Devotion to the Sacred Heart in June: day 25

25nd June

Our Father, who art in heaven, may your name be sanctified, your kingdom come, your will be done, as in heaven as on earth. Give us our daily bread today, forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Invocation. - Heart of Jesus, victim of sinners, have mercy on us!

Intention. - Pray to obtain good death for us and our family members.

GOOD DEATH

«You, health of the living - You, hope of who dies! »- With this word of trust the pious souls praise the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus. Really the devotion to the Sacred Heart, practiced as it should be, is the sure deposit of the good death, having Jesus committed his word to his devotees with this comforting promise: I will be their safest refuge in life and especially on my deathbed! -

Hope is the first to be born and the last to die; the human heart lives of hope; however, it needs strong, consistent hope that it will become security. The souls of good will cling with unlimited trust to the anchor of salvation, which is the Sacred Heart, and have the firm hope of making a good death.

To die well means to save oneself eternally; it means reaching the last and most important end of our creation. Therefore, it is convenient to be very devoted to the Sacred Heart, to deserve his assistance in death.

We will certainly die; the hour of our end is uncertain; we do not know what kind of death Providence has prepared for us; it is certain that great tribulations await those who are about to leave the world, both for detachment from earthly life and for the collapse of the body and, more than anything else, for the fear of divine judgment.

But let's take courage! Our Dívin Redeemer with his death on the Cross deserved the good death for everyone; especially he deserved it for the devotees of his Divine Heart, proclaiming their refuge in that extreme hour.

Those who are on their deathbed need special strength to endure bodily and moral suffering with patience and merit. Jesus, who is the most delicate Heart, does not leave his devotees alone and assists them by giving them strength and inner peace and does like that captain who encourages and supports his soldiers during the battle. Jesus not only encourages but gives strength proportionate to the need of the moment, because He is the personified fortress.

The fear of the next divine judgment could assail, and often assail, those who are about to die. But what fear can the devout soul of the Sacred Heart have? ... The judge who beats fears, says St. Gregory the Great, the one who despised him. But whoever honors the Heart of Jesus in life, must banish all fear, thinking: I have to appear before God to be judged and receive the eternal sentence. My judge is Jesus, that Jesus, whose Heart I have repaired and consoled many times; that Jesus who promised me Paradise with the First Friday Communions ...

Devotees of the Sacred Heart can and must hope for a peaceful death; and if the memory of grave sins assailed them, they immediately recall the Merciful Heart of Jesus, who forgives and forgets everything.

Let's get ready for the supreme step of our life; every day is a preparation for good death, honoring the Sacred Heart and being vigilant.

Devotees of the Sacred Heart should become attached to the pious practice, called "Exercise of the good death". Every month the soul should prepare itself to leave the world and present itself to God. This pious exercise, also called "Monthly Retreat", is practiced by all consecrated persons, by those who play in the ranks of Catholic Action and by many and many other souls; may it also be the badge of all the devotees of the Sacred Heart. Follow these rules:

1. - Choose a day of the month, the most comfortable, to wait for the affairs of the soul, allocating those hours that can be subtracted from daily occupations.

2. - Make an accurate review of conscience, to see if you are detached from sin, if there is any serious opportunity to offend God, as you approach Confession and make a confession as if it were the last of life ; Holy Communion is received as Viaticum.

3. - Recite the Good Death Prayers and do some meditation on the Novissimi. You can do it yourself, but it is better to do it in the company of others.

Oh, how dear to Jesus this pious exercise is!

The practice of the Nine Fridays ensures good death. Although the Great Promise of the good death Jesus made it directly to those who communicate well for Nine consecutive First Fridays, it can be hoped that indirectly it also benefited other souls.

If there was someone in your family who had never made the nine Communions in honor of the Sacred Heart and did not want to do them, make up for some others in your family; so a zealous mother or daughter could do as many First Friday series as there are family members who neglect such good practice.

It is to be hoped that in this way at least it will ensure the good death of all loved ones. This excellent act of spiritual charity can also be performed for the benefit of many other sinners, of which one becomes aware.

Enviable death

Jesus allows his ministers to witness edifying scenes, so that they can narrate them to the faithful and confirm them for good.

The writer reports a moving scene, which after years he remembers with pleasure. He was dying on his deathbed by a forty-year-old family man. Every day he wanted me to go to his bedside to assist him. He was devoted to the Holy Heart and kept a beautiful picture near the bed, on which he often rested his gaze, accompanying him with some invocation.

Knowing that the sufferer loved flowers very much, I brought them with joy; but he said to me: Put them in front of the Sacred Heart! - One day I brought him one so beautiful and very fragrant.

- This is for you! - No; gives himself to Jesus! - But for the Sacred Heart there are the other flowers; this is exclusively for her, to smell it and get some relief. - No, Father; I also deprive myself of this pleasure. This flower also goes to the Sacred Heart. - When I thought it opportune, I administered Holy Oil to him and gave him Holy Communion as Viaticum. Meanwhile the mother, the bride and the four little children were there to assist. These moments are usually distressing for family members and more than anything for the dying.

Suddenly the poor man gave a cry. I thought: Who knows what heartbreak he will have in his heart! - Take courage, I told him. Why are you crying? - The answer I did not imagine: I cry for the great joy that I feel in my soul! … I feel happy!… -

To be about to leave the world, the mother, the bride and the children, to have so many sufferings for the disease, and to be happy! ... Who gave that dying person so much strength and joy? The Sacred Heart, which he had honored in life, whose image aimed with love!

I stopped thoughtfully, staring at the dying man, and felt a holy envy, so I exclaimed:

Lucky man! How I envy you! I too could end my life like this! ... - After a short time that friend of mine died.

Thus die the true devotees of the Sacred Heart die!

Foil. Seriously promise the Sacred Heart to do the Monthly Retreat every month and find some people to keep us company.

Ejaculation. Heart of Jesus, assist and support me in the hour of death!