The Moment of Our Death

[Joysong]

I heard from two renown religious in past months that God grants a special grace to the person at the moment of death, giving them a final opportunity to repent. It seems to me that one of these may have been Fr. Groeschel, so I respected the authenticity of the revelation, which was attributed to St. Faustina from her Diary.

Having read the Diary as a lenten devotion, I finally noted the exact wording at the end of the book, and it is stated here:

1698 l often attend upon the dying, and through entreaties obtain for them trust in God’s mercy, and I implore God for an abundance of divine grace, which is always victorious.

God’s mercy sometimes touches the sinner at the last moment in a wondrous and mysterious way. Outwardly, it seems as if everything were lost, but it is not so. The soul, illumined by a ray of God’s powerful final grace, turns to God in the last moment with such a power of love that, in an instant, it receives from God forgiveness of sin and punishment, while outwardly it shows no sign either of repentance or of contrition, because souls [at that stage] no longer react to external things. Oh, how beyond comprehension is God’s mercy!

But-horror!-there are also souls who voluntarily and consciously reject and scorn this grace! Although a person is at the point of death, the merciful God gives the soul that interior vivid moment, so that if the soul is willing, it has the possibility of returning to God. But sometimes, the obduracy in souls is so great that consciously they choose hell; they [thus] make useless all the prayers that other souls offer to God for them and even the efforts of God Himself…

The bolded section is what was presented, and I listened with great devotion and trust in God’s mercy, believing that it was a grace bestowed on every person, yet wondered how this coincided with Church teachings.

Reading this caption in the Diary, however, I noted in the first sentence that St. Faustina used the word “sometimes,” whereas the two religious omitted this word.

We learn that it is not an absolute certainty of being granted to every soul, but nevertheless it gives me much hope and trust to learn this may “sometimes” be granted by God because of His great mercy and love for us.

I’m wondering if anyone has discovered similar teachings from other saints that can corroborate this, as well. Or is it a private revelation that we, in this age of the Church, are privileged to understand.

 

[masondoggy]

Reading this caption in the Diary, however, I noted in the first sentence that St. Faustina used the word “sometimes,” whereas the two religious omitted this word.

We learn that it is not an absolute certainty of being granted to every soul, but nevertheless it gives me much hope and trust to learn this may “sometimes” be granted by God because of His great mercy and love for us.

Maybe “sometimes” just means that the grace is given only to the souls that really need it. I can’t imagine that God would give only some lost sinners the Grace to choose Him and not others. Maybe this Grace is reseserved for those souls that were never taught about God or taught things in their childhood/life that made it hard/impossible to find God. Those of us who grew up knowing about God and his goodness and rejected it anyway may not get that Grace at death because we already squandered it. But that’s just speculation on my part. I’m sure, though, that God is fair about the “sometimes”. We’ll find out when we get there, I guess.

 

[Joysong]

Maybe this Grace is reseserved for those souls that were never taught about God or taught things in their childhood/life that made it hard/impossible to find God. Those of us who grew up knowing about God and his goodness and rejected it anyway may not get that Grace at death because we already squandered it.

That may be speculation on your part, but it is a very good one! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Indyann]

I do not have my “Diary” handy, but did she not say somewhere that Christ calls to the soul three times.

Now what kind of fool would reject Jesus three times? Can’t imagine that!

I will try to find the exact passage.

 

[Indyann]

Conversation of the Merciful God with a Despairing Soul. Notebook V
(1486)

Jesus: O soul steeped in darkness, do not despair. All is not yet lost. Come and confide in your God, who is love and mercy.

-But the soul, deaf even to this appeal, wraps itself in darkness.

Jesus calls out again: My child, listen to the voice of your merciful Father.

• In the soul arises this reply: “For me there is no mercy,” and it falls into greater darkness, a despair which is a foretaste of hell and makes it unable to draw near to God.

