Part 111, Chapter II (1)

THE First and most important obligation of the priest is to labor for the salvation of souls. For that purpose Christ established the priesthood in the Church. For that end should a young man embrace holy orders. When he enters the priesthood, his soul should be so filled with grace that he is able to sanctify and save the souls of others.

Thus, priests are called "saviours" in Sacred Scripture (Abdias 1, 21). Christ came into this world to effect the salvation of souls, and for thirty-three years He devoted every thought, word, action, suffering, and even His very life for that purpose. Then, He returned to His Heavenly Father, but before departing He appointed successors to take His place. Who are these successors? They are His priests, who must seek always to imitate the ineffable love and ardent zeal of His Sacred Heart.

"He who is content with saving himself and neglects the salvation of others," says St. John Chrysostom, "cannot secure his own salvation." Qui sua contentus salute, negligit alienam, nec suam consequi potest.(1) If that is true of the ordinary Christian, how much more can it be said of priests and especially of confessors! Since the work of the confessional is difficult, they need special zeal for the honor of their Master and for the salvation of their brethren.

Thus to inflame your hearts with this holy zeal, it is well to ponder how pleasing it is to God to work with Him for the spiritual welfare of your neighbor. These considerations will apply to all priests as well as to confessors. (1). In cap. 18 Matt. homilia 60.

What, then, does it mean to save souls created to the image and likeness of God and redeemed by the Precious Blood of His Divine Son? It is the great work of God, the task of the God-Man and His Holy Mother. It is the mission of the Church, the desire of the angels and saints and of all chosen souls on earth. In a word, it is the supreme work of all works.

1. The Salvation of Souls is the Great Work of God

First of all, the salvation of souls is the great work of God. Domine, opus tuum (Hab. 3, 2). Herein God employs all His thoughts, actions, mysteries, power, wisdom, goodness, mercy, and all His other divine attributes. All that God accomplishes in Himself from all eternity and outside Himself in time is directed towards this very end.

What does God do in Himself from all eternity? He gives birth to His Son, and from the Father and the Son proceeds the Holy Ghost. It follows that even as God gave being to His Son, it was His eternal design also to send Him into the world to save man. Likewise, it is clear that the Son, born from all eternity, had that same intention. And the Holy Ghost proceeding from the Father and the Son shared that same design for man's salvation. If one could speak of moments of time when referring to timeless eternity, one might say that at the very moment that the Holy Ghost proceeds from all eternity, it is His will to come into the souls of men and to transport them from earth to heaven. Thus it is apparent that all that God accomplishes within Himself is associated with the salvation of souls.

So it is, too, with all that God accomplished outside of Himself. If He created the world, it was that He might people it with beings who would by their good works fit themselves to enjoy the beatific vision; that He might make a place where men would battle against the enemies of their souls, disposing themselves to merit heaven by practising faith, hope, charity, humility, patience and all the other virtues. If God made a heaven, it was to share it with those who conquered the enemies of salvation. If He established a Church on earth, it was to give men easy and efficacious means of saving their souls through the sacraments. If He made a hell with frightful torments, it was to impress those who are actuated more by fear than by love to work out

their salvation in fear and trembling; to chastise those who are so far spent in sin as to be willing to yield their souls to sin and perdition and to drag others to ruin with them.

From the foregoing we learn that the salvation of souls is the end and purpose of all the works of the power, wisdom and goodness of God. It is, therefore, the great work of His divine majesty.

2. The Salvation, of Souls is the Great Work of the God-Man

Saving souls is likewise the great work of the God-Man. Listen to His very words: "As the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father: and I lay down my life for my sheep" (John 10, 15). St. Thomas Aquinas explains these words by saying that God the Son knows the inclinations of His Father; He knows what the Father loves most, namely the souls of men. Nothing is nearer to God's heart than their salvation; that is the reason why Christ gives His life for souls. A little later we read in the same chapter of St. John: "That which my Father hath given me is greater than all" (John 10, 29). According to the Angelic Doctor, this means that the God-Man holds in higher regard the souls His Father has given Him than anything else, even His own body and His own life, since He sacrifices them for the salvation of men(2)

