Rhona Canoy.
I’D like to share this with all of you, with generous permission from the author, Ricardo Jorge S. Caluen. These are timely thoughts for these intense times.
He writes:
Disease or death has an uncanny way of leveling social inequity. Almost every day now we read on social media or hear on TV news of some well-known personality, a high-profile politician, or sports biggie falling ill with the coronavirus.
Ordinary folks hardly get their names bannered in the news. But might as well. Because mentioning the names of those coming from the privileged classes is a timely reminder that on this earth we are all equal in the face of death.
Our common mortality levels the field. And when the time comes wealth, power, and fame will not matter–when we are in the throes of death. We will all simply become just another statistic.
Habsburg emperors who reigned in Europe for many centuries are reminded that wealth and power are all fleeting.
A unique ceremony takes place just outside the gates of the Capuchin chapel under which the imperial crypt is located and where Habsburg royalty had been buried for centuries.
Standing in front of the royal coffin, a herald knocks on the gates of the chapel requesting entry. A Capuchin priest in front of the chapel shouts: “Who seeks entry?”
The herald responds, giving the name of the deceased and all his royal titles. The priest denies him entry.
The herald knocks on the gates for the second time and the priest once again asks who seeks entry.
The herald now announces all the achievements of the deceased emperor. For the second time, the priest denies entry.
For a third and final time, the herald knocks on the gates and the question is once more asked.
This time the herald gives the name of the deceased royal and adds: “a mortal, sinful human being.”
The Capuchin priest then opens the gates, finally exclaiming “So he may come in.”
Today’s global situation has made many of us retreat from the world when not otherwise distracted by social media and Netflix. It is opportune to take stock of what we have made of our lives. A good time to reflect on how we would like to be remembered.
And how we will answer the question, “Who seeks entry?”
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