Are You Afraid To Die?

[snowflakes]

yes, but I try not to think about it. It’s more about being afraid of the “unknown”.

 

[4EverHis]

Just to let everyone know, that the kindly gentleman that I spoke of in this forum, is now resting in Jesus’ arms. He died peacefully at home, no tubes, no wires, nothing at all.

It was not for me to figure if he was saved or not. That is between God and he.

I miss him terribly.

He was my Dad.

I’m so sorry for your loss :hug1: that must be very difficult and painful. Prayers…

Dear Starfish,
I am so sorry for your loss. My mom died of throat cancer on June 16 and I agonized over her death because she, too, was so filled with hate and resentment. She was “unchurched”, but did request baptism a couple of months before she died. I don’t know why I expected a miraculous conversion in her after that…it never was outwardly apparent…but I pray that God worked in her heart in a way that I couldn’t see.
Mom’s last four days were simply terrible. She didn’t appear to be in pain, but she seemed to be absolutely TORTURED emotionally. She wasn’t conscious, but seemed to be “seeing” things that greatly upset her. Her brow was furrowed and she made noises like a person in great distress. In the meantime, I sat by constantly praying that God would end her suffering. Of course, after four days of that, I came to realize that God had a plan that I didn’t understand and I just had to trust. A couple of hours before she died, she had a few minutes of clarity. I wish that I could say after watching her agony that she was finally at peace, but she looked absolutely terrified. She couldn’t talk, but I know that she connected with me and heard me when I told her not to be afraid. I told her that I had been praying for her and that everything would be okay.
I learned a great lesson through Mom’s death…we don’t love perfectly in this world…myself included! I pray that God, in His mercy, brought her to a place where love IS perfect. I continue to pray for her.
I hope that God will comfort you Starfish. My prayers are with you and your dad.

Kathy

I’m so sorry :hug1: I remember reading in St Faustina’s diary that people often go through a lot of fear when they are dying. Maybe this is what happened with your Mom. Definitely continue to pray for her… my grandfather died a couple years ago and I still pray for him. I think the Divine Mercy chaplet is a great idea… I don’t know about this for sure, but I tend to believe that since God is outside of time, He can apply our prayers for our deceased loved ones to the time of their death, and give them the graces they need at that moment.

God bless

 

[4EverHis]

Starfish, I see that you have mentioned purgatory and sacramentals, and that you disagree with them…
I just wanted to say one thing if it’s alright

Purgatory does not happen outside of Christ’s merits or His Sacrifice. It happens by grace. It is for those who are already saved, and for those whose sins have ALREADY been forgiven. If a person’s mortal sins are not forgiven, they won’t go to purgatory, but to hell.

Purgatory is a place of purification where we are made ready for Heaven… there, we learn to love God perfectly and to never offend Him again. It doens’t happen outside of Christ’s sacrifice, in fact it is His sacrifice that makes Purgatory possible.

The reason it exists is to finish the process of “sanctification”, if you will… if it wasn’t finished here on earth.

That way, we can all be perfect in heaven and love God with all our hearts

About indulgences… and sacramentals, etc… it’s the same thing there. They don’t operate outside of God’s grace, as if that were possible. For example, I wear a brown scapular, a crucifix, and a miraculous medal. These are not “magic” items… they don’t “save” us. What they do though, is God uses them as occasions of His help and grace. It’s just like how Christ used the mud to heal the blind man He could have done it without mud… but he chose to use it as an occasion of His healing. Also, the demons fear anything that is blessed, or the crucifix, because they fear anything to do with God… and since the Cross is our salvation, they naturally hate it. So sacramentals are good protection too.

indulgences, or getting a Mass offered for the dead… this can’t get people out of hell, it can only be applied to those who are already saved. But if they’re in Purgatory, it can help them get through it quicker.

I was thinking about what you said in your OP… I think that God judges each soul individually, and takes into account the circumstances the person was in. If your dad was taught to dislike certain groups of people, that might not be entirely his fault, and God knows this. He only judges our choices. It can be that a person has a lot of biases, etc, but still did the best with what they knew and what they had, and they can be saved.

God bless.

 

[TwoDachshunds]

What makes you think the understanding, compassionate, forgiving God will send this man to eternal torture? Is not his soul already saved by Jesus, or was that just for the few ‘perfect’ people in the world?

Salvation is for the repentant.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

Mother Angelica had a priest on one night who was terminal with cancer. He commented, “I know enough theology that I am not afraid of being dead. But I know enough of doctors and hospitals to be afraid of the process of dying.”

I think I can go with that.

 

[John_Russell_Jr]

My dear friend

Not at present. We only need to fear death if we judge and lack mercy as Jesus tells us. If we don’t judge and are merciful we won’t be judged and we’ll receive mercy. We should avoid sin like the plague and do penance for our sins though.

God bless:thumbsup:
John

 

[Nightingales]

Thanks to everyone for your replies.

I still do not see the need for all the religious jewelry worn to KNOW what Jesus did for me. Too many people wear these things thinking that they are protected and all that. I learned that in catholic school. I didn’t like it then and I don’t like it now.

For those of you are “think” you are going to Heaven when you die, isn’t that a scary thing? Shouldn’t you KNOW that you are going, by believing in what Christ taught here on earth? Read John 3:16.

It is all right there.

 

[MomAfterIF]

I am not afraid to die, however, I am afraid to leave my family behind, especially my children. I am also afraid of the ways to die. I am not afraid of death itself though. I am currently in a state of confusion since losing my grandparents who raised me. I am trying to get myself into the Catholic religion for my own sake because I need to know that my family, friends, etc will be there waiting and also that God will welcome me with open arms. At this point in my life, Im having issues believing that. I have a lot of “what ifs” burning in my mind. Regardless, death does not scare me.

I personally wear a small gold cross with a heart in the center of it. It was given to me by my grandparents when I turned 21, just a few weeks before my grandma passed away. I never take it off.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

. . .
For those of you are “think” you are going to Heaven when you die, isn’t that a scary thing? Shouldn’t you KNOW that you are going, by believing in what Christ taught here on earth? Read John 3:16.

It is all right there.

4* I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. 5* Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then every man will receive his commendation from God

1 Corinthians 4:4-5
Should I be more confident than Saint Paul?