord says of the devil and of worldly people: “The world cannot receive the spirit of truth” (John 14:17). To the worldly-minded, who are thereby implicit slaves of the “prince of this world”, the devil, Our Lord says: “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he stood not in the truth; because truth is not in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own―for he is a liar and the father of lies!” (John 8:44). Yet those lies are very seductive lies―they promise a paradise on Earth, a life of ease and comfort, many useful possessions, etc.
Articulate Deceptions of the World
St. Louis de Montfort, in one of his lesser know books, Love of Eternal Wisdom, paints a very striking and clear picture of those who have been seduced by the lies of the world and the devil:
“Those who proceed according to the wisdom of the world are those who know how to manage well their affairs and to arrange things to their temporal advantage without appearing to do so; who know the art of deceiving and how to cleverly cheat without being noticed; who say or do one thing and have another thing in mind; who are thoroughly acquainted with the way and the flattery of the world; who know how to please everybody in order to reach their goal, not troubling much about the honor and interests of God; who make a secret but deadly fusion of truth with untruth, of the Gospel with the world, of virtue with vice, of Jesus Christ with Satan; who wish to pass as honest people, but not as religious men; who despise and corrupt or readily condemn every religious practice which does not conform to their own. In short, the worldly‑wise are those who, being guided only by their human senses and reason, seek only to appear as Christian and honest folk, without troubling much to please God or to do penance for the sins which they have committed against His divine Majesty.
“The worldling bases his conduct upon his honor, upon what people say, upon convention, upon good cheer, upon personal interest, upon refined manners, upon witty jokes. These are the seven innocent incentives, so he thinks, upon which he can rely that he may lead an easy life. He has virtues of his own for which he is canonized by the world. These are manliness, finesse, diplomacy, tact, gallantry, politeness, sprightliness. He considers as serious sins such traits as lack of feeling, silliness, dullness, sanctimoniousness. He adheres as strictly as possible to the commandments which the world has given him:
(1) Thou shalt be well acquainted with the world.
(2) Thou shalt be an “honest” man.
(3) Thou shalt be successful in business.
(4) Thou shalt keep what is thine.
(5) Thou shalt get on in the world.
(6) Thou shalt make friends.
(7) Thou shalt be a society man.
(8) Thou shalt make merry.
(9) Thou shalt not be a killjoy.
(10) Thou shalt avoid singularity, dullness and an air of piety.
“Never was the world so corrupt as it is now, because it was never so astute, so wise in its own conceit, so cunning. It is so skillful in deceiving the soul seeking perfection that it makes use of truth to foster untruth, of virtue to authorize vice and it even distorts the meaning of Christ’s own truths to give authority to its own maxims. “The number of those who are fools according to God, is infinite.” The earthly wisdom spoken of by St. James, is an excessive striving for worldly goods. The worldly-wise make a secret profession of this type of wisdom when they allow themselves to become attached to their earthly possessions, when they strive to become rich, when they go to law and bring useless actions against others in order to acquire or to keep temporal goods; when their every thought, word and deed is mainly directed toward obtaining or retaining something temporal. As to working out their eternal salvation and making use of the means to do so, such as reception of the Sacraments and prayer, they accomplish these duties only carelessly, in a very offhand manner, once in a while, and for the sake of appearances” (St. Louis de Montfort, Love of Eternal Wisdom §76-§79).
God Wants You In Heaven—The Proof!
Let this never be doubted—God wants to see you in Heaven! The whispers of the devil would have us believe otherwise, but the truth is that God desires your salvation. Holy Scripture is proof enough of this truth:
God Himself says: “‘Is it My will that a sinner should die?’ saith the Lord God” (Ezechiel 18:20-23) … “‘As I live’, saith the Lord God, ‘I desire not the death of the wicked!’” (Ezechiel 33:11). “If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow: and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool” (Isaias 1:18).
Jesus, speaking of Himself in the third person, says: “For God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting” (John 3:16). The Angel Gabriel, speaking of Jesus, says to Mary: “For He shall save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
Jesus Himself says: “The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save!” (Luke 9:56). “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). “They that are whole, need not the physician: but they that are sick. I came not to call the just, but sinners…” (Luke 5:31-32). “For I came not to judge the world, but to save the world” (John 12:47).
Let no man say or think that God wants him to be damned! Damnation comes from man—assisted by man’s wayward passions and the devil—damnation is not caused by God! Advent is a time that focuses on Christ coming in mercy. Let us rejoice in that mercy! Let us celebrate that mercy! Let us profit from that mercy! But let us also realize that this mercy is not unconditional and that God is not a doormat on which we can wipe our dirty, muddy, smelly sinful feet: “Be not deceived, God is not mocked!” (Galatians 6:7).
To Go To Heaven—You Must Change!
The brutal fact in this is summarized by the obvious but unpleasant philosophical axiom or truth, that says: “He who desires the end [the goal], must also necessarily desire the means [to get to the end or goal].” We would like to get the end without taking the means! We would like to get paid without having worked! We would like to be saved at the wave of magic wand! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Dream on!
We Need to Clean Up Our Act
God never changes and His demands for holiness never change. In the Old Testament it says: “Turn away from evil and do good” (Psalms 33:15); and St. Peter repeats the same in the New Testament: “Let him decline from evil, and do good” (1 Peter 3:11). Our Lady even echoes this today, for at Fatima she said: “Do not offend the Lord our God anymore, because He is already so much offended.” However, Sr. Lucia of Fatima tells us that: “the Blessed Virgin is very sad because no one heeds her message; neither the good nor the bad. The good continue on with their life of virtue and apostolate, but they do not unite their lives to the message of Fatima. Sinners keep following the road of evil because they do not see the terrible chastisement about to befall them.” St. Paul clearly tells us: “Let no sin therefore reign in your mortal body” (Romans 6:12). Not even the slightest Venial Sin, for that still separates us from God and has to paid for—either here or in Purgatory, as Our Lord says: “Amen I say to thee, thou shalt not go out from thence till thou repay the last farthing” (Matthew 5:26).
Saints without Stains
Only saints get into Heaven―even though they are identical in the letters they use “SAINTS” and “STAINS” are irreconcilable. SAINTS cannot have STAINS―they need to have any pasts STAINS of sin removed before they can be called SAINTS. Heaven has to be STAINLESS or else it will be SAINTLESS. It is fire that removes those STAINS and makes us into SAINTS―either the fires of love and charity on Earth; or the fires of Purgatory after our death. Residency in Heaven requires that we be immaculate, perfect and undefiled: “There shall not enter into it anything defiled” (Apocalypse 21:27). We often make sin to be nothing but “A TINY SIN” ― change the order in those letters and you get “INSANITY”! It is truly INSANITY to imagine any attack on God as being “A TINY SIN”!
God says: “O ye men, to you I call, and my voice is to the sons of men! … My lips shall hate wickedness! … The fear of the Lord hates evil! I hate arrogance, and pride, and every wicked way!” (Proverbs 8:4-13) … “You are not a God that wills iniquity! Neither shall the wicked dwell near You; nor shall the unjust abide before Your eyes! You hate all the workers of iniquity!” (Psalms 5:5) … “Your iniquities have created a divide between you and your God, and your sins have made Him hide His face from you!” (Isaias 59:2). “The eyes of the Lord are too pure to behold evil, and He cannot look on iniquity!” (Habacuc 1:13).
No Saints without Charity
God is love and sin is hatred of God. “God is charity” (1 John 4:8) and God often represented Himself by the symbol of fire― “the Lord appeared to Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush” (Exodus 3:2-4); “The Lord went before them to show the way by day in a pillar of a cloud, and by night in a pillar of fire” (Exodus 13:21); “All Mount Sinai was smoking, because the Lord was come down upon it in fire” (Exodus 19:18); “the Lord was like a burning fire upon the top of the mount” (Exodus 24:17).
That is why Our Lord says: “I am come to cast fire on the Earth―and what will I, but that it be kindled?” (Luke 12:49). That is why we pray: “Come O Holy Ghost … and enkindle in us the fire of Thy love!” That is why Holy Scripture says: “Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ!” (Jude 1:21). That is why Our Lord said of the great sinner, Mary Magdalen: “Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much!” (Luke 7:47). That is why St. Robert Bellarmine says: “Charity is that with which no man is lost, and without which no man is saved!” That is why St. John of the Cross says: “At the end of our life, we shall all be judged by charity!” What do you say?
God detests sin and sin cannot endure in the presence of God. “God is charity” (1 John 4:8) and charity burns away sin. “In this we have known the charity of God, because He has laid down His life for us” (1 John 3:16) … “Let us therefore love God, because God has first loved us!” (1 John 4:19). The greater the intensity of that charity, the more quickly it burns away the stains of sin. That is why Our Lord said: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength! This is the greatest and the first commandment!” (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31). “Charity is of God. And every one that loves, is born of God, and knows God!” (1 John 4:7). “If I … have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. If I … have not Charity―then I am nothing. If I … have not Charity―then it profits me nothing!” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
What is the very basic level of charity? Our Lord tells us: “If you love Me, keep My commandments … He that has My commandments, and keeps them; he it is that loves Me … If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word … He that loves Me not, keeps not My words … If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in My love … This is My commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you” (John 14:15, 14:21-24; 15:10; 15:12).
Pray to God―through Our Lady―that you may receive such an intense degree of charity that it will burn away the stains of all your past sins and make you more like your Immaculate Mother! “Charity covers all sins!” (Proverbs 10:12).
Even though God made Mary Immaculate in her Conception, God did not take away her free will, nor did He preserve her from temptations. The fact that she had free will was shown in the Annunciation, when Our Lady freely gave her consent to becoming the Mother of our Lord and God, Jesus Christ: “Be it done unto me according to thy word!” (Luke 1:38). As for temptations―if Our Lord Himself was tempted in the desert by Satan, then Our Lady was most certainly not going to be exempt from temptations: “He was in the desert forty days and forty nights, and was tempted by Satan” (Mark 1:13). He was “tempted in all things like as we are, without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
Holy Scripture tells us: “When you come to the service of God, prepare your soul for temptation!” (Ecclesiasticus 2:1). “God is faithful, and will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able!” (1 Corinthians 10:13). “Because you were acceptable to God, it was necessary that temptation should prove you!” (Tobias 12:13). “Blessed is the man that endures temptation; for when he has been proved, he shall receive a crown of life, which God has promised to them that love Him!” (James 1:12). “Count it all joy, when you shall fall into diverse temptations―knowing that the trying of your Faith works patience; and patience has a perfect work; so that you may be perfect and entire, failing in nothing!” (James 1:2-4). “Was not Abraham found faithful in temptation?” (1 Machabees 2:52). “In temptation he was found faithful” (Ecclesiasticus 44:21). Thus temptations make us more immaculate, more holy and stronger if we resist them―just like a person becomes stringer by lifting heavier weights.
Temptation is a danger―and so we must not deliberately flirt with temptations or seek them out: “He that loves danger shall perish in it!” (Ecclesiasticus 3:27). There is a great difference between God allowing certain temptations to test us, and our own deliberate entering into temptations. Hence Scripture says: “Our fathers were tempted so that they might be proved, whether they worshipped their God truly. Remember how our father Abraham was tempted, and being proved by many tribulations, was made the friend of God. So Isaac, so Jacob, so Moses, and all that have pleased God, passed through many tribulations, remaining faithful!” (Judith 8:21-23). Yet just because God allows us to be tempted does not mean that we are allowed to seek temptations and flirt with them. On the contrary―due to the danger of temptations―Our Lord says: “Pray, lest ye enter into temptation!” (Luke 22:40) … “Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation!” (Matthew 26:41). Furthermore, in teaching us “The Lord’s Prayer” or the “Our Father”, Jesus includes the verse: “Lead us not into temptation!” (Matthew 6:13).
The Temptations of Mary
We read in the book, The Life of Mary as seen by the Mystics, by Raphael Brown, how the devils attempted to tempt Mary to sin―but she remained firm in her resolve to avoid all sin and remain immaculate for the honor and glory of God:
“While the Lord continued to hide Himself from Mary, He also allowed Satan to try her, in order to increase her merit and reward. Irritated by her perfect virtue and holiness, the devil vainly attempted to incite her to commit even a slight venial sin of thought, word or deed. During these various tests, Mary never stopped praying to the Lord for help, and though she suffered from the strain and at times she wept, nevertheless without once losing her inner union with God she successfully fought and conquered all these temptations. Lucifer and his devils were sorely puzzled by Mary’s exceptional holiness. Satan was enraged against her, due to her sanctity, and he therefore decided to send seven legions of his devils to tempt her in each of the seven capital sins. But Mary was warned by the Lord.
“Then while Mary was praying alone, left only to her natural force, God allowed the first legion of devils to tempt her to pride. To make her stop praying, they tried to terrify her by howling and roaring at her. But Mary did not change her position or show any fear. She simply repeated the words of the Psalm: ‘Who is like unto God, who dwells on high and looks down upon the humble in Heaven and on Earth?’ Then the devils changed themselves into resplendent angels and tried to convince Mary that they came from God in order to congratulate and praise her, but they gave themselves away when they promised to select her as the Mother of God! The Blessed Virgin, prostrate on the floor, withdrew within herself and quietly yet firmly continued to pray and adore the Lord.
“Next the second legion of demons tried to tempt her to avarice by offering her great wealth in gold and jewels, telling her that God wanted her to distribute it to the poor, since it was far better for a holy person like her to have all these riches than to leave them to be misused by wicked sinners. Mary did not argue with the devils. She merely prayed these words of the Psalmist: ‘I have acquired for my heritage and for my riches the keeping of Thy testimonies and Thy laws, my Lord.’
“When the third group of devils sought to tempt the Blessed Virgin to impurity, she renewed her vow of chastity with such fervor and merit that her enemies were driven from her presence like a cannonball fired from a cannon.
“Then the fourth legion did all they could to provoke her to anger. They posed as some women whom Mary knew and shouted outrageous insults and threats at her and stole the things she needed most. But Mary saw through their tricks and utterly disregarded them. Then one of the devils took on the appearance of a woman of Nazareth and told an easily influenced neighbor that Mary had criticized and slandered her. The deceived woman, who often lost her temper, hastened to go and insult Mary to her face. The Blessed Virgin calmly allowed her to pour forth all her anger and then spoke to her in such a kind and humble way that soon the woman’s heart softened and she apologized. Mary warned her against letting herself be stirred to anger by the devil, and after giving the poor woman some alms dismissed her in peace. Even the demons were astounded, for they had never seen anyone react that way.
“The fifth legion had no success at all in tempting Mary to gluttony. Then the spirits of envy gave her a long list of natural blessings and spiritual favors which God had bestowed on others but denied to her. They also induced several prosperous persons to describe to her the happiness of those who are rich and well off and fortunate in worldly things. But Mary simply told them that they should thank the Lord for all they had and use it well, while she judged herself quite unworthy of such favors.
“Finally the last legion of devils tried to tempt her to idleness by making her feel tired and dejected, suggesting that she postpone certain prayers and good deeds on account of weariness, so that she might do them all the better after having rested. They also sent people to bother her and take up her time in order to prevent her from doing good. But Mary prudently detected these plots and did not allow the devil to keep her from her prayers and good works. By now Lucifer was so enraged against Mary that he himself strove with all his might to hurt her and the Child in her womb, for he feared that anyone born of her would naturally be a great enemy of his.” (The Life of Mary as seen by the Mystics, by Raphael Brown).
Our Lady Speaks of Temptation
Our Lady herself, in speaking to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, warns: “You shall not escape the attacks and temptations, directed against you by Satan with the most cunning astuteness; but you live in continued wariness, lest you be disturbed or disquieted in the interior of your soul. Learn the manner of resisting and overcoming the powers of Hell. The surest way of fighting the demon is to despise him, looking upon him as the enemy of the Most High, who has lost all fear of God and all hope of good; who in his stubbornness has deprived himself of all means of recovery and is without sorrow for his wickedness. Relying on this truth you should show yourself far superior to him, and treat him as a despiser of the honor and worship of his God. Knowing that you are defending so just a cause, and do not let your courage sink; but resist and counteract him with great strength and valor in all his attempts.
“Remember then, that the demons detest and abominate that which you desire and love―namely the honor of God and your eternal happiness―and that they are striving to deprive you of that which they cannot restore to themselves. God has damned the demon, while He offers to you His grace, His virtues and His strength in order to overcome His and your enemy and to obtain for you the happy end of eternal peace. However, to attain this, you must work faithfully and keep the commandments of the Lord. The arrogance of the dragon is great, yet his weakness is greater; and he does not represent more than a weak atom in the face of the Divine power. Yet, as his cunning and malice far exceed that of mortals, it is not advisable to allow the soul to enter into a discussion with him and bandy words back and forth―whether he is present invisibly or visibl― for from his darksome mind, as from a smoking furnace, issue the shadows of confusion, obscuring the judgments of mortals; if they listen to him, he will fill their minds with deceits and darkness, so that they will neither recognize the truth and the beauty of virtue, nor the vileness of his poisonous falsehoods. Thus the souls will be made unable to distinguish the precious from the worthless, life from death, truth from error, and they easily fall into the clutches of this fierce and wicked dragon.
“You must be much more wary in the beginning of the temptations; for there is then greater danger lest the soul, yielding to the concupiscent or the irascible passions, by which the light of reason is obscured and darkened, allows itself to be thrown into confusion. As soon as the demon notices such a state of mind, he will raise a whirlwind of dust in the faculties. His fierceness is so immeasurable and implacable, that it will then increase in fury. He will add flame to flame, thinking that the soul has no one to defend and rescue it from his hands. With the force of his temptations increases also the danger of failing in the necessary resistance, since the soul has commenced to yield in the very beginning. All this I make known to you, in order that you may fear the danger of being remiss in guarding against the first approaches of the demon.
“In temptation let it be your invariable course not to attend to anything which he proposes, not to listen, not to argue with him concerning anything. If you can, then withdraw and place yourself at a distance, so as not to perceive or recognize his wicked attempts, so much the more secure you will be for thus looking upon him only at a distance. The demon always seeks to prepare the way for his deceits, especially in souls which he fears will resist his entrance, unless he can thus facilitate his approach. He is accustomed to begin by causing sorrow or dejection of heart, or he makes use of other trickery or snares, by which he diverts or withdraws the soul from the love of the Lord; then he comes with his poison, concealed in the golden cup, in order to diminish the horror of the soul.
“As soon as you notice in yourself any of these signs, I wish that with the wings of the dove you direct thy flight to the high refuge of the Almighty, calling upon Him for aid and offering Him the merits of my most holy Son. You should also fly to me for protection―for I am thy Mother and Teacher; and turn also to your devoted angels, and to all the rest of your advocates in the Lord. Quickly close up thy senses and consider yourself as dead to them, or as a soul already belonging to the other life, where the jurisdiction and the exacting tyranny of the serpent does not reach. Occupy yourself so much the more earnestly in the exercise of the virtue contrary to the vice to which he tempts you, and especially in acts of Faith, Hope and Charity, which dispel cowardice and doubt, and weaken the influence of discouragement and fear in the human heart.
“The arguments for overcoming Lucifer you must seek in God alone; and do not disclose them to your enemy, lest he meets you with fallacies and confusing pretense. Besides knowing it to be dangerous, esteem it as unworthy of you to argue with him openly, or to pay particular attention to him, who is not only the enemy of thy Beloved, but also of you. Show yourself superior to him and high-mindedly apply thyself to the practice of all virtues. Be content with this treasure and withdraw yourself; for the most skillful battle of the sons of God consists in flying farthest from evil. The devil is proud and is deeply hurt by contempt; in the presumption of his arrogance and vanity, he desires, above all, the attention of men. On this account he is so persistent in pursuing us step by step―for in his deceitfulness he cannot rely upon the force of truth, but on his persistent counterfeiting of the good and the true. As long as this slave of wickedness is not despised, he never believes himself discovered and he continues, like an importunate fly, to buzz about the spot tainted by the greatest corruption.
“Not less warily must you conduct yourself, when thy enemy makes use of other creatures for your destruction. This he does in two ways―either leading them on to immoderate love, or to undue dislike or hatred. As soon as you notice a disorderly affection in those with whom you converse with, observe the same precaution as in flying from the demon; yet with this difference, that while you hate the demon as your enemy, you consider the others as God’s creatures to whom you must not deny the consideration due to them on account of His Majesty. But, in as far as withdrawing from them is concerned, act as if they were your enemies―for in regard to the service, which the Lord requires of you and in regard to your present condition, it is the devil who operates in these persons toward separating you from your God and from your duty.
“If on the other hand they hate and persecute you, answer them with meekness and love, praying for them with intimate affection of thy heart. If it should be necessary, soothe the wrath of your persecutors with sweet words, and undeceive those who are led astray by false reports. Do this, not in order to excuse yourself, but in order to pacify your others and for their inward and outward peace; thus you will, at one and the same time, conquer yourself and those who hate you. In order to be well practiced in this way of acting, it is necessary to cut off the very roots of the capital sins, to tear them out, and to die to the movements of the appetites. For in these appetites the seven capital vices to which the devil leads men, are rooted, and in these disorderly and undisciplined passions he sows the germs of the seven sins.
“Since the flesh is the center of weakness and danger, it is proper that thou carefully resist thy natural likings, and through them the temptations of the demons … When the soul listens to and extemporizes with the animal and carnal part of its nature this latter will engross and overcome the forces of reason and of the spirit, and will reduce them to a dangerous and shameful slavery. This disorder is abominable and much to be feared by all! … The demon then introduces other distractions and temptations, and they begin to weaken in all of them; they esteem them as being light and unimportant matters, and, living on in their false security, come to lose the very perception of true virtue. Guard against this error! Remember, that a voluntary remissness in regard to one imperfection prepares and opens the way for others―these facilitate the commission of venial sins, these again facilitate the commission of mortal sins. Thus the descent is from one abyss to another, until the bottom is found in the disregard of all evil.
“In order to prevent such a misfortune it is necessary to intercept from afar the current of sin, and keep the enemy at a distance. If the demon can break through and gain the outer defenses, he is in better position to gain the inner ones. If then an opening is made in the bulwarks by the commission of sin, although it may not be a very grievous one, then he already has a better opportunity to make an assault on the interior reign of a soul. As the soul finds herself weakened by vicious acts and habits and without strength of grace, she does not resist the attack with fortitude, and the devil, acquiring more and more power over her, begins to subject and oppress her without opposition. Consider, therefore, how great must be thy watchfulness, and how great is the necessity of not falling asleep in the midst of so many dangers” (Our Lady’s words to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, taken from The Mystical City of God).
The Awesome Terrible Sanctity of God Detests Sin
God is Sanctity itself, much more so than the sun is light, and no shadow of sin can endure before His face. “Thy eyes are too pure to behold evil, and Thou canst not look on iniquity” (Habacuc 1:13). The least sin displeases Him infinitely, and, on account of the infinite Sanctity which is offended.
It was sin that led to banishment of the fallen angels to Hell, and it was sin led to Adam and Eve to be cast out of the Garden of Eden and to suffer and die. Both the Angels and our First Parents were created immaculate, that is to say, in a state of grace. Yet many of the angels failed to keep that grace, and both Adam and Eve lost that grace through Mortal Sin. God cannot tolerate sin. Sin is an attack upon the holiness and purity of God. Sin has to be eliminated and reparation has to be made.
The Price and Pain of Sin
Since Adam and Even listened to the devil and fell into sin, they thereby abused and threw away the gifts the gifts that God had given them: (1) the supernatural grace of God; (2) the possibility of never having to die; (3) the possibility of being free from any and all forms of suffering; (4) the harmonious submission and obedience of the soul to God’s grace, and the obedience of the body and its passions to the soul; and finally, (5) they weakened the infused knowledge that God had created them with, to the point that now they would experience a darkened intellect that finds learning difficult, a weak will that struggles with temptation, and rebellious passions.
They had offended God in the name of humanity, all their future descendants would participate in the effects of that sin. As St. Paul writes: “Wherefore as by one man sin entered into this world, and by sin death; and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned” (Romans 5:12). Truly, as St. Paul states later, “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
The gates of Heaven were closed. Humanity had failed the test through Adam and Eve. It is because we downplay sin in our own thoughts, that we have such a wrong notion about what sin really is. As the old, but very clear and simple, Penny Catechism says: “It is the greatest of all evils to fall into mortal sin.” Another catechism, My Catholic Faith, states that “Mortal sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, poverty, or war, because it separates us from God ... Although venial sin is not a grievous offense against God, it is nevertheless a great moral evil, next alone to mortal sin ... We are prone to look upon venial sin as of no consequence, and to be careless about guarding against it, forgetting that it is second only in evil consequences to mortal sin.” (from the catechism My Catholic Faith).
The New Adam, the New Eve
After his fall, man was not abandoned by God. The passage in Genesis, which is called the Proto-evangelium (“first gospel”), makes the first announcement of the Messias and Redeemer, of a battle between the serpent and the Woman, and of the final victory of a descendant of hers. The Christian tradition sees in this passage an announcement of the “New Adam” who, because He “became obedient unto death, even death on a cross”, makes amends super-abundantly for the disobedience, of Adam. Additionally, many Fathers and Doctors of the Church have seen the Woman announced in the Proto-evangelium as Mary, the Mother of Christ, the “New Eve”. Mary benefited first of all and uniquely from Christ’s victory over sin: for she was preserved from all stain of Original Sin and by a special grace of God committed no sin of any kind during her whole earthly life.
Immaculate Mary needs Immaculate Children
We all know the saying: “Like father, like son!” or “Like mother, like daughter!” or “He takes after his father!” and “She’s just like her mother!” Our Lord and Our Lady—the new Adam and Eve—want us to imitate them and Heaven. Of Our Lady, it can be said: “I am clean, and without sin: I am unspotted, and there is no iniquity in me” (Job 33:9) .... “My word is pure, and I am clean in thy sight” (Job 11:4). “I am without sin and am innocent” (Jeremias 2:35). We became her spiritual children at the foot of the Cross, and so we should take on the traits of our spiritual Mother. Children imitate their parents.
Jesus said: “Learn of Me…!” (Matthew 11:29) … “If you love Me, keep my Commandments” (John 14:15) … “Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48) … “I am the Lord your God: be holy because I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44) … “You shall be holy unto Me, because I the Lord am holy, and I have separated you from other people, that you should be Mine” (Leviticus 20:26). St. Peter repeats that command in the New Testament: “According to Him that hath called you, Who is holy, be you also in all manner of conversation holy, because it is written: ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:15-16). While St. Paul writes: “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and unspotted in His sight in charity” (Ephesians 1:4).
Only saints go to Heaven, that is the pedigree of the New Adam and Eve—we have to be immaculate to enter therein: “There shall not enter into it any thing defiled” (Apocalypse 27:21). We have to be wholly holy, or “Holy, Holy, Holy” as we say in the Sanctus at Mass—which, incidentally, should remind of the three ever-increasing stages of holiness that we have to pass through: as beginners in holiness, (2) as proficients in holiness, and (3) as perfect in holiness. Purgatory will be necessary for even the slightest stains of sin or smallest unpaid debts for previously forgiven sin. For, as it was said above, God detests sin. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8).
“For the Highest hates sinners, and has mercy on the penitent” (Ecclesiasticus 12:3). “Six things there are, which the Lord hates, and the seventh his soul detests: (1) Haughty eyes, (2) a lying tongue, (3) hands that shed innocent blood, (4) heart that devises wicked plots, (5) feet that are swift to run into mischief, (6) deceitful witness that utters lies, and (7) him that sows discord among brethren” (Proverbs 6:16-19). “I hate arrogance, and pride, and every wicked way, and a mouth with a double tongue” (Proverbs 8:13).
The Articulate Deception of the World Opposes the Immaculate Conception of Mary
The devil and Mary are irreconcilable enemies―a fact already foretold by God after the first sin of Adam and Eve, what we now call “Original Sin”, after which God solemnly said: “And the Lord God said to the serpent: ‘Because thou hast done this thing, thou art cursed among all cattle, and beasts of the Earth! Upon thy breast shalt thou go and earth shalt thou eat all the days of thy life! I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed! She shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel!’” (Genesis 3:14-15). Thus, Mary and devil are irreconcilable enemies.
The devil, however, is also the “prince of this world” and thus the world is also an enemy of God and Mary―as mentioned by Our Lord on several occasions: “For the prince of this world cometh, and in me he hath not any thing!” (John 14:30). “The prince of this world is already judged!” (John 16:11). “Now is the judgment of the world―now shall the prince of this world be cast out!” (John 12:31). How does Our Lord judge the world, of which the devil is prince? Jesus says: “My kingdom is not of this world … My kingdom is not from hence!” (John 18:36). Jesus “gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present wicked world!” (Galatians 1:4). “He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not” (John 1:10-11)―we forget that it is actually a good sign if the world does not ‘receive’ us or does not like us!
Exposing the Seductive Lies and Deception of the World
To His followers Jesus says: “If you had been of the world, the world would love its own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you!” (John 15:19). “If the world hates you, know ye, that it has hated Me before you!” (John 15:18). “The world hates Me because I give testimony of it, that the works thereof are evil!” (John 7:7). “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth … But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven … For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:19-24).
In the parable of the Sower of the Seed, Jesus says: “He that received the seed among thorns, is he that hears the word of God, but the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches and the pleasures of this life, choke up the word of God, and the word becomes fruitless and yields no fruit” (Matthew 13:3-8, 13:18-23; Mark 4:3-8; Luke 8:5-15). “He that loves his life [in this world] shall lose it; and he that hates his life in this world, keeps it unto life eternal!” (John 12:25). To His Father in Heaven, Jesus prays: “I have manifested Thy Name, Father, to the men whom Thou hast given Me out of the world ... Thine they were, and to Me Thou gavest them … I am not of the world, and these are in the world … I pray for them! … I pray not for the world, but for them whom Thou hast given Me! … I have given them Thy word, and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world; as I also am not of the world” (John 17:6-14).
This inescapable and unpleasant truth―unpleasant to us because we love the world and want the world to love us―is further driven home by the Apostles: “Be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2) … “That we be not condemned with this world!” (1 Corinthians 11:32). “For all that is in the world, is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life, which is not of the Father, but is of the world!” (1 John 2:16). “We are blasphemed [by the world], and we are made as the refuse of this world, the off-scouring of all―even until now!” (1 Corinthians 4:13). “The world is crucified to me, and I to the world!” (Galatians 6:14). “If then you be dead with Christ from the elements of this world, why do you still act as though living in the world?” (Colossians 2:20). “Adulterers! Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God!” (James 4:4). “We have received not the spirit of this world, but the Spirit that is of God; so that we may know the things that are given us from God! … Use this world, as if [you] used it not―for the fashion of this world passes away!” (1 Corinthians 2:12; 7:31). “Keep yourself unspotted from this world!” (James 1:27). “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him!” (1 John 2:15). “What fellowship has light with darkness? And what concord has Christ with Belial? Or what part have the faithful with the unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God! As God says: ‘I will dwell in them, and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people!’ Wherefore, ‘Go out from among them, and be ye separate!’ says the Lord” (2 Corinthians 6:14-17).
The Seductive Lies of the World are the Lies of the Devil
As Our Lord says of the devil and of worldly people: “The world cannot receive the spirit of truth” (John 14:17). To the worldly-minded, who are thereby implicit slaves of the “prince of this world”, the devil, Our Lord says: “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he stood not in the truth; because truth is not in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own―for he is a liar and the father of lies!” (John 8:44). Yet those lies are very seductive lies―they promise a paradise on Earth, a life of ease and comfort, many useful possessions, etc.
Articulate Deceptions of the World
St. Louis de Montfort, in one of his lesser know books, Love of Eternal Wisdom, paints a very striking and clear picture of those who have been seduced by the lies of the world and the devil:
“Those who proceed according to the wisdom of the world are those who know how to manage well their affairs and to arrange things to their temporal advantage without appearing to do so; who know the art of deceiving and how to cleverly cheat without being noticed; who say or do one thing and have another thing in mind; who are thoroughly acquainted with the way and the flattery of the world; who know how to please everybody in order to reach their goal, not troubling much about the honor and interests of God; who make a secret but deadly fusion of truth with untruth, of the Gospel with the world, of virtue with vice, of Jesus Christ with Satan; who wish to pass as honest people, but not as religious men; who despise and corrupt or readily condemn every religious practice which does not conform to their own. In short, the worldly‑wise are those who, being guided only by their human senses and reason, seek only to appear as Christian and honest folk, without troubling much to please God or to do penance for the sins which they have committed against His divine Majesty.
“The worldling bases his conduct upon his honor, upon what people say, upon convention, upon good cheer, upon personal interest, upon refined manners, upon witty jokes. These are the seven innocent incentives, so he thinks, upon which he can rely that he may lead an easy life. He has virtues of his own for which he is canonized by the world. These are manliness, finesse, diplomacy, tact, gallantry, politeness, sprightliness. He considers as serious sins such traits as lack of feeling, silliness, dullness, sanctimoniousness. He adheres as strictly as possible to the commandments which the world has given him:
(1) Thou shalt be well acquainted with the world.
(2) Thou shalt be an “honest” man.
(3) Thou shalt be successful in business.
(4) Thou shalt keep what is thine.
(5) Thou shalt get on in the world.
(6) Thou shalt make friends.
(7) Thou shalt be a society man.
(8) Thou shalt make merry.
(9) Thou shalt not be a killjoy.
(10) Thou shalt avoid singularity, dullness and an air of piety.
“Never was the world so corrupt as it is now, because it was never so astute, so wise in its own conceit, so cunning. It is so skillful in deceiving the soul seeking perfection that it makes use of truth to foster untruth, of virtue to authorize vice and it even distorts the meaning of Christ’s own truths to give authority to its own maxims. “The number of those who are fools according to God, is infinite.” The earthly wisdom spoken of by St. James, is an excessive striving for worldly goods. The worldly-wise make a secret profession of this type of wisdom when they allow themselves to become attached to their earthly possessions, when they strive to become rich, when they go to law and bring useless actions against others in order to acquire or to keep temporal goods; when their every thought, word and deed is mainly directed toward obtaining or retaining something temporal. As to working out their eternal salvation and making use of the means to do so, such as reception of the Sacraments and prayer, they accomplish these duties only carelessly, in a very offhand manner, once in a while, and for the sake of appearances” (St. Louis de Montfort, Love of Eternal Wisdom §76-§79).
God Wants You In Heaven—The Proof!
Let this never be doubted—God wants to see you in Heaven! The whispers of the devil would have us believe otherwise, but the truth is that God desires your salvation. Holy Scripture is proof enough of this truth:
God Himself says: “‘Is it My will that a sinner should die?’ saith the Lord God” (Ezechiel 18:20-23) … “‘As I live’, saith the Lord God, ‘I desire not the death of the wicked!’” (Ezechiel 33:11). “If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow: and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool” (Isaias 1:18).
Jesus, speaking of Himself in the third person, says: “For God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting” (John 3:16). The Angel Gabriel, speaking of Jesus, says to Mary: “For He shall save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
Jesus Himself says: “The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save!” (Luke 9:56). “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). “They that are whole, need not the physician: but they that are sick. I came not to call the just, but sinners…” (Luke 5:31-32). “For I came not to judge the world, but to save the world” (John 12:47).
Let no man say or think that God wants him to be damned! Damnation comes from man—assisted by man’s wayward passions and the devil—damnation is not caused by God! Advent is a time that focuses on Christ coming in mercy. Let us rejoice in that mercy! Let us celebrate that mercy! Let us profit from that mercy! But let us also realize that this mercy is not unconditional and that God is not a doormat on which we can wipe our dirty, muddy, smelly sinful feet: “Be not deceived, God is not mocked!” (Galatians 6:7).
To Go To Heaven—You Must Change!
The brutal fact in this is summarized by the obvious but unpleasant philosophical axiom or truth, that says: “He who desires the end [the goal], must also necessarily desire the means [to get to the end or goal].” We would like to get the end without taking the means! We would like to get paid without having worked! We would like to be saved at the wave of magic wand! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Dream on!
We Need to Clean Up Our Act
God never changes and His demands for holiness never change. In the Old Testament it says: “Turn away from evil and do good” (Psalms 33:15); and St. Peter repeats the same in the New Testament: “Let him decline from evil, and do good” (1 Peter 3:11). Our Lady even echoes this today, for at Fatima she said: “Do not offend the Lord our God anymore, because He is already so much offended.” However, Sr. Lucia of Fatima tells us that: “the Blessed Virgin is very sad because no one heeds her message; neither the good nor the bad. The good continue on with their life of virtue and apostolate, but they do not unite their lives to the message of Fatima. Sinners keep following the road of evil because they do not see the terrible chastisement about to befall them.” St. Paul clearly tells us: “Let no sin therefore reign in your mortal body” (Romans 6:12). Not even the slightest Venial Sin, for that still separates us from God and has to paid for—either here or in Purgatory, as Our Lord says: “Amen I say to thee, thou shalt not go out from thence till thou repay the last farthing” (Matthew 5:26).
Saints without Stains
Only saints get into Heaven―even though they are identical in the letters they use “SAINTS” and “STAINS” are irreconcilable. SAINTS cannot have STAINS―they need to have any pasts STAINS of sin removed before they can be called SAINTS. Heaven has to be STAINLESS or else it will be SAINTLESS. It is fire that removes those STAINS and makes us into SAINTS―either the fires of love and charity on Earth; or the fires of Purgatory after our death. Residency in Heaven requires that we be immaculate, perfect and undefiled: “There shall not enter into it anything defiled” (Apocalypse 21:27). We often make sin to be nothing but “A TINY SIN” ― change the order in those letters and you get “INSANITY”! It is truly INSANITY to imagine any attack on God as being “A TINY SIN”!
God says: “O ye men, to you I call, and my voice is to the sons of men! … My lips shall hate wickedness! … The fear of the Lord hates evil! I hate arrogance, and pride, and every wicked way!” (Proverbs 8:4-13) … “You are not a God that wills iniquity! Neither shall the wicked dwell near You; nor shall the unjust abide before Your eyes! You hate all the workers of iniquity!” (Psalms 5:5) … “Your iniquities have created a divide between you and your God, and your sins have made Him hide His face from you!” (Isaias 59:2). “The eyes of the Lord are too pure to behold evil, and He cannot look on iniquity!” (Habacuc 1:13).
No Saints without Charity
God is love and sin is hatred of God. “God is charity” (1 John 4:8) and God often represented Himself by the symbol of fire― “the Lord appeared to Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush” (Exodus 3:2-4); “The Lord went before them to show the way by day in a pillar of a cloud, and by night in a pillar of fire” (Exodus 13:21); “All Mount Sinai was smoking, because the Lord was come down upon it in fire” (Exodus 19:18); “the Lord was like a burning fire upon the top of the mount” (Exodus 24:17).
That is why Our Lord says: “I am come to cast fire on the Earth―and what will I, but that it be kindled?” (Luke 12:49). That is why we pray: “Come O Holy Ghost … and enkindle in us the fire of Thy love!” That is why Holy Scripture says: “Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ!” (Jude 1:21). That is why Our Lord said of the great sinner, Mary Magdalen: “Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much!” (Luke 7:47). That is why St. Robert Bellarmine says: “Charity is that with which no man is lost, and without which no man is saved!” That is why St. John of the Cross says: “At the end of our life, we shall all be judged by charity!” What do you say?
God detests sin and sin cannot endure in the presence of God. “God is charity” (1 John 4:8) and charity burns away sin. “In this we have known the charity of God, because He has laid down His life for us” (1 John 3:16) … “Let us therefore love God, because God has first loved us!” (1 John 4:19). The greater the intensity of that charity, the more quickly it burns away the stains of sin. That is why Our Lord said: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength! This is the greatest and the first commandment!” (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31). “Charity is of God. And every one that loves, is born of God, and knows God!” (1 John 4:7). “If I … have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. If I … have not Charity―then I am nothing. If I … have not Charity―then it profits me nothing!” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
What is the very basic level of charity? Our Lord tells us: “If you love Me, keep My commandments … He that has My commandments, and keeps them; he it is that loves Me … If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word … He that loves Me not, keeps not My words … If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in My love … This is My commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you” (John 14:15, 14:21-24; 15:10; 15:12).
Pray to God―through Our Lady―that you may receive such an intense degree of charity that it will burn away the stains of all your past sins and make you more like your Immaculate Mother! “Charity covers all sins!” (Proverbs 10:12).
Article 9
Monday December 8th, Feast of the Immaculate Conception
Immaculate Mary and Immaculate You!
Monday December 8th, Feast of the Immaculate Conception
Immaculate Mary and Immaculate You!
The Immaculate One!
O what a day! O what a woman! “Tota pulchra es, Maria, et macula originalis non est in te”—”Thou are all beautiful, O Mary, and the original stain [of sin] is not in thee!” St. Louis de Montfort writes that Mary is “the straight and immaculate way to go to Jesus Christ … An immaculate way without imperfection … Make for me, if you will, a new road to go to Jesus, and pave it with all the merits of the blessed, adorn it with all their heroic virtues, illuminate and embellish it with all the lights and beauties of the angels, and let all the angels and saints be there themselves, to escort, defend and sustain those who are ready to walk there; and yet in truth, in simple truth, I say boldly, and I repeat that I say truly, I would prefer―in place of this new, perfect path―the immaculate way of Mary!” (True Devotion to Mary).
The Magnificent One!
“Mary is the excellent masterpiece of the Most High … Mary is the ‘sealed fountain’ (Canticles 4:12), where God dwells more magnificently and more divinely than in any other place in the universe … She is the grand and divine world of God, where there are beauties and treasures unspeakable” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary). As William Wordsworth wrote in his famous poem, The Virgin, Mary is “our tainted nature’s solitary boast.”
The Hidden One!
In his book, True Devotion to Mary, St. Louis de Montfort writes: “It was through the most holy Virgin Mary that Jesus came into the world, and it is also through her that He has to reign in the world. Mary was singularly hidden during her life. It is on this account that the Holy Ghost and the Church call her Alma Mater—”Mother secret and hidden.” Her humility was so profound that she had no inclination on Earth more powerful or more constant than that of hiding herself, from herself as well as from every other creature, so as to be known to God only. He heard her prayers when she begged to be hidden, to be humbled and to be treated as in all respects poor and of no account. He took pleasure in hiding her from all human creatures, in her conception, in her birth, in her life, in her mysteries, and in her resurrection and Assumption.” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
The Lauded One!
“The saints have said admirable things of this holy city of God; and, as they themselves avow, they were never more eloquent and more content than when they spoke of her. Yet, after all they have said, they cry out that the height of her merits, which she has raised up to the throne of the Divinity, cannot be fully seen; that the breadth of her charity, which is broader than the Earth, is in truth immeasurable; that the length of her power, which she exercises even over God Himself, is incomprehensible; and finally, that the depth of her humility, and of all her virtues and graces, is an abyss which never can be sounded. O height incomprehensible! O breadth unspeakable! O length immeasurable! O abyss impenetrable!
“Every day, from one end of the Earth to the other, in the highest heights of the Heavens and in the profoundest depths of the abysses, everything preaches, everything publishes, the admirable Mary! The nine choirs of angels, men of all ages, sexes, conditions and religions, the good and the bad, nay, even the devils themselves, willingly or unwillingly, are compelled by the force of truth to call her ‘Blessed.’ St. Bonaventure tells us that all the angels in Heaven cry out incessantly to her: ‘Holy, holy, holy Mary! Mother of God and Virgin!’ and that they offer to her, millions and millions of times a day, the Angelical Salutation, Ave Maria, prostrating themselves before her, and begging of her in her graciousness to honor them with some of her commands. Even St. Michael, as St. Augustine says, although the prince of the heavenly court, is the most zealous in honoring her and causing her to be honored, and is always anxiously awaiting the honor of going at her bidding to render service to some one of her servants” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
The Patronizing One!
“The whole Earth is full of her glory, especially among Christians, by whom she is taken as the protectress of many kingdoms, provinces, dioceses and cities. Many cathedrals are consecrated to God under her name. There is not a church without an altar in her honor, not a country, nor a canton, where there are not some miraculous images, where all sorts of evils are cured and all sorts of good gifts obtained. Who can count the confraternities and congregations in her honor? How many religious orders have been founded in her name and under her protection? How many members in these confraternities, and how many religious men and women in all these orders, who publish her praises and confess her mercies? There is not a little child who, as it lisps the Hail Mary, does not praise her! There is scarcely a sinner who, even in his obduracy, has not some spark of confidence in her! Nay, the very devils in Hell respect her while they fear her!” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
The Neglected One!
“After all that, we must cry out with the saints: ‘De Maria numquam satis’—’Of Mary there is never enough.’ We have not yet praised, exalted, honored, loved and served Mary as we ought. She deserves still more praise, still more respect, still more love, and still more service” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
This is echoed by Fr. Faber, who, in his personal translation of St. Louis’ True Devotion to Mary from the original French into English, writes: “All those who are likely to read this book [True Devotion to Mary], love God, and lament that they do not love Him more; all desire something for His glory—the spread of some good work, the success of some devotion, the coming of some good time. One man has been striving for years to overcome a particular fault, and has not succeeded. Another mourns, and almost wonders while he mourns, that so few of his relations and friends have been converted to the Faith. One grieves that he has not devotion enough; another that he has a cross to carry which is a peculiarly impossible cross to him; while a third has domestic troubles and family unhappiness, which feel almost incompatible with his salvation; and for all these things prayer appears to bring so little remedy!
“But what is the remedy that is wanted? What is the remedy indicated by God Himself? If we may rely on the disclosures of the saints, it is an immense increase of devotion to our Blessed Lady; but, remember, nothing short of an immense one. Mary is not half enough preached. Devotion to her is low and thin and poor!” (Fr. Faber, Preface to his translation of the True Devotion to Mary).
The One Hope!
At Fatima, speaking of herself in the third person and under the title of Our Lady of the Rosary, said: “Pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, because only she can help you” (July 13th, 1917). At Akita, she reiterates that message, saying: “The only arms that will remain for you will be the Rosary and Sign left by My Son. Each day recite the prayers of the Rosary!” At La Salette, she said of the calamitous times that we are fast approaching: “People will believe that all is lost. Nothing will be seen but murder, nothing will be heard but the clash of arms and blasphemy. The righteous will suffer greatly. Their prayers, their penances and their tears will rise up to Heaven and all of God’s people will beg for forgiveness and mercy and will plead for my help and intercession.” At Quito, Ecaudor, as Our Lady of Good Success, she said: “How the Church will suffer during this dark night! This night will be most horrible, for, humanly speaking, evil will seem to triumph! This, however, will mark the arrival of my hour, when I, in a marvelous way, will dethrone the proud and cursed Satan, trampling him under my feet and fettering him in the infernal abyss. Thus the Church and this country will be finally free of his cruel tyranny.”
The Spurned and Saddened One!
Our Lady wants our love! God wants us to love her! To Lucia, at Fatima, Our Lady said: “God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved. God is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father. To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated” (July, 1917).
In the next apparition, following month, she reiterated this demand for love and devotion: “Jesus wants to use you to make me known and loved. He wishes to establish the devotion to my Immaculate Heart throughout the world. I promise salvation to whoever embraces it; these souls will be dear to God, like flowers put by me to adorn his throne” (August, 1917).
Yet it seems that Our Lady, the Immaculate One, is a woman spurned and rejected—as Sr. Lucia would later say in 1957. Speaking to Fr. Fuentes, she said: “Father, the Blessed Virgin is very sad, because no one heeds her message; neither the good nor the bad. The good continue on with their life of virtue and apostolate, but they do not unite their lives to the message of Fatima. Sinners keep following the road of evil because they do not see the terrible chastisement about to befall them.”
No Time For Prayer = Time for Disaster
The math is simple! Without prayer there will be no change in the worldliness levels of ourselves or our families, relatives and friends. Without prayer there will no stopping the horrors that are heading our way. Our Lord said that without Him, we can nothing, and it is through prayer that we enlist His help. Our Lady said that at this moment in time, only she can help us, and she said that the help will only come if we pray and show devotion to her.
Furthermore, it is only the “immaculate ones” who will be admitted into Heaven: “There shall not enter into it any thing defiled!” (Apocalypse 21:27). Perfection is required for Heaven! God Himself says: “You shall be holy unto Me, because I the Lord am holy!” (Leviticus 20:26). Our Lord adds: “Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect!” (Matthew 5:48). Holy Scripture warns: “Without holiness no man shall see God” (Hebrews 12:14). St. Louis de Montfort writes: “God wants you to become holy like Him in this life … It is certain that growth in the holiness of God is your vocation. All your thoughts, words, actions, everything you suffer or undertake, must lead you towards that end. Otherwise you are resisting God, in not doing the work for which He created you! … Chosen soul, how will you bring this about? What steps will you take to reach the high level to which God is calling you? … The grace and help of God are absolutely necessary! … You must first discover Mary if you would obtain this grace from God!” (St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of Mary).
To find Mary and the graces she offers, we must PRAY to Mary. Prayer is one of chief and most accessible ways of obtaining grace. St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that prayer is the raising of the mind and heart to God―in other words, it is a communication with God. When we need something, then we need to communicate that need. Our Lord says: “Ask, and it shall be given you! Seek, and you shall find! Knock, and it shall be opened to you!” (Matthew 7:7) ― which means, as St. Teresa of Avila says, if you do not ask, then you will not get!
The famous Benedictine monk and spiritual writer, Dom Marmion, says: "The modern world cannot do without God. This is the root of its ills. The great truth is that we have an absolute need of God…He normally bestows His grace only in response to prayer. Since our need exists at all times....“We ought always to pray and not to faint” (Luke 18:1)....The true nature of Christian prayer is perfectly expressed in the following definition given by St. John Damascene and St. Thomas Aquinas: prayer is “a raising of the mind and heart towards God” to offer Him our homage and to ask Him for all those things of which we stand in need" (Dom Marmion, Abbot of Maredsous, Christ—The Ideal of the Priest, chap. 15).
Time spent is prayer is time that is lost—at least that is the attitude of the world and of souls who are worldly. We have all heard of the modern-day expression: “Time means money!” Obviously, the meaning behind this is that if we lose time or waste time, then we will lose money or waste money. The worldly person could well substitute any other thing or activity for the word “money”: “Time is having fun!” “Time is playing games!” “Time is surfing the internet!” “Time is TV or videos!” “Time is music!” “Time is being with friends!” “Time is food, drink and parties!” Or even slightly more noble things: “Time is family!” “Time is my work!” “Time is my hobby!” “Time is working-out!” And the more time we have for these things, the happier we are! Yet for many, prayer (and all the spiritual exercises like going to Mass, Confession, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, going on retreat, spiritual reading, meditation, etc.) gets in the way of whatever we want to make time for! This is another litmus test for our own worldliness.
Consequently, the world thinks it can get on without prayer (and all the other spiritual exercises) or at least it relegates them to last or near last place in its “Time is....” ladder of values. Instead of seeking first the kingdom of God, His kingdom becomes an afterthought, a kind of a “we’ll get round to it when we have some time” attitude.
Yet we forget that without God we can do nothing, as Jesus clearly said: “Without Me, you can do nothing!” Not only that, but Jesus also had a few words to say about time for prayer: “He spoke also a parable to them, that we ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1). Which is why St. Paul says: “Pray without ceasing!” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
Prayer is Like the Air That We Breathe
It can be good. It can also be bad. Good, clean, pure air is healthy and brings health. Bad, contaminated, polluted air is unhealthy and will bring disease.
There is more to prayer than we think! In many important professions and trades, people have to take courses in which they learn the ‘tricks-of-the-trade’ or master the basics of the profession that they are wanting to enter. They often have to have a license to prove that they have the minimal knowledge and capability to exercise their trade or profession.
Tragically, some of the most important ‘trades’, ‘professions’ or ‘vocations’ do not follow such a training procedure, nor do they require a license to practice it. Marriage and Prayer are two that spring to mind!!!
Bad Prayer is Like Bad Air! It Can Harm Us!
“Licensed to Pray”! That has a comical ring to it, but it is no joking matter. For prayer can both help and hurt! Prayer can have its perks and punishments! Sadly, it is thought that MOST PEOPLE PRAY BADLY! If the pray badly, then that is bad! If it is bad, it has to be punished by God, in one way or another.
St. Louis writes: “In order to pray well, it is not enough to give expression to our petitions by means of that most excellent of all prayers, the Rosary, but we must also pray with great attention, for God listens more to the voice of the heart than that of the mouth. To be guilty of willful distractions during prayer would show a great lack of respect and reverence; it would make our Rosaries unfruitful and make us guilty of sin” (The Secret of the Rosary, “Forty-Second Rose”).
Bad prayer, deliberately inattentive prayer, fast and hurried prayer, distracted prayer is a venial sin. Venial sin is the second greatest evil in the world after mortal sin. It is an offense to God that has to be punished. So it is in our interests to do all we can to avoid, not only venial sins in general, but also venial sins in that particular dignified office of prayer.
Yet, prayer, if well said, can bring many benefits, rewards, fruits and graces. It can even bring about miracles!
The Saints Say Many Wonderful Things about Prayer
► “The power of prayer is really tremendous” (St. Therese of Lisieux).
► “By prayer, man gives to God the greatest glory possible” (St. Peter Julian Emyard).
► “When prayer is poured forth, sins are covered” (St. Peter Julian Emyard).
► “He who prays most, receives most” (St. Alphonsus Liguori).
► “It is simply impossible to live a virtuous life without prayer” (St. John Chrysostom).
► “He knows how to live well who knows how to pray well” (St. Augustine).
“He who does not give up prayer, cannot possibly continue to offend God habitually. Either he will give up prayer, or he will stop sinning” (St. Alphonsus Liguori).
► “As the body cannot live without nourishment, so our soul cannot be spiritually kept alive without prayer” (St. Augustine).
Prayer Through Mary Can Make You Immaculate!
If you want to learn Spanish or French—then seek out someone who can both speak and teach the language well. If you wish to a doctor or a lawyer—then enroll in the best medical school or law school you can find. If you wish to remove the stains of your past sins and become immaculate—then go to the one who has always been immaculate: Our Lady. St. Louis de Montfort speaks of this “immaculate way” in his book, True Devotion to Mary:
Immaculately Molded!
“By that immaculate way of Mary and that divine practice which I am teaching, we toil during the day, we toil in a holy place, we toil but little. There is no night in Mary, because there is no sin, nor even the slightest shade. Mary is a holy place, and the holy of holies where saints are formed and molded. Take notice, if you please, that I say the saints are molded in Mary. There is a great difference between making a figure in relief by blows of hammer and chisel, and making a figure by throwing it into a mold. Statuaries and sculptors labor much to make figures in the first manner; but to make them in the second manner, they work little and do their work quickly.
St. Augustine calls our Blessed Lady ‘the mold of God’—the mold fit to cast and mold gods. He who is cast in this mold is presently formed and molded in Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ in him. At a slight expense and in a short time he will become God, because he has been cast in the same mold which has formed a God” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
Immaculate Images!
“It seems to me that I can very aptly compare directors and devout persons—who wish to form Jesus Christ in themselves or others by practices different from this one—to sculptors who trust in their own professional skill, ingenuity or art, and so give an infinity of hammering and chiseling to a hard stone or a piece of badly polished wood, to make an image of Jesus Christ out of it. Sometimes they do not succeed in giving anything like the natural expression of Jesus, either from having no knowledge or experience of the Person of Jesus, or from some blow awkwardly given, which has spoiled the work.
“But those who embrace the secret of grace which I am revealing to them I may rightly compare to founders and casters who have discovered the beautiful mold of Mary, where Jesus was naturally and divinely formed; and without trusting in their own skill, but only in the goodness of the mold, they cast themselves and lose themselves in Mary, to become the faithful portraits of Jesus Christ.
“Oh, beautiful and true comparison! But who will comprehend it? I desire that you may, my dear brother. But remember that we cast in a mold only what is melted and liquid; that is to say, you must destroy and melt down in yourself the old Adam to become the new one in Mary. By this practice, faithfully observed, you will give Jesus more glory in a month than by any other practice, however difficult, in many years” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
Go To Mary!
“Let us say boldly with St. Bernard that we have need of a mediator with the Mediator Himself, and that it is the divine Mary who is the most capable of filling that charitable office. It was through her that Jesus Christ came to us, and it is through her that we must go to Him. If we fear to go directly to Jesus Christ, our God, whether because of His infinite greatness, or because of our vileness or because of our sins, let us boldly implore the aid and intercession of Mary, our Mother. She is good, she is tender, she has nothing in her austere and forbidding, nothing too sublime and too brilliant.
“In seeing her, we see our pure nature. She is not the sun, which by the brightness of its rays blinds us because of our weakness; but she is fair and gentle as the moon (Canticles 6:9), which receives the light of the sun, and tempers it to make it more suitable to our capacity.
“She is so charitable that she repels none of those who ask her intercession, no matter how great sinners they have been; for, as the saints say, never has it been heard since the world was the world that anyone has confidently and perseveringly had recourse to our Blessed Lady and yet has been repelled.
“She is so powerful that none of her petitions has ever been refused. She has but to show herself before her Son to pray to Him, and straightaway He grants her desires, straightaway He receives her prayers. He is always lovingly vanquished by the prayers of His dearest Mother, who bore Him and nourished Him” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
As Our Lady said: Only she can help us now! Yet, it will not be our terms, but on her terms. Just as she said to the servants at the Marriage Feast at Cana, where she provoked Our Lord’s fist public miracle, “Do what He tells you!” So, too, it should be said to us: “Do what she tells you!” Do it and she will provoke another miracle― that of removing the stains of your past sins and making you immaculate.
Most people do not listen to her, nor do they do what she says. Sr. Lucia of Fatima reminds us of this truth, when she reveals to Fr. Fuentes, in 1957: “Father, the Blessed Virgin is very sad, because no one heeds her message; neither the good nor the bad. The good continue on with their life of virtue and apostolate, but they do not unite their lives to the message of Fatima. Sinners keep following the road of evil because they do not see the terrible chastisement about to befall them.”
O what a day! O what a woman! “Tota pulchra es, Maria, et macula originalis non est in te”—”Thou are all beautiful, O Mary, and the original stain [of sin] is not in thee!” St. Louis de Montfort writes that Mary is “the straight and immaculate way to go to Jesus Christ … An immaculate way without imperfection … Make for me, if you will, a new road to go to Jesus, and pave it with all the merits of the blessed, adorn it with all their heroic virtues, illuminate and embellish it with all the lights and beauties of the angels, and let all the angels and saints be there themselves, to escort, defend and sustain those who are ready to walk there; and yet in truth, in simple truth, I say boldly, and I repeat that I say truly, I would prefer―in place of this new, perfect path―the immaculate way of Mary!” (True Devotion to Mary).
The Magnificent One!
“Mary is the excellent masterpiece of the Most High … Mary is the ‘sealed fountain’ (Canticles 4:12), where God dwells more magnificently and more divinely than in any other place in the universe … She is the grand and divine world of God, where there are beauties and treasures unspeakable” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary). As William Wordsworth wrote in his famous poem, The Virgin, Mary is “our tainted nature’s solitary boast.”
The Hidden One!
In his book, True Devotion to Mary, St. Louis de Montfort writes: “It was through the most holy Virgin Mary that Jesus came into the world, and it is also through her that He has to reign in the world. Mary was singularly hidden during her life. It is on this account that the Holy Ghost and the Church call her Alma Mater—”Mother secret and hidden.” Her humility was so profound that she had no inclination on Earth more powerful or more constant than that of hiding herself, from herself as well as from every other creature, so as to be known to God only. He heard her prayers when she begged to be hidden, to be humbled and to be treated as in all respects poor and of no account. He took pleasure in hiding her from all human creatures, in her conception, in her birth, in her life, in her mysteries, and in her resurrection and Assumption.” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
The Lauded One!
“The saints have said admirable things of this holy city of God; and, as they themselves avow, they were never more eloquent and more content than when they spoke of her. Yet, after all they have said, they cry out that the height of her merits, which she has raised up to the throne of the Divinity, cannot be fully seen; that the breadth of her charity, which is broader than the Earth, is in truth immeasurable; that the length of her power, which she exercises even over God Himself, is incomprehensible; and finally, that the depth of her humility, and of all her virtues and graces, is an abyss which never can be sounded. O height incomprehensible! O breadth unspeakable! O length immeasurable! O abyss impenetrable!
“Every day, from one end of the Earth to the other, in the highest heights of the Heavens and in the profoundest depths of the abysses, everything preaches, everything publishes, the admirable Mary! The nine choirs of angels, men of all ages, sexes, conditions and religions, the good and the bad, nay, even the devils themselves, willingly or unwillingly, are compelled by the force of truth to call her ‘Blessed.’ St. Bonaventure tells us that all the angels in Heaven cry out incessantly to her: ‘Holy, holy, holy Mary! Mother of God and Virgin!’ and that they offer to her, millions and millions of times a day, the Angelical Salutation, Ave Maria, prostrating themselves before her, and begging of her in her graciousness to honor them with some of her commands. Even St. Michael, as St. Augustine says, although the prince of the heavenly court, is the most zealous in honoring her and causing her to be honored, and is always anxiously awaiting the honor of going at her bidding to render service to some one of her servants” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
The Patronizing One!
“The whole Earth is full of her glory, especially among Christians, by whom she is taken as the protectress of many kingdoms, provinces, dioceses and cities. Many cathedrals are consecrated to God under her name. There is not a church without an altar in her honor, not a country, nor a canton, where there are not some miraculous images, where all sorts of evils are cured and all sorts of good gifts obtained. Who can count the confraternities and congregations in her honor? How many religious orders have been founded in her name and under her protection? How many members in these confraternities, and how many religious men and women in all these orders, who publish her praises and confess her mercies? There is not a little child who, as it lisps the Hail Mary, does not praise her! There is scarcely a sinner who, even in his obduracy, has not some spark of confidence in her! Nay, the very devils in Hell respect her while they fear her!” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
The Neglected One!
“After all that, we must cry out with the saints: ‘De Maria numquam satis’—’Of Mary there is never enough.’ We have not yet praised, exalted, honored, loved and served Mary as we ought. She deserves still more praise, still more respect, still more love, and still more service” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
This is echoed by Fr. Faber, who, in his personal translation of St. Louis’ True Devotion to Mary from the original French into English, writes: “All those who are likely to read this book [True Devotion to Mary], love God, and lament that they do not love Him more; all desire something for His glory—the spread of some good work, the success of some devotion, the coming of some good time. One man has been striving for years to overcome a particular fault, and has not succeeded. Another mourns, and almost wonders while he mourns, that so few of his relations and friends have been converted to the Faith. One grieves that he has not devotion enough; another that he has a cross to carry which is a peculiarly impossible cross to him; while a third has domestic troubles and family unhappiness, which feel almost incompatible with his salvation; and for all these things prayer appears to bring so little remedy!
“But what is the remedy that is wanted? What is the remedy indicated by God Himself? If we may rely on the disclosures of the saints, it is an immense increase of devotion to our Blessed Lady; but, remember, nothing short of an immense one. Mary is not half enough preached. Devotion to her is low and thin and poor!” (Fr. Faber, Preface to his translation of the True Devotion to Mary).
The One Hope!
At Fatima, speaking of herself in the third person and under the title of Our Lady of the Rosary, said: “Pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, because only she can help you” (July 13th, 1917). At Akita, she reiterates that message, saying: “The only arms that will remain for you will be the Rosary and Sign left by My Son. Each day recite the prayers of the Rosary!” At La Salette, she said of the calamitous times that we are fast approaching: “People will believe that all is lost. Nothing will be seen but murder, nothing will be heard but the clash of arms and blasphemy. The righteous will suffer greatly. Their prayers, their penances and their tears will rise up to Heaven and all of God’s people will beg for forgiveness and mercy and will plead for my help and intercession.” At Quito, Ecaudor, as Our Lady of Good Success, she said: “How the Church will suffer during this dark night! This night will be most horrible, for, humanly speaking, evil will seem to triumph! This, however, will mark the arrival of my hour, when I, in a marvelous way, will dethrone the proud and cursed Satan, trampling him under my feet and fettering him in the infernal abyss. Thus the Church and this country will be finally free of his cruel tyranny.”
The Spurned and Saddened One!
Our Lady wants our love! God wants us to love her! To Lucia, at Fatima, Our Lady said: “God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved. God is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father. To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated” (July, 1917).
In the next apparition, following month, she reiterated this demand for love and devotion: “Jesus wants to use you to make me known and loved. He wishes to establish the devotion to my Immaculate Heart throughout the world. I promise salvation to whoever embraces it; these souls will be dear to God, like flowers put by me to adorn his throne” (August, 1917).
Yet it seems that Our Lady, the Immaculate One, is a woman spurned and rejected—as Sr. Lucia would later say in 1957. Speaking to Fr. Fuentes, she said: “Father, the Blessed Virgin is very sad, because no one heeds her message; neither the good nor the bad. The good continue on with their life of virtue and apostolate, but they do not unite their lives to the message of Fatima. Sinners keep following the road of evil because they do not see the terrible chastisement about to befall them.”
No Time For Prayer = Time for Disaster
The math is simple! Without prayer there will be no change in the worldliness levels of ourselves or our families, relatives and friends. Without prayer there will no stopping the horrors that are heading our way. Our Lord said that without Him, we can nothing, and it is through prayer that we enlist His help. Our Lady said that at this moment in time, only she can help us, and she said that the help will only come if we pray and show devotion to her.
Furthermore, it is only the “immaculate ones” who will be admitted into Heaven: “There shall not enter into it any thing defiled!” (Apocalypse 21:27). Perfection is required for Heaven! God Himself says: “You shall be holy unto Me, because I the Lord am holy!” (Leviticus 20:26). Our Lord adds: “Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect!” (Matthew 5:48). Holy Scripture warns: “Without holiness no man shall see God” (Hebrews 12:14). St. Louis de Montfort writes: “God wants you to become holy like Him in this life … It is certain that growth in the holiness of God is your vocation. All your thoughts, words, actions, everything you suffer or undertake, must lead you towards that end. Otherwise you are resisting God, in not doing the work for which He created you! … Chosen soul, how will you bring this about? What steps will you take to reach the high level to which God is calling you? … The grace and help of God are absolutely necessary! … You must first discover Mary if you would obtain this grace from God!” (St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of Mary).
To find Mary and the graces she offers, we must PRAY to Mary. Prayer is one of chief and most accessible ways of obtaining grace. St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that prayer is the raising of the mind and heart to God―in other words, it is a communication with God. When we need something, then we need to communicate that need. Our Lord says: “Ask, and it shall be given you! Seek, and you shall find! Knock, and it shall be opened to you!” (Matthew 7:7) ― which means, as St. Teresa of Avila says, if you do not ask, then you will not get!
The famous Benedictine monk and spiritual writer, Dom Marmion, says: "The modern world cannot do without God. This is the root of its ills. The great truth is that we have an absolute need of God…He normally bestows His grace only in response to prayer. Since our need exists at all times....“We ought always to pray and not to faint” (Luke 18:1)....The true nature of Christian prayer is perfectly expressed in the following definition given by St. John Damascene and St. Thomas Aquinas: prayer is “a raising of the mind and heart towards God” to offer Him our homage and to ask Him for all those things of which we stand in need" (Dom Marmion, Abbot of Maredsous, Christ—The Ideal of the Priest, chap. 15).
Time spent is prayer is time that is lost—at least that is the attitude of the world and of souls who are worldly. We have all heard of the modern-day expression: “Time means money!” Obviously, the meaning behind this is that if we lose time or waste time, then we will lose money or waste money. The worldly person could well substitute any other thing or activity for the word “money”: “Time is having fun!” “Time is playing games!” “Time is surfing the internet!” “Time is TV or videos!” “Time is music!” “Time is being with friends!” “Time is food, drink and parties!” Or even slightly more noble things: “Time is family!” “Time is my work!” “Time is my hobby!” “Time is working-out!” And the more time we have for these things, the happier we are! Yet for many, prayer (and all the spiritual exercises like going to Mass, Confession, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, going on retreat, spiritual reading, meditation, etc.) gets in the way of whatever we want to make time for! This is another litmus test for our own worldliness.
Consequently, the world thinks it can get on without prayer (and all the other spiritual exercises) or at least it relegates them to last or near last place in its “Time is....” ladder of values. Instead of seeking first the kingdom of God, His kingdom becomes an afterthought, a kind of a “we’ll get round to it when we have some time” attitude.
Yet we forget that without God we can do nothing, as Jesus clearly said: “Without Me, you can do nothing!” Not only that, but Jesus also had a few words to say about time for prayer: “He spoke also a parable to them, that we ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1). Which is why St. Paul says: “Pray without ceasing!” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
Prayer is Like the Air That We Breathe
It can be good. It can also be bad. Good, clean, pure air is healthy and brings health. Bad, contaminated, polluted air is unhealthy and will bring disease.
There is more to prayer than we think! In many important professions and trades, people have to take courses in which they learn the ‘tricks-of-the-trade’ or master the basics of the profession that they are wanting to enter. They often have to have a license to prove that they have the minimal knowledge and capability to exercise their trade or profession.
Tragically, some of the most important ‘trades’, ‘professions’ or ‘vocations’ do not follow such a training procedure, nor do they require a license to practice it. Marriage and Prayer are two that spring to mind!!!
Bad Prayer is Like Bad Air! It Can Harm Us!
“Licensed to Pray”! That has a comical ring to it, but it is no joking matter. For prayer can both help and hurt! Prayer can have its perks and punishments! Sadly, it is thought that MOST PEOPLE PRAY BADLY! If the pray badly, then that is bad! If it is bad, it has to be punished by God, in one way or another.
St. Louis writes: “In order to pray well, it is not enough to give expression to our petitions by means of that most excellent of all prayers, the Rosary, but we must also pray with great attention, for God listens more to the voice of the heart than that of the mouth. To be guilty of willful distractions during prayer would show a great lack of respect and reverence; it would make our Rosaries unfruitful and make us guilty of sin” (The Secret of the Rosary, “Forty-Second Rose”).
Bad prayer, deliberately inattentive prayer, fast and hurried prayer, distracted prayer is a venial sin. Venial sin is the second greatest evil in the world after mortal sin. It is an offense to God that has to be punished. So it is in our interests to do all we can to avoid, not only venial sins in general, but also venial sins in that particular dignified office of prayer.
Yet, prayer, if well said, can bring many benefits, rewards, fruits and graces. It can even bring about miracles!
The Saints Say Many Wonderful Things about Prayer
► “The power of prayer is really tremendous” (St. Therese of Lisieux).
► “By prayer, man gives to God the greatest glory possible” (St. Peter Julian Emyard).
► “When prayer is poured forth, sins are covered” (St. Peter Julian Emyard).
► “He who prays most, receives most” (St. Alphonsus Liguori).
► “It is simply impossible to live a virtuous life without prayer” (St. John Chrysostom).
► “He knows how to live well who knows how to pray well” (St. Augustine).
“He who does not give up prayer, cannot possibly continue to offend God habitually. Either he will give up prayer, or he will stop sinning” (St. Alphonsus Liguori).
► “As the body cannot live without nourishment, so our soul cannot be spiritually kept alive without prayer” (St. Augustine).
Prayer Through Mary Can Make You Immaculate!
If you want to learn Spanish or French—then seek out someone who can both speak and teach the language well. If you wish to a doctor or a lawyer—then enroll in the best medical school or law school you can find. If you wish to remove the stains of your past sins and become immaculate—then go to the one who has always been immaculate: Our Lady. St. Louis de Montfort speaks of this “immaculate way” in his book, True Devotion to Mary:
Immaculately Molded!
“By that immaculate way of Mary and that divine practice which I am teaching, we toil during the day, we toil in a holy place, we toil but little. There is no night in Mary, because there is no sin, nor even the slightest shade. Mary is a holy place, and the holy of holies where saints are formed and molded. Take notice, if you please, that I say the saints are molded in Mary. There is a great difference between making a figure in relief by blows of hammer and chisel, and making a figure by throwing it into a mold. Statuaries and sculptors labor much to make figures in the first manner; but to make them in the second manner, they work little and do their work quickly.
St. Augustine calls our Blessed Lady ‘the mold of God’—the mold fit to cast and mold gods. He who is cast in this mold is presently formed and molded in Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ in him. At a slight expense and in a short time he will become God, because he has been cast in the same mold which has formed a God” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
Immaculate Images!
“It seems to me that I can very aptly compare directors and devout persons—who wish to form Jesus Christ in themselves or others by practices different from this one—to sculptors who trust in their own professional skill, ingenuity or art, and so give an infinity of hammering and chiseling to a hard stone or a piece of badly polished wood, to make an image of Jesus Christ out of it. Sometimes they do not succeed in giving anything like the natural expression of Jesus, either from having no knowledge or experience of the Person of Jesus, or from some blow awkwardly given, which has spoiled the work.
“But those who embrace the secret of grace which I am revealing to them I may rightly compare to founders and casters who have discovered the beautiful mold of Mary, where Jesus was naturally and divinely formed; and without trusting in their own skill, but only in the goodness of the mold, they cast themselves and lose themselves in Mary, to become the faithful portraits of Jesus Christ.
“Oh, beautiful and true comparison! But who will comprehend it? I desire that you may, my dear brother. But remember that we cast in a mold only what is melted and liquid; that is to say, you must destroy and melt down in yourself the old Adam to become the new one in Mary. By this practice, faithfully observed, you will give Jesus more glory in a month than by any other practice, however difficult, in many years” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
Go To Mary!
“Let us say boldly with St. Bernard that we have need of a mediator with the Mediator Himself, and that it is the divine Mary who is the most capable of filling that charitable office. It was through her that Jesus Christ came to us, and it is through her that we must go to Him. If we fear to go directly to Jesus Christ, our God, whether because of His infinite greatness, or because of our vileness or because of our sins, let us boldly implore the aid and intercession of Mary, our Mother. She is good, she is tender, she has nothing in her austere and forbidding, nothing too sublime and too brilliant.
“In seeing her, we see our pure nature. She is not the sun, which by the brightness of its rays blinds us because of our weakness; but she is fair and gentle as the moon (Canticles 6:9), which receives the light of the sun, and tempers it to make it more suitable to our capacity.
“She is so charitable that she repels none of those who ask her intercession, no matter how great sinners they have been; for, as the saints say, never has it been heard since the world was the world that anyone has confidently and perseveringly had recourse to our Blessed Lady and yet has been repelled.
“She is so powerful that none of her petitions has ever been refused. She has but to show herself before her Son to pray to Him, and straightaway He grants her desires, straightaway He receives her prayers. He is always lovingly vanquished by the prayers of His dearest Mother, who bore Him and nourished Him” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
As Our Lady said: Only she can help us now! Yet, it will not be our terms, but on her terms. Just as she said to the servants at the Marriage Feast at Cana, where she provoked Our Lord’s fist public miracle, “Do what He tells you!” So, too, it should be said to us: “Do what she tells you!” Do it and she will provoke another miracle― that of removing the stains of your past sins and making you immaculate.
Most people do not listen to her, nor do they do what she says. Sr. Lucia of Fatima reminds us of this truth, when she reveals to Fr. Fuentes, in 1957: “Father, the Blessed Virgin is very sad, because no one heeds her message; neither the good nor the bad. The good continue on with their life of virtue and apostolate, but they do not unite their lives to the message of Fatima. Sinners keep following the road of evil because they do not see the terrible chastisement about to befall them.”
Article 8
Sunday December 7th
Too Scared to Speak Out! From Speechless to Sparkless to Faithless!
Sunday December 7th
Too Scared to Speak Out! From Speechless to Sparkless to Faithless!
She Told You So!
Mother is always right! If we would only take the Mother of God more seriously, then would not be in half the mess that we find ourselves in at the moment! Already back in the 1600s―speaking the calamities that were to befall our present day―Our Lady said: “[From] the 20th century, there will be many who will not believe ... A simple humble Faith … will be reserved for humble and fervent souls, who are docile to the inspirations of grace, for Our Heavenly Father communicates His secrets to the simple of heart, and not to those whose hearts are inflated with pride, pretending to know what they do not, or self-satisfied with empty knowledge … Under the appearance of virtue and bad-spirited zeal, many will turn upon the Religion that nourished them at her breast ... Many people will rebel against the spirit of the Catholic Church, impelled by the malice of the devil … During this epoch the Church will find herself attacked by terrible assaults from the Masonic sect and corruption of morals, an impious press and secular education. Moreover, in these unhappy times, there will be unbridled luxury and extravagance, which, acting thus to snare the rest into sin, will conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost. Innocence will almost no longer be found in children, nor modesty in women. The vices of impurity, blasphemy and sacrilege will dominate in this time of depraved desolation. In this supreme moment of need of the Church, those who should speak out will fall silent!” (Our Lady of Good Success).
There are very few “St. John the Baptists” who are not afraid to speak out in defense of the Faith and in condemnation of the world! Most Catholics “shut-up and put-up” with sinful, godless, faithless behavior that they see all around them! They sit down quietly so as to avoid rocking the boat!
The World is Not Silent―Except on Spiritual Matters
To the world and the worldly, it is materialism that matters―whereas spirituality ‘sucks’! There is no silence on worldly matters, but turn the conversation to spiritual matters and you can hear a pin drop!
In 2004, one Catholic media outlet stated: “Perhaps the religious illiteracy of so many otherwise well-educated young Catholics is too familiar to bear mentioning again. One has come to expect that even at elite Catholic colleges and universities, entering students will not know what is meant by the “Immaculate Conception”―hardly anyone knows that anymore. No surprise, either, when students do not know the proper number of natures and persons in Christ, Mary, and the Trinity-what’s an extra nature or two here or there? Besides, who’s counting? It’s not a chemical formula and it doesn’t take rocket science to believe God loves me anyway. As for ignorance of more technical terms, for example, confusing “homoousios” (meaning God the Father and Son are of the same substance) with “hummus” (a Near Eastern dish made of chickpeas―a good guess), or conflating the temperature at which paper burns with the date of a Church council, who can worry? Still, when more than a third of the students have to guess how many Gospels are in the Bible, or think that the phrase “original sin” refers to sex; when more than half have no idea what is meant by “Incarnation” unless it has the prefix re-; when only ten out of a class of fifty know what “Exodus” refers to, or what is meant by the phrase “Real Presence,” and only a slightly higher percentage can give a credible definition of “sacrament”; when one student can convince a large group of classmates that “Catholic Social Teaching” refers to restrictions on same-sex marriage―we can perhaps bear to mention the problem of religious ignorance yet again.”
The above was written 21 years ago! Have things improved or worsened since then? You don’t have to have a Harvard degree to know the answer to that!
You might think that this level of ignorance is only applicable to modern-day Catholic youth―but no! One Traditional Catholic priest relates having given a spiritual retreat to over 30 Traditional Catholics, at which he offered to give each person $1,000 if ALL OF THEM could name ALL the Ten Commandments―adding that it was not necessary to give them in the correct order, nor was it necessary to answer in word for word perfection, simply a word or two that indicated they knew the Commandment, would suffice. He gave them 5 minutes to write down at least a word or two that showed what each Commandment referred to―that is 30 seconds per Commandment. After 5 minutes (and a little more), he passed down the first row of retreatants―around 12 in number―and looked at their answers. Only 4 out of 12 had managed to name all Ten Commandments. The numbers for the remainder were similar!
Coming back to the Catholic media outlet, which continues: “This vast ignorance is not just a question of missing bits of information, retinal holes marring an otherwise excellent field of vision. It is something more like a retinal detachment, a whole field of vision pulling inexorably away toward blindness. Not only are the words gone, the bits of information, but the system in which the words made sense is fading. Does it matter? Maybe not, if one has lost the expectation that Catholics should be effective agents of moral change, bearing witness to Gospel values in the triple vocation of Jesus as “priest, prophet, king.” Yet if one still believes this [as one should], Catholics must have a vocabulary to articulate the values to which they bear witness―the world view and system in which such convictions make sense, the sources of renewal in sacramental practice, the reason we talk about the dignity of human persons, and why the Church takes an interest in sexual mores [customs]. “If they don’t know the Faith, John, we have nothing to build on,” Father Theodore Hesburgh once summed it up to me.
“Who is to blame for this situation? There is plenty of blame to go around―but perhaps there is no more useless exercise than rehearsing the list of suspects. It is the academic theologians, who insist that “catechesis” is not their job, and so absolve themselves of responsibility for teaching the “basics.” It is the generation of catechists who left behind the Baltimore Catechism in favor of “experience-based models” that eschewed passing on the doctrinal content of the Faith. It is parish leaders and parishioners who do not value catechesis enough to provide trained young people with well-paid careers in the field. It is bishops who for too long paid no attention to any facet of this situation, so that catechesis never developed much past the first post-Vatican II “touchy-feely” phase, and who offered no incentives to parishes to attract and keep young catechists. Maybe there is truth in all of these accusations, but they get us nowhere. I am sure of the truth of only one accusation: I am to blame. I had a share and perhaps even a stake in this oblivion. I contributed to it. As an educator I noticed it, but figured it was someone else’s problem. I left it to someone else to think about, someone before me (unnamed and unnumbered catechists), someone above me (the bishops), someone after me (pre-marriage and pre-baptismal parental sessions), but not me. Yet I have come to see that it is, in fact, my problem. One good thing about being at fault―if it is partly my fault, then I can help to fix it.”
Who Will You Blame?
The author of the above quotes from 2004, ultimately puts the blame on himself. This is pretty much true for all of us. If something is degenerating in my environment―among my family, relatives, friends, work colleagues, fellow students, parishioners, etc. ―then I am guilty of complying with that degeneration by a negligence in speaking-out about matters. Sure, you can’t change the whole world by yourself―but you can be a local influence among your family, relatives, friends, work colleagues, fellow students, parishioners, etc. “Who? Me?” you say. Yes, you! God has given you the Faith like the talents that Christ spoke about in one of His parables―we can either work at increasing that Faith, or we can bury that Faith in the ground. Yet that Faith is not just meant for me alone―but for others too―which is why Christ says: “You are the salt of the Earth. But if the salt lose its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing any more but to be cast out, and to be trodden on by men. You are the light of the world. A city seated on a mountain cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the house. So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father Who is in Heaven!” (Matthew 5:13-16). We cannot try Cain’s lame excuse to God, when he vainly protested that he was not his brother’s keeper: “And the Lord said to Cain: ‘Where is thy brother Abel?’ And he answered: ‘I know not! Am I my brother’s keeper?’ And the Lord said to him: ‘What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth to Me from the earth! Now, therefore, cursed shalt thou be upon the Earth, which hath opened her mouth and received the blood of thy brother at thy hand!’” (Genesis 4:91-11).
Someone Turned-Off the Light of the World!
We might well be the “Light of the World” in theory, but we most certainly are not the “Light of the World” in practice. For most Catholics, their light-bulb is loose or burnt-out. Even the Protestants can see that religious ignorance is a major problem. The National Catholic Reporter has a Presbyterian minister writing a column for them, in which the Presbyterian says:
“The low level of theological education of church members -- and from my ecumenical experience, I think I can safely include Protestants, Catholics and Orthodox ― is embarrassing. What subject, after all, is more important than God? And yet we find in our congregations many people whose understanding of God seems stuck at an elementary-school level and whose knowledge of how the Bible came to be and what it means is close to zero. Talk to them about derivative financial instruments or nanotechnology or which celebrity is dating whom, and they turn out to be experts. But ask them if they know there are two creation stories in Genesis or whether the names attached to all the New Testament books were actually written by those people and they go blank. Yes, there are exceptions. I know some faithful Christians, Jews, Muslims and others who are more than ready to unpack their Scriptures, to discuss recent trends in theological studies and describe why such knowledge is important for a rich life of faith. And perhaps there’s the problem. Somehow, many people in the pews of Christian congregations seem unconvinced that biblical and theological literacy is vital to a life spent seeking to be a committed disciple of Jesus Christ. But if we can’t articulate a coherent vision of who Jesus was and is, if we can’t say something understandable about a God whom the church describes as triune in nature, if we can’t talk intelligently about the human condition and God’s desire to draw us into God’s future, we will live a life of faith stuck in the shallow end of the pool.”
The Bible is Rocket-Science to Me!
There are some Catholics who look upon the reading of Holy Scripture or the Bible as something Protestant. An article from November 2017, in the National Catholic Register, brings up this issue of Biblical ignorance among Catholics. Here are some key extracts:
“Let’s admit it: This is a huge deficiency in Catholic circles, and the result is ignorance even on very basic doctrines of the faith. Catholics don’t read the Bible anywhere near as much as evangelical Protestants do, and that is to our shame. I hasten to add that evangelicals usually are quite ignorant of Church history. It’s a sad fact of human nature that people tend to pit things against each other that don’t need to be opposed, either logically, or in terms of the biblical worldview. We should think in “both/and” terms ― as opposed to “either/or” terms. Catholics ought to do more Bible reading, and evangelicals ought to read more Church history. It is not solely a “Protestant” thing to love the Bible, and the falsity of the Protestant rule of faith, sola Scriptura (meaning that the Bible is the only infallible authority), does not mean that Catholics ought to underemphasize the Bible. Our Church certainly officially encourages such reading and familiarity. But old habits die hard. Many Catholics will say that it is no good to read the Bible on one’s own, if it is not properly understood. Personally, I think the Bible is relatively easy to understand, provided that the person learns basic principles of Bible-reading. The practice of too many Catholics―who don’t read the Bible at all―is a sort of lamentable “kindergarten Christianity” and laziness. The same people manage to find plenty of time to devote to the “study” of sports, politics, or to a hundred different subjects they will learn all about in high school or college (spending thousands of hours), but somehow they can’t find any time to read their Bibles and soak in the words of the very Lord they worship and receive every week!
‘We Catholics need to read the Bible on our own as well. If we don’t, then we don’t love God as much as we think, because love demands that we want to know more and more about the One we love. The Bible is God’s very inspired words. How, then, can any serious, committed Catholic not be passionately interested in it? This is a huge deficiency in Catholic circles, and the result is ignorance even on very basic doctrines of the Faith. Too many Catholics neglect or try to minimize the importance of the Bible. The Church herself does not do that. It is good to show forth a positive love for Holy Scripture. The Catholic Magisterium has plainly expressed itself on this point. Venerable Pope Pius XII, wrote in his encyclical, Divino Afflante Spiritu (The Most Opportune Way to Promote Biblical Studies) on September 30th, 1943: “My predecessor, Benedict XV [in 1920] ... exhorted all the children of the Church, especially clerics, to reverence the Holy Scripture, to read it piously and meditate on it constantly; he reminded them that in these pages is to be sought that food, by which the spiritual life is nourished unto perfection” (National Catholic Register, November 22nd, 2017).
Ignorance is Not Bliss―Ignorance Damns Souls
Is this ignorance, on the part of Catholics, a modern-day problem? No, it is a perennial problem that never ends. Pope St. Pius X wrote an encyclical lamenting Catholic ignorance and for the need of solid Catholic education, in which, among other things, he says:
“It is a common complaint, unfortunately too well founded, that there are large numbers of Christians in our own time who are entirely ignorant of those truths necessary for salvation. And when we mention Christians, We refer not only to the masses or to those in the lower walks of life—for these find some excuse for their ignorance in the fact that the demands of their harsh employers hardly leave them time to take care of themselves or of their dear ones—but We refer to those especially who do not lack culture or talents and, indeed, are possessed of abundant knowledge regarding things of the world, but live rashly and imprudently with regard to religion. It is hard to find words to describe how profound is the darkness in which they are engulfed and, what is most deplorable of all, how tranquilly they repose there. They rarely give thought to God, or to the teachings of the Faith of Christ. We declare that a great number of those who are condemned to eternal punishment, suffer that everlasting calamity because of ignorance of those mysteries of Faith!” (Pope St. Pius X, Acerbo Nimis, 1907).
See No Religion―Hear No Religion―Speak No Religion―Fall Away From Religion
In a Catholic Herald (UK) article on June 22nd, 2012, Fr. Alexander Lucie-Smith, the editor, writes: “The falling off was not rejection of the Faith but rather ignorance of the Faith. People are walking away from Catholicism … not because they reject it, but because they do not understand it. The ignorance is gross. Once upon a time people did know about the Faith, and people were able to understand some quite sophisticated concepts. But then two things happened: the collapse in educational standards, and the change in approach in catechesis; that these two things happened more or less at the same time spelled disaster for the transmission of the Faith. In some parts of the world the picture is different: Africa, for example, great care is taken with catechetical materials, and there was good teaching, and, much more importantly, good learning.”
In 2012, another modern-Catholic priest, Fr. Richard Simon, pastor of a church in Skokie, Illinois, wrote: “Catholic schools, by and large, have become failures themselves. There are some splendid Catholic schools, but in my experience of 40 years in ministry, increasingly, especially in large urban areas, Catholic schools have become inexpensive private schools for middle class people who have little or no interest in the Catholic Faith, maintained at great expense by Catholic parishes. Catholic schools are, for the most part, over. We may have a few parish schools still plugging along, but are they Catholic? It seems that all we have left to us is the threadbare cousin. All our resources and energies go to maintaining the private school in the building next to the church. While the world is starving for Christ, we are giving them bingo and bratwurst, raffles and dinner dances, all to keep the school going.
“We have tied our religious education to the public school system of kindergarten and eight grades. The Sacraments of First Communion and Confirmation have become graduation rituals, rites of passage, instead of the beginnings of a life of Faith and commitment. We have turned Sacrament into sacrilege. When you “get your Sacraments” you’re “outta” there. (“Out of there” for those who don’t speak Chicagoan.) The Sacraments are an ending instead of a beginning. I can’t do this anymore. I believe it is morally wrong. The last time I brought this problem up, angry parents called the bishop. I remember one agitated parent who railed at me for questioning his Catholicism. He said that he was perfectly good Catholic. He went to Mass every single Easter and every single Christmas without fail” (Fr. Richard Simon, pastor of a church in Skokie, Illinois).
Communists Are More Effective Than Cathoilcs
Taking a cue from the “Advent Journey” page on this website, and Our Lord’s lamentation that “the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light!” (Luke 16:8). We can see that in how Communists can take Catholic failures and transform them in Communist successes. The former Communist editor of London’s Daily Worker, now renamed The Morning Star―a UK daily Communist newspaper, founded in 1930―Douglas Hyde, in his book, Dedication and Sacrifice, paints a clear picture of Catholic failures becoming Communist successes. Hyde was to convert to Catholicism in 1948. After his conversion, he writes in his book the following things―which are an embarrassment to the lack of zeal, energy and creativity of Catholics―truly “the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light!”:
Douglas Hyde writes: “When the Communists speak of launching the world on the way to Communism in the period in which we are living, it is this that they mean—not the whole world with the exception of the United States, or the United Kingdom or whichever country, being your own, you may feel is proof against assault. Their aim is quite clear. They have never concealed it—it is something that is immensely meaningful to every Communist. It is a Communist world. In the past half-century they have achieved one‑third of that aim. On any reckoning, that is a remarkable achievement, probably an unprecedented one. It is probably true to say of the Communists that never in man’s history has a small group of people set out to win a world and achieved more in less time. Certainly, they have brought far more people under their sway by the methods they employ than anyone else has done during the same period. Moreover, they have always worked through a minority. This is, however, less exceptional than would appear. In practice, most organizations and causes work through minorities. Even those who believe most deeply in majority rule still depend upon the faithful few to do the work, to make the necessary sacrifices in time, energy and devotion to keep the movement going. The Communists have learned from experience, and as a result both of pooling their ideas and of learning from the successes and failures of their movement everywhere, how best they can make the maximum impact upon others, even though they must work through a minority. It is almost impossible to read a newspaper or to listen to the news on radio or television without learning of something which the Communists are doing.”
[COMMENT: Hmm! Did not Our Lord say to us: “Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you!” (Matthew 28:19-20). It seems as though “the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light!” The Catholic Church and laity have lost the desire to teach all nations and baptize them!]
Douglas Hyde continues: “Again, in order to get the picture clear, it must be noted that the human material on which they work is not something different from that which is at the disposal of others. The majority of Communists are ‘first generation’. This means that others, frequently Christians and Christian missionaries, had them in their hands long before they went to the Communist Party. One can, and must for honesty’s sake, be more specific: often these people are identical with those who are available to Christians to instruct and use, in the sense that a disturbingly high proportion of them, particularly those who form the hard core of the Communist Party, were once Catholics. In other words the Communists train and use successfully people with whom Christians had failed.
Why Communists Speak Better Than Catholics
Douglas Hyde explains: “Communists train and use successfully people with whom Christians had failed―I am not just theorizing: any analysis of the origins of the leadership of the Communist Party will provide ample evidence of the Communist ability to attract to their ranks lapsed and fallen‑away Catholics. I make this point, which may seem a brutal one, for two reasons: first, it is necessary to appreciate that there is no basis for the belief that Communists have some special sort of human material on which to work. The people with whom they frequently have great success are our own failures. Secondly, we must in humility accept that amongst the Christians, and Catholics in particular, who go to the Communists are many who find in Communism what they had hoped, without success, to find among the Christians. The onus is, therefore, on us to find the answer to this problem.
“If we recognize that Communists are not some different brand of human beings from those who make up the other, comparable movements, we must then turn to their methods and see what part these play in assisting the Communist Party to develop its members’ potentialities for dedication and leadership. The Christian who is trying to train and produce leaders may object that Christians are concerned with the supernatural and must operate at that level, whereas Communists are concerned only with the natural. I would submit that this is not a reason for ignoring the natural. It is theologically sound to say that the supernatural is built on the natural. In considering the Communists’ methods we shall be dealing with the question at the natural level, which is precisely where the Christian tends often to be at his weakest. It is here that we have most to learn.
Communist are Willing to Sacrifice
Hyde points out that most Communist sacrifice far more for their Communism than Catholics sacrifice for their Catholicism: “If you ask me what is the distinguishing mark of the Communist, what it is that Communists most outstandingly have in common, I would not say, as some people might expect, their ability to hate—this is by no means common to them all. I would say that beyond any shadow of doubt it is their idealism, their zeal, dedication, devotion to their cause and willingness to sacrifice. This characterizes the Communists wherever Communism has still to come to power and is obviously true of many in the very different circumstances where it now rules. The vast majority of the Communists I have met anywhere conform to this pattern. This is no accident. It does not just happen. The Communists have evolved their own means by which they are able to evoke an exceptional degree of dedication. And they use it very effectively indeed. To understand how it is done, one must follow through the process step by step from the start.”
Communists Use What Catholics Abuse
Hyde then goes on to explain how Communists harness and use what Catholics have failed to harness and use: “The majority of those who join the Communist Party are young. The average joining age used to be between seventeen and twenty‑five. Today it is between fifteen and twenty‑five. For some years now they have been recruiting successfully among fifteen to seventeen‑year‑olds. Youth is a period of idealism. The Communists attract young people by appealing directly to that idealism. Too often, others have failed either to appeal to it or to use it and they are the losers as a consequence. We have no cause to complain if, having neglected the idealism of youth, we see others come along, take it, use it and harness it to their cause—and against our own.
“It is fashionable in some circles today to sneer at ‘starry‑eyed idealism’. Of all the ways of helping Communism I can think of none better than this. That sort of cynicism has driven many eager, earnest, intelligent and potentially good youngsters to believe that the West has nothing to offer the young idealist but cynicism, and that this is an expression of the decadence of our way of life. It has led them to believe that if you are interested in improving man’s lot on Earth, if you want to change the world (and the boy who does not want to do this at some point during his adolescence will certainly make a cynical old materialist later on), it is to the Communists, not to the Christians, you must turn.
“Wherever I have travelled I have found that young people are idealistic. This is natural to any healthy youngster. I can only conclude that it is the way God wants them to be. We offend against charity and justice, and against common sense too, when we sneer at starry‑eyed idealism. We do it to our own loss. Young people have always dreamed of better worlds and we must hope that they always will. The day we lose our dreams all progress will cease. Idealistic young people will want to change the world and will pursue their own idealistic course in any case. If their idealism is not appealed to and canalized within the circles in which they have grown up they will seek elsewhere for an outlet.
“The Communists have demonstrated that the idealism of youth is something which can be harnessed and used with tremendous effect. It is a dynamic thing. Despite all the twists and turns of Communist policy it continues over the years to provide the dynamism of the Communist movement. Older Christians, believing that you cannot build perfect worlds and perfect societies from fallen men, too often take up what is at best a superciliously tolerant approach to youthful idealism—when they do not ignore it altogether. The Communists take it and use it.
“Communism becomes the dominant thing in the life of the Communist. It is something to which he gives himself completely. Quite obviously it meets a need, fills a vacuum at the time when he is first attracted to it. More significant is that it normally continues to be the dominant force in the life of the Communist for as long as he remains in the movement. The Communists’ appeal to idealism is direct and audacious. They say that if you make mean little demands upon people, you will get a mean little response which is all you deserve, but, if you make big demands on them, you will get an heroic response. They prove in practice that this is so, over and over again. They work on the assumption that if you call for big sacrifices people will respond to this and, moreover, the relatively smaller sacrifices will come quite naturally.
“When I first went to work on the British Communist Party’s daily paper, I was proud that I had been chosen for the work, proud to make whatever sacrifice was asked of me, but I was nonetheless conscious of the fact that I had willingly accepted a ludicrously small wage. I will admit that I felt slightly virtuous about this—until I met other members of the staff. Most of them were older than I was at that time, they had gone further in their careers (and some had gone very far indeed) and had had to make far bigger sacrifices than I. Some of them were earning one‑tenth of what had been their salary when they had worked for the ‘capitalist’ press. There were times when, small as our salaries were, these could not be paid at all.
“Even when the paper became slightly more prosperous and the staff were technically given the union rate for the job, the sacrifices still continued. We got our pay packets, opened them and immediately gave eight‑fourteenths (57%) of their contents to the Party and the paper—before it burned our fingers. Since everyone did this, it became something of a meaningless ritual after a while and so we did not bother even to receive the cash, it just went direct to the cause. And so it continues to this day. Among the Party’s leaders are many very able men, some of whom could command very high salaries if they were in industry or commerce. Instead, they accept the wage of a moderately‑paid, skilled worker. This is not some peculiarity of the British Communist Party. The same is true of others.”
Sacrificing and Giving Until It Hurts
Hyde embarrassingly shows a level of Communist sacrifice, among their rank-and-file, that can only make the rank-and-file of Catholics blush:
“Such sacrifices, whether at the level of leaders or of rank and file, are impressive. And they do impress those who associate with the movement. Particularly impressive is the fact that sacrifice is found at all levels of the organization. Youngsters of every continent have responded to this example of idealism expressing itself in terms of sacrifice. This is true of the newly‑developing areas. It is true also of the ‘decadent’ West. Indeed, the more materialistic our society becomes, the more the dedicated man stands out by way of contrast. The dedicated man makes his own appeal simply by virtue of the fact that he is dedicated.
“Like attracts like. Those who are attracted by the dedication they see within the movement will themselves be possessed of a latent idealism, a capacity for dedication. Thus dedication perpetuates itself. It sets the tone and pace of the movement as a whole. This being so, the movement can make big demands upon its followers, knowing that the response will come. If the majority of members of an organization are half‑hearted and largely inactive, then it is not surprising if others who join it soon conform to the general pattern. If the organization makes relatively few demands upon its members and if they quite obviously feel under no obligation to give a very great deal to it, then those who join may be forgiven for supposing that this is the norm and that this is what membership entails.
“If, on the other hand, the majority of members, from the leaders down, are characterized by their single‑minded devotion to the cause, if it is quite clear that the majority are giving until it hurts, putting their time, money, thought and if necessary life itself at its disposal, then those who consider joining will assume that this is what will be expected of them. If they nonetheless make the decision to join, they will come already conditioned to sacrifice till it hurts.
“It is ludicrous to suppose that half‑hearted Christians can conduct a fruitful dialogue with fully‑dedicated Communists. Perhaps it is this which underlies the fear of any such dialogue, felt by some Christians. They take it for granted that in any such dialogue the Communists must come out on top, that the Marxists will be the gainers, the Christians the losers. I would suggest that if this happens it will have less to do with Communist duplicity than with Communist dedication—although the Christian in such circumstances must be prepared for the duplicity too. The well‑instructed, fully committed, totally dedicated Christian has little to fear. But dedication must be met with dedication. Ideally it should be backed by a genuine understanding of one’s own beliefs and of the other man’s too. This must be the starting point for any dialogue with the Communists.”
If we do not have a thorough understanding of our own Faith, nor have a sufficient understanding of the beliefs of others, then we will be afraid to speak! We will be afraid of exposing to public view our terrible deficiency in a knowledge that we SHOULD have, but don’t have. For, as the philosophical saying goes: “YOU CANNOT GIVE WHAT YOU HAVE NOT GOT!” As Pope St. Pius X said over 100 hundred years ago: “There are large numbers of Christians in our own time who are entirely ignorant of those truths necessary for salvation. We refer not only to the masses or to those in the lower walks of life—but We refer to those especially who do not lack culture or talents and, indeed, are possessed of abundant knowledge regarding things of the world, but live rashly and imprudently with regard to religion. It is hard to find words to describe how profound is the darkness in which they are engulfed and, what is most deplorable of all, how tranquilly they repose there. They rarely give thought to God, or to the teachings of the Faith of Christ. We declare that a great number of those who are condemned to eternal punishment, suffer that everlasting calamity because of ignorance of those mysteries of Faith!” (Pope St. Pius X, Acerbo Nimis, 1907).
Why Can’t Catholics Show This Kind of Zeal?
You would think that nobody could match Catholics for zeal―since they are not only in possession of the truth, but they are also in possession of sanctifying grace and have God on their side! Yet this following example, shared by Douglas Hyde, should make us want to bury ourselves out of sight in all shame! Hyde gives an example of one particular Communist he knew, yet states that this was pretty much a typical example of Communists in the Communist Party―whereas all that Catholics want to do is party! Hyde writes:
“Among ex‑Communists I have met have been some who, having given their all to Communism, became in time disillusioned or saw the flaws in its thinking and then, having left it, they look back wistfully from time to time to the days when they had something to live by and for. I was talking to such a man on one occasion. Our conversation brought back very vividly to my own mind the extent of the dedication which had been common in the Party in the days when we were both Communists together. Often ex‑Communists meeting together can talk of the ‘old days when we were in the Party’ rather like old soldiers discussing nostalgically the campaigns they shared in the past. We had been doing this. We had talked of old comrades who now saw themselves as our enemies, of the campaigns in which we had engaged together. Then, very wistfully, he said:
“Do you remember what life was really like in the Party? You got up in the morning and as you shaved you were thinking of the jobs you would do for Communism that day. You went down to breakfast and read the Daily Worker to get the Party line to get the shot and shell for a fight in which you were already involved. You read every item in the paper wondering how you might be able to use it for the cause. I had never been interested in sport but I read the sports pages in order to be able to discuss sport with others and to be able to say to them, ‘Have you read this in the Daily Worker [the Communist newspaper]?’ I would follow this through by giving them the paper in the hope that they might turn from the sports pages and read the political ones too.
“On the bus or train, on my way to work, I read the Daily Worker as ostentatiously as I could, holding it up so that others might read the headlines and perhaps be influenced by them. I took two copies of the paper with me; the second one I left on the seat in the hope that someone would pick it up and read it. When I got to work, I kept the Daily Worker circulating. One worker after another would take it outside, read it for a few minutes and bring it back to me again. At lunchtime, in the canteen or the restaurant, I would try to start conversations with those with whom I was eating. I made practice of sitting with different groups in order to spread my influence as widely as I could. I did not thrust Communism down their throats but steered our conversations in such a way that they could be brought round to politics or, if possible, to the campaigns which the Party was conducting at the time.
“Before I left my place of work at night, there was a quick meeting of the factory group or cell. There we discussed in a few minutes the successes and failures of the day. And we discussed, too, what we hoped to be able to do on the following day. I dashed home, had a quick meal and then went out, maybe to attend classes, maybe to be a tutor, maybe to join some Communist campaign, going from door to door canvassing or standing at the side of the road selling Communist papers‑doing something for Communism. And I went home at night and dreamed of the jobs I was going to do for Communism the next day.” Rather sadly he added: “You know, life had some meaning and some purpose in those days. Life was good in the Communist Party.”
“He was right. Of course it was. It is quite wrong to suppose that it is only the saints who are not sad. Sinners can get quite a lot of fun out of life too. And those who are dedicated get immensely more out of life than those who are not. The day he had described had been my life and that of most of my old comrades. It was a day in the life of a dedicated man, a normal day in the life of a hard‑core Communist Party member. It is not surprising that he looked back at that life from the wasteland of his present purposeless existence with a considerable degree of nostalgia.
“Perhaps I should add in passing that this was not some unthinking, uneducated man who had lived simply on his emotions and on action. He was a highly intelligent, Oxford University graduate, the very practical and down-to‑earth product of a well‑known political family. I make this point in order to reiterate and to emphasize as strongly as I can that it is quite erroneous to suppose that Communism appeals only to some particular type or class or race. Within the Communist Party you will find people of every type and class. And within the world Communist movement you will find people of every race. Discuss their case histories with them, probe into what first attracted them to Communism and invariably you will find that it was not Communist theories, policies or campaigns, important as these may be in the making of Communists, but the impact made upon them by some dedicated Communist which predisposed and conditioned them to associate with a movement and to accept a doctrine which would otherwise most probably have been unacceptable to them. There is no mystery about the indisputable fact that Communists exert an influence out of all proportion to their numbers, once one grasps the point that practically every party member is a dedicated man in whose life, from the time he rises in the morning till the time he goes to bed at night, for 365 days of the year, Communism is the dominant force.”
Why isn’t that our attitude to the Faith? When we appear before God for judgment―He will point out to us that the Communists were far more dedicated than we ever were; that Communists achieved far more than we ever did; that Communists were far less in numbers that we were―and, worst of all, Communist did not the help of the grace of God that we had! And we wonder why most souls are lost! Insane! Blind! We are blind and insane leaders of the blind and insane―”And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the pit!” (Matthew 15:14).
The next article will examine the consequences of a lack of Communist dedication in Catholic families, schools and parishes―and what can be done to try and raise these Catholics from the dead and give them a new life.
Mother is always right! If we would only take the Mother of God more seriously, then would not be in half the mess that we find ourselves in at the moment! Already back in the 1600s―speaking the calamities that were to befall our present day―Our Lady said: “[From] the 20th century, there will be many who will not believe ... A simple humble Faith … will be reserved for humble and fervent souls, who are docile to the inspirations of grace, for Our Heavenly Father communicates His secrets to the simple of heart, and not to those whose hearts are inflated with pride, pretending to know what they do not, or self-satisfied with empty knowledge … Under the appearance of virtue and bad-spirited zeal, many will turn upon the Religion that nourished them at her breast ... Many people will rebel against the spirit of the Catholic Church, impelled by the malice of the devil … During this epoch the Church will find herself attacked by terrible assaults from the Masonic sect and corruption of morals, an impious press and secular education. Moreover, in these unhappy times, there will be unbridled luxury and extravagance, which, acting thus to snare the rest into sin, will conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost. Innocence will almost no longer be found in children, nor modesty in women. The vices of impurity, blasphemy and sacrilege will dominate in this time of depraved desolation. In this supreme moment of need of the Church, those who should speak out will fall silent!” (Our Lady of Good Success).
There are very few “St. John the Baptists” who are not afraid to speak out in defense of the Faith and in condemnation of the world! Most Catholics “shut-up and put-up” with sinful, godless, faithless behavior that they see all around them! They sit down quietly so as to avoid rocking the boat!
The World is Not Silent―Except on Spiritual Matters
To the world and the worldly, it is materialism that matters―whereas spirituality ‘sucks’! There is no silence on worldly matters, but turn the conversation to spiritual matters and you can hear a pin drop!
In 2004, one Catholic media outlet stated: “Perhaps the religious illiteracy of so many otherwise well-educated young Catholics is too familiar to bear mentioning again. One has come to expect that even at elite Catholic colleges and universities, entering students will not know what is meant by the “Immaculate Conception”―hardly anyone knows that anymore. No surprise, either, when students do not know the proper number of natures and persons in Christ, Mary, and the Trinity-what’s an extra nature or two here or there? Besides, who’s counting? It’s not a chemical formula and it doesn’t take rocket science to believe God loves me anyway. As for ignorance of more technical terms, for example, confusing “homoousios” (meaning God the Father and Son are of the same substance) with “hummus” (a Near Eastern dish made of chickpeas―a good guess), or conflating the temperature at which paper burns with the date of a Church council, who can worry? Still, when more than a third of the students have to guess how many Gospels are in the Bible, or think that the phrase “original sin” refers to sex; when more than half have no idea what is meant by “Incarnation” unless it has the prefix re-; when only ten out of a class of fifty know what “Exodus” refers to, or what is meant by the phrase “Real Presence,” and only a slightly higher percentage can give a credible definition of “sacrament”; when one student can convince a large group of classmates that “Catholic Social Teaching” refers to restrictions on same-sex marriage―we can perhaps bear to mention the problem of religious ignorance yet again.”
The above was written 21 years ago! Have things improved or worsened since then? You don’t have to have a Harvard degree to know the answer to that!
You might think that this level of ignorance is only applicable to modern-day Catholic youth―but no! One Traditional Catholic priest relates having given a spiritual retreat to over 30 Traditional Catholics, at which he offered to give each person $1,000 if ALL OF THEM could name ALL the Ten Commandments―adding that it was not necessary to give them in the correct order, nor was it necessary to answer in word for word perfection, simply a word or two that indicated they knew the Commandment, would suffice. He gave them 5 minutes to write down at least a word or two that showed what each Commandment referred to―that is 30 seconds per Commandment. After 5 minutes (and a little more), he passed down the first row of retreatants―around 12 in number―and looked at their answers. Only 4 out of 12 had managed to name all Ten Commandments. The numbers for the remainder were similar!
Coming back to the Catholic media outlet, which continues: “This vast ignorance is not just a question of missing bits of information, retinal holes marring an otherwise excellent field of vision. It is something more like a retinal detachment, a whole field of vision pulling inexorably away toward blindness. Not only are the words gone, the bits of information, but the system in which the words made sense is fading. Does it matter? Maybe not, if one has lost the expectation that Catholics should be effective agents of moral change, bearing witness to Gospel values in the triple vocation of Jesus as “priest, prophet, king.” Yet if one still believes this [as one should], Catholics must have a vocabulary to articulate the values to which they bear witness―the world view and system in which such convictions make sense, the sources of renewal in sacramental practice, the reason we talk about the dignity of human persons, and why the Church takes an interest in sexual mores [customs]. “If they don’t know the Faith, John, we have nothing to build on,” Father Theodore Hesburgh once summed it up to me.
“Who is to blame for this situation? There is plenty of blame to go around―but perhaps there is no more useless exercise than rehearsing the list of suspects. It is the academic theologians, who insist that “catechesis” is not their job, and so absolve themselves of responsibility for teaching the “basics.” It is the generation of catechists who left behind the Baltimore Catechism in favor of “experience-based models” that eschewed passing on the doctrinal content of the Faith. It is parish leaders and parishioners who do not value catechesis enough to provide trained young people with well-paid careers in the field. It is bishops who for too long paid no attention to any facet of this situation, so that catechesis never developed much past the first post-Vatican II “touchy-feely” phase, and who offered no incentives to parishes to attract and keep young catechists. Maybe there is truth in all of these accusations, but they get us nowhere. I am sure of the truth of only one accusation: I am to blame. I had a share and perhaps even a stake in this oblivion. I contributed to it. As an educator I noticed it, but figured it was someone else’s problem. I left it to someone else to think about, someone before me (unnamed and unnumbered catechists), someone above me (the bishops), someone after me (pre-marriage and pre-baptismal parental sessions), but not me. Yet I have come to see that it is, in fact, my problem. One good thing about being at fault―if it is partly my fault, then I can help to fix it.”
Who Will You Blame?
The author of the above quotes from 2004, ultimately puts the blame on himself. This is pretty much true for all of us. If something is degenerating in my environment―among my family, relatives, friends, work colleagues, fellow students, parishioners, etc. ―then I am guilty of complying with that degeneration by a negligence in speaking-out about matters. Sure, you can’t change the whole world by yourself―but you can be a local influence among your family, relatives, friends, work colleagues, fellow students, parishioners, etc. “Who? Me?” you say. Yes, you! God has given you the Faith like the talents that Christ spoke about in one of His parables―we can either work at increasing that Faith, or we can bury that Faith in the ground. Yet that Faith is not just meant for me alone―but for others too―which is why Christ says: “You are the salt of the Earth. But if the salt lose its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing any more but to be cast out, and to be trodden on by men. You are the light of the world. A city seated on a mountain cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the house. So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father Who is in Heaven!” (Matthew 5:13-16). We cannot try Cain’s lame excuse to God, when he vainly protested that he was not his brother’s keeper: “And the Lord said to Cain: ‘Where is thy brother Abel?’ And he answered: ‘I know not! Am I my brother’s keeper?’ And the Lord said to him: ‘What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth to Me from the earth! Now, therefore, cursed shalt thou be upon the Earth, which hath opened her mouth and received the blood of thy brother at thy hand!’” (Genesis 4:91-11).
Someone Turned-Off the Light of the World!
We might well be the “Light of the World” in theory, but we most certainly are not the “Light of the World” in practice. For most Catholics, their light-bulb is loose or burnt-out. Even the Protestants can see that religious ignorance is a major problem. The National Catholic Reporter has a Presbyterian minister writing a column for them, in which the Presbyterian says:
“The low level of theological education of church members -- and from my ecumenical experience, I think I can safely include Protestants, Catholics and Orthodox ― is embarrassing. What subject, after all, is more important than God? And yet we find in our congregations many people whose understanding of God seems stuck at an elementary-school level and whose knowledge of how the Bible came to be and what it means is close to zero. Talk to them about derivative financial instruments or nanotechnology or which celebrity is dating whom, and they turn out to be experts. But ask them if they know there are two creation stories in Genesis or whether the names attached to all the New Testament books were actually written by those people and they go blank. Yes, there are exceptions. I know some faithful Christians, Jews, Muslims and others who are more than ready to unpack their Scriptures, to discuss recent trends in theological studies and describe why such knowledge is important for a rich life of faith. And perhaps there’s the problem. Somehow, many people in the pews of Christian congregations seem unconvinced that biblical and theological literacy is vital to a life spent seeking to be a committed disciple of Jesus Christ. But if we can’t articulate a coherent vision of who Jesus was and is, if we can’t say something understandable about a God whom the church describes as triune in nature, if we can’t talk intelligently about the human condition and God’s desire to draw us into God’s future, we will live a life of faith stuck in the shallow end of the pool.”
The Bible is Rocket-Science to Me!
There are some Catholics who look upon the reading of Holy Scripture or the Bible as something Protestant. An article from November 2017, in the National Catholic Register, brings up this issue of Biblical ignorance among Catholics. Here are some key extracts:
“Let’s admit it: This is a huge deficiency in Catholic circles, and the result is ignorance even on very basic doctrines of the faith. Catholics don’t read the Bible anywhere near as much as evangelical Protestants do, and that is to our shame. I hasten to add that evangelicals usually are quite ignorant of Church history. It’s a sad fact of human nature that people tend to pit things against each other that don’t need to be opposed, either logically, or in terms of the biblical worldview. We should think in “both/and” terms ― as opposed to “either/or” terms. Catholics ought to do more Bible reading, and evangelicals ought to read more Church history. It is not solely a “Protestant” thing to love the Bible, and the falsity of the Protestant rule of faith, sola Scriptura (meaning that the Bible is the only infallible authority), does not mean that Catholics ought to underemphasize the Bible. Our Church certainly officially encourages such reading and familiarity. But old habits die hard. Many Catholics will say that it is no good to read the Bible on one’s own, if it is not properly understood. Personally, I think the Bible is relatively easy to understand, provided that the person learns basic principles of Bible-reading. The practice of too many Catholics―who don’t read the Bible at all―is a sort of lamentable “kindergarten Christianity” and laziness. The same people manage to find plenty of time to devote to the “study” of sports, politics, or to a hundred different subjects they will learn all about in high school or college (spending thousands of hours), but somehow they can’t find any time to read their Bibles and soak in the words of the very Lord they worship and receive every week!
‘We Catholics need to read the Bible on our own as well. If we don’t, then we don’t love God as much as we think, because love demands that we want to know more and more about the One we love. The Bible is God’s very inspired words. How, then, can any serious, committed Catholic not be passionately interested in it? This is a huge deficiency in Catholic circles, and the result is ignorance even on very basic doctrines of the Faith. Too many Catholics neglect or try to minimize the importance of the Bible. The Church herself does not do that. It is good to show forth a positive love for Holy Scripture. The Catholic Magisterium has plainly expressed itself on this point. Venerable Pope Pius XII, wrote in his encyclical, Divino Afflante Spiritu (The Most Opportune Way to Promote Biblical Studies) on September 30th, 1943: “My predecessor, Benedict XV [in 1920] ... exhorted all the children of the Church, especially clerics, to reverence the Holy Scripture, to read it piously and meditate on it constantly; he reminded them that in these pages is to be sought that food, by which the spiritual life is nourished unto perfection” (National Catholic Register, November 22nd, 2017).
Ignorance is Not Bliss―Ignorance Damns Souls
Is this ignorance, on the part of Catholics, a modern-day problem? No, it is a perennial problem that never ends. Pope St. Pius X wrote an encyclical lamenting Catholic ignorance and for the need of solid Catholic education, in which, among other things, he says:
“It is a common complaint, unfortunately too well founded, that there are large numbers of Christians in our own time who are entirely ignorant of those truths necessary for salvation. And when we mention Christians, We refer not only to the masses or to those in the lower walks of life—for these find some excuse for their ignorance in the fact that the demands of their harsh employers hardly leave them time to take care of themselves or of their dear ones—but We refer to those especially who do not lack culture or talents and, indeed, are possessed of abundant knowledge regarding things of the world, but live rashly and imprudently with regard to religion. It is hard to find words to describe how profound is the darkness in which they are engulfed and, what is most deplorable of all, how tranquilly they repose there. They rarely give thought to God, or to the teachings of the Faith of Christ. We declare that a great number of those who are condemned to eternal punishment, suffer that everlasting calamity because of ignorance of those mysteries of Faith!” (Pope St. Pius X, Acerbo Nimis, 1907).
See No Religion―Hear No Religion―Speak No Religion―Fall Away From Religion
In a Catholic Herald (UK) article on June 22nd, 2012, Fr. Alexander Lucie-Smith, the editor, writes: “The falling off was not rejection of the Faith but rather ignorance of the Faith. People are walking away from Catholicism … not because they reject it, but because they do not understand it. The ignorance is gross. Once upon a time people did know about the Faith, and people were able to understand some quite sophisticated concepts. But then two things happened: the collapse in educational standards, and the change in approach in catechesis; that these two things happened more or less at the same time spelled disaster for the transmission of the Faith. In some parts of the world the picture is different: Africa, for example, great care is taken with catechetical materials, and there was good teaching, and, much more importantly, good learning.”
In 2012, another modern-Catholic priest, Fr. Richard Simon, pastor of a church in Skokie, Illinois, wrote: “Catholic schools, by and large, have become failures themselves. There are some splendid Catholic schools, but in my experience of 40 years in ministry, increasingly, especially in large urban areas, Catholic schools have become inexpensive private schools for middle class people who have little or no interest in the Catholic Faith, maintained at great expense by Catholic parishes. Catholic schools are, for the most part, over. We may have a few parish schools still plugging along, but are they Catholic? It seems that all we have left to us is the threadbare cousin. All our resources and energies go to maintaining the private school in the building next to the church. While the world is starving for Christ, we are giving them bingo and bratwurst, raffles and dinner dances, all to keep the school going.
“We have tied our religious education to the public school system of kindergarten and eight grades. The Sacraments of First Communion and Confirmation have become graduation rituals, rites of passage, instead of the beginnings of a life of Faith and commitment. We have turned Sacrament into sacrilege. When you “get your Sacraments” you’re “outta” there. (“Out of there” for those who don’t speak Chicagoan.) The Sacraments are an ending instead of a beginning. I can’t do this anymore. I believe it is morally wrong. The last time I brought this problem up, angry parents called the bishop. I remember one agitated parent who railed at me for questioning his Catholicism. He said that he was perfectly good Catholic. He went to Mass every single Easter and every single Christmas without fail” (Fr. Richard Simon, pastor of a church in Skokie, Illinois).
Communists Are More Effective Than Cathoilcs
Taking a cue from the “Advent Journey” page on this website, and Our Lord’s lamentation that “the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light!” (Luke 16:8). We can see that in how Communists can take Catholic failures and transform them in Communist successes. The former Communist editor of London’s Daily Worker, now renamed The Morning Star―a UK daily Communist newspaper, founded in 1930―Douglas Hyde, in his book, Dedication and Sacrifice, paints a clear picture of Catholic failures becoming Communist successes. Hyde was to convert to Catholicism in 1948. After his conversion, he writes in his book the following things―which are an embarrassment to the lack of zeal, energy and creativity of Catholics―truly “the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light!”:
Douglas Hyde writes: “When the Communists speak of launching the world on the way to Communism in the period in which we are living, it is this that they mean—not the whole world with the exception of the United States, or the United Kingdom or whichever country, being your own, you may feel is proof against assault. Their aim is quite clear. They have never concealed it—it is something that is immensely meaningful to every Communist. It is a Communist world. In the past half-century they have achieved one‑third of that aim. On any reckoning, that is a remarkable achievement, probably an unprecedented one. It is probably true to say of the Communists that never in man’s history has a small group of people set out to win a world and achieved more in less time. Certainly, they have brought far more people under their sway by the methods they employ than anyone else has done during the same period. Moreover, they have always worked through a minority. This is, however, less exceptional than would appear. In practice, most organizations and causes work through minorities. Even those who believe most deeply in majority rule still depend upon the faithful few to do the work, to make the necessary sacrifices in time, energy and devotion to keep the movement going. The Communists have learned from experience, and as a result both of pooling their ideas and of learning from the successes and failures of their movement everywhere, how best they can make the maximum impact upon others, even though they must work through a minority. It is almost impossible to read a newspaper or to listen to the news on radio or television without learning of something which the Communists are doing.”
[COMMENT: Hmm! Did not Our Lord say to us: “Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you!” (Matthew 28:19-20). It seems as though “the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light!” The Catholic Church and laity have lost the desire to teach all nations and baptize them!]
Douglas Hyde continues: “Again, in order to get the picture clear, it must be noted that the human material on which they work is not something different from that which is at the disposal of others. The majority of Communists are ‘first generation’. This means that others, frequently Christians and Christian missionaries, had them in their hands long before they went to the Communist Party. One can, and must for honesty’s sake, be more specific: often these people are identical with those who are available to Christians to instruct and use, in the sense that a disturbingly high proportion of them, particularly those who form the hard core of the Communist Party, were once Catholics. In other words the Communists train and use successfully people with whom Christians had failed.
Why Communists Speak Better Than Catholics
Douglas Hyde explains: “Communists train and use successfully people with whom Christians had failed―I am not just theorizing: any analysis of the origins of the leadership of the Communist Party will provide ample evidence of the Communist ability to attract to their ranks lapsed and fallen‑away Catholics. I make this point, which may seem a brutal one, for two reasons: first, it is necessary to appreciate that there is no basis for the belief that Communists have some special sort of human material on which to work. The people with whom they frequently have great success are our own failures. Secondly, we must in humility accept that amongst the Christians, and Catholics in particular, who go to the Communists are many who find in Communism what they had hoped, without success, to find among the Christians. The onus is, therefore, on us to find the answer to this problem.
“If we recognize that Communists are not some different brand of human beings from those who make up the other, comparable movements, we must then turn to their methods and see what part these play in assisting the Communist Party to develop its members’ potentialities for dedication and leadership. The Christian who is trying to train and produce leaders may object that Christians are concerned with the supernatural and must operate at that level, whereas Communists are concerned only with the natural. I would submit that this is not a reason for ignoring the natural. It is theologically sound to say that the supernatural is built on the natural. In considering the Communists’ methods we shall be dealing with the question at the natural level, which is precisely where the Christian tends often to be at his weakest. It is here that we have most to learn.
Communist are Willing to Sacrifice
Hyde points out that most Communist sacrifice far more for their Communism than Catholics sacrifice for their Catholicism: “If you ask me what is the distinguishing mark of the Communist, what it is that Communists most outstandingly have in common, I would not say, as some people might expect, their ability to hate—this is by no means common to them all. I would say that beyond any shadow of doubt it is their idealism, their zeal, dedication, devotion to their cause and willingness to sacrifice. This characterizes the Communists wherever Communism has still to come to power and is obviously true of many in the very different circumstances where it now rules. The vast majority of the Communists I have met anywhere conform to this pattern. This is no accident. It does not just happen. The Communists have evolved their own means by which they are able to evoke an exceptional degree of dedication. And they use it very effectively indeed. To understand how it is done, one must follow through the process step by step from the start.”
Communists Use What Catholics Abuse
Hyde then goes on to explain how Communists harness and use what Catholics have failed to harness and use: “The majority of those who join the Communist Party are young. The average joining age used to be between seventeen and twenty‑five. Today it is between fifteen and twenty‑five. For some years now they have been recruiting successfully among fifteen to seventeen‑year‑olds. Youth is a period of idealism. The Communists attract young people by appealing directly to that idealism. Too often, others have failed either to appeal to it or to use it and they are the losers as a consequence. We have no cause to complain if, having neglected the idealism of youth, we see others come along, take it, use it and harness it to their cause—and against our own.
“It is fashionable in some circles today to sneer at ‘starry‑eyed idealism’. Of all the ways of helping Communism I can think of none better than this. That sort of cynicism has driven many eager, earnest, intelligent and potentially good youngsters to believe that the West has nothing to offer the young idealist but cynicism, and that this is an expression of the decadence of our way of life. It has led them to believe that if you are interested in improving man’s lot on Earth, if you want to change the world (and the boy who does not want to do this at some point during his adolescence will certainly make a cynical old materialist later on), it is to the Communists, not to the Christians, you must turn.
“Wherever I have travelled I have found that young people are idealistic. This is natural to any healthy youngster. I can only conclude that it is the way God wants them to be. We offend against charity and justice, and against common sense too, when we sneer at starry‑eyed idealism. We do it to our own loss. Young people have always dreamed of better worlds and we must hope that they always will. The day we lose our dreams all progress will cease. Idealistic young people will want to change the world and will pursue their own idealistic course in any case. If their idealism is not appealed to and canalized within the circles in which they have grown up they will seek elsewhere for an outlet.
“The Communists have demonstrated that the idealism of youth is something which can be harnessed and used with tremendous effect. It is a dynamic thing. Despite all the twists and turns of Communist policy it continues over the years to provide the dynamism of the Communist movement. Older Christians, believing that you cannot build perfect worlds and perfect societies from fallen men, too often take up what is at best a superciliously tolerant approach to youthful idealism—when they do not ignore it altogether. The Communists take it and use it.
“Communism becomes the dominant thing in the life of the Communist. It is something to which he gives himself completely. Quite obviously it meets a need, fills a vacuum at the time when he is first attracted to it. More significant is that it normally continues to be the dominant force in the life of the Communist for as long as he remains in the movement. The Communists’ appeal to idealism is direct and audacious. They say that if you make mean little demands upon people, you will get a mean little response which is all you deserve, but, if you make big demands on them, you will get an heroic response. They prove in practice that this is so, over and over again. They work on the assumption that if you call for big sacrifices people will respond to this and, moreover, the relatively smaller sacrifices will come quite naturally.
“When I first went to work on the British Communist Party’s daily paper, I was proud that I had been chosen for the work, proud to make whatever sacrifice was asked of me, but I was nonetheless conscious of the fact that I had willingly accepted a ludicrously small wage. I will admit that I felt slightly virtuous about this—until I met other members of the staff. Most of them were older than I was at that time, they had gone further in their careers (and some had gone very far indeed) and had had to make far bigger sacrifices than I. Some of them were earning one‑tenth of what had been their salary when they had worked for the ‘capitalist’ press. There were times when, small as our salaries were, these could not be paid at all.
“Even when the paper became slightly more prosperous and the staff were technically given the union rate for the job, the sacrifices still continued. We got our pay packets, opened them and immediately gave eight‑fourteenths (57%) of their contents to the Party and the paper—before it burned our fingers. Since everyone did this, it became something of a meaningless ritual after a while and so we did not bother even to receive the cash, it just went direct to the cause. And so it continues to this day. Among the Party’s leaders are many very able men, some of whom could command very high salaries if they were in industry or commerce. Instead, they accept the wage of a moderately‑paid, skilled worker. This is not some peculiarity of the British Communist Party. The same is true of others.”
Sacrificing and Giving Until It Hurts
Hyde embarrassingly shows a level of Communist sacrifice, among their rank-and-file, that can only make the rank-and-file of Catholics blush:
“Such sacrifices, whether at the level of leaders or of rank and file, are impressive. And they do impress those who associate with the movement. Particularly impressive is the fact that sacrifice is found at all levels of the organization. Youngsters of every continent have responded to this example of idealism expressing itself in terms of sacrifice. This is true of the newly‑developing areas. It is true also of the ‘decadent’ West. Indeed, the more materialistic our society becomes, the more the dedicated man stands out by way of contrast. The dedicated man makes his own appeal simply by virtue of the fact that he is dedicated.
“Like attracts like. Those who are attracted by the dedication they see within the movement will themselves be possessed of a latent idealism, a capacity for dedication. Thus dedication perpetuates itself. It sets the tone and pace of the movement as a whole. This being so, the movement can make big demands upon its followers, knowing that the response will come. If the majority of members of an organization are half‑hearted and largely inactive, then it is not surprising if others who join it soon conform to the general pattern. If the organization makes relatively few demands upon its members and if they quite obviously feel under no obligation to give a very great deal to it, then those who join may be forgiven for supposing that this is the norm and that this is what membership entails.
“If, on the other hand, the majority of members, from the leaders down, are characterized by their single‑minded devotion to the cause, if it is quite clear that the majority are giving until it hurts, putting their time, money, thought and if necessary life itself at its disposal, then those who consider joining will assume that this is what will be expected of them. If they nonetheless make the decision to join, they will come already conditioned to sacrifice till it hurts.
“It is ludicrous to suppose that half‑hearted Christians can conduct a fruitful dialogue with fully‑dedicated Communists. Perhaps it is this which underlies the fear of any such dialogue, felt by some Christians. They take it for granted that in any such dialogue the Communists must come out on top, that the Marxists will be the gainers, the Christians the losers. I would suggest that if this happens it will have less to do with Communist duplicity than with Communist dedication—although the Christian in such circumstances must be prepared for the duplicity too. The well‑instructed, fully committed, totally dedicated Christian has little to fear. But dedication must be met with dedication. Ideally it should be backed by a genuine understanding of one’s own beliefs and of the other man’s too. This must be the starting point for any dialogue with the Communists.”
If we do not have a thorough understanding of our own Faith, nor have a sufficient understanding of the beliefs of others, then we will be afraid to speak! We will be afraid of exposing to public view our terrible deficiency in a knowledge that we SHOULD have, but don’t have. For, as the philosophical saying goes: “YOU CANNOT GIVE WHAT YOU HAVE NOT GOT!” As Pope St. Pius X said over 100 hundred years ago: “There are large numbers of Christians in our own time who are entirely ignorant of those truths necessary for salvation. We refer not only to the masses or to those in the lower walks of life—but We refer to those especially who do not lack culture or talents and, indeed, are possessed of abundant knowledge regarding things of the world, but live rashly and imprudently with regard to religion. It is hard to find words to describe how profound is the darkness in which they are engulfed and, what is most deplorable of all, how tranquilly they repose there. They rarely give thought to God, or to the teachings of the Faith of Christ. We declare that a great number of those who are condemned to eternal punishment, suffer that everlasting calamity because of ignorance of those mysteries of Faith!” (Pope St. Pius X, Acerbo Nimis, 1907).
Why Can’t Catholics Show This Kind of Zeal?
You would think that nobody could match Catholics for zeal―since they are not only in possession of the truth, but they are also in possession of sanctifying grace and have God on their side! Yet this following example, shared by Douglas Hyde, should make us want to bury ourselves out of sight in all shame! Hyde gives an example of one particular Communist he knew, yet states that this was pretty much a typical example of Communists in the Communist Party―whereas all that Catholics want to do is party! Hyde writes:
“Among ex‑Communists I have met have been some who, having given their all to Communism, became in time disillusioned or saw the flaws in its thinking and then, having left it, they look back wistfully from time to time to the days when they had something to live by and for. I was talking to such a man on one occasion. Our conversation brought back very vividly to my own mind the extent of the dedication which had been common in the Party in the days when we were both Communists together. Often ex‑Communists meeting together can talk of the ‘old days when we were in the Party’ rather like old soldiers discussing nostalgically the campaigns they shared in the past. We had been doing this. We had talked of old comrades who now saw themselves as our enemies, of the campaigns in which we had engaged together. Then, very wistfully, he said:
“Do you remember what life was really like in the Party? You got up in the morning and as you shaved you were thinking of the jobs you would do for Communism that day. You went down to breakfast and read the Daily Worker to get the Party line to get the shot and shell for a fight in which you were already involved. You read every item in the paper wondering how you might be able to use it for the cause. I had never been interested in sport but I read the sports pages in order to be able to discuss sport with others and to be able to say to them, ‘Have you read this in the Daily Worker [the Communist newspaper]?’ I would follow this through by giving them the paper in the hope that they might turn from the sports pages and read the political ones too.
“On the bus or train, on my way to work, I read the Daily Worker as ostentatiously as I could, holding it up so that others might read the headlines and perhaps be influenced by them. I took two copies of the paper with me; the second one I left on the seat in the hope that someone would pick it up and read it. When I got to work, I kept the Daily Worker circulating. One worker after another would take it outside, read it for a few minutes and bring it back to me again. At lunchtime, in the canteen or the restaurant, I would try to start conversations with those with whom I was eating. I made practice of sitting with different groups in order to spread my influence as widely as I could. I did not thrust Communism down their throats but steered our conversations in such a way that they could be brought round to politics or, if possible, to the campaigns which the Party was conducting at the time.
“Before I left my place of work at night, there was a quick meeting of the factory group or cell. There we discussed in a few minutes the successes and failures of the day. And we discussed, too, what we hoped to be able to do on the following day. I dashed home, had a quick meal and then went out, maybe to attend classes, maybe to be a tutor, maybe to join some Communist campaign, going from door to door canvassing or standing at the side of the road selling Communist papers‑doing something for Communism. And I went home at night and dreamed of the jobs I was going to do for Communism the next day.” Rather sadly he added: “You know, life had some meaning and some purpose in those days. Life was good in the Communist Party.”
“He was right. Of course it was. It is quite wrong to suppose that it is only the saints who are not sad. Sinners can get quite a lot of fun out of life too. And those who are dedicated get immensely more out of life than those who are not. The day he had described had been my life and that of most of my old comrades. It was a day in the life of a dedicated man, a normal day in the life of a hard‑core Communist Party member. It is not surprising that he looked back at that life from the wasteland of his present purposeless existence with a considerable degree of nostalgia.
“Perhaps I should add in passing that this was not some unthinking, uneducated man who had lived simply on his emotions and on action. He was a highly intelligent, Oxford University graduate, the very practical and down-to‑earth product of a well‑known political family. I make this point in order to reiterate and to emphasize as strongly as I can that it is quite erroneous to suppose that Communism appeals only to some particular type or class or race. Within the Communist Party you will find people of every type and class. And within the world Communist movement you will find people of every race. Discuss their case histories with them, probe into what first attracted them to Communism and invariably you will find that it was not Communist theories, policies or campaigns, important as these may be in the making of Communists, but the impact made upon them by some dedicated Communist which predisposed and conditioned them to associate with a movement and to accept a doctrine which would otherwise most probably have been unacceptable to them. There is no mystery about the indisputable fact that Communists exert an influence out of all proportion to their numbers, once one grasps the point that practically every party member is a dedicated man in whose life, from the time he rises in the morning till the time he goes to bed at night, for 365 days of the year, Communism is the dominant force.”
Why isn’t that our attitude to the Faith? When we appear before God for judgment―He will point out to us that the Communists were far more dedicated than we ever were; that Communists achieved far more than we ever did; that Communists were far less in numbers that we were―and, worst of all, Communist did not the help of the grace of God that we had! And we wonder why most souls are lost! Insane! Blind! We are blind and insane leaders of the blind and insane―”And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the pit!” (Matthew 15:14).
The next article will examine the consequences of a lack of Communist dedication in Catholic families, schools and parishes―and what can be done to try and raise these Catholics from the dead and give them a new life.
Article 7
Saturday December 6th
Are You Winning or Losing Your Advent Battles?
Saturday December 6th
Are You Winning or Losing Your Advent Battles?
Everyone Loves A Winner!
It’s true, isn’t it? Everyone loves a winner! Even God loves a winner, this I know, coz the Bible tells me so! “Know you not that they that run in the race, all run indeed, but one receiveth the prize? So run that you may obtain!” (1 Corinthians 9:24). Heaven also loves the winner—it is full of winners—and they all love each other! Hell is full of losers—and they all hate each other—and they also hate the winners in Heaven!
But what is it to win? What is it that we want to win? Winning matters to everyone—but what are they striving to win? It could be said that not all winners are winners—and that some winners end up being the losers! A bit like: “So shall the last be first, and the first last!” (Matthew 20:16). Yikes! Perhaps we first need to take a good look at what we are trying to win?!!
Where Winning is Losing!
Some of the most important teachings by Our Lord are not just reported by one Evangelist, but by several or all. We have a case of this when Our Lord seemingly talks about winning being actually losing: “For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul?” (Mark 8:36). “For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, and cast away himself?” (Luke 9:25). “For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26).
There are many who strive to accumulate Earthly power and wealth, only to find that their gain is their loss—of which St. James speaks of when he writes: “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl in your miseries, which shall come upon you! Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten! Your gold and silver is cankered: and the rust of them shall be for a testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh like fire! You have stored up to yourselves wrath against the last days!” (James 5:1-3).
Winners Becoming Losers
This is somewhat like the parable that Our Lord told of a “winner” who became a “loser”! “And Jesus spoke a similitude to them, saying: ‘The land of a certain rich man brought forth plenty of fruits. And he thought within himself, saying: “What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?” And he said: “This will I do! I will pull down my barns, and will build greater; and into them will I gather all things that are grown to me, and my goods. And I will say to my soul: ‘Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years! Take thy rest! Eat, drink, make good cheer!’” But God said to him: “Thou fool! This night do they require thy soul of thee: and whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?” So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God!’” (Luke 12:16-21).
God’s Way of Winning Is Not Ours
We are forever trying to make God think, act and react like we do! We even see the Apostles, James and John, do this when they encountered resistance and a refusal of Jesus in one of Samaritan cities: “And it came to pass, when the days of His assumption [Passion and Death] were accomplishing, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem. And He sent messengers before His face; and going, they entered into a city of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. And they received Him not, because His face was of one going to Jerusalem [for Samaritans were enemies of the Jews]. And when His disciples James and John had seen this, they said: ‘Lord! Wilt thou that we command fire to come down from Heaven, and consume them?’ And turning, He rebuked them, saying: ‘You know not of what spirit you are!’” (Luke 9:51-55).
This is why God says, through Isaias His Prophet: “‘My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor your ways My ways!’ saith the Lord. ‘For as the Heavens are exalted above the Earth, so are My ways exalted above your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts!” (Isaias 55:8-9). This can quite readily and appropriately rephrased as: “‘My thoughts about winning are not your thoughts about winning, nor are your ways of winning My ways of winning!’ saith the Lord. ‘For as the Heavens are exalted above the Earth, so are My ways of winning exalted above your ways of winning, and My thoughts about winning above your thoughts about winning!”
Pretty Depressing Thoughts!
It is starting to look as though God’s way of winning is—from our perspective—a pretty depressing way of winning! “And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem: and Jesus went before them, and they were astonished and following were afraid. And taking again the Twelve, He began to tell them the things that should befall Him. saying: ‘Behold we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be betrayed to the chief priests, and to the scribes and ancients, and they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him to the Gentiles! And they shall mock Him, and spit on Him, and scourge Him, and kill Him: and the third day He shall rise again!’” (Mark 10:32-34). In the eyes of the Apostles, Our Lord was supposed to be a winner—yet here He is talking about being killed! No wonder they were afraid!
Our ways of winning are much like those of the Jews, who expected the coming Messias to be glorious king and all-conquering soldier! He would conquer the world in glory—and it would begin by casting-out the Roman troops that were occupying and controlling Jerusalem and the surrounding Judean lands. Even the Apostles had this in mind after the resurrection of Our Lord: “They, therefore, who were come together, asked Him, saying: ‘Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?’” (Acts 1:6). They were imagining a conquest and glory altogether different to the one Our Lord was thinking about!
This is clearly seen in the example of the two disciples of Jesus, who were sadly and depressingly walking away from Jerusalem on the road to Emmaus, after the crucifixion and death of Our Lord. Somewhere along the road, the resurrected Lord appears to them—though they fail to recognize Him.
“And behold, two of them went, the same day, to a town which was sixty furlongs from Jerusalem, named Emmaus. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, that while they talked and reasoned with themselves, Jesus Himself also drawing near, went with them. But their eyes were held, that they should not know Him.
“And He said to them: ‘What are these discourses that you hold one with another as you walk, and are sad?’
“And the one of them, whose name was Cleophas, answering, said to Him: ‘Art Thou only a stranger to Jerusalem, and hast not known the things that have been done there in these days?’
“To whom he said: ‘What things?’
“And they said: ‘Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet, mighty in work and word before God and all the people; and how our chief priests and princes delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him [so in their eyes He is a loser]. But we hoped, that it was He that should have redeemed Israel! [Again this different idea about winning] And now besides all this, today is the third day since these things were done. Yea and certain women also of our company affrighted us, who before it was light, were at the sepulcher, and, not finding His body, came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels, who say that He is alive. And some of our people went to the sepulcher, and found it so as the women had said, but Him they found not!’
“Then He said to them: ‘O foolish, and slow of heart to believe in all things which the prophets have spoken! Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and so to enter into his glory?’ And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures, the things that were concerning Him” (Luke 24:13-27).
In other words, Our Lord pointed out to them that by seemingly “losing” He had, in actual fact, won! His ways are not our ways, not His thoughts our thoughts—and that is why we get depressed, discouraged and down in the dumps when His Providence has actually put us on the road to victory!
Losing in Order to Win!
Christ, Himself, gained victory through apparently losing! He decided to lose His life to win eternal life for us! The very thought of this is troubling, humiliating and even ‘scandalous’—which is what the Apostles thought: “And when they abode together in Galilee, Jesus said to them: ‘The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: and they shall kill Him, and the third day He shall rise again!’ And they were troubled exceedingly” (Matthew 17:21-22).
Elsewhere in Matthew we read the same: “And Jesus going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples apart, and said to them: ‘Behold we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be betrayed to the chief priests and the scribes, and they shall condemn Him to death! And shall deliver Him to the Gentiles to be mocked, and scourged, and crucified … And as Jonas was in the whale’s belly three days and three nights—so shall the Son of man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights! … And the third day He shall rise again!” (Matthew 20:17-19; Matthew 12:40).
Jesus’ and Peter’s Ideas on Winning
This was not St. Peter’s idea of victory and he adamantly said so: “And Jesus began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the ancients and by the high priests, and the scribes, and be killed; and after three days rise again. And He spoke the word openly. And Peter taking Him, began to rebuke Him” (Mark 8:31-32).
Then Our Lord angrily turned upon Peter and threateningly corrected him on the matter: “Who turning about and seeing His disciples, threatened Peter, saying: ‘Go behind Me, Satan! Because thou savorest not the things that are of God, but that are of men!’ And calling the multitude together with His disciples, He said to them: ‘If any man will follow Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the Gospel, shall save it! For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:33-37).
St. Matthew records the incident also: “From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples, that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the ancients and scribes and chief priests, and be put to death, and the third day rise again. And Peter taking Him, began to rebuke Him, saying: ‘Lord, be it far from Thee! This shall not be unto Thee!’ Jesus, turning, said to Peter: ‘Go behind Me, Satan! Thou art a scandal unto Me! Because thou savourest not the things that are of God, but the things that are of men!’” (Matthew 16:21-23).
Jesus’ thoughts were Peter’s thoughts, nor Peter’s ways Jesus’ ways! As the Heavens are exalted above the Earth, so were Jesus’ ways exalted above Peter’s ways, and Jesus’ thoughts above Peter’s thoughts! And Jesus let Peter know and understand this in no uncertain terms!
Yet right at the start of the Passion, we again see that clash of thoughts between Jesus and Peter: “Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it, and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. And the name of the servant was Malchus. Jesus therefore said to Peter: ‘Put up thy sword into the scabbard! The chalice which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?’” (John 18:10-11). Peter thought he was striking a winning blow! Our Lord had better ideas of how to win—though far more humiliating!
The Temptation of Winning or Losing in the Garden
However, Our Lord Himself was tempted to pull-out of the winning path etched by His Father. This occurred in the “Agony in the Garden”, when Our Lord, finally faced with the last gruesome, grueling lap to victory, was tempted to say “No!” He was terrified of what was to come—so much so that He was ‘sweating blood’, that is to say the stress had built up so much pressure that He was hemorrhaging internally and the blood was flowing into his sweat glands and came out with the sweat. That is very high intense pressure from fear! He is tempted to say “No!” and addresses His Providential Father thus (all the Gospel accounts):
“He began to grow sorrowful and to be sad … Then He said: ‘My soul is sorrowful even unto death!’ … And going a little further, He fell upon His face, praying, and saying: ‘My Father! If it be possible, let this chalice pass from Me! Nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt!’ … Again the second time, He went and prayed, saying: ‘My Father! If this chalice may not pass away, but I must drink it, Thy will be done!’ … And He prayed the third time, saying the selfsame word” (Matthew 26:37-44).
“He began to fear and to be heavy. And He said: ‘My soul is sorrowful even unto death!’ And when He was gone forward a little, He fell flat on the ground; and He prayed, that if it might be, the hour might pass from Him. And He said: ‘Abba, Father! All things are possible to Thee! Remove this chalice from Me; but not what I will, but what Thou wilt!’ And going again, He prayed, saying the same words” (Mark 14:33-39).
“And He was withdrawn away from them a stone’s cast; and kneeling down, He prayed, saying: ‘Father, if Thou wilt, remove this chalice from Me: but yet not My will, but Thine be done!’ And there appeared to Him an angel from Heaven, strengthening Him. And being in an agony, He prayed the longer. And His sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground” (Luke 22:41-44).
This is tremendous consolation to us when faced with winning paths that we are convinced will lead to losing. This agony, passion and brutal death was the winning path that God’s Providence chose for His fledgling Church. Not just Apostles, but everyday, run-of-the-mill, common folk—not just men, but women and even little children—were asked by God to walk victorious, yet bloody, painful and tortuous winning path of martyrdom, thus imitation their Divine Savior. Need some proof? Need some examples? Need some strengthening? The click here and read of a long list of winners who looked like losers in the eyes of the world—just like Our Lord seemed to be to the mocking Pharisees on Calvary.
What Does It Take To Win?
The answer is as simple as you can get. One word! Three letters! GOD! What else can Our Lord’s (Who is God Himself) mean?--”Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5). If we think that we are behind successes, then we are stealing glory and credit from God. God’s Providence is behind all success, just as God’s Providence is ultimately behind all failure. That wonderful little book, Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence, states: “Nothing happens in the universe without God willing and allowing it. This statement must be taken absolutely of everything with the exception of sin. “Nothing occurs by chance in the whole course of our lives” is the unanimous teaching of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, “and God intervenes everywhere.”
“ ‘I am the Lord,’ He tells us Himself by the mouth of the prophet Isaias, ‘and there is none else. I form light and create darkness; I make peace and create evil. I, the Lord, do all these things’ (Isaias 45:6‑7). ‘It is I who bring both death and life, I who inflict wounds and heal them,’ He said to Moses (Deuteronomy 32:39). ‘The Lord killeth and maketh alive,’ it is written in the Canticle of Anna, the mother of Samuel, ‘He bringeth down to the tomb and He bringeth back again; the Lord maketh poor and maketh rich, He humbleth and He exalteth’ (1 Kings 2:6‑7). ‘Shall there be evil (disaster, affliction) in a city which the Lord hath not done?’ (Amos 3:6) asks the prophet Amos. ‘Good things and evil, life and death, poverty and riches are from God,’ Solomon proclaims (Ecclesiasticus 11:14). And so on in numerous other passages of Scripture” (Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence, chapter 1).
Winning Against the Odds
God’s Providence arranges all things so that the whole world might know that this kind of life-changing power comes from God alone and not from us. He has lots of different ways of reminding us about this truth. One such instance was the story of Gedeon, in chapter 7 of the Book of Judges, in the Old Testament. When the Madianites attacked Israel with 135,000 soldiers, Gedeon led an army of 32,000 men in the counterattack. That’s around a 4-to-1 advantage for the enemy! Evidently God didn’t like those odds because He told Gedeon to tell all those men who were afraid to fight, to go home: “Whosoever is fearful and timorous, let him return!” (Judges 7:3). 22,000 of the 32,000 men departed, leaving him with only 10,000. That would make the odds even worse, at 13-to-1 against the Israelites.
Why did God do such a thing? Because, in God’s own words, “…Lest Israel should glory against Me, and say: ‘I was delivered by my own strength!’” (Judges 7:2). Yet God was still not pleased with those overwhelmingly adverse odds, so God instructed Gedeon to dismiss all the soldiers who didn’t lap water like a dog: “ ‘They that shall lap the water with their tongues, as dogs are wont to lap, thou shalt set apart by themselves: but they that shall drink bowing down their knees, shall be on the other side!’ And the number of them that had lapped water, casting it with the hand to their mouth, was three hundred men: and all the rest of the multitude had drunk kneeling. And the Lord said to Gedeon: ‘By the three hundred men, that lapped water, I will save you, and deliver Madian into thy hand: but let all the rest of the people return to their place!’” (Judges 7:5-7).
With only 300 men left, that made the odds against Israel about 450-to-1, which is a whole lot steeper and tougher than the initial 4-to-1. Just ask any soldier what odds he would prefer going into hand-to-hand combat! Yet that suited God just fine! So God told Gedeon to attack with a mere 300 soldiers, whereupon Gedeon divided his men into three groups of 100 for a night-time assault. He instructed his men to wait until the changing of the guard (around midnight), and then blow the trumpets (the ram’s horn, called a shofar), hold up torches, and shout “A sword for the Lord and for Gedeon” (Judges 7:20). That “ambush” so greatly shocked and confused the Madianites, that they fled in fear and confusion, attacking each other in the darkness as they ran, fearing that it was an enemy.
This resulted in a total rout by Gedeon’s band of 300 men. Guess who got the credit when the battle was over? God did. And that’s what he had in mind all along. Before the battle began the Lord said to Gedeon: “The people that are with thee are many, and Madian shall not be delivered into their hands: lest Israel should glory against me, and say: ‘I was delivered by my own strength!’” (Judges 7:2). Sometimes God has to “cut us down to size” so that when the battle is over, He alone gets the glory. By this we see that God will not choose for His instruments in great achievements, which depend purely on his grace, such persons who, through pride and self-conceit, will take the glory to themselves. He wants winners who will not take away the glory of the One who masterminds each victory.
God Seeks “Nobodies” To Make Them “Somebodies”
When God wants to win a victory, He often chooses a loser and makes him a winner. God is looking for “nobodies” who will become “somebodies” in His hands. Holy Scripture puts it this way. Of the Israelites God says through Holy Scripture: “Not because you surpass all nations in number, is the Lord joined unto you and hath chosen you—for you are the fewest of any people!” (Deuteronomy 7:7). St. Paul adds: “The foolish things of the world hath God chosen, that He may confound the wise; and the weak things of the world hath God chosen, that He may confound the strong! And the base things of the world, and the things that are contemptible, hath God chosen, and things that are not, that He might bring to nought things that are! So that no flesh should glory in His sight” (1 Corinthians 1:27-29).
Elsewhere St. Paul writes: “Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?” (1 Corinthians 1:20). “For if any man think himself to be something, whereas he is nothing, he deceiveth himself!” (Galatians 6:3). “For it is God who worketh in you, both to will and to accomplish, according to His good will” (Philippians 2:13). “Have confidence in the Lord with all thy heart, and lean not upon thy own prudence. In all thy ways think on Him, and He will direct thy steps. Be not wise in thy own conceit!” (Proverbs 3:5-7).
David and Goliath—Winner and Loser
In the eyes of the Israelites, the young boy (to be future king) David was a mere “nobody”, while Goliath was a “somebody” that they greatly respected and feared. Yet, once again, God would turn the tables of human assessment upside-down, by taking a “nobody” and thrashing a “somebody” with that “nobody”. We all know the story, so there is no point reproducing it in full—but the credit David gives God and the reliance David has on God is worth quoting from the story.
David says to King Saul: “‘Let not any man’s heart be dismayed! I, thy servant, will go and will fight against the Philistine!’ And Saul said to David: ‘Thou art not able to withstand this Philistine, nor to fight against him! For thou art but a boy, but he is a warrior from his youth!’ And David said to Saul: ‘Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, or a bear, and took a ram out of the midst of the flock. And I pursued after them, and struck them, and delivered it out of their mouth: and they rose up against me, and I caught them by the throat, and I strangled and killed them [good works]. For I, thy servant, have killed both a lion and a bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be also as one of them. I will go now, and take away the reproach of the people: for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, who hath dared to curse the army of the living God? The LORD DELIVERED ME out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, and HE will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine!’” (1 Kings 17:32-26).
The self-appointed ‘winner’ Goliath taunts David when he sees him to be a mere boy without any armor or weapons: “‘Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with a staff?’ And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And he said to David: ‘Come to me, and I will give thy flesh to the birds of the air, and to the beasts of the earth!’ And David said to the Philistine: ‘Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the Name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, which thou hast defied. This day, and the Lord will deliver thee into my hand, and I will slay thee, and take away thy head from thee! And I will give the carcasses of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air, and to the beasts of the earth: so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel! And all this assembly shall know, that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for it is his battle, and HE will deliver you into our hands!’” (1 Kings 17:43-47).
We Are What We Are Because of God
St. Paul states to the Corinthians: “For who distinguisheth thee? Or what hast thou that thou hast not received? And if thou hast received, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? … But by the grace of God, I am what I am; and His grace in me hath not been void, but I have labored more abundantly than all they: yet, not I, but the grace of God with me!” (1 Corinthians 4:7; 15:10).
Rather than vainly dream of what we think we are, remember instead your roots and stay humble! St. Paul reminds that “All have sinned, and do need the glory of God!” (Romans 3:23). “You were dead in your offences and sins, wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of this air, of the spirit that now worketh on the children of unbelief! In which, also, we all conversed in time past, in the desires of our flesh, fulfilling the will of the flesh and of our thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest! But God, who is rich in mercy, for His exceeding charity wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together in Christ, by whose grace you are saved, and hath raised us up together, and hath made us sit together in the heavenly places, through Christ Jesus. That He might show in the ages to come the abundant riches of his grace, in his bounty towards us through Christ Jesus. For by grace you are saved through Faith, and not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God not of works, so that no man may glory. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus in good works, which God hath prepared, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:1-10).
Self-Acknowledged Winners Are Losers
We have been reformed, changed, forgiven and sanctified by grace. Therefore we should be like the proud Pharisee in the Temple—who thought he was a winner—saying: “O God, I give thee thanks that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, as also is this publican! I fast twice in a week: I give tithes of all that I possess!” (Luke 18:11-12). This self-acclaimed winner was a loser in Jesus’ eyes, for Our Lord praised instead the self-acknowledged loser, the sinful Publican, who “standing afar off, would not so much as lift up his eyes towards heaven; but struck his breast, saying: ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I say to you, this man went down into his house justified rather than the other: because everyone that exalteth himself, shall be humbled: and he that humbleth himself, shall be exalted!’” (Luke 18:13-14).
Good Works and Glory to God
The Protestants wrongly claim from that passage that we are “saved by Faith alone” and “not by works”. This is patently erroneous—for elsewhere St. James tells us that “Wilt thou know, O vain man, that Faith without works is dead? … For even as the body without the spirit is dead; so also Faith without works is dead ... So Faith also, if it have not works, is dead in itself!” (James 2: James 2:20; 2:26; 2:17). For in that same misquoted and misinterpreted passage, St. Paul writes: “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus in good works, which God hath prepared, that we should walk in them [good works]” but those good works are the fruit of the grace of God and not of our own unaided human efforts. As Jesus said, we must have good works, but the glory for them must be given to the Father: “So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father Who is in Heaven!” (Matthew 5:16) to which St. Peter adds, in the same vein: “The Gentiles, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by the good works which they shall behold in you, glorify God!” (1 Peter 2:12). As Holy Scripture says: “Not to us, O Lord, not to us; but to Thy Name give glory!” (Psalm 113:9).
How’s Your Advent Working Out?
How are things working out? Have we worked out a plan? Are we arriving at the Advent Vineyard at the third, sixth, ninth or even eleventh hour? In that parable—the Workers in the Vineyard—Our Lord has everyone be a winner, no matter at what time they entered the vineyard. Let us not spend this last full week of Advent lazily and idly, but let us wholeheartedly, though perhaps belatedly, enter into the spirit of things! A Novena for Christmas begins this Saturday and ends on Christmas Day itself—make it, do it, follow it, meditate it! (Christmas Novena click here). The Great “O” Antiphons begin on this Saturday and end on Friday—follow them, pray them, sing them, meditate them! (O Antiphon Homepage click here and go from there). A series of articles accompany Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the 5-10 days they were on the open road—go with them, sympathize with them, learn from them! (Journey to Bethlehem click here). Make this last week a worthy week, so that this Christmas is not just a material Christmess, but a veritably holy and spiritual Christmas!
It’s true, isn’t it? Everyone loves a winner! Even God loves a winner, this I know, coz the Bible tells me so! “Know you not that they that run in the race, all run indeed, but one receiveth the prize? So run that you may obtain!” (1 Corinthians 9:24). Heaven also loves the winner—it is full of winners—and they all love each other! Hell is full of losers—and they all hate each other—and they also hate the winners in Heaven!
But what is it to win? What is it that we want to win? Winning matters to everyone—but what are they striving to win? It could be said that not all winners are winners—and that some winners end up being the losers! A bit like: “So shall the last be first, and the first last!” (Matthew 20:16). Yikes! Perhaps we first need to take a good look at what we are trying to win?!!
Where Winning is Losing!
Some of the most important teachings by Our Lord are not just reported by one Evangelist, but by several or all. We have a case of this when Our Lord seemingly talks about winning being actually losing: “For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul?” (Mark 8:36). “For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, and cast away himself?” (Luke 9:25). “For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26).
There are many who strive to accumulate Earthly power and wealth, only to find that their gain is their loss—of which St. James speaks of when he writes: “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl in your miseries, which shall come upon you! Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten! Your gold and silver is cankered: and the rust of them shall be for a testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh like fire! You have stored up to yourselves wrath against the last days!” (James 5:1-3).
Winners Becoming Losers
This is somewhat like the parable that Our Lord told of a “winner” who became a “loser”! “And Jesus spoke a similitude to them, saying: ‘The land of a certain rich man brought forth plenty of fruits. And he thought within himself, saying: “What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?” And he said: “This will I do! I will pull down my barns, and will build greater; and into them will I gather all things that are grown to me, and my goods. And I will say to my soul: ‘Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years! Take thy rest! Eat, drink, make good cheer!’” But God said to him: “Thou fool! This night do they require thy soul of thee: and whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?” So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God!’” (Luke 12:16-21).
God’s Way of Winning Is Not Ours
We are forever trying to make God think, act and react like we do! We even see the Apostles, James and John, do this when they encountered resistance and a refusal of Jesus in one of Samaritan cities: “And it came to pass, when the days of His assumption [Passion and Death] were accomplishing, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem. And He sent messengers before His face; and going, they entered into a city of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. And they received Him not, because His face was of one going to Jerusalem [for Samaritans were enemies of the Jews]. And when His disciples James and John had seen this, they said: ‘Lord! Wilt thou that we command fire to come down from Heaven, and consume them?’ And turning, He rebuked them, saying: ‘You know not of what spirit you are!’” (Luke 9:51-55).
This is why God says, through Isaias His Prophet: “‘My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor your ways My ways!’ saith the Lord. ‘For as the Heavens are exalted above the Earth, so are My ways exalted above your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts!” (Isaias 55:8-9). This can quite readily and appropriately rephrased as: “‘My thoughts about winning are not your thoughts about winning, nor are your ways of winning My ways of winning!’ saith the Lord. ‘For as the Heavens are exalted above the Earth, so are My ways of winning exalted above your ways of winning, and My thoughts about winning above your thoughts about winning!”
Pretty Depressing Thoughts!
It is starting to look as though God’s way of winning is—from our perspective—a pretty depressing way of winning! “And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem: and Jesus went before them, and they were astonished and following were afraid. And taking again the Twelve, He began to tell them the things that should befall Him. saying: ‘Behold we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be betrayed to the chief priests, and to the scribes and ancients, and they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him to the Gentiles! And they shall mock Him, and spit on Him, and scourge Him, and kill Him: and the third day He shall rise again!’” (Mark 10:32-34). In the eyes of the Apostles, Our Lord was supposed to be a winner—yet here He is talking about being killed! No wonder they were afraid!
Our ways of winning are much like those of the Jews, who expected the coming Messias to be glorious king and all-conquering soldier! He would conquer the world in glory—and it would begin by casting-out the Roman troops that were occupying and controlling Jerusalem and the surrounding Judean lands. Even the Apostles had this in mind after the resurrection of Our Lord: “They, therefore, who were come together, asked Him, saying: ‘Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?’” (Acts 1:6). They were imagining a conquest and glory altogether different to the one Our Lord was thinking about!
This is clearly seen in the example of the two disciples of Jesus, who were sadly and depressingly walking away from Jerusalem on the road to Emmaus, after the crucifixion and death of Our Lord. Somewhere along the road, the resurrected Lord appears to them—though they fail to recognize Him.
“And behold, two of them went, the same day, to a town which was sixty furlongs from Jerusalem, named Emmaus. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, that while they talked and reasoned with themselves, Jesus Himself also drawing near, went with them. But their eyes were held, that they should not know Him.
“And He said to them: ‘What are these discourses that you hold one with another as you walk, and are sad?’
“And the one of them, whose name was Cleophas, answering, said to Him: ‘Art Thou only a stranger to Jerusalem, and hast not known the things that have been done there in these days?’
“To whom he said: ‘What things?’
“And they said: ‘Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet, mighty in work and word before God and all the people; and how our chief priests and princes delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him [so in their eyes He is a loser]. But we hoped, that it was He that should have redeemed Israel! [Again this different idea about winning] And now besides all this, today is the third day since these things were done. Yea and certain women also of our company affrighted us, who before it was light, were at the sepulcher, and, not finding His body, came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels, who say that He is alive. And some of our people went to the sepulcher, and found it so as the women had said, but Him they found not!’
“Then He said to them: ‘O foolish, and slow of heart to believe in all things which the prophets have spoken! Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and so to enter into his glory?’ And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures, the things that were concerning Him” (Luke 24:13-27).
In other words, Our Lord pointed out to them that by seemingly “losing” He had, in actual fact, won! His ways are not our ways, not His thoughts our thoughts—and that is why we get depressed, discouraged and down in the dumps when His Providence has actually put us on the road to victory!
Losing in Order to Win!
Christ, Himself, gained victory through apparently losing! He decided to lose His life to win eternal life for us! The very thought of this is troubling, humiliating and even ‘scandalous’—which is what the Apostles thought: “And when they abode together in Galilee, Jesus said to them: ‘The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: and they shall kill Him, and the third day He shall rise again!’ And they were troubled exceedingly” (Matthew 17:21-22).
Elsewhere in Matthew we read the same: “And Jesus going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples apart, and said to them: ‘Behold we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be betrayed to the chief priests and the scribes, and they shall condemn Him to death! And shall deliver Him to the Gentiles to be mocked, and scourged, and crucified … And as Jonas was in the whale’s belly three days and three nights—so shall the Son of man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights! … And the third day He shall rise again!” (Matthew 20:17-19; Matthew 12:40).
Jesus’ and Peter’s Ideas on Winning
This was not St. Peter’s idea of victory and he adamantly said so: “And Jesus began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the ancients and by the high priests, and the scribes, and be killed; and after three days rise again. And He spoke the word openly. And Peter taking Him, began to rebuke Him” (Mark 8:31-32).
Then Our Lord angrily turned upon Peter and threateningly corrected him on the matter: “Who turning about and seeing His disciples, threatened Peter, saying: ‘Go behind Me, Satan! Because thou savorest not the things that are of God, but that are of men!’ And calling the multitude together with His disciples, He said to them: ‘If any man will follow Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the Gospel, shall save it! For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:33-37).
St. Matthew records the incident also: “From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples, that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the ancients and scribes and chief priests, and be put to death, and the third day rise again. And Peter taking Him, began to rebuke Him, saying: ‘Lord, be it far from Thee! This shall not be unto Thee!’ Jesus, turning, said to Peter: ‘Go behind Me, Satan! Thou art a scandal unto Me! Because thou savourest not the things that are of God, but the things that are of men!’” (Matthew 16:21-23).
Jesus’ thoughts were Peter’s thoughts, nor Peter’s ways Jesus’ ways! As the Heavens are exalted above the Earth, so were Jesus’ ways exalted above Peter’s ways, and Jesus’ thoughts above Peter’s thoughts! And Jesus let Peter know and understand this in no uncertain terms!
Yet right at the start of the Passion, we again see that clash of thoughts between Jesus and Peter: “Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it, and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. And the name of the servant was Malchus. Jesus therefore said to Peter: ‘Put up thy sword into the scabbard! The chalice which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?’” (John 18:10-11). Peter thought he was striking a winning blow! Our Lord had better ideas of how to win—though far more humiliating!
The Temptation of Winning or Losing in the Garden
However, Our Lord Himself was tempted to pull-out of the winning path etched by His Father. This occurred in the “Agony in the Garden”, when Our Lord, finally faced with the last gruesome, grueling lap to victory, was tempted to say “No!” He was terrified of what was to come—so much so that He was ‘sweating blood’, that is to say the stress had built up so much pressure that He was hemorrhaging internally and the blood was flowing into his sweat glands and came out with the sweat. That is very high intense pressure from fear! He is tempted to say “No!” and addresses His Providential Father thus (all the Gospel accounts):
“He began to grow sorrowful and to be sad … Then He said: ‘My soul is sorrowful even unto death!’ … And going a little further, He fell upon His face, praying, and saying: ‘My Father! If it be possible, let this chalice pass from Me! Nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt!’ … Again the second time, He went and prayed, saying: ‘My Father! If this chalice may not pass away, but I must drink it, Thy will be done!’ … And He prayed the third time, saying the selfsame word” (Matthew 26:37-44).
“He began to fear and to be heavy. And He said: ‘My soul is sorrowful even unto death!’ And when He was gone forward a little, He fell flat on the ground; and He prayed, that if it might be, the hour might pass from Him. And He said: ‘Abba, Father! All things are possible to Thee! Remove this chalice from Me; but not what I will, but what Thou wilt!’ And going again, He prayed, saying the same words” (Mark 14:33-39).
“And He was withdrawn away from them a stone’s cast; and kneeling down, He prayed, saying: ‘Father, if Thou wilt, remove this chalice from Me: but yet not My will, but Thine be done!’ And there appeared to Him an angel from Heaven, strengthening Him. And being in an agony, He prayed the longer. And His sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground” (Luke 22:41-44).
This is tremendous consolation to us when faced with winning paths that we are convinced will lead to losing. This agony, passion and brutal death was the winning path that God’s Providence chose for His fledgling Church. Not just Apostles, but everyday, run-of-the-mill, common folk—not just men, but women and even little children—were asked by God to walk victorious, yet bloody, painful and tortuous winning path of martyrdom, thus imitation their Divine Savior. Need some proof? Need some examples? Need some strengthening? The click here and read of a long list of winners who looked like losers in the eyes of the world—just like Our Lord seemed to be to the mocking Pharisees on Calvary.
