Personally speaking, I was struck by a moment during the Pope's address at St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, N.Y. Speaking to some 25,000 young people, Benedict asked for their prayers and said, in a rather soft voice, "because, as you know, I just had another birthday, and time is passing."
Was it fear of death that showed through this 81-year-old's words? It's a normal emotion, though not one you'd typically find at the forefront of a teen's mind or a 20-something's concerns.
Then again, who says the motivation for Benedict's plea was fear? Death is an inevitability. For the Christian, it's how we face it that matters. Benedict knows this well. As do all priests and religious, and many lay people, he prayers the Liturgy of the Hours and at the end of Night Prayer, before going to bed, he prayers, "May the merciful Lord grant us a peaceful night and a holy death."
We have to do all we can to be well-prepared for death. But the prayers of others for a holy death, Benedict knows, are important as well.
(John Burger, http://pope2008.typepad.com/weblog/2008/04/what-did-you--1.html)
