"We are not heading for an eternal void and an eternal silence but we are on our way to an encounter, an encounter with Him who created us and loves us more than mother and father." (Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa) For those who do not believe in God, death is the end. That is because they have not encountered the Beginning and the End of life, God. But for those who have encountered God, especially in the person of Jesus, life is a journey through death into the fullness of life. Knowing that, whether we will experience that fuller life eternally, will depend on our relationship with God at the moment of death.