«Pretiosa in conspectu Domini mors sanctorum eius» — "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints" (Ps. 115:15).
Point I
Death, viewed according to the senses, frightens and makes itself feared; but viewed according to faith, it consoles and makes itself desired. It appears terrible to sinners, but shows itself lovely and precious to the saints: "Precious, says St. Bernard, «tanquam finis laborum, victoriae consummatio, vitae ianua»" — "as the end of labors, the consummation of victory, the gate of life" (Trans. Malach.). «Finis laborum» — "the end of labors": yes, death is the end of toils and troubles. «Homo natus de muliere, brevi vivens tempore, repletur multis miseriis» — "Man, born of woman, living a short time, is filled with many miseries" (Job 14:1). Behold what our life is: it is short, and it is all full of miseries, of infirmities, of fears, and of passions. Worldlings who desire a long life — what else do they seek (says Seneca) but a longer torment? «Tanquam vita petitur supplicii mora» — "What is sought as life is but a prolongation of punishment" (Ep. 101).
What is it to go on living, if not to go on suffering? says St. Augustine: «Quid est diu vivere, nisi diu torqueri?» — "What is a long life, but a long torment?" (Serm. 17, De Verbo Dom.). Yes, for (as St. Ambrose warns us) the present life is not given to us for rest, but for toil, that by toil we may merit eternal life: «Haec vita homini non ad quietem data est, sed ad laborem» — "This life was given to man not for repose, but for labor" (Serm. 43). Hence Tertullian well says that when God shortens someone's life, He shortens his torment: «Longum Deus adimit tormentum, cum vitam concedit brevem» — "God removes a long torment when He grants a short life." Therefore it is that, although death is given to man as a punishment for sin, yet the miseries of this life are so many that death (as St. Ambrose says) seems to be given to us as a relief, not as a chastisement: «Ut mors remedium videatur esse, non poena» — "so that death seems to be a remedy, not a punishment." God calls blessed those who die in His grace, because they finish their labors and go to their rest: «Beati mortui qui in Domino moriuntur... Amodo iam dicit Spiritus, ut requiescant a laboribus suis» — "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord... From henceforth now, says the Spirit, they shall rest from their labors" (Rev. 14:13).
The torments that afflict sinners in death do not afflict the saints: «Iustorum animae in manu Dei sunt, non tanget illos tormentum mortis» — "The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and the torment of death shall not touch them" (Wis. 3:1). The saints are not grieved by that «Proficiscere» — "Depart" — which so frightens worldlings. The saints are not afflicted at having to leave the goods of this earth, since they have kept their heart detached from them. «Deus cordis mei» (so they have always gone on saying) «et pars mea, Deus, in aeternum» — "God of my heart, and my portion, O God, forever." "Blessed are you," wrote the Apostle to his disciples, who had been stripped of their goods for Jesus Christ: «Rapinam bonorum vestrorum cum gaudio suscepistis, cognoscentes vos meliorem et manentem substantiam» — "You accepted with joy the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an abiding substance" (Heb. ch. 10). They are not afflicted at leaving honors, since they have rather abhorred them and held them for what they are — smoke and vanity; they have esteemed only the honor of loving and of being loved by God. They are not afflicted at leaving their relatives, because they have loved them only in God; in dying they leave them recommended to that Heavenly Father who loves them more than they do; and hoping to be saved, they think that from paradise they will be able to help them better than from this earth. In short, what they have always said in life — «Deus meus, et omnia», "My God and my all" — they go on repeating in death with greater consolation and tenderness.
He who dies loving God is not troubled by the pains that death brings with it; rather he takes pleasure in them, thinking that life is now ending and he has no more time to suffer for God and to offer Him other signs of his love; and so with affection and peace he offers Him those last remains of his life, and he consoles himself by uniting the sacrifice of his death with the sacrifice that Jesus Christ once offered for him on the cross to His Eternal Father. And so he dies happily, saying: «In pace in idipsum dormiam, et requiescam» — "In peace, in the selfsame, I will sleep and I will rest." Oh, what peace it is to die abandoned and resting in the arms of Jesus Christ, who has loved us even unto death, and who willed to die a bitter death Himself in order to obtain for us a sweet and consoled death!
Affections and Prayers
O my beloved Jesus, who to obtain for me a gentle death willed to die so bitter a death on Calvary, when will it be that I shall see You? The first time it falls to me to see You, I shall see You as my judge in that very place where I shall breathe my last. What shall I say to You then? What will You say to me? I do not want to wait to think of it then; I want to ponder it now. I will say to You thus: My dear Redeemer, are You then the one who died for me? In times past I offended You and was ungrateful to You, and I did not deserve pardon; but then, helped by Your grace, I came to my senses, and for the rest of my life I have wept over my sins, and You have forgiven me; forgive me anew, now that I am at Your feet, and give me Yourself a general absolution of my faults. I did not deserve to love You any more, for having despised Your love; but You, in Your mercy, drew my heart to Yourself, and if it has not loved You according to Your merit, at least it has loved You above all things, leaving everything to give pleasure to You. Now, what do You say to me? I see that paradise, and possessing You in Your kingdom, is too great a good for me; but I do not trust myself to live far from You, all the more now that You have made me know Your lovely and beautiful face. I ask You for paradise, then, not to enjoy more, but to love You better. Send me to purgatory for as long as You please. No, I do not even want to come into that homeland of purity and see myself among those pure souls as sordid with stains as I am at present. Send me to be purged, but do not banish me forever from Your face; it is enough that one day later, when it pleases You, You call me to paradise to sing Your mercies for all eternity. For now, come then, my beloved judge, raise Your hand and bless me; and tell me that I am Yours, and that You are and will always be mine. I will always love You, You will always love me. Behold, now I go far from You, I go to the fire; but I go content, because I go to love You, my Redeemer, my God, my all. I go content, yes, but know that in this time, when I shall be far from You, know that this will be the greatest of my pains — being far from You. I go, Lord, counting the moments until You call me. Have pity on a soul that loves You with all its being, and sighs to see You in order to love You better.
This, my Jesus, is what I hope to say to You then. Therefore I beg You to give me the grace to live in such a way that I may be able to say to You then what I have now thought. Give me holy perseverance, give me Your love.
And help me, O Mother of God, Mary; pray to Jesus for me.
Point II
«Absterget Deus omnem lacrimam ab oculis eorum, et mors ultra non erit» — "God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more" (Rev. 21:4). In death, then, the Lord will wipe from the eyes of His servants the tears they have shed in this life, living in pains, in fears, in dangers, and in battles with hell. This will be what most consoles a soul that has loved God on hearing the news of death: to think that soon it will be freed from the many dangers there are in this life of offending God, from so many anguishes of conscience, and from so many temptations of the devil. The present life is a continual war with hell, in which we are in constant risk of losing our soul and God. St. Ambrose says that on this earth «inter laqueos ambulamus» — "we walk among snares": we always walk amid the snares of enemies who lie in wait for the life of grace within us. This danger was what made St. Peter of Alcantara say, as he was dying: Brother, stand back (it was a Religious who touched him in helping him); stand back, because I am still alive, and I am at risk of being damned. This same danger also used to console St. Teresa every time she heard the clock strike, rejoicing that another hour of combat had passed; for she would say: At every moment of life I can sin and lose God. Hence it is that all the saints are consoled at the news of death, thinking that soon the battles and dangers are finished, and they are near to being assured of the happy lot of never being able to lose God again.
It is related in the Lives of the Fathers that an old Father, dying in Scetis, laughed while the others wept; asked why he was laughing, he answered: And you, why do you weep, seeing that I am going to my rest? «Ex labore ad requiem vado, et vos ploratis?» — "I am going from labor to rest, and you weep?" Likewise St. Catherine of Siena, when dying, said: Be consoled with me, for I am leaving this land of pains and going to the place of peace. If someone lived (says St. Cyprian) in a house where the walls are falling down and the floor and the roofs tremble, so that everything threatens ruin, how much should he desire to be able to get out of it? In this life everything threatens ruin to the soul: the world, hell, the passions, the rebellious senses — all draw us toward sin and eternal death. «Quis me liberabit (exclaimed the Apostle) de corpore mortis huius?» — "Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" (Rom. 7:24). Oh, what joy the soul will feel on hearing it said: «Veni de Libano, sponsa mea, veni de cubilibus leonum» — "Come from Lebanon, my spouse, come from the dens of the lions" (Song 4:8). Come, spouse, leave the place of weeping and the dens of the lions that seek to devour you and make you lose the divine grace. Hence St. Paul, desiring death, said that Jesus Christ was his only life; and therefore he esteemed his dying the greatest gain he could make, since by death he would acquire that life which has no end: «Mihi vivere Christus est, et mori lucrum» — "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Phil. 1:21).
