Meditation for Wednesday, August 7, 2024: The Miserable Death of the Sinner
Excerpt from the book The Way of Salvation and of Perfection
The Miserable Death of the Sinner
I. Poor unhappy being! see how he is oppressed with sorrows! Alas! he is now about to die; a cold sweat is stealing over him, his breath is failing him, and he frequently faints away; and when come to himself, his head is so far gone and so weak that he can attend but to very little, understand but little, and speak but little. But the worst is, although he is drawing near his end, instead of thinking of the account he must shortly render to God, he thinks only of his medical attendants, and of the remedies they may be able to afford him to save him from death. And those who stand around him, instead of exhorting him to unite himself to God, flatter him by telling him that he is better, or say not a word, that they may not disturb him.
O my God! deliver me from such an unhappy end.
II. But at last the priest admonishes him of his approaching dissolution, saying to him, “You are now, dear brother, in a state of great danger, and must bid farewell to the world; give yourself then to God, and receive his holy sacraments.” On hearing this fatal announcement, how dreadfully is he agitated, what sadness and remorse of conscience overwhelm him, and how dreadful is the conflict which he suffers! All the sins he has committed appear in confusion before him, the inspirations which he has neglected, his broken promises, and the many years of his past life now lost and gone forever, all rush upon his mind. He now opens his eyes to the truths of eternity, of which during his past life he made but very little account. O God! what terror do the thoughts of loss of Thy favor, of death, of judgment, of hell, and of eternity, strike into his unhappy soul!
O Jesus! have pity on me and pardon me; do not abandon me. I am sensible of the evil I have done in despising Thee, and would willingly die for Thy love. Assist me, O God! to begin now at least a new life.
III. The dying sinner exclaims, “O what great folly have I been guilty of! How have I squandered away my life! I might have been a saint, and I would not; and now, what can I do? My head wanders, and fears oppress me and will not suffer me to bring my mind to any one good work! In a few moments what will become of me? Dying in this manner, how can I be saved?” He wishes for time to make his peace effectually with God, but time is no longer his. “Alas !” he cries out, “this cold sweat is a sure symptom of the near approach of death; I begin to lose my sight and my breath; I can no longer move, I can hardly speak.” And thus, in the midst of so much confusion, despondency, and fear, his soul departs from his body and appears before Jesus Christ.
O my Jesus! Thy death is my hope. I love Thee above every good, and because I love Thee, I am sorry for having offended Thee. Mary, Mother of God, pray to Jesus for me.
From the book The Way of Salvation and of Perfection by St. Alphonsus De Liguori (Redemptorist Father, 1926, pages 141-143).
I wish priests would preach in this manner. We need to hear this more often. There are too many distractions for the Christian soul and we forget that our life is at all moments in danger of the abyss that is waiting to catch us off guard.
Not everyone is going to get a priest when he is at death's door, not everyone will die in their bed. Some deaths are instantaneous, some are sudden, we are all living on borrowed time. The "Hail Mary" is a great prayer to pray often, because it is a reminder that we are sinners and the hour of death is approaching; we just don't know how fast. Holy Mother of God, pray for us.