Thus does Our Lord speak and behold what He does for souls! See Him coming forth from the bosom of the Father, putting aside His glory to become one of us. See Him annihilate Himself at the time of the Incarnation: Exinanivit semetipsum (Phil. 2, 7). See Him reduced to the helplessness of a child, born in a stable and dependent on others for every single thing. See Him suffering every type of hardship, shedding His blood eight days after His birth, fleeing into Egypt, separated from the Chosen People, living seven years among strangers. See Him laboring in the carpenter shop with Joseph and doing penance in the solitude of the desert. Behold Him conversing and dwelling with men, eating and drinking with sinners, going about preaching, suffering the indignities of His terrible Passion, even kneeling before a devil according to Sacred Scripture, "One of you is a devil" (John 6, 71). Behold Him in the Garden of Gethsemani, overwhelmed with (2). Expositio aurea Sti. Thomae in Joannem 10, 15.

anguish, sweating blood, His Heart oppressed with sorrow. Behold Him in the midst of His enemies, mocked as a common criminal before Annas, Caiaphas and Pilate, buffeted, spit upon and reviled, scourged and stripped of His garments. Behold Him crowned with thorns, placed on the same level as Barrabas, a notorious criminal, condemned to death, crucified and dying on the cross. Behold His Sacred Body laid in the sepulchre.

Seek to evaluate the all-consuming love with which He endured all these things for souls. You will find that His love was so perfect that He was ready to suffer still more if in doing so He might benefit individual souls. He loves them so much that He would be willing to suffer even eternally for them. That infinite love made Him willing not only to suffer in Jerusalem, but also in every place in the world, and even to accept atrocities much more humiliating and terrible than those of Calvary.

What does all this signify? Simply that all these things, these mysteries of the Incarnation, B irth , Circumcision, Passion and Death, are so many voices crying out to us: "Thus Jesus loved souls." Thus did He love and prefer them to anything else, even His own life. For that reason, He abandoned everything of His own, stripped Himself of all glory and happiness that He might insure their perpetual felicity in heaven. That was why He gave His most precious possessions, His Body and Blood, even His life, and was ready to endure an eternity of suffering, if such were the will of His eternal Father.

0 my Saviour, who could conceive and express Thy love for men? 0 merciful Jesus, since Thou dost love souls so much, surely those persons, who cooperate with Thee in the work of redemption, must be very close to Thee. On Thy ministers surely Thou must lavish an abundance of grace and blessings.

3. The Salvation of Souls is the Great Work of the Mother of God

The salvation of immortal souls is also the great work of the Mother of God. Why did Almighty God choose the Blessed Virgin Mary to be the Mother of God? Why did He preserve her from original sin and make her holy from the very first moment of her life? Why did He

shower upon her so many privileges, ornamenting her with grace and virtue? Why did He confer upon her so much wisdom, goodness, meekness and such great power in heaven, in hell and on earth? It was simply that she might be worthy to cooperate with her Divine Son in man's redemption. All the Fathers of the Church say clearly that she is co-redemptrix with Christ in the work of our salvation. I hear Our Lord and His Blessed Mother saying to St. Brigid, whose revelations are approved by the Church, that Adam and Eve lost the world by eating an apple, but that they saved it by a heart: quasi uno Corde mundum salvavimus (Revel. extravag. cap. 3), that is Our Lord and His Mother had but one heart, one love, one sentiment, one mind and one will with each other. As the Sacred Heart of Jesus was a furnace of love for men, so the heart of His loving Mother was inflamed with charity and zeal for souls., Christ immolated Himself upon the cross for the redemption of mankind, and Mary made a similar sacrifice in undergoing untold sufferings and sorrows.

What more shall I say? I would even go so far as to state that the Blessed Virgin Mary so loves souls that she was and is ready to undergo every torment of earth to save even a single soul. There have been many saints in history who have offered to do that very thing. How can we say less of the Queen of saints? Who can doubt that she would not willingly undergo a thousand hells, rather than behold her Son so afflicted? Yet she accepted this unspeakable sorrow in order to cooperate with her Divine Son in the redemption of the world. The salvation of souls is, therefore, the great work of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God.

4. The Salvation of Souls is the Great Work of the Church, of the Angels and Saints, of the

Apostles

The salvation of souls is the great work of the Church, the reason for its establishment, the purpose of its sacraments and ceremonies. It is the object of the ministry of priests, bishops and supreme pontiffs. It is the aim of all the Councils, laws and functions of the Church.

It is also the work of the angels, for St. Paul says, "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister for them who shall receive the inheritance of salvation?" (Heb. 1, 14).

It is likewise the great work of the Apostles and saints. Listen to St. Paul speaking to the Christians of his day: I most gladly will spend and be spent myself for your souls" (2 Cor. 12, IS). To the Jews who had persecuted him and conspired against his very life he speaks thus: I lie not, my conscience bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost; that I have great sadness, and continual sorrow in my heart. For I wished myself to be anathema from Christ, for my brethren, who are my kinsmen according to the flesh" (Rom. 9, 1 - 3 ) . "These latter words suggest," says St. John Chrysostom, "that the great apostle was ready to sacrifice even the happiness of heaven on behalf of his brethren." (3) According to Cassianus St. Paul means that he would willingly suffer the everlasting punishment of hell to deliver the Jews from it, if that were possible and i n accordance with God's will.(4)

Be not surprised at so great zeal in St. Paul for many great doctors say that Moses was inspired with the same thoughts and feelings when he prayed for the Chosen People: "Either forgive them this trespass, o r if Thou do not, strike me out of the book that Thou hast written" (Exod. 32; 31-32)(5).

Speaking to his flock, St. John Chrysostom said: I would willingly be a thousand times anathema for your salvation."(6) St. Catherine of Siena and other holy persons offered to suffer the pains of the damned for souls. And have we not met a holy person(7) so actuated by God's love (3). In cap. IX Epist. ad Rom. (4). Collat. 32, cap. 6. (5). In this paragraph and the preceding one St. John Eudes simply paraphrases a passage from Cornelius a Lapide, in Epist. ad Rom. 9, 3:

"Optat Paulus heroico quodam excessu quasi caesae caritatis, quae abstrahit, nec considerat an res sit possibilis, an secundum Dei ordinationem, necnon: vel si non abstrahit, optat sub tacita conditione, s i Deus vellet et si fieri posset; optat, inquam, aeternam separationem, non a caritate, sed a beatitudine et gloria futura cum Christo, ut judaei salventur. Imo optat, ait Chrysostomus, in aeternum perire; et, u t Cassianus ait Collat. 32, Cap. 31, aeternis addici poems, idque tum pro gloria Dei, ne scilicet Deus a ludeais blasphemetur, sed in aeternum laudetur, tum pro salute ipsorum judaeorum. Optat ergo hic Paulus illud , idem quod in simili casu optavit Moyses (Exod. 32, 31), dicens: 'Aut dimitte eis hanc noxam, aut, si no facis, dele me de libro tuo quem scripsisti."' (6). Hom. 3 in Acta Apostolorum. (7). The person to whom St. John Eudes refers is Marie des Vallées, a holy woman of Coutances i n Normandy. See Father Joseph Mary Ory, The Origin of the Order of our Lady of Charity (Buffalo, 1918), p. 95.

that she was granted the privilege of suffering unlimited torments which others had merited, merely to save these souls from perdition? Have we not heard her protesting her willingness to undergo the torments of hell rather than to have a single soul commit a mortal sin?

With these realities before you, be not surprised at the explanation of St. John Chrysostom of the words of St. Paul, 'I wished myself to be an anathema from Christ, for my brethren" (Rom. 9, 3), for the zeal and love of the apostles transcended the charity and zeal of the saints and holy persons to whom reference has just been made.

This then is the great work of the apostles, of the saints whose only desire was to witness the fulfilment of the words of the Queen of saints in her Magnificat: "He bath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he bath sent empty away" (Luke 1, 53). Who are the hungry? The saints who hungered and thirsted for souls. Who are the rich? The demons who have in their possession the treasure of countless Souls purchased by the Precious Blood of the Lamb.

0 my Saviour, when will these sacred words of Thy holy Mother be at last fulfilled? 0 Mary, m y Mother, when will thy great prophecy come true? When will the-devils be deprived of their spoils? When will the zeal of thy loving children be satiated? May every creature of heaven and earth prostrate himself before the throne of God to implore this grace!

5. The Salvation of Souls is the Great Work of Priests

To all the foregoing considerations permit me to add that the salvation of souls is the great work of priests, whose holy office was founded simply for man's salvation. How weighty are the obligations of priests! What a burden is laid upon their shoulders! Listen to the words of the Prophet Ezechiel, I will seek that which was lost: and that which was driven away, I will bring again. And I will bind up that which was broken and I will strengthen that which was weak, and that which was fat and strong I will preserve: and I will feed them in judgment" (Ezech. 34, 16). Five things must be observed to discharge these sacerdotal obligations.

