St Leo Benedictines' Cemetery

Death

January 20, 2005
The Rule of Our Holy Father Saint Benedict Chapter 4: the Instruments of Good Works
To fear the Day of Judgment. To be in dread of hell. To desire eternal life with all the passion of the spirit. To keep death daily before one's eyes. To keep constant guard over the actions of one's life. To know for certain that God sees one everywhere. When evil thoughts come into one's heart, to dash them against Christ immediately. And to manifest them to one's spiritual mother. To guard one's tongue against evil and depraved speech. Not to love much talking. Not to speak useless words or words that move to laughter. Not to love much or boisterous laughter. To listen willingly to holy reading. To devote oneself frequently to prayer. Daily in one's prayers,with tears and sighs, to confess one's past sins to God, and to amend them for the future. Not to fulfil the desires of the flesh; to hate one's own will. To obey in all things the commands of the Abbess, even though she herself (which God forbid) should act otherwise,mindful of the Lord's precept, "Do what they say, but not what they do." Not to wish to be called holy before one is holy; but first to be holy, that one may be truly so called.

Today's reading from the Rule is very appropriate for today. Our Sister I. is in the final stages of dying now. I was with her midday yesterday then again in the evening. She has been ill for a long time now. I have told her often that she has been a teacher to me. When she was feeling really bad, she often would go into the chapel to the tabernacle and sit in prayer talking to Jesus. There were times that I will always treasure when I pulled up a chair next to her wheelchair in front of the tabernacle and prayed with her. To always keep your death before you....and to always turn to Jesus who is our mediator...The first mass reading today from the letter to the Hebrews tells how Jesus is a mediator for us to God. To my understanding...we need the "human face" of God...Jesus...in order to make a connection with Yahweh...the great "I AM"...the one whose face we have not seen...but when we die, we will see the face of God.