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The Fathers and Saints on the Fewness of the Saved We present here a compilation of quotes exhibiting the tradition that relatively very few will be saved. The references are given at the end. For many are called but few are chosen. St. Mark
20:16 Lord, are there few that are saved? But he said to them:
Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I tell you, shall seek to
enter, and shall not be able. St. 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 how strait is the way that leads to
life, and few there are that find it! St. Matthew 7:13-14 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. 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. Louis Marie de Montfort
How many souls turn away from the road to glory,
and go to hell! St. Francis Xavier There are many who arrive at the faith, but few
who are led into the heavenly kingdom. Behold how many are gathered here for today's
Feast-Day: we fill the church from wall to wall. Yet who knows how few they
are who shall be numbered in that chosen company of the Elect? Pope St.
Gregory the Great The greater number of men still say to God: Lord
we will not serve Thee; we would rather be slaves of the devil, and condemned
to Hell, than be Thy servants. Alas! The greatest number, my Jesus - we may
say nearly all - not only do not love Thee, but offend Thee and despise Thee.
How many countries there are in which there are scarcely any Catholics, and
all the rest either infidels or heretics! And all of them are certainly on
the way to being lost. St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori 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 for
ever and ever. According to statistics, approximately 80,000 persons die
every day. 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.
Anthony Mary Claret As a man lives, so shall he die. St. Augustine
Ah! A great many persons live constantly in the
state of damnation! St. Vincent de Paul I had the greatest sorrow for the many souls that
condemned themselves to Hell, especially those Lutherans. [...] I saw souls
falling into hell like snowflakes. St. Teresa of Avila The Lord called the world a "field" and
all the faithful who draw near to him "wheat." All through the
field, and around the threshing-floor, there is both wheat and chaff. But the
greater part is chaff; the lesser part is wheat, for which is prepared a barn
not a fire. [...] The good also are many, but in comparison with the wicked
the good are few. Many are the grains of wheat, but compared with the chaff,
the grains are few. St. Augustine The more the wicked abound, so much the more must
we suffer with them in patience; for on the threshing floor few are the
grains carried into the barns, but high are the piles of chaff burned with
fire. Pope St. Gregory the Great 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! St. John Chrysostom Taking into account the behaviour of mankind,
only a small part of the human race will be saved. Lucy of Fatima So many people are going to die, and almost all
of them are going to Hell! So many people falling into hell! Jacinta of
Fatima Countless hosts have fallen into Hell. Venerable
Mary of Agreda The perverse are hard to be corrected, and the
number of fools is infinite. Ecclesiastes 1:15 The greater part of men choose to be damned
rather than to love Almighty God. St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori The number of the damned is incalculable. St.
Veronica Giuliani What is the number of those who love Thee, O God?
How few they are! The Elect are much fewer than the damned! Alas! The greater
portion of mankind lives in sin unto the devil, and not unto Jesus Christ. O
Saviour of the world, I thank Thee for having called and permitted us to live
in the true faith which the Holy Roman Catholic Church teaches. [...] But
alas, O my Jesus! How small is the number of those who live in this holy
faith! Oh, God! The greater number of men lie buried in the darkness of
infidelity and heresy. Thou hast humbled Thyself to death, to the death of
the cross, for the salvation of men, and these ungrateful men are unwilling
even to know Thee. Ah, I pray Thee, O omnipotent God, O sovereign and
infinite Good, make all men know and love Thee! St. Alphonsus Maria
Liguori I see around me a multitude of those who, blindly
persevering in error, despise the true God; but I am a Christian
nevertheless, and I follow the instruction of the Apostles. If this deserves
chastisement, reward it; for I am determined to suffer every torture rather
then become the slave of the devil. Others may do as they please since they
are [...] reckless of the future life which is to be obtained only by
sufferings. Scripture tells us that "narrow is the way that leads to
life" [...] because it is one of affliction and of persecutions suffered
for the sake of justice; but it is wide enough for those who walk upon it,
because their faith and the hope of an eternal reward make it so for them.
[...] On the contrary, the road of vice is in reality narrow, and it leads to
an eternal precipice. St. Leo of Patara I was watching souls going down into the abyss as
thick and fast as snowflakes falling in the winter mist. Blessed Benedict
Joseph Labre The majority of men shall not see God, excepting those
who live justly, purified by righteousness and by every other virtue. St.
Justin the Martyr The majority of souls appear before the Judgement
empty-handed. They did nothing good for eternity. Venerable Mary of Agreda
All infidels and heretics are surely on the way
to being lost. What an obligation we owe God! for causing us to be born not
only after the coming of Jesus Christ, but also in countries where the true
faith reigns! I thank Thee, O Lord, for this. Woe to me if, after so many
transgressions, it had been my fate to live in the midst of infidels or
heretics! St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori Brethren, the just man shall scarcely be saved.
What, then, will become of the sinner? St. Arsenius If the just man shall scarcely be saved, where shall
the ungodly man and the sinner appear? I St. Peter 1:18 I fear that Last Day, that day of tribulation and
anguish, of calamity and misery, of mist and darkness, that Day on which, if
the just have reason to fear, how much more should I: an impious, wretched,
and ungrateful sinner! Blessed Sebastian Valfre The Ark, which in the midst of the Flood was a
symbol of the Church, was wide below and narrow above; and, at the summit,
measured only a single cubit. [...] It was wide where the animals were, narrow
where men lived: for the Holy Church is indeed wide in the number of those
who are carnal-minded, narrow in the number of those who are spiritual. Pope
St. Gregory the Great In the Great Deluge in the days of Noah, nearly
all mankind perished, eight persons alone being saved in the Ark. In our days
a deluge, not of water but of sins, continually inundates the earth, and out
of this deluge very few escape. Scarcely anyone is saved. St. Alphonsus
Maria Liguori Out of one hundred thousand sinners who continue
in sin until death, scarcely one will be saved. St. Jerome 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 resembles an
impetuous torrent, full of garbage and evil odours, making a lot of noise but
flowing swiftly passed, dragging the majority of men into the pit of
perdition. St. John Eudes Oh how much are the worldlings deceived that
rejoice in the time of weeping, and make their place of imprisonment a palace
of pleasure; that consider the examples of the saints as follies, and their
end as dishonourable; that think to go to Heaven by the wide way that leadeth
only to perdition! St. John Southwell Nor should we think that it is enough for
salvation that we are no worse off than the mass of the careless and
indifferent, or that in out faith we are, like so many others, uninstructed. St.
Bede the Venerable We owe God a deep regret of gratitude for the
purely gratuitous gift of the true faith with which he has favoured us. How
many are the infidels, heretics and schismatics who do not enjoy comparable
happiness? The earth is full of them and they are all lost! St. Alphonsus
Maria Liguori One day, St. Macarius found a skull and asked it
whose head it had been. "A pagan's!" it replied. "And where is
your soul?" he asked. "In Hell!" came the reply. Macarius then
asked the skull if its place was very deep in Hell. "As far down as the
earth is lower than Heaven!" "And are there any other souls lodged
even lower?" "Yes! The souls of the Jews!" "And even
lower than the Jews?" "Yes! The souls of bad Christians who were
redeemed with the blood of Christ and held there privilege so cheaply!" Blessed
James of Voragine St. Teresa, as the Roman Rota attests, never fell
into any mortal sin; but still Our Lord showed her the place prepared for her
in Hell; not because she deserved Hell, but because, had she not risen from
the state of lukewarmness in which she lived, she would in the end have lost
the grace of God and been damned. St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori They who are to be saved as Saints, and wish to
be saved as imperfect souls, shall not be saved. Pope St. Gregory the
Great They who are enlightened to walk in the way of
perfection, and through lukewarmness wish to tread the ordinary path, shall
be abandoned. Blessed Angela of Foligno If you want to be certain of being in the number of the Elect, strive to be one of the few, not one of the many. And if you would be quite sure of your salvation, strive to be among the fewest of the few; that is to say, 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 night, so that they may attain everlasting blessedness. St. Anselm Live with the few if you want to reign with the
few. St. John Climacus Many begin well, but there are few who persevere.
St. Jerome The saints are few, but we must live with the few
if we would be saved with the few. O God, too few indeed they are; yet among
those few I wish to be! St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori Those who are saved are in the minority. St.
Thomas Aquinas If you wish to imitate the multitude, then you
shall not be among the few who shall enter in by the narrow gate. St.
Augustine There are few, not many, who enter in at the
narrow gate and find the strait way to eternal life. Origen The path to Heaven is narrow, rough and full of
wearisome and trying ascents, nor can it be trodden without great toil; and
therefore wrong is their way, gross their error, and assured their ruin who,
after the testimony of so many thousands of saints, will not learn where to
settle their footing. St. Robert Southwell 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 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
Saviour 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, because it is so irregular and
overgrown. St. Jerome It is granted to few to recognise the true Church
amid the darkness of so many schisms and heresies, and to fewer still so to
love the truth which they have seen as to fly to its embrace. St. Robert
Bellarmine Ah! How very small is the kingdom of Jesus
Christ! So many nations have never had the faith! St. Peter Julian Eymard We were so fortunate to be born in the bosom of
the Roman Church, in Christian and Catholic kingdoms, a grace that has not
been granted to the greater part of men, who are born among idolaters,
Mohammedans, or heretics. [...] How thankful we ought to be, then, to Jesus
Christ for the gift of faith! What would have become of us if we had been
born in Asia, in Africa, in America, or in the midsts of heretics and
schismatics? He who does not believe is lost. He who does not believe shall
be condemned. And thus, probably, we also would have been lost. St.
Alphonsus Maria Liguori So vast a number of miserable souls perish, and
so comparatively few are saved! St. Philip Neri For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth, in
the midst of the people, as though a few olives that remain should be shaken
out of the olive tree, or grapes when the vintage is ended. Isaias 24:13 The number of the saved is as few as the number
of grapes left after the vineyard-pickers have passed. St. John Mary
Vianney And it shall be as when a man gathers in the
harvest which remains. [...] And the fruit thereof that shall be left shall
be as a single cluster of grapes; and as the shaking of the olive tree: two
or three berries on the top of the bough, of four or five on the top of the
tree, says the Lord, the God of Israel. Isaias 17:5-6 That those who walk in the way of salvation are
the smaller number is due to the vice and depraved habits imbibed in youth
and nourished in childhood. By these means Lucifer has hurled into Hell so
great a number of souls, and continues thus to hurl them into Hell every day,
casting so many nations from abyss to abyss of darkness and errors, such as
are contained in the heresies and false sects of the infidels. Venerable
Mary of Agreda Yes, indeed, many will be damned; few will be
saved. St. Benedict Joseph of Labre The holy man is perished from off the earth, and
there is no one upright amongst men: they all lie in wait for blood, every
one. [...] He who is best among them is like a brier, and he who is righteous
as the thorn. Micheas 7:2,4 But that which brings forth thorns and briers is
reprobate, and very near unto a curse, whose end is to be burnt. Hebrews
6:8 I do not speak rashly, but as I feel and think. I
do not think that many priests are saved, but that those who perish are far
more numerous. St. John Chrysostom A great number of Christians are lost. St.
Leonard of Port Maurice Bad confessions damned the majority of
Christians. St. Teresa of Avila Christ's flock is called "little" (Luke
12:32) in comparison with the greater number of the reprobates. St. Bede
the Venerable 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 strait to Heaven; many remained in Purgatory; and those cast into Hell
were as numerous as snowflakes in mid-winter. Blessed Anna Maria Taigi The common opinion is that the greater part of
adults is lost. St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori 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. Regimius or Rheims It is as though Jesus said: "O My Father, I
am indeed going to clothe myself with human flesh, but the greater part of
the world will set no value on my blood!" St. Isidore of Seville 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. Francis Xavier Cabrini Nothing afflicts the heart of Jesus so much as to
see all His sufferings of no avail to so many. St. John Mary Vianney O Jesus! [...] Remember the sadness that Thou
didst experience when, contemplating in the light of Thy divinity the
predestination of those who would be saved by the merits of Thy sacred
passion, thou didst see at the same time the great multitude of reprobates
who would be damned for their sins, and Thou didst complain bitterly of those
hopeless, lost, and unfortunate sinners. St. Bridget of Sweden The greater part of men will set no value on the
blood of Christ, and will go on offending Him. St. Isidore of Seville Take care not to resemble the multitude whose
knowledge of God's will only condemns them to more severe punishment. Blessed
John of Avila If you wish to imitate the multitude, you shall
then not be among the few who shall enter in by the narrow way. St.
Augustine The multitude was put forth. St. Matthew 9:25
How few the Elect are may be understood from the
multitude being cast out. St. Hilary of Poitiers 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 Meditate on the horrors of Hell which will last
for eternity because of one easily-committed mortal sin. Try hard to be among
the few who are chosen. Think of the eternal flames of Hell, and how few
there are that are saved. St. Benedict Joseph Labre Ah, how many souls lose Heaven and are cast into
Hell! St. Francis Xavier Taking into account the present development of humanity,
only a limited number of the human race will be saved [...] many will be
lost. Lucy of Fatima All persons desire to be saved, but the greater
part, because they will not adopt the means of being saved, fall into sin and
are lost. [...] In fact, the Elect are much fewer than the damned, for the
reprobate are much more numerous than the Elect. St. Alphonsus Maria
Liguori 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. St. John Mary Vianney 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. John of the Cross Throughout many generations, few are chosen. Origen
It is certain that few are saved. St.
Augustine There are a select few who are saved. St.
Thomas Aquinas 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! St. Louis Marie de
Montfort And they [...] shall be so few that they shall
easily be counted, and a child shall write them down. Isaias 10:19 Oh, Jesus, Divine Redeemer of souls, behold how
great is the multitude of those who still sleep in the darkness of error!
Reckon up the number of those who stray to the edge of the precipice.
Consider the throngs of the poor, the hungry, the ignorant, and the feeble
who groan in their abandoned condition. Oh Lord, our sins darken our
understanding, and hide from us the blessing of loving Thee as Thou dost
merit. Enlighten our minds with a ray of Thy divine light. Thou art the
Friend, the Redeemer, and the Father of the one who turns penitent to Thy
Sacred Heart. Amen. Pope St. Pius X References: Luke: op. cit. Matthew: op. cit. Louis Marie: The Love of Eternal Wisdom, trans.
A. Sommers, SMM, Bayshore, NY: Montfort Publications, 1960, p.133 Francis: "From the Housetops," Still
River, MA: 1986, no.28, p.25, col. 1 Gregory: "On the Gospels," Homily 19. Sunday
Sermons of the Great Fathers, trans. and ed., Fr. M. F. Toal, Chicago:
Regnery Co., 1955, I:382 Alphonsus Maria: The Incarnation, Birth and
Infancy of Jesus Christ, 292. Anthony Mary: Madrid: Library of Christian
Authors, 1947. (It is interesting that on the day that St. Bernard died, it
was revealed 80,000 persons died and went to judgement with him; and that
only Bernard and two other monks were saved of the entire number.) Augustine: The Great Commentary of Cornelius
Lapide, 4:340 Vincent: cf. Voice of the Saints, Francis W.
Johnston, London: Burnes and Oats, 1965. Teresa: Saints to Know and Love, MICM Augustine, "Against Cresconius", bk.4,
ch.53 Gregory: Homily 38 Quercy "Redemption and Grace", ch.3,
Denzinger 318 John: "To the People of Antioch",
Homily 40 Lucy: The Secret of Fatima: Fact and Legend,
Joaquin Maria Alonso, CMF, Cambridge: Ravensgate Press, 1982, p.106 Jacinta: Our Lady of Fatima, Dr. William Thos.
Walsh Mary of Agreda: Mystical City of God, trans. Geo
Blatter, Washington, NJ: Ave Maria Institute, 1971 Ecclesiastes: op. cit. Alphonsus Maria: The Way of Salvation and
Perfection, 311 Veronica Giuliani: cf. The Voice of the Saints,
op. cit. Alphonsus Maria: On the Council of Trent Leo: Victories of the Martyrs, St. Aplhonsus,
205-6 Benedict Joseph: cf. Life of the Servant of God,
Benedict Joseph Labre Justin: First Apology, XXI Mary of Agreda, op. cit. Alphonsus Maria: cf. The Incarnation, Birth and
Infancy, 291-2 Arsenius: Life of, Peter: op. cit. Sebastian: Letters From the Saints, NY: Hawthorne
Books, 1964 Gregory: Homily 38:8 Alphonsus Maria: Sermons Jerome: Preparation for Death, St. Alphonsus, 75 John Eudes: The Admirable Heart of Mary Robert: Letters From the Saints, op. cit. 19 Bede: Sermon 16 Alphonsus Maria: Instructions on the Commandments
and Sacraments, 66, no. 19 James: The Golden Legend Alphonsus Maria: Dignities and Duties of the
Priest, 90 Gregory: Dignities and Duties of the Priest, 97 Angela: "Vision", ch. 51 Anselm, cf. Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers John: "Ladder to Paradise" Jerome: cf. "Commentary on Matthew" Alphonsus Maria: The Holy Eucharist, 494 Thomas Aquinas: Summa Theologica I q.23, art.8,
ad.3 Augustine: Sermon 224:1 Origen: cf. "Commentary on Matthew" Robert: Letters From the Saints, op. cit. 19-20 Jerome: "Commentary on Matthew", 7 Robert: Peter Julian: The Real Presence Alphonsus Maria: The Incarnation, Birth and
Infancy, 153, 156 Philip Neri: Isaias: op. cit. John Mary: Gate of Heaven, MICM, 37 Isaias: op. cit. Mary of Agreda: Mystical City of God Benedict Joseph: cf. Life of, Michaes: op. cit. Hebrews: op. cit. John, Gate of Heaven, MICM, 38. Vincent: Leonard: cf. The Hidden Treasure Teresa: Instructions on the Commandments and Sacraments,
St. Alphonsus, 287, no.37 Bede: Cornelius A Lapide's Great Commentary, 4:
298 Anna Maria: Life of, Alphonsus Maria: Preparation for Death, 174 Regimus: Book 1 (with Cyprian.) Isidore: Frances: Immigrant Saint: The Life of Mother
Cabrini, Pietro di Donato, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1960, 168 John Mary: Thoughts of the Cure d'Ars, Rockford,
IL: TAN, 1984 Bridget: The Magnificent Promises, Atlanta, GA:
Marian Publications, 1971, p.8 Isidore: cf. The Incarnation, Birth and Infancy,
St. Alphonsus, 204 John of Avila: Letters From the Saints, op. cit.
188 Augustine: cf. Catena Aurea, St. Thomas Aquinas Matthew: op. cit. Hilary: Lapide's Commentary I:372 John Neumann: "From the Housetops",
Still River: MA 1977, vol.5, no. 1, p.75, col.2 Benedict Joseph: Life of, Francis: Letters and Shorter Works Lucy: Fatima, The Great Sign, Francis Johnston,
Rockford, IL: TAN, 1980, p.36 Alphonsus Maria: Preparation for Death, 407-8;
The Great Means of Salvation and Perfection, 129 John Mary: John of the Cross: Complete Works Origen: "Commentary on Matthew" Augustine: Sermon 111; also "Against
Cresconius" bk3, ch.66 and bk.4, ch.53 Thomas Aquinas: Summa Theologica I, Qu.23, art.7,
ad 3 Louis Marie: Isaias: op. cit. Pius X: Raccolta, Boston: Benzinger Bros., 1957, 659 |
St. John Marie Vianney |
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