Questions about death? A new Catholic website teaches us how to die

Death is a universal experience.

While on a recent family trip to Disneyland, I thought about dying. I also thought about going home at the welcome end of a long, tiresome day. And I spent some time thinking about the lessons I could carry with me from my fun day at the park. Fortunately, the Church has already prepared a guide that can help make sense of my musings.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - While enjoying a fun family day at Disneyland, I thought about dying, and it filled me with joy. This probably isn't a typical thought pattern for most people, so I'll explain.

Like any other occasionally immature adult, I love Disneyland. It truly is the happiest place on earth. But perhaps the greatest thing about Disneyland is that you go home at the end of the day. Ask yourself, how charming would Disneyland be if you were imprisoned there forever? Sure, you could enjoy all the rides and shows you wanted, and all at no cost. But how long would it be before you got tired of the whole thing?

Disneyland is fun precisely because you don't do it every day. It's a rare treat. For those of us in Southern California, it usually an annual treat, or even more frequent than that, but it's not a daily event.

In other words, Disneyland is fantastic because it ends. If Disneyland were free, or if you could stay there forever, eventually you would tire of the experience and grow resentful.

Life is the same way. What makes life so precious, from the womb to the grave, is the fact that our days are numbered.

A person who is mindful that their life will end will normally savor their time and their happiness more. They will act better towards others.

Sooner or later, death comes to all of us. As Catholics, we are confident of the Resurrection and that we will live again in Christ. But that doesn't make the parting easier for many people who fear losing their loved ones. This is why the Catholic Church of England has prepared "The Art of Dying Well."

The Art of Dying Well is a website you can visit and learn about the Church's perspective on dying and find answers to common questions about death. Importantly, the site offers advice that can help everyone who is dealing with the process.

The site explains, "After centuries of ministering to the dying, the Catholic Church has a fund of experience to share in what was traditionally called the art of dying well, or in Latin, Ars Moriendi. We sense that this is good time to look afresh at that tradition."

The Church has prepared guides for those of us concerned with death for centuries. The first was prepared in the wake of the Black Death, which consumed at least a third of Europe's population.
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Death is one truly universal experience. It happens to all people, without exception. It is democratizing, for the wealthy die, same as the poor. In the end, our bodies all reside in a grave, six feet by three, or so.

This experience is so universal, even God Himself has experienced it. Jesus Christ was compelled to suffer, and to carry his cross to Calvary. He faced the fear of dying like all of us. He was killed by his executioners in one of the most brutal ways imaginable. Few of us, in this age of modern medicine and painkillers, will suffer as Christ did. Yet, Jesus faced his death unflinchingly.

So too should we look forward to our passing. The inevitability of our death is one of the things that adds value to our life. Our days on Earth are a limited commodity and therefore precious.

Thankfully, we have the loving instruction of the Catholic Church to help make those days better.

Visit the site and see what is helpful to you. 

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