The Fathers and Saints on the Fewness of the Saved
A compilation of quotes exhibiting the tradition that relatively very few will be saved.
The references are given at the end.
For many are called but few are chosen. St. Mark 20:16
Lord, are there few that are saved? But he said to them: Strive to enter by the narrow
gate; for many, I tell you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able. St. Luke
13:23-24
Enter ye in at the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads
to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate and how strait is the way that leads
to life, and few there are that find it! St. Matthew 7:13-14
Be one of the small number who find the way to life, and enter by the narrow gate into Heaven. Take care not to
follow the majority and the common herd, so many of whom are lost. Do not be deceived; there are only two roads:
one that leads to life and is narrow; the other that leads to death and is wide. There is no middle way. St. Louis Marie de Montfort
How many souls turn away from the road to glory, and go to hell! St. Francis Xavier
There are many who arrive at the faith, but few who are led into the heavenly kingdom. Behold how many are gathered
here for today's Feast-Day: we fill the church from wall to wall. Yet who knows how few they are who shall be numbered
in that chosen company of the Elect? Pope St. Gregory the Great
The greater number of men still say to God: Lord we will not serve Thee; we would rather be slaves of the devil,
and condemned to Hell, than be Thy servants. Alas! The greatest number, my Jesus - we may say nearly all - not
only do not love Thee, but offend Thee and despise Thee. How many countries there are in which there are scarcely
any Catholics, and all the rest either infidels or heretics! And all of them are certainly on the way to being
lost. St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori
A multitude of souls fall into the depths of Hell, and it is of the faith that all who die in mortal sin are condemned
for ever and ever. According to statistics, approximately 80,000 persons die every day. How many of these will
die in mortal sin, and how many will be condemned! For, as their lives have been, so also will be their end. St. Anthony Mary Claret
As a man lives, so shall he die. St. Augustine
Ah! A great many persons live constantly in the state of damnation! St. Vincent de Paul
I had the greatest sorrow for the many souls that condemned themselves to Hell, especially those Lutherans. [...]
I saw souls falling into hell like snowflakes. St. Teresa of Avila
The Lord called the world a "field" and all the faithful who draw near to him "wheat." All
through the field, and around the threshing-floor, there is both wheat and chaff. But the greater part is chaff;
the lesser part is wheat, for which is prepared a barn not a fire. [...] The good also are many, but in comparison
with the wicked the good are few. Many are the grains of wheat, but compared with the chaff, the grains are few.
St. Augustine
The more the wicked abound, so much the more must we suffer with them in patience; for on the threshing floor few
are the grains carried into the barns, but high are the piles of chaff burned with fire. Pope St. Gregory the Great
What do you think? How many of the inhabitants of this city may perhaps be saved? What I am about to tell you is
very terrible, yet I will not conceal it from you. Out of this thickly populated city with its thousands of inhabitants
not one hundred people will be saved. I even doubt whether there will be as many as that! St. John Chrysostom
Taking into account the behaviour of mankind, only a small part of the human race will be saved. Lucy of Fatima
So many people are going to die, and almost all of them are going to Hell! So many people falling into hell! Jacinta
of Fatima
Countless hosts have fallen into Hell. Venerable Mary of Agreda
The perverse are hard to be corrected, and the number of fools is infinite. Ecclesiastes 1:15
The greater part of men choose to be damned rather than to love Almighty God. St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori
The number of the damned is incalculable. St. Veronica Giuliani
What is the number of those who love Thee, O God? How few they are! The Elect are much fewer than the damned! Alas!
The greater portion of mankind lives in sin unto the devil, and not unto Jesus Christ. O Saviour of the world,
I thank Thee for having called and permitted us to live in the true faith which the Holy Roman Catholic Church
teaches. [...] But alas, O my Jesus! How small is the number of those who live in this holy faith! Oh, God! The
greater number of men lie buried in the darkness of infidelity and heresy. Thou hast humbled Thyself to death,
to the death of the cross, for the salvation of men, and these ungrateful men are unwilling even to know Thee.
