Biblical, Patristic, and Magisterial Texts
The following is offered as a complement: a compilation of biblical, patristic, and magisterial texts assembled by our friend Adrián “Un Católico Ferreira,” creator of the website UnCatolico.com. It does not claim to be an exhaustive list, but rather collects some of the contributions sent by many readers through the blog comments section.
Sacred Scripture
Old Testament
“My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; I will punish you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. Then you will know that I am the LORD, who smite.” (Ezekiel 7:9)
“Lord, in distress they sought you; they poured out a prayer when your chastening caught up with them.” (Isaiah 26:16)
“You punish us for our guilt, what we treasure most crumbles away like a moth-eaten rag.” (Ps 39:12)
“My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline or be weary of his reproof.” (Prov 3:11)
“If with such care and indulgence you have punished the enemies of your children, those deserving death, giving them time and opportunity to abandon wickedness, with what exactitude did you judge your children to whose ancestors you gave such glorious oaths and sworn covenants! So then, while chastising us, you scourge our enemies ten thousand times harder, so that when we judge, we may reflect on your goodness, and when we are judged, may hope for mercy.” (Wisdom 12:20-22)
“Thus I will execute acts of judgment upon Egypt. Then they will know that I am the LORD.” (Ezekiel 30:19)
“Her mercenaries too within her were like fattened calves; yes, they too turned their backs and fled all together, they did not stand their ground, for their day of disaster was on them, the time of their punishment.” (Jer 46:21)
“Do not say, ‘I sinned, and what happened to me?’ for the Lord is slow to anger. Do not be so confident of forgiveness that you add sin to sin. And do not say, ‘His compassion is great, he will forgive my many sins.’ For with him are both mercy and wrath, and his anger rests on sinners. Do not delay to return to the Lord, do not put it off day after day; for suddenly the wrath of the Lord will blaze out, and at the time of punishment you will perish.” (Sir 5:4-7)
“Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the LORD your God disciplines you. So you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, by walking in his ways and by fearing him.” (Deuteronomy 8:5-6)
“Correct your child while there is still hope; do not be a willing party to his death.” (Proverbs 19:18)
“Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the LORD your God disciplines you.” (Deut 8:5)
“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.” (Ex 20:7)
New Testament
Epistles
“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.'” (Romans 12:19)
“For we know him who said, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.'” (Heb 10:30)
“For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” (1 Corinthians 11:29-30)
“For we know the one who said: Vengeance is mine; I will repay. And again: The Lord will judge his people.” (Hebrews 10:30)
“… and to give relief to you who are being harassed, and to us as well. He will do this when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his powerful angels, in a blaze of fire, to bring retribution on those who refuse to acknowledge God and on those who refuse to accept the gospel of our Lord Jesus. Such will suffer the punishment of eternal ruin, cut off from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his strength.” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9)
“For the Lord disciplines him whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers to discipline us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time at their pleasure, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant; later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (Heb 12:6-11)
“These things all happened to them as warnings for others, and they were written down to be a lesson for us who are living at the end of the age. So, any of you who thinks he is standing firm had better be careful he does not fall. The trials that you have had to bear are no more than people normally have. You can trust God not to let you be tried beyond your strength, and with any trial he will give you a way out of it and the strength to bear it.” [T.N.: The original ES text cites 1 Cor 10:6-11; the NJB passage is rendered from that citation] (1 Cor 10:12-13 and context)
“Rulers are not a terror to good conduct but to bad. If you want to live with no fear of authority, do what is good, and authority may even commend you. It is there to serve God for your benefit. But if you do wrong, be afraid: the sword is not borne without cause; it is God’s servant, an agent of punishment bringing retribution to the wrongdoer.” (Rom 13:3-4)
“For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.” (Romans 13:3-4)
“But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. For he will render to every man according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are factious and do not obey the truth, but obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury.” (Romans 2:5-8)
“Do not refuse to listen to him who is speaking. Those who refused to listen to the oracle that was given on earth could not escape retribution, still less shall we escape if we turn away from a voice that warns from heaven.” (Heb 12:25)
The Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles
“Peter then said, ‘Why did you and your husband agree to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Listen, at the door are the footsteps of those who buried your husband; they will carry you out, too.’ Instantly she fell at his feet and died. When the young men came in they found she was dead, and they carried her out and buried her by her husband.” (Acts 5:9-10)
“The angel replied, ‘I am Gabriel who stand in God’s presence, and I have been sent to speak to you and bring you this good news. Listen! Since you have not believed my words, which will come true at their appointed time, you will be silenced and have no power of speech until this has happened.'” (Luke 1:19-20)
“‘The servant who knows what his master wants, but has not even started to carry out those wishes, will receive many strokes of the lash. The one who did not know, but acted in a way that deserved a beating, will receive fewer strokes. When someone is given a great deal, a great deal will be demanded of that person; when someone is entrusted with a great deal, of that person even more will be expected. I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already!'” (Luke 12:47-49)
“It was just about this time that some people arrived and told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of their sacrifices. At this he said to them, ‘Do you suppose these Galileans who suffered like that were greater sinners than any other Galileans? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen on whom the tower at Siloam fell and killed them? Do you suppose that they were more guilty than all the other people living in Jerusalem? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.'” (Luke 13:1-5)
Matthew
Christ shall come “in his glory, escorted by all the angels […] All nations will be assembled before him and he will separate people one from another as the shepherd separates sheep from goats. He will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left […] And these will go away to eternal punishment, and the upright to eternal life.” (Matthew 25:31-32, 46)
“They asked him, ‘Who is the man who said to you, “Pick it up and walk”?’ But the man who had been cured had no idea who it was, since Jesus had disappeared into the crowd that filled the place. After this, Jesus met him in the Temple and said, ‘Now you are well again, sin no more, or something worse may happen to you.'” (John 5:12-14)
“Then he will say to those on his left hand, ‘Go away from me, with your curse upon you, to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'” (Matthew 25:41)
“‘Enter by the narrow gate, since the road that leads to destruction is wide and spacious, and many take it; but it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Beware of false prophets who come to you disguised as sheep but underneath are ravenous wolves.'” (Matthew 7:13-15)
Magisterium and Tradition of the Church
Council of Trent
“So great is the generosity of divine goodness, that we can satisfy God the Father through the grace of Jesus Christ not only by the penances we willingly undertake as satisfaction for sin, or by those which the priest imposes according to his judgment in proportion to the offense; but also — and this is a very great token of love — by the temporal punishments which God sends, which we bear with patience.” (Council of Trent, Session XIV, Decree on Penance)
(Dogmatic Council of Trent, Chapter IX. On Works of Satisfaction)
Pontiffs
Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio (later Pope Francis)
“There are means here that do not justify the end. And the other text that I also strongly recommend — and that you should read in its entirety — is the prophet Amos. The prophet Amos says: because of this, because of this, and because of this, I am going to punish you, says God through the prophet, and he lists all the unjust means by which you took advantage of your brother, or things that cannot be done. So the Bible itself makes clear to us that a bad means cannot be used for a good end, that God punishes the one who uses bad means for a good end, that God punishes deceit, that God punishes fraud, that God punishes exploitation — I think of clandestine workshops, for example, right now, in this city; I don’t say it is full of them, but there are many, and the prophet Amos is very clear about that: you are exploiting your brother. God punishes whoever grows rich or takes possession of something or consolidates himself or achieves any end whatsoever through a bad means. That is the biblical tradition, and therefore the end does not justify the means.”
(Cardinal Bergoglio, participation in the television program “Biblia diálogo vigente,” broadcast in January 2013, Channel 21)
Benedict XVI
“In a special way, it speaks to the peoples who have received the proclamation of the Gospel. When we contemplate history, we are compelled to note, often, the coldness and rebellion of inconsistent Christians. As a consequence of this, God, without ever failing in his promise of salvation, has had to resort frequently to punishment.“
(Benedict XVI, Opening Address of the XII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, October 5, 2008)
“Today we must learn again that love for the sinner and for those who err is not found in contradiction to punishment rightly applied. In a sound relationship, punishment can be an expression of love. In the past there has been a shift of consciousness that has produced an obscuring of law and of the need for punishment — and ultimately a narrowing of the concept of love, which is not, precisely, merely sympathy and kindness, but is found in truth; and part of truth is that one must punish one who has sinned against genuine love.”
