The Best Lie You Could Ever Tell

My first Confirmation class (quite some years ago now) ended with an enticing cliffhanger: “Next week, I’ll teach you how to lie,” our teacher told us. The next week, we all waited eagerly around the circular table. “Repeat after me,” he finally said. “It could never happen to me.”

It could never happen to me.

In actuality, anything could happen to any one of us at any time, and to think otherwise or fail to prepare ourselves is folly. Any one of us could be involved in a car accident, sustain life-threatening injuries, be diagnosed with cancer, lose our jobs to a more qualified candidate, or lose our homes to natural disasters, or any number of other situations and occurrences. We hear stories of such things happening to others all the time but are sometimes hard-pressed to believe the reality that it could just as easily be us as anyone else.

Once we begin to see through the lie, many fall into one of two problematic categories: those who live in fear and prepare, in extreme, for any and every disaster situation possible, bracing themselves for the worst at every moment, and those who also live in fear and try to prevent anything—even good things—from happening to anyone. Just in case. This is still a lie—the lie that we can avoid suffering. It is easy to fall into either deception, especially at this time when we face looming global threats and many tragic shootings on American soil. However we proceed as a nation, we must keep in mind that we will never be able to legislate evil away, but we may be able to help keep it from rearing its ugly head so often.

memento moriOne thing is certain: in one form or another, suffering will come to us. It is, then, in how we respond to it that matters. Will we respond in fear, or in love and virtue? When death befalls each of us (because no one is exempt), will you cower in fear or open your arms?

Frater, memento mori—brother, remember your death. This may seem ill-fitting for this time of year, this time of joy when Christ is born. But Jesus was born to die, to die to save us. Not even God Himself was exempt from suffering or death. Brother, remember your death—remember that this life is temporary and that you will pass from the temporal to the eternal. “Be not afraid,” Jesus tells us time and again, not of persecution or suffering or death—perfect love, God’s perfect love, casts out all fear. Brother, remember your death—a life well-lived with faith, hope, and love and in service to God and others surely has nothing to fear of the eternal, because that soul is already embracing the eternal while journeying on earth.

Mary and alert Baby JesusDo not let yourselves be deceived by the ignorance or fear of suffering and death—they have no prejudice—but, instead, prepare yourselves properly. Pray, frequent the sacraments, serve those around you. Live each day with an eye on the eternal and you will not be deceived nor have anything to fear. Outfit yourselves with the armor of God and you will be impenetrable against the whims of the world. Live life in imitation of Christ, from the cradle to the cross.

As we prepare to welcome the Christ child this Christmas, as we contemplate the mystery and joy of the Incarnation, let us look upon the face of the baby Jesus as Mary did—with love and devotion, knowing that He would grow up to die. Frater, memento mori. Merry Christmas.

Theresa Williams

Theresa Williams

"I have become all things to all, to save at least some" (1 Cor. 9:22) basically describes her life as writer, homemaker, friend and sister, wife, and mother of 2 spunky children, all for the sake of Gospel joy. She received her BA in Theology, Catechetics/Youth Ministry, and English Writing from Franciscan University of Steubenvile. Currently, she is a homemaker and freelance writer. Her life mottos are Ad Majoram Dei Gloriam and "Without complaint, everything shall I suffer for in the love of God, nothing have I to fear" (St. Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart). She is Pennsylvanian by birth, Californian by heart, and in Texas for the time being. Yinz can find her on Twitter @TheresaZoe.

Leave a Replay

1 thought on “The Best Lie You Could Ever Tell”

  1. Frater, memento mori. This is interesting as in Eastern Deism one cannot remember
    their last death … and therein lies God’s mercy.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Sign up for our Newsletter

Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit