Our continued obedience to God is not a guarantee of either
merit or the grace of final perseverance. Condign merit, that is, merit
“founded in justice”, does not mean we shall have the grace of final
perseverance. Congruous merit, that is, merit which “founded in rights of
friendship uniting us to God” also does not guarantee the grace of a happy
death.
Any merit gained can be lost through mortal sin-one mortal
sin. The only thing which preserves us from mortal sin is God’s mercy. Herein
lays the key to humility. We can always
“blow it” at the end. If we are restored to grace or we are kept it grace to
the second we die, it is because of God’s mercy. But, we can pray for final
perseverance. Here is what Trent
“…the just man can
merit eternal lie, si in gratia decesserit, if he dies in the state of grace.”
Or,
“…anyone in the state
of grace may merit eternal life only on condition that the merits he has gained
have not been lost or have been mercifully restored through the grace of
conversion.”
We work out our salvation, our happy death, through
humility, realizing that it is the work of God and not our own work which
guarantees the grace of final perseverance.
But, we can and must pray and prayer can gain us a happy
death, as this prayer is aimed at obtaining God’s mercy.
“What we obtain through prayer is not always merited: the sinner, for example, who now is
in the state of spiritual death, is able with the grace of actual grace to pray
for and obtain sanctifying or habitual grace, which could not be merited, since
it is the principle of merit. It is the same with the grace of final
perseverance; if we cannot merit it in the strict sense, but we can obtain it
through prayer for ourselves, and indeed for others also…”
This is essential-we can prepare ourselves to receive the
grace of a happy death by leading a better life and through prayer.
Now, here is another interesting facet of this discussion.
There are four conditions required of prayer which make prayer “infallibly
efficacious”?
These four things are; piety, humility, confidence and
perseverance.
God helps us persevere in prayer. For example, there are
several atheists and agnostics, as well as confused people in need of healing
for whom I have prayed for years. I shall continue to pray for these people and
not give up. God is helping me persevere in these prayers. I am not doing this
on my own volition, my own will.
It is a great temptation to give up on prayers not seen to
be answered. But our perseverance is itself a mercy from God.
So, I end this section with this prayer.
God, give the graces
of salvation to these, and let EF,CM, CM, EM, PC, TM, JM, CM, PD, and all the
Ds be led into the Catholic Church, established in truth, and be saved. Heal M
and R and let them embrace the vocations you called them to in this life,
letting them die in those vocations. Make Z, G, and E holy, saintly priests.
Let them all die a holy death in You, O Lord.