(Benedict XVI, Light of the World)
Saint John Paul II
“To the moral evil of sin corresponds punishment, which guarantees the moral order in the same transcendent sense in which this order is established by the will of the Creator and Supreme Legislator. From this derives also one of the fundamental truths of religious faith, based equally on Revelation: that is, God is a just judge who rewards good and punishes evil. […] If it is true that suffering has a meaning as punishment when it is linked to guilt, it is not true, on the other hand, that all suffering is a consequence of guilt and has the character of a punishment.“
(Saint John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Salvifici Doloris)
“But God, who is always merciful even when he punishes, ‘put a mark on Cain, lest any who came upon him should kill him’ (Gen 4:15). He thus gave him a distinctive sign, not to condemn him to the execration of others, but to protect and defend him from those wishing to kill him, even out of a desire to avenge Abel’s death. Not even a murderer loses his personal dignity, and God himself pledges to guarantee this. And it is precisely here that the paradoxical mystery of the merciful justice of God is shown forth, as Saint Ambrose comments: ‘Because a fratricide had been committed — that is, the gravest of crimes — at the very moment sin entered the world, the law of divine mercy had to be deployed; for had punishment fallen immediately upon the guilty party, men, when they punish, would have done so without any tolerance or leniency, delivering the guilty immediately to their penalty. […] God drove Cain out of His presence and, disowned by his parents, exiled him as to the exile of a separate dwelling, because he had passed from human benignity to bestial ferocity. Nevertheless, God did not will to punish the murderer with murder, since He wills the repentance of the sinner and not his death.'” [T.N.: The Vatican official English of Evangelium Vitae renders Saint Ambrose’s passage with slight differences; this translation follows the Spanish original closely]
(Saint John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium Vitae)
John Paul I
“A great French bishop, Dupanloup, used to say to the rectors of seminaries: ‘With future priests, be a father, be a mother.’ This is pleasing. But before other truths, we feel difficulty. God must punish me if I persist in sin; He follows me, He begs me to convert, and I say: ‘No!’; and thus I myself almost force Him to punish me. This is not pleasant — but it is a truth of Faith.” (John Paul I, General Audience, September 13, 1978)
(John Paul I, Audience, September 13, 1978)
Paul VI
“According to Divine Revelation, penalties are a consequence of sins, inflicted by divine holiness and justice, and are to be expiated either in this world — through the sorrows, miseries, and tribulations of this life and especially through death — or else through fire, torments, and purifying pains in the life to come. For this reason, the faithful have always been persuaded that the path of evil was full of hardship and was rough, thorny, and harmful to those who walked it.”
(Paul VI, Apostolic Constitution Indulgentiarum Doctrina)
Pius XII
“Sometimes God may permit that on this earth, and for a time, atheism and impiety triumph — lamentable obfuscations of the sense of justice, violations of rights, and the torture of innocent, peaceful, defenseless, and unsupported persons… Thus it is that at a given moment God allows trials to fall upon individuals and upon peoples, whose instrument is human malice, by a design of His justice directed to punishing sins, to purifying persons and peoples through the expiations of this present life, so as to draw them back to Himself by this path; but it is also to believe at the same time that this justice continues always, even on earth, to be the justice of a Father, inspired and governed by love.”
(Pius XII, Radio Message for the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, June 29, 1941)
“Jesus himself, replying to the Jews who accused him of having violated the Sabbath with the marvelous healing of the paralytic, affirms that the Father had given him judicial authority, because the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son. This includes also his right to reward and punish men, even during their mortal life, because this cannot be separated from any form of judgment. Furthermore, to Jesus Christ must also be attributed the executive authority, since it is necessary that all obey his command — a power which inflicts punishments on the rebellious, from which no one can escape.”
(Pius XI, Encyclical Quas Primas)
Benedict XV
“His Holiness Pope Benedict XV, afflicted at the whirlwind of war that cuts short young lives, plunges families and cities into desolation, and overturns the most flourishing nations; considering that the Lord, qui castigando sanat et ignoscendo conservat [who heals by chastening and preserves by forgiving], is moved by the prayers of contrite and humble hearts; desiring that the voice of faith, hope, and charity — which alone possess the divine power to unite men in one heart and one soul — should be louder than the clamor of arms, while he invites and exhorts the people and clergy to perform some act of expiatory mortification for the sins that provoke the just punishment of God, has arranged that in the entire Catholic world humble prayers be directed to the Lord so that, from his Mercy, the longed-for peace may be obtained.”
(Acta Apostolicae Sedis — Commentarium Officiale — Year VII, Volume VII — The Holy See)
Doctors of the Church
Saint Thomas Aquinas
“God wills all men to be saved by His antecedent will; by His consequent will and in justice, He wills the punishment of some.” (Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, I, Q. 19, a. 7; trans. Fathers of the English Dominican Province)
“Punishment may be considered in two ways. First, under the aspect of punishment, and in this sense punishment is due only to sin; because by punishment the equality of justice is restored, in that he who by sinning exceeded in following his own will, suffers, in punishment, something contrary to his will. Wherefore, since every sin is voluntary — even original sin, as was stated (I-II, Q.81, A.1) — it follows that in this sense no one is punished except for a voluntary action.”
In another way, punishment may be considered as a medicine, which is not only a remedy for past sin, but also a means of preserving from future sin and of advancing us toward some good. In this sense a person is sometimes punished without fault, though never without cause. However, it must be noted that a medicine never deprives a man of a greater good in order to procure a lesser — for instance, it does not deprive a man of reason in order to cure his foot — but sometimes causes a lesser harm in order to procure a greater good. Since spiritual goods are of the greatest value and temporal goods of lesser account, it happens that sometimes a person is deprived of temporal goods without any personal fault, by way of a medicinal remedy directed to the health of the soul — for instance, through many tribulations of this present life, which God inflicts for purposes of humility or trial. But no one suffers spiritual loss without personal fault, either in this life or in the life to come; for in the future life punishments are not medicinal, but consequent upon spiritual condemnation.
(Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, II-II, Q. 108, a. 4)
“He indicates the reason for correction; for, as the Philosopher says, the word ‘chastisement’ is used indiscriminately of children and of concupiscence — since we call a person chaste whose concupiscence has been chastised; in the same way, a well-brought-up child is called ‘chastised,’ for what tends of its own accord toward excess has need of a bridle. Children and concupiscence, being of the same nature in their tendency, have need of correction and of firm treatment, on account of their impetuous inclinations. So that he who chastises, by chastising, prevents one from going toward evil. And since ‘the thoughts and inclinations of the human heart — as Genesis says — are bent toward evil from its youth,’ for this reason the Lord chastises us, to keep us from evil. And this is what chastisement consists in: in the strokes He gives us — not indeed to condemn us, but to save us — whence He says: ‘He chastises every son whom He receives.’ Consequently, those upon whom He does not frequently lay the rod cannot be counted in the number of His sons (Ps 72); this is therefore a sign of eternal reprobation (Ez 16). But we need not be astonished that He so treats every adopted son, when He treated His own natural and proper Son in the same manner, and so roughly (Lk 24).”
Sancti Thomae Aquinatis Doctoris Angelici super Epistolam Sancti Pauli Apostoli ad Hebraeos expositio (Lectio 2, Commentary on Hebrews 12:5-11)
“No one is ever punished with a spiritual penalty for another’s sin; because the spiritual penalty affects the soul, and every man, as regards his soul, is ‘free.’ On the other hand, a person is sometimes punished with temporal penalties for another’s sin, for three reasons. First, because one person may, in temporal matters, belong to another: thus, in punishment of the latter, the former is also punished; as children in their bodies belong to their parents, and slaves to their masters. Second, insofar as the sin of one person affects another: by imitation, as when children imitate the sins of their parents; by servants who imitate those of their masters, so as to sin with greater boldness; by way of merit, as when the sins of subjects merit having a sinner as their prelate, in the words of Job 34:30: ‘Who makes a hypocrite reign on account of the sins of the people’; and similarly, through the sin of David in numbering the people, the people of Israel were punished, as we read in the last chapter of 2 Samuel; or also through a kind of consent or connivance, as the good are also punished temporally along with the wicked, because they did not rebuke the sins of the wicked, as Saint Augustine says in Book I of The City of God. Third, to render more worthy of praise the unity of human society, in which each one ought to take care that another does not sin; and to make sin more detestable, by showing that the punishment of one redounds to the harm of all as though they were one body, as Saint Augustine says concerning the sin of Achan.
“As for the words of the Lord — that He punishes in the children the sins of the parents unto the third and fourth generation — these seem to have more to do with mercy than with severity, in that He does not avenge the evil immediately, but waits for time to pass to see whether at least His descendants may be corrected; though, if their malice continues to increase, it becomes necessary, in a manner of speaking, to exercise vengeance.” (Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica; trans. Fathers of the English Dominican Province)
(Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, II-II, Q. 108, a. 4)
Saint Catherine of Siena
“No creature is ever deprived of my providence, for all things are pervaded by it. Sometimes it will seem to man that it is cruelty on my part when I send hail or storms or lightning upon my creatures, judging that I have not watched over their good. Yet I have done so in order to free them from eternal death, even though it may seem to them quite the contrary. The worldly-minded want to condemn all my works and understand them according to their own limited understanding… For this reason they hate what they ought to revere. As proud persons, they dare to judge my hidden judgments, which are all righteous.” (Saint Catherine of Siena, Dialogue)
Saint Catherine of Siena. Doctors of the Church. Pages 126 and following. Antonio Royo Marín, BAC
Saint Augustine of Hippo
“Nor is the manner in which we chastise our children different from this — that is, in anger and indignation; but we would not chastise them if we did not love them.” (Saint Augustine, Sermon LXXXII, 2)