It is a great favor that God grants a soul, when it is in grace, to take it from the earth, where it can change and lose His friendship: «Raptus est, ne malitia mutaret intellectum eius» — "He was taken away, lest malice should change his understanding" (Wis. 4:11). Happy in this life is he who lives united with God; but just as the sailor cannot call himself safe until he has arrived at the port and has escaped the storm, so a soul cannot call itself fully happy until it leaves this life in the grace of God. «Lauda navigantis felicitatem, sed cum pervenit ad portum» — "Praise the sailor's good fortune, but when he has reached the port," says St. Ambrose. Now if the sailor rejoices when, after so many dangers, he is about to reach the port, how much more will he rejoice who is close to securing his eternal salvation?
Moreover, in this life one cannot live without at least slight faults. «Septies enim cadet iustus» — "For the just man falls seven times" (Prov. 24:16). Whoever leaves this life ceases to displease God. «Quid est mors (dicea S. Ambrogio) nisi sepultura vitiorum?» — "What is death," said St. Ambrose, "but the burial of vices?" (De Bono Mortis, ch. 4). This too is what makes those who love God greatly desire death. With all this the Ven. Fr. Vincent Caraffa consoled himself as he was dying, saying: "In ending my life, I cease to offend God." And the aforementioned St. Ambrose said: «Quid vitam istam desideramus, in qua quanto diutius quis fuerit, tanto maiore oneratur sarcina peccatorum?» — "Why do we desire this life, in which the longer one lives, the more he is weighed down by the burden of sins?" He who dies in the grace of God places himself in a state in which he can no longer, and no longer knows how to, offend Him. «Mortuus nescit peccare» — "The dead man knows not how to sin," said the same Saint. Therefore the Lord praises the dead more than any man who lives, however holy he may be: «Laudavi magis mortuos, quam viventes» — "I have praised the dead rather than the living" (Eccl. 4:2). A certain devout man ordered that, when his death came, whoever brought him word of it should say to him: "Take comfort, for the time has come when you shall offend God no more."
Affections and Prayers
«In manus tuas commendo spiritum meum; redemisti me, Domine Deus veritatis» — "Into Your hands I commend my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Lord, God of truth." Ah, my sweet Redeemer, what would have become of me if You had caused me to die when I was far from You? I would already be in hell, where I could no longer love You. I thank You for not having abandoned me and for having granted me so many graces to win my heart for You. I repent of having offended You. I love You above all things. Ah, I beseech You, make me ever more aware of the evil I have done in despising You, and of the love that Your infinite goodness deserves. I love You, and I desire to die soon (if it so pleases You), to free myself from the danger of losing Your grace again, and to be made certain of loving You eternally. Ah, for these years of life that remain to me, my beloved Jesus, give me strength to do something for You before death comes. Give me fortitude against temptations and passions, especially against the passion that in the past most drew me to displease You. Give me patience in infirmities and in the injuries I shall receive from men. For love of You, I now forgive everyone who has treated me with any contempt, and I beg You to grant them the graces they desire. Give me strength to be more diligent in avoiding even venial faults, in which I know I have been negligent. My Savior, help me; I hope for everything through Your merits; and I place all my confidence in Your intercession, O my Mother and my hope, Mary.
Point III
Death is not only the end of toils, but it is also the gate of life. «Finis laborum, vitae ianua» — "The end of labors, the doorway of life," as St. Bernard says. Whoever wishes to enter to see God must necessarily pass through this gate. «Ecce porta Domini, iusti intrabunt in eam» — "Behold the gate of the Lord; the just shall enter through it" (Ps. 117:20). St. Jerome prayed to death and said to it: «Aperi mihi, soror mea» — "Open to me, my sister." Death, my sister, if you do not open the door to me, I cannot go to enjoy my Lord. St. Charles Borromeo, seeing a painting in his house in which there was depicted the skeleton of a dead man with a scythe in his hand, called the painter and ordered him to erase that scythe and paint a golden key in its place, wishing thereby to enkindle within himself ever more the desire for death, because it is death that must open paradise for us to see God.
