de morte
Hi Livejournalverse,
It's been a busy couple weeks. Though before I get to any of that, I
want to share with you something I wrote about death. You see, this
past weekend, I was the presider at a wake (funeral vigil) where I had
to do everything, even giving a short reflection on the Gospel. So,
not only is this my first wake, but my first public reflection given
to non-seminarians and non-children. I just thought, some of you might
want to read it and critique or comment.
This little talk is especially meaningful to me because on the 4th of
July, my family lost a really close friend whose kids I practically
grew up with. So, I guess I've been thinking a lot about death
lately.
God Bless
--Todd
PS I cut out the first few paragraphs which were really just a
mini-biography since I didn't want to reveal any personal info about
the deceased.
As Christ himself told us, "Be not afraid." Our savior has already
destroyed death by his resurrection. So long as we stay close to
Christ, he will lead us into the eternal banquette. How do we stay
close to Christ? By loving him in his most blessed sacrament, the
Eucharist, by listening to his words in holy scripture, and by keeping
our minds and hearts clean from sin in confession. And it's through
these sacraments of the Church that we are allowed to enter heaven,
receiving eternal life, the promise of baptism.
There are two ways we can react to death. One is the worldly way in
which we do our best to ignore it and pretend that it will never
happen to us. The other way is the Christian way in which we see death
as a reminder that we do not have forever to prepare for eternity. Our
Gospel reading reminds us of the importance to remain vigilant in this
life. N. in this sense was very blessed that she died after such a
long life, surrounded by her family and able to receive the last rites
of the church. She obviously left behind many people who loved her.
However, we all may not be given such graces and we should be prepared
whenever God chooses to call us.
And when this happens, we should not fear it. Because death is our
chance to finally go to God, who loves and cherished us and who
ultimately fulfills all our desires. Ancient pagans thought that when
they died, they would become fading shadows, soon forgotten. We as
Christians believe Christ will be there to meet us at our death and he
will reward the just and punish the wicked. So long as you are doing
your best in this life to do God's will: to love God and to love your
neighbor, what is there to fear? As Christ told us, "Be not afraid."
Yet, we mourn death and it is perfectly natural and good to do so. We
miss our loved ones and it hurts to be away from them. And, if our
faith isn't strong, we might not trust in God's promises. For these
reasons it is good to talk about our loved one, remembering the good
times. It is also good to grow deeper in prayer so that we can
understand why God allows people to die. If you are angry at God,
that's natural, too, some of the greatest people in scripture went
through periods of being angry at God.
But, afterwards, when you are ready, be sure to thank God for the
chance to have known N. Thank God for all the good she's done for you.
God created N. because he loved her and his love was reflected through
her, though imperfectly. We should return this favor in our prayers on
her behalf. God Bless.
It's been a busy couple weeks. Though before I get to any of that, I
want to share with you something I wrote about death. You see, this
past weekend, I was the presider at a wake (funeral vigil) where I had
to do everything, even giving a short reflection on the Gospel. So,
not only is this my first wake, but my first public reflection given
to non-seminarians and non-children. I just thought, some of you might
want to read it and critique or comment.
This little talk is especially meaningful to me because on the 4th of
July, my family lost a really close friend whose kids I practically
grew up with. So, I guess I've been thinking a lot about death
lately.
God Bless
--Todd
PS I cut out the first few paragraphs which were really just a
mini-biography since I didn't want to reveal any personal info about
the deceased.
As Christ himself told us, "Be not afraid." Our savior has already
destroyed death by his resurrection. So long as we stay close to
Christ, he will lead us into the eternal banquette. How do we stay
close to Christ? By loving him in his most blessed sacrament, the
Eucharist, by listening to his words in holy scripture, and by keeping
our minds and hearts clean from sin in confession. And it's through
these sacraments of the Church that we are allowed to enter heaven,
receiving eternal life, the promise of baptism.
There are two ways we can react to death. One is the worldly way in
which we do our best to ignore it and pretend that it will never
happen to us. The other way is the Christian way in which we see death
as a reminder that we do not have forever to prepare for eternity. Our
Gospel reading reminds us of the importance to remain vigilant in this
life. N. in this sense was very blessed that she died after such a
long life, surrounded by her family and able to receive the last rites
of the church. She obviously left behind many people who loved her.
However, we all may not be given such graces and we should be prepared
whenever God chooses to call us.
And when this happens, we should not fear it. Because death is our
chance to finally go to God, who loves and cherished us and who
ultimately fulfills all our desires. Ancient pagans thought that when
they died, they would become fading shadows, soon forgotten. We as
Christians believe Christ will be there to meet us at our death and he
will reward the just and punish the wicked. So long as you are doing
your best in this life to do God's will: to love God and to love your
neighbor, what is there to fear? As Christ told us, "Be not afraid."
Yet, we mourn death and it is perfectly natural and good to do so. We
miss our loved ones and it hurts to be away from them. And, if our
faith isn't strong, we might not trust in God's promises. For these
reasons it is good to talk about our loved one, remembering the good
times. It is also good to grow deeper in prayer so that we can
understand why God allows people to die. If you are angry at God,
that's natural, too, some of the greatest people in scripture went
through periods of being angry at God.
But, afterwards, when you are ready, be sure to thank God for the
chance to have known N. Thank God for all the good she's done for you.
God created N. because he loved her and his love was reflected through
her, though imperfectly. We should return this favor in our prayers on
her behalf. God Bless.