1 « LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 3 r 4 $ Chap Shelf ;^c^ I : r^S-^^^ — i UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, i^ PREPARATION FOR DEATH; OR, CONSIDERATIONS ON THE ETERNAL MAXIMS. USEFUL FOR ALL AS A BOOK OF MEDITATIONS, ETC. BY ST. ALPHONSUS M. LIGUORI, BISHOP or ST. AGATHA OF THE GOTHS, AND FOUNDER OF THE COK* GREGATION OF THE MOST HOLY REDEEMER. TRANSLATED FROM THE ITALIAN, BY A CATHOLIC CLERGYMAN. APPROVED BY THE RIGHT REVEREND BISHOP FITZPATRICK. EIGHTH EDITION. BOSTON: PUBLISHED BY THOMAS SWEENEY. 1854. 9^ APPROBATION. We give our approbation to the publication of this vol- ume of Meditations, entitled "Preparation for Death/ The illustrious sanctity of the author, and his canoniza- tion by the Holy Catholic Church, are a sufficient evidence of the purity and excellence of the doctrine which they contain. We recommend to the faithful at large the use of this volume, as most profitable for their spiritual advantage. ^ JOHN BERNARD, Bishop of Boston, PROTESTATION OF ST. LIGUORI. In obedience to the decrees of Urban VHL, I protest that, of the miraculous works and gifts ascribed, in this work, to certain servants of God, and not already approved by the Holy See, I claim no other belief tlian that which is ordinarily given to history resting on mere human au- thority ; and that, in bestowing the title of Saint, or of Blessed, on any person not canonized or beatified by the church, 1 only intend to do it according to the usage and opinion of men. TO THE IMMACULATE AND EVER-VIRGIN MARY: TO HER WHO IS FULL OF GRACE, AND BLESSED AMONG ALL THE CHILDREN OF ADAM: TO THE DOVE, THE TURTLE, THE BELOVED OF GOD: HONOR OF THE HUMAN RACE, DELIGHT OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY: HOUSE OF LOVE, EXAMPLE OF HUMILITY, MIRROR OF ALL VIRTUES : MOTHER OF FAIR LOVE, MOTHER OF HOLY HOPE, • AND MOTHER OF MERCY: ADVOCATE OF THE MISERABLE, DEFENCE OF THE "WEAK, LIGHT OF THE BLIND, PHYSICIAN OF THE SICK; GATE OF HEAVEN: ANCHOR OF CONFIDENCE, CITY OF REFUGE, ARK OF LIFE, RAINBOW OF PEACE, HAVEN OF SALVATION: STAR OF THE SEA, AND SEA OF SWEETNESS: ADVOCATE OF SINNERS, HOPE OF THOSE WHO ARE IN DESPAIR, HELP OF THE ABANDONED : COMFORTER OF THE AFFLICTED, CONSOLATION OF THE DYING, AND JOY OF THE WORLD: HER AFFECTIONATE AND LOVING, THOUGH TILE AND UNWORTHY, SERVANT HUMBLY DEDICATES THIS WORK. CONTENTS. PAOK. Object of ths Work, 5 Consideration, I. Picture of a Man who is but a short Time gone to Eternity, 9 ir. With Death all ends, 18 III. Shortness of Life, 26 IV. Certainty of Death 34 V. Uncertainty of the Hour of Death, 42 VI. Death of the Sinner, 51 VII. Sentiments of a Dying Christian, 61 VIII. Death of the Just, 71 IX. Souls of the Just are in the Hands of God, 82 X. Means of Preparing for Death, 92 XI. Value of Time, 101 XII. Importance of Salvation, 110 XIII. Vanity of the World , 120 XIV. The Present Life is a Journey to Eternity, 129 XV. Malice of Mortal Sin, 138 XVL Mercy of God, 148 XVIL Abuse of Divine Mercy, 156 XVin. Number of Sins, 167 XIX. The Great Advantages of the Grace of God j and the Great Evil of being in Enmity with God, 178 XX. Folly of Sinners, 186 XXI. Unhappy Life of the Sinner ; and Happy Life of the Christian who loves God, 196 XXn. Evil Habits, 206 XXIII. The Delusions which the Devil suggests to Sinners, 217 XXIV. Particular Judgment, .' 226 XX V. General Jud gment, 236 XXVL Pains ofHell, 247 XXVIL Eternity of Hell, 258 XXVIIL Remorse of the Damned, 269 XXIX. On Heaven, 276 XXX. OnPrayer, 288 XXXL On Perseverance, 298 XXXII. On Confidence in the Patronage of the Most Holy Mary,. 312 XXXIIL On the Love of God , 323 XXXIV. On the Holy Communion, 333 XXXV. On the Loving Dwelling of Jesus Christ on the Altars of the Most Holy Sacrament, 346 XXXVL On Conformity to the Will of God, 357 Protestation of Death, * 336 Preparation for Death, 371 A Christian in his Last Agony addressing Jesus on the Cross, 374 Acts to be made at Death, • 376 Sighs after the Land of Bliss, 379 On the Science of the Saints, 382 MoTifEs AND Affections to be suggested to the Dyinq, 386 OBJECT OP THE WORK. NECESSARY TO BE READ. Some persons asked me to write a book on tae eternal maxims, for the use of those who desire to estabhsh themselves in virtue and to advance in a spiritual life. Others requested me to prepare a collection of matter for the sermons of the missions and of the spiritual exercises. Not to multiply books, labor, and expense, I resolved to compose the work in its present form, with the hope that it may an- swer both purposes. To render it useful as a book of meditations for seculars, I have divid- ed the considerations into three points. Each point will serve for one meditation, and there- fore I have annexed to each point affections and prayers. I entreat my readers not to grow weary, if in those prayers they shall always find petitions for the graces of perseverance and of divine love. For us, these are the two 1* 6 OBJECT OF THE WORK. graces most necessary for the attainment of eternal salvation. The grace of divine love is, according to St. Francis de Sales, the grace which contains in itself all graces ; because the virtue of charity towards God brings with it all other virtues. ^^ Now all good things came to 7ne together with her.^^ — Wis. vii. 11. He who loves God is humble, chaste, obedient, and mortified ; in a word, he pos- sesses all virtues. ^'Z/02;e," says St. Augus- tine, ^^and do what you tvish.^^ They who love God labor to avoid whatever is offensive to him, and seek to please him in all things. The grace of perseverance is that grace by which we obtain the eternal crown. St. Ber- nard says, that paradise is promised to those who begin a good life, but is given only to those who persevere. ^' To beginners a re- ward is promised^ hut to him who perseveres it is given.'^ Serm, vi. de Modo Ben, Viv But this gift of perseverance is, as the fathers teach, given only to those who ask it. Hence St. Thomas asserts, that, to enter heaven, continual prayer is necessary. '' Post baptis- mum autem necessaria est homini jugis oratio, ad hoc quod coelum introeat." — 3j9., q. 39, a?^ 5. And our Redeemer has said, that '^ we OBJECT OF THE WORK. 7 ought always to pray, and not to faint." — Luke xviii. 1. It is because they do not pray for the gift of perseverance, that so many miserable sinners, after having obtained par- don, lose again the grace of God. Their sins are forgiven ; but because they afterwards neg- lect to ask of God the grace of perseverance, particularly in the time of temptations, they relapse into sin. And although the grace of final perseverance is altogether gratuitous, and cannot be merited by good works, still Suares teaches that it can be infallibly obtained by prayer ; and, according to St. Augustine, it may be merited by humble supplication. '' Hoc Dei donum suppliciter emereri potest, id est supplicando impetrari potest.'' — De Dono Per S.J cap. vi. This necessity of prayer I have demonstrated at length in another little work, entitled The Great Aleans of Prayer, This book, though small, cost me a great deal of labor. I consider it to be of extreme util- ity to all sorts of persons ; and I unhesitating- ly assert that, among all spiritual treatises, there is none, and there can be none, more necessary than that which treats on prayer as a means of obtaining eternal salvation. To render them useful to preachers who 8 OBJECT OF THE WORK. have but few books or little time for readings I have furnished these considerations, with texts of Scripture and passages from the fa- thers, which are short, but strong and animat- ed, as they ought to be in sermons. The three points of each consideration will supply mat- ter for one sermon. I have endeavored to collect from many authors the sentiments which appeared to me best calculated to move the will, and have inserted several of them, expressed briefly, that the reader may select and extend at pleasure those that please him most. May all tend to the glory of God. I pray my reader to recommend me to Jesus Christ, whether I am living or dead; and I promise to do the same for all those who shall perform this act of charity towards me. lave, Jesus, our love, and Mary, our hope. ST ALPHONSUS M. LIGUORFS PREPARATION rOR DEATH. FIRST CONSIDERATION. PICTURE OF A MAN WHO IS BUT A SHORT TIME GONE TO ETERNITY. "Dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return.** — Gen. iii. 19. FIRST POINT. Consider that thou art dust, and that thou shalt return to dust. A day will come when thou shalt die, and rot in a grave, where ** worms shall be thy covering.^' — Isaias xiv. 11. The same lot awaits all, the grandee and the peasant, the prince and the vassal. The moment the soul leaves the body, she shall go to her eternity, and the body shall return to dust. " Thou shalt send forth their breath, and they shall fail, and shall return to their dust." — Ps. ciii. 29. Imagine that thou beholdest a person who has just expired. Look at that body, still laid on the bed, the head fallen on the chest, the hair in disor- der, and still bathed in the sweat of death, the eyes sunk, the cheeks hollow, the face the color of ashes, the lips and tongue like iron, the body cold 10 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. and heavy. The beholders grow pale and tremble How many, at the sight of a deceased relative or friend, have changed their lives and retired from the world ! Still greater horror shall be excited when the body begins to putrefy. Twenty-four hours have not elapsed since the death of that young man, and his body has already begun to exhale an offensive smell. The windows must be opened ; a great quan- tity of incense must be used ; and, to prevent the communication of disease to the entire family, he must be soon transferred to the church, and buried under the earth. If he has been one of the rich or nobles of the earth, his body shall send forth a more intolerable stench. " Gravius foetent," says a certain author, **divitum corpora." Behold the end of that proud, of that lewd and voluptuous man. Before death, desired and sought after in conversations ; now, become an object of hor- ror and disgust to all who behold him. His relatives are in haste to remove him from the house; they hire men to shut him up in a coffin, to carry him to the churchyard, and throw him into a grave. During life, the fame of his wit, of his politeness, of the ele- gance of his manners, and of his facetiousness, flew in every direction ; but after death, he is soon for- gotten. ''Their memory hath perished with a noise." — Ps. ix. 7. On hearing the news of his death, some say, '' He was an honor to his family." others say, ''He has provided w^ell for his children." Some regret his death because he had done them some services dur- ing life : others rejoice at it because it is an advan- tage to them. But in a little time no one shall speak of him. In the beginning, his nearest rela- tives feel unwilling to hear his name, through fear PREPARATION FOR DEATH. II of renewing their grief. In the visits of condo- lence, all are careful to make no allusion to the deceased ; and should any one happen to speak of him, the relatives exclaim, "For God's sake, do not mention his name." Consider that, as thou hast acted on the occasion of the death of friends and relatives, so others shall act on the occasion of thy death. The living take part in the scene. They occupy the possessions an^ offices of the deceased ; but the dead are no longer remembered — their name is scarcely ever men- tioned. In the beginning, their relatives will be afflicted for a short time; but they shall soon be consoled by the portion of the property of the de- ceased which will fall to them. Thus in a short time thy death shall be rather a source of joy; and in the very room in which thou shalt have breathed forth thy soul, and in which thou shalt be judged by Jesus Christ, others will dance, and eat, and play, and laugh, as before. And where shall thy soul then be? Affections and Prayers. O Jesus, my Redeemer, I thank thee for not having taken me out of life when I was thy enemy. For how many years have I deserved to be in hell ! Had I died on such a day or such a night, what should be my lot for all eternity? Lord, I thank thee : I accept my death in satisfaction for my sins, and I accept it in the manner in which thou wilt be pleased to send it. But since thou hast borne with me till now, wait for me a little longer. '' Suffer me, therefore, that I may lament my sorrow a little." — Job X. 20. Give me time to bewail, before thou dost judge me, the offences I have offered to thee. I will no longer resist thy calls. Who knows but 12 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. the words which I have just read may be the last call for me ? I acknowledge that I am unworthy of mercy. Thou hast so often pardoned me, and I have ungratefully offended thee again. ** A con- trite and humble heart, O Lord, thou wilt not de- spise." — Ps. 1. 19. Since, O Lord, thou knowest not how to despise an humbled and contrite heart, behold the penitent traitor who has recourse to thee. ** Cast me not away from thy face." — Ps. 1. 13. For thy mercy's sake, cast me not away from thy face. Thou hast said, ** Him that cometh to me I w^ill not cast out." — John vi. 37. It is true that I have outraged thee more than others, because I have been favored more than others with thy lights and graces. But the blood thou hast shed for me en- courages me, and offers me pardon if I repent. My Sovereign Good, I am sorry with my whole soul for having insulted thee. Pardon me, and give me grace to love thee for the future. I have offended thee sufficiently. The remainder of my life I wish to spend, not in offending thee, but only in weep- ing unceasingly over the insults I have offered to thee, and in loving with my whole heart a God worthy of infinite love. O Mary, my hope, pray to Jesus for me. SECOND POINT. But, Christian soul, that thou mayst see more clearly what thou art, follow the advice of St. Chrys* ostom : *' Go to the grave ; contemplate dust, ashes, worms ; and sigh." Behold how that corpse first turns yellow, and then black. Afterwards, the entire body is covered with a white, disgusting mould; then comes forth a clammy, fetid slime, which flows to the earth. In that putrid mass is generated a great crowd of worms, which feed on the flesh. PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 13 Rats come to feast on the body ; some attack it on the outside; others enter into the mouth and bow- els. The cheeks, the lips, and the hair, fall off. The ribs are first laid bare, and then the arms and legs. The worms, after having consumed all the flesh, devour each other ; and in the end, nothing remains but a fetid skeleton, which in the course of time falls in pieces; the bones separate from each other, and the head separates from the body. *' They became like the chaff of a summer's threshing-floor, and they were carried away by the wind.'' — Dan. ii. 35. Behold what man is ; he is a little dust on the threshing-floor, which is blown away by the wind. Behold a young nobleman, who was called the life and soul of conversation : where is he now ? En- ter into his apartment : he is no longer there. If thou look for his bed, his robes, or his armor, thou shalt find that they have passed into the hands of others. If thou wish to see himself, turn to the grave, where he is changed into corruption and withered bones. O God ! that body, pampered with so many delicacies, clothed with so much pomp, and attended by so many servants, — to what is it now re- duced? O saints, who knew how to mortify your bodies for the love of that God whom alone you loved on this earth, you well understood the end of all human greatness, of all earthly delights; now your bones are honored as sacred relics, and pre- served in shrines of gold, and your souls are happy in the enjoyment of God, expecting the last day, on which your bodies shall be made partners of your glory, as they have* been partakers of your cross in this life. The true love for the body consists in treating it here with rigor and contempt, that it may be happy for eternity, and in refusing it all pleas- ures which should make it miserable forever. 2 14 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. Affections and Prayers. Behold, then, my God, to what my body, by which I have so much offended thee, must be reduced ! — to worms and rottenness. This does not afflict me. On the contrary, I rejoice that this flesh of mine, which has made me lose thee, my Sovereign Good, shall one day rot and be consumed. What grieves me is, that, to indulge in these wretched pleasures, I have given so much displeasure to thee. But I will not despair of thy mercy. Thou hast waited for me in order to pardon me. *' The Lord waiteth, that he may have mercy on you.'' — Isaias xxx. 18. Thou wilt forgive me if I repent. O Infinite Good- ness, I repent with my whole heart of having de- spised thee. I will say with St. Catharine of Genoa, ** My Jesus, no more sins I no more sins .' " I will no longer abuse thy patience. O my crucified love, I will not wait till the confessor shall place the cru- cifix in my hands at the hour of death. From this moment I embrace thee ; from this moment I rec- ommend my soul to thee. ^* Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.'' My soul has been so many years in the world, and has not loved thee ! Give me light and strength to love thee during the re- mainder of my life. I will not wait to love thee at the hour of death. From this moment I love thee; I embrace thee, and unite myself to thee ; and I promise never more to depart from thee. O most holy Virgin, bind me to Jesus Christ, and obtain for me the grace never to lose him more. THIRD POINT. My brother, in this picture of death behold thy- self, and what thou must one day become. Re- PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 15 member that ^* dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return.'' Consider that in a few years, and perhaps in a few months or days, thou shalt become rotten- ness and worms. By this thought Job became a saint. ^' I have said to rottenness. Thou art my father ; to worms, my mother and my sister." — Job xvii. 14. All must end ; and if, after death, thou shalt lose thy soul, all shall be lost for thee. Consider thy- self already dead, says St. Lawrence Justinian, since thou knowest that thou shalt of necessity die. ** Considera te jam mortuum, quem scis de necessi- tate moriturum." — De Ligno VitcB^cap. iv. If thou wert already dead, what wouldst thou not de- sire to have done ? Now that thou hast life, reflect that thou shalt be one day among the dead. St. Bonaventure says, that, to guide the vessel safely, the pilot must remain at the helm ; and in like man- ner, to lead a good life, a man should always ima- gine himself at the hour of death. "Vide prima/' says St. Bernard, " et erubesce." Look to the sins of thy youth, and be covered with shame. '^ Vide media, et ingemisce." Remember the sins of man- hood, and weep. " Vide novissima, et contremisce." Look to the present disorders of thy life ; tremble, and hasten to apply a remedy. When St. Camillus de Lellis saw the graves of the dead, he said within himself, "If these returned to life, what would they not do for eternal glory? And what do I, who have time, do for my soul?" This the saint said through humility. But, my brother, thou, perhaps, hast just reason to fear that thou art the fruitless fig-tree of which the Lord said, " Behold, for these three years I come seeking fruii on this fig-tree, and I find none." — Luke xiii. 7 Thou art in. this world more than three years ; whal 16 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. fruit hast thou produced? Remember, says St Bernard, that the Lord seeks not only flowers, but fruits; that is, not only good desires and resolu- tions, but also holy works. Learn, then, to profit of the time which God in his mercy gives thee : do not wait until thou desirest time to do good, when time shall be no more. Do not wait till thou shalt be told, *^ Tempus non erit amplius : prqficiscereJ^ Time shall be no longer : depart ; the time for leaving this world has arrived : what is done, is done. Affections and Prayers. Behold me, O my God ; I am that tree which deserved for so many years to hear from thee, " Cut it down — why cumbereth it the ground?" — Luke xiii. 7. Yes; for so many years which I have been in the world, I have brought forth no other fruit than the briers and thorns of sin. But, O Lord, thou dost not wish that I despair. Thou hast said to all, that he who seeks thee shall find thee. '^ Seek, and thou shalt find." I seek thee, O my God, and wish for thy grace. For all the offences I have oflTered to thee, I am sorry with my whole heart ; I would wish to die of sorrow for them. Hitherto I have fled from thee ; but now I prefer thy friendship to the possession of all the kingdoms of the earth. I will no longer resist thy invitations. Dost thou wish me to be all thine? I give thee my whole being without reserve. Thou gavest thyself entire- ly to me on the cross. I give myself entirely to thee. Thou hast said, " If thou shalt ask me any thing in my name, that I will do." — John xiv. 14. My Jesus, trusting in this great promise, I ask, in thy PREPARATION FOR DEaTH. 17 name and through thy merits, thy grace and thy love. Grant that thy grace and thy holy love may abound in my soul, in which sin has abounded. I thank thee for having given me grace to make this petition : by inspiring the prayer, thou showest that thou dost intend to hear it. Hear me, O my Jesus : give me a great love for thee ; give me a great de- sire to please thee, and give me strength to do thy w^ill. O Mary, my great advocate, do thou also listen to my cry, and pray to Jesus for me. SECOND CONSIDERATION. WITH DEATH ALL ENDS. "An end is come; the end is come." — Ezec. vii. 6. FIRST POINT. By worldlings, they only are esteemed happy, who enjoy the pleasures, the riches, and pomps of this world ; but death puts an end to all these earthly goods. *' For what is your life? It is a vapor which appeareth for a little while." — St. James iv. 15. The vapors exhaled from the earth, when raised in the air and clothed with light by the sun, make a splendid appearance ; but how long does their splendor last ? It vanishes before the first blast of the wind. Behold that grandee ! to-day he is courted, feared, and almost adored; to-morrow he is dead, despised, reviled, and tram- pled on. At death we must leave all things. The brother of that great servant of God, Thomas a Kempis, took complacency in speaking of a beauti- 2* 18 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. ful house which he had built for himself: a friend told him that it had one great defect. '* What is it? " said he. *'It is/' replied the other, *^that you have made a door in it.'' ** What ! " rejoined the broth- er of a Kempis, '*is a door a defect ?" ^' Yes," an- swered the friend; ** for through this door you must be one day carried dead, and must leave the house and all things." Death, in fine, strips man of all the goods of this world. O, what a spectacle to behold a prince banished from his palace, never more to return to it, and to see others take possession of his furniture, of his money, and of all his other goods ! The ser- vants leave him in the grave, v/ith a garment scarcely sufficient to cover his body. There is no longer any one to esteem or flatter him, no longer any one to attend to his commands. Saladin, who had acquired many kingdoms in Asia, gave direc- tions, at death, that, when his body should be car- ried to the place of burial, a person should go before, holding his winding-sheet suspended from a pole, and crying aloud, " This is all that Saladin brings with him to the grave J^ When the body of the prince is laid in the tomb, his flesh falls in pieces ; and behold, his skeleton can be no longer distinguished from that of others. " Contemplare sepulchra," says St. Basil, '* vide utrum poteris discernere quis servus, quis dominus fuerit." Contemplate the sepulchres of the dead, and see if you can distinguish who has been a ser- vant, and who has been master. Diogenes ap- peared one day, in the presence of Alexander the Great, to seek with great anxiety for something among the bones of the dead. Alexander asked him what he was in search of *'I am looking," re- plied Diogenes, ** for the head of Philip, your father PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 19 I am not able to distinguish it : if you can find it, show it to me." '' Si tu potes, ostende." Men are born unequal ; but, after death, all are equal, " Impares nascimur," said Seneca, *' pares mori- mur." And Horace says that death brings down the sceptre to the level of the mattock. '^ Sceptra ligonibus asquat." In a word, when death comes, the end comes, all ends ; we leave all things ; and of all that we possess in this w^orld, w^e bring noth- m^ to the orrave. Affections and Prayers. My Lord, since thou givestme light to know that whatever the world esteems is smoke and folly, grant me strength to detach m.y heart from earthly goods, before death separates me from them. Mis- erable that I have been ! How often, for the miser- able pleasures and goods of this earth, have I offend- ed and lost thee, who art an infinite good ! O my Jesus, my heavenly Physician, cast thy eyes on my poor soul, look at the many wounds which I have inflicted on it by my sins, and have pity on me. If thou wishest, thou canst make me clean. '* Si vis, potes me mundare." I know that thou art able and willing to heal me; but, in order to heal me, thou dost wish me to repent of the injuries which I«have committed against thee. I am sorry for them from the bottom of my heart. Heal me, then, now that it is in thy power to heal me. *' Heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee." — Ps. xl. 5. I have forgotten thee ; but thou hast not forgotten me; and now thou makest me feel that thou wilt even forget the injuries I have done thee, if I de- test them. '* But if the wicked do penance I will not remember all his iniquities." — Ezec. xviii. 21. Behold, I detest my sins, I hate them above 20 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. all things. Forget, then, O my Redeemer, all the displeasure I have given thee. For the future, I will lose all things, even life, rather than forfeit thy grace. And what can all the goods of this earth profit me without thy grace ? Ah, assist me; thou knowestmy weakness. Hell will not cease to tempt me : it already prepares a thousand attacks to make me again its slave. No, my Jesus, do not abandon me. I wish to be hence- forth the slave of thy love. Thou art my only Lord : thou hast created and redeemed me ; thou hast loved me more than all others ; thou alone hast merited my love ; thee alone do I wish to love. SECOND POINT. At the hour of death, Philip the Second, king of Spain, called his son, and, throwing off his royal robe, uncovered his breast, which was eaten away by worms, and said to him, *' Prince, behold how we die ! see how all the grandeurs of this world end ! '' Theodoret has truly said, that death fears neither riches, nor satellites, nor sovereigns ; and that from princes, as well as from vassals, rottenness and corruption flow. ** Nee divitias mors metuit, nee satellites, nee purpuram ; putredo sequitur, et sanies defluit.'' Thus the dead, though they be princes, bring nothing with them to the grave ; ^1 their glory remains on the bed on which they ex- pire. ** When he shall die, he shall take nothing away, nor shall his glory descend with him.'' — Ps. xlviii. 18. St. Antonine relates, that, after the death of Al- exander the Great, a certain philosopher exclaimed, " Behold, the man who yesterday trampled on the earth, is now buried under the earth. Yesterday, PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 21 the whole earth was not sufficient for him, and now he is content with seven palms. Yesterday, he led his armies through the earth, and now he is carried by a few porters to the grave." But it is better to listen to the words of God. " Why,'' says the Holy Ghost, *' is earth and ashes proud V — Eccles. x. 9. O man, do you not see that you are dust and ashes ? Why are you proud ? Why do you spend so many thoughts and so many years of life in seek- ing worldly greatness ? Death shall come, and then all your greatness and all your projects shall be at an end. '' In that day,'' says David, " all their thoughts shall perish." — Ps. cxlv. 4. O, how much more happy was the death of St. Paul the Hermit, who lived sixty years shut up in a cave, than the death of Nero, the emperor of Rome ! How much more happy was the death of St. Felix, a Capuchin lay brother, than that of Henry the Eighth, who lived in the midst of royal magnifi- cence, but, at the same time, in enmity with God ! But we must remember that, to secure a hap- py death, the saints have abandoned all things ; they have left their country ; they have renounced the delights and the hopes which the world held out to them, and have embraced a life of poverty and contempt. But how can worldlings, living in ttie midst of sins, in the midst of earthly pleasures and dangerous occasions, expect a happy death? God warns sinners that at death they shall seek and shall not find him. — John 7. 34. He tells us that the hour of death shall be the time, not of mercy, but of vengeance. — Deut. xxxii. 35. ** I will repay them in due time." Reason tells us the same ; for, at death, men of the world shall find their understanding weak and darkened, and their heart hardened by the bad habits which they had contracted. Their temptations 22 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. shall be then more violent ; how can they resist at death, who were almost always accustomed to yield to, and to be conquered by, temptations during life? To change their hearts, a most powerful grace would be then necessary. But is God obliged to give them such a grace? Have they merited such a grace by the scandalous and disorderly lives which they led? And on that last hour depends their happiness or misery for eternity. How is it possible that he who reflects on this, and believes the truths of faith, does not leave all things to give himself to God, who shall judge us all according to our works ? Affections and Prayers. Ah, Lord ! how many nights have I slept in enmi- ty with thee ! O God ! in what a miserable state was my soul during that time ! It was hated by thee, and wished to be hated by thee. I was con- demned to hell ; there was nothing wanting but the execution of the sentence. But thou, my God, hast never ceased to seek after me and to invite me to par- don. But who can assure me that thou hast pardoned me ? Must I, O my Jesus, live in this uncertainty till thou dost judge me ? But the sorrow which I feel for having offended thee, my desire to love thee, and still more, thy passion, O my beloved Redeem- er, make me hope that thy grace dwells in my soul. I am sorry for having offended thee, O Sovereign Good, and I love thee above all things. I resolve to forfeit every thing rather than lose thy grace and thy love. Thou dost wish that the heart which seeks thee should be full of joy. ** Let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord." — 1 Par. xvi. 10. Lord, I detest all the injuries I have offered to thee. Give me courage and confidence ; do not upbraid me with my ingratitude ; for I myself know PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 23 and detest it. Thou hast said that thou wiliest not the death of a sinner, but that he be converted and live. — Ezec. iii. 11. Yes, my God, I leave all things and turn to thee. I seek thee, I desire thee, I love thee above all things. Give me thy love ; I ask nothing else. O Mary, thou, after Jesus, art my hope ; obtain for me holy perseverance. THIRD POINT. David calls the happiness of this life a dream of one who awakes from a sleep. — Ps. Ixxii. 20. In explaining these words, a certain author says, ** Somnium, quia sopitis sensibus res magnae appa- rent, et non sunt, et cito avolant." The goods of this world appear great, but they are nothing ; like a dream, which lasts but a little, and afterwards van* ishes, they are enjoyed but a short time. The thought that with death all ends, made St. Francis Borgia resolve to give himself entirely to God. The saint was obliged to accompany the dead body of the empress Isabella to Granada. When the coffin was opened, her appearance was so horrible, and the smell so intolerable, that all ran away. But St. Francis remained to contemplate, in the dead body of his sovereign, the vanity of the world ; and, looking at it, he exclaimed, " Are you, then, my em- press ? Are you the queen before whom so many bent their knee in reverential awe? O Isabella, where is your majesty, your beauty gone? Thus, then,'' he said within himself, ^' end the greatness and the crowns of this world. I will, therefore, henceforth serve a Master who can never die." From that moment he consecrated himself to the love of Jesus crucified ; and he made a vow to become a religious, should his wife die before him. This vow 24 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. he afterwards fulfilled by entering into the Society of Jesus. Justly, then, has a person who was undeceived, written on the head of a dead man these words — '* Cogitanti vilescunt omnia.^^ To him who reflects on death, every thing in this w^orld appears con- temptible ; he cannot love the earth. And why are there so many unhappy lovers of this world? It is because they do not think of death. *^ O ye sons of men, how long will you be dull of heart ? Why do you love vanity _, and seek after lying?" — Ps. iv. 3. ^' Miserable children of Adam," says the Holy Ghost, " why do you not chase away from your hearts so many earthly affections, which make you love vanity and lies ? " What has happened to your forefathers, must befall you. They have dwelt in the same palace which you inhabit, and have slept in your very bed ; but now they are no more. Such, too, shall be your lot. My brother, give yourself, then, to God before death comes upon you. *^ Whatsoever thy hand is able to do, do it earnestly." — Eccl. ix. 10. What you can do to-day, defer not till to-morrow ; for a day once past never returns, and to-morrow death may come, and prevent you from ever more being able to do good. Detach yourself instantly from every thing which removes, or can remove, you from God. Let us instantly renounce in affection the goods of this earth, before death strips us of them by force. '' Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord." — Apoc. xiv. 13. Happy they \\\\o at death are already dead to all attachment to this w^orld. They fear not, but desire death, and embrace it with joy ; for, instead of separating them from the good which they love, it unites them with the Su- preme Good, who is the sole object of their affec- PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 25 tions, and who will render them happy for eter- nity. Affections and Prayers. My dear Redeemer, I thank thee for having waited for me. What should have become of me, had I died when I was at a distance from thee? May thy mercy and patience, which I have experi- enced for so many years, be forevef blessed. I thank thee for the light and grace with which thou dost now assist me. I did not then love thee, and I cared but little to be loved by thee. I now love thee with my whole heart, and nothing grieves me so much as the thought of having displeased so good a God. This sorrow tortures my soul ; but it is a sweet torment, because it gives me confidence that thou hast already pardoned me. O, my sweet Savior, that I had died a thousand times, before I sinned against thee ! I tremble lest I should here- after offend thee again. Ah ! make me die the most painful of all deaths, rather than permit me ever more to lose thy grace. I have been once the slave of hell ; but now I am thy servant, O God of my soul. Thou hast said that thou lovest those who love thee. — Prov. viii. 17. I love thee : then I am thine, and thou art mine. I may lose thee at some future time. But the grace which I ask of thee is, to take rpe out of life rather than suffer me ever to lose thee again. Unasked, thou hast bestowed upon me so many graces, I cannot now fear that thou wilt not hear my prayer for the grace which I now implore. Do not permit me ever to lose thee. Give me thy love, and I desire nothing more. Mary, my hope, intercede for me. 3 26 PREPAllATION FOR DEATH. THIRD CONSIDERATION. SHORTNESS OF LIFE. **What is your life? It is a vapor which appeareth for a little while." — St. James iv. 15. , FIRST POINT. What is your life ? It is like a vapor, which is dissipated by a blast of wind, and is seen no more. All know that they must die; but the delusion of many is, that they imagine death as far off as if it were never to arrive. But Job tells us that the life of man is short. ** Man born of a woman, living for a short time, — who cometh forth like a flower, and is destroyed." — Job xiv. 1, 2. This truth the Lord commanded Isaias to preach to the people. ** Cry, All flesh is grass. Indeed, the people is grass. The grass is withered, and the flower is fallen." — Isa. xl. 6, etc. The life of man is like the life of a blade of grass ; death comes, the grass is dried up : behold, life ends, and the flower of all greatness and of all worldly goods falls ofl* '' My days," said Job, "have been swifter than a post." — Job ix. 25. Death runs to meet us more swiftly than a post, and we at every moment run to death. Every step, every breath brings us nearer to our end. " What I write," says Jerome, " is taken away from my life." During the time I write, I draw near to death. " We all die, and, like the waters that return no more, we fall into the earth." — 2 Kings xiv. 14. Behold how the stream flows to the sea, and the passing waters never re- turn. Thus, my brother, your days pass by, and you approach to death. Pleasures, amusements, PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 27 pomps, praises, and acclamations pass away; and what remains? "And only the grave remaineth for me." — Job xvii. 1. We shall be thrown into a grave, and there we shall remain to rot, stripped of all things. At the hour of death, the remembrance of the delights enjoyed, and of all the honors ac- quired in this life, shall serve only to increase our pain and our diffidence of obtaining eternal salva- tion. Then the miserable worldling shall say, *'My house, my gardens, my fashionable furniture, my pictures, my garments, shall in a little time be no longer mine, * and only the grave remaineth for me.' '' Ah ! at that hour all earthly goods are viewed only with pain by those who have had an attachment for them. And this pain shall serve only to in- crease the danger of their eternal salvation ; for we see by experience, that persons attached to the world wish at death to speak only of their sickness, of the physicians to be called to attend them, and of the remedies which may restore their health. When any one speaks of the state of the soul, they soon grow weary, and beg to be allowed repose. They complain of headache, and say that it pains them to hear any one speak. And if they sometimes answer, they are confused, and know not what to say. It often happens that the confessor gives thera absolution, not because he knows that they are dis- posed for the sacrament, but because it is danger- ous to defer it. Such the death of those who think but little of death. Affections and Prayers. Ah ! my God and Lord of infinite majesty, I am ashamed to appear before thee. How often have I dishonored thee by preferring to thy grace a sordid 28 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. pleasure, a little dust, the indulgence of anger, caprice, or vanity ! I adore and kiss, O my Re- deemer, thy holy wounds, which I have inflicted by my sins ; but through these wounds I hope for par- don and salvation. Make me, O my Jesus, under- stand the great injury I have done thee in leaving thee, the fountain of every good, to drink putrid and poisoned waters. Of all the offences I have given thee, nothing now remains but pain, remorses of conscience, and merits for hell. Father, I am not worthy to be called thy child. My Father, do not cast me off. It is true that I no longer merit the grace which would make me thy child ; but thou hast died to pardon me. Thou hast said, *'Turn ye to me, and I will turn to thee." — Zach. i. 3. I give up all my satisfactions, I renounce all the pleasures which the world can give me, and I turn to thee. Pardon me for the sake of the blood which has been shed for me; I repent with my whole heart of all the insults I have offered thee. I repent, and I love thee above all things. I am not worthy to love thee ; but thou dost not refuse the love of a heart that has once despised thee. Thou didst purposely abstain from taking me out of life when I was in sin, that I might love thee. I wish to love thee during the remainder of my life, and I wish to love nothing but thee. Assist me : give me holy perseverance, and thy holy love. Mary, my refuge, recommend me to Jesus Christ. SECOND POINT. The king Ezechias said with tears, " My life is cutoff, as by a weaver; whilst I was yet be- ginning, he cut me off." — Isa. xxxviii. 12. O, how many have been overtaken and cut off by PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 29 death, while they were executing and arranging worldly projects devised with so much labor! At the light of the last candle, every thing in this world — applauses, diversions, pomps, and greatness — vanishes. Great secret of death ! It makes us see what the lovers of this world do not see. The most princely fortunes, the most exalted dignities, and the most superb triumphs, lose all their splendor when viewed from the bed of death. The ideas which we have formed of certain false happiness, are then changed into indignation against our own folly. The black and gloomy shade of death then covers and obscures every dignity, even that of kings and princes. At present, our passions make the goods of this earth appear different from what they are in reality. Death takes off the veil, and makes them appear what they really are, — smoke, dung, vanity, and wretchedness. O God! of what use are riches, possessions, or kingdoms, at death, when nothing remains but a wooden coffin, and a simple garment, barely sufficient to cover the body? Of what use are the honors, when they all end in a funeral pro- cession and a pompous obsequy, which will be un- profitable to the soul if it be in hell? Of what use is beauty, when, after death, nothing remains but worms, stench, and horror, and in the end a little fetid dust ? *'He hath made me," says Job, "as it were a by-word of the people, and an example before them." — Job xvii. 6. The rich man, the captain, the minister of state, dies: his death is the general it)pic of conversation ; but if he has led a bad life, he shall become '' a by-word of the people, and an example before them." As an instance of the vanity of the world, and even of the divine justice, 3* 30 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. he will serve for the admonition of others. After burial, his body shall be mingled with the bodies of the poor. **The small and great are there." — Job iii. 19. What profit has he derived from the beau- tiful structure of his body, which is now but a heap of worms? Of what use is the power and authori- ty which he wielded, when his body is now left to rot in a grave, and his soul has, perhaps, been sent to burn in hell ? O, what misery ! to be the occa- sion of such reflections to others, and not to have made them for his own profit ! Let us then per- suade ourselves that the proper time for repairing the disorders of the soul, is not the hour of death, but the time of health. Let us hasten to do now what we shall not be able to do at that hour. The time is short. All soon passes away, and comes to an end ; let us therefore labor to employ all things for the attainment of eternal life. Affections and Prayers. O God of my soul, O infinite goodness, have mercy on me, who have so grievously offended thee. I knew that, in yielding to sin, I should lose thy grace, and I have voluntarily lost it. Tell me what I must do in order to recover it. If thou wishest me to repent of my sins, behold, I repent of them with my whole heart ; I wish to die of sorrow for them. If thou wishest me to hope for thy pardon, I hope for it through the merits of thy blood. If thou wishest me to love thee above all things, I give up all, I re- nounce all the pleasures and goods which the world can give me ; I love thee above every good, O my most amiable Savior. If thou wishest me to ask thy graces, I beg two graces from thee : — do not permit me ever more to offend thee, and make me love thee; treat me then as thou pleasest. Mary, PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 31 my hope, obtain for me these two graces ; through thy intercession I hope to obtain them. THIRD POINT. How great, then, the folly of those who, for the miserable and transitory delights of this short life, expose themselves to the danger of an anhapp) death, and afterwards of an unhappy eternity ! O, how important is that last moment, that last open- ing of the mouth, the last closing of the scene! On it depends an eternity either of all delights or of all torments, a life of eternal happiness or ever- lasting woe. Let us consider that Jesus Christ sub- mitted to a cruel and ignominious death in order to obtain for us the grace of a good death. It is that we may at that last moment die in the grace of God, that he gives us so many calls, so many lights, and that he admonishes us by so many threats. Antisthenes, though a pagan, being asked what was the greatest blessing which man could receive in this world, answered — a good death. And what will a Christian say, who knows, by faith, that at the moment of death eternity begins, and that at that moment he shall he attached to one of two wheels, which shall either bring him to eternal joy, or drag him to everlasting torments ? If two tickets, on one of which was written Hcll^ and on the other Heav- 67i, were thrown into a lottery box, what care would you not take to draw that which would give you a right to paradise, and to avoid the other, by which you would win a place in hell ! O God! how the hands of those unhappy men, who are con- demned to risk their life on a game of hazard, trem- ble in casting the die on which their life or death depends ! How great shall be your terror at the 32 PREPARATION TOR DEATH. approach of that last hour, when you shall say, *' On this moment depends my life or death for eternity; on this depends whether I shall be forever happy or forever in despair " ! St. Bern ar dine of Sienna re- lates, that at death a certain prince exclaimed, with trembling and dismay, ** Behold, I have so many kingdoms and palaces in this world ; but if I die this night, I know not what apartment shall be assigned to me." Brother, if you believe that you must die — that there is an eternity — that you can die only once — and that, if you then err, your error shall be forever irreparable, why do you not resolve to begin at this moment to do all in your power to secure a good death? St. Andrew Avellino said with trembling, *' Who knows what shall be my lot in the next life ? Shall I be saved or damned? " The thought of the uncertainty of being damned or saved, filled St. Louis Bertrand with so much terror, that he could not sleep during the night. ** Perhaps," he would say, '' I shall be lost." And will not you, who have com- mitted so many sins, tremble ? O, hasten to apply a remedy in time ; resolve to give yourself sincerely to God, and begin from this moment a life which, at the hour of death, will be to you a source, not of affliction, but of consolation. Give yourself up to prayer, frequent the sacraments, avoid all dan- gerous occasions, and, if necessary, leave the world, secure your eternal salvation, and be persuaded that, to insure eternal life, no security can be too great. Affections and Prayers. O my dear Savior ! how great are my obligations to thee ! How hast thou been able to bestow so many graces on so ungrateful a traitor as I have been ? Thou hast created me ; and in creating me PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 33 thou didst see the injuries which I would commit against thee. Thou hast redeemed me by dying for me; and then, too, thou sawest the ingratitude which I would be guilty of towards thee. Being placed in the world, I turned my back upon thee by my sins. My soul was dead and rotten, and thou hast restored me to life. I was blind, and thou hast enlightened me. I had lost thee, and thou hast en- abled me to find thee. I was thine enemy, and thou hast made me thy friend. O God of mercy, make me feel the obligations which I owe thee, and make me weep over the offences which I have com- mitted against thee. Ah ! take vengeance on me by giving me a great sorrow for my sins. Do not chastise me by the privation of thy grace and love. O eternal Father, I abhor and detest, above all evils, the injuries I have done thee. Have mercy on me for the sake of Jesus Christ. Look at thy Son dead on the cross. May his blood flow upon ;ne, and wash my soul. O King of my heart, thy kingdom come, I am resolved to banish every af- fection which is not for thee. I love thee above all things ; come and reign in my heart with undivided sway. Grant that I may love thee, and love nothing but thee. I desire to please thee to the utmost of my ability, and to do thy will in all things, during the remainder of my life. Bless, O my Father, this my desire, and grant me the grace to keep myself always united to thee. All my affections I conse- crate to thee, and from this day forward I wish to belong to thee alone, my treasure, my peace, my hope, my love, my all. I hope for all graces through the merits of thy Son. Mary, my queen and mother, assist me by thy intercession. Mother of God, pray for me. 34 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. FOURTH CONSIDERATION. CERTAINTY OF DEATH. "It is appointed unto men once to die." — Heb. ix. 27. .^IRST POINT. The sentence of death has been written against all men; you are a man: you must die. '* Our other goods and evils," says St. Augustine, *' are un- certain ; death alone is certain." It is uncertain whether the infant that is just born shall be poor or rich, whether he shall have good or bad health, whether he shall die in youth or in old age. But it is certain that he shall die. The stroke of death shall fall on all the nobles and monarchs of the earth. When death comes, there is no earthly pow- er able to resist it. Fire, water, the sword, and the power of princes, may be resisted ; but death cannot be resisted. ^' Resistitur,".says St. Augus- tine, ^Mgnibus, undis, ferro, resistitur regibus ; ve- nit mors : quis ei resistit ? " — in Psal. xii. Bellua- censis relates, that at the end of his life a certain king of France said, ** Behold, with all my power, I cannot induce death to wait for me a single hour longer." When the term of life arrives, it is not deferred a single moment. *' Thou hast appointed his bounds, which cannot be passed." — Job xiv. 5. Dearly beloved reader, though you should live as many years as you expect, a day shall come, and on that day an hour, which shall be the last for you. For me, who am now writing, and for you, who read this little book, has been decreed the day and the moment when I shall no longer write, and you shall no longer read. *' Who is the man that shall live. PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 35 and not see death ? " — Ps. Ixxxviii. 49. The sen- tence has been already passed. There never has been a man so foolish as to flatter himself that he should never die. What has happened to your forefathers shall also happen to you. Of the immense num- bers that lived in this country in the beginning of the last century, there is not one now living. Even the princes and monarchs of the earth have changed their country ; of them nothing nov7 remains but a marble mausoleum and an elegant epitaph, vi^hich only serve to teach us, that of the great ones of this world nothing is left but a little dust shut up within a few stones, " Tell me," says Bernard, *' where are the lovers of the world ? Of them nothing has remained but ashes and worms," Since our souls shall be eternal, we ought to pro- cure, nof a fortune which soon ends, but one which will be everlasting. What would it profit you to be happy here, (if it were possible for a soul to be hap- py without God,) if hereafter you should be misera- ble for all eternity ? You have had great satisfac- tion in the house which you have built ; but remem- ber that you must soon leave it, and must go to rot in a grave. You have obtained a dignity which raises you above others ; but death will come and reduce you to an equality with the poorest peasant. Affections and Prayers. Ah ! unhappy me, who have spent so many years only in offending thee, O God of my soul. Behold, these years are already past : death is perhaps at hand ; and what do I find but pains and remorse of conscience 1 O that I had always served thee, O my Lord ! Fool that I have been ! I have lived so many years on this earth, and, instead of acquiring merits for heaven^ I have loaded my soul with debts 36 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. to the divine justice. Ah, iny dear Redeemer, give me light and strength now to adjust my accounts. Death is perhaps not far off. I wish to prepare for that great moment, which will decide my eternal happiness or misery. I thank thee for having wait- ed for me till now ; and since thou hast given me time to repair the past, behold me, O my God ; tell me what I am to do for thee. Dost thou wish me to weep over the offences I have offered to thee? I am sorry for them, and detest them with my whole soul. Dost thou wish me to spend the remaining years and days of my life in loving thee ? I desire to do so, O God ; I have even hitherto frequently resolved to do it; but I have violated my promises. my Jesus, I will be no longer ungrateful for the great graces thou hast bestowed upon me. If I do not now change my life, how shall I be able at death to hope for pardon and for paradise ? Behold, I now firmly resolve to begin to serve thee in earnest. But give me strength ; do not abandon me. Thou didst not abandon me when I offended thee ; I therefore hope more confidently for thy aid, now that I pur- pose to renounce all things in order to please thee. Accept me, then, as one of thy lovers, O God wor- thy of infinite love. Receive the traitor that now casts himself with sorrow at thy feet — that loves thee, and asks thy mercy. I love thee, O my Jesus ; 1 love thee with my whole heart : I love thee more than myself Behold, I am thine ; dispose of me, and of all that I possess, as thou pleasest. Give me perseverance in obeying thy commands; give me thy love ; and then do with me whatsoever thou wishest. Mary, my mother, my hope, my refuge, to thee I recommend myself, to thee I consign my soul ; pray to Jesus for me. PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 37 SECOND POINT. It is a;ppointed. It is certain, then, that we are all condemned to death. We are born, says St. Cyprian, with the halter on the neck ; every step we make brings us nearer to death. My brother, as your name has been one day inserted in the regis- try of baptisms, so it shall be one day written in the records of the dead. As, in speaking of your ancestors, you say, *'God be merciful to my father, to my uncle, ♦o my brother," so others shall say the same of you As you have heard the death-bell toll for many, so others shall hear it toll for you. But what would you say if you saw a man, on his way to the place of execution, jesting, laughing, looking about in every direction, and thinking only of comedies, festivities, and amusements ? And are not you now on your way to death ? What are the objects of your thoughts ? Behold in that grave your friends and relatives, on whom justice has been already executed. How great is the ter- ror and dismay of a man condemned to die, when he beholds his companions hanging dead on the gibbet ! Look, then, at these dead bodies. Each of them says to you, *' Yesterday. for me; to-day for thee." — Eccl. xxxviii. 23. The same is said to you by the pictures of your deceased relatives, by the memorandum-books, the houses, the beds, the garments which they have left. To know that you must die — that after death you shall enjoy eternal glory, or suffer eternal tor- ments — that on death depends your eternal happi- ness or eternal misery — and, with all this before your eyes, not to think of settling your accounts, and of adopting every means of securing a happy death, is surely the extreme of folly. We pity 4 38 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. those who meet with a sudden and unprovided death ; why, then, do we not endeavor to be always prepared? We, too, may die suddenly and with- out preparation. But, sooner or later, with or without warning, whether we think or think not of it, we shall die ; and every hour, every moment brings us nearer to our end, which shall be the in- iirmity that will banish us from this world. In every age, houses, streets, and cities are filled with new people ; the former inhabitants are shut up in the grave. As the days of life have ended for them, so a time will come, when neither I, nor you, nor any one alive, shall live any longer on this earth. ^ ** Days shall be formed and no one in them." — Ps. cxxxviii. 16. We shall all then be in eternity, which shall be for us either an eternal day of delights or an eternal night of torments. There is no medium ; it is certain and of faith that one or the other will be our lot. Affections and Prayers. My beloved Redeemer, I w^ould not dare to appear before thee, did I not see thee hanging on the cross, lacerated, despised, and lifeless, for. the love of me. My ingratitude has been great ; but thy mercy is still greater. My sins have been very grievous ; but thy merits exceed their enor- mity. Thy wounds, thy blood, and thy death, are my hope. I deserved hell by my first sin:; to that sin I have added so many other ofiences. And thou hast not only preserved my life, but thou hast also invited me to pardon, and hast offered me peace with so much mercy and so much love. How can I fear that thou wilt drive me away, now that I love thee and desire nothing but thy grace. Yes, ray dear Lord, I love thee with my whole heart, PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 39 and I desire only to love thee. I love thee, and am sorry for having despised thee, not so much because I have deserved hell, as because I have offended thee, my God, who hast loved me so tenderly. O my Jesus, open to me the bosom of thy goodness ; add mercies to mercies. Grant that I may be no long- er ungrateful to thee ; change my whole heart ; grant that my heart, which once despised thy love, and exchanged it for the miserable delights of this earth, may now be entirely thine, and may burn with con- tinual flames for thee. I hope to gain paradise, that I may always love thee. I cannot enjoy in that kingdom a place among the innocent — I must re- main among the penitents ; but though among these, I wish to love thee more than the innocent. For the glory of thy mercy, make all heaven behold so great a sinner inflamed with an ardent love. I re- solve henceforth to be all thine, and to think only of loving thee. Assist me with thy light and grace to execute this desire, w^hich thou in thy goodness hast inspired. O Mary, thou who art the mother of perseverance, obtain for me the grace to be faithful to this my promise. THIRD POINT. Death is certain. But, O God ! this truth Chris- tians know, this they believe and see : and how do they still live? As forgetful of death as if they were never to die. If after this life there were neither hell nor paradise, could they think less of them than they do at present ] It is this forget- fulness that makes them lead so wicked a life. My brother, if you wish to live well, spend the remain- ing days of life with death before your eyes. *' O mors, bonum est judicium tuum." EccL xli. 3. O, 40 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. how correct the judgments, how well directed the actions of the man whose judgments are formed, and whose conduct is regulated, in view of death ! Consider the end of life, says St. Lawrence Jus- tinian, and you shall love nothing in this world. ** Consideratur vitae terminus, et non erit in hoc mundo quid ametur." — De Lingo Vitcs, cap. v. " All that is in the world is the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life.'' — I John ii. 16. All the goods of this earth are reduced to the pleas- ures of sense, to riches and honors. But all these are easily despised by the man who considers that he shall be soon reduced to ashes, and that he shall be soon buried under the earth, to be the food of worms. And in reality it was at the sight of death that the saints despised all the goods of this earth. St. Charles Borromeo kept on his table a death*s bead, in order to have it always in view. Cardinal Baro- nius had inscribed on his ring the words '' Me- mento mori." Remeinher death. The venerable P. Juvenal Ancina, bishop of Saluzzo, kept be- fore him the skull of a dead man, on which was written, '^ What you are, I was ; and what I am, you shall be." A holy hermit being asked, at death, how he could feel so glad and cheerful, said, *'I have always kept death before my eyes; and, therefore, now that it has arrived, I see nothing new." How great should be the folly of a traveller, who would think only of acquiring dignities and posses- sions in the countries through which he passes, and should reduce himself to the necessity of living miserably in his native land, where he must remain during his whole life ! And is not he a fool, who seeks after happiness in this world, where he shall PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 41 remain only a few days, and exposes himself to the risk of being unhappy in the next, where he must live for eternity ? We do not fix our affections on borrowed goods, because we know that they must soon be returned to the owner. All the goods of this earth are lent to us ; it is folly to set our hearts on what we must soon quit. Death will strip us of them all. The acquisitions and fortunes of this world all terminate in an opening of the mouth, in a funeral, in a descent to the grave. The house which you have built for yourself you must soon give up to others. The grave will be the dwelling of your body till the day of judgment; from thence it shall go to paradise or to hell, where the soul shall have gone before. Affections and Prayers. Then, at death, all shall be at an end for me. I shall then find only the little I have done for thee, O my God. And what do I wait for ? Do I wait till death come and find me as miserable and defiled with sin as I am at present ? Were I now called to eternity, I should die with great disquietude on ac- count of my past sins. No, my Jesus ; I will not die so discontented. I thank thee for having given me time to weep over my iniquities and to love thee. I wish to begin from this moment. I am sorry from the bottom of my heart for having offended thee, O Sovereign Good, and 1 love thee above all things — I love thee more than my life. My Jesus, I give myself entirely to thee. From this moment I em- brace and unite thee to my heart. I now consign my soul to thee. " Into thy hands I commend my spirit.