_POINT II._ _All the circumstances of my death are very uncertain._ 1. _The time._ No one but God can assure me of another day of life. Many are at this moment in vigorous health who will be dead to-morrow. I may be one of them: “If thou shalt not watch, I will come to thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know at what hour I shall come to thee” (Apoc. iii, 3). A thief comes when least expected. Many are sick for a time and yet expire suddenly before they realize their danger. Even many of the Saints were called away in the middle of their most important careers: St. Francis Xavier when on the point of entering China, St. Thomas Aquinas before he could finish his Summa of Universal Theology, St. Bonaventure during the General Council of Lyons, etc. Am I ready? Was I ready at any hour of last year? 2. _The place_ may be anywhere; we cannot find a spot secure against the shafts of death. 3. _The manner_; It may be sudden, whether from a latent disease which we never suspected, or from any of the multitudinous accidents so common in the modern rush of life. Or it may be preceded by weeks of suffering in an unconscious or semi-conscious condition. Even when the danger is known to others, it is often hidden from the patient. My Lord God! I humbly submit beforehand to all the circumstances Thou hast determined shall attend my death, to all its physical and mental sufferings, to its sudden stroke or lingering approach. Only grant me the grace of being well disposed when it shall arrive. Make known to me, I pray, what sacrifices I must make that I may be well prepared. _POINT III._ _What shall be my sentiments when death is nigh?_ Some rejoice at its approach; like St. Paul, they wish to be dissolved and to be with Christ. Many are horrified when it comes, and wish in vain that they could live their lives all over again. Now is the time to prepare, then it will be too late. Many again, even good Christians and religious, would then wish to make some more or less important changes before expiring. Now is the time to make them. I have seen a novice dying most joyously, with these words on his lips: “I know I am going to Heaven.” I have seen a religious priest, who had led a pious and zealous life, bursting into tears on his deathbed, explaining that he now realized how much more he could have done for God and the good of souls, and how bitterly he regretted his former negligences. And yet he was a model pastor of souls. What shall be my sentiments? _Colloquy_ with Jesus and Mary, begging earnestly to know now what is still wanting to me, that I may provide in good time; “O Lord! make me know my end—that I may know what is wanting to me!” (Ps. 38). THE SECOND MEDITATION On the Particular Judgment _1st Prelude._ Imagine that your soul has left your body and is now to be judged by Christ.