The first is for the priest to conduct himself so that his life may be a model of priestly devotion. "Be thou an example of the faithful in

word, in conversation, in charity, in faith, in chastity" (1 Tim. 4, 12). "In all things shew thyself an example of good works, in doctrine, in integrity, in gravity" (Titus 2, 7). A priest should be such that he may say at all times, "For we are the good odour of Christ unto God" (2 Cor. 2, 15). Thus, he should be a living example of charity, purity, sobriety, humility and patience. He should be like John the Baptist, "A voice of one crying in the wilderness" (Luke 3, 4), that is, crying to sinners in the wilderness of the world: "Do penance." Do you not know that the robe of the Great High Priest was adorned with little bells to show, as St. Jerome explains, that the priest should be totus vocalis,(8) all voice, and that everything about him should be a tongue preaching and instructing those who come in contact with him. Universa vocalia sint: quidquid agit, quidquid loquitur, sit doctrina populorum. ( 9 )

Nothing is so potent as the example given by the priest be it good or bad. Thus, St. Gregory says that priests deserve eternal damnation as often as they give bad example to those confided to their care. Pastores tot mortibus digni sunt, quot ad subditos suos perditionis exempla transmittunt.(10)

The priest should be "a burning and a shining light" (John 5, 35), burning before God, shining before men; burning in prayer, shining in action; burning by example, shining by doctrine. "Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven," says St. Matthew (5, 16). And St. Bernard says that "the light shed by a priest must be so strong and so bright that the wind of vanity will not extinguish it." (11)

The second thing that the priest must do is to instruct the faithful on their Christian obligations. He must teach them to know and love God, to fear and serve Him through obedience to His commandments. He must lead them to know their Saviour, His principal mysteries, Jesus and Mary, the Church and the Sacraments. They must be made to pray in gratitude and petition for pardon and help. They should learn (8). Epistol. ad Fabiolam. (9). Apud Corn. a Lapide, in Exod., 28, 35. (10). De cura pastorali, p. 2, C. 3. (11). Serm. de loan. Baptista, Cf. A. Lapide, in Joan. 5, 35.

to recite their daily prayers with utmost care, the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary, the Creed and the Confiteor. Through exhortations from the pulpit and in catechism classes, the priest should encourage the faithful to cooperate to the fullest extent in their own salvation.

Thirdly, he should eradicate spiritual disorders from the lives of the flock. To do this he must know his people and their conduct. He should be unsparing in his pains to track down and root out evils which may exist; he should frequently visit the schools to instruct and guide the young in the way of salvation. He should enjoin great respect for the church and all holy places, insisting on proper deportment there at all times. He should keep everything pertaining to the altar in good order and see that the liturgical functions are carried out with the dignity becoming the King of heaven and earth.

Fourthly, the priest should practise charity. He should be affable and kind to all without distinction. He should be assiduous in visiting the sick, especially those in danger of death. He should console the afflicted and the needy, and be ever kind to the poor. He should advise those who seek his fatherly counsel, correct those who are wayward and seek to put an end to -any quarreling among his parishioners.

Fifthly, he must administer the Sacraments with holiness, for the glory of God and becomingly lest through carelessness he neglect any requisite. Above all else, he should apply himself heartily to the administration of the Sacrament of Penance, for through it he will know the state of his people, their spiritual needs and weaknesses. Through it he will find the means of curing the ailments of their souls. He will open to, them unexplored avenues of grace, will spread before them in his instructions and encouragements a banquet of heavenly delicacies.

These are the chief obligations of the priest and he must be ever vigilant lest even one soul be neglected or lost for the Sovereign Pastor will hold him responsible, and the price of Christ's Blood will be visited upon him.---I will require his blood at thy hand" (Ezech. 3, 20). I mention neglect for this makes him a murderer in God's eyes, a murderer of souls committed to his charge.

