Preparing For Death

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I sometimes startle people when they randomly ask, “How’s it going?” My sometimes answer is, “Okay, considering the fact that I’m one day closer to the inevitable.”

This is not a morbid thought or remark. We are born straddling the grave with one foot on a bananna peel. We don’t know the day or the hour when we will depart from this life. A healthy respect for the fact that we must all die is a good and positive thing. Life is for living, but physical life is not forever. Life is a preparation for our eternal future. We are to spend this life developing our relationship with God, and death is but the doorway to knowing and seeing God face to face.

I don’t believe that we can truly appreciate this life without thinking about death and eternal life. They are all part of the human package of God’s design. To ignore any one of them only brings a lack of understanding and an inbalance to our knowledge of the other two. I think growing old is a great preparation for death and eternal life. Aging and even illness can help us let go of the earthly things we cling to. Letting go of these things makes more space for the spiritual life. Thinking about death can help us let go of earthly things early on and aids our spiritual growth.
 
I seem to remember a prayer I say many times each day…It ends thus…Holy Mary, Mother of God. Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
 
I guess I’m kinda weird, but even since I was young, I have always thought about it. I now have a tendency to stay on really good terms with everybody, just in case. And, I say an Act of Contrition every night as a backup for all my venial sins. Basically, I just try to stay as close to God as possible all day.

Eamon
 
I do not think about, nor prepare for a holy death as much as I should. I think after watching El Santa Padre this past couple of moths I better get on that ball… ya never know.
 
After the news I got today, I’m going to start thinking more seriously about it. I want to go to heaven. And i want to see all of you there with me!!!
 
Momofone:
After the news I got today, I’m going to start thinking more seriously about it. I want to go to heaven. And i want to see all of you there with me!!!
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Can you imagine all of us meeting?😃 I wonder if there will be chairs in the corners for us for when we become disruptive?:eek:
 
The Bible says we can know we have eternal life (now on earth). How? Read: 1 John 5:10-13 - “The one who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him is a liar, because he has not believed in the witness that God has borne concerning His Son. And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and eternal life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God in order that YOU MAY KNOW THAT YOU HAVE ETERNAL LIFE.” How do we have the Son of God? “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you CONFESS WITH YOUR MOUTH JESUS AS LORD, AND BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART THAT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, YOU SHALL BE SAVED; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. Romans 10:8-10 " for " Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13

" For the wages of sin (what we deserve) is death (separation from God), but the FREE GIFT of GOD is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

When we see we are sinners and lost and believe Jesus died on the Cross for us and paid for our sins and penalty - we humbly fall on our knees and ask Jesus to be our Saviour and Lord and to come into our hearts and He does. At that moment we are taken out of Satan’s kingdom and brought into God’s kingdom and become His children - born of God. Yes, we can know we have eternal life now - JESUS IS ETERNAL LIFE - receive HIM and be saved and know you are going to heaven.

Jesus loves you and knocks at the door of your heart - why won’t you let Him come in.

Love in Jesus
 
sapamarogi said:
Jesus loves you and knocks at the door of your heart - why won’t you let Him come in.
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I do, all the time, especially at every Mass. It started at baptism and then again at confirmation, but often at confession, when we turn our backs to satan and open our hearts to Jesus again.

Now go and sin no more, or Jesus will leave your heart in a… heart beat.😉

:blessyou:
 
I try to receive the sacraments regularly and keep from sinning. I sometimes am afraid that I have an unconfessed mortal sin on my soul, and that really scares me.
 
Fidelis said:
The question is: are your prepared for a holy death? Is it something we should think about? Why or why not?
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I sometimes wonder if anybody is really “prepared”. As a RCIA Candidate, I have not been allowed to take any of the Sacremants that seem to be required. So I wear the Green Scapular and recite the required prayer frequently. I also wear the brown scapular, even though I have never been properly invested. I pray the Rosary and Divine Mercy chaplet daily. I pray for the Church Suffering and have made the Heroic Act Of Love.

So it will all boil down to (“Round up the usual suspects”) Jesus Christ’s Mercy, intervention by Mother Mary, souls I have freed from Purgatory (if any), Angels, Saints, etc.

:gopray2: :gopray2: :gopray2: :gopray2: :gopray2: :gopray2: :gopray2:
 
Augustine said:
I do, all the time, especially at every Mass. It started at baptism and then again at confirmation, but often at confession, when we turn our backs to satan and open our hearts to Jesus again.

Now go and sin no more, or Jesus will leave your heart in a… heart beat.😉

:blessyou:
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It’s on my mind a lot. The solitude. You only have Jesus to hold your hand when you cross over! All you can take are the masses you’ve been to and the prayers you have said. (My grandmother taught me that).
 
Hi Augustine:

You don’t have to ask Jesus to come into your heart multiple times. Once you have believe on Him and asked Him to come in and be your Saviour and Lord - He comes in. It is at that moment your are born again- Born of God - a new creature in Christ Jesus. The Bible says: “But as many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become children of God.: John 1:12 ----“Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things are passed away, behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17. Since Jesus has come into your heart and life - He will never leave you. Jesus said: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” " He that cometh to Me, I will in NO WISE cast out.” How can you lose Jesus - He is a person and He now lives in you and you are not the same anymore. You have been taken out of the kingdom of satan and brought into the kingdom of God. You don’t have to keep asking Him in - He’s there. You only need to confess sins daily - you do not lose your salvation (HIM) - you just need to confess daily to keep close to HIM. He does not leave us in a heartbeat. NEVER! God is faithful to His Word! " A man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall NO flesh be justified." Galatians 2:16 In 1 Corinthians 1:30 it says: " But by HIS doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness, sanctification, and redemption." It is nothing we do -HE DID IT ALL on the cross. He said: “It is finished.” Our part is to receive it - Receive HIM - once. “For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of HIS SON, much more HAVING BEEN reconciled, we shall be saved by HIS LIFE.” “And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ THROUGH WHOM we have NOW RECEIVED THE RECONCILIATION.” Romans 5:10,11 Augustine- If you truly understand that Jesus paid it all - there is nothing for you to pay - just received it (HIM) it is done. Then you will have that new life in you and you will want to follow Him and won’t be afraid He will leave you anymore.

Love in Jesus
 
Oh, yes, we must ask Him several times, for we may fall away and turn our hearts impure. And, as you know, God will not dwell in an impure place. Thank God He gave His Apostles and their successors the power to forgive sins in His name. Had He not risen from the dead, it would not be possible. Thank God for the Catholic and Apostolic Church to continue His work in a visible way by His grace.

:blessyou:
 
sapamarogi -

Yes, the Lord has forgiven us, and yes, he has promised to never leave us. But just to ask him ONCE into our hearts, and everything is ok? Don’tcha think that’s kinda taking for granted the wonderful gift of His grace that He has given to us?

The way I see it, we must ALWAYS ask the Lord to come to us, through the Holy Spirit. We must constantly ask Him to help us to strive for holiness. When I finally accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior, I KNEW I had a lot of work ahead of me…not because I needed more assurance that His forgiveness is ever-encompassing, but I knew that the sins I’ve committed in the past can come up and be re-manifested in me by my actions. We are imperfect creatures by the the nature of sin. We can only be made perfect through Jesus Christ. If you understand what your human nature is, you would understand why constant help is always needed from the Lord here on Earth until we are finally perfected in Christ once we are united with Our Lord in Paradise.

Amen! God Bless!🙂
 
I said we ask Him to come into our hearts and lives and we are changed within born again - born of God - saved by what Jesus did on the cross. But I know we must daily ask Him to guide us and lead us and read His word daily to hear what He has to say to us. But that has nothing to do with our being born again - that happened the moment we asked Him in. But we then become His child and need a Father’s direction, but that does not mean He leaves us. He lives in us but we must listen to the inner voice of the Holy Spirit, but that has nothing to do with being born again of God - that is a moment in our life when we received Him and He came in and He never leaves us.
 
We were taught to say an acto fo contrition before bed and also to pray constantly for the souls in purgatory. The idea being that the more we do for souls in purgatory, the more merciful God will be when we die as well. Also, to receive frequent confession.
 
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