This small book (67 pages) is a newly-translated work of Thomas A Kempis, the renowned author of My Imitation of Christ (which from the Middle Ages to recent years was the most printed book after the Bible). The subtitle of this book is: Preparing for Eternity.
When I mentioned the title of this book to a friend, she said: “Ugh! I don’t want to read that!” I suspect hers would be a common reaction today, even as it undoubtedly it was in the early 1400s when Kempis wrote this masterpiece. War, plague and famine were everywhere in Europe at that time; death and sadness were everywhere, even as it is here today. People then thought “it can’t get any worse than this,” but Kempis speaks to supposed people of faith and says “but it CAN get worse, much, much worse.”
Kempis notes that most every person of some faith expects to make a deathbed repentance, peace with God before they die. Kempis then describes hell and heaven, and how we will make that last accounting before God. And then, in the second half of the book, he speaks with the voice of a sinner who is about to die, die suddenly, an unexpected death. His life will end at any minute, and he knows it. What would he think, say, and despair --- as he knew his time was up!
“There is no one who can help me now … I have no idea where I am going; all I know is wherever I do go, there I shall remain forever and ever!” He regrets, “I flirted all too freely, as if life were a mere game … now I would give the entire world, the entire universe, to gain for myself a single year, a single day, a single extra hour!”
“How vainly and fatuously did I study, profitless curiosity. I came to know many, many things, it is true, but my own self I did not know. … I have learned how to live well, but how to die well --- that which is most essential --- I never even troubled myself to study! Will these last few moments of regret and sorrow suffice to restore me to the path of eternal beatitude and to atone for the sins of an entire lifetime? God alone knows.”
The words of the dying sinner are filled with regret, and presented in such a way that we know: “These could be my words.” These Meditations on Death were written in the hope that these will NOT be the reader’s words, to create a resolve in him to prepare for the inevitable: eternal joy, or eternal agony, beyond any we felt here on earth. The book’s subtitle needs to be our life’s focus--- now! --- preparing for eternity.
I think this book accomplishes its title; it will cause meditations on death, which is the most important part of our life.
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In another book, Divine Intimacy, I read these reflections on Holy Thursday (# 95).
“When he cometh and knocketh --- at that moment there will be no complaint, no fear or anxiety, because one who has always lived in expectation of the coming of the Lord will not be afraid to open the door to Him at His arrival … Although death is the last, it is not the only coming of the Lord in the life of a Christian; it is preceded by many other comings whose special purpose is to prepare us for this last.”
“One who has always welcomed them faithfully and lovingly, who has followed all the impulses of grace with docility, has nothing to fear from the last coming. Then the words of Jesus will sound sweetly in his ears: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Life is a preparation for eternity.
There are many other good words in this reflection; they read almost the opposite of Kempis’ reflections of the dying sinner. These could be reflections of a dying disciple of Christ. We, the living (for the moment), need to reflect on both books and choose how we WILL live, and how we want to die.
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And now, having read and reflected on how to live, I think the Lord gave me a test on the subject today, to see if I learned anything. Last night the ice storm knocked out all power in my area. It is 52 degrees in my house as I type this. God woke me this morning (no electric alarm clock!) in time for morning mass, and afterwards my neighbor (also without power) gratefully accepted the Communion I brought her. Then, I knew of a nearby city which had power and so I went to McDonald’s there to pick up a quick breakfast.
The drive-thru lanes and store were packed; the power outage was in a large area. I went inside thinking it would be quicker, but things had changed there. It used to be you could look at a sign which showed a variety of commonly ordered meals and pick one: “Give me a number 3 with a large coffee.” Next! But now there are no such signs nor people to take your order, only kiosks on which you place your order --- in detail, with seemingly dozens of options and screens to pick through. Many people ordered on the app on their phone --- but my flip-phone has no apps. After going through a dozen screens on the kiosk, it finally accepted my order and credit card payment. The one man behind the counter didn’t seem to have a cash register; I’m not sure they accept money anymore. The process to get your order was very slow --- and results often wrong. People left, frustrated with the wait, as was I. I commented to a nearby fellow-waiter “I could have eaten in a restaurant and been done by now.” He agreed, and voiced his own frustration. The McDonald employees looked frazzled. Finally, my order came and I left. And in my cold house, the warm food felt good, even if it didn’t taste so good.
And here, now, today, I reflect back on that experience yesterday. The irate, flustered customers, and the overworked stressed staff. The machines designed for people who live on their phones and apps --- not people like me. And I now think back on my reaction to all that, and those people. “Those people”: my neighbors, the ones God told me to love --- the ones I told Him I WOULD love. And if this were my last instant, if I were right now stricken and dying, what would I tell God about my last choices on earth? Would I try and point back to some examples of when I did love my neighbor, “Remember Lord, when I ….” And having seen what I just did, what would He think of my answer?
Loving God and loving our neighbor is not something we can plan for, any more than we can plan for the time of our death. They must be things we do, now. They must reflect how we live, so that in life and in death, we are His
How much more God-like and appreciated would have been any compassion I showed to my neighbors in that chaos. A smile and a word of thanks for bearing with those difficult moments would have meant so much, been so appreciated! “Love bears all things” is an expression we need to develop in our hearts, and live it.
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