«Rogamus autem fratres, ut negotium vestrum agatis» — "We beseech you, brethren, to attend to your own business" (1 Thess. 4:10).
Point I
The affair of eternal salvation is certainly the business that concerns us more than all others; yet it is the one most neglected by Christians. No diligence is spared and no time is lost in obtaining that post, in winning that lawsuit, in arranging that marriage; how many consultations are held, how many measures are taken — one does not eat, one does not sleep! And then, to secure eternal salvation, what is done? How does one live? Nothing is done; indeed, everything is done to lose it. And the greater part of Christians live as though death, judgment, hell, paradise, and eternity were not truths of faith, but fables invented by poets. If a lawsuit is lost, or a harvest, what sorrow is not felt? And what effort is not made to repair the damage suffered? If a horse or a dog is lost, what diligence is not used to find it? The grace of God is lost — and one sleeps, and jests, and laughs. A remarkable thing! Everyone is ashamed of being called negligent in the affairs of the world, yet so many are not ashamed to neglect the affair of eternity, on which everything depends! They call the saints wise, who attended solely to saving themselves, and then they themselves attend to all the other things of the world and to nothing of the soul! But you, says St. Paul — you, my brothers, attend solely to the great affair of your eternal salvation, for this is the business that concerns you most. «Rogamus vos, ut vestrum negotium agatis» — "We beseech you to attend to your own business." Let us therefore be convinced that eternal salvation is for us the most "important" affair, the "only" affair, and an "irreparable" affair, if ever it goes wrong.
It is the most "important" affair. Yes, because it is the matter of greatest consequence, since it concerns the soul — and if the soul is lost, all is lost. The soul must be esteemed by us as a thing more precious than all the goods of the world. «Anima est toto mundo pretiosior» — "The soul is more precious than the whole world," says St. John Chrysostom.
To understand this, it is enough to know that God Himself gave His Son to death to save our souls! «Sic Deus dilexit mundum, ut Filium suum unigenitum daret» — "God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son" (John 3:16). And the eternal Word did not refuse to purchase them with His very own blood. «Emti enim estis pretio magno» — "For you were bought at a great price" (1 Cor. 6:20). So much so (says a holy Father) that it seems man is worth as much as God is worth: «Tam pretioso munere humana redemtio agitur, ut homo Deum valere videtur» — "The redemption of man is wrought at so precious a price that man seems to be worth as much as God." Hence Jesus Christ said: «Quam dabit homo commutationem pro anima sua?» — "What exchange shall a man give for his soul?" (Matt. 16:26). If the soul is therefore worth so much, for what good in the world would a man ever exchange it by losing it?
St. Philip Neri was right to call a fool anyone who does not attend to saving his soul. If on this earth there were mortal men and immortal men, and the mortals saw the immortals wholly intent on the things of the world — on acquiring honors, riches, and earthly pleasures — they would surely say to them: Oh, what fools you are! You can acquire eternal goods for yourselves, and you concern yourselves with these miserable and passing things? And for these you condemn yourselves to eternal pains in the other life? Leave it to us wretches alone to think about these earthly goods, for whom everything will end at death. But no — we are all immortal; how then does it happen that so many lose their souls for the miserable pleasures of this earth? How is it, says Salvian, that Christians believe there is a judgment, a hell, an eternity, and then live without fearing them? «Quid causae est, quod christianus, si futura credit, futura non timeat?» — "What reason is there that the Christian, if he believes in the things to come, does not fear them?"
Affections and Prayers
Ah, my God, to what have I spent so many years, which You gave me in order to obtain my eternal salvation? You, my Redeemer, bought my soul with Your blood, and then entrusted it to me, that I might attend to saving it; and I have attended to nothing but losing it by offending You, who have loved me so much. I thank You that You still give me time to be able to remedy the great loss I have made. I have lost my soul and Your beautiful grace. Lord, I repent of it; I am sorry for it with all my heart. Ah, forgive me, for I resolve from this day forward to lose everything, even my life, rather than Your friendship. I love You above every good, and I resolve to love You always, O supreme good, worthy of infinite love. Help me, my Jesus, that this resolution of mine may not be like my other past resolutions, which have all been betrayals. Let me die first, rather than return again to offend You and cease to love You.
O Mary, my hope, save me Yourself, by obtaining holy perseverance for me.
Point II
The affair of eternal salvation is not only the most important, but it is the «only» affair we have in this life. «Porro unum est necessarium» — "But one thing is necessary." St. Bernard laments the foolishness of Christians, who call the follies of children folly, and then call their earthly affairs business. «Nugae puerorum, nugae vocantur, nugae maiorum, negotia vocatur?» — "The trifles of children are called trifles, but the trifles of grown men are called business?" These follies of grown men are greater follies. And of what use is it (says the Lord) to gain the whole world and lose your soul? «Quid prodest homini, si mundum universum lucretur, animae vero suae detrimentum patiatur?» — "What does it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, but suffer the loss of his soul?" (Matt. 16:26). If you are saved, my brother, it does not matter that in this world you have been poor, afflicted, and despised: once saved, you will have no more troubles, and you will be happy for all eternity. But if you lose your soul and are damned, what good will it do you in hell to have taken all the pleasures of the world and to have been rich and honored? Once the soul is lost, pleasures, honors, riches are lost; everything is lost.
