As a boy, 14 years old, it was off to a Roman Catholic Seminary, then studying in Rome for seven years, and then heading a university in the Philippines.
And then love ... marriage ... children and career ... and years of involvement with social causes and the hopes and dreams that everyone has.
Yesterday, April 17, 2017, in our study group, Tom shared these thoughts about life, aging, death and dying - now in his "twilight years" as he says, in his 86th year of life, soon to turn 87.
I think the reader will find his reflections helpful, because they're honest in all regards. In such things, fluff and bluff are not helpful. Tom is the kind of guy, given his keen education and training, who can only speak the truth, as clearly as he can.
Thank you Tom, for your friendship, your inspiration, your thoughtfulness and your witness to the power and goodness of the Christian Faith.
And then love ... marriage ... children and career ... and years of involvement with social causes and the hopes and dreams that everyone has.
Yesterday, April 17, 2017, in our study group, Tom shared these thoughts about life, aging, death and dying - now in his "twilight years" as he says, in his 86th year of life, soon to turn 87.
I think the reader will find his reflections helpful, because they're honest in all regards. In such things, fluff and bluff are not helpful. Tom is the kind of guy, given his keen education and training, who can only speak the truth, as clearly as he can.
Thank you Tom, for your friendship, your inspiration, your thoughtfulness and your witness to the power and goodness of the Christian Faith.
-----------------------------
Discussion Paper
Some thoughts, personal observations and several questions
As I approach the twilight years of life, I become more aware of the inevitable end of my earthly existence. I am staring death in the face. As such, I am confronted with many basic questions of life. My body requires more rest. My spirit says get up and exercise but my body says no. It the old story “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” Even my mind is slowing down as my eyes tire and reading becomes more difficult. I often lie awake at night ruminating over my many experiences in life.
Why was I born? Why me? I did not choose to be born!
What am I? Who am I?
Is there some superior being that gave rise to my being?
Does my life have any meaning?
Does God have a plan for my existence? Though I didn’t have any choice in my birth, It seems I must make the best of it.
Have I taken advantage of the many opportunities presented me?
Can I give an accounting of the talents given me?
How many times have I failed to respond to the promptings of conscience?
Awareness of our mortality is unique to human beings. All living sentient beings suffer and ultimately encounter the finality of their corporeal life, but for human beings a kind of reckoning persists. The very fact that I pose such questions suggests that there must be an answer to them, that there is something more to life than this bodily existence. Throughout history there has always been a sense that death is not final, that there is more to life than mere earthly existence. But is there?
Human consciousness allows me to reflect on my existence. Life is a mystery in search of answers.
As I look back on my 86 years of life, I am aware of the vast advances and radical changes that mankind has achieved in fields such as travel, communications, agriculture, medical science, education, understanding of the evolution of the universe and of human life over the span of my lifetime.
As a child, I accepted the biblical history of creation literally. Now our growth in scientific understanding shows that we are the result of billions of years of evolution. Does it still have meaning in this world of change? Beyond its primitive cosmology, I believe there is much wisdom in those chapters of Genesis. Evil exists. Why does God allow it? Man’s innate selfishness is the cause of much of the evil we see in the world. But much of human suffering is due to natural causes. Though the human spirit seems to growing towards a greater sense of justice, yet it remains ambivalent. War among nations, genocide, innocent refugees struggling to survive, hunger, starvation, killing of enemies and theft from those who have more are still commonly chosen means of settling differences. Yes, the problem of evil is great. There seems to be no satisfactory answer. Do you believe in the devil?
As the human spirit expands, our physical bodies remain limited. In spite of the advances of medical science, our bodies wear out with time, our joints become arthritic, our skin loses its texture, cartilage grows thin and our inner organs begin to fail, our hearts grow tired pumping blood until they finally cease to beat. Then the lights go out! But is that all there is? Does the story end there?
One thing I fervently subscribe to is embracing the fact that life without death would be unbearable in our human condition. When the body wears out, the time to welcome death has come. It is the only alternative worth considering. Already at my stage in life, many of my bodily failures are unwelcome and embarrassing facts of life. Flagging eyesight, hardness of hearing, rusty joints, blatter leakage, indigestion, constipation, shortness of breath, difficulty in sleeping, forgetfulness are just a few symptoms of old age that have made themselves painfully obvious of late.
Something within us suggests that there must be something more. Humankind has always shown an understanding of right and wrong, even though studies show a gradual growth in moral sensitivity. The fact that we have consciences and a sense of accountability for our behavior implies that there must be some kind or reckoning. It is obvious that justice is not always attained in this life. Is there a time and place for an accounting in some kind of afterlife?
What about hell as a place for those who die unrepentant of the evil they have done during their lives on earth? May I suggest replacing the concept of hell with the idea of purgatory as a time and place where sinners are cleansed of their sinful ways before being admitted to the company of the saints and the heavenly presence of God? It certainly better suits my idea of God. Eternal banishment from the sight of God seems inconsistent with the belief in a loving, forgiving and merciful God that offers a chance for conversion.
Heaven remains a bit hard to imagine what with the number of heavenly citizens crowded into one place. Does it consist of physical companionship of loved ones living in eternal bliss where suffering, hardship and want are no more, or is it a place of everlasting happiness contemplating the beatific vision of God. These questions defy satisfactory human answers.
Throughout human history we have lived and died fighting personal, tribal and lately national wars to stake out our place in life. In our time, however, there has been a tendency to grow in acceptance of new ways to settle differences. As a child, living in an all-white suburb of Chicago, there were only two Jewish families, and no blacks (they had to be out of town by dark of night). The only Latino people living in town worked for the railroad and they lived in shacks along the tracks at the extreme end of town. Jews were labelled ‘perfidious’ because they failed to recognize the Messiah. In any event, they were considered to be interested only in making money. At that time, the only serious division was the clash between Catholics and Protestants. We were taught that they going to hell because they rejected the one truth faith. Protestants considered us Catholics as unfaithful to and ignorant of the revealed ‘word of God,’ which we replaced with the Baltimore Catechism.
Within our lifetimes, we have witnessed a rapprochement of the various forms of faith. One of the triumphs of the Second Vatican Council was the acknowledgment that the covenant between God and the Chosen People is still valid because God does not go back on his word. Furthermore, that God rejects nothing that is holy in other religions. Today it is my affirmative faith that it is incumbent upon us to be open to dialogue, participation and cooperation with other people of faith by respecting their consciences.
Does life have meaning? Though we did not choose to be born, we still have to face the choice of accounting for the many blessings we have been offered in this life. Facing the inevitable fact of death, we acknowledge that, like life, death is a mystery to be reckoned with. St. Bob Quinn, were you satisfied with the answers you so diligently hoped to learn?
Discussion Paper
Some thoughts, personal observations and several questions
As I approach the twilight years of life, I become more aware of the inevitable end of my earthly existence. I am staring death in the face. As such, I am confronted with many basic questions of life. My body requires more rest. My spirit says get up and exercise but my body says no. It the old story “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” Even my mind is slowing down as my eyes tire and reading becomes more difficult. I often lie awake at night ruminating over my many experiences in life.
Why was I born? Why me? I did not choose to be born!
What am I? Who am I?
Is there some superior being that gave rise to my being?
Does my life have any meaning?
Does God have a plan for my existence? Though I didn’t have any choice in my birth, It seems I must make the best of it.
Have I taken advantage of the many opportunities presented me?
Can I give an accounting of the talents given me?
How many times have I failed to respond to the promptings of conscience?
Awareness of our mortality is unique to human beings. All living sentient beings suffer and ultimately encounter the finality of their corporeal life, but for human beings a kind of reckoning persists. The very fact that I pose such questions suggests that there must be an answer to them, that there is something more to life than this bodily existence. Throughout history there has always been a sense that death is not final, that there is more to life than mere earthly existence. But is there?
Human consciousness allows me to reflect on my existence. Life is a mystery in search of answers.
As I look back on my 86 years of life, I am aware of the vast advances and radical changes that mankind has achieved in fields such as travel, communications, agriculture, medical science, education, understanding of the evolution of the universe and of human life over the span of my lifetime.
As a child, I accepted the biblical history of creation literally. Now our growth in scientific understanding shows that we are the result of billions of years of evolution. Does it still have meaning in this world of change? Beyond its primitive cosmology, I believe there is much wisdom in those chapters of Genesis. Evil exists. Why does God allow it? Man’s innate selfishness is the cause of much of the evil we see in the world. But much of human suffering is due to natural causes. Though the human spirit seems to growing towards a greater sense of justice, yet it remains ambivalent. War among nations, genocide, innocent refugees struggling to survive, hunger, starvation, killing of enemies and theft from those who have more are still commonly chosen means of settling differences. Yes, the problem of evil is great. There seems to be no satisfactory answer. Do you believe in the devil?
As the human spirit expands, our physical bodies remain limited. In spite of the advances of medical science, our bodies wear out with time, our joints become arthritic, our skin loses its texture, cartilage grows thin and our inner organs begin to fail, our hearts grow tired pumping blood until they finally cease to beat. Then the lights go out! But is that all there is? Does the story end there?
One thing I fervently subscribe to is embracing the fact that life without death would be unbearable in our human condition. When the body wears out, the time to welcome death has come. It is the only alternative worth considering. Already at my stage in life, many of my bodily failures are unwelcome and embarrassing facts of life. Flagging eyesight, hardness of hearing, rusty joints, blatter leakage, indigestion, constipation, shortness of breath, difficulty in sleeping, forgetfulness are just a few symptoms of old age that have made themselves painfully obvious of late.
Something within us suggests that there must be something more. Humankind has always shown an understanding of right and wrong, even though studies show a gradual growth in moral sensitivity. The fact that we have consciences and a sense of accountability for our behavior implies that there must be some kind or reckoning. It is obvious that justice is not always attained in this life. Is there a time and place for an accounting in some kind of afterlife?
What about hell as a place for those who die unrepentant of the evil they have done during their lives on earth? May I suggest replacing the concept of hell with the idea of purgatory as a time and place where sinners are cleansed of their sinful ways before being admitted to the company of the saints and the heavenly presence of God? It certainly better suits my idea of God. Eternal banishment from the sight of God seems inconsistent with the belief in a loving, forgiving and merciful God that offers a chance for conversion.
Heaven remains a bit hard to imagine what with the number of heavenly citizens crowded into one place. Does it consist of physical companionship of loved ones living in eternal bliss where suffering, hardship and want are no more, or is it a place of everlasting happiness contemplating the beatific vision of God. These questions defy satisfactory human answers.
Throughout human history we have lived and died fighting personal, tribal and lately national wars to stake out our place in life. In our time, however, there has been a tendency to grow in acceptance of new ways to settle differences. As a child, living in an all-white suburb of Chicago, there were only two Jewish families, and no blacks (they had to be out of town by dark of night). The only Latino people living in town worked for the railroad and they lived in shacks along the tracks at the extreme end of town. Jews were labelled ‘perfidious’ because they failed to recognize the Messiah. In any event, they were considered to be interested only in making money. At that time, the only serious division was the clash between Catholics and Protestants. We were taught that they going to hell because they rejected the one truth faith. Protestants considered us Catholics as unfaithful to and ignorant of the revealed ‘word of God,’ which we replaced with the Baltimore Catechism.
Within our lifetimes, we have witnessed a rapprochement of the various forms of faith. One of the triumphs of the Second Vatican Council was the acknowledgment that the covenant between God and the Chosen People is still valid because God does not go back on his word. Furthermore, that God rejects nothing that is holy in other religions. Today it is my affirmative faith that it is incumbent upon us to be open to dialogue, participation and cooperation with other people of faith by respecting their consciences.
Does life have meaning? Though we did not choose to be born, we still have to face the choice of accounting for the many blessings we have been offered in this life. Facing the inevitable fact of death, we acknowledge that, like life, death is a mystery to be reckoned with. St. Bob Quinn, were you satisfied with the answers you so diligently hoped to learn?