St. John Chrysostom says that if a king had prepared a dwelling for someone in his royal palace, but for the present kept him living in a sheepfold, how greatly should that man desire to leave the fold and pass into the palace? In this life the soul, dwelling in the body, is as in a prison, from which it is to go out and go to the palace of heaven; therefore David prayed: «Educ de custodia animam meam» — "Bring my soul out of prison" (Ps. 141:8). And the holy old man Simeon, when he held the Child Jesus in his arms, knew no other grace to ask of Him but death, that he might be freed from the prison of this present life: «Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine» — "Now dismiss Your servant, O Lord." St. Ambrose says: «Quasi necessitate teneretur, dimitti petit» — "As if held by necessity, he asks to be dismissed." The same grace did the Apostle desire when he said: «Cupio dissolvi, et esse cum Christo» — "I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ" (Phil. 1).
What joy Pharaoh's cupbearer felt when he learned from Joseph that soon he was to leave the prison and return to his post! And shall a soul that loves God not rejoice on hearing that soon it must be released from this earth and go to enjoy God? «Dum sumus in corpore, peregrinamur a Domino» — "While we are in the body, we are absent from the Lord" (2 Cor. 5:6). While we are united with the body, we are far from the sight of God, as in a foreign land and outside our homeland; and therefore St. Bruno says that our death should not be called death but life: «Mors dicenda non est, sed vitae principium» — "It should not be called death, but the beginning of life." Hence the death of the Saints is called their birthday; yes, because in their death they are born to that blessed life which shall have no end. «Non est iustis mors, sed translatio» — "For the just there is no death, but a passing over," says St. Athanasius. For the just, death is nothing else than a passage to eternal life. O lovable death, said St. Augustine, and who will there be who does not desire you, since you are the end of travails, the close of toil, and the beginning of eternal rest? «O mors desiderabilis, malorum finis, laboris clausula, quietis principium!» — "O desirable death, end of evils, close of labor, beginning of rest!" Therefore the Saint anxiously prayed: «Eia moriar, Domine, ut Te videam» — "Come, let me die, O Lord, that I may see You."
Well may the sinner fear death, says St. Cyprian, he who from his temporal death must pass to eternal death: «Mori timeat, qui ad secundam mortem de hac morte transibit» — "Let him fear death, who from this death shall pass to the second death." But not he who, being in the grace of God, hopes through death to pass to life. In the Life of St. John the Almsgiver it is related that a certain rich man commended to the Saint the only son he had and gave him many alms, that he might obtain from God a long life for him; but the son died a short time afterward. When the father then lamented the death of his son, God sent him an Angel who said to him: "You asked for a long life for your son; know that he now enjoys it eternally in heaven." This is the grace that Jesus Christ obtained for us, as it was promised to us through Hosea: «Ero mors tua, o mors» — "I will be your death, O death" (Hos. 13:14). Jesus, by dying for us, made our death become life. St. Pionius the Martyr, while he was being led to the scaffold, was asked by those who were leading him how he could go so joyfully to death. The Saint answered: «Erratis, non ad mortem, sed ad vitam contendo» — "You are mistaken; I am hastening not to death, but to life" (Euseb., bk. 4, ch. 14). So too was the young St. Symphorian encouraged by his mother when he was close to martyrdom: «Nate, tibi vita non eripitur, sed mutatur in melius» — "My son, your life is not taken from you, but changed for the better."
Affections and Prayers
O God of my soul, in the past I have dishonored You by turning my back on You; but Your Son has honored You, sacrificing His life for You on the cross; for the honor, then, that Your beloved Son has given You, forgive me the dishonor I have done You. I repent, O sovereign Good, of having offended You, and I promise You from this day forward to love nothing but You. My salvation I hope for from You. Whatever good I have at present is all Your grace; I acknowledge it all as coming from You. «Gratia Dei sum id quod sum» — "By the grace of God I am what I am." If in the past I have dishonored You, I hope to honor You in eternity by blessing Your mercy. I feel a great desire to love You; it is You who give me this desire, and I thank You for it, my love. Continue, continue to help me, as You have begun, for I hope from this day forward to be Yours and all Yours. I renounce all the pleasures of the world. And what greater pleasure can I have than to please You, my Lord so worthy of love, who have loved me so much? Love alone do I beg of You, O my God — love, love; and I hope to beg You always for love, love; until, dying in Your love, I reach the kingdom of love, where, without asking for it any more, I shall be full of love, never ceasing for a moment to love You there for all eternity, and with all my strength.
Mary, my Mother, You who so love Your God and so desire to see Him loved, grant that I may love Him greatly in this life, so that I may love Him greatly in the next, forever.