Death
What is a diary? A book in which you write down what you do each day, or what you intend to do. Some people keep a diary and write things in it like this: "Be sure to go to the dentist tomorrow," and so on.

A man who died some years ago (not in this parish) used to keep a diary. I have it here. To read a page of it is a sermon in itself. Here it is:

- Monday, January 1, 1934. I have just made a New Year's resolution to go to confession and set my soul at peace with the Lord. I have been in sin too long as it is.

- Sunday, January 7, 1934. I really must go to confession. I will do it soon.

- Sunday, January 14, 1934. I have delayed long enough. I will go to confession before the month is out.

- Sunday, January 21, 1934. I have made up my mind to go to confession before the end of the week — and I mean it. (These last four words are underlined.)

- Wednesday, January 24, 1934. My conscience won't let me rest. I will go to confession on Saturday. I will leave the house a little earlier before I go to the movies.

- Friday, January 26, 1934. Tomorrow I will go to confession.

Then there is a little note written by someone else, in the margin, "Mr. So and So died on Friday."

The lesson in that story should be an easy one for you to tell me. Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today. . . . Excellent. You hit it on the nose that time.

The first of the four last things is death. Death means just that our bodies die. Our souls live on. That is why we should not be as foolish as the man in the story. We must always be prepared for death.

                             "Mr. Meant-to had a comrade, And his name was Didn't Do;
                                                 Have you ever chanced to meet them?
                                                                Did they ever call on you?
                                                          These two fellows live together
                                                               In the house of Never Win.
                                                            And I'm told that it is haunted
                                                        By the ghost of Might-have-been." *

"If thou shalt not watch; I will come to thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know at what hour I shall come to thee."
Prepare for death on the day before you die. Perhaps you may die tomorrow. Then prepare for death today.
     * Anonymous, Liguorian, August, 1919.
                                                                                Source: Heavenwords, Imprimatur 1941

                                "While awaiting the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ."

On an island in the Caribbean sea, which you have heard about in your geography lessons, there is a graveyard. In that graveyard are three tombstones which tell their own story. The inscription on the first headstone reads, "Here lies Hugh Trent. Died fighting for the king. 1621." The traveler moves to read the next headstone and sees a surprising thing. It reads, "Here lies Hugh Trent. Died fighting for the king. 1710." He shows further surprise when he reads the next stone, which says, "Here lies Hugh Trent. Died fighting for the king. 1820." The traveler would say, "The Trents must have been a fighting family. There was always one of them ready to lay down his life for the king."

Christ is a King. Perhaps in our own families we have a glorious heritage of those who died fighting for Him . What a glorious epitaph to be put over any grave, "Died fighting for Christ the King ."

The warfare in which Christ the King would have us fight is the warfare against sin. It is a struggle which is going on all the time, not in the smoke and the flash and the crack of battle, but in the silent battlefield of our own hearts. We win the battle only by obeying the King's orders. We say to ourselves, "This is the way the King wants it, and this is the way it must be." In the silent battlefield of your own hearts may be going on the struggle whether you will steal or not. You do not. Why? Because the King wants it that way. Because someone else is in the room with you you decide that you will skip your night prayers. You do not. Why? Because the King wants it that way. You have read Tom Brown's Schooldays and remember how Arthur knelt down to say his night prayers in a dormitory. When the other boys made fun of him, Tom came to his defense. That was the beginning of a lifelong friendship between h im and Arthur. You may be tempted in your own hearts to indulge in the telling of indecent stories just so that you can appear smart. You do not. Why? Because the King wants it that way. You may be tempted to be mean and cruel to your younger sister. Older sisters can sometimes be very, very cruel to the younger ones. You do not. Why? Because the King wants it that way. Conduct like that and settling your problems like that is fighting for the King. You keep fighting for the King and keep fighting to the end. When they write on your headstone "Died fighting for the King," you will have nothing to worry about, "while awaiting the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also keep you secure unto the end."
                                  Source:  Heirs of the Kingdom, Imprimatur 1949