By Tom Thomas –
“It’s the circle of life, and it moves us all, through despair and hope, through faith and love, ’till we find our place, on the path unwinding.” Elton John
I lost my Dad recently. By all accounts, he was well prepared for his death, through his spiritual preparations like attending the daily Masses for so many years, regular retreats, multiple daily rosaries, acts of charity and mortifications etc. I was even able to get the Anointing of the Sick and the Holy Communion administered to him, just hours before he passed away, at his request- the very last he would make to me. He received the same with full conviction and faith. All who came in contact with him, have been touched by his holiness, maintaining a cheerful demeanor right to the end. In fact, he wrote these few lines on Death and sent it out to us, after his last retreat (and just a few days before his death), all of which show how well-prepared he was to go smiling to the Eternal Abode as he did on his earthly life:
How to face death with a grateful heart and a smiling face?
The ultimate event in anybody’s life on earth, is DEATH. Therefore, no effort is to be spared to make your death remarkable, struggle free, smooth, exciting and exhilarating. Any other activity in life, like, amassing wealth, collecting articles for a comfortable living, body make -up etc. are of less importance than death, as they are only transitory, and have to be left behind while you leave the scene.
A step by step approach will help you to go through the entire process of death with ease, and accept death with grace and satisfaction.
- When the signs and symptoms of departure start to appear, and try to debilitate you, don’t get panic, instead rejoice, for your time of liberation is approaching, and soon everything will be over forever.
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Acknowledge and accept the situation as the reality of life, which no one can escape. But the good news is that you will die only once, and no booster added to it.
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Convert sufferings and discomforts into merits that can enhance you smooth entry into heaven
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The Lord has given you the assurance that you are totally redeemed.
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Be aware that you are specially chosen and amazingly gifted to receive His special blessings, while living on earth.
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Go with the conviction, and with your kitty filled with benevolent deeds of charity that you are eligible for a gracious entry into the eternal home.
With all these factors taken care of, can you keep a grumpy face rather than a smiling one while lying motionless on your death bed ?
Don’t ignore this message by thinking that it is not time for you yet. But death has no consideration for age.
May God bless us all
C M Thomas
Bangalore,
13th. March, 2023.
PS: Slept in the Lord, 16th March, 2023
Prophetic words indeed from Dad, that can impact all who read them. However, my sisters and I kept pondering, what more can we do for Dad, spiritually? A Priest advised me that no matter how saintly a person is, we need to pray for the repose of his soul, to attain Everlasting Bliss. We thought of offering Daily Mass for him for a number of days after his death, Gregorian Masses. Any of the following four pious acts are also recommended for plenary indulgence for a departed soul on any day of the year, as long as certain necessary dispositions and conditions accompany the work – Eucharistic adoration half hour, half hour devotional reading of the Word of God, the Rosary and walking the Stations of the Cross.
We came across what we could do for him, through different Catholic resources on the Web and also from the Church document Enchiridion of Indulgences. The idea of this article germinated when we thought it would be useful for anyone else in the same position to be aware if knowledge is not there.
Catechism of the Catholic Church CCC 958 Communion with the dead. “In full consciousness of this communion of the whole Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, the Church in its pilgrim members, from the very earliest days of the Christian religion, has honoured with great respect the memory of the dead; and ‘because it is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins’ she offers her suffrages for them.”
CCC 1032:This teaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead, already mentioned in Sacred Scripture: “Therefore [Judas Maccabeus] made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin.” From the beginning, the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God. The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead:
Our prayer for the dear departed souls is capable not only of helping them but also of making their intercession for us effective.
We can find in both these references from the Catechism of the Catholic Church what we ought to do in order to help our dear departed ones spiritually.
We are on this path to help Dad now in whatever way we can spiritually, through these actions. When we were born as helpless infants, it is our parents that took us to the Church to get baptised- the first sacrament we ever received. There is something beautiful in the way the Catholic Church also tells us what we can do for the departed souls who are helpless themselves. It is almost like the circle of life. In helping them, we help ourselves as these souls can intercede for us, once they reach Heaven.
Dad, Requiescat in Pace.
“It is, therefore, a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins” (2 Maccabees 12:45).