Deb got a call this afternoon from a family member of a friend who is receiving hospice care. When we saw her in the hospital a couple weeks ago her cancer had spread to her brain but she was still cognizant.; we were able to pray with her and read Psalm 23, encourage her to take part in the Sacrament of Confession and that we would arrange for a priest if she wanted one, and let her know she is loved. She has since gone unresponsive and the friend's daughter's text--'please come'--signaled to us that she would be gone in a matter of days.
As Deb and I were sitting in the car in the driveway trying to figure out whether to go over tonight or tomorrow (a tomorrow not promised to her), we were talking. She told me after she got the call, all the stupid stuff that happened throughout the work day didn't seem to matter. Thats because there's nothing more important in this life than preparing for our death. There's nothing more crushing to our sense of what is than the introduction of this most unwelcome guest. It is one of the most intimate places we can be. The person preparing to meet the Lord will see more in those last moments than we probably will in a lifetime of living. So there needs to be a lot of respect that those moments belong to the person experiencing them, and that you are an honored guest at that time.
How do we live our lives? How do we prepare for our death? Since it comes like a thief in the night (1 Thes 5:2), we can never be sure when we will pass from this life to the next. Are you ready?
Repent
Like an exam, it's hard to cram near the end--our dispositions can be misaligned after a lifetime of bad choices. But no one is beyond God's mercy and forgiveness. The thief (Dismus) who responds on the cross next to Jesus, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom!" (Lk 23:42). He took ownership of his life and choices No one can come to the Lord without repentance. John the Bapist spend his entire life devoted to preaching repentance. Confess your sins with your tongue. Do it often, so it becomes habit, so that you will not be caught like the virgins without oil in their lamps when the bridegroom arrives in the dark of night. (Mt 25:1-13). Cheated on your wife? Repent. Had an abortion? Repent. Hated your parents? Repent. This is where it all starts, and nothing starts without it.
Be Baptized
"Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the spirit." (Jn 3:5). Anyone can baptize in the event of death, even an atheist. Ex opera operato ("by the work worked"). A ll that is necessary is water and the recitation of the Trinitarian formula, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen." One can also be baptized by desire (ccc 1259) and by blood (ccc 1258). But baptism is necessary for salvation. Jesus, though he was free from sin, himself was baptized by John to model for us how important it is.
Believe
Entrust yourself to God's mercy and loving kindness. Believe, "for if you confess with your voice that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Rom 10:9). Without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6)
Pray
Pray. Prayer is your lifeline to God. How can the Lord know you and you know the Lord unless you talk? Lift up your heart to the Lord, however it looks like is less important than the doing. If your prayer is "God help me!" that is a good prayer! Anyone can pray. Don't be like the Pharsisee rattling off how good you were in this life, and how you deserve to be saved. "No one is righteous, not even one." (Rom 3:10) Jesus himself prayed in his dying hour, "Father, why have you forsaken me?" (Mt 27:46) and "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." (Lk 23:34). Ask the saints to intercede and pray for you...they are God's friends in Heaven and our friends too (the communion of saints). They are models of those who have died good deaths and been welcomed into the Kingdom. Follow them.
Our culture does not prepare well for death. "Sending kind thoughts" does not help anyone crossing the abyss, and we distract ourselves throughout life and try to pretend like it is not our end. We live forgetful. This is not a test. Listen to the words of the Lord who does not pull any punches: "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to."
What we suffer in this life is nothing compared to the pains of Hell. But no one--NO ONE--is beyond God's saving graces. Prepare, and be assured of your salvation in Christ, and sing victorious with Paul in 1 Cor 15:55: "O Death, where is your victory? O Death, where is your sting!"
As Deb and I were sitting in the car in the driveway trying to figure out whether to go over tonight or tomorrow (a tomorrow not promised to her), we were talking. She told me after she got the call, all the stupid stuff that happened throughout the work day didn't seem to matter. Thats because there's nothing more important in this life than preparing for our death. There's nothing more crushing to our sense of what is than the introduction of this most unwelcome guest. It is one of the most intimate places we can be. The person preparing to meet the Lord will see more in those last moments than we probably will in a lifetime of living. So there needs to be a lot of respect that those moments belong to the person experiencing them, and that you are an honored guest at that time.
How do we live our lives? How do we prepare for our death? Since it comes like a thief in the night (1 Thes 5:2), we can never be sure when we will pass from this life to the next. Are you ready?
Repent
Like an exam, it's hard to cram near the end--our dispositions can be misaligned after a lifetime of bad choices. But no one is beyond God's mercy and forgiveness. The thief (Dismus) who responds on the cross next to Jesus, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom!" (Lk 23:42). He took ownership of his life and choices No one can come to the Lord without repentance. John the Bapist spend his entire life devoted to preaching repentance. Confess your sins with your tongue. Do it often, so it becomes habit, so that you will not be caught like the virgins without oil in their lamps when the bridegroom arrives in the dark of night. (Mt 25:1-13). Cheated on your wife? Repent. Had an abortion? Repent. Hated your parents? Repent. This is where it all starts, and nothing starts without it.
Be Baptized
"Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the spirit." (Jn 3:5). Anyone can baptize in the event of death, even an atheist. Ex opera operato ("by the work worked"). A ll that is necessary is water and the recitation of the Trinitarian formula, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen." One can also be baptized by desire (ccc 1259) and by blood (ccc 1258). But baptism is necessary for salvation. Jesus, though he was free from sin, himself was baptized by John to model for us how important it is.
Believe
Entrust yourself to God's mercy and loving kindness. Believe, "for if you confess with your voice that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Rom 10:9). Without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6)
Pray
Pray. Prayer is your lifeline to God. How can the Lord know you and you know the Lord unless you talk? Lift up your heart to the Lord, however it looks like is less important than the doing. If your prayer is "God help me!" that is a good prayer! Anyone can pray. Don't be like the Pharsisee rattling off how good you were in this life, and how you deserve to be saved. "No one is righteous, not even one." (Rom 3:10) Jesus himself prayed in his dying hour, "Father, why have you forsaken me?" (Mt 27:46) and "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." (Lk 23:34). Ask the saints to intercede and pray for you...they are God's friends in Heaven and our friends too (the communion of saints). They are models of those who have died good deaths and been welcomed into the Kingdom. Follow them.
Our culture does not prepare well for death. "Sending kind thoughts" does not help anyone crossing the abyss, and we distract ourselves throughout life and try to pretend like it is not our end. We live forgetful. This is not a test. Listen to the words of the Lord who does not pull any punches: "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to."
What we suffer in this life is nothing compared to the pains of Hell. But no one--NO ONE--is beyond God's saving graces. Prepare, and be assured of your salvation in Christ, and sing victorious with Paul in 1 Cor 15:55: "O Death, where is your victory? O Death, where is your sting!"
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