Mary Delivers us From Hell

By St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori   |   5 November 2025

From the Glories of Mary

“After our exile, show us Jesus, the Fruit of your Womb”

It is impossible for a soul faithful to Mary to be lost. This might seem exaggerated but I ask the reader to suspend judgment until he reads all I have to say.

Impossible to be Lost

“It is impossible to be lost” does not refer to those souls who misuse their devotion to Mary so they can sin more freely. Because of this rash confidence, such souls deserve chastisement, not mercy. When I say “impossible to be lost”, I am speaking of souls with a sincere desire to amend their lives and who are faithful in devotion to Mary. It is morally impossible for these to be lost. Many saints and learned men have said the same thing. To show their unanimity, I provide all the quotes (even if many quotations seem the same).

What the Authors Say

“As it is impossible for someone not devoted to Mary to be saved, so it is impossible for those who invoke her to be lost.” (St Anselm) “As it is impossible for someone to be saved from whom Mary turns her eyes, so those to whom she turns her eyes will necessarily be saved and glorified.” (St Antoninus) Pay attention to the first part. Those who have no devotion to her or carelessly abandon it should tremble. “All those who are not your servants, O Mary, will perish.” (St Albert) “Whoever neglects to serve the blessed Virgin will die in their sins. If he does not invoke her, he will never get to heaven. There will be no hope for their salvation.” (St Bonaventure) “It is impossible for any sinner to be saved without the Blessed Virgin.” (St Ignatius, Martyr and St. John Chrysostom) The Spirit writes of Mary, “All that hate me, love death.” (Pr 13:36) “She is like the merchant’s ship. All who are out of this ship will be lost in the world’s sea.” (Richard of St Lawrence) Even a heretic wrote, “Far be it from me ever to turn away from Mary.”

Don’t Abandon Devotion

Mary says, “He that listens to me shall not be lost.” (Sir 24:30) “O Lady, whoever honours you will be far from damnation.” (St Bonaventure) “However great a sinner is, if he shows himself to Mary, he will not perish.” (St Hilary) After a soul has lost God’s grace, the devil does all he can so that he also loses devotion to Mary. Sarah, seeing her Isaac playing with Ismael, demanded of Abraham, “Cast out this woman and her son.” (Gen 21:10) She wanted both removed because if the mother stayed, the son would return to the house. So the devil wants Mary and Jesus cast out of the soul. Otherwise, her Son will return. “Whoever is faithful to Mary will soon receive God himself through Mary.”

Hope in Despair

Devotion to Mary is “a charter of liberty” and “our safeguard from hell.” Mary is “the only hope of those in despair.” (St Ephrem) “Mary lacks neither the will nor the power to save us. Her requests can never be refused.” (St. Bernard) “It is impossible for Mary to pray in vain.” (St Antoninus) If all this is true, how can a follower of Mary be lost? If a sinner calls upon Mary faithfully with a sincere purpose to amend, Mary will give him light to abandon his sins, persevere in virtue, and die in grace. What mother wouldn’t save her child when all she had to do was ask the judge for pardon? Will not Mary deliver the soul from hell when she can do it so easily?

God’s Gift of Devotion

Reader, thank God if He has given you devotion to Mary. “God only grants this favour to those He is determined to save. If I place my trust in Mary I will be saved. If Mary protects me, I have nothing to fear. God grants this devotion to those He intends to save.” (St John Chrysostom) “Confidence in Mary is a pledge of salvation.” (Erasmus) The devil is enraged by a soul having devotion to Mary. When St Alphonsus Rodriguez was tempted, the devil said, “Give up your devotion to Mary and I will tempt you no longer.” God revealed to St Catherine of Siena that “no one who was devoted to Mary would be the prey of hell.” David said, “I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of your house.” (Ps 26:8) Mary is the house constructed by God where He could live. “Wisdom has built herself a house.” (Pr 9:1)

Never Lost

“He who is devout to the Virgin Mother will never be lost.” (St Ignatius, martyr) “Your lovers, O Lady, will never see eternal death.” (St Bonaventure) “The case will never happen that an attentive servant of Mary will be lost.” (Blosius) “How many would have remained obstinate in sin unless Mary intervened?” (Thomas à Kempis) Many theologians, including Thomas Aquinas, believe that Mary has often obtained from God a suspension of hell and allowed souls to return to life to do penance. Many authors have given examples. A deacon who was apparently dead and about to be buried returned to life, saying that he had been condemned to hell but Mary’s prayers allowed him to return to earth to do penance. (Flodoardus) Although there was a similar case of a Roman citizen named Andrew, these examples should not encourage rash persons to hope that Mary will save them if they die in mortal sin. Should a person throw themself into a well because Mary had once saved someone? Still greater folly to risk going to hell. These examples are meant to revive our confidence that those who love her and amend their lives can certainly trust in her aid. “He will not be lost who prays to you, O Virgin.” (St Anselm) “If you defend me, O Mother, can the judge be unfavourable to me?” (Richard of St Victor) “I place my soul in Mary. In this way, if I am condemned, she can change my sentence of condemnation.” (Bl Henry Suso) I always repeat St Bonaventure’s words, “Having placed my trust in you, O Lady, I trust I shall never be lost.”

Example

Two students in Paris led sinful lives. One, named Richard, left the party to return home. Before sleeping, he remembered he had not said his accustomed number of Hail Marys. During the night, Richard saw his companion deformed and in hell: “This would have happened to you. However, you said your Hail Marys. You are fortunate, if you take this warning.” The young man thanked Mary. Hearing the bell of the Franciscan monastery, he went for confession and asked to become a member. Later, two priests found his companion strangled on the street. Richard became a missionary to Japan and was martyred there. He is now Bl Richard of St Anne.

Prayer

O Mary, if your hand had not delivered me, I would be in an abyss of evils. I would have been in hell. My sins drove me there. God’s justice condemned me and the devils wanted to fulfil the sentence. Then, you saved me without being asked. Please, never allow me the misfortune of cursing you from hell. What return can I make you? Can I forget the love that lifted me up? O most amiable Mother, I hope to love you in time and in eternity.