You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul,
with all your mind and with all your strength. You shall love your neighbor
as yourself. There are no other commandments greater than these.
Mark 12:28-34
I have grown to love the 2007 movie, “The Bucket
List,” starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. It’s about two terminally
ill old men on a road trip with a list of things to do before they “kick the
bucket.”
In
one of my very favorite scenes, they are both sitting on one of the pyramids in
Egypt. Morgan Freeman’s character says to Jack Nicholson’s character, “You know
the ancient Egyptians had a beautiful belief about death. When their souls got
to the entrance to heaven…the gods asked them two questions. Their answer
determined whether they were admitted or not. “Have you found joy in your
life?” “Has your life brought joy to others?”
Because
I was about to retire nine years ago, it was serendipitous that I should stumble onto it.
It occurred to me that it raises a ton of questions for reflection on my
retirement. These two questions may have been two of the most important questions
facing me as I sought to create a second life with the experiences I had accumulated. “Have you found joy in your life?” “Has your life brought joy to
others?”
Many
people nearing my age, especially those going into retirement, speak of retirement as a time to pamper
oneself and finally being able to do whatever they want to do! Our culture
teaches us that retirement is a time for self-indulgence. Move to Florida!
Sleep in! Putter around the garden or workshop! Play golf every day! Hang out
at McDonald’s and drink coffee till noon with other old men! God spare me!
Thomas Merton was right when he said, “The biggest human temptation is to
settle for too little.”
My
main goal going into retirement was first of all to challenge the temptation, from my
own mind and from the mouths of others, to think too small. I knew didn’t want to
quit being a priest, but I wanted to be a priest in a new way. I certainly knew that I wanted to do more than just keep doing what I have always done, but less of it. Neither did I want a permanent vacation. I have spent my whole life as a priest
dreaming bigger than what was considered wise. Some of those dreams did not
materialize, but more than I could have imagined, have materialized! I wanted to keep "dreaming big" in a way that was age appropriate, so I nixed taking up "inline skating," but I still wanted my retirement to
be a springboard to adventure, not a hammock for my lazy side to lie in.
The ancient Egyptians may have asked people on their entry into heaven: “Have you found joy in your life?” “Has your life brought joy to others?” Jesus taught us today that we will be asked a similar question on our entry into heaven:
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul,
with all your mind and with all your strength. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There are no other commandments greater than these.
“Have I found joy in my life?” “Has my life brought joy to others?” I can't answer for you, but I can speak for myself. Maybe how I answer these two questions will help you answer them for yourselves.
"Have I found joy in my life?" I can answer that question with a resounding "yes!" I am convinced that my life as a priest has brought me so much joy that I have even summarized it officially: "Simply Amazed - Forever Grateful" I have not only been "called" to the priesthood, but I have been blessed with meeting so many wonderful people who have made priesthood a real honor and has brought me great joy! As I look back over my life, coming from a rural town of 27 people, and think about the all people I have met, the places I have been and the things I have gotten to do, I am "simply amazed" and I will be "forever grateful." The joy that I have found in my life has come from preaching the love of God in word and deed as a home missionary, a country pastor, a cathedral pastor, a vocation director, a seminary staff member, a fifteen-year weekly columnist, a traveling parish mission preacher, a volunteer foreign missionary and a priest convocation presenter in 10 countries and author of several related books. Most of that time, I have specialized in preaching the love of God to the poor, the marginalized, the left-out and those who have not yet realized it!
"Has my life brought joy to others?" I can answer that question with a resounding "yes" as well! It's either true are a whole lot of people have been lying to me for a very long time! I have not been perfect and not everyone has expressed appreciation for my work, but I can say with confidence that I have been very happy and I know I have brought happiness to a whole lot of others!
In my retirement, I have not slowed down all that much, but I have have adjusted my focus. I no longer travel to far-off places, but I do a lot of ministry here at home and other places from a distance. I help-out in several parishes. I help-out weekly at the Little Sisters of the Poor Nursing Home and monthly at the Ursuline Sisters Retirement Community at the Twinbrook Nursing Home. I am finishing up a few more small projects in my home parish in Meade County. I am still helping with small projects in the Caribbean Missions and I have added a couple of small projects in the African Missions. I still publish a few books, maintain a blog and celebrate a few funerals.
I no longer spend a whole lot of energy trying to fix the institutional structures of the church. I am leaving that to younger priests and bishops. My focus and passion now is on ministry to individuals - helping them with their happiness and helping them bring happiness to others!
