It is stated in the life of St. Thomas Aquinas that while on his way to the Council of Lyons a sickness, which led to his death a few weeks later came upon him. He stopped on the way to visit his sister, the Countess Theodora. A scrap of their conversation has been recorded.

Theodora asked her brother how she could become a saint and Thomas gave her the perfect answer. "Will it," he advised her. In answer to her question: "What is the most desirable thing in life?" Thomas gave a short and perfect answer: "A good death."

Of all beings that live and die only man is capable of looking death in the face and preparing to receive it long before it comes. He thinks of it; he knows for a certainty that it will come; he expects it, although usually as an unwelcome guest.

Has God given us this faculty of foresight merely to torment us and embitter our existence? Not at all. Then let us receive it as a useful gift from God, as a stimulant to keep us ever on the watch, ready to accord our Judge a fitting welcome.

A good death means a good judgment and a good judgment from the hands of God is the only thing that we should really long for in this life. All the activity of our minds, all the cravings of our souls should be bent in this one end that we obtain a good judgment at the court of the heavenly Judge.

Every death carries a message for the living. It is a stern reminder for each one of us that we are most certainly to follow in the footsteps of the deceased. Death causes each one of us to pause and reflect on those questions which men have asked themselves through the centuries: "What am I? Whence do I come? Whither am I going?" Death reminds us of the fact that this life is indeed transitory, that wealth and fame are fleeting shadows, and that each tick of the clock, each beat of the human heart brings us closer to the grave. Everything in this life points to death. In the words of the poet:

The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,

And all that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave;

Await alike the inevitable hour.

The paths of glory lead but to the grave.

It is the general rule for people to die as they have lived. There is a terrifying exactitude in the phrase attributed to St. Jerome: "Qualis vits, finis ita." (What a man’s life is, so will be his end). The best preparation for a good death is a good life. It consists in an intense desire to apply to your soul the fruits of Christ’s Redemption continually, by faith, hope, charity and flight from sin. If one should fall at any time, one should rise up immediately by an act of perfect contrition and by going to Confession at the first reasonable opportunity. Goodness consists in love of God, and loving one’s neighbor as oneself for the love of God. If that is your rule of life, you need never fear death.

Finally as you go through life, serve God out of love rather than out of fear. Never have the idea that God is waiting to catch you off guard and ready to pounce upon you in your moment of weakness. That is an utterly false idea. God is our Father; let us be true children, worthy of such a Father, and we will be ready for the call that He sends in accordance with His Divine Providence.