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Perseverence is defined: that gift which makes the
moment of death coincide with the state of grace,
either continued or restored. Let us see, first, what
Scripture and tradition say of this grace. Then we
shall listen to the explanation furnished by the
theology of St. Thomas. [66] Scripture attributes to
God the grace of death in the state of grace.
In the Book of Wisdom, on the subject of the death of
the just as opposed to the death of the wicked, we
read: "His soul pleased God, therefore the Lord
hastened to bring him out of the midst of
iniquities."
[67] In the New Testament we read these words of St.
Peter: "The God of all grace, who has called us unto
His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have
suffered a little, will Himself perfect you and
confirm you and establish you." [68] St. Paul says: I
am confident that He who hath begun a good work in
you will perfect it unto the day of Jesus Christ."
[69] Again to the Romans: "To them that love God all
things work together unto good, to such as, according
to His purpose, are called to be saints.... And whom
He predestined, them He also called. And whom He
called, them He also justified. And whom He
justified, them He also glorified." [70] This
glorification supposes that
God preserves the soul in that grace which justifies
it. He says to Moses: "I will have mercy on whom I
will have mercy, and I will show mercy to whom I will
show mercy." [71] This mercy of final perseverance is
given to all the elect.
St. Augustine [72] says that death in the state of
grace is a pre-eminent gift of God, even in the case
of infants. In the case of adults this gift sustains
their own voluntary and meritorious choice, and
hinders them from being cast down by adversity. But
while each predestined soul will have this gift, none
can know, without special revelation, that he will
persevere. Hence we must work out our salvation with
fear and trembling. St. Augustine [73] adds that this
gift is not given to us according to our merits, but
according to the will of God, a will very secret,
very wise, very beneficent. Only to God does it
belong to give it, since He alone determines the end
of our life. But this gift, even if it cannot be
merited, can be obtained by humble supplication. [74]
St. Thomas Aquinas [75] explains this doctrine. His
teaching, generally admitted by theologians, may be
reduced to this: The principle of merit, namely, the
state of grace, cannot be merited, since a cause
cannot be the effect of itself. But final
perseverance is nothing but grace, preserved by God
up to the moment of death. Hence it cannot be
merited. It depends on God alone, who alone can
preserve the state of grace or restore to the state
of grace. Yet this final perseverance can be obtained
by humble and confident prayer, which we address, not
to divine justice as in the case of merit, but to
divine mercy.
Whence comes it, then, that we can merit eternal
life, if we cannot merit final perseverance? The
reason runs thus: Eternal life, far from being the
principle of merit, is the terminus and the goal of
merit. We shall obtain it on condition that we do not
lose our merits. St. Thomas adds: "Since free will is
of itself changeable, even after it has been healed
by habitual grace, it is not in its power to fix
itself immutably in good. It can choose this good,
but it cannot realize it." [76]
The Council of Trent [77] confirms this traditional
doctrine. "This succor is a great gift, very
gratuitous, which we cannot obtain except from Him
who, according to St. Paul, [78] can sustain him who
stands and lift up him who falls." The Council adds
that, without special revelation, we cannot in
advance be certain of receiving this gift, but we can
and should hope firmly for it, battling against
temptation, and working out our salvation by the
practice of good works.
As regards the grace given for this last meritorious
act, Thomists hold that this grace is intrinsically
efficacious, that is, efficacious of its own self,
though without violating in any way the liberty which
it actualizes. Molinists say, on the contrary, that
it is efficacious extrinsically, namely, by our
consent which God had foreseen by scientia media.
According to Thomists, such prevision would put a
passivity in God, who would thereby become dependent
in His foreknowledge on a created determination which
would not come from God Himself.
If we cannot be certain in advance of the grace of a
good death, we can nevertheless exercise the signs of
predestination, particularly those that follow: care
to preserve ourselves from mortal sin, the spirit of
prayer, humility which draws down grace, patience in
adversity, love of neighbor, assistance to those who
are afflicted, a sincere devotion to our Lord and His
Holy Mother. In this sense, according to the promise
made to St. Margaret Mary, those who have received
Communion in honor of the Sacred Heart on the first
Friday of nine successive months can have the
confidence of obtaining from God the grace of a good
death. A condition is here understood, namely, that
the nine Communions have been made well. The grace of
receiving them well is a grace given to the elect by
the Sacred Heart. [79]
The Death of the Just
In the Old Testament the death of the just is painted
in that of Tobias: At the hour of his death he calls
to him his son and the seven sons of his son and says
to them: "Hearken, my children, to your father: Serve
the Lord in truth, and seek to do the things that
please Him. And command your children that they do
justice and almsdeeds, and that they be mindful of
God and bless Him at all times in truth and with all
their power."
