Delay not to be converted to the Lord, and put it not off from day to day: for His wrath shall come on a sudden, and in the time of vengeance will He destroy thee. (Revelation 9:6) The Lord admonishes us to be speedily converted, if we would be saved; because if we go on putting off our conversion from day to day, the time of vengeance will come, when God will neither call nor wait for us any longer; death will overtake us in sin, and there will be no means of escaping eternal damnation. God admonishes us in this manner, because he loves us and wills not to see us perish.
I am convinced, O God! that Thou desirest my salvation; I know that Thou desirest to deal with me in Thy mercy; and it is my desire nevermore to despise Thee.
Alas! to how many are the admonitions given by God during life, become now in hell the most cruel swords that pierce their souls! In proportion as the mercies which God showed them were greater, so were their crimes more enormous.
If, O Jesus! Thou hadst condemned me to hell, as I have deserved, how great would have been my punishment, since Thy graces and favors have been so abundant towards me! No, I will no longer be ungrateful to Thee. Say to me what Thou pleasest, and I will obey Thee in all things. I am sorry for having so often offended Thee; henceforward I will not seek to please myself, but to please only Thee, my God and only good.
How cautious are men in their temporal affairs, and yet how negligent in the affairs of eternity! If a man has to receive a sum of money from another, he uses every expedient to obtain it as quickly as possible, saying, "Who knows what may happen?" And yet, why do so many live months and years in sin? Because they do not say, when the soul is at stake, "Who knows what may happen ?" If money be lost, however valuable it may be, all is not lost; but if the soul be lost, all is lost, and must be lost forever, without hope of recovery.
My beloved Redeemer, Thou hast given me life that I may become worthy of Thy grace; and yet I have often renounced Thy grace for something worse than nothing. Pardon me, O infinite goodness! for I am sorry, from the bottom of my heart, for having done so. O Jesus ! Thou hast done too much to oblige me to love Thee, and I desire to love Thee to the utmost of my power. I love Thee, my sovereign good, I love Thee more than myself. Permit me not, O God ! to cease to love Thee any more. O Mary, holy queen! protect me.
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"Those who pray will be saved; those who do not pray will be condemned." These meditations were published by Saint Alphonsus in 1767. Read them in chronological order.
