«Ibit homo in domum aeternitatis suae» — "Man shall go into the house of his eternity" (Eccl. 12:5).
Point I
From seeing that on this earth so many evildoers live amid prosperity, while so many just people, on the contrary, live in tribulation, even the pagans, by the light of natural reason alone, have recognized this truth: that since there is a God, and this God is just, there must be another life, in which the wicked are punished and the good rewarded. Now what the pagans said by the light of reason alone, we Christians confess by faith. «Non habemus hic manentem civitatem, sed futuram inquirimus» — "Here we have no lasting city, but we seek the one to come" (Heb. 13:14). This earth is not our homeland; for us it is a place of passage, through which we must shortly pass to the house of eternity. «Ibit homo in domum aeternitatis suae» — "Man shall go into the house of his eternity." Therefore, my reader, the house in which you dwell is not your house; it is a lodging from which, shortly, and when you least imagine it, you will have to move out. Know that when the time of your death has come, your dearest ones will be the first to drive you from it. And what will be your true house? A grave will be the house of your body until the day of judgment, and your soul will have to go to the house of eternity, either to paradise or to hell. Therefore St. Augustine warns you: «Hospes es, transis et vides» — "You are a guest: you pass by and you look." That pilgrim would be mad who, passing through a country, should wish to employ his whole patrimony there to buy himself a villa or a house which after a few days he would then have to leave. Think therefore, says the saint, that in this world you are only passing through; do not set your heart on what you see; look and pass on; and procure for yourself a good house, where you will have to dwell forever.
If you are saved, blessed are you — oh, what a beautiful house is paradise! All the richest palaces of monarchs are stables compared with the city of paradise, which alone can be called: «Civitas perfecti decoris» — "The city of perfect beauty" (Ezek. 23:3). There you will have nothing more to desire, dwelling in the company of the saints, of Mary Most Holy, and of Jesus Christ, without any more fear of evil; in short, you will live in a sea of contentment and in a continual joy that will last forever. «Laetitia sempiterna super capita eorum» — "Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads" (Isa. 35:10). And this joy will be so great that for all eternity, at every moment, it will always seem new. On the contrary, if you are damned, poor you! You will be confined in a sea of fire and torments, in despair, abandoned by all and without God. And for how long? When a hundred thousand years have perhaps passed, will your punishment be finished? Finished indeed! A hundred thousand million years and ages will pass, and your hell will always be beginning again. What are a thousand years compared with eternity? Less than a day that passes. «Mille anni ante oculos tuos, tanquam dies hesterna quae praeteriit» — "A thousand years in Your sight are as yesterday, which is past" (Ps. 89:4). Would you now like to know what house will fall to you in eternity? It will be the one you deserve, and that you choose for yourself by your works.
Affections and Prayers
Therefore, Lord, behold the house I have deserved by my life: hell (alas), where, from the first sin I committed, I should have remained abandoned by You, without hope of being able to love You anymore. Blessed forever be Your mercy, which has waited for me and gives me time to remedy the evil I have done. Blessed be the blood of Jesus Christ, which has obtained this mercy for me. No, my God, I will no longer abuse Your patience. I repent above all else of having offended You, not so much for the hell I have deserved, as because I have outraged Your infinite goodness. Never again, my God, never again; death first, rather than offend You again. If I were now in hell, O my supreme good, I could no longer love You, nor could You love me anymore. I love You; and I want to be loved by You. I do not deserve it, but Jesus Christ deserves it, who sacrificed Himself to You on the cross, so that You could forgive me and love me. Eternal Father, for love then of Your Son, give me the grace to love You always and to love You greatly. I love You, O my Father, who have given me Your Son. I love You, O Son of God, who died for me.
I love You, O Mother of Jesus, who by Your intercession have obtained for me time for penance. Obtain for me now, my Lady, sorrow for my sins, love for God, and holy perseverance.
