St. Alphonsus de Liguori wrote a beautiful reflection on prayers of a dying person. He began the reflection by putting words of trust into the mouth of a dying man: “O Jesus, my Redeemer, who in a few moments will be my Judge, have mercy upon me before the moment comes when You will judge me. No, my sins do not terrify me, nor the rigors of Thy judgment, while I see You dead upon this cross to save me.”
A dying person glorifies God by trusting in his mercy. St. Claude La Colombiere, the spiritual director of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, wrote to a nun in danger of death who was disturbed by the memory of her failures: “Rest assured that if I were as near rendering my account to God as you seem to be, it would be precisely the number and gravity of my sins that would serve to quicken my trust … It seems to me that confidence inspired by innocence and purity of life does not give a very great glory to God. Is God’s mercy able to do no more than save holy souls who have never offended him? Surely the trust that gives the Lord most honour is that of an errant sinner who is so convinced of God’s boundless mercy that all his sins seem like a speck in comparison with that mercy.”
Our Lord told St. Faustina: “the greater the misery of a soul, the greater its right to my mercy.”
St. Alphonsus viewed purgatory with hope and positivity. He wrote, “I willingly accept all the pains Thou dost destine for me in Purgatory; it is just that the fire should punish in me all the injuries I have done to Thee. O holy prison, when shall I find myself shut up in you, secure from being able ever to lose my God! O holy fire, when will you purge away my many filthy stains and make me worthy to enter the country of the blessed!”
St. Francis prayed: “May I die for love of Your love, who have vouchsafed to die for love of my love.”
This prayer of Francis reminds me of the prayers Our Lord taught Blessed Dina Belanger: “No invocation responds better to the immense desire of my Eucharistic Heart to reign in souls than: Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, may Thy Kingdom come through the Immaculate Heart of Mary; and to my no less infinite desire to communicate my graces to souls than: Eucharistic Heart of Jesus burning with love for us, inflame our hearts with love for Thee.”
St. Alphonsus prayed: “I receive death with peace, as also the pains which I shall have to endure as long as I breathe; give me strength to suffer with a perfect uniformity to Your Will.” The following act of resignation may be prayed daily: “My Lord God, even now I accept at Thy hand, cheerfully and willingly, with all its anxieties, pains and sufferings, whatever kind of death it shall please Thee to be mine. Amen.”
St. Alphonsus wrote, “It was revealed to St. Lydwina [of Schiedam, 1380–1433] by an angel that the crown of merits and glory which awaited her in heaven would not be completed without the sufferings which she was to endure in the days immediately preceding her death. The same thing happens to all devout souls when they depart from this world. It is certain that all good acts, and especially those of resignation in accepting death, performed with the view of pleasing God, are of great merit to everyone who dies in the grace of God.”
St. Josemaria Escriva wrote, “Don’t be afraid of death. Accept it from this day on, generously … when God wills it, how God wills it, where God wills it. Believe me, it will come at the time, in the place and in the way that are best–sent by your Father God. May our sister death be welcome!”
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聖入們憑信賴接納死亡
聖亞豐索為垂死的人寫了一美麗的祈禱思維。他讓垂死的人以信賴的話語說，作他思維的開始：『噢，耶穌，我的救主，在一刻間袮作我的判官，在這一刻來臨之前，求袮憐憫我。在我看見袮死在十字架上，求袮救贖我，不要讓我因我的罪惡和袮嚴厲的審判而恐懼。』
垂死的人以信賴祂的憐憫光榮天主。聖瑪加利大的神師聖克勞德為一位面臨死亡危險而困擾於自己失誤的修女寫道：『放心，如果我，如你可能的一般，快要向天主交付帳戶時，這會準確的是，我罪惡的次數和重量是作為促進我的信賴…對我來說，生命中無罪和純潔給我的信心並不會是大大的光榮天主。這是天主的憐憫才可以做到更多，不只是救贖那些從不得罪祂的人嗎？肯定的是，那信賴，可以最為光榮天主的，就是一個犯錯的罪人，因天主無限的憐憫如此確信，他一切的罪惡跟天主的憐憫比較只像是一粒灰塵。』我主告訴聖傳天娜說：『越是憂傷的靈魂,、越有資格領受我的慈悲』。
聖亞豐索對煉獄的觀點是希望和正面的。他寫道：『我願意接受一切，那些袮指定給我煉獄的痛苦；這火理所當然的為懲罰我對你造成的所有傷害。噢，聖監獄，什麼時候我會監禁你內，確保我不會失去我的天主！噢，神聖的火，什麼時候，你會清除我那麼多的污穢，讓我堪當進入真福的聖城！』
聖方濟祈禱：『讓我為渴望袮的聖愛而死，它給予我為愛我所愛而死。』這聖方濟的禱文提醒我真福迪娜的禱文：『沒有什麼祈求能更好地回應我聖體內的聖心統治靈魂的巨大願望：聖體內的耶穌聖心，願袮的國藉著瑪利亞無玷聖心到臨；我無限渴望將我的恩寵傳達給靈魂：聖體內的耶穌聖心燃燒著對我們的愛，請以對你的愛點燃我們的心。』
聖亞豐索祈禱：『我平靜地接受死亡，以及我尚能呼吸時必須忍受的痛苦； 給我力量，讓我完全遵從袮的旨意去受苦。』以下的順從的行動可以每天誦念：『我主，我的天主甚至現在我喜悅和樂意地從袮手中接納，一切的焦慮，痛苦和折磨，任何一種可以悅納於袮的死亡。亞孟。』
聖亞豐索寫道：『一位天使顯示給斯希丹的聖李維娜（1380-1433），她德行的冠冕和光榮在天國等待著她，如果沒有在她死亡前的日子裡她需要忍受的痛苦，這不會實現。同樣的事情都發生於所有熱心的靈魂離開這世界時候。為悅納於天主而作的一切的善功，特別是那些順從和接納死亡的，都是死於天主寵愛中好的德行。』
聖若瑟瑪利亞、施禮華寫道：『不要害怕死亡。從今天起，慷慨地接納它…在天主意願的時候，在天主意願的情況，在天主意願的地方。相信我，它會來於最好的時間，地方，情況下—從你天父天主中送來。願你的死亡姊妹受到歡迎！』
