Prayers · Mysteries of the Faith

Mystery of the Last Things — Novissima: Death, Judgment, Hell, Glory

Meditation on the Last Things — the Novissima, in Latin — is the duty of every Christian and the root of spiritual wisdom: memorare novissima tua, et in aeternum non peccabis — remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin (Sir 7:40 Vulgate). Classical Catholic tradition counts four: Death, Judgment, Hell, Glory of Heaven. This doctrine is solemnly defined by the Second Council of Lyon (1274) in the Profession of Faith of Emperor Michael Palaeologus: the souls of the fully justified enter immediately into Heaven; those of those who die in unrepented mortal sin descend immediately into Hell; those of those who need purification pass through Purgatory. Benedict XII promulgated the Apostolic Constitution Benedictus Deus on 29 January 1336, solemnly defining that the souls of the fully purified saints enjoy the immediate beatific vision — they see the divine essence face to face, intuitively, without the mediation of any creature. The Council of Florence ratified the doctrine in the Decree Laetentur caeli of 6 July 1439 for union with the Greeks, then taken up in the Bulls for the Armenians (Exsultate Deo, 22.11.1439) and for the Copts (Cantate Domino, 4.02.1442). The Council of Trent reaffirmed the doctrine on Purgatory (Session VI, can. 30; Session XXII; and the Decree De Purgatorio of Session XXV on 4.12.1563) and on the invocation of saints (Session XXV). This prayer meditates the four Novissima in four movements, with the three great biblical citations on the eschatological end: 1 Cor 13:12 (face to face), 1 Cor 2:9 (what eye has not seen) and Apoc 21:1-4 (new heavens and new earth), presented trilingual EN+LA+PT.

I. Of death. Lord my God, remember that I am mortal: statutum est hominibus semel mori, et post hoc iudicium — it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment (Heb 9:27). I know not the day, I know not the hour; I know only that it will surely come. Grant me, through the intercession of St Joseph patron of a good death (cf. For the Departed 3o.5), to die in a state of grace, with Confession, Viaticum and the Anointing of the Sick, in your company, with the Crucifix in my hands and the ejaculation Jesus, Mary, Joseph on my lips.

II. Of judgment. Lord, I know that we must all be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the proper things of the body, according as he hath done, whether it be good or evil (2 Cor 5:10). You will know the secret of my thoughts, the content of my words, the intention of my works, the omissions of my duties. Grant me to live today as I will wish to have lived on that day. May meditation on judgment turn me from sin and confirm me in the hope of your mercy.

III. Of hell. Lord Jesus, you yourself spoke of the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Mt 25:41), of the weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mt 13:42), of the worm that dieth not and the fire that is not extinguished (Mk 9:47). The greatest pain of hell is the eternal separation from you — poena damni — because the soul created for you, separated from you for ever, is the essential torment. Deliver me, O Saviour, from that terrible loss; and grant me today the grace of perfect contrition for all my sins, which could have merited such punishment had your mercy not intervened.

IV. Of the glory of Heaven. O God One and Triune, manifest to me at the hour of my death your face: videmus nunc per speculum in aenigmate, tunc autem facie ad faciem — we see now through a glass in a dark manner, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know even as I am known (1 Cor 13:12). May my soul, fully purified — by your mercy in this world or by the fire of Purgatory in the next — enter immediately, as Benedictus Deus defined, into the beatific vision which is the essential joy of Heaven: the intuitive contemplation of your divine essence, in the company of your most holy Mother, of the Angels, of the Apostles, of the Martyrs, of the Confessors, of the Virgins and of all the saints. Where oculus non vidit, nec auris audivit, nec in cor hominis ascendit, quae praeparavit Deus iis qui diligunt illum — that eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love him (1 Cor 2:9). There absterget Deus omnem lacrimam ab oculis eorum: et mors ultra non erit, neque luctus, neque clamor, neque dolor erit ultra, quia prima abierunt — God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more, for the former things are passed away (Apoc 21:4).

Maranatha — Come, Lord Jesus. Amen. (Apoc 22:20)

Source: Biblical citations of Sir 7:40; Heb 9:27; 2 Cor 5:10; Mt 25:41; Mt 13:42; Mk 9:47; 1 Cor 13:12; 1 Cor 2:9; Apoc 21:4; Apoc 22:20 from the Vulgata Clementina + Douay-Rheims 1582-1610 (full DP); dogmatic definitions of the Ecumenical Councils of Lyon II (Profession of Faith of Emperor Michael Palaeologus, 1274, full DP) and of Florence (Decree Laetentur caeli 6.07.1439; Bulls Exsultate Deo for the Armenians 22.11.1439 and Cantate Domino for the Copts 4.02.1442; full DP); Apostolic Constitution Benedictus Deus of Benedict XII, 29 January 1336, on the immediate beatific vision (full DP); Council of Trent Session VI can. 30 on Purgatory (1547), Session XXII on the sacrifice of the Mass for the departed (1562), Session XXV Decree De Purgatorio and Decree on the invocation of saints (4.12.1563, full DP); doctrine of the four Novissima in the Summa Theologiae Suppl. q. 69-99 (13th century, full DP); eschatological aphorism of Ecclesiasticus cited throughout the Memento mori exercise of monastic tradition; original composition in four movements without reproducing modern protected prayer

Ecclesiastical approval: Dogmatic definitions of the Ecumenical Councils of Lyon II (1274), Florence (1439-42) and Trent (Sessions VI, XXII and XXV, 1547-63); Apostolic Constitution Benedictus Deus of Benedict XII (29.01.1336) on the beatific vision; Commemoration of All Faithful Departed celebrated universally on 2 November since St Odilo of Cluny (998) and extended to the universal Church by Benedict XV in 1915 with Mass In Commemoratione in the three Masses (Incruentum altaris, 10.08.1915); liturgical feast of All Saints celebrated on 1 November since Gregory IV (835); Solemnity of Christ King of the Universe on the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year directs the whole of Christian life to the eschatological goal; ejaculation Maranatha universal acclamation of the apostolic Church (1 Cor 16:22)

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