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THE MOST IMPORTANT MOMENT OF LIFE (by Willy Effinger) 
Several months ago, I was asked to include on our web-site the following material from a guided retreat held at the Divine Mercy Centre. It somehow didn't work into the schedule until now, but I hope that it will be of some benefit to others as well. What is the most important moment of life for you - your birthday, anniversary, First Holy Communion, Confirmation, Wedding Day? In fact, the most important moment of life is when we pass from this life to everlasting life – that is, the moment of our DEATH! Then, we will meet our Maker and our Judge who, in His great mercy, will give us one more chance to make one more choice: life forever or death forever. The Christian soul would do well to prepare throughout life for this most important event. Just look at how much time we spend to prepare for other things: a driver's license, exams, wedding rehearsals, etc. Yet dying and death is far removed from our minds as Heaven is from Hell. One of them is ours – the choice is up to you and me! Let us, therefore live wisely, spending our days on earth being merciful to others, being prayerful and good, making sacrifices to secure a place with the Almighty Father. How many precious hours of suffering do we waste? How many opportunities do we let slide by that might have gained us graces and merits for our eternal reward? It is our Christian duty to bury the dead and to instruct the uninformed. This means that we are called to do the work of Christ here on earth, to save souls from eternal damnation or better yet, to prepare them for eternal life. My dear friends, the corporal and spiritual works of mercy will open for us the gates of Heaven. (You may refer to Reflections by Willy under the NEWS for June/July 2005 for specifics) Before the Second Vatican Council, the pall (that is, the cloth used to cover the coffin) was black, signifying the final ending of life. Now, in the liturgy for the dying, the Church is focused on life everlasting. So, the pall at funerals these days is white, to make a connection to our Baptism and to remind those left behind that there is a better life awaiting our deceased loved one. Still, for most of us, thinking about death is scary, morbid and something we would rather not think about. But we should not fear, for Christ has taken the sting of death away from us. By and through our Baptism, we have already died with Christ sacramentally, in order to live a new life. So, if we die in the grace of Christ, the physical death just completes the dying with Christ and opens the gates to everlasting life. In the 21st verse of the first Chapter of the Letter to the Philippians, we read: “For to me life is Christ and to die is gain.” In the second letter to Timothy, Chapter 2, verse 11, we hear another promise: “The saying is sure: if we have died with Him, we will also live with Him.” There are many authors who speak of the desire to be with God forever. For example: ➢ St. Ignatius of Antioch once said, “ It is better for me to die in Christ Jesus than to reign over the ends of the earth. Him I seek who died for us. Him it is I desire.” ➢ In the words of St. Teresa of Avila: “ I want to see God and in order to see Him, I must die!” ➢ St. Theresa, the Little Flower, on her deathbed said: “I am not dying; I am entering life.” In death, then, God is calling us to Himself. He gives us a chance to transform our death into an act of obedience and love towards the Father. This final act of obedience models us ever so closely to the example of Christ as He died on the Cross for us: “Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit!” Death concludes our earthly journey – a journey of grace and mercy that God has given to us to prepare for a better life, in keeping with His Divine Plan. This is our only chance – we only have ONE go at it and we cannot return to fix it, for in the Letter to the Hebrews (Chapter 9, verse 27) we read: “It is appointed for man to die once.” The following is a quote from “The Imitation of Christ”: “Every action of yours, every thought, should be those of one who expects to die before the day is out. Death would have no great terrors for you if you had a quiet conscience. Then, why not keep clear of sin instead of running away from death? If you aren't fit to face death today, it's very unlikely that you will be tomorrow!” 
In the Prayers for the dying in the Roman Missal, we read: “Lord, for your faithful people, life has changed, not ended. When the body of our earthly dwelling lies in death, we gain an everlasting dwelling place in Heaven. In Holy Scripture, Jesus Himself teaches us about everlasting life and the Resurrection on many occasions. To the Sadducees, who denied this truth, He said: “Is not this why you are wrong, that you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? Faith in the resurrection rests on faith in God who is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” Jesus goes on to make an even stronger case for the resurrection when He said: “I am the Resurrection and the Life” and in another place: “Those who eat My Flesh and drink My Blood will have life everlasting.” Therefore, we who believe and witness to His Resurrection, will also rise like Christ – with Him and through Him. From the beginning, like with the Sadducees, Christians who believe in the resurrection have met with opposition. After all, they say, our bodies, so clearly mortal, could not possibly rise to life everlasting! Let me say a few words on this topic. When we die, the separation of soul and body must take place, for the first is spirit and belongs to God, while the latter is earthly and belongs to the earth, where to dust it shall return. So, while the soul goes to meet God, the body decays. Those who have done good will rise to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. But some may ask, as in the First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 15, verses 35-43: “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come? You foolish man! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body which is to be but a bare kernel ... what is sown is perishable , what is raised is imperishable...the dead will be raised imperishable. For this perishable nature must put on the imperishable and this mortal nature must put on immortality.” This all might exceed our human understanding but faith tells us that it is through Christ, who was raised with His own Body, yet glorified, that our own bodies will be glorified into spiritual, incorruptible bodies. Let me also add a short note about respect for the dead. It is our definite duty as Christians to give our attention and care to the dying, to help them live their last moments in dignity and peace, surrounded by prayer. We must see to it that they are prayed for, that they receive the Viaticum and the support of the Christian community. We must always remember the importance of praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for the dying! In Diary entry 811, Saint Faustina wrote the words she heard while praying for a dying person: “When this Chaplet is said by the bedside of a dying person, God's anger is placated, unfathomable mercy envelops the soul, and the very depths of My tender mercy are moved for the sake of the sorrowful Passion of My Son.” In Diary entry 1565, St. Faustina recorded the words of Jesus who said: “My daughter, help Me to save a certain dying sinner. Say the Chaplet that I have taught you for him.” and in Diary entry 1798, St. Faustina recorded the following moving incident: “ Suddenly I found myself in a strange cottage where an elderly man was dying amidst great torments. All about the bed was a multitude of demons and the family, who were crying. When I began to pray, the spirits of darkness fled, with hissing and threats directed at me. The soul became calm and, filled with trust, rested in the Lord.” The bodies of the dead must be treated with respect and charity, with faith in the resurrection. The burial of the dead is a corporal work of mercy; it honours the Body of Christ. By the way it may be of interest to note that the Catholic Church permits autopsies for legal or scientific reasons, the donation of organs after death and cremation with a proper burial. (For more details you may want to consult entry 2299 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church) When Saint Faustina was near the end of her earthly life, she wrote several beautiful exhortations, three of which I would invite you to read in her Diary “Divine Mercy in My Soul” - namely entries 1652, 1653 and 1654. So, as the Lenten Season approaches, let us consider making an honest effort to die to ourselves and to offer more prayers for the sick and the dying.
Prayer to Mary for a Happy Death O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you; O refuge of sinners, Mother of the dying, forsake us not at the hour of our death; obtain for us the grace of perfect sorrow, sincere contrition, the pardon and remission of our sins, a worthy receiving of the most Holy Viaticum and the comfort of the Sacrament of the Sick, in order that we may appear with greater security before the throne of the just but merciful Judge, our God and Redeemer. Amen.
Prayer to Saint Joseph for a Happy Death O Joseph, foster-father of Jesus, most pure spouse of the Virgin Mary, pray every day for us to the same Jesus, the Son of God, that we, being defended by the power of His grace, and striving dutifully in life, may be crowned by Him at the hour of death. Amen.
SOME PRAYERS FOR THE SICK AND DYING
Prayer for a Sick Person: Most merciful Jesus, consolation and salvation of all who put their trust in You, we humbly beseech You, by Your most bitter Passion, grant recovery of health to Your servant (mention the person's name here), provided that this be for his/her soul's welfare, that with us, he/she may praise and magnify Your Holy Name. If it be Your holy will to call him/her out of this world, strengthen him/her in his/her last hour, grant him/her a peaceful death and life everlasting. Amen. (In conclusion, say an Our Father, a Hail Mary and a Glory Be)
Prayers to Aid the Dying: Lord, Jesus Christ! Son of God and Son of the Virgin Mary, God and Man, You who in fear sweated blood for us on the Mount of Olives in order to bring peace and to offer Your most Holy Death to God Your Heavenly Father for the salvation of this dying person, (mention the person's name here), if it be that by his/her sins, he/she merits eternal damnation, then may it be deflected from him/her. Grant this, O Eternal Father, through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your dearly beloved Son, Who lives and reigns with You in union with the Holy Spirit now and for ever. Amen. Lord Jesus Christ, You who meekly died on the trunk of the Cross for us, submitting Your will completely to Your Heavenly Father in order to bring peace and to offer Your most Holy Death to Your Heavenly Father in order to free (mention the dying person's name here), and to hide from him/her what he/she has earned with his/her sins, if it be that by his/her sins he/she merits eternal damnation, then may it be deflected from him/her. Grant this, Eternal Father, through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your dearly beloved Son, Who lives and reigns with You in union with the Holy Spirit now and fore ever. Amen.
Lord, Jesus Christ, You who remained silent to speak through the mouths of the prophets: “With age-old love I have loved you; so I have kept my mercy toward you.” (Jeremiah 31:3) This love drew You from Heaven into the body of the Virgin. This love drew You from the body of the Virgin into the valley of this needy world. This love kept You thirty-three years in this world and as a sign of this great love, You have given Your Holy Body as true Food and Your Holy Blood as true Drink. As a sign of this great love, You have consented to be a prisoner and to be led from one judge to another. As a sign of this great love, You consented to be condemned to death, to die and to be buried and truly risen, appearing to Your Holy Mother and all the Apostles. As a sign of this great love, You ascended, under Your own strength and power to sit at the right hand of God, Your Heavenly Father. You have sent Your Holy Spirit into the hearts of Your Apostles and the hearts of all who hope and believe in You. Through Your sign of eternal love, open Heaven today and take this dying person, (mention the dying person's name here), and all his/her sins into the realm of Your Heavenly Father, that he/she may reign with You now and for ever. Amen.
* The three preceding prayers are adapted from a compilation of prayers from traditional sources entitled “Instructions & Devotions for the Sick, Dying & Deceased” ISBN # 0-9697103-7-3 Canisius Books P.O. Box 53534; 4410 Kingston Rd. Scarborough, ON M1E 5G2
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