For the consolation and encouragement of the Christian it must here be remarked that if the number of his enemies is so appallingly great, the number of his friends is still greater. 

"Fear not, for there are more with us than with them." So spoke the prophet Eliseus to his frightened servant. "And the Lord opened the eyes of the servant and he saw; and behold the mountain was full of horses and of chariots of fire"( 4 Kings vi. 16). We are not left to do battle alone; our holy guardian angel and all the blessed spirits are on our side; we may rely on the powerful protection of the Mother of God, on the virtue of the sacraments, the merits of Christ's Passion, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and the help of almighty God. By means of these mighty aids we shall overcome, if we fight bravely and do not weakly yield ourselves into captivity, as unhappily too many do. For these timid, slothful, spiritless persons delude themselves with the false hope that, after all, heaven is not hard to win. They think and say to themselves. It is not so bad a case as some would make out; Christ did not suffer for us for naught; if it were not God's will that we should be saved, He would not have created us for the enjoyment of heaven. These and similar words we hear from the lips of the children of this world; they live according to these notions, and succeed in deceiving themselves and others. 

That such persons are in error, and that they are walking on the broad road that leads to destruction, Holy Scripture leaves us no doubt. The whole teaching of the Gospel is wholly at variance with the principles they follow; and those who live a careless life and indulge their senses are repeatedly warned that eternal death will be their portion. Listen to the admonition Christ addresses to the follower of this world and the lovers of its luxuries: "Woe to you that are rich, for you have your consolation. Woe to you that are filled, for you shall hunger; woe to you that now laugh, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you when men shall bless you," that is, when men of bad principles, opposed to the maxims of religion, applaud your words, your actions, your opinions. This denunciation from Our Lord's lips may well fill us with dismay. 

What object in life have the great majority of mankind? What is it that they strive after and crave for? 

They desire to be rich, to be prosperous, to live in luxury, and to be praised by their fellowmen. Nobody considers this to be a sin. And yet Our Lord declares that everlasting death will be the doom of such persons, and He denounces them in forcible language. 

From these and similar passages, which abound in Holy Scripture, thou seest that God is more strict than thou dost imagine, and it is a more easy matter to lose thy soul than thou perhaps thinkest. Wherefore do not any longer live so heedlessly, but work out thy salvation with fear and trembling, as the Apostle exhorts thee. The saints did so at all times, having the fear of God's judgments ever before their eyes. The ungodly, on the contrary, where ever wont to say, as many do at the present day: God is merciful, He will not condemn us so lightly to eternal damnation. But remember what is said in Holy Scripture: "Be not without fear about sin forgiven, and add not sin to sin. And say not, The mercy of the Lord is great, He will have mercy on the multitude of my sins. For mercy and wrath come quickly from Him, and His wrath looketh upon sinners" (Ecclus. v- 5-7) 

We also find St. Catharine of Sienna saying: "O unhappy sinners, do not rely upon the greatness of God's mercy; believe me, the more you provoke the anger of this merciful God by wilful sin, the deeper you will be cast into the abyss of perdition." 

It is undoubtedly true that we ought to place our trust in God's mercy; but what the nature of our confidence should be, we are taught by St. Gregory. He says: "Let him who does all that he can, rely firmly upon the mercy of God. But for him who does not do all that lies within his power to rely upon the mercy of God would be simple presumption." To each and all of us the Apostle Peter says: "Labor the more, that by good works you may make your calling and election sure" (2 Pet. i. 10).

Several of the Fathers of the Church consider that from the fact that at the time of the deluge only eight persons were saved, at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha only four---namely, Lot, his wife and his two daughters---escaped with their lives, and of the six hundred thousand able men who departed out of Egypt not more than two reached the Promised Land, the others all dying in the desert, it may be concluded that the number of the elect amongst Christians will be proportionately small. This agrees with what St. John Chrysostom said on one occasion when he was preaching in the city of Antioch: "What think you, my hearers, how many of the inhabitants of this city may perhaps be saved? What I am about to say is very terrible, yet I will not conceal it from you. Out of this thickly populated city with its thousands of inhabitants not a hundred will be saved; I even doubt whether there will be as many as that. For what indifference we see amongst the aged, what wickedness amongst the young, what impiety amongst all classes of people." 

Such words as these may well make us tremble. We should hesitate to believe them, did they not come from the lips of so great a saint and Father of the Church. And if it is true that in the first five centuries, when the zeal and devotion of Christians was much more fervent than it is now, so small a number attained everlasting salvation, what will it be in our own day, when crime and vice prevail to so fearful an extent ? 

Since it is impossible for any one to deny, or even to doubt, that the number of the elect is small in proportion to that of the lost, I beseech thee, O Christian reader, exert thyself to the utmost to accomplish the work of thy salvation. Thou knowest what an awful thing it is to be damned eternally. The plagues and torments of hell are so terrible that words cannot be found to describe them. Consider in time the eternity of those unspeakable tortures, and take heed, lest thou too be cast into the abyss of never-ending anguish. 

How wouldst thou be able to endure torments so immeasurable, so endless? Wouldst thou not despond and despair, wouldst thou not storm and rage? Yet that would avail thee nothing; it would only add to thy sufferings and increase thy misery. 

All this is most terrible, most awful, most appalling. Now is it that thou dost not think about it more often? How is it possible that thou canst live on so heedlessly? How is it possible that thou hast not more fear of hell? Dost thou perhaps think thyself secure of heaven? How is it that thou dost go with the multitude, as if thou didst not know that thou art in great danger of perishing with the multitude? 

If thou wouldst be saved, follow the counsel of St. Anselm, when he says. "If thou wouldst be certain of being in the number of the elect, strive to be one of the few, not of the many. And if thou wouldst be quite sure of thy salvation, strive to be among the fewest of the few; that is to say: Do not follow the great majority of mankind, but follow those who enter upon the narrow way, who renounce the world, who give themselves to prayer, and who never relax their efforts by day or by night, that they may attain everlasting happiness."