How rarely do I stop to appreciate the gift of this moment. I assume that there will be another day, another year. I become anxious about chores to be completed and worry about how various tasks and projects will turn out. How rarely do I appreciate the reality that every moment is a gift from the generous hand of God. As I grow older, though, the deaths of relatives and friends become ever more frequent reminders of my own mortality.
On these occasions I stop to imagine my own death and gradually my perspective changes. Everything I can see will be gone. The grandest, most enduring edifices are destined to become dust. All that remains is that which can’t be seen; the kind word, the helping hand, the sacrifice and the silent prayer. Only love remains!
—Mr. Gerald Skoch, JD, serves as Vice-President and Chief Mission Officer at St. Ignatius High School, Cleveland, OH.