Posted by Morning Meditation
PORTRAIT OF A MAN WHO IS BUT A SHORT TIME GONE INTO THE HOUSE OF HIS ETERNITY.
Under thee shall the moth be strewed and worms shall be thy covering. (Is. xiv, 11).
The moment the soul leaves the body it shall go into eternity and the body shall return to dust. The same lot awaits all, nobleman and peasant, prince and vassal. Thou shalt take away their breath, and they shall return to their dust. (Ps. ciii, 29).
O my God, I will no longer resist Thy calls.
I.
Consider that thou art dust and that thou shalt return to dust. A day will come when thou shalt die and rot in a grave where worms shall be thy covering.
Imagine that thou beholdest a person who has just died. Look at that body lying on the bed, the head fallen on the chest, the hair in disorder and still bathed in the sweat of death, the eyes sunk, the cheeks hollow, the face the colour of ashes, the lips and tongue like iron, the body cold and heavy. The beholders grow pale and tremble. How many at the sight of a deceased relative or friend have changed their lives and retired from the world!
Still greater horror will be excited when the body begins to putrify. Twenty-four hours have not elapsed since the death of that young man, and his body already sends forth an offensive smell. The windows must be opened, and to prevent the communication of disease to the entire family, he must soon be transferred to the church and buried in the earth. “If he has been one of the rich and noble of the world, his body shall send forth a more intolerable stench,” says St. Ambrose.
Behold the end of that proud, that lewd, voluptuous man! Before his death, desired and sought after in conversation, and now become an object of horror and disgust to all who behold him! His relatives are in haste to remove him from the house. They hire men to shut him up in a coffin and carry him to the churchyard and throw him into a grave!
O Jesus, my Redeemer, I thank Thee for not having taken me out of life when I was Thy enemy. For how many years have I deserved to be in hell! Had I died on such a day or such a night, what would be my lot for all eternity? Lord, I thank Thee! I accept my death in satisfaction for my sins and I accept it in the manner in which Thou wilt be pleased to send it. But since Thou hast borne with me till now, wait for me a little longer. Suffer me, therefore, that I may lament my sorrow a little. (Job x, 20). Give me time to bewail my offences before Thou dost judge me. I will no longer resist Thy calls. Who knows but the words I have just read may be the last call for me! Behold the penitent traitor who has recourse to Thee. A contrite and humble heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. (Ps. l, 19).
II.
Consider that as thou hast acted on the occasion of the death of friends and relatives so others will act on the occasion of thy death. During life, the fame of his wit, of his politeness, of the elegance of his manners and his facetiousness, was spread far and wide, but after death the dead man is soon forgotten. On hearing the news of his death some say: “He was an honour to his family;” “He has provided well for his children.” Some regret his death because he had done them some service during life; others rejoice at it because it is an advantage to them. But in a little time no one speaks of him. In the beginning the relatives are afflicted for a short time, but soon they feel unwilling to hear his name through fear of renewing their grief. In visits of condolence all are careful to make no mention of the deceased, and should any one happen to speak of him the relatives exclaim: “For God’s sake do not mention his name!”
They occupy the possessions and offices of the deceased, and they are consoled by the share of the property which falls to them. But the dead are no longer remembered. Their memory hath perished with a noise. (Ps. ix, 7). Thus in a short time your death will be rather a source of joy; and in the very room in which you have breathed forth your soul, and in which you have been judged by Jesus Christ, others will dance and eat, and play and laugh as before! And where will your soul be then?
O God cast me not away from Thy face! For Thy mercy’s sake cast me not away! Thou hast said: Him that cometh to me I will not cast out. (Jo. vi, 37). It is true that I have outraged Thee more than others, because I have been more favoured with Thy lights and graces. But the Blood which Thou hast shed for me gives me courage and pardon if I repent. My Sovereign Good, I am sorry with my whole heart for having offended Thee. Pardon me and give me grace to love Thee for the future. I have offended Thee enough! The rest of my life I wish to spend in weeping unceasingly over the insults I have offered Thee and in loving with my whole heart a God worthy of infinite love. O Mary, my hope, pray to Jesus for me.