"It is granted to few to recognize the true Church amid the darkness of so many schisms and heresies, and to fewer still so to love the truth which they have seen as to fly to its embrace." St. Robert Bellarmine, Doctor of the Church
Since I have come back to America, the obvious sins of this nation have crushed my heart, as I realize how many people have turned away from God.
"Do you not perceive how many qualities a priest must have that he may be strong in his teaching, patient, and hold fast to the faithful word which is according to doctrine? What care and pains does this require! Moreover, he is answerable for the sins of others. To pass over everything else: If but one soul dies without Baptism, does it not entirely endanger his own salvation? For the loss of one soul is so great an evil that it is impossible to express it in words. For if the salvation of that soul was of such value that the Son of God became man and suffered so much, think of how great a punishment must the losing of it bring." St. John Chrysostom, Doctor and Father of the Church
So few follow the rigorous steps necessary for salvation. If we aim for purgatory, we shall find ourselves in hell; if we aim for heaven, we may find ourselves in purgatory.
"Since their eternal happiness, consisting in the vision of God, exceeds the common state of nature, and especially in so far as this is deprived of grace through the corruption of original sin, those who are saved are in the minority. In this especially, however, appears the mercy of God, that He has chosen some for that salvation, from which very many in accordance with the common course and tendency of nature fall short." St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church