What will you answer Jesus Christ on the day of reckoning? If a king sent one of his ambassadors to negotiate some great affair in a city, and that man, instead of attending there to the business entrusted to him, attended only to giving banquets, plays, and feasts, and thereby ruined the affair, what account would he give to the king on his return? But O God! how much greater an account will he give to the Lord at the judgment, who, placed on earth not to amuse himself, not to become rich, not to acquire honors, but to save his soul, will have attended to everything except his soul? Worldlings think only of the present, not of the future. St. Philip Neri, speaking once in Rome to a talented young man named Francesco Zazzera, who was attached to the world, said to him: My son, you will make a great fortune; you will be a good lawyer, then you will be a prelate, then perhaps even a cardinal, and who knows, perhaps even Pope. And then? and then? Go (he finally said to him), think about these last two words. Francesco went home, and thinking about those two words, «and then? and then?», he abandoned his worldly pursuits, left the world altogether, and entered the very Congregation of St. Philip, and began to attend to God alone.
«Only» affair, because we have but one soul. Benedict XII was asked by a prince for a favor that could not be granted without sin; the Pope replied to the ambassador: Tell your prince that if I had two souls, I could lose one for him and reserve the other for myself; but because I have only one, I cannot and will not lose it. St. Francis Xavier used to say that there is only one good in the world, and only one evil;
the only good is to be saved, the only evil is to be damned. St. Teresa also repeated this to her nuns, saying: «My sisters, one soul, one eternity.» Meaning: «One soul» — once it is lost, all is lost; «One eternity» — once the soul is lost, it is lost forever. Therefore David prayed: «Unam petii, et hanc requiram, ut inhabitem in domo Domini» — "One thing I have asked, and this I will seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord" (Ps. 22:6). Lord, one thing I ask of You: save my soul, and nothing else.
«Cum metu, et tremore, vestram salutem operamini» — "With fear and trembling work out your salvation" (Phil. 2:12). Whoever does not fear and tremble lest he be lost will not be saved; hence, to be saved, one must labor and do violence to oneself. «Regnum coelorum vim patitur, et violenti rapiunt illud» — "The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent bear it away" (Matt. 11). To attain eternal salvation it is necessary that at death our life be found conformed to that of Jesus Christ. «Praedestinavit uniformes fieri imaginis Filii sui» — "He predestined them to become conformed to the image of His Son" (Rom. 8:29). And therefore we must labor, on the one hand to flee the occasions of sin, and on the other to avail ourselves of the means necessary to attain eternal salvation. «Regnum non dabitur vagantibus (says St. Bernard), sed pro servitio Deo digne laborantibus» — "The kingdom will not be given to those who wander about, but to those who labor worthily in the service of God." Everyone would like to be saved without inconvenience. A fine thing! says St. Augustine: the devil labors so hard and does not sleep in order to ruin us; and you, when it is a question of your eternal good or eternal evil, are you so careless? «Vigilat hostis, dormis tu» — "The enemy keeps watch; do you sleep?"
Affections and Prayers
Ah, my God, I thank You that at this hour You keep me at Your feet, and not in hell, which I have deserved so many times. But what good would the life You preserve for me be, if I went on living deprived of Your grace? Ah, may it never be. I have turned my back on You; I have lost You, O my supreme good; I am sorry for it with all my heart. Would that I had died a thousand times first. I have lost You, but Your prophet makes me hear that You are all goodness, and that You readily let Yourself be found by a soul that seeks You: «Bonus est Dominus animae quaerenti illum» — "The Lord is good to the soul that seeks Him" (Lam. 3:25). If in the past I fled from You, O King of my heart, now I seek You, and I seek nothing but You. I love You with all my affection. Accept me; do not disdain to be loved by this heart that once despised You. «Doce me facere voluntatem tuam» — "Teach me to do Your will." Teach me what I must do to please You, for I wish to do it all. Ah, my Jesus, save this soul of mine, for which You spent Your blood and Your life; and may saving me mean giving me the grace to love You always in this life and in the next. So I hope, through Your merits.
And so I also hope through Your intercession, O Mary.
