Eternity: a fearful and wonderful mystery

“Labour not for the meat which perishes but for that which endures unto life everlasting, which the Son of man will give you. For him hath God, the Father, sealed. “
--John 6:27

If you are in want of repentance; if your heart is cold, and you think that there is no hope for you to incite within yourself sorrow, contrition, and a true spirit of reparation, meditate upon the mystery of Eternity.

What a wonderful and fearful mystery, that in these few years upon earth we commit ourselves to eternal blessedness or to eternal suffering.

Eternal suffering; hell. Separation from God. darkness. Torments. Fear. Endless suffering.

Eternal blessedness; Heaven. An intimate union with God. light. Eternal joy and peace.

How is it we are not terrified of our human weakness? How is it we do not faint away with grief as we think of all the time that has been spent in danger of the eternal fires of hell? It opens our eyes to how much we should distrust ourselves. For an instant of pleasure, an eternity of punishment?

On the reverse side, how is it we are not grateful for Christ’s sacrifice upon the Cross, in which He merited our salvation? How is it we are not invigorated, strengthened in our undertakings, and zealous in practice of virtue and the proclamation of our faith?

Many Saints have cautioned us not to be sure of our salvation. Indeed, it would seem the opposite.  Saint Louis de Montfort says, "The number of the elect is so small - so small - that were we to know how small it is, we should faint away with grief." Saint Augustine warns, “As a man lives, so shall he die.”  Look at your life, the way you are living. Are you in mortal sin? If you died now, where would you spend eternity?

However, it has always been ascertained by the Church that obtaining salvation is the easier of the two paths. There are two things we must do in order to obtain salvation: live a life of virtue, and be in a state of grace when we die. Do this and you shall be saved.

The world is as far seeped in sin now as it ever was, and many believe it is the farthest society has been from God since before the great flood, in which only 8 people were spared. It is time to choose sides now. Eternity is at stake!!! The tide of the world is sweeping us up with it, and it is only through the protection of the Catholic Church that we can possibly survive this terrifying tempest which damns so many souls everday.

Again, if we stay within the protection of the Catholic Church we shall overcome the obstacles the world presents us. What causes near occasions of sin for you? Find them, and cast them from yourself! Better to live without this thing than to be cast into eternal fire because of it.

Finally, let us daily echo the words of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, "The saved 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 amongst those few I wish to be!” For the glory of God and the salvation of souls, amen.