It is certainly difficult to remember our departed family members and friends. We grieve because we love them and we are sad because they have left us. It is also hard to think that one day we are going to die too. Death is a certainty and a scary reality. How difficult will it be to go through? What will we face afterwards?

Our faith gives us hope and helps us not to be discouraged by death. “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.” By saying this, Jesus told us that death is not the end of our life. It is a door that opens onto a wonderful place, and Jesus wants to prepare it for us and our loved ones. The way to find the right door is to follow Jesus: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

In reality, death was not part of God's original plan for the world. It is the result of human sin and the work of the devil. Therefore, death is the work of the evil one, not God. However, through his own death and resurrection, Jesus transformed the devil's victory against humanity into his own defeat: death became a passage to heaven, the place where we can live in joy, a passage from life to life. Following Jesus' death, our own deaths have become the beginning of new life in heaven.

This is the situation enjoyed by our relatives and friends who have gone before us to heaven. They experience endless happiness. They are also united with God and their fellow human beings. This is truly beautiful. We know how difficult it can be to feel close to the Lord in this world. To achieve this, we must go to Mass, read His Word, receive the sacraments, pray... We must strive to experience union with Him. It is also difficult to experience unity with our fellow human beings. It is hard to love them, forgive them and live with them. But in Heaven, it will be different. There, we will all be saints and finally experience perfect unity with the Lord and our fellow human beings. What beauty!

Moreover, in the Catholic tradition, we pray for those who have died and are now in heaven. But why do we pray for them? Of course, because some of them are in Purgatory and require our support during their trial. However, we can also pray for souls in Heaven. They are alive — they have not died or disappeared. They want to love us, and we want to love them. Death has not broken our bond with them! This is why we can talk to them through prayer and feel their presence. We can listen to their words and advice and share our problems and concerns with them. They listen to us and want to help us, just as they did when they were alive.

So, how can we deepen our friendship with our beloved departed? They are already holy, so we must strive to be like them and become saints! The more we grow to holiness, the easier it will be to feel their closeness. Therefore, our life of faith is a prerequisite for experiencing communion with our beloved departed. Moreover, living a holy life will help us experience, albeit imperfectly, the life of heaven. Then death will be easier to face because it will be seen as a transition from a life of holiness to a new life of perfect holiness.