“But I, O Lord, in my misery had forsaken Thee, and had followed after the stream of my custom; I had gone away from Thee, and had drunk from the cup of my own passion; and I had not escaped Thy punishment, and yet every mortal man is vanity. Thou wast always by me, mercifully angry with me, and besprinkling all my illicit pleasures with most bitter disgust, in order that I might seek pleasure without disgust, and, where I might find such a thing, I might find nothing except Thee, O Lord, nothing except Thee, who dost fashion grief into a command, and dost wound to heal, and dost kill us so that we may not die away from Thee.” [T.N.: This passage is from Augustine’s Confessions; the translation follows the Spanish original closely as the precise passage reference is not specified in the source text]
(Saint Augustine, Confessions, Book II, 4)
Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori
“You have sinned, rashly trusting in the divine mercy — you will soon see the punishment, without knowing whence it comes.” (Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori)
(Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, Abridged Sermons for All Sundays of the Year. Sermon XV for the First Sunday of Lent — ‘On the Number of Sins’)
“If God were to punish immediately when man offends Him, He would not be seen so despised as He is. And because He does not do so, moved by His mercy He awaits us and defers the punishment, and sinners fill themselves with pride and continue offending Him. The sons of men, says Ecclesiastes, seeing that sentence against the wicked is not quickly executed, commit wickedness without any fear. Yet we ought to persuade ourselves that God waits and endures; but He does not wait and endure forever. Samson, continuing to deal with Delilah, trusted that he would escape from the snares of the Philistines as he had done at other times; but this time he was seized by them and they took his life. Do not say — the Lord warns — ‘I have sinned; and what evil has befallen me?’ For the Most High is a patient rewarder of punishment. Ne dixeris, peccavi, et quid accidit mihi triste? Altissimus enim est patiens redditor (Ecclus. 5:4). God is patient up to a certain point, beyond which He punishes the greatest and the last sins; and the greater His patience has been, the greater will be His punishment.” (Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, Abridged Sermons for All Sundays of the Year. Sermon XV for the First Sunday of Lent — ‘On the Number of Sins’)
(Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, Abridged Sermons for All Sundays of the Year. Sermon XV for the First Sunday of Lent — ‘On the Number of Sins’)
“For this reason Saint John Chrysostom says that we ought to fear God more when He tolerates than when He punishes immediately. And why? Because, as Saint Gregory says, those toward whom God exercises the most mercy are punished with much greater severity if they abuse it. […] Hear what Saint Gregory says: ‘He who has promised pardon to the penitent has not promised tomorrow to the sinner’ (Hom. 12, in Evang.). God has promised forgiveness to one who repents; but He has not promised to wait until tomorrow for the one who offends Him. Perhaps the Lord will grant you time for penance — and perhaps He will deny it. But if He denies it, what will be the lot of your soul? Meanwhile you place yourself in danger of losing it for a base pleasure, and of being condemned forever.”
(Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, Preparation for Death, Consideration XXIII, Point II)
“2. Missit me Domine, ut mederer contritis corde. God is ready to heal those who have the will to amend their life; but he cannot have pity on those who live obstinate in sin. He forgives sins, but he cannot forgive the intention of sinning. We cannot reproach God because he forgives a hundred sins in one person and takes the life of another, condemning him to Hell after the third or fourth sin he commits. Concerning this, it is necessary to adore the divine judgements and to exclaim with the Apostle: ‘O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God; how unsearchable are his judgements!’ (Rom. 11:33). He who is forgiven — says Saint Augustine — is forgiven by the sole mercy of God; and he who is punished, is punished by his justice. How many has God sent to Hell for the very first sin they committed!” (Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, Abbreviated Sermons for All the Sundays of the Year. Sermon XV for the First Sunday of Lent — ‘On the Number of Sins’)
“God says: ‘Of sin that has been forgiven, do not be without fear; neither add sin to sin.’ De propitiato peccato noli esse sine metu, neque adjicias peccatum super peccatum (Ecclus. 5:5). Do not say, therefore, O sinner, that just as God forgave me my other sins, so He will also forgive me this one if I commit it. Do not say so; because if you add a new sin to a sin already forgiven, you must fear that this new one will be joined to the first, and that in this way the measure will be filled and you will be abandoned by God. Hear how Holy Scripture explains it more clearly elsewhere: Dominus patienter expectat, ut eas cum judicii dies advenerit, in plenitudine peccatorum puniat — ‘The Lord now bears with them patiently, so that on the day of judgment He may punish the nations in the fullness of their sins.'” (Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, Preparation for Death, Consideration XXIII, Point II)
(Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, Preparation for Death, Consideration XVIII)
“You say that the Lord is a God of mercy. Here lies the third delusion, most common among sinners, and through which not a few condemn themselves. A wise author writes that more souls are sent to Hell by God’s mercy than by his justice, because sinners, rashly trusting in it, do not cease to sin and thus are lost. The Lord is a God of mercy — who denies it? And yet, how many souls does God send each day to eternal punishment! He is indeed merciful, but he is also just; and for this reason he is bound to punish those who offend him. He shows mercy to those who fear him (Ps. 102:11-13). But toward those who despise him and abuse divine clemency only to offend him the more, only the justice of God can respond. And with good reason, because the Lord forgives sin, but he cannot forgive the will to sin. He who sins — says Saint Augustine — thinking he will repent afterward, is not a penitent but is making a mockery of God. Besides, the Apostle warns us (Gal. 6:7) that God is not mocked; and what greater mockery would there be than to offend him whenever and however we please, and then aspire to glory? ‘But just as God was so merciful to me in my past life, I hope he will be so also in the future.’ This is the fourth delusion. Because the Lord has had compassion on you until now, must he always be clement and never punish you?… On the contrary, the greater his clemency has been, the more you should fear that he will not forgive you again, and that he will punish you with severity the next time you offend him. ‘Do not say’ — cries Ecclesiasticus (5:4) — ‘I have sinned and have received no punishment, for the Most High, though patient, will repay in full.’ When his mercy reaches the limit determined for each sinner, he then punishes him for all the faults that the ungrateful one committed. And the punishment will be all the harsher the longer the time God has waited for the guilty one, says Saint Gregory. If you see, then, my brother, that despite your frequent offenses against God you have not yet been punished, you should say: ‘Lord, great is my gratitude, because you have delivered me from Hell, which I deserved so many times.’ Consider that many sinners, for faults far less grave than yours, have been irremediably condemned; and moreover, try to make satisfaction for your sins through the exercise of patience and other good works. The benevolence with which God has treated you should encourage you not only to stop offending him, but to serve and love him always, since he has shown you immense mercy that has been denied to many others.”
(Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, Preparation for Death, Consideration XXIII, Point II)
Saint Teresa of Jesus
“Oh, God help me! How much it matters to have faith truly alive when we ask and when we receive — for we never fully understand that punishment is certain, and so is reward!” (Saint Teresa of Jesus, The Way of Perfection 30, 3)
“A fine punishment they have brought upon themselves with their own hands, and they have well deserved eternal fire for their pleasures. As for them — let them face what comes!”
(Saint Teresa of Jesus, The Way of Perfection, 1, 4)
“It was more painful to my character to receive favors when I had fallen into great sins than to receive punishments; for a single favor, I am certain, undid and confused me and wearied me more than many illnesses along with many other hardships put together; because in the case of hardships I saw that I deserved them and it seemed to me that by enduring them I was paying something toward my sins, though all was little enough considering how many they were; but to find myself receiving new favors while making so poor a return for those I had already received was a terrible torment to me, and I believe it would be so for all who have any knowledge or love of God, as may be inferred from what a sensitive, virtuous, and delicate person feels.” [T.N.: This passage is from Saint Teresa’s autobiography, The Book of Her Life; the ICS edition (Kavanaugh/Rodríguez) may render certain phrases somewhat differently. This translation follows the Spanish original text closely, as attributed to Way of Perfection 1.4 in the source — though the content suggests it may be from her Life. The attribution is preserved as found in the original.]
(Saint Teresa of Jesus, Book of Her Life 7, 19)
“We can speak and converse with You about everything, whenever we wish, once the first amazement and the fear of beholding Your Majesty have passed — though even greater is now our fear of offending You. Yet not from fear of punishment, my Lord, for that weighs nothing against the thought of losing You.” (Saint Teresa of Jesus, Book of Her Life, 37.6)
Saint John Chrysostom
“For there are men who pay for their sins in this life only, such as those of whom Saint Paul speaks in the First Letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 11), who profane the Christian mysteries; but there are others who are punished in the next world, like the condemned rich man of whom Saint Luke speaks (Lk 16); and there are still others — such as the Jews — who lead an intolerable life in this world since the fall of Jerusalem and for whom still harsher punishments are reserved in the next.”
(Saint John Chrysostom, Homiliae in Matthaeum, Hom. 41, 3)
“God punishes certain sinners by destroying their malice and decreeing a lesser punishment for them; he separates them from others and corrects those who live in evil by the condemnation of some. Furthermore, he does not punish others here, so that if they do penance they may avoid present punishments and eternal pain; but if they persist in their malice they will have to suffer greater torment.” (Saint John Chrysostom, Homily 5 on Lazarus)
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux
“I was thinking of souls who offer themselves as victims to the justice of God in order to divert and draw upon themselves the punishments reserved for the guilty […] If to your justice, which is contained only on earth, it is sweet to discharge itself, how much more does your merciful love desire to set souls ablaze, since your mercy reaches to the heavens […] O my Jesus! Let me be that happy victim. Consume your holocaust with the fire of your divine love! […] He has given me his infinite mercy, and through it I contemplate and adore the other divine perfections! All of these perfections appear to me radiant with love; even justice (and perhaps this even more so than all the others) seems to me clothed in love.”
