Why Do We Have To Die?

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that you see me, that you hear me. I adore you with profound reverence. I ask your pardon for my sins, and the grace to make this time of prayer fruitful. My Immaculate Mother, St. Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

Today, in the fifth Sunday of Lent, we will read from the Gospel according to St. John. When a couple of Greeks come to Philip and Andrew, and they tell them that they want to see Jesus. And so Philip went and told Andrew, and then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answers with these words, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Amen. Amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat. But if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life, loses it. And whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.” These are mysterious words, it’s a mysterious answer to these Greeks who came to see Jesus. But perhaps we can understand them as Jesus is trying to tell them, that they have to die to themselves, in order to really see who he is. And this is the great lesson that we learn in the fifth Sunday of Lent, which is that of our personal death, death to self, we could say, but also our death in this world, in the sense that we will all die someday.

There's only one surest thing, as we know, as they say, death and taxes. Everything else may or may not happen. But we will all die. Unless, of course, the Messiah comes again before our deaths, then well, that last generation, I think, is privileged not to, not to experience death the way everybody else has. But assuming that that we won't be in that generation, death will come. We have to understand why death is here—that death is something that we do not want to experience, our very nature is meant to live. And in fact, that's what Sacred Scripture says, that the Book of Wisdom, it says that “God created man for incorruption, and made him in the image of his own eternity.” See, we were meant to live forever. We were meant to live a divine life, for incorruption. And death precisely is corruption, is that which separates the soul from the body and then the body starts to corrupt, and there's no more unity within our organs, and every organ kind of goes on its own. Why do we have death? Why do we have death if God created us for incorruption? Well, the Book of Wisdom gives us the answer, “Through the devil's envy, death entered the world and those who belong to his party experience it. Death entered the world through the devil's envy.” It was something that that was not part of nature, but it became part of nature. As St. Ambrose says, “God prescribed death as a remedy.” He says, “human life because of sin began to experience the burden of wretchedness in unremitting labor and unbearable sorrow. There had to be a limit to its evils. Death had to restore what life had forfeited. Without the assistance of grace, immortality is more of a burden than a blessing. Death is then no cause for mourning, it is the cause of man's salvation.” He concludes, “And this is true, death was not part of nature, but it became part of nature. And God did not decree death from the beginning, he prescribed it as a remedy.” As a remedy for the evils that we would experience in life and somehow that death is a limit to those evils, because without death, and after sin, immortality would be more of a burden than a relief, more of burden than a blessing. You know, who would want to live forever in this life, according to these conditions, with all the sufferings that we continually experience? Somehow death puts an end to that, which in God's mercy is, is is a gift. And that's how we have to see death, as a gift. Not only as a gift because it puts an end to life's evils, you know, in a post sin world order, but from a Christian outlook, death is a passage to, passageway, a narrow passageway, we could say, difficult passage way, but it is a passageway to life, to eternal life, where we get to see God, face to face, if we have lived according to the faith. This is what Jesus came to teach, that death is no longer a something to be feared. But he has come back from the dead, to teach us, to give us hope, to give us new hope that we can live forever, according to his divine plan, and eventually we will even get our bodies back. That's what we believe in the Catholic Faith.

Here's what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says about death: “Death is a consequence of sin. The church's Magisterium, as authentic interpreter of the affirmations of Scripture and tradition, teaches that death entered the world on account of man's sin. Even though man's natural nature is mortal, God had destined him not to die. Death was therefore contrary to the plans of God the Creator, and entered the world as a consequence of sin. Bodily death, from which man would have been immune, had he not sinned, thus is the last enemy of man left to be conquered. But death is transformed by Christ. Jesus, the Son of God, also himself suffered the death that is part of the human condition. Yet despite his anguish as he faced death, he accepted it as an act of complete and free submission to his Father's will. The obedience of Jesus has transformed the curse of death into a blessing.” This is the, this is the meaning of, of a Christian death, that we can no longer think that it is the end, it is actually now a new beginning, a new beginning. And that's what Our Lord means in this gospel of today's Mass, that unless the grain of wheat dies, and we are all kind of a grain of wheat, then we have to die. Unless it dies, it remains just a grain of wheat, but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loses his life will whoever loves his life will lose it and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.

Well, that will come whenever it comes. We don't know. We're like candles, but we don't know how much wax we have. We know that at some point we will. We all have a certain size candle in our lives and and we will be snuffed out in life, in this world will be snuffed out. And that's why this not knowing when we're going to die is actually something that has has to help us be more faithful every day and always be prepared for whenever God calls us to himself. St. Paul discovered that, you know, as he went through life that he was that he had been a big sinner. And he spent the rest of his life, after his conversion, making up for that, or trying to make up for his previous sins. And he himself said, he didn’t consider himself worthy to be an apostle, because he, himself was one who persecuted the Church. Well, we ought to live that way with that attitude of trying to do penance for all our sins. And using the time we have left, to actually try to make many acts of love, confident that Our Lord, in the end will, will be there and give us the gift of perseverance. Look at what St. Paul says at the end of his life, when he saw that the end was coming. He writes to Timothy, beautiful words, “As for me, I am already being poured out in sacrifice and the time of my deliverance is at hand. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith. For the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice, which the Lord, the just judge, will give to me that day. Yet not to me only, but also to those who love his coming.” To those who love is coming—this means to those who are expecting his coming to them and who live by faith. And that's exactly what what we want to do, to always live according to the truth, because right after death comes judgment. And we will be judged according to the truth, not according to what we may want to be the truth, right now, but according to the truth, according to the objective truth, and Our Lord will be just and merciful tt the same time.

It is really consoling to, to hear that point of the Catechism of the Catholic Church where it says that when we go to confession, frequently, we anticipate somehow the judgment of God. And that way when we finally do reach the judgment of God, at the end of our lives, it says, we will not enter into judgment, we will not enter into judgment, we will not be judged. Very interesting, everything will be known. And Jesus would just say, “Come in, good and faithful servant. Come in, come into the joy of your Master.” That's what we want to hear, those wonderful words of a friend, of a father, a brother, that is, is really smiling at us because he's happy to judge us favorably, because he's judging us as someone who loves us. “Every action of yours, every thought should be those of one who expects to die before the day is out,” writes, well we read, in the Imitation of Christ—that Medieval text, which just has helped so many souls. “Death would have no great terrors for you if you had a quiet of conscience. Then why not keep clear of sin instead of running away from death? If you aren't fit to face death today, it's very unlikely you will be tomorrow.” Well, we want to be ready today to face death. So that Our Lord can take us because we are ready we can be that grain of wheat that will bear much fruit. We will die to ourselves and bear a lot of fruit, but it depends on what we do today. Today is is what we have. We don't have tomorrow. We don't have tomorrow yet, when it comes we will have it. But we we need to realize that today is what I can, what I can, what I do today will make a difference tomorrow and that is why I need to basically love, love today, so that I can love for eternity.

Look at what St. Augustine says, “Each one of us ought to prepare ourselves for the end. The last day will not bring any harm for anyone who lives as if each day were his last. Live in a way that you can die serenely, because he who dies each day does not die forever.” We have to be that grain of wheat that dies every day, and gives fruit every day, so that we don't die forever in the eternal death. You know, Adam and Eve, they, they, they didn't see this, they, they gave into actually living in this world. They wanted life in this world, and they didn't think of, of life with God eternally after their test. And that's why they, they were ambitious, to really know everything and be like God. We cannot be like God, we have to let God be God, and we can be his children. And if we are prepared, we will actually be very detached from things, from the pleasures of this world, from anything from the honors of this world, from anything that can make us happy in this world is really we have to relativize because there is no true happiness here or lasting happiness. There's only a spark of happiness. That's why the Book of Ecclesiastes says, you know, reminds us that we came in naked into this world from our mother's womb and so shall we go. “As he came from his mother's womb, he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil, which he may carry away in his hand. There is also a grievous evil just as he came, he shall also go and what gain has he that he toiled for the wind?” Well, that's a very good question. That means, if we're always thinking about our death, it's a very, actually sobering question, sobering thought, because that means that we will be detached from things here below, we will actually be able to live Christian poverty a lot better. We won't put our hearts on things. Think of the rich young man he went away sad, because he heard the call of God, but he was not able to respond to it. Because the Gospel says he had too many possessions. He was attached to these things, you know, things basically are an insurance policy of our happiness. And that's why we want to cling on to things, you know, whatever things, you know, may be, it could be a phone, it could be a service like internet or like Wi-Fi. “If I don't have Wi-Fi, I die. I don't know what I’d do without Wi-Fi.” People think it's, it's kind of a life’s necessities, like water. No, no, no, we can be detached from everything. We can be detached from all those things that make life more pleasant. I mean, if we have them, great, but we have to relativize them. They're not the end all, be all of all existence. And we have to. That's why we have to practice detachment constantly. Our Lord did it and he did it freely. That's why he was born in a stable to remind us that we don't need much to live. He had swaddling clothes. And at the end of his life, also he he didn't even have his tunic, they stripped him of his garment. And he was buried in a tomb that was not even his. What he wants, what he came to show us is that what we need is to love, everything else is superfluous. Think, think today in the presence of Our Lord, what is it that I am attached to? Or think of some candidates that you may think you're not attached to but maybe you are. You know, all these material things, all the services, maybe it's honors, careers, resumes, even family. This my family. Well, we even have to be detached from people. Because Lord is the Lord of life, not we. You know, what, what are we attached to? And let's see if we can think in the silence of our hearts, Am I placing God above all that and like placing God first? And one way to find out find de facto if I’m placing God first is, one, stop using that thing that, you know, we claim we're not attached to. Well, let's see, if we miss it, if we don't miss it, then we were not attached to it. If we miss it, and then we were certainly attached to it. Stop listening to music for a week, you'll see if you were attached to music or not. Oh, I can do that. Sure, let's drive. And you'll see that in the third, By the third day, you know, you're going crazy because you need your music or something I don't know. Or, I don't know. You have to find out where it you know where it hurts. And, and then try to put that into check. I need to live temperate, Lord, give me the virtue of temperance for this world. And Lord, the Holy Spirit, give me the gift of science, the gift of science is that gift that allows us to understand the role of the material world, the created world and how it plays a part in my salvation. If this material thing takes me to salvation, brings me closer to God, then it has gained its greatest dignity, according to St. Thomas Aquinas. But if it if it doesn't, then I have to throw it far away from me. Have to throw it far away or use it temporarily. It's not about not using the world, it's about being detached from it, which is a matter of the heart. You know, it's easier, I think, to renounce everything than actually to use it temperately. And we have to learn how to use it temperately because we're people in the world. And, therefore, we're going to need money. And we're going to need a vehicle and we're going to need clothing and we're going to need good clothing. And we're going to need, we're going to need to be detached from it. That is St. Josemaria’s spirit actually—he really focused on detachment as that, as a matter of the heart; where is our heart? Not how many things we have in our closet. But death, the consideration of death, will actually help us to precisely put our heart in the right place. That I could die today, and therefore, all the things that I possess, really are to no avail; they, they will help somebody else or whatever, it doesn't matter. Where is my heart? My heart has to be with you, Lord. I have to put you above all things because you can call me at any time, and I want to be prepared. I want to be prepared because what I do here is what matters for eternal life.

Look at this poem, modern poem, by a poet, by the name of Linda Ellis, called The Dash—interesting name. The Dash goes like this: I read of a man who stood to speak at a funeral of a friend. He referred to the dates on the tombstone from the beginning to the end. He noted that first came the date of birth and spoke the following date with tears. But he said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years. For that dash represents all the time that they spent alive on earth. And now only those who love them know what that little line is worth. For it matters, not how much we own the cars, the house, the cash. What matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash. So think about this long and hard. Are there things you'd like to change? For you never know how much time is left that can be still rearranged. If you could just slow down enough to consider what's true and real. And always try to understand the way other people feel. And be less quick to anger and show appreciation more and love the people in our lives. Like we've never loved them before. If we treat each other with respect, and more often wear a smile, remembering that this special dash might only last a while. So when your eulogy is being read with your life's actions to rehash, would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent your dash?” You know, interesting considerations, how do you spend your dash? What what, what do you do today? And how is it going to affect you for eternity? 

The one thing that St. John the Cross says is that “we will be judged at the end, at the dusk of our lives, we will be judged in how much we have loved, in love.” That's it. That's all that matters, in the end. Deeds done in the state of grace, for the right intention, and done well, that we will take with us. Everything else will remain. That we will see transfigured in glory and we will, those those deeds done in love will be little seeds, little grains of wheat, that will be transformed snd they will become trees, we won't even recognize them. At first, we're like, wow, extraordinary that, that act, that smile that I that I was able to muster up to the person that I didn't like, wow, now it's turned into glory, we won't even, we will be so impressed. And what that turns into for our, for the glory of God forever. That's why we have to spend our dash wisely. Wisely, we have to give thought to this. Because we only have a certain amount of time. 

Our Lord was deeply moved by the death of his friend Lazarus. In fact, the Church in this fifth week of Lent, traditionally has considered the gospel of the Resurrection of Lazarus. In fact, we read that in the Year A, Cycle A, in the cycle of readings. And it could be actually read at any time whether or not it’s Year A of the cycle. And if you do read it, or you can just meditate on it, you will see that there is a very moving point when Our Lord even though he knows what he's going to do to resurrect his friend, he is moved to tears. Because death hurts him. And you know, death always will remain a mystery. Just something mind boggling. And primarily, you know, we don't want to die, yes, but we don't want our loved ones to die. And we don't want our loved ones to see our death, or to suffer through our death. And that's why we cry, we cry at death. When we experience that, we have to realize that, that somehow that's an opportunity to reconsider how we ought to live the rest of our lives. Because death is really a moment of, of transcendence, of looking up, looking up at God. It's a moment of prayer. It is not a moment to, I don't know, run away or get drunk or do something else. It's it's, it is a moment of contemplation. It puts us before our ultimate, our ultimate purpose in life. And yet, those tears, if they do come from our eyes, they are tears of joy. And they are tears of, of sorrow of love, as St. Josemaria called them. He said, “A moment comes, my children, when one counts the days that are left and one feels the need to have done more, not out of pride, but for love, sorrow of love.” This is, this is an interesting thing.

Well, let us turn to Mary. Mary is… she's a very special person, because especially if you pray the Rosary, many, many times, or even three times a day, as traditionally many people have done, you are constantly telling her pray for me now and at the hour of my death. Amen. And if you do pray the Rosary a lot every day, as a priest that I knew used to say, you will be able to tell Mary, “Mother, I've told you a million times pray for me now and at the hour of my death, Amen.” Ahe will be there. She's always there. And she's the one that will take us up to her Son. If you look at the, at the Sistine Chapel, there is a, there's an angel. Michelangelo didn't paint them with wings, but anyway, they're supposed to be an angel, lifting up two people, two or three, I forget with a rope looking thing, kind of from, from hell or purgatory, wherever it is, and they're just kind of pulling them up. And if you look closely, that rope is not really a rope, it's a Rosary, you know, they were able to be saved because they prayed the Rosary. That was the one thing the angels had to pull them up. If we pray the Rosary, and we abandon ourselves in the hands of Our Lady, we will, she will be sure to give us that that gift of meeting her Son, well prepared and we will, it will be a very happy moment for us and for all those around us witnessing a whole new life that has been spent and now it is going to begin to yield fruit like that grain of wheat that dies.

I thank you, my God, for the good resolutions, affections, and inspirations which you have communicated to me in this meditation. I ask your help to put them into effect. My Immaculate Mother, St. Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.