What Does It Take To Win?
The answer is as simple as you can get. One word! Three letters! GOD! What else can Our Lord’s (Who is God Himself) mean?--”Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5). If we think that we are behind successes, then we are stealing glory and credit from God. God’s Providence is behind all success, just as God’s Providence is ultimately behind all failure. That wonderful little book, Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence, states: “Nothing happens in the universe without God willing and allowing it. This statement must be taken absolutely of everything with the exception of sin. “Nothing occurs by chance in the whole course of our lives” is the unanimous teaching of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, “and God intervenes everywhere.”
“ ‘I am the Lord,’ He tells us Himself by the mouth of the prophet Isaias, ‘and there is none else. I form light and create darkness; I make peace and create evil. I, the Lord, do all these things’ (Isaias 45:6‑7). ‘It is I who bring both death and life, I who inflict wounds and heal them,’ He said to Moses (Deuteronomy 32:39). ‘The Lord killeth and maketh alive,’ it is written in the Canticle of Anna, the mother of Samuel, ‘He bringeth down to the tomb and He bringeth back again; the Lord maketh poor and maketh rich, He humbleth and He exalteth’ (1 Kings 2:6‑7). ‘Shall there be evil (disaster, affliction) in a city which the Lord hath not done?’ (Amos 3:6) asks the prophet Amos. ‘Good things and evil, life and death, poverty and riches are from God,’ Solomon proclaims (Ecclesiasticus 11:14). And so on in numerous other passages of Scripture” (Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence, chapter 1).
Winning Against the Odds
God’s Providence arranges all things so that the whole world might know that this kind of life-changing power comes from God alone and not from us. He has lots of different ways of reminding us about this truth. One such instance was the story of Gedeon, in chapter 7 of the Book of Judges, in the Old Testament. When the Madianites attacked Israel with 135,000 soldiers, Gedeon led an army of 32,000 men in the counterattack. That’s around a 4-to-1 advantage for the enemy! Evidently God didn’t like those odds because He told Gedeon to tell all those men who were afraid to fight, to go home: “Whosoever is fearful and timorous, let him return!” (Judges 7:3). 22,000 of the 32,000 men departed, leaving him with only 10,000. That would make the odds even worse, at 13-to-1 against the Israelites.
Why did God do such a thing? Because, in God’s own words, “…Lest Israel should glory against Me, and say: ‘I was delivered by my own strength!’” (Judges 7:2). Yet God was still not pleased with those overwhelmingly adverse odds, so God instructed Gedeon to dismiss all the soldiers who didn’t lap water like a dog: “ ‘They that shall lap the water with their tongues, as dogs are wont to lap, thou shalt set apart by themselves: but they that shall drink bowing down their knees, shall be on the other side!’ And the number of them that had lapped water, casting it with the hand to their mouth, was three hundred men: and all the rest of the multitude had drunk kneeling. And the Lord said to Gedeon: ‘By the three hundred men, that lapped water, I will save you, and deliver Madian into thy hand: but let all the rest of the people return to their place!’” (Judges 7:5-7).
With only 300 men left, that made the odds against Israel about 450-to-1, which is a whole lot steeper and tougher than the initial 4-to-1. Just ask any soldier what odds he would prefer going into hand-to-hand combat! Yet that suited God just fine! So God told Gedeon to attack with a mere 300 soldiers, whereupon Gedeon divided his men into three groups of 100 for a night-time assault. He instructed his men to wait until the changing of the guard (around midnight), and then blow the trumpets (the ram’s horn, called a shofar), hold up torches, and shout “A sword for the Lord and for Gedeon” (Judges 7:20). That “ambush” so greatly shocked and confused the Madianites, that they fled in fear and confusion, attacking each other in the darkness as they ran, fearing that it was an enemy.
This resulted in a total rout by Gedeon’s band of 300 men. Guess who got the credit when the battle was over? God did. And that’s what he had in mind all along. Before the battle began the Lord said to Gedeon: “The people that are with thee are many, and Madian shall not be delivered into their hands: lest Israel should glory against me, and say: ‘I was delivered by my own strength!’” (Judges 7:2). Sometimes God has to “cut us down to size” so that when the battle is over, He alone gets the glory. By this we see that God will not choose for His instruments in great achievements, which depend purely on his grace, such persons who, through pride and self-conceit, will take the glory to themselves. He wants winners who will not take away the glory of the One who masterminds each victory.
God Seeks “Nobodies” To Make Them “Somebodies”
When God wants to win a victory, He often chooses a loser and makes him a winner. God is looking for “nobodies” who will become “somebodies” in His hands. Holy Scripture puts it this way. Of the Israelites God says through Holy Scripture: “Not because you surpass all nations in number, is the Lord joined unto you and hath chosen you—for you are the fewest of any people!” (Deuteronomy 7:7). St. Paul adds: “The foolish things of the world hath God chosen, that He may confound the wise; and the weak things of the world hath God chosen, that He may confound the strong! And the base things of the world, and the things that are contemptible, hath God chosen, and things that are not, that He might bring to nought things that are! So that no flesh should glory in His sight” (1 Corinthians 1:27-29).
Elsewhere St. Paul writes: “Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?” (1 Corinthians 1:20). “For if any man think himself to be something, whereas he is nothing, he deceiveth himself!” (Galatians 6:3). “For it is God who worketh in you, both to will and to accomplish, according to His good will” (Philippians 2:13). “Have confidence in the Lord with all thy heart, and lean not upon thy own prudence. In all thy ways think on Him, and He will direct thy steps. Be not wise in thy own conceit!” (Proverbs 3:5-7).
David and Goliath—Winner and Loser
In the eyes of the Israelites, the young boy (to be future king) David was a mere “nobody”, while Goliath was a “somebody” that they greatly respected and feared. Yet, once again, God would turn the tables of human assessment upside-down, by taking a “nobody” and thrashing a “somebody” with that “nobody”. We all know the story, so there is no point reproducing it in full—but the credit David gives God and the reliance David has on God is worth quoting from the story.
David says to King Saul: “‘Let not any man’s heart be dismayed! I, thy servant, will go and will fight against the Philistine!’ And Saul said to David: ‘Thou art not able to withstand this Philistine, nor to fight against him! For thou art but a boy, but he is a warrior from his youth!’ And David said to Saul: ‘Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, or a bear, and took a ram out of the midst of the flock. And I pursued after them, and struck them, and delivered it out of their mouth: and they rose up against me, and I caught them by the throat, and I strangled and killed them [good works]. For I, thy servant, have killed both a lion and a bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be also as one of them. I will go now, and take away the reproach of the people: for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, who hath dared to curse the army of the living God? The LORD DELIVERED ME out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, and HE will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine!’” (1 Kings 17:32-26).
The self-appointed ‘winner’ Goliath taunts David when he sees him to be a mere boy without any armor or weapons: “‘Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with a staff?’ And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And he said to David: ‘Come to me, and I will give thy flesh to the birds of the air, and to the beasts of the earth!’ And David said to the Philistine: ‘Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the Name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, which thou hast defied. This day, and the Lord will deliver thee into my hand, and I will slay thee, and take away thy head from thee! And I will give the carcasses of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air, and to the beasts of the earth: so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel! And all this assembly shall know, that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for it is his battle, and HE will deliver you into our hands!’” (1 Kings 17:43-47).
We Are What We Are Because of God
St. Paul states to the Corinthians: “For who distinguisheth thee? Or what hast thou that thou hast not received? And if thou hast received, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? … But by the grace of God, I am what I am; and His grace in me hath not been void, but I have labored more abundantly than all they: yet, not I, but the grace of God with me!” (1 Corinthians 4:7; 15:10).
Rather than vainly dream of what we think we are, remember instead your roots and stay humble! St. Paul reminds that “All have sinned, and do need the glory of God!” (Romans 3:23). “You were dead in your offences and sins, wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of this air, of the spirit that now worketh on the children of unbelief! In which, also, we all conversed in time past, in the desires of our flesh, fulfilling the will of the flesh and of our thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest! But God, who is rich in mercy, for His exceeding charity wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together in Christ, by whose grace you are saved, and hath raised us up together, and hath made us sit together in the heavenly places, through Christ Jesus. That He might show in the ages to come the abundant riches of his grace, in his bounty towards us through Christ Jesus. For by grace you are saved through Faith, and not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God not of works, so that no man may glory. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus in good works, which God hath prepared, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:1-10).
Self-Acknowledged Winners Are Losers
We have been reformed, changed, forgiven and sanctified by grace. Therefore we should be like the proud Pharisee in the Temple—who thought he was a winner—saying: “O God, I give thee thanks that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, as also is this publican! I fast twice in a week: I give tithes of all that I possess!” (Luke 18:11-12). This self-acclaimed winner was a loser in Jesus’ eyes, for Our Lord praised instead the self-acknowledged loser, the sinful Publican, who “standing afar off, would not so much as lift up his eyes towards heaven; but struck his breast, saying: ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I say to you, this man went down into his house justified rather than the other: because everyone that exalteth himself, shall be humbled: and he that humbleth himself, shall be exalted!’” (Luke 18:13-14).
Good Works and Glory to God
The Protestants wrongly claim from that passage that we are “saved by Faith alone” and “not by works”. This is patently erroneous—for elsewhere St. James tells us that “Wilt thou know, O vain man, that Faith without works is dead? … For even as the body without the spirit is dead; so also Faith without works is dead ... So Faith also, if it have not works, is dead in itself!” (James 2: James 2:20; 2:26; 2:17). For in that same misquoted and misinterpreted passage, St. Paul writes: “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus in good works, which God hath prepared, that we should walk in them [good works]” but those good works are the fruit of the grace of God and not of our own unaided human efforts. As Jesus said, we must have good works, but the glory for them must be given to the Father: “So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father Who is in Heaven!” (Matthew 5:16) to which St. Peter adds, in the same vein: “The Gentiles, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by the good works which they shall behold in you, glorify God!” (1 Peter 2:12). As Holy Scripture says: “Not to us, O Lord, not to us; but to Thy Name give glory!” (Psalm 113:9).
How’s Your Advent Working Out?
How are things working out? Have we worked out a plan? Are we arriving at the Advent Vineyard at the third, sixth, ninth or even eleventh hour? In that parable—the Workers in the Vineyard—Our Lord has everyone be a winner, no matter at what time they entered the vineyard. Let us not spend this last full week of Advent lazily and idly, but let us wholeheartedly, though perhaps belatedly, enter into the spirit of things! A Novena for Christmas begins this Saturday and ends on Christmas Day itself—make it, do it, follow it, meditate it! (Christmas Novena click here). The Great “O” Antiphons begin on this Saturday and end on Friday—follow them, pray them, sing them, meditate them! (O Antiphon Homepage click here and go from there). A series of articles accompany Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the 5-10 days they were on the open road—go with them, sympathize with them, learn from them! (Journey to Bethlehem click here). Make this last week a worthy week, so that this Christmas is not just a material Christmess, but a veritably holy and spiritual Christmas!
Article 6
Friday December 5th
Snooze and Lose!
Friday December 5th
Snooze and Lose!
A Nation of Snoozers and Loosers!
As the popular expression warns: “You snooze... you lose!" This is particularly true of the spiritual life and the work of our salvation—Our Lord even drew our attention to examples of this, both by parable and in real-life incidents. By sleeping, we can “miss the boat” and even end up losing our ticket to Heaven.
First of all, Our Lord relates the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins—in which both are snoozing, but the wise ones did what they had to do before snoozing, whereas the foolish ones neglected to do what they had to do before snoozing. The latter “missed the boat”!
Wise and Foolish Snoozers
Our Lord’s version is: “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be like to ten virgins, who taking their lamps went out to meet the bridegroom and the bride. And five of them were foolish, and five wise. But the five foolish, having taken their lamps, did not take oil with them: but the wise took oil in their vessels with the lamps. And the bridegroom tarrying, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made: ‘Behold the bridegroom cometh, go ye forth to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise: ‘Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out!’ The wise answered, saying: ‘Lest perhaps there be not enough for us and for you, go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves!’ Now whilst they went to buy, the bridegroom came: and they that were ready, went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. But at last come also the other virgins, saying: ‘Lord! Lord! Open to us!’ But he answering said: ‘Amen I say to you, I know you not!’ Watch ye, therefore, because you know not the day nor the hour!” (Matthew 25:1-13).
Snoozing Disciples
The real-life incident that shows the truth of “You snooze... you lose!" occurred in the Garden of Gethsemane, where Our Lord had taken His three favorite Apostles—Peter, James and John. They were told to “watch and pray” but they chose to snooze and lose! Through their snoozing they lost the graces that would have been granted to them had they prayed. Of course, they were afraid at seeing Our Lord in such a depressed and sorrowful state and, in such circumstances, rather than face the unpleasant, we would wishfully sleep all through the bad times. Our Lord did not snooze His time away, but got down to pray and kept on praying until He was given the strength to walk through the doors of torture and death. Here is the account, a combination of all the Evangelists:
Jesus went forth with His disciples over the brook Cedron, into a country place, where there was a garden, which is called Gethsemane, into which He entered with His disciples. And He taketh Peter and James and John with Him; and He began to fear and to be heavy; and began to grow sorrowful and to be sad. He said to His disciples: “Sit you here, till I go yonder and pray.” Then He saith to them: “My soul is sorrowful even unto death; stay you here, and watch with Me!” And when He was gone a little further forward, a stone's cast away, He fell flat on the ground upon His face; and He prayed, saying: “Abba, Father, all things are possible to Thee: remove this chalice from Me! My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what Thou wilt!”
Then He cometh to His disciples, and findeth them asleep, and He saith to Peter: “What? Simon, sleepest thou? Could you not watch one hour with Me? Watch ye, and pray that you enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak!”
And going away again, the second time He prayed, saying the same words, saying: “My Father, if this chalice may not pass away, but I must drink it, thy will be done!” And when He returned, He found them again asleep, for their eyes were heavy, and they knew not what to answer Him.
And leaving them, He went again: and He prayed the third time, saying the selfsame word. And being in an agony, He prayed the longer. And His sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground. And there appeared to Him an angel from Heaven, strengthening Him. Then He cometh to His disciples the third time, and saith to them: “Sleep ye now and take your rest! It is enough! The hour is come! Behold the hour is at hand, and the Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners! Behold, he that will betray Me is at hand! Rise up, let us go!” (Combination of Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, John 18).
Sleepy Spiritual Life
Already in the early Church, lukewarmness, indifference and abuse of spiritual things plagued the Church. St. Paul speaks of this on more than one occasion. In referring to an abuse and lukewarmness towards the Holy Eucharist, he says: “Therefore are there many infirm and weak among you, and many sleep” (1 Corinthians 11:30). Today there are many more who are infirm and weak due to a sleepy spiritual life! St. Paul calls us to less sleep and more vigilance, saying:
“For all you are the children of light, and children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep, as others do; but let us watch, and be sober. For they that sleep, sleep in the night; and they that are drunk, are drunk in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, having on the breastplate of faith and charity, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us unto wrath, but unto the purchasing of salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us; that, whether we watch or sleep, we may live together with Him” (1 Thessalonians 5:5-10).
Sleeping During Mass and Sermons!
Have you ever fallen asleep during Mass or a sermon? Well, this even happened in the time of St. Paul, who was preaching an incredibly long time—for hours on end! One unfortunate young man, perched on the loft, not only fell asleep, but also fell off the loft and killed himself! At least you are still here to tell the tale! Actually, thanks to St. Paul, that young man also ended up telling the tale!
“And on the first day of the week, when they were assembled to break bread, Paul discoursed with them, having to depart on the morrow: and he continued his speech until midnight. And there were a great number of lamps in the upper chamber where we were assembled. And a certain young man named Eutychus, sitting on the window, being oppressed with a deep sleep, (as Paul was long preaching,) by occasion of his sleep fell from the third loft down, and was taken up dead. To whom, when Paul had gone down, he laid himself upon him, and embracing him, said: Be not troubled, for his soul is in him. Then going up, and breaking bread and tasting, and having talked a long time to them, until daylight, so he departed. And they brought the youth alive, and were not a little comforted” (Acts 20:7-12).
Nevertheless, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the greatest action that takes place anywhere upon Earth at any given time. What a victory for the devil to make us sleep at Mass! The sermon, likewise, is an explanation of the word of God—although it can at times be admittedly boring, but, for Heaven’s sake, is it not a sacrifice we can unite to the Sacrifice of the Mass? Or is only Our Lord Who is supposed to sacrifice anything at Mass? Even if the sermon might be boring, think of how many times and for how long you have submitted Our Lord and Our Lady to the suffering and indignity of sitting through and listening to your lukewarm, halfhearted, rushed prayers!!
“Wakey! Wakey!” Says Our Lady
To the Venerable Mary of Agreda, Our Lady said: “Men are lost in forgetful rest and sleep, as if there were no vigilant and powerful enemies. This dreadful carelessness arises from two causes: on the one hand men are so taken up with their earthly and sensible being, that they do not feel any other evils except those concerning the animal nature in them; all that is interior is harmless in their estimation. On the other hand, since the princes of darkness are invisible and unperceived by any of the senses, and, since carnal men neither touch, nor feel, nor see them, they forget the fear of them. Yet for this very reason they ought to be more attentive and careful, since invisible enemies are more cunning and adroit in injuring us by their treachery. So much the more certain is the danger, the more concealed it is, and so much the more deadly are the wounds, the less they are felt and recognized” (Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, The Mystical City of God).
No Drowsy Halfway Measures
Our Lady revealed to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, that “it often happened that He [Jesus] had passed two or three days without rest, or food or sleep”—which explains, somewhat, Our Lord’s words to Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres (Quito, Ecuador), when He says: “I am wounded and displeased with the coldness, indifference, lack of confidence and small inveterate imperfections on the part of those who so closely belong to Me.... But I will not tolerate this. Halfway measures are not pleasing to Me. I desire all or nothing — according to My example, for I gave of Myself to the last drop of Blood and Water from My shattered Body on the Cross!”
St. Bernard’s Wake-Up Call
St. Bernard of Clairvaux writes of awakening effects of Jesus entering the soul: “I confess, though I say it in my foolishness, that the Word has visited me; and even very often. And, thus, I have learned the truth of the words I had read: ‘In Him we live and move and have pure being’ (Acts 17:28). Blessed is the man in whom He is, who lives for Him, who is moved by Him! The Lord is living and full of energy, and as soon as He has entered into me, He has quickened my sleeping soul! He has aroused and softened and goaded my heart, which was in a state of torpor and hard as a stone. He has begun to pluck and destroy, to plant and to build, to water the dry places, to illuminate the gloomy spots, to throw open those which were shut close, to inflame with warmth those which were cold, as also to straighten its crooked paths and make its rough places smooth, so that my soul might bless the Lord, and all that is within me praise His Holy Name!”
Snoozing Negligence
The Book of Proverbs has a passage that should be instructive to snoozes and losers: “I passed by the field [SOUL] of the slothful man, and by the vineyard [SOUL] of the foolish man: and behold it was all filled with nettles [MANY IMPERFECTIONS], and thorns [VENIAL SINS] had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall was broken down [FALLEN INTO MORTAL SIN]. Which, when I had seen, I laid it up in my heart, and, from this example, I received instruction: ‘Thou wilt sleep a little’, said I, ‘thou wilt slumber a little, thou wilt fold thy hands a little to rest: and [SPIRITUAL] poverty shall come to thee as a runner, and beggary as an armed man!’” (Proverbs 24:30-34).
Snoozing to God—Awake to the World
We can very easily sleep our spiritual life (and, consequently, our eternal life) away! What Holy Scripture says of the rich man in the material sense, can also be applied to those who erroneously think that they are rich in the spiritual sense. “The rich man when he shall sleep shall take away nothing with him: he shall open his eyes and find nothing” (Job 27:19). “All the foolish of heart were troubled. They have slept their sleep; and all the men of riches have found nothing in their hands” (Psalm 75:6).
We can sleep the sleep of complacency and awake to find that we merely fooled ourselves. Like the man putting dollar bills in his coat pocket, unaware of the fact that there is massive hole in that pocket. This brings to mind the passage from The Unpublished Manuscript of Purgatory, where the poor soul from Purgatory explains how neglect and complacency has led many a soul to spiritual poverty, whereby it cannot pay its way out of Purgatory at the moment of death.
“Recommend strongly the offering up to God of the actions of the day. This advice is not only to people in the world, but also for religious communities. People do not always think enough of this and, consequently, many actions, good in themselves, will receive no reward at the last day, because they were not first offered up to God … There are numbers of useless actions, many days entirely futile, without any love for Jesus or purity of intention. They are all lost since they have no value for Heaven. You do not direct your intention with the purity that God wills. For instance, instead of offering up your actions vaguely, you could do so with much more fruit, if you only made your intention more definite. When you take your meals for example, say, “O my Jesus nourish my soul with your Divine Grace while I nourish my body.” When you wash your face and hands say, “My Jesus, purify my soul as I am purifying my body,” and so on, for each of your actions. Accustom yourself to be always speaking heart to heart with Jesus, and let Him be the mainspring of all you do or say” (The Unpublished Manuscript of Purgatory).
Even Advanced Souls Snooze and Fall!
Fr. Tanquerey, in The Spiritual Life, warns us against complacency—no matter how far we think we may have advanced in the spiritual life:
“We must therefore realize that contemplative souls can fall into sin. Such falls may come from several causes. The soul may have been raised to contemplation before it had sufficiently mastered its passions. Instead of courageously keeping up the fight, it lulled itself to sleep in the sweetness of repose. Then violent temptations arose, and the soul, trusting overmuch in its own strength, fell. a victim to sin. The means of restoration are compunction of heart, return to God with a contrite and humbled heart, and long and laborious penance. The greater the heights from which one has fallen, the more humble and constant must be the efforts to take up the long and arduous climb once more. It is the office of the spiritual director to drive home this truth with kindness, but also with firmness.
There are contemplative souls who fought valiantly and successfully to bring their evil tendencies into subjection. But, imagining that the struggle was over, they relaxed their efforts and became less generous in fulfilling certain duties which they looked upon as less important. Indifference gradually set in and finally begot lukewarmness. Now, the director must check this downward movement by reminding them that the more generous God has been with them, the more they must increase their fervor, that the least negligence on the part of God’s friends hurts to the quick Him Who bestows His favors so freely upon them. One should read St. Margaret Mary’s autobiography, in which she relates the severe reproaches Our Lord addressed to her, in order to correct her smallest infidelities, her lack of respect and attention during the Office and during mental prayer, her lack of uprightness and purity of intention, her vain curiosity, her least failings in obedience, even when these latter were due to an attempt to increase her austerities. This reading should move the spiritual director to work energetically for the return of such souls to fervor” (Fr. Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life).
A Half-Asleep Spiritual Life
Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange says that most people are living their spiritual life half-asleep! He writes: “If the Blessed Trinity truly dwells in us; if the Word actually was made flesh; died for us; is really present in the Holy Eucharist; offers Himself sacramentally for us every day in the Mass; gives Himself to us as food―if all this is true, then only the saints are fully in order, for they live by this divine presence, through knowledge and through an ever-growing love, in the midst of the obscurities and difficulties of life. And the life of close union with God, far from appearing as something extraordinary, appears alone as fully normal.
"Before reaching such a union, we are like people still half-asleep, who do not truly live sufficiently by the immense treasure given to us and by the continually new graces granted to those who wish to follow Our Lord generously … Before experiencing this intimate union with God present in us, we are somewhat like souls still half-asleep, souls not yet spiritually awakened. Our knowledge of the consoling mystery of the indwelling of the Blessed Trinity is still too superficial and bookish … The way is intended for travelers, not for those who stop en route and sleep … The road to eternity is not made to be used as a place for rest or sleep, but rather to be traveled … We should not settle ourselves on earth; people do not settle themselves on the road, or go to sleep there, but rather use it as a means of advancing toward a given end … For the law of the traveler is to advance, and not to fall asleep on the road” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Ages of the Interior Life).
Just as sloth brings little by way of material good, so does spiritual sloth bring little by way of spiritual goods. “How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou rise out of thy sleep? Thou wilt sleep a little, thou wilt slumber a little, thou wilt fold thy hands a little to sleep: and want shall come upon thee!” (Proverbs 6:9-11). In the prologue of his Rule, St. Benedict wrote: “Let us, therefore, at length arise, since the Scriptures stir us up, saying: ‘It is now the hour for us to rise from sleep’ (Romans 13:11). And our eyes being now open to the divine light, let us hear with wonderment the divine voice admonishing us, in that it cries out daily and says: ‘Today if you shall hear His voice, harden not your hearts.’ That is to say: It is time to rise from the sleep of negligence and to walk courageously in the way of God.”
It’s Hard to Snooze While Being Whipped!
We see the saints being far from a state of spiritual doziness or slothfulness. St. Dominic used to scourge himself three times every night: once, to expiate his own faults; a second time, for those of sinners; and a third, for the souls in purgatory. He consecrated the night to prayer and penance: he slept little, rarely before Matins, and never went to bed afterward. He used to go from one altar to another in the church, praying now on his knees, his arms extended or lifted like arrows above his head, now bowed over or prostrate on the ground. When sleep overcan1e him, he would lie down on the flagstones or rest his head against an altar. Though this is the result of a special grace given by God, it nevertheless shows the seriousness we should place in the spiritual life.
Dozy Without Love
This spiritual doziness, or spiritual snoozing, or spiritual sloth betrays a lack of love for God—for when we love things, nothing holds us back from participating in those things. As the author of The Imitation of Christ writes: “Love watches, and sleeping slumbers not. When weary it is not tired ... but, like a vivid flame and a burning torch, it mounts upward and securely passes through all” (Book 3, chapter 5).
In his Treatise on the Love of God (Book 6, chapter 15), St. Francis de Sales remarks on the subject of ardent love that, according to Plato, it is poor, ragged, naked, pale, emaciated, homeless, always indigent; it sleeps out of doors on the hard ground, for it makes a man leave everything for the one he loves; it causes him to lose sleep and to aspire to an ever closer union. Plato spoke thus of natural love; but, adds St. Francis de Sales, all of this is still truer of divine love when it wounds a soul deeply.
Are We the Heavyweights of the Spiritual Life?
Do we find the spiritual life heavy, burdensome and tiresome? Do we relate to the phrase: “My soul hath slumbered through heaviness” (Psalm 118:28). Do we relate to Saints Peter, James and John in Gethsemane: “When Jesus returned, He found them again asleep, for their eyes were heavy, and they knew not what to answer Him” (Mark 14:40)? If so, then we need to stop hitting the ‘spiritual snooze button’ and drag ourselves into action—like Our Lord dragged Himself up Calvary with a heavy cross on His back, after a sleepless night!
“Give not sleep to thy eyes, neither let thy eyelids slumber” (Proverbs 6:4). It is the first step that hurts and costs. “Blessed are they that suffer” (Matthew 5:10). We must force ourselves up our own spiritual Calvary. What God said of St. Paul, He says to all His true followers: “For I will show him how great things he must suffer for My Name’s sake!” (Acts 9:16).
Therefore, let us stir ourselves out of our torpor, tepidity, sleep and sloth― “Therefore, let us not sleep, as others do; but let us watch!” (1 Thessalonians 5:6) … “It is now the hour for us to rise from sleep! For now our salvation is nearer than when we believed!” (Romans 13:11) … “For He says: ‘In an accepted time have I heard thee; and in the day of salvation have I helped thee!’ Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation!” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
Therefore, let us make Advent an acceptable time to make ourselves acceptable (or more acceptable) to God. “There should be no protracted hours of sleep, and, as a general principle, we must not remain in bed in mornings, once we are awake and are unable to fall asleep again” (Fr. Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life). Let us keep before our eyes the saints and their efforts and endeavors—for we are all called to be saints, as only saints go to Heaven.
Let us crush that debilitating human respect that has taken more souls to Hell than it is has to Heaven—in fact, cowardice in being truly Catholic has never brought anyone to Heaven, only Purgatory at the very best! Better the sleep of death than that of life, for “We know that death is but a sleep, to be soon followed by the resurrection, and that through death we merely exchange a temporary dwelling for an everlasting mansion” (Fr. Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life)—if we persevere unto the end: “But he that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved” (Matthew 10:22).
Falling Asleep in the Lord
“Final perseverance in a state of grace is a singular and priceless gift. We cannot merit it strictly speaking. To die in the state of grace, in spite of all the temptations that assail us at the last hour, to escape these, by a sudden or tranquil death, “falling asleep” in the Lord this is truly―in the language of Councils―the grace of graces. We cannot ask for it insistently enough. Prayer and faithful cooperation with grace can obtain it for us. We truly have to rely upon the divine favor. Think what this means, if one wishes not merely to persevere in grace, but to grow in holiness each day, to avoid deliberate venial faults and reduce as much as in our power lies—even our faults of frailty.
“To pretend that we could for long escape all the faults that hinder our spiritual progress is to contradict the experience of the choicest souls, souls that sorrowed bitterly over their lapses; it would be to contradict St. John who declares that whoever imagines himself free from sin labors under a delusion; in fine, it is to contradict the Council of Trent which condemns those who maintain that justified man can, without a special privilege from God, avoid all venial sin during the whole course of his life.
“Actual grace is, therefore, needed, even after justification. We obtain it from the Divine Mercy by prayer―hence, the stress laid in Holy Scripture upon the necessity of prayer. We can also obtain it through our meritorious acts, in other words, by our cooperation with grace; for the more faithful we are in availing ourselves of the actual graces received, the more will the Almighty be moved to grant us new and greater ones” (Fr. Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life).
Be a ‘Sleepy Joe’ or Sleepy St. Joseph?
Once we have mastered ourselves and made much progress in the ways of God, He will sometimes appear to souls in their sleep! Sometimes it pays to be a “Sleepy Joe” as St. Joseph found out! It was during his sleep that he received messages from God! However, let us not make that an excuse for sleeping our Advent away in the hope of similar graces! God helps those who help themselves—nevertheless, it is remarkable the number of times, in a relatively short space of time, Joseph’s slumbers bring divine fruit!
Imaginative visions are those produced in the imagination by God, or by the Angels, either during sleep, or while one is awake. Thus an Angel appeared several times to St. Joseph in his sleep, and St. Teresa relates several imaginative visions she had of Our Lord while she was awake. These visions are frequently accompanied by an intellectual vision which explains their meaning. As for St. Joseph, we read:
“But while he thought on these things, behold the angel of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep, saying: ‘Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost!’ And Joseph rising up from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and took unto him his wife.” (Matthew 1:20, 24).
“And having received an answer in sleep that they should not return to Herod, they went back another way into their country. And after they were departed, behold an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying: ‘Arise, and take the Child and His Mother, and fly into Egypt: and be there until I shall tell thee. For it will come to pass that Herod will seek the Child to destroy Him” (Matthew 2:12-13).
“But when Herod was dead, behold an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph in Egypt, saying: ‘Arise, and take the Child and His Mother, and go into the land of Israel. For they are dead that sought the life of the Child!’ Who arose, and took the Child and His Mother, and came into the land of Israel. But hearing that Archelaus reigned in Judea in the room of Herod his father, he was afraid to go thither: and being warned in sleep retired into the quarters of Galilee. And coming he dwelt in a city called Nazareth” (Matthew 2:19-23).
The First 'Sleepy Joe' We Know
Even though St. Joseph, the spouse of Mary, had many a divine encounter in his sleep, the first “Sleepy Joe” was Joseph of the Old Testament. It is not that he slept much, but that sleep and dreams had a major impact on his life—bringing him much trouble. It was while sleeping that he had the dreams that got him into big trouble with his family:
“Now Israel loved Joseph above all his sons, because he had him in his old age: and he made him a coat of divers colors. And his brethren seeing that he was loved by his father, more than all his sons, hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him. Now it fell out also that he told his brethren a dream, that he had dreamed: which occasioned them to hate him the more. And he said to them: ‘Hear my dream which I dreamed. I thought we were binding sheaves in the field: and my sheaf arose as it were, and stood, and your sheaves standing about, bowed down before my sheaf.’
“His brethren answered: ‘Shalt thou be our king? Or shall we be subject to thy dominion?’ Therefore this matter of his dreams and words ministered nourishment to their envy and hatred. He dreamed also another dream, which he told his brethren, saying: I saw in a dream, as it were the sun, and the moon, and eleven stars worshiping me!’ And when he had told this to his father and brethren, his father rebuked him, and said: ‘What meaneth this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother, and thy brethren worship thee upon the earth?’” (Genesis 37:3-10).
Joseph, of course, went on be an interpreter of dreams which brought him much fortune in Egypt. It must be true that just as a prophet is not accepted in his own country, neither is a dreamer accepted by his own people!
Sleepy Sam
“Samuel slept in the Temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. And the Lord called Samuel. And he answered: ‘Here am I.’ And he ran to Heli and said: ‘Here am I: for thou didst call me!’ He said: ‘I did not call: go back and sleep!’ And he went and slept. And the Lord called Samuel again. And Samuel arose and went to Heli, and said: ‘Here am I: for thou called me!’ He answered: ‘I did not call thee, my son: return and sleep!’ Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither had the word of the Lord been revealed to him. And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose up and went to Heli. And said: ‘Here am I: for thou didst call me!’ Then Heli understood that the Lord called the child, and he said to Samuel: ‘Go, and sleep: and if He shall call thee any more, thou shalt say: “Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth!”’
“So Samuel went and slept in his place. And the Lord came and stood: and He called, as He had called the other times: ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said: ‘Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth!’ And the Lord said to Samuel: ‘Behold I do a thing in Israel: and whosoever shall hear it, both his ears shall tingle. In that day I will raise up against Heli all the things I have spoken concerning his house: I will begin, and I will make an end. For I have foretold unto him, that I will judge his house for iniquity, because he knew that his sons did wickedly, and did not chastise them. Therefore have I sworn to the house of Heli, that the iniquity of his house shall not be expiated with victims nor offerings for ever!’ And Samuel slept till morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel feared to tell the vision to Heli” (1 Kings 3:3-15).
End of Dream
So while God does work through dreams and show Himself to us while we sleep, that only comes as the icing on the cake after many sleepless nights of prayer and penance. God loves a cheerful giver, let us not snooze our spiritual life away, but let us cheerfully give God as much as we can before we enter the sleep of death! Goodnight! Sleep tight! And don't use the snooze button! You snooze, you lose!
As the popular expression warns: “You snooze... you lose!" This is particularly true of the spiritual life and the work of our salvation—Our Lord even drew our attention to examples of this, both by parable and in real-life incidents. By sleeping, we can “miss the boat” and even end up losing our ticket to Heaven.
First of all, Our Lord relates the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins—in which both are snoozing, but the wise ones did what they had to do before snoozing, whereas the foolish ones neglected to do what they had to do before snoozing. The latter “missed the boat”!
Wise and Foolish Snoozers
Our Lord’s version is: “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be like to ten virgins, who taking their lamps went out to meet the bridegroom and the bride. And five of them were foolish, and five wise. But the five foolish, having taken their lamps, did not take oil with them: but the wise took oil in their vessels with the lamps. And the bridegroom tarrying, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made: ‘Behold the bridegroom cometh, go ye forth to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise: ‘Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out!’ The wise answered, saying: ‘Lest perhaps there be not enough for us and for you, go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves!’ Now whilst they went to buy, the bridegroom came: and they that were ready, went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. But at last come also the other virgins, saying: ‘Lord! Lord! Open to us!’ But he answering said: ‘Amen I say to you, I know you not!’ Watch ye, therefore, because you know not the day nor the hour!” (Matthew 25:1-13).
Snoozing Disciples
The real-life incident that shows the truth of “You snooze... you lose!" occurred in the Garden of Gethsemane, where Our Lord had taken His three favorite Apostles—Peter, James and John. They were told to “watch and pray” but they chose to snooze and lose! Through their snoozing they lost the graces that would have been granted to them had they prayed. Of course, they were afraid at seeing Our Lord in such a depressed and sorrowful state and, in such circumstances, rather than face the unpleasant, we would wishfully sleep all through the bad times. Our Lord did not snooze His time away, but got down to pray and kept on praying until He was given the strength to walk through the doors of torture and death. Here is the account, a combination of all the Evangelists:
Jesus went forth with His disciples over the brook Cedron, into a country place, where there was a garden, which is called Gethsemane, into which He entered with His disciples. And He taketh Peter and James and John with Him; and He began to fear and to be heavy; and began to grow sorrowful and to be sad. He said to His disciples: “Sit you here, till I go yonder and pray.” Then He saith to them: “My soul is sorrowful even unto death; stay you here, and watch with Me!” And when He was gone a little further forward, a stone's cast away, He fell flat on the ground upon His face; and He prayed, saying: “Abba, Father, all things are possible to Thee: remove this chalice from Me! My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what Thou wilt!”
Then He cometh to His disciples, and findeth them asleep, and He saith to Peter: “What? Simon, sleepest thou? Could you not watch one hour with Me? Watch ye, and pray that you enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak!”
And going away again, the second time He prayed, saying the same words, saying: “My Father, if this chalice may not pass away, but I must drink it, thy will be done!” And when He returned, He found them again asleep, for their eyes were heavy, and they knew not what to answer Him.
And leaving them, He went again: and He prayed the third time, saying the selfsame word. And being in an agony, He prayed the longer. And His sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground. And there appeared to Him an angel from Heaven, strengthening Him. Then He cometh to His disciples the third time, and saith to them: “Sleep ye now and take your rest! It is enough! The hour is come! Behold the hour is at hand, and the Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners! Behold, he that will betray Me is at hand! Rise up, let us go!” (Combination of Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, John 18).
Sleepy Spiritual Life
Already in the early Church, lukewarmness, indifference and abuse of spiritual things plagued the Church. St. Paul speaks of this on more than one occasion. In referring to an abuse and lukewarmness towards the Holy Eucharist, he says: “Therefore are there many infirm and weak among you, and many sleep” (1 Corinthians 11:30). Today there are many more who are infirm and weak due to a sleepy spiritual life! St. Paul calls us to less sleep and more vigilance, saying:
“For all you are the children of light, and children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep, as others do; but let us watch, and be sober. For they that sleep, sleep in the night; and they that are drunk, are drunk in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, having on the breastplate of faith and charity, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us unto wrath, but unto the purchasing of salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us; that, whether we watch or sleep, we may live together with Him” (1 Thessalonians 5:5-10).
Sleeping During Mass and Sermons!
Have you ever fallen asleep during Mass or a sermon? Well, this even happened in the time of St. Paul, who was preaching an incredibly long time—for hours on end! One unfortunate young man, perched on the loft, not only fell asleep, but also fell off the loft and killed himself! At least you are still here to tell the tale! Actually, thanks to St. Paul, that young man also ended up telling the tale!
“And on the first day of the week, when they were assembled to break bread, Paul discoursed with them, having to depart on the morrow: and he continued his speech until midnight. And there were a great number of lamps in the upper chamber where we were assembled. And a certain young man named Eutychus, sitting on the window, being oppressed with a deep sleep, (as Paul was long preaching,) by occasion of his sleep fell from the third loft down, and was taken up dead. To whom, when Paul had gone down, he laid himself upon him, and embracing him, said: Be not troubled, for his soul is in him. Then going up, and breaking bread and tasting, and having talked a long time to them, until daylight, so he departed. And they brought the youth alive, and were not a little comforted” (Acts 20:7-12).
Nevertheless, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the greatest action that takes place anywhere upon Earth at any given time. What a victory for the devil to make us sleep at Mass! The sermon, likewise, is an explanation of the word of God—although it can at times be admittedly boring, but, for Heaven’s sake, is it not a sacrifice we can unite to the Sacrifice of the Mass? Or is only Our Lord Who is supposed to sacrifice anything at Mass? Even if the sermon might be boring, think of how many times and for how long you have submitted Our Lord and Our Lady to the suffering and indignity of sitting through and listening to your lukewarm, halfhearted, rushed prayers!!
“Wakey! Wakey!” Says Our Lady
To the Venerable Mary of Agreda, Our Lady said: “Men are lost in forgetful rest and sleep, as if there were no vigilant and powerful enemies. This dreadful carelessness arises from two causes: on the one hand men are so taken up with their earthly and sensible being, that they do not feel any other evils except those concerning the animal nature in them; all that is interior is harmless in their estimation. On the other hand, since the princes of darkness are invisible and unperceived by any of the senses, and, since carnal men neither touch, nor feel, nor see them, they forget the fear of them. Yet for this very reason they ought to be more attentive and careful, since invisible enemies are more cunning and adroit in injuring us by their treachery. So much the more certain is the danger, the more concealed it is, and so much the more deadly are the wounds, the less they are felt and recognized” (Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, The Mystical City of God).
No Drowsy Halfway Measures
Our Lady revealed to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, that “it often happened that He [Jesus] had passed two or three days without rest, or food or sleep”—which explains, somewhat, Our Lord’s words to Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres (Quito, Ecuador), when He says: “I am wounded and displeased with the coldness, indifference, lack of confidence and small inveterate imperfections on the part of those who so closely belong to Me.... But I will not tolerate this. Halfway measures are not pleasing to Me. I desire all or nothing — according to My example, for I gave of Myself to the last drop of Blood and Water from My shattered Body on the Cross!”
St. Bernard’s Wake-Up Call
St. Bernard of Clairvaux writes of awakening effects of Jesus entering the soul: “I confess, though I say it in my foolishness, that the Word has visited me; and even very often. And, thus, I have learned the truth of the words I had read: ‘In Him we live and move and have pure being’ (Acts 17:28). Blessed is the man in whom He is, who lives for Him, who is moved by Him! The Lord is living and full of energy, and as soon as He has entered into me, He has quickened my sleeping soul! He has aroused and softened and goaded my heart, which was in a state of torpor and hard as a stone. He has begun to pluck and destroy, to plant and to build, to water the dry places, to illuminate the gloomy spots, to throw open those which were shut close, to inflame with warmth those which were cold, as also to straighten its crooked paths and make its rough places smooth, so that my soul might bless the Lord, and all that is within me praise His Holy Name!”
Snoozing Negligence
The Book of Proverbs has a passage that should be instructive to snoozes and losers: “I passed by the field [SOUL] of the slothful man, and by the vineyard [SOUL] of the foolish man: and behold it was all filled with nettles [MANY IMPERFECTIONS], and thorns [VENIAL SINS] had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall was broken down [FALLEN INTO MORTAL SIN]. Which, when I had seen, I laid it up in my heart, and, from this example, I received instruction: ‘Thou wilt sleep a little’, said I, ‘thou wilt slumber a little, thou wilt fold thy hands a little to rest: and [SPIRITUAL] poverty shall come to thee as a runner, and beggary as an armed man!’” (Proverbs 24:30-34).
Snoozing to God—Awake to the World
We can very easily sleep our spiritual life (and, consequently, our eternal life) away! What Holy Scripture says of the rich man in the material sense, can also be applied to those who erroneously think that they are rich in the spiritual sense. “The rich man when he shall sleep shall take away nothing with him: he shall open his eyes and find nothing” (Job 27:19). “All the foolish of heart were troubled. They have slept their sleep; and all the men of riches have found nothing in their hands” (Psalm 75:6).
We can sleep the sleep of complacency and awake to find that we merely fooled ourselves. Like the man putting dollar bills in his coat pocket, unaware of the fact that there is massive hole in that pocket. This brings to mind the passage from The Unpublished Manuscript of Purgatory, where the poor soul from Purgatory explains how neglect and complacency has led many a soul to spiritual poverty, whereby it cannot pay its way out of Purgatory at the moment of death.
“Recommend strongly the offering up to God of the actions of the day. This advice is not only to people in the world, but also for religious communities. People do not always think enough of this and, consequently, many actions, good in themselves, will receive no reward at the last day, because they were not first offered up to God … There are numbers of useless actions, many days entirely futile, without any love for Jesus or purity of intention. They are all lost since they have no value for Heaven. You do not direct your intention with the purity that God wills. For instance, instead of offering up your actions vaguely, you could do so with much more fruit, if you only made your intention more definite. When you take your meals for example, say, “O my Jesus nourish my soul with your Divine Grace while I nourish my body.” When you wash your face and hands say, “My Jesus, purify my soul as I am purifying my body,” and so on, for each of your actions. Accustom yourself to be always speaking heart to heart with Jesus, and let Him be the mainspring of all you do or say” (The Unpublished Manuscript of Purgatory).
Even Advanced Souls Snooze and Fall!
Fr. Tanquerey, in The Spiritual Life, warns us against complacency—no matter how far we think we may have advanced in the spiritual life:
“We must therefore realize that contemplative souls can fall into sin. Such falls may come from several causes. The soul may have been raised to contemplation before it had sufficiently mastered its passions. Instead of courageously keeping up the fight, it lulled itself to sleep in the sweetness of repose. Then violent temptations arose, and the soul, trusting overmuch in its own strength, fell. a victim to sin. The means of restoration are compunction of heart, return to God with a contrite and humbled heart, and long and laborious penance. The greater the heights from which one has fallen, the more humble and constant must be the efforts to take up the long and arduous climb once more. It is the office of the spiritual director to drive home this truth with kindness, but also with firmness.
There are contemplative souls who fought valiantly and successfully to bring their evil tendencies into subjection. But, imagining that the struggle was over, they relaxed their efforts and became less generous in fulfilling certain duties which they looked upon as less important. Indifference gradually set in and finally begot lukewarmness. Now, the director must check this downward movement by reminding them that the more generous God has been with them, the more they must increase their fervor, that the least negligence on the part of God’s friends hurts to the quick Him Who bestows His favors so freely upon them. One should read St. Margaret Mary’s autobiography, in which she relates the severe reproaches Our Lord addressed to her, in order to correct her smallest infidelities, her lack of respect and attention during the Office and during mental prayer, her lack of uprightness and purity of intention, her vain curiosity, her least failings in obedience, even when these latter were due to an attempt to increase her austerities. This reading should move the spiritual director to work energetically for the return of such souls to fervor” (Fr. Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life).
A Half-Asleep Spiritual Life
Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange says that most people are living their spiritual life half-asleep! He writes: “If the Blessed Trinity truly dwells in us; if the Word actually was made flesh; died for us; is really present in the Holy Eucharist; offers Himself sacramentally for us every day in the Mass; gives Himself to us as food―if all this is true, then only the saints are fully in order, for they live by this divine presence, through knowledge and through an ever-growing love, in the midst of the obscurities and difficulties of life. And the life of close union with God, far from appearing as something extraordinary, appears alone as fully normal.
"Before reaching such a union, we are like people still half-asleep, who do not truly live sufficiently by the immense treasure given to us and by the continually new graces granted to those who wish to follow Our Lord generously … Before experiencing this intimate union with God present in us, we are somewhat like souls still half-asleep, souls not yet spiritually awakened. Our knowledge of the consoling mystery of the indwelling of the Blessed Trinity is still too superficial and bookish … The way is intended for travelers, not for those who stop en route and sleep … The road to eternity is not made to be used as a place for rest or sleep, but rather to be traveled … We should not settle ourselves on earth; people do not settle themselves on the road, or go to sleep there, but rather use it as a means of advancing toward a given end … For the law of the traveler is to advance, and not to fall asleep on the road” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Ages of the Interior Life).
Just as sloth brings little by way of material good, so does spiritual sloth bring little by way of spiritual goods. “How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou rise out of thy sleep? Thou wilt sleep a little, thou wilt slumber a little, thou wilt fold thy hands a little to sleep: and want shall come upon thee!” (Proverbs 6:9-11). In the prologue of his Rule, St. Benedict wrote: “Let us, therefore, at length arise, since the Scriptures stir us up, saying: ‘It is now the hour for us to rise from sleep’ (Romans 13:11). And our eyes being now open to the divine light, let us hear with wonderment the divine voice admonishing us, in that it cries out daily and says: ‘Today if you shall hear His voice, harden not your hearts.’ That is to say: It is time to rise from the sleep of negligence and to walk courageously in the way of God.”
It’s Hard to Snooze While Being Whipped!
We see the saints being far from a state of spiritual doziness or slothfulness. St. Dominic used to scourge himself three times every night: once, to expiate his own faults; a second time, for those of sinners; and a third, for the souls in purgatory. He consecrated the night to prayer and penance: he slept little, rarely before Matins, and never went to bed afterward. He used to go from one altar to another in the church, praying now on his knees, his arms extended or lifted like arrows above his head, now bowed over or prostrate on the ground. When sleep overcan1e him, he would lie down on the flagstones or rest his head against an altar. Though this is the result of a special grace given by God, it nevertheless shows the seriousness we should place in the spiritual life.
Dozy Without Love
This spiritual doziness, or spiritual snoozing, or spiritual sloth betrays a lack of love for God—for when we love things, nothing holds us back from participating in those things. As the author of The Imitation of Christ writes: “Love watches, and sleeping slumbers not. When weary it is not tired ... but, like a vivid flame and a burning torch, it mounts upward and securely passes through all” (Book 3, chapter 5).
In his Treatise on the Love of God (Book 6, chapter 15), St. Francis de Sales remarks on the subject of ardent love that, according to Plato, it is poor, ragged, naked, pale, emaciated, homeless, always indigent; it sleeps out of doors on the hard ground, for it makes a man leave everything for the one he loves; it causes him to lose sleep and to aspire to an ever closer union. Plato spoke thus of natural love; but, adds St. Francis de Sales, all of this is still truer of divine love when it wounds a soul deeply.
Are We the Heavyweights of the Spiritual Life?
Do we find the spiritual life heavy, burdensome and tiresome? Do we relate to the phrase: “My soul hath slumbered through heaviness” (Psalm 118:28). Do we relate to Saints Peter, James and John in Gethsemane: “When Jesus returned, He found them again asleep, for their eyes were heavy, and they knew not what to answer Him” (Mark 14:40)? If so, then we need to stop hitting the ‘spiritual snooze button’ and drag ourselves into action—like Our Lord dragged Himself up Calvary with a heavy cross on His back, after a sleepless night!
“Give not sleep to thy eyes, neither let thy eyelids slumber” (Proverbs 6:4). It is the first step that hurts and costs. “Blessed are they that suffer” (Matthew 5:10). We must force ourselves up our own spiritual Calvary. What God said of St. Paul, He says to all His true followers: “For I will show him how great things he must suffer for My Name’s sake!” (Acts 9:16).
Therefore, let us stir ourselves out of our torpor, tepidity, sleep and sloth― “Therefore, let us not sleep, as others do; but let us watch!” (1 Thessalonians 5:6) … “It is now the hour for us to rise from sleep! For now our salvation is nearer than when we believed!” (Romans 13:11) … “For He says: ‘In an accepted time have I heard thee; and in the day of salvation have I helped thee!’ Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation!” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
Therefore, let us make Advent an acceptable time to make ourselves acceptable (or more acceptable) to God. “There should be no protracted hours of sleep, and, as a general principle, we must not remain in bed in mornings, once we are awake and are unable to fall asleep again” (Fr. Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life). Let us keep before our eyes the saints and their efforts and endeavors—for we are all called to be saints, as only saints go to Heaven.
Let us crush that debilitating human respect that has taken more souls to Hell than it is has to Heaven—in fact, cowardice in being truly Catholic has never brought anyone to Heaven, only Purgatory at the very best! Better the sleep of death than that of life, for “We know that death is but a sleep, to be soon followed by the resurrection, and that through death we merely exchange a temporary dwelling for an everlasting mansion” (Fr. Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life)—if we persevere unto the end: “But he that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved” (Matthew 10:22).
Falling Asleep in the Lord
“Final perseverance in a state of grace is a singular and priceless gift. We cannot merit it strictly speaking. To die in the state of grace, in spite of all the temptations that assail us at the last hour, to escape these, by a sudden or tranquil death, “falling asleep” in the Lord this is truly―in the language of Councils―the grace of graces. We cannot ask for it insistently enough. Prayer and faithful cooperation with grace can obtain it for us. We truly have to rely upon the divine favor. Think what this means, if one wishes not merely to persevere in grace, but to grow in holiness each day, to avoid deliberate venial faults and reduce as much as in our power lies—even our faults of frailty.
“To pretend that we could for long escape all the faults that hinder our spiritual progress is to contradict the experience of the choicest souls, souls that sorrowed bitterly over their lapses; it would be to contradict St. John who declares that whoever imagines himself free from sin labors under a delusion; in fine, it is to contradict the Council of Trent which condemns those who maintain that justified man can, without a special privilege from God, avoid all venial sin during the whole course of his life.
“Actual grace is, therefore, needed, even after justification. We obtain it from the Divine Mercy by prayer―hence, the stress laid in Holy Scripture upon the necessity of prayer. We can also obtain it through our meritorious acts, in other words, by our cooperation with grace; for the more faithful we are in availing ourselves of the actual graces received, the more will the Almighty be moved to grant us new and greater ones” (Fr. Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life).
Be a ‘Sleepy Joe’ or Sleepy St. Joseph?
Once we have mastered ourselves and made much progress in the ways of God, He will sometimes appear to souls in their sleep! Sometimes it pays to be a “Sleepy Joe” as St. Joseph found out! It was during his sleep that he received messages from God! However, let us not make that an excuse for sleeping our Advent away in the hope of similar graces! God helps those who help themselves—nevertheless, it is remarkable the number of times, in a relatively short space of time, Joseph’s slumbers bring divine fruit!
Imaginative visions are those produced in the imagination by God, or by the Angels, either during sleep, or while one is awake. Thus an Angel appeared several times to St. Joseph in his sleep, and St. Teresa relates several imaginative visions she had of Our Lord while she was awake. These visions are frequently accompanied by an intellectual vision which explains their meaning. As for St. Joseph, we read:
“But while he thought on these things, behold the angel of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep, saying: ‘Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost!’ And Joseph rising up from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and took unto him his wife.” (Matthew 1:20, 24).
“And having received an answer in sleep that they should not return to Herod, they went back another way into their country. And after they were departed, behold an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying: ‘Arise, and take the Child and His Mother, and fly into Egypt: and be there until I shall tell thee. For it will come to pass that Herod will seek the Child to destroy Him” (Matthew 2:12-13).
“But when Herod was dead, behold an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph in Egypt, saying: ‘Arise, and take the Child and His Mother, and go into the land of Israel. For they are dead that sought the life of the Child!’ Who arose, and took the Child and His Mother, and came into the land of Israel. But hearing that Archelaus reigned in Judea in the room of Herod his father, he was afraid to go thither: and being warned in sleep retired into the quarters of Galilee. And coming he dwelt in a city called Nazareth” (Matthew 2:19-23).
The First 'Sleepy Joe' We Know
Even though St. Joseph, the spouse of Mary, had many a divine encounter in his sleep, the first “Sleepy Joe” was Joseph of the Old Testament. It is not that he slept much, but that sleep and dreams had a major impact on his life—bringing him much trouble. It was while sleeping that he had the dreams that got him into big trouble with his family:
“Now Israel loved Joseph above all his sons, because he had him in his old age: and he made him a coat of divers colors. And his brethren seeing that he was loved by his father, more than all his sons, hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him. Now it fell out also that he told his brethren a dream, that he had dreamed: which occasioned them to hate him the more. And he said to them: ‘Hear my dream which I dreamed. I thought we were binding sheaves in the field: and my sheaf arose as it were, and stood, and your sheaves standing about, bowed down before my sheaf.’
“His brethren answered: ‘Shalt thou be our king? Or shall we be subject to thy dominion?’ Therefore this matter of his dreams and words ministered nourishment to their envy and hatred. He dreamed also another dream, which he told his brethren, saying: I saw in a dream, as it were the sun, and the moon, and eleven stars worshiping me!’ And when he had told this to his father and brethren, his father rebuked him, and said: ‘What meaneth this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother, and thy brethren worship thee upon the earth?’” (Genesis 37:3-10).
Joseph, of course, went on be an interpreter of dreams which brought him much fortune in Egypt. It must be true that just as a prophet is not accepted in his own country, neither is a dreamer accepted by his own people!
Sleepy Sam
“Samuel slept in the Temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. And the Lord called Samuel. And he answered: ‘Here am I.’ And he ran to Heli and said: ‘Here am I: for thou didst call me!’ He said: ‘I did not call: go back and sleep!’ And he went and slept. And the Lord called Samuel again. And Samuel arose and went to Heli, and said: ‘Here am I: for thou called me!’ He answered: ‘I did not call thee, my son: return and sleep!’ Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither had the word of the Lord been revealed to him. And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose up and went to Heli. And said: ‘Here am I: for thou didst call me!’ Then Heli understood that the Lord called the child, and he said to Samuel: ‘Go, and sleep: and if He shall call thee any more, thou shalt say: “Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth!”’
“So Samuel went and slept in his place. And the Lord came and stood: and He called, as He had called the other times: ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said: ‘Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth!’ And the Lord said to Samuel: ‘Behold I do a thing in Israel: and whosoever shall hear it, both his ears shall tingle. In that day I will raise up against Heli all the things I have spoken concerning his house: I will begin, and I will make an end. For I have foretold unto him, that I will judge his house for iniquity, because he knew that his sons did wickedly, and did not chastise them. Therefore have I sworn to the house of Heli, that the iniquity of his house shall not be expiated with victims nor offerings for ever!’ And Samuel slept till morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel feared to tell the vision to Heli” (1 Kings 3:3-15).
End of Dream
So while God does work through dreams and show Himself to us while we sleep, that only comes as the icing on the cake after many sleepless nights of prayer and penance. God loves a cheerful giver, let us not snooze our spiritual life away, but let us cheerfully give God as much as we can before we enter the sleep of death! Goodnight! Sleep tight! And don't use the snooze button! You snooze, you lose!
Article 5
Thursday December 4th
Spiritual Power Outage
Thursday December 4th
Spiritual Power Outage
“For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the Earth, to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.” (2 Chronicles 16:9)
Sitting in the Dark!
We’ve all been through it! Suddenly it was dark! The lights wouldn’t light! The clock forgot what time it was and went to sleep! The refrigerator was eerily silent! The radio wouldn’t jabber! The TV had no good news or bad news or even the same old news to impart! The computer went from real slow to real dead! And the microwave wouldn’t wave! The unpleasant realization dawned! It was another power outage. Was it a downed line? A blown transformer? A worn switch? A bad thingamajig? Whatever it was, something along the “power chain” was no longer plugged into the “power source.”
The Darkness of the Soul
Electricity, like anything important in life that we depend upon, is only as good as its weakest link. Christians are the same way. We wholly depend on Jesus--“Without Me, you can do nothing!”—whether we admit it or not, know it or not, like it or not. Yet, just like electrical power outages, we suffer spiritual power outages from time to time. Our spiritual life is only as good as our “weakest link” or “weakest point” in our relationship to God. We may be strong in many ways, but it is on our “weakest link” or “weakest point” or “predominant fault” that we “short-circuit” and blow the fuse for sanctifying grace.
Power Outages Can Be Very Expensive!
Many companies are unprepared for business disruptions caused by power blackouts, and are often unaware of the true costs and impact that they can have on their operations. While the majority of power failures from national grids last only a few hours, some blackouts can last days or even weeks, completely shutting down production at companies and critical infrastructures such as telecommunication networks, financial services, water supplies and hospitals.
Furthermore, it is likely that power blackouts will become more frequent because of a lack of desire to invest in aged national grid infrastructures in Europe and the USA, as well as the fact that energy from decentralized, “volatile” renewable sources is not well aligned to work on electricity grids that were designed 50 or 60 years ago. Also, as more and more grids are interconnected, a blackout in one region can trigger a domino effect that could result in supra-regional blackouts.
Increased risks from terrorism, cyber-attacks and solar flares also highlights how vulnerable the world’s energy grids are to systemic failure. Research shows that the financial impacts of even a small power cut can be catastrophic. Analyses from blackout events in the USA show that a 30-minute power-cut results in an average loss of US$15,709 for medium and large industrial clients, and nearly $94,000 for an eight-hour interruption. Even short blackouts—which occur several times a year in the US—add up to an annual estimated economic loss of between $104,000 million ($104 billion) and $164,000 million ($164 billion).
Spiritual Power Outages Are More Expensive!
When we lose or disconnect from the grace of God by a spiritual short-circuit and blown fuse (mortal sin), it is far more expensive than we would like to imagine. God revealed to St. Frances of Rome—a wife, mother, mystic, organizer of charitable services and a Benedictine oblate, who founded a religious community of oblates—that the average mortal sin, once it is confessed, has an average of seven years of expiation in the fires of Purgatory—unless additional penance is done to that imposed by the priest during confession. We post again, below, the table of calculations for the various number of mortal sins committed—in order to show how expensive mortal sin (spiritual short-circuit) really is!
Sitting in the Dark!
We’ve all been through it! Suddenly it was dark! The lights wouldn’t light! The clock forgot what time it was and went to sleep! The refrigerator was eerily silent! The radio wouldn’t jabber! The TV had no good news or bad news or even the same old news to impart! The computer went from real slow to real dead! And the microwave wouldn’t wave! The unpleasant realization dawned! It was another power outage. Was it a downed line? A blown transformer? A worn switch? A bad thingamajig? Whatever it was, something along the “power chain” was no longer plugged into the “power source.”
The Darkness of the Soul
Electricity, like anything important in life that we depend upon, is only as good as its weakest link. Christians are the same way. We wholly depend on Jesus--“Without Me, you can do nothing!”—whether we admit it or not, know it or not, like it or not. Yet, just like electrical power outages, we suffer spiritual power outages from time to time. Our spiritual life is only as good as our “weakest link” or “weakest point” in our relationship to God. We may be strong in many ways, but it is on our “weakest link” or “weakest point” or “predominant fault” that we “short-circuit” and blow the fuse for sanctifying grace.
Power Outages Can Be Very Expensive!
Many companies are unprepared for business disruptions caused by power blackouts, and are often unaware of the true costs and impact that they can have on their operations. While the majority of power failures from national grids last only a few hours, some blackouts can last days or even weeks, completely shutting down production at companies and critical infrastructures such as telecommunication networks, financial services, water supplies and hospitals.
Furthermore, it is likely that power blackouts will become more frequent because of a lack of desire to invest in aged national grid infrastructures in Europe and the USA, as well as the fact that energy from decentralized, “volatile” renewable sources is not well aligned to work on electricity grids that were designed 50 or 60 years ago. Also, as more and more grids are interconnected, a blackout in one region can trigger a domino effect that could result in supra-regional blackouts.
Increased risks from terrorism, cyber-attacks and solar flares also highlights how vulnerable the world’s energy grids are to systemic failure. Research shows that the financial impacts of even a small power cut can be catastrophic. Analyses from blackout events in the USA show that a 30-minute power-cut results in an average loss of US$15,709 for medium and large industrial clients, and nearly $94,000 for an eight-hour interruption. Even short blackouts—which occur several times a year in the US—add up to an annual estimated economic loss of between $104,000 million ($104 billion) and $164,000 million ($164 billion).
Spiritual Power Outages Are More Expensive!
When we lose or disconnect from the grace of God by a spiritual short-circuit and blown fuse (mortal sin), it is far more expensive than we would like to imagine. God revealed to St. Frances of Rome—a wife, mother, mystic, organizer of charitable services and a Benedictine oblate, who founded a religious community of oblates—that the average mortal sin, once it is confessed, has an average of seven years of expiation in the fires of Purgatory—unless additional penance is done to that imposed by the priest during confession. We post again, below, the table of calculations for the various number of mortal sins committed—in order to show how expensive mortal sin (spiritual short-circuit) really is!
As you can see, "spiritual short circuits" just don't pay! Most people never think of the cost of "spiritual power outages" and imagine that a mere resetting of the circuit-breaker or installation of a new fuse—in the confessional—is all there is to it! But as the table above shows, the long-term costs can be horrendous.
Danger of Power Outages
A terrorist attack on the power grid could cut you off from electricity for weeks without any warning. A direct hit from a solar storm could also bring our power grid to its knees—it has happened before, back when we didn’t rely so heavily on electricity. A similar event today would be devastating. But the most likely cause of a prolonged power failure is the grid itself—it is aging and, every year, it is less able to keep up with the growing power consumption of our society. No matter what caused the outage, living without power creates real, dangerous health risks that you might not have thought about or prepared for.
The same is true spiritually. A terrorist attack of worldliness could cut you off from spiritual power through succumbing to the worldliness and the resultant sins it produces. Or it could be a direct hit from Hell, that could bring to your knees through mortal sin. Or it could be your ever-aging and weakening virus of lukewarmness, that cannot provide the amount of spiritual energy needed to cope with ever-increasing temptation of worldly consumerism. This weakening of grace or loss of grace can have disastrous consequences—depending upon who you are and what your habitual state of soul is like.
Health Endangered During Power Outages
Many people rely on power to help manage chronic health conditions. If you fall into this group, you know that a power outage can quickly become a matter of life or death. Whether you require insulin to manage diabetes or you rely on a respirator to help with your breathing, you know how quickly a power outage can turn your world upside down.
Likewise, spiritually, people need a regular flow of grace—actual grace—to be able to maintain the sanctifying grace needed for life in their souls. A spiritual power outage can lead to a rapid deterioration of spiritual health, as one sin quickly follows upon the other—once the first mortal sin has been committed. Grace strengthens and perfects our human nature—without it, we quickly slide down the slope to animalistic behaviors.
Exposure to the Elements During Power Outages
Extreme temperatures, whether hot or cold, can take a toll on anyone. A lot depends upon what time of the year the power outage strikes. Winter time can be particularly dangerous, when those most at risk are young children, seniors, and anyone who is already sick, or otherwise in a weakened state. In severe cases, exposure to extreme heat or cold can lead to serious health problems that may require hospitalization, or that can even lead to death.
Similarly, in the spiritual life, a ‘spiritual power outage’ that loses grace, exposes the soul to coldness towards God or a violent feverish passion for sin.
Food Poisoning During Power Outages
Lack of refrigeration can quickly lead to food spoilage. Eating foods that have not been stored at proper temperatures can cause food poisoning from salmonella, E.coli, or other bacteria. Because we take refrigeration for granted, prudence is one of the things many people will be low on during a prolonged power outage.
Grace is sometimes referred to as something cool as opposed to heat of temptation. In fact, in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass (Extraordinary Rite) the canon of the Mass speaks of granting to the souls of the deceased in Purgatory a place of coolness—“locum refrigerii”! We also speak of “staying cool under pressure” and we tell people to “cool down” when they are passionately violent and angry. Water—which is a favorite symbol of grace with the Fathers of the Church—is also a coolant, which brings to mind the water-cooling system of car engines. In the same way, grace keeps us cool under the pressure of “good fight of the Faith” that St. Paul commends us to. Grace keeps the mind and heart from growing rotten. Grace keeps us ‘firm’ in the Faith. Grace is that ‘electrical’ power that helps our souls run as they should and avoids our souls from being poisoned by the many virus that surround us.
Water Hazards During Power Outages
Perhaps one of the biggest dangers during a prolonged power outage is consuming contaminated water. Water treatment plants need power to operate, and while they usually have backup generators that will keep them running during an outage, during a storm or natural disaster, those generators may go out as well. If you don’t know how to treat your water before drinking it, or if you don’t have the correct supplies, you could be exposed to toxins and waterborne illnesses.
If we take the lead from the Fathers of the Church, for whom water symbolized grace—then “water hazards” can be seen to be “contaminated grace” or could we say “contaminated sources of grace”. If the Church and Her ministers are sources of grace for the faithful, then a “water hazard” could be said to be a “Contaminated Church” and “Contaminated Ministers of the Church”. This, in fact, is what Our Lady of La Salette speaks of, when she says that “the priests have become cesspools of impurity” and “a large number of demons, will be unloosed from Hell; they will put an end to Faith, little by little, even in those dedicated to God. They will blind them in such a way, that … several religious institutions will lose all Faith and will lose many souls … and the spirits of darkness will spread everywhere a universal slackening of all that concerns the service of God.” Thus, contaminated “water” and contaminated “sources of water”! Thus, a “water hazard” or “grace hazard”!
Along the same lines, we have the revelations given to the stigmatist Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, who relates: “I saw a strange church being built against every rule … No angels were supervising the building operations. In that church, nothing came from high above … There was nothing holy in it ... There was only division and chaos. It is probably a church of human creation, following the latest fashion ... I saw this false church increase in size; heretics of every kind came into the city (of Rome) … I saw how baleful (harmful) would be the consequences of this false church. .... All sorts of abominations were perpetrated there … The local clergy grew lukewarm ... I saw the Holy Father surrounded by traitors and in great distress about the Church … I saw the secret sect relentlessly undermining the great Church! … And I saw a great darkness! … I saw the ever-increasing tepidity of the clergy, the circle of darkness ever widening! I see that the false Church of darkness is making progress and I see the dreadful influence it has on the people.” A “great darkness” … “a circle of darkness” … “the false Church of darkness” is like a great spiritual power outage, where the light of Christ is no longer present!
Injury During Power Outages
During a power outage, you may be called on to do things that you wouldn’t normally do, like operate a generator or clear heavy debris from around your home. Injuries suffered during a power outage are more dangerous than usual because the medical system is already stretched thin. This could delay your treatment, and exacerbate your injury.
Likewise with a ‘spiritual power outage’, in relation to the grace of God. If you have committed a mortal sin, then you are mortally wounded. Who in their right mind would stay away from the Emergency Room after receiving a mortal wound? Yet there are many to stay away from the ‘Spiritual Emergency Room’—the confessional—after having committed mortal sin! Some even go back for more mortal wounds (sins) rather than go seek spiritual ‘emergency’ treatment and care! In the meantime, the poison of sin spreads once the grace of God has been eliminated and cast out. Just as “grace perfects our nature”, “sin weakens and corrupts our nature.” Look upon it like a fire—the longer you put-off extinguishing the fire, the more damage it does in the meantime.
Remember too, that even though Original Sin was removed from our souls by Baptism and the inpouring of sanctifying grace, the scars and effects are not taken away—we are left with a darkened intellect, a weakened will, and rampant concupiscence. Likewise with our own personal sins that we commit—even though we may confess them and grace is restored to our souls, the effects of those sins leave a certain trace and weakness behind—like the frequent spraining of an ankle makes the ankle more easily susceptible to future sprains and injuries, so too with our sins.
With regard to venial sins, we are probably already breathing these in like the dust in the air around us. They make us wheeze spiritually, impair our ability to breathe-in grace, and thus reduce our energy for spiritual things and gradually and increasingly weaken the soul—eventually setting us up for mortal sin, if not action is taken to filter them out.
Supply Interruptions During Power Outages
You normally rely on regular trips to the grocery store for the supplies you need to maintain hygiene and sanitation as well meet your other basic needs. Power outages can lead to serious supply disruptions that could compromise any one of these areas—and that, in turn, could compromise your health.
Once we, or a family member, relative, or friend, has a ‘spiritual power outage’ through mortal sin, and even in cases of frequent venial sins, the mood and state of the soul—a ‘spiritual black-out’ in the case of mortal sin, or constantly tripping breakers in the case of venial sin—produces a reluctance and lethargy in reaching out for the supplies that are so necessary for a normal and healthy spiritually functioning soul. No more visits to the Blessed Sacrament, no more extra Masses, no more spiritual reading, no more examinations of conscience, no more meditations, no more spiritual discussions, no more confessions, no more prayers, etc. Sin has this debilitating effect upon the soul—and it already starts in the state of lukewarmness, not just mortal sin.
Psychological Impacts of Power Outages
EMOTIONAL STRAIN: There is a psychological effect on people that often occurs during extended power outages. As time passes without electricity, people—who depend on their ability to communicate, or move freely—get anxious, impatient, agitated, irritable, and sometimes panic. And they can act in ways they normally would not act. This is when normal people do abnormal things. Some lose control and begin stealing from others. Some do much worse.
The same is true during the ‘spiritual power outages’ or ‘spiritual black-outs’ of sin. The more we sin, the more irritable we seem to become—not just irritable, but also impatient. Anger simmers beneath the surface and we are more likely to erupt about insignificant matters or minor problems. We become more critical of others, more ‘nit-picky’ and tend to magnify the faults of others. This is all because of the guilt of sin and blackness of soul that we have brought upon ourselves through sin. We become more emotionally unstable and disruptive and eruptive.
LOSS OF TRUST: An online newsletter published an article about a person who survived a whole year without electricity, water, gasoline, medical services, and law enforcement support in war-torn Bosnia. The article highlighted the effects on people holed up in a small city blockaded by the army. It didn’t take long for friends to become distrustful and treat each other as enemies, once all the normal resources were consumed. Within two months gangs formed destroying everything in the city. Survival instincts caused many to think and act in ways that would never be considered in a normal social setting. People fought like animals for arms, ammunition, candles, gasoline, antibiotics, batteries and food. When people lose hope that recovery will occur soon, many revert to survival of the fittest. People are capable of horrible behavior, as long as they can justify their actions in their own minds—and in a crisis situation anything is easily justified and so “anything goes”.
The Faith is One and it seek to unite all persons, of all races, or all times under the banner of Christ and within the Church of Christ. The grace of God does the same thing. It makes us one with God and His Church. Lose that grace and you lose that unity. As Our Lord said: “I am the true vine; and My Father is the husbandman. Every branch in Me, that beareth not fruit, He will take away: and every one that beareth fruit, He will purge it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit—for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone abide not in Me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, and shall wither, and they shall gather him up, and cast him into the fire, and he burneth!” (John 15:1-6).
ANIMALISTIC BEHAVIOR: In 2010, two large water pipes in Weston, Massachusetts, near Boston, ruptured dumping millions of gallons of fresh drinking water into the Charles River. Tap water became contaminated, and the Reverse 911 system was activated by the governor of Massachusetts, who urged people to boil water, taken from the faucets, in their homes, while the city water system was repaired. Water flow to the homes never stopped and sinks and toilets operated normally, but many of the local residents panicked. Shortly after the governor’s announcement, residents of the area rushed out to buy bottled water. Within 90 minutes almost all bottled water in the entire Boston area was sold out, and people began to riot—fighting each other for any remaining bottles of the clear liquid. They acted like rats in a sinking ship and fought savagely for any bottled water found. Stores were damaged and some people were physically roughed up.
It is the grace of God, the power of God, that makes us godly and helps us live up to the calling we have to be holy by being made in the image and likeness of God. Lose that grace, lose that power and you are on the slippery slope downwards towards animalism and savagery. Don’t believe it? Just look at the inhuman “Reign of Terror” during the French Revolution after 1789. Look at the inhuman atrocities committed during the many wars that have raged throughout the world since that time. Look at inhuman behavior in the Middle East today. Man does not stand still in his development. As the spiritual masters says: “He who does not make progress, goes backwards.” If we are not drawing closer and closer to the light of God, then we are automatically drawing closer to the darkness of the devil.
Our Lord & Grace is Light, the World & Worldliness is Darkness
Our Lord came to give us POWER, and NOT A POWER OUTAGE! The darkness comes from the devil and the world—they are the reasons and sources for all our ‘spiritual power outages’. Our Lord is the Light and comes into the darkness of the world to give us power and light: “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. And the Light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came to give testimony of the Light. He was not the Light, but was to give testimony of the Light. That was the true Light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, HE GAVE THEM POWER to be made the sons of God” (John 1:4-12).
As Jesus says: “No man lighteth a candle, and putteth it in a hidden place, nor under a bushel; but upon a candlestick, that they that come in, may see the light. The light of thy body is thy eye. If thy eye be single [focused on God alone], thy whole body will be lightsome: but if it be evil [focused on the things of the world], thy body also will be darksome. Take heed therefore, that the light which is in thee, be not darkness. If then thy whole body be lightsome, having no part of darkness; the whole shall be lightsome; and as a bright lamp, shall enlighten thee” (Luke 11:33-36).
St. Matthew reports it thus: “The light of thy body is thy eye. If thy eye be single, thy whole body shall be lightsome. But if thy eye be evil thy whole body shall be darksome. If then the light that is in thee, be darkness: the darkness itself how great shall it be!” (Matthew 6:22-23). He means this in the context of Heaven and Earth—implying that the world darkens our perception of the true light, which is Heaven—for these words are sandwiched between the following words: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth: where the rust, and moth consume, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven: where neither the rust nor moth doth consume, and where thieves do not break through, nor steal. For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:19-24). “For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and power, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places!” (Ephesians 6:12).
Our Lord came “to enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death” (Luke 1:79). “I am come a light into the world; that whosoever believeth in Me, may not remain in darkness” (John 12:46). “Jesus spoke to them, saying: ‘I am the Light of the world: he that followeth Me, walketh not in darkness, but shall have the light of life!” (John 8:12). “Jesus therefore said to them: ‘Yet a little while, the light is among you! Walk whilst you have the Light, that the darkness overtake you not. And he that walketh in darkness, knoweth not whither he goeth!’” (John 12:35).
“And the Light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it!” (John 1:5). “And this is the judgment: because the Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the Light: for their works were evil!” (John 3:19). This preference for darkness over light, results in a ‘spiritual power outage’ whereby “the children of the Kingdom shall be cast out into the exterior darkness! There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth!” (Matthew 8:12). “And the unprofitable servant cast ye out into the exterior darkness! There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth!” (Matthew 25:30).
Getting Spiritual Light From Your House Electrical Circuit!
Every December, Christmas lights twinkle with an elaborate holiday light display. Four-foot plastic angels stand in ranks, 3-foot candles dot the landscape, elves pop out from behind plastic snow figures, and Santa in his loaded sleigh skims across the roof with a cluster of reindeer. But every year dozens of outdoor light displays like this unexpectedly go out. You might have plugged in a small electric heater and turned it on to warm your feet. Or switched on a hair dryer. Or dropped a snack into the toaster. It’s not only the outdoor display that goes out, but perhaps most of the main floor lights too. The TV in the family room quits. The clock in the kitchen stops.
The problem? An overloaded circuit. The power needed by the outdoor lights added to the load from the refrigerator, the heater and any other devices connected to the same circuit, and all of them running at once exceeded the capacity of the electrical wiring. Rest assured that an overload in a properly installed electrical system wouldn’t burn your house down. An “overcurrent protective device” at the main panel will automatically shut off the power before damage occurs. In most cases, the device will be a circuit breaker that trips open. In older systems a fuse will “blow” (burn out). But finding a solution can be a hassle.
The nerve center of your electrical system is the main panel, usually a gray metal box about the size of a cookie-sheet, that typically sits in some obscure spot in a utility room, the garage or the basement. Three large wires from the utility company feed the main panel. Although you might spot the wires outside if they are overhead, they’ll be encased in conduit inside for safety, because they contain virtually unlimited electrical power. Circuit breakers (or fuses) in your main panel limit the power to a level that your wiring system can safely handle and funnel that power through branch circuits, the wires that run to various parts of your house. If you turn on too much stuff and the power demand on any one circuit exceeds the limits of the circuit breaker (or fuse), the breaker snaps open and shuts down the entire circuit, serving you notice that you have an overload or some other problem.
The next article will deal with the fascinating analogies and similes that can be found in electricity and their relation to God, grace, the soul, sin and virtue. The parallels are truly amazing and very instructive!
The best way to think of the power delivery to a house is to think of the bigger picture, say for example a factory. Power to the factory is four wires, three hot wires, we can call them A,B and C and the earth wire we will call N. It is called N for neutral and is connected to earth. That connection to earth helps the A, B &C remain stable and properly referenced to earth. The AB & C are like the three points of a triangle, like the Holy Trinity. Each of the three are separately identifiable but work together to deliver power. The house example consists of two wires and neutral. So one house would have ABN, the next would have BCN and the third would have ACN.
The factory is said to have three phase power or Holy Trinity power. The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are each of the three points of the triangle.
Each if these three wires are connected to loads, like motors, or heaters or lights. Each load draws a specific amount of current (grace) to sustain the load. If all three conductors are connected together, then extremely large currents will flow. That is not a good thing. Too much current flow and the breaker will open, stopping the current (grace) flow. No work, no grace. Connecting ABC together is a short circuit, mortal sin? The breaker opens very quickly, shutting off the flow of grace.
Overloads are like too many toasters plugged into one extension cord. The extension cord gets too warm and damages the point where the extension cord is plugged into the wall receptacle. At some point, the breaker sees too much current flow and opens. Damage is already done. The cooks continued to plug in more and more toasters since the overload effects are slow to manifest. But the fact remains, damage has been done.
To St. Paul, the Lord says: “I send thee to open their eyes, that they may be converted from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God” (Acts 26:17-18). St. John points-out that “God is light, and in Him there is no darkness. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, then we lie and do not tell the truth!” (1 John 1:5-6). Likewise in relation to our neighbor, St. John writes: “The darkness is passed, and the true light now shines. He that says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loves his brother, abides in the light, but he that hates his brother, is in darkness, and walks in darkness, and knows not where he goes; because the darkness has blinded his eyes!” (1 John 2:8-11).
Danger of Power Outages
A terrorist attack on the power grid could cut you off from electricity for weeks without any warning. A direct hit from a solar storm could also bring our power grid to its knees—it has happened before, back when we didn’t rely so heavily on electricity. A similar event today would be devastating. But the most likely cause of a prolonged power failure is the grid itself—it is aging and, every year, it is less able to keep up with the growing power consumption of our society. No matter what caused the outage, living without power creates real, dangerous health risks that you might not have thought about or prepared for.
The same is true spiritually. A terrorist attack of worldliness could cut you off from spiritual power through succumbing to the worldliness and the resultant sins it produces. Or it could be a direct hit from Hell, that could bring to your knees through mortal sin. Or it could be your ever-aging and weakening virus of lukewarmness, that cannot provide the amount of spiritual energy needed to cope with ever-increasing temptation of worldly consumerism. This weakening of grace or loss of grace can have disastrous consequences—depending upon who you are and what your habitual state of soul is like.
Health Endangered During Power Outages
Many people rely on power to help manage chronic health conditions. If you fall into this group, you know that a power outage can quickly become a matter of life or death. Whether you require insulin to manage diabetes or you rely on a respirator to help with your breathing, you know how quickly a power outage can turn your world upside down.
Likewise, spiritually, people need a regular flow of grace—actual grace—to be able to maintain the sanctifying grace needed for life in their souls. A spiritual power outage can lead to a rapid deterioration of spiritual health, as one sin quickly follows upon the other—once the first mortal sin has been committed. Grace strengthens and perfects our human nature—without it, we quickly slide down the slope to animalistic behaviors.
Exposure to the Elements During Power Outages
Extreme temperatures, whether hot or cold, can take a toll on anyone. A lot depends upon what time of the year the power outage strikes. Winter time can be particularly dangerous, when those most at risk are young children, seniors, and anyone who is already sick, or otherwise in a weakened state. In severe cases, exposure to extreme heat or cold can lead to serious health problems that may require hospitalization, or that can even lead to death.
Similarly, in the spiritual life, a ‘spiritual power outage’ that loses grace, exposes the soul to coldness towards God or a violent feverish passion for sin.
Food Poisoning During Power Outages
Lack of refrigeration can quickly lead to food spoilage. Eating foods that have not been stored at proper temperatures can cause food poisoning from salmonella, E.coli, or other bacteria. Because we take refrigeration for granted, prudence is one of the things many people will be low on during a prolonged power outage.
Grace is sometimes referred to as something cool as opposed to heat of temptation. In fact, in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass (Extraordinary Rite) the canon of the Mass speaks of granting to the souls of the deceased in Purgatory a place of coolness—“locum refrigerii”! We also speak of “staying cool under pressure” and we tell people to “cool down” when they are passionately violent and angry. Water—which is a favorite symbol of grace with the Fathers of the Church—is also a coolant, which brings to mind the water-cooling system of car engines. In the same way, grace keeps us cool under the pressure of “good fight of the Faith” that St. Paul commends us to. Grace keeps the mind and heart from growing rotten. Grace keeps us ‘firm’ in the Faith. Grace is that ‘electrical’ power that helps our souls run as they should and avoids our souls from being poisoned by the many virus that surround us.
Water Hazards During Power Outages
Perhaps one of the biggest dangers during a prolonged power outage is consuming contaminated water. Water treatment plants need power to operate, and while they usually have backup generators that will keep them running during an outage, during a storm or natural disaster, those generators may go out as well. If you don’t know how to treat your water before drinking it, or if you don’t have the correct supplies, you could be exposed to toxins and waterborne illnesses.
If we take the lead from the Fathers of the Church, for whom water symbolized grace—then “water hazards” can be seen to be “contaminated grace” or could we say “contaminated sources of grace”. If the Church and Her ministers are sources of grace for the faithful, then a “water hazard” could be said to be a “Contaminated Church” and “Contaminated Ministers of the Church”. This, in fact, is what Our Lady of La Salette speaks of, when she says that “the priests have become cesspools of impurity” and “a large number of demons, will be unloosed from Hell; they will put an end to Faith, little by little, even in those dedicated to God. They will blind them in such a way, that … several religious institutions will lose all Faith and will lose many souls … and the spirits of darkness will spread everywhere a universal slackening of all that concerns the service of God.” Thus, contaminated “water” and contaminated “sources of water”! Thus, a “water hazard” or “grace hazard”!
Along the same lines, we have the revelations given to the stigmatist Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, who relates: “I saw a strange church being built against every rule … No angels were supervising the building operations. In that church, nothing came from high above … There was nothing holy in it ... There was only division and chaos. It is probably a church of human creation, following the latest fashion ... I saw this false church increase in size; heretics of every kind came into the city (of Rome) … I saw how baleful (harmful) would be the consequences of this false church. .... All sorts of abominations were perpetrated there … The local clergy grew lukewarm ... I saw the Holy Father surrounded by traitors and in great distress about the Church … I saw the secret sect relentlessly undermining the great Church! … And I saw a great darkness! … I saw the ever-increasing tepidity of the clergy, the circle of darkness ever widening! I see that the false Church of darkness is making progress and I see the dreadful influence it has on the people.” A “great darkness” … “a circle of darkness” … “the false Church of darkness” is like a great spiritual power outage, where the light of Christ is no longer present!
Injury During Power Outages
During a power outage, you may be called on to do things that you wouldn’t normally do, like operate a generator or clear heavy debris from around your home. Injuries suffered during a power outage are more dangerous than usual because the medical system is already stretched thin. This could delay your treatment, and exacerbate your injury.
Likewise with a ‘spiritual power outage’, in relation to the grace of God. If you have committed a mortal sin, then you are mortally wounded. Who in their right mind would stay away from the Emergency Room after receiving a mortal wound? Yet there are many to stay away from the ‘Spiritual Emergency Room’—the confessional—after having committed mortal sin! Some even go back for more mortal wounds (sins) rather than go seek spiritual ‘emergency’ treatment and care! In the meantime, the poison of sin spreads once the grace of God has been eliminated and cast out. Just as “grace perfects our nature”, “sin weakens and corrupts our nature.” Look upon it like a fire—the longer you put-off extinguishing the fire, the more damage it does in the meantime.
Remember too, that even though Original Sin was removed from our souls by Baptism and the inpouring of sanctifying grace, the scars and effects are not taken away—we are left with a darkened intellect, a weakened will, and rampant concupiscence. Likewise with our own personal sins that we commit—even though we may confess them and grace is restored to our souls, the effects of those sins leave a certain trace and weakness behind—like the frequent spraining of an ankle makes the ankle more easily susceptible to future sprains and injuries, so too with our sins.
With regard to venial sins, we are probably already breathing these in like the dust in the air around us. They make us wheeze spiritually, impair our ability to breathe-in grace, and thus reduce our energy for spiritual things and gradually and increasingly weaken the soul—eventually setting us up for mortal sin, if not action is taken to filter them out.
Supply Interruptions During Power Outages
You normally rely on regular trips to the grocery store for the supplies you need to maintain hygiene and sanitation as well meet your other basic needs. Power outages can lead to serious supply disruptions that could compromise any one of these areas—and that, in turn, could compromise your health.
Once we, or a family member, relative, or friend, has a ‘spiritual power outage’ through mortal sin, and even in cases of frequent venial sins, the mood and state of the soul—a ‘spiritual black-out’ in the case of mortal sin, or constantly tripping breakers in the case of venial sin—produces a reluctance and lethargy in reaching out for the supplies that are so necessary for a normal and healthy spiritually functioning soul. No more visits to the Blessed Sacrament, no more extra Masses, no more spiritual reading, no more examinations of conscience, no more meditations, no more spiritual discussions, no more confessions, no more prayers, etc. Sin has this debilitating effect upon the soul—and it already starts in the state of lukewarmness, not just mortal sin.
Psychological Impacts of Power Outages
EMOTIONAL STRAIN: There is a psychological effect on people that often occurs during extended power outages. As time passes without electricity, people—who depend on their ability to communicate, or move freely—get anxious, impatient, agitated, irritable, and sometimes panic. And they can act in ways they normally would not act. This is when normal people do abnormal things. Some lose control and begin stealing from others. Some do much worse.
The same is true during the ‘spiritual power outages’ or ‘spiritual black-outs’ of sin. The more we sin, the more irritable we seem to become—not just irritable, but also impatient. Anger simmers beneath the surface and we are more likely to erupt about insignificant matters or minor problems. We become more critical of others, more ‘nit-picky’ and tend to magnify the faults of others. This is all because of the guilt of sin and blackness of soul that we have brought upon ourselves through sin. We become more emotionally unstable and disruptive and eruptive.
LOSS OF TRUST: An online newsletter published an article about a person who survived a whole year without electricity, water, gasoline, medical services, and law enforcement support in war-torn Bosnia. The article highlighted the effects on people holed up in a small city blockaded by the army. It didn’t take long for friends to become distrustful and treat each other as enemies, once all the normal resources were consumed. Within two months gangs formed destroying everything in the city. Survival instincts caused many to think and act in ways that would never be considered in a normal social setting. People fought like animals for arms, ammunition, candles, gasoline, antibiotics, batteries and food. When people lose hope that recovery will occur soon, many revert to survival of the fittest. People are capable of horrible behavior, as long as they can justify their actions in their own minds—and in a crisis situation anything is easily justified and so “anything goes”.
The Faith is One and it seek to unite all persons, of all races, or all times under the banner of Christ and within the Church of Christ. The grace of God does the same thing. It makes us one with God and His Church. Lose that grace and you lose that unity. As Our Lord said: “I am the true vine; and My Father is the husbandman. Every branch in Me, that beareth not fruit, He will take away: and every one that beareth fruit, He will purge it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit—for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone abide not in Me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, and shall wither, and they shall gather him up, and cast him into the fire, and he burneth!” (John 15:1-6).
ANIMALISTIC BEHAVIOR: In 2010, two large water pipes in Weston, Massachusetts, near Boston, ruptured dumping millions of gallons of fresh drinking water into the Charles River. Tap water became contaminated, and the Reverse 911 system was activated by the governor of Massachusetts, who urged people to boil water, taken from the faucets, in their homes, while the city water system was repaired. Water flow to the homes never stopped and sinks and toilets operated normally, but many of the local residents panicked. Shortly after the governor’s announcement, residents of the area rushed out to buy bottled water. Within 90 minutes almost all bottled water in the entire Boston area was sold out, and people began to riot—fighting each other for any remaining bottles of the clear liquid. They acted like rats in a sinking ship and fought savagely for any bottled water found. Stores were damaged and some people were physically roughed up.
It is the grace of God, the power of God, that makes us godly and helps us live up to the calling we have to be holy by being made in the image and likeness of God. Lose that grace, lose that power and you are on the slippery slope downwards towards animalism and savagery. Don’t believe it? Just look at the inhuman “Reign of Terror” during the French Revolution after 1789. Look at the inhuman atrocities committed during the many wars that have raged throughout the world since that time. Look at inhuman behavior in the Middle East today. Man does not stand still in his development. As the spiritual masters says: “He who does not make progress, goes backwards.” If we are not drawing closer and closer to the light of God, then we are automatically drawing closer to the darkness of the devil.
Our Lord & Grace is Light, the World & Worldliness is Darkness
Our Lord came to give us POWER, and NOT A POWER OUTAGE! The darkness comes from the devil and the world—they are the reasons and sources for all our ‘spiritual power outages’. Our Lord is the Light and comes into the darkness of the world to give us power and light: “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. And the Light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came to give testimony of the Light. He was not the Light, but was to give testimony of the Light. That was the true Light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, HE GAVE THEM POWER to be made the sons of God” (John 1:4-12).
As Jesus says: “No man lighteth a candle, and putteth it in a hidden place, nor under a bushel; but upon a candlestick, that they that come in, may see the light. The light of thy body is thy eye. If thy eye be single [focused on God alone], thy whole body will be lightsome: but if it be evil [focused on the things of the world], thy body also will be darksome. Take heed therefore, that the light which is in thee, be not darkness. If then thy whole body be lightsome, having no part of darkness; the whole shall be lightsome; and as a bright lamp, shall enlighten thee” (Luke 11:33-36).
St. Matthew reports it thus: “The light of thy body is thy eye. If thy eye be single, thy whole body shall be lightsome. But if thy eye be evil thy whole body shall be darksome. If then the light that is in thee, be darkness: the darkness itself how great shall it be!” (Matthew 6:22-23). He means this in the context of Heaven and Earth—implying that the world darkens our perception of the true light, which is Heaven—for these words are sandwiched between the following words: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth: where the rust, and moth consume, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven: where neither the rust nor moth doth consume, and where thieves do not break through, nor steal. For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:19-24). “For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and power, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places!” (Ephesians 6:12).
Our Lord came “to enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death” (Luke 1:79). “I am come a light into the world; that whosoever believeth in Me, may not remain in darkness” (John 12:46). “Jesus spoke to them, saying: ‘I am the Light of the world: he that followeth Me, walketh not in darkness, but shall have the light of life!” (John 8:12). “Jesus therefore said to them: ‘Yet a little while, the light is among you! Walk whilst you have the Light, that the darkness overtake you not. And he that walketh in darkness, knoweth not whither he goeth!’” (John 12:35).
“And the Light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it!” (John 1:5). “And this is the judgment: because the Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the Light: for their works were evil!” (John 3:19). This preference for darkness over light, results in a ‘spiritual power outage’ whereby “the children of the Kingdom shall be cast out into the exterior darkness! There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth!” (Matthew 8:12). “And the unprofitable servant cast ye out into the exterior darkness! There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth!” (Matthew 25:30).
Getting Spiritual Light From Your House Electrical Circuit!
Every December, Christmas lights twinkle with an elaborate holiday light display. Four-foot plastic angels stand in ranks, 3-foot candles dot the landscape, elves pop out from behind plastic snow figures, and Santa in his loaded sleigh skims across the roof with a cluster of reindeer. But every year dozens of outdoor light displays like this unexpectedly go out. You might have plugged in a small electric heater and turned it on to warm your feet. Or switched on a hair dryer. Or dropped a snack into the toaster. It’s not only the outdoor display that goes out, but perhaps most of the main floor lights too. The TV in the family room quits. The clock in the kitchen stops.
The problem? An overloaded circuit. The power needed by the outdoor lights added to the load from the refrigerator, the heater and any other devices connected to the same circuit, and all of them running at once exceeded the capacity of the electrical wiring. Rest assured that an overload in a properly installed electrical system wouldn’t burn your house down. An “overcurrent protective device” at the main panel will automatically shut off the power before damage occurs. In most cases, the device will be a circuit breaker that trips open. In older systems a fuse will “blow” (burn out). But finding a solution can be a hassle.
The nerve center of your electrical system is the main panel, usually a gray metal box about the size of a cookie-sheet, that typically sits in some obscure spot in a utility room, the garage or the basement. Three large wires from the utility company feed the main panel. Although you might spot the wires outside if they are overhead, they’ll be encased in conduit inside for safety, because they contain virtually unlimited electrical power. Circuit breakers (or fuses) in your main panel limit the power to a level that your wiring system can safely handle and funnel that power through branch circuits, the wires that run to various parts of your house. If you turn on too much stuff and the power demand on any one circuit exceeds the limits of the circuit breaker (or fuse), the breaker snaps open and shuts down the entire circuit, serving you notice that you have an overload or some other problem.
The next article will deal with the fascinating analogies and similes that can be found in electricity and their relation to God, grace, the soul, sin and virtue. The parallels are truly amazing and very instructive!
The best way to think of the power delivery to a house is to think of the bigger picture, say for example a factory. Power to the factory is four wires, three hot wires, we can call them A,B and C and the earth wire we will call N. It is called N for neutral and is connected to earth. That connection to earth helps the A, B &C remain stable and properly referenced to earth. The AB & C are like the three points of a triangle, like the Holy Trinity. Each of the three are separately identifiable but work together to deliver power. The house example consists of two wires and neutral. So one house would have ABN, the next would have BCN and the third would have ACN.
The factory is said to have three phase power or Holy Trinity power. The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are each of the three points of the triangle.
Each if these three wires are connected to loads, like motors, or heaters or lights. Each load draws a specific amount of current (grace) to sustain the load. If all three conductors are connected together, then extremely large currents will flow. That is not a good thing. Too much current flow and the breaker will open, stopping the current (grace) flow. No work, no grace. Connecting ABC together is a short circuit, mortal sin? The breaker opens very quickly, shutting off the flow of grace.
Overloads are like too many toasters plugged into one extension cord. The extension cord gets too warm and damages the point where the extension cord is plugged into the wall receptacle. At some point, the breaker sees too much current flow and opens. Damage is already done. The cooks continued to plug in more and more toasters since the overload effects are slow to manifest. But the fact remains, damage has been done.
To St. Paul, the Lord says: “I send thee to open their eyes, that they may be converted from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God” (Acts 26:17-18). St. John points-out that “God is light, and in Him there is no darkness. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, then we lie and do not tell the truth!” (1 John 1:5-6). Likewise in relation to our neighbor, St. John writes: “The darkness is passed, and the true light now shines. He that says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loves his brother, abides in the light, but he that hates his brother, is in darkness, and walks in darkness, and knows not where he goes; because the darkness has blinded his eyes!” (1 John 2:8-11).
Article 4
Wednesday December 3rd
He Who Makes No Progress, Loses Ground!
Wednesday December 3rd
He Who Makes No Progress, Loses Ground!
Growth in Mary
St. Louis de Montfort has that beautiful prayer entitled Jesus Living in Mary, which is exactly what should be happening with us, especially during this Advent season. The prayer reads as follows:
O Jesus living in Mary
Come and live in Thy servants;
In the spirit of Thy holiness,
In the fullness of Thy might,
In the truth of Thy virtues,
In the perfection of Thy ways,
In the communion of Thy mysteries,
Subdue every hostile power,
In Thy spirit, for the glory of the Father. Amen.
Spiritual Womb
In the last article we spoke of St. Augustine’s statement that, while living in this world, we are, as it were, in the spiritual womb of Mary, living and growing in her protective womb until the happy day she gives birth to us in Heaven.
The whole point of normal, natural, healthy life is gradual, steady, progressive growth. The same is true for our spiritual life. Yet, in that area, most people are satisfied even if there is no growth at all. It is not uncommon to see persons in the middle or later stages of their life, in whom there is little or no spiritual growth or progress: the same sins are being committed and confessed year after year without any real reduction in quantities or frequencies; and the appetite and intensity for acquiring new virtues, or improving the quality of the ones already possessed, is almost non-existent.
If that phenomenon were translated to a baby’s state or condition in its mother’s womb, then both mother and doctor would be alarmed and worried about the future of the child.
Relating the Spiritual to the Physical
Our spiritual life is much more important than our natural or physiological life. If we die physically, we can still go to Heaven (if we die in God’s grace); but if we die spiritually, then Hell is the only option. It is like a spiritual abortion.
Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange―arguably the 20th century’s greatest theologian in relation to the spiritual life―compares the spiritual life to our physical life―though he begins his comparisons, not from the womb-stage, but after birth. But the idea of growth and progress is the same. In his book, The Three Conversions of the Spiritual Life, he writes:
“The development of the interior life has often been compared to the three periods or stages of physical life―childhood, youth, and manhood. St. Thomas himself has indicated this analogy―and it is an analogy which is worth pursuing, particular attention being paid to the transition from one period to the other.
“It is generally admitted that childhood lasts until the age of puberty, about fourteen years of age; though early childhood, or infancy, ceases at the dawn of reason, about the age of seven. Youth, or adolescence, lasts from the age of fourteen to twenty. Then follows manhood, in which we may distinguish the period which precedes full maturity, about the age of thirty-five, and that which follows it, before the decline of old age sets in.
“Most important to be noticed, for the purposes of our present subject, is the transition from childhood to adolescence and from youth to manhood.
He Who Makes No Progress, Loses Ground
“The period of puberty, at the end of childhood, about the age of fourteen, is characterized by a transformation [from being a beginner in life, to someone more proficient]. The youth is no longer content to follow his imagination, as the child was; he begins to reflect on the things of human life, on the need to prepare himself for some career or occupation in the future. He has no longer the child’s attitude towards family, social and religious matters. Or else, on the contrary, if he passes unsuccessfully through this difficult period, he deteriorates and follows evil courses. The law of nature so ordains that the transition from childhood to youth must follow a normal development; otherwise the subject will assume a positive bias to evil, or else he will remain a half-wit, perhaps even a complete idiot, for the rest of his life. ‘He who makes no progress loses ground.’
Arrested Spiritual Development
“It is at this point that the analogy becomes illuminating for the spiritual life. We shall see that the beginner who fails to become a proficient, either turns to sin or else presents an example of arrested spiritual development. Here, too, it is true that ‘he who makes no progress loses ground’ ― as the Fathers of the Church have so often pointed out.
“Let us pursue the analogy further. If the physical and moral crisis of puberty is a difficult transition, the same is to be said of another crisis, which we may call the crisis of the first freedom, and which occurs at the stage where the youth enters manhood, about the age of twenty. The young man, having now reached his complete physical development, has to begin to take his place in social life. It will soon be time for him to marry and to become an educator in his turn, unless he has received from God a higher vocation still. Many fail to surmount this crisis of the first freedom, and, like the prodigal son, depart from their father’s house and confuse liberty with license. Here again the law ordains that the transition must be made normally; otherwise the young man either takes the wrong road, or else his development is arrested and he becomes one of those of whom it is said: ‘He will be a child for the whole of his life.’
The Need of Conversion
“The liturgy, especially at periods such as Advent and Lent, speaks often of the need of conversion, even for those who are leading a Christian life. Spiritual writers also refer often to this second conversion, necessary for the Christian who, though he has thought seriously of his salvation and made an effort to walk in the way of God, has nevertheless begun once more to follow the bent of his nature and to fall into a state of tepidity—like an engrafted plant reverting to its wild state ... This question is of the greatest interest for every spiritual soul.
“In the Dialogue of St. Catherine of Siena, we read the following words of God to her: ‘If they do not recognize their imperfection and desire to become perfect, it is impossible that they should not turn back.’ This is what the Fathers have so often asserted: ‘In the way of God he who makes no progress loses ground.’ Just as the child who does not grow does not merely remain a child but becomes an idiot, so the beginner who does not enter upon the way of proficients when he ought to, does not merely remain a beginner, but becomes a stunted soul. It would seem, unhappily, that the great majority of souls do not belong to any of these three categories, of beginners, proficients or perfect, but rather to that of stunted souls! At what stage are we ourselves? This is often a very difficult question to answer, and it would perhaps be vain curiosity to inquire at what point we have arrived in our upward path; but at least we must take care not to mistake the road, not to take a path that leads downwards.” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Conversions of the Spiritual Life).
So, coming back to St. Augustine’s thought of our being in Mary’s spiritual womb in this life, as we await birth into Heaven, let us not neglect that spiritual growth, that only comes with spiritual work and exercises, or we may be victims of ‘stunted-growth’ or, worse still, a spiritual abortion or spiritual miscarriage!
This Advent is like a spiritual womb, in which we await the birth of our Savior, let it be time well spent more on spiritual matters than the material matters that so often lead to that spiritual abortion or a spiritual miscarriage!
The first thing to do is to make sure we have a healthy habitat for that growth. If we are, as St. Augustine says, in Mary’s spiritual womb, then we have to make sure that the womb is intact and healthy. This translates to two things: (1) It is intact if we have a devotion to Our Lady; (2) It is healthy if that devotion is a true devotion and not a one of the false devotions listed by St. Louis de Montfort (cf. True Devotion to Mary, §92-§104), where he lists them: “I find seven kinds of false devotees and false devotions to Our Lady, namely: (1) the critical devotees; (2) the scrupulous devotees; (3) the external devotees; (4) the presumptuous devotees; (5) the inconstant devotees; (6) the hypocritical devotees; (7) the interested devotees.”
Why on earth is Christ Coming?
Our Lord came to seek and save those who are lost—in fact we are all lost, for we are all sinners: “I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance” (Luke 5:32). “If we say that we have not sinned, then we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us!” (1 John 1:10). “I am the vine―you ae the branches! He that abided in Me, and I in him, the same beard much fruit―for without Me you can do nothing!” (John 15:5). He wants us to be saints, not sinners, and not lukewarm: “I know your works, that you are neither cold, nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot! But because you are lukewarm, and neither cold, nor hot, then I will begin to vomit you out of My mouth! Because you say: ‘I am rich and made wealthy, and have need of nothing!’ And you do not know that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked! I counsel you to buy from Me gold that is fire tried, so that you may be made rich; and may be clothed in white garments, and that the shame of your nakedness may not appear; and anoint your eyes with eye-salve, so that you may see! Such as I love, I rebuke and chastise! Be zealous therefore, and do penance!” (Apocalypse 3:15-19). “I say to you: unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3). “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). “Not everyone that says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven―but he that does the will of My Father Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!” (Matthew 7:21). “Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect!” (Matthew 5:48).
Getting the Right Mindset
“Every tree that brings not forth good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire!” (Matthew 7:19) … “For now the axe is laid to the root of the trees! Every tree therefore that brings not forth good fruit, shall be cut down and cast into the fire!” (Luke 3:9). “If anyone abides not in Me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, and shall wither, and they shall gather him up, and cast him into the fire, and he will burn!” (John 15:6). If we do not have the mindset of striving to become a saint in this life, then we sadly have the wrong mindset. We will do damage, not only to ourselves, but to those around us also. There is no excuse of hiding behind the fact that we are sinners, for that is exactly whom Our Lord came to seek out and save—He came to call sinners to penance; to call sinners to a holiness of life; to call sinners to sanctity; to call sinners to Heaven.
Your Vocation Starts Now!
The Advent liturgy tells us clearly in the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans: “Now the hour for us to rise from sleep! For now our salvation is nearer than when we believed! The night is passed, and the day is at hand! Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light! Let us walk honestly, as in the day―not in partying and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and licentiousness, not in rivalry and jealousy―but put on the Lord Jesus Christ! And make not provision for the flesh in its concupiscences!” (Romans 13:11-14). For how many years have we procrastinated about getting serious about our sanctity and salvation? Read about Purgatory and see what happens to those who put-off putting-on Christ—it makes for painful reading! We are called to holiness, for only saints go to Heaven, but we still play too much with the world, which is the enemy of God: “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God?” (James 4:4). “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God!” (Luke 12:31).
Holiness in Your Vocation—Enrollment Starts Now!
St. Louis de Montfort puts it very clearly: “Chosen soul, living image of God and redeemed by the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ, God wants you to become holy like Him in this life, and glorious like Him in the next (Matthew 5:48). It is certain that growth in the holiness of God is your vocation. All your thoughts, words, actions, everything you suffer or undertake, must lead you towards that end. Otherwise you are resisting God, in not doing the work for which He created you and for which He is even now keeping you in being. What a marvelous transformation is possible! Dust into light, uncleanness into purity, sinfulness into holiness, creature into Creator, man into God! A marvelous work, I repeat, so difficult in itself, and even impossible for a mere creature to bring about, for only God can accomplish it by giving His grace abundantly and in an extraordinary manner. The very creation of the universe is not as great an achievement as this. Chosen soul, how will you bring this about? What steps will you take to reach the high level to which God is calling you?” (St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of Mary).
The Life That Really Matters
Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange stresses that the spiritual life is the optimal life, or the highest form of life we can lead—being superior to our intellectual, social, economic and political life: “Little by little, instead of seeking himself in everything, instead of tending more or less consciously to make himself a center, man tends to seek God in everything, and to substitute for egoism, the love of God and the love of souls in Him. The one thing necessary, which Jesus spoke of to Martha and Mary, consists in hearing the word of God and living by it. The interior life thus conceived is something far more profound and more necessary in us than intellectual life or the cultivation of the sciences, than artistic or literary life, than social or political life ... Unfortunately, some great scholars, mathematicians, physicists, and astronomers have no interior life, so to speak, but devote themselves to the study of their science as if God did not exist. Many artists, literary men, and statesmen never rise above this level of purely human activity which is, in short, quite exterior. Do the depths of their souls live by God? It would seem not.
“There are those who seem to think that it is sufficient to be saved and that it is not necessary to be a saint. It is clearly not necessary to be a saint who performs miracles and whose sanctity is officially recognized by the Church. To be saved, we must take the way of salvation, which is identical with that of sanctity. There will be only saints in Heaven, whether they enter there immediately after death or after purification in Purgatory. No one enters Heaven unless he has that sanctity which consists in perfect purity of soul ... If people sacrifice so many things to save the life of the body, which must ultimately die, what should we not sacrifice to save the life of our soul, which is to last forever? … Religion, the interior life, must be profound, must be a true life of union with God if it is to keep the pre-eminence it should have over scientific and social activities. This is a manifest necessity” (Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P., The Three Ages of the Interior Life, Part 1, Introduction).
Get Started!
“Consider all the past as nothing, and say, like David: ‘Now I begin to love my God!’” (St. Francis de Sales). It was in this manner that the Apostle St. Paul acted; though, after his conversion, he had become a vessel of election, filled with the spirit of Jesus Christ, yet, to persevere and advance along Heaven’s way, he made use of this means, for he said in his Epistle to the Philippians: “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended. But one thing I do―forgetting the things that are behind, and stretching forth myself to those that are before, I press towards the mark, to the prize of the supernal vocation of God in Christ Jesus!”
The glorious St. Anthony went on from day to day, stimulating himself to virtue. St. Anastasius said of him, that he always looked upon himself as a beginner, as if every day were the first in which he was serving God, and as if in the past he had done nothing good, and were but just setting foot in the way of the Lord, and taking the first steps on the road to Heaven. And this was the very last admonition he left to his monks at his death: “My sons,” he said to them, “if you wish to advance in virtue and perfection, never give up the practice of considering each day that you are then beginning, and of conducting yourselves always as you did on the day you began.”
We find that St. Gregory, St. Bernard, and St. Charles acted likewise and advised others to act in the same manner. To make the necessity and utility of this method clearer to all, they made use of two beautiful comparisons, saying, that we must act in this like travelers, who do not regard the road they have gone over, but, rather, what remains for them to traverse, and this they keep always before their eyes, even to their journey’s end; or, like merchants, eager for riches, who make no account of what they have so far acquired, nor of the fatigue they have borne, but put all their thought and care upon new acquisitions, and upon daily multiplying their possessions, as if in the past they had made no profit at all.
Resolutions, Resolutions and More Resolutions!
St. Francis de Sales stated that: “We must begin with a strong and constant resolution to give ourselves wholly to God, professing to Him, in a tender, loving manner, from the bottom of our hearts, that we intend to be His without any reserve, and then we must often go back and renew this same resolution.”
One of the means for the acquisition of perfection, which was chiefly inculcated and much practiced by St. Philip Neri, was a frequent renewal of good resolutions. St. Francis de Sales made, from time to time, a spiritual renovation, and always conceived in it new desires to serve God better.
St. John Berchmans, at his very entrance into religion, planted in his heart a strong resolution to become a Saint, and then he not only remained constant in all the practices and resolutions which he took up for this end, but he went on daily gaining new vigor to his spiritual advantage.
When a holy Religious was giving the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius in Rome, a nun, called Sr. Marie Bonaventura, who was living a very easy and relaxed life, did not wish to be present. After much effort, she was finally persuaded to attend. The first meditation, on the end of man, enkindled such fervor in her heart, that the priest had scarcely finished when she called him to her, and said: “Father, I intend to be a Saint, and quickly!” She then retired to her cell, and, writing the same words on a scrap of paper, fastened them to the foot of her crucifix. From that moment, she applied herself with so much zeal to the practice of perfection, that a memoir about her was written at her death, which occurred eleven months later.
God Wants Everyone to be Holy—Even the Greatest Sinner
St. Teresa of Avila explains that “The Lord chiefly desires of us that we should be completely perfect, so that we may be wholly one with Him. Let us aim, therefore, at whatever we need to reach this.”
Father Peter Faber, a companion of St. Ignatius, and highly esteemed by St. Francis de Sales, often dwelt on the thought that God greatly desires our advancement. And so he endeavored to grow constantly, and not to let a day pass without some progress in virtue, so that he gradually rose to great perfection and a high reputation for sanctity. St. Pacomius and St. Anthony, by studying the virtues of others, stimulated themselves to attain similar excellence.
The Terraces of Perfection
The Venerable Sister Mary Villani had the following vision. On the Feast of St. Francis, for whom she had a particular devotion, this Saint appeared to her and led her to a lofty place, more beautiful than any she had ever seen.
To reach it, one was obliged to ascend four very high terraces, which signified, as the Saint revealed to her, the four degrees of perfection. We stress here that we are speaking of levels of PERFECTION, and not therefore about the lower levels of the spiritual life, which are the first or lowest level of the Way of Beginners or Way of Purgation; and the middle level or Way of Proficients or the Illuminative Way, which leads to the third way, the Way of the Perfect or the Unitive Way. These four terraces are within the Way of the Perfect or the Unitive Way.
With great difficulty she ascended, by his help, the first terrace, and he explained to her that this was the first state of perfection, called purity of conscience, which borders on angelic purity. In it the soul becomes like that of a little child, enjoys a pure and holy tranquility, never thinks evil of others, nor interests itself in what does not belong to its own position.
Then he brought her up to the second terrace, telling her that whoever had arrived at purity of conscience, becomes capable of prayer and of true love, which is the inseparable fruit of prayer. Here he enumerated to her the properties of true love, which is pure, simple, unselfish, and founded upon the truth of God, who can give Himself only to souls already possessed of purity.
Then he raised her to the third terrace, that of the cross and mortification, adding that from purity and love the soul passes on to taking up the cross courageously and to being itself crucified, and that to arrive at this state one must acquire four cardinal virtues. These are, a true mortification of all vices and of every earthly affection; a perfect poverty of spirit, which tramples under foot all temporal goods; a living death, by which the soul dies to itself and to all affections of sense, and lives in a total annihilation and transformation into its crucified Lord, so as to be able to say: “I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me.” The soul that has gained this state, seems to have conquered the world, and bears sufferings and crosses as if it could no longer feel them.
The fourth terrace, he said, typified the state of real and perfect union. This is the required level for entry into Heaven. There is no exception for anyone, for only saints go to Heaven. This Advent season is a seedbed of sanctity for those who choose to detach themselves from the world and attach themselves more to God through a serious and systematic spiritual life—which is very much different from the common half-hearted, haphazard, part-time spirituality of most souls. Let us for once use Advent profitably!
St. Louis de Montfort has that beautiful prayer entitled Jesus Living in Mary, which is exactly what should be happening with us, especially during this Advent season. The prayer reads as follows:
O Jesus living in Mary
Come and live in Thy servants;
In the spirit of Thy holiness,
In the fullness of Thy might,
In the truth of Thy virtues,
In the perfection of Thy ways,
In the communion of Thy mysteries,
Subdue every hostile power,
In Thy spirit, for the glory of the Father. Amen.
Spiritual Womb
In the last article we spoke of St. Augustine’s statement that, while living in this world, we are, as it were, in the spiritual womb of Mary, living and growing in her protective womb until the happy day she gives birth to us in Heaven.
The whole point of normal, natural, healthy life is gradual, steady, progressive growth. The same is true for our spiritual life. Yet, in that area, most people are satisfied even if there is no growth at all. It is not uncommon to see persons in the middle or later stages of their life, in whom there is little or no spiritual growth or progress: the same sins are being committed and confessed year after year without any real reduction in quantities or frequencies; and the appetite and intensity for acquiring new virtues, or improving the quality of the ones already possessed, is almost non-existent.
If that phenomenon were translated to a baby’s state or condition in its mother’s womb, then both mother and doctor would be alarmed and worried about the future of the child.
Relating the Spiritual to the Physical
Our spiritual life is much more important than our natural or physiological life. If we die physically, we can still go to Heaven (if we die in God’s grace); but if we die spiritually, then Hell is the only option. It is like a spiritual abortion.
Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange―arguably the 20th century’s greatest theologian in relation to the spiritual life―compares the spiritual life to our physical life―though he begins his comparisons, not from the womb-stage, but after birth. But the idea of growth and progress is the same. In his book, The Three Conversions of the Spiritual Life, he writes:
“The development of the interior life has often been compared to the three periods or stages of physical life―childhood, youth, and manhood. St. Thomas himself has indicated this analogy―and it is an analogy which is worth pursuing, particular attention being paid to the transition from one period to the other.
“It is generally admitted that childhood lasts until the age of puberty, about fourteen years of age; though early childhood, or infancy, ceases at the dawn of reason, about the age of seven. Youth, or adolescence, lasts from the age of fourteen to twenty. Then follows manhood, in which we may distinguish the period which precedes full maturity, about the age of thirty-five, and that which follows it, before the decline of old age sets in.
“Most important to be noticed, for the purposes of our present subject, is the transition from childhood to adolescence and from youth to manhood.
He Who Makes No Progress, Loses Ground
“The period of puberty, at the end of childhood, about the age of fourteen, is characterized by a transformation [from being a beginner in life, to someone more proficient]. The youth is no longer content to follow his imagination, as the child was; he begins to reflect on the things of human life, on the need to prepare himself for some career or occupation in the future. He has no longer the child’s attitude towards family, social and religious matters. Or else, on the contrary, if he passes unsuccessfully through this difficult period, he deteriorates and follows evil courses. The law of nature so ordains that the transition from childhood to youth must follow a normal development; otherwise the subject will assume a positive bias to evil, or else he will remain a half-wit, perhaps even a complete idiot, for the rest of his life. ‘He who makes no progress loses ground.’
Arrested Spiritual Development
“It is at this point that the analogy becomes illuminating for the spiritual life. We shall see that the beginner who fails to become a proficient, either turns to sin or else presents an example of arrested spiritual development. Here, too, it is true that ‘he who makes no progress loses ground’ ― as the Fathers of the Church have so often pointed out.
“Let us pursue the analogy further. If the physical and moral crisis of puberty is a difficult transition, the same is to be said of another crisis, which we may call the crisis of the first freedom, and which occurs at the stage where the youth enters manhood, about the age of twenty. The young man, having now reached his complete physical development, has to begin to take his place in social life. It will soon be time for him to marry and to become an educator in his turn, unless he has received from God a higher vocation still. Many fail to surmount this crisis of the first freedom, and, like the prodigal son, depart from their father’s house and confuse liberty with license. Here again the law ordains that the transition must be made normally; otherwise the young man either takes the wrong road, or else his development is arrested and he becomes one of those of whom it is said: ‘He will be a child for the whole of his life.’
The Need of Conversion
“The liturgy, especially at periods such as Advent and Lent, speaks often of the need of conversion, even for those who are leading a Christian life. Spiritual writers also refer often to this second conversion, necessary for the Christian who, though he has thought seriously of his salvation and made an effort to walk in the way of God, has nevertheless begun once more to follow the bent of his nature and to fall into a state of tepidity—like an engrafted plant reverting to its wild state ... This question is of the greatest interest for every spiritual soul.
“In the Dialogue of St. Catherine of Siena, we read the following words of God to her: ‘If they do not recognize their imperfection and desire to become perfect, it is impossible that they should not turn back.’ This is what the Fathers have so often asserted: ‘In the way of God he who makes no progress loses ground.’ Just as the child who does not grow does not merely remain a child but becomes an idiot, so the beginner who does not enter upon the way of proficients when he ought to, does not merely remain a beginner, but becomes a stunted soul. It would seem, unhappily, that the great majority of souls do not belong to any of these three categories, of beginners, proficients or perfect, but rather to that of stunted souls! At what stage are we ourselves? This is often a very difficult question to answer, and it would perhaps be vain curiosity to inquire at what point we have arrived in our upward path; but at least we must take care not to mistake the road, not to take a path that leads downwards.” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Conversions of the Spiritual Life).
So, coming back to St. Augustine’s thought of our being in Mary’s spiritual womb in this life, as we await birth into Heaven, let us not neglect that spiritual growth, that only comes with spiritual work and exercises, or we may be victims of ‘stunted-growth’ or, worse still, a spiritual abortion or spiritual miscarriage!
This Advent is like a spiritual womb, in which we await the birth of our Savior, let it be time well spent more on spiritual matters than the material matters that so often lead to that spiritual abortion or a spiritual miscarriage!
The first thing to do is to make sure we have a healthy habitat for that growth. If we are, as St. Augustine says, in Mary’s spiritual womb, then we have to make sure that the womb is intact and healthy. This translates to two things: (1) It is intact if we have a devotion to Our Lady; (2) It is healthy if that devotion is a true devotion and not a one of the false devotions listed by St. Louis de Montfort (cf. True Devotion to Mary, §92-§104), where he lists them: “I find seven kinds of false devotees and false devotions to Our Lady, namely: (1) the critical devotees; (2) the scrupulous devotees; (3) the external devotees; (4) the presumptuous devotees; (5) the inconstant devotees; (6) the hypocritical devotees; (7) the interested devotees.”
Why on earth is Christ Coming?
Our Lord came to seek and save those who are lost—in fact we are all lost, for we are all sinners: “I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance” (Luke 5:32). “If we say that we have not sinned, then we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us!” (1 John 1:10). “I am the vine―you ae the branches! He that abided in Me, and I in him, the same beard much fruit―for without Me you can do nothing!” (John 15:5). He wants us to be saints, not sinners, and not lukewarm: “I know your works, that you are neither cold, nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot! But because you are lukewarm, and neither cold, nor hot, then I will begin to vomit you out of My mouth! Because you say: ‘I am rich and made wealthy, and have need of nothing!’ And you do not know that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked! I counsel you to buy from Me gold that is fire tried, so that you may be made rich; and may be clothed in white garments, and that the shame of your nakedness may not appear; and anoint your eyes with eye-salve, so that you may see! Such as I love, I rebuke and chastise! Be zealous therefore, and do penance!” (Apocalypse 3:15-19). “I say to you: unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3). “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). “Not everyone that says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven―but he that does the will of My Father Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!” (Matthew 7:21). “Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect!” (Matthew 5:48).
Getting the Right Mindset
“Every tree that brings not forth good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire!” (Matthew 7:19) … “For now the axe is laid to the root of the trees! Every tree therefore that brings not forth good fruit, shall be cut down and cast into the fire!” (Luke 3:9). “If anyone abides not in Me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, and shall wither, and they shall gather him up, and cast him into the fire, and he will burn!” (John 15:6). If we do not have the mindset of striving to become a saint in this life, then we sadly have the wrong mindset. We will do damage, not only to ourselves, but to those around us also. There is no excuse of hiding behind the fact that we are sinners, for that is exactly whom Our Lord came to seek out and save—He came to call sinners to penance; to call sinners to a holiness of life; to call sinners to sanctity; to call sinners to Heaven.
Your Vocation Starts Now!
The Advent liturgy tells us clearly in the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans: “Now the hour for us to rise from sleep! For now our salvation is nearer than when we believed! The night is passed, and the day is at hand! Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light! Let us walk honestly, as in the day―not in partying and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and licentiousness, not in rivalry and jealousy―but put on the Lord Jesus Christ! And make not provision for the flesh in its concupiscences!” (Romans 13:11-14). For how many years have we procrastinated about getting serious about our sanctity and salvation? Read about Purgatory and see what happens to those who put-off putting-on Christ—it makes for painful reading! We are called to holiness, for only saints go to Heaven, but we still play too much with the world, which is the enemy of God: “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God?” (James 4:4). “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God!” (Luke 12:31).
Holiness in Your Vocation—Enrollment Starts Now!
St. Louis de Montfort puts it very clearly: “Chosen soul, living image of God and redeemed by the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ, God wants you to become holy like Him in this life, and glorious like Him in the next (Matthew 5:48). It is certain that growth in the holiness of God is your vocation. All your thoughts, words, actions, everything you suffer or undertake, must lead you towards that end. Otherwise you are resisting God, in not doing the work for which He created you and for which He is even now keeping you in being. What a marvelous transformation is possible! Dust into light, uncleanness into purity, sinfulness into holiness, creature into Creator, man into God! A marvelous work, I repeat, so difficult in itself, and even impossible for a mere creature to bring about, for only God can accomplish it by giving His grace abundantly and in an extraordinary manner. The very creation of the universe is not as great an achievement as this. Chosen soul, how will you bring this about? What steps will you take to reach the high level to which God is calling you?” (St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of Mary).
The Life That Really Matters
Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange stresses that the spiritual life is the optimal life, or the highest form of life we can lead—being superior to our intellectual, social, economic and political life: “Little by little, instead of seeking himself in everything, instead of tending more or less consciously to make himself a center, man tends to seek God in everything, and to substitute for egoism, the love of God and the love of souls in Him. The one thing necessary, which Jesus spoke of to Martha and Mary, consists in hearing the word of God and living by it. The interior life thus conceived is something far more profound and more necessary in us than intellectual life or the cultivation of the sciences, than artistic or literary life, than social or political life ... Unfortunately, some great scholars, mathematicians, physicists, and astronomers have no interior life, so to speak, but devote themselves to the study of their science as if God did not exist. Many artists, literary men, and statesmen never rise above this level of purely human activity which is, in short, quite exterior. Do the depths of their souls live by God? It would seem not.
“There are those who seem to think that it is sufficient to be saved and that it is not necessary to be a saint. It is clearly not necessary to be a saint who performs miracles and whose sanctity is officially recognized by the Church. To be saved, we must take the way of salvation, which is identical with that of sanctity. There will be only saints in Heaven, whether they enter there immediately after death or after purification in Purgatory. No one enters Heaven unless he has that sanctity which consists in perfect purity of soul ... If people sacrifice so many things to save the life of the body, which must ultimately die, what should we not sacrifice to save the life of our soul, which is to last forever? … Religion, the interior life, must be profound, must be a true life of union with God if it is to keep the pre-eminence it should have over scientific and social activities. This is a manifest necessity” (Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P., The Three Ages of the Interior Life, Part 1, Introduction).
Get Started!
“Consider all the past as nothing, and say, like David: ‘Now I begin to love my God!’” (St. Francis de Sales). It was in this manner that the Apostle St. Paul acted; though, after his conversion, he had become a vessel of election, filled with the spirit of Jesus Christ, yet, to persevere and advance along Heaven’s way, he made use of this means, for he said in his Epistle to the Philippians: “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended. But one thing I do―forgetting the things that are behind, and stretching forth myself to those that are before, I press towards the mark, to the prize of the supernal vocation of God in Christ Jesus!”
The glorious St. Anthony went on from day to day, stimulating himself to virtue. St. Anastasius said of him, that he always looked upon himself as a beginner, as if every day were the first in which he was serving God, and as if in the past he had done nothing good, and were but just setting foot in the way of the Lord, and taking the first steps on the road to Heaven. And this was the very last admonition he left to his monks at his death: “My sons,” he said to them, “if you wish to advance in virtue and perfection, never give up the practice of considering each day that you are then beginning, and of conducting yourselves always as you did on the day you began.”
We find that St. Gregory, St. Bernard, and St. Charles acted likewise and advised others to act in the same manner. To make the necessity and utility of this method clearer to all, they made use of two beautiful comparisons, saying, that we must act in this like travelers, who do not regard the road they have gone over, but, rather, what remains for them to traverse, and this they keep always before their eyes, even to their journey’s end; or, like merchants, eager for riches, who make no account of what they have so far acquired, nor of the fatigue they have borne, but put all their thought and care upon new acquisitions, and upon daily multiplying their possessions, as if in the past they had made no profit at all.
Resolutions, Resolutions and More Resolutions!
St. Francis de Sales stated that: “We must begin with a strong and constant resolution to give ourselves wholly to God, professing to Him, in a tender, loving manner, from the bottom of our hearts, that we intend to be His without any reserve, and then we must often go back and renew this same resolution.”
One of the means for the acquisition of perfection, which was chiefly inculcated and much practiced by St. Philip Neri, was a frequent renewal of good resolutions. St. Francis de Sales made, from time to time, a spiritual renovation, and always conceived in it new desires to serve God better.
St. John Berchmans, at his very entrance into religion, planted in his heart a strong resolution to become a Saint, and then he not only remained constant in all the practices and resolutions which he took up for this end, but he went on daily gaining new vigor to his spiritual advantage.
When a holy Religious was giving the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius in Rome, a nun, called Sr. Marie Bonaventura, who was living a very easy and relaxed life, did not wish to be present. After much effort, she was finally persuaded to attend. The first meditation, on the end of man, enkindled such fervor in her heart, that the priest had scarcely finished when she called him to her, and said: “Father, I intend to be a Saint, and quickly!” She then retired to her cell, and, writing the same words on a scrap of paper, fastened them to the foot of her crucifix. From that moment, she applied herself with so much zeal to the practice of perfection, that a memoir about her was written at her death, which occurred eleven months later.
God Wants Everyone to be Holy—Even the Greatest Sinner
St. Teresa of Avila explains that “The Lord chiefly desires of us that we should be completely perfect, so that we may be wholly one with Him. Let us aim, therefore, at whatever we need to reach this.”
Father Peter Faber, a companion of St. Ignatius, and highly esteemed by St. Francis de Sales, often dwelt on the thought that God greatly desires our advancement. And so he endeavored to grow constantly, and not to let a day pass without some progress in virtue, so that he gradually rose to great perfection and a high reputation for sanctity. St. Pacomius and St. Anthony, by studying the virtues of others, stimulated themselves to attain similar excellence.
The Terraces of Perfection
The Venerable Sister Mary Villani had the following vision. On the Feast of St. Francis, for whom she had a particular devotion, this Saint appeared to her and led her to a lofty place, more beautiful than any she had ever seen.
To reach it, one was obliged to ascend four very high terraces, which signified, as the Saint revealed to her, the four degrees of perfection. We stress here that we are speaking of levels of PERFECTION, and not therefore about the lower levels of the spiritual life, which are the first or lowest level of the Way of Beginners or Way of Purgation; and the middle level or Way of Proficients or the Illuminative Way, which leads to the third way, the Way of the Perfect or the Unitive Way. These four terraces are within the Way of the Perfect or the Unitive Way.
With great difficulty she ascended, by his help, the first terrace, and he explained to her that this was the first state of perfection, called purity of conscience, which borders on angelic purity. In it the soul becomes like that of a little child, enjoys a pure and holy tranquility, never thinks evil of others, nor interests itself in what does not belong to its own position.
Then he brought her up to the second terrace, telling her that whoever had arrived at purity of conscience, becomes capable of prayer and of true love, which is the inseparable fruit of prayer. Here he enumerated to her the properties of true love, which is pure, simple, unselfish, and founded upon the truth of God, who can give Himself only to souls already possessed of purity.
Then he raised her to the third terrace, that of the cross and mortification, adding that from purity and love the soul passes on to taking up the cross courageously and to being itself crucified, and that to arrive at this state one must acquire four cardinal virtues. These are, a true mortification of all vices and of every earthly affection; a perfect poverty of spirit, which tramples under foot all temporal goods; a living death, by which the soul dies to itself and to all affections of sense, and lives in a total annihilation and transformation into its crucified Lord, so as to be able to say: “I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me.” The soul that has gained this state, seems to have conquered the world, and bears sufferings and crosses as if it could no longer feel them.
The fourth terrace, he said, typified the state of real and perfect union. This is the required level for entry into Heaven. There is no exception for anyone, for only saints go to Heaven. This Advent season is a seedbed of sanctity for those who choose to detach themselves from the world and attach themselves more to God through a serious and systematic spiritual life—which is very much different from the common half-hearted, haphazard, part-time spirituality of most souls. Let us for once use Advent profitably!
Article 3
Tuesday December 2nd
Mary is the Way! Is She Your Way? Or Have You Lost Your Way?
Tuesday December 2nd
Mary is the Way! Is She Your Way? Or Have You Lost Your Way?
No Mother? No Son!
Advent is, par excellence, the time of the Divine Maternity, the Motherhood of the Blessed Virgin, as she draws ever closer to giving birth to God’s Greatest Gift for fallen human nature. During Advent, we should not lose focus of Our Lady, for without her there is no Christmas; without her, God will not be born into this world. It is her cooperation with God that has brought about the Incarnation—God becoming flesh, becoming man so as to save and redeem mankind. But for mankind to be saved and redeemed, Christ our Savior has to be born into our souls.
Our Lady also wants Jesus to be our whole life, and she is willing to help give birth to Jesus in our life, so that He may grow and occupy and whole life, just as He did hers. This is, in essence, what St. Louis de Montfort is trying to say in his book, True Devotion to Mary. It is TOTAL consecration, a TOTAL giving of self in return for the TOTAL giving that Christ and His Mother showed towards us poor sinful creatures. The following quotes, taken from different sections of the book, will try to show this picture of Mary as the birth-giver of Jesus in our lives.
“God having willed to commence and to complete His greatest works by the most holy Virgin ever since He created her―we may well think He will not change His conduct in the eternal ages; for He is God, and He changes not, either in His sentiments or in His conduct.” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
“It was only through Mary that God the Father gave His Only begotten to the world. Whatever sighs the patriarchs may have sent forth, whatever prayers the prophets and the saints of the Old Law may have offered up to obtain this treasure for full four thousand years, it was only Mary who merited it and found grace before God (Luke 1:30) by the force of her prayers and the eminence of her virtues. The world was unworthy, says St. Augustine, to receive the Son of God directly from the Father’s hands. He gave Him to Mary in order that the world might receive Him through her. The Son of God became man for our salvation; but it was in Mary and by Mary” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
A Time of Darkness
The commentators of Holy Scripture tell us that God waited until the world was in darkness before giving them the Light that was to be Christ. Christ will be born in the darkest time of the year, when the hours of light are very few and darkness rules most of the day. Christ is also born in the middle of the night. Night is symbolical of evil when the evil ones like to do their work under the secrecy of darkness, as Psalm 103 says: “it is night: in it shall all the beasts of the woods go about.” ... “I beheld in the vision of the night, and lo, a fourth beast, terrible and exceedingly strong, it had great iron teeth, eating and breaking in pieces, and treading down the rest with its feet” (Daniel 7:7).
Though we look upon Christmas as a season of light, the truth is, the time of the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ was filled with darkness. Speaking of the future birth of the Christ child, centuries beforehand, Isaias says: “The people that walked in darkness, have seen a great light: to them that dwelt in the region of the shadow of death, light is risen” (Isaias 9:2). It was a time of gloom, anguish, and contempt for religion; a time when the Chosen People of God, once slaves in Egypt and in Babylon, were now enslaved in their own country under Roman rule. God chose a time for the coming of His Son, which would at a low ebb, a time of dejection and despondency, a time of impotence and powerlessness.
Mary Offers a Light in Our Darkness
Just as Mary was needed to bring Christ into their darkness way back then; so too is Mary necessary to bring Christ into our darkness today. Mary came before Jesus over 2,000 years ago; Mary must come again before Jesus in our darkness today. She is the Mother who gives the world her Child, without her, we will receive nothing. That is why we are, by God’s Providence, currently living what is called “The Age of Mary”—which began with Our Lady’s apparitions to St. Catherine Labouré in 1830 and which will ends its period of gestation or pregnancy with the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This is why God wishes to establish, in the world, devotion to her Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart. The knocking on the doors of the houses of Bethlehem is taking place all over again, as Mary seeks entrance into our minds, hearts and lives, in order to give birth to the Light of World into our own pervading darkness. Will we open the door? Will we let her in with her Child? Here is what St. John says of those to whom Christ tried to come over 2,000 years ago:
“In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men. And the Light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it … That was the true Light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world. He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not” (John 1:4-11).
Yet as the people of Bethlehem were preoccupied with themselves and their poor worldliness, and so refused entrance to Mary, today we find the modern world is doing the same thing. Just as it was around four centuries since the word of God was properly heard among the Israelites, so too we have over four centuries since the Protestant Revolution had been fully born in Europe by the end of the Sixteenth Century and at the start of the 1600s. Likewise, as the Jews found several factions battling among themselves for the control of the people (Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes and Zealots), so too we have the Traditionalists, Conservatives, Liberals and Modernists fighting to control the Church today.
Similarly, as the Jerusalem saw herself under Roman occupation, the New Jerusalem, the Church, finds herself today occupied also, as, in the words of Pope Paul VI, the smoke of Satan has entered into the Church. Today we have our own darkness as the Jews had theirs 2,000 years ago. Satan has also long since entered into politics―and we can see Satan rearing his ugly head right now, in the satanic crisis he has concocted through his human minions and worshipers. What will our response be to the solution that God sends? We will accept it, or carry on doing our own thing and reject it?
Advent Brings Jesus with His Baggage!
A big family may be part of God’s plan, but it’s not “piece-of-cake” running one, or being part of one. That, too, must be part of God’s plan: the cross. Advent, and its spilling over into Christmas, is the time of families par excellence. During Advent we await a new-born Child; after Advent comes life together with the new-born Child. God’s providence gives Mary and Joseph abundant crosses both before and after the birth of Christ!
Jesus Brings Trouble Upon Trouble
Jesus seems to bring nothing but trouble! As soon as Mary gives her “fiat” or consent to be the Mother of God, trouble starts brewing! Immediately after conceiving Jesus in her womb, she undergoes a dangerous 100 mile trek to go the assistance of her cousin St. Elizabeth, who is also with child. Let us remember that travel, in those days, was not the fast, secure, comfortable and safe undertaking that it is for us today. No cars, no buses, no trains, no planes. The usual means of travel was by foot. The roads were not paved, nor asphalted. There was no street lighting. No hotels or motels for overnight stops, with heating, running-water, electric lights, toilets, baths and showers; shelter from the cold, wind and rain. No guarantee of safety, with robbers abounding on those long lonely, uninhabited roads through desert and mountain stretches. No cell phone for emergencies; no police to come to the rescue; no convenience stores for the hungry, thirsty traveler.
Does God Care?
After making her the Mother of God and placing His Only-Begotten Son in her womb, why does God subject his most beloved and most precious masterpiece to a 100 mile walk; risking life and limb; having to sleep out in the open, exposed to the attendant bugs and reptiles that abound; eating little and walking much, etc. etc. It brings to mind the case of St. Teresa of Avila, who, as she is trying to go around the country in an effort to reform the Carmelite Order for the greater glory of God, ends up meeting with one setback after another, from persons, places things and the climate. Finally, in a pique of indignation, she questions God as to why on Earth He is letting all these things happen to her when she is trying to work for His glory. The famous response she got was: “But Teresa, I treat all my friends like that!” To which she even more famously retorted: “Then I’m not surprised that You have so few of them!”
Then, right after the three month visitation with Elizabeth, Mary has to undergo the trials and pains of Joseph preparing to abandon her, because he had noticed that she was with child, and this was ‘tearing him up.’ Holy though they both were, God did not spare Mary or Joseph this excruciating torment and strain—until, finally, and angel tells Joseph what has really happened.
Reading some of the revelations that Our Lady has made to the mystics, we see that these two cases were not isolated bouts of suffering and trial, but a regular daily dose that God administered to them. Our Lady revealed to one of the mystics that there was not one day in her whole life that she did not suffer greatly, one way or another, for the glory of God and for the salvation of souls.
Bread and Butter
Suffering is the “bread and butter” of God’s friends. It is why Our Lord said: “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24); and this was echoed by Our Lady to St. Bernadette of Lourdes, when she said that she would not make Bernadette happy in this world, but in the next. We can be sure that, humanly speaking, Bernadette was just as disappointed in hearing those words as the Apostles must have been at the Last Supper, when Jesus said to them: “Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow, because her hour is come; but when she has brought forth the child, she remembers no more the anguish, for the joy that a man is born into the world” (John 16:20-21).
Advent in the Womb
During Advent, Mary carries Jesus in her womb; after Advent, she will carry Him in her arms; after Lent He will have died her arms. She knows that she is bringing Him into world, so that He may die for the world. She will give Him to the world, so that He may lead souls away from the world. She knows too, that He who made the world, will be hated by the world. The world of Mary’s womb, is more of a paradise that the world into which He will find Himself thrust.
Mother and Son
Children take on the attitudes, opinions, language, characteristics and manner of acting that they witness in their parents. We say: “Like father, like son!” ... “Like mother, like daughter!” It is only natural, and it is also supernatural. As Jesus died on the Cross, He addressed Our Lady and St. John, saying: “‘Woman, behold thy son!’ After that, He said to the disciple: ‘Behold thy Mother!’ And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own” (John 19:26-27). From that hour, too, Mary took him for her son. Yet, as the commentators say, those words also apply to us. She is our spiritual Mother also; and we are her spiritual children.
Living in Mary’s Womb
This reminds us of the words of St. Augustine, quoted by St. Louis de Montfort in his True Devotion to Mary: “St. Augustine, surpassing himself, and going beyond all I have yet said, affirms that all the predestinate, in order to be conformed to the image of the Son of God, are in this world hidden in the womb of the most holy Virgin, where they are guarded, nourished, brought up and made to grow by that good Mother until she has brought them forth to glory after death, which is properly the day of their birth.” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
“God the Holy Ghost, being barren in God―that is to say, not producing another Divine Person―is become fruitful by Mary, whom He has espoused. It was with her, in her, and of her that He produced His Masterpiece, which is God made Man, and that He goes on producing daily, to the end of the world, the predestinate and the members of the Body of that adorable Head ... (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
God Wants More Children Through Mary
“God the Father wishes to have children by Mary till the consummation of the world ... Just as in the natural and corporal generation of children there are a father and a mother, so in the supernatural and spiritual generation there are a Father, who is God, and a Mother, who is Mary. All the true children of God, the predestinate, have God for their Father and Mary for their Mother. He who has not Mary for his Mother has not God for his Father.” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
“God the Son wishes to form Himself, and, so to speak, to incarnate Himself in His members every day, by His dear Mother ... One and the same mother does not bring forth into the world the head without the members, or the members without the head; for this would be a monster of nature. So in like manner, in the order of grace, the head and the members are born of one and the same Mother; and if a member of the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ―that is to say, one of the predestinate―were born of any other mother than Mary, who has produced the Head, he would not be one of the predestinate, nor a member of Jesus Christ, but simply a monster in the order of grace.” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
“When Mary has struck her roots in a soul, she produces there marvels of grace, which she alone can produce, because she alone is the fruitful Virgin who never has had, and never will have, her equal in purity and in fruitfulness. Mary has produced, together with the Holy Ghost, the greatest thing which has been or ever will be―a God Man; and she will consequently produce the greatest saints that there will be in the end of time. The formation and the education of the great saints who shall come at the end of the world are reserved for her. For it is only that singular and miraculous Virgin who can produce, in union with the Holy Ghost, singular and extraordinary things.” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
“When the Holy Ghost, her Spouse, has found Mary in a soul, He flies there. He enters there in His fullness; He communicates Himself to that soul abundantly, and to the full extent to which it makes room for His spouse. Nay, one of the greatest reasons why the Holy Ghost does not now do startling wonders in our souls is because He does not find there a sufficiently great union with His faithful and inseparable spouse.” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
Similarly for us. If we want to follow Jesus and Mary to an eternal happiness, we must be prepared for temporal suffering: “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross.” We have to make a choice―God or the Devil; good or evil; Heaven or the world. There is not and cannot be any compromise or fraternity between them. “Bear not the yoke with unbelievers! What fellowship does light have with darkness? And what agreement has Christ with Belial? Or what part do the faithful have with the unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God! As God says: ‘I will dwell in them, and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people!’ Wherefore, ‘Go out from among them, and be ye separate!’ says the Lord” (2 Corinthians 6:14-17). When Our Lord says: “You cannot serve God and mammon”, He is not joking. When St. James writes: “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4) he is not joking. When Jesus tells the young man: “Go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven: and come follow Me” He is not joking.
We can be very easily brainwashed—by the devil, the world and the flesh—into believing the contrary. We rationalize, water-down, twist, filter, cover-up, ignore or forget those words of God and His saints that seem to command, demand and reprimand too much. We fallaciously argue and debate with ourselves, saying: “Hold on! Take it easy! Don’t go overboard! Remember that true virtue is a balance between two extremes—those of excess and neglect. So to be sure of being virtuous, I will not be excessively worldly, nor will I be excessively spiritual; and neither will I neglect the ways of the world, nor will I neglect God!” All of this is the false reasoning of Satan and the world that we too easily accept.
Advent is, par excellence, the time of the Divine Maternity, the Motherhood of the Blessed Virgin, as she draws ever closer to giving birth to God’s Greatest Gift for fallen human nature. During Advent, we should not lose focus of Our Lady, for without her there is no Christmas; without her, God will not be born into this world. It is her cooperation with God that has brought about the Incarnation—God becoming flesh, becoming man so as to save and redeem mankind. But for mankind to be saved and redeemed, Christ our Savior has to be born into our souls.
Our Lady also wants Jesus to be our whole life, and she is willing to help give birth to Jesus in our life, so that He may grow and occupy and whole life, just as He did hers. This is, in essence, what St. Louis de Montfort is trying to say in his book, True Devotion to Mary. It is TOTAL consecration, a TOTAL giving of self in return for the TOTAL giving that Christ and His Mother showed towards us poor sinful creatures. The following quotes, taken from different sections of the book, will try to show this picture of Mary as the birth-giver of Jesus in our lives.
“God having willed to commence and to complete His greatest works by the most holy Virgin ever since He created her―we may well think He will not change His conduct in the eternal ages; for He is God, and He changes not, either in His sentiments or in His conduct.” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
“It was only through Mary that God the Father gave His Only begotten to the world. Whatever sighs the patriarchs may have sent forth, whatever prayers the prophets and the saints of the Old Law may have offered up to obtain this treasure for full four thousand years, it was only Mary who merited it and found grace before God (Luke 1:30) by the force of her prayers and the eminence of her virtues. The world was unworthy, says St. Augustine, to receive the Son of God directly from the Father’s hands. He gave Him to Mary in order that the world might receive Him through her. The Son of God became man for our salvation; but it was in Mary and by Mary” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
A Time of Darkness
The commentators of Holy Scripture tell us that God waited until the world was in darkness before giving them the Light that was to be Christ. Christ will be born in the darkest time of the year, when the hours of light are very few and darkness rules most of the day. Christ is also born in the middle of the night. Night is symbolical of evil when the evil ones like to do their work under the secrecy of darkness, as Psalm 103 says: “it is night: in it shall all the beasts of the woods go about.” ... “I beheld in the vision of the night, and lo, a fourth beast, terrible and exceedingly strong, it had great iron teeth, eating and breaking in pieces, and treading down the rest with its feet” (Daniel 7:7).
Though we look upon Christmas as a season of light, the truth is, the time of the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ was filled with darkness. Speaking of the future birth of the Christ child, centuries beforehand, Isaias says: “The people that walked in darkness, have seen a great light: to them that dwelt in the region of the shadow of death, light is risen” (Isaias 9:2). It was a time of gloom, anguish, and contempt for religion; a time when the Chosen People of God, once slaves in Egypt and in Babylon, were now enslaved in their own country under Roman rule. God chose a time for the coming of His Son, which would at a low ebb, a time of dejection and despondency, a time of impotence and powerlessness.
Mary Offers a Light in Our Darkness
Just as Mary was needed to bring Christ into their darkness way back then; so too is Mary necessary to bring Christ into our darkness today. Mary came before Jesus over 2,000 years ago; Mary must come again before Jesus in our darkness today. She is the Mother who gives the world her Child, without her, we will receive nothing. That is why we are, by God’s Providence, currently living what is called “The Age of Mary”—which began with Our Lady’s apparitions to St. Catherine Labouré in 1830 and which will ends its period of gestation or pregnancy with the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This is why God wishes to establish, in the world, devotion to her Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart. The knocking on the doors of the houses of Bethlehem is taking place all over again, as Mary seeks entrance into our minds, hearts and lives, in order to give birth to the Light of World into our own pervading darkness. Will we open the door? Will we let her in with her Child? Here is what St. John says of those to whom Christ tried to come over 2,000 years ago:
“In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men. And the Light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it … That was the true Light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world. He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not” (John 1:4-11).
Yet as the people of Bethlehem were preoccupied with themselves and their poor worldliness, and so refused entrance to Mary, today we find the modern world is doing the same thing. Just as it was around four centuries since the word of God was properly heard among the Israelites, so too we have over four centuries since the Protestant Revolution had been fully born in Europe by the end of the Sixteenth Century and at the start of the 1600s. Likewise, as the Jews found several factions battling among themselves for the control of the people (Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes and Zealots), so too we have the Traditionalists, Conservatives, Liberals and Modernists fighting to control the Church today.
Similarly, as the Jerusalem saw herself under Roman occupation, the New Jerusalem, the Church, finds herself today occupied also, as, in the words of Pope Paul VI, the smoke of Satan has entered into the Church. Today we have our own darkness as the Jews had theirs 2,000 years ago. Satan has also long since entered into politics―and we can see Satan rearing his ugly head right now, in the satanic crisis he has concocted through his human minions and worshipers. What will our response be to the solution that God sends? We will accept it, or carry on doing our own thing and reject it?
Advent Brings Jesus with His Baggage!
A big family may be part of God’s plan, but it’s not “piece-of-cake” running one, or being part of one. That, too, must be part of God’s plan: the cross. Advent, and its spilling over into Christmas, is the time of families par excellence. During Advent we await a new-born Child; after Advent comes life together with the new-born Child. God’s providence gives Mary and Joseph abundant crosses both before and after the birth of Christ!
Jesus Brings Trouble Upon Trouble
Jesus seems to bring nothing but trouble! As soon as Mary gives her “fiat” or consent to be the Mother of God, trouble starts brewing! Immediately after conceiving Jesus in her womb, she undergoes a dangerous 100 mile trek to go the assistance of her cousin St. Elizabeth, who is also with child. Let us remember that travel, in those days, was not the fast, secure, comfortable and safe undertaking that it is for us today. No cars, no buses, no trains, no planes. The usual means of travel was by foot. The roads were not paved, nor asphalted. There was no street lighting. No hotels or motels for overnight stops, with heating, running-water, electric lights, toilets, baths and showers; shelter from the cold, wind and rain. No guarantee of safety, with robbers abounding on those long lonely, uninhabited roads through desert and mountain stretches. No cell phone for emergencies; no police to come to the rescue; no convenience stores for the hungry, thirsty traveler.
Does God Care?
After making her the Mother of God and placing His Only-Begotten Son in her womb, why does God subject his most beloved and most precious masterpiece to a 100 mile walk; risking life and limb; having to sleep out in the open, exposed to the attendant bugs and reptiles that abound; eating little and walking much, etc. etc. It brings to mind the case of St. Teresa of Avila, who, as she is trying to go around the country in an effort to reform the Carmelite Order for the greater glory of God, ends up meeting with one setback after another, from persons, places things and the climate. Finally, in a pique of indignation, she questions God as to why on Earth He is letting all these things happen to her when she is trying to work for His glory. The famous response she got was: “But Teresa, I treat all my friends like that!” To which she even more famously retorted: “Then I’m not surprised that You have so few of them!”
Then, right after the three month visitation with Elizabeth, Mary has to undergo the trials and pains of Joseph preparing to abandon her, because he had noticed that she was with child, and this was ‘tearing him up.’ Holy though they both were, God did not spare Mary or Joseph this excruciating torment and strain—until, finally, and angel tells Joseph what has really happened.
Reading some of the revelations that Our Lady has made to the mystics, we see that these two cases were not isolated bouts of suffering and trial, but a regular daily dose that God administered to them. Our Lady revealed to one of the mystics that there was not one day in her whole life that she did not suffer greatly, one way or another, for the glory of God and for the salvation of souls.
Bread and Butter
Suffering is the “bread and butter” of God’s friends. It is why Our Lord said: “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24); and this was echoed by Our Lady to St. Bernadette of Lourdes, when she said that she would not make Bernadette happy in this world, but in the next. We can be sure that, humanly speaking, Bernadette was just as disappointed in hearing those words as the Apostles must have been at the Last Supper, when Jesus said to them: “Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow, because her hour is come; but when she has brought forth the child, she remembers no more the anguish, for the joy that a man is born into the world” (John 16:20-21).
Advent in the Womb
During Advent, Mary carries Jesus in her womb; after Advent, she will carry Him in her arms; after Lent He will have died her arms. She knows that she is bringing Him into world, so that He may die for the world. She will give Him to the world, so that He may lead souls away from the world. She knows too, that He who made the world, will be hated by the world. The world of Mary’s womb, is more of a paradise that the world into which He will find Himself thrust.
Mother and Son
Children take on the attitudes, opinions, language, characteristics and manner of acting that they witness in their parents. We say: “Like father, like son!” ... “Like mother, like daughter!” It is only natural, and it is also supernatural. As Jesus died on the Cross, He addressed Our Lady and St. John, saying: “‘Woman, behold thy son!’ After that, He said to the disciple: ‘Behold thy Mother!’ And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own” (John 19:26-27). From that hour, too, Mary took him for her son. Yet, as the commentators say, those words also apply to us. She is our spiritual Mother also; and we are her spiritual children.
Living in Mary’s Womb
This reminds us of the words of St. Augustine, quoted by St. Louis de Montfort in his True Devotion to Mary: “St. Augustine, surpassing himself, and going beyond all I have yet said, affirms that all the predestinate, in order to be conformed to the image of the Son of God, are in this world hidden in the womb of the most holy Virgin, where they are guarded, nourished, brought up and made to grow by that good Mother until she has brought them forth to glory after death, which is properly the day of their birth.” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
“God the Holy Ghost, being barren in God―that is to say, not producing another Divine Person―is become fruitful by Mary, whom He has espoused. It was with her, in her, and of her that He produced His Masterpiece, which is God made Man, and that He goes on producing daily, to the end of the world, the predestinate and the members of the Body of that adorable Head ... (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
God Wants More Children Through Mary
“God the Father wishes to have children by Mary till the consummation of the world ... Just as in the natural and corporal generation of children there are a father and a mother, so in the supernatural and spiritual generation there are a Father, who is God, and a Mother, who is Mary. All the true children of God, the predestinate, have God for their Father and Mary for their Mother. He who has not Mary for his Mother has not God for his Father.” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
“God the Son wishes to form Himself, and, so to speak, to incarnate Himself in His members every day, by His dear Mother ... One and the same mother does not bring forth into the world the head without the members, or the members without the head; for this would be a monster of nature. So in like manner, in the order of grace, the head and the members are born of one and the same Mother; and if a member of the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ―that is to say, one of the predestinate―were born of any other mother than Mary, who has produced the Head, he would not be one of the predestinate, nor a member of Jesus Christ, but simply a monster in the order of grace.” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
“When Mary has struck her roots in a soul, she produces there marvels of grace, which she alone can produce, because she alone is the fruitful Virgin who never has had, and never will have, her equal in purity and in fruitfulness. Mary has produced, together with the Holy Ghost, the greatest thing which has been or ever will be―a God Man; and she will consequently produce the greatest saints that there will be in the end of time. The formation and the education of the great saints who shall come at the end of the world are reserved for her. For it is only that singular and miraculous Virgin who can produce, in union with the Holy Ghost, singular and extraordinary things.” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
“When the Holy Ghost, her Spouse, has found Mary in a soul, He flies there. He enters there in His fullness; He communicates Himself to that soul abundantly, and to the full extent to which it makes room for His spouse. Nay, one of the greatest reasons why the Holy Ghost does not now do startling wonders in our souls is because He does not find there a sufficiently great union with His faithful and inseparable spouse.” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
Similarly for us. If we want to follow Jesus and Mary to an eternal happiness, we must be prepared for temporal suffering: “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross.” We have to make a choice―God or the Devil; good or evil; Heaven or the world. There is not and cannot be any compromise or fraternity between them. “Bear not the yoke with unbelievers! What fellowship does light have with darkness? And what agreement has Christ with Belial? Or what part do the faithful have with the unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God! As God says: ‘I will dwell in them, and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people!’ Wherefore, ‘Go out from among them, and be ye separate!’ says the Lord” (2 Corinthians 6:14-17). When Our Lord says: “You cannot serve God and mammon”, He is not joking. When St. James writes: “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4) he is not joking. When Jesus tells the young man: “Go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven: and come follow Me” He is not joking.
We can be very easily brainwashed—by the devil, the world and the flesh—into believing the contrary. We rationalize, water-down, twist, filter, cover-up, ignore or forget those words of God and His saints that seem to command, demand and reprimand too much. We fallaciously argue and debate with ourselves, saying: “Hold on! Take it easy! Don’t go overboard! Remember that true virtue is a balance between two extremes—those of excess and neglect. So to be sure of being virtuous, I will not be excessively worldly, nor will I be excessively spiritual; and neither will I neglect the ways of the world, nor will I neglect God!” All of this is the false reasoning of Satan and the world that we too easily accept.
Article 2
Monday December 1st
The Time is Now! Don't Miss the Boat!
Monday December 1st
The Time is Now! Don't Miss the Boat!
Waste no Time! Time Waits for Nobody!
The phrase "Time and tide wait for no man" was first published around 1395 in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, specifically in the Prologue to the Clerk's Tale. It means that time is unstoppable, and like the natural movement of the ocean's tides, it does not pause for human events or concerns, so one should not delay or procrastinate. As Holy Scripture says: “Observe the time!” (Ecclesiasticus 4:23) … “The time is short!” (1 Corinthians 7:29) … “Lose no time!” (Judges 18:9) … “For time has its end!” (Daniel 8:19) … “Time passes like a shadow! … Be not foolish nor wicked―lest you die before your time!” (Ecclesiastes 7:1; 7:18) … “And our name in time shall be forgotten, and no man shall have any remembrance of our works! For our time is as the passing of a shadow, and there is no going back!” (Wisdom 2:4-5). “Therefore, while we have time, let us work good to all men, but especially to those who are of the household of the Faith!” (Galatians 6:10).
Holy Scripture speaks of certain times being reserved for certain things: “All things have their season and in their times all things pass under Heaven! A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted. A time to kill, and a time to heal. A time to destroy, and a time to build. A time to weep, and a time to laugh. A time to mourn, and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather. A time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces. A time to get, and a time to lose. A time to keep, and a time to cast away. A time to rip, and a time to sew. A time to keep silence, and a time to speak. A time of love, and a time of hatred. A time of war, and a time of peace” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).
Scripture also adds: “God has given him time for penance, and he abuses it in his pride!” (Job 24:23), with Christ adding: “Take heed, watch and pray! For you know not when the time is!” (Mark 13:33) … “I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance! … No, I say to you― unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish ... Again I say to you― except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish! … I say to you, that even so there shall be joy in Heaven upon one sinner that does penance, more than upon ninety-nine just men who need not penance! … There shall be joy before the angels of God upon one sinner doing penance!” (Luke 5:32; 13:3-5; 15:7-10)
The Epistle of the Mass for the First Sunday of Advent warned us: “It is now the hour for us to rise from sleep, because now our salvation is nearer than when we came to believe! The night is far advanced; the day is at hand. Let us therefore lay aside the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light! Let us walk becomingly as in the day―not in partying and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and licentiousness, not in rivalry and jealousy―but put on the Lord Jesus Christ!” (Romans 13:11-14). Along the same lines, God says: “Behold, now is the acceptable time! Behold, now is the day of salvation!” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
Don’t Waste Time!
Jean-Baptiste Chautard OCSO (1858-1935) was a French Trappist abbot and religious writer. In his book, The Soul of the Apostolate, he writes about the “Grace of the Present Moment” which entails not wasting time, but doing what God’s Providence expects of you at any given time, in each single moment of the day:
“It is certain that, by every event, person or thing, Thou, Jesus, Thou Thyself, dost present Thyself, objectively, to me, at every instant of the day. Thou dost hide Thy wisdom and Thy love beneath these appearances and dost request my co-operation to increase Thy life in myself. O my soul, at every instant Jesus presents Himself to you by the GRACE OF THE PRESENT MOMENT! Every time there is a prayer to say, a Mass to celebrate or to hear, reacting to be done, or acts of patience, of zeal, of renunciation, of struggle, confidence, or love to be produced. Would you dare look the other way, or try to avoid His gaze? … It is the practical way to keep in the presence of God, because now the soul, in the grace of the present moment, is able to find the living Christ, giving Himself to us, concealed in the work that we have to perform … This leads to a need for incessant prayer by means of spiritual Communions and ejaculatory prayers which are so easy, to one who wants to practice them, even in the thick of the most absorbing occupations, and which offer themselves in such a pleasing variation, appropriate to the particular needs of every present moment, to the present situation, dangers, difficulties, weariness, deceptions, and so on.” (Dom Chautard, The Soul of the Apostolate).
Running Out of Time
Adam lived to the ripe old age of 930 years! Our Lord died aged around 33 years. Our Lady is said to have died in her early to mid-sixties. St. Dominic Savio died aged 14 years. St. Maria Goretti was 11 years old when she was killed. Little Blessed Francisco of Fatima was only 10 years old when he died; Blessed Jacinta, his sister was only 9 years old. The Venerable Anne de Guigné was 10 years old.
Time waits for nobody. Time is precious. Time means more than money. Time and how it is spent, means the difference between Heaven and Hell. Death is the most untimely thing around. Death respects no one. Even in the forthcoming chastisement of which Our Lady has warned us, time and time again, she says that the good will die with the bad; and neither will priests be spared, but they will die with the laity.
Time is Too Precious to Lose
That is why our time is so precious. That is why the Church chooses the words of St. Paul to open the season of Advent, the time of mercy, so that we can receive, plant, nurture and grow the spirit of Christ in our souls, and so prepare favorably for the time of our Final Judgment, when the time of mercy will cease, and the time of Justice will have arrived. Those words of St. Paul that opened Advent for us were:
“It is now the hour for us to rise from sleep, because now our salvation is nearer than when we came to believe! The night is far advanced; the day is at hand. Let us therefore lay aside the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light! Let us walk becomingly as in the day―not in partying and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and licentiousness, not in rivalry and jealousy―but put on the Lord Jesus Christ!” (Romans 13:11-14).
A Time of Preparation
Advent is a time of preparation for the “putting on of the Lord Jesus Christ.” It is a time of self-examination, of correction and confession; a time of serious spiritual renewal and rejuvenation, a time of spiritual betterment and improvement, a time of re-assessing our motives and values, a time of preparing the soil of our soul to receive the seed of sanctity that our Savior wants to sow. Basically, it is a time to start really living our Faith and not just professing it with our lips.
It is not a frivolous time; it is not a time of worldly worry over the material and social side of Christmas. It was this material preoccupation at the lucrative time of the Emperor Caesar Augustus’ census and the ‘tourist’swelling of Bethlehem as people returned to register, that blinded the Bethlehemites to the True Treasure that had arrived on their doorsteps disguised as poverty and hidden in Mary’s womb.
They thought they were rich, but in reality they were very poor. They thought Mary and Joseph were poor, but they were the richest people in Heaven and Earth. They carried the only thing that really matters; the Bethlehemites sought many things but missed the one essential thing.
Is Your Time on Useless Things?
When we total up the man-hours spent on the material and social side of Advent and its successor, Christmas, and then compare it to the man-hours that will have been spent on the spiritual side of Advent and Christmas, then I think most people would have to blush with shame—as they will on Judgment Day. For we risk the King saying to us:
“Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you gave Me not to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave Me not to drink. I was a stranger, and you took Me not in: naked, and you covered Me not: sick and in prison, and you did not visit Me” (Matthew 25:41-43).
Time for Our Lady
Harsh? Well, Our Lord complained of the lukewarmness, indifference, coldness and sacrilege of many souls to St. Margaret Mary, in His apparitions to her from 1673-1675: “My Divine Heart is so inflamed with love for men … in order to enrich them with the precious graces of sanctification and salvation necessary to withdraw them from the abyss of perdition … But the sole return they make for all My eagerness to do them good is to reject Me and treat Me with coldness … Behold the Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming Itself, in order to testify Its love; and in return, I receive from the greater part only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrilege, and by the coldness and contempt!”
It was also in the 17th century that Our Lady of Good Success complained of and condemned lukewarmness: “Oh, if only human beings and religious knew what Heaven is and what it is to possess God, how differently they would live, sparing no sacrifice in order to enter more fully into possession of it! But some let themselves be dazzled by the false glamour of honors and human greatness, while others are blinded by self-love, not realizing that they are falling into lukewarmness, that immense evil which … destroys their fervor, humility, self-renunciation and the ceaseless practice of virtues and fraternal charity and child-like simplicity” (Our Lady of Good Success).
A Time of Lukewarmness
The existence of lukewarmness is not confined to the 17th century and the time of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque―lukewarmness has always been a problem (due to the effects of Original Sin) and has been both indirectly and directly condemned in both the Old and New Testaments: “This people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips glorify Me, but their heart is far from Me!” (Isaias 29:13). “Hypocrites! Well hath Isaias prophesied of you, saying: ‘These people honor Me with their lips―but their hearts are far from Me! And in vain do they worship Me, teaching doctrines and commandments of men!’” (Matthew 15:6-9).
And the fruit of lukewarmness is clearly stated in the Book of the Apocalypse: “I know your works, and that you are neither cold, nor hot. I would prefer that you were cold or hot. But because you are lukewarm―and neither cold, not hot―I will begin to vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say: ‘I am rich, and made wealthy, and have need of nothing!’ and do you not know that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy of Me gold fire tried, so that you may be made rich; and may be clothed in white garments, and that the shame of your nakedness may not appear; and anoint your eyes with eye-salve, so that you may see. Such as I love, I rebuke and chastise. Be zealous therefore, and do penance!” (Apocalypse 3:15-19).
Time for Penance
Advent is that time to do penance. The time to heat up our lukewarmness into a fiery zeal; to refocus our blurred indifference into a sharp focus on spiritual matters and our salvation, rather than our relaxation and recreation. So many in the world are so focused on money, wealth, pleasures and treasures, which they see enticing them in the distance, that their farsightedness or long-sightedness prevents them from threading the eye of the needle with the thread of their soul. Their spiritual eyesight is all too blurred and they fail, time and time again, year after year, to use Advent well and pass through the eye of the needle. As Our Lord warned us: “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 19:24).
In fact, it is worth reading the whole passage, for its context is very typical of the Advent-Christmas mentality seen in today’s modern world.
“Behold one came and said to Him: ‘Good master, what good shall I do that I may have life everlasting?’ Jesus said to him: ‘If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments!’ ... The young man said to Him: ‘All these I have kept from my youth, what is still lacking to me?’ Jesus said to him: ‘If you wish to be perfect, then go sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have a treasure in Heaven: and then come and follow Me!’ And when the young man had heard these words, he went away sad―for he had great possessions. Then Jesus said to His disciples: ‘Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven’” (Matthew 19:16-24).
So, to borrow the Church’s other opening line, from the season of Lent, when the Church again quotes St. Paul, saying: “Behold, now is the acceptable time! Behold, now is the time of salvation!” Which dovetails with the words quoted above from St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans for the First Sunday of Advent: “It is now the hour for us to rise from sleep. For now our salvation is nearer than when we believed. The night is passed, and the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light.”
The Light of World cometh, let us not sleep without having prepared our lamps, like the foolish virgins, who were without oil at the crucial time, when the Bridegroom came, and, while they were scurrying to buy some oil, they were locked-out of the feast. Now is the acceptable time, now is the hour to fill the lamps of our souls with the spiritual oil needed to have a truly profitable Advent preparation for a truly happy, holy and blessed Christmas. Noe did not build his ark at the last minute, but took much time to build it well. Let us do the same this Advent. Let us not worry about “sitting down to eat and drink, and rising up to play” (Exodus 32:6; 1 Corinthians 10:7), but let us rather “sit down to read and think, and kneel down to pray.”
