Page 43 - HQ May June July 2020

Praised are you, my Lord, for our sister bodily Death, life inside us. They cannot deprive us of the joy that is
u
from whom no living man can escape. ours. They cannot rob us of the hope that fills us — the
Woe on those who will die in mortal sin! hope of eternal life. V
Blessed are they who will be
found in your most holy will, “O death, where is thy sting?”
for the second death will not harm them (CCC 1014). 1 Corinthians 15:55
Knowing death is not the end also makes us long Scott Hahn
for something else. It makes us long to share our hope March 19, 2020
with others. Solemnity of St. Joseph, Patron of a Holy Death

* * * * * * *
The first Christians — our fathers and mothers in
the faith — didn’t fear death; they anticipated it. Many
of them ran toward it, wanting nothing more than to
begin what C.S. Lewis, in The Last Battle, described
as “Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on
Earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every
chapter is better than the one before.” 1
People often refer to the Gospel or even salvation
history as “the greatest story ever told”. But it’s not
really. It’s just the introduction. Or a prelude. What
comes after this life, when the blessed enter into the
Beatific Vision and see in the Father’s eyes the story of
their life, of everyone’s lives, of all the world, that will
be the greatest story ever told, the one to which every
other story belongs, the story that makes sense of all
the stories, the story we’ve been waiting our whole
lives to hear.
ight now, as Christians, we’re called to imitate
those first Christians. We may or may not be
Rcalled to run toward death in the arena or the
hospital ward. But we are most certainly called to set
aside our fear of death and live in hope. We are called Dr. Scott Hahn, well known Catholic convert and apologist,
to hope that we will see our lost loved ones again and brings fresh eyes to our Catholic faith. He was formerly a
to hope that with them, one day, we will rest in the Presbyterian minister and ardent Protestant Bible scholar
arms of our Father. who converted to Catholicism. Dr. Hahn is founder and Pres-
We’re also called to hope in the God who took the ident of the St. Paul Center in Steubenville, OH, an aposto-
single greatest evil ever perpetrated — the crucifixion late dedicated to teaching Catholics to read Scripture from
of our Lord — and brought out of it the single greatest the heart of the Church. Writer of several best-selling books,
good the world has ever known: the redemption of including The Lamb’s Supper, Reasons to Believe, and Rome
humanity. If God can bring goodness and glory and Sweet Home (co-authored with his wife, Kimberly), Dr. Hahn
beauty and life from that kind of evil, he most certainly teaches at Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio.
can bring goodness and glory and beauty and life out
of the evil we presently face. For more info on Dr. Hahn’s new book, please visit:
Hope is what will sustain us in the days yet to stpaulcenter.com and/or emmausroad.org
come. It also will make it possible for us to experience
joy today, no matter what sorrows presently afflict us. Contact by email to place an order:
Again, death is not the end. We were made for life. michelleolenick@stpaulcenter.com
We were made for joy. And in Christ, that life and joy Or write:
will be ours. In Christ, that life and joy are already ours.
Death brings the fulfillment of that life and joy, but we St. Paul Center
1468 Parkview Circle
can live in it now. Even in the midst of grief. Even in the Steubenville, OH 43952
midst of war. Even in the midst of plagues and poverty
and confusion. If we are in Christ, we have nothing to Contact by phone:
fear from the terrors of the world. They cannot kill the (740) 264-9535
1 C. S. Lewis, The Last Battle (New York: Harper Collind, 1954), 211. Open Monday - Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, E.S.T.

44 MICHAEL May/June/July 2020 www.michaeljournal.org