praying for a happy death

When I was a young seminarian our priest-formators would always inculcate in us the virtues of a happy death. It was during that time when I started memorizing the prayer to St. Joseph as I invoke him every night before I sleep – “shield us under thy protection . . . and strengthened with thy help we may live a holy life, die a happy death and attain the everlasting bliss of heaven. Amen.” Probably it started out as a fear of dying unprepared, especially at a time when my imagination of what my particular judgment would look like was just too vivid to belittle. Also, if I remember rightly now this was also the reason why I began wearing the brown scapular. I was attracted by its promise of being reconciled with God and with each other before dying. Now, even without that overwhelming fear and primary motive, I carry with me these habits – the devotion to St. Joseph and the wearing of the brown scapular – praying for that day when I will face death prepared and to embrace it without looking back and without any regrets in my life.


I believe this is also the message of our gospel today. It is telling us how to prepare ourselves for that day when we meet God in death. We are told of the importance of coming out prepared - that the secret of a happy death is living a fulfilled and faithful life – going, after having completed the things that need to be done.
Life can be filled with so may unfulfilled responsibilities, or half-fulfilled dreams and even things we neglected to do and failed to act upon, things we put off and things we never even attempted to do or finish. A happy death cannot simply be entrusted to St. Joseph alone or simply handed over to the promise of the scapular. A happy death can be had when we act upon our good desires, persevere in whatever good we started, and respond to the call and opportunities of each moment. Too many of us grow old with so many regrets in life – too many people we failed to love and show care, too many people we failed to forgive and even with people we withheld forgiveness from, too many dreams not even attempted, too many goodness not acted upon. I believe these are things St. Joseph cannot do for us. We have to do it ourselves. Am I prepared to die, am I prepared to meet the son of Man?
I remember, one time, because of the pain of arthritis which I have to bear each day, I negotiated to God to give me until 40. Such brave soul I had then! But when I reached 39 I told God if he could make it 60. I was afraid then because I felt I have not yet done what I wanted to do. But I believe Jesus is telling us today not to overrate ourselves in the sense that it would really matter if we are no longer around. I believe the point here is surrender. To do what we are entrusted to do, to do what God wants us to do. And I believe when the time comes for us to go, then probably that’s it, that is what God wanted from us though things go unfinished or things don’t turn out as we planned things to be. Surrender means, we permit God to be God. Let the thief in the night be a thief in the night. The thing is we are prepared, not in my own definition of preparedness but in the measure God wanted it to be for me. May our Lady and St. Joseph pray for us to come out of this life saying like Jesus – it is completed.