Missed Opportunities

This was originally posted on Instagram on October 29, 2021.

When I think back over the past year, my heart grieves for so much, but I grieve the missed opportunities perhaps most of all.

We Catholics have a phrase: MEMENTO MORI, which is Latin for “remember your death.” Not in a gruesome or macabre way, but rather in an encouraging way: eyes on the prize. Don’t get distracted by your earthly life and take your focus off of Heaven. Remember your death.

What an opportunity a pandemic presents, then: a startling reminder of our mortality. An opportunity for each of us to take stock of our souls, to prepare for death, should that death come by illness, age, or accident.

Baptism, Confession, and the Eucharist: so many missed opportunities.

A pandemic is an opportunity to fall to our knees, to fly to the confessional. But we missed it, or many of us did.

Instead we dropped to our couches, flew to the nearest distraction. Alcohol, food, porn. Many of us Catholics (along with the rest of the world) did the very opposite of memento mori. Sure, we anticipated our death, but only so much as it drove us to cling to this paltry earthy life.

I know, I know. The body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. I’m not saying we should have been reckless, not by a long stretch. But temples are earthly, too. They grow old and crumble, just as we do. The Holy Spirit will outlive every body here on earth, as will our own souls.

Those souls are meant to be with Him forever (“The world is thy ship and not thy home”), so we best make sure they are in order. If we miss that opportunity, we miss the entire point of our existence.

Hard fact: If the Holy Spirit isn’t housed within our souls, He isn’t housed within our bodies either.

Not everyone missed opportunities, though. I know many who grew deeper in faith and discernment over the past year. I especially love hearing stories of priests who went to great lengths to make every good use of the pandemic to share the sacramental life with their flock. I’ll share a couple of them in the comments. Drop your encouragement there, too.

And pray for all of us—laity and clergy—to accept every opportunity to get right with our Beloved Lord.

P.S. If you’re reading this, it’s not too late. Memento mori.