Retreat Meditation

Those who still remember how the Church functioned before bogus Council Vatican II must remember that from time to time the parishes had what is called a “parish mission.” The parish was prepared for the coming mission by announcements of the time and a request for special prayers for the conversion of the fallen away and lukewarm Catholics of the parish. The pastor cares for the faithful by his providing Mass, sermons, and general direction of the parish. Even with that zeal, there would be some souls falling away from the Church, and others coming closer to a fall by their lukewarm practice of the faith.

First of all, the pastor does not preach the parish mission. It is preached by a priest or priests who prepare for this very special work. We are from an Order, the Capuchin Order, which was always engaged in this work of parish missions. In fact, as a boy of about eleven, We had a parish mission given by a Capuchin priest, no less than an exorcist priest, the one who drove out the devil from a woman in Earling, Iowa. You can read that record of history by purchasing the book entitled “Begone Satan” available from TAN Books and Publishers. When that priest, Father Theofulus, thundered divine truths in his sermons there was silence as in a tomb in the Church. He so impressed Us that We remember him just as if he preached to Us yesterday. After the sermons he used to pray before the Blessed Sacrament with outstretched arms, and the parishioners prayed with him in silence. It was right about that time that We felt the call to become a priest, and who knows but it could have been at that parish mission that God gave Us Our call to serve Him in the priesthood.

During the parish mission the missionary spent hours in the confessional. It is likely that people who had neglected their Easter duty came back to the zealous and frequent reception of the sacraments. The missionary visited the homes of parishioners who had left the Church, and he brought them back to the practice of their faith.

We shall note that the sermons of those missionaries are so powerful and soul-stirring that the scrupulous parishioners are told not to attend the services. They my get so disturbed that they will want to confess their sins over and over and for hours. Prudence requires that they be not put through such a terrible soul suffering, something that is their personal problem and cross.

Before proceeding with this meditation We will inform you that as soon as the Novus Ordo came into place, parish missions became a matter of history. We shall not say that they were all shut down, but the powerful preaching no longer continued. The new parish missions became all sweetness. The preaching of hell was forbidden. On one Sunday in Australia when We assisted there, with no parish mission in progress, We preached a strong sermon on hell. Our superior called Us to task and forbad Us to preach on hell. The Novus Ordo Church was eliminating, step by step, the very concept and traditional teaching of hell. Nearly every Novus Ordo prayer card given out at funerals stated and still states, in effect, that the deceased person is right now in heaven. Furthermore, the faithful are told that it is only a matter of time before they will be in heaven with the deceased: “Oh how wonderful; do not cry!”

True Catholic catechisms teach that it is most profitable for salvation to meditate on the “four last things,” namely death, judgment, heaven and hell. St. Francis of Assisi urged his Brothers to preach a good balance of punishment and reward.

Mission Sermon on the 4 Last Things

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” There are two fears of the Lord. One is slavish fear, and the other is filial fear. Both fears have a place in our eternal salvation.

When, in the course of divine providence, our lives on earth are over we must die. God gives us time to prepare for death from birth until death. The only reason for being on earth is to prepare daily, yes, every moment, for the coming event of our death. We should look at death this way. We are certain of death, but generally we have no idea when we shall die. Every moment of life on earth is a special gift of God. If we live our lives as God demands we will not waste a moment of time. Time is so valuable that all the efforts of men cannot give us a moment of time. It comes from God. Time is so valuable that with it we can avoid hell and gain heaven, that is, if we do the will of God.

During life we either go higher or lower in grace and merit. An old priest used to tell his people that life is like a person in a canoe in the middle of a running stream with a waterfalls downstream. If the rider in the canoe neglects to put his efforts to the oars the water will take him downstream. Hence, only those who exert effort on the oars stay in the same place or, better still, go upstream. Evil persons row their canoe downstream. Oh, that is so easy! Oh how certain is the coming progression towards the waterfalls of perdition! The lukewarm have their canoe turned upstream, but they do very little worthy of eternal reward. Without knowing it they live in a fool’s paradise of blind ignorance. They are not concerned about the coming catastrophy of falling down the waterfalls to eternal perdition. They let their conscience atrophy. They have no fear of hell, nor do they desire the joys of heaven. They have no motives to avoid evil, and they have no motives to prepare for heaven.

Let us consider time and everlasting life. At the moment that a person is conceived he begins his everlasting life. His natural life of the soul will never end even if he dies a minute after conception. Of course his body will also continue forever. On the last day the body will rise to be united with the soul that is waiting for its resurrection. Consider this, you are right now living a portion of you never ending life. Once again, the purpose of your life from conception until death is to prepare for your unending life in heaven. God gives every individual all that he needs in order to make it to heaven. Hence, those who are lost, seeing their just judgment, must say forever, “I am here because of my own fault.” Likewise, the just must say, “I am here because I cooperated with God in the work of my everlasting salvation.”

Since God is all-knowing (knowing the past, present and future of created beings) He knows right now who on earth will actually cooperate with Him and who will not cooperate with Him. Hence, on earth there are right now two classes of souls, namely, those whom God knows will go to heaven and those whom He knows will go to hell. Those who will go to heaven are known as God’s elect. God has a special care (a special providence) for His elect. Those who refuse salvation are cared for God, lest they blame their unending and just damnation on God at judgment day.

After death and forevermore, both the just and damned continue to act exactly as they were acting at the moment of death. In effect the just were adoring and praising God. Also in effect the damned were defying and cursing God.

The just see that they are God-like in sanctifying grace, so they belong to the family of God. They can enjoy the beatific vision forever. The damned see that they are dirtied with mortal sin, and therefore they do not have the life of sanctifying grace. Hence, they can never ever see God face to face in the beatific vision. This angers them, and they curse God actively and forever. They tell God unceasingly “I hate You, and I hate You forever.” God responds, “That is your decision and activity, and I punish you in hell forever and ever.” The cursing of the damned and the punishment of God scroll side-by-side forever. The damned know it. Their punishment will continue forever. It will never end.

Some people think that the damned will repent, but that will never happen. They actively curse God forever, and that brings the just judgment of God on them, similar to effect of their cause.

Just imagine the impossible. If the damned were permitted a place in heaven they could not enjoy the beatific vision, for the beatific vision presupposed that the soul has the divine life of charity through sanctifying grace. He would be like a man blind and deaf at an opera, grinding his teeth because he cannot enjoy what he knows is going on before him. The only future for the damned is what Christ called, the darkness outside where there is the “weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Spiritual books have many examples of how terrible hell really is. Over and over, from the time We started to hear sermons in Our parish church, We heard the following story:

In Monasteries when there is a funeral the Monks gather before the Mass, with the coffin present, in Church, and they pray the Office for the Dead. On one occasion, as they began the Office of The Dead the somberness of the recitation of the Divine Office was broken by a movement in the coffin. The corpse rose up a bit, and with a voice sounding as one coming out of hell it said: “I have been judged by the just God.” The Monks were shocked, and they had a discussion. Should they continue the Divine Office or not? The conclusion was that the corpse (the terrible voice) merely said: “I have been judged by the just God.” He did not say that he was damned. Then the Monks continue the Divine Office as usual. After a short time the corpse once more rose a bit, and from it came the terrible voice again: “I have been judged by the just God.” The Monks were amazed, but once again he did not say he was in hell. As they continued the Office for the Dead the man in the coffin cried out again, “I have been judged by the just God, and I am damned.” With that testimony the Monks felt forced to stop the public prayers for the dead and the Catholic funeral for the dead. The same fate awaits all those who die in mortal sin.

We could continue with some stories of the deaths of the Saints. It is reported in the lives of the Saints that when St. Scholastica, the sister of St. Benedict, died they saw her soul go to heaven as a white dove.

We feel that much good is had by a consideration of the fact that we never know when we shall die. As we live, any heartbeat can be our last heartbeat. Just think of all the people who die without warning. They are shot, ran over by cars, cracked up in plane crashes and the like. Death comes as a thief in the night even when we die slowly. The dying know not the moment when their conscious mind ceases to function, just as we know not when our conscious mind ceases to act when we go to sleep.

It is important that every human being be in the state of sanctifying grace every moment of his or her lives. Once one has been baptized he can have only one of two states of soul, that is, being in sanctifying grace or in mortal sin. It is possible that one be in sanctifying grace and still has temporal punishments to perform. That will be completely accomplished in purgatory. Hence, those in purgatory all eventually go to heaven.

The question of unbaptized persons comes up. Original sin remains in the soul where no baptism is given, until the person makes his determination to serve God with an act of perfect love or turn away from God with mortal sin. That determination is likely made right at the time the person gets the use of reason. Before that he can neither sin nor do acts of virtue. A valid baptism of water takes away original sin and gives sanctifying grace. Hence, after baptism and after the first determination is made, all men are either in sanctifying grace or in mortal sin. There is no state other than those two states, and one state takes the person to heaven and the other state takes him to hell.

Lest there be confusion on this point We shall clear up the question of the “limbo of the infants.” If a person who dies as he is created in original sin, he dies without sanctifying grace, that is, without the supernatural life of grace or charity. Hence, he cannot go to heaven. In hell there are two parts. Once is for those who die in mortal sin, and another is for those who die in original sin. The hell for those who die in mortal sin has much suffering. However, those who die in original sin do not suffer, but they lack the beatific vision of God forever. The Fathers of the Church without apologies merely say that the unbaptized that die that way are damned souls. Hence, you see the reason for the Church making the law that infants must be baptized shortly after birth, that is, within two weeks of birth, and if danger of death is seen before that time, baptism must be given immediately. God made it that every normal human being has the power to confer the valid sacrament of baptism of water. In this treatise We shall not deal with that procedure.

It is absolutely amazing to Us how people consider themselves safe and sound on the way to heaven. We know a person who converts people over a large part of the world without any attachment to Pope, Bishop or priest. For her getting to heaven means being baptized and living a good life – finished.

The Russian and Greek Orthodox think that getting to heaven means that one is safe if he is subject to some Orthodox Patriarch. Since bogus Council Vatican II all imaginable forms of Christianity have surfaced. It is impossible to deal with all or even the most obvious sects. However, the largest blundering group belongs to all those who believe that going to the Latin Mass will get them to heaven. Some groups have bishops, and others have merely priests. They are without a Pope, and are content in that condition.
Christ gave the basic command that all men (and all states) in order to be saved must be in His one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. The Fathers of the Church expressed it in this short formula: “Outside the Church there is no salvation.” The Church has never veered from this dogma. Believe it and follow it or be damned.

A starting point on the way to heaven is faith. Without divine and catholic faith it is impossible to please God; it is impossible to get to heaven. Faith does not stand along, for hope and charity must also be had in order to be saved.

We come upon persons who laugh Us to scorn for stating the above dogmas. They should consider the world at the time of Noe. The Fathers of the Church instructed that just as all were lost who were not in the Ark, so all those who are not in God’s Church, the Catholic Church (now under Us) are all lost.

The above paragraph may stir up a furor, so We shall state briefly that being in the Church while not being a member of the Church (by baptism of water) is a thing that is known for sure by God alone. A catechumen who knows the faith and is determined to become a Catholic can enter (be within) the Church by an act of perfect contrition or perfect love. Once again, he is in the Church, where alone there is salvation, but he is not a member of the Church until he receives the baptism of water.

Just where is there guilt in regard to not being in the Church by baptism and not being subject to the Pope? God in His infinite knowledge of hearts knows this for each person. Anyone who avoids being a Catholic because he does not use the graces God gives him, cannot claim to get to heaven merely by the act of perfect contrition. Why is that? It is because his act of perfect contrition is not perfect without an act of obedience God places on him. That act of obedience is found in the dogma (God’s command):

“Outside the Church there is no salvation.”

Smart as they may have thought themselves to be, all those who remained “outside” the Ark of Noe were lost, and so it is with the Church. All those who die outside of Her (and are responsible for it) will be lost.

Our Lord gave the parable of the man who hired men to work in His vineyard. At all hours of the day he found men idle. He sent them to work in his vineyard. How do we understand idle? It is: not working for the wages of heaven.

First of all, all those who are not in the state of sanctifying grace are idle. No matter how good they are, and no matter how wonderful their lives are they are idle, not working at all. While one is without sanctifying grace (those in original sin and mortal sin), there can be no supernatural reward for anything that is done. One is simply unemployed in the work of his salvation.

We shall consider the gaining of merit for a heavenly reward once one has sanctifying grace. Besides sanctifying grace one must do some honest work, and to that work must be attached two supernatural qualities. One must do his works for a supernatural motive and under the influence of (supernatural) actual grace. All these four elements must be present and function at once.

The supernatural motive is this. The act is done for the honor and glory of God and the salvation of souls in some form. To work just to have food on the table will give no supernatural reward, for that motive is a natural one, and it is unworthy of a supernatural reward.

The supernatural assistance is actual grace that helps one do good and avoid evil. If that divine power is not employed in the otherwise rewardable act it is useless for a supernatural reward, and the person, to say it again, is idle, wasting his time, and not improving his position for a heavenly reward.
So that you can remember these necessary elements We shall repeat them. For any act to be worthy of a supernatural reward the person must be in

1. sanctifying grace,
2. do an ordinary good act,
3. for a supernatural motive, and
4. under the influence of actual grace.
   
   

It was related to Us as a true story that a Pope had a wax image of himself made and put in a coffin resting in his residence, as being ready for burial. When a visitor saw that object he remarked to the Pope, “Why do you have such an ugly thing in your residence?” The Pope replied, “Whenever We have an important decision to make for the Church and even Our personal life, We come here and contemplate what decision will be best for Us at death. To date We have not regretted any decision made in that way."

Dear reader, you can do that same thing in imagination also. The contemplation of one’s death has made many people zealous for the good. The non-Catholic will convert. The Catholic will really make his faith practical. He will support the Church in all Her works by supporting the clergy, building and maintaining hospitals, orphanages, soup kitchens and the like. Vocations to the priesthood and religious life will also flourish.

Today We live in a time when God is permitting men to hang themselves. The author, Haydock, quotes the Fathers of the Church who explain the words in Isaias 13, 10: Matthew 24, 29: & Mark 13, 23 “the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give her light,” where the sun is God and the moon is the Church. All those who permit themselves to be lax in the practice of the faith will freeze in spiritual death just as surely as a person who permits himself to sleep poorly clothed in a below zero cold place.

Which one of the following sentences will each one of us be forced to say, by the command of the just God, from our coffins? “I have been judged by the just God and I am in heaven,” or “I have been judged by the just God and I am damned?” Amen.

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

   
   Pius, pp. XIII 
   March 1, 2003
 

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