Meeting My Maker . . . but when, exactly ?

I think I’ve mentioned before that I have a practice of making a Preparation for Death on the first day of every month . . . I like to hope that it helps me do that directly; but also indirectly, by helping me maintain an awareness of my own mortality.

After the events of the middle of last month, of course, I am probably further on that path of awareness than before; not necessarily because I was close to death – because it looks as though, in fact, I probably wasn’t – but because the uncertainty (of which there is still some about) reminded me very forcibly of the fragility of my humanity . . . which must be a valuable tool in helping one prepare for that last moment.

For all sorts of reasons, this month is going to be one of great activity around me . . . we have the Holy Father’s visit to the UK; a friend is moving house ‘with a little help from her friends’; I’m assisting in running an inaugural colloquium in Oxford; there are strange things going on at work; there are several of my favourite Feast Days (Mother’s Birthday, for instance, Holy Cross Day . . .) and more friends’ birthdays than I can begin to think of . . . so it will be very easy to lose sight of my own unimportance and transience in the scheme of things.

That’s why I think that a Preparation for Death is such a useful thing . . . and why I have valued making mine this morning.

May I recommend you to try it too ?