Lenten Retreat, Day 13: Ponder on Eternity
We begin with the sign of the cross, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Examine your conscience. (Take a few minutes. In silence, remