The Healing Journey

January 29, 2026

The late Mother Angelica, founder of Eternal Word Network, was always frank when the discussion turned to death. She recognized the burden of grief many Catholics carry, and she shared their pain with compassion. At the same time, she understood the importance of talking about death and never shied away from the topic because people who thought about their own death often took their spiritual life seriously. The following excerpt is from her writing on life and death.

“Some people might think that talking about death is crazy or morose. But I rather like the subject, because it makes people focus on how they are handling life. Discussing death gives us the urgency to explore our relationship with God and to identify the meaning of our lives. If we confront our death as intelligent human beings, we must at the same time confront our own sanctity. Pursuing holiness is not a hobby; it’s a full-time job. And thinking about death can help us get our act together.

“A Catholic convert I know tells the story of his search for God. Ed was home on leave from the Army, chatting away with his devout Protestant father. They were unpacking his things, and suddenly his father picked up the shiny new dog tags that were lying on the bed. For a while, the father just stared. ‘It says here that you are a Catholic, son,’ his father finally said. ‘Are you?’ The young man thought back to that afternoon a few months before, when he had been asked by the Army information officer to indicate his religion. He was thus forced to consider his own burial and how he wanted to die. He realized at that moment that it was the same way he wanted to live—as a Catholic. He told the officer that he was a Catholic, even though he wasn’t.

Ed looked at his father, and his father looked at him. He answered, ‘Yes, Dad, I guess in my heart I am a Catholic.’ ‘Well, the way I understand it, you either are one or you aren’t one,’ his father said, in his slowest Texas drawl. ‘It seems to me like you ought to go and talk to a priest.’ When we think about our own death, we are forced to consider our own life, both in this world and in the next. We are forced to consider that moment when we will be face to face with God.

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