The Monthly Note
November 2007
Whether we like it or not, death is part of our life
by Fr. Émery Désilets, OP
Whether we like it or not, death is part of our life. It is always on the horizon. We first meet it with the death of a family member or a friend. The pain of death is the price to pay for loving someone. Because if we didn’t love, we wouldn’t feel the pain of losing those that have left us. That is why remembering our deceased loved ones is often hard, even painful. But have we really lost them?
«But what is dying?
A ship leaves and I stay there,
on the dock, to watch it disappear on the horizon;
and someone, standing on my side says: ‘It has disappeared’.
Disappeared where? From my sight, that’s all.
It is at sea, exactly as I saw it the last time.
The fact that it is slowly shrinking and finally disappearing from my view,
affects only my vision and that of the ship.
And when someone by my side says: ‘It has disappeared’,
others that are watching it and are saying:
‘Here it comes’.
That is dying.» (Mgr Brent)
Our ultimate goal is, of course to be reunited in the presence of God with those we have loved, as it is expressed in the third Eucharistic prayer:
Welcome into your kingdom our departed brothers and sisters,
and all who have left this world in your friendship.
There we hope to share in your glory
when every tear will be wiped away.
On that day we shall see you, our God, as you are.
We shall become like you
and praise you for ever through Christ our Lord,
from whom all good things come.
«We shall become like you». This is something to think about during the month of November: those who have already died, are like God and one day we will be like them, and with them we will share the true life with God. This is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church confirms and reminds us that the Church is not confined only to this world but extends itself to the next: The After-Life. In praying for the deceased, as we did when they were alive, we establish a special link with the «communion of saints».
That is why our prayers are so important for the deceased, who have to go through a purification period before meeting their Creator.
An Australian poet and psychoanalyst writes; «…death cannot destroy what was given» This deserves to be meditated during the month when we pray for those we have lost, knowing that our prayer, an act of love, has, in a sense, the power to reunite us again. Besides, doesn’t the Scripture teach us that Love is stronger than death? This uniqueness in prayer, made possible by the Body of Christ, is a promise that one day we will see God face to face. With those we Love!
If we have died with him we shall also live with him 2 Timothy 2, 11
