“Since death is nothing more than the end of life, it is certain that all who live well to the end, die well; nor can he die ill, who hath never lived ill; as, on the other hand, he who hath never led a good life, cannot die a good death.”

True preparation for death begins with how we live today. With every moral decision we make in this life, we earn our eternal reward in the life to come.

In this classic spiritual treatise, St. Robert Bellarmine offers a clear guide for virtuous Christian living. To die well is to live well: a life rooted in the theological and moral virtues—strengthened by prayer, fasting, and almsgiving—made secure through the faithful reception of the sacraments.

Far from focusing primarily on the moment of death itself, The Art of Dying Well devotes most of its pages to the principles of holiness, spiritual courage, and ascetic discipline, indispensable defenses for our pilgrimage here on earth.

A good life ensures a good death, and a good death crowns a life lived in the grace of God.