Flower of Devotion

The Blessed Virgin Mary said to the Venerable Mary of Jesus:

“At the hour of death, souls are exposed to incomprehensible afflictions and dangers, partly by the evil spirits that torment them, partly by their own nature, and partly by the things of the world. Death is the moment when the records of life are closed and a sentence is passed whether the fate of man will be eternal life or eternal death. Is it eternal unceasing happiness, or eternal incessant torment and torment?
As soon as Lucifer and the rest of the spirits of darkness, from man’s state of health and other natural causes, know that man is in a life-threatening disease, they immediately arm themselves with all their malice and cunning to torment the poor sick man, and, if possible, to bring him down with various temptations. And since the time in which they can still tempt such a soul is passing more and more hastily for evil spirits, they endeavour to strengthen the time that remains to them by malice and rage.
To this end, as if the wolves were hungry, they gather to examine once more the condition of the sick person, his natural talents and acquired knowledge. They study his tendencies, habits, and customs. They endeavour, for the sake of his passions, to know his weaknesses, and then to direct their most violent attacks in that direction. To those who are bound to the world by an improper love, Satan tries to persuade them that they are not in great danger, and he tries to prevent other people from telling them the truth. He strengthens those who in their lives have been sluggish and careless in receiving the holy sacraments, and places the greatest difficulties and obstacles in order for them to either die without the holy sacraments or to receive them in such a way that they do not bear salutary fruits. In others, it creates false shame so that they do not reveal their conscience and conceal their sins. Others are hindered from revealing and fulfilling their duties and responsibilities, so that they may not be able to set their consciences in order. Others, who love vanity, are encouraged to use even the last hour of their lives to complete the various useless and vain ordinances respecting the things to be made after their death. He tries to stimulate those who have loved avarice or sensuality to become more attached to the object of their blind love.
Thus does this cruel enemy exploit all evil habits and tendencies in order to occupy the mind of the dying person with earthly things, and thus to hinder or even prevent him from using the means of salvation. All the sinful acts which the dying man has performed in his life, and by which he has fallen into evil habits, serve the enemy of the soul as a weapon with which he attacks man in that terrible hour and tries to conquer him. Through man’s evil tendencies, he has paved the way for Satan and opened the way for him to enter the fortress, i.e., his soul. And here, in the depths of his soul, he then breathes venomously and conjures up an impenetrable darkness, and this is what he wants to achieve – that the dying do not heed the inspirations of God, that they do not sincerely repent of their sins and do penance for their evil life.
Generally speaking, evil spirits cause the greatest number of souls to fall at the hour of death by comforting the sick with the false hope that they will live even longer and that later they will be able to better comply with the inspirations that God now sends them through the angels. This hope disappoints the sick and leads them to their downfall. Great is the danger at this hour for all those who have neglected the Blessed Sacrament as a means of salvation. Such contempt, which offends God as well as his angels, usually punishes divine justice by leaving souls to themselves. For since they did not use this remedy at the proper time, but on the contrary despised it, they deserve to be despised by the justice of God, even in the last hour, to which in their foolish insolence they have laid off all the care for the salvation of their souls.
Very small is the number of the righteous who, in this hour of great need, are not exposed to the incomprehensible fury of the old serpent of hell. If, in that hour, Satan seeks to bring about the downfall of even the great saints, what is to be expected of the wicked, the indifferent, and those who have spent their whole lives in the practice of sins and in the obstinate rejection of the grace and help of God? What are those who have no good deeds to oppose their greatest enemy to expect?