On the Same Subject

He who lives in sin takes up the habits and the appearance of the beasts. The beast, which has not reason, knows nothing but its appetites. So the man who makes himself like the beasts loses his reason, and lets himself be guided by the inclinations of his body. He takes his pleasure in good eating and drinking, and in enjoying the vanities of the world, which pass away like the wind. I pity the poor wretches who run after that wind; they gain very little, they give a great deal for very little profit,—they give their eternity for the miserable smoke of the world.

My children, how sad it is! when a soul is in a state of sin, it may die in that state; and even now, whatever it can do is without merit before God. That is the reason why the devil is so pleased when a soul is in sin, and perseveres in it, because he thinks that it is working for him, and that if it were to die he would have possession of it. When we are in sin, our soul is all diseased, all rotten; … it is pitiful. … The thought that the good God sees it ought to make it enter into itself. … And then, what pleasure is there in sin? None at all. We have frightful dreams that the devil is carrying us away, that we are falling over precipices. … Put yourself on good terms with God; have recourse to the Sacrament of Penance; you will sleep as quietly as an angel. You will be glad to waken in the night, to pray to God; you will have nothing but thanksgivings on your lips; you will rise towards heaven with great facility, as an eagle soars through the air.

See, my children, how sin degrades man; of an angel created to love God it makes a demon who will curse Him for all eternity. Ah! if Adam, our first father, had not sinned, and if we did not sin every day, how happy we should be! we should be as happy as the saints in heaven. There would be no more unhappy people on the earth. Oh, how beautiful it would be!

In fact, my children, it is sin that brings upon us all calamities, all scourges, war, famine, pestilence, earthquakes, fires, frost, hail, storms,—all that afflicts us, all that makes us miserable.

See, my children, a person who is in a state of sin is always sad. Whatever he does, he is weary and disgusted with every thing; while he who is at peace with God is always happy, always joyous. … Oh, beautiful life! Oh, beautiful death!

My children, we are afraid of death; I can well believe it. It is sin that makes us afraid of death; it is sin that renders death frightful, formidable; it is sin that terrifies the wicked at the hour of the fearful passage. Alas! O God! there is reason enough to be terrified, to think that one is accursed—accursed of God! It makes one tremble. Accursed of God! and why? for what do men expose themselves to be accursed of God? For a blasphemy, for a bad thought, for a bottle of wine, for two minutes of pleasure! For two minutes of pleasure to lose God, one’s soul, heaven, for ever! We shall see going up to heaven, in body and soul, that father, that mother, that sister, that neighbour, who were here with us, with whom we have lived, but whom we have not imitated; while we shall go down body and soul to burn in hell. The devils will rush to overwhelm us. All the devils whose advice we followed will come to torment us.

My children, if you saw a man prepare a great pile of wood, heaping up fagots one upon another, and when you asked him what he was doing, he were to answer you, “I am preparing the fire that is to burn me,” what would you think? And if you saw this same man set fire to the pile, and when it was lighted throw himself upon it, what would you say? This is what we do when we commit sin. It is not God who casts us into hell; we cast ourselves into it by our sins. The lost soul will say, “I have lost God, my soul, and heaven; it is through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault!” He will raise himself out of the fire only to fall back into it. He will always feel the desire of rising because he was created for God, the greatest, the highest of beings, the Most High, … as a bird shut up in a room flies to the ceiling, and falls down again; the justice of God is the ceiling which keeps down the lost.

There is no need to prove the existence of hell. Our Lord Himself speaks of it when He relates the history of the wicked rich man who cried out, “Lazarus! Lazarus!” We know very well that there is a hell, but we live as if there were not; we sell our souls for a few pieces of money. We put off our conversion till the hour of death; but who can assure us that we shall have time or strength at that formidable moment, which has been feared by all the saints—when hell will gather itself up for a last assault upon us, seeing that it is the decisive moment? There are many people who lose the faith, and never see hell till they enter it. The Sacraments are administered to them; but ask them if they have committed such a sin, and they will answer you, “Oh! settle that as you please.” …

Some people offend the good God every moment; their heart is an ant-hill of sins: it is like a spoilt piece of meat, half-eaten by worms. …

No, indeed; if sinners were to think of eternity—of that terrible For Ever!—they would be converted instantly. Cain has been in hell nearly six thousand years, and he is only just entering it.