Point II
«Si lignum ceciderit ad austrum, aut ad aquilonem, in quocunque loco ceciderit, ibi erit» — "If a tree falls to the south or to the north, in whatever place it falls, there it shall be" (Eccl. 11:3). Where the tree of your soul falls in death, there you will have to remain for eternity. And there is no middle way: either forever a king in heaven, or forever a slave in hell. Either forever blessed in a sea of delights, or forever in despair in a pit of torments. St. John Chrysostom, considering the rich man, who was thought happy but had then been confined to hell, and Lazarus on the contrary, who was thought miserable because he was poor but was then happy in paradise, exclaims: «O infelix felicitas, quae divitem ad aeternam infelicitatem traxit! O felix infelicitas, quae pauperem ad aeternitatis felicitatem perduxit!» — "O unhappy happiness, which dragged the rich man to eternal unhappiness! O happy unhappiness, which led the poor man to the happiness of eternity!"
What use is it to torment oneself, as some do, saying: Who knows whether I am reprobate or predestined! When a tree is cut, where does it fall? It falls where it leans. Where do you lean, my brother? What life are you leading? Strive to lean always toward the south; keep yourself in the grace of God, flee from sin; and so you will be saved and will be predestined. And to flee from sin, keep always before your eyes the great thought of eternity, called by St. Augustine precisely: «Magna cogitatio» — "The great thought." This thought has led so many young people to leave the world and to live in the deserts, to attend only to their soul; and they have made it secure. Now that they are saved, they certainly find themselves glad of it, and they will be glad of it for all eternity.
A certain lady, who was living far from God, was converted by Father Avila, who said to her only: Lady, think of these two words: «Sempre e Mai» — "Always and Never." Father Paul Segneri, upon a thought of eternity that came to him one day, could not sleep for several nights, and from then on gave himself to a more rigorous life. Dressellius relates that a certain bishop, with this thought of eternity, led a holy life, always repeating within himself: «Omni momento ad ostium aeternitatis sto» — "At every moment I stand at the gate of eternity." A certain monk shut himself up in a grave, and there did nothing but exclaim: "O eternity, O eternity!" Whoever believes in eternity and does not become a saint, said the same Father Avila, should be shut up in a prison for madmen.
Affections and Prayers
Ah, my God, have pity on me: I already knew that by sinning I was condemning myself to an eternity of suffering, and yet I was content to contradict Your will despite all that penalty; and why? For a wretched satisfaction! Ah, my Lord, forgive me, for I repent of it with all my heart. I will no longer oppose Your holy will. Wretched me! If You had made me die in the days of my evil life, I would now have to remain in hell forever, hating Your will. But now I love it, and I want to love it always. «Doce me facere voluntatem tuam» — "Teach me to do Your will." Teach me and give me strength to carry out Your good pleasure from this day forward. I will no longer contradict You, O infinite goodness, and for this grace alone I beg You: «Fiat voluntas tua sicut in coelo et in terra» — "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven": make me do Your will perfectly, and I ask You for nothing more. And what else do You will, my God, if not my good and my eternal salvation? Ah, Eternal Father, hear me for the love of Jesus Christ, who has taught me to pray to You always, and in His name I ask it of You: «Fiat voluntas tua, fiat voluntas tua, fiat voluntas tua» — "Your will be done, Your will be done, Your will be done." O blessed me, if I live the life that remains to me, and if I end my life doing Your will!
O Mary, blessed are you, who always did the will of God perfectly; obtain for me, by Your merits, that I may do it at least for the days of life that remain to me.
Point III
«Ibit homo in domum aeternitatis suae» — "Man shall go into the house of his eternity": the prophet says "ibit" — "he shall go" — to signify that each one will go to that house where he wishes to go; he will not be carried there, but will go there of his own will. It is certain that God wills that all be saved, but He does not will to save us by force. «Ante hominem vita, et mors» — "Before man is life and death." He has placed before each of us life and death; the one we choose will be given to us: «Quod placuerit ei, dabitur illi» — "Whichever he chooses shall be given to him" (Sir. 15:18). Jeremiah finally says that the Lord has given us two ways to walk, one of paradise and the other of hell: «Ego do coram vobis viam vitae, et mortis» — "I set before you the way of life and the way of death" (Jer. 21:8). It is for us to choose. But whoever wills to walk the way of hell, how can he ever find himself arrived in paradise? A strange thing indeed! All sinners want to be saved, and meanwhile they condemn themselves to hell by saying, "I hope to be saved." But who, says St. Augustine, is ever found so mad as to wish to take poison in the hope of being healed? «Nemo vult aegrotare sub spe salutis» — "No one wishes to fall ill in the hope of being healed." And yet so many Christians, so many madmen, bring death upon themselves by sinning, saying: Later I will think of the remedy! O deception that has sent so many to hell!