^' I will not wait to give it to thee when that vrqficiscere shall announce my departure from this world. I will not wait till then to ask thee to savd 4* 42 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. me. Jesu, sis mifii Jesus, My Savior, save me now by granting me pardon and the grace of thy holy love. Who knows but this consideration which I have read, may be the last call which thou wilt give me, and the last mercy which thou wilt show me ? Extend thy hand, O my love, and deliver me from the mire of my tepidity. Give me fervor, and make me do with great love all that thou demandest of me. Eternal Father, for the love of Jesus Christ, give me holy perseverance and the grace to love thee, and to love thee ardently, during the remain- der of my life. O Mary, through the love which thou dost bear to thy Jesus, obtain for me two graces — perseverance and love. FIFTH CONSIDERATION. UNCERTAINTY OF THE HOUR OF DEATH. " Be you then also ready ; for at what hour you think not, the Son of man will' come." — Luke xii. 40. f FIRST POINT. It is certain that we shall die ; but the time of death is uncertain. ** Nothing/' says Idiota, *' is more certain than death ; but nothing is more un- certain than the hour of death.'' My brother, God has already determined the year, the month, the day, the hour, and the moment when I and you shall leave this earth and go into eternity ; but this time is unknown to us. To exhort us to be always pre- pared, Jesus Christ tells us that death shall come, unawares, and like a thief in the night '' The da> of the Lord shall so come as a thief in the night.- PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 43 1 Thess. V. 2. He now tells us to be always vigi- lant ; because, when we least expect him, he will come to judge us. '* At what hour you think not, the Son of man will come." — Luke xii. 40. St. Gregory says that for our good God conceals from us the hour of death, that we may always be pre- pared to die. " De morte incerti sumus, ut ad mor- tem semper parati inveniamur.'' Since, then, says St. Bernard, death may take away life at all times and in all places, we ought, if we wish to die well and save our souls, to live always in expectation of death. '^ Mors ubique te expectat : tu ubique eam expectabis." All know that they shall die-; but the misfortune is, that many view death at such a distance, that they lose sight of it. Even the old, the most de- crepit, and the most sickly, flatter themselves that they shall live three or four years longer. But how many, I ask, have we known, even in our own times, to die suddenly, some sitting, some walking, some sleeping ? It is certain that not one of these ima- gined that he should die so unprovidedly, and on the day on which the stroke of death fell upon him. I say, moreover, that of all who have gone to the other world during the present year, no one ima- gined that he should die and end his days this year. Few are the deaths which do not happen unexpect- edly. When, therefore. Christian soul, the devil tempts you to sin, by saying, ** To-morrow you will go to confession," let your answer be, ^' How do I know but this shall be the last day of my life ? If this hour, this moment, in which I would turn my back on God, were the last of my life, so that I should have no time for repentance, what would become of me for all eternity 1 " To how many poor sin- 44 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. ners has it happened, that in the act of feasting on the poison of sin, they were struck dead and sent to hell ! ^* As fishes are taken with the hook,'' says Ecclesiastes, ^' so.men are taken in the evil time." — Eccl. ix. 12. The evil time is that in which the sinner actually offends God. The devil tells you that this misfortune shall not happen to you ; but you should say to him, in answer, *'If it should happen to me, what shall be my lot forever? " Affections and Prayers. Lord, the place in which I ought to be at this Yioment, is not that in which I find myself, but hell, which I have so often merited by my sins. Infernus domus mea est. ** Hell is ray house.'* St. Peter says, " The Lord waiteth patiently for your sake, not willing that any one should perish, but that all should return to penance.'' — 2 Peter iii. 9. Then thou hast had so much patience with me, and hast waited for me because thou wishest me not to be lost, but to return to thee by repentance. My God, I return to thee ; I cast myself at thy feet, and sup- plicate mercy. '' Have mercy on me, O God, accord- ing to thy great mercy." Lord, to pardon me re- quires a great and extraordinary act of mercy, be- cause I offended thee after I had been favored with a special light. Other sinners also have offended thee; but they have not received the light which thou gavest to me. But, in spite of all my sinfulness and ingratitude, thou dost command me to repent of my sins, and to hope for pardon. Yes, my Redeem- er, I am sorry with my whole heart for having of- fended thee, and I hope for pardon through the merits of thy passion. Thou, my Jesus, though innocent, hast wished to die like a criminal on a cross, and to shed all thy blood in order to wash away my sins. PREPARATION TOR DEATH. 45 ** O sanguis innocentis, lava culpas pcenitentis." O blood of the innocent, wash away the sins of a pen- itent. O eternal Father, pardon me for the sake of Jesus Christ. Hear his prayers, now that he inter- cedes for me and advocates my cause. Bat it is not enough to receive pardon ; I desire also, O God worthy of infinite love, the grace to love thee ; I love thee, O Sovereign Good, and I offer thee hence- forth my body, my soui, my liberty, and my will. I wish henceforth to avoid not only grievous, but also venial offences. I will fly from all evil occasions. Lead us not into temptation. For the love of Jesus Christ, preserve me from the occasions in which I would offend thee. But deliver us from evil. Deliver me from sin, and then chastise me as thou pleasest; I accept all infirmities, pains, and losses, which thou mayst be pleased to send me ; it is enough for me not to lose thy grace and thy love. Askj and you shall receive. Thou dost prom- ise to grant whatsoever we ask ; I ask these two graces — holy perseverance and the gift of thy love. O Mary, mother of mercy, pray for me; in thee I hope. SECOND POINT. The Lord wishes that we be' not lost ; and there- fore, by the threat of chastisement, he unceasingly exhorts us to a change of life. '' Except you will be converted, he will brandish his bow.'' — Ps. vii, 13. Behold, he says in another place, how many^ because they would not cease to offend me, have met with a sudden death, when they least expected it, and lived in peace, secure of a life of many years! *' For when they shall say. Peace and secu- rity, then shall sudden destruction come upon them.'* — 1 Thess. v. 3. Again he says, '' Unless 46 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish.'* — Luke xiii. 3. Why so many threats of chastise- ment before the execution of vengeance ? It is be- cause he wishes that we amend our Ik^es, and thus avoid an unhappy death. He, says fet. Augustine, who tells you to beware, does not wish to take away your life. *^ Non vult ferire, qui clamat tibi : ob- serva.'^ It is necessary, then, to prepare our ac- counts before the day of accounts arrives. Dearly beloved Christian, were you to die, and were your lot for eternity to be decided before night, would your accounts be ready? O, how^ much would you give to obtain from God another year or month, or even another day, to prepare for judgment ! Why, then, do you not now, that God gives you this time, settle the accounts of your conscience ? Perhaps it cannot happen, — that this shall be the last day for you ! " Delay not to be converted to the Lord, and defer it not from day to day ; for his wrath shall come on a sudden, and in the time of vengeance he will destroy thee." — Eccl. v. 8, 9. My brother, to save your soul, you must give up sin. If, then, you must renounce it at some time, why do you not abandon it at this moment? *' Si aliquando," says St. Augustine, ^^ cur non modo^" Perhaps you are waiting till death ar- rives. But for obstinate sinners, the hour of death is the time, not of pardon, but of vengeance. ''In tempore vindictse disperdet te." In the time of vengeance he will destroy thee. Should any one borrow from you a large sum of money, you take care to get legal security for it. Who knows, you say, what may happen ? Why are you not equally careful about the salvation of your Boul, which is of far greater importance to you than all the riches of the earth? When eternity is at PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 4T Stake, why do you not say, '* Who knows what may happen ? '^ If you lose a sum of money, all is not lost ; though in losing it your entire property should be lost, you may still have hopes of recovering it. But if at death you lose your soul, then you shall truly have lost all, and can never hope to regain it. You are careful to keep an exact account of all the goods you possess, lest, by dying suddenly, any of them might be lost; and, if you meet with a sudden death, and find yourself in enmity with God, what will become of your soul for all eternity ? Affections and Prayers. Ah, my Redeemer, thou hast spent all thy blood, and hast given thy life in order to save my soul ; and I have so often lost it by confidence in thy mercy. I have, then, so often abused thy good- ness to offend thee. By doing so, I have deserved to be suddenly struck dead, and to be cast into hell. In a word, I have been engaged in a con- test with thee. Thou hast treated me with mercy, and I offended thee ; thou hast sought after me, and I fled away from thee ; thou gavest me time to repair the evil I had done, and I employed that time in adding insults to insults. Lord, make me understand the injustice I have done thee, and the obligation by which I am bound to love thee. Ah, my Jesus ! how could I be so dear to thee, who sought after me so oflen, when I chased thee away ? How hast thou been able to bestow so many graces on one who has given thee so much displeasure ? From this I see the ardor of thy desire to save me from perdition. I am sorry with my whole heart for having offended thee, O infinite goodness ! Ah, receive this ungrateful sheep, that casts itself sor- rowful at thy feet ; receive it, and bind it on thy 48 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. shoulders, that I may never more fly away from thee. I will never again abandon thee. I wish to love thee : I wish to be thine ; and, provided I belong to thee, I am content to suffer every pain. And what greater punishment can fall upon me, than to live without thy grace, to be separated from thee, who art my God, who hast created me and died for me ? O accursed sins ! what have you done ? You have made me displease my Savior, who has loved me so tenderly. Ah, my Jesus, as thou hast died for me, so I ought to die for thee. Thou hast died through love for me, — I should die through sorrow for hav- ing despised thee. I accept death in whatever manner and at whatever time thou pleasest to send it. Hitherto I have not loved thee, or I have loved thee too little. I do not wish to die in this state. Ah, grant me a little more time, that T may love thee before 1 die. Change my heart ; wound it ; inflame it with thy holy love. Through that affec- tion of charity which made thee die for me, grant me this favor. I love thee with my whole heart. My soul is enamored of thee. Do not permit me to lose thee. Give me holy perseverance ; give me thy holy love. Most holy Mary, my refuge and my mother, perform the office of advocate in my behalf. THIRD POINT. Be you ready. The Lord does not tell us to prepare ourselves, but to be prepared, when death arrives. When death comes, it will be almost im- possible, in that tempest and confusion, to tranquil- lize a conscience burdened with sin. This, reason tells us : this, God threatens, saying that then he will come, not to pardon, but to avenge, the con- tempt of his graces. " Revenge to me, I will re- PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 49 pay.'' — Rom. xii. 19. It is, says St. Augustine, a just punishment, that he who was unwilling, when he was able to save his soul, should not be able when he shall be willing. '' Justa poena est ut qui recta facere, cum posset, noluit, amittat posse cum velit." lib. iii. de Lib. Arbit. But you \\'\\\ say, " Perhaps I may still be converted and saved." Would you throw yourself into a deep well, saying, *• Perhaps I may not be drowned ? " O God ! how sin blinds the understanding, and deprives the soul of reason ! When there is question of the body, men speak rationally ; but when the soul is at stake, they speak like fools. My brother, who knows but this point, which you read, is the last warning which God shall send you ? Let us immediately prepare for death, that it may not come upon us without giving us time to prepare for judgment. St. Augustine says that God conceals from us the last day of life, that we may be always prepared to die. '' Latet ultimus dies, ut observentur omnes dies." Hom. xiii. St. Paul tells us that we must work out our salvation, not only with fear, but also wdth trembling. " With fear and trembling work out your salvation." — Phil. ii. 12. St. Antonine relates that a certain king of Sicily, to make one of his subjects understand the fear with which he sat on the throne, commanded him to sit at table with a sword suspended over him by a slender thread. The apprehension that the thread should give way, filled him with so much terror, that he could scarcely taste food. We are all in like danger ; for the sword of death, on which our eternal salvation depends, may at each moment fall upon us. There is question of eternity. '*If the tree fall to the south or to the north, in which place 5 50 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. soever it shall fall, there shall it lie." — Eccl. xi. 3. If, when death comes, we are found in the grace of God, O, with what joy shall we say, ** I have secured all ; I can never again lose God ; I shall be happy forever " ! But, if death shall find the soul in sin, with what despair shall she exclaim, Ergo erravi- mus ! — therefore I have erred ; and for my error there shall be no remedy for all eternity. The fear of an unhappy eternity made the Venerable P. M Avila, apostle of Spain, say, when the news of death was brought to him, *' O that I had a little more time to prepare for death ! " This fear made the Abbot Agatho, who spent so many years in penance, say at death, '* What shall become of me ? Who can know the judgments of Gqd ? " St. Arsenius, too, trembled at death; and, being asked, by his disciples, why he was so much alarmed, he said, ** My children, this fear is not new to me ; I have had it always during my v/hole life.'* Above all, holy Job trembled when he said, '' What shall I do when the Lord shall rise to judge ? and when he shall examine, what shall I answer him ? '* — Job xxxi. 14. Affections and Prayers. Ah, my God ! who has ever loved me more than thou hast ? And whom have I despised and in- sulted more than I have insulted thee? O blood, O wounds of Jesus, you are my hope. Eternal Father, look not upon my sins, but look at the wounds of Jesus; behold thy Son dying through pain for my sake, and asking thee to pardon me. I repent, O my Creator, of having offended thee. I am sorry for it above all things. Thou hast created me that I might love thee ; and I have lived as if thou hadst made me to offend thee. For the love PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 51 of Jesus Christ, pardon me and give me grace to love thee. I have hitherto resisted thy wiil, but I will resist no longer ; I will do whatsoever thou commandest. Thou dost command me to detest the outrages! have offered to thee; behold, I de- test them with my whole heart. Thou dost com- mand me to resolve to offend thee no more ; behold, I resolve to lose my life a thousand times, rather than forfeit thy grace. Thou dost command me to love thee with my whole heart ; yes, with my whole heart I love thee, and 1 wish to love nothing else but thee. Thou shalt henceforth be my only beloved, my only love. From thee I ask, and from thee I hope, for holy perseverance. For the love of Jesus Christ, grant that I may be always faithful to thee, and that I may always say to thee, with St. Bona- venture, " Unus est dilectus meus, unus est amor meus." My beloved is one, my love is one. I do not wish that my life be employed any longer in giving thee displeasure ; I wish to spend it only in weeping over the offences I have committed against thee, and in loving thee. Mary, my mother, thou prayest for all who recommend themselves to thee, — pray to Jesus also for me. SIXTH CONSIDERATION. DEATH OF THE SINNER. *' When distress cometh upon them, they will seek for peace, and there shall be none. Trouble shall come upon trouble." ' — Ezec. vii. 25. FIRST POINT. At present sinners banish the remembrance and thought of death; and thus they seek after peace.. 52 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. though they never find it, in the sinful life which they lead. But when they shall be found in the straits of death, on the point of entering into eternity, **they shall seek peace, and there shall be none." Then they shall not be able to fly from the torture of their sinful conscience. They shall seek peace; but what peace can be found by a soul loaded with sins which devour her like so many vipers? What peace can the sinner enjoy when he sees that he must in a few moments appear before the judg- ment-seat of Jesus Christ, whose law and friendship he has till then despised? *' Trouble shall come upon trouble." The news of death, which has been already announced, the thought of being obliged to take leave of every thing in this world, the remorses of conscience, the time lost, the want of time at present, the rigor of the divine judgment, the unhappy eternity which awaits sinners, — all these things shall form a horrible tempest, which shall confuse the mind, shall increase diffidence ; and thus, full of confusion and distrust, the dying sinner shall pass to tb^ other world. Trusting in the divine promise, Abraham, with great merit, hoped in God against human hope. ** Who against hope believed in hope." — Rom. iv. 18. But sinners, with great dem.erit, hope falsely and to their own perdition, not only against hope, but also faith; because they despise the menaces of God against all who are obstinate in sin. They are afraid of a bad death, but they fear not to lead a wicked life. But who has assured them that they shall not be suddenly deprived of life by a thunderbolt, by apoplexy, or by the bursting of a blood-vessel? And were they at death even allowed time for repentance, who assures them that they shall sincerely return to God? To conquer bad habits, St. Augustine had to fight against them for PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 63 twelve years. How shall the dying man, who has always lived in sin, be able, in the midst of the pains, the stupefaction, and the confusion of death, to re- pent sincerely of all his past iniquities ? I say sin- cereli/y because it is not enough to say and to prom- ise with the tongue ; it is necessary to promise with the heart. O God ! what terror and confusion shall seize the unhappy Christian who has led a careless life, when he shall find himself overwhelmed with sins, with the fears of judgment, of hell, and of eternity! O, what confusion shall these thoughts produce when the dying sinner shall find his reason gone, his mind darkened, and his whole frame as- sailed by the pains of approaching death ! He will make his confession ; he will promise, weep, and seek mercy from God, but without understanding what he does ; and in this tempest of agitation, of remorse, of pains and terrors, he shall pass to the other life. ^^ The people shall be troubled, and they shall pass." — Job xxxiv. 20. A certain author says that the prayers, the wailings, and promises of dying sinners, are like the tears and promises of a man assailed by an enemy who points a dagger to his throat to take away his life. Miserable the man who takes to his bed in enmity with God, and passes from the bed of sickness to eternity. Affections and Prayers. O wounds of Jesus, you are my hope. I should despair of the pardon of my sins, and of my eternal salvation, did I not behold you, the fountains of mercy and grace, through which a God has shed all his blood, to wash my soul from the sins which I have committed. I adore you, then, O holy wounds, and trust in you. I detest a thousand times, and curse those vile pleasures by which I '54 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. have displeased my Redeemer, and have miserably lost his friendship. Looking then at you, I raise up my hopes, and turn my affections to you. My dear Jesus, thou dost deserve to be loved by all men, and to be loved with their whole heart. I have so grievously offended thee, I have despised thy love : but notwithstanding my sinfulness, thou hast borne with me so long, and invited me to par- don^ with so much mercy. Ah, my Savior, do not permit me ever more to offend thee, and to merit my own damnation. O God ! what torture should I feel in hell at the sight of thy blood and of the great mercies thou hast shown me. I love thee, and will always love thee. Give me holy persever- ance. Detach my heart from all love which is not for thee, and confirm in me a true desire, a true resolution henceforth to love only thee, my sovereign good. O Mary, my mother, draw me to God, and obtain for me the grace to belong entirely to him before I die. SECOND POINT. The poor dying sinner shall be assailed, not by one, but by many causes of distress and anguish; On the one hand, the devils shall torment him. At death these horrid enemies exert all their strength to secure the perdition of the soul that is about to leave this world. They know that they have but little time to gain her, and that if they lose her at death, they shall lose her forever. ** The devil is come down unto you having great wrath, knowing that he hath but a short time." — Apoc. xii. 12. The dying man shall be tempted, not by one, but by innumerable devils, who shall labor for his dam- nation. *' Their house shall be filled with serpents." — Isa. xiii. 21. One shall say, '' Fear not, you shall PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 55 recover." Another, *^ You have been deaf to the inspirations of God for so many years, and do you now expect that he will have mercy on you ? '^ Another shall ask, *^ How can you make satisfaction for all the injuries you have done to the property and character of your neighbors ? '' Another, ** Do you not see that your confessions have been null, that they have been made without sorrow or a pur- pose of amendment ? How shall you now be able to repair them ? " On the other hand, the dying man shall see him- self surrounded by his sins. " Evils," says David, ** shall catch the unjust man unto destruction." — Ps. cxxxix. 12. " These sins," says St. Bernard, ** like so many satellites, shall keep him in chains, and shall say to him, * We are your works ; we shall not desert you. We are your offspring ; we will not leave you ; we shall accompany you to the other world, and shall present ourselves with you to the Eternal Judge.' " The dying man will then wish to shake off such enemies ; but, to get rid of them, he must detest them, he must return sincerely to God. His mind is darkened, and his heart hard- ened. '^ A hard heart shall fare evil at the last; and he that loveth danger shall perish in it." — Eccl. iii. 27. St. Bernard says that the man who has been obstinate in sin during life, will make efforts, but without success, to get out of the state of dam- nation ; and that, overwhelmed by his own malice, he shall end his life in the same unhappy state. Having loved sin till death, he has also loved the danger of damnation. Hence the Lord shall justly permit him to perish in that danger in which he has voluntarily lived till the end of his life. St. Augus- tine says that he who is abandoned by sin before he abandons it, will scarcely detest it as he ought; 66 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. because what he will then do shall be done through 'necessity. ^'Qui prius a peccato relinquitur quam ipse relinquat, non libere sed quasi ex necessitate condemnat." Miserable the sinner that hardens his heart and resists the divine calls ; *^ his heart shall be as hard as a stone and as firm as a smith's an- vil." — Job xli. 15. Instead of yielding to, and be- ing softened by, the graces and inspirations of God, the unhappy man becomes more obdurate, as the anvil is hardened by repeated strokes of the ham- mer. In punishment of his resistance to the divine calls, he shall find his heart in the same miserable state at the very hour of death, at the moment of passing into eternity. '^ A hard heart shall fare evil at the last." Sinners, says the Lord, you have for the love of creatures, turned your back upon me. '* They have turned their back upon me, and not their face ; and in the time of their affliction they shall say, Arise and deliver us. Where are the gods thou hast made thee? Let them arise and deliver thee." — Jer. ii. 27. They shall have recourse to God at death ; but he will say to them, " Why do you invoke me now ? Call on creatures to assist you, for they have been your gods." The Lord shall address them in this manner, because, in seeking him, they do not sincerely wish to be con- verted. St. Jerome says that he holds, and that he has learned from experience, that they who have to the end led a bad life, shall never die a good death. " Hoc teneo, hoc multiplici experientia didici quod ei non bonus est finis, cui mala semper vita fuit." — in Epis. Eusebii ad Dam. Affections and Prayers. My dear Savior, assist me; do not abandon me. I see my whole soul covered with the wounds of sin ; PREPARATION TOR DEATH. S7 my passions attack me violently, my bad habits weit^h' me down. I cast myself at thy feet; have pity on me, and deliver me from so many evils. **In thee, O Lord, I have hoped ; may I not be con- founded forever." Do not suffer a soul that trusts in thee to be lost. '* Deliver not up to beasts the souls that confess to thee." — Ps. Ixxiii. 19. I am sorry for having offended thee, O infinite goodness ! I have done evil ; I confess my guilt. I wish to amend my life, whatsoever it may cost me. But if thou dost not help me by thy grace, I am lost. Re- ceive, O my Jesus, the rebel who has so grievously outraged thy majesty. Remember that I have been purchased by thy blood and thy life. Through the merits, then, of thy passion and death, receive me into thy arms, and give me holy perseverance. I was lost ; thou hast called me back ; I will resist no longer ; to thee I consecrate myself; bind me to thy love ; and do not permit me ever more to lose thee by losing thy grace again. My Jesus, do not permit it. Mary, my queen, do not permit it; ob- tain for me death, and a thousand deaths, rather than that I should again forfeit the grace of thy Son. THIRD POINT. God unceasingly threatens sinners with an un- happy death. *' Then they shall call upon me, and I will not hear."— Prov. i. 28. '* Will God hear his cry wheu distress shall come upon him? " — Job xxvii. 9. " 1 also will laugh in your destruction, and will mock." — Prov. i. 26. According to St. Gregory, God laughs when he is unwilling to show mercy, (" Ridere Dei est nolle misereri.") ''Re- venge is mine, and I will repay them in due time." — Deut. xxxii. 35. The Lord pronounces the 68 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. same threats in so many other places; and sinners live in peace as securely as if God had certainly promised to give them, at death, pardon and para- dise. It is true that at whatsoever hour the sinner is converted, God promises to pardon him. But he has not promised that sinners shall be converted at death ; on the contrary, he has often protested that ** they who live in sin shall die in sin/' — John viii. 21. ** You shall die in your sins.'^ — Ibid. 24. He has declared that they who shall seek him at death, shall not find him. *' You shall seek me, and shall not find me.'' — John vii. 34. We must, there- fore, seek God while he may be found. ^^ Seek ye the Lord while he may be found." — Isa. Iv. 6. A time shall come when it will not be in our power to find him. Poor blind sinners ! they put off their conversion till death, when there shall be no more time for repentance. *^ The wicked," says Oleaster, "have never learned to do good unless when the time for doing good is no more." God wills the salvation of all ; but he takes vengeance on obsti- nate sinners. Should any man in the state of sin be seized w^ith apoplexy and be deprived of his senses, what senti- ments of compassion would be excited in all who should see him die without the sacraments and with- out signs of repentance ! And how great should be their delight, if he recovered the use of his senses, asked for absolution, and made acts of sorrow for his sins ! But is not he a fool, who has time to re- pent, and prefers to continue in sin? or who returns to sin, and exposes himself to the danger of being cut off by death without the sacraments, and with- out repentance ? A sudden death excites terror in all ; and still how many expose themselves to the danger of dying suddenly, and of dying in sin ? PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 59 ** Weight and balance are the judgments of the Lord." — Prov. xvi. 11. We keep no account of the graces which God bestows upon us; but he keeps an account of them, he measures them ; and when he sees them despised to a certain degree, he then abandons the sinner in his sin, and takes him out of life in that unhappy state. Miserable the man who defers his conversion till death. "Poeni- tentia," says St. Augustine, " quae ab infirmo petitur infirma est.^' — Serm. Ivii. de Temp. "The repent- ance which is sought from a sick man is infirm." St. Jerome teaches, that of a hundred thousand sin- ners who continue in sin till death, scarcely one shall be saved. " Vix de centum millibus quorum mala vita fuit, meretur in morte a Deo indulgentiam unus." — in Epis. Euseb. de Morte ejusd. St. Vin- cent Ferrer writes, that it is a greater miracle to bring such sinners to salvation, than to raise the dead to life. ** Majus miraculum est quod male vi- ventes faciant bonum finem, quam suscitare mor- tuos." — Serm. i. de Nativ. Virg. What sorrow, what repentance can be expected at death from the man who has loved sin till that moment? Bellar- mine relates that when he exhorted to contrition a certain person whom he assisted at death, the dying man said that he did not know what was meant by contrition. The holy bishop endeavored to ex- plain it to him; but he said, ^* Father, I do not un- derstand you ; these things are too high for meP He died in that state, leaving, as the venerable cardinal has written, sufficiently evident signs of his damnation, St. Augustine says, that, by a just chas- tisement, the sinner who has forgotten God during life, shall forget himself at death. *'^quissime percutitur peccator ut moriens obliviscatur sui qui vivens oblitus est Dei." — Serm. x. de Sanct. 60 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. " Be not deceived/' says the apostle ; *' God is not mocked. For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that soweth in his flesh, of the flesh also shall he reap corruption." — Gal. vi. 7. It would be a mockery of God to live m contempt of his laws, and afterwards to reap remuneration and eternal glory. But God is not mocked. What we sow in this life we reap in the next. For him who sows the forbidden pleasures of the flesh, nothing remains but corruption, misery, and eternal death. Beloved Christian, what is said for others is also applicable to you. Tell me ; if you were at the point of death, given over by the physicians, de- prived of your senses, and in your last agony, with what fervor would you ask of God another month or week, to settle the accounts of your conscience ! God at present gives you this time ; thank him for it, and apply an immediate remedy to the evil you have done ; adopt all the means of finding your- self in the grace of God w^hen death shall come ; for then there shall be no more time to acquire his friendship. Affections and Prayers. Ah, my God ! who would have borne with me so patiently as thou hast? If thy goodness were not infinite, I would despair of pardon. But I have to deal with a God who has died for my salvation. Thou didst command me to hope, and I will hope. If my sins terrify and condemn me, thy merits and thy promises encourage me. Thou hast promised the life of thy grace to all who return to thee. ** Return ye and live.'' — Ez. xviii. 32. Thou hast promised to embrace him who is converted to thee " Turn jre to me, and I will turn to you." — Zach. PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 61 i. 3. Thou hast said that thou knowest not how to despise an humble and contrite heart. " A contrite and humble heart, O God, thou wilt not despise/' — Ps. 1. 17. Behold me, O Lord; I return to thee; I acknowledge that I deserve a thousand hells ; I am sorry for having offended thee. I firmly promise never again to offend thee voluntarily, and to love thee forever. Ah ! do not suffer me any longer to be ungrateful to such unbounded goodness. O eter nal Father, through the merits of the obedience of Jesus Christ, who died to obey thee, grant that I may till death be obedient to all thy wishes. I love thee, O Sovereign Good ; and through the love which I bear thee, I desire to obey thee. Give me holy perseverance, give me thy love ; I ask nothing more. Mary, my mother, intercede for me. SEVENTH CONSIDERATION. SENTIMENTS OF A DYING CHRISTIAN, WHO HAS BEEN CARELESS ABOUT THE DUTIES OF RELIGION, AND HAS THOUGHT BUT LITTLE OF DEATH. " Take order with thy house ; for thou shalt die, and shalt not liVe.** — Isa. xxxviii. 1. FIRST POINT. Imagine yourself at the bedside of a negligent Christian, who is overpowered by sickness, and has but a few hours to live. Behold him oppressed by pains, by swoons, by suffocation, by want of breath, by cold sweats ; his reason so impaired, that he feels but little, understands little, and can but speak 6 62 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. little. The greatest of all his miseries is, that, though at the point of death, instead of thinking of his soul, and of preparing accounts for eternity, he fixes all his thoughts on physicians, on the remedies by which he may be rescued from sickness, and from the pains which shall soon put an end to life. ** Nihil aliud quam de se cogitare sufficiunt," says St. Lawrence Justinian, speaking of the condition of negligent Christians at the hour of death. They can think only of themselves. Surely his relatives and friends will admonish the dying Christian of his danger ? No ; there is not one among all his relatives and friends, who has the courage to an- nounce to him the news of death, and to advise him to receive the last sacraments. Through fear of offending him, they all refuse to inform him of his danger. (O my God, from this moment I thank thee, that at death I shall, through thy grace, be as- sisted by my beloved brothers of my congregation, who shall then have no other interest than that oif my eternal salvation, and shall all help me to die well.) But though he is not admonished of his approach- ing death, the poor sick man, seeing the family in disorder, the medical consultations repeated, the remedies multiplied, frequent, and violent, is filled with confusion and terror. Assaulted by fears, re- morses, and difHdences, he says within himself, '' Perhaps the end of my days has arrived." But what shall be his feelings when he shall be told that death is at hand ! ** Take order with thy house ; for thou shalt die, and shalt not live.'' What pain shall he feel in hearing Father Such-a-one say to him, *' Your illness is mortal ; it is necessary to receive the last sacraments, to unite yourself with God, and lo prepare to bid farewell to the world ! " ** What ! " PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 63 exclaims the sick man ; " must I take leave of all, — of my house, my villa, my relatives, friends, con- versations, plays, and amusements ? " '* Yes, you must take leave of all." The scrivener is already come, and pens this last farewell — / bequeath such a thing and such a thing, etc. And what does he bring with himself? Nothing but a miserable rag, which shall soon rot with him in the grave. O, with what melancholy and agitation shall the dying man be seized at the sight of the tears of the domestics, at the silence of his friends, who have not courage to speak in his presence ! But his greatest anguish shall arise from the remorses of his conscience, which in that tempest shall be rendered more sensible by the remembrance of the disorderly life he has till then led, in spite of so many calls and lights from God, of so many adm.onitions from spiritual fathers, and of so many resolutions made, but never executed, or afterwards neglected. He shall then say, "O, unhappy me! I have had so many lights from God, so much time to tranquillize my conscience, and have not done it. Behold, I am now arrived at the gate of death. What would it have cost me to have avoided such an occasion of sin, to have broken off such a friendship, to have frequented the tribunal of penance? Ah, very little ; but, though they should have cost me much pain and labor, I ought to have submitted to every incon- venience in order to save my soul, which is of more importance to me than all the goods of this world. O, if I had put into execution the good resolutions which I had made on such an occasion, if I had continued the good works which I commenced at such a time, how happy should I now feel ! But these things I have not done, and now there is no more time to do them.'' The sentiments of dy- b4 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. ing sinners who have neglected the care of their souls during life, are like those of the damned who mourn in hell over their sins as the cause of their sufferings, but mourn without fruit and without remedy. Affections and Prayers. Lord, if it were at this moment announced to me that my death was at hand, behold the painful sen- timents which would torture my soul. 1 thank thee for giving me this light, and for giving me time to enter into myself O my God, I will no longer fly from thee. Thou hast sought after me long enough. I have just reason to fear that thou wilt abandon me, if I now refuse to give myself to thee, and continue to resist thy calls. Thou hast given me a heart to love thee, and I have made so bad use of it ! I have loved creatures, and have not loved thee, my Crea- tor and Redeemer, who hast given thy life for the love of me. Instead of loving thee, how often have 1 offended, how often have I despised thee, and turned my back upon thee ! I knew that by such a sin I insulted thee, and still I have committed it. My Jesus, I am sorry for all my sins ; they displease me above all things. I wish to change my life. 1 renounce all the pleasures of the world in order to love and please thee, O God of my soul. Thou hast given me strong proofs of thy love. I too would wish before death to give thee some proof of my love. From this moment I accept all the infirmities, cross- es, insults, and offences, which I shall receive from men ; give me strength to submit to them with peace. I wish to bear them all for the love of thee. I love thee,0 infinite Goodness ! I love thee above every good. Increase my love, give me holy perse* verance. Mary, my hope, pray to Jesus for me. PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 65 SECOND POINT. O, how clearly are the truths of faith seen at the hour of death ! But then they only serve to in- crease the anguish of the dying Christian who has led a bad life, particularly if he had been conse- crated to God, and had greater facilities for serving him, more time for exercises of piety, more ex- amples, and more inspirations. O God ! what tor- ture shall he feel in thinking and saying, " I have admonished others, and my life has been worse than theirs. I have left the world, and have cher- ished attachment to worldly pleasures and vanities.'' What remorse shall he feel in thinking that, with tHe lights which he had received from God, a pagan would become a saint ! With what pain shall his soul be racked by the remembrance of having ridiculed in others certain practices of piety, as if they were weaknesses of mind; and of having praised certain maxims of the world, of self-esteem, or of self-love — such as. It is necessary to seek our own advancement ; We ought to avoid suffer- ing, and indulge in every amusement within our reach ! " The desire of the wicked shall perish^ — Ps. cxi. 10. How ardently shall we desire at death the time which we now squander away ! In his dia- logues, St. Gregory relates that a certain rich man, called Crysantius, who had led a wicked life, see- ing at death the devils who came to carry him off, exclamied, '' Give me time, give me time till to-mor- row." They replied, " O fool ! do you now seek for time ? You have had so much time, but have wasted it, and have spent it in committing sin ; and DOW you seek for time. Time is now no more.' 6* 66 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. The unhappy man continued to cry out and call for assistance. To his son Maximus, a monk, who was present, he said, ** O my son, assist me ; O Maximus, come to my aid/' With his face on fire, he sprang in a furious manner from one side of the bed to the other ; and in that state of agitation, screaming aloud, like one in despair, he breathed forth his unhappy soul. Alas ! during this life, these fools love their folly ; but at death, they open their eyes, and con- fess that they have been fools. But this only serves to increase their diffidence of repairing past evils ; and dying in this state, they leave their sal- vation very uncertain. My brother, now that you read this point, I imagine that you too say, ^' This is indeed true." But if this is true, your folly and misfortune shall be still greater, if, after knowing these truths during life, you neglect to apply a remedy in time. This very point which you have read, shall be a sword of sorrow for you at death. Since, then, you now have time to avoid a death so full of terror, begin instantly to repair the past ; do not wait for that time in which you can make but little preparation for judgment. Do not wait either for another month, or for another week. Perhaps this light, which God in his mercy gives you now, may be the last light and the last call for you. It is folly to be unwilling to think of death, which is certain, and on which eternity depends ; but it would be still greater folly to reflect on it, and not prepare for judgment. Make now the re- flections and resolutions which you would then make: they may be made now with profit — then without fruit ; now with confidence of saving your soul — then with diffidence of your salvation. A gentleman who was about to take leave of the court PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 67 of Charles the Fifth, to live only to God, was asked by the ernperor why he thought of quitting the court. The gentleman answered, ** To secure salvation, it is necessary that some time spent in penitential works should intervene between a dis- orderly life and death." Affections and Prayers, O ray God, I will no longer abuse thy mercy. I thank thee for the light thou now givest me, and I promise to change my life. I see that thou canst not bear with me any longer. I will not wait till thou either send me to hell, or abandon me to a wicked life, which should be a greater punishment than death itself Behold, I cast myself at thy feet ; receive me into favor. I do not deserve thy grace ; but thou hast said, *' The wickedness of the wicked shall not hurt him, in whatsoever day he shall turn from his wickedness." — Ezec. xxxiii. 12. If, then, O my Jesus, I have hitherto offended thy infinite goodness, I now repent with my whole heart, and hope' for pardon. I will say with St. Anselm, "Ah, since thou hast redeemed me by thy blood, do not permit me to be lost on account of my sins." Look not on my ingratitude ; but have regard to the love which made thee die for me. If I have lost thy grace, thou hast not lost the power of restoring it to me. Have mercy on me, then, O my dear Redeemer. Pardon me, and give me grace to love thee ; for I purpose henceforth to love nothing but thee. Among so many possible creatures, thou hast chosen me to love thee. I make choice of thee, O Sovereign Good, to love thee above every good. Thou goest before me with thy cross : I am willing to follow thee with the cross which thou wilt give me to carry. I embrace every 68 PREPARATION FOR DEATH, mortification and every pain which shall come from thee. Do not deprive me of thy grace, and I arn content. Mary, my hope, obtain for me, from God, perseverance and the grace to love him ; and I ask nothing more. THIPwD POINT. The dying man who has neglected the salvation of his soul, shall find thorns in every thing that shall be presented to him ; — thorns in the remem- brance of past amusements, punctilios, and pomps ; thorns in the friends who shall visit him, and in whatever their presence shall bring before his mind ; thorns in the spiritual fathers who shall assist him in turn ; thorns in the sacraments of penance, eucharist, and extreme unction, which he must receive ; thorns even in the crucifix which shall be placed before him. In that sacred image he shall read his want of correspondence to the love of a God who died for his salvation. "O, fool that I have been ! '^ the poor sick man shall say. *' With the lights and opportunities which God has given me, I could have become a saint. I could have led a life of happiness in the grace of God ; and after so many years which he gave me^ what do I find but torments, diffidences, fears, re- morses of conscience, and accounts to render to God ? I shall scarcely save my soul." And when shall he say this? When the oil in the lamp is on the point of being consumed, and the scene of this world is about to close forever ; when he finds himself in view of two eternities, one happy, the other miserable ; when he is near that last opening of the mouth, on which depends his being always in bliss, or always in despair, as long as God shall be PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 69 God. What would he then give for another year or month, or even for another week, with the per- fect use of his faculties ! In the stupefaction, op- pression of the chest, and difficulty of breathing, under which he then labors, he can do nothing : he is incapable of reflection, or of applying his mind to the performance of any good act ; he is, as it were, shut up in a dark pit of confusion, where he can see nothing but the ruin which threatens him, and which he feels himself unable to avert. He would wish for time ; but the assisting priest shall say to him, '^ Prqficiscere ; — adjust your accounts as well as you can in the few moments that remain, and depart. Do you not know that death waits for no one — respects no one ?" O, with what dismay shall he then think and say, *' This morning I am alive ; this evening I shall probably be dead ! To-day I am in this room ; to- morrow I shall be in the grave ! And where shall my soul be found ? " With what terror shall he be seized when he shall see the death caudle pre- pared ; when he shall hear his relatives ordered to withdraw from his apartment, and to return to it no more ; when his sight shall begin to grow dim! Finally, how great shall be his alarm and confusion, when he shall see that, because death is at hand, the candle is lighted ! O candle, O can- dle, how many truths shall you then unfold ! How different shall you make things appear then from what they appear at present ! O, how clearly shall you show to the dying sinner, that all the goods of this world are vanities, folly, and lies 1 But of what use is it to understand these truths, when the time of salvation is over ? 70 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. Affections and Prayers. Ah, my God, thou wiliest not my death, but that I be converted and live. I thank thee for having waited for me till now, and I thank thee for the light which thou givest me at this moment. I know the error I have committed in preferring to thy friendship the vile and miserable goods for which I have des]jised thee. I repent and am sorry with my whole heart for having done thee so great an in- jury. Ah ! do not cease, during the remainder of my life, to assist me by thy light and grace to know and to do all that I ought to do in order to amend my life. What will it profit me to know these truths when I shall be deprived of the time in which they may be reduced to practice? *' De- liver not up to beasts the souls that confess to thee." When the devil shall tempt me to offend thee again, ah ! I entreat thee, my Jesus, through the merits of thy passion, to stretch forth thy hand, and to preserve me from falling into sin, and from becom- ing again the slave of my enemies. Grant that in all temptations I may have recourse to thee, and that I may not cease to recommend myself to thee as long as the temptations continue. Thy blood is my hope, and thy goodness is my love. I love thee, my God worthy of infinite love ; grant that I may always love thee. Make known to me the things from which I ought to detach my heart, that I may be entirely thine : I wish to detach my heart from them ; but give me strength to execute this desire. O queen of heaven, O mother of God, pray for me a sinner. Obtain for me the grace that in all temptations, I may never omit to have re- course to Jesus and to thee, who, by thy interces- sion, preserve from falling into sin all who invoke thee. I PREPARATION FOR DEATH, 71 EIGHTH CONSIDERATION, DEATH OF THE JUST. * Precious ia the sight of the Lord is the deat? jf his saints/' — Ps. cxv. 15. FIRST POINT, Considered according to the sen^B, death ex- cites fear and terror ; but, viewed with the eyes of faith, it is consoling and desirable. To sinners it appears full of terror ; but to the saints it m amiable and precious. ** It is precious," says St. Bernard, '* as the end of labors, the consummation of victory, the gate of life," — Trans. Malach. Finis labcrum , it is the end of toils and labor, '* Man," say^ Job, ** born of a woman, living for a short time, is filleit. with many miseries." — Jobxiv. I. Behold a pic- ture of our life; it is short, and all full of miseries, of infirmities, of fears, and passions. ^* What,*^ saya Seneca, " do worldlings who desire a long life, seek, but a continuation of torments?" *' Tanquaik vita petitur supplicii mora," — Ep. ci, *'What,' says St. Augustine, ^* is a prolongation of life, bn: a prolongation of suffering?" ''Quid est diu va vere, nisi diu torqueri?" — Serm. xvii., de Verb Domin. Yes ; for, as St. Ambrose tells us, the pres- ent life is given us, not for repose, but that we maf labor, and by our toils, merit eternal glory. ** Hsbc vita homini non ad quietem data est, sed ad labo- rem." — Serm. xliii. Hence Tertullian has justly said, that when God abridges life, he abridges pain. ** Longum Deus adimit tormentum cum vi- tam concedit brevet." Hence, though man has been condemned to death in punishment of sin, still, the miseries of this life are so great, that, ac- 72 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. cording to St. Ambrose, death appears to be a rem- edy and relief, rather than a chastisement. *' Ut morsremedium videatur esse, non poena." God pro- nounces happy all who die in his grace ; because they terminate their labors and go to repose. " Bless- ed are the dead who die in the Lord. From henceforth now, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors." — Apoc. xiv. 13. The torments which afflict sinners at death, do not disturb the peace of the saints. ** The souls of the just are in the hands of God, and the tor- ment of death shall not touch them." Wis. iii. 1. That projiciscei'e which is so full of terror to world- lings does not alarm the saints. The just man is not afflicted at the thought of being obliged to take leave of the goods of the earth ; for he has always kept his heart detached from them. During life he has constantly said to the Lord, "Thou art the God of my heart, and the God that is my portion forever." Happy you, said the apostle to his dis- ciples, who have been robbed of your goods for the sake of Jesus Christ. "You took with joy the being stripped of your goods, knowing that you have a better and a lasting substance." Heb. x. 34. The saint is not afflicted at bidding an eter- nal farewell to^ honors ; for he always hated them, and considered them to be what they really are — smoke and vanity. He is not afflicted in leaving relatives; for he loved them only in God; and at death he recommends them to his heavenly Father, who loves them more than he does ; and having a secure confidence of salvation, he expects to be better able to assist them from heaven, than on this earth. In a word, he who has constantly said during life, ^^ My God and my all^^ continues to repeat it with greater consolation and greater ten- derness at the hour of death. PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 73 He who dies loving God is not disturbed by the pains of death ; but, seeing that he is now at the end of life, and that he has no more time to suffer for God, or to offer him other proofs of his love, he accepts these pains with joy. With affection and peace he offers to God these last remains of life, and feels consoled in uniting the sacrifice of his death with the sacrifice which Jesus Christ offered for him on the cross to his eternal Father. Thus he dies happily, saying, ** In peace in the self-same I will sleep and I will rest." — Ps. iv. O, how great the peace of the Christian who dies abandoned and reposing in the arms cJf Jesus Christ, who has loved us to death, and has condescended to suffer so cruel a death in order to obtain for us a death full of sweetness and consolation ! Affections and Prayers. O, my beloved Jesus, who, to obtain for me a hap- py death, hast freely submitted to so painful a death on Calvary, when shall I see thee ? The first time I shall behold thee, I shall see thee as my judge in the very place in which I shall expire. What shall I then say? What wilt thou say to me? I will not wait till that moment to think of what I shall say; I will meditate on it now. I will say to thee, ** My Redeemer, thou art the God who hast died for me. I have hitherto offended thee ; I have been ungrate- ful to thee : I did not deserve pardon ; but afterwards, assisted by thy grace, I have entered into myself, and, during the remainder of my life, I have be- wailed my sins; and thou ha&t pardoned me. Par- don me again, now that I am at thy feet, and give me a general absolution of all my sins. I did not deserve ever again to love thee, because I have despised thy love ; but thou in thy mercy hast 7 74 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. drawn my heart to thee, so that, if I have not loved thee as much as thou dost deserve, I have at least loved thee above all things, and have left all to please thee. I see that paradise and the posses- sion of thy divinity in thy kingdom, is too much for me ; but I cannot live at a distance from thee, now especially, after thou hast shown me thy ami- able and beautiful countenance. I therefore seek for paradise, not to enjoy greater delights, but to love thee more perfectly. Send me to purgatory as long as thou pleasest. Defiled as I am at present, I do not wish to enter into the land of purity, and to see myself among those pure souls. Send me to be purified ; but do not banish me forever from thy presence. I shall be content to be one day, whenever thou pleasest, called to paradise, to sing thy mercies for all eternity. Ah, my beloved Judge ! raise thy hand and bless me ; tell me that I am thine, and that thou art and shalt be for- ever mine. I will always love thee, and thou wilt forever love me. Behold, I go to a distance from thee ; I go to fire ; but I go in peace, because I go to love thee, my Redeemer, my God, my all. I am content to go ; but during my absence from thee, the greatest of my pains will consist in being at a distance from thee. I go, O Lord, to count the moments that shall elapse before thou shalt call me. Have mercy on a soul that loves thee with all her power, and that sighs to see thee, that she may love thee better." This I hope, O my Jesus, to say to thee at death. I entreat thee to give me the grace to live in such a manner, that I may then say to thee what I have now meditated. Give me holy perseverance, give me thy love. Assist me, O Mary, mother of God ; oray to Jesus for me. PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 75 SECOND POINT. " God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ; and death shall be no more/' — Apoc. xxi. 4. Then, at death, the Lord shall wipe away from the eyes of his servants all the tears they have shed in this world, where they live in the midst of pains^ of fears, of dangers, and combats with hell. The greatest consolation which a soul that has loved God shall experience in hearing the news of death, will arise from the thought that she shall soon be delivered from the many dangers of offending God to which she is exposed in this life, from so many troubles of conscience, and from so many temptations of the devil. The present life is an unceasing warfare with hell, in which we are in continual danger of losing our souls and God. St. Ambrose says that in this life we walk among snares ; we walk continually amid the snares of enemies, who lie in wait to deprive us of the life of grace. It was this danger that made St. Peter of Alcantara say at death to a religious who, in at- tending the saint, accidentally touched him, '* Broth- er, remove, remove from me ; for I am still alive, and am still in danger of being lostJ^ The thought of being freed by death from the danger of sin, consoled St. Teresa, and made her rejoice, as often as she heard the clock strike, that another hour of the combat was past. Hence she would say, *' In each moment of life I may sin and lose God^ Hence the news of approaching death filled the saints v/ith consolation ; because they knew that their struggles and danger were soon to have an end, and that they should soon be in secure pos- session of that happy lot in which they could never more lose God. 76 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. It is related in the lives of the fathers, that one of them, who was very old, when dying, smiled while the others wept. Being asked why he smiled, he said. Why do you weep at seeing me go to rest ? *' Ex labore ad requiem vado, et vos plo- ratis?" Likewise St. Catharine of Sienna, in her last moments, said, ** Rejoice with me ;for I quit this land of pains, and go to a place of peace, ^^ ** If,'* says St. Cyprian, ** you lived in a house whose walls, and roof, and floors, were tottering, and threatened destruction, how ardently would you desire to fly from it ! '' In this life every thing menaces the ruin of the soul ; the world, hell, the passions, the re- bellious senses, all draw us to sin and eternal death. '* Who," exclaimed the apostle, ** shall deliver me from the body of this death?" — Rom. vii. 24. O, how great shall be the joy of the soul in hearing these words ! " Come from Lebanus, my spouse, from the dens of the lions." — Cant. iv. 8. Come, my spouse, depart from that land of tears, from the dens of lions who seek to devour you, and to rob you of the divine grace. Hence St. Paul, panting after death, said that Jesus Christ was his only life; and therefore he esteemed death his greatest gain, because by death he acquired that life which never ends. '* To me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." — Phil. i. 21. In taking a soul, while she is in the state of grace, out of this world, where she may change her will and lose his friendship, God bestows on her a great favor. '* He was taken away lest wickedness should alter his understanding." — Wis. iv. 11. Happy in this life is the man that lives in union with God ; but, as the sailor is not secure until he has arrived at the port and escaped the tempest, so the soul cannot enjoy complete happiness until she PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 77 has left this world in the grace of God. " Praise," says St. Ambrose, *' the felicity of the sailor ; but not until he has reached the port.'