The phrase "Time and tide wait for no man" was first published around 1395 in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, specifically in the Prologue to the Clerk's Tale. It means that time is unstoppable, and like the natural movement of the ocean's tides, it does not pause for human events or concerns, so one should not delay or procrastinate. As Holy Scripture says: “Observe the time!” (Ecclesiasticus 4:23) … “The time is short!” (1 Corinthians 7:29) … “Lose no time!” (Judges 18:9) … “For time has its end!” (Daniel 8:19) … “Time passes like a shadow! … Be not foolish nor wicked―lest you die before your time!” (Ecclesiastes 7:1; 7:18) … “And our name in time shall be forgotten, and no man shall have any remembrance of our works! For our time is as the passing of a shadow, and there is no going back!” (Wisdom 2:4-5). “Therefore, while we have time, let us work good to all men, but especially to those who are of the household of the Faith!” (Galatians 6:10).
Holy Scripture speaks of certain times being reserved for certain things: “All things have their season and in their times all things pass under Heaven! A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted. A time to kill, and a time to heal. A time to destroy, and a time to build. A time to weep, and a time to laugh. A time to mourn, and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather. A time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces. A time to get, and a time to lose. A time to keep, and a time to cast away. A time to rip, and a time to sew. A time to keep silence, and a time to speak. A time of love, and a time of hatred. A time of war, and a time of peace” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).
Scripture also adds: “God has given him time for penance, and he abuses it in his pride!” (Job 24:23), with Christ adding: “Take heed, watch and pray! For you know not when the time is!” (Mark 13:33) … “I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance! … No, I say to you― unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish ... Again I say to you― except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish! … I say to you, that even so there shall be joy in Heaven upon one sinner that does penance, more than upon ninety-nine just men who need not penance! … There shall be joy before the angels of God upon one sinner doing penance!” (Luke 5:32; 13:3-5; 15:7-10)
The Epistle of the Mass for the First Sunday of Advent warned us: “It is now the hour for us to rise from sleep, because now our salvation is nearer than when we came to believe! The night is far advanced; the day is at hand. Let us therefore lay aside the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light! Let us walk becomingly as in the day―not in partying and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and licentiousness, not in rivalry and jealousy―but put on the Lord Jesus Christ!” (Romans 13:11-14). Along the same lines, God says: “Behold, now is the acceptable time! Behold, now is the day of salvation!” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
Don’t Waste Time!
Jean-Baptiste Chautard OCSO (1858-1935) was a French Trappist abbot and religious writer. In his book, The Soul of the Apostolate, he writes about the “Grace of the Present Moment” which entails not wasting time, but doing what God’s Providence expects of you at any given time, in each single moment of the day:
“It is certain that, by every event, person or thing, Thou, Jesus, Thou Thyself, dost present Thyself, objectively, to me, at every instant of the day. Thou dost hide Thy wisdom and Thy love beneath these appearances and dost request my co-operation to increase Thy life in myself. O my soul, at every instant Jesus presents Himself to you by the GRACE OF THE PRESENT MOMENT! Every time there is a prayer to say, a Mass to celebrate or to hear, reacting to be done, or acts of patience, of zeal, of renunciation, of struggle, confidence, or love to be produced. Would you dare look the other way, or try to avoid His gaze? … It is the practical way to keep in the presence of God, because now the soul, in the grace of the present moment, is able to find the living Christ, giving Himself to us, concealed in the work that we have to perform … This leads to a need for incessant prayer by means of spiritual Communions and ejaculatory prayers which are so easy, to one who wants to practice them, even in the thick of the most absorbing occupations, and which offer themselves in such a pleasing variation, appropriate to the particular needs of every present moment, to the present situation, dangers, difficulties, weariness, deceptions, and so on.” (Dom Chautard, The Soul of the Apostolate).
Running Out of Time
Adam lived to the ripe old age of 930 years! Our Lord died aged around 33 years. Our Lady is said to have died in her early to mid-sixties. St. Dominic Savio died aged 14 years. St. Maria Goretti was 11 years old when she was killed. Little Blessed Francisco of Fatima was only 10 years old when he died; Blessed Jacinta, his sister was only 9 years old. The Venerable Anne de Guigné was 10 years old.
Time waits for nobody. Time is precious. Time means more than money. Time and how it is spent, means the difference between Heaven and Hell. Death is the most untimely thing around. Death respects no one. Even in the forthcoming chastisement of which Our Lady has warned us, time and time again, she says that the good will die with the bad; and neither will priests be spared, but they will die with the laity.
Time is Too Precious to Lose
That is why our time is so precious. That is why the Church chooses the words of St. Paul to open the season of Advent, the time of mercy, so that we can receive, plant, nurture and grow the spirit of Christ in our souls, and so prepare favorably for the time of our Final Judgment, when the time of mercy will cease, and the time of Justice will have arrived. Those words of St. Paul that opened Advent for us were:
“It is now the hour for us to rise from sleep, because now our salvation is nearer than when we came to believe! The night is far advanced; the day is at hand. Let us therefore lay aside the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light! Let us walk becomingly as in the day―not in partying and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and licentiousness, not in rivalry and jealousy―but put on the Lord Jesus Christ!” (Romans 13:11-14).
A Time of Preparation
Advent is a time of preparation for the “putting on of the Lord Jesus Christ.” It is a time of self-examination, of correction and confession; a time of serious spiritual renewal and rejuvenation, a time of spiritual betterment and improvement, a time of re-assessing our motives and values, a time of preparing the soil of our soul to receive the seed of sanctity that our Savior wants to sow. Basically, it is a time to start really living our Faith and not just professing it with our lips.
It is not a frivolous time; it is not a time of worldly worry over the material and social side of Christmas. It was this material preoccupation at the lucrative time of the Emperor Caesar Augustus’ census and the ‘tourist’swelling of Bethlehem as people returned to register, that blinded the Bethlehemites to the True Treasure that had arrived on their doorsteps disguised as poverty and hidden in Mary’s womb.
They thought they were rich, but in reality they were very poor. They thought Mary and Joseph were poor, but they were the richest people in Heaven and Earth. They carried the only thing that really matters; the Bethlehemites sought many things but missed the one essential thing.
Is Your Time on Useless Things?
When we total up the man-hours spent on the material and social side of Advent and its successor, Christmas, and then compare it to the man-hours that will have been spent on the spiritual side of Advent and Christmas, then I think most people would have to blush with shame—as they will on Judgment Day. For we risk the King saying to us:
“Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you gave Me not to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave Me not to drink. I was a stranger, and you took Me not in: naked, and you covered Me not: sick and in prison, and you did not visit Me” (Matthew 25:41-43).
Time for Our Lady
Harsh? Well, Our Lord complained of the lukewarmness, indifference, coldness and sacrilege of many souls to St. Margaret Mary, in His apparitions to her from 1673-1675: “My Divine Heart is so inflamed with love for men … in order to enrich them with the precious graces of sanctification and salvation necessary to withdraw them from the abyss of perdition … But the sole return they make for all My eagerness to do them good is to reject Me and treat Me with coldness … Behold the Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming Itself, in order to testify Its love; and in return, I receive from the greater part only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrilege, and by the coldness and contempt!”
It was also in the 17th century that Our Lady of Good Success complained of and condemned lukewarmness: “Oh, if only human beings and religious knew what Heaven is and what it is to possess God, how differently they would live, sparing no sacrifice in order to enter more fully into possession of it! But some let themselves be dazzled by the false glamour of honors and human greatness, while others are blinded by self-love, not realizing that they are falling into lukewarmness, that immense evil which … destroys their fervor, humility, self-renunciation and the ceaseless practice of virtues and fraternal charity and child-like simplicity” (Our Lady of Good Success).
A Time of Lukewarmness
The existence of lukewarmness is not confined to the 17th century and the time of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque―lukewarmness has always been a problem (due to the effects of Original Sin) and has been both indirectly and directly condemned in both the Old and New Testaments: “This people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips glorify Me, but their heart is far from Me!” (Isaias 29:13). “Hypocrites! Well hath Isaias prophesied of you, saying: ‘These people honor Me with their lips―but their hearts are far from Me! And in vain do they worship Me, teaching doctrines and commandments of men!’” (Matthew 15:6-9).
And the fruit of lukewarmness is clearly stated in the Book of the Apocalypse: “I know your works, and that you are neither cold, nor hot. I would prefer that you were cold or hot. But because you are lukewarm―and neither cold, not hot―I will begin to vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say: ‘I am rich, and made wealthy, and have need of nothing!’ and do you not know that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy of Me gold fire tried, so that you may be made rich; and may be clothed in white garments, and that the shame of your nakedness may not appear; and anoint your eyes with eye-salve, so that you may see. Such as I love, I rebuke and chastise. Be zealous therefore, and do penance!” (Apocalypse 3:15-19).
Time for Penance
Advent is that time to do penance. The time to heat up our lukewarmness into a fiery zeal; to refocus our blurred indifference into a sharp focus on spiritual matters and our salvation, rather than our relaxation and recreation. So many in the world are so focused on money, wealth, pleasures and treasures, which they see enticing them in the distance, that their farsightedness or long-sightedness prevents them from threading the eye of the needle with the thread of their soul. Their spiritual eyesight is all too blurred and they fail, time and time again, year after year, to use Advent well and pass through the eye of the needle. As Our Lord warned us: “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 19:24).
In fact, it is worth reading the whole passage, for its context is very typical of the Advent-Christmas mentality seen in today’s modern world.
“Behold one came and said to Him: ‘Good master, what good shall I do that I may have life everlasting?’ Jesus said to him: ‘If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments!’ ... The young man said to Him: ‘All these I have kept from my youth, what is still lacking to me?’ Jesus said to him: ‘If you wish to be perfect, then go sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have a treasure in Heaven: and then come and follow Me!’ And when the young man had heard these words, he went away sad―for he had great possessions. Then Jesus said to His disciples: ‘Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven’” (Matthew 19:16-24).
So, to borrow the Church’s other opening line, from the season of Lent, when the Church again quotes St. Paul, saying: “Behold, now is the acceptable time! Behold, now is the time of salvation!” Which dovetails with the words quoted above from St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans for the First Sunday of Advent: “It is now the hour for us to rise from sleep. For now our salvation is nearer than when we believed. The night is passed, and the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light.”
The Light of World cometh, let us not sleep without having prepared our lamps, like the foolish virgins, who were without oil at the crucial time, when the Bridegroom came, and, while they were scurrying to buy some oil, they were locked-out of the feast. Now is the acceptable time, now is the hour to fill the lamps of our souls with the spiritual oil needed to have a truly profitable Advent preparation for a truly happy, holy and blessed Christmas. Noe did not build his ark at the last minute, but took much time to build it well. Let us do the same this Advent. Let us not worry about “sitting down to eat and drink, and rising up to play” (Exodus 32:6; 1 Corinthians 10:7), but let us rather “sit down to read and think, and kneel down to pray.”
Article 1
Sunday November 30th, the First Sunday of Advent
A New Year! A New Heart! A New Life!
Sunday November 30th, the First Sunday of Advent
A New Year! A New Heart! A New Life!
New Year Comes Late!
The Church has already beaten the State to the New Year—the New Liturgical Year started with the First Sunday of Advent! However, since many are partying tonight and waiting for the secular “New Year”, let us look at some aspects of the “new” from a spiritual perspective. To do so, let us primarily turn to the Word of God—Holy Scripture—for a lokk at the “new.”
Our Lord Comes to Make Things New
There are times when the “old” is better, and there are times when the “new” is necessary. Our Lord Himself came to perfect the old with the new—the Old Testament gave way to the New Testament. Our “old” selves, likewise, need to make for our “new” selves—renewed by the grace of God. Heaven is often called the “New Jerusalem” —a heavenly Jerusalem that replaces or perfects the earthly Jerusalem. We see this focus on the “new” in the words of Our Lord and the New Testament authors. “But we look for new Heavens and a new Earth” (2 Peter 3:13).
Don’t Mix the Old with the New
We cannot make a blend of the world and God; nor can we marry spirituality to materialism: “You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24) … “And what concord hath Christ with Belial?” (2 Corinthians 6:15). “And you, when you were dead in your offences, and sins, wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of this air, of the spirit that now worketh on the children of unbelief: in which also we all conversed in time past, in the desires of our flesh, fulfilling the will of the flesh and of our thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, Who is rich in mercy, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together in Christ, by whose grace you are saved, and hath raised us up together, and hath made us sit together in the heavenly places, through Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:1-5).
Purge Out the Old
“And He that sat on the throne, said: ‘Behold, I make all things new!’ And He said to me: ‘Write! For these words are most faithful and true!’” (Apocalypse 21:5). “A new commandment I give unto you” (John 13:34) ... “Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new paste” (1 Corinthians 5:7). “Put off, according to former conversation, the old man, who is corrupted according to the desire of error and be renewed in the spirit of your mind: and put on the new man, who according to God is created in justice and holiness of truth” (Ephesians 4:22-24). “And putting on the new, him who is renewed unto knowledge, according to the image of Him that created him” (Colossians 3:10). “If then anyone be in Christ a new creature, the old things are passed away, behold all things are made new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). “In saying ‘a new’, He hath made the former old” (Hebrews 8:13). God wants us to be new creatures, new persons, better creatures, better persons. That is why He came on Earth—the Advent and Christmas liturgy speaks of Our Lord coming to restore, to renew, to recreate what was lost through sin. This is the spirit that we should positively and effectively undertake in the coming New Year—putting on a new man, a new self, created in justice and holiness; becoming a new leaven, renewed in mind and heart, so that we are a new creature in Christ, having put the old ways behind us and having made all things new!
Vintage Year for God
While others toast the New Year with glasses of wine, we should be preparing to give God a special vintage this coming year—not mixing our old cheap wine with the vintage wine that God expects from us: “Neither do they put new wine into old bottles. Otherwise the bottles break, and the wine runs out, and the bottles perish. But new wine they put into new bottles: and both are preserved” (Matthew 9:17). “No man sews a piece of raw cloth to an old garment” (Mark 2:21). “No man puts a piece from a new garment upon an old garment; otherwise the piece taken from the new agrees not with the old” (Luke 5:36).
God Seeks Improvement
All these Scriptural quotes stress or imply the need for improvement—not just “new” for sake of it being “new”, but “new’ in the sense of something better than was there before. In this sense, we go through school learning new things every year and, thereby, our intelligence becomes better. We learn new skills and thereby become better. Our spiritual life should follow the same pattern—each year we should become better due to new things and changes that we have made; much like a tree that each year grows more, becomes stronger and bears more fruit: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field. Which is the least indeed of all seeds; but when it is grown up, it is greater than all herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come, and dwell in the branches thereof” (Matthew 13:31-32).
The tree or vine should be always improving, as Our Lord points out at the Last Supper: “I am the true vine; and My Father is the husbandman. Every branch in Me, that beareth not fruit, He will take away: and every one that beareth fruit, He will purge it, that it may bring forth more fruit … I am the vine: you the branches: he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit. If any one abide not in Me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, and shall wither, and they shall gather him up, and cast him into the fire, and he burneth.” (John 15:1-6).
Fruitless and Loveless
The Apocalypse has even stronger words to say: “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold, nor hot. I would thou wert cold, or hot. But because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, not hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest: I am rich, and made wealthy, and have need of nothing: and knowest not, that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I counsel thee to buy of Me gold fire tried, that thou mayest be made rich; and mayest be clothed in white garments, and that the shame of thy nakedness may not appear; and anoint thy eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see” (Apocalypse 3:14-18).
This New Year—Buy the Gold of Charity
Yes, we are spiritually poor, blind and naked, as the Apocalypse just said. Just as the three kings brought three gifts, so do the three persons of the Holy Trinity counsel us to turn to Them for the solution: to buy from Them gold, white garments, and eye-salve. These three are an echo of the three gifts offered to Jesus by the Magi. The Gold in both cases—the Apocalypse account and that of the Magi—is the gold of charity, which, as we said with the Scriptural quote above, will have grown cold in many souls: “Because iniquity has abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). Will this be a cold year in my heart, or will I kindle a fire in my heart towards God: “I am come to cast fire on the Earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled?” (Luke 12:49). Will the fire in my heart grow or burn-out?
This New Year—Cloth Yourself with Suffering
The white garments, spoken of in Apocalypse, correspond to the Myrrh. The Myrrh is a symbol of suffering, being used both as a painkiller and for embalming the dead. The white garments reflect that suffering, as shown by this quote: “These are they who are come out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (Apocalypse 7:14). This coming New Year, no doubt, will bring increased suffering in an increasingly sinful world—“Be not deceived, God is not mocked” (Galatians 6:7). The world cannot sin with impunity: “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). “Sin has reigned to death” (Romans 5:21). “When concupiscence has conceived, it brings forth sin. But sin, when it is completed, begets death” (James 1:15).
This New Year—Use the Eye-Salve of Fervent Prayer
The Eye-Salve, spoken of in Apocalypse, corresponds to the frankincense of prayer, which rises like smoke to Heaven. The blind man is begging and praying to Jesus for his blindness to be removed. “Jesus asked him saying: ‘What wilt thou that I do to thee?’ But he said: ‘Lord, that I may see!’” (Luke 18:41). His prayer is the eye-salve that removes his blindness. This blindness corresponds to lukewarmness—as Fr. Faber writes: “The diseases and evils of the body are in a great degree typical of the miseries and misfortunes of the soul. If we seek the correlative of lukewarmness, we shall find it in blindness. It is a blindness which does not know even its own self, and does not suspect that it is blind, or that other men see better than itself” (Fr. Faber, Growth in Holiness). Our Lady of Good Success says: “Others are blinded by self-love, not realizing that they are falling into lukewarmness, that immense evil.” The lukewarm need the ‘eye-salve’ of prayer to save them from the fate of lukewarmness—which is being vomited out from the mouth of God. Let us resolve to use this ‘eye-salve’ regularly and properly this coming New Year! As Our Lord said: “We ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1).
Today there is not enough gold, frankincense and myrrh in our lives. We love too little; we pray too little; we suffer too little. That is why we risk having little chance for salvation unless we follow the the counsels of the Apocalypse in our apocalyptic times! Love, pray and suffer! This should be our New Year resolution! Have a charitable New Year! Have a prayerful New Year! Have a painful New Year! Ouch!
But that is what Our Lady herself told us: “The children of the holy Church, the children of my Faith, my true followers, they will grow in their love for God!” (Our Lady of La Salette). “Pray, pray very much!” (Our Lady of Fatima). “Are you willing to bear all the sufferings God wills to send you? Then you are going to have much to suffer … Are you suffering a great deal? Don’t lose heart. I will never forsake you!” (Our Lady of Fatima). “I do not promise to make you Happy [New Year] in this life, but in the next!” (Our Lady of Lourdes).
The Church has already beaten the State to the New Year—the New Liturgical Year started with the First Sunday of Advent! However, since many are partying tonight and waiting for the secular “New Year”, let us look at some aspects of the “new” from a spiritual perspective. To do so, let us primarily turn to the Word of God—Holy Scripture—for a lokk at the “new.”
Our Lord Comes to Make Things New
There are times when the “old” is better, and there are times when the “new” is necessary. Our Lord Himself came to perfect the old with the new—the Old Testament gave way to the New Testament. Our “old” selves, likewise, need to make for our “new” selves—renewed by the grace of God. Heaven is often called the “New Jerusalem” —a heavenly Jerusalem that replaces or perfects the earthly Jerusalem. We see this focus on the “new” in the words of Our Lord and the New Testament authors. “But we look for new Heavens and a new Earth” (2 Peter 3:13).
Don’t Mix the Old with the New
We cannot make a blend of the world and God; nor can we marry spirituality to materialism: “You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24) … “And what concord hath Christ with Belial?” (2 Corinthians 6:15). “And you, when you were dead in your offences, and sins, wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of this air, of the spirit that now worketh on the children of unbelief: in which also we all conversed in time past, in the desires of our flesh, fulfilling the will of the flesh and of our thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, Who is rich in mercy, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together in Christ, by whose grace you are saved, and hath raised us up together, and hath made us sit together in the heavenly places, through Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:1-5).
Purge Out the Old
“And He that sat on the throne, said: ‘Behold, I make all things new!’ And He said to me: ‘Write! For these words are most faithful and true!’” (Apocalypse 21:5). “A new commandment I give unto you” (John 13:34) ... “Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new paste” (1 Corinthians 5:7). “Put off, according to former conversation, the old man, who is corrupted according to the desire of error and be renewed in the spirit of your mind: and put on the new man, who according to God is created in justice and holiness of truth” (Ephesians 4:22-24). “And putting on the new, him who is renewed unto knowledge, according to the image of Him that created him” (Colossians 3:10). “If then anyone be in Christ a new creature, the old things are passed away, behold all things are made new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). “In saying ‘a new’, He hath made the former old” (Hebrews 8:13). God wants us to be new creatures, new persons, better creatures, better persons. That is why He came on Earth—the Advent and Christmas liturgy speaks of Our Lord coming to restore, to renew, to recreate what was lost through sin. This is the spirit that we should positively and effectively undertake in the coming New Year—putting on a new man, a new self, created in justice and holiness; becoming a new leaven, renewed in mind and heart, so that we are a new creature in Christ, having put the old ways behind us and having made all things new!
Vintage Year for God
While others toast the New Year with glasses of wine, we should be preparing to give God a special vintage this coming year—not mixing our old cheap wine with the vintage wine that God expects from us: “Neither do they put new wine into old bottles. Otherwise the bottles break, and the wine runs out, and the bottles perish. But new wine they put into new bottles: and both are preserved” (Matthew 9:17). “No man sews a piece of raw cloth to an old garment” (Mark 2:21). “No man puts a piece from a new garment upon an old garment; otherwise the piece taken from the new agrees not with the old” (Luke 5:36).
God Seeks Improvement
All these Scriptural quotes stress or imply the need for improvement—not just “new” for sake of it being “new”, but “new’ in the sense of something better than was there before. In this sense, we go through school learning new things every year and, thereby, our intelligence becomes better. We learn new skills and thereby become better. Our spiritual life should follow the same pattern—each year we should become better due to new things and changes that we have made; much like a tree that each year grows more, becomes stronger and bears more fruit: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field. Which is the least indeed of all seeds; but when it is grown up, it is greater than all herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come, and dwell in the branches thereof” (Matthew 13:31-32).
The tree or vine should be always improving, as Our Lord points out at the Last Supper: “I am the true vine; and My Father is the husbandman. Every branch in Me, that beareth not fruit, He will take away: and every one that beareth fruit, He will purge it, that it may bring forth more fruit … I am the vine: you the branches: he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit. If any one abide not in Me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, and shall wither, and they shall gather him up, and cast him into the fire, and he burneth.” (John 15:1-6).
Fruitless and Loveless
The Apocalypse has even stronger words to say: “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold, nor hot. I would thou wert cold, or hot. But because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, not hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest: I am rich, and made wealthy, and have need of nothing: and knowest not, that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I counsel thee to buy of Me gold fire tried, that thou mayest be made rich; and mayest be clothed in white garments, and that the shame of thy nakedness may not appear; and anoint thy eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see” (Apocalypse 3:14-18).
This New Year—Buy the Gold of Charity
Yes, we are spiritually poor, blind and naked, as the Apocalypse just said. Just as the three kings brought three gifts, so do the three persons of the Holy Trinity counsel us to turn to Them for the solution: to buy from Them gold, white garments, and eye-salve. These three are an echo of the three gifts offered to Jesus by the Magi. The Gold in both cases—the Apocalypse account and that of the Magi—is the gold of charity, which, as we said with the Scriptural quote above, will have grown cold in many souls: “Because iniquity has abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). Will this be a cold year in my heart, or will I kindle a fire in my heart towards God: “I am come to cast fire on the Earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled?” (Luke 12:49). Will the fire in my heart grow or burn-out?
This New Year—Cloth Yourself with Suffering
The white garments, spoken of in Apocalypse, correspond to the Myrrh. The Myrrh is a symbol of suffering, being used both as a painkiller and for embalming the dead. The white garments reflect that suffering, as shown by this quote: “These are they who are come out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (Apocalypse 7:14). This coming New Year, no doubt, will bring increased suffering in an increasingly sinful world—“Be not deceived, God is not mocked” (Galatians 6:7). The world cannot sin with impunity: “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). “Sin has reigned to death” (Romans 5:21). “When concupiscence has conceived, it brings forth sin. But sin, when it is completed, begets death” (James 1:15).
This New Year—Use the Eye-Salve of Fervent Prayer
The Eye-Salve, spoken of in Apocalypse, corresponds to the frankincense of prayer, which rises like smoke to Heaven. The blind man is begging and praying to Jesus for his blindness to be removed. “Jesus asked him saying: ‘What wilt thou that I do to thee?’ But he said: ‘Lord, that I may see!’” (Luke 18:41). His prayer is the eye-salve that removes his blindness. This blindness corresponds to lukewarmness—as Fr. Faber writes: “The diseases and evils of the body are in a great degree typical of the miseries and misfortunes of the soul. If we seek the correlative of lukewarmness, we shall find it in blindness. It is a blindness which does not know even its own self, and does not suspect that it is blind, or that other men see better than itself” (Fr. Faber, Growth in Holiness). Our Lady of Good Success says: “Others are blinded by self-love, not realizing that they are falling into lukewarmness, that immense evil.” The lukewarm need the ‘eye-salve’ of prayer to save them from the fate of lukewarmness—which is being vomited out from the mouth of God. Let us resolve to use this ‘eye-salve’ regularly and properly this coming New Year! As Our Lord said: “We ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1).
Today there is not enough gold, frankincense and myrrh in our lives. We love too little; we pray too little; we suffer too little. That is why we risk having little chance for salvation unless we follow the the counsels of the Apocalypse in our apocalyptic times! Love, pray and suffer! This should be our New Year resolution! Have a charitable New Year! Have a prayerful New Year! Have a painful New Year! Ouch!
But that is what Our Lady herself told us: “The children of the holy Church, the children of my Faith, my true followers, they will grow in their love for God!” (Our Lady of La Salette). “Pray, pray very much!” (Our Lady of Fatima). “Are you willing to bear all the sufferings God wills to send you? Then you are going to have much to suffer … Are you suffering a great deal? Don’t lose heart. I will never forsake you!” (Our Lady of Fatima). “I do not promise to make you Happy [New Year] in this life, but in the next!” (Our Lady of Lourdes).
DAILY THOUGHTS FOR NOVEMBER
THE MONTH OF THE HOLY SOULS IN PURGATORY
THE MONTH OF THE HOLY SOULS IN PURGATORY
Article 29
Saturday November 29th
Advent is Only A Few Hours Away! How Far Away Are You?
Saturday November 29th
Advent is Only A Few Hours Away! How Far Away Are You?
What, Why When?
With Advent, the ecclesiastical year begins in the Western churches. During this time the faithful are admonished to prepare themselves worthily to celebrate the anniversary of the Lord’s coming into the world as the incarnate God of love, thus to make their souls worthy dwelling-places for the Redeemer coming in Holy Communion and through grace, and thereby to make themselves ready for His final coming as judge, at death and at the end of the world.
According to present modern-day custom, Advent is a period beginning with the Sunday nearest to the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle (November 30th) and embracing four Sundays. The first Sunday may be as early as November 27th, and then Advent has twenty-eight days, or as late as December 3rd, giving the season only twenty-one days.
The Meaning of Advent
The name Advent comes from the Latin words, advenire (to come to) and adventus (an arrival), and refers to Christ’s coming into this world. The Lord is coming. Is that what we really want? Is He really happy with the way we live our lives? His coming implies change—it seems to suggest that things must change in our lives. Is that what we want? It is most certainly what He wants—but are we in agreement? Are we looking forward to changing?
Every year at this time we get ready to celebrate His coming , and so there exists a real danger that, through routine, we can lose the feeling of expectancy and joyful anticipation, because, at the end of the season, everything seems to return to pretty much the same old lukewarm routine. If that is the case, then our preparation may have been lacking and we have therefore been robbed of much of the true meaning of this season.
The focus of Advent is by no means limited to just Christ’s first coming. An equal, if not more important theme found in the Advent Liturgy is the second coming of Christ, when He comes again to judge the world. Consequently, there is a double focus of, firstly, the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his first Advent, and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in his Second Advent. In His first coming He comes as a child offering mercy. In His second coming He will come as a judge administering justice.
Two Sides of Christ
However, He is never merciful without being just, and He is never just without being merciful. Therefore, we must realize that to accept His mercy also requires that we accept His justice. He does not come to play, but to pay—pay for our sins. He does not come to enjoy life, but to give eternal life—and that comes at a price. He comes not to live on Earth forever, but to forever detach us from this Earth.
He prefers poverty over power; humility over honors; rejection over riches and suffering over splendor. His way is not our way, yet He Who called Himself “the Way” shows us wayward wayfarers the true way—and it is not a pleasant way, but the Way of the Cross. He will already carry that Cross from His infancy. Both the Crib of Bethlehem and the Cross of Calvary are made of rough wood, and He would have us carry it after Him.
A New Beginning! No Half-Measures!
Advent is not an end, but a beginning. It should be the beginning of the end of a life of sin and mediocrity—“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).
As for mediocrity, Our Lord said to Mother Mariana of Quito, Ecuador: “Alas! If men―and above all, priests and religious souls―would only realize how greatly I am wounded and displeased with the coldness, indifference, lack of confidence and small inveterate imperfections on the part of those who so closely belong to Me.... But I will not tolerate this. Halfway measures are not pleasing to Me. I desire all or nothing — according to My example, for I gave of Myself to the last drop of Blood and Water from My shattered Body on the Cross. Moreover, I have continued to live in the Tabernacle under the same roof with these hidden souls, exposing Myself to so many hateful profanations and sacrileges! For I know well all that takes place in My sacramental life! ... Woe to souls like this! Woe!”
Putting on the Purple
The liturgical color for the season of Advent is purple. Purple also has a twofold symbolism. On the one hand purple shows the royal majesty which heralds the coming of the King of Kings. Yet that purple also signifies penance, for the King comes in order to do penance on behalf of mankind, which has grievously offended God—so purple in this sense is also a color symbolic of penance and suffering, since our King came to suffer and die for us. “I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance” (Lk. 5:32).
The True Spirit of Advent
The spirit of Advent is somewhat similar to that of Lent, which prepares us for Easter—the greatest feast in the calendar of the Church. Originally the observance of Advent was made up of fasting and took up forty days—as with Lent—but was reduced to four weeks. The first allusion to Advent’s being reduced to four weeks is to be found in the ninth century, in a letter of Pope St. Nicholas I to the Bulgarians.
The Greek Church still continues to observe the fast of Advent, though with much less rigor than that of Lent. It consists of forty days, beginning with November 14th, the day on which this Church keeps the feast of the apostle St. Philip.
Advent is marked by a spirit of expectation, of anticipation, of preparation, of longing. There is a yearning for deliverance from the evils of the world, first expressed by Israelite slaves in Egypt as they cried out from their bitter oppression. It is the cry of those who have experienced the tyranny of injustice in a world under the curse of sin, and yet who have hope of deliverance by a God who has heard the cries of oppressed slaves and brought deliverance!
During Advent we recall the history of God’s people and reflect on how the prophecies and promises of the Old Testament were fulfilled. This gives us a background for the present. Today we can reflect on the past track record of God and so begin to understand what it means to us now for the sake of what is to come, in our own future and that of our world.
Mary Wants to Plant Jesus in our Souls
Advent is, par excellence, the time of the Divine Maternity, the Motherhood of the Blessed Virgin, as she draws ever closer to giving birth to God’s Greatest Gift for fallen human nature. During Advent, we should not lose focus of Our Lady, for without her there is no Christmas; without her, God will not be born into this world. It is here cooperation with God that has brought about the Incarnation—God becoming flesh, becoming man so as to save and redeem mankind.
Born Again?
But for mankind to be saved and redeemed, Christ our Savior has to be “born into our souls”. Nay, perhaps that one word will be passed over and looked upon as a routine phrase! Christ wants to be born in our souls, our hearts, our minds, our thoughts, our memories, our hopes, our conversations, our daydreams, our home life, our work life, our social life —in other words, everywhere, in everything, in every moment of our days and nights!
Born to Love!
That is what is meant by the first and greatest commandment: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the first commandment” (Mark 12:30). How few there are who comply with this command! Of most, Our Lord would have to say: “Well did Isaias prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me!’” (Mark 7:6).
Be Our Life—Or A Part of Our Life?
There is no doubt whatsoever that, on the part of Jesus, He truly wants to come to us. He loves us beyond our comprehension and our wildest dreams. There is no problem on the part of Jesus. However, on our side, we have to ask the question: “Do we really want Jesus to come to us?” I mean really, not just theoretically and not just by lip-service. Do we really and truly want Jesus in our lives? To drive the point home more clearly and to avoid misconceptions, do we really and truly want Jesus to be our life? Notice the words “be our life”, which is different to being “a part of our life.” If we want Jesus to be “a part of our life”, then we only partially want Him, we only want a “part-time Jesus”—for some that means on Sundays and prayer times only, for others a little more perhaps, but they place a limit on “how much of Jesus they can take.” He wants to be our whole life, not just a part of our life, and that is what is meant by the commandment to love God with our whole mind, heart, soul and strength.
How Much Longer Will We Resist Him?
All life long Jesus has been trying to REALLY get into our lives. He desires to be a full time part of our lives, not just a part-time visitor. That is not what our Faith is all about, but that is what we have reduced it to! When will this change? Heaven is not our immediate destination until we make an alteration!
We must confess that we need a new heart to love Jesus—our old heart is too cold, too indifferent, too lukewarm, too nonchalant, too self-centered, or world-centered and not God-centered. That is why God says in more than one place:
“And I will give them one heart, and will put a new spirit in their bowels: and I will take away the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh” (Ezechiel 11:19), and again, “I will pour upon you clean water, and you shall be cleansed from all your filthiness, and I will cleanse you from all your idols. I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you a heart of flesh” (Ezechiel 36:26).
Time for a Heart Transplant
Advent is the time for all this to happen! We need to ‘check-in’ to God’s hospital and get that heart transplant that He promises. Only part of our heart is working—we only partially love God—yet we have been told to wholly and totally love Him. We need the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary to, in a sense, be transplanted into ourselves. This notion crops up in the words of the Sacred Heart to Josefa Menendez, when Our Lord says: “My Heart is powerful enough to sustain you. It is yours; take from It all you need … The more you disappear, the more shall I be your life ... My Heart is yours, take it and repair with it.”
In the life of St. Lutgarde, we read of her beseeching Our Lord to give her His heart. St. Lutgarde, being a choir nun, thought it would be very appropriate if she were to be granted a miraculous understanding of Latin, in order that she might have more devotion in reciting the psalms. As matters stood, she did not understand a word of what she said reading the psalms in choir, although she prayed with great fervor. The grace granted, she discovered to her surprise that once again it did not have the result she expected. She began to receive many vivid intellectual lights at the Divine Office, and to be illuminated by numerous penetrating intuitions into the meaning of the psalms. But somehow all this new knowledge left her heart empty and dry. God had granted her this last relatively useless favor together with enough light to see that it was not what she needed, and she soon turned to Him once more confessing that all these lofty intuitions only interfered with her devotion instead of nourishing it.
So seizing the moment, Jesus asked her: “What, then, do you want?”
This time, Jesus had led her secretly to the discovery of the right answer.
“Lord,’ she told Him, “I want Thy Heart.”
“You want My Heart?” said Jesus: “Well, I, too, want your heart.”
St. Lutgarde replied: “Take it, dear Lord. But take it in such a way that the love of Your Heart may be so mingled and united with my own heart that I may possess my heart in Thee, and that it may always remain there secure in Your protection.”
St. Lutgarde is perhaps the first saint in whom this mystical “exchange of hearts” was effected. Since her time, the exchange has become rather common in the lives of mystics devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. We read of it in the lives of St. Gertrude, St. Mechtilde (both Cistercians), and St. Margaret Mary. The term is, of course, purely symbolic. There is no question of a physical exchange, but only of a mystical union of wills. Nor does it imply the perfect union of wills in mystical marriage. The exchange of hearts can take place in the degree of union known as spiritual betrothal. The gift then becomes not a sign of perfect transforming union but rather a pledge of that union, which still remains to be desired and which God withholds until His own good time. In more recent times for example, Sister Josefa Menendez, a lay sister of the Society of the Sacred Heart, received a similar grace as a protection against temptations to leave the convent. Are we happy with our heart? Wouldn’t a better heart bring more happiness? Advent is the time to get that spiritual heart transplant in time for Christmas.
Total and Whole
Our Lady also wants Jesus to be our whole life, and she is willing to help give birth to Jesus in our life, so that He may grow and occupy and whole life, just as He did hers. This is, in essence, what St. Louis de Montfort is trying to say in his book, True Devotion to Mary. It is TOTAL consecration, a TOTAL giving of self in return for the TOTAL giving that Christ and His Mother showed towards us poor sinful creatures. The following quotes, taken from different sections of the book, will try to show this picture of Mary as the birth-giver of Jesus in our lives.
“God having willed to commence and to complete His greatest works by the most holy Virgin ever since He created her–we may well think He will not change His conduct in the eternal ages; for He is God, and He changes not, either in His sentiments or in His conduct.” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
Mary Gives Birth to Jesus in Souls
“It was only through Mary that God the Father gave His Only begotten to the world. Whatever sighs the patriarchs may have sent forth, whatever prayers the prophets and the saints of the Old Law may have offered up to obtain this treasure for full four thousand years, it was only Mary who merited it and found grace before God (Luke 1:30) by the force of her prayers and the eminence of her virtues. The world was unworthy, says St. Augustine, to receive the Son of God directly from the Father’s hands. He gave Him to Mary in order that the world might receive Him through her. The Son of God became man for our salvation; but it was in Mary and by Mary” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
“God the Father wishes to have children by Mary till the consummation of the world... Just as in the natural and corporal generation of children there are a father and a mother, so in the supernatural and spiritual generation there are a Father, who is God, and a Mother, who is Mary. All the true children of God, the predestinate, have God for their Father and Mary for their Mother. He who has not Mary for his Mother has not God for his Father. ... Others, who hate our Blessed Lady or regard her with contempt and indifference, have not God for their Father... For if they had her for their Mother, they would love and honor her as a true child naturally loves and honors the mother who has given him life” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
Jesus Wishes to Be Incarnate in You
“God the Son wishes to form Himself, and, so to speak, to incarnate Himself in His members every day, by His dear Mother ... We can apply to her more than St. Paul applied to himself the words: ‘I am in labor again with all the children of God, until Jesus Christ my Son be formed in them in the fullness of His age’” (Cf. Galatians 4:19)” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
“St. Augustine, surpassing himself, and going beyond all I have yet said, affirms that all the predestinate, in order to be conformed to the image of the Son of God, are in this world hidden in the womb of the most holy Virgin, where they are guarded, nourished, brought up and made to grow by that good Mother until she has brought them forth to glory after death, which is properly the day of their birth, as the Church calls the death of the just. O mystery of grace, unknown to the reprobate, and but little known even to the predestinate!” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
Through Mary, With Mary, In Mary, By Mary
“God the Holy Ghost wishes to form elect for Himself in her and by her ... When Mary has struck her roots in a soul, she produces there marvels of grace, which she alone can produce, because she alone is the fruitful Virgin who never has had, and never will have, her equal in purity and in fruitfulness” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
“Mary has produced, together with the Holy Ghost, the greatest thing which has been or ever will be–a God Man; and she will consequently produce the greatest saints that there will be in the end of time. The formation and the education of the great saints who shall come at the end of the world are reserved for her. For it is only that singular and miraculous Virgin who can produce, in union with the Holy Ghost, singular and extraordinary things” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
“When the Holy Ghost, her Spouse, has found Mary in a soul, He flies there. He enters there in His fullness; He communicates Himself to that soul abundantly, and to the full extent to which it makes room for His spouse. Nay, one of the greatest reasons why the Holy Ghost does not now do startling wonders in our souls is because He does not find there a sufficiently great union with His faithful and inseparable spouse” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
“Jesus is everywhere and always the Fruit and the Son of Mary; and Mary is everywhere the veritable tree who bears the Fruit of life, and the true Mother who produces it” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary). What will this Advent produce?
Advent is All About Mercy
The season of Advent is primarily a season of Mercy. The liturgical writers speak of this time of Mercy, in which we look with hope to Christ, who will come to redeem us and save us from sin. As Our Lord Himself says: “The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save!’” (Luke 9:56). “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).
Advent is a perfect time to focus more on the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. Most people have heard of them; some may be able to name them all; most will only remember a few; some may not even know how many there are—yet they are integral part of our Faith. They are in part based on the terrifying picture painted by Our Lord, in the twenty-fifth chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel, dealing with the Sheep and the Goats―which is description of the Last Judgment, and therefore shows the importance that the Works of Mercy will play at that Judgment. Before we list the Works of Mercy, let us briefly remind ourselves of those words of Our Lord.
Sheep and Goats
“When the Son of man shall come in His majesty, and all the angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the seat of His majesty. And all nations shall be gathered together before Him, and He shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats. And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on His left. Then shall the King say to them that shall be on His right hand: ‘Come, ye blessed of My Father, possess you the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; naked, and you covered me; sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me! Then shall the just answer Him, saying: ‘Lord, when did we see Thee hungry, and fed Thee; thirsty, and gave Thee drink? And when did we see Thee a stranger, and took Thee in? Or naked, and covered Thee? Or when did we see Thee sick or in prison, and came to Thee?’ And the King answering, shall say to them: ‘Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to Me.
“Then He shall say to them also that shall be on His left hand: ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you gave Me not to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave Me not to drink. I was a stranger, and you took Me not in: naked, and you covered Me not: sick and in prison, and you did not visit Me!’ Then they also shall answer Him, saying: ‘Lord, when did we see Thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to Thee?’ Then He shall answer them, saying: ‘Amen I say to you, as long as you did it not to one of these least, neither did you do it to Me!’ And these shall go into everlasting punishment: but the just, into life everlasting” (Matthew 25:31-46).
The Old Testament already pointed this out in part: “He that is inclined to mercy shall be blessed: for of his bread he hath given to the poor” (Proverbs 22:9). “He that showeth mercy to the poor, shall be blessed” (Proverbs 14:21). Since God does not change, neither does His truth change, and so Our Lord reiterates the same message in the New Testament, saying: “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7). To drive the point home, He also spoke of the Unmerciful Servant in a parable.
The Unmerciful Servant
The Unmerciful Servant wanted mercy, but did not want to show mercy. This is so true of most people, not only today, but of all times. We want mercy for ourselves to a high degree, and we refuse or are reluctant to show mercy to others, putting on our hat of judgment and righteousness! Our Lord’s words rebuke that attitude:
“Then came Peter unto Him and said: ‘Lord, how often shall my brother offend against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?’ Jesus sad to Him: ‘I say not to thee, till seven times; but till seventy times seven times. Therefore is the Kingdom of heaven likened to a king, who would take an account of his servants. And when he had begun to take the account, one was brought to him, that owed him ten thousand talents. And as he had not wherewith to pay it, his lord commanded that he should be sold, and his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.
“But that servant falling down, besought him, saying: ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all!’ And the lord of that servant being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt. But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellow servants that owed him an hundred pence; and laying hold of him, throttled him, saying: ‘Pay what thou owest!’ And his fellow servant falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all!’ And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he paid the debt.
“Now his fellow servants, seeing what was done, were very much grieved, and they came and told their lord all that was done. Then his lord called him; and said to him: ‘Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all the debt, because thou besoughtest me! Shouldst not thou then have had compassion also on thy fellow servant, even as I had compassion on thee?’ And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers, until he paid all the debt. So also shall My heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not everyone his brother from your hearts” (Matthew 18:21-34).
The Unmerciful Servant Needs Bi-Focals
The Unmerciful Servant, when it came to his own faults, was solely focused and hoped only in the mercy of his lord, and did not want justice to be applied to his faults. Yet, when the Unmerciful Servant came across someone who had offended or sinned against him, then he focused solely upon the application of justice, and totally disregarded the application of mercy. This is so true of so many human beings—when it to comes to our sins, mercy is the only consideration; but when it comes to the sins of others, then justice is the only consideration. The warnings from Our Lord are clear: “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7). “Judge not, that you may not be judged. For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again” (Matthew 7:1-2). Which is why St. Paul gives the sound advice of: “But if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged” (1 Corinthians 11:31).
Spare Me, Lord, But Slaughter My Enemies!
We are always ready to say: “Blessed be God, who hath not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from Me” (Psalms 65:20). But when it comes to our neighbor (and even the sinner or an enemy is a neighbor, as Our Lord points out in the parable of the Good Samaritan—the Samaritans were enemies of the Jews), then we become like the Sons of Thunder: “Jesus sent messengers before His face; and going, they entered into a city of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. And they received Him not, because His face was of one going to Jerusalem [to the ‘enemy’ city’]. And when His disciples James and John had seen this, they said: ‘Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from Heaven, and consume them?’ And turning, He rebuked them, saying: ‘You know not of what spirit you are! The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save!’” (Luke 9:52-56). He also said this elsewhere: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10) and insisted: “Go then and learn what this meaneth, I will have mercy and not sacrifice. For I am not come to call the just, but sinners” (Matthew 9:13).
The Works of Mercy
Mercy, in this context, is said to be a virtue influencing someone to have compassion for, and, if possible, to alleviate another's misfortune. It is the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas that although mercy is, as it were, the spontaneous product of charity, yet it is to be reckoned a special virtue that is distinguishable from charity. For Mercy is also linked to justice, because it softens justice. Obviously the necessity or need of others can be either of body or soul. Hence it is customary to list both corporal and spiritual Works of Mercy. The traditional enumeration of the Corporal Works of Mercy is as follows:
The Corporal Works of Mercy are:
To feed the hungry;
To give drink to the thirsty;
To clothe the naked;
To shelter the homeless;
To visit the sick;
To ransom the captive;
To bury the dead.
The Spiritual Works of Mercy are:
To instruct the ignorant;
To counsel the doubtful;
To admonish sinners;
To bear wrongs patiently;
To forgive offences willingly;
To comfort the afflicted;
To pray for the living and the dead.
It All Comes Down to Giving Alms—Materially or Spiritually
It will be seen from these divisions that the Works of Mercy practically coincide with the various forms of almsgiving. It is thus that St. Thomas regards them. The word alms of course is a corruption of the Greek eleemosyne (mercy). The doing of Works of Mercy is not merely a matter of suggestion; there is also a strict precept imposed, both by the Natural Law and the Divine law, commanding their performance. The Natural Law commands Works of Mercy based upon the principle that we are to do to others as we would have them do to us. The Divine command is seen in the most strict words of Christ, who points out that failure to comply with it, will bring about the supreme penalty of eternal damnation (see Matthew 25:41 above): Then He shall answer them, saying: ‘Amen I say to you, as long as you did it not to one of these least, neither did you do it to Me!’ And these shall go into everlasting punishment: but the just, into life everlasting” (Matthew 25:45-46).
In that parable of Our Lord’s, it is true, there is only direct and explicit mention of only the Corporal Works of Mercy. However, since the Spiritual Works of Mercy deal with a need or a distress whose relief is even more important as well as more effective for the grand purpose of man's creation, the term “Works of Mercy” must be extended into the spiritual realm also. Besides there are the obvious references of Christ to such works as fraternal correction (Matthew 18:15) as well as the forgiveness of injuries (Matthew 6:14).
Adopt a Soul for Advent
This brings us to the ultimate purpose of this article—which is that of practicing one or several Corporal or Spiritual Works of Mercy during Advent, for Advent is all about Our Lord coming to save His lost sheep. Today, more than ever, souls have gone astray. Though material help is fine and sometimes (or often) needed, the good of the soul is more important than the good of the body. “For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul?” (Mark 8:36). The Spiritual must have primacy over the Corporal. Besides, in the current economic climate, some find it hard to help themselves, never mind others! However, in the spiritual domain, we all have infinitely deep pockets—for we can give spiritual things to others, without losing any of it for ourselves.
If I teach you something about your Faith, I do not lose anything of my own Faith—in fact, it enriches my Faith. If I include you in my prayers and other spiritual exercises, it costs me very little materially—and spiritually I am once again enriched. Thus we could all ADOPT A SOUL DURING ADVENT. It may be a family member, a relative, an acquaintance or a stranger; it could be a lukewarm practicing Catholic; in could be a fallen-away Catholic; it could be a non-Catholic; it could be somebody near or somebody at the other side of the world. No matter. What matters is that we will practicing the same attitude that Our Lord showed in coming to redeem us from our sins.
What we do and how much we do, is up to each and every one of us—some will be inclined to do a lot, some perhaps less. It could include having Masses offered for them; saying extra prayers; suffering providential things for them; offering self-imposed sacrifices for them; offering up our Holy Communions (in part or entirely); etc., etc.
Modern Spirituality is often a Selfish Spirituality
As we will see in the writings of Dom Guéranger, during this Advent season, the modern spiritual life has become very much a cocooned spiritual life, a life of private devotion, which ultimately leads to a “Me. Me, Me” spirituality. Yet we are only one tiny part of the Mystical Body of Christ and what happens to and in the Body at large, affects us to a greater or lesser degree. The Scriptural quote concerning Cain and Abel comes to mind: “And the Lord said to Cain: ‘Where is thy brother Abel?’ And he answered, ‘I know not: am I my brother' s keeper?’” (Genesis 4:9). Many know not the needs of their brothers and sisters in Christ, many do not even care to know! But we are our “brother’s keeper” as witnessed by the words of Our Lady at Fatima, who said: “You have seen Hell where the souls of poor sinners go … Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices for sinners; for many souls go to Hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and pray for them.” Let us take these words to heart and do for others as we would wish others to do unto us!
With Advent, the ecclesiastical year begins in the Western churches. During this time the faithful are admonished to prepare themselves worthily to celebrate the anniversary of the Lord’s coming into the world as the incarnate God of love, thus to make their souls worthy dwelling-places for the Redeemer coming in Holy Communion and through grace, and thereby to make themselves ready for His final coming as judge, at death and at the end of the world.
According to present modern-day custom, Advent is a period beginning with the Sunday nearest to the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle (November 30th) and embracing four Sundays. The first Sunday may be as early as November 27th, and then Advent has twenty-eight days, or as late as December 3rd, giving the season only twenty-one days.
The Meaning of Advent
The name Advent comes from the Latin words, advenire (to come to) and adventus (an arrival), and refers to Christ’s coming into this world. The Lord is coming. Is that what we really want? Is He really happy with the way we live our lives? His coming implies change—it seems to suggest that things must change in our lives. Is that what we want? It is most certainly what He wants—but are we in agreement? Are we looking forward to changing?
Every year at this time we get ready to celebrate His coming , and so there exists a real danger that, through routine, we can lose the feeling of expectancy and joyful anticipation, because, at the end of the season, everything seems to return to pretty much the same old lukewarm routine. If that is the case, then our preparation may have been lacking and we have therefore been robbed of much of the true meaning of this season.
The focus of Advent is by no means limited to just Christ’s first coming. An equal, if not more important theme found in the Advent Liturgy is the second coming of Christ, when He comes again to judge the world. Consequently, there is a double focus of, firstly, the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his first Advent, and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in his Second Advent. In His first coming He comes as a child offering mercy. In His second coming He will come as a judge administering justice.
Two Sides of Christ
However, He is never merciful without being just, and He is never just without being merciful. Therefore, we must realize that to accept His mercy also requires that we accept His justice. He does not come to play, but to pay—pay for our sins. He does not come to enjoy life, but to give eternal life—and that comes at a price. He comes not to live on Earth forever, but to forever detach us from this Earth.
He prefers poverty over power; humility over honors; rejection over riches and suffering over splendor. His way is not our way, yet He Who called Himself “the Way” shows us wayward wayfarers the true way—and it is not a pleasant way, but the Way of the Cross. He will already carry that Cross from His infancy. Both the Crib of Bethlehem and the Cross of Calvary are made of rough wood, and He would have us carry it after Him.
A New Beginning! No Half-Measures!
Advent is not an end, but a beginning. It should be the beginning of the end of a life of sin and mediocrity—“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).
As for mediocrity, Our Lord said to Mother Mariana of Quito, Ecuador: “Alas! If men―and above all, priests and religious souls―would only realize how greatly I am wounded and displeased with the coldness, indifference, lack of confidence and small inveterate imperfections on the part of those who so closely belong to Me.... But I will not tolerate this. Halfway measures are not pleasing to Me. I desire all or nothing — according to My example, for I gave of Myself to the last drop of Blood and Water from My shattered Body on the Cross. Moreover, I have continued to live in the Tabernacle under the same roof with these hidden souls, exposing Myself to so many hateful profanations and sacrileges! For I know well all that takes place in My sacramental life! ... Woe to souls like this! Woe!”
Putting on the Purple
The liturgical color for the season of Advent is purple. Purple also has a twofold symbolism. On the one hand purple shows the royal majesty which heralds the coming of the King of Kings. Yet that purple also signifies penance, for the King comes in order to do penance on behalf of mankind, which has grievously offended God—so purple in this sense is also a color symbolic of penance and suffering, since our King came to suffer and die for us. “I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance” (Lk. 5:32).
The True Spirit of Advent
The spirit of Advent is somewhat similar to that of Lent, which prepares us for Easter—the greatest feast in the calendar of the Church. Originally the observance of Advent was made up of fasting and took up forty days—as with Lent—but was reduced to four weeks. The first allusion to Advent’s being reduced to four weeks is to be found in the ninth century, in a letter of Pope St. Nicholas I to the Bulgarians.
The Greek Church still continues to observe the fast of Advent, though with much less rigor than that of Lent. It consists of forty days, beginning with November 14th, the day on which this Church keeps the feast of the apostle St. Philip.
Advent is marked by a spirit of expectation, of anticipation, of preparation, of longing. There is a yearning for deliverance from the evils of the world, first expressed by Israelite slaves in Egypt as they cried out from their bitter oppression. It is the cry of those who have experienced the tyranny of injustice in a world under the curse of sin, and yet who have hope of deliverance by a God who has heard the cries of oppressed slaves and brought deliverance!
During Advent we recall the history of God’s people and reflect on how the prophecies and promises of the Old Testament were fulfilled. This gives us a background for the present. Today we can reflect on the past track record of God and so begin to understand what it means to us now for the sake of what is to come, in our own future and that of our world.
Mary Wants to Plant Jesus in our Souls
Advent is, par excellence, the time of the Divine Maternity, the Motherhood of the Blessed Virgin, as she draws ever closer to giving birth to God’s Greatest Gift for fallen human nature. During Advent, we should not lose focus of Our Lady, for without her there is no Christmas; without her, God will not be born into this world. It is here cooperation with God that has brought about the Incarnation—God becoming flesh, becoming man so as to save and redeem mankind.
Born Again?
But for mankind to be saved and redeemed, Christ our Savior has to be “born into our souls”. Nay, perhaps that one word will be passed over and looked upon as a routine phrase! Christ wants to be born in our souls, our hearts, our minds, our thoughts, our memories, our hopes, our conversations, our daydreams, our home life, our work life, our social life —in other words, everywhere, in everything, in every moment of our days and nights!
Born to Love!
That is what is meant by the first and greatest commandment: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the first commandment” (Mark 12:30). How few there are who comply with this command! Of most, Our Lord would have to say: “Well did Isaias prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me!’” (Mark 7:6).
Be Our Life—Or A Part of Our Life?
There is no doubt whatsoever that, on the part of Jesus, He truly wants to come to us. He loves us beyond our comprehension and our wildest dreams. There is no problem on the part of Jesus. However, on our side, we have to ask the question: “Do we really want Jesus to come to us?” I mean really, not just theoretically and not just by lip-service. Do we really and truly want Jesus in our lives? To drive the point home more clearly and to avoid misconceptions, do we really and truly want Jesus to be our life? Notice the words “be our life”, which is different to being “a part of our life.” If we want Jesus to be “a part of our life”, then we only partially want Him, we only want a “part-time Jesus”—for some that means on Sundays and prayer times only, for others a little more perhaps, but they place a limit on “how much of Jesus they can take.” He wants to be our whole life, not just a part of our life, and that is what is meant by the commandment to love God with our whole mind, heart, soul and strength.
How Much Longer Will We Resist Him?
All life long Jesus has been trying to REALLY get into our lives. He desires to be a full time part of our lives, not just a part-time visitor. That is not what our Faith is all about, but that is what we have reduced it to! When will this change? Heaven is not our immediate destination until we make an alteration!
We must confess that we need a new heart to love Jesus—our old heart is too cold, too indifferent, too lukewarm, too nonchalant, too self-centered, or world-centered and not God-centered. That is why God says in more than one place:
“And I will give them one heart, and will put a new spirit in their bowels: and I will take away the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh” (Ezechiel 11:19), and again, “I will pour upon you clean water, and you shall be cleansed from all your filthiness, and I will cleanse you from all your idols. I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you a heart of flesh” (Ezechiel 36:26).
Time for a Heart Transplant
Advent is the time for all this to happen! We need to ‘check-in’ to God’s hospital and get that heart transplant that He promises. Only part of our heart is working—we only partially love God—yet we have been told to wholly and totally love Him. We need the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary to, in a sense, be transplanted into ourselves. This notion crops up in the words of the Sacred Heart to Josefa Menendez, when Our Lord says: “My Heart is powerful enough to sustain you. It is yours; take from It all you need … The more you disappear, the more shall I be your life ... My Heart is yours, take it and repair with it.”
In the life of St. Lutgarde, we read of her beseeching Our Lord to give her His heart. St. Lutgarde, being a choir nun, thought it would be very appropriate if she were to be granted a miraculous understanding of Latin, in order that she might have more devotion in reciting the psalms. As matters stood, she did not understand a word of what she said reading the psalms in choir, although she prayed with great fervor. The grace granted, she discovered to her surprise that once again it did not have the result she expected. She began to receive many vivid intellectual lights at the Divine Office, and to be illuminated by numerous penetrating intuitions into the meaning of the psalms. But somehow all this new knowledge left her heart empty and dry. God had granted her this last relatively useless favor together with enough light to see that it was not what she needed, and she soon turned to Him once more confessing that all these lofty intuitions only interfered with her devotion instead of nourishing it.
So seizing the moment, Jesus asked her: “What, then, do you want?”
This time, Jesus had led her secretly to the discovery of the right answer.
“Lord,’ she told Him, “I want Thy Heart.”
“You want My Heart?” said Jesus: “Well, I, too, want your heart.”
St. Lutgarde replied: “Take it, dear Lord. But take it in such a way that the love of Your Heart may be so mingled and united with my own heart that I may possess my heart in Thee, and that it may always remain there secure in Your protection.”
St. Lutgarde is perhaps the first saint in whom this mystical “exchange of hearts” was effected. Since her time, the exchange has become rather common in the lives of mystics devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. We read of it in the lives of St. Gertrude, St. Mechtilde (both Cistercians), and St. Margaret Mary. The term is, of course, purely symbolic. There is no question of a physical exchange, but only of a mystical union of wills. Nor does it imply the perfect union of wills in mystical marriage. The exchange of hearts can take place in the degree of union known as spiritual betrothal. The gift then becomes not a sign of perfect transforming union but rather a pledge of that union, which still remains to be desired and which God withholds until His own good time. In more recent times for example, Sister Josefa Menendez, a lay sister of the Society of the Sacred Heart, received a similar grace as a protection against temptations to leave the convent. Are we happy with our heart? Wouldn’t a better heart bring more happiness? Advent is the time to get that spiritual heart transplant in time for Christmas.
Total and Whole
Our Lady also wants Jesus to be our whole life, and she is willing to help give birth to Jesus in our life, so that He may grow and occupy and whole life, just as He did hers. This is, in essence, what St. Louis de Montfort is trying to say in his book, True Devotion to Mary. It is TOTAL consecration, a TOTAL giving of self in return for the TOTAL giving that Christ and His Mother showed towards us poor sinful creatures. The following quotes, taken from different sections of the book, will try to show this picture of Mary as the birth-giver of Jesus in our lives.
“God having willed to commence and to complete His greatest works by the most holy Virgin ever since He created her–we may well think He will not change His conduct in the eternal ages; for He is God, and He changes not, either in His sentiments or in His conduct.” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
Mary Gives Birth to Jesus in Souls
“It was only through Mary that God the Father gave His Only begotten to the world. Whatever sighs the patriarchs may have sent forth, whatever prayers the prophets and the saints of the Old Law may have offered up to obtain this treasure for full four thousand years, it was only Mary who merited it and found grace before God (Luke 1:30) by the force of her prayers and the eminence of her virtues. The world was unworthy, says St. Augustine, to receive the Son of God directly from the Father’s hands. He gave Him to Mary in order that the world might receive Him through her. The Son of God became man for our salvation; but it was in Mary and by Mary” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
“God the Father wishes to have children by Mary till the consummation of the world... Just as in the natural and corporal generation of children there are a father and a mother, so in the supernatural and spiritual generation there are a Father, who is God, and a Mother, who is Mary. All the true children of God, the predestinate, have God for their Father and Mary for their Mother. He who has not Mary for his Mother has not God for his Father. ... Others, who hate our Blessed Lady or regard her with contempt and indifference, have not God for their Father... For if they had her for their Mother, they would love and honor her as a true child naturally loves and honors the mother who has given him life” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
Jesus Wishes to Be Incarnate in You
“God the Son wishes to form Himself, and, so to speak, to incarnate Himself in His members every day, by His dear Mother ... We can apply to her more than St. Paul applied to himself the words: ‘I am in labor again with all the children of God, until Jesus Christ my Son be formed in them in the fullness of His age’” (Cf. Galatians 4:19)” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
“St. Augustine, surpassing himself, and going beyond all I have yet said, affirms that all the predestinate, in order to be conformed to the image of the Son of God, are in this world hidden in the womb of the most holy Virgin, where they are guarded, nourished, brought up and made to grow by that good Mother until she has brought them forth to glory after death, which is properly the day of their birth, as the Church calls the death of the just. O mystery of grace, unknown to the reprobate, and but little known even to the predestinate!” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
Through Mary, With Mary, In Mary, By Mary
“God the Holy Ghost wishes to form elect for Himself in her and by her ... When Mary has struck her roots in a soul, she produces there marvels of grace, which she alone can produce, because she alone is the fruitful Virgin who never has had, and never will have, her equal in purity and in fruitfulness” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
“Mary has produced, together with the Holy Ghost, the greatest thing which has been or ever will be–a God Man; and she will consequently produce the greatest saints that there will be in the end of time. The formation and the education of the great saints who shall come at the end of the world are reserved for her. For it is only that singular and miraculous Virgin who can produce, in union with the Holy Ghost, singular and extraordinary things” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
“When the Holy Ghost, her Spouse, has found Mary in a soul, He flies there. He enters there in His fullness; He communicates Himself to that soul abundantly, and to the full extent to which it makes room for His spouse. Nay, one of the greatest reasons why the Holy Ghost does not now do startling wonders in our souls is because He does not find there a sufficiently great union with His faithful and inseparable spouse” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary).
“Jesus is everywhere and always the Fruit and the Son of Mary; and Mary is everywhere the veritable tree who bears the Fruit of life, and the true Mother who produces it” (St. Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary). What will this Advent produce?
Advent is All About Mercy
The season of Advent is primarily a season of Mercy. The liturgical writers speak of this time of Mercy, in which we look with hope to Christ, who will come to redeem us and save us from sin. As Our Lord Himself says: “The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save!’” (Luke 9:56). “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).
Advent is a perfect time to focus more on the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. Most people have heard of them; some may be able to name them all; most will only remember a few; some may not even know how many there are—yet they are integral part of our Faith. They are in part based on the terrifying picture painted by Our Lord, in the twenty-fifth chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel, dealing with the Sheep and the Goats―which is description of the Last Judgment, and therefore shows the importance that the Works of Mercy will play at that Judgment. Before we list the Works of Mercy, let us briefly remind ourselves of those words of Our Lord.
Sheep and Goats
“When the Son of man shall come in His majesty, and all the angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the seat of His majesty. And all nations shall be gathered together before Him, and He shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats. And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on His left. Then shall the King say to them that shall be on His right hand: ‘Come, ye blessed of My Father, possess you the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; naked, and you covered me; sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me! Then shall the just answer Him, saying: ‘Lord, when did we see Thee hungry, and fed Thee; thirsty, and gave Thee drink? And when did we see Thee a stranger, and took Thee in? Or naked, and covered Thee? Or when did we see Thee sick or in prison, and came to Thee?’ And the King answering, shall say to them: ‘Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to Me.
“Then He shall say to them also that shall be on His left hand: ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you gave Me not to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave Me not to drink. I was a stranger, and you took Me not in: naked, and you covered Me not: sick and in prison, and you did not visit Me!’ Then they also shall answer Him, saying: ‘Lord, when did we see Thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to Thee?’ Then He shall answer them, saying: ‘Amen I say to you, as long as you did it not to one of these least, neither did you do it to Me!’ And these shall go into everlasting punishment: but the just, into life everlasting” (Matthew 25:31-46).
The Old Testament already pointed this out in part: “He that is inclined to mercy shall be blessed: for of his bread he hath given to the poor” (Proverbs 22:9). “He that showeth mercy to the poor, shall be blessed” (Proverbs 14:21). Since God does not change, neither does His truth change, and so Our Lord reiterates the same message in the New Testament, saying: “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7). To drive the point home, He also spoke of the Unmerciful Servant in a parable.
The Unmerciful Servant
The Unmerciful Servant wanted mercy, but did not want to show mercy. This is so true of most people, not only today, but of all times. We want mercy for ourselves to a high degree, and we refuse or are reluctant to show mercy to others, putting on our hat of judgment and righteousness! Our Lord’s words rebuke that attitude:
“Then came Peter unto Him and said: ‘Lord, how often shall my brother offend against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?’ Jesus sad to Him: ‘I say not to thee, till seven times; but till seventy times seven times. Therefore is the Kingdom of heaven likened to a king, who would take an account of his servants. And when he had begun to take the account, one was brought to him, that owed him ten thousand talents. And as he had not wherewith to pay it, his lord commanded that he should be sold, and his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.
“But that servant falling down, besought him, saying: ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all!’ And the lord of that servant being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt. But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellow servants that owed him an hundred pence; and laying hold of him, throttled him, saying: ‘Pay what thou owest!’ And his fellow servant falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all!’ And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he paid the debt.
“Now his fellow servants, seeing what was done, were very much grieved, and they came and told their lord all that was done. Then his lord called him; and said to him: ‘Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all the debt, because thou besoughtest me! Shouldst not thou then have had compassion also on thy fellow servant, even as I had compassion on thee?’ And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers, until he paid all the debt. So also shall My heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not everyone his brother from your hearts” (Matthew 18:21-34).
The Unmerciful Servant Needs Bi-Focals
The Unmerciful Servant, when it came to his own faults, was solely focused and hoped only in the mercy of his lord, and did not want justice to be applied to his faults. Yet, when the Unmerciful Servant came across someone who had offended or sinned against him, then he focused solely upon the application of justice, and totally disregarded the application of mercy. This is so true of so many human beings—when it to comes to our sins, mercy is the only consideration; but when it comes to the sins of others, then justice is the only consideration. The warnings from Our Lord are clear: “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7). “Judge not, that you may not be judged. For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again” (Matthew 7:1-2). Which is why St. Paul gives the sound advice of: “But if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged” (1 Corinthians 11:31).
Spare Me, Lord, But Slaughter My Enemies!
We are always ready to say: “Blessed be God, who hath not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from Me” (Psalms 65:20). But when it comes to our neighbor (and even the sinner or an enemy is a neighbor, as Our Lord points out in the parable of the Good Samaritan—the Samaritans were enemies of the Jews), then we become like the Sons of Thunder: “Jesus sent messengers before His face; and going, they entered into a city of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. And they received Him not, because His face was of one going to Jerusalem [to the ‘enemy’ city’]. And when His disciples James and John had seen this, they said: ‘Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from Heaven, and consume them?’ And turning, He rebuked them, saying: ‘You know not of what spirit you are! The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save!’” (Luke 9:52-56). He also said this elsewhere: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10) and insisted: “Go then and learn what this meaneth, I will have mercy and not sacrifice. For I am not come to call the just, but sinners” (Matthew 9:13).
The Works of Mercy
Mercy, in this context, is said to be a virtue influencing someone to have compassion for, and, if possible, to alleviate another's misfortune. It is the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas that although mercy is, as it were, the spontaneous product of charity, yet it is to be reckoned a special virtue that is distinguishable from charity. For Mercy is also linked to justice, because it softens justice. Obviously the necessity or need of others can be either of body or soul. Hence it is customary to list both corporal and spiritual Works of Mercy. The traditional enumeration of the Corporal Works of Mercy is as follows:
The Corporal Works of Mercy are:
To feed the hungry;
To give drink to the thirsty;
To clothe the naked;
To shelter the homeless;
To visit the sick;
To ransom the captive;
To bury the dead.
The Spiritual Works of Mercy are:
To instruct the ignorant;
To counsel the doubtful;
To admonish sinners;
To bear wrongs patiently;
To forgive offences willingly;
To comfort the afflicted;
To pray for the living and the dead.
It All Comes Down to Giving Alms—Materially or Spiritually
It will be seen from these divisions that the Works of Mercy practically coincide with the various forms of almsgiving. It is thus that St. Thomas regards them. The word alms of course is a corruption of the Greek eleemosyne (mercy). The doing of Works of Mercy is not merely a matter of suggestion; there is also a strict precept imposed, both by the Natural Law and the Divine law, commanding their performance. The Natural Law commands Works of Mercy based upon the principle that we are to do to others as we would have them do to us. The Divine command is seen in the most strict words of Christ, who points out that failure to comply with it, will bring about the supreme penalty of eternal damnation (see Matthew 25:41 above): Then He shall answer them, saying: ‘Amen I say to you, as long as you did it not to one of these least, neither did you do it to Me!’ And these shall go into everlasting punishment: but the just, into life everlasting” (Matthew 25:45-46).
In that parable of Our Lord’s, it is true, there is only direct and explicit mention of only the Corporal Works of Mercy. However, since the Spiritual Works of Mercy deal with a need or a distress whose relief is even more important as well as more effective for the grand purpose of man's creation, the term “Works of Mercy” must be extended into the spiritual realm also. Besides there are the obvious references of Christ to such works as fraternal correction (Matthew 18:15) as well as the forgiveness of injuries (Matthew 6:14).
Adopt a Soul for Advent
This brings us to the ultimate purpose of this article—which is that of practicing one or several Corporal or Spiritual Works of Mercy during Advent, for Advent is all about Our Lord coming to save His lost sheep. Today, more than ever, souls have gone astray. Though material help is fine and sometimes (or often) needed, the good of the soul is more important than the good of the body. “For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul?” (Mark 8:36). The Spiritual must have primacy over the Corporal. Besides, in the current economic climate, some find it hard to help themselves, never mind others! However, in the spiritual domain, we all have infinitely deep pockets—for we can give spiritual things to others, without losing any of it for ourselves.
If I teach you something about your Faith, I do not lose anything of my own Faith—in fact, it enriches my Faith. If I include you in my prayers and other spiritual exercises, it costs me very little materially—and spiritually I am once again enriched. Thus we could all ADOPT A SOUL DURING ADVENT. It may be a family member, a relative, an acquaintance or a stranger; it could be a lukewarm practicing Catholic; in could be a fallen-away Catholic; it could be a non-Catholic; it could be somebody near or somebody at the other side of the world. No matter. What matters is that we will practicing the same attitude that Our Lord showed in coming to redeem us from our sins.
What we do and how much we do, is up to each and every one of us—some will be inclined to do a lot, some perhaps less. It could include having Masses offered for them; saying extra prayers; suffering providential things for them; offering self-imposed sacrifices for them; offering up our Holy Communions (in part or entirely); etc., etc.
Modern Spirituality is often a Selfish Spirituality
As we will see in the writings of Dom Guéranger, during this Advent season, the modern spiritual life has become very much a cocooned spiritual life, a life of private devotion, which ultimately leads to a “Me. Me, Me” spirituality. Yet we are only one tiny part of the Mystical Body of Christ and what happens to and in the Body at large, affects us to a greater or lesser degree. The Scriptural quote concerning Cain and Abel comes to mind: “And the Lord said to Cain: ‘Where is thy brother Abel?’ And he answered, ‘I know not: am I my brother' s keeper?’” (Genesis 4:9). Many know not the needs of their brothers and sisters in Christ, many do not even care to know! But we are our “brother’s keeper” as witnessed by the words of Our Lady at Fatima, who said: “You have seen Hell where the souls of poor sinners go … Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices for sinners; for many souls go to Hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and pray for them.” Let us take these words to heart and do for others as we would wish others to do unto us!
Article 28
Friday November 28th
Black Friday versus Good Friday
Friday November 28th
Black Friday versus Good Friday
Aping God
The devil likes to “ape” God, that is to say, he likes to imitate aspects of God and God’s Church. Tertullian once said: “Diabolos est Dei simia,” and that basically translates into “The devil is God’s monkey (or ape).” What Tertullian meant was that the devil likes nothing better than to ape God. Satanists and secret societies are pretty big on copying or aping certain elements of Catholic religious ceremonies—the Black Mass is one such blasphemous example.
Black Friday
Talking of the word “black”, today happens to be what the world (in the USA world) calls “Black Friday” and it comes right after “Thanksgiving Day” which is always a Thursday. In recent years, most major retailers have opened very early and offered promotional sales to kick off the holiday shopping season, similar to Boxing Day (the day after Christmas Day) sales in many British Commonwealth nations. Many non-retail employees and schools have both Thanksgiving and the day after off, followed by a weekend, thereby increasing the number of potential shoppers.
For many years, it was common for retailers to open at 6:00 a.m. on the morning of Black Friday, but in the late 2000’s many had crept to 5:00 a.m. or even 4:00 a.m. This was taken to a new extreme in 2011, when several retailers (including Target, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Best Buy, and Bealls) opened at midnight for the first time. In 2012, Wal-Mart and several other retailers announced that they would open most of their stores at 8:00 p.m. In 2014, stores were even opening as early as 6:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. On and on it goes…
It has routinely been the busiest shopping day of the year since 2005, although news reports, which at that time were inaccurate, have described it as the busiest shopping day of the year for a much longer period of time. In 2003, however, Black Friday actually was the busiest shopping day of the year, and it has retained that position every year since, with the exception of 2004.
The amount of money spent on Black Friday has generally increased from year to year:
Year Online Spending (Billions USD)
2013 $1.9 billion (which is $1,900 millions)
2017 $5.0 billion (which is $5,000 millions)
2018 $6.2 billion (which is $6,200 millions)
2019 $7.4 billion (which is $7,400 millions)
2020 $9.03 billion (which is $9,030 millions)
2021 $8.9 billion (which is $8,900 millions)
2022 $9.1 billion (which is $9,100 millions)
2023 $9.8 billion (which is $9,800 millions)
2024 $10.8 billion (which is $10,800 millions)
Even though companies are navigating an uncertain economic environment and wrestle with the volatility of President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs on imported goods, Black Friday retains its crown as the official start of the holiday shopping season and remains the biggest shopping day in the U.S. A forecast from the National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail trade group, has predicted an increase in holiday sales during the Tnaksgiving to New Year’s period.. The group estimates that shoppers would collectively spend between $1.01 trillion (over $1,000,000 millions, or one million millions) and $1.02 trillion in November and December, or 3.7% to 4.2% more than 2024. Retailers sold $976 billion during the holiday sales in 2024, or a 4.3% increase from 2023, the group said.
Black Friday masquerades as the first day of traditional Christmas shopping, during which crowds of consumers are drawn to special offers by retailers. The thought sprang to mind that this has an uncanny resemblance to our Holy Thursday and Good Friday, except that it tends to go in the opposite direction. One could almost say that it is a parody. Here are the reasons that occurred in formulating this idea:
Comparisons
► The days are the same day: Holy Thursday and Good Friday / Thanksgiving Thursday and Black Friday.
► Holy Thursday is centered around Our Lord’s Last Supper; Thanksgiving in centered around the secular Thanksgiving meal.
► Good Friday and Black Friday are all about the world and materialism: Our Lord detaches Himself from the world and material things and dies to save souls; Black Friday is all about attaching oneself to materialism in order to save something too—money!
► Good Friday is frugal in its ceremony (the bare bones) and has somber black vestments; whereas Black Friday is all about opulence with its colorful glitz and glamour.
► The message of Good Friday is one of dying to this world—as Our Lord said: “I am not of this world!” (John 8:23). Whereas the message of Black Friday is one of living for the world and grabbing all one can of this world.
► Good Friday is a day of obligatory fasting; while Black Friday for many is almost a day of compulsory spending and indulging. It is common for prospective shoppers to camp out over the Thanksgiving holiday, even in cold freezing temperatures, in an effort to secure a place in front of the line and thus a better chance at getting desired items.
► Just as the Faith spread throughout the world, so too is Black Friday spreading throughout the world since really “taking-off” in the USA. Canada has started the Black Friday practice. Black Friday was the inspiration for the Mexican government and retailing industry to create an annual weekend of discounts and extended credit terms, El Buen Fin, meaning “the good weekend” in Spanish. Black Friday is also celebrated in the United Kingdom by major online retailers, and more and more UK-based retailers have adopted the Black Friday marketing scheme than ever. In Panama Black Friday was first celebrated in 2012, as a move from the Government to attract local tourism to the countries capital city. In recent years, Black Friday has been promoted in Australia by online retailers. In 2012, after two years of disappointing results, several department stores in Brazil joined their foreign competitors in a successful Black Friday, which more than doubled the total revenue in comparison to the previous year. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Black Friday Sale is a joint sales initiative by hundreds of online vendors.
The Violence of Good Friday and Black Friday
We all know, of course, the extreme violence generated against Our Lord on Good Friday by the sinful passions of the Pharisees, Jews and Roman soldiers. Yet we also see those evil passions surge to the fore on Black Friday. Somehow money, things and greed combine to make a toxic poison for basic Christian charity―or even non-Christian charity and civility. Black Friday entails shopping for and getting cheap deals, but Black Friday crime is actually very common, and it can have a negative impact on the event. Black Friday violence can arise―as the excitement of the day bubbles over and becomes an issue. Disagreements can easily turn into crazy Black Friday fights. Black Friday has become a setting for consumer misbehavior as shoppers compete for deeply discounted products. Fighting, pepper-spraying, dumping merchandise, ransacking stores, robberies and shootings have all been reported on Black Friday.
In 2006, a man shopping at Best Buy was recorded on video assaulting another shopper in a dispute over an article that each wanted to buy. Unruly Wal-Mart shoppers at a store outside Columbus, Ohio, quickly flooded in the doors at opening, pinning several employees against stacks of merchandise. Nine shoppers in a California mall were injured, including an elderly woman who had to be taken to the hospital, when the crowd rushed to grab gift certificates that had been released from the ceiling. If only people had the same passion for attending Masses, receiving Holy Communion and going to Confession!
In 2008, a crowd of approximately 2,000 shoppers in Valley Stream, New York, waited outside for the 5:00 a.m. opening of the local Wal-Mart. [Wouldn’t it be a pleasant surprise for priests to find similar crowds outside their church on a morning, pining to get in!) As opening time approached, the crowd grew anxious and when the doors were opened the crowd pushed forward, breaking the door down, and trampling a 34-year old employee to death. The shoppers did not appear concerned with the victim’s fate, expressing refusal to halt their stampede when other employees attempted to intervene and help the injured employee, complaining that they had been waiting in the cold and were not willing to wait any longer. Shoppers had begun assembling as early as 9:00 p.m. the night before [what a massive mortification for mammon, but for God, no mortification is shown!]. Even when police arrived and attempted to render aid to the injured man, shoppers continued to pour in, shoving and pushing the officers as they made their way into the store. Several other people incurred minor injuries, including a pregnant woman who had to be taken to the hospital. The incident may be the first case of a death occurring during Black Friday sales; according to the National Retail Federation, “We are not aware of any other circumstances where a retail employee has died working on the day after Thanksgiving.”
On the same day, two people were fatally shot during an altercation at the Toys “R” Us store in Palm Desert, California.
During Black Friday 2010, a Madison, Wisconsin woman was arrested outside of aToys “R” Us store after cutting in line, and threatening to shoot other shoppers who tried to object. A Toys for Tots volunteer in Georgia was stabbed by a shoplifter. An Indianapolis woman was arrested after causing a disturbance by arguing with other Wal-Mart shoppers. She had been asked to leave the store, but refused. A man in Buffalo, New York, was trampled when doors opened at a Target store and unruly shoppers rushed in, in an episode reminiscent of the deadly 2008 Wal-Martstampede.
On Black Friday 2011, a woman at a Porter Ranch, California Wal-Mart used pepper spray on fellow shoppers, causing minor injuries to at least 10 people, who had been waiting hours for the store to open. It was later reported that the incident caused 20 injuries. The incident started as people waited in line for the newly discounted Xbox 360 (a video game console). A witness said a woman with two children in tow became upset with the way people were pushing in line. The witness said she pulled out pepper spray and sprayed the other people in line. Another account stated that the store had brought out a crate of discounted Xbox 360s, and a crowd had formed to wait for the unwrapping, when the woman began spraying people “in order to get an advantage,” according to the police. In an incident outside a Wal-Mart store in San Leandro, California, one man was wounded after being shot following Black Friday shopping at about 1:45 a.m.
On Black Friday 2012, two people were shot outside a Wal-Mart in Tallahassee, Florida during a dispute over a parking space.
On Black Friday in 2013, a person in Las Vegas who was carrying a big-screen TV home from a Target store on Thanksgiving was shot in the leg as he tried to wrestle the item back from a robber who had just stolen it from him at gunpoint. In Romeoville IL, a police officer shot a suspected shoplifter driving a car that was dragging a fellow officer at a Kohl’s department store. The suspect and the dragged officer were treated for shoulder injuries. Three people were arrested.
Between 2006 and 2021, according to the website Black Friday Death Count, Black Friday incidents in America left 17 dead and 125 injured. Those numbers are only from “reported cases” ― there are many more incidents that go unreported. Trampling incidents are a significant risk during Black Friday, as impatient crowds push towards their objectives, leading to individuals being trampled, highlighting the potential dangers of overcrowding and impatience during the event.
To give just one example of many, on November 24th, 2025, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department issued a statement saying that its police officers will be on foot, horseback, in patrol cars and helicopters keeping a close eye on Nashville’s shopping centers and big box retailers beginning Black Friday and continuing throughout the Thanksgiving weekend. The department is working closely with management at major retailers in order to enhance public safety and deter retail theft. Stores like Wal-Mart, Target, Home Depot and Lowe's are also included. Anyone caught stealing from stores or breaking into vehicles will be arrested and prosecuted.
Police officers will be joined by Mounted Patrol and private security staff at entry and exit points to monitor parking areas and traffic issues. They will have an increased presence of officers inside and outside shopping centers. The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department Aviation section will be flying over the shopping hubs Friday and through the weekend looking for any suspicious activity in parking lots. Helicopter crews will immediately radio anything concerning to ground units.
Biggest Violence of All
But the biggest violence of committed on this Black Friday is the violence against the Faith. The whole spirit of Black Friday and what it represents, goes against the spirit of Christ and what He represents. Our Lord came to live in poverty, not in riches. He did not pamper His body by living in luxury, but lived a simple and mortified life: “Jesus said to him: ‘The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests: but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head!’” (Matthew 8:20). He explicitly told us: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth―where the rust, and moth consume, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven―where neither the rust nor moth doth consume, and where thieves do not break through, nor steal. For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also!” (Matthew 6:19-21). “You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:24). “And what concord has Christ with Belial? Or what part have the faithful with the unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God .. Wherefore, Go out from among them, and be ye separate, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing!” (2 Corinthians 6:15-17).
Riches and Wealth Work Against Heaven
We see a clear example of this with the rich young man, who wanted to save his soul, yet also wanted to enjoy his worldly possessions. Our Lord refused this two-facedness. Here is St. Matthew’s account: “And behold one came and said to him: ‘Good Master, what good shall I do that I may have life everlasting?’ Jesus said to him: ‘If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments!’ The young man said to him: ‘All these I have kept from my youth, what is yet wanting to me?’ Jesus said to him: ‘If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven: and come follow Me!’ And when the young man had heard this word, he went away sad: for he had great possessions. Then Jesus said to His disciples: ‘Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven! And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!’” (Matthew 19:16-24).
The Religion of Money and Goods
Many have argued that the new priesthood today consists of scientists, professors, teachers and merchants, and advertisers, who are organized as a part of a new secular tradition—they are a parody or an aping of the Church, with its pope, cardinals, bishops and priests. They deny (or relegate) the existence of the supernatural and ridicule it. For them, what is primary is the material world. The world is their god and their teacher, and they gratefully bow down and worship the world and all that the world can supply by means of material goods and their offshoot, or side-effect—money.
These ‘priests’ of the secular religion of materialism, preach throughout their ‘churches’ of schools, colleges; universities, in the media and in the stores. The scientist, or man of natural knowledge, or entrepreneur has become a mini-god, falling into the same trap of Adam of Eve—who wanted to be like unto God. The devil, who in the words of Our Lord, is the prince of this world that they adore, will only too willingly aid and abet them in their folly. As materialists, they see themselves as material producers and consumers of goods, the lifestyle and economics of consumerist capitalism seems natural. Hedonism (the doctrine that pleasure is the highest good) also seems natural, because as a body that has certain needs and wants, what that idiot of a psychologist Freud rightly called modern man as being a “desire-producing-machine” whereby life becomes primarily about the fulfillment of the desires of the body ― the cult of the body.
Saints Peter and Paul Prophesied This
“Know also this, that, in the last days, shall come dangerous times. Men shall be lovers of themselves, covetous, haughty, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, wicked, without affection, without peace, slanderers, incontinent, unmerciful, without kindness, traitors, stubborn, puffed up, and lovers of pleasures more than of God: having an appearance indeed of godliness, but denying the power thereof. Now these avoid” (2 Timothy 1-5).
“In the last days there shall come deceitful scoffers, walking after their own lusts, saying: ‘Where is His promise or His coming?’ … But of this one thing be not ignorant, my beloved, that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord delays not His promise, as some imagine, but deals patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance. But the day of the Lord shall come as a thief, in which the heavens shall pass away with great violence, and the elements shall be melted with heat, and the Earth and the works which are in it, shall be burnt up!” (2 Peter 3:3-10).
Not of the World
Speaking of the devil, Our Lord said: “The prince of this world cometh, and in Me he hath not any thing” (John 14:30). “And Jesus said to the Jews [today read that as pagan scientists, pagan academics, and the pagan entrepreneurs]: ‘You are from beneath, I am from above. You are of this world, I am not of this world!’” (John 8:23). Of His followers, He says: “They are not of the world, as I also am not of the world” (John 17:16). “For all that is in the world, is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life, which is not of the Father, but is of the world [Black Friday]” (1 John 2:16). To which St. John adds: “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4). This is why we are told: “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15).
Besotted by the World
Today materialism has reached fever-pitch, even among so-called Catholics—who are really worshipers of mammon. As Our Lady said in her apparitions: “All the civil governments will have one and the same plan, which will be to abolish and do away with every religious principle, to make way for materialism, atheism, spiritualism and vice of all kinds ... The spirits of darkness will spread everywhere a universal slackening of all that concerns the service of God. Disorder and the love of carnal pleasures will be spread all over the Earth … People will think of nothing but amusement. The wicked will give themselves over to all kinds of sin ... The secular Clergy will leave much to be desired, because priests will become careless in their sacred duties. Lacking the divine compass, they will stray from the road traced by God for the priestly ministry, and they will become attached to wealth and riches, which they will unduly strive to obtain. How the Church will suffer during this dark night! … Woe to the Princes of the Church who think only of piling riches upon riches, to protect their authority and dominate with pride ... The priests, by their wicked lives, by their irreverence and their impiety in the celebration of the Holy Mysteries, by their love of money, their love of honors and pleasures, the priests have become cesspools of impurity” (Our Lady of Good Success & Our Lady of La Salette).
An Insane Thirst and Attachment to the World
After the Last Supper, Our Lord went to the Garden of Gethsemane—after eating their Thanksgiving meal, many go to their Gardens of Getsomeforfree, the stores and shopping malls. Our Lord sweated blood thinking of His future passion and death for our sins—today’s souls sweat worryingly thinking about the deals and goodies that they might miss-out on. Our Lord said to His three Apostles: “Could you not watch one hour with Me?” ― Today we say: “Could you not shop one hour with me?” Our Lord was sold by Judas for thirty pieces of silver—today many sell themselves to the world and mammon, for a few paltry idols on a shelf. Our Lord was arrested, tied-up and taken captive—today many are tied-up and captivated by things of the world that have arrested their attention. On the Cross Our Lord said: “I thirst!”--thirsting for souls. The world thirsts too, but it is not for Christ nor the spiritual, but it is an unquenchable thirst for the things that this world has to offer. Our Lord was nearly stripped of all that He had and was attached to the Cross by nails—yet souls do not want to be divested of their possessions (they want even more of them) and they are so attached to them that we could say that “they are nailed to them.”
We would do well to memorize and often repeat to ourselves (and family members, relatives, friends, etc.) the already quoted passages from Holy Scripture: “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4). This is why we are told: “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15).
The devil likes to “ape” God, that is to say, he likes to imitate aspects of God and God’s Church. Tertullian once said: “Diabolos est Dei simia,” and that basically translates into “The devil is God’s monkey (or ape).” What Tertullian meant was that the devil likes nothing better than to ape God. Satanists and secret societies are pretty big on copying or aping certain elements of Catholic religious ceremonies—the Black Mass is one such blasphemous example.
Black Friday
Talking of the word “black”, today happens to be what the world (in the USA world) calls “Black Friday” and it comes right after “Thanksgiving Day” which is always a Thursday. In recent years, most major retailers have opened very early and offered promotional sales to kick off the holiday shopping season, similar to Boxing Day (the day after Christmas Day) sales in many British Commonwealth nations. Many non-retail employees and schools have both Thanksgiving and the day after off, followed by a weekend, thereby increasing the number of potential shoppers.
For many years, it was common for retailers to open at 6:00 a.m. on the morning of Black Friday, but in the late 2000’s many had crept to 5:00 a.m. or even 4:00 a.m. This was taken to a new extreme in 2011, when several retailers (including Target, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Best Buy, and Bealls) opened at midnight for the first time. In 2012, Wal-Mart and several other retailers announced that they would open most of their stores at 8:00 p.m. In 2014, stores were even opening as early as 6:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. On and on it goes…
It has routinely been the busiest shopping day of the year since 2005, although news reports, which at that time were inaccurate, have described it as the busiest shopping day of the year for a much longer period of time. In 2003, however, Black Friday actually was the busiest shopping day of the year, and it has retained that position every year since, with the exception of 2004.
The amount of money spent on Black Friday has generally increased from year to year:
Year Online Spending (Billions USD)
2013 $1.9 billion (which is $1,900 millions)
2017 $5.0 billion (which is $5,000 millions)
2018 $6.2 billion (which is $6,200 millions)
2019 $7.4 billion (which is $7,400 millions)
2020 $9.03 billion (which is $9,030 millions)
2021 $8.9 billion (which is $8,900 millions)
2022 $9.1 billion (which is $9,100 millions)
2023 $9.8 billion (which is $9,800 millions)
2024 $10.8 billion (which is $10,800 millions)
Even though companies are navigating an uncertain economic environment and wrestle with the volatility of President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs on imported goods, Black Friday retains its crown as the official start of the holiday shopping season and remains the biggest shopping day in the U.S. A forecast from the National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail trade group, has predicted an increase in holiday sales during the Tnaksgiving to New Year’s period.. The group estimates that shoppers would collectively spend between $1.01 trillion (over $1,000,000 millions, or one million millions) and $1.02 trillion in November and December, or 3.7% to 4.2% more than 2024. Retailers sold $976 billion during the holiday sales in 2024, or a 4.3% increase from 2023, the group said.
Black Friday masquerades as the first day of traditional Christmas shopping, during which crowds of consumers are drawn to special offers by retailers. The thought sprang to mind that this has an uncanny resemblance to our Holy Thursday and Good Friday, except that it tends to go in the opposite direction. One could almost say that it is a parody. Here are the reasons that occurred in formulating this idea:
Comparisons
► The days are the same day: Holy Thursday and Good Friday / Thanksgiving Thursday and Black Friday.
► Holy Thursday is centered around Our Lord’s Last Supper; Thanksgiving in centered around the secular Thanksgiving meal.
► Good Friday and Black Friday are all about the world and materialism: Our Lord detaches Himself from the world and material things and dies to save souls; Black Friday is all about attaching oneself to materialism in order to save something too—money!
► Good Friday is frugal in its ceremony (the bare bones) and has somber black vestments; whereas Black Friday is all about opulence with its colorful glitz and glamour.
► The message of Good Friday is one of dying to this world—as Our Lord said: “I am not of this world!” (John 8:23). Whereas the message of Black Friday is one of living for the world and grabbing all one can of this world.
► Good Friday is a day of obligatory fasting; while Black Friday for many is almost a day of compulsory spending and indulging. It is common for prospective shoppers to camp out over the Thanksgiving holiday, even in cold freezing temperatures, in an effort to secure a place in front of the line and thus a better chance at getting desired items.
► Just as the Faith spread throughout the world, so too is Black Friday spreading throughout the world since really “taking-off” in the USA. Canada has started the Black Friday practice. Black Friday was the inspiration for the Mexican government and retailing industry to create an annual weekend of discounts and extended credit terms, El Buen Fin, meaning “the good weekend” in Spanish. Black Friday is also celebrated in the United Kingdom by major online retailers, and more and more UK-based retailers have adopted the Black Friday marketing scheme than ever. In Panama Black Friday was first celebrated in 2012, as a move from the Government to attract local tourism to the countries capital city. In recent years, Black Friday has been promoted in Australia by online retailers. In 2012, after two years of disappointing results, several department stores in Brazil joined their foreign competitors in a successful Black Friday, which more than doubled the total revenue in comparison to the previous year. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Black Friday Sale is a joint sales initiative by hundreds of online vendors.
The Violence of Good Friday and Black Friday
We all know, of course, the extreme violence generated against Our Lord on Good Friday by the sinful passions of the Pharisees, Jews and Roman soldiers. Yet we also see those evil passions surge to the fore on Black Friday. Somehow money, things and greed combine to make a toxic poison for basic Christian charity―or even non-Christian charity and civility. Black Friday entails shopping for and getting cheap deals, but Black Friday crime is actually very common, and it can have a negative impact on the event. Black Friday violence can arise―as the excitement of the day bubbles over and becomes an issue. Disagreements can easily turn into crazy Black Friday fights. Black Friday has become a setting for consumer misbehavior as shoppers compete for deeply discounted products. Fighting, pepper-spraying, dumping merchandise, ransacking stores, robberies and shootings have all been reported on Black Friday.
In 2006, a man shopping at Best Buy was recorded on video assaulting another shopper in a dispute over an article that each wanted to buy. Unruly Wal-Mart shoppers at a store outside Columbus, Ohio, quickly flooded in the doors at opening, pinning several employees against stacks of merchandise. Nine shoppers in a California mall were injured, including an elderly woman who had to be taken to the hospital, when the crowd rushed to grab gift certificates that had been released from the ceiling. If only people had the same passion for attending Masses, receiving Holy Communion and going to Confession!
In 2008, a crowd of approximately 2,000 shoppers in Valley Stream, New York, waited outside for the 5:00 a.m. opening of the local Wal-Mart. [Wouldn’t it be a pleasant surprise for priests to find similar crowds outside their church on a morning, pining to get in!) As opening time approached, the crowd grew anxious and when the doors were opened the crowd pushed forward, breaking the door down, and trampling a 34-year old employee to death. The shoppers did not appear concerned with the victim’s fate, expressing refusal to halt their stampede when other employees attempted to intervene and help the injured employee, complaining that they had been waiting in the cold and were not willing to wait any longer. Shoppers had begun assembling as early as 9:00 p.m. the night before [what a massive mortification for mammon, but for God, no mortification is shown!]. Even when police arrived and attempted to render aid to the injured man, shoppers continued to pour in, shoving and pushing the officers as they made their way into the store. Several other people incurred minor injuries, including a pregnant woman who had to be taken to the hospital. The incident may be the first case of a death occurring during Black Friday sales; according to the National Retail Federation, “We are not aware of any other circumstances where a retail employee has died working on the day after Thanksgiving.”
On the same day, two people were fatally shot during an altercation at the Toys “R” Us store in Palm Desert, California.
During Black Friday 2010, a Madison, Wisconsin woman was arrested outside of aToys “R” Us store after cutting in line, and threatening to shoot other shoppers who tried to object. A Toys for Tots volunteer in Georgia was stabbed by a shoplifter. An Indianapolis woman was arrested after causing a disturbance by arguing with other Wal-Mart shoppers. She had been asked to leave the store, but refused. A man in Buffalo, New York, was trampled when doors opened at a Target store and unruly shoppers rushed in, in an episode reminiscent of the deadly 2008 Wal-Martstampede.
On Black Friday 2011, a woman at a Porter Ranch, California Wal-Mart used pepper spray on fellow shoppers, causing minor injuries to at least 10 people, who had been waiting hours for the store to open. It was later reported that the incident caused 20 injuries. The incident started as people waited in line for the newly discounted Xbox 360 (a video game console). A witness said a woman with two children in tow became upset with the way people were pushing in line. The witness said she pulled out pepper spray and sprayed the other people in line. Another account stated that the store had brought out a crate of discounted Xbox 360s, and a crowd had formed to wait for the unwrapping, when the woman began spraying people “in order to get an advantage,” according to the police. In an incident outside a Wal-Mart store in San Leandro, California, one man was wounded after being shot following Black Friday shopping at about 1:45 a.m.
On Black Friday 2012, two people were shot outside a Wal-Mart in Tallahassee, Florida during a dispute over a parking space.
On Black Friday in 2013, a person in Las Vegas who was carrying a big-screen TV home from a Target store on Thanksgiving was shot in the leg as he tried to wrestle the item back from a robber who had just stolen it from him at gunpoint. In Romeoville IL, a police officer shot a suspected shoplifter driving a car that was dragging a fellow officer at a Kohl’s department store. The suspect and the dragged officer were treated for shoulder injuries. Three people were arrested.
Between 2006 and 2021, according to the website Black Friday Death Count, Black Friday incidents in America left 17 dead and 125 injured. Those numbers are only from “reported cases” ― there are many more incidents that go unreported. Trampling incidents are a significant risk during Black Friday, as impatient crowds push towards their objectives, leading to individuals being trampled, highlighting the potential dangers of overcrowding and impatience during the event.
To give just one example of many, on November 24th, 2025, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department issued a statement saying that its police officers will be on foot, horseback, in patrol cars and helicopters keeping a close eye on Nashville’s shopping centers and big box retailers beginning Black Friday and continuing throughout the Thanksgiving weekend. The department is working closely with management at major retailers in order to enhance public safety and deter retail theft. Stores like Wal-Mart, Target, Home Depot and Lowe's are also included. Anyone caught stealing from stores or breaking into vehicles will be arrested and prosecuted.
Police officers will be joined by Mounted Patrol and private security staff at entry and exit points to monitor parking areas and traffic issues. They will have an increased presence of officers inside and outside shopping centers. The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department Aviation section will be flying over the shopping hubs Friday and through the weekend looking for any suspicious activity in parking lots. Helicopter crews will immediately radio anything concerning to ground units.
Biggest Violence of All
But the biggest violence of committed on this Black Friday is the violence against the Faith. The whole spirit of Black Friday and what it represents, goes against the spirit of Christ and what He represents. Our Lord came to live in poverty, not in riches. He did not pamper His body by living in luxury, but lived a simple and mortified life: “Jesus said to him: ‘The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests: but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head!’” (Matthew 8:20). He explicitly told us: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth―where the rust, and moth consume, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven―where neither the rust nor moth doth consume, and where thieves do not break through, nor steal. For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also!” (Matthew 6:19-21). “You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:24). “And what concord has Christ with Belial? Or what part have the faithful with the unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God .. Wherefore, Go out from among them, and be ye separate, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing!” (2 Corinthians 6:15-17).
Riches and Wealth Work Against Heaven
We see a clear example of this with the rich young man, who wanted to save his soul, yet also wanted to enjoy his worldly possessions. Our Lord refused this two-facedness. Here is St. Matthew’s account: “And behold one came and said to him: ‘Good Master, what good shall I do that I may have life everlasting?’ Jesus said to him: ‘If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments!’ The young man said to him: ‘All these I have kept from my youth, what is yet wanting to me?’ Jesus said to him: ‘If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven: and come follow Me!’ And when the young man had heard this word, he went away sad: for he had great possessions. Then Jesus said to His disciples: ‘Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven! And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!’” (Matthew 19:16-24).
The Religion of Money and Goods
Many have argued that the new priesthood today consists of scientists, professors, teachers and merchants, and advertisers, who are organized as a part of a new secular tradition—they are a parody or an aping of the Church, with its pope, cardinals, bishops and priests. They deny (or relegate) the existence of the supernatural and ridicule it. For them, what is primary is the material world. The world is their god and their teacher, and they gratefully bow down and worship the world and all that the world can supply by means of material goods and their offshoot, or side-effect—money.
These ‘priests’ of the secular religion of materialism, preach throughout their ‘churches’ of schools, colleges; universities, in the media and in the stores. The scientist, or man of natural knowledge, or entrepreneur has become a mini-god, falling into the same trap of Adam of Eve—who wanted to be like unto God. The devil, who in the words of Our Lord, is the prince of this world that they adore, will only too willingly aid and abet them in their folly. As materialists, they see themselves as material producers and consumers of goods, the lifestyle and economics of consumerist capitalism seems natural. Hedonism (the doctrine that pleasure is the highest good) also seems natural, because as a body that has certain needs and wants, what that idiot of a psychologist Freud rightly called modern man as being a “desire-producing-machine” whereby life becomes primarily about the fulfillment of the desires of the body ― the cult of the body.
Saints Peter and Paul Prophesied This
“Know also this, that, in the last days, shall come dangerous times. Men shall be lovers of themselves, covetous, haughty, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, wicked, without affection, without peace, slanderers, incontinent, unmerciful, without kindness, traitors, stubborn, puffed up, and lovers of pleasures more than of God: having an appearance indeed of godliness, but denying the power thereof. Now these avoid” (2 Timothy 1-5).
“In the last days there shall come deceitful scoffers, walking after their own lusts, saying: ‘Where is His promise or His coming?’ … But of this one thing be not ignorant, my beloved, that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord delays not His promise, as some imagine, but deals patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance. But the day of the Lord shall come as a thief, in which the heavens shall pass away with great violence, and the elements shall be melted with heat, and the Earth and the works which are in it, shall be burnt up!” (2 Peter 3:3-10).
Not of the World
Speaking of the devil, Our Lord said: “The prince of this world cometh, and in Me he hath not any thing” (John 14:30). “And Jesus said to the Jews [today read that as pagan scientists, pagan academics, and the pagan entrepreneurs]: ‘You are from beneath, I am from above. You are of this world, I am not of this world!’” (John 8:23). Of His followers, He says: “They are not of the world, as I also am not of the world” (John 17:16). “For all that is in the world, is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life, which is not of the Father, but is of the world [Black Friday]” (1 John 2:16). To which St. John adds: “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4). This is why we are told: “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15).
Besotted by the World
Today materialism has reached fever-pitch, even among so-called Catholics—who are really worshipers of mammon. As Our Lady said in her apparitions: “All the civil governments will have one and the same plan, which will be to abolish and do away with every religious principle, to make way for materialism, atheism, spiritualism and vice of all kinds ... The spirits of darkness will spread everywhere a universal slackening of all that concerns the service of God. Disorder and the love of carnal pleasures will be spread all over the Earth … People will think of nothing but amusement. The wicked will give themselves over to all kinds of sin ... The secular Clergy will leave much to be desired, because priests will become careless in their sacred duties. Lacking the divine compass, they will stray from the road traced by God for the priestly ministry, and they will become attached to wealth and riches, which they will unduly strive to obtain. How the Church will suffer during this dark night! … Woe to the Princes of the Church who think only of piling riches upon riches, to protect their authority and dominate with pride ... The priests, by their wicked lives, by their irreverence and their impiety in the celebration of the Holy Mysteries, by their love of money, their love of honors and pleasures, the priests have become cesspools of impurity” (Our Lady of Good Success & Our Lady of La Salette).
An Insane Thirst and Attachment to the World
After the Last Supper, Our Lord went to the Garden of Gethsemane—after eating their Thanksgiving meal, many go to their Gardens of Getsomeforfree, the stores and shopping malls. Our Lord sweated blood thinking of His future passion and death for our sins—today’s souls sweat worryingly thinking about the deals and goodies that they might miss-out on. Our Lord said to His three Apostles: “Could you not watch one hour with Me?” ― Today we say: “Could you not shop one hour with me?” Our Lord was sold by Judas for thirty pieces of silver—today many sell themselves to the world and mammon, for a few paltry idols on a shelf. Our Lord was arrested, tied-up and taken captive—today many are tied-up and captivated by things of the world that have arrested their attention. On the Cross Our Lord said: “I thirst!”--thirsting for souls. The world thirsts too, but it is not for Christ nor the spiritual, but it is an unquenchable thirst for the things that this world has to offer. Our Lord was nearly stripped of all that He had and was attached to the Cross by nails—yet souls do not want to be divested of their possessions (they want even more of them) and they are so attached to them that we could say that “they are nailed to them.”
We would do well to memorize and often repeat to ourselves (and family members, relatives, friends, etc.) the already quoted passages from Holy Scripture: “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4). This is why we are told: “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15).
Article 27
Thursday November 27th
Make it a Godly―Not Godless―Thanksgiving Day
Thursday November 27th
Make it a Godly―Not Godless―Thanksgiving Day
Will You Be Thankful It’s Here? Or Thankful When It’s Over?
Just as Our Lord says: “He that is not with Me, is against Me―and he that gathers not with Me, scatters!” (Matthew 12:30)―you could also say that some are for Thanksgiving Day and some face it reluctantly. Will you be glad when it has finally arrived? Or will you will glad when it’s finally over?
In one sense, Thanksgiving Day can be a wonderful experience if―like anything else in life―it is used properly and in that way it was intended to be used. However, if we abuse it rather than use it―then the negative Thanksgiving Day side-effects begin to flow in as much abundance as the food and wine flow.
Thanksgiving Day can often become an Argument Day, or a Gossiping Day, or a Needling Day, or an Insulting Day, or a Show-Off Day, or a Competitive Day, or one of the many other flavors that are so popular these days. It often sets the annual tone for the prolonged, almost ceaseless partying spirit that begins with Thanksgiving Day, takes in all the pre-Christmas parties at work and at school, then the actual Christmas Day and beyond parties, up until the New Year’s Eve party. For the worldly “party-animal” it is the high-point of the year―whereas for spiritual folk it the high-stress-point of the year, when they feel obliged to “go-along-to-get-along” and the fear and cringe at the thought of saying “No” to an invite just as much as they fear and cringe at saying “Yes” to an invite.
Thanksgiving Tongue-Talking-Terrorists?
Thanksgiving Terrorists! Have you ever thought of seeing your guests, over the holiday season, as potential terrorists? Tongue-Terrorists! Tongue-Talking-Terrorists! Thanksgiving Tongue-Talking-Terrorists! They come armed with a two-edged tongue, sharpened and ready to use! They should be asked to show their tongue at the door, for inspection!! “A slippery mouth works ruin” (Proverbs 26:28)—and during this holiday season many “slippery mouths” will surface! “Many have fallen by the edge of the sword, but not so many as have perished by their own tongue!” (Ecclesiasticus 28:22). As St. James so truly says:
“If any man thinks himself to be religious, not bridling his tongue, but deceiving his own heart―then this man’s religion is vain!” (James 1:26). “For in many things we all offend. If any man offends not in word, the same is a perfect man. Even so the tongue is indeed a little member of the body, and boasts great things. Behold how small a fire sets on aflame a great forest. And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue defiles the whole body―being set on fire by Hell. For every nature of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of the rest, is tamed, and has been tamed, by the nature of man. But the tongue no man can tame―it is an unquiet evil, full of deadly poison. By it we bless God and the Father: and by it we curse men, who are made after the likeness of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing! My brethren, these things ought not so to be!” (James 3:2-10).
Is God Invited?
That brings us to the question: “Is God invited to your Thanksgiving Day party?” You reply: “Huh? Who? God? What has He got to do with Thanksgiving Day? It’s a secular celebration! It’s a secular holiday! It’s not a Church feast-day! Religion has nothing to do with it!” Really? Is that so? Is that what you think? Is that what you were taught?
Is there anything from which we can and should exclude God? Does not Holy Scripture say: “Whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of God!” (1 Corinthians 10:31)? And “We give thanks to God always … without ceasing! … We ought to give thanks to God always! … We also give thanks to God without ceasing! … In all things give thanks―for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you all! … We are bound to give thanks always to God!” (1 Thessalonians 1:2; 2:12-13; 5:18; 2 Thessalonians 1:3). “Cease not to give thanks! … Giving thanks always for all things, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to God and the Father” (Ephesians 1:16; 5:20). “I give thanks to my God always!” (1 Corinthians 1:4). Does not the Preface of the Sacrifice of the Mass say: “It is truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God”?
Protestant Presidents, Thermodynamics and the Holy Eucharist
“Huh?” you exclaim, “Protestant Presidents, thermodynamics and the Holy Eucharist? Are you crazy? What on earth are you talking about?” Well, okay, let’s go one step at a time. First of all “Protestant Presidents”.
Protestant Presidents
Just like a broken clock is gives the correct time twice a day, even the Protestants are right about some things! This happens to be the case with the point and purpose of the original Thanksgiving Day. In fact, the first official call for a Day of Thanksgiving in the U.S. ― issued by the Continental Congress in 1777 ― enjoined Americans to offer both thanks and prayers of repentance to God. “That together with their sincere acknowledgments and offerings, they may join the penitent confession of their manifold sins,” says the proclamation. Twelve years later, George Washington issued the first presidential Thanksgiving proclamation, also calling for a day of unified prayer for America. The first president wrote: “Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be ― That we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks … And, also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions.”
That―most definitely―is no longer the spirit, purpose and practice on Thanksgiving Day today! It has degenerated from being a day dedicated to God, prayer and penance, to a day that is filled with indifferentism, naturalism, materialism, hedonism (pleasure seeking), criticism and antagonism. Why? Because of an intellectual and spiritual degeneration―as they say: “Use it or lose it!” If you don’t review or refresh your knowledge, you will lose your knowledge. If you forget the past in order to only focus on the present―then you will repeat the mistakes of the past or fail to learn the wisdom of the past―which leads us to The Second Law of Thermodynamics.
Thermodynamics
The First Law of Thermodynamics (Conservation): The First Law of Thermodynamics, also known as Law of Conservation of Energy, states that energy can be changed from one form to another, but it cannot be created or destroyed―energy can only be transferred or changed from one form to another. The First Law of Thermodynamics (Conservation) states that energy is always conserved, it cannot be created or destroyed. In essence, energy can be converted from one form into another. For example, turning on a light would seem to produce energy; however, it is electrical energy that is converted. The total amount of energy and matter in the Universe remains constant, merely changing from one form to another.
The energy in any system can be converted to heat or work or other things―but you always have the same total that you started with. For example, if the energy level is 7 units, then you could have heat at 4 units, work at 2 units and something else at 1 unit, or 5+1+1, or 2+2+3, etc. It is like saying you have $10 to spend―you spend $7 on a meal, $2 on a drink and $1 on tipping the waiter. Or, in relation to time―you have 24 hours in a day―which never changes but is always a constant 24 hours, of which you may spend 8 hours sleeping, 8 hours working and 8 hours praying, house cleaning, traveling, visiting, reading, studying, etc. If you decide to sleep more, you have less time for other things, but if you dedicate more time to other things, then you have less time to sleep. You cannot change the 24 hours in a day―but you can change how you use those hours. Your income does not change (very much), but you can decide on what you will spend that income―but if you spend more on one thing, then you must spend less on another.
If we look at this from the perspective of the soul―God has given us our soul and the ‘positive energy’ of Sanctifying Grace and Actual Grace to run it and guide it. The soul needs that exterior intervention of energy to maintain it. Yet, the soul can also ‘run’ on ‘negative energy’―which is sin. The soul has a certain capacity or volume and―since nature abhors a vacuum―it has to be and will be filled with some form of energy―either ‘positive energy’ (grace) or ‘negative energy’ (sin). That is an inescapable truth and it is our wise or foolish choice that will dictate on what ‘energy’ our soul will ‘run’.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics: The Second Law of Thermodynamics is commonly known as the Law of Increased Entropy. The word “entropy” means “the tendency to disorder and the degree of disorder” in any given thing. The Second Law of Thermodynamics is the best verified law that we have in science, and yet it is also a law that is often misused and misunderstood. It has been confusing physics students for many years, not to mention laymen. In simple terms, you could call it “The Law of Decay”― The Second Law of Thermodynamics is the tendency for everything in nature to gradually wind-down to its most disorderly possible state―unless there is some outside intervention that slows-down, stops or reverses the tendency to wind-down or decay.
Things can become more ordered by themselves, but only if an appropriate mechanism is in place. But in the absence of such a mechanism, intelligence (transmitted, for example, in the form of an external teaching program) is needed. The Second Law of Thermodynamics strikingly attests to the power and intelligence of our Creator, for the fact that the universe is unstoppably winding down, with less and less energy available for work, points to a Creator who ‘wound up’ the universe to begin with.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics also explains why things, left to themselves, naturally become more and more disordered with time. And why the energy, available for work in any system or person, just naturally and spontaneously decreases―unless that energy is ‘topped-up’ or reinvigorated by some external source―like plugging a draining battery into an external electrical outlet to prevent continual draining (entropy), or an athlete needs to keep exercising and training in order to maintain a certain level of fitness and prevent it from deteriorating (entropy), or rehydrating a dehydrated body by taking a quantity of external water to prevent further dehydration (entropy). Likewise, our mind and soul needs to ‘drink-in’ the ‘water’ of religious doctrine if wants to prevent spiritual dehydration (entropy).
Put into the perspective of the spiritual life―we will progressively get worse and worse as time goes on, unless there is some outside intervention that will come and slow-down, or stop, or even reverse the degeneration. This outside help is, of course, God and His grace―as Our Lord says: “Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5) and St. Thomas Aquinas says: “Grace perfects nature” (Summa Theologica, 1a, q. 1, art. 8). The more ‘outside intervention’ we can secure, the less degenerate and more perfect we will become.
Yet we don’t seek the grace and help of God as much as we should. We do not read and learn as much as we should. We do not remember as much as we should. That is why our Faith degenerates, decays, decomposes and dies. Ask most Catholic adults to name you the Ten Commandments in correct order―or in any order for that matter―and most of them will struggle or fail to do so! The Ten Commandments is something that a six or seven-year-old child learns! Yet, those children, in becoming adults, have allowed that knowledge to decay, decompose and perhaps even die! There you have living proof of The Second Law of Thermodynamics, or the Law of Increased Entropy, or, in even more simple terms, The Law of Decay.
The Holy Eucharist
This brings us to the Most Holy Eucharist. The Holy Eucharist—the word “Eucharist” means “thanksgiving”—should be at the heart of any Thanksgiving Day. The Greek word “eucharistia” (εὐχαριστία) means “thankfulness, gratitude; giving of thanks, thanksgiving” and comes from another similar Greek word “eucharistos” (εὐχάριστος) meaning “thankful, grateful”. This, of course, makes us think of the Holy Eucharist. The Greek word “eucharistia” later entered the Latin language, also keeping the form “eucharistia”. The same word, or at least the same root, is found in Hebrew (אויכריסטיה oikharístia), French (eucharistie), Spanish (eucaristía), English (eucharist), Irish (eocairist), German (eucharistie) and Dutch (eucharistie) languages.
The Last Supper was the Thanksgiving (Eucharistia) par excellence. The Last Supper was the institution of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which gives us the greatest imaginable Gift—Our Lord Jesus Christ, God Himself! Man can never and should never cease to give thanks for this Gift of gifts, this Sharing of all possible sharings! The Last Supper, though primarily a sacrifice, was also meal that Christ commanded to be done again and again in commemoration of Him, of which the Thanksgiving Meal is but a pale secular, non-sacramental, non-grace giving, imitation. In fact, since the Last Supper, you could say that the Sacrifice and its secondary element, the Supper, has never ceased—but is one long perpetual Sacrifice and Meal. At the Last Supper, Our Lord “whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke: and gave to His disciples, and said: ‘Take ye, and eat! This is My Body!’ And taking the chalice, He gave thanks, and gave to them, saying: ‘Drink ye all of this. For this is My Blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many unto remission of sins!’” (Matthew 26:26-28).
Also at the Last Supper, Our Lord gave a ‘new’ commandment, of which the idea of the American notion of “Thanksgiving Day” is a small piece of the gigantic spiritual jigsaw puzzle. Our Lord said: “A new commandment I give unto you: That you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love one for another!” (John 13:34-35). It is sad to see how many celebrations of Thanksgiving are spoiled and ruined by a lack of charity—by bringing in grudges, hatred, anger, envy, gossip, calumny, detraction, barbed or sarcastic comments, immodest talk, impure thoughts, insults, coldness, indifference, etc. This indicates that though these persons might be Christians in name, they are far from being Christians in nature. Imagine Our Lord or Our Lady at a Thanksgiving Day gathering and imagine what their behavior in thoughts, words and actions would be like. A follower of Christ should seek to be like Christ, not the opposite.
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the Greatest Thanksgiving
Yet the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass (Eucharistia) is only secondarily a Meal, it is above all a sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, whereby He gives again, but this time He gives up all that He has—life itself! “Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13)—and Our Lord performed this greatest of loving actions, not only for His friends, but also for His enemies, whom He hoped to convert. What Our Lord began at the Last Supper—the institution of the Holy Sacrifice of Mass—He filled-up and completed over the next 18 hours or so, with His Passion and Death upon the cross on Calvary—the consummation of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Just as Christ calls Himself the “Alpha” and “Omega” (the beginning and the end) so too was the Last Supper and Calvary the beginning and the end of the first Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
Hence it is fitting that on Thanksgiving Day, wherever possible, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass should be attended in a spirit of profound, humble and heartfelt thanksgiving for all that God has given us—and He has given all that we have! We should thank Christ for his soul-saving sacrifice and His grace-winning and grace-giving Sacrifice of the Mass, for at the Last Supper He also reminded us that we are in total dependence upon Him, “independence” is a misnomer: “Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5).
Thanksgiving After the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is a Must
In His revelations to St. Margaret Mary, Our Lord repeatedly asked for acts of love and adoration, thanksgiving and reparation to His Sacred Heart. There is one occasion especially when these acts of love are most efficacious: during the time after Holy Communion when the Sacramental Species have not yet disintegrated.
The writings of the saints are filled with praise of the blessings that come to a soul that is properly disposed while in physical contact with the Sacred Heart. “The time after Communion,” says St. Teresa of Avila, “is the best time for negotiating with Jesus Christ; for then He is in the soul, seated, as it were, on a throne of grace, and saying, as He said to the blind man: ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’”
But more authoritative is the exhortation of Pope Pius XII in the encyclical Mediator Dei, where he devotes a full six paragraphs to this single subject. “When Mass is finished,” he directs that, “the person who has received the Eucharist should recollect himself, and in intimate union with the Divine Master hold loving and fruitful converse with Him.” If this seems like stressing the obvious, the Pope does not think so. He complains there are some teachers who discourage such private communication between the soul and the Eucharistic Christ “because this pertains to a private and personal act of piety and not to the good of the community.” Hence it is not liturgical, they say.
How many people, except priests and religious, ever spend any time in prayer after Holy Mass at which they received Holy Communion? Yet Pope Pius XII insists that this is not a mere spiritual luxury, but “such personal conversations are very necessary that we may all enjoy more fully the supernatural treasures that are contained in the Eucharist and, according to our means, share them with others, so that Christ Our Lord may exert the greatest possible influence on the souls of all.” Addressing himself to the bishops, and through them to us, the Pope asks, “why should we not approve of those who, when they receive Holy Communion, remain on in closest familiarity with their Divine Redeemer even after the congregation has been officially dismissed.”
There are three reasons for this: “ . . . (1) for the consolation of conversing with Him, (2) also to render Him due thanks and praise, but especially to ask help to defend their souls against anything that may lessen the efficacy of the Sacrament and (3) to do everything in their power to cooperate with the action of Christ Who is so intimately present.”
Sadly, however, we have many a woeful instance of ‘thanksgiving’ after the Sacrifice of the Mass and Holy Communion. Take a typical Sunday Mass. Within seconds of the priest leaving the altar, people are pouring out of the doors as though the church was on fire! It shows what their minds are thinking, or betrays the values system in their minds—they have just received their Lord and God, and off they go out the door! It would be one thing if they were spiritually on fire and were rushing out to preach the Faith to all and sundry—but that is not the case! They are off to gossip with Sally and Sam, Judy and Jack; they’re off to the coffee and donuts; they have a TV show or sports game to catch, or whatever each person’s passion may be. Today, they have all the Thanksgiving Day things to prepare, see and attend to.
Back to Thermodynamics
Why? Why do they have this attitude? Why this indifference to the Holiest of holies? Because of a spiritual degeneration―which leads us back, once again, to The Second Law of Thermodynamics, or The Law of Increased Entropy, or, in even more simple terms, The Law of Decay―which is the tendency for everything in nature to gradually wind-down to its most disorderly state―unless there is some outside intervention that slows-down, stops or reverses the tendency to wind-down or decay. Your house or car will depreciate and degenerate more quickly if you rarely take care of it. A car, that has run out of gas, will not run again until you walk miles to and from a gas station and refuel the car. Your body will follow the same path, if you do not take care of it with regular exercise, a good diet and sufficient sleep. Your mind will follow the same path if you do not keep it active by regular and challenging mental work. The less you read, the less you learn, the less you know, which lets your ignorance grow as your intellect hits a low. The same applies to your Faith―if you do not exercise it, nourish it, maintain it, protect it on a regular basis, then it will degenerate, decay and eventually die―all of which corresponds to The Second Law of Thermodynamics, or The Law of Increased Entropy, or, in even more simple terms, The Law of Decay.
Holy Scripture puts it thus: “For all flesh is as grass; and all the glory thereof as the flower of grass. The grass is withered, and the flower thereof is fallen away!” (1 Peter 1:24). “In the morning man shall grow up like grass; in the morning he shall flourish and pass away; in the evening he shall fall, grow dry, and wither” (Psalm 89:6). “For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that sows in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption. But he that sows in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting!” (Galatians 6:8). “Faith without works is dead!” (James 2:20). We will progressively get worse and worse as time goes on, unless there is some outside intervention that will come and slow-down, or stop, or even reverse the degeneration. This outside help, ultimately, can only come from God and His grace―as Our Lord says: “Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5) and St. Thomas Aquinas says: “Grace perfects nature” (Summa Theologica, 1a, q. 1, art. 8).
The more ‘outside intervention’ we can secure―through the Sacraments, prayers, reading spiritual books, listening to sermons and spiritual talks, seeking spiritual guidance―the less degenerate and more perfect we will become. Without that outside or external help, we will spiritually deteriorate, degenerate, decay and die. That is what is actually happening to the Faith in the Catholic world right now―spiritual deterioration, degeneration, decay and death. It is The Law of Entropy or The Law of Decay in action, which will reach such a point as to prove the truth of Our Lord’s rhetorical question: “The Son of man, when He comes, shall He find, do you think, Faith on Earth?” (Luke 18:8). Following The Law of Entropy or The Law of Decay, each generation is becoming worse and worse―for they do not use the external mechanisms that God has put into place to prevent this spiritual deterioration, degeneration, decay and death―namely, the Church and all the external remedies (‘energy boosters’ or sources of grace) that it offers: Sacraments, Sacramentals, Catechism, Sermons, Conferences, Books, etc.
That is why, following the principles of The Law of Entropy or The Law of Decay, we have arrived at this present state of quasi-secularism, a strange, almost superstitious state, where we mix God and mammon, Catholicity and worldliness, order and disorder, grace and sin, Sacraments and Smartphones, Holy Communion and Unholy Computers, Tabernacles and TVs, all the time deteriorating in our knowledge about God and increasing in our knowledge of the world; decreasing in our love of God and increasing in our love of the world; degenerating the right order of things and regenerating a disordered value of things; relinquishing the supernatural for the natural, the graceful for the ungraceful, switching from a gratitude to God to an ingratitude to God, from a dependence on God to an independence from God. Welcome to our world! Welcome to our universe! As the The Second Law of Thermodynamics says: “The entropy (tendency to disorder) of the universe only increases and never decreases.”
Thanksgiving Day Thermodynamics
If you read, once again, the initial reason and purpose for Thanksgiving Day― where the first official call for a day of thanksgiving in the U.S., issued by the Continental Congress in 1777, enjoined Americans to offer both thanks and prayers of repentance to God. “That together with their sincere acknowledgments and offerings, they may join the penitent confession of their manifold sins,” says the proclamation―and the Protestant George Washington’s first presidential Thanksgiving proclamation, twelve years later in 1789, also calling for a day of unified prayer for America.
On October 3rd, 1789, the first Protestant president, George Washington, wrote: “Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor ― and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me ‘to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.’ Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, Who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be ― That we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the People of this country previous to their becoming a Nation; for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of His providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war; … and in general for all the great and various favors which He hath been pleased to confer upon us. And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions.”
Most, if not all of that is today, forgotten and ignored―even though it comes from a Protestant and Protestant and even Masonic government―truth is nevertheless the truth. Just as no person is totally evil―as St. Thomas Aquinas says―so no man is totally wrong. Even apostates, heretics, pagans, etc. speak the truth in some things. Or, as they say, “A broken clock tells the correct time twice a day!” Maybe we should try change a largely godless day into a godly day―a secular day into a more spiritual day! Download the Thanksgiving Day Prayers and Rituals [click here and scroll down to almost the bottom of the page] and you will have a head-start on everybody else!
Just as Our Lord says: “He that is not with Me, is against Me―and he that gathers not with Me, scatters!” (Matthew 12:30)―you could also say that some are for Thanksgiving Day and some face it reluctantly. Will you be glad when it has finally arrived? Or will you will glad when it’s finally over?
In one sense, Thanksgiving Day can be a wonderful experience if―like anything else in life―it is used properly and in that way it was intended to be used. However, if we abuse it rather than use it―then the negative Thanksgiving Day side-effects begin to flow in as much abundance as the food and wine flow.
Thanksgiving Day can often become an Argument Day, or a Gossiping Day, or a Needling Day, or an Insulting Day, or a Show-Off Day, or a Competitive Day, or one of the many other flavors that are so popular these days. It often sets the annual tone for the prolonged, almost ceaseless partying spirit that begins with Thanksgiving Day, takes in all the pre-Christmas parties at work and at school, then the actual Christmas Day and beyond parties, up until the New Year’s Eve party. For the worldly “party-animal” it is the high-point of the year―whereas for spiritual folk it the high-stress-point of the year, when they feel obliged to “go-along-to-get-along” and the fear and cringe at the thought of saying “No” to an invite just as much as they fear and cringe at saying “Yes” to an invite.
Thanksgiving Tongue-Talking-Terrorists?
Thanksgiving Terrorists! Have you ever thought of seeing your guests, over the holiday season, as potential terrorists? Tongue-Terrorists! Tongue-Talking-Terrorists! Thanksgiving Tongue-Talking-Terrorists! They come armed with a two-edged tongue, sharpened and ready to use! They should be asked to show their tongue at the door, for inspection!! “A slippery mouth works ruin” (Proverbs 26:28)—and during this holiday season many “slippery mouths” will surface! “Many have fallen by the edge of the sword, but not so many as have perished by their own tongue!” (Ecclesiasticus 28:22). As St. James so truly says:
“If any man thinks himself to be religious, not bridling his tongue, but deceiving his own heart―then this man’s religion is vain!” (James 1:26). “For in many things we all offend. If any man offends not in word, the same is a perfect man. Even so the tongue is indeed a little member of the body, and boasts great things. Behold how small a fire sets on aflame a great forest. And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue defiles the whole body―being set on fire by Hell. For every nature of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of the rest, is tamed, and has been tamed, by the nature of man. But the tongue no man can tame―it is an unquiet evil, full of deadly poison. By it we bless God and the Father: and by it we curse men, who are made after the likeness of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing! My brethren, these things ought not so to be!” (James 3:2-10).
Is God Invited?
That brings us to the question: “Is God invited to your Thanksgiving Day party?” You reply: “Huh? Who? God? What has He got to do with Thanksgiving Day? It’s a secular celebration! It’s a secular holiday! It’s not a Church feast-day! Religion has nothing to do with it!” Really? Is that so? Is that what you think? Is that what you were taught?
Is there anything from which we can and should exclude God? Does not Holy Scripture say: “Whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of God!” (1 Corinthians 10:31)? And “We give thanks to God always … without ceasing! … We ought to give thanks to God always! … We also give thanks to God without ceasing! … In all things give thanks―for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you all! … We are bound to give thanks always to God!” (1 Thessalonians 1:2; 2:12-13; 5:18; 2 Thessalonians 1:3). “Cease not to give thanks! … Giving thanks always for all things, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to God and the Father” (Ephesians 1:16; 5:20). “I give thanks to my God always!” (1 Corinthians 1:4). Does not the Preface of the Sacrifice of the Mass say: “It is truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God”?
Protestant Presidents, Thermodynamics and the Holy Eucharist
“Huh?” you exclaim, “Protestant Presidents, thermodynamics and the Holy Eucharist? Are you crazy? What on earth are you talking about?” Well, okay, let’s go one step at a time. First of all “Protestant Presidents”.
Protestant Presidents
Just like a broken clock is gives the correct time twice a day, even the Protestants are right about some things! This happens to be the case with the point and purpose of the original Thanksgiving Day. In fact, the first official call for a Day of Thanksgiving in the U.S. ― issued by the Continental Congress in 1777 ― enjoined Americans to offer both thanks and prayers of repentance to God. “That together with their sincere acknowledgments and offerings, they may join the penitent confession of their manifold sins,” says the proclamation. Twelve years later, George Washington issued the first presidential Thanksgiving proclamation, also calling for a day of unified prayer for America. The first president wrote: “Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be ― That we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks … And, also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions.”
That―most definitely―is no longer the spirit, purpose and practice on Thanksgiving Day today! It has degenerated from being a day dedicated to God, prayer and penance, to a day that is filled with indifferentism, naturalism, materialism, hedonism (pleasure seeking), criticism and antagonism. Why? Because of an intellectual and spiritual degeneration―as they say: “Use it or lose it!” If you don’t review or refresh your knowledge, you will lose your knowledge. If you forget the past in order to only focus on the present―then you will repeat the mistakes of the past or fail to learn the wisdom of the past―which leads us to The Second Law of Thermodynamics.
Thermodynamics
The First Law of Thermodynamics (Conservation): The First Law of Thermodynamics, also known as Law of Conservation of Energy, states that energy can be changed from one form to another, but it cannot be created or destroyed―energy can only be transferred or changed from one form to another. The First Law of Thermodynamics (Conservation) states that energy is always conserved, it cannot be created or destroyed. In essence, energy can be converted from one form into another. For example, turning on a light would seem to produce energy; however, it is electrical energy that is converted. The total amount of energy and matter in the Universe remains constant, merely changing from one form to another.
The energy in any system can be converted to heat or work or other things―but you always have the same total that you started with. For example, if the energy level is 7 units, then you could have heat at 4 units, work at 2 units and something else at 1 unit, or 5+1+1, or 2+2+3, etc. It is like saying you have $10 to spend―you spend $7 on a meal, $2 on a drink and $1 on tipping the waiter. Or, in relation to time―you have 24 hours in a day―which never changes but is always a constant 24 hours, of which you may spend 8 hours sleeping, 8 hours working and 8 hours praying, house cleaning, traveling, visiting, reading, studying, etc. If you decide to sleep more, you have less time for other things, but if you dedicate more time to other things, then you have less time to sleep. You cannot change the 24 hours in a day―but you can change how you use those hours. Your income does not change (very much), but you can decide on what you will spend that income―but if you spend more on one thing, then you must spend less on another.
If we look at this from the perspective of the soul―God has given us our soul and the ‘positive energy’ of Sanctifying Grace and Actual Grace to run it and guide it. The soul needs that exterior intervention of energy to maintain it. Yet, the soul can also ‘run’ on ‘negative energy’―which is sin. The soul has a certain capacity or volume and―since nature abhors a vacuum―it has to be and will be filled with some form of energy―either ‘positive energy’ (grace) or ‘negative energy’ (sin). That is an inescapable truth and it is our wise or foolish choice that will dictate on what ‘energy’ our soul will ‘run’.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics: The Second Law of Thermodynamics is commonly known as the Law of Increased Entropy. The word “entropy” means “the tendency to disorder and the degree of disorder” in any given thing. The Second Law of Thermodynamics is the best verified law that we have in science, and yet it is also a law that is often misused and misunderstood. It has been confusing physics students for many years, not to mention laymen. In simple terms, you could call it “The Law of Decay”― The Second Law of Thermodynamics is the tendency for everything in nature to gradually wind-down to its most disorderly possible state―unless there is some outside intervention that slows-down, stops or reverses the tendency to wind-down or decay.
Things can become more ordered by themselves, but only if an appropriate mechanism is in place. But in the absence of such a mechanism, intelligence (transmitted, for example, in the form of an external teaching program) is needed. The Second Law of Thermodynamics strikingly attests to the power and intelligence of our Creator, for the fact that the universe is unstoppably winding down, with less and less energy available for work, points to a Creator who ‘wound up’ the universe to begin with.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics also explains why things, left to themselves, naturally become more and more disordered with time. And why the energy, available for work in any system or person, just naturally and spontaneously decreases―unless that energy is ‘topped-up’ or reinvigorated by some external source―like plugging a draining battery into an external electrical outlet to prevent continual draining (entropy), or an athlete needs to keep exercising and training in order to maintain a certain level of fitness and prevent it from deteriorating (entropy), or rehydrating a dehydrated body by taking a quantity of external water to prevent further dehydration (entropy). Likewise, our mind and soul needs to ‘drink-in’ the ‘water’ of religious doctrine if wants to prevent spiritual dehydration (entropy).
Put into the perspective of the spiritual life―we will progressively get worse and worse as time goes on, unless there is some outside intervention that will come and slow-down, or stop, or even reverse the degeneration. This outside help is, of course, God and His grace―as Our Lord says: “Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5) and St. Thomas Aquinas says: “Grace perfects nature” (Summa Theologica, 1a, q. 1, art. 8). The more ‘outside intervention’ we can secure, the less degenerate and more perfect we will become.
Yet we don’t seek the grace and help of God as much as we should. We do not read and learn as much as we should. We do not remember as much as we should. That is why our Faith degenerates, decays, decomposes and dies. Ask most Catholic adults to name you the Ten Commandments in correct order―or in any order for that matter―and most of them will struggle or fail to do so! The Ten Commandments is something that a six or seven-year-old child learns! Yet, those children, in becoming adults, have allowed that knowledge to decay, decompose and perhaps even die! There you have living proof of The Second Law of Thermodynamics, or the Law of Increased Entropy, or, in even more simple terms, The Law of Decay.
The Holy Eucharist
This brings us to the Most Holy Eucharist. The Holy Eucharist—the word “Eucharist” means “thanksgiving”—should be at the heart of any Thanksgiving Day. The Greek word “eucharistia” (εὐχαριστία) means “thankfulness, gratitude; giving of thanks, thanksgiving” and comes from another similar Greek word “eucharistos” (εὐχάριστος) meaning “thankful, grateful”. This, of course, makes us think of the Holy Eucharist. The Greek word “eucharistia” later entered the Latin language, also keeping the form “eucharistia”. The same word, or at least the same root, is found in Hebrew (אויכריסטיה oikharístia), French (eucharistie), Spanish (eucaristía), English (eucharist), Irish (eocairist), German (eucharistie) and Dutch (eucharistie) languages.
The Last Supper was the Thanksgiving (Eucharistia) par excellence. The Last Supper was the institution of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which gives us the greatest imaginable Gift—Our Lord Jesus Christ, God Himself! Man can never and should never cease to give thanks for this Gift of gifts, this Sharing of all possible sharings! The Last Supper, though primarily a sacrifice, was also meal that Christ commanded to be done again and again in commemoration of Him, of which the Thanksgiving Meal is but a pale secular, non-sacramental, non-grace giving, imitation. In fact, since the Last Supper, you could say that the Sacrifice and its secondary element, the Supper, has never ceased—but is one long perpetual Sacrifice and Meal. At the Last Supper, Our Lord “whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke: and gave to His disciples, and said: ‘Take ye, and eat! This is My Body!’ And taking the chalice, He gave thanks, and gave to them, saying: ‘Drink ye all of this. For this is My Blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many unto remission of sins!’” (Matthew 26:26-28).
Also at the Last Supper, Our Lord gave a ‘new’ commandment, of which the idea of the American notion of “Thanksgiving Day” is a small piece of the gigantic spiritual jigsaw puzzle. Our Lord said: “A new commandment I give unto you: That you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love one for another!” (John 13:34-35). It is sad to see how many celebrations of Thanksgiving are spoiled and ruined by a lack of charity—by bringing in grudges, hatred, anger, envy, gossip, calumny, detraction, barbed or sarcastic comments, immodest talk, impure thoughts, insults, coldness, indifference, etc. This indicates that though these persons might be Christians in name, they are far from being Christians in nature. Imagine Our Lord or Our Lady at a Thanksgiving Day gathering and imagine what their behavior in thoughts, words and actions would be like. A follower of Christ should seek to be like Christ, not the opposite.
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the Greatest Thanksgiving
Yet the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass (Eucharistia) is only secondarily a Meal, it is above all a sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, whereby He gives again, but this time He gives up all that He has—life itself! “Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13)—and Our Lord performed this greatest of loving actions, not only for His friends, but also for His enemies, whom He hoped to convert. What Our Lord began at the Last Supper—the institution of the Holy Sacrifice of Mass—He filled-up and completed over the next 18 hours or so, with His Passion and Death upon the cross on Calvary—the consummation of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Just as Christ calls Himself the “Alpha” and “Omega” (the beginning and the end) so too was the Last Supper and Calvary the beginning and the end of the first Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
Hence it is fitting that on Thanksgiving Day, wherever possible, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass should be attended in a spirit of profound, humble and heartfelt thanksgiving for all that God has given us—and He has given all that we have! We should thank Christ for his soul-saving sacrifice and His grace-winning and grace-giving Sacrifice of the Mass, for at the Last Supper He also reminded us that we are in total dependence upon Him, “independence” is a misnomer: “Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5).
Thanksgiving After the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is a Must
In His revelations to St. Margaret Mary, Our Lord repeatedly asked for acts of love and adoration, thanksgiving and reparation to His Sacred Heart. There is one occasion especially when these acts of love are most efficacious: during the time after Holy Communion when the Sacramental Species have not yet disintegrated.
The writings of the saints are filled with praise of the blessings that come to a soul that is properly disposed while in physical contact with the Sacred Heart. “The time after Communion,” says St. Teresa of Avila, “is the best time for negotiating with Jesus Christ; for then He is in the soul, seated, as it were, on a throne of grace, and saying, as He said to the blind man: ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’”
But more authoritative is the exhortation of Pope Pius XII in the encyclical Mediator Dei, where he devotes a full six paragraphs to this single subject. “When Mass is finished,” he directs that, “the person who has received the Eucharist should recollect himself, and in intimate union with the Divine Master hold loving and fruitful converse with Him.” If this seems like stressing the obvious, the Pope does not think so. He complains there are some teachers who discourage such private communication between the soul and the Eucharistic Christ “because this pertains to a private and personal act of piety and not to the good of the community.” Hence it is not liturgical, they say.
How many people, except priests and religious, ever spend any time in prayer after Holy Mass at which they received Holy Communion? Yet Pope Pius XII insists that this is not a mere spiritual luxury, but “such personal conversations are very necessary that we may all enjoy more fully the supernatural treasures that are contained in the Eucharist and, according to our means, share them with others, so that Christ Our Lord may exert the greatest possible influence on the souls of all.” Addressing himself to the bishops, and through them to us, the Pope asks, “why should we not approve of those who, when they receive Holy Communion, remain on in closest familiarity with their Divine Redeemer even after the congregation has been officially dismissed.”
There are three reasons for this: “ . . . (1) for the consolation of conversing with Him, (2) also to render Him due thanks and praise, but especially to ask help to defend their souls against anything that may lessen the efficacy of the Sacrament and (3) to do everything in their power to cooperate with the action of Christ Who is so intimately present.”
Sadly, however, we have many a woeful instance of ‘thanksgiving’ after the Sacrifice of the Mass and Holy Communion. Take a typical Sunday Mass. Within seconds of the priest leaving the altar, people are pouring out of the doors as though the church was on fire! It shows what their minds are thinking, or betrays the values system in their minds—they have just received their Lord and God, and off they go out the door! It would be one thing if they were spiritually on fire and were rushing out to preach the Faith to all and sundry—but that is not the case! They are off to gossip with Sally and Sam, Judy and Jack; they’re off to the coffee and donuts; they have a TV show or sports game to catch, or whatever each person’s passion may be. Today, they have all the Thanksgiving Day things to prepare, see and attend to.
Back to Thermodynamics
Why? Why do they have this attitude? Why this indifference to the Holiest of holies? Because of a spiritual degeneration―which leads us back, once again, to The Second Law of Thermodynamics, or The Law of Increased Entropy, or, in even more simple terms, The Law of Decay―which is the tendency for everything in nature to gradually wind-down to its most disorderly state―unless there is some outside intervention that slows-down, stops or reverses the tendency to wind-down or decay. Your house or car will depreciate and degenerate more quickly if you rarely take care of it. A car, that has run out of gas, will not run again until you walk miles to and from a gas station and refuel the car. Your body will follow the same path, if you do not take care of it with regular exercise, a good diet and sufficient sleep. Your mind will follow the same path if you do not keep it active by regular and challenging mental work. The less you read, the less you learn, the less you know, which lets your ignorance grow as your intellect hits a low. The same applies to your Faith―if you do not exercise it, nourish it, maintain it, protect it on a regular basis, then it will degenerate, decay and eventually die―all of which corresponds to The Second Law of Thermodynamics, or The Law of Increased Entropy, or, in even more simple terms, The Law of Decay.
Holy Scripture puts it thus: “For all flesh is as grass; and all the glory thereof as the flower of grass. The grass is withered, and the flower thereof is fallen away!” (1 Peter 1:24). “In the morning man shall grow up like grass; in the morning he shall flourish and pass away; in the evening he shall fall, grow dry, and wither” (Psalm 89:6). “For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that sows in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption. But he that sows in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting!” (Galatians 6:8). “Faith without works is dead!” (James 2:20). We will progressively get worse and worse as time goes on, unless there is some outside intervention that will come and slow-down, or stop, or even reverse the degeneration. This outside help, ultimately, can only come from God and His grace―as Our Lord says: “Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5) and St. Thomas Aquinas says: “Grace perfects nature” (Summa Theologica, 1a, q. 1, art. 8).
The more ‘outside intervention’ we can secure―through the Sacraments, prayers, reading spiritual books, listening to sermons and spiritual talks, seeking spiritual guidance―the less degenerate and more perfect we will become. Without that outside or external help, we will spiritually deteriorate, degenerate, decay and die. That is what is actually happening to the Faith in the Catholic world right now―spiritual deterioration, degeneration, decay and death. It is The Law of Entropy or The Law of Decay in action, which will reach such a point as to prove the truth of Our Lord’s rhetorical question: “The Son of man, when He comes, shall He find, do you think, Faith on Earth?” (Luke 18:8). Following The Law of Entropy or The Law of Decay, each generation is becoming worse and worse―for they do not use the external mechanisms that God has put into place to prevent this spiritual deterioration, degeneration, decay and death―namely, the Church and all the external remedies (‘energy boosters’ or sources of grace) that it offers: Sacraments, Sacramentals, Catechism, Sermons, Conferences, Books, etc.
That is why, following the principles of The Law of Entropy or The Law of Decay, we have arrived at this present state of quasi-secularism, a strange, almost superstitious state, where we mix God and mammon, Catholicity and worldliness, order and disorder, grace and sin, Sacraments and Smartphones, Holy Communion and Unholy Computers, Tabernacles and TVs, all the time deteriorating in our knowledge about God and increasing in our knowledge of the world; decreasing in our love of God and increasing in our love of the world; degenerating the right order of things and regenerating a disordered value of things; relinquishing the supernatural for the natural, the graceful for the ungraceful, switching from a gratitude to God to an ingratitude to God, from a dependence on God to an independence from God. Welcome to our world! Welcome to our universe! As the The Second Law of Thermodynamics says: “The entropy (tendency to disorder) of the universe only increases and never decreases.”
Thanksgiving Day Thermodynamics
If you read, once again, the initial reason and purpose for Thanksgiving Day― where the first official call for a day of thanksgiving in the U.S., issued by the Continental Congress in 1777, enjoined Americans to offer both thanks and prayers of repentance to God. “That together with their sincere acknowledgments and offerings, they may join the penitent confession of their manifold sins,” says the proclamation―and the Protestant George Washington’s first presidential Thanksgiving proclamation, twelve years later in 1789, also calling for a day of unified prayer for America.
On October 3rd, 1789, the first Protestant president, George Washington, wrote: “Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor ― and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me ‘to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.’ Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, Who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be ― That we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the People of this country previous to their becoming a Nation; for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of His providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war; … and in general for all the great and various favors which He hath been pleased to confer upon us. And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions.”
Most, if not all of that is today, forgotten and ignored―even though it comes from a Protestant and Protestant and even Masonic government―truth is nevertheless the truth. Just as no person is totally evil―as St. Thomas Aquinas says―so no man is totally wrong. Even apostates, heretics, pagans, etc. speak the truth in some things. Or, as they say, “A broken clock tells the correct time twice a day!” Maybe we should try change a largely godless day into a godly day―a secular day into a more spiritual day! Download the Thanksgiving Day Prayers and Rituals [click here and scroll down to almost the bottom of the page] and you will have a head-start on everybody else!
Article 26
Wednesday November 26th
American or Catholic Thanksgiving?
Wednesday November 26th
American or Catholic Thanksgiving?
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Thursday! Hmm!
For those living in the United States of America, the fourth Thursday of the month of November is, in our current times, the day that has been called “Thanksgiving Day.” For non-USA residents (and even resident Americans who are unknowledgeable in the matter), perhaps a short little explanation of the meaning and its historical origins might be in order.
Will the First Thanksgiving Please Step Forward!
In the USA, the secular holiday of “Thanksgiving” is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November (it used to be on the last Thursday of November). This recalls the fact that in 1621, the Plymouth colonists (Protestant Separatists from England) and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is today thought to be the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.
Catholic Thanksgiving Day Number One (Palo Duro Canyon, Texas, 1541)
Beginning in 1539, Francisco Coronado organized a large expedition from Mexico, which included five Franciscan missionaries. He brought with him 336 soldiers and settlers, 100 native Mexican Christians, 552 horses, 600 mules, 5000 sheep, and 500 cows, pigs, and goats. (This marked the introduction of these animals into the southwestern United States).
The expedition arrived in what is now Arizona and found Indian pueblos. After establishing a base in Arizona, Coronado headed east to establish a base-mission near present-day Albuquerque, New Mexico. When they crossed the river which is now called the Rio Grande, they named it Rio de Nuestra Señora (the River of Our Lady). This is its original name as it appeared on the first maps of the region.
Though no “cities of gold” were found, Coronado continued to send out expeditions — and missionaries with them. That there were missionaries on every expedition should tell us that the search for supposed “golden cities” was not the primary reason for Coronado’s ventures. (The gold was needed to fund expeditions and was not sought for personal gain). Spreading the one true Faith among the pagan native Indians was of primary importance.
In April of 1541, Coronado, with a group of soldiers and some missionaries, left Albuquerque, New Mexico, headed northeast, and crossed a section of what is now northwest Texas (the Panhandle). In encountering some of the local Indians, the missionaries found that the natives were immediately open to receiving the Gospel of Jesus Christ. After a few weeks of instruction, members of the Jumano Indian tribe converted and received Baptism.
The expedition then arrived in Palo Duro Canyon, Texas, where, on May 29th, 1541, Father Juan Padilla, O.F.M., offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. (Father Padilla would eventually become the very first martyr of the Faith in America when he was killed in 1542, in what is now Kansas). A Thanksgiving feast followed the Mass. It consisted of game that had earlier been caught. The feast was celebrated in thanksgiving to God for His many blessings and for the recent converts. This 1541 event is the first actual Thanksgiving Day celebrated in the future United States―80 years before the 1621 Thanksgiving of the Pilgrim Fathers.
Catholic Thanksgiving Day Number Two (St. Augustine, Florida, 1565)
The second Catholic Thanksgiving Day―that preceded the Pilgrims’ Plymouth Rock 1621 celebration by 56 years―was at St. Augustine, Florida, which is the first and oldest city of present day United States, founded in 1565 by Spanish Catholic explorers. The Spanish Captain General Pedro Menendez de Aviles and his fleet of soldiers and colonists―accompanied by priests―landed on the coast of Florida on the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, September 8th, 1565 It was the first permanent European settlement in North America. There had been other attempts by the Spanish to establish colonies in Florida and Texas, but all were short-lived.
The first sighting of land had been on August 28th, 1565, the feast of St. Augustine, so when they eventually came to shore, they named the settlement after him. On September 8th, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, they came ashore with great fanfare, to the astonishment of the natives. In an official ceremony Don Pedro Menendez came ashore amid the sounding of trumpets, artillery salutes and the firing of cannons to claim the land for King Philip II and Spain.
One of the priests, Fr. Francisco Lopez de Mendoza Grajales, who had gone ashore the previous day, advanced to meet him, chanting the Te Deum Laudamus and carrying a Cross, which Menendez and those with him reverently kissed. Then the 500 soldiers, 200 sailors and 100 families and artisans, along with the Timucuan Indians from the nearby village of Seloy, gathered at a makeshift altar, and a Mass in honor of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was said in Thanksgiving. The Mass was followed by a feast shared by the Spanish with the local Seloy tribe (Timucuan Indians)—thus taking place 56 years before the Plymouth Rock Thanksgiving.
In his book, Cross in the Sand, the Thanksgiving menu would most likely have consisted of what the Spanish settlers had with them during their voyage: cocido, a stew made from salted pork and garbanzo beans laced with garlic seasoning, hard sea biscuits, and red wine. The Timucuans brought wild turkey, venison, oysters and giant clams, as well as maize (corn), beans, squash, nuts and fruits. The Spaniards contribution wascocido, a stew made with pork, garbanzo beans and onions, along with biscuits, olive oil and red wine. In his well-researched book on the State of Florida titled Cross in the Sand, Dr. Michael Gannon duly affirmed that this Mass and feast was “the first community act of religion and thanksgiving in the first permanent European settlement in the land.”
Catholic Thanksgiving Day Number Three (Texas, 1598)
The third Thanksgiving was in Texas. On January 26th, 1598, Catholic explorer Juan de Oñate led an expedition from Mexico City into New Mexico with the aim of founding a new kingdom. The expedition included over 200 soldiers and colonists, the soldiers being headed by Captain Gaspar Perez de Villagra. Many had their families with them. a Spanish expedition set out from Mexico
A number of Christian Indian converts with their families from Mexico were also in the party. With the group were several thousand head of livestock, including cows, horses, mules, sheep, goats, and pigs. Eighty-three wagons carried provisions, ammunition, tools, plants, and seeds for wheat, oats, rye, onions, chili, peas, beans, and different nuts.
On the expedition were eight Franciscan friars: two priests and six brothers. The party experienced many hardships. Three months later, after a long, dangerous trek forging a new trail northward, the now famous El Camino Real [The Royal Road], it crossed the Rio Grande and set up camp south of present day El Paso, Texas. Soon after entering New Mexico, just across the Rio de Nuestra Señora, they were attacked by hostile Indians near present-day El Paso, Texas. A number of wagons and numerous head of livestock were lost, but no members of the expedition were killed. The same was not true for the attacking Indians, a number of whom died.
On April 30th, 1598, moving a little farther up along the river, Juan de Oñate and the Franciscans erected a large cross, and Don Juan de Oñate, took formal possession of the new land, called New Mexico, in the name of the Heavenly Lord, God Almighty, and the earthly lord King Philip II. He declared: “I want to take possession of this land today, April 30th, 1598, in honor of Our Lord Jesus Christ, on this day of the Ascension of Our Lord.”
Immediately afterward a High Mass was offered in thanksgiving. Then, after the Mass, the entire group gathered for a Banquet of Thanksgiving to God for protecting them and for allowing them to arrive at the place after so many hardships along the way. The Franciscan priests blessed the food on tables and the 600-strong expedition of soldiers and colonists feasted. The festive meal consisted of fish, ducks, geese, fruits and vegetables. The celebration ended with a play enacting scenes of the native Indians hearing the first words of the Catholic Faith and receiving the Sacrament of Baptism. After this Thanksgiving Banquet, the expedition headed further up along the river and by June had established the mission-town of San Juan (still populated to this day).
Though there was a Thanksgiving Feast celebrated in 1541, as we earlier saw, it was never commemorated afterward. In contrast, for some years after the Thanksgiving Feast of 1598, a feast was celebrated by the Spanish and the Christian Indians of New Mexico in thanks to the true God for bringing them through many hardships and for His blessings. Today this Thanksgiving Feast is commemorated in San Juan on the thirtieth day of April every year.
The First Shall Be Last…
What is thought to be the first Thanksgiving in 1621, is therefore not quite so, but crosses the finishing-line a good 80 years after the Catholic Thanksgiving in Palo Duro Canyon, Texas, in 1541; and 56 years after the Thanksgiving in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565; and 23 years after the Texan Thanksgiving in El Paso in 1598. It came about after a small ship called the Mayflower left Plymouth, England, in September of 1620, carrying 102 passengers — an assortment of religious separatists seeking a new home where they could freely practice their Faith and other individuals lured by the promise of prosperity and land ownership in the New World.
After a treacherous and uncomfortable sea crossing that lasted 66 days, they dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod, far north of their intended destination at the mouth of the Hudson River. One month later, the Mayflower crossed Massachusetts Bay, where the Pilgrims, as they are now commonly known, began the work of establishing a village at Plymouth.
Throughout that first brutal winter, most of the colonists remained on board the ship, where they suffered from exposure, scurvy and outbreaks of contagious disease. Only half of the Mayflower’s original passengers and crew lived to see the spring. In March, the remaining settlers moved ashore, where they received an astonishing visit from an Abenaki Indian who greeted them in English.
Several days later, he returned with another Native American, Squanto, a member of the Pawtuxet tribe who had been kidnapped by an English sea captain and sold into slavery before escaping to London and returning to his homeland on an exploratory expedition. Squanto taught the Pilgrims, weakened by malnutrition and illness, how to cultivate corn, extract sap from maple trees, catch fish in the rivers and avoid poisonous plants.
In November 1621, after the Pilgrims’ first corn harvest proved successful, Governor William Bradford organized a celebratory feast and invited a group of the fledgling colony’s Native American allies. Now remembered as American’s “first Thanksgiving”— the festival lasted for three days. Pilgrims held their second Thanksgiving celebration in 1623 to mark the end of a long drought that had threatened that year’s harvest.
During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress designated one or more days of thanksgiving a year, and in 1789 George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation by the national government of the United States. His successors John Adams and James Madison also designated days of thanks during their presidencies.
In 1817, New York became the first of several states to officially adopt an annual Thanksgiving holiday; each celebrated it on a different day, however, and the American South remained largely unfamiliar with the tradition. In 1827, a campaign was launched to establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday. This campaign lasted 36 years until Abraham Lincoln finally responded to the request in 1863. He scheduled Thanksgiving for the final Thursday in November, and it was celebrated on that day every year until 1939, when Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday up a week, in an attempt to spur retail sales during the Great Depression. Roosevelt’s plan, known derisively as “Franksgiving”, was met with passionate opposition, and in 1941 the president reluctantly signed a bill making Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November.
Thanksgiving Day as Public Holiday
Though George Washington called for a day of Thanksgiving while he was President, it was not celebrated as a yearly holiday feast until Abraham Lincoln established Thanksgiving Day as a holiday on October 3rd, 1863 (almost 250 years after the Pilgrims landed on the shores of America and over 320 years after the first Catholic Thanksgiving), in response to the victory at the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863 by the United States. With this victory in mind, as well as its cost, President Lincoln issued a proclamation stating:
“The year … has been filled with the blessings … which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and even soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and provoke their aggressions; peace has been preserved with all nations; order has been maintained; the laws have been respected and obeyed; and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict … the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwells in the heavens. And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.”
So now we know that the Pilgrims did not celebrate the first Thanksgiving in America. The first act of Thanksgiving was the Mass of Thanksgiving celebrated by Fr. Juan Padilla, in 1541, and was followed by a feast. This was 80 years before the Plymouth Rock event.
The second feast of Thanksgiving was celebrated at St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565, at the founding of the first permanent European settlement on American soil. This was 56 years before the Plymouth Rock event.
The third feast of Thanksgiving was celebrated back in 1598, in New Mexico, by Spanish-Catholic colonists and Indian converts to the Faith—23 years before the Plymouth Rock event. They thanked the true God for bringing them safely through many troubles and dangers and for the fact that the seed of the Gospel of Christ was beginning to take root.
Because of the often anti-Spanish and anti-Catholic prejudice of English-speaking Protestants, generations of Americans have never learned this fact of American history.
Let’s Get This Straight!
For a Catholic, every day is—in a sense—“Thanksgiving Day.” The word “Eucharistia” is Greek for “thanksgiving”! The Holy Eucharist—or the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass—is celebrated thousands of times each day throughout the world. The Holy Eucharist is God’s gift to man—in fact the greatest Gift that God could give man—because it is both God Himself, and also the Sacrifice of God for our sins and our salvation! The very gift of the Eucharist and the receiving of the Eucharist, should lead to a thanksgiving for the Eucharist—as is implied by its very name: “Holy Eucharist” meaning “Holy Thanksgiving”!
Our Lord and Thanksgiving
Jesus frequently gave us the example of thanksgiving throughout His life—that is to say, a thanksgiving to God His Father.
As a prefiguration of the Holy Eucharist, Our Lord performed, several times, the miracle of the multiplication of loaves—and we notice that on these occasions He always gave thanks to God before performing the miracle. “And taking the seven loaves and the fishes, and giving thanks, He broke, and gave to His disciples, and the disciples to the people” (Matthew 15:36). “And taking the seven loaves, giving thanks, He broke, and gave to His disciples for to set before them; and they set them before the people” (Mark 8:6). “And Jesus took the loaves: and when He had given thanks, He distributed to them that were set down” (John 6:11).
When Our Lord performed the stupendous miracle of raising Lazarus, after commanding that the stone of the tomb be rolled away and before commanding Lazarus to arise and come forth, Our Lord again first gives thanks to God: “They took therefore the stone away. And Jesus, lifting up His eyes, said: ‘Father, I give Thee thanks that Thou hast heard Me!’” (John 11:41).
At the Last Supper, when He instituted the Holy Eucharist (Holy Thanksgiving), He is reported by the Evangelists as once again giving thanks to God. “And taking bread, He gave thanks, and broke; and gave to them, saying: ‘This is My body, which is given for you. Do this for a commemoration of Me!’” (Luke 22:19). “And having taken the chalice, He gave thanks, and said: ‘Take, and divide it among you!’” (Luke 22:17). “And taking the chalice, He gave thanks, and gave to them, saying: ‘Drink ye all of this!’” (Matthew 26:27). “And having taken the chalice, giving thanks, He gave it to them. And they all drank of it” (Mark 14:23).
Our Lord Condemns Ingratitude
The chief and most striking incident whereby Our Lord condemned in gratitude was His encounter with the Ten Lepers, where only one was found to come back and give thanks. “And as Jesus entered into a certain town, there met Him ten men that were lepers, who stood afar off; and lifted up their voice, saying: ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ To whom, when He saw, He said: ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests!’ And it came to pass, as they went, they were made clean. And one of them, when he saw that he was made clean, went back, with a loud voice glorifying God. And he fell on his face before Jesus’ feet, giving thanks: and this was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering, said, ‘Were not ten made clean? And where are the nine? There is no one found to return and give glory [and thanks] to God, but this stranger!’” (Luke 17:12-18).
Today, it is not even one-in-ten that gives the thanks to God that ought to be given! It might not even be one-in-a-hundred-thousand! Many may think they give thanks, but, as you will read further below, it is mere lip service thanks, but not heart service thanks.
An Ungrateful Time, an Age of Ingratitude
Ingratitude has always been around, but St. Paul makes especial mention of it as a trait that will be seen in the End Times in particular: “Know also this, that, in the last days, shall come dangerous times. Men shall be lovers of themselves, covetous, haughty, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, wicked, without affection, without peace, slanderers, incontinent, unmerciful, without kindness, traitors, stubborn, puffed up, and lovers of pleasures more than of God! Having an appearance indeed of godliness, but denying the power thereof. Now these avoid!” (2 Timothy 3:1-5). These kinds of persons have simply forgotten Our Lord’s incontestable truth: “Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5). They have decided that they will do many things without Him, they will “do their own thing” and He will not be a part of it.
In these last days, Our Lady also asks for reparation for ungrateful sinners. Our Lady of Good Success speaks of “the grandeur of this restoring and life-giving Sacrament of Penance, so forgotten and even scorned by ungrateful men, who in their foolish madness, do not realize that it is the only sure means of salvation after one has lost his baptismal innocence” and how “the Host, is exposed to the sacrilegious profanations of His ungrateful sons.”
At Fatima, the Angel took the Chalice and Host. He gave Lucia the Sacred Host on the tongue. Then while giving the Precious Blood from the Chalice to Francisco and Jacinta, he said: “Eat and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, horribly outraged by ungrateful men. Make reparation for their crimes and console your God.”
Some years after the 1917 Fatima apparitions, on Thursday, December 10th, 1925, the Blessed Virgin, accompanied by the Child Jesus, appeared to Lucia in her cell. Lucia recounted that Mary showed her a Heart encircled by thorns in her hand. The Child Jesus spoke first, saying: “Have pity on the Heart of your Most Holy Mother. It is covered with the thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment, and there is no one to remove them with an act of reparation.” Then Mary said: “My daughter, look at my Heart surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You, at least, try to console me.”
Some 43 years later, Our Lady said at Akita (August 1973): “Many men in this world afflict the Lord. I desire souls to console Him to soften the anger of the Heavenly Father. I wish, with my Son, for souls who will repair by their suffering and their poverty for the sinners and the ungrateful.”
Give Thanks Always, Everywhere and for Everything!
This is why St. Paul commands that we should be “giving thanks always for all things, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to God and the Father” (Ephesians 5:20). Again, elsewhere, he writes that should be “giving thanks to God the Father, who hath made us worthy to be partakers of the lot of the saints in light” (Colossians 1:12) and that “All whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him!” (Colossians 3:17).
The Eucharistic Sacrifice echoes these sentiments in every single one of its Prefaces, that precede the Canon of the Mass: “…we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks to thee, O Holy Lord, Father Almighty, eternal God, through Christ, our Lord.”
This means giving thanks, not only for the pleasant things in life, but also the unpleasant. Not only for things that God gives, but also when God takes away things—like health, wealth, possessions, benefits, jobs, friends, etc. Speaking of jobs, let us remind ourselves of Job’s famous words when God had taken from him his health, his wealth, his children and his livestock: “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there! The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away! As it has pleased the Lord so is it done! Blessed be the Name of the Lord!” (Job 1:21).
Gratitude or Thankfulness is Not an Option!
We all remember being forcefully told by our parents to say “Thank you!” to someone who had just given us something or helped us some way! Even though we begrudgingly and sourly squeezed those words from our mouth, it cannot be said that we truly thankful or genuinely grateful—it was more a case of a “Shotgun-Thank-You!” whereby a metaphorical ‘gun’ was held to our head (a slap or a whack) to ‘encourage’ us to give thanks. But, as St. Thomas Aquinas writes: “thanksgiving is less thankful when compelled” (Summa, IIa-IIae, q. 106, art. 1). He goes on to say that “thankfulness a special part of justice”—meaning that it is owed in justice—and that “when there is greater favor on the part of the giver, greater thanks are due on the part of the recipient.”
In commenting upon the words of St. Paul, “in all things give thanks” (1 Thessalonians 5:18), St. Thomas Aquinas points out that our greatest thanks are due to God, for He is the first principle or ultimate cause of all our goods. Our Lord laid the foundation for this truth with His own words, when He said: “Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5).
Gratitude for Mercy!
Talking of ‘great gifts’—what greater gift is there than mercy? Holy Scripture tells us: “The Lord is gracious and merciful: patient and plenteous in mercy. The Lord is sweet to all: and His tender mercies are over all his works!” (Psalm 144:8-9). God’s mercy is above all His works! What kind of gratitude should not be shown to someone who gives us the greatest gift possible? St. Thomas Aquinas says: “The penitent is more bound to give thanks than the innocent, because what he receives from God is more gratuitously given: since, whereas he was deserving of punishment, he has received grace” (Summa, IIa-IIae, q. 106, art. 2).
How much mercy have you received in your life? How much thanks is due from you in justice, in gratitude for the greatest gift of God—given time and time again? The 1st century Roman philosopher, Seneca, said that “Among all our many and great vices, none is as common as ingratitude … and the most ungrateful of all is the man who has forgotten a benefit.”
Blind to the Benefits of God!
How blind, indifferent, presumptuous and abusive we are to our greatest benefactor—the Good Lord. The One who gets thanked the least and gets taken for granted the most, is the Good Lord. Every day He gives us blessings beyond all counting through His Divine Providence. There is no provider like God. We breathe His air; we drink His water; we need His light and sunshine; we cultivate His soil; we eat His fruits and crops; we eat His fish and animals; we make medicines from his creation; we clothe ourselves with His materials; we depend upon His seasons; we build our homes with his materials; we depend upon His protection against animals, men and devils; it is He that gives us life by creating our soul; it is He that gives us health by His protective Providence; it is He who calls time, and brings death and final judgment.
Most of all He gave His only Son, Who remains living amongst us in the Blessed Sacrament. He gave us a share in His life through the sanctifying grace received at Baptism. He increased that supernatural life by the coming of his Holy Spirit, with His Gifts, into our souls at Confirmation. He has given us the treasure of the Sacrifice of the Mass—the greatest action that can possible take place anywhere in the world on any given day. To crown all that, He offers us eternal joys in Heaven. And how we take Him for granted! How we fail to say “thank you” to the One from Whom all good gifts come! It is a mystery, a tragedy, an injustice, a blindness, a neglect that should be punished; that has to be punished; and one that will be punished.
We should be spending the whole day, counting our blessings and thanking the One Who grants those blessings—the Almighty, All-Merciful, All-Providing God. As the Preface of the Mass so truly says: ”…we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks to thee, O Holy Lord, Father Almighty, eternal God, through Christ, our Lord.”
God is Owed Gratitude and Love!
St. Thomas points out that “a man owes love to his benefactor, just as he owes him gratitude” and that “to whom more is forgiven, he loveth more” (Summa, IIa-IIae, q. 106, art. 2). And St. John tells us: “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us!” (1 John 1:10). Therefore, we owe God much gratitude and great love, because “the Lord is gracious and merciful: patient and plenteous in mercy. The Lord is sweet to all: and His tender mercies are over all his works!” (Psalm 144:8-9).
Nobody Excused From Thanksgiving—Neither Sinner, nor Just
“Now a favor is something bestowed freely without obligation [“gratis”]. Therefore, on the part of the giver, the favor may be greater on two counts. First, it may be great owing to the quantity of the thing given—and in this way the innocent person owes greater thanksgiving, because he receives a greater gift from God, also, absolutely speaking, a more continuous gift, other things being equal. Secondly, a favor may be said to be greater, because it is given more gratuitously; and in this sense the penitent is more bound to give thanks than the innocent, because what he receives from God is more gratuitously given—since, whereas the sinner was deserving of punishment, he has received grace. Wherefore, although the gift bestowed on the innocent is, considered absolutely, greater, yet the gift bestowed on the penitent is greater in relation to him—just as a small gift, given to a poor man, is greater to the poor man, than a great gift is to a rich man” (Summa, IIa-IIae, q. 106, art. 2).
