469. Thirty-fourth Monday of Ordinary Time
Meditations no. 413 (unofficial computer-aided translation)
All of us have to die.
Guided by the Churchâs liturgy, we have relived the history of salvation throughout the year. The final week of the liturgical cycle prefigures the end of the world, when our Lord Jesus Christ will come on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, to hand over the kingdom to his Father and establish new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Then the final recapitulation of all things in Christ will be accomplished, and the elect will reign with God for all eternity.
But before the last judgement and final resurrection take place, each personâs life on earth must come to an end. The law of death admits of no exceptions: we all have to die, since we are all tainted by original sin. St Paul wrote: therefore sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned.
Remember, our Father said, that statutum est hominibus semel mori (it is appointed for men to die once). A man dies only once. Some die in infancy, some when they are still young, as you are, others in full maturity, and others when they reach old age. The just and ungodly both die equally, St Jerome comments. So too do the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, the one who offers sacrifices and the one who does not. The same lot befalls the good person as the sinner, the one who swears an oath and the one who fears swearing. Men and beasts alike will all one day be reduced to dust and ashes.
Sacred Scripture invites us to meditate on these eternal truths: remember that death does not tarry, nor have you been told the graveâs appointed time. St Athanasius writes: So as not to work negligently, it is good to meditate on St Paulâs words: quotidie morior, each day I die. For if we lived each day as though we were about to die, we would not sin. If we thought in this way when getting up each morning, we would not be sure we were going to reach nightfall alive. And on going to bed we would not take it for granted that we were going to get up in the morning. So uncertain is our condition in this life.
Thus, St Jerome says, we too should profoundly meditate on what we are going to be one day. And whether we like it or not, that day cannot he very far off.
Meditating on death helps us rectify the direction of our lives.
Our Father advised us to consider often in our prayer the reality of death. Let us now, guided by his words, meditate on our own death.
Theyâve just told us that our hour has come, and a priest of the Work arrives to assist us. What a consolation to open your heart once again to a brother of yours - and I to a son of mine - to whom you have always been sincere! We make a Confession which is clear, somewhat short of breath and brief. With priestly charity, we are given help, to prepare us better for Godâs embrace: what about this area, and that one and that other? - âYes, yes, that too.â Then we are given a small penance: âSay along with me, Hail Mary most pure, conceived without sin.â Finally, we are given the plenary indulgence in articulo mortis (at the moment of death).
The doctor tells us we are going, and goes out to look for an injection⌠Your brothers or sisters come from the oratory, where they have been praying, carrying candles. The holy oils have just been brought from the Centre where they are kept. We receive the Anointing of the Sick, and then the holy Viaticum. What joy!
Now the end. The events of our life pass quickly before our eyes as in a film. Although a profound peace fills our soul, since God our Father accompanies us, our past sins and infidelities suddenly seem immense. It is the devil making them look bigger, trying to lead us to despair. He wonât succeed! And with contrite sorrow, striving to increase your love, you ask yourself: How have I practised charity, and poverty, and diligence, and chastity? And what about the tongue - that blessed tongue! - and order, and obedience? And your pride, and your own criteria, and your concern for personal things?
One of the others encourages you: Take heart, Jesus and the Blessed Virgin are waiting for you; give thanks for your vocation; tell Jesus that you love him with all your soul, because of the special love he has shown you. Remember God the Father, who loves you to distraction; ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with joy.
I recall that, when we still had no canonical approval, I would cry out to the people of the Work in the retreats we had in Ferraz: Iâm sure of the salvation, the heavenly glory, of whoever perseveres in their vocation to the end! And I would add: whoever is faithful to our spirit is assured of eternal salvation.
Though secure in the knowledge that we are near to God, my children, what an effort it must take for the soul to leave our body: the soul, that has been created to live in this body, is going away⌠Lord, I believe that I will rise again; I believe that my body will be reunited to my soul, and reign with you for all eternity: on account of your infinite merits, through the intercession of your Mother, and the special love you have shown me. I think that after this anguish, which seems inevitable, weâll be even more at peace, secure that we are with God. Death will fill us with joy and peace.
Now you have died. If a priest, youâll be dressed in priestly vestments and then in a linen sheet. If a lay person, youâll be wrapped in a sheet. Years ago, some people asked me: âWhy wrap them in a sheet?â And I answered, âNothing is more grotesque than a corpse all made up in a suit or formal dress. As for the sheet, it goes back to the Gospels.â Moved by this explanation, they agreed with me that this was a prudent measure.
And so you will be wrapped: with great affection, without fear, everyone will want to take part, without disgust, even though your body is beginning to decompose. Kind hands, filled with charity -supernatural and human affection! - will offer you this final act of service. A brother or sister of yours -perhaps one you thought didnât especially like you -sobs with great sorrow. Another prays, while a third doesnât dare to enter because they know theyâll lose their composure. And this - which will happen! - will take place when humanly speaking no one can hope for anything from you. So will you learn to truly love your brothers or sisters? Our blessed charity! Donât close your heart to affection. Learn to forgive, youâre never alone.
Death, my children, is a reality which will come inexorably: so may we not view these things as distant or unreal. I donât want any of you to die. Leave them, Lord, donât take them yet! Theyâre young, and you have few instruments here below! I hope the God will listen to me⌠but it can come at any moment.
What objectivity the consideration of death brings! What a good remedy for reining in the rebellion in our will and the pride in our intellect! Love death, and tell our Lord trustingly: as you will it, when you will it, where you will it.
Joy and serenity at the moment of death.
St Athanasius, echoing a constant teaching of the Church Fathers, writes: You do not know at what hour death is going to come, whether during sleep or during the day. Be prepared therefore so that when it comes, you may go forth to receive it like the wise virgins, with oil in your lamps, that is, with good works. Never forget that you must leave this world; keep death before your eyes each day. And our Founder told us: sanctity consists precisely in this: struggling to be faithful during your life and gladly accepting Godâs will at the hour of your death.
We donât fear death, since it bears for us the promise of glory and immortality: vita mutatur, non tollitur, life is changed, not taken away. Be cheerful always, our Father told us. Also at the hour of death. Cheerful to live, cheerful to die. By Godâs grace, we are not afraid of life, nor afraid of death.
Death is the gateway, if we have been faithful in life, to definitive union with Christ our Lord and with the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Mother. Therefore, our Father often expressed his desire to die singing. He said that when he died he wanted us to sing him a song about a new sun, a new spring, and happiness for ever. It wasnât possible to fulfil that wish, but how well we understand a faithful soulâs joy when departing like an arrow for its definitive encounter with Love!
How happy when they die must be those who have lived heroically every minute of their life! I can assure you it is so, because I have seen the joy of those who have prepared themselves for many years, with calm impatience, for this encounter.
That is how our own preparation for our departure from this world should be. St Paul wrote to Timothy shortly before his death: for I am already on the point of being sacrificed; the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. How calm the Apostle is! St Cyprian writes: Let him who is not reborn by the Spirit fear death, for he is destined for the fires of hell⌠Let him who is not marked by the Cross and Passion of Christ fear dying, whose stay in this life is extended in order to put off the time for his punishments and sufferings ⌠But for the servants of God, death is a redeeming departure for heaven.
We end our prayer today with a joyful and complete acceptance of Godâs will: Jesus, you died on the Cross for me. Grant me the grace to die in an act of perfect love for you. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for me now, and at the hour of my death. St Joseph, my father and lord, help me to die the death of the just.