Remember Death... Remember to Live

Today is a day of reflection and remembrance of death, of the frailty and fleeting nature of earthly life. Jesus is dead. Some feel the pain and loss, some carry on with life, but everyone is changed. Jesus was only thirty-three when he died and had only been in his public ministry for three years. I don't know how it was back then, but by today's standards, that's awfully young. I've known several people who were quite young who have passed away recently, and it makes me stop and wonder "What am I doing with my life?" Am I focusing on what really matters or am I not utilizing well what precious little time I have? It is important to remember that we will die, and things of this world are fleeting that it may temper our lives, but we should also focus on making the most of life. Live, love, hurt, laugh, cry: all of these things help us know we are truly alive. It is not just physical death that is important to remember either. Sin causes spiritual death, and true love is sacrificial: dying to oneself for the joy and well-being of another. Jesus died to give us life. His life was His love and He gave it away. Jesus gave us everything. We can and ought to give something back to him because "we would have nothing, nothing, nothing if we didn't have Him". Jesus died to nail our sins upon the cross and as we die with Christ, so too will we rise with Him. May God help us to die to ourselves and live for others. When we live for others, we also live for God: "Whatever you do for the least of my brothers and sisters, you do for me". I pray that at the end of your life, that you don't have any regrets for wanting to do something and not doing it. Don't forget to tell your parents, your spouse, your family and friends that you love them and cherish them. Call that person, that friend that you haven't talked to in years. Be generous and compassionate to the person on the street. Don't wait, because tomorrow could be too late. We are not promised tomorrow, we are only promised right now. We are only promised today. So, today and everyday we pray: Memento Mori... Memento Vivere.

Remember Death, but most importantly... Remember to Live!

Amen

𝙰𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕
𝚂𝚘 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚒𝚝
𝙳𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚝’𝚜 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚢
𝚂𝚘 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚝’𝚜 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑

𝙰𝚝 youth 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚏 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕
𝙷𝚊𝚕𝚏 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎
𝚂𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎, 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜
𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜

𝙰𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚏 𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚝𝚢
𝙷𝚊𝚕𝚏 𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚝𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚎
𝙶𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚖
𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚎

𝙰𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚝𝚢
𝙴𝚖𝚙𝚝𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚝, 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚊 𝚍𝚛𝚘𝚙
𝙰𝚜 𝚠𝚎 𝚍𝚛𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕
𝚂𝚘 𝚏𝚘𝚘𝚕, 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍

𝙰𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚡 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚘 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕
𝚂𝚘 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚒𝚝
𝙳𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚝’𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚢
𝙽𝚘𝚠 𝚜𝚘 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚝’𝚜 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑

Sometimes I sit
by the balcony

with cigarettes
and cheap whiskey,

thinking about all
the things I couldn’t
be.

That’s all I can afford
on a budget for two.

Silver clouds drift
across autumn skies,

yellow lights
line the streets,

and my bitter soul
reminisces about
sweet nothings.

Healing starts with
gentle grace.
By finding peace in your
own pace.
Love yourself,
let your fears unwind.
And trust will bloom in time,
refined.

it takes courage to step out the door;
to pick your battles,
when there’s nothing left fighting for.