If you were told, "Tomorrow, you will face God!" would you scramble in horror or are you living in a state of confidence that He will be well pleased?

In Our Hour of Death

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Death is indeed a powerful preacher, a great missionary. It was death that preached to the Prodigal Son, "I here perish with hunger," he said to himself. He had seen the life of his wicked companions. He had also witnessed several of them die in their impious choices, and since his life resembled theirs, his death, he thought, would not be different from theirs, unless he returned, in due time, to his father's house and lead a better life.

He remembered the judgement and punishment that awaited the wicked in the world to come. So, he entered into himself and said, "How many hired servants in my father's house have enough bread, and yet I here perish with hunger! I will arise, and will go to my father."

We too, if we attentively listen to the voice of death, will not fail to form a firm resolution to prepare for a happy death.

There are many who view death merely as a lifeless body in the grave, and are therefore, insensible to the high moral grandeur which so often disthinguishes the closing scene of a mortal life; as well as they are surprised or even offended at the importance, the Church ascribes to this most important final moment that determines a person's wellbeing for all eternity.

Death is the end of all our works, of our earthly pilgrimage. We either made it to the harbor to cast out our anchor, or we are shipwrecked forever in the stormy sea. At death, our eternity is either happiness or misery. If we die in Sanctifying Grace, we shall be saved eternally, but if we die in Mortal Sin, we shall be eternally lost. We can only die once, hence the infinite importance of this final act of our life.

It is for this reason that death, naturally, impresses every one of faith with a feeling of terror and awe. Death will either be sudden and unexpected, or it will be drawn out for various lengths full of disease, frailties, and laborious conditions with no earthly remedy. Only one who is insensible, and sees death as merely a lifeless body in the grave will desire a sudden death, for they are only focussed on escaping earthly sufferings. While on the other hand, a person of faith desires, petitions, and ultimately thanks God for a drawn-out, lengthy death, despite being filled with earthly sufferings, because this death provides the graces of time and preparation for eternity.

The one who is insensible and focuses primarily on alleviating bodily suffering, as death approaches, will be tormented greatly from an increase of remorse of conscience for the many unconfessed sins committed, their dread of approaching judgement, and the uncertainty of eternal salvation. Although, for one who has faith, a remorse of conscience is necessary and a wonderful grace from God to use the time remaining for a clear examination of conscience and repentance.

In both cases, time remaining is short, and it is at this moment when the devil puts forth all his power in a final attempt to gain the soul that is about to pass into eternity. For this reason, it is that the devil will call upon many of his companions to engage in this battle. Wherever this person is, you can be sure it is filled with demons and united towards one mission. It is related of St. Andrew Avellino that, at the time of his death, several hundred devils came to tempt him. In this final moment, the closer a person is to God, the greater gain and trophy it is for the devil to steal ones soul. Likewise, the closer a person is to God, the more aid is given from ones Guardian Angel, St. Michael the Archangel, St. Joseph, the Blessed Mother, as well as having a clear conscience from a recent confession of sins and an ability to maintain focus on Heaven.

One of the best ways to prepare for a good death is to daily remember the certainty of death, as well as the uncertainty of the hour of death. God knows this, therefore, He has ordered it so that many things around us should remind us of death and the final battle.

All nature tells us that we must one day die. If we ask the sun that shines in the Heavens, he will tell us that we must die. The sun rises in the morning, ascends to its heights, and then sinks slowly, disappearing in the West. Such is our life.

If we ask the seasons, they will tell us that just as they arrive, no sooner than later are they leaving, just as us with our forefathers, and when we have passed, our places shall be occupied by others.

If we ask the streams that hasten to the sea, they will tell us that the first years of it were passed in obscurity, like the spring hidden in the grass. The stream hastens on through rugged rocks and gloomy forests. The stream dashes over yawning precipies, and it passes through blooming landscapes, until at last it sinks into the ocean, never more to return. Such is our life, a life of joy, sorrow, hope, pain, innocence, and sin. We hurry on, until at last, we sink into the silent ocean of eternity, never more to return.

If we look around us upon the earth, wherever our eyes fall, we are reminded of death. Millions and millions of people lived before us upon the earth. Where are they now? Where are those once powerful nations, whose very name was once respected and feared? Where are the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Romans? Where are the mighty kings, the valiant generals, who once caused the nations of the earth to tremble? Where are all those great men, once so renowned for their learning, their brillant talents, and their treasured discoveries?

Yes, every moment of the day, every moment of the night, a soul is departing this world. On average, about 150,000 people die every day. Even now, while you are reading this, before you have read this sentence, a soul has passed from this world, and it standing and trembling in the presence of the Eternal Judge. Every tick of the clock, every swing of the pendulum, every throb of the heart, tells us that we are hastening towards death.

Everyday, our heart is ever beating, like a march to the grave. The bed on which we lie down at night to rest reminds us of our grave. The sleep that closes our eyelids reminds us of that we will one day close our eyes upon this world forever.

Is death merely a necessary consequence of our frailty? No; death is not natural. Death is so terrible, because it is not natural. Our body and soul were made and created by God to live together, and had our first parents never sinned, we would never have died. Death is the punishment of sin. "By one man, sin entered into this world, and by sin, death." (Romans 5:12) Yes, we must all die and die once.

