Preparing for Our Final Journey
This Liguori News story is taken from “Preparing for Our Final Journey: Life is Changed, Not Ended,” an issue of Liguori Publications’ “Catholic Update” newsletter.
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In November we celebrate All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.
Sometimes grief is isolating, and gathering with others to remember our loved ones can be consoling. As we remember those no longer in our midst, we can take comfort in the knowledge that after we have passed from this life, we will also be remembered.
November is also a month for Thanksgiving and preparation for the gift of the Christ Child. As we thank God for the blessings of this life, let us also give thanks for Sister Death, which makes this life more precious and the next life possible.
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Doubt, Fear, and Hope—All Will Be Well
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff comfort me.” - Psalm 23:4
From a strictly materialistic, this-world point of view, the thought of death can cause anxiety and fear, sometimes even panic. It’s a step into the unknown, and fear is understandable. Those who fear death are not alone. Many saints expressed fear and doubt. Even Jesus needed comfort in the Garden of Gethsemane as he prayed to be spared the crucifixion that was coming (Matthew 26:38–39).
Pope Francis addressed this fear of death. He said, “Among us there is commonly a mistaken way of looking at death....If it is understood as the end of everything, death frightens us, it terrifies us, it becomes a threat that shatters every dream, every promise, it severs every relationship and interrupts every journey. This happens when we consider our lives as a span of time between two poles: birth and death; when we fail to believe in a horizon that extends beyond that of the present life; when we live as though God did not exist” (General Audience, November 27, 2013).
Jesus understands our doubts and fears, and we are offered comfort and hope—in the Scriptures, in the examples of the saints and the people of faith around us, and in the sacraments, songs, and prayers of the Church. Those who face death in the grace of God can hope to see Jesus Christ and to hear from him these consoling words: “Well done, my good and faithful servant....Come, share your master’s joy” (Matthew 25:21).
What, then, is our final destiny?
Saint Alphonsus writes, “We go to our lasting home...the home we ourselves choose. We shall not be pushed into it: God certainly desires the salvation of all his children, but will not save us by force. God has placed before us a choice: life or death. That choice is ours.”
Pope Francis, in Catechesis on Old Age, speaks of our fears now and the joy that awaits us. “The best of life is yet to come. Passing through that door causes a little fear. But there is always the hand of the Lord that carries us forward, and beyond the door there is the party. Let us be attentive, dear old people, contemporaries, let us be attentive. He is expecting us. Just one step and then the party” (General Audience, August 24, 2022).
Before and at the heavenly festivities, perhaps we’ll celebrate our life and entry home by singing a prayer, Amazing Grace:
Through many dangers, toils, and snares
I have already come;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
