A brief history of St. Cuthbert Mayne
Priest and Martyr
Feast day 29th November
St. Cuthbert Mayne was born on March 20th, 1544 (feast of St. Cuthbert) in the parish of Shirwell, in North Devon. The eldest of three brothers, Edward and James, Cuthbert was both of humble origins and of humble nature. His father, William Mayne, seems to have been a simple countryman probably in the service of the Chichester family. His uncle was a Protestant minister who singled out Cuthbert to follow in his footsteps, paying for his education. In the year 1561, at the age of 17, Cuthbert became an Anglican rector of the village of Huntshaw and he admitted with great sorrow later that at this time, he knew neither what Ministry nor Religion meant. St. Cuthbert was then sent by his uncle to study at Oxford, as it was not uncommon in those days to first be given a living and then to study the theology afterwards! At Oxford he became the Chaplain to St. John’s College. Here there was a good deal of sympathy for the Catholic religion and many of its members rejected the new doctrines and left Oxford. St. Cuthbert was mild of nature and at Oxford he was loved both by the Protestants and by the Catholics who advised him of the error in which he was living. They persuaded him that the new doctrine was heretical and so he eventually became a Catholic. Two friends in particular who had a great influence on Cuthbert Mayne at Oxford were Gregory Martin and Edmund Campion.
The unjust laws put in force against the Catholic priesthood after the Reformation in England, prohibited the saying of the Mass and the exercise of any religious function and even forbade the education of young candidates for the priesthood. Therefore seminaries for the training of English secular priests were established in different countries. Douai College, in France, was established by Cardinal Allen in the year 1562 and it became the seed-bed of many noble and courageous English martyrs who died to keep the Catholic Faith alive in the hearts and minds of their own people. Between 30 and 40 priests were sent back to England from Douai each year to minister to the people and sustain the Faith in this troubled land.
Letters to Cuthbert from his Catholic friends at Douai, full of their new found spiritual joy and begging him to join them (one of them being the above-mentioned St. Edmund Campion who also received the crown of martyrdom, four years after St. Cuthbert) fell into the hands of the Bishop of London, and so an order was given for Cuthbert’s arrest. However, when those wishing to arrest him arrived at Oxford, he had returned to Cornwall, and being informed of his imminent arrest, he knew he had to make a definite decision. Cuthbert decided to leave immediately for Douai in order to train for the priesthood. He took the ship from Cornwall to France and arrived at Douai at the beginning of 1573, where he was reunited with his Oxford friends.
Cuthbert made rapid progress in his theological studies, outstripping his contemporaries both in wisdom and in gentleness. He was ordained priest on February 7th 1575. No sooner was this accomplished than he set sail for England, together with Fr. John Paine (who in 1582 was hanged, drawn and quartered at Chelmsford), eager to avail himself of his pastoral office for the conversion of his countrymen and to do all he could to regain ‘Our Lady’s Dowry’s to the Catholic Church. The priests would have been provided with the bare necessities to carry out their priestly duties – a crucifix, the minimum of vestments, and a stole woven with all the liturgical colours so that it could be worn for every occasion. One priest called this stole ‘Joseph’s coat’ as it was of many colours and often steeped in blood! St. Cuthbert arrived in Cornwall and got in touch with members of the Arundell family of Lanherne. It was probably Sir John Arundell who sent Cuthbert to his nephew, Francis Tregian, one of the richest landowners in Cornwall. Francis had inherited Golden Manor from his father who had married Katherine Arundell. Here at Golden, under cover of being the steward of Francis Tregian, St. Cuthbert ministered to the needs of the poor Catholics in the district, often also saying Mass at Lanherne, where he sometimes spent up to two weeks at a time.
The high sheriff of Cornwall at this time was Richard Grenville, who was a notorious hater of the Catholic Faith. It was he who (together with ten justices of the peace and 100 armed men) demanded to search Golden Manor. St. Cuthbert was captured in this house in 1577 and brought to Launceston, where he was imprisoned and chained in a dark and terrible dungeon for about three months. It is said that his cell was the darkest and foulest of the whole prison. St. Cuthbert was tried and condemned solely and purely because he upheld the Church of his Fathers, the Church of the Apostles, emanating from the chair of St. Peter. He was indicted for having a copy of the Jubilee Bull of 1575 and of publishing the same, for upholding the ecclesiastical authority of the Holy Father, for bringing into the country an Agnus Dei (this was the Lamb of God sealed upon a piece of wax from the Paschal candle blessed by the Pope), and for having celebrated the Holy mass. Not one single political matter was mentioned during his trial, thus making of St. Cuthbert, in every sense, a true martyr for the Faith and for the Faith alone. The reality of the situation was that St. Cuthbert was judged to be guilty of having possession of a small piece of wax which the Holy Father had blessed, of carrying a printed copy of the Holy Father’s autograph and of saying his prayers!
His trial was wrongly and informally conducted. The jury were threatened with punishment if they did not give a verdict of guilty. The ‘prisoner’ was therefore found guilty on all counts and sentenced to the horrible death of being hanged, drawn and quartered. On hearing the death sentence St. Cuthbert Mayne, with a cheerful countenance and lifting his eyes and hands to Heaven answered “Deo Gratias.” However he still had some months to wait until his final reward, as there was a disagreement between the judges. In the meantime Richard Grenville went to Queen Elizabeth and as a reward for his part in the capture of Cuthbert Mayne, was awarded a knighthood.
St. Cuthbert never lost heart and spent his long wait in encouraging his fellow prisoners as much as he could. He often fell on his knees to say his prayers, which lasted far into the night. Once just after midnight when it was unusually dark, St. Cuthbert was meditating and praying. Suddenly a bright light shone around him lighting up the terrible wall of the dungeon. It awakened the other prisoners who wondered where the light was coming from. St. Cuthbert gently told them to go back to sleep as it did not concern them. In reality it was nothing less than a miraculous consolation which had been given to the Saint in his dismal dungeon. One morning a man came to the prisoner and told him that he would be executed within three days. St. Cuthbert would have liked to reward this man very much for the great news which he had brought to him.
The day before his martyrdom, St. Cuthbert was taken from his prison and brought before the justices of the county. He was then questioned from morning until late at night to break him down and in order to force him to make some admission as to his guilt. Although he had answered all their arguments, quoting freely from the Holy Bible, they spread rumours that he had utterly failed in proving any of his statements and that he knew hardly a word of Scripture. They continued to offer him his life if he would renounce his religion and swear on the Bible that the Queen was supreme head of the Church in England. He solemnly affirmed that “the queen neither ever was, nor is, nor ever shall be the head of the Church in England.”
The next day, 29th November 1577, the sentence was carried out, and Cuthbert Mayne died at the age of thirty-three years, a martyr for the Faith: his offence – that of being a Catholic priest in England! He was brought out to the waiting crowd, calm and serene. He was tied to a hurdle, which was attached to a horse. A justice of the peace advised the executioner to let his head hang down in such a way that it would hit against the cobbles of the street. Cuthbert, speaking for the first time also asked if he might be given this favour, which would add to the glory of his martyrdom. However some ministers came forward to forbid this brutal deed. He was dragged for about a quarter of a mile to where the gibbet awaited him. It was higher than usual for he was considered to be a great criminal. He was untied from the hurdle and for a few moments he knelt down to pray. He was told to climb backwards up the ladder leading to the platform, like a criminal, in order to increase his humiliation. This platform would act as his last pulpit and from there he looked upon the faces of the vast congregation. He then gave his last homily with a voice clear and free from all trace of fear. He told them that he died because the law had judged him guilty of death. For himself he knew he was innocent of any crime before the law, as God would presently judge him. Then the justices of the law made a final angry attempt to make him incriminate Francis Tregian and Sir John Arundell, asking if they knew of the things for which he was to die. He answered that those things were known to him alone and that the only thing he knew of these men was that they were godly gentlemen. He went on to remind all of the Catholic Faith for which he died and their own responsibility to Christ for what had been done to His Church. Then the rope was put around his neck and the martyr glancing upwards and striking his breast cried out: “In manus tuas, Domine… He did not have time to finish “commendo spiritum meum” because immediately the executioner swung away the ladder. He then slashed at the rope with such violence, that St. Cuthbert fell from the high gibbet, striking his head on the platform so hard that his eyes were forced from their sockets. Lying on the ground, choking and barely alive, St. Cuthbert’s garments were torn away from his body by the executioner who with sharp knives began the work of dismembering and disembowelling the body and cutting in into four parts. The heart was torn out and held up for all to see and then thrown onto a fire. Tar and pitch were used to preserve the four parts of the body, which were distributed over the county, only one quarter being sent out of Cornwall to the native town of St. Cuthbert, Barnstaple, where it was spiked on to the bridge crossing the river Taw. Wadebridge had the honour of receiving the martyr’s head and this is the only relic, which to this day is still preserved. From Wadebridge it was removed by a member of the Arundell family and taken to Lanherne. This precious relic was then taken to another place so that it would not be discovered. In 1807, the crown of the skull was brought back to Lanherne by Richard Rawe, a descendant of Bridget Arundell, to be kept by the Carmelite Nuns as a most venerated relic of the martyr.
With regard to those instrumental in causing the martyr’s death, the executioner, after one month, became insane and Sir Richard Grenville was killed by the Spanish some years after.
The skull of St. Cuthbert was exposed for public veneration for the first time on 29th November 1889. It is affirmed that of all the people whom the martyr received into the Church as converts, not one relapsed into Protestantism or departed in any way from the true Faith.
In 1952 the skull of Cuthbert Mayne was brought to London and was received with great honour in Westminster Cathedral where thousands knelt to kiss the reliquary containing it. It was also venerated in many other London Churches. St. Cuthbert was beatified in 1886 by Pope Leo XIII and canonised on 25th October 1970 together with the other 39 martyrs of England and Wales, by Pope Paul VI.
In August 2001 the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate became the new custodians of the most precious relic of St. Cuthbert Mayne.
Ave Maria!
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Twenty-Seventh Sunday after Pentecost -24 November 2013
Twenty-Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
(From 24th and Last Sunday of Pentecost)
24 November 2013
"Come, ye blessed of My Father, Possess the kingdom prepared for you....” Mt. 35:40
In his book of meditations on the liturgy, Divine Intimacy, Fr. Gabriel of St. Magdalen, OCD. comments: “The Mass for today, the last Sunday of the liturgical year is a prayer of thanksgiving for the year that is ending and one of propriation for that which is about to begin; it is a reminder that the present life is fleeting, and an invitation to keep ourselves in readiness for the final step which will usher us into eternity....With the description of the end of the world and the coming of Christ to judge the living and the dead, the Gospel (Mt. 24:15-35) reminds us that just as the liturgical year comes to an end, so does the life of man on earth. Everything will have an end, and at the end of all, will come the majestic epilogue: "Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven [the Cross]: 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." (Mt. 24:30) Fr. Gabriel, p. 1100-1 In today’s Epistle (Col. 1:9-14), St. Paul shows us how we can be assured of a place in the heavenly kingdom at the end of the world if we live according to God’s will: "We ... cease not to pray for you and to beg that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will ... that you may walk worthy of God, in all things pleasing; being fruitful in every good work,” Col. 1:9-10
Eternal Glory in Heaven
Fr. Gabriel tells us about the importance of today’s Epistle for the attainment of eternal glory in heaven: “This is a beautiful synthesis of the task which the interior soul has endeavoured to accomplish during the whole year: to adapt and conform itself to God's holy will, to unite itself to it completely, and, being moved in all things by that divine will alone, to act in such a manner as to please Our Lord in everything. God be praised if, thanks to His help, we have succeeded in advancing some steps along the road which most surely leads to holiness. Making our own the sentiments of the Apostle, we should give thanks to “the Father who hath made us worthy to be partakers of the lot of the saints in light." (Col 1:12) The lot, the inheritance of the saints, of those who tend toward holiness, is union of love with God-- here below in faith, hereafter in glory. This heritage is ours because Jesus merited it for us by His Blood, and because in Jesus "we have redemption, the remission of sins" (Col. 1:14); thus, cleansed from sin and clothed in grace by His infinite merits, we also can ascend to that very lofty and blessed state of union with God.” Fr. Gabriel, p. 1100
The Fall of Jerusalem and the End of the World
In today’s Gospel, Jesus foretells two of the most catastrophic events to happen to mankind. By juxtaposing the Fall of Jerusalem (70 AD) with the End of the World, Jesus warns us to be ready for what will befall our world. When Jesus prophesied “When, therefore, you shall see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place: he that readeth let him understand. Then they are in Judea, let them flee to the mountains.” Mt. 24:15-6 Cornelius A Lapide in his Commentary on St. Matthew’s Gospel comments on this scriptural text, especially in relation to Fall of Jerusalem: “Some understand by it an idol placed in the temple as God; others, the sins committed by priests in the temple; others, more correctly, the Roman armies which besieged Jerusalem, and which, shortly afterward, when it had been captured, fearfully wasted it, and made it desolate. It could also mean the profanation of the temple by the murders and other crimes which were perpetuated in it by the seditious killers and wicked Jews, who call themselves Zealots of the law and of liberty.” A Lapide, p. 423. No wonder Jesus prophesied as A Lapide points out: “For there shall be then great tribulation (Jerusalem and all Judea because of the divine vengeance as is clear from Lk. 21:33), such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, neither shall be.” (Mt. 24:21) A Lapide, p. 427
Jerusalem’s Catastrophic Fate
The Fall of Jerusalem was going to be the most catastrophic event to befall a nation in the entire history of the world. It is a reminder of the great price that needed to be paid for the deicide of Jesus Christ. It is also a foreshadowing of the greater events which will happen at the end of the world. Cornelius A Lapide says: “This most dreadful destruction of Jerusalem was an express type and prelude of the end of the world, just as Noe’s deluge, the burning of Sodom, and the drowning of Pharaoh and his entire army in the Red Sea....Christ, therefore, compares the destruction of the one nation of the Jews with that of any other nation whatsoever, but not the destruction of all nations, or the whole world. That this was the case, is plain from the seven books which Josephus compiled (de Bello Judaico). Thus he says expressly (lib. 6 cap.11) ‘to speak briefly, I am of opinion that no other city suffered calamities, nor in any other nation of which there is memory among men was the wickedness of seditious more ferocious... (lib 7, cap. 18) The number of those who perished surpasses that of any calamity, whether human or of divine origin; of whom some were killed outright, and some were carried off by the Romans.’ ....Hence Josephus (lib. 7 Belli c. 17) asserts that besides innumerable others slain in all parts of Judea, there fell in the siege of Jerusalem alone 1,100,000 souls, who died of famine, pestilence and the sword. ...The same writer says that 97,000 Jews were taken captive at that time..... ‘For these are the days of vengeance (i.e., for the death of Christ)... There will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people.’ (Lk. 21:22) Josephus adds (lib. 7 Belli c. 16) that Titus (the Roman General) recognized this vengeance of God, and attributed the capture of Jerusalem, not to his own power, but to Him. For entering into the captured city, when he saw the height and solidity of the bulwarks and towers, he exclaimed, ‘It is evident that God has helped us to fight. It was God Himself who cast down the Jews from those fortifications. For what power of man, or what machines, would have been able to do so?’ The same Josephus (lib. 6 Belli cap. 14) adds, and Eusebius cites him (lib. 3 Hist. cap. 5) that ‘Titus went round, and saw the ditches full of corpses of the dead, he groaned aloud, and lifting up his hands to heaven, called God to witness that it was not his work.’” A Lapide, p. 424-8
“...the sun shall be darkened and moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and powers of heaven shall be moved.” Mt. 24:29
Cornelius A Lapide quotes the allegorical meaning of this passage from St. Augustine (epist. 80 at Hesychium): “The sun, that is, the Church, shall be darkened, because in those tremendous tribulations and temptations which shall be in the end of the world, many who had seemed as bright and as firm as the sun and the stars shall fall away from the Faith and a state of grace.” p. 441. Cornelius A Lapide gives a more literal and symbolic explanation of this passage: “...the sun will be darkened because God will withhold His concurrence and take away from it, not its light, but its power of illuminating and of scattering its rays; thus it shall come to pass that in the sun there will be light, but upon the earth nothing but darkness, as it happened during the passion of Christ, so as to manifest the indignity which He suffered, since the sun, the moon, the earth and rocks and all the elements seemed to mourn, indeed grow indignant....” A Lapide, p.441-2
“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn...” Mt. 24:30
Cornelius A Lapide quoting St. Augustine (serm. 130 de Tempore) tells us of the power of Christ’s Cross: “Hast thou considered how great is the virtue of the Sign of the Cross? The sun shall be darkened, the moon shall not give her light; but the cross shall shine and shall obscure the heavenly luminaries. When the stars shall fall, it alone shall send forth radiance, that thou mayest learn how the cross is more luminous than the moon and more glorious than the sun, because illuminated by the brilliance of divine light, it shall surpass their splendour. For just as when a king enters into a city, his soldiers go before him, bearing upon their shoulders the royal arms and standards, and all the pomp of military array, to proclaim the monarch’s entry; so when the Lord descends from heaven, the angel hosts shall go before Him, bearing upon their lofty shoulders that sign which is the ensign of triumph, to announce to the inhabitants of earth the divine entrance of the heavenly King... But why will the cross appear then? That they might understand the mystery of iniquity (cf. II Thess. 2:7). ‘And then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn.’ (Mt. 24:30) That is, many of every tribe, that is, all the reprobate and the damned shall mourn, because they have neglected their salvation, which cost Christ so dearly that he was crucified. But the elect will rejoice and sing, because they will see that they have been saved and blessed by the cross. The distribution (of rewards), then, is to each according to his kind, and not to (predetermined) categories of individuals as logicians put it. S. Augustine (serm. 130 de Tempore) gives the cause of weeping, ... because they shall see their accuser, that is, the cross itself; and at the sight of this reprover they shall acknowledge their sin. Too late, and in vain shall they confess their impious blindness. And dost thou marvel that when Christ cometh He will bring His cross, since He will show His wounds also?” A Lapide, p. 446
“And they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with much power and majesty.” Mt. 24:30b
Cornelius A Lapide comments of the power of Jesus at this His Second Coming: “In Greek, ‘with great strength and glory’, Lk. 21:27 ‘with great power’. For as Christ as His first advent came into the world in great infirmity of the flesh, in poverty and contempt, so He hath thereby merited to come in His second advent with great strength, glory and majesty. His might and strength shall appear, in that at His command all the dead shall rise in a moment; in that all men, angels, and devils shall behold and worship Him as their God, their Lord, and their Judge; in that He shall pass sentence upon all according to their merits, and shall execute His sentence, so that none shall dare to contradict or resist it. His majesty shall appear in the infinite splendour of His body, in the multitude and brightness of all the angels accompanying Him, and in His garments of radiant clouds, also in the trumpets, thunder, lightning, earthquakes, etc., that shall precede Him....” A Lapide, p. 448
Confidence in God’s Love
St. Teresa of Avila gives us a confidence that, if we have loved God in this world we should have no fear of death nor God’s judgment: "Deign, O Lord, to grant me the experience of true love before You take me from this life, for it will be a great thing at the hour of my death to realize that I shall be judged by One whom I have loved above all things. I shall be able to meet You with security, certain that I shall not be going into a foreign land, but into my own country, for it belongs to the One whom I have loved so truly and who has loved me in return. How sweet will be the death of that soul who has done penance for all its sins and does not have to go to purgatory! It may be that it will begin to enjoy glory even in this world, and will know no fear, but only peace!" St. Jose Maria Escriva, The Way, 40
“The Little Number of Those Who Are Saved” Part VIII
by St. Leonard of Port Maurice
The Goodness of God
Perhaps you do not yet believe the terrible truths I have just taught you. But it is the most highly-considered theologians, the most illustrious Fathers who have spoken to you through me. So then, how can you resist reasons supported by so many examples and words of Scripture? If you still hesitate in spite of that, and if your mind is inclined to the opposite opinion, does that very consideration not suffice to make you tremble? Oh, it shows that you do not care very much for your salvation! In this important matter, a sensible man is struck more strongly by the slightest doubt of the risk he runs than by the evidence of total ruin in other affairs in which the soul is not involved. One of our brothers, Blessed Giles, was in the habit of saying that if only one man were going to be damned, he would do all he could to make sure he was not that man.
So what must we do, we who know that the greater number is going to be damned, and not only out of all Catholics? What must we do? Take the resolution to belong to the little number of those who are saved. You say: If Christ wanted to damn me, then why did He create me? Silence, rash tongue! God did not create anyone to damn him; but whoever is damned, is damned because he wants to be. Therefore, I will now strive to defend the goodness of my God and acquit it of all blame: that will be the subject of the second point.
Before going on, let us gather on one side all the books and all the heresies of Luther and Calvin, and on the other side the books and heresies of the Pelagians and Semi-Pelagians, and let us burn them. Some destroy grace, others freedom, and all are filled with errors; so let us cast them into the fire. All the damned bear upon their brow the oracle of the Prophet Osee, "Thy damnation comes from thee," so that they may understand that whoever is damned, is damned by his own malice and because he wants to be damned.
First let us take these two undeniable truths as a basis: "God wants all men to be saved," "All are in need of the grace of God." Now, if I show you that God wants to save all men, and that for this purpose He gives all of them His grace and all the other necessary means of obtaining that sublime end, you will be obliged to agree that whoever is damned must impute it to his own malice, and that if the greater number of Christians are damned, it is because they want to be. "Thy damnation comes from thee; thy help is only in Me."
Monday, November 18, 2013
The Little Number of Those Who Are Saved by St. Leonard of Port Maurice

Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost 17th November 2013
Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
17 November 2013
(Epistle & Gospel, of 6th Sunday after Epiphany)
“I will open my mouth in parables; things hidden since the world was made I will announce.” Mt. 13:35
In today’s readings, we have the fulfilment of the gospel parables, The Mustard Seed and The Leaven, in the Epistle of St. Paul to the Thessalonians (1:2-10). St. Paul praises the faith of the Thessalonians:“And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, receiving the word in great tribulation with joy in the Holy Spirit, so that you became a pattern for all believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. I Thess. 1:6-7 In the Gospel (Mt,13:31-35), Jesus speaks of The Parable of the Mustard Seed which “is the smallest of all the seeds; but when it grows up it is larger than any herb and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and dwell in its branches.” Mt. 13:32. Jesus also speaks of The Parable of the Leaven “which a woman took and buried in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.” Mt. 13:33. Both parables speak of the Kingdom of God, the Church upon earth, and how it will grow from the Twelve Apostles throughout the whole world and will influence all peoples with the gospel message. This fruitful growth of the Church among the pagan people through the preaching of St. Paul is evident in the Epistle to the Thessalonians. For their faithfulness, sacrifice, and good example the Thessalonians became an example to all the other Churches in Greece: “We thank God always for all of you when we make mention of you in our prayers for we unceasingly remember your active faith, your energetic charity and your unwavering hope in our Lord Jesus Christ before the face of God, our Father.” I Thess. 1:2-3.
