Life Without End
Please help yourself to a major paper called Life Without End: Addressing Death Anxiety through the Virtue of Hope and the Ministry of Catholic Cemeteries.
The content is posted as well in PowerPoint format and a 90-minute workshop is available for adult groups at parishes. To book a workshop, please call 604-531-2141 or email advisor@rccav.org.
Abstract
This thesis addresses the theological problems that are part of people’s anxiety and reluctance to engage in the mysteries of death and everlasting life. Modern Western culture represses the experience of death as part of human experience.
The Catholic virtues of faith and hope are examined as antidotes to the problems. These virtues in conjunction with emphasis on eternal life, Jesus Christ’s resurrection, and preparation are reviewed to help Catholics better understand death as a mystery to be lived in Christian hope. The Catholic cemetery ministry is explained as an important ministry integral to the Church’s mission not only offering respectful preservation of human remains but providing education and comfort for the distress over the death of loved ones and inevitable approach of each person’s own death.
It is claimed that those who address their own mortality and who live in Christian hope face life issues with a greater sense of meaning and less anxiety.
The content is posted as well in PowerPoint format and a 90-minute workshop is available for adult groups at parishes. To book a workshop, please call 604-531-2141 or email advisor@rccav.org.
“My father was buried there 20 years ago. Now recently my mother was buried next to my father. It gives me comfort knowing they’re forever together.”
“Last year my father and I attended the Mass of All Souls at the beautiful Gardens in memory of my mother. We were blown away by the magnificence of the sprawling landscape and the new buildings. It was so peaceful in its grandeur. The serenity. The sacredness. We had arrived at dusk but what we saw was breathtaking. I can only imagine how this beauty supports families in healing their broken hearts.”
“I would like to thank Ken Fung for walking me through this process. As difficult as it was I really appreciated his time and patience. He made my most devastating days bearable. Thank you for that!”