(Stock Photo – Canva)
By Marrick Kowalski
“Lord Jesus, help me to orient my life so closely to you that I live prepared for you to come again.” This is a prayer that I’ve been focused on all year. What does it mean to live prepared? What does it look like to live prepared? What am I preparing for, and why is it so important to be prepared? This prayer and these questions were heavy on my mind and heart at an Advent retreat in 2022.
I had been ill, struggling to keep up with my job and all my life tasks, and feeling so far behind in all aspects. My prayer life was also struggling (shocker), and I’d never felt further from God. I spent the weekend away, completely and solely focused on Jesus, with no distractions or other tasks to do other than to be and to be with Him. Nobody expected anything of me or from me; there were no deadlines to meet. I was given many opportunities to encounter Jesus, and encounter Jesus is what I did.
A beautiful art gallery was set up with images of saints and Jesus, intended to be contemplated in prayer. Couches and chairs were set up facing all of the beautiful original works of art. Inspired by these men and women who had lived prepared and accomplished the ultimate goal we are all working towards (spending eternity with our Lord in Heaven), I heard the Lord whisper into my heart, “Live prepared.” My response? “What the heck does that mean?”
I started praying this prayer daily and did my best to be prepared in this earthly life – planning events and class visits in a timely manner, keeping up with the laundry schedule, making sure all my commitments were in my calendar, etc. It meant I got my butt out of bed and to daily Mass a few extra times, but it didn’t take me long to find out that this wasn’t entirely what the Lord was asking of me. Yes, the sacraments are important (they draw us closer to Christ), and being diligent and disciplined in these matters are important virtues; however, Jesus was asking more of me. He was asking me to prepare my soul to spend eternity with Him.
In the last few weeks of the liturgical year, the readings are focused on the end of the liturgical year as well as the end times – preparing ourselves for Christ’s return (whether that be through our death or His second coming). From the parable of the talents to the Corporal Works of Mercy (clothe the naked, feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, give shelter to the homeless, visit the sick, and visit the imprisoned), Jesus lays out a foundation of service. We are called to serve as Christ served: to lay down our lives, wants, and desires for the good of the other. We are asked to die to ourselves so that another might have life, have hope, have joy, have peace. In asking me to live prepared, Jesus was calling me to serve His people. He was tasking me to share His light but to do so with my eyes focused on Him.
We know that Jesus will come again. In a world that is seemingly void of hope and full of grief, violence, and fear, we need to be reminded to live prepared not for this life but for the one that is to come. It can be easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of sorrow and pain, one earthly tragedy after another, but this isn’t the end of the story. It is important to feel these emotions without allowing ourselves to get stuck in their net of despair. If we keep our eyes and hearts focused on getting to Heaven and trusting in God’s love and mercy, these tragedies do not have the final word.
Countless people have gone before us who have finished running this race and are now privileged to spend eternity gazing upon the face of God. They all have something in common: service. They looked outside of themselves and found the face of God in the face of others. Some founded religious orders, others spent all their time praying in a cloistered convent, others wrote books and helped evangelize the world, and some spent time helping the sick in the streets. May we, too, live this life preparing ourselves for the next through the service of others in whatever way the Lord asks of us.
Loving and merciful Father, may we see your face in the face of others. Help us to choose to serve them so that we may prepare our hearts to gaze upon You for eternity. Grant us Your hope and peace in this world. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Marrick currently works as the Youth Ministry Coordinator at Christ the King Parish in Regina. She spent two years serving with NET Ministries (one year in PEI, Canada and one year in Cork, Ireland), and misses being close to the ocean. When she’s not planning youth group, in the schools doing classroom visits, or running retreats, you can probably find her at a local coffee shop or at home working on her calligraphy technique.
