that the Lord will come to take each one of us from the world by death; and therefore we must all prepare in time for His coming, for much depends on it. It is infallibly certain that He will come but once; therefore we must prepare with great care, so that that one occasion may be fortunate for us. It is infallibly certain that we do not know the time at which this one coming of the Lord will occur; therefore we must be always ready for it. These are the points we have been meditating on hitherto. To-day I add one more, or rather Our Lord Himself adds it; namely, that He will come not only at a time that is unknown to us, but also when we least expect Him and are least thinking of His coming; or to speak more clearly:
Plan of Discourse.
We shall die at the hour when we least expect it; therefore, if we care for our salvation, we must use all diligence to be always prepared for death. “Be you, then also ready: for at what hour you think not the Son of man will come.”[1]
This is the subject of the present meditation, which I begin at once, relying on the grace and help of the Holy Ghost, which I hope to obtain through the intercession of Mary and of the holy guardian angels.
We must be prepared for an unforeseen death, as if we foresaw it. A noble youth who wished to enter religion was asked by one of his friends why he had chosen such an austere life, and how he could make up his mind to abandon father, mother, friends, and relations, and to renounce the rich inheritance that would fall to his lot, with all the honors and wealth appertaining thereto. He answered laughingly: “There is a singular custom in the world which drives me to take this resolution.” “And what is that custom?” asked his friend. “It is a custom that people have of dying,” was the reply; “and on account of it I wish to go somewhere where I can prepare for death in a better manner.” A clever answer, and a wise resolution in such an important matter! It is one, too, that we should take to heart and reflect on deeply. If that young man had thought a little more, and had learned by experience how to prepare for death, he could have made a better answer by saying: There is a strange custom in the world that people have of dying unexpectedly, at a time when they least think they will die; therefore I must be off at
- ↑ Et vos estote parati, quia qua hora non putatis, Fllius hominis veniet.—Luke xii. 40.
