Theological Foundations new file

180 Theological Foundations recollection are meditation, examination of conscience, renewal of the resolutions from the last monthly or annual retreat, confession and preparation for death. 27 This last exercise is particularly important because it requires us to face eternity and thus to look at all things in a proper light, so as to make a true assessment of them. The exercise entails meditating on our own death. We are supposed to come to the realization that we will die and leave everything that binds us to this world behind, even though we do not know when, where and in what condition we will die. We must be ready then to accept death from God’s hands. Our realization of this truth will make us stop and think about whether we are prepared for death at the present moment, should we have to stand before God right now and give an account of our life. Would we be free from worry about our previous confessions, about how we fulfilled our duties, about our relations with other people? Would the Lord find us vigilant, free from sin, dedicated to apostolic work? From such meditation a resolution will be born to conduct our- selves in such a manner next month that the Lord, should He come, will find us ready to give an account of our stewardship. Then a heartfelt plea to God should be made that He would help us to live now and always in such a frame of mind and such a state as we would want to be in at the hour of our death. 28 In their reflections on the ultimate affairs of man, the two authors are not merely interested in the eschatological fate of a single individual. They also ponder the future of all humanity and the world. 2. The Eschatological Reality of Mankind and of the World In Father Papczynski’s opinion, the vision of the future, in which all humanity and the visible world will share, should influence man’s con- duct even more profoundly and prompt him to live a truly Christian life. As he searches more deeply into the revealed teachings, the author reminds his spiritual sons that each man will stand twice before the Highest Judge. First, alone, at the particular judgment, which will take