Photo by Grant Whitty on Unsplash

In the Catholic Church, the month of November is dedicated to praying for and remembering the dead.

We celebrated the Feast of All Saints on November 1. We remembered and prayed for all the faithful departed and the souls in purgatory on November 2. The Church also encourages us during the month of November to pray and meditate on the ‘four last things’: death, judgement, heaven and hell.

Around the time this blog comes out, it will be November 11, Remembrance Day, a time to pray for, honour and remember the sacrifices so many brave men and women made and continue to make for our safety and security. 

It is fitting that as the days get colder and darker, the Church and secular calendar call us to pause, pray for the dead, and remember our own deaths. However, our world today makes many attempts to distract us from this reality and even makes many efforts to eliminate any form of suffering.

In November 2006, Pope Benedict XVI said in his Angelus message that Jesus’ death on the cross in fact destroys death. 

“Since then, death is no longer the same: It has been deprived, so to speak, of its “venom.” The love of God, acting in Jesus, has given new meaning to the whole of man’s existence and in this way, has also transformed death. If in Christ human life is a departure “from this world to the Father” (John 13:1), the hour of death is the moment in which this departure takes place in a concrete and definite way.”

To die with God and for God is to enter new life. To do otherwise is to exclude ourselves from the life and love of God. While we may fear death, what we ultimately need to fear is not the death of our body but the death of our soul. 

The eulogy virtues will help us enter new life with God because they are about our character. They motivate us to live honest, merciful, generous and courageous lives. 

This month, may we remember our upcoming deaths and the deaths of our loved ones, that we and they may enter the house of God for eternity. 

Here are some practical ways we can do that:

1. Visit a cemetery and pray for the dead. Say their names and pray for their souls.
2. Pray for those who will die today, especially those who will die alone and those who have no one to pray for them.
3. Reflect on the crucifixion of Jesus and His surrender to death. May we pray for an increase in our eulogy virtues so that our deaths may in fact bring life to others and ourselves in eternity. 

Patrick is a beloved son of the Father who desires to use his gifts to build up the Kingdom of God. You can read more of his writing on his blog.