Keeping Death In Mind

When flying back from his apostolic trips around the world, Pope Francis has made it a custom to speak with journalists on the plane. On one flight, a reporter asked him where he found the energy at his age to keep up with such a hectic schedule. The Holy Father replied that he knew his time was short and that there was still much he needed to do. He explained that keeping in mind how little time he had left on earth energized him through all the appearances, speeches and ceremonies that make up his schedule.

It is natural for a man in his 70’s, like the Holy Father, to be thinking about the end of his life. But, the truth is that none of us knows how long our lives will be. What Jesus says in today’s gospel about the end of the world could also be said about the end of our earthly lives: “...of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” For some of us, our lives will be much longer than we imagine. Others of us would be shocked to know how little time we have left.

As Christians, it is important for us to keep death in mind. It reminds us that we are not meant for this world alone but for eternal life in heaven. Therefore, we set our hearts not on the things of this world but on the realities which are eternal. As Jesus tells us in today’s gospel, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” Our short life on earth is a preparation for an everlasting life of joy with our Lord. As people of faith, therefore, we do not look on our imminent death with fear or loathing but with hope. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church instructs us: “The Christian who unites his own death to that of Jesus views it as a step towards him and an entrance into everlasting life.” (1020)

Inspired, then, by the hope of everlasting life that Jesus won for us by His death and resurrection and by the words He speaks to us in the gospel, let us take this opportunity to reflect on two of the realities that await us after death - judgement and Purgatory.

The first reality after death is judgement. Each of us, at the moment of our death, will stand before the judgement seat of Christ to give an account of our lives. Every choice we have made, the intentions of our hearts and the desires that drove us will lay bare before ourselves and our Creator. There will be no time to make excuses or to try to justify what we have done or have failed to do. We will have no choice but to stand under the light of truth. It is an ominous thought. The fact is that very few of us will have enough good deeds to overshadow the selfish and hurtful choices we have made. Our only hope will be to trust in our Heavenly Father’s mercy. He is more just and loving than any human judge could be. We can trust Him to understand and forgive just as long as we have the humility to see ourselves as we really are.

During our lives, then, we should always bear in mind that we will one day stand before Jesus to give an account of our use of the gifts He has given us. Whenever we weigh a decision we should ask ourselves how we would explain our choice to Jesus. Most especially, we should make use of the Sacrament of Confession as frequently as possible. Admitting our sinfulness and weakness and accepting God’s mercy and forgiveness is a way of settling out of court rather than facing the full sentence. When we confess our sins, God promises not to hold them against us. Also, through this powerful sacrament, we receive the power to avoid temptation in the future and the wisdom to make good choices. If we make it a habit of examining our consciences regularly and confessing our sins frequently, then we will stand before the judgement seat of Christ with that much more peace and confidence.

If we die without serious sin on our conscience, we can be assured of reaching Heaven. However, we may still have some inclination toward sin in our soul. We may still have desires in our heart which make us more susceptible to temptation. In that case, we will require one more act of mercy on God’s behalf before we can enter the perfect life of Heaven. That last act of mercy we call - “Purgatory”. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us: “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.” (1030)

The simplest way to put it is - We will all be perfect in Heaven. However, few of us will be perfect when we die. Purgatory is the place where we are made perfect before entering the bliss of Heaven.

The Church has always believed that we can assist the souls in Purgatory through our prayers, our sacrifices and by offering Masses for their eternal rest. This is a beautiful act of mercy we can perform for those who have gone before us. It unites us to them through love and gives us the hope that they will assist us with their prayers once they have reached Paradise. Everyday, we should make it a point to say a prayer for our loved ones who have died and also for those who have no one to pray for them. We should also make a point of teaching our children about this pious practice so that they will pray for us after we have passed away.

As Christians, we keep the reality of our death ever in mind because we look forward in hope to the everlasting life of Heaven. That does not mean that we do not enjoy our lives on earth. Every day is a gift from God. We should thank Him for it and use it to draw closer to Him. God does not want us to live in fear but to trust in His goodness, love and mercy. If we do so, then we can feel confident when we stand before Him because we will not be relying on our own goodness but on His.

Never Forgotten

Laura was the housekeeper in the rectory of a busy parish with two priests, a school and convent.

