"Sinners in Hell," Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta, Torcello (Italy,12th century)
The following is taken from a sermon of St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church, for the First Sunday of Lent:
"St. Basil, St. Jerome, St. John Chrysostom, St. Augustine, and other fathers, teach, that, as God ... has fixed for each person the number of the days of his life, and the degrees of health and talent which he will give him, so he has also determined for each the number of sins which he will pardon; and when this number is completed, he will pardon no more . . . .God is ready to heal those who sincerely wish to amend their lives, but cannot take pity on the obstinate sinner. . . .You say: I am young: there are many who have committed more sins than I have. But is God on that account obliged to wait for your repentance if you offend him? . . . . You must, then, tremble at the thought of committing a single mortal sin, particularly if you have already been guilty of mortal sins."
St. Alphonsus Liguori, pray for us.
I'm doomed.
ReplyDeleteI left out some of the scarier parts, but I guess I left in too many
ReplyDelete.