Point III
An «important» affair, an «only» affair, an «irreparable» affair. «Sane supra omnem errorem est», says St. Eucherius, «dissimulare negotium aeternae salutis» — "It is indeed beyond every error to dissemble the affair of eternal salvation." There is no error like the error of neglecting eternal salvation. For all other errors there is a remedy: if a man loses some property, he can acquire it by another way; if he loses a position, there may be a remedy to recover it; even if someone were to lose his life, if he is saved, all is remedied. But for one who is damned, there is no longer any remedy. We die only once; once the soul is lost, it is lost forever. «Periisse semel, aeternum est» — "To perish once is to perish for eternity." Nothing remains but to weep eternally with the other wretched fools in hell, where the greatest pain that torments them is the thought that for them the time to remedy their misery is ended. «Finita est aestas, et nos salvati non sumus» — "The summer is past, and we are not saved" (Jer. 8:20). Ask those sages of the world who now dwell in that pit of fire — ask what sentiments they now hold, and whether they are glad to have made their fortunes on this earth, now that they are damned to that eternal prison? Hear how they weep and say: «Ergo erravimus!» — "Therefore we have erred!" But what good does it do them to know the error they made, now that there is no longer any remedy for their eternal damnation? What pain would a man not feel on this earth if, having been able to prevent the ruin of his palace at little cost, he one day found it fallen, and considered his negligence, when he can no longer remedy it?
This is the greatest pain of the damned: the thought that they have lost their soul and have damned themselves through their own fault. «Perditio tua, Israel, tantummodo in me auxilium tuum» — "Your ruin is your own doing, O Israel; your help is only in me" (Hos. 13:9). St. Teresa says that if someone loses through his own fault a garment, a ring, even a trifle, he finds no peace, does not eat, does not sleep. O God, what pain will the damned soul feel at the moment he enters hell, when, seeing himself already shut up in that prison of torments, he will go on thinking of his misfortune and will see that for all eternity there will never again be a remedy! Then he will say: I have lost my soul, paradise, and God; I have lost everything forever — and why? Through my own fault.
But someone will say: If I commit this sin, why must I be damned? It may be that I shall still be saved. I reply: But it may be that you will still be damned. Indeed, I tell you it is more likely that you will be damned, since the Scriptures threaten damnation upon obstinate rebels, as you are at this moment: «Vae filii desertores, dicit Dominus» — "Woe to you, deserting children, says the Lord" (Isa. 30:1); «Vae eis, quoniam recesserunt» — "Woe to them, for they have withdrawn from me" (Hos. 7:13). At the very least, with this sin you commit, do you not place your eternal salvation in great peril and doubt? And is this a matter to put at risk? It is not a question of a house, an estate, a position; it is a question, says St. John Chrysostom, of sinking into an eternity of torments and of losing an eternal paradise: «De immortalibus suppliciis, de coelestis regni amissione res agitur» — "What is at stake is everlasting punishment and the loss of the heavenly kingdom." And this affair, on which everything depends for you — will you risk it on a "perhaps"?
You say: Perhaps, who knows, I shall not be damned; I hope that afterward God will forgive me. But in the meantime? In the meantime you already condemn yourself to hell. Tell me, would you throw yourself into a well, saying, "Perhaps, who knows, I shall not die"? No. And how then can you rest your eternal salvation on so weak a hope — on a "who knows"? Oh, how many have been damned with this accursed hope! Do you not know that the hope of those obstinately determined to keep sinning is not hope, but deception and presumption, which moves God not to mercy but to greater indignation? If now you say that you do not trust yourself to resist the temptation and the passion that dominates you, how will you resist afterward, when your strength will not be increased but will fail you through committing the sin? For then, on the one hand, the soul will be left more blinded and hardened by its own malice, and on the other hand, divine aid will be wanting. Do you perhaps hope that God will increase His lights and graces for you after you have increased your sins?
Affections and Prayers
Ah, my Jesus, always remind me of the death You suffered for me, and give me confidence. I tremble that at my death the devil may drive me to despair at the sight of the many betrayals I have committed against You. How many promises I made You never to offend You again, in view of the light You gave me — and then I turned my back on You again, trusting in pardon! So, because You did not punish me, did I therefore insult You so greatly? Because You showed me greater mercy, did I commit greater outrages against You? My Redeemer, give me a great sorrow for my sins before I depart from this life. I repent, O Supreme Good, of having offended You. I promise You from this day forward to die a thousand times rather than leave You again. But meanwhile let me hear what You said to Magdalene: «Remittuntur tibi peccata tua» — "Your sins are forgiven you"; grant me a great sorrow for my faults before I come to death, otherwise I fear that my death will be troubled and unhappy. «Non sis tu mihi formidini, spes mea, in die afflictionis» — "Do not be a terror to me, You who are my hope in the day of affliction" (Jer. 17:17). At that final moment, O my crucified Jesus, do not be a terror to me. If I die then before having wept for my sins and before having loved You, then Your wounds and Your blood will give me terror rather than confidence. I do not ask You, then, for consolations and earthly goods in the life that remains to me; I ask You for sorrow and for love. Hear me, my dear Savior, for the sake of that love which made You sacrifice Your life for me on Calvary.
Mary, my Mother, obtain these graces for me, together with holy perseverance until death.