On the Fewness of the Saved

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On the Fewness of the Saved

“The greater part of men choose to be damned rather than to love Almighty God.”
-Saint Alphonsus Maria Liguori, Doctor of the Church

“The common opinion is that the greater part of adults is lost.”
Saint Alphonsus Maria Liguori, Doctor of the Church

“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.”
-Saint Alphonsus Maria Liguori, Doctor of the Church

“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.”
-Saint Alphonsus Maria Liguori, Doctor of the Church

“Saint 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.”
-Saint Alphonsus Maria Liguori, Doctor of the Church

“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!”
-Saint Alphonsus Maria Liguori, Doctor of the Church

“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.”
-Saint Alphonsus Maria Liguori, Doctor of the Church

“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 Saint Gregory the Great, Father and Doctor of the Church

“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 Saint Gregory the Great, Father and Doctor of the Church

“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 Saint Gregory the Great, Father and Doctor of the Church

“They who are to be saved as Saints, and wish to be saved as imperfect souls, shall not be saved.”
-Pope Saint Gregory the Great, Father and Doctor of the Church

“As a man lives, so shall he die.”
-Saint Augustine, Father and Doctor of the Church

“It is certain that few are saved.”
-Saint Augustine, Father and Doctor of the Church

“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.”
-Saint Augustine, Father and Doctor of the Church

“If you wish to imitate the multitude, then you shall not be among the few who shall enter in by the narrow gate.”
-Saint Augustine, Father and Doctor of the Church

“Out of one hundred thousand sinners who continue in sin until death, scarcely one will be saved.”
-Saint Jerome, Father and Doctor of the Church

“Many begin well, but there are few who persevere.”
-Saint Jerome, Father and Doctor of the Church

“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.”
-Saint Jerome, Father and Doctor of the Church

“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!”
-Saint John Chrysostom, Father and Doctor of the Church

“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.”
-Saint John Chrysostom, Father and Doctor of the Church

“
 
I don’t know how many, but even one is too many. That is why we need to offer our lives and sufferings for those spiritually less fortunate and then make that number less. For it is up to us to do that…we are the body of Christ…and we make up the sufferings lacking to Christ as St. Paul says. This is our mission … to save as Jesus saved.

We can “Oh me oh my” all day but that won’t get the job done. Jesus wants us to fill in the blanks.

St. James says that charity makes up for a lot of our sins. So if we expect to get there, then we need to be concerned about those that aren’t listening.

Like the ole saying about our car, “you take care of it and it will take care of you”.

7 billion people on this planet … thousands each week are having their final exam.
 
Don’t forget to offer souls encouragement, too. Properly understood, these quotes should not discourage us; we will be saved if we want to be, and if we offer prayer (esp. the Mass) and sacrifice for others, many more can be saved.

“I saw too that, by prayer and the offering of sufferings for others, many souls that have done no good upon earth may be converted and saved at the hour of death.” – Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich

“*Whosoever *wishes Me to come freely to him, must resign to Me the key of his own will. And if it happens to him through human frailty to take back the key he had given up to Me, by doing his own will in anything, let him wipe out the fault by penance, and again give up his will to Me; and the right Hand of My mercy will receive him, and bring him forth with inconceivable honour to the kingdom of eternal glory.” (Jesus to St. Gertrude)
 
So does this mean that the way most Catholics live is going to lead them to the wrong place? If the gate is narrow, then does this mean we have to give up our entire lives to God to make it to Heaven? I’m worried about this right now, and worrying about it on my own isn’t getting me anywhere; are we not doing enough?

I know I’m looking at this really pessimistically; what’s the bright side?
 
Ricky_C said:
So does this mean that the way most Catholics live is going to lead them to the wrong place? If the gate is narrow, then does this mean we have to give up our entire lives to God to make it to Heaven? I’m worried about this right now, and worrying about it on my own isn’t getting me anywhere; are we not doing enough?

I know I’m looking at this really pessimistically; what’s the bright side?
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“Oh how easily we could win Heaven – day by day – just by doing what we have to do, but doing it for God.” – St. John Vianney

“Do the will of God in the present moment.” – Mother Angelica
 
Ronh4, with all due respect, what is the purpose of your long recitation to St. Alphonsus, telling everyone they are damned?

Does it make you feel good? Is it supposed to scare people? To make Catholics look good?

This sort of negativity/scaring people/doomsaying really helps no one: your post is not going to get anyone on the straight and narrow and just infects your spirit. Further, it makes Catholics look sin obsessed. Worse, it isn’t even consistent with catholic doctrine, which is nowhere near as harsh as a your post.
 
PolarGuy said:
Ronh4, with all due respect, what is the purpose of your long recitation to St. Alphonsus, telling everyone they are damned?
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The post does not say that everyone is damned. It is explicit that some are saved. Don’t attribute false doctrines to people when those ideas are rejected if you examine the context – that’s what the Media is for.
 
And don’t you, dmar, validate the OP’s impossibly negative posting by choosing to miscite what OP said - the overwhelming purpose of which was apparently just to say how so many people are damned. That is NOT catholic teaching, and reeks of negativity (and implied holier-than-though pomposity), and ought not be validated.

Sheesh, the more I come here the more this board looks like a haven for doomsayers and the sin-obsessed.
 
Ricky_C said:
So does this mean that the way most Catholics live is going to lead them to the wrong place? If the gate is narrow, then does this mean we have to give up our entire lives to God to make it to Heaven? I’m worried about this right now, and worrying about it on my own isn’t getting me anywhere; are we not doing enough?

I know I’m looking at this really pessimistically; what’s the bright side?
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Because of the the presence of Jesus with us, we should reasonably be in good spirits.

But someone brought up to St. Teresa of Calcutta that there seems to be so much suffering we have to do … or something along those lines. And her reply was that we have plenty of time to be happy … all eternity.

But on this subject, here is an actual quote from some other post here on CAF:
“I refuse to believe in eternal suffering…”

This has not been condemned by the church except that we do know for sure that the fallen angels have been assigned to hell.
 
Ricky_C said:
So does this mean that the way most Catholics live is going to lead them to the wrong place? If the gate is narrow, then does this mean we have to give up our entire lives to God to make it to Heaven? I’m worried about this right now, and worrying about it on my own isn’t getting me anywhere; are we not doing enough?

I know I’m looking at this really pessimistically; what’s the bright side?
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The “bright side” is that as a Catholic you have all the tools necessary to guide you to Heaven at your disposal. You can receive grace from the Sacraments.
You can be absolved of every single sin on your soul through making a good Confession.
You can receive Jesus, Body Blood Soul, and Divinity in Mass.
You can count yourself among the elect by obeying the Commandments and by working in the vineyard to spread joy.

This is why these references do nothing but bring people down.
We all know we are sinners. We all know we are flawed.
BUT…we all know, and indeed these holy men and scholars who wrote these things in a different era also KNEW that God is merciful. He died for our salvation.
We are a people of hope and love; loving others as He loves us.

*Don’t be alarmed by this post. *
God loves you, and will welcome you on the last day…we only have to obey and stay in a state of grace. Loving God with all our heart. It’s not for us to point fingers. It’s for us to get OUR house in order.

Peace to you.
Visit Jesus in Adoration.
Love Him when you receive communion.
Read His Word.
Love His children.
 
PolarGuy said:
And don’t you, dmar, validate the OP’s impossibly negative posting by choosing to miscite what OP said - the overwhelming purpose of which was apparently just to say how so many people are damned. That is NOT catholic teaching, and reeks of negativity (and implied holier-than-though pomposity), and ought not be validated.

Sheesh, the more I come here the more this board looks like a haven for doomsayers and the sin-obsessed.
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It actually is very much the “teaching” of the Church. Its the common opinion of just about all of the Greek and Latin fathers, most classic theologians, most historians, and most of the saints. St. Leonard, known as one of THE best preachers in church history, is the author of the famous sermon on this topic.

Has it been declared infalliable dogma? No it has not. However, it has not been condemned by the Church either after being around for millenia. Therefore, it would be rash to simply ignore the teaching and assume that it is bunk.

The famous sermon and those quotes are not meant to lead to despair, for that is sinful. However, they should serve as a wakeup call.
 
Citing quotes made by Doctors of the Church are not to scare us into feeling damned. Their writings are approved by the Church to have been inspired by the Holy Spirit. How can that be wrong?

Sure, the quotes chosen do not dole out “warm and fuzzy” feelings, but, nonetheless they are accepted by the Church.

Sometimes sad songs play on the radio and helps those suffering difficult times. It’s not meant to bring down folks who are feeling happy that day.

Sometimes such quotes come along for others who need to hear them the most. Maybe those steeped in sin? Facing great temptations? Questioning their choices? Questioning God?

We’re not all in the same state at the same time. Some need encouragement; some need to hear God loves them; some are in a state of grace; some are lukewarm; some have left the Church; and some need fire and brimstone.

Peace.

+JMJ+
 
"The greater part of men choose to be damned rather than to love Almighty God.”
-Saint Alphonsus Maria Liguori, Doctor of the Church

I think the above is very troubling, its true, no doubt about that…but what does it say about God himself and everything he went thru and did for us…he was born and man, was crucified and died for our sins, so WE could have eternal life…but a majority of people willingly choose not to, or choose the enemy!!!

Something wrong with this picture imo, either the bible is not effective enough or…?? I mean, how is it possible a majority of Gods creations turn away from him?

I guess thats why he said he regretted creating mankind.
 
God is not a warm fuzzy. If He were, Jesus would have come to earth as a tribble.

The consequence of sin is death, eternal death. Many folks today wish to see only the Mercy of God and not His Justice. He is both and we must accept Him as He is. We cannot accept His Mercy without repentance, turning away from sin and towards Him, allowing Him to transform us according to His Will.

Thanks to the OP for these wake-up quotes.

Be at peace.
 
mikekle said:
Something wrong with this picture imo, either the bible is not effective enough or…?? I mean, how is it possible a majority of Gods creations turn away from him?
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The quote you cited does not imply that a majority of God’s creations turn away from Him, only that a majority of human beings do. And, assuming that is true, I don’t think it implies that God’s will is not effective. God’s will for us involves our cooperation. If we choose not to cooperate with God, His will is still effective, because it included that possibility.
 
mikekle said:
"The greater part of men choose to be damned rather than to love Almighty God.”
-Saint Alphonsus Maria Liguori, Doctor of the Church

I think the above is very troubling, its true, no doubt about that…but what does it say about God himself and everything he went thru and did for us…he was born and man, was crucified and died for our sins, so WE could have eternal life…but a majority of people willingly choose not to, or choose the enemy!!!

Something wrong with this picture imo, either the bible is not effective enough or…?? I mean, how is it possible a majority of Gods creations turn away from him?

I guess thats why he said he regretted creating mankind.
Click to expand...
These quotes aren’t to frighten us, but to teach us.

The majority choose to continue sinning, they may not see this as turning away from God but that’s what it is. I think it’s clear to see this, for example, just by looking how empty the churches are, or rather how full they are at Christmas and Easter …where are those Catholics the rest of the time? It’s not just Catholics btw, this was just an example. People are generally more interested in themselves, their pride, lust, enjoying themselves than they are by doing God’s will. It’s too easy to put off the things we ought to be doing.

And as the others said earlier, it’s our job to encourage them and to pray for them (as well as the souls in purgatory), and we shouldn’t forget that we are often as flawed as they are. With a little consideration, as Clare mentioned, we have all the tools we need. We have the commandments, Church teaching, Sacred Scripture and Tradition, and we know that we should be loving and giving and not judging others etc.

Really, just trust in God. There’s nothing to fear. Just keep doing your best and your faith, hope and love will grow.
 
ronh4 said:
“Out of one hundred thousand sinners who continue in sin until death, scarcely one will be saved.”
-Saint Jerome, Father and Doctor of the Church
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Very scary!
littlestsouls2 said:
“I saw too that, by prayer and the offering of sufferings for others, many souls that have done no good upon earth may be converted and saved at the hour of death.” – Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich
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Very hopeful!
 
People can quote a bazillion Saints until they are green in the face, but until I see one of Magisterial authority, they’re just pious opinions, and yes, contrary to some of the previous posts, Saints’ quotes do not Church teaching make.

The truth is, the Church does not require us to hold on to an absolutist view of the number of the saved or the damned on the basis of the “narrow gate” passage. I for one, do not underestimate God’s ability or generosity to offer efficacious grace to mankind any more than I underestimate man’s ability to refuse grace.

I for one, do not find it reasonable to assume that the kingdom of almighty God should be outnumbered by the kingdom of Satan. Since he desires the salvation of all, would it then be reasonable to assume that despite this desire, he would lose the majority of man? Sure, man is free, but God also knows how man freely responds to grace. Since the order of grace is God’s sole prerogative, why would he ordain only a minority of men to salvation? God is not so sloppy.

Keep holding on to dismal stats if you will, since the Church permits you to do so. But the opposing opinion is permissible as well.

Ultimately, the number of the predestined and the reprobate are both unknown to man.
 
St. Faustina vision of Purgatory.

In a moment I was in a misty place full of fire in which there was a great crowd of suffering souls. They were praying fervently, but to no avail, for themselves; only we can come to their aid.

I hope she means billions of people crammed in like sardines.
 
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