Degree of Thankfulness
The degree of thankfulness in the recipient should correspond to the degree of favor in the giver — when there is greater favor on the part of the giver, greater thanks are due on the part of the recipient. In judging the magnitude of a favor two things are to be considered, namely, the affection of the heart and the gift itself.
St. Thomas quotes Seneca, who says “We are sometimes under a greater obligation to one who has given little with a large heart, and has bestowed a small favor, yet willingly.”
Holy Scripture bears this out, when Our Lord says: “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For they all contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, her whole living.”
The more we thank God, the more inclined He is to give us more—we operate the same way, don’t we? Let us then think of the incredible mercies—and other graces too—that God has bestowed upon us, and let these thoughts trigger profuse sentiments of thanksgiving within us!
Two Pillars of Thanksgiving!
Have you ever read about the Two Pillars in St. John Bosco’s vision (click here)? One of the chief things we learn from those Two Pillars is thanksgiving! The word “Eucharistia” is Greek for “thanksgiving”! The very gift of the Eucharist and the receiving of the Eucharist, should lead to a thanksgiving for the Eucharist—as is implied by its very name: “Holy Eucharist” meaning “Holy Thanksgiving”!
Under the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the other pillar, was the inscription “Auxilium Christianorum” which means “Help of Christians”. Again, the “Help of Christians” should lead to a “Thanksgiving by Christians” for that help.
Finally, the very outcome of the battle seen by St. John Bosco, should again lead to a thanksgiving for the victory when all seemed lost. As was stated above, the more a person give thanks in gratitude, the more God seems to give; to those who thank but little, little is given.
Nobody was as grateful to God as Our Lady, and nobody received more from God than Our Lady. Her eyes were fully open to all the wonderful things God did for her, and she thanked Him for it—her canticle, the Magnificat, is an indication of this attitude: “My soul doth magnify the Lord and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is His Name. He hath shown might in His arm: He hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich He hath sent empty away” (Luke 1:46-53).
Oh if we could learn how to thank God like He deserves to be thanked! Yet we fail to see that He “has done great things to me” ― for we take those “great things” for granted!
Our Lady Speaks on Gratitude
How many times do you thank God daily? With what fervor and sincerity of heart do you thank Him? How many different things do you thank Him for? If you can count the number of times you thank Him on both hands and both sets of toes (20 for the normal person) then you are a miserly miser! If you thank Him as many times as you have hairs on your head (bald men excluded), then you are still a miser! Our Lady says to the Venerable Mary of Agreda:
Our Lady’s Own Gratitude
“Every day, at beginning of dawn, I prostrated myself in the presence of the Most High and gave Him thanks and praise for his immutable Being, his infinite perfections, and for having created me out of nothing; acknowledging myself as His creature and the work of His hands, I blessed Him and adored Him, giving Him honor, magnificence and Divinity, as the supreme Lord and Creator of myself and of all that exists. I raised up my spirit to place it into His hands, offering myself with profound humility and resignation to Him and asking Him to dispose of me according to His will during that day and during all the days of my life, and to teach me to fulfill whatever would be to His greater pleasure. This I repeated many times during the external works of the day …
“I gave thanks to the Author of all things, acknowledging His works as benefits freely bestowed upon me, and not as dues, which He owed to me. Therefore, when anything was wanting of the necessaries of life, I remained in peace and contentedness and deemed it all perfectly reasonable and proper in my regard, since I had merited none of the gifts and could justly be deprived of all of them” (Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda).
Our Lady Complains of Our Ingratitude
“Ponder upon the small return given by mortals for the love of my Son and Lord, and how forgetful of thanks even His faithful continue to be ... Let mortals inquire what treasures and riches they did possess before they came into life? What services had they rendered unto God, in order to merit them? And if out of nothing there cannot arise anything, and if they could not merit the being which they have received, what obligation is there on the part of God to preserve, out of justice, what was given to them entirely gratuitously?
“That God created man, was of no benefit to Himself; but to man it was a benefit, and one as great as the being given to him, and as high as the object for which it was given. And if, in His creation, man becomes indebted so much, that he never can pay his debt, tell me, what right can he invoke at present for his preservation? Has he not received his being without merit and many times forfeited it? What an execrable disorder and what a despicable blindness of mortals is this? For that, which the Lord gives them gratuitously, they do not thank Him, or even give Him acknowledgment, and for that which He denies them justly, and sometimes most mercifully, they are restless and proudly desirous, and they try to procure it by unjust and forbidden means, throwing themselves into the very destruction which flies from them” (Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda).
He Who Receives More Should Be More Grateful
“He that received more ought to consider himself more needy, since his debt becomes so much the greater. All should humiliate themselves since of themselves they are nothing, nor can they do anything or possess ought. On this account they, that are raised up by the hand of the Almighty, should humiliate themselves as mere dust. For, left to themselves and to their nothingness and unworthiness, they should esteem themselves so much the more indebted and bound to thankfulness, for that which, by themselves, they can never repay!” (Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda).
Those Who Give Thanks, Give Poor Thanks
“If some of them do render it, it is so coarse, inattentive and discourteous, that they do not merit reward, but chastisement. They revere and adore profoundly the princes and magnates of the Earth; they ask favors and seek to obtain them with the utmost diligence; they are effusive in their thanks, when they succeed, protesting their lifelong gratitude. But the supreme Lord, Who gives them being, life and activity, Who preserves and sustains them, Who has redeemed them and raised them to the dignity of sons,Who wishes to confer upon them His own glory, Who is in Himself the infinite and the highest Good; Him, the highest Majesty, they forget, because they cannot see Him with their corporal eyes. As if not all good came from Him, they return, at the highest, merely a sluggish remembrance and a hasty thanksgiving” (Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda).
Ingratitude Will Be Punished
“Meditate much, and weigh over and over again, how exactly mortals ought to correspond to this immense kindness of God and to His eagerness to assist them. Compare at the same time the heartless obduracy of the children of Adam. I wish that thy heart be softened in affectionate thankfulness toward the Lord, and melted in sorrow at these unhappy proceedings of men. I assure thee, that on the day of the general judgment, the cause of the greatest wrath of the just Judge shall be man’s most ungrateful forgetfulness of this truth; and the confusion of men, on account of this wrath, shall be such, that, on that day, they would of their own accord cast themselves into the abyss of pain, if there were no ministers of divine justice to visit this retribution upon them ... Weep ceaselessly over the terrible loss sustained by so many insane and thankless souls, who are forgetful of God, of their duty and of their own selves!” (Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda).
Our Lady Encourages Gratitude
“By incessant praise and acknowledgment, show thyself thankful for the favor which God vouchsafed thee in appointing angels to assist thee, teach thee, and guide thee through the tribulations and sorrows. Mortals, in their abominable ingratitude and grossness, ordinarily forget this blessing ... Acknowledge these blessings and give Him thanks with all thy heart ... Raise thyself above thyself and give Him thanks for the special blessings conferred upon thee and for those conferred upon the human race ... . Thank Him for the benefits, which He has conferred and confers on all, whether they know Him or not, whether they confess or repudiate Him!” (Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda).
Humble Gratitude
“Accustom thyself to humble thanksgiving for the benefits which thou receivest … Do not deceive thyself with the pretext of being humble; for there is a great difference between thankful humility and humble thanklessness. Remember that the Lord very often shows great favors to the unworthy, in order to manifest His goodness and munificence. On the contrary let no one become inflated, but let everyone acknowledge so much the more his unworthiness, using it as a medicine against the poison of presumption. But gratitude will agree with this humble opinion of self, since we must acknowledge, that every good gift comes from the Father of lights ... Let then thy thanks be greater than that of all the creatures!” (Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda).
Gratitude Leads to Love, Love Gains More Favors
“Renew many times a day the memory of His blessings, always giving thanks to the Lord with humble and loving affection. Especially memorable among His benefits are that He has called thee, waited for thee, and excused thy faults, and added thereto such often repeated favors. This remembrance will cause in thee sweet and strong movements of love; and thou wilt find new grace and favor before the Lord, since He is so much pleased by a faithful and thankful heart” (Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda).
For those living in the United States of America, the fourth Thursday of the month of November is, in our current times, the day that has been called “Thanksgiving Day.” For non-USA residents (and even resident Americans who are unknowledgeable in the matter), perhaps a short little explanation of the meaning and its historical origins might be in order.
Will the First Thanksgiving Please Step Forward!
In the USA, the secular holiday of “Thanksgiving” is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November (it used to be on the last Thursday of November). This recalls the fact that in 1621, the Plymouth colonists (Protestant Separatists from England) and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is today thought to be the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.
Catholic Thanksgiving Day Number One (Palo Duro Canyon, Texas, 1541)
Beginning in 1539, Francisco Coronado organized a large expedition from Mexico, which included five Franciscan missionaries. He brought with him 336 soldiers and settlers, 100 native Mexican Christians, 552 horses, 600 mules, 5000 sheep, and 500 cows, pigs, and goats. (This marked the introduction of these animals into the southwestern United States).
The expedition arrived in what is now Arizona and found Indian pueblos. After establishing a base in Arizona, Coronado headed east to establish a base-mission near present-day Albuquerque, New Mexico. When they crossed the river which is now called the Rio Grande, they named it Rio de Nuestra Señora (the River of Our Lady). This is its original name as it appeared on the first maps of the region.
Though no “cities of gold” were found, Coronado continued to send out expeditions — and missionaries with them. That there were missionaries on every expedition should tell us that the search for supposed “golden cities” was not the primary reason for Coronado’s ventures. (The gold was needed to fund expeditions and was not sought for personal gain). Spreading the one true Faith among the pagan native Indians was of primary importance.
In April of 1541, Coronado, with a group of soldiers and some missionaries, left Albuquerque, New Mexico, headed northeast, and crossed a section of what is now northwest Texas (the Panhandle). In encountering some of the local Indians, the missionaries found that the natives were immediately open to receiving the Gospel of Jesus Christ. After a few weeks of instruction, members of the Jumano Indian tribe converted and received Baptism.
The expedition then arrived in Palo Duro Canyon, Texas, where, on May 29th, 1541, Father Juan Padilla, O.F.M., offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. (Father Padilla would eventually become the very first martyr of the Faith in America when he was killed in 1542, in what is now Kansas). A Thanksgiving feast followed the Mass. It consisted of game that had earlier been caught. The feast was celebrated in thanksgiving to God for His many blessings and for the recent converts. This 1541 event is the first actual Thanksgiving Day celebrated in the future United States―80 years before the 1621 Thanksgiving of the Pilgrim Fathers.
Catholic Thanksgiving Day Number Two (St. Augustine, Florida, 1565)
The second Catholic Thanksgiving Day―that preceded the Pilgrims’ Plymouth Rock 1621 celebration by 56 years―was at St. Augustine, Florida, which is the first and oldest city of present day United States, founded in 1565 by Spanish Catholic explorers. The Spanish Captain General Pedro Menendez de Aviles and his fleet of soldiers and colonists―accompanied by priests―landed on the coast of Florida on the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, September 8th, 1565 It was the first permanent European settlement in North America. There had been other attempts by the Spanish to establish colonies in Florida and Texas, but all were short-lived.
The first sighting of land had been on August 28th, 1565, the feast of St. Augustine, so when they eventually came to shore, they named the settlement after him. On September 8th, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, they came ashore with great fanfare, to the astonishment of the natives. In an official ceremony Don Pedro Menendez came ashore amid the sounding of trumpets, artillery salutes and the firing of cannons to claim the land for King Philip II and Spain.
One of the priests, Fr. Francisco Lopez de Mendoza Grajales, who had gone ashore the previous day, advanced to meet him, chanting the Te Deum Laudamus and carrying a Cross, which Menendez and those with him reverently kissed. Then the 500 soldiers, 200 sailors and 100 families and artisans, along with the Timucuan Indians from the nearby village of Seloy, gathered at a makeshift altar, and a Mass in honor of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was said in Thanksgiving. The Mass was followed by a feast shared by the Spanish with the local Seloy tribe (Timucuan Indians)—thus taking place 56 years before the Plymouth Rock Thanksgiving.
In his book, Cross in the Sand, the Thanksgiving menu would most likely have consisted of what the Spanish settlers had with them during their voyage: cocido, a stew made from salted pork and garbanzo beans laced with garlic seasoning, hard sea biscuits, and red wine. The Timucuans brought wild turkey, venison, oysters and giant clams, as well as maize (corn), beans, squash, nuts and fruits. The Spaniards contribution wascocido, a stew made with pork, garbanzo beans and onions, along with biscuits, olive oil and red wine. In his well-researched book on the State of Florida titled Cross in the Sand, Dr. Michael Gannon duly affirmed that this Mass and feast was “the first community act of religion and thanksgiving in the first permanent European settlement in the land.”
Catholic Thanksgiving Day Number Three (Texas, 1598)
The third Thanksgiving was in Texas. On January 26th, 1598, Catholic explorer Juan de Oñate led an expedition from Mexico City into New Mexico with the aim of founding a new kingdom. The expedition included over 200 soldiers and colonists, the soldiers being headed by Captain Gaspar Perez de Villagra. Many had their families with them. a Spanish expedition set out from Mexico
A number of Christian Indian converts with their families from Mexico were also in the party. With the group were several thousand head of livestock, including cows, horses, mules, sheep, goats, and pigs. Eighty-three wagons carried provisions, ammunition, tools, plants, and seeds for wheat, oats, rye, onions, chili, peas, beans, and different nuts.
On the expedition were eight Franciscan friars: two priests and six brothers. The party experienced many hardships. Three months later, after a long, dangerous trek forging a new trail northward, the now famous El Camino Real [The Royal Road], it crossed the Rio Grande and set up camp south of present day El Paso, Texas. Soon after entering New Mexico, just across the Rio de Nuestra Señora, they were attacked by hostile Indians near present-day El Paso, Texas. A number of wagons and numerous head of livestock were lost, but no members of the expedition were killed. The same was not true for the attacking Indians, a number of whom died.
On April 30th, 1598, moving a little farther up along the river, Juan de Oñate and the Franciscans erected a large cross, and Don Juan de Oñate, took formal possession of the new land, called New Mexico, in the name of the Heavenly Lord, God Almighty, and the earthly lord King Philip II. He declared: “I want to take possession of this land today, April 30th, 1598, in honor of Our Lord Jesus Christ, on this day of the Ascension of Our Lord.”
Immediately afterward a High Mass was offered in thanksgiving. Then, after the Mass, the entire group gathered for a Banquet of Thanksgiving to God for protecting them and for allowing them to arrive at the place after so many hardships along the way. The Franciscan priests blessed the food on tables and the 600-strong expedition of soldiers and colonists feasted. The festive meal consisted of fish, ducks, geese, fruits and vegetables. The celebration ended with a play enacting scenes of the native Indians hearing the first words of the Catholic Faith and receiving the Sacrament of Baptism. After this Thanksgiving Banquet, the expedition headed further up along the river and by June had established the mission-town of San Juan (still populated to this day).
Though there was a Thanksgiving Feast celebrated in 1541, as we earlier saw, it was never commemorated afterward. In contrast, for some years after the Thanksgiving Feast of 1598, a feast was celebrated by the Spanish and the Christian Indians of New Mexico in thanks to the true God for bringing them through many hardships and for His blessings. Today this Thanksgiving Feast is commemorated in San Juan on the thirtieth day of April every year.
The First Shall Be Last…
What is thought to be the first Thanksgiving in 1621, is therefore not quite so, but crosses the finishing-line a good 80 years after the Catholic Thanksgiving in Palo Duro Canyon, Texas, in 1541; and 56 years after the Thanksgiving in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565; and 23 years after the Texan Thanksgiving in El Paso in 1598. It came about after a small ship called the Mayflower left Plymouth, England, in September of 1620, carrying 102 passengers — an assortment of religious separatists seeking a new home where they could freely practice their Faith and other individuals lured by the promise of prosperity and land ownership in the New World.
After a treacherous and uncomfortable sea crossing that lasted 66 days, they dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod, far north of their intended destination at the mouth of the Hudson River. One month later, the Mayflower crossed Massachusetts Bay, where the Pilgrims, as they are now commonly known, began the work of establishing a village at Plymouth.
Throughout that first brutal winter, most of the colonists remained on board the ship, where they suffered from exposure, scurvy and outbreaks of contagious disease. Only half of the Mayflower’s original passengers and crew lived to see the spring. In March, the remaining settlers moved ashore, where they received an astonishing visit from an Abenaki Indian who greeted them in English.
Several days later, he returned with another Native American, Squanto, a member of the Pawtuxet tribe who had been kidnapped by an English sea captain and sold into slavery before escaping to London and returning to his homeland on an exploratory expedition. Squanto taught the Pilgrims, weakened by malnutrition and illness, how to cultivate corn, extract sap from maple trees, catch fish in the rivers and avoid poisonous plants.
In November 1621, after the Pilgrims’ first corn harvest proved successful, Governor William Bradford organized a celebratory feast and invited a group of the fledgling colony’s Native American allies. Now remembered as American’s “first Thanksgiving”— the festival lasted for three days. Pilgrims held their second Thanksgiving celebration in 1623 to mark the end of a long drought that had threatened that year’s harvest.
During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress designated one or more days of thanksgiving a year, and in 1789 George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation by the national government of the United States. His successors John Adams and James Madison also designated days of thanks during their presidencies.
In 1817, New York became the first of several states to officially adopt an annual Thanksgiving holiday; each celebrated it on a different day, however, and the American South remained largely unfamiliar with the tradition. In 1827, a campaign was launched to establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday. This campaign lasted 36 years until Abraham Lincoln finally responded to the request in 1863. He scheduled Thanksgiving for the final Thursday in November, and it was celebrated on that day every year until 1939, when Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday up a week, in an attempt to spur retail sales during the Great Depression. Roosevelt’s plan, known derisively as “Franksgiving”, was met with passionate opposition, and in 1941 the president reluctantly signed a bill making Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November.
Thanksgiving Day as Public Holiday
Though George Washington called for a day of Thanksgiving while he was President, it was not celebrated as a yearly holiday feast until Abraham Lincoln established Thanksgiving Day as a holiday on October 3rd, 1863 (almost 250 years after the Pilgrims landed on the shores of America and over 320 years after the first Catholic Thanksgiving), in response to the victory at the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863 by the United States. With this victory in mind, as well as its cost, President Lincoln issued a proclamation stating:
“The year … has been filled with the blessings … which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and even soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and provoke their aggressions; peace has been preserved with all nations; order has been maintained; the laws have been respected and obeyed; and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict … the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwells in the heavens. And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.”
So now we know that the Pilgrims did not celebrate the first Thanksgiving in America. The first act of Thanksgiving was the Mass of Thanksgiving celebrated by Fr. Juan Padilla, in 1541, and was followed by a feast. This was 80 years before the Plymouth Rock event.
The second feast of Thanksgiving was celebrated at St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565, at the founding of the first permanent European settlement on American soil. This was 56 years before the Plymouth Rock event.
The third feast of Thanksgiving was celebrated back in 1598, in New Mexico, by Spanish-Catholic colonists and Indian converts to the Faith—23 years before the Plymouth Rock event. They thanked the true God for bringing them safely through many troubles and dangers and for the fact that the seed of the Gospel of Christ was beginning to take root.
Because of the often anti-Spanish and anti-Catholic prejudice of English-speaking Protestants, generations of Americans have never learned this fact of American history.
Let’s Get This Straight!
For a Catholic, every day is—in a sense—“Thanksgiving Day.” The word “Eucharistia” is Greek for “thanksgiving”! The Holy Eucharist—or the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass—is celebrated thousands of times each day throughout the world. The Holy Eucharist is God’s gift to man—in fact the greatest Gift that God could give man—because it is both God Himself, and also the Sacrifice of God for our sins and our salvation! The very gift of the Eucharist and the receiving of the Eucharist, should lead to a thanksgiving for the Eucharist—as is implied by its very name: “Holy Eucharist” meaning “Holy Thanksgiving”!
Our Lord and Thanksgiving
Jesus frequently gave us the example of thanksgiving throughout His life—that is to say, a thanksgiving to God His Father.
As a prefiguration of the Holy Eucharist, Our Lord performed, several times, the miracle of the multiplication of loaves—and we notice that on these occasions He always gave thanks to God before performing the miracle. “And taking the seven loaves and the fishes, and giving thanks, He broke, and gave to His disciples, and the disciples to the people” (Matthew 15:36). “And taking the seven loaves, giving thanks, He broke, and gave to His disciples for to set before them; and they set them before the people” (Mark 8:6). “And Jesus took the loaves: and when He had given thanks, He distributed to them that were set down” (John 6:11).
When Our Lord performed the stupendous miracle of raising Lazarus, after commanding that the stone of the tomb be rolled away and before commanding Lazarus to arise and come forth, Our Lord again first gives thanks to God: “They took therefore the stone away. And Jesus, lifting up His eyes, said: ‘Father, I give Thee thanks that Thou hast heard Me!’” (John 11:41).
At the Last Supper, when He instituted the Holy Eucharist (Holy Thanksgiving), He is reported by the Evangelists as once again giving thanks to God. “And taking bread, He gave thanks, and broke; and gave to them, saying: ‘This is My body, which is given for you. Do this for a commemoration of Me!’” (Luke 22:19). “And having taken the chalice, He gave thanks, and said: ‘Take, and divide it among you!’” (Luke 22:17). “And taking the chalice, He gave thanks, and gave to them, saying: ‘Drink ye all of this!’” (Matthew 26:27). “And having taken the chalice, giving thanks, He gave it to them. And they all drank of it” (Mark 14:23).
Our Lord Condemns Ingratitude
The chief and most striking incident whereby Our Lord condemned in gratitude was His encounter with the Ten Lepers, where only one was found to come back and give thanks. “And as Jesus entered into a certain town, there met Him ten men that were lepers, who stood afar off; and lifted up their voice, saying: ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ To whom, when He saw, He said: ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests!’ And it came to pass, as they went, they were made clean. And one of them, when he saw that he was made clean, went back, with a loud voice glorifying God. And he fell on his face before Jesus’ feet, giving thanks: and this was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering, said, ‘Were not ten made clean? And where are the nine? There is no one found to return and give glory [and thanks] to God, but this stranger!’” (Luke 17:12-18).
Today, it is not even one-in-ten that gives the thanks to God that ought to be given! It might not even be one-in-a-hundred-thousand! Many may think they give thanks, but, as you will read further below, it is mere lip service thanks, but not heart service thanks.
An Ungrateful Time, an Age of Ingratitude
Ingratitude has always been around, but St. Paul makes especial mention of it as a trait that will be seen in the End Times in particular: “Know also this, that, in the last days, shall come dangerous times. Men shall be lovers of themselves, covetous, haughty, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, wicked, without affection, without peace, slanderers, incontinent, unmerciful, without kindness, traitors, stubborn, puffed up, and lovers of pleasures more than of God! Having an appearance indeed of godliness, but denying the power thereof. Now these avoid!” (2 Timothy 3:1-5). These kinds of persons have simply forgotten Our Lord’s incontestable truth: “Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5). They have decided that they will do many things without Him, they will “do their own thing” and He will not be a part of it.
In these last days, Our Lady also asks for reparation for ungrateful sinners. Our Lady of Good Success speaks of “the grandeur of this restoring and life-giving Sacrament of Penance, so forgotten and even scorned by ungrateful men, who in their foolish madness, do not realize that it is the only sure means of salvation after one has lost his baptismal innocence” and how “the Host, is exposed to the sacrilegious profanations of His ungrateful sons.”
At Fatima, the Angel took the Chalice and Host. He gave Lucia the Sacred Host on the tongue. Then while giving the Precious Blood from the Chalice to Francisco and Jacinta, he said: “Eat and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, horribly outraged by ungrateful men. Make reparation for their crimes and console your God.”
Some years after the 1917 Fatima apparitions, on Thursday, December 10th, 1925, the Blessed Virgin, accompanied by the Child Jesus, appeared to Lucia in her cell. Lucia recounted that Mary showed her a Heart encircled by thorns in her hand. The Child Jesus spoke first, saying: “Have pity on the Heart of your Most Holy Mother. It is covered with the thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment, and there is no one to remove them with an act of reparation.” Then Mary said: “My daughter, look at my Heart surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You, at least, try to console me.”
Some 43 years later, Our Lady said at Akita (August 1973): “Many men in this world afflict the Lord. I desire souls to console Him to soften the anger of the Heavenly Father. I wish, with my Son, for souls who will repair by their suffering and their poverty for the sinners and the ungrateful.”
Give Thanks Always, Everywhere and for Everything!
This is why St. Paul commands that we should be “giving thanks always for all things, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to God and the Father” (Ephesians 5:20). Again, elsewhere, he writes that should be “giving thanks to God the Father, who hath made us worthy to be partakers of the lot of the saints in light” (Colossians 1:12) and that “All whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him!” (Colossians 3:17).
The Eucharistic Sacrifice echoes these sentiments in every single one of its Prefaces, that precede the Canon of the Mass: “…we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks to thee, O Holy Lord, Father Almighty, eternal God, through Christ, our Lord.”
This means giving thanks, not only for the pleasant things in life, but also the unpleasant. Not only for things that God gives, but also when God takes away things—like health, wealth, possessions, benefits, jobs, friends, etc. Speaking of jobs, let us remind ourselves of Job’s famous words when God had taken from him his health, his wealth, his children and his livestock: “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there! The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away! As it has pleased the Lord so is it done! Blessed be the Name of the Lord!” (Job 1:21).
Gratitude or Thankfulness is Not an Option!
We all remember being forcefully told by our parents to say “Thank you!” to someone who had just given us something or helped us some way! Even though we begrudgingly and sourly squeezed those words from our mouth, it cannot be said that we truly thankful or genuinely grateful—it was more a case of a “Shotgun-Thank-You!” whereby a metaphorical ‘gun’ was held to our head (a slap or a whack) to ‘encourage’ us to give thanks. But, as St. Thomas Aquinas writes: “thanksgiving is less thankful when compelled” (Summa, IIa-IIae, q. 106, art. 1). He goes on to say that “thankfulness a special part of justice”—meaning that it is owed in justice—and that “when there is greater favor on the part of the giver, greater thanks are due on the part of the recipient.”
In commenting upon the words of St. Paul, “in all things give thanks” (1 Thessalonians 5:18), St. Thomas Aquinas points out that our greatest thanks are due to God, for He is the first principle or ultimate cause of all our goods. Our Lord laid the foundation for this truth with His own words, when He said: “Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5).
Gratitude for Mercy!
Talking of ‘great gifts’—what greater gift is there than mercy? Holy Scripture tells us: “The Lord is gracious and merciful: patient and plenteous in mercy. The Lord is sweet to all: and His tender mercies are over all his works!” (Psalm 144:8-9). God’s mercy is above all His works! What kind of gratitude should not be shown to someone who gives us the greatest gift possible? St. Thomas Aquinas says: “The penitent is more bound to give thanks than the innocent, because what he receives from God is more gratuitously given: since, whereas he was deserving of punishment, he has received grace” (Summa, IIa-IIae, q. 106, art. 2).
How much mercy have you received in your life? How much thanks is due from you in justice, in gratitude for the greatest gift of God—given time and time again? The 1st century Roman philosopher, Seneca, said that “Among all our many and great vices, none is as common as ingratitude … and the most ungrateful of all is the man who has forgotten a benefit.”
Blind to the Benefits of God!
How blind, indifferent, presumptuous and abusive we are to our greatest benefactor—the Good Lord. The One who gets thanked the least and gets taken for granted the most, is the Good Lord. Every day He gives us blessings beyond all counting through His Divine Providence. There is no provider like God. We breathe His air; we drink His water; we need His light and sunshine; we cultivate His soil; we eat His fruits and crops; we eat His fish and animals; we make medicines from his creation; we clothe ourselves with His materials; we depend upon His seasons; we build our homes with his materials; we depend upon His protection against animals, men and devils; it is He that gives us life by creating our soul; it is He that gives us health by His protective Providence; it is He who calls time, and brings death and final judgment.
Most of all He gave His only Son, Who remains living amongst us in the Blessed Sacrament. He gave us a share in His life through the sanctifying grace received at Baptism. He increased that supernatural life by the coming of his Holy Spirit, with His Gifts, into our souls at Confirmation. He has given us the treasure of the Sacrifice of the Mass—the greatest action that can possible take place anywhere in the world on any given day. To crown all that, He offers us eternal joys in Heaven. And how we take Him for granted! How we fail to say “thank you” to the One from Whom all good gifts come! It is a mystery, a tragedy, an injustice, a blindness, a neglect that should be punished; that has to be punished; and one that will be punished.
We should be spending the whole day, counting our blessings and thanking the One Who grants those blessings—the Almighty, All-Merciful, All-Providing God. As the Preface of the Mass so truly says: ”…we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks to thee, O Holy Lord, Father Almighty, eternal God, through Christ, our Lord.”
God is Owed Gratitude and Love!
St. Thomas points out that “a man owes love to his benefactor, just as he owes him gratitude” and that “to whom more is forgiven, he loveth more” (Summa, IIa-IIae, q. 106, art. 2). And St. John tells us: “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us!” (1 John 1:10). Therefore, we owe God much gratitude and great love, because “the Lord is gracious and merciful: patient and plenteous in mercy. The Lord is sweet to all: and His tender mercies are over all his works!” (Psalm 144:8-9).
Nobody Excused From Thanksgiving—Neither Sinner, nor Just
“Now a favor is something bestowed freely without obligation [“gratis”]. Therefore, on the part of the giver, the favor may be greater on two counts. First, it may be great owing to the quantity of the thing given—and in this way the innocent person owes greater thanksgiving, because he receives a greater gift from God, also, absolutely speaking, a more continuous gift, other things being equal. Secondly, a favor may be said to be greater, because it is given more gratuitously; and in this sense the penitent is more bound to give thanks than the innocent, because what he receives from God is more gratuitously given—since, whereas the sinner was deserving of punishment, he has received grace. Wherefore, although the gift bestowed on the innocent is, considered absolutely, greater, yet the gift bestowed on the penitent is greater in relation to him—just as a small gift, given to a poor man, is greater to the poor man, than a great gift is to a rich man” (Summa, IIa-IIae, q. 106, art. 2).
Degree of Thankfulness
The degree of thankfulness in the recipient should correspond to the degree of favor in the giver — when there is greater favor on the part of the giver, greater thanks are due on the part of the recipient. In judging the magnitude of a favor two things are to be considered, namely, the affection of the heart and the gift itself.
St. Thomas quotes Seneca, who says “We are sometimes under a greater obligation to one who has given little with a large heart, and has bestowed a small favor, yet willingly.”
Holy Scripture bears this out, when Our Lord says: “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For they all contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, her whole living.”
The more we thank God, the more inclined He is to give us more—we operate the same way, don’t we? Let us then think of the incredible mercies—and other graces too—that God has bestowed upon us, and let these thoughts trigger profuse sentiments of thanksgiving within us!
Two Pillars of Thanksgiving!
Have you ever read about the Two Pillars in St. John Bosco’s vision (click here)? One of the chief things we learn from those Two Pillars is thanksgiving! The word “Eucharistia” is Greek for “thanksgiving”! The very gift of the Eucharist and the receiving of the Eucharist, should lead to a thanksgiving for the Eucharist—as is implied by its very name: “Holy Eucharist” meaning “Holy Thanksgiving”!
Under the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the other pillar, was the inscription “Auxilium Christianorum” which means “Help of Christians”. Again, the “Help of Christians” should lead to a “Thanksgiving by Christians” for that help.
Finally, the very outcome of the battle seen by St. John Bosco, should again lead to a thanksgiving for the victory when all seemed lost. As was stated above, the more a person give thanks in gratitude, the more God seems to give; to those who thank but little, little is given.
Nobody was as grateful to God as Our Lady, and nobody received more from God than Our Lady. Her eyes were fully open to all the wonderful things God did for her, and she thanked Him for it—her canticle, the Magnificat, is an indication of this attitude: “My soul doth magnify the Lord and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is His Name. He hath shown might in His arm: He hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich He hath sent empty away” (Luke 1:46-53).
Oh if we could learn how to thank God like He deserves to be thanked! Yet we fail to see that He “has done great things to me” ― for we take those “great things” for granted!
Our Lady Speaks on Gratitude
How many times do you thank God daily? With what fervor and sincerity of heart do you thank Him? How many different things do you thank Him for? If you can count the number of times you thank Him on both hands and both sets of toes (20 for the normal person) then you are a miserly miser! If you thank Him as many times as you have hairs on your head (bald men excluded), then you are still a miser! Our Lady says to the Venerable Mary of Agreda:
Our Lady’s Own Gratitude
“Every day, at beginning of dawn, I prostrated myself in the presence of the Most High and gave Him thanks and praise for his immutable Being, his infinite perfections, and for having created me out of nothing; acknowledging myself as His creature and the work of His hands, I blessed Him and adored Him, giving Him honor, magnificence and Divinity, as the supreme Lord and Creator of myself and of all that exists. I raised up my spirit to place it into His hands, offering myself with profound humility and resignation to Him and asking Him to dispose of me according to His will during that day and during all the days of my life, and to teach me to fulfill whatever would be to His greater pleasure. This I repeated many times during the external works of the day …
“I gave thanks to the Author of all things, acknowledging His works as benefits freely bestowed upon me, and not as dues, which He owed to me. Therefore, when anything was wanting of the necessaries of life, I remained in peace and contentedness and deemed it all perfectly reasonable and proper in my regard, since I had merited none of the gifts and could justly be deprived of all of them” (Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda).
Our Lady Complains of Our Ingratitude
“Ponder upon the small return given by mortals for the love of my Son and Lord, and how forgetful of thanks even His faithful continue to be ... Let mortals inquire what treasures and riches they did possess before they came into life? What services had they rendered unto God, in order to merit them? And if out of nothing there cannot arise anything, and if they could not merit the being which they have received, what obligation is there on the part of God to preserve, out of justice, what was given to them entirely gratuitously?
“That God created man, was of no benefit to Himself; but to man it was a benefit, and one as great as the being given to him, and as high as the object for which it was given. And if, in His creation, man becomes indebted so much, that he never can pay his debt, tell me, what right can he invoke at present for his preservation? Has he not received his being without merit and many times forfeited it? What an execrable disorder and what a despicable blindness of mortals is this? For that, which the Lord gives them gratuitously, they do not thank Him, or even give Him acknowledgment, and for that which He denies them justly, and sometimes most mercifully, they are restless and proudly desirous, and they try to procure it by unjust and forbidden means, throwing themselves into the very destruction which flies from them” (Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda).
He Who Receives More Should Be More Grateful
“He that received more ought to consider himself more needy, since his debt becomes so much the greater. All should humiliate themselves since of themselves they are nothing, nor can they do anything or possess ought. On this account they, that are raised up by the hand of the Almighty, should humiliate themselves as mere dust. For, left to themselves and to their nothingness and unworthiness, they should esteem themselves so much the more indebted and bound to thankfulness, for that which, by themselves, they can never repay!” (Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda).
Those Who Give Thanks, Give Poor Thanks
“If some of them do render it, it is so coarse, inattentive and discourteous, that they do not merit reward, but chastisement. They revere and adore profoundly the princes and magnates of the Earth; they ask favors and seek to obtain them with the utmost diligence; they are effusive in their thanks, when they succeed, protesting their lifelong gratitude. But the supreme Lord, Who gives them being, life and activity, Who preserves and sustains them, Who has redeemed them and raised them to the dignity of sons,Who wishes to confer upon them His own glory, Who is in Himself the infinite and the highest Good; Him, the highest Majesty, they forget, because they cannot see Him with their corporal eyes. As if not all good came from Him, they return, at the highest, merely a sluggish remembrance and a hasty thanksgiving” (Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda).
Ingratitude Will Be Punished
“Meditate much, and weigh over and over again, how exactly mortals ought to correspond to this immense kindness of God and to His eagerness to assist them. Compare at the same time the heartless obduracy of the children of Adam. I wish that thy heart be softened in affectionate thankfulness toward the Lord, and melted in sorrow at these unhappy proceedings of men. I assure thee, that on the day of the general judgment, the cause of the greatest wrath of the just Judge shall be man’s most ungrateful forgetfulness of this truth; and the confusion of men, on account of this wrath, shall be such, that, on that day, they would of their own accord cast themselves into the abyss of pain, if there were no ministers of divine justice to visit this retribution upon them ... Weep ceaselessly over the terrible loss sustained by so many insane and thankless souls, who are forgetful of God, of their duty and of their own selves!” (Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda).
Our Lady Encourages Gratitude
“By incessant praise and acknowledgment, show thyself thankful for the favor which God vouchsafed thee in appointing angels to assist thee, teach thee, and guide thee through the tribulations and sorrows. Mortals, in their abominable ingratitude and grossness, ordinarily forget this blessing ... Acknowledge these blessings and give Him thanks with all thy heart ... Raise thyself above thyself and give Him thanks for the special blessings conferred upon thee and for those conferred upon the human race ... . Thank Him for the benefits, which He has conferred and confers on all, whether they know Him or not, whether they confess or repudiate Him!” (Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda).
Humble Gratitude
“Accustom thyself to humble thanksgiving for the benefits which thou receivest … Do not deceive thyself with the pretext of being humble; for there is a great difference between thankful humility and humble thanklessness. Remember that the Lord very often shows great favors to the unworthy, in order to manifest His goodness and munificence. On the contrary let no one become inflated, but let everyone acknowledge so much the more his unworthiness, using it as a medicine against the poison of presumption. But gratitude will agree with this humble opinion of self, since we must acknowledge, that every good gift comes from the Father of lights ... Let then thy thanks be greater than that of all the creatures!” (Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda).
Gratitude Leads to Love, Love Gains More Favors
“Renew many times a day the memory of His blessings, always giving thanks to the Lord with humble and loving affection. Especially memorable among His benefits are that He has called thee, waited for thee, and excused thy faults, and added thereto such often repeated favors. This remembrance will cause in thee sweet and strong movements of love; and thou wilt find new grace and favor before the Lord, since He is so much pleased by a faithful and thankful heart” (Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda).
Article 25
Tuesday November 25th
Turky or Tongue for Thanksgiving?
Tuesday November 25th
Turky or Tongue for Thanksgiving?
Turkey or Tongue?
As we enter the American holiday season, which encompasses Thanksgiving and Christmas, we also, sadly, enter the “Season of the Tongue” when, in family or social get-togethers, there are more helpings of the tongue that are served than there are helpings of turkey. Spicy food is served with spicy gossip! A sweet glass of wine is accompanied by a bitter whine! Pumpkin pie and an exaggerated lie! “Bite into your turkey and bite your tongue!” could and should be the motto for this tongue-wagging season.
We would do well to remember the words of St. James on the tongue: “We all sin in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is a perfect person, able to keep their whole body in check. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn and guide the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the ship’s pilot wants the ship to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it can cause great damage. Consider what a great forest can be set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by Hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be!” (James 3:2-10).
Spice is Not Always Nice
Thanksgiving and Christmas is not just about spicy food, but also about spicy conversation. Spice can be nice—if used in moderation—and the same goes for conversation. St. Francis de Sales—an appropriate saint for this season of “Sales”—tells us: “There is a light-hearted talk, full of modest life and gaiety, and which we should call good conversation, by which we may find an innocent and kindly amusement out of the trifling occurrences which human imperfections afford.” (St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, Book 3, Chapter 27, “Of Unseemly Words, And The Respect Due To Others”).
As St. Francis de Sales points out, there is nothing wrong with light-hearted, amusing, uplifting talk—but he also points out that this can quickly cross the boundary from virtue to sin, by degenerating into hurtful talk by overdoing it or exaggeration, or because of envy, grudges, etc. “Only beware of letting this seemly mirth go too far, till it becomes ridicule. Ridicule excites mirth at the expense of one’s neighbor; acceptable mirth and playful fun never lose sight of a trustful, kindly courtesy, which can wound no one.”
Holidays Have Fallen From Grace
The problem with the upcoming holiday season is the fact that, by and large, it has suffered a “falling from grace” in the sense that it is more secular than it is spiritual—and nobody seems to notice or care about that “fall from grace”, because everyone participates in that secular, materialistic focus. We have forgotten what it is to be truly Christian and are easily and happily satisfied with superficial or surface Christianity—by displaying our nativity scene in the house or the garden, but not in the garden or house of our soul. We wish others “Merry Christmas” superficially, without really thinking of its real meaning or what we should be wishing by a “Merry Christmas.”
Once this secular and materialistic disease or virus has been caught, it is extremely hard to eliminate. Few are the souls that spend holidays in the spirit commanded by Holy Scripture: “If I partake with thanksgiving, why am I evil spoken of, for that for which I give thanks? Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of God!” (1 Corinthians 10:30-31). Our holy days have become mere holidays. We have removed the spiritual and are left with the material. We have nothing other than the feathers without the bird.
We see this falling from grace with God’s own Chosen People, the Israelites, in their exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land, whereby they increasingly became carnal and materialistic in their thoughts and desires—which resulted in God keeping them ‘lost’ in the desert wilderness for forty-years, until all of the original people who had left Egypt had died as a punishment. Only two of the original families out of millions of people who left Egypt, entered the Promised Land. St. Paul warns us of repeating that grave mistake:
“For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea. And all in Moses were baptized, in the cloud and in the sea. And all did eat the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink; and they drank of the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was [a figure of] Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased―for they were overthrown in the desert! Now these things were done in a figure of us, that we should not covet evil things as they also coveted! Neither become ye idolaters, as some of them, as it is written: ‘The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play!’ Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed fornication, and there fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them tempted, and perished by the serpents. Neither do you murmur as some of them murmured, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them in figure: and they are written for our correction, upon whom the ends of the world are come! Wherefore he that thinks himself to stand, let him take heed lest he fall! Let no temptation take hold on you!” (1 Corinthians 10:1-13).
Holy Days or Holidays? Which is it to be?
No doubt you have been raised in the tenets and attitudes of the American Culture. Yet, because of your limited and superficial knowledge of history, that culture—like most of the cultures of the world (nobody is picking on Americans here)—that culture is not a Catholic culture, it is a hybrid, compromised, secularized culture, a worldly culture. The natural logical consequences or reasoning then follows—if it is a worldly culture, then who is behind it? Who is the “prince of this world”? Our Lord tells us clearly: “Jesus answered: ‘My kingdom is not of this world!” (John 18:36). “The prince of this world cometh, and in Me he has not anything … The prince of this world is already judged ... Now shall the prince of this world be cast out!” (John 12:31; 16:11; 14:30). We too must cast out the prince of this world and the worldly influence that prince uses to seduce us into worldliness: “The devil took Jesus up into a very high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them” (Matthew 4:8). Jesus refused the temptation, and, as He would later say: “The cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts after other things entering in choke the word of God, and it is made fruitless” (Mark 4:19). “What does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26). For the most part, the culture of the world—no matter which continent or country you choose to consider—is a culture infiltrated and fabricated by the devil. Holy Scripture make that irrefutably clear!
It because of this universal secularization of holy days by which holy days are reduced to mere holidays of a secular nature, that we have also secularized our tongues and we no longer speak of spiritual things at our gatherings, but only worldly things. “They are of the world, therefore of the world they speak, and the world hears them!” (1 John 4:5). The problem is that we are not meant to be of this world, we not meant to love this world, we are not meant to follow the attitudes and fashions of this world! Our Lord and Holy Scripture make this abundantly clear.
Christ Seeks to Save the World, Not Canonize the World
Christ came into the world to save the world from the world. He has compassion on the world: “For God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting. For God sent not His Son into the world, to judge the world, but that the world may be saved by Him” (John 3:16-17). “I came not to judge the world, but to save the world” (John 12:47), so that “all the world may be made subject to God” (Romans 3:19). “Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present wicked world” (Galatians 1:4).
Yet, even though Christ had compassion for the world, He did not have compassion for the spirit of worldliness. He came to extract us from the world, not to cement us in the world. “This is the judgment―because the light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light: for their works were evil” (John 3:19). “He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not … He came unto His own, and His own received him not … the light shone in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:5-11).
God loved the world, but the world hated God and preferred evil pleasures: “The world cannot hate you; but Me it hateth: because I give testimony of it, that the works thereof are evil” (John 7:7). “If the world hates you, know ye, that it has hated Me before you … If you had been of the world, the world would love its own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:19).
Christ, at the Last Supper (think “Thanksgiving”) said: “The spirit of truth, the world cannot receive” (John 14:17). “I have manifested Thy Name, Father, to the men whom Thou hast given Me out of the world ... Thine they were, and to Me Thou gavest them … I am not of the world, and these are in the world … I pray for them … I pray not for the world, but for them whom Thou hast given Me … I have given them thy word, and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world; as I also am not of the world” (John 17:6-14).
This is why His Apostles hit home the same hard message: “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4). “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life, which is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:15-16).
The Holiday Season is a Reunion of Two Opposing Sides
The Church and even the world paint this upcoming holiday season in the colors of peace and joy. One would wish that it not be so, but, sadly, it is so. For the most part (exceptions do exist) this is mere wishful thinking and clever packaging. The upcoming secular holiday season will bring together persons who are camped on opposite sides of the divide—God and the world. Does that sound a little radical? Well listen to Our radical Lord:
“Think ye, that I am come to give peace on Earth? I tell you, no; but separation! For there shall be from henceforth five in one house divided: three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against his father, the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law!” (Luke 12:51-53).
“Do not think that I came to send peace upon Earth! I came not to send peace, but the sword! For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man’s enemies shall be they of his own household. He that loves father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me; and he that loves son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me!” (Matthew 10:34-37).
“If the world hates you, know ye, that it has hated Me before you. If you had been of the world, the world would love its own―but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:18-19).
And as Jesus says: “Not everyone that says to Me: ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven: but he that does the will of My Father Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Many will say to Me in that day: ‘Lord! Lord! Have not we prophesied in Thy Name, and cast out devils in Thy Name, and done many miracles in Thy Name?’ And then will I profess unto them: ‘I never knew you! Depart from Me!” (Matthew 7:21-23). For “why do you call Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46).
Retreating into a Religious Shell
We can clearly see two opposite sides of the fence—God and mammon—and the followers of each side will come to together to ‘celebrate’ the secular holiday season, and they will keep it secular, for to try to make it truly religious will make sparks fly and tongues wag uncontrollably! The common worldwide culture has either compromised the religious aspect of the upcoming season and made it mainly secular while still giving religion a cameo appearance for a few minutes; or it has almost totally removed religion out of the picture—though a few exceptions still exist where religion has pride of place, but rarely is not compromised to some degree.
The few who might still be faithfully spiritual, have little or no courage to tackle the secular tidal wave of secular talk or worldly tsunami of tongues that they do and will encounter over the holiday season. They feel outnumbered and so, tortoise-like, they retreat into a shell of embarrassed silence. Human respect binds their hands, legs and tongues—of which Our Lady of Good Success said: “Cursed human respect! Which makes one ask: ‘What will others say about this?’”
Our fearful human respect gives sway to what others say, because we want to be accepted by family and relatives, and so we let them have their secular, religiously indifferent, or even irreligious way—just because “it’s family!”—forgetting Our Lord’s words: ““Everyone therefore that shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father Who is in Heaven. But he that shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father Who is in Heaven! Do not think that I came to send peace upon Earth! I came not to send peace, but the sword! For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man’s enemies shall be they of his own household. He that loves father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me; and he that loves son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me!” (Matthew 10:32-37).
Cursed Human Respect
Over the years, that which Our Lady of Good Success calls “cursed human respect”, has eroded the spiritual from our families, as year after year we make more and more concessions to the more worldly-minded members of our families, relatives and friends. We are ashamed of being more religious, and so to please and accommodate them we become more worldly and more permissive of worldly mannerisms and things. We are afraid of friction, but the friction will inevitably come and at some point we will have to “put on the brakes”—and brakes operate on friction (brake pads against the disc of the car wheel causing great heat). So in the end the brakes are applied—but much too late and at the expense of much spirituality being lost, which, in most cases, will never be “reeled back in” or recovered. And God will judge us on what we have lost! We are the keepers of our brothers and sisters—and we cannot, like Cain, protest the contrary to God.
Who will make a stand for Christ during this holiday season? Who will face the barrage of rolled-eyes, raised eyebrows, shaking heads, scornful tongues by trying to make the upcoming holiday season what it should be—a religious, Christ centered, God focused, season, that has the courage to cast out worldliness and faithfully follow the dictates of Holy Scripture: “Know also this, that, in the last days, shall come dangerous times. Men shall be lovers of themselves, covetous, haughty, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, wicked, without affection, without peace, slanderers, incontinent, unmerciful, without kindness, traitors, stubborn, puffed up, and lovers of pleasures more than of God―having an appearance indeed of godliness, but denying the power thereof. Now these avoid!” (2 Timothy 3:1-5). “Bear not the yoke with unbelievers. For what participation has justice with injustice? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? And what concord has Christ with Belial? Or what part have the faithful with the unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God; as God says: ‘I will dwell in them, and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people!’ Wherefore, ‘Go out from among them, and be ye separate!’ says the Lord” (2 Corinthians 6:14-17).
We are partially in the mess that we are in because we have compromised Christ, we have forced Him to accept Belial, we have dimmed the light of the Faith to please those who love darkness, we shut our mouths about religion to please the unbeliever. God is not pleased. “We have not received the spirit of this world, but the Spirit that is of God; that we may know the things that are given us from God” (1 Corinthians 2:12). “For whatsoever is born of God, overcomes the world: and this is the victory which overcomes the world, our Faith!” (1 John 5:4). “You are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world” (John 15:18-19). “Use this world, as if you used it not: for the fashion of this world passes away” (1 Corinthians 7:31). “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4). “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life, which is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:15-16).
We can put together a download ― A MANUAL FOR THANKSGIVING DAY ― which you will find on the DOWNLOADS page (click here) ― that is full of suggestions, quotes, readings, etc., to help you sanctify and Christianize this Thanksging Day which is overwhelmingly secular gateway to materialism (Black Friday, Business Saturday, Shopping Sunday, and Cyber Monday).
Thanksgiving Tongue- Talking-Terrorists?
Meanwhile, back at the party! Have you ever thought of seeing your guests, over the holiday season, as potential terrorists? Tongue-Terrorists! Tongue-Talking-Terrorists! Thanksgiving Tongue-Talking-Terrorists! They come armed with a two-edged tongue, sharpened and ready to use! They should be asked to show their tongue at the door, for inspection!! “A slippery mouth works ruin” (Proverbs 26:28)—and during this holiday season many “slippery mouths: will surface! “Many have fallen by the edge of the sword, but not so many as have perished by their own tongue!” (Ecclesiasticus 28:22). As St. James so truly says:
“If any man think himself to be religious, not bridling his tongue, but deceiving his own heart, this man’s religion is vain!” (James 1:26). “For in many things we all offend. If any man offends not in word, the same is a perfect man. Even so the tongue is indeed a little member, and boasts great things. Behold how small a fire sets on aflame a great forest. And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue defiles the whole body, being set on fire by Hell. For every nature of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of the rest, is tamed, and hath been tamed, by the nature of man. But the tongue no man can tame, an unquiet evil, full of deadly poison. By it we bless God and the Father: and by it we curse men, who are made after the likeness of God. Out of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be!” (James 3:2-10).
The First Shedding of Blood
The first shedding of blood was not in war, nor was it in self-defense, but it was out of envy and began with the tongue. Abel and Cain both offered sacrifices to God. The sacrifice of Abel was pleasing to God, but Cain’s sacrifice was for some reason not pleasing to God. Out of bitterness, envy and anger, Cain initially lied to Abel, in order to get him to a suitable place for the murder. Then, once the lie had served its purpose, “Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and slew him. And the Lord said to Cain: ‘Where is thy brother Abel?’ And he answered: ‘I know not! Am I my brother’s keeper?’
And the Lord said to him: ‘What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth to Me from the earth! Now, therefore, cursed shalt thou be upon the Earth, which hath opened her mouth and received the blood of thy brother at thy hand. When thou shalt till it, it shall not yield to thee its fruit! A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be upon the Earth!’
“And Cain said to the Lord: ‘My iniquity is greater than that I may deserve pardon! Behold Thou dost cast me out this day from the face of the Earth, and I shall be hidden from Thy face, and I shall be a vagabond and a fugitive on the Earth! Everyone, therefore, that finds me, shall kill me!’
“And the Lord said to him: ‘No, it shall not be so: but whosoever shall kill Cain, shall be punished sevenfold!’ And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, that whosoever found him should not kill him. And Cain went out from the face of the Lord, and dwelt as a fugitive on the Earth” (Genesis 4:8-16).
Whatever You Do, You Do To Me!
We may take sins against fellow human beings lightly, yet Our Lord’s parable about the Sheep and the Goats says otherwise: “Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these My least brethren, you did it to Me!” and “As long as you did it not to one of these least, neither did you do it to Me!” (Matthew 25:40, 45).
Holy Scripture warns that “Six things there are, which the Lord hateth, and the seventh his soul detesteth: (1) Haughty eyes; (2) a lying tongue; (3) hands that shed innocent blood; (4) a heart that devises wicked plots; (5) feet that are swift to run into mischief; (6) a deceitful witness that utters lies; (7) and him that sows discord among brethren” (Proverbs 6:16-19). “The Lord hates a mouth with a double tongue” (Proverbs 8:13). You will encounter all of these sins during the forthcoming holiday season! The killing by shedding of innocent blood might not be physical blood, but it will be the “blood of a person’s reputation.”
As a consequence of these sins, the words of Isaias come to mind: “For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity: your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue utters iniquity!” (Isaias 59:3)—thoughts that bring the mind back to God’s words to Cain: “Now, therefore, cursed shalt thou be upon the Earth, which has opened her mouth and received the blood of thy brother at thy hand” (Genesis 4:11).
Sin Gives Us Bloody Hands
Our sins cost Our Lord His Precious Blood and thus, in a sense, when we sin, our hands are, so to speak, smeared with His Blood—not in a cleansing way, but in a polluted way. We see God speak in a similar vein to His prophet Ezechiel: “And the Lord spoke to me, saying: ‘Son of man, declare to them their wicked deeds, because … blood is on their hands!” (Ezechiel 23:36-37). How so? Why so? “Because and they have committed fornication with their idols: moreover also their children, whom they bore to Me, they have offered to them to be devoured. Yes, and they have done this to Me. They polluted My sanctuary on the same day, and profaned My Sabbaths. And when they sacrificed their children to their idols, and went into My sanctuary the same day to profane it―they did these things even in the midst of My house” (Ezechiel 23:36-39). “Judge them as shedders of blood are judged: because blood is on their hands” (Ezechiel 23:36-39).
Similarly, we have bloodied our hands by sacrificing to the idols of materialism, entertainment, excess partying and drinking—wherein there is no place for God, and the command of Holy Scripture is disregarded and lost: “Whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of God!” (1 Corinthians 10:30-31).
The Scourge of the Tongue—the Sins of the Mouth
How many people commit adultery? How many people have abortions or kill others? How many people steal? How many people commit acts of violence? How many people blaspheme? The numbers of these offenders fade away into insignificance when compared to the number of those persons who sin with their tongues! “For who is there that has not offended with his tongue?” (Ecclesiasticus 19:17). “Many have fallen by the edge of the sword, but not so many as have perished by their own tongue!” (Ecclesiasticus 28:22).
The Psalmist says: “My tongue is the pen of a writer that writes swiftly!” (Psalm 44:2). But what does the tongue write or produce? “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). Holy Scripture says that the “tongue is a piercing arrow” (Jeremias 9:8) and speaks of “the scourge of the tongue” (Job 5:21) and “the stroke of a whip makes a blue mark: but the stroke of the tongue will break the bones” (Ecclesiasticus 28:21). We speak of “tongue lashings”. Words are also compared to swords ― “For the word of God is more piercing than any two edged sword … the sword of the Spirit―which is the word of God” (Hebrews 4:12; Ephesians 6:17).
Yet our words can be swords too, and swords shed blood. Our words can be arrows, and arrows draw blood. “Slanderers … shed blood” (Ezechiel 22:9). “The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood” (Proverbs 12:6). “For when evil shall be sweet in his mouth, he will hide it under his tongue” (Job 20:12). “A slippery mouth works ruin” (Proverbs 26:28). “Their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are unprofitable thoughts” (Isaias 59:7). “Their throat is an open sepulcher: with their tongues they acted deceitfully; the poison of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and unhappiness in their ways” (Psalm 13:3). “The tongue of a third person hath disquieted man” (Ecclesiasticus 28:16). “A jealous woman is a scourge of the tongue which communicates with all” (Ecclesiasticus 26:9). “A tongue that bears witness brings death” (Ecclesiasticus 26:9) “which is stained with the blood of the innocent” (Numbers 35:33). “Upon whom have you opened your mouth wide, and put out your tongue? Are not you wicked children, a false seed?” (Isaias 57:4).
The Slippery Tongue Slips Into …
“The tongue of the fool is his ruin” (Ecclesiasticus 5:15). “Be not hasty in thy tongue” (Ecclesiasticus 4:34). “Be not called a whisperer, and be not caught in thy tongue and confounded” (Ecclesiasticus 5:16). “Who will set a guard before my mouth, and a sure seal upon my lips, that I fall not by them, and that my tongue destroy me not?” (Ecclesiasticus 22:33). “Blessed is he that has not slipped with his tongue” (Ecclesiasticus 25:11). “Hedge in thy ears with thorns, hear not a wicked tongue, and make doors and bars to thy mouth” (Ecclesiasticus 28:28). “Many have fallen by the edge of the sword, but not so many as have perished by their own tongue!” (Ecclesiasticus 28:22).
A Book With Bite!
There is a book that everyone should read—because “Many have fallen by the edge of the sword, but not so many as have perished by their own tongue!” (Ecclesiasticus 28:22). This book was written by a Swiss priest, FR. BELET OF THE DIOCESE OF BASLE, AND IS ENTITLED: SINS OF THE TONGUE—THE BACKBITING TONGUE. Some extracts will be quoted here below, if you would like to read the whole book (more of a booklet than a book) then click here. The next twelve or thirteen paragraphs are taken from the book.
The Backbiter’s Weapon
Backbiting inflicts great harm for it shoots three arrows in a single round and deals a triple death. Saint Bernard assures us of this: “Is this tongue not that of a viper? It is surely very fierce, for it kills three victims with a single sting. Is it not a sharp spear, for it pierces three men in a single throw. The backbiter’s tongue is a sharp sword, a double and even a triple sword, like General Joab’s lance that pierced Absalom as he hung in the oak tree.”
Painless Piercing
Certain experiments prove that magnets possess a mysterious and wonderful power. According to Jerome Cardan, if you rub a dagger with a magnet, those it pierces afterwards will not feel it: “In the home of Dr. Lawrence Guascus I saw a needle or a metal point rubbed with a magnet; one could then stick the needle or point into any part of the body without causing any pain. This seemed incredible to me, and I wanted to make sure it was true. So I took a needle, rubbed it with a magnet and stuck it into my arm. I felt the needle’s presence when it had penetrated completely, but I felt no pain whatsoever. In order to be really sure I turned the needle, still stuck in my arm, in every direction. But I felt nothing and shed not a drop of blood. Afterwards, only the point where the needle had entered could be seen.” Cardan adds that Alexander of Verona was the first to perform this experiment, in Milan: he rubbed a sword with oil in order to be able to wound and heal whoever he wished without any pain.
Backbiting resembles that dagger perfectly. You thrust it in, it enters and causes a wound to three people at once: the backbiter, his listener and the person he backbites. The most seriously wounded one of all, the backbiter, feels absolutely nothing.
Raphael Maffei relates that when Chinese warriors prepared for combat they entered with splendid apparel and elegant arms, carrying four swords on their harness and manipulating two at once with great skill.
But the backbiter’s tongue surpasses them by far. It carries not four swords, nor a hundred, nor six hundred, but thousands, for fear it will run out once it enters into combat. The backbiting tongue often lights such a conflagration that four thousand soldiers ― what am I saying, four thousand? ― forty thousand, even a hundred thousand will not suffice to put it out. A two-edged sword, a keen knife, a piercing arrow, a cane-stiletto, a sharp razor, and a quick biting tongue all bear a striking resemblance. Listen to the Psalmist: “They have bent their bow to shoot arrows.” As the bow strikes from far off and wounds a person unawares, the backbiting tongue attacks those who are absent and wreaks its havoc from a distance of many miles. Bending its bow in Germany, it strikes and wounds a Frenchman or a Spaniard in his own land. Its arrows fly across the sea, or rather they pierce all the way to heaven, for they attack God Himself and His Saints. “They set their mouthings in place of Heaven” (Psalm 72:9), says David. It also penetrates the very bowels of the earth and rends the dead in their tombs, for David adds, “Their pronouncements pierce the earth.” It buries the living, and it digs the dead out of their tombs.
The Devil’s Basin
The backbiter is a beetle and a leech. Saint John Chrysostom remarks, “Everyone flees a backbiter like unhealthy mud, like a leech that feeds on blood, a beetle that feeds in the mire ― that is, on others’ defects.” As for you, act like bees: gather flowers from thorns and use them to make your honey.
Guillaume Perald says, “The mouth of the backbiter and slanderer is the basin the devil uses to wash his hands.” That basin contains not holy water, but the impure water of detraction. The devil pours this filthy water onto many; not on their face, true, but on their back. For the backbiter harms people who are absent, not present, just as the leech draws blood from behind. Now, let all who are in the habit of backbiting others learn that oftentimes those who reveal the crimes of others are more sinful than those who commit them.
Contempt of Charity
The Psalmist goes on to say, “They scoff and speak evil; outrage from on high they threaten” (Psalm 72:8). When its fury is roused, a raging bull lifts its head and casts terrible eyes at its prey, aiming at him and rampaging against him with all its might. Thus does the backbiter move in with head held high; stifling the voice of his conscience, the things he has meditated in his heart spew from his mouth in contempt of every law of Christian charity.
The backbiting tongue has chosen the very motto of Death as its own: “I spare no one!” Priest or judge, known or unknown, religious or worldling, friend or foe, none of that matters to him. The backbiter spares nothing and no one, not even his father and mother. Why is this so? Because he enjoys talking, so speaking evil gratifies him. He considers it a pleasure when he finds something to criticize in others. He is filled with joy when he can invent and relate things that do not even exist.
The Sword and the Dog
“O Lord,” cries David, “rescue my soul from the sword, my only one from the grip of the dog!” (Psalm 21:21). Cassiodorus says that Saint Augustine declares, “The sword is the backbiter’s tongue, and the dog is the backbiter himself.” Why does David ask to be rescued from the grip of the dog? We could understand if he had said a bear or a lion, but why be so afraid of a dog? He is right after a fashion, however. The bear and the lion are naturally fierce, but a dog may often sidle peacefully up to you and suddenly bite your leg. If it is a bulldog, it will square off against you and attack your head. David knew this type of dog from experience. He knew Saul, Semeias, Absalom, Seba, Achitophel and Doeg; they were purebred dogs, which are the most troublesome by far.
Excuses, Excuses…
Do not excuse yourself by saying, “But these are only petty sins,” for a little spark is often enough to produce a conflagration. “Behold how small a fire kindleth a great wood. And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity … and inflameth the wheel of our nativity, being set on fire by Hell” (James 3:5-6). This is always true with the backbiting tongue. You say they are petty sins. So if you knew more serious things, wouldn’t you say them? No, wounding your neighbor’s reputation, even lightly, is no little thing. Killing someone with the pen is no less a homicide than killing him with the sword.
Cassian was killed by the hand of a child and pierced with little wounds, but he was no less dead than if he had fallen beneath the hand of Hector or Achilles. The weaker the hand that strikes, the slower the death and the more painful the torment. The smaller the pinpricks of backbiting may seem, the more dangerous the wounds they make. God never lets them go unpunished. Scripture tells us, “He who speaks against his brother, or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law” (James 4:11).
[Here ends the extended series of quotes from Sins of the Tongue—the Backbiting Tongue by Fr. Belet].
As we enter the American holiday season, which encompasses Thanksgiving and Christmas, we also, sadly, enter the “Season of the Tongue” when, in family or social get-togethers, there are more helpings of the tongue that are served than there are helpings of turkey. Spicy food is served with spicy gossip! A sweet glass of wine is accompanied by a bitter whine! Pumpkin pie and an exaggerated lie! “Bite into your turkey and bite your tongue!” could and should be the motto for this tongue-wagging season.
We would do well to remember the words of St. James on the tongue: “We all sin in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is a perfect person, able to keep their whole body in check. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn and guide the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the ship’s pilot wants the ship to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it can cause great damage. Consider what a great forest can be set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by Hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be!” (James 3:2-10).
Spice is Not Always Nice
Thanksgiving and Christmas is not just about spicy food, but also about spicy conversation. Spice can be nice—if used in moderation—and the same goes for conversation. St. Francis de Sales—an appropriate saint for this season of “Sales”—tells us: “There is a light-hearted talk, full of modest life and gaiety, and which we should call good conversation, by which we may find an innocent and kindly amusement out of the trifling occurrences which human imperfections afford.” (St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, Book 3, Chapter 27, “Of Unseemly Words, And The Respect Due To Others”).
As St. Francis de Sales points out, there is nothing wrong with light-hearted, amusing, uplifting talk—but he also points out that this can quickly cross the boundary from virtue to sin, by degenerating into hurtful talk by overdoing it or exaggeration, or because of envy, grudges, etc. “Only beware of letting this seemly mirth go too far, till it becomes ridicule. Ridicule excites mirth at the expense of one’s neighbor; acceptable mirth and playful fun never lose sight of a trustful, kindly courtesy, which can wound no one.”
Holidays Have Fallen From Grace
The problem with the upcoming holiday season is the fact that, by and large, it has suffered a “falling from grace” in the sense that it is more secular than it is spiritual—and nobody seems to notice or care about that “fall from grace”, because everyone participates in that secular, materialistic focus. We have forgotten what it is to be truly Christian and are easily and happily satisfied with superficial or surface Christianity—by displaying our nativity scene in the house or the garden, but not in the garden or house of our soul. We wish others “Merry Christmas” superficially, without really thinking of its real meaning or what we should be wishing by a “Merry Christmas.”
Once this secular and materialistic disease or virus has been caught, it is extremely hard to eliminate. Few are the souls that spend holidays in the spirit commanded by Holy Scripture: “If I partake with thanksgiving, why am I evil spoken of, for that for which I give thanks? Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of God!” (1 Corinthians 10:30-31). Our holy days have become mere holidays. We have removed the spiritual and are left with the material. We have nothing other than the feathers without the bird.
We see this falling from grace with God’s own Chosen People, the Israelites, in their exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land, whereby they increasingly became carnal and materialistic in their thoughts and desires—which resulted in God keeping them ‘lost’ in the desert wilderness for forty-years, until all of the original people who had left Egypt had died as a punishment. Only two of the original families out of millions of people who left Egypt, entered the Promised Land. St. Paul warns us of repeating that grave mistake:
“For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea. And all in Moses were baptized, in the cloud and in the sea. And all did eat the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink; and they drank of the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was [a figure of] Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased―for they were overthrown in the desert! Now these things were done in a figure of us, that we should not covet evil things as they also coveted! Neither become ye idolaters, as some of them, as it is written: ‘The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play!’ Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed fornication, and there fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them tempted, and perished by the serpents. Neither do you murmur as some of them murmured, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them in figure: and they are written for our correction, upon whom the ends of the world are come! Wherefore he that thinks himself to stand, let him take heed lest he fall! Let no temptation take hold on you!” (1 Corinthians 10:1-13).
Holy Days or Holidays? Which is it to be?
No doubt you have been raised in the tenets and attitudes of the American Culture. Yet, because of your limited and superficial knowledge of history, that culture—like most of the cultures of the world (nobody is picking on Americans here)—that culture is not a Catholic culture, it is a hybrid, compromised, secularized culture, a worldly culture. The natural logical consequences or reasoning then follows—if it is a worldly culture, then who is behind it? Who is the “prince of this world”? Our Lord tells us clearly: “Jesus answered: ‘My kingdom is not of this world!” (John 18:36). “The prince of this world cometh, and in Me he has not anything … The prince of this world is already judged ... Now shall the prince of this world be cast out!” (John 12:31; 16:11; 14:30). We too must cast out the prince of this world and the worldly influence that prince uses to seduce us into worldliness: “The devil took Jesus up into a very high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them” (Matthew 4:8). Jesus refused the temptation, and, as He would later say: “The cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts after other things entering in choke the word of God, and it is made fruitless” (Mark 4:19). “What does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffers the loss of his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26). For the most part, the culture of the world—no matter which continent or country you choose to consider—is a culture infiltrated and fabricated by the devil. Holy Scripture make that irrefutably clear!
It because of this universal secularization of holy days by which holy days are reduced to mere holidays of a secular nature, that we have also secularized our tongues and we no longer speak of spiritual things at our gatherings, but only worldly things. “They are of the world, therefore of the world they speak, and the world hears them!” (1 John 4:5). The problem is that we are not meant to be of this world, we not meant to love this world, we are not meant to follow the attitudes and fashions of this world! Our Lord and Holy Scripture make this abundantly clear.
Christ Seeks to Save the World, Not Canonize the World
Christ came into the world to save the world from the world. He has compassion on the world: “For God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting. For God sent not His Son into the world, to judge the world, but that the world may be saved by Him” (John 3:16-17). “I came not to judge the world, but to save the world” (John 12:47), so that “all the world may be made subject to God” (Romans 3:19). “Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present wicked world” (Galatians 1:4).
Yet, even though Christ had compassion for the world, He did not have compassion for the spirit of worldliness. He came to extract us from the world, not to cement us in the world. “This is the judgment―because the light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light: for their works were evil” (John 3:19). “He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not … He came unto His own, and His own received him not … the light shone in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:5-11).
God loved the world, but the world hated God and preferred evil pleasures: “The world cannot hate you; but Me it hateth: because I give testimony of it, that the works thereof are evil” (John 7:7). “If the world hates you, know ye, that it has hated Me before you … If you had been of the world, the world would love its own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:19).
Christ, at the Last Supper (think “Thanksgiving”) said: “The spirit of truth, the world cannot receive” (John 14:17). “I have manifested Thy Name, Father, to the men whom Thou hast given Me out of the world ... Thine they were, and to Me Thou gavest them … I am not of the world, and these are in the world … I pray for them … I pray not for the world, but for them whom Thou hast given Me … I have given them thy word, and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world; as I also am not of the world” (John 17:6-14).
This is why His Apostles hit home the same hard message: “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4). “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life, which is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:15-16).
The Holiday Season is a Reunion of Two Opposing Sides
The Church and even the world paint this upcoming holiday season in the colors of peace and joy. One would wish that it not be so, but, sadly, it is so. For the most part (exceptions do exist) this is mere wishful thinking and clever packaging. The upcoming secular holiday season will bring together persons who are camped on opposite sides of the divide—God and the world. Does that sound a little radical? Well listen to Our radical Lord:
“Think ye, that I am come to give peace on Earth? I tell you, no; but separation! For there shall be from henceforth five in one house divided: three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against his father, the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law!” (Luke 12:51-53).
“Do not think that I came to send peace upon Earth! I came not to send peace, but the sword! For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man’s enemies shall be they of his own household. He that loves father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me; and he that loves son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me!” (Matthew 10:34-37).
“If the world hates you, know ye, that it has hated Me before you. If you had been of the world, the world would love its own―but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:18-19).
And as Jesus says: “Not everyone that says to Me: ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven: but he that does the will of My Father Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Many will say to Me in that day: ‘Lord! Lord! Have not we prophesied in Thy Name, and cast out devils in Thy Name, and done many miracles in Thy Name?’ And then will I profess unto them: ‘I never knew you! Depart from Me!” (Matthew 7:21-23). For “why do you call Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46).
Retreating into a Religious Shell
We can clearly see two opposite sides of the fence—God and mammon—and the followers of each side will come to together to ‘celebrate’ the secular holiday season, and they will keep it secular, for to try to make it truly religious will make sparks fly and tongues wag uncontrollably! The common worldwide culture has either compromised the religious aspect of the upcoming season and made it mainly secular while still giving religion a cameo appearance for a few minutes; or it has almost totally removed religion out of the picture—though a few exceptions still exist where religion has pride of place, but rarely is not compromised to some degree.
The few who might still be faithfully spiritual, have little or no courage to tackle the secular tidal wave of secular talk or worldly tsunami of tongues that they do and will encounter over the holiday season. They feel outnumbered and so, tortoise-like, they retreat into a shell of embarrassed silence. Human respect binds their hands, legs and tongues—of which Our Lady of Good Success said: “Cursed human respect! Which makes one ask: ‘What will others say about this?’”
Our fearful human respect gives sway to what others say, because we want to be accepted by family and relatives, and so we let them have their secular, religiously indifferent, or even irreligious way—just because “it’s family!”—forgetting Our Lord’s words: ““Everyone therefore that shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father Who is in Heaven. But he that shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father Who is in Heaven! Do not think that I came to send peace upon Earth! I came not to send peace, but the sword! For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man’s enemies shall be they of his own household. He that loves father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me; and he that loves son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me!” (Matthew 10:32-37).
Cursed Human Respect
Over the years, that which Our Lady of Good Success calls “cursed human respect”, has eroded the spiritual from our families, as year after year we make more and more concessions to the more worldly-minded members of our families, relatives and friends. We are ashamed of being more religious, and so to please and accommodate them we become more worldly and more permissive of worldly mannerisms and things. We are afraid of friction, but the friction will inevitably come and at some point we will have to “put on the brakes”—and brakes operate on friction (brake pads against the disc of the car wheel causing great heat). So in the end the brakes are applied—but much too late and at the expense of much spirituality being lost, which, in most cases, will never be “reeled back in” or recovered. And God will judge us on what we have lost! We are the keepers of our brothers and sisters—and we cannot, like Cain, protest the contrary to God.
Who will make a stand for Christ during this holiday season? Who will face the barrage of rolled-eyes, raised eyebrows, shaking heads, scornful tongues by trying to make the upcoming holiday season what it should be—a religious, Christ centered, God focused, season, that has the courage to cast out worldliness and faithfully follow the dictates of Holy Scripture: “Know also this, that, in the last days, shall come dangerous times. Men shall be lovers of themselves, covetous, haughty, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, wicked, without affection, without peace, slanderers, incontinent, unmerciful, without kindness, traitors, stubborn, puffed up, and lovers of pleasures more than of God―having an appearance indeed of godliness, but denying the power thereof. Now these avoid!” (2 Timothy 3:1-5). “Bear not the yoke with unbelievers. For what participation has justice with injustice? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? And what concord has Christ with Belial? Or what part have the faithful with the unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God; as God says: ‘I will dwell in them, and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people!’ Wherefore, ‘Go out from among them, and be ye separate!’ says the Lord” (2 Corinthians 6:14-17).
We are partially in the mess that we are in because we have compromised Christ, we have forced Him to accept Belial, we have dimmed the light of the Faith to please those who love darkness, we shut our mouths about religion to please the unbeliever. God is not pleased. “We have not received the spirit of this world, but the Spirit that is of God; that we may know the things that are given us from God” (1 Corinthians 2:12). “For whatsoever is born of God, overcomes the world: and this is the victory which overcomes the world, our Faith!” (1 John 5:4). “You are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world” (John 15:18-19). “Use this world, as if you used it not: for the fashion of this world passes away” (1 Corinthians 7:31). “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4). “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life, which is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:15-16).
We can put together a download ― A MANUAL FOR THANKSGIVING DAY ― which you will find on the DOWNLOADS page (click here) ― that is full of suggestions, quotes, readings, etc., to help you sanctify and Christianize this Thanksging Day which is overwhelmingly secular gateway to materialism (Black Friday, Business Saturday, Shopping Sunday, and Cyber Monday).
Thanksgiving Tongue- Talking-Terrorists?
Meanwhile, back at the party! Have you ever thought of seeing your guests, over the holiday season, as potential terrorists? Tongue-Terrorists! Tongue-Talking-Terrorists! Thanksgiving Tongue-Talking-Terrorists! They come armed with a two-edged tongue, sharpened and ready to use! They should be asked to show their tongue at the door, for inspection!! “A slippery mouth works ruin” (Proverbs 26:28)—and during this holiday season many “slippery mouths: will surface! “Many have fallen by the edge of the sword, but not so many as have perished by their own tongue!” (Ecclesiasticus 28:22). As St. James so truly says:
“If any man think himself to be religious, not bridling his tongue, but deceiving his own heart, this man’s religion is vain!” (James 1:26). “For in many things we all offend. If any man offends not in word, the same is a perfect man. Even so the tongue is indeed a little member, and boasts great things. Behold how small a fire sets on aflame a great forest. And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue defiles the whole body, being set on fire by Hell. For every nature of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of the rest, is tamed, and hath been tamed, by the nature of man. But the tongue no man can tame, an unquiet evil, full of deadly poison. By it we bless God and the Father: and by it we curse men, who are made after the likeness of God. Out of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be!” (James 3:2-10).
The First Shedding of Blood
The first shedding of blood was not in war, nor was it in self-defense, but it was out of envy and began with the tongue. Abel and Cain both offered sacrifices to God. The sacrifice of Abel was pleasing to God, but Cain’s sacrifice was for some reason not pleasing to God. Out of bitterness, envy and anger, Cain initially lied to Abel, in order to get him to a suitable place for the murder. Then, once the lie had served its purpose, “Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and slew him. And the Lord said to Cain: ‘Where is thy brother Abel?’ And he answered: ‘I know not! Am I my brother’s keeper?’
And the Lord said to him: ‘What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth to Me from the earth! Now, therefore, cursed shalt thou be upon the Earth, which hath opened her mouth and received the blood of thy brother at thy hand. When thou shalt till it, it shall not yield to thee its fruit! A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be upon the Earth!’
“And Cain said to the Lord: ‘My iniquity is greater than that I may deserve pardon! Behold Thou dost cast me out this day from the face of the Earth, and I shall be hidden from Thy face, and I shall be a vagabond and a fugitive on the Earth! Everyone, therefore, that finds me, shall kill me!’
“And the Lord said to him: ‘No, it shall not be so: but whosoever shall kill Cain, shall be punished sevenfold!’ And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, that whosoever found him should not kill him. And Cain went out from the face of the Lord, and dwelt as a fugitive on the Earth” (Genesis 4:8-16).
Whatever You Do, You Do To Me!
We may take sins against fellow human beings lightly, yet Our Lord’s parable about the Sheep and the Goats says otherwise: “Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these My least brethren, you did it to Me!” and “As long as you did it not to one of these least, neither did you do it to Me!” (Matthew 25:40, 45).
Holy Scripture warns that “Six things there are, which the Lord hateth, and the seventh his soul detesteth: (1) Haughty eyes; (2) a lying tongue; (3) hands that shed innocent blood; (4) a heart that devises wicked plots; (5) feet that are swift to run into mischief; (6) a deceitful witness that utters lies; (7) and him that sows discord among brethren” (Proverbs 6:16-19). “The Lord hates a mouth with a double tongue” (Proverbs 8:13). You will encounter all of these sins during the forthcoming holiday season! The killing by shedding of innocent blood might not be physical blood, but it will be the “blood of a person’s reputation.”
As a consequence of these sins, the words of Isaias come to mind: “For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity: your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue utters iniquity!” (Isaias 59:3)—thoughts that bring the mind back to God’s words to Cain: “Now, therefore, cursed shalt thou be upon the Earth, which has opened her mouth and received the blood of thy brother at thy hand” (Genesis 4:11).
Sin Gives Us Bloody Hands
Our sins cost Our Lord His Precious Blood and thus, in a sense, when we sin, our hands are, so to speak, smeared with His Blood—not in a cleansing way, but in a polluted way. We see God speak in a similar vein to His prophet Ezechiel: “And the Lord spoke to me, saying: ‘Son of man, declare to them their wicked deeds, because … blood is on their hands!” (Ezechiel 23:36-37). How so? Why so? “Because and they have committed fornication with their idols: moreover also their children, whom they bore to Me, they have offered to them to be devoured. Yes, and they have done this to Me. They polluted My sanctuary on the same day, and profaned My Sabbaths. And when they sacrificed their children to their idols, and went into My sanctuary the same day to profane it―they did these things even in the midst of My house” (Ezechiel 23:36-39). “Judge them as shedders of blood are judged: because blood is on their hands” (Ezechiel 23:36-39).
Similarly, we have bloodied our hands by sacrificing to the idols of materialism, entertainment, excess partying and drinking—wherein there is no place for God, and the command of Holy Scripture is disregarded and lost: “Whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of God!” (1 Corinthians 10:30-31).
The Scourge of the Tongue—the Sins of the Mouth
How many people commit adultery? How many people have abortions or kill others? How many people steal? How many people commit acts of violence? How many people blaspheme? The numbers of these offenders fade away into insignificance when compared to the number of those persons who sin with their tongues! “For who is there that has not offended with his tongue?” (Ecclesiasticus 19:17). “Many have fallen by the edge of the sword, but not so many as have perished by their own tongue!” (Ecclesiasticus 28:22).
The Psalmist says: “My tongue is the pen of a writer that writes swiftly!” (Psalm 44:2). But what does the tongue write or produce? “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). Holy Scripture says that the “tongue is a piercing arrow” (Jeremias 9:8) and speaks of “the scourge of the tongue” (Job 5:21) and “the stroke of a whip makes a blue mark: but the stroke of the tongue will break the bones” (Ecclesiasticus 28:21). We speak of “tongue lashings”. Words are also compared to swords ― “For the word of God is more piercing than any two edged sword … the sword of the Spirit―which is the word of God” (Hebrews 4:12; Ephesians 6:17).
Yet our words can be swords too, and swords shed blood. Our words can be arrows, and arrows draw blood. “Slanderers … shed blood” (Ezechiel 22:9). “The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood” (Proverbs 12:6). “For when evil shall be sweet in his mouth, he will hide it under his tongue” (Job 20:12). “A slippery mouth works ruin” (Proverbs 26:28). “Their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are unprofitable thoughts” (Isaias 59:7). “Their throat is an open sepulcher: with their tongues they acted deceitfully; the poison of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and unhappiness in their ways” (Psalm 13:3). “The tongue of a third person hath disquieted man” (Ecclesiasticus 28:16). “A jealous woman is a scourge of the tongue which communicates with all” (Ecclesiasticus 26:9). “A tongue that bears witness brings death” (Ecclesiasticus 26:9) “which is stained with the blood of the innocent” (Numbers 35:33). “Upon whom have you opened your mouth wide, and put out your tongue? Are not you wicked children, a false seed?” (Isaias 57:4).
The Slippery Tongue Slips Into …
“The tongue of the fool is his ruin” (Ecclesiasticus 5:15). “Be not hasty in thy tongue” (Ecclesiasticus 4:34). “Be not called a whisperer, and be not caught in thy tongue and confounded” (Ecclesiasticus 5:16). “Who will set a guard before my mouth, and a sure seal upon my lips, that I fall not by them, and that my tongue destroy me not?” (Ecclesiasticus 22:33). “Blessed is he that has not slipped with his tongue” (Ecclesiasticus 25:11). “Hedge in thy ears with thorns, hear not a wicked tongue, and make doors and bars to thy mouth” (Ecclesiasticus 28:28). “Many have fallen by the edge of the sword, but not so many as have perished by their own tongue!” (Ecclesiasticus 28:22).
A Book With Bite!
There is a book that everyone should read—because “Many have fallen by the edge of the sword, but not so many as have perished by their own tongue!” (Ecclesiasticus 28:22). This book was written by a Swiss priest, FR. BELET OF THE DIOCESE OF BASLE, AND IS ENTITLED: SINS OF THE TONGUE—THE BACKBITING TONGUE. Some extracts will be quoted here below, if you would like to read the whole book (more of a booklet than a book) then click here. The next twelve or thirteen paragraphs are taken from the book.
The Backbiter’s Weapon
Backbiting inflicts great harm for it shoots three arrows in a single round and deals a triple death. Saint Bernard assures us of this: “Is this tongue not that of a viper? It is surely very fierce, for it kills three victims with a single sting. Is it not a sharp spear, for it pierces three men in a single throw. The backbiter’s tongue is a sharp sword, a double and even a triple sword, like General Joab’s lance that pierced Absalom as he hung in the oak tree.”
Painless Piercing
Certain experiments prove that magnets possess a mysterious and wonderful power. According to Jerome Cardan, if you rub a dagger with a magnet, those it pierces afterwards will not feel it: “In the home of Dr. Lawrence Guascus I saw a needle or a metal point rubbed with a magnet; one could then stick the needle or point into any part of the body without causing any pain. This seemed incredible to me, and I wanted to make sure it was true. So I took a needle, rubbed it with a magnet and stuck it into my arm. I felt the needle’s presence when it had penetrated completely, but I felt no pain whatsoever. In order to be really sure I turned the needle, still stuck in my arm, in every direction. But I felt nothing and shed not a drop of blood. Afterwards, only the point where the needle had entered could be seen.” Cardan adds that Alexander of Verona was the first to perform this experiment, in Milan: he rubbed a sword with oil in order to be able to wound and heal whoever he wished without any pain.
Backbiting resembles that dagger perfectly. You thrust it in, it enters and causes a wound to three people at once: the backbiter, his listener and the person he backbites. The most seriously wounded one of all, the backbiter, feels absolutely nothing.
Raphael Maffei relates that when Chinese warriors prepared for combat they entered with splendid apparel and elegant arms, carrying four swords on their harness and manipulating two at once with great skill.
But the backbiter’s tongue surpasses them by far. It carries not four swords, nor a hundred, nor six hundred, but thousands, for fear it will run out once it enters into combat. The backbiting tongue often lights such a conflagration that four thousand soldiers ― what am I saying, four thousand? ― forty thousand, even a hundred thousand will not suffice to put it out. A two-edged sword, a keen knife, a piercing arrow, a cane-stiletto, a sharp razor, and a quick biting tongue all bear a striking resemblance. Listen to the Psalmist: “They have bent their bow to shoot arrows.” As the bow strikes from far off and wounds a person unawares, the backbiting tongue attacks those who are absent and wreaks its havoc from a distance of many miles. Bending its bow in Germany, it strikes and wounds a Frenchman or a Spaniard in his own land. Its arrows fly across the sea, or rather they pierce all the way to heaven, for they attack God Himself and His Saints. “They set their mouthings in place of Heaven” (Psalm 72:9), says David. It also penetrates the very bowels of the earth and rends the dead in their tombs, for David adds, “Their pronouncements pierce the earth.” It buries the living, and it digs the dead out of their tombs.
The Devil’s Basin
The backbiter is a beetle and a leech. Saint John Chrysostom remarks, “Everyone flees a backbiter like unhealthy mud, like a leech that feeds on blood, a beetle that feeds in the mire ― that is, on others’ defects.” As for you, act like bees: gather flowers from thorns and use them to make your honey.
Guillaume Perald says, “The mouth of the backbiter and slanderer is the basin the devil uses to wash his hands.” That basin contains not holy water, but the impure water of detraction. The devil pours this filthy water onto many; not on their face, true, but on their back. For the backbiter harms people who are absent, not present, just as the leech draws blood from behind. Now, let all who are in the habit of backbiting others learn that oftentimes those who reveal the crimes of others are more sinful than those who commit them.
Contempt of Charity
The Psalmist goes on to say, “They scoff and speak evil; outrage from on high they threaten” (Psalm 72:8). When its fury is roused, a raging bull lifts its head and casts terrible eyes at its prey, aiming at him and rampaging against him with all its might. Thus does the backbiter move in with head held high; stifling the voice of his conscience, the things he has meditated in his heart spew from his mouth in contempt of every law of Christian charity.
The backbiting tongue has chosen the very motto of Death as its own: “I spare no one!” Priest or judge, known or unknown, religious or worldling, friend or foe, none of that matters to him. The backbiter spares nothing and no one, not even his father and mother. Why is this so? Because he enjoys talking, so speaking evil gratifies him. He considers it a pleasure when he finds something to criticize in others. He is filled with joy when he can invent and relate things that do not even exist.
The Sword and the Dog
“O Lord,” cries David, “rescue my soul from the sword, my only one from the grip of the dog!” (Psalm 21:21). Cassiodorus says that Saint Augustine declares, “The sword is the backbiter’s tongue, and the dog is the backbiter himself.” Why does David ask to be rescued from the grip of the dog? We could understand if he had said a bear or a lion, but why be so afraid of a dog? He is right after a fashion, however. The bear and the lion are naturally fierce, but a dog may often sidle peacefully up to you and suddenly bite your leg. If it is a bulldog, it will square off against you and attack your head. David knew this type of dog from experience. He knew Saul, Semeias, Absalom, Seba, Achitophel and Doeg; they were purebred dogs, which are the most troublesome by far.
Excuses, Excuses…
Do not excuse yourself by saying, “But these are only petty sins,” for a little spark is often enough to produce a conflagration. “Behold how small a fire kindleth a great wood. And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity … and inflameth the wheel of our nativity, being set on fire by Hell” (James 3:5-6). This is always true with the backbiting tongue. You say they are petty sins. So if you knew more serious things, wouldn’t you say them? No, wounding your neighbor’s reputation, even lightly, is no little thing. Killing someone with the pen is no less a homicide than killing him with the sword.
Cassian was killed by the hand of a child and pierced with little wounds, but he was no less dead than if he had fallen beneath the hand of Hector or Achilles. The weaker the hand that strikes, the slower the death and the more painful the torment. The smaller the pinpricks of backbiting may seem, the more dangerous the wounds they make. God never lets them go unpunished. Scripture tells us, “He who speaks against his brother, or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law” (James 4:11).
[Here ends the extended series of quotes from Sins of the Tongue—the Backbiting Tongue by Fr. Belet].
Article 24
Monday November 24th
The Last Thing You Want to Think About is the
First Thing You Should Think About!
Monday November 24th
The Last Thing You Want to Think About is the
First Thing You Should Think About!
All Good Things Come To An End
Since we have now entered the last days of the liturgical year—and since we are also living in the “End Times” of the world, as revealed by Our Lady to Sr. Lucia of Fatima—it is well worth considering the essential, yet distasteful and unpalatable, truth about the end of each person’s life.
Skulls on the Dining Table
Talking about “distasteful” and “unpalatable” brings to mind food and eating. The original (Pre-Vatican II) ritual and discipline for the religious Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, would require that at all meal times there would be placed a skull upon the dining table within visibility of all the religious present—so that, even though they were eating to live, they would be reminded that one day they would die. The Carmelites would also display a written sign which said: “Remember man that thou art dust and to dust thou shalt return!” ― which is what the priest says to us as he places a sign of the cross with ashes on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday. We have all been sentenced to death by Original Sin (Adam and Eve’s sin) and by the Actual Sins (our own personal sins). We may not be certain about where we will end up after death—Heaven, Purgatory or Hell—but we can be absolutely sure of dying.
Death is the end of our earthly life and it will send our soul before the Judgment Seat of God. It is a sobering thought that we should always keep before our eyes and not stuff it into the closet. St. Thomas Aquinas says that we should always keep our end or goal in view—for as we live, so shall we die; as we sow, so shall we reap: “Be not deceived, God is not mocked. For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that sows in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption. But he that sows in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:7-8).
One Thing You Can Bank On—You Will Die and Be Judged
Life’s one certainty is death. Everyone knows this, though not everyone knows what comes next. The rich shall die just as the poor. Some will die young, other will die in old age. Some will die alone, others will die amongst family and friends. Some will be martyred or murdered, others will die in accidents. Some will die when God wants them to die, others will commit suicide. Some will die quickly, others slowly. Some will die loved, other will die hated. Some will die healthy, others will die sick. Some will die with the Faith, others will be die without the Faith. Some of those with the Faith will die in a state of grace, others will die in a state of mortal sin. All of these variables are unknown to us—but what IS KNOWN is that WE WILL DIE! We will die just as Our Lord died and Our Lady died. Death is not the question—it will certainly come—the question is what will happen to us after death? Will we go to Heaven, to Purgatory, or to Hell?
St. Philip Neri wrote: “Beginners in religion ought to exercise themselves principally in meditation on the Four Last Things.” Traditionally, the sermons preached on the four Sundays of Advent were on the Four Last Things. The Church always taught that man should be prepared for the Novissima, the Four Last Things. It is what we pray in the Hail Mary: “Pray for us now and at the hour of our death.” It is a wise prayer, because Scriptures makes us this great promise: “In all thy works, remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin eternally” (Ecclesiasticus 7:40). That is to say, one who meditates on the Novissima will not go to Hell. It is quite a promise, and it is why the pastors of the Church have always preached on the Novissima, the Four Last Things. In the Age of Faith, consideration of the Novissima became a branch of learning, eschatology.
You may wonder what is the meaning of the sinister or mysterious sounding word “eschatology” (pronounced eska-tology). The word “eschatology” is derived from the Greek words “eschaton,” meaning “last,” and “logos” meaning “word” or “words”—thus “eschatology” means “words about the last times or end times” and refers in particular to the study of the end of our lives and the end of the world. Today students have chemistry, biology, social sciences. But there isn’t much attention paid to the eschatology, the study of the Last Things.
The World Will Not Last!
In this last week of the Liturgical Year, let us at least focus on what is last. One of the last things we want to hear is that our joys and pleasures will not last! O yes―we profess to be Catholics; we say we love God; we want to go to Heaven―but, for most persons, having to “walk-the-walk” and not just “talk-the-talk”, is the last thing on their minds and the last thing they want to do! They are quite happy in this world and would not mind living eternally in this world! To them, heaven can be found on Earth! Yet, our happiness―true happiness―cannot be found in this world. As Our Lady said to St. Bernadette at Lourdes: “I do not promise to make you happy in this life, but in the next!” In other words, Our Lady is not going to make Bernadette happy in this world, but only in Heaven.
Our Lord pretty much said the same thing: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth―where the rust, and moth consume, and where thieves break through and steal! But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven―where neither the rust nor moth doth consume, and where thieves do not break through, nor steal! For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:19-24).
That does not mean that we will not have some happy moments here on Earth―we will. However, lasting happiness, enduring happiness, eternal happiness, never-ending happiness can only be found in Heaven. Yet―as already stated―Heaven is the last thing on the minds of most people: “They are of the world! Therefore of the world they speak, and the world hears them!” (1 John 4:5). Most Catholics “are of the world and of the world they speak” ― they are Catholics in name only, but their heart is tied to the world. Yet Scripture warns us of loving the world: “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him!” (1 John 2:15). “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God!” (James 4:4) ... “Keep yourself unspotted from this world!” (James 1:27) … “Be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2) … “That we be not condemned with this world!” (1 Corinthians 11:32).
This world will not last, but will perish―and if your heart is tied to this world, then you will perish with it: “The Earth shall be worn away like a garment, and the inhabitants thereof shall perish in like manner―but My salvation shall be for ever!” (Isaias 51:6). “The day of the Lord shall come as a thief―in which the heavens shall pass away with great violence, and the elements shall be melted with heat, and the Earth and the works which are in it, shall be burnt up!” (2 Peter 3:10). “Unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3). “And I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth. For the first Heaven and the first Earth was gone, and the sea is now no more!” (Apocalypse 21:1). “Behold the Lord shall lay waste the Earth, and shall strip it, and shall afflict the face thereof! … With desolation shall the Earth be laid waste, and it shall be utterly spoiled―for the Lord has spoken this word! The Earth is weakened and faded away! The world faded away!” (Isaias 24:1-4). “Heaven and Earth shall pass away―but My words shall not pass away!” (Matthew 24:35).
Our Lady Bursts the Bubble of Blindness
Unfortunately and even tragically we live as though (1) this world will never end, (2) as though we will never die, and (3) as if there is no Hell! Yet Our Lady seeks to burst this bubble of diabolical disorientation―as is seen by these words spoken to the Venerable Mary of Agreda:
“Who is so dull and insipid as not to know the dangers of the worldly life! Wisdom seems far from the mind of carnal men―for, with a most perverse blindness, they continue to make much of the visible and fictitious good, and they torment themselves and are saddened, whenever it escapes them. This deceitful error has filled the Earth with lovers of the world; it has filled the world with avarice and concupiscence against the law of the Creator; it has made men insane in their desires―for all of them commonly chase after riches and earthly possessions. The rich glory in their riches and wish to be respected because of those riches. The poor strive to be and appear rich. The powerful seek to be feared, worshiped and obeyed. The learned and wise, and the powerful of this world, so reluctantly correct and amend their lives. They play-down their faults, extol their virtues and abilities. Some of them expect to be distinguished by God’s most intimate love, others, to be pardoned without penance!
“Because they never taste or recognize the highest and truest Good, they take no thought or appreciation of it. With this highest Good, the earthly love of sensible pleasures and riches is not compatible; nor the vain ostentation and pomp, which fascinates the bleary-eyed worldlings, who are so covetous of passing honors, and so full of ignorant admiration for costly grandeur. This blindness robs them of remembrance and affection toward these higher things, which could raise them above their worldliness! Eternal rest is incompatible with the shame of not having duly labored for its attainment! The foolishness of men makes them stupid and deaf, their impious malice makes them scoffers, and their unbelieving perversity turns them away from God.
“What foolishness is it, for men pursue so blindly the deceitful and vile delights of the senses! Be mindful of this dangerous human folly! Consider all delights and joys of the world as insanity, its laughing as sorrow, sensible enjoyment as self-deceit, as the source of foolishness, which intoxicates the heart and hinders and destroys all true wisdom! Guard thyself against the lovers of the world more than against fire―for the wisdom of the sons of this world is carnal and diabolical, and their ways lead to death! Many are the infidels, many the bad Catholics, many the hypocrites! Their inclinations and their blind love of visible things, hold them back. The sons of the world are ignorant, precisely because they are lovers of earthly riches. They feel and suffer the heavy weight of riches, which pins them to the Earth and drives them into its very bowels to seek gold and silver with great anxiety, sleeplessness, labors and sweat―as if they were not men, but wild beasts that do not know what they are suffering and doing. And if they are thus weighed down before acquiring riches, then how much more are they weighed down when they have come into possession of those riches and possessions? Such souls receive an earthly reward―but no heavenly reward! Let the countless numbers that have fallen into Hell with their burden, proclaim it!
“God knows that this insane love will pervert the greater part of the human race, who are lost by the vice of avarice and greed. In senseless fury they follow their pleasures, place no restraint on their passionate desires, and care not where they walk, even if to the most dangerous precipices. They never taste or recognize the highest and truest Good, they take no thought or appreciation of it. Weep in deepest sorrow over the ruin of so many souls absorbed in such dangerous tepidity! The wisdom of the flesh has made men ignorant, foolish and hostile to God. Man is full of blindest inclinations, and if he does not restrain them, he will cause his eternal perdition! Men are so taken up with their earthly and material life, that they do not feel any other evils except those on a physical and material nature. How many men whom the world has celebrated as great, powerful and wise have thrown themselves into the eternal darkness of Hell!
“What pretense or excuse will men advance for having forgotten their own eternal salvation? None of the mortals will have any excuse for their foolish negligence―and much less will the children of the Holy Catholic Church have an excuse, since they have received the Faith and yet show in their lives little difference from that of infidels and pagans! The faithful debase themselves to the level of worthless creatures! O insanity! All their life they labor and exert themselves to become more and more entangled in the snares of their passions, to be consumed in deceitful vanities and to deliver themselves over to an inextinguishable fire, death and everlasting perdition in Hell, as if all were a mere joke! They want it to procure for them the pleasures of this life as well as of eternal life! All of them commonly chase after riches and earthly possessions; claiming, thereby, merely to satisfy their needs―which is only a lame pretext for hiding their lack of interest in higher things, spiritual things. In reality they lie to themselves abominously, since they are seeking superfluous things that they do not really need and not what is really necessary!
“The faithful are in such a dangerous and dreadful state of carelessness! Do not think that it is written in vain: ‘Many are called, but few are chosen!’ Fear this sentence and renew in thy heart the care and zeal for thy salvation! Do not allow thyself to desire worldly things―a desire which seduces the human sense, disturbs the judgment and obscures reason. It will cause eternal perdition! The lovers of the world have subjected themselves and are following the standard and the fables of the devil! In the midst of this ruin, Hell has opened its mouth and the more it is fed, the more insatiable becomes its hunger! The number of fools is infinite, and the number of the damned is also uncountable!” (compilation of words of Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, taken from The Mystical City of God).
Yes! Insanity!
Our Lady succinctly hits the nail on the head! “O insanity! All their life they are more and more entangled in deceitful vanities and deliver themselves over to the inextinguishable fire of Hell, as it all were a mere joke! Do not think that it is written in vain: ‘Many are called, but few are chosen!’ They want it to procure for them the pleasures of this life as well as of eternal life! Let the countless numbers that have fallen into Hell with their burden, proclaim it! Many―whom the world has celebrated as great, powerful and wise―have thrown themselves into the eternal darkness of Hell! They have subjected themselves and are following the standard and the fables of the devil! Hell has opened its mouth and the more it is fed, the more insatiable becomes its hunger! The number of fools is infinite, and the number of the damned is also uncountable!”
Living Paradoxes―Walking Contradictions!
Yes―we are insane! We are living paradoxes! We are walking contradictions! We are lying hypocrites! We are the unfaithful faithful! Unbelieving believers! We know there is a God―but we often live as though there was no God! We know that we must love God with our whole soul, mind, heart and strength (Mark 12:30)―but, instead, we love ourselves and the world with our whole soul, mind, heart and strength! We know we should “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)―but we want to play without ceasing! We are told to “Seek first the Kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33)―but we first seek all that the world can offer us! We are told we “cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24)―but we have made a god out of mammon!
We are told that “the wages for sin is death” (Romans 6:23)―but we imagine that the wages of sin to be fun! We are told, “unless you do penance, you will perish” (Luke 13:3)―but we imagine that if do have fun we will perish! We are told, “Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat! Narrow is the gate and strait is the way that leadeth to life and few there are that find it!” (Matthew 7:13-14)―but we imagine almost everyone goes to Heaven and hardly anyone goes to Hell. We are told, “He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved―but he that believeth not shall be condemned!” (Mark 16:16)―but through false ecumenism we now imagine that any and all religions can lead a person to Heaven!
Yes―we are insane! Our Lady has repeatedly warned us of the terrible chastisements that are to come and she has given us instructions on how we could avoid it, or at least mitigate it ― but “fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7) “A fool laughs at instruction” (Proverbs 15:5). “A fool shall be filled with his own ways” (Proverbs 14:14). “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes!” (Proverbs 12:15). “The thought of a fool is sin” (Proverbs 24:9). “A fool will laugh at sin!” (Proverbs 14:9). “The fool said in his heart: ‘There is no God!’” (Psalm 52:1). “The fool walks in darkness!” (Ecclesiastes 2:14). “The number of fools is infinite!” (Ecclesiastes 1:15). “Understand, ye senseless among the people! And you fools, be wise at last!” (Psalms 93:8). Yes―be wise at last! Since we find ourselves in the LAST week of the Liturgical Year, it is a good time to, AT LAST, become wise! It is a good time to AT LAST see that we have been foolishly seduced by the devil, the world, and our own selves!
A New Liturgical Year―A New You!
God is always trying to bring good out of evil! Let’s face it―we are evil. Does that insult you? Well, Our Lord called the world “evil” saying: “I give testimony of the world, that the works thereof are evil!” (John 7:7). He even called all of his hearers by the word “evil” ― “If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father from Heaven give the good Spirit to them that ask Him?” (Luke 11:13). The word “evil” ― philosophically defined ― means “an absence of a good that is due or expected from someone or something.” In that sense, we are all evil―because we are all lacking in one or more things that God expects from us.
St. Paul even admits to struggling with evil: “I am carnal―sold under sin! For that which I work, I understand not! For I do not that good which I want to do; but the evil which I hate, that I do. If then I do that which I do not want to do, … then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me! For I know that there dwells not in me, that is to say, in my flesh, that which is good. For to want to do good, is present with me; but to accomplish that which is good, I find not. For the good which I want to do, I do not; but the evil which I do not want to do, that I do! Now, if I do that which I do not want to do, then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find, then, that when I have a desire to do good, evil is present with me. For I am delighted with the law of God, according to the inward man―but I see another law in my members, fighting against the law of my mind, and captivating me in the law of sin, that is in my members. Unhappy man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? The grace of God, by Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:14-25).
“God is faithful, and will strengthen and keep you from evil!” (2 Thessalonians 3:3). God want us to be “healed of the evil” (Mark 5:29). “Cast away from you all your transgressions, by which you have transgressed, and make to yourselves a new heart, and a new spirit, saith the Lord … I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you! And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you a heart of flesh! … And I will give them one heart, and will put a new spirit in their bowels! And I will take away the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh!” (Ezechiel 18:31; 36:26; 11:19). “I will give them a heart to know Me―that I am the Lord! And they shall be My people, and I will be their God! Because they shall return to Me with their whole heart!” (Jeremias 24:7).
To the vast majority of people―perhaps yourself included―God says: “This people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips glorify Me, but their heart is far from Me!’” (Isaias 29:13). So why don’t you cry out to the Lord: “Create a clean heart in me, O God, and renew a right spirit within me!” (Psalm 50:12). Let this coming new Liturgical Year―beginning with the First Sunday of Advent―be the beginning of new life with a new heart and a new approach to God and the Faith!
Since we have now entered the last days of the liturgical year—and since we are also living in the “End Times” of the world, as revealed by Our Lady to Sr. Lucia of Fatima—it is well worth considering the essential, yet distasteful and unpalatable, truth about the end of each person’s life.
Skulls on the Dining Table
Talking about “distasteful” and “unpalatable” brings to mind food and eating. The original (Pre-Vatican II) ritual and discipline for the religious Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, would require that at all meal times there would be placed a skull upon the dining table within visibility of all the religious present—so that, even though they were eating to live, they would be reminded that one day they would die. The Carmelites would also display a written sign which said: “Remember man that thou art dust and to dust thou shalt return!” ― which is what the priest says to us as he places a sign of the cross with ashes on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday. We have all been sentenced to death by Original Sin (Adam and Eve’s sin) and by the Actual Sins (our own personal sins). We may not be certain about where we will end up after death—Heaven, Purgatory or Hell—but we can be absolutely sure of dying.
Death is the end of our earthly life and it will send our soul before the Judgment Seat of God. It is a sobering thought that we should always keep before our eyes and not stuff it into the closet. St. Thomas Aquinas says that we should always keep our end or goal in view—for as we live, so shall we die; as we sow, so shall we reap: “Be not deceived, God is not mocked. For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that sows in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption. But he that sows in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:7-8).
One Thing You Can Bank On—You Will Die and Be Judged
Life’s one certainty is death. Everyone knows this, though not everyone knows what comes next. The rich shall die just as the poor. Some will die young, other will die in old age. Some will die alone, others will die amongst family and friends. Some will be martyred or murdered, others will die in accidents. Some will die when God wants them to die, others will commit suicide. Some will die quickly, others slowly. Some will die loved, other will die hated. Some will die healthy, others will die sick. Some will die with the Faith, others will be die without the Faith. Some of those with the Faith will die in a state of grace, others will die in a state of mortal sin. All of these variables are unknown to us—but what IS KNOWN is that WE WILL DIE! We will die just as Our Lord died and Our Lady died. Death is not the question—it will certainly come—the question is what will happen to us after death? Will we go to Heaven, to Purgatory, or to Hell?
St. Philip Neri wrote: “Beginners in religion ought to exercise themselves principally in meditation on the Four Last Things.” Traditionally, the sermons preached on the four Sundays of Advent were on the Four Last Things. The Church always taught that man should be prepared for the Novissima, the Four Last Things. It is what we pray in the Hail Mary: “Pray for us now and at the hour of our death.” It is a wise prayer, because Scriptures makes us this great promise: “In all thy works, remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin eternally” (Ecclesiasticus 7:40). That is to say, one who meditates on the Novissima will not go to Hell. It is quite a promise, and it is why the pastors of the Church have always preached on the Novissima, the Four Last Things. In the Age of Faith, consideration of the Novissima became a branch of learning, eschatology.
You may wonder what is the meaning of the sinister or mysterious sounding word “eschatology” (pronounced eska-tology). The word “eschatology” is derived from the Greek words “eschaton,” meaning “last,” and “logos” meaning “word” or “words”—thus “eschatology” means “words about the last times or end times” and refers in particular to the study of the end of our lives and the end of the world. Today students have chemistry, biology, social sciences. But there isn’t much attention paid to the eschatology, the study of the Last Things.
The World Will Not Last!
In this last week of the Liturgical Year, let us at least focus on what is last. One of the last things we want to hear is that our joys and pleasures will not last! O yes―we profess to be Catholics; we say we love God; we want to go to Heaven―but, for most persons, having to “walk-the-walk” and not just “talk-the-talk”, is the last thing on their minds and the last thing they want to do! They are quite happy in this world and would not mind living eternally in this world! To them, heaven can be found on Earth! Yet, our happiness―true happiness―cannot be found in this world. As Our Lady said to St. Bernadette at Lourdes: “I do not promise to make you happy in this life, but in the next!” In other words, Our Lady is not going to make Bernadette happy in this world, but only in Heaven.
Our Lord pretty much said the same thing: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth―where the rust, and moth consume, and where thieves break through and steal! But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven―where neither the rust nor moth doth consume, and where thieves do not break through, nor steal! For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also! … No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other―or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:19-24).
That does not mean that we will not have some happy moments here on Earth―we will. However, lasting happiness, enduring happiness, eternal happiness, never-ending happiness can only be found in Heaven. Yet―as already stated―Heaven is the last thing on the minds of most people: “They are of the world! Therefore of the world they speak, and the world hears them!” (1 John 4:5). Most Catholics “are of the world and of the world they speak” ― they are Catholics in name only, but their heart is tied to the world. Yet Scripture warns us of loving the world: “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him!” (1 John 2:15). “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God!” (James 4:4) ... “Keep yourself unspotted from this world!” (James 1:27) … “Be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2) … “That we be not condemned with this world!” (1 Corinthians 11:32).
This world will not last, but will perish―and if your heart is tied to this world, then you will perish with it: “The Earth shall be worn away like a garment, and the inhabitants thereof shall perish in like manner―but My salvation shall be for ever!” (Isaias 51:6). “The day of the Lord shall come as a thief―in which the heavens shall pass away with great violence, and the elements shall be melted with heat, and the Earth and the works which are in it, shall be burnt up!” (2 Peter 3:10). “Unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3). “And I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth. For the first Heaven and the first Earth was gone, and the sea is now no more!” (Apocalypse 21:1). “Behold the Lord shall lay waste the Earth, and shall strip it, and shall afflict the face thereof! … With desolation shall the Earth be laid waste, and it shall be utterly spoiled―for the Lord has spoken this word! The Earth is weakened and faded away! The world faded away!” (Isaias 24:1-4). “Heaven and Earth shall pass away―but My words shall not pass away!” (Matthew 24:35).
Our Lady Bursts the Bubble of Blindness
Unfortunately and even tragically we live as though (1) this world will never end, (2) as though we will never die, and (3) as if there is no Hell! Yet Our Lady seeks to burst this bubble of diabolical disorientation―as is seen by these words spoken to the Venerable Mary of Agreda:
“Who is so dull and insipid as not to know the dangers of the worldly life! Wisdom seems far from the mind of carnal men―for, with a most perverse blindness, they continue to make much of the visible and fictitious good, and they torment themselves and are saddened, whenever it escapes them. This deceitful error has filled the Earth with lovers of the world; it has filled the world with avarice and concupiscence against the law of the Creator; it has made men insane in their desires―for all of them commonly chase after riches and earthly possessions. The rich glory in their riches and wish to be respected because of those riches. The poor strive to be and appear rich. The powerful seek to be feared, worshiped and obeyed. The learned and wise, and the powerful of this world, so reluctantly correct and amend their lives. They play-down their faults, extol their virtues and abilities. Some of them expect to be distinguished by God’s most intimate love, others, to be pardoned without penance!
“Because they never taste or recognize the highest and truest Good, they take no thought or appreciation of it. With this highest Good, the earthly love of sensible pleasures and riches is not compatible; nor the vain ostentation and pomp, which fascinates the bleary-eyed worldlings, who are so covetous of passing honors, and so full of ignorant admiration for costly grandeur. This blindness robs them of remembrance and affection toward these higher things, which could raise them above their worldliness! Eternal rest is incompatible with the shame of not having duly labored for its attainment! The foolishness of men makes them stupid and deaf, their impious malice makes them scoffers, and their unbelieving perversity turns them away from God.
“What foolishness is it, for men pursue so blindly the deceitful and vile delights of the senses! Be mindful of this dangerous human folly! Consider all delights and joys of the world as insanity, its laughing as sorrow, sensible enjoyment as self-deceit, as the source of foolishness, which intoxicates the heart and hinders and destroys all true wisdom! Guard thyself against the lovers of the world more than against fire―for the wisdom of the sons of this world is carnal and diabolical, and their ways lead to death! Many are the infidels, many the bad Catholics, many the hypocrites! Their inclinations and their blind love of visible things, hold them back. The sons of the world are ignorant, precisely because they are lovers of earthly riches. They feel and suffer the heavy weight of riches, which pins them to the Earth and drives them into its very bowels to seek gold and silver with great anxiety, sleeplessness, labors and sweat―as if they were not men, but wild beasts that do not know what they are suffering and doing. And if they are thus weighed down before acquiring riches, then how much more are they weighed down when they have come into possession of those riches and possessions? Such souls receive an earthly reward―but no heavenly reward! Let the countless numbers that have fallen into Hell with their burden, proclaim it!
“God knows that this insane love will pervert the greater part of the human race, who are lost by the vice of avarice and greed. In senseless fury they follow their pleasures, place no restraint on their passionate desires, and care not where they walk, even if to the most dangerous precipices. They never taste or recognize the highest and truest Good, they take no thought or appreciation of it. Weep in deepest sorrow over the ruin of so many souls absorbed in such dangerous tepidity! The wisdom of the flesh has made men ignorant, foolish and hostile to God. Man is full of blindest inclinations, and if he does not restrain them, he will cause his eternal perdition! Men are so taken up with their earthly and material life, that they do not feel any other evils except those on a physical and material nature. How many men whom the world has celebrated as great, powerful and wise have thrown themselves into the eternal darkness of Hell!
“What pretense or excuse will men advance for having forgotten their own eternal salvation? None of the mortals will have any excuse for their foolish negligence―and much less will the children of the Holy Catholic Church have an excuse, since they have received the Faith and yet show in their lives little difference from that of infidels and pagans! The faithful debase themselves to the level of worthless creatures! O insanity! All their life they labor and exert themselves to become more and more entangled in the snares of their passions, to be consumed in deceitful vanities and to deliver themselves over to an inextinguishable fire, death and everlasting perdition in Hell, as if all were a mere joke! They want it to procure for them the pleasures of this life as well as of eternal life! All of them commonly chase after riches and earthly possessions; claiming, thereby, merely to satisfy their needs―which is only a lame pretext for hiding their lack of interest in higher things, spiritual things. In reality they lie to themselves abominously, since they are seeking superfluous things that they do not really need and not what is really necessary!
“The faithful are in such a dangerous and dreadful state of carelessness! Do not think that it is written in vain: ‘Many are called, but few are chosen!’ Fear this sentence and renew in thy heart the care and zeal for thy salvation! Do not allow thyself to desire worldly things―a desire which seduces the human sense, disturbs the judgment and obscures reason. It will cause eternal perdition! The lovers of the world have subjected themselves and are following the standard and the fables of the devil! In the midst of this ruin, Hell has opened its mouth and the more it is fed, the more insatiable becomes its hunger! The number of fools is infinite, and the number of the damned is also uncountable!” (compilation of words of Our Lady to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, taken from The Mystical City of God).
Yes! Insanity!
Our Lady succinctly hits the nail on the head! “O insanity! All their life they are more and more entangled in deceitful vanities and deliver themselves over to the inextinguishable fire of Hell, as it all were a mere joke! Do not think that it is written in vain: ‘Many are called, but few are chosen!’ They want it to procure for them the pleasures of this life as well as of eternal life! Let the countless numbers that have fallen into Hell with their burden, proclaim it! Many―whom the world has celebrated as great, powerful and wise―have thrown themselves into the eternal darkness of Hell! They have subjected themselves and are following the standard and the fables of the devil! Hell has opened its mouth and the more it is fed, the more insatiable becomes its hunger! The number of fools is infinite, and the number of the damned is also uncountable!”
Living Paradoxes―Walking Contradictions!
Yes―we are insane! We are living paradoxes! We are walking contradictions! We are lying hypocrites! We are the unfaithful faithful! Unbelieving believers! We know there is a God―but we often live as though there was no God! We know that we must love God with our whole soul, mind, heart and strength (Mark 12:30)―but, instead, we love ourselves and the world with our whole soul, mind, heart and strength! We know we should “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)―but we want to play without ceasing! We are told to “Seek first the Kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33)―but we first seek all that the world can offer us! We are told we “cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24)―but we have made a god out of mammon!
We are told that “the wages for sin is death” (Romans 6:23)―but we imagine that the wages of sin to be fun! We are told, “unless you do penance, you will perish” (Luke 13:3)―but we imagine that if do have fun we will perish! We are told, “Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat! Narrow is the gate and strait is the way that leadeth to life and few there are that find it!” (Matthew 7:13-14)―but we imagine almost everyone goes to Heaven and hardly anyone goes to Hell. We are told, “He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved―but he that believeth not shall be condemned!” (Mark 16:16)―but through false ecumenism we now imagine that any and all religions can lead a person to Heaven!
Yes―we are insane! Our Lady has repeatedly warned us of the terrible chastisements that are to come and she has given us instructions on how we could avoid it, or at least mitigate it ― but “fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7) “A fool laughs at instruction” (Proverbs 15:5). “A fool shall be filled with his own ways” (Proverbs 14:14). “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes!” (Proverbs 12:15). “The thought of a fool is sin” (Proverbs 24:9). “A fool will laugh at sin!” (Proverbs 14:9). “The fool said in his heart: ‘There is no God!’” (Psalm 52:1). “The fool walks in darkness!” (Ecclesiastes 2:14). “The number of fools is infinite!” (Ecclesiastes 1:15). “Understand, ye senseless among the people! And you fools, be wise at last!” (Psalms 93:8). Yes―be wise at last! Since we find ourselves in the LAST week of the Liturgical Year, it is a good time to, AT LAST, become wise! It is a good time to AT LAST see that we have been foolishly seduced by the devil, the world, and our own selves!
A New Liturgical Year―A New You!
God is always trying to bring good out of evil! Let’s face it―we are evil. Does that insult you? Well, Our Lord called the world “evil” saying: “I give testimony of the world, that the works thereof are evil!” (John 7:7). He even called all of his hearers by the word “evil” ― “If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father from Heaven give the good Spirit to them that ask Him?” (Luke 11:13). The word “evil” ― philosophically defined ― means “an absence of a good that is due or expected from someone or something.” In that sense, we are all evil―because we are all lacking in one or more things that God expects from us.
St. Paul even admits to struggling with evil: “I am carnal―sold under sin! For that which I work, I understand not! For I do not that good which I want to do; but the evil which I hate, that I do. If then I do that which I do not want to do, … then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me! For I know that there dwells not in me, that is to say, in my flesh, that which is good. For to want to do good, is present with me; but to accomplish that which is good, I find not. For the good which I want to do, I do not; but the evil which I do not want to do, that I do! Now, if I do that which I do not want to do, then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find, then, that when I have a desire to do good, evil is present with me. For I am delighted with the law of God, according to the inward man―but I see another law in my members, fighting against the law of my mind, and captivating me in the law of sin, that is in my members. Unhappy man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? The grace of God, by Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:14-25).
“God is faithful, and will strengthen and keep you from evil!” (2 Thessalonians 3:3). God want us to be “healed of the evil” (Mark 5:29). “Cast away from you all your transgressions, by which you have transgressed, and make to yourselves a new heart, and a new spirit, saith the Lord … I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you! And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you a heart of flesh! … And I will give them one heart, and will put a new spirit in their bowels! And I will take away the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh!” (Ezechiel 18:31; 36:26; 11:19). “I will give them a heart to know Me―that I am the Lord! And they shall be My people, and I will be their God! Because they shall return to Me with their whole heart!” (Jeremias 24:7).
To the vast majority of people―perhaps yourself included―God says: “This people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips glorify Me, but their heart is far from Me!’” (Isaias 29:13). So why don’t you cry out to the Lord: “Create a clean heart in me, O God, and renew a right spirit within me!” (Psalm 50:12). Let this coming new Liturgical Year―beginning with the First Sunday of Advent―be the beginning of new life with a new heart and a new approach to God and the Faith!
Article 23
Sunday November 23rd
It's the End!
Sunday November 23rd
It's the End!
It’s the Last! Last Means Last!
First things first! Last things first! First things last! Last things last! Which is to be? “First things first” means that important matters should be dealt with before other things. Yet, sometimes, we put in first place what ought to be last. This happens when we fail to follow our reason and logic and objectivity, and, instead we follow our feelings, whims and prejudiced preferences―whereby we transform the values of things: downgrading what is important, and upgrading what is unimportant. Purgatory is loaded with such souls! Hell is even far more loaded with such like souls!
Today―Sunday, November 23rd, 2025―is the LAST Sunday of the Liturgical Year. Therefore, next Sunday―November 30th―is the FIRST Sunday of the Liturgical Year, being the FIRST Sunday of Advent. So we go from LAST to FIRST! Our Lord Himself coined that phrase: “So shall the last be first, and the first last! For many are called, but few chosen!” (Matthew 20:16). On another occasion, after He had pointed out “‘how hard is it for them that trust in riches, to enter into the Kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God!’ The Apostles wondered, saying among themselves: ‘Who then can be saved?’ … Jesus answered: ‘But many that are first, shall be last: and the last, first!’” (Mark 10:24-25, 31).
What Comes First?
Talking about putting “first things first” ― Our Lord further points out what should come first: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His justice―and all these [other less important] things shall be added unto you!” (Luke 12:31) ... “Seek ye therefore first the Kingdom of God and His justice―and all these things shall be added unto you!” (Matthew 6:33). Elsewhere, Our Lord repeats this same idea and command in the following terms: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the greatest and the first commandment!” (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31).
God must come first because He made all things and everything is subject to Him: “Know ye that the Lord, He is God! He made us, and not we ourselves!” (Psalm 99:3). “The Lord hath made all things for Himself!” (Proverbs 16:4). “Thou hast made Heaven and Earth by Thy great power!” (Jeremias 32:17). “Thou hast created all things―and for Thy will they were and have been created!” (Apocalypse 4:11). “All things were made by Him, and without Him was made nothing that was made” (John 1:3). “For in Him were all things created in Heaven and on Earth, visible and invisible ― all things were created by Him and in Him. And He is before all, and by Him all things consist!” (Colossians 1:16-17). God Himself adds: “All things that are under Heaven are Mine!” (Job 41:2). “All the Earth is Mine!” (Exodus 19:5). “All souls are mine!” (Ezechiel 18:4). “All the beasts are Mine!” (Psalms 49:10). Clearly God must come first! But is that what happens?
Last and First Sundays Warn of the Last Times
On this Last Sunday of the Liturgical Year―which is door into the Last Week of the Liturgical Year―Holy Mother Church presents, in the readings in Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, before our eyes an account of Last Times of the world. Then, one week later, on the First Sunday of the next Liturgical Year―the First Sunday of Advent―Holy Mother Church AGAIN presents, to us in the Holy Mass, another reading about the Last Times of the world! So both the LAST and the FIRST speak of the LAST Times!
► THE LAST SUNDAY OF THE YEAR (November 23rd, 2025): “At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: ‘When you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place ― let him who reads understand ― then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything from his house; and let him who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. But woe to those who are with child, or have infants at the breast in those days! But pray that your flight may not be in the winter, or on the Sabbath! For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, nor will be! And unless those days had been shortened, no living creature would be saved! But, for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened. Then if anyone say to you: “Behold, here is the Christ!” or “There He is!” ― do not believe it! For false christs and false prophets will arise, and will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect! Behold, I have told it to you beforehand. If therefore they say to you: “Behold, He is in the desert!” ― do not go forth; ‘Behold, He is in the inner chambers!’ ― do not believe it! For, as the lightning comes forth from the east and shines even to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Wherever the body is, there will the eagles be gathered together. But immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give her light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. And then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in Heaven; and then will all tribes of the Earth mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of Heaven with great power and majesty! And He will send forth His angels with a trumpet and a great sound, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. Now from the fig tree learn this parable. When its branch is now tender, and the leaves break forth, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, know that it is near, even at the door. Amen I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all these things have been accomplished. Heaven and Earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away!’” (Matthew 24:15-35).
► THE FIRST SUNDAY OF THE YEAR (November 30th, 2025): “At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: ‘There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and upon the Earth distress of nations, bewildered by the roaring of sea and waves; men fainting for fear and for expectation of the things that are coming on the world; for the powers of Heaven will be shaken! And then they will see the son of Man, coming upon a cloud, with great power and majesty! But when these things begin to come to pass―look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption is at hand!’ And He spoke to them a parable: ‘Behold the fig tree and all the trees! When they now put forth their buds, you know that summer is near! Even so, when you see these things coming to pass, know that the kingdom of God is near! Amen I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all things have been accomplished! Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away!’” (Luke 21:25-33).
Sister Lucia of Fatima Says the Last Times are Our Times
Sr. Lucia of Fatima warns us that―already back in 1957―we have entered the “Last Times” or “End Times” of the world:
“Father, the Blessed Virgin did not tell me [explicitly] that we are in the LAST TIMES OF THE WORLD, but I understood this [implicitly] for three reasons:
“The first is because she told me that the Devil is engaging in a battle with the Virgin, a decisive battle. It is A FINAL BATTLE where one party will be victorious and the other will suffer defeat. So, from now on, we are either with God, or we are with the Devil―there is no middle ground.
“The second reason is because she told me, as well as my cousins, that God is giving two LAST REMEDIES to the world: the Holy Rosary and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary ... The Most Holy Virgin, in these LAST TIMES in which we live, has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary! … And, being the LAST REMEDIES, that is to say, they are the FINAL ones, means that there will be no others.”
“And the third, because in the plans of the Divine Providence, when God is going to chastise the world He always first exhausts all other remedies. When He sees that the world pays no attention whatsoever, then, as we say in our imperfect way of talking, with a certain fear He presents us the LAST MEANS of salvation, His Blessed Mother. If we despise and reject this LAST MEANS, Heaven will no longer pardon us!” (Sister Lucia of Fatima to Fr. Augustino Fuentes, December 26th, 1957).
Will You Last the Last Times?
These “Last Times” could last a long time! Will you last? Or will you be one of the first to fall? These are times of apostasy from the Faith―and “without Faith it is impossible to please God!” (Hebrews 11:6). Our Lord speaks of this mass apostasy when He says: “The Son of man, when He cometh, shall He find, think you, Faith on Earth?” (Luke 18:8). “Are you fearful, O ye of little Faith?” (Matthew 8:26). “Why are you fearful? Have you not Faith yet?” (Mark 4:40). “Where is your Faith?” (Luke 8:25). “Have the Faith of God!” (Mark 11:22).
Our Lady, in her many modern day apparitions, has also warned us about this apostasy and a massive loss of Faith: “The passions will erupt and there will be a total corruption of customs, for Satan will reign almost completely by means of the Masonic sects ... These years, during which the evil sect of Masonry will take control of the civil government, will see a cruel persecution of all religious communities … Masonry, which will then be in power, will enact iniquitous laws with the objective, making it easy for everyone to live in sin. The demon will try to persecute the Ministers of the Lord in every possible way and he will labor with cruel and subtle astuteness to deviate them from the spirit of their vocation, corrupting many of them … Many hearts consecrated to God in the priestly and religious state will fall into lukewarmness. This, then, will be the cause of the cursed demon taking possession … Lucifer, together with a large number of demons, will be unloosed from Hell; they will put an end to Faith, little by little, even in those dedicated to God ...
“The Christian spirit will rapidly decay, extinguishing the precious light of Faith until it reaches the point that there will be an almost total and general corruption of customs. In these unhappy times, people will only think of amusements and there will be unbridled luxury that would conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost … Several will abandon the Faith, and a great number of priests and members of religious orders will break away from the true religion; among these people there will even be bishops ... Several religious institutions will lose all Faith and will lose many souls ... This, in turn, will call down every type of chastisement―such as plagues, famines, internal fighting and external disputes with other nations, and apostasy―the cause of the perdition of so many souls so dear to Jesus Christ and to me … The righteous will suffer greatly ... The small number of souls, who hidden, will preserve the treasures of the Faith and practice virtue will suffer a cruel, unspeakable and prolonged martyrdom … The Gospel of Jesus Christ having been forgotten … the devil will preach another Gospel contrary to that of the true Christ Jesus …
“The Holy Eucharist will be subject to many horrible sacrileges and profanations—both public and secret.
It will be difficult to receive the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation.
The Sacrament of Penance will be forgotten and even scorned.
The Sacrament of Matrimony will be attacked and profaned.
The Sacrament of Extreme Unction will be little esteemed.
The Sacred Sacrament of Holy Orders will be ridiculed, oppressed and despised―vocations to the priesthood will be lost.
There will be occasions when all will seem lost and paralyzed … This apparent triumph of Satan will bring enormous sufferings.” (Compilation of quotes from Our Lady of Good Success and Our Lady of La Salette).
Last Times and Last Chance
Sister Lucia of Fatima said: “The Most Holy Virgin has made me understand that we are in the last times of the world. She has told me that the devil is about to wage a decisive battle with the Virgin, and a decisive battle is a final battle, in which one side wins, the other side loses. Also, starting with the present time, we belong either to God, or we belong to the demon—there is no middle ground … God is giving two last remedies to the ― the Holy Rosary and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. And, being the last remedies, that is to say, they are the final ones, means that there will be no others!” Sister Lucia said that Our Blessed Mother had told herself, Jacinta and Francisco “many times ... that many nations will disappear from the face of the Earth.” We only have the one recorded instance in July 1917, but Lucia said Our Lady spoke of the annihilation of many nations “many times!”
Our Lady of Akita echoes this “Last Times” and “Last Remedies” idea: “Many men in this world afflict the Lord ... In order that the world might know His anger, the Heavenly Father is preparing to inflict a great chastisement on all mankind … the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one never seen before! … Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead. The only weapons which will remain for you will be the Rosary and the Sign left by my Son!”
Do not kid yourself into being too complacent! We are living in very evil times and soon it will get unimaginably worse! We are without doubt in the Last Times of the World. That does not mean to say the world will end soon―for as Our Lady foretold, first there must come terrible times; then comes the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary; after which comes a short period of great holiness and peace worldwide; this is to be followed by more terrible times and the coming of the Antichrist; after which comes the defeat of the Antichrist, which will be followed by the end of the world. Yet of all these things fall under the umbrella of “The Last Times”.
Right now, we are seeing the dawning of those terrible times that precede the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart―times that will be truly frightening, faith shattering, life threatening, nature upheaving and war mongering, during which the majority of the world’s population will be wiped out―in the words of Our Lady: “During this period, there will be great physical and moral calamities, both public and private … The seasons will be altered … Water and fire will give the Earth’s globe convulsions and terrible earthquakes, which will swallow up mountains and cities ... Several cities will be shaken down and swallowed up by earthquakes ... There will be famines, plagues and infectious diseases … There will be bloody wars and internal fighting [civil wars] and external disputes with other nations … A general war will follow which will be appalling. Nothing will be seen but murder, nothing will be heard but the clash of weapons and blasphemy ... Blood will flow on all sides ... Many nations will be annihilated!”
The Last Remedies are the Last Things on Our Mind
As always with God―everything is variable and “negotiable”. If we take and use the remedies offered to us, then we can still do something about what is to come. Do not dream and imagine that we can totally avoid it―the world is way far too sinful for that to happen.
As Our Lady said to Blessed Elena Ailello, back in 1956: “People are offending God too much! If I were to show you all the sins committed on a single day, you would surely die of grief! These are grave times! The world is in a worse condition than at the time of the deluge! All is hanging on a slender thread! When that thread shall snap, Divine Justice shall pounce upon the world and execute its dreadful, purging designs! All the nations shall be punished because sins, like a muddy river, are now covering all the Earth!”
Those words were echoed by Our Lady of Akita in 1973: “Many men in this world afflict the Lord ... If sins increase in number and gravity, there will be no longer pardon for them … the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one never seen before! … Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead.”
Seven years later, in Fulda, Germany, Pope John Paul II revealed that we can no longer avoid and avert the chastisement that is to come―but we can mitigate and soften the blow of what is coming.
Our Lady of Akita had indicated the same thing in 1973: “Many men in this world afflict the Lord. I desire souls to console Him to soften the anger of the Heavenly Father. I wish, with my Son, for souls … beloved souls who console Him by forming an army of victim souls ... who will repair―by their suffering and their poverty―for the sinners and the ungrateful … Prayer, penance and courageous sacrifices can soften the Father’s anger!”
Using the Last Remedies
Catholics have good reason to take to heart the words: “With fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12), for “unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required―and to whom they have committed much, of him they will demand the more!” (Luke 12:48). As a Catholic, you have been given far, far more than those in false religions or paganism. The gift of Faith is not for the mantelpiece, but for the “workshop” ― for “Faith without works is dead!” (James 2:20). If “the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10), then the adopted sons or children of God have to do the same thing―seek and save those who are lost.
The problem is that we tend to “point-the-finger” instead of “saving-the-soul”! Scripture commands: “Cease to point the finger and to speak that which profiteth not!” (Isaias 58:9). “Take heed that you exercise not the judgment of man, but of the Lord―for whatsoever you judge, it shall come back upon you!” (2 Paralipomenon 19:6) ― to which Our Lord adds: “Judge not, that you may not be judged―for with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged; and with what measure you give to others, it shall be measured to you again. Why seest thou the speck that is in thy brother’s eye; and seest not the plank that is in thy own eye? Or how sayest thou to thy brother: ‘Let me cast the speck out of thy eye; and behold there is a plank in thy own eye? Thou hypocrite! Cast out first the beam in thy own eye, and then shalt thou be able to see to cast out the speck out of thy brother’s eye!” (Matthew 7:1-5). “Thus saith the Lord: ‘Judge ye true judgment, and let every man show mercy and compassion to his brother!’” (Zacharias 7:9) ― to which Our Lord adds: “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy! … For if you will forgive men their offences, your heavenly Father will forgive you also your offences” (Matthew 5:7; 6:14). Scripture further adds: “Let all bitterness, and anger, and indignation, and clamor, and blasphemy, be put away from you, with all malice. And be ye kind one to another; merciful, forgiving one another, even as God hath forgiven you in Christ!” (Ephesians 4:31-32) … “Bearing with one another and forgiving one another―if any have a complaint against another―even as the Lord has forgiven you, so do you also!” (Colossians 3:13). “But judgment without mercy to him that hath not done mercy!” (James 2:13).
Our Lady―in her apparitions during these “Last Times”―did not tell us “point-the-finger”, nor to “hound-the-sinner.” No―far from it! She asked: “Are you willing to offer yourselves to God and bear all the sufferings He wills to send you, as an act of reparation for the conversion of sinners?” She insisted: “Sacrifice yourselves for sinners! Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices for sinners; for many souls go to Hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and pray for them! (Fatima). “I desire souls to console Him to soften the anger of the Heavenly Father. I wish, with my Son, for souls … beloved souls who console Him by forming a cohort of victim souls ... who will repair―by their suffering and their poverty―for the sinners and the ungrateful … Prayer, penance and courageous sacrifices can soften the Father’s anger. I desire this!” (Akita).
Are you―and your family―following this path of “prayer, penance and courageous sacrifices”? Or are you following the path of “play, self-indulgence and daring fashions”? Are you “softening the Father’s anger”? Or are you softening your Catholic Faith? Are you prepared to be a “victim soul” for the conversion of sinners? Or are victimizing the souls of sinners by your finger-pointing and words of hate? These current “Last Times” will eventually end with our Last Judgment! Are we judging in a way that we hope to be judged? Or are we judging in a way that we ourselves will fear to be judged? “Judge not, that you may not be judged―for with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged; and with what measure you give to others, it shall be measured to you again!” (Matthew 7:1-2). “Thou shalt not judge unjustly ... but judge thy neighbor according to justice!” (Leviticus 19:15).
Our Lord came, not to point the finger at sinners, but to save sinners! His Apostles―James and John―wanted to call down fire from Heaven to destroy a Samaritan town that had refused Jesus: “They received Him not, because His face was of one going to Jerusalem [for the Samaritans hated Jews]. And when His disciples, James and John, had seen this, they said: ‘Lord, wilt Thou that we command fire to come down from Heaven and consume them?’ And turning, Jesus rebuked them, saying: ‘You know not of what spirit you are! The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save! … The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost! … I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance!’” (Luke 9:53-56; 19:10; 5:32). Is our natural approach to sinners like that of James and John? To destroy them? Or is our attitude like that of Our Lord? To seek and save sinners and call them to penance?
We are certainly living in the “Last Times” and each day is a day closer to our “Last Judgment” ― will we at last wake up to what Heaven is requesting from us and start seeking and saving those who are lost―rather than condemning them? That number―of those who are lost―includes Pope Francis, the Liberal and Modernist clergy, the perverts, the abusers, the drunkards and druggies, the Protestants, the Jews, the pagans―in fact, it consists of the vast majority of the world! So let us stop pointing and wagging the finger―and let us, instead, finger our Rosary beads for those poor deluded stubborn insane souls. For, as Sister Lucia of Fatima said in 1957, the Rosary is the answer to all the problems in the world (which is what Our Lady later re-affirmed in 1973 at Akita):
“The Most Holy Virgin, in these last times in which we live, has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary—to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all, spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families, of the families of the world, or of the religious communities, or even of the life of peoples and nations, that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary. With the Holy Rosary, we will save ourselves, we will sanctify ourselves, we will console Our Lord and obtain the salvation of many souls.” (Sr. Lucia to Fr. Fuentes, December 26th, 1957).
So how many Rosaries are you and your family praying daily? Our Lady insisted: “Say many Rosaries!” (Fatima, May 1917). “Say the Rosary every day!” (Fatima, June 1917). “Continue to pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, because only she can help you!” (Fatima, July 1917). “Continue to say the Rosary every day! Pray, pray very much!” (Fatima, August 1917). “Continue to pray the Rosary!” (Fatima, September 1917). “Continue always to pray the Rosary every day!” (Fatima, October 1917). “Pray very much! … Be faithful and fervent in prayer! … The only weapons which will remain for you will be the Rosary and the Sign left by my Son. Each day recite the prayers of the Rosary! … Pray very much the prayers of the Rosary! I alone am able still to save you from the calamities which approach!” (Akita, 1973).
Maybe this last week of the Liturgical Year and the approach of a new Liturgical Year (with the First Sunday of Advent) is the time when we at last start to pay attention to Our Lady’s message and put it into practice! “Pray in reparation for the ingratitude and outrages of so many men … Pray very much! … Continue to pray very much—very much! … Pray with fervor! … As I told you, if men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity!”
First things first! Last things first! First things last! Last things last! Which is to be? “First things first” means that important matters should be dealt with before other things. Yet, sometimes, we put in first place what ought to be last. This happens when we fail to follow our reason and logic and objectivity, and, instead we follow our feelings, whims and prejudiced preferences―whereby we transform the values of things: downgrading what is important, and upgrading what is unimportant. Purgatory is loaded with such souls! Hell is even far more loaded with such like souls!
Today―Sunday, November 23rd, 2025―is the LAST Sunday of the Liturgical Year. Therefore, next Sunday―November 30th―is the FIRST Sunday of the Liturgical Year, being the FIRST Sunday of Advent. So we go from LAST to FIRST! Our Lord Himself coined that phrase: “So shall the last be first, and the first last! For many are called, but few chosen!” (Matthew 20:16). On another occasion, after He had pointed out “‘how hard is it for them that trust in riches, to enter into the Kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God!’ The Apostles wondered, saying among themselves: ‘Who then can be saved?’ … Jesus answered: ‘But many that are first, shall be last: and the last, first!’” (Mark 10:24-25, 31).
What Comes First?
Talking about putting “first things first” ― Our Lord further points out what should come first: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His justice―and all these [other less important] things shall be added unto you!” (Luke 12:31) ... “Seek ye therefore first the Kingdom of God and His justice―and all these things shall be added unto you!” (Matthew 6:33). Elsewhere, Our Lord repeats this same idea and command in the following terms: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the greatest and the first commandment!” (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31).
God must come first because He made all things and everything is subject to Him: “Know ye that the Lord, He is God! He made us, and not we ourselves!” (Psalm 99:3). “The Lord hath made all things for Himself!” (Proverbs 16:4). “Thou hast made Heaven and Earth by Thy great power!” (Jeremias 32:17). “Thou hast created all things―and for Thy will they were and have been created!” (Apocalypse 4:11). “All things were made by Him, and without Him was made nothing that was made” (John 1:3). “For in Him were all things created in Heaven and on Earth, visible and invisible ― all things were created by Him and in Him. And He is before all, and by Him all things consist!” (Colossians 1:16-17). God Himself adds: “All things that are under Heaven are Mine!” (Job 41:2). “All the Earth is Mine!” (Exodus 19:5). “All souls are mine!” (Ezechiel 18:4). “All the beasts are Mine!” (Psalms 49:10). Clearly God must come first! But is that what happens?
Last and First Sundays Warn of the Last Times
On this Last Sunday of the Liturgical Year―which is door into the Last Week of the Liturgical Year―Holy Mother Church presents, in the readings in Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, before our eyes an account of Last Times of the world. Then, one week later, on the First Sunday of the next Liturgical Year―the First Sunday of Advent―Holy Mother Church AGAIN presents, to us in the Holy Mass, another reading about the Last Times of the world! So both the LAST and the FIRST speak of the LAST Times!
► THE LAST SUNDAY OF THE YEAR (November 23rd, 2025): “At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: ‘When you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place ― let him who reads understand ― then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything from his house; and let him who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. But woe to those who are with child, or have infants at the breast in those days! But pray that your flight may not be in the winter, or on the Sabbath! For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, nor will be! And unless those days had been shortened, no living creature would be saved! But, for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened. Then if anyone say to you: “Behold, here is the Christ!” or “There He is!” ― do not believe it! For false christs and false prophets will arise, and will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect! Behold, I have told it to you beforehand. If therefore they say to you: “Behold, He is in the desert!” ― do not go forth; ‘Behold, He is in the inner chambers!’ ― do not believe it! For, as the lightning comes forth from the east and shines even to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Wherever the body is, there will the eagles be gathered together. But immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give her light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. And then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in Heaven; and then will all tribes of the Earth mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of Heaven with great power and majesty! And He will send forth His angels with a trumpet and a great sound, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. Now from the fig tree learn this parable. When its branch is now tender, and the leaves break forth, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, know that it is near, even at the door. Amen I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all these things have been accomplished. Heaven and Earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away!’” (Matthew 24:15-35).
► THE FIRST SUNDAY OF THE YEAR (November 30th, 2025): “At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: ‘There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and upon the Earth distress of nations, bewildered by the roaring of sea and waves; men fainting for fear and for expectation of the things that are coming on the world; for the powers of Heaven will be shaken! And then they will see the son of Man, coming upon a cloud, with great power and majesty! But when these things begin to come to pass―look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption is at hand!’ And He spoke to them a parable: ‘Behold the fig tree and all the trees! When they now put forth their buds, you know that summer is near! Even so, when you see these things coming to pass, know that the kingdom of God is near! Amen I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all things have been accomplished! Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away!’” (Luke 21:25-33).
Sister Lucia of Fatima Says the Last Times are Our Times
Sr. Lucia of Fatima warns us that―already back in 1957―we have entered the “Last Times” or “End Times” of the world:
“Father, the Blessed Virgin did not tell me [explicitly] that we are in the LAST TIMES OF THE WORLD, but I understood this [implicitly] for three reasons:
“The first is because she told me that the Devil is engaging in a battle with the Virgin, a decisive battle. It is A FINAL BATTLE where one party will be victorious and the other will suffer defeat. So, from now on, we are either with God, or we are with the Devil―there is no middle ground.
“The second reason is because she told me, as well as my cousins, that God is giving two LAST REMEDIES to the world: the Holy Rosary and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary ... The Most Holy Virgin, in these LAST TIMES in which we live, has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary! … And, being the LAST REMEDIES, that is to say, they are the FINAL ones, means that there will be no others.”
“And the third, because in the plans of the Divine Providence, when God is going to chastise the world He always first exhausts all other remedies. When He sees that the world pays no attention whatsoever, then, as we say in our imperfect way of talking, with a certain fear He presents us the LAST MEANS of salvation, His Blessed Mother. If we despise and reject this LAST MEANS, Heaven will no longer pardon us!” (Sister Lucia of Fatima to Fr. Augustino Fuentes, December 26th, 1957).
Will You Last the Last Times?
These “Last Times” could last a long time! Will you last? Or will you be one of the first to fall? These are times of apostasy from the Faith―and “without Faith it is impossible to please God!” (Hebrews 11:6). Our Lord speaks of this mass apostasy when He says: “The Son of man, when He cometh, shall He find, think you, Faith on Earth?” (Luke 18:8). “Are you fearful, O ye of little Faith?” (Matthew 8:26). “Why are you fearful? Have you not Faith yet?” (Mark 4:40). “Where is your Faith?” (Luke 8:25). “Have the Faith of God!” (Mark 11:22).
Our Lady, in her many modern day apparitions, has also warned us about this apostasy and a massive loss of Faith: “The passions will erupt and there will be a total corruption of customs, for Satan will reign almost completely by means of the Masonic sects ... These years, during which the evil sect of Masonry will take control of the civil government, will see a cruel persecution of all religious communities … Masonry, which will then be in power, will enact iniquitous laws with the objective, making it easy for everyone to live in sin. The demon will try to persecute the Ministers of the Lord in every possible way and he will labor with cruel and subtle astuteness to deviate them from the spirit of their vocation, corrupting many of them … Many hearts consecrated to God in the priestly and religious state will fall into lukewarmness. This, then, will be the cause of the cursed demon taking possession … Lucifer, together with a large number of demons, will be unloosed from Hell; they will put an end to Faith, little by little, even in those dedicated to God ...
“The Christian spirit will rapidly decay, extinguishing the precious light of Faith until it reaches the point that there will be an almost total and general corruption of customs. In these unhappy times, people will only think of amusements and there will be unbridled luxury that would conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost … Several will abandon the Faith, and a great number of priests and members of religious orders will break away from the true religion; among these people there will even be bishops ... Several religious institutions will lose all Faith and will lose many souls ... This, in turn, will call down every type of chastisement―such as plagues, famines, internal fighting and external disputes with other nations, and apostasy―the cause of the perdition of so many souls so dear to Jesus Christ and to me … The righteous will suffer greatly ... The small number of souls, who hidden, will preserve the treasures of the Faith and practice virtue will suffer a cruel, unspeakable and prolonged martyrdom … The Gospel of Jesus Christ having been forgotten … the devil will preach another Gospel contrary to that of the true Christ Jesus …
“The Holy Eucharist will be subject to many horrible sacrileges and profanations—both public and secret.
It will be difficult to receive the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation.
The Sacrament of Penance will be forgotten and even scorned.
The Sacrament of Matrimony will be attacked and profaned.
The Sacrament of Extreme Unction will be little esteemed.
The Sacred Sacrament of Holy Orders will be ridiculed, oppressed and despised―vocations to the priesthood will be lost.
There will be occasions when all will seem lost and paralyzed … This apparent triumph of Satan will bring enormous sufferings.” (Compilation of quotes from Our Lady of Good Success and Our Lady of La Salette).
Last Times and Last Chance
Sister Lucia of Fatima said: “The Most Holy Virgin has made me understand that we are in the last times of the world. She has told me that the devil is about to wage a decisive battle with the Virgin, and a decisive battle is a final battle, in which one side wins, the other side loses. Also, starting with the present time, we belong either to God, or we belong to the demon—there is no middle ground … God is giving two last remedies to the ― the Holy Rosary and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. And, being the last remedies, that is to say, they are the final ones, means that there will be no others!” Sister Lucia said that Our Blessed Mother had told herself, Jacinta and Francisco “many times ... that many nations will disappear from the face of the Earth.” We only have the one recorded instance in July 1917, but Lucia said Our Lady spoke of the annihilation of many nations “many times!”
Our Lady of Akita echoes this “Last Times” and “Last Remedies” idea: “Many men in this world afflict the Lord ... In order that the world might know His anger, the Heavenly Father is preparing to inflict a great chastisement on all mankind … the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one never seen before! … Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead. The only weapons which will remain for you will be the Rosary and the Sign left by my Son!”
Do not kid yourself into being too complacent! We are living in very evil times and soon it will get unimaginably worse! We are without doubt in the Last Times of the World. That does not mean to say the world will end soon―for as Our Lady foretold, first there must come terrible times; then comes the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary; after which comes a short period of great holiness and peace worldwide; this is to be followed by more terrible times and the coming of the Antichrist; after which comes the defeat of the Antichrist, which will be followed by the end of the world. Yet of all these things fall under the umbrella of “The Last Times”.
Right now, we are seeing the dawning of those terrible times that precede the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart―times that will be truly frightening, faith shattering, life threatening, nature upheaving and war mongering, during which the majority of the world’s population will be wiped out―in the words of Our Lady: “During this period, there will be great physical and moral calamities, both public and private … The seasons will be altered … Water and fire will give the Earth’s globe convulsions and terrible earthquakes, which will swallow up mountains and cities ... Several cities will be shaken down and swallowed up by earthquakes ... There will be famines, plagues and infectious diseases … There will be bloody wars and internal fighting [civil wars] and external disputes with other nations … A general war will follow which will be appalling. Nothing will be seen but murder, nothing will be heard but the clash of weapons and blasphemy ... Blood will flow on all sides ... Many nations will be annihilated!”
The Last Remedies are the Last Things on Our Mind
As always with God―everything is variable and “negotiable”. If we take and use the remedies offered to us, then we can still do something about what is to come. Do not dream and imagine that we can totally avoid it―the world is way far too sinful for that to happen.
As Our Lady said to Blessed Elena Ailello, back in 1956: “People are offending God too much! If I were to show you all the sins committed on a single day, you would surely die of grief! These are grave times! The world is in a worse condition than at the time of the deluge! All is hanging on a slender thread! When that thread shall snap, Divine Justice shall pounce upon the world and execute its dreadful, purging designs! All the nations shall be punished because sins, like a muddy river, are now covering all the Earth!”
Those words were echoed by Our Lady of Akita in 1973: “Many men in this world afflict the Lord ... If sins increase in number and gravity, there will be no longer pardon for them … the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one never seen before! … Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead.”
Seven years later, in Fulda, Germany, Pope John Paul II revealed that we can no longer avoid and avert the chastisement that is to come―but we can mitigate and soften the blow of what is coming.
Our Lady of Akita had indicated the same thing in 1973: “Many men in this world afflict the Lord. I desire souls to console Him to soften the anger of the Heavenly Father. I wish, with my Son, for souls … beloved souls who console Him by forming an army of victim souls ... who will repair―by their suffering and their poverty―for the sinners and the ungrateful … Prayer, penance and courageous sacrifices can soften the Father’s anger!”
Using the Last Remedies
Catholics have good reason to take to heart the words: “With fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12), for “unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required―and to whom they have committed much, of him they will demand the more!” (Luke 12:48). As a Catholic, you have been given far, far more than those in false religions or paganism. The gift of Faith is not for the mantelpiece, but for the “workshop” ― for “Faith without works is dead!” (James 2:20). If “the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10), then the adopted sons or children of God have to do the same thing―seek and save those who are lost.
The problem is that we tend to “point-the-finger” instead of “saving-the-soul”! Scripture commands: “Cease to point the finger and to speak that which profiteth not!” (Isaias 58:9). “Take heed that you exercise not the judgment of man, but of the Lord―for whatsoever you judge, it shall come back upon you!” (2 Paralipomenon 19:6) ― to which Our Lord adds: “Judge not, that you may not be judged―for with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged; and with what measure you give to others, it shall be measured to you again. Why seest thou the speck that is in thy brother’s eye; and seest not the plank that is in thy own eye? Or how sayest thou to thy brother: ‘Let me cast the speck out of thy eye; and behold there is a plank in thy own eye? Thou hypocrite! Cast out first the beam in thy own eye, and then shalt thou be able to see to cast out the speck out of thy brother’s eye!” (Matthew 7:1-5). “Thus saith the Lord: ‘Judge ye true judgment, and let every man show mercy and compassion to his brother!’” (Zacharias 7:9) ― to which Our Lord adds: “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy! … For if you will forgive men their offences, your heavenly Father will forgive you also your offences” (Matthew 5:7; 6:14). Scripture further adds: “Let all bitterness, and anger, and indignation, and clamor, and blasphemy, be put away from you, with all malice. And be ye kind one to another; merciful, forgiving one another, even as God hath forgiven you in Christ!” (Ephesians 4:31-32) … “Bearing with one another and forgiving one another―if any have a complaint against another―even as the Lord has forgiven you, so do you also!” (Colossians 3:13). “But judgment without mercy to him that hath not done mercy!” (James 2:13).
Our Lady―in her apparitions during these “Last Times”―did not tell us “point-the-finger”, nor to “hound-the-sinner.” No―far from it! She asked: “Are you willing to offer yourselves to God and bear all the sufferings He wills to send you, as an act of reparation for the conversion of sinners?” She insisted: “Sacrifice yourselves for sinners! Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices for sinners; for many souls go to Hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and pray for them! (Fatima). “I desire souls to console Him to soften the anger of the Heavenly Father. I wish, with my Son, for souls … beloved souls who console Him by forming a cohort of victim souls ... who will repair―by their suffering and their poverty―for the sinners and the ungrateful … Prayer, penance and courageous sacrifices can soften the Father’s anger. I desire this!” (Akita).
Are you―and your family―following this path of “prayer, penance and courageous sacrifices”? Or are you following the path of “play, self-indulgence and daring fashions”? Are you “softening the Father’s anger”? Or are you softening your Catholic Faith? Are you prepared to be a “victim soul” for the conversion of sinners? Or are victimizing the souls of sinners by your finger-pointing and words of hate? These current “Last Times” will eventually end with our Last Judgment! Are we judging in a way that we hope to be judged? Or are we judging in a way that we ourselves will fear to be judged? “Judge not, that you may not be judged―for with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged; and with what measure you give to others, it shall be measured to you again!” (Matthew 7:1-2). “Thou shalt not judge unjustly ... but judge thy neighbor according to justice!” (Leviticus 19:15).
Our Lord came, not to point the finger at sinners, but to save sinners! His Apostles―James and John―wanted to call down fire from Heaven to destroy a Samaritan town that had refused Jesus: “They received Him not, because His face was of one going to Jerusalem [for the Samaritans hated Jews]. And when His disciples, James and John, had seen this, they said: ‘Lord, wilt Thou that we command fire to come down from Heaven and consume them?’ And turning, Jesus rebuked them, saying: ‘You know not of what spirit you are! The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save! … The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost! … I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance!’” (Luke 9:53-56; 19:10; 5:32). Is our natural approach to sinners like that of James and John? To destroy them? Or is our attitude like that of Our Lord? To seek and save sinners and call them to penance?
We are certainly living in the “Last Times” and each day is a day closer to our “Last Judgment” ― will we at last wake up to what Heaven is requesting from us and start seeking and saving those who are lost―rather than condemning them? That number―of those who are lost―includes Pope Francis, the Liberal and Modernist clergy, the perverts, the abusers, the drunkards and druggies, the Protestants, the Jews, the pagans―in fact, it consists of the vast majority of the world! So let us stop pointing and wagging the finger―and let us, instead, finger our Rosary beads for those poor deluded stubborn insane souls. For, as Sister Lucia of Fatima said in 1957, the Rosary is the answer to all the problems in the world (which is what Our Lady later re-affirmed in 1973 at Akita):
“The Most Holy Virgin, in these last times in which we live, has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary—to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all, spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families, of the families of the world, or of the religious communities, or even of the life of peoples and nations, that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary. With the Holy Rosary, we will save ourselves, we will sanctify ourselves, we will console Our Lord and obtain the salvation of many souls.” (Sr. Lucia to Fr. Fuentes, December 26th, 1957).
So how many Rosaries are you and your family praying daily? Our Lady insisted: “Say many Rosaries!” (Fatima, May 1917). “Say the Rosary every day!” (Fatima, June 1917). “Continue to pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, because only she can help you!” (Fatima, July 1917). “Continue to say the Rosary every day! Pray, pray very much!” (Fatima, August 1917). “Continue to pray the Rosary!” (Fatima, September 1917). “Continue always to pray the Rosary every day!” (Fatima, October 1917). “Pray very much! … Be faithful and fervent in prayer! … The only weapons which will remain for you will be the Rosary and the Sign left by my Son. Each day recite the prayers of the Rosary! … Pray very much the prayers of the Rosary! I alone am able still to save you from the calamities which approach!” (Akita, 1973).
Maybe this last week of the Liturgical Year and the approach of a new Liturgical Year (with the First Sunday of Advent) is the time when we at last start to pay attention to Our Lady’s message and put it into practice! “Pray in reparation for the ingratitude and outrages of so many men … Pray very much! … Continue to pray very much—very much! … Pray with fervor! … As I told you, if men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity!”
Article 22
Saturday November 22nd
Will I Go to Purgatory?
Saturday November 22nd
Will I Go to Purgatory?
“Most of the souls who are saved pass through Purgatory before arriving at the fullness of beatitude” (St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina).
Wishful Thinking!
A Harris Poll, that surveyed 2,200 U.S. adults, found that: 82% believed in Heaven, 69% believed in Hell, and less than 1% thought they would go to Hell. Unfortunately, the Harris Poll had no question as regards going to Purgatory. How is it that so many American Catholics imagine that nobody goes to Hell—and perhaps Purgatory too? Is our modern-age more saintly than past-ages? Do we sin less today than in ages of old? Most certainly not!
Out of Sight, Out of Mind!
The main reason would be, as the saying goes: “Out of sight, out of mind.” Over the last 50 years or so, the Four Last Things―Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell―are less and less preached and taught in schools and catechism programs. since Vatican II. The Modernist view on universal salvation (everybody is saved), for example, has become mainstream thinking, even among so-called Conservative Catholic scholars today. The Modernist theologian, Von Balthasar, boldly asked that since the Redemption of Christ was sufficient to have saved all sinners, why should it not be so? In the end, he proposed, one can entertain the possibility that Hell, if it even exists, is vacant. Another Modernist, Fr. Karl Rahner, S.J., assures us that the dead are not suffering, or even really gone:
“They do not leave us. They remain! Where are they? In darkness? Oh, No! It is we who are in darkness. We do not see them, but they see us. Their eyes, radiant with glory, are fixed upon our eyes…. Oh, infinite consolation! Although invisible to us, our dead are not absent… They are living near us, transfigured … into light, into power, into love.”
No Toleration for Hell or Purgatory
With all the white funerals, politically-correct sermons—that toast the deceased rather than say he could be toast—soften the mind and sensibilities to the point where the mention of Hell or Purgatory would be met with outrage and outcries:”How dare you even insinuate that my dear pappy could be in Purgatory! I feel that he is in Heaven right now! You should be ashamed of yourself for suggesting that we need to pray for him in case he is in Purgatory! You must have a warped idea of God! My God is kind and sweet and loving—and He would never send anyone to Hell or even Purgatory, especially not my pappy!”
Hell and Purgatory are taboo subjects—they cannot be mentioned in Catholic circles anymore without causing consternation among many! They are more likely to let you get-away with an indecent joke that let to get-away with initiating talk on Hell or Purgatory! Yet, just because society no longer like to think and talk about Hell or Purgatory, does not mean they do not exist, and it will not make them go-away, like some unwanted guest, who is ignored and given the cold-shoulder until he leaves.
Get Real!
Well, leaving Hell aside for the moment, St. Padre Pio (just one of many) is of the opinion that most souls who will end up being saved, have to pass through Purgatory first: “Most of the souls who are saved pass through Purgatory before arriving at the fullness of beatitude” (St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina). If we have to take sides—choosing between the Modernists Von Balthasar with Fr. Rahner against St. Padre Pio—we know where we would stand (even though wishful thinking would try to push us to the Modernist side in imagining that all souls go Heaven). Reality is reality. God is just, holy and demanding, just as much as He is merciful, kind and indulgent. All the apparitions (though we don’t base our opinions solely on apparitions) have always showed the grim, painful face of Purgatory—no apparition has been seen laughing, holding a cigar and a champagne glass, boasting of what a great party was taking place in Purgatory! Purgatory exists and we are most likely to be just lucky enough to scrape in there by the skin of our teeth!
How Great is any Offense Against God?
“Sin is the only evil upon Earth … Mortal sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, poverty, or war, because it separates us from God … Venial sin is second only in evil consequences to mortal sin” (The Catechism Explained, by Spirago-Clarke; also the Catechism, My Catholic Faith, by Bishop Morrow, STD).
Any offense against an Infinite God, whether great or small, is an infinite offense. Technically there is no such thing as venial sin, for again, any offense, great or small, against an Infinite God is infinite. In God’s great mercy, He does not send souls to Hell who have not offended him seriously, but they have offended Him in a lesser way and so He sends them to Purgatory―or rather, God gives them the true light by which to see and understand sin for what it really is, and the soul, depending upon how it sees itself in that light, willingly casts itself into either Hell or Purgatory—God does push anyone “over the edge.”
Again, the gravity of an offense, whether great or small, is measured, is determined, by the object at which it strikes, by the dignity of the person offended.”The gravity of the injury is measured according to the dignity of the person offended.” (Blessed Abbot Joseph Columba Marmion, O.S.B. 1858-1923). A venial sin is finite in its degree of evilness, but technically, since it is an offense against an infinite God, it is infinite in measure and gravity. But again, in God’s incredible and infinite Mercy, he does not send souls to hell for venial sin. However a venial sin of a friend of God is much more tragic and hurts, offends and wounds God more than a mortal sin of an enemy of God, because the ones you love hurt you the most far more than strangers or enemies.
The offense of a sin is not just measured by what kind of action it happens to be, it is also judged upon the importance of the person whom the sin hurts. Punching a stranger is not as serious as punching a friend. Yet punching the friend is not as serious as punching a family member. Yet that is less serious than punching a priest. However, punching the priest is less serious than punching the bishop or, even worse, punching the Pope. It’s the same power of punch, on the same place—the nose, but it gets ever more serious as the person is more important. Who is more important than God? All sin attacks God, whether directly or indirectly—“Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40).
We Are Just Grains of Sand
It is estimated that almost 2 people (1.8) die each second. Based on the 1.8 figure, that would mean that 108 people die each minute; and 6,480 die each hour; with 155,520 dying each day, or just over a million each week (1,088,640) and over 56 million (56,609,280) each year. That makes you feel kind of unimportant, doesn’t it? How true that is—we are but a tiny grain of sand on the beach of humanity! It brings home the words of Our Lord to Sr. Josefa Menendez, when He said to her: “Little still implies some being, but, Josefa, you are less than that―you are nothingness personified!”
How Many of Those Who Die Are Saved?
How many of those souls are saved and lost? There are varying opinions on that matter. Here is what Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P., writes in his book Life Everlasting:
“Many works have been written on the number of the elect. We may refer particularly to the article in the Dictionnaire de Theologie Catholique. Here we restrict ourselves to that which is certain, or at least very probable, in agreement with the great majority of theologians” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, Life Everlasting, chapter 32).
The Mystery of This Number
“The number of the elect is known only by God. “The Lord knows who are His.” The liturgy says that this number is known to Him alone. This is reaffirmed also by St. Thomas. The end of the world will come when the number of the elect is complete, when the succession of human generations has reached its goal. This number in itself is very great: “I heard the number of them that were signed (of the servants of God), a hundred forty-four thousand were signed, of every tribe of the children of Israel.... After this, I saw a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and in the sight of the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands.” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, Life Everlasting, chapter 32).
“If we count both angels and men, the number of the elect seems to be higher than that of the reprobate. When we speak of men exclusively, the number of the elect remains a matter of controversy. Many Fathers and theologians incline to the smaller number of the elect, because it is said in Scripture: “Many are called, but few are chosen.” Again: “Enter you in at the narrow gate―for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction; and many there are who go in thereat; how narrow is the gate and strait is the way that leads to life and few there are that find it.” Still, these texts are not absolutely demonstrative.” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, Life Everlasting, chapter 32).
“Thus, following many others, Fr. Monsabre remarks: ‘If these words were intended for all places and for all times, then the opinion of the small number of the elect would triumph. But we are permitted to think that they are meant, directly, for the ungrateful time of our Savior’s own preaching. When Jesus wishes us to think of the future, He speaks in another manner. Thus He says to His disciples: “If I be lifted up from the Earth, I will draw all things to Myself.” “The gates of Hell shall not prevail against (My Church).” And showing us the results of the last judgment, He says: “The wicked shall go into everlasting punishment, but the just into life everlasting.”’ Fr. Monsabre continues: ‘Remark that He does not tell us definitely the number of the good and of the wicked. To those who demanded a clear pronouncement, He was content to reply: “Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many . . . shall seek to enter and shall not be able.” The rigorists will tell me possibly that Jesus here hides the mystery of His justice, in order not to frighten timorous souls. As for myself, I prefer to think that He hides here the mystery of His mercy, that we may avoid presumption.” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, Life Everlasting,chapter 32).
The Great Saints Says Most Are Lost
“The common opinion of the Fathers and ancient theologians is without doubt that those who are saved do not represent the greater number. We may cite in favor of this view the following saints: Basil, John Chrysostom, Gregory Nazianzen, Hilary, Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, Leo the Great, Bernard, Thomas Aquinas. Then, nearer to our own times: Molina, St. Robert Bellarmine, Suarez, Vasquez, Lessius, and St. Alphonsus. But they give this view as opinion, not as revealed truth, not as certain conclusion.” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, Life Everlasting, chapter 32).
Uncertainty
“In the last century the contrary opinion, namely, of the greater number of the elect, was defended by Father Faber in England, by Monsignor Bougaud in France, by Father Castelein, S.J., in Belgium. To conclude: some insist on the mercy of God, others on the justice of God. Neither one side nor the other gives us certitude. And the reasons of appropriateness which each invokes differ very much from the reasons of appropriateness invoked in favor of a dogma which is already certain by revelation, whereas here we are treating of a truth that is not certain.” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, Life Everlasting, chapter 32).
Changing Times Bring Changing Numbers
“Theologians in general are inclined to fill out what Scripture and tradition tell us, by distinguishing the means of salvation, given to Catholics, from those that are given men of good-will beyond the borders of the Church. Restricting the question to Catholics, we find the doctrine, generally held especially since Suarez, that, if we consider merely adults, the number of the elect surpasses that of the reprobate. If adult Catholics do at one time or another sin mortally, nevertheless they can arise in the tribunal of penance, and there are relatively few who at the end of life do not repent, or even refuse to receive the sacraments.” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, Life Everlasting, chapter 32).
However today, very few receive the last rites, very few go to confession. We must fear the worst for our day! Besides, Our Lady of Fatima explicitly said that MANY souls go to Hell because there is nobody to pray and offer sacrifices for them—prayer and sacrifice is not exactly on the increase, but on the decrease. Today it is far less (per head) than it was when Our lady appeared and said this, back in 1917.
“The important thing is to observe the commandments of God. St. Augustine said, and the Council of Trent repeats: “God never commands the impossible. But He warns us to do what we can, and to ask of Him the grace to accomplish what we of ourselves cannot do, and He aids us to fulfill what He commands.” Let us put our confidence in Jesus Christ, “the victim of propitiation for our sins,” “the Lamb of God, . . . who takes away the sin of the world.” “Let us go with confidence to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace in seasonable aid.” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, Life Everlasting, chapter 32).
