As a young boy I learned, understood and adopted the well known credo, “Be prepared”. Throughout my life I have always been well prepared to the point of making my life a little easier when the inconveniences of this unpredictable life throw us a curve.
Currently there are programs on TV that tout the doomsday preppers and doomsday bunker lifestyles. All this preparation for the WTSHTF and TEOTWAWKI scenarios are great for the proper preparation for a calamity that could befall us. Unfortunately there are many different prepper camps for as many different potential scenarios; none of them really address the most serious of all, an individual’s death (whether by accident, by the hands of another, or of natural causes), and the judgment for his or her eternity. Even the Bible warns us of the need to prepare for the Three Days of Darkness; interestingly enough these are the same 72 hours that Federal, State and local Government agencies suggest is a wise family preparedness solution.
One of my favorite books is Preparation for Death by St. Alphonsus Ligouri. The premise of this treatise by the last great Doctor of the Church is; we should be preparing daily for our death and judgment. What a sobering thought! Even if you maintain a bunker for your family with provisions for ten years or you’re prepared to survive a tsunami or volcanic eruption you will still eventually die, maybe in your truck when you’re going to pick up another 200 lbs. of rice and flour.
What I have concluded in my adult years is that a blend of common sense preparedness and a practice of belief in God are necessary. I recommend a collection of religious material and sacramental’s. Along with your cache of survival gear this is a very important ingredient. No better time to prepare for the trying times ahead and the possible loss of family members and yourself then when you’re huddled together in your home or your buried school bus shelter. Remember that old saying, ”There are no atheists in foxholes”.
I have often marveled at the people of impoverished countries where there is NO apparent hope for things getting better. These wonderful people know this yet they appear to have hope. Their hope is rooted in faith, a faith that precedes hope. Imagine the strength and Holy perseverance that infuses into individuals and family members if they believe that when all else fails and circumstances change the one constant that sustains them is that the parental love of God the Father remains and their preparation for death has prepared them for life everlasting.
Whether it is surviving WTSHTF, TEOTWAWKI, or the TDOD here is a list of contents for a spiritual preparedness bag that can be carried in your shoulder bag, purse or trunk because you never know where and when a life altering event may happen.
1. Bible
2. Spiritual reading (books)
3. Holy Water
4. Relic of Saint
5. Rosary(s)
6. Holy candles
7. Image of Jesus and Mary – statues
8. Scapular(s)
9. List of Catholic Prayers: Last Rights – right of Baptism
10. Oil of anointment.
Spero columnist Thomas J. Serafin is the founder of the Apostolate for Holy Relics.
