Living Memento Mori: My Journey Through the Stations of the Cross

By Emily M. DeArdo

Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at eleven, Emily DeArdo knew what it was like to live with a keen awareness of her own mortality. In this book, she draws on the medieval practice of memento mori, "remember you must die," and shares her personal story with unique and compelling insight into the meaning of Christian life and death. Using the Stations of the Cross as a framework, DeArdo leads readers to trust in God's providence as they confront suffering and death and develop enduring spiritual strength and courage along the way.

Sr. Theresa Aletheia Noble, FSP, kicked off a rediscovery of memento mori on social media when she began tweeting about #mementomori and what it's like living with a plastic skull on her desk. Emily DeArdo said the practice caught on with millennials like her who were searching for what's real, true, and lasting in life. Trying to find the answer to "is this all there is?" often led her to thinking about death and what happens afterward, she noted.

In Living Memento Mori, DeArdo shares the insight she gained from living her life on the precipice of death: a willingness to embrace the Cross of Christ can transform the pain and loss we all inevitably experience into a source of spiritual growth.

DeArdo's life and reflections on mortality give a fresh voice to the traditional themes found in the Stations of the Cross. She offers the courage to face one's own suffering and concerns about death and to follow Jesus wherever he leads. You will discover: how memento mori can help you live a deeper spiritual life how to unite your sufferings with those of Jesus what the Catholic faith teaches about the meaning of suffering

Station by station, DeArdo links her personal and spiritual journey to the suffering of Christ and shows readers how to do the same. Each chapter of Living Memento Mori begins with scripture, including a quotation from Pope John Paul II's Salvifici Doloris (The Christian Meaning of Human Suffering), and closes with three questions for personal reflection or group discussion. An appendix provides readers with a guide to praying the Stations of the Cross with original meditations in the spirit of memento mori.

Emily DeArdo passed away in 2023 at the age of 41. Her memory and reflection on memento mori show us how even a life of considerable suffering can be full of joy, hope, and peace.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1594719675
• ISBN13: 9781594719677
• Release Date: January 2020
• Publisher: Ave Maria Press
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 4.9" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Authentically and accessibly written guide to carrying the particular Cross the Lord asks of you in

A sister of mine in the Dominican order, Emily lived a short life filled from the start with much suffering. In this book, she takes us through the Stations of the Cross and considers the difficult and tearful steps of her own life as a sharing in Christ's Passion and Death. In doing so, I think she does an effective job of teaching readers to do the same with their own life's sufferings. It's a quick read, and very accessible, no matter where you are in your spiritual life. I read almost the entire book over the course of a 2-day retreat, but it is also written so you can easily read it in short increments and leave yourself room for meditation (Which I highly recommend---she did an excellent job of writing thoughtful and probing questions after each chapter to help you meditate on the crosses in your own life God is asking you to carry. Well-worth circling or book-marking the ones you may particularly want to bring to prayer later). As I read this book, she struck me as a very humble and authentic woman. There is no comparing herself to others---no bragging about how great a cross she carried and no self-deprecating dismissal of her sufferings as being small next to the suffering others have borne. She approached her sufferings very honestly and humbly: In His infinite wisdom and goodness, God asks us all to carry different crosses and offers us graces specific to what He is asking us to bear. All crosses involve a passion and death. This cross was hers. That's all. I recommend this read for anyone who is struggling to unite their sufferings--whatever form they may take--with those of Christ. Eternal rest grant unto your servant Emily, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace.