Why Don’t More Christians Talk about Memento Mori?
- Lori Stanley Roeleveld Contributing Writer
- Updated Jul 11, 2024
One morning, I woke up with a powerful thought in my mind. Memento mori.
I called one of my closest friends. “One of us is going to die. Seriously, have you thought about this? One of the four of us close friends will die, and we’ll have to deal with that,” I said.
“Normally, I’d be annoyed at that opening, but today, I understand. I’ve been thinking that, too,” she replied.
“Memento mori,” I repeated as we hung up to begin our days.
One of our husbands was celebrating a big birthday. Another of our closest friends had died with little notice. As I brushed my teeth, I contemplated the fleeting nature of life on this side of glory. In the kitchen, I grabbed hold of my husband and hugged him tighter and longer than usual.
“Let’s have coffee on the porch this morning.”
“What’s gotten into you today?” he asked as he grabbed his mug.
“Memento mori.”
“Whatever that means, I like it,” he said as he hugged me again.
What Does Memento Mori Mean in English?
Most of us don’t wake up every day with Latin phrases in our minds—unless the night before, we rewatched the 1989 Robin Williams film Dead Poets Society and rose thinking, “Carpe diem!” (“Seize the day!”). For the most part, the average person considers Latin a dead language, the exclusive purview of lawyers, doctors, theologians, and the residents of Vatican City. However, we could improve our outlook on life by incorporating more Latin phrases into our common vocabulary.
My husband, Rob, might have been more concerned than enthusiastic if he’d understood that memento mori is Latin for “Remember you must die.” In our times, it will seem to many a particularly morbid way to greet someone, but in times past, it was a phrase used to encourage people to make the most of life and live with humility.
From the force of my affection to my invitation to linger over coffee, Rob enjoyed the side effects of my reflection on the phrase. While unable to translate the words, he was happy with how the message translated to my actions. Life is fleeting, and we should make the most of every opportunity.
This isn’t a life philosophy that originated with the Romans. Similar sentiments are written in both the Old and New Testaments:
Moses’ prayer is recorded in Psalm 90:17: “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.” (NLT)
In Luke 12, Jesus reminds the crowds that life is short and then you die with a parable about a rich fool who stored up earthly wealth but forgot to have a rich relationship with God. He warns the disciples to abandon worry and to live for the Kingdom of God, prepared for His return at all times.
Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:15-17, “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.” (NLT)
The biblical writers often wrote about death. They warned those defying, denying, or ignoring God to consider, before it is too late, that the end comes to everyone. At the same time, they encouraged those who believe in God and trust Him for salvation to endure all manner of discomfort, difficulty, persecution, and even death, believing that this life is brief, but eternity stretches before us because of Christ.
Who First Used the Term Memento Mori?
I appreciated an article by Joe Fassler in The Atlantic about ways writers are inspired to keep writing. He tells about one two-time Pulitzer prize-winning novelist who kept in his office a gravestone angel bearing the inscription “Remember Death.” This spurred the novelist to write and not waste the days.
Fassler attributes the origin of memento mori to a story recorded by the early Christian apologist Tertullian:
“Tertullian in his Apologeticus (Chapter 33, 4) tells of an ancient Roman general who assigned a servant to stand behind him whenever the crowd celebrated his exploits and remind him, “Respice post te! Hominem te esse memento! Memento mori!” (“Look behind you! Remember that you are a man! Remember that you will die!”)”
It seems this would inspire a sober and humble attitude in the face of victory and a reminder not to waste the time those who fell on the battlefield behind him will not enjoy.
In our modern culture, we can distance ourselves from death. Thankfully, fewer of us will engage in face-to-face combat than in times past, and so we won’t have vast experience seeing hundreds of bodies that only moments before were breathing and hoping to survive. Longer life expectancy means we may grow complacent about our days. The antiseptic nature of modern medical facilities may keep us once removed from the realities of the dying process. However, the rise of in-home hospice is increasing the average person’s understanding of what happens when we face our mortality.
How Did Medieval Christians Talk about Memento Mori?
Memento mori was a common theme in life and art throughout the Middle Ages. It boomed in the mid-to-late medieval times. In 1346, the bubonic plague devastated Europe. The deaths of some 25 million people, one-third of the population, is remembered as the Black Death. Everyone was touched suddenly and tragically by the death of one or more loved ones.
