What if I asked you to remember your death? If you, like me, recoil at the thought of death, does it help to know that remembering one's death is a millenia-old practice that includes philosophers and mystics within and outside of the Christian tradition?
"Every person has life only because God is Life. Ash Wednesday is a reminder that humanity needs a Savior because we are but dust and ashes." "Remembering your death for the Christian is absolutely inseparable from remembering what Christ has done for each one of us." (Theresa Altheia Noble FSP in her book: Remember your Death p. 14)
The Cross changes everything about our perspective of death, because when we consider our own mortality, we can then look to Christ's triumph over death and sin and remember His Victory.
"When we live as if this is all we have, this life on Earth, we lose a sense of the spiritual, a sense of wonder, which is the essence of our human-ness" Day 30, These Next Forty Days
It is not an easy practice, this remembering our vulnerability, as it may bring up some uncomfortable emotions. I pray this week for you that by practicing this prayer of keeping in mind your own death, your own journey, that God's abundant grace will allow you to reconsider the value of this present moment, this week, and this year ahead.