N.J. Lim - Catholic Matters & Art
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Preparation for a good death.
The following is the text of St. Joseph Cafasso's Prayer at the Foot of the Cross as a Preparation for Death.
Great God, prostrate before Thee, I accept and adore that sentence of death which Thou hast pronounced over me. I stand awaiting the coming of my last hour and, knowing that it may come upon me at any moment, I carry myself in spirit to my deathbed to bid adieu to this world and to make now for that occasion a clear and solemn protestation of those sentiments and affections with which I intend to terminate my mortal career and enter into my eternity.
(1) I have sinned. I confess it with all the bitterness of my soul. I detest with my whole heart all the faults that I have committed during my life. For each of them I would be ready to die in reparation for the offense to God, and I would wish to have died a thousand times rather than have offended Him. I ask pardon of God and of men for the evil that I have done, and I will ask it until the last moment of my life in order that I may find mercy on the day of judgment.
(2) Since my wretched body has been the cause of my offending my dear God so much, with my whole heart I make a total sacrifice of it to my Lord as a just punishment for it. Not only do I resign myself to descend into the tomb, but I rejoice and thank God who has given me this means of paying my debt. Through these ashes which will remain from me in the sepulcher and by these bones which will speak for me, I will confess until the day of my resurrection that the Lord is just, and just also the sentence which has condemned me to death.
(3) I thank my parents, companions and friends for the charity they have shown me in putting up with all my defects, and I thank them for all the favors and all the assistance which in their goodness they have given me. I ask pardon of them for having given such a poor return, and for the scandal I have given them. I ask them to continue to give me the charity of their prayers, and, when I am separated from them, I firmly hope that I will see them again one day in Paradise.
(4) As God in His inscrutable Providence has wished that I should have the disposal of temporal interests, I ask pardon if I have not made the use of them that He expected of me. As He alone is Lord of all, I again place everything in His hands.
I intend that the disposition that I have made or that I shall hereafter make may be for His greater glory, and, in that portion of life that remains for me on earth, it is my firm will and determination to spend all that remains to me when my needs are satisfied, for the work of the Lord, being disposed and indeed desirous to strip myself of everything whenever God wishes it of me.
(5) With regard to the most important point, which is the spiritual preparations for that day which will be my last, I render the most sincere thanks to God for having thus disposed of me and taken me out of the world. I salute and desire and bless that day that will put an end to my own sins, and take me away from the midst of so many sins that are committed on the earth. I now in advance thank that person who will give me the consoling message, and, until that day arrives, I shall regard it as so dear to my heart that I would not exchange it for the greatest day of this world.
(6) I entrust my death to the love and care of my heavenly Mother. In her tender heart I place my last hour and my last sighs. It is in the arms of this Mother that I wish to leave this world and enter my eternity. I intend that every sigh which I shall give at that moment, every breath and every look, shall be voices which call her, which solicit her help for me from Heaven, so that I may soon see her, contemplate her, embrace her and may be able to die with her help. But if, by special favor of her tender heart, she wishes to call me on a day consecrated to her, it would be a still greater consolation for me to be able to present to her the offering of my life at a time when Heaven and earth celebrate a feast in honor of her name and of her great mercies.
(7) I recommend in a special manner my passage to eternity to St. Joseph, the spouse of Mary, whose name I unworthily bear, to my Guardian Angel, to my two special protectors, St. Ignatius and St. Alphonsus Liguori, to all the Angels and Saints of Heaven, and to those souls in Paradise who remember me. I salute them all from this valley of tears, and I appeal to each one of them to pray for me that the happy day will soon come when I shall meet them face to face and enjoy with them that feast that will have no end.
(8) For everything concerned with the time and circumstances of my death, after the example of my Divine Redeemer, I resign myself fully to whatever the Heavenly Father has arranged for me, and I accept the death that God in His eternal decrees considers best for me. To fulfill His will, I accept all the pains that He wishes me to suffer at the time of death. In this hardest sacrifice and in my most painful agony, I wish and intend that His holy will be always done.
(9) With my whole being I give thanks to the good God who, by His special mercy, has willed to call me to the Faith at my birth and place me, unworthy that I am, as a son in the arms of the Church. I today renew those promises that were made for me at the sacred font. I grieve for and detest whatever there has been in my life not in conformity with those promises. I condemn and regret anything that during my life may have been wanting in obedience and respect to the Holy Roman Catholic Church. Today and always I formally declare that I wish to live in the closest communion with that good Mother. To her I entrust my ashes that she may bless them and keep them in her custody until the day of judgment.
