Servants of Charity

“It is not the length of life, but depth of life.”      – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Dear Confreres, 

The two really limited and most precious gifts we have are time and health. We do not know how much time we still have on this earth, and how long we will be healthy enough to do all the things we dream of doing or enjoying. The real issue is not whether we will die or even when, but what we will do with the limited time at our disposal. November is the month when Catholics remember, revere, and pray for the dead in a special way. Its real purpose, however, is to remind us of our mortality and help us so live that, when we are gone, those who are still on the way not only pray for us but pray to us. Pope St. John Paul II, addressing the Eighteenth International Congress of the Transplantation Society, said about death: “This gives rise to one of the most debated issues in contemporary bioethics, as well as to serious concerns in the minds of ordinary people. I refer to the problem of ascertaining the fact of death. When can a person be considered dead with complete certainty?” From a theological point of view, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states that human death is “the separation of the soul from the body.”
John Haas writes, “The reason no scientific technique can directly identify the moment of death is quite simple: the soul is a non-corporeal, spiritual life-principle which cannot be observed or measured or weighed using the tools of empirical science. The presence or absence of the soul can be ascertained only by observing certain biological signs that indirectly attest to its presence or its absence.”
Pope St. John Paul II explains well the connection between death, the separation of the soul from the body, and the accompanying medical signs: “the death of the person is a single event, consisting in the total disintegration of that unitary and integrated whole that is the personal self. It results from the separation of the life-principle (or soul) from the corporal reality of the person. The death of the person, understood in this primary sense, is an event which no scientific technique or empirical method can identify directly. Yet human experience shows that once death occurs certain biological signs inevitably follow, which medicine has learned to recognize with increasing precision. In this sense, the “criteria” for ascertaining death used by medicine today should not be understood as the technical-scientific determination of the exact moment of a person's death, but as a scientifically secure means of identifying the biological signs that a person has indeed died.”
It is beautiful that we can have recourse to our faith to explain things which medical science cannot explain. Death is an event we will all, one day have to personally face. At the moment of death, our body and soul are separated. Our soul does not fly around for forty days despite rumors to the contrary. Instead, the soul goes to experience the judgment of God. The Catechism of Catholic Church, however, tells us “Each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very moment of his death, in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ: either entrance into the blessedness of heaven through a purification or immediately – or immediate and everlasting damnation.” And what happens to our body? It goes to dust but does not just stay there. We will get it back, albeit in a glorified way, at the resurrection of the dead (1 Cor 15,42).
Life does not end with death but instead death marks a new beginning, a life in God which will last forever (Jn 11,25-27). So, this life after death is not something only to look forward to later on. This eternal life has actually already begun. We received the life of God in our baptism which means we can begin this life with God in the here and now. As I often repeat in homilies on the topic, “Don't wait until after death to start living your eternal life, as it may be too late.” The life of God grows in us when we pray and when we love others.
Carlo Acutis, the joyful computer wizard who died at fifteen and was beatified on October 14, 2021, said: “I die in peace because I have lived my life without wasting a single minute doing things that are not pleasing to God.” What a fidelity! How many of us can honestly say that?
How do you see death? Are you afraid, thrilled, hesitant and worried? All these reactions are understandable and found among people. It is understandable, since we tend to cling to what is familiar and fear the unknown. The lesson from an extraordinary Dutch woman might be useful to us. The family of this Dutch woman, Corrie, was sent to one of the notorious death camps set up by Nazi Germany. People found that, in the midst of extreme cruelty, starvation and despair, Corrie was not afraid. She strengthened others. Corrie owed this to their father, a very loving and good man. One day, at the age of six, she told her father, “Papa, I am afraid of dying.” Her father, who had just tucked her into bed, sat near her, and asked her, “Corrie, what do I do when you have to make a trip by bus or train?” “You carry my bag, come with me, find me a seat, and then give me by bag and my ticket.” “Have I always done this?” “Yes Papa.” “See, Corrie, if I, your earthly father, have always prepared you for your trips here, when the time comes for your final journey, your Heavenly Father will provide you with all you need.” Corrie found that after that chat, she was never scared of death. There is Someone who loves me more than I do, knows my needs, and fears better than I do, and will provide everything I need.
May the way we see life and death help us to live with enthusiasm and meaning. May we use our shorter or longer time on the earth to increase the goodness around us, know ourselves and God. As we are on a journey, may we make the journey as smooth as possible for ourselves and for our fellow travellers. What matters is not the length of the trip but where we are headed, what we do with the time available to us right now, and especially how we treat our fellow passengers each of whom enters our life, not by chance but by a divine purpose.
We, in our communities, often remember those deceased confreres and cooperators, by reading from the Guanellian necrology. We also intentionally celebrate the Mass for the deceased and add frequent intercessions on their behalf. Let us continue to do the same in our communities and wherever we may be, remembering our deceased loved ones in prayer and giving thanks to God for so many who have loved us and influenced us to be better men and more meaningful signs to the young of God's love for them. “Eternal Rest grant unto them, O Lord! And, Let perpetual light shine upon them.”

“As a well spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death.”   – Leonardo daVinci

Fr. Ronald J, SdC

Provincial Superior