By Jacqueline Kelly –
At the hour of death, the tree of your soul will
fall to one side and remain there for all eternity.
There is no medium. You will either rejoice
forever in Heaven….or suffer as a slave in Hell!
According to Socrates, “Death maybe the greatest of all human blessings”.
Death is certain for all living beings but most of us are caught unawares when faced with it. Nothing seems to prepare us enough for it, as is evident in the overwhelming grief experienced by us when we are faced with the death of a loved one.
All religions talk of the continuity of life. They also speak of “Karma” in which the good is rewarded and the bad is punished. Very few concentrate on how the final moment will be. Most of us are afraid to die, because in death we face the unknown. What we see when someone dies is the dead body. What we do not witness is the entry into a new life with God. The Cross symbolizes the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It is through Him that salvation is possible for the faithful.
Some of us panic when we become aware that our life is reaching it’s end and some never really come to terms with their mortality. Even the old who have lived full lives cling to the present and fear the day when they must die. Disease and death are essential ingredients in man’s development. Remembering that we will have to die someday will make life more meaningful and enable us to make right choices in life. Because almost everything, all external expectations, all pride, ego, all fear of failure are finally going to be buried with us. These things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.
Several of our life experiences remind us of death in small ways. When we have to part with our possessions, a loved one or lose money, end a relationship or a divorce, or just simply retire, we experience death in these minor ways, which are a preparation for the final moment. The best preparation for death is to let go, and thereby achieve inner freedom. In letting go we experience the pain of death in less harsh ways and that will make the final passage easier for us to attain peace with God.
Remembering that we are going to die is the best way to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. We are already naked when we enter this world and there is nothing to lose. “Remember, O man, thou art dust and dust thou shall return”.[Genesis 3:19]
Death is definite; therefore we should repent, keep away from sin, turn to God and lead a virtuous life benevolent to others. The Bible focuses on the need to repent and forgive in order to attain eternal bliss in Heaven.
In the Will of Pope John Paul II [written on March 6, 1979] “Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming”.
The Judgement that will be passed on each one of us immediately after death is called “Particular Judgement”.
- As soon as the soul leaves the body at death it undergoes particular judgement, where its eternal destiny is decided. “Every one of us will render an account of himself to God”. [Romans 14:12]
Even while the body is still warm, relatives gather around etc., the particular judgement is gone through and finished and the judgement is passed and the soul gone to his reward or punishment. - Jesus is the Judge at the particular judgement. Before Him each soul stand, to give an account of his/her whole life of every thought, word and deed.
- A man’s whole life will be spread before him. He will remember everything even though he may have forgotten much at the moment of death. “Of every idle word men speak, they shall give an account on the day of judgement”. [Matthew 12:36]
- The good and the evil that the person has done will be measured in the balance of God’s justice, and Jesus alone will pass the sentence [without any witnesses] and that sentence is irreversible. There will also be for all of us a Final Judgement. This will take place at the general resurrection of the body and at the end of the world, when the promised union with the soul will take place for all eternity and this will be determined by God.
- Those who die in God’s grace and friendship and are perfectly purified will be sent at once to Heaven to live with Jesus.
- All those who die in God’s grace and friendship, but are still imperfectly purified will be sent to Purgatory.
- Those who die in mortal sin will be sent at once to Hell. To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God’s forgiveness, means remaining separated from God forever by our own free choice.
We have a special duty to help our parents and relatives, but Christian Charity demands us to pray for ALL the faithful departed without any prejudice for the most holy and the greatest sinners because they are all our brethren in Jesus Christ.
The souls delivered by us, through our prayers, rosaries and masses come especially at the hour of death to protect us, and to accompany us to our Home in Heaven. They pray for us whenever they see us in any necessity or danger. They protect us in moments of sickness, misfortunes and accidents of all kind.
The souls pray for us not only when they are with God in Heaven after their release, but also from the midst of their sufferings. This has been the teaching of eminent Theologians and Doctors of the Church like St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas and others.