* Now, if, at his approach to the port, the sailor rejoices, how much greater ought to be the joy and gladness of a Chris- tian who is at the point of securing eternal sal- vation! Moreover, it is impossible in this life to avoid all venial sins. " For,'' says the Holy Ghost, *' a just man shall fall seven times." — Prov. xxiv. 16. He who quits this life ceases to offend God. ** For," says St. Ambrose, '' what is death but the burial of vices?" — De Bono Mort., c. iv. This considera- tion makes the souls that love God long for death. The Venerable Vincent Caraffa consoled himself at death, saying, '* By ceasing to live, I cease forever to offend God." And St. Ambrose said, ** Quid vitam istam desideramus, in qua quanto diutius quis fuerit, tanto majori oneratur sarcina peccatorum." Why do we desire this life, in which the longer we live, the more we are loaded with sins? He who dies in the grace of God, can never more offend him. " Mortuus nescit peccare," says the same holy doctor. Hence the Lord praises the dead more than any man living, though he be a saint. ** And I praise the dead rather than the living." — Eccl. iv. 2. A certain spiritual man gave directions that the person who should bring him the news of death, should say, ** Console yourself; for the time has arrived when you shall no longer offend God." Affections and Prayers. " Into thy hands I commend my spirit ; thou hast edeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth." — Ps. xxx. Ah, my sweet Redeemer ! what should become of tue if thou had deprived me of life when I was far 7* T9 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. from thee ? I should now be in hell, where I could never love thee. I thank thee for not having aban- doned me, and for having bestowed on me so many great graces in order to gain my heart. I am sor- ry for having offended thee. I love thee above all things. Ah ! I entreat thee to make me always sensible of the evil I have done in despising thee, and of the love which thy infinite goodness merits. I love thee; and I desire to die soon, if such be thy will, that I may be freed from the danger of ever again losing thy grace, and that I may be secure of loving thee forever. Ah, my beloved Jesus 1 during these remaining years of my life, give me strength to do something for thee before I die. Give me strength against all temptations, and against my passions, but particularly against the passion which has hitherto most violently drawn me to sin. Give me patience in all infirmities, and under all the injuries which I shall receive from men. I now, for the love of thee, pardon all who have shown me any contempt, and I beg of thee to bestow upon them the graces which they stand in need of Give me strength to be more diligent in avoiding even venial faults, about v/hich 1 have been hitherto negligent. My Savior, assist me. I hope for all graces through thy merits. O Mary, my mother and my hope, I place unbounded confi- dence in thee. THIHD POINT. Death is not only the end of labors, but it is also the gate of life. '* Finis laborum, vitae janua,'' says St. Bernard. He who wishes to see God must ne- cessarily pass through this gate. *' This is the gate of the Lord : the just shall enter into it.' ^ — Ps.cxvii PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 79 20. St. Jerome entreated death to open his gates to him. ** Aperi mihi, soror mea." Death, my sister, if you do not open the door to me, I cannot enter to enjoy my Lord. Seeing in his house a picture in which death was represented with a knife in the hand, St. Charles Borromeo sent for a paint- er, and ordered him to substitute for the knife a key of gold, in order that he might be more and more inflamed with a desire of death, which opens paradise, and admits us to the vision of God. " If," says St. John Chrysostom, " a king had pre- pared for one of his subjects apartments in his own palace, but for the present obliged him to live in a tent, how ardently would the vassal sigh for the day on which he should leave the tent to enter into the palace ! " In this life the soul, beincr in the body, is as it were confined in a prison, which she must leave in order to enter the celestial palace. Hence David prayed to the Lord to bring his soul out of prison. " Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name." — Ps. cxli. 8. When the holy Simeon held the infant Jesus in his arms, he asked no other grace than to be delivered from the prison of the present life. '' Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord." — Luke ii. 29. *' As if detained by necessity, he," says St. Ambrose, ^' begs to be dismissed." The apostle desired the same grace when he said, '* I am straitened, having a desire to be dissolved, and to be with Christ." — Phil. i. How great was the joy of the cup-bearer of Pharaoh, when he heard from Joseph that he should be soon rescued from prison, and restored to his situation ! And will not a soul that loves God exult with gladness at hearing that she shall soon be re- leased from the prison of this earth, and go to enjoy God l '* While we are in the body, we are absent 80 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. from the Lord/' — 2 Cor. v. 6. While the soul is united to the body, she is at a distance from the vision of God, as if in a strange land, and excluded from her true country. Hence, according to St» Bruno, the departure of the soul from the body should not be called death, but the beginning of life. ** Mors dicenda non est, sed vitae principium." Hence the death of the saints is called their birthday ; because at death they are born to that life of bliss which shall never end. ** Non est justis mors, sed translatio,*' says St. Athanasius. To the just, death is only a passage to eternal life. O amiable death, says St. Augustine, who will not desire thee, who art the end of evils, the close of toils, the beginning of everlasting repose ? ** O mors desiderabilis malorum finis, laboris clausula, quietis principium ! '* Hence, the holy doctor fre- quently prayed for death, that he might see God. ** Eja moriar, Domine, ut te videam." The sinner, as St. Cyprian says, has just reason to fear death ; because he shall pass from temporal to eternal death. ** Mori timeat qui ad secundum mortem, de hac morte transibit." But he who is in the state of grace, and hopes to pass from death to life, fears not death. In the life of St. John the Almoner, we read that a certain rich man recom- mended to the prayers of the saint an only son, and gave the saint a large sum of money to be distrib- uted in alms, for the purpose of obtaining from God a long life for his son. The son died soon after ; but when the father complained of his death, God sent an angel to say to him, ** You sought for your son a long life ; he now enjoys eternal life in heaven." This is, as was promised by the prophet Osee, the grace w^hich Jesus Christ merited for us. **0 death, I shall be thy death.'' — Osee xiii. 41. PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 81 By dying for us, Jesus has changed death into life When Pionius the Martyr was brought to the stake, he was asked, by those who conducted him, how he could go to death with so much joy. ** You err/' replied the saint; ** I go not to death, but to life/' — Ap. Eus. lib. iv. cap. xiv. Thus also the mother of the young St. Symphorian exhorted him to martyrdom. ** My son," said she, ''life is not tak«n away from you ; it is only exchanged for a better one." Affections and Prayers. O God of my soul, I have hitherto dishonored thee by turning my back upon thee : but thy Son has honored thee by offering to thee the sacrifice of his life on the cross. Through the honor which thy beloved Son has given thee, pardon the dishon- or which I have done thee. I am sorry, O Sover- eign Good, for having offended thee ; and I promise henceforth to love nothing but thee. From thee I hope for salvation ; whatever good is in me at pres- ent is the fruit of thy grace; to thee I ascribe it all. " Gratia Dei sum id quod sum." If I have hither- to dishonored thee, I hope to honor thee for eter- nity by blessing and praising thy mercy forever. I feel a great desire to love thee. This thou hast given me ; I thank thee for it, O my Love. Con- tinue, continue the aid which thou hast begun to give me. I hope to be henceforth thine, and entire- ly thine. And what greater pleasure can I enjoy, than that of pleasing thee, my Lord, who art so amiable, and who hast loved me so tenderly ? O my God, I ask only love, love, love; and 1 hope always to ask of thee love, love, until, dying in thy love, I reach the kingdom of love, where, without ever- more asking it, I shall be full of love, and never for 82 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. a single moment cease to love thee for all eternity, and with all ray strength. Mary, my mother, who lovest thy God so intensely, and who dost desire so vehemently to see him loved, obtain for me the grace to love him ardently in this life, that I may love him ardently forever in the next. NINTH CONSIDERATION PEACE OF THE JUST AT DEATH. " The souls of the just are in the hands of God, and the tor- ment of death shall not touch them. In the sight of the umvise they seemed to die ; but they are in peace.'* — Wis. iii. 1, &c. FIRST POINT. The souls of the just are in the hands of God, If God holds fast in his hands the souls of the just, who can snatch them from him? It is true that hell does not cease to tempt and attack even the saints at the hour of death ; but it is also true that God does not cease to assist, and to multiply helps to his faithful servants, whenever their danger is in- creased. *^ There,'' says St. Ambrose, ^' there is greater aid, where there is greater peril, because God is a helper in due time." — Ad Jos. c. v. The servant of Eliseus was struck with terror when he saw the city encompassed with enemies ; but the saint inspired him with courage, saying, '' Fear not ; for there are more with us than with them." — 4 Kings vi. 16. He then showed him an army of angels sent by God to defend the city. The devil shall come to tempt the dying Christian; but his angel-guardian shall come to strengthen him ; his PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 83 holy advocates shall come ; St. Michael, whom God has appointed to defend his faithful servants in their last combat with hell, shall come; the divine moth- er shall come to chase away the devils, and to pro- tect her servant ; above all, Jesus Christ shall come to guard against every temptation of hell the inno- cent or penitent sheep for whose salvation he has given his life. He will give her all the confidence and strength which she shall stand in need of in that last struggle with her enemies. Hence, full of courage, she shall say, '* The Lord became my helper.'^ — Ps. xxix. 11. '* The Lord is my light and my salvation ; whom shall I fear? " — Ps. xxvi. 1. God, says Origen, is more solicitous for our salvation, than the devil is for our perdition ; for the Lord loves our souls far more than the devil hates them. ** Major illi cura est, ut nos ad salutem per- trahat quam diabolo ut nos ad damnationem impel- lat." — Hom. XX. in lib. Num. God is faithful, says the apostle ; he does not per- mit us to be tempted above our strength. '' God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able.'^ — 1 Cor. x. 13. But you will say, " Many saints have died with great fear of being lost.'' I answer, *' We have but few exam- ples of persons who, after leading a holy life, died with fears of their eternal salvation." Belluacensis says that, to purify them at the hour of death from some defect, God sometimes permits holy souls to be disturbed by such fears. ** Justi quandoque dure moriendo purgantur in hocmundo.'' But generally the servants of God have died with a joyful counte- nance. At death the judgment of God excites fear in all ; but if sinners pass from terror to despair, the saints rise from fear to confidence. St. Anto- nine relates that, in a severe illness, St. Bernard 84 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. trembled through fear of judgment, and was tempted to diffidence. But thinking on the merits of Jesus Christ, he drove away all fear, saying to his Savior, Your wounds are my merits — ** Vulnera tua, merita mea." St. Hilarion also was seized with fear; but he said, ''Go forth, my soul; what do you fear? For near seventy years you have served Christ ; and are you now afraid of death?" As if he said, "My soiil, what do you fear? Have you not served a God who is faithful, and knows not how to abandon at death the Christian who has been faithful to him during life?" Father Joseph Scamacca, of the So- ciety of Jesus, being asked if in dying he felt confi- dence in God, said, ** Have I served Mahomet, that I should now doubt of the goodness of my God, or of his desire to save me ? " Should the thouorht of havincr offended God at some part of our life molest us at death, let us remem- ber that he has protested that he forgets the iniqui- ties of ail penitent sinners. *' If the wicked do penance, 1 will not remember all his iniqui- ties.'' — Ezek. xviii. 21, 22. But you may ask, ** How can I be secure of having received pardon from God?'' St. Basil asks the same question. " How can any one be certain that God has for- given his sins? " '* He can be certain of pardon," answers the saint, ** if he say, I have hated and ab- horred iniquity." — in Reg. inter, xii. He who de- tests sin, can rest secure of having obtained pardon from God. The heart of man cannot exist without loving some object; it must love creatures or God. If it loves not creatures, it loves God. And who are they that love God ? All who observe his com- mands. ** He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me." — John xiv 21. He, then, who dies in the observance of the PREPARATION FOR DEATH. bo commandments, dies in the love of God ; and he that loves, fears not. '^ Charity casteth out fear.*' — 1 John iv. 18. Affections and Prayers. Ah, my Jesus ! when shall the day arrive, on which I can say, ** My God, I can never lose thee " ? When shall I see thee face to face, and be secure oi loving thee with all my strength for eternity ? Ah, my Sovereign Good, my only Love, as long as I shall have life, I shall be in danger of offending thee and of losing thy grace. There has been an un- happy time when I did not love thee, but, on the contrary, despised thy love. I am sorry for it with my whole soul, and hope that thou hast already par- doned me. I now love thee with my whole heart, and desire to do all in my power to love and please thee. But I am still in danger of refusing thee my love, and of again turning my back upon thee. Ah, my Jesus, my life and my treasure, do not permit it. Should this misfortune ever happen to me, take me this moment out of life by the most cruel of deaths ; I am content to suffer such a death, and I entreat thee to send me such a death, sooner than permit me ever to cease to love thee. Eternal Father, for the love of Jesus Christ do not abandon me to so great an evil. Chastise me as thou wishest ; I de- serve and accept any chastisement thou dost please to inflict up(^ me ; but preserve me from the pun- ishment of seeing myself deprived of thy grace and of thy love. My Jesus, recommend me to thy Father. Mary, my mother, recommend me to thy Son ; obtain for me perseverance in his friendship, and the grace to love him ; and then do with me what thou pleasest. 8 86 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. SECOND POINT. " The souls of the just are in the hands of God, and the torment of death shall not touch them. In the sight of the unwise, they seemed to die; .... but they are in peace.'' — Wis. iii. 1, &c. In .the eyes of the unwise, the servants of God appear to die, as worldlings do, in sorrow and with reluctance. But God knows well how to console his children in their last moments ; and, even in the .midst of the pains of death, he infuses into their souls certain sweetnesses, as foretastes of paradise, which he will soon bestow upon them. As they who die in sin begin to experience on the bed of death certain foretastes of hell, certain remorses, terrors, and fits of despair, so, on the other hand, the saints, by the frequent acts of divine love which they then make, by their ardent desire and firm hope of soon possessing God, begin to feel that peace which they shall afterwards fully enjoy in heaven. To the saints death is not a punishment, but a reward. '* When he shall give sleep to his beloved, behold the inheritance of the Lord." — Ps. cxxvi. 2. The death of the Christian that loves God is called, not death, but sleep : thus he shall be able to say, ** In peace in the self-same I will sleep and I will rest." — Ps. iv. 9. Father Suares died with so much peace, that in his last moments he exclaimed, ** Non putabam tam dulce esse mori." I could never imagine that death would be so sweet. When Cardinal Baronius was advised by his physician not to fix his thoughts 80 much on death, he said, ** Perhaps you think I am afraid of death. I fear it not; but, on the contrary, I love it." In going to death for the faith ^ PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 87 the cardinal of Rochester, as Saunders relates, put on his best clothes, saying that he was going to a nuptial feast. Hence, at the sight of the scaffold, he threw away his staff, and said, ** Ite, pedes; parum a paradiso distamus." O my feet, walk fast ; we are not far from paradise. Before death he entoned the Te Deum^ to thank God for giving him the grace to die a martyr for the holy faith ; and, full of joy, he laid his head on the block. St. Francis of Assisium began to sing at the hour of death, and invited the brethren to join him. Brother Elias said to him, *' Father, at death we ought rather to weep than to sing." *' But," replied the saint, " I cannot abstain from singing; for I see that I shall soon go to enjoy my God." A young nun of the order of St. Teresa, in her last illness, said to her sisters in religion who stood round her bed bathed in tears, ** O God 1 why do you weep ? I go to enjoy my Jesus. If you love me, rejoice with me." — Dising. parol, i. § 6. Father Granada relates, that a certain sportsman found a solitary infected with leprosy, singing in his last agony. ^* How," said the sportsman, " can you sing in such a state? " ** Brother," replied the her- mit, " between me and God there is nothing but the wall of this body. I now see that my flesh is falling in pieces — that the prison shall soon be destroyed, and that I shall go to see my God. It is for this reason that I rejoice and sing." The desire of see- ing God made St. Ignatius the martyr say, that if the wild beasts should not take away his life, he would provoke them to devour him. " Ego vim faciam ut devorer." St. Catharine of Genoa could not bear to hear death called a misfortune. Hence she would say, *^ O beloved death, in what a mis- taken light are you viewed 1 Why do you not come 88 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. tome? I call on you night and day/' — Life of St. Catharine, cap. vii. St. Teresa desired death so vehemently that she regarded the continuation of life as death : hence she composed the cele- brated hymn, / die because I do not die. Such the light in which death appeared to the saints. Affections and Prayers. Ah ! my supr.eme Good, my God, if for the past I have not loved thee, I now turn to thee with my whole soul. I take leave of all creatures, and choose thee, my most amiable Lord, for the sole object of my love. Tell me what thou wishest from me : I will do all that thou desirest. I have of- fended thee enough : I wish to spend all the re- maining moments of life in pleasing thee. Give me grace to compensate by my love my past ingrati- tude, which has continued to this moment. I de- served to burn in the (ire of hell for so many years; thou hast sought after me, and hast drawn me to thyself Make me now burn with the fire of thy holy \o\Q. I love thee, O infinite Goodness ! Thou justly claime^rt all the affections of my heart; for thou hast loved me more than all others have loved me. Thou alone deservest my love; thee only do I wish to love. I desire to do every thing in my power to please thee. Do with me whatsoever thou vvishest. For me it is enough to love thee and to be loved by thee. Mary, my mother, assist me ; pray to Jesus for me. THIRD POINT. And how can he fear death who hopes to receive a kingly crown in •paradise? ** Non vereamur occidi," says St. Cyprian, ** quos constat quando PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 89 occidimur, coronari?'' How can he fear death who knows that by dying in the state of grace his body shall become immortal ? ^* This mortal must put on immortality/' — 1 Cor. xv. 53. He that loves God, and desires to see him, regards life as a punishment, and death as a source of joy. ** Pa- tienter vivit," says St. Augustine, ** delectabiliter moritur." And St. Thomas of Villanova says, that death, if it find a man sleeping, comes like a thief, robs him, kills him, and casts him into the pit of hell. But if it find him watching, it comes as an ambassador from God, and salutes him, saying, The Lord expects you to the nuptial feast : come, I will conduct you to the happy kingdom for which you sigh. *' Te Dominus ad nuptias vocat : veni, ducam te quo desideras." O, with joy does he expect death who finds himself in the grace of God, and hopes soon to see Jesus Christ, and to hear from him these consoling words: ** Well done, good and faithful servant; because thou hast been faithful over a few things, 1 will place thee over many." — Matt. xxv. 2i. O, what consolation shall he then receive from his works of penance, his prayers, his detachment from earthly goods, and from all he has done for God ! *' Say to the 'just man, that it is well ; for he shall eat the fruit of his doings." — Isa. iii. 10. Then he who has loved God shall taste the fruit of all his holy^ works. Hence, in hearing that a religious, his fiiend, died in sentiments of fervent piety, Father Hyppolitus Durazzo, of the Society of Jesus, wept not, but exulted with joy and gl id aess. " But," says St. John Chrysostom, '' would it not be most unre iscnable to believe that heaven is eternal, and to pity those who go to that kingdom of de- lights ? " *' Fateri coelum, et eos, qui hinc eo com- 8* 90 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. mearurit luctu prosequi?" — Ad viduam. What special consolation shall the just man receive at the hour of death from the devotions performed in honor of the mother of God, from the rosaries he had recited, from his visits to her image, from his fasts on Saturdays, from his frequent attendance at her congregation ! Mary is called the faithful Vir- gin. O, how great is her fidelity in consoling her faithful servants at the hour of death ! A certain votary of the most holy Virgin said, in his last mo- ments, to Fathet Benetti, '' Father, you cannot conceive the consolation w^hich the thought of hav- ing served Mary infuses at the hour of death. O my father, if you knew the happiness I feel on ac- count of having served this mother ! I am not able to express it." How great shall be the joy of him who has loved Jesus Christ — who has often visited him in the most adorable sacrament, and has often received him in the holy communion, — when he shall see his Lord entering his room in the most holy viaticum, and coming to accompany him in his passage to eternity! Happy he who shall then be able, with St. Philip Neri, to say to his Savior, " Behold mv love ! Behold my love! Give me my love." But you will, perhaps, say, '* Who knows what shall be my lot ? Who knows but I shall die an unhappy death?" Of you, v/ho speak in this man- ner, I ask what it is that causes a bad death. Nothing but sin. We should then fear sin only, and not death. *' Liquet," says St. Ambrose, *' acerbitatem non mortis esse, sed culpae : non ad mortem metus referendus, sed ad vitam." — De Bona Mort. c. viii. If, then, you desire not to fear death, lead a holy life. *' With him that feareth the Lord, it shall go well in the latter end." — - Eccl. i. 13. PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 91 Father Colombiere held it to be morally impos* sible that the man who has been faithful to God during life should die a bad death. And before him St. Augustine said, *' He who has lived well can- not die badly. He who is prepared to die fears no death, however sudden." '' The just man, if he be prevented with death, shall be in rest.'^ — Wis, iv. 7. Since we cannot go to enjoy God without passing through death, St. John Chrysostom ex- horts us to offer to God what w^e are obliged to give him. ** Offeramus Deo quod tenemur reddere." And let us be persuaded that they who offer their death to God, make the most perfect act of divine love which it is in their power to perform ; because, by cheerfully embracing that species of death which God is pleased to send, and at the time, and in the manner in which God sends it, they render them- selves like the holy martyrs. He who loves God should desire and sigh after death ; because it unites him forever with God, and delivers him from the danger of losing God. He who does not desire to see God speedily, and to be secured against the possibility of ever losing God, shows that he has but little love for God. Let us, during life, love him to the utmost of our power. We should make use of life only to advance in divine love ; the measure of our love of God at death shall be the measure of our love for him in a happy eternity. Affections and Prayers. My Jesus, bind me to thyself, so that I may never more be separated from thee. Make me entirely thine before I die, that I may see thee appeased, O my Redeemer, the first time I shall behold thee. Thou soughtest after me when I fled away from thee ; ah ! do not cast me off, now that I seek after thee. 92 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. Pardon me all the offences I have given thee. From this day I will thinly only of serving and loving thee. Thou hast laid me under too many obligations ; thou hast not refused to give thy blood and thy life for the love of me. I would wish to be entirely con- sumed for the love of thee. O God of my soul, I wish to love thee ardently in this life, that I may love thee ardently in the next. Eternal Father, draw my whole heart to thee ; detach it from earthly affections; wound and inflame my whole soul with thy holy love. Through the mer-ts of Jesus Christ, hear my prayers. Give me holy perseverance, and grant me the grace always to ask it of thee. Mary, my mother, assist me, and obtain for me the grace to ask unceasingly of thy Son the gift of holy per- severance. TENTH CONSIDERATION. MEANS OF PREPARING FOR DEATH. " Remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin." — Eccl. vii. 40. FIRST POINT. All confess that they shall die, and die only once, and that nothing is of greater importance than tc die well ; because on death depends whether we* shall be forever in bliss or forever in despair. All know that their dying well or ill depends on their leading a good or a bad life. How, then, does it happen that the greater part of Christians live as if they were never to die, or as if to die well or ill was of little moment? They live in sin because they do PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 93 not think of death. *' Remember thy last end, and ihou shalt never sin." — Eccl. vii. 40. We must be persuaded that the hour of death is not fit for set tling the accounts of the soul, and securing the great affliir of eternal salvation. In worldly mat- ters, prudent men take measures in due time to se- cure temporal gain — to obtain a situation of emol- ument. To preserve or restore bodily health, the necessary remedies are not deferred a single mo- ment. What would you say of the man who should put off his preparation for a trial on which his life depended, till the day of trial arrived? Would you not stigmatize as a fool the general who should not begin to lay in a supply of provisions and arms, till the city is besieged ? Would it not be folly in a pilot to neglect till the time of the tempest to pro- vide the vessel with an anchor and a helm? Such precisely is the folly of the Christian who neglects to trauquillize his conscience till death arrives. *' When sudden calamity shall fall on you, and de- struction, as a tempest, then shall they call upon me, and I will not hear Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way." — Prov. i. 27, &c. The time of death is a time of storm and confusion. At that awful hour, sinners call on God for assist- ance ; but they invoke his aid through the fear of hell, Vv'hich they see at hand, and not with true con- trition of heart. It is for this reason that God is deaf to their cry ; it is for this reason also that they shall then taste the fruit of their wicked life. What they have sown they shall reap. *'For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap." — Gal. vi. 8. Ah 1 it will not then be enough to receive the sacraments ; it is necessary at death to hate sin, and to love God above all things. But how can he, then, hate forbidden pleasures, who has loved them 94 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. till that moment ? How can he love God above all things, who has till then loved creatures more than he loved God ? The Lord called the virgins foolish, who wished to prepare their lamps when the spouse came. All have a horror of a sudden death, because there is no time to settle the accounts of conscience. All confess that the saints have been truly wise, be- cause they prepared for death during life. And what are we doing ? V/ill we expose ourselves to the danger of preparing for death when it shall have arrived? We ought to do at present what we shall then wish to have done. O, what pain shall then arise from the remembrance of time lost, and still more from the remembrance of time spent in sin! — time given by God, to merit eternal life; but now past, and never to return ! What anguish shall the sinner feel when he shall be told, ^^ You can be steward no longer ! There is no more time for doing penance, for frequenting the sacraments, for hearing sermons, for visiting Jesus Christ in the holy sacrament, or for prayer. What is done is done. To make a good confession, to remove sev- eral grievous scruples, and thus tranquillize the con- science, would require a better state of mind, and time more free from confusion and agitation. * But time shall be no longer.'" — Apoc. x. 6. Affections and Prayers. Ah, my God, had I died on the nights known to thee, where should I be at present? I thank thee for having waited for me ; I thank thee for all those moments which I should have spent in hell from the first moment that I offended thee. Ah! give me light, and make me sensible of the great evil I have done thee in voluntarily losing thy grace, which PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 95 thou didst merit for me by the sacrifice of thy life on the cross. Ah ! rny Jesus, pardon me ; I am sor- ry from the bottom of my heart, and above all things, for having despised thee, who art infinite goodness. Ah ! assist me, O my Savior, that I may never lose thee again. Alas ! my Lord, if I return again to sin, after so many lights and graces which thou hast bestowed upon me, I should deserve a hell to be made on purpose for myself. Through the merits of that blood which thou hast shed for my sake, do not permit me ever more to offend thee. Give me holy perseverance, give me thy love. I love thee, and I will never cease to love thee till death. My God, have mercy on me for the love of Jesus Christ* O Mary, my hope, do thou have pity on me ; rec- ommend me to God ; thy recommendations are never rejected by that God who loves thee so tenderly. SECOND POINT. Brother, since it is certain that you shall die, go as soon as possible to the foot of the crucifix ; thank your crucified Redeemer for the time which in his mercy he gives you to tranquillize your conscience; and then take a review of all the irregularities of your past life, particularly of your youth. Give a glance at the commandments of God ; examine yourself on the duties of the state of life in which you have lived, and on the society you have frequent- ed ; mark down in writing the sins you have com- mitted ; make a general confession of your whole life, if you have not as yet made one. O, how much does a general confession contribute to regu- larity of life in a Christian ! Consider that you have to settle accounts for eternity ; and take care to adjust them as if you were on the point of reii- 96 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. derinor these accounts to Jesus Christ at iudorment. Banish from your heart every sinful affection, and every sentiment of rancor ; remove every ground of scruple on account of the injury done to the prop- erty or character of others, or of scandal to your neighbor ; and resolve to fly from all those occasions in which you should be in danger of losing God. Remember that what nov/ seems difficult, shall ap- pear impossible at the hour of death. It is still more important for you to resolve to practise the means of preserving your soul in the grace of God. These means are, — hearing mass every day, the meditation of the eternal truths, the frequentation of the sacraments of penance and eucharist at least every eight days, the visit every day to the most holy sacrament, and to an image of the divine mother, attendance at her congregation, spiritual reading, examen of conscience every even- ing, some special devotion to most holy Mary, along with fasting every Saturday in her honor. Above all, resolve to recommend yourself frequently to God and to the Blessed Virgin, and frequently to invoke, in the time of temptations, the sacred names of Jesus and Mary. These are the names by which you shall be able to secure a happy death, and to obtain eternal life. The practice of these means shall be for you a great sign of your predestination. And as to the past, trust in the blood of Jesus Christ, who now gives you these lights, because he desires your sal- vation ; and trust in the intercession of Mary, who obtains these lights for you. O, if you adopt this mode of life, and place great confidence in Jesus and Mary, what aid shall you receive from God, and what strength shall your soul acquire 1 Dearly be- loved reader, give yourself then instantly to God, PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 97 who invites you, and begin to enjoy that peace of which you have been hitherto deprived through your own fault. And what greater peace can a soul enjoy, than to be able to say, in going to rest at night, *^ Should death come this night, I hope to die in the grace of God " ! How happy the man who, amid the terrors of thunder or of earthquakes, is prepared to accept death with resignation, should God be pleased to send it ! Affections and Prayers. Ah, my Lord ! with what fervor do I thank thee for the light which thou givest me ! I have so often abandoned thee and turned my back upon thee; but thou hast not abandoned me. Hadst thou aban- doned me, I should now be blind, as I have hitherto wished to be ; I should be obstinate in my sins, and should not have the desire either to renounce sin or to love thee. I now feel a great sorrow for having offended thee, a great desire to be in the state of grace. I feel a hatred of these accursed delights which have made me lose thy friendship. These sentiments are all graces which come from thee, and make me hope that thou wilt pardon and save me. Since, then, after all my sins, thou hast not aban- doned me — since thou now wishest to save me — behold, O Lord, I give myself entirely to thee. I am sorry, above all things, for having offended thee ; and I purpose to lose life a thousand times, rather than forfeit thy grace. I love thee, O my Sover- eign Good; I love thee, O my Jesus, who hast died for me ; and I hope in thy blood, that thou wilt not permit me to be ever again separated from thee. O my Jesus, I will never more lose thee. I wish to love thee always during life. I wish to love thee at death. 1 wish to love thee for all eternity. Pre- 9 98 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. serve me, then, O Lord, at all times, and increase my love for thee. This favor I ask thfougli thy merits. Mary, my hope, pray to Jesus for me. THIRD POINT. It is also necessary to endeavor to be at all times in the state in which we desire to be at death. '^ Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord." — \poc. xiv. 13. St. Ambrose says, that they die well who, at the hour of death, are found dead to the world ; that is, detached from the goods from which death shall separate us by force. We ought, then, from this moment, to accept the spoliation of our goods, and the separation from relatives and from every thing in this world. Unless we do it voluntarily during life, we shall have to do it through necessity at death, but with extreme pain and great danger of eternal perdition. Hence St. Augustine says, that to settle during life all temporal matters, and to dispose, by will, of all the goods we shall have to bequeath, contribute greatly to a tranquil death ; because, when all worldly affairs are already adjusted, the soul may be entirely occupied in unit- ing herself with God. At that hour, we should think and speak only of God and of paradise. These last moments are too precious to be squan- dered in earthly thoughts. At death is completed the crown of the elect ; for it is then, perhaps, that they reap the greatest harvest of merits, by embracing, with resignation and love, death and all its pains. But the Christian who has not been in the habit of excitinor these sentiments during^ life, shall not have them at the hour of death. Hence, some de- vout souls, with great spiritual profit to themselves, are accustomed to renew, every month, after being PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 99 at confession and communion, the protestation of death along with the Christian acts, imagining themselves at the point of death, and to be near their departure from this world.* Unless thou dost this during life, thou shalt find it very difficult to do it at death. In her last illness, that great ser- vant of God, Sister Catharine of St. Albertus, of the order of St. Teresa, sent forth a sigh, and said, '* Sisters, I do' not sigh for fear of death, for I have lived for twenty-five years in expectation of it ; but I sigh at the sight of so many deluded Christians, who spend their life in sin, and reduce themselves to the necessity of making peace with God at death, when I can scarcely pronounce the name of Jesus.'' Examine, then, O my brother, if you are now at- tached to any thing on this earth, to any person, to any honor, to your house, your money, to conver- sations or amusements; and reflect that you are not immortal. You must one day, and perhaps very soon, take leave of them all. Why, then, do you cherish any attachment to them, agd thus expose yourself to the risk of an unhappy death ? Offer, from this moment, all to God ; tell him you are ready to give up all things whenever he pleases to deprive you of them. If you wish to die with res- ignation, you must from this moment resign your- self to all the contradictions' and adversities which may happen to you, and musv divest yourself of all affections to earthly things. Imagine yourself on the bed of death, and you shall despise all things in this world. " He,'' says Jerome, *^ who always thinks that he is to die, easily despises all things.'* * In a little book, entitled " Visits to the Most Holy Sacra- ment," is found this protestation, containing the Christian acts preparatory to death. It is short, and may be read in a few minutes. This protestation is inserted at the end of this volume. 100 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. If you have not as yet chosen a state of life, make choice of that state of life which you shall at death wish to have selected, and which shall make you die with greater peace. If you have already made choice of a state of life, do now what you shall at death wish to have done in that state. Spend every day as if it were the last of your life; and perform every action, every exercise of prayer, make every confession and communion, as if they were the last of your life. Imagine yourself every hour at the point of death, stretched on a bed, and that you hear that ** Prqficiscere de hoc mundo" which announces your departure from this world. O, how powerfully shall this thought assist you to walk in the way of God, and to detach your heart from this earth ! ** Blessed is that servant whom, when his Lord shall come, he shall find him so doing." — Matt. xxiv. 46. He who expects death every hour, shall die well, though death should come suddenly upon him. A/fECTIONS AND PrAYERS. Every Christian ought to be prepared to say at the moment the news of death shall be announced to him, *' Then, my God, only a few hours remain • during the short remainder of the present life, I wish to love thee to the utmost of my power, that I may love thee more perfectly in heaven. But little re- mains for me to offer to thee. I offer thee these pains, and the sacrifice of my life in union with the sacri- fice which Jesus Christ offered for me on the cross. Lord, the pains which I suffer are few and light, compared with what I have deserved : such as they are, I embrace them as a mark of the love which 1 bear thee. Provided I am to love thee for eternity, I resign myself to all the punishments which thou PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 101 wishest to send me in this or the next life. Chas- tise me as much as thou pleasest, but do not de- prive me of thy love. I know that, on account of having so often despised thy love, I deserved never more to love thee ; but thou canst not reject a peni- tent soul. I am sorry, O Sovereign Good, for hav- ing offended thee. I love thee with my whole heart, and place all ray trust in thee. Thy death, O my Redeemer, is my hope. To thy wounded hands I recommend my soul. **Into thy hands I commend my spirit : thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth." — Ps. xxx. 6. O my Jesus, thou hast given thy blood for my salvation : do not suffer me to be separated from thee. I love thee, O eternal God, and hope to love thee for eter- nity. Mary, my mother, assisf me at the awful mo- ment of death. To thee I now consign my spirit ; to thee I recommend myself. Deliver me from hell. t ELEVENTH CONSIDERATION. ] VALUE OF TIME. "Son, observe the time." — Eccl. iv. 23. FIRST POINT. " Son," says the Holy Ghost, ** be careful to pre- serve time, which is the greatest and the most pre- cious gift which God can bestow upon you in this life.'* The very pagans knew the value of time. Seneca said that no price is an equivalent for it ** Nullum temporis pretium." But the saints have understood its value still better. According to St 102 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. Bernardine of Sienna, a moment of time is of as much value as God ; because in each moment a man can by acts of contrition or of love, acquire the grace of God and eternal glory. '^ Modico tempore potest homo lucrari gratiam et gloriam. Tempus tantum valet, quantum Deus : quippe in tempore bene consumpto comparatur Deus.'' — Fer. quarta post Dom. I. quad., cap. iv. Time is a treasure which is found only in this life; it is not found in the next, either in hell or in heaven. In hell the damned exclaim with tears, ** O that an hour was given to us ! " They would pay any price for an hour of time, in which they might repair their ruin ; but this hour they shall never have. In heaven there is no wailing; but, were the saints capable of weeping, all their tears should arise from the thought of having lost the time in which they could have acquired greater glory, and from the conviction that this time shall never again be given to them. A deceased Benedictine nun appeared in glgry to a certain person, and said that she was perfectly happy ; but that, if she could de- sire any thing, it would be to return to life, and to suffer pains and privations in order to merit an in- crease of glory. She added that, for the glory which corresponds to a single Ave Maria, she would be content to endure till the day of judgment the painful illness which caused her death. My brother, how do you spend your time? Why do you always defer till to-morrow what you can do to-day ? Remember that the time which is past is no longer yours; the future is not under your control ; you have only the present for the perform- ance of good works. *' Why, O miserable man,** says St. Bernard, " do you presume on the future, as if the Father had placed time in your power ? " — PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 103 Serm. xxxviii. de Part, ^c. St. Augustine asks, *' Diem tenes qui horam non tenes ? " How can you, who are not sure of an hour, promise yourself to-morrow? '*If, then," says St. Teresa, " you are not prepared for death to-day, tremble lest you die an unhappy death.'' Affections and Prayers. r" O my God, I thank thee for the time which thou givest me to repair the disorders of my past life.- Were I to die at this moment, the remembrance of the time I have lost should be one of my greatest torments. Ah, my Lord, thou hast given me time to love thee, and I have spent it in offending thee. I deserve to be sent to hell from the first moment in which I turned my back upon thee ; but thou hast called me to repentance, and hast pardoned me. I promised to offend thee no more ; but how often have I returned to sin ! How often hast thou pardoned my ungrateful relapses ! Blessed forever be thy mercy. If it were not infinite, how couldst- thou have had so much patience with me? Who could have borne with me so long? O, how sorry do I feel for having offended so good a God ! My Savior, the patience alone with which thou waitest for me ought to enamor me of thee. Ah ! do not suffer me to live any longer ungrateful to the love thou hast had for me. Detach me from every crea- ture, and draw me entirely to thyself O my God, I will no longer dissipate the time thou givest me to repair the evil that I have done ; I will spend it* all in serving and loving thee. Give me holy per- severance. I love thee, O Infinite Goodness, and hope to love thee for eternity. I thank thee, O Mary; by thy advocacy thou hast obtained for me this time which is given to me. Assist me now, and 104 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. ebtain for me the grace to spend it all in loving thy Son, my Redeemer, and in loving thee, my queen and my mother. S.ECOND POINT. There is nothing more precious than time ; but there is nothing less esteemed and more despised by men of the world. St. Bernardine weeps over their blindness. ** Nihil," he says, ** pretiosiua tempore, sed nihil vilius aestimatur Trans* eunt dies salutis, et nemo recogitat sibi perire diem, et numquam rediturum.** — Serm. ad Schol. You will see a gamester spend nights and days in play. If you ask him what he is doing, his answer is, ** I am passing the time." You shall see others standing several hours in the street, looking at those who pass by, and speaking on obscene or on useless subjects. If you ask them what they are doing, they will say, ** We are passing the time." Poor, blind sinners ! who lose so many days ; but days which never return. O time despised during life ! you shall be ar-» dently desired by worldlings at the hour of death. They shall then wish for another year, another month, another day ; but they shall not obtain it : they shall then be told ** that time shall be no long- er." — Apoc. X. 6. How much would they then pay for another week, or another day, to settle the accounts of conscience ! To obtam a single hour, they would, says St. Lawrence Justinian, give all their wealth and worldly possessions. Erogaret opes, honores, delicias pro una horula." — De Vita Sol., cap. x. But this hour shall not be given. The assisting priest shall say to the dying sinner, Hasten, hasten your departure from this PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 105 world; for your time is no more. ^^ Prqficiscere^ anima Christiana^ de hoc rmindoJ^ The prophet exhorts us to remember God, and to procure his friendship, before the light fails. *' Remember thy Creator .... before the sun and \he light be darkened." — Eccl. xii. 1. How great ihe distress and misery of a traveller who, when the night has come, perceives that he has missed \he way, and that there is no time to correct the mistake ! Such at death shall be the anguish of the Christian who has lived many years in the world, and has not spent them for God. ** The night Cometh, when no man can work." — John ix. 4. For him, death shall be the night in which he shall be able to do nothing. " He hath called against me the time." — Lamen. i. 15. Conscience shall then remind the worldling of all the time which God gave him, and which he has spent in the de- struction of his soul ; of all the calls and graces which he has received from God for his sanctifica- tion, and which he has voluntarily abused. The sinner shall then see that the way of salvation is closed forever. Hence he shall weep, and say, " O fool that I have been! O time lost! O life mis- spent ! O lost years, in which I could have, but have not, become a saint ! And now the time of salva- tion is gone forever." But of what use are these sighs and lamentations, when the scene is about to close, the lamp on the point of being extinguished, and when the dying sinner has reached that awful moment on which eternity depends 1 Affections and Prayers. Ah, my Jesus, thou hast spent thy whole life for the salvation of my soul. There has not been a single moment of thy life, in which thou hast not 106 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. offered thyself to the eternal Father to obtain for me pardon and eternal glory. I have been so many years in the world, and how many of them have I hitherto spent for thee ? Ah ! all that I remember to have done produces remorse of conscience. The evil has been great — the good very little ; and all full of imperfections and tepidity, of self- love and distractions. Ah! my Redeemer, all this has arisen from my forgetfulness of what thou hast done for me. I have forgotten thee, but thou hast not forgotten me ; when I fled from thee, thou hast followed me, and called me so often to thy love. Behold me, O Jesus ; I will resist no longer. Will I wait till thou dost abandon me? I am sorry, O Sovereign Good, for having separated myself from thee by sin. I love thee, O Infinite Goodness, worthy of infinite love. Ah ! do not permit me ever again to lose this time, which thou in thy mercy givest me. Ah! remind me always, O my beloved Savior, of the love thou hast borne me, and of the pains thou hast endured for me. Make me forget all things, that, during the remainder of my life, I may think only of loving and pleasing thee. I love thee, my. Jesus, my love, my all. I promise, whenever thou dost remind me, to make acts of love. Give me holy perseverance. I place all my confidence in the merits of thy blood. I also trust in thy intercession, O my dear mother, Mary. THIRD POINT. " Walh whilst you have lights — John xii. 35. We must walk in the way of the Lord during life, now that we have light ; ior at the hour of death this light is taken away. Death is not the time for preparing, but for finding ourselves prepared. Bi PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 107 ye ready. At the hour of death, we can do noth- ing ; what is then done, is done. O God ! were a person told that in a short time a trial should take place, on which would depend his life and his en- tire property, with what haste would he seek an able advocate ! How little time would he lose in adopting every means of securing a favorable re- sult ! And what are we doing ? We know for certain that the most important of all causes — the affair of eternal salvation — shall be soon decided ; the decision may take place every hour, and still we lose time. Some may say, *^ I am young ; I will hereafter give myself to God." But remember that, as the gospel remarks, the Lord cursed the fig-tree the first time he found it without fruit, although the season for figs had not arrived. '* For it was not the time for figs." — Mark xi. 13. By this Jesus Christ wished to signify that men should at all times, even in youth, bring forth fruits of good works ; otherwise, they shall be accursed, and shall never more bring forth fruit. *^ May no man hereafter eat fruit of thee any more forever." — ver. 14. Such the maledic- tion of the Redeemer on the fruitless fig-tree; such his malediction against all who resist his calls. Satan regards the whole time of our life as short, and, therefore, in tempting us, he loses not a mo- ment. " The devil is come down unto you, hav- ing great wrath, knowing that he hath but a short time." — Apoc. xii, 12. Then, the devil loses no time in seeking our perdition ; and shall we lose the time given to us to secure our salvation ? Some will say, ** What evil am I doing ? " O God, is it not an evil to lose time in gaming, in use- less conversations, which are unprofitable to the soul 108 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. Does God give you time that you may squander it away? No; the Holy Ghost says, ** Defraud not thyself of the good day, and let not the part of a good gift overpass thee." — Eccl. xiv. 14. The workmen mentioned by St. Matthew, though they did no evil, but only lost time, were rebuked by the master of the vineyard. ** Why stand you here all the day idle?'' — Matt. xx. 6. On the day of judgment, Jesus Christ will demand an account of every idle word. All time which is not spent for God is lost time. Believe, says St. Bernard, that you have lost all the time in which you have not thought of God. ** Omne tempus quo de Deo non cogitasti, cogita te perdidisse." — Coll. 1, cap. viii. Hence the Holy Ghost says, ** What- soever thy hand is able to do, do it earnestly ; for neither work nor reason shall be in hell, whither thou art hastening." — Eccl. ix. 10. The Vener- able Sister Jane, of the most holy Trinity, of the order of St. Teresa, used to say that in the lives of the saints there is no to-morrow. To-morrow is found in the life of sinners, who always say, ** Hereafter, hereafter ; '' and in this state they con- tinue till death. ** Behold, now is the acceptable time." — 2 Cor. vi. 2. ** To-day, if you shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts." — Ps. xciv. 8. If God call you to-day to do good, do it; for to- morrow it may happen that for you time shall be no more, or that God shall call you no more. If you have hitherto spent the time in offending God, endeavor, like King Ezechias, to weep, during the remainder of your life, over your misspent years. "I will recount to thee all my years in the bitterness of my soul." — Isa. xxxviii. 15. God spares your life that you may repair the time you have lost. " Redeeming the time, for the days are PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 109 evil." — Eph. V. 16. In explaining this passage, St. Anselin says, **You shall redeem the time, if you do wha^t you have neglected to do.'' Of St. Paul, St. Jerome says that, though the last of the apostles, he was, on account of his great labors after his vocation, the first in merits. ** Paulus novissimus in ordine, primus in meritis, quia plus omnibus laboravit." Let us reflect that in each moment of time we may acquire new treasures of eternal riches. Were all the land round which you could walk, or all the money which you could count in a day, promised to you, would you not hasten to walk over the ground, or to reckon the money ? In each moment you can acquire eternal treasures : will you, notwithstanding, squander away your time? Say not that what you can do to-day, you shall be able to do to-morrow ; for this day shall then be lost, and shall never return. When his companions spoke of the world, St. Francis Borgia conversed with God by holy affec- tions ; and so recollected was he, that, when asked his opinion on the subject of conversation, he knew not what to answer. Being corrected for this, he said, *' Malo rudis vocari, quam temporis jacturam pati." I would rather be considered stupid and unlearned, than lose time. Affections and Prayers. No, my God, I will no longer lose the time w^hich thou in thy mercy givest me. I should at this hour be in hell weeping without fruit. I thank thee for having preserved my life ; I wish, during the remain- der of my days, to live only for thee. Were I now in hell, I should weep in despair and without profit; I will now bewail the offences I have offered to thee ; and if I weep over them, I know for certain 10 110 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. that thou wilt pardon me. Of this the prophet as- sures me : " Weeping, thou shalt not weep ; he will surely have pity on thee." — Is. xxx. 19. Were I in hell, I could never more love thee ; and now I love thee, and hope always to love thee. Were I in hell, I could ask no more graces; but now I hear thee say, ** Ask and you shall receive.^' Since, then, I still have time to ask thy graces-, O God of my soul, I ask two graces: — give me persever- ance in thy grace ; give me thy love ; and then do with me what thou pleasest. Grant that in all the remaining moments of my life I may always recommend myself to thee, saying, ** Lord, assist me : have mercy on me ; grant that I may never more offend thee ; make me love thee.*' Most holy Mary, my mother, obtain for me the grace always to recommend myself to God, and to ask him for perseverance and for his holy love. TWELFTH CONSIDERATION. ON THE IMPORTANCE OF SALVATION. ** But we entreat you, bretliren, . . * . that you do your owa business.'