Freedom from the Fear of Death

The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast

Ascension

Christianity, Religion & Spirituality, Society & Culture

4.9 • 7.1K Ratings

🗓️ 13 August 2020

⏱️ 8 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Wearing masks, not wearing masks, and all the mixed emotions that have come with the coronavirus reveal that—as a society—we lack freedom from the fear of death.

Maybe you know someone who has died from the virus, or someone who lost their livelihood due to the lockdown. Many are wondering when they can safely go out again, or when they can they go back to Mass.

In fact, the coronavirus is revealing the fear of not just death, but also the fear of loss, uncertainty, and insecurity.

In these strange times, it’s encouraging to remember the one who conquered death. In Hebrews we read:

“Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same nature, that through death he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage” (Hebrews 2:14-15).

In a world without Jesus, death ought to be feared because it is a separation from life and everything good. But Christ has transformed life and death. This does not mean suffering and grief simply don’t matter, but in our suffering we have hope that death is not the end.

Living life is risky. About eight out of a thousand people die every year, COVID-19 aside (https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/WLD/world/death-rate). But the meaning of life is so much more than avoiding death. Frankly, some things are worse than death and some things are more important than our lives on earth. We are called to embrace the risks of life and live in hope … while still taking reasonable health precautions.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Let's talk about the Rona, a little COVID-19, or COVID-X-I-X for those who like to speak
0:06.0	informal and numerals.
0:16.3	Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz and this is a sentient presence. Man, man,
0:19.5	in this era, in this age, what we're going through right now, it's probably not one person
0:23.6	watching this or listening to this who has not been touched by in a negative way, touched by
0:30.6	the coronavirus. But there's something interesting about this that I've noticed more and more.
0:34.9	It's I noticed it when it first started and I noticed as the quarantine, all these lockdowns
0:39.7	extended and even now, I wouldn't be like, okay, we're opening up and the mask and no mask and
0:44.5	wash your hands and that person has a mask on, we're mad at them, we're the person we're making
0:48.4	me wear our masks and mad at you, like all that kind of stuff. One thing I keep hearing about is
0:51.7	so much fear and when it comes down to this, I think one of the things that was revealed
0:58.6	through this entire stuff. Again, this is not to minimize the fact that those watching this,
1:04.7	listening to this, you've experienced loss, people in your family who have died because of this,
1:10.4	people who you love more than anyone else, best friends you've lost because of the coronavirus.
1:15.5	Livelyhood, I know so many businesses which means business owners and employees who have lost
1:23.6	their livelihood. So this is not this, none of this in this video is to minimize, make light of
1:31.2	be glib about, but here's something. I've countered and countered, I've talked with and encountered
1:37.9	many people who have said, I'm just very afraid, with the coronavirus I'm very afraid.
1:45.3	Like when do I go out again? When can I go back to mass? And I have to say,
1:58.4	what I appreciate is the fact that the coronavirus is revealing something.
2:03.5	It's revealing the fear, but it's a fear that was always there.
2:06.9	It's revealing a fear, but it's revealing a fear that was already there. It's not putting the fear
	...

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