(Stock Photo Canva)
By Ken Rolheiser
In the 1960’s medical drama Ben Casey the opening line gave us chalkboard symbols in a vertical column: man, woman, birth, death and infinity. Death was represented by a cross. As a teenager watching the show, I mused at the symbolic lifeline of creation: man, woman, birth, death…infinity.
At eighty-one, I can marvel at God’s plan unfolding. My focus now is more on the endgame. “Do not be afraid,” Jesus says so often that I am sure it applies to the end of this mortal life. “I go and prepare a place for you. I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:3).
Author Anne Lamont in “The Things I Know” shares marvelous thoughts on dying: “Death is as sacred as birth… Almost every single death is easy and gentle, with the very best people surrounding you for as long as you need.
“You won’t be alone. They’ll help you cross over to whatever awaits us. As Ram Dass said, ‘When all is said and done, we’re really just all walking each other home.’” We can imagine Jesus, or the loving Father who has been watching for us, ready to welcome us home.
Another thought Lamont shares is that we Christians like to think of death simply as a major change of address. We should just get on with living our lives without worrying.
Our life’s goal is simply to follow the command of Jesus to “go and make disciples of all nations.” We start at the family table and then our neighbourhood. If we need help, we summon grace simply by saying “help!” Grace is spiritual, WD-40 Lamont says.
Grace will help you get your sense of humour back. It will help you breathe again. Grace will give us faith in each other. “Laughter really is carbonated holiness,” Lamont says.
Grace makes it possible for us to recognize that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. In imitating Him, we can remind ourselves of Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus in The Chosen. His quiet prayer before filming was, “Let people see Your face and not mine. Let them hear Your words and not mine.”
There is much to enjoy intellectually, both spiritual and temporal. Worldly and sensual joys are gifts from God. Researchers tell us that after forty, adults become more emotionally affected by music, art, literature, or sacred spaces. Beauty can lift us out of anxiety and the noise of the world around us.
Religion connects us to sacred architecture, stained glass, poetry, incense, Gregorian chant, marble sculpture, and candlelight flickering beneath vaulted ceilings. Even the smallest village church often contains artistic treasure tucked away in a side chapel. (from “Science finds the Catholic answer to aging healthily,” Cerith Gardiner).
Gardiner points out that adults who regularly participate in artistic or cultural activities appear to age more slowly biologically than those who rarely do. “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10).
One final worry we have is that we will face life’s end with regrets about what we should have done, what we said or did, or what we failed to do. We should live life with a conscious enthusiasm. “If you take an action, take a really healthy, loving or friendly action; you’ll have loving and friendly feelings,” Lamont says.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” (Jeremiah 29:11).
Ken Rolheiser is an author of six books and a spiritual column PAUSE FOR REFLECTION since 1998. A lay minister in St Joseph’s Parish and an occasional speaker, Ken has been involved in the Canora Ministerial Association and the Archdiocesan Stewardship Committee (as well as others). For details see www.kenrolheiser.com.