St. John Chrysostom observes that when priests allow themselves to fall into sin, the people quickly follow. Every soul will be held to a,

strict accounting of his own misdeeds, but the priest will also be held responsible for those of his flock who fall because of his example. Sacerdotes non solum pro suis, sed etiam pro omnium peccatis reddituri sunt rationem. (12)

If each individual soul will find it difficult to render an account of his works on judgment Day," says St. Augustine, "what must be said of priests, who must give an accounting of the souls committed to their care?" Si pro se unusquisque vix poterit, in die judicii, rationem reddere, quid de sacerdotibus futurum est, a quibus sunt omnium animae requirendae? ( 1 3 )

6. The Salvation of Souls is the Work of Works

Since the salvation of souls is the great work of God, of the God made man, of the Church, of the angels, the apostles and the saints, it is readily seen that it is the work of works, surpassing all others i n time or eternity.

What indeed would be considered great human endeavors? Constructing great palaces or public buildings, raising armies and marching at their head into battle, being acclaimed as a mighty ruler? These would be great, no doubt, but remember the words of Sacred Scripture, "Vanity of vanities and all i s vanity" (Eccles. 1, 2). All these things vanish and pass away. "That which is high to men is an abomination before God" (Luke 16, 15). To teach even a child to make the sign of the cross or instruct one of God'slittle ones, is a nobler work in the eyes of God than all human and natural undertakings.

Among the supernatural works there are five of paramount importance: i. Fasting and mortification;

2. Works of mercy; 3. Prayer and contemplation; 4. Miracles; 5. Martyrdom. Yet, the saving of a soul i s greater even than these works

St. Chrysostom says: "The salvation of one soul is far greater than fasts or vigils or the austerities of the hermits; it is greater than to give most generous alms to the poor!' (14)

Surely to ransom a soul from Purgatory is a marvelous act, but to (12). Homil. 38 in cap. Xl. Matth. (13). Lib. L. Homiliarum, Horn. 7. (14). Orat. 5 contra judaeos.

snatch a soul from mortal sin is greater for theologians teach that the slightest sin is worse than all the evils of earth, purgatory and hell.

To spend one's time in prayer and contemplation is a very holy work, but St. Teresa says that while contemplation is pleasing to God, it is far more efficacious to leave prayer aside and go to the rescue of a soul in sin.(15)

Who shows the greatest love for God? St. Gregory answers this all important question. Ille in amore Dei major est qui ad ejus amorem plurimos trah it.(16) And it is written that Our Lord revealed to a great saint (17) that it is more pleasing to Him for His faithful servant to instruct and lead a soul to salvation than to spend a year in contemplation.

Si separaveris pretiosum a vili, quasi os meum eris (Jer. 15, 19). If thou wilt separate the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth," which means, according to St. Gregory, that, if you load souls from evil by exhortation and example, you will be like unto Jesus Christ Himself, who is the mouthpiece of His Almighty Father.(18) St. John Chrysostom explains this same text thus: lf you use your words to convert and instruct others, you will be like the Master, who is the mouthpiece of His Father and who became Man and was crucified in order to redeem sinners." (19)

The greatest physical miracle is to bring a dead man back to life, but to raise a soul from sin i s greater still. Majus est miraculum peccatorem convertere, quam carne suscitare.(20) The life of the soul is infinitely more precious than to raise up all the dead bodies of all men on earth. The resurrection of the dead is, therefore, but a shadow of the resurrection of the soul from sin.

If God gave a man power to create a new world, imagine how that man would be regarded by his fellow creatures. Yet, St. Augustine says that the conversion of a sinner is a work greater and more admirable than even such a deed for the soul is dearer to God than all (15). Exclamat. 2. (16). St. Greg. apud S. Bonav. Pharetra 1. 1, cap. 14. (17). We are unable to say who this great saint is. (18). Moral. 18, 23. (19). Orat. 5 contra judaeos, apud Corn. a Lapide, in Jerem., 15, 19. (20). St. Greg. Dialog. lib. 3, cap. 17.

created things.(21) And St. John Chrysostom remarks that "nothing, not even the whole world, is worth a single soul."(22) Did not Christ say, "That which my Father has given me, is greater than all"? (John io, 29) St. Augustine prays thus: "Thou hast made all things, 0 God, in the visible world for man's body, the body for the soul, and the soul for Thyself." St. John Chrysostom avers that man is the noblest of God's creatures, for all else was created for the use of man, heaven and earth, the stars and all that exists (23).

