(References are given at the end in
order.)
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
God wills all
men without exception to be saved, although not all men will be. Council
of Quercy
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
Many religious
go strait to Hell because they do not keep their vows! St. Vincent
Ferrer
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