Dear Father,

I would like to ask you a question: why should a Christian be afraid of death, since the Lord promised us eternal happiness together with Him and that at the moment of death we will have our heavenly Mother close to us and praying for us, as we chant in the Hail Mary, and that we will have the Holy Spirit beside us?

Yet in the modern frame of mind, at least among the people I know, no one wants to talk about death, everyone avoids the topic even if we know that we all have to die.

Especially when we reach a certain age and we know we can pass from life in a breath, it would be better to prepare well for this moment that is decisive for us.

Thank you in advance for your answer and for your time and I send you my warmest wishes.

Answer from the priest

Dear Son,

1. it is natural that there is the fear of death because in itself it is an evil, being the deprivation of life.

Just as we are afraid when some danger shows itself, so we are equally afraid of the illnesses that threaten us and also of their possible outcome.

Fear in itself is an excellent prospect to make us cautious.

If we did not fear evil, how many times would we have chosen hastily and sometimes even bad solutions.

About death, St. Thomas says that “the fear of death is quite natural” (Commentary on 2 Cor 5,6)

2. The grace brought by Christ does not suppress nature, instead it heals and elevates it.

Christ himself felt troubled in the face of death.

The Gospel testifies that: “He took along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to feel sorrow and distress. Then he said to them, ‘My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch with me.’” (Mt 26:37-38).

3. He felt sadness for many reasons, but also because of death.

St. Thomas, among the various rationales, also points out that of St. John Damascene and writes: “Damascene says that he sorrowed for himself. And why? Because sorrow is present by the fact that we lack what we naturally love.

The soul naturally desires to be united to the body, and this desire was in Christ’s soul, for he ate, and drank, and hungered. Therefore the separation was contrary to natural desire: therefore to be separated was sorrowful for him” (Commentary on Mt 26,38).

4. You say that being sad goes against the Gospel because of the promised happiness.

It is true that the promised happiness supports us in the trials of life. The Holy Spirit said through Paul: “For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Cor 4:17-18).

And yet we are not certain of achieving that happiness because “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Cor 5:10).

5. The Lord himself urges us not to be too sure of achieving salvation.

Indeed, he said: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few” (Mt 7:13-14)

And “do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna” (Mt 10:28).

6. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit stated once again through Peter: “And if the righteous one is barely saved, where will the godless and the sinner appear?” (1 Pt 4:18).

And St. John in the Revelation: “Then I saw another angel flying high overhead, with everlasting good news to announce to those who dwell on earth, to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people. He said in a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give him glory, for his time has come to sit in judgment’” (Rev 14:6-7).

7. A few years ago, a bishop who had announced to the faithful of his diocese that his end would come soon because of a serious illness was asked if he was afraid of death. He replied: “Not of death, but I fear that the Lord will hand me a bill that I did not think I had.”

8. That fear is eased by our trust in Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary.

For that reason, St. Paul says: “We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope” (1 Thess 4:13). And: “Yet we are courageous, and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord” (2 Cor 5:8).

It is eased, but not removed.

9. However, it is true that we are afraid to speak about death, while it is necessary to remember that we must be ready when we reach that final moment of our life.

The Lord said: “Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour” (Mt 25:13).

In this day and age, we do not want to think about death.

But this is bad. Especially because the Lord ordered us to watch and be ready for heaven. There is in fact the risk of ending up on the other side.

10. Today we feel like we live in the situation deplored by Our Lord when he said: “For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. In (those) days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be (also) at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left.

Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come” (Mt 24:37-44).

With the hope that the Lord will always find us ready, I bless you and remember you in prayer.

Father Angelo

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