Reflection for Saturday of the Third Week of Lent — The Transitus of St. Benedict
In our basilica at Conception Abbey are many beautiful murals that reflect events in the Gospels and in the Benedictine tradition. One mural, in the south transept of the basilica, depicts the St. Benedict preparing for his death. He is in his oratory, surrounded by the monks who followed him. They are holding him up as he prays, and his arms are raised towards Heaven. This is how, according to legend, he died. He entered into eternal life praying, as he always taught his monks to do.
As we Benedictines celebrate St. Benedict’s passing, or transitus (Latin for “crossing over”), today, it’s poignant to keep in mind how we as Christians approach death. Death is inevitable. We all have to face it eventually. The old adage is true: “Time flies, remember death.” We do not remember death out of some morbid curiosity. We remember death to live in a better way.
A story illustrates this point: Two friends attend a funeral together. One is an atheist and the other is a Christian. Both of them are sad to have lost their friend. After the burial at the cemetery, these two friends go walking, and the atheist says that he can face death. He says that he knows there is no afterlife. It all ends with death. The Christian replies calmly that he doesn’t believe in an afterlife. He believes in eternal life. He has faith in the Resurrection which Jesus gives to those who believe in Him. Now, the atheist in the story is wrong to say he “knows” there is no life after death. He chooses to deny it. He can’t know what happens after death, and neither, in a sense, does the Christian. The difference is that the Christian has faith, and faith allows him to bridge the gulf that is death to believe in eternal life in Jesus Christ.
Such is our privilege and commission. We are called to view death with faith in life eternal. This same faith impelled St. Benedict on his monastic mission. This is what we celebrate today.
Reflection by Br. Matthew Marie, OSB
Posted in Daily Reflections, Lenten Resources