Talking about Death - "Dust thou art, and to dust thou shall return."

Many Christians are vividly reminded each year at the beginning of Lent of their own mortality. As their foreheads are ritually marked with ashes, the accompanying words make the meaning of Ash Wednesday clear: "Dust thou art, and to dust thou shall return."

The ritual expresses one of the central convictions shared by various religious traditions of the world: the importance of being starkly aware of one’s own finitude. Intense awareness of one’s own eventual death can be the teacher of wisdom about how to live.

In addition to Ash Wednesday, the Christian tradition has liturgical seasons and observances whose purpose is at least in part the contemplation of death: Lent, Advent, All Saints’ Day.