Living fully in the womb of the Mother of God means to banish all fear of death and the fear of this mysterious birth that is promised to us. Every good mother prepares for the birth of her child with infinite care and tenderness. How much more so does Our Lady! She tells us, “No, dear children, you do not know how to properly celebrate the death of your loved ones! You should celebrate the death of your loved ones with joy, the same joy that you have at the birth of a child.” But in our world, which is so locked up in materialism, we have lost the final outlook of our lives! In death, we often see nothing more than a departure with no return, and destruction without mercy, a disastrous wall, when in fact it is a precious door, the door that finally opens onto the life for which we are created.
That is why, as apostles of the Blessed Mother, I propose we consecrate our death to her Immaculate Heart and to the Heart of Jesus, so that this crucial moment in our lives may already fully belong to God through the hands of Mary. This can be done in 4 steps:
A – We can already thank God for the moment he has chosen to bring us home to Him. Whatever the moment, tomorrow or in 50 years, let us tell God how confident we are that He will have chosen the best time for us from the perspective of our eternity.
B – We can take the next step, and thank Him for the manner in which He has chosen to bring us back to Him. May our imagination not spiral out of control! Because then we would suffer in anticipation of something that will not happen! On the contrary, let us quiet our imagination, and instead surrender entirely into the hands of the One who knows so much better than we do what we need.
C – Let us take yet another step, and thank God for the time he has chosen to take to Him the person who is most dear to us. Tomorrow? In 50 years? May He be blessed, because this divine choice is the best for this person, for his or her eternal happiness. This is an invitation to have great trust in God, surrendering to His holy will of love.
D – And lastly, let us thank God for the way He chooses to take this beloved person.
Doing this requires deep inner strength, as we may encounter strong resistance. It is an opportunity to switch to the trust a child has in its father… This can take several days, but with the grace of God and a lively faith, we can finally say YES. And the great gift that comes from this Yes, this trusting surrender to the divine plans, is the healing of our fears or anxieties before death. In the hands of such a Father, of such love, how could fear still haunt us? How could anxiety still dare to seize us?
Sister Emmanuel