We are not so mad as these; let us reflect that eternity is at stake. How much trouble do men take to make themselves a comfortable, airy house in a healthy location, thinking that they must live in it for their whole life? And why then are they so careless when it comes to that house which will be theirs for eternity? «Negotium pro quo contendimus, aeternitas est» — "The affair for which we are striving is eternity," says St. Eucherius; it is not a question of a house more or less comfortable, more or less airy; it is a question of dwelling either in a place of every delight among the friends of God, or in a pit of every torment among the infamous crew of so many scoundrels, heretics, and idolaters. And for how long? Not for twenty or forty years, but for all eternity. It is a great point. This affair is not of little moment; it is an affair on which everything depends. When Thomas More was condemned to death by Henry VIII, Louisa his wife went to try to persuade him to consent to the will of Henry; he then said to her: Tell me, Louisa, you see that I am old; how many years of life could I have left? His wife answered: You could live twenty more years. O foolish merchant, Thomas then replied, and for twenty more years of life on this earth do you want me to lose a happy eternity and condemn myself to an eternity of sufferings?
O God, give us light. If the point of eternity were a doubtful thing, were only a probable opinion, we should still put all our effort into living well, so as not to place ourselves in danger of being eternally unhappy, should this opinion ever prove true; but no—this point is not doubtful but certain; it is not opinion but a truth of faith: «Ibit homo in domum aeternitatis suae» — "Man shall go into the house of his eternity." Alas, says St. Teresa, it is the want of faith that is the cause of so many sins and of the damnation of so many Christians. Let us therefore always revive our faith, saying: «Credo vitam aeternam» — "I believe in eternal life." I believe that after this life there is another life that never ends; with this thought always before our eyes, let us take the means to secure our eternal salvation. Let us frequent the sacraments, meditate every day, and think of eternal life; let us flee dangerous occasions. And if we must leave the world, let us leave it; for no security is enough to assure this great point of eternal salvation. «Nulla nimia securitas, ubi periclitatur aeternitas» — "No security is too great where eternity is at stake" (St. Bernard).
Affections and Prayers
Therefore, my God, there is no middle way: either I shall be always happy or always unhappy; either in a sea of delights or in a sea of torments; either always with You in paradise or always far away and separated from You in hell. And of this hell I know for certain that I have deserved it so many times; but I also know for certain that You forgive the one who repents and deliver from hell the one who hopes in You. You assure me of it: «Clamabit ad me... eripiam eum, et glorificabo eum» — "He shall cry out to Me... I will deliver him and glorify him" (Ps. 90). Quickly then, my Lord, quickly forgive me and deliver me from hell. I repent, O supreme Good, above every other evil, of having offended You. Quickly restore me to Your grace and give me Your holy love. If I were now in hell, I could no longer love You; I would have to hate You forever. Ah, my God, and what wrong have You done me, that I should have to hate You? You have loved me even to death? You are worthy of infinite love. O Lord, do not permit me ever to separate myself from You again. I love You, and I want to love You always. «Quis me separabit a caritate Christi?» — "Who shall separate me from the love of Christ?" Ah, my Jesus, only sin can separate me from You; ah, do not permit it, by that blood which You have shed for me. Let me die first. «Ne permittas me separari a te» — "Do not permit me to be separated from You."
O Queen and my Mother, help me with Your prayers; obtain for me death first, and a thousand deaths, rather than that I should ever separate myself again from the love of Your Son.