(Saint Thérèse of Lisieux — Story of a Soul)
Saint Isidore of Seville
“Let the just man understand that adversity tries him, it does not defeat him. For God’s gaze rests more fixedly upon the just when, in his exalted Providence, he permits them to be afflicted… For then eternal joy is prepared for them when they are put to the test by present tribulations. He who reflects attentively on the rewards of the future life bears with equanimity all the evils of the present life; for by the sweetness of the former he tempers the bitterness of the latter, and by its eternity, the brief duration of the latter. It is of benefit to those who endure the evils of this life to find themselves crushed by various temporal misfortunes, because when they feel the weight of pain they do not covet the evils of covetousness, or of lust, or of the remaining vices.” (Saint Isidore of Seville, Book of Sentences)
Saint John of Ávila
“Jesus Christ sincerely desires to save your soul… And wishing to save it, he solicits this salvation by many means, many of which will be known to Your Lordship, for you know the inspirations and the occasions for good that God has procured for you; while others you will not understand, being hidden, or because you have not noticed them… Your Lordship may be certain that what is being sent to you (the illness) is a message of love and peace; though it may seem a cruel war and a scourge. Like a great fish, it draws you up and down the river until you are wearied — not to weary you, for God is your Father and takes no pleasure in seeing you suffer, but so that, feeling wearied, you may go to Jesus Christ to find rest.”
(Saint John of Ávila, From Letter 14: ‘To a Gentleman of These Kingdoms’)
Saint Francis de Sales
“When we are not careful to gather the sweetnesses and the delights of God’s love at the proper time, he withdraws them from us as a punishment for our negligence.”
(Saint Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, Chapter XVI)
“One of the worst defects a person can have is to be a mocker: God greatly abhors this vice and sometimes punishes it in an extraordinary manner.”
(Saint Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, Chapter XXVII)
Apostolic Fathers and Church Fathers
Saint Clement of Rome
“Let us receive correction, at which no one ought to take offence, beloved. The admonition that we make to one another is good and highly profitable, for it unites us to the will of God. For thus saith the holy word: ‘The Lord hath chastened me severely, but hath not given me over unto death.’ ‘For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.’ ‘The righteous shall chasten me in mercy and shall reprove me; but let not the oil of sinners anoint my head.’ And again He saith: ‘Blessed is the man whom God reproveth; therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty. For He maketh sore and bindeth up; He woundeth and His hands make whole. He shall deliver thee in six troubles, yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. In famine He shall redeem thee from death, and in war from the power of the sword. Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue, neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh. At destruction and dearth thou shalt laugh; neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth. For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field; and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation and shalt not sin. Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth. Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in, in its season.’ Ye see, beloved, that protection is afforded to those who are chastised of the Lord; for since He is a good Father, He chasteneth us that we may obtain mercy through His holy correction.” (Saint Clement of Rome, First Epistle to the Corinthians, 56)
(Clement of Rome, Epistle to the Corinthians, LVI)
Saint Barnabas
“But the way of the Black One is crooked and full of cursing; for it is a path of eternal death with punishment, in which are the things that destroy the soul of those who follow it: idolatry, over-confidence, arrogance of power, hypocrisy, double-mindedness, adultery, murder, plundering, arrogance, transgression, deceit, malice, self-will, enchantment, magic, covetousness, lack of the fear of God.” (Epistle of Barnabas, Chapter 20)
(Epistle of Barnabas, XX, 1)
Saint Polycarp of Smyrna
“And, giving heed to the grace of Christ, they despised the torments of this world, purchasing at the cost of one hour a release from eternal punishment.” (Martyrdom of Saint Polycarp, 2)
(Martyrdom of Polycarp, III)
Saint Irenaeus of Lyon
“Another error consisted in wresting from the Father judgment and punishment, believing that such power is unworthy of God. For this reason they imagined they had found a God ‘good and without wrath,’ as well as another God ‘whose office is to judge’ and yet another ‘to save.’ These poor souls did not realize that they were depriving both of wisdom and justice. For if the judge were not at the same time good, how would he reward those who deserve it and rebuke those who need it? Such a judge would be neither wise nor just. And if there were a God who is only good, but without the judgment to discern who deserves that goodness, such a God would be neither just nor good, for his goodness would be impotent; nor could he be a universal savior if he lacks discernment.”
