precarity 
A state of being defined by its insecurity and vulnerability.

Precarity means something that can be given and taken away and for such a long time I thought that precarity must inherently be a bad thing or at least not a very Christian thing to feel that way when I know I felt delicate and I thought well surely I just have to get back to that place before where I felt durable. And then I read a wonderful comparison of the work of Dorothy Day, Catholic reformer, and compared with Reinhold Niebuhr, the amazing Protestant, theologian, and both of their account of the word precarity. Dorothy Day used it to describe the state in which we live as people of faith aware in the world, and yet delicate, and Reinhold Niebuhr described precarity as a way of describing the delicacy of our world, but hoping that we just need to plow through with faithfulness and reasonable good conscience and I was like no,I think I’m on the Dorothy side. I think that when we’re really honest most of the things that we build our lives on are things that can come apart in any moment, and once we know that, and can maybe live inside that with a little more honesty, we might begin to start to see different spiritual things than we did before . 

Kate Bowler

In a previous post I wrote about the impact avoidance of death has on Christian communities.

Kate Bowler’s observations about precarity further affirm my belief in the importance of memento mori¹The term memento mori combines the Latin memini, “to remember, to bear in mind,” with morior, literally, “to die.” Taken together, the phrase serves as a warning: “Remember! You will die!”.

Beliefs not subjected to a crucible of memento mori  will atrophy and become mental assents; ultimately useless when death becomes a personal reality.

People who want to die well must be willing to confront their finitude. We do not have to accept death, invite it, or wish for it. But we must be prepared to say, “Yes, I am human and therefore mortal. One day I will die.” We cannot both cling to the indefinite extension of life and effectively prepare for death.²The Lost Art of Dying

We will fail to live/die well if we refuse to acknowledge that we are finite creatures.

The connection between memento mori and spiritual formation is so profound memento mori should be recognized and practiced as a spiritual discipline.

Practical suggestions for practicing memento mori :

[In the midst of composing practical suggestions I was Interrupted briefly and checked my emails and was surprised to see a post from Lee Camp’s NSE Notebook entitled THINK: Memento Mori —WOW! What follows are excerpts from his post providing specific opportunities to practice Memento Mori ] Thanks Lee.

And if we seriously engage the fact and reality of our coming day of our death, without falling prey to a morbid sentimentality about it all, memento mori has a surprising clarifying power: what ought and ought not be prioritized, what sort of life we want to live, what sort of human beings we want to be.

DO: Specific opportunities to practice Memento Mori

Keep tangible reminders of those who have died close at hand. I’m grateful for the leather bracelet I’ve been wearing since Christmas, a gift to me from Angela, the wife of my friend Clay. Clay died last year, same age as me, way too young, from cancer. Clay wore the bracelet during the final season of his life. It is now my most tangible memento mori.

Visit cemeteries and go to funerals: I hardly pass up an opportunity to wander slowly through a cemetery. Here in Florence I’ve visited the old cemetery behind San Miniato on the hill above our villa, as well as the cemetery above Monterosso in Cinque Terre, as well as the “Protestant cemetery” on the island of Capri. They are a wealth of wisdom and wonder. And in addition to wandering through cemeteries, go to funerals! The experience is most always salutary, in some fashion, and always sobering.

Begin with the end in mind,” as Stephen Covey puts it: this is not just good wisdom about project planning (have a clear idea of the desired outcome, and then design actions and strategies to get you to the desired outcome), but also good wisdom about a life: what kind of person are you seeking to become? What kinds of things do you want to characterize your life by the time you arrive at your death? Make this an actual practice: put things on paper, and give it appropriate self-reflection and contemplation.

Lee Camp –

memento mori practiced as an individual is vital but requires support of community which is strengthened in its practice of memento mori.

Practical ways Christian communities can practice memento mori³The Ars moriendi are two related Latin texts dating from about 1415 and 1450 which offer advice on the protocols and procedures of a good death, explaining how to “die well” according to Christian precepts of the late Middle Ages. :

• Recognize and celebrate All Saints Day
• Develop and implement meaningful ways to acknowledge deaths in the community.
• Provide space for memorials
• Encourage attendance at funerals
• Initiate ars moriendi (The Art of Dying) ministries.

 “LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered- how fleeting my life is. Psalm 39:4 NLT

STILL ON THE JOURNEY

• 1
  The term memento mori combines the Latin memini, “to remember, to bear in mind,” with morior, literally, “to die.” Taken together, the phrase serves as a warning: “Remember! You will die!”
• 2
  The Lost Art of Dying
• 3
  The Ars moriendi are two related Latin texts dating from about 1415 and 1450 which offer advice on the protocols and procedures of a good death, explaining how to “die well” according to Christian precepts of the late Middle Ages.