of sins, no true penance, nor satisfaction that may be accepted, neither is the blood of Jesus Christ applied to them; whence it follows that whoever wills to die without doing penance for his sins, virtually wills to remain in them for ever, and that his sins should be eternal, and therefore he deserves that God's justice should chastise him with pains everlasting. [1] And upon this it is, that although a sinner die with true faith and hope, yet on entering into hell he is deprived of them, not only for being (as mentioned before) unworthy of them, but also because now there remains with him no object of hope, neither to obtain pardon of sins, nor to be heard in his petitions, nor to come out of misery, nor ever to attain to any blessedness.
Colloquy. — Then how is it, O my soul, that thou fearest not this being eternal, obliged to eternal miseries? How is it that thou art not affrighted with this fire, this "breath," this "worm," and this decree of God immutable and everlasting? Consider that yet Almighty God will alter the sentence, if thou with penance alterest thy life. Attend not till thy sin be eternal, for then so likewise shall be thy punishment.
POINT III.
1. Thirdly, I am to consider the continuance and unchangeableness of the pains which go together with eternity; considering that the pains shall in such a manner for ever endure, that they shall be perpetual without interruption and unchangeable without diminution. So that although they should continue millions of years, yet shall there not be even one day of vacation; neither will the pain cease so much as for an hour, or a moment; neither will the substantial pain be diminished, nor have any refreshing, as is apparent in the
- ↑ S. Th. 1, 2, q. kxxvii. art 3, ad 1. cam S. Aug. et S. Greg, quos citat. meditat. ix. puncto 4.
