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BOOK III, CHAPTER TWO ALL INFIDELS WILL BE DAMNED IN ETERNITY The unbelieving will have their
portion in the pool burning with fire and brimstone. (Apocalypse 21:8) Persist in the true faith and
ground your life on the rock of the Church, lest your
many tears and good works avail you nothing, separated from the true faith.
Works, however good they may seem, are nothing if separated from the
solidarity of the faith. (Pope St. Gregory the Great) Wherefore, let us be fruitful, not
in paganism, not in Judaism, not in any evil heresy, but in the House of God;
for ungodly men bring forth fruits in vain outside the Church. (St. Nilus) Assuredly, such people possess a
certain kind of goodness; but, because it is not the
product of faith in God nor love of God, it is not able to help them.
(St. Fulgentius) To have merit, each act must not
only be a natural work, but also a supernatural work; and this cannot be said
of the infidel who, because he is without the faith, cannot perform
supernatural good works. (St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori) Well should the pagan weep and
lament who, not knowing God, goes straight to punishment when he dies! (St.
John Chrysostom) If you die as an unbeliever, you
will be damned and lost forever. (St. John Bosco) Whoever does not embrace the
Catholic Christian religion will be damned, as was Mohammed. (St. Peter Mavimenus) Mohammed was a disciple of the
devil, and his followers are in a state of perdition. (St. George of San
Saba) We can no more pray for a deceased
infidel than we can for the devil, since they are condemned to the same
eternal and irrevocable damnation. (Pope St. Gregory the Great) Those who die as infidels are
damned. (Pope St. Pius X) Where knowledge of the eternal and
unchangeable Truth is lacking, there is only false virtue even with the best
of conduct. For, without worship of the true God, even what might seem to be
virtue is sin. (St. Prosper of Aquitaine) Unbelief is a mortal sin. (Council
of Trent) Is unbelief a mortal sin? Listen
to Our Lord: "If you do not believe that I am He, you shall die in your
sins!" (Jn. 8:24). (St. Benedict Joseph Labre)
O ye atheists who do not believe
in God, what fools you are! But if you do believe there is a God, you must
also believe there is a true religion. And if not the Roman Catholic, which
is? Perhaps that of the pagans who admit many gods, and thus deny them all.
Perhaps that of Mohammed, a religion invented by an imposter and framed for
beasts rather than humans. Perhaps that of the Jews who had the true faith at
one time but, because they rejected their Redeemer, lost their faith, their
country, their everything. Perhaps that of heretics
who, separating themselves our Church, have confused all revealed dogmas in
such a way that the belief of one heretic is contrary to that of his
neighbor. O holy faith! Enlighten all those poor blind creatures who run to
eternal perdition! (St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori) O eternal God, remember that the
souls of infidels have been created by Thee after Thine
own image and likeness. Behold, Lord, how to the dishonor of Thy name, Hell
is peopled with them! Forget their idolatry and infidelity, and grant that
they may at length acknowledge Our Lord Jesus Christ in Whom
is our salvation. (St. Francis Xavier) REFERENCES BOOK
III, CHAPTER TWO 1. Gregory the Great: Cf. "Moralia," ch.14:5; PL 75 2. Nilus: Epistle 28,
Allatius, Rome: 1668, L.III, p.304; PG 79, FOC
p.182 3. Fulgentius:
Epistle 17:51; JUR vol.III:2244 4. Alphonsus Maria: TRE p.86-87 5. John Chrysostom: "On the
Consolation of Death," Sermon 2, PG 56:299 6. John Bosco: DON BOSCO: Spiritual Portrait,
Phelan: 1963 9. Gregory the Great: "Moralia," 34:19, PL 75:509; SKL p.61 11. Prosper:
"The Call of All Nations," Bk. I:7, JUR vol.III:2042 12. Trent:
"On Justification," ch.15; cf. DNZ:808, 837 14. Alphonsus Maria: IBI p.407 ff. |