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I want to Live and Die as a Catholic

I want to Live and Die as a Catholic

Last updated on: October 11, 2026 at 3:55 am by Mark Wilson

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I want to Live and Die as a Catholic 2026-10-11T03:55:51-05:00 Mark Wilson

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Sometimes I think of death and get overwhelmed by the fact that I will not see certain people in this life ever again. If you’re reading this, I appreciate you and hope I will see you in Heaven. Even if we never meet and especially if we did. If only briefly. I will not have a chance to say goodbye to everyone who dies or go to their funeral. This fact hit me recently when last night, well actually at 4 something in the morning, when I couldn’t sleep due to my body always wanting to move. I got up and went to Facebook to browse. I came across someone’s FB page in which he had a picture of himself and Fr. Tom Dilorenzo. Fr. Tom was a charismatic priest who did radio ministry and had healing services and such not. He wrote a card to me once after I wrote to him for some reason, maybe giving him money for his ministry. I asked him something about hell or death or something and he said “Keep Your Eyes on Jesus and not the Pit”. Good advice.

I learned that he died back in February. It is now October. I feel the weight more of an acquaintance or somebody I interacted with briefly online more than someone I was close friends with who died. The people I was close to will live in my head and heart more than someone I only spoke to on occasions. I will never interact with them again in this life. And that sometimes overwhelms me emotionally. Not all the time, but sometimes. It is causing me not to sleep. I have to get up to go to Mass and work today. Another night of no sleep. But it inspired me to pray a rosary, I put some dishes in the dishwasher and ran it and did some laundry. I prayed for all the lonely forgotten about people in existence and started to add on to a blog post I already started which begins below this paragraph.

A few months ago a friend from college passed on to her eternal reward. She was 51 years old. Eventually all the people I know will die. It’s a sad reality that sometimes we don’t always think of until it happens.

One night around the time Amy died, Kristin was showing me the coffin she wants to buy so incase the unfortunate happens we will be prepared. We do have a will all made out and ready. I feel as if there are other preparations for us to make, which is why she was looking at coffins. But every day when I decide to engage in prayer, go to mass, and be kind to my neighbor I am also preparing for my death. I am a Catholic Christian, and I try everyday to live as a Catholic Christian. When I don’t I ask for forgiveness and go to confession every so often.

Amy was raised Catholic but didn’t seem to continue on in the faith. She stayed a Christian and had a Christian female pastor say some nice words at her celebration of life. She made sure Debbie Gibson was played during the service cause Amy liked Debbie Gibson. I meet her once while on break from Papa Ginos when she made an appearance at the now out of business Borders. I saw her in concert once also with a guy named Bob Glass.

Anyway, I know several people who when they died have not had a proper funeral as frequented by our parents’ generation. Instead of a funeral with all the smells and bells they had a nice quint celebration of life where people said good things about the deceased. That’s fine and all and I want people to say good things about me when I die also. But I want something else more then that.

I want a proper Catholic Funeral.

The icon of Holy and Great Saturday, portraying the Harrowing of Hades

If I die soon or years from now, I will direct people from heaven to read this blog post.

Here is what I want in my funeral.

I don’t want a celebration of life where everyone sits around and says ” I remember when Mark did this wacky thing.”

NO!!!

I want a Mass in a church.

A funeral Mass.

Not in a funeral home.

In a church where the Blessed Sacrament is housed.

I want someone to prepare a nice eulogy that will be read

AT THE END OF MASS.

Not before the homily.

AT THE END OF MASS.

I was at a funeral in 2026 where the eulogy was read before the homily.

When the eulogist or when the priest when gives a homily, I want them not to canonize me. My friend Steph’s mother died not too long ago and the priest while giving the homily said that we should pray for her on her journey to heaven. That’s the kind of homily I want at my funeral. Hopefully, I will die in a state of grace, but knowing me I will have to be purged of my sins in purgatory before I can enter into the glorious glow of beatific vision. I’ll need prayers to do that. People who die don’t need your sentimental reflections on their lives as much as they need your prayers to end their suffering. A reminder that everyone in purgatory is bound for heaven. They are being washed and clean and are being unattached from all that is not Christ if they haven’t done so already in the early life. If you care for me you will pray for me. Don’t canonize me.

Because we believe in the communion of saints and that we are all one body in Christ, we believe we can talk to other members of the body. Ask me and I’ll pray for you. My prayers will be more focused in eternity then they will have been in this life as there are less distractions to impede my prayer life.

I wanted to add more about what I want in my funeral and wanted Kristin to lay out her plans as well. But this blog post has been sitting for awhile and I will lay out our plans for our funerals somewhere else.

In case I never say a personal goodbye to you who read this, thanks for reading. I pray you reach heaven safely and successfully. If I knew you, I’ve enjoyed the time we talked or spent together if only briefly or a lot. If you only interacted on line, never meet in person, God bless you too.

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields
and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

May God be with you and bless you;
May you see your children’s children.
May you be poor in misfortune, rich in blessings.
May you know nothing but happiness from this day forward.

May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home,
and may the hand of a friend always be near.

May green be the grass you walk on,
May blue be the skies above you,
May pure be the joys that surround you,
May true be the hearts that love you.

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