MEDITATION TIP —First Sunday of Advent, November 27, 2022

“You must also be ready...” (Matthew 24:44)

　The month of November, the month of the dead, is almost over. Many of you may have visited the graves this month. As we look at the gravestones of each person in the cemetery, we strangely feel our jealousy and unworthy desires for others disappear. Nothing makes us feel more equal than death. That does not mean that no matter how we live, we are all the same in the end. Each of us needs an important guideline to fulfill our life mission. That means envisioning the end of our own life. From there, we can determine what is truly important to us, and from there, we can decide how to live our lives today. Thinking about life in terms of envisioning the end of our life means that we must clarify our destination before we can take the first step. Once we know our destination, we know where we are now. This will naturally lead us in the right direction.

　It is so easy for us to get caught up in the work and activity trap. We may think we are climbing the ladder to success, only to find when we reach the top that the ladder has been hung on the wrong wall. One day you suddenly realize that what you sacrificed for the sake of success is actually far more important than success. However, if we discover what is truly important to us and live daily according to that guideline, our lives will change dramatically. To change our thoughts is to change our lives. Therefore, it is only when we begin by envisioning the end of our lives that we can discern what is truly important. Ignatius of Loyola also commands us to contemplate our own deathbed, to see if we can die therein truly satisfied, and to let that guide our actions in life.

　Now picture the scene of a certain funeral Mass. You are now hurrying toward that church. You are about to say your last words to the deceased person in the coffin. But to your surprise, it turns out to be yourself. Around you, relatives and acquaintances are reminiscing about you. And at the end of the Mass, one of your friends is about to give your eulogy. This is the end of the scene I want you to picture. Now I want you to think seriously about what you would like your friend to say about you in his eulogy. It is probably your deepest and truest value. Then, use the content of that eulogy as a guide for your future actions. It may be different from the path you have been envisioning. But by envisioning the end, if you were now trying to hang a ladder on the wrong wall, you will know the true value of life by hanging it back on the right wall. That is why Jesus said, “You must also be ready.”

　There is also the saying, “Sow the seed of thoughts and reap the harvest of actions. Sow the seed of action and reap the harvest of habit. Sow the seed of habit, reap the seed of character. Sow the seeds of character, reap the seeds of destiny.”

 　　　　　(Father Akabae)