We have too low an estimate of God, His holiness, His honor and His demands upon us. Furthermore, we shoot ourselves in the foot by underestimating the gravity of sin. We think most sins to be “sweet-nothings” whereas nothing could be further from the truth. We really need to shape-up, take things more seriously and start paying for the sins we have committed until now. It is the gross indifference of most Catholics that lends credence to St. Padre Pio’s statement: “Most of the souls who are saved pass through Purgatory before arriving at the fullness of beatitude”
Wishful Thinking!
A Harris Poll, that surveyed 2,200 U.S. adults, found that: 82% believed in Heaven, 69% believed in Hell, and less than 1% thought they would go to Hell. Unfortunately, the Harris Poll had no question as regards going to Purgatory. How is it that so many American Catholics imagine that nobody goes to Hell—and perhaps Purgatory too? Is our modern-age more saintly than past-ages? Do we sin less today than in ages of old? Most certainly not!
Out of Sight, Out of Mind!
The main reason would be, as the saying goes: “Out of sight, out of mind.” Over the last 50 years or so, the Four Last Things―Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell―are less and less preached and taught in schools and catechism programs. since Vatican II. The Modernist view on universal salvation (everybody is saved), for example, has become mainstream thinking, even among so-called Conservative Catholic scholars today. The Modernist theologian, Von Balthasar, boldly asked that since the Redemption of Christ was sufficient to have saved all sinners, why should it not be so? In the end, he proposed, one can entertain the possibility that Hell, if it even exists, is vacant. Another Modernist, Fr. Karl Rahner, S.J., assures us that the dead are not suffering, or even really gone:
“They do not leave us. They remain! Where are they? In darkness? Oh, No! It is we who are in darkness. We do not see them, but they see us. Their eyes, radiant with glory, are fixed upon our eyes…. Oh, infinite consolation! Although invisible to us, our dead are not absent… They are living near us, transfigured … into light, into power, into love.”
No Toleration for Hell or Purgatory
With all the white funerals, politically-correct sermons—that toast the deceased rather than say he could be toast—soften the mind and sensibilities to the point where the mention of Hell or Purgatory would be met with outrage and outcries:”How dare you even insinuate that my dear pappy could be in Purgatory! I feel that he is in Heaven right now! You should be ashamed of yourself for suggesting that we need to pray for him in case he is in Purgatory! You must have a warped idea of God! My God is kind and sweet and loving—and He would never send anyone to Hell or even Purgatory, especially not my pappy!”
Hell and Purgatory are taboo subjects—they cannot be mentioned in Catholic circles anymore without causing consternation among many! They are more likely to let you get-away with an indecent joke that let to get-away with initiating talk on Hell or Purgatory! Yet, just because society no longer like to think and talk about Hell or Purgatory, does not mean they do not exist, and it will not make them go-away, like some unwanted guest, who is ignored and given the cold-shoulder until he leaves.
Get Real!
Well, leaving Hell aside for the moment, St. Padre Pio (just one of many) is of the opinion that most souls who will end up being saved, have to pass through Purgatory first: “Most of the souls who are saved pass through Purgatory before arriving at the fullness of beatitude” (St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina). If we have to take sides—choosing between the Modernists Von Balthasar with Fr. Rahner against St. Padre Pio—we know where we would stand (even though wishful thinking would try to push us to the Modernist side in imagining that all souls go Heaven). Reality is reality. God is just, holy and demanding, just as much as He is merciful, kind and indulgent. All the apparitions (though we don’t base our opinions solely on apparitions) have always showed the grim, painful face of Purgatory—no apparition has been seen laughing, holding a cigar and a champagne glass, boasting of what a great party was taking place in Purgatory! Purgatory exists and we are most likely to be just lucky enough to scrape in there by the skin of our teeth!
How Great is any Offense Against God?
“Sin is the only evil upon Earth … Mortal sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, poverty, or war, because it separates us from God … Venial sin is second only in evil consequences to mortal sin” (The Catechism Explained, by Spirago-Clarke; also the Catechism, My Catholic Faith, by Bishop Morrow, STD).
Any offense against an Infinite God, whether great or small, is an infinite offense. Technically there is no such thing as venial sin, for again, any offense, great or small, against an Infinite God is infinite. In God’s great mercy, He does not send souls to Hell who have not offended him seriously, but they have offended Him in a lesser way and so He sends them to Purgatory―or rather, God gives them the true light by which to see and understand sin for what it really is, and the soul, depending upon how it sees itself in that light, willingly casts itself into either Hell or Purgatory—God does push anyone “over the edge.”
Again, the gravity of an offense, whether great or small, is measured, is determined, by the object at which it strikes, by the dignity of the person offended.”The gravity of the injury is measured according to the dignity of the person offended.” (Blessed Abbot Joseph Columba Marmion, O.S.B. 1858-1923). A venial sin is finite in its degree of evilness, but technically, since it is an offense against an infinite God, it is infinite in measure and gravity. But again, in God’s incredible and infinite Mercy, he does not send souls to hell for venial sin. However a venial sin of a friend of God is much more tragic and hurts, offends and wounds God more than a mortal sin of an enemy of God, because the ones you love hurt you the most far more than strangers or enemies.
The offense of a sin is not just measured by what kind of action it happens to be, it is also judged upon the importance of the person whom the sin hurts. Punching a stranger is not as serious as punching a friend. Yet punching the friend is not as serious as punching a family member. Yet that is less serious than punching a priest. However, punching the priest is less serious than punching the bishop or, even worse, punching the Pope. It’s the same power of punch, on the same place—the nose, but it gets ever more serious as the person is more important. Who is more important than God? All sin attacks God, whether directly or indirectly—“Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40).
We Are Just Grains of Sand
It is estimated that almost 2 people (1.8) die each second. Based on the 1.8 figure, that would mean that 108 people die each minute; and 6,480 die each hour; with 155,520 dying each day, or just over a million each week (1,088,640) and over 56 million (56,609,280) each year. That makes you feel kind of unimportant, doesn’t it? How true that is—we are but a tiny grain of sand on the beach of humanity! It brings home the words of Our Lord to Sr. Josefa Menendez, when He said to her: “Little still implies some being, but, Josefa, you are less than that―you are nothingness personified!”
How Many of Those Who Die Are Saved?
How many of those souls are saved and lost? There are varying opinions on that matter. Here is what Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P., writes in his book Life Everlasting:
“Many works have been written on the number of the elect. We may refer particularly to the article in the Dictionnaire de Theologie Catholique. Here we restrict ourselves to that which is certain, or at least very probable, in agreement with the great majority of theologians” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, Life Everlasting, chapter 32).
The Mystery of This Number
“The number of the elect is known only by God. “The Lord knows who are His.” The liturgy says that this number is known to Him alone. This is reaffirmed also by St. Thomas. The end of the world will come when the number of the elect is complete, when the succession of human generations has reached its goal. This number in itself is very great: “I heard the number of them that were signed (of the servants of God), a hundred forty-four thousand were signed, of every tribe of the children of Israel.... After this, I saw a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and in the sight of the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands.” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, Life Everlasting, chapter 32).
“If we count both angels and men, the number of the elect seems to be higher than that of the reprobate. When we speak of men exclusively, the number of the elect remains a matter of controversy. Many Fathers and theologians incline to the smaller number of the elect, because it is said in Scripture: “Many are called, but few are chosen.” Again: “Enter you in at the narrow gate―for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction; and many there are who go in thereat; how narrow is the gate and strait is the way that leads to life and few there are that find it.” Still, these texts are not absolutely demonstrative.” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, Life Everlasting, chapter 32).
“Thus, following many others, Fr. Monsabre remarks: ‘If these words were intended for all places and for all times, then the opinion of the small number of the elect would triumph. But we are permitted to think that they are meant, directly, for the ungrateful time of our Savior’s own preaching. When Jesus wishes us to think of the future, He speaks in another manner. Thus He says to His disciples: “If I be lifted up from the Earth, I will draw all things to Myself.” “The gates of Hell shall not prevail against (My Church).” And showing us the results of the last judgment, He says: “The wicked shall go into everlasting punishment, but the just into life everlasting.”’ Fr. Monsabre continues: ‘Remark that He does not tell us definitely the number of the good and of the wicked. To those who demanded a clear pronouncement, He was content to reply: “Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many . . . shall seek to enter and shall not be able.” The rigorists will tell me possibly that Jesus here hides the mystery of His justice, in order not to frighten timorous souls. As for myself, I prefer to think that He hides here the mystery of His mercy, that we may avoid presumption.” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, Life Everlasting,chapter 32).
The Great Saints Says Most Are Lost
“The common opinion of the Fathers and ancient theologians is without doubt that those who are saved do not represent the greater number. We may cite in favor of this view the following saints: Basil, John Chrysostom, Gregory Nazianzen, Hilary, Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, Leo the Great, Bernard, Thomas Aquinas. Then, nearer to our own times: Molina, St. Robert Bellarmine, Suarez, Vasquez, Lessius, and St. Alphonsus. But they give this view as opinion, not as revealed truth, not as certain conclusion.” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, Life Everlasting, chapter 32).
Uncertainty
“In the last century the contrary opinion, namely, of the greater number of the elect, was defended by Father Faber in England, by Monsignor Bougaud in France, by Father Castelein, S.J., in Belgium. To conclude: some insist on the mercy of God, others on the justice of God. Neither one side nor the other gives us certitude. And the reasons of appropriateness which each invokes differ very much from the reasons of appropriateness invoked in favor of a dogma which is already certain by revelation, whereas here we are treating of a truth that is not certain.” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, Life Everlasting, chapter 32).
Changing Times Bring Changing Numbers
“Theologians in general are inclined to fill out what Scripture and tradition tell us, by distinguishing the means of salvation, given to Catholics, from those that are given men of good-will beyond the borders of the Church. Restricting the question to Catholics, we find the doctrine, generally held especially since Suarez, that, if we consider merely adults, the number of the elect surpasses that of the reprobate. If adult Catholics do at one time or another sin mortally, nevertheless they can arise in the tribunal of penance, and there are relatively few who at the end of life do not repent, or even refuse to receive the sacraments.” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, Life Everlasting, chapter 32).
However today, very few receive the last rites, very few go to confession. We must fear the worst for our day! Besides, Our Lady of Fatima explicitly said that MANY souls go to Hell because there is nobody to pray and offer sacrifices for them—prayer and sacrifice is not exactly on the increase, but on the decrease. Today it is far less (per head) than it was when Our lady appeared and said this, back in 1917.
“The important thing is to observe the commandments of God. St. Augustine said, and the Council of Trent repeats: “God never commands the impossible. But He warns us to do what we can, and to ask of Him the grace to accomplish what we of ourselves cannot do, and He aids us to fulfill what He commands.” Let us put our confidence in Jesus Christ, “the victim of propitiation for our sins,” “the Lamb of God, . . . who takes away the sin of the world.” “Let us go with confidence to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace in seasonable aid.” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, Life Everlasting, chapter 32).
We have too low an estimate of God, His holiness, His honor and His demands upon us. Furthermore, we shoot ourselves in the foot by underestimating the gravity of sin. We think most sins to be “sweet-nothings” whereas nothing could be further from the truth. We really need to shape-up, take things more seriously and start paying for the sins we have committed until now. It is the gross indifference of most Catholics that lends credence to St. Padre Pio’s statement: “Most of the souls who are saved pass through Purgatory before arriving at the fullness of beatitude”
Article 21
Friday November 21st
Mercy & Purgatory
Friday November 21st
Mercy & Purgatory
Consolation in Pain
It is true that all might not achieve such a high degree of Charity that all their temporal punishment for sin would be removed, but there is no one that cannot have confidence in the Divine Mercy. This Mercy is infinite, it imparts peace to all souls that keep it constantly before their eyes and confide therein. With regard to Purgatory the Mercy of God is exercised in a threefold manner:
(1) in consoling the souls;
(2) in mitigating or softening their sufferings;
(3) in giving to ourselves, here on Earth, a thousand means of avoiding those punishing fires.
God Consoles and God Loves
Firstly, we must not forget that God consoles the souls in Purgatory. These are the souls that are destined to be with Him forever in Heaven. It is He Himself that consoles them. Yet He also consoles them through the Blessed Virgin and through the holy angels. He consoles the souls by inspiring them with a high degree of Faith, Hope, and Divine Love— virtues which produce, in the suffering souls, a conformity to the Divine will, a resignation to their just plight, and a most perfect patience.
St. Catherine of Genoa says: “God inspires the soul in Purgatory with so ardent a movement of devoted love, that it would be sufficient to annihilate her, if she were not immortal. Illumined and inflamed by that pure Charity, the more she loves God, the more she detests the least stain that displeases Him, as well as the least hindrance that prevents her union with Him. Therefore, if she could find another Purgatory more terrible than the one to which she is condemned, that soul would plunge herself therein, impelled by the impetuosity of the love which exists between God and herself, in order that she might be the sooner delivered from all that separates her from her Sovereign God.”
St. Catherine continues: “These souls are intimately united to the will of God, and so completely transformed into it, that they are always satisfied with its holy ordinances. The souls in Purgatory have no choice of their own; they can no longer will anything other than what God wills. They receive with perfect submission all that God gives them; and neither pleasure, nor contentment, nor pain can ever again make them think of themselves.”
He Listened Too Late, But He Burns Peacefully
Fr. Schouppe, in Purgatory Explained, writes that St. Magdalen de Pazzi, after the death of one of her brothers, had gone to the choir to offer prayers for him, when she saw a vision of his soul subject to an intense suffering. Touched with compassion, she began to weep and cried out in pity: “Brother, both miserable and blessed at the same time! O soul afflicted and yet contented! These pains are intolerable and yet they are endured. Why are they not understood by those here below, who have not the courage to carry their cross? Whilst you were in this world, my dear brother, you would not listen to my advice, and now you desire ardently that I should listen to you. O God, equally just and merciful, comfort this brother of mine, who has served Thee from his infancy. Have regard to your clemency, I beseech Thee, and make use of Thy great mercy on his behalf. O God most just, if he has not always been attentive to pleasing Thee, at least he has not despised those who made profession of serving you with fidelity.”
The day on which she had that wonderful ecstasy, during which she visited the different prisons of Purgatory, seeing again the soul of her brother, she said to him, “Poor soul, how you suffer and nevertheless you rejoice! You burn and you are satisfied, because you know well that these sufferings must lead you to a great and unspeakable happiness. How happy shall I be, if I could avoid having to endure greater suffering! Remain here, my dear brother, and complete your purification in peace!”
This contentment in the midst of the most intense suffering cannot be explained otherwise than by the Divine consolations which the Holy Ghost infuses into the souls in Purgatory. This Divine Spirit, by means of Faith, Hope, and Charity, puts those souls in the disposition of a sick person who has to submit to very painful treatment, but the effect, of which is to restore him to perfect health. This sick person suffers, but he loves his salutary suffering. The Holy Ghost, the Comforter, gives a similar contentment to the holy souls. In a sense, He enkindles in them the fire of His Love, which helps them fight fire with fire.
The Miracle of St. Stanislaus
Of this we have a striking example in Peter Miles, who was raised from the dead by St. Stanislaus of Cracow, but who preferred and asked to be allowed to return to Purgatory, rather than to live again upon Earth. The celebrated miracle of this resurrection happened in 1070. It is recorded in the Acta Sanctorum for May 7th. St. Stanislaus was the Bishop of Cracow, Poland, when the Duke Boleslas II governed Poland. The king was neglecting God and living too secular a life.
St. Stanislaus reminded the prince of his duties, but Boleslas was irritated and, to revenge himself, he stirred-up against Stanislaus the heirs of a certain Peter Miles, who had died three years previously after having sold a piece of ground to the church of Cracow. The heirs accused the saint of having usurped the ground, without having paid the owner. Stanislaus declared that he had paid for the land, but as the witnesses who should have defended him had been either bribed or intimidated, he was accused of stealing the property of another, and condemned to make restitution.
Then, seeing that he had nothing to expect from human justice, he raised his heart to God, and received a sudden inspiration. He asked for a delay of three days, promising to make Peter Miles appear in person, that he might testify to the legal purchase and payment of the land.
They were granted to him in scorn. The saint fasted, watched, and prayed God to take up the defense of his cause. The third day, after having celebrated Holy Mass, he went out accompanied by his clergy and many of the faithful, to the place where Peter had been buried. By his orders the grave was opened; it contained nothing but bones. He touched them with his crosier, and in the name of Him who is the Resurrection and the Life, he commanded the dead man to arise.
Dead Men Walk
Suddenly the bones became reunited, were covered with flesh, and, in sight of the stupefied people, the dead man was seen to take the Bishop by the hand and walk towards the tribunal. Boleslas, with his court and an immense crowd of people, were awaiting the result with the most lively expectation. “Behold Peter,” said the saint to Boleslas; “he comes, prince, to give testimony before you. Interrogate him―he will answer you!”
It is impossible to describe the stupefaction of the Duke, of his councilors, and of the whole concourse of people. Peter affirmed that he had been paid for the ground; then turning towards his heirs, he reproached them for having accused the pious prelate against all rights of justice; then he exhorted them to do penance for so grievous a sin.
Which Do You Prefer—Purgatory or Earth?
Wishing to complete this great miracle for the glory of God, Stanislaus proposed to the deceased that, if he desired to live a few years longer, he would obtain for him this favor from God. Peter replied that he had no such desire. He was in Purgatory, but he would rather return there immediately and endure its pains, than expose himself to damnation in this terrestrial life. He implored the saint only to beg of God to shorten the time of his sufferings, that he might the sooner enter Heaven. After that, accompanied by the Bishop and a great crowd, Peter returned to his grave, laid himself down, his body fell to pieces, and his bones resumed the same state in which they had first been found. We have reason to believe that the saint soon obtained the deliverance of his soul.
That which is the most remarkable in this example, and which should most attract our attention, is that a soul from Purgatory, after having experienced the most excruciating torments, prefers that state of suffering to the life of this world; and the reason which he gives for this preference is, that in this mortal life we are exposed to the danger of being lost and incurring eternal damnation. He sees Purgatory as being a mercy that he does not want to relinquish.
The Help of Our Lady
The souls in Purgatory receive also great consolation from the Blessed Virgin. Is she not the “Comforter of the Afflicted”? And what affliction can be compared to that of the poor souls in the fires of Purgatory? Is she not the “Mother of Mercy”? And is it not towards these holy suffering souls that she must show all the mercy of her heart? We must not, therefore, be astonished that in the Revelations of St. Bridget the Queen of Heaven gives herself the beautiful name of “Mother of the Souls in Purgatory”. She said to St. Bridget, “I am the Mother of all those who are in the place of expiation; my prayers mitigate the chastisements which are inflicted upon them for their faults.” (Revel. S. Brig., lib. 4. c. 50).
Fear Not, My Son…
On October 25th, 1604, in the College of the Society of Jesus at Coimbra, Portugal, Father Jerome Carvalho died in the odor of sanctity, at the age of fifty years. This admirable and humble servant of God had always felt a lively apprehension of the sufferings of Purgatory. Neither the cruel scourgings which he inflicted upon himself several times every day, not counting those prompted each week by the remembrance of the Passion, nor the six hours which he devoted morning and evening to the meditation of holy subjects, seemed sufficient, in his estimation, to shield him from the chastisement which he imagined awaited him after death.
But one day the Queen of Heaven, to whom he had a tender devotion, decided to come herself to console her servant by the simple assurance that she was a Mother of Mercy to her dear children in Purgatory, and not only to those upon Earth. Seeking, later, to spread this consoling doctrine, the holy man accidentally let fall, in the ardor of his discourse, these words: “She told me this herself.”
Mary’s Powerful Intercession
It is related that a great servant of Mary, Blessed Renier of Citeaux, trembled at the thought of his sins and the terrible Justice of God after death. In his fear, addressing himself to Our Lady, whom he held as his great Protectress, who calls herself Mother of Mercy, he fell into an ecstasy, and saw the Mother of God interceding with her Son in his favor.
“My Son,” she said, “deal mercifully with him in Purgatory, because he humbly repents of his sins.”
“My Mother,” replied Jesus, “I place his cause in thy hands,” which meant to say, be it done to your servant according to your desires. Blessed Renier understood with unutterable joy that Mary had obtained his exemption from Purgatory.
Putting-Out the Flames with the Rosary
The Rosary is a key ingredient in all of this. We read in St. Louis de Montfort’s book, The Secret of the Rosary, how great is the power of the Rosary in remitting temporal punishment due for our sins. Here are a few extracts:
When St. Dominic was performing an exorcism, through Our Lady’s intervention he got the devils to admit many things, one of them was the following: “Now that we are forced to speak, we must also tell you that nobody who perseveres in saying the Rosary will be damned, because she obtains for her servants the grace of true contrition for their sins by which they obtain pardon and mercy” (Secret of the Rosary, “Thirty-Third Rose”).
“Flammin and a great number of other writers tell the story of a young girl of noble station named Alexandra, who had been miraculously converted and enrolled by St. Dominic in the Confraternity of the Rosary. After her death, she appeared to him and said she had been condemned to seven hundred years in Purgatory because of her own sins and those she had caused others to commit by her worldly ways. So she implored him to ease her pains by his prayers and to ask the Confraternity members to pray for the same end. St. Dominic did as she had asked. Two weeks later she appeared to him, more radiant than the sun, having been quickly delivered from Purgatory by the prayers of the Confraternity members. She also told St. Dominic that she had come on behalf of the souls in Purgatory to beg him to go on preaching the Rosary and to ask their relations to offer their Rosaries for them, and that they would reward them abundantly when they entered into glory” (Secret of the Rosary, “Forty-Ninth Rose”).
“Alphonsus, King of Leon and Galicia, very much wanted all his servants to honor the Blessed Virgin by saying the Rosary, so he used to hang a large Rosary on his belt, though he never said it himself. Nevertheless, his wearing it encouraged his courtiers to say the Rosary devoutly. One day the King fell seriously ill and when he was given up for dead he found himself, in spirit, before the judgment seat of Our Lord. Many devils were there accusing him of all the sins he had committed, and Our Lord was about to condemn him when Our Lady came forward to speak in his favor. She called for a pair of scales and had his sins placed in one of the balances, while she put the large Rosary which he had always worn on the other scale, together with all the Rosaries that had been said through his example. It was found that the Rosaries weighed more than his sins. Looking at him with great kindness, Our Lady said, ‘As a reward for the little service you did for me, in wearing my Rosary, I have obtained a great grace for you from my Son. Your life will be spared for a few more years. See that you spend those years wisely, and do penance.’” (Secret of the Rosary, “Eighth Rose”).
It is true that all might not achieve such a high degree of Charity that all their temporal punishment for sin would be removed, but there is no one that cannot have confidence in the Divine Mercy. This Mercy is infinite, it imparts peace to all souls that keep it constantly before their eyes and confide therein. With regard to Purgatory the Mercy of God is exercised in a threefold manner:
(1) in consoling the souls;
(2) in mitigating or softening their sufferings;
(3) in giving to ourselves, here on Earth, a thousand means of avoiding those punishing fires.
God Consoles and God Loves
Firstly, we must not forget that God consoles the souls in Purgatory. These are the souls that are destined to be with Him forever in Heaven. It is He Himself that consoles them. Yet He also consoles them through the Blessed Virgin and through the holy angels. He consoles the souls by inspiring them with a high degree of Faith, Hope, and Divine Love— virtues which produce, in the suffering souls, a conformity to the Divine will, a resignation to their just plight, and a most perfect patience.
St. Catherine of Genoa says: “God inspires the soul in Purgatory with so ardent a movement of devoted love, that it would be sufficient to annihilate her, if she were not immortal. Illumined and inflamed by that pure Charity, the more she loves God, the more she detests the least stain that displeases Him, as well as the least hindrance that prevents her union with Him. Therefore, if she could find another Purgatory more terrible than the one to which she is condemned, that soul would plunge herself therein, impelled by the impetuosity of the love which exists between God and herself, in order that she might be the sooner delivered from all that separates her from her Sovereign God.”
St. Catherine continues: “These souls are intimately united to the will of God, and so completely transformed into it, that they are always satisfied with its holy ordinances. The souls in Purgatory have no choice of their own; they can no longer will anything other than what God wills. They receive with perfect submission all that God gives them; and neither pleasure, nor contentment, nor pain can ever again make them think of themselves.”
He Listened Too Late, But He Burns Peacefully
Fr. Schouppe, in Purgatory Explained, writes that St. Magdalen de Pazzi, after the death of one of her brothers, had gone to the choir to offer prayers for him, when she saw a vision of his soul subject to an intense suffering. Touched with compassion, she began to weep and cried out in pity: “Brother, both miserable and blessed at the same time! O soul afflicted and yet contented! These pains are intolerable and yet they are endured. Why are they not understood by those here below, who have not the courage to carry their cross? Whilst you were in this world, my dear brother, you would not listen to my advice, and now you desire ardently that I should listen to you. O God, equally just and merciful, comfort this brother of mine, who has served Thee from his infancy. Have regard to your clemency, I beseech Thee, and make use of Thy great mercy on his behalf. O God most just, if he has not always been attentive to pleasing Thee, at least he has not despised those who made profession of serving you with fidelity.”
The day on which she had that wonderful ecstasy, during which she visited the different prisons of Purgatory, seeing again the soul of her brother, she said to him, “Poor soul, how you suffer and nevertheless you rejoice! You burn and you are satisfied, because you know well that these sufferings must lead you to a great and unspeakable happiness. How happy shall I be, if I could avoid having to endure greater suffering! Remain here, my dear brother, and complete your purification in peace!”
This contentment in the midst of the most intense suffering cannot be explained otherwise than by the Divine consolations which the Holy Ghost infuses into the souls in Purgatory. This Divine Spirit, by means of Faith, Hope, and Charity, puts those souls in the disposition of a sick person who has to submit to very painful treatment, but the effect, of which is to restore him to perfect health. This sick person suffers, but he loves his salutary suffering. The Holy Ghost, the Comforter, gives a similar contentment to the holy souls. In a sense, He enkindles in them the fire of His Love, which helps them fight fire with fire.
The Miracle of St. Stanislaus
Of this we have a striking example in Peter Miles, who was raised from the dead by St. Stanislaus of Cracow, but who preferred and asked to be allowed to return to Purgatory, rather than to live again upon Earth. The celebrated miracle of this resurrection happened in 1070. It is recorded in the Acta Sanctorum for May 7th. St. Stanislaus was the Bishop of Cracow, Poland, when the Duke Boleslas II governed Poland. The king was neglecting God and living too secular a life.
St. Stanislaus reminded the prince of his duties, but Boleslas was irritated and, to revenge himself, he stirred-up against Stanislaus the heirs of a certain Peter Miles, who had died three years previously after having sold a piece of ground to the church of Cracow. The heirs accused the saint of having usurped the ground, without having paid the owner. Stanislaus declared that he had paid for the land, but as the witnesses who should have defended him had been either bribed or intimidated, he was accused of stealing the property of another, and condemned to make restitution.
Then, seeing that he had nothing to expect from human justice, he raised his heart to God, and received a sudden inspiration. He asked for a delay of three days, promising to make Peter Miles appear in person, that he might testify to the legal purchase and payment of the land.
They were granted to him in scorn. The saint fasted, watched, and prayed God to take up the defense of his cause. The third day, after having celebrated Holy Mass, he went out accompanied by his clergy and many of the faithful, to the place where Peter had been buried. By his orders the grave was opened; it contained nothing but bones. He touched them with his crosier, and in the name of Him who is the Resurrection and the Life, he commanded the dead man to arise.
Dead Men Walk
Suddenly the bones became reunited, were covered with flesh, and, in sight of the stupefied people, the dead man was seen to take the Bishop by the hand and walk towards the tribunal. Boleslas, with his court and an immense crowd of people, were awaiting the result with the most lively expectation. “Behold Peter,” said the saint to Boleslas; “he comes, prince, to give testimony before you. Interrogate him―he will answer you!”
It is impossible to describe the stupefaction of the Duke, of his councilors, and of the whole concourse of people. Peter affirmed that he had been paid for the ground; then turning towards his heirs, he reproached them for having accused the pious prelate against all rights of justice; then he exhorted them to do penance for so grievous a sin.
Which Do You Prefer—Purgatory or Earth?
Wishing to complete this great miracle for the glory of God, Stanislaus proposed to the deceased that, if he desired to live a few years longer, he would obtain for him this favor from God. Peter replied that he had no such desire. He was in Purgatory, but he would rather return there immediately and endure its pains, than expose himself to damnation in this terrestrial life. He implored the saint only to beg of God to shorten the time of his sufferings, that he might the sooner enter Heaven. After that, accompanied by the Bishop and a great crowd, Peter returned to his grave, laid himself down, his body fell to pieces, and his bones resumed the same state in which they had first been found. We have reason to believe that the saint soon obtained the deliverance of his soul.
That which is the most remarkable in this example, and which should most attract our attention, is that a soul from Purgatory, after having experienced the most excruciating torments, prefers that state of suffering to the life of this world; and the reason which he gives for this preference is, that in this mortal life we are exposed to the danger of being lost and incurring eternal damnation. He sees Purgatory as being a mercy that he does not want to relinquish.
The Help of Our Lady
The souls in Purgatory receive also great consolation from the Blessed Virgin. Is she not the “Comforter of the Afflicted”? And what affliction can be compared to that of the poor souls in the fires of Purgatory? Is she not the “Mother of Mercy”? And is it not towards these holy suffering souls that she must show all the mercy of her heart? We must not, therefore, be astonished that in the Revelations of St. Bridget the Queen of Heaven gives herself the beautiful name of “Mother of the Souls in Purgatory”. She said to St. Bridget, “I am the Mother of all those who are in the place of expiation; my prayers mitigate the chastisements which are inflicted upon them for their faults.” (Revel. S. Brig., lib. 4. c. 50).
Fear Not, My Son…
On October 25th, 1604, in the College of the Society of Jesus at Coimbra, Portugal, Father Jerome Carvalho died in the odor of sanctity, at the age of fifty years. This admirable and humble servant of God had always felt a lively apprehension of the sufferings of Purgatory. Neither the cruel scourgings which he inflicted upon himself several times every day, not counting those prompted each week by the remembrance of the Passion, nor the six hours which he devoted morning and evening to the meditation of holy subjects, seemed sufficient, in his estimation, to shield him from the chastisement which he imagined awaited him after death.
But one day the Queen of Heaven, to whom he had a tender devotion, decided to come herself to console her servant by the simple assurance that she was a Mother of Mercy to her dear children in Purgatory, and not only to those upon Earth. Seeking, later, to spread this consoling doctrine, the holy man accidentally let fall, in the ardor of his discourse, these words: “She told me this herself.”
Mary’s Powerful Intercession
It is related that a great servant of Mary, Blessed Renier of Citeaux, trembled at the thought of his sins and the terrible Justice of God after death. In his fear, addressing himself to Our Lady, whom he held as his great Protectress, who calls herself Mother of Mercy, he fell into an ecstasy, and saw the Mother of God interceding with her Son in his favor.
“My Son,” she said, “deal mercifully with him in Purgatory, because he humbly repents of his sins.”
“My Mother,” replied Jesus, “I place his cause in thy hands,” which meant to say, be it done to your servant according to your desires. Blessed Renier understood with unutterable joy that Mary had obtained his exemption from Purgatory.
Putting-Out the Flames with the Rosary
The Rosary is a key ingredient in all of this. We read in St. Louis de Montfort’s book, The Secret of the Rosary, how great is the power of the Rosary in remitting temporal punishment due for our sins. Here are a few extracts:
When St. Dominic was performing an exorcism, through Our Lady’s intervention he got the devils to admit many things, one of them was the following: “Now that we are forced to speak, we must also tell you that nobody who perseveres in saying the Rosary will be damned, because she obtains for her servants the grace of true contrition for their sins by which they obtain pardon and mercy” (Secret of the Rosary, “Thirty-Third Rose”).
“Flammin and a great number of other writers tell the story of a young girl of noble station named Alexandra, who had been miraculously converted and enrolled by St. Dominic in the Confraternity of the Rosary. After her death, she appeared to him and said she had been condemned to seven hundred years in Purgatory because of her own sins and those she had caused others to commit by her worldly ways. So she implored him to ease her pains by his prayers and to ask the Confraternity members to pray for the same end. St. Dominic did as she had asked. Two weeks later she appeared to him, more radiant than the sun, having been quickly delivered from Purgatory by the prayers of the Confraternity members. She also told St. Dominic that she had come on behalf of the souls in Purgatory to beg him to go on preaching the Rosary and to ask their relations to offer their Rosaries for them, and that they would reward them abundantly when they entered into glory” (Secret of the Rosary, “Forty-Ninth Rose”).
“Alphonsus, King of Leon and Galicia, very much wanted all his servants to honor the Blessed Virgin by saying the Rosary, so he used to hang a large Rosary on his belt, though he never said it himself. Nevertheless, his wearing it encouraged his courtiers to say the Rosary devoutly. One day the King fell seriously ill and when he was given up for dead he found himself, in spirit, before the judgment seat of Our Lord. Many devils were there accusing him of all the sins he had committed, and Our Lord was about to condemn him when Our Lady came forward to speak in his favor. She called for a pair of scales and had his sins placed in one of the balances, while she put the large Rosary which he had always worn on the other scale, together with all the Rosaries that had been said through his example. It was found that the Rosaries weighed more than his sins. Looking at him with great kindness, Our Lady said, ‘As a reward for the little service you did for me, in wearing my Rosary, I have obtained a great grace for you from my Son. Your life will be spared for a few more years. See that you spend those years wisely, and do penance.’” (Secret of the Rosary, “Eighth Rose”).
Article 20
Thursday November 20th
From Fear to Confidence and Mercy!
Thursday November 20th
From Fear to Confidence and Mercy!
Fear Leads to Mercy
During the early part of the month of November we have mainly been looking at the rigors and severity of Divine Justice in the other life. They are frightening and it is impossible to think of them without trembling—but that is a good thing, for as Holy Scripture says:”With fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12). That fire, enkindled by Divine Justice; those excruciating pains―compared to which all the penances of the saints, all the sufferings of the martyrs put together are as nothing―and who is there that thinks he will be able to look upon them and not shudder from very fear?
This fear is salutary and conformable to the spirit of Jesus Christ. Our Divine Master desires that we should fear, and that we should fear not only Hell, but also Purgatory, which is a sort of mitigated Hell. It is to inspire us with this holy fear, that He shows us the dungeons of the Supreme Judge, from which we shall not depart until we have paid the last penny (Matthew 5:26). Since the saints tell us that the fires of Purgatory are the same fires as those of Hell, we may say of the fire of Purgatory, that which is said of Hell fire: “Fear ye not them that kill the body and are not able to kill the soul―but rather fear Him that can cast both soul and body into Hell!” (Matthew 10:28).
Fear Leads to Better Things
Yet that fear can make us wise and make us change our lives—whereby we begin to love God more than we love ourselves: “Fear is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 110:10) and “The fear of God is the beginning of His love” (Ecclesiasticus 25:16). It is not the intention of Our Lord that we should have an excessive and barren, fruitless fear; a fear which tortures and discourages; a gloomy fear without confidence. No! He wishes that our fear should be tempered and mixed with a great trust in His mercy. He desires that we should fear evil in order to prevent and avoid it. He desires that the thought of those avenging flames should stimulate us to fervor in His service, and cause us to expiate our faults in this world rather than in the other. “Better is it to purge away our sins, and cut off our vices now,” says the author of the Imitation of Christ, “than to keep them for purgation hereafter.” (Imitation of Christ, Book 1, chapter 24).
Moreover, if, despite our efforts to live a good life, and to satisfy for our sins in this world, we have well-grounded fears that we shall have to undergo a Purgatory, we must look forward to that possibility with unbounded confidence in God, Who never fails to console those whom He purifies by sufferings. For as we have said so many times already, God’s justice and mercy always work together. He never shows mercy without attaching some justice; and He never exercises His justice without adding mercy to it.
Look to His Mercy
So after having frightened the living daylights out of ourselves (and hopefully frightened out the desire and attachment to sin too!) let us spend some time looking at the Mercy of God, which shines forth therein no less than His Justice. “His mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear Him” (Luke 1:50). But let our attitude not be one of presumption upon His mercy—which is a sin—but a humble acknowledgment of our sinfulness and unworthiness of His Mercy while still begging Him to show us His Mercy.
We are shown the right attitude by Our Lady’s Magnificat: “My soul does magnify the Lord. Because He has regarded the humility of His handmaid. Because He that is mighty, has done great things to me and His mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear Him. He has put down the mighty from their seat, and has exalted the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things [mercy being one of them]; and the rich He has sent empty away. He has received Israel His servant, being mindful of His mercy” (Luke 1:46-54).
God’s Perfect Balance
If God reserves terrible chastisements in the other life for the tiniest faults, He does not inflict those punishments without, at the same time, softening them with clemency―and nothing shows better the admirable harmony of this Divine perfection than Purgatory, because the most severe Justice is there exercised, together with the most unimaginable Mercy. If Our Lord chastises those souls that are dear to Him, it is in His love, according to the words, “Such as I love I rebuke and chastise” (Apocalypse 3:19). With one hand He strikes, with the other He heals. He offers mercy and redemption in abundance (Psalm 129).
This infinite Mercy of our Heavenly Father must be the firm foundation of our confidence; and, after the example of the saints, we must keep it always before our eyes. The saints never lost sight of it; and it was for this reason that the fear of Purgatory never deprived them of their peace and joy of the Holy Ghost.
St. Lidwina, who so well knew the frightful severity of expiatory suffering, was nevertheless animated with that spirit of confidence, and tried to inspire others with the same spirit. One time she received a visit from a good and holy priest. While they were talking―together with other virtuous persons―the conversation turned to the sufferings undergone in the other life. The priest―as he looked at a woman holding a jar filled with grains of mustard-seed―remarked that he trembled when thinking of the fire of Purgatory. “Nevertheless,” he added, “I would be satisfied to go there for as many years as there are grains of seed in this jar; for then, at least, I would be certain of my salvation!”
“What are you saying, Father?” replied St. Lidwina. “Why do you have so little confidence in the Mercy of God? You wouldn’t say that if you had a better knowledge of what Purgatory is like, and of what frightful torments are endured there!”
“Let Purgatory be what it may,” replied the priest, “I persist in what I say!”
A while afterwards, this priest died, and the same persons, who had been present during his conversation with St. Lidwina, questioned the saint if God had revealed to her the priest’s condition in the other world. She replied: “The deceased is well off, on account of his virtuous life; but it would be better for him if he had showed more confidence in the Passion of Jesus Christ, and if he had taken a milder view of the subject of Purgatory.”
A Balanced View
In what consisted this lack of confidence which met the disapproval of St. Lidwina? In the opinion which this good priest had that it is almost impossible to be saved, and that we shall enter Heaven only after having undergone innumerable years of torture. This idea is erroneous, and contrary to Christian confidence. Yes, of course, we know Our Lord’s reply to the question of whether only a few will be saved: “And a certain man said to Him: ‘Lord, are they few that are saved?’ But He said to them: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate―for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able!’” (Luke 13:23-24).
Savior of Losers and the Lost
Yet He came to seek and save those who were lost: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10); and “if your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow―and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool!” (Isaias 1:18). However, this Mercy is no freebie―but requires a change of heart, a change of life, and a proportionate degree of suffering and penance: “I will take away the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh!” says the Lord (Ezechiel 11:19) … “If the wicked does penance for all his sins which he has committed, and keeps all My commandments, and does judgment and justice―then living he shall live, and shall not die!” (Ezechiel 18:21). To the woman caught in adultery, whom the Scribes and Pharisees wanted to stone to death, Jesus said: “Has no man condemned thee? Neither will I condemn thee! Go, and now sin no more!” (John 8:10-11) … “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me!” (Luke 9:23) … “ I say to you― unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3).
Good Will
Our Savior came to bring peace to men of good-will, and to impose upon us, as a condition of our salvation, a yoke which is sweet and a burden which is not heavy. Therefore, let your will be good, and you will find peace, you will see all difficulties and terrors vanish. Good-will! That is everything! Be of good-will, submit to the Will of God, place his Holy Law above all else, serve the Lord with all your heart, and He will give you such powerful assistance that you will enter Paradise with an astonishing facility. Sounds too easy, eh? “I could never have believed,” you will say, “that it was so easy to enter Heaven!” Again, it must be repeated, to obtain for ourselves this wonder of Mercy, God asks on our part an upright heart, a good-will. That doesn’t mean to say there will be no pain, no sufferings, no crosses, no anxieties—but these are part of God’s will that must be borne with a good-will.
Good will consists, properly speaking, in submitting and conforming our will to that of God―Who is the rule of all good-will; and this good-will attains its highest perfection when we embrace the Divine Will as the highest good in our life, even when it imposes the greatest sacrifices, the most acute suffering. A soul, thus disposed, seems to lose the sensation of pain, and this is because the soul is animated with the spirit of love; and, as St. Augustine says, when we love we suffer not, or, if we suffer, we love the suffering.
The Power of Love
We have already spoken of the power of a perfect act of love and contrition, that is capable of taking away all the debt we owe for our past sins—this fire of love we must enkindle and make grow by our good-will attitude to all the firewood that God decides to throw on our little fire. Ouch!
The Imitation of Christ has a beautiful chapter on the effects of Divine Love, here are a few extracts for your fire:
“Love is an excellent thing, a very great blessing, indeed. It makes every difficulty easy, and bears all wrongs with equanimity. For it bears a burden without being weighted and renders sweet all that is bitter. The noble love of Jesus spurs to great deeds and excites longing for that which is more perfect. Love tends upward; it will not be held down by anything low. Love wishes to be free and estranged from all worldly affections, lest its inward sight be obstructed, lest it be entangled in any temporal interest and overcome by adversity.
“Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing stronger or higher or wider; nothing is more pleasant, nothing fuller, and nothing better in Heaven or on Earth, for love is born of God and cannot rest except in God, Who is above all created things. One who is in love flies, runs, and rejoices; he is free, not bound. He gives all for all and possesses all in all, because he rests in the one sovereign Good, Who is above all things, and from Whom every good flows and proceeds. He does not look to the gift but turns himself above all gifts to the Giver.
“Love often knows no limits but overflows all bounds. Love feels no burden, thinks nothing of troubles, attempts more than it is able, and does not plead impossibility, because it believes that it may and can do all things. For this reason, it is able to do all, performing and effecting much where he who does not love fails and falls. Love is watchful. Sleeping, it does not slumber. Wearied, it is not tired. Pressed, it is not straitened. Alarmed, it is not confused, but like a living flame, a burning torch, it forces its way upward and passes unharmed through every obstacle. If a man loves, he will know the sound of this voice. Love is mean and contemptible in its own eyes, devoted and thankful to God; always trusting and hoping in Him even when He is distasteful to it, for there is no living in love without sorrow. He who is not ready to suffer all things and to stand resigned to the will of the Beloved is not worthy to be called a lover. A lover must embrace willingly all that is difficult and bitter for the sake of the Beloved, and he should not turn away from Him because of adversities.” (The Imitation of Christ, Book 3, chapter 5).
The Confessor of St. Margaret Mary writes…
St. Claude de la Colombière, of the Society of Jesus, confessor of St. Margaret Mary, possessed this loving heart, this perfect will, and in his Retrait Spirituelle he thus expresses his sentiments: “We must not cease to expiate the past disorders of our life by penance; but it must be done without anxiety, because the worst that can befall us, when our will is good and we are submissive and obedient, is to be sent for a long time to Purgatory, and we may say with good reason that this is a great evil. I do not fear Purgatory. Of Hell, I will not speak, for I should wrong the Mercy of God by having the least fear of Hell―although I have merited it more than all the demons together. Purgatory I do not fear. I wish I had not deserved it, since I could not do so without displeasing God; but, as I have merited to go there, I am delighted to go and satisfy His Justice in the most rigorous manner it is possible to imagine, and that even to the Day of Judgment. I know that the torments there endured are horrible, but I know that they honor God, and cannot prove an injury to the souls; that there we are certain never to oppose the will of God; that we shall never resent His severity; that we shall even love the rigors of His justice, and await with patience until it shall be entirely appeased. Therefore, I have given with my whole heart all my satisfactions to the souls in Purgatory, and even bequeath to others all the suffrages which shall be offered for me after my death, in order that God may be glorified in Paradise by souls who shall have merited to be raised to a higher degree of glory than myself.”
Paradise on Earth
See to what an excess of charity, the love of God and our neighbor carries us, once it has taken possession of the heart―it transforms, transfigures suffering in such a manner, that all its bitterness is changed into sweetness. “When you shall arrive at the point where tribulation shall be sweet to you and you shalt relish it for the love of Christ―then think that it is well with you, for you have found a Paradise upon Earth!” (The Imitation of Christ, Book 2, chapter 12). Let us therefore have great love for God, great Charity, and we shall have little fear of Purgatory. The Holy Ghost bears testimony in the depths of our hearts that, being children of God, we have no need to dread the chastisements of a Father if we truly seek to follow and do His will, and not our own.
Good Will = God’s Will
Our Lord Himself said: “I came down from Heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him that sent Me!” (John 6:38). “Behold I come! In the head of the book it is written of Me that I should do Thy will, O God! … Then said I: ‘Behold, I come to do Thy will, O God!’” (Hebrews 10:7, 9). “I seek not My own will, but the will of Him that sent Me” (John 5:30). “And He said: ‘Abba, Father, all things are possible to Thee! Remove this chalice from Me―but not what I will, but what Thou wilt!’” (Mark 14:36).
To us He says: “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15) … “You are My friends, if you do the things that I command you” (John 15:14) … “And why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). “Love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind” (Luke 10:27) and “Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid!” (John 14:27).
Let our good and holy fear find itself enkindled with this holy love of God!
During the early part of the month of November we have mainly been looking at the rigors and severity of Divine Justice in the other life. They are frightening and it is impossible to think of them without trembling—but that is a good thing, for as Holy Scripture says:”With fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12). That fire, enkindled by Divine Justice; those excruciating pains―compared to which all the penances of the saints, all the sufferings of the martyrs put together are as nothing―and who is there that thinks he will be able to look upon them and not shudder from very fear?
This fear is salutary and conformable to the spirit of Jesus Christ. Our Divine Master desires that we should fear, and that we should fear not only Hell, but also Purgatory, which is a sort of mitigated Hell. It is to inspire us with this holy fear, that He shows us the dungeons of the Supreme Judge, from which we shall not depart until we have paid the last penny (Matthew 5:26). Since the saints tell us that the fires of Purgatory are the same fires as those of Hell, we may say of the fire of Purgatory, that which is said of Hell fire: “Fear ye not them that kill the body and are not able to kill the soul―but rather fear Him that can cast both soul and body into Hell!” (Matthew 10:28).
Fear Leads to Better Things
Yet that fear can make us wise and make us change our lives—whereby we begin to love God more than we love ourselves: “Fear is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 110:10) and “The fear of God is the beginning of His love” (Ecclesiasticus 25:16). It is not the intention of Our Lord that we should have an excessive and barren, fruitless fear; a fear which tortures and discourages; a gloomy fear without confidence. No! He wishes that our fear should be tempered and mixed with a great trust in His mercy. He desires that we should fear evil in order to prevent and avoid it. He desires that the thought of those avenging flames should stimulate us to fervor in His service, and cause us to expiate our faults in this world rather than in the other. “Better is it to purge away our sins, and cut off our vices now,” says the author of the Imitation of Christ, “than to keep them for purgation hereafter.” (Imitation of Christ, Book 1, chapter 24).
Moreover, if, despite our efforts to live a good life, and to satisfy for our sins in this world, we have well-grounded fears that we shall have to undergo a Purgatory, we must look forward to that possibility with unbounded confidence in God, Who never fails to console those whom He purifies by sufferings. For as we have said so many times already, God’s justice and mercy always work together. He never shows mercy without attaching some justice; and He never exercises His justice without adding mercy to it.
Look to His Mercy
So after having frightened the living daylights out of ourselves (and hopefully frightened out the desire and attachment to sin too!) let us spend some time looking at the Mercy of God, which shines forth therein no less than His Justice. “His mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear Him” (Luke 1:50). But let our attitude not be one of presumption upon His mercy—which is a sin—but a humble acknowledgment of our sinfulness and unworthiness of His Mercy while still begging Him to show us His Mercy.
We are shown the right attitude by Our Lady’s Magnificat: “My soul does magnify the Lord. Because He has regarded the humility of His handmaid. Because He that is mighty, has done great things to me and His mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear Him. He has put down the mighty from their seat, and has exalted the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things [mercy being one of them]; and the rich He has sent empty away. He has received Israel His servant, being mindful of His mercy” (Luke 1:46-54).
God’s Perfect Balance
If God reserves terrible chastisements in the other life for the tiniest faults, He does not inflict those punishments without, at the same time, softening them with clemency―and nothing shows better the admirable harmony of this Divine perfection than Purgatory, because the most severe Justice is there exercised, together with the most unimaginable Mercy. If Our Lord chastises those souls that are dear to Him, it is in His love, according to the words, “Such as I love I rebuke and chastise” (Apocalypse 3:19). With one hand He strikes, with the other He heals. He offers mercy and redemption in abundance (Psalm 129).
This infinite Mercy of our Heavenly Father must be the firm foundation of our confidence; and, after the example of the saints, we must keep it always before our eyes. The saints never lost sight of it; and it was for this reason that the fear of Purgatory never deprived them of their peace and joy of the Holy Ghost.
St. Lidwina, who so well knew the frightful severity of expiatory suffering, was nevertheless animated with that spirit of confidence, and tried to inspire others with the same spirit. One time she received a visit from a good and holy priest. While they were talking―together with other virtuous persons―the conversation turned to the sufferings undergone in the other life. The priest―as he looked at a woman holding a jar filled with grains of mustard-seed―remarked that he trembled when thinking of the fire of Purgatory. “Nevertheless,” he added, “I would be satisfied to go there for as many years as there are grains of seed in this jar; for then, at least, I would be certain of my salvation!”
“What are you saying, Father?” replied St. Lidwina. “Why do you have so little confidence in the Mercy of God? You wouldn’t say that if you had a better knowledge of what Purgatory is like, and of what frightful torments are endured there!”
“Let Purgatory be what it may,” replied the priest, “I persist in what I say!”
A while afterwards, this priest died, and the same persons, who had been present during his conversation with St. Lidwina, questioned the saint if God had revealed to her the priest’s condition in the other world. She replied: “The deceased is well off, on account of his virtuous life; but it would be better for him if he had showed more confidence in the Passion of Jesus Christ, and if he had taken a milder view of the subject of Purgatory.”
A Balanced View
In what consisted this lack of confidence which met the disapproval of St. Lidwina? In the opinion which this good priest had that it is almost impossible to be saved, and that we shall enter Heaven only after having undergone innumerable years of torture. This idea is erroneous, and contrary to Christian confidence. Yes, of course, we know Our Lord’s reply to the question of whether only a few will be saved: “And a certain man said to Him: ‘Lord, are they few that are saved?’ But He said to them: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate―for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able!’” (Luke 13:23-24).
Savior of Losers and the Lost
Yet He came to seek and save those who were lost: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10); and “if your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow―and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool!” (Isaias 1:18). However, this Mercy is no freebie―but requires a change of heart, a change of life, and a proportionate degree of suffering and penance: “I will take away the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh!” says the Lord (Ezechiel 11:19) … “If the wicked does penance for all his sins which he has committed, and keeps all My commandments, and does judgment and justice―then living he shall live, and shall not die!” (Ezechiel 18:21). To the woman caught in adultery, whom the Scribes and Pharisees wanted to stone to death, Jesus said: “Has no man condemned thee? Neither will I condemn thee! Go, and now sin no more!” (John 8:10-11) … “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me!” (Luke 9:23) … “ I say to you― unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3).
Good Will
Our Savior came to bring peace to men of good-will, and to impose upon us, as a condition of our salvation, a yoke which is sweet and a burden which is not heavy. Therefore, let your will be good, and you will find peace, you will see all difficulties and terrors vanish. Good-will! That is everything! Be of good-will, submit to the Will of God, place his Holy Law above all else, serve the Lord with all your heart, and He will give you such powerful assistance that you will enter Paradise with an astonishing facility. Sounds too easy, eh? “I could never have believed,” you will say, “that it was so easy to enter Heaven!” Again, it must be repeated, to obtain for ourselves this wonder of Mercy, God asks on our part an upright heart, a good-will. That doesn’t mean to say there will be no pain, no sufferings, no crosses, no anxieties—but these are part of God’s will that must be borne with a good-will.
Good will consists, properly speaking, in submitting and conforming our will to that of God―Who is the rule of all good-will; and this good-will attains its highest perfection when we embrace the Divine Will as the highest good in our life, even when it imposes the greatest sacrifices, the most acute suffering. A soul, thus disposed, seems to lose the sensation of pain, and this is because the soul is animated with the spirit of love; and, as St. Augustine says, when we love we suffer not, or, if we suffer, we love the suffering.
The Power of Love
We have already spoken of the power of a perfect act of love and contrition, that is capable of taking away all the debt we owe for our past sins—this fire of love we must enkindle and make grow by our good-will attitude to all the firewood that God decides to throw on our little fire. Ouch!
The Imitation of Christ has a beautiful chapter on the effects of Divine Love, here are a few extracts for your fire:
“Love is an excellent thing, a very great blessing, indeed. It makes every difficulty easy, and bears all wrongs with equanimity. For it bears a burden without being weighted and renders sweet all that is bitter. The noble love of Jesus spurs to great deeds and excites longing for that which is more perfect. Love tends upward; it will not be held down by anything low. Love wishes to be free and estranged from all worldly affections, lest its inward sight be obstructed, lest it be entangled in any temporal interest and overcome by adversity.
“Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing stronger or higher or wider; nothing is more pleasant, nothing fuller, and nothing better in Heaven or on Earth, for love is born of God and cannot rest except in God, Who is above all created things. One who is in love flies, runs, and rejoices; he is free, not bound. He gives all for all and possesses all in all, because he rests in the one sovereign Good, Who is above all things, and from Whom every good flows and proceeds. He does not look to the gift but turns himself above all gifts to the Giver.
“Love often knows no limits but overflows all bounds. Love feels no burden, thinks nothing of troubles, attempts more than it is able, and does not plead impossibility, because it believes that it may and can do all things. For this reason, it is able to do all, performing and effecting much where he who does not love fails and falls. Love is watchful. Sleeping, it does not slumber. Wearied, it is not tired. Pressed, it is not straitened. Alarmed, it is not confused, but like a living flame, a burning torch, it forces its way upward and passes unharmed through every obstacle. If a man loves, he will know the sound of this voice. Love is mean and contemptible in its own eyes, devoted and thankful to God; always trusting and hoping in Him even when He is distasteful to it, for there is no living in love without sorrow. He who is not ready to suffer all things and to stand resigned to the will of the Beloved is not worthy to be called a lover. A lover must embrace willingly all that is difficult and bitter for the sake of the Beloved, and he should not turn away from Him because of adversities.” (The Imitation of Christ, Book 3, chapter 5).
The Confessor of St. Margaret Mary writes…
St. Claude de la Colombière, of the Society of Jesus, confessor of St. Margaret Mary, possessed this loving heart, this perfect will, and in his Retrait Spirituelle he thus expresses his sentiments: “We must not cease to expiate the past disorders of our life by penance; but it must be done without anxiety, because the worst that can befall us, when our will is good and we are submissive and obedient, is to be sent for a long time to Purgatory, and we may say with good reason that this is a great evil. I do not fear Purgatory. Of Hell, I will not speak, for I should wrong the Mercy of God by having the least fear of Hell―although I have merited it more than all the demons together. Purgatory I do not fear. I wish I had not deserved it, since I could not do so without displeasing God; but, as I have merited to go there, I am delighted to go and satisfy His Justice in the most rigorous manner it is possible to imagine, and that even to the Day of Judgment. I know that the torments there endured are horrible, but I know that they honor God, and cannot prove an injury to the souls; that there we are certain never to oppose the will of God; that we shall never resent His severity; that we shall even love the rigors of His justice, and await with patience until it shall be entirely appeased. Therefore, I have given with my whole heart all my satisfactions to the souls in Purgatory, and even bequeath to others all the suffrages which shall be offered for me after my death, in order that God may be glorified in Paradise by souls who shall have merited to be raised to a higher degree of glory than myself.”
Paradise on Earth
See to what an excess of charity, the love of God and our neighbor carries us, once it has taken possession of the heart―it transforms, transfigures suffering in such a manner, that all its bitterness is changed into sweetness. “When you shall arrive at the point where tribulation shall be sweet to you and you shalt relish it for the love of Christ―then think that it is well with you, for you have found a Paradise upon Earth!” (The Imitation of Christ, Book 2, chapter 12). Let us therefore have great love for God, great Charity, and we shall have little fear of Purgatory. The Holy Ghost bears testimony in the depths of our hearts that, being children of God, we have no need to dread the chastisements of a Father if we truly seek to follow and do His will, and not our own.
Good Will = God’s Will
Our Lord Himself said: “I came down from Heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him that sent Me!” (John 6:38). “Behold I come! In the head of the book it is written of Me that I should do Thy will, O God! … Then said I: ‘Behold, I come to do Thy will, O God!’” (Hebrews 10:7, 9). “I seek not My own will, but the will of Him that sent Me” (John 5:30). “And He said: ‘Abba, Father, all things are possible to Thee! Remove this chalice from Me―but not what I will, but what Thou wilt!’” (Mark 14:36).
To us He says: “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15) … “You are My friends, if you do the things that I command you” (John 15:14) … “And why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). “Love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind” (Luke 10:27) and “Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid!” (John 14:27).
Let our good and holy fear find itself enkindled with this holy love of God!
Article 19
Wednesday November 19th
Have Confidence―Avoid Capitulation!
Wednesday November 19th
Have Confidence―Avoid Capitulation!
Lack of Confidence
As we said yesterday, despondency or discouragement is the most dangerous temptation the devil can employ. It saps us of our confidence. Of course, many of us have the wrong kind of confidence in the first place—we seek to have confidence in ourselves, rather than having confidence in God. But once discouragement or despondency sets in, the confidence quickly flies out the window—some temperaments may resist better and for longer than others, but everyone is prone to this temptation—and we must remind ourselves that it is a TEMPTATION—it is not a part of ourselves, it comes from outside of ourselves, like a virus.
In other temptations the devil attacks one particular virtue: by despondency he attacks them all. In despondency there is nothing to lean upon―we feel that God is asking for that which are unable to give. We would like to turn to God, but the devil convinces us that we dare not hope to receive from God all the help we need to overcome our sins and pay for their debt, because we feel that God does not like us all that much after committing so many sins; thus we become discouraged and nearly reduced to despair, which is the final goal of the devil for the despondent soul.
Purgatory quickly becomes like a debt that has spiraled out of control. Yet we know that, with God, nobody can declare bankruptcy and get away without paying anything. Just as debt seems to crush the heart in our material life, so too does the debt of our sins crush us in relation to our spiritual life. Sometimes people cast all care to the wind and spend, spend, spend, while the credit card still works—knowing that they won’t be able to pay. The devil tries to make us sin, sin, sin, to the point where our hope and confidence of pardon is so low, that we fall into despair.
Any Debt Can Be Paid-Off, But…
First of all, we must remember the words of Scripture: “Be not deceived, God is not mocked!” (Galatians 6:7). We cannot commit the sin of presumption—which is just as much a sin against hope as despair is—by sinning, sinning and sinning with the presumption that God will still show us His mercy. Read the sermon of St. Alphonsus Liguori on “On The Number Of Sins Beyond Which God Pardons No More”, from which we will just give a few extracts:
“You say: ‘I am young! There are many who have committed more sins than I have!’ But is God on that account obliged to wait for your repentance if you offend Him? In the Gospel of St. Matthew (21:19) we read, that the Savior cursed a fig tree the first time He saw it without fruit: ‘May no fruit grow on thee henceforward forever!’ And immediately the fig tree withered away. You must, then, tremble at the thought of committing a single mortal sin, particularly if you have already been guilty of mortal sins. ‘Be not without fear about sin forgiven, and add not sin upon sin’ (Ecclesiasticus 5: 5). Say not then, O sinner; ‘As God has forgiven me other sins, so He will pardon me this one if I commit it!’ Say not this―for, if to the sin which has been forgiven you add another, you have reason to fear that this new sin shall be united to your former guilt, and that thus the number will be completed, and that you shall be abandoned!”
Be Realistic, Be Confident
As was said in the previous article, we cannot focus exclusively on God’s mercy, while sweeping his justice under carpet. St. Catherine of Genoa gave us that warning in her Treatise on Purgatory: “Would that I could utter so strong a cry that it would strike all men with terror, and say to them: ‘O wretched beings! Why are you so blinded by this world that you make, as you will find at the hour of death, no provision for the great necessity that will then come upon you? You shelter yourselves beneath your hope in the mercy of God, which you unceasingly exalt. Have not the boldness to say: “I will go to confession and gain a plenary indulgence and thus I shall be saved.” Remember that the full confession and entire contrition which are requisite to gain a plenary indulgence are not easily attained. Did you know how hardly they are come by, you would tremble with fear and be more sure of losing than of gaining them!” (St. Catherine of Genoa).
Nevertheless…
Let it, however, be well understood that despondency is a temptation. Hope and confidence in God are commanded equally with Faith and the other virtues. Therefore the feeling of despondency, which is opposed to hope, must be resisted strongly and CONFIDENTLY. God will forgive if we do not abuse His mercy, even though we will still have to pay—but what kind of person would want to get into Heaven on the back of a life of endless sin, without having settled his debts with God?
Ask With Faith and Confidence
No, as the Apostle, St. James, says, “Let him ask in Faith, nothing wavering!” (James 1:6). The heart that prays with doubt and distrust shall obtain nothing. And we also know that Jesus Christ, whilst still on Earth, granted miracles only when there was confidence: “Daughter, thy Faith hath made thee whole!” (Matthew 9:22).
In Fr. Gottemoller’s book, Words of Love, which deals with Our Lord’s apparitions to three religious sisters (Sr. Josefa Menendez, Sr. Consolata Betrone and Sr. Mary of the Trinity), Our Lord says: “Let them [souls] give themselves up to thoughts of confidence, not fear―for I am a God of pity, ever ready to receive them into My Heart! ... I make little account of all that [miseries and weakness], provided souls come to Me with confidence and love! … You must do all that you can, and it is only after that, that you can count infallibly on My help! … To those who ask with love―that is to say, with unlimited confidence―I cannot prevent Myself from granting even more, far more than what is asked !… Oh, if you knew what My love is! And how I long for you to have confidence in it! … You will be lacking in help only when My Divine Heart will be lacking in power! …
“It often happens that good and pious souls, and very frequently also souls who are consecrated to Me, wound My Heart to Its very depths by some diffident phrase such as: ‘Who knows whether I will be saved?’ Open the Gospel and read there My promises. I promised to My sheep: ‘I will give them life everlasting; and they shall not perish forever, and no man shall pluck them out of My Hand.’ Do you understand? No one can take a soul from Me! Now read on: ‘That which My Father has given Me, is greater than all; and no one can snatch them out of the Hand of My Father.’ Do you understand? No one can snatch a soul from Me! ... In all eternity they will not perish ― because I give them eternal life. For whom have I spoken these words? For all the sheep, for all souls! Why then the insult, ‘Who knows whether I will be saved?’ I have given assurances, in the Gospel, that no one can pluck a soul from Me and that I will give that soul eternal life, and so the soul cannot perish. Believe Me, into Hell go only those who really wish to go there; for, though no one can snatch a soul from Me, the soul may, through the free will granted her, flee from Me, may betray Me, deny Me, and so go to Satan of her own volition.
“Oh, if instead of wounding My Heart with such distrust, you would give a little thought to the Heaven which awaits you! I did not create you for Hell, but for Heaven; not as a companion for the devil, but to enjoy Me in everlasting love! You see, to Hell go only those who wish to go there ... How foolish is your fear of being damned! After having shed My Blood in order to save your soul, after having surrounded your soul with graces upon graces all through your entire existence ... would I permit Satan, My worst enemy, to rob Me of that soul, at the last moment of her life, just when I am about to gather in the fruit of the Redemption and when, therefore, that soul is on the point of loving Me forever? Would I do that, when in the Holy Gospel I have promised to give the soul eternal life and that no one can snatch her from My Hands?
“How is it possible to believe such a monstrosity? You see, final impenitence is found only in a soul who purposely wishes to go to Hell and therefore obstinately refuses My mercy, for I never refuse to pardon anyone. I offer the gift of My immense compassion to all, for My Blood was shed for all, for all! No, it is not the multiplicity of sins which condemns a soul, for I forgive everything if she repents, but it is the obstinacy of not wishing to be pardoned, of wishing to be damned! Dismas on the cross had only one single act of Faith in Me, but many, many sins― however, he was pardoned in an instant, and on the very day of his repentance he entered into My kingdom and is a saint! Behold the triumph of My Mercy and of Faith in Me!” (Words of Love, Fr. Bartholomew Gottemoller, chapter 6, “Confidence”).
Beautiful words, but words spoken to those who were sincere in their sorrow for sin and were trying to put things right—as Our Lord said: “I forgive everything if she repents ... You must do all that you can, and it is only after that, that you can count infallibly on My help ... Though no one can snatch a soul from Me, the soul may, through the free will granted her, flee from Me, may betray Me, deny Me, and so go to Satan of her own volition.” Repentance means sorrow for sin, a firm desire to change one’s life, and the desire to pay for the damage done. Our Lord adds: “Have confidence in Me! Trust Me always! You must have a blind confidence that I will fulfill all the great promises which I have made you, for I am kind, immensely kind and merciful, and ‘I desire not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way, and live.’” (Words of Love, Fr. Bartholomew Gottemoller, chapter 6, “Confidence”).
Confidence in the Sufferings and Merits of Jesus Christ
A soul that is addicted to despondency is swayed by fear, which prevents it from reflecting on the immovable foundations of confidence in God. We cannot therefore give her too many motives for overcoming that fear which harasses her incessantly. She will find a powerful one in the sufferings of Jesus Christ, which are as immense as the dignity of His person is infinite. This divine Savior, dying for all mankind, praying for all, offering for all His sufferings and His death, has merited for them all the graces which are necessary for them to overcome their spiritual enemy and to gain eternal happiness. These merits which Jesus Christ did not need for Himself He has given over to mankind. So that, according to St. Bernard, these merits become our own. And by offering them to the Father, we obtain that help which we need to strengthen us against the enemies of our salvation. It is from this principle that the Church, in all the prayers she makes to God, always invokes the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. The mercy is there, all we have to do is pay!
But I Have Sinned Too Much!
“But,” exclaims a soul, frightened at the thought of her many past offenses, “how must Our Lord and Savior look upon me, after the many outrages which I have committed against Him! Can He any longer interest Himself for one who has been so long His enemy?” Can a well-instructed Christian soul have any doubt on this point? Did not Jesus Christ Himself assure us that He came into the world to suffer and die for sinners; that He came chiefly to seek for sinners?
Now, in the face of this assertion, will they still imagine that, because they are sinners, they will be refused the help they require to return to God? No, Heaven and Earth may pass away, but the promises of God shall not pass away unfulfilled. These promises relate to sinners, and if there had been no sinners, would Jesus Christ have suffered? Would He have submitted to a cruel death? The more sinful man is, the more strikingly are the mercy of God, and the power of the Savior’s merits displayed. Is there any blacker crime than the treachery of Judas? Yes, answers St. Jerome, there is one still more enormous, despair! Judas rendered himself more guilty in taking away his own life than in betraying his divine Master. The mercy is there for us, we must do what we can to pay for it. Christ will add His Blood and merits to our payments.
You Have To Beg For His Merits
Let us then never fear to have recourse to the merits of Jesus Christ. We honor them when we make use of them to obtain the helps which we need, since it was for this that Jesus Christ vouchsafed to acquire them and to give them over to us. It is in applying them to ourselves through prayer and good works, that we fulfill the end for which they were purchased. It would be a singular way of honoring them, the not daring to make use of them; it would be going directly against the end which our divine Savior proposed to Himself. In turning from His gifts as useless, we should not be evincing our esteem for them, but only proving our indifference.
Come to Me and Ask!
Since we acknowledge that we are poor, weak, and miserable, should we not seek to enrich and to strengthen ourselves, and to cure our evils? Jesus Christ offers Himself to accomplish these miracles in us, by offering His infinite merits. With loving tenderness He says to us, “Come to me, all you that labor, and are burdened, and I will refresh you” (Matt. 11:28). Is it not therefore against every principle, against every feeling, and still more against the intention of the Savior Himself to fear to have recourse to Him?
Temptation attacks the soul in every way. Through a sentiment of false humility a fear is conceived which fills the soul with dejection. Christian humility and sound reason require that we should recognize our unworthiness of heavenly benefits; but they do not require us to refuse those which are offered, or not to ask for those that have been promised to our prayers. Still more does the gratitude which we owe to Jesus Christ require that we should obey His will, in profiting by His sufferings, to obtain the graces which He has earned for us. Never can we honor Him more than in corresponding to the merciful designs which He had in immolating Himself for us and by suffering with Him for our sins.
Rely on Him, not Ourselves
On what could we rely to appease the justice of God outraged by sin, and to draw down His mercy, if not upon the merits of Our Savior? It is in presenting them to God that we may hope to disarm His anger. Just as He can see in us only that which must provoke His justice, so in His Son He only sees what solicits His mercy. This divine mercy is exercised in our behalf as soon as we, with sentiments of regret, present ourselves to Him, under the shadow of the Savior’s cross, and covered with His precious blood. And thus also is justice appeased. Mercy and truth, justice and peace make together a blessed treaty for us. In the language of the Psalmist: “Mercy and truth have met each other: justice and peace have kissed” (Psalm 84:11).
False Ideas And Feelings Which We Ascribe To God
It is because we judge God by our own weak human hearts, that we fear to exhaust His mercy. If a person to whom we have given important assistance, whom we have loaded with benefits, treats us with ingratitude, and, in return for kindness, heaps insults upon us, we turn away from him as unworthy of further notice; more especially if he has made use of our very benefits to injure us, we abandon him forever. We should consider we were acting against every dictate of common sense and prudence, did we continue to furnish him with arms to use against us.
The same feelings and judgment we ascribe to God, forgetting that His ways are as far removed from our ways as the heavens are from the Earth. God bears with our wanderings because He is eternal and all-powerful, and He knows that the day of His justice will come, when all shall be brought into order, and forever.
Wrong Idea of God—Wrong Idea of Justice & Mercy
He is patient because He is infinitely good, and wishes to give us the means to return to Him. He who knows all things has seen from all eternity all our weaknesses, our ingratitude, and our reiterated falls. He has foreseen that we could not do anything of ourselves, much less return to Him without help; and that help He has prepared for us in the person of His Son, Jesus. He entreats us, He even commands us to call upon Him in all our wanderings, and He will assist us, He will be our propitiation; for it is in helping us and pardoning us that His mercy is exercised. Yet we still have to add our payments for sin to His generous contribution.
God Has Always Been Just and Merciful
This conduct God brought out in a striking manner toward the Jewish nation. Whenever they fell into idolatry, God punished them, to bring them back to their allegiance. When they abandoned their Lord to serve strange gods, He would deliver them over to their enemies, to be held in cruel bondage. Then, when bowed down by the miseries of their servitude, they lifted up their hearts to God and called upon Him with confidence, God sent them a deliverer to free them from the hard yoke under which they groaned. And so did they continue during a period of four hundred years, continually relapsing into idolatry, and as often experiencing the mercy of God when they called upon Him.
Judge from this if God will tire in pardoning us, if we turn to Him with a sincerely contrite heart. But if the conduct of God toward His Jewish people does not remove your fears, listen to the words of the Prophet-King, inspired by the Holy Ghost, who assures us that God will not despise “a contrite and humbled heart” (Psalm 1:19).
God Wishes to Pardon—Do We Wish to Pay?
When, terrified by the recollection of our sins, we have the thought or the wish to return to God, it is He who is then attracting us by His grace. Does He call us only that He may refuse to receive us? Who can think it? He told St. Peter to forgive after every offense, “I say not to thee, till seven times―but till seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22), and by this we may learn to know His dispositions in our regard. Ah! we little know the boundless tenderness of that divine Heart, if we judge of it by our own, or if we imagine that it ever ceases to care for us. So long as we are in this life we are under the law of mercy, and of that mercy we can ever avail ourselves. It is death only that places us under the law of immutable justice.
Repeated Falls?
Our repeated infidelities ought not to make us lose confidence in God—it is the lack of Faith that makes us fear. God, Who is the tender Father of all His creatures, has taken every means to remove that excessive fear which would draw them from Him. To prevent the soul that has become sensible of its ingratitude and terrified at the view of its repeated relapses into sin, after so often obtaining pardon for them - to prevent such a soul from losing all hope and daring no longer to cry out to Him from the abyss into which it has again fallen, not only does He assure it, by the mouth of the Psalmist, “That those who hope in Him shall never be confounded,” but He expressly declares the positive law of His mercy, and commands us to hope in Him.
God Is Faithful
This precept we cannot fully accomplish but with the help of His grace; and can the Almighty have made this precept and not wish to help us keep it? And can He fall to be touched by our obedience when we endeavor to do so? Can He turn away from us, when we call upon Him, as He has ordered us to do? NO; God cannot be otherwise than faithful to His promises. If we fail, it is because we have not asked with confidence, and because our Faith is weak.
Let the Holy Scriptures here furnish you with another proof of this. St. Peter, at the order of his Divine Master, confidently walks upon the waters. The wind rises, and the apostle’s trust lessens; he fears, and immediately begins to sink, but the danger reanimates his confidence: Peter has recourse to his Divine Master, who stretches forth His hand to save him from perishing. For our instruction Jesus let His apostle know what danger he had been in, when He thus reproached him: “O you of little Faith! Why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31).
“If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow―and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool!” (Isaias 1:18). But you will still have to pay for them, for that is how we show our love and sorrow to Christ.
As we said yesterday, despondency or discouragement is the most dangerous temptation the devil can employ. It saps us of our confidence. Of course, many of us have the wrong kind of confidence in the first place—we seek to have confidence in ourselves, rather than having confidence in God. But once discouragement or despondency sets in, the confidence quickly flies out the window—some temperaments may resist better and for longer than others, but everyone is prone to this temptation—and we must remind ourselves that it is a TEMPTATION—it is not a part of ourselves, it comes from outside of ourselves, like a virus.
In other temptations the devil attacks one particular virtue: by despondency he attacks them all. In despondency there is nothing to lean upon―we feel that God is asking for that which are unable to give. We would like to turn to God, but the devil convinces us that we dare not hope to receive from God all the help we need to overcome our sins and pay for their debt, because we feel that God does not like us all that much after committing so many sins; thus we become discouraged and nearly reduced to despair, which is the final goal of the devil for the despondent soul.
Purgatory quickly becomes like a debt that has spiraled out of control. Yet we know that, with God, nobody can declare bankruptcy and get away without paying anything. Just as debt seems to crush the heart in our material life, so too does the debt of our sins crush us in relation to our spiritual life. Sometimes people cast all care to the wind and spend, spend, spend, while the credit card still works—knowing that they won’t be able to pay. The devil tries to make us sin, sin, sin, to the point where our hope and confidence of pardon is so low, that we fall into despair.
Any Debt Can Be Paid-Off, But…
First of all, we must remember the words of Scripture: “Be not deceived, God is not mocked!” (Galatians 6:7). We cannot commit the sin of presumption—which is just as much a sin against hope as despair is—by sinning, sinning and sinning with the presumption that God will still show us His mercy. Read the sermon of St. Alphonsus Liguori on “On The Number Of Sins Beyond Which God Pardons No More”, from which we will just give a few extracts:
“You say: ‘I am young! There are many who have committed more sins than I have!’ But is God on that account obliged to wait for your repentance if you offend Him? In the Gospel of St. Matthew (21:19) we read, that the Savior cursed a fig tree the first time He saw it without fruit: ‘May no fruit grow on thee henceforward forever!’ And immediately the fig tree withered away. You must, then, tremble at the thought of committing a single mortal sin, particularly if you have already been guilty of mortal sins. ‘Be not without fear about sin forgiven, and add not sin upon sin’ (Ecclesiasticus 5: 5). Say not then, O sinner; ‘As God has forgiven me other sins, so He will pardon me this one if I commit it!’ Say not this―for, if to the sin which has been forgiven you add another, you have reason to fear that this new sin shall be united to your former guilt, and that thus the number will be completed, and that you shall be abandoned!”
Be Realistic, Be Confident
As was said in the previous article, we cannot focus exclusively on God’s mercy, while sweeping his justice under carpet. St. Catherine of Genoa gave us that warning in her Treatise on Purgatory: “Would that I could utter so strong a cry that it would strike all men with terror, and say to them: ‘O wretched beings! Why are you so blinded by this world that you make, as you will find at the hour of death, no provision for the great necessity that will then come upon you? You shelter yourselves beneath your hope in the mercy of God, which you unceasingly exalt. Have not the boldness to say: “I will go to confession and gain a plenary indulgence and thus I shall be saved.” Remember that the full confession and entire contrition which are requisite to gain a plenary indulgence are not easily attained. Did you know how hardly they are come by, you would tremble with fear and be more sure of losing than of gaining them!” (St. Catherine of Genoa).
Nevertheless…
Let it, however, be well understood that despondency is a temptation. Hope and confidence in God are commanded equally with Faith and the other virtues. Therefore the feeling of despondency, which is opposed to hope, must be resisted strongly and CONFIDENTLY. God will forgive if we do not abuse His mercy, even though we will still have to pay—but what kind of person would want to get into Heaven on the back of a life of endless sin, without having settled his debts with God?
Ask With Faith and Confidence
No, as the Apostle, St. James, says, “Let him ask in Faith, nothing wavering!” (James 1:6). The heart that prays with doubt and distrust shall obtain nothing. And we also know that Jesus Christ, whilst still on Earth, granted miracles only when there was confidence: “Daughter, thy Faith hath made thee whole!” (Matthew 9:22).
In Fr. Gottemoller’s book, Words of Love, which deals with Our Lord’s apparitions to three religious sisters (Sr. Josefa Menendez, Sr. Consolata Betrone and Sr. Mary of the Trinity), Our Lord says: “Let them [souls] give themselves up to thoughts of confidence, not fear―for I am a God of pity, ever ready to receive them into My Heart! ... I make little account of all that [miseries and weakness], provided souls come to Me with confidence and love! … You must do all that you can, and it is only after that, that you can count infallibly on My help! … To those who ask with love―that is to say, with unlimited confidence―I cannot prevent Myself from granting even more, far more than what is asked !… Oh, if you knew what My love is! And how I long for you to have confidence in it! … You will be lacking in help only when My Divine Heart will be lacking in power! …
“It often happens that good and pious souls, and very frequently also souls who are consecrated to Me, wound My Heart to Its very depths by some diffident phrase such as: ‘Who knows whether I will be saved?’ Open the Gospel and read there My promises. I promised to My sheep: ‘I will give them life everlasting; and they shall not perish forever, and no man shall pluck them out of My Hand.’ Do you understand? No one can take a soul from Me! Now read on: ‘That which My Father has given Me, is greater than all; and no one can snatch them out of the Hand of My Father.’ Do you understand? No one can snatch a soul from Me! ... In all eternity they will not perish ― because I give them eternal life. For whom have I spoken these words? For all the sheep, for all souls! Why then the insult, ‘Who knows whether I will be saved?’ I have given assurances, in the Gospel, that no one can pluck a soul from Me and that I will give that soul eternal life, and so the soul cannot perish. Believe Me, into Hell go only those who really wish to go there; for, though no one can snatch a soul from Me, the soul may, through the free will granted her, flee from Me, may betray Me, deny Me, and so go to Satan of her own volition.
“Oh, if instead of wounding My Heart with such distrust, you would give a little thought to the Heaven which awaits you! I did not create you for Hell, but for Heaven; not as a companion for the devil, but to enjoy Me in everlasting love! You see, to Hell go only those who wish to go there ... How foolish is your fear of being damned! After having shed My Blood in order to save your soul, after having surrounded your soul with graces upon graces all through your entire existence ... would I permit Satan, My worst enemy, to rob Me of that soul, at the last moment of her life, just when I am about to gather in the fruit of the Redemption and when, therefore, that soul is on the point of loving Me forever? Would I do that, when in the Holy Gospel I have promised to give the soul eternal life and that no one can snatch her from My Hands?
“How is it possible to believe such a monstrosity? You see, final impenitence is found only in a soul who purposely wishes to go to Hell and therefore obstinately refuses My mercy, for I never refuse to pardon anyone. I offer the gift of My immense compassion to all, for My Blood was shed for all, for all! No, it is not the multiplicity of sins which condemns a soul, for I forgive everything if she repents, but it is the obstinacy of not wishing to be pardoned, of wishing to be damned! Dismas on the cross had only one single act of Faith in Me, but many, many sins― however, he was pardoned in an instant, and on the very day of his repentance he entered into My kingdom and is a saint! Behold the triumph of My Mercy and of Faith in Me!” (Words of Love, Fr. Bartholomew Gottemoller, chapter 6, “Confidence”).
Beautiful words, but words spoken to those who were sincere in their sorrow for sin and were trying to put things right—as Our Lord said: “I forgive everything if she repents ... You must do all that you can, and it is only after that, that you can count infallibly on My help ... Though no one can snatch a soul from Me, the soul may, through the free will granted her, flee from Me, may betray Me, deny Me, and so go to Satan of her own volition.” Repentance means sorrow for sin, a firm desire to change one’s life, and the desire to pay for the damage done. Our Lord adds: “Have confidence in Me! Trust Me always! You must have a blind confidence that I will fulfill all the great promises which I have made you, for I am kind, immensely kind and merciful, and ‘I desire not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way, and live.’” (Words of Love, Fr. Bartholomew Gottemoller, chapter 6, “Confidence”).
Confidence in the Sufferings and Merits of Jesus Christ
A soul that is addicted to despondency is swayed by fear, which prevents it from reflecting on the immovable foundations of confidence in God. We cannot therefore give her too many motives for overcoming that fear which harasses her incessantly. She will find a powerful one in the sufferings of Jesus Christ, which are as immense as the dignity of His person is infinite. This divine Savior, dying for all mankind, praying for all, offering for all His sufferings and His death, has merited for them all the graces which are necessary for them to overcome their spiritual enemy and to gain eternal happiness. These merits which Jesus Christ did not need for Himself He has given over to mankind. So that, according to St. Bernard, these merits become our own. And by offering them to the Father, we obtain that help which we need to strengthen us against the enemies of our salvation. It is from this principle that the Church, in all the prayers she makes to God, always invokes the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. The mercy is there, all we have to do is pay!
But I Have Sinned Too Much!
“But,” exclaims a soul, frightened at the thought of her many past offenses, “how must Our Lord and Savior look upon me, after the many outrages which I have committed against Him! Can He any longer interest Himself for one who has been so long His enemy?” Can a well-instructed Christian soul have any doubt on this point? Did not Jesus Christ Himself assure us that He came into the world to suffer and die for sinners; that He came chiefly to seek for sinners?
Now, in the face of this assertion, will they still imagine that, because they are sinners, they will be refused the help they require to return to God? No, Heaven and Earth may pass away, but the promises of God shall not pass away unfulfilled. These promises relate to sinners, and if there had been no sinners, would Jesus Christ have suffered? Would He have submitted to a cruel death? The more sinful man is, the more strikingly are the mercy of God, and the power of the Savior’s merits displayed. Is there any blacker crime than the treachery of Judas? Yes, answers St. Jerome, there is one still more enormous, despair! Judas rendered himself more guilty in taking away his own life than in betraying his divine Master. The mercy is there for us, we must do what we can to pay for it. Christ will add His Blood and merits to our payments.
You Have To Beg For His Merits
Let us then never fear to have recourse to the merits of Jesus Christ. We honor them when we make use of them to obtain the helps which we need, since it was for this that Jesus Christ vouchsafed to acquire them and to give them over to us. It is in applying them to ourselves through prayer and good works, that we fulfill the end for which they were purchased. It would be a singular way of honoring them, the not daring to make use of them; it would be going directly against the end which our divine Savior proposed to Himself. In turning from His gifts as useless, we should not be evincing our esteem for them, but only proving our indifference.
Come to Me and Ask!
Since we acknowledge that we are poor, weak, and miserable, should we not seek to enrich and to strengthen ourselves, and to cure our evils? Jesus Christ offers Himself to accomplish these miracles in us, by offering His infinite merits. With loving tenderness He says to us, “Come to me, all you that labor, and are burdened, and I will refresh you” (Matt. 11:28). Is it not therefore against every principle, against every feeling, and still more against the intention of the Savior Himself to fear to have recourse to Him?
Temptation attacks the soul in every way. Through a sentiment of false humility a fear is conceived which fills the soul with dejection. Christian humility and sound reason require that we should recognize our unworthiness of heavenly benefits; but they do not require us to refuse those which are offered, or not to ask for those that have been promised to our prayers. Still more does the gratitude which we owe to Jesus Christ require that we should obey His will, in profiting by His sufferings, to obtain the graces which He has earned for us. Never can we honor Him more than in corresponding to the merciful designs which He had in immolating Himself for us and by suffering with Him for our sins.
Rely on Him, not Ourselves
On what could we rely to appease the justice of God outraged by sin, and to draw down His mercy, if not upon the merits of Our Savior? It is in presenting them to God that we may hope to disarm His anger. Just as He can see in us only that which must provoke His justice, so in His Son He only sees what solicits His mercy. This divine mercy is exercised in our behalf as soon as we, with sentiments of regret, present ourselves to Him, under the shadow of the Savior’s cross, and covered with His precious blood. And thus also is justice appeased. Mercy and truth, justice and peace make together a blessed treaty for us. In the language of the Psalmist: “Mercy and truth have met each other: justice and peace have kissed” (Psalm 84:11).
False Ideas And Feelings Which We Ascribe To God
It is because we judge God by our own weak human hearts, that we fear to exhaust His mercy. If a person to whom we have given important assistance, whom we have loaded with benefits, treats us with ingratitude, and, in return for kindness, heaps insults upon us, we turn away from him as unworthy of further notice; more especially if he has made use of our very benefits to injure us, we abandon him forever. We should consider we were acting against every dictate of common sense and prudence, did we continue to furnish him with arms to use against us.
The same feelings and judgment we ascribe to God, forgetting that His ways are as far removed from our ways as the heavens are from the Earth. God bears with our wanderings because He is eternal and all-powerful, and He knows that the day of His justice will come, when all shall be brought into order, and forever.
Wrong Idea of God—Wrong Idea of Justice & Mercy
He is patient because He is infinitely good, and wishes to give us the means to return to Him. He who knows all things has seen from all eternity all our weaknesses, our ingratitude, and our reiterated falls. He has foreseen that we could not do anything of ourselves, much less return to Him without help; and that help He has prepared for us in the person of His Son, Jesus. He entreats us, He even commands us to call upon Him in all our wanderings, and He will assist us, He will be our propitiation; for it is in helping us and pardoning us that His mercy is exercised. Yet we still have to add our payments for sin to His generous contribution.
God Has Always Been Just and Merciful
This conduct God brought out in a striking manner toward the Jewish nation. Whenever they fell into idolatry, God punished them, to bring them back to their allegiance. When they abandoned their Lord to serve strange gods, He would deliver them over to their enemies, to be held in cruel bondage. Then, when bowed down by the miseries of their servitude, they lifted up their hearts to God and called upon Him with confidence, God sent them a deliverer to free them from the hard yoke under which they groaned. And so did they continue during a period of four hundred years, continually relapsing into idolatry, and as often experiencing the mercy of God when they called upon Him.
Judge from this if God will tire in pardoning us, if we turn to Him with a sincerely contrite heart. But if the conduct of God toward His Jewish people does not remove your fears, listen to the words of the Prophet-King, inspired by the Holy Ghost, who assures us that God will not despise “a contrite and humbled heart” (Psalm 1:19).
God Wishes to Pardon—Do We Wish to Pay?
When, terrified by the recollection of our sins, we have the thought or the wish to return to God, it is He who is then attracting us by His grace. Does He call us only that He may refuse to receive us? Who can think it? He told St. Peter to forgive after every offense, “I say not to thee, till seven times―but till seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22), and by this we may learn to know His dispositions in our regard. Ah! we little know the boundless tenderness of that divine Heart, if we judge of it by our own, or if we imagine that it ever ceases to care for us. So long as we are in this life we are under the law of mercy, and of that mercy we can ever avail ourselves. It is death only that places us under the law of immutable justice.
Repeated Falls?
Our repeated infidelities ought not to make us lose confidence in God—it is the lack of Faith that makes us fear. God, Who is the tender Father of all His creatures, has taken every means to remove that excessive fear which would draw them from Him. To prevent the soul that has become sensible of its ingratitude and terrified at the view of its repeated relapses into sin, after so often obtaining pardon for them - to prevent such a soul from losing all hope and daring no longer to cry out to Him from the abyss into which it has again fallen, not only does He assure it, by the mouth of the Psalmist, “That those who hope in Him shall never be confounded,” but He expressly declares the positive law of His mercy, and commands us to hope in Him.
God Is Faithful
This precept we cannot fully accomplish but with the help of His grace; and can the Almighty have made this precept and not wish to help us keep it? And can He fall to be touched by our obedience when we endeavor to do so? Can He turn away from us, when we call upon Him, as He has ordered us to do? NO; God cannot be otherwise than faithful to His promises. If we fail, it is because we have not asked with confidence, and because our Faith is weak.
Let the Holy Scriptures here furnish you with another proof of this. St. Peter, at the order of his Divine Master, confidently walks upon the waters. The wind rises, and the apostle’s trust lessens; he fears, and immediately begins to sink, but the danger reanimates his confidence: Peter has recourse to his Divine Master, who stretches forth His hand to save him from perishing. For our instruction Jesus let His apostle know what danger he had been in, when He thus reproached him: “O you of little Faith! Why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31).
“If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow―and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool!” (Isaias 1:18). But you will still have to pay for them, for that is how we show our love and sorrow to Christ.
Article 18
Tuesday November 18th
Don't Feel Down or Depressed!
Tuesday November 18th
Don't Feel Down or Depressed!
Despondency & Discouragement Come Disguised
Despondency or discouragement is the most dangerous temptation that the enemy of our salvation can employ. In other temptations he attacks some one virtue in particular, and shows himself openly―but by despondency he attacks them all, but covertly. The snare is readily perceived in other temptations―one finds in religion, often even in reason, principles which condemn them. The knowledge of the evil, to which we cannot blind ourselves, conscience, and the truths of religion which are awakened, serve as helps to sustain us.
But in despondency there is nothing to lean upon―we feel that reason does not suffice to enable us to practice all the good that God requires of us. On the other hand, we dare not hope to receive from God all the help we need to overcome our passions― thus we become discouraged and nearly reduced to despair, the very point to which the devil tries to lead the despondent soul.
This is easily and readily done by the devil in regard to our attitude to Purgatory. The goal of the devil is to make us sin as much as possible, while whispering to us that “God is good! God is kind! God is loving! God is merciful! God is very forgiving!” (which is all true, but it is not ALL the truth), while at the same the devil blinds to the rest of the truth, so that we have no fear or problem sinning. The devil blinds us to the fact that “God is just! God is exacting! God misses nothing! God will demand payment for each and every sin, even every idle word!”
Then, when we have sinned considerably, the devil tempts us despair of ever being able to get out of sin and ever being able to pay for our sin, by making us focus on the truth that:”God is just! God is exacting! God misses nothing! God will demand payment for each and every sin, even every idle word!” while at the same time blinding us the fact that “God is good! God is kind! God is loving! God is merciful! God is very forgiving!”
God Forgives—But Sin Must Be Paid For
Just like the devil makes us focus on one side of the coin and makes us ignore the other side, we also tend to focus exclusively on God’s mercy, while sweeping his justice under carpet. You cannot do that! As St. Catherine of Genoa says at the end of her Treatise on Purgatory:
“Would that I could utter so strong a cry that it would strike all men with terror, and say to them: ‘O wretched beings! Why are you so blinded by this world that you make, as you will find at the hour of death, no provision for the great necessity that will then come upon you?’” (St. Catherine of Genoa).
“You shelter yourselves beneath your hope in the mercy of God―which you unceasingly exalt―not seeing that it is your resistance to His great goodness which will be your condemnation. His goodness should constrain you to do His will, not encourage you to persevere in your own will! Since His justice is unfailing, it must therefore be in some way fully satisfied!” (St. Catherine of Genoa).
“Have not the boldness to say: ‘I will go to confession and gain a plenary indulgence and thus I shall be saved.’ Remember that the full confession and entire contrition―which are requisite to gain a plenary indulgence―are not easily attained. Did you know how hardly they are come by? You would tremble with fear and be more sure of losing than of gaining them” (St. Catherine of Genoa).
As Our Lady of Good Success said to Mother Mariana, in Quito, Ecuador in the 17th century: “Prepare your soul so that, increasingly purified, it might enter into the fullness of the joy of Our Lord. Oh, if mortals, and in particular religious souls, could know what Heaven is and what it is to possess God! How differently they would live! Nor would they spare themselves any sacrifice in order to possess Him! O, if men only understood how to appreciate the time given to them and would take advantage of each moment of their lives, how different the world would be! And a considerable number of souls would not fall to their eternal perdition! But this contempt is the fundamental cause for their downfall!” (Our Lady of Good Success to Mother Mariana, Quito, Ecuador).
Modern Deformation of God
The idiocy of modern-day Catholics is to make God into a patsy or a pushover! Or such a kindly God, that He cannot refuse to forgive all the crimes committed against Him. They imagine that He does not get angry, nor does He take vengeance upon those who sin. If that is the case, then Our Lady must be telling some whopping lies about God when she says:
“If my people do not wish to submit themselves, I am forced to let go of the hand of my Son. It is so heavy and weighs me down so much, that I can no longer keep hold of it! … The sins of those dedicated to God cry out towards Heaven and call for vengeance, and now vengeance is at their door! … Woe to the inhabitants of the Earth! God will exhaust His wrath upon them, and no one will be able to escape so many afflictions together! ... Nature is asking for vengeance because of man, and she trembles, with dread, at what must happen to the Earth stained with crime! Tremble, Earth, and you who proclaim yourselves as serving Jesus Christ and who, on the inside, only adore yourselves! … Physical and moral agonies will be suffered. God will abandon mankind to itself and will send punishments which will follow one after the other! … The society of men is on the eve of the most terrible scourges and of gravest events! Mankind must expect to be ruled with an iron rod and to drink from the chalice of the wrath of God!” (Our Lady of La Salette).
“Know, moreover, that Divine Justice releases terrible chastisements on entire nations, not only for the sins of the people, but for those of priests and religious persons! … before the eyes of God they quicken the rigor of the punishments … fire will rain from Heaven!” (Our Lady of Quito) … “And then water and fire will purge the Earth and consume all the works of man’s pride and all will be renewed … And then Jesus Christ, in an act of His justice and His great mercy, will command His Angels to have all His enemies put to death. Suddenly, the persecutors of the Church of Jesus Christ, and all those given over to sin, will perish and the Earth will become desert-like” (Our Lady of La Salette).
Is Our Lady a Liar? Is Our Lord a Liar?
Is Our Lady lying about God? We just don’t like to hear these things, like children don’t like to see their parents angry—but then the solution is to stop doing what makes them angry? We are so wrapped-up in our own feelings, that we have no time for the feelings of God! We hate to hear about chastisements, but we don’t stop sinning.
Some modern-day Catholics, with the sugar-coated version of Christ, also make Our Lord out to be a liar, Who said that the ingratitude and betrayal of religious souls, so dear to His Heart, would compel Him: “To let My Justice fall upon My beloved cloisters ― and even over cities ― when those so near to Me, who belong to Me, reject My spirit, abandoning Me alone in Tabernacles, rarely remembering that I live there especially for love of them, even more than for the rest of the faithful!” (Our Lord to Mother Mariana, Quito, Ecuador). She saw three swords hanging over the head of Christ. On each was written, “I shall punish heresy, blasphemy and impurity!” With this, she was given to understand all that would take place in the present era. Is Our Lord also lying? Of course not!
Despite the Justice, There Is Still Great Mercy
Yet Our Lady also offers the hand of mercy to those who sincerely seek to turn away from sin and are contrite: “I am in placating the Divine Justice and obtaining mercy and pardon for every sinner who comes to me with a contrite heart, for I am the Mother of Mercy and in me there is only goodness and love” (Our Lady of Quito) … “Are you suffering a great deal? Don’t lose heart. I will never forsake you. My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God” (Our Lady of Fatima). “God will take care of His faithful servants and men of good will … who have lived in scorn for the world and for themselves, in poverty and in humility, in scorn and in silence, in prayer and in mortification, in chastity and in union with God, in suffering and unknown to the world” (Our Lady of La Salette). “Pray very much the prayers of the Rosary! I alone am able still to save you from the calamities which approach! Those who place their confidence in me will be saved!” (Our Lady of Akita).
This reminds us of the poignant statement that Our Lady made to St. Bridget: “I am the Queen of Heaven and the Mother of mercy; I am the joy of the just, and the gate of entrance for sinners to God. In the fire of Purgatory there is no suffering that through my intercession would not be more easily bearable than otherwise. Neither is there living on Earth a sinner who is so accursed that he is deprived of my compassion―for everyone, if he receives nothing else through my intercession, receives the grace of being less tempted by evil spirits than he otherwise would be! Nobody, therefore, who is not entirely accursed [by which is meant the final and irrevocable malediction pronounced against the damned], is so entirely cast off by God that he may not return and enjoy his mercy if he invokes my aid. I am called by all the Mother of mercy, and truly the mercy of God towards men has made me so merciful towards them. Therefore he shall be miserable, and forever miserable in another life, who in this, being able, does not have recourse to me, who am so compassionate to all, and so earnestly desire to aid sinners!”
Accepting the Rough with the Smooth
It is important that we acknowledge and accept both sides of God—His justice and His mercy. It is our childishness and irresponsibility that hates to accept the side of justice, while wallowing on the side of mercy. The devil will happily assist us in this exercise. We will post, once more, at the end of this article, the hypothetical “Purgatory Calculator” so that we can see and shockingly see the side of justice—which hopefully scares sin right out of us and makes to start working hard to earn God’s mercy in the time that we have left in each of our lives. The justice, anger and chastisement is not meant to make us despondent, depressed or discouraged—but it is meant to give us a hatred of sin, a hatred of our past deeds, a hatred of future sin, and a great hope in the mercy of God, who nevertheless requires that justice be done. However, if we decide to pay now, rather than later, then we will experience a massive ‘discount price’ on justice. If we foolishly decide to pay after death, then we shall find ‘massive interest rates’ being added to our payments. So we have to hope that we can pay-off most of (or all of) what we owe here below—so that our ‘retirement scheme’ is truly “out of this world.” Hope and confidence in God are as much a commandment as Faith and the other virtues.
Excessive Fear Blinds Us To Truth
The great danger of despondency is that―being deceived by an excessive fear which makes us blind to the truth, and being discouraged at the sight of difficulties or in seeing the difficulty in changes and efforts we would have to make, against which we find no resource in ourselves―we stupidly fail to see this despondency as the effect of temptation. Could we only see it in that light, we should beware of the suggestions that entertain it, and should get rid of our trouble more quickly and more easily.
Despondency is only a Temptation
Let it, however, be well understood that despondency is a temptation, and bears all the marks of being such ―for every feeling that is opposed to the law of God, either in itself or by the consequences it may have, is evidently a temptation. It is thus we judge of every temptation to which we are liable. If we have a thought against Faith, a feeling against charity or some other virtue, we look upon it as a temptation; we turn away from it, and try to elicit acts opposed to the thought or feeling which has put us in danger of offending God.
Now, hope and confidence in God are commanded equally with Faith and the other virtues. Therefore the feeling which is opposed to hope is as much forbidden as that which is against Faith or any other virtue: it has thus every feature of a real temptation.
The law of God obliges us frequently to make acts of Faith, Hope, and Charity; and hence forbids us all willful feelings contrary to these sacred and necessary virtues. How, then, can despondency be viewed otherwise than as a temptation, and even as a very dangerous temptation, since it exposes the Christian soul to abandon every work of piety?
Hope Is the Antidote
To make this danger clearer to you, consider the general course of conduct among men. Is it not the hope of success, of gaining some advantage, of avoiding some evil, or of satisfying some desire or passion, which makes them act , which keeps them going in all their labors, and animates them to overcome their difficulties? Take away from them all hope, and they would soon fall into inaction. None but a madman would strive for an object which he despairs of obtaining. In our spiritual life, despondency produces the same effect; it is founded on the same principle, the lack of a means to reach the end which we propose to ourselves. But this despondency is built upon a failure to see the truth of things, a failure to see the real reality, which is covered by our imagined reality or ‘wishful-thinking’ reality!
Feeble Efforts & Fear of Failure
When we lose all hope of overcoming the difficulties which we may find in the practice of any virtue, we do not try, or but feebly, to make the effort to do so. These insufficient efforts only increase our weakness, and being more than half overcome by despondency, we are easily led away by the passion that sways us. The sense of our weakness first throws us into doubt and into trouble. In that state, thinking only of the difficulty of the combat, we do not distinguish the principles that ought to guide us. The fear of not succeeding, prevents us from employing the means which God has given us, and we are thus defenseless against our enemy.
We are like a child who, seeing the approach of a giant, begins to tremble, and forgets that a stone thrown in the name of the Lord may knock him out and lay him flat. In the same way we forget that we have a powerful help in the goodness of a caring Father, upon Whom we have only to call, to be victorious in all our struggles.
We Rely Too Much On Ourselves
Why does despondency make such strong and fatal impressions on us? We are obviously convinced of our weakness, for we have often experienced it. We painfully feel the difficulty of trying to overcome ourselves, as we succeed but rarely. Filled with these sad and discouraging reflections of our lack of spiritual strength, and of the little that we do to please God, we consider it useless to have recourse to Him, Who, we think, will not listen to our prayer while we are in our present state. This is merely the sad evidence of the pride within the human heart, that would wish to owe to itself all the good which it does, and the happiness to which it aspires! And how opposed to the words of the Holy Ghost: “What have you, that you have not received?” (1 Corinthians 4:7)
Rely on God’s Mercy
In such a state we see and depend only upon our own efforts, so that our despondency diminishes, ceases, returns, or increases, according as we act well or ill. We do not reflect that it is only from the mercy of God we can hope for help, and not by our own merits; that when we have done well it is through the grace of God, which we have not merited, and that, in every circumstance, this mercy is ever ready to dispense to us the necessary grace.
However, we have to supply a basis for God giving us the grace of mercy, just as there had to be something for Our Lord to feed the 4,000 and the 5,000 people. We have to supply, so to speak, the meager “loaves and fishes” and He will take them and do much with them. As we already stated, it is like cents being changed into dollars, or even gold. Our loaves and fishes are our prayers and penances. We have to give a regular and steady supply of them to offset and feed the ‘thousands’ of days of punishment that our sins hungrily demand. God will work with us, but He will not do all the work without us. As St. Augustine says: “God will save man, but not without the cooperation of man.”
Imitate the Saints
When these desponding souls are told that they ought, after the example of the saints, to put all their confidence in God, they will at once answer that it is not surprising that the saints had confidence in God, since they were saints, and served God with fidelity: but that they have not the same right to feel that perfect confidence in Him which the saints had. They do not perceive that such reasoning is contrary to the principles of true religion.
Hope is only Found in God
Hope is a theological virtue, and its motive can be found only in God. These souls make it a human virtue when its source or motive is recognized in man or in his ways. The saints did not hope in God because they were faithful to God, but they were faithful to God because they hoped in Him. Otherwise the sinner could never make an act of hope, and yet it is that very act of hope which disposes him to return to God.
Great Humility
Observe that St. Paul does not say, I have obtained mercy because I have been faithful, but “Having obtained mercy of the Lord, to be faithful” (1 Corinthians 6:25). Mercy always precedes the good which we do; and it is from mercy alone that we have the necessary grace to do any good at all. The saints never counted upon their works to strengthen their confidence in God, for they were ever mindful of the words of Our Savior: “So you also, when you shall have done all these things that are commanded you, say: ‘We are unprofitable servants!’” (Luke 17:10).
The greater saints they were, the greater was their humility. Their humility allowed them to see only the perfection to which they had not yet reached. Unlike the Pharisee in the Gospel, they found nothing in themselves to warrant their confidence, but in the mercy of God they sought and found a confidence, the foundations of which could not be shaken. This was what supported them, and this it is which must encourage you, and reanimate your fainting strength. It is of the utmost importance for you to understand this truth, that you may not again fall into the snare which your enemy has so often laid for you.
The True Motive for Christian Hope
According to religion the motive of Christian hope, or of confidence in God, is the same for all men, saints and sinners. Hope, as we have already said, is a theological virtue, like Faith and Charity. Its motive, then, can be found only in God, and can rest only upon divine perfection. It follows, therefore, that we exclude from this motive our own merits. We do not hope in God because we have been faithful to Him, but we hope in Him that we may obtain the grace to be faithful.
God is Faithful to His Promises—He will Help
On what, then, is Christian hope founded, and what is its motive, according to religion? Pope Benedict XIV, in his form of the Act of Hope, has pointed out the divine perfections, which constitute this motive. The act is this: “O my God, I hope in Thee, because Thou art faithful to Thy all powerful promises, and because Thy mercies are infinite!” In this motive there is nothing human-all is drawn from God Himself. And could there be a stronger motive to strengthen us in hope and confidence in God?
We here find the mercy of God, who is more anxious to shower His gifts upon man than man is to receive them; who desires their real good and their salvation much more sincerely than they desire it themselves, since He restrains them by His grace, which of themselves they could not merit, and since He prepares for them aid proportionate to the trials to which He exposes them-an aid which they can obtain by prayer, and with it conquer the evil one. This mercy is so infinite, that all the malice of mankind cannot exhaust it; and, after having manifested itself so wonderfully in the gift which God has granted us, His only Son for our ransom, it will not refuse us the assistance which He desires to afford us in this priceless benefit.
Effects of Divine Mercy
The effects of this divine mercy have been promised to us, by the assurances which God has made us, of coming to our assistance, whenever we ask it, to work out our salvation. God, who is truth itself, cannot deceive us, and He is essentially faithful to the promises He makes His creatures. But we find in the Holy Scripture the most touching exhortations to have recourse to Him in our necessities, with the promise that He will be our support and our strength. How, then, can we have any anxiety or seriously entertain any fear that He will reject or abandon us, when we call upon Him with confidence? Would not this be accusing God of not keeping His promise? But that would be blasphemy.
It is true that to grant our prayer God requires that we should call upon Him with confidence—but should we deserve to obtain His benefits if we asked them with a doubting heart; doubting that very goodness of which we are experiencing the effect every instant of our lives, and in so many thousand ways?
Purgatorial Calculator
Below, once again, you will see the hypothetical ‘Purgatorial Calculator’. Of course, there is no ‘black and white’ way that Purgatory is calculated, in a ridiculous kind of “one-size-fits-all” manner! The gravity of each sin is weighed, with it malice, deliberation, mitigating or aggravating circumstances, possibilities of avoidance, etc. The same sin, looking on the surface of things, will receive a varying degrees of punishment for different people. However, the purpose of the chart is to shock or spark us into action to try pay a massive debt with relatively little effort in this world (as compared to Purgatory) and this is what God would prefer in His mercy, rather than have to make us pay later through His justice.
Despondency or discouragement is the most dangerous temptation that the enemy of our salvation can employ. In other temptations he attacks some one virtue in particular, and shows himself openly―but by despondency he attacks them all, but covertly. The snare is readily perceived in other temptations―one finds in religion, often even in reason, principles which condemn them. The knowledge of the evil, to which we cannot blind ourselves, conscience, and the truths of religion which are awakened, serve as helps to sustain us.
But in despondency there is nothing to lean upon―we feel that reason does not suffice to enable us to practice all the good that God requires of us. On the other hand, we dare not hope to receive from God all the help we need to overcome our passions― thus we become discouraged and nearly reduced to despair, the very point to which the devil tries to lead the despondent soul.
This is easily and readily done by the devil in regard to our attitude to Purgatory. The goal of the devil is to make us sin as much as possible, while whispering to us that “God is good! God is kind! God is loving! God is merciful! God is very forgiving!” (which is all true, but it is not ALL the truth), while at the same the devil blinds to the rest of the truth, so that we have no fear or problem sinning. The devil blinds us to the fact that “God is just! God is exacting! God misses nothing! God will demand payment for each and every sin, even every idle word!”
Then, when we have sinned considerably, the devil tempts us despair of ever being able to get out of sin and ever being able to pay for our sin, by making us focus on the truth that:”God is just! God is exacting! God misses nothing! God will demand payment for each and every sin, even every idle word!” while at the same time blinding us the fact that “God is good! God is kind! God is loving! God is merciful! God is very forgiving!”
God Forgives—But Sin Must Be Paid For
Just like the devil makes us focus on one side of the coin and makes us ignore the other side, we also tend to focus exclusively on God’s mercy, while sweeping his justice under carpet. You cannot do that! As St. Catherine of Genoa says at the end of her Treatise on Purgatory:
“Would that I could utter so strong a cry that it would strike all men with terror, and say to them: ‘O wretched beings! Why are you so blinded by this world that you make, as you will find at the hour of death, no provision for the great necessity that will then come upon you?’” (St. Catherine of Genoa).
“You shelter yourselves beneath your hope in the mercy of God―which you unceasingly exalt―not seeing that it is your resistance to His great goodness which will be your condemnation. His goodness should constrain you to do His will, not encourage you to persevere in your own will! Since His justice is unfailing, it must therefore be in some way fully satisfied!” (St. Catherine of Genoa).
“Have not the boldness to say: ‘I will go to confession and gain a plenary indulgence and thus I shall be saved.’ Remember that the full confession and entire contrition―which are requisite to gain a plenary indulgence―are not easily attained. Did you know how hardly they are come by? You would tremble with fear and be more sure of losing than of gaining them” (St. Catherine of Genoa).
As Our Lady of Good Success said to Mother Mariana, in Quito, Ecuador in the 17th century: “Prepare your soul so that, increasingly purified, it might enter into the fullness of the joy of Our Lord. Oh, if mortals, and in particular religious souls, could know what Heaven is and what it is to possess God! How differently they would live! Nor would they spare themselves any sacrifice in order to possess Him! O, if men only understood how to appreciate the time given to them and would take advantage of each moment of their lives, how different the world would be! And a considerable number of souls would not fall to their eternal perdition! But this contempt is the fundamental cause for their downfall!” (Our Lady of Good Success to Mother Mariana, Quito, Ecuador).
Modern Deformation of God
The idiocy of modern-day Catholics is to make God into a patsy or a pushover! Or such a kindly God, that He cannot refuse to forgive all the crimes committed against Him. They imagine that He does not get angry, nor does He take vengeance upon those who sin. If that is the case, then Our Lady must be telling some whopping lies about God when she says:
“If my people do not wish to submit themselves, I am forced to let go of the hand of my Son. It is so heavy and weighs me down so much, that I can no longer keep hold of it! … The sins of those dedicated to God cry out towards Heaven and call for vengeance, and now vengeance is at their door! … Woe to the inhabitants of the Earth! God will exhaust His wrath upon them, and no one will be able to escape so many afflictions together! ... Nature is asking for vengeance because of man, and she trembles, with dread, at what must happen to the Earth stained with crime! Tremble, Earth, and you who proclaim yourselves as serving Jesus Christ and who, on the inside, only adore yourselves! … Physical and moral agonies will be suffered. God will abandon mankind to itself and will send punishments which will follow one after the other! … The society of men is on the eve of the most terrible scourges and of gravest events! Mankind must expect to be ruled with an iron rod and to drink from the chalice of the wrath of God!” (Our Lady of La Salette).
“Know, moreover, that Divine Justice releases terrible chastisements on entire nations, not only for the sins of the people, but for those of priests and religious persons! … before the eyes of God they quicken the rigor of the punishments … fire will rain from Heaven!” (Our Lady of Quito) … “And then water and fire will purge the Earth and consume all the works of man’s pride and all will be renewed … And then Jesus Christ, in an act of His justice and His great mercy, will command His Angels to have all His enemies put to death. Suddenly, the persecutors of the Church of Jesus Christ, and all those given over to sin, will perish and the Earth will become desert-like” (Our Lady of La Salette).
Is Our Lady a Liar? Is Our Lord a Liar?
Is Our Lady lying about God? We just don’t like to hear these things, like children don’t like to see their parents angry—but then the solution is to stop doing what makes them angry? We are so wrapped-up in our own feelings, that we have no time for the feelings of God! We hate to hear about chastisements, but we don’t stop sinning.
Some modern-day Catholics, with the sugar-coated version of Christ, also make Our Lord out to be a liar, Who said that the ingratitude and betrayal of religious souls, so dear to His Heart, would compel Him: “To let My Justice fall upon My beloved cloisters ― and even over cities ― when those so near to Me, who belong to Me, reject My spirit, abandoning Me alone in Tabernacles, rarely remembering that I live there especially for love of them, even more than for the rest of the faithful!” (Our Lord to Mother Mariana, Quito, Ecuador). She saw three swords hanging over the head of Christ. On each was written, “I shall punish heresy, blasphemy and impurity!” With this, she was given to understand all that would take place in the present era. Is Our Lord also lying? Of course not!
Despite the Justice, There Is Still Great Mercy
Yet Our Lady also offers the hand of mercy to those who sincerely seek to turn away from sin and are contrite: “I am in placating the Divine Justice and obtaining mercy and pardon for every sinner who comes to me with a contrite heart, for I am the Mother of Mercy and in me there is only goodness and love” (Our Lady of Quito) … “Are you suffering a great deal? Don’t lose heart. I will never forsake you. My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God” (Our Lady of Fatima). “God will take care of His faithful servants and men of good will … who have lived in scorn for the world and for themselves, in poverty and in humility, in scorn and in silence, in prayer and in mortification, in chastity and in union with God, in suffering and unknown to the world” (Our Lady of La Salette). “Pray very much the prayers of the Rosary! I alone am able still to save you from the calamities which approach! Those who place their confidence in me will be saved!” (Our Lady of Akita).
This reminds us of the poignant statement that Our Lady made to St. Bridget: “I am the Queen of Heaven and the Mother of mercy; I am the joy of the just, and the gate of entrance for sinners to God. In the fire of Purgatory there is no suffering that through my intercession would not be more easily bearable than otherwise. Neither is there living on Earth a sinner who is so accursed that he is deprived of my compassion―for everyone, if he receives nothing else through my intercession, receives the grace of being less tempted by evil spirits than he otherwise would be! Nobody, therefore, who is not entirely accursed [by which is meant the final and irrevocable malediction pronounced against the damned], is so entirely cast off by God that he may not return and enjoy his mercy if he invokes my aid. I am called by all the Mother of mercy, and truly the mercy of God towards men has made me so merciful towards them. Therefore he shall be miserable, and forever miserable in another life, who in this, being able, does not have recourse to me, who am so compassionate to all, and so earnestly desire to aid sinners!”
Accepting the Rough with the Smooth
It is important that we acknowledge and accept both sides of God—His justice and His mercy. It is our childishness and irresponsibility that hates to accept the side of justice, while wallowing on the side of mercy. The devil will happily assist us in this exercise. We will post, once more, at the end of this article, the hypothetical “Purgatory Calculator” so that we can see and shockingly see the side of justice—which hopefully scares sin right out of us and makes to start working hard to earn God’s mercy in the time that we have left in each of our lives. The justice, anger and chastisement is not meant to make us despondent, depressed or discouraged—but it is meant to give us a hatred of sin, a hatred of our past deeds, a hatred of future sin, and a great hope in the mercy of God, who nevertheless requires that justice be done. However, if we decide to pay now, rather than later, then we will experience a massive ‘discount price’ on justice. If we foolishly decide to pay after death, then we shall find ‘massive interest rates’ being added to our payments. So we have to hope that we can pay-off most of (or all of) what we owe here below—so that our ‘retirement scheme’ is truly “out of this world.” Hope and confidence in God are as much a commandment as Faith and the other virtues.
Excessive Fear Blinds Us To Truth
The great danger of despondency is that―being deceived by an excessive fear which makes us blind to the truth, and being discouraged at the sight of difficulties or in seeing the difficulty in changes and efforts we would have to make, against which we find no resource in ourselves―we stupidly fail to see this despondency as the effect of temptation. Could we only see it in that light, we should beware of the suggestions that entertain it, and should get rid of our trouble more quickly and more easily.
Despondency is only a Temptation
Let it, however, be well understood that despondency is a temptation, and bears all the marks of being such ―for every feeling that is opposed to the law of God, either in itself or by the consequences it may have, is evidently a temptation. It is thus we judge of every temptation to which we are liable. If we have a thought against Faith, a feeling against charity or some other virtue, we look upon it as a temptation; we turn away from it, and try to elicit acts opposed to the thought or feeling which has put us in danger of offending God.
Now, hope and confidence in God are commanded equally with Faith and the other virtues. Therefore the feeling which is opposed to hope is as much forbidden as that which is against Faith or any other virtue: it has thus every feature of a real temptation.
The law of God obliges us frequently to make acts of Faith, Hope, and Charity; and hence forbids us all willful feelings contrary to these sacred and necessary virtues. How, then, can despondency be viewed otherwise than as a temptation, and even as a very dangerous temptation, since it exposes the Christian soul to abandon every work of piety?
Hope Is the Antidote
To make this danger clearer to you, consider the general course of conduct among men. Is it not the hope of success, of gaining some advantage, of avoiding some evil, or of satisfying some desire or passion, which makes them act , which keeps them going in all their labors, and animates them to overcome their difficulties? Take away from them all hope, and they would soon fall into inaction. None but a madman would strive for an object which he despairs of obtaining. In our spiritual life, despondency produces the same effect; it is founded on the same principle, the lack of a means to reach the end which we propose to ourselves. But this despondency is built upon a failure to see the truth of things, a failure to see the real reality, which is covered by our imagined reality or ‘wishful-thinking’ reality!
Feeble Efforts & Fear of Failure
When we lose all hope of overcoming the difficulties which we may find in the practice of any virtue, we do not try, or but feebly, to make the effort to do so. These insufficient efforts only increase our weakness, and being more than half overcome by despondency, we are easily led away by the passion that sways us. The sense of our weakness first throws us into doubt and into trouble. In that state, thinking only of the difficulty of the combat, we do not distinguish the principles that ought to guide us. The fear of not succeeding, prevents us from employing the means which God has given us, and we are thus defenseless against our enemy.
We are like a child who, seeing the approach of a giant, begins to tremble, and forgets that a stone thrown in the name of the Lord may knock him out and lay him flat. In the same way we forget that we have a powerful help in the goodness of a caring Father, upon Whom we have only to call, to be victorious in all our struggles.
We Rely Too Much On Ourselves
Why does despondency make such strong and fatal impressions on us? We are obviously convinced of our weakness, for we have often experienced it. We painfully feel the difficulty of trying to overcome ourselves, as we succeed but rarely. Filled with these sad and discouraging reflections of our lack of spiritual strength, and of the little that we do to please God, we consider it useless to have recourse to Him, Who, we think, will not listen to our prayer while we are in our present state. This is merely the sad evidence of the pride within the human heart, that would wish to owe to itself all the good which it does, and the happiness to which it aspires! And how opposed to the words of the Holy Ghost: “What have you, that you have not received?” (1 Corinthians 4:7)
Rely on God’s Mercy
In such a state we see and depend only upon our own efforts, so that our despondency diminishes, ceases, returns, or increases, according as we act well or ill. We do not reflect that it is only from the mercy of God we can hope for help, and not by our own merits; that when we have done well it is through the grace of God, which we have not merited, and that, in every circumstance, this mercy is ever ready to dispense to us the necessary grace.
However, we have to supply a basis for God giving us the grace of mercy, just as there had to be something for Our Lord to feed the 4,000 and the 5,000 people. We have to supply, so to speak, the meager “loaves and fishes” and He will take them and do much with them. As we already stated, it is like cents being changed into dollars, or even gold. Our loaves and fishes are our prayers and penances. We have to give a regular and steady supply of them to offset and feed the ‘thousands’ of days of punishment that our sins hungrily demand. God will work with us, but He will not do all the work without us. As St. Augustine says: “God will save man, but not without the cooperation of man.”
Imitate the Saints
When these desponding souls are told that they ought, after the example of the saints, to put all their confidence in God, they will at once answer that it is not surprising that the saints had confidence in God, since they were saints, and served God with fidelity: but that they have not the same right to feel that perfect confidence in Him which the saints had. They do not perceive that such reasoning is contrary to the principles of true religion.
Hope is only Found in God
Hope is a theological virtue, and its motive can be found only in God. These souls make it a human virtue when its source or motive is recognized in man or in his ways. The saints did not hope in God because they were faithful to God, but they were faithful to God because they hoped in Him. Otherwise the sinner could never make an act of hope, and yet it is that very act of hope which disposes him to return to God.
Great Humility
Observe that St. Paul does not say, I have obtained mercy because I have been faithful, but “Having obtained mercy of the Lord, to be faithful” (1 Corinthians 6:25). Mercy always precedes the good which we do; and it is from mercy alone that we have the necessary grace to do any good at all. The saints never counted upon their works to strengthen their confidence in God, for they were ever mindful of the words of Our Savior: “So you also, when you shall have done all these things that are commanded you, say: ‘We are unprofitable servants!’” (Luke 17:10).
The greater saints they were, the greater was their humility. Their humility allowed them to see only the perfection to which they had not yet reached. Unlike the Pharisee in the Gospel, they found nothing in themselves to warrant their confidence, but in the mercy of God they sought and found a confidence, the foundations of which could not be shaken. This was what supported them, and this it is which must encourage you, and reanimate your fainting strength. It is of the utmost importance for you to understand this truth, that you may not again fall into the snare which your enemy has so often laid for you.
The True Motive for Christian Hope
According to religion the motive of Christian hope, or of confidence in God, is the same for all men, saints and sinners. Hope, as we have already said, is a theological virtue, like Faith and Charity. Its motive, then, can be found only in God, and can rest only upon divine perfection. It follows, therefore, that we exclude from this motive our own merits. We do not hope in God because we have been faithful to Him, but we hope in Him that we may obtain the grace to be faithful.
God is Faithful to His Promises—He will Help
On what, then, is Christian hope founded, and what is its motive, according to religion? Pope Benedict XIV, in his form of the Act of Hope, has pointed out the divine perfections, which constitute this motive. The act is this: “O my God, I hope in Thee, because Thou art faithful to Thy all powerful promises, and because Thy mercies are infinite!” In this motive there is nothing human-all is drawn from God Himself. And could there be a stronger motive to strengthen us in hope and confidence in God?
We here find the mercy of God, who is more anxious to shower His gifts upon man than man is to receive them; who desires their real good and their salvation much more sincerely than they desire it themselves, since He restrains them by His grace, which of themselves they could not merit, and since He prepares for them aid proportionate to the trials to which He exposes them-an aid which they can obtain by prayer, and with it conquer the evil one. This mercy is so infinite, that all the malice of mankind cannot exhaust it; and, after having manifested itself so wonderfully in the gift which God has granted us, His only Son for our ransom, it will not refuse us the assistance which He desires to afford us in this priceless benefit.
Effects of Divine Mercy
The effects of this divine mercy have been promised to us, by the assurances which God has made us, of coming to our assistance, whenever we ask it, to work out our salvation. God, who is truth itself, cannot deceive us, and He is essentially faithful to the promises He makes His creatures. But we find in the Holy Scripture the most touching exhortations to have recourse to Him in our necessities, with the promise that He will be our support and our strength. How, then, can we have any anxiety or seriously entertain any fear that He will reject or abandon us, when we call upon Him with confidence? Would not this be accusing God of not keeping His promise? But that would be blasphemy.
It is true that to grant our prayer God requires that we should call upon Him with confidence—but should we deserve to obtain His benefits if we asked them with a doubting heart; doubting that very goodness of which we are experiencing the effect every instant of our lives, and in so many thousand ways?
Purgatorial Calculator
Below, once again, you will see the hypothetical ‘Purgatorial Calculator’. Of course, there is no ‘black and white’ way that Purgatory is calculated, in a ridiculous kind of “one-size-fits-all” manner! The gravity of each sin is weighed, with it malice, deliberation, mitigating or aggravating circumstances, possibilities of avoidance, etc. The same sin, looking on the surface of things, will receive a varying degrees of punishment for different people. However, the purpose of the chart is to shock or spark us into action to try pay a massive debt with relatively little effort in this world (as compared to Purgatory) and this is what God would prefer in His mercy, rather than have to make us pay later through His justice.
Do Not Undervalue the Gravity of Sin
“Be not without fear about sin forgiven!” (Ecclesiasticus 5:5). “Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of penance!” (Matthew 3:8). “Thou shalt not go out thence, until thou pay the very last penny!” (Luke 12:59). Sin is expensive, very expensive—it is the most expensive thing in the world because “Mortal Sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, and a greater evil than disease, or war ... Mortal Sin must be a most terrible thing indeed, to make a just and merciful God create Hell for the eternal punishment of sinners who die with even only one Mortal Sin” (The Catechism, My Catholic Faith, chapter 22, “Mortal Sin”). If an eternal Hell is created to punish just one single Mortal Sin, how on earth can war, flooding, earthquakes, pestilence, disease, death or fire from Heaven be thought to be worse than Hell? No matter what punishment Heaven sends us, it will still be like being tickled in comparison to the punishment of Hell.
As for Venial Sin, the same catechism says: “Although Venial Sin is not a grievous offense against God, it is, nevertheless, a great moral evil, next alone to Mortal Sin. We are prone to look upon Venial Sin as of no consequence, and to be careless about guarding against it, forgetting that IT IS SECOND ONLY IN EVIL CONSEQUENCE TO MORTAL SIN. In Holy Scripture we see, from many examples, how God regards Venial Sin. Even in this life He has punished it most severely. For only a slight doubt about God’s mercy, because of the wickedness of his people, Moses was punished. He was not permitted to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land [and died at its borders]” (The Catechism, My Catholic Faith, chapter 23, “Venial Sin”).
Do Not Undervalue the Power of Love
While we are in this world, God mercifully accepts a lesser payment than shown in the hypothetical tables above. But when this life comes to a close, the mercy ceases and then the just amount will be collected. Let us not waste time in vain occupations, which can often be sinful too and so only add fuel to the fire—but let us take the rest of our life much more seriously than we have done until now. Remember the power of love—it is not so much the multiplicity of actions and penances that count, but the intensity of love and sorrow that we do them with: “for charity covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8) and “Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much” (Luke 7:47). However, to love much we must sin less—for how can we say we love someone if don’t cease mocking them and slapping them around, which is what Venial Sin essentially does?
One single act of perfect love combined with perfect contrition—sorrow for sin our sins out of a deep love of God and sorrow for having deeply offended someone who loves us so much—is enough to wipe out the entire debt for sin that we would have to pay in Purgatory! Yet that perfect love cannot be switched-on at will like a light-switch. That love must fed by many penances, sacrifices and mortifications; that love must grow through many prayers, readings and meditations. It is like a baby going and growing through all the different stages of life on its way to becoming an adult—babies are not microwaved, nor is love. It is the fruit of long years of effort.
“Be not without fear about sin forgiven!” (Ecclesiasticus 5:5). “Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of penance!” (Matthew 3:8). “Thou shalt not go out thence, until thou pay the very last penny!” (Luke 12:59). Sin is expensive, very expensive—it is the most expensive thing in the world because “Mortal Sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, and a greater evil than disease, or war ... Mortal Sin must be a most terrible thing indeed, to make a just and merciful God create Hell for the eternal punishment of sinners who die with even only one Mortal Sin” (The Catechism, My Catholic Faith, chapter 22, “Mortal Sin”). If an eternal Hell is created to punish just one single Mortal Sin, how on earth can war, flooding, earthquakes, pestilence, disease, death or fire from Heaven be thought to be worse than Hell? No matter what punishment Heaven sends us, it will still be like being tickled in comparison to the punishment of Hell.
As for Venial Sin, the same catechism says: “Although Venial Sin is not a grievous offense against God, it is, nevertheless, a great moral evil, next alone to Mortal Sin. We are prone to look upon Venial Sin as of no consequence, and to be careless about guarding against it, forgetting that IT IS SECOND ONLY IN EVIL CONSEQUENCE TO MORTAL SIN. In Holy Scripture we see, from many examples, how God regards Venial Sin. Even in this life He has punished it most severely. For only a slight doubt about God’s mercy, because of the wickedness of his people, Moses was punished. He was not permitted to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land [and died at its borders]” (The Catechism, My Catholic Faith, chapter 23, “Venial Sin”).
Do Not Undervalue the Power of Love
While we are in this world, God mercifully accepts a lesser payment than shown in the hypothetical tables above. But when this life comes to a close, the mercy ceases and then the just amount will be collected. Let us not waste time in vain occupations, which can often be sinful too and so only add fuel to the fire—but let us take the rest of our life much more seriously than we have done until now. Remember the power of love—it is not so much the multiplicity of actions and penances that count, but the intensity of love and sorrow that we do them with: “for charity covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8) and “Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much” (Luke 7:47). However, to love much we must sin less—for how can we say we love someone if don’t cease mocking them and slapping them around, which is what Venial Sin essentially does?
One single act of perfect love combined with perfect contrition—sorrow for sin our sins out of a deep love of God and sorrow for having deeply offended someone who loves us so much—is enough to wipe out the entire debt for sin that we would have to pay in Purgatory! Yet that perfect love cannot be switched-on at will like a light-switch. That love must fed by many penances, sacrifices and mortifications; that love must grow through many prayers, readings and meditations. It is like a baby going and growing through all the different stages of life on its way to becoming an adult—babies are not microwaved, nor is love. It is the fruit of long years of effort.
Article 17
Monday November 17th
The Mercies of God
Monday November 17th
The Mercies of God
Mercy and Justice Stand Together
There are some who are mainly inclined to justice, and show little or no mercy. There are others who are inclined to mercy, but show little or no justice. Not so with God! He is extreme in both regards—which is something we find hard to grasp. “The Lord is merciful and just” (Psalm 114:5). We might think, “How can loving God keep souls that He loves, in the fires of Purgatory―which are the same as the fires of Hell―sometimes for centuries on end?”
The reason we cannot see the mercy and justice in that action is because we have cheap notions about God and about sin—whereas both are extreme. God is extremely holy and honorable—sin is extremely evil and detestable. However, we neither honor and love God anywhere near as much as we should; neither do we hate and flee sin as much as we should.
The result is—if we can scrape in there by the skin of our teeth—Purgatory, a place which helps us finally understand both those extremes. Yet even Purgatory is an extremely merciful place, for nobody there is punished as much as they could be punished, and God grants consolations even amongst the terrible pain—like a parent trying to comfort a seriously injured child and then nursing him back to full health.
Mercy Now is Better than Mercy Later
Even though Purgatory is a merciful price to pay for Heaven, God offers an even more merciful price to those who are still living here on Earth. We can obtain mercy here below, as we have said, for mere cents on the dollar; whereas after this life, it will seem like we are paying thousands of dollars on a single cent! “I say to thee, you shalt not go out from there, until thou pay the very last penny!” (Luke 12:59).”Let him do penance for his sin!” (Leviticus 5:5). “Therefore, whilst we have time, let us work good!” (Galatians 6:10).
Penance Pays Profitably
“And if they be converted in their heart and do penance, and pray to Thee, saying: ‘We have sinned, we have done wickedly, we have dealt unjustly!’ And return to Thee with all their heart, and with all their soul―then hear Thou from Heaven and forgive Thy people, although they have sinned!” (2 Paralipomenon 6:37-39). “And My people, upon whom My Name is called, being converted, shall make supplication to Me, and seek out My Face, and do penance for their most wicked ways―then will I hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sins!” (2 Paralipomenon 7:14). “‘If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow―and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool!’ says the Lord” (Isaias 1:18). “Hear, I beseech you, My words, and do penance!” (Job 21:2). “I came to call sinners to penance!” (Luke 5:32). “Unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3). “Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of penance!” (Matthew 3:8). “Do penance―for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:2).”God has given him time for penance, and he abuses it in his pride!” (Job 24:23). “If we do not penance, we shall fall into the hands of the Lord!” (Ecclesiasticus 2:22). Penance is the price for sin that must be paid—either Present Penance, or Purgatorial Penance. Paying in the present is much easier, much shorter, much wiser!
We read in the book of Ezechiel: “As I live, says the Lord God, I desire not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way, and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways―and why will you die!” (33:11) ... “If the wicked does penance for all his sins which he has committed, and keeps all My commandments, and does judgment and justice, then living he shall live, and shall not die! I will not remember all his iniquities that he has done! In his justice which he has wrought, he shall live! Is it My will that a sinner should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways, and live? But if the just man turns himself away from his justice, and does iniquity according to all the abominations which the wicked man uses to work―shall he live? All his justices which he has done, shall not be remembered―for in the prevarication by which he has prevaricated, and in his sin which he has committed, in them he shall die!” (Ezechiel 18:21-24).
Even Our Lady stresses this need to pay for our sins before we die—whether by the name of penance, sacrifice or suffering—she has mentioned this repeatedly.”The leaders of the people of God, have neglected prayer and penance!” (La Salette) … “Communities can only be preserved at the cost of much penance!” (Quito) … “Penance! Penance! Penance!” (Lourdes) … “Prayer, penance and courageous sacrifices can soften the Father’s anger!” (Akita) … “Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices!” (Fatima) … “Others will do penance through hunger!” (La Salette) … “Make everything you do a sacrifice, and offer it as an act of reparation for the sins by which God is offended! … Above all accept and bear with submission all the suffering the Lord will send you!” (Fatima, the angel) … “You are going to have much to suffer, but the grace of God will be your comfort! … Are you suffering a great deal? Don’t lose heart! I will never forsake you! My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God!” (Fatima).
Sister Lucia on Penance and Mercy
In her 1957 conversation with Fr. Fuentes, Sister Lucia said: “Father, we should not wait for an appeal to the world to come from Rome on the part of the Holy Father, to do penance. Nor should we wait for the call from our bishops in our dioceses, nor from the religious congregations. No! Our Lord has already, very often, used these means and the world has not paid attention! That is why now it is necessary for each one of us to begin to reform himself spiritually!”
On June 13th, 1929, Lucia saw another important apparition involving Mary as she was making a Holy Hour in the convent chapel at Tuy in Spain, as was her custom on Thursday nights from eleven to twelve. She was alone, praying the prayers of the Angel in the dim light of the sanctuary lamp when, she says:
“Suddenly the whole chapel was illumined by a supernatural light, and above the altar appeared a Cross of light, reaching to the ceiling. In a brighter light on the upper part of the Cross, could be seen the face of a Man and his body as far as the waist; upon his breast was a dove of light; nailed to the Cross was the body of another man. A little below the waist, I could see a chalice and a large Host suspended in the air, onto which drops of blood were falling from the Face of Jesus Crucified and from the wound in His side.
“These drops ran down onto the Host and fell into the chalice. Beneath the right arm of the Cross was Our Lady and in her hand was her Immaculate Heart. It was Our Lady of Fatima, with her Immaculate Heart in her left hand, without sword or roses, but with a crown of thorns and flames. Under the left arm of the Cross, large letters, as if of crystal clear water which ran down upon the altar, formed these words: ‘Grace and Mercy.’”
The Rosary and Mercy
“Pray very much the prayers of the Rosary! I alone am able still to save you from the calamities which approach! Those who place their confidence in me will be saved!” (Akita) … “Say the Rosary every day! … Continue to pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, because only she can help you! … I am the Lady of the Rosary. Continue always to pray the Rosary every day!” (Fatima).
St. Louis de Montfort speaks much of the Rosary and its merciful benefits: “If you say the Rosary faithfully until death, I do assure you that, in spite of the gravity of your sins ‘you shall receive a never fading crown of glory!’ (1 Peter 5:4). Even if you are on the brink of damnation; even if you have one foot in Hell; even if you have sold your soul to the devil as sorcerers do who practice black magic; and even if you are a heretic as obstinate as a devil―sooner or later you will be converted and will amend your life and save your soul, if—and mark well what I say—if you say the Rosary devoutly every day until death for the purpose of knowing the truth and obtaining contrition and pardon for your sins!” (Secret of the Rosary: “A Red Rose”).
Our Lady appeared to St. Dominic and said: “Priests should try to kindle a love of prayer in people’s hearts and especially a love of my Angelic Psalter. If only they would all start saying it and would really persevere, God in His mercy could hardly refuse to give them His grace” (Secret of the Rosary: “Third Rose”).
Alphonsus, King of Leon and Galicia, very much wanted all his servants to honor the Blessed Virgin by saying the Rosary, so he used to hang a large Rosary on his belt, though he never said it himself. Nevertheless, his wearing it encouraged his courtiers to say the Rosary devoutly. One day the King fell seriously ill and, when he was given up for dead, he found himself, in spirit, before the judgment seat of Our Lord. Many devils were there accusing him of all the sins he had committed, and Our Lord was about to condemn him, when Our Lady came forward to speak in his favor. She called for a pair of scales and had his sins placed in one of the balances, while she put the large Rosary which he had always worn on the other scale, together with all the Rosaries that had been said through his example. It was found that the Rosaries weighed more than his sins. Looking at him with great kindness, Our Lady said, “As a reward for the little service you did for me in wearing my Rosary, I have obtained a great grace for you from my Son. Your life will be spared for a few more years. See that you spend those years wisely, and do penance!”
Sister Lucia on the Rosary and Mercy
Sister Lucia stresses that so many mercies can come to us through the Rosary—it the tool or weapon of this age that we live in: “The Most Holy Virgin, in these last times in which we live, has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary, to such an extent, that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or, above all, spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families, of the families of the world, or of the religious communities, or even of the life of peoples and nations, that cannot be solved by the Rosary! There is no problem I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary! With the Holy Rosary, we will save ourselves, we will sanctify ourselves, we will console Our Lord and obtain the salvation of many souls!” (Sister Lucia to Fr. Fuentes, December 1957).
St. Thomas Aquinas on Mercy
St. Thomas Aquinas writes: “Mercy and truth are necessarily found in all God’s works … [also] justice must exist in all God’s works. Certain works are attributed to justice, and certain others to mercy, because in some justice appears more forcibly and in others mercy. Even in the damnation of the reprobate mercy is seen, which, though it does not totally remit, yet it somewhat alleviates, in punishing short of what is deserved. In the justification of the ungodly, justice is seen, when God remits sins on account of love, though He Himself has mercifully infused that love. So we read of Magdalen: ‘Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much!’ (Luke 7:47).” (Summa Theologica, 1a, q. 21, art. 4)
In bestowing good on creatures, God manifests His goodness. In meeting the needs of creatures, He manifests His justice. In bestowing all that is useful, God manifests His generosity. And in giving what counteracts miseries and defects, God shows His mercy. In all the works of God, justice and mercy are manifest.
Mercy begets Mercy
St. Thomas Aquinas spoke of Mary Magdalen, quoting Our Lord’s words concerning her:”Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much!” (Luke 7:47). Our Lord had also said: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy!” (Matthew 5:7). These two—charity and mercy—are linked, for mercy is a room in the mansion of charity. When we show mercy, we practice charity. Hence, “charity [mercy] covers a multitude of sins!” (1 Peter 4:8).
This was also the message given to the Venerable Catherine Paluzzi, by a holy Religious, who died in her arms, but who was not admitted to eternal beatitude until after she had passed an entire year in Purgatory. Catherine Paluzzi led a holy life in the diocese of Nepi, in Italy, where she founded a convent of Dominicans. There lived with her a Religious named Bernardine, who was far advanced in the ways of the spiritual life. These two saints emulated each other in fervor, and helped each other to progress more and more in the perfection to which God called them. The biographer of Venerable Catherine compares them to two live coals that communicate heat to each other; and again, to two harps tuned to harmonize together in one perpetual hymn of love to the greater glory of God.
Bernardine died; a painful malady, which she bore with Christian patience, carried her to the grave. Catherine prayed much for the soul of her friend. An entire year elapsed when, on the anniversary of the death of Bernardine, Catherine being in prayer, saw a pit from which came volumes of smoke and flames; then she saw, coming out of the pit, a form surrounded by dark clouds. By degrees these dark clouds were dispersed, and the apparition became radiant with an extraordinary brilliancy.
In this glorious personage Catherine recognized Bernardine and ran towards her.”Is it you, my dearest sister?” said she, “But from where have you just come? What is this pit, this fiery smoke? Does your Purgatory end only today?” “You are right,” replied the soul; “for a year I have been detained in that place of expiation, and today, for the first time, shall I enter Heaven. As regards yourself, persevere in your holy exercises: continue to be charitable and merciful, and you will obtain mercy!” (Diario Domenicano. Cf. Rossignoli, Merveilles, part 2, 51).
A Lack of Mercy will Lose God’s Mercy
“Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful!” (Luke 6:36). “Who keepest mercy unto thousands: who takest away iniquity, and wickedness, and sin” (Exodus 34:7). “Be ye kind one to another; merciful, forgiving one another, even as God has forgiven you in Christ” (Ephesians 4:32). “Blessed are the merciful―for they shall obtain mercy!” (Matthew 5:7). But “judgment without mercy to him that hath not done mercy” (James 2:13). This reminds us of the unjust and unforgiving steward, who was forgiven a large debt by his master, but then refused to forgive his neighbor a small debt.
“Therefore is the Kingdom of Heaven likened to a king, who would take an account of his servants. And when he had begun to take the account, one was brought to him, that owed him ten thousand talents. And as he had not wherewith to pay it, his lord commanded that he should be sold, and his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. But that servant falling down, besought him, saying: ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all!’ And the lord of that servant being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt.
“But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellow servants that owed him an hundred pence: and laying hold of him, throttled him, saying: ‘Pay what thou owest!’ And his fellow servant falling down, besought him, saying: ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all!’ And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he paid the debt.
A talent was 750 ounces of silver. A penny was only one-eighth of an ounce of silver. The price of silver today (November 2025) is $50 oz. Therefore, at today’s prices …
1 TALENT = 750 ounces @ $50 oz = $37,500. Therefore 10,000 talents = 10,000 x $37,5000 = $375 million
1 PENNY = 1/8 ounce @ $25 oz = $6.25 Therefore 100 pence = 100 x $6.25 = $625
“Now his fellow servants seeing what was done, were very much grieved, and they came and told their lord all that was done. Then his lord called him; and said to him: ‘Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all the debt, because thou besoughtest me! Shouldst not thou then have had compassion also on thy fellow servant, even as I had compassion on thee?’ And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers until he paid all the debt. So also shall my heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not everyone his brother from your hearts” (Matthew 18:23-35).
The Sin of Presumption
There are those who, ever-reminding themselves of the mercy of God, presume to sin wantonly, thinking that mercy will still be shown to them. This is not so! “Say not: ‘The mercy of the Lord is great! He will have mercy on the multitude of my sins!’” (Ecclesiasticus 5:6). “Be not deceived, God is not mocked!” (Galatians 6:7).”Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God!” (Luke 4:12).
St. Alphonsus says: “The sinner who abandons himself to sin without striving to resist temptations, or without at least asking God’s help to conquer them, and hopes that the Lord will one day draw him from the precipice―tempts God to work miracles, or rather to show to him an extraordinary mercy that is not extended to the generality of Christians! … God numbers the graces which He dispenses, as well as the sins which we commit. Hence, when the time which He has fixed arrives, God deprives us of His graces, and begins to inflict chastisement! … When sins reach a certain number, God pardons no more! … God is ready to heal those who sincerely wish to amend their lives, but He cannot take pity on the obstinate sinner!” (Sermon: First Sunday of Lent).
Now is the Acceptable Time
We read in the Old Testament: “Thus says the Lord: ‘In an acceptable time I have heard thee, and in the day of salvation I have helped thee!’” (Isaias 49:8) and St. Paul echoes that in the New Testament, telling us that now is the time, here on Earth, to work out our salvation: “For God says: ‘In an accepted time have I heard thee; and in the day of salvation have I helped thee!’ Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation!” (2 Corinthians 6:2). “Wherefore, my dearly beloved, with fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12).
Remembering that the Lord is merciful to those who truly sorrow over their sins, seeking to repair the damage caused by them. “And His mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear Him!” (Luke 1:50). “The Lord is gracious and merciful; patient and plenteous in mercy. The Lord is sweet to all―and His tender mercies are over all His works!” (Psalm 144:8-9). “Rend your hearts and not your garments, and turn to the Lord your God―for He is gracious and merciful, patient and rich in mercy!” (Joel 2:13). “I said: ‘O Lord, be Thou merciful to me! Heal my soul, for I have sinned against Thee!’” (Psalm 40:5). “Hear, O Lord, and have mercy―for Thou art a merciful God―and have pity on us, for we have sinned before Thee!” (Baruch 3:2). “And they called upon the Lord Who is merciful, and spreading their hands, they lifted them up to Heaven; and the holy Lord God quickly heard their voice!” (Ecclesiasticus 48:22).
There are some who are mainly inclined to justice, and show little or no mercy. There are others who are inclined to mercy, but show little or no justice. Not so with God! He is extreme in both regards—which is something we find hard to grasp. “The Lord is merciful and just” (Psalm 114:5). We might think, “How can loving God keep souls that He loves, in the fires of Purgatory―which are the same as the fires of Hell―sometimes for centuries on end?”
The reason we cannot see the mercy and justice in that action is because we have cheap notions about God and about sin—whereas both are extreme. God is extremely holy and honorable—sin is extremely evil and detestable. However, we neither honor and love God anywhere near as much as we should; neither do we hate and flee sin as much as we should.
The result is—if we can scrape in there by the skin of our teeth—Purgatory, a place which helps us finally understand both those extremes. Yet even Purgatory is an extremely merciful place, for nobody there is punished as much as they could be punished, and God grants consolations even amongst the terrible pain—like a parent trying to comfort a seriously injured child and then nursing him back to full health.
Mercy Now is Better than Mercy Later
Even though Purgatory is a merciful price to pay for Heaven, God offers an even more merciful price to those who are still living here on Earth. We can obtain mercy here below, as we have said, for mere cents on the dollar; whereas after this life, it will seem like we are paying thousands of dollars on a single cent! “I say to thee, you shalt not go out from there, until thou pay the very last penny!” (Luke 12:59).”Let him do penance for his sin!” (Leviticus 5:5). “Therefore, whilst we have time, let us work good!” (Galatians 6:10).
Penance Pays Profitably
“And if they be converted in their heart and do penance, and pray to Thee, saying: ‘We have sinned, we have done wickedly, we have dealt unjustly!’ And return to Thee with all their heart, and with all their soul―then hear Thou from Heaven and forgive Thy people, although they have sinned!” (2 Paralipomenon 6:37-39). “And My people, upon whom My Name is called, being converted, shall make supplication to Me, and seek out My Face, and do penance for their most wicked ways―then will I hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sins!” (2 Paralipomenon 7:14). “‘If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow―and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool!’ says the Lord” (Isaias 1:18). “Hear, I beseech you, My words, and do penance!” (Job 21:2). “I came to call sinners to penance!” (Luke 5:32). “Unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3). “Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of penance!” (Matthew 3:8). “Do penance―for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:2).”God has given him time for penance, and he abuses it in his pride!” (Job 24:23). “If we do not penance, we shall fall into the hands of the Lord!” (Ecclesiasticus 2:22). Penance is the price for sin that must be paid—either Present Penance, or Purgatorial Penance. Paying in the present is much easier, much shorter, much wiser!
We read in the book of Ezechiel: “As I live, says the Lord God, I desire not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way, and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways―and why will you die!” (33:11) ... “If the wicked does penance for all his sins which he has committed, and keeps all My commandments, and does judgment and justice, then living he shall live, and shall not die! I will not remember all his iniquities that he has done! In his justice which he has wrought, he shall live! Is it My will that a sinner should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways, and live? But if the just man turns himself away from his justice, and does iniquity according to all the abominations which the wicked man uses to work―shall he live? All his justices which he has done, shall not be remembered―for in the prevarication by which he has prevaricated, and in his sin which he has committed, in them he shall die!” (Ezechiel 18:21-24).
Even Our Lady stresses this need to pay for our sins before we die—whether by the name of penance, sacrifice or suffering—she has mentioned this repeatedly.”The leaders of the people of God, have neglected prayer and penance!” (La Salette) … “Communities can only be preserved at the cost of much penance!” (Quito) … “Penance! Penance! Penance!” (Lourdes) … “Prayer, penance and courageous sacrifices can soften the Father’s anger!” (Akita) … “Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices!” (Fatima) … “Others will do penance through hunger!” (La Salette) … “Make everything you do a sacrifice, and offer it as an act of reparation for the sins by which God is offended! … Above all accept and bear with submission all the suffering the Lord will send you!” (Fatima, the angel) … “You are going to have much to suffer, but the grace of God will be your comfort! … Are you suffering a great deal? Don’t lose heart! I will never forsake you! My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God!” (Fatima).
Sister Lucia on Penance and Mercy
In her 1957 conversation with Fr. Fuentes, Sister Lucia said: “Father, we should not wait for an appeal to the world to come from Rome on the part of the Holy Father, to do penance. Nor should we wait for the call from our bishops in our dioceses, nor from the religious congregations. No! Our Lord has already, very often, used these means and the world has not paid attention! That is why now it is necessary for each one of us to begin to reform himself spiritually!”
On June 13th, 1929, Lucia saw another important apparition involving Mary as she was making a Holy Hour in the convent chapel at Tuy in Spain, as was her custom on Thursday nights from eleven to twelve. She was alone, praying the prayers of the Angel in the dim light of the sanctuary lamp when, she says:
“Suddenly the whole chapel was illumined by a supernatural light, and above the altar appeared a Cross of light, reaching to the ceiling. In a brighter light on the upper part of the Cross, could be seen the face of a Man and his body as far as the waist; upon his breast was a dove of light; nailed to the Cross was the body of another man. A little below the waist, I could see a chalice and a large Host suspended in the air, onto which drops of blood were falling from the Face of Jesus Crucified and from the wound in His side.
“These drops ran down onto the Host and fell into the chalice. Beneath the right arm of the Cross was Our Lady and in her hand was her Immaculate Heart. It was Our Lady of Fatima, with her Immaculate Heart in her left hand, without sword or roses, but with a crown of thorns and flames. Under the left arm of the Cross, large letters, as if of crystal clear water which ran down upon the altar, formed these words: ‘Grace and Mercy.’”
The Rosary and Mercy
“Pray very much the prayers of the Rosary! I alone am able still to save you from the calamities which approach! Those who place their confidence in me will be saved!” (Akita) … “Say the Rosary every day! … Continue to pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, because only she can help you! … I am the Lady of the Rosary. Continue always to pray the Rosary every day!” (Fatima).
St. Louis de Montfort speaks much of the Rosary and its merciful benefits: “If you say the Rosary faithfully until death, I do assure you that, in spite of the gravity of your sins ‘you shall receive a never fading crown of glory!’ (1 Peter 5:4). Even if you are on the brink of damnation; even if you have one foot in Hell; even if you have sold your soul to the devil as sorcerers do who practice black magic; and even if you are a heretic as obstinate as a devil―sooner or later you will be converted and will amend your life and save your soul, if—and mark well what I say—if you say the Rosary devoutly every day until death for the purpose of knowing the truth and obtaining contrition and pardon for your sins!” (Secret of the Rosary: “A Red Rose”).
Our Lady appeared to St. Dominic and said: “Priests should try to kindle a love of prayer in people’s hearts and especially a love of my Angelic Psalter. If only they would all start saying it and would really persevere, God in His mercy could hardly refuse to give them His grace” (Secret of the Rosary: “Third Rose”).
Alphonsus, King of Leon and Galicia, very much wanted all his servants to honor the Blessed Virgin by saying the Rosary, so he used to hang a large Rosary on his belt, though he never said it himself. Nevertheless, his wearing it encouraged his courtiers to say the Rosary devoutly. One day the King fell seriously ill and, when he was given up for dead, he found himself, in spirit, before the judgment seat of Our Lord. Many devils were there accusing him of all the sins he had committed, and Our Lord was about to condemn him, when Our Lady came forward to speak in his favor. She called for a pair of scales and had his sins placed in one of the balances, while she put the large Rosary which he had always worn on the other scale, together with all the Rosaries that had been said through his example. It was found that the Rosaries weighed more than his sins. Looking at him with great kindness, Our Lady said, “As a reward for the little service you did for me in wearing my Rosary, I have obtained a great grace for you from my Son. Your life will be spared for a few more years. See that you spend those years wisely, and do penance!”
Sister Lucia on the Rosary and Mercy
Sister Lucia stresses that so many mercies can come to us through the Rosary—it the tool or weapon of this age that we live in: “The Most Holy Virgin, in these last times in which we live, has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary, to such an extent, that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or, above all, spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families, of the families of the world, or of the religious communities, or even of the life of peoples and nations, that cannot be solved by the Rosary! There is no problem I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary! With the Holy Rosary, we will save ourselves, we will sanctify ourselves, we will console Our Lord and obtain the salvation of many souls!” (Sister Lucia to Fr. Fuentes, December 1957).
St. Thomas Aquinas on Mercy
St. Thomas Aquinas writes: “Mercy and truth are necessarily found in all God’s works … [also] justice must exist in all God’s works. Certain works are attributed to justice, and certain others to mercy, because in some justice appears more forcibly and in others mercy. Even in the damnation of the reprobate mercy is seen, which, though it does not totally remit, yet it somewhat alleviates, in punishing short of what is deserved. In the justification of the ungodly, justice is seen, when God remits sins on account of love, though He Himself has mercifully infused that love. So we read of Magdalen: ‘Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much!’ (Luke 7:47).” (Summa Theologica, 1a, q. 21, art. 4)
In bestowing good on creatures, God manifests His goodness. In meeting the needs of creatures, He manifests His justice. In bestowing all that is useful, God manifests His generosity. And in giving what counteracts miseries and defects, God shows His mercy. In all the works of God, justice and mercy are manifest.
Mercy begets Mercy
St. Thomas Aquinas spoke of Mary Magdalen, quoting Our Lord’s words concerning her:”Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much!” (Luke 7:47). Our Lord had also said: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy!” (Matthew 5:7). These two—charity and mercy—are linked, for mercy is a room in the mansion of charity. When we show mercy, we practice charity. Hence, “charity [mercy] covers a multitude of sins!” (1 Peter 4:8).
This was also the message given to the Venerable Catherine Paluzzi, by a holy Religious, who died in her arms, but who was not admitted to eternal beatitude until after she had passed an entire year in Purgatory. Catherine Paluzzi led a holy life in the diocese of Nepi, in Italy, where she founded a convent of Dominicans. There lived with her a Religious named Bernardine, who was far advanced in the ways of the spiritual life. These two saints emulated each other in fervor, and helped each other to progress more and more in the perfection to which God called them. The biographer of Venerable Catherine compares them to two live coals that communicate heat to each other; and again, to two harps tuned to harmonize together in one perpetual hymn of love to the greater glory of God.
Bernardine died; a painful malady, which she bore with Christian patience, carried her to the grave. Catherine prayed much for the soul of her friend. An entire year elapsed when, on the anniversary of the death of Bernardine, Catherine being in prayer, saw a pit from which came volumes of smoke and flames; then she saw, coming out of the pit, a form surrounded by dark clouds. By degrees these dark clouds were dispersed, and the apparition became radiant with an extraordinary brilliancy.
In this glorious personage Catherine recognized Bernardine and ran towards her.”Is it you, my dearest sister?” said she, “But from where have you just come? What is this pit, this fiery smoke? Does your Purgatory end only today?” “You are right,” replied the soul; “for a year I have been detained in that place of expiation, and today, for the first time, shall I enter Heaven. As regards yourself, persevere in your holy exercises: continue to be charitable and merciful, and you will obtain mercy!” (Diario Domenicano. Cf. Rossignoli, Merveilles, part 2, 51).
A Lack of Mercy will Lose God’s Mercy
“Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful!” (Luke 6:36). “Who keepest mercy unto thousands: who takest away iniquity, and wickedness, and sin” (Exodus 34:7). “Be ye kind one to another; merciful, forgiving one another, even as God has forgiven you in Christ” (Ephesians 4:32). “Blessed are the merciful―for they shall obtain mercy!” (Matthew 5:7). But “judgment without mercy to him that hath not done mercy” (James 2:13). This reminds us of the unjust and unforgiving steward, who was forgiven a large debt by his master, but then refused to forgive his neighbor a small debt.
“Therefore is the Kingdom of Heaven likened to a king, who would take an account of his servants. And when he had begun to take the account, one was brought to him, that owed him ten thousand talents. And as he had not wherewith to pay it, his lord commanded that he should be sold, and his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. But that servant falling down, besought him, saying: ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all!’ And the lord of that servant being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt.
“But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellow servants that owed him an hundred pence: and laying hold of him, throttled him, saying: ‘Pay what thou owest!’ And his fellow servant falling down, besought him, saying: ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all!’ And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he paid the debt.
A talent was 750 ounces of silver. A penny was only one-eighth of an ounce of silver. The price of silver today (November 2025) is $50 oz. Therefore, at today’s prices …
1 TALENT = 750 ounces @ $50 oz = $37,500. Therefore 10,000 talents = 10,000 x $37,5000 = $375 million
1 PENNY = 1/8 ounce @ $25 oz = $6.25 Therefore 100 pence = 100 x $6.25 = $625
“Now his fellow servants seeing what was done, were very much grieved, and they came and told their lord all that was done. Then his lord called him; and said to him: ‘Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all the debt, because thou besoughtest me! Shouldst not thou then have had compassion also on thy fellow servant, even as I had compassion on thee?’ And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers until he paid all the debt. So also shall my heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not everyone his brother from your hearts” (Matthew 18:23-35).
The Sin of Presumption
There are those who, ever-reminding themselves of the mercy of God, presume to sin wantonly, thinking that mercy will still be shown to them. This is not so! “Say not: ‘The mercy of the Lord is great! He will have mercy on the multitude of my sins!’” (Ecclesiasticus 5:6). “Be not deceived, God is not mocked!” (Galatians 6:7).”Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God!” (Luke 4:12).
St. Alphonsus says: “The sinner who abandons himself to sin without striving to resist temptations, or without at least asking God’s help to conquer them, and hopes that the Lord will one day draw him from the precipice―tempts God to work miracles, or rather to show to him an extraordinary mercy that is not extended to the generality of Christians! … God numbers the graces which He dispenses, as well as the sins which we commit. Hence, when the time which He has fixed arrives, God deprives us of His graces, and begins to inflict chastisement! … When sins reach a certain number, God pardons no more! … God is ready to heal those who sincerely wish to amend their lives, but He cannot take pity on the obstinate sinner!” (Sermon: First Sunday of Lent).
Now is the Acceptable Time
We read in the Old Testament: “Thus says the Lord: ‘In an acceptable time I have heard thee, and in the day of salvation I have helped thee!’” (Isaias 49:8) and St. Paul echoes that in the New Testament, telling us that now is the time, here on Earth, to work out our salvation: “For God says: ‘In an accepted time have I heard thee; and in the day of salvation have I helped thee!’ Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation!” (2 Corinthians 6:2). “Wherefore, my dearly beloved, with fear and trembling work out your salvation!” (Philippians 2:12).
Remembering that the Lord is merciful to those who truly sorrow over their sins, seeking to repair the damage caused by them. “And His mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear Him!” (Luke 1:50). “The Lord is gracious and merciful; patient and plenteous in mercy. The Lord is sweet to all―and His tender mercies are over all His works!” (Psalm 144:8-9). “Rend your hearts and not your garments, and turn to the Lord your God―for He is gracious and merciful, patient and rich in mercy!” (Joel 2:13). “I said: ‘O Lord, be Thou merciful to me! Heal my soul, for I have sinned against Thee!’” (Psalm 40:5). “Hear, O Lord, and have mercy―for Thou art a merciful God―and have pity on us, for we have sinned before Thee!” (Baruch 3:2). “And they called upon the Lord Who is merciful, and spreading their hands, they lifted them up to Heaven; and the holy Lord God quickly heard their voice!” (Ecclesiasticus 48:22).
Article 16
Sunday November 16th
The Joys of Purgatory
Sunday November 16th
The Joys of Purgatory
Feast of St. Gertrude—November 16th
Little is known of the early life of Gertrude. Gertrude was born on the feast of the Epiphany, January 6th, 1256, in Eisleben, Thuringia (within the Holy Roman Empire). At the age of four, she entered the monastery school at the monastery of St. Mary at Helfta (with much debate having occurred as to whether this monastery is best described as Benedictine or Cistercian), under the direction of its abbess, Gertrude of Hackeborn. It is speculated that she was offered as a child oblate to the Church by devout parents. Given that Gertrude implies in the Herald that her parents were long dead at the time of writing, however, it is also possible that she entered the monastery school as an orphan.
Gertrude was confided to the care of St. Mechtilde, younger sister of the Abbess Gertrude, and joined the monastic community in 1266. It is clear from her own writings that she received a thorough education in a range of subjects. She was thoroughly familiar with scripture, the Fathers of the Church such as St. Augustine and St. Gregory the Great, and also in more contemporary spiritual writers such as Richard and Hugh of St Victor, William of St Thierry, and St. Bernard of Clairvaux. Moreover, Gertrude’s writing demonstrates that she was well-versed in rhetoric, and her Latin is very fluent.
In 1281, at the age of twenty-five, she experienced the first of a series of visions that continued throughout her life, and which changed the course of her life. Her priorities shifted away from secular knowledge and toward the study of Scripture and theology. Gertrude devoted herself strongly to personal prayer and meditation, and began writing spiritual treatises for the benefit of her monastic sisters. Gertrude became one of the great mystics of the 13th century. Together with her friend and teacher St. Mechtilde, she practiced a spirituality called “nuptial mysticism,” that is, she came to see herself as the bride of Christ. Gertrude died at Helfta, near Eisleben, Saxony, around 1302. Her feast day is celebrated on November 16th.
St. Gertrude and Purgatory
St. Gertrude the Great is invoked for souls in Purgatory and for living sinners. Our Lord told St. Gertrude that the following prayer would release 1,000 souls from Purgatory each time it is said. The prayer was extended to include living sinners as well. However, we should realize that prayer should not be said lukewarmly, mechanically or listlessly without any love, nor deliberately distracted, nor rushed—for this would be sinful, and it is hard to believe that sinful prayer is very effective, as it deserves, not a reward, but a punishment. So we should avoid treating prayers like this one as one would look upon a lucky charm.
“Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.”
St. Catherine of Genoa
Passing from one Saint linked with Purgatory to another, we will look at the life and writings of St. Catherine of Genoa. Born at Genoa in 1447, died at the same place on September 15th, 1510, the life of St. Catherine of Genoa may be more properly described as a state than as a life in the ordinary sense. When about twenty-six years old, she became the subject of one of the most extraordinary operations of God in the human soul of which we have record, the result being a marvelous inward condition that lasted till her death. In this state, she received wonderful revelations, of which she spoke at times to those around her, but which are mainly embodied in her two celebrated works: the “Dialogues of the Soul and Body”, and the “Treatise on Purgatory”. Her modern biographies, chiefly translations or adaptations of an old Italian one which is itself founded on ”Memoirs” drawn up by the saint’s own confessor and a friend, mingle what facts they give of her outward life with accounts of her supernatural state and “doctrine
Tough and Painful Marriage
St. Catherine’s parents were Jacopo Fieschi and Francesca di Negro, both of illustrious Italian birth. Two popes — Innocent IV and Adrian V — had been of the Fieschi family, and Jacopo himself became Viceroy of Naples. Catherine is described as an extraordinarily holy child, highly gifted in the way of prayer, and with a wonderful love of Christ’s Passion and of penitential practices; but, also, as having been a most quiet, simple, and exceedingly obedient girl. When about thirteen, she wished to enter the convent, but the nuns to whom her confessor applied having refused her on account of her youth, she appears to have put the idea aside without any further attempt. At sixteen, she was married by her parents’ wish to a young Genoese nobleman, Giuliano Adorno. The marriage turned out wretchedly; Giuliano proved faithless, violent-tempered, and a spendthrift. He made the life of his wife a misery. Details are scanty, but it seems at least clear that Catherine spent the first five years of her marriage in silent, melancholy submission to her husband; and that she then, for another five years, turned a little to the world for consolation in her troubles.
The distractions she took were most innocent; nevertheless, destined as she was for an extraordinary life, they had the effect in her case of producing lukewarmness, the end of which was such intense weariness and depression that she prayed earnestly for a return of her old fervor. Then, just ten years after her marriage, came the event of her life, in answer to her prayer. She went one day, full of melancholy, to a convent in Genoa where she had a sister, a nun. The latter advised her to go to confession to the nuns’ confessor, and Catherine agreed. No sooner, however, had she knelt down in the confessional than a ray of Divine light pierced her soul, and in one moment manifested her own sinfulness and the Love of God with equal clearness. The revelation was so overwhelming that she lost consciousness and fell into a kind of ecstasy, for a space during which the confessor happened to be called away. When he returned, Catherine could only murmur that she would put off her confession, and go home quickly.
St. Catherine’s Treatise on Purgatory
From the moment of that sudden vision of herself and God, the saint’s interior state seems never to have changed, save by varying in intensity and being accompanied by more or less severe penance, according to what she saw required of her by the Holy Spirit Who guided her incessantly. No one could describe it except herself; but she does so, minutely, in her writings, which we will now examine. What follows is taken from her “Treatise on Purgatory”.
No Choice—No Remembrance—No Sadness
“As far as I can see, the souls in Purgatory can have no choice but to be there; this God has most justly ordained by His divine decree. They cannot turn towards themselves and say: ‘I have committed such and such sins for which I deserve to remain here;’ nor can they say: ‘Would that I had refrained from them, for then I should at this moment be in paradise;’ nor again: ‘This soul will be released before me;’ or ‘I shall be released before her.’ They retain no memory of either good or evil respecting themselves or others which would increase their pain. They are so contented with the divine dispositions in their regard; and with doing all that is pleasing to God in that way which He chooses, that they cannot think of themselves, though they may strive to do so. They see nothing but the operation of the divine goodness which is so manifestly bringing them to God that they can reflect neither on their own profit, nor on their hurt. Could they do so, they would not be in pure charity. They see not that they suffer their pains in consequence of their sins, nor can they for a moment entertain that thought, for should they do so it would be an active imperfection, and that cannot exist in a state where there is no longer the possibility of sin.
“At the moment of leaving this life they see why they are sent to Purgatory, but never again, otherwise they would still retain something private, which has no place there. Being established in charity, they can never deviate therefrom by any defect, and have no will or desire, save the pure will of pure love, and can swerve from it in nothing. They can neither commit sin, nor merit by refraining from it.”
Purgatory—A Place of Pain and Peace
“There is no peace to be compared with that of the souls in Purgatory, save that of the saints in paradise, and this peace is ever augmented by the inflowing of God into these souls, which increases in proportion as the impediments to it are removed. The rust of sin is the impediment, and this the fire continually consumes, so that the soul in this state is continually opening itself to admit the divine communication. As a covered surface can never reflect the sun, not through any defect in that orb, but simply from the resistance offered by the covering, so, if the covering be gradually removed, the surface will by little and little be opened to the sun and will more and more reflect His light.
“So it is with the rust of sin, which is the covering of the soul. In Purgatory the flames incessantly consume it, and as it disappears, the soul reflects more and more perfectly the true sun who is God. Its contentment increases as this rust wears away, and the soul is laid bare to the divine ray, and thus one increases and the other decreases until the time is accomplished. The pain never diminishes, although the time does, but as to the will, so united is it to God by pure charity, and so satisfied to be under His divine appointment, that these souls can never say their pains are pains.
