In Scripture, death is called the ‘day of calamity’ (Dt. 32:35). This is because, on the day we die, we shall lose all our earthly possessions – honors, riches, pleasures. Saint Ambrose says that we cannot take them into eternity. But our acts of virtue, the good things which we have done during life, will accompany us into eternity. Jesus asked what will it profit us if we gain the whole world only at death to lose all this and heaven too. How many people have remembered these words and have made them the primary guideline of their lives, and the reason for giving themselves entirely to God?…How really valuable, then, are the goods of this world? Or how deserving are they that we should put our faith and our trust in them? The prophet Hosea spoke of a trader ‘in whose hands are false balances’ and who ‘loves to oppress’ (Hosea 12:7). The world is such a merchant, and the goods of this world are fraudulent; they cannot satisfy our hearts. They are over too soon. – St. Alphonsus Liguori

Pray Hope and Don’t Worry: True Stories of Padre Pio Book 1 is now available on Audible:
Pray, Hope and Don’t Worry: True Stories of Padre Pio Book 1