Memento Mori: Remember That You Must Die

Stoicism and Christianity, Reformation and the Modern Age

Only those who consider their own mortality really live consciously. The "memento mori" which translates as: "Remember that you must die" has quite a long history that accompanies us into antiquity. When we hear this sentence today, many people probably think of medieval skulls. In the Stoic philosophy of antiquity, however, the commemoration of death was also a conscious attitude to life. Especially in the writings of Seneca, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius, it becomes clear how central the constant reminder of one's own mortality was for life.

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Memento Mori and the Origins in Stoicism

Stoicism originated in Athens in the third century BC. Virtue was at the center of this philosophical school. Not as a moral compulsion but as an art of living. The aim was to live in accordance with reason and to free oneself from fear, greed, anger or even pain through spiritual exercises. One of the most powerful means of achieving this was the daily practice of memento mori. Death was not a ghost but simply part of the natural order. You are mortal, so live like a mortal. Man is not called to attain immortality but to prepare for the inevitable through insight, serenity and self-discipline. Those who constantly live in the face of death lose the illusion of security, power and possessions. And according to Stoic conviction, this is precisely the path to true inner peace. It is not a depressive attitude towards life, but a call for clarity. Death should teach us to take life seriously.

Nevertheless, there is a certain tragedy here. Despite all the discipline, clarity and dignity that the Stoics sought, death was the end. There was no hope for the afterlife. No word of God speaking from the other side. It is a strange tension: this attitude to death is very impressive, but it somehow stops halfway. What stoicism cannot give is hope and consolation, certainty. However, this hope is not long in coming.

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The Roman Stoics made this saying a way of life. It goes beyond philosophy, into the Christian tradition. In medieval monasteries, the memento mori often became a daily practice, often even an artistic admonition. Skulls in paintings, hourglasses in monasteries, open Bibles next to bones. Transience was not hidden, but deliberately considered. Why? Because death was understood as a transition to eternity. It is not the end, but only the transition.

Memento Mori in the Bible

This is where the gospel begins. The Christian faith does not see death as a mere part of the natural order, but as a consequence of the fall of man. It is not neutral and leads nowhere, but is the judgment of God. Every human being must die because every human being has fallen. The memento mori in the biblical sense is therefore not only a reminder of finiteness, but a reminder of seriousness: "It is destined for a man to die once, and after that the judgment" (Heb 9:27). But this is not the last word. Death is not only judgment, but it is also defeated. Paul calls him "the last enemy" (1 Corinthians 15:26), but not "the last victor." Nor can he, because it is not death that is victorious, but Christ. Hallelujah! He suffered through it and overcame it. Christ dies the death we deserve so that we no longer have to fear death. For us Christians, therefore, death is no longer a place of distance from God, but the entrance, the door to communion with Christ. Paul writes, "Christ is my life, and dying is my gain" (Phil 1:21) It is a glorious confidence that we have. It is precisely here that the memento mori acquires its deepest meaning in the light of the Gospel. It becomes an invitation to live in the truth. Not because we have to die, but because Christ died for us. It calls us to conversion and trust. For only those who face death can receive life as Christ wants to give it. The world represses death, and therefore also loses life. Faith looks death in the face and finds there the mirror that looks at the cross. And behind the cross, the resurrection awaits.

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Memento Mori in the Reformation

During the Reformation, the memento mori was not abandoned, but reinterpreted. Death was no longer viewed through the lens of fear and anxiety, but as described in the Bible, in the light of the Word of God. What was often presented as a moralizing admonition in the Middle Ages, such as in art, asceticism or the monastic flight from the world, was now transformed by the Reformation message of the Gospel. Death remains the wages of sin, but Christ was made sin so that we might become the righteousness of God in him (cf. 2 Cor 5:21). Luther himself did not romanticize death. He was confronted with it too often himself. He knew it not only as a pastor but also as a father and husband. The plague swept through Wittenberg and his daughter Elisabeth died young. His daughter Magdalena in his own arms. However, he never lost hope. The Reformation takes death seriously, but places it under the cross. Not under works or purgatory, but under the righteousness of Christ alone. Those who look to their own good works have no consolation. But he who looks to Christ has death behind him. “[...] I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that he should repent and live” (Eze 33:11). Death is the moment when a person decides what they have trusted in. Did you worship and adore the one true God as your god? Or have you been chasing after your own idols?

