The Holy Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ to save souls from the eternal punishments of hell. Otherwise, Jesus’s death, resurrection, and ascension have no meaning. But His life is of greatest value, for we could not be saved without His death and resurrection. Our Lord is very clear that the road to heaven is very narrow. Many saints have taught that not everyone will be saved. For the under catechized, this may seem daunting and cause them to despair, but one can see it as a reason to fight for God and the work of redemption by the Son of God. One day after she received Holy Communion, Sister Mary of St. Peter was privy to see a vision of Jesus in the company of an angel. Jesus showed her
“the multitudes that were daily falling into hell, and then expressed his wish that I should offer myself without reserve to his good pleasure; moreover, that I should abandon to him all the merits I might acquire in my new career for the accomplishment of his designs. He promised me that he would take care of my interests, that he would cause me to participate in all his merits, and would himself, be the director of my soul. The angel [elsewhere she states that it was the archangel Raphael], urged me to consent to this magnanimous proposal. It seemed to me that he envied my happiness, for being purely spiritual he could neither suffer nor merit. This celestial spirit assured me that if I consented to Our Lord’s request, the angels would surround my death-bed and defend me against the faults of the devil.”
This warning of the fewness of those who are saved was reiterated in 1917 when Our Lady at Fatima told three children that souls are descending into hell like snowflakes falling on the ground. There are only two roads when a soul is presented these truths; either dismiss them as fables or adapt one’s life in conformity with God’s plan and stop committing mortal sin. Although it is difficult to begin a life of virtue, it becomes easier with God’s help. It is easy to go to heaven, but it is also easy to go to hell. We do not fall into heaven; we are taken there by God when we love Him and die in the state of grace.
This article is taken from a chapter in The Secret of the Holy Face by Fr. Lawrence Carney, which is available from TAN Books.
