By: Sister Mary Scholastica, O.C.D.
“It seems to me, my daughter, that everything passes so quickly that we should be thinking more about how to die than how to live.” (St. Teresa of Ávila)
What an odd quote to start off the new year, right? To speak of thinking more about how to die than how to live. ‘Tis the wisdom of the saints. They knew what was important in life and somehow stayed focused on it.
Many of us are going through the motions of starting afresh, whatever this looks like for each of us. Making commitments to plan better, eat better, exercise more, to stick to our resolutions to become better parents/friends/siblings/co-workers, and the list goes on. First of all, thank God we are here to even have new resolutions to work on. This means we have the gift of life and the grace to try again. This is pure gift, something to pause and be grateful for.
For those who often make the same resolutions year after year, the next question might be: “How will this year’s resolutions be different from other years’? How will I do this year when in previous years, by week two, I’ve faltered?”
St. Teresa speaks words of great wisdom. The perspective of dying well would greatly impact how we would choose to live. If we knew we only had one month left in life, we would live it very differently, very consciously. In this light, there is no time for the superfluous and superficial. We would want to be with the people we love and to make sure they know we loved them. We would be going out of our way to do what good we could do. We would easily forgive others, overlook faults, begin each day with renewed enthusiasm and an outlook of joy, grateful for all blessings received.
Doesn’t this say something to us? The reality is, we do not know how long we will live. Our day to meet the Lord face-to-face could be tomorrow, or next month, in ten or even more years. How do we want to be when that time comes? I don’t know about you, but I would want to come with open hands, pure heart, knowing I had given the Lord my all when on earth, to have fulfilled the mission entrusted to me. The one additional piece that gives my heart great consolation in thinking about “my time” is knowing that His mercy overlooks much.
Dear Friends…you and I…we’re not guaranteed life. It’s a daily gift. Choose to live your life today, this year, thinking more about how to die than how to live. In doing so, you will FULLY live your life. God bless you on your journey into this new year, knowing that the good Lord is walking with you and holding your hand.