[80]
In the Book of Ecclesiasticus [81] we read that the
just man is not scandalized by the inequality of
human conditions, and that it is especially at the
time of his death that he judges wisely. Why are
there poor and rich? Why are there those who are
unfortunate and those who are fortunate?
Ecclesiasticus replies: Why does one day excel
another and one light another, and one year another
year, when all come from the sun? By the knowledge of
the Lord they were distinguished . . . and He ordered
the seasons and holidays of them; . . . some of them
God made high and great days, and some of them He put
in the number of ordinary days. And all men are from
the ground and out of the earth, from whence Adam was
created. With much knowledge the Lord hath divided
them and diversified their ways. Some of them hath He
blessed and exalted, . . . and some of them hath He
cursed and brought low." God gives to every man
according to his works. The just man sees this above
all at the moment of his death.
In the same Book of Ecclesiasticus we read that God
hears the prayer of the poor man, especially at the
time when this man has to die, and that He punishes
hearts that are without pity. "The Lord is judge, and
there is not with Him respect of person; the Lord
will not accept any person against a poor man; He
will hear the prayer of him that is wronged . . .
(and of) the widow.... The prayer of him that
humbleth himself shall pierce the clouds, and he will
not depart till the most High beholds." [82] This
doctrine is verified particularly at the hour of
death. God will be with him in that last hour. These
high thoughts occur repeatedly in the Old Testament,
and still more in the New, which sees clearly in the
death of the just man the prelude of eternal life.
It was the writer's privilege to see the death of a
just man, a poor man, Joseph d'Estengo, who lived
with his family in the eighth story of a house near
the Campo Santo in Rome. He was gangrened in his four
limbs, suffered much from the cold, especially when
his nerves began to writhe before death. Nevertheless
he never complained. He offered all his sufferings to
the Lord for the salvation of his soul, for his own
people, for the conversion of sinners. Then he was
struck by rapid consumption, and had to be carried to
the other extremity of Rome, to the hospital of the
Littorio, where three weeks later he died, in a
perfect state of abandonment to God in the middle of
the night.
At the precise instant when he died, his elderly
father, a very good Christian, who was at the other
extremity of the city, heard the voice of his son
saying: "Father, I am going to heaven." And his
excellent mother dreamed that her son mounted up to
heaven with healed hands and feet, just as he will be
in fact after the resurrection of the dead.
I count it one of the great graces of my life that I
knew this poor man, who was pointed out to me by a
Vincentian helper who said: "You will be happy to
know him." She spoke truly. He was a friend of God.
His death confirmed this. Blessed are they who die in
the Lord. He was one of those "who taste death" as
the prelude of eternal life.
Preparation for Death
The just man awaits death, prepares himself for it by
vigilance, above all by a reverent fear, recalling
his past sins and considering the expiations that are
to come. He has a vivid faith in everlasting life,
the goal of his journey, the inamissible possession
of God in the beatific vision, union with Christ the
Redeemer, union with His holy Mother, with the
saints, with those whom he has known, who have died
or who will die in a Christian manner.
To this faith the just man joins a confidence ever
more firm in the help of God, who enables him to
arrive at his goal. And as his charity grows greater
day by day, the Holy Spirit [83] gives testimony to
his spirit that he is a child of God. Hence arises
the certitude of tendency, which strengthens hope in
him more and more. The just man also urges friends to
warn him of approaching death. It is a lack of faith
when friends do not dare warn a sick person that he
is going to die. It is a sin. They deceive him and
prevent him from preparing himself. It is good to
have an understanding with one special friend that
each may warn the other.
Finally it is appropriate that, as man nears the goal
of his life, he often make the sacrifice of his life
in union with the sacrifice of the Mass, which
perpetuates on the altar the sacrifice of the cross.
Let him unite his own life and death with the four
ends of all sacrifice: adoration, to recognize the
sovereign excellence of the Creator; secondly,
reparation, to expiate past sins; thirdly,
supplication, to gain the grace of final
perseverance; fourthly, thanksgiving, for innumerable
benefits which God prepared for us from all eternity,
which we have received daily from the time of our
birth.
Daily offering of our life is counseled by His
Holiness, Pius X: "Lord, my God, whatever be the kind
of death which it pleases Thee to reserve for me, I
from this moment on receive that death with all my
heart and with all my soul. I accept that death from
Thy hands, with all its anguish, pains, and sorrows."
Thus prepared, we may hope to sacrifice our life at
the last moment in union with the Masses that will be
celebrated then, far or near, in union with the
oblation, always living, of the heart of Christ, who
ceases not to intercede for us. [84] A last act of
love for God obtains the remission of a great part of
the temporal punishment due to sin, and thus shortens
purgatory. A very good practice is to have Mass
celebrated for obtaining the grace of graces, which
is that of a good death. The Christian is fortified
by the grace of extreme unction against the natural
horror of death, and against the temptations of the
enemy of salvation. In sorrow at leaving those whom
he loves, a Christian is consoled by the Holy
Viaticum, by the prayers for the dying. These prayers
are extraordinarily beautiful, especially the
following: "Go forth, Christian soul, go forth in the
name of the almighty Father who created thee, in the
name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, who
has suffered for thee, in the name of the Holy
Spirit, who has been given to thee, in the name of
the glorious and holy mother of God, the Virgin Mary,
in the name of blessed Joseph, her spouse, in the
name of the angels and archangels, the thrones and
dominations, the principalities and powers, the
cherubim and seraphim, in the name of the patriarchs
and prophets, in the name of the apostles, the
evangelists, the martyrs, the confessors, the
virgins, and of all holy men and women of God. May
thy dwelling today be in peace, in the heavenly
Jerusalem, with Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen."
Thus the blessed come down to surround the Christian
soul, to carry it from the Church on earth into the
Church in heaven.
Bossuet [85] has a little work called Preparation for
Death. Faith, hope, and charity are founded on an act
of perfect abandonment: "O my God, I abandon myself
to Thee. My fear is that I may not abandon myself
completely to Thee through Jesus Christ. I put the
cross of Thy Son between my sins and Thy justice. My
soul, why art thou sad, why dost thou trouble me?
Hope in Him, say to Him with all your power: 'O my
God, Thou art my salvation. The time is approaching
when faith is
to turn into vision. My Savior, I believe. Help Thou
my unbelief. Sustain my feebleness. I have nothing to
hope in from myself, but Thou hast commanded me to
hope in Thee. I rejoice when I hear them say that I
shall go into the house of the Lord. When shall I see
Thee, my one and only God? My God, my strength, my
life, I love Thee. I rejoice in Thy power, in Thy
eternity, in Thy goodness. Soon, in a moment, I shall
be able to embrace Thee. Take me to Thyself."'
"Our conversation is in heaven, from whence also we
look for the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, who will
reform the body of our lowliness made like the body
of His glory, according to the operation whereby He
is able to subdue all things unto Himself.... And the
peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding keep
your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." [86]
After these words of St. Paul, Bossuet continues: "My
Savior, I run to Thy feet in the Garden of Olives. I
lie prostrate with Thee on the ground. I draw near,
as near as possible, to Thine own holy body, to
receive on my body the precious blood which flows
from Thy veins. I take in my two hands the chalice
which Thy Father gives me. Come, consoling angel of
Jesus Christ, who is now suffering and agonizing in
my members. Flee away, ye powers of hell. O my Savior,
let me say with Thee: 'All is consummated. I commend
my soul into Thy hands. Amen.' My soul, let us
commence the eternal Amen, the eternal Alleluia, the
joy and the song of the blessed for all eternity.
Adieu, my mortal brethren. Adieu, holy Catholic
Church. Thou hast borne me in thy bosom, hast
nourished me with thy milk. Continue to purify me by
thy sacrifices, because I die in unity with thee and
in thy faith. And yet, O holy Church, I do not leave
thee. I go to find thee in heaven, thy own home,
where I shall find thy apostles, thy martyrs, thy
confessors, thy virgins, with whom I shall sing
forever the mercies
of the Lord." Let us conclude with St. John of the
Cross: "In the evening of our life, we shall be
judged by love, namely, by the sincerity of our love
for God, for our own soul, for our neighbor."
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