Jesus calls to the soul a third time, but the soul remains deaf and blind, hardened and despairing. Then the mercy of God begins to exert itself, and, without any co-operation from the soul, God grants it final grace. If this too is spurned, God will leave the soul in this self-chosen disposition for eternity. This grace emerges from the merciful Heart of Jesus and gives the soul a special light by means of which the soul begins to understand God’s effort; but conversion depends on its own will. The soul knows that this, for her, is final grace and, should it show even a flicker of good will, the mercy of God will accomplish the rest.

My omnipotent mercy is active here. Happy the soul that takes advantage of this grace.

Jesus: What joy fills My Heart when you return to me. Because you are weak, I take you in My arms and carry you to the home of My Father.

Soul (as if awaking, asks fearfully): Is it possible that there yet is mercy for me?

Jesus: There is, My child. You have a special claim on My mercy. Let it act in your poor soul; let the rays of grace enter your soul; they bring with them light, warmth, and life.

Soul: But fear fills me at the thought of my sins, and this terrible fear moves me to doubt Your goodness.

Jesus: My child, all your sins have not wounded My Heart as painfully as your present lack of trust does - that after so many efforts of My love and mercy, you should still doubt My goodness.

Soul: O Lord, save me yourself, for I perish. Be my Savior. O Lord, I am unable to say anything more; my pitiful heart is torn asunder; but You, O Lord… Jesus does not let the soul finish but, raising it from the ground, from the depths of its misery, he leads it into the recesses of His Heart where all its sins disappear instantly, consumed by the flames of love.

Jesus: Here, soul, are all the treasures of My Heart. Take everything you need from it.

Soul: O Lord, I am inundated with Your grace. I sense that a new life has entered into me and, above all, I feel Your love in my heart. That is enough for me. O Lord, I will glorify the omnipotence of Your mercy for all eternity. Encouraged by Your goodness, I will confide to You all the sorrows of my heart.

Jesus: Tell me all, My child, hide nothing from Me, because My loving Heart, the Heart of your Best Friend, is listening to you.

Soul: O Lord, now I see all my ingratitude and Your goodness. You were pursuing me with Your grace, while I was frustrating Your benevolence. I see that I deserve the depths of hell for spurning Your graces.

Jesus (interrupting): Do not be absorbed in your misery-you are still too weak to speak of it-but, rather, gaze on My Heart filled with goodness, and be imbued with My sentiments. Strive for meekness and humility; be merciful to others, as I am to you; and, when you feel your strength failing, if you come to the fountain of mercy to fortify your soul, you will not grow weary on your journey.

Soul: Now I understand Your mercy, which protects me, and like a brilliant star, leads me into the home of my Father, protecting me from the horrors of hell that I have deserved, not once, but a thousand times. O Lord, eternity will hardly suffice for me to give due praise to Your unfathomable mercy and Your compassion for me.

---

 

[Conservative]

A very interesting thread, Joysong - and beautiful references -
Thanks to Indyann for that last quote.

I’ve just purchased the Diary recently and haven’t gone past perusing pages here and there but hope to get more involved in it.

Praise, glory and honor be to God !
Praise, glory and honor be to the
Most Merciful Sacred Heart of Jesus!

 

[Joysong]

A very interesting thread, Joysong - and beautiful references - Thanks to Indyann for that last quote.

A agree, thanks Indyann. His mercy endures forever!

I’ve just purchased the Diary recently and haven’t gone past perusing pages here and there but hope to get more involved in it.

Well, with 600+ pages, I did the same thing the first time I read it. I only wanted to see the bolded words of Jesus to Faustina. For lent, though, I went from the very beginning and did not omit anything. She has a lot to say that helps us to know the heart of a saint and how she lived the gospel. These are our best mentors!

