once out of the world to prepare myself carefully for death. To die unexpectedly is far more dangerous than merely to die; for the worst feature of death is that he takes us unawares. Hence we pray in the litanies: “From a sudden and unprovided death deliver us, O Lord.”
Nearly every one dies unexpectedly. Shown from Scripture. Meanwhile, my dear brethren, the fact stands and we cannot alter it. We must die, and, generally speaking, when we least expect. A few saints, who were always resigned to the will of God, and also criminals brought forth to execution excepted, there is, I may say, hardly one who dies but at a time when he thinks he shall not die. This seems a hard saying, and I might myself have some difficulty in believing it if I were not persuaded of its truth, partly by daily experience, and partly by the inspired word of God. This latter is so clear on the point that we can have no doubt of it if we had no other testimony in proof of it than the few words quoted from St. Luke: “Be you then also ready, for at what hour you think not the Son of man will come: " therefore He will come at a time when we do not await death. It seems, indeed, that Our Lord’s whole wish was to impress this truth as deeply as possible on our minds; for He repeats the warning so often, partly by Himself, partly by His apostles and disciples: “Take ye heed, watch and pray.”[1] “And take heed to yourselves, lest perhaps your hearts be over charged with surfeiting and drunkenness and the cares of this life: and that day come upon you suddenly:”[2] lest it come upon you when you think it far off. Let your lamps be always burning, that when the bridegroom comes unexpectedly they may not be extinguished. “Let your loins be girt, and lamps burning in your hands.”[3]
By similes. Hence the Lord sometimes compares death to a thief, according to the words of the Apostle: " The day of the Lord shall so come as a thief in the night.”[4] No thief is so daring as to venture to attempt a robbery in a place that he knows to be well guarded. If he sees the good man of the house on watch at the door as he is passing by, he salutes him as if they were old friends, and says to himself: there is no use in trying to steal anything there; the people are on their guard. But when all the
- ↑ Videte, vigilate et orate.—Mark xiii. 33.
- ↑ Attendite autem vobis, ne forte graventur corda vestra in crapula, et ebrietate, et curis hujus vitæ, et superveniat in vos repentina dies ilia.—Luke xxi. 34.
- ↑ Sint lumbi vestri præcincti, et lucernæ ardentes in manibus vestris.—Ibid. xii. 35.
- ↑ Dies Domini sicut fur in nocte, ita veniet.—I. Thess. v. 2.
