All praise be yours, my Lord, for our Sister Physical Death from whose embrace no mortal can escape. Woe to those who die in mortal sin! Happy are those she finds doing your most holy will! The second death can do no harm to them.” – St. Francis of AssisiFinally, since Oblates are immersed in the Transitus of Jesus Christ (His Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension)--which gives true meaning to Sister Death--let them prepare themselves for their own “transitus” from this world to the next by means of a living witness, ceaselessly calling to mind the Four Last Things (Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell), the necessity of penance (conversion), the danger and punishment for vice, the honor and reward of virtue, and serenely tend toward the ultimate encounter with the God Who is Love. “In all you do, remember the end of your life, and then you will never sin.”
Lord, we beg thee, let the burning, gentle power of thy love consume our souls and draw them far from everything that is under heaven, so that we may die for love of thy love, O thou who hast deigned to die for love of our love. May this “last martyrdom”, after having prepared us to appear before You, finally cause us to die and may our souls take their flight without any delay into the eternal embrace of Your Divine Merciful Love. O how precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints!
LITANY OF ST FRANCIS
By your example may we learn that life does not consist
in the pursuit of wealth or in the abundance of possessions.
St. Francis, pray for us
By your singleminded dedication to Christ help us to walk
that narrow way that leads to Christ.
St. Francis, pray for us
By your appreciation of God's wonderful creation, help us
to appreciate God's world without defacing or spoiling it.
St. Francis, pray for us
By your endless praises to your heavenly Father, help us
to live in continual thanks and praise for God's bounty.
St. Francis, pray for us
By your humility, help us to know that it is only when
we are humble that God can come to us.
St. Francis, pray for us
By your joy even in suffering, help us in our times of trial
to be joyful in the Lord. St. Francis, pray for us
By your holy death, help us to live each day as our last
and to welcome sister Death at our end. St. Francis, pray for us
Praise and bless my Lord, and give thanks and serve Him with great humility. Amen.
