Episode Transcript  

One

Not Natural

It’s one of the great certainties that we’re all going to die. It’s so certain, and so universal, that we’re tempted to think of death as natural. But death isn’t natural. It’s not something that belongs to us by nature. It’s not something that’s part of our original design. If it were, we’d have no problem with it. We’d chat about it cheerfully and look forward to it like we look forward to all the other things which perfect our nature (food, sex, friendship, knowledge, etc…). 

But obviously, that’s not how it works. Death scares us, cemeteries and corpses make our skin crawl, and the thought of ourselves or a loved one in a casket is profoundly disturbing. This is because death wasn’t supposed to happen. It’s an effect of original sin, perhaps the most vivid. It’s an unnatural fact. 

But by God’s grace, it’s an unnatural fact that now has supernatural value.

Two

Separation of Soul and Body

We are made up of two parts: body and soul. That’s what a human being is, the union of body and soul. The way a rosary is a combination of beads and string. How would you destroy a rosary? By separating the beads and the string. Then the Rosary would be gone, but you’d still have string over here and beads over here, and if you wanted, you could put the Rosary back together again by restringing the beads.

Something similar happens at death. The body and soul are separated, and the human being is destroyed. But the soul remains and the body remains, the matter remains, though it's dispersed. It might become part of the soil, plants, or other organisms. But soul and body are not together anymore. But one day, they’ll be put back together, at the end of the world, the final judgment.

Really, you can think of this life as body and soul racing together towards heaven. And the faster the soul runs, the slower the body runs. Until, eventually, the body turns to the soul and says, “You go ahead without me. I’ll catch up with you at the end.” Then they shake hands and the soul sprints ahead, and the body lies down to rest a while.

Three

The Solidification of the Soul

So death means the separation from soul and body. But it also means the solidification of the soul’s character. Think, for example, of your favorite coffee mug. It starts out as clay, which can be bent and twisted into any shape it wants. But as long as it’s as flexible and inconsistent as that, it has no definite shape, and it can’t hold your coffee. So it has to be baked, and the moisture, which makes it changeable, has to be removed from it so that it can become solid and definite.

That’s kind of like a soul’s character. When it’s connected to the body, it can change and shift. Our character is very unreliable and indefinite in this life. Gradually, we try to shape our character into the shape we want it to be. At death, we bake the clay, and we can finally rest in the shape we have chosen for ourselves.

In that sense, death is a gift. It gives our character completion. It lets us be, finally, the person we want to be. Without death, we would be like a potter who was constantly shaping the clay, but never produced a mug or a vase or anything anyone could ever use. We’d be like a novel we never finished writing. We’d be like a guitarist or violinist who was forever tuning his instrument, but never actually played it. 

Death brings us to completion. It’s our chance to finish making what we are, so we can finally begin to enjoy ourselves by finally doing what we were actually made to do. And that is, rejoice with God and the angels and the saints for all eternity.

Four

Birth into Eternity

God is so gracious in giving us a kind of foreshadowing of death at the beginning of our lives. Because we all start out in the very small world of our mothers’ wombs. And we detect so little in there, and we don’t understand anything, but we’re just there, getting ready for the transition. Then the time comes, and everything changes. Light, and sound, and love, and real food, and speech, and reason, and beauty.

That’s what happened when we died to the world of the womb and were born into this life. And we’re going to do the same thing again, we’re going to die to this world and be born again into the world of angels and saints and glory.

In Heaven, there will be more light, and more music, and more love, and more truth, and more beauty, and vastly more experiences. We can’t imagine Heaven now, just like a baby in the womb can’t imagine the greatness of life outside it.

That’s why, to a Christian, death isn’t scary. It’s exciting. And we face it with an eager joy.

Five

Anointing and the Achievement of Death

So death is where we become who we’ve always wanted to be. It’s where we, as Christians, enter into the fantastical realm of God. To add to the excitement, you never know for sure when it’s coming. You don’t control when you die, and you don’t control how you die.

Your death isn’t just something that happens to you. It’s something you achieve. Just like Christ’s death on the cross was the greatest achievement of His life, so does our death in Christ become the greatest achievement of our lives. It’s something we do. It’s something to which we contribute. Because, like Christ’s death, our death is a challenge that, when we offer it faithfully to God, becomes a source of glorification for ourselves and grace for the Church.

When great artists or athletes have the opportunity to make a masterpiece or win the ultimate prize, they sometimes say, “My life has been leading up to this moment.” Well, when a Christian faces death, he says, “My life has been leading up to this moment.”

So let’s ask Our Lady and St. Joseph for the grace of a good death, let’s ask for the grace to do a good job when it’s our turn. Let’s be sure, when our time comes, to offer our death to Christ.

One of the best ways to prepare for death is a brief daily examination of conscience. Look back over the last twenty-four hours and then honestly assess where in your thoughts, words, and actions you could have done better, been more virtuous, more loving. Then go to Confession. And if you really want to bring your soul to completion like a great masterpiece, then go to confession at least once a month. That is why Mary asked us, told us to go to confession on or before the first Saturday of every month. 

Suggested Resolutions:

Choose one resolution for today to help you grow closer to God, or create your own. Here are some ideas to inspire you. 

• One of the best ways to prepare for death is a brief daily examination of conscience. Then go to confession.

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