What greater return could one make to God than to offer one's life for Him? Yet St. John Chrysostom says that to forego martyrdom in order to work for the salvation of souls is more acceptable to Almighty God. He states that this is not his own thought, but that of St. Paul. Writing to the Philippians, the great apostle says that though he desires to be with Christ, he feels it more advantageous to God's glory that he remain with them (Phil. 1, 23-24). St. Teresa envied those who worked for the salvation of souls, more than she did the martyrs. St. Catherine of Siena kissed the ground trodden by those engaged in apostolic ministry. Richard of St. Victor wonders whether it could be possible for heaven to grant a greater favor than to set men aside to work for the spiritual salvation of their fellow men.(24)

What more can I say? Omnium divinorum divinissimum est cooperari Deo in salutem animarum, writes St. Dionysius.(25) And St. Gregory adds, Nullum omnipotenti Deo tale est sacrificium, quale est zelus animarum(26).

These things being so, who can measure the love of God for those who serve Him in ministering to souls? Who can plumb the depths of the graces that He pours upon them on earth? Who can envision the extent of the.reward that He reserves for them in eternity? Who can conceive the horrors and punishments He has Prepared for those guilty of leading souls to ruin? I will meet them as a bear that is robbed of her whelps and I will rend the inner parts of their liver; and I will (21). Tract. 17 in Joannem. (22). In i Cor., Homil. 3. (23). Oral. 3 contra judaeos. (24). In Cant. 1, 1. (25).De Caelesti Hierarchia, Cap. 3. (26). Homil.12 i n Ezech.

devour them there as a lion, the beast of the field shall tear therm' (Osee 13, 8). Who does not tremble at such words; who does not shudder at the thought of causing the loss of a single soul; who will not give himself wholeheartedly to a work so dear to the heart of God?

0 priests of God, what obligations are yours towards Him who called you to share His office of Saviour! How lofty is your calling, for you are the associates of God, of Jesus, of Mary, of the angels, of the apostles and the saints! Work unceasingly, courageously and constantly for Him! Let your only joy be to please Him! Accept whatever difficulties you encounter for His sweet sake!

Take pity on the souls created to His image and likeness, the souls of your brethren. Commiserate the sufferings of Our Lord, the agony He endured, the tears He shed, the blood He poured out, the miseries He bore. Compassionate the Blessed Virgin Mary in the grief she experienced for her Divine Son, and let no day go by without endeavoring to assuage that grief by laboring for souls. Obey the injunction of Sacred Scripture: "Deliver them that are led to death; and those that are drawn to death forbear not to deliver" (Prov. 24, 11).

Pray the Master of the heavenly harvest to send workmen into His vineyard. Imitate the apostles and the disciples, of whom it was said that they were occupied at all times, in public and in private, i n preaching Jesus Christ. If your labors do not produce the results you hope for, do not be discouraged. Even if you should keep only one soul from falling into mortal sin, you would have done more good than if you had delivered the world from a universal pestilence.

If a great physician of antiquity(27) was given the title of divine for having rid his country of a physical plague, what term should be applied to the physicians of souls who cure men's spiritual ills ? Think of a man afflicted with the worst human disease you can imagine, and then visualize the pains and torments of hell, the punishment of one mortal sin. Is there any comparison? Consequently, when by word or example or prayer, you prevent a soul from sinning, or rescue it from the grip of iniquity, you save i t from punishment far exceeding the greatest torment possible on earth.

I can hear the Angel of the Apocalypse cry out: "Woe to the earth, (27). Hippocrates, a Greek physician, 460-378 B.C.

and to the sea, because the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, knowing that he bath but a short time" (Apoc. 12, 12), to appease his hatred for souls. Should you not love your brethren more profoundly than their enemy hates them? Should you not be more actuated by the desire to save them than he is to destroy them? If he in his rage deems the time permitted to him to seek their ruin as a mere modicum tempus "a short time," how ardently should you use everyminute of your definitely short life to work for good?

Cease not, then, to work for so lofty a purpose, and the day will dawn when you will reap the rewards of your labors. "And in doing good let us not fail. For in due course we shall reap, not failing" (Gal. 6, 9), for even though you should not always succeed in drawing souls from evil, at least your earnest efforts will be rewarded.

Try, then, to save as many souls as possible and above all apply yourself with most fervent zeal to hearing confessions for in this way you can accomplish untold good. as I shall point out in the following section.