Never did a Mother of this Earth love so tenderly a dying child, never did she strive so earnestly to soothe its pain as Mother Mary seeks to console Her suffering children in Purgatory, to have them with Her in Heaven. We give Her unbounded joy each time we take a soul out of purgatory.
What shall we say of the feelings of the Holy Souls themselves?
Filled with an immense desire to repay the favours done them they pray for their benefactors with a fervour so great and so intense that God can refuse them nothing. St. Catherine of Bologna says:
“I received many and very great favours from the saints but still greater favours from the Holy Souls”.
St. Alphonsus Liguori says that, though the Holy Souls cannot merit for themselves, they can obtain for us great graces. The following facts which I quote is sufficient to show what powerful and generous friends the Holy Souls are:
The Cure of a Cancer
D. Joana de Menezes thus tells of her cure. She was suffering severely from a cancerous growth in the leg and was plunged in grief. Remembering what she had heard of the power of the souls in Purgatory, she resolved to place all her confidence in them and had nine Masses offered for them. She promised, moreover, to publish her cure if it were granted.
Gradually, the swelling went down, and the tumor and cancer disappeared.
The more we give, the more we get.
A businessman in Boston joined the Association of the Holy Souls and gave a large sum of money annually that prayers and Masses might be said for them.
The Director of the Association was surprised at the gentleman’s generosity, for he knew that he was not a rich man. He asked kindly one day if the alms he so generously gave was his own offering or donations which he gathered from others.
“What I offer, dear Father,” he said, “is my own offering. Be not alarmed. I am not a very rich man, and you may think that I give more than I am able to do. It is not so, for far from losing by my charity, the Holy Souls see to it that I gain considerably more than I give. They are second to none in generosity”.
A Catholic should follow the advice that St. John Bosco gave to his boys to make sure that he or she is prepared at all times. At times, God permits a sudden death with the intention; among others, that many others might get frightened and turn to the path of virtue. Death has a negative and positive side to it. The negative side is that our soul is taken forcibly out of our body, which leaves it dead. The positive side is that “death-day” is also our “birthday” in which we are born to a new and hopefully better eternal life.
Therefore, as Christians we have to return to the Sacraments. They are your life, without them you starve the soul of necessary grace.
Return to our Lord’s love via the Sacraments and Prayer. Go to Confession. It is very important. How much we would like to ask God for some extra time but death waits for nobody and cares for nobody. There will be no more time to remedy the past sins and mistakes.
Remorse Felt for the Waste of Time.
Worldly hopes must fade and perish Oh! at the hour of death, how fervently shall we look for the time we now waste.
St. Gregory in his “Dialogues” relates that there lived a certain man called Crisantus, who was very rich , but wicked; at the hour of death, this unfortunate sinner, seeing the devils who were waiting to carry him to hell, was shouting, “Give me time, until tomorrow !” And the devil replied: “Yes, you fool! You want time now, eh? You have had so much time at your disposal, and you have squandered it in sin; and you want time now? Funny! Your time is up!”
The unfortunate Crisantus kept on crying and imploring help. His son Maximus who had become a monk, was present; so the dying man, turning to him, said: “O my son, help me! O Maximus, do help me!” And so, with black despair on his face, flinging himself from one side of the bed to the other, terribly agitated and screaming, that unhappy man died.
Alas! These foolish people who were the slaves of their own folly, will open their eyes at the hour of death; they will then admit their utter foolishness but their confession will only increase their despair as they are then unable to remedy the wrong done; and dying in this state, they leave us very uncertain about their salvation.
A certain courtier of Charles V made up his mind to consecrate his life to God, and went to the Emperor to take his leave. When the Emperor asked him the reason for his leaving, he replied: “To save one’s soul. It is essential that some time should be spent in doing penance before death, particularly, when one has spent a disorderly life.”
Who can tell the marvellous deeds of the Lord? To Him every child conceived in the womb is precious, and a potential saint. To Him there is no such thing as an unwanted child, a lost cause, or a hopeless case.
“Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord”