St. John Vianney (1786-1859), the parish priest of Ars, France, spent his life leading others to God. He fulfilled his duties as a pastor so simply and yet so perfectly, that he has been declared the Patron Saint of all parish priests. On one occasion, the good Saint said:

"My child, Whom shall we be with in Heaven? With God, Who is our Father; with Jesus Christ, Who is our Brother; with the Blessed Virgin, Who is our Mother; with the Angels and Saints, who are our friends."

He then gave a powerful, true and simple example of the need to prepare ourselves for a good death.

"A king in his last moments said with regret: ‘Must I, then, leave my kingdom, to go to a country where I know no one?’ This was because he had never thought of the happiness of Heaven. We must make Friends there for ourselves now, that we may meet them again after death, and then we shall not be like that king, afraid of knowing no one."

Let us follow this simple advice and spend our lifetime getting to know Those who live in Heaven, so that when we die we may be worthy to join Them… and They shall not be strangers to us - but our best friends for all eternity.