* — 1 Thess. iv. 10, 11. FIRST POINT. The business of eternal salvation is to us the most important of all business ; but it is also the most neglected by Christians. They are diligent, and lose no time in seeking to gain a lawsuit or a situation of emolument. How many measures taken to attain these objects I How many means adopted ! They neither eat nor sleep. And what PREPARATION FOR DEATH. Ill efforts do they make to secure their eternal salva- tion ? How do they live ? To save their souls, the greater number of Christians do nothing ; on the contrary, they do every thing to bring their souls to perdition j they live as if death, judgment, hell, heaven, and eternity^ were not truths of faith, but fables invented by the poets. If a person lose a lawsuit, or a harvest crop, how great is his pain and distress of mind ! With what zeal does he labor to repair the loss ! If worldlings lose a horse, or a dog, with what diligence do they seek after it! But if they lose the grace of God, they sleep, and jest, and laugh. All blush at being told that they neglect their worldly affairs; but how ^ew are ashamed to neglect the business of eternity, which is the most important of all business. The world- ling says that the saints were truly wise, because they sought only the salvation of their souls ; and still he attends to all worldly business, but utterly neglects the concerns of the soul. Brethren, says St. Paul, let the great business of your eternal sal- vation be the sole object of all your care. This is to you the most important of all affairs. " Roga- mus vos, ut vestrum negotium agatis." Let us then be persuaded that eternal salvation is for us the most important business — the only business — and that, if once neglected, it is an irreparable business. It is the most important business; because, if the soul be lost, all is lost. We ought to set a higher value on the soul than all the goods of the earth. '* The soul,'* says St. Chrysostom, ** is more precious than the whole world ! " To be convinced of this truth, it is enough to know that God himself has condemned his Son to death in order to save our souls. "For God so loved 112 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. the world, as to give his only-begotten Son." — Joan. iii. 16. The Eternal Word has not refused to purchase them with his own blood. "You are bought with a great price." — 1 Cor. vi. 20. Hence a holy father says, that man appears to be of as much value as God. *^Tam pretioso munere hu- mana redemptio agitur, ut homo Deum valere vide- atur.'* Hence Jesus Christ has asked, *^ What ex- change shall a man give for his soul V — Matt. xvi. 26. If, then, such is the value of the soul, for what earthly good shall a man exchange and lose it ? St. Philip Neri had just reason to say that he who does not attend to the salvation of his soul, is a fool. Were there on this earth two classes of men, one mortal and the other immortal, and were the former to see the latter seeking after the things of this world, its honors, goods, and amusements, they should certainly exclaim, ** O fools that you are ! you have it in your power to acquire eter- nal riches ; and do you fix your thoughts on those miserable and transitory things? Will you, for these, condemn yourselves to an eternity of tor- ments in the next life? Leave us, for whom all shall end at death, to seek after these earthly goods." But no; we are all immortal. How, then, does it happen that so many lose their souls for the miserable pleasures of this life? How does it come to pass, says Salvian, that Christians believe in judgment, hell, and eternity, and still live as if they feared them not ? *' Quid causae est quod Christianus, si futura credit, futura non timeat?" Affections and Prayers. Ah, my God ! how have I spent so many years, which thou hast given me in order to secure my eternal salvation? Thou, my Redeemer, hast PREPARATION FOR DEATH. IIS purchased my soul with thy blood, and hast con- signed it to me that I might attend to its salvation ;, and I have labored only for its perdition by offend- ing thee, who hast loved me so tenderly. I thank thee for giving me time to be able to repair the great loss which I have suffered. I have lost my soul and thy grace. Lord, I am sorry with my whole heart for my past offences, and I resolve, henceforth, to lose every thing, even my life, rather than forfeit thy friendship. I love thee above all things, and I resolve always to love thee, my Sover- eign Good, who art worthy of infinite love. Assist me, my Jesus, that this purpose may not be like my past resolutions, to which I have been always unfaithful. Take me out of life rather than suffer me ever again to offend thee, or ever to cease to love thee. O Mary, my hope after Jesus, save me by obtaining for me holy perseverance. SECOND POINT. The business of eternal salvation is not only the most important, bttt it is the only business to which we have to attend in this life. *'Porro unum est necessarium.'^ One thing is necessary. St. Ber- nard weeps over the blindness of Christians, who call the occupations of children trifles, and their own employments business. ^^Nugae puerorum, nugas vocantur : nugse majorum, negotia vocantur." If the amusements of children be trifles, the avoca- tions of men are still greater follies. What, says the Redeemer, will it profit us to gain the whole world if we lose our souls? ** What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own jjoul!" — Matt. xvi. 26. My brother, if you save /our soul, it will do you no harm to have lived 10* 114 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. here in poverty, afflictions, and contempt; for then you shall have no more sorrows, and you siiaJl be happy for all eternity. But if you lose your soul, what will it profit you, in hell, to have indulged in all the amusements of the world, and to have en- joyed its riches and honors ? If the soul be lost, amusements, riches, and honors, are lost — all is lost. What answer shall you give on the day of ac- counts ? Were a king to send an ambassador to a city to transact some important business, and w^ere *the legate, instead of attending to the charge in- trusted to him, to spend all his time in banquets, comedies, and festivities, and thus injure the rights of his master, what account would the sovereign demand of him at his return? But, O God ! how strict must be the account which the Lord shall exact of him who, after being placed in this world, not to indulge in amusements, nor to acquire wealth and dignity, but to save his soul, shall have attend- ed to every thing except his own salvation? Worldlings think of the present, but not of the fu- ture. St. Philip Nerij conversing one day in Rome with Francis Zazzera, a young man of talent, who was attached to the world, said to him, " You shall realize a great fortune; you shall be a prelate, afterwards, perhaps, a cardinal, and, perhaps, even pope. But what must follow? what must follow? Go," said the saint, ** and meditate on these last words." Francis went home, and, after reflecting on the words. What must follow ? w^hat must fol- low ? he abandoned his secular pursuits, left the world, entered into the congregation of St. Philip, and began to attend only to God. It is our only business, because we have but one sou!. A prince asked, through his ambassador, a PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 115 favor of Benedict the Twelfth, which could not be granted without sin. In answer, the pope said, " Tell the prince that if I had two souls, I might, perhaps, lose one of them for him, and reserve the other to myself; but, since I have but one, 1 can- not and will not lose it." St. Francis Xavier used to say that there is but one good and one evil in the world ; the former consists in the salvation of the soul ; the latter in her damnation. St. Teresa used frequently to say to her nuns, ''One soul, one eternity." As if she said, " One soul ; if this be lost, all is lost: one eternity; the soul, if lost once, is lost forever." Hence David said, '' One thing have I asked of the Lord ; this I will seek after, that 1 may dwell in the house of the Lord." — Ps. xxvi. 4. Lord, I ask but one favor — save my soul, and I ask nothing else. " With fear and trembling work out your salva* tion." — Phil. ii. 12. He that does not fear and tremble for his salvation shall not be saved. To save the soul, it is necessary to labor, and to do vi- olence to nature. /' The kingdom of heaven suffer- eth violence, and the violent bear it away." — Matt xi. 12. To obtain eternal glory, our life must be found at death conformable to the life of Jesus Christ. ** Praedestinavit conformes fieri imaginis Filii sui." — Rom. viii. 29. Hence we must be careful, on the one hand, to avoid the occasions of sin ; and, on the other, to adopt the means neces- sary for the attainment of eternal life. *' Regnum non dabitur vagantibus," says St. Bernard, '* sed pro servitio digne laborantibus." All would wish to be saved without trouble. The devil, says St, Augustine, sleeps not, but labors strenuously for your perdition; and will you slumber when your eternal happiness is at stake ? *' Vigilat hostis, dermis tu]** 116 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. Affections and Prayers. Ah, my God, I thank ihee for making me novr remain at thy feet, and not in hell, which I have so often deserved. But of what use would the life which thou hast preserved, be to me, should I con- tinue to live without thy grace? Ah, may this never be. I have turned uiy back upon thee; I have lost thee, O my Sovereign Good ; I am sor- ry for it with my whole heart. O that I had died a thousand times, rather than have offended thee! I have lost thee; but the prophet tells me that thou art all goodness, and that thou art easily found by the soul that seeks thee. ** Bonus est Dominus animae quaBrenti ilium.'' — Thren. iii. 25. If I have hitherto fled away from thee, I now seek thee, and seek nothing but thee. I love thee with all the affections of my heart. Accept me. Do not dis- dain to give thy love to a soul that hath at one time despised thee. ** Doce me facere vohmtatem tuam." Teach me what I must do in order to please thee; I am ready and willing to do it. Ah, my Jesus, save this soul, for which thou hast given thy blood and thy life; and in order to save me, give me the grace always to love thee in this and in the next life. This grace I hope for through thy merits. For this I also hope, O Mary, through thy intercession. THIRD POINT. Important business ! only business ! irreparable business! " Sane supra omnem errorem est," says St. Eucherius, " dissimulare negotium EBternse sa- ^utis." No error can be compared to the error of neglecting eternal salvation. For all other errors PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 117 there is a remedy; if you lose property in one way, you may recover it in another; if you lose a situa- tion, there may be some means of afterwards re- gaining it ; if you soon lose your life, provided your soul be saved, all is safe. But if you lose your 8oul, the loss is irreparable. Death happens but once ; the soul, if once lost, is lost forever. '' Peri- isse semel eeternum est." Nothing remains but to weep for eternity with the other miserable fools in hell, where their greatest torment consists in the conviction, that the time of repairing their ruin is gone f )rever. ** The summer is over, and we are not saved.'' — Jer. viii. 20. Ask the worldly wise, who are now in the pit of fire, what are their pres- ent sentiments : ask them if, now that they are con- demned to that eternal prison, they feel happy at having made a fortune in this life. Listen to their wailing and lamentation — *' Therefore we have erred." But of what use is it to know their error, now that there is no remedy for their eternal dam- nation? Should a man who could have preserved his pell ace at a small expense, find it in ruins, how great should be his pain in reflecting on his own negligence, and on the impossibility of repairing the evil ! The greatest torment of the damned consists in the thought of having lost their soul, and of being damned, through their own fault. *' Destruction is thy own, O Israel ; thy help is only in me." — Osee xiii. 9. St. Teresa says, that if a person lose, through his own fault, a ring, or even a trifle, his peace is disturbed, he neither eats nor sleeps. O God ! how great shall be the torture of the damned Christian, when, on entering hell and finding himself shut up in that dungeon of torments, he shall reflect on his misfortune, and shall see that for all eternity there 118 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. shall be no relief, no mitigation of pain ! He shall uay, "I have lost my soul, paradise, and God; I have lost all forever ! And why ? Through my own fault." But you will say, *^If I commit this sin, why should I not expect to escape damnation ? I may still be saved." Yes, but you may also be damned ; and it is more likely that you shall be lost, for the Scriptures menace eternal woes to all obstinate traitors, such as you are in your present dispositions. '' Woe to you, apostate children, saith the Lord." — Isa. xxx. 1. ^' Woe to them, for they have departed from me." — Osee vii. 13. By committing this sin, you at least expose your eternal salvation to great danger. And is this an affair to be exposed to risk ? There is not a question of a house, of a villa, or of a situation ; there is a question, says St. John Chrysostom, of being sent into an eternity of torments, and of los- ing an eternity of glory. *'De immortalibus sup- pliciis, de coelestis regni amissione agitur." And will you risk on a jjerhaps, this business of sove- reign importance? You say, " Perhaps I shall not be lost; I hope that God will hereafter pardon me." But what happens in the mean time? You condemn yourself to hell. Tell me, would you cast yourself into a deep pool of water, saying, ** Perhaps 1 shall not be drowned ? " Surely you w^ould not ; why, then, should you trust your eternal salvation to such a groundless hope, to a perhaps 1 O, how many has this accursed hope sent to hell ! Do you not know that the hope of those who are obstinately deter- mined to commit sin, is not hope, but an illusion and presumption, which moves God not to mercy^ but to greater wrath ? If you say that you are now unable to resist the temptation and passion to w^hose freparation for death. 119 domination you submit, how will you resist them hereafter, when, by yielding to sin, your strength shall be not increased, but greatly diminished ? For, on the one hand, your own malice shall render you more blind and obdurate; and, on the other, the divine helps shall be withheld. Do you expect that the more you will multiply sins and insults against God, the more abundantly he will pour up- on you his lights and graces ? Affections and Prayers. Ah, my Jesus, remind me always of the death thou hast suffered for me, and give me confidence. I tremble lest the devil should make me despair at death by bringing before my view the many acts of treason I have committed against thee. How many promises have I made never more to offend thee after the light thou hast given me ! and, after all my promises, I have, with the hope of pardon, again turned my back upon thee. Then have I insulted thee because thou didst not chastise me ? My Redeemer, give me a great sorrow for my sins before I leave this world. I am sorry, O Sovereign Good, for having offended thee. I promise to die a thousand times, rather than ever abandon thee. But make me in the mean time feel that thou hast said to me w^hatthou saidstto Magdalene, — '* Tliy sins are forgiven thee,^^ — by giving me, before death, a great sorrow for all my iniquities, otherwise I fear my death shall be troubled and unhappy. ** Be not thou a terror to me ; thou art my hope in the day of affliction." — Jer. xvii. 17. O my crucified Jesus, be not a terror to me in my last moments. If I die before I shall have wept over my sins, and shall have loved thee, thy wounds and thy blood shall inspire me with fear, rather than 120 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. with confidence. I do not ask of thee consolations and earthly goods during the remainder of my life; I ask of thee sorrow and love. O my dear Savior, hear my prayer for the sake of that love which made thee offer thy life in sacrifice for me on Cal- vary. Mary, my mother, obtain for me these graces, along with holy perseverance till death. THIRTEENTH CONSIDERATION. VANITY OF THE WORLD. ** What doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul ? " — Matt. xvi. 26. FIRST POINT. An ancient philosopher, called Aristippus, was once shipwrecked, and lost all his goods. When he reached the shore, the people, through respect for his great learning, presented him with an equiv- alent of all he had lost. He wrote to his friends, exhorting them to imitate his example, and to seek only the goods which cannot be wrested from them by shipwreck. Now, our relatives and friends who are in eternity exhort us from the other world to attend only to the acquisition of goods w^hich even death cannot take from us. Death is called ''the day of destruction^^ — Deut. xxxii. 35. It is the day of destruction, because on that day we shall lose all the goods of this earth — its honors, riches, and pleasures. Hence, according to St. Ambrose,, we cannot call the things of this life our goods, because we cannot bring them with us to eternity. Our virtues alone accompany us to the next life, PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 121 "Non nostra sunt quae non possumus auferre no- biscum : sola virtus nos comitatur." What, then, says Jesus Christ, does it profit us to gain the whole world, if, at death, by losing the soul, we lose all? Ah! how many young men has this great maxim sent into the cloister ! how many anchorets has it sent to the desert! and how many martyrs has it encouraged to give their life for Jesus Christ ! By this maxim St. Ignatius of Loyola drew many souls to God, particularly the soul of St. Francis Xavier, who was then in Paris attached to the things of the world. *' Francis," said the saint one day, "reflect that the world is a traitor, which promises but does not perform. And though it should fulfil all its promises, it can never content your heart. But let us grant that it did make you happy; how long shall this happiness last? Can it last longer than your life; and after death, what shall you take with you to eternity ? Where is the rich man that has ever brought v/ith him a piece of money, or a servant to attend him? What king has brought with him a shred of the purple as a badge of royalty ? " At these words St. Francis abandoned the world, followed St. Ignatius, and became a saint. Solomon confessed that ** what- soever his eyes desired, he refused them not." — Eccl. ii. 10. But, after having indulged in all the pleasures of this earth, he called all the goods of the world vanity of vanities. Sister Margaret of St. Anne, a Discalced Carmelite, and daughter of the emperor Rodolph the Second, used to say, ** Of what use are kingdoms at the hour of death ? " The saints tremb'e at the thought of the uncertain^ ty of their eternal salvation. Father Paul Segneri trembled, and, full of terror, said to his confessor, ** Father, what do you think — shall I be saved?" 11 mi PREPARATION FOR DEATH. St. Andrew Avellino trembled, and, with a torrent of tears, said, ** Who knows whether I shall be saved or lost ? " St. Lewis Bertrand was so much terrified by this thought, that, during the night, in a fit of terror, he sprung out of his bed, saying, *' Per- haps I shall be lost ! " And sinners, while they live in a state of damnation, sleep, and jest, and laugh I Affections and Prayers. Ah, Jesus, my Redeemer, I thank thee for mak- ing me see my folly and the evil I have done in turning my back on thee, who hast given thy blood and thy life for me. Thou didst not deserve to be treated by me as I have treated thee. Behold ! if death now came upon me, what should I find but sins and remorses of conscience, which would make me die with great disquietude? My Savior, I con- fess that I have done evil, and committed a great error in leaving thee, my Sovereign Good, for the miserable pleasures of this world. I am sorry from the bottom of my heart. Ah ! through the sorrow which killed thee on the cross, give me a sorrow for my sins, which shall make me weep, during the remainder of my life, over the injuries I have done thee. My Jesus, pardon me ; I promise to dis^ please thee no more, and to love thee forever. I am not worthy of thy love, which I have hitherto so much despised. But thou hast said, ** I love them that love me.'' — Prov. viii. I love thee ; love me, then, O Lord. I do not wish to be any longer in enmity with thee. I renounce all the grandeurs and pleasures of the world, provided thou lovest me. Hear me, O my God, for the love of Jesus Christ. He entreats thee not to banish me frora diy heart. To thee I consecrate my whole being ; to thee I consecrate my life, my pleasures, my PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 123 senses, my soul, my body, my will, and my liberty. Accept me ; reject not my offering, as I have de- served for having so often refused thy friendship. Cast me not away from thy face. Most holy Vir- gin, my mother, Mary, pray to Jesus for me. In your intercession I place unbounded confidence. SECOND POINT. ** There is a deceitful balance in his hand.'' — Osee xii. 7. We must weigh things in the balance of God, and not in the deceitful balance of the world. The goods of this life are miserable goods ; they do not content the heart ; they soon end. *' My days have been swifter than a post : they have passed by as ships carrying fruits.'' — Job ix. 25, 26. The days of our life pass and fly away : and of all the pleasures of this earth, what remains 1 They have passed like a ship, which leaves no trace behind. *' As a ship thatpasseth through the waters, whereof, when it is gone by, the trace can- not be found." — Wis. v. 10. Askso many of the rich and learned of the world, so many princes and emperors who are now in eternity, what they pos- sess of all the pomps, and delights, and grandeur, which they enjoyed in this life. They all answer " Nothing, nothing." O man, says St. Augustine, *^ you attend to what he had here ; hut attend to what he brings with himJ' — Serm. xiii. de Adv. Dom. *' You," says the saint, ^* regard only the goods which the rich man possessed ; but observe what he takes with him at death — a fetid body and a rag of a garment to rot with him." After death, the grandees of the world are spoken of for a little ; but they are soon forgotten. '* Their memory hath perished with a noise." — Ps. ix. 7 124 I*REPAIIATI0N FOR DEATH. And if they have gone to hell, what do they do and sny in that place of woe ? They weep and say, *' What hath pride profited us? or what ad- vantage hath the boasting of riches brought us ? All those things are passed away like a shadow." — Wis. V. 8, 9. What have our pomps and riches profited us, now that they are passed away like a shadow, and for us nothing remains but eternal torments, wailing, and despair ? '*The children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light." — Luke xvi. 8. How prudent are worldlings in earthly affairs 1 What toils do they endure in order to obtain a situa* tion or to acquire an estate ! With what care do they attend to the preservation of bodily health ! They adopt the safest means, they^select the best physicians, the best remedies, and the purest air. But how careless are they about the concerns of the soul ! And it is certain that health, situations, and possessions shall one day end ; but the soul and eternity are everlasting. ** Intueamur," says St. Augustine, ** quanta homines sustineant pro rebus quas vitiose diligunt." What do not the unjust, the vindictive, and voluptuous endure in order to attain their' wicked objects? And will they refuse to suffer any thing for the soul ? O God I at the light of the death-candle, at that time of truth, worldlings know and confess their folly. Then they say, '' O that I had left the world, and led a life of sanctity." Pope Leo the Eleventh said at the hour of death, ^^ It ivere better for me to have been porter in my convent^ than to be pojpeJ* Honorius the Third also said in his last illness, ^' It would have been better for me to have remained in the kitchen of my monastery to wash the plates^ than to be chosen bead of the church,^^ In his dying moments, Philip PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 125 the Second, king of Spain, sent for his son, and throwing off his royal robes, showed him his breast eaten away by worms, and said to him, ** Prince, behold how we die, and how the grandeurs of this world end. O," he exclaimed, " that I had been a lay brother in some religious community, and had not been king." He then ordered a cross to be fastened to his neck by means of a cord, and hav- ing made all his arrangements for death, he said to his son,'* I wished you to be present at this scene, that you may see how the w^orld treats raon- archs in the end. Their death is like that of the poorest peasant. In fine, he who leads the most holy life is in the greatest favor with God." This same son, who was afterwards Philip the Third, dying at the age of forty-three years, said, *' My subjects, in the sermon to be delivered at my funeral, preach nothing but this spectacle which you behold ; say that to have been king serves at death to excite regret and pain." He then ex- claimed, *' O that I had never been a king. O that I had lived in a desert to serve God. I should now go with greater confidence to present myself at his tribunal, and should not now find my- self in so much dancrer of beinor damned forever." But these desires at the hour of death serve only to increase the anguish and despair of those who have not loved God. ''Then," says St. Teresa, " we should make no account of what ends with life; the true life consists in living in such a man- ner as not to have any reason to fear death." If, then, we wish to seek the true value of earthly things, let us look at them from the bed of death, and say. These honors, these amusements, these revenues shall one day have an end; we ought thea to labor to become saints, and rich in goods which 11* 126 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. shall accompany us to the other world, and shall make us content and happy for all eternity. Affections and Prayers. Ah, my Redeemer, thou hast suffered so many pains and ignominies for my sake; and I have loved the pleasures and vanities of this earth to such an excess, that, for the sake of them, I have often trampled on thy grace. But, since thou didst not cease to seek after me when I despised thee, I can- not, O my Jesus, fear that thou wilt now cast me a^ay, when I seek and love thee with my w^hole heart, and am more sorry for having offended thee than I should be for having suffered every other misfortune. O God of my soul, from this day for- ward I wish never to offend thee, even by a venial thought. Make known to me what is displeasing to thee. I will not, for any earthly good, do what I know to be offensive to thee. Make known to me what I must do in order to please thee. I am ready to do it. I wish to love thee with a true love. I embrace, O Lord, all the pains and crosses which shall come to me from thy hands ; give me the res- ignation I stand in need of: here burn^ here cut. Chastise me in this life, that in the next I may be able to love thee for eternity. Mary, my mother, to you I recommend my soul ; do not ever cease to pray to Jesus for me. THIRD POINT. " The time is short; it remaineth that .... they that use this world, he as if they used it not ; for the fashion of this world passeth away." — 1 Cor vii. 29, 31. What is our life on this earth but a scene, which passes away and ends very soon ? Th§ PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 127 fashion of this world passeth away. The world, Bays Cornelius a Lapide, is like a stage; one gener- ation passes away, another comes. He who acts the part of a king, takes not the purple with him. Tell me, O villi, O house, how many masters have you had? When the comedy is over, the king is no longer king; the master ceases to be master. You at present are in possession of such a villa and palace ; but death shall come, and they shall pass to other u] jsters. ** The affliction of an hour maketh one forget great delights." — Eccl. xi. 29. The gloomy hour of death brings to an end and makes us forget all the grandeur, nobility, and pomps of the world. Casimir, king of Poland, while he sat at table with the grandees of his kingdom, died in the act of raising a cup to take a draught ; and the scene ended for him. In seven days after his election, the e:np8ror Celsus was killed, and the scene closed for Celsus. Lidislaus, king of Poland, in his eighteenth year, while he v/as preparing for the re- ception of his spouse, the daughter of the king of France, was suddenly seized with a violent pain, which soon deprived him of life. Couriers were instantly despatched to announce to her that the scene was over for Ladislaus, and that she might return to France. By meditating on the vanity of the world, Francis Borgia became a saint. At the Bight of the empress Isabella, who had died in the midst of worldly grandeur and in the flower of youth, he, as has been already said, resolved to give himself entirely to God. ** Thus, then," he said, ** end the grandeur and crowns of this world ; I will henceforth serve a Master who can never die." Let us endeavor to live in such a manner that what was said to the fool in the gospel may not be said 128 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. to US at the hour of death, — **Thou fool, this night do they require thy soul of thee ; and whose shall those things be which thou hast provided ? " — Luke xii. 20. Hence the Redeemer adds, *' So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God.'' — ver. 21. Again he tells you to acquire the riches, not of the world, but of God ; — of virtues and merits, which are goods that shall re- main with you for eternity in heaven. *' Lay up to yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither the rust nor the moth doth consume." — M:itt. vi. 20. Let us then labor to acquire the great treasure of divine love. '' What," says St. Augustine, *^ has the rich man, if he has not charity ? What does the poor man want, if he has charity ? " If a man had all the riches in the world, and has not God, he is the poorest of men. But the poor man who pos- sesses God possesses all things. And who are they that possess God? ^' He," says St. John, ** that abideth in charity, abideth in God, and God in him." — 1 John iv. 16. Affections and Prayers. Ah, my God, I do not wish that the devil have any longer dominion over my soul ; I wish that thou alone be the Lord and Master of it. I will renounce all things in order to acquire thy grace. I esteem it more than a thousand thrones and a thousand kingdoms. And whom shall I love but thee, who art infinitely amiable, who art an infinite good, in- finite beauty, bounty, and love? Hitherto I have abandoned thee for the sake of creatures ; this is, and always shall be, to me a source of sorrow, which will pierce my heart with grief for having offended thee, who hast loved me with so much ten- derness. But since thou hast favored me with sq PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 129 many graces, I can no longer bear to see myself without thy love. O my Love, take possession of my whole will, and of all that I possess, and do with me what thou pleasest. If I have hitherto been impatient under adversity, I ask pardon. O my Lord, I will never complain of thy arrangements; I know that they are all holy, all for my welfare. Treat me, O my God, as thou wishest; I promise to be always content, always to thank thee. Make me love thee, and I ask no more. What goods, what honors, what world can I love ? O God ! O God! I wish only for God. Happy thee, O Mary, who loved nothing in the w^orld but God. Obtain for me the grace to imitate thee, at least during the remainder of my life. Li thee I trust. FOURTEENTH CONSIDERATION. THE PRESENT LIFE IS A JOURNEY TO ETERNITY. •* Man shall go into the house of his eternity." — Eccl. xii. 5. FIRST POINT. Seeing that on this earth so many miscreants wallow in prosperity, and that so many saints live in tribuhtions, the very Gentiles, by the sole aid of the light of nature, have known this truth — that, since there is a just God, there must be another life, in which the wicked are punished and the good rewarded. But what the Gentiles learned by the light of reason, we Christians know by faith. " We have not here a lasting city ; but we seek one 130 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. that is to come." — Heb. xiv. 14. This earth is not our country ; it is for us a place of passage, from which we shall soon go to the house of eternity. *' Man shall go into the house of his eternity." The house, then, dear reader, which you inhabit, is not your house; it is a hospital, from which you shall 8oon, and when you least expect, be dislodged. Re- member that, when the time of death shall have ar- rived, your dearest relatives will be the first to ban- ish you from it. And what shall be your true house ? The house of your body shall be a grave, in which it will remain till the day of judgment; but your soul shall go to the house of eternity — either to heaven or to helT. St. Augustine tells you that you are a stranger, a traveller, a i^pectator, ** Hospes eSf transis et vides.^^ It would be foolish- ness in a traveller to spend all his patrimony in pur- chasing a villa or a house in a country through which he merely passes, and which he must leave in a few days. ** Reflect," says the saint, " that in this world you are only on a journey ; fix not your affec- tions on what you see; look and pass on, and labor to procure a good house, in which you shall have to dwell forever." Happy you, if you save your soul ! O, how de- lightful is heaven ! All the princely palaces of this world are but stables compared with the city of par- adise, which alone can be called the city of perfect beauty — '* civitas pafecti decorisJ^ — Ezek. xxiii. 3. There you shall have nothing to desire ; for you shall be in the society of the saints, of the di- vine mother, and of Jesus Christ, and shall be free from all fear of evil ; in a word, you shall live in a ftea of delights, and m unceasing joy, which shall last forever. '* Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads." — Isa. xxxv. 10. This joy shall be so great^ PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 131 that at every moment for all eternity it shall appear new. But unhappy you, if you are lost! You shall be confined in a sea of fire and of torments, in despair, abandoned by all, and without God. And for how long? Perhaps, after the lapse of a hun* dred thousand years, your pains shall have an end? A hundred and a thousand millions of years and ages shall pass by, and your hell shall be always at its commencement. What are a thousand years compared with eternity? Less than a day which is gone by. " A thousand years in thy sight are as yesterday, which is past." — Ps. Ixxxix. 4. Would you wish to know the house which shall be your dwelling for eternity? It shall be that which you merit, and which you choose for yourself by your works. Affections and Prayers. Then, O Lord, behold the house which I have deserved by the life which I led. Alas ! it is hell; in which, from the first sin I have committed, I ought to dwell, abandoned by thee, and without having it ever in my power to love thee. Blessed forever be thy mercy, which has waited for me> and which now gives me time to repair the evil I have done. O my God, I will no longer abuse thj patience. I am sorry above all things for having offended thee, not so much because 1 have merited hell, as because I have outraged thy infinite good- ness. Never more, ray God, never more will I rebel against thee; I desire death rather than offend thee. O my Sovereign Good, were I now in hell, I could never love thee, nor couldst thou love me. I love thee, and wish to be loved by thee: this I do not deserve ; but Jesus merits it, because he has offered himself to thee in sacrifice on the 132 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. cross, that thou mightst be able to pardon and love me. Eternal Father, give me then, for the sake of thy Son, the grace to love thee, and to love thee intensely. I love thee, O my Father, who hast given me thy Son. I love thee, O Son of God, who hast died for me. I love thee, O mother of Jesus, who, by thy intercession, hast obtained for me time for repentance. O Mary, obtain for me sorrow for my sins, the love of God, and holy perseverance. SECOND POINT. ** If the tree fall, to the south or to the north, in what place soever it shall fall, there shall it be.'' — Eccl. xi. 3. Wheresoever the tree of your soul shall fall at death, there shall it remain forever. There is no medium; you shall be forever a king in heaven, or a slave in hell; forever in bliss, in an ocean of delights; or forever in despair, in a pit of torments. In contemplating the fate of the rich glut- ton, who was esteemed happy in this world because he was rich, but was afterwards confined in hell ; and the condition of Lazarus, who was considered to be miserable because he was poor, but was afterwards raised to the glory of heaven ; St. John Chrysostom exclaimed, O unhappy felicity, which dragged the rich man to eternal misery ! O happy infelicity, which brought the poor Lazarus to the happiness of eternity ! '' O infelix felicitas, quae divitem ad aeternam infelicitatem traxit ! O felix infelicitas, quse pauperem ad .TBternitatis felicitatem perduxit!" Of what use is it to torture yourself, as some do, saying, ^' Who knows whether I am among the pre- destined or not ? " When the tree is cut down, where does it fall ? It falls on the side to which it inclines. Brother, to what side do you incline I PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 133 What son of life do you lead ? Labor always to incline to the south ; preserve your soul in the grace of God ; fly from sin ; and thus you shall save your soul, and shall be predestined. And in order to avoid sin, keep always before your eyes the thought of eternity, which St. Augustine called the great thought. Magna cogitatio. This thought has led so many young men to abandon the world, and to live in deserts, in order to attend only to the care of the soul ; and they have secured eternal life. And, now that they are saved, they shall rejoice for all eternity at having sought, during life, nothing but the salvation of their souls. / Father M. Avila converted a certain lady, who lived at a distance from God, by saying to her, "Madam, reflect on these tivo words — always and neverP In consequence of a thought which he had one day of eternity. Father Paul Segneri could not sleep for several nights; and from that day forward he gave himself up to a more rigorous life- Dresselius relates that a certain bishop was encour- aged to lead a holy life by the thought of eternity, and by repeating within himself, '* Omni momento ad ostium aeternitatis sto." / stand, every moment at the gate of eternity. A certain monk shut him- self up in a cave, and did nothing else but exclaim, '^ O eternity! O eternity!'' '* He," said Father Avila, "who believes in eternity, and does not be- come a saint, should be confined in a mad-house." Affections and Praters. Ah, my God, have mercy on me. I know that in committing sin I condemned myself to an eter* pity of torments ; and I have been content to resist thy will, and to incur this punishment. Ah, my Lord, pardon rne ; I am sorry for it from the 12 134 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. bottom of my heart. I do not wish ever more to oppose thy holy will. How miserable should I be, hadst thou taken me out of life during my career of sin ! I should at this moment be condemned to remain forever in hell, to hate thy will. But now I love it, and wish forever to love it. Teach me, and give me strength henceforth to do thy will. I will no longer resist thee, O Infinite Goodness I This grace only do I ask — ** Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.'' Enable me to do thy will perfectly, and I ask nothing more. And wtiat, O my God, dost thou desire, bat my welfare and my salvation? Ah, eternal Father, hear my prayer, for the love of Jesus Christ, who has taught me to pray continually to thee. In his name I ask this grace — Thy will be done ; thy will he done, Happy me, if I spend the remainder of my life, and if I end my days, doing thy will. O Mary, happy thee, who always did the will of God perfectly, ob- tain for me, through thy intercession, the grace to do his will during the remainder of my life. THIRD POINT. ** Man shall go into the house of his eternity y The prophet says 7nan shall go, to show that each shall go to the house to which he wishes to go; he shall not be carried to it, but shall go of his own accord. It is certain that God wills the salvation of all men, but he will not save us by force. He has placed before each of us life and death; whichsoever we choose shall be given us. " That which he shall choose shall be given him." — EccL XV. 18. Jeremiah likewise says that the Lord has given us two ways in which to walk — one the way of heaven, the other the way of hell. " Behold^ 1 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 135 Set before you the way of life and the way of death." — Jer. xxi. 8. The choice rests with us. But how shall he who wishes to walk in the way of hell be able to reach heaven ? All sinners wish for salvation, and in the mean time they, by their own choice, condemn themselves to hell, with the hope of being afterwards saved. But who, says St. Augustine, can be found so foolish as to take poison with the hope of escaping death? ** Nemo vult aegrotare sub spe salutis." And still so many Christians, so many fools, kill their souls by sin, saying, ** I will hereafter think of a remedy." O de- lusion, which has sent so many souls to hell ! Let us not be so foolish; let us reflect that eternity is at stake. In erecting a house in which he ex- pects to live for the remainder of his life, a man spares no trouble in seeking a healthful site, and submits to great toil and fatigue in endeavoring to make the house commodious and airy. And why are men so careless when there is question of the house in which they must dwell for eternity? ** Negotium pro quo contendimus," says St. Euche- rius, *^ aeternitas est." The business for which we labor is eternity ; there is not question of a house more or less commodious, more or less airy ; but there is question of being in a place full of de- lights, among the friends of God, or in a pit of tor- ments, in the midst of an infamous crowd of abandoned miscreants. And for how long ? Not for twenty nor forty years, but for all eternity. This is a great point ; it is not a business of little moment; it is an affair of infinite importance. When Thomas More was condemned to die by Henry the Eighth, his wife, Louisa, went to him for the purpose of prevailing on him to yield to the wishes of the king. He said to her, '* Tell m^ 136 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. Louisa, how many years could T, who am now so old, expect to live?'* ** You might," replied Louisa, ^* live for twenty years more." ** O foolish wo- man," rejoined the holy man, *' do you want me, for twenty years of life on this earth, to forfeit an eternity of happiness, and to condemn myself to an eternity of torments ? " O God, give me light. If eternity were a doubt- ful matter, or only resting on a probable opinion^ we ought to make every effort in our power to lead a good life, lest, should the doctrine of eternity be true, we should expose ourselves to the danger of being eternally miserable ; but it is not doubtful, but infallibly certain; not a mere opinion, but a truth of faith. ^^Man shall go into the house of his eternity." *'Alas!" says St. Teresa, '' the want of faith is the cause of so many sins, and of the damnation of so many Christians." Let us then always enliven our faith, saying, **I believe in life everlasting." I believe that after this life there is another, which never ends. And with this thought always before our eyes, let us adopt the means of securing eternal salvation. Let us fre- quent the sacraments ; let us make meditation every day ; and let us reflect on eternal life ; let us fly from dangerous occasions; and, if necessary, let us leave the world ; for, to make ourselves sure of eternal life, no security can be too great ** Nulla nimia securitas ubi periclitatur aeternitas." — St. Bernard. Affections and Prayers. Then, my God, there is no medium ; I must be forever happy, or forever miserable ; either in a sea of joys, or in a sea of torments ; either forever with thee in heaven, or forever separated at a distance PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 137 from thee in hell. And this hell I know for cer- tain that I have so often deserved ; but I also know for certain that thou dost pardon all who repent, and that thou rescuest from hell all who hope in thee. Of this thou assurest me — *' He shall cry to me .... I will pardon him, and will glorify him.'* — -Ps. xc. 15. Pardon me then, O Lord; pardon me immediately, and deliver me from hell. O Sov- ereign Good, I am sorry above all things for having offended thee. Restore to me thy grace as soon as possible, and give me thy holy love. Were I now in hell, I could never more love thee ; I should have to hate thee forever. Ah, my God, what evil hast thou done to me, that I should hate thee? Thou hast loved me unto death. Thou art worthy of infinite love. O Lord, do not permit me to be ever separated from thee. I love thee, and will ahvays love thee. ** Who shall separate me from the charity of Christ ? " Ah, my Jesus, sin alone can separate me from thee. Ah ! through the blood which thou hast shed for me, do not permit me to be ever separated from thee. Strike me dead rather than suffer me to lose thy love. ^' Do not permit me to be separated from thee." Mary, my queen and my mother, assist me by thy prayers; obtain for me death and a thousand deaths, rather than that I should be separated from the love of thy Son. 12 ♦ 138 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. FIFTEENTH CONSIDERATION. ON THE MALICE OF MORTAL SIN. •*I have brought up children find exalted them; but they have despised me." — Isa. i. 2. FIRST POINT. What does the sinner do when he commits mor- tal sin? He insults God, he dishonors him, he afflicts him. In the first place, mortal sin is an insult offered to God. The malice of an insult is, as St. Thomas says, estimated from the condi- tion of the person who receives and of the per- son Wiio offers the insult. It is sinful to offend a peasant; it is more criminal to insult a noble- man: but to treat a monarch with contempt and insolence, is a still greater* crime. Who is God? ** He is Lord of lords and king of kings.'' — Apoc. xvii. 14. He is a Being of infinite majesty, before whom all tiie princes of the earth, and all the saints and angels, are less than an atom of sand. ** As a drop of a bucket .... as a little dust." — Isa. xl. 15. The prophet Osee adds, that, compared with the greatness of God, all creatures are as in- significant as if they did not exist. ** All nations/* he says, ** are before him as if they had no being at all." — ver. 17. Such is God; and what is man ? He is, according to St. Bernard, a heap of worms, the food of worms, by which he shall be soon devoured. **Saccus vermium, cibus vermi- um." He is ** miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." — Apoc. iii. 17. Man is a miserable worm, that can do nothing ; he is so blind that he knows nothing, and so poor and naked that he possesses PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 13§ nothing. And this miserable worm voluntarily in- sults a God ! ** Vile dust," says the same St. Ber- nard, ** dares to provoke such tremendous majesty." The angelic doctor, then, had just reason to say that the sin of man contains, as it were, an infinite malice. ** Peccatum habet quandam infinitatem malitiae ex infinitate divinae majestatis." — P. 3, q. 2, c. 2, ad. 2. And St. Augustine calls sin *' an infinite evil." Hence, were all men and angels to offer themselves to death and annihilation, the obla- tion should not satisfy for a single sin. God pun- ishes sin with the pains of hell ; but all theolo- gians teach that this chastisement is less than sin deserves. And what punishment can be sufficient for a w^orm who assails his Lord ? God is the Lord of all, because he has created all. ** All things are ia thy power. . . . Thou havSt made heaven, and earth, and all things." — -Est. xiii. 9. All creatures obey God, **The winds," says St. Matthew, '*and the sea obey him." — Matt. viii. 27. "Fire, hail, snow, ice, stormy winds, which fulfil his will." — Ps. cxlviii. 8. But when man sins, what does he do ? He says to God, Lord, I will not serve thee. ** Thou hast broken my yoke; ihou hast burst my bonds ; thou saidst, I will not serve." — Jer. ii. 20. The Lord says to him, Seek not revenge ; take not that property which belongs to another; abstain from that unchaste gratification. But man answers, I will have revenge ; I will take posses- sion of that property ; I will indulge in that forbid- den pleasure. Like Pharaoh, when Moses, on the part of God, commanded him to allow the people to go into the desert, the sinner answers, ** Who is the Lord, that I should hear his voice, and let Israel goT' — Exod. v. 2. The sinner says the 140 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. same — Lord, I know you not; I will do what I please. In a word, he insults the Lord to his face, and turns his back upon him. Mortal sin is pre- cisely a turning away from God. *' Aversio ab in- commutabili bono." — St. Thom. part i. q. 24, art. 4. Of this the Lord himself complains — *' Thou hast forsaken me, saith the Lord ; thou art gone backward.'* — Jer. xv. 6. You have, says God, been ungrateful to me ; you have abandoned me ; you have turned your back upon me ; you " are gone hackward.^^ God has declared that he hates sin. Hence he cannot but hate the sinner who commits it. ** But to God the wicked and his wickedness are hateful alike." Wis. xiv. 9. In committing sin, man dares to declare himself the enemy of God, and to contend single-handed with the Lord. *' He hath," says Job, ** strengthened himself against the Almighty." — Job xv. 25. What would you say if you saw an insect attack an armed soldier ? God is the Omnipotent Being who by a nod has " created heaven and earth out of nothing." — 2 Mach. vii. 28. And if he wish, he can, by another act of his will, destroy all creatures. "The almighty Lord, who, at a beck, can utterly destroy .... the whole world." — 2 Mach. viii. 18. In consenting to sin, the sinner stretches out his arms against the Lord. ** He hath," says Job, *' stretched out his hand aorainst God. He hath run against him with his neck raised up, and is armed with ^ fat neck.'' — Job xv. 26. He raises his neck, that is, he swells with pride, and runs to in- sult God ; he arms himself with a fat neck, that is, with ignorance ; for a fat neck is the symbol of ignorance, of that ignorance which makes the sinner say. What harm have I done? What great evil is that sin which 1 have committed? God PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 141 is merciful — he pardons sinners. What an insult ! What temerity ! What blindness ! Affections and Prayers. Behold, O my God ! at thy feet the rash and dar- ing rebel, who has had the temerity and audacity to insult thee so often to thy very face, and to turn his back upon thee. Thou hast said, " Cry to me, and 1 will hear." — Jer. xxxiii. 3. Hell is too little for me ; this I already know. But remember, O Lord, that I am more sorry for having offended thee, who art infinite goodness, than I would be for the loss of all my property and of my life. Ah, Lord, pardon me, and do not permit me ever to offend thee more. Thou hast waited for me that I may forever bless thy mercy and love thee. Yes, I bless thee, I love thee, and I hope, through the merits of Jesus Christ, that I shall never again be separated from thy love; thy love has rescued me from hell ; it is by thy love that I am to be preserved from sin for the future. I thank thee, my Lord, for the light. and the desire thou dost give me to love thee forever. Ah ! take possession of my whole being — of my soul and body — of my powers and senses — of my will and liberty. **I am thine — save me." Thou art my only good ; thou art alone amiable ; mayst thou also be my only love. Give me fervor in loving thee. 1 have offended thee grievously. Hence it is not enough for me to love thee; I wish to love thee ardently, in order to compensate the injuries I have done thee. From thee, who art omnipotent, I hope for this love. I also hope for it through thy prayers, O Mary, which art powerful before God. 142 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. SECOND POINT. The sinner not only insults, but he also dishonors God. " By the transgression of the law thou dis- honorest God." — Rom. ii. 23. Yes; for he re- nounces God's grace, and for a miserable pleasure he tramples on the friendship of God. Were man to forfeit the divine friendship, in order to gain a kmgdom, or even the entire world, he should do a great evil ; for the friendship of God is more val- uable than the world, and even a thousand worlds. But for what does the sinner insult the Lord? ** Wherefore hath the wicked provoked God?" — - Ps. X. 13. For a little earth, for the gratification of revenge, for a beastly pleasure, for the indulgence of vanity or caprice. ** They violated me among my people for a handful of barley and a piece of bread." — Ez. xiii. 19. When the sinner deliber- ates whether he will give or refuse his consent to sin, he, as it were, takes in his hand a balance, and examines whether the grace of God has more or less weight than indulgence of his passion, vanity, of pleasure; and when he consents to sin, he declares that his passion, vanity, or pleasure, is of greater value than the friendship of God. Behold the Lord covered with shame by the sinner ! Contemplating the greatness and majesty of God, David said, '' Lord, who is like to thee?" — Ps. xxxiv. 10. But seeing sinners compare and prefer a miserable grat- ification to his friendship, the Lord exclaimed, ** To whom have you likened me, or made me equal?" — Isa. xl. 25. Then, he says, was that vile pleasure of greater value than my grace? *' Thou hast cast me off behind thy back." — Ez. xxiii. 35. Were you to forfeit a hand, or ten ducats, or even a much smaller sum, you would not have committed that PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 14^ sin. Then, says Salvian, is God alone so contemp- tible in your eyes, that he deserves to be despised for the indulgence of a passion, or for a miserable satisfaction ? ** Deus solus in comparatione omni- um tibi vilis fuit." Moreover, by offending God for the sake of his pleasure, the sinner makes that pleasure his god, by making it his last end. St. Jerome says, " Unus- quisque quod cupit, si veneratur, hoc illi Deus est : vitium in corde est idolum in altari.'* What a person desires, if he worships it, is to him a god. A vice in the heart is an idol on the altar. Hence St. Thomas says, ** If you love delights, delights are your god.'' And according to St. Cyprian, **' whatever man prefers to God, that he makes a god to himself" When Jeroboam rebelled against the Lord, he endeavored to drav/ the people with him into idolatry. Hence he placed before them his idols, saying, '* Behold thy gods, O Israel." — 3 Kings xii. 28. It is thus the devil acts ; he rep- resents a certain pleasure to the sinner, and says, Make this your god ; behold this pleasure ; this revenge is your god; adhere to them, and forsake the Lord. And in consenting to sin, the sinner obeys tiie devil, and in his heart adores as his god the pleasure which he indulges. "A vice in the heart is an idol on the altar." If the sinner dishonors God, he surely does not dishonor him in his pres- ence. O, he insults and dishonors God to his very face; for God is present in all places. ** Do I not fill heaven and earth, saith the Lord." — Jer. xxiii. 24. This sinners know, and stiil they dare to pro- yoke God before his eyes. ^' They provoke me to ^nger before my face." — Isa. Ixv. 3, 144 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. Affections and Prayers. Then, my God, thou art an infinite good, and I have frequently exchanged thee for a miserable pleasure, which I had scarcely indulged when it vanished. But thou, though despised by me, now offerest me pardon, if I wish for it, and thou dost promise to give me thy grace if I repent of having offended thee. Yes, my Lord, I repent with my whole heart of having outraged thee so grievously; I detest my sins above all things. Behold,! already return to thee, as I hope, and thou dost already re- ceive me, and embrace me as thy child. I thank thee, O infinite Goodness; but assist me now, and do not permit me ever again to banish thee from my heart. Hell shall not cease to tempt me ; but thou art more powerful than hell. I know that I shall never more abandon thee, if I always recommend myself to thee. The grace, then, which I ask is, that I may always recommend myself to thee, and that I may always say to thee, as I now do. Lord, assist me ; give me light, give me strength, give me perseverance, give me paradise ; but, above all, give me thy love, which is the true paradise of souls. I love thee, O infinite Goodness, and I wish always to love thee. Hear me for the love of Jesus Christ. Mary, thou art the refuge of sinners ; assist, by thy prayers, a sinner w^ho wishes to love thy God. THIRD POINT. The sinner insults God, he dishonors God, and fills the heart of God with grief and bitterness. There is nothing more galling than to be treated with ingratitude by a person tenderly loved and highly favored. Whom does the sinner assail ? He PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 145 insults a God who has created him, and has loved him so as to give his blood and his life for his sal- vation ; and by committing mortal sin, he banishes God from his heart. God comes to dwell in the soul that loves him. ** If any one love me, .... my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and will make our abode with him." — John xiv. 23. Mark the words — ice will make our abode with him. God comes to dwell forever in the soul ; he never departs from her, unless he is driven away. According to the Council of Trent, *' he deserts not the soul, unless he is deserted." But, O Lord, you know that the ungrateful sinner shall, in a ^e\N mo- ments, banish you ; why do you not instantly depart from him ? Will you wait till he expels you ? Aban- don him — depart from him before he offers you this great insult. No, says the Lord, 1 wall not de- part till he himself chases me away. Then, in consenting to sin, the soul says to God, Lord, depart from me. ** The wicked," says Job, " have said to God, Depart from us." — Job xxi. 14. The sinner, according to St. Gregory, says the same, not in words, but by acts. *' Recede, non verbis, sed moribus." The sinner knows that God cannot dwell with sin : in yielding to sin, he sees that God must depart : hence, by his conduct, he says to God, Since you cannot remain in me along with my sin, depart — farewell. And through the very door, by which God leaves the soul, the devil enters. *' Then he goeth and taketh with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there." — Matt. xii. 45. In bap- tizing an infant, the priest commands the devil to depart. **Go out from him, unclean sspxiit, and make room for the Holy Ghost." Yes ; for the soul, by receiving the grace of God, becomes his 13 146 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. temple. "Know you not," says St. Paul, *^ that you are the temple of God ? " — 1 Cor. iii. 46. But, in consenting to sin, man does the very con- trary : he says to God, who is in his soul, " Go oui from me, O Lord, make room for the deviU* Of this the Lord complained to St. Bridget, saying, that he is treated by the sinner as a king expelled from his throne. " I am like a monarch banished from his own dominions ; and in my place the worst of plunderers is chosen.*' What pain should you feel if you received a grievous insult from a person on whom you had lavished favors ? This is the pain which you have given to your God, who laid down his life for your salvation. The Lord calls heaven and earth to pity him on account of the ingratitude of sinners. *^Hear, O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth ^ I have brought up children and exalted them, but they have despised me." — Isa. i. 2. In a word, by their iniquities sinners afflict the heart of God. "But they provoked to wrath, and afflicted the spirit of the Holy One." — Isa. Ixiii. 10. God is not susceptible of pain ; but were he capable of sor- row, a single mortal sin should, as Father Medina teaches, be sufficient to make him die through pure grief. " Mortal sin would, were it possible, destroy God himself, because it would be the cause of infinite sadness in God." — Medina on Penance. Thus, as St. Bernard says, ** Sin, as far as in it lies, destroys God." In committing mortal sin, the sinner, as it were, gives poison to God, and does all in his power to deprive him of life. '* The sin- ner," says David, "hath provoked the Lord." — Ps. X. 4. And according to St. Paul, he " tram- ples on the Son of God." — Heb. x. 29. For he despises all that Jesus Christ has done and suffered in order to take away the sins of the world. PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 147 Affections and Prayers. Then, my Redeemer, as often as I have sinned, I have banished thee from my soul, and have done what would, were it possible for thee to die, have taken away thy life. I now hear thee ask, '^ What evil have I done thee ? Tell me. "iVhat displeasure have I given thee, that thou shouldst offer me so many insults 1 '' Lord, thou hast given me existence, and hast died for me. Behold the evil thou hast done me. What answer, then, can I make? I say that I have deserved a thousand hells ; thou hast just grounds for sending me to everlasting torments. But remember the love which made thee die on the cross for my salvation ; remember the blood which thou hast shed for my sake, and have mercy on me. But I know thou dost not wish that I despair ; on the contrary, thou makest me feel that thou standest at the door of my heart, and that, by thy inspirations, thou knockest for admission. ^^ I stand at the gate and knock. ^^ You tell me to open. '* Open to me, my sister.'^ — Cant. V. 2. Yes, my Jesus, I banish sin from my soul : I am sorry for it with my whole heart, and I love thee above all things. Enter, O my Love ; the gate is open ; enter, and never more depart from me. Bind me to thyself by thy love, and do not permit me to be ever separated from thee. No, my God, we will never again be disunited ; I embrace thee, and unite thee to my heart : give me holy perseverance. ^^ Do not permit me to he separated from thee.^^ Mary, my mother, assist me always ; pray to Jesus for me ; obtain for me this favor, that 1 may never more lose his grace. 148 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. SIXTEENTH CONSIDERATION. ON THE MERCY OF GOD. •Mercy exalteth itself above judgment." — St. James ii iS. FIRST POINT. Good is naturally diffusive; that is, inclined to communicate its goods even to others. But God, who is by nature infinite goodness, (** Deus cujus natura bonitas." — St. Leo,) has an infinite desire to impart his own felicity to us ; and therefore his inclination is, not to chastise, but to show mercy to all. To punish is, according to Isaiah, a work opposed to the inclination of God. *^ He shall be angry, .... that he may do his work, his strange work ; his work is strange to him.'' — Isa. xxviii. 21. And when the Lord chastises in this life, he does it in order to show mercy in the next. *' O God, .... thou hast been angry, and hast had mercy on us." — Ps. lix. 3. He appears angry, that w^e may enter into ourselves, and detest our sins. ** Thou hast shown thy people hard things ; thou hast made us drink the wine of sorrow." — Ps. lix. 5. And when he sends us any chastisement, he does it because he loves us, and wishes to deliver us from eternal punishment. *^ Thou hast given a warning to them that fear thee, that they may , flee from before the bow, that thy beloved may be delivered." — ver. 6. And who can sufficiently admire and praise the mercy of God towards sinners in waiting for them, in calling them, and in receiving them when they return? O, how great is the mercy of God in waiting for our re- PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 149 pentance! My brother, when you offended God, he could have struck you dead ; but he waited for you, and, instead of chastising you, he conferred favors upon you, he preserved your life, and pro- vided for you. He pretended not to see your sins, that you might repent. ^* Thou overlookest the sins of men for the sake of penance." — Wis. xi. 24. But, O Lord, how does it happen that you cannot beir to behold a single sin, and that you witness so many of them in silence? '* Thou canst not look on iniquity ; why lookest thou upon them that do unjust things, and boldest thy peace?" — Hab. i. 13. You behold the blaspheujer, the unchaste, the vindictive man, multiplying iniqui- ties from day to day ; and you do not chastise him ; and why so much patience ? '' Therefore the Lord waiteth, that he m:iy have mercy on you." — Isa, XXX. 18. God waits for sinners, that they may amend, and that thus he may pardon and save them. St. Thomas says, that all creatures, fire, the earth, air, water, by a natural instinct, would v/ish to punish and to take vengeance on the injuries done to their Creator. *' Omnis creatura tibi deserviens excandescit adversus injustos." But God, in his mercy, restrains them. But, O Lord, ^ou wait for these impious wretches, that they may see their wickedness; but do you not see that they ungratefully take advantage of your mercy to offend you still more? " Thou hast been favorable to the nation ; th:)U hast been favorable to the na- tion ; art thou glorified?" — Isa. xxvi. 15. And why so much patience ? Because ** God wills not the death of tlie sinner, but that he be converted and live." Ez. xxxiii. 11. O patience of God ! St. Augustine goes so far as to say that God, were he not God, should be unjust on account of hU 13* ISq preparation for death. excessive patience towards sinners. " Deus, Deus mens, pace tua dicarn, nisi quia Deus esses, injus- tus esses." To wait for those who abuse patience to become more insolent, appears to be an injustice to the divine honor. ** We sin,^^ continues the holy doctor, ** we adhere to sin.'' Some make peace with sin, and sleep in sin for months and years. We rejoice at sin: others go so far as to boast of their wickedness ; and you are appeased. We pro- voke you to anger — you invite us to mercy. We appear to be engaged with God in a contest, in which we labor to provoke him to chastise our guilt; and he invites us to pardon. Affections and Prayers. Ah, my Lord, I know that I deserve to be at this moment in hell. *' Hell is my houseJ' But through thy mercy, I am not now in that place of woe, but I am here at thy feet, and feel that thou wishest and command est me to love thee. ** Thou shalt love the Lord thy God.'' I hear thee tell me that thou wilt pardon me if I repent of the injuries I have done thee. Yes, my God ; since thou wishest me, a miserable rebel against thy majesty, to love thee, I love thee with my whole heart, and I feel more regret for the outrages I have offered to thee, than for any evil that could have befallen me. Ah! enlighten me, O infinite Goodness ; make me sen- sible of the wrongs I have done thee. I will no longer resist thy calls. I will give no more dis- pleasure to a God who has loved me so tenderly, who has pardoned me so often and with so much love. Ah ! that I had never offended thee, my Jesus; pardon me, and grant that, from this day forward, I may love nothing but thee; that I may live only for thee, who hast died for me ; that I PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 151 may suffer for thy love, since thou hast suffered so much for the love of me. Thou hast loved me from eternity ; grant that for eternity I may burn with thy love. I hope for all things, O my Savior, through thy merits. I trust also in thee, O Mary ; save me by thy intercession. SECOND POINT. Consider, moreover, the mercy of God in calling the sinner to repentance. When Adam rebelled against the Lord, and hid himself from his face, behold, God, having lost Adam, goes in search of him, and calls him, as it were with tears, ^' Adam, where art thou?" — Gen. iii. 10. ''These," says Father Pererius, in his commentary on this passage, ** are the words of a father seeking a lost son." My brother, God has often done the same to you. You fled from God, and he sought after you, call- ing you at one time by his inspirations, at another by remorses of conscience, now by sermons, again by tribulations, and by the death of your friends. Speaking of you, Jesus appears to say, *'I have labored with crying; my jaws are become hoarse." — Ps. Ixviii. 4. My son, I have almost lost my voice in calling you to repentance. Remember, O sinners, says St. Teresa, that that Lord, who shall one day be your Judge, is now calling you to return to him. Dearly beloved Christian, how often have you been deaf to the calls of God ! You deserved that he should call you no more ; but your God has not ceased to call you, because he wishes to make peace with you, and to save you. Who was it that called you? A God of infinite majesty. And what were you but a miserable, fetid worm ? Why 152 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. did he cal. you ? For no other purpose than to re- store to you the life of grace which you had lost. "Return ye and live." — Ez. xviii. 32. To ac- quire the divine grace, it would be but little to live in a desert during your entire life. God offered to give you his grace at each moment, if you wished to obtain it by making an act of contrition, and you refused. And after all this, God has not abandoned you ; he has gone in search of you, as it were weep- ing, and saying. Son, why will you bring yourself to perdition ? ** And why will you die, O house of Israel ?" — Ezek. xviii. 31. When man commits a mortal sin, he banishes God from his soul. The wicked have said to God, ** Depart from us.'* — Job xxi. 14. But what does God do ? He places himself at the door of that un- grateful heart. " Behold I stand at the gate and knock." — Apoc. iii. 20. He even appears to en- treat the soul to allow him to enter. ** Open to me, my sister." — Cant. v. 2. He grows weary praying for admission. ** I am weary of entreating thee." — Jer. xv. 9. Yes, says St. Denis the Are- opagite, God follows sinners like a despised lover, entreating them not to destroy their soals. '^ Deus etiam a se aversos amatorie sequitur et deprecatur ne pereant." And this precisely the apostle meant when he wrote to his disciples. *' For Christ, we beseech you to be reconciled to God." — 2 Cor. v. 20. In explaining this passage, St. John Chrysos- tom makes a beautiful reflection. '' Ipse Christus^ vos obsecrat, quid autem obsecrat ? Reconciliamini Deo, non enim ipse inimicus gerit, sed vos." Christ himself entreats you ; but what does he entreat you to do? To be reconciled to God ; for it is not God that acts like an enemy, but you. The saint's meaning is, that the sinner has not to labor in order PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 153 to move God to make peace with him ; for he, and not God, refuses peace. Ah! this ^ood Lord goes every day in search of so many sinners, continaally saying to them, ''Un- grateful souls, do not fly away any longer ; tell me why you fly away from me. I love your welfare, and desire nothing else than to make you happy. Why will you destroy yourselves?" But, O Lord, what is it you do ? Why so much patience and so much love towards these rebels ? What good do you expect from them? It redounds but little to your hoiior to show such an excess of love for the miserable worms that fly away from you. " What is a man, th;jt thou shouldst magnify him? or why dost thou set thine heart upon him ? " — Job vii. 17. Affections and Prayers. Behold, O Lord, at thy feet an ungrateful soul imploring mercy. Father, forgive me. I call thee Father, because thou wishest me thus to call thee. My Father, pardon me. I do not deserve pity, for I have treated thee with ingratitude because thou hast been bountiful to me. Ah, my God, through that goodness which did not allow thee to abandon me when I fled from thee, receive me, now that I return to thee ! Give me, O my Jesus, a great sorrow f :r the offences I have offered to thee, and give me the kiss of peace. I am sorry above all things f:)r the injuries I have done thee ; I detest and abhor them, and I unite this hatred and abhor- rence with that which thou, my Redeemer, feltest for them in the garden of Gethsemani. Ah! par- don me through the merits of that blood which thou sheddest f)r me in the garden. I promise firmly never more to depart from thee, and to banish from 154 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. my lieart every affection which is not for thee. My Jesus, my love, I love thee above all things; I wish always to love thee, and to love thee alone ; give me strength to execute this good will ; make me all thine. O Mary, my hope after Jesus, thou art the mother of mercy ; pray to God for me, and have pity on me. THIRD POINT. The princes of the earth disdain even to look at the rebel who comes to ask pardon ; but God acts not in this manner with us. *' He will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.'^ — 2 Par. XXX. 9. God cannot turn away his face from those who return and cast themselves at his feet; no, for he himself invites them, and promises to re- ceive them as soon as they come. ** Return to me, saith the Lord, and I will receive thee." — Jer. iii. 11. ''Turn to me . . . . and I will turn to you, saith the Lord of hosts.'' — Zac. i. 3. O, with what love and tenderness does God embrace the sin- ner that returns to him ! This love and tenderness Jesus Christ wished to give us to understand by the parable of the sheep, which the shepherd, when he found it, placed on his shoulders. '' Doth he not lay it upon his shoulders, rejoicing ; and, coming home, call together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost?" — Luke xv. 5,6. The Redeemer adds, '' There shall be joy in heaven upon one sinner that doth penance." This tenderness the Savior declared more fully in the parable of the prodigal son; in which he tells us that he is the father who, when he saw his lost son returning, runs to meet him, and before his son utters a word, em- PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 155 braces and kisses him, and, in embracing him, almost swoons away through tenderness of consola- tion. ** And running to him, he fell upon his neck and kissed him.'' — Luke xv. 20. The Lord promises that, if sinners repent, he will even forget their sins, as if they had never offended him. " If the wicked do penance .... living he shall live I will not remember all his iniqui- ties that he hath done.'' — Ez. xviii. 2L He goes even so far as to say, ** Come and accuse me, saith the Lord ; if your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow." — Isa. i. 18. As if he said, Sinners, come and accuse me ; if I do not pardon you, reprove me, upbraid me with having been un- faithful to my promises. But no ; " God knows not how to despise an humble and contrite heart." — Ps. 1. 19. The Lord glories in showing mercy and granting pardon to sinners. ** And therefore shall he be ex- alted, sparing you." — Isa. xxx. 18. And how long does he defer pardon ? Not an instant ; he grants it immediately. ** Weeping," says the prophet Isaias, *' thou shalt not weep ; he will surely have pity on thee." — Isa. xxx. 19. Sinners, exclaims the prophet, you have not long to weep ; at the first tear the Lord will be moved to pity. *' At the voice of thy cry, as soon as he shall hear, he will answer thee." — Ibid. God does not treat us as we treat him ; we are deaf to the calls of God ; but " as soon as he shall hear, he will answer thee ; " the very instant you repent and ask forgiveness, God an- swers and grants your pardon. Affections and Prayers. O my God, against whom have I rebelled t Against thee, who art so good, that thou hast ore- 156 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. ated me, and died for me. After so many acts of treason, thou hast borne with me. Ah ! the thought of the patience thou hast had with me ought to make me live always on fire w^ith thy love. And who would have borne so long as thou hast the in- juries w^hich I have done thee? Miserable shall I be, should I ever again offend thee, and condemn myself to hell ! I already see that thy mercy can bear with me no longer. I am sorry, O Sovereign Good, for having offended thee. I love thee with my whole heart; I am resolved to give thee all the remainder of my life. Hear me, O Eternal Father, through the merits of Jesus Christ ; give me holy perseverance and thy love; hear me, O my Jesus, for the sake of the blood which thou sheddest for me. We therefore beseech thee^ assist thy servants^ whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood, O Mary, my mother, look upon me, '^turn thy eyes of mercy to us,'' and draw me entirely to God. SEVENTEENTH CONSIDERATION. ABUSE OF DIVINE MERCY. " Knowest thou not that the benignity of God leadeth thee to penance ?" — Rom. ii. 4. FIRST POINT. We read in the parable of the cockle, that the servants of the good man of the house, seeing that it had grown up in the field along with the wheat, wished to pluck it up. ** Wilt thou," said they, '* that we go and gather it up ? " — St. Matt. xiiL PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 157 28. No, replied the master ; suffer it to grow up, and then it shall be gathered and cast into the fire. *' In the time of the harvest, I will say to the reap- ers. Gather up first the cockle, and bind it in bun- dles to burn." — Ibid. ver. 30. In this parable we see, on the one hand, the patience with which the Lord treats sinners; and on the other, the rigor with which he chastises the obstinate. St. Augus- tine says that the devil deludes men in two ways — by despair and hope. After the sinner has offended God, the enemy, by placing before his eyes the ter- ror of divine justice, tempts him to despair ; but be- fore he sins, the devil encourages him to sin with the hope of divine mercy. Hence the saint gives to all the following advice : After sin, hope for mercy ; before sin, far justice. He who abuses God's mercy to offend him, is undeserving of mercy. God shows mercy to those who fear him, but not to those who avail themselves of his mercy to banish the fear of God from their heart. Abulensis says that he who offends justice may have recourse to mercy; but to whom shall he have recourse, who offends mercy itself? It is hard to find a sinner so sunk in despair as to wish for his own damnation. Sinners wish to sin, without losing the hope of salvation. They sin and say, ** God is merciful; I will commit this sin, and will afterwards confess it.'' They say, observes St. Augustine, '* God is good ; I will do what I please.'' — Tract, xxxiii. in Job. Behold the language of sinners ; but, O God, such too was the language of so many who are now in hell. Say not, says the Lord, that the mercies of God are great ; that however enormous your sins may be, you shall obtain pardon by an act of contrition. " And say not, The mercy of the Lord is great f 14 158 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. he will have mercy on the multitude of my sins.'' — Eccl. V. 6. Say it not, says the Lord ; and why ? " For mercy and wrath quickly come from him, and his wrath looketh upon sinners/' — Ibid. The mercy of God is infinite ; but the acts of his mercy, or his mercies, are finite. God is merciful, but he is also just. ** I am just and merciful," said our Lord to St. Bridget ; " but sinners regard me only as merciful." St. Basil writes that sinners wish to consider God only as good and merciful. ** Bonus est Dominus, sed etiam Justus, nolimus Deum ex dimidia parte cogitare." To bear with those who avail themselves of the mercy of God to oifend him, would not, says Father M. Avila, be mercy, but a want of justice. Mercy is promised, not to tho^ who abuse it, but to those who fear God. ** And his mercy," said the divine mother, ** to those that fear him." — St. Luke i. 50. Against the obstinate, threats of just retribution have been pronounced; and, says St. Augustine, as God is not unfaithful to his promises, so he is not a liar in his threats. **Clui verus est in promittendo, verus est in mi- nando." Beware, sa^s St. John Chrysostom, when the devil, not God, promises you divine mercy, that he may induce you to commit sin. *' Cave ne umquam canem ilium suspicias qui misericordiam Dei polli- cetur." — Hom. i. ad Pop. Antioc. Never attend to that dog that promises you the mercy of (jod. Woe, says St. Augustine, to him who hopes in order to sin. " Sperat ut peccet : vae a perversa spe." — In Ps. cxliv. O, how many, says the saint, has this vain hope deluded and brought to perdition ! *' They who have been deceived by this shadow of vain hope cannot be numbered." Miserable the man who d>uses the mercy of God to offer new insults to his PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 159 majesty ! St. Bernard says that Lucifer's chastise- ment was accelerated, because he rebelled against God with the hope of escaping punishment. King Manasses sinned ; he afterwards repented, and ob- tained pardon. His son Ammon, seeing that his father's sins were so easily forgiven, abandoned him- self to a wicked life with the hope of pardon ; but for Ammon there was no mercy. Hence St. John Chrysostom asserts that Judas Was lost because he sinned through confidence in the benignity of Jesus Christ '' Fidit in lenitate Magistri." In fine, God bears, but he does not bear forever. Were God to bear forever with sinners, no one should be damned ; but the most common opinion is, that the greater part of adults, even among Christians, are lost. ** Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that lead- eth to destruction, and many there are that go in thereat." — IMLatt. viL 13. According tb St. Augustine, he who offends God with the hope of pardon, ^' is a scoffer^ not a pent- tentJ' But St. Paul tells us that God does not allow himself to be mocked. Gal. vi. 7. To con- tinue to offend God as often and as long as the sin- ner pleases, and afterwards to gain heaven, should be to mock God. '^ For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap." — Ibid. ver. 8. He that sows sins, has no reason to hope for any thing else than chastisement and hell. The net with which the devil drags to hell almost all Chris- tians who are damned, is the delusion by which he leads them into sin with the hope of pardon. Sin freely, he says to them ; for after all your iniqui- ties, you shall be saved. But God curses the man that sins with the hope of mercy. *' Maledictus homo qui peccat in spe." The hope of sinners after sin is pleasing to God when it is accompanied with 160 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. repeutancei^.but the hope of the obstinate is an abominarfqn to the Lord. — Job xi. 20. As th^ conduct of a servant who insults his master becausn he is good and merciful, irritates the master, s^ such hope provokes God to inflict vengeance. Affections and Prayers. Ah, my God, I have been one of those who have offended thee because thou wert bountiful to me^ Ah, Lord, wait for me, do not abandon me. I am sorry, O infinite Goodness, for having offended Ihee, and for having so much abused thy patjrj&nee. I thank thee for having waited for mi^4ili now. Henceforth I will never more betray tl^, aS I have hitherto done. Thou hast borne with* Me so long/^ that thou mightst one day see me !• lover of tmr goodness. Behold, this day has, I hopevarrived ;'I ^ love thee above all things, and es^(^m thy grace more than all the kingdoms of thS ;>#orld : rather than lose it, I am ready to forfeit life ^*i(ilousand times. My God, for the love of Jesiis Christ, give me holy perseverance till death, aloqg with thy holy iove. Do not permit me ever again to betray thee, or to cease to love thee. Mary, thou art my hope : obtain for me this gift of perseverance, and I ask nothing more. SECOND POINT. Some will say, ** God has hitherto shown me so many mercies, I hope he will treat me with the same mercy for the future.'* But I answer, ^* And will you insult God again, because he has been so merciful to you ? '* Then, says St. Paul, do you thus despise the mercy and patience of God ? Do you not know that the Lord has borne with you to this PREPARATION FOR 1>I5ATH3;T^%^ 161 ■■■•■ V moment, not that you may continue to ofFeniMm, but that you may weep over the evil you Sfflt done ? ** Despisest thou the riches of his goodneli3»^ and patience, and long-suffering? Knowest thou not that the benignity of God leadeth thee to penance?" — Rom. ii. 4. If, through confidence in the di- vine mercy, you continue to sin, the Lord will cease to show mercy. '' Except you be converted," says David, *' he will brandish his sword." — Ps. vii. 13. '* Revenge is mine, and I will repay them indue time^ — Deut. xxxii. 35. God waits, but when the time of chastisement arrives, he waits no longer, but executes vengeance. '' Therefore the Lord waiteth, that he may have mercy on you." — Is. xxx. 18. God waits for sin- ners, that they may amend ; but when he sees thai the time given to bewail their sins is employed in multiplying crimes, he then calls the very time to judge them. **'He hath called against me the time." — ^Laraen. i. 15. *' The very time," says Gregory, ^' comes to judge." Thus the very time given, and the^very mercies shown, to sinners, shall serve to make God chastise them with greater rigor, and abandon them sooner. ** We would have cured Babylon, but she is not healed ; let us forsake her." — Jer. li. 9. And how does God abandon sinners? He either sends them a sud- den death, and makes them die in sin, or he de- prives them of his abundant graces, and leaves them with the sufficient grace, with which they can, but will not, save theio:" souls. The blindness of their understanding, the hardness of their heart, the evil habits which they h ive contracted, shall render their salvaticm morally impossible ; and thus they shall be, if not absolutely, at least morally abandoned. *' I will take away the hedge thereof, 14* 162 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. and it shall be wasted.'* — Is. v. 5. O, what a chastisement ! When the master of the vineyard takes away its hedges, and leaves it open to mei> and to beasts, does he not show that he abandons it? It is thus that God acts when he abandons th» soul ; he takes away the hedge of holy fear, and of remorse of conscience, and leaves her in darkness And then all the monsters of crime shall enter the soul. ^* Thou hast appointed darkness, and it i? night ; in it shall all the beasts of the wood go about." — Ps. ciii. 20. And the sinner, aban- doned in that obscurity, shall despise the grace of God, heaven, admonitions, and excommunications, and will make a jest of his own damnation. *' The wicked man, when he is come into the depth of sins, contemneth.'' — Prov. xviii. 3. God will not chastise the sinner in this life ; but not to be punished in this world shall be the great- est chastisement of the wicked. *^ Let us have pity on the wicked, but he will not learn justice." — Isa. xxvi. 10. On this passage St. Bernard says, This mercy I do not wish for ; it is above all wrath, ** Misericordiam banc nolo : super omnem iram misericordia ista." — Serm. xlii. in Cant. O, what a chastisement is it when God abandons the sinner into the hands of his sins, and appears not to de- mand any further account of them ! " According to the multitude of his wrath he will not seek him.^* — Ps. ix. 4. God appears not to be enraged against sinners. *' My jealousy shall depart from you, and I will cease and be angry no more." — Ez. xvi. 42. He appears to allow them all that they desire in this life. *' I let them go according to the desires of their heart." — Ps. Ixxx. 13. Mis- erable the sinner that prospers in this life ! His prosperity is a sign that God waits to make him a PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 163 victim of his justice for eternity. '* Why/* said Jere- mias, ** doth the way of the wicked prosper ? " — Jer. xii. 1. He answers, ** Gather them together as sheep for a sacrifice/' — Ibid. ver. 3. There is no punishment greater than that which God inflicts, when he permits a sinner to add sin to sin. ^* Add thou iniquity upon their iniquity .... let them be blotted out of the book of the living." — Ps. Ixviii. 28. In explaining these words, Bellarmine says that '' there is no punishment greater than when sin is the punishment of sin." It would be a smaller punishment to be struck dead by the Lord after their first sin ; for, by dying afterwards, they shall suffer as many hells as they have committed sins. Affections and Prayers. My God, I know that in my miserable state I have deserved to be deprived of thy grace and light ; but seeing the light which thou now givest me, and feeling that thou now callest me to repent- ance, I have just reason to hope that thou hast not as yet abandoned me. And since, O Lord, thou hast not abandoned me, multiply thy mercies on my soul, increase thy light, increase my desire to serve and love thee. Change me, O omnipotent God, and, from being a traitor and rebel, make me a great lover of thy goodness, that I may one day enter heaven to praise thy mercies for all eternity. Thou then wishes! to pardon me, and I desire nothing but the pardon of my sins and the gift of thy love. 1 am sorry, O infinite Goodness, for having so often offended thee. I love thee, O Sove- reign Good, because thou dost command me to love thee ; I love thee, because thou well deservest my love. Ah, my Redeemer, through the merits of thy blood, give thy love to a sinner whom thou hast 164 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. loved so ardently, and whom thou hast borne with so patiently for so many years; I hope for every grace from thy mercy. I hope to love thee always till death, and for eternity. '' The mercies of the Lord I will sing forever." I will praise thy mercy, O my Jesus. I will forever praise thy mercy, O Mary, who hast obtained for me so many graces; I acknowledge that I have received them all through thy intercession. Continue, O my mother, to assist me by thy prayers, and to obtain for me holy per- severance. THIRD POINT. It is related in the Life of Father Louis La Nusa, that in Palermo there were two friends who went one day to take a walk. One of them, called Caesar, who was a comedian, seeing the other op- pressed with melancholy, said, '* How long is it since you were at confession? Is it on account of your long absence from the sacraments that you are so much troubled? Listen to me: Father La Nusa told me one day that God gave me twelve years to live, and that if, within that period, I did not amend, I should die an unhappy death. I have since travelled through so many parts of the world; IJiave had many attacks of sickness, one of which bfoLight me to the brink of death; but in this month the twelve years shall be completed, and I now feel better than in any part of my past life.'* He then invited his friend to hear, on Saturday, a new comedy which he had composed. But what happened? On Saturday, the 24th of November, 1683, as he was going on the stage, he was seized with apoplexy, and died suddenly. He expired in the arms of a female comedian, and thus the com- edy end^d. But let us make the application to PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 165 ourselves. Brother, when the devil tempts you agaia to sin, if you wish to be lost, you have it in your power to commit siu ; but do not then say that you wish to be saved. As long as you wish to sin, regard yourself as damned, and imagine that (jod writes the sentence of your damnation, and that he says to you. *^ What is there that I ought to do more tor my vineyard, that I have not done to it?" — Isa. v. 4. tfngrateful soul, what more onght I to do for you, that I have hot done? But, since you wish to be lost, go into eternal fire: the fault is your own. But you will say, *' Where, then, is the mercy of God?" Ah, unhappy soul! do you not feel that God has shown you mercy in bearing with you for Bo many years, after so many sins? You should remain forever prostrate on the earth, thanking him for his mercy, and saying, ^' The mercies of the Lord, that we are not consumed." — Lam. iii. 22. By committing a single mortal sin, you have been guilty of a greater crime, than if you had trampled under your feet the first monarch in the world. You have been guilty of so many mortal sins, that if you had committed against your broth- er the injuries which you have offered to God, he would not have borne with yon. God has not only waited for you, but he has so often called you and invited you to pardon. If God had stood in need of you, or if you had conferred a great favor upon him, could he show you greater mercy? If, then, you offend him again, you shall change his mercy into wrath and vengeance. If, after the master had given it another year to produce fruit, the fruitless fig-tree still remained barren, who could expect that the Lord would have allowed it more time, or would not have cut it 166 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. down? Listen, then, to the admonition of St. Augustine : ** O fruitless tree ! the axe is de- ferred ; be not secure; you shall be cut off." Your punishment, says the saint, has been delayed, but not taken away ; if you abuse any longer the divine mercy, you shall he cut off; in the end vengeance shall fall upon you. What do you wait for? Will you w^ait till God sends you to belli But should he send you there, you already know that your ruin is irreparable. The Lord is silent^ but he is not silent forever ; when the time of vengeance arrives, he no longer holds his peace. **' These things hast thou done, and I was silent. Thou thoughtest unjustly that I should be like to thee. I will reprove thee and set before thy face.'' — Ps. xlix. 2L I will place before your eyes the mercies I have shown you, and will make these very mercies judge and condemn you. Affections and Prayers. Ah, my God ! unhappy me, should I henceforth be unfaithful to thee, and betray thee again after the light thou now givest me. This light is a sign thou wishest to pardon me. I repent, O Sovereign Good, of all the injuries I have done thee, because they have offended thee, who art infinite goodness, Li thy blood I hope for pardon, and I hope for it with certainty; but, should I again turn my back upon thee, I would deserve a hell created on pur- pose for myself And what makes me tremble, O God of my soul, is, that I may again lose thy grace. I have so often promised to be faithful to thee, and have afterwards rebelled against thee. Ah, Lord, do not permit it ; do not ever abandon me to the great misfortune of seeing myself again thy enemy. Send me any chastisement, but not this. Do not PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 167 permit me to he separated from thee. Shouldst thou see that I will again offend thee, strike me dead, rather than permit so great an evil. I am content to suffer the most cruel death, sooner than have to weep over the misery of being again deprived of thy grace. Do not permit me to he separated from thee. I repeat this prayer, O my God ; grant that I may repeat it always. Do not permit me to he sep* arated from thee. I love thee, my dear Redeemer. I do not wish to be separated from thee. Through the merits of thy death, give me an ardent love, which will bind me so closely to thee, that I may never more be able to dissolve the union. O Mary, my mother,! fear that, if I again offend God, thou too wilt abandon me. Assist me, then, by thy prayers ; obtain for me holy perseverance and the love of Jesus Christ. EIGHTEENTH CONSIDERATION. ON THE NUMBER OF SINS. " Because sentence is not speedily pronounced against th# evil, the children of men comniit evil without fear."- Eccl. viii. 11. FIRST POINT. If God instantly chastised the man who insults him, we certainly should not see him so much out- raged as we do at present. But because the Lord does not instantly punish sinners, but waits for them, they are encouraged to offend him the more. It is necessary to understand that, though God waits and bears, he does not wait and bear forever. 168 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. It is the opinion of many holy fathers — of St. Basil, St. Jerome, St. Ambrose, St. Cyril of Alexandria, St. John Chrysostom, St. Augustine, and others — that as God (according to the words of Scripture, Wis. xi. 21 — ** Thou hast ordered all things in measure, and number, and weight") has fixed for each the number of his days, the degrees of health and talent which he will give to him, so he has also determined the number of sins which he will par- don; and when this number is completed, he will pardon no more. ** Illud sentire nos convenit/* says St. Augustine, ** tamdiu unumquemque a Dei patientia sustineri, quo consummato, nullam illi veniam reservari." — De Vita Christi, cap. ix. Eusebius of Caesarea says the same — " Deus expectat usque ad certum numerum, et postea deserit." — Lib. viii. c^ap. ii. The same doctrine is taught by the above-mentioned fathers. And these fathers have not spoken at random, but resting on the sacred Scriptures. In one place the Lord says that he restrained his vengeance against the Amorrhites, because the number of their sins was not as yet filled up — *^ For as yet the iniquities of the Amorrhites are not at the full." — Gen. xv. 16. In another place he says, *' I will not add any more to have mercy on the house of Israel." — Osee i. 6. Again he says, *' All the men who have tempted me ten times .... shall not see the land." — Num. xiv. 22, 23. "Thou hast," says Job, " sealed up my offences as it were in a bag." — Job xiv. 17. Sinners keep no account of their sins ; but God keeps an account of them, that when the harvest is ripe, — that is, when the number of gins is completed, — he may take vengeance on them, " Put ye in the sickles; for the harvest is ripe." — Joel iii. 13. In another place he says, " Be not PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 169 without fear about sin forgiven, and add not sin to sin." — Eccl. V. 5. As if he said, O sinner! you must tremble even on account of the sins which I have forgiven you ; for if you add another, it may happen that this new sin, along with those which have been pardoned, may complete the number, and then there shall be no more mercy for you. '' The Lord waiteth patiently, that, when the day of judg- ment shall come, he may punish them in the fulness of their sins." — 2 Mach. vi. 14. God waits till the measure of iniquities is filled up, and then he chas- tises the sinner. Of such chastisements there are many examples in the Scriptures. Saul disobeyed God a second time, and was abandoned. When he entreated Samuel to intercede for him, saying, ** Bear, I beseech thee, my sin, and return with me that I may adore the Lord," (1 Kings xv. 25,) Samuel an- swered, ** I will not return with thee, because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee." — ver. 26. We have also the example of Balthassar, who, after having profaned the vessels of the temple at table, saw a hand writing on the wall, " Mane, Thecel, Phares." Daniel came, and in explaining these words, among other things, said, *' Thou art weighed in the bal- ance, and art found wanting." — Dan, v. 27. By these words he gave the king to understand that in the balance of divine justice the weighi of his sins had made the scale descend. ** The same night Balthassar, the Chaldean king, was killed." O, how^ many miserable sinners meet with a similar fate ! They live many years multiplying sins ; but, when the number is filled up, they are struck dead, and cast into hell ! ** They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment they go down to hell/' 15 170 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. — Job xxi. 13. There are some who spend their time in investigating the number of the stars, the number of the angels, or the number of years which each shall live. But who can discover the number of sins which God will pardon each individual? We should, therefore, tremble. My brother, it may be that God will pardon you no more after the first criminal pleasure which you indulge, after the first thought to which you consent, or after the first sin which you commit. Affections and Prayers. Ah! my God, I thank thee. How many, for fewer sins than I have committed, are now in hell ! For them there is no pardon — no hope. And I tim still living ; I am not in hell ; but, if I wish, I can hope for pardon and for paradise. I am sorry above all things for all my sins, because by them I have offended thee, who art infinite goodness. Eter- nal Father, look on the face of thy CJirist ; behold thy Son dead on the cross for my sake ; and through his merits have mercy on me. I wish to die rather than offend thee any more. When I consider the sins I have committed, and the graces thou hast be- stowed on me, I have just reason to fear that, if I commit another sin, the measure shall be completed, and that I shall be damned. Ah ! assist me by thy grace ; from thee I hope for light and strength to be faithful to thee. And if thou seest that I should again offend thee, take me out of my life, now that I hope to be in a state of grace. My God, I love thee above all things, and I feel a greater fear of incurring thy enmity than of death. For thy mercy^s sake do not permit me ever more to become thy enemy. Mary, my mother, have pity on me \ assist me ; obtain for me holy perseverance. PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 171 SECOND POINT. Some sinners say, "But God is merciful." "Who," I ask, "denies it?" The mercy of God is infinite ; but though his mercy is infinite, how many are cast into hell every day ! " The Lord hath sent me to heal the contrite of heart." — Is. Ixi. 1. God heals those who have a good will. He pardons sins, but he cannot pardon the determina- tion to commit sin. These sinners will also say, " I am young." You are young ; but God counts not years, but sins. The number of sins which God pardons is not the same for all ; some he par- dons a hundred ; others a thousand sins ; others he sends to hell after the second sin. How many has the Lord condemned to eternal misery after the first sin ! St. Gregory relates that a child of five years, for uttering a blasphemy, was condemned to hell. The most holy Virgin revealed to that great servant of God, Benedicta of Florence, that a girl twelve years old was damned after her first sin. A boy of eight years died after his first sin, and was lost. In the Gospel of St. Matthew we find that the Lord in- stantly cursed the fig-tree the first time he saw it with- out fruit. "May no fruit grow on thee forever. And immediately the fig-tree withered away." — Matt, xxi. 19. Another time God said, "For three crimes of Damascus, and for four, I will not con- vert it." — Amos i. 3. Perhaps some daring sinner may have the temerity to demand an account of God why he pardons some three sins, but not four. In this we must adore the judgments of God, and say with the apostle, " O depth of the riches, of the wisdom, and of the knowledge of God ! How in- comprehensible are his judgments, and unsearcha- ble his ways!" — Rom. xi. 33. The Lord, says 172 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. St. Augustine, knows whom he spares, and whom he does not spare. To those who receive mercy he gives it gratuitously ; from those who do not re- ceive mercy, it is justly withheld. "• Novit ille cui parcat, et cui non parcat. duibus datur misericor- dia, gratis datur : quibus non datur, ex justitia non datur." — Lib. de Corrept. c. v. The obstinate sinner may say, But I have so often offended God, and he has pardoned me; I also hope he will pardon me the sin which I intend to commit. But, I ask, mue^t God spare you forever, because he has not hitherto chastised you ? The measure shall be filled up, and vengeance shall come. Samson continued to allow himself to be deluded by Dalila, hoping that, as on former occa- sions, he would escape from the Philistines. ** I will go out, as I did before, and shake myself" — Judges xvi. 20. But at last he was taken, and lost his life. *' Say not, I have sinned, and what harm hath befallen me ? " — Eccl. v. 4. Say not, says the Lord, I have committed so many sins, and God has not chastised me; ** for the Most High is a pa- tient rewarder ; " (Ibid. ;) — that is, he will one day come and punish all ; and the greater the mercy which he will have shown, the more severe shall be the chastisement which he will inflict. St. Chrys- ostom says, that God should be dreaded more when he bears with the obstinate sinner, than when he punishes him suddenly. ** Plus timendum cum tolerat, quam cum festinanter punit." Because, ac- cording to St Gregory, if they remain ungrateful, God punishes with the greatest rigor those whom he waits for with the greatest patience. ** duos diutius expectat, durius damnat." And it often happens, adds the saint, that they whom God has borne with for a Ion:! time, die unexpectedly, and PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 173 without time for repentance. ** Srepe qui diu tol- erati sunt subita morte rapiuntur, ut nee flere ante mortem liceat/' And the greater the light which God will have given, the greater shall be your blind- ness and obstinacy in sin. ** For it had been better for them not to have known the way of justice, than, after they have known it, to turn back.'' — 2 Pet. ii. 21. And St. Paul says, that it is morally impossible for a soul that sins after being enlight- ened, to be again converted. ** For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, have tasted the heavenly gifts, .... and are fallen away, to be re- newed to penance." — Heb. vi. 4, 6. The threats of the Lord against those who are deaf to his calls, are truly alarming. " Because I have called, and you have refused, .... I also will laugh in your destruction, and will mock when that shall come to you which you feared. '* — Prov. i. 24. Mark the words — 1 also: they mean that, as the sinner has mocked God by his confessions, by prom- ising fidelity, and afterwards betraying him, so the Lord will mock him at the hour of death. The wise man says, **As a dog that returned to the vomit, so is the fool that repeateth his folly." — Prov. xxvi. IL In explaining this text, Denis the Car- thusian says, that as a dog that eats what he has just vomited, is an object of disgust and abomina- tion, so the sinner who relapses into sins which he has detested in the tribunal of penance, renders himself hateful in the sight of God. ** Sicut id quod per vomitum est rejectum resumere est valde abom- inabile et turpe, sic peccata deleta reiterare." Affections and Prayers. Behold me, O my God, at thy feet. I am that disgusting dog that has so often eaten the forbidden 15* 174 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. apples, which I before detested. I do not deserve mercy ; but, O my Redeemer, the blood which thou hast shed for me encourages and obliges me to hope for it. How often have I offended thee, and thou hast pardoned me! I promised never more to offend thee, and I have afterwards returned to the vomit ; and thou hast again pardoned me ! What do I wait for? Is it that thou mayst send me to hell, or that thou mayst abandon me into the hand of my sins, which would be a greater punishment than hell ? No, my God, I wish to amend ; and in order to be faithful to thee, 1 will put all my confi- dence in thee. I will, whenever I shall be tempted, always and instantly have recourse to thee. Hither- to, I have trusted in my promises and resolutions, and have neglected to recommend myself to thee in my temptations ; this has been the cause of my ruin. Henceforth thou shalt be my hope and my strength, and thus I shall be able to do all things. **I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me.'* — Philip, iv. 13. Give me grace, then, O my Jesus, through thy merits, to recommend myself to thee, and to ask thy aid in my wants. I love thee, O Sovereign Good, amiable above every good ; I wish to love thee alone ; but it is from thee I must re- ceive aid to love thee. O Mary, my mother, do thou also assist me by thy intercession; keep me under thy protection, and make me always invoke thee when I shall be tempted. Thy name shall be my defence. THIRD POINT. '* My son, hast thou sinned ? do so no more ; but, for thy former sins, pray that they may be forgiven thee." — Eccl. xxi. 1. Behold, dear Christian, the advice which your good Lord gives you because he PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 175 desires your salvation. Son, offend me no more; but from this day forward be careful to ask pardon for your past transgressions. My brother, the more you have offended God, the more you should trem- ble at the thought of offending him again; for the next sin which you commit shall make the balance of divine justice descend, and you shall be lost. I do not say absolutely that after another sin there shall be no more forgiveness for you ; for this I do not know ; but I say that it may happen. Hence, when you shall be tempted, say within yourself, " Perhaps God will pardon me no more, and I shall be lost!'* Tell me; were it probable that certain food contained poison, would you eat it? If you had reason to think that on a certain road your enemies lay in wait to take away your life, would you pass that way as long as you could find another more free from danger? And what security, or even what probability, have you that, if you relapse into sin, you shall afterwards repent sincerely of it, and that you will not return again to the vomit ? What just reason have you to believe that God will not strike you dead in the very act of sin, or that, after your sin, he will not abandon you ? O God ! If you purchase a house, you spare no pains to get all the securities necessary to guard against the loss of your money ; if you take medi- cine, you are careful to assure yourself that it can- not injure you ; if you pass over a torrent, you cautiously avoid all danger of falling into it ; and for a miserable gratification, for a beastly pleasure, you will risk your eternal salvation, saying, ^* I ex- pect to go to confession after this sin." But when, I ask, will you go to confession ? ** Perhaps on Sun- day." And who has promised that you will live till Sunday ? Perhaps you intend to go to confes- 176 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. sion to-morrow. But who promises you to-mor- row. **Diem tenes," says St. Augustine, *'qui horam non tenes ? " How can you promise your- self that you shall go to confession to-morrow, when you know not whether you shall be among the living in another hour ? ** He/* continues the saint, •* who has promised pardon to penitents, has not promised to-morrow to sinners ; perhaps he will give it, and perhaps he will not.'* If you now Commit sin, God, perhaps, will give you time for repentance, and perhaps he will not ; and should he not give it, what shall become of you for all eter- nity ? In the mean time, by consenting to sin, you lose your soul for the sake of a miserable pleasure, and expose yourself to the risk of being lost for- ever. Would you, for that vile gratification, risk a sum of one thousand ducats? Would you, for that momentary pleasure, expose to danger your all — your money, your houses, your possessions, your liberty and life? Surely you would not. Will you, then, for that wretched delight, lose all — your soul, heaven, and God ? Do you believe that heaven, hell, and eternity, are truths of faith, or that they are fables ? Do you believe that, if death overtake you in sin, you shall be lost forever? O, what temerity ! what folly ! to condemn your- self, by your own free act, to an eternity of torments, with the hope of afterwards reversing the sentence of your condemnation. ** Nemo,** says St. Augus- tine, '* sub spe salutis vult aegrotare.** No one is £0 foolish as to take poison with the hope of being preserved from death ; and will you condemn your- self to eternal death, saying, I will, perhaps, be hereafter delivered from it ? O folly which has brought, and brings, so many souls to hell ! ** Thou hast,** says the Lord, ** trusted in thy wickedness. PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 177 .... Evil shall come upon thee, and thou shalt not know the rising thereof." — Isa. xlvii. 10, 11. You have sinned through a rash confidence in the divine mercy; vengeance shall unexpectedly fall upon ^'ou, and you shall not know wiience it comes. Affections and Prayers. Behold, O Lord, one of those fools who have so often lost their souls and thy grace with the hope of afterwards recovering them. And hadst thou struck me dead in those nights in which I was in sin, what would have become of me ? I thank thee for thy mercy, which has waited for me, and which now makes me sensible of my folly. I see that thou desirest my salvation; and I too wish to save my soul. I am sorry, O infinite Goodness, for having so often turned my back upon thee. I love thee with my whole heart. And I hope in the merits of thy passion, O my Jesus, that I will never again be one of those fools. Pardon me at this moment, and give me the gift of thy grace. I will never leave thee again. *' In thee, O Lord, have I hoped; let me never be confounded." Ah no ; I hope, O my Redeemer, never more to suffer the misfortune and confusion of seeing myself deprived of thy grace and love. Grant me holy perseverance, and give me the grace always to ask it of thee by in- voking thy holy name and the name of thy mother, and by saying, ** Jesus, assist me; most holy Mary, pray for me." Yes, my queen, if I have recourse to thee, I shall never be conquered. And when the temptation continues, obtain for me the grace not to cease to invoke thy aid. 178 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. NINETEENTH CONSIDERATION. ON THE GREAT ADVANTAGES OF THE GRACE OF GOD, AND THE GREAT EVIL OF BEING IN ENMITY V^ITH GOD. " Man knoweth not the price thereof." — Job xxviii. 13. FIRST POINT. " If," says the Lord, " you separate the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth." — Jer. XV. 19. They who know how to distinguish what is precious from what is vile, are like God, ** who knows how to refrise the evil and to choose the good." Let us examine how great a good it is ta be in the grace of God, and how great an evil to be in enmity with God. Men do not understand the value of divine grace. ** Man knoweth not the price thereof" Hence they exchange it for vanity, for a little earth, or for a beastly pleasure ; but it is an infinite treasure, which makes us worthy of the friendship of God. " For," says the wise man, '* she is an infinite treasure to men, which they that use, become the friends of God." — Wis. vii. 14. Hence, a soul in grace is the friend of God. The Gentiles, who were deprived of the light of faith, considered it impossible for a creature to attain to the friendship of God ; and they who were guided only by the light of nature could scarcely think otherwise ; for, as St. Jerome says, friendship makes friends equal : Amicitia pares aut accipit, aut facit. But God has declared in several places in the holy Scriptures, that by means of this grace we become his friends if we observe his law. " You are my ( PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 179 friends if you do the things which I command. I will not now call you servants, .... but I have called you friends." — John xv. 14. Hence St. Gregory exclaims, O goodness of God ! We do not deserve to be called even servants, and he con- descends to call us friends. ** O mira divinae bonita- tis dignatio ! Servi non sumus digni nominari, et amici vocamur." How fortunate would the man esteem himself, who should have the king for his friend ! In a vas- sal it would be temerity to presume to seek the friendship of his sovereign ; but it is not temerity in a soul to aspire to the friendship of her God. St. Augustine relates that two courtiers entered into a monastery of hermits, and that one of them began to read the Life of St. Antony the Abbot. '* He read, and in reading his heart became gradually divested of worldly affections.'' Turning to his companion, he said, " What do we seek 1 We can hope for nothing more than the friendship of the emperor. And through how many perils do we reach this greater danger ? And how long shall this last 1 " Friend, fools that we are, what do we seek ? The most we can expect to gain in the service of the emperor is, to become his friends ; and should we succeed in gaining his friendship, we shall ex- pose our eternal salvation to greater risk. It is with difficulty we can ever become the friends of Caesar ; ** but, if I wish, I am this moment the friend of God.'' Whosoever, then, is in the state of grace is the friend of God. He also becomes the son of God ; " You are gods, and the sons of the Most High." — Ps. Ixxxi; 6. This is the great gift which we have received from the divine love through Jesus Christ. " Behold," says St. John, " what manner of charity IB9 PREPARATION FOR DEATH, the Father hath bestowed upon us — that we should be called, and should be, the sons of God." — 1 John iii. 1. Moreover, the soul in the state of grace is the spouse of God. ** I will espouse thee to me in faith." — Osee ii. 20. Hence the father of the prodigal, when his son returned, ordered a ring to be put on his finger, in token of his espou- sal. Lastly, the soul becomes the temple of the Holy Ghost. Sister Mary d'Ognes saw a devil go out from an infant who received baptism, and the Holy Ghost enter with a crowd of angels. Affections and Prayers. Then, my God, when my soul had the happiness of being in thy grace, it was thy friend, thy child, thy spouse, and thy temple; but, by committing sin, it lost all, and became thy enemy and the slave of hell. But I thank thee, O my God, for giving me time to recover thy grace. I am sorry above all things for having offended thee, O infinite Good- ness, and I love thee above all things. Ah! re- ceive me again into thy friendship. For thy mer- cy's sake do not reject me. I know that I deserve to be banished from thy face ; but, by the sacrifice which he offered on Calvary, Jesus Christ has mer- ited for me mercy and pardon. Thy kingdom come. My Father, (it is thus thy Son has taught me to call thee,) — my Father, come with thy grace to reign in my heart; grant that I may serve thee alone, that I may live for thee alone, and that I may love thee alone. And lead us not into temptation. Ah! do not permit my enemies to tempt me, so that I may be conquered. But de- liver us from evil. Deliver me from hell; but de- liver me first from sin, which alone can lead me to hell. O Mary, pray for me, and preserve me from PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 181 the great misfortune of ever seeing myself in sin and deprived of the grace of thine and my God. SECOND POINT. St. Thomas of Aquino says that the gift of grace surpasses every gift which a creature can receive, since it is a participation of the divine nature. *' Donura gratiae excedit omnem facultatem naturae creatae, cum sit participatio divinae naturae." And before him, St. Peter said the same, — ** that by these you may be made partakers of the divine nature." — 2 Pet. i. 4. Such the grace which Jesus Christ has merited for us by his passion; he has communicated to us the same splendor which he received from the Father. ** And the glory which thou hast given to me, I have given to them." — John xvii. 22. In fine, a soul in the state of grace, is one thing with God. *' He," says St. Paul, ** that is joined to the Lord, is one spirit." — 1 Cor. vi. 17. The Redeemer has said that in a soul that loves God, the three Persons of the Most Holy Trinity dwell. **If any one love me, my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and we will make our abode with him." — John xiv. 23. So great is the beauty of a soul in the state of grace, that God himself extols it. '' How beautiful art thou ! how beautiful art thou ! " — Cant. iv. 1. The Lord appears never to take his eyes off the Boul that loves him, nor to close his ears to her petitions. ** The eyes of the Lord are upon the just; and his ears unto their prayers." — Ps. xxxiii. 16. St. Bridget used to say that a man could not behold the beauty of a soul in the grace of God, without dying through joy. And St. Catharine of 16 182 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. Sienna, seeing a soul in a state of grace, said that she would willingly have given her life to prevent that soul from losing such beauty. Hence she kissed the ground on which the priests walked, because through them souls recover the grace of God. How many treasures of merits can a soul in the state of grace acquire ? In each moment she can merit an eternity of glory. St. Thomas teaches that every act of love merits for the soul eternal life. ** Quilibet actus charitatis meretur vitam aeternam." Why, then, should we envy the nobles of the earth ? If we are in the grace of God, we can constantly acquire grandeurs in heaven, which far surpass all their earthly greatness. A certain lay brother of the Society of Jesus, as Father Patrignani relates in his Menologies, appeared after death, and said that he and Philip the Second, king of Spain, were in the enjoyment of glory ; but that his glory in heaven was as far superior to that of Philip, as that monarch was raised above him on this earth. Moreover, he alone who has expe- rienced it, can conceive the peace which a soul in the grace of God enjoys in this life. **0 taste and see that the Lord is sweet." — Ps. xxxiii. 9. The words of the Lord cannot fail. " Much peace have they that love thy law." — Ps. cxviii. 165. The peace of a soul which is united with God, surpasses all the pleasures which the senses and the world can give. '' The peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding." — Phil. iv. 7. Affections and Prayers. O my good Jesus, thou art the good pastor who > didst allow thyself to be slaughtered in order to give ; life to thy sheep. When I fled away from thee, , PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 183 thou didst not cease to follow and seek after me ; thou dost receive me now that I seek thee, and cast myself with a penitent heart at thy feet. Give me again thy grace, which I have miserably lost through my own fault. I am sorry for it with my whole heart ; I would wish to die of sorrow at the thought of having so often turned my back on thee. Par- don me through the merits of the painful death which, thou hast suffered for me on the cross. Bind me with the sweet chains of thy love, and do not permit me ever more to fly away from thee. Since I have merited the eternal torments of hell, give me strength to bear with patience all the crosses which thou sendest me. Since I have deserved to be for eternity under the feet of the devils, make me embrace with love ail the contempt and insults which I shall receive from men. Finally, make me obedient to all thy holy inspirations, and give me grace to conquer all human respects for the love of thee. I am resolved henceforward to serve thee only ; let others say what they please, I will serve thee alone, O my most amiable God ; thee only do I wish to please. But give me thy aid, without which I can do nothing. I love thee, O my Jesus, with my whole heart, and I trust in thy blood. Mary, my hope, assist me by thy prayers. I glory in being thy servant, and thou dost glory in saving sinners who have recourse^ to thee. Come to my relief and save me. THIRD POINT. Let us now see the misery of a soul that is in enmity with God. She is separated from God, her Sovereign Good. *' Your iniquities," says the prophet Isaias, ** have divided between you and your God." --Isa. lix. 2. Hence she is no longer his, and he is no longer her God. " You are not my people, 184 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. and I will not be yours/' — Osee i. 9. The soul not only belongs no longer to God, but God even hates her, and condemns her to hell. God does not hate any of his creatures; he does not hate the wild beast, the viper, or the toad. ** Thou lovest all things that are, and hatest none of the things which thou hast made.'' — Wis. xi. 25. But he cannot refrain from hating sinners. '* Thou hatest all the workers of iniquity." — Ps. v. 7. Yes ; God cannot but hate sin, which is diametrically opposed to his will ; and in hating sin, he must necessarily hate the sinner who is united to his sin. ** But to God the wicked and his wickedness are hateful alike." — Wis. xiv. 9. O God ! if a man has for his enemy a monarch of the earth, he cannot sleep ; he is every moment in dread of death. And how can he who is the enemy of God, enjoy peace l He may escape the vengeance of his sovereign by concealing himself in a wood, or by taking refuge in a distant country. But who can fly from the hands of God ? Lord, says David, if I shall ascend into heaven, if I shall hide myself in hell, wheresoever I go, your hand can reach me. *' If I ascend into heaven, thou art there; if I descend into hell, thou art present. . . . Even there also shall thy hand lead me." — Ps. cxxxviii. 8, 10. Poor sinners ! they are cursed by God, cursed by the angels, cursed by the saints, cursed also every day on earth by all priests and religious, who, in reciting the divine office, proclaim them accursed. " The?/ are cursed who decline from thy command' mentsJ' — Ps. cxviii. 21. Moreover, the soul that is in enmity with God has lost all her merits. Should a man be equal in merits to St. Paul the Hermit, who lived forty-eight years in a cave ; to St. Francis Xavier, who gained ten millions of souls to God; or PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 185 to St. Paul the Apostle, who, according to St. Jer- ome, surpassed in merits all the other apostles, — that man, if he commit a single mortal sin, loses all. *^ All his justices which he hath done, shall not be remembered." — Ezek. xviii. 24. Behold the ruin which the enmity of God produces; it transforms the child of God into the slave of Lu- cifer ; his beloved friend into an enemy whom he sovereignly hates; and the heir of heaven into one condemned to hell. St. Francis de Sales used to say that, were the angels capable of weeping, they should shed tears of pity at the sight of a soul that commits mortal sin and loses the divine grace. But the greatest misery is, that the angels would, if it were in their power, weep, and the sinner weeps not. A Christian, says St. Augustine, if he lose a sheep or any other valuable animal, weeps over the loss, and neither eats nor sleeps ; but when he loses the grace of God, he eats and sleeps, and sheds not a single tear. Affections and Prayers. Behold, O my Redeemer, the miserable state to which I have brought myself To make me worthy of thy grace, thou hast spent thirty-three years in toils and pains ; and I, for the poisoned pleasure of a moment, have despised and lost it. I thank thy mercy, which still gives me time to recover it if I wish. Yes, I wish to do every thing in my power to regain it. Tell me what I must do in order to obtain thy pardon. Dost thou wish me to repent? O my Jesus, I am sorry with my whole heart for having offended thy infinite goodness. Dost thou wish me to love thee ? I love thee above all things. Hitherto I have unfortunately employed my heart in loving creatures and vanities. From this day 16* 186 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. forward I will live only for thee ; I will love only thee, my God, my treasure, my hope, my strength. ** I will love thee, O Lord, my strength." — Ps. xvii. 1. Thy merits, thy wounds, O my Jesus, shall be my hope and my strength ; from thee I hope for strength to be faithful to thee. Give me, then, O my Redeemer, the gift of thy grace, and do not per- mit me ever again to depart from thee. Divest my soul of all worldly affections, and inflame my heart with thy holy love. ** Kindle in it the fire of thy love." Mary, my mother, w^ho wert always on fire with divine love, make me burn like thee with the love of God. TWENTIETH CONSIDERATION. FOLLY OF SINNERS. "For the wisdom of the world is foolishness with God."— 1 Cor. iii. 19. FIRST POINT. The Venerable John D'Avila would have divid- ed the world into two prisons, one for the incred- ulous, the other for Christians who live in sin at a distance from God. The prison of the latter he would have called the prison of fools. But the greatest misery and misfortune is, that these miser- able men esteem themselves wise and prudent, though they are the most foolish and imprudent of mortals. And unfortunately they are exceedingly numerous. *' The number of fools is infinite." — Eccl. i. 15. Some are foolish through love of hon- ors ; some for the sake of pleasures ; and others from attachment to the miserable goods of this earth. PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 187 And great as their folly is, they have the temerity to call the saints fools, because they despise the goods of this life in order to gain eternal salvation and the possession of God, who is the true and su- preme good They deem it folly to embrace con- tempt, and to pardon injuries , folly to abstain from sensual pleasures, and practise mortification ; folly to renounce honors and riches, to love solitude and an humble and hidden life. But they never reflect that the Lord has called their wisdom folly. '^ For,'* says the apostle, ** the wisdom of the world is fool- ishness with God.'* — 1 Cor. iii. 19. Ah ! they shall one day confess their folly ; but when ? When there shall be no remedy for it. They shall- then say in despair, '* We fools esteemed their life madness, and their end without honor.'' — Wis. V. 4. Ah ! fools that we have been ! we re- garded the lives of the saints as folly ; but now we know that we have been miserably foolish. *' Be- hold how they are numbered among the children of God, and their lot is among the saints." — Ibid. ver. 5. Behold how they have obtained a place among the happy number of the children of God, and have secured their lot among the saints — an eter- nal lot, which shall make them happy for eternity ; and we are among the number of the slaves of the devil, condemned to burn in this pit of torments for all eternity. '* Therefore we have erred^^ — thus they shall conclude their lamentation — '^ from the way of truth, and the light of justice hath not shinedunto us J' — Wis. v. 6. Then we have erred by shutting our eyes to God's light ; and what ren- ders our condition still more forlorn is, that for our error there is no remedy, and there shall be none as long as God shall be God. How great, then, the folly of sinners, who, for a rile emolument, for a little smoke, for a transient 188 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. "delight lose the grace of God! What would not a vassal io in order to gain the favor of his sover- eign ! O God ! for a miserable gratification, to lose God, the supreme good ! to lose paradise ! to forfeit peace in this life, by bringing into the soul the monster sin, which, by its remorses, shall tor- ture her unceasingly! and to condemn yourself voluntarily to everlasting woe ! Would you indulge in that forbidden pleasure, if, in punishment, your hand was to be burnt? or if you were to be shut up for a year in a grave ? Would you commit that sin, if, after consenting to it, you should forfeit a hundred crowns ? And still you believe and know that, in yielding to sin, you lose heaven and God, and that you are condemned to eternal fire ; and after all you transgress the divine law. Affections and Prayers O God of my soul, what should be my lot at this moment, if thou hadst not shown me so many mer- cies ? I should be in hell, among the number of the foolish, to which I have belonged. I thank thee, O my Lord, and I entreat thee not to abandon me in my blindness. I feel that thou tenderly callest and invitest me to ask pardon, and to hope for great graces from thee, after the great insults I have offered to thee. Yes, my Savior, I hope thou wilt admit me among thy children ; I am not worthy to be called thy child, after having so often insulted thee to thy face. *' Father, I am not wor- thy to he called thy child: I have sinned against Heaven and before theeP But I know that thou goest in search of the strayed sheep, and that thou feelest consolation in embracing thy lost children. My dear Father, I am sorry for having offended thee. I cast myself at thy feet, and embrace them ; I will not depart till thou pardon and bless me. PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 189 *'I will not let thee go except thou^bless me." — Gen. xxxii. 26. Bless me, O my Father, and let the fruit of thy benediction be, a great sorrow for my sins, and a great love for thee. I love thee, O my Father ; I love thee with my whole heart. Do not permit me ever more to depart from thee. De- prive me of all, but do not strip me of thy love. O Mary, if God is my Father, thou art my mother. Do thou also bless me. I do not deserve to be thy son ; accept me for thy servant ; but make me a servant who will always love thee tenderly, and al- ways confide in thy protection. SECOND POINT. Poor sinners ! they labor and toil for the attain- ment of worldly sciences, or the art of gaining the goods of this life, which shall soon end, and neg- lect the goods of the next life, which is everlasting! They lose their reason to such a degree, that they become not only fools, but senseless beasts ; for, living like brute animals, they attend not to what is not lawful or unlawful, but only follow the beastly instincts of the senses, and embrace what is pleas- ing to the flesh, without ever reflecting on what they lose, or on the eternal ruin which they bring upon themselves. To live in this manner is to act not like a man, but like a senseless beast. '* Hom- inem ilium dicimus," says St. Chrysostom, ** qui imaginem homini salvam retinet. QuaB autem est imago hominis? Rationalem esse." To be a man, is to be rational — that is, to act according to reason, and not according to the sensual appetite. Were beasts to receive from God the use of rea- son, and to act according to its dictates, we should say that they acted like men; and, on the other hand, when a man follows the impulse of the senses 190 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. in opposition to reason, it must be said he acts like a beast. ** O that they would be wise, and would under- stand, and would provide for their last end." — Deut. xxxih 29. He who acts according to the rules of prudence, looks to the future — that is, to what must happen at the end of life — to death and judgment, and after judgment, hell or heaven. O, how much wiser is the peasant who saves his soul, than the monarch who brings himself to hell ! *' Better is a child that is poor and wise, than a king that is old and foolish, who knoweth not to foresee hereafter." — Eccl. iv. 13. O God! would not all pronounce the man to be a fool, who, in order to gain a shilling, should risk his entire prop- erty? And shall he not be considered foolish, who, for a momentary gratification, forfeits the grace of God, and exposes his €oul to the danger of eternal perdition ? The care of present, and the total neglect of eternal goods and evils, is the ruin of the immense multitude of the damned. God has certainly not placed us in this world to become rich, or acquire honors, or to indulge our senses, but to gain eternal life. " But the end is life everlasting." — Rom. vi. 22. And nothing but the attainment of this end is of importance to us. " One thing is necessary." — Luke x. 42. But there is nothing which sinners despise more than this end ; they think only of the present ; they each day walk to death, and approach the gate of eter- nity, but know not whither they are going. *' What would you think," says St. Augustine, " of a pilot, who, when asked where he is going, should answer, that he did not know? Would not all exclaim, that he is bringing the ship to ruin ? Such," adds the saint, *' is the man who runs out of the PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 191 way.'' Such are the wise of the world, who know how to acquire weahh, to indulge in amusements, to gain posts of honor and emolument, but know not how to save their souls. The rich glutton knew how to lay up wealth ; but he died, and was buried in helL Alexander the Great knew how to acquire so many kingdoms; but in a few years he died, and was damned forever. Henry the Eighth knew how to preserve his throne by rebelling against the church ; but seeing at death that he lost his soul, he exclaimed, ** We have lost aW How many miserable sinners now weep and cry out in hell, *' What hath pride profited us? or what advan- tage hath the boasting of riches brought us? All those things are passed away like a shadow." — Wis. V. 8. Behold, they exclaim, for us all the goods of the world have passed away like a shadow, and nothing remains but eternal wailing and ever- lasting torments. *' Before man is life and death ; that which he shall choose shall be given him." — Eccl. xv. 18. Beloved Christian, God places before you, in this world, life and death ; that is, the voluntary privation of forbidden pleasures, by which you will gain eter- nal life ; or the indulgence of them, by which you merit everlasting death. What do you say? What choice do you make ? In making the choice, act like a man, and not like a senseless beast. Act like a Christian who believes in the Gospel, and says, " What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul ? " • — Matt. xvi. 26. Affections and Prayers. Ah, my God, thou hast given me reason, thou hast given me the light of faith, and I have acted 192 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. like a senseless beast, by losing thy grace for the miserable pleasure of the senses, which have passed away like air ; and now I find nothing but remorses of conscience, and debts to your divine justice. *' Enter not into judgment with thy ser- vant ! " Ah, Lord, judge me not according to my merits, but treat me according to thy mercy. Give me light, give me sorrow for the offences which I have committed against thee, and pardon me. ** I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost ; seek thy servant.'^ I am a lost sheep ; and unless you seek after me, I shall be lost forever. Have pity on me for the sake of that blood which thou hast shed for me. I am sorry, O Sovereign Good, for having left thee, and for having voluntarily renounced thy grace. I would wish to die of sorrow; but give me an increase of sorrow. Bring me to heaven, that there I may sing thy mercies. Mary, my mother, thou art my refuge ; pray to Jesus for me ; beg of him to grant me pardon and holy persever- ance. THIRD POINT. Let us be persuaded that the truly wise are they who know how to acquire the divine grace and the kingdom of heaven ; and let us incessantly implore the Lord to give us the science of the saints, which he gives to all who ask it from him. — Wis. x. 10. O, what a precious science, to know how to love God, and to save our souls ! This science con- sists in knowing how to walk in the way of salva- tion, and to adopt the means of attaining eternal life. The affair of salvation is of all affairs the most ne- cessary. If we know all things, and know not how to save our souls, our knowledge shall be un- profitable to us, and we shall be forever miserable ; PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 193 but, on the other hand, though we should be igno- rant of all things, we shall be happy for eternity, if we know how to love God. '* Blessed is the man," says St. Augustine, *' who knows thee, though he be ignorant of other things.'' One day, brother Egidius said to St. Bonaventure, ** Happy you, Father Bonaventure, who are so learned. I am a poor, ignorant man, who knows nothing. You can become more holy than I can.'' '^ Listen," replied the saint. ** If an ignorant old woman love God more than I do, she shall be more holy than I am." On hearing this, brother Egidius began to exclaim, **0 poor old woman, poor old woman, listen, listen : if you love God, you can become more holy than Father Bonaventure." *' Surgunt indocti," says St. Augustine, " et rapiunt coelum." The unlearned rise up, and bear away the kingdom of heaven. How many rude and illiterate Christians, who, though unable to read, know how to love God, and are saved T And how many of the learned of this world are damned ! But the former, not the latter, are truly wise. O, how truly wise were St. Paschal, St. Felix the Capuchin, St. John of God, though unacquainted with human sciences ! O, how truly wise were so many holy men, who, abandoning the world, shut themselves up in the cloister, or spent their lives ihs the desert ! How truly wise were St. Benedict, St. Francis of Assisium, and St. Lewis of Toulouse, who renounced the throne ! O, how truly wise were so many martyrs, so many tender virgins, who refused the hafid of princes, and suffered death for the sake of Jesus Christ ! That true wisdom consists in despising the goods of this life, and in securing a happy eternity, even worldlings know and believe ; hence, of all persons who give 17 194 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. themselves to God, they say, ** Happy they who are truly wise, and save their souls ! " In fine, they who renounce the goods of the world to give them- selves to God, are said to be undeceived. What, then, should we call those who abandon God for worldly goods? We should call them deluded men. Brother, to what class do you wish to be- long? In order to make a good choice, St. Chrysostom tells you to visit the sepulchres of the dead. **Proficiscamur ad sepulchra." The grave is the school in which we may see the vanity of earthly goods, and in w^hich we may learn the science of the saints. Tell me, says St. Chrysos- tom, are you able there to discover who has been a prince, a noble, or a man of learning? For ray part, adds the saint, I see nothing but rotten- ness, worms, and bones. All is but a dream, a shadow. ** Nihil video, nisi putredinem, ossa, et vermes. Omnia fabula, somnium, umbra." Every thing in this world shall soon have an end, and shall vanish like a dream or a shadow. But, dear- ly beloved Christian, if you wish to be truly wise, it is not enough to know your end; it is necessary to adopt the means of attaining it. All would wish to be saved, and to be saints ; but, because they do not employ the means, they never acquire sanctity, and are lost. It is necessary to fly from the occa- sions of sin, to frequent the sacraments, to prac- tise mental prayer, and, above all, to impress on the heart the following maxims of the Gospel: ''What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world?" — Matt. xvi. 26. *'He th^t loveth his life shall lose it." — John xii. 25. That is, we must even forfeit our life in order to save the soul. *'If any man will come after me, let him deny himself" — Matt. xvi. 24. To follow Jesus Christ, it is ne- PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 195 cessary to refuse to self-love the pleasures which it seeks. "Life in his good will." — Ps. xxix. 6. Our salvation consists in doing the will of God. These, and other similar maxims, should be deeply impressed on the soul. Affections and Prayers. O Father of mercies, behold my miseries, and have pity on me; give me light, make me sensible of my past folly, that I may bewail it, and make known to me thy infinite goodness, that I may love it. My Jesus, ^^ do not deliver up to beasts the souls that confess to theeJ^ You have expended your blood for my salvation; do not permit ms ever more to be, as I have hitherto been, the slave of the devils. I am sorry, O my Sovereign Good, for having abandoned thee. I curse all the mo- ments in which I voluntarily consented to sin; and I embrace thy holy will, which desires nothing but my welfare. Eternal Father, through the merits of Jesus Christ, give me strength to do all that is pleasing to thee. Strike me dead rather than per- mit me to oppose thy holy will. Assist me by thy grace to banish from my heart every affection which does not tend to thee. I love thee, O God of my soul, I love thee above all things; and from thee I hope for every good, for pardon, for perse- verance in thy love, and for paradise, that there I may love thee for eternity. O Mary, ask these graces for me. Thy Son refuses thee nothing. My hope, I trust in thee. 196 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. \ TWENTY-FIRST CONSIDERATION. UNHAPPY LIFE OF THE SINNER ; AND HAPPY LIFE OF THE CHRISTIAN WHO LOVES GOD. "There is no peace to the wicked, saith the Lord." — Isa. xlviii. 22. '' Much peace have they that love thy law." — Ps. cxviii. 165. FIRST POINT. In this life all men seek after peace. The mer* chant, the soldier, the man who goes to law, labor with the hope of making a fortune, and of thus find- ing peace, by worldly lucre, by a more exalted post, by gaining a lawsuit. But poor worldlings seek from the world that peace which the world cannot give. God alone can give us peace. The holy church prays in the following words: ** Give to thy servants that peace which the world cannot give.'' No ; the world, with all its goods, cannot content the heart of man ; for he was created, not for them, but for God alone ; hence God alone can make him happy and content. Brute animals, that have been made for sensual delights, find peace in earthly goods : give to an ox a bundle of hay, and to a dog a piece of flesh, and they are content; they desire nothing more. But the soul, which has been created for no other end than to love God, and to live in union with him, shall never be able to find peace or happiness in sensual enjoyments ; God alone can make her perfectly content. The Son of God gave the appellation of fool to tlie rich man who, after having reaped a rich bar* vest from his fields, said to himself, " Soul, thou PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 197 hast much goods laid up for many years ; take thy rest; eat, drink, and make good cheer." — Luke xii. 19. '' Stulte," says St. Basil, '' numquid ani- mam porcinam habes ? " Miserable fool ! have you the soul of a swine, of a brute, that you expect to make it happy by eating, drinking, or by sensual delights? ^^ Requiesce, comede, bibe.'^ A man may be puffed up, but he cannot be satisfied by the goods of this world. '* Inflari potest," says St. Bernard, ** satiari non potest." On the words of the Gospel, '' Behold, we have left all things^'* the same St. Bernard writes, that he saw different classes of fools laboring under different species of folly. All had a great thirst for happiness ; some were satiated with the goods of this earth, which is a figure of the .avaricious; others with wind, the figure of the ambitious, who seek after empty hon- ors; others, seated round a furnace, swallowed the sparks that were thrown from it; these were the passionate and vindictive ; others, in fine, drank pu- trid waters from a fetid lake ; and these were the voluptuous and unchaste. Hence, turning to them, the saint exclaims, *'0 fools, do you not see that these things increase, rather than diminish, your thirst? " ** Haec potius famem provocant quam ex- tinguunt?" The goods of the world are but ap- parent goods, and therefore they cannot satisfy the heart of man. *' You have eaten," says the prophet Aggeus, '' but have not had enough." — Agg. i. 6. Hence, the more the avaricious man possesses, the more he seeks to acquire. ** Major pecunia," says St. Augustine, ** avaritias fauces non claudit, sed extendit." The possession of great wealth does not close, but rather extends, the jaws of avarice. The more the unchaste man wallows in the mire of impurity, the greater is his disgust, and, at the 17* 198 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. same time, his desire for such beastly pleasures; and how can dung and carnal filthiness content the heart? The same happens to the ambitious man, who wishes to satisfy his desires by smoke ; for he always attends more to what he wants than to what he possesses. After having acquired so many king- doms, Alexander the Great wept, because he had not dominion over other countries. If worldly goods could content the human heart, the rich and the monarchs of the earth should enjoy complete happiness ; but experience shows the contrary. Sol- omon tells us that he refused no indulgence to his senses. ** Whatsoever my eyes desired, I refused them not.'' — Eccl. ii. 10. But after all his sen- sual enjoyments, what did he say ? " Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity." — Ibid. i. 2. That is, every thing in this world is mere vanity, a pure lie, pure folly. Affections and Prayers. Ah, my God, what now remains of all the offences I have offered to thee, but pains, bitterness, and merits for hell ? I am not sorry for the pain and remorse which I now feel ; on the contrary, they console me, because they are the gift of thy grace, and make me hope that, since thou inspirest these sentiments, thou wishest to pardon me. What dis- pleases me is the pain I have given thee, my Re- deemer, who hast loved me so tenderly. I deserved, O my Lord, to be abandoned by thee; but, in- stead of abandoning me, I see that thou dost offer me pardon, and that thou art the first to ask for a reconciliation. O my Jesus, I wish to make peace with thee, and desire thy grace more than every earthly good. I am sorry, O infinite Goodness, for having offended thee ; I would wish to die of sor- PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 199 row for my offences. Ah ! through the love which thou didst entertain for me when thou didst expire on the cross, pardon me, receive me into thy heart, and change my heart, so that henceforth I may please thee as much as I have hitherto offended thee. I now renounce, for thy sake, all the pleasures which the world can give me, and I resolve to forfeit my life rather than lose thy grace. Tell me what I must do in order to please thee ; I wish to do it. What pleas- ures, what honors, what riches can I seek? I wish only for thee, my God, my joy, my glory, my treasure, my life, my love, my all. Give me, O Lord, strength to be faithful to thee. Give me the grace to love thee, and then do with me what thou pleasest. Mary, my mother and my hope, take me under thy protection, and obtain for me the grace to belong entirely to God. SECOND POINT. But, according to Solomon, the goods of this world not only do not content the heart, but they are even a source of pain and affliction of spirit. ** And behold, all is vanity and affliction of spirit." — Eccl. i. 14. Poor sinners ! they seek for happi- ness in their sins, but they find nothing but bitter- ness and remorse. ^^ Destruction and unhappiness in their ways, and the way of peace they have not known." — Ps. xiii. 3. What peace ? What peace ? ** There is no peace to the wicked, saith the Lord." — Isa. xlviii. 22. In the first place, sin brings with it a dread of divine vengeance. The man who is beset by powerful enemies, neither eats nor sleeps in peace. And can he who has God for his enemy enjoy repose ? ** Fear to them that work evil." — Prov. X. 29. When the man who is in the state 200 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. of sin, hears the roaring of thunder, O, how does he tremble ! Every leaf that moves excites terror. " The sound of dread is always in his ears." — Job XV. 21. He is always flying away, though no one pursues him. *' The wicked man fleeth when no man pursueth." — Prov. xxviii. 1. He is pursued by his own sin. After having killed his brother Abel, Cain said, ** Every one therefore that findeth me, shall kill me.'' — Gen. iv. 14. God assured him that no one should injure him. '* And the Lord said to him. No; it shall not be so." — ver. 15. But notwithstanding this assurance, the Scripture tells us that Cain *' dwelt a fugitive on the earth." — Ibid. He w^as always flying from one place to another. And who, but his own sin, was the per- secutor of Cain ? Sin also brings with it remorse of conscience, that cruel worm which unceasingly gnaws the soul. If the miserable sinner go to a festivity, to a com- edy, to a place of amusement, his conscience says to him, *' You are the enemy of God ; should you die in your sin, where shall you go? " The torture of remorse of conscience is so great even in this life, that to free themselves from it, some have commit- ted suicide. It is related of a certain man, who had killed an infant, that, in order to get rid of the stings of remorse, he entered into a monastery : but finding no peace even there, he went before a judge, confessed his crime, and got himself condemned to death. What is a soul without God? The Holy Ghost compares her to a sea agitated by the tempest. ** The wicked are like the raging sea, which cannot rest." — Isa. Ivii. 20. Were a person brought to a musi- cal exhibition, or to a ball, and obliged to remain suspended by a cord, with his head downwards. PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 201 could he enjoy the entertainment? Such is the state of a man who lives in the enjoyment of world- ly goods, but without God ; his soul is as it were turned upside down. He may eat, and drink, and dance ; he may wear costly apparel, and may acquire honors, dignities, and possessions ; but he never shall have peace. ** There is no peace to the wicked.''* God alone imparts peace; but he gives it to his friends, not to his enemies. The goods of this earth, says St. Vincent Ferrer, do not enter the soul. *' Sunt aquae, quae non intrant illuc ubi est sitis." The sinner may wear embroi- dered robes and the richest jewels; he may indulge the palate as much as he pleases ; but his poor soul shall be full of thorns and gall ; and therefore, with all his riches, pleasures, and amusements, you shall see him always unhappy and ready to fly into a rage and fury at every contradiction. He who loves God resigns himself to the divine will in adversity, and enjoys peace ; but he who lives in opposition to the divine will, cannot conform to it, and therefore he has no means of tranquillizing the soul. The mis- erable man serves the devil; he serves a tyrant, who repays hirn with gall and bitterness. Ah 1 the word of God must be verified. " Because thou didst not #erve the Lord thy God w^ith joy and gladness, thou shalt serve thy enemy in hunger, and thirst, and nakedness, and in want of all things.'' — Deut. xxviii. 47, 48. What do not the vindictive suffer after they have gratified their resentment? the un- chaste, after they have attained their wicked object? What do not the ambitious, the avaricious endure ? O! how many are there, who, if they suffered for God as much as they suffer for their own damnation^ should become great saints ! 202 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. Affections and Prayers. O life misspent ! O my God, if, to serve thee, I had suffered the pains which I have endured in order to offend thee, how many merits should I now find treasured up for paradise ! Ah, my Lord, for what have I abandoned thee, and lost thy grace ? For poisoned and momentary pleasures, which, as soon as they were indulged, disappeared, and left my soul full of thorns and bitterness. Ah, my sins, I detest you, I curse you a thousand times. I bless thy mercy, O my God, which has borne with me so patiently. I love thee, O my Creator and Redeemer, who hast given thy life for me ; and because I love thee, I am sorry with my whole heart for having offended thee. My God, my God, why have I lost thee? for what have I exchanged thee ? I now know the evil I have done ; and I resolve to lose every thing, even life, rather than lose thy love. Give me light, O eternal Father, for the sake of Jesus Christ; make known to me thy greatness, and the nothing- ness of the goods which the devils present to me in order to make me lose thy grace. I love thee, but I desire to love thee with greater ardor. Grant that thou alone mayst be my only thought, my only desire, my only love. I hope for all from thy goodness, through the merits of thy Son. Mary, my mother, through the love which thou bearest to Jesus Christ, I entreat thee to obtain for me light and strength to serve him and to love him till death. THIRD POINT. Then all the goods and delights of this world cannot content the human heart. Who can satisfy all its desires? God alone. " Delight in the Lord, PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 203 and he will give thee the requests of thy heart." — Ps. xxxvi. 4. The heart of man is always in search of goods that will make it happy. He enjoys riches, pleasures, honors, and he is not content ; for these are finite goods, and he was created for an infinite good. But let him seek God, let him unite him- self with God, and behold, he is content, all his desires are satiated. *' Delight in the Lord, and he will give thee the requests of thy heart." — Ps. xxxvi. 4. During all the time which St. Augustine spent in sensual delights, he never found peace. This he afterwards confessed when he gave himself to God. ** Inquietum est," says the holy doctor, *' cor nos- trum, donee requiescat in te." Our heart is rest- less till it rest in thee. My God, I now know that all is vanity and affliction, and that you alone are the true peace of the soul. *^ All things are hard^ and thou alone reposed Hence he afterwards wrote, " Q,uid quaeris, homuncio, qugerendo bona ? Quaere unum bonum, in quo sunt omnia bona." What do you seek, O miserable man ? seek one good, in which are all goods. While he was in sin, David went to his gardens, and indulged in the pleasures of the table and all other royal entertainments ; but the table, the gardens, and the creatures, in which he took delight, said to him, ** David, do you expect that we shall make you happy 1 It is not in our power to content your heart. Where is your God ? Go and find your God ; he alone can satisfy the cravings of your soul." Hence, in the midst of all his enjoy- ments, David wept continually. ** My tears have been my bread day and night, whilst it is said to me daily. Where is thy God?" — Ps. xli. 4. But, O, how content and happy does God make the faithful souls that love him ! After having left all for God, without shoes, almost naked, and dead 204 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. from cold and hunger, St. Francis of Assisium en- joyed a paradise in saying, *' My God and my ally After he had become a religious, St. Francis Bor- gia was obliged, in travelling, often to lie on a bed of straw; but, so abundant were the consolations which he experienced, that he could not sleep. When St. Philip Neri left all things, he used, after going to rest, to receive so much consolation from God, that he would say, *'0 my Jesus, allow me to sleep." Father Charles of Lorraine, who was de- scended from the princes of Lorraine, and entered the Society of Jesus, began sometimes to dance through joy in his poor cell. In the plains of In- dia, St. Francis Xavier would uncover his breast, and exclaim. Enough ^ O Lord. ** Sat est, Dom- ine." Enough, O Lord ; no more consolation ; my heart can bear no more. St. Teresa used to say that a single drop of heavenly consolation gives more content than all the pleasures and amuse- ments of the world can give. Ah, God cannot but fulfil his promises to give peace and happiness to all who renounce worldly goods for his sake. *' And every one that hath left house, or brethren, or sis- ters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundred fold, and shall possess life everlasting." — Matt. xix. 29. What, then, do we seek after? Let us go to Jesus Christ, who calls us, saying, **Come to me, all you that labor and are burdened, and I will re- fresh you." — Matt. xi. 28. Ah! the soul that loves God enjoys that peace which surpasses all the pleasures and gratifications which the world and the senses can give. *' Pax Dei quae exsuperat om- nem sensum." — Phil. iv. 7. It is true that, in this life, even the saints have to submit to pains and crosses ; for this earth is a place of merit, and it is impossible to merit without suffering. But, accord- PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 205 ing to St. Bonaventure, divine love, like honey, ren- ders things the most bitter, sweet and amiable. He that loves God, loves the will of God, and therefore he rejoices in sorrows, because, in embracing them, he knows that he gives delight and pleasure to his God. **Vident crucem," says St. Bernard, *'sed non vident unctionem." We see the cross, but not the unction. We behold only the mortifications which the lovers of God endure, and the pleasures from which they abstain; but we do not see the spiritual delights with which the Lord consoles them. O, if sinners tasted the peace enjoyed by a soul that wishes for nothing but God ! *' O, taste and see," says David, *' that the Lord is sweet." — Ps. xxxiii. 9. My brother, begin to make meditation every day, to communicate frequently, to converse with God ; and you shall find that during the short time which you shall spend with him, he will give you greater consolation than the world, with all its amusements, has ever given you. O, taste and see. He who has not tasted, cannot understand how God contents the soul that loves him. Affections and Prayers. My dear Redeemer, how have I been hitherto so blind as to abandon thee, who art an infinite good, and the fountain of all consolation, for the miser- able and momentary gratifications of the senses ? I am astonished at my blindness, but I am still more astonished at thy mercy, which has so bounti- fully borne with me. I thank thee for making me now sensible of my folly, and of my obligation to love thee. I love thee, O my Jesus, with my whole soul, but I desire to love thee with greater fervor. Increase my desire and my love. Enamor my soul of thee, who art infinitely amiable ; of thee, who 18 206 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. hast left nothing undone to gain my love ; of thee, who so ardently desirest my love. ^^ If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.'' Ah, my dear Redeem- er, purify my heart from all impure affections, which hinder me to love thee as I would wish ! It is not in my power to inflame my whole heart with the love of thee, and to make it love nothing but thee. This requires the power of thy grace, which can do all things. Detach me from every creature, banish from my soul every affection which is not for thee, make me all thine. I am sorry above all things for all the displeasure I have given thee. I resolve to consecrate all the days of my life to thy holy love ; but it is only thy grace that can make tiie fulfil this resolution. Grant me, O Lord, this grace for the sake of the blood which thou didst shed for me with so much pain and so much love. Let it be the glory of thy power to make my heart, which was once full of earthly affections, now be- come all flames of love for thee, O infinite Good. O mother of fair love, O Mary, by thy prayers, make my whole soul burn, as thine did, with the charity of God. TWENTY-SECOND CONSIDERATION. ON EVIL HABITS. " The wicked man, when he is come into the depth of sinS| contemneth." — Prov. xviii. 3. FIRST POINT. The evil inclination to sin is one of the greatest injuries which we have received from the sin of PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 207 Adam. This made the apostle weep when he saw himself impelled by concupiscence to the very evil which he abhorred. '* I see another law in my members .... captivating me in the law of sin.'* — Rom. vii. 23. Hence it is so difficult for us, who are drawn to evil by this concupiscence and by so many enemies, to reach, without sin, the land of bliss. What would you say of a traveller who, being obliged to cross an agitated sea in a shattered vessel, would load the ship with a burden whicli, even in a calm sea, would be sufficient to sink the vessel ? What hopes could you entertain of the safety of such a man ? Now, we may say the same of the man who has contracted an evil habit : he must pass the sea of this life (a sea always tempes- tuous, in which so many perish) in the weak and shattered vessel of the flesh, to which we are united : and he overloads this vessel with sins of habit. It is very difficult for such a man to save his soul ; because a bad habit blinds the under- standing, hardens the heart, and thus makes the sinner obstinate till death. First, a bad habit blinds the understanding. Why do the saints always implore light from God, and tremble lest they should become the greatest sinners in the world ? Because they know that if they lose God's light, they may commit the greatest crimes. How does it happen that so many Chris- tians live obstinately in sin until they are lost in the end? *' Their own malice blinded them.'* — Wis. ii. 21. Sin blinds them, and thus they are lost. Every sin produces blindness; the more sins are multiplied, the greater the blindness they produce. God is our light ; and therefore, the farther the soul is removed from God, the more blind she be- comes. ** His bones," says Job, '* shall be filled 208 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. with the vices of his youth." — Job xx. 11. As the light of the sun cannot enter a vessel filled with clay, so a heart replete with vices cannot admit the light of God. Hence we see certain sinners lose the divine light, so that tljey go on from sin to sin without ever thinking of repentance. " The wick- ed walk round about." — Ps. xi. 9. Fallen into the dark pit of sin, they do nothing but commit sins, they speak only of sins, they think only of sinning, and scarcely feel any longer that sin is an eviL ** Ipsa consuetudo mali," says St. Augustine, " non ginit peccatores videre malum quod faciunt." The very habit of sin does not allow them to see the evil which they do. Hence they live as if they no longer believed in the existence of God, of heaven, hell, or eternity. And behold, after an evil habit is contracted, the sins which before excited horror, are now viewed with indifference. ''Make them," says David, •Mike a wheel, and as stubble before the wind.'* — - Ps. Ixxxii. 14. See, says Gregory, how a straw is blown about by every breath of air. In like man- ner a person, before he falls into sin, resists and combats temptations, at least for some time; but, af- ter having contracted a bad habit, he yields instant- ly to every temptation, and falls in every occasion of sin; and why? Because the habit of sin has deprived him of light. St. Anselm says, that the devil acts towards certain sinners like a person who fastens a cord to a bird ; he allows it to fly away, but whenever he pleases, draws it back to the earth. These are, according to the saint, ha- bitual sinners. **Pravo usu irretiti ab hoste tenen^ tur, volantes in eadem vitia dejiciuntur." — Ap. Edinor., in vita, lib. ii. St. Bernardine says (torn* iv. serm. xv.) that some continue to commit sin, PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 209 without being exposed to any dangerous occasion. He compares habitual sinners to the wings of a windmill, which are driven round by every wind, and turn the mill even when there is no corn to be ground, and against the will of the master. You shall find habitual sinners, who indulge in bad thoughts even without any occasion to excite them, without pleasure, and drawn into them as it were involuntarily and forcibly, by the effects of evil habits. '' Dura res est consuetudo,*' says St. John Chrysostom, "quae nonnunquam nolentes commit- tere cogit illicita." Yes, as St. Augustine says, a bad habit brings on a certain necessity. ** Dum consuetudini non resistitur, facta est necessitas.'* And according to St. Bernardine, evil habits are changed into our aature. **Usus vertitur in natu- ram." Hence, as it is necessary for a man to breathe, so it appears that habitual sinners become the slaves of sin, and bring themselves into a ne- cessity of falling into sin. I have said that they become slaves of sin. There are servants, who serve for wages, and slaves, who serve by force and without remuneration. To these we may compare certain miserable men, who sin even with- out pleasure. '' The wicked man, when he is come into the depth of sins, contemneth." — Prov. xviii. 3. This passage St. Chrysostom explains of habitual sin- ners, who, sunk in an abyss of darkness, despise corrections, sermons, censures, hell, and God ; they despise every thing, and resemble the vulture, which waits to be killed by the fowler, rather than aban^ don the dead body on which it feeds. Father Re- cupito relates that a man condemned to death, even when going to the place of execution, raised his eyes, saw a young female, and consented to a 18* 210 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. bad thought. Father Gisolfo relates that a blasphe- mer, who had been likewise condemned to death, when thrown off the scaffold, broke out into a blas- phemy. St. Bernard goes so far as to say that it is almost useless to pray for habitual sinners, — that we must weep over them as lost forever. If they no longer see their danger, how can they escape the precipice ? To preserve them from it, a mir- acle of grace is necessary. The miserable wretches shall open their eyes in hell, when the sight of their misery shall serve only to make them weep more bitterly over their folly. Affections and Prayers. My God, thou hast bestowed more favors on me than on others, and I have done greater injuries to thee than any person whom I know. O sorrowful heart of my Redeemer, so much afflicted and tor- tured on the cross at the sight of my sins, give me through thy merits a lively sense of my faults, and a lively sorrow for them. Ah, my Jesus, I am full of vices, but thou art omnipotent ; thou canst easily fill my soul with thy holy love. I therefore hope in thee, who art infinite goodness and infinite mercy. I repent, O Sovereign Good, of having offended thee. O that I had died rather than have ever offended thee ! I have forgotten thee ; but thou hast not forgotten me : this I see with the light which thou now givest me. Since, then, thou gavest me this light, give me also strength to be faithful to thee. I promise to die a thousand times rather than ever turn my back upon thee. But in thy aid I place my hopes. ** In thee, O Lord, I I have hoped ; let me never be confounded.'' I hope, O my Jesus, in thee, that I shall never more see myself confounded in sin, and deprived of thy PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 211 gjace. To thee also, O Mary, my mistress, I turn. In thee, O Lady, I have hoped; let me not be con- founded forever. O my hope, I trust in thy inter- cession, that I shall never again see myself the enemy of thy Son. Ah, beg of him to strike me dead rather than abandon me to this sovereign misfortune. ' SECOND POINT. A bad habit hardens the heart. ** Cor durum," says Cornelius a Lapide, ** efficit consuetude pec- candi." And this hardness of heart God justly per- mits in punishment of resisting his calls. ** The Lord,'' says the apostle, " hath mercy on whom he will; and whom he will he hardeneth." — Rom. ix. 18. According to St. Augustine, God hardens the sinner by not showing mercy ; ** Obduratio Dei ^st nolle misereri." It is not that God directly hard- ens habitual sinners, but he subtracts his graces in punishment of their ingratitude for past favors, and thus their heart becomes hard like a stone. *' His heart shall be as hard as a stone, and as firm as a smith's anvil." — - Job xli. 15. Hence it is that, while others are softened, and shed tears in hearing sermons on the rigor of divine justice, on the pains of the damned, or on the passion of Jesus Christ, the habitual sinner will remain unmoved ; he will speak, and listen to others speaking, on these sub- jects, with as much indifference as if they did not concern him ; and thus these sermons shall serve to render him more obdurate. *^ His heart shall be firm as a smith's anvil." Even sudden deaths, earthquakes, thunder and lightning, shall no longer strike terror into the heart of the habitual sinner; instead of awaking, and making him enter into himself, they shall rather ea- 212 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. courage him in the deadly sleep of death and per- dition in which he slumbers. ** At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, they have all slumbered." — Ps. Ixxv. 7. An evil habit gradually takes away all remorse of conscience ; to the habitual sinner crimes the most enormous appear trifling. " Peccata quam- vis horrenda/' says St. Augustine, ** cum in con- suetudinem veniunt, parva, aut nulla esse viden- tur." The commission of sin is naturally accom- panied with shame ; but, according to St. Jerome, they who contract evil habits lose even the shame of committing sin. *' Qui ne pudorem quidem ha- bent in delictis.'' St. Peter compares the habitual sinner to the sow that wallows in the mire. As the sow wallowing in the mire feels not its stench, so the habitual sinner perceives not the stench of his crimes, which disgusts all others. And, says St. Bernardine, what wonder is it that, after the mire of sin has blinded him, he should not see his miserable condition, even when God scourges him for his iniquities? *' Populus immergit se in pec- catis, sicut sus in volutabro luti : quid mirum si Dei flagellantis futura judicia non cognoscit/' — • Part ii. page 182. Hence it happens that, instead of regretting his sins, he rejoices at them, he laughs at them, and boasts of them. " They are glad when they have done evil." — Prov. ii. 14. '* A fool worketh mischief as it were for sport." — Prov. x. 23. Are not these clear signs of diabolical obdu- racy? They are, says St. Thomas of ViJlanova, all signs of damnation. " Induratio damnationis indi- cium." My brother, tremble lest this may happen to you. If you have contracted any evil habit, en- deavor to abandon it now that God calls you. Re- joice and be glad as long as conscience reproves you ; for it is a sign that God has not as yet abandoned PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 2l3 you ; but amend, and instantly shake off the bad habits ; if you do not, the wound shall become gan- grenous, and you shall be lost. Affections and Prayers. O Lord, how shall I be able to thank thee as I ought for so many graces which thou hast bestowed upon me ? How often hast thou called, and I have resisted ! Instead of being grateful to thee, and loving thee, for having delivered me from hell, and for having called me with so much love, I have con- tinued to provoke thy wrath, by offering repeated insults to thee. O my God, I will no longer out- rage thy patience; I have offended thee enough. Thou alone, who art infinite goodness, couldst have borne with me till the present moment. But I now see that thou canst bear no longer with me. Par- don me then, O my Lord and my Sovereign Good ; pardon me all the injuries I have offered to thee. I am sorry for them with my whole heart, and pur- pose never more to offend thee. Shall I forever continue to provoke thee ? Ah ! be appeased with me, O God of my soul, not through my merits, for which nothing else is reserved but vengeance and hell, but through the merits of thy Son and my Redeem- er, in which I place all my hopes. For the love of Jesus Christ receive me into favor, and give me perseverance in thy love. Banish from me all im- pure affections, and draw me entirely to thyself I love thee, O supreme God ; I love thee, O sove- reign Lover of souls, who art worthy of infinite love. O that I had always loved thee! O Mary, my mother, obtain for me the grace to spend the re- mainder of my life not in offending, but in loving thy Son, and in bewailing the displeasure I have given him. 214 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. THIRD POINT. When the understanding is deprived of light, and the heart hardened, the sinner ordinarily makes a bad end, and dies obstinate in his sin. " A hard heart shall fare ill at the end." — Eccl. iii. 27. The just continue to walk in the straight path. *' The path of the just is right to walk in." — Isa.xxvi. 7. But habitual sinners always ** walk round about." — Ps. xi. 9. They give up sin for a little, and afterwards return to it. Their damnation St. Ber- nard regards as certain. *' Vae homini qui sequitur hunc circuitum." — Serm. xii., sup. Psal. xc. Some of them say, '' I will amend before death ; " but it is very difficult for an habitual sinner, even in his old age, to change his life. ** A young man," says the Holy Ghost, *' according to his way, even when he is old he will not depart from it." — Prov. xxii. 6. We are very weak. *' Your strength," says the prophet Isaias, *' shall be as the ashes of tow." — Isa. i. 31. Hence, as St. Thomas of Villanova says, (Cone. iv. Dom. Quad. 4,) the feoul deprived of grace cannot abstain from committing new sins. *'Cluo fit ut anima a gratia destituta diu evadere ulteriora peccata non possit." But would it not be the extreme of folly to play for, and voluntarily to lose, all your property, with the hope of winning it back in the last game? Such the folly of the man who continues to live in the midst of sins, and hopes in the last moments of life to repair all the evil he has done. Can the Ethiopian or the leop- ard change the color of his skin ? And how can he who has long indulged in the habit of sin, lead a good life? "If," says the prophet Jeremias, *' the Ethiopian can change his skin, or the leopard his spots, you also may do well when you have learned PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 215 evil." — Jer. xiii. 23. Hence the habitual sinner, in the end, abandons himself to despair. Such the manner in which his life terminates. ** But he that is hardened in mind shall fall into evil." — Prov. xxviii. 14. On the words of Job, */ He hath torn me with wound upon wound, he hath rushed in upon me like a giant," (Job xvi. 15,) St. Gregory says that a person may, perhaps, be able to defend himself after the first wound; but, after every additional one, he loses strength, till in the end he loses his life. So it is with sin. After the first and second transgression, the sinner shall have some strength, (that is, through the aid of God's grace;) but, if he continue in the habit of sin, it shall rush on him like a giant. How is it possible for the sinner to escape death after his strength has been diminished, and his woilnds multiplied ? ** Sin," as the prophet Jeremias says, '* like a huge stone, oppresses the sinner." — Lam. iii. 53. St. Bernard compares the habitual sinner to a man who has fallen under a large stone, which he has not strength to remove. It is as difficult for the former to shake off his bad habits, as it is for the latter to get rid of the load that presses upon him. " The man on whom the weight of a bad habit presses, rises with difficulty." The habitual sinner may say, ** Is my salvation then hopeless?" No, you are not beyond hope; if you wish to apply it, there is still a remedy for the past But a certain author says, that in grievous maladies very severe remedies are necessary. *' Praestat in magnis morbis a magnis auxiliis initium medendi sumere." — Cardin. Meth., cap. xvi. If to a sick man in danger of death, and unwilling to take medicine, because he is not aware of the malignity of his disease, the physician said, ** Friend, you shall 216 PREPARATION FOR DEATH, certainly die unless you take such a medicine," what should be the answer of the invalid ? *^ Since/* he would say, *' my life is in danger, I am ready to obey all your directions.'* Dearly beloved Christian, if you are an habitual sinner, I say the same to you. You are very ill; you are one of those invalids who, as St. Thomas of Villanova says, are seldom cured; you are on the brink of perdition. But if you wish to recover from your illness, there is a remedy for you ; however, you must not expect a miracle of grace. You must on your part labor hard to take away the occasions of sin, to avoid bad company, to resist temptations by recommending yourself to God as soon as you perceive them : you mu&t adopt the means of salvation, by going fre- quently to confession, by reading a spiritual book every day, by practising devotion to most holy Mary, and continually imploring her to obtain for you strength not to relapse into sin. You must do violence to yourself; otherwise the threat of the Lord against obstinate sinners shall fall upon you. *^ You shall die in your sin." — John viii. 21. And if you do not adopt these means now that the Lord gives you light, you shall scarcely adopt them here- after. Listen to God calling you to repentance. Lazarus, come forth. Poor sinner ! you are long dead ; go forth from the dark grave of your sinful life. Respond at once to the call, and give your- self instantly to God. Tremble lest this should be the last call for you. Affections and Prayers. Ah ! my God, what do I wait for ? Will I wait till thou dost abandon me and send me to hell ? Ah 1 Lord, bear with me ; I wish to change my life, and to give myself to thee. Tell me what I must do, and I will do it. O blood of Jesus, assist me. PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 217 O Mary, advocate of sinners, come to my relief. eternal Father, have mercy on me .through the merits of Jesus and Mary. I am sorry, O God of infinite goodness, for having offended thee, and I love thee above ail things. Pardon me for the sake of Jesus Christ, and give me thy love. . Give me also a great fear of being lost, should I again offend thee. Light, O my God, light and strength. 1 hope for every thing from thy mercy. .Thou didst bestow so many graces on me when I wan- dered at a distance from thee, I hope for far greater graces, now that I return to thee, resolved to love nothing but thee. I love thee, my God, my life, ray all. I love thee also, O my mother, Mary ; to thee I consign my soul ; preserve it by thy inter- cession from ever returning to a state of enmity with God, TWENTY-THIRD CONSIDERATION. THE DELUSIONS WHICH THE DEVIL SUG- GESTS TO SINNERS. ["Although the preceding considerations contain many of the sentiments contained in this, it will be useful to collect them all together, in order to overturn the usual delusions by which the devil succeeds in inducing sinners to relapse.] FIEST POINT. Let us imagine a young man who has fallen into grievous sins, which he 'has already confessed, and who is restored to the friendship of God. The devil again tempts him to relapse; the young man resists for a while, but in consequence of the delu- 19 218 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. sions suggested by the enemy, he begins to vaciF- late. ** Tell nje, young man/' I say to him, ** what \ will you do? Will you now, for this miserable pleasure, forfeit the grace of God, which you have just acquired, and which is more valuable than the whole world ? Will you yourself write the sen- tence of eternal death, and condemn yourself to burn forever in hell V^ '*No,'' you answer, ** I do not wish to damn myself; I wish to he saved; if J commit this sin, I will afterwards confess it^ Be- hold the first delusion of the devil ! Then you say that you will afterwards confess it ; but in the mean time you lose your soul. Tell me, if you had a jewel worth a thousand crowns, would you throw it into a river, saying, *^ I will make a diligent search for it, and hope to find it? " You hold in your hand the precious jewel of your soul, which Jesus Christ has purchased with his blood, and you voluntarily cast it into hell, (for in punishment of every mortal sin, you are condemned to eternal fire,) and say, *' I hope to recover it by a good confession." But should you not recover it, what shall be the conse- quence ? To recover the divine grace, true re- pentance, which is the gift of God, is necessary. Should God not give you the grace of repentance, should death overtake you, and not allow you time ' to go to confession, what shall become of you 1 You say that you will go to confession before the lapse of a week. And who promises you that you shall live for a week ? You then say that you will go to confession to-morrow. And who promises you to-morrow ? St. Augustine says, *' God has not promised to-morrow : perhaps he will give it, and perhaps he will not." Perhaps he will deny it to you, as he has to so many others who have gone to bed in good health, and have been found dead in PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 219 *he morning. How many have been struck dead in the act of sin, and sent to hell ! .And should the same happen to you, how shall you be able to repair your eternal ruin ? Be assured that by this delusion, I will afterwards go to confession, the devil has brought thousands and thousands of Chris- tians to hell. It is difficult to find a sinner so abandoned to despair as to wish for his own damna- tion. In committing sin, all sinners hope to repent and go to confession ; it is thus that so many miser- able souls are lost ; and now there is no remedy for their damnation. But you say, ^^ At present I cannot resist tJtis temptation^' Behold the second delusion of the devil, who makes it appear to you that at present you have not strength to resist your passions. First, it is necessary to know that, as the apostle «ays, '^ God is faithful, and never permits us to be tempted above our strength." — I Cor. x. 13. Moreover, I ask, if you are now unable to resist your passions, how shall you be able to resist them hereafter? After you have yielded to one tempta- tion, the devil shall tempt you to other sins, and by your consent to sin he shall have gained an increase of strength against you, and you shall have become weaker. If, then, you are now unable to extinguish the flame of passion, how can you expect to extin- guish it when it shall have grown stronger ? You say, God will give you his aid. But this aid he gives you at present. Why, then, do you not correspond with his grace and conquer your passion ? Per- haps you expect that God will give you more abun- dant helps and graces after you have multiplied sins. If at present you wish for greater help and strength, why do you not ask them from God ? ** Ask and it shall be given you." — Matt. vii. 7. God cannot Fiolate his promise. Have recourse to him, and he 220 PREPARATION FOR DEATi5. will give you the strength which you require in order to resist every temptation. *^God does not command impossibilities," says the Council of Trent, Sess. vi. cap. xi. ; *'but by his commands he admonishes us to do what we can with the actual aid which he gives us; and when this aid is not sufficient to enable us to resist temptations, he ex- horts us to ask additional help, which he gives whenever we pray for it." Affections and Prayers. Then, my God, why hast thou been so bountiful to me, and I so ungrateful to thee ? We have been engaged in a mutual contest. I fled away from thee, and thou didst seek after me. Thou didst confer benefits on me, I offered insults to thee. Ah, Lord ! the goodness alone which thou hast shown me ought to enamor me of thee ; for, when I multi- plied sins, thou didst multiply thy graces. And when have I merited the light which thou now givest me? My Lord, I thank thee for it with my whole heart, and I hope to thank thee for it eternally in heaven. I hope in thy blood for eternal salvation, and I hope for it with certainty, since thou hast treated me with so much mercy. I hope that thou wilt give me grace never more to betray thee. I purpose, with thy grace, to die a thousand times rather than ever again offend thee. I have offended thee sufficiently. During the remainder of my life I wish to love thee. And how can I but love a God who, after having died for me, has waited for me with so much patience, in spite of the numberless injuries I have done him? O God of my soul, I re- pent of all my sins with my whole heart ; I would wish to die of sorrow for them. But if I have hitherto turned my back upon thee, I now love thee PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 221 above all things; I love thee more than myself. Eternal Father, through the merits of Jesus Christ, assist a miserable sinner, who wishes to love thee. Mary, my hope, assist me ; obtain for me the grace always to have recourse to thy Son and to thee, as often as the devil shall tempt me to offend God again. SECOND POINT. '* God is merciful^ Behold the third delusion of sinners, by which an immense number are lost ! A learned autlior says, that the mercy of God sends more souls to hell than his justice ; for sinners are induced, by a rash confidence in the divine mercy, to continue in sin, and thus are lost. God is mer- ciful. Who denies'it? But great as is his mercy, how many does he send to hell every day I God is merciful; but he is also just; and therefore he is bound to punish those who offend him. He shows mercy ; but to whom ? To them who fear him. '' He hath strengthened his mercy towards them that fear him. As a father hath compassion on his children, so hath the Lord compassion on them that fear him." — Ps. cii. 11, 13. But he executes jus- tice on those who despise him, and abuse his mercy to insult him the worse. God pardons sin ; but he cannot pardon the will or determination to sin. St. Augustine says, that he who sins with the intention of afterwards repenting, is not a penitent, but a mocker of God's majesty. *' Irrisor est non poen- itens." But the apostle tells us that God does not allow himself to be mocked. '* Be not deceived. God is not mocked.^* — Gal. vi. 7. It would be a mockery of God to insult him as often and as much as you please, and afterwards to expect heaven. ^^ But as God has shown me so many mercies hith' 19* 222 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. ertOy so I hope he will treat me with merer/ hereafter." Behold the fourth delusion ! Then, must the Lord, because he has had compassion on you, show mer- cy forever, and never chastise you ? No ; the greater have been his mercies to you, the more you have reason to fear that, if you offend him again, he will pardon you no more, but will take vengeance on your sins. *' Say not, I have sinned, and what harm hath befallen me ? for the Most High is a patient rewarder." — Eccl. v. 4. Say not, I have sinned, and have not been punished ; for though God bears, he does not bear forever. When the number of mercies which he has resolved to show to the sin- ner is exhausted, he then punishes all his sins to- gether. And the longer God has waited for his re- pentance, the more severe shall be his punishment. "Quos diutius expectat," says St. Gregory, *' du- rius damnat.'* If, then, O my brother, you see that you have often offended God, and that he has not sent you to hell, you should say, " The mercies of the Lord that we are not consumed.^' — Lam. iii. 22. Lord, I thank thee for not having sent me to bell, as I de- served. Consider how many have been damned for fewer sins than you have committed, and labor to atone, by penance and other good works, for the offences you have offered to God. The patience which he has had with you, and the great mercies which he has shown to you, and not to others, ought to animate you not to offend him again, but to serve and love him. Affections and Prayers. My crucified Jesus, my Redeemer, and my God, behold a traitor at thy feet. I am ashamed to ap- pear before thee. How often have I mocked thee ! PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 223 How often have I promised to offend thee no more ! But my promises have been so many treasons; for when the occasion of sin was presented to me, I have forgotten thee, and have again turned my back upon thee. I thank thee that I am not now in hell, but at thy feet, where thou enlightenest me, and callest me to thy love. Yes; I wish to love thee, my Sa- vior and my God, and 1 wish never more to despise thee. Thou hast borne with me long enough. I see that thou canst bear with me no longer. Un- happy me, if, after so many graces, I offend thee again ! Lord, I sincerely wish and resolve to change my life; I wish to love thee as much as I have of- fended thee. It consoles me to have to deal with thee, who art infinite goodness. But I am sorry above all things for having so much despised thee ; and I promise thee all my love for the future. Par- don me through the merits of thy passion ; forget the injuries I have done thee, and give me strength to be faithful to thee during the remainder of my life. I love thee, O my Sovereign Good, and I hope to love thee forever. My dear God, I will never more abandon thee. O Mary, mother of God, bind me to Jesus Christ, and obtain me the grace never again to depart from his feet. In thee I trust. THIRD POINT. *^ But I am young, God compassionates youth. I mill hereafter give myself to GodJ^ We are now at the fifth delusion. But do you not know that God counts, not the years, but the sins of each in- dividual ? You are young! But how many sins have you committed ? There are many persons of very advanced age who have not been guilty of the tenth part of the sins which you have committed 224 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. And do you not know that God has fixed the num« her and measure of sins which he will pardon each? *' The Lord waiteth patiently/' says the holy Scrip- ture, " that when the day of judgment shall come, he may punish them in the fulness of their sins." — 2 Macch. vi. 14. That is, God has patience, and waits for a certain time ; but when the measure of sins which he has resolved to pardon, is filled up, he pardons no more, but chastises the sinner by sending him a sudden death while in the state of damnation; or he abandons him in his sin — a chas- tisement worse than death. '' I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be wasted." — Isa. v. 5. If you had encompassed a field with a hedge, and cultivated it for many years, and found that, after all your labor and expense, it produced no fruit, what would you do with it? Would you not take away the hedge and abandon it ? Tremble lest God should treat you in a similar manner. If you con- tinue to offend him, you shall gradually lose re- morse of conscience ; you shall cease to think of eternity, or of the salvation of your soul ; you shall lose all light and fear : behold the hedge taken away; behold your soul already abandoned by God. Let us come to the last delusion. You say, " It is true that, if I commit this sin, I shall lose the grace of God, and shall be condemned to hell ; it may he that in punishment of it I shall he damned; but it may also happen that I shall afterwards make a good confession, and save my soul.'' Yes, it may, I admit, happen that you shall be saved ; for I am not a prophet, and therefore cannot say for certain, that, if you commit this sin, God will show you no more mercy. But you cannot deny that, if, after the great graces which God has bestowed upon PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 225 you, you offend him again, you shall expose yourself to very great danger of being lost forever. Attend to the language of the Scripture — *' A hard heart shall fare evil at the last/' — Eccl. iii. 27. "Evil doers shall be cut off.'' — Ps. xxxvi. 9. The wick- ed sh'all in the end be cut off by divine justice. *' What things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap." — Gal. vi. 8. He that sows sins shall reap nothing but pains and torments. ^^ I called, and you refused I will laugh in your destruction, and will mock when that shall come to you which you feared." — Prov. i. 24. I have called you, says the Lord, and you have mocked me ; but I will mock you at the hour of death. *' Revenge is mine, and I will repay them in due time." — Deut. xxxii. ^35. To me belongs the punishment due to sins ; I will inflict it when the time of vengeance arrives. Such the threats of the Scriptures against obstinate sinners ; such the chastisement which reason and justice demand. You say, '* It may happen, after all, that I shall he saved^ I again admit that this may happen ; but is it not the height of folly to trust the eternal salvation of your soul to di perhaps? — to a possibility of escaping hell when your salvation is very improbable? Is eternal life an affair to be exposed to such eminent dan- ger? Affections and Prayers. My dear Redeemer, prostrate at thy feet, I thank thee for not having abandoned me after I had com- mitted so many sins. How many, who have offended thee less than I have, shall never receive the light which thou now givest me ! I see that thou dost earnestly desire my salvation, and I wish to be saved, principally for the sake of pleasing thee. I 226 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. wish for heaven, that there I may eternally sing the mercies which thou hast shown me. I hope that thou hast already pardoned me. But should I still be thy enemy, in consequence of not repenting as I ought of the offences I have offered to thee, I am now sorry for them with my whole soul ; they displease me above all things. Pardon me for thy mercy's sake, and increase continually my sorrow for having offended thee, who art so good a God. Give me sorrow — give me love. I love thee above all things, but I love thee too little. I wish to love thee ardently. This love I ask and hope for from, thee. Hear me, O my Jesus; thou hast promised to hear ail who pray to thee. O Mary, mother of God, all tell me that thou never dost allow a soul that recommends herself to thee, to go away dis- consolate. I trust in thee ; recommend me to thy Son, and obtain for me eternal life. TWENTY-FOURTH CONSIDERATION. ON THE PARTICULAR JUDGMENT. •* We must all be manifested before the judgment-seat of Christ."— 2 Cor. v. 10. FIRST POINT. Consider the appearance, the accusation, the examination, and the sentence. With regard to the appearance of the soul before her Judge, it is the common opinion of theologians, that the par- ticular judgment takes place at the very mojnent of death; and that on the very spot where the soul is PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 227 separated from the body, she is judged by Je- sus Christy who shall not send, but will come him- self, to judge her according to her works. "At wiiat hour you think not, the Son of man will come." — Luke xii. 40. ''He will," says St, Augustine, " come in love to the good, in terror to the wicked." O, how great shall be the terror of the soul the first time she shall see the Redeeni- er, and she shall see his countenance full of wrath!. " Who," says the prophet Nahum, *' shall stand before the face of his indignation?" — Nahum i. 6. This thought made Father Lewis da Ponte tremble so as to shake the cell in which he lay. Hearing the Dies Irm sung, and reflecting on the terror of the soul when she shall be presented before the tri- bunal of Jesus Christ, the venerable P. Juvenal Ancina took, and afterwards executed, the resolu- tion of forsaking the world. The sight of the wrath of the Judge shall announce the sentence. " The wrath of the king h as messengers of death." — Prov. xvi. 14. St. Bernard says that the soul shall suffer more in seeing the indignation of Jesus Christ, than in hell itself *' Mallet esse in in- ferno." When presented before an earthly judge, criminals have been known to fall into a cold sweat. Such was the confusion which Piso felt at the thought of appearing as a criminal before the senate, that he killed himself. How great is the' pain of a child, or of a vassal, in appearing before an angry parent, or an enraged sovereign ! O, how much greater shall be the pair and confusion of the soul when she shall behold Jesus Christ en- raged against her for the insults which she offered to him during life ! '* They shall look upon me, whom they have pierced." — Zach. xii. 10. The K>ul shall see: in wrath the Lamb that bore with lier 228 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. SO patiently during life, and that there is no hope of appeasing his anger. This shall make her call upon the mountains to fall upon her, and to hide her from the fury of the wrathful Lamb. — Apoc. vi. 16. Speaking of judgment, St. Luke says, **Then they shall see the Son of man.'' — Luke xxi. 27. O, what pain shall the sight of the Judge in the form of a man excite in the soul of the sin- ner ! The sight of a man-God, who had died for his salvation, shall upbraid him with his ingratitude. When the Savior ascended into heaven, the angels said to the disciples, ** This Jesus, who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come as you have seen him going into heaven." — Acts i. 11. With the same wounds with which he ascended into heaven, Jesus Christ shall come to judge the soul. *^ Great joy of the beholders," says the abbot Rupert, *^ great terror of those who are in expec- tation." The wounds of the Redeemer shall con- sole the just and terrify the wicked. When Joseph said to his brothers, " I am Joseph, whom you sold," the Scripture tells us, that, through fear, they were silent and unable to utter a word. ** His brethren could not answer him, being struck with exceeding great fear." — Gen. xlv. 3. Now, what answer shall the sinner make to Jesus Christ? Will he dare to ask mercy when he must first ren- der an account of his abuse of the mercy which he has received ? ** With what face," says Eusebius Emissenus, •* will you, who are to be first judged for contempt of mercy, ask for mercy?" What then shall become of him ? *' Where," says St. Augustine, *' shall he fly? He shall behold an an- gry Judge above ; hell open below ; on one side, his own sins accusing him ; on the other, the devils ready to inflict chastisement; and within, PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 229 the remorses of his own conscience. * Above, shall be an enraged Judge; below, a frightful chaos ; on the right, sins accusing him ; on the left, the devils dragging him to punishment; with- in, a burning conscience; whither shall the sinner beset in this manner fly ? ' " Affections and Prayers. O my Jesus, I will always call thee Jesus. Thy name consoles and encourages me, because it re- minds me that thou art my Savior, who hast died for my salvation. Behold me at thy feet. I ac- knowledge that I have deserved hell as often as I have offended thee by mortal sin. I am unworthy of pardon, but thou hast died to merit pardon for me. Pardon me, then, immediately, O my Jesus, before thou comest to judge me. I shall not then be able to ask pardon ; I can now ask it from thee, and I hope for it. Thy wounds shall then fill me with terror, but now they give me confidence. My dear Redeemer, I am sorry above all things for having offended thy infinite goodness. I purpose to submit to every pain, every loss, rather than forfeit thy grace. I love thee with my whole heart. Have pity on me. *' Have mercy on me, O God, accord- ing to thy great mercy." O Mary, mother of mercy, obtain for me a great sorrow for my sins, pardon, and perseverance in the divine love. I love thee, O my queen, and trust in thee. SECOND POINT. Consider the accusation and scrutiny. ** The judgment sat and the books were opened." — Daji. vii. 10. There shall be two books, the Gospel and conscience. In the Gospel shall be read what the 20 230 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. accused should have done, and in his conscience, what he has done. Each individual, says St. Jer- ome, shall see what he has done. In the balance of divine justice, neither riches, nor dignities, nor nobility, but works only, shall have weight. ** Thou art weighed in the balance,'' said Daniel to Balthas- sar, '' and art found wanting." — Dan. v. 27. Nei- ther his gold, says Father Alvarez, nor his wealth, but the king alone, is weighed. The accusers shall then come forward ; and first of all the devil. '* The devil," says St. Augustine, ** shall be at hand, and shall recite the words of your profession. He will charge us before our face with all that we have done, he will state the day and the hour in which we have sinned." — Con. Jud. torn. vi. He loill recite the words of your profession ; that is, he will bring forward the promises we have made and af- terwards violated ; he will recount all our sins, pointing to the day and hour in which they were committed. According to St. Cyprian, he will then say to the Judge, ** I have suffered neither stripes nor scourges for these men." I have suffered noth- ing for this ungrateful sinner ; and, to become my slave, he has forsaken you, who have died for his salvation; he therefore belongs tome. Their angels guardians shall also, asOrigen says, accuse sinners; each of them shall say, I have labored so many years for the salvation of that man, but he has de- spised my admonitions. ** Unusquisque angelorum perhibet testimonium quot annis circa eum laborav- erit, sed ille monita sprevit." — Hom. Ixvi. Thus his very friends shall then despise him. — Lam. i. 2. The very walls w^ithin which he sinned shall bear witness against the sinner. " The stone shall cry out of the wall." — Habacuc ii. 11. Hisown con- science shall accuse him. " Their conscience," PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 231 says St. Paul, " bearing witness to them .... in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men/' — Rom. ii. 15, 16. Their very sins, says St. Bernard, shall speak and say, *' You have made us; we are your works ; we shall not desert you."' — Lib. Med. cap. ii. Finally, according to St. Chrysostom, the wounds of Jesus Christ shall accuse the sinner; ** The nails shall complain of thee, the wounds and the cross of Christ shall speak against thee." '^ Clavi de te conquerentur, cicatrices contra te loquentur : crux Christi contra te perorabit." — Horn, in Matt. The scrutiny shall now commence. ** I," says the Lord, '' will search Jerusalem with lamps." — Soph. i. 12. _ The lamp, says Mendozza, penetrates every corner of the house. " Lucerna omnes angulos permeat." In explaining the words with lamps, Cornelius a Lapide says, that God shall then place before the sinner the examples of the saints, all the lights and inspirations bestowed upon him during his life, and all the years that had been given him that he might do good. ** He hath called against me the time." — Lam. i. 15. The sinner shall have to render an account of every glance of the eye. '* Exigetur ate," says St. Anselm, " usque ad ictum oculi.*' According to the prophet Mai- achy, the Lord ^' shall purify the sons of Levi, and shall refine them as gold." — Mai. iii. 3. As gold is refined by removing the dross, so our good works, our confessions and communions, shall be subjected to a severe examination. '' When I shall take a time, I will judge justices." — Ps. Ixxiv. 3. In fine, St. Peter tells us that, at judgment, the just shall scarcely be saved. '' If the just man shall scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear ? " — 1 Peter iv. 18. If the sinner must answer for every idle word, what account shall he 232 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. have to give for consenting to so many bad thouo-hts, for uttering so many obscene words ? Si de verbo otioso ratio poscitur quid de verbo impuritatis ? Speaking of the authors of scandal, who have robbed him of so many souls, the Lord says, '* I will meet them as a bear that is robbed of her whelps." — Osee xiii. 8. With regard to w'orks, the Judge shall say, "Give her of the fruit of her hands/^ — Prov. xxxi. 31. Reward him accordino^to the works which he has performed. Affections and Prayers. Ah, my Jesus, wert thou now to reward me accord- ing to my works, hell should be my lot. O God, how often have I myself written the sentence of ray condemnation to that place of torments ! I thank thee for the patience with which thou hast borne me so long. O God, were I now obliged to appear be- fore thy judgment-seat, w'hat account should I have to render of my past life! " Enter not into judg- ment with thy servant.'^ Ah, Lord, wait for me a little longer ; do not judge me yet. Wert thou now to judge me, what should become of me ? Wait for me : since thou hast treated me with so many mer- cies hitherto, grant me this new favor, — infuse into my heart a great sorrow for my sins. I am sorry, O infinite Good, for having so often despised thee. I love thee above all things. Eternal Father, pardon me for the love of Jesus Christ; and, through his merits, grant me holy perseverance. My Jesus, I hope for all things from thy blood. Most holy Mary, in thee I trust. '^^ Turn, then, O most gracious advocate, thy eyes of mercy towards us.'* Behold ray miseries, and have pity on me. PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 233 THIRD POINT. In fine, to obtain eternal life, the soul must be found at judgment to have led a life conformable to the life of Jesus Christ. " Whom he foreknew, he predestinated to be made conformabJe to the image of his Son." — Rom. viii. 29. It was this that made Job tremble. '* What shall I do when God shall rise to judge me ? and when he shall ex- amine, what shall I answer him V^ — Job xxxi. 14. Philip the Second, rebuking a domestic for having told him a lie, said to him, " Is it thus you deceive mcV^ The domestic went home, and died of grief. What shall the sinner do ? What answer shall he make to Jesus Christ, his Judge ? He shall, like the man in the Gospel, who came to the feast with- out the nuptial garment, remain silent, because he shall not know what to answer. — Matt. xxii. 12. *^ His very sins shall close the sinner's mouth.'' — *' All iniquity shall stop her mouth." — Ps. cvi. 42. St. Basil says that the sinner shall then suffer more from shame, than from the very fire of hell. " Hor- ridior quam ignis, erit pudor." Finally, the Judge v/ill pass sentence. *' Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire." — Matt. XXV. 41. O, what an awful thunder-clap shall that sentence be to the sinner ! '' O, how frightfully," says the Carthusian, " shall that thunder resound ! " ^' He," says St. Anselm, '* that does not tremble at such thunder, sleeps not, but is dead." Eusebius writes, that the terror of sinners at hearing the sen- tence of their condemnation, shall be so great, that, if they could, they would die again. *' The wicked shall be seized with such dismay at the sight of the Judge pronouncing sentence, that, were they not immortal, they should die a second time." There 20* 234 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. is then no more time for prayer, no more interces- sors whom the sinner can invoke. ** There/* says St. Thomas of Villanova, *' there is no opportunity of praying; there no intercessor, no friend, no father shall assist.'' To whom shall the sinner then have recourse? Is it to God, whom he has so much despised? ^' Who,'' says St. Basil, ** shall deliver you ? Is it that God whom you have insulted ? " ^- St. Basil, Orat. iv. de Poenit. Perhaps he may have recourse to the saints, or to Mary ? No ; for then " tJie^tars " — that is, his holy advocates — ** shall fall from heanen^ and the moon " — which represents Mary — *' shall not give her lights* — Matt. xxiv. 29. *^Mary," says St. Augustine, ** will fly from the gate of heaven." — Serm. iii. ad Fratres. O God ! with what indifference, exclaims St, Thomas of Villanova, do we listen to persons speak- ing on judgment ! We appear to feel as little as if the sentence of condemnation could not fall upon ourselves, or as if we were not to be judged. ** Heu quam securi haec dicimus et audimus, quasi non tangeret haec sententia, aut quasi dies ilie nun- quam esset venturus." — Cone. i. de Judic. And is it not, says the same saint, great folly to enter- tain security in so perilous an affair ? ** Quae est ista stulta securitas in discrimine tanto?" My brother, St. Augustine admonishes you not to say. Will God really send me to hell ? ** Nunquid Deus vere damnaturus est ? " ** Say it not," says the holy doctor; *' for even the Jews did not persuade themselves that they should be exterminated. So many of the damned did not believe that they should be cast into hell, but afterwards the final Tengeance came upon them. * An end is come, the end is come, .... Now I will accomplish my anger in thee, and will judge thee/ " — Ez. vii. 6, 8. PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 235 And thus, as St. Augustine says, the same shall also happen to you. *' The day of judgment shall come, and you shall find the threats of God veri- fied." At present it depends on us to choose whatever sentence we please. It is in our power, says St. Eligius, to determine the character of the sentence which we shall receive. *'In potestate nostra datur qualiter judicemur.'' What, then, must we do? We must adjust our accounts before judgment. '* Before judgment, prepare thee jus- tice." — Eccl. xviii. 19. St. Bonaventure ^says that, to escape the danger of failing in business, prudent merchants frequently review and settle their accounts. Let us then say with St. Bernard, '*Volo judicatus prassentari, non judicandus." O my Judge, I wish to be judged and punished during life, which is a time of mercy and pardon ; for after death shall be the time of justice. Affections and Prayers. My God, if I do not appease thee now, there shall then be no more time for turning away thy anger. But how shall 1, who have so cften de- spised thy friendship for m.iserabie, beastly plea.s- ares, be <*ible to appease thy wrath ? 1 have repaid with ingratitude thy immense lov€. How can a creature ever make sufficient satisfaction for having offended the Creator? Ah, my Lord, I thank thee for giving me, in thy mercy, a means of appeasing thine anger and satisfying thy justice. I offer thee the blood and the death of Jesus Christ, thy Son ; and behold ! I see a superabundant atonement and satisfiiction made to thee. To appease thy anger, my repentance is also necessary. Yes, my God, I repent with my whole heart of all the injuries I have done thee. Judge me now, O my Redeemer. I 236 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. detest above all things all the offences I have offered to thee. I love thee with my whole heart and above all things, and I purpose to love thee always, and to die rather than ever offend thee again. Thou hast promised to pardon all who repent Ah! judge me now, and absolve me from my sins. I accept the punishment which I deserve; but re- instate me in thy grace, and preserve me in it till death. Such my hope. O Mary, my mother, I thank thee for all the mercies which thou hast ob- tained ibr me. Ah ! continue to protect me to the end. TWENTY-FIFTH CONSIDERATION. ON THE GENERAL JUDGMENT. ** The Lord shall be known when he executeth judgment." — Ps. ix. 17. FIRST POINT. At present, there is no one in this world more despised than Jesus Christ. There is more respect shown to a peasant than to the Lord ; for we are afraid to insult a peasant, or provoke him to anger, lest he should seek revenge. But insults are offered to God, and are repeated as wantonly as if he could not avenge them whenever he pleases. *' The wicked," says Job, *^ looked upon the Almighty as if he could do nothing." — Job xxii. 17. There- fore the Redeemer has appointed a day of general judgment, and which is called, in the Scripture, the day of the Lord, on which Jesus Christ will make known the greatness of his majesty. *' The Lord PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 237 shalJ be known when he executeth judgment." — Ps. ix. 17. Hence that day is called, not a day of mercy and pardon, but ** a day of wrath, a day of tribulation and distress, a day of calamity and misery." — Soph. i. 15. Yes ; for then the Lord shall come to repair the honor which sinners have sought to take from him on this earth. Let us ex- amine the circumstances of the judgment of this great day. The coming of the Judge shall be preceded by fire. *' A fire shall go before him." — Ps. xcvi. 3. Fire shall descend from heaven, and shall burn the earth and all things upon the earth. '^ The earth, and the works which are in it, shall be burnt up." — 2 Pet. iii. 10. Thus palaces, churches, villas, cities, kingdoms, all must be reduced to one heap of ashes. This house, defiled by sins, must be puri- fied by fire. Behold the end of all the riches, pomps, and pleasures of this earth ! After the death of all men, '* the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall rise again." — 1 Cor. xv.52. " As often," says Jerome, ** as I consider the day of judgment, I trem- ble; that trumpet appears always to sound in my ears, ' Arise, ye dead, and come to judgment.' '^ — In Matt. cap. V. At the sound of this trumpet, the souls of the just shall descend to be united to the bodies with which they served God in this life ; and the unhappy souls of the damned shall come up from hell to take possession of the accursed bodies with which they offended God. O, how great shall be the difference between the bodies of the just and the bodies of the damned! The just shall appear whiter, more beautiful, and more resplendent than the sun. '' Then the just shall shine as the sun." — Matt. xiii. 43. Happy he who knows how to mortify his flesh in his life by 238 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. refusing it forbidden pleasures ; and who, to keep it under greater check, imitates the saints, by deny- ing it even lawful gratifications, and by treating it with severity and contempt. O, how great shall then be the happiness of those who shall have prac- tised mortification of the flesh ! We may estimate it from the words which St. Peter of Alcantara addressed after death to St. Teresa. *' O happy penance, which merited for me such great glory ! '* But, on the other hand, the bodies of the reprobate shall appear black>and hideous, and shall send forth an intolerable stench. O, how great the pain of the damned in taking possession of their bodies! "Accursed body!'' the soul shall say; *Uo indulge you, I have brought myself to perdition." And the body shall say, *' Accursed soul ! why have you, who had the use of reason, allowed me the pleasures which have merited for you and me the eternal torments of hell?" Affections and Prayers. Ah, my Jesus and my Redeemer, w^ho shall be one day my Judge, pardon me before that day arrives. *' Turn not away thy face from me." — Ps. xxvi. 9. Thou art now a Father to me; and, like a father, receive into thy friendship a son who casts himself with sorrow at thy feet. My Father, I ask pardon. I have offended thee; I have unjustly forsaken thee. Thou didst not deserve such treatment from me. I repent of it ; I am sorry for it with my whole heart *' Turn not away thy face from me ; '^ do not cast me off, as I deserved. Remember the blood which thou hast shed for me, and have pity on me. My Jesus, I wish for no other judge than thee. ** I willingly," said St. Thomas of Villanova, '* submit to the judgment of him who died for me, and who, PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 239 that he might not condemn me, has condemned himself to the cross." St. Paul has said the same. " Who is he that shalJ condemn ? Christ Jesus, that died." — Rom. viii. 34. My Father, I love thee, and, for the future, I will never more depart from thy feet. Forget the injuries I have done thee, and give me a great love for thy goodness. I desire to love thee more than I have offended thee ; but, if thou dost not assist me, I shall not be able to love thee. Assist me, O my Jesas ; make me always grateful to thy love, that, on the day of judgment, I may be found in the valley of Josaphat, among the number of thy lovers. O Mary, my queen and my advocate, assist me now ; for if I am lost, thou shalt not be able to help me on that day. Thou pray est for all ; pray also for one who glories in being thy devoted servant, and who places so much confidence in thee. SECOND POINT. After their resurrection, all men shall be told by the angels to go to the valley of Josaphat, that there tibey may be judged. ** Nations, nations, in the valley of destruction ; for the day of the Lord is near." — Joel iii. 14. When the whole human race shall be assembled, the angels shall come and separate the reprobate from the elect. ** The angels shall go out, and shall separate the wicked from among the just." — Matt. xiii. 49. The just shall stand on the right, and the wicked shall be driven to the left. How great the pain which you should feel at being driven away from a party of pleasure, or at being expelled from the church ! But how much greater shall be the pain of those who shall be banished from the society of the saints ! ** What think you," says the author of the Imperfect Work, 240 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. " must be the confusion of the wicked, when, after being separated from the just, they shall be aban- doned ? '' — Hom. liv. This confusion alone would, according to St. Chrysostom, be sufficient to con- stitute a hell for the reprobate. " Et si nihil ulte- rius paterentur, istasola verecundia sufficeret eis ad poenam.'' — In Matt. cap. xxiv. The son shall be separated from the father, the husband from the wife, and the master from the servant. '^ One shall be taken, and one shall be left." — Matt. xxiv. 40. Tell me, my brother, what place do you think shall fall to you ? Would you wish to be found at the right hand ? If you do, abandon the life which leads to the left. In this life, the princes of the earth and the worldly rich are considered fortunate, but the saints, who live in poverty and humiliations, are despised. O faithful souls, who love God, be not troubled at see- ing yourselves in contempt and tribulations on this earth. ''Your sorrow shall be turned into joy." — John xvi. 20. On the day of judgment you shall be called truly fortunate, and shall have the honor of beinor declared to behmcr to the court of Jesus Christ. O, how beautiful shall then be the appearance of St. Peter of Alcantara, who was despised as an apos- tate ! of St. John of God, who was treated as a fool ! of St. Peter Celestine, who, after having re- nounced the popedom, died in a prison ! O, how great shall then be the honors of so many martyrs who have been torn in pieces by their executioners I " Then shall every man have praise from God." — 1 Cor. iv. 5. But, on the other hand, how horrible shall be the appearance of Herod, of Pilate, of Nero, and of so many other great men of this earth who are now damned ! O lovers of the world, in the valley, in the valley I expect you. There, without PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 241 doubt, you shall change your sentiments ; there you shall weep over your folly. Miserable beings, who, for the sake of making a figure for a short time on the theatre of this world, shall afterwards have to act the part of reprobates in the tragedy of judg- ment ! The elect shall then be placed on the right ; according to the apostle, they shall, for their greater glory, be raised in the air above the clouds, and shall go with the angels to meet Jesus Christ de- scending from heaven. " We shall be taken up to- gether with them to meet Christ into the air." — 1 Thess. iv. 16. But the damned, like so many goats destined for the slaughter, shall be compelled to remain at the left, waiting for the Judge, who shall publicly pronounce sentence of condemnation against all his e«iemies. But, behold! the heavens are already opened; the angels come to assist at the judgment, carrying the symbols of the passion of Jesus Christ. ** When," says St. Thomas, *' the Lord comes to judgment, the sign of the cross and the other emblems of his passion shall be exhibited." — Opus ii. c. ccxliv. The cross especially shall appear. '' And then," says the Redeemer, '' shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn." — Matt. xxiv. 30. O, says Cornelius a Lapide, how great, at the sight of the cross, shall be the wailing of sinners who, during life, disregarded their own salvation, which the Son of God purchased at so dear a price ! *' Plan- gent qui salutem suam quse Christo tam caro ste- tit, neglexerint." ** Then," says St. Chrysostom, ''shall the nails complain of thee; the wounds, the cross of Christ, shall speak against thee." *' Ciavi de te conquerentur, cicatrices contra te loquentur, crux Christ! contra te perorabit." — Horn, xx, in 21 242 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. Matt. The holy apostles and all their imitators shall assist as assessors at the general judgment, 4nd shall, together with Jesus Christ, judge the nations. ** The just shall shine. . . . They shall judge nations " — Wis. iii. 7, 8. Most holy Mary, the queen of angels and saints, shall also come to assist at the judgment. Lastly, the eternal /udge shall come seated on a throne of majesty And light. ''And they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with much power and majesty.'' — Matt. xxiv. 30. ** At their pres- ence," says the prophet Joel, *' the people shall be in grievous pains." — Joel ii. 6. The sight of Jesus Christ shall console the elect ; but in the reprobate it shall excite more pain than hell itself. '* It would," says St. Jerome, '* be easier to bear the pains of hell than the presence of the Lord." St Teresa used to say, *' My Jesus, afflict me with every pain, but do not allow me to see your counte- nance enraged against me on that day." And St. Basil says, " This confusion surpasses all torture.^' Then shall be verified the prediction of St. Johq, that the damned shall call upon the mountains to fall upon them, and to hide them from the sight of an angry Judge. *' And they shall say to the mountains and rocks. Fall upon us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from tiie wrath of the Lamb." — Apoc. vi. 16. Affections and Prayers. O my dear Redeemer, O Lamb of God, who hast come into the world, not to punish, but to par- don sins, ah, pardon me immediately ; pardon me before the arrival of that day on which thou shalt judge roe. Then the sight of thee, O divine Lamb, who bast borne with me so long and with so much PREPARATION" FOR I>EATHf. 243 patience, should, if I were lost, be the hell of my hell. Ah ! I say again, pardon me soon ; draw me by thy merciful hand from the abyss into which niy sins have cast me. I repent, O Sovereign Good^ of having offended thee, and of having offended thee so grievously. 1 love thee, my Judge, who hast loved me so tenderly. Ah ! through the merits of thy death, grant me a great grace, which shall transform me from a sinner into a saint. Thou hast promised to hear all who pray to thee. ** Cry to me, and I will hear thee.** — Jer. xxxiii. 3. I do not ask earthly goods; I ask thy grace, thy love, and nothing else. Hear me, O my Jesus, through the love which thou didst bear to me when thou diedst on the cross for my salvation. My be- loved Judge, I am a criminal, but a criminal who loves thee more than he loves himself. Have pity on me. Mary, my mother, come to my aid, and come immediately ; now is the time that thou canst assist me. Thou didst not abandon me when I lived in forgetfulness of thee and of God ; come to my re- lief now that I am resolved to serve tliee always, and never more to offend my Lord. O Mary, after Jesus, thou art my hope. TILint> POINT. But, behold ! the judgment commences. The books, which shall be the consciences of each individual, are opened. *' The judgment sat, and the books were opened." — Dan. vii. 10. The witnesses against the reprobate shall be, first, the devils, who, according to St. Augustine, shall say, " Most just God, declare him to be mine who was unwilling to be yours." Secondly, they shall be their own consciences, ** their own conscienc« 244 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. bearing witness to them.'' — Rom. ii. 15. The very walls of the house in which they have offended God shall bear testimony, and shall cry for ven- geance against them. *' The stone shall cry out of the wall." — Hab. ii. 11. Finally, the Judge himself, who has been present at all the insults offered to him, shall give evidence against the sin- ner. *^I am the Judge and the Witness, saith the Lord." — Jer. xxix. 23. St. Paul says, that then the Lord *' will bring to light the hidden things of darkness." — 1 Cor. iv. 5. He will make known to all men the most secret and shameful sins in the reprobate, which they concealed even in the tribu- nal of confession. ^^I will discover thy shame to thy face." — Nahum iii. 5. The Master of the Sentences, along with other authors, is of opinion that the sins of the elect shall not be manifested ; but shall, according to the words of David, be covered. ** Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered." — Ps. xxxi. 1. But St. Basil teaches, that with a single glance all shall see, as in a picture, the sins of the damned. ** Unico intuitu singula peccata velut in pictura noscentur." — Lib. i. de Ver. Virg. If, says St, Thomas, (Opus Ix.) in the garden of Gethsemani, at the words of Christ, **/ am 7ie," the soldiers who came tQ take him prisoner fell prostrate on the ground, what shall be the condition of the damned, when, sitting in judgment, he shall say to them, ** Behold, I am he whom you have so much de- spised " ? But now the sentence comes on. Jesus Christ shall first turn to the elect, and address them in these consoling words: ** Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." — Matt. xxv. 34 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 245 So great was the consolation which St. Francis of Assisium felt when he learned by revelation that he was predestined, that he could not contain him- self How great shall be the joy of the elect in hearing the Judge say to them, *' Come, blessed children, come to a kingdom ; for you there are no more pains, no more fears ; you are, and shall be, saved forever. I bless the blood which I have shed for you, and I bless the tears which you have shed for your sins. Let us ascend into paradise, where we shall remain together for all eternity ! " Most holy Mary will also bless her servants, and will in- vite them with her to heaven. And thus, singing alleluias, the elect shall enter paradise in triumph, to possess, to praise, and to love God forever. But on the other hand, the reprobate, turning to Jesus Christ, shall say to him, *' What shall become of us?'^ Since, the Judge will say, you have re- nounced and despised my grace, ** depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire." — Matt. xxv. 41. Depart ; begone from me ; I wish neither to see nor to hear you evermore. You cursed, go, and since you have despised my blessing, go accursed. And where, O Lord, shall they go ? Into fire, into hsil, (o burn both in soul and body. And for how many years, or for how many ages ? Into cverlast^ ingfire; for all eternity; as long as» God shall be God. After this sentence, says St. Ephrem, the reprobate shall take leave of the angels, of the saints, of relatives, and of the divine mother. " Fare- well, ye just! farewell, O cross! farewell, O para- dise ! farewell, fathers and children, for we shall never see any of you again! farewell, O Mary, mother of God ! '' — S. Ephr. de Variis, torm., inf. Then, in the middle of that valley, a pit shall be opened, into which the devils and the damned shaH 21* 246 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. fall. O God ! they shall see those gates closed, never to be opened, never, never for all eternity. accursed sin, to vi^hat a melanchojy end shall you one day lead so many poor souls ! O unhappy souls, whom this unhappy lot awaits! Affections and Prayers. Ah, my Savior and my God ! what sentence shall 1 receive on that day ? If, O ray Jesus, thou didst now demand ap account of my life, what could I say to thee but that I deserved a thousand hells? Yes, it is true, O my divine Redeemer, I deserve a thousand hells ; but remember that I love thee, and that I love thee more than myself; and for the in- sults I have committed against thee I feel so great a sorrow, that I would be content to have suffered every evil rather than have offended thee. Thou, O my Jesus, condemnest obstinate sinners, but not those who repent and wish to love thee. Behold me penitent at thy feet ; make me feel that thou pardonest me. But this thou hast declared by the mouth of thy prophet: ** Turn ye to me, saith the Lord of Hosts, and I will turn to you." — Zac. i. 3. I give up all things; I renounce all the pleas- lares and goods of this world ; I turn to thee, and embrace thee, O my beloved Redeemer. Ah, re- ceive me into thy heart, and there inflame me with *hy holy love ; but inflame me in such a manner that I shall never again think of separating from ^hee. O my Jesus, save me, and let my salva- tion consist in loving thee always, and in singing fhy mercies forever. ** The mercies of the Lord I will sing forever." Mary, my hope, my refuge, and wy mother, assist me, and obtain for me holy per- «everance. No one has been lost who has had re- course to thee. To thee I recommend myself; have pity on me. PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 247 TWENTY-SIXTH CONSIDERATION. ON THE PAINS OF HELL. "And these shall go into everlasting punishment." — Matt. XXV. 46. FIRST POINT. In committing sin, the sinner does two evils. He abandons God, the Sovereign Good, and turns to creatures, ** For my people have done two evils. They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and have digged to themselves cisterns — broken cisterns — that can hold no water.'' — Jer. ii. 13. Since, then, by turning to creatures the sinner offends God, he shall be justly tortured in hell by the same creatures, by fire, and by devils : in this punishment consists the pain of sense. But because his greatest guilt and the malice of his sin consist in turning his back on God, his principal torment, his hell, shall be the pain of loss, or the pain arising from having lost God. Let us first consider the pain of sense. It is of faith, that there is a hell. In the middle of the earth there is a prison reserved for the chastisement of rebels against God. What is this hell ? It is what the glutton, who was damned, called it — a ** place of torments." — Luke xvi. 28. A place of torments, where all the senses and powers of the damned shall have their proper torment, and where, the more a person shall have offended God by any sense, the more he shall be tortured in that sense " By what things a man sinneth, by the same also he is tormented." — Wis. xi. 17. "As much as 248 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. ^ she hath glorified herself and lived in delicacies, so much torments and sorrow give ye to her.'' — Apoc. xviii. 7. The sight shall be tormented with dark- ness. "A land," says Job, ** that is dark, and covered with the mist of death." — Job x. 21. How pitiable the condition of a man who is shut up in a dark cave for forty or fifty years, or during his whole life ! Hell is a dungeon closed up on every side, into which a ray of the sun, or of any other light, shall never enter. ** He shall never see the light." — Ps. xlviii. 20. The fire of this world sends forth light ; but the fire of hell is utterly dark. *'The voice of the Lord divided the fire."' — Ps. xxviii. 7. In explaining these words, St. Basil says, that the Lord shall separate the light from the fire, so that this fire shall burn, but shall not illuminate. Albertus Magnus expounds them more briefly, and says that God *' will divide the flame from the heat." The very smoke that shall issue from that fire shall form a storm of darkness which, according to St. Jude, shall blind the damned. *' To whom the storm of darkness is reserved forever." — St. Jude 13. St. Thomas teaches, that the damned have only the light which serves to increase their tor- ments. " Quantum sufficit ad videndum ea quse torquere possunt." — 3 part. qu. 97, art. 5. In that glimmering light they shall see the deformity of their associates, and of the devils, who shall assume horrible forms in order to increase the terrors of the darpned. The smell also shall be tormented. How painful to be confined in a close room along with a putrid corpse ! *' Out of their carcasses," says the prophet Isaias, *' shall rise a stink." — Is. xxxiv. 3. The damned Christian must remain in the midst of so many millions of the reprobate, who, though for- PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 249 ever alive to pain, are called carcasses on account of the stench which they send forth. St. Bonaven- ture says, that if the body of one of the damned were placed on this earth, it would, by its stench, be sufficient to cause the death of all men. Mis- erable fools! the greater the number of the damned in hell, the more insufferable shall be their torments. " There," says St. Thomas, *' the society of the reprobate shall cause, not a diminution, but an in- crease of misery.'' — Suppl. qu. 86, art. 1. Their sufferings are more intolerable on account of the stench, on account of the shrieks of the damned, and on account of the narrowness of the place. In hell they shall be one over the other, like sheep gathered together in the winter. '* They are," said David, " laid in hell like sheep." — Ps. xlviii. 15. They shall be even like grapes pressed under the wine-press of God's wrath. ''And he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of God the Almighty." — Apoc. xix. 15. From this shall arise the pain of immobility. *' Let them become immovable as a stone." — Exod. xv. 16. Thus, in whatsoever position the damned shall fall into hell after the last day, in that they must remain, without ever changing their posture, and without being ever able to move hand or foot, as long as God shall be God. The hearing shall be tormented by the unceasing howling and wailing of those miserable beings, who are sunk in an abyss of despair. The devils shall torment the damned by continual noises. *' The jsound of dread is always in his ears." — Job xv. 21. How painful to a person longing for sleep to hear the groans of a sick man, the barking of a dog, or the screams of an infant ! But, O, how miserable the condition of the damned, who must 250 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. listen incessantly for all eternity to the clamor and €ries of the companions of their torments ! The damned shall be tormented by a ravenous hunger. '' They shall suffer hunger like dogs." — Ps. Iviii. 15. But they never shall have a morsel of bread. Their thirst shall be so great that all the waters of the ocean should not be able to quench it ; but they shall never be allowed a single drop. The rich glutton asked for a drop of water ; but he has not yet got it, and he never, never shall have it. Affections and Prayers. Ah ! my Lord, behold at thy feet one who has so much despised thy grace and thy chastisements I Miserable should I be, O my Jesus, if thou hadst not taken pity on me. How many years should I be in that fetid furnace, in which so many of mj companions are now burning ! Ah ! my Redeemer, why does not this thought make me burn with thy love ? How can I ever again think of offending thee ? Ah ! my Jesus, may I never more displease thee. Strike me dead a thousand times rather than permit me ever again to insult thee. Since thou hast begun, complete the work. Thou hast taken me out of the abyss of so many sins, and hast so lovingly called me to love thee. Ah ! grant that 1 may spend for thee all the time which thou now givest me. How ardently should the damned desire a day or an hour of the time granted to me ! And shall I continue to spend it in offending thee? No/ my Jesus; through the merits of that blood, which has hitherto delivered me from hell, do not permit it. I love thee, O Sovereign Good, and because I love thee, 1 am sorry for having offended thee. I wish never more to offend thee, but to love thee forever. Mary, my queen and my mother, pray to PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 261 Jesus for me, and obtain for me the gift of perse- verance and of his holy love. SECOND POINT. The pain which most severely torments the senses of the damned arises from the fire of hell, which tortures the sense of touch. *' The vengeance on the flesh of the ungodly is fire and worms.'' — Eccl. vii. 19. Hence, in passing sentence, the Lord makes special mention of it. ** Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire." — Matt. xxv. 41. Even in this life, the pain of fire is the greatest of all torments ; but according to St. Augustine, our fire, compared with the fire of hell, is but painted fire. **In cujus comparatione noster hie ignis depictus est." St. Vincent Ferrer says that, in comparison with the fire of hell, our fire is cold. The reason is, that the fire of this earth has been created for our use ; but God has made the fire of hell purposely to torment the damned. ** Longe alius," says Tertullian, *' est ignis qui usuihumano, alius qui Dei justitiae deservit." The wrath of God lights up this avenging fire. ^' A fire is kindled in my rage."- — Jer. xv. 14. Hence the prophet Isaias calls the fire of hell the spirit of heat. ** If the Lord shall wash away the filth of the daughters of Sion .... by the spirit of burning." — Isa. iv. 4. The damned shall be sent, not to the fire, but into fire. *' Depart from me, you cursed, into ever- lasting fire." Thus, like a piece of wood in a fur- nace, they shall be surrounded by fire. ' They shall have an abyss of fire below, an abyss of fire above, and an abyss of fire on every side. If they touch, or see, or breathe, they touch, and see, and breathe nothing but fire. They shall live in fire, like a fish 252 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. in water. But this fire shall not only surround the damned, but shall also enter into their very bowels, to torment them. Their bodies shall become all fire. Thus this fire shall burn the bowels, the heart, the brain, the blood within the veins, and even the marrow within the bones. Each of the damned shall be in himself a furnace of fire. *' Thou shalt make them as a furnace of fire." — Ps. XX. 10. Some cannot bear to walk under a strong sun, or to remain in a close room before a large fire ; they cannot endure a spark that flies from a candle ; and still they fear not the devouring flames of hell. " Which of you," says the prophet Isaias, *' can dwell with devouring fire ? " — Isa. xxxiii. 14. As a wild beast devours a lamb, so the fire of hell devours the damned ; but it devours them without ever caus- ing death. " Fools," says St. Peter Damian, address- ing the unchaste, ** continue, continue to indulge your flesh ; a day shall come when your impurities, like pitch, shall nourish and increase within your bowels the flame which shall torment you in hell." " Venit dies imo nox, quando libido tua vertetur in picem, qua se nutriet perpetuus ignis in tuis viscer- ibus." — Epist. vi. St. Jerome says that this fire shall bring with it all the pains and torments to which men are subject on this earth — pains in the sides, in the head, in the bowels, in the nerves. " In uno igne omnia supplicia sentiunt in inferno pec- catores." — Epist. ad Pam. In this fire the damned shall suffer even the pain of cold. *' Let him," says Job, *'pass from the snow waters to excessive heat." — Job xxiv. 19. But we must always keep in mind, that all the torments of this earth are, as St. Chrysostom says, but the shadow of the pains of hell. "Pone ignem, pone ferrum, quid nisi umbra ad ilia tormenta." PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 253 The powers of the soul also shall have their proper torment. The damned shall be tormented in the memory by the remembrance of the time which v/as given to them, in this life, that they might save their souls, and which they spent in procuring their own damnation; by the remem- brance of the graces which they have received from God, and of which they have not profited. They shall be tormented in the understanding by thinking of the great good which they have lost in losing heaven and God, and that this loss is for- ever irreparable; in the will, by seeing that they shall be refused whatsoever they ask. *' The desire of the wicked shall perish." — Ps. cxi. 10. The miserable beings shall never have any thing which they desire, and shall be forever afflicted with the eternal torments which they abhor. They would wish to be rid of these torments, and to enjoy peace ; but in these torqients they shall forever re- main, and peace they shall never find. Affections and Prayers. Ah, my Jesus, thy blood and thy death are my hope. Thou hast died to deliver me from eternal death. Ah, Lord, who has partaken more of thy merits than I, who have so often deserved hell ? Ah! do not allow me to live any longer ungrateful to the great graces thou hast bestowed upon me.