What Can Happen in the Final Seconds Before Death?

What can happen in a human heart when everyone else thinks the story is already over?

In this episode, Cyndi shares the remarkable story of a grieving widow whose husband died by suicide and her unexpected encounter with St. John Vianney, the Curé of Ars. What he reportedly told her about the moments "between the bridge and the water" opens up a much larger question: what can happen between a person and God in the final moments of life?

Drawing on the Catechism, Scripture, and the Diary of St. Faustina, Cyndi explores what the Catholic Church teaches about suicide, repentance, prayer, and the mercy of God—and why we should never presume that we know the whole story of another person's soul.

But there is another part of this story worth considering: the quiet faith of a wife who continued to pray for her husband even when it seemed nothing was changing.

For anyone who loves someone who seems far from God, this story is a reminder not to give up. We cannot see another person's heart or know how God may be working within it. Our part is to remain faithful, keep praying, keep loving—and never underestimate what God can do with the quiet witness of a life lived with Him.

References & Further Reading

For listeners who would like to explore the story and teachings discussed in this episode more deeply:

• Francis Trochu, The Curé d'Ars: St. Jean-Marie-Baptiste Vianney
  Trochu's biography is the principal source for the account of the grieving widow, Abbé Guillaumet, and St. John Vianney's reported words concerning what happened "between the parapet of the bridge and the water." The account also includes the details concerning the wife's Marian devotion and her husband sometimes joining in her prayers.
  The Curé d'Ars — Francis Trochu

• Catechism of the Catholic Church, §§2280–2283 — Suicide
  The Church's teaching on the gravity of suicide, factors that can diminish personal responsibility, and why we should not despair of the eternal salvation of those who have taken their own lives. Of particular importance is §2283: God can provide, "by ways known to him alone," the opportunity for repentance.
  Catechism §§2280–2283 — Vatican

• St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul, §1698
  St. Faustina reflects on God's mercy reaching a soul in the final moments of life, even when nothing occurring within that soul is visible from the outside. The passage includes the words quoted in this episode: "Outwardly, it seems as if everything were lost, but it is not so."

• 1 Samuel 16:7
  God reminds Samuel that human beings see outward appearances, while "the LORD looks into the heart"—an important Scriptural foundation for the central theme of this episode.
  Read 1 Samuel 16 — USCCB

• Pope Benedict XVI, Letter Proclaiming a Year for Priests (June 16, 2009)
  Benedict XVI reflects on the extraordinary priestly ministry of St. John Vianney and notes that the growing number of penitents eventually kept the Curé of Ars in the confessional for as many as sixteen hours a day.
  Read the Letter — Vatican