Why are young Catholics putting skulls on their desks?

No, it’s not an uprise of a punk rock faction in our Church. It’s actually an ancient spiritual practice based on ‘Memento Mori’, which translates from Latin to English into ‘Remember Your Death’.

How should we think about death? As a young atheist, Sr. Theresa Aletheia Noble was deeply troubled by the meaning of mortality, and continued to wrestle with it even after returning to her Catholic faith and joining religious life. She decided to look at what Scripture and the saints had to say about death, and even started keeping a skull on her desk. Eventually, learning how to meditate properly on death helped her understand the relationship between this life and the next, and brought new perspective to her relationship with God.

Source: The Coming Home Network International

REFLECT
1. What happens after death?

PRAY
O God, give us the grace to prepare for
our last hour by a devout and holy life,
and protect us against a sudden and unprovided death.
Let us remember our frailty and mortality,
that we may always live
in the ways of your commandments.
Teach us to “watch and pray” (Lk 21:36),
that when your summons comes
for our departure from this world,
we may go forth to meet you,
experience a merciful judgment,
and rejoice in everlasting happiness.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

ACT Visit an elderly person or someone who might be lonely