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@ Weatherall
2023-09-30 20:16:53
Contents
Object of the Work I. Portrait of a Man Who Has Recently Passed into the Other World II. With Death All Ends III. The Shortness of Life IV. Certainty of Death V. Uncertainty of the Hour of Death VI. Death of a Sinner VII. Sentiments of a Dying Negligent Christian, Who Has Thought Little of Death VIII. The Death of the Just IX. Peace of the Just at the Hour of Death X. Means of Preparing for Death XI. On the Unhappy Life of the Sinner, and The Happy Life of Him Who Loves God XII. On the Habit of Sin XIII. The Delusions Which the Devil Suggests to the Minds of Sinners XIV. On the Particular Judgement XV. On the General Judgement XVI. On the Pains of Hell XVII. On the Eternity of Hell XVIII. The Remorse of the Damned XIX. On Perseverance A Collection of Classic Artwork
CONFESSION ITS FRUITFUL PRACTICE
- The Blessings of Confession
- The Five Things Necessary for a Good Confession Examination of Conscience False Consciences and Their Remedies—The Lax Conscience—The Scrupulous Conscience—The Doubtful Conscience—How to Make a Good Examination of Conscience. Contrition The Qualities of Contrition—Universal Contrition—Sovereign Contrition—Relapses into Former Sins. Purpose of Amendment Occasions of Sin—Purpose of Amendment Must Be Specific. Confession and Absolution The Confession of Sins—Qualities of a Good Confession—Confession of Venial Sins—Sacrilegious Confessions—General Confession—Frequent Confession—The Absolution of the Priest. Satisfaction The Sacramental Penance—Voluntary Penances—Indulgences.
- How to Make a Good Confession The Examination of Conscience “Beginning Prayer—Points for the Examination of Conscience—The Ten Commandments of God—The Six Precepts of the Church—The Seven Capital Sins—Duties of Particular States of Life—Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. Considerations to Excite Contrition The Enormity of Sin—God’s Benefits to Me—The Love of Jesus Christ. Prayers Before Confession Act of Contrition and Purpose of Amendment—Prayer before a Crucifix—Prayer of St. Gertrude—A Short and Efficacious Act of Contrition. An Easy Method of Going to Confession Prayers After Confession Psalm 102—Prayer of Thanksgiving—Prayer before Performing the Sacramental Penance.
Memento Mori
Preparation For Death consists of a series of essays by St. Alphonsus Liguori. Each chapter consists of several “points” about a particular aspect of what we all must inevitibly face , death. The second such point of the first chapter, Portrait of a Man Who Has Recently Passed into the Other World, begins thusly:
But, that thou mayest more clearly see what thou art, O Christian soul, says St. John Chrysostom, “go to a sepulchre; contemplate dust, ashes, worms—and sigh!” Behold how that corpse first becomes yellow, and then black. Afterwards the whole body is covered with a white and disgusting mold. Then there issues forth a clammy, fetid slime, which flows to the earth. In that corruption a multitude of worms are generated, which feed on the flesh. The rats feast on the body; some on the outside, others enter into the mouth and bowels. The cheeks, the lips, and the hair, fall to pieces; the ribs are first laid bare, then the arms and the legs. The worms, after having consumed all the flesh, devour each other; and at last nothing remains of that body but a fetid skeleton, which in time crumbles in pieces
Interspersed betwixt each point are reflections and prayers designed to focus the faith and strengthen the resolve of the reader in abandoning the cornucopia of offenses, excuses, distractions and substitutions for submission and total dedication to Christ and God:
Behold, then, O my God, to what my body will be reduced—that body which has so much offended Thee!—to worms and rottenness. But this does not afflict me, O my Lord; on the contrary, I rejoice that this my flesh, which caused me to lose Thee, my Sovereign Good, will rot and be destroyed; that which afflicts me is, that for the sake of wretched pleasures I have so much displeased Thee. But I will not distrust in Thy mercy. Thou hast waited for me, that Thou mightest pardon me. “Therefore the Lord waiteth, that he may have mercy on you.” (Isaias 30:18). And Thou wilt pardon me if I repent. Yes, I repent with all my heart, O Infinite Goodness, of having despised Thee.
For me, this book was read over a series of afternoons sitting in the Cathedral in Dubrovnik , Croatia. It was the only quiet place I could find as the streets began to overcrowd with the long gone covid idolaters in the late spring of 2022 . Coincidentally, I found myself having chosen a spot underneath some giant paintings of St. Jerome studying .
This particular volume includes a second, highly-complimentary, short book of Liguori's, entitled Confession: It's Fruitful Practice . It contains three sections exploring the blessings of the practice of Confession, the five elements required for effective Confession, as well as templates and prayers to aid the penitent seeker. Truly a comprehensive gathering of what one needs to know to get started on a thorough cleansing of sin and renewing of hope and grace, oriented in the direction of eternity.
Conclusion
I highly recommend this book for those times when the hollowness of modernity and the grind of a society lost in materialism, pretentious expectant grins, and a cosmology of superficiality renders you depressed or frustrated and disconnected from Truth. The book does a good job of reminding you of the brevity of it all and the frivolousness of the endless agitation. It will help to still your spirit, calm your mind, and set your compass toward the things that really matter.
“That which has happened to your ancestors will happen to you also. Of all those who, at the beginning of the last century, lived in your country, behold, not one is living. Even the princes and monarchs of the earth have changed their abode; no thing remains of them but a marble mausoleum, with a grand inscription, which now only serves to teach us that all that is left of the great ones of this world is a little dust enclosed in a tomb. St. Bernard asks: “Tell me, where are the lovers of this world?” and he replies, “No thing remains of them but ashes and worms.”