SIXTH SERMON
ON THE UNCERTAINTY OF DEATH.
Subject.
It is uncertain when death will come; therefore if we desire our salvation we should be always ready and prepared for it. Preached on the twentieth Sunday after Pentecost.
Text.
"For he was at the point of death." (John 4:47)
Introduction.
So that even rich people must die? Truly they must! Even kings and princes cannot escape death. And have young people to die also? Without the least doubt. He of whom the Gospel says that he was at the point of death was the young son of a ruler. Who is, then, free from death? Not one in the whole world. " It is appointed to all men;" the sentence is gone forth that all without exception must die, and that, too, but once. When shall we die? That is known to God alone, who has fixed the last hour for each one. What follows therefrom? This; that he who wishes to die well must be always prepared for death. There you have, my dear brethren, the subject of this sermon.
Plan of Discourse.
It is uncertain when death will come; therefore if we love our salvation we should always be ready and prepared for it.
That we may all do this give us, Lord, Your powerful grace, which we beg of You through the intercession of Mary and of our holy guardian angels.
Our dear Saviour, who knew all things, wishing to exhort and instruct us as to how we should prepare for death, makes use these words, which we find in the Gospel of St. Luke: " And you yourselves like to men who wait for their lord . . . that when he comes and knocketh they may open to him immediately." Mark well this simile, my dear brethren. In two different ways can servants await their master, when they have received word that he is coming. For either a messenger is sent on to announce the master's arrival, saying for instance: your master is now some hours from here; he will arrive towards evening; and in that case the servant takes matters easily the whole fore-noon; for, he thinks, it will do if I am at home in the evening. Why? Because I know that my master will not arrive till evening; at all events he cannot be here in the forenoon. And he is quite right. Or else the message is delivered in the following terms: your master is on the road home; he will arrive to-morrow, but I know not at what time. How must that servant act in order to be sure of being present to receive his master? Can he go out in the forenoon? No, because his master might come during his absence. He has waited till ten, eleven, twelve o clock, and no sign of his master yet; can he not now leave the house and do as he wishes? Not by any means, for his master might come at midday. He waits still longer, until it begins to get dark. Now, perhaps, he might go to the ale-house to drink a glass with his companions? But no, for his master can and will still come. If that servant means to do his duty he must be ready every hour during the whole day. Why so? Because the master may come at any moment, and the servant knows not when to expect him.
Now, my dear brethren, this is the way in which we must be all ready for the coming of Our Lord at the hour of death. It is infallibly certain that He is already on the way, that we must die, and that the longer we have lived the nearer our death is; but at what time will He come? In what year shall we die? This year, or next? In what month, week, day, hour, moment? No man can tell us that, because no man knows it. Meanwhile we have received a message regarding this matter, delivered by in fallible truth itself through the apostle St. Matthew. What is that message? You have often heard it; listen to it again: " Watch you, therefore, because you know not what hour your Lord will come." In the following chapter He gives us the same message, concluding the parable of the wise and foolish virgins in these words: " Watch you, therefore, because you know not the day nor the hour." In the Gospel of St. Mark He says: "Take you heed, watch and pray: for you know not when the time is." And again: " Watch you, therefore (for you know not when the lord of the house comes: at even, or at midnight, or at the cock crowing, or in the morning)." " Lest coming on a sudden, he find you sleeping."
And lest it should appear that this warning was given only to His apostles and disciples, He adds the expressive words: " And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch." The warning is given to all men; no one, no matter who he is, knows any thing of the day, the hour, or the moment when I will come to call him. " But of that day or hour no man knoweth, neither the angels in heaven." "Our Creator," says St. Gregory, "is pleased to conceal our end from us, and to leave the day of our death unknown to us; that as we are ignorant of it, we may always believe it to be at hand. v Let no one, then, try to deceive himself, as many have done, by saying: I am still young, I shall not die yet; I am still strong and healthy I am in no danger of death; I will finish this business before I die; death will not overtake me in the public street; I shall have time to confess my sins; I am not so far gone, I have still time enough, and so forth. Ah, foolish thoughts! Believe rather what the God of infallible truth says: "I say to all: Watch." "You know not the day nor the hour." I say this to all without distinction of age or condition: you know not whether you will be sick or healthy, young or old, at home or abroad, in the state of sin or in the state of grace, when you are called into eternity, or whether that summons will be given today or to-morrow, at ten or at one o clock. Death has no consideration for the distinction that people make on account of rank, age, or condition. It is all the same to him who, where, or what it is.
