Let us love silence till the world is made to die in our hearts. Let us always remember death, and in this thought draw near to God in our heart–and the pleasures of this world will have our scorn.
–Saint Isaac of Syria (Seventh Century)
Every day we are changing, every day we are dying, and yet we fancy ourselves eternal.
— Saint Jerome (c. 340-420)
Pause and reflect, for the day of death is approaching. I beg you, therefore, with all possible respect, not to forget the Lord or turn away from His commandments by reason of the cares and preoccupations of this world, for all those who are oblivious of Him and turn away from His commands are cursed and will be totally forgotten by Him (Ex. 33:13). And when the day of death does come, everything which they think they have will be taken from them. And the wiser and more powerful they may have been in this world, so much greater will be the punishments they will endure in hell (cf. Wis. 6:7)
–Saint Francis of Assisi (1181–1226)
Everything seems to me to pass so quickly that we must concentrate on how to die rather than on how to live. How sweet it is to die if one has lived on the Cross with Christ.
–Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)
There is need of living well, but there is even more need of dying well. A good death is everything, especially today where people think only of things and enjoyment here on earth, rejecting eternity.
–Blessed Louis Guanella (1842-1915)
Let us always remember death, and in this thought draw near to God in our heart– and the pleasures of this world will have our scorn.
–Saint Isaac of Syria (Seventh Century)
