Your Hourglass

     “Like an hourglass with a certain number of grains of sand within it, God has appointed your life to last only a certain number of days, and you have absolutely no idea how many there are . . . In God’s presence consider: I have no idea when my life will end. All I know is that death will come for me eventually. Am I doing anything to prepare for the real possibility that God may call me, sooner than later? If He called me into eternity today, would I be ready?                                           Patrick Madrid


     During the month of November, the Church, in Her wisdom, has asked us to reflect on The Last Things: death, judgment, heaven and hell.


     Death: something that each of us must experience. It is when our earthly life ends and our mortal body and immortal soul separate. We experience death because of original sin.

     Judgment: when we die, we will each be judged by God for the way we lived our lives. This is our particular judgment. Our soul will go to heaven, hell, or purgatory. God, in His mercy, has provided an intermediate state called purgatory, where those who are not condemned to hell, but not quite purified of imperfections to enter heaven, will undergo a time of purification. When fully purified, they will spend the rest of eternity with God. Purgatory is a mercy from God because those souls are assured of their salvation. Purgatory will cease to exist when Christ comes at the end of time.

     Heaven: “Those who died in God’s grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live forever with Christ. They are like God for ever, for they ‘see Him as He is,’ face to face” (CCC 1023). “Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness” (CCC 1024).

     Hell: total separation of man from God. Hell awaits those who have rejected God in their lives and have walked away from His love. They have offended Him by sinning against both Him and man and have remained unrepented. “The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was crated and for which he longs” (CCC 1034). “God predestines no one to go to hell; for this, a willful turning away from God (a mortal sin) is necessary, and persistence in it until the end” (CCC 1037).

     Last Judgment: the resurrection of the dead will precede the last judgment. At the end of time, Christ will come in glory to judge the living and the dead. “Only the Father knows the day and the hour; only He determines the moment of its coming. Then through His son Jesus Christ He will pronounce the final word on all history. We shall know the ultimate meaning of the whole work of creation and of the entire economy of salvation and understand the marvelous ways by which His Providence led everything towards its final end. The Last Judgment will reveal that God’s justice triumphs over all the injustices committed by His creatures and that God’s love is stronger than death” (CCC 1040).
   
      Meditating on the Four Last Things, can be like splashing cold water on our face. It wakes you up to the reality that this life is not forever. What we do and fail to do will impact our eternal destiny. Our relationship with God must be a priority in our lives! With these thoughts in mind, let’s ask ourselves a few questions:

     Is God front and foremost in my daily life, or do I allocate time to Him when it suits me, when I need Him, or when I have accomplished my “to do” list for the day? Are there times in my life when days slip by and I do not even think about God? If God is not a priority for me, what can I do to make Him one? Prayer plays an essential role in forming a deep and personal relationship with God. How can I make prayer part of my daily life?

     Am I living a life that God would approve of? St. John Vianney once stated, “Here is a rule for everyday life: do not do anything which you cannot offer to God.” Using that as my guide, how do I need to change? Being familiar with the Ten Commandments, the Precepts of the Church, and the Beatitudes can be a map to guide us towards our heavenly destination.

     Am I frequenting the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist? Living life on earth, full of distractions and temptations, we need all the help we can from God. Availing ourselves to God’s graces, will aid us in overcoming our selfish and sinful tendencies to grow in holiness and virtue. The Sacraments will assist us to stay on the “narrow road,” and guide us back when we have strayed.

     Each of us is unaware of just how many grains in our hourglass of life remain. We must live our lives well aware of that fact. What we do does matter, and in the end, how we have loved God and one another, will follow us into eternity. “At the evening of our life, we shall be judged on our love” (St. John of the Cross).

     “See, my children, we must reflect that we have a soul to save, and an eternity that awaits us. The world, its riches, pleasures, and honors will pass away; heaven and hell will never pass away. Let us take care, then. The saints did not all begin well; but they ended well. We have begun badly; let us end well, and we shall go one day and meet them in heaven” (St. John Vianney).