Ah, I pray Thee, O omnipotent God, O sovereign and infinite Good, make all men know and love Thee! St. Alphonsus
Maria Liguori
I see around me a multitude of those who, blindly persevering in error, despise the true God; but I am a Christian
nevertheless, and I follow the instruction of the Apostles. If this deserves chastisement, reward it; for I am
determined to suffer every torture rather then become the slave of the devil. Others may do as they please since
they are [...] reckless of the future life which is to be obtained only by sufferings. Scripture tells us that
"narrow is the way that leads to life" [...] because it is one of affliction and of persecutions suffered
for the sake of justice; but it is wide enough for those who walk upon it, because their faith and the hope of
an eternal reward make it so for them. [...] On the contrary, the road of vice is in reality narrow, and it leads
to an eternal precipice. St. Leo of Patara
I was watching souls going down into the abyss as thick and fast as snowflakes falling in the winter mist. Blessed
Benedict Joseph Labre
The majority of men shall not see God, excepting those who live justly, purified by righteousness and by every
other virtue. St. Justin the Martyr
The majority of souls appear before the Judgement empty-handed. They did nothing good for eternity. Venerable Mary
of Agreda
All infidels and heretics are surely on the way to being lost. What an obligation we owe God! for causing us to
be born not only after the coming of Jesus Christ, but also in countries where the true faith reigns! I thank Thee,
O Lord, for this. Woe to me if, after so many transgressions, it had been my fate to live in the midst of infidels
or heretics! St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori
Brethren, the just man shall scarcely be saved. What, then, will become of the sinner? St. Arsenius
If the just man shall scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly man and the sinner appear? I St. Peter 1:18
I fear that Last Day, that day of tribulation and anguish, of calamity and misery, of mist and darkness, that Day
on which, if the just have reason to fear, how much more should I: an impious, wretched, and ungrateful sinner!
Blessed Sebastian Valfre
The Ark, which in the midst of the Flood was a symbol of the Church, was wide below and narrow above; and, at the
summit, measured only a single cubit. [...] It was wide where the animals were, narrow where men lived: for the
Holy Church is indeed wide in the number of those who are carnal-minded, narrow in the number of those who are
spiritual. Pope St. Gregory the Great
In the Great Deluge in the days of Noah, nearly all mankind perished, eight persons alone being saved in the Ark.
In our days a deluge, not of water but of sins, continually inundates the earth, and out of this deluge very few
escape. Scarcely anyone is saved. St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori
Out of one hundred thousand sinners who continue in sin until death, scarcely one will be saved. St. Jerome
Get out of the filth of the horrible torrent of this world, the torrent of thorns that is whirling you into the
abyss of eternal perdition. [...] This torrent is the world, which resembles an impetuous torrent, full of garbage
and evil odours, making a lot of noise but flowing swiftly passed, dragging the majority of men into the pit of
perdition. St. John Eudes
Oh how much are the worldlings deceived that rejoice in the time of weeping, and make their place of imprisonment
a palace of pleasure; that consider the examples of the saints as follies, and their end as dishonourable; that
think to go to Heaven by the wide way that leadeth only to perdition! St. John Southwell
Nor should we think that it is enough for salvation that we are no worse off than the mass of the careless and
indifferent, or that in out faith we are, like so many others, uninstructed. St. Bede the Venerable
We owe God a deep regret of gratitude for the purely gratuitous gift of the true faith with which he has favoured
us. How many are the infidels, heretics and schismatics who do not enjoy comparable happiness? The earth is full
of them and they are all lost! St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori
One day, St. Macarius found a skull and asked it whose head it had been. "A pagan's!" it replied. "And
where is your soul?" he asked. "In Hell!" came the reply. Macarius then asked the skull if its place
was very deep in Hell. "As far down as the earth is lower than Heaven!" "And are there any other
souls lodged even lower?" "Yes! The souls of the Jews!" "And even lower than the Jews?"
"Yes! The souls of bad Christians who were redeemed with the blood of Christ and held there privilege so cheaply!"
Blessed James of Voragine
St. Teresa, as the Roman Rota attests, never fell into any mortal sin; but still Our Lord showed her the place
prepared for her in Hell; not because she deserved Hell, but because, had she not risen from the state of lukewarmness
in which she lived, she would in the end have lost the grace of God and been damned. St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori
They who are to be saved as Saints, and wish to be saved as imperfect souls, shall not be saved. Pope St. Gregory
the Great
They who are enlightened to walk in the way of perfection, and through lukewarmness wish to tread the ordinary
path, shall be abandoned. Blessed Angela of Foligno
If you want to be certain of being in the number of the Elect, strive to be one of the few, not one of the many.
