In the week of September 25-30, I read about two contrasting deaths that provided me with some food for thought.

Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy magazine, passed away peacefully at his home aged 91 after living a hedonistic lifestyle.

In the same week, I read about Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk and author of religious bestsellers. He suffered a horrific death in Thailand in 1968. He was electrocuted when he tripped over, or tried to hold, a defective stand fan, which fell diagonally across his body, leaving a long, raw burn mark that extended to his groin. He also had a massive heart attack.

His colleagues found him dead on the floor, with a pool of blood under his head and a pool of urine – resulting from the electrocution – around his body.

Merton’s body was so badly disfigured by the powerful electrocution that the abbot at his monastery in the US found it difficult to identify him.

It is striking and revealing that the hedonist died peacefully in his bed while the man who had dedicated his life to God came to a horrific, undignified end.