Saint Anthony Mary Claret - Catholic Apologetics Information

have no fear: God has sent them through obedience and He will take care of them. 117
Chapter XI
THE GOAL I HAD IN MIND WHENEVER I WENT TO A TOWN TO WHICH MY
SUPERIOR SENT ME
199. Whenever I went to a town, I did so without any worldly goal in mind; my only aim was to
glorify God and save souls. I was often forced to remind people of this because I knew that it was the
most convincing argument for good and bad alike. I would tell them:
200. You know that men nearly always do whatever it is they do for one or another of the following
reasons: ( 1 ) for gain or money, (2) for pleasure, (3) for fame. I have not come to preach a mission in
this town for any of these three reasons. Not for money, because I don't want a penny from anyone and I
won't take one. Not for pleasure, for what pleasure could I get out of wearing myself out from early in
the morning until night? If some of you have to wait your turn for three or four hours to go to confession,
you get tired. But what about me? I must be there all morning and afternoon; and at night, instead of
resting, I have to preach--and not for just one day, but day after day, for weeks, months, and years. Just
think about that, my brothers and sisters.
201. Maybe I do it for fame? Hardly. You must be well aware of the calumnies I'm exposed to. One
person may praise me, but another makes all sorts of charges against me, as the Jews did against Jesus,
speaking ill of his person, his words, and his actions until finally they seized Him, scourged Him, and
put Him to death on a most painful gibbet of shame. But I tell you, with St. Paul, that I am not afraid of
any of these things, nor do I esteem my life more than my soul; and I would gladly risk everything to
fulfill the ministry of preaching the Gospel, which I have received from God our Lord. 118
202. No, I repeat, I have no mere earthly aim but a far nobler one. My aim is to make God better
known, loved, and served by everyone. If only I had all human hearts, with which to love God! My God,
people do not know you! If they did, you would be loved far more than you are. If people only knew
your wisdom, power, goodness, beauty, and all your divine attributes, they would all have become
seraphim consumed with the fire of your divine love. This is my aim: to make God known, so that He
may be loved and served by all.
203. Another of my aims is to prevent all the sins and offenses that are being committed against
God--that same God who is loved by seraphim, served by angels, feared by powers, adored by
principalities--that God who is offended by a vile earthworm, man. Be astonished at this, you heavens! If
a noble knight saw an innocent damsel being outraged and in distress, he could not contain himself but
would rush to her aid. How, then, can I do enough when I see God offended and outraged?
204. If you saw your father being beaten and stabbed, wouldn't you run to defend him? Wouldn't it
be a crime for you to look on indifferently at your father in such a plight? Well then, wouldn't I be the
greatest criminal in the world if I didn't try to prevent the outrages that men are perpetrating against God,
who is my Father? My Father, I shall defend you, although it should cost me my life. I shall throw my
arms about you and with St. Augustine tell sinners: Enough of wounds; it is enough! Halt, you sinners,
halt! Stop scourging my Father. You've already scourged Him enough and opened far too many wounds.
If you must scourge someone, scourge me, for I deserve it; but don't mistreat and scourge my God, my
Father, and my Love. O love of mine, my love!
205. I am also driven to preach without ceasing by the sight of the throngs of souls who are falling
into hell--for it is of faith that all who die in mortal sin are damned. It is estimated that about eighty
thousand die each day, and how many of them die in mortal sin and hence are damned? As the saying
117 Before the government of the Regency fell (1843), Claret occasionally met with obstacles to his ministry. On these occasions he
would say, "I have given up this preaching assignment because it was the will of my superior (Dr. Casadevall); but if things had been
otherwise I would never have held back, even if I knew that they were waiting for me with daggers drawn at the foot of the pulpit" (F.
Aguilar, Life, p. 61).
118 Cf. Acts 20:24.
40