November 2023 Print

By Fr. Jonah Garno, SSPX

Introduction

The greatest concern for a follower of Christ must be the salvation of souls. On the cross a cry of anguish issued from the parched mouth of Our Blessed Lord: “I thirst!” This thirst was a thirst, not for water or wine, but for human souls which He longed to save by the merits of His passion. It was a thirst which was only quenched by the chalice of His bitter sufferings on the Cross.

This thirst is shared by all who strive to become other Christs. As His life grows within them, it forms in them that mind “which was also in Christ Jesus.”¹ They take on his perspectives and his desires. They are moved by his spirit. They are possessed more and more by this thirst for souls which flows from Charity and which grows with it. “The Charity of Christ presses us!”²

For such a one, it is distressing to see so many souls lost in these dark times. “How much more is man abominable, and unprofitable, who drinketh iniquity like water?”³ In the words of the Psalmist, “They are all gone aside, they are become unprofitable together: there is none that doth good: no not one.”⁴ The whole world seems bent on wickedness, and mankind seems swept along by a mighty current of iniquity that rushes towards the precipice and then plunges them into the abyss.

What is still more troubling is that it seems that many are incapable of coming to the truth, especially in this time of apostasy. In countries of the so-called “first world,” the constant stream of anti-Catholic propaganda keeps many from the truth. People in these regions are inundated by the lies and half-truths of the media. If they hear of the Church, they hear of it only in a negative light. Clerical scandals are published in the most public forums, and all that could put the Church in a bad light is noised abroad. Error is exalted. Truth is hidden and distorted, and it seems that even those who are searching for it cannot find it.

If we turn our attention to the poorer countries of the “third world,” the situation is more troubling still. For perhaps centuries, poor natives lived and died without access to the truth. In the Americas and Africa as well as other places, human beings with souls created for heaven had no contact with missionaries. So many, it seems, never had a chance. This state continues today as many poor people still live in remote regions steeped in paganism and superstition. Poverty and ignorance reign supreme. How many countless persons pass through life without ever hearing of Jesus or the salvation that He died to procure them? How many arrive at the judgment seat of God to hear of Him for the first time?

Even if there are some among these poor people today who seek the truth, where can they find it? The church had only begun to make progress in these pagan lands when the growing work of the missions was destroyed by modernism. The Church no longer seeks to spread the Gospel. She encourages members of non-Catholic sects to remain as they are. The crisis in the Church, beginning with the Second Vatican Council, has produced a crisis in Faith and has caused a corresponding crisis in vocations. There are few priests left to preach the Gospel, and many of those who are in the ranks of the clergy are hirelings who flee at the approach of the wolf.

This state of affairs is distressing indeed for followers of Christ, and it is perplexing as well. We know that no one goes to Hell but through his own fault, and God gives all men sufficient grace to be saved.⁵ The Scripture assures us that God wills all men to be saved and that none should be lost. “As I live,” saith the Lord God, “I will not the death of the wicked, but that he turn from his way and live.”⁶ Furthermore, Jesus Himself declares that “it is not the will of our Father Who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.”⁷ St. Paul emphatically declares that “God will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”⁸

However, we also know that various conditions are required for salvation, namely Faith and membership in the Catholic Church. Has not the Church always expended great efforts and resources to draw souls into her bosom? Our Lord Himself states that “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall he condemned.”⁹ These conditions seem impossible to realize in the case of the many persons described above. How, then, can they be saved? Do the words of the Scriptures admit of some exception? Is there salvation outside the Catholic Church? How does God provide for those who lack the ordinary means of salvation?

The Modern Solution

The modern Church addresses this question by changing the Church’s doctrine. Certainly, the Church once believed that salvation is only found in the Church, but this doctrine, so they say, has changed. They water it down introducing ambiguity into the once clear and precise formulations of the theologians. In this way, they explain away “hard sayings” making the teachings of Our Lord more inclusive thereby broadening the “narrow road” that leads to salvation.¹⁰

In previous times, the Church was at variance with the world and all that it stands for. Now, the modern Church seeks common ground with the world under the pretext of arriving at that unity spoken of by Our Lord Himself.¹¹ Rather than seeking this unity through the restoration of all things in Christ, she compromises with the world. This leads to a denial of all that is specifically Catholic since it is these things which set the Church at variance with the world.