Baptismal Remembrance

In Reformation theology, baptism is a daily reality. It is the seal of the covenant, the testimony of grace and the burial of the old Adam. It is one of the most profound Christian responses to the memento mori: For those who remember their baptism, at best daily, remember not only that you must die, but that you have already died. Paul says it with complete clarity: “We were buried with Christ through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Rom 6:4). Baptism is not only a symbol of life, but also a symbol of death. Our old man was crucified with Christ, your life no longer belongs to yourself, but to the one who died and rose again for you. Memento mori. Remember that you must die. And: remember that you have already died. Sin no longer has power over us, we are no longer slaves to sin, but free in Christ. We will be resurrected. Luther summarized this excellently in his small catechism:

“What does such baptizing with water signify? Answer: It signifies that the old Adam in us should, by daily contrition and repentance, be drowned and die with all sins and evil lusts. And also it shows that a new man should daily come forth and arise, who shall live before God in righteousness and purity forever.” - (The Sacrament of Holy Baptism, Article 4, The. Small Catechism)

In the baptismal remembrance, the memento mori becomes a vocation. Dying daily and living anew daily. The world fears death because it sees it as the end. We Christians, however, recognize death as the daily death of the old Adam, daily repentance and conversion. From the old Adam to the new Adam. "It is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me (Gal 2:20). Yes, I must die, but not without hope. Yes, this life is finite, but my Lord is eternal! Yes, I am approaching death, but no longer alone. For I have been baptized. And what that means is already being revealed today under God's grace.

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The Modern Age

Modernity has removed the memento mori from its vocabulary. What used to be an inevitable part of life is now ignored at all costs. It is somehow uncomfortable, even taboo, to talk about death. Nowadays, we no longer die, we “go”, “pass away”, “leave us”. As quietly as possible. In a culture that sees life primarily as a project of self-realization, death is one of the strongest disruptions. It interrupts us in our egoism. And at the same time, this egoism and self-realization reveals the fear of dying. Nowadays, everything cries out for immortality, society fights against ageing. Cosmetics, fitness and biohacking are a normal part of modern life. Why? Because they no longer know God. The admission that we are not in control of our lives, that we are mortal, is increasingly being lost. Yet all of this has profound spiritual consequences. Those who do not want to acknowledge death will also evade the question of judgment and eternity, which also explains the decline of Christian faith in our Western world. At least, in a certain way. The question of death is always a question about the afterlife and inevitably about God. That is why this repression is an escape from our Creator. And it has its price. Society is becoming ever more selfish and superficial. The great tragedy of our time is that it no longer knows comfort because it no longer knows seriousness. Everyone wants to prolong life, but has forgotten how to receive it properly. Mindfulness yes, eternity no. And this is precisely where we Christians are needed.

Conclusion

Memento mori. Yes, you will die. The dust, the pain, old age and the graveyard remind us of this. We are also reminded of this by the words of Jesus: "You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you." (Luke 12:20). But those who belong to Christ need no longer fear. For if we have died with him, we shall also live with him (2 Tim 2:11). Through your faith and in baptism you have already died and been resurrected. Death no longer has the last word. The Stoic says: “Learn to die and you will live.” Jesus says: “I have died, therefore you may live”. Not out of ourselves, but out of the Spirit of God, out of his grace with hope. Therefore my appeal: Live, watch. Live soberly. Become aware of your finiteness. You could die today. What comes after that? Not to fear yourself, but to live more freely. Look to Christ and your baptism. Pray for a heart that counts its days. And when you stand at a grave, or think of your own, take refuge in Him who has conquered death. He is life, without Him we are nothing. Christ gives us dignity and meaning.

Memento Christi. He is your life and your death. And in Him, death will never have the last word.

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

Amen. Come Lord Jesus.