A friend once told Bishop Andrew Cozzens that people have only two enemies for which men and women haven’t found a solution: sin and death. “And that made me think about how belief in Jesus changes that,” Bishop Cozzens said. “When Jesus rises from the dead and shares with us his love, his unconditional love, it changes the whole perspective of our life.”
Bishop Cozzens broached the subject when he joined “Practicing Catholic” host Patrick Conley March 26. He said the topic of fearing death came to mind as he thought about the experience of the past year with the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’re still dealing with it in some ways, and a lot of that is related to a fear of death,” the bishop said.
Bishop Andrew Cozzens
A fear of death is natural, he said, and part of human life.
Giving the example of an athlete who realizes he or she is good enough to qualify for the Olympics, Bishop Cozzens said that person’s “whole life changes” and everything is ordered upon that goal. Something similar can happen when people realize their goal is heaven, he said. “And that heaven is given to us through the victory of Jesus. It just changes the way we look at everything, including death.”
When St. Paul in his letters to the Corinthians mocks death, saying death has no more power over him, he’s speaking of a Christian reality, Bishop Cozzens said. Knowing the reality means “I’m free of this fear of death, when I experience that Jesus has conquered it, and death is simply, in that way, the passage to … my goal, which is really eternal life.”
Conley asked Bishop Cozzens to outline differences between physical death or natural death and spiritual death. To hear his response and the complete interview, tune in to this episode of the “Practicing Catholic” radio show. It airs 9 p.m. March 26, 1 p.m. March 27 or 2 p.m. March 28 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM.
“Practicing Catholic” is produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Other guest interviews on the March 26 “Practicing Catholic” show are Deborah Savage, who reflects on St. Joseph as spiritual father, and Johan van Parys, who discusses the Stations of the Cross.
Listen to their interviews after they have aired:
soundcloud.com/practicingcatholic
Practicing Catholic on Spotify
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