I recently wrote about grandparents as humanities living memory and detailed how I had three grandparents still alive. A month later, my grandmother (Maria De Menezes) passed away, and six days later, my grandfather (Reginald Joel) passed on.
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| 14 June 2021, God's Window Mpumalanga |
Death is a strange thing and most unnatural to human beings as it leaves us feeling empty, confused, and maybe afraid of what might await us on the other side. The most apparent question death makes us ponder is the question of why? Why must we die? Does God enjoy punishing us with the void the death of a loved one can leave in our hearts? The answer is a profound no!
Before sin entered the world, there was harmony between the body and soul. However, when the first man and woman chose to give in to the devil's temptation and succumbed to his luring. The nature of sin that entered the world broke this harmony. When sin enters the world by our free but misdirected choices, we allow corruption to weaken our soul's control over our body. Perhaps what made Adam and Eve ashamed when they realised they were naked was that they now saw each other with a taint of lust and desire to dominate each other. Before sin, the body and soul were profoundly integrated. The body, therefore, did not age and decay nor lead to death. The consequence of our disobedience of sin is that we will all return to the dust. We were made from the dust of the earth, and to the dust, we are to return until the final judgement (CCC, 400).
Death can trigger different reactions within us. The death of someone young is challenging to understand and traumatic. I have lost three cousins who passed away in the prime of their life. I recall the loss of my cousin Robert when I was in grade five. Straight after tennis in the afternoon, my Mom let me know the news, and I burst out a tremendous scream that echoed through the car park and across the tennis courts. His sudden death left an ache deep within me as a young boy. The loss of my cousin Chantal in 2014 and her sister Nicole in 2021 came so unexpectedly. It is heartbreaking to witness the emptiness left behind within family gatherings without their youthful and joyful presence.
When I first heard the news of my grandmother's passing, I felt a sense of peace and happiness that my gran had made it back home. It may sound a little odd, but I have still had no tears of sadness. I feel filled with joy that my gran's soul has entered heaven.
I believe my granny's death is a witness to her faith, and for us all, heaven is real. Why?
(1) A promise of the Sacred Heart is that all those who received Holy Communion on the First Fridays of nine consecutive months would not die without receiving their sacraments.
In her lifetime, my granny kept the promise of the Sacred Heart. On 18 February 2022, only five days before my granny passed on. The priest (Fr Chris) came to give my granny her final sacrament, the anointing of the sick. The sacrament of the anointing of the sick allows for the soul to be made ready to prepare to receive the Holy Spirit's gift of peace and courage to endure the final sufferings. The promise of the Sacred Heart of my granny not dying without receiving the sacraments was fulfilled.
(2) The light of God at death and deliverance from purgatory. The Blessed Virgin Mary promises this to anyone with a devotion to the rosary.
My granny prayed the rosary daily throughout her life. When I viewed my granny's body at the frail care, her face had a gentle and peaceful look. It looked as if she had a smile on her face as if it had seen the light of God, even though she was no longer physically warm. The look on her face was a consolation to me that when she opened the door to pass through death, she had seen and received the visible warmth of the love of God. The angels and saints would guide her safely to the place prepared for holding onto the faith.
What about the deliverance from purgatory? I do not have proof of that. However, I believe firmly in my Heart she is in heaven. She has now joined the souls in heaven and praying for us all here on earth.
An 89-year-old life is a history book. Coincidentally both my granny (on my Mom's side) and my grandfather (on my Dad's side) were born in 1932. They lived through poverty, wars, crises, political independence, the COVID-19 pandemic, and, unfortunately, almost the start of yet another war. However, their lives are a testament that these things come and go. Our bodies may remain here for now, but our soul (our very being) lives on and will be reunited with our body one day.
Therefore, as much as death feels like the end to someone's life, you may ask, what is the point of life? I think death is a reminder for us to not be short-sighted. Life on this side of the earth is almost like living in a small room. We are bound by the walls of time and the roof of space. We all know that the time will come when we need to approach the only door in the room, which is the door that crosses us over from death to new life. We often take for granted what awaits us on the other side of the door, constantly thinking it is some void trap door that will lead us down an empty and dark shaft.
I think there is a unique staircase for every person. The number of stairs you climb depends on how you have lived life on this side of the door. The fewer steps we have to climb indicate we have made a tremendous effort to grow in love with God. Therefore, it requires little effort to reach the bliss that waits for us at the top of the staircase. I'm sure that tremendous people like Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta walked through the door and straight into the banquet of heaven. While many of us may need to climb a few hundred skyscraper staircases before we arrive at the banquet.
The point is that death is a gentle nudge that can reignite a desire within us to persevere in the room of life on earth. We paint that room with the most vibrant and beautiful pieces of art to leave an imprint of God's beauty in the lives we meet on a day-to-day basis. It would be pretty sad to leave the room with blank and empty walls, and no image of God imprinted within our artwork. After all, we are all made in God's image and likeness, so every one of us is a unique artist who can capture something special of God. Still, as we pass the halfway mark of lent, there is no better time to stop and take some time out of our busy lives and be silent and listen to God. Our daily conversation with God, our prayer, is a sure way of growing deeper in love with God and ensuring the staircase on the other side of the door is not an unnecessary uphill battle.
"Jesus has led the way. How did he obey? "Unto death, death on a cross." You have to get out of yourself; you have to complicate your life, losing it for love of God and souls. "So you wanted to live a quiet life. But God wanted otherwise. Two wills exist: your will should be corrected to become identified with God's will: you must not bend God's will to suit yours."" (Christ Is Passing By, 19)
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