As we have seen in the last sermon, since we can die but once, and on the last moment depends our happiness or misery for all eternity, it follows undeniably that we must use all diligence to be prepared for this last moment so as to die well; in the same way it follows from this third truth that, since we know not when the last moment will come, we should be ready for it all the time of our lives, and therefore that it is the greatest folly to be unprepared and in the state of sin even for a single moment, because that very moment may be our last. Even now, as far as I myself am concerned, I acknowledge that when I am opening my mouth to address you and exhort you to prepare for death I may breathe my last before closing it again; can I, then, allow a moment to pass without being ready to die? In a short time, when I am leaving this church, each step I take may be my last; can I then be satisfied if I am still unprepared to take the final step into eternity? In the moment I raise my hand to take my food at table I may swallow the last morsel; can I then dare to go to table without being ready to die? In the hour when I retire to rest I may sleep my last sleep, and never wake up again, as happened to Sisara, of whom the Scripture says: " Passing from deep sleep to death, he fainted away and died." Shall I then dare to bring to bed with me a conscience burdened by sin? In the very moment in which I commit sin (ah, may God protect me from such an evil!) I may and perhaps shall fall dead on the spot; how then could I dare to sin?
Would I now, in the state in which I am, would you, my dear brethren, in your present state, be ready to open the door to the Lord, if He should knock, and to travel with Him into eternity? Let each one consider his own case, and ask himself: am I now sin! ready to die? Reflect a little ---- If not, why then do I not a once remove the obstacle out of the way, and place my soul in safety; for I can never be sure of the hour at which Our Lord will come. Do you dare, unjust man, to await the coming of death, while you still have in your possession that which you obtained by dishonest means? Truly not! Why then should you be so foolhardy as to keep those ill-gotten goods, I will not say an hour, but years and years? Would you, unchaste man, like to be surprised by death while your mind is filled with impure images and desires, your heart full of unchaste love? Would you wish for death while the pen is still in your hand to write a letter to the object of your unlawful affection, while you are in that company in which you allow your eyes all liberty, and keep your ears and mouth open to sinful discourses? Would you like death to come for you in that secret place in which you gratify your impure passions? Oh, no, you think; that is certainly not the time nor the place to die in. How then can you dare to continue your wicked ways? Would you, vindictive man, wish to die in the moment when your heart is full of bitterness and hatred, anger, and revenge, and your mouth with curses, oaths, and imprecations against your neighbor, and your whole idea is to have satisfaction from him who, as you imagine, has injured you? Oh, no, indeed! And why do you not then at once begin, according to the Christian law, to pardon your neighbor from your heart, to be reconciled to him, and to give up the abominable habit of cursing? Would you, drunkard, wish to die when you come home completely intoxicated, and ill-treat and tyrannize over your poor wife as if she were a dog? Would you, sinner, wish to be surprised by death with those secret sins on your conscience, which you have not confessed through shame, or which you have not really repented of, or are not firmly resolved to amend? Would you, I ask, like to die then? Ah, God forbid! Is that your idea? If so, then why do you wait? Why do you not at once seek an experienced confessor, who will free you from the dangerous state in which you are? Open at once the mouth you have kept closed so long, and bewail your sins, that you may free yourself from the evident danger of hell in which you are; for death can and perhaps will otherwise surprise you in your present evil plight.
If you received a certain message from heaven telling you that you are to die to-morrow, or in a week, no, even in a month, would you wait long before preparing yourself for death, and freeing your conscience from sin? My opinion is that you would begin at once to settle accounts with your Judge and to lead, for the rest of the time that is given you, a pious, Christian, humble, holy life, so that you may not be lost, but may be happy with God forever in heaven. Is not that the case? And yet you continue to sin, and intend to remain in the state of sin, although perhaps not a month, nor a week, nor a day, but only a few minutes of life remain to you. Imagine you are now on a bed of sickness; the doctors have given you up and say that you must certainly die in four hours unless a miracle is wrought in your favor; how would you spend those last hours? There is not a doubt that yon would look after the interests of, our soul, that you would receive the last sacraments at once, make your will, and do all in your power to prepare for eternity. Is that not so? And why? Because you know that you must die in four hours, that it is all over with you, and that death is at hand. Quite right ! Now how many sick people are there not, who according to the doctors were bound to die, and yet they have recovered and are still alive? Cases of the kind are countless. How many, on the other hand, have preserved their lives contrary to the declaration of God and of our faith? Not one. What do God and faith say? That you must die at an hour you know not; He does not fix for you four hours, like the doctors, but one hour, no, one moment, and you know not when that shall come. If you believe the doctor when he tells you that you have four hours to live, and on the strength of his opinion prepare so carefully for death, why are you so negligent in preparing when God does riot promise you even one hour of life? Faith tells you that you cannot be safe from death for a single moment. How, then, can you dare to continue living as you have hitherto lived? How can you still persist in sinning? How can you be so presumptuous as to remain for one hour in the state of sin and yet expect to go to heaven?
