It seems that as I get older time flies by faster and faster yet when I sit down on Sundays to review and reflect upon my week I realize how much has happened and the previous Monday feels like a lifetime ago. Time is a strange paradox.  When I was 12 my dad passed away from Melanoma. He was 31. I remember all the adults bemoaning the fact that he was too young to die and that my brother and I were too young to have lost their father. During the nine months between his diagnosis and death he would take me out weekly to our usual spot near the airport where we would watch the planes take off and land. He would share stories about his childhood and ask me about my dreams for the future. He spoke to me of Jesus, the importance of waiting until I was married to be with a man, of looking out for my brother, and of forgiveness. I realize now that not only was he was preparing me for his death but also instructing me on how to live and I am so grateful for that. I can also see how much of a gift it was for him to know that he was going to die and to have the time to prepare for it. Not all of us will get this gift, so many have and will die suddenly.  We know from Genesis that death is a result of Adam and Eve's disobedience. I wonder, was there time before the fall; did the first humans have a concept of time? In my research I found no direct answer, but it makes sense to me that they did not. God is outside of time and is eternal and He created man in His "image and likeness" to share life with Him in eternity. "Humankind was originally created in a state of innocence and justice. They were free from pain, death, sin, and ignorance in matters essential to happiness (Selmy’s, 2011, Before Sin)." When Adam and Eve succumbed to the temptations of the devil they brought upon the world a series of curses, spiritual death being one of them. Suddenly, all things that were good now have the potential for evil. They were cast out of Eden and into world plagued with war, famine, pestilence and death but already in the final lines of Genesis 5, salvation is being prepared. When banned from the garden and the tree of life, bodily immortality became impossible. As an act of mercy for those who choose to love God, He gave us time to work out our salvation so that we do not have to spend eternity in this valley of tears. He sent His Son to plant the new tree of life (the cross) in this world so that we may eat of its fruit, Christ Himself (the Eucharist) and enter once again into eternity with Him in Heaven. Death is the curse, yet it is also the remedy. It is the beginning of eternity. While we live in this body in this world, we are given the gift of time. What we do with it will determine how and where we spend eternity.  Thankfully, God had not left us to or own devices. He has given us many tools and teachings on how to use our time wisely so that we may enter heaven. He gave us our free will, our Faith, the Church and its Traditions, His Word in the Bible, the ten commandments, and the sacraments. He even gave us the enemy to help build up our strength and resolve. One of my favorite meditations is Memento Mori, a Latin phrase that means to remember your death. It has its roots in classical antiquity and appeared in funeral art and architecture of the medieval period where symbols of skulls, hourglasses and wilting flowers signified the transience of life. It was also poplar to go into solitude and frequent tombs to meditate on death. For the Catholic, contemplating one's own death serves to emphasize the short time lived here and as an invitation to prioritize how our time is spent. We can also see this expressed in the book of Ecclesiastes 7:40 "in all thy works be mindful of thy last end and thou will never sin." The only reason Christ entered into this world, was crucified and died was to bring salvation to souls (Salus Animarus), to do the will of the Father, and give Him the Glory (Gloria Dei). We are called to imitate Him, to freely choose Him, to pick up our cross and follow Him. Though we ourselves cannot save a soul, we are to allow God to work through us. This is why it is so important to seek God's will in every present moment. Prayer is crucial in understanding what God is asking of you. We are here for each other through prayer and service to lift each other up and ensure that our brothers and sisters make it to heaven with us. This is time well spent, the true path to heaven.  xoxo Memento Mori!    

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