Upon that one death determines our eternity. If we die well, we shall be forever happy in Heaven, full of glory, youth, beauty, wisdom, power, and joy, without end. If we die in mortal sin, we shall be forever miserable, tormented at the loss of God, the Supreme Good, at the reality of how easilly we could have escaped hell by simply praying, and full of despair without end.

If we have the misfortune of committing a mortal sin, at this very moment, the Holy Ghost leaves our soul and we lose Sanctifying Grace. We are cut off from God, denied access to Heaven, and in a sense, our soul is dead. Before death, there is hope for us, through repentance, we may regain the life of our soul, but if our body dies before we make a good confession, our soul being in the state of mortal sin remains now in this state of eternal death.

If we die a bad death, it can never be repaired. We lose everything -- our wealth, pleasures, friends, children, but worse than all, we lose Heaven, we lose our soul, and we lose God forever.

How important then, it is to prepare for the hour of death, since we can die only once, and upon that, determines our eternity!

Why is it that if we lose our health, we are willing to take the most bitter remedies? We are willing to leave our home and friends, travel to the most distant cities, eat certain things, abstain from certain things, and spend our wealth and all that we possess, just to gain our health. Yet, we are unwilling to do what it takes to gain Heaven.

If we lose our property by some accident, by carelessness or mismanagement, we may regain it by prudent economy. Yet, if we lose our soul through mortal sin and a bad death, no economy, prudence, or labor can save us.

If we are engaged in an important lawsuit, what pains do we not take to succeed! We rest neither day nor night. We examine our papers, our deeds, over and over. We spend large sums of money in securing witnesses and lawyers, and no stone is left unturned that may aid us in gaining our ends. Yet, if we lose that case, we may hope to win it some other time. But, if we lose our soul, all is lost, for there is no second trial.

We know that we must face death sometime or another, yet what pains do we not take to escape death, or to keep death off as long as possible!

Where shall we die?

We may die on the street, on our way home, or in our cars. One may die in a tavern, surrounded by wicked companions with the sound of blasphemy ringing in his ears. One may die in the house of debauchery. One may die going home in a state of intoxication. There shall Jesus Christ meet him, and, if found in the state of mortal sin, Jesus will condemn him to hell. Will the debauchery and liquor be worth it?

When shall we die?

We may die next year, next week, or even this very night. How many have gone to bed healthy and hearty, closed their eyes, and awoke standing before their Judge? How many of those who are alive now will be dead before another year has passed?

Jesus Christ assures us that death will come upon us when we least expect it. Remember, when the devil, the father of lies first tempted our first parents, he said to them, "Oh! No, there is no danger. You shall not die." The devil knows very well that if he were to tempt us now, we would not believe him. Therefore, he no longer says, "You shall not die," but instead he says, "You will not die soon."

"Watch ye and pray, for death will come when you least expect it." Death will come like a thief in the night. Death spares no one. Whether our conscience be in order or not, death will not wait. "Death," says the Holy Ghost, "is the time of harvest." "Whatever a man has sown during life, that shall he reap at the hour of death." (Gal. 6:8)

If then, during life, we sow in our hearts sinful thoughts and desires, and defile our soul by immodest words and actions, by dishonesty and drunkennes, we shall reap the fightful consequences of these sins at the hour of our death. Yes, we shall die as we have lived.

What does it mean to die a good death?

To die a good death means to die without sin, without an affection or attachment to sin or for sinful pleasures.

To die after having satisfied God's justice by worthy penance.

To die with a firm resolution of never committing another mortal sin.

To die with the desire to rather endure all the torments of the martyrs than to willfully offend God.

To die with a firm Faith, with an unwavering Hope, and with sincere Charity.

To die loving God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves.

What does it mean to die a bad death?

Father Thomas Burke, the great Dominican preacher, relates that he was once called to assist a dying man, who was dying after a long life of sin. "The man had sense enough to sit up in the bed and say, 'You are a priest?'

I said, 'Yes, I am.'

'Oh!' he said, 'I am gald of it. Tell me: I want to know one thing. I want to know if you have the Blessed Sacrament with you?'

'I have.' The moment I said so, he sprang out of the bed onto the floor, kicked, and squirmed while roaring like a maniac!'

'Oh! take away that God! take away that God! That man has God with him. There is no God for me!'

He was dead before I left the room, crying out to the last, 'There is no God for me!''

If we persevere in sin up to the last moment of our lives, we have just as little hope of salvation. And why? Will not God give us His grace? Yes, God will give sufficient grace to every one, no matter how hardened or wicked he may be. But, to give up a wicked habit instantly, after a long life of sin, required not only ordinary grace, but an extraordinary, a miraculous grace; and God is not bound to give without a special intercessory cause.

God offers us this grace now. He has spoken to us in this hour. He calls us now to repentance. Let us obey His voice. Let us not turn a deaf ear to his call. What sort of a fool is willing to wait until he is in his last moment of death, where he may not have the right mind or use of all his faculties?

