To the Place of the Dead, by Michael Pakaluk

By Michael Pakaluk, The Catholic Thing, Nov. 6, 2025

Michael Pakaluk, an Aristotle scholar and Ordinarius of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas, is Professor of Political Economy in the Busch School of Business at the Catholic University of America. He lives in Hyattsville, MD with his wife Catherine, also a professor at the Busch School, and their children.  …

Some parts of the life of Christ cannot easily be imitated, and yet good Christians find a way. We cannot literally die with Christ each day – grandma could not literally be shot once a day – and yet we can “mortify” ourselves, that is, put to death some desire, or even our own will.

Likewise, we cannot be laid in a tomb each day. And yet we must accept the humility of sleep each day. If day is like life and night is like death, then lying in one’s bed is like being laid in the tomb.  And indeed, it is easy to conceive of a Christian, suffering from insomnia or early morning terrors, remaining in his bed, even though he is not sleeping, consoling himself with the thought that he is doing good nonetheless, because he is imitating Christ in the tomb. …

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