After Mass every morning, one of the sisters, Sr. Joseph Mary, would go to the rectory to talk to Laura. Since she had long since retired from teaching, she was in no rush to get back to the convent. However, Laura was anxious to get back to her work in the rectory. As Sister talked on and on, she would try to find some polite way to end the conversation so that she would not fall behind in her chores.

One Friday evening, Laura was in the grocery store and noticed Sr. Joseph Mary out of the corner of her eye. With her daughter waiting for her in the car, she did not want to bump into Sister and get caught in a conversation that could last well over a  half an hour. So she did her best to try to avoid her.

However, Sr. Joseph Mary did notice her. As soon as she did, she ran up the aisle to her saying, “Laura, Laura, I’m so glad I saw you! I am going home to my Lord! I am going to see Jesus!”

Puzzled by her words, Laura asked her what she meant. Sister explained that she had been diagnosed with cancer. It was a particularly aggressive kind and it had already spread to several of her organs. The doctor told her that she probably only had weeks to live.

That was the last time Laura saw Sr. Joseph Mary. Within two weeks, she passed away.

Most people when receiving a diagnosis of cancer and a prognosis of only a few weeks to live would panic. They would be angry and ask God why. They would bargain with God assuring Him that they would go to Church more if only He would heal them. They would be overcome with fear at the pain they would be suffering. But not this holy sister. She approached death with total confidence in our Lord. She was even eager to die knowing that she would shortly be resting in the hand of God.

Our Christian faith gives us a new perspective on death. It is not an end, it is a new beginning. Like the seed buried in the ground that becomes a flower or like a caterpillar wrapped in a cocoon that becomes a butterfly, death transforms us from mortal human beings to sons and daughters of God and heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven. Once we have passed through death into heaven, suffering can no longer touch us.

We have this confidence because Jesus died on the cross for us. He accepted death with obedience and love and, in so doing, won for us the hope of everlasting life. Through baptism, we join ourselves to Jesus’ death, we “die with Christ” and so are given the promise of eternal life with Him in heaven. Every day, we die to ourselves by carrying the cross that God has chosen for us. If every day, with the help of God’s grace, we seek to do His will, then we too will approach our own death with acceptance, serenity and even joy.

Sr. Joseph Mary, in accepting the news of her death with such joy, shows us how free she really was. She was free from the fear of pain. Though she knew her illness would cause her much suffering, she was willing to endure it by joining it to the suffering of Christ. Her life had been fully of many close relationships but she was willing to say goodbye to her friends and family to be joined with Jesus in the company of the saints. Her life was totally focused on serving God, so she died with no regrets about what she may have missed out on in life. There were no earthly attachments holding her down, so she could open her arms to welcome the death that would unite her with her Lord forever.

Most people who are faced with the imminence of their death are not as blessed as Sr Joseph Mary. They are still holding onto regrets, resentments and sinful habits. They do not have the freedom to welcome death because they never really lived fully. We should always keep in our prayers those who are dying, that they can do so with peace and courage. We should also pray for their families who are struggling to support them while they cope with their own loss.

We should also keep in our prayers those who have already died and were still burdened with regrets, resentments or selfish attitudes. Jesus made it clear that no one can enter the Kingdom of Heaven with such blemishes on their conscience. However, God grants one more act of mercy for them. He offers them the chance to be purified of those earthly attachments, to be cleansed, so that they can freely embrace all the joys of heaven. We call that act of mercy, Purgatory. It is the state of the soul between physical death and entering the glory of heaven. We assist such souls with our prayers that they can let go of everything that is weighing them down and preventing them from rising up to the place God has prepared for them in Heaven.

Every year on this day, we gather as believers to reflect on the mystery of death and to pray for those who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith. It is an act of mercy for us to offer up Masses, sacrifices and prayers for our loved ones who are preparing themselves to enter the glory of Heaven. In particular, we should make an effort to pray for those souls who are forgotten and have no one to pray for them. If we do so, then we can be assured that they will also pray for us. Through their prayers and through the example of holy people like Sr Joseph Mary, we too can come to embrace the reality of death not with anxiety and fear but with peace and joy knowing that we will be united to our Lord and Savior forever.

Holy Souls

The African-American poet, Maya Angelou, was invited to speak at a conference. To much applause, she stepped onto the stage and approached the podium. Before speaking, however, she looked uncomfortable and started to squirm. She told the audience, "This stage is so crowded. I can barely move. There are people all around me." At first, the audience thought she was crazy because she was alone on the stage. As she continued, they began to grasp her meaning. Though she was physically alone on the stage, the reason she was there in the first place was because of the sacrifices and endeavors of many people who came before her. They were the educators, the preachers, the soldiers, the activists, the writers who all made it possible for her to be who she was and to do what she does. She was paying tribute to all those individuals who crowded the stage of her life and made it possible for her to be there that evening.

It is often said that we stand on the shoulders of giants. Everything about us and our lives comes from those who went ahead of us - our language, our clothing, our careers, our freedom and our faith. It is natural for us to want to acknowledge those soldiers, politicians and benefactors and to build monuments to them. Many of our buildings and boulevards take their names from deceased members of our community. Even as we look around this church today, we see windows, pews and statues dedicated to the memory of parishioners who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith. And none of us can fail to remember our family members and what they have done for us. Our lives are indeed crowded by the sacrifices and endeavors of so many people who went before us, and we owe them a profound debt.

There is one man above all to whom we owe an infinite debt of love and respect. No other man has sacrificed so much for us. This man has not only gone before us but has gone ahead of us to win for us the hope of everlasting life. We speak, of course, of the God-man, Jesus Christ. Other great women and men have left a legacy of political or literary achievement. But, Jesus has left us a legacy of undying hope. With Jesus, death is transformed forever and life along with it. We no longer look on death as an end but as a beginning. We no longer look on death as a defeat for humanity, but as the guarantee of a future of peace.

The first reading from the book of Wisdom explains how faith transforms our view of death. In the ancient world, there was a vague sense of the immortality of the soul. However, pagans did not expect life after death to be any better than life on earth. As they understood it, the dead traveled to a gloomy, hopeless underworld where they wandered aimlessly. It was more like a never-ending death than an everlasting life. Their gods were often selfish and mean-spirited, and so pagans had little hope that an afterlife governed by such gods could be anything but empty and meaningless.

How different the understanding of death we read about in the book of Wisdom (Wis.3:1-9)! The God of Israel is a good and merciful God. Those who have died are in the hands of this God are beyond the reach of any torment or suffering. Because God is good, they enjoy a profound peace as they rest with him. So it is with our loved ones who have died and so it will one day be for us who embrace faith in Jesus Christ.

The second reading from the letter to the Romans (Rom.5:5-11) explains just how good and merciful this God is. Out of love for sinful humanity, God sent his only Son to die for us. This Son was pure and sinless.  And yet, to assure for us a place at the table of life, he died for us. He took upon himself the death we deserved for our sins. We rightly celebrate as heroes those who give their lives to save others. Yet, has anyone in history ever died for an enemy? Has anyone ever given his life for someone who hated him? Jesus has done such a thing for us. Now we can approach the Father with hope and confidence because the price of admission has been paid in full for us through the blood of Christ. 

Praying for the dead is an ancient tradition of the Church and one of the spiritual works of mercy. It is done with faith and confidence that, for those who have died, one last great act of mercy attends them before they enter the gates of heaven and are ushered into the presence of God Almighty. One more cleansing in the blood of the Lamb removes each and every stain of guilt and sin so that those who have been washed through the waters of baptism and purified by the fire of the Holy Spirit may take their place among the apostles, martyrs and saints. We pray for the dead not with fear but with confidence and hope. We pray for the dead also with a sense of duty that those who have sacrificed so much for us should be assured of our prayers as they approach the judgment seat of a just God.

This church is crowded today - not so much with physical people but with the memory and presence of those who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith. Because of the mystical union of all believers, all of heaven joins us in this celebration. Our relationships and connections to those who have died is changed, not ended. And so, every Eucharist is a remembrance. On this day, we make a special point of commemorating the faithful departed - the members of our family and of our parish along with those souls who have no one to pray for them - so that we can be assured of their prayers also as we make our way to our heavenly inheritance.

Going To See Jesus

Laura was the housekeeper in the rectory of a busy parish with two priests, a school and convent.

After Mass every morning, one of the sisters, Sr. Joseph Mary, would go to the rectory to talk to Laura. Since she had long since retired from teaching, she was in no rush to get back to the convent. However, Laura was anxious to get back to her work in the rectory. As Sister talked on and on, she would try to find some polite way to end the conversation so that she would not fall behind in her chores.

One Friday evening, Laura was in the grocery store and noticed Sr. Joseph Mary out of the corner of her eye. With her daughter waiting for her in the car, she did not want to bump into Sister and get caught in a conversation that could last well over a  half an hour. So she did her best to try to avoid her.

However, Sr. Joseph Mary did notice her. As soon as she did, she ran up the aisle to her saying, “Laura, Laura, I’m so glad I saw you! I am going home to my Lord! I am going to see Jesus!”

Puzzled by her words, Laura asked her what she meant. Sister explained that she had been diagnosed with cancer. It was a particularly aggressive kind and it had already spread to several of her organs. The doctor told her that she probably only had weeks to live.

That was the last time Laura saw Sr. Joseph Mary. Within two weeks, she passed away.

Most people when receiving a diagnosis of cancer and a prognosis of only a few weeks to live would panic. They would be angry and ask God why. They would bargain with God assuring Him that they would go to Church more if only He would heal them. They would be overcome with fear at the pain they would be suffering. But not this holy sister. She approached death with total confidence in our Lord. She was even eager to die knowing that she would shortly be resting in the hand of God.

Our Christian faith gives us a new perspective on death. It is not an end, it is a new beginning. Like the seed buried in the ground that becomes a flower or like a caterpillar wrapped in a cocoon that becomes a butterfly, death transforms us from mortal human beings to sons and daughters of God and heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven. Once we have passed through death into heaven, suffering can no longer touch us.

We have this confidence because Jesus died on the cross for us. He accepted death with obedience and love and, in so doing, won for us the hope of everlasting life. Through baptism, we join ourselves to Jesus’ death, we “die with Christ” and so are given the promise of eternal life with Him in heaven. Every day, we die to ourselves by carrying the cross that God has chosen for us. If every day, with the help of God’s grace, we seek to do His will, then we too will approach our own death with acceptance, serenity and even joy.

Sr. Joseph Mary, in accepting the news of her death with such joy, shows us how free she really was. She was free from the fear of pain. Though she knew her illness would cause her much suffering, she was willing to endure it by joining it to the suffering of Christ. Her life had been fully of many close relationships but she was willing to say goodbye to her friends and family to be joined with Jesus in the company of the saints. Her life was totally focused on serving God, so she died with no regrets about what she may have missed out on in life. There were no earthly attachments holding her down, so she could open her arms to welcome the death that would unite her with her Lord forever.

Most people who are faced with the imminence of their death are not as blessed as Sr Joseph Mary. They are still holding onto regrets, resentments and sinful habits. They do not have the freedom to welcome death because they never really lived fully. We should always keep in our prayers those who are dying, that they can do so with peace and courage. We should also pray for their families who are struggling to support them while they cope with their own loss.

We should also keep in our prayers those who have already died and were still burdened with regrets, resentments or selfish attitudes. Jesus made it clear that no one can enter the Kingdom of Heaven with such blemishes on their conscience. However, God grants one more act of mercy for them. He offers them the chance to be purified of those earthly attachments, to be cleansed, so that they can freely embrace all the joys of heaven. We call that act of mercy, Purgatory. It is the state of the soul between physical death and entering the glory of heaven. We assist such souls with our prayers that they can let go of everything that is weighing them down and preventing them from rising up to the place God has prepared for them in Heaven.

Every year on this day, we gather as believers to reflect on the mystery of death and to pray for those who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith. It is an act of mercy for us to offer up Masses, sacrifices and prayers for our loved ones who are preparing themselves to enter the glory of Heaven. In particular, we should make an effort to pray for those souls who are forgotten and have no one to pray for them. If we do so, then we can be assured that they will also pray for us. Through their prayers and through the example of holy people like Sr Joseph Mary, we too can come to embrace the reality of death not with anxiety and fear but with peace and joy knowing that we will be united to our Lord and Savior forever.