Dear Parishioners of Mary Immaculate and Saint Rose,
During the month of November, we pray for the holy souls, all of those who have died and are still on their way to Heaven. And we honor the holy saints who stand triumphant before the Throne of God.

We are also to reflect on that which comes to us all and is the portal for all souls to Purgatory or Heaven. We are to consider and meditate upon the reality of our own death. This is not meant to be a reflection on something morbid or gruesome. It is to help us to be aware that from the moment we are born into this life, that one of the only things that we know for certain is that some day we will die.

We do not know the day or hour of our death. Over the years I have visited many people who have been in the hospital or on hospice, who tell me that they only have months or weeks to live. I always tell them that we are all dying. The difference is that you know your death is coming. Perhaps it is for the best that we do not know the day or hour of our death. It may cause us to live in fear and dread, but it also causes us to think that we always have plenty of time to think about and prepare for death.

The saints remind us over and over again to consider our death. They wanted to be prepared to meet the Lord and they want us to be prepared, too. They always caution us to avoid mortal sin, as we should want nothing more than to die in a state of grace.

Many people now buy cemetery plots, plan their funeral and pay for it, erect memorial stones, and think they are all prepared for when they are to die. These same people fail to look at the way they are living and ask, “If Jesus came for me right now, am I ready to go with Him?”

God gives us so many things to make sure we are on the path that leads to Him. The Church is His gift to us to help us to hear His voice and sanctify our lives. The sacraments provide for us a way to meet Jesus. Confession provides for us a way to receive the forgiveness of God and to experience His mercy. Way too many of us neglect to use this gift from God on a regular basis. It is so easy to presume on the mercy of God and then not use the means He gives us to obtain His forgiveness. Holy Communion provides us with the Bread from Heaven that is Jesus Himself. We become so accustomed to the Presence that we take it for granted. We approach Holy Communion without the proper reverence or even in a state of mortal sin, which renders us unworthy to receive our Lord. Anointing of the Sick is the sacrament given to us to use in serious illness. This is a sacrament to pray for healing or to prepare to meet the Lord. Too often, again, families neglect to call and arrange for their sick or dying loved ones to be fortified with this gift from God.
Living a life of virtue and holiness is the best means to prepare for our death. We want to live our life to the fullest, not in a selfish way, but in the way intended by Jesus. We want to be always watching and ready for His coming. Then death will not be our enemy, but our friend, leading us into everlasting life.

Praised be my Lord for our sister, the death of the body, from which no man escapeth.
Woe to him who dieth in mortal sin. Blessed are those who die in They most holy will, for the second death shall have no power to do them harm.                   
 ~St. Francis of Assisi, Canticle of the Sun

Msgr. Cox
 The Transitus of St. Francis of Assisi, artist unknown