Three Prayers for a Happy Death

O BELOVED truth, O just equity of God, how shall I appear before thy face, bearing my iniquity, the guilt of the waste and loss of my life, and the burden of my exceeding negligence! I have not only spent in vain the talent of time entrusted to me; I have squandered it, wasted it, lost it all. And where shall I go, whither turn, whither flee from thy presence? O just equity of God, judging all things in number, weight, and measure, and weighing all things in thy most true and strict balance; woe, woe is me if I fall into thy hands, and have no advocate to plead my cause. O good Jesus, I flee unto thee, unto thee I sigh from my inmost heart; do thou answer for me, do thou obtain forgiveness for my sins; plead thou my cause, that my soul may live for thy sake. O Jesus, my Love, who for love of me wast seized and bound and dragged to an unrighteous tribunal, that on thee might be laid the sins of the whole world, though there was in thee no sin nor stain save that thou didst love me and bear my sins, I take thee this day for my Advocate and Friend at the bar of God. O my sweetest Jesus, beloved pledge of my redemption, do thou come with me to my judgment. Be thou thyself my Judge and my Advocate. Tell forth all that thou hast done for me, all thy thoughts of love towards me, at what a price thou hast made me thine. Thou hast lived for me, that I might not perish; thou hast borne my sins, that I might not be crushed by their weight; and thou hast died for me, that I might not die; and thou hast bestowed all thou hast on me, that in thy merits I might be rich. Wherefore judge me in the hour of my death according to that sinlessness which thou hast conferred upon me in thyself, in that thou hast paid all my debt, condescending to be judged and condemned for me. Amen.

Second Prayer

O GENTLE goodness and amiable mercy of God, which alone dost restrain the anger of the Prince, and dost encompass and adorn the throne of the King with clemency; shelter me beneath thy wings, that I may be safe from the evils which threaten me, and which my many and great negligences make me fear. Behold, now the Creditor stands at the door, demanding from me account of the life entrusted to me. Now the Exactor claims from me the tribute of my time, and I dare not appear before him, for I have not wherewithal to pay. O Jesus, my Love, refuge of all in distress, appease thy Father towards me. Speak for me a word in charity; say, I will ransom him. O Jesus, my Love, who for me wast harshly bound to the pillar and cruelly scourged, who wast painfully crowned and scoffingly saluted; be thou my Advocate and my Patron. Judaea disowned thee for her King, that I might have thee all my own. Do thou quicken and refresh my soul now through thine own unutterable sorrows and griefs, and may that most bitter chastisement of our peace which the Father laid upon thee acquit all my debts. Anoint and soothe all my senses with the blood which flowed from thy most glorious Head, and efface all their stains through the anguish of thy most holy Body. May the most blameless use thou didst make of all thy senses cover all my faults and supply all my defects, that I may find all I want in thee, who hast delivered thyself all for me. Amen.

Third Prayer

O SWEET compassion, O dear liberality of my God, that openest thy bosom to all, and art the refuge of all the poor; I shudder with dread at thought of my sins of commission, I blush and am ashamed at my sins of omission, I greatly fear by reason of the wretched waste I have made of my whole life. I quail with awe while I look onward to that scrutiny wherewith thou wilt search me when thou, my God, shalt enter into judgment with me. For if thou shalt require at my hands an account of the time and the talents which thou hast entrusted to me, I find within me no answer worthy of thine exceeding love to me. What shall I do, or whither betake myself? Oh, spare me and have mercy on me, Jesus, my Love, who for me wast condemned to an unjust death, laden with thy heavy cross, fastened to thy cross with cruel nails, mocked in thy thirst with vinegar and gall, till thou didst die for me a bitter death. Thou hast given thy soul for my soul, thy life for my life, thy death for my death. Thou didst once offer thyself upon the cross, and thou dost even now daily offer to God the Father upon the altar that Sacrifice which transcends all merit, and is infinitely more than enough to pay all my debt. Oh, by this Sacrament renew my life, and restore to me a hundred-fold all I have wasted and lost. Blot out all mine iniquities in thy compassion, cover all my sins with thy charity, make amends for all my negligences by thy love, and in that love restore to me that liberty of spirit wherein thou, the true and sinless Heir, didst die for me, and set me at liberty at the cost of thine own Blood. Make me such as thou willest and desirest me to be, and in the hour of my death open to me the door of thy most benign and tender Heart, that through thee I may enter without impediment into the repose of thy thrilling love, and possess thee and enjoy thee, thou true Joy of my heart. Amen.