The Pain of Purgatory
“On the other hand, it is true that they suffer torments which no tongue can describe nor any intelligence comprehend, unless it be revealed by such a special grace as that which God has vouchsafed to me, but which I am unable to explain. And this vision which God revealed to me has never departed from my memory. I will describe it as far as I am able, and they whose intellects our Lord will deign to open will understand me.
“The source of all suffering is either Original or Actual Sin. God created the soul pure, simple, free from every stain, and with a certain beatific instinct toward Himself. It is drawn aside from Him by Original Sin, and when Actual Sin is afterwards added, this withdraws it still farther, and, ever as it removes from Him, its sinfulness increases, because its communication with God grows less and less.
Increasing Fire of Charity
“And because there is no good except by participation with God, who, to the irrational creatures imparts Himself as He wills and in accordance with His divine decree, and never withdraws from them, but to the rational soul He imparts Himself more or less, according as He finds her more or less freed from the hindrances of sin, it follows that, when He finds a soul that is returning to the purity and simplicity in which she was created, He increased in her the beatific instinct, and kindles in her a fire of charity so powerful and vehement, that it is insupportable to the soul to find any obstacle between her and her end; and the clearer vision she has of these obstacles the greater is her pain.
The Barrier of Pain
“Since the souls in Purgatory are freed from the guilt of sin, there is no barrier between them and God save only the pains they suffer, which delay the satisfaction of their desire. And when they see how serious is even the slightest hindrance, which the necessity of justice causes to check them, a vehement flame kindles within them, which is like that of Hell. They feel no guilt however, and it is guilt which is the cause of the malignant will of the condemned in Hell, to whom God does not communicate His goodness, and thus they remain in despair and with a will forever opposed to the good will of God.
Penalties of Purgatory and Hell
“It is evident that the revolt of man’s will from that of God constitutes sin, and while that revolt continues, man’s guilt remains. Those, therefore, that are in Hell, having passed from this life with perverse wills, their guilt is not remitted, nor can it be, since they are no longer capable of change. When this life is ended, the soul remains forever confirmed either in good or evil according as she has here determined. As it is written: ‘Where I shall find thee,’ that is, at the hour of death, with the will either fixed on sin or repenting of it, ‘there I will judge thee.’ From this judgment there is no appeal, for after death the freedom of the will can never return, but the will is confirmed in that state in which it is found at death. The souls in Hell, having been found at that hour with the will to sin, have the guilt and the punishment always with them, and although this punishment is not so great as they deserve, yet it is eternal. Those in Purgatory, on the other hand, suffer the penalty only, for their guilt was cancelled at death, when they were found hating their sins and penitent for having offended the divine goodness. And this penalty has an end, for the term of it is ever approaching. O misery beyond all misery, and the greater because in his blindness, man regards it not!
“The punishment of the damned is not, it is true, infinite in degree, for the all lovely goodness of God shines even into Hell. He who dies in mortal sin merits infinite woe for an infinite duration; but the mercy of God has only made the time infinite, and mitigated the intensity of the pain. In justice He might have inflicted much greater punishment than He has done.
“Oh, what peril attaches to sin willfully committed! For it is so difficult for man to bring himself to penance, and without penitence guilt remains and will ever remain, so long as man retains unchanged the will to sin, or is intent upon committing it.
Finally Totally Conformed to the Will of God
“The souls in Purgatory are entirely conformed to the will of God; therefore, they correspond with His goodness, are contented with all that He ordains, and are entirely purified from the guilt of their sins. They are pure from sins, because they have in this life abhorred them and confessed them with true contrition, and for this reason God remits their guilt, so that only the stains of sin remain, and these must be devoured by the fire. Thus freed from guilt and united to the will of God, they see Him clearly according to that degree of light which He allows them, and comprehend how great a good is the fruition of God, for which all souls were created. Moreover, these souls are in such close conformity to God, and are drawn so powerfully toward Him by reason of the natural attraction between Him and the soul, that no illustration or comparison could make this impetuosity understood in the way in which my spirit conceives it by its interior sense. Nevertheless I will use one which occurs to me.
Finally a Hunger for God and Heaven
“Let us suppose that in the whole world there were but one loaf to appease the hunger of every creature, and that the bare sight of it would satisfy them. Now man, when in health, has by nature the instinct for food, but if we can suppose him to abstain from it and neither die nor yet lose health and strength, his hunger would clearly become increasingly urgent. In this case, if he knew that nothing but the loaf would satisfy him, and that until he reached it his hunger could not be appeased, he would suffer intolerable pains, which would increase as his distance from the loaf diminished; but if he were sure that he would never see it, his Hell would be as complete as that of the damned souls, who, hungering after God, have no hope of ever seeing the bread of life. But the souls in Purgatory have an assured hope of seeing Him and of being entirely satisfied; and therefore they endure all hunger and suffer all pain until that moment when they enter into eternal possession of this bread, which is Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Savior, and our Love.
The Tag of Sin Designates the Destination
“As the purified spirit finds no repose but in God, for whom it was created, so the soul in sin can rest nowhere but in Hell, which by, reason of its sins, has become its end. Therefore, at that instant in which the soul separates from the body, it goes to its prescribed place, needing no other guide than the nature of the sin itself, if the soul has parted from the body in mortal sin. And if the soul were hindered from obeying that decree (proceeding from the justice of God), it would find itself in a yet deeper Hell, for it would be outside of the divine order, in which mercy always finds place and prevents the full infliction of all the pains the soul has merited. Finding, therefore, no spot more fitting, nor any in which her pains would be so slight, she casts herself into her appointed place.
Souls Throw Themselves Willingly Into Purgatory
“The same thing is true of Purgatory―the soul, leaving the body, and not finding in herself that purity in which she was created, and seeing also the hindrances which prevent her union with God, conscious also that Purgatory only can remove them, casts herself quickly and willingly therein. And if she did not find the means ordained for her purification, she would instantly create for herself a Hell worse than Purgatory, seeing that by reason of this impediment she is hindered from approaching her end, which is God; and this is so great an ill that in comparison with it the soul esteems Purgatory as nothing. True it is, as I have said, like Hell; and yet, in comparison with the loss of God it is as nothing.
No Gates to Paradise—Except Conscience
“I will say furthermore, I see that as far as God is concerned, paradise has no gates, but he who will may enter. For God is all mercy, and His open arms are ever extended to receive us into His glory. But I see that the divine essence is so pure—purer than the imagination can conceive—that the soul, finding in itself the slightest imperfection, would rather cast itself into a thousand Hells than appear, so stained, in the presence of the Divine Majesty. Knowing, then, that Purgatory was intended for her cleaning, she throws herself therein, and finds there that great mercy, the removal of her stains.
“The great importance of Purgatory neither mind can conceive nor tongue describe. I see only that its pains are as great as those of Hell; and yet I see that a soul, stained with the slightest fault, receiving this mercy, counts its pains as naught in comparison with this hindrance to her love. And I know that the greatest misery of the souls in Purgatory is to behold in themselves aught that displeases God, and to discover that, in spite of His goodness, they had consented to it. And this is because, being in the state of grace, they see the reality and the importance of the impediments which hinder their approach to God.”
“I see the souls to be eager in suffering the pains of Purgatory for two reasons. Firstly, because they consider the mercy of God. They understand that if God’s goodness would not temper justice with mercy, satisfying it with the most precious Blood of Jesus Christ, even a single sin would merit a thousand hells. The souls in Purgatory, in fact, perceive with a special light the greatness and the sanctity of God. They suffer, but, at the same time, they rejoice in adoring His greatness and recognizing His sanctity. Their joy is similar to that of the martyrs who suffered in adoration of and witness to the living God and Jesus the Savior; however, for the souls in Purgatory, this joy is felt to a much higher degree.”
The Purgatorial Fires of Love
Purgatory is a marvelous contest of love between God and the soul, and, in a contest of love, there is no space for anything that is hard and ruthless. The One who purifies with suffering purifies for love. He therefore looks for all ways to mitigate as much as possible the suffering that purifies; the one who is purified suffers, but the love that ties him to the One who purifies it makes the suffering more acceptable. The surgeon who treats a patient looks in every way to alleviate the pain, and the patient who suffers finds relief in the thought that, although he is in pain, he will be cured. Knowing this, he suffers with patience.
It is no surprise, then, to recognize that, in Purgatory, there are joys, comforts, and relief. In this we see the love of God toward those souls who are purified, and the love of the souls who, longing to be purified, contemplate with love the harmony between justice and Divine Mercy. The souls want to suffer, for it is a need of their own love that drives them toward God; in their pains, they feel the comfort of God, and cannot refuse their purification because of the happiness they will receive in their eternal glory. In every way, He alleviates their sufferings and comforts them, as a mother kisses and caresses her child who must have an operation.
If God weeps over the lost souls who, willingly and with a relentless hate, separate themselves from Him, how much more is He moved because of those souls who love and long for Him? We are too used to considering God a most severe judge. We separate His justice from His mercy and His love, which in Him are one and the same, and only one love as in the union of a kiss. “Mercy and truth have met each other. Justice and peace have kissed!” (Psalm 84:11).
The First Chief Joy in Purgatory
The first joy of the souls in Purgatory is to feel confirmed in grace. Now they are sure of their eternal salvation and their happy incapacity to sin; they consider all the horror of sins they have committed, feel an immense sorrow in the pains they suffer now, and repent of these sins sincerely. It is a joy that we cannot easily comprehend because we live carelessly in the uncertainty of our eternal salvation. It is a fact, confirmed by many revelations and historical accounts, that the souls in Purgatory prefer to remain in the pains they suffer there, with the assurance of being saved and without sin, rather than to return to Earth with no assurance of being saved. Those who were returned to life by miracles of the saints always chose to go back to death and return to Purgatory.
In confirmation of what we just said, we will recount a famous event that happened in the year 1070 to St. Stanislaw, Bishop of Krakow. The wicked Prince Boleslaw was persecuting the bishop. Among the many persecutions leveled against the saint, he succeeded in exciting against him the rage of the heirs of a certain Peter Miles, who had died three years before. The dead man had left some of his land to the Church. The heirs, sure of the protection of the prince, sued him, and, subordinating or intimidating a number of witnesses, obtained a verdict that the saint be obliged to return the lands.
When he saw that the court would not issue a just sentence, the saint appealed with trust to the justice of God. He had the hearing and the sentence suspended and promised to bring as witness the very deceased maker of the will, who was already three years in the tomb. His proposal was received and accepted, in the midst of sharp ridicule for its seeming absurdity.
After three days of fasting and prayer, the holy bishop went with some clergymen and people to the tomb of Peter Miles and ordered it to be opened. Of course, they found there were only a few bones among the dust. The enemies of the saint exulted, certain of their victory. The saint, however, ordered those bones to rise again in the Name of Jesus, Who is life and resurrection. At this command, those bones, under the eyes of all the people present, gathered and joined together and filled out with flesh. The dead man came out of the tomb. Peter Miles gave his hand to the bishop and went with him, followed by the clergymen and the flabbergasted people, to Boleslaw. He attested to him the truth of the donation he had given.
After that, St. Stanislaw asked Peter Miles whether he wished to go back to the tomb or to live a few more years on Earth. The resurrected man answered that, even though he was still in Purgatory in the midst of excruciating pains for the many sins he had committed, he rather would go back there than to live on Earth without the assurance of being saved. He only implored the bishop to pray and offer suffrages for him, that he might soon be freed from all his suffering. He was taken back to the tomb in a great procession and the bishop blessed him. He lay down inside, and quickly he went back to where he had come from. This reported fact is historical and witnessed by a thousand people.
The Second Chief Joy in Purgatory
The second joy that the souls in Purgatory feel is their very own expiation. Because they love God in a perfect way and long for Him, they are heartily sorry for having offended Him and desire to expiate and make amends. There are souls on Earth who, truly repenting of their sins, feel the need to add to the Sacramental Penance other severe penances―for example, the hair shirt, scourges, fasting, and discomforts of all kinds. In these, they rejoice in their inner spirit because they suffer for love. The souls in Purgatory, having a perfect knowledge even of their smallest sins, rejoice in expiating them.
Another reason for the souls in Purgatory to rejoice, says the saint, is expiation. The souls in Purgatory see themselves doing the will of God, and they delight in what the love and mercy of God are creating in them. God impresses these two attributes on their minds in an instant, and, because they are in grace, they hear and understand it according to their own capacity, with great joy. This joy increases with their degree of closeness to God. The smallest knowledge that it is possible to have of God is, in fact, much greater than any pain or happiness of which man can conceive on Earth. This is why the souls in Purgatory accept with joy the pains which, purifying them, make them closer to God. Little by little, they see the diminishment of the obstacles that hinder them from possessing and delighting in Him.
The Third Chief Joy in Purgatory
The third joy of the souls in Purgatory is the comfort of love, because love makes everything easier. “Where there is love, there is no labor, or, if there is labor, the labor is loved,” says St. Augustine. The souls in Purgatory are in an ocean of love, because Purgatory is a contest of love. It is love that gives pain to the souls, but the pain is mitigated by love, much more than the suffering of St. Laurence, who was martyred, roasted alive on a burning grill. “The coals,” he exclaimed, “are for me like roses”; and yet they were so hot that he also told the tyrant: “I am already burned on this side; turn me on the other side.”
St. Catherine of Genoa, in her treatise on Purgatory, writes: “There is no joy save that in paradise to be compared with the joy of the souls in Purgatory. As the rust of sin is consumed, the soul is more and more open to God’s love. Just as a covered object left out in the sun cannot be penetrated by the sun’s rays, in the same way, once the covering of the soul is removed, the soul opens itself fully to the rays of the sun. Having become one with God’s will, these souls, to the extent that He grants it to them, see into God. Joy in God, oneness with Him, is the end of these souls, an instinct implanted in them at their creation.
“All that I have said is as nothing compared to what I feel within, the witnessed correspondence of love between God and the soul; for when God sees the soul pure as it was in its origins, He tugs at it with a glance, draws it and binds it to Himself with a fiery love. God so transforms the soul in Himself that it knows nothing other than God. He will not cease until He has brought the soul to perfection. That is why the soul seeks to cast off any and all impediments, so that it can be lifted up to God; and such impediments are the cause of the suffering of the souls in Purgatory. Not that the souls dwell on their suffering―they dwell, rather, on the resistance they feel in themselves against the will of God, against His intense and pure love bent on nothing but drawing them up to Him.
“And I see rays of lightning darting from that Divine love to the creature, so intense and fiery as to annihilate not the body alone but, were it possible, the soul. The soul becomes like gold that becomes all the more pure as it is fired, with all dross being cast out.
“The last stage of love is that which does its work without human doing. If humans were to be aware of the many hidden flaws in them, they would despair. These flaws are burned away in the last stage of love. God then shows the soul its weakness, so that the soul may see the workings of God. If we are to become perfect, change must be brought about in us and without us; that is, change is to be the work not of human beings, but of God. This, the last stage of love, is the pure and intense love of God alone. The overwhelming love of God gives the soul a joy beyond words. In Purgatory great joy and great suffering do not exclude one another.”
Little is known of the early life of Gertrude. Gertrude was born on the feast of the Epiphany, January 6th, 1256, in Eisleben, Thuringia (within the Holy Roman Empire). At the age of four, she entered the monastery school at the monastery of St. Mary at Helfta (with much debate having occurred as to whether this monastery is best described as Benedictine or Cistercian), under the direction of its abbess, Gertrude of Hackeborn. It is speculated that she was offered as a child oblate to the Church by devout parents. Given that Gertrude implies in the Herald that her parents were long dead at the time of writing, however, it is also possible that she entered the monastery school as an orphan.
Gertrude was confided to the care of St. Mechtilde, younger sister of the Abbess Gertrude, and joined the monastic community in 1266. It is clear from her own writings that she received a thorough education in a range of subjects. She was thoroughly familiar with scripture, the Fathers of the Church such as St. Augustine and St. Gregory the Great, and also in more contemporary spiritual writers such as Richard and Hugh of St Victor, William of St Thierry, and St. Bernard of Clairvaux. Moreover, Gertrude’s writing demonstrates that she was well-versed in rhetoric, and her Latin is very fluent.
In 1281, at the age of twenty-five, she experienced the first of a series of visions that continued throughout her life, and which changed the course of her life. Her priorities shifted away from secular knowledge and toward the study of Scripture and theology. Gertrude devoted herself strongly to personal prayer and meditation, and began writing spiritual treatises for the benefit of her monastic sisters. Gertrude became one of the great mystics of the 13th century. Together with her friend and teacher St. Mechtilde, she practiced a spirituality called “nuptial mysticism,” that is, she came to see herself as the bride of Christ. Gertrude died at Helfta, near Eisleben, Saxony, around 1302. Her feast day is celebrated on November 16th.
St. Gertrude and Purgatory
St. Gertrude the Great is invoked for souls in Purgatory and for living sinners. Our Lord told St. Gertrude that the following prayer would release 1,000 souls from Purgatory each time it is said. The prayer was extended to include living sinners as well. However, we should realize that prayer should not be said lukewarmly, mechanically or listlessly without any love, nor deliberately distracted, nor rushed—for this would be sinful, and it is hard to believe that sinful prayer is very effective, as it deserves, not a reward, but a punishment. So we should avoid treating prayers like this one as one would look upon a lucky charm.
“Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.”
St. Catherine of Genoa
Passing from one Saint linked with Purgatory to another, we will look at the life and writings of St. Catherine of Genoa. Born at Genoa in 1447, died at the same place on September 15th, 1510, the life of St. Catherine of Genoa may be more properly described as a state than as a life in the ordinary sense. When about twenty-six years old, she became the subject of one of the most extraordinary operations of God in the human soul of which we have record, the result being a marvelous inward condition that lasted till her death. In this state, she received wonderful revelations, of which she spoke at times to those around her, but which are mainly embodied in her two celebrated works: the “Dialogues of the Soul and Body”, and the “Treatise on Purgatory”. Her modern biographies, chiefly translations or adaptations of an old Italian one which is itself founded on ”Memoirs” drawn up by the saint’s own confessor and a friend, mingle what facts they give of her outward life with accounts of her supernatural state and “doctrine
Tough and Painful Marriage
St. Catherine’s parents were Jacopo Fieschi and Francesca di Negro, both of illustrious Italian birth. Two popes — Innocent IV and Adrian V — had been of the Fieschi family, and Jacopo himself became Viceroy of Naples. Catherine is described as an extraordinarily holy child, highly gifted in the way of prayer, and with a wonderful love of Christ’s Passion and of penitential practices; but, also, as having been a most quiet, simple, and exceedingly obedient girl. When about thirteen, she wished to enter the convent, but the nuns to whom her confessor applied having refused her on account of her youth, she appears to have put the idea aside without any further attempt. At sixteen, she was married by her parents’ wish to a young Genoese nobleman, Giuliano Adorno. The marriage turned out wretchedly; Giuliano proved faithless, violent-tempered, and a spendthrift. He made the life of his wife a misery. Details are scanty, but it seems at least clear that Catherine spent the first five years of her marriage in silent, melancholy submission to her husband; and that she then, for another five years, turned a little to the world for consolation in her troubles.
The distractions she took were most innocent; nevertheless, destined as she was for an extraordinary life, they had the effect in her case of producing lukewarmness, the end of which was such intense weariness and depression that she prayed earnestly for a return of her old fervor. Then, just ten years after her marriage, came the event of her life, in answer to her prayer. She went one day, full of melancholy, to a convent in Genoa where she had a sister, a nun. The latter advised her to go to confession to the nuns’ confessor, and Catherine agreed. No sooner, however, had she knelt down in the confessional than a ray of Divine light pierced her soul, and in one moment manifested her own sinfulness and the Love of God with equal clearness. The revelation was so overwhelming that she lost consciousness and fell into a kind of ecstasy, for a space during which the confessor happened to be called away. When he returned, Catherine could only murmur that she would put off her confession, and go home quickly.
St. Catherine’s Treatise on Purgatory
From the moment of that sudden vision of herself and God, the saint’s interior state seems never to have changed, save by varying in intensity and being accompanied by more or less severe penance, according to what she saw required of her by the Holy Spirit Who guided her incessantly. No one could describe it except herself; but she does so, minutely, in her writings, which we will now examine. What follows is taken from her “Treatise on Purgatory”.
No Choice—No Remembrance—No Sadness
“As far as I can see, the souls in Purgatory can have no choice but to be there; this God has most justly ordained by His divine decree. They cannot turn towards themselves and say: ‘I have committed such and such sins for which I deserve to remain here;’ nor can they say: ‘Would that I had refrained from them, for then I should at this moment be in paradise;’ nor again: ‘This soul will be released before me;’ or ‘I shall be released before her.’ They retain no memory of either good or evil respecting themselves or others which would increase their pain. They are so contented with the divine dispositions in their regard; and with doing all that is pleasing to God in that way which He chooses, that they cannot think of themselves, though they may strive to do so. They see nothing but the operation of the divine goodness which is so manifestly bringing them to God that they can reflect neither on their own profit, nor on their hurt. Could they do so, they would not be in pure charity. They see not that they suffer their pains in consequence of their sins, nor can they for a moment entertain that thought, for should they do so it would be an active imperfection, and that cannot exist in a state where there is no longer the possibility of sin.
“At the moment of leaving this life they see why they are sent to Purgatory, but never again, otherwise they would still retain something private, which has no place there. Being established in charity, they can never deviate therefrom by any defect, and have no will or desire, save the pure will of pure love, and can swerve from it in nothing. They can neither commit sin, nor merit by refraining from it.”
Purgatory—A Place of Pain and Peace
“There is no peace to be compared with that of the souls in Purgatory, save that of the saints in paradise, and this peace is ever augmented by the inflowing of God into these souls, which increases in proportion as the impediments to it are removed. The rust of sin is the impediment, and this the fire continually consumes, so that the soul in this state is continually opening itself to admit the divine communication. As a covered surface can never reflect the sun, not through any defect in that orb, but simply from the resistance offered by the covering, so, if the covering be gradually removed, the surface will by little and little be opened to the sun and will more and more reflect His light.
“So it is with the rust of sin, which is the covering of the soul. In Purgatory the flames incessantly consume it, and as it disappears, the soul reflects more and more perfectly the true sun who is God. Its contentment increases as this rust wears away, and the soul is laid bare to the divine ray, and thus one increases and the other decreases until the time is accomplished. The pain never diminishes, although the time does, but as to the will, so united is it to God by pure charity, and so satisfied to be under His divine appointment, that these souls can never say their pains are pains.
The Pain of Purgatory
“On the other hand, it is true that they suffer torments which no tongue can describe nor any intelligence comprehend, unless it be revealed by such a special grace as that which God has vouchsafed to me, but which I am unable to explain. And this vision which God revealed to me has never departed from my memory. I will describe it as far as I am able, and they whose intellects our Lord will deign to open will understand me.
“The source of all suffering is either Original or Actual Sin. God created the soul pure, simple, free from every stain, and with a certain beatific instinct toward Himself. It is drawn aside from Him by Original Sin, and when Actual Sin is afterwards added, this withdraws it still farther, and, ever as it removes from Him, its sinfulness increases, because its communication with God grows less and less.
Increasing Fire of Charity
“And because there is no good except by participation with God, who, to the irrational creatures imparts Himself as He wills and in accordance with His divine decree, and never withdraws from them, but to the rational soul He imparts Himself more or less, according as He finds her more or less freed from the hindrances of sin, it follows that, when He finds a soul that is returning to the purity and simplicity in which she was created, He increased in her the beatific instinct, and kindles in her a fire of charity so powerful and vehement, that it is insupportable to the soul to find any obstacle between her and her end; and the clearer vision she has of these obstacles the greater is her pain.
The Barrier of Pain
“Since the souls in Purgatory are freed from the guilt of sin, there is no barrier between them and God save only the pains they suffer, which delay the satisfaction of their desire. And when they see how serious is even the slightest hindrance, which the necessity of justice causes to check them, a vehement flame kindles within them, which is like that of Hell. They feel no guilt however, and it is guilt which is the cause of the malignant will of the condemned in Hell, to whom God does not communicate His goodness, and thus they remain in despair and with a will forever opposed to the good will of God.
Penalties of Purgatory and Hell
“It is evident that the revolt of man’s will from that of God constitutes sin, and while that revolt continues, man’s guilt remains. Those, therefore, that are in Hell, having passed from this life with perverse wills, their guilt is not remitted, nor can it be, since they are no longer capable of change. When this life is ended, the soul remains forever confirmed either in good or evil according as she has here determined. As it is written: ‘Where I shall find thee,’ that is, at the hour of death, with the will either fixed on sin or repenting of it, ‘there I will judge thee.’ From this judgment there is no appeal, for after death the freedom of the will can never return, but the will is confirmed in that state in which it is found at death. The souls in Hell, having been found at that hour with the will to sin, have the guilt and the punishment always with them, and although this punishment is not so great as they deserve, yet it is eternal. Those in Purgatory, on the other hand, suffer the penalty only, for their guilt was cancelled at death, when they were found hating their sins and penitent for having offended the divine goodness. And this penalty has an end, for the term of it is ever approaching. O misery beyond all misery, and the greater because in his blindness, man regards it not!
“The punishment of the damned is not, it is true, infinite in degree, for the all lovely goodness of God shines even into Hell. He who dies in mortal sin merits infinite woe for an infinite duration; but the mercy of God has only made the time infinite, and mitigated the intensity of the pain. In justice He might have inflicted much greater punishment than He has done.
“Oh, what peril attaches to sin willfully committed! For it is so difficult for man to bring himself to penance, and without penitence guilt remains and will ever remain, so long as man retains unchanged the will to sin, or is intent upon committing it.
Finally Totally Conformed to the Will of God
“The souls in Purgatory are entirely conformed to the will of God; therefore, they correspond with His goodness, are contented with all that He ordains, and are entirely purified from the guilt of their sins. They are pure from sins, because they have in this life abhorred them and confessed them with true contrition, and for this reason God remits their guilt, so that only the stains of sin remain, and these must be devoured by the fire. Thus freed from guilt and united to the will of God, they see Him clearly according to that degree of light which He allows them, and comprehend how great a good is the fruition of God, for which all souls were created. Moreover, these souls are in such close conformity to God, and are drawn so powerfully toward Him by reason of the natural attraction between Him and the soul, that no illustration or comparison could make this impetuosity understood in the way in which my spirit conceives it by its interior sense. Nevertheless I will use one which occurs to me.
Finally a Hunger for God and Heaven
“Let us suppose that in the whole world there were but one loaf to appease the hunger of every creature, and that the bare sight of it would satisfy them. Now man, when in health, has by nature the instinct for food, but if we can suppose him to abstain from it and neither die nor yet lose health and strength, his hunger would clearly become increasingly urgent. In this case, if he knew that nothing but the loaf would satisfy him, and that until he reached it his hunger could not be appeased, he would suffer intolerable pains, which would increase as his distance from the loaf diminished; but if he were sure that he would never see it, his Hell would be as complete as that of the damned souls, who, hungering after God, have no hope of ever seeing the bread of life. But the souls in Purgatory have an assured hope of seeing Him and of being entirely satisfied; and therefore they endure all hunger and suffer all pain until that moment when they enter into eternal possession of this bread, which is Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Savior, and our Love.
The Tag of Sin Designates the Destination
“As the purified spirit finds no repose but in God, for whom it was created, so the soul in sin can rest nowhere but in Hell, which by, reason of its sins, has become its end. Therefore, at that instant in which the soul separates from the body, it goes to its prescribed place, needing no other guide than the nature of the sin itself, if the soul has parted from the body in mortal sin. And if the soul were hindered from obeying that decree (proceeding from the justice of God), it would find itself in a yet deeper Hell, for it would be outside of the divine order, in which mercy always finds place and prevents the full infliction of all the pains the soul has merited. Finding, therefore, no spot more fitting, nor any in which her pains would be so slight, she casts herself into her appointed place.
Souls Throw Themselves Willingly Into Purgatory
“The same thing is true of Purgatory―the soul, leaving the body, and not finding in herself that purity in which she was created, and seeing also the hindrances which prevent her union with God, conscious also that Purgatory only can remove them, casts herself quickly and willingly therein. And if she did not find the means ordained for her purification, she would instantly create for herself a Hell worse than Purgatory, seeing that by reason of this impediment she is hindered from approaching her end, which is God; and this is so great an ill that in comparison with it the soul esteems Purgatory as nothing. True it is, as I have said, like Hell; and yet, in comparison with the loss of God it is as nothing.
No Gates to Paradise—Except Conscience
“I will say furthermore, I see that as far as God is concerned, paradise has no gates, but he who will may enter. For God is all mercy, and His open arms are ever extended to receive us into His glory. But I see that the divine essence is so pure—purer than the imagination can conceive—that the soul, finding in itself the slightest imperfection, would rather cast itself into a thousand Hells than appear, so stained, in the presence of the Divine Majesty. Knowing, then, that Purgatory was intended for her cleaning, she throws herself therein, and finds there that great mercy, the removal of her stains.
“The great importance of Purgatory neither mind can conceive nor tongue describe. I see only that its pains are as great as those of Hell; and yet I see that a soul, stained with the slightest fault, receiving this mercy, counts its pains as naught in comparison with this hindrance to her love. And I know that the greatest misery of the souls in Purgatory is to behold in themselves aught that displeases God, and to discover that, in spite of His goodness, they had consented to it. And this is because, being in the state of grace, they see the reality and the importance of the impediments which hinder their approach to God.”
“I see the souls to be eager in suffering the pains of Purgatory for two reasons. Firstly, because they consider the mercy of God. They understand that if God’s goodness would not temper justice with mercy, satisfying it with the most precious Blood of Jesus Christ, even a single sin would merit a thousand hells. The souls in Purgatory, in fact, perceive with a special light the greatness and the sanctity of God. They suffer, but, at the same time, they rejoice in adoring His greatness and recognizing His sanctity. Their joy is similar to that of the martyrs who suffered in adoration of and witness to the living God and Jesus the Savior; however, for the souls in Purgatory, this joy is felt to a much higher degree.”
The Purgatorial Fires of Love
Purgatory is a marvelous contest of love between God and the soul, and, in a contest of love, there is no space for anything that is hard and ruthless. The One who purifies with suffering purifies for love. He therefore looks for all ways to mitigate as much as possible the suffering that purifies; the one who is purified suffers, but the love that ties him to the One who purifies it makes the suffering more acceptable. The surgeon who treats a patient looks in every way to alleviate the pain, and the patient who suffers finds relief in the thought that, although he is in pain, he will be cured. Knowing this, he suffers with patience.
It is no surprise, then, to recognize that, in Purgatory, there are joys, comforts, and relief. In this we see the love of God toward those souls who are purified, and the love of the souls who, longing to be purified, contemplate with love the harmony between justice and Divine Mercy. The souls want to suffer, for it is a need of their own love that drives them toward God; in their pains, they feel the comfort of God, and cannot refuse their purification because of the happiness they will receive in their eternal glory. In every way, He alleviates their sufferings and comforts them, as a mother kisses and caresses her child who must have an operation.
If God weeps over the lost souls who, willingly and with a relentless hate, separate themselves from Him, how much more is He moved because of those souls who love and long for Him? We are too used to considering God a most severe judge. We separate His justice from His mercy and His love, which in Him are one and the same, and only one love as in the union of a kiss. “Mercy and truth have met each other. Justice and peace have kissed!” (Psalm 84:11).
The First Chief Joy in Purgatory
The first joy of the souls in Purgatory is to feel confirmed in grace. Now they are sure of their eternal salvation and their happy incapacity to sin; they consider all the horror of sins they have committed, feel an immense sorrow in the pains they suffer now, and repent of these sins sincerely. It is a joy that we cannot easily comprehend because we live carelessly in the uncertainty of our eternal salvation. It is a fact, confirmed by many revelations and historical accounts, that the souls in Purgatory prefer to remain in the pains they suffer there, with the assurance of being saved and without sin, rather than to return to Earth with no assurance of being saved. Those who were returned to life by miracles of the saints always chose to go back to death and return to Purgatory.
In confirmation of what we just said, we will recount a famous event that happened in the year 1070 to St. Stanislaw, Bishop of Krakow. The wicked Prince Boleslaw was persecuting the bishop. Among the many persecutions leveled against the saint, he succeeded in exciting against him the rage of the heirs of a certain Peter Miles, who had died three years before. The dead man had left some of his land to the Church. The heirs, sure of the protection of the prince, sued him, and, subordinating or intimidating a number of witnesses, obtained a verdict that the saint be obliged to return the lands.
When he saw that the court would not issue a just sentence, the saint appealed with trust to the justice of God. He had the hearing and the sentence suspended and promised to bring as witness the very deceased maker of the will, who was already three years in the tomb. His proposal was received and accepted, in the midst of sharp ridicule for its seeming absurdity.
After three days of fasting and prayer, the holy bishop went with some clergymen and people to the tomb of Peter Miles and ordered it to be opened. Of course, they found there were only a few bones among the dust. The enemies of the saint exulted, certain of their victory. The saint, however, ordered those bones to rise again in the Name of Jesus, Who is life and resurrection. At this command, those bones, under the eyes of all the people present, gathered and joined together and filled out with flesh. The dead man came out of the tomb. Peter Miles gave his hand to the bishop and went with him, followed by the clergymen and the flabbergasted people, to Boleslaw. He attested to him the truth of the donation he had given.
After that, St. Stanislaw asked Peter Miles whether he wished to go back to the tomb or to live a few more years on Earth. The resurrected man answered that, even though he was still in Purgatory in the midst of excruciating pains for the many sins he had committed, he rather would go back there than to live on Earth without the assurance of being saved. He only implored the bishop to pray and offer suffrages for him, that he might soon be freed from all his suffering. He was taken back to the tomb in a great procession and the bishop blessed him. He lay down inside, and quickly he went back to where he had come from. This reported fact is historical and witnessed by a thousand people.
The Second Chief Joy in Purgatory
The second joy that the souls in Purgatory feel is their very own expiation. Because they love God in a perfect way and long for Him, they are heartily sorry for having offended Him and desire to expiate and make amends. There are souls on Earth who, truly repenting of their sins, feel the need to add to the Sacramental Penance other severe penances―for example, the hair shirt, scourges, fasting, and discomforts of all kinds. In these, they rejoice in their inner spirit because they suffer for love. The souls in Purgatory, having a perfect knowledge even of their smallest sins, rejoice in expiating them.
Another reason for the souls in Purgatory to rejoice, says the saint, is expiation. The souls in Purgatory see themselves doing the will of God, and they delight in what the love and mercy of God are creating in them. God impresses these two attributes on their minds in an instant, and, because they are in grace, they hear and understand it according to their own capacity, with great joy. This joy increases with their degree of closeness to God. The smallest knowledge that it is possible to have of God is, in fact, much greater than any pain or happiness of which man can conceive on Earth. This is why the souls in Purgatory accept with joy the pains which, purifying them, make them closer to God. Little by little, they see the diminishment of the obstacles that hinder them from possessing and delighting in Him.
The Third Chief Joy in Purgatory
The third joy of the souls in Purgatory is the comfort of love, because love makes everything easier. “Where there is love, there is no labor, or, if there is labor, the labor is loved,” says St. Augustine. The souls in Purgatory are in an ocean of love, because Purgatory is a contest of love. It is love that gives pain to the souls, but the pain is mitigated by love, much more than the suffering of St. Laurence, who was martyred, roasted alive on a burning grill. “The coals,” he exclaimed, “are for me like roses”; and yet they were so hot that he also told the tyrant: “I am already burned on this side; turn me on the other side.”
St. Catherine of Genoa, in her treatise on Purgatory, writes: “There is no joy save that in paradise to be compared with the joy of the souls in Purgatory. As the rust of sin is consumed, the soul is more and more open to God’s love. Just as a covered object left out in the sun cannot be penetrated by the sun’s rays, in the same way, once the covering of the soul is removed, the soul opens itself fully to the rays of the sun. Having become one with God’s will, these souls, to the extent that He grants it to them, see into God. Joy in God, oneness with Him, is the end of these souls, an instinct implanted in them at their creation.
“All that I have said is as nothing compared to what I feel within, the witnessed correspondence of love between God and the soul; for when God sees the soul pure as it was in its origins, He tugs at it with a glance, draws it and binds it to Himself with a fiery love. God so transforms the soul in Himself that it knows nothing other than God. He will not cease until He has brought the soul to perfection. That is why the soul seeks to cast off any and all impediments, so that it can be lifted up to God; and such impediments are the cause of the suffering of the souls in Purgatory. Not that the souls dwell on their suffering―they dwell, rather, on the resistance they feel in themselves against the will of God, against His intense and pure love bent on nothing but drawing them up to Him.
“And I see rays of lightning darting from that Divine love to the creature, so intense and fiery as to annihilate not the body alone but, were it possible, the soul. The soul becomes like gold that becomes all the more pure as it is fired, with all dross being cast out.
“The last stage of love is that which does its work without human doing. If humans were to be aware of the many hidden flaws in them, they would despair. These flaws are burned away in the last stage of love. God then shows the soul its weakness, so that the soul may see the workings of God. If we are to become perfect, change must be brought about in us and without us; that is, change is to be the work not of human beings, but of God. This, the last stage of love, is the pure and intense love of God alone. The overwhelming love of God gives the soul a joy beyond words. In Purgatory great joy and great suffering do not exclude one another.”
Article 15
Saturday November 15th
Getting Rid of the Debt
How Can We Reduce Our Debt?
Sin must be paid for; our debt must be settled—otherwise we cannot enter Heaven. If we die in a state of unconfessed, or unrepented, and thus unforgiven mortal sin, then the debt will be paid in Hell. If we neglect to pay for our confessed and forgiven sins in this life, then Purgatory awaits, and Jesus says: “Thou shalt not go out from thence till thou repay the last penny” (Matthew 5:26). The obvious solution is to pay now, rather than later. Now we can pay at a greatly ‘discounted’ price; after death, it will be payments with high interest added; “for the sin is great, and the fierce anger of the Lord hangs over Israel” (2 Paralipomenon 28:13). What payment plan will we choose? What payment plans are there to choose from?
Repayment by Pain & Repayment by Love
Upon Calvary, alongside the dying Christ, we see two sinners: one dying in pain, the other ‘dying’ out of grief-stricken love. One is a man, the other a woman. The man is St. Dismas; the woman is St. Mary Magdalen. We may call them saints today, but at the time they were great sinners being transformed into saints. They were living proof that “the Lord is gracious and merciful: patient and plenteous in mercy ... and His tender mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 144:8-9).
Even though God is extremely just, He is also extremely merciful—but the time of mercy is NOW, while we are still living. After death comes the time of justice. If you want to experience His mercy—then ACT NOW and don’t put it off! “Thus says the Lord: ‘In an acceptable time I have heard thee, and in the day of salvation I have helped thee!’” (Isaias 49:8), and St. Paul repeats Isaias’ words, when he writes: “For He says: ‘In an accepted time have I heard thee; and in the day of salvation have I helped thee!’ Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation!” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
Free to Sin—So Why Pay by Penance?
One of the reasons why people rarely do penance is that they have lost sight of the price of sin. Sin, for most people, is no big deal! If you sin, they say, just go to confession and all is put right! That is bad theology! The only thing that is put right in the confessional is the removal of the guilt for sin (if we are sorry, of course). The debt for sin remains.
The meager, paltry penance that the priest gives to the penitent, is not the full price or cost of sin, but only a small portion of the penance that God demands from the sinner—it is like the first payment of a lifelong mortgage. The priests rarely give the heavy penances that once used to be given, because they fear we are too weak-willed to fulfill them. So they give us forgiveness for a token ‘down-payment’ and leave it to God’s justice to exact the rest of the payment, either by temporal punishment in this life, or by the horrendous fires of Purgatory in the next.
Another good way to look at the cost of sin is not just to look at what it will cost us in Purgatory or, God forbid, Hell, but at what it cost our Savior in His Passion and Death. This is the best and most fruitful topic of meditation and contemplation, as testified by so many saints and spiritual writers. Most people do not fully grasp the extent of Our Lord’s sufferings―they gloss over them too readily and easily, just as they gloss over sin too easily!
Healthy Fear is Necessary
St. Teresa of Avila, in the second chapter of her autobiography, speaks of the dangers of a lack of fear: “I know from this the great advantage of good companions; and I am certain that if at that tender age I had been thrown among good people, I should have persevered in virtue―for if at that time I had found anyone to teach me the fear of God, my soul would have grown strong enough not to fall away! Afterwards, when the fear of God had utterly departed from me, the fear of dishonor alone remained, and was a torment to me in all I did. When I thought that nobody would ever know, I ventured upon many things that were neither honorable nor pleasing unto God.”
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom!” (Psalms 110:10) and “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom!” (Proverbs 1:7). “And from his infancy he taught him to fear God, and to abstain from all sin!” (Tobias 1:10). For this reason—the loss of the sense of sin—we need to often reflect on the true price of sin, by reading accounts of some poor souls from Purgatory, who have been allowed, by Divine Justice and Mercy, to appear to those left on Earth and manifest the rigors and punishments of Purgatory. Out of sight means out of mind; so we will bring into view what goes on in Purgatory, so we may draw salutary benefits from what God has deliberately allowed to be revealed to us.
The Dismal Pain of Dismas
Dismas has led a dismal life; being a thief, robber, and consequently probably a murderer too, he was doing ‘penance’ for his sins and proving the truth of the statement that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). However, there is another thief suffering and dying with him; he has the same history, he has the same sufferings, but he does not have the same fate. His sufferings will be of no use to him, for he does not accept those sufferings as a just wage for his sins. He could have paid his debt there and then―like the Good Thief, Dismas―but he preferred (knowingly or unknowingly) to pay his debt in Hell.
Dismas would pay his debt alongside Jesus―or rather, he would co-pay with Jesus, for, of himself, he could not pay for any of his sins. Sin is an offense against God, even though we might sin against neighbor — “as long as you did it to one of these My least brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40). God is infinite, so any sin is consequently an infinite offense since it offends an infinite God. Therefore, it contracts an infinite debt, which finite man cannot hope to pay. It needs an infinite creature to be able to pay an infinite debt—Jesus is that infinite being, as an infinite God He can pay an infinite debt; as a human being He can pay the human debt for sin. Dismas merely co-pays, just as Our Lady co-redeems. We likewise have to co-pay—it is proof of our admission to guilt and proof of acceptance of responsibility and accountability.
Dismas pays primarily through his body―he is accepting of the pains and tortures of death as a just wage for his sins. It is not pain alone that saves him, it is pain processed and transformed by the soul into something above the natural, into something unnatural for him, into something supernatural. The pain breaks through into his soul and transforms him from a bad thief into a Good Thief who steals Heaven in the last lap of his life, with the last breath of his life. His was a payment plan of pain.
Yet, to say that Dismas died without love would be a grave misunderstanding and misrepresentation of what happened. He had to have some degree of love towards God in his heart for Christ to be able say to him: “This day thou shalt be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). A variety of things will have contributed to breaking down any hardness of heart that he may have had—but the pain of suffering undoubtedly opened and softened his heart, and prepared the soil of the soul to receive the seed of divine love. So, in the end, both death and love united in his life, to bring about his salvation.
The Mournful Love of Mary
The other major sinner on Calvary was Mary Magdalen, the sister of Martha, who―according the traditional teaching of the Western (Roman) Church―is the woman who was caught in adultery; also the woman possessed by seven devils and the woman at the banquet of Simon the Leper who was weeping tears over Jesus’ feet, wiping them dry with her hair and anointing Jesus with precious alabaster. Like the thief, Dismas, she too was a great sinner.
However, her payment plan was of a different kind—she paid for her sins through love. Jesus Himself confirmed this, when at the banquet He said: “Why do you trouble this woman? Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much” (Matthew 26:10; Luke 7:47). Her payment plan was based upon the Old Testament quote of: “Charity covers all sins” (Proverbs 10:12) and the same plan was carried over into the New Testament, as testified by St. Peter: “Charity covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). This is merely a reflection or an echo of the charity that led Jesus to lay down His life for our sins: “Greater love than this no man has, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). “In this is charity―not as though we had loved God, but because He has first loved us, and sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).
Like Dismas, Mary experienced a blend of love and pain on Calvary. The more she loved Christ, the more she felt the pain of what was happening to Christ. We know this from personal experience―the more we treasure a person or an object, the more agitated, sorrowful and pained we become when suffering a separation or its loss.
Love and Death United
Love and Death, the two things that seemed contradictory and irreconcilable, now find themselves united on Calvary. The words of Christ perform a marriage, so to speak, between Love and Death: “Greater love than this no man has, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Death proves Love; and Love leads to Death. Our Lord proves His love for us by dying for us; and that love of His had to go to the very extreme, to the point of death itself. He could not raise the stakes any higher than that.
Similarly, Mary Magdalen ‘dies’ on Calvary with Christ. In a vaguely analogous way, as Christ dies mystically in each Sacrifice of the Mass, Mary dies mystically in an unbloody manner at the Sacrifice on Calvary. Christ’s heart is pierced, she feels the wound—since it is for her benefit and salvation that He undergoes all this, and it is her sins (ours too) that pierce that Sacred Heart. She knows that He is the ‘scapegoat’ for her sins. She knows that she should be in His place, sentenced to death and dying on the cross.
Just as Christ had spared her a painful physical death from being stoned to death for adultery, He now prevents her spiritual death by dying on the cross. Like a woman watching her child being slain (Massacre of the Innocents) and wishing that she could be slain in the place of her baby; Mary Magdalen must have wished that this Massacre of the Innocent One could have been prevented and that she could be slain in His place. She was grateful to Him when she escaped being stoned to death; she was grateful to Him again for His redeeming death—she mystically died with Him out of love.
The best way to pay for our sins and quickest way to reduce their debt, is to both suffer and love—but the love is the soul and suffering is generally associated with the body (but it can also exist in the soul). For even the bad thief suffered, but without love—and his end was not Paradise! As St. Paul warns us: “If I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not charity―then it profits me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3).
As Our Lady says at La Salette: “The chiefs, the leaders of the people of God, have neglected prayer and penance, and the devil has bedimmed their intelligence.” And we can add the Scriptural verse: “God has given him time for penance, and he abuses it in his pride!” (Job 24:23). Our Lady gave us the clear indication of the path that we have to take—one that will be enforced upon us anyway, if we refuse to take it, but then with less merit—she said at Fatima: “Are you willing to offer yourselves to God and bear all the sufferings He wills to send you, as an act of reparation? … Then you are going to have much to suffer, but the grace of God will be your comfort!”
No matter how great the debt of your sins may be, God is prepared to accept mere cents on the dollar while you are still living. After death, the true price will be exacted. Better and wiser to pay now than pay later! But of you disagree with God over the price of sin, then you are unlikely to want to pay the price He is asking.
Sin must be paid for; our debt must be settled—otherwise we cannot enter Heaven. If we die in a state of unconfessed, or unrepented, and thus unforgiven mortal sin, then the debt will be paid in Hell. If we neglect to pay for our confessed and forgiven sins in this life, then Purgatory awaits, and Jesus says: “Thou shalt not go out from thence till thou repay the last penny” (Matthew 5:26). The obvious solution is to pay now, rather than later. Now we can pay at a greatly ‘discounted’ price; after death, it will be payments with high interest added; “for the sin is great, and the fierce anger of the Lord hangs over Israel” (2 Paralipomenon 28:13). What payment plan will we choose? What payment plans are there to choose from?
Repayment by Pain & Repayment by Love
Upon Calvary, alongside the dying Christ, we see two sinners: one dying in pain, the other ‘dying’ out of grief-stricken love. One is a man, the other a woman. The man is St. Dismas; the woman is St. Mary Magdalen. We may call them saints today, but at the time they were great sinners being transformed into saints. They were living proof that “the Lord is gracious and merciful: patient and plenteous in mercy ... and His tender mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 144:8-9).
Even though God is extremely just, He is also extremely merciful—but the time of mercy is NOW, while we are still living. After death comes the time of justice. If you want to experience His mercy—then ACT NOW and don’t put it off! “Thus says the Lord: ‘In an acceptable time I have heard thee, and in the day of salvation I have helped thee!’” (Isaias 49:8), and St. Paul repeats Isaias’ words, when he writes: “For He says: ‘In an accepted time have I heard thee; and in the day of salvation have I helped thee!’ Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation!” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
Free to Sin—So Why Pay by Penance?
One of the reasons why people rarely do penance is that they have lost sight of the price of sin. Sin, for most people, is no big deal! If you sin, they say, just go to confession and all is put right! That is bad theology! The only thing that is put right in the confessional is the removal of the guilt for sin (if we are sorry, of course). The debt for sin remains.
The meager, paltry penance that the priest gives to the penitent, is not the full price or cost of sin, but only a small portion of the penance that God demands from the sinner—it is like the first payment of a lifelong mortgage. The priests rarely give the heavy penances that once used to be given, because they fear we are too weak-willed to fulfill them. So they give us forgiveness for a token ‘down-payment’ and leave it to God’s justice to exact the rest of the payment, either by temporal punishment in this life, or by the horrendous fires of Purgatory in the next.
Another good way to look at the cost of sin is not just to look at what it will cost us in Purgatory or, God forbid, Hell, but at what it cost our Savior in His Passion and Death. This is the best and most fruitful topic of meditation and contemplation, as testified by so many saints and spiritual writers. Most people do not fully grasp the extent of Our Lord’s sufferings―they gloss over them too readily and easily, just as they gloss over sin too easily!
Healthy Fear is Necessary
St. Teresa of Avila, in the second chapter of her autobiography, speaks of the dangers of a lack of fear: “I know from this the great advantage of good companions; and I am certain that if at that tender age I had been thrown among good people, I should have persevered in virtue―for if at that time I had found anyone to teach me the fear of God, my soul would have grown strong enough not to fall away! Afterwards, when the fear of God had utterly departed from me, the fear of dishonor alone remained, and was a torment to me in all I did. When I thought that nobody would ever know, I ventured upon many things that were neither honorable nor pleasing unto God.”
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom!” (Psalms 110:10) and “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom!” (Proverbs 1:7). “And from his infancy he taught him to fear God, and to abstain from all sin!” (Tobias 1:10). For this reason—the loss of the sense of sin—we need to often reflect on the true price of sin, by reading accounts of some poor souls from Purgatory, who have been allowed, by Divine Justice and Mercy, to appear to those left on Earth and manifest the rigors and punishments of Purgatory. Out of sight means out of mind; so we will bring into view what goes on in Purgatory, so we may draw salutary benefits from what God has deliberately allowed to be revealed to us.
The Dismal Pain of Dismas
Dismas has led a dismal life; being a thief, robber, and consequently probably a murderer too, he was doing ‘penance’ for his sins and proving the truth of the statement that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). However, there is another thief suffering and dying with him; he has the same history, he has the same sufferings, but he does not have the same fate. His sufferings will be of no use to him, for he does not accept those sufferings as a just wage for his sins. He could have paid his debt there and then―like the Good Thief, Dismas―but he preferred (knowingly or unknowingly) to pay his debt in Hell.
Dismas would pay his debt alongside Jesus―or rather, he would co-pay with Jesus, for, of himself, he could not pay for any of his sins. Sin is an offense against God, even though we might sin against neighbor — “as long as you did it to one of these My least brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40). God is infinite, so any sin is consequently an infinite offense since it offends an infinite God. Therefore, it contracts an infinite debt, which finite man cannot hope to pay. It needs an infinite creature to be able to pay an infinite debt—Jesus is that infinite being, as an infinite God He can pay an infinite debt; as a human being He can pay the human debt for sin. Dismas merely co-pays, just as Our Lady co-redeems. We likewise have to co-pay—it is proof of our admission to guilt and proof of acceptance of responsibility and accountability.
Dismas pays primarily through his body―he is accepting of the pains and tortures of death as a just wage for his sins. It is not pain alone that saves him, it is pain processed and transformed by the soul into something above the natural, into something unnatural for him, into something supernatural. The pain breaks through into his soul and transforms him from a bad thief into a Good Thief who steals Heaven in the last lap of his life, with the last breath of his life. His was a payment plan of pain.
Yet, to say that Dismas died without love would be a grave misunderstanding and misrepresentation of what happened. He had to have some degree of love towards God in his heart for Christ to be able say to him: “This day thou shalt be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). A variety of things will have contributed to breaking down any hardness of heart that he may have had—but the pain of suffering undoubtedly opened and softened his heart, and prepared the soil of the soul to receive the seed of divine love. So, in the end, both death and love united in his life, to bring about his salvation.
The Mournful Love of Mary
The other major sinner on Calvary was Mary Magdalen, the sister of Martha, who―according the traditional teaching of the Western (Roman) Church―is the woman who was caught in adultery; also the woman possessed by seven devils and the woman at the banquet of Simon the Leper who was weeping tears over Jesus’ feet, wiping them dry with her hair and anointing Jesus with precious alabaster. Like the thief, Dismas, she too was a great sinner.
However, her payment plan was of a different kind—she paid for her sins through love. Jesus Himself confirmed this, when at the banquet He said: “Why do you trouble this woman? Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much” (Matthew 26:10; Luke 7:47). Her payment plan was based upon the Old Testament quote of: “Charity covers all sins” (Proverbs 10:12) and the same plan was carried over into the New Testament, as testified by St. Peter: “Charity covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). This is merely a reflection or an echo of the charity that led Jesus to lay down His life for our sins: “Greater love than this no man has, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). “In this is charity―not as though we had loved God, but because He has first loved us, and sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).
Like Dismas, Mary experienced a blend of love and pain on Calvary. The more she loved Christ, the more she felt the pain of what was happening to Christ. We know this from personal experience―the more we treasure a person or an object, the more agitated, sorrowful and pained we become when suffering a separation or its loss.
Love and Death United
Love and Death, the two things that seemed contradictory and irreconcilable, now find themselves united on Calvary. The words of Christ perform a marriage, so to speak, between Love and Death: “Greater love than this no man has, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Death proves Love; and Love leads to Death. Our Lord proves His love for us by dying for us; and that love of His had to go to the very extreme, to the point of death itself. He could not raise the stakes any higher than that.
Similarly, Mary Magdalen ‘dies’ on Calvary with Christ. In a vaguely analogous way, as Christ dies mystically in each Sacrifice of the Mass, Mary dies mystically in an unbloody manner at the Sacrifice on Calvary. Christ’s heart is pierced, she feels the wound—since it is for her benefit and salvation that He undergoes all this, and it is her sins (ours too) that pierce that Sacred Heart. She knows that He is the ‘scapegoat’ for her sins. She knows that she should be in His place, sentenced to death and dying on the cross.
Just as Christ had spared her a painful physical death from being stoned to death for adultery, He now prevents her spiritual death by dying on the cross. Like a woman watching her child being slain (Massacre of the Innocents) and wishing that she could be slain in the place of her baby; Mary Magdalen must have wished that this Massacre of the Innocent One could have been prevented and that she could be slain in His place. She was grateful to Him when she escaped being stoned to death; she was grateful to Him again for His redeeming death—she mystically died with Him out of love.
The best way to pay for our sins and quickest way to reduce their debt, is to both suffer and love—but the love is the soul and suffering is generally associated with the body (but it can also exist in the soul). For even the bad thief suffered, but without love—and his end was not Paradise! As St. Paul warns us: “If I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not charity―then it profits me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3).
As Our Lady says at La Salette: “The chiefs, the leaders of the people of God, have neglected prayer and penance, and the devil has bedimmed their intelligence.” And we can add the Scriptural verse: “God has given him time for penance, and he abuses it in his pride!” (Job 24:23). Our Lady gave us the clear indication of the path that we have to take—one that will be enforced upon us anyway, if we refuse to take it, but then with less merit—she said at Fatima: “Are you willing to offer yourselves to God and bear all the sufferings He wills to send you, as an act of reparation? … Then you are going to have much to suffer, but the grace of God will be your comfort!”
No matter how great the debt of your sins may be, God is prepared to accept mere cents on the dollar while you are still living. After death, the true price will be exacted. Better and wiser to pay now than pay later! But of you disagree with God over the price of sin, then you are unlikely to want to pay the price He is asking.
Article 14
Friday November 14th
Twisting God's Arm or Forcing His Hand?
Bargaining With God
Can you imagine being bold enough to bargain with God? When you’re bargaining with a merchant, you hold the money and he holds the merchandise. You each have something the other person wants, so you have some bargaining power. But when it comes to God, He holds everything! He needs nothing! Who could imagine bargaining with the God of the universe? Yet, surprisingly, the first instance of intercessory prayer, found in the Bible, shows Abraham bargaining with God! At first you may think Abraham to be a bit brash to do such a thing. But, as you examine the story, you discover that God was actually encouraging Abraham in this bargaining or ‘arm-twisting’ prayer. God took the initiative by revealing His intent to destroy Sodom and Gomorrha to Abraham, His friend, who was then moved by God’s grace to pray for mercy―based on what he knew of God’s character―for a sinful city that teetered on the brink of destruction.
Abraham Twists God’s Arm
“The Lord said: ‘The cry of Sodom and Gomorrha is multiplied, and their sin is become exceedingly grievous! I will go down and see―whether they have done according to the cry that is come to me: or whether it be not so―that I may know!’
“But stood before the Lord and, drawing near, he said: ‘Will You destroy the just with the wicked? If there be fifty just and righteous men in the city, shall they perish with all the others? Will You not spare that place for the sake of the fifty just and righteous men, if they be therein? Far be it from You to do this thing, and to slay the just with the wicked, and for the just to be treated as the wicked! This is not becoming of You! You, Who judge all the Earth, will not make this judgment!’
“And the Lord said to Abraham: ‘If I find in Sodom fifty just and righteous men within the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake!’
“And Abraham answered, and said: ‘Seeing I have once begun, I will speak to my Lord, even though I am but dust and ashes! What if there be five less than fifty just persons? Will You, for those forty-five, destroy the whole city?’
“And He said: ‘I will not destroy it, if I find forty-five just men!’
“And again Abraham said to Him: ‘But if forty just and righteous men be found there―what will You do?’
“The Lord said: ‘I will not destroy it for the sake of forty just men!’
“Abraham said: ‘Lord! Be not angry, I beseech You, if I speak again! What if thirty just men shall be found there?’
“The Lord answered: ‘I will not do it if I find thirty just men there!’
“Abraham said: ‘Seeing I have once begun, I will speak to my Lord! What if twenty just men be found there?’
“The Lord said: ‘I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty just men!’
“Abraham said: ‘I beseech You Lord, be not angry if I speak yet once more! What if ten just men should be found there?’
“And the Lord said: ‘I will not destroy it for the sake of ten just men!’
“And the Lord departed after He had left speaking to Abraham―and Abraham returned to his place.” (Genesis 18:20-33).
Sodom and Gomorrha Destroyed Anyway
After all that pleading and bargaining, Sodom and Gomorrha were destroyed anyway―“And the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrha brimstone and fire from Heaven. And He destroyed these cities, and all the country about, all the inhabitants of the cities, and all things that spring from the Earth” (Genesis 19:24-25). Why? Because not even the most minimal, paltriest, cheapest, easiest condition was met―the finding of a mere ten men who were just and not like the sinful mass of sinners within Sodom and Gomorrha.
The Threat of Fire Today
The same fate faces the world today. God is angry with not just two cities, but with the whole world. Our Lady has warned that: “If there are not souls who by their lives of immolation and sacrifice appease the Divine Justice, fire will rain from Heaven! … Without virginity, it will be necessary for fire from Heaven to rain down upon these lands in order to purify them!” (Our Lady of Good Success) ... “Water and fire will give the Earth’s globe convulsions! … The fire of Heaven will fall and consume cities! … And then water and fire will purge the Earth and consume all the works of man’s pride and all will be renewed!” (La Salette) … “If men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity! It will be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one never seen before! Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful! The survivors will find themselves so desolate, that they will envy the dead!” (Our Lady of Akita, 1973).
St. John the Baptist, the fiery preacher in the desert, also warns of punishment by fire: “He that shall come after me, is mightier than I, Whose shoes I am not worthy to bear! He shall baptize you in the Holy Ghost and fire. Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly cleanse His floor and gather His wheat into the barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire!” (Matthew 3:11-12).
Our Lord also speaks of this punishing fire in Holy Scripture: “For now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not yield good fruit, shall be cut down, and cast into the fire!” (Matthew 3:10). “Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire!” (Matthew 7:19). “Even as cockle therefore is gathered up, and burnt with fire―so shall it be at the end of the world! The Son of man shall send His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all them that work iniquity. And shall cast them into the furnace of fire―where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth! … So shall it be at the end of the world. The angels shall go out, and shall separate the wicked from among the just. And shall cast them into the furnace of fire―where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Have you understood all these things?’ They said to Him: ‘Yes!’” (Matthew 13:40-42; 13:49-51).
Beware of Provoking the Hand of God
Holy Scripture paints a fearsome picture concerning the consequences of provoking God: “Evils shall come upon you in the latter times, when you shall do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him by the works of your hands!” (Deuteronomy 31:29). “They have provoked Me and have angered Me with their vanities!” (Deuteronomy 32:21). “But you have done evil and have made for yourself strange gods to provoke Me to anger, and you have cast Me behind your back!” (3 Kings 14:9). “And I will leave the remnants of My inheritance, and will deliver them into the hands of their enemies―and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies! Because they have done evil before Me, and have continued to provoke Me, even unto this day!” (4 Kings 21:14-15). “Because they have forsaken Me, and have sacrificed to strange gods, to provoke Me to wrath with all the works of their hands, therefore My wrath shall fall upon this place, and shall not be quenched!” (2 Paralipomenon 34:25).
Forcing the Hand of God
Once provoked, God is forced to let His hand fall in justice: “Woe to you that devise that which is unprofitable, and work evil in your beds: in the morning light they execute it, because their hand is against God” (Micheas 2:1). “But you that has been the author of all mischief, shalt not escape the hand of God!” (2 Machabees 7:31). “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold I will stretch forth My hand upon the Philistines, and will kill the killers!’” (Ezechiel 25:16). “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold I will lift up My hand against the Gentiles!’” (Isaias 49:22). “As I live, says the Lord God, I will reign over you with a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out!” (Ezechiel 20:33). “For there was the fear of death in every city, and the hand of God was exceeding heavy” (1 Kings 5:12).
Avoid Sin—Avoid the Fire!
It takes no rocket-scientist to work out the spiritual math in all this. It is quite simply this: sin = fire. And if 2+2=4, then sin + more sin = more fire. As Our Lord says:”And if your hand, or your foot scandalizes you, cut it off, and cast it from you! It is better for you to go into life maimed or lame, than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into everlasting fire! And if your eye scandalizes you, pluck it out, and cast it from you! It is better for you to have one eye and to enter into life, than having two eyes to be cast into Hell fire!” (Matthew 18:8-9). “And if your hand scandalizes your, cut it off! It is better for you to enter into life maimed, than having two hands and go into Hell, into unquenchable fire―where their worm dies not, and the fire is not extinguished!” (Mark 9:42-43). Talk about forcing God’s hand!!
Twist His Arm or Force His Hand?
Just as with Abraham, God is willing to let us twist His arm―but it means stopping a lifestyle that forces His hand. This has been made abundantly clear by Our Lady at her modern-day apparitions: “If my people do not wish to submit themselves, I am forced to let go of the hand of my Son! It is so heavy and weighs me down so much, that I can no longer keep hold of it! … The sins of those dedicated to God cry out towards Heaven and call for vengeance, and now vengeance is at their door, for there is no one left to beg mercy and forgiveness for the people!” (La Salette, 1846) … “Do not offend the Lord our God anymore―because He is already so much offended!” (Fatima, October 13th, 1917) … “Many men in this world afflict the Lord! ... As I told you, if men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity!” (Our Lady of Akita).
Modern-Day Abrahams
The whole purpose of Our Lady’s apparitions is to decrease sin, encourage reparation and search for ‘arm-twisters’ who are prepared to do what Abraham did, and what Our Lady does continually—plead, intercede, beg and cry for mercy for the world and its sinners.
At Fatima, the angel said: “Make everything you do a sacrifice, and offer it as an act of reparation for the sins by which God is offended! … Above all accept and bear with submission all the suffering the Lord will send you!” (Fatima, 1916). At Akita, Our Lady says: “I desire souls to console Him to soften the anger of the Heavenly Father. I wish, with my Son, for souls who will repair, by their suffering and their poverty, for the sinners and the ungrateful … With my Son I have intervened so many times to appease the wrath of the Father. I have prevented the coming of calamities by offering Him the sufferings of the Son on the Cross, His Precious Blood, and beloved souls who console Him forming a cohort of victim souls. Prayer, penance and courageous sacrifices can soften the Father’s anger!” (Our Lady of Akita).
At La Salette, Our Lady makes a rallying call, calling all the ‘arm-twisters’ to the fight: “I call on the Apostles of the Last Days, the faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, who have lived in scorn for the world and for themselves, in poverty and in humility, in scorn and in silence, in prayer and in mortification, in chastity and in union with God, in suffering and unknown to the world! It is time they came out and filled the world with light! Go and reveal yourselves to be my cherished children! I am at your side and within you, provided that your Faith is the light which shines upon you in these unhappy days! May your zeal make you famished for the glory and the honor of Jesus Christ! Fight, children of light, you, the few who can see! For now is the time of all times, the end of all ends!” (Our Lady of La Salette).
Purgatory and the World
What has been said above about the world, applies also to ourselves individually—with fire being the consequence. Instead of fire falling from Heaven to consume us (which still may well happen), we will fall into the fires of Purgatory. The reason is as above: “Do not offend the Lord our God anymore, because He is already so much offended!” (Fatima, October 13th, 1917) … “Many men in this world afflict the Lord!” (Our Lady of Akita). Why? How?
Our Lady says: “By their love of money, their love of honors and pleasures … for disorder and the love of carnal pleasures will be spread all over the Earth! … Evil books will be abundant on Earth and the spirits of darkness will spread everywhere a universal slackening of all that concerns the service of God! ... People will think of nothing but amusement!” (Our Lady of La Salette).
The notion of penance has been drastically reduced. The Church has reduced Lenten penance to a fraction of what it used to be. The laws of fasting and abstinence have been greatly reduced. Lenten fasting has been reduced by 95% ― from 40 days down to 2 days (Ash Wednesday and Good Friday). The penances given in confession are so little that they cannot fail to communicate the idea that sin is only a trivial thing. And this is all done at a time when the amount of sin in the world is probably the greatest it has ever been―and is increasing daily. All this goes in the face of Our Lady’s messages requiring penance and sacrifice and Our Lord’s words: “No, I say to you: but unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3).
Nobody Listens
That is what is so frightening in all of this—many (we hope) know of these dire warnings, yet nobody is doing anything (or very little) about it. What Sr. Lucia told Fr. Fuentes on December 26th, 1957, is so clearly and strikingly true: “Father, the Blessed Virgin is very sad, because no one heeds her message; neither the good nor the bad! The good continue on with their life of virtue and apostolate, but they do not unite their lives to the message of Fatima. Sinners keep following the road of evil because they do not see the terrible chastisement about to befall them!” Not only is Our Lady’s Fatima message ignored, but all the messages from all the accepted apparitions are ignored. We just go on our merry way, preoccupied with daily living and the world!
Fire Seems to Be the Only Solution
We are tired of the spiritual! The material is more attractive! We can sit for hours enjoying the material, but we are complaining and whining after barely 30 minutes of the spiritual—Masses can’t end soon enough; likewise for our prayers and other spiritual exercises. A look back at history should be a warning: “In the meantime, there arose a murmuring of the people against the Lord, as it were repining at their fatigue. And, when the Lord heard it, He was angry. And the fire of the Lord being kindled against them, devoured them that were at the uttermost part of the camp” (Numbers 11:1). “And a fire was kindled in their congregation―the flame burned the wicked” (Psalms 105:18).
Our Lord said: “I am come to cast fire on the Earth―and what will I, but that it be kindled?” (Luke 12:49). But all He finds is the fire of wickedness: “For wickedness is kindled as a fire, it shall devour the brier and the thorn: and shall kindle in the thicket of the forest!” (Isaias 9:18).
“The Earth shook and trembled, the foundations of the mountains were moved, and shaken, because He was angry with them. A smoke went up from His nostrils, and a devouring fire out of His mouth: coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens, and came down: and darkness was under His feet. And He rode upon the cherubim, and flew: and slid upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness a covering round about Him: dropping waters out of the clouds of the heavens. By the brightness before Him, the coals of fire were kindled” (2 Kings 22:8-13).
Fiery Times Ahead—One Way or Another
God will kindle a fire for sure—it will be either a fire of love, or a fire in Purgatory to heat up lukewarm love, or the fire of Hell to repay a refusal to love. His fire is more powerful than the fire of wickedness, and if our world (and we with it) do not change, then God will kindle the whole Earth with fire! In a sense, God and Our Lady are pleading with us!
The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha is not a fairy-tale, nor is the Flood in Noe’s time! What goes around, comes around! Like a parent with a lethargic teenager, Our Lady has told us time and time again—soon the words will end and the action will start.
As Pope John Paul II said in Fulda, Germany, in 1983—we can no longer avert what is coming, but we can mitigate it or soften the blow! It is not the unbelievers, apostates and sinners that are going to respond to Our Lady’s call—it rests in the lap of people like us. Our salvation, our Purgatory, our future depends upon whether we stir ourselves into action, or simply go with the flow!
Can you imagine being bold enough to bargain with God? When you’re bargaining with a merchant, you hold the money and he holds the merchandise. You each have something the other person wants, so you have some bargaining power. But when it comes to God, He holds everything! He needs nothing! Who could imagine bargaining with the God of the universe? Yet, surprisingly, the first instance of intercessory prayer, found in the Bible, shows Abraham bargaining with God! At first you may think Abraham to be a bit brash to do such a thing. But, as you examine the story, you discover that God was actually encouraging Abraham in this bargaining or ‘arm-twisting’ prayer. God took the initiative by revealing His intent to destroy Sodom and Gomorrha to Abraham, His friend, who was then moved by God’s grace to pray for mercy―based on what he knew of God’s character―for a sinful city that teetered on the brink of destruction.
Abraham Twists God’s Arm
“The Lord said: ‘The cry of Sodom and Gomorrha is multiplied, and their sin is become exceedingly grievous! I will go down and see―whether they have done according to the cry that is come to me: or whether it be not so―that I may know!’
“But stood before the Lord and, drawing near, he said: ‘Will You destroy the just with the wicked? If there be fifty just and righteous men in the city, shall they perish with all the others? Will You not spare that place for the sake of the fifty just and righteous men, if they be therein? Far be it from You to do this thing, and to slay the just with the wicked, and for the just to be treated as the wicked! This is not becoming of You! You, Who judge all the Earth, will not make this judgment!’
“And the Lord said to Abraham: ‘If I find in Sodom fifty just and righteous men within the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake!’
“And Abraham answered, and said: ‘Seeing I have once begun, I will speak to my Lord, even though I am but dust and ashes! What if there be five less than fifty just persons? Will You, for those forty-five, destroy the whole city?’
“And He said: ‘I will not destroy it, if I find forty-five just men!’
“And again Abraham said to Him: ‘But if forty just and righteous men be found there―what will You do?’
“The Lord said: ‘I will not destroy it for the sake of forty just men!’
“Abraham said: ‘Lord! Be not angry, I beseech You, if I speak again! What if thirty just men shall be found there?’
“The Lord answered: ‘I will not do it if I find thirty just men there!’
“Abraham said: ‘Seeing I have once begun, I will speak to my Lord! What if twenty just men be found there?’
“The Lord said: ‘I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty just men!’
“Abraham said: ‘I beseech You Lord, be not angry if I speak yet once more! What if ten just men should be found there?’
“And the Lord said: ‘I will not destroy it for the sake of ten just men!’
“And the Lord departed after He had left speaking to Abraham―and Abraham returned to his place.” (Genesis 18:20-33).
Sodom and Gomorrha Destroyed Anyway
After all that pleading and bargaining, Sodom and Gomorrha were destroyed anyway―“And the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrha brimstone and fire from Heaven. And He destroyed these cities, and all the country about, all the inhabitants of the cities, and all things that spring from the Earth” (Genesis 19:24-25). Why? Because not even the most minimal, paltriest, cheapest, easiest condition was met―the finding of a mere ten men who were just and not like the sinful mass of sinners within Sodom and Gomorrha.
The Threat of Fire Today
The same fate faces the world today. God is angry with not just two cities, but with the whole world. Our Lady has warned that: “If there are not souls who by their lives of immolation and sacrifice appease the Divine Justice, fire will rain from Heaven! … Without virginity, it will be necessary for fire from Heaven to rain down upon these lands in order to purify them!” (Our Lady of Good Success) ... “Water and fire will give the Earth’s globe convulsions! … The fire of Heaven will fall and consume cities! … And then water and fire will purge the Earth and consume all the works of man’s pride and all will be renewed!” (La Salette) … “If men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity! It will be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one never seen before! Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful! The survivors will find themselves so desolate, that they will envy the dead!” (Our Lady of Akita, 1973).
St. John the Baptist, the fiery preacher in the desert, also warns of punishment by fire: “He that shall come after me, is mightier than I, Whose shoes I am not worthy to bear! He shall baptize you in the Holy Ghost and fire. Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly cleanse His floor and gather His wheat into the barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire!” (Matthew 3:11-12).
Our Lord also speaks of this punishing fire in Holy Scripture: “For now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not yield good fruit, shall be cut down, and cast into the fire!” (Matthew 3:10). “Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire!” (Matthew 7:19). “Even as cockle therefore is gathered up, and burnt with fire―so shall it be at the end of the world! The Son of man shall send His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all them that work iniquity. And shall cast them into the furnace of fire―where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth! … So shall it be at the end of the world. The angels shall go out, and shall separate the wicked from among the just. And shall cast them into the furnace of fire―where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Have you understood all these things?’ They said to Him: ‘Yes!’” (Matthew 13:40-42; 13:49-51).
Beware of Provoking the Hand of God
Holy Scripture paints a fearsome picture concerning the consequences of provoking God: “Evils shall come upon you in the latter times, when you shall do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him by the works of your hands!” (Deuteronomy 31:29). “They have provoked Me and have angered Me with their vanities!” (Deuteronomy 32:21). “But you have done evil and have made for yourself strange gods to provoke Me to anger, and you have cast Me behind your back!” (3 Kings 14:9). “And I will leave the remnants of My inheritance, and will deliver them into the hands of their enemies―and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies! Because they have done evil before Me, and have continued to provoke Me, even unto this day!” (4 Kings 21:14-15). “Because they have forsaken Me, and have sacrificed to strange gods, to provoke Me to wrath with all the works of their hands, therefore My wrath shall fall upon this place, and shall not be quenched!” (2 Paralipomenon 34:25).
Forcing the Hand of God
Once provoked, God is forced to let His hand fall in justice: “Woe to you that devise that which is unprofitable, and work evil in your beds: in the morning light they execute it, because their hand is against God” (Micheas 2:1). “But you that has been the author of all mischief, shalt not escape the hand of God!” (2 Machabees 7:31). “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold I will stretch forth My hand upon the Philistines, and will kill the killers!’” (Ezechiel 25:16). “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold I will lift up My hand against the Gentiles!’” (Isaias 49:22). “As I live, says the Lord God, I will reign over you with a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out!” (Ezechiel 20:33). “For there was the fear of death in every city, and the hand of God was exceeding heavy” (1 Kings 5:12).
Avoid Sin—Avoid the Fire!
It takes no rocket-scientist to work out the spiritual math in all this. It is quite simply this: sin = fire. And if 2+2=4, then sin + more sin = more fire. As Our Lord says:”And if your hand, or your foot scandalizes you, cut it off, and cast it from you! It is better for you to go into life maimed or lame, than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into everlasting fire! And if your eye scandalizes you, pluck it out, and cast it from you! It is better for you to have one eye and to enter into life, than having two eyes to be cast into Hell fire!” (Matthew 18:8-9). “And if your hand scandalizes your, cut it off! It is better for you to enter into life maimed, than having two hands and go into Hell, into unquenchable fire―where their worm dies not, and the fire is not extinguished!” (Mark 9:42-43). Talk about forcing God’s hand!!
Twist His Arm or Force His Hand?
Just as with Abraham, God is willing to let us twist His arm―but it means stopping a lifestyle that forces His hand. This has been made abundantly clear by Our Lady at her modern-day apparitions: “If my people do not wish to submit themselves, I am forced to let go of the hand of my Son! It is so heavy and weighs me down so much, that I can no longer keep hold of it! … The sins of those dedicated to God cry out towards Heaven and call for vengeance, and now vengeance is at their door, for there is no one left to beg mercy and forgiveness for the people!” (La Salette, 1846) … “Do not offend the Lord our God anymore―because He is already so much offended!” (Fatima, October 13th, 1917) … “Many men in this world afflict the Lord! ... As I told you, if men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity!” (Our Lady of Akita).
Modern-Day Abrahams
The whole purpose of Our Lady’s apparitions is to decrease sin, encourage reparation and search for ‘arm-twisters’ who are prepared to do what Abraham did, and what Our Lady does continually—plead, intercede, beg and cry for mercy for the world and its sinners.
At Fatima, the angel said: “Make everything you do a sacrifice, and offer it as an act of reparation for the sins by which God is offended! … Above all accept and bear with submission all the suffering the Lord will send you!” (Fatima, 1916). At Akita, Our Lady says: “I desire souls to console Him to soften the anger of the Heavenly Father. I wish, with my Son, for souls who will repair, by their suffering and their poverty, for the sinners and the ungrateful … With my Son I have intervened so many times to appease the wrath of the Father. I have prevented the coming of calamities by offering Him the sufferings of the Son on the Cross, His Precious Blood, and beloved souls who console Him forming a cohort of victim souls. Prayer, penance and courageous sacrifices can soften the Father’s anger!” (Our Lady of Akita).
At La Salette, Our Lady makes a rallying call, calling all the ‘arm-twisters’ to the fight: “I call on the Apostles of the Last Days, the faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, who have lived in scorn for the world and for themselves, in poverty and in humility, in scorn and in silence, in prayer and in mortification, in chastity and in union with God, in suffering and unknown to the world! It is time they came out and filled the world with light! Go and reveal yourselves to be my cherished children! I am at your side and within you, provided that your Faith is the light which shines upon you in these unhappy days! May your zeal make you famished for the glory and the honor of Jesus Christ! Fight, children of light, you, the few who can see! For now is the time of all times, the end of all ends!” (Our Lady of La Salette).
Purgatory and the World
What has been said above about the world, applies also to ourselves individually—with fire being the consequence. Instead of fire falling from Heaven to consume us (which still may well happen), we will fall into the fires of Purgatory. The reason is as above: “Do not offend the Lord our God anymore, because He is already so much offended!” (Fatima, October 13th, 1917) … “Many men in this world afflict the Lord!” (Our Lady of Akita). Why? How?
Our Lady says: “By their love of money, their love of honors and pleasures … for disorder and the love of carnal pleasures will be spread all over the Earth! … Evil books will be abundant on Earth and the spirits of darkness will spread everywhere a universal slackening of all that concerns the service of God! ... People will think of nothing but amusement!” (Our Lady of La Salette).
The notion of penance has been drastically reduced. The Church has reduced Lenten penance to a fraction of what it used to be. The laws of fasting and abstinence have been greatly reduced. Lenten fasting has been reduced by 95% ― from 40 days down to 2 days (Ash Wednesday and Good Friday). The penances given in confession are so little that they cannot fail to communicate the idea that sin is only a trivial thing. And this is all done at a time when the amount of sin in the world is probably the greatest it has ever been―and is increasing daily. All this goes in the face of Our Lady’s messages requiring penance and sacrifice and Our Lord’s words: “No, I say to you: but unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3).
Nobody Listens
That is what is so frightening in all of this—many (we hope) know of these dire warnings, yet nobody is doing anything (or very little) about it. What Sr. Lucia told Fr. Fuentes on December 26th, 1957, is so clearly and strikingly true: “Father, the Blessed Virgin is very sad, because no one heeds her message; neither the good nor the bad! The good continue on with their life of virtue and apostolate, but they do not unite their lives to the message of Fatima. Sinners keep following the road of evil because they do not see the terrible chastisement about to befall them!” Not only is Our Lady’s Fatima message ignored, but all the messages from all the accepted apparitions are ignored. We just go on our merry way, preoccupied with daily living and the world!
Fire Seems to Be the Only Solution
We are tired of the spiritual! The material is more attractive! We can sit for hours enjoying the material, but we are complaining and whining after barely 30 minutes of the spiritual—Masses can’t end soon enough; likewise for our prayers and other spiritual exercises. A look back at history should be a warning: “In the meantime, there arose a murmuring of the people against the Lord, as it were repining at their fatigue. And, when the Lord heard it, He was angry. And the fire of the Lord being kindled against them, devoured them that were at the uttermost part of the camp” (Numbers 11:1). “And a fire was kindled in their congregation―the flame burned the wicked” (Psalms 105:18).
Our Lord said: “I am come to cast fire on the Earth―and what will I, but that it be kindled?” (Luke 12:49). But all He finds is the fire of wickedness: “For wickedness is kindled as a fire, it shall devour the brier and the thorn: and shall kindle in the thicket of the forest!” (Isaias 9:18).
“The Earth shook and trembled, the foundations of the mountains were moved, and shaken, because He was angry with them. A smoke went up from His nostrils, and a devouring fire out of His mouth: coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens, and came down: and darkness was under His feet. And He rode upon the cherubim, and flew: and slid upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness a covering round about Him: dropping waters out of the clouds of the heavens. By the brightness before Him, the coals of fire were kindled” (2 Kings 22:8-13).
Fiery Times Ahead—One Way or Another
God will kindle a fire for sure—it will be either a fire of love, or a fire in Purgatory to heat up lukewarm love, or the fire of Hell to repay a refusal to love. His fire is more powerful than the fire of wickedness, and if our world (and we with it) do not change, then God will kindle the whole Earth with fire! In a sense, God and Our Lady are pleading with us!
The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha is not a fairy-tale, nor is the Flood in Noe’s time! What goes around, comes around! Like a parent with a lethargic teenager, Our Lady has told us time and time again—soon the words will end and the action will start.
As Pope John Paul II said in Fulda, Germany, in 1983—we can no longer avert what is coming, but we can mitigate it or soften the blow! It is not the unbelievers, apostates and sinners that are going to respond to Our Lady’s call—it rests in the lap of people like us. Our salvation, our Purgatory, our future depends upon whether we stir ourselves into action, or simply go with the flow!
Article 13
Thursday November 13th
Is There a Middle-Road?
One Road or Many?
Is there a middle road that we can take in our spiritual lives? Is there a middle road that can take us to Heaven? Is there road that is not too harsh on the feet—a road that winds and climbs gently, rather than the rugged, off-the-beaten-track road that seems too tough? We all know of the spiritual axiom that says: “Virtue stands in the middle between excess and neglect”—is there then a road that steers the middle path, between excess and neglect? Furthermore, there is the saying “All roads lead to Rome”—which seems to suggest that there is more than one road to Heaven. Also, we have the phrase: “To Jesus through Mary” which means that perhaps there is a way to Jesus without Mary! Interesting questions!
The Road Map of Scripture
First of all, Holy Scripture speaks of only two final destinations for our spiritual journey—Heaven and Hell. Our Lord speaks of two roads leading to two different destinations when He says: “Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life: and few there are that find it!” (Matthew 7:13-14). Our Lord is the gate or door to Heaven:”Jesus said to him: ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life! No man comes to the Father, but by Me!’” (John 14:6). “Jesus therefore said to them again: ‘Amen, amen I say to you, I am the door of the sheep!’” (John 10:7). “I am the door! By Me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved!” (John 10:9). “Be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the stone which was rejected by you the builders, is become the head of the corner! Neither is there salvation in any other! For there is no other name under Heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved!” (Acts 4:10-12). “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved!” (Acts 16:31). But all this simply shows that Jesus is the one single door, the only door, by which we can be saved—but cannot many different roads lead to the same door?
The Road to Salvation
“You are saved through Faith” (Ephesians 2:18) … but “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:20) … But Faith gives birth to Hope, which is also necessary for salvation: “We are saved by Hope” (Romans 8:24). It is hope that moves us to work towards our salvation and produce works worthy of salvation. However, works need the ‘soul’ of Charity, otherwise they are dead and useless:
“If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all Faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not Charity―then I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not Charity―then it profits me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
We cannot be saved without Faith, Hope and Charity. Thus, the three chief or foundational elements for our journey are Faith, Hope and Charity ― “There remain Faith, Hope, and Charity, these three―but the greatest of these is Charity” (1 Corinthians 13:13), but, again, these are not three roads, but only the means to use on the road.
But is there a Middle Road?
It is not so much that there is a middle road, but a variety of degrees that are applied on the road to Heaven. When we seek a ‘middle-road’, we are really seeking to put less effort in our spiritual lives. The degree of effort should be growing as we grow older—much a child is expected to do more physically as it grows older, from doing nothing and having everything done for it, to eventually have nothing done for it because it has to do it all by itself in adulthood. The same is true for the spiritual life—except that we must always remember that without God we do nothing: “Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5). Here is what Fr. Tanquerey says in his classic book, The Spiritual Life…
“Love alone unites us fully to God. It presupposes Faith and Hope, but it surpasses them. It lays hold of our entire soul, intellect, heart, will, activity, and delivers all unreservedly to God. It excludes Mortal Sin, God’s enemy, and makes us enjoy the divine friendship … The essence of love itself is devotedness. It is a firm determination of the will to give itself up to God, and, if need be, to make the entire sacrifice of self to Him and His glory, preferring His good pleasure to that of self and others … Worldlings, even when they have the Faith, often entertain very false ideas concerning perfection or, as they call it, devotion” (Fr. Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life).
The Varying Degrees on the Road
“The degrees by which one is raised to perfection are numerous. According to the common doctrine, explained by St. Thomas Aquinas, there are three principal stages or, as they are commonly called, three ways:(1) that of beginners or the Purgative Way, (2) that of souls already advanced, or the Illuminative Way, and (3) that of the perfect, or the Unitive Way.
The Lowest Degree―the Way of Beginners, the Purgative Way
(a) The chief care of beginners is that of preserving charity. Their efforts, then, are directed toward the avoidance of sin, above all, Mortal Sin, and toward the conquest of evil inclinations, of the passions, and of all that could make them lose the love of God. This is the Purgative Way, the end of which is the purification of the soul.
The Middle Degree―the Way of Proficients, the Illuminative Way
(b) The chief concern of those already advanced, the proficients, is progress in the positive exercise of the virtues and growth in Charity. The heart, already purified, is all the more open to divine light and to the love of God. The soul wishes to follow Jesus and to imitate His virtues, and since by following Him one walks in the Light, this is called the Illuminative Way. Here the soul strives to avoid not only Mortal, but even Venial Sin.
The Highest Degree―the Way of the Perfect, the Unitive Way
(c) Perfect souls have but one concern to cling to God and to take their delight in Him. Ever seeking to unite themselves to God, they are in the Unitive Way. Sin fills them with horror, for they fear to displease God and to offend Him. The virtues that most attract them are the Theological Virtues, which unite them to God. Hence, the Earth seems to them an exile, and, like St. Paul, they long to die to be joined to Christ. These are only brief indications. Later on we shall resume them again and develop them in the Second Part of this work. There we shall take the soul from the first stage, that of the purification, to the transforming union that prepares it for the Beatific Vision” (Fr. Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life).
The Road of Penance
“It is admitted, on all hands, that no one can afford, at any time, to put out of his life the spirit of penance―even though it may take different forms according to the different degrees of perfection. In the same manner, it is agreed that, in order to arrive at the Unitive Way [the highest stage of the spiritual life], one must exercise oneself more and more perfectly in the practice of both the Moral and the Theological Virtues; that the Gifts of the Holy Ghost, cultivated with care, endow the soul with a certain docility that renders it more submissive to the inspirations of grace” (Fr. Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life).
Our Limitations
There are, however, limits to our perfection here on Earth. Beyond these we must not wish to go, for fear of falling back into a lower degree of perfection, or even lapse into mortal sin. It is certain that we cannot love God as He deserves to be loved. He is infinitely lovable, and, our hearts being finite, can never love Him, even in Heaven, except with a finite love. We can, therefore, and we must always strive to love Him more. According to St. Bernard, the measure with which to love God is to love Him without measure.
Let us not forget, however, that real love consists less in pious sentiments than in acts of the will [actions speak louder than words—and words and actions must be in harmony], and that the best way to love God is to make our will conform to His will. On Earth one cannot love God uninterruptedly, nor unfailingly. One can, with the aid of special graces, avoid all deliberate Venial Sin, but not all faults of frailty. No one ever becomes impeccable, as the Church has declared on many occasions.
As Fr. Tanquerey says: “Behold, then, the whole of Christian perfection: love and sacrifice. Who cannot, with God’s grace, fulfill this twofold condition? Is it really so difficult to love Him Who is infinitely lovable and infinitely loving? The love that He asks of us is nothing extraordinary; it is the devotedness of love the gift of oneself consisting chiefly in conformity to the Divine will. To want to love; is to love. To keep the commandments for God’s sake is to love. To pray is to love. To fulfill our duties of state in view of pleasing God, this is likewise to love. Even to recreate ourselves, to take our meals with the same intention is to love. To serve our neighbor, for God’s sake, is to love. Nothing then is easier―with God’s grace helping―than the constant exercise of Divine love and, through this, a steady advance toward perfection” (Fr. Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life).
Love Must Translate Into Sacrifice
As for sacrifice, without doubt it seems hard. But we are not asked to love sacrifice for its own sake. It is enough if we love it for God’s sake, or, in other words if we realize that, here on Earth, one cannot love God without renouncing whatever gets in the way of His love. Then sacrifice at first becomes tolerable and soon it becomes even lovable.
Does not a mother, passing long, sleepless nights at the bedside of her sick son, joyously accept fatigue, when she has the hope and, more especially, when she has the certainty of thereby saving his life? Now, when we accept, for the sake of God, the sacrifices He demands, we have not only the hope, but the certainty itself, of pleasing Him, of giving Him glory and of working out the salvation of our own souls. This too is what the Mother of mothers, Our Lady, asked for at Fatima. She asked the three children: “Are you willing to offer yourselves to God and bear all the sufferings He wills to send you, as an act of reparation for the conversion of sinners? … Then you are going to have much to suffer, but the grace of God will be your comfort!” Heaven is endlessly trying to turn up the heat, so to speak, of our love—so that we might be able to suffer more. To the worldling, that sounds surprising, shocking even scandalous, but just as the baby must grow into a man, so too must love of God grow into suffering for God.
School of Suffering
To the Venerable Mary of Agreda, Our Lady said: “My most holy Son and myself are trying to find, among those who have arrived at the Way of the Cross, some soul, whom We can instruct systematically in this divine science and whom We can withdraw from the worldly and diabolical wisdom, in which the sons of Adam, with blind stubbornness, are rejecting the salutary discipline of sufferings. If you wish to be our disciple, then enter into this school, in which alone is taught the doctrine of the Cross and the manner of reaching true peace and veritable delights. With this wisdom the earthly love of sensible pleasures and riches is not compatible; nor the vain ostentation and pomp, which fascinates the blear-eyed worldlings, who are so covetous of passing honors, and so full of ignorant admiration for costly grandeur.”
To be able to do this, we have example and the help of the God-Man—Jesus Christ. Has He not suffered as much as, and even more than we ourselves suffer, for the glory of His Father and the salvation of our souls? Shall we, His disciples, incorporated into Him in Baptism, nourished with His Body and Blood, shall we hesitate when we are called to suffer together with Him, out of love for Him and for His intentions? Is it not true that in the Cross there is immense profit, especially for loving hearts? “In the Cross” says the Imitation of Christ, “is salvation; in the Cross is life; in the Cross is protection from enemies. In the Cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness; in the Cross is strength of mind; in the Cross is joy of spirit. In the Cross is height of “virtue; in the Cross is perfection, of sanctity” (Book 2, chapter 12).
Saint Augustine tells us: “There are no labors too great for loving hearts. In fact, one finds pleasure therein, as we observe in the case of the fisherman fishing, the hunter at the chase, the merchant at the market. For where there is love, there is no labor, or if there be labor, it is a labor of love.” Let us then hasten toward perfection by this path of love and sacrifice.
Degrees of Suffering
St. Bernard distinguishes three degrees of this virtue, corresponding to the three stages of Christian perfection: “The beginner, moved by fear, patiently bears the Cross of Christ; the one who has already made some progress on the road to perfection, inspired by hope, carries it cheerfully; the perfect soul, consumed by love, embraces it ardently.” Beginners, upheld by the fear of God, do not love pain, but rather seek to escape it. However, they choose to suffer rather than to offend God and, though groaning under the weight of the Cross, they resign themselves to carrying the Cross and they endure it in patience.
Those who have already made some progress, are sustained by the hope and the desire of heavenly things; and, though they do not yet seek the Cross, they willingly carry it with a certain joy, knowing that each new pang represents an additional degree of glory: “Going, they went and wept, casting their seeds. But coming, they shall come with joyfulness carrying their sheaves.”
The perfect, led by love, go even further. To glorify the God they love, to become more like our Lord, they go forth to meet the Cross, they long for it and embrace it lovingly, not because it is in itself lovable, but because it offers them the means of proving their love for God and. for Christ Like the Apostles, they rejoice that they are counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of Jesus. Like St. Paul, they rejoice in their tribulations: “God forbid that I should glory, except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world!” (Galatians 6:14).
All Roads Lead to Rome, but…
Saint John of the Cross believed that love is the most important lesson to learn in life, and it will be the subject of our final “exam” when we face God. He wrote: “At the end of our life, we shall be judged on our love alone!” ― which means that at the end of life, the ultimate measure of our worth will be how we have loved God and others through concrete acts of charity. This love should extend to everyone, even those who are considered enemies. The ideal is to pray for their conversion rather than to show hate, as demonstrated by the example during His Passion and His death on the Cross.
Though all roads may lead to Rome, the only road to Heaven is that of Love and Sacrifice. We will be judged on how much we have loved God and how much we have suffered with love for God. There are many, many texts of Holy Scripture that testify to this—here we list but a few: “Love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the first commandment. And the second is like to it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these!” (Mark 12:30-31). That love requires sacrifices and brings sufferings: “Love your enemies! Do good to them that hate you! Pray for them that persecute and calumniate you!” (Matthew 5:44). That love calls for sacrificing the world in order to keep the Commandments: “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). That love will be tested by suffering: “Who then shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation? Or distress? Or famine? Or nakedness? Or danger? Or persecution? Or the sword?” (Romans 8:35).
Cross
Therefore, if we wish to follow Our Lord on the road to Heaven, we must take the road of the Cross: “And He said to all: ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). “And whosoever does not carry his cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:27).”And he that takes not up his cross, and follows Me, is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:38). Perhaps it will even call upon us to give up our lives out of love for Christ: “Greater love than this no man has, that a man lay down his life for his friends!” (John 15:13).
Love
All our works, if they are to be profitable, must be infused by this love: “If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all Faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not Charity―then I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not Charity―then it profits me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
A Refusal to Suffer Brings More Suffering in Purgatory
The “Middle-Road” is exactly that—it falls in the middle between Heaven and Hell, which is Purgatory. By not wanting to “give-it-one’s-all” while here on Earth, the soul finds itself having to give more than it bargained for in Purgatory. It tried to get to Heaven for a reduced price, and without fully paying for its sins. As St. Thomas Aquinas writes: “For if the debt of punishment is not paid in full after the stain of sin has been washed away by contrition, nor again are Venial Sins always removed when Mortal Sins are remitted, and if justice demands that sin be set in order by due punishment, it follows that one who, after contrition for his fault and after being absolved, dies before making due satisfaction, is punished after this life. Wherefore those who deny Purgatory speak against the justice of God―for which reason such a statement is erroneous and contrary to Faith” (Summa Theologica, Appendix II, art. 1).
In Purgatory we suffer far more than we could ever have suffered on Earth. St. Thomas tells us that “The fire of Purgatory is the same as the fire of Hell” (Summa Theologica, Appendix II, art. 2). Quoting St. Augustine, St. Thomas writes: “This fire of Purgatory will be more severe than any pain that can be felt, seen or conceived in this world ... The pain of Purgatory, both of loss and of sense, surpasses all the pains of this life … The severity of that punishment is not so much a consequence of the degree of sin, as of the disposition of the person punished―because the same sin is more severely punished then than now” (Summa Theologica, Appendix I, q. 2, art. 1).
The “Middle-Road” tries to do things by halves, it half-loves God; it half-pays for its sins—but we are told to love God with our WHOLE heart, not part of it. Sadly, as authors like Fr. Faber and Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange think, most Catholics are “middle-of-the-road” Catholics or worse―who, if they do not change, will find themselves in the middle of Purgatory!
Lukewarmness on Earth Produces a Hot Purgatory!
Essentially, one of the chief reasons why souls who die in a state of sanctifying grace but find themselves in Purgatory rather than Heaven, is the pandemic virus of lukewarmness. They exerted little or no effort in resisting sin and they exerted little or no effort in paying for sin. They had a diseased devotion. You cannot put clothes in a smoky room without them finally taking on the smell of smoke. Stand next to a fire and you will grow hotter and hotter. Put yourself in a worldly atmosphere and you will gradually be contaminated with increasing degrees of worldliness. Frequent the company of Liberals and you will become more and more Liberal. Tell me who friends are, and I will tell you what you are. Our environment greatly influences us—whether we want it or not; whether we like it or not.
God finds lukewarmness disgusting and He makes that clearly known to us when He says: “I know your works, that you are neither cold, nor hot. I would rather have you be cold or hot. But because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will begin to vomit you out of My mouth” (Apocalypse 3:15-16). Fr. Faber comments: “There is nothing in the spiritual life which arrests our attention so forcibly as lukewarmness because of the unusual language in which it has pleased God to express His ineffable disgust with it, and the startling doctrine which accompanies the declaration of His loathing, that coldness is less offensive to Him than tepidity. Who is it then with whom God is so exceedingly displeased, that He is sick of His own redeemed creature? We tremble at the answer” (Fr. Faber, Growth in Holiness, ch. 25, “Lukewarmness”). Lukewarmness is not a road that leads to Heaven! It might be a “middle-road” between being spiritually cold and spiritually hot, but it disgusts God and He warns that He will “vomit” such souls out of His mouth!
It’s a pretty ugly thought to imagine oneself being vomited out of the mouth of God! We may be tempted to feel like the Apostles felt, when Our Lord said that one of them would betray Him. “And they being very much troubled, began everyone to say: ‘Is it I, Lord?’” (Matthew 26:22).
A Very Common Problem
“I fear this evil of lukewarmness is very common, and that at this moment it is gnawing the life out of many souls who suspect not its presence there. It is a great grace, a prophecy of a miraculous cure, to find out that we are lukewarm; but we are lost if we do not act with vigor, the moment we make this frightening discovery. It is like going to sleep in the snow, almost a pleasant tingling feeling at the first, and then—lost forever” (Fr. Faber, Growth in Holiness, ch. 25, “Lukewarmness”).
Are You Serious?
The very fact that you are reading this, shows that you a pretty serious about your spiritual life! Most probably, you have made some serious advances over the years that are pleasing to you. You may even be seriously tempted to look down the mountain-side, that you have halfway climbed, and, looking at the folks below, you might be tempted to say with the Pharisee in the Temple: “O God, I give thee thanks that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers. I fast twice in a week: I give tithes of all that I possess” (Luke 18:11-12).
The ‘Good-Bad’ Pharisee
The Pharisee was doing nothing wrong externally. It was in his soul that the problem lay. All the things that he was doing externally were good things. It is good to pray, it is good to give alms. The Jews only had to tithe to the Temple on just two things of their choice, but the Pharisee was freely and willingly tithing on ALL THAT HE POSSESSED! But he was complacent, self-satisfied and proud. He was like the man in the parable: “The land of a certain rich man brought forth plenty of fruits. And he thought within himself, saying: ‘What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?’ And he said: ‘This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and will build greater; and into them will I gather all things that are grown to me, and my goods. And I will say to my soul: “Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years take thy rest; eat, drink, make good cheer!”’” (Luke 12:16-19).
You Will Be a Target
We may think the same: “I have so many fruits—the many prayers I say, the Masses I attend, the alms I give, and whatever other spiritual exercises we may do.” We say: “I will say more prayers; I will go to more Masses, …etc.” Let it be stressed, THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT—THEY ARE ALL GOOD THINGS! But the devil knows that too, and he wants to get a fly into the ointment and destroy it. And for someone who is trying hard, lukewarmness is the best and most common fly the devil uses—as the quotes from Fr. Faber and Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange testify. Lukewarmness can attack beginners in the spiritual life, but the most common focus is on the person that is making progress in spiritual growth. That means YOU! If you are getting better and stronger spiritually, YOU WILL BE ATTACKED!
Is there a middle road that we can take in our spiritual lives? Is there a middle road that can take us to Heaven? Is there road that is not too harsh on the feet—a road that winds and climbs gently, rather than the rugged, off-the-beaten-track road that seems too tough? We all know of the spiritual axiom that says: “Virtue stands in the middle between excess and neglect”—is there then a road that steers the middle path, between excess and neglect? Furthermore, there is the saying “All roads lead to Rome”—which seems to suggest that there is more than one road to Heaven. Also, we have the phrase: “To Jesus through Mary” which means that perhaps there is a way to Jesus without Mary! Interesting questions!
The Road Map of Scripture
First of all, Holy Scripture speaks of only two final destinations for our spiritual journey—Heaven and Hell. Our Lord speaks of two roads leading to two different destinations when He says: “Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life: and few there are that find it!” (Matthew 7:13-14). Our Lord is the gate or door to Heaven:”Jesus said to him: ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life! No man comes to the Father, but by Me!’” (John 14:6). “Jesus therefore said to them again: ‘Amen, amen I say to you, I am the door of the sheep!’” (John 10:7). “I am the door! By Me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved!” (John 10:9). “Be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the stone which was rejected by you the builders, is become the head of the corner! Neither is there salvation in any other! For there is no other name under Heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved!” (Acts 4:10-12). “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved!” (Acts 16:31). But all this simply shows that Jesus is the one single door, the only door, by which we can be saved—but cannot many different roads lead to the same door?
The Road to Salvation
“You are saved through Faith” (Ephesians 2:18) … but “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:20) … But Faith gives birth to Hope, which is also necessary for salvation: “We are saved by Hope” (Romans 8:24). It is hope that moves us to work towards our salvation and produce works worthy of salvation. However, works need the ‘soul’ of Charity, otherwise they are dead and useless:
“If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all Faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not Charity―then I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not Charity―then it profits me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
We cannot be saved without Faith, Hope and Charity. Thus, the three chief or foundational elements for our journey are Faith, Hope and Charity ― “There remain Faith, Hope, and Charity, these three―but the greatest of these is Charity” (1 Corinthians 13:13), but, again, these are not three roads, but only the means to use on the road.
But is there a Middle Road?
It is not so much that there is a middle road, but a variety of degrees that are applied on the road to Heaven. When we seek a ‘middle-road’, we are really seeking to put less effort in our spiritual lives. The degree of effort should be growing as we grow older—much a child is expected to do more physically as it grows older, from doing nothing and having everything done for it, to eventually have nothing done for it because it has to do it all by itself in adulthood. The same is true for the spiritual life—except that we must always remember that without God we do nothing: “Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5). Here is what Fr. Tanquerey says in his classic book, The Spiritual Life…
“Love alone unites us fully to God. It presupposes Faith and Hope, but it surpasses them. It lays hold of our entire soul, intellect, heart, will, activity, and delivers all unreservedly to God. It excludes Mortal Sin, God’s enemy, and makes us enjoy the divine friendship … The essence of love itself is devotedness. It is a firm determination of the will to give itself up to God, and, if need be, to make the entire sacrifice of self to Him and His glory, preferring His good pleasure to that of self and others … Worldlings, even when they have the Faith, often entertain very false ideas concerning perfection or, as they call it, devotion” (Fr. Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life).
The Varying Degrees on the Road
“The degrees by which one is raised to perfection are numerous. According to the common doctrine, explained by St. Thomas Aquinas, there are three principal stages or, as they are commonly called, three ways:(1) that of beginners or the Purgative Way, (2) that of souls already advanced, or the Illuminative Way, and (3) that of the perfect, or the Unitive Way.
The Lowest Degree―the Way of Beginners, the Purgative Way
(a) The chief care of beginners is that of preserving charity. Their efforts, then, are directed toward the avoidance of sin, above all, Mortal Sin, and toward the conquest of evil inclinations, of the passions, and of all that could make them lose the love of God. This is the Purgative Way, the end of which is the purification of the soul.
The Middle Degree―the Way of Proficients, the Illuminative Way
(b) The chief concern of those already advanced, the proficients, is progress in the positive exercise of the virtues and growth in Charity. The heart, already purified, is all the more open to divine light and to the love of God. The soul wishes to follow Jesus and to imitate His virtues, and since by following Him one walks in the Light, this is called the Illuminative Way. Here the soul strives to avoid not only Mortal, but even Venial Sin.
The Highest Degree―the Way of the Perfect, the Unitive Way
(c) Perfect souls have but one concern to cling to God and to take their delight in Him. Ever seeking to unite themselves to God, they are in the Unitive Way. Sin fills them with horror, for they fear to displease God and to offend Him. The virtues that most attract them are the Theological Virtues, which unite them to God. Hence, the Earth seems to them an exile, and, like St. Paul, they long to die to be joined to Christ. These are only brief indications. Later on we shall resume them again and develop them in the Second Part of this work. There we shall take the soul from the first stage, that of the purification, to the transforming union that prepares it for the Beatific Vision” (Fr. Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life).
The Road of Penance
“It is admitted, on all hands, that no one can afford, at any time, to put out of his life the spirit of penance―even though it may take different forms according to the different degrees of perfection. In the same manner, it is agreed that, in order to arrive at the Unitive Way [the highest stage of the spiritual life], one must exercise oneself more and more perfectly in the practice of both the Moral and the Theological Virtues; that the Gifts of the Holy Ghost, cultivated with care, endow the soul with a certain docility that renders it more submissive to the inspirations of grace” (Fr. Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life).
Our Limitations
There are, however, limits to our perfection here on Earth. Beyond these we must not wish to go, for fear of falling back into a lower degree of perfection, or even lapse into mortal sin. It is certain that we cannot love God as He deserves to be loved. He is infinitely lovable, and, our hearts being finite, can never love Him, even in Heaven, except with a finite love. We can, therefore, and we must always strive to love Him more. According to St. Bernard, the measure with which to love God is to love Him without measure.
Let us not forget, however, that real love consists less in pious sentiments than in acts of the will [actions speak louder than words—and words and actions must be in harmony], and that the best way to love God is to make our will conform to His will. On Earth one cannot love God uninterruptedly, nor unfailingly. One can, with the aid of special graces, avoid all deliberate Venial Sin, but not all faults of frailty. No one ever becomes impeccable, as the Church has declared on many occasions.
As Fr. Tanquerey says: “Behold, then, the whole of Christian perfection: love and sacrifice. Who cannot, with God’s grace, fulfill this twofold condition? Is it really so difficult to love Him Who is infinitely lovable and infinitely loving? The love that He asks of us is nothing extraordinary; it is the devotedness of love the gift of oneself consisting chiefly in conformity to the Divine will. To want to love; is to love. To keep the commandments for God’s sake is to love. To pray is to love. To fulfill our duties of state in view of pleasing God, this is likewise to love. Even to recreate ourselves, to take our meals with the same intention is to love. To serve our neighbor, for God’s sake, is to love. Nothing then is easier―with God’s grace helping―than the constant exercise of Divine love and, through this, a steady advance toward perfection” (Fr. Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life).
Love Must Translate Into Sacrifice
As for sacrifice, without doubt it seems hard. But we are not asked to love sacrifice for its own sake. It is enough if we love it for God’s sake, or, in other words if we realize that, here on Earth, one cannot love God without renouncing whatever gets in the way of His love. Then sacrifice at first becomes tolerable and soon it becomes even lovable.
Does not a mother, passing long, sleepless nights at the bedside of her sick son, joyously accept fatigue, when she has the hope and, more especially, when she has the certainty of thereby saving his life? Now, when we accept, for the sake of God, the sacrifices He demands, we have not only the hope, but the certainty itself, of pleasing Him, of giving Him glory and of working out the salvation of our own souls. This too is what the Mother of mothers, Our Lady, asked for at Fatima. She asked the three children: “Are you willing to offer yourselves to God and bear all the sufferings He wills to send you, as an act of reparation for the conversion of sinners? … Then you are going to have much to suffer, but the grace of God will be your comfort!” Heaven is endlessly trying to turn up the heat, so to speak, of our love—so that we might be able to suffer more. To the worldling, that sounds surprising, shocking even scandalous, but just as the baby must grow into a man, so too must love of God grow into suffering for God.
School of Suffering
To the Venerable Mary of Agreda, Our Lady said: “My most holy Son and myself are trying to find, among those who have arrived at the Way of the Cross, some soul, whom We can instruct systematically in this divine science and whom We can withdraw from the worldly and diabolical wisdom, in which the sons of Adam, with blind stubbornness, are rejecting the salutary discipline of sufferings. If you wish to be our disciple, then enter into this school, in which alone is taught the doctrine of the Cross and the manner of reaching true peace and veritable delights. With this wisdom the earthly love of sensible pleasures and riches is not compatible; nor the vain ostentation and pomp, which fascinates the blear-eyed worldlings, who are so covetous of passing honors, and so full of ignorant admiration for costly grandeur.”
To be able to do this, we have example and the help of the God-Man—Jesus Christ. Has He not suffered as much as, and even more than we ourselves suffer, for the glory of His Father and the salvation of our souls? Shall we, His disciples, incorporated into Him in Baptism, nourished with His Body and Blood, shall we hesitate when we are called to suffer together with Him, out of love for Him and for His intentions? Is it not true that in the Cross there is immense profit, especially for loving hearts? “In the Cross” says the Imitation of Christ, “is salvation; in the Cross is life; in the Cross is protection from enemies. In the Cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness; in the Cross is strength of mind; in the Cross is joy of spirit. In the Cross is height of “virtue; in the Cross is perfection, of sanctity” (Book 2, chapter 12).
Saint Augustine tells us: “There are no labors too great for loving hearts. In fact, one finds pleasure therein, as we observe in the case of the fisherman fishing, the hunter at the chase, the merchant at the market. For where there is love, there is no labor, or if there be labor, it is a labor of love.” Let us then hasten toward perfection by this path of love and sacrifice.
Degrees of Suffering
St. Bernard distinguishes three degrees of this virtue, corresponding to the three stages of Christian perfection: “The beginner, moved by fear, patiently bears the Cross of Christ; the one who has already made some progress on the road to perfection, inspired by hope, carries it cheerfully; the perfect soul, consumed by love, embraces it ardently.” Beginners, upheld by the fear of God, do not love pain, but rather seek to escape it. However, they choose to suffer rather than to offend God and, though groaning under the weight of the Cross, they resign themselves to carrying the Cross and they endure it in patience.
Those who have already made some progress, are sustained by the hope and the desire of heavenly things; and, though they do not yet seek the Cross, they willingly carry it with a certain joy, knowing that each new pang represents an additional degree of glory: “Going, they went and wept, casting their seeds. But coming, they shall come with joyfulness carrying their sheaves.”
The perfect, led by love, go even further. To glorify the God they love, to become more like our Lord, they go forth to meet the Cross, they long for it and embrace it lovingly, not because it is in itself lovable, but because it offers them the means of proving their love for God and. for Christ Like the Apostles, they rejoice that they are counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of Jesus. Like St. Paul, they rejoice in their tribulations: “God forbid that I should glory, except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world!” (Galatians 6:14).
All Roads Lead to Rome, but…
Saint John of the Cross believed that love is the most important lesson to learn in life, and it will be the subject of our final “exam” when we face God. He wrote: “At the end of our life, we shall be judged on our love alone!” ― which means that at the end of life, the ultimate measure of our worth will be how we have loved God and others through concrete acts of charity. This love should extend to everyone, even those who are considered enemies. The ideal is to pray for their conversion rather than to show hate, as demonstrated by the example during His Passion and His death on the Cross.
Though all roads may lead to Rome, the only road to Heaven is that of Love and Sacrifice. We will be judged on how much we have loved God and how much we have suffered with love for God. There are many, many texts of Holy Scripture that testify to this—here we list but a few: “Love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the first commandment. And the second is like to it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these!” (Mark 12:30-31). That love requires sacrifices and brings sufferings: “Love your enemies! Do good to them that hate you! Pray for them that persecute and calumniate you!” (Matthew 5:44). That love calls for sacrificing the world in order to keep the Commandments: “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). That love will be tested by suffering: “Who then shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation? Or distress? Or famine? Or nakedness? Or danger? Or persecution? Or the sword?” (Romans 8:35).
Cross
Therefore, if we wish to follow Our Lord on the road to Heaven, we must take the road of the Cross: “And He said to all: ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). “And whosoever does not carry his cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:27).”And he that takes not up his cross, and follows Me, is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:38). Perhaps it will even call upon us to give up our lives out of love for Christ: “Greater love than this no man has, that a man lay down his life for his friends!” (John 15:13).
Love
All our works, if they are to be profitable, must be infused by this love: “If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all Faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not Charity―then I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not Charity―then it profits me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
A Refusal to Suffer Brings More Suffering in Purgatory
The “Middle-Road” is exactly that—it falls in the middle between Heaven and Hell, which is Purgatory. By not wanting to “give-it-one’s-all” while here on Earth, the soul finds itself having to give more than it bargained for in Purgatory. It tried to get to Heaven for a reduced price, and without fully paying for its sins. As St. Thomas Aquinas writes: “For if the debt of punishment is not paid in full after the stain of sin has been washed away by contrition, nor again are Venial Sins always removed when Mortal Sins are remitted, and if justice demands that sin be set in order by due punishment, it follows that one who, after contrition for his fault and after being absolved, dies before making due satisfaction, is punished after this life. Wherefore those who deny Purgatory speak against the justice of God―for which reason such a statement is erroneous and contrary to Faith” (Summa Theologica, Appendix II, art. 1).
In Purgatory we suffer far more than we could ever have suffered on Earth. St. Thomas tells us that “The fire of Purgatory is the same as the fire of Hell” (Summa Theologica, Appendix II, art. 2). Quoting St. Augustine, St. Thomas writes: “This fire of Purgatory will be more severe than any pain that can be felt, seen or conceived in this world ... The pain of Purgatory, both of loss and of sense, surpasses all the pains of this life … The severity of that punishment is not so much a consequence of the degree of sin, as of the disposition of the person punished―because the same sin is more severely punished then than now” (Summa Theologica, Appendix I, q. 2, art. 1).
The “Middle-Road” tries to do things by halves, it half-loves God; it half-pays for its sins—but we are told to love God with our WHOLE heart, not part of it. Sadly, as authors like Fr. Faber and Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange think, most Catholics are “middle-of-the-road” Catholics or worse―who, if they do not change, will find themselves in the middle of Purgatory!
Lukewarmness on Earth Produces a Hot Purgatory!
Essentially, one of the chief reasons why souls who die in a state of sanctifying grace but find themselves in Purgatory rather than Heaven, is the pandemic virus of lukewarmness. They exerted little or no effort in resisting sin and they exerted little or no effort in paying for sin. They had a diseased devotion. You cannot put clothes in a smoky room without them finally taking on the smell of smoke. Stand next to a fire and you will grow hotter and hotter. Put yourself in a worldly atmosphere and you will gradually be contaminated with increasing degrees of worldliness. Frequent the company of Liberals and you will become more and more Liberal. Tell me who friends are, and I will tell you what you are. Our environment greatly influences us—whether we want it or not; whether we like it or not.
God finds lukewarmness disgusting and He makes that clearly known to us when He says: “I know your works, that you are neither cold, nor hot. I would rather have you be cold or hot. But because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will begin to vomit you out of My mouth” (Apocalypse 3:15-16). Fr. Faber comments: “There is nothing in the spiritual life which arrests our attention so forcibly as lukewarmness because of the unusual language in which it has pleased God to express His ineffable disgust with it, and the startling doctrine which accompanies the declaration of His loathing, that coldness is less offensive to Him than tepidity. Who is it then with whom God is so exceedingly displeased, that He is sick of His own redeemed creature? We tremble at the answer” (Fr. Faber, Growth in Holiness, ch. 25, “Lukewarmness”). Lukewarmness is not a road that leads to Heaven! It might be a “middle-road” between being spiritually cold and spiritually hot, but it disgusts God and He warns that He will “vomit” such souls out of His mouth!
It’s a pretty ugly thought to imagine oneself being vomited out of the mouth of God! We may be tempted to feel like the Apostles felt, when Our Lord said that one of them would betray Him. “And they being very much troubled, began everyone to say: ‘Is it I, Lord?’” (Matthew 26:22).
A Very Common Problem
“I fear this evil of lukewarmness is very common, and that at this moment it is gnawing the life out of many souls who suspect not its presence there. It is a great grace, a prophecy of a miraculous cure, to find out that we are lukewarm; but we are lost if we do not act with vigor, the moment we make this frightening discovery. It is like going to sleep in the snow, almost a pleasant tingling feeling at the first, and then—lost forever” (Fr. Faber, Growth in Holiness, ch. 25, “Lukewarmness”).
Are You Serious?
The very fact that you are reading this, shows that you a pretty serious about your spiritual life! Most probably, you have made some serious advances over the years that are pleasing to you. You may even be seriously tempted to look down the mountain-side, that you have halfway climbed, and, looking at the folks below, you might be tempted to say with the Pharisee in the Temple: “O God, I give thee thanks that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers. I fast twice in a week: I give tithes of all that I possess” (Luke 18:11-12).
The ‘Good-Bad’ Pharisee
The Pharisee was doing nothing wrong externally. It was in his soul that the problem lay. All the things that he was doing externally were good things. It is good to pray, it is good to give alms. The Jews only had to tithe to the Temple on just two things of their choice, but the Pharisee was freely and willingly tithing on ALL THAT HE POSSESSED! But he was complacent, self-satisfied and proud. He was like the man in the parable: “The land of a certain rich man brought forth plenty of fruits. And he thought within himself, saying: ‘What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?’ And he said: ‘This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and will build greater; and into them will I gather all things that are grown to me, and my goods. And I will say to my soul: “Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years take thy rest; eat, drink, make good cheer!”’” (Luke 12:16-19).
You Will Be a Target
We may think the same: “I have so many fruits—the many prayers I say, the Masses I attend, the alms I give, and whatever other spiritual exercises we may do.” We say: “I will say more prayers; I will go to more Masses, …etc.” Let it be stressed, THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT—THEY ARE ALL GOOD THINGS! But the devil knows that too, and he wants to get a fly into the ointment and destroy it. And for someone who is trying hard, lukewarmness is the best and most common fly the devil uses—as the quotes from Fr. Faber and Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange testify. Lukewarmness can attack beginners in the spiritual life, but the most common focus is on the person that is making progress in spiritual growth. That means YOU! If you are getting better and stronger spiritually, YOU WILL BE ATTACKED!
Article 12
Wednesday November 12th
Cardinal Raises Sister from the Dead
Article 12
Wednesday November 12th
Cardinal Raises Sister from the Dead
Another Testimony from the Dead
Yesterday, we saw what a glimpse of Purgatory did for Drithelm, the man raised from the dead. It changed his whole value system. He was already living what we would call an exemplary Catholic life before he died, but he realized how woefully deficient it was. Given a second chance by God, he lived a life of total detachment from the world, immersing himself in prayer, extraordinary penances and the hardest labor.
We find something similar in the life of a Dominican nun who also happened to be the sister of a cardinal—Blessed John Baptist Tolomei. She was raised from the dead by her own brother, and she gave a testimony of the rigor of God’s judgments.
Blessed John Baptist Tolomei, whose rare virtues and the gift of miracles has placed him on our altars, had a sister, Angela Tolomei, the heroism of whose virtue has also been recognized by the Church. She fell dangerously sick, and her holy brother, by earnest prayer, begged Our Lord to cure her. Our Lord replied, as He once did to Martha, the sister of Lazarus, that He would not cure Angela, but that He would do something more. He would raise her from the dead, for the glory of God and the good of souls.
Dead and Alive
Eventually, Angela Tolomei died, recommending herself to the prayers of her holy brother. Whilst she was being carried to the tomb, Blessed John Baptist Tolomei, in obedience, no doubt, inspired by the Holy Ghost, approached the coffin, and, in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, commanded his sister to rise up from the coffin. Immediately she awoke as from a profound slumber, and returned to life.
A Change of Approach to Life
That holy soul seemed struck with terror at what she had seen after death, and related such things concerning the severity of God’s judgments as make us shudder. She commenced, at the same time, to lead a life which proved the truth of her words. Her penance was frightful.
Not content with the ordinary practices of the saints, such as fasting, watching, hair-shirts, and bloody disciplines, she went so far as to cast herself into flames, and to roll herself therein until her flesh was entirely burnt. Her macerated body became an object of pity and of horror. She was censured and accused of destroying, by her excess, the idea of true Christian penance.
She continued, nevertheless, and contented herself with replying: “If you knew the rigors of the judgments of God, you would not speak thus. What are my trifling penances compared with the torments reserved in the other life for those infidelities which we so easily permit ourselves in this world? What are they? What are they? Would that I could do a hundred times more!”
Angela Was Not Even a Great Sinner
There is no question here, as we see, of the tortures to which great sinners, who converted before death, are subjected to in Purgatory (which must be far greater), but of the chastisements which God inflicts upon a fervent Religious for the slightest faults. As we said before, our valuations of Heaven and sin are way off the mark.
Yet, when we read accounts such as these, we still don’t change our misguided sense of values! Do we need to see Purgatory for ourselves, and put our big toe or finger in the fire—like a ‘doubting Thomas’—before we will do something different in our lives? The reply to that would be much the same as the reply given to the rich man—in the Parable about poor Lazarus and the Rich Man—who had died and found himself in Hell, while Lazarus went to Heaven:
The Rich Man and Lazarus
“There was a certain beggar, named Lazarus, who lay at his gate, full of sores, desiring to be filled with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table, and no one did give him; moreover the dogs came, and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. And the rich man also died: and he was buried in Hell. And lifting up his eyes, when he was in torments, he saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom: and he cried, and said: ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, to cool my tongue―for I am tormented in this flame!’ And Abraham said to him: ‘Son, remember that you received good things in your lifetime, and likewise Lazarus evil things, but now he is comforted; and you are tormented.
“And besides all this, between us and you, there is fixed a great chasm―so that they who would like to pass from here to you, cannot, nor from there can anyone come here.’ And he said: ‘Then, father, I beseech you, that you would send him to my father’s house—for I have five brethren—so that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torments.’ And Abraham said to him: ‘They have Moses and the prophets―let them hear them!’ But he said: ‘No, father Abraham! If one went to them from the dead, they will do penance!’ And he said to him: ‘If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe, if one rise again from the dead!” (Luke 16:20-31).
We have Purgatorial sermons galore given by saints; numerous books written on Purgatory, citing cases and incidents like these—but the world does not listen nor does it want to know. They do so at their own peril. But if they could only see a miracle like this for themselves, then they would certainly change! There have been miracles galore—the problem is a lack of Faith, not a lack of miracles. As Our Lord said: “Blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed” (John 20:29) … “The Son of man, when He comes, shall He find, think you, Faith on Earth?” (Luke 18:8).
Spirit or Flesh?
Let us be strong in our Faith and follow the examples of Faith that we have seen these last two day—those of two souls resurrected from the death, Drithelm and Angela Tolomei, whose Faith was radically reformed after seeing the torments of Purgatory! As Scripture says: “Be not deceived, God is not mocked! For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that sows in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption. But he that sows in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting!” (Galatians 6:7-8).
We can well imagine that, during these recurring months of November, Heaven is trying, year after year, to light a fire in our hearts—but the wood is green and the fire won’t take hold. But if we don’t allow the Holy Ghost to enkindle in our hearts the fire of His love while we are still living on this Earth, then our charity is going to have to fired-up by the fires of Purgatory after we die. In a nutshell, we were made to burn! Either we burn the debt of sins with the fires of love in our hearts here below; or we burn for the debt of our sins in either Purgatory or Hell. God wants us to do it the least painful way—what do we want to do? It’s a simple logical case of burn now, or burn later!
St. Catherina of Genoa Burned On Earth
St. Catherine of Genoa, according to the decree of her canonization, “while still in the flesh . . . experienced the fiery love of God, a love that consumed her, cleansing and purifying all, so that once quitted this life she could appear forthwith in God’s presence. As she dwelt on this love, the condition of the souls of the faithful in Purgatory, where they are cleansed of the remaining rust and stain of sin, became clear to her. She rejoiced in her union with God in this loving Purgatory, and so did the souls in Purgatory, she realized, who have no choice but to be there, and this because of God’s just decree.”
The Burning Fire of Love
Catherine (1447-1510) lived Purgatory in this world, not symbolically, but literally. She tried to put her inner experience in words, although “tongue cannot express nor heart understand the full meaning of Purgatory, which the soul willingly accepts as a mercy.” In spite of these limitations, her insights into Purgatory, based on her continuous experience of being consumed by an inner purifying fire, are most enlightening. She has been called the “theologian of Purgatory”; and St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622), the famous bishop of Geneva, Doctor of the Church and outstanding spiritual counselor, deemed her so-called Tract on Purgatory “wonderful and very seraphic” and the product of “pure inspiration and divine enlightenment.” (Catherine herself had declared that she had “seen all this in the divine light.”) The most important points of his own doctrine on Purgatory are almost literally the same as the affirmations of St. Catherine.
The fire of Purgatory, which comprises the sufferings of the “pain of loss” and the “pain of sense,” is the fire of the love of God enkindled in the soul right after death. Then it sees itself and all its “rust of sin”—which St. Catherine specifies as “the lower self in us .. . the inclination to evil . . . the soul’s self-centeredness . . . the many hidden flaws . . . [the soul’s unpaid] debt”—in the light of God’s Presence.
You Wanna Come In? Wait!
The soul that crossed the threshold to the next life, and is “determined to sin no more,” is forgiven by God, thus freed of sin and guilt. Then “it is close to its first creation . . . [so that its] instinct of beatitude asserts itself with such impetus and fiery charity that any impediment becomes unbearable.” Instinct of beatitude! This psychic instinct, “weakened by Original Sin,” is the soul’s inborn longing for purity, for infinite happiness, for God; it is certainly the deepest and most central instinct of the human soul (although, curiously, it hardly plays a role in current academic personality psychology). The purer the soul, the more this instinct is active. But according to St. Catherine, it is definitively released at this short, solemn, and determining moment when the bodiless soul stands before God, Who has forgiven it its guilt and “tugs at it with a glance, draws it and binds it to Himself with a fiery love that by itself could annihilate the immortal soul. In so acting, God so transforms the soul in Him that it knows nothing other than God; and he continues to draw it up into His fiery love until He restores it to that pure state from which it first issued. As it is being drawn upwards, the soul feels itself melting in the fire of that love of its sweet God.”
Painful Joy—Joyful Pain
In consequence, the soul is, on the one hand, “immersed in charity, incapable of deviating from it, [and] can only will or desire pure love. There is no joy, except that in paradise, to be compared to the joy of the souls in Purgatory. This joy increases day by day because of the way the love of God corresponds to that of the soul, since the impediment of that love is worn away daily.” This is the joy of loving God and being loved by God. On the other hand, this same love is inhibited by the remaining “rust of sin” that impedes the soul to immediately attain at its bliss. Inhibited “fiery love” is the same as ardent longing, yearning, and utter thirstiness, and that means severe suffering. Here we come to St. Catherine’s explanation of the tormenting flames of Purgatory:
I Have Displeased God!
“The greatest suffering of the souls in Purgatory, it seems to me, is the awareness that something in them displeases God, that they have deliberately gone against His great goodness. ... I can also see . . . that the divine essence is so pure and light-filled—much more than we can imagine—that the soul that has but the slightest imperfection would rather throw itself into a thousand Hells than appear thus before the divine presence.” Hence “the soul ... aware that the impediment it faces cannot be removed in any other way, hurls itself into purgatory. ... That is why the soul seeks to cast off any and all impediments so that it can be lifted up to God.”
Love Purifies
The purifying force of God’s love is the essence of Purgatory. “In considering how an impediment blocks our way to God, and for what just reasons . . . [it] is impeded, the soul feels within it a fire like that of Hell, save that it has no sense of guilt.”
The paradox of Purgatory is this: in comparison with God’s love, “the suffering of Purgatory is a small matter,” and yet, “this harmony with God’s will also brings about a very great suffering. Its comprehension is beyond all words or thoughts.” And again, “The overwhelming love of God gives [the soul] a joy beyond words. Yet this joy does not do away with one bit of pain in the sufferings of the souls in Purgatory.”
Museum of Purgatory
It is this unimaginable pain caused by the fire of love and longing that is communicated by all souls from Purgatory and tangibly demonstrated in the burn marks in the Museo del Purgatorio (Purgatory Museum). “A fire like that of Hell”: in the opinion of St. Thomas, the proper fires of Purgatory and Hell are one and the same. Originally, the Jewish Gehinnom also referred to the fire of Hell and Purgatory without distinction, a tradition that is still alive in the modern Orthodox Jewish religion, along with the awareness that “all the suffering of Job would not compare to an instant in gehinnom.” (This latter idea is also taught by St. Augustine, St. Thomas, and St. Bernard).
With respect to the torment of burning, many souls from Purgatory indeed manifest themselves in flames; however, not all of them do. But it is significant that those who show themselves not visibly ablaze may still give proof of their burning in leaving some visible token of their presence. For example, a soul who appeared to the great helper of the poor souls, Mother Anna Maria Lindmayer (1657-1726), the “Saint of Munich,” blew an ice-cold breath into her face, yet upon touching the sister’s foot with a finger, it left a deep burn.
The doctrine of St. Catherine puts our perception of the frightening, to some people even macabre pieces exhibited in the Museo del Purgatorio, in a more balanced perspective. Although the sufferings that left such concrete demonstrations of the souls’ pain cannot be minimized, still they do not tell us the full tale of Purgatory. St. Catherine elucidates that their sufferings “are endurable because of two considerations. The first is their willingness to suffer, the certainty that God has been most merciful to them in the light of what they deserved ... [they] accept the ordinance of God and would not think of doing otherwise. The other consideration that sustains those souls is a certain joy that is never wanting and that, indeed, increases as they come closer to God.”
Preach the Pain—Preach the Love
Her insight is echoed by St. Francis de Sales. He often reminded his priests that they should not only draw the attention of the faithful to the pain and punishment of the souls in Purgatory but also to “their perfect love of God” and to their joy of being in the state of grace and of being sure of their arrival at the blissful vision of God.”
Nonetheless, however mitigating these positive and encouraging considerations may be, they do not prevent a close look at the grim reality of Purgatory, as revealed by the apparitions of souls and their visible imprints, from causing the emotional reaction of shivering. We may suppose, however, that apart from stirring our compassion, this normal human reaction is also calculated to arouse a whole-some fear of sin. St. Catherine herself says that she “would want to frighten people, to cry out to each and everyone: ‘O wretches who let yourselves be blinded in this world and make no provision for this one most important need [your preparation for the next world]!’ . . . His justice will not be wanting.”
Yesterday, we saw what a glimpse of Purgatory did for Drithelm, the man raised from the dead. It changed his whole value system. He was already living what we would call an exemplary Catholic life before he died, but he realized how woefully deficient it was. Given a second chance by God, he lived a life of total detachment from the world, immersing himself in prayer, extraordinary penances and the hardest labor.
We find something similar in the life of a Dominican nun who also happened to be the sister of a cardinal—Blessed John Baptist Tolomei. She was raised from the dead by her own brother, and she gave a testimony of the rigor of God’s judgments.
Blessed John Baptist Tolomei, whose rare virtues and the gift of miracles has placed him on our altars, had a sister, Angela Tolomei, the heroism of whose virtue has also been recognized by the Church. She fell dangerously sick, and her holy brother, by earnest prayer, begged Our Lord to cure her. Our Lord replied, as He once did to Martha, the sister of Lazarus, that He would not cure Angela, but that He would do something more. He would raise her from the dead, for the glory of God and the good of souls.
Dead and Alive
Eventually, Angela Tolomei died, recommending herself to the prayers of her holy brother. Whilst she was being carried to the tomb, Blessed John Baptist Tolomei, in obedience, no doubt, inspired by the Holy Ghost, approached the coffin, and, in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, commanded his sister to rise up from the coffin. Immediately she awoke as from a profound slumber, and returned to life.
A Change of Approach to Life
That holy soul seemed struck with terror at what she had seen after death, and related such things concerning the severity of God’s judgments as make us shudder. She commenced, at the same time, to lead a life which proved the truth of her words. Her penance was frightful.
Not content with the ordinary practices of the saints, such as fasting, watching, hair-shirts, and bloody disciplines, she went so far as to cast herself into flames, and to roll herself therein until her flesh was entirely burnt. Her macerated body became an object of pity and of horror. She was censured and accused of destroying, by her excess, the idea of true Christian penance.
She continued, nevertheless, and contented herself with replying: “If you knew the rigors of the judgments of God, you would not speak thus. What are my trifling penances compared with the torments reserved in the other life for those infidelities which we so easily permit ourselves in this world? What are they? What are they? Would that I could do a hundred times more!”
Angela Was Not Even a Great Sinner
There is no question here, as we see, of the tortures to which great sinners, who converted before death, are subjected to in Purgatory (which must be far greater), but of the chastisements which God inflicts upon a fervent Religious for the slightest faults. As we said before, our valuations of Heaven and sin are way off the mark.
Yet, when we read accounts such as these, we still don’t change our misguided sense of values! Do we need to see Purgatory for ourselves, and put our big toe or finger in the fire—like a ‘doubting Thomas’—before we will do something different in our lives? The reply to that would be much the same as the reply given to the rich man—in the Parable about poor Lazarus and the Rich Man—who had died and found himself in Hell, while Lazarus went to Heaven:
The Rich Man and Lazarus
“There was a certain beggar, named Lazarus, who lay at his gate, full of sores, desiring to be filled with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table, and no one did give him; moreover the dogs came, and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. And the rich man also died: and he was buried in Hell. And lifting up his eyes, when he was in torments, he saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom: and he cried, and said: ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, to cool my tongue―for I am tormented in this flame!’ And Abraham said to him: ‘Son, remember that you received good things in your lifetime, and likewise Lazarus evil things, but now he is comforted; and you are tormented.
“And besides all this, between us and you, there is fixed a great chasm―so that they who would like to pass from here to you, cannot, nor from there can anyone come here.’ And he said: ‘Then, father, I beseech you, that you would send him to my father’s house—for I have five brethren—so that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torments.’ And Abraham said to him: ‘They have Moses and the prophets―let them hear them!’ But he said: ‘No, father Abraham! If one went to them from the dead, they will do penance!’ And he said to him: ‘If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe, if one rise again from the dead!” (Luke 16:20-31).
We have Purgatorial sermons galore given by saints; numerous books written on Purgatory, citing cases and incidents like these—but the world does not listen nor does it want to know. They do so at their own peril. But if they could only see a miracle like this for themselves, then they would certainly change! There have been miracles galore—the problem is a lack of Faith, not a lack of miracles. As Our Lord said: “Blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed” (John 20:29) … “The Son of man, when He comes, shall He find, think you, Faith on Earth?” (Luke 18:8).
Spirit or Flesh?
Let us be strong in our Faith and follow the examples of Faith that we have seen these last two day—those of two souls resurrected from the death, Drithelm and Angela Tolomei, whose Faith was radically reformed after seeing the torments of Purgatory! As Scripture says: “Be not deceived, God is not mocked! For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that sows in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption. But he that sows in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting!” (Galatians 6:7-8).
We can well imagine that, during these recurring months of November, Heaven is trying, year after year, to light a fire in our hearts—but the wood is green and the fire won’t take hold. But if we don’t allow the Holy Ghost to enkindle in our hearts the fire of His love while we are still living on this Earth, then our charity is going to have to fired-up by the fires of Purgatory after we die. In a nutshell, we were made to burn! Either we burn the debt of sins with the fires of love in our hearts here below; or we burn for the debt of our sins in either Purgatory or Hell. God wants us to do it the least painful way—what do we want to do? It’s a simple logical case of burn now, or burn later!
St. Catherina of Genoa Burned On Earth
St. Catherine of Genoa, according to the decree of her canonization, “while still in the flesh . . . experienced the fiery love of God, a love that consumed her, cleansing and purifying all, so that once quitted this life she could appear forthwith in God’s presence. As she dwelt on this love, the condition of the souls of the faithful in Purgatory, where they are cleansed of the remaining rust and stain of sin, became clear to her. She rejoiced in her union with God in this loving Purgatory, and so did the souls in Purgatory, she realized, who have no choice but to be there, and this because of God’s just decree.”
The Burning Fire of Love
Catherine (1447-1510) lived Purgatory in this world, not symbolically, but literally. She tried to put her inner experience in words, although “tongue cannot express nor heart understand the full meaning of Purgatory, which the soul willingly accepts as a mercy.” In spite of these limitations, her insights into Purgatory, based on her continuous experience of being consumed by an inner purifying fire, are most enlightening. She has been called the “theologian of Purgatory”; and St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622), the famous bishop of Geneva, Doctor of the Church and outstanding spiritual counselor, deemed her so-called Tract on Purgatory “wonderful and very seraphic” and the product of “pure inspiration and divine enlightenment.” (Catherine herself had declared that she had “seen all this in the divine light.”) The most important points of his own doctrine on Purgatory are almost literally the same as the affirmations of St. Catherine.
The fire of Purgatory, which comprises the sufferings of the “pain of loss” and the “pain of sense,” is the fire of the love of God enkindled in the soul right after death. Then it sees itself and all its “rust of sin”—which St. Catherine specifies as “the lower self in us .. . the inclination to evil . . . the soul’s self-centeredness . . . the many hidden flaws . . . [the soul’s unpaid] debt”—in the light of God’s Presence.
You Wanna Come In? Wait!
The soul that crossed the threshold to the next life, and is “determined to sin no more,” is forgiven by God, thus freed of sin and guilt. Then “it is close to its first creation . . . [so that its] instinct of beatitude asserts itself with such impetus and fiery charity that any impediment becomes unbearable.” Instinct of beatitude! This psychic instinct, “weakened by Original Sin,” is the soul’s inborn longing for purity, for infinite happiness, for God; it is certainly the deepest and most central instinct of the human soul (although, curiously, it hardly plays a role in current academic personality psychology). The purer the soul, the more this instinct is active. But according to St. Catherine, it is definitively released at this short, solemn, and determining moment when the bodiless soul stands before God, Who has forgiven it its guilt and “tugs at it with a glance, draws it and binds it to Himself with a fiery love that by itself could annihilate the immortal soul. In so acting, God so transforms the soul in Him that it knows nothing other than God; and he continues to draw it up into His fiery love until He restores it to that pure state from which it first issued. As it is being drawn upwards, the soul feels itself melting in the fire of that love of its sweet God.”
Painful Joy—Joyful Pain
In consequence, the soul is, on the one hand, “immersed in charity, incapable of deviating from it, [and] can only will or desire pure love. There is no joy, except that in paradise, to be compared to the joy of the souls in Purgatory. This joy increases day by day because of the way the love of God corresponds to that of the soul, since the impediment of that love is worn away daily.” This is the joy of loving God and being loved by God. On the other hand, this same love is inhibited by the remaining “rust of sin” that impedes the soul to immediately attain at its bliss. Inhibited “fiery love” is the same as ardent longing, yearning, and utter thirstiness, and that means severe suffering. Here we come to St. Catherine’s explanation of the tormenting flames of Purgatory:
I Have Displeased God!
“The greatest suffering of the souls in Purgatory, it seems to me, is the awareness that something in them displeases God, that they have deliberately gone against His great goodness. ... I can also see . . . that the divine essence is so pure and light-filled—much more than we can imagine—that the soul that has but the slightest imperfection would rather throw itself into a thousand Hells than appear thus before the divine presence.” Hence “the soul ... aware that the impediment it faces cannot be removed in any other way, hurls itself into purgatory. ... That is why the soul seeks to cast off any and all impediments so that it can be lifted up to God.”
Love Purifies
The purifying force of God’s love is the essence of Purgatory. “In considering how an impediment blocks our way to God, and for what just reasons . . . [it] is impeded, the soul feels within it a fire like that of Hell, save that it has no sense of guilt.”
The paradox of Purgatory is this: in comparison with God’s love, “the suffering of Purgatory is a small matter,” and yet, “this harmony with God’s will also brings about a very great suffering. Its comprehension is beyond all words or thoughts.” And again, “The overwhelming love of God gives [the soul] a joy beyond words. Yet this joy does not do away with one bit of pain in the sufferings of the souls in Purgatory.”
Museum of Purgatory
It is this unimaginable pain caused by the fire of love and longing that is communicated by all souls from Purgatory and tangibly demonstrated in the burn marks in the Museo del Purgatorio (Purgatory Museum). “A fire like that of Hell”: in the opinion of St. Thomas, the proper fires of Purgatory and Hell are one and the same. Originally, the Jewish Gehinnom also referred to the fire of Hell and Purgatory without distinction, a tradition that is still alive in the modern Orthodox Jewish religion, along with the awareness that “all the suffering of Job would not compare to an instant in gehinnom.” (This latter idea is also taught by St. Augustine, St. Thomas, and St. Bernard).
With respect to the torment of burning, many souls from Purgatory indeed manifest themselves in flames; however, not all of them do. But it is significant that those who show themselves not visibly ablaze may still give proof of their burning in leaving some visible token of their presence. For example, a soul who appeared to the great helper of the poor souls, Mother Anna Maria Lindmayer (1657-1726), the “Saint of Munich,” blew an ice-cold breath into her face, yet upon touching the sister’s foot with a finger, it left a deep burn.
The doctrine of St. Catherine puts our perception of the frightening, to some people even macabre pieces exhibited in the Museo del Purgatorio, in a more balanced perspective. Although the sufferings that left such concrete demonstrations of the souls’ pain cannot be minimized, still they do not tell us the full tale of Purgatory. St. Catherine elucidates that their sufferings “are endurable because of two considerations. The first is their willingness to suffer, the certainty that God has been most merciful to them in the light of what they deserved ... [they] accept the ordinance of God and would not think of doing otherwise. The other consideration that sustains those souls is a certain joy that is never wanting and that, indeed, increases as they come closer to God.”
Preach the Pain—Preach the Love
Her insight is echoed by St. Francis de Sales. He often reminded his priests that they should not only draw the attention of the faithful to the pain and punishment of the souls in Purgatory but also to “their perfect love of God” and to their joy of being in the state of grace and of being sure of their arrival at the blissful vision of God.”
Nonetheless, however mitigating these positive and encouraging considerations may be, they do not prevent a close look at the grim reality of Purgatory, as revealed by the apparitions of souls and their visible imprints, from causing the emotional reaction of shivering. We may suppose, however, that apart from stirring our compassion, this normal human reaction is also calculated to arouse a whole-some fear of sin. St. Catherine herself says that she “would want to frighten people, to cry out to each and everyone: ‘O wretches who let yourselves be blinded in this world and make no provision for this one most important need [your preparation for the next world]!’ . . . His justice will not be wanting.”
Article 11
Tuesday November 11th
Dead Man Comes Back to Life and Scares His Wife!
What a Loss!! What a Pain!!
According to common doctrine, the chief pain in Purgatory is the delay of the beatific vision. This delay is sometimes called “a temporary pain of loss” ― meaning the loss of God for a longer or shorter time. But, in the proper and strict sense, the “pain of loss” is eternal, and hence found only in Hell.
These two pains of loss differ immensely in rigor, in duration, and in consequences. The damned have lost hope and charity; they blaspheme without ceasing; they have a will that is obstinately rooted in evil; they will never repent; they desire universal damnation in a spiteful way. The souls in Purgatory have assured hope and unlosable charity; they love God; they adore divine justice; they are confirmed in good; they repent profoundly; they love all God’s children.
This delay of the beatific vision in Purgatory differs notably from that which existed in Limbo before the death of Our Lord. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and the prophets, saw in this delay a punishment inflicted, not, properly speaking, on their person, but on human nature not yet perfectly regenerated. The time for deliverance by Christ the Redeemer had not yet arrived. This time has now arrived. Therefore the delay in Purgatory is truly a suffering, the chief of purgatorial sufferings.
Suffering in Purgatory and Suffering on Earth
Suffering in Purgatory is greater than all suffering on Earth. Such is the doctrine of tradition, supported by theological reasoning. Tradition is expressed by St. Augustine: “That fire will be more painful than anything man can suffer in the present life.” St. Isidore speaks in the same sense. According to these testimonies and others similar to them, the least pain in Purgatory surpasses the greatest sufferings of the present life.
St. Bonaventure says: “In the next life, by reason of the state of the souls there retained, the purifying purgatorial suffering will be, in its kind, more severe than the greatest trials on Earth.” What he means is that for one and the same sin, the smallest suffering in Purgatory is greater than any corresponding suffering on Earth. But it does not follow that the least pain in Purgatory surpasses the greatest terrestrial suffering. On this point St. Bonaventure is followed by St. Robert Bellarmine. According to Bellarmine, being deprived of the vision of God is without doubt a very great suffering, but it is sweetened and consoled by the assured hope of once possessing Him. From this hope there arises an incredible joy, which grows in measure as the soul approaches the end of its exile.
Many theologians, especially Suarez, rightly remark that the sufferings in Purgatory, especially the delay of the beatific vision, are of a higher order than our earthly sufferings, and, in this sense, we may say that the smallest suffering in Purgatory is more severe than the greatest suffering on Earth. The joy they have in the hope of deliverance cannot diminish the suffering they feel in being deprived of the beatific vision. We see this truth in Jesus crucified: the supreme beatitude, His love of God and of souls, far from diminishing His pains, augmented them.
St. Catherine of Genoa says: “Souls in Purgatory unite great joy with great suffering. One does not diminish the other.” She continues: “No peace is comparable to that of the souls in Purgatory, except that of the saints in Heaven. On the other hand, the souls in Purgatory endure torments which no tongue can describe and no intelligence comprehend, without special revelation.” As we recall, St. Catherine of Genoa experienced on Earth the pains of Purgatory.
Tough and Kind—Severe and Loving
This testimony of tradition is illustrated by the character of great saints. While they are more severe than ordinary preachers, they also have much greater love of God and souls. They show forth, not only the justice of God, but also His boundless love. A good Christian illustrates the same truth. A Christian mother, for instance, is severe, in order to correct her children, but the element that predominates is sweetness and maternal goodness. Today, on the contrary, it often happens that many parents lack both severity and love. Those persons who do not undergo Purgatory on Earth, will have it later on at a much more severe and painful level. Nor must we make too sharp a distinction between sanctification and salvation. If we neglect sanctification, we may miss salvation itself.
Isn’t God Going Overboard with Purgatory?
Many souls are in Purgatory who have sinned only venially. Can punishment so severe be proportioned to venial sins? St. Thomas replies: “Pain corresponds less to the gravity of the sin than to the disposition of the suffering soul. One and the same sin is punished more severely in Purgatory than it is on Earth. To illustrate. A man of delicate constitution suffers a scourging far more than a hardy man.”
Why is one and the same sin punished more rigorously in Purgatory than on Earth? The Church speaks of the two comings of Christ—His first coming was in mercy, His second coming will be in justice. While we live on Earth, we live in the time of mercy—yet we have to be honest, confess our sins, change our lives and do penance to profit from this “time of mercy.” In this merciful period we are able to pay for sins—not at their true value, but at a vastly reduced rate.
If we neglect, put-off, or refuse to pay now at a reduced rate― then we will have to pay what is just when Christ comes the second time to judge us upon our death. While we are in this life, we have a weak understanding of the majesty and purity of God, and so we make light of sin. But when we die, the light of God will illuminate our minds and the separated soul will know much better than it did before, that God is the one thing necessary and that sin is the greatest evil there is.
Suffering for Sin Grows with Love of God
The more saintly a soul is, the more it loves God, the more it desires to see God and the more it suffers at being delayed in that desire. Pain corresponds to desire. Souls in Purgatory, desiring the beatific vision, suffer from its delay, just as on Earth the saints desire to die and to be with God. This normal consequence of intense love. But this great pain is compensated by their greater abandonment to Providence and their greater love of Divine justice.
Suffering for sin grows with love of God. The reason you don’t feel the gravity of your past sins is that you only have a small love of God. Likewise the reason you complain, when Divine Providence makes you suffer for your past sins, is your small love of God. The more we love, then the more we weep over having offended the object of our love—God. The more we love, the more we want to make reparation and so the more we are prepared to suffer. We see this reflected somewhat in the chilling story of Drithelm, a good Christian who died and was resurrected to live out his Purgatory on Earth.
The Life of Drithelm
Fr. Schouppe writes:
If the pain of loss makes but a feeble impression upon us, it is far different with the pain of sense; the torment of fire, the torture of a sharp and intense cold, affrights our sensibility. This is why Divine Mercy, wishing to excite a holy fear in our souls, speaks but little of the pain of loss, but we are continually shown the fire, the cold, and other torments, which constitute the pain of sense. This is what we see in the Gospel, and in particular revelations, by which God is pleased to manifest to His servants from time to time the mysteries of the other life.
St. Robert Bellarmine and St. Bede testify…
Let us mention one of these revelations. In the first place, let us see what the pious and learned Cardinal St. Robert Bellarmine quotes from the Venerable St. Bede. England has been witness in our own days, writes St. Bede, to a singular prodigy, which may be compared to the miracles of the first ages of the Church. To excite the living to fear the death of the soul, God permitted that a man, after having slept the sleep of death, should return to life and reveal what he had seen in the other world. The frightful, unheard-of details which he relates, and his life of extraordinary penance, which corresponded with his words, produced a lively impression throughout the country. I will now resume the principal circumstances of this history.
Drithelm was a Good Christian
There was in Northumberland, England, a man named Drithelm, who, with his family, led a most Christian life. He fell sick, and his malady increasing day by day, he was soon reduced to extremity, and died, to the great desolation and grief of his wife and children.
The latter passed the night in tears by the remains, but the following day, before his interment, they saw him suddenly return to life, arise, and place himself in a sitting posture. At this sight they were seized with such fear that they all took to flight, with the exception of the wife, who, trembling, remained alone with her risen husband.
He reassured her immediately: “Fear not,” he said; “it is God who restores to me my life; He wishes to show in my person a man raised from the dead. I have yet long to live upon Earth, but my new life will be very different from the one I led before.”
Resurrected and Penitent
Then he arose full of health, went straight to the chapel or church of the place, and there remained long in prayer. He returned home only to take leave of those who had been dear to him upon Earth, to whom he declared that he would live only to prepare himself for death, and advised them to do likewise. Then, having divided his property into three parts, he gave one to his children, another to his wife, and reserved the third part to give in alms.
When he had distributed all to the poor, and had reduced himself to extreme poverty, he went and knocked at the door of a monastery, and begged the Abbot to receive him as a penitent Religious, who would be a servant to all the others.
Unbelievable Penances
The Abbot gave him a retired cell, which he occupied for the rest of his life. Three exercises divided his time prayer, the hardest labor, and extraordinary penances. The most rigorous fasts he accounted as nothing. In winter he was seen to plunge himself into freezing water, and remain there for hours and hours in prayer, whilst he recited the whole 150 psalms from the Psalter of David.
The mortified life of Drithelm, his downcast eyes, even his features, indicated a soul struck with fear of the judgments of God. He kept a perpetual silence, but on being pressed to relate, for the edification of others, what God had manifested to him after his death, he thus described his vision:
Drithelm Tells of His Vision
“On leaving my body, I was received by a benevolent person, who took me under his guidance. His face was brilliant, and he appeared surrounded with light. He arrived at a large deep valley of immense extent, all fire on one side, all ice and snow on the other; on the one hand braziers and caldrons of flame, on the other the most intense cold and the blast of a glacial wind.
“This mysterious valley was filled with innumerable souls, which, tossed as by a furious tempest, threw themselves from one side to the other. When they could no longer endure the violence of the fire, they sought relief amidst the ice and snow; but finding only a new torture, they cast themselves again into the midst of the flames.
“I contemplated in a stupor these continual changing circumstances of horrible torments, and, as far as my sight could extend, I saw nothing but a multitude of souls which suffered without ever having repose. Their very aspect inspired me with fear. I thought at first that I saw Hell―but my guide, who walked before me, turned to me and said, ‘No; this is not, as you think, the Hell of the reprobate. Do you know, he continued, what place this is?’ ‘No,’ I answered. ‘Know,’ he resumed, ‘that this valley, where you see so much fire and so much ice, is the place where the souls of those are punished who, during life, have neglected to confess their sins, and who have deferred their conversion to the end. Thanks to a special mercy of God, they have had the happiness of sincerely repenting before death, of confessing and detesting their sins. This is why they are not damned, and on the great Day of Judgment will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Several of them will obtain their deliverance before that time, by the merits of prayers, alms, and fasts, offered in their favor by the living, and especially in virtue of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered for their relief.’”
Such was the recital of Drithelm. When asked why he so rudely treated his body, why he plunged himself into frozen water, he replied that he had seen other torments, and cold of another kind.
If his brethren expressed astonishment that he could endure these extraordinary austerities, “I have seen,” said he, “penances still more astonishing!” To the day when it pleased God to call him to Himself, he ceased not to afflict his body, and although broken down with age, he would accept no alleviation.
Drithelm’s Life Produced Many Conversions
This event produced a deep sensation in England; a great number of sinners, touched by the words of Drithelm, and struck by the austerity of his life, became sincerely converted.
This fact, adds St. Robert Bellarmine, appears to me of incontestable truth, since, besides being conformable to the words of Holy Scripture: “Let him pass from the snow waters to excessive heat” (Job 29:19), the Venerable St. Bede relates it as a recent and well-known event. More than this, it was followed by the conversion of a great number of sinners, the sign of the work of God, who is accustomed to work prodigies in order to produce fruit in souls.
A Question of Penance
We are sinners and sinners must do penance! “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves!” (1 John 1:8). “I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance!” (Luke 5:32). “Do penance! For the kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:2). “Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of penance!” (Matthew 3:8). “Then began He to upbraid the cities wherein were done the most of His miracles, for that they had not done penance!” (Matthew 11:20). “I say to you― unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3).
Questions To Ask Yourself
(1) Do I REALLY WANT to change my life? This is a crucial question! Before performing some of His miracles, Our Lord would sometimes ask: “If you WANT!” We have to WANT to do something first before we DO it.
And then there are degrees of HOW MUCH we want something. We see this in the words of Our Lord to the young man who had many possessions. The young man WANTED to go to Heaven, but he also WANTED TO DO THE MINIMUM to get there. To his question on what he had to DO to get there, Our Lord said: “If you WANT to enter into life, keep the commandments!” (Matthew 19:17).
But then Our Lord tries to encourage him from merely doing the MINIMUM into doing the MAXIMUM, in other words to increase his desire, to increase his want. “Jesus said to him: ‘If you WANT to be perfect, go sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in Heaven: and then come follow Me!’ And when the young man had heard these words, he went away sad―for he had great possessions.” (Matthew 19:21-22).
(2) Do I WANT to give myself entirely to God, Jesus and Mary? Do I REALLY WANT to give myself to them? Or am I attached to myself and the world so much, that what I am REALLY WANTING is to both save my soul, yet still remain attached to myself and things of this life?
This is the case with most people! They are primarily concerned about themselves and the world, they want dual-citizenship! They want to be ‘good’ citizens of the world, and ‘good’ citizens of Heaven.
Yet Our Lord said: “No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say to you, be not solicitous for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than the meat: and the body more than the clothing?” (Matthew 6:24-25).
(3) We all know the saying: “He who desires the end, must necessarily desire the means to that end!” We know that is true in theory, just like we know we cannot serve God and mammon in theory; but, in practice, are we seeking to do the opposite?
Like most of the world, WE WANT THINGS FOR FREE! We want to get to Heaven; we want to avoid Hell; we want to save our souls—but we don’t want to do ALL that it takes to get there! We want a discount; we want a reduced fare; we want a ‘freebie’ if at all possible!
This is what the young man with many possessions wanted, and he could not bring himself round to sacrificing what Jesus asked for! It says in the Gospel that Jesus LOVED him! He must have sensed Jesus’ love in some way; yet he preferred his petty possessions (creatures) to Jesus (the Creator).
Sadly, most of us are the same. We may even ask the same question as Jesus’ followers asked, who had witnessed the encounter with the rich young man: “The disciples wondered very much, saying: ‘Who then can be saved?’” (Matthew 19:25). Jesus replied: “With men this is impossible: but with God all things are possible!” (Matthew 19:28).
So, the good news is that IF WE NO LONGER WANT TO BE LIKE THAT; IF WE WANT TO CHANGE, even though we may FEEL powerless to change, then Jesus, through His Holy Mother, will bring about that miracle of grace within you. You have to WANT and you have to ASK! The grace will then come to help you DO, not without any pain, but it will help you with the pain too!
Make Resolutions
(1) I will not be discouraged by what I may see in examining myself and my surroundings. Discouragement comes from the devil, not from God. Discouragement is the devil’s chief weapon of paralysis.
(2) I will realize that without God I can do nothing — “Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5) — yet with the help of God, anything and everything is possible — “With God all things are possible!” (Matthew 19:28).
(3) So even though I may FEEL that I don’t want to change, or if I may FEEL that I am not able to change, I will nevertheless ASK TO CHANGE, knowing that Our Lady of Fatima said that we can obtain all things through the Rosary. However, our Rosaries need to IMPROVE; we need to PRAY the Rosary more and SAY it less; we need to put more ATTENTION and more FERVOR into our Rosaries, remembering the words of St. Louis de Montfort, who says:
“In order to pray well, it is not enough to give expression to our petitions by means of that most excellent of all prayers, the Rosary, but we must also pray with great attention, for God listens more to the voice of the heart than that of the mouth. To be guilty of willful distractions during prayer would show a great lack of respect and reverence; it would make our Rosaries unfruitful and make us guilty of sin” (The Secret of the Rosary, “Forty-Second Rose”).
According to common doctrine, the chief pain in Purgatory is the delay of the beatific vision. This delay is sometimes called “a temporary pain of loss” ― meaning the loss of God for a longer or shorter time. But, in the proper and strict sense, the “pain of loss” is eternal, and hence found only in Hell.
These two pains of loss differ immensely in rigor, in duration, and in consequences. The damned have lost hope and charity; they blaspheme without ceasing; they have a will that is obstinately rooted in evil; they will never repent; they desire universal damnation in a spiteful way. The souls in Purgatory have assured hope and unlosable charity; they love God; they adore divine justice; they are confirmed in good; they repent profoundly; they love all God’s children.
This delay of the beatific vision in Purgatory differs notably from that which existed in Limbo before the death of Our Lord. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and the prophets, saw in this delay a punishment inflicted, not, properly speaking, on their person, but on human nature not yet perfectly regenerated. The time for deliverance by Christ the Redeemer had not yet arrived. This time has now arrived. Therefore the delay in Purgatory is truly a suffering, the chief of purgatorial sufferings.
Suffering in Purgatory and Suffering on Earth
Suffering in Purgatory is greater than all suffering on Earth. Such is the doctrine of tradition, supported by theological reasoning. Tradition is expressed by St. Augustine: “That fire will be more painful than anything man can suffer in the present life.” St. Isidore speaks in the same sense. According to these testimonies and others similar to them, the least pain in Purgatory surpasses the greatest sufferings of the present life.
St. Bonaventure says: “In the next life, by reason of the state of the souls there retained, the purifying purgatorial suffering will be, in its kind, more severe than the greatest trials on Earth.” What he means is that for one and the same sin, the smallest suffering in Purgatory is greater than any corresponding suffering on Earth. But it does not follow that the least pain in Purgatory surpasses the greatest terrestrial suffering. On this point St. Bonaventure is followed by St. Robert Bellarmine. According to Bellarmine, being deprived of the vision of God is without doubt a very great suffering, but it is sweetened and consoled by the assured hope of once possessing Him. From this hope there arises an incredible joy, which grows in measure as the soul approaches the end of its exile.
Many theologians, especially Suarez, rightly remark that the sufferings in Purgatory, especially the delay of the beatific vision, are of a higher order than our earthly sufferings, and, in this sense, we may say that the smallest suffering in Purgatory is more severe than the greatest suffering on Earth. The joy they have in the hope of deliverance cannot diminish the suffering they feel in being deprived of the beatific vision. We see this truth in Jesus crucified: the supreme beatitude, His love of God and of souls, far from diminishing His pains, augmented them.
St. Catherine of Genoa says: “Souls in Purgatory unite great joy with great suffering. One does not diminish the other.” She continues: “No peace is comparable to that of the souls in Purgatory, except that of the saints in Heaven. On the other hand, the souls in Purgatory endure torments which no tongue can describe and no intelligence comprehend, without special revelation.” As we recall, St. Catherine of Genoa experienced on Earth the pains of Purgatory.
Tough and Kind—Severe and Loving
This testimony of tradition is illustrated by the character of great saints. While they are more severe than ordinary preachers, they also have much greater love of God and souls. They show forth, not only the justice of God, but also His boundless love. A good Christian illustrates the same truth. A Christian mother, for instance, is severe, in order to correct her children, but the element that predominates is sweetness and maternal goodness. Today, on the contrary, it often happens that many parents lack both severity and love. Those persons who do not undergo Purgatory on Earth, will have it later on at a much more severe and painful level. Nor must we make too sharp a distinction between sanctification and salvation. If we neglect sanctification, we may miss salvation itself.
Isn’t God Going Overboard with Purgatory?
Many souls are in Purgatory who have sinned only venially. Can punishment so severe be proportioned to venial sins? St. Thomas replies: “Pain corresponds less to the gravity of the sin than to the disposition of the suffering soul. One and the same sin is punished more severely in Purgatory than it is on Earth. To illustrate. A man of delicate constitution suffers a scourging far more than a hardy man.”
Why is one and the same sin punished more rigorously in Purgatory than on Earth? The Church speaks of the two comings of Christ—His first coming was in mercy, His second coming will be in justice. While we live on Earth, we live in the time of mercy—yet we have to be honest, confess our sins, change our lives and do penance to profit from this “time of mercy.” In this merciful period we are able to pay for sins—not at their true value, but at a vastly reduced rate.
If we neglect, put-off, or refuse to pay now at a reduced rate― then we will have to pay what is just when Christ comes the second time to judge us upon our death. While we are in this life, we have a weak understanding of the majesty and purity of God, and so we make light of sin. But when we die, the light of God will illuminate our minds and the separated soul will know much better than it did before, that God is the one thing necessary and that sin is the greatest evil there is.
Suffering for Sin Grows with Love of God
The more saintly a soul is, the more it loves God, the more it desires to see God and the more it suffers at being delayed in that desire. Pain corresponds to desire. Souls in Purgatory, desiring the beatific vision, suffer from its delay, just as on Earth the saints desire to die and to be with God. This normal consequence of intense love. But this great pain is compensated by their greater abandonment to Providence and their greater love of Divine justice.
Suffering for sin grows with love of God. The reason you don’t feel the gravity of your past sins is that you only have a small love of God. Likewise the reason you complain, when Divine Providence makes you suffer for your past sins, is your small love of God. The more we love, then the more we weep over having offended the object of our love—God. The more we love, the more we want to make reparation and so the more we are prepared to suffer. We see this reflected somewhat in the chilling story of Drithelm, a good Christian who died and was resurrected to live out his Purgatory on Earth.
The Life of Drithelm
Fr. Schouppe writes:
If the pain of loss makes but a feeble impression upon us, it is far different with the pain of sense; the torment of fire, the torture of a sharp and intense cold, affrights our sensibility. This is why Divine Mercy, wishing to excite a holy fear in our souls, speaks but little of the pain of loss, but we are continually shown the fire, the cold, and other torments, which constitute the pain of sense. This is what we see in the Gospel, and in particular revelations, by which God is pleased to manifest to His servants from time to time the mysteries of the other life.
St. Robert Bellarmine and St. Bede testify…
Let us mention one of these revelations. In the first place, let us see what the pious and learned Cardinal St. Robert Bellarmine quotes from the Venerable St. Bede. England has been witness in our own days, writes St. Bede, to a singular prodigy, which may be compared to the miracles of the first ages of the Church. To excite the living to fear the death of the soul, God permitted that a man, after having slept the sleep of death, should return to life and reveal what he had seen in the other world. The frightful, unheard-of details which he relates, and his life of extraordinary penance, which corresponded with his words, produced a lively impression throughout the country. I will now resume the principal circumstances of this history.
Drithelm was a Good Christian
There was in Northumberland, England, a man named Drithelm, who, with his family, led a most Christian life. He fell sick, and his malady increasing day by day, he was soon reduced to extremity, and died, to the great desolation and grief of his wife and children.
The latter passed the night in tears by the remains, but the following day, before his interment, they saw him suddenly return to life, arise, and place himself in a sitting posture. At this sight they were seized with such fear that they all took to flight, with the exception of the wife, who, trembling, remained alone with her risen husband.
He reassured her immediately: “Fear not,” he said; “it is God who restores to me my life; He wishes to show in my person a man raised from the dead. I have yet long to live upon Earth, but my new life will be very different from the one I led before.”
Resurrected and Penitent
Then he arose full of health, went straight to the chapel or church of the place, and there remained long in prayer. He returned home only to take leave of those who had been dear to him upon Earth, to whom he declared that he would live only to prepare himself for death, and advised them to do likewise. Then, having divided his property into three parts, he gave one to his children, another to his wife, and reserved the third part to give in alms.
When he had distributed all to the poor, and had reduced himself to extreme poverty, he went and knocked at the door of a monastery, and begged the Abbot to receive him as a penitent Religious, who would be a servant to all the others.
Unbelievable Penances
The Abbot gave him a retired cell, which he occupied for the rest of his life. Three exercises divided his time prayer, the hardest labor, and extraordinary penances. The most rigorous fasts he accounted as nothing. In winter he was seen to plunge himself into freezing water, and remain there for hours and hours in prayer, whilst he recited the whole 150 psalms from the Psalter of David.
The mortified life of Drithelm, his downcast eyes, even his features, indicated a soul struck with fear of the judgments of God. He kept a perpetual silence, but on being pressed to relate, for the edification of others, what God had manifested to him after his death, he thus described his vision:
Drithelm Tells of His Vision
“On leaving my body, I was received by a benevolent person, who took me under his guidance. His face was brilliant, and he appeared surrounded with light. He arrived at a large deep valley of immense extent, all fire on one side, all ice and snow on the other; on the one hand braziers and caldrons of flame, on the other the most intense cold and the blast of a glacial wind.
“This mysterious valley was filled with innumerable souls, which, tossed as by a furious tempest, threw themselves from one side to the other. When they could no longer endure the violence of the fire, they sought relief amidst the ice and snow; but finding only a new torture, they cast themselves again into the midst of the flames.
“I contemplated in a stupor these continual changing circumstances of horrible torments, and, as far as my sight could extend, I saw nothing but a multitude of souls which suffered without ever having repose. Their very aspect inspired me with fear. I thought at first that I saw Hell―but my guide, who walked before me, turned to me and said, ‘No; this is not, as you think, the Hell of the reprobate. Do you know, he continued, what place this is?’ ‘No,’ I answered. ‘Know,’ he resumed, ‘that this valley, where you see so much fire and so much ice, is the place where the souls of those are punished who, during life, have neglected to confess their sins, and who have deferred their conversion to the end. Thanks to a special mercy of God, they have had the happiness of sincerely repenting before death, of confessing and detesting their sins. This is why they are not damned, and on the great Day of Judgment will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Several of them will obtain their deliverance before that time, by the merits of prayers, alms, and fasts, offered in their favor by the living, and especially in virtue of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered for their relief.’”
Such was the recital of Drithelm. When asked why he so rudely treated his body, why he plunged himself into frozen water, he replied that he had seen other torments, and cold of another kind.
