“Blessed is the man whose help is from thee: in his heart he hath disposed to ascend by steps, in the vale of tears, in the place which he hath set.”

Psalm 83

“Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you.”

Matthew 7.7

Every complex problem has a simple solution, and by the Infinite Mercy of our Lord, the Blessed Mother revealed to us at Fatima what is required of us laity in order that we might proceed to and through sanctification and gain salvation, against such overwhelming odds as we face. Sister Lucia herself confirmed these five basic requirements in her interview with Fr. Rafferty:

1. Daily Rosary
2. The daily offering of the sacrifices of our state of life.
3. 1^st Saturday devotion and Communions of Reparation.
4. Consecrating ourselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
5. The wearing of the Brown Scapular.

None of these five are optional in this our corrupt age. These basic devotions were given to us directly by the Mother of God as the fundamental way for us to grow in holiness as quickly as possible. These are the duties we must perform without exception and without failure. She knows we are running out of time, and gave us this foundation from whence we can build lives of virtue and sanctity, as we walk the very narrow road.

This firm foundation of these five basic requirements allows us to begin building Humility, which as Venerable Louis of Granada explains, is the virtue that “binds the hands of the Creator”, and is so powerful in the sight of Almighty God that, “Without thee the virgin is shut out of the gates of heaven, and with thee even the public sinner is received at the feet of Christ”.

And so we come to the great mathematical multiplier of all virtues, but especially of humility: namely, penance. Do not forget that at Fatima, St. Michael stood with his flaming sword raised, ready to strike us, and with a loud voice said three words: PENANCE! PENANCE! PENANCE!

By itself, true penance defends us against all three daily assaults we face: against the world, the flesh, and the devils. This chosen physical suffering is pleasing and acceptable to Almighty God because it is selfless, and drives us to meditate upon the mysteries of His Passion.

Venerable Matt Talbot is an excellent example of true, secret, and acceptable penance: this hard-working layman was found upon his death to have chains wrapped around his body, which he wore as penance for sins and to signify his slavery to the Blessed Mother. At night he slept on a wooden plank, with a log as a pillow, and would then make his bed in the morning, in order to hide his penances from others (God saw fit that the housekeeper would figure this out, that we might have his example now). It is said he did these penances in order to comfort our Lord in his Agony, as the Venerable recognized that our Lord, in seeing all the sins through all of time, would also have seen the penances offered for the same.

Fasting is also a most necessary and important part of penance, and has been directly prescribed to us by our Lord. Any cursory study of the lives of the Saints will show us how very devoted they were to fasting, and offering the mortification of their most basic fleshly desires to God.

Others have been known to clip a young stem of a rose bush and attach it to the inside their hat, in order to be reminded by the constant pricking of the Crown of Thorns. A hundred times we have stopped to remove the small pebble from our shoe; but have we ever thought about stopping to put one in, and be reminded of that final walk our Lord took to his death? These opportunities for simple, secret penance surround us daily, and we simply need to ask the Blessed Mother and our Lord for help, and guidance therein.

This is the narrow road: the daily practice of the Passion of our Lord, in the smallest ways. Humility reflects the Agony and His being contemned by the world. Our practice of penance reflects the Scourging, and the mortification of the flesh in reparation for sins. Through humility and penance we overcome our arrogance, pride, and the presumptuous thoughts, which caused the Crowning with Thorns. And only then will we be made worthy and ready to pick up the Cross for that final walk to our own death.

In order to mathematically increase the previously discussed .0086% rate of salvation to 50%, we need to multiply by 5,814. Which just so happens to be very close to the exact number of times that our Lord was struck during the Passion.

Penance is the multiplier. Start multiplying, and do not delay: Our given time runs short now.