One popular stop on Boston’s Freedom Trail is the Old Granary Burial Grounds, where many famous early Americans such as John Hancock and Paul Revere are buried. One million tourists visit this historic American landmark each year. Etched into its tombstones are distinctive skulls with crossbones and various depictions of the Grim Reaper. They act as vivid reminders of the brevity of life and serve as visual representations of the Latin phrase “memento mori,” which translates as “remember death.” People lived near death and dying in seventeenth century New England. Most people died in their homes, leaving family members to prepare the body for burial. The average life expectancy was thirty-six years, the result of decimating plagues, high infant mortality rates, and women who died during childbirth. It would be a mistake, however, to characterize Puritans as morbid people. They regarded the contemplation of death as an incentive to live virtuous, purposeful lives.
We live in vastly different times. We live in a death-denying culture. Longer life spans and medical advances have made it easier to deny thinking about mortality. We avoid talking about death unless we have no choice in the matter. Most deaths take place in medical facilities, cordoned off from where we live. Perhaps we should take the lead of our spiritual forebears and remember death to clarify how to live for things that matter. Maybe it’s time to quit hoarding our material possessions and spending our time worrying about trivial concerns. What memento mori (remember death) leads to is memento vivere (remember to live).
In yesterday’s prayer, I featured a prayer by Joseph Hall (1574-1656), a Church of England bishop with Puritan convictions. He concluded his 1606 devotional on The Art of Divine Meditation with a lengthy “Meditation on Death,” urging readers to live each day as if it were their last. The following prayer was included in Joseph’s meditation on death: