As we move into the month of November, we enter into the final Sundays of our liturgical year. The first Sunday of our liturgical year begins with the 1st Sunday of Advent. The readings at the end of the liturgical year always turn to what we call eschatological realities. This is a fancy way of referring to the Last Four Things; that being of Death, Judgement, Heaven, and Hell. Over the next 4 Sundays, I would like to dedicate an article to each of these four things.
At some point in our lives, all of us will die. That is simply a fact of life as we are all mortal creatures, it is unavoidable. St. Benedict tells us to “keep death daily before your eyes” in order that we might always be aware of this reality. Keeping in mind the reality that we all are mortal and that we will die helps us to remember that we must live our lives with Jesus and for Jesus. We are made up of both body and soul and oftentimes we become very concerned about caring for our bodies, but do we take care of our soul as well? St. John Marie Vianney once said “man dies once only, and upon this death depends his eternity. Where the tree falls, there it shall lie. If, at the hour of death, someone is living in bad habit, the poor soul will fall on the side of hell. If, on the other hand, he is in the state of grace, it will take the road for heaven. Oh, happy road!” Let us strive to take better care of our souls, as when we die that will be what we are judged upon. Not how good our bodies look, but how well we lived in relationship with Our Lord. If there is something on your soul that is in the way of your relationship with Jesus, take it to confession and hand it over to him.
Death is nothing to be afraid of, it is the one thing that we all must go through in order to be with Jesus in Heaven. We should greatly look forward to that day and not fear it!
-Fr. Andrew