 

[TOP]

The soul, illumined by a ray of God’s powerful final grace, turns to God in the last moment with such a power of love that, in an instant, it receives from God forgiveness of sin and punishment, while outwardly it shows no sign either of repentance or of contrition,…

This struck me, the ray of grace that illuminates. An S.D. told me that an experience I had that saved me from suicide and started me on the road to conversion was called an “illumination of conscience”. For years I thought I had a vision of demons, but they where my own sins I was terrified of having seen. I was then consoled very deeply in a loving union that has left no doubt of the Lord and His love for us. This illumination, purging and union took about a minute to happen. In it, I had the choice to continue the suicide or to turn to God. I was so helpless, only God was who I could turn to and I called out to Him. He wasted no time in wrapping me in a protective blanket of love that exceeded any love I have ever felt before. Imagine seeing your children born, then times that by a thousand. That would be insufficent to explain how much love God has for us. If He would do this for me, I see no reason why He would not do it for a soul suffering death. I was told that prayer is what caused this. That it was an answer to prayer. Pray for the dying. Tim

 

[Indyann]

Beautiful Tim, Thank you,

 

[glenaitken]

I heard from two renown religious in past months that God grants a special grace to the person at the moment of death, giving them a final opportunity to repent. It seems to me that one of these may have been Fr. Groeschel, so I respected the authenticity of the revelation, which was attributed to St. Faustina from her Diary.

Having read the Diary as a lenten devotion, I finally noted the exact wording at the end of the book, and it is stated here:

The bolded section is what was presented, and I listened with great devotion and trust in God’s mercy, believing that it was a grace bestowed on every person, yet wondered how this coincided with Church teachings.

Reading this caption in the Diary, however, I noted in the first sentence that St. Faustina used the word “sometimes,” whereas the two religious omitted this word.

We learn that it is not an absolute certainty of being granted to every soul, but nevertheless it gives me much hope and trust to learn this may “sometimes” be granted by God because of His great mercy and love for us.

I’m wondering if anyone has discovered similar teachings from other saints that can corroborate this, as well. Or is it a private revelation that we, in this age of the Church, are privileged to understand.

I am certian that God does all He can to get each and every soul- I don’t think that everyone makes it, however. In the bold section, she is basically talking about God granting perfect contrition to a dying person. there is no reason to believe that this is the case, but then there is no reason not to believe that this is the case. It makes sense in God’s love and Mercy that He would offer the gift of perfect contrition to each dying person, but that does not mean that they accept it. there is a plenery indulgence at the momemnt of death, however, that the Church grants to a person who is dying on a state of grace and wants the indulgence (the regular conditions do not apply in this case of recieving the eucharist and confession). this seems to support the idea that God would offer a soul perfect contrition (if the Church does this, then God may do something similar). By the way- spread that awesome plenery indulgence info around, nobody knows about it anymore and purgatory is getting crowded!

 

[LayApostle]

Another beautiful aspect of God’s mercy is that, He even allows us to pray the Diving Mercy Chaplet for the dying person and takes it as though it is being said by the said person and He promises to appear as a Savior and not as the Just Judge at the moment of death of that person. What grace that is.

Souls at the moment of their bodily death are tormented and tempted by the devils. If they do not know God they will tend to believe the thoughts that are put in by the evil ones that they can find no hope in God because of their sinfulness… that is how some souls are lost because they believe more in their unworthiness and shut out God’s mercy and graces which plunge them into Hell.

God does not want anyone to go to Hell but He will not infringe on our free will to choose Him or to deny His help. We know from experience how we refuse help because of our pride even when sincere help is offered to us. No we will make it on our own.

That is why it is so important to make God known and loved by all and to get the message of His unfathomable mercy out to all. Study guides on God’s Divine Mercy by the Marians of Mary Immaculate will be made available due to the Apostolic Congress on Divine Mercy. Check them out.

 

[Joysong]

Another beautiful aspect of God’s mercy is that, He even allows us to pray the Diving Mercy Chaplet for the dying person and takes it as though it is being said by the said person and He promises to appear as a Savior and not as the Just Judge at the moment of death of that person. What grace that is.

Lay Apostle,

I just finished the Diary recently, and while I did read that the Chaplet is powerful for the dying, I don’t remember reading the underlined part. It would be really helpful if you can supply that quote. I just lost a loved one for whom I said the Chaplet about 4 hours prior to his death, not knowing he was to die that day.

Thanks.