(10) I desire and ask for all the Sacraments and comforts which our holy religion has reserved for her dying children at the hour of death; and when the Lord shall demand the sacrifice of my life, I intend to unite it to that which so many confessors of the Faith have made and to breathe forth my spirit in homage of and for the support of our holy Faith.
(11) As I am about to finish my mission on earth, I give back and consign to God that grand vocation with which He has willed to adorn me. I have no words here below to thank Him worthily for it, and I await eternity to do so. I thank with all my heart all those who have employed themselves to this end for me, and I recommend myself to each of them in order that I may obtain mercy at the great moment in which I shall be called upon to render an account of my earthly career. I shall die, and the thought consoles me that with my death there will be one less unworthy minister upon the earth, and that another more zealous and fervent priest will come to make up for my coldness and other defects.
(12) As I am certain with the certainty of faith that God can, and that He wishes, to pardon all those who repent of their sins, relying on that firm confidence which cannot be deceived, and penetrated with the most lively sorrow for my past faults, I protest that I hope most firmly for pardon of all my failings and for the attainment of my eternal salvation. Whatever be the assaults that my enemy may launch against me in life or in death, I will repeat that I believe in my God, that I hope in Him and that He will save me.
(13) Now that my days are about to finish, and that time is about to vanish for me forever, I know and understand better than in the past my duty on earth, which is to know and serve my God. As long as life remains I will lament that time in which I have not loved Him, and I will repeat continually from now on, "Either to love or to die." Whatever I shall have to do or suffer in this miserable life, I intend that it be a proof of love for my God, so that living, I shall live only to love, and dying, I may die in order to love still more.
(14) The sorrow which I experience, O Lord, for not having loved Thee, the desire which I feel to love Thee ever more, renders this life burdensome and distasteful, and makes me pray Thee to shorten my days on earth, and to pardon me my Purgatory in the next life, so that I soon may arrive at loving Thee in Paradise. I ask of Thee this grace, O Lord, not through fear of punishment-----which I confess that I deserve a thousand times more-----but from the sincere desire to love Thee much, to love Thee soon, and to love Thee face to face in Paradise. Let the anguish which I feel, O God, for not having loved Thee, and the danger which I am running of offending Thee and not loving Thee more, serve as my Purgatory!
(15) Finally, when I shall have departed to the grave, I desire and pray the Lord to make my memory perish on this earth so that no one shall any longer think of me except to pray for me-----a favor which I ask from the charity of the faithful. I accept as penance for my sins all that shall be said against me after my death. I condemn and detest all the evil that may in the future be committed because of me. I wish that I could prevent all the sins of the world by my death and so I would be ready to die as many times as there are committed on the earth. Oh! May the Lord accept this poor sacrifice so that when dying, I may have that sweetest consolation of sparing one offense to my Lord on that day.
This is my firm will and testament with which I intend to live and die in each and every moment that God may wish to dispose of me.
I place the moment of my death in the hands of my dear Mother Mary, of my good Guardian Angel and of my special protectors, St. Joseph, St. Ignatius and St. Alphonsus Liguori, all of whom I expect to assist me at the hour of my death and in my voyage to eternity.
Amen.
Our Father...
Hail Mary...
Glory be....
Additional Prayers from The Raccolta
Art. VI . FOR A HAPPY DEATH.
INVOCATIONS
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I give Thee my heart and soul.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, assist me in my last agony.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, let me breathe forth my spirit in peace with Thee.
From a sudden and unprovided death, deliver us, O Lord.
Prayers
Remember, O Virgin Mother of God, when thou shalt stand in the sight of the Lord,
to speak good things for us and to turn away His indignation from us.
Holy Mother, pierce me through,
In my heart each wound renew,
Of my Saviour crucified.
Let me to my latest breath,
In my body bear the death
Of that dying Son of thine.
Be to me, O Virgin, nigh
Lest in flames I burn and die
In that awful judgment day.
Christ, when Thou shalt call me hence,
Be Thy Mother my defense,
Be Thy Cross my victory.
While my body here decays,
May my soul Thy goodness praise
Safe in Paradise with Thee.
Amen.
V. Pray for us, O most sorrowful Virgin,
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray.
Let intercession be made for us, we beseech Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, now and at the hour of our death, before the throne of Thy mercy, by the blessed Virgin Mary, Thy Mother, whose most holy soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow in the hour of Thy bitter Passion. Through Thee, Jesus Christ, Saviour of the world, Who with the Father and the Holy Ghost livest and reignest world without end.
Amen.
Hail Mary, three times.
V. Our Lady of a happy death,
R. Pray for us.
V. Saint Joseph,
R. Pray for us.
Rhyme
Ave, Mater Dolorosa
Mother, hail, immersed in woes,
Thou the Martyrs' earliest rose,
Hear my cry, to thee I pray:
Grant that in death's agony,
Putting all my trust in thee,
I may win the just soul's peace.
