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253 9 Death, the End of the Human Pilgrimage Instability. It is a horrible thing to feel all that we possess slipping away. —Blaise Pascal1 Death is a very narrow difficult passage—certainly not constructed for the proud. —Georges Bernanos2 I think I understand what death is. At death we will open up to what we have lived during our life. —Gabriel Marcel3 With death, our life-choice becomes definitive. —Benedict XVI4 Death will come eventually, and it will come for everybody. Seneca confirms this common conviction and declares that there is nothing more certain than death.5 Yet death, as it presents itself to humans, constitutes a profound enigma. We do not know what it is meant to achieve, other than keeping a limit on world population and ensuring that generations follow on from one another, thus avoiding the cultural stagnation of the world. We are certain that it often involves suffering, pain, and, perhaps more than anything else, an acute sense of loss. Its pervading presence seems to spread a cloud of meaninglessness over life. More optimistic spirits might look upon death as a form of definitive liberation, and envision the human soul soaring above and beyond corruptible matter. But all in all, it makes sense that people would inquire into its meaning, its origin, and its purpose. Not surprisingly, death has been explained, or in some cases explained away, in an enormous variety of ways.6 A Christian reflection on death should, of course, take into account not only the phenomenon of death in all its anthropological implications, but also the fact that the salvation of humanity 1. B.Pascal, Pensées (ed. Brunschvig), n. 212. 2. G.Bernanos, Diary of a Country Priest, 170. 3. G.Marcel, La soif (Paris: Desclée, 1938). 4. SS 45. 5. Seneca, Ep. 99:9. 6. See J.Pieper, Tod und Unsterblichkeit, 43. 254 Honing and Purifying Christian Hope was brought about by Jesus Christ, God’s own Son, dying on the cross. If death is not a side issue for religion in general, it certainly is not for Christianity. In this chapter we shall examine the following issues. In the first place, we shall enquire into some aspects of the phenomenology of death and immortality, and the questions they pose. This we shall do under three headings: the presence of death within life; the evil quality and destructive power of death; and death in the light of promised immortality. Then, second, we shall consider the Christian view of death under the same three fundamental headings, though in a slightly different order: Death as the outer manifestation of human sinfulness, that is, as punishment for sin (death as evil); Understanding death—and ultimately clarifying its meaning—in terms of the Christian’s life and death being incorporated into the death of Christ, in order to rise up with him (death and immortality); Living out human mortality: death as the end of the human pilgrimage (the presence of death within human life). A Phenomenology of Death and Immortality Three aspects of the reality of death may be considered: the presence of death within life itself; death as evil; death in the light of immortality. Death Is Present in the Midst of Life Humans share mortality with all living entities. Like all multi-cell beings, humans will certainly die. In fact, humans are already on their way to death, to extinction as individuals. Yet among all living beings, humans are the only ones who are aware of this, who attempt to face up to it and do everything possible to delay or avoid it.7 For death is perceived as a rupture of all the relationships that give meaning to his life. At death “there is always a sense of loneliness, for even though we may be surrounded by affection, every person dies alone.”8 Death is the “triumph of total irrelationality,” in the words of Eberhard Jüngel.9 “All humans die alone. The loneliness of death seems perfect,” said Karl Jaspers.10 Yet this gradual breakdown takes place day by day, year by year, and reminds us that death approaches inexorably. Max Scheler offers a powerful description of human life as it moves toward death, perceived as an ever-growing constriction of 7. M.Scheler, “Tod und Fortleben,” in Gesammelte Werke, vol. 10 (München: A.Franke, 1957), 9. 8. Josemaría Escrivá, Furrow, n. 881. 9. E.Jüngel, Tod (Stuttgart: Kreuz-Verlag, 1971), 150. 10. K.Jaspers, Philosophie...

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