Dear Saints,

St. John of the Cross once said: “in the evening of life, we will be judged by love alone.”

That leaves a pretty long list of things we won’t be judged by. Our bank account; the admiration we won from admirable people; who we voted for; how high we rose in our professional ranks…none of it matters in and of itself. The only question will be how successful we were in allowing charity to be perfected within us.

Far more important than our bank account, then, is how we used our financial resources for the good of others. Much more significant than the admiration we amassed is whether our lives ultimately directed others to Jesus. Who we voted for will be trivial compared to how we treated those who cast their ballots differently. And our professional prowess will be as nothing compared to the good we did - or did not do - as we climbed the ladder.

Our limited time on this earth is made of moments for choosing. Some are big moments, but most are so quick and small they pass by unnoticed if we’re not careful. Our lives will truly be successful if, in each of those big and small decisions, we can remember the final two words of St. John’s prophetic exhortation: “love alone.”

Christ’s Peace,

Father Daniel

δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