The 40th day

Yesterday was the 40th day after my grandfather's death, meaning, in Catholic beliefs, his soul is about to enter the gates of heaven. Today, we had a little gathering with friends and family to offer prayers and to have a mini reunion of sorts.

Here are some lines from the novena prayers we offered that I found really interesting. It kinda makes death a little more "enticing"...

"Lord, help us see death for what it really is.
The end of poverty and the beginning of riches.
The end of frustration and the beginning of fulfillment.
The end of fear and the beginning of tranquility.
The end of pain and the beginning of joy.
The end of weakness and the beginning of strength."

"Life is eternal, life is immortal. And death is only a horizon, and a horizon is nothing but the limit of our sight."

I wonder if any of those lines are for real. If death is really all that, then that makes death a little less frightnening. More often than not, we have a concept of death as something scary, something to be afraid of. This became prevalent because of the spooky stories from those who've had near-death experiences. Images of "the tunnel", the forces of darkness, the angels and the light all permeate our thoughts because that's all the "information" we have. But is death really something wonderful as the prayers intend to make us believe? Is death really not as bad as "advertised"?

We will never know until it happens to us.