Spiritual sendoff

[Chestertonian]

John died wearing the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and the cord of St. Philomena, with the St. Benedict Crucifix (with the special 'Happy Death' indulgence attached) next to him.

i didnt want to derail Fr. Venarri's prayer thread so i figure i would  starta different thread

now i know about the scapular but what is the cord of st philomena?  and the st benedict crucifix.  is this more "bling" we are supposed to wear?  havent heard of any of this stuff before. 

are there any other items a good Catholic should put on their packing list for the end of life

what is the "happy death indulgence"  do you have to do anything to earn it?

[Jacob]

I found that paragraph to be a bit awkward myself.  Listing all that stuff and rattling off how many times he received the sacraments...  Did anyone think a man of his standing /wasn't/ going to get all that stuff?

[dymphna17]

John died wearing the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and the cord of St. Philomena, with the St. Benedict Crucifix (with the special 'Happy Death' indulgence attached) next to him.

i didnt want to derail Fr. Venarri's prayer thread so i figure i would  starta different thread

now i know about the scapular but what is the cord of st philomena?  and the st benedict crucifix.  is this more "bling" we are supposed to wear?  havent heard of any of this stuff before. 

are there any other items a good Catholic should put on their packing list for the end of life

what is the "happy death indulgence"  do you have to do anything to earn it?

I've known of and have worn a St Joseph's cord:

https://www.fisheaters.com/stjosephcords.html

The cincture, like the one priests wear at Mass, is a sign of chastity, and has been since the Church's beginning -- and before. Old Testament priests wore cinctures, consecrated Virgins and religious wear cinctures, and the wearing of cinctures in honor of a particular Saint is ancient, first spoken of in the life of St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine, and carried on by St. Dominic, who wore a cincture in honor of St. Francis. Certain Confraternities and Archconfraternities (groups of faithful devoted to a religious cause) also wear cinctures as signs of their affiliation and chastity.

The Cincture, or Cord, of St. Joseph dates back to 1657, when an Augustinian nun in Antwerp, Belgium enjoyed a miraculous cure from a long and serious illness after beginning to wear a cincture in honor of St. Joseph. The devotion of wearing this cincture spread, and soon became associated with the Archconfraternity of St. Joseph, whose headquarters were (?) at the Church of San Rocco in Rome. The American "branch" of this Archconfraternity, by decree of Pope Leo XIII in 1892, is at St. Joseph's Church in De Pere, Wisconsin, which is now staffed by the Norbertines. In order to gain the indulgences attached to the wearing of St. Joseph's Cord, one must be attached to this Archconfraternity of St. Joseph.

Otherwise, and as is more common, one may wear the Cord simply in honor of St. Joseph and for the following graces:
St. Joseph's special protection
The grace of chastity
Final perseverance
St. Joseph's particular assistance at the hour of death

I don't know anything about a cord of St Philomena, but I'll bet it's something similar.

The St Benedict's Crucifix is particularly strong against demons.  I've got one at each entrance to our house.  Not sure what the "Happy Death" indulgence is but I'll bet that any Traditional Priest would be able to tell you what that is.  This site seems to have alot of information about it.  http://www.osb.org/gen/medal.html

The Church is very good at preparing us for death.  We would do well to take advantage of all of it. 

[martin88nyc]

There is also a cord worn by the members of the Angelic Warfare Confraternity with the same purpose as that of St. Joseph's.

[Chestertonian]

Does it absolutely have to be worn around the waist

[martin88nyc]

Does it absolutely have to be worn around the waist

[Daniel]

Regarding the St. Benedict crucifix,

A plenary indulgence is granted under the usual conditions to one who, at the hour of his death, kisses, touches, or otherwise reverences the Crucifix, and commends his soul to God.

https://www.fisheaters.com/stbenedictmedal.html
I don't really know anything about it though.

As for the St. Philomena cord, again, I don't know anything, but I found this:

Purpose of this devotion is therefore to obtain, by intercession of Saint Philomena, the effective means to:
• preserve chastity, everyone according to their state;
• fight the constantly increasing disbelief and strengthen oneself in faith and spirit;
• profess a constant and a particular love to the Saint Thaumaturge, in order to merit her favours in the fight against sickness of the body and soul.

https://philomena.us/cord-saint-philomena/
So it's also a cord to preserve chastity, but I suppose the relevant part to this situation is that last bullet.

[clau clau]

If I was in that situation I would load up on all the sacramentals I possibly could.  What's the downside ?  I cannot see one.

[Jacob]

If I was in that situation I would load up on all the sacramentals I possibly could.  What's the downside ?  I cannot see one.

Did anyone suggest there is one?

[martin88nyc]

There is also a cord worn by the members of the Angelic Warfare Confraternity with the same purpose as that of St. Joseph's.

I've bought the initiatory kit at Holy Innocents but never really had a chance to get myself initiated by a Dominican priest. I don't know whether father Miara is a Dominican or not but he's got the permission to enroll new members.

[Gardener]

Does it absolutely have to be worn around the waist

St. Joseph Cord can be worn across shoulders as well (like a Deacon's stole).

[clau clau]

If I was in that situation I would load up on all the sacramentals I possibly could.  What's the downside ?  I cannot see one.

Did anyone suggest there is one?

Referring to sacramentals as 'bling' suggests to me that they are not taken seriously.   I was reacting to that.

now i know about the scapular but what is the cord of st philomena?  and the st benedict crucifix.  is this more "bling" we are supposed to wear?  havent heard of any of this stuff before.

bling
NOUN

informal
Expensive, ostentatious clothing and jewelry, or the wearing of them.

I don't think the cord of st philomena and the st benedict crucifix are ostentatious.

[Chestertonian]

dudbt realize this was a Very Serious thread.... about death


Cannot lighten the tone with some aland worda?... its just death


I want to be prepared but prep aribg is depressing

[Kaesekopf]

John died wearing the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and the cord of St. Philomena, with the St. Benedict Crucifix (with the special 'Happy Death' indulgence attached) next to him.

i didnt want to derail Fr. Venarri's prayer thread so i figure i would  starta different thread

now i know about the scapular but what is the cord of st philomena?  and the st benedict crucifix.  is this more "bling" we are supposed to wear?  havent heard of any of this stuff before. 

are there any other items a good Catholic should put on their packing list for the end of life

what is the "happy death indulgence"  do you have to do anything to earn it?

Personally, I think some Catholics can be a bit too attached to private revelation and private devotions.  Unless Mr Vennari (RIP) had a large attachment to OLMC and St Philomena, I'd say (personally, again) that he shouldn't really wear the sacramentals.

I wouldn't say we "are supposed to wear" the above-mentioned, unless we have a particular devotion to those particular things. 

As to the Happy Death indulgence, it seems to be attached to the crucifix via blessing by a Benedictine priest:
http://www.askacatholic.com/_WebPostings/Answers/2012_04APR/2012AprCanYouProvideTheWording.cfm

[Kaesekopf]

There is also a cord worn by the members of the Angelic Warfare Confraternity with the same purpose as that of St. Joseph's.

The AWC is amazing.  (As if you needed reminding).