And Death is Gain…A Reflection on the Christian View of Death

In the month of November, we remember the souls of the faithful departed and our obligation to pray for them. November and into the early part of Advent is also a part of the Church year during which we begin to ponder the last things: death, judgment, Heaven, and Hell. In the northern hemisphere, the days grow shorter. In regions farther north, the once green trees and fields shed their lively green, and after the brief, golden gown of autumn, a kind of death overtakes the landscape. Life changes; we grow older, and one day we will die.

It is fitting at this time that we ponder the passing glory of things and set our gaze on Heaven, where joys will never end. There is a beautiful prayer in the Roman Missal that captures this disposition:

Deus, qui fidelium mentes unius efficis voluntatis, da populis tuis id amare quod praecipis, id disiderare quod promittis, ut, inter mundanas varietates, ibi nostra fixa sint corda, ubi vera sunt gaudia.

O God, who makes the minds of the faithful to be of one accord, grant to your people to love what you command and to desire what you promise, that, among the changes of this world, our hearts may there be fixed where true joys are (21st Sunday of the year).

So here we are, well into November. Summer has passed and winter beckons. Ponder with me the fact that this world is passing. And I have a question to ask you:

How do you see death? Do you long to one day depart this life and go home to God? St. Paul wrote to the Philippians of his longing to leave this world and go to God. He was not suicidal; he just wanted to be with God:

Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me life is Christ, and death is gain. If I go on living in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. And I do not know which I shall choose. I am caught between the two. I long to depart this life and be with Christ, for that is far better. Yet that I remain in the flesh is more necessary for your benefit (Phil 1:20-23).

These days I am struck by the fact that almost no one speaks publicly of their longing to depart this life and be with God. I suspect it is because we live very comfortably, at least in the affluent West. Many of the daily hardships with which even our most recent ancestors struggled have been minimized or even eliminated. I suppose that when the struggles of this life are minimized, fewer people long to leave it and go to Heaven. They set their sights, hopes, and prayers on having things be better HERE. “O God, please give me better health, a better marriage, a financial blessing, a promotion at work, … ” In other words, “Make this world an even better place for me and I’ll be content to stay here, rather than longing to go to Heaven.”

Longing to be with God was more evident in the older prayers, many of which were written just a few generations ago. Consider, for example, the well known Salve Regina and note (especially in the words I have highlighted in bold) the longing to leave this world and be with God:

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our Life, our Sweetness, and our Hope. To Thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To Thee do we send up our sighs, mourning, and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, Thine Eyes of Mercy towards us, and after this our exile, show us the Blessed Fruit of thy Womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

The prayer acknowledges in a very realistic and sober way that life here can be very difficult. Rather than ask for deliverance from all of it, for this world is an exile after all, the prayer simply expresses a longing to go to Heaven and be worthy to see Jesus. It is this longing that I sense is somewhat absent in our modern world, even among regular Churchgoers.

When was the last time you meditated on Heaven? When was the last time you heard a sermon on Heaven? I understand that we all have a natural fear and aversion to dying. But for a Christian, there should be a deepening thirst for God that begins to erode the fear and aversion to death. St. Francis praised God for Sister bodily death which no one can escape (Canticum Fratris Solis). And why not praise God for it? It is what ultimately brings us home.

As for me, I will say it: I long to leave this world one day and go home and be with God. I am not suicidal and I love what I do here. But I can’t wait to be with God. I don’t mind getting older because it means I’m closer to home. Another day’s journey and I’m so glad because I’m one day closer to home! In our youth-centered culture, people (especially women) are encouraged to be anxious about getting older. As for me, when I hit forty, I said, “Hallelujah, I’m halfway home (err … as far as I know)!” Now at 53, I rejoice even more. I’m glad to be getting older. God has made me wiser and He is preparing me to meet Him. I can’t wait!

Story - A couple of years ago a woman here in the parish walked into a meeting a few minutes late. It was obvious that she had been rushing to get there, and she entered quite out-of-breath. No sooner had she entered, than she fell headlong on the ground. She had died instantly of a heart attack. She was dead before she hit the ground. We rushed to revive her, but to no avail. God had called Wynette unto Himself. I remember saying at her funeral, “For us it was one of the worst days of our life, but for Wynette it was the greatest day of her life.” God, for whom she longed, had drawn her to Himself. She had died hurrying to God’s house and you know I just had to quote the old spiritual that says, O Lord, I done what you told me to do … unto that morning when the Lord said, “Hurry!”

Even a necessary stopover in Purgatory cannot eclipse the joy of the day we die. There will surely be the suffering that precedes our death. But deep in our heart, if we are a believer, must ring forth the word, “Soon!” An old spiritual says, “Soon I will be done with the troubles of this world, going home to live with God.”

So I ask you again, do you long for heaven? Do you long to depart this world and be with God? You say, “Yes, but first let me raise my kids!” I know, but do you rejoice as the years tick by and the goal becomes closer? Do you long to be with God?

I close with the words of Psalm 27:

One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD … My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, LORD, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me.

“I always thought it would be awesome to die in the pew after Eucharist.”

My father died Easter Sunday morning at 10 am. He told me a year in advance that he would live to that weekend. (His exact comment was that he would live to his sister’s birthday which was that same weekend.) He was 89 years old.

It was a pleasure being with him holding his hand when he died as I was able to see and experience the same thing he was seeing and experiencing. First, he called out with a real loud “WOW” that caused everyone in the house to come running asking “What did you see?”. His eyes opened wide and he got a big smile on his face as he just stared up into space, not even hearing their questions.

I saw the bright light and felt the profound Love he was experiencing. Once he was well along his way, I returned in tears of joy to my body. I’ve done this several times with people. If someone offered me a million dollars to not experience it one time, I would just laugh at them.

When my father in law passed I was in the corner of the room relaxing in a recliner. He was rattling so I knew the time was near. In prayer I asked for the portal to Heaven to open up, the light to shine on him, and for people who knew him to come and greet him.

I did not say one word, but continued to observe as his older brothers appeared in the light. (He was the youngest of nine children). He turned to my wife and stated, “I really like the welcoming committee!” She questioned him about it several times and he just kept repeating how much he liked the welcoming committee. My wife is an MD psychiatrist so it rattled her belief system when I explained what had actually happened and why he kept making the comments. He passed shortly after.

Death is a wonderful beginning much more than it is an end.

“we were praying over him at the time”

I wish people realized how important prayers are. They really do protect and guide the soul not only in the process of dying, but at all times.

Prayers with Love and gratitude are much stronger than prayers from fear or worry.

A few years ago I was headed to a Carmelite Monastery for a few days of private prayer and meditation. I had never been there before, nor had I ever met any of the Sisters. They asked me to arrive about 10 am after all their morning chores were done.

That morning at 7:15AM while still at home I felt a powerful prayer being said for me that filled my entire being with joy. It was unusual as I did not recognize who it was from the soul associated with the prayer. Later that morning when I arrived at the monastery a very old nun came out to greet me. I immediately recognized her energy and thanked her for the prayer she said for me that morning at 7:15.

She looked at me puzzled and said, “That’s exactly when I said my prayers.” I responded... “I know, I felt them many miles away.”

Prayers are really powerful. They are physical tangible objects and travel great distances immediately. I’ll attach one to this post for everyone who reads this.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.