Seneca (if I did not know that he was a heathen I could imagine him to have been one of the holy Fathers, from the way in which he speaks of this subject) says: See how those who have to go on a long sea-voyage, or to risk their lives in battle, make their wills before setting out. And why do they do that? Why are they so anxious? They are still strong and healthy, and have no wish to die. Why are they in such a hurry about their last wills? Because on sea and in battle death is but three paces distant, and therefore it is not advisable to go so near to death without having first written down that will which is probably to be the last. Hear now what Seneca says to this: foolish mortals! you must know that in all places and times we are just as near to death; he is as little removed from us on land as on sea, at home in bed as in the battle-field. The only thing he has to do is to cut the slender thread of our lives. The only difference is that in some places he appears nearer, while in others he keeps himself concealed. Death is near, on sea and in the battle-field, and he shows himself as at hand; he is quite as close at home and on land, but he does not show himself; that is, we imagine we are not in immediate danger of being surprised by him. He is near and shows himself to the sick and aged; he is just as near, without showing himself, to the young and healthy; and in all cases the hour of his coming is uncertain. If, then, we think it necessary to put our affairs in order before undertaking a dangerous voyage, or going into battle, or when we are grievously ill, because death is to be feared in such circumstances, why do we not always keep ourselves ready, since in all times and places there is the same danger to dread? This argument was suggested to a mere heathen by the simple light of reason. My dear brethren, what can we Christians say to this, if not to acknowledge, to our secret shame, that many of us, although we have known that same truth by the infallible light of faith, have spent years in vice and sin and vanity, without ever thinking of our last end, to say nothing of preparing for it? This is what St. Bernard calls a terrible, incomprehensible blindness and presumption.
But there is one excuse, I know, that men bring forward to blind themselves to the truth, or rather to help the devil to close their eyes to the danger. And what is that? It is true, they say, that the hour and moment of death are uncertain; still people do not die without having some warning or their approaching end. Experience tells us that many thousands live in sin till their old age, and yet they are converted at last. Sudden death is the exception; most people die after an illness, and they can make their confession and reconcile themselves with God, and thus die fortified with the holy sacraments. So, I trust, it will be with me, and therefore I am not under the necessity of living in fear and dread all my life. Is that really possible? Christians., what are you thinking of? I will say nothing now about your assertion that most people die after an illness; I will answer that next Sunday, and from experience, too. But I ask you again, what are you thinking of? Do you know of what you are speaking? What the question is about? What we are treating of in the present instance? Is it about landed property, or a vine yard, or a sum of money? I am sure that if such were the case you would be very far from allowing your property to take its chance in an uncertain manner; but you would go to work with the utmost caution; although you could not be blamed if you were somewhat careless in this latter instance, since earthly goods are not of much importance, and their loss can easily be repaired again, so that you may readily expose to danger all your wealth, strength, and reputation. But what are we speaking of now? " Ah, " exclaims St. John Chrysostom, " remember that you are speaking of the soul; " of your own soul, of your only soul, of your immortal soul, which shall live forever, of that soul whose loss is irreparable, whose wound incurable. And do you speak and think of it so presumptuously? Are you so ready to imperil it so foolishly? Will you give it over to such an uncertain, blind, dangerous chance?
