Questo articolo è disponibile anche in: Italian English Spanish German

Good evening Father Angelo,

Lately I’ve been thinking about the day I will die (I’m 34 now) and I wonder if I will have remorse or guilt for not having lived a “full” life.

Do you have any advice on how to live a true and full life to get to that day in peace and serenity?

Thanks for his reply.

Best regards,

Emmanuele

Priest’s answer

Dear Emanuele,

1. a great French writer said that at the end of our life if we have one regret it will be that of not being saints.

The reason is clear because everything that the Lord arranges in our life and around our life has no other purpose than that of sanctification.

When we present ourselves before Christ we will see this whole plan of sanctification clearly. We will also see time wasted in distractions and spent away from the Lord.

2. What can you do to come before Christ with fewer regrets?

In recent times, the Lord himself has spoken to us through a boy who managed to become a saint despite the unfavorable environment, because he found himself in the same environment in which our young people and our children find themselves today.

This young man is Carlo Acutis, venerated as blessed, whose body remained incorrupt. If he were alive he would be 32 years old today, two years younger than you.

Here is what he proposed to his peers to become saints.

“1. He tries to go to Holy Mass every day and receive the Holy Communion.

2. Remember to recite the Holy Rosary every day.

3. Read a passage of Holy Scripture every day.

4. If you can, do a few moments of Eucharistic Adoration in front of the Tabernacle where Jesus is actually present so you will see how he will prodigiously increase your level of holiness.

4. If you can, confess even venial sins every week.

5. Often make resolutions and little sacrifices to the Lord and Our Lady to help others.

6. Continuously ask your Guardian Angel for help who must become your best friend.”

3. Among all these points I underline the importance of weekly confession precisely in reference to any remorse we may have at the end of our existence.

Here is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “In this sacrament, the sinner, placing himself before the merciful judgment of God, anticipates in a certain way the judgment to which he will be subjected at the end of his earthly life. For it is now, in this life, that we are offered the choice between life and death, and it is only by the road of conversion that we can enter the Kingdom, from which one is excluded by grave sin. In converting to Christ through penance and faith, the sinner passes from death to life and “does not come into judgment” (Jn 5:24)” (CCC 1470).

4. Those who go to confession every week usually only have venial sins to accuse.

This too is precious because it confers an increase in grace. In fact, “Indeed the regular confession of our venial sins helps us form our conscience, fight against evil tendencies, let ourselves be healed by Christ and progress in the life of the Spirit. By receiving more frequently through this sacrament the gift of the Father’s mercy, we are spurred to be merciful as he is merciful” (CCC 1458).

5. In order to have fewer regrets at the end of life, I recommend that you continually revive your trust in the mercy of God and in the merits of Jesus Christ.

In this regard I like to remember the beautiful testimony left to us by Saint Josephine Bakhita.

During the First World War, when part of the convent was used as a military hospital, this nun, who as a girl had been kidnapped and sold by slave traders five times, had noticed that the commander’s orderly always carried two suitcases: his and that of the boss.

Remembering this episode, she said that she wanted to be the attendant of her boss Jesus and therefore she too carried two suitcases: hers full of insufficiencies and miseries and that of Jesus, so rich in merits as to eliminate all her insufficiencies: “I am leaving, slowly, slowly, towards eternity… I am leaving with two suitcases: one contains my sins, the other, much heavier, the infinite merits of Jesus Christ.

When I will appear before the tribunal of God, I will cover my ugly suitcase with the merits of the Blessed Virgin, then I will open the other one, I will present the merits of Jesus and I will say to the Eternal Father: ‘Now judge what you see.’

6. I suggest you repeat more or less all these words to Jesus before you fall asleep.

They will give you comfort and energy.

Wishing you all the best, I bless you and remember you in prayer.

Father Angelo