CATHOLIC SURVIVAL GUIDE, Second Part - The Art of Dying Prepared: a Catholic Happy Death

Bona mors - a good, happy, death. A most Catholic concept.

Are Catholics supposed to panic regarding pandemics? Only if they are unprepared for their deaths, but they should avoid being so. While most Catholics are unfortunately not ordinarily prepared for their own deaths, moments like the present one (even if prompted by the media-driven mass panic characteristic of such moments) are very useful for the faithful to focus on the need to prepare their souls for death.

In this sense, moments such as the present one are a blessing. While often death catches us unprepared (though we as Catholics must pray for it not to be the case), when a dangerous new pathogen is among us, we cannot reasonably say, before the Tremendous Judge, "we didn't know any better." We did and we do know better, and what better time to get ready for a good death?

While Deacon Nick Donnelly's First Part to his Survival Guide (which we reposted just now) is dedicated to the burden of a life without regular access to the Sacraments (especially Penance and the Holy Eucharist), this second part is dedicated to preparation for a Happy Death:

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A Catholic Survival Guide for COVID-19, Part Two

The Art of Dying Well (Ars Moriendi) 
and Prayers for a Happy Death (Bona Mors)

by the Rev Deacon Nick Donnelly

The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has brought the prospect of death into much sharper focus for many of us. The illusion that we will live to an old age, that made death seem a far-distant threat, has been ripped away, leaving us to face the truth of our mortality. Some of us may well suffer critical illness due to contracting COVID-19, even life-threatening complications. The strict quarantine protocols to stop the transmission of the virus and protect healthcare workers means that we will most probably be deprived of the pastoral care of our priests at our deathbed.  This is a prospect that rightly concerns many of us at the present time.  We may feel a deep anxiety about being left alone to endure the tribulations of dying without our spiritual fathers.

In these circumstances, familiarity and practice of two traditional devotions will help us face death with greater peace of mind, calmness and composure enabling us to prepare to die with Christian hope. These two traditional devotions are the Ars Moriendi and the Bona Mors — the art of dying and prayers for a happy death. Even if we are young and healthy, we would all benefit from these two devotions that help us live life from the perspective of Eternal Life.

The Risen Christ transfigures death

#MementoMori - As her lungs failed, Therese wrote: "I am not dying, I am entering into life!"

For so many around the world deprived of physical Communion of the Blessed Sacrament, the words of Saint Therese are a solace:

The impossibility, however, of receiving Holy Communion did not sadden Thérêse. “No doubt, it is a great grace to receive the sacraments. When God does not permit it, it is good too! Everything is a grace!”

Tout est grâce...

And there are so many other lessons for us Catholics of 2020 in the last months of the saint's suffering, precisely from a disease that attacked her lungs and deprived her of breath, as the current Chinese virus does to those who suffer from its worst symptoms. Let us follow the example of the saints and always be prepared for our own deaths. True life begins only after it!

On July 6, a sudden worsening in her condition brought on series of hemoptyses which lasted until August 5. After Doctor de Cornière had observed her suffocating spells, her vomiting of blood, and her high fever, he became convinced that she was dying; he stated that in cases such as hers “only two percent got well.”

When she heard this news, Thérèse was filled with joy. She made her confession to the chaplain and asked him to give her the last anointing which she desired very much.