so
terrible to the minds and thoughts of multitudes, even of Christians and
well-living persons. They fear to fall into the hands of the living God.
For them the present life may be not so attractive; on the contrary, it is
likely replete with pain and toil; but somehow they wish to linger here,
preferring that which is certain, although so miserable, to that which is
doubtful, perhaps awful and irreparable. So long as they continue in this
present world there is chance for change, there is hope of improvement.
But when death intervenes, and the soul is removed to the other life, all
hopes of change are swept away, and the lot of the soul is fixed for
eternity. There is, of course, a fear of death which is altogether
natural. Many dread death who pretend not to believe in a future life, or
even in the existence of God. And many there are whose lives are holy, and
who have not whereof they ought to fear, but for whom, nevertheless, the
very thought of death is fraught with all manner of terrors. As some are
naturally afraid in the absence of light, and tremble with fear at being
alone in a dark and lonely dwelling, or spot, or place, so there are many
who, without assignable reason, other than a native tendency, are appalled
at the thought of death.

But when all due allowances have been made for the uncertainty of final
perseverance, and for the anxiety arising from natural temperament, it
seems not too much to say that, for the most part, the fear and dread of
death which haunts so many Christians can be reduced to two causes: a
defect of faith or a love of the world. It is one of these causes, or both
of them together, which alone can explain, in the majority of cases, why
such numbers of Christians and Catholics are unwilling to surrender the
present life, and are disturbed at the very thought of dying. Either they
do not realize by faith the surpassing glories of the life beyond--doubting
its reality, questioning its nature, misunderstanding the goodness and
mercy of God; or else they are so attached to the present existence that
all serious thought and desire for a better life are excluded from their
minds and hearts. Fenelon says that the condition of our spiritual life is
indicated by the answers we give to the following questions: "Do I love to
think of God? Am I willing to suffer for God? Does my desire to be with
Him destroy my fear of death?" We do not fear to meet or to be with one
whom we really love, for "l