- Thou hast delivered me from the fire of hell, because thou dost wish me to burn, not in that tormenting fire, but with the sweet flames of thy love. Assist me, then, that I may satisfy thy de- sire. Were I now in hell, I could never more love thee. But since I am able to love thee, I wish to love thee. I love thee, O infinite Good- ness. I love thee, O my Redeemer, who hast 22 254 PREPARATION FOR 1>EATH. loved me so tenderly. How have I been able lo live so long in forgetfulness of thee ? I thank thee for not having been forgetful of me. Hadst thou forgotten me, I should now either be in hell, or without sorrow for my sins. This sorrow, which I feel in my heart for having offended thee, and my desire to love thee ardently, are gifts of thy grace, which still assist me. I thank thee for them, O my Jesus. I hope for the future to give thee the remainder of my life. I wish to think only of serv- ing and pleasing thee. Remind me always of the hell I have deserved, and of the graces thou hast bestowed upon me, and do not permit me ever again to turn my back upon thee, and to condemn myself to that pit of torments. O mother of God. pray for me, a sinner. Thy intercession has deliv- ered me from hell. Deliver me also, O my mother, by thy prayers, from sin, which alone can again condemn me to hell. THIRD POINT. But all these torments are nothing, compared with the pain of loss. Hell does not consist in the darkness, stench, shrieks, and fire ; the pain which constitutes hell is the pain of having lost God. **Let torments,'* says St. Bruno, *' be added to torments, and let them not be deprived of God.'' — Serm.de Jud. Fin. And St. John Chrysostom says that a thousand hells are not equal to this pain. **Si mille dixeris gehennas, nihil par dices illius doloris.'* — Hom. xlix. ad Pop. According to St. Augustine, if the damned enjoy the vision of God, they should feel no pain, and hell should be converted into a paradise." — Tom. ix. de trip, hab. To conceive some notion of this pain. PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 255 consider that, should a person lose a jewel worth a hundred crowns, the loss would occasion great pain; but, were the jewel worth two hundred crowns, his pain is doubled ; and, if it were worth four hundred crowns, the pain is still greater. In a word, the pain which he suffers is in proportion to the value of what he has lost. What has a damned soul lost? She has lost God, who is an infinite good. Hence St. Thomas says, that her pain is, in a certain manner, infinite. ** Pcena damnati est infinita, quia est amissio boni infiniti.'* — 1,2, qu. 87, art. 4. This pain is dreaded only by the saints. *' HaBC amantibus," says St. Augustine, '•' non contemnen- tibus poena est.^' St. Ignatius of Loyola used to say, ** Lord, I am willing to bear every pain, but not the pain of being deprived of thee.'' But, because they live in the midst of darkness, sinners who are content to live for months and years with- out God, do not understand this pain. However, they shall know at death the great good which they lose. At her departure from this world, the soul, as St. Antonine ^ays, instantly sees that she has been created for God. ** Separata autera anima a corpore intelligit Deum summum bonum, et adiilud esse creatam." Hence she shall suddenly rush forward to embrace her Sovereign Good ; but, if she be in sin, God shall cast her off. If a dog see a hare, what efforts does he not make to break his chains and seize his prey ! At her separation from the body, the soul is naturally drawn to God ; but sin drags her away, and sends her to hell, at a distance from him. " Your iniquities," says the prophet Isaias, " have divided between you and your God." — Isa. lix. 2. The entire, then, of the hell of the damned consists in that first word of the 256 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. sentence of their condemnation, — ^^ Depart from me, you cursedJ* Go, Jesus Christ shall say : I do not wish you ever again to see my face. *' Si uiille quis ponat gehennas," says Chrysostom, " nihil tale dicturus est, quale est exosum Christo." — Chrys. Hom. xxiv. in Matt. When Absalom heard that David condemned him never more to appear before him, he said, ''Tell my father either to permit me to see his face, or to put me to death." — 2 Kings xiv. 24. To one of his grandees, whom he saw guilty of irreverence in the church, Philip the Sec- ond said, *' Do not dare ever again to appear in my presence.'' So great was the pain which the no- bleman felt, that, after having returned home, he died of grief What shall be the anguish of the reprobate at the hour of death, when God shall say to him,*' Begone; I will never see you again !'' "I will hide my face from them:. ... all evils and afflictions shall find them." — Deut. xxxi. 17. On the day of judgment Jesus Christ shall say to the reprobate, " You are no longer mine ; I am no long- er yours." " Call his name not, my people; for you are not my people, and I will not be yours." Osee i. 9. With what pain does a son at the death of a father, or a spouse at the death of her husband, say, " My father, my spouse, I shall never see you again " ! Ah ! if we now heard the wailing of one of the damned, and asked him why he weeps so bitterly, his answer should be, "I weep because I have lost God, and shall never see him more." Per- haps the miserable man can love God in hell, and can resign himself to his will ? No ; if he could do this, hell should not be hell. The unhappy being can never resign himself to the divine will. Neither can he love his God : he hates and shall PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 257 hate him forever ; and his hell shall consist in the conviction that God is an infinite good, and that he is compelled to hate him, while he sees that he is worthy of infinite love. When St. Catharine asked a devil vi^ho he was, he said, '' I am that wicked wretch that is deprived of the love of God.'' The damned shall hate and curse God ; and in cursing God, they shall also curse the benefits he has con- ferred upon them ; they shall curse the benefits of creation, of redemption, of the sacraments, partic- ularly the sacraments of baptism and penance, and, above all, the most holy sacrament of the altar. They shall hate all the angels and saints, but es- pecially their angel-guardians and their holy advo- cates, and, above all, the divine mother. But they shall principally hate the Three Divine Persons, and among them they shall hate in a special man- ner the Son of God, who once died for their salva- tion ; they shall curse his wounds, his blood, his pains, and his death. Affections and Prayers. Ah, ray God, thou then art my supreme and in- finite Good ; and I have so often voluntarily lost thee. I knew that in committing sin I gave thee great displeasure, and that I lost thy grace ; and with this knowledge I have consented to sin ! Ah, if I did not see thee, O Son of God, nailed to the cross in order to die for me, I should not iiave courage to ask or hope for pardon from thee. Eter- nal Father, look not on me, but behold thy beloved Son, who asks mercy for me ; hear him, and par- don me. I ought at this moment to be in hell, without any hope of being evermore able to love thee, or to recover thy lost grace. My God, I am sorry above all things for the injury I have done 22* 258 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. thee in renouncing thy friendship, and despising thy love for the miserable pleasures of this world that I had died a thousand times, rather than have offered thee so great an insult ! How could 1 have been so blind and foolish? I thank thee, my Lord, for giving me time to repair the evil I have done. Since, through thy mercy, I am not in hell, and can love thee, O my God, I wish to love thee. I will wait no longer to convert myself en- tirely to thee. I love thee, O infinite Goodness. I love thee, my life, my treasure, my love, my all. Remind me always, O Lord, of the love which thou hast borne to me, and of the hell which I have de- served, that this thought may continually excite me to make acts of love, and to say always, I love tJieCy 1 love thee, I love thee. O Mary, my queen, my hope, and my mother, if I were in hell, I could never more love thee. I love thee, O my mother, and in thee, after Jesus, I trust that I shall never again cease to love my God and thee. Assist me \ pray to Jesus for me. TWENTY-SEVENTH CONSIDERATION. ON THE ETERNITY OF HELL. "And these shall go into everlasting punishment.** — Matt. XXV. 46. FIRST POINT. Were hell not eternal, it should not be hell. Torments which continue but a short time, are not a severe punishment. The man who is af^ PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 259 flicted with an imposthume or cancer, submits to the knife or the cautery. The pain is very sharp ; but, because it is soon over, the torture is not very great. But, should the incision or cauterization last for a week, or for an entire month, how fright- ful should be his agony ! A slight pain in the eye, or in the teeth, when it lasts for a long time, be- comes insupportable. Even a comedy, a musical entertainment, should it continue for an entire day, produces intolerable tediousness. And should it last for a month, or for a year, who could bear it ? What then must hell be, where the damned are compelled, not to listen to the same comedy or the same music, nor to submit merely to pains in the eyes or in the teeth, or to the torture of the knife, or of the red-hot iron, but to suffer all pains and all torments? And for how long? For all eternity, **They shall be tortured forever and ever.'' — Apoc. XX. 10. This eternity is of faith ; it is not an opinion, but a truth attested by God in so many places in the Holy Scriptures. ^^ Depart from me, you accursed, into everlasting fire." — Matt. xxv. 41. '* And these shall go into everlasting punishment." — ver. 46. " Who shall suffer eternal punishment in de- struction." — 2 Thess. i. 9. '' Every one shall be salted with fire." — Mark ix. 48. As salt prevents putrefaction, so the fire of hell, while it tortures the damned, performs the office of salt by preserving their life. " Ignis ibi consumit," says St. Bernard, " ut semper servet." — Medit., c. iii. Now, how great should be the folly of the man who, for the sake of a day's amusement, would vol- untarily condemn himself to be shut up in a dun- geon for twenty or thirty years ! If hell lasted but a hundred, or even but two or three years, it would 260 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. be the extreme of folly in a Christian to condemn himself to fire for two or three years for the vile pleasure of a moment. But there is not a question of thirty, of a hundred, of a thousand, or of a hun- dred thousand years ; but there is question of eter- nity ; there is question of suffering forever the same torments— rtorments which shall never end, and shall never be mitigated in the slightest degree. The saints, then, had reason, as long as they were on this earth, and in danger of being lost, to weep and tremble. Blessed Isaias, even while he lived in the desert in fasting and penitential rigors, wept, and said, ^' Ah, unhappy me, who am not as yet free from the danger of losing my soul.'* Affections and Prayers. Ah, my God, if thou hadst sent me to hell, as I have often deserved, and hadst afterwards drawn me from it, how deeply should I feel my obligations to thee ! What a holy life would I have commenced ! And now that thou hast shown me greater mercy by preserving me from falling into that place of woe, what shall I do? Will I again offend thee and provoke thy wrath, that thou mayst send me to burn in that prison of rebels against thy majesty, where so many are buried in fire for fewer sins than I have committed? ^ Ah, my Redeemer! I have hitherto done so; and instead of availing myself of the time which thou gavest me to weep over my sins, I have spent it in provoking thee still more, i I thank thy infinite goodness for having borne with me so long. If thy goodness were not infinite, how couldst thou have borne with me? I thank thee for having waited for me till now with so much pa- tience. I thank thee in a most special manner for the light which thou now givest me, by which thou PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 261 makest me see my folly, and the injury I have done thee in insulting thee so often by my sins. My Jesus, I detest them, and am sorry for them with my whole heart. Through the merits of thy pas- sion, p irdon me, and assist me with thy grace, that I may never more offend thee. I now have just reason to fear that, if I commit another mortal sin, thou Vv'ilt abandon me. My Lord, I entreat thee to place this just fear before my eyes whenever the devij shijl tempt me to offend thee again. My God, I love thee; I do not wish evermore to lose thee ; assist me by thy grace. O most holy Virgin, do thou also assist me. Obtain for me the grace always to have recourse to thee in my temptations, that I may never again lose my God. Mary, after Jesus, thou art my hope. SECOND POINT. He that enters hell shall not depart from it for all eternity. This thought made David tremble and say, *' Let not the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me." — Ps. Ixviii. 16. As soon as the damned fall into that pit of torments, its mouth is closed never to be opened. In hell there is a gate for admission, but none for egress. " There will be a descent," says Eusebius, '* but there shall be no ascent." In explaining the words of the Psalmist, this author says, '^ And let not the pit shut her mouth ; " because, when it shall have received them, it will be closed above and opened downwards. As long as the sinner remains on this earth, he may hope to reverse the sentence of his damnation ; but as soon as death shall over- take him in sin, all his hopes are at an end forever. ** When the wicked man is dead, there shall be 262 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. no hope any more/' — Prov. xi. 7. Perhaps the damned may flatter themselves with a false hope, and thus find some relief in their despair. The man who is mortally wounded, confined to his bed, and given over by his physicians, may console himself with the hope of finding a physician or a remedy to heal his wounds. The man who is condemned to the galleys for life, may also find comfort in the expectation of being one day delivered from his chains. And may not the damned at least say, *' Who knows but I shall one day escape from this prison ? " and thus delude himself with this false hope? No ; in hell there is no hope, whether true or false ; there is no perhaps. I will set before thy face, — Ps. xlix. 21. The unhappy damned shall always see the sentence of their reprobation written before their eyes. In it they shall read, that they shall weep forever in that pit of torments. ^' And many shall awake ; some unto life everlasting, and others unto reproach, to see it always." — Dan. xii. 2. Hence the damned not only suffer the torments of each moment, but in each moment they endure the pain of eternity, saying, ** What I now suffer I must suffer forever.'' *' They bear," says Tertullian, ** the weight of eternity." *' Pondus seternitatis gustinent." Let us, then, pray to the Lord in the words of St. Augustine, '' Here burn, here cut, here spare not, that you may spare for eternity." The chas- tisements of this life pass away ; ** thy arrows pass ; " but the pains of the next life last forever ; *' the voice of thy thunder in a wheel." — Ps. Ixxvi. 18. Let us dread these punishments. Let us dread that thunder of eternal damnation which shall issue from the mouth of the Judge in passing sen- tence against the wicked. ** Depart from me, you PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 263 cursed, into everlasting fire." The Psalmist says, ** The voice of thy thunder in a wheel." A wheel is a figure of eternity, which has no end. ** I have drawn my sword out of its sheath, not to be turned back." — Ez. xxi. 5. The punishment of hell shall be great ; but what ought to terrify us more is, that it shall be irrevocable. But the unbeliever will say, ** Can it be just to punish a sin which lasts but a moment with eternal torments ? " But how, I ask, can a sinner, for a momentary pleasure, dare to insult a God of infinite majesty? St. Thomas says (1,2, qu. 87, art. 3) that, even in human judgments, the punishment of crime is measured, not from its duration, but from its malice. *' Non quia homicidium in momento committitur, momentanea poena punitur." Hell is but a small punishment for mortal sin ; an offence against infinite majesty deserves infinite chastise- ment. "In every mortal sin," says St. Bernardine of Sienna, ** an infinite insult is offered to God; but an infinite injury merits infinite punishment." *' But, because," says St. Thomas, " a creature is not capable of suffering pain infinite in point of inten- sity, God inflicts punishment infinite in extension or duration." Besides, since the damned are incapable of mak- ing satisfaction for their sins, their punishment should be necessarily eternal. In this life, penitent sinners can atone for their iniquities only inas- much as the merits of Jesus Christ are applied to them. But from the application of these merits the reprobate are excluded. Hence, since they can never appease the anger of God, and since their sin is eternal, their punishment also must be eternal. " He shall not give to God his ransom And lie shall labor forever." — Ps* xlviii. 8, 9. Hence 264 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. Belluacensis says, (lib. ii. page 3,) ''There sin can be forever punished, and can never be expiated;" for, according to St. Antonine, ** There the sinner cannot repent." Therefore the wrath of the Lord shall be always provoked against him. " The peo- ple with whom the Lord is angry forever." — Mai. i. 4. Moreover, the damned, though God should wish to pardon them, are unwilling to be pardoned; for their will is obstinate and confirmed in hatred against God. ** Non humiliabuntur reprobi," says Innocent the Third, *' sed malignitas odii in illis ex- crescet." — Lib. iii. de Con. Mundi, cap. x. And St. Jerome says, that the reprobate " are insatiable in the desire of sinning." — In Prov. xxvii. Hence, because the damned refuse to be healed, their wounds are incurable. " Why is my wound des- perate, so as to refuse to be healed?" — Jer. xv. 18. Affections and Prayers. Then, my Redeemer, if at this hour I were damn- ed, as I have deserved, I should be obstinate in hatred against thee, my God, who hast died for me. God ! what a hell should it be to hate thee, who hast loved me so tenderly, who art infinite beauty, infinite goodness, and worthy of infinite love ! Then, if I were now in hell, I should be in such an unhappy state, that I would not even wish for the pardon which thou now offerest to me. My Jesus, 1 thank thee for the mercy thou hast shown me ; and since I now can obtain pardon, I wish to love thee. Thou offerest me pardon, and I ask it from thee, and hope for it through thy merits. I am sorry for all the offences I have committed against thee, O infinite Goodness. Pardon me, then. I love thee with my whole soul. Ah, Lord ! what evil hast thou done me, that I should have to hate thee for- PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 265 ever as my enemy ? And what friend have I ever had who has done and suffered so much for nie, as thou, O my Jesus, hast done and suffered for me? Ah ! do not permit me ever more to fall into enmity with thee, and to lose thy love. Take me out of life, sooner than permit this sovereign evil to befall me. O Mary, take me under thy protection, and do not permit me ever more to rebel against God and against thee. THIRD POINT. In this life death is greatly feared by sinners; but in hell it shall be most ardently desired. ^' Men shall seek death, and shall not find it ; and they shall desire to die, and death shall fly from them." — Apoc. ix. C. Hence St. Jerome has written, ** O death, how sweet should you be to those to whom you have been so full of bitterness!'' — Ap. S. Bon. Solil. David says that death shall feast on the damned. ** Death shall feed upon them." — Ps. xlviii. 15. In explaining this passage, St. Bernar- dine observes, that as, in feeding, sheep eat the blades of grass, and leave the roots untouched, so death feeds on the damned ; it kills them every mo- ment, but leaves them life in order to continue to kill them by pains for all eternity. *' Sicut anima- lia depasGunt herbas, sed remanent radices, sic miser i in inferno corrodentur a morte, sed iterum reservabuntur ad poenas." Thus, according to St. Gregory, the damned die every moment without ever dying. Delivered up to avenging (lames, they shall die always. **Flammis ultricibus tradi- tus semper morietur." — Lib. i. Mor. cap. xii. A roan who dies through pain is an object of pity to all who behold him. Perhaps the damned, too, expe- 23 266 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. rience commiseration from others? No; they die every moment, and have not, and never shall have, anyone to take compassion on them. The emperor Zeno, being one day shut up in a pit, continually cried out, ** For pity^s sake, open this grave, and release meP But no one heard him, and he was found dead, after having eaten the flesh off his arms. The damned cry out from the pit of hell, says St. Cyril of Alexandria ; but no one comes to deliver them, no one feels compassion for them. ** Lam- entantur et nullus eripit : plangunt et nemo cora- patitur/' And for how long shall this their misery last? Forever, forever. In the spiritual exercises of Father Paul Segneri, written by Muratori, it is re- lated that, in Rome, a devil in the body of a man possessed, being asked how long he should remain in hell, began to beat his hand against a chair, and answered in a rage, ^^ Forever, forever.^^ At hear- ing this great sermon of two v^ords, forever, forever, many students of the Roman seminary, who were present, made a general confession, and changed their lives. Poor Judas ! he has spent more than eighteen hundred years in hell, and his hell is still at its commencement. Poor Cain ! he is in fire for more than five thousand eight hundred years, and his hell is at its beginning. Another devil was asked how long it was since he had been sent to hell. He answered, *' Yesterday." ** How,'* said the person who asked him, ** could it be yesterday, when you are damned for more than five thousand years?/' He replied, ** O, if you knew what is meant by eternity, you should easily conceive how a thousand years, compared with it, are but a mo- ment. If an angel said to one of the damned, * YoQ shall leave hell, but only after the lapse of as many PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 267 ages as there are drops of water in the ocean, leaves on the trees, or grains of sand in the sea,' he should feel greater joy than a beggar would at hearing of his elevation to a throne. Yes ; all these ages shall pass away, they shall be multiplied an infinite num- ber of times, and hell shall be at its commencement. Each of the damned would make this compact with God : Lord, increase my pain as much as you wish ; let it last as long as you please ; but put an end to it, and I am content. But this end shall never take place. In hell, the trumpet of divine justice shall sound nothing else but these words, Forever , forever ; never, never. ^^ The damned shall ask the devils what is the hour of the night. " Watchmen, what of the night?" — Isa. xxi. 11. When shall it end? When shall these trumpets, these shrieks, this stench, these flames, these torments cease ? Their answer is. Never, never. And how long shall they last? Forever, forever. Ah, Lord, give light to so many blind Christians, who, when entreated not to damn themselves, say, **If I go to hell, I must have patience." O God ! they have not patience to bear the least cold, to remain in an overheated room, or to submit to a buffet on the cheek. And hovy can they have patience to remain in a sea of fire, tram- pled by the devils, and abandoned by God, and by all, for all eternity ? Affections and Prayers. Ah, Father of mercies, thou dost not abandon him who seeks thee. " Thou hast not forsaken them that seek thee, O Lord." — Ps. ix. 11. I have hitherto turned my back upon thee so often, and thou hast not abandoned me ; do not abandon 268 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. me now that I seek thee. I repent, O Sovereign Good, of having made so little account of thy grace, which I have exchanged for nothing. Look at the wounds of thy Son ; listen to his cries, which implore thee to pardon me : and grant me pardon. my Redeemer, remind me always of the pains thou hast suffered for me, of the love thou hast borne me, and of my ingratitude, by which I have so often deserved hell, that I may always bewail the injury I have done thee, and that I may live always burning with thy love. Ah, my Jesus, how can I but burn with thy love, when I reflect that for so many years I ought to burn in hell, and continue to burn in it for all eternity; when I remember that thou hast died in order to deliver me from it, and that thou hast with so much mercy rescued me from that land of misery ? Were I in hell, I should now hate thee there, and should have to hate thee forever ; but now I love thee, and will love thee forever. In thy blood I hope that I now love thee, and that I will love thee forever. Thou lovest me, and I also love thee. Thou wilt love me forever unless I forsake thee. Ah, my Savior, save me from the misfortune of ever leaving thee, and ^ then do with me whatsoever thou pleasest. 1 merit every punishment, and I accept every chas- tisement, that thou mayst deliver me from the pun- ishment of being deprived of thy love. O Mary, my refuge, how often have I condemned myself to hell, and thou hast preserved me from it ! Ah, deliver me now from sin, which alone can deprive me of the grace of God, and bring me to hell. PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 269 TWENTY-EIGHTH CONSIDERATION. REMORSES OF THE DAJMNED. " Their worm dieth not." — Mark ix. 47. FIRST POINT. According to St. Thomas, this worm, which dieth not, is to be understood of remorse of con- science, which shall eternally torment the damned in hell. The remorses which shall gnaw the hearts of the reprobate shall be many ; but the most excruciating shall be, first, the thought of the trifles for which they are damned; secoudly, the thought of the little which they were required to do in order to save their souls; and thirdly, the thought of the great good which thev have lost. After Esau had eaten the pottage of lentils for which he had sold his birthright, the Scripture says that, through sorrow and remorse for the loss, he ^' roared out with a great cry." — Gen. xxvii. 34, O, how shall the damned howl and roar at the thought of having, for a few momentary, poisoned pleasures, lost an eternal kingdom of delights, and of having condemned themselves forever to a con- tinual death ! Hence they shall weep far more bitterly than Jonathan did when he saw himself condemned to death by his father for h;iving eaten a little honey. ** I did but taste a little honey, and, behold, I rnust die.'' — 1 Kings xiv. 43. O God ! what torture shall each of the damned tee\ in think- ing that he was the cause of his own damnition! At present, our past life appears to us but a dream, a moment. But what shall he who is in hell think 23* 270 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. of the fifty or sixty years which he spent on this earth, when he shall be in the abyss of eternity, and, after the lapse of a hundred and a thousand millions of years, shall see that his hell only com- mences? But were these fifty or sixty years all years of pleasure? Perhaps a sinner living without God always feels happy in his sins. How long do the pleasures of sin last? Only for a few moments. All the remaining hours of the man who lives in enmity with God, are full of pains and bitterness. But what shall these moments of pleasure appear to the unhappy damned? How shall he view that last sin in particular, by which he brought himself to perdition? Then he shall say, ** For a miser- able, brutal pleasure, which lasted but a moment, and which was scarcely indulged when it vanished like air, I must burn in this fire, in despair and aban- doned by ail, as long as God shall be God — for all eternity. Affections and Prayers. Lord, enlighten me, that I may feel the injustice which I have done thee, and the eternal chastise- ments I have deserved, by offending thee. My God, I feel a great remorse for having offended thee ; but this pain consoles me. Hadst thou sent me to hell, as I deserved, the thought of the trifle for which I was damned should be the hell of my hell. But now, this remorse, I say, consoles me; because it encourages me to hope for pardon from thee, who hast promised to pardon all who repent* Yes, my Lord, 1 repent of having outraged thee. I embrace this sweet pain of remorse. I even en- treat thee to increase it, and to preserve it in my heart till death, that I may always weep bitter- ly over the offences I have offered to thee. My PKEPARATION FOR DEATH. 271 Jesus, pardon me. O my Redeemer, who, to pro- cure mercy for me, hadst not mercy on thyself, but didst condemn thyself to die through pain in order to deliver me from hell, have mercy on me. Grant that my remorse for having offended thee may keep nie always sorrowful, and, at the same time, inflame ray whole soul with love for thee, who hast loved me so tenderly, who hast borne with me so patiently, and who now, instead of chastising me, dost enrich me with thy lights and graces. I thank thee, O my Jesus, and I love thee. 1 love thee more than myself 1 love thee with ray whole heart. Thou knowest not how to despise a soul that loves thee. I love thee. Do not banish me from thy face. Receive me, then, into thy friendship, and do not per- mit me evermore to lose thee. Mary, my mother, accept me for thy servant, and bind me to Jesus, thy Son. Ask him to pardon me, to give me his love and the grace of perseverance till death. SECOND POINT. St. Thomas says, that the principal pain of the reprobate shall consist in seeing that they are damned for nothing, and that, if they wished, they could with so much facility acquire for themselves the glory of paradise. *' Principaliter dolebunt, quod pro nihilo damnati sunt, et facillime vitam pote- rant consequi sempiternam." The second remorse of conscience, then, shall arise from the thought of the little that was necessary to be done for the attainment of salvation. A person who w^as damned, appeared to St. Aumbert, and said to him that the most excruciating pain which he suffered in hell was caused by the thought of the trifles for which he was lost, and of the little which he wa$ 272 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. required to do in order to save his soul. The ura* happy soul shall then say, *' If I mortified myself by not looking at such an object; if I overcame human respect at such a time ; if I avoided such an occasion of sin, such a companion, such a conver- sation, — I should not now be damned. If I had gone to confession every week ; if I had frequented the congregation ; if I had read every day a spirit- ual book ; if I had recommended myself to Jesus Christ and to Mary, — I should not have relasped into sm. I have so often purposed to do these things, but have either neglected my resolutions, or, after having begun to practise these exercises, I gave them up, and therefore I am lost." The torture of this remorse shall be increased by the good examples of virtuous friends and companions which the reprobate has witnessed ; and still more by the gifts which God had given him for the salvation of his soul ; — gifts of nature, such as good health ; gifts of fortune, which were so many talents which the Lord had given him that he might make a good use of them, and become a saint ; gifts of grace ; so many lights, inspirations, calls, and so many years given to him that he might repair the evil which he had done. But he shall see that, in the miserable state to which he is re- duced, there is no remedy. He shall hear the an- gel of the Lord proclaiming and protesting that time shall be no more. *' And the angel whom I saw standing .... swore by Him that liveth for- ever and ever .... that time shall be no longer." — Apoc. X. 5, 6. O, what cruel swords shall all these gifts and graces be to the heart of the unhap- py reprobate, when he shall see that the time in which he could repair his eternal ruin is already past ! With tears and despair, he and his com- PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 273 panions shall say, " The harvest is past, the sum- mer is ended, and we are not saved/' — Jer. viii. 20. He shall say, "If the fatigues to which I had submitted for my damnation had been borne for God, I should have become a great saint; and now what advantage do I derive from them, but pain and remorse, which shall torment me for eternity?'* Ah ! the thought that it was in his power to be for- ever happy, and that he must be forever miserable, shall torture the damned more than the fire and all tlie other torments of hell. Affections and Prayers. Ah, my Jesus, how hast thou been able to bear with me ? I have so often turned my back upon thee, and thou hast not ceased to seek after me. I have so often offended thee, and thou hast pardoned me. Ah, impart to me a portion of that sorrow which thou didst feel in the Garden of Gethsemani for my sins, and which made thee there sweat blood. I am sorry, O my Redeemer, for having so badly repaid thy love. O accursed plsasure, I de- test and curse thee. Thou hast made me lose the grace of my Lord. My beloved Jesus, I now love thee above all things, and I renounce all unlawful gratifications, and purpose to die a thousand times, rather than ever more offend thee. Ah ! through that affection with which thou didst love me on the cross and didst offer for me thy divine life, give me light and strength to resist temptations, and to have recourse to thy aid whenever I shall be tempted. O Mary, my hope, thou art all-powerful with God ; obtain for me holy perseverance, obtain for me the grace never more to be separated from his holy love. 274 PREPARATION FOR DEATH. THIRD POINT. The third remorse of the damned shall arise from seeing the great good which they have lost St. John Chrysostom says that the reprobate shall be tormented more by the loss of paradise, than by the pains of hell. ^' Plus coelo torquentur quam ge- henna." A certain princess once said, ** If God gives me a reign of forty years, I will renounce paradise.^^ The unhappy princess reigned for forty years; but now that her soul has departed from this world, what does she say? Certainly she has changed her sentiments. O, how great at present must be her affliction and despair at the thought ol having, for the enjoyment of an earthly reign ot forty years, lost for eternity the kingdom of heaven ! But the torment which shall most grievously tor- ture the damned for eternity, shall arise from the conviction that they have lost heaven and God, their Sovereign Good, not by any unlucky accident, nor by the malevolence of others, but by their own fault. They shall see that they have been created for paradise, and that God placed in their hands the choice of procuring for themselves eternal life or eternal death. ** Before man is life and death, .... that which he shall choose shall be given him." — Eccl. XV. 18. Thus they shall see that they had it in their power, if they wished, to be eternally happy, and that they have voluntarily precipitated themselves into that pit of torments, from which they can never escape, and from which no one shall ever deliver them. They shall see among the elect many of their companions, who were placed in the same, or perhaps in greater, danger of sinning, and who saved their souls because they restrained their PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 275 passions hf recommending themselves to God, or, if they fell into sin, soon repented, and gave themselves to God. But, because they would not give up sin, they have in the end unhappily gone to hell — they have fallen into that sea of torments without any hope of remedy for all eternity. Brother, if you too have been so foolish as, by your own free acts, to lose paradise and God for a miserable pleasure, endeavor as soon as possible to apply a remedy now that you have time. Do not voluntarily continue in your foolishness. Tremble lest you should have to weep over your folly for all eternity. Who knows but this consideration which you now read, is the last call which God will give you ? Perhaps, if you do not now change your life, if you commit another mortal sin, the Lord will abandon you, and, in punishment of that sin, send you to suffer forever among that crowd of fools who are now in hell, and confess their error, {^^ therefore we have erred,^') but confess it with despair, because they see that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" — Rom. vii. 24. Unhappy me, who have to combat unceasingly not only with external enemies, but also with myself. Hence I am be- come burdensome and troublesome to myself — Job vii. 20. Who, then, shall deliver me from the body of this death ; that is, from the danger of falling into sin ? The bare fear of this danger is to me a continual death, which torments me, and will not cease to tor- ment me during my whole life. " O God, be not thou far from me; O my God, make haste to help me." — Ps. Ixx. 12. My God, do not withdraw from me ; for, if thou dost withdraw, I tremble lest I may offend thee. Draw still nearer to me by thy powerful aid ; that is, assist me always, that I may be able to repel the attacks of my adversaries. The royal prophet tells me that thou art at hand ; that is, that thou givest holy patience to all who are troubled in heart, or interiorly afflicted. — Ps. xxxiii. 19. Remain, then, near to me, O my be- loved Lord, and give me the patience which is ne- cessary to overcome the many difficulties that en- compass me. How often, when I begin to pray, do importunate thoughts draw away my attention, and distract me with a thousand trifles ! Give me strength to dis- miss them when I converse with thee, and to cruci- fy all the evil inclinations which hinder me to unite myself with thee ; and take away, I entreat thee, the great repugnance which I feel in embracing 382 ON THE SCIENCE OF THE SAINTS. with peace every thing which is not pleasing to self- love. O house of my God, prepared for those who love thee, after thee do I sigh from this land of miseries. '* I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost ; seek thy servant." — Ps. cxviii. 176. O my beloved Pastor, who hast come down from heaven to seek after and save the lost sheep, behold, I am one of them that have miserably lost my soul by turning my back on thee. Seek thy servant, O Lord, seek after me ; do not abandon me, as I deserve ; seek me, and save me ; take me, and bind me so fast on thy shoulders, that I may never more for- sake thee. At the same time that I desire heaven, the ene- my terrifies me by the remembrance of my sins; but the sight of thee, my crucified Jesus, consoles me, and encourages me to hope that I shall one day go to love thee face to face in thy blessed kingdom. Queen of paradise, continue to advocate my cause. Through the blood of Jesus Christ, and through thy intercession, I have a firm hope of being saved. ON THE SCIENCE OF THE SAINTS. There are two sorts of science on this earth ; the one heavenly, the other worldly. The heavenly science is that which teaches us to please God, and to become great in heaven. Worldly science is that which impels us to please ourselves, and to ac- quire earthly greatness. But this science is true folly in the eyes of God. *' The wisdom of this ON THE SCIENCE OF THE SAINTS. 383 world," says the apostle, ** is foolishness with God." — 1 Cor. iii. 19. It is folly, because it renders foolish all who cultivate it ; it renders them foolish, and assimilates them to beasts, because it teaches them to indulge, like beasts, their sensual appetites, ** Hominem ilium dicimus," says St. John Chrysos- tom, **qui imaginem hominis salvam retinet. Q,uod autem imago hominis ? Rationalem esse." To retain the image of man, we must be rational; that is, we must act according to the dictates of reason. Hence, as we say that a beast, were it to act according to reason, should act like a man, so, on the other hand, a man who always obeys the sensual appetites, in opposition to reason, must be said to act like a beast. But how limited is the knowledge of men even concerning the things of this earth, how limited their knowledge of nature, after all the time they have devoted to the study of natural science ! What are we but so many blind moles, who, except the truth we know by faith, have only a conjectural, uncertain, and fallible knowledge of what we learn by means of the senses ! What writer on natural science, how much soever he may have been ap- plauded by some, has escaped the censure of all others? But the evil is, that worldly science makes us proud and haughty, and prone to despise others. This pride is pernicious to the soul ; for St. James says that God refuses his graces to the proud, and dispenses them to the humble. '' God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble." — iv. 6. '' O that they would be wise and understand, and would provide for their last end." — ' Deut. xxxii. 29. O, if men acted according to reason and the divine law, and thus knew how to provide rather for eternity than for their temporal life, which soon 384 ON THE SCIENCE OF THE SAINTS. ends, their time should certainly not be spent in acquiring any other knowledge than that which helps us to attain eternal happiness, and to avoid eternal torments. St. Chrysostom exhorts us to go to the sepulchres of the dead, in order to learn the science of sal- vation. ** Proficiscamur ad sepulchra." O, what beautiful schools of truth are the sepulchres of the dead ! How clearly do they teach us the vanity of the world 1 " Let us," says the saint, ** go to the sepulchres ; there I see nothing but rottenness, bones, and worms." Among these skeletons which I behold, I am unable to discern the ignorant peas- ant from the man of learning : I only see that for all, death has put an end to all the glory of this world. What is there now remaining of a Cicero, a Demosthenes, an Ulpian ? " They have slept their sleep, and .... have found nothing in their hands." - — Ps. Ixxv. 6. Happy the man who receives from God the science of the saints ! — Wisd. x. 10. The science of the saints consists in knowing how to love God. How many are there in the world who are well versed in the belles lettres, in mathematics, in the modern and ancient languages ! But what will this knowledge profit them if they know not how to love God? Happy he, says St. Augustine, who, though ignorant of other things^ knows how to love God. He who know's God, and loves him, though he be ignorant of the science with which others are ac- quainted, shall be more honored than all the men of learning who know not how to love God. **The unlearned," exclaimed the same St. Augustine, " rise up, and bear away heaven." O, how learned were St. Francis of Assisium, St. Paschal, St. John of God! they were indeed unac- ON THE SCIENCE OF THE SAINTS. 385 quainted with worldly science, but were well versed in the knowledge of God. *' Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones." — Matt, xi, 25. By the wise are understood worldlings, who seek after worldly wealth and glory, and disregard the goods of eter- nity. And by the little ones, Jesus Christ means the simple, who, like children, are but little ac- quainted with worldly wisdom, and care only to please God, Ah, let us not envy men who know many things; let us envy those only who know how to love Jesus Christ ; and let us imitate St. Paul, who declared that he wished to know nothing but Jesus Christ, and Jesus crucified. ** I judged myself not to know any thing among you but Jesus Christ, and him crucified." — 1 Cor. ii. 2. Happy we, if we attain a knowledge of the love which Jesus crucified has borne us, and if, from this book of divine love, we learn to love him. O my true and perfect Lover, where shall I find one who has loved me as much as thou hast loved me? Hitherto, I have lost my time in learning many things which have been altogether unprofita- ble to my soul ; and I have thought but little of lov- ing thee. I see that my life has been misspent. I hear thee calling me to thy love; behold me; I re- nounce all things ; henceforth my only thought shall be to please thee, my Sovereign Good. I give myself entirely to thee ; accept me ; assist me to be faithful to thee ; I wish to be no longer mine, but all, all, all yours. O mother of God, assist me by your prayers.* * Permit me here to express the great consolation which I deriyed a few days since from information connected with the subject of the preceding considerations — the scienjce of the 33 386 MOTIVES AND AFFECTIONS MOTIVES AND AFFECTIONS TO BE SUGGESTED TO THE DYING. Taken from St. LigtiorVs Instructions for assisting the Dying, The motives of confidence are — first, the in- finite mercy of God, who is called the leather of mercies. — 2 Cor. i. 3 Secondly, the passion of Jesus Christ, who has declared that he came to s^ve sinners Thirdly, the promises of God to give his grace to all who ask it, whether they be saints or sinners Fourthly, the intercession of the saints, and particularly of the divine mother, whom God wishes that we, along with the holy eaints. I have been assured that, after having received so much applause from all Europe for his poetic compositions, which are as noxious as they are beautiful, (I mean those only which treat of profane love,) for the more tender his expres- sions, the more they are calculated to kindle in the breasts of young persons the pernicious flames of impure affections, the celebrated Signore Peter Metastasio has published a little book in prose, in which he expresses his detestation of his writings on profane love, and declares that, were it in his power, he would retract them and make them disappear from the world, even at the cost of his blood. And I am informed that his poetic compositions are now confined to some pieces on moral or spiritual subjects, which he writes in order to comply with his obligation as poet to the imperial court. He lives retired in his own house, leading a life of prayer. This information has given me unspeakable consolation ; because his public declaration and his most laudable example will help to unde- ceive many young persons who seek to acquire a great name by similar compositions on profane love. It is certain that, by his retraction, Signore Metastasio has deserved more encomiums than he would by the publication of a thousand poetic works ; for these he might be praised by men, but now he is praised by God. Hence, as I formerly detested his vanity in prizing him- self for such compositions, (I do not speak of his sacred pieces, which are excellent and deserving of all praise,) so now 1 shall never cease to praise him ; and were I permitted, I would kiss his feet, seeing that he has voluntarily become the censor of his own works, and that he now desires so see them banished from the whole world, at the expense, as^ he says, even of his own blood. TO BE SUGGESTED TO THE DYING. 387 church, salute, as our refuge, our life, and our hope. The following passages of the Holy Scriptures may be added : ** No one hath hoped in the Lord and hath been confoundedT — Eccl.ii. 11. No one has placed his hope in God and has been abandoned by him. *' He is the propitiation for our sins.^' — 1 John ii. 2. Jesus Christ has died in order to obtain pardon for us. " He hath delivered him up for us all ; how hath he not also with him given us all things ? " — Rom. viii. 32, How shall that God who has given us his Son, refuse us pardon ? I. — Affections of Confidence. " The Lord is my light and my salvation ; whom shall I fear?" — Ps. xxvi. 1. ** Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit; thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth." — Ps. xxx. *' We therefore beseech thee, assist thy servants, whom thou hast redeemed with thy blood." " In thee, O Lord, have I hoped ; may I not be confounded forever." ''O good Jesus, hide me within thy wounds." '* Thy wounds are my merits." — St. Bernard. My Jesus, thou wilt not refuse me the pardon of my sins, since thou hast not refused me thy blood. Passion of Jesus, you are my hope Merits of Jesus, you are my hope. Wounds of Jesus, you are my hope. " The mercies of the Lord I will sing forever." Mary, my mother, thou hast to obtain salvation for me ; have pity on me. Hail, holy queen, our sweetness and our hope, haiL Holy Mary, pray for me, a sinner. Refuge of sinners, pray for me. We fly to thy patronage, O holy mother of God. Mary, mother of God, pray to Jesus for ma 388 MOTIVES AND AFFECTIONS II. — Affections of Contrition. St. Augustine says that every Christian should continue till death to bewail his sins. ** Enter not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord." — Ps. cxlii. 2. My Jesus and ray Judge, pardon me before thou dost judge me. " An humble and contrite heart, O Lord, thou wilt not despise." O, my God, that I had never offended thee ! Thou didst not deserve to be treated as I have treated thee.^ I am sorry with my whole heart, and above all things, for having offended thee. Father, I am not worthy to he called thy Son. I have turned my back upon thee ; I have despised thy grace; I have voluntarily lost thee. Pardon me for the love and for the blood of Jesus Christ ; I repent with my whole heart. Accursed sins, that have deprived me of God, I detest thee, I abhor thee, I curse thee. My God, what evil hast thou done me that I should have so grievously offended thee ? For the love of Jesus, have pity on me. Never more, O Lord, will I offend thee. I wish, O my God, to love thee during the remainder of my life, whether it be long or short. In satisfaction for the offences which I have of- fered to thee, I offer thee my death, and the pains which I shall suffer till death. Lord, thou hast reason to chastise me; I have sinned grievously against thee ; but I entreat thee to chastise me here, and not hereafter. O Mary, obtain for me a true sorrow for my sins, pardon and perseverance. TO BE SUGGESTED TO THE DYING. 389 III. — Affections op Love. My God, because thou art infinite goodness and worthy of infinite love, I love thee above all things; 1 love thee more than myself; I love thee with my whole heart. My God, I do not deserve to love thee, because I have offended thee ; but for the love of Jesus Christ, make me love thee, I would wish to see thee loved by all men. I rejoice in thy infinite happiness. My Jesus, I wish to suifer and to die for thee, who hast suffered so much, and hast d^ed for me. Chastise me, O Lord, as thou wishest, but do not deprive me of the power of loving thee. My God, save me; my salvation consists in loving thee. I desire paradise, in order to love thee for eter- nity, and with all my strength. My God, do not send me to hell, as I deserve; there 1 should have to hate thee, but I cannot bear to hate thee. Whit evil hast thou done me, O Lord, that I should h^.ve to hate thee? Make me love thee, and then send me where thou pleasest. I wish to suffer as much as thou pleasest; I wish to die in order to please thee. Bind me, O Jesus, to thee ; do not permit me to be ever separated from thee. O my God, make me all thine before I die. When shall I be able to say, My God, I can never lose thee ? O God, I would wish to love thee as much as thou deservest. O Mary, obtain for me the grace to belong en- tirely to God. My mother, I love thee ardently. I wish to go to love thee forever in paradise. 33*^ 390 MOTIVES AND AFFECTIONS IV. — Motives to Resignation. All our good and our life consists in conformity to the will of God. *' Life in his good will." — Ps; xxix. 6. God wishes what is most conducive to our w^elfare. Jesus Christ appeared to St. Gertrude, and offered her life or death. She answered, I wish ^ Lord, what thou wishest. The Redeemer also appeared to St. Catharine of Sienna, with a crown of jewels, and a crown of thorns, that she might choose between them. Her answer was, I make choice of that which thou wishest me to cJioose. Affections. O brother N., if God calls you to another life, are you not content? Yes. Say then, continually, Lord, here I am ; do with me what thou pleasest. Thy will be always done ; I wish only what thou wishest. I wish to suffer as much as thou pleasest* 1 wish to die when thou pleasest. In thy hands I place my soul and body, my life and death. / will bless the Lord at all times. Whether thou dost console or afflict me, I love thee, O my Lord, and I wish to love thee always. O eternal Father, I unite my death with the death of Jesus Christ ; and, in union with his death, I offer it to thee. O will of God, thou art my love. O pleasure of my God, to thee I sacrifice my whole being. V. ^ — Motives to desire Paradise. Blosius relates (Mon. Spir. c. 13) several reve- lations, in vvhich it is said that some souls in purga? tory suffer a particular pain, (called the pain of de- sire or of languor,) in punishment of the tepidity with which they desired heaven. This life is a pris- TO BE SUGGESTED TO THE DYING. 391 on, in which we cannot see God. Hence David prayed, '* Bring my soul out of prison,'' (Ps. clxi 8;) and St. Augustine exclaimed, " O Lord, may I die in order to see thee." St. Jerome called death his sister, and said. My sister y open to me. Yes ; for it is death that opens paradise. Hence St. Charles Borromeo, seeing death painted with a knife in the hand, ordered the painter to cancel the knife, and to substitute for it a key of gold — as the key of heaven. 4 It will be useful, then, to the dying to think of- ten on the goods of paradise ; repeating the words of St. Paul — ** Neither eye hath seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love him." — 1 Cor. ii. 9. Affections. " When shall I come and appear before the face of God ? " — Ps. xli. 3. When, O my God, shall I see thy infinite beauty, and love thee face to face ? I will love thee always in he^Ten — thou wilt al- ways love me ; we shall then love each other for eternity — O my God, my love, my all. O my Je- sus, when shall I kiss the wounds which thou didst suffer for my sake? O Mary, >vhen shall I see my- self at the feet of that mother who has loved me so tenderly, and assisted me so frequently? " Turn, then, O most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us ; and, after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb — Jesus." VI. — Affections to be suggested to the dying Christian when the Crucifix is given him that he may kiss it. My Jesus, look not on my sins, bat on what thou bast suffered for me. 392 MOTIVES AND AFFECTIONS Remember that I am one of the sheep for which thou hast died. I am willing, O my Jesus, to be consumed for the love of thee, who hast been consumed for the love of me. Thou hast given thyself entirely to me ; I give myself entirely to thee. O Lord, thou, an innocent, hast suffered for me, more than I, a sinner, suffer. My brother, kiss these feet which have been wearied in seeking after you, in order to save you. Say, my dear Redeemer, I embrace thy feet, as Magdalene did; make me feel that thou hast par- doned me. My God, for the love of Jesus Christ, pardon me; and grant me a happy death. Eternal Father, thou hast given me thy Son ; I give myself to thee. My Jesus, I have repaid thee with ingratitude; have mercy on me ; I have deserved hell so often ; chastise me here, and not hereafter. Thou didst not abandon me when I forsook thee ; do not abandon me now that I seek thee. Most sweet Jesus, do not permit me to be sepa- rated from thee. '' Who shall separate me from the love of Christ ? " O Lord Jesus Christ, through the agony which thy most noble soul suffered when it went forth from thy most blessed body, have mercy on my sin- ful soul when it shall depart from my body. Amen. My Jesus, thou hast died for the love of me ; I wish to die for the love of thee. 4 TO BE SUGGESTED TO THE DYING. 393 VII. — Affections to be suggested to Religious AND Priests at Death. " In peace, in the self-same, I will sleep and I will rest.'' My God and my all. O, happy me, if I lose all things to gain thee, O my Sovereign Good. " Into thy hands I commend my spirit." " Cast me not away from thy face.'' Most sweet Jesus, do not permit me to be sepa- rated from thee. May I die for the love of thee, who died for the love of me. ** A contrite and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." "In thee, O Lord, have I hoped; may I not be confounded forever." I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. Ah ! Lord, may I die in order to see thee. What have I in heaven, and besides thee what do I desire on earth ? Thou art the God of my heart, and the God that is my portion forever. The Lord is my light and my salvation ; whom shall I fear ? Father, I have sinned ; I am not worthy to be called thy child. Turn away thy face from my sins. I am thine ; save me. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Give me thy love along with thy grace, and I am sufficiently rich. My beloved to me and I to him. The mercies of the Lord I will sing forever. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. 394 MOTIVES AND AFFECTIONS Hail, holy queen, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. Refuge of sinners, pray for us. Mary, mother of grace, mother of mercy, defend us against the enemy, and receive us at the hour of death. O salvation of them who invoke thee. VIII. — Affections to be suggested during the Last Agony. my God, I believe in thee, the infallible Truth ; I hope in thee, O infinite Mercy ; I love thee, O infinite Goodness. What have I in heaven, and besides thee what do I desire on earth ? Thou art the God of my heart, and the God that is my portion forever. May I die for the love of thee, who died for the love of me. In peace, in the self-same, I will sleep and I will rest. My God, do not suffer me to be lost. 1 wish for nothing but thee, O infinite Goodness; I love thee, I love thee, I love thee. [Let it be here observed, that for persons in their agony, the acts to be most frequently suggested are acts of love and of contrition.] My Jesus, in a few moments thou shalt be my Judge ; pardon me ; I love thee, and because I love thee I am sorry for having offended thee. Most sweet Jesus, do not permit me to be sepa- rated from thee. ^ Blood of Jesus, wash me. Passion of Jesus, save me. Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit May I die, O Lord, in order to see thee. Mary, my mother, pray to Jesus for me. TO BE SUGGESTED TO THE DYING. 395 Turn thine eyes of mercy towards us, and, aft^r this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb — Jesus. O Mary, now is the time to help thy servant. My mother, do not abandon me. Land of beauty, land of love, when shall I see thee ? O my God, when shall I love thee face to face? my Jesus, when shall I see thee, secure of nev- er being able to lose thee ? My God and my all. 1 am willing to lose all things in order to gain tnee, O my God. O my God, for the love of Jesus, have mercy on me. O Lord, send me to purgatory as long as thou pleasest, but do not condemn me to hell, where I could never love thee. ** We therefore beseech thee, O Lord, assist thy servants, whom thou hast redeemed with thy pre- cious blood." eternal God, I wish and hope to love thee for eternity. My Love is crucified. My Jesus and my Lov€ has died for me. Incline unto my aid, O God ; O Lord, make haste to help me. Eternal Father, for the love of Jesus Christ, give me thy grace. 1 love thee, I repent, &/C. How can I thank thee, O my God, for all the graces thou hast bestowed upon me ? I hope to go to heaven to thank thee for eternity. Mary, Mother of Grace, Mother of Mercy, defend us against the enemy, and receive us at the hour of our death. V 396 MOTIVES AND AFFECTIONSj &C. Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy, &;C. The mercies of the Lord I will sing forever. IX. — When the Sick Man is about to expire. Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. My Jesus, I recommend to thee this soul, which thou hast purchased with thy blood. [Observe that when the dying man is near his last moment, the acts should be suggested without pausing, and in a louder voice.] O Lord Jesus Christ, receive my spirit. My God, assist me, permit me to go to love thee for eternity. My Jesus, my Love, 1 love thee, I repent, &c. O that I had never offended thee ! Mary, my hope, assist me ; pray to Jesus for me. Through thy passion, save me, O my Jesus ; I love thee. Mary, my mother, assist me at this moment. St. Joseph, come to my aid. St. Michael, the archan- gel, defend me. My angel-guardian, assist me. My holy patron, N., [here mention the principal *6cate of the dying man,] recommend me to Jesus Christ. All ye saints of heaven, pray to God for me. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Jesus and Mary, to thee I give my heart and my soul. 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