Many men sin, and are converted afterwards, you say; and you are right. That may be the case with me, you infer. It may be, but also it may not be; it is uncertain. Many die in old age; that is true. But still a greater number die before old age; and that is true also. Perhaps i shall live to be an old man, and then lead a holy life. Perhaps, and perhaps not. Who has told you that such will be your lot? Most people get sick first, and are warned of the approach of death by their sickness, so that they can prepare; I hope fora similar chance. You hope for it; but you may be disappointed! How many people there are who die a sudden and unprovided death? Many young and healthy people whose last thought was death, have thus left the world and gone to eternal ruin, because it never entered their heads to be reconciled with God. Almost every day you hear something of this kind; so-and-so was carried oft by a stroke of apoplexy; another was shot by accident; a third was struck by lightning; a fourth was drowned. Do you think that God will let you know the day of your death a longtime beforehand,, so that you may continue offending Him by sin until the last moment, and then recover His friendship by a tardy repentance? Open the holy Scriptures and the History of the Church and you will see that God foretold the day and hour of their death to some holy servants of His; but that very few sinners ever received such a revelation. In the Old Testament, as far as I remember, there is no case of the kind except King Saul, whose death was announced a day beforehand by the Prophet Samuel. In the New Testament the only instance we have is that of the foolish rich man, to whom God said a few hours beforehand that He would come that night for him. How can you, then, dare to flatter yourself with the assurance that you will not die this very day? " Even if the day of judgment is far away from us," says St. Augustine, (l is your last day far off? And how can you know when it will come? Have not many gone to bed in good health and died in the night? Do we not bear about the seeds of death in this body of ours? " The most famous anatomists and naturalists wonder, when they consider the structure of the body, how a human being can live even for one day; for in even the smallest member of it there is enough to cause death. " Are we not more fragile than if we were made of glass?" What could our bodies do to resist the different exterior accidents that may and often do befall us? Now, if it is so easy for me to die suddenly, and I am in the state of sin, I am in as great danger of dying in sin as I am of dying suddenly. You think to yourself, the number of those who die suddenly is small; it is not likely that I shall be amongst them. But how do you know that? Death will not come so soon for me! But he might come: and if he did? Oh! there is no fear of that.
How do you know? Have you any letter or document to prove
what you say? All those who have been drowned, or have fallen
dead on the spot, or been carried off by an apoplectic fit, or have
died by some other accident, have thought that death would not
come to them so soon; but they were mistaken.
Such was the case with that nobleman in England of whom Bartoli writes. When the Catholics were bitterly persecuted in every part of the country and cruelly tortured, he said to him self: At heart I will remain a Catholic and keep all the laws of the true religion; but outwardly I will conform to the here tics. So I will save my goods, my honor, and my life. The good God, who sees my heart, will not let me die without giving me a chance of confessing my sins and getting rid of them by true repentance, so that I may save my soul. I generally live in the town where there is a priest concealed, who is ready to ab solve me; if I go into the country, there is another there; so I cannot be disappointed. Death will not come upon me in the public streets, like a robber. No, there is no fear of my dying without confession. And yet he was surprised by death as he was on the way from the town to his property in the country. His servants, seeing that he was grievously ill, ran, one into the town, the other to his country-house, to bring the priest; but to no purpose, for their master was dead before they arrived. Thus, concludes Bartoli, he who had two priests to live badly could not find one to help him to die well. The same fate has happened to thousands of others, who left this world in the state of sin, thinking that they were still safe enough from death.
Therefore I ask you again: Sinner! if you were to fare as they did? If death came to you now and that is quite possible - what would become of you? Oh, if he comes, let him come ! I must only -have patience. Patience? If death surprises you in the state of sin and you die impenitent, will you suffer that patiently? If he hurls you into the depths of hell, will you suffer that patiently? If you have to weep and howl and gnash your teeth, curse God and yourself, and burn in that lake of fire forever, will you suffer that patiently? Will you then commit your fate and fortunes to such a blind and uncertain chance? You would not lend your money to any one of whom you could say: perhaps he may give it back to me. Before parting with it you must have some surety that it will be returned. You would not venture your life in a leaky vessel, of which you could say: perhaps she may make the voyage in safety; but you would seek out the strongest and safest ship. And yet, foolish man that you are! you intrust your soul and its salvation to such an uncertainty!
Arnulph, Count of Flanders, was suffering the most violent pains - The doctors tried every means to give him relief, but fruitlessly, and at last they determined to perform an operation on him. They proposed this to the count, but he objected to being the first on whom they should try the experiment of a new operation. At the time there were in the place twenty people who had been operated on for the same disease as that from which the count was suffering, and of the twenty only one died. The doctors told the count of this, and advised him to submit to the operation. But he, hearing that one of the persons operated on had died, grew pale and began to sigh deeply. And, said he to the doctors, can any of you assure me that it will not be the case with me also? Although nineteen were cured, how do I know that I will be as lucky as they? Perhaps I shall be the second case of failure? The mere thought of this is enough to hinder me from risking the operation. Suppose, now, that out of the number of patients only the half of them had been healed, no, that the greater part had lost their lives, and only a few had recovered health; what do you think the prudent count would have done in such circumstances? Would he not have sent away the doctors in anger? But you, presumptuous man, how do you dare to act in a matter in which the eternal happiness or misery of your immortal soul is concerned? Very many who have been of the same opinion as yourself have been hurried off by a sudden death, and most of those who are in the same state as yourself have been thereby consigned to everlasting torments; yet you flatter yourself that you will escape that misfortune? "Will you then commit your eternal salvation to such an uncertain event?
