John Paul II
Watch, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming (cf.
Matt 24:42) -- these words remind me of the last call which will occur at
the moment the Lord wills it. I want to follow Him, and I want all that
forms part of my earthly life to prepare me for this moment. I do not know
when it will occur, but like everything, I also place this moment in the
hands of the Mother of my Master: Totus Tuus. I leave everything in
the same maternal hands and all those who have been connected to my life
and my vocation. Above all I leave the Church in these hands and
also my nation and the whole of humanity. I thank all. I ask all for
forgiveness. I also ask for prayer so that God's mercy will show itself
greater than my weakness and unworthiness.
John XXIII
On the point of presenting myself before the One and Triune Lord who
created me, redeemed me, chose me to be his priest and bishop, and
covered me with unending graces, I entrust my poor soul to His mercy; I
humbly ask pardon for my sins and deficiencies. I offer Him the little
good, although petty and imperfect, that with His aid I have succeeded
in doing, for His glory, for the service of Holy Church, for the
edification of my brethren, begging Him finally to receive me, like a
good and kind father, with His Saints into eternal happiness.
Don Ignacio Roybal
Let it be known to all who see this
instrument that I, Don Ignacio Roybal, resident of this Villa de
Santa Fe, Kingdom of New Mexico, native of the Kingdoms of Castilla in
that of Galicia in the Archbishopric of Santiago, legitimate son of
Don Pedro Roybal and Doña Elena de Santa Cruz, being as I am blind
and sick in bed, but in my full judgment, memory, and understanding, as
such God having served to grant me this, I confess that I believe
faithfully and universally in the mystery of the Holy Trinity, Father,
Son and Holy Spirit, three distinct persons and only one True God, and
in all that the Holy Mother Apostolic Roman Church believes and
confesses, under her faith and belief I swear to live and die as a
faithful Catholic and hoping with firm hope for the Divine Kindness
that without keeping in mind my sins to have my soul saved by the
infinite merits of Our Lord, Jesus Christ
Louis XVI
To-day, the 25th day of December, 1792, I, Louis XVI King of France,
being for more than four months imprisoned with my family in the tower
of the Temple at Paris, by those who were my subjects, and deprived of
all communication whatsoever, even with my family, since the eleventh
instant; moreover, involved in a trial the end of which it is
impossible to foresee, on account of the passions of men, and for which
one can find neither pretext nor means in any existing law, and having
no other witnesses, for my thoughts than God to whom I can address
myself, I hereby declare, in His presence, my last wishes and feelings.
Paul VI
I fix my gaze on the mystery of death, and on what follows it, in the
light of Christ which alone can brighten it, and for this reason with simple and
serene trust. I recognize the truth, which for me has always reflected on
present life regarding this mystery, and I bless the victor over death for
having escaped its shadows and unveiled the light. Thus before death, in total
and definitive separation from the present life, I feel the duty to celebrate
the gift, the good fortune, the beauty, the destiny of this very fleeting
existence. Lord, I thank you that you have called me to life, and still more
that, by making me a Christian, you have regenerated and destined me for the
fullness of life.
These would make for an interesting book...
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