Thoughts about Death

My theology class at Cleveland Central Catholic was on the fifth floor of St. Michael School. One of the topics was death and dying. As one student entered the room, he commented, “Sister, do you know what it’s like to climb those stairs knowing that for the next forty minutes you’ll be thinking about death?” (This, despite the fact that most of the dramas on TV deal with murder!) Usually, though, we find death depressing. Why not? On the surface it seems like it’s the end of existence, not to mention that it takes away our family and friends. Now that we are in the dead of winter and so many beloved movie stars, pop stars, and people we know personally are departing—not to mention the homicide victims in the daily news—I dare to bring up the subject of death. It’s important. After all, no one leaves this world alive. As my father commented on his deathbed, “Someone has to go first.” We all can look forward to being harvested by “the grim reaper” someday. But I don’t intend this blog to be morbid! Rather, let’s consider death as a rite of passage, a passage into a better kind of life. Click to continue