If his brethren expressed astonishment that he could endure these extraordinary austerities, “I have seen,” said he, “penances still more astonishing!” To the day when it pleased God to call him to Himself, he ceased not to afflict his body, and although broken down with age, he would accept no alleviation.
Drithelm’s Life Produced Many Conversions
This event produced a deep sensation in England; a great number of sinners, touched by the words of Drithelm, and struck by the austerity of his life, became sincerely converted.
This fact, adds St. Robert Bellarmine, appears to me of incontestable truth, since, besides being conformable to the words of Holy Scripture: “Let him pass from the snow waters to excessive heat” (Job 29:19), the Venerable St. Bede relates it as a recent and well-known event. More than this, it was followed by the conversion of a great number of sinners, the sign of the work of God, who is accustomed to work prodigies in order to produce fruit in souls.
A Question of Penance
We are sinners and sinners must do penance! “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves!” (1 John 1:8). “I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance!” (Luke 5:32). “Do penance! For the kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:2). “Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of penance!” (Matthew 3:8). “Then began He to upbraid the cities wherein were done the most of His miracles, for that they had not done penance!” (Matthew 11:20). “I say to you― unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3).
Questions To Ask Yourself
(1) Do I REALLY WANT to change my life? This is a crucial question! Before performing some of His miracles, Our Lord would sometimes ask: “If you WANT!” We have to WANT to do something first before we DO it.
And then there are degrees of HOW MUCH we want something. We see this in the words of Our Lord to the young man who had many possessions. The young man WANTED to go to Heaven, but he also WANTED TO DO THE MINIMUM to get there. To his question on what he had to DO to get there, Our Lord said: “If you WANT to enter into life, keep the commandments!” (Matthew 19:17).
But then Our Lord tries to encourage him from merely doing the MINIMUM into doing the MAXIMUM, in other words to increase his desire, to increase his want. “Jesus said to him: ‘If you WANT to be perfect, go sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in Heaven: and then come follow Me!’ And when the young man had heard these words, he went away sad―for he had great possessions.” (Matthew 19:21-22).
(2) Do I WANT to give myself entirely to God, Jesus and Mary? Do I REALLY WANT to give myself to them? Or am I attached to myself and the world so much, that what I am REALLY WANTING is to both save my soul, yet still remain attached to myself and things of this life?
This is the case with most people! They are primarily concerned about themselves and the world, they want dual-citizenship! They want to be ‘good’ citizens of the world, and ‘good’ citizens of Heaven.
Yet Our Lord said: “No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say to you, be not solicitous for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than the meat: and the body more than the clothing?” (Matthew 6:24-25).
(3) We all know the saying: “He who desires the end, must necessarily desire the means to that end!” We know that is true in theory, just like we know we cannot serve God and mammon in theory; but, in practice, are we seeking to do the opposite?
Like most of the world, WE WANT THINGS FOR FREE! We want to get to Heaven; we want to avoid Hell; we want to save our souls—but we don’t want to do ALL that it takes to get there! We want a discount; we want a reduced fare; we want a ‘freebie’ if at all possible!
This is what the young man with many possessions wanted, and he could not bring himself round to sacrificing what Jesus asked for! It says in the Gospel that Jesus LOVED him! He must have sensed Jesus’ love in some way; yet he preferred his petty possessions (creatures) to Jesus (the Creator).
Sadly, most of us are the same. We may even ask the same question as Jesus’ followers asked, who had witnessed the encounter with the rich young man: “The disciples wondered very much, saying: ‘Who then can be saved?’” (Matthew 19:25). Jesus replied: “With men this is impossible: but with God all things are possible!” (Matthew 19:28).
So, the good news is that IF WE NO LONGER WANT TO BE LIKE THAT; IF WE WANT TO CHANGE, even though we may FEEL powerless to change, then Jesus, through His Holy Mother, will bring about that miracle of grace within you. You have to WANT and you have to ASK! The grace will then come to help you DO, not without any pain, but it will help you with the pain too!
Make Resolutions
(1) I will not be discouraged by what I may see in examining myself and my surroundings. Discouragement comes from the devil, not from God. Discouragement is the devil’s chief weapon of paralysis.
(2) I will realize that without God I can do nothing — “Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5) — yet with the help of God, anything and everything is possible — “With God all things are possible!” (Matthew 19:28).
(3) So even though I may FEEL that I don’t want to change, or if I may FEEL that I am not able to change, I will nevertheless ASK TO CHANGE, knowing that Our Lady of Fatima said that we can obtain all things through the Rosary. However, our Rosaries need to IMPROVE; we need to PRAY the Rosary more and SAY it less; we need to put more ATTENTION and more FERVOR into our Rosaries, remembering the words of St. Louis de Montfort, who says:
“In order to pray well, it is not enough to give expression to our petitions by means of that most excellent of all prayers, the Rosary, but we must also pray with great attention, for God listens more to the voice of the heart than that of the mouth. To be guilty of willful distractions during prayer would show a great lack of respect and reverence; it would make our Rosaries unfruitful and make us guilty of sin” (The Secret of the Rosary, “Forty-Second Rose”).
Article 10
Monday November 10th
Nero Fiddled While Rome Burned!
Rome Burns
In July of 64 A.D., a great fire ravaged Rome For six days and seven nights the citizens of ancient Rome watched helplessly as their city burned. The Great Fire spread quickly and savagely, destroying 70% of the city. “Of Rome’s 14 districts, only four remained intact. Three were leveled to the ground. The other seven were reduced to a few scorched and mangled ruins,” writes a contemporary Roman historian, Tacitus. Of the approximate one million-person population, an estimated half was made newly homeless by the fire.
As is usually seen in such mass tragedies, rumors began to wind through the devastated streets. Reports emerged that some men seen fanning the flames claimed they were under orders. As a result of the tremendous losses, the Roman people, feeling the effects of paranoia, looked for someone who might be responsible for the fire. They blamed their emperor—Nero.
Nero Fiddles While Rome Burns
Some rumors speculated that Nero himself had set the fire, others that he had ordered it. Seeing as Nero, after the fire, rebuilt Rome in a new style more to his liking, especially after he used land cleared by the fire to build his Golden Palace and its surrounding pleasure gardens, some believed he used the fire as an excuse for new construction. But perhaps the most interesting rumor that emerged from the Great Fire. According to a well-known expression, the decadent and unpopular Nero, “fiddled while Rome burned.” The expression has a double meaning: Not only did Nero play music while his people suffered, but he was an ineffectual leader in a time of crisis. When the Great Fire broke out, Nero was at his villa at Antium, some 35 miles from Rome. Though he immediately returned and began relief measures, people still didn’t trust him.
In the face of such charges, Nero searched for a scapegoat for the fire. He chose the Christians and persecuted them ruthlessly, torturing and executing them in hideous ways. Despite this public spectacle, Nero still found himself blamed for the fire.
Obsessed with Music
The idea that Nero fiddled while Rome burned is odd. But a mad tyrant who preferred to play music rather than offer succor to his people isn’t unbelievable, and Nero was unquestionably cruel. However, music historians believe the viol class of instruments (an earlier ancestor of the fiddle) was not developed until the 11th century, with the fiddle coming along much later. If Nero played anything, it would probably have been the cithara, a heavy wooden instrument with four to seven strings—but there is still no solid evidence that he played one during the Great Fire. The Roman historian Tacitus wrote that Nero was rumored to have sung about the destruction of Troy, while watching the city burn―maybe he sang and accompanied himself on the cithara; however, he stated clearly that this was unconfirmed by eyewitness accounts. Roman historians record that Nero had a real passion for the cithara. In conquered lands, Nero coordinated festivals that featured musical competitions on such dates that he could attend and compete in them all. Nero is said to have been very emotionally wrapped-up with these competitions. Nero’s interest in these musical competitions apparently bothered some of his rivals in the Senate, who found the idea of the emperor competing side by side with common musicians unseemly.
Roman Candles
The story that Nero played the fiddle while Rome burned conjures up images of the emperor, dramatically backlit by the flames from the burning city, alone, calmly playing his fiddle while his people cried out in suffering. This most certainly was his attitude as he enjoyed watching the Christians that he had arrested, slowly burning to death attached to posts in his pleasure gardens and coated with tar, so that they would burn better—hence the grotesque title to the firework, “Roman Candle” which is what those poor Christians were—live human candles! His persecution of the early Christians was the first the religion would endure, and it resulted in the martyrdom of the apostles Peter and Paul, both of whom were executed during the persecutions.
Brutal Life, Brutal Death
The emperor has a well-documented history of brutality. He ascended to the throne after his mother killed his uncle; Nero later had her killed. In the face of blame for the Great Fire, he chose to look for scapegoats and found them in the Christians. Ultimately, the Great Fire helped bring Nero down. Discontent with his reign, his infantries threatened mutiny, and he was declared a public enemy by the Senate. Facing execution, Nero pushed a dagger into his throat and took his life four years after the fire.
Parallels with Purgatory
What is the point of this pagan historical account of Rome burning? Well, there are perhaps more parallels than one would first imagine. Of course, each one may draw something different and there may be many, many spiritual parallels to be found in this event and the ‘key players’ in the tragedy. We will look at a few to try a spark you and fire you up, so that you can draw your own analogies from the event.
Catholic Rome Burns
There are increasing numbers today who believe that Rome is beginning to burn down—metaphorically speaking! The Church has become increasingly worldly, with the fire of worldliness raging through the Church at an alarmingly increasing rate—not all the wood has caught fire, but much of it has and a lot it is burnt to ashes. Could we say that 70% of Rome (a.k.a. the Catholic Church throughout the world) has been destroyed? Perhaps so, with all the church closings and sales that have increased in the last 50 years; the constantly plummeting Mass attendance numbers; the falling numbers of Catholic births and baptisms; the massive loss of vocations over the last half-century, etc. Yes, perhaps 70% of the Church is destroyed as was Rome in 64 A.D. A passion for the world, rather than God, burns brightly and rages vehemently in the hearts of most Catholics today.
Half the Population Homeless
This is closely linked to what was said in the previous paragraph. Heaven is supposed to be our home and the Faith is the key to Heaven’s Gates, yet “many are called, but few chosen” (Matthew 20:16). Many have been given the key to the gates at their Baptism, but have since thrown that key away. Our Lady says: “There will be many who will not believe! … Many souls will be deprived of innumerable graces they need to make that great leap from time to eternity! … Several religious institutions will lose all Faith and will lose many souls! ... Many will let themselves be led astray, because they have not worshiped the true Christ! … There are so many souls whom the justice of God condemns for sins committed against me! … Many souls go to Hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and pray for them! … The thought of the loss of so many souls is the cause of my sadness!” (Our Lady at Quito, La Salette, Fatima & Akita). These words of our heavenly Mother merely reinforce the words of her Son: “The Son of man, when He comes, shall He find, think you, Faith on Earth?” (Luke 18:8). “Many men are called merciful―but who shall find a faithful man?” (Proverbs 20:6).
Ever-increasing numbers of Catholics are becoming ‘homeless’—they have made this world their home and know little or care little for their true home, Heaven. What are we doing for the ‘homeless’? Are fiddling while Rome burns? Are we too preoccupied with our personal slice of the pie of the world to care or do something for those that are ‘homeless’? We might be tempted to think or say those fateful words of Cain: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9). The answer is found in Our Lord parable of the Sheep and the Goats: “Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was a homeless, and you took Me not in! … Amen I say to you, as long as you did it not to one of these least of my brethren, neither did you do it to Me!” (Matthew 25:41-43). Souls fall into Hell daily while the Catholic world fiddles with the world; souls burn daily in Purgatory while the Catholic world ignores them as it burns with a love of the world! We fiddle, souls burn!
Corruption of Nero and the Romans
Sister Lucia wrote to a priest nephew of hers, Fr. Jose Valinho: “I see by your letter that you are disturbed by the confusion of our time. It is sad indeed that so many persons let themselves be dominated by the diabolical wave which is sweeping the world and that they are blinded to the point of being incapable of seeing error!”
Which is more or less what Our Lady foretold at La Salette: “Lucifer, together with a large number of demons, will be unloosed from Hell; they will put an end to Faith little by little, even in those dedicated to God. They will blind them in such a way, that … several religious institutions will lose all Faith and will lose many souls! ... Several will abandon the Faith, and a great number of priests and members of religious orders will break away from the true religion; among these people there will even be bishops! ... Evil books will be abundant on Earth and the spirits of darkness will spread everywhere a universal slackening of all that concerns the service of God!” Going back even further in time, we see Our Lady of Good Success foretelling similar things: “The demon will try to persecute the Ministers of the Lord in every possible way and he will labor with cruel and subtle astuteness to deviate them from the spirit of their vocation, corrupting many of them! … Many priests will lose their spirit, placing their souls in great danger! … Many hearts consecrated to God in the priestly and religious state will fall into lukewarmness!”
Much like Nero and the many among the Roman populous: “The priests, ministers of my Son, the priests, by their wicked lives, by their irreverence and their impiety in the celebration of the Holy Mysteries, by their love of money, their love of honors and pleasures, the priests have become cesspools of impurity!” (La Salette). As the spiritual writers all state, impurity dulls and blinds the mind in relation to the things of God. Our Lord shows this by speaking of the reverse side of the coin: “Blessed are the clean of heart―for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8).
“It Will Begin At The Top”
Because the Church becomes besotted by worldliness, sensuality and pleasure--”May those in charge of religious communities be on their guard against the people they receive, for the devil will resort to all his evil tricks to introduce sinners into religious orders, for disorder and the love of carnal pleasures will be spread all over the Earth” (La Salette). “Every type of vice will enter, calling down in turn every type of chastisement, such as plagues, famines, internal fighting and external disputes with other nations, and apostasy, the cause of the perdition of so many souls” (Our Lady of Good Success). The final outcome of all this? “Rome will lose the Faith” (Our Lady of La Salette). Which is borne out by the recent comments of Cardinal Ciappi, in a personal communication to a Professor Baumgartner in Salzburg, Austria. Cardinal Ciappi was the Papal Theologian of Pope John Paul II, said: “In the Third Secret, it is foretold, among other things, that the great apostasy in the Church will begin at the top.” The recent divisions over morality amongst the bishops and cardinals at the Synods in Rome in recent years, are a frightening indication of this burning of Rome!
Nero’s Persecution
The world has no problem with the following Scripture verse: “This world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4), but many Catholics do not have a problem with the enemy of God! “Let’s be friends” they say, “after all, our religion is one of love!” Which is what the world loves to hear as it ‘sweet-talks’ so many Catholics out of the Faith. These so-called Catholics not only bury the talent of the Faith that God has given them, but they also bury any uncompromising quotes like: “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world! If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him!” (1 John 2:15) or “No man can serve two masters! You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:24).
Those whom the world cannot ‘sweet-talk’ into accepting a new gospel, they will no longer ‘sweet-talk’ but persecute and even put to death! They “will preach another Gospel contrary to that of the true Christ Jesus … All the civil governments will have one and the same plan, which will be to abolish and do away with every religious principle, to make way for materialism, atheism, spiritualism and vice of all kinds ... The righteous will suffer greatly ... The good will be martyred … There will be desecration of holy places … Churches will be locked up or desecrated ... Churches and altars sacked. The Church will be full of those who accept compromises and the demon will press many priests and consecrated souls to leave the service of the Lord ...The demon will be especially implacable against souls consecrated to God ... The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops. The priests who venerate me will be scorned and opposed by their confreres … Priests and religious orders will be hunted down, and made to die a cruel death … The thought of the loss of so many souls is the cause of my sadness. If sins increase in number and gravity, there will be no longer pardon for them” (La Salette, Fatima, Akita).
A Divided City Falls
Our Lady, in several of her recent apparitions (La Salette and Akita especially) seems to speak of a division in the Church—something which is borne out by other revelations made to the mystics. Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, in her vision of May 13th, 1820, says : “I saw how harmful would be the consequences of this false church. I saw it increase in size; heretics of every kind came into the city (of Rome). The local clergy grew lukewarm, and I saw a great darkness … Then the vision seemed to extend on every side. Whole Catholic communities were being oppressed, harassed, confined, and deprived of their freedom. I saw many churches closed down, great miseries everywhere, wars and bloodshed. A wild and ignorant mob took violent action.”
Fiddling While Souls Burn
“You have seen Hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved” (Our Lady of Fatima, July 13th, 1917). Whether it is keeping souls out of the fires of Hell, or rescuing souls from the fires of Purgatory—the fire must be fought. That is the whole point and purpose of Our Lord’s coming: “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10) and He wants our help in this matter! If we are caught up with the world or ourselves, then we will not hear His voice or will deaden His voice. Too many fiddle while souls burn!
The Price of Not Helping
“For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap” (Galatians 6:8). Or as Scripture says: “With what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again” (Matthew 7:2). The moderns would say: “You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours!” Neglect to help the souls in Purgatory will result in our not being helped when we find ourselves there. Of this we have several proofs, taken from the Life of St. Margaret Mary. “I learned from Sister Margaret,” says Mother Greffier in her Memoirs, “that she one day prayed for two persons of high rank in the world who had just died. She saw them both in Purgatory. The one was condemned for several years to those sufferings, notwithstanding the great number of Masses which were celebrated for her. All those prayers and suffrages were, by Divine Justice, applied to the souls belonging to some of the families of her subjects [instead of her], which had been ruined by their injustice and lack of charity. As nothing was left to those poor people to enable them to have prayers offered for them after their death, God compensated these poor people in the manner we have related” [by taking the Masses offered for those two persons of high rank and applying them to members of their families].
Everyone Owns a Spiritual Treasure Chest
Indulgences are, in the Church, a true spiritual treasure laid open to all the faithful; from which all are allowed to take what they need—for themselves or for others, to pay their own debts and those of others. It was under this figure that God was one day pleased to show them to Blessed Mary of Quito (May 26th). One day, when in ecstasy, she saw in the midst of a large space an immense table covered with heaps of silver, gold, rubies, pearls, and diamonds, and at the same time she heard a voice saying, “These riches are public property; each one may approach and take as much as he pleases.” God made known to her that this was a symbol of indulgences (Fr. Rossignoli, Merveilles 29). We may say, with the author of the Merveilles, how culpable we are if, in such abundance, we ourselves remain poor and destitute and neglect to assist others. The souls in Purgatory are in such extreme necessity, they would beg us with tears in the midst of their torments; and we have the means of paying their debts by indulgences, and we make no or little attempt to do so. Their fire rages and we try put it out with what is equivalent to a glass of water!!
Oh, it’s so hard!
Does access to this treasury demand painful efforts on our parts, such as fasts, pilgrimages, and deprivation that is insupportable to our human nature? “Even though such were the case,” says Fr. Segneri, “we should submit to them.” Do we not see how men, for love of gold, in order to preserve a work of art, to save a part of their fortune or some precious possessions, expose themselves to the flames of a fire? Should we not do at least as much to save from the fires of Purgatory—which are, as Aquinas says, the same as the fires of Hell—those poor souls ransomed by the Blood of Jesus Christ? God’s divine goodness asks nothing so painful: it requires only such works as are ordinary and easy as having a Mass offered for the soul, praying some Rosaries, some Holy Communions, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, the giving of an alms. And we neglect to acquire the most precious treasures by such easy means, and have no desire to apply them to our poor family, relatives and friends suffering in the flames of Purgatory.
Examples
In Fr. Schouppe’s book he speaks of Thomas of Cantimpre and an incident that happened in his own family. The grandmother of Thomas had lost a son in whom she had centered her fondest hopes. Day and night she wept for him and refused all consolation. In the excess of her grief she forgot the great duty of Christian love, and did not think of praying for that soul so dear to her. The unfortunate object of this barren tenderness languished amid the flames of Purgatory, receiving no alleviation in his sufferings. Finally God took pity on him. One day, whilst plunged in the depths of her grief, this woman had a miraculous vision. She saw on a beautiful road a procession of young men, as graceful as angels, advancing full of joy towards a magnificent city. She understood that they were souls from Purgatory making their triumphal entry into Heaven. She looked eagerly to see if among their ranks she could not discover her son. Alas! The child was not there; but she perceived him approaching far behind the others, sad, suffering, and fatigued, his garments drenched with water. “Oh, dear object of my grief,” she cried out to him, “how is it that you remain behind that brilliant band? I should wish to see you at the head of your companions.” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
“Mother,” replied the child in a plaintive tone, “it is you, it is these tears which you shed over me that moisten and soil my garments, and retard my entrance into the glory of Heaven. Cease to abandon yourself to a blind and useless grief. Open your heart to more Christian sentiments. If you truly love me, relieve me in my sufferings; apply some indulgences to me, say prayers, give alms, obtain for me the fruits of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. It is by this means that you will prove your love; for by so doing you will deliver me from prison where languish, and bring me forth to eternal life, which is far more desirable than the life terrestrial which you have given me.” Then the vision disappeared, and that mother, thus admonished and brought back to true Christian sentiments, instead of giving way to immoderate grief, applied to the practice of every good work which could give relief to the soul of her son. (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
The great causes of this forgetfulness, this indifference, guilty neglect, and injustice towards the dead, is lack of Faith. For do we not see that true Christians, those animated by a spirit of Faith, make the most noble sacrifices in behalf of their departed friends? Descending in spirit into those penal flames, there contemplating the rigors of Divine Justice, listening to the voice of the dead who implore their compassion, they think only how to give relief to those poor souls, and consider it their most sacred duty to procure for their parents and departed friends all the suffrages possible, according to their means and condition. Happy are those Christians; they show their Faith by their works; they are merciful, and in their turn they shall obtain mercy. (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
The Power of Almsgiving
The Angelic Doctor, St. Thomas, gives the preference to alms before fasting and prayer, when there is a question of expiating past faults. “Almsgiving,” he says,”possesses more completely the virtue of satisfaction than prayer, and prayer more completely than fasting.” This is why the great servants of God and the great saints have chosen it as a principal means of assisting the dead. Amongst them we may mention as one of the most remarkable the holy Abbot Raban-Maur (February 4th), first Abbot of Fulda, in the tenth century, and afterwards Archbishop of Mayence. (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
Father Trithemius, a well-known writer of the Order of St. Benedict, caused abundant alms to be distributed for the dead. He had established a rule that whenever a Religious died, his portion of food should be distributed among the poor for thirty days, that the soul of the deceased might be relieved by the alms. It happened in the year 830 that the monastery of Fulda was attacked by a contagious disease, which carried off a large number of the Religious. Raban-Maur, full of zeal and charity for their souls, called Edelard, the Procurator of the monastery, and reminded him of the rule established regarding the alms for the departed. “Take great care,” said he, “that our constitutions be faithfully observed, and that the poor be fed for a whole month with the food destined for the brethren we have lost.” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
Edelard failed both in obedience and charity. Under pretext that such liberality was extravagant, and that he must economize the resources of the monastery, but in reality because he was influenced by a secret avarice, he neglected to distribute the food, or did so in a manner far short of the command he had received. God did not leave this disobedience unpunished. (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
A month elapsed, when one evening, after the community had retired, he walked across the chapter-room with a lamp in his hand. What was his astonishment when, at an hour that the room should be unoccupied, he found there a great number of Religious. His astonishment turned into fear when, looking at them attentively, he recognized the Religious lately deceased. Terror seized him, an icy coldness ran through his veins and riveted him to the spot like a lifeless statue. Then, one of the dead brothers addressed him with terrible reproaches.”Unfortunate creature,” said he, “why didst thou not distribute the alms which were destined to give relief to the souls of thy departed brethren? Why hast thou deprived us of that assistance amid the torments of Purgatory. Receive, from this moment, the punishment of thy avarice; another and more terrible chastisement is reserved for thee, when, after three days, thou shall appear before thy God.” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
At these words Edelard fell as though struck by a thunderbolt, and remained immovable until after midnight, at the hour when the community went to choir. There they found him half-dead, in the same condition as was Heliodorus of old, after he had been scourged by the angels in the temple of Jerusalem (2 Machabees 3). He was carried to the infirmary, where all possible care was lavished upon him, so that he recovered consciousness. As soon as he was able to speak, in the presence of the Abbot and of all his brethren, he related with tears the terrible occurence to which his sad condition but too evidently bore witness. Then adding that he was to die within three; days, he asked for the last Sacraments, with all signs of humble repentance. He received them with sentiments of piety, and three days later expired, assisted by the prayers of his brethren. (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
Mass for the dead was immediately sung, and his share of food was distributed to the poor, for the benefit of his soul. Meanwhile, his punishment was not at an end. Edelard appeared to Abbot Raban, pale and disfigured. Touched with compassion, Raban inquired what he could do for him. “Ah!” replied the unfortunate soul, “nowithstanding the prayers of our holy community, I cannot obtain the grace of my deliverance until all my brethren, whom my avarice defrauded of the suffrages due to them, have been released. That which has been given to the poor for me has been of no profit but to them, and this by order of Divine Justice. I entreat you, therefore, O venerated and merciful Father, redouble your alms. I hope that by these powerful means Divine clemency will vouchsafe to deliver us all, my brethren first, and afterwards myself, who am the least deserving of mercy.” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
Raban-Maur increased his alms, and scarcely had another month elapsed, when Edelard again appeared; but clad in white, surrounded with rays of light and his countenance beaming with joy. He thanked, in the most touching manner, his Abbot and all the members of the monastery for the charity exercised towards him (Vie de Raban-Maur; Rossignoli, Merveilles, 2). (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
Hard Hearted Scrooges
What instruction does not this history contain! In the first place, the virtue of almsgiving for the dead shines forth in a most striking manner. Then we see how God chastises, even in this life, those who through avarice fear not to deprive the dead of their suffrages. I speak not here of those heirs who render themselves culpable, by neglecting to make the endowments which devolve upon them by last will and testament of their deceased relatives, a negligence which constitutes a sacrilegious injustice; but of those children or relatives who, through miserable motives of interest, have as few Masses as possible celebrated, are sparing in the distribution of alms, having no pity for the souls of their departed relatives, which they leave to languish in the horrible torments of Purgatory. It is the blackest ingratitude, a hardness of heart entirely opposed to Christian charity, and which will meet its punishment perhaps even in this world. (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
Gold in Your Pocket or Purse
“The Most Holy Virgin, in these last times in which we live, has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary, to such an extent, that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or, above all, spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families, of the families of the world, or of the religious communities, or even of the life of peoples and nations, that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary. With the Holy Rosary, we will save ourselves, we will sanctify ourselves, we will console Our Lord and obtain the salvation of many souls” (Sr. Lucia).
Fiddling While Others Burn
So let us not neglect to use that powerful weapon, let us not fiddle with the world when we can be fiddling with our Rosaries. The more we fiddle with our Rosaries for the souls in Purgatory, the more God will have others fiddle with their Rosaries when it is our turn to burn there! That’s the kind of fiddling we like and want. In fact we hope that there will be thousands fiddling while we burn—fiddling with their Rosaries in compassion, and not fiddling on their fiddles in joy! Let us pray!
In July of 64 A.D., a great fire ravaged Rome For six days and seven nights the citizens of ancient Rome watched helplessly as their city burned. The Great Fire spread quickly and savagely, destroying 70% of the city. “Of Rome’s 14 districts, only four remained intact. Three were leveled to the ground. The other seven were reduced to a few scorched and mangled ruins,” writes a contemporary Roman historian, Tacitus. Of the approximate one million-person population, an estimated half was made newly homeless by the fire.
As is usually seen in such mass tragedies, rumors began to wind through the devastated streets. Reports emerged that some men seen fanning the flames claimed they were under orders. As a result of the tremendous losses, the Roman people, feeling the effects of paranoia, looked for someone who might be responsible for the fire. They blamed their emperor—Nero.
Nero Fiddles While Rome Burns
Some rumors speculated that Nero himself had set the fire, others that he had ordered it. Seeing as Nero, after the fire, rebuilt Rome in a new style more to his liking, especially after he used land cleared by the fire to build his Golden Palace and its surrounding pleasure gardens, some believed he used the fire as an excuse for new construction. But perhaps the most interesting rumor that emerged from the Great Fire. According to a well-known expression, the decadent and unpopular Nero, “fiddled while Rome burned.” The expression has a double meaning: Not only did Nero play music while his people suffered, but he was an ineffectual leader in a time of crisis. When the Great Fire broke out, Nero was at his villa at Antium, some 35 miles from Rome. Though he immediately returned and began relief measures, people still didn’t trust him.
In the face of such charges, Nero searched for a scapegoat for the fire. He chose the Christians and persecuted them ruthlessly, torturing and executing them in hideous ways. Despite this public spectacle, Nero still found himself blamed for the fire.
Obsessed with Music
The idea that Nero fiddled while Rome burned is odd. But a mad tyrant who preferred to play music rather than offer succor to his people isn’t unbelievable, and Nero was unquestionably cruel. However, music historians believe the viol class of instruments (an earlier ancestor of the fiddle) was not developed until the 11th century, with the fiddle coming along much later. If Nero played anything, it would probably have been the cithara, a heavy wooden instrument with four to seven strings—but there is still no solid evidence that he played one during the Great Fire. The Roman historian Tacitus wrote that Nero was rumored to have sung about the destruction of Troy, while watching the city burn―maybe he sang and accompanied himself on the cithara; however, he stated clearly that this was unconfirmed by eyewitness accounts. Roman historians record that Nero had a real passion for the cithara. In conquered lands, Nero coordinated festivals that featured musical competitions on such dates that he could attend and compete in them all. Nero is said to have been very emotionally wrapped-up with these competitions. Nero’s interest in these musical competitions apparently bothered some of his rivals in the Senate, who found the idea of the emperor competing side by side with common musicians unseemly.
Roman Candles
The story that Nero played the fiddle while Rome burned conjures up images of the emperor, dramatically backlit by the flames from the burning city, alone, calmly playing his fiddle while his people cried out in suffering. This most certainly was his attitude as he enjoyed watching the Christians that he had arrested, slowly burning to death attached to posts in his pleasure gardens and coated with tar, so that they would burn better—hence the grotesque title to the firework, “Roman Candle” which is what those poor Christians were—live human candles! His persecution of the early Christians was the first the religion would endure, and it resulted in the martyrdom of the apostles Peter and Paul, both of whom were executed during the persecutions.
Brutal Life, Brutal Death
The emperor has a well-documented history of brutality. He ascended to the throne after his mother killed his uncle; Nero later had her killed. In the face of blame for the Great Fire, he chose to look for scapegoats and found them in the Christians. Ultimately, the Great Fire helped bring Nero down. Discontent with his reign, his infantries threatened mutiny, and he was declared a public enemy by the Senate. Facing execution, Nero pushed a dagger into his throat and took his life four years after the fire.
Parallels with Purgatory
What is the point of this pagan historical account of Rome burning? Well, there are perhaps more parallels than one would first imagine. Of course, each one may draw something different and there may be many, many spiritual parallels to be found in this event and the ‘key players’ in the tragedy. We will look at a few to try a spark you and fire you up, so that you can draw your own analogies from the event.
Catholic Rome Burns
There are increasing numbers today who believe that Rome is beginning to burn down—metaphorically speaking! The Church has become increasingly worldly, with the fire of worldliness raging through the Church at an alarmingly increasing rate—not all the wood has caught fire, but much of it has and a lot it is burnt to ashes. Could we say that 70% of Rome (a.k.a. the Catholic Church throughout the world) has been destroyed? Perhaps so, with all the church closings and sales that have increased in the last 50 years; the constantly plummeting Mass attendance numbers; the falling numbers of Catholic births and baptisms; the massive loss of vocations over the last half-century, etc. Yes, perhaps 70% of the Church is destroyed as was Rome in 64 A.D. A passion for the world, rather than God, burns brightly and rages vehemently in the hearts of most Catholics today.
Half the Population Homeless
This is closely linked to what was said in the previous paragraph. Heaven is supposed to be our home and the Faith is the key to Heaven’s Gates, yet “many are called, but few chosen” (Matthew 20:16). Many have been given the key to the gates at their Baptism, but have since thrown that key away. Our Lady says: “There will be many who will not believe! … Many souls will be deprived of innumerable graces they need to make that great leap from time to eternity! … Several religious institutions will lose all Faith and will lose many souls! ... Many will let themselves be led astray, because they have not worshiped the true Christ! … There are so many souls whom the justice of God condemns for sins committed against me! … Many souls go to Hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and pray for them! … The thought of the loss of so many souls is the cause of my sadness!” (Our Lady at Quito, La Salette, Fatima & Akita). These words of our heavenly Mother merely reinforce the words of her Son: “The Son of man, when He comes, shall He find, think you, Faith on Earth?” (Luke 18:8). “Many men are called merciful―but who shall find a faithful man?” (Proverbs 20:6).
Ever-increasing numbers of Catholics are becoming ‘homeless’—they have made this world their home and know little or care little for their true home, Heaven. What are we doing for the ‘homeless’? Are fiddling while Rome burns? Are we too preoccupied with our personal slice of the pie of the world to care or do something for those that are ‘homeless’? We might be tempted to think or say those fateful words of Cain: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9). The answer is found in Our Lord parable of the Sheep and the Goats: “Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was a homeless, and you took Me not in! … Amen I say to you, as long as you did it not to one of these least of my brethren, neither did you do it to Me!” (Matthew 25:41-43). Souls fall into Hell daily while the Catholic world fiddles with the world; souls burn daily in Purgatory while the Catholic world ignores them as it burns with a love of the world! We fiddle, souls burn!
Corruption of Nero and the Romans
Sister Lucia wrote to a priest nephew of hers, Fr. Jose Valinho: “I see by your letter that you are disturbed by the confusion of our time. It is sad indeed that so many persons let themselves be dominated by the diabolical wave which is sweeping the world and that they are blinded to the point of being incapable of seeing error!”
Which is more or less what Our Lady foretold at La Salette: “Lucifer, together with a large number of demons, will be unloosed from Hell; they will put an end to Faith little by little, even in those dedicated to God. They will blind them in such a way, that … several religious institutions will lose all Faith and will lose many souls! ... Several will abandon the Faith, and a great number of priests and members of religious orders will break away from the true religion; among these people there will even be bishops! ... Evil books will be abundant on Earth and the spirits of darkness will spread everywhere a universal slackening of all that concerns the service of God!” Going back even further in time, we see Our Lady of Good Success foretelling similar things: “The demon will try to persecute the Ministers of the Lord in every possible way and he will labor with cruel and subtle astuteness to deviate them from the spirit of their vocation, corrupting many of them! … Many priests will lose their spirit, placing their souls in great danger! … Many hearts consecrated to God in the priestly and religious state will fall into lukewarmness!”
Much like Nero and the many among the Roman populous: “The priests, ministers of my Son, the priests, by their wicked lives, by their irreverence and their impiety in the celebration of the Holy Mysteries, by their love of money, their love of honors and pleasures, the priests have become cesspools of impurity!” (La Salette). As the spiritual writers all state, impurity dulls and blinds the mind in relation to the things of God. Our Lord shows this by speaking of the reverse side of the coin: “Blessed are the clean of heart―for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8).
“It Will Begin At The Top”
Because the Church becomes besotted by worldliness, sensuality and pleasure--”May those in charge of religious communities be on their guard against the people they receive, for the devil will resort to all his evil tricks to introduce sinners into religious orders, for disorder and the love of carnal pleasures will be spread all over the Earth” (La Salette). “Every type of vice will enter, calling down in turn every type of chastisement, such as plagues, famines, internal fighting and external disputes with other nations, and apostasy, the cause of the perdition of so many souls” (Our Lady of Good Success). The final outcome of all this? “Rome will lose the Faith” (Our Lady of La Salette). Which is borne out by the recent comments of Cardinal Ciappi, in a personal communication to a Professor Baumgartner in Salzburg, Austria. Cardinal Ciappi was the Papal Theologian of Pope John Paul II, said: “In the Third Secret, it is foretold, among other things, that the great apostasy in the Church will begin at the top.” The recent divisions over morality amongst the bishops and cardinals at the Synods in Rome in recent years, are a frightening indication of this burning of Rome!
Nero’s Persecution
The world has no problem with the following Scripture verse: “This world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4), but many Catholics do not have a problem with the enemy of God! “Let’s be friends” they say, “after all, our religion is one of love!” Which is what the world loves to hear as it ‘sweet-talks’ so many Catholics out of the Faith. These so-called Catholics not only bury the talent of the Faith that God has given them, but they also bury any uncompromising quotes like: “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world! If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him!” (1 John 2:15) or “No man can serve two masters! You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:24).
Those whom the world cannot ‘sweet-talk’ into accepting a new gospel, they will no longer ‘sweet-talk’ but persecute and even put to death! They “will preach another Gospel contrary to that of the true Christ Jesus … All the civil governments will have one and the same plan, which will be to abolish and do away with every religious principle, to make way for materialism, atheism, spiritualism and vice of all kinds ... The righteous will suffer greatly ... The good will be martyred … There will be desecration of holy places … Churches will be locked up or desecrated ... Churches and altars sacked. The Church will be full of those who accept compromises and the demon will press many priests and consecrated souls to leave the service of the Lord ...The demon will be especially implacable against souls consecrated to God ... The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops. The priests who venerate me will be scorned and opposed by their confreres … Priests and religious orders will be hunted down, and made to die a cruel death … The thought of the loss of so many souls is the cause of my sadness. If sins increase in number and gravity, there will be no longer pardon for them” (La Salette, Fatima, Akita).
A Divided City Falls
Our Lady, in several of her recent apparitions (La Salette and Akita especially) seems to speak of a division in the Church—something which is borne out by other revelations made to the mystics. Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, in her vision of May 13th, 1820, says : “I saw how harmful would be the consequences of this false church. I saw it increase in size; heretics of every kind came into the city (of Rome). The local clergy grew lukewarm, and I saw a great darkness … Then the vision seemed to extend on every side. Whole Catholic communities were being oppressed, harassed, confined, and deprived of their freedom. I saw many churches closed down, great miseries everywhere, wars and bloodshed. A wild and ignorant mob took violent action.”
Fiddling While Souls Burn
“You have seen Hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved” (Our Lady of Fatima, July 13th, 1917). Whether it is keeping souls out of the fires of Hell, or rescuing souls from the fires of Purgatory—the fire must be fought. That is the whole point and purpose of Our Lord’s coming: “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10) and He wants our help in this matter! If we are caught up with the world or ourselves, then we will not hear His voice or will deaden His voice. Too many fiddle while souls burn!
The Price of Not Helping
“For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap” (Galatians 6:8). Or as Scripture says: “With what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again” (Matthew 7:2). The moderns would say: “You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours!” Neglect to help the souls in Purgatory will result in our not being helped when we find ourselves there. Of this we have several proofs, taken from the Life of St. Margaret Mary. “I learned from Sister Margaret,” says Mother Greffier in her Memoirs, “that she one day prayed for two persons of high rank in the world who had just died. She saw them both in Purgatory. The one was condemned for several years to those sufferings, notwithstanding the great number of Masses which were celebrated for her. All those prayers and suffrages were, by Divine Justice, applied to the souls belonging to some of the families of her subjects [instead of her], which had been ruined by their injustice and lack of charity. As nothing was left to those poor people to enable them to have prayers offered for them after their death, God compensated these poor people in the manner we have related” [by taking the Masses offered for those two persons of high rank and applying them to members of their families].
Everyone Owns a Spiritual Treasure Chest
Indulgences are, in the Church, a true spiritual treasure laid open to all the faithful; from which all are allowed to take what they need—for themselves or for others, to pay their own debts and those of others. It was under this figure that God was one day pleased to show them to Blessed Mary of Quito (May 26th). One day, when in ecstasy, she saw in the midst of a large space an immense table covered with heaps of silver, gold, rubies, pearls, and diamonds, and at the same time she heard a voice saying, “These riches are public property; each one may approach and take as much as he pleases.” God made known to her that this was a symbol of indulgences (Fr. Rossignoli, Merveilles 29). We may say, with the author of the Merveilles, how culpable we are if, in such abundance, we ourselves remain poor and destitute and neglect to assist others. The souls in Purgatory are in such extreme necessity, they would beg us with tears in the midst of their torments; and we have the means of paying their debts by indulgences, and we make no or little attempt to do so. Their fire rages and we try put it out with what is equivalent to a glass of water!!
Oh, it’s so hard!
Does access to this treasury demand painful efforts on our parts, such as fasts, pilgrimages, and deprivation that is insupportable to our human nature? “Even though such were the case,” says Fr. Segneri, “we should submit to them.” Do we not see how men, for love of gold, in order to preserve a work of art, to save a part of their fortune or some precious possessions, expose themselves to the flames of a fire? Should we not do at least as much to save from the fires of Purgatory—which are, as Aquinas says, the same as the fires of Hell—those poor souls ransomed by the Blood of Jesus Christ? God’s divine goodness asks nothing so painful: it requires only such works as are ordinary and easy as having a Mass offered for the soul, praying some Rosaries, some Holy Communions, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, the giving of an alms. And we neglect to acquire the most precious treasures by such easy means, and have no desire to apply them to our poor family, relatives and friends suffering in the flames of Purgatory.
Examples
In Fr. Schouppe’s book he speaks of Thomas of Cantimpre and an incident that happened in his own family. The grandmother of Thomas had lost a son in whom she had centered her fondest hopes. Day and night she wept for him and refused all consolation. In the excess of her grief she forgot the great duty of Christian love, and did not think of praying for that soul so dear to her. The unfortunate object of this barren tenderness languished amid the flames of Purgatory, receiving no alleviation in his sufferings. Finally God took pity on him. One day, whilst plunged in the depths of her grief, this woman had a miraculous vision. She saw on a beautiful road a procession of young men, as graceful as angels, advancing full of joy towards a magnificent city. She understood that they were souls from Purgatory making their triumphal entry into Heaven. She looked eagerly to see if among their ranks she could not discover her son. Alas! The child was not there; but she perceived him approaching far behind the others, sad, suffering, and fatigued, his garments drenched with water. “Oh, dear object of my grief,” she cried out to him, “how is it that you remain behind that brilliant band? I should wish to see you at the head of your companions.” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
“Mother,” replied the child in a plaintive tone, “it is you, it is these tears which you shed over me that moisten and soil my garments, and retard my entrance into the glory of Heaven. Cease to abandon yourself to a blind and useless grief. Open your heart to more Christian sentiments. If you truly love me, relieve me in my sufferings; apply some indulgences to me, say prayers, give alms, obtain for me the fruits of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. It is by this means that you will prove your love; for by so doing you will deliver me from prison where languish, and bring me forth to eternal life, which is far more desirable than the life terrestrial which you have given me.” Then the vision disappeared, and that mother, thus admonished and brought back to true Christian sentiments, instead of giving way to immoderate grief, applied to the practice of every good work which could give relief to the soul of her son. (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
The great causes of this forgetfulness, this indifference, guilty neglect, and injustice towards the dead, is lack of Faith. For do we not see that true Christians, those animated by a spirit of Faith, make the most noble sacrifices in behalf of their departed friends? Descending in spirit into those penal flames, there contemplating the rigors of Divine Justice, listening to the voice of the dead who implore their compassion, they think only how to give relief to those poor souls, and consider it their most sacred duty to procure for their parents and departed friends all the suffrages possible, according to their means and condition. Happy are those Christians; they show their Faith by their works; they are merciful, and in their turn they shall obtain mercy. (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
The Power of Almsgiving
The Angelic Doctor, St. Thomas, gives the preference to alms before fasting and prayer, when there is a question of expiating past faults. “Almsgiving,” he says,”possesses more completely the virtue of satisfaction than prayer, and prayer more completely than fasting.” This is why the great servants of God and the great saints have chosen it as a principal means of assisting the dead. Amongst them we may mention as one of the most remarkable the holy Abbot Raban-Maur (February 4th), first Abbot of Fulda, in the tenth century, and afterwards Archbishop of Mayence. (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
Father Trithemius, a well-known writer of the Order of St. Benedict, caused abundant alms to be distributed for the dead. He had established a rule that whenever a Religious died, his portion of food should be distributed among the poor for thirty days, that the soul of the deceased might be relieved by the alms. It happened in the year 830 that the monastery of Fulda was attacked by a contagious disease, which carried off a large number of the Religious. Raban-Maur, full of zeal and charity for their souls, called Edelard, the Procurator of the monastery, and reminded him of the rule established regarding the alms for the departed. “Take great care,” said he, “that our constitutions be faithfully observed, and that the poor be fed for a whole month with the food destined for the brethren we have lost.” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
Edelard failed both in obedience and charity. Under pretext that such liberality was extravagant, and that he must economize the resources of the monastery, but in reality because he was influenced by a secret avarice, he neglected to distribute the food, or did so in a manner far short of the command he had received. God did not leave this disobedience unpunished. (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
A month elapsed, when one evening, after the community had retired, he walked across the chapter-room with a lamp in his hand. What was his astonishment when, at an hour that the room should be unoccupied, he found there a great number of Religious. His astonishment turned into fear when, looking at them attentively, he recognized the Religious lately deceased. Terror seized him, an icy coldness ran through his veins and riveted him to the spot like a lifeless statue. Then, one of the dead brothers addressed him with terrible reproaches.”Unfortunate creature,” said he, “why didst thou not distribute the alms which were destined to give relief to the souls of thy departed brethren? Why hast thou deprived us of that assistance amid the torments of Purgatory. Receive, from this moment, the punishment of thy avarice; another and more terrible chastisement is reserved for thee, when, after three days, thou shall appear before thy God.” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
At these words Edelard fell as though struck by a thunderbolt, and remained immovable until after midnight, at the hour when the community went to choir. There they found him half-dead, in the same condition as was Heliodorus of old, after he had been scourged by the angels in the temple of Jerusalem (2 Machabees 3). He was carried to the infirmary, where all possible care was lavished upon him, so that he recovered consciousness. As soon as he was able to speak, in the presence of the Abbot and of all his brethren, he related with tears the terrible occurence to which his sad condition but too evidently bore witness. Then adding that he was to die within three; days, he asked for the last Sacraments, with all signs of humble repentance. He received them with sentiments of piety, and three days later expired, assisted by the prayers of his brethren. (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
Mass for the dead was immediately sung, and his share of food was distributed to the poor, for the benefit of his soul. Meanwhile, his punishment was not at an end. Edelard appeared to Abbot Raban, pale and disfigured. Touched with compassion, Raban inquired what he could do for him. “Ah!” replied the unfortunate soul, “nowithstanding the prayers of our holy community, I cannot obtain the grace of my deliverance until all my brethren, whom my avarice defrauded of the suffrages due to them, have been released. That which has been given to the poor for me has been of no profit but to them, and this by order of Divine Justice. I entreat you, therefore, O venerated and merciful Father, redouble your alms. I hope that by these powerful means Divine clemency will vouchsafe to deliver us all, my brethren first, and afterwards myself, who am the least deserving of mercy.” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
Raban-Maur increased his alms, and scarcely had another month elapsed, when Edelard again appeared; but clad in white, surrounded with rays of light and his countenance beaming with joy. He thanked, in the most touching manner, his Abbot and all the members of the monastery for the charity exercised towards him (Vie de Raban-Maur; Rossignoli, Merveilles, 2). (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
Hard Hearted Scrooges
What instruction does not this history contain! In the first place, the virtue of almsgiving for the dead shines forth in a most striking manner. Then we see how God chastises, even in this life, those who through avarice fear not to deprive the dead of their suffrages. I speak not here of those heirs who render themselves culpable, by neglecting to make the endowments which devolve upon them by last will and testament of their deceased relatives, a negligence which constitutes a sacrilegious injustice; but of those children or relatives who, through miserable motives of interest, have as few Masses as possible celebrated, are sparing in the distribution of alms, having no pity for the souls of their departed relatives, which they leave to languish in the horrible torments of Purgatory. It is the blackest ingratitude, a hardness of heart entirely opposed to Christian charity, and which will meet its punishment perhaps even in this world. (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
Gold in Your Pocket or Purse
“The Most Holy Virgin, in these last times in which we live, has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary, to such an extent, that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or, above all, spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families, of the families of the world, or of the religious communities, or even of the life of peoples and nations, that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary. With the Holy Rosary, we will save ourselves, we will sanctify ourselves, we will console Our Lord and obtain the salvation of many souls” (Sr. Lucia).
Fiddling While Others Burn
So let us not neglect to use that powerful weapon, let us not fiddle with the world when we can be fiddling with our Rosaries. The more we fiddle with our Rosaries for the souls in Purgatory, the more God will have others fiddle with their Rosaries when it is our turn to burn there! That’s the kind of fiddling we like and want. In fact we hope that there will be thousands fiddling while we burn—fiddling with their Rosaries in compassion, and not fiddling on their fiddles in joy! Let us pray!
Article 9
Sunday November 9th
Taking the Heat!
Sunday November 9th
Taking the Heat!
Can’t Have It Both Ways!
What on earth is wrong with us?! We want to be allowed to do what we want, yet we despise hearing of the consequences of our actions! We throw a fit if our good actions are not acknowledged and rewarded, yet we throw a greater fit if our bad actions ARE noticed and rewarded (i.e., punished)! There is an interesting book entitled, Ideas Have Consequences, but even more so is it true that our actions have consequences.
As Holy Scripture says: “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then will He render to every man according to his works” (Matthew 16:27). “And this is the judgment―because the Light [Christ] is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the Light; for their works were evil. For every one that does evil hates the Light, and comes not to the Light, so that his works may not be reproved. But he that does truth, comes to the Light, so that his works may be made manifest, because they are done in God” (John 3:19-21).
A Lose-Lose Situation!
If you read Fr. Schouppe’s book, Purgatory Explained, you will read some very sobering passages about Purgatory. One of the things he points out is the fact that the fires of Purgatory are the same fires as those of Hell. He also points out that there is in Purgatory, as in Hell, a double pain—the pain of loss in the soul and the pain of the senses. The pain suffered by the loss of God is greater than the pain of the fire, or any of the other tortures that the soul suffers.
The pain of loss consists in being deprived for a time of the sight of God―Who is our Supreme Good, for Whom our souls were made. In Purgatory, there is a thirst for God—which should have been there while living on Earth―but the soul thirsted more for worldly things rather than God.
The pain of sense, or sensible suffering, or suffering in our senses, is the same as that which we experience in our flesh. Its nature is not defined by Faith, but it is the common opinion of the Doctors that it consists in fire and other species of suffering. The fire of Purgatory, say the Fathers, is that of Hell, of which the rich glutton speaks when he says: “I am tormented in this flame!” (Luke 16:24).
Taking the Heat!
The same fire, says Pope St. Gregory the Great, torments the damned and purifies the elect. “Almost all theologians,” says the cardinal, St. Robert Bellarmine, “teach that the damned in Hell and the souls in Purgatory suffer the action of the same fire.” It must be held as certain, writes St. Robert Bellarmine, that there is no proportion between the sufferings of this life and those of Purgatory. St. Catherine of Genoa, in her book on Purgatory, writes: “As to the suffering, it is equal to that of Hell.” St. Thomas Aquinas states: “The fire of Purgatory is the same as the fire of Hell” (Summa Theologica, Supplement, Appendix II, Art. 1).
We know what a terrible thing fire is, and what pain is caused by the slightest burn, no matter how feeble the flame may be―how much more terrible must be that fire which is fed neither with wood, gas nor oil.
St. Catherine of Genoa, in her book on Purgatory, says: “The souls endure a torment so extreme that no tongue can describe it, nor could the understanding conceive the least notion of it, if God did not make it known by a particular grace!”
Admission Prices Are Different
As regards the severity of these pains, since they are inflicted by Infinite Justice, they are proportioned to the nature, the gravity, and the number of sins committed. Each one receives according to his works, each one must acquit himself of the debts with which he sees himself charged before God.
Now these debts differ greatly in quality. Some, which have accumulated during a long life, have reached the ten thousand talents of the Gospel, that is to say, millions and tens of millions; whilst others are reduced to a few farthings or pennies, the trifling remainder of that which has not been expiated on Earth. It follows from this that the souls undergo various kinds of sufferings, that there are innumerable different degrees of expiation in Purgatory, and that some are incomparably more severe than others. However, speaking in general, the doctors agree in saying that the pains are most excruciating.
Don’t Play the Credit-Card Game with Purgatory!
There are some who look at Purgatory much like they look upon their credit card—they will buy now (sin now) and pay later, thinking little of the interest rates. They forget that the interest rates for Purgatory are beyond their wildest imagination! St. Augustine believes that even though the souls in Purgatory will be saved, no doubt, after the trial of fire, nevertheless that trial will be terrible, that torment of Purgatory will be far more intolerable than all the most excruciating sufferings in this world.
St. Thomas goes even further; he maintains that the least pain of Purgatory surpasses all the sufferings of this life, whatsoever they may be. The author of the “Imitation of Christ” explains this doctrine by a practical and striking sentence. Speaking in general of the sufferings of the other life, he says: “There, one hour of torment will be more terrible than a hundred years of rigorous penance done her.”
Happy to Be Saved—But Painfully Happy!
However, before we get carried-away by exaggerated thoughts of “feeling-sorry-for-myself” doom and gloom, let us also remember that joyful and positive outlook of the souls in Purgatory. Another Doctor of the Church, St. Francis de Sales, renowned for his calming and soothing words, says:
“We may draw from the thought of Purgatory more consolation than apprehension. The greater part of those who dread Purgatory so much think more of their own interests than of the interests of God’s glory―this proceeds from the fact that they think only of the sufferings without considering the peace and happiness which are there enjoyed by the holy souls. It is true that the torments are so great that the most acute sufferings of this life bear no comparison to them; but the interior satisfaction, which is enjoyed there, is such that no prosperity nor contentment upon Earth can equal it.
“The souls are in a continual union with God. They are perfectly resigned to His will, or rather their will is so transformed into that of God, that they cannot will but what God wills; so that if Paradise were to be opened to them, they would throw themselves into Hell, rather than appear before God with the stains with which they see themselves disfigured. They purify themselves willingly and lovingly, because such is the Divine good pleasure. They wish to be there in the state wherein God pleases, and as long as it shall please Him. They cannot sin, nor can they experience the least movement of impatience, nor commit the slightest imperfection. They love God more than they love themselves, and more than all things else; they love Him with a perfect, pure, and disinterested love. They are consoled by angels. They are assured of their eternal salvation, and filled with a hope that can never be disappointed in its expectations. Their bitterest anguish is soothed by a certain profound peace. It is a species of Hell as regards the suffering; it is a Paradise as regards the delight infused into their hearts by charity—Charity, stronger than death and more powerful than Hell ; Charity, whose lamps are all fire and flame. Happy state! More desirable than appalling, since its flames are flames of love and charity.” (The Spirit of St. Francis de Sales, chapter 9).
No Room for the “Sweet-Tooth”
Yet, we must not fall into our “sweet-tooth” tendency and suddenly extract and abstract all pains from Purgatory—just as God is extremely just while being extremely merciful, so too are the Poor Souls in extreme pain while being extremely happy. Such are the teachings of the Saints and the Doctors of Church, from which it follows that, if the pains of Purgatory are rigorous, they are not without consolation. When imposing His cross upon us in this life, God pours upon it the sweetness of His grace, and in purifying the souls in Purgatory like gold in the crucible, He soothes their flames by ineffable consolations.
Our God is an Extreme God
We must not lose sight of this consoling element, this bright side of the often gloomy picture which we are going to examine. This, as you can see, is the balance between the Justice and Mercy of God—Whose wisdom can do no wrong, nor can He deceive or be deceived. We must remember that God is extreme—for He is infinitely perfect, and perfection implies an extreme, for someone who is perfect is extremely good. Therefore, all the attributes of God are perfect to the extreme—wherefore, He has to be extreme in His justice while at the same time being extreme in His mercy. Our puny minds cannot reconcile what seem like two opposites—justice and mercy—but that is just like our incapacity to grasp the notion of eternity.
Let us also not deceive ourselves on the probable punishment due to our sins—whether here on Earth (if we are wise to accept it) or in Purgatory (if we are foolish enough to refuse paying while in Earth). It is because we have such a low estimation of what Heaven is and what it costs, which is compounded with our trivialization of sin, whereby we think it is insignificant in some cases—forgetting that our Faith teaches us that both Mortal Sin and Venial Sin are the two greatest evils in the world! “Sin is the only evil upon Earth … Mortal sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, poverty, or war, because it separates us from God … Venial sin is second only in evil consequences to mortal sin” (The Catechism Explained, by Spirago-Clarke; also the Catechism, My Catholic Faith, by Bishop Morrow, STD).
Pay Now, Not Later
As Fr. Schouppe writes, in Purgatory Explained: “God is sanctity itself, much more so than the sun is light, and no shadow of sin can endure before His face. ‘Thine eyes are pure’, says the prophet, ‘and Thou canst not look on iniquity!’ (Habacuc 1:13). When iniquity manifests itself in creatures, the sanctity of God exacts expiation, and when this expiation is made in all the rigor of justice, it is terrible.
“It is for this reason that the Scripture says again, ‘Holy and terrible is His Name’ (Psalm 110:9); as though it would say, His justice is terrible because His sanctity is infinite. The justice of God is terrible, and it punishes with extreme rigor even the most trivial faults. The reason is that these faults, light in our eyes, are in no way light before God. The least sin displeases Him infinitely, and, on account of the infinite sanctity which is offended, the demands enormous atonement. This explains the terrible severity of the pains of the other life, and should penetrate us with a holy fear.
“This fear of Purgatory is a salutary fear; its effect is, not only to animate us with a charitable compassion towards the poor suffering souls, but also with a vigilant zeal for our own spiritual welfare. Think of the fire of Purgatory, and you will endeavor to avoid the least faults; think of the fire of Purgatory, and you will practice penance, that you may satisfy Divine Justice in this world rather than in the next” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
Why Burn in Purgatory if You Can Burn for Less Now?
What’s the point of paying for something with ‘big-bucks’ when you pay for it for mere cents on a dollar? Sure it’s discouraging to read about Purgatory—but there would be no worry about Purgatory if we would only do what we should be doing here below! Why burn in Purgatory when you can burn at a lower temperature and for a shorter time here below? What are we talking about? Well, the prayer that most of us probably say every day—or at least most days—gives us the answer:”Come O Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love!” Love is the word—love is a fire. Our Lord Himself showed us this imagery and reality in His apparition to St. Margaret Mary.
Mercy Depends on Love
Love is the pinnacle of all virtues—“the greatest of these is Charity” (1 Corinthians 13:13)—and as such it deserves to be honored above all the others. Therefore, in Our Lord, we honor and adore His Sacred Heart which is the seat of His love for mankind. Mercy is a property or a child of love. St. Thomas Aquinas deals of Mercy under his section on Charity. As Psalm 144 says: “The Lord is gracious and merciful: patient and plenteous in mercy. The Lord is sweet to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 144:8-9). The Sacred Heart is all about those two pinnacles within God—His Love and His Mercy.
Our Lord Himself indicated this in His apparitions to St. Margaret Mary, especially in the fourth, called the “Great Apparition”. To what did He draw attention in the first place? To the Heart that beats in His breast and to the flames of love that surrounded that Heart. St. Margaret Mary says: “Discovering to me His Heart, He said to me: ‘Behold this Heart ...’” And what did He declare concerning this Heart? That It ineffably loves us and is sensible to the manner in which men repay Its love: “Behold this Heart which has so loved men. ... And in return I receive from the greater part of them nothing but ingratitude!”
What would the reward if men would only love the Heart that loved them? The reward would be mercy! As Jesus said of St. Mary Magdalen: “Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much” (Luke 7:47). Holy Scripture further cements this: “Charity covers all sins” (Proverbs 10:12). “Charity covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).
The burning fire of charity can replace the burning fires of Purgatory in paying for our sins! If we loved God as we ought to love God, then we would automatically sin less and pay more. Our Lord said: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength! This is the greatest and the first commandment!” (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31). An increased love of God would drive away our fear of Purgatory: “Perfect charity casts out fear―because fear has pain. And he that fears is not perfected in charity!” (1 John 4:18).
What on earth is wrong with us?! We want to be allowed to do what we want, yet we despise hearing of the consequences of our actions! We throw a fit if our good actions are not acknowledged and rewarded, yet we throw a greater fit if our bad actions ARE noticed and rewarded (i.e., punished)! There is an interesting book entitled, Ideas Have Consequences, but even more so is it true that our actions have consequences.
As Holy Scripture says: “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then will He render to every man according to his works” (Matthew 16:27). “And this is the judgment―because the Light [Christ] is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the Light; for their works were evil. For every one that does evil hates the Light, and comes not to the Light, so that his works may not be reproved. But he that does truth, comes to the Light, so that his works may be made manifest, because they are done in God” (John 3:19-21).
A Lose-Lose Situation!
If you read Fr. Schouppe’s book, Purgatory Explained, you will read some very sobering passages about Purgatory. One of the things he points out is the fact that the fires of Purgatory are the same fires as those of Hell. He also points out that there is in Purgatory, as in Hell, a double pain—the pain of loss in the soul and the pain of the senses. The pain suffered by the loss of God is greater than the pain of the fire, or any of the other tortures that the soul suffers.
The pain of loss consists in being deprived for a time of the sight of God―Who is our Supreme Good, for Whom our souls were made. In Purgatory, there is a thirst for God—which should have been there while living on Earth―but the soul thirsted more for worldly things rather than God.
The pain of sense, or sensible suffering, or suffering in our senses, is the same as that which we experience in our flesh. Its nature is not defined by Faith, but it is the common opinion of the Doctors that it consists in fire and other species of suffering. The fire of Purgatory, say the Fathers, is that of Hell, of which the rich glutton speaks when he says: “I am tormented in this flame!” (Luke 16:24).
Taking the Heat!
The same fire, says Pope St. Gregory the Great, torments the damned and purifies the elect. “Almost all theologians,” says the cardinal, St. Robert Bellarmine, “teach that the damned in Hell and the souls in Purgatory suffer the action of the same fire.” It must be held as certain, writes St. Robert Bellarmine, that there is no proportion between the sufferings of this life and those of Purgatory. St. Catherine of Genoa, in her book on Purgatory, writes: “As to the suffering, it is equal to that of Hell.” St. Thomas Aquinas states: “The fire of Purgatory is the same as the fire of Hell” (Summa Theologica, Supplement, Appendix II, Art. 1).
We know what a terrible thing fire is, and what pain is caused by the slightest burn, no matter how feeble the flame may be―how much more terrible must be that fire which is fed neither with wood, gas nor oil.
St. Catherine of Genoa, in her book on Purgatory, says: “The souls endure a torment so extreme that no tongue can describe it, nor could the understanding conceive the least notion of it, if God did not make it known by a particular grace!”
Admission Prices Are Different
As regards the severity of these pains, since they are inflicted by Infinite Justice, they are proportioned to the nature, the gravity, and the number of sins committed. Each one receives according to his works, each one must acquit himself of the debts with which he sees himself charged before God.
Now these debts differ greatly in quality. Some, which have accumulated during a long life, have reached the ten thousand talents of the Gospel, that is to say, millions and tens of millions; whilst others are reduced to a few farthings or pennies, the trifling remainder of that which has not been expiated on Earth. It follows from this that the souls undergo various kinds of sufferings, that there are innumerable different degrees of expiation in Purgatory, and that some are incomparably more severe than others. However, speaking in general, the doctors agree in saying that the pains are most excruciating.
Don’t Play the Credit-Card Game with Purgatory!
There are some who look at Purgatory much like they look upon their credit card—they will buy now (sin now) and pay later, thinking little of the interest rates. They forget that the interest rates for Purgatory are beyond their wildest imagination! St. Augustine believes that even though the souls in Purgatory will be saved, no doubt, after the trial of fire, nevertheless that trial will be terrible, that torment of Purgatory will be far more intolerable than all the most excruciating sufferings in this world.
St. Thomas goes even further; he maintains that the least pain of Purgatory surpasses all the sufferings of this life, whatsoever they may be. The author of the “Imitation of Christ” explains this doctrine by a practical and striking sentence. Speaking in general of the sufferings of the other life, he says: “There, one hour of torment will be more terrible than a hundred years of rigorous penance done her.”
Happy to Be Saved—But Painfully Happy!
However, before we get carried-away by exaggerated thoughts of “feeling-sorry-for-myself” doom and gloom, let us also remember that joyful and positive outlook of the souls in Purgatory. Another Doctor of the Church, St. Francis de Sales, renowned for his calming and soothing words, says:
“We may draw from the thought of Purgatory more consolation than apprehension. The greater part of those who dread Purgatory so much think more of their own interests than of the interests of God’s glory―this proceeds from the fact that they think only of the sufferings without considering the peace and happiness which are there enjoyed by the holy souls. It is true that the torments are so great that the most acute sufferings of this life bear no comparison to them; but the interior satisfaction, which is enjoyed there, is such that no prosperity nor contentment upon Earth can equal it.
“The souls are in a continual union with God. They are perfectly resigned to His will, or rather their will is so transformed into that of God, that they cannot will but what God wills; so that if Paradise were to be opened to them, they would throw themselves into Hell, rather than appear before God with the stains with which they see themselves disfigured. They purify themselves willingly and lovingly, because such is the Divine good pleasure. They wish to be there in the state wherein God pleases, and as long as it shall please Him. They cannot sin, nor can they experience the least movement of impatience, nor commit the slightest imperfection. They love God more than they love themselves, and more than all things else; they love Him with a perfect, pure, and disinterested love. They are consoled by angels. They are assured of their eternal salvation, and filled with a hope that can never be disappointed in its expectations. Their bitterest anguish is soothed by a certain profound peace. It is a species of Hell as regards the suffering; it is a Paradise as regards the delight infused into their hearts by charity—Charity, stronger than death and more powerful than Hell ; Charity, whose lamps are all fire and flame. Happy state! More desirable than appalling, since its flames are flames of love and charity.” (The Spirit of St. Francis de Sales, chapter 9).
No Room for the “Sweet-Tooth”
Yet, we must not fall into our “sweet-tooth” tendency and suddenly extract and abstract all pains from Purgatory—just as God is extremely just while being extremely merciful, so too are the Poor Souls in extreme pain while being extremely happy. Such are the teachings of the Saints and the Doctors of Church, from which it follows that, if the pains of Purgatory are rigorous, they are not without consolation. When imposing His cross upon us in this life, God pours upon it the sweetness of His grace, and in purifying the souls in Purgatory like gold in the crucible, He soothes their flames by ineffable consolations.
Our God is an Extreme God
We must not lose sight of this consoling element, this bright side of the often gloomy picture which we are going to examine. This, as you can see, is the balance between the Justice and Mercy of God—Whose wisdom can do no wrong, nor can He deceive or be deceived. We must remember that God is extreme—for He is infinitely perfect, and perfection implies an extreme, for someone who is perfect is extremely good. Therefore, all the attributes of God are perfect to the extreme—wherefore, He has to be extreme in His justice while at the same time being extreme in His mercy. Our puny minds cannot reconcile what seem like two opposites—justice and mercy—but that is just like our incapacity to grasp the notion of eternity.
Let us also not deceive ourselves on the probable punishment due to our sins—whether here on Earth (if we are wise to accept it) or in Purgatory (if we are foolish enough to refuse paying while in Earth). It is because we have such a low estimation of what Heaven is and what it costs, which is compounded with our trivialization of sin, whereby we think it is insignificant in some cases—forgetting that our Faith teaches us that both Mortal Sin and Venial Sin are the two greatest evils in the world! “Sin is the only evil upon Earth … Mortal sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, a greater evil than disease, poverty, or war, because it separates us from God … Venial sin is second only in evil consequences to mortal sin” (The Catechism Explained, by Spirago-Clarke; also the Catechism, My Catholic Faith, by Bishop Morrow, STD).
Pay Now, Not Later
As Fr. Schouppe writes, in Purgatory Explained: “God is sanctity itself, much more so than the sun is light, and no shadow of sin can endure before His face. ‘Thine eyes are pure’, says the prophet, ‘and Thou canst not look on iniquity!’ (Habacuc 1:13). When iniquity manifests itself in creatures, the sanctity of God exacts expiation, and when this expiation is made in all the rigor of justice, it is terrible.
“It is for this reason that the Scripture says again, ‘Holy and terrible is His Name’ (Psalm 110:9); as though it would say, His justice is terrible because His sanctity is infinite. The justice of God is terrible, and it punishes with extreme rigor even the most trivial faults. The reason is that these faults, light in our eyes, are in no way light before God. The least sin displeases Him infinitely, and, on account of the infinite sanctity which is offended, the demands enormous atonement. This explains the terrible severity of the pains of the other life, and should penetrate us with a holy fear.
“This fear of Purgatory is a salutary fear; its effect is, not only to animate us with a charitable compassion towards the poor suffering souls, but also with a vigilant zeal for our own spiritual welfare. Think of the fire of Purgatory, and you will endeavor to avoid the least faults; think of the fire of Purgatory, and you will practice penance, that you may satisfy Divine Justice in this world rather than in the next” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
Why Burn in Purgatory if You Can Burn for Less Now?
What’s the point of paying for something with ‘big-bucks’ when you pay for it for mere cents on a dollar? Sure it’s discouraging to read about Purgatory—but there would be no worry about Purgatory if we would only do what we should be doing here below! Why burn in Purgatory when you can burn at a lower temperature and for a shorter time here below? What are we talking about? Well, the prayer that most of us probably say every day—or at least most days—gives us the answer:”Come O Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love!” Love is the word—love is a fire. Our Lord Himself showed us this imagery and reality in His apparition to St. Margaret Mary.
Mercy Depends on Love
Love is the pinnacle of all virtues—“the greatest of these is Charity” (1 Corinthians 13:13)—and as such it deserves to be honored above all the others. Therefore, in Our Lord, we honor and adore His Sacred Heart which is the seat of His love for mankind. Mercy is a property or a child of love. St. Thomas Aquinas deals of Mercy under his section on Charity. As Psalm 144 says: “The Lord is gracious and merciful: patient and plenteous in mercy. The Lord is sweet to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 144:8-9). The Sacred Heart is all about those two pinnacles within God—His Love and His Mercy.
Our Lord Himself indicated this in His apparitions to St. Margaret Mary, especially in the fourth, called the “Great Apparition”. To what did He draw attention in the first place? To the Heart that beats in His breast and to the flames of love that surrounded that Heart. St. Margaret Mary says: “Discovering to me His Heart, He said to me: ‘Behold this Heart ...’” And what did He declare concerning this Heart? That It ineffably loves us and is sensible to the manner in which men repay Its love: “Behold this Heart which has so loved men. ... And in return I receive from the greater part of them nothing but ingratitude!”
What would the reward if men would only love the Heart that loved them? The reward would be mercy! As Jesus said of St. Mary Magdalen: “Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much” (Luke 7:47). Holy Scripture further cements this: “Charity covers all sins” (Proverbs 10:12). “Charity covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).
The burning fire of charity can replace the burning fires of Purgatory in paying for our sins! If we loved God as we ought to love God, then we would automatically sin less and pay more. Our Lord said: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength! This is the greatest and the first commandment!” (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31). An increased love of God would drive away our fear of Purgatory: “Perfect charity casts out fear―because fear has pain. And he that fears is not perfected in charity!” (1 John 4:18).
Article 8
Saturday November 8th
Your Prices are not My Prices! My Values are not Your Values!
Saturday November 8th
Your Prices are not My Prices! My Values are not Your Values!
The Price of Sin: Heaven’s estimation and our estimation
As God tells us through His prophet Isaias: “My thoughts are not your thoughts; nor your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the Heavens are exalted above the Earth, so are My ways exalted above your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts” (Isaias 55:8-9). We could well transpose and paraphrase that into: “My idea of the gravity of sin is not your idea of the gravity of sin; nor is your estimation of the price of sin the same as My estimation of the price of sin, says the Lord. For as the Heavens are exalted above the Earth, so is My idea of its gravity exalted above your idea of its gravity, and My price for sin above your price for sin.”
Sin has to be extremely grave and pricey—even Venial Sin. This is seen from Divine Public Revelation in the form of Holy Scripture, and is seconded by what we know through Divine Private Revelation over the course of the centuries—which has been given by God to various saints and mystics.
The Price According to Scripture
In the very beginning of Holy Scripture, in the book of Genesis, we see God place a grave consequence on sin, when He tells Adam what will happen if Adam disobeys Him and eats of the ‘forbidden fruit’: “For in what day soever thou shalt eat of it, thou shalt die the death!” (Genesis 2:17). “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Sin was (and is) so grave, that each man would go to his grave because of the one single of Adam. St. Paul writes: “Wherefore as by one man sin entered into this world, and by sin death; and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned” (Romans 5:12).
Furthermore, God made an eternal, never-ending Hell the punishment for even one single, short-lived, temporary, brief, unconfessed and unrepented Mortal Sin—that is terrifyingly striking and underlines the gravity of sin. Our Lord tells us that perhaps most souls are lost and sent to this awful place: “And a certain man said to Him: ‘Lord, are they few that are saved?’ But He said to them: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able!’ … ‘Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life: and few there are that find it!’” (Luke 13:23-24; Matthew 7:13-14). Many lost for ETERNITY! Burning in Hell for ETERNITY! Why? Because of sin!
The Price According to the Catechism
It is not for nothing that the Catechism calls sin the greatest evil in the world!”Mortal Sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, and a greater evil than disease, or war ... Mortal Sin must be a most terrible thing indeed, to make a just and merciful God create Hell for the eternal punishment of sinners who die with even only one Mortal Sin” (The Catechism, My Catholic Faith, chapter 22, “Mortal Sin”).
As for Venial Sin, the same catechism says: “Although Venial Sin is not a grievous offense against God, it is, nevertheless, a great moral evil, next alone to Mortal Sin. We are prone to look upon Venial Sin as of no consequence, and to be careless about guarding against it, forgetting that IT IS SECOND ONLY IN EVIL CONSEQUENCE TO MORTAL SIN. In Holy Scripture we see, from many examples, how God regards Venial Sin. Even in this life He has punished it most severely. For only a slight doubt about God’s mercy, because of the wickedness of his people, Moses was punished. He was not permitted to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land [and died at its borders]” (The Catechism, My Catholic Faith, chapter 23, “Venial Sin”).
The Price According to the Private Revelations of Our Lady
“You have seen Hell where the souls of poor sinners go ... Many souls go to Hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and pray for them” (Our Lady of Fatima). Speaking of our times, she says that “There will be unbridled luxury which, acting thus to snare the rest into sin, will conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost” (Our Lady of Good Success). “Several religious institutions will lose all Faith and will lose many souls” (Our Lady of La Salette).
In our folly, we ignore the only antidote to the gravity, poison and consequence of sin: “See and contemplate the grandeur of this restoring and life-giving Sacrament of Penance, so forgotten and even scorned by ungrateful men, who in their foolish madness, do not realize that it is the only sure means of salvation after one has lost his baptismal innocence. What is most grievous is that even the ministers of My Most Holy Son do not give to it the value that they should, viewing with cold indifference this valuable and precious treasure, which has been placed in their hands for the restoration of souls redeemed by the Blood of the Redeemer. There are those who consider hearing confession as a loss of time and a futile thing” (Our Lady of Good Success).
Purgatory is Pretty Pricey Too!
We might think that Hell is expensive destination for an eternal vacation, but Purgatory, even though it offers shorter stays, is very pricey too! When we think of what we call dismissively--“Oh, it’s only a Venial Sin! I won’t go to Hell for that!”—we forget that Purgatory, in some respects, is like Hell, though not permanent! That’s a pretty pricey price to pay for a paltry ‘little’ sin—though that is only our estimation of sin, not God’s.
Expensive Trivia
In the book, The Life of St. Louis Bertrand, of the Order of St. Dominic, written Fr. Antist, a Religious of the same Order, and who personally lived with the saint, we read that in the year 1557, whilst St. Louis Bertrand resided at the convent of Valentia, a plague broke out in that city. The terrible plague spread rapidly, threatening to wipe out its inhabitants, and each one feared for his life. A Religious of the community, wishing to prepare himself fervently for death, made a general confession of his whole life to the saint; and on leaving him said, “Father, if it should now please God to call me, I shall return and make known to you my condition in the other life.”
He died a short time afterwards, and the following night he appeared to the saint. He told him that he was detained in Purgatory on account of a few slight faults which remained to be expiated, and begged the saint to recommend him to the community. St. Louis communicated the request immediately to the Prior, who hastened to recommend the soul of the departed to the prayers and Holy Sacrifices of the brethren assembled in chapter. Six days later, a man of the town, who knew nothing of what had passed at the convent, came to make his confession to Father Louis, and told him “that the soul of Father Clement had appeared to him. He saw, he said, the Earth open, and the soul of the deceased Father come forth all glorious; it resembled, he added, a resplendent star, which rose through the air towards Heaven.”
Working-Out the Price of Purgatory
According to the common opinion of the doctors, the expiatory pains are of long duration. “There is no doubt,” says St. Robert Bellarmine (De Gemitu, lib. 2, c. 9), “that the pains of Purgatory are not limited to ten or twenty years, and that they last in some cases entire centuries. But allowing it to be true that their duration did not exceed ten or twenty years, can we account it as nothing to have to endure for ten or twenty years the most excruciating sufferings without the least alleviation? If a man was assured that he should suffer some violent pain in his feet, or his head, or teeth for the space of twenty years, and that without ever sleeping or taking the least repose, would he not a thousand times rather die than live in such a state? And if the choice were given to him between a life thus miserable and the loss of all his temporal goods, would he hesitate to make the sacrifice of his fortune to be delivered from such a torment? Shall we then find any difficulty in embracing labor and penance to free ourselves from the sufferings of Purgatory? Shall we fear to practice the most painful exercises: vigils, fasts, almsgiving, long prayers, and especially contrition, accompanied with sighs and tears?” (St. Robert Bellarmine). These words comprise the whole doctrine of the saints and theologians.
The Math of Sin
Father Mumford, of the Company of Jesus, in his “Treatise on Charity towards the Departed,” bases the long duration of Purgatory on a calculation of probability, which we shall give in substance. He goes out on the principle that, according to the words of the Holy Ghost, “The just man falls seven times a day” (Proverbs 24:16), that is to say, that even those who apply themselves most perfectly to the service of God, notwithstanding their good-will, commit a great number of faults in the infinitely pure eyes of God.
We have but to enter into our own conscience, and there analyze before God our thoughts, our words, and works, to be convinced of this sad effect of human misery—we might even be capable of committing sin “seven times a minute” on a bad day, never mind “seven times a day”. Oh, how easy it is to lack respect in prayer, to prefer our ease to the accomplishment of duty, to sin by vanity, by impatience, by sensuality, by uncharitable thoughts and words, by want of conformity to the will of God! The day is long; is it very difficult for even a virtuous person to commit, I do not say seven, but twenty or thirty of this kind of faults and imperfections?
Let us take a moderate estimate, and suppose that you commit about ten faults a day; at the end of 365 days you will have a sum of 3650 faults. Let us diminish, and, to facilitate the calculation, place it at 3000 per year. At the end of ten years this will amount to 30,000, and at the end of twenty years to 60,000. Suppose that of these 60,000 faults you have expiated one half by penance and good works, there will still remain 30,000 to be atoned for.
Let us continue our hypothesis: You die after these twenty years of virtuous life, and appear before God with a debt of 30,000 faults, which you must discharge in Purgatory. How much time will you need to accomplish this expiation? Suppose, on an average, each fault requires one hour of Purgatory. This measure is very moderate, if we judge by the revelations of the saints; but at any rate this will give you a Purgatory of 30,000 hours. Now, do you know how many years these 30,000 hours represent? Three years, three months, and fifteen days. Thus a good Christian who watches over himself, who applies himself to penance and good works, finds himself liable to three years, three months, and fifteen days of Purgatory.
A Low-End Estimate Only
The preceding calculation is based on an estimate which is lenient in the extreme. Now, if you extend the duration of the pain, and, instead of an hour, you take a day for the expiation of a fault, if, instead of having nothing but venial sins, you bring before God a debt resulting from mortal sins, more or less numerous, which you formerly committed, if you assign, on the average, as St. Frances of Rome says, seven years for the expiation of one mortal sin, remitted as to the guilt, who does not see that we arrive at an appalling duration, and that the expiation may easily be prolonged for many years, and even for centuries?
Years and centuries in torments! O if we only thought of it, with what care should we not avoid the least faults! With what fervor should we not practice penance to make satisfaction in this world!
First Class, Business Class and Coach
Our flight to Heaven, on the plane of Purgatory, has three classes of seats: First Class, Business Class and Coach. It has pleased God to show, in spirit, the gloomy abodes of Purgatory to some privileged souls, who were then told to reveal these sorrowful mysteries for the benefit of faithful. One of this number was St. Frances of Rome, foundress of the Oblates, who died in Rome in 1440. God favored her with great lights concerning the state of souls in the other life. She saw Hell and its horrible torments; she saw also the interior of Purgatory, and the mysterious order or hierarchy that exists there.
Purgatory, she said, is divided into three distinct parts, which are like three large provinces of that kingdom of suffering. They are situated the one beneath the other, and occupied by souls of different orders. These souls are buried more deeply in proportion as they are more defiled and farther removed from the time of their deliverance.
The lowest region is filled with a fierce fire, but which is not dark like that of Hell; it is a vast burning sea, throwing forth immense flames. Innumerable souls are plunged into its depths: they are those who have rendered themselves guilty of mortal sin, which they have duly confessed, but have not sufficiently expiated during life. The servant of God then learned that, for all forgiven mortal sin, there remains to be undergone a suffering of seven years. This term cannot evidently be taken to mean a definite measure, since mortal sins differ in enormity, but as an average penalty. Although the souls are enveloped in the same flames, their sufferings are not the same; they differ according to the number and nature of their former sins.
In this lower Purgatory the saint beheld clergy and the religious consecrated to God. The clergy were those who, after a life of sin, had had the happiness of being sincerely converted; the religious, consecrated to God, were those who had not lived according to the sanctity of their state. At that same moment she saw descend the soul of a priest whom she knew, but whose name she does not reveal. She remarked that he had his face covered with a veil which concealed a stain. Although he had led an edifying life, this priest had not always observed strict temperance, and had sought too eagerly the satisfactions of the table.
The saint was then conducted into the intermediate Purgatory, destined for souls which had deserved less rigorous chastisement. It had three distinct compartments; one resembled an immense dungeon of ice, the cold of which was indescribably intense; the second, on the contrary, was like a huge caldron of boiling oil and pitch; the third had the appearance of a pond of liquid metal resembling molten gold or silver.
The upper Purgatory, which the saint does not describe, is the temporary abode of souls which suffer little, except the pain of loss, and approach the happy moment of their deliverance.
This, in essence, was the vision of St. Frances saw of Purgatory.
The Supermarket of Sin is Expensive
So, hopefully, we have a more objective and realistic idea of the price of sin—rather than the one the devil would like us to have, in order to order more items from his Supermarket of Sin. More objective than our own wishful fancies, based upon an exaggeration of the mercy of God, which has removed all notions of His justice. Our ideas have to be clear and true, otherwise our actions will not be correct and virtuous.
Of course, the devil will step-in with his trump card of discouragement—which does the opposite of what we mentioned above, and focuses solely on God’s justice with not the slightest mention or hope of mercy. This is equally false as focusing on His mercy without any thought to His justice. The first thing we have to get straight in our minds is the gravity of sin, and awfulness of offending God. Unless we do that, we will never change and will be lucky to eventually scrape into Purgatory!
As Holy Scripture says: “If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow―and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool” (Isaias 1:18)—but at what price?
As God tells us through His prophet Isaias: “My thoughts are not your thoughts; nor your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the Heavens are exalted above the Earth, so are My ways exalted above your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts” (Isaias 55:8-9). We could well transpose and paraphrase that into: “My idea of the gravity of sin is not your idea of the gravity of sin; nor is your estimation of the price of sin the same as My estimation of the price of sin, says the Lord. For as the Heavens are exalted above the Earth, so is My idea of its gravity exalted above your idea of its gravity, and My price for sin above your price for sin.”
Sin has to be extremely grave and pricey—even Venial Sin. This is seen from Divine Public Revelation in the form of Holy Scripture, and is seconded by what we know through Divine Private Revelation over the course of the centuries—which has been given by God to various saints and mystics.
The Price According to Scripture
In the very beginning of Holy Scripture, in the book of Genesis, we see God place a grave consequence on sin, when He tells Adam what will happen if Adam disobeys Him and eats of the ‘forbidden fruit’: “For in what day soever thou shalt eat of it, thou shalt die the death!” (Genesis 2:17). “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Sin was (and is) so grave, that each man would go to his grave because of the one single of Adam. St. Paul writes: “Wherefore as by one man sin entered into this world, and by sin death; and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned” (Romans 5:12).
Furthermore, God made an eternal, never-ending Hell the punishment for even one single, short-lived, temporary, brief, unconfessed and unrepented Mortal Sin—that is terrifyingly striking and underlines the gravity of sin. Our Lord tells us that perhaps most souls are lost and sent to this awful place: “And a certain man said to Him: ‘Lord, are they few that are saved?’ But He said to them: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able!’ … ‘Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life: and few there are that find it!’” (Luke 13:23-24; Matthew 7:13-14). Many lost for ETERNITY! Burning in Hell for ETERNITY! Why? Because of sin!
The Price According to the Catechism
It is not for nothing that the Catechism calls sin the greatest evil in the world!”Mortal Sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, and a greater evil than disease, or war ... Mortal Sin must be a most terrible thing indeed, to make a just and merciful God create Hell for the eternal punishment of sinners who die with even only one Mortal Sin” (The Catechism, My Catholic Faith, chapter 22, “Mortal Sin”).
As for Venial Sin, the same catechism says: “Although Venial Sin is not a grievous offense against God, it is, nevertheless, a great moral evil, next alone to Mortal Sin. We are prone to look upon Venial Sin as of no consequence, and to be careless about guarding against it, forgetting that IT IS SECOND ONLY IN EVIL CONSEQUENCE TO MORTAL SIN. In Holy Scripture we see, from many examples, how God regards Venial Sin. Even in this life He has punished it most severely. For only a slight doubt about God’s mercy, because of the wickedness of his people, Moses was punished. He was not permitted to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land [and died at its borders]” (The Catechism, My Catholic Faith, chapter 23, “Venial Sin”).
The Price According to the Private Revelations of Our Lady
“You have seen Hell where the souls of poor sinners go ... Many souls go to Hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and pray for them” (Our Lady of Fatima). Speaking of our times, she says that “There will be unbridled luxury which, acting thus to snare the rest into sin, will conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost” (Our Lady of Good Success). “Several religious institutions will lose all Faith and will lose many souls” (Our Lady of La Salette).
In our folly, we ignore the only antidote to the gravity, poison and consequence of sin: “See and contemplate the grandeur of this restoring and life-giving Sacrament of Penance, so forgotten and even scorned by ungrateful men, who in their foolish madness, do not realize that it is the only sure means of salvation after one has lost his baptismal innocence. What is most grievous is that even the ministers of My Most Holy Son do not give to it the value that they should, viewing with cold indifference this valuable and precious treasure, which has been placed in their hands for the restoration of souls redeemed by the Blood of the Redeemer. There are those who consider hearing confession as a loss of time and a futile thing” (Our Lady of Good Success).
Purgatory is Pretty Pricey Too!
We might think that Hell is expensive destination for an eternal vacation, but Purgatory, even though it offers shorter stays, is very pricey too! When we think of what we call dismissively--“Oh, it’s only a Venial Sin! I won’t go to Hell for that!”—we forget that Purgatory, in some respects, is like Hell, though not permanent! That’s a pretty pricey price to pay for a paltry ‘little’ sin—though that is only our estimation of sin, not God’s.
Expensive Trivia
In the book, The Life of St. Louis Bertrand, of the Order of St. Dominic, written Fr. Antist, a Religious of the same Order, and who personally lived with the saint, we read that in the year 1557, whilst St. Louis Bertrand resided at the convent of Valentia, a plague broke out in that city. The terrible plague spread rapidly, threatening to wipe out its inhabitants, and each one feared for his life. A Religious of the community, wishing to prepare himself fervently for death, made a general confession of his whole life to the saint; and on leaving him said, “Father, if it should now please God to call me, I shall return and make known to you my condition in the other life.”
He died a short time afterwards, and the following night he appeared to the saint. He told him that he was detained in Purgatory on account of a few slight faults which remained to be expiated, and begged the saint to recommend him to the community. St. Louis communicated the request immediately to the Prior, who hastened to recommend the soul of the departed to the prayers and Holy Sacrifices of the brethren assembled in chapter. Six days later, a man of the town, who knew nothing of what had passed at the convent, came to make his confession to Father Louis, and told him “that the soul of Father Clement had appeared to him. He saw, he said, the Earth open, and the soul of the deceased Father come forth all glorious; it resembled, he added, a resplendent star, which rose through the air towards Heaven.”
Working-Out the Price of Purgatory
According to the common opinion of the doctors, the expiatory pains are of long duration. “There is no doubt,” says St. Robert Bellarmine (De Gemitu, lib. 2, c. 9), “that the pains of Purgatory are not limited to ten or twenty years, and that they last in some cases entire centuries. But allowing it to be true that their duration did not exceed ten or twenty years, can we account it as nothing to have to endure for ten or twenty years the most excruciating sufferings without the least alleviation? If a man was assured that he should suffer some violent pain in his feet, or his head, or teeth for the space of twenty years, and that without ever sleeping or taking the least repose, would he not a thousand times rather die than live in such a state? And if the choice were given to him between a life thus miserable and the loss of all his temporal goods, would he hesitate to make the sacrifice of his fortune to be delivered from such a torment? Shall we then find any difficulty in embracing labor and penance to free ourselves from the sufferings of Purgatory? Shall we fear to practice the most painful exercises: vigils, fasts, almsgiving, long prayers, and especially contrition, accompanied with sighs and tears?” (St. Robert Bellarmine). These words comprise the whole doctrine of the saints and theologians.
The Math of Sin
Father Mumford, of the Company of Jesus, in his “Treatise on Charity towards the Departed,” bases the long duration of Purgatory on a calculation of probability, which we shall give in substance. He goes out on the principle that, according to the words of the Holy Ghost, “The just man falls seven times a day” (Proverbs 24:16), that is to say, that even those who apply themselves most perfectly to the service of God, notwithstanding their good-will, commit a great number of faults in the infinitely pure eyes of God.
We have but to enter into our own conscience, and there analyze before God our thoughts, our words, and works, to be convinced of this sad effect of human misery—we might even be capable of committing sin “seven times a minute” on a bad day, never mind “seven times a day”. Oh, how easy it is to lack respect in prayer, to prefer our ease to the accomplishment of duty, to sin by vanity, by impatience, by sensuality, by uncharitable thoughts and words, by want of conformity to the will of God! The day is long; is it very difficult for even a virtuous person to commit, I do not say seven, but twenty or thirty of this kind of faults and imperfections?
Let us take a moderate estimate, and suppose that you commit about ten faults a day; at the end of 365 days you will have a sum of 3650 faults. Let us diminish, and, to facilitate the calculation, place it at 3000 per year. At the end of ten years this will amount to 30,000, and at the end of twenty years to 60,000. Suppose that of these 60,000 faults you have expiated one half by penance and good works, there will still remain 30,000 to be atoned for.
Let us continue our hypothesis: You die after these twenty years of virtuous life, and appear before God with a debt of 30,000 faults, which you must discharge in Purgatory. How much time will you need to accomplish this expiation? Suppose, on an average, each fault requires one hour of Purgatory. This measure is very moderate, if we judge by the revelations of the saints; but at any rate this will give you a Purgatory of 30,000 hours. Now, do you know how many years these 30,000 hours represent? Three years, three months, and fifteen days. Thus a good Christian who watches over himself, who applies himself to penance and good works, finds himself liable to three years, three months, and fifteen days of Purgatory.
A Low-End Estimate Only
The preceding calculation is based on an estimate which is lenient in the extreme. Now, if you extend the duration of the pain, and, instead of an hour, you take a day for the expiation of a fault, if, instead of having nothing but venial sins, you bring before God a debt resulting from mortal sins, more or less numerous, which you formerly committed, if you assign, on the average, as St. Frances of Rome says, seven years for the expiation of one mortal sin, remitted as to the guilt, who does not see that we arrive at an appalling duration, and that the expiation may easily be prolonged for many years, and even for centuries?
Years and centuries in torments! O if we only thought of it, with what care should we not avoid the least faults! With what fervor should we not practice penance to make satisfaction in this world!
First Class, Business Class and Coach
Our flight to Heaven, on the plane of Purgatory, has three classes of seats: First Class, Business Class and Coach. It has pleased God to show, in spirit, the gloomy abodes of Purgatory to some privileged souls, who were then told to reveal these sorrowful mysteries for the benefit of faithful. One of this number was St. Frances of Rome, foundress of the Oblates, who died in Rome in 1440. God favored her with great lights concerning the state of souls in the other life. She saw Hell and its horrible torments; she saw also the interior of Purgatory, and the mysterious order or hierarchy that exists there.
Purgatory, she said, is divided into three distinct parts, which are like three large provinces of that kingdom of suffering. They are situated the one beneath the other, and occupied by souls of different orders. These souls are buried more deeply in proportion as they are more defiled and farther removed from the time of their deliverance.
The lowest region is filled with a fierce fire, but which is not dark like that of Hell; it is a vast burning sea, throwing forth immense flames. Innumerable souls are plunged into its depths: they are those who have rendered themselves guilty of mortal sin, which they have duly confessed, but have not sufficiently expiated during life. The servant of God then learned that, for all forgiven mortal sin, there remains to be undergone a suffering of seven years. This term cannot evidently be taken to mean a definite measure, since mortal sins differ in enormity, but as an average penalty. Although the souls are enveloped in the same flames, their sufferings are not the same; they differ according to the number and nature of their former sins.
In this lower Purgatory the saint beheld clergy and the religious consecrated to God. The clergy were those who, after a life of sin, had had the happiness of being sincerely converted; the religious, consecrated to God, were those who had not lived according to the sanctity of their state. At that same moment she saw descend the soul of a priest whom she knew, but whose name she does not reveal. She remarked that he had his face covered with a veil which concealed a stain. Although he had led an edifying life, this priest had not always observed strict temperance, and had sought too eagerly the satisfactions of the table.
The saint was then conducted into the intermediate Purgatory, destined for souls which had deserved less rigorous chastisement. It had three distinct compartments; one resembled an immense dungeon of ice, the cold of which was indescribably intense; the second, on the contrary, was like a huge caldron of boiling oil and pitch; the third had the appearance of a pond of liquid metal resembling molten gold or silver.
The upper Purgatory, which the saint does not describe, is the temporary abode of souls which suffer little, except the pain of loss, and approach the happy moment of their deliverance.
This, in essence, was the vision of St. Frances saw of Purgatory.
The Supermarket of Sin is Expensive
So, hopefully, we have a more objective and realistic idea of the price of sin—rather than the one the devil would like us to have, in order to order more items from his Supermarket of Sin. More objective than our own wishful fancies, based upon an exaggeration of the mercy of God, which has removed all notions of His justice. Our ideas have to be clear and true, otherwise our actions will not be correct and virtuous.
Of course, the devil will step-in with his trump card of discouragement—which does the opposite of what we mentioned above, and focuses solely on God’s justice with not the slightest mention or hope of mercy. This is equally false as focusing on His mercy without any thought to His justice. The first thing we have to get straight in our minds is the gravity of sin, and awfulness of offending God. Unless we do that, we will never change and will be lucky to eventually scrape into Purgatory!
As Holy Scripture says: “If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow―and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool” (Isaias 1:18)—but at what price?
Article 7
Friday November 7th
Budgeting for Heaven and Avoiding Purgatory!
Friday November 7th
Budgeting for Heaven and Avoiding Purgatory!
Two Views of Purgatory
There have always been two views of Purgatory prevailing in the Church, not contradictory, the one of the other, but rather expressive of the mind and devotion of those who have embraced them. Yet the error lies in embracing either one of them, while neglecting to embrace both of them simultaneously. They are like two sides of a coin that have different images on each side—yet they are both an essential part of the coin, though standing on opposite sides.
The Grim View
The first view represents Purgatory as a Hell which is not eternal. Violence, confusion, wailing, horror, preside over its descriptions. It dwells, and truly so, on the terribleness of the pain of sense, which the soul is mysteriously permitted to endure. The fire is the same fire as that of Hell, our earthly fire is said to be like a mere painted fire compared to it. The sense of imprisonment and intense darkness, are additional features in the horror of the scene, which prepare us for that sensible neighborhood to Hell, which many Saints have spoken of as belonging to Purgatory. Then to this terribleness of the pain of sense, is added the dreadfulness of the pain of loss—which again is true, though it is not a permanent loss.
The beauty of God remains, in itself, the same immensely desirable object that it always was. But the soul is changed. All that in life, and in the world of sense, once distracted and dulled its desires for God, is now gone from it—it sees the truth of things like it never so them before, it understands like it never understood before—so that it now seeks God with an impetuosity and a frenzy that no imagination can possibly conceive. God is that light at the end of long, dark, excruciatingly hot tunnel, and that light grows brighter as the soul draws nearer. The very burning excess of its love and desire for God (which it should have had on Earth) becomes the measure of its intolerable pain. What love can do, even on Earth, we learn from the example of Father John Baptist Sanchez, who said that, if any morning he awoke and realized that would not die that day, then he would be a miserable as death at having to live her another day. To those horrors we might add many more which depict Purgatory simply as a Hell which is not eternal. Now all these aspects of Purgatory are true, but they are merely one side of a two-sided coin.
The Joyous View
The second view of Purgatory does not deny any one of the features of the preceding grim view, but it almost puts them out of sight, by the other considerations which it brings more prominently forward. In this view, the soul goes into Purgatory with its eyes fascinated and its spirit sweetly tranquillized, by the face of Jesus, which it glimpsed at the particular Judgment which it has undergone. That remembrance of that Holy Face remains with it, and pacify and tranquillize the terrors of its Purgatorial prison. In the sea of fire, into which it is plunged, it holds fast to that image. The moment that the soul saw that its own unfitness for Heaven, it wings its voluntary flight to Purgatory, like a dove to her proper nest in the shadows of the forest. No prison guards, no angels are needed to escort the soul to its prison. The soul’s understanding of the purity of God suffices.
Seriousness of Sin Sorrowfully Seen
In that moment of Judgment after death, the soul loves God most tenderly, and in return is most tenderly loved by Him. The soul is in punishment, true; but it is in unbroken union with God. St. Catherine of Genoa most positively says, “It has no remembrance, no remembrance at all of its past sins, or of Earth.” Its sweet prison, its holy sepulcher, is in the adorable will of its Heavenly Father, and there it abides the term of its purification with the most perfect contentment and the most unutterable love—yet all the while suffering the most inexpressible pains.
God is All About Extremes
If God is to be perfect, He must be extreme, for perfection implies being extremely good at something. God is extreme in His mercy and extreme in His justice—and the soul reflects this with its extreme love under extreme suffering. As it is not teased or taunted by any vision of self or sin, so neither is it harassed by an atom of fear, or by a single doubt of its own safety or security. It is now in a state of sinlessness—it cannot and will not ever sin again. It cannot even commit the slightest imperfection. It cannot have the least movement of impatience. It can do nothing whatever which will in the least displease God. It loves God above everything, and it loves Him with a pure and disinterested love. It is constantly consoled by angels, and can only rejoice in the confirmed assurance of its own salvation.
Heaven Extremely Expensive
The soul now realizes what it refused or failed to realize on Earth—that Heaven is not the cheap thing that most people made it out to be, thinking they could walk in after a few hastily said prayers and some distractedly heard Masses. Heaven, being the greatest place there is, also carries the greatest admission price—a price few were willing to pay on Earth. Nor could they pay it, even if the wishfully desired to, for they had insufficient funds in the bank of their souls. Now they must earn and pay the full price—which could have been paid at a discounted rate here on Earth, but it was judged, even then, as being far too high a price to pay! The world offered its wares and pleasures and a much cheaper rate, and so that is what most souls spent the time and effort on—the world.
Extremely Bitter-Sweet
Even the most bitter and excruciating agonies that it suffers, are accompanied by a profound unshaken peace, such as the language of this world has no words to tell. It has reached a pinnacle of suffering and a pinnacle of virtue—although now, it will no longer receive any reward for virtuously suffering, as it could have done on Earth. It is forced to do what it should have done on Earth—it is the most painful, yet most successful remedial school there is, having a 100% graduation record with a grade of 100%--for only saints can get into Heaven, and sanctity is total perfection; partial perfection is fodder for Purgatory.
No sooner has a soul, with the guilt of no mortal sin upon it, but owing to God a debt of temporal punishment, issued from the world, and been judged, than it sees itself eternally confirmed in grace and charity (according to St. Catherine of Genoa). It is incapable either of sinning or of meriting anymore; and it is destined, by an eternal and immutable decree, to enter one day as a king or a queen into the kingdom of the blessed, to see, to love, and to enjoy God, the perpetual fountain of all happiness.
Finally the Soul Detests Sin like it Should
In that instant of judgment, all the sins of its past are represented to the soul, whether mortal or venial, even though they have been already forgiven here below by contrition and the Sacrament of Penance. But after this temporary and instantaneous view of them, the soul remembers nothing more about them. St. Catherine’s words are: “The cause of Purgatory, which these souls have in themselves, they see once and for all, in passing out of this life, and never afterwards.” The reason of this exhibition of sins is, she teaches us, to enable the soul in that moment, by an act, no longer indeed meritorious, but nevertheless a real act of the will, to detest all its sins afresh, and especially those venial sins for which it had not contrition during life, either through the weakness of an imperfect heart, or through the accident of a sudden death, that so it may be strictly true, that no sin whatever is pardoned, unless the sinner makes an act of detestation of each and every sin.
Burning-Off the Rust of Sin
After this momentary view of sins and formal detestation of them, the soul sees in itself their evil consequences and these form, what the St. Catherine calls “the impediment of seeing God … The rust of sin is the impediment, and the fire keeps consuming the rust; and, as a thing which is covered cannot correspond to the reverberation of the sun’s rays, so, if the covering be consumed, the thing is at length laid open to the sun.
Burning Inside and Outside
As soon as the soul perceives itself to be acceptable to God, and constituted heir of paradise, but unable, because of this impediment, to take immediate possession of its inheritance, it conceives an intense desire to be rid of this hindrance, this double obligation of guilt and punishment. But knowing that Purgatory alone can consume these two obligations, and that it is for that very end God condemns the soul to fire, it desires itself to endure the punishment. St. Catherin of Genoa says that, “The soul separated from the body, not finding in itself this impediment which cannot be taken away except by Purgatory, at once throws itself into it with right good will. The souls in Purgatory have wills conformed in all things with the will of God, who therefore sheds on them His goodness, and they, as far as their will goes, are happy and cleansed of all their sin. As for guilt, these cleansed souls are as they were when God created them, for God forgives their guilt immediately who have passed from this life ill content with their sins, having confessed all they have committed and having the will to commit no more. Only the rust of sin is left them and from this they cleanse themselves by pain in the fire.”
If the soul did not find this punishment and purgation of Purgatory, to help the soul remove the rust of sin, there would instantaneously be generated in the soul a Hell far worse than Purgatory, because it would see that with this impediment of the stain of sin with its unpaid debt, it could not unite itself to God Who is its end. Wherefore, if the soul could somewhere find another Purgatory fiercer than this, in which it could the sooner get rid of this impediment, it would quickly plunge itself therein, through the impetuosity of the love it bears to God.
A Thousand Hells if Necessary
But this is not all. St. Catherine of Genoa goes on to teach that if the soul, laboring under this impediment, were free to choose between immediately ascending to paradise, and descending to suffer in Purgatory, it would choose to suffer, although the sufferings be almost as dreadful as those of Hell. These are her words: “Of how much importance Purgatory is no tongue can tell, no mind conceive. So much I see, that its pain is almost as if it were that of Hell; and yet I see also that the soul which perceives in itself the slightest flaw or mote of imperfection, would rather throw itself into a thousand Hells, than find itself in the presence of the divine Majesty with that defect upon it; and, therefore, seeing Purgatory to be ordained for the very taking away of these flaws, forthwith it plunges into it, and it seems by its bearing, as I see, to conceive that it finds there an invention of no little mercy, simply in the being able to get rid of this impediment.”
Too Late Have I Loved Thee!
When the righteous soul has thus arrived in Purgatory, losing sight of everything else, it sees before it only two objects—the extremity of suffering, and the extremity of joys. A most tremendous pain is caused by knowing that God loves it with an infinite love, that He is the Chief Good, that He regards the soul as His daughter, and that He has predestined it to enjoy Him forever in company with the Blessed: and hence the soul loves Him with a pure and most perfect charity. At the same time it perceives that it cannot see Him or enjoy Him yet, though it so intensely yearns to do so ; and this afflicts it so much the more, as it is quite uncertain when the term of its penal exile, away from its Lord and paradise, will be fulfilled. This is the pain of loss in Purgatory, of which the St. Catherine of Genoa says that it is “a pain so extreme, that no tongue can tell it, no understanding grasp the least portion of it. Though God in His favor showed me a little spark thereof, yet can I not in any way express it with my tongue.”
Finally the Soul Finds Joy in Suffering
Now let us examine the other object, the extremity of joy. As it loves God with the purest affection, and knows its sufferings to be the will of God in order to procure its purification, it conforms itself perfectly to the divine decree. While in Purgatory, it sees nothing but that this pleases God; it takes in no idea but that of His will; it apprehends nothing so clearly as the suitableness of this purification, in order to present it all fair and lovely to so great a majesty. Thus, St. Catherine of Genoa says: “If a soul, having still something left to be cleansed away, were presented to the Vision of God, it would be worse than that of ten purgatories; for it would be quite unable to endure that excessive goodness and that exquisite justice.” Hence it is that the suffering soul is entirely resigned to the will of its Creator. It loves its very pains, and rejoices in them because they are a holy ordinance of God. Thus in the midst of the ardent heats it enjoys a contentment so complete that it exceeds the grasp of human intelligence to comprehend it. “I do not believe,” says St. Catherine of Genoa, “that it is possible to find a contentment to compare with that of the souls in Purgatory, unless it be the contentment of the Saints in paradise. This contentment increases daily through the influx of God into those souls, and this influx increases in proportion as the impediment is consumed and worn away. Indeed, so far as the will is concerned, we can hardly say that the pains are pains at all, so contentedly do the souls rest in the ordinance of God, to whose will pure love unites them.”
Holily Wholly Indifferent
In another place, St. Catherine says that this inexplicable joy of the soul, while it is undergoing the indescribable Purgatory, springs from the strength and purity of its love of God. “This love gives to the soul such a contentment as cannot be expressed. But this contentment does not take away one iota from the pain; nay, it is the retarding of love from the possession of its object which causes the pain; and the pain is greater according to the greater perfection of love of which God has made the soul capable. Thus the souls in Purgatory have at once the greatest contentment and the greatest suffering; and the one in no way hinders the other.” As to prayers, alms, and Masses, she asserts that the souls experience great consolation from them; but that in these, as in other matters, their principal solicitude is that everything should be “weighed in the most equitable scales of the Divine Will, leaving God to take His own course in everything, and to pay Himself and His justice in the way His own infinite goodness chooses to select.”
Scraping into Purgatory by the Skin of our Teeth
I suppose there is none of us who expects to be lost and damned—how many in Hell actually thought they would end up there? We know and feel, with more or less of alarm, the greatness of the risk we are running by the life we are leading—lukewarm and at peace with many venial sins; but to expect to be lost would be the sin of despair. Hell is only practical to us as a motive of greater diligence, greater strictness, greater circumspectness, greater fear. It is not so with Purgatory. I suppose we all expect, or think ourselves sure, to go there. If we do not think much about the matter at all, then we must have some vague notion of going straight to Heaven as soon as we are judged! But if we seriously reflect upon it, upon our own lives, upon God’s sanctity, upon what we read in books of devotion, in the lives of the Saints, and the revelations that God has permitted to come our way by means of souls condemned to Purgatory, then I can hardly imagine any one of us expecting to escape Purgatory, and perhaps even feeling that it must be almost a stretch of the divine mercy which will get us even there in the first place! Now, if we really expect that our road to Heaven will be through the punishment of Purgatory, for surely its purification is penal, it very much concerns us to know what is common to both the views of Purgatory, which it appears prevail in the Church.
Budgeting for Heaven (or rather, Purgatory)
First, both these views agree that the pains are extremely severe, as well because of the office which God intends them to fulfill, as because of the disembodied soul being the subject of them. Both agree, also, in the length of the suffering.
Do You Have Enough Money and Supplies for 60 Years?
This requires to be dwelt upon, as it is hard to convince people of it, and a great deal comes of the conviction, both to ourselves and others. This duration may be understood in two ways: first, as of actual length of time, and, secondly, as of seeming length from the excess of pain. With regard to the first, if we look into the revelations of Sister Francesca of Pampeluna, we shall find, among some hundreds of cases, that by far the great majority suffered thirty, forty, or sixty years.
Long-Term Rentals
This disclosure may teach us greater watchfulness over ourselves, and more unwearied perseverance in praying for the departed. The old foundations for perpetual Masses embody the same sentiment. We are apt to leave off too soon, imagining with a foolish and unenlightened fondness that our friends are freed from Purgatory much sooner than they really are. If Sister Francesca beheld the souls of many fervent Carmelites, some of whom had wrought miracles in lifetime still in Purgatory ten, twenty, thirty, sixty years after their death, and still not near their deliverance, as many told her, what must become of us and ours? Then as to seeming length from the extremity of pain, there are many instances on record in the Chronicles of the Franciscans, the life of St. Francis Jerome, and elsewhere, of souls appearing an hour or two after death, and thinking they had been many years in Purgatory.
Our Trivial Faults Are Far From Trivial
Both views agree again in holding that, what we in the world call very trivial faults, are most severely dealt with in Purgatory. St. Peter Damian gives us many instances of this, and others are collected and quoted by St. Robert Bellarmine. Slight feelings of self-complacency, trifling inattentions in the recital of the Divine Office, and the like, occur frequently among them! Sister Francesca mentions the case of a girl of fourteen who was in Purgatory, because she was not quite conformed to the will of God in dying so young: and one soul said to her in Purgatory: “Ah, men little think in the world, how dearly they are going to pay here for faults that they hardly note there!” She even saw souls that were immensely punished only for having been scrupulous in this life; either, I suppose, because there is mostly self-will in scruples, or because they did not lay down the scruples when obedience commanded. Wrong notions about small faults may thus lead us to neglect the dead, or leave off our prayers too soon, as well as losing a salutary lesson for ourselves.
Broke and Begging
Then, again, both views agree as to the helplessness of the Holy Souls. They lie like the paralytic at the pool. It would seem as if even the coming of the angel were not an effectual blessing to them, unless there be some one of us to help them. Some have even thought they cannot pray. Anyhow, they have no means of making themselves heard by us, on whose charity they depend. Some writers have said that Our Blessed Lord will not help them without our cooperation; and that Our Blessed Lady cannot help them, except in indirect ways, because she is no longer able to make satisfaction; though I never like to hear anything our dearest mother cannot do; and I regard such statements with suspicion. Whatever may come of these opinions, they at least illustrate the strong way in which theologians apprehend the helplessness of the Holy Souls.
Stupid Notions of ‘Sanctity’!
Then another feature in their helplessness is the forgetfulness of the living, or the cruel flattery of relations who will always have it that those near or dear to them die the deaths of saints. They would surely have a scruple, if they knew of how many Masses and prayers they rob the souls, by the selfish exaggeration of their goodness. I call it selfish, for it is nothing more than a miserable device to console themselves in their sorrow. The very state of the Holy Souls is one of the most unbounded helplessness. They cannot do penance; they cannot merit; they cannot satisfy; they cannot gain indulgences; they have no Sacraments; they are not under the jurisdiction of God’s Vicar, overflowing with the plentitude of means of grace and manifold benedictions. They are a part of the Church, but without either priesthood or altar at their own command.
Lazy, Lukewarm and Blind
Those are the points common to both views of Purgatory; and how manifold are the lessons we learn from them, on our own behalf as well as on behalf of the Holy Souls. For ourselves, what light does all this throw on slovenliness, lukewarmness, and love of ease? What does it make us think of performing our devotions out of a mere spirit of formality, or a trick of habit? What diligence in our examinations of conscience, Confessions, Communions, and prayers! It seems as if the grace of all graces for which we should ever be begging from our dear Lord, would be to hate sin with something of the hatred wherewith He hated it in the garden of Gethsemane. O is not the purity of God something awful, unspeakable, adorable?
Anger at Purgatory
But some persons turn in anger from the thought of Purgatory, as if it were not to be endured, that after trying all our lives long to serve God, we should accomplish the tremendous feat of a good death, only to pass from the agonies of the death-bed into fire, long, keen, searching, triumphant, incomparable fire. Sadly, your anger will not help you, nor alter the facts. But have you thought sufficiently about God? Have you tried to realize His holiness and purity in assiduous meditation? Is there a real divorce between you and the world, which you know is God’s enemy? Do you take God’s side? Are you devoted to His interests? Do you truly long for His glory? Is there a happy marriage between the theory of Catholicism and the practice of Catholicism in your life, or are they separated and divorced? Have you put sin alongside of our dear Saviors’ Passion, and measured the one by the other?
Surely, if you had, Purgatory would only seem to you the last, kind, unexpected, and inexpressibly tender invention of the obstinate love of God, which was mercifully determined to save you in spite of yourself. It would be a perpetual wonder to you, a joyous wonder, fresh every morning, a wonder that would be meat and drink to your soul, that you, being what you know yourself to be, what God knows you to be, should be saved eternally. Remember what the suffering soul said so simply, yet with such force, to Sister Francesca: “Ah! Those on that side of the grave little reckon how dearly they will pay on this side for the lives they live!”
Angry or Lucky?
To be angry, because you are told you will go to Purgatory! Silly, silly people! Most likely it is a great false flattery, and that you will never be good enough to even scrape into Purgatory at all! Why, positively, you do not recognize how lucky you are to be told of it, and told of it truthfully? None but the humble go there. St. Maria Crocifissa di Rosa was told that although many of the saints, while on Earth, loved God more than some do even in Heaven, yet that the greatest saint on Earth was not so humble as are the souls in Purgatory. I do not think I ever read anything in the lives of the saints which struck me so much as that. You see it is not good to be angry about Purgatory; for, as Fr. Faber says, those only are lucky enough to get into Purgatory, who sincerely believe themselves to be worthy of Hell.
There have always been two views of Purgatory prevailing in the Church, not contradictory, the one of the other, but rather expressive of the mind and devotion of those who have embraced them. Yet the error lies in embracing either one of them, while neglecting to embrace both of them simultaneously. They are like two sides of a coin that have different images on each side—yet they are both an essential part of the coin, though standing on opposite sides.
The Grim View
The first view represents Purgatory as a Hell which is not eternal. Violence, confusion, wailing, horror, preside over its descriptions. It dwells, and truly so, on the terribleness of the pain of sense, which the soul is mysteriously permitted to endure. The fire is the same fire as that of Hell, our earthly fire is said to be like a mere painted fire compared to it. The sense of imprisonment and intense darkness, are additional features in the horror of the scene, which prepare us for that sensible neighborhood to Hell, which many Saints have spoken of as belonging to Purgatory. Then to this terribleness of the pain of sense, is added the dreadfulness of the pain of loss—which again is true, though it is not a permanent loss.
The beauty of God remains, in itself, the same immensely desirable object that it always was. But the soul is changed. All that in life, and in the world of sense, once distracted and dulled its desires for God, is now gone from it—it sees the truth of things like it never so them before, it understands like it never understood before—so that it now seeks God with an impetuosity and a frenzy that no imagination can possibly conceive. God is that light at the end of long, dark, excruciatingly hot tunnel, and that light grows brighter as the soul draws nearer. The very burning excess of its love and desire for God (which it should have had on Earth) becomes the measure of its intolerable pain. What love can do, even on Earth, we learn from the example of Father John Baptist Sanchez, who said that, if any morning he awoke and realized that would not die that day, then he would be a miserable as death at having to live her another day. To those horrors we might add many more which depict Purgatory simply as a Hell which is not eternal. Now all these aspects of Purgatory are true, but they are merely one side of a two-sided coin.
The Joyous View
The second view of Purgatory does not deny any one of the features of the preceding grim view, but it almost puts them out of sight, by the other considerations which it brings more prominently forward. In this view, the soul goes into Purgatory with its eyes fascinated and its spirit sweetly tranquillized, by the face of Jesus, which it glimpsed at the particular Judgment which it has undergone. That remembrance of that Holy Face remains with it, and pacify and tranquillize the terrors of its Purgatorial prison. In the sea of fire, into which it is plunged, it holds fast to that image. The moment that the soul saw that its own unfitness for Heaven, it wings its voluntary flight to Purgatory, like a dove to her proper nest in the shadows of the forest. No prison guards, no angels are needed to escort the soul to its prison. The soul’s understanding of the purity of God suffices.
Seriousness of Sin Sorrowfully Seen
In that moment of Judgment after death, the soul loves God most tenderly, and in return is most tenderly loved by Him. The soul is in punishment, true; but it is in unbroken union with God. St. Catherine of Genoa most positively says, “It has no remembrance, no remembrance at all of its past sins, or of Earth.” Its sweet prison, its holy sepulcher, is in the adorable will of its Heavenly Father, and there it abides the term of its purification with the most perfect contentment and the most unutterable love—yet all the while suffering the most inexpressible pains.
God is All About Extremes
If God is to be perfect, He must be extreme, for perfection implies being extremely good at something. God is extreme in His mercy and extreme in His justice—and the soul reflects this with its extreme love under extreme suffering. As it is not teased or taunted by any vision of self or sin, so neither is it harassed by an atom of fear, or by a single doubt of its own safety or security. It is now in a state of sinlessness—it cannot and will not ever sin again. It cannot even commit the slightest imperfection. It cannot have the least movement of impatience. It can do nothing whatever which will in the least displease God. It loves God above everything, and it loves Him with a pure and disinterested love. It is constantly consoled by angels, and can only rejoice in the confirmed assurance of its own salvation.
Heaven Extremely Expensive
The soul now realizes what it refused or failed to realize on Earth—that Heaven is not the cheap thing that most people made it out to be, thinking they could walk in after a few hastily said prayers and some distractedly heard Masses. Heaven, being the greatest place there is, also carries the greatest admission price—a price few were willing to pay on Earth. Nor could they pay it, even if the wishfully desired to, for they had insufficient funds in the bank of their souls. Now they must earn and pay the full price—which could have been paid at a discounted rate here on Earth, but it was judged, even then, as being far too high a price to pay! The world offered its wares and pleasures and a much cheaper rate, and so that is what most souls spent the time and effort on—the world.
Extremely Bitter-Sweet
Even the most bitter and excruciating agonies that it suffers, are accompanied by a profound unshaken peace, such as the language of this world has no words to tell. It has reached a pinnacle of suffering and a pinnacle of virtue—although now, it will no longer receive any reward for virtuously suffering, as it could have done on Earth. It is forced to do what it should have done on Earth—it is the most painful, yet most successful remedial school there is, having a 100% graduation record with a grade of 100%--for only saints can get into Heaven, and sanctity is total perfection; partial perfection is fodder for Purgatory.
No sooner has a soul, with the guilt of no mortal sin upon it, but owing to God a debt of temporal punishment, issued from the world, and been judged, than it sees itself eternally confirmed in grace and charity (according to St. Catherine of Genoa). It is incapable either of sinning or of meriting anymore; and it is destined, by an eternal and immutable decree, to enter one day as a king or a queen into the kingdom of the blessed, to see, to love, and to enjoy God, the perpetual fountain of all happiness.
Finally the Soul Detests Sin like it Should
In that instant of judgment, all the sins of its past are represented to the soul, whether mortal or venial, even though they have been already forgiven here below by contrition and the Sacrament of Penance. But after this temporary and instantaneous view of them, the soul remembers nothing more about them. St. Catherine’s words are: “The cause of Purgatory, which these souls have in themselves, they see once and for all, in passing out of this life, and never afterwards.” The reason of this exhibition of sins is, she teaches us, to enable the soul in that moment, by an act, no longer indeed meritorious, but nevertheless a real act of the will, to detest all its sins afresh, and especially those venial sins for which it had not contrition during life, either through the weakness of an imperfect heart, or through the accident of a sudden death, that so it may be strictly true, that no sin whatever is pardoned, unless the sinner makes an act of detestation of each and every sin.
Burning-Off the Rust of Sin
After this momentary view of sins and formal detestation of them, the soul sees in itself their evil consequences and these form, what the St. Catherine calls “the impediment of seeing God … The rust of sin is the impediment, and the fire keeps consuming the rust; and, as a thing which is covered cannot correspond to the reverberation of the sun’s rays, so, if the covering be consumed, the thing is at length laid open to the sun.
Burning Inside and Outside
As soon as the soul perceives itself to be acceptable to God, and constituted heir of paradise, but unable, because of this impediment, to take immediate possession of its inheritance, it conceives an intense desire to be rid of this hindrance, this double obligation of guilt and punishment. But knowing that Purgatory alone can consume these two obligations, and that it is for that very end God condemns the soul to fire, it desires itself to endure the punishment. St. Catherin of Genoa says that, “The soul separated from the body, not finding in itself this impediment which cannot be taken away except by Purgatory, at once throws itself into it with right good will. The souls in Purgatory have wills conformed in all things with the will of God, who therefore sheds on them His goodness, and they, as far as their will goes, are happy and cleansed of all their sin. As for guilt, these cleansed souls are as they were when God created them, for God forgives their guilt immediately who have passed from this life ill content with their sins, having confessed all they have committed and having the will to commit no more. Only the rust of sin is left them and from this they cleanse themselves by pain in the fire.”
If the soul did not find this punishment and purgation of Purgatory, to help the soul remove the rust of sin, there would instantaneously be generated in the soul a Hell far worse than Purgatory, because it would see that with this impediment of the stain of sin with its unpaid debt, it could not unite itself to God Who is its end. Wherefore, if the soul could somewhere find another Purgatory fiercer than this, in which it could the sooner get rid of this impediment, it would quickly plunge itself therein, through the impetuosity of the love it bears to God.
A Thousand Hells if Necessary
But this is not all. St. Catherine of Genoa goes on to teach that if the soul, laboring under this impediment, were free to choose between immediately ascending to paradise, and descending to suffer in Purgatory, it would choose to suffer, although the sufferings be almost as dreadful as those of Hell. These are her words: “Of how much importance Purgatory is no tongue can tell, no mind conceive. So much I see, that its pain is almost as if it were that of Hell; and yet I see also that the soul which perceives in itself the slightest flaw or mote of imperfection, would rather throw itself into a thousand Hells, than find itself in the presence of the divine Majesty with that defect upon it; and, therefore, seeing Purgatory to be ordained for the very taking away of these flaws, forthwith it plunges into it, and it seems by its bearing, as I see, to conceive that it finds there an invention of no little mercy, simply in the being able to get rid of this impediment.”
Too Late Have I Loved Thee!
When the righteous soul has thus arrived in Purgatory, losing sight of everything else, it sees before it only two objects—the extremity of suffering, and the extremity of joys. A most tremendous pain is caused by knowing that God loves it with an infinite love, that He is the Chief Good, that He regards the soul as His daughter, and that He has predestined it to enjoy Him forever in company with the Blessed: and hence the soul loves Him with a pure and most perfect charity. At the same time it perceives that it cannot see Him or enjoy Him yet, though it so intensely yearns to do so ; and this afflicts it so much the more, as it is quite uncertain when the term of its penal exile, away from its Lord and paradise, will be fulfilled. This is the pain of loss in Purgatory, of which the St. Catherine of Genoa says that it is “a pain so extreme, that no tongue can tell it, no understanding grasp the least portion of it. Though God in His favor showed me a little spark thereof, yet can I not in any way express it with my tongue.”
Finally the Soul Finds Joy in Suffering
Now let us examine the other object, the extremity of joy. As it loves God with the purest affection, and knows its sufferings to be the will of God in order to procure its purification, it conforms itself perfectly to the divine decree. While in Purgatory, it sees nothing but that this pleases God; it takes in no idea but that of His will; it apprehends nothing so clearly as the suitableness of this purification, in order to present it all fair and lovely to so great a majesty. Thus, St. Catherine of Genoa says: “If a soul, having still something left to be cleansed away, were presented to the Vision of God, it would be worse than that of ten purgatories; for it would be quite unable to endure that excessive goodness and that exquisite justice.” Hence it is that the suffering soul is entirely resigned to the will of its Creator. It loves its very pains, and rejoices in them because they are a holy ordinance of God. Thus in the midst of the ardent heats it enjoys a contentment so complete that it exceeds the grasp of human intelligence to comprehend it. “I do not believe,” says St. Catherine of Genoa, “that it is possible to find a contentment to compare with that of the souls in Purgatory, unless it be the contentment of the Saints in paradise. This contentment increases daily through the influx of God into those souls, and this influx increases in proportion as the impediment is consumed and worn away. Indeed, so far as the will is concerned, we can hardly say that the pains are pains at all, so contentedly do the souls rest in the ordinance of God, to whose will pure love unites them.”
Holily Wholly Indifferent
In another place, St. Catherine says that this inexplicable joy of the soul, while it is undergoing the indescribable Purgatory, springs from the strength and purity of its love of God. “This love gives to the soul such a contentment as cannot be expressed. But this contentment does not take away one iota from the pain; nay, it is the retarding of love from the possession of its object which causes the pain; and the pain is greater according to the greater perfection of love of which God has made the soul capable. Thus the souls in Purgatory have at once the greatest contentment and the greatest suffering; and the one in no way hinders the other.” As to prayers, alms, and Masses, she asserts that the souls experience great consolation from them; but that in these, as in other matters, their principal solicitude is that everything should be “weighed in the most equitable scales of the Divine Will, leaving God to take His own course in everything, and to pay Himself and His justice in the way His own infinite goodness chooses to select.”
Scraping into Purgatory by the Skin of our Teeth
I suppose there is none of us who expects to be lost and damned—how many in Hell actually thought they would end up there? We know and feel, with more or less of alarm, the greatness of the risk we are running by the life we are leading—lukewarm and at peace with many venial sins; but to expect to be lost would be the sin of despair. Hell is only practical to us as a motive of greater diligence, greater strictness, greater circumspectness, greater fear. It is not so with Purgatory. I suppose we all expect, or think ourselves sure, to go there. If we do not think much about the matter at all, then we must have some vague notion of going straight to Heaven as soon as we are judged! But if we seriously reflect upon it, upon our own lives, upon God’s sanctity, upon what we read in books of devotion, in the lives of the Saints, and the revelations that God has permitted to come our way by means of souls condemned to Purgatory, then I can hardly imagine any one of us expecting to escape Purgatory, and perhaps even feeling that it must be almost a stretch of the divine mercy which will get us even there in the first place! Now, if we really expect that our road to Heaven will be through the punishment of Purgatory, for surely its purification is penal, it very much concerns us to know what is common to both the views of Purgatory, which it appears prevail in the Church.
Budgeting for Heaven (or rather, Purgatory)
First, both these views agree that the pains are extremely severe, as well because of the office which God intends them to fulfill, as because of the disembodied soul being the subject of them. Both agree, also, in the length of the suffering.
Do You Have Enough Money and Supplies for 60 Years?
This requires to be dwelt upon, as it is hard to convince people of it, and a great deal comes of the conviction, both to ourselves and others. This duration may be understood in two ways: first, as of actual length of time, and, secondly, as of seeming length from the excess of pain. With regard to the first, if we look into the revelations of Sister Francesca of Pampeluna, we shall find, among some hundreds of cases, that by far the great majority suffered thirty, forty, or sixty years.
Long-Term Rentals
This disclosure may teach us greater watchfulness over ourselves, and more unwearied perseverance in praying for the departed. The old foundations for perpetual Masses embody the same sentiment. We are apt to leave off too soon, imagining with a foolish and unenlightened fondness that our friends are freed from Purgatory much sooner than they really are. If Sister Francesca beheld the souls of many fervent Carmelites, some of whom had wrought miracles in lifetime still in Purgatory ten, twenty, thirty, sixty years after their death, and still not near their deliverance, as many told her, what must become of us and ours? Then as to seeming length from the extremity of pain, there are many instances on record in the Chronicles of the Franciscans, the life of St. Francis Jerome, and elsewhere, of souls appearing an hour or two after death, and thinking they had been many years in Purgatory.
Our Trivial Faults Are Far From Trivial
Both views agree again in holding that, what we in the world call very trivial faults, are most severely dealt with in Purgatory. St. Peter Damian gives us many instances of this, and others are collected and quoted by St. Robert Bellarmine. Slight feelings of self-complacency, trifling inattentions in the recital of the Divine Office, and the like, occur frequently among them! Sister Francesca mentions the case of a girl of fourteen who was in Purgatory, because she was not quite conformed to the will of God in dying so young: and one soul said to her in Purgatory: “Ah, men little think in the world, how dearly they are going to pay here for faults that they hardly note there!” She even saw souls that were immensely punished only for having been scrupulous in this life; either, I suppose, because there is mostly self-will in scruples, or because they did not lay down the scruples when obedience commanded. Wrong notions about small faults may thus lead us to neglect the dead, or leave off our prayers too soon, as well as losing a salutary lesson for ourselves.
Broke and Begging
Then, again, both views agree as to the helplessness of the Holy Souls. They lie like the paralytic at the pool. It would seem as if even the coming of the angel were not an effectual blessing to them, unless there be some one of us to help them. Some have even thought they cannot pray. Anyhow, they have no means of making themselves heard by us, on whose charity they depend. Some writers have said that Our Blessed Lord will not help them without our cooperation; and that Our Blessed Lady cannot help them, except in indirect ways, because she is no longer able to make satisfaction; though I never like to hear anything our dearest mother cannot do; and I regard such statements with suspicion. Whatever may come of these opinions, they at least illustrate the strong way in which theologians apprehend the helplessness of the Holy Souls.
Stupid Notions of ‘Sanctity’!
Then another feature in their helplessness is the forgetfulness of the living, or the cruel flattery of relations who will always have it that those near or dear to them die the deaths of saints. They would surely have a scruple, if they knew of how many Masses and prayers they rob the souls, by the selfish exaggeration of their goodness. I call it selfish, for it is nothing more than a miserable device to console themselves in their sorrow. The very state of the Holy Souls is one of the most unbounded helplessness. They cannot do penance; they cannot merit; they cannot satisfy; they cannot gain indulgences; they have no Sacraments; they are not under the jurisdiction of God’s Vicar, overflowing with the plentitude of means of grace and manifold benedictions. They are a part of the Church, but without either priesthood or altar at their own command.
Lazy, Lukewarm and Blind
Those are the points common to both views of Purgatory; and how manifold are the lessons we learn from them, on our own behalf as well as on behalf of the Holy Souls. For ourselves, what light does all this throw on slovenliness, lukewarmness, and love of ease? What does it make us think of performing our devotions out of a mere spirit of formality, or a trick of habit? What diligence in our examinations of conscience, Confessions, Communions, and prayers! It seems as if the grace of all graces for which we should ever be begging from our dear Lord, would be to hate sin with something of the hatred wherewith He hated it in the garden of Gethsemane. O is not the purity of God something awful, unspeakable, adorable?
Anger at Purgatory
But some persons turn in anger from the thought of Purgatory, as if it were not to be endured, that after trying all our lives long to serve God, we should accomplish the tremendous feat of a good death, only to pass from the agonies of the death-bed into fire, long, keen, searching, triumphant, incomparable fire. Sadly, your anger will not help you, nor alter the facts. But have you thought sufficiently about God? Have you tried to realize His holiness and purity in assiduous meditation? Is there a real divorce between you and the world, which you know is God’s enemy? Do you take God’s side? Are you devoted to His interests? Do you truly long for His glory? Is there a happy marriage between the theory of Catholicism and the practice of Catholicism in your life, or are they separated and divorced? Have you put sin alongside of our dear Saviors’ Passion, and measured the one by the other?
Surely, if you had, Purgatory would only seem to you the last, kind, unexpected, and inexpressibly tender invention of the obstinate love of God, which was mercifully determined to save you in spite of yourself. It would be a perpetual wonder to you, a joyous wonder, fresh every morning, a wonder that would be meat and drink to your soul, that you, being what you know yourself to be, what God knows you to be, should be saved eternally. Remember what the suffering soul said so simply, yet with such force, to Sister Francesca: “Ah! Those on that side of the grave little reckon how dearly they will pay on this side for the lives they live!”
Angry or Lucky?
To be angry, because you are told you will go to Purgatory! Silly, silly people! Most likely it is a great false flattery, and that you will never be good enough to even scrape into Purgatory at all! Why, positively, you do not recognize how lucky you are to be told of it, and told of it truthfully? None but the humble go there. St. Maria Crocifissa di Rosa was told that although many of the saints, while on Earth, loved God more than some do even in Heaven, yet that the greatest saint on Earth was not so humble as are the souls in Purgatory. I do not think I ever read anything in the lives of the saints which struck me so much as that. You see it is not good to be angry about Purgatory; for, as Fr. Faber says, those only are lucky enough to get into Purgatory, who sincerely believe themselves to be worthy of Hell.
Article 6
Thursday November 6th
Air-Conditoned, Climate-Controlled Purgatory!
Thursday November 6th
Air-Conditoned, Climate-Controlled Purgatory!
Today’s Air-Conditioned Purgatory
Some people have the weirdest ideas about Purgatory. They amount of sins that they commit would make you think that they imagine Purgatory to be like a five-star hotel, with a bar and Jacuzzi in every room, air-conditioning and climate-control, Olympic size swimming-pool and golf-course thrown in. They sin more and more so that they can spend more and more time there! The Modernist or Liberal Catholic, may well accept the existence of Purgatory in theory, however, in practice, they live as though Purgatory is empty. Let’s face it, how many sermons do you hear on Purgatory these days? Even when they are preached, many ‘water-down’ Purgatory to a point where we think little of the sufferings of the souls detained there—as though they were merely stuck in a traffic jam or in slow-moving traffic on the road to Heaven! The Modernist and Liberal mentality is, in the words of Fr. Felix Salvany, in his book Liberalism is a Sin,
Offend God rather than Neighbor!
“The Catholic simply tainted with Liberalism is generally a good man and sincerely pious; he exhales nevertheless an odor of Liberalism in everything he says, writes, or takes up. This courageous man reasons, speaks, and acts as a Liberal without knowing it. His strong point is charity; he is charity itself. … How the devil must chuckle over the mushy charity held out as a bait to abet his own cause! … Charity is a supernatural virtue which induces us to love God above all things and our neighbors as ourselves for the love of God. … Charity is primarily the love of God, secondarily the love of our neighbor for God’s sake. To sacrifice the first is to abandon the latter. Therefore, to offend our neighbor for the love of God is a true act of charity. Not to offend our neighbor for the love of God is a sin. Modern Liberalism reverses this order; it imposes a false notion of charity: our neighbor first, and, if at all, God afterwards” (Fr. Felix Salvany, Liberalism Is A Sin).
Hey! Nobody’s Perfect!
The result of this reversal of charity therefore sees people being prepared to see God offended rather than having to be ‘uncharitable’ by correcting the sinning neighbor! Unbelievable! Yet this modern behavior consequently allows mountains of sins to be piled-up under the pretext of what they think and protest is charity—all they really do is allow others to pile-up their Purgatory! “Sin now, burn later”—that’s their idea of charity. They help their neighbor pile-up the firewood with their excuses for not correcting others--”Everyone has their faults!” … “Nobody’s perfect!” … “It’s only a Venial Sin!” Huh? Only a Venial Sin? Well read some accounts of the suffering undergone in the fires of Purgatory for only Venial Sins! Then come back and say “only”! The entrance fee to Heaven is PERFECTION—as Our Lord Himself said: “Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48), which echoes the Old Testament: “Thou shalt be perfect, and without spot before the Lord thy God” (Deuteronomy 18:13). Heaven is no place for mediocrity or half-baked Catholics—hence the need for the fires of Purgatory to fully-bake the half-baked Catholics. Remember what St. Padre Pio said—many, if not most saints, had to pass to through Purgatory—with the exception of martyrs.
Dense Wood Burns Longer
They say that dense wood burns for much longer—well, these Liberals and Modernists with their fake and false notions of charity and sin, must be pretty dense. Therefore, if they manage to scrape into Purgatory, they will burn all the longer. The physician cauterizing his patient or cutting off his gangrened limb may nonetheless love him. Likewise the ‘cauterizing’ effect of Purgatory is an inexplicably painful act of mercy and love by God—God chastises those who He loves: “I know your works, and that you are neither cold, nor hot. I would prefer that you were cold or hot. But because you are lukewarm―and neither cold, not hot―I will begin to vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say: ‘I am rich, and made wealthy, and have need of nothing!’ and do you not know that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy of Me gold fire tried, so that you may be made rich; and may be clothed in white garments, and that the shame of your nakedness may not appear; and anoint your eyes with eye-salve, so that you may see. Such as I love, I rebuke and chastise. Be zealous therefore, and do penance!” (Apocalypse 3:15-19).
As Penance Goes Down, the Temperature Goes Up
It is lack of penance that places souls in the terrible fires of Purgatory. Our Lord has warned us: product of confession is the receiving and doing of penance. “Unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3).
The dogmatic teaching of the Catholic Church on the doctrine of Purgatory was specified in 1439 by the Council of Florence, which declared: “It has likewise been defined that, if those truly penitent have departed in the love of God, before they have made satisfaction by worthy fruits of penance for sins of commission and omission, the souls of these are cleansed after death by purgatorial punishments.”
The Council of Trent later added: “If anyone says that, after receiving the grace of justification, the guilt of any repentant sinner is remitted and the debt of eternal punishment is blotted out, in such a way that no debt of temporal punishment remains to be paid, either in this life or in Purgatory, before the gate to the kingdom of Heaven can be opened: let him be anathema.”
White-Weddings, okay! White-Funerals? You’re Kidding!
St. Paul said that in the last times there would be people with “itching ears” seeking after novelties and believing fables. Well, one of those fables is that Purgatory and Hell are empty—or almost empty. God is love, and love is sweet, and the sweet loving God in His loving sweetness cannot bear to send anyone to Purgatory, let alone Hell!
This novelty of funerals in white is a fable-feeding funeral—funerals in white used to be performed ONLY for children who had died below the “age-of-reason” and were thus incapable of committing sin—which meant that after death they went straight to Heaven, hence the “funeral in white” with the Mass being that of the Angels, not the Requiem Mass. Today, everyone gets a “White-Funeral” and everyone talks as though the deceased is already clinking glasses with the angels and saints in Heaven, at a homecoming party! Sadly, Heaven IS NOT filling up and Purgatory is NOT empty. In fact, the common opinion among theologians is that MOST SOULS, that end up going to Heaven, have to pass through the fires of Purgatory. As Scripture says: “There shall not enter into it anything defiled, or that works abomination or makes a lie …” (Apocalypse 21:27).
Full-Price Ticket to Heaven
The poor souls in Purgatory still have the stains of sin within them. This means two things. First, it means that the souls have not yet paid the temporal penalty due to sin, either for venial sins, or for mortal sins whose guilt was forgiven before death. There is also the problem of unrepented and unforgiven venial sin, for which the guilt and punishment were not removed before death. It is not certain whether the guilt of venial sins is strictly speaking remitted after death, and if so, how the remission takes place.
Discounts Only On Earth
We can pay for damage of sin after death in Purgatory, or we can pay the penalties of satisfaction for sin on Earth before death, which can be done by souls in a state of grace during the course of their whole life on Earth. Whereas before death a soul can cleanse itself by freely choosing to suffer for its sins, and so can gain merit for this suffering; a soul in Purgatory cannot choose to do so and gains no merit for its suffering and no increase in its glory. Rather, it is cleansed according to the demands of Divine Justice.
The Price is Right!
There are simply, or perhaps even too obviously, several basic reasons why souls have to undergo the terrible, yet at the same time joyful, sufferings of Purgatory. To keep things simple, let us enumerate them in a list form:
(1) Those who never lost the grace of God throughout their life, and died after having committed only venial sins in their life, but who were not sufficiently sorry for those venial sins, nor did sufficient penance for them, nor accepted the trials and sufferings that God sent them as a payment for their sins.
(2) Those who have committed mortal sins and therefore lost the grace of God, which they regained through the Sacrament of Confession, but like the case above, they were not sufficiently sorry for those venial sins, nor did sufficient penance for them, nor accepted the trials and sufferings that God sent them as a payment for their sins. Of course, mortal sin is much more expensive than venial sin, and so requires more penance than would be required for venial sin.
(3) The third group, of course, is a combination of the two previous groups listed above—those who have sinned both mortally and venially, and who have died with their mortal sins confessed and forgiven in the Sacrament of Confession. These have an even greater debt for having committed a combination of both kinds of sins.
Each Size of Sin Has Its Price Tag
What modifies this is the personal number and kind of sin that has been committed. There is a hierarchy among sins, which only God can properly and correctly evaluate. Objective and subjective elements come into play to create almost infinite levels of gravity for the same species of sin—the sin of violence will be judged differently in each case: what was duration of the act of violence? What was its intensity? On whom was it inflicted? Was it in self-defense? What damage or injury was inflicted? Was there any sorrow? Was there any apology made? Was any reparation made? Did the behavior improve or cease?
A Just Judge Judges the Just
These are just a few of the many questions that need to be asked to form a correct and just judgment of the level of guilt involved. Thank heavens it God Who judges and nobody else? It would be hard enough to judge one single sin correctly, let alone the thousands or hundreds of thousands of sins that one single person has committed!
It is good to know that, in all of His judgments, God is always both merciful and just. He never applies His justice without mercy; and He never shows mercy without justice. If He would do so, then He would be lacking in one or the other virtue—but God is perfect and so He exercises both in perfect balance and with the utmost harmony. However, it is worth noting one of the psalms, from Holy Scripture, which says: “The Lord is gracious and merciful; patient and plenteous in mercy! The Lord is sweet to all; and His tender mercies are over all His works!” (Psalm 144:8-9).
Mercy in Hell?
Even those who are damned in Hell, realize that God is merciful to them, and has not permitted them to be punished to degree that they truly deserved—even though they will be punished for eternity. The time of punishment remains the same—eternity—but the degree or intensity of punishment has been reduced. A combination of justice and mercy.
Sweeping Purgatory Under the Carpet?
Unfortunately, our sense of values has been deformed and corrupted, and we have no real inkling of the gravity of sin, nor of the punishment that sin deserves. Furthermore, we have little idea of what Purgatory is really like. For many, it is like a taboo subject—let’s not talk about it, let’s talk about something more pleasant! But when we avoid looking at the doctrine and revelations about Purgatory, we risk harming ourselves by avoiding the issue of the gravity and consequence of sin. When we read and truly meditate upon what goes on in Purgatory, we cannot avoid being struck with a salutary and healthy fear of the consequences of even the most ‘trivial’ sin (if one dare call sin ‘trivial’) and the rigor of God’s justice, even though he simultaneously applies some of His mercy.
“Ouch” and “Ouch” again!
If you read Fr. Schouppe’s book, Purgatory Explained, you will read some very sobering passages about Purgatory. One of the things he points out is the fact that the fires of Purgatory are the same fires as those of Hell. He also points out that there is in Purgatory, as in Hell, a double pain—the pain of loss in the soul and the pain of the senses. The pain suffered by the loss of God, is greater than the pain of the fire, or any of the other tortures, that the soul suffers.
Massive Loss
The pain of loss consists in being deprived for a time of the sight of God, Who is our Supreme Good, for Whom our souls were made. In Purgatory, there is a thirst for God—which should have been there while living on Earth, but the soul thirsted more for worldly things rather than God. The pain of sense, or sensible suffering, is the same as that which we experience in our flesh. Its nature is not defined by Faith, but it is the common opinion of the Doctors that it consists in fire and other species of suffering.
Fearsome Fire—Hot as Hell
The fire of Purgatory, say the Fathers, is that of Hell, of which the rich glutton speaks when he says: “I am tormented in this flame” (Luke 16:24). The same fire, says Pope St. Gregory the Great, torments the damned and purifies the elect. “Almost all theologians,” says the cardinal, St. Robert Bellarmine, “teach that the damned in Hell and the souls in Purgatory suffer the action of the same fire.” It must be held as certain, writes St. Robert Bellarmine, that there is no proportion between the sufferings of this life and those of Purgatory. St. Catherine of Genoa, in her book on Purgatory, writes: “As to the suffering, it is equal to that of Hell.”
We know what a terrible thing fire is, and what pain is caused by the slightest burn, no matter how feeble the flame may be; how much more terrible must be that fire which is fed neither with wood, gas nor oil.
St. Catherine of Genoa, in her book on Purgatory, says: “The souls endure a torment so extreme that no tongue can describe it, nor could the understanding conceive the least notion of it, if God did not make it known by a particular grace.”
Perfectly Weighted Justice
As regards the severity of these pains, since they are inflicted by Infinite Justice, they are proportioned to the nature, gravity, and number of sins committed. Each one receives according to his works, each one must acquit himself of the debts with which he sees himself charged before God. Now these debts differ greatly in quality. Some, which have accumulated during a long life, have reached the ten thousand talents of the Gospel, that is to say, millions and tens of millions; whilst others are reduced to a few farthings, the trifling remainder of that which has not been expiated on Earth. It follows from this that the souls undergo various kinds of sufferings, that there are innumerable degrees of expiation in Purgatory, and that some are incomparably more severe than others. However, speaking in general, the doctors agree in saying that the pains are most excruciating.
Terrible Time of Torment
St. Augustine believes that even though the souls in Purgatory will be saved, no doubt, after the trial of fire, but that trial will be terrible, that torment of Purgatory will be far more intolerable than all the most excruciating sufferings in this world. St. Thomas goes even further; he maintains that the least pain of Purgatory surpasses all the sufferings of this life, whatsoever they may be. The author of The Imitation of Christ explains this doctrine by a practical and striking sentence. Speaking in general of the sufferings of the other life, he says: “There, one hour of torment will be more terrible than a hundred years of rigorous penance done here!”
Crazy Catholics
Why, O why, do people want to pile up unnecessary punishment in the unimaginably painful and hot fires of Purgatory, which are in essence the fires of Hell, when they could avoid that by either not-sinning here below, or doing fitting serious penance for past sins. If people were physically burned on Earth each time they committed a Mortal or Venial Sin, then sin would soon stop. Because there payment is deferred to a later time, they sin like crazy! They—and we—are crazy! You have to be—if you stop and think about it seriously!
Some people have the weirdest ideas about Purgatory. They amount of sins that they commit would make you think that they imagine Purgatory to be like a five-star hotel, with a bar and Jacuzzi in every room, air-conditioning and climate-control, Olympic size swimming-pool and golf-course thrown in. They sin more and more so that they can spend more and more time there! The Modernist or Liberal Catholic, may well accept the existence of Purgatory in theory, however, in practice, they live as though Purgatory is empty. Let’s face it, how many sermons do you hear on Purgatory these days? Even when they are preached, many ‘water-down’ Purgatory to a point where we think little of the sufferings of the souls detained there—as though they were merely stuck in a traffic jam or in slow-moving traffic on the road to Heaven! The Modernist and Liberal mentality is, in the words of Fr. Felix Salvany, in his book Liberalism is a Sin,
Offend God rather than Neighbor!
“The Catholic simply tainted with Liberalism is generally a good man and sincerely pious; he exhales nevertheless an odor of Liberalism in everything he says, writes, or takes up. This courageous man reasons, speaks, and acts as a Liberal without knowing it. His strong point is charity; he is charity itself. … How the devil must chuckle over the mushy charity held out as a bait to abet his own cause! … Charity is a supernatural virtue which induces us to love God above all things and our neighbors as ourselves for the love of God. … Charity is primarily the love of God, secondarily the love of our neighbor for God’s sake. To sacrifice the first is to abandon the latter. Therefore, to offend our neighbor for the love of God is a true act of charity. Not to offend our neighbor for the love of God is a sin. Modern Liberalism reverses this order; it imposes a false notion of charity: our neighbor first, and, if at all, God afterwards” (Fr. Felix Salvany, Liberalism Is A Sin).
Hey! Nobody’s Perfect!
The result of this reversal of charity therefore sees people being prepared to see God offended rather than having to be ‘uncharitable’ by correcting the sinning neighbor! Unbelievable! Yet this modern behavior consequently allows mountains of sins to be piled-up under the pretext of what they think and protest is charity—all they really do is allow others to pile-up their Purgatory! “Sin now, burn later”—that’s their idea of charity. They help their neighbor pile-up the firewood with their excuses for not correcting others--”Everyone has their faults!” … “Nobody’s perfect!” … “It’s only a Venial Sin!” Huh? Only a Venial Sin? Well read some accounts of the suffering undergone in the fires of Purgatory for only Venial Sins! Then come back and say “only”! The entrance fee to Heaven is PERFECTION—as Our Lord Himself said: “Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48), which echoes the Old Testament: “Thou shalt be perfect, and without spot before the Lord thy God” (Deuteronomy 18:13). Heaven is no place for mediocrity or half-baked Catholics—hence the need for the fires of Purgatory to fully-bake the half-baked Catholics. Remember what St. Padre Pio said—many, if not most saints, had to pass to through Purgatory—with the exception of martyrs.
Dense Wood Burns Longer
They say that dense wood burns for much longer—well, these Liberals and Modernists with their fake and false notions of charity and sin, must be pretty dense. Therefore, if they manage to scrape into Purgatory, they will burn all the longer. The physician cauterizing his patient or cutting off his gangrened limb may nonetheless love him. Likewise the ‘cauterizing’ effect of Purgatory is an inexplicably painful act of mercy and love by God—God chastises those who He loves: “I know your works, and that you are neither cold, nor hot. I would prefer that you were cold or hot. But because you are lukewarm―and neither cold, not hot―I will begin to vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say: ‘I am rich, and made wealthy, and have need of nothing!’ and do you not know that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy of Me gold fire tried, so that you may be made rich; and may be clothed in white garments, and that the shame of your nakedness may not appear; and anoint your eyes with eye-salve, so that you may see. Such as I love, I rebuke and chastise. Be zealous therefore, and do penance!” (Apocalypse 3:15-19).
As Penance Goes Down, the Temperature Goes Up
It is lack of penance that places souls in the terrible fires of Purgatory. Our Lord has warned us: product of confession is the receiving and doing of penance. “Unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3).
The dogmatic teaching of the Catholic Church on the doctrine of Purgatory was specified in 1439 by the Council of Florence, which declared: “It has likewise been defined that, if those truly penitent have departed in the love of God, before they have made satisfaction by worthy fruits of penance for sins of commission and omission, the souls of these are cleansed after death by purgatorial punishments.”
The Council of Trent later added: “If anyone says that, after receiving the grace of justification, the guilt of any repentant sinner is remitted and the debt of eternal punishment is blotted out, in such a way that no debt of temporal punishment remains to be paid, either in this life or in Purgatory, before the gate to the kingdom of Heaven can be opened: let him be anathema.”
White-Weddings, okay! White-Funerals? You’re Kidding!
St. Paul said that in the last times there would be people with “itching ears” seeking after novelties and believing fables. Well, one of those fables is that Purgatory and Hell are empty—or almost empty. God is love, and love is sweet, and the sweet loving God in His loving sweetness cannot bear to send anyone to Purgatory, let alone Hell!
This novelty of funerals in white is a fable-feeding funeral—funerals in white used to be performed ONLY for children who had died below the “age-of-reason” and were thus incapable of committing sin—which meant that after death they went straight to Heaven, hence the “funeral in white” with the Mass being that of the Angels, not the Requiem Mass. Today, everyone gets a “White-Funeral” and everyone talks as though the deceased is already clinking glasses with the angels and saints in Heaven, at a homecoming party! Sadly, Heaven IS NOT filling up and Purgatory is NOT empty. In fact, the common opinion among theologians is that MOST SOULS, that end up going to Heaven, have to pass through the fires of Purgatory. As Scripture says: “There shall not enter into it anything defiled, or that works abomination or makes a lie …” (Apocalypse 21:27).
Full-Price Ticket to Heaven
The poor souls in Purgatory still have the stains of sin within them. This means two things. First, it means that the souls have not yet paid the temporal penalty due to sin, either for venial sins, or for mortal sins whose guilt was forgiven before death. There is also the problem of unrepented and unforgiven venial sin, for which the guilt and punishment were not removed before death. It is not certain whether the guilt of venial sins is strictly speaking remitted after death, and if so, how the remission takes place.
Discounts Only On Earth
We can pay for damage of sin after death in Purgatory, or we can pay the penalties of satisfaction for sin on Earth before death, which can be done by souls in a state of grace during the course of their whole life on Earth. Whereas before death a soul can cleanse itself by freely choosing to suffer for its sins, and so can gain merit for this suffering; a soul in Purgatory cannot choose to do so and gains no merit for its suffering and no increase in its glory. Rather, it is cleansed according to the demands of Divine Justice.
The Price is Right!
There are simply, or perhaps even too obviously, several basic reasons why souls have to undergo the terrible, yet at the same time joyful, sufferings of Purgatory. To keep things simple, let us enumerate them in a list form:
(1) Those who never lost the grace of God throughout their life, and died after having committed only venial sins in their life, but who were not sufficiently sorry for those venial sins, nor did sufficient penance for them, nor accepted the trials and sufferings that God sent them as a payment for their sins.
(2) Those who have committed mortal sins and therefore lost the grace of God, which they regained through the Sacrament of Confession, but like the case above, they were not sufficiently sorry for those venial sins, nor did sufficient penance for them, nor accepted the trials and sufferings that God sent them as a payment for their sins. Of course, mortal sin is much more expensive than venial sin, and so requires more penance than would be required for venial sin.
(3) The third group, of course, is a combination of the two previous groups listed above—those who have sinned both mortally and venially, and who have died with their mortal sins confessed and forgiven in the Sacrament of Confession. These have an even greater debt for having committed a combination of both kinds of sins.
Each Size of Sin Has Its Price Tag
What modifies this is the personal number and kind of sin that has been committed. There is a hierarchy among sins, which only God can properly and correctly evaluate. Objective and subjective elements come into play to create almost infinite levels of gravity for the same species of sin—the sin of violence will be judged differently in each case: what was duration of the act of violence? What was its intensity? On whom was it inflicted? Was it in self-defense? What damage or injury was inflicted? Was there any sorrow? Was there any apology made? Was any reparation made? Did the behavior improve or cease?
A Just Judge Judges the Just
These are just a few of the many questions that need to be asked to form a correct and just judgment of the level of guilt involved. Thank heavens it God Who judges and nobody else? It would be hard enough to judge one single sin correctly, let alone the thousands or hundreds of thousands of sins that one single person has committed!
It is good to know that, in all of His judgments, God is always both merciful and just. He never applies His justice without mercy; and He never shows mercy without justice. If He would do so, then He would be lacking in one or the other virtue—but God is perfect and so He exercises both in perfect balance and with the utmost harmony. However, it is worth noting one of the psalms, from Holy Scripture, which says: “The Lord is gracious and merciful; patient and plenteous in mercy! The Lord is sweet to all; and His tender mercies are over all His works!” (Psalm 144:8-9).
Mercy in Hell?
Even those who are damned in Hell, realize that God is merciful to them, and has not permitted them to be punished to degree that they truly deserved—even though they will be punished for eternity. The time of punishment remains the same—eternity—but the degree or intensity of punishment has been reduced. A combination of justice and mercy.
Sweeping Purgatory Under the Carpet?
Unfortunately, our sense of values has been deformed and corrupted, and we have no real inkling of the gravity of sin, nor of the punishment that sin deserves. Furthermore, we have little idea of what Purgatory is really like. For many, it is like a taboo subject—let’s not talk about it, let’s talk about something more pleasant! But when we avoid looking at the doctrine and revelations about Purgatory, we risk harming ourselves by avoiding the issue of the gravity and consequence of sin. When we read and truly meditate upon what goes on in Purgatory, we cannot avoid being struck with a salutary and healthy fear of the consequences of even the most ‘trivial’ sin (if one dare call sin ‘trivial’) and the rigor of God’s justice, even though he simultaneously applies some of His mercy.
“Ouch” and “Ouch” again!
If you read Fr. Schouppe’s book, Purgatory Explained, you will read some very sobering passages about Purgatory. One of the things he points out is the fact that the fires of Purgatory are the same fires as those of Hell. He also points out that there is in Purgatory, as in Hell, a double pain—the pain of loss in the soul and the pain of the senses. The pain suffered by the loss of God, is greater than the pain of the fire, or any of the other tortures, that the soul suffers.
Massive Loss
The pain of loss consists in being deprived for a time of the sight of God, Who is our Supreme Good, for Whom our souls were made. In Purgatory, there is a thirst for God—which should have been there while living on Earth, but the soul thirsted more for worldly things rather than God. The pain of sense, or sensible suffering, is the same as that which we experience in our flesh. Its nature is not defined by Faith, but it is the common opinion of the Doctors that it consists in fire and other species of suffering.
Fearsome Fire—Hot as Hell
The fire of Purgatory, say the Fathers, is that of Hell, of which the rich glutton speaks when he says: “I am tormented in this flame” (Luke 16:24). The same fire, says Pope St. Gregory the Great, torments the damned and purifies the elect. “Almost all theologians,” says the cardinal, St. Robert Bellarmine, “teach that the damned in Hell and the souls in Purgatory suffer the action of the same fire.” It must be held as certain, writes St. Robert Bellarmine, that there is no proportion between the sufferings of this life and those of Purgatory. St. Catherine of Genoa, in her book on Purgatory, writes: “As to the suffering, it is equal to that of Hell.”
We know what a terrible thing fire is, and what pain is caused by the slightest burn, no matter how feeble the flame may be; how much more terrible must be that fire which is fed neither with wood, gas nor oil.
St. Catherine of Genoa, in her book on Purgatory, says: “The souls endure a torment so extreme that no tongue can describe it, nor could the understanding conceive the least notion of it, if God did not make it known by a particular grace.”
Perfectly Weighted Justice
As regards the severity of these pains, since they are inflicted by Infinite Justice, they are proportioned to the nature, gravity, and number of sins committed. Each one receives according to his works, each one must acquit himself of the debts with which he sees himself charged before God. Now these debts differ greatly in quality. Some, which have accumulated during a long life, have reached the ten thousand talents of the Gospel, that is to say, millions and tens of millions; whilst others are reduced to a few farthings, the trifling remainder of that which has not been expiated on Earth. It follows from this that the souls undergo various kinds of sufferings, that there are innumerable degrees of expiation in Purgatory, and that some are incomparably more severe than others. However, speaking in general, the doctors agree in saying that the pains are most excruciating.
Terrible Time of Torment
St. Augustine believes that even though the souls in Purgatory will be saved, no doubt, after the trial of fire, but that trial will be terrible, that torment of Purgatory will be far more intolerable than all the most excruciating sufferings in this world. St. Thomas goes even further; he maintains that the least pain of Purgatory surpasses all the sufferings of this life, whatsoever they may be. The author of The Imitation of Christ explains this doctrine by a practical and striking sentence. Speaking in general of the sufferings of the other life, he says: “There, one hour of torment will be more terrible than a hundred years of rigorous penance done here!”
Crazy Catholics
Why, O why, do people want to pile up unnecessary punishment in the unimaginably painful and hot fires of Purgatory, which are in essence the fires of Hell, when they could avoid that by either not-sinning here below, or doing fitting serious penance for past sins. If people were physically burned on Earth each time they committed a Mortal or Venial Sin, then sin would soon stop. Because there payment is deferred to a later time, they sin like crazy! They—and we—are crazy! You have to be—if you stop and think about it seriously!
Article 5
Wednesday November 5th
Heavenly Real Estate!
Wednesday November 5th
Heavenly Real Estate!
Different Viewpoints
“Seek ye the Lord, while He may be found: call upon Him, while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unjust man his thoughts, and let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and return to our God―for He is bountiful to forgive! For My thoughts are not your thoughts; nor your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are exalted above the Earth, so are My ways exalted above your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts” (Isaias 55:6-9).
The way that we look at sin is not the way the God looks at sin. In our thoughts it is “no big deal”! Hey! Doesn’t the Bible say that we are all sinners? That’s the reality of things! After all, that’s what Confession is for! We sin; we confess; we’re forgiven; we go on with life! Well―yes and no.
Yes, we are all sinners—we are all born with Original Sin (the sin of our first parents that we did not commit, but we carry its consequences) and we all commit Actual Sin (our own personal sins that we actually commit).
Yes, the Bible does say that “A just man shall fall seven times and shall rise again” (Proverbs 24:16) and “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity.” (1 John 1:8-9). But Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery: “Neither will I condemn thee! Go, and now sin no more!” (John 8:11). For, as Jesus points out in a parable, even though sins are forgiven, we will have pay for them to the very last farthing or cent: “Amen I say to thee, thou shalt not go out from thence till thou repay the last penny” (Matthew 5:26).
Holy but Poor
That is exactly the plight of the souls in Purgatory—we call them both “Holy Souls” and at the same time “Poor Souls”.
They are “holy” in the sense that they are destined for and guaranteed to go to Heaven—which is a place of incredible holiness. Yet, at the moment, they are “poor”—in the sense that they are not “wealthy” enough to enter Heaven, they have not yet “earned” Heaven due to a wasteful, negligent, lukewarm and sinful life here below.
They are far “holier” than we are here on Earth, for now they are learning the beauty and need for suffering, and they are going through the most unimaginable and unspeakable sufferings in Purgatory with peace, patience and joy—which is how we are supposed to suffer here below, but we don’t do so in that manner. Yet at the same time they are “poor” because they have nothing to pay with to shorten their stay in Purgatory—they rely solely on our alms, that is to say our prayers, sacrifices and acts of charity for them.
We, humans, put too cheap a price on Heaven. It must be an insult to God to see us think, speak and act in that way. If we would only stop to think about what that piece of heavenly ‘real-estate’ really is like, then we would get a ‘reality-check’ and perhaps would “get real” about our spiritual life and our choices of where we want to go and what we are prepared to pay to get there.
PERKS OF PARADISE
If we had to pay for Heaven in financial terms—by dishing out the dollars—then few or perhaps nobody could afford it! Just imagine what Heaven offers:
What Price on Eternity?
Heaven offers us eternal life! Eternal life! Just let that word “eternal” sink in! Think about it for a while—but don’t take an eternity over it! That has been the dream of mankind—and, though they cannot make themselves live forever, they never stop trying to find ways that will make them live a bit longer! Live a “bit longer”—imagine the millions of dollars spent on research just to live “a bit longer”! God offers, not just “a bit longer” but ETERNITY—where a million, a billion years is not even a grain of sand among all the beaches of the world, or like a drop of water compared to the drops of water that make up all the world’s oceans. How can you put a price on freedom from death? It’s priceless!
What price eternity? In one sense, it is priceless; in another sense, it costs less than the millions expended on living “a bit longer”—Heaven is bought with spiritual currency and not the world’s currency (except alms). For money cannot buy Heaven, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles: “[Peter and John] laid their hands upon them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw, that by the imposition of the hands of the Apostles, the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying: ‘Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I shall lay my hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost!’ But Peter said to him: ‘Keep thy money to thyself, to perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money! Thy heart is not right in the sight of God! Do penance therefore for this thy wickedness; and pray to God, that perhaps this thought of thy heart may be forgiven thee!’” (Acts 8:17-21).
What a waste of time to spend one’s life pursuing riches and the comforts they can buy! Have we forgotten Our Lord’s encounter with the rich young man? “And behold a certain man running up and kneeling before Him: ‘Good Master, what good shall I do that I may have life everlasting?’ And Jesus said to him: ‘Thou knowest the commandments—keep the commandments!’ The young man said to Jesus: ‘All these I have kept from my youth, what is yet wanting to me?’ And Jesus looking on him, loved him, and said to him: ‘One thing is wanting unto thee: go, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven; and come, follow Me!’ And when the young man had heard this word, being struck sad at that saying, went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
“Then Jesus, looking round about, said to His disciples: ‘Amen, I say to you: How hardly shall they that have riches, enter into the Kingdom of God! And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!’ And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus again answering, said to them: ‘Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches, to enter into the Kingdom of God!’ And when they had heard this, the disciples wondered very much, saying: ‘Who then can be saved?’ And Jesus looking on them, said to them: ‘With men this is impossible―but with God all things are possible!’” (Matthew 19:16-26; Mark 10:17-27).
Our Lady of Good Success and La Salette speaks of this vanity and danger:”Priests … will become attached to wealth and riches, which they will unduly strive to obtain (GS) … who think only of piling riches upon riches (LS).” If priests and religious are doing this, it only encourages the laity to do it even more! God says:”Let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, for I am the Lord” (Jeremias 9:23-24). “Jesus said to His disciples: ‘Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!’” (Matthew 19:23-24).
What Price on No More Suffering of Any Kind?
Heaven offers us a life free from any illness or suffering. Imagine what kind of money people would pay for that kind of blessing and guarantee here on Earth! Hundreds of thousands! Even millions! Look at the price of one surgical operation! Of course, insurance companies pay the largest chunk—but people pay insurance companies hundreds a month, every month! Americans consume 80% of the world’s supply of painkillers. Pain also appeared to be a major driver of health-care costs. Research has shown that Americans spent just under $5,000 million in over-the-counter pain medications and another nearly $18,000 million on outpatient analgesics. In the United States, the total amount of money spent on medicines reached approximately $574,000 million ($574 billion) on all forms of medication. Average expenditure is about $1,300 per person per year.
What is the proportion of time and money spent on spiritual health? Very little. Less than 20% of Catholics take the medication of Holy Mass once a week; less than 4% take the medication of the Holy Rosary daily! It seems like most Catholics don’t believe in “Holy-istic” medicine! Unfortunate! Even less is the number of Catholics who will suffer some regular penance—only to later find themselves in REAL suffering in Purgatory, if they are lucky enough to scrape in there! “The Dogma of Purgatory is too much forgotten by the majority of the faithful; the Church Suffering, where they have so many brethren to succor, whither they foresee that they themselves must one day go, seems a strange land to them” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained). Of course, everyone suffers in this life—but very few seem to profit from that suffering if, as Our Lord, Our Lady and most theologians hold that most souls are lost. Two crucified thieves suffered alongside Christ on Calvary—one suffered well and his sufferings brought an eternal end to suffering in Paradise; the other suffered badly and it brought him eternal suffering in Hell.
As Our Lady said to the Venerable Mary of Agreda: “Understand the ignorance and error of mortals, and how far they drift from the way of light, when, as a rule, nearly all of them strive to avoid labor and suffering and are frightened by the royal and secure road of mortification and the Cross. Full of this deceitful ignorance, they do not only abhor resemblance to Christ’s suffering and my own, and deprive themselves of the true and highest blessing of this life; but they make their recovery impossible, since all of them are weak and afflicted by many sins, for which the only remedy is suffering. Sin is committed by base indulgence and is repugnant to suffering sorrow, while tribulation earns the pardon of the just Judge.”
What Price on Beauty?
No aging, no getting older, ‘wrinklier’, weaker, or ‘wobblier’. No matter in what state we die—old, bald, fat, ugly, deformed or ‘dandruffed’—in Heaven we will find ourselves in the prime of life (early adulthood years) and with perfections of body that vain people of this world would kill for! They fork out thousands of dollars trying to achieve a perfect body, and God will give it to us for free—if we are good! Here, on Earth, billions is spent in the vain (for most) search for the perfect body, the beautiful face, hair care, hair restoration, etc. African Americans spent $507,000 million in 2009 on hair care and personal grooming items. In Britain women spend an average of $6,000 to $8,000 a year on beauty and maintenance. U.S. women spend on average between $12,000 to $15,000 every year on products and salon services. The amount of money spent annually on cosmetics in the United States is $8,000 million dollars! $20,000 million is spent in the U.S. annually on dieting, including diet books, diet drugs and weight-loss surgeries.
As Fr. Schouppe writes, in his book Purgatory Explained: “Souls that allow themselves to be dazzled by the vanities of the world, even if they have the good fortune to escape damnation, will have to undergo terrible punishment. Let us open the Revelations of St. Bridget. We read there that the saint saw herself transported in spirit into Purgatory, and that, among others, she saw there a young lady of high birth who had formerly abandoned herself to the luxury and vanities of the world. This unfortunate soul related to her the history of her life, and the sad state in which she then was found: ‘Happily,’ before death I confessed my sins in such dispositions as to escape Hell, but now I suffer here to expiate the worldly life that my mother did not prevent me from leading!’
“She then added: ‘Alas! This head of mine, which loved to be adorned, and which sought to draw the attention of others, is now devoured with flames inside and out, and these flames are so violent that, every moment, it seems to me that I must die. These shoulders, these arms, which I loved to see admired, are cruelly bound in chains of red-hot iron. These feet, formerly trained for the dance, are now surrounded with vipers that tear them with their fangs and soil them with their filthy slime. All these parts of the body which I have adorned with jewels, flowers, and a variety of other ornaments, are now a prey to the most horrible torture! O mother, mother!’ she cried, ‘how culpable have you been in my regard! It was you who, by a fatal indulgence, encouraged my taste for display and extravagant expense; it was you that took me to theaters, parties, and dances, and to those worldly assemblies which are the ruin of souls!’” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
“Blessed Mary Villani, a Dominican Religious, was transported in spirit to Purgatory. Among the souls that suffered there she saw one more cruelly tormented than the others, in the midst of flames which entirely enveloped her. Touched with compassion, Blessed Mary Villani questioned the soul, who replied: ‘I have been here for a very long time, punished for my vanity and my scandalous extravagance. Thus far I have not received the least alleviation. Whilst I was upon Earth, being wholly occupied with my appearance, my pleasures, and worldly amusements, I thought very little of my duties as a Christian, and fulfilled them only with great reluctance, and in a slothful manner.’” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
What Price on Happiness?
Happiness and joy, beyond our wildest dreams, will be ours! Though there will be no equality in Heaven, there will also be no envy, no jealousy, no pride, no anger, no lust, no greed, no resentment, no desire for revenge, no harboring of grudges, no suspicion, no fear, no arguing, no fighting, etc. What price would you pay to experience that on Earth? You couldn’t pay for it, because it is priceless!
In 2000, the US population spent over $200 billion (200,000 million dollars) on entertainment—just to try find some happiness or joy—which is three times the amount spent on education. Other ‘Make Me Happy’ expenditures are $30,000 million on candy; $76,000 million on soda; $50,000 million on alcohol and $49,000 million on tobacco. That’s only the money side of it—how much time was spent indulging in these things? Our Lady’s complaints at Quito and La Salette are haunting: “The Christian spirit will rapidly decay, extinguishing the precious light of Faith until it reaches the point that there will be an almost total and general corruption of customs … Disorder and the love of carnal pleasures will be spread all over the Earth … People will think of nothing but amusement.”
As Fr. Schouppe writes, in his book Purgatory Explained: “The venerable servant of God, Frances of Pampeluna, who was favored with several visions of Purgatory, saw, one day, a man of the world, who, although he had otherwise been a tolerably good Christian, passed fifty-nine years in Purgatory on account of seeking his ease and comfort. Another passed thirty-five years there for the same reason; a third, who had too strong, a passion for gambling, was detained there for sixty-four years. If God is severe towards the rich and the pleasure-seekers of the world, He will not be less so towards princes, magistrates, parents, and, in general, towards all those who have the charge of souls and authority over others.” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
You Won’t Miss Anything if by Dozing-Off!
In Heaven you won’t miss out on anything. You will have more time to do things than you ever had here on Earth! Well, one reason for that is the “eternity factor” which makes a long-life on Earth seem like a joke! The other factor is that you won’t sleep in Heaven (so get all the sleep you can now!), for there will be no need for sleep! That must be the worldly man’s dream, for whom “time means money”! The less you sleep, the more you can work and so the more money you can make—much like the stores that want to stay open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Heavenly Diet
The beauty of body in Heaven will be aided by a heavenly diet—which is a diet of no food at all! We won’t need to eat to sustain our bodies. That means no more having to grow, hunt or shop for food; no more check-out lines; no more slaving over a hot oven; no more dirty dishes to wash! Put a price on that! You can’t, it’s priceless!
So there we are, just a few of the “Perks of Paradise”! And we want all that for what price??? God will say: “You’ve gotta be kidding Me! Your offer is a joke! When you develop a mature and real sense of values, then come back and we’ll talk about it!”
That was the attitude of most souls in Purgatory. It was a totally unrealistic view of Heaven and its value. In effect, they wanted to swindle God, by getting all the above and more besides, for a few paltry prayers; some soppy sacrifices; lukewarm lines of “Love ya!” ; mediocre Masses; rushed Rosaries and the like.
That is not the way to treat God, nor will God let us get away with it—it’s not His way, though it might be ours. With these false expectations for Heaven, stemming from our self-love and pride, God could well tell us to go to “the other place.” Yet He knows what we are made of and He shows compassion:
“The Lord is compassionate and merciful; long-suffering and plenteous in mercy. He will not always be angry; nor will He threaten for ever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities ... As a father has compassion on his children, so has the Lord compassion on them that fear Him―for He knows our frame. He remembers that we are dust!” (Psalm 102:8-14).
The Real Price of Real Estate
In that kindness, compassion and mercy, He seeks for a solution to our cheap and insulting offer for a piece of Heaven’s real-estate. The solution is Purgatory. As Fr. Schouppe says, in his book, Purgatory Explained:
“The Justice of God is terrible, and it punishes with extreme rigor even the most trivial faults. The reason is, that these faults, light in our eyes, are in no way so before God. The least sin displeases Him infinitely, and, on account of the infinite Sanctity which is offended, the slightest transgression assumes enormous proportions, and demands enormous atonement.
“This explains the terrible severity of the pains of the other life, and should penetrate us with a holy fear. This fear of Purgatory is a salutary fear; its effect is, not only to animate us with a charitable compassion towards the poor suffering souls, but also with a vigilant zeal for our own spiritual welfare. Think of the fire of Purgatory, and you will endeavor to avoid the least faults; think of the fire of Purgatory, and you will practice penance, that you may satisfy Divine Justice in this world rather than in the next. Let us, however, guard against excessive fear, and not lose confidence.
“Let us not forget the Mercy of God, which is not less infinite than His Justice. Thy mercy, Lord, is great above the Heavens, says the prophet; and elsewhere, The Lord is gracious and merciful: patient, and plenteous in mercy? This ineffable mercy should calm the most lively apprehensions, and fill us with a holy confidence, according to the words: ‘In Thee, O Lord, I have hoped; let me never be put to confusion.’ If we are animated with this double sentiment, if our confidence in God’s Mercy is equal to the fear with which His Justice inspires us, we shall have the true spirit of devotion to the souls in Purgatory.” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
“Seek ye the Lord, while He may be found: call upon Him, while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unjust man his thoughts, and let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and return to our God―for He is bountiful to forgive! For My thoughts are not your thoughts; nor your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are exalted above the Earth, so are My ways exalted above your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts” (Isaias 55:6-9).
The way that we look at sin is not the way the God looks at sin. In our thoughts it is “no big deal”! Hey! Doesn’t the Bible say that we are all sinners? That’s the reality of things! After all, that’s what Confession is for! We sin; we confess; we’re forgiven; we go on with life! Well―yes and no.
Yes, we are all sinners—we are all born with Original Sin (the sin of our first parents that we did not commit, but we carry its consequences) and we all commit Actual Sin (our own personal sins that we actually commit).
Yes, the Bible does say that “A just man shall fall seven times and shall rise again” (Proverbs 24:16) and “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity.” (1 John 1:8-9). But Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery: “Neither will I condemn thee! Go, and now sin no more!” (John 8:11). For, as Jesus points out in a parable, even though sins are forgiven, we will have pay for them to the very last farthing or cent: “Amen I say to thee, thou shalt not go out from thence till thou repay the last penny” (Matthew 5:26).
Holy but Poor
That is exactly the plight of the souls in Purgatory—we call them both “Holy Souls” and at the same time “Poor Souls”.
They are “holy” in the sense that they are destined for and guaranteed to go to Heaven—which is a place of incredible holiness. Yet, at the moment, they are “poor”—in the sense that they are not “wealthy” enough to enter Heaven, they have not yet “earned” Heaven due to a wasteful, negligent, lukewarm and sinful life here below.
They are far “holier” than we are here on Earth, for now they are learning the beauty and need for suffering, and they are going through the most unimaginable and unspeakable sufferings in Purgatory with peace, patience and joy—which is how we are supposed to suffer here below, but we don’t do so in that manner. Yet at the same time they are “poor” because they have nothing to pay with to shorten their stay in Purgatory—they rely solely on our alms, that is to say our prayers, sacrifices and acts of charity for them.
We, humans, put too cheap a price on Heaven. It must be an insult to God to see us think, speak and act in that way. If we would only stop to think about what that piece of heavenly ‘real-estate’ really is like, then we would get a ‘reality-check’ and perhaps would “get real” about our spiritual life and our choices of where we want to go and what we are prepared to pay to get there.
PERKS OF PARADISE
If we had to pay for Heaven in financial terms—by dishing out the dollars—then few or perhaps nobody could afford it! Just imagine what Heaven offers:
What Price on Eternity?
Heaven offers us eternal life! Eternal life! Just let that word “eternal” sink in! Think about it for a while—but don’t take an eternity over it! That has been the dream of mankind—and, though they cannot make themselves live forever, they never stop trying to find ways that will make them live a bit longer! Live a “bit longer”—imagine the millions of dollars spent on research just to live “a bit longer”! God offers, not just “a bit longer” but ETERNITY—where a million, a billion years is not even a grain of sand among all the beaches of the world, or like a drop of water compared to the drops of water that make up all the world’s oceans. How can you put a price on freedom from death? It’s priceless!
What price eternity? In one sense, it is priceless; in another sense, it costs less than the millions expended on living “a bit longer”—Heaven is bought with spiritual currency and not the world’s currency (except alms). For money cannot buy Heaven, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles: “[Peter and John] laid their hands upon them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw, that by the imposition of the hands of the Apostles, the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying: ‘Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I shall lay my hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost!’ But Peter said to him: ‘Keep thy money to thyself, to perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money! Thy heart is not right in the sight of God! Do penance therefore for this thy wickedness; and pray to God, that perhaps this thought of thy heart may be forgiven thee!’” (Acts 8:17-21).
What a waste of time to spend one’s life pursuing riches and the comforts they can buy! Have we forgotten Our Lord’s encounter with the rich young man? “And behold a certain man running up and kneeling before Him: ‘Good Master, what good shall I do that I may have life everlasting?’ And Jesus said to him: ‘Thou knowest the commandments—keep the commandments!’ The young man said to Jesus: ‘All these I have kept from my youth, what is yet wanting to me?’ And Jesus looking on him, loved him, and said to him: ‘One thing is wanting unto thee: go, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven; and come, follow Me!’ And when the young man had heard this word, being struck sad at that saying, went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
“Then Jesus, looking round about, said to His disciples: ‘Amen, I say to you: How hardly shall they that have riches, enter into the Kingdom of God! And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!’ And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus again answering, said to them: ‘Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches, to enter into the Kingdom of God!’ And when they had heard this, the disciples wondered very much, saying: ‘Who then can be saved?’ And Jesus looking on them, said to them: ‘With men this is impossible―but with God all things are possible!’” (Matthew 19:16-26; Mark 10:17-27).
Our Lady of Good Success and La Salette speaks of this vanity and danger:”Priests … will become attached to wealth and riches, which they will unduly strive to obtain (GS) … who think only of piling riches upon riches (LS).” If priests and religious are doing this, it only encourages the laity to do it even more! God says:”Let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, for I am the Lord” (Jeremias 9:23-24). “Jesus said to His disciples: ‘Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven!’” (Matthew 19:23-24).
What Price on No More Suffering of Any Kind?
Heaven offers us a life free from any illness or suffering. Imagine what kind of money people would pay for that kind of blessing and guarantee here on Earth! Hundreds of thousands! Even millions! Look at the price of one surgical operation! Of course, insurance companies pay the largest chunk—but people pay insurance companies hundreds a month, every month! Americans consume 80% of the world’s supply of painkillers. Pain also appeared to be a major driver of health-care costs. Research has shown that Americans spent just under $5,000 million in over-the-counter pain medications and another nearly $18,000 million on outpatient analgesics. In the United States, the total amount of money spent on medicines reached approximately $574,000 million ($574 billion) on all forms of medication. Average expenditure is about $1,300 per person per year.
What is the proportion of time and money spent on spiritual health? Very little. Less than 20% of Catholics take the medication of Holy Mass once a week; less than 4% take the medication of the Holy Rosary daily! It seems like most Catholics don’t believe in “Holy-istic” medicine! Unfortunate! Even less is the number of Catholics who will suffer some regular penance—only to later find themselves in REAL suffering in Purgatory, if they are lucky enough to scrape in there! “The Dogma of Purgatory is too much forgotten by the majority of the faithful; the Church Suffering, where they have so many brethren to succor, whither they foresee that they themselves must one day go, seems a strange land to them” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained). Of course, everyone suffers in this life—but very few seem to profit from that suffering if, as Our Lord, Our Lady and most theologians hold that most souls are lost. Two crucified thieves suffered alongside Christ on Calvary—one suffered well and his sufferings brought an eternal end to suffering in Paradise; the other suffered badly and it brought him eternal suffering in Hell.
As Our Lady said to the Venerable Mary of Agreda: “Understand the ignorance and error of mortals, and how far they drift from the way of light, when, as a rule, nearly all of them strive to avoid labor and suffering and are frightened by the royal and secure road of mortification and the Cross. Full of this deceitful ignorance, they do not only abhor resemblance to Christ’s suffering and my own, and deprive themselves of the true and highest blessing of this life; but they make their recovery impossible, since all of them are weak and afflicted by many sins, for which the only remedy is suffering. Sin is committed by base indulgence and is repugnant to suffering sorrow, while tribulation earns the pardon of the just Judge.”
What Price on Beauty?
No aging, no getting older, ‘wrinklier’, weaker, or ‘wobblier’. No matter in what state we die—old, bald, fat, ugly, deformed or ‘dandruffed’—in Heaven we will find ourselves in the prime of life (early adulthood years) and with perfections of body that vain people of this world would kill for! They fork out thousands of dollars trying to achieve a perfect body, and God will give it to us for free—if we are good! Here, on Earth, billions is spent in the vain (for most) search for the perfect body, the beautiful face, hair care, hair restoration, etc. African Americans spent $507,000 million in 2009 on hair care and personal grooming items. In Britain women spend an average of $6,000 to $8,000 a year on beauty and maintenance. U.S. women spend on average between $12,000 to $15,000 every year on products and salon services. The amount of money spent annually on cosmetics in the United States is $8,000 million dollars! $20,000 million is spent in the U.S. annually on dieting, including diet books, diet drugs and weight-loss surgeries.
As Fr. Schouppe writes, in his book Purgatory Explained: “Souls that allow themselves to be dazzled by the vanities of the world, even if they have the good fortune to escape damnation, will have to undergo terrible punishment. Let us open the Revelations of St. Bridget. We read there that the saint saw herself transported in spirit into Purgatory, and that, among others, she saw there a young lady of high birth who had formerly abandoned herself to the luxury and vanities of the world. This unfortunate soul related to her the history of her life, and the sad state in which she then was found: ‘Happily,’ before death I confessed my sins in such dispositions as to escape Hell, but now I suffer here to expiate the worldly life that my mother did not prevent me from leading!’
“She then added: ‘Alas! This head of mine, which loved to be adorned, and which sought to draw the attention of others, is now devoured with flames inside and out, and these flames are so violent that, every moment, it seems to me that I must die. These shoulders, these arms, which I loved to see admired, are cruelly bound in chains of red-hot iron. These feet, formerly trained for the dance, are now surrounded with vipers that tear them with their fangs and soil them with their filthy slime. All these parts of the body which I have adorned with jewels, flowers, and a variety of other ornaments, are now a prey to the most horrible torture! O mother, mother!’ she cried, ‘how culpable have you been in my regard! It was you who, by a fatal indulgence, encouraged my taste for display and extravagant expense; it was you that took me to theaters, parties, and dances, and to those worldly assemblies which are the ruin of souls!’” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
“Blessed Mary Villani, a Dominican Religious, was transported in spirit to Purgatory. Among the souls that suffered there she saw one more cruelly tormented than the others, in the midst of flames which entirely enveloped her. Touched with compassion, Blessed Mary Villani questioned the soul, who replied: ‘I have been here for a very long time, punished for my vanity and my scandalous extravagance. Thus far I have not received the least alleviation. Whilst I was upon Earth, being wholly occupied with my appearance, my pleasures, and worldly amusements, I thought very little of my duties as a Christian, and fulfilled them only with great reluctance, and in a slothful manner.’” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
What Price on Happiness?
Happiness and joy, beyond our wildest dreams, will be ours! Though there will be no equality in Heaven, there will also be no envy, no jealousy, no pride, no anger, no lust, no greed, no resentment, no desire for revenge, no harboring of grudges, no suspicion, no fear, no arguing, no fighting, etc. What price would you pay to experience that on Earth? You couldn’t pay for it, because it is priceless!
In 2000, the US population spent over $200 billion (200,000 million dollars) on entertainment—just to try find some happiness or joy—which is three times the amount spent on education. Other ‘Make Me Happy’ expenditures are $30,000 million on candy; $76,000 million on soda; $50,000 million on alcohol and $49,000 million on tobacco. That’s only the money side of it—how much time was spent indulging in these things? Our Lady’s complaints at Quito and La Salette are haunting: “The Christian spirit will rapidly decay, extinguishing the precious light of Faith until it reaches the point that there will be an almost total and general corruption of customs … Disorder and the love of carnal pleasures will be spread all over the Earth … People will think of nothing but amusement.”
As Fr. Schouppe writes, in his book Purgatory Explained: “The venerable servant of God, Frances of Pampeluna, who was favored with several visions of Purgatory, saw, one day, a man of the world, who, although he had otherwise been a tolerably good Christian, passed fifty-nine years in Purgatory on account of seeking his ease and comfort. Another passed thirty-five years there for the same reason; a third, who had too strong, a passion for gambling, was detained there for sixty-four years. If God is severe towards the rich and the pleasure-seekers of the world, He will not be less so towards princes, magistrates, parents, and, in general, towards all those who have the charge of souls and authority over others.” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
You Won’t Miss Anything if by Dozing-Off!
In Heaven you won’t miss out on anything. You will have more time to do things than you ever had here on Earth! Well, one reason for that is the “eternity factor” which makes a long-life on Earth seem like a joke! The other factor is that you won’t sleep in Heaven (so get all the sleep you can now!), for there will be no need for sleep! That must be the worldly man’s dream, for whom “time means money”! The less you sleep, the more you can work and so the more money you can make—much like the stores that want to stay open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Heavenly Diet
The beauty of body in Heaven will be aided by a heavenly diet—which is a diet of no food at all! We won’t need to eat to sustain our bodies. That means no more having to grow, hunt or shop for food; no more check-out lines; no more slaving over a hot oven; no more dirty dishes to wash! Put a price on that! You can’t, it’s priceless!
So there we are, just a few of the “Perks of Paradise”! And we want all that for what price??? God will say: “You’ve gotta be kidding Me! Your offer is a joke! When you develop a mature and real sense of values, then come back and we’ll talk about it!”
That was the attitude of most souls in Purgatory. It was a totally unrealistic view of Heaven and its value. In effect, they wanted to swindle God, by getting all the above and more besides, for a few paltry prayers; some soppy sacrifices; lukewarm lines of “Love ya!” ; mediocre Masses; rushed Rosaries and the like.
That is not the way to treat God, nor will God let us get away with it—it’s not His way, though it might be ours. With these false expectations for Heaven, stemming from our self-love and pride, God could well tell us to go to “the other place.” Yet He knows what we are made of and He shows compassion:
“The Lord is compassionate and merciful; long-suffering and plenteous in mercy. He will not always be angry; nor will He threaten for ever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities ... As a father has compassion on his children, so has the Lord compassion on them that fear Him―for He knows our frame. He remembers that we are dust!” (Psalm 102:8-14).
The Real Price of Real Estate
In that kindness, compassion and mercy, He seeks for a solution to our cheap and insulting offer for a piece of Heaven’s real-estate. The solution is Purgatory. As Fr. Schouppe says, in his book, Purgatory Explained:
“The Justice of God is terrible, and it punishes with extreme rigor even the most trivial faults. The reason is, that these faults, light in our eyes, are in no way so before God. The least sin displeases Him infinitely, and, on account of the infinite Sanctity which is offended, the slightest transgression assumes enormous proportions, and demands enormous atonement.
“This explains the terrible severity of the pains of the other life, and should penetrate us with a holy fear. This fear of Purgatory is a salutary fear; its effect is, not only to animate us with a charitable compassion towards the poor suffering souls, but also with a vigilant zeal for our own spiritual welfare. Think of the fire of Purgatory, and you will endeavor to avoid the least faults; think of the fire of Purgatory, and you will practice penance, that you may satisfy Divine Justice in this world rather than in the next. Let us, however, guard against excessive fear, and not lose confidence.
“Let us not forget the Mercy of God, which is not less infinite than His Justice. Thy mercy, Lord, is great above the Heavens, says the prophet; and elsewhere, The Lord is gracious and merciful: patient, and plenteous in mercy? This ineffable mercy should calm the most lively apprehensions, and fill us with a holy confidence, according to the words: ‘In Thee, O Lord, I have hoped; let me never be put to confusion.’ If we are animated with this double sentiment, if our confidence in God’s Mercy is equal to the fear with which His Justice inspires us, we shall have the true spirit of devotion to the souls in Purgatory.” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
Article 4
Tuesday November 4th
Purgatorial Math!
Tuesday November 4th
Purgatorial Math!
Do You Realize the Holiness of God?
“God is Sanctity itself, much more so than the sun is light, and no shadow of sin can endure before His face. ‘Thine eyes are pure,’ says the prophet, ‘and Thou canst not look on iniquity’ (Habacuc 1:13). When iniquity manifests itself in creatures, the Sanctity of God exacts expiation, and when this expiation is made in all the rigor of justice, then it is terrible. It is for this reason that the Scripture says again, ‘Holy and terrible is His Name’ (Ps. 110:7); as though it would say, His Justice is terrible because His Sanctity is infinite” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
The Tiniest Sin is Greatly Displeasing
“The Justice of God is terrible, and it punishes with extreme rigor even the most trivial faults. The reason is, that these faults, light in our eyes, are in no way so before God. The least sin displeases Him infinitely, and, on account of the infinite Sanctity which is offended, the demands enormous atonement. This explains the terrible severity of the pains of the other life, and should penetrate us with a holy fear!” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
Seriousness of Sin Sorrowfully Seen
In that moment of Judgment after death, the soul loves God most tenderly, and in return is most tenderly loved by Him. The soul is in punishment, true; but it is in unbroken union with God. St. Catherine of Genoa most positively says of the soul: “It has no remembrance, no remembrance at all of its past sins, or of Earth.” Its sweet prison, its holy sepulcher, is in the adorable will of its Heavenly Father, and there it abides the term of its purification with the most perfect contentment and the most unutterable love—yet all the while suffering the most inexpressible pains.
God is All About Extremes
If God is to be perfect, He must be extreme, for perfection implies being extremely good at something. God is extreme in His mercy and extreme in His justice—and the soul reflects this with its extreme love under extreme suffering. As it is not teased or taunted by any vision of self or sin, so neither is it harassed by an atom of fear, or by a single doubt of its own safety or security. It is now in a state of sinlessness—it cannot and will not ever sin again. It cannot even commit the slightest imperfection. It cannot have the least movement of impatience. It can do nothing whatever which will in the least displease God. It loves God above everything, and it loves Him with a pure and disinterested love. It is constantly consoled by angels, and can only rejoice in the confirmed assurance of its own salvation.
Heaven Extremely Expensive
The soul now realizes what it refused or failed to realize on Earth—that Heaven is not the cheap thing that most people made it out to be, thinking they could walk in after a few hastily said prayers and some distractedly heard Masses. Heaven, being the greatest place there is, also carries the greatest admission price—a price few were willing to pay on Earth. Nor could they pay it, even if the wishfully desired to, for they had insufficient funds in the bank of their souls. Now they must earn and pay the full price—which could have been paid at a discounted rate here on Earth, but it was judged, even then, as being far too high a price to pay! The world offered its wares and pleasures and a much cheaper rate, and so that is what most souls spent the time and effort on—the world.
How Long Do Souls Remain in Purgatory?
The length of time souls are detained in Purgatory depends on:
(a) The number of their faults;
(b) The malice and deliberation with which these have been committed;
(c) The penance done, or not done, the satisfaction made, or not made for sins during life;
(d) Much, too, depends on the suffrages offered for them after death
What can safely be said is that the time souls spend in Purgatory is, as a rule, very much longer than people commonly imagine. We will quote a few of the many instances which are recounted in the lives and revelations of the Saints.
► St. Louis Bertrand’s father was an exemplary Christian, as we should naturally expect, being the father of so great a Saint. He had even wished to become a Carthusian monk until he learned that it was not God’s will for him. When he died, after long years spent in the practice of every Christian virtue, his saintly son, fully aware of the rigors of God’s Justice, offered many Masses and poured forth the most fervent supplications for the soul he so dearly loved. A vision of his father still in Purgatory forced him to intensify a hundredfold his suffrages. He added most severe penances and long fasts to his Masses and prayers. Yet eight whole years passed before he obtained the release of his father.
► St. Malachy’s sister was detained in Purgatory for a very long time, despite the Masses, prayers and heroic mortifications the Saint offered for her!
► It was related to a holy nun in Pampluna, who had succeeded in releasing many Carmelite nuns from Purgatory, that most of these Carmelite nuns had spent terms of from 30 to 60 years there!
► Carmelite nuns in Purgatory for 40, 50 and 60 years! What will it be for those living amidst the temptations of the World and with all their hundreds of weaknesses?
► St. Vincent Ferrer, after the death of his sister, prayed with incredible fervor for her soul and offered many Masses for her release. She appeared to him at length and told him that had it not been for his powerful intercession with God, she should have remained an interminable time in Purgatory.
► In the Dominican Order it is the rule to pray for the Master Generals by name on their anniversaries. Many of these have been dead several hundred years! They were men especially eminent for piety and learning. This rule would not be approved by the Church were it not necessary and prudent.
We do not mean to imply that all souls are detained equally long periods in the expiatory fires. Many have committed lesser faults and have done more penance. Therefore, their punishment will be much less severe. Still, the instances we have quoted are very much to the point, for if these souls who enjoyed the intimacy, who saw the example and who shared in the intercession of great Saints during their lives and were aided by their most efficacious suffrages after death were yet detained for such a length of time in Purgatory, what may not happen to us who enjoy none of these wonderful privileges?
Why Such a Long Expiation?
The reasons are not difficult to find:
1. The malice of sin is very great. What appear to us small faults are in reality serious offenses against the infinite goodness of God. It is enough to see how the Saints wept over their faults. We are weak, it may be urged. That is true, but then God offers us abundant graces to strengthen our weakness, gives us light to see the gravity of our faults, and the necessary force to conquer temptation. If we are still weak, the fault is all our own. We do not use the light and strength God so generously offers us; we do not pray, we do not receive the Sacraments as we should.
2. An eminent theologian wisely remarks that if souls are condemned to Hell for all eternity because of one mortal sin, it is not to be wondered at that other souls should be detained for long years in Purgatory who have committed countless deliberate venial sins, some of which are so grave that at the time of their commission the sinner scarcely knows if they are mortal or venial. Too, they may have committed many mortal sins for which they have had little sorrow and done little or no penance. The guilt has been remitted by absolution, but the pain due to the sins will have to be paid in Purgatory.
Our Lord tells us that we shall have to render an account for each and every idle word we say and that we may not leave our prison until we shall have paid the last farthing (Matthew. 5:26).
The Saints committed few and slight sins―and still they sorrowed much and did severe penances. We commit many and grave sins―and we sorrow little and do little or no penance.
Venial Sins
It would be difficult to calculate the immense number of venial sins that any Catholic commits.
► There is an infinite number of faults of self-love, selfishness; thoughts, words and acts of sensuality, too, in a hundred forms; faults of charity in thought, word and deed; laziness, vanity, jealousy, tepidity and innumerable other faults.
► There are sins of omission which we pay so little heed to. We love God so little, yet He has a thousand claims on our love for the thousands of things he has done for us. Yet, we treat Him with coldness, indifference and base ingratitude. He died for each one of us. Do we ever thank Him as we ought? He remains day and night on the Altar, waiting for our visits, anxious to help us. How seldom we go to Him! He longs to come into our souls in Holy Communion, and we refuse Him entrance. He offers Himself up for us on the Altar every morning at Mass and gives oceans of graces to those who assist at this great Sacrifice. Yet many are too lazy to go to this Calvary! What an abuse of grace!
► Our hearts are mean and hard, full of self-love. We have happy homes, splendid food, warm clothing, an abundance of all good things. Many around us live in hunger and misery, and we give them so little; whereas, we spend lavishly and needlessly on ourselves.
► Life is given us to serve God, to save our souls. Most Christians, however, are satisfied to give God five minutes of prayer in the morning, five minutes at night! The rest of the 24 hours is given to work, rest and pleasure. Ten minutes to God, to our immortal souls, to the great work we have to do, viz., our salvation. Twenty‑three hours and 50 minutes to this transitory life! Is it fair to God?
It may be alleged that our work, our rest, our sufferings are done for God! They should be, and then our merits would be indeed great! The truth is that many scarcely ever think of God during the day! The one engrossing object of their thoughts is self. They think and labor and rest and sleep to satisfy self. God gets a very little place in their day and in their minds. This is an outrage to His loving Heart, which is ever thinking of us.
Mortal Sins
Many Christians unfortunately commit mortal sins during their lives, but though they confess them, they make no due satisfaction for them, as we have already said.
► The Venerable Bede appears to be of the opinion that those who pass a great part of their lives in the commission of grave sins and confess them on their deathbed may be detained in Purgatory even until the Last Day. St. Bede lived in the 600s and 700s and the last was a long way away!
► St. Gertrude, in her revelations, states that those who have committed many grave sins and have not done due penance for them, may not benefit from and share in the ordinary suffrages of the Church for a very considerable time!
All those sins, mortal and venial, are accumulating for the 20, 30, 40, 60 years of our lives. Each and every one has to be atoned for after death.
Purgatorial Math
We again take the extract from Fr. Schouppe’s book, Purgatory Explained, which shows a hypothetical sin-calculator that goes towards showing how and why such long times are spent in Purgatory.
“Father Mumford, of the Company of Jesus, in his Treatise on Charity towards the Departed, bases the long duration of Purgatory on a calculation of probability, which we shall give in substance. He goes out on the principle that, according to the words of the Holy Ghost, The just man falls seven times a day (Proverbs 24:16), that is to say, that even those who apply themselves most perfectly to the service of God, notwithstanding their good-will, commit a great number of faults in the infinitely pure eyes of God. We have but to enter into our own conscience, and there analyze before God our thoughts, our words, and works, to be convinced of this sad effect of human misery. Oh, how easy it is to lack respect in prayer, to prefer our ease to the accomplishment of duty, to sin by vanity, by impatience, by sensuality, by uncharitable thoughts and words, by want of conformity to the will of God! The day is long; is it very difficult for even a virtuous person to commit, I do not say seven, but twenty or thirty of this kind of faults and imperfections?
“Let us take a moderate estimate, and suppose that you commit about ten [venial] faults a day; at the end of 365 days you will have a sum of 3,650 faults. Let us diminish, and, to facilitate the calculation, place it at 3,000 per year. At the end of ten years this will amount to 30,000, and at the end of twenty years to 60,000. Suppose that of these 60,000 faults you have expiated one half by penance and good works, there will still remain 30,000 to be atoned for.
“Let us continue our hypothesis: You die after these twenty years of virtuous life, and appear before God with a debt of 30,000 faults, which you must discharge in Purgatory. How much time will you need to accomplish this expiation? Suppose, on an average, each fault requires one hour of Purgatory. This measure is very moderate, if we judge by the revelations of the saints; but at any rate this will give you a Purgatory of 30,000 hours. Now, do you know how many years these 30,000 hours represent? Three years, three months, and fifteen days. Thus a good Christian who watches over himself, who applies himself to penance and good works, finds himself liable to three years, three months, and fifteen days of Purgatory.
“The preceding calculation is based on an estimate which is lenient in the extreme. Now, if you extend the duration of the pain, and, instead of an hour, you take a day for the expiation of a fault, if, instead of having nothing but venial sins, you bring before God a debt resulting from mortal sins, more or less numerous, which you formerly committed, if you assign, on the average, as St. Frances of Rome says, seven years for the expiation of one mortal sin, remitted as to the guilt, who does not see that we arrive at an appalling duration, and that the expiation may easily be prolonged for many years, and even for centuries?” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained, chapter 22, “The Duration of Purgatory”).
Purgatorial Calculator
Without trying to be silly, or artificial, we have decided to put Fr. Mumford’s statements into table form, so that we can more easily see and understand his message. We have gone with 7 venial sins a day (instead of his 10) based on Scripture: “For a just man shall fall seven times” (Proverbs 24:16). However, experience shows that on some days it is possible to commit seven venial sins, or even more, in an hour—a grumpy start to the day: we mutter when the alarm goes off; we utter a bad word when we stub our toe against something on the way to the bathroom, or when the shower water is too hot or too cold; we complain about the murky weather outside; we put-off our morning prayers or say them in haste or distractedly; we show irritability to the rest of the family at breakfast; we tell a “white lie” or two; we eat too much; we speed on the way to work; we complain about the traffic delays, the red lights, the other drivers, etc.
The tables below show at a glance the cost of such accumulated sin. Of course it is all hypothetical and all this varies with the differing gravity of each venial sin and upon the knowledge and state of the soul, e.g. priest or layman, adult or child, etc. For to whom more is given, more is expected.
“God is Sanctity itself, much more so than the sun is light, and no shadow of sin can endure before His face. ‘Thine eyes are pure,’ says the prophet, ‘and Thou canst not look on iniquity’ (Habacuc 1:13). When iniquity manifests itself in creatures, the Sanctity of God exacts expiation, and when this expiation is made in all the rigor of justice, then it is terrible. It is for this reason that the Scripture says again, ‘Holy and terrible is His Name’ (Ps. 110:7); as though it would say, His Justice is terrible because His Sanctity is infinite” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
The Tiniest Sin is Greatly Displeasing
“The Justice of God is terrible, and it punishes with extreme rigor even the most trivial faults. The reason is, that these faults, light in our eyes, are in no way so before God. The least sin displeases Him infinitely, and, on account of the infinite Sanctity which is offended, the demands enormous atonement. This explains the terrible severity of the pains of the other life, and should penetrate us with a holy fear!” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
Seriousness of Sin Sorrowfully Seen
In that moment of Judgment after death, the soul loves God most tenderly, and in return is most tenderly loved by Him. The soul is in punishment, true; but it is in unbroken union with God. St. Catherine of Genoa most positively says of the soul: “It has no remembrance, no remembrance at all of its past sins, or of Earth.” Its sweet prison, its holy sepulcher, is in the adorable will of its Heavenly Father, and there it abides the term of its purification with the most perfect contentment and the most unutterable love—yet all the while suffering the most inexpressible pains.
God is All About Extremes
If God is to be perfect, He must be extreme, for perfection implies being extremely good at something. God is extreme in His mercy and extreme in His justice—and the soul reflects this with its extreme love under extreme suffering. As it is not teased or taunted by any vision of self or sin, so neither is it harassed by an atom of fear, or by a single doubt of its own safety or security. It is now in a state of sinlessness—it cannot and will not ever sin again. It cannot even commit the slightest imperfection. It cannot have the least movement of impatience. It can do nothing whatever which will in the least displease God. It loves God above everything, and it loves Him with a pure and disinterested love. It is constantly consoled by angels, and can only rejoice in the confirmed assurance of its own salvation.
Heaven Extremely Expensive
The soul now realizes what it refused or failed to realize on Earth—that Heaven is not the cheap thing that most people made it out to be, thinking they could walk in after a few hastily said prayers and some distractedly heard Masses. Heaven, being the greatest place there is, also carries the greatest admission price—a price few were willing to pay on Earth. Nor could they pay it, even if the wishfully desired to, for they had insufficient funds in the bank of their souls. Now they must earn and pay the full price—which could have been paid at a discounted rate here on Earth, but it was judged, even then, as being far too high a price to pay! The world offered its wares and pleasures and a much cheaper rate, and so that is what most souls spent the time and effort on—the world.
How Long Do Souls Remain in Purgatory?
The length of time souls are detained in Purgatory depends on:
(a) The number of their faults;
(b) The malice and deliberation with which these have been committed;
(c) The penance done, or not done, the satisfaction made, or not made for sins during life;
(d) Much, too, depends on the suffrages offered for them after death
What can safely be said is that the time souls spend in Purgatory is, as a rule, very much longer than people commonly imagine. We will quote a few of the many instances which are recounted in the lives and revelations of the Saints.
► St. Louis Bertrand’s father was an exemplary Christian, as we should naturally expect, being the father of so great a Saint. He had even wished to become a Carthusian monk until he learned that it was not God’s will for him. When he died, after long years spent in the practice of every Christian virtue, his saintly son, fully aware of the rigors of God’s Justice, offered many Masses and poured forth the most fervent supplications for the soul he so dearly loved. A vision of his father still in Purgatory forced him to intensify a hundredfold his suffrages. He added most severe penances and long fasts to his Masses and prayers. Yet eight whole years passed before he obtained the release of his father.
► St. Malachy’s sister was detained in Purgatory for a very long time, despite the Masses, prayers and heroic mortifications the Saint offered for her!
► It was related to a holy nun in Pampluna, who had succeeded in releasing many Carmelite nuns from Purgatory, that most of these Carmelite nuns had spent terms of from 30 to 60 years there!
► Carmelite nuns in Purgatory for 40, 50 and 60 years! What will it be for those living amidst the temptations of the World and with all their hundreds of weaknesses?
► St. Vincent Ferrer, after the death of his sister, prayed with incredible fervor for her soul and offered many Masses for her release. She appeared to him at length and told him that had it not been for his powerful intercession with God, she should have remained an interminable time in Purgatory.
► In the Dominican Order it is the rule to pray for the Master Generals by name on their anniversaries. Many of these have been dead several hundred years! They were men especially eminent for piety and learning. This rule would not be approved by the Church were it not necessary and prudent.
We do not mean to imply that all souls are detained equally long periods in the expiatory fires. Many have committed lesser faults and have done more penance. Therefore, their punishment will be much less severe. Still, the instances we have quoted are very much to the point, for if these souls who enjoyed the intimacy, who saw the example and who shared in the intercession of great Saints during their lives and were aided by their most efficacious suffrages after death were yet detained for such a length of time in Purgatory, what may not happen to us who enjoy none of these wonderful privileges?
Why Such a Long Expiation?
The reasons are not difficult to find:
1. The malice of sin is very great. What appear to us small faults are in reality serious offenses against the infinite goodness of God. It is enough to see how the Saints wept over their faults. We are weak, it may be urged. That is true, but then God offers us abundant graces to strengthen our weakness, gives us light to see the gravity of our faults, and the necessary force to conquer temptation. If we are still weak, the fault is all our own. We do not use the light and strength God so generously offers us; we do not pray, we do not receive the Sacraments as we should.
2. An eminent theologian wisely remarks that if souls are condemned to Hell for all eternity because of one mortal sin, it is not to be wondered at that other souls should be detained for long years in Purgatory who have committed countless deliberate venial sins, some of which are so grave that at the time of their commission the sinner scarcely knows if they are mortal or venial. Too, they may have committed many mortal sins for which they have had little sorrow and done little or no penance. The guilt has been remitted by absolution, but the pain due to the sins will have to be paid in Purgatory.
Our Lord tells us that we shall have to render an account for each and every idle word we say and that we may not leave our prison until we shall have paid the last farthing (Matthew. 5:26).
The Saints committed few and slight sins―and still they sorrowed much and did severe penances. We commit many and grave sins―and we sorrow little and do little or no penance.
Venial Sins
It would be difficult to calculate the immense number of venial sins that any Catholic commits.
► There is an infinite number of faults of self-love, selfishness; thoughts, words and acts of sensuality, too, in a hundred forms; faults of charity in thought, word and deed; laziness, vanity, jealousy, tepidity and innumerable other faults.
► There are sins of omission which we pay so little heed to. We love God so little, yet He has a thousand claims on our love for the thousands of things he has done for us. Yet, we treat Him with coldness, indifference and base ingratitude. He died for each one of us. Do we ever thank Him as we ought? He remains day and night on the Altar, waiting for our visits, anxious to help us. How seldom we go to Him! He longs to come into our souls in Holy Communion, and we refuse Him entrance. He offers Himself up for us on the Altar every morning at Mass and gives oceans of graces to those who assist at this great Sacrifice. Yet many are too lazy to go to this Calvary! What an abuse of grace!
► Our hearts are mean and hard, full of self-love. We have happy homes, splendid food, warm clothing, an abundance of all good things. Many around us live in hunger and misery, and we give them so little; whereas, we spend lavishly and needlessly on ourselves.
► Life is given us to serve God, to save our souls. Most Christians, however, are satisfied to give God five minutes of prayer in the morning, five minutes at night! The rest of the 24 hours is given to work, rest and pleasure. Ten minutes to God, to our immortal souls, to the great work we have to do, viz., our salvation. Twenty‑three hours and 50 minutes to this transitory life! Is it fair to God?
It may be alleged that our work, our rest, our sufferings are done for God! They should be, and then our merits would be indeed great! The truth is that many scarcely ever think of God during the day! The one engrossing object of their thoughts is self. They think and labor and rest and sleep to satisfy self. God gets a very little place in their day and in their minds. This is an outrage to His loving Heart, which is ever thinking of us.
Mortal Sins
Many Christians unfortunately commit mortal sins during their lives, but though they confess them, they make no due satisfaction for them, as we have already said.
► The Venerable Bede appears to be of the opinion that those who pass a great part of their lives in the commission of grave sins and confess them on their deathbed may be detained in Purgatory even until the Last Day. St. Bede lived in the 600s and 700s and the last was a long way away!
► St. Gertrude, in her revelations, states that those who have committed many grave sins and have not done due penance for them, may not benefit from and share in the ordinary suffrages of the Church for a very considerable time!
All those sins, mortal and venial, are accumulating for the 20, 30, 40, 60 years of our lives. Each and every one has to be atoned for after death.
Purgatorial Math
We again take the extract from Fr. Schouppe’s book, Purgatory Explained, which shows a hypothetical sin-calculator that goes towards showing how and why such long times are spent in Purgatory.
“Father Mumford, of the Company of Jesus, in his Treatise on Charity towards the Departed, bases the long duration of Purgatory on a calculation of probability, which we shall give in substance. He goes out on the principle that, according to the words of the Holy Ghost, The just man falls seven times a day (Proverbs 24:16), that is to say, that even those who apply themselves most perfectly to the service of God, notwithstanding their good-will, commit a great number of faults in the infinitely pure eyes of God. We have but to enter into our own conscience, and there analyze before God our thoughts, our words, and works, to be convinced of this sad effect of human misery. Oh, how easy it is to lack respect in prayer, to prefer our ease to the accomplishment of duty, to sin by vanity, by impatience, by sensuality, by uncharitable thoughts and words, by want of conformity to the will of God! The day is long; is it very difficult for even a virtuous person to commit, I do not say seven, but twenty or thirty of this kind of faults and imperfections?
“Let us take a moderate estimate, and suppose that you commit about ten [venial] faults a day; at the end of 365 days you will have a sum of 3,650 faults. Let us diminish, and, to facilitate the calculation, place it at 3,000 per year. At the end of ten years this will amount to 30,000, and at the end of twenty years to 60,000. Suppose that of these 60,000 faults you have expiated one half by penance and good works, there will still remain 30,000 to be atoned for.
“Let us continue our hypothesis: You die after these twenty years of virtuous life, and appear before God with a debt of 30,000 faults, which you must discharge in Purgatory. How much time will you need to accomplish this expiation? Suppose, on an average, each fault requires one hour of Purgatory. This measure is very moderate, if we judge by the revelations of the saints; but at any rate this will give you a Purgatory of 30,000 hours. Now, do you know how many years these 30,000 hours represent? Three years, three months, and fifteen days. Thus a good Christian who watches over himself, who applies himself to penance and good works, finds himself liable to three years, three months, and fifteen days of Purgatory.
“The preceding calculation is based on an estimate which is lenient in the extreme. Now, if you extend the duration of the pain, and, instead of an hour, you take a day for the expiation of a fault, if, instead of having nothing but venial sins, you bring before God a debt resulting from mortal sins, more or less numerous, which you formerly committed, if you assign, on the average, as St. Frances of Rome says, seven years for the expiation of one mortal sin, remitted as to the guilt, who does not see that we arrive at an appalling duration, and that the expiation may easily be prolonged for many years, and even for centuries?” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained, chapter 22, “The Duration of Purgatory”).
Purgatorial Calculator
Without trying to be silly, or artificial, we have decided to put Fr. Mumford’s statements into table form, so that we can more easily see and understand his message. We have gone with 7 venial sins a day (instead of his 10) based on Scripture: “For a just man shall fall seven times” (Proverbs 24:16). However, experience shows that on some days it is possible to commit seven venial sins, or even more, in an hour—a grumpy start to the day: we mutter when the alarm goes off; we utter a bad word when we stub our toe against something on the way to the bathroom, or when the shower water is too hot or too cold; we complain about the murky weather outside; we put-off our morning prayers or say them in haste or distractedly; we show irritability to the rest of the family at breakfast; we tell a “white lie” or two; we eat too much; we speed on the way to work; we complain about the traffic delays, the red lights, the other drivers, etc.
The tables below show at a glance the cost of such accumulated sin. Of course it is all hypothetical and all this varies with the differing gravity of each venial sin and upon the knowledge and state of the soul, e.g. priest or layman, adult or child, etc. For to whom more is given, more is expected.
Do Not Undervalue the Gravity of Sin
“Be not without fear about sin forgiven” (Ecclesiasticus 5:5). “Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of penance” (Matthew 3:8). “Thou shalt not go out thence, until thou pay the very last mite” (Luke 12:59). Sin is expensive, very expensive—it is the most expensive thing in the world because “Mortal Sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, and a greater evil than disease, or war ... Mortal Sin must be a most terrible thing indeed, to make a just and merciful God create Hell for the eternal punishment of sinners who die with even only one Mortal Sin” (The Catechism, My Catholic Faith, chapter 22, “Mortal Sin”). If an eternal Hell is created to punish just one single Mortal Sin, how on earth can war, flooding, earthquakes, pestilence, disease, death or fire from Heaven be thought to be worse than Hell? No matter what punishment Heaven sends us, it will still be like being tickled in comparison to the punishment of Hell.
As for Venial Sin, the same catechism says: “Although Venial Sin is not a grievous offense against God, it is, nevertheless, a great moral evil, next alone to Mortal Sin. We are prone to look upon Venial Sin as of no consequence, and to be careless about guarding against it, forgetting that IT IS SECOND ONLY IN EVIL CONSEQUENCE TO MORTAL SIN. In Holy Scripture we see, from many examples, how God regards Venial Sin. Even in this life He has punished it most severely. For only a slight doubt about God’s mercy, because of the wickedness of his people, Moses was punished. He was not permitted to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land [and died at its borders]” (The Catechism, My Catholic Faith, chapter 23, “Venial Sin”).
How Saints Looked Upon Sin
If that is the value of sin, then what is the price we have to pay for sin? If St. Thomas Aquinas says that one single soul, in a state of sanctifying grace, is of more value than all the material wealth of the universe, the what price can we put on a soul that is, or has been, in a state of mortal sin? What price has to be paid to regain that state of grace? Is it any wonder that there are souls—like Amelia, the young friend of the three Fatima visionaries, of whom Our Lady said that she would burn in Purgatory until the end of the world! What is the cost of sin?!! Do the three Hail Marys, that the priest gives you in confession, pay for it? Far from it! It is a merely a down-payment for the damage sin has caused and the Church expects us to do additional penance to pay for our sins!
While we are in this world, God mercifully accepts a lesser payment than shown in the hypothetical tables above. But when this life comes to a close, the mercy ceases and then the just amount will be collected. Let us not waste time in vain occupations, which can often be sinful too and so only add fuel to the fire—but let us take the rest of our life much more seriously than we have done until now. Remember the power of love—it is not so much the multiplicity of actions and penances that count, but the intensity of love and sorrow that we do them with: “for charity covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8) and “Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much” (Luke 7:47). However, to love much we must sin less—for how can we say we love someone if don’t cease mocking them and slapping them around, which is what Venial Sin essentially does?
“Be not without fear about sin forgiven” (Ecclesiasticus 5:5). “Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of penance” (Matthew 3:8). “Thou shalt not go out thence, until thou pay the very last mite” (Luke 12:59). Sin is expensive, very expensive—it is the most expensive thing in the world because “Mortal Sin is a great evil, the greatest evil in the world, and a greater evil than disease, or war ... Mortal Sin must be a most terrible thing indeed, to make a just and merciful God create Hell for the eternal punishment of sinners who die with even only one Mortal Sin” (The Catechism, My Catholic Faith, chapter 22, “Mortal Sin”). If an eternal Hell is created to punish just one single Mortal Sin, how on earth can war, flooding, earthquakes, pestilence, disease, death or fire from Heaven be thought to be worse than Hell? No matter what punishment Heaven sends us, it will still be like being tickled in comparison to the punishment of Hell.
As for Venial Sin, the same catechism says: “Although Venial Sin is not a grievous offense against God, it is, nevertheless, a great moral evil, next alone to Mortal Sin. We are prone to look upon Venial Sin as of no consequence, and to be careless about guarding against it, forgetting that IT IS SECOND ONLY IN EVIL CONSEQUENCE TO MORTAL SIN. In Holy Scripture we see, from many examples, how God regards Venial Sin. Even in this life He has punished it most severely. For only a slight doubt about God’s mercy, because of the wickedness of his people, Moses was punished. He was not permitted to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land [and died at its borders]” (The Catechism, My Catholic Faith, chapter 23, “Venial Sin”).
How Saints Looked Upon Sin
If that is the value of sin, then what is the price we have to pay for sin? If St. Thomas Aquinas says that one single soul, in a state of sanctifying grace, is of more value than all the material wealth of the universe, the what price can we put on a soul that is, or has been, in a state of mortal sin? What price has to be paid to regain that state of grace? Is it any wonder that there are souls—like Amelia, the young friend of the three Fatima visionaries, of whom Our Lady said that she would burn in Purgatory until the end of the world! What is the cost of sin?!! Do the three Hail Marys, that the priest gives you in confession, pay for it? Far from it! It is a merely a down-payment for the damage sin has caused and the Church expects us to do additional penance to pay for our sins!
While we are in this world, God mercifully accepts a lesser payment than shown in the hypothetical tables above. But when this life comes to a close, the mercy ceases and then the just amount will be collected. Let us not waste time in vain occupations, which can often be sinful too and so only add fuel to the fire—but let us take the rest of our life much more seriously than we have done until now. Remember the power of love—it is not so much the multiplicity of actions and penances that count, but the intensity of love and sorrow that we do them with: “for charity covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8) and “Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much” (Luke 7:47). However, to love much we must sin less—for how can we say we love someone if don’t cease mocking them and slapping them around, which is what Venial Sin essentially does?
Article 3
Monday November 3rd
(transferred feast of the Holy Souls, due to it clashing with a Sunday)
Time to Put Out the Fires!
Monday November 3rd
(transferred feast of the Holy Souls, due to it clashing with a Sunday)
Time to Put Out the Fires!
Fires of Hell, but Focused on Heaven
“The word ‘Purgatory’ is sometimes taken to mean a place, sometimes as an intermediate state, between Hell and Heaven. It is, properly speaking, the condition of souls which, at the moment of death, are in the state of grace, but which have not completely expiated their faults, nor attained the degree of purity necessary to enjoy the vision of God” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
The same fire, says Pope St. Gregory the Great, torments the damned and purifies the elect. “Almost all theologians,” says the cardinal, St. Robert Bellarmine, “teach that the damned in Hell and the souls in Purgatory suffer the action of the same fire.” It must be held as certain, writes St. Robert Bellarmine, that there is no proportion between the sufferings of this life and those of Purgatory. St. Catherine of Genoa, in her book on Purgatory, writes: “As to the suffering, it is equal to that of Hell.” St. Thomas Aquinas states: “The fire of Purgatory is the same as the fire of Hell” (Summa Theologica, Supplement, Appendix II, Art. 1).
Passions Were Satisfied; Justice Must Be Satisfied
“Purgatory is, then, a transitory state which terminates in a life of everlasting happiness. It is not a trial by which merit may be gained or lost, but a state of atonement and expiation. The soul has arrived at the term of its earthly career; that life was a time of trial, a time of merit for the soul, a time of mercy on the part of God. This time once expired, nothing but justice is to be expected from God, whilst the soul can neither gain nor lose merit. She remains in the state in which death found her; and since it found her in the state of sanctifying grace, she is certain of never forfeiting that happy state, and of arriving at the eternal possession of God. Nevertheless, since she is burdened with certain debts of temporal punishment, she must satisfy Divine Justice by enduring this punishment in all its rigor” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
Lovers of Earth Banished to Earth
“Although Faith tells us nothing definite regarding the location of Purgatory, the most common opinion, that which most accords with the language of Scripture, and which is the most generally received among theologians, places it in the bowels of the Earth, not far from the Hell of the reprobates. Theologians are almost unanimous, says Bellarmine, in teaching that Purgatory, at least the ordinary place of expiation, is situated in the interior of the Earth, that the souls in Purgatory and the reprobate are in the same subterranean space in the deep abyss which the Scripture calls Hell. (Roman Cathechism, chapter 6, §1)” (Fr. Schouppe,Purgatory Explained).
Different Kinds of Hell
“When we say in the Apostles Creed that after His death “Jesus Christ descended into Hell,” the name Hell, says the Catechism of the Council of Trent, signifies those hidden places where the souls are detained which have not yet reached eternal beatitude. But these prisons are of different kinds. One is a dark and gloomy dungeon, where the damned are continually tormented by evil spirits, and by a fire which is never extinguished. This place, which is Hell properly so called, is also named Gehenna and abyss” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
The Hell of Purgatory
If you read Fr. Schouppe’s book, Purgatory Explained, you will read some very sobering passages about Purgatory. One of the things he points out is the fact that the fires of Purgatory are the same fires as those of Hell. “There is another Hell, which contains the fire of Purgatory. There the souls of the just suffer for a certain time, that they may become entirely purified before being admitted into their heavenly fatherland, where nothing defiled can ever enter” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
The Hell of Limbo
“A third Hell was that into which the souls of the saints who died before the coming of Jesus Christ were received, and in which they enjoyed peaceful repose, exempt from pain, consoled and sustained by the hope of their redemption. They were those holy souls which awaited Jesus Christ in Abraham’s bosom, and which were delivered when Christ descended into Hell. Our Savior suddenly diffused among them a brilliant light, which filled them with infinite joy, and gave them sovereign beatitude, which is the vision of God. Then was fulfilled the promise of Jesus to the good thief: This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
“A very probable opinion,” says St. Thomas, “and one which, moreover, corresponds with the words of the saints in particular revelation is, that Purgatory has a double place for expiation. The first will be destined for the generality of souls, and is situated below, near to Hell; the second will be for particular cases, and it is from thence that so many apparitions occur.” (Summa Theologica, Suppl., part. 3, ques. ult.).” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
“The holy Doctor admits, then, like so many others who share his opinions, that sometimes Divine Justice assigns a special place of purification to certain souls, and even permits them to appear either to instruct the living or to procure for the departed the suffrages of which they stand in need; sometimes also for other motives worthy of the wisdom and mercy of God” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
Fitting Fires of Hell
“Such is the general view concerning the location of Purgatory. Since we are not writing a controversial treatise, we add neither proofs nor refutations; these can be seen in authors such as Suarez and Bellarmine. We will content ourselves by remarking that the opinion concerning a subterranean Hell has nothing to fear from modern science. A science purely natural is incompetent in questions which belong, as does this one, to the supernatural order. Moreover, we know that spirits may be in a place occupied by bodies, as though these bodies did not exist. Whatever, then, the interior of the Earth may be, whether it be entirely of fire, as geologists commonly say, or whether it be in any other state, there is nothing to prevent its serving as a sojourn of spirits, even of spirits clothed with a risen body. The Apostle, St. Paul teaches us that the air is filled with a multitude of evil spirits: We have to combat, says he, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places (Ephesians 6:12).” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
Today’s Air-Conditioned Purgatory
Some people have the weirdest ideas about Purgatory. They amount of sins that they commit would make you think that they imagine Purgatory to be like a five-star hotel, with a bar and Jacuzzi in every room, air-conditioning and climate-control, Olympic size swimming-pool and golf-course thrown in. They sin more and more so that they can spend more and more time there! The Modernist or Liberal Catholic, may well accept the existence of Purgatory in theory, however, in practice, they live as though Purgatory is empty. Let’s face it, how many sermons do you hear on Purgatory these days? Even when they are preached, many ‘water-down’ Purgatory to a point where we think little of the sufferings of the souls detained there—as though they were merely stuck in a traffic jam or in slow-moving traffic on the road to Heaven! The Modernist and Liberal mentality is, in the words of Fr. Felix Salvany, in his book Liberalism is a Sin,
Offend God rather than Neighbor!
“The Catholic simply tainted with Liberalism is generally a good man and sincerely pious; he exhales nevertheless an odor of Liberalism in everything he says, writes, or takes up. This courageous man reasons, speaks, and acts as a Liberal without knowing it. His strong point is charity; he is charity itself. … How the devil must chuckle over the mushy charity held out as a bait to abet his own cause! … Charity is a supernatural virtue which induces us to love God above all things and our neighbors as ourselves for the love of God. … Charity is primarily the love of God, secondarily the love of our neighbor for God’s sake. To sacrifice the first is to abandon the latter. Therefore, to offend our neighbor for the love of God is a true act of charity. Not to offend our neighbor for the love of God is a sin. Modern Liberalism reverses this order; it imposes a false notion of charity: our neighbor first, and, if at all, God afterwards” (Fr. Felix Salvany, Liberalism Is A Sin).
Hey! Nobody’s Perfect!
The result of this reversal of charity therefore sees people being prepared to see God offended rather than having to be ‘uncharitable’ by correcting the sinning neighbor! Unbelievable! Yet this modern behavior consequently allows mountains of sins to be piled-up under the pretext of what they think and protest is charity—all they really do is allow others to pile-up their Purgatory! “Sin now, burn later”—that’s their idea of charity. They help their neighbor pile-up the firewood with their excuses for not correcting others--”Everyone has their faults!” … “Nobody’s perfect!” … “It’s only a Venial Sin!” Huh? Only a Venial Sin? Well read some accounts of the suffering undergone in the fires of Purgatory for only Venial Sins! Then come back and say “only”! The entrance fee to Heaven is PERFECTION—as Our Lord Himself said: “Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48), which echoes the Old Testament: “Thou shalt be perfect, and without spot before the Lord thy God” (Deuteronomy 18:13). Heaven is no place for mediocrity or half-baked Catholics—hence the need for the fires of Purgatory to full-bake the half-baked Catholics. Remember—many, if not most saints, had to pass to through Purgatory—with the exception of martyrs.
Dense Wood Burns Longer
They say that dense wood burns for much longer—well, these Liberals and Modernists with their fake and false notions of charity and sin, must be pretty dense. Therefore, if they manage to scrape into Purgatory, they will burn all the longer. The physician cauterizing his patient or cutting off his gangrened limb may nonetheless love him. Likewise the ‘cauterizing’ effect of Purgatory is an inexplicably painful act of mercy and love by God—God chastises those who He loves: “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold, nor hot. I would thou wert cold, or hot. But because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest: ‘I am rich, and made wealthy, and have need of nothing!’ And knowest not, that thou art wretched [a sinner], and miserable [finding joy in the world, not God], and poor [in grace and merits], and blind [lukewarm], and naked [without virtues]. I counsel thee to buy of Me gold fire tried [true charity], that thou mayest be made rich; and mayest be clothed in white garments, and that the shame of thy nakedness may not appear; and anoint thy eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see. Such as I love, I rebuke and chastise. Be zealous therefore, and do penance!” (Apocalypse 3:15-19).
As Penance Goes Down, the Temperature Goes Up
It is lack of penance that places souls in the terrible fires of Purgatory. Our Lord has warned us: product of confession is the receiving and doing of penance. “Unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3).
The dogmatic teaching of the Catholic Church on the doctrine of Purgatory was specified in 1439 by the Council of Florence, which declared: “It has likewise been defined that, if those truly penitent have departed in the love of God, before they have made satisfaction by worthy fruits of penance for sins of commission and omission, the souls of these are cleansed after death by purgatorial punishments.”
The Council of Trent later added: “If anyone says that, after receiving the grace of justification, the guilt of any repentant sinner is remitted and the debt of eternal punishment is blotted out, in such a way that no debt of temporal punishment remains to be paid, either in this life or in Purgatory, before the gate to the kingdom of Heaven can be opened: let him be anathema.”
White-Weddings, okay! White-Funerals? You’re Kidding!
St. Paul said that in the last times there would be people with “itching ears” seeking after novelties and believing fables. Well, one of those fables is that Purgatory and Hell are empty—or almost empty. God is love, and love is sweet, and the sweet loving God in His loving sweetness cannot bear to send anyone to Purgatory, let alone Hell!
This novelty of funerals in white is a fable-feeding funeral—funerals in white used to be performed ONLY for children who had died below the “age-of-reason” and were thus incapable of committing sin—which meant that after death they went straight to Heaven, hence the “funeral in white” with the Mass being that of the Angels, not the Requiem Mass. Today, everyone gets a “White-Funeral” and everyone talks as though the deceased is already clinking glasses with the angels and saints in Heaven, at a homecoming party! Sadly, Heaven IS NOT filling up and Purgatory is NOT empty. In fact, the common opinion among theologians is that MOST SOULS, that end up going to Heaven, have to pass through the fires of Purgatory. As Scripture says: “There shall not enter into it anything defiled, or that worketh abomination or maketh a lie …” (Apocalypse 21:27).
Full-Price Ticket to Heaven
The poor souls in Purgatory still have the stains of sin within them. This means two things. First, it means that the souls have not yet paid the temporal penalty due to sin, either for venial sins, or for mortal sins whose guilt was forgiven before death. There is also the problem of unrepented and unforgiven venial sin, for which the guilt and punishment were not removed before death. It is not certain whether the guilt of venial sins is strictly speaking remitted after death, and if so, how the remission takes place.
Discounts Only On Earth
We can pay for damage of sin after death in Purgatory, or we can pay the penalties of satisfaction for sin on Earth before death, which can be done by souls in a state of grace during the course of their whole life on Earth. Whereas before death a soul can cleanse itself by freely choosing to suffer for its sins, and so can gain merit for this suffering; a soul in Purgatory cannot choose to do so and gains no merit for its suffering and no increase in its glory. Rather, it is cleansed according to the demands of Divine Justice.
The Price is Right!
There are simply, or perhaps even too obviously, several basic reasons why souls have to undergo the terrible, yet at the same time joyful, sufferings of Purgatory. To keep things simple, let us enumerate them in a list form:
(1) Those who never lost the grace of God throughout their life, and died after having committed only venial sins in their life, but who were not sufficiently sorry for those venial sins, nor did sufficient penance for them, nor accepted the trials and sufferings that God sent them as a payment for their sins.
(2) Those who have committed mortal sins and therefore lost the grace of God, which they regained through the Sacrament of Confession, but like the case above, they were not sufficiently sorry for those venial sins, nor did sufficient penance for them, nor accepted the trials and sufferings that God sent them as a payment for their sins. Of course, mortal sin is much more expensive than venial sin, and so requires more penance than would be required for venial sin.
(3) The third group, of course, is a combination of the two previous groups listed above—those who have sinned both mortally and venially, and who have died with their mortal sins confessed and forgiven in the Sacrament of Confession. These have an even greater debt for having committed a combination of both kinds of sins.
Each Size of Sin Has Its Price Tag
What modifies this is the personal number and kind of sin that has been committed. There is a hierarchy among sins, which only God can properly and correctly evaluate. Objective and subjective elements come into play to create almost infinite levels of gravity for the same species of sin—the sin of violence will be judged differently in each case: what was duration of the act of violence? What was its intensity? On whom was it inflicted? Was it in self-defense? What damage or injury was inflicted? Was there any sorrow? Was there any apology made? Was any reparation made? Did the behavior improve or cease?
A Just Judge Judges the Just
These are just a few of the many questions that need to be asked to form a correct and just judgment of the level of guilt involved. Thank heavens it God Who judges and nobody else? It would be hard enough to judge one single sin correctly, let alone the thousands or hundreds of thousands of sins that one single person has committed!
It is good to know that, in all of His judgments, God is always both merciful and just. He never applies His justice without mercy; and He never shows mercy without justice. If He would do so, then He would be lacking in one or the other virtue—but God is perfect and so He exercises both in perfect balance and with the utmost harmony. However, it is worth noting one of the psalms, from Holy Scripture, which says: “The Lord is gracious and merciful: patient and plenteous in mercy! The Lord is sweet to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works!” (Psalm 144:8-9).
Mercy in Hell?
Even those who are damned in Hell, realize that God is merciful to them, and has not permitted them to be punished to degree that they truly deserved—even though they will be punished for eternity. The time of punishment remains the same—eternity—but the degree or intensity of punishment has been reduced. A combination of justice and mercy.
Sweeping Purgatory Under the Carpet?
Unfortunately, our sense of values has been deformed and corrupted, and we have no real inkling of the gravity of sin, nor of the punishment that sin deserves. Furthermore, we have little idea of what Purgatory is really like. For many, it is like a taboo subject—let’s not talk about it, let’s talk about something more pleasant! But when we avoid looking at the doctrine and revelations about Purgatory, we risk harming ourselves by avoiding the issue of the gravity and consequence of sin. When we read and truly meditate upon what goes on in Purgatory, we cannot avoid being struck with a salutary and healthy fear of the consequences of even the most ‘trivial’ sin (if one dare call sin ‘trivial’) and the rigor of God’s justice, even though he simultaneously applies some of His mercy.
“Ouch” and “Ouch” again!
If you read Fr. Schouppe’s book, Purgatory Explained, you will read some very sobering passages about Purgatory. One of the things he points out is the fact that the fires of Purgatory are the same fires as those of Hell. He also points out that there is in Purgatory, as in Hell, a double pain—the pain of loss in the soul and the pain of the senses. The pain suffered by the loss of God, is greater than the pain of the fire, or any of the other tortures, that the soul suffers.
Massive Loss
The pain of loss consists in being deprived for a time of the sight of God, Who is our Supreme Good, for Whom our souls were made. In Purgatory, there is a thirst for God—which should have been there while living on Earth, but the soul thirsted more for worldly things rather than God. The pain of sense, or sensible suffering, is the same as that which we experience in our flesh. Its nature is not defined by Faith, but it is the common opinion of the Doctors that it consists in fire and other species of suffering.
Fearsome Fire—Hot as Hell
The fire of Purgatory, say the Fathers, is that of Hell, of which the rich glutton speaks when he says: “I am tormented in this flame” (Luke 16:24). The same fire, says Pope St. Gregory the Great, torments the damned and purifies the elect. “Almost all theologians,” says the cardinal, St. Robert Bellarmine, “teach that the damned in Hell and the souls in Purgatory suffer the action of the same fire.” It must be held as certain, writes St. Robert Bellarmine, that there is no proportion between the sufferings of this life and those of Purgatory. St. Catherine of Genoa, in her book on Purgatory, writes: “As to the suffering, it is equal to that of Hell.”
We know what a terrible thing fire is, and what pain is caused by the slightest burn, no matter how feeble the flame may be; how much more terrible must be that fire which is fed neither with wood, gas nor oil.
St. Catherine of Genoa, in her book on Purgatory, says: “The souls endure a torment so extreme that no tongue can describe it, nor could the understanding conceive the least notion of it, if God did not make it known by a particular grace.”
Perfectly Weighted Justice
As regards the severity of these pains, since they are inflicted by Infinite Justice, they are proportioned to the nature, gravity, and number of sins committed. Each one receives according to his works, each one must acquit himself of the debts with which he sees himself charged before God. Now these debts differ greatly in quality. Some, which have accumulated during a long life, have reached the ten thousand talents of the Gospel, that is to say, millions and tens of millions; whilst others are reduced to a few farthings, the trifling remainder of that which has not been expiated on Earth. It follows from this that the souls undergo various kinds of sufferings, that there are innumerable degrees of expiation in Purgatory, and that some are incomparably more severe than others. However, speaking in general, the doctors agree in saying that the pains are most excruciating.
Terrible Time of Torment
St. Augustine believes that even though the souls in Purgatory will be saved, no doubt, after the trial of fire, but that trial will be terrible, that torment of Purgatory will be far more intolerable than all the most excruciating sufferings in this world. St. Thomas goes even further; he maintains that the least pain of Purgatory surpasses all the sufferings of this life, whatsoever they may be. The author of The Imitation of Christ explains this doctrine by a practical and striking sentence. Speaking in general of the sufferings of the other life, he says: “There, one hour of torment will be more terrible than a hundred years of rigorous penance done here!”
Crazy Catholics
Why, O why, do people want to pile up unnecessary punishment in the unimaginably painful and hot fires of Purgatory, which are in essence the fires of Hell, when they could avoid that by either not-sinning here below, or doing fitting serious penance for past sins. If people were physically burned on Earth each time they committed a Mortal or Venial Sin, then sin would soon stop. Because there payment is deferred to a later time, they sin like crazy! They—and we—are crazy! You have to be—if you stop and think about it seriously!
“The word ‘Purgatory’ is sometimes taken to mean a place, sometimes as an intermediate state, between Hell and Heaven. It is, properly speaking, the condition of souls which, at the moment of death, are in the state of grace, but which have not completely expiated their faults, nor attained the degree of purity necessary to enjoy the vision of God” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
The same fire, says Pope St. Gregory the Great, torments the damned and purifies the elect. “Almost all theologians,” says the cardinal, St. Robert Bellarmine, “teach that the damned in Hell and the souls in Purgatory suffer the action of the same fire.” It must be held as certain, writes St. Robert Bellarmine, that there is no proportion between the sufferings of this life and those of Purgatory. St. Catherine of Genoa, in her book on Purgatory, writes: “As to the suffering, it is equal to that of Hell.” St. Thomas Aquinas states: “The fire of Purgatory is the same as the fire of Hell” (Summa Theologica, Supplement, Appendix II, Art. 1).
Passions Were Satisfied; Justice Must Be Satisfied
“Purgatory is, then, a transitory state which terminates in a life of everlasting happiness. It is not a trial by which merit may be gained or lost, but a state of atonement and expiation. The soul has arrived at the term of its earthly career; that life was a time of trial, a time of merit for the soul, a time of mercy on the part of God. This time once expired, nothing but justice is to be expected from God, whilst the soul can neither gain nor lose merit. She remains in the state in which death found her; and since it found her in the state of sanctifying grace, she is certain of never forfeiting that happy state, and of arriving at the eternal possession of God. Nevertheless, since she is burdened with certain debts of temporal punishment, she must satisfy Divine Justice by enduring this punishment in all its rigor” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
Lovers of Earth Banished to Earth
“Although Faith tells us nothing definite regarding the location of Purgatory, the most common opinion, that which most accords with the language of Scripture, and which is the most generally received among theologians, places it in the bowels of the Earth, not far from the Hell of the reprobates. Theologians are almost unanimous, says Bellarmine, in teaching that Purgatory, at least the ordinary place of expiation, is situated in the interior of the Earth, that the souls in Purgatory and the reprobate are in the same subterranean space in the deep abyss which the Scripture calls Hell. (Roman Cathechism, chapter 6, §1)” (Fr. Schouppe,Purgatory Explained).
Different Kinds of Hell
“When we say in the Apostles Creed that after His death “Jesus Christ descended into Hell,” the name Hell, says the Catechism of the Council of Trent, signifies those hidden places where the souls are detained which have not yet reached eternal beatitude. But these prisons are of different kinds. One is a dark and gloomy dungeon, where the damned are continually tormented by evil spirits, and by a fire which is never extinguished. This place, which is Hell properly so called, is also named Gehenna and abyss” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
The Hell of Purgatory
If you read Fr. Schouppe’s book, Purgatory Explained, you will read some very sobering passages about Purgatory. One of the things he points out is the fact that the fires of Purgatory are the same fires as those of Hell. “There is another Hell, which contains the fire of Purgatory. There the souls of the just suffer for a certain time, that they may become entirely purified before being admitted into their heavenly fatherland, where nothing defiled can ever enter” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
The Hell of Limbo
“A third Hell was that into which the souls of the saints who died before the coming of Jesus Christ were received, and in which they enjoyed peaceful repose, exempt from pain, consoled and sustained by the hope of their redemption. They were those holy souls which awaited Jesus Christ in Abraham’s bosom, and which were delivered when Christ descended into Hell. Our Savior suddenly diffused among them a brilliant light, which filled them with infinite joy, and gave them sovereign beatitude, which is the vision of God. Then was fulfilled the promise of Jesus to the good thief: This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
“A very probable opinion,” says St. Thomas, “and one which, moreover, corresponds with the words of the saints in particular revelation is, that Purgatory has a double place for expiation. The first will be destined for the generality of souls, and is situated below, near to Hell; the second will be for particular cases, and it is from thence that so many apparitions occur.” (Summa Theologica, Suppl., part. 3, ques. ult.).” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
“The holy Doctor admits, then, like so many others who share his opinions, that sometimes Divine Justice assigns a special place of purification to certain souls, and even permits them to appear either to instruct the living or to procure for the departed the suffrages of which they stand in need; sometimes also for other motives worthy of the wisdom and mercy of God” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
Fitting Fires of Hell
“Such is the general view concerning the location of Purgatory. Since we are not writing a controversial treatise, we add neither proofs nor refutations; these can be seen in authors such as Suarez and Bellarmine. We will content ourselves by remarking that the opinion concerning a subterranean Hell has nothing to fear from modern science. A science purely natural is incompetent in questions which belong, as does this one, to the supernatural order. Moreover, we know that spirits may be in a place occupied by bodies, as though these bodies did not exist. Whatever, then, the interior of the Earth may be, whether it be entirely of fire, as geologists commonly say, or whether it be in any other state, there is nothing to prevent its serving as a sojourn of spirits, even of spirits clothed with a risen body. The Apostle, St. Paul teaches us that the air is filled with a multitude of evil spirits: We have to combat, says he, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places (Ephesians 6:12).” (Fr. Schouppe, Purgatory Explained).
Today’s Air-Conditioned Purgatory
Some people have the weirdest ideas about Purgatory. They amount of sins that they commit would make you think that they imagine Purgatory to be like a five-star hotel, with a bar and Jacuzzi in every room, air-conditioning and climate-control, Olympic size swimming-pool and golf-course thrown in. They sin more and more so that they can spend more and more time there! The Modernist or Liberal Catholic, may well accept the existence of Purgatory in theory, however, in practice, they live as though Purgatory is empty. Let’s face it, how many sermons do you hear on Purgatory these days? Even when they are preached, many ‘water-down’ Purgatory to a point where we think little of the sufferings of the souls detained there—as though they were merely stuck in a traffic jam or in slow-moving traffic on the road to Heaven! The Modernist and Liberal mentality is, in the words of Fr. Felix Salvany, in his book Liberalism is a Sin,
Offend God rather than Neighbor!
“The Catholic simply tainted with Liberalism is generally a good man and sincerely pious; he exhales nevertheless an odor of Liberalism in everything he says, writes, or takes up. This courageous man reasons, speaks, and acts as a Liberal without knowing it. His strong point is charity; he is charity itself. … How the devil must chuckle over the mushy charity held out as a bait to abet his own cause! … Charity is a supernatural virtue which induces us to love God above all things and our neighbors as ourselves for the love of God. … Charity is primarily the love of God, secondarily the love of our neighbor for God’s sake. To sacrifice the first is to abandon the latter. Therefore, to offend our neighbor for the love of God is a true act of charity. Not to offend our neighbor for the love of God is a sin. Modern Liberalism reverses this order; it imposes a false notion of charity: our neighbor first, and, if at all, God afterwards” (Fr. Felix Salvany, Liberalism Is A Sin).
Hey! Nobody’s Perfect!
The result of this reversal of charity therefore sees people being prepared to see God offended rather than having to be ‘uncharitable’ by correcting the sinning neighbor! Unbelievable! Yet this modern behavior consequently allows mountains of sins to be piled-up under the pretext of what they think and protest is charity—all they really do is allow others to pile-up their Purgatory! “Sin now, burn later”—that’s their idea of charity. They help their neighbor pile-up the firewood with their excuses for not correcting others--”Everyone has their faults!” … “Nobody’s perfect!” … “It’s only a Venial Sin!” Huh? Only a Venial Sin? Well read some accounts of the suffering undergone in the fires of Purgatory for only Venial Sins! Then come back and say “only”! The entrance fee to Heaven is PERFECTION—as Our Lord Himself said: “Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48), which echoes the Old Testament: “Thou shalt be perfect, and without spot before the Lord thy God” (Deuteronomy 18:13). Heaven is no place for mediocrity or half-baked Catholics—hence the need for the fires of Purgatory to full-bake the half-baked Catholics. Remember—many, if not most saints, had to pass to through Purgatory—with the exception of martyrs.
Dense Wood Burns Longer
They say that dense wood burns for much longer—well, these Liberals and Modernists with their fake and false notions of charity and sin, must be pretty dense. Therefore, if they manage to scrape into Purgatory, they will burn all the longer. The physician cauterizing his patient or cutting off his gangrened limb may nonetheless love him. Likewise the ‘cauterizing’ effect of Purgatory is an inexplicably painful act of mercy and love by God—God chastises those who He loves: “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold, nor hot. I would thou wert cold, or hot. But because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest: ‘I am rich, and made wealthy, and have need of nothing!’ And knowest not, that thou art wretched [a sinner], and miserable [finding joy in the world, not God], and poor [in grace and merits], and blind [lukewarm], and naked [without virtues]. I counsel thee to buy of Me gold fire tried [true charity], that thou mayest be made rich; and mayest be clothed in white garments, and that the shame of thy nakedness may not appear; and anoint thy eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see. Such as I love, I rebuke and chastise. Be zealous therefore, and do penance!” (Apocalypse 3:15-19).
As Penance Goes Down, the Temperature Goes Up
It is lack of penance that places souls in the terrible fires of Purgatory. Our Lord has warned us: product of confession is the receiving and doing of penance. “Unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3).
The dogmatic teaching of the Catholic Church on the doctrine of Purgatory was specified in 1439 by the Council of Florence, which declared: “It has likewise been defined that, if those truly penitent have departed in the love of God, before they have made satisfaction by worthy fruits of penance for sins of commission and omission, the souls of these are cleansed after death by purgatorial punishments.”
The Council of Trent later added: “If anyone says that, after receiving the grace of justification, the guilt of any repentant sinner is remitted and the debt of eternal punishment is blotted out, in such a way that no debt of temporal punishment remains to be paid, either in this life or in Purgatory, before the gate to the kingdom of Heaven can be opened: let him be anathema.”
White-Weddings, okay! White-Funerals? You’re Kidding!
St. Paul said that in the last times there would be people with “itching ears” seeking after novelties and believing fables. Well, one of those fables is that Purgatory and Hell are empty—or almost empty. God is love, and love is sweet, and the sweet loving God in His loving sweetness cannot bear to send anyone to Purgatory, let alone Hell!
This novelty of funerals in white is a fable-feeding funeral—funerals in white used to be performed ONLY for children who had died below the “age-of-reason” and were thus incapable of committing sin—which meant that after death they went straight to Heaven, hence the “funeral in white” with the Mass being that of the Angels, not the Requiem Mass. Today, everyone gets a “White-Funeral” and everyone talks as though the deceased is already clinking glasses with the angels and saints in Heaven, at a homecoming party! Sadly, Heaven IS NOT filling up and Purgatory is NOT empty. In fact, the common opinion among theologians is that MOST SOULS, that end up going to Heaven, have to pass through the fires of Purgatory. As Scripture says: “There shall not enter into it anything defiled, or that worketh abomination or maketh a lie …” (Apocalypse 21:27).
Full-Price Ticket to Heaven
The poor souls in Purgatory still have the stains of sin within them. This means two things. First, it means that the souls have not yet paid the temporal penalty due to sin, either for venial sins, or for mortal sins whose guilt was forgiven before death. There is also the problem of unrepented and unforgiven venial sin, for which the guilt and punishment were not removed before death. It is not certain whether the guilt of venial sins is strictly speaking remitted after death, and if so, how the remission takes place.
Discounts Only On Earth
We can pay for damage of sin after death in Purgatory, or we can pay the penalties of satisfaction for sin on Earth before death, which can be done by souls in a state of grace during the course of their whole life on Earth. Whereas before death a soul can cleanse itself by freely choosing to suffer for its sins, and so can gain merit for this suffering; a soul in Purgatory cannot choose to do so and gains no merit for its suffering and no increase in its glory. Rather, it is cleansed according to the demands of Divine Justice.
The Price is Right!
There are simply, or perhaps even too obviously, several basic reasons why souls have to undergo the terrible, yet at the same time joyful, sufferings of Purgatory. To keep things simple, let us enumerate them in a list form:
(1) Those who never lost the grace of God throughout their life, and died after having committed only venial sins in their life, but who were not sufficiently sorry for those venial sins, nor did sufficient penance for them, nor accepted the trials and sufferings that God sent them as a payment for their sins.
(2) Those who have committed mortal sins and therefore lost the grace of God, which they regained through the Sacrament of Confession, but like the case above, they were not sufficiently sorry for those venial sins, nor did sufficient penance for them, nor accepted the trials and sufferings that God sent them as a payment for their sins. Of course, mortal sin is much more expensive than venial sin, and so requires more penance than would be required for venial sin.
(3) The third group, of course, is a combination of the two previous groups listed above—those who have sinned both mortally and venially, and who have died with their mortal sins confessed and forgiven in the Sacrament of Confession. These have an even greater debt for having committed a combination of both kinds of sins.
Each Size of Sin Has Its Price Tag
What modifies this is the personal number and kind of sin that has been committed. There is a hierarchy among sins, which only God can properly and correctly evaluate. Objective and subjective elements come into play to create almost infinite levels of gravity for the same species of sin—the sin of violence will be judged differently in each case: what was duration of the act of violence? What was its intensity? On whom was it inflicted? Was it in self-defense? What damage or injury was inflicted? Was there any sorrow? Was there any apology made? Was any reparation made? Did the behavior improve or cease?
A Just Judge Judges the Just
These are just a few of the many questions that need to be asked to form a correct and just judgment of the level of guilt involved. Thank heavens it God Who judges and nobody else? It would be hard enough to judge one single sin correctly, let alone the thousands or hundreds of thousands of sins that one single person has committed!
It is good to know that, in all of His judgments, God is always both merciful and just. He never applies His justice without mercy; and He never shows mercy without justice. If He would do so, then He would be lacking in one or the other virtue—but God is perfect and so He exercises both in perfect balance and with the utmost harmony. However, it is worth noting one of the psalms, from Holy Scripture, which says: “The Lord is gracious and merciful: patient and plenteous in mercy! The Lord is sweet to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works!” (Psalm 144:8-9).
Mercy in Hell?
Even those who are damned in Hell, realize that God is merciful to them, and has not permitted them to be punished to degree that they truly deserved—even though they will be punished for eternity. The time of punishment remains the same—eternity—but the degree or intensity of punishment has been reduced. A combination of justice and mercy.
Sweeping Purgatory Under the Carpet?
Unfortunately, our sense of values has been deformed and corrupted, and we have no real inkling of the gravity of sin, nor of the punishment that sin deserves. Furthermore, we have little idea of what Purgatory is really like. For many, it is like a taboo subject—let’s not talk about it, let’s talk about something more pleasant! But when we avoid looking at the doctrine and revelations about Purgatory, we risk harming ourselves by avoiding the issue of the gravity and consequence of sin. When we read and truly meditate upon what goes on in Purgatory, we cannot avoid being struck with a salutary and healthy fear of the consequences of even the most ‘trivial’ sin (if one dare call sin ‘trivial’) and the rigor of God’s justice, even though he simultaneously applies some of His mercy.
“Ouch” and “Ouch” again!
If you read Fr. Schouppe’s book, Purgatory Explained, you will read some very sobering passages about Purgatory. One of the things he points out is the fact that the fires of Purgatory are the same fires as those of Hell. He also points out that there is in Purgatory, as in Hell, a double pain—the pain of loss in the soul and the pain of the senses. The pain suffered by the loss of God, is greater than the pain of the fire, or any of the other tortures, that the soul suffers.
Massive Loss
The pain of loss consists in being deprived for a time of the sight of God, Who is our Supreme Good, for Whom our souls were made. In Purgatory, there is a thirst for God—which should have been there while living on Earth, but the soul thirsted more for worldly things rather than God. The pain of sense, or sensible suffering, is the same as that which we experience in our flesh. Its nature is not defined by Faith, but it is the common opinion of the Doctors that it consists in fire and other species of suffering.
Fearsome Fire—Hot as Hell
The fire of Purgatory, say the Fathers, is that of Hell, of which the rich glutton speaks when he says: “I am tormented in this flame” (Luke 16:24). The same fire, says Pope St. Gregory the Great, torments the damned and purifies the elect. “Almost all theologians,” says the cardinal, St. Robert Bellarmine, “teach that the damned in Hell and the souls in Purgatory suffer the action of the same fire.” It must be held as certain, writes St. Robert Bellarmine, that there is no proportion between the sufferings of this life and those of Purgatory. St. Catherine of Genoa, in her book on Purgatory, writes: “As to the suffering, it is equal to that of Hell.”
We know what a terrible thing fire is, and what pain is caused by the slightest burn, no matter how feeble the flame may be; how much more terrible must be that fire which is fed neither with wood, gas nor oil.
St. Catherine of Genoa, in her book on Purgatory, says: “The souls endure a torment so extreme that no tongue can describe it, nor could the understanding conceive the least notion of it, if God did not make it known by a particular grace.”
Perfectly Weighted Justice
As regards the severity of these pains, since they are inflicted by Infinite Justice, they are proportioned to the nature, gravity, and number of sins committed. Each one receives according to his works, each one must acquit himself of the debts with which he sees himself charged before God. Now these debts differ greatly in quality. Some, which have accumulated during a long life, have reached the ten thousand talents of the Gospel, that is to say, millions and tens of millions; whilst others are reduced to a few farthings, the trifling remainder of that which has not been expiated on Earth. It follows from this that the souls undergo various kinds of sufferings, that there are innumerable degrees of expiation in Purgatory, and that some are incomparably more severe than others. However, speaking in general, the doctors agree in saying that the pains are most excruciating.
Terrible Time of Torment
St. Augustine believes that even though the souls in Purgatory will be saved, no doubt, after the trial of fire, but that trial will be terrible, that torment of Purgatory will be far more intolerable than all the most excruciating sufferings in this world. St. Thomas goes even further; he maintains that the least pain of Purgatory surpasses all the sufferings of this life, whatsoever they may be. The author of The Imitation of Christ explains this doctrine by a practical and striking sentence. Speaking in general of the sufferings of the other life, he says: “There, one hour of torment will be more terrible than a hundred years of rigorous penance done here!”
Crazy Catholics
Why, O why, do people want to pile up unnecessary punishment in the unimaginably painful and hot fires of Purgatory, which are in essence the fires of Hell, when they could avoid that by either not-sinning here below, or doing fitting serious penance for past sins. If people were physically burned on Earth each time they committed a Mortal or Venial Sin, then sin would soon stop. Because there payment is deferred to a later time, they sin like crazy! They—and we—are crazy! You have to be—if you stop and think about it seriously!
Article 2
Sunday November 2nd
Are You Going to Heaven?
Sunday November 2nd
Are You Going to Heaven?
How to Clear a Room in a Matter of Seconds!
For most people, the question of the number of souls that shall be saved, or more precisely, the fewness of the souls saved, is perhaps the most painful, frightening, anxiety-giving, discouraging topic that could ever be imagined, let alone discussed! If you want to clear a room of people, or find some time to be alone with yourself, then just start a conversation on the fewness of souls saved! It can be guaranteed that you will find yourself alone within minutes, if not seconds!
Yet, it is a topic that Our Lord Himself addressed and the Evangelists and New Testament writers have brought to our attention. If you read the writings of the saints throughout all the centuries since Our Lord’s day, you will find many references and opinions on the matter. Though there are some varying opinions, essentially, the Fathers of the Church, as well as the Saints of the Church and her theologians, are of the opinion that most souls are not saved. However, before you go into an anxiety-attack and your heart starts beating at a dangerous level, remember also this: most souls are lost through their negligence, stubbornness, pridefulness and lukewarmness. There is not one single soul in Hell that could not have got to Heaven.
Do You Want to Go to Heaven?
Ask yourself if you want to go to Heaven. Who doesn’t want to go to Heaven? Only lunatics and Satanists prefer to go Hell rather than Heaven! Almost everybody wants to go to Heaven! Yet how many people actually get to Heaven? We could pretend―like many of today’s Modernists and Liberals―that salvation is a universal gift and that everyone goes to Heaven! Yet in doing so we would ourselves to be idiots―for Our Lord, Our Lady and Holy Scripture do not agree and tell us the exact opposite!
Our Lord, in the Gospels, tells us that few are actually saved: “And a certain man said to Him: ‘Lord! Are they few that are saved?’ But Jesus said to them: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate―for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able! … Enter ye in at the narrow gate―for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat! How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life―and few there are that find it! … For many are called, but few are chosen!’” (Luke 13:23-24; Matthew 7:13-14; 22:14).
Our Lady, in her revelations to the mystic and stigmatist, Venerable Mary of Agreda, said: “Fear the danger of not attending to the divine calls, for that is the cause of the loss of innumerable souls ... How many men have thrown themselves into the eternal darkness of Hell! … Countless numbers have fallen into Hell! … Lucifer has hurled into Hell so great a number of souls and continues so to hurl them every day! The neglect and contempt of bodily mortification cause the loss of many souls and bring many more into the danger of eternal loss. I will not tell thee how many souls are lost, in order to not cause thee to die of sorrow at this loss! I have already told thee, that the number of those foreknown as doomed, is so great, and of those that save themselves is so small, that it is not expedient to say more in particular! Weep ceaselessly over the terrible loss sustained by so many insane and thankless souls, who are forgetful of God, of their duty and of their own selves … and lose their chance of salvation or bring upon themselves eternal damnation!”
What happened to Sodom and Gomorrha, will happen to us tomorrow if we do not repent and change our way of life. Our Lady of Akita said: “If men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one never seen before. Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead.”
Our Lord mentioned the time of Noe and the Ark, reminded us of how few were saved―“the flood came, and took them all away.” God had no qualms about eliminating most of the human race because of sin and wiped them off the face of the Earth—“It repented Him that He had made man on the Earth. And being touched inwardly with sorrow of heart, He said: ‘I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the Earth!’” (Genesis 6:6-7).
We see the same anger in God during the Exodus from Egypt on the journey to the Promised Land: “And again the Lord said to Moses: ‘See that this people is stiff-necked! 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).
St. Paul reminds us of this in the New Testament: “For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea! And all in Moses were baptized―in the cloud and in the sea! And did all eat the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink; and they drank of the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ! But with most of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the desert!” (1 Corinthians 10:1-5).
God was not well pleased with most of them! What a horrifying thought! They were His Chosen People—were they not? Yet He was ready to destroy them, He made them wander and die in the desert so that only two (Josue and Caleb) of the original millions who had left Egypt actually entered the Promised Land—the rest were a new generation! With most of them God was not well pleased! What, then, would God think of our ultra-sinful world today? We shiver to think! Our Lady of Fatima judged that it was necessary to show the three children―Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta―a vision of Hell in order to provoke people into praying for the salvation of so many sinners who are falling into Hell! That was back in 1917! How much more sinful is the world today??!!!
Same Old … Same Old … Same Old Truth!
The popes and saints have echoed those unpleasant words throughout the centuries:
St. Justin Martyr, Father of the Church (100-165): “The majority of men shall not see God, except for those who live justly, purified by righteousness and virtue.”
St. Jerome, Doctor and Father of the Church (347-420): “Out of one hundred thousand sinners who continue in sin until death, scarcely one will be saved!”
St. John Chrysostom, Doctor and Father of the Church (347-407): “Out of this thickly populated city with its thousands of inhabitants not one hundred people will be saved. I even doubt whether there will be as many as that! … I do not think that many bishops are saved, but that those who perish are far more numerous.”
St. Augustine, Doctor and Father of the Church (354-430): “Not all, nor even a majority, are saved! … Beyond a doubt the elect are few! … It is certain that few are saved! … If you wish to imitate the multitude, then you shall not be among the few who shall enter in by the narrow gate!”
St. Regimius (437-533): “With the exception of those who die in childhood, most men will be damned!”
Pope St. Gregory the Great (540-604): “There are many who arrive at the Faith, but few who are led into the heavenly kingdom … They who are to be saved as Saints, and wish to be saved as imperfect souls, shall not be saved!”
St. John Climacus, Father of the Church (579-649): “Live with the few if you want to reign with the few.” (St. John Climacus, Father of the Church).
St. Bede the Venerable, Doctor and Father of the Church (672-735): “Christ’s flock is called ‘little’ (Luke 12:32) in comparison with the greater number of the reprobates.”
St. Anselm, Doctor of the Church (1033-1109): “If you would like to be certain of being in the number of the elect, strive to be one of the few, not of the many. And if thou wouldst be quite sure of thy salvation, strive to be among the fewest of the few!”
St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church (1225-1274): “There are a select few who are saved” (Summa Theologica, Ia, q.23, art.7, ad 3.) “Those who are saved are in the minority” (Summa Theologica, Ia, q.23, art.8, ad.3).
St. Francis Xavier (1506-1552): “O how many souls lose Heaven and are cast into Hell!”
St. Philip Neri (1515-1595): “So vast a number of miserable souls perish, and so comparatively few are saved!”
St. Teresa of Avila, Doctor of the Church (1515-1582): “I had the greatest sorrow for the many souls that condemned themselves to Hell ... I saw souls falling into Hell like snowflakes!”
St. John of the Cross, Doctor of the Church (1542-1591): “Behold how many there are who are called, and how few who are chosen! And behold, if you have no care for yourself, your perdition is more certain than your amendment, especially since the way that leads to eternal life is so narrow.”
St. Veronica Giuliani (1660-1727): “The number of the damned is incalculable.”
St. Louis Marie de Montfort (1673-1716): “The number of the elect is so small – so small – that, were we to know how small it is, we would faint away with grief! Be one of the small number who find the way to life, and enter by the narrow gate into Heaven. Take care not to follow the majority and the common herd, so many of whom are lost!”
St. Leonard of Port Maurice (1676-1751): “The greater number of Christian adults are damned! … 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.
St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori, Doctor of the Church (1696-1787): “Everyone desires to be saved but the greater part is lost … The common opinion is that the greater part of adults is lost! … The saints are few―but we must live with the few if we would be saved with the few!”
St. Benedict Joseph of Labre (1748-1783): “Many will be damned; few will be saved! … Try hard to be among the few who are chosen!”
Blessed Anna Maria Taigi (1769-1837): “The greater number of Christians today are damned. The destiny of those dying on one day is that very few ― not as many as ten ― went straight to Heaven; many remained in Purgatory; and those cast into Hell were as numerous as snowflakes in midwinter.”
St. John Marie Vianney (1786-1859): “Shall we all be saved? Shall we go to Heaven? Alas, my children, we do not know at all! But I tremble when I see so many souls lost these days. See, they fall into Hell as leaves fall from the trees at the approach of winter! … The number of the saved is as few as the number of grapes left after the vineyard-pickers have passed!”
St. Joseph Cafasso (1811-1860): “How few are those who pass for good! An enormous number will come to be damned!”
St. John Neumann (1811-1860): “Only few will be saved; only few will go to Heaven; and that the greater part of mankind will be lost forever.”
Do Not Paint an Untrue Rigorous or Mushy Picture of God!
We poor humans, with our limited capacities of mind and reason, sometimes have difficulty on focusing on more than one thing at a time. We sometimes tend to make things “black and white” and fail to grasp subtle distinctions of gray that can exist between those two extremes.
For some people God is “ALL LOVE” and “ALL MERCY”. They could not imagine that God would send to Hell a soul guilty of just one or several mortal sins. Their favorite Scriptural quotes are such as: “The Lord is gracious and merciful: patient and plenteous in mercy. The Lord is sweet to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 144:8-9). “If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow―and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool” (Isaias 1:18).
Others see God as “ALL JUSTICE” and “FIRE AND BRIMSTONE”. They find it hard to imaging God having mercy on sinners and, like St. James and St. John, they want to see punishment and retribution happening right away. “Jesus steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem. And He sent messengers before His face; and going, they entered into a city of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. And they received Him not, because His face was of one going to Jerusalem. And when His disciples, James and John, had seen this, they said: ‘Lord! Shall we command fire to come down from Heaven, and consume them?’ And turning, Jesus rebuked them, saying: ‘You know not of what spirit you are! The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save!’” (Luke 9:51-56).
The hard and rigid ones have favorite quotes such as: “For behold the Lord will come with fire, and His chariots are like a whirlwind, to render His wrath in indignation, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For the Lord shall judge by fire, and by His sword unto all flesh, and the slain of the Lord shall be many!” (Isaias 66:15-16). “Who can stand before the face of His indignation? And who shall resist in the fierceness of His anger? His indignation is poured out like fire and the rocks are melted by Him!” (Nahum 1:6).
What we have trouble with is imagining how God can be both extremely just and extremely merciful at one and the same time. Yet we must never forget that GOD IS EXTREME simply because GOD IS PERFECT and something that is perfect is EXTREMELY good, way above the average!
Abuse God’s Mercy At Your Own Risk
What matters just as much—if not more—is not just what God says, but what God does. Even though God is extremely merciful, He will not let His mercy be abused. It is suggested that you set aside to time to read and reflect upon the sermon of St. Alphonsus Liguori for the First Sunday of Lent, entitled: “On The Number Of Sins Beyond Which God Pardons No More” (click here and go to sermon #8). This is a wake-up call for modern-man’s tendency to abuse the mercy of God by downplaying His justice.
There is a Limit to God’s Mercy
Here are just a few extracts from that sermon of St. Alphonsus—a Doctor of the Church and patron of moral theologians:
“God wants all men to be saved” (1 Timothy 2:4); but He also wishes us all to labor for our salvation and of obeying Him when He calls us to repentance. Sinners hear the calls of God, but they forget them, and continue to offend Him. But God does not forget them. He numbers the graces which He dispenses, as well as the sins which we commit. Hence, when the time which He has fixed arrives, God deprives us of His graces, and begins to inflict chastisement. St. Basil, St. Jerome, St. John Chrysostom, St. Augustine, and other fathers, teach that God has fixed for each person the number of the days of his life, and the degrees of health and talent which he will give him, so he has also determined for each the number of sins which He will pardon; and when this number is completed, He will pardon no more.
“God is ready to heal those who sincerely wish to amend their lives, but cannot take pity on the obstinate sinner. The Lord pardons sins, but He cannot pardon those who are determined to offend Him. Nor can we demand, from God, a reason why He pardons one person a hundred sins, and takes others out of life, and sends them to Hell, after three or four sins. How many has God sent to Hell for the first offence? St. Gregory relates, that a child of five years, who had arrived at the use of reason, for having uttered a blasphemy, was seized by the devil and carried to Hell. The divine Mother revealed to that great servant of God, Benedicta of Florence, that a boy of twelve years was damned after the first sin. Another boy of eight years died after his first sin and was lost.”
“‘Be not without fear about sins forgiven, and add not sin to sin.’ (Ecclesiasticus 5:5). Say not then, O sinner, ‘As God has forgiven me other sins, so He will pardon me this one if I commit it!’ Say not this; for, if to the sin which has been forgiven you add another, you have reason to fear that this new sin shall be united to your former guilt, and that thus the number will be completed, and that you shall be abandoned. Listen, then, O sinner, to the admonition of the Lord: ‘My son, hast thou sinned? Do so no more, but for thy former sins pray that they may be forgiven thee’ (Ecclesiasticus 21:1). Son, add not sins to those which you have already committed, but be careful to pray for the pardon of your past transgressions; otherwise, if you commit another mortal sin, the gates of the divine mercy may be closed against you, and your soul may be lost forever.” You can read the rest of this most edifying sermon for yourself in your own good time! You will find under the LENT tab, in the subsection SERMONS FOR LENT (or click here and go to sermon #8).
God will show us His mercy if we do not abuse His mercy through presumption of His mercy. “Be not without fear about sins forgiven, and add not sin to sin” (Ecclesiasticus 5:5). As St. Alphonsus says: “God is ready to heal those who sincerely wish to amend their lives, but cannot take pity on the obstinate sinner.”
Sobering thoughts, huh? God
No Chance Saints!
St. Thomas Aquinas is quoted as telling us that there is no such thing as ‘luck’—nothing happens ‘by chance’ or ‘by accident’—everything is under the guidance of Divine Providence, even the things that we think to be flukes. There are no “chance” saints in Heaven. The principle that Holy Scripture lays down is true for every saint in Heaven, for every soul paying for forgiven but unpaid sin in Purgatory, and those souls suffering eternally in Hell--“Be not deceived, God is not mocked! For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap! For he that sows in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption! But he that sows in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting!” (Galatians 6:8).
That is the basic law of salvation, as Our Lord also pointed out very clearly: “Every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and the evil tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them. Not everyone that saith to me: ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven: but he that doth the will of My Father Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Many will say to Me in that day: ‘Lord! Lord! Have not we prophesied in Thy Name, and cast out devils in Thy Name, and done many miracles in Thy Name?’ And then will I profess unto them: ‘I never knew you! Depart from Me, you that work iniquity!’ Everyone, therefore, that hears these My words, and doth them, shall be likened to a wise man that built his house upon a rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded on a rock. And every one that heareth these My words, and doth them not, shall be like a foolish man that built his house upon the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall thereof” (Matthew 7:17-27).
The Road Away from Sin to Sanctity
The road to Heaven is a road that leads us away from sin. It leads us away from worldliness and it leads us to virtue, which is a prerequisite for entrance to Heaven. There is no unrepentant sinner in Heaven; nor is there any lukewarm soul in Heaven—for only saints go to Heaven.
There are some Catholics who say they love God, but they also like certain sins. They have an attitude of “Oh, I’ll just commit this sin and then go to Confession and put it right!” This kind of Catholic is Catholic only in name, but not by nature! Such a Catholic risks his or her salvation with such a “two-timing” attitude. They are spiritual adulterers! They profess to love God, yet they love their pet sins. They want the best of both worlds—they want their illicit joys on Earth and then they want to taste the joys of Heaven. St. James rightly calls such persons “adulterers” when he castigates their “two-timing” attitude: “Adulterers, know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4).
Our Lord clearly said: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth―where the rust, and moth consume, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven―where neither the rust nor moth doth consume, and where thieves do not break through, nor steal. For where your treasure is, there is your heart also. The light of your body is your eye. If your eye be single, your whole body shall be lightsome. But if your eye be evil, your whole body shall be darksome. If then the light that is in you, be darkness: the darkness itself how great shall it be! No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other; or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say to you, be not anxious for your life and what you shall eat; nor for your body and what you shall put on. Is not the life more than just food; and the body more than the clothing?” (Matthew 6:19-25).
No More Single-Eyed, But Double-Hearted Souls
For most people, their chief treasure is on Earth—whether it be sinful treasure or non-sinful treasure. Their eyes are mainly focused on the world for most of the time. And the world is only too ready to satisfy their eyes—and it will satisfy them sinfully or non-sinfully. Impure, immodest, provocative, alluring images and fashions are available whichever way you turn. No wonder Our Lady said that the most popular and most frequent sin that damns souls over the course of the last centuries is the sin of impurity. Not just impurity by actions, but also impurity in thoughts and looks and words.
Seconds Lead to Eternity
Imagine! Just one single sinfully grievous thought, lasting only a few seconds, if unrepented and unconfessed, changes from a few seconds of pleasure into an eternity of pain! You will say: “But I do confess them!” Ah, yes, my friend, you may well confess them, but are you really sorry for them? Are you making a firm purpose of amendment? Most souls have no firm purpose of amendment—which is one of the ESSENTIAL conditions for a good confession. Thus they have been making bad confessions for years! Treating the Sacrament of Confession like a cheap car-wash, week-in and week-out! If those so-called “confessed” sins were mortal sins and you did not have a firm purpose of amendment, but were ready to commit them all over again—a kind of a “sin-confess-sin-confess-sin-confess” syndrome, then you already have one foot in Hell, and not in Heaven. St. Alphonsus Liguori is of the opinion that there are many bad confessions that are made—for a whole variety of reasons: insufficient examination of conscience, fudging on the numbers of mortal sins, or downplaying the gravity of them, or only partially confessing them, or lying about the number of times, not having a firm purpose of amending your life, etc.
Any Sinner Can Become A Saint!
We are not born saints, but we are born with Original Sin. Original Sin is not our personal sin―it is the sin of Adam and Eve―but just like parents endow their children with some of their parental characteristics, so too does Original Sin leave a trace of Adam and Eve’s sinfulness upon our soul. As a consequence, we tend to gravitate to sin more than we tend to gravitate to virtue. In fact, gravity makes it easier and effortless to go downhill—and many there are who are on that downhill slope. Gravity makes climbing hard, and thus there are few who are prepared to persevere in the climb up the mountain of God to Heaven. There are more sinners than there are saints. There are more souls lost than there are souls saved. Yet any sinner can be saved if the sinner is willing to cooperate with God and obey Him.
God Himself tells us this on numerous occasions in Holy Scripture: “The soul that sins, the same shall die! And if a man be just and does judgment and justice … then he shall surely live, says the Lord God … The soul that sins, the same shall die! The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, and the father shall not bear the iniquity of the son! The justice of the just shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him! … But if the wicked does penance for all his sins which he has committed, and keeps all My commandments, and does judgment, and justice, then living he shall live, and shall not die! I will not remember all his iniquities that he has done―and in his justice which he has wrought, he shall live! Is it My will that a sinner should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways, and live? … When the wicked turns himself away from his wickedness which he has wrought, and does judgment and justice, then he shall save his soul alive. Because he considers and turns away himself from all his iniquities which he has wrought, he shall surely live, and not die!” (Ezechiel 18:4-5, 10, 20-24, 27-28).
“If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow; and if they be red as crimson, they shall be made white as wool” (Isaias 1:18).
For most people, the question of the number of souls that shall be saved, or more precisely, the fewness of the souls saved, is perhaps the most painful, frightening, anxiety-giving, discouraging topic that could ever be imagined, let alone discussed! If you want to clear a room of people, or find some time to be alone with yourself, then just start a conversation on the fewness of souls saved! It can be guaranteed that you will find yourself alone within minutes, if not seconds!
Yet, it is a topic that Our Lord Himself addressed and the Evangelists and New Testament writers have brought to our attention. If you read the writings of the saints throughout all the centuries since Our Lord’s day, you will find many references and opinions on the matter. Though there are some varying opinions, essentially, the Fathers of the Church, as well as the Saints of the Church and her theologians, are of the opinion that most souls are not saved. However, before you go into an anxiety-attack and your heart starts beating at a dangerous level, remember also this: most souls are lost through their negligence, stubbornness, pridefulness and lukewarmness. There is not one single soul in Hell that could not have got to Heaven.
Do You Want to Go to Heaven?
Ask yourself if you want to go to Heaven. Who doesn’t want to go to Heaven? Only lunatics and Satanists prefer to go Hell rather than Heaven! Almost everybody wants to go to Heaven! Yet how many people actually get to Heaven? We could pretend―like many of today’s Modernists and Liberals―that salvation is a universal gift and that everyone goes to Heaven! Yet in doing so we would ourselves to be idiots―for Our Lord, Our Lady and Holy Scripture do not agree and tell us the exact opposite!
Our Lord, in the Gospels, tells us that few are actually saved: “And a certain man said to Him: ‘Lord! Are they few that are saved?’ But Jesus said to them: ‘Strive to enter by the narrow gate―for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able! … Enter ye in at the narrow gate―for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat! How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life―and few there are that find it! … For many are called, but few are chosen!’” (Luke 13:23-24; Matthew 7:13-14; 22:14).
Our Lady, in her revelations to the mystic and stigmatist, Venerable Mary of Agreda, said: “Fear the danger of not attending to the divine calls, for that is the cause of the loss of innumerable souls ... How many men have thrown themselves into the eternal darkness of Hell! … Countless numbers have fallen into Hell! … Lucifer has hurled into Hell so great a number of souls and continues so to hurl them every day! The neglect and contempt of bodily mortification cause the loss of many souls and bring many more into the danger of eternal loss. I will not tell thee how many souls are lost, in order to not cause thee to die of sorrow at this loss! I have already told thee, that the number of those foreknown as doomed, is so great, and of those that save themselves is so small, that it is not expedient to say more in particular! Weep ceaselessly over the terrible loss sustained by so many insane and thankless souls, who are forgetful of God, of their duty and of their own selves … and lose their chance of salvation or bring upon themselves eternal damnation!”
What happened to Sodom and Gomorrha, will happen to us tomorrow if we do not repent and change our way of life. Our Lady of Akita said: “If men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one never seen before. Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead.”
Our Lord mentioned the time of Noe and the Ark, reminded us of how few were saved―“the flood came, and took them all away.” God had no qualms about eliminating most of the human race because of sin and wiped them off the face of the Earth—“It repented Him that He had made man on the Earth. And being touched inwardly with sorrow of heart, He said: ‘I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the Earth!’” (Genesis 6:6-7).
We see the same anger in God during the Exodus from Egypt on the journey to the Promised Land: “And again the Lord said to Moses: ‘See that this people is stiff-necked! 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).
St. Paul reminds us of this in the New Testament: “For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea! And all in Moses were baptized―in the cloud and in the sea! And did all eat the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink; and they drank of the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ! But with most of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the desert!” (1 Corinthians 10:1-5).
God was not well pleased with most of them! What a horrifying thought! They were His Chosen People—were they not? Yet He was ready to destroy them, He made them wander and die in the desert so that only two (Josue and Caleb) of the original millions who had left Egypt actually entered the Promised Land—the rest were a new generation! With most of them God was not well pleased! What, then, would God think of our ultra-sinful world today? We shiver to think! Our Lady of Fatima judged that it was necessary to show the three children―Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta―a vision of Hell in order to provoke people into praying for the salvation of so many sinners who are falling into Hell! That was back in 1917! How much more sinful is the world today??!!!
Same Old … Same Old … Same Old Truth!
The popes and saints have echoed those unpleasant words throughout the centuries:
St. Justin Martyr, Father of the Church (100-165): “The majority of men shall not see God, except for those who live justly, purified by righteousness and virtue.”
St. Jerome, Doctor and Father of the Church (347-420): “Out of one hundred thousand sinners who continue in sin until death, scarcely one will be saved!”
St. John Chrysostom, Doctor and Father of the Church (347-407): “Out of this thickly populated city with its thousands of inhabitants not one hundred people will be saved. I even doubt whether there will be as many as that! … I do not think that many bishops are saved, but that those who perish are far more numerous.”
St. Augustine, Doctor and Father of the Church (354-430): “Not all, nor even a majority, are saved! … Beyond a doubt the elect are few! … It is certain that few are saved! … If you wish to imitate the multitude, then you shall not be among the few who shall enter in by the narrow gate!”
St. Regimius (437-533): “With the exception of those who die in childhood, most men will be damned!”
Pope St. Gregory the Great (540-604): “There are many who arrive at the Faith, but few who are led into the heavenly kingdom … They who are to be saved as Saints, and wish to be saved as imperfect souls, shall not be saved!”
St. John Climacus, Father of the Church (579-649): “Live with the few if you want to reign with the few.” (St. John Climacus, Father of the Church).
St. Bede the Venerable, Doctor and Father of the Church (672-735): “Christ’s flock is called ‘little’ (Luke 12:32) in comparison with the greater number of the reprobates.”
St. Anselm, Doctor of the Church (1033-1109): “If you would like to be certain of being in the number of the elect, strive to be one of the few, not of the many. And if thou wouldst be quite sure of thy salvation, strive to be among the fewest of the few!”
St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church (1225-1274): “There are a select few who are saved” (Summa Theologica, Ia, q.23, art.7, ad 3.) “Those who are saved are in the minority” (Summa Theologica, Ia, q.23, art.8, ad.3).
St. Francis Xavier (1506-1552): “O how many souls lose Heaven and are cast into Hell!”
St. Philip Neri (1515-1595): “So vast a number of miserable souls perish, and so comparatively few are saved!”
St. Teresa of Avila, Doctor of the Church (1515-1582): “I had the greatest sorrow for the many souls that condemned themselves to Hell ... I saw souls falling into Hell like snowflakes!”
St. John of the Cross, Doctor of the Church (1542-1591): “Behold how many there are who are called, and how few who are chosen! And behold, if you have no care for yourself, your perdition is more certain than your amendment, especially since the way that leads to eternal life is so narrow.”
St. Veronica Giuliani (1660-1727): “The number of the damned is incalculable.”
St. Louis Marie de Montfort (1673-1716): “The number of the elect is so small – so small – that, were we to know how small it is, we would faint away with grief! Be one of the small number who find the way to life, and enter by the narrow gate into Heaven. Take care not to follow the majority and the common herd, so many of whom are lost!”
St. Leonard of Port Maurice (1676-1751): “The greater number of Christian adults are damned! … 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.
St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori, Doctor of the Church (1696-1787): “Everyone desires to be saved but the greater part is lost … The common opinion is that the greater part of adults is lost! … The saints are few―but we must live with the few if we would be saved with the few!”
St. Benedict Joseph of Labre (1748-1783): “Many will be damned; few will be saved! … Try hard to be among the few who are chosen!”
Blessed Anna Maria Taigi (1769-1837): “The greater number of Christians today are damned. The destiny of those dying on one day is that very few ― not as many as ten ― went straight to Heaven; many remained in Purgatory; and those cast into Hell were as numerous as snowflakes in midwinter.”
St. John Marie Vianney (1786-1859): “Shall we all be saved? Shall we go to Heaven? Alas, my children, we do not know at all! But I tremble when I see so many souls lost these days. See, they fall into Hell as leaves fall from the trees at the approach of winter! … The number of the saved is as few as the number of grapes left after the vineyard-pickers have passed!”
St. Joseph Cafasso (1811-1860): “How few are those who pass for good! An enormous number will come to be damned!”
St. John Neumann (1811-1860): “Only few will be saved; only few will go to Heaven; and that the greater part of mankind will be lost forever.”
Do Not Paint an Untrue Rigorous or Mushy Picture of God!
We poor humans, with our limited capacities of mind and reason, sometimes have difficulty on focusing on more than one thing at a time. We sometimes tend to make things “black and white” and fail to grasp subtle distinctions of gray that can exist between those two extremes.
For some people God is “ALL LOVE” and “ALL MERCY”. They could not imagine that God would send to Hell a soul guilty of just one or several mortal sins. Their favorite Scriptural quotes are such as: “The Lord is gracious and merciful: patient and plenteous in mercy. The Lord is sweet to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 144:8-9). “If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow―and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool” (Isaias 1:18).
Others see God as “ALL JUSTICE” and “FIRE AND BRIMSTONE”. They find it hard to imaging God having mercy on sinners and, like St. James and St. John, they want to see punishment and retribution happening right away. “Jesus steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem. And He sent messengers before His face; and going, they entered into a city of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. And they received Him not, because His face was of one going to Jerusalem. And when His disciples, James and John, had seen this, they said: ‘Lord! Shall we command fire to come down from Heaven, and consume them?’ And turning, Jesus rebuked them, saying: ‘You know not of what spirit you are! The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save!’” (Luke 9:51-56).
The hard and rigid ones have favorite quotes such as: “For behold the Lord will come with fire, and His chariots are like a whirlwind, to render His wrath in indignation, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For the Lord shall judge by fire, and by His sword unto all flesh, and the slain of the Lord shall be many!” (Isaias 66:15-16). “Who can stand before the face of His indignation? And who shall resist in the fierceness of His anger? His indignation is poured out like fire and the rocks are melted by Him!” (Nahum 1:6).
What we have trouble with is imagining how God can be both extremely just and extremely merciful at one and the same time. Yet we must never forget that GOD IS EXTREME simply because GOD IS PERFECT and something that is perfect is EXTREMELY good, way above the average!
Abuse God’s Mercy At Your Own Risk
What matters just as much—if not more—is not just what God says, but what God does. Even though God is extremely merciful, He will not let His mercy be abused. It is suggested that you set aside to time to read and reflect upon the sermon of St. Alphonsus Liguori for the First Sunday of Lent, entitled: “On The Number Of Sins Beyond Which God Pardons No More” (click here and go to sermon #8). This is a wake-up call for modern-man’s tendency to abuse the mercy of God by downplaying His justice.
There is a Limit to God’s Mercy
Here are just a few extracts from that sermon of St. Alphonsus—a Doctor of the Church and patron of moral theologians:
“God wants all men to be saved” (1 Timothy 2:4); but He also wishes us all to labor for our salvation and of obeying Him when He calls us to repentance. Sinners hear the calls of God, but they forget them, and continue to offend Him. But God does not forget them. He numbers the graces which He dispenses, as well as the sins which we commit. Hence, when the time which He has fixed arrives, God deprives us of His graces, and begins to inflict chastisement. St. Basil, St. Jerome, St. John Chrysostom, St. Augustine, and other fathers, teach that God has fixed for each person the number of the days of his life, and the degrees of health and talent which he will give him, so he has also determined for each the number of sins which He will pardon; and when this number is completed, He will pardon no more.
“God is ready to heal those who sincerely wish to amend their lives, but cannot take pity on the obstinate sinner. The Lord pardons sins, but He cannot pardon those who are determined to offend Him. Nor can we demand, from God, a reason why He pardons one person a hundred sins, and takes others out of life, and sends them to Hell, after three or four sins. How many has God sent to Hell for the first offence? St. Gregory relates, that a child of five years, who had arrived at the use of reason, for having uttered a blasphemy, was seized by the devil and carried to Hell. The divine Mother revealed to that great servant of God, Benedicta of Florence, that a boy of twelve years was damned after the first sin. Another boy of eight years died after his first sin and was lost.”
“‘Be not without fear about sins forgiven, and add not sin to sin.’ (Ecclesiasticus 5:5). Say not then, O sinner, ‘As God has forgiven me other sins, so He will pardon me this one if I commit it!’ Say not this; for, if to the sin which has been forgiven you add another, you have reason to fear that this new sin shall be united to your former guilt, and that thus the number will be completed, and that you shall be abandoned. Listen, then, O sinner, to the admonition of the Lord: ‘My son, hast thou sinned? Do so no more, but for thy former sins pray that they may be forgiven thee’ (Ecclesiasticus 21:1). Son, add not sins to those which you have already committed, but be careful to pray for the pardon of your past transgressions; otherwise, if you commit another mortal sin, the gates of the divine mercy may be closed against you, and your soul may be lost forever.” You can read the rest of this most edifying sermon for yourself in your own good time! You will find under the LENT tab, in the subsection SERMONS FOR LENT (or click here and go to sermon #8).
God will show us His mercy if we do not abuse His mercy through presumption of His mercy. “Be not without fear about sins forgiven, and add not sin to sin” (Ecclesiasticus 5:5). As St. Alphonsus says: “God is ready to heal those who sincerely wish to amend their lives, but cannot take pity on the obstinate sinner.”
Sobering thoughts, huh? God
No Chance Saints!
St. Thomas Aquinas is quoted as telling us that there is no such thing as ‘luck’—nothing happens ‘by chance’ or ‘by accident’—everything is under the guidance of Divine Providence, even the things that we think to be flukes. There are no “chance” saints in Heaven. The principle that Holy Scripture lays down is true for every saint in Heaven, for every soul paying for forgiven but unpaid sin in Purgatory, and those souls suffering eternally in Hell--“Be not deceived, God is not mocked! For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap! For he that sows in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption! But he that sows in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting!” (Galatians 6:8).
That is the basic law of salvation, as Our Lord also pointed out very clearly: “Every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and the evil tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them. Not everyone that saith to me: ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven: but he that doth the will of My Father Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Many will say to Me in that day: ‘Lord! Lord! Have not we prophesied in Thy Name, and cast out devils in Thy Name, and done many miracles in Thy Name?’ And then will I profess unto them: ‘I never knew you! Depart from Me, you that work iniquity!’ Everyone, therefore, that hears these My words, and doth them, shall be likened to a wise man that built his house upon a rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded on a rock. And every one that heareth these My words, and doth them not, shall be like a foolish man that built his house upon the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall thereof” (Matthew 7:17-27).
The Road Away from Sin to Sanctity
The road to Heaven is a road that leads us away from sin. It leads us away from worldliness and it leads us to virtue, which is a prerequisite for entrance to Heaven. There is no unrepentant sinner in Heaven; nor is there any lukewarm soul in Heaven—for only saints go to Heaven.
There are some Catholics who say they love God, but they also like certain sins. They have an attitude of “Oh, I’ll just commit this sin and then go to Confession and put it right!” This kind of Catholic is Catholic only in name, but not by nature! Such a Catholic risks his or her salvation with such a “two-timing” attitude. They are spiritual adulterers! They profess to love God, yet they love their pet sins. They want the best of both worlds—they want their illicit joys on Earth and then they want to taste the joys of Heaven. St. James rightly calls such persons “adulterers” when he castigates their “two-timing” attitude: “Adulterers, know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4).
Our Lord clearly said: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on Earth―where the rust, and moth consume, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven―where neither the rust nor moth doth consume, and where thieves do not break through, nor steal. For where your treasure is, there is your heart also. The light of your body is your eye. If your eye be single, your whole body shall be lightsome. But if your eye be evil, your whole body shall be darksome. If then the light that is in you, be darkness: the darkness itself how great shall it be! No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other; or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say to you, be not anxious for your life and what you shall eat; nor for your body and what you shall put on. Is not the life more than just food; and the body more than the clothing?” (Matthew 6:19-25).
No More Single-Eyed, But Double-Hearted Souls
For most people, their chief treasure is on Earth—whether it be sinful treasure or non-sinful treasure. Their eyes are mainly focused on the world for most of the time. And the world is only too ready to satisfy their eyes—and it will satisfy them sinfully or non-sinfully. Impure, immodest, provocative, alluring images and fashions are available whichever way you turn. No wonder Our Lady said that the most popular and most frequent sin that damns souls over the course of the last centuries is the sin of impurity. Not just impurity by actions, but also impurity in thoughts and looks and words.
Seconds Lead to Eternity
Imagine! Just one single sinfully grievous thought, lasting only a few seconds, if unrepented and unconfessed, changes from a few seconds of pleasure into an eternity of pain! You will say: “But I do confess them!” Ah, yes, my friend, you may well confess them, but are you really sorry for them? Are you making a firm purpose of amendment? Most souls have no firm purpose of amendment—which is one of the ESSENTIAL conditions for a good confession. Thus they have been making bad confessions for years! Treating the Sacrament of Confession like a cheap car-wash, week-in and week-out! If those so-called “confessed” sins were mortal sins and you did not have a firm purpose of amendment, but were ready to commit them all over again—a kind of a “sin-confess-sin-confess-sin-confess” syndrome, then you already have one foot in Hell, and not in Heaven. St. Alphonsus Liguori is of the opinion that there are many bad confessions that are made—for a whole variety of reasons: insufficient examination of conscience, fudging on the numbers of mortal sins, or downplaying the gravity of them, or only partially confessing them, or lying about the number of times, not having a firm purpose of amending your life, etc.
Any Sinner Can Become A Saint!
We are not born saints, but we are born with Original Sin. Original Sin is not our personal sin―it is the sin of Adam and Eve―but just like parents endow their children with some of their parental characteristics, so too does Original Sin leave a trace of Adam and Eve’s sinfulness upon our soul. As a consequence, we tend to gravitate to sin more than we tend to gravitate to virtue. In fact, gravity makes it easier and effortless to go downhill—and many there are who are on that downhill slope. Gravity makes climbing hard, and thus there are few who are prepared to persevere in the climb up the mountain of God to Heaven. There are more sinners than there are saints. There are more souls lost than there are souls saved. Yet any sinner can be saved if the sinner is willing to cooperate with God and obey Him.
God Himself tells us this on numerous occasions in Holy Scripture: “The soul that sins, the same shall die! And if a man be just and does judgment and justice … then he shall surely live, says the Lord God … The soul that sins, the same shall die! The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, and the father shall not bear the iniquity of the son! The justice of the just shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him! … But if the wicked does penance for all his sins which he has committed, and keeps all My commandments, and does judgment, and justice, then living he shall live, and shall not die! I will not remember all his iniquities that he has done―and in his justice which he has wrought, he shall live! Is it My will that a sinner should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways, and live? … When the wicked turns himself away from his wickedness which he has wrought, and does judgment and justice, then he shall save his soul alive. Because he considers and turns away himself from all his iniquities which he has wrought, he shall surely live, and not die!” (Ezechiel 18:4-5, 10, 20-24, 27-28).
“If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow; and if they be red as crimson, they shall be made white as wool” (Isaias 1:18).
Article 1
Saturday November 1st
Happy Birthday! Today is Your Feast Day!
Saturday November 1st
Happy Birthday! Today is Your Feast Day!
Today is Your Feast Day!
Today is the feast of All Saints! Well, happy feast to you, dear saint! “Aw c’mon!” you say, “Stop joking around! I’m no saint and you know it!” Well, maybe and probably you are no saint—but are you on the way to being a saint? Is that your goal in life? Is that—apart from the superior goal of glorifying God—the main focus of your life?
There’s Only One Way
“There are those who seem to think that it is sufficient to be saved and that it is not necessary to be a saint. It is clearly not necessary to be a saint who performs miracles and whose sanctity is officially recognized by the Church. To be saved, we must take the way of salvation, which is identical with that of sanctity. There will be only saints in Heaven―whether they enter there immediately after death, or after purification in Purgatory. No one enters Heaven unless he has that sanctity which consists in perfect purity of soul. Every sin, though it should be venial, must be effaced, and the punishment due to sin must be borne or remitted, in order that a soul may enjoy forever the vision of God, see Him as He sees Himself, and love Him as He loves Himself. Should a soul enter Heaven before the total remission of its sins, it could not remain there and it would cast itself into Purgatory to be purified.” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, OP, The Three Ages of the Interior Life, Vol. 1, “Introduction”).
Therefore, in Heaven, the saint is not someone extraordinary, the saint is someone who is ordinary, for there are only saints in Heaven—that is one thing that they all have in common, and something that is common is not extraordinary.
Saintly Common Denominator
Another thing that all the saints have in common is that they owe their sanctity, in part, to Our Lady. Explicitly or implicitly, directly or indirectly, knowingly or unknowingly, they all depended upon Our Lady who is the Mediatrix of all Grace. It is through her that God has chosen to distribute all of His graces. Therefore, to pass the exam of sanctity ― to achieve sanctity in this life on Earth and to avoid the remedial school of sanctity in Purgatory―we need to seek-out Mary, to find Mary, to work with Mary, to let Mary teach us, guide us, encourage us and lead to those heights of sanctity which God ear-marked for us on the day He first created our soul.
Your Saintly Calling
St. Louis de Montfort puts it so beautifully in his booklet, The Secret of Mary:
“Chosen soul, living image of God and redeemed by the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ, God wants you to become holy like Him in this life, and glorious like Him in the next. It is certain that growth in the holiness of God is your vocation. All your thoughts, words, actions, everything you suffer or undertake, must lead you towards that end. Otherwise you are resisting God, in not doing the work for which He created you and for which He is even now keeping you in being. What a marvelous transformation is possible! Dust into light, uncleanness into purity, sinfulness into holiness, creature into Creator, man into God! A marvelous work, I repeat, so difficult in itself, and even impossible for a mere creature to bring about, for only God can accomplish it by giving His grace abundantly and in an extraordinary manner. The very creation of the universe is not as great an achievement as this.
Heaven Ain’t Cheap, Ya Know!
It must be remembered that most saints have to pass through the fires of Purgatory before they are allowed admittance into Heaven—except, of course, martyrs, who would go straight to Heaven. But remember, too, that for martyrdom to ‘work’, the martyr has to be sorry for all his sins, otherwise the martyrdom would be in vain (in the case of unrepented mortal sin) and require Purgatory for unrepented venial sin―for no sin can be forgiven if we are not sorry for it. So even some martyrs could, in theory, pass some time in Purgatory if they refuse to be sorry for some of their venial sins.
And if the non-martyred saint has the grace and gift of going straight to Heaven after death, then rest assured that the saint has most certainly done his or her Purgatory here on Earth, by the trials, sorrows, anxieties, humiliations, persecutions, illnesses, pains and sufferings that they would have undergone before being granted such a great privilege.
Burn We Must
At the end of the day, it is the degree of love for God in the heart of the soul that decides the fate of the soul: Heaven, Purgatory or Hell. Love or charity is what will be judged. As St. Paul writes: “If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all Faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not Charity―then I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not Charity―then it profits me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). To which Jesus adds: “Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much” (Luke 7:47), while St. Peter affirms: “Charity covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). Charity is a fire that burns sins in this world—if we refuse to burn here, we will burn in Purgatory or Hell―but burn we must!
The Remedial School of Saints
Which brings us to the subject of saints and life on Earth. We are all called to be saints, for only saints go to Heaven. We know this in theory, but it is frightening to see how few people try to live this out in practice. If we don’t successfully pass our “sainthood exam” here on Earth, then we will have to spend a long time in the remedial school of sanctity in the fires of Purgatory. Most people have an erroneous notion that Heaven will be populated by the saints on the one hand, and themselves—plain old Mr. and Mrs. so and so on the other hand. They seem to think that Heaven is a place for both sanctity and plain old mediocrity. FALSE! That could not be further from the truth!
Heaven’s Mixed-Bag of Saints
In Heaven, there are all kinds of saints: big and small saints; strong and weak saints; old and young saints; male and female saints; rich and poor saints; “never-sinned-much” saints and “sinned-a-lot” saints; quickly processed saints and slowly processed saints; saints from all kinds of different backgrounds, countries, times and circumstances. But the one thing they have in common is that they are SAINTS and NOT mediocre souls. The mediocre souls find a place in Purgatory, where they have to make up for lost and wasted time and misguided efforts.
How Will I Ever Become A Saint?
“Chosen soul, how will you bring this about? What steps will you take to reach the high level to which God is calling you? The means of holiness and salvation are known to everybody, since they are found in the Gospel; the masters of the spiritual life have explained them; the saints have practiced them and shown how essential they are for those who wish to be saved and attain perfection. These means are: sincere humility, unceasing prayer, complete self-denial, abandonment to divine Providence, and obedience to the will of God.” (The Secret of Mary by St. Louis de Montfort).
“The grace and help of God are absolutely necessary for us to practice all these, but we are sure that grace will be given to all, though not in the same measure. I say “not in the same measure,” because God does not give His graces in equal measure to everyone (Romans 12:6), although in His infinite goodness He always gives sufficient grace to each. A person who corresponds to great graces performs great works, and one who corresponds to lesser graces performs lesser works. The value and high standard of our actions corresponds to the value and perfection of the grace given by God and responded to by the faithful soul. No one can contest these principles.” (The Secret of Mary by St. Louis de Montfort).
Sanctity Needs Grace; Grace Comes Through Mary
“To find the grace of God, we must discover Mary. It all comes to this, then. We must discover a simple means to obtain from God the grace needed to become holy. It is precisely this I wish to teach you. My contention is that you must first discover Mary if you would obtain this grace from God.” (The Secret of Mary by St. Louis de Montfort).
This truth was later most perfectly manifested by Our Lady’s apparitions to St. Catherine Labouré, in 1830, at the convent of the Sisters of Charity on the Rue du Bac in Paris, France. It is from these apparitions that we received the so-called “Miraculous Medal.” However, it is more formally known as “The Medal of Our Lady of Grace” and “The Medal of the Immaculate Conception.”
Our Lady herself stipulated the design of the medal, by showing St. Catherine a vision of what it was to look like. There are rays of light beaming forth out of the rings upon Our Lady’s fingers. St. Catherine asked what these rays of light were. Our Lady replied that they were graces. St. Catherine noticed that some rays were shining brilliantly, while other rays of light were dull, so she asked Our Lady what they meant. Our Lady replied that the bright rays were graces that God gave to people, but the dull rays were graces that God did not give to people. St. Catherine, disappointed, asked why God would withhold some graces from us. Our Lady simply replied that they are withheld from us because we don’t ask for them!
If Only I Would Have ...
The poor souls in Purgatory could have avoided those fires if they had only taken their life―their spiritual life―much more seriously. Grace and sanctity was not at the top of their shopping-list, nor did they ask Our Lady for the graces they would have needed to avoid being sent to Purgatory. The words of Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange―already partially quoted above―perfectly represent this truth and we will repeat the aforementioned quote, adding a further passage to it:
The Real Life, the One That Matters
“The interior life, thus conceived, is something far more profound and more necessary in us than intellectual life or the cultivation of the sciences, than artistic or literary life, than social or political life. Unfortunately, some great scholars, mathematicians, physicists and astronomers, have no interior life―so to speak―but devote themselves to the study of their science, as if God did not exist. In their moments of solitude they have no intimate conversation with Him.
“Their life appears to be, in certain respects, the search for the true and the good in a more or less definite and restricted domain, but it is so tainted with self-love and intellectual pride, that we may legitimately question whether it will bear fruit for eternity. Many artists, literary men, and statesmen never rise above this level of purely human activity―which is, in short, quite exterior. Do the depths of their souls live by God? It would seem not.
“This shows that the interior life, or the life of the soul with God, well deserves to be called ‘the one thing necessary’, since by it we tend to our last end and assure our salvation. This last must not be too widely separated from progressive sanctification, for it is the very way of salvation.
“There are those who seem to think that it is sufficient to be saved and that it is not necessary to be a saint. It is clearly not necessary to be a saint who performs miracles and whose sanctity is officially recognized by the Church. To be saved, we must take the way of salvation, which is identical with that of sanctity. There will be only saints in Heaven, whether they enter there immediately after death or after purification in Purgatory. No one enters Heaven unless he has that sanctity which consists in perfect purity of soul.
“Every sin―though it should be venial―must be effaced, and the punishment due to sin must be borne or remitted, in order that a soul may enjoy forever the vision of God, see Him as He sees Himself, and love Him as He loves Himself. Should a soul enter Heaven before the total remission of its sins, it could not remain there and it would cast itself into Purgatory to be purified.” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, OP, The Three Ages of the Interior Life, Vol. 1, “Introduction”).
Preconceived Ideas About Saints
Workers of miracles—readers of minds—makers of prophecy—severe penances—endless prayers—faultless lives—these and similar traits are what we tend to associate with saints and becoming saints. We forget that when it was announced in the Carmelite Convent of Lisieux, that one of the deceased sisters was “up for canonization”—when the sisters finally extracted the name of the candidate from “those in the know”, they were shocked to find out that it Thérèse of the Infant Jesus! The common reaction was one of “What did she ever do that was worthy of canonization?” Of course, we now know that ‘her way’ is what we now call “The Little Way”—and Pope St. Pius X calls her the model for sanctity in this modern world.
Even Sinner Saints!
For those discouraged about achieving sanctity, there can be no better thing than to read and study the lives of the great sinners who became great saints. They are walking proof of the words of God in Holy Scripture, Who said: “If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow: and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool” (Isaias 1:18).
Around the time of Our Lord, we think of ST. MARY MAGDALEN, who was possessed by seven devils and caught in adultery. Then there is ST. DISMAS, THE GOOD THIEF on the cross, who―after a life of stealing, violence and perhaps even murder―by his sufferings and sorrow for sin, steals Heaven with his dying breath. There too, on Calvary, is the Roman legionary, ST. LONGINUS, who pierces Our Lord’s heart with his spear, and ends up being pierced with sorrow in his own heart—finally converting, leaving the military and becoming a saint. Then there is ST. PAUL the persecutor of Christians, who converts and becomes a pillar of the Faith and paying for his sins through a lifetime of suffering.
A little later in time, as the Church grows, we have ST. CALLIXTUS OF ROME, who had a very sinful life before being taken under the wing of Victor I, a second century pope. Callixtus had embezzled money and started a public riot, amongst other criminal affairs, but left that all behind early in the third century, when he reformed. Callixtus went on to become a pope himself, and died a martyr shortly thereafter, thereby sufficiently paying his debts for sin.
ST. MARY OF EGYPT (c.344-c.421), at the age of 12, ran away from home to Alexandria, the most ‘exciting’ city in the Roman Empire. She became an accomplished seductress, who took special pleasure in corrupting innocent young men. Once, on a whim, she joined a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. By the time the ship reached its destination, Mary had seduced the entire crew and all of the pilgrims. In Jerusalem she realized the enormity of her sins, when a supernatural force prevented her from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Filled with remorse, Mary sought the Mother of God’s intercession and made a good confession. In penance, Mary then spent the rest of her life as a hermit, alone in the Jordanian desert.
The beautiful, teenage ST. PELAGIA would have been every parent’s nightmare. As legend has it, she was a dancer and courtesan by her early teens. Pelagia’s conversion occurred all of a sudden, following a chance encounter with Saint Nonnus, the bishop of Edessa. The young girl was baptized, gave away her possessions to the poor and lived as a hermit for the rest of her life.
Another sinner turned saint was ST. OLGA (879-969). When a neighboring tribe assassinated her husband, St. Olga, princess of Kiev, went to war. Olga slaughtered her husband’s murderer and almost all of his people. In vengeance, she massacred virtually the entire tribe; the few who did survive she sold into slavery. Years later, while in Constantinople to make an alliance with the emperor, Olga visited a church and was in awe of the magnificence of the liturgy. She took instruction, was baptized and returned to Kiev as a Christian, zealous to convert her people. Olga tried to convert her people, but hardly anyone would listen to her―even her family rejected Christianity. Olga died believing that as a missionary, she was a failure. Yet, she planted a seed of Faith which flourished. Today, Catholic and Orthodox Christians of Russia and Ukraine hail her as “Equal to the Apostles.”
Heaven’s Surprise
I was shocked, confused, bewildered
As I entered Heaven’s door,
Not by the beauty of it all,
Nor the lights or its decor.
But it was the folks in Heaven
Who made me sputter and gasp―
The thieves, the liars, the sinners,
The alcoholics and the trash!
There stood the kid from seventh grade
Who swiped my lunch money twice.
Next to him was my old neighbor
Who never said anything nice.
Herb, who I always thought
Was rotting away in Hell,
Was sitting pretty on cloud nine,
Looking incredibly well.
I nudged Jesus, “What’s the deal?
I would love to hear your take!”
“How’d all these sinners get up here?
God must’ve made a mistake!”
‘And why’s everyone so quiet, so somber?”
“Give me a clue!’
“My Friend,” He said, “They’re all in shock!”
“They never thought they’d be seeing you!”
Museum or Hospital?
As St. Augustine says: “The Church is not a museum of saints, but a hospital of sinners … There is no saint without a past, no sinner without a future” (St. Augustine of Hippo, Doctor of the Church—sinners need a good doctor!).
Saints can seem remote and distant, close to God, but far from people. But they’re more like us than we give them credit for. Their lives were like ours, full of dilemmas and struggles, with bad choices as well as good. But their goodness won out in the end, as ours can. Interest in angels is quite popular at the moment, but it is the saints who are really like us in both their strengths and frailties―they should be our focal point and encouragement. They came to Heaven’s Hospital wounded by sin, and they found a cure—sometimes a painful cure—in Christ’s care.
You’d Better Believe It and Want It!
Let it be said and let it be understood and let it be believed and let it be desired: God expects you to be a saint and Our Lady will help you be a saint! Don’t question it and don’t doubt it! It is not, as you may think, an act of pride to want and expect to be a saint—it is an act of insanity not to do so! What’s the alternative to not wanting to and actually becoming a saint in this life? It is either Hell or Purgatory! Either way, it is insanity! Why pay a thousand times more, or pay eternally, for what could have been bought at a fraction of the effort and pain here below? You are expected to be a saint. You can be a saint. You must be a saint. Only saints go to Heaven.
Wow! How?
Whew! That’s a tall order, but one that is possible for everyone, for God never demands the impossible! We might be tempted to agree with the Apostles: “When they had heard this, the disciples wondered very much, saying: ‘Who then can be saved?’ And Jesus beholding, said to them: ‘With men this is impossible: but with God all things are possible!’” (Matthew 19:25-26). Our Lord adds: “Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5) ― Our Lord is the Author of Grace and without His grace we can do nothing with regard to saving our souls and reaching Heaven. Grace perfects nature, and therefore we need to drink copiously from the fountains of grace—which are found in the Sacraments, in quality prayer and in generous sacrifices, penances and alms-giving.
This is what St. Louis de Montfort also says—that this tall order can only be accomplished by grace: “Chosen soul, how will you bring this about? What steps will you take to reach the high level to which God is calling you? The means of holiness and salvation are known to everybody, since they are found in the Gospel; the masters of the spiritual life have explained them; the saints have practiced them and shown how essential they are for those who wish to be saved and attain perfection. These means are: sincere humility, unceasing prayer, complete self-denial, abandonment to divine Providence, and obedience to the will of God. The grace and help of God are absolutely necessary for us to practice all these, but we are sure that grace will be given to all, though not in the same measure. I say ‘not in the same measure,’ because God does not give His graces in equal measure to everyone (Romans 12:6), although in His infinite goodness He always gives sufficient grace to each. A person who corresponds to great graces performs great works, and one who corresponds to lesser graces performs lesser works” (St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of Mary).
Find God’s Grace Through the Mediatrix of All Grace
St. Louis goes on to say what Our Lady herself will later reiterate in a variety of ways: “It all comes to this, then. We must discover a simple means to obtain from God the grace needed to become holy. It is precisely this I wish to teach you. My contention is that you must first discover Mary if you would obtain this grace from God” (St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of Mary). At Fatima, Our Lady said of herself: “Only she (Our Lady of the Rosary) can help you now!” At Akita, Our Lady said: “I alone am able still to save you from the calamities which approach. Those who place their confidence in me will be saved.” This merely echoes what the Church says in her liturgy concerning Our Lady: “He that shall find me, shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord!” (Proverbs 8:35; Mass of the Immaculate Conception, traditional or extraordinary rite, Epistle). It is only saints that go to Heaven, and there is no saint who became a saint without the Mother of God, the Mediatrix of All Graces.
This is why the saints can say the following things about Our Lady:
● St. Albert the Great (a Doctor of the Church), says: “They who are not thy servants, O Mary, shall perish.”
● St. Bonaventure (a Doctor of the Church) repeats the same thought when he says: “They who neglect the service of Mary shall die in their sins.” And again: “For them, from whom Mary turns away her face, there is not even a hope of salvation.”
● St. Ignatius of Antioch (a Father of the Church), a martyr of the second century, writes: “A sinner can be saved only through the Holy Virgin who, by her merciful prayers, obtains salvation for so many who, according to strict justice, would be lost.”
If a lack of devotion to her is a mark of eternal reprobation a constant love for her must be a sign of eternal salvation. Many spiritual writers state that devotion to Mary is a sign of predestination.
● St. Alphonsus Liguori (a Doctor of the Church) says: “It is impossible that a servant of Mary be damned, provided he serves her faithfully and commends himself to her maternal protection.”
● St. Anselm (a Doctor of the Church) writes: “He who turns to thee and is regarded by thee cannot be lost.”
● St. Antonine is of the same opinion. He says: “As it is impossible for them from whom Mary turns away her eyes of mercy to be saved, so it is necessary that they to whom she turns her eyes of mercy and for whom she intercedes to be saved and glorified.”
You could fill books with quotes from saints about Our Lady—these few barely whet the appetite or do her justice. Nevertheless, on this feast of All Saints let all souls realize that all graces come to us through Mary; and, in her own words, she is all we have left in the current dire predicament of the world. Whether we want to survive, or get to Heaven, without her, there is not even the slightest hope of either or both.
Father Faber’s Holy Diagnosis and Prognosis
Let us end with the words of Fr. Faber from the Preface of his own translation, from French to English, of St. Louis de Montfort’s True Devotion to Mary. These words were written in November of 1862—how much worse has the situation become today!
“All those who are likely to read this book [True Devotion to Mary], love God, and lament that they do not love Him more; all desire something for His glory—the spread of some good work, the success of some devotion, the coming of some good time. One man has been striving for years to overcome a particular fault, and has not succeeded. Another mourns, and almost wonders while he mourns, that so few of his relations and friends have been converted to the Faith. One grieves that he has not devotion enough; another that he has a cross to carry which is a peculiarly impossible cross to him; while a third has domestic troubles and family unhappinesses which feel almost incompatible with his salvation; and for all these things prayer appears to bring so little remedy.
“But what is the remedy that is wanted? What is the remedy indicated by God Himself? If we may rely on the disclosures of the saints, it is an immense increase of devotion to our Blessed Lady; but, remember, nothing short of an immense one. Mary is not half enough preached. Devotion to her is low and thin and poor. ... It is not the prominent characteristic of our religion which it ought to be. It has no faith in itself. Hence it is that Jesus is not loved, that heretics are not converted, that the Church is not exalted; that souls which might be saints wither and dwindle; that the Sacraments are not rightly frequented, or souls enthusiastically evangelized.
“Jesus is obscured because Mary is kept in the background. Thousands of souls perish because Mary is withheld from them. It is the miserable, unworthy shadow which we call our devotion to the Blessed Virgin that is the cause of all these wants and blights, these evils and omissions and declines. Yet, if we are to believe the revelations of the saints, God is pressing for a greater, a wider, a stronger, quite another devotion to His Blessed Mother.
“I cannot think of a higher work or a broader vocation for anyone than the simple spreading of this peculiar devotion of the Venerable Grignion de Montfort. Let a man but try it for himself, and his surprise at the graces it brings with it, and the transformations it causes in his soul, will soon convince him of its otherwise almost incredible efficacy as a means for the salvation of men, and for the coming of the kingdom of Christ.
“Oh, if Mary were but known, there would be no coldness to Jesus then! Oh, if Mary were but known, how much more wonderful would be our Faith, and how different would our Communions be! Oh, if Mary were but known, how much happier, how much holier, how much less worldly should we be, and how much more should we be living images of our sole Lord and Savior, her dearest and most blessed Son!” (Fr. Frederick Faber, Preface to his translation of St. Louis de Montfort’s True Devotion to Mary).
Today is the feast of All Saints! Well, happy feast to you, dear saint! “Aw c’mon!” you say, “Stop joking around! I’m no saint and you know it!” Well, maybe and probably you are no saint—but are you on the way to being a saint? Is that your goal in life? Is that—apart from the superior goal of glorifying God—the main focus of your life?
There’s Only One Way
“There are those who seem to think that it is sufficient to be saved and that it is not necessary to be a saint. It is clearly not necessary to be a saint who performs miracles and whose sanctity is officially recognized by the Church. To be saved, we must take the way of salvation, which is identical with that of sanctity. There will be only saints in Heaven―whether they enter there immediately after death, or after purification in Purgatory. No one enters Heaven unless he has that sanctity which consists in perfect purity of soul. Every sin, though it should be venial, must be effaced, and the punishment due to sin must be borne or remitted, in order that a soul may enjoy forever the vision of God, see Him as He sees Himself, and love Him as He loves Himself. Should a soul enter Heaven before the total remission of its sins, it could not remain there and it would cast itself into Purgatory to be purified.” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, OP, The Three Ages of the Interior Life, Vol. 1, “Introduction”).
Therefore, in Heaven, the saint is not someone extraordinary, the saint is someone who is ordinary, for there are only saints in Heaven—that is one thing that they all have in common, and something that is common is not extraordinary.
Saintly Common Denominator
Another thing that all the saints have in common is that they owe their sanctity, in part, to Our Lady. Explicitly or implicitly, directly or indirectly, knowingly or unknowingly, they all depended upon Our Lady who is the Mediatrix of all Grace. It is through her that God has chosen to distribute all of His graces. Therefore, to pass the exam of sanctity ― to achieve sanctity in this life on Earth and to avoid the remedial school of sanctity in Purgatory―we need to seek-out Mary, to find Mary, to work with Mary, to let Mary teach us, guide us, encourage us and lead to those heights of sanctity which God ear-marked for us on the day He first created our soul.
Your Saintly Calling
St. Louis de Montfort puts it so beautifully in his booklet, The Secret of Mary:
“Chosen soul, living image of God and redeemed by the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ, God wants you to become holy like Him in this life, and glorious like Him in the next. It is certain that growth in the holiness of God is your vocation. All your thoughts, words, actions, everything you suffer or undertake, must lead you towards that end. Otherwise you are resisting God, in not doing the work for which He created you and for which He is even now keeping you in being. What a marvelous transformation is possible! Dust into light, uncleanness into purity, sinfulness into holiness, creature into Creator, man into God! A marvelous work, I repeat, so difficult in itself, and even impossible for a mere creature to bring about, for only God can accomplish it by giving His grace abundantly and in an extraordinary manner. The very creation of the universe is not as great an achievement as this.
Heaven Ain’t Cheap, Ya Know!
It must be remembered that most saints have to pass through the fires of Purgatory before they are allowed admittance into Heaven—except, of course, martyrs, who would go straight to Heaven. But remember, too, that for martyrdom to ‘work’, the martyr has to be sorry for all his sins, otherwise the martyrdom would be in vain (in the case of unrepented mortal sin) and require Purgatory for unrepented venial sin―for no sin can be forgiven if we are not sorry for it. So even some martyrs could, in theory, pass some time in Purgatory if they refuse to be sorry for some of their venial sins.
And if the non-martyred saint has the grace and gift of going straight to Heaven after death, then rest assured that the saint has most certainly done his or her Purgatory here on Earth, by the trials, sorrows, anxieties, humiliations, persecutions, illnesses, pains and sufferings that they would have undergone before being granted such a great privilege.
Burn We Must
At the end of the day, it is the degree of love for God in the heart of the soul that decides the fate of the soul: Heaven, Purgatory or Hell. Love or charity is what will be judged. As St. Paul writes: “If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not Charity―then I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all Faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not Charity―then I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not Charity―then it profits me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). To which Jesus adds: “Many sins are forgiven her, because she has loved much” (Luke 7:47), while St. Peter affirms: “Charity covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). Charity is a fire that burns sins in this world—if we refuse to burn here, we will burn in Purgatory or Hell―but burn we must!
The Remedial School of Saints
Which brings us to the subject of saints and life on Earth. We are all called to be saints, for only saints go to Heaven. We know this in theory, but it is frightening to see how few people try to live this out in practice. If we don’t successfully pass our “sainthood exam” here on Earth, then we will have to spend a long time in the remedial school of sanctity in the fires of Purgatory. Most people have an erroneous notion that Heaven will be populated by the saints on the one hand, and themselves—plain old Mr. and Mrs. so and so on the other hand. They seem to think that Heaven is a place for both sanctity and plain old mediocrity. FALSE! That could not be further from the truth!
Heaven’s Mixed-Bag of Saints
In Heaven, there are all kinds of saints: big and small saints; strong and weak saints; old and young saints; male and female saints; rich and poor saints; “never-sinned-much” saints and “sinned-a-lot” saints; quickly processed saints and slowly processed saints; saints from all kinds of different backgrounds, countries, times and circumstances. But the one thing they have in common is that they are SAINTS and NOT mediocre souls. The mediocre souls find a place in Purgatory, where they have to make up for lost and wasted time and misguided efforts.
How Will I Ever Become A Saint?
“Chosen soul, how will you bring this about? What steps will you take to reach the high level to which God is calling you? The means of holiness and salvation are known to everybody, since they are found in the Gospel; the masters of the spiritual life have explained them; the saints have practiced them and shown how essential they are for those who wish to be saved and attain perfection. These means are: sincere humility, unceasing prayer, complete self-denial, abandonment to divine Providence, and obedience to the will of God.” (The Secret of Mary by St. Louis de Montfort).
“The grace and help of God are absolutely necessary for us to practice all these, but we are sure that grace will be given to all, though not in the same measure. I say “not in the same measure,” because God does not give His graces in equal measure to everyone (Romans 12:6), although in His infinite goodness He always gives sufficient grace to each. A person who corresponds to great graces performs great works, and one who corresponds to lesser graces performs lesser works. The value and high standard of our actions corresponds to the value and perfection of the grace given by God and responded to by the faithful soul. No one can contest these principles.” (The Secret of Mary by St. Louis de Montfort).
Sanctity Needs Grace; Grace Comes Through Mary
“To find the grace of God, we must discover Mary. It all comes to this, then. We must discover a simple means to obtain from God the grace needed to become holy. It is precisely this I wish to teach you. My contention is that you must first discover Mary if you would obtain this grace from God.” (The Secret of Mary by St. Louis de Montfort).
This truth was later most perfectly manifested by Our Lady’s apparitions to St. Catherine Labouré, in 1830, at the convent of the Sisters of Charity on the Rue du Bac in Paris, France. It is from these apparitions that we received the so-called “Miraculous Medal.” However, it is more formally known as “The Medal of Our Lady of Grace” and “The Medal of the Immaculate Conception.”
Our Lady herself stipulated the design of the medal, by showing St. Catherine a vision of what it was to look like. There are rays of light beaming forth out of the rings upon Our Lady’s fingers. St. Catherine asked what these rays of light were. Our Lady replied that they were graces. St. Catherine noticed that some rays were shining brilliantly, while other rays of light were dull, so she asked Our Lady what they meant. Our Lady replied that the bright rays were graces that God gave to people, but the dull rays were graces that God did not give to people. St. Catherine, disappointed, asked why God would withhold some graces from us. Our Lady simply replied that they are withheld from us because we don’t ask for them!
If Only I Would Have ...
The poor souls in Purgatory could have avoided those fires if they had only taken their life―their spiritual life―much more seriously. Grace and sanctity was not at the top of their shopping-list, nor did they ask Our Lady for the graces they would have needed to avoid being sent to Purgatory. The words of Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange―already partially quoted above―perfectly represent this truth and we will repeat the aforementioned quote, adding a further passage to it:
The Real Life, the One That Matters
“The interior life, thus conceived, is something far more profound and more necessary in us than intellectual life or the cultivation of the sciences, than artistic or literary life, than social or political life. Unfortunately, some great scholars, mathematicians, physicists and astronomers, have no interior life―so to speak―but devote themselves to the study of their science, as if God did not exist. In their moments of solitude they have no intimate conversation with Him.
“Their life appears to be, in certain respects, the search for the true and the good in a more or less definite and restricted domain, but it is so tainted with self-love and intellectual pride, that we may legitimately question whether it will bear fruit for eternity. Many artists, literary men, and statesmen never rise above this level of purely human activity―which is, in short, quite exterior. Do the depths of their souls live by God? It would seem not.
“This shows that the interior life, or the life of the soul with God, well deserves to be called ‘the one thing necessary’, since by it we tend to our last end and assure our salvation. This last must not be too widely separated from progressive sanctification, for it is the very way of salvation.
“There are those who seem to think that it is sufficient to be saved and that it is not necessary to be a saint. It is clearly not necessary to be a saint who performs miracles and whose sanctity is officially recognized by the Church. To be saved, we must take the way of salvation, which is identical with that of sanctity. There will be only saints in Heaven, whether they enter there immediately after death or after purification in Purgatory. No one enters Heaven unless he has that sanctity which consists in perfect purity of soul.
“Every sin―though it should be venial―must be effaced, and the punishment due to sin must be borne or remitted, in order that a soul may enjoy forever the vision of God, see Him as He sees Himself, and love Him as He loves Himself. Should a soul enter Heaven before the total remission of its sins, it could not remain there and it would cast itself into Purgatory to be purified.” (Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, OP, The Three Ages of the Interior Life, Vol. 1, “Introduction”).
Preconceived Ideas About Saints
Workers of miracles—readers of minds—makers of prophecy—severe penances—endless prayers—faultless lives—these and similar traits are what we tend to associate with saints and becoming saints. We forget that when it was announced in the Carmelite Convent of Lisieux, that one of the deceased sisters was “up for canonization”—when the sisters finally extracted the name of the candidate from “those in the know”, they were shocked to find out that it Thérèse of the Infant Jesus! The common reaction was one of “What did she ever do that was worthy of canonization?” Of course, we now know that ‘her way’ is what we now call “The Little Way”—and Pope St. Pius X calls her the model for sanctity in this modern world.
Even Sinner Saints!
For those discouraged about achieving sanctity, there can be no better thing than to read and study the lives of the great sinners who became great saints. They are walking proof of the words of God in Holy Scripture, Who said: “If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow: and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool” (Isaias 1:18).
Around the time of Our Lord, we think of ST. MARY MAGDALEN, who was possessed by seven devils and caught in adultery. Then there is ST. DISMAS, THE GOOD THIEF on the cross, who―after a life of stealing, violence and perhaps even murder―by his sufferings and sorrow for sin, steals Heaven with his dying breath. There too, on Calvary, is the Roman legionary, ST. LONGINUS, who pierces Our Lord’s heart with his spear, and ends up being pierced with sorrow in his own heart—finally converting, leaving the military and becoming a saint. Then there is ST. PAUL the persecutor of Christians, who converts and becomes a pillar of the Faith and paying for his sins through a lifetime of suffering.
A little later in time, as the Church grows, we have ST. CALLIXTUS OF ROME, who had a very sinful life before being taken under the wing of Victor I, a second century pope. Callixtus had embezzled money and started a public riot, amongst other criminal affairs, but left that all behind early in the third century, when he reformed. Callixtus went on to become a pope himself, and died a martyr shortly thereafter, thereby sufficiently paying his debts for sin.
ST. MARY OF EGYPT (c.344-c.421), at the age of 12, ran away from home to Alexandria, the most ‘exciting’ city in the Roman Empire. She became an accomplished seductress, who took special pleasure in corrupting innocent young men. Once, on a whim, she joined a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. By the time the ship reached its destination, Mary had seduced the entire crew and all of the pilgrims. In Jerusalem she realized the enormity of her sins, when a supernatural force prevented her from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Filled with remorse, Mary sought the Mother of God’s intercession and made a good confession. In penance, Mary then spent the rest of her life as a hermit, alone in the Jordanian desert.
The beautiful, teenage ST. PELAGIA would have been every parent’s nightmare. As legend has it, she was a dancer and courtesan by her early teens. Pelagia’s conversion occurred all of a sudden, following a chance encounter with Saint Nonnus, the bishop of Edessa. The young girl was baptized, gave away her possessions to the poor and lived as a hermit for the rest of her life.
Another sinner turned saint was ST. OLGA (879-969). When a neighboring tribe assassinated her husband, St. Olga, princess of Kiev, went to war. Olga slaughtered her husband’s murderer and almost all of his people. In vengeance, she massacred virtually the entire tribe; the few who did survive she sold into slavery. Years later, while in Constantinople to make an alliance with the emperor, Olga visited a church and was in awe of the magnificence of the liturgy. She took instruction, was baptized and returned to Kiev as a Christian, zealous to convert her people. Olga tried to convert her people, but hardly anyone would listen to her―even her family rejected Christianity. Olga died believing that as a missionary, she was a failure. Yet, she planted a seed of Faith which flourished. Today, Catholic and Orthodox Christians of Russia and Ukraine hail her as “Equal to the Apostles.”
Heaven’s Surprise
I was shocked, confused, bewildered
As I entered Heaven’s door,
Not by the beauty of it all,
Nor the lights or its decor.
But it was the folks in Heaven
Who made me sputter and gasp―
The thieves, the liars, the sinners,
The alcoholics and the trash!
There stood the kid from seventh grade
Who swiped my lunch money twice.
Next to him was my old neighbor
Who never said anything nice.
Herb, who I always thought
Was rotting away in Hell,
Was sitting pretty on cloud nine,
Looking incredibly well.
I nudged Jesus, “What’s the deal?
I would love to hear your take!”
“How’d all these sinners get up here?
God must’ve made a mistake!”
‘And why’s everyone so quiet, so somber?”
“Give me a clue!’
“My Friend,” He said, “They’re all in shock!”
“They never thought they’d be seeing you!”
Museum or Hospital?
As St. Augustine says: “The Church is not a museum of saints, but a hospital of sinners … There is no saint without a past, no sinner without a future” (St. Augustine of Hippo, Doctor of the Church—sinners need a good doctor!).
Saints can seem remote and distant, close to God, but far from people. But they’re more like us than we give them credit for. Their lives were like ours, full of dilemmas and struggles, with bad choices as well as good. But their goodness won out in the end, as ours can. Interest in angels is quite popular at the moment, but it is the saints who are really like us in both their strengths and frailties―they should be our focal point and encouragement. They came to Heaven’s Hospital wounded by sin, and they found a cure—sometimes a painful cure—in Christ’s care.
You’d Better Believe It and Want It!
Let it be said and let it be understood and let it be believed and let it be desired: God expects you to be a saint and Our Lady will help you be a saint! Don’t question it and don’t doubt it! It is not, as you may think, an act of pride to want and expect to be a saint—it is an act of insanity not to do so! What’s the alternative to not wanting to and actually becoming a saint in this life? It is either Hell or Purgatory! Either way, it is insanity! Why pay a thousand times more, or pay eternally, for what could have been bought at a fraction of the effort and pain here below? You are expected to be a saint. You can be a saint. You must be a saint. Only saints go to Heaven.
Wow! How?
Whew! That’s a tall order, but one that is possible for everyone, for God never demands the impossible! We might be tempted to agree with the Apostles: “When they had heard this, the disciples wondered very much, saying: ‘Who then can be saved?’ And Jesus beholding, said to them: ‘With men this is impossible: but with God all things are possible!’” (Matthew 19:25-26). Our Lord adds: “Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5) ― Our Lord is the Author of Grace and without His grace we can do nothing with regard to saving our souls and reaching Heaven. Grace perfects nature, and therefore we need to drink copiously from the fountains of grace—which are found in the Sacraments, in quality prayer and in generous sacrifices, penances and alms-giving.
This is what St. Louis de Montfort also says—that this tall order can only be accomplished by grace: “Chosen soul, how will you bring this about? What steps will you take to reach the high level to which God is calling you? The means of holiness and salvation are known to everybody, since they are found in the Gospel; the masters of the spiritual life have explained them; the saints have practiced them and shown how essential they are for those who wish to be saved and attain perfection. These means are: sincere humility, unceasing prayer, complete self-denial, abandonment to divine Providence, and obedience to the will of God. The grace and help of God are absolutely necessary for us to practice all these, but we are sure that grace will be given to all, though not in the same measure. I say ‘not in the same measure,’ because God does not give His graces in equal measure to everyone (Romans 12:6), although in His infinite goodness He always gives sufficient grace to each. A person who corresponds to great graces performs great works, and one who corresponds to lesser graces performs lesser works” (St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of Mary).
Find God’s Grace Through the Mediatrix of All Grace
St. Louis goes on to say what Our Lady herself will later reiterate in a variety of ways: “It all comes to this, then. We must discover a simple means to obtain from God the grace needed to become holy. It is precisely this I wish to teach you. My contention is that you must first discover Mary if you would obtain this grace from God” (St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of Mary). At Fatima, Our Lady said of herself: “Only she (Our Lady of the Rosary) can help you now!” At Akita, Our Lady said: “I alone am able still to save you from the calamities which approach. Those who place their confidence in me will be saved.” This merely echoes what the Church says in her liturgy concerning Our Lady: “He that shall find me, shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord!” (Proverbs 8:35; Mass of the Immaculate Conception, traditional or extraordinary rite, Epistle). It is only saints that go to Heaven, and there is no saint who became a saint without the Mother of God, the Mediatrix of All Graces.
This is why the saints can say the following things about Our Lady:
● St. Albert the Great (a Doctor of the Church), says: “They who are not thy servants, O Mary, shall perish.”
● St. Bonaventure (a Doctor of the Church) repeats the same thought when he says: “They who neglect the service of Mary shall die in their sins.” And again: “For them, from whom Mary turns away her face, there is not even a hope of salvation.”
● St. Ignatius of Antioch (a Father of the Church), a martyr of the second century, writes: “A sinner can be saved only through the Holy Virgin who, by her merciful prayers, obtains salvation for so many who, according to strict justice, would be lost.”
If a lack of devotion to her is a mark of eternal reprobation a constant love for her must be a sign of eternal salvation. Many spiritual writers state that devotion to Mary is a sign of predestination.
● St. Alphonsus Liguori (a Doctor of the Church) says: “It is impossible that a servant of Mary be damned, provided he serves her faithfully and commends himself to her maternal protection.”
● St. Anselm (a Doctor of the Church) writes: “He who turns to thee and is regarded by thee cannot be lost.”
● St. Antonine is of the same opinion. He says: “As it is impossible for them from whom Mary turns away her eyes of mercy to be saved, so it is necessary that they to whom she turns her eyes of mercy and for whom she intercedes to be saved and glorified.”
You could fill books with quotes from saints about Our Lady—these few barely whet the appetite or do her justice. Nevertheless, on this feast of All Saints let all souls realize that all graces come to us through Mary; and, in her own words, she is all we have left in the current dire predicament of the world. Whether we want to survive, or get to Heaven, without her, there is not even the slightest hope of either or both.
Father Faber’s Holy Diagnosis and Prognosis
Let us end with the words of Fr. Faber from the Preface of his own translation, from French to English, of St. Louis de Montfort’s True Devotion to Mary. These words were written in November of 1862—how much worse has the situation become today!
“All those who are likely to read this book [True Devotion to Mary], love God, and lament that they do not love Him more; all desire something for His glory—the spread of some good work, the success of some devotion, the coming of some good time. One man has been striving for years to overcome a particular fault, and has not succeeded. Another mourns, and almost wonders while he mourns, that so few of his relations and friends have been converted to the Faith. One grieves that he has not devotion enough; another that he has a cross to carry which is a peculiarly impossible cross to him; while a third has domestic troubles and family unhappinesses which feel almost incompatible with his salvation; and for all these things prayer appears to bring so little remedy.
“But what is the remedy that is wanted? What is the remedy indicated by God Himself? If we may rely on the disclosures of the saints, it is an immense increase of devotion to our Blessed Lady; but, remember, nothing short of an immense one. Mary is not half enough preached. Devotion to her is low and thin and poor. ... It is not the prominent characteristic of our religion which it ought to be. It has no faith in itself. Hence it is that Jesus is not loved, that heretics are not converted, that the Church is not exalted; that souls which might be saints wither and dwindle; that the Sacraments are not rightly frequented, or souls enthusiastically evangelized.
“Jesus is obscured because Mary is kept in the background. Thousands of souls perish because Mary is withheld from them. It is the miserable, unworthy shadow which we call our devotion to the Blessed Virgin that is the cause of all these wants and blights, these evils and omissions and declines. Yet, if we are to believe the revelations of the saints, God is pressing for a greater, a wider, a stronger, quite another devotion to His Blessed Mother.
“I cannot think of a higher work or a broader vocation for anyone than the simple spreading of this peculiar devotion of the Venerable Grignion de Montfort. Let a man but try it for himself, and his surprise at the graces it brings with it, and the transformations it causes in his soul, will soon convince him of its otherwise almost incredible efficacy as a means for the salvation of men, and for the coming of the kingdom of Christ.
“Oh, if Mary were but known, there would be no coldness to Jesus then! Oh, if Mary were but known, how much more wonderful would be our Faith, and how different would our Communions be! Oh, if Mary were but known, how much happier, how much holier, how much less worldly should we be, and how much more should we be living images of our sole Lord and Savior, her dearest and most blessed Son!” (Fr. Frederick Faber, Preface to his translation of St. Louis de Montfort’s True Devotion to Mary).