Praying for Final Journey

“Where do we go after we die?”

I remember having a book in my bookshelf with a title similar to this question, a book designed to help a child understand death. Perhaps people of different religions, people of different faith traditions, answer this question in different ways that are amazingly similar. Familiar. Though, of course, as earthly beings living within Earth itself, how can any of us truly understand what is beyond this limited life, what is beyond this world?

The Catholic Church upholds the truth that God, the Creator of all, has loved each and every one of us into being and will call each of us into Himself forever when our earthly lives come to an end.

As Memorial day approaches, let’s honor those who died for their country so that we, their fellow countrymen, may have the freedom to worship. And let us pray with the Church for all of the dead and dying in Christ on their journey to communion with God in eternity:

Go forth, Christian soul, from this world

in the name of God the almighty Father,

who created you,

in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God,

who suffered for you,

in the name of the Holy Spirit,

who was poured out upon you.

Go forth, faithful Christian!

May you live in peace this day,

may your home be with God in Zion,

with Mary, the virgin Mother of God,

with Joseph, and all the angels and saints. . . .

May you return to your Creator

who formed you from the dust of the earth.

May holy Mary, the angels, and all the saints

come to meet you as you go forth from this life. . . .

May you see your Redeemer face to face. . . .[i]

Amen. For all of us, amen.

© 2025 Christina Chase

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Feature Photo by Michael Kroul on Unsplash

[i] see The Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 1020