You will be either saved, or lost – Liguori

I love St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori.   Such an incredible Saint.  Here is Meditation LII of The Way of Salvation and Perfection, The Certainty of Being Either Saved or Lost:

With fear and trembling, saith the Apostle, work out your salvation (Phil 2:12). In order to be saved we should tremble lest we be lost, for there is no medium; we must be either saved or lost forever. He who trembles not is in great danger of being lost, because he takes but little care to employ the means of obtaining salvation. God desires that all should be saved, and he gives to all his Grace; but He requires that all should cooperate for this end. All desire to be saved; many, because they will not employ the means of salvation, are lost. [How many!  A great many?!?  You are either advancing in faith and sanctification, or you are receding!  There is no standing still. Do more!  Always strive to do more in your spiritual life!] St. Philip Neri used to say, “Heaven is not made for the slothful.”

Enlighten me, O Lord, that I may know what I ought to do, and what to avoid, for I desire to do all that Thou requirest of me. I am determined, by Thy Grace, to save my soul.

St. Teresa of Jesus said to her religious, “One soul, my daughters, one eternity!” She meant that in this world we ought not to attend to anything but to the savlation of our souls; because if the soul be lost, all will be lost;’ and if once lost, will be lost forever. Benedict XII, being asked by a prince for a favor that he could not grant without committing sin, answered the ambassador: “Tell your prince that if I had two souls I would give him one; but as I have only one, I cannot consent to lose it for his sake.” Thus should we answer the devil or the world when they offer us forbidden fruit.

O God! How have I lost my soul by forfeiting Thy Grace! But since Thou offerest meThy pardon, I destest all the offences I have committed against Thee, and love Thee above all things.

Would that we were fully impressed with the meaning of that great maxim of St. Francis Xavier, “There is but one evil, and there is but one good in the world.” The only evil is damnation, the only good, salvation. No, poverty, infirmity, ignominies are not evils; these when embraced with resignation will increase our glory in Heaven. On the other hand, riches, and honors are not goods for too many Christians, because they become to them greater occasion of losing their souls. [We must always remember Christ’s love for the poor. We must always remember how we will be judged. We will be asked if we fed the hungry, clothed the naked, etc. But at the same time, I fear many in the Church today have made an “evil” out of poverty. An evil that must be destroyed, to the extent that it becomes almost the sole, or at least dominant, concern of the Church. But Christ solemnly promised “the poor you will always have with you.” Poverty and sickness can be great vehicles of sanctification, if they are embraced as such. That is why at many Novus Ordo Masses I get distinctly uncomfortable when I hear imprecatory prayers that ask our Lord to “end” poverty, or do away with sickness, etc.  Those things could be what ticket to salvation for some!  And we ought to hear far more about how our riches make it so difficult to enter Heaven. I, and so many others, are a bunch of spoiled, over-comfortable, demanding, impatient, vice-filled brats. I pray I may learn to be much happier with much less] 

Save me, then, O God! And do with me what Thou pleasest. Thou knowest and willest what is best for me. I abandon myself to Thy mercy: into thy hands, Lo Lord, I commend my spirit (Ps 30:6). I am so sorry for having been hitherto opposed to Thy Will, as to die to expiate my offences; but now I love Thee, and will nothing but what Thou willest. Grant me Thy love, that I may be faithful to Thee. And Mary, give me thy powerful assistance.

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Oh, Lord, please bless Your Church with dozens hundreds more men like St. Alphonsus in your episcopate!  At the same time! Now!  Please, Lord!  I know we are probably getting what we deserve, but have mercy on us!  Give us better, much better, infinitely better than we deserve!