“Remember Your Death”
Prior to the summer of 2019, I had never heard the phrase “memento mori”. I was in Pennsylvania working on an internship when my roommate mentioned it to me while we were hiking. She explained that “memento mori”, which is Latin for “remember your death”, was to remind us that our lives on earth are pointed towards an eternal destination and that everything we do is going to lead up to that point: eternity with God, or eternity without Him.
This stuck with me heavily for the next three months. At the time, I was nearing the end of my abusive relationship and was beginning to gather the strength to walk away. While doing so, I was struggling heavily with an addiction to masturbation, especially as I lived in a state I had never been to, working in a job with people I didn’t know. I began to write “remember your death” on my inner arm and looked at it when I was tempted.
Over time, I found that not only did this reminder help me to stay resilient during moments of temptation, but it also helped me to think about honoring the Lord in other areas of my life, such as taking care of my body, investing in intentional prayer, and serving those around me.
It only took three months for me to decide to get “remember your death” tattooed on my arm. I had never really had a strong desire to get a tattoo in the past, but if God gifted me with a body, why shouldn’t I use it to glorify Him?
You see, through my addiction, I had been using my body to separate myself from the Lord. Every time I fell, I took a step away from Him. And when I fell, I found that I was more likely to be uncharitable, lie from shame, and not only hurt my relationship with God, but wound those around me.
Before getting the tattoo though, I wanted to do my research, ensuring that this was an idea that would only benefit my vocation, and would be applicable for the rest of my life. If you’ve heard “memento mori” before, you may have heard the story of an order of monks who took a vow of silence and would only speak these words to their brothers. It’s been contested whether this actually occurred, but I personally love this idea. I love the idea that this group of men, who consecrated themselves to a life of silent discernment of the Lord, would only use their words to encourage their brothers to always live for the glory of God.
You see, it’s not just about warding off temptation. Sure, this mindset has saved me from more falls than I count in the past three years, but it’s also about reminding ourselves hourly that our time is limited. None of us know the moment we’ll be called home. And while living like you’re dying seems like a cliche, that’s what I’m proposing we do through “memento mori.”
This mindset isn’t about doing the things you’ve always dreamed of, it’s about living a life that will grant you eternal salvation with the Lord. At the end of our lives, we won’t be able to go back to a certain moment we failed to smile at someone we knew was having a bad day. We won’t be able to change the words we said to a person who hurt our feelings. And we won’t be able to prevent ourselves from reaching for our phone when we were tempted to put our relationship with Christ aside.
All we’ll have at the end of our life is judgment. And that judgment will either grant us a life of eternal beatific vision, or a life of agony without our Father.
And before I forget, this isn’t about being afraid of the Lord either. God doesn’t want us to be afraid of Him, and he definitely doesn’t want us to be over-scrupulous because we’re trying to be perfect all the time. But Fear of the Lord is a virtue, one that, when exercised properly, helps us to recognize that we are not in control, and be okay with it. It allows us to surrender to the will of God and thank Him for every breath he puts into our lungs. Fear of the Lord is out of immense love for the Father, not out of terror.
Before we go, I want to share with you four Bible verses that I picked when getting my tattoo. I wanted a verse to go with each word to further strengthen the intentionality of my decision. And, because God is so cool and intentional, the verses I found are spaced out throughout the Bible. Here we go:
“remember”
“I will remember my covenant which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh.” - Genesis 9:15
We’ve had a relationship with God since our moment of conception. He has an intentional relationship with each person on this earth, whether they reciprocate it or not, and He never stops fighting for our hearts. And even though we’re fallen, broken, and just plain difficult sometimes, He longs for a covenant with us - a promise.
“your”
“Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have graven you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.” - Isaiah 49:15-16
God never forgets us, and He never will. Every time we fall, every time we’re tempted, He’s right there. He loves us before sin, during sin, and after sin, and all He wants is to be united with us. It doesn’t matter how often we fall, or how many mistakes we make, all relationships are fleeting except one, so long as we love Him back.
“death”
“he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.” - Revelation 21:4
We have never been designed for this life; it’s merely a stepping stone for greater glory to come. We may do amazing things on this earth - win awards, acquire wealth, achieve fame - but none of it means anything if we aren’t living for the end. God would rather us die in debt with a heart full of love than be wealthy with nothing to show of His glory.
Remembering your death is hard, and it won’t stop the devil from tempting us, but it may just help to put those two minutes of pleasure into perspective.
Remember your death. Remember that your days are numbered. Remember that we are here for one purpose and one purpose only: to achieve eternal joy in Heaven with a Father who never stopped fighting for us.