Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. Psalm 90:10
Maximus (250)
Homeward Bound
When Maximus was called before the consul Optimus under the persecution of Emperor Decius, he provided his name, profession (a merchant) and identity as a Christian. A decree had required people to venerate a statue of the emperor or else face torture and death. Maximus was given a choice by the consul: either to sacrifice to the statue and save his life or die in torment. He said, “This is what I have always wanted. This is why I presented myself to you, so I could exchange this miserable temporal existence for eternal life.” Despite being tortured on the rack and beaten with rods, Maximus still refused to obey the decree, so Optimus ordered him to be taken outside the city walls and stoned to death.
Blessed Creator,
Thou hast promised thy beloved sleep…
May my frequent lying down make me familiar with death,
the bed I approach remind me of the grave,
the eyes I now close picture to me their final closing.
Keep me always ready, waiting for admittance to thy presence.
Weaken my attachment to earthly things.
May I hold life loosely in my hand,
knowing that I receive it on condition of its surrender.
As pain and suffering betoken transitory health,
may I not shrink from a death that introduces me
to the freshness of eternal youth.
From “Sleep”, Puritan Prayers