By that sorrow, like a sword,
At the holy Simeon's word,
Piercing through thy heart and soul:
Grant that in death's agony, etc.
By that sorrow, whelming thee,
When to Egypt thou dost flee,
So to save thy holy Child:
Grant that in death's agony, etc.
By that sorrow, when in tears,
Seeking Jesus midst His peers,
Thou dost find Him once again:
Grant that in death's agony, etc.
By that sorrow, racking thee,
When thy Son's Cross thou dost see
Bowing Him beneath its weight:
Grant that in death's agony, etc.
By that sorrow, fixed in thee,
Whilst He hangs upon the tree,
Thou thyself a victim too:
Grant that in death's agony, etc.
By that sorrow, when thy breast
Now enfolds that body blest
Taken down from off the Cross:
Grant that in death's agony, etc.
By that sorrow, when the tomb
Takes Him from thee to its gloom,
Loving Mother, Virgin blest:
Grant that in death's agony, etc.
Christ, when Thou shalt call me hence,
Be Thy Mother my defense,
Be Thy Cross my victory.
Amen.
PRAYERS TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS
O most merciful Lord Jesus, by Thine agony and sweat of Blood, by Thy precious death, deliver us, we beseech Thee, from a sudden and unprovided death. O most kind Lord Jesus, by Thy most sharp and ignominious scourging and crowning with thorns, by Thy holy Cross and bitter Passion, by Thy loving-kindness, we humbly pray that Thou wouldst not suffer us to die unprovided with Thy holy Sacraments. O dearly beloved Lord Jesus, by all Thy labors and sorrows, by Thy Precious Blood and sacred Wounds, by those Thy last words on the Cross: "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" and those others: "Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit," we most earnestly beseech Thee to deliver us from a sudden death. Grant us, we pray, room for repentance; grant us a happy passing in Thy grace, that so we may be able to love Thee, praise Thee and bless Thee forever.
Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.
OTHER PRAYERS.
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee; 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 holy Viaticum, and the comfort of the Sacrament of Extreme Unction, in order that we may appear with greater security before the throne of the just but merciful Judge, our God and our Redeemer. Amen.
Grant unto us, Lord Jesus, ever to follow the example of Thy holy Family, that in the hour of our death Thy glorious Virgin Mother together with blessed Joseph may come to meet us and we may be worthily received by Thee into everlasting dwellings: Who livest and reignest world without end. Amen. (Roman Missal).
Lord Jesus Christ, Who willest that no man should perish, and to Whom supplication is never made without the hope of mercy, for Thou saidst with Thine Own holy and blessed lips: "All things whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, shall be done unto you"; I ask of Thee, O Lord, for Thy holy Name's sake, to grant me at the hour of my death full consciousness and the power of speech, sincere contrition for my sins, true faith, firm hope and perfect charity, that I may be able to say unto Thee with a clean heart: Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit: Thou hast redeemed me, O God of truth, Who art blessed for ever and ever. Amen. (St. Vincent Ferrer).
THE DEATH OF ST. JOSEPH
O my adorable Creator, I ask of Thee the greatest of all Thy graces, that is to say, a holy death. No matter how greatly I have hitherto abused the life Thou gavest me, grant me the grace to end it in Thy holy love.
Let me die, like the holy Patriarchs, forsaking this valley of tears without sadness, to enter into the joy of eternal rest in my own true country.
Let me die, like the glorious Saint Joseph, in the arms of Jesus and Mary, repeating in turn each of these sweet Names which I hope to bless throughout eternity.
Let me die, like the immaculate and blessed Virgin, in the purest love and desire to be reunited to the only object of my love.
Let me die, like Jesus on the Cross, with the most lively sentiments of hatred for sin, of charity toward Thee, O heavenly Father, and of perfect resignation in my agony. Holy Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit. Be merciful unto me.
Jesus, Who didst die for me, grant me the grace of dying in an act of perfect love for Thee.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for me now and at the hour of my death.
My Guardian Angel, my holy Patron Saints,forsake me not at the hour of my death.
Saint Joseph, obtain for me the grace of dying the death of the just.
Amen.
O my God, sovereign Lord of life and of death, who, by an immutable decree for the punishment of sin, hast determined that all men must die, behold me humbly kneeling before Thy dread Majesty, resigned and submissive to this law of Thy justice. With all my heart I detest my past sins, by which I have deserved death a thousand times; and for this cause I accept death in reparation for my sins and in obedience to Thy holy will. Yes, great God, send death upon me where Thou wilt, when Thou wilt, and in what manner Thou wilt. Meantime I shall avail myself of the days which it shall please Thee to bestow upon me, to detach myself from this world and to break every tie that holds me in bondage to this place of exile, and to prepare myself to appear with sure confidence before Thy judgment seat. Wherefore I surrender myself without reserve into the hands of Thy fatherly Providence. May Thy Divine will be done now and for evermore!
