St. Teresa of Avila 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.
All these visions or dreams are interpreted by the Saint. It might not be exactly what God shows to the mystic but it is his/her interpretation of vision. Nothing wrong with that but the Saint is trying to interpret the mystical which is very difficult.
St. Louis Marie de Montfort Be one of the small number who find the way to life, and enter by the narrow gate into Heaven. Take care not to follow the majority 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 & Luisa will never find common ground. One is based in truth.
If on its own, yes. It is more relevant when accompanied by such weighty testimony as that of St. Faustina and Garrigou LaGrange, not to mention "...the common herd, so many of whom are lost.": By the "common herd", St. Louis is referring to those who do not "find the way". Of these he only says that "many", which is certainly not all, are lost. Presumably, as those not in the many don't "find the way" by their own power Our Lord must drag them in-or have you any other suggestions?
You are conflating "few" with "many". Neither are precise terms, nor are they the same. We can say that Islamists recently murdered many Parisians, for example. This does not necessarily imply (although it could, but this would not be normal usage of the term) that all, or even most, Parisians were murdered. Likewise, it does not necessarily mean that few Parisians were not murdered. In other words, unlike what Augustine said, there is no certainty. Without this we cannot define truth. This is God's call and nobody elses's. Thankfully.
I am pretty happy with my understanding of 'Few' and 'Many'. Its not a trick to trap us. Very simple. The main thing is ...'There is no middle way'. ...'Be one of the small number who find the way to life, and enter by the narrow gate into Heaven'. Like the Good thief who stole Heaven in the end. A true conversion nonetheless ,and he entered by the narrow gate.
I would agree that this is the approach everybody should take as the stakes are so high. I believe this is the reason for so many saintly warnings, and they were, in the absence of definitive knowledge, right and prudent. Subjectively, we should assume the worst. Objectively, perhaps not. I would still Hope that reality will be a pleasant surprise.
A good one for this thread. I think we would be silly-n-stupid to discount God's Mercy! .................. HeartLight Daily Verse - 21 April John 10:28-30 Jesus said, "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one." Thoughts on today's verse: "He's got the whole world in his hand." God holds his children of faith in his hand. As long as they place their lives in him, no one or nothing can steal them away. Prayer: O Lord, thank you for your steadfast and secure love. Thank you for the assurance that my future rests in your hands. Thank you for holding me in your protective grace. May I live today with confidence and joy knowing that no matter where I find myself, you are there to uphold and sustain me. For this grace, I thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!
The way is narrow; indeed, and we must strive to enter by the narrow way, as Our Lord commands -- for there is no middle way. But this says nothing quantitatively about the number of the elect vs. the number of the damned. God is capable of making more souls pass through the narrow gate than through wideness itself, as Our Lord says to Luisa (in one of her volumes that bears an Imprimatur from an Archbishop of the 1920s). What God's grace worked visibly in the Good Thief is just as capable of occurring in any soul on his deathbed without any external evidence of it having happened.
And another story St Therese and Pranzini, The day after his execution I hastily opened the paper…and what did I see? Tears betrayed my emotion; I was obliged to run out of the room. Pranzini had mounted the scaffold without confessing or receiving absolution, and…turned round, seized the crucifix which the Priest was offering to him, and kissed Our Lord’s Sacred Wounds three times. …I had obtained the sign I asked for, and to me it was especially sweet. Was it not when I saw the Precious Blood flowing from the Wounds of Jesus that the thirst for souls first took possession of me? …My prayer was granted to the letter.” Full story below.. http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Item/3400/the_killer_and_the_saint_pranzini_and_thrse.aspx
An amazing story. What is worth looking at, is the power of intercessory prayer.The importance of it. Pranzini would likely not have recieved the grace to convert had St Therese not made the effort on his behalf. All the adults who are in Heaven are there because they prayed; had they not prayed, they never would have reached Heaven. All who are in Hell are there because they neglected prayer; had they prayed, they would not be in Hell but in Heaven. Two criminals died, one on each side of Jesus; one of them prayed and was saved; the other did not pray, and was lost. Saint Alphonsus Liguori
You may have missed post #24 I was asking for information on St Francis de Sales quotes . I have done some searchers, Im not being lazy. Just havent found them.
Just a comment on the "few" . . . Our Bishop visited our parish last weekend, in Michigan's upper peninsula. Our whole diocese covers the U.P. He said 50 years ago there were 150,000 Catholics in the U.P. Today there are only 75,000. And only 25 percent attend Mass every week. He does not want to close churches, But . . .and he said these numbers are not unique to Catholics. How sad and shocking is that . . .no wonder only a few souls will make it. What can we do to turn this around?
Divine intervention appears the only option. It seems beyond human remedy, although prayer will help. On the basis that atheists are supposed to be an endangered species in fox-holes, that intervention is likely to be manifest in a series of catastrophes that will quickly expose the soft underbelly of our brave new world. The warning signs of these events seem already upon us.
Our Lady of Fatima said: "Pray, pray very much and make many sacrifices for many souls go into Hell because there is no one to pray and make sacrifices." Let us pray often and every day: "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fire of Hell. Lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need."
If everyone only concerned themselves with their soul and the souls of their children, that "few" would become "most". (I like to keep it simple)
I hear ya bro.. I like the way you think.. "So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, "Lord, and what about this man?" Jesus said to him, "If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? Amen..
Yes Mac I know, there are a number of your comments I have not replied to. Honestly I haven't found doing so in the past to be helpful to anyone , hence my hesitation. But if you insist: I am aware that you have erroneously conflated "unapproved" with "by definition worthy of rejecting or at least ignoring," but most reading this forum have not, (it is for their sake that I make posts) and are in fact rightly confident in the words of Our Lady at Medjugorje. The words of Our Lord to Luisa are not unapproved; they are taken from one of her Diaries that bears an Imprimatur from an Archbishop I said "consensus," not "common opinion." They are worlds apart. Common opinions are wrong all the time; a true consensus never is (with due regard to the infallibility of the Sensus Fidei) But since you asked, the "common opinion" of the saints, on this matter, is silence. Extremely few of them have said what their opinion is on the number of the saved I am not sure where exactly that opinion of de Sales comes from, but will be sure to come back on here if I do stumble upon it next time I am reading his books.