“Marcion, for his part, by dividing God into two, calling the first ‘good’ and the second ‘just,’ ended up destroying God on both sides. For if the ‘just’ God is not also ‘good,’ then he to whom goodness is lacking cannot be God; and if he is ‘good’ but not ‘just,’ by the same token he would forfeit the right to be called God.” (Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies)
(Saint Irenaeus of Lyon, Against All Heresies, Book III, 25, 2-3)
“But, Hermas, hold no longer any resentment against your children, nor allow your sister to have her own way, so that they may be cleansed from their former sins. For they will be punished with a just punishment, unless you yourself harbour resentment against them.” (Shepherd of Hermas, Vision 2)
(The Shepherd of Hermas, Second Vision, Sixth Similitude, III)
“For a man is tormented for as many years as he has lived in self-indulgence. You see then that the time of self-indulgence and deceit is very short, but the time of punishment and torment is long.” (Shepherd of Hermas, Similitude 6)
(The Shepherd of Hermas, Fifth Vision, Sixth Similitude, IV (64))
Marian Apparitions Approved by the Church
Our Lady of Fátima
“You have seen Hell, where the souls of poor sinners go. It is to save them that God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace. This war will end; but if people do not cease offending God, a worse one will break out during the pontificate of Pius XI. When you see a night illumined by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign given you by God that He is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father.” (Our Lady of Fátima, July 13, 1917)
(Our Lady of Fátima, Apparition of July 13, 1917)
Our Lady of Akita
“As I told you, if men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the Flood, such as one has never seen before. Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor the faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead. The only weapons which will remain for you will be the Rosary and the sign left by My Son. Each day recite the prayers of the Rosary. With the Rosary, pray for the Pope, the bishops and the priests.” (Our Lady of Akita, October 13, 1973)
(Our Lady of Akita, Apparition of October 13, 1973)
Jesus of the Divine Mercy
“Once Jesus told me that He was going to punish a certain city — one which is the most beautiful in our land. The punishment was to be like that with which God punished Sodom and Gomorrah. I saw the great wrath of God and a shudder ran through my heart. I prayed in silence. After a moment, Jesus said to me: My child, during the Sacrifice, unite yourself closely to Me and offer My Blood and My Wounds to the Heavenly Father in expiation for the sins of that city. Do this unceasingly throughout the entire Holy Mass.” (Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul, 39)
“O my soul, adore the Lord and glorify His mercy, for His goodness has no end. All things will pass, but His mercy has no limit or end; and though wickedness may fill up its measure, in mercy there is no measure. O my God, even in the punishments with which You strike the earth I see the abyss of Your mercy; for by punishing us here on earth You free us from eternal punishment. Rejoice, all creatures, for you are closer to God in His infinite mercy than a newborn child is to its mother’s heart. O God, You are Compassion itself for the greatest sinners who sincerely repent; the greater the sinner, the greater his right to God’s mercy.” (Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul, 423)
“When I was praying in this way, I saw the helplessness of the Angel, who could not carry out the just punishment which was due for sins. Never before had I prayed with such inner power as I did then. The words with which I entreated God are these: Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world; for the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us.” (Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul, 475)
“At the end of the Way of the Cross which I was making, the Lord Jesus began to complain about the souls of religious and priests, about the lack of love in chosen souls. He said: I will allow monasteries and churches to be destroyed. I replied: Jesus, but there are so many souls who praise You in monasteries. The Lord answered: Their praise wounds My Heart, because love has been banished from monasteries. Souls without love and without devotion, souls full of selfishness and self-love, souls proud and arrogant, souls full of deceit and hypocrisy, lukewarm souls who have just enough warmth to keep themselves alive — My Heart cannot bear them. All the graces that I pour out upon them each day slide off as from a rock. I cannot bear them, for they are neither good nor bad. I established monasteries to sanctify the world through them. From them there should spring a powerful flame of love and sacrifice. And if they do not convert and do not become inflamed with their first love, I will deliver them to the devastation of this world… How will they sit on the throne promised to them, to judge the world, when their guilt weighs more than the world’s? Neither penance nor reparation… O heart that has received Me in the morning and at midday burns with hatred against Me in so many varied forms. O heart — have you perhaps been chosen by Me especially to make Me suffer more? The great sins of the world wound My Heart only superficially, but the sins of a chosen soul pierce My Heart through and through…”
“When I tried to intercede for them, I could find nothing to justify them, and, unable to think of anything in their defense at that moment, my heart was torn with pain and I wept bitterly. Then the Lord looked at me kindly and consoled me with these words: Do not weep; there is still a great number of souls who love Me very much, but My Heart desires to be loved by all, and since My love is great, I threaten and I punish.” (Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul, 1702-1703)
