Accepting Death — A Lenten Reality

Hello again, Coffee Talkers,

     Lent is a season for repentance, for accepting our own sinfulness and our own mortality, and for preparing for own inevitable deaths. This is why we start the season by marking our heads with ashes, while hearing this prayer: “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Yes, our hope is in rising with Christ but before we can hope to rise with Him, we must die with Him. This is why, in full immersion baptisms, you can see the symbolism of being baptized into Christ’s death (the body is submerged into the water as Jesus was buried in the tomb) and coming back up again with new life (as Christ rose from the dead).
     There is a prayer from the Stations of the Cross, a popular Lenten prayer practice, in which we pray to accept our death. I believe that this particular reflection is from the Stations of the Cross by St. Alphonse’s Ligouri, although in the version I found here online there was no attribution, so please correct me if I am incorrect. In any case, the part of the prayer that struck me deeply and has stayed with me since I first heard and prayed it is this: “I accept in particular the death that is destined for me.” This entails not only my acceptance of the reality of my own mortality, but even the particular circumstances of my impending death “with all the pains that may accompany it,” trusting that God (being outside of time and being omniscient) already knows these circumstances and has His own purposes for them.
     How can I better prepare for my own death, both spiritually and materially speaking? How can I better prepare for my death (not knowing when it will be) so that I will be as prepared as possible in soul and in providing for the material needs of my family once I am no longer with them here on earth? Today I applied for additional life insurance for all of us. I’m no insurance salesperson, and I’m not suggesting that this is specifically what Lent is asking of us, but it was a realistic and tangible way that I can prepare for my own death and the death of my immediate family members so that it will be hopefully less burdensome to whoemever remains as they grieve the loss of someone close to them. Also, what are some ways that I can get my spiritual house in order? This week I will make a point to get to confession and to make prayer and sacraments a more frequent practice in my daily and weekly schedule.
     As always, thanks for stopping by, and be assured of my prayers.

Peace and all good,
Leslie