PART II
Here on the Way to There
All of Teresa of Avila’s teaching is rooted in a call to acceptance of reality. She accepts God as the loving Creator and Redeemer. She accepts herself as the poor, sinful creature yet loved and forgiven by this merciful God. Getting real for Teresa allows her to judge all experience by one goal: does it draw her closer or away from the merciful and loving God revealed in Christ Crucified and Christ Risen. Teresa knew where she was and where she was going. All of life has to pass through this lens of accepting reality with God as the center.
For Teresa, it was a gross distortion to live as if death did not exist. This deception has grave consequences for our life. The normal and natural losses of old age are the groundwork for our calling to be in union with God. God’s plan is that all the losses are simply a purifying experience preparing us for the gift of new life that awaits us. Physically, each day brings new losses and new challenges. Socially, attendance at funerals is a sign of the passing of our generation. We see life slipping away before our very eyes. Psychologically, the decline of our memory, our attention span, our intellectual skills along with the ability recognize old acquaintances are in a slow process of unveiling a new painful experience.
The “big lie” has placed us in a life-long dilemma of thinking we are already there. We think our purpose and goal are in this life. The distortion of this half-life denies death and embraces youth. Soon enough, it is caught in the avalanche of unavoidable losses and depletions that can seem so senseless and overwhelming. We need to name the lie and say yes to the reality. God is calling us in love and mercy to a different life.
God wants to help us. He has a bucket list for us that is quite different from the standard fare of these often-exotic lists. The first item is to embrace the gift of time that aging opens up for us. This is an opportunity to reflect on life. As our days become less cluttered, the gift of newly minted wisdom allows us to see both the good and the bad in our life. A growing clarity brings us to rejoice in the mercy of God.
Secondly, a new and deeper self-knowledge awaits us. We have nothing left to prove. As the truth emerges, so many issues that seemed in “the life or death” category just evaporate into insignificance. We slowly enter into the truth expressed so beautifully by John of the Cross, “In the twilight of life, only love matters.”
The third item on God’s list for us is the work of reconciliation and healing of memories. We all have deep hurts and hostilities that need to be addressed. The final years offer a freedom and maturity that open new invitations to forgiveness, reconciliation and peace.
Finally, God invites us to use the approaching finale to prepare for the future. We are more than on the way. The train is approaching the station. We need to continue to grow in our acceptance of death as a loving summons to new life. Fear has to be transformed into hope. This is the task of our final years. As the Mass of the Resurrection states so beautifully:
Indeed, for your faithful Lord,
Life is changed not ended,
And when, this earthy dwelling turns to dust,
An eternal dwelling is made ready for them in heaven.
Editorial Note:
One of my favorite authors is William Shannon, a Merton scholar who re-introduced me to Merton. Much of the material in this blog has been influenced by his book, Here on the Way to There: A Catholic Perspective on Dying and What Follows.
One of my favorite authors is William Shannon, a Merton scholar who re-introduced me to Merton. Much of the material in this blog has been influenced by his book, Here on the Way to There: A Catholic Perspective on Dying and What Follows.
