“He went ahead, ascending into Jerusalem” Luke 19:28

“Ride on, Ride on, In Majesty; In lowly pomp Ride On to die.”[1]

“There is a presence who walks the road of life with you.  This presence accompanies your every moment.  It shadows your every thought and feeling. On your own, or with othe4rs, it is always there with you.  When you were born, it came out of the womb with you, but with the excitement at your arrival, nobody noticed it.  Though this presence surrounds you, you may still be blind to its companionship.  The name of this presence is death.”[2]

“Why so morose, Ralph?”

Is that what you’re thinking?  Good Question.  The answer is simple:  It’s Palm Sunday, the portal to Holy Week and the death of Christ.  What better time to talk about death?  As Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the donkey, Suffering and death was riding with him.  Makes me think of the movie “Pale Rider” starring Clint Eastwood.  But death accompanied Jesus throughout His life.  He knew it.  Do we?

There’s another answer to the question:  Death and Life go hand-in-hand.  We simply can’t have one without another.  The Celts were far more accepting of this reality, recognizing the thin veil that separated one from the other. “For the Delts, the eternal world was so close to the natural world that death was not seen as a terribly destructive or threatening vent.  When you enter the eternal world, you are going home to where no shadow, pain or darkness can ever touch you again.”[3]

The Celts didn’t fear death; they welcomed it.  What about you?  What about me?

Perhaps the cause of our fear of death is that we can’t control it.  We have no idea how, or when, death will come.  This is such an anomaly, so antithetical, for how most of us live our lives, doing our best to control people, events, circumstances.  Yet the greatest, most determining factor in our life, which will cause our life to end, cannot be controlled.

Perhaps the cause of our fear is the unknown.  One might comfort themselves with Sunday School images of a cotton candy cloud-like heaven.  But I highly doubt the accuracy of that.  The truth is, we don’t know what awaits us.  Death is a mystery.  And ultimately, so is God.  Perhaps the best way to overcome the fear of death is by embracing the mystery, not merely of death, but of God.  Indeed the mystery of godliness is great, as St. Paul writes.  And part of that mystery is “Christ in you.” 

Ahh, now the fear is dissolving.  Christ, the one who lived, died, and lives again, is living and dying in me and you.  His life becomes my life.  His death becomes my death.  His life, wherever and whatever it is, will be my life.  A precious and comforting thought.  Not morose at all.

A Blessing for Death[4]

I pray that you will have the blessing of being consoled and sure about your own death.

May you know in your soul that there is no need to be afraid.

When your time comes, may you be given every blessing and shelter that you need.

May there be a beautiful welcome for you in the home that you are going to.

You are not going somewhere strange. You are going back to the home that you never left.

May you have a wonderful urgency to live your life to the full.

May you live compassionately and creatively and transfigure everything that is negative with you and about you.

When you come to die may it e after a long life.

May you be peaceful and happy and in the presence of those who really care for you.

May your going be sheltered and your welcome assured.

May your soul smile in the embrace of your anam cara.

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[1] From the hymn of the same name.

[2] John O’Donohue, Anam Cara, p.199

[3] IBID, p. 206

[4] IBID, p.230