Ask that careless Catholic who negelcts Mass so often on Sundays and holy days, who works on these days without necessity, who neglects the Sacraments from year to year -- has he ever thought that he must die and render a strict account to God of all the graces he has neglected and despised?

Ask that man who has been for so many years a member of a forbidden secret society, which has been condemned by God and his Church -- has he ever thought that he must die, that death will tear him apart from those companions of darkness, for whose sake he sacrificed his God, his Hope, and his Heaven?

Ask that father and mother who neglect their children's education, who neglect to send them to Catechism classes, to Mass on Sundays and holy days -- have they ever thought of death, and of the terrible account they have to give of the children whom God has confided to their care?

Ask those parents who scandalize those little ones by neglecting their religious duties for so many years, by drunkeness, by shameful conduct -- have they ever thought that they must die?

Ask that revengeful woman, whose heart is full of bitter hatred towards her neighbor, who will not forgive or even salute those who have offended her -- has she not forgotten that she must die, for she shall be judged without mercy, as she has shown no mercy?

Ask that dishonest man, who cheated his neighbor by unjust speculations -- has he thought that death would hurt him, with his soul defiled by injustice before the judgement-seat of God?

Ask also that vain, foolish girl, who has sold her innocence for a fine dress, a pretty ring, or a handsome man -- has she thought that she must die? When she committed those secret sins, so abdominable before God and His holy angels, that she would have to die?

Ask those husbands and wives, did they think of death when they committed, under the veil of marriage, so many shameful and unnatural crimes, by preventing human life, or murding the poor helpless being before it could see the blessed light of day -- did they think that they had to die, and, after death, render a terrible account of the Holy Sacrament of Marriage, which they have so often abused and desecrated?

Have those men or those woman who so often injure their neighbor's character by calumny, detraction, and gossip who so often defile their souls and the souls of their companions by shameful conduct, immodest discourses, by those words of double meaning -- have they thought that they must die, and after death render a strict account of every immodest, every uncharitable, every blasphemous word, nay, even of every idle word uttered?

And the unhappy soul, which has made so many sacrilegious confessions, so many unwrothy communions; which has so long concealed that secret sin that weighs so heavily on its conscience -- has it thought of death? Has it thought that after death, it will have to give a fearful account of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, which it has so often desecrated in communion?

What must be the anguish of such men and woman when death comes and tears them away in an instant from all the objects of their sinful passions! What will it avail that dying man and woman who have sacrificed their honor, renounced their faith, and sold their hope of Heaven and God, all to gratify the concupiscence of the flesh!

Now, let us put the question to ourselves: Are we at this moment, in the state in which, we would wish to be at in the hour of our death?

Just as death finds us, so we shall be throughout all eternity.

Right now is our time to love and serve God, to acquire new merits, to acquire an increase of Glory in Heaven, to be reconciled with our enemies, to ask forgivness of those whom we have offended, to restore the property which we have stolen, to restore the good name of those whom we have injured, and to repair all the evil we have done.

Suppose God were to send us this moment, an angel from Heaven to announce to us that we were to die tomorrow. What a sudden change would come over all of us! Every face would turn pale and every heart would throb with terror. You would hear nothing but sighs, moans, and prayers.

We would hasten eagerly to the feet of the priest to confess our sins, and cleanse our souls by tears of true repentance.

Then, we would be willing to perform any penance, to make any sacrifice, in order to save our souls, and to be well-prepared to meet our Judge.

Then, we would gladly give back that money, property, or anything we possess unjustly.

Then, we would eagerly give up the company of that young man or that young woman, that has so often caused us to commit sin.

Then, we would willingly promise to give up drunkenness, and to keep away from balls, theaters, and other sinful places of amusements.

We would be willing to do whatever the priest tells us to do for penance, and we would still fear that we have not done enough.

Let us do all this now, while we have yet time, in order to be prepared to obey the summons of death at whatever moment it comes; and death, instead of being a terror and dread end of all that we love and cherish, will be the true dawn of the brighter and the better day, the opening of life eternal, the sweet, short, and blessed passage into the bosom of our Father and our God.

Prayer to be Preserved from Sudden and Unforseen Death

by St. Alphonsus Liguori

My soul, think on the sudden passage from life to eternal torments, where all remorse and tears will be useless. While there is still time, be converted; cry out to the Lord saying: My God, have pity on me -- O most merciful Lord Jesus, by Your Agony and Bloody Sweat, and by Your Death, deliver me, I pray to You, from sudden and unprepared death.

O most gentle Lord Jesus, by Your cruel Scourging and Crowning with Thorns, by Your Cross and bitter Passion, and by Your Own great Goodness, I humbly pray to You, let me not die unprepared and pass from this life without the Holy Sacraments.

O God, in Whose sight every heart trembles and every conscience is awed! Show forth Your mercy upon us, that we, who trust not in the excellence of our own merit, may never experience Your judgments by the suddenenss of death, but may receive Your pardon through Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen

Source

The Prodigal Son

Original 1875 Publication

Fr. Michael Muller, 1825 - 1899

CSSR or the Redemptorist founded by St. Alphonsus Liguori