diff --git a/builtin/commit.c b/builtin/commit.c
index 1d805f5..eda0d32 100644
--- a/builtin/commit.c
+++ b/builtin/commit.c
@@ -1695,10 +1695,7 @@ int cmd_commit(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		if (!reflog_msg)
 			reflog_msg = "commit (merge)";
 		pptr = commit_list_append(current_head, pptr);
-		fp = fopen(git_path_merge_head(), "r");
-		if (fp == NULL)
-			die_errno(_("could not open '%s' for reading"),
-				  git_path_merge_head());
+		fp = xfopen(git_path_merge_head(), "r");
 		while (strbuf_getline_lf(&m, fp) != EOF) {
 			struct commit *parent;