Amen.
My journey toward eternity, dear Lord, is encompassed round about by powerful enemies of my soul. I live in fear and trembling, especially at the thought of the hour of death, on which my eternity will depend, and of the fearful struggle that the devil will then have to wage against me, knowing that little time is left for him to accomplish my eternal ruin. I desire, therefore, O Lord, to prepare myself for it from this hour, by offering Thee this day, in view of my last hour, those protestations of faith and love for Thee, which are so effectual in repressing and bringing to naught all the crafty and wicked arts of the enemy and which I resolve to oppose to him at that moment of such grave consequence, even though he should dare alone to attack with his deceits the peace and tranquillity of my spirit.
GUARDIAN ANGEL
I, ...N.N...., in the presence of the Most Holy Trinity, the blessed Virgin Mary, my holy Guardian Angel and the entire heavenly host, protest that I wish to live and die under the standard of the Holy Cross. I firmly believe all that our Holy Mother, the Catholic and Apostolic Roman Church, believes and teaches. It is my steadfast intention to die in this holy faith, in which all the holy Martyrs, Confessors and Virgins of Christ have died, as well as all those who have saved their souls. If the devil should tempt me to despair because of the multitude and grievousness of my sins, I protest that from this day forth I firmly hope in the infinite mercy of God, which will not suffer itself to be overcome by my sins, and in the Precious Blood of Jesus which has washed them all away.
If the devil should assail me with temptations to presumption by reason of the small amount of good which by the help of God I may have been able to accomplish, I confess from this day forth that I deserve Hell a thousand times by my sins and I entrust myself wholly to the infinite goodness of God, through Whose grace alone I am what I am.
Finally, if the evil spirit should suggest to me that the pains inflicted upon me by our Lord in that last hour of my life are too heavy to bear, I protest now that all will be as nothing in comparison with the punishments I have deserved throughout life. I thank God that He should deign to give me by these sufferings an opportunity in this life to discharge my debt to Him, which I should have to pay hereafter in the pains of Purgatory.
In the bitterness of my soul I call to remembrance all my years; I see my iniquities, I confess them and detest them. Ashamed and sorrowful I turn to Thee, my God, my Creator and my Redeemer. Forgive me, O Lord, by the multitude of Thy mercies; forgive Thy servant whom Thou hast redeemed by Thy Precious Blood.
My God, I turn to Thee, I call upon Thee, I trust in Thee; to Thine infinite goodness I commit the entire reckoning of my life. I have sinned exceedingly; enter not into judgment with Thy servant, who surrenders to Thee and confesses his guilt. Of myself I cannot make satisfaction unto Thee for my countless sins: I have not wherewith to pay Thee, and my debt is infinite. But Thy Son hath shed His Blood for me, and greater than all mine iniquity is Thy mercy.
O Jesus, be my Saviour! At the hour of my fearful crossing to eternity put to flight the enemy of my soul; grant me grace to overcome every difficulty, Thou who alone doest mighty wonders.
Lord, according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies I shall enter into Thy dwelling place. Trusting in Thy pity, I commend my spirit into Thy hands!
May the Blessed Virgin Mary and my Guardian Angel accompany my soul into the heavenly country.
Amen.
(From the works of St. Pompilio M. Pirrotti).
Almighty and merciful God, Who hast bestowed upon mankind the medicine of salvation and the gift of everlasting life: mercifully look upon us Thy servants and restore the souls which Thou hast made, that in the hour of their passing they may deserve to be cleansed from all sin and set before Thee, their Creator, by the hands of Thy holy Angels. Through Christ our Lord.
Amen. (Roman Missal).
Lord Jesus, pour into us the spirit of Thy love, that in the hour of our death we may be worthy to vanquish the enemy and attain unto the heavenly crown: Who livest and reignest world without end.
Amen. (Roman Missal) .
Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that in the hour of our death we may be refreshed by Thy holy Sacraments and delivered from all guilt, and so deserve to be received with joy in to the arms of Thy mercy. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. (Roman Missal).
Please be advised that we did not include former grant of days and years because Holy Church has changed the regulations which bind since Our Lord has said, Whatever you bind on earth, I bind, and whatever you loose, I loose.
The Church has full power to remove the grant of specific days, etc., and in place of these, grant a general partial indulgence and or decide what grants of plenary indulgences it wills.
Most of these invocations carry partial indulgences.