Ah, my dear brethren, I beg of you for the sake of your souls, think often and deeply on this truth: I shall die but once. There is but one moment in which I shall die; on that moment depends my salvation or damnation. It is absolutely uncertain when that moment will come; it may come today, this very hour, no, at once. And what other resolution can such a thought in spire me with but this: therefore I will be always ready to die; therefore I will not remain a minute in a state in which I should be afraid to be surprised by death. So it is, my dear brethren. I do not mean that we should always live in a state of fear, dread, and melancholy. No, that is by no means necessary. To be joyful in the Lord, cheerful, and good-humored harmonizes easily with the meditation on death, provided we are only firmly resolved not to commit a grievous sin, or if we should commit one, not to remain long in the state of sin. He who lives in that way need not fear death, since he is always ready for it; and no man on earth has greater cause to rejoice at heart than he whose conscience gives him this testimony: if death were now to come and hurry me off into eternity I should be prepared for it.
If, then, I find anything on my conscience that troubles it I will say to myself what Eliezer, the faithful servant of Abraham, said when he went to bring home Rebecca, the bride of Isaac, as we read in the Book of Genesis. He had come to the house of the bride weary and tired, hungry and thirsty, and was at once invited by her parents to sit down to eat. No, said he: "I will not eat till I tell my message." But rest a little first, and take some refreshment; then we shall hear what you have to say. No, I cannot do that, nor taste a single mouthful, nor drink, nor sleep, until I have done what I am sent for; the business for which I have come is the most important thing and must be attended to first. Oh! exclaims de Lyra, commenting on this passage, " in this he showed that he was impressed with the importance of his duty." In the same manner I will in future take to heart the affair of my eternal salvation, and say and think to myself: "I will not eat till I tell my message." I will not eat or drink until I have opened my mouth to disclose the sins I have committed and till I repent of them. I will not eat till I have made restitution for my neighbor's injured honor or property. I will not eat till I have been reconciled to my enemy and made friendship with him. I will not eat till I have removed the occasion of sin, given up that dangerous intimacy, and abolished those abuses. I will never lay down to rest till I have examined my conscience and excited myself to sorrow and contrition for my sins. I will give myself no rest till I shall have begun to lead a better life. In a word, I am in earnest about dying a happy death and going to heaven; and therefore I am determined never to consent to mortal sin for a single moment for the sake of any man, or thing, or pleasure, and so to live in future that in the supreme hour, when and wherever it may come, I may be amongst the number of those of whom Christ says: "Blessed are those servants whom the Lord when He comes shall find watching, for He will place them over all His goods in the kingdom of heaven. Amen.
Another introduction to the same sermon for the third Sunday of Advent.
+Text.
" I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord." (John 1:23)
Introduction.
Oh, that a voice of that kind were to cry out to the hearts of all men, and unceasingly call out in our ears: " Make straight the way of the Lord" ! Christians, be ready! Your Lord will come; He is now on the way; not as a Saviour to free the world from eternal death, as He came in the time of St. John the Baptist; but as a strict Judge, to call each one of us in death to eternity. " Make straight the way of the Lord "\ Ah, hold your selves in readiness for His coming; prepare a long time for it; for much, all depends on it. " Make straight the way of the Lord " ! Prepare yourselves with the utmost care! For He will come but once; see, therefore, that His coming be a fortunate one for you. " Make straight the way of the Lord" ! But some of you may think: why do you thus try to inspire us with an unnecessary and premature fear and anguish? If, as you have said before, the whole matter depends on one moment, it will be enough for me if I am in the state of grace when that moment comes. Why, then, should I trouble myself now about it? I will live as I please, according to the fashion of other men. When I feel that the last moment has come I shall still have time enough to prepare for it, and to put my soul in the condition required, etc. . . Yes? Is that your opinion? Be more careful in jumping to such an unwarranted conclusion in such a weighty matter! Who has told you when your last hour will come? Do you think death will approach you like a post-rider, blowing a horn from time to time to give notice of his coming? Not by any means! You must know that not only does our eternal destiny depend on a single moment, but also it is quite uncertain when that moment will come. Any minute of our lives may be the last. There fore I will not be satisfied with merely exhorting you and my self, as I have hitherto done, to make straight the way of the Lord; but I say, moreover, "be prepared;" let us always be ready to die.
Plan of Discourse.
It is unknown and uncertain when the Lord will come to call us away by a death that will occur but once; therefore, etc. Continues as above.