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St. Leonard of Port Maurice
Preaches that Few Catholics will be Saved This is the first part of a sermon in
which St. Leonard preached that most Catholics are damned, based on
revelation, tradition, the opinion of learned theologians, as well as
“reason, experience and the common sense of the faithful”. We have added
paragraphing to assist readers. Introduction Thanks be to God, the number of the
Redeemer's disciples is not so small that the wickedness of the Scribes and
Pharisees is able to triumph over them. Although they strove to calumniate
innocence and to deceive the crowd with their treacherous sophistries by
discrediting the doctrine and character of Our Lord, finding spots even in
the sun, many still recognized Him as the true Messiah, and, unafraid of
either chastisements or threats, openly joined His cause. Did all those who
followed Christ follow Him even unto glory? Oh, this is where I revere the
profound mystery and silently adore the abysses of the divine decrees, rather
than rashly deciding on such a great point! The subject I will be treating
today is a very grave one; it has caused even the pillars of the Church to
tremble, filled the greatest Saints with terror and populated the deserts
with anchorites. The point of this instruction is to decide whether the
number of Christians who are saved is greater or less than the number of
Christians who are damned; it will, I hope, produce in you a salutary fear of
the judgments of God. Brothers, because of the love I have for you, I wish I
were able to reassure you with the prospect of eternal happiness by saying to
each of you: You are certain to go to paradise; the greater number of
Christians is saved, so you also will be saved. But how can I give you
this sweet assurance if you revolt against God's decrees as though you were
your own worst enemies? I observe in God a sincere desire to save you, but I
find in you a decided inclination to be damned. So what will I be doing today if I speak
clearly? I will be displeasing to you. But if I do not speak, I will be
displeasing to God. Therefore, I will divide this subject into two points. In
the first one, to fill you with dread, I will let the theologians and Fathers
of the Church decide on the matter and declare that the greater number of
Christian adults are damned; and, in silent adoration of that terrible
mystery, I will keep my own sentiments to myself. In the second point I will
attempt to defend the goodness of God versus the godless, by proving to you
that those who are damned are damned by their own malice, because they wanted
to be damned. So then, here are two very important truths. If the first truth
frightens you, do not hold it against me, as though I wanted to make the road
of heaven narrower for you, for I want to be neutral in this matter; rather,
hold it against the theologians and Fathers of the Church who will engrave
this truth in your heart by the force of reason. If you are disillusioned by
the second truth, give thanks to God over it, for He wants only one thing:
that you give your hearts totally to Him. Finally, if you oblige me to tell
you clearly what I think, I will do so for your consolation. The Teaching of the Fathers of the Church It is not vain curiosity but salutary
precaution to proclaim from the height of the pulpit certain truths which
serve wonderfully to contain the indolence of libertines, who are always
talking about the mercy of God and about how easy it is to convert, who live
plunged in all sorts of sins and are soundly sleeping on the road to hell. To
disillusion them and waken them from their torpor, today let us examine this
great question: Is the number of Christians who are saved greater than the
number of Christians who are damned? Pious souls, you may leave; this
sermon is not for you. Its sole purpose is to contain the pride of libertines
who cast the holy fear of God out of their heart and join forces with the
devil who, according to the sentiment of Eusebius, damns souls by reassuring
them. To resolve this doubt, let us put the Fathers of the Church, both Greek
and Latin, on one side; on the other, the most learned theologians and
erudite historians; and let us put the Bible in the middle for all to see. Now listen not to what I will say to you
-- for I have already told you that I do not want to speak for myself or
decide on the matter -- but listen to what these great minds have to tell
you, they who are beacons in the Church of God to give light to others so
that they will not miss the road to heaven. In this manner, guided by the
triple light of faith, authority and reason, we will be able to resolve this
grave matter with certainty. Note well that there is no question [considered]
here of the human race taken as a whole. Nor of all Catholics taken without
distinction, but only of Catholic adults, who have free choice and are thus
capable of cooperating in the great matter of their salvation. First let us consult the theologians
recognized as examining things most carefully and as not exaggerating in
their teaching: let us listen to two learned cardinals, Cajetan and
Bellarmine. They teach that the greater number of Christian adults are
damned, and if I had the time to point out the reasons upon which they base
themselves, you would be convinced of it yourselves. But I will limit myself
here to quoting Suarez. After consulting all the theologians and making a
diligent study of the matter, he wrote, "The most common sentiment
which is held is that, among Christians, there are more damned souls than
predestined souls." Add the authority of the Greek and Latin
Fathers to that of the theologians, and you will find that almost all of them
say the same thing. This is the sentiment of Saint Theodore, Saint Basil,
Saint Ephrem, Saint John Chrysostom. What is more, according to Baronius it
was a common opinion among the Greek Fathers that this truth was expressly
revealed to Saint Simeon Stylites and that after this revelation, it was to
secure his salvation that he decided to live standing on top of a pillar for
forty years, exposed to the weather, a model of penance and holiness for
everyone. Now let us consult the Latin Fathers. You
will hear Saint Gregory saying clearly, "Many attain to faith, but
few to the heavenly kingdom." Saint Anselm declares, "There
are few who are saved." Saint Augustine states even more clearly,
"Therefore, few are saved in comparison to those who are damned."
The most terrifying, however, is Saint Jerome. At the end of his life, in the
presence of his disciples, he spoke these dreadful words: "Out of one
hundred thousand people whose lives have always been bad, you will find
barely one who is worthy of indulgence." The Words of Holy Scripture But why seek out the opinions of the
Fathers and theologians, when Holy Scripture settles the question so clearly?
Look in to the Old and New Testaments, and you will find a multitude of
figures, symbols and words that clearly point out this truth: very few are
saved. In the time of Noah, the entire human race was submerged by the
Deluge, and only eight people were saved in the Ark. Saint Peter says, "This
ark was the figure of the Church," while Saint Augustine adds,
"And these eight people who were saved signify that very few
Christians are saved, because there are very few who sincerely renounce the
world, and those who renounce it only in words do not belong to the mystery
represented by that ark." The Bible also tells us that only two
Hebrews out of two million entered the Promised Land after going out of
Egypt, and that only four escaped the fire of Sodom and the other
burning cities that perished with it. All of this means that the number of
the damned who will be cast into fire like straw is far greater than
that of the saved, whom the heavenly Father will one day gather into His
barns like precious wheat. I would not finish if I had to point out
all the figures by which Holy Scripture confirms this truth; let us content
ourselves with listening to the living oracle of Incarnate Wisdom. What did
Our Lord answer the curious man in the Gospel who asked Him, "Lord,
is it only a few to be saved?" Did He keep silence? Did He answer
haltingly? Did He conceal His thought for fear of frightening the crowd? No.
Questioned by only one, He addressed all of those present. He says to them:
"You ask Me if there are only few who are saved?" Here is My
answer: "Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for many, I tell you,
will seek to enter and will not be able." Who is speaking here? It
is the Son of God, Eternal Truth, who on another occasion says even more
clearly, "Many are called, but few are chosen." He does not
say that all are called and that out of all men, few are chosen, but that
many are called; which means, as Saint Gregory explains, that out of all men,
many are called to the True Faith, but out of them few are saved. Brothers,
these are the words of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Are they clear? They are true.
Tell me now if it is possible for you to have faith in your heart and not
tremble. Salvation in the Various States of Life But oh, I see that by speaking in this
manner of all in general, I am missing my point. So let us apply this truth
to various states, and you will understand that you must either throw away
reason, experience and the common sense of the faithful, or confess that the
greater number of Catholics is damned. Is there any state in the world more
favourable to innocence, in which salvation seems easier and of which people
have a higher idea than that of priests, the lieutenants of God? At first
glance, who would not think that most of them are not only good but even
perfect; yet I am horror-struck when I hear Saint Jerome declaring that
although the world is full of priests, barely one in a hundred is
living in a manner in conformity with state; when I hear a servant of God
attesting that he has learned by revelation that the number of priests who
fall into hell each day is so great that it seemed impossible to him that
there be any left on earth; when I hear Saint Chrysostom exclaiming with
tears in his eyes, "I do not believe that many priests are saved; I
believe the contrary, that the number of those who are damned is greater." Look higher still, and see the prelates of
the Holy Church, pastors who have the charge of souls. Is the number of those
who are saved among them greater than the number of those who are damned?
Listen to Cantimpre; he will relate an event to you, and you may draw the
conclusions. There was a synod being held in Paris, and a great number of
prelates and pastors who had the charge of souls were in attendance; the king
and princes also came to add lustre to that assembly by their presence. A
famous preacher was invited to preach. While he was preparing his sermon, a
horrible demon appeared to him and said, "Lay your books aside. If
you want to give a sermon that will be useful to these princes and prelates,
content yourself with telling them on our part, 'We the princes of darkness
thank you, princes, prelates, and pastors of souls, that due to your
negligence, the greater number of the faithful are damned; also, we are
saving a reward for you for this favour, when you shall be with us in Hell.'"
Woe to you who command others! If so many are damned by your fault, what will
happen to you?
If few out of those who are first in the
Church of God are saved, what will happen to you? Take all states, both
sexes, every condition: husbands, wives, widows, young women, young men,
soldiers, merchants, craftsmen, rich and poor, noble and plebian. What are we
to say about all these people who are living so badly? The following
narrative from Saint Vincent Ferrer will show you what you may think about
it. He relates that an archdeacon in Lyons gave up his charge and retreated
into a desert place to do penance, and that he died the same day and hour as
Saint Bernard. After his death, he appeared to his bishop and said to him,
"Know, Monsignor, that at the very hour I passed away, thirty-three
thousand people also died. Out of this number, Bernard and myself went up to
heaven without delay, three went to purgatory, and all the others fell into
Hell."
Our chronicles relate an even more
dreadful happening. One of our brothers, well-known for his doctrine and
holiness, was preaching in Germany. He represented the ugliness of the sin of
impurity so forceful that a woman fell dead of sorrow in front of everyone.
Then, coming back to life, she said, "When I was presented before the
Tribunal of God, sixty thousand people arrived at the same time from all
parts of the world; out of that number, three were saved by going to
Purgatory, and all the rest were damned." O abyss of the judgments of God! Out of
thirty thousand, only five were saved! And out of sixty thousand, only three
went to heaven! You sinners who are listening to me, in what category will
you be numbered?... What do you say?... What do you think?... I see almost
all of you lowering your heads, filled with astonishment and horror. But let
us lay our stupor aside, and instead of flattering ourselves, let us try to
draw some profit from our fear. Is it not true that there are two roads
which lead to heaven: innocence and repentance? Now, if I show you that very
few take either one of these two roads, as rational people you will
conclude that very few are saved. And to mention proofs: in what age,
employment or condition will you find that the number of the wicked is not a
hundred times greater than that of the good, and about which one might
say, "The good are so rare and the wicked are so great in number"?
We could say of our times what Salvianus said of his: it is easier to find a
countless multitude of sinners immersed in all sorts of iniquities than a few
innocent men. How many servants are totally honest and faithful in their
duties? How many merchants are fair and equitable in their commerce; how many
craftsmen exact and truthful; how many salesmen disinterested and sincere?
How many men of law do not forsake equity? How many soldiers do not tread
upon innocence; how many masters do not unjustly withhold the salary of those
who serve them, or do not seek to dominate their inferiors? Everywhere, the good are rare and the
wicked great in number. Who does not know that today there is so
much libertinage among mature men, liberty among young girls, vanity among
women, licentiousness in the nobility, corruption in the middle class,
dissolution in the people, impudence among the poor, that one could say what
David said of his times: "All alike have gone astray... there is not
even one who does good, not even one." Go into street and square,
into palace and house, into city and countryside, into tribunal and court of
law, and even into the temple of God. Where will you find virtue? "Alas!"
cries Salvianus, "except for a very little number who flee evil, what
is the assembly of Christians if not a sink of vice?" All that we
can find everywhere is selfishness, ambition, gluttony, and luxury. Is not
the greater portion of men defiled by the vice of impurity, and is not Saint
John right in saying, "The whole world" -- if something so
foul may be called -- "is seated in wickedness?" Few are Saved by Penance I am not the one who is telling you;
reason obliges you to believe that out of those who are living so badly, very
few are saved. But you will say: Can penance not profitably repair the
loss of innocence? That is true, I admit. But I also know that penance is so
difficult in practice, we have lost the habit so completely, and it is so
badly abused by sinners, that this alone should suffice to convince you that
very few are saved by that path. Oh, how steep, narrow, thorny, horrible to
behold and hard to climb it is! Everywhere we look, we see traces of blood
and things that recall sad memories. Many weaken at the very sight of it.
Many retreat at the very start. Many fall from weariness in the middle, and
many give up wretchedly at the end. And how few are they who persevere in it
till death! Saint Ambrose says it is easier to find men who have kept
their innocence than to find any who have done fitting penance. If you
consider the sacrament of penance, there are so many distorted confessions,
so many studied excuses, so many deceitful repentances, so many false
promises, so many ineffective resolutions, so many invalid absolutions! Would
you regard as valid the confession of someone who accuses himself of sins of
impurity and still holds to the occasion of them? Or someone who accuses
himself of obvious injustices with no intention of making any reparation
whatsoever for them? Or someone who falls again into the same iniquities
right after going to confession? Oh, horrible abuses of such a great
sacrament! One confesses to avoid excommunication, another to make a
reputation as a penitent. One rids himself of his sins to calm his remorse,
another conceals them out of shame. One accuses them imperfectly out of
malice, another discloses them out of habit. One does not have the true end
of the sacrament in mind, another is lacking the necessary sorrow, and still
another firm purpose. Poor confessors, what efforts you make to bring the
greater number of penitents to these resolutions and acts, without which
confession is a sacrilege, absolution a condemnation and penance an illusion? Where are they now, those who believe that
the number of the saved among Christians is greater than that of the damned
and who, to authorize their opinion, reason thus: the greater portion of
Catholic adults die in their beds armed with the sacraments of the Church,
therefore most adult Catholics are saved? Oh, what fine reasoning! You must
say exactly the opposite. Most Catholic adults confess badly at death,
therefore most of them are damned. I say "all the more certain,"
because a dying person who has not confessed well when he was in good health
will have an even harder time doing so when he is in bed with a heavy heart,
an unsteady head, a muddled mind; when he is opposed in many ways by
still-living objects, by still-fresh occasions, by adopted habits, and above
all by devils who are seeking every means to cast him into hell. Now, if you add to all these false
penitents all the other sinners who die unexpectedly in sin, due to the doctors'
ignorance or by their relatives' fault, who die from poisoning or from being
buried in earthquakes, or from a stroke, or from a fall, or on the
battlefield, in a fight, caught in a trap, struck by lightning, burned or
drowned, are you not obliged to conclude that most Christian adults are
damned? That is the reasoning of Saint Chrysostom. This Saint says that
most Christians are walking on the road to hell throughout their life. Why, then, are you so surprised that the
greater number goes to hell? To come to a door, you must take the road
that leads there. What have you to answer such a powerful reason? The
answer, you will tell me, is that the mercy of God is great. Yes, for those
who fear Him, says the Prophet; but great is His justice for the one who does
not fear Him, and it condemns all obstinate sinners. Many Catholics are Saved, but More are
Lost 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. [They say] 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. 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." We Must Take Heed 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, Venerable
Marcellus of St. Dominic? One day as he was meditating on the eternal pains,
the Lord showed him how many souls were going to hell at that moment and had
him see a very broad road on which twenty-two thousand reprobates were
running toward the abyss, colliding into one another. The servant of God was
stupefied at the sight and exclaimed, "Oh, what a number! What a number!
And still more are coming. O Jesus! O Jesus! What madness!" Let me
repeat with Jeremiah, "Who will give water to my head, and a fountain
of tears to my eyes? And I will weep day and night for the slain of the
daughter of my people." Poor souls! How can you run so hastily
toward hell? For mercy's sake, stop and listen to me for a moment! Either you
understand what it means to be saved and to be damned for all eternity, or
you do not. If you understand and in spite of that, you do not decide to
change your life today, make a good confession and trample upon the world, in
a word, make your every effort to be counted among the littler number of
those who are saved, I say that you do not have the faith. You are more
excusable if you do not understand it, for then one must say that you are out
of your mind. To be saved for all eternity, to be damned for all eternity,
and to not make your every effort to avoid the one and make sure of the
other, is something inconceivable. Perhaps you do not yet
believe the terrible truths I have just taught you. But it is the most
highly-considered theologians, the most illustrious Fathers who have spoken
to you through me. So then, how can you resist reasons supported by so many
examples and words of Scripture? If you still hesitate in spite of that, and
if your mind is inclined to the opposite opinion, does that very
consideration not suffice to make you tremble? Oh, it shows that you do not
care very much for your salvation! In this important matter, a sensible man
is struck more strongly by the slightest doubt of the risk he runs than by
the evidence of total ruin in other affairs in which the soul is not
involved. One of our brothers, Blessed Giles, was in the habit of saying that
if only one man were going to be damned, he would do all he could to make
sure he was not that man. So what must we do, we who know that the greater
number is going to be damned, and not only out of all Catholics? What must we
do? Take the resolution to belong to the little number of those who are
saved. |
St.
Leonard of Port Maurice (1676-1751) |
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