And if you would be quite sure of your 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 night, so that they may attain everlasting
blessedness. St. Anselm
Live with the few if you want to reign with the few. St. John Climacus
Many begin well, but there are few who persevere. St. Jerome
The saints are few, but we must live with the few if we would be saved with the few. O God, too few indeed they
are; yet among those few I wish to be! St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori
Those who are saved are in the minority. St. Thomas Aquinas
If you wish to imitate the multitude, then you shall not be among the few who shall enter in by the narrow gate.
St. Augustine
There are few, not many, who enter in at the narrow gate and find the strait way to eternal life. Origen
The path to Heaven is narrow, rough and full of wearisome and trying ascents, nor can it be trodden without great
toil; and therefore wrong is their way, gross their error, and assured their ruin who, after the testimony of so
many thousands of saints, will not learn where to settle their footing. St. Robert Southwell
So that you will better appreciate the meaning of Our Lord's words, and perceive more clearly how few the Elect
are, note that Christ did not say that those who walked in the path to Heaven are few in number, but that there
were few who found that narrow way. It is as though the Saviour intended to say: The path leading to Heaven is
so narrow and so rough, so overgrown, so dark and difficult to discern, that there are many who never find it their
whole life long. And those who do find it are constantly exposed to the danger of deviating from it, of mistaking
their way, and unwittingly wandering away from it, because it is so irregular and overgrown. St. Jerome
It is granted to few to recognise the true Church amid the darkness of so many schisms and heresies, and to fewer
still so to love the truth which they have seen as to fly to its embrace. St. Robert Bellarmine
Ah! How very small is the kingdom of Jesus Christ! So many nations have never had the faith! St. Peter Julian Eymard
We were so fortunate to be born in the bosom of the Roman Church, in Christian and Catholic kingdoms, a grace that
has not been granted to the greater part of men, who are born among idolaters, Mohammedans, or heretics. [...]
How thankful we ought to be, then, to Jesus Christ for the gift of faith! What would have become of us if we had
been born in Asia, in Africa, in America, or in the midsts of heretics and schismatics? He who does not believe
is lost. He who does not believe shall be condemned. And thus, probably, we also would have been lost. St. Alphonsus
Maria Liguori
So vast a number of miserable souls perish, and so comparatively few are saved! St. Philip Neri
For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth, in the midst of the people, as though a few olives that remain
should be shaken out of the olive tree, or grapes when the vintage is ended. Isaias 24:13
The number of the saved is as few as the number of grapes left after the vineyard-pickers have passed. St. John
Mary Vianney
And it shall be as when a man gathers in the harvest which remains. [...] And the fruit thereof that shall be left
shall be as a single cluster of grapes; and as the shaking of the olive tree: two or three berries on the top of
the bough, of four or five on the top of the tree, says the Lord, the God of Israel. Isaias 17:5-6
That those who walk in the way of salvation are the smaller number is due to the vice and depraved habits imbibed
in youth and nourished in childhood. By these means Lucifer has hurled into Hell so great a number of souls, and
continues thus to hurl them into Hell every day, casting so many nations from abyss to abyss of darkness and errors,
such as are contained in the heresies and false sects of the infidels. Venerable Mary of Agreda
Yes, indeed, many will be damned; few will be saved. St. Benedict Joseph of Labre
The holy man is perished from off the earth, and there is no one upright amongst men: they all lie in wait for
blood, every one. [...] He who is best among them is like a brier, and he who is righteous as the thorn. Micheas
7:2,4
But that which brings forth thorns and briers is reprobate, and very near unto a curse, whose end is to be burnt.
Hebrews 6:8
I do not speak rashly, but as I feel and think. I do not think that many priests are saved, but that those who
perish are far more numerous. St. John Chrysostom
A great number of Christians are lost. St. Leonard of Port Maurice
Bad confessions damned the majority of Christians. St. Teresa of Avila
Christ's flock is called "little" (Luke 12:32) in comparison with the greater number of the reprobates.
