Nov 13 Wed
Should I be prepared for my ultimate journey?
Our life on earth is transitory: one day we will die.
Nothing men see so commonly as death, and nothing they forget so easily as death. We all must die: this is one of life's great truths. Sooner or later a day will come when we render an account to our Father God. Our time on earth is a period of trial that God grants us. For here, we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.
“Here, we have no lasting city. And lest we forget it, St. Josemaría writes, this truth appears crudely, at times, at the hour of death: lack of understanding, persecution, or being despised... And always loneliness, for even though we may be surrounded by affection, every person dies alone."
“Now is the time to untie all the bonds that bind us. Let us prepare ourselves at all times for that step which will bring us into the eternal presence of the Most Holy Trinity."
Life is short, time is limited, and time is our treasure, the "money" to buy eternity. Our days will come to an end, and we'll be judged by our deeds. Nothing on earth has permanent value. All that this earth can offer us is continually passing away: hardly has pleasure begun than it already ended. God will come for us only once. He should find us well prepared to enter happiness without end. “Always, forever! Words brought to our lips by the human desire to prolong - to make eternal - what is pleasant.
Lying words, on earth, where everything must end."
We are wayfarers. Therefore, while treading firmly on the ground, we should always keep our gaze set firmly on the goal of our journey, on our Father God.
“Death comes, St. Josemaría wrote, and cannot be avoided. What empty vanity it is, then, to center our existence on this life. See how much many men and women suffer. Some suffer because life is coming to an end and it pains them to leave it; others because it goes on and they are sick of it. In neither case is there room for the mistaken view that makes our passage through this world an end in itself.
One must leave that way of thinking behind and anchor oneself to another, an eternal one. A total change is required, to empty oneself of self-centered motives, which pass away, and to be renewed in Christ, who is eternal."
The lesson is clear: Nothing we enjoy here will accompany us to the grave. “Don't set your heart on loves here below. -Such loves are selfish... -Elsewhere are the loves that endure." Since we will enter God's presence empty-handed, why do we latch on to things? They are a dead weight, an obstacle on our journey. In the end, we'll have to abandon them anyway. Before God, only our good deeds have any value. So, let’s prepare for our definitive meeting with God by practicing detachment from everything.
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