What do you plan to say to Jesus after you die?
Here’s a suggestion from St. Alphonsus Liquori.
O, my beloved Jesus, who, to obtain for me a happy death, hast
freely submitted to so painful a death on Calvary, when shall I see thee?
The first time I shall behold thee, I shall see thee as my judge
in the very place which I shall expire. What shall I then say? What wilt thou
say to me?
I will not wait till that moment to think of what I shall say; I
will meditate on it now.
I will say to thee:
“My redeemer, thou art the God who hast died for me. I have
hitherto offended thee; I have been ungrateful to thee:
I did not deserve pardon; but afterwards, assisted by thy grace, I
have entered into myself, and, during the remainder of my life, I have bewailed
my sins; and thou hast pardoned me. Pardon me again, now that I am at thy feet,
and give me a general absolution of all my sins.
I did not deserve ever again to love thee, because I have despised
thy love; but thou in thy mercy hast drawn my heart to thee, so that, if I have
not loved thee as much as thou dost deserve, I have at least loved thee above
all things, and have left all to please thee.
I see that paradise and the possession of thy divinity in thy
kingdom, is too much for me; but I cannot live at a distance from thee, now
especially after thou hast shown me thy amiable and beautiful countenance. I
therefore seek for paradise, not to enjoy greater delights, but to love thee
more perfectly.
Send me to purgatory as long as thou pleasest. Defiled as I am at
present, I do not wish to enter into the land of purity, and to see myself
among those pure souls. Send me to be purified; but do not banish me forever
from thy presence. I shall be content to be one day, whenever thou pleasest,
called to paradise, to sing thy mercies for all eternity.
Ah, my beloved Judge! Raise thy hand and bless me; tell me that I
am thine, and that thou art and shalt be forever mine. I will always love thee,
and thou wilt forever love me.
Behold, I go to a distance from thee; I go to fire; but I go in
peace, because I go to love thee, my Redeemer, my God, my all. I am content to
go; but during my absence from thee, the greatest of my pains will consist in
being at a distance from thee.
I go, O Lord, to count the moments that shall elapse before thou
shalt call me. Have mercy on a soul that loves thee with all her power, and
that sighs to see thee, that she may love thee better.”
This I hope, O my Jesus, to say to thee at death. I entreat thee
to give me the grace to live in such a manner, that I may then say to thee what
I have now meditated. Give me holy perseverance, give me thy love. Assist me, O
Mary, mother of God; pray to Jesus for me.
Editor’s Note: This meditation is from St. Alphonsus Liguori’s
“Preparation for Death” (1758).
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