How Many Will Actually Be Saved?
Why we need a lot more "hellfire and brimstone" in our churches
We’d like to believe that nearly everybody (except for the serial killers and Hitler) will go to Heaven, and that Hell—as even some priests and bishops have stated—may be empty.
That is complete hogwash, and in the last week I’ve gathered ample evidence for it, beginning with a YouTube video titled, “The Little Number of Those Who Are Saved.”
It starts with an ominous quote from St. Vincent Ferrer, who one week after his death reportedly appeared to his bishop and said, “Know, Monsignor, that at the very hour I passed away, 33,000 people also died. Out of this number, (Saint) Bernard and myself went up to Heaven without delay, three went to Purgatory, and all the others fell into Hell.”
It’s a wakeup call, for sure. So was the lengthy, quite candid (and so necessary!!!) speech by Fr. Daniel Maria Klimek T.O.R. at our parish’s Divine Mercy Sunday celebration.
"My soul suffered the most dreadful loathing in the Garden of Olives because of lukewarm souls.”
—Jesus to St. Faustina, Diary 1228
He mentioned how Jesus himself said that most people will go to Hell: “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13–14)
Then he read from the famous Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska—and God bless his heart, he chose all the juiciest pieces.
Like this heart-wrenching passage from the Diary:
When I came for adoration, an inner recollection took hold of me immediately, and I saw the Lord Jesus tied to a pillar, stripped of His clothes, and the scourging began immediately. I saw four men who took turns at striking the Lord with scourges. My heart almost stopped at the sight of these tortures.
The Lord said to me, I suffer even greater pain than that which you see. And Jesus gave me to know what sins He subjected Himself to the scourging: these are sins of impurity. Oh, how dreadful was Jesus’s moral suffering during the scourging!
Then Jesus said to me, Look and see the human race in its present condition. In an instant, I saw horrible things: the executioners left Jesus, and other people started scourging Him; they seized the scourges and struck the Lord mercilessly. These were priests, religious men and women, and high dignitaries of the Church, which surprised me greatly. There were lay people of all ages and walks of life. All vented their malice on the innocent Jesus.
Seeing this, my heart fell as if into a mortal agony. And while the executioners had been scourging Him, Jesus had been silent and looking into the distance; but when those other souls I mentioned scourged Him, Jesus closed His eyes, and a soft but most painful moan escaped from His heart. And Jesus gave me to know in detail the gravity of the malice of these ungrateful souls: You see, this is a torture greater than My death.
When Fr. Daniel started talking, there was a line of perhaps 15 people waiting to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
By the time he was done, people were crying, and many who had had no intention of going to confession got out of their pews and joined the queue (including myself). In the end, at least two-thirds of the attendees had gone to confession.
Frankly, I think our priests should give a lot more stern and admonishing homilies like this. I want to hear them talk about sin, what it does to our souls, what exactly constitutes sin according to Church teachings—and how we need to stop sinning, pick up our crosses, and follow Jesus, or we will be lost.
People need to be shaken out of their comfortable stupor. Many priests don’t want to offend anyone, and that’s sweet… but ultimately it’s their job to save our souls, not to make us feel good.
It’s wonderful to hear that Jesus loves us, but we need to go beyond that… way beyond. Jesus also loved the rich young man, but he still couldn’t save him because he wasn’t willing to do what it took to become a true disciple.
If in November 2020, two years into my Catholic life, I hadn’t been so shocked by Christine Watkins’ book, The Warning, I’d still be on the road to destruction… and not even know it. I thought I was doing well, while nothing could have been further from the truth.
By the way, hearing about St. Vincent Ferrer’s quote, a friend of mine said dejectedly, “If almost no one goes to Heaven, then why even try?” Because we must trust in God’s mercy and never, ever lose hope. Even the worst sinners will get a chance if they repent and throw themselves at Jesus’s feet.
Blessed Edvige Carboni, a little-known Italian mystic, stigmatic, and victim soul, often received visitations from souls in Purgatory asking her to pray for them.
Here’s an excerpt from the very good website, mysticsofthechurch.com:
Edvige wrote in her diary: “While I was praying in front of the Crucifix, a person appeared to me suddenly all in flames, a heard a voice say,
‘I am Benito Mussolini. The Lord has allowed me to come to you in order to get some relief from my sufferings in purgatory. I beg you as an act of charity to offer for me all your prayers, sufferings and humiliations for two years, if your director allows it. God’s mercy is infinite, but so is His justice. One cannot enter Heaven until one has paid the last penny of the debt owed to Divine Justice. Purgatory is terrible for me because I waited until the last moment to repent.’
One spring day in 1951, Jesus told me after Holy Communion: ‘This morning, the soul of Benito Mussolini has entered into Heaven.’”
Never lose hope. Never despair. But also don’t be complacent. Saints go to Heaven, so let’s all work together to become as holy as we can.