My name is Cathy Sess. I'm 21 and have recently returned from my trip in India. This was the beginning of spiritual enlightenment and finding my soul. It’s time for us to remember our dearly departed. This is also a time for us to think about the reality of death in one's life. Today at mass, at one point during the homily, the priest asked "Who is not afraid of death?" Whoa! I really wanted to raise my hands but realizing that it would cause a scene, I decided to nod like the rest of the people. I just want to share why I had to convince myself that death is real and it comes without a warning. If we have lived a life of good will, then there is nothing to fear since our soul is as clean as a crystal. What makes us afraid of death is the fact how we live our lives. That what makes us fear death. Death is as real as living. This is one thing I had myself convince because when I was working with campus ministry before, I was the one handling the session on Looking Back, and one of the main point of the session is appreciating every step we take in life. Presenting that life could end in an instant, it can make one think about what one has done in life.

Is NOW the right time to die? or are we not ready? I cannot say that I am ready but the idea of death doesnt scare me. I am not being morbid because my faith tells me that I will have eternal life beyond death. That's the beauty of it. We live in this mortal life just now ... we pass through this path only once .. we make the most of it but eventually everybody will reach their final mortal destination. You know, come to think of it, it would be really boring to live forever in this mortal world. Everybody will experience death, its just the matter of "who goes first". The reality of dying makes us realize that life is something we have to live out to the fullest. Having the full understanding of why we live can somehow make appreciate life more and accept death as a reality.Okay, enough of the death stuff. Just a thought.

Yesterday, all of the cemeteries here and in other places were filled with people visiting their departed love ones. You cant help but have instant reunions with families. Yesterday was All Saints Day. Today is All Souls Day, but when I visited the cemetery again today. Traffic was normal, the cemetery was silent like an ordinary day. You could only count the number of people. But arent we supposed to visit the cemetery today? Isnt this the right day to remember our dearly departed? Ok, we visited them yesterday because all assume that they are all Saints already ... hehehe .. maybe some but I bet some are still struggling their souls in purgatory, which gives us, the living, the obligation to offer prayers for them.