The Church has adopted a naturalistic view of reality that locates the dignity of man in his creation by God, rather than in his restoration by grace. It no longer sees Scripture and Tradition as God’s exclusive revelation but focuses on natural truths as being a part of revelation as well.¹² Since false religions have some elements of natural truth, it sees them as being means, albeit imperfect, by which man can approach God. The Catholic Church, as they see it, is not the exclusive ark of salvation. The Church of Christ is seen as something distinct from the Catholic Church, although subsisting in it.¹³ In practice, this is an admission that salvation can be found in other religions.

These novel ideas have serious consequences for the Church’s pastoral approach. Rather than denouncing error and exhorting men to enter into the ark of salvation, the Catholic Church, the modern Church prefers to “dialogue” with error. In this way, they claim to come to a deeper knowledge of the truth.¹⁴ Furthermore, since all religions contain elements of truth, the Second Vatican Council advises missionaries to work alongside missionaries of other religions without any attempt to convert them.¹⁵

Given these new principles and this new approach to the ministry, it is no surprise that the missionary life of the Church has all but died in the post-conciliar era. The Church seems happy to leave the people in ignorance with the hope that they will somehow be saved in their error. Indeed, we even hear of cases where they are told to remain in their false religion even when they desire to enter the Catholic Church!

In sum, the modern Church declares that doctrine has developed. While it was important to become a Catholic in former times, in their view it is no longer essential. All men can be saved by following their conscience in whatever religion they are drawn to. In this way, the modern Church engineers an interesting solution to the question proposed above, namely: now, salvation can be had outside of the Catholic Church.

The Traditional Teaching

This doctrine is far from what the Church has always taught. Moreover, it contradicts the explicit statements of the Scriptures themselves. Contrary to the novel theories of modernism, the truth does not change. What was true in the past is true today. The words of the Scriptures are meant for us just as much as for the Christians of the early Church, for, “All scripture, inspired of God, is profitable to teach, to reprove, to correct, to instruct in justice: That the man of God may be perfect, furnished to every good work.”¹⁶

The writers of the Sacred Scriptures were adamant that the doctrine given them by Christ must never be changed, for Our Lord Himself assured them of this: “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my word shall not pass away.”¹⁷ This is why St. Paul declared to the Galatians, “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach a gospel to you besides that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema.”¹⁸ Divine revelation cannot change. It is as true now as it was when first revealed to us. What does it say about the requirements for salvation?

Our Lord Himself settled this question in clear and unequivocal words: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall he condemned.”¹⁹ This statement indicates that two things are necessary for salvation. First, the soul must accept divinely revealed truth through supernatural faith. Second, the soul must enter the Catholic Church through Baptism either actual or of desire.²⁰ Without these two conditions present, Our Lord Himself indicates that salvation is impossible.

In many instances, the Scriptures reaffirm the necessity of Faith for salvation. Jesus, while on earth, declared, “This is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ Whom Thou hast sent.”²¹ In another place, He says, “God so loved the world as to give His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him may not perish, but may have life everlasting.”²² St. Paul, speaking to the Romans states, “We account a man to be justified by faith.”²³ In writing to the Hebrews he states that “without faith it is impossible to please God.”²⁴

St. John the Baptist, St. Bartholomew, and St. Paul. The drawing is made with pen and watercolor ink with white highlights on pencil traces.

Faith is not just a vague disposition to believe in God. To be saved, our Faith must be explicit. Faith directs our intention towards God so that our acts might be truly meritorious of a reward. This is why “without Faith, it is impossible to please God, for he that cometh to God must believe that he is: and is a rewarder to them that seek him.”²⁵ While the theologians debate how explicit our Faith must be, it is clear that we must receive some revelation and believe it to be saved. This revelation is to be found only in the Catholic Church. Therefore, it is only in the Catholic Church that salvation is to be found.

Before ascending into heaven Jesus entrusted His Church with this great mission to spread His teachings throughout the world. “Going therefore, teach ye all nations: baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.”²⁶ St. Peter compares the Church to the ark of Noah “wherein a few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water. Whereunto baptism, being of the like form, now saveth you also.”²⁷ By this analogy, St. Peter emphasizes that there is no salvation outside the Church and that the Church is entered by Baptism.

The prophet Isaias, foretelling the Church, speaks of her in these words: “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper, and every tongue that resisteth thee in judgment thou shalt condemn; for the nation and the kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish.”²⁸ Jesus Himself says the same thing in the Gospels: “Whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words: going forth out of that house or city shake off the dust from your feet. Amen I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city.”²⁹ These words of Our Lord are the equivalent of a condemnation to Hell for those who resist the Church, for Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire for their wickedness.

In another place, He tells his followers that, if someone has anything against them “tell the Church; and if he will not hear the Church, let him be to thee as a heathen or a publican.”³⁰ By these words, He means that those who do not listen to the Church are headed to eternal perdition like the heathens and publicans who do not repent of their wickedness. He further emphasizes this point by comparing His church to a sheepfold. He tells us, “Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd.”³¹ By this metaphor, He makes it clear that all who will be saved must be brought into His sheepfold, the Catholic Church.

Who Then Can Be Saved?

If God demands such strict conditions for salvation, then who can be saved? God wills the salvation of all, and so, He certainly gives the means of salvation to all. No one is damned except through his own fault. St. Thomas, commenting on The Sentences, says, “In things that are necessary for salvation, God never abandoned and has never abandoned a man seeking his salvation unless he remains so (ignorant) due to his own fault.”³² God gives grace to every man “according to the measure of the giving of Christ.”³³ God does not give equally to all. To one he gives more, to another less expecting all to do what they can with what they have been given. To him who does what he can with what he is given, God will not deny more grace. This is the principle that must guide us in this question.

This principle is illustrated very well in the parable of the talents.³⁴ In this parable, we are told of a rich man who, departing for a far country, entrusts his goods to his servants. To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one. Upon his return, he demands an account of his servants. Two have doubled what was given them, and the rich man gives them still more. “His lord said to him: Well done, good and faithful servant because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things.”

However, one of the servants fails to increase what he received. He receives the wrath of his lord who says, “Wicked and slothful servant! …Take ye away, therefore, the talent from him and give it him that hath ten talents. For to everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall abound: but from him that hath not, that also which he seemeth to have shall be taken away. And the unprofitable servant cast ye out into the exterior darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”³⁵ The servant who failed to increase what was given to him is cast into the exterior darkness which is a figure of the ultimate punishment, Hell.

God does not give His gifts equally to all. Some are born into a model Catholic family. They are surrounded by holy souls, and they are compelled, so to speak, to save their souls. These are those who receive five talents. They have received much, and much will be expected from them. Others are, perhaps, born into a Protestant family. They are blessed with some revelation, but they are not yet members of the Church. These would be those with two talents. Still others receive only one talent such as those born into primitive tribes in lands not yet penetrated by Catholic missionaries. Such ones have little more than the natural law and some actual graces to guide them.

Each man has received their proper gift from God. God expects a corresponding return. “Unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required: and to whom they have committed much, of him they will demand the more.”³⁶ If the soul is faithful, still greater graces will be given. These graces will increase with the soul’s increasing fidelity until finally, God leads the soul by degrees to the Faith and by the Faith to the saving waters of Baptism. “Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Turn ye to me, saith the Lord of hosts: and I will turn to you.”³⁷

The paths by which God leads the soul are as various and unique as we are. Every soul is handled differently by God whose Wisdom and Providence know what is best for each one. It is not difficult to imagine how someone with five talents or even two talents might come to save their soul. We all know of instances among our friends and acquaintances. What is more difficult is the case of the man with one talent. How can God lead the primitive man to the knowledge of the Faith? How can one who lives so far from civilization and culture come to know of God and to believe in His revelation? While it is difficult to say, the theologians speculate how this might take place.

The first way is the most ordinary. If one did what he could and could go no further in coming to know the truth, God in His providence might send him a missionary to instruct him in the Faith and to baptize him. This instance is one that we see even in the Scriptures. In the Acts of the Apostles, we are told of the apostle Philip who was commanded by an angel, “Go towards the south, to the way that goeth down from Jerusalem into Gaza.” He goes as commanded, and the Holy Ghost further commands him to approach a certain Ethiopian. This man was reading the prophecies of Isaias, but he was unable to understand what they meant. He was doing what was in his power, but it was not enough. Therefore, God provided him with a missionary to instruct him in the truth and to baptize him.³⁸

In another place in the Acts of the Apostles, we are told of the Centurion Cornelius, “A religious man, and fearing God with all his house, giving much alms to the people and always praying to God.” Once, while in prayer, he saw a vision of an angel who said to him, “Thy prayers and thy alms are ascended for a memorial in the sight of God. And now send men to Joppe: and call hither one Simon, who is surnamed Peter… He will tell thee what thou must do.” He summoned Peter as the angel commanded, and he and his whole household were instructed and baptized.³⁹

There are others still whom the missionaries cannot reach without some extraordinary miracle. What about the Native Americans or the Africans during the centuries preceding the evangelization of the vast continents on which they lived? Are they to have no chance at salvation? Again, we must recall the principle that to him who does what lies in his power, God will not deny more grace. While we cannot know the mysterious workings of Providence, we know that God will make a way for those who respond faithfully to the actual graces sent to them.

This is why theologians speculate that if God cannot send them a missionary, he could reach such persons by a supernatural revelation. Such a revelation was given to Peter when He professed his faith in Christ. “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven.”⁴⁰ If God could give such a revelation to St. Peter could he not give it to others as well? St. Thomas Aquinas states that this indeed happens:

“Many of the Gentiles received revelations of Christ, as is clear from their predictions. Thus we read (Job 19:25) ‘I know that my Redeemer liveth.’ The Sibyl, too, foretold certain things about Christ, as Augustine states (Contra Faust. xiii, 15). Moreover, we read in the history of the Romans, that at the time of Constantine Augustus and his mother Irene a tomb was discovered, wherein lay a man on whose breast was a golden plate with the inscription: Christ shall be born of a virgin, and in Him, I believe. O sun, during the lifetime of Irene and Constantine, thou shalt see me again.”⁴¹

Such revelations are not unheard of, and it is not unreasonable to speculate that God might reach some souls in this extraordinary manner through an internal revelation or an angel. God is infinitely wise and powerful. While we can only speculate how he might reach those who received only one talent, we can be certain that He makes a way for them. “For thou hast not forsaken them that seek thee, O Lord.”⁴² “They cried to thee, and they were saved: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.”⁴³ To him who does what he can, God will not deny more grace.

A Call to the Missionary Spirit

Such considerations should fill us with admiration for the goodness of God who does not abandon those who seek Him with earnestness and goodwill. He is a father to all men, and He responds with goodness and generosity to those who seek Him providing them light and grace in abundance. Even if the world is full of darkness and ignorance, God is still here knocking at the doors of souls, entreating them to give Him entrance and a place in which to dwell always. “Behold, I stand at the gate and knock. If any man shall hear my voice and open to me the door, I will come unto him and will sup with him: and he with me.”⁴⁴

Does this mean that we no longer need to worry about the salvation of souls? If God can reach every soul, does this mean that we can lessen our efforts to preach the Gospel? To draw such a conclusion would show a gross ignorance of God’s plan for man’s salvation. The fact that God can and does use extraordinary means to reach souls does not mean that He wills to use these means for all. The vast majority of those to be saved will be saved according to the means that God Himself has established, namely, through the teaching of the Church, through the Sacraments that she administers, and through the preaching and ministration of the clergy.

We can most certainly affirm that God wills to use His creatures as instruments of His grace. If we refuse to cooperate in the work of God, then souls will be lost. St. Paul affirms that “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? Or how shall they believe him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they be sent?”⁴⁵ The implied conclusion is that without a preacher, many will not hear and will be lost.

This is why St. Paul urges St. Timothy to, “preach the word: be instant in season, out of season: reprove, entreat, rebuke in all patience and doctrine… But be thou vigilant, labour in all things, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill thy ministry.” He explains the urgency of his exhortation: “For there shall be a time when they will not endure sound doctrine but, according to their desires, they will heap to themselves teachers having itching ears: And will indeed turn away their hearing from the truth, but will be turned unto fables.”⁴⁶ Men are strongly influenced by one another for good and for evil. According to the famous adage, “no one goes to Heaven or Hell alone.” We draw others with us, for better or for worse.

Such thoughts should fill us with zeal like that which inflamed the prophet Isaias who said, “I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send? and who shall go for us? And I said: Lo, here am I, send me.”⁴⁷ They should fill us with a desire to spread the Gospel to the corners of the earth and to do whatever is necessary to save souls. It should fill us with hope to know that God wills the salvation of every man and that He is behind us supporting us by His grace using us as instruments to draw souls to Himself. We should be filled with enthusiasm to cooperate with Him to save our family, friends, those close to us and many, many more.

The reaction of the modernists, on the contrary, is a reaction devoid of hope. To change the doctrines of the Church to accommodate the worldly spirit shows a lack of Faith. It shows that modern clergy and Catholics have lost Faith in the power of grace to triumph over the world and its spirit. It shows that they believe the “salt of the earth” has lost its savor, and that the doctrine given us by Christ is no longer able to overcome the sophistries of Satan.

