It is November. Most visit the cemeteries, place flowers on the graves of their bereaved loved ones, say a prayer, hear a mass for the rest of their souls, and feel secure that they have thus done their duty to their departed loved ones on their special month and that’s it. But for a lot more others, that’s not just it, because remembrance of their loved ones enkindles in them again the happy experience they had had with their loved ones and who now are no more. And for many, the pain of this sudden departure of their loved ones, has been carried by them since the tragic event when those they loved and by whom they had been loved, went away for ever.

And who is there among us that has not passed through the harrowing experience of losing a loved one and being shaken to the very roots of our being and perhaps emerging with a permanent scar. General Douglas MacArthur who led the American forces during World War II, in his biography spoke on three such occasions that happened to him in succession. He first lost his father and writing on this event he said that, “My whole world changed that night. Never have I been able to heal the wound in my heart”( Reminiscences, p.44). On the death of his brother who died suddenly in 1923, General McArthur wrote, “I loved my brother dearly and his premature death left a gap in my life which has never been filled” (Reminiscences, p.23). And then when death yet again entered his household and claimed his mother in 1935, he wrote that “Within two months after our arrival in Manila my mother died, and our devoted comradeship of so many years came to an end” (Reminiscences, p.113)

Sir Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister who led Britain to victory in World War II had this to say on the passing away of his father, “My father died on January 24 (1895) in the early morning... All my dreams of comradeship with him, of entering Parliament at his side were ended. There remained for me only to pursue his aims and vindicate his memory.” (My Early Life, p.62)

When confronted by death, we all grieve, we become sad and feel our heart filling with sorrow. We immediately consider death as evil, as the enemy of man and we all hate it because of the suffering it brings. And we hate most of all when it strikes down very close loved ones, taking them out of our very lives away from our daily routines. Before they were with us and now they are just gone. A gap has entered our life and forever and we are beyond comprehending or understanding the reason of this void.

Man since time immemorial has always been intrigued by the profound mystery surrounding death. Faced with such circumstances, most do not understand death. Indeed notwithstanding all our advancements in science and technology, and our accumulation of knowledge, we still do not know the answers to the biggest and most profound puzzling questions of all, “What Are We and Where Are We Going.” And in attempting to answer such a query, life and death must by force be hinged on the fact of an existent Body who is the source of all life and has the sway of all life. In fact one cannot speak of death without getting involved in the existence of this Supreme Power. The two are inseparable. Logic teaches us that there is a reason for everything. Nothing is done or takes place which has no reason behind it, vague as it may be.

Death brings about a complete organic transformation through which according to Baudelaire, “one may at last find one’s way to something new”. Death then is a resurrection. All throughout life man feels the effects of that urge to severe all bonds and start anew. At one time it is the body which rebels or maims itself in disease. Sometimes it is the characteristics that make our personality which seem to be in turmoil, binding us to a sever detachment against orderly behaviour of any sort. The whole journey of life towards God is governed by the tearing up of roots; imperfections; of vices; misplacable passions and defeats. As we go through life, little by little through the accompanionment of the gradual spiritualisation of our tastes and aspirations, we are reaching the transformation of our whole being but which is only made complete by death. Being the last step, death or the return to nothingness ends human existence but does not complete or fulfill it. Death evokes a general anxiety in men. Heidegger says that, “we try to allay anxiety or hide from it by relapsing into inauthenticity by immersing ourselves in routine. But the metaphysical conscience cannot be stifled. Only a firm and open recognition of our own finitude can remove the guilt provoked by inauthenticity. We must be resolute and live towards death. We can do this only if we look beyond the grave where God will be waiting for us”.

Of course this holds water only for those that believe in the existence of a SuperPower who has the sway over all and this is what makes religion so important because believing in God and the hereafter gives us hope and solace and helps to see us through every tragedy. Faced with tragic circumstances we can look up at Christ on the cross, the Son of God who came to earth, lived like a man, suffered and died for us rising again from the dead and going up to heaven to be a sign of hope and glory and to show us that with His help we can all finally surpass the flagell of death.

When Christ’s body spent itself on the gibbet, his accusers went home happy with the thought that Christ now had died and they would not be tormented by Him anymore. Others felt disappointed that their Saviour was no more. Christ it seemed was another cheap quack. But then Christ by his own power severed the bonds of death and rose gloriously to join his Father in Heaven. By so doing Christ reversed the whole nature of things. He gave credit to a life beyond the tomb. Looking at Him and believing, man could go happily to his death. Christ gave Christianity the break it needed. Martyrs going to their death in Roman amphitheatres sung lustily to the astonishment of the pagan spectators. To die for the faith was the ‘in’ thing of the moment. It was not just a whim or mode of the time but a creditable thing which rocked the very foundations of the Roman empire and brought about its collapse. Christ on the cross is a beacon, showing us the way all along our life-time journey and to the land beyond. Through charting the right course towards this beacon we will be able to overcome the grief of a loved one’s bereavement and come to belief that no matter what, life must go on. Not only but we will be able to sort out our own life-style to put it on track, on the right track of eventually facing our own demise.

We afore mentioned General Douglas MacArthur and Winston Churchill. The fact that both amply fulfilled their respective roles in life, proves that notwithstanding their grievious bereavement of close relatives, they continued on their way to the fulfillment of their lives. And this is what we have to do. It is of course natural to sorrow for a little time and nothing is wrong about it, but we must rise up from our sorrow and continue on our way and to do our utmost to live our own life, fully and according to Christ’s laid out standards.

JOE C. CORDINA

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