And Death is Gain…A Reflection on the Christian View of Death

Having died in 1988 from meningitis and being required to return here against my will, I’ll admit that I miss Heaven beyond words.

I have read this in accounts by others who have had NDE. The other common element is the loss of fear of death. For those of us who have been denied this experience, the desire to "cling to life" remains strong. Like Msgr. Pope, I ponder death each day and look forward to "returning home". Over the past few years, I have researched my ancestors. The oral tradition passed down through the decades has been corroborated by the facts that surfaced. In the process, what were once "faceless names", have come to life. They have shared their history and daily struggles through the census records trail. It dawned on me one day that i was their legacy, the fruit of much sacrifice. In return, I pray for them daily and have had masses offered up for their immortal souls. They have 'repaid' me in some extraordinary ways.

One of my favorite Gospel passages is that of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Lk 16:19-31. Nothing could be clearer insofar as what happens after death.

I wish people realized how important prayers are. They really do protect and guide the soul not only in the process of dying, but at all times.

An ancient Christian writer wrote that, "of all divine things, the most divine is to share with God in the saving of souls."

Interestingly, God and Souls was the motto of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, whose revelations in the 1930s led to the modern Divine Mercy movement.

Our Lord asked St. Faustina to pray and offer the Chaplet of The Divine Mercy for sinners and the dying, saying:

Pray as much as you can for the dying. By your entreaties [that is, insistent prayers], obtain for them trust in My mercy, because they have most need of trust, and have it the least. Be assured that the grace of eternal salvation for certain souls in their final moment depends on your prayer. You know the whole abyss of My mercy, so draw upon it for yourself and especially for poor sinners. Sooner would heaven and earth turn into nothingness than would My mercy not embrace a trusting soul." (Diary of St. Faustina, 1777)
Saint Faustina was often given the grace to know when a certain dying person desired or needed prayer; she would be alerted to the moment, by her Guardian Angel or by our Lord Himself. At those times she would pray until she no longer felt the need to pray, or a sense of peace came upon her, or she learned that the person had died, or heard the soul say, "Thank You!" She wrote: "Oh, dying souls are in such great need of prayer! O Jesus, inspire souls to pray often for the dying" (Diary, 1015).
One of the best means of assisting the dying is the one that Jesus revealed to St. Faustina and insisted that she use often, even continuously: The Chaplet of The Divine Mercy. Jesus said, "My daughter, encourage souls to say the chaplet which I have given to you. It pleases Me to grant everything they ask of Me by saying the chaplet. ... Write that when they say this chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My Father and the dying person, not as the just Judge but as the merciful Savior" (Diary, 1541).
Earlier, our Lord said to her, "At the hour of their death, I defend as My own glory every soul that will say this chaplet; or when others say it for a dying person, the indulgence is the same" (Diary, 811).
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Every day at 3 pm, EWTN presents The Chaplet of the Divine Mercy. It lasts only 20 minutes but provides an opportunity for all of us to offer up those powerful prayers for those who are dying or will die that day. In an age where secularism prevails, many people die alone, abandoned by family and friends. What a beautiful gift to offer up for these souls known only to God.

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