Therefore, it is no surprise that the modern Church has seen an almost total cessation of missionary activity. Faith, an ardent Faith, is the root and foundation of all missionary endeavors. The loss of Faith in the Church today has seen a corresponding loss of the missionary spirit. Now, the Church urges non-Catholics to remain in their false religions. It apologizes for its doctrines that are so contrary to the world. It apologizes for its history in which it has striven to overcome and crush the false religions that lead souls to Hell.

On the contrary, the ages of the Faith were marked by a zeal to spread the Faith to the farthest corners of the earth. When the great Catholic nations explored new territories and lands and encountered savage tribes, their first objective was to bring them into the fold of the Catholic Church. The Church and the State worked hand-in-hand in those days to bring all men under the sweet yoke of Christ. Their Faith in the power and goodness of God did not produce lassitude or inactivity but rather a great zeal to be His instruments to further His kingdom on earth.

It must be so with us. While it should be a great consolation to us to know that God gives all men sufficient grace to be saved, it must not lead us to leave God to work alone. The missionary spirit must be our response. The world is indeed full of darkness and ignorance. The Devil goes about like a lion seeking souls to devour.⁴⁸ God is the master, and He looks for generous souls who will offer themselves for the great work of the salvation of souls. Will we respond, or are we too without Faith?

Endnotes

1 Phil. 2:5

2 I Cor. 5:14

3 Job 15:16

4 Ps. 13:3

5 Here we do not treat of unbaptized infants, since it is a different question altogether.

6 Ezech. 3 3: 11

7 Mt. 18:14

8 I Tim. 2:4

9 Mk. 16:16

10 Mt. 7:14 “How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leadeth to life: and few there are that find it!”

11 The opening address announced that “the unity of humanity” was the Church’s own and proper goal. This was advanced by the Second Vatican Council, which quoted St. Augustine (Ep. 138.3) to purport that the Church be, “preparing and consolidating the way toward that human unity which is a fundamental necessity because the earthly City is constructed to always resemble the heavenly one ‘in which truth and the law of charity reign, and is the extension of the Eternal One.’”

12 Gaudium et spes §36 states: “…[All] believers of whatever religion have always heard His revealing voice in the discourse of creatures.”

13 Lumen gentium, par. 8: “This Church constituted and organized in the world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him, although many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside of its visible structure. These elements, as gifts belonging to the Church of Christ, are forces impelling toward catholic unity.”

14 Dignitatis humanae, par. 3: “Truth, however, is to be sought after in a manner proper to the dignity of the human person and his social nature. The inquiry is to be free, carried on with the aid of teaching or instruction, communication, and dialogue. In the course of these, men explain to one another the truth they have discovered, or think they have discovered, in order thus to assist one another in the quest for truth.”

15 Ad gentes, par. 29: “In coordination with the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity… search out ways and means for bringing about and directing fraternal cooperation as well as harmonious living with missionary undertaking of other Christian communities [with no directive to convert them], that as far as possible the scandal of division may be removed.”

16 II Tim. 3:16-17

17 Mk. 13:31

18 Gal. 1:8-9

19 Mk. 16:16

20 The author has no intention to treat the errors of Fr. Feeney. He assumes that the reader accepts the traditional position of the Church regarding Baptism of Desire.

21 Jn. 17:3

22 Jn. 3:16

23 Rom. 3:28

24 Heb. 11:6

25 Heb. 11:6

26 Mt. 28:19-20

27 I Pet. 3:20-21

28 Is. 54:17, 60:12

29 Mt. 10:14-15

30 Mt. 18:17

31 Jn. 10:16

32 Sentences III, D. 25, Q. 2, a. 1, Response to Questiuncula 1, ad 1

33 Eph. 4:7

34 See Mt. 25

35 Mt. 25:26, 28-30

36 Lk. 12:48

37 Zach. 1:3

38 Acts 8:26, 36-37

39 Acts 10:2, 4-5

40 Mt. 16:17

41 Summa Theologiae, IIa IIae, Q. 2, a. 7, ad. 3

42 Ps. 9:11

43 Ps. 21:3

44 Apoc. 3:20

45 Rom. 10:13-15

46 II Tim. 4:2-5

47 Is. 6:8

48 I Pet. 5:8

TITLE IMAGE: Mission of the Apostles by Minardi for the throne room (now the Room of Ambassadors) of the Palazzo Quirinale, painting in 1864.

Jesus Christ, extending a benediction and holding an open book in his left hand, dated 1850, is the only colored watercolor in the series, and is also unique in featuring a landscape.