St. Bede the Venerable
The greater number of Christians today are damned. The destiny of those dying on one day is that very few - not
as many as ten - went strait to Heaven; many remained in Purgatory; and those cast into Hell were as numerous as
snowflakes in mid-winter. Blessed Anna Maria Taigi
The common opinion is that the greater part of adults is lost. St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori
Among adults there are few saved because of sins of the flesh. [...] With the exception of those who die in childhood,
most men will be damned. St. Regimius or Rheims
It is as though Jesus said: "O My Father, I am indeed going to clothe myself with human flesh, but the greater
part of the world will set no value on my blood!" St. Isidore of Seville
How many among these uncivilized peoples do not yet know God, and are sunk in the darkest idolatry, superstition
and ignorance! [...] Poor souls! These are they in whom Christ saw, in all the horror of His imminent Passion,
the uselessness of His agony for so many souls! St. Francis Xavier Cabrini
Nothing afflicts the heart of Jesus so much as to see all His sufferings of no avail to so many. St. John Mary
Vianney
O Jesus! [...] Remember the sadness that Thou didst experience when, contemplating in the light of Thy divinity
the predestination of those who would be saved by the merits of Thy sacred passion, thou didst see at the same
time the great multitude of reprobates who would be damned for their sins, and Thou didst complain bitterly of
those hopeless, lost, and unfortunate sinners. St. Bridget of Sweden
The greater part of men will set no value on the blood of Christ, and will go on offending Him. St. Isidore of
Seville
Take care not to resemble the multitude whose knowledge of God's will only condemns them to more severe punishment.
Blessed John of Avila
If you wish to imitate the multitude, you shall then not be among the few who shall enter in by the narrow way.
St. Augustine
The multitude was put forth. St. Matthew 9:25
How few the Elect are may be understood from the multitude being cast out. St. Hilary of Poitiers
Notwithstanding assurances that God did not create any man for Hell, and that He wishes all men to be saved, it
remains equally true that only few will be saved; that only few will go to Heaven; and that the greater part of
mankind will be lost forever. St. John Neumann
Meditate on the horrors of Hell which will last for eternity because of one easily-committed mortal sin. Try hard
to be among the few who are chosen. Think of the eternal flames of Hell, and how few there are that are saved.
St. Benedict Joseph Labre
Ah, how many souls lose Heaven and are cast into Hell! St. Francis Xavier
Taking into account the present development of humanity, only a limited number of the human race will be saved
[...] many will be lost. Lucy of Fatima
All persons desire to be saved, but the greater part, because they will not adopt the means of being saved, fall
into sin and are lost. [...] In fact, the Elect are much fewer than the damned, for the reprobate are much more
numerous than the Elect. St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori
Shall we all be saved? Shall we go to Heaven? Alas, my children, we do not know at all! But I tremble when I see
so many souls lost these days. See, they fall into Hell as leaves fall from the trees at the approach of winter.
St. John Mary Vianney
Behold how many there are who are called, and how few who are chosen! And behold, if you have no care for yourself,
your perdition is more certain than your amendment, especially since the way that leads to eternal life is so narrow.
St. John of the Cross
Throughout many generations, few are chosen. Origen
It is certain that few are saved. St. Augustine
There are a select few who are saved. St. Thomas Aquinas
The number of the elect is so small - so small - that, were we to know how small it is, we would faint away with
grief: one here and there, scattered up and down the world! St. Louis Marie de Montfort
And they [...] shall be so few that they shall easily be counted, and a child shall write them down. Isaias 10:19
Oh, Jesus, Divine Redeemer of souls, behold how great is the multitude of those who still sleep in the darkness
of error! Reckon up the number of those who stray to the edge of the precipice. Consider the throngs of the poor,
the hungry, the ignorant, and the feeble who groan in their abandoned condition. Oh Lord, our sins darken our understanding,
and hide from us the blessing of loving Thee as Thou dost merit. Enlighten our minds with a ray of Thy divine light.
Thou art the Friend, the Redeemer, and the Father of the one who turns penitent to Thy Sacred Heart. Amen. Pope
St. Pius X
References:
Luke: op. cit.
Matthew: op. cit.
Louis Marie: The Love of Eternal Wisdom, trans. A. Sommers, SMM, Bayshore, NY: Montfort Publications, 1960, p.133
Francis: "From the Housetops," Still River, MA: 1986, no.28, p.25, col. 1
Gregory: "On the Gospels," Homily 19. Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers, trans. and ed., Fr. M. F.
Toal, Chicago: Regnery Co., 1955, I:382
Alphonsus Maria: The Incarnation, Birth and Infancy of Jesus Christ, 292.
Anthony Mary: Madrid: Library of Christian Authors, 1947. (It is interesting that on the day that St. Bernard died,
it was revealed 80,000 persons died and went to judgement with him; and that only Bernard and two other monks were
saved of the entire number.)
Augustine: The Great Commentary of Cornelius Lapide, 4:340
Vincent: cf. Voice of the Saints, Francis W. Johnston, London: Burnes and Oats, 1965.
