“Salus Animarum”

the Salvation of Souls

Whatever became of this most Fundamental Imperative
that is nothing less than the very reason that
Christ Established His Church?

It is unlikely that the vast, indeed, the overwhelming majority of today’s Catholics have not so much as heard of this phrase as old as the Church itself; certainty, not in English — and with greater certainty still, not from the pulpit.

The very concept of “the salvation of the soul” appears to have been non grata in homiletics for quite nearly 60 years (corresponding, unsurprisingly, to the implementation of Vatican II) — despite the fact that the imperative itself is clearly and unambiguously codified as the supremus lex (the supreme law) of the Roman Catholic Church in (Canon Law 1752):

“Salus animarum suprema lex esto” — “the salvation of souls … must be the supreme law in the Church.”

It is nothing less than the sole reason for the Incarnation … the Suffering, Crucifixion, Death, and Resurrection … of Christ: the salvation of souls!

Christ as Savior, Christ as Redeemer, cannot be understood apart from this most fundamental and utterly simple concept: He came to save souls — not to heal bodies (although He did), not to rectify injustices, not to rehabilitate politics, not to instruct us on economics, and certainly not “save the Environment” — which, sadly, appear to be the principal if not the sole concerns of the present pontiff, who, sadly, is more an emissary of the United Nations and Globalist Ideology than the Vicar of Jesus Christ on Earth. Certainly an indifferentist (every religion is sufficient to salvation) and most definitely a heretic, he is nothing remotely proximate to his putative job description.

Jesus Christ, on the other hand, came with only two purposes that are really one:

• To do the will of the Father
   

• Which is: to save souls for all eternity in Heaven (and in so doing, to deliver them from Hell).

It is really that simple; in fact, so simple that it eludes us in our worldliness, in our pretensions to sophistication, and our penchant for sophistry and correctitude.

For 2000 years the mission of the Church (and its raison d’etre , the very reason for its being) could be summed up in two words instantiating that same beautiful simplicity: “Salus animarum — the Salvation of souls”. Through Christ in the Sacraments this is its sole mission.
 

The Church has no other mandate from Christ. Even healing the sick, raising the dead, delivering men from demonic possession, and all that He taught in the Sermon on the Mount were means only to the principle end: the salvation of the soul. Christ Himself emphatically asks:

The purpose of all that He said and did was always eschatological, that is to say, pertaining to the Four Last Things:

• Death
   

• Judgment
   

• Heaven
   

• Hell
   

Everything else pales in significance.

Two come once only, and two are everlasting.

To pretend that we really do not fully understand what Christ was talking about, and which He proclaimed in the clearest terms, is just that: pretension. We know very well what Christ said and did — but to our own devious and often deviant ends, we assume an air of erudite perplexity concerning them:

“Despite what He appears to say; indeed actually says, this is what He really means …”

 And our own interpretation only accords with what we wish He had said, for this would provide us with excuses for our sins or alternatives for His extremely unsettling pronouncements. We go from the reality of: “This is what Christ said …” to the fiction: “This is what we wish Christ had said” … because I am much more comfortable with this interpretation — which, rather coincidentally, allows me to continue in sin.” In short, it is nothing more than wishful thinking because they cannot be both true.

For all our carefully fabricated allusions to what Christ really said and meant, we know the truth — because He is the Truth Who does not deceive nor can be deceived. We are not pleased with all He said, especially concerning things that frighten us because they describe us … and convict us — and we know it! 

Despite this, we insist that so many vitally important things that Jesus clearly uttered are nevertheless not true — because they are not “inclusive” and do not accord with our delicate post-modern sensitivities that any real deity would surely ascribe to. That some, perhaps many, are left in “outer darkness", excluded from Heaven because of  their depravity and perversion, their penchant for sin and their obstinate predilection for evil, is unacceptable to our presently enlightened humanity. The list of our objections would be too long to enumerate and ultimately too tedious. Let us be satisfied with a few:
 

The Short List:

• Not everyone goes to Heaven (St. Matthew 7:14)
   

• People — indeed, many people — go to Hell (St. Matthew 7:14)
   

• Hell is a real place of punishment, torment, and eternal suffering beyond our comprehension. It is the abode of the devil and demons. It is eternal and eternally devoid of any hope. (St. Matthew 5.29-10; Luke 16:19-31, 13.42; 25.41; St. Mark 9:42-44 etc.)
   

• No one “goes to the Father” — enters Heaven — except though Christ (St. John 14:6)
   

• If you deny Him before men on earth, He will deny you before His Father in Heaven (St. Matthew 10:33)
   

• Not everyone who says, “Lord, Lord!” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven (St. Matthew 7:21)
   

• Not any and every religion will bring you to Heaven (St. John 6.26-70)
   

• Being a “nice person” does not suffice to bring you to Heaven or exempt you from Hell (St. Matthew 5.20; St. Mark 16.15-16)
   

Such pernicious nonsense has no place in our mythologized concept of God. We will have Heaven … “dammit”  ... but on our terms — despite what Jesus Christ says … much to our consternation, and quite likely to our damnation. We prefer other interpretations;  more comfortable and convenient exegeses ... and sadly they abound.

^*  Saint Matthew 7.13-14

Geoffrey K. Mondello
Editor
Boston Catholic Journal

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