Francis Schüssler Fiorenza, John P. Galvin. Systematic Theology: Roman Catholic Perspectives
"There is a sense, therefore, in which death itself is the judgment of the individual; death is the condemnation of all that embodies self-centeredness and selfishness, but it is the consummation of all that embodies love and generosity because it is such a radical going forth from the self. Death fulfills these functions not only at the moment when it happens; it really casts its influence over the whole of life by the fact that it is always imminent and its moment is not known beforehand. The fact of death as certain but of its timing as unpredictable asks for a certain humility and acknowledgment of dependence and contingency at all times, in all projects and relationships. The refusal of such acknowledgment, which is in effect the denial of death, establishes an inauthentic mode of living and of relating to others as well as to God." (page 364)
