February 21st has been a hard day for me the last several years. In 2011 I received the telephone call from Mom that my younger brother, Mitch, had died. It has been a stark reality that has faced me and my family ever since. The Catholic Church, in its daily prayers, has the Office for the Dead that I have prayed for my brother on his anniversary since that sad day. The prayers, scripture and readings always give me comfort and strength.
In the second reading we are given a letter from St. Braulio (+651) a bishop of the early Church he writes, “Oh death! You separate those who are joined to each other in marriage. You harshly and cruelly divide those whom friendship unites. But your power is broken. Your heinous yoke has been destroyed by the one who sternly threatened you when Hosea cried out: “Oh Death! I shall be your death.” And with the words of the apostle we, too, deride you: “Oh Death! Where is your victory? Oh death! Where is your sting!””
Death is not a fun subject to write about and yet, for a Christian, it is a hopeful theme to dwell upon because of the victory of Jesus Christ. We all recognize in death the ending of something important but we also see in it the gift of life and the blessing of life eternal promised through the Cross of Jesus Christ. It is the promise found in the simple prayer a priest prays during the Mass as he dips his fingers in water and says, “Lord, wash away my iniquities, and cleanse me of my sins.”
It is the cruelty of separation that is often the hardest part of death for many people. I often hear in the voices of those mourning the desire to say one more things, to ask for forgiveness, to share a blessing or to simply say, “I love you” a final time. It rings very true to me each and every time these thoughts are shared because they are the same thoughts that tumbled about in my heart and head asking: When had I last told him that i loved him?
Which gets me to the question I ask myself daily and ask others from time to time…Are you ready to die? It is not a morbid question but one of hope and love because if I am “ready” then I have prepared myself through the gift of loving my neighbor and reconciling with my brother in love.
One of the greatest gifts of our faith is the Night Prayers in the Divine Office (The Liturgy of the Hours) which gives us a primer for a happy death. The prayers and readings remind us nightly of the need to be at peace with God and our neighbor…to not go to rest the with curse of sin on our hearts. It is a call for daily reflection and the seeking of mercy and forgiveness, which by the way, God freely dispenses and generously offers to us in love.
“But your power is broken.” St. Braulio reminds us that the gift of eternal life is the gift of Jesus Christ who has conquered sin and death and when we unite our lives to his in the offering of mercy, reconciliation and peace, where we are united in acts of generosity and love, then the power of earthly death is washed away and we know the sadness we feel is that of unifying love.
I was reminded of this gift once more a few weeks ago, when praying the last rites for a woman surrounded by dozens of children, grand and great-grand children, by family both of blood and friendship, how a gentle peace settled upon us all and the grace of the Holy Spirit filled the room as she took her final breath on earth. It is a blessing that amazes me each and every time God offers it to His family.
I can say, ultimately in the end…I miss you Mitch…rest in the joy and peace of Christ…and I will see you when God calls me home…

God bless
Fr. Mark