The Path of St. Dismas: Preparation for Our Particular Judgment
“Today you will be with me in Paradise.”
A lot happens the day we die. The lights of the dusk of this life and the dawn of the next begin to blend together until suddenly, like the breaking of the sun over the horizon, the moment comes when we are face to face with Jesus. The moment of our death becomes the moment of encounter with Our Lord, something none of us have lived to tell about. Yet what we do know about it is so important that it is worth reflecting on every day of our lives according to the maxim Memento Mori, remember that you have to die.
Holy Mother Church teaches that “Each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very moment of his death, in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ: either entrance into the blessedness of heaven - through a purification or immediately - or immediate and everlasting damnation” (CCC 1022). That is everything. There is no more important moment in our lives than our death, because it determines our eternal life with or without God. So how do we prepare for it? The experience of the Good Thief, St. Dismas, is a study guide for the final exam of our own Particular Judgment. The movement of his heart in his final moments provides a path of preparation that we can trust with confidence because Our Lord Himself gives the assurance: “Today you will be with me in paradise.
What path did his heart take? First, he realized he was going to die: “We have been condemned.” Second, seeing the innocence of Christ, he took responsibility for his sins: “We have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal” (Luke 23:41). Third, he begged for mercy with a profound faith that reached beyond this world into eternity: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). Finally, he spent his remaining time accepting his sufferings as penance while remaining focused on Christ and His promise. This is how we prepare for our own Particular Judgment. And we should remain prepared, because we do not know the day or the hour when we ourselves will stand where St. Dismas stood, face to face with Christ.
Do we really accept that we will die one day? Death is the burden and punishment of original sin, so it makes sense that we avoid thinking about it, much like people avoid thinking about taxes until they have no choice. Yet the salvation Christ won for us on the Cross transforms the cross of our death into the prelude to eternal life. It is impossible to live the Christian life well without our death in view. The fear and anxiety surrounding death must be brought to Christ and entrusted to His promise of life. Like St. Dismas, we must admit that we are going to die if we are ever going to admit that we need Jesus to solve the problem of death. There is a direct connection between accepting our death and accepting Christ into our lives. The daily habit of remembering death is also the daily habit of trusting in Jesus.
Knowing he was going to die caused St. Dismas to confront his sins in the light of Christ’s innocence. How brave and honest that was. As the Catechism teaches, our lives will be judged in reference to Christ. We will not be judged by our own standards, the world’s standards, or whatever “path works for us.” Our lives will be placed next to the life of Christ Himself. St. Dismas anticipated his Particular Judgment by judging himself honestly. Looking at Christ, he saw his sins clearly. He abandoned excuses and admitted the truth. If only we would examine our own lives with the same clarity. How many of us justify unforgiveness, gossip, envy, jealousy, or marriage outside the Church because the world says it is acceptable or we just decide it is? None of those standards matter in our Particular Judgment. Christ is the standard that matters for eternal life. The only way to prepare for judgment is to embrace this truth now, while there is still time for mercy and repentance.
Of course, none of us measure up to Christ. “If you, Lord, keep account of sins, Lord, who can stand?” (Psalm 130:3). But the point of this honesty is not perfection. The point is surrender. After confessing his sins, St. Dismas turned to Jesus and said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” A dying man asked another dying man for the greatest gift imaginable: life in spite of death. And not just any life, but life in the Kingdom of Christ. This was an act of surrender. Dismas gave up control. He knew he was not perfect, yet he asked Jesus to be his King anyway. He finally saw Jesus for who He truly is and himself for who he truly was. In that surrender, he embraced the purpose of human life: loving submission to the will of God. St. Dismas was justified not because he was perfect, but because he surrendered himself completely to Christ. Many of us have experienced moments like this. The daily habit of surrender through prayer allows us to renew our baptismal vows each day: rejecting the kingdom of Satan and living instead in the Kingdom of Christ. None of us are perfect, but all of us are capable of more perfect surrender.
Christ’s response must have filled the heart of St. Dismas with peace: “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” Yet there were still hours to endure before that promise was fulfilled. In those final hours, Dismas remained focused on Jesus in the midst of agony. He watched Christ die. He saw His Sacred Heart pierced. He shared in the sorrow of Our Blessed Mother and St. John. Even then, he remained faithful. Those final moments reveal much of the Christian life itself: doing penance for sins, enduring suffering with faith, and clinging to Christ’s promise of eternal life. It is often painful and lonely, but we are not alone. We are a Church, a community of believers who together strive to remain faithful to Jesus and focused on his promise of eternal life.
Our Particular Judgment is coming. The path of St. Dismas is a sure path to prepare to meet Christ face to face and enter the eternal life He promises to those who follow Him. Let us daily remember our death, honestly confront our sins in the light of Christ, entrust ourselves completely to Him, and do penance with loving trust within the community of the Church. A lot happens the day we die. Through the intercession of St. Dismas, may we receive the grace to die as he did: ready to enter Paradise