All I needed to know I learned in kindergarten: All Souls Edition

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  • Who is God?
God is the supreme being.
  • Why did God make me?
God made me to show forth his goodness, and to make me happy with Him in heaven.
  • What must I do to be happy with God in heaven?
To be happy with God in heaven, I must know Him, love Him, and serve Him in this life.
These three questions are probably what I will be reciting on my deathbed after all other thoughts have decayed. Pretty much every thought I have ever had regarding faith and morals goes right back to these three questions and fits into this framework.
In the last couple of months, I attended two funerals on my husband’s side of the family. We took the boys (thankfully, they behaved); in the middle of sorrow, sometimes it is a welcome reminder that life continues. Death never gets the last word.
One of these times, I am going to have to explain to my boys what is going on. Likely next year when we celebrate the upcoming All Souls, I’ll have an inquisitive 3-year old that wants to know what all the hoopla at the Requiem Mass is. (If you’ve never been to a solemn requiem, it is truly a majestic thing to behold!)
What do you tell a 3-year-old when he asks about death?

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