Road to Fifty Reflections: Day 45

Making Every Second Count

Today, as we commemorate the faithful departed, I found myself led to Pope Leo’s prayer intentions for November, offered for those who struggle with suicidal thoughts. 

I sat there thinking... why is it that those who still want to live are the ones fighting for every breath, while the younger ones, those who have barely begun to live, sometimes wish to end it all (soon🥹)?

What, or who, is their anchor?

I guess we all want to be remembered somehow. We want to leave something behind... a mark, a legacy. But for some, the thought of being remembered in weakness or sickness feels unbearable. Some choose to end their story while they’re still “okay,” while others, feeling like a burden, slowly lose the will to fight. It’s such a sad thought… and it makes my heart ache.

Then I remembered something Fr. Dela Rosa said in his homily: make each second, each minute, each day count because once they pass, they’re gone forever.

That hit me hard. Life isn’t about how long we live, but about how we live it... how we love, forgive and give of ourselves even when it hurts.

Maybe that’s what God is reminding me today: that every heartbeat, no matter how fragile, is sacred. And when Christ is our ANCHOR, we can face even the deepest despair with courage.

In the end, it won’t be how long we have lived that matters, but how deeply we have loved.