For so many people, even good, faithful Christians, the reality of death is surrounded by the reality of disease and illness. I share it often with anyone who I know brings up the topic. And rising from the dead and opening the gates of heaven for those who believe in him. Once glorified he could immediately send the Holy Spirit, who he had promise to send at the Last Supper. We have those joyous occasions like births and baptisms, First Holy Communion days, Confirmation and high school graduation. When all is said and done, we must just trust that God’s word is true and that He does have a plan. This means that our freedom is conditioned by death which is inescapable for us. ... filled mom’s life with endless love and adventure and his death was really difficult for mom, ... was her love and faith in the Lord Jesus. “Most likely the world will not end in our lifetime, but we do not know that. Second, look for ways that you can die to yourself, here and now. There is in each of us a natural desire for life, a natural desire to live eternally. St. Francis of Asissi called death, “Brother Death.” He embraced it as fully as he embraced life and light and joy and mirth. As a Mexican-American and pseudo-Catholic, I place an importance on memorializing the dead. These days are days when we praise God and thank Him for his goodness. In other words, there is the pull toward the divine. What the Church says about death. It may not be something that you actually consider very often. A death well-lived is a proclamation of the death and resurrection of Jesus. All of these days, both the joyous and the sad, are days when we should praise God. The reflection should not be longer than a few minutes. I particularly want her around for my youngest son who has already lost his paternal grandparents. The reflection is given by Fr George Bowen, a member of the Community of Fathers of the London Oratory. New Technology an Easy Way to Bring Face of Unborn to Unsure Pregnant Women. I am reflecting on the meaning of death in recent days. Christ’s Sufferings and Ours: Good Friday reflections from Guardini’s “The Lord” - Catholic Mass Search Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Go to main topic pages – click the links. Look at the “right to death” movements (which are only veiled attempts to rename euthanasia) because they would rather the death be chosen before its time, that it be denied its course, its transformative opportunity. Other topics include: The afterlife, the Trinity, saints, our Blessed Mother, faith, and the Church. These are days of prayer for peace, and for happy death, days of seeking God’s mercy in the end of things. A Reflection on The Resurrection. Your article above , Catholic Reflection on the Meaning of Suffering is one of the most excellent articles I have read on the subject. Holy Father’s Letter to the US Bishops on Retreat, Deacon Bob’s Homily for 5th Sunday in Lent, Cycle B, Deacon Bob’s Homily for 2nd Sunday in Lent, Cycle B, Deacon Bob’s Homily for 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, Deacon Bob’s Homily for the Solemnity of the Holy Family 2020, Deacon Bob’s Homily for December 22, 2020, Crucifixion Catholic Church – La Crescent. Reflect, today, upon your calling to die. There is a part of me which is eternal. Perhaps thinking about your death is frightening. I have been watching and waiting for the day when she and my father might need my assistance, but they have kept me at arm’s length as much as I have kept them at arm’s length. Catholic Lane A Reflection on Life and Death by Marie Trebeh on Apr 10, 2013 in Disability, Sickness & Suffering, Featured One needs only view some war movies, or perhaps love stories to see death in this way. However, the rites and rituals of remembering and honoring the dead take on a more celebratory tone. Christ Suffered As God. Give me the grace I need to follow You to the tomb so that Your death will triumph over my sins. I don’t know if that is true. We associate death with the ravages of sickness and we disassociate it from life. AN INSPIRING CATHOLIC MEDITATION ON DEATH 1. Our suffering is nothing compared to His sacrifice. We know that He broke the shackles of death. So, maybe God is asking me to take a look at the fragility of life and the dignity of a good death. Amen! I realized that I want my children to have her around a little longer. My Catholic Life! Death properly understood is not an end, but a transition, or a new beginning. They would rather spare someone the temporal discomforts and pain than allow them the eternal joys that a truly human and humane death would provide. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more great content just like it. Death is one of those interesting things – it is inevitable, but it seems to be a taboo topic in society, which is ironic, because for every day that you are living, you are also dying. offers daily reflections, meditations and prayers focused on the Gospel of the day, the gift of Divine Mercy, our Lord’s Passion, our Blessed Mother, the saint of the day, feasts of the liturgical year, daily Mass readings and much more! By Joseph Tuttle, Benedictine College As a consequence of Adam… It has been edited and approved by Ariel Hobbs. This past Saturday my oldest daughter married her best friend in front of God surrounded by family and friends. Free me, dear Lord, during the Lenten journey so that I will be able to fully share in Your new life of the Resurrection. This illness is severe enough that it is possible my mother will die. 40 Days at the Foot of the Cross – Reflection Seven – A Lowly Servant of the Lord. St. Hedwig Catholic Church in Chicago, Illinois shared a reflection on Nov. 15, discussing the topic of our lives on this earth. Even the readings at the end of the liturgical year and the beginning of Advent point … “I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for.” Jeremiah 29:11, Good News Translation. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Quick links. I insisted that the photographer get some group shots of my parents with my daughter and son-in-law. Prayers in the midst of suffering When Jesus was dying on the cross, he cried out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) Related pages. This means that our freedom is conditioned by death which is inescapable for us. Reflections on The Resurrection of Jesus Christ Composition of Place – Picture to yourself the Risen Christ – beautiful, glorious, triumphant – and consider that you hear St. Paul’s voice saying, “We suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified with Him.” (Rom. Today I realized that despite my lack of closeness to my mother, I am not ready to lose her. by Zoey Maraist, Catholic News Service. I have also suffered a personal loss of an extended family member. I have spoken at a number of funerals in the last year, but never one like this. The church is something that deals, quite unflinchingly, in reality. It is at the moment of physical death that the fullness of life is unleashed for those in a state of grace and purified from all attachments to sin. Denying death does nothing other than distract us from an unavoidable reality. I gently speak with and connect with this eternal force which I call God. Christ Suffered As Man This volume looks at everything from the creation of the world to God’s eternal plan of salvation. The Passion: Prayer and Reflection From the Book of Common Prayer, a devotional exploring the meaning of Jesus' suffering, death, and resurrection. 8:17) Prayer of … Resources for Lent Life is just a very terrible thing at times, and Christ knew it and we know it and the church seems to know it. In the Northern hemisphere the … Continue reading "And Death is Gain….A Reflection on the Christian View of Death." In fact, His is naturally the greatest example of abiding a great agony while not shrinking from it. Once glorified he could immediately send the Holy Spirit, who he had promise to send at the Last Supper. November and into the early part of Advent is also a part of the Church Calendar when we begin to ponder the last things: death, judgment, heaven and hell. Readings for reflection: 1st Reading: Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:8 Psalm: Psalm 90:3-6, 12-14, 17 Gospel: Luke 9:43-45 We don’t like to think about the time, place, or manner of our death, particularly if we consider ourselves to be healthy individuals. Reflections on Death – June 2011 In the last 5 months, the topic of Death has popped up quite a few times in my life. Because Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they had to submit to this dreadful penalty, and in like manner, all their descendants. As Catholics, we believe in one supreme, eternal Being: God. It’s a subject seen as sad, morbid and fearful, something that people would rather not think about, and certainly not discuss. Also included in this document is a copy of a reflection for consideration. Jesus, I trust in You. But the only way for true justice to exist is in this enormous disparity of destination, where the good and faithful are forever rewarded, and the wicked forever punished. Because of the alcoholism I have distanced myself from her for years. There is an attraction for that which is true, good and beautiful. Life abounds because death has been defeated, not victorious. Our life on earth is transitory: one day we will die. They may even be days of pleading with God to give us more time or less pain. November, therefore, provides an opportunity to reflect upon death. Nonetheless, I wish to present my own interpretation of one particular phrase because of the comfort that this reflection has provided me through the years. They would rather that someone die cleanly with a lethal medical intervention than for that person to fully enter the passage way to eternal life. A copy of your reflection, prior to the service, should be available to the minister conducting the service. I have an MA in theology and your article is clear, concise and well thought out. A death well-lived is a proclamation of the death and resurrection of Jesus. As Catholics, we have no reason to fear death itself. The messiness of death is something people want to be rid of now-a-days. There was a joyous celebration after the nuptial Mass. The culture of death strives futilely for justice in this life, or at least what they think is justice. Nothing do men see so commonly as death, and nothing do they forget so easily as death. The reflection should not be longer than a few minutes. Then we have days like today; days full of sadness and worry, days that are little deaths leading eventually to the end of our lives here on earth. But our Christian faith tells us that despite death life is not absurd and meaningless. He told me this afternoon that he knew something like this would happen eventually. A summary of the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds. Death is only an Horizon We give them back to you, O Lord, who first gave them to us; and as you did not lose them in the giving so we do not lose them in the return. Mar 25, 2021. Distinctly Catholic: We're in the midst of another round in the culture wars, ... Virginia abolishes the death penalty. However, it is that great inevitability that we all face. God, being eternal, will always remember us, even if the universe becomes a frozen, dead waste. This morning she was completely incoherent and this afternoon she is sedated and on a ventilator while the medical staff tries to figure out what made her sick and help her through the withdrawal. Most people have an instinctive fear of death, but many also have a conviction that something lies beyond, that death does not have the last word. Death and the foreclaws of tragedy are always more captivating for the artist than life and joy. We must have faith. Death, which is the result of an evil choice made by a man at the beginning of human history, has been transformed into the gateway through which we walk and through which we see face-to-face the God who has made us, and who originally intended for us to see him as he is from our conception. Jesus Christ paid a debt that none of us could pay at the Crucifixion. Gary Schaaf is the Executive Director for the Archdiocese Mortuary and Cemeteries. We frail humans often forget this, even when we are still in the Octave of Easter as we are now. She will not admit she has a problem. A death not sought, but accepted, is a breaking forth of glory for all eternity. In this we already find some comfort against death, some lessening of the fear of futility. He tells me that he enjoys just a couple of drinks a day because his doctor read him the riot act a couple of years ago. Death is but a passage. He says he has begged my mother to stop drinking for years. 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