Life Begins at Conception and Ends at Death!

The gift of life is incredibly precious! God is the author of our life! He tells us when to be born and when to die. I believe that life begins at the moment of conception in our mother’s womb and ends when we close our eyes in death. Every day we are alive is another gift from God. We work to promote a “culture of life” in all its various stages. In all reality, each day is another day closer to the end of our earthly life and the beginning of the life to come; we Catholics call it eternal life- heavenly life! We do not know the hour or the day. Only God knows, and he chooses not to share that information with us.

Living each day to the fullest, making the most of each opportunity, is the best way to prepare for the life to come. If we have a chance to do some good; to help a neighbor; to share a blessing – we are preparing ourselves for eternity. Too morbid, you might think – not really! Realistic – yes! We are all born – we will all die! No one escapes it, and we have every day to prepare for it!

Yet as Peter Quinn, a novelist, observed: “No matter who we are, all that is certain is if we live long enough, old age is inevitable and, no matter what we tell ourselves, none of us comes prepared.” We face a whole new set of challenges as we get older: medical issues; wondering about the future; getting ready to meet our God when he calls us; fear of being a burden to others; keeping track of all the doctor’s appointments. My brother Richie often jokes and says – “Thank God we have doctor’s appointments – otherwise we wouldn’t have much to do.” Both of us frequently compare notes about our doctors.

Yes, thank God for good medical teams who attend to us in the later years of life. Priests often say when they got together as young priests, they complained about their pastors; when they became pastors and got together, they complained about their parochial vicars; now, when they meet up together, as senior priests – the topic is always about how many doctors they have and how their doctors’ appointments consume a lot of their time.

How do we enjoy the “last quarter” of life as it reveals to us new and unexpected bumps in the road? I often turn to the Christopher News Notes for inspiration and wisdom. Issue #626 says this: “the key to aging with grace is embracing “what is” with joy, gratitude, and acceptance… learn to see the value in who you are today, the things you know, the experiences that have shaped you, and recognized that the world needs your insights, your wisdom, and your participation.” That’s a lot to think about and pray over, for sure. Issue # 669 encourages those of us preparing for the Divine summons to: “cultivate an attitude of gratitude” or to put it in religious terms, it’s about “counting your blessings.” Yes, as we grow older and prepare to enter the eternal joy that God has prepared for us – we can certainly “focus on the good gifts we have to share, the chances we have to make life better for others, and we can live our “golden” years with purpose and confidence.” Amen to that!