Praise in Death

Be praised, my Lord, through our sister Bodily Death, from whose embrace no living person can escape. Woe to those who die in mortal sin! Happy those she finds doing Your most holy will. The second death can do no harm to them. This excerpt from Francis's "Canticle of the Sun" stuck out to me due to its mention of death in such a joyous manner. The idea that God may be praised through death is a rare thought in our modern culture but one that, I think, should be brought up more often. No person can escape death. Period. The End. No-one. This, to the modern mind, seems a dark and looming wall in every man's life, but it should not be so. Can Christians truly praise God in their dying--YES. As a matter of fact, it is in dying that the Christian should find the most joy, for "the second death can do harm to them." There is no punishment awaiting them, just peace. Bodily death, so often feared, and at the least deemed a tragedy is more of a comedy (in the classical sense). I personally hope more people will adopt this mindset, or at least find peace in it. For death is not to be feared; on the contrary, it is an opportunity to raise God in dependance and trust. I commented on Natalie and Darby's posts.