Conquest of the World is Had by Knowledge of God!

Just as in the material order, there is no real substitute for hard work, so also the same is true in the supernatural order. "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy" (Psalms 125) - which means that trying to plant the right things in the right way can be painful work, but it will bring great joy in the end.

Likewise, our faith is a great gift, but for that faith to take root in us, we must work it, that is we must study it and seek to put into practice that which we have understood. St. John reminds us that "this is the victory which overcomes the world, our Faith" (1 John 5:4).

While today people pride themselves on human knowledge and natural talents, they often overlook the more important knowledge; the science of the Saints, the study of the Faith. Such people fall into the trap that Our Lord wanted to warn us about, when He tells us not look for treasures in this world, but to store our treasures in Heaven (Matthew 6).

Sacred Scripture reminds us that "Knowledge is a fountain of life", "A wise heart shall acquire knowledge", "Choose knowledge rather than gold" (Proverbs). But the precious knowledge that the Bible speaks of is not a knowledge of human things, but a knowledge of God: "All men are vain, in whom there is not the knowledge of God" (Wisdom 13). "If you shall look for wisdom, and seek wisdom like you seek money, and dig for wisdom like you dig for a treasure: then you shall find the knowledge of God" (Proverbs).

Today there is hardly anybody who truly seeks and digs for the knowledge of God - is it surprising, then, that so few souls are saved? Ignorance is truly a curse and yet it is precisely this evil that the enemies of our faith rely upon to accomplish so much harm to souls and the world. For this reason the Archbishop often warned the clergy: "Unless you continue to study your faith, you will end up betraying Our Lord". Yes, for our knowledge of God is intimately linked with our salvation.

Our holy Patron St. Pius X reminded us of this saying: "It is a common complaint, unfortunately too well founded, that there are large numbers of Christians in our own time who are entirely ignorant of those truths necessary for salvation. We refer not only to the masses or to those in the lower walks of life, but also those especially who do not lack culture or talents and, indeed, are possessed of abundant knowledge regarding things of the world but live rashly and imprudently with regard to religion. Our Predecessor, Benedict XIV, had just cause to write: 'We declare that a great number of those who are condemned to eternal punishment suffer that everlasting calamity because of ignorance of those mysteries of faith which must be known and believed in order to be numbered among the elect'". How many and how grave are the consequences of ignorance in matters of religion!  Acerbo Nimis.