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JMJ
"I beg you to see to it that those meditations of man's last four ends finish up with hope and trust in God, not with fear and fright. . . When they finish in fear, they are dangerous. . . God is not so terrible for those who love Him. . . He asks little of us because He knows how little we have." (St. Francis deSales)
In the classic novel, Anna Karenina, a poignant scene is depicted between Kitty, the young newly married wife of Levin, and his dying brother, Nikolay. Knowing of her brother-in-law's decline and approaching death, Kitty has been pleading with her husband to allow her to call upon him before his impending end. For a time, Levin refuses to permit this visitation out of concern that the sight of his wretched brother and the repugnant surroundings of his living situation would repulse his young bride, thereby defiling her sweet innocence. However, once Levin finally accedes to her persistent determination, he is astounded to discover that his sweet spouse is not as naive and timid as he thought. Not only is she undisturbed by the loathsome scene she encounters, but Kitty is actually unhindered by the fear of death that plagues Levin:
"[She] knew without a shadow of a doubt what life was, and what death was, and although [she couldn't] have begun to answer or even understand questions which occured to Levin, [there] was no doubt to the significance of this phenomenon. . .the proof that [she] really did know what death was lay in the fact that [she] knew without a moment's hesitation how to deal with people who were dying and [was] not frightened of them. Levin and others, although they could say a lot about death, clearly did not know, because they were afraid of death and did not have the faintest idea what to do when people were dying."
Since the Fall, when sin and suffering entered the world, death has been an ever present reality to man. Though he may choose to ignore it—through laziness, a bloated over-confidence, or an idolization of health—man cannot escape mortality. But rather than being frustrated at his finiteness—a feeling that emanates from the pride that he is profoundly capable of anything—if man accepts the limitations that accompany his mortality, he will secure the serenity that Our Savior offers to those who live in union with his will.
Though it may at first be humbling to acknowledge those limitations—both physical and emotional—in the end, it is a relief to rest in the fact that one need not strive for a perfect existence that is not in harmony with a nature that cries for respite from the unrealistic demands he puts upon himself. Christ desires this freedom for his followers when he offers to yoke himself to man. No longer burdened by expectation, man is at peace, happily admitting to his weaknesses and gladly depending on God to make up for what is lacking.
