By Sr. Redempta Twomey
No matter how much we try to avoid the thought of death, we cannot wholly escape the reminders all around us. Road accidents, flood victims, other disasters … all listed in the daily newspaper. News of the death of Princess Diana may have caused many of her contemporaries to realize for the first time, “I too must die.”

Far from being morbid, those who face death, their own death in particular, are usually more realistic in their outlook. Death is an inevitable part of life, as real as life itself. So why ignore it or, by losing ourselves in a frenzy of activity, try to deny its reality?

The thought of death can sharpen our focus on life. It can enable us to sift the gold from the dust, to put our energies into what is true and lasting and not fritter them away on trivial matters.

Treasuring Time
Perhaps one reason why we avoid thinking about death is we like our trivial day-to-day life, and we don’t want to be disturbed. We suddenly find ourselves at the deathbed or by a grave. It’s too late then for all the promises.

Some people wallow in regret and become depressed while others are shocked into a new way of living. “It is not as if you live in the dark for that day to overtake you like a thief,” St. Paul wrote. “We do not belong to night or to darkness so we should not go on sleeping as everyone else does, but stay awake and sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:6).

Our lives have a direction and meaning. We must pay attention.

“Nothing is more precious than time” wrote the anonymous author of that little gem, “The Cloud of Unknowing.” The way we spend our time determines the quality of our lives. The plethora of books and workshops on time management available today show how well business leaders understand the value of time in pursuit of profits. Minutes matter because, for them, “time is money.”

If they take so much care for temporary gain, how much more should we care for that treasure not made by human hands?

‘Wasting’ Time With God
It is good to look at our day and examine our use of time. Otherwise there is a real danger that we will drift through life, pleasantly perhaps, but aimlessly. A man who woke up to the fact that he was spending hours in the bar, watching TV, reading magazines and neglecting his family decided to change his ways.

Now each morning he spends a little time in quiet reflection and does what he calls his “if only” exercise. He imagines it is the end of the day and thinks, “if only I had taken the children for a walk; if only I had written a letter; if only I’d told my wife how much she means to me….” Then, giving thanks that he now has time to do this, he lives with the energy that comes from accepting and using well the wonderful gifts that God gives him.

Perhaps the most precious time of all is that which we “waste” with God. It may only be 10 minutes of silent prayer. There is nothing to see, nothing to show. Often we find ourselves distracted, restless, even bored. We struggle, resisting this “waste” of time, especially when there is so much good we can be doing.

Only the advice or encouragement people get stops many from giving up. But when we persevere, day after day, we will find, by God’s grace, that all our time is transformed and permeated by his love in our lives.

Love is what lasts. This is the great lesson that death can teach us. As we move towards our final home in Heaven where time is no more, may God give us the wisdom to live the days that are left to us here with love and compassion for all.

Sr. Redempta Twomey from Ireland has been a registered nurse who has worked in Hong Kong and for the Columbans’ magazine in Ireland.