Teresa: Saints to Know and Love, MICM
Augustine, "Against Cresconius", bk.4, ch.53
Gregory: Homily 38
Quercy "Redemption and Grace", ch.3, Denzinger 318
John: "To the People of Antioch", Homily 40
Lucy: The Secret of Fatima: Fact and Legend, Joaquin Maria Alonso, CMF, Cambridge: Ravensgate Press, 1982, p.106
Jacinta: Our Lady of Fatima, Dr. William Thos. Walsh
Mary of Agreda: Mystical City of God, trans. Geo Blatter, Washington, NJ: Ave Maria Institute, 1971
Ecclesiastes: op. cit.
Alphonsus Maria: The Way of Salvation and Perfection, 311
Veronica Giuliani: cf. The Voice of the Saints, op. cit.
Alphonsus Maria: On the Council of Trent
Leo: Victories of the Martyrs, St. Aplhonsus, 205-6
Benedict Joseph: cf. Life of the Servant of God, Benedict Joseph Labre
Justin: First Apology, XXI
Mary of Agreda, op. cit.
Alphonsus Maria: cf. The Incarnation, Birth and Infancy, 291-2
Arsenius: Life of,
Peter: op. cit.
Sebastian: Letters From the Saints, NY: Hawthorne Books, 1964
Gregory: Homily 38:8
Alphonsus Maria: Sermons
Jerome: Preparation for Death, St. Alphonsus, 75
John Eudes: The Admirable Heart of Mary
Robert: Letters From the Saints, op. cit. 19
Bede: Sermon 16
Alphonsus Maria: Instructions on the Commandments and Sacraments, 66, no. 19
James: The Golden Legend
Alphonsus Maria: Dignities and Duties of the Priest, 90
Gregory: Dignities and Duties of the Priest, 97
Angela: "Vision", ch. 51
Anselm, cf. Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers
John: "Ladder to Paradise"
Jerome: cf. "Commentary on Matthew"
Alphonsus Maria: The Holy Eucharist, 494
Thomas Aquinas: Summa Theologica I q.23, art.8, ad.3
Augustine: Sermon 224:1
Origen: cf. "Commentary on Matthew"
Robert: Letters From the Saints, op. cit. 19-20
Jerome: "Commentary on Matthew", 7
Robert:
Peter Julian: The Real Presence
Alphonsus Maria: The Incarnation, Birth and Infancy, 153, 156
Philip Neri:
Isaias: op. cit.
John Mary: Gate of Heaven, MICM, 37
Isaias: op. cit.
Mary of Agreda: Mystical City of God
Benedict Joseph: cf. Life of,
Michaes: op. cit.
Hebrews: op. cit.
John, Gate of Heaven, MICM, 38.
Vincent:
Leonard: cf. The Hidden Treasure
Teresa: Instructions on the Commandments and Sacraments, St. Alphonsus, 287, no.37
Bede: Cornelius A Lapide's Great Commentary, 4: 298
Anna Maria: Life of,
Alphonsus Maria: Preparation for Death, 174
Regimus: Book 1 (with Cyprian.)
Isidore:
Frances: Immigrant Saint: The Life of Mother Cabrini, Pietro di Donato, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1960, 168
John Mary: Thoughts of the Cure d'Ars, Rockford, IL: TAN, 1984
Bridget: The Magnificent Promises, Atlanta, GA: Marian Publications, 1971, p.8
Isidore: cf. The Incarnation, Birth and Infancy, St. Alphonsus, 204
John of Avila: Letters From the Saints, op. cit. 188
Augustine: cf. Catena Aurea, St. Thomas Aquinas
Matthew: op. cit.
Hilary: Lapide's Commentary I:372
John Neumann: "From the Housetops", Still River: MA 1977, vol.5, no. 1, p.75, col.2
Benedict Joseph: Life of,
Francis: Letters and Shorter Works
Lucy: Fatima, The Great Sign, Francis Johnston, Rockford, IL: TAN, 1980, p.36
Alphonsus Maria: Preparation for Death, 407-8; The Great Means of Salvation and Perfection, 129
John Mary:
John of the Cross: Complete Works
Origen: "Commentary on Matthew"
Augustine: Sermon 111; also "Against Cresconius" bk3, ch.66 and bk.4, ch.53
Thomas Aquinas: Summa Theologica I, Qu.23, art.7, ad 3
Louis Marie:
Isaias: op. cit. Pius X: Raccolta, Boston: Benzinger Bros., 1957, 659
St. John Marie Vianney