Pope Benedict has written about Charity and how a Christian ought to act and live out his life. But this is also the way Christians should die…. in the state of charity. There is nothing more wonderful than to die out of love for God and neighbor.
Christ, in fact, died for love for mankind. And St. Ambrose likes to emphasize that the Blessed Virgin Mary died out of love for Christ, her beloved Son. After the Ascension, Mary suffered more during the physical absence of Christ after the Ascension than during the Passion when He was, at least, physically present to her. You can’t imagine the feeling of a Mother who has loved her Divine Son so greatly and desires to hold Him but now cannot. Her desire to be with her Son in Heaven was so great that she desired to be freed from this life in order to be with Him in Heaven. And this was the cause of her death…her love for her Son.
The lives of the saints have exhibited similar happenings, wherein we see them die because of their great love for God. St. Benedict died standing up with his arms raised praising God. It is as if the soul just couldn’t wait to rush to Christ and seems to have prematurely left their bodies while in the act of loving God. All the Saints died in similar ways.
St. Benedict, with St. Joseph patron Saint of a holy death, spoke of perseverance in his Holy Rule. First, we need the grace of perseverance for the state of sanctifying grace to be worthy of Heaven. This is a grace we cannot work for. It is a free gift of God and He gives it to whoever He wills.
We need, also, the grace of perseverance to remain in the state of sanctifying grace until death. But the grace of perseverance is also a gift from God that He gives to whoever He wills. On our part we have to ask for both graces. And God will give it to us only if we asked for it in humble prayer. Are you wondering now why St. Benedict, in his rule wants his monks to concentrate on the degrees of humility? And can you see why Pope Benedict looks up to St. Benedict and his monasticism to evangelize the world once more? That we may die in Charity.
If there’s anything in the world that we should desire, it is to die out of Charity. It is God’s greatest grace to a soul. It is commonly called dying in the state of Sanctifying Grace, and this can be ours for the asking.
To die a holy death, or to die in the state of Sanctifying Grace, or to die with Charity, is a grace from God. No one knows the way he is going to die; we can just hope to die with Faith fired by Charity. (Painting is “The Passing of Joseph,” Giuseppe Maria Crespi, 1715.)