Following this time, danse macabre became a common type of church art to remind people of the fragility of life and the importance of making peace with God through Jesus. This artwork featured individuals portrayed as skeletons engaging in daily life or marching in lines into eternity.
Other motifs popular in art of the times were hourglasses, skulls, the Grim Reaper, coffins, and passing flowers (a reference to Jesus’ words in Luke 12:27-28, “Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon, in all his glory, was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?” (NLT)
In that reference, you can see that the intent of these images and this phrase was not to create a morbid fascination with death but to approach life with an appreciation for the value of every given day and a concerted detachment from the cares of this world if eternal life is secured in Christ.
Literature of the time, too, was impacted. In Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, the Summoner gathers souls and calls them to account for their sins in this life. The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio depicts life in those times and satirizes the church’s inability to stop the march of the black death. Some even believe the familiar nursery rhyme, “Ring around the Rosie. Pocket full of posie. Ashes, ashes We all fall down,” refers to the plague.
Humans have always had varied responses to the reality of death. To some, it makes life seem absurd. To others, it encourages a godless hedonism. Still, to those who know Christ, it strengthens hope in times of trial and deepens joy in times of gladness.
Why Don’t Modern Christians Talk Much about Memento Mori?
Modern Christians are likely reluctant to spend too much time talking about death because of the stereotypical hellfire and brimstone preaching of ages prior. In the twentieth century, following WWI, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, the culture and church teachings moved away from heavy-handed discussions of death in favor of emphasizing the love and abundant life Christ brings to all. Love, peace, and unity were hallmarks of the Jesus Movement in the 1970s.
This approach had merit, but in recent times, there has been a swing back toward a greater appreciation for the brevity of life. Perhaps not surprisingly, stoicism has been revived and gained popularity—measurably so since 9/11 and with increasing rapidity since the pandemic. Christians should prayerfully consider if this is a time (considering active global conflicts, the rise of racial prejudice and hate, and the division visible in even the church) to revive thoughtful and sensitive conversations about the realities of death, the importance of seeing the value in every day, and the essential hope inherent in following Jesus who is the resurrection and the life.
This is the philosophy of the author of Ecclesiastes, who wrote, “Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties. After all, everyone dies—so the living should take this to heart.” (Ecclesiastes 7:2 NLT)
As we meditate on verses like this and on Jesus’ encouragement to His disciples to worry less about needs such as clothing and food and live with a carefree trust in Him, we can embody memento mori in a way that demonstrates not morbidity but freedom and faith.
What Can We Learn from Memento Mori?
To live with the knowledge that we must die is to live, in essence, with greater freedom. It can daily impress upon us at least three lessons:
- Do what matters for eternity now. Too often, we’re tempted to spend precious minutes, hours, days, and even decades on diversions, distractions, and demands that will not matter on the day we face death. Memento mori reminds us to choose carefully how we spend our time—creating that art, writing, and music we were designed to create, loving deeply those entrusted to our care, serving others, and testifying to the truth of Christ, enjoying God and His gifts with gusto.
- Embrace humility. Remember that all men and women die. Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die. The wind blows, and we are gone—like we had never been here. But the love of the Lord remains forever with those who fear him” (Psalm 103:15-17 NLT). We matter, but God matters more. Mistakes we’ve made will likely be forgotten, as will our greatest achievements. As we embrace humility, it frees us not to obsess too greatly on our failures nor to spend all our energy on earthly triumphs, but instead to devote the best of our energies to the work of the Kingdom of God.
- Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. Everyone deserves the opportunity to hear the gospel of Christ. We dare not hoard this knowledge for ourselves because, as we remember, everyone must die. And yet, when those who know Christ face death, He is the door through which they walk so that “these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life.” (2 Corinthians 5:4 NLT). Speaking about the gospel matters, and it matters that we speak of it now, today, in the present moment, because we don’t know when death will come.
When I hear the phrase memento mori, more than likely, it makes me smile.
First, it helps me get out of my obsession with whatever is happening at the moment and remember, “This, too, shall pass.”
Second, death for me will be a walk into the arms of Jesus and eternal life.
Third, because I’m clever enough to know two words in an ancient language. That gives me joy.
Fourth, it frees me to pursue what’s important, not simply what’s urgent and demanding of my attention.
How will you spend your time this week? Memento mori, my friend.
Photo Credit:©iStock/Getty Images Plus/standret
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