This Too Shall Pass

Some time ago I was reminded of the fact that everything that has a beginning has an end.

I remember when I was younger I was often trained to think only about the goal, the finish line, the final end so much so that I never focused on the journey. This year I was reminded again of how important the journey is because everything we do, whether it is good or bad, every experience whether good or bad – will pass. It will have an end. As sure as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west “this” whatever it may be .... will pass on by.

My sister lost her baby girl this year. But as my spiritual mentors and directors have told me – we lost her on earth but she was gained in heaven. When the life of a child seems to be cut too short we always take a step back to examine life a little closer. We take a moment to regroup, because when a child dies we are reminded that this life as we know it will pass, so we have to look at the journey. At my nieces’ wake I was reminded of a powerful statement once made ironically in a movie, “Tell me how he died?” the responder said, “I’ll tell you how he LIVED”.

People told the story of how my niece lived, not how she died and without realizing it we were all focusing on her journey that she took while here on earth for this short time. We always focus on the journey because deep down we all know that the end will come. We don’t know the how, the when, the where, or the why but we know it will come.

My cousin of 35 years old died earlier this year as well. He was the eldest of the three brothers my uncle left behind. It is unfortunate that I didn't see this beloved cousin often enough. He lived in the US and even though I was there for so many years I saw very little of him.

It again brought me back to thinking about the journey. We focus too much on the end and that we don't take the time to live the journey that we share with others.

In the end, as it passes, regret slips in. The challenge is not to allow anything to pass without fully living through it.

It doesn't matter if it is a horrible job, a bad sickness, the perfect marriage, or your priestly vocation - all of these will come to an end in some form or another. Our task in life, I think, is to live through all our experiences so that we can say happily and without any regret - "This too shall pass"