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
Although it is the smallest of seeds, the mustard seed grows into a tree so large that the birds of the air dwell in its branches. So, too, the Church Jesus founded upon the Twelve Apostles would grow until it encompassed almost all of the known world at that time. Similarly, within three centuries the Church would be established throughout the entire Roman Empire. St. Augustine comments on the spiritual significance of the mustard seed: “At first glance it seems small, worthless, despised, not marked by any flavour, not surrounded by any odour, nor giving any sign of sweetness; but once it is bruised, it sheds abroad its odour, displays its sharpness and exhales nourishment of a fiery taste. ...Thus, too, the Christian Faith, at first sight, appears small, worthless and frail, not manifesting its power, nor carrying any semblance of pride, nor conferring grace. But as soon as it begins to be bruised by divers temptations, immediately it manifests its vigour, indicates its sharpness, breathes the warmth of belief in the Lord, and is possessed with so great ardour of divine fire, that both itself is hot and it compels those who participate to be fervent also. As the two disciples said in the holy gospel, when the Lord spoke with them after His passion, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us by the way, while the Lord Jesus opened to us the Scriptures.’ (Lk. 24:32) A grain of mustard, then, warms the inward members of our bodies, but the power of faith burns up the sins of our hearts. The one indeed takes away piercing cold; the other expels the devil’s frost of transgressions. A grain of mustard, I say, purges away corporeal humours, but faith puts an end to the flux of lusts. By the one, medicine is gained for the head; but by faith our spiritual Head, Christ the Lord, is often refreshed. Moreover, we enjoy the sacred odour of faith, according to the analogy of mustard seed, as the blessed Apostle saith, ‘We are a sweet savour of Christ unto God.’’’ (II Cor. 2:15) A Lapide, Commentary on St. Matthew’s Gospel, p. 27
The Parable of the Leaven
The Parable of the Leaven flows naturally from The Parable of the Mustard Seed because as the Church grows, so will it influence the whole world just as the leaven (yeast) permeates all the dough. Interestingly, the three measures of bread is quite large and will feed eighteen people for five days. Jesus makes it so large to emphasize that the Church will influence the whole world. St. Ambrose also applies this to Christ in a spiritual meaning of the leaven: “Therefore, if the Lord is wheat (as He Himself says in John 12:24), the Lord is the leaven, too, since leaven is usually made only of wheaten flour. Therefore, the Lord is rightly compared to leaven for when He was in the form of man, made small by humility and despised for His weakness, He contained within Himself such power of wisdom that the world itself could scarcely contain His doctrine. When He began to diffuse Himself throughout the world by virtue of His divinity, He immediately drew the entire human race into His substance by His power so that He might place the yoke of His Holy Spirit upon all of them, that is, make all Christians to be what Christ is....so Christ (like leaven) is broken up and dissolved by His various sufferings, and His moisture, that is, His precious blood, was poured out for our salvation, that it might by mingling itself with the whole human race, consolidate that race, which lay scattered abroad.” A Lapide, p. 29-30
The Growth of the Church at Thessalonica
After St. Paul was expelled by the Jewish leaders at Philippi, he went to the port city of Thessalonica where he found the inhabitants of that city open to the message of the gospel. At first, St. Paul went to the Jewish residents of the city, but after a few weeks with little success, he turned to the Gentiles. There he met with so much success that the Jewish leaders brought charges of treason (preaching about another king) against the Christian missionaries, and St. Paul and his companions had to flee. While at Athens, St. Paul sent Timothy to learn how the Church at Thessalonica fared during the persecution. Timothy reported later, when Paul was at Corinth, that the converts were heroic in the practice of the faith: “And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, receiving the word in great tribulation with joy in the Holy Spirit, so that you became a pattern for all believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. From you the word of the Lord has been spread abroad not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has gone forth, so that we need say nothing further.” I Thess. 1:6-8. The Thessalonians are a joy to the heart of Paul, as they not only embraced the faith from their pagan ways, but they have even imitated Paul and his companions, Silvanus and Timothy, and spread the faith by their good example throughout the land and the other seaports.
Early Christians a reproach to us today
Dom Gueranger in his book, The Liturgical Life, Vol. 4, tells us how the early Christians are a strong reproach to us to imitate them in their lives: “The praise which the apostle here gives to the Thessalonians for their fervour in the faith they had embraced, conveys a reproach to the Christians of our times. These neophytes of Thessalonica, who, a short time before, were worshippers of idols, had become so earnest in the practice of the Christian religion, that even the apostle is filled with admiration. We are the descendants of the countless Christian ancestors; we received our regeneration by Baptism at our first coming into the world; we were taught the doctrine of Jesus Christ from our earliest childhood: yet, our faith is not so strong, nor our lives so holy, as were those of the early Christian. Their main occupation was serving the living and true God, and waiting for the coming of their Saviour. Our hope is precisely the same as that which made their hearts so fervent; how comes it that our faith is not like theirs in its generosity? We love this present life, as though we had no firm conviction that it is to pass away.” Gueranger, p. 102
Good Example
The power of good example is the reason why the Thessalonians followed Paul and his companions and why other Greeks followed the example of the Thessalonians. Despite persecution, they kept the faith and awaited the coming of the Lord. So, too, should we, as the parables in today’s gospel suggest, try to build up the kingdom of God by our good example and permeate all of society. This is what Our Lady requested at Fatima when she asked us to pray and sacrifice for the souls of so many in our time who are in danger of being lost for all eternity unless they get a miracle of God’s grace: “Pray and sacrifice for many souls will go to hell, unless someone prays and sacrifices for them.” (Fatima, 1917)
“The Little Number of Those Who Are Saved” Part VII
by St. Leonard of Port Maurice
One day Saint John Chrysostom, preaching in the cathedral in Constantinople and considering these proportions, could not help but shudder in horror and ask, "Out of this great number of people, how many do you think will be saved?" And, not waiting for an answer, he added, "Among so many thousands of people, we would not find a hundred who are saved, and I even doubt for the one hundred." What a dreadful thing! The great Saint believed that out of so many people, barely one hundred would be saved; and even then, he was not sure of that number. What will happen to you who are listening to me? Great God, I cannot think of it without shuddering! Brothers, the problem of salvation is a very difficult thing; for according to the maxims of the theologians, when an end demands great efforts, few only attain it.
That is why Saint Thomas, the Angelic Doctor, after weighing all the reasons pro and con in his immense erudition, finally concludes that the greater number of Catholic adults are damned. He says, "Because eternal beatitude surpasses the natural state, especially since it has been deprived of original grace, it is the little number that are saved."
So then, remove the blindfold from your eyes that is blinding you with self-love, that is keeping you from believing such an obvious truth by giving you very false ideas concerning the justice of God, "Just Father, the world has not known Thee," said Our Lord Jesus Christ. He does not say "Almighty Father, most good and merciful Father." He says "just Father," so we may understand that out of all the attributes of God, none is less known than His justice, because men refuse to believe what they are afraid to undergo. Therefore, remove the blindfold that is covering your eyes and say tearfully: Alas! The greater number of Catholics, the greater number of those who live here, perhaps even those who are in this assembly, will be damned! What subject could be more deserving of your tears?
King Xerxes, standing on a hill looking at his army of one hundred thousand soldiers in battle array, and considering that out of all of them there would be not one man alive in a hundred years, was unable to hold back his tears. Have we not more reason to weep upon thinking that out of so many Catholics, the greater number will be damned? Should this thought not make our eyes pour forth rivers of tears, or at least produce in our heart the sentiment of compassion felt by an Augustinian Brother, Ven. Marcellus of St. Dominic? One day as he was meditating on the eternal pains, the Lord showed him how many souls were going to hell at that moment and had him see a very broad road on which twenty-two thousand reprobates were running toward the abyss, colliding into one another. The servant of God was stupefied at the sight and exclaimed, "Oh, what a number! What a number! And still more are coming. O Jesus! O Jesus! What madness!" Let me repeat with Jeremiah, "Who will give water to my head, and a fountain of tears to my eyes? And I will weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people."
Poor souls! How can you run so hastily toward hell? For mercy's sake, stop and listen to me for a moment! Either you understand what it means to be saved and to be damned for all eternity, or you do not. If you understand and in spite of that, you do not decide to change your life today, make a good confession and trample upon the world, in a word, make your every effort to be counted among the littler number of those who are saved, I say that you do not have the faith. You are more excusable if you do not understand it, for then one must say that you are out of your mind. To be saved for all eternity, to be damned for all eternity, and to not make your every effort to avoid the one and make sure of the other, is something inconceivable. (To be continued)
Friday, November 8, 2013
Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost - 10 November 2013
Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
(Epistle and Gospel of the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany)
10 November 2013
“Put ye on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, the bowels of mercy, benignity, humility, modesty, patience: bearing with one another and forgiving one another...” Col. 3: 12-3
For these last Sundays after Pentecost, the Church uses the Sundays after the Epiphany which were not used earlier in the year due to various adjustments with the Church Seasons. Today’s liturgy highlights the importance of charity in an evil and corrupt world. In the Epistle (Colossians 3:12-17), St. Paul reminds us that “charity is the bond of perfection.” Col. 3:14 If we do not have the virtue of charity, we will not enter the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel (Matthew 13: 24-30), Jesus gives us the parable of “The Wheat and the Cockle” to illustrate in simple language a profound teaching about the existence of evil in the world: “The kingdom of heaven is likened to a man that sowed good seed in his field. But while men were asleep, his enemy came and oversowed cockle among the wheat and went his way.” Mt. 3:24 From this brief description, we can see how God created all things good, but the devil sowed evil into the hearts of men to cause them to sin. When the man who owns the field is asked by his servants if the cockle should be removed, he says, “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 time of 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.” Mt. 13:29-30 ) The meaning of the parable is clear: God will allow both good and evil to co-exist in life for a time, but then He will separate the good from the evil and save the good and destroy the evildoers in the fire of hell. What is most important about this parable is that it gives us several reasons for the existence of evil in the world. It also shows how God will always bring good out any evil that men do (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church #311); Christians will have the opportunity to practice charity which is needed to enter the kingdom of heaven and with their good example and prayers, Christians may even convert the wicked (cockle).
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you abundantly, in all wisdom: teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual canticles, singing in grace in your hearts.” Col. 3:16
Dom Prosper Gueranger in his book, The Liturgical Year Vol. 4, comments on the need for living the Christian life, as St. Paul emphasizes in the Epistle, as true followers of Jesus Christ. “The Christian, trained as he has been in the school of the Man-God who deigned to dwell upon this earth, should ever show mercy towards his fellow-men. This world which has been purified by the presence of the Incarnate Word, would become an abode of peace, if we were but to live in such manner as to merit the titles, given us by the apostle, of elect of God, holy and beloved. The peace here spoken of should, first of all, fill the heart of every Christian, and give it an uninterrupted joy, which would be ever pouring itself forth in singing the praises of God. But it is mainly on the Sundays, that the faithful, by taking part with the Church in her psalms, hymns and spiritual canticles, fulfil this duty so dear to their hearts. Let us, moreover, in our every-day life, practise the advice given us by the apostle, of doing all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, in order that we may, in all things, find favour with our heavenly Father.” Gueranger, p. 95-6
“Charity... the bond of perfection...” Col. 3:14
Fr. Gabriel of St. Magdalen in his book of meditations, Divine Intimacy, reminds us of the practical means in today’s Epistle for us to show charity amidst human suffering and evil: “The Epistle for this Sunday recalls to our mind the fundamental duty of a Christian: charity.... ‘But above all these things,’ St. Paul recommends, ‘have charity, which is the bond of perfection’ (Col. 3:14); not only love for God, but also for our neighbour. .... ‘Put ye on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, the bowels of mercy, benignity, humility, modesty, patience: bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if any have a complaint against another.’ (Col. 3:12-3) .... Consider the perfect love which the Apostle asks us to have for our neighbour: mercy, compassion, mutual forgiveness, and that love which leaves no room for divisions or dissensions, which overcomes strife and forgets offenses. This long-suffering charity which makes every sacrifice and overcomes all difficulties in order to be in harmony with all, because we all form ‘one body’ in Christ, because we are all children of the same heavenly father.” Fr. Gabriel, p. 203-4
Patient endurance of evil
Dom Gueranger comments on the existence of evil in the world in the parable of “The Wheat and Cockle” in today’s gospel and the need to overcome evil with charity by patient endurance of suffering and trust in God’s goodness. “The kingdom of heaven, here spoken of by our Lord, is the Church militant, the society of them that believe in Him. And yet, the field He has tilled with so much care is oversown with cockle; heresies have crept in, scandals have abounded; are we, on that account, to have misgiving about the foresight of the Master, who knows all things, and without whose permission nothing happens? Far from us be such a thought! He Himself tells us that these things must needs be. Man has been gifted with free-will; it is for him to choose between good and evil. Heresies, then, like weeds in the field, may spring up in the Church; but the day must come when they will be uprooted; some of them will wither on the parent stems, but the whole cockle shall be gathered into bundles to burn. Where are now the heresies that sprang up in the first ages of the Church? And in another hundred years, what will have become of the heresy, which, under the pretentious name of the ‘reformation,’ has caused incalculable evil? It is the same with scandals which rise up within the pale of the Church; they are a hard trial; but trials must come. The divine Husbandman wills not that this cockle be torn up, lest the wheat should suffer injury. First of all, the mixture of good and bad is an advantage; it teaches the good not to put their hopes in man, but in God. Then, too the mercy of our Lord is so great, that at times the very cockle is converted, by divine grace, into wheat. We must therefore have patience...” Gueranger, p. 97-8.
Charity overcomes evil
Fr. Gabriel also comments on the need for patient understanding of God’s Providence with men: “When God asks us to endure with patience certain situations, as inevitable as they are deplorable, He asks for one of the greatest exercises of charity, compassion, and mercy. He does not tell us to fraternize with evil, to make a league with the cockle, but He tells us to endure it with the longanimity with which He Himself endured it. ... Indeed one of the greatest opportunities for the practice of charity is offered by those who by their evil conduct give us so many opportunities for forgiving them for returning good for evil, and for suffering injustice for the love of God. Moreover, we should consider that, whereby cockle cannot be changed into wheat, it is always possible for the wicked to be converted and become good... When our love is perfect, we are able to live among the wicked without being harsh or contentious, without being influenced by them, but rather doing them good.” Fr. Gabriel, p. 204-5 Didn’t Jesus tell us to be good and love our enemies? “But I say to you, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who persecute and calumniate you.” Mt. 5:44
Goodness can come from evil
Today’s Epistle and Gospel complement one another in explaining for us the presence of evil in the world. Because God gave man a free will and because men are persuaded by the devil to do evil, we have much evil in the world. God allows the evil so that Christians can practice charity in all its related virtues (“...mercy, benignity, humility, modesty, patience...” Col. 3:12-13) to convert evildoers and to gain merit in heaven. So great is the reward that Christians will receive for sufferings they will undergo in this life that Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount calls them blessed and tells them that their reward will be great in heaven: “Blessed are you when men reproach you, and persecute you, and speaking falsely, say all manner of evil against you, for my sake. Rejoice and exult, because your reward is great in heaven; for so did they persecute the prophets who were before you.” Mt. 5:11-2 How great God is that He can bring good from evil as St. Augustine tells us: “For almighty God...because he is supremely good, would never allow any evil whatsoever to exist in his works if he were not so all-powerful and good as to cause good to emerge from evil itself.” Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 311
Remembrance Sunday:
Let us remember all those who have given their lives during the Two World Wars and all wars by recalling the words of this lovely poem.
“In Flanders Fields”
by John McCrae, May 1915
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep,
though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.”
Souls in Purgatory: November in the month in which we remember the poor souls in Purgatory who cannot help themselves. They rely on us to shorten their time of purification.
All-Souls Lists: Please put the names of those who have died on the All-Souls list, and we will include them in our Masses during the month of November .
Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost - 3 November 2013
Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
(From the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
3 November 2013
“Why are you fearful, O you of little faith.” Mt. 8:26
Today’s gospel narrative about the storm that threatens Peter’s boat has always been a symbol of the Church being persecuted throughout history from within and without. God allows these difficulties to oppose the Church in order to draw out a greater good. Fr. Gabriel in Divine Intimacy tells us, “Virtue and goodness are strengthened in time of difficulty; the efforts made in bearing trials tend to make us surpass what we would have done had we enjoyed perfect calm.” Fr. Gabriel, p. 183 God also allows difficulties in the Church in order to purify it of its errors and disobedience to His Commandments. It seems that only in difficulties, when events become insurmountable, will we turn to God, out of desperation for help: “Lord, save us we are perishing.” Mt. 8: 25
“What manner of man is this, that even the wind and sea obey him?” Mt. 8:27
In his commentary on the Gospel (Mt. 8:23-27) for the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, Dom Prosper Gueranger in The Liturgical Year III comments: “Let us adore the power of our Emmanuel, who is come to calm the tempests which threatened the human race with death. In the midst of their danger, the successive generations of men had cried out: ‘Lord, save us we are perishing.’ Mt. 8:25 When the fullness of time had come, he awoke from his rest; he had but to command, and the power of our enemies was destroyed. The malice of the devils, the darkness of idolatry, and the corruption of paganism—all yielded. Nation after nation was conquered to Jesus. They had said, when in their misery and blindness: ‘Who is this Jesus, whom no power can resist?’ and then they embraced his Law. This power of Jesus to break down every obstacle, and that, too, at the very time when men were disquieted at his apparent slumbering, has often shown itself in the past ages of the Church. How many times has he not chosen for saving the world that period which seemed the least likely for rescue! The same happens in the life of each one among us. Oftentimes we are tossed to and fro by violent temptations; it would seem as though the billows must sink us; and yet our will is firmly anchored to God! And what is this, if not Jesus sleeping in the storm-tossed boat, protecting us by this his sleeping? And if our cry for help at length awakens him, it is only to proclaim his own and our victory; for he has already conquered, and we have conquered in him.” Gueranger, p.261 We should never forget what St. Therese told us of this same incident of Jesus sleeping in the boat; always remember that Jesus is present in the boat and nothing can happen to Him as He is the Son of God and is all powerful. If we are with Him in the boat, we too will be protected no matter how bad the storms of life are.
Purification of evil
St. Cyprian in a letter to the Church relates how their present persecution was caused by their sins: “We have to confess that the force of the present storm of persecution which has decimated the flock and is even now still pouring out its fury upon it is to a great extent our fault, because we have not followed the commands of God which were given us for our salvation. Christ did the will of his Father, but we do not do his, living in luxury as we do and in pride and rivalries, despising simplicity and faith renouncing in words only, not in deeds, the world in which we live. We please ourselves and do harm to others.... For us this persecution is an examination of conscience. God has decreed that we should be proved and chastised – as he does many times with his own. However, he never fails us in time of trial. He has told me, the least of his servants, to give you this message. ‘Tell them,’ he said to me, ‘that peace will come. The delay is due to the fact that there are still some to be tried by the fire.’” (The Preacher’s Encyclopaedia, p. 437) Because of a lack of charity to others, God would allow the evil of persecution in the early Church to purify it from its selfishness and greed..
“Be debtor to no man in anything—except only in regard to mutual love.” Rom. 13:8
St. Paul in today’s Epistle (Rom. 13: 8-10) reminds us that the debt of charity can never be fully paid. Our one debt that we owe to our fellow man is charity. We can never say that we have paid that debt already! When we pay the debt of charity, we pay all the other debts of the Law of Ten Commandments: “For he who loves his neighbour has fulfilled the Law. For ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not covet’; and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.’... Love therefore is the fulfilment of the Law.” Rom. 13:10 The early Christians were known to the pagans for their love for one another: “See how the Christians love one another.” St. Paul is just repeating throughout the Epistle to the Romans the major teaching of Jesus which is to love God: “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 first commandment. And the second is like, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” Mt. 22:37-40.
Margaret Van der Heiden The Love of Benevolence
Many people find it difficult to practice love or charity towards their neighbour because they do not understand what love of neighbour means. “St. Thomas Aquinas says that he who loves truly, desires good for those he loves; which includes also the idea of procuring that good when possible and when it is within his power. This is the love of benevolence. Because we love ourselves, we try to avoid anything that may harm us and procure for ourselves anything that may be for our benefit. When we learn to love others as ourselves, we do the same things for them.” (The Preacher’s Encyclopaedia, P. 454) Some may say, “I can’t love my enemy!” You do not have to like your enemy, but you have to wish them good fortune and help them when you can. As followers of Christ, we have to obey His teachings: “But I say to you, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who persecute and calumniate you...” Mt. 5:44. If anyone says that he cannot love his enemy or his neighbour, he cannot expect the Lord to come to him when he cries out, “Lord, save us we are perishing.” Mt. 8: 25
Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI on the Occasion of the Christmas Greetings to the Roman Curia,” 20 December 2010
In this speech, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI compared the disintegration of the Roman Empire to what is happening in our society today because of the loss of faith in God and obedience to His Commandments. Using the ancient Advent prayer, Pope Benedict prays for these times: “Excita, Domine, potentiam tuam, et veni (O Lord, stir up thy power and come). Today too, we have many reasons to associate ourselves with this Advent prayer of the Church. For all its new hopes and possibilities, our world is at the same time troubled by the sense that moral consensus is collapsing, consensus without which juridical and political structures cannot function. Consequently the forces mobilized for the defence of such structures seem doomed to failure.
“Excita – the prayer recalls the cry addressed to the Lord who was sleeping in the disciples’ storm-tossed boat as it was close to sinking. When his powerful word had calmed the storm, he rebuked the disciples for their little faith (cf. Mt 8:26 et par.). He wanted to say: it was your faith that was sleeping. He will say the same thing to us. Our faith too is often asleep. Let us ask him, then, to wake us from the sleep of a faith grown tired, and to restore to that faith the power to move mountains – that is, to order justly the affairs of the world.”
Rest in Peace
Please remember in your prayers Margaret Van der Heiden. She died on 31 November 2013. Margaret was a most devoted benefactor to the Carmelite Nuns and the Franciscan Friars and Sisters of the Immaculate.
“The Little Number of Those Who Are Saved” Part VI
by St. Leonard of Port Maurice
“If you consider the sacrament of penance, there are so many distorted confessions, so many studied excuses, so many deceitful repentances, so many false promises, so many ineffective resolutions, so many invalid absolutions! Would you regard as valid the confession of someone who accuses himself of sins of impurity and still holds to the occasion of them? Or someone who accuses himself of obvious injustices with no intention of making any reparation whatsoever for them? Or someone who falls again into the same iniquities right after going to confession? Oh, horrible abuses of such a great sacrament! One confesses to avoid excommunication, another to make a reputation as a penitent. One rids himself of his sins to calm his remorse, another conceals them out of shame. One accuses them imperfectly out of malice, another discloses them out of habit. One does not have the true end of the sacrament in mind, another is lacking the necessary sorrow, and still another firm purpose. Poor confessors, what efforts you make to bring the greater number of penitents to these resolutions and acts, without which confession is a sacrilege, absolution a condemnation and penance an illusion?
“Where are they now, those who believe that the number of the saved among Christians is greater than that of the damned and who, to authorize their opinion, reason thus: the greater portion of Catholic adults die in their beds armed with the sacraments of the Church, therefore most adult Catholics are saved? Oh, what fine reasoning! You must say exactly the opposite. Most Catholic adults confess badly at death, therefore most of them are damned. I say "all the more certain," because a dying person who has not confessed well when he was in good health will have an even harder time doing so when he is in bed with a heavy heart, an unsteady head, a muddled mind; when he is opposed in many ways by still-living objects, by still-fresh occasions, by adopted habits, and above all by devils who are seeking every means to cast him into hell. Now, if you add to all these false penitents all the other sinners who die unexpectedly in sin, due to the doctors' ignorance or by their relatives' fault, who die from poisoning or from being buried in earthquakes, or from a stroke, or from a fall, or on the battlefield, in a fight, caught in a trap, struck by lightning, burned or drowned, are you not obliged to conclude that most Christian adults are damned? That is the reasoning of Saint Chrysostom. This Saint says that most Christians are walking on the road to hell throughout their life. Why, then, are you so surprised that the greater number goes to hell? To come to a door, you must take the road that leads there. What have you to answer such a powerful reason?
“The answer, you will tell me, is that the mercy of God is great. Yes, for those who fear Him, says the Prophet; but great is His justice for the one who does not fear Him, and it condemns all obstinate sinners.
“So you will say to me: Well then, who is Paradise for, if not for Christians? It is for Christians, of course, but for those who do not dishonour their character and who live as Christians. Moreover, if to the number of Christian adults who die in the grace of God, you add the countless host of children who die after baptism and before reaching the age of reason, you will not be surprised that Saint John the Apostle, speaking of those who are saved, says, "I saw a great multitude which no man could number."
“And this is what deceives those who pretend that the number of the saved among Catholics is greater than that of the damned... If to that number, you add the adults who have kept the robe of innocence, or who after having defiled it, have washed it in the tears of penance, it is certain that the greater number is saved; and that explains the words of Saint John, "I saw a great multitude," and these other words of Our Lord, "Many will come from the east and from the west, and will feast with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven," and the other figures usually cited in favour of that opinion. But if you are talking about Christian adults, experience, reason, authority, propriety and Scripture all agree in proving that the greater number is damned. Do not believe that because of this, paradise is empty; on the contrary, it is a very populous kingdom. And if the damned are "as numerous as the sand in the sea," the saved are "as numerous at the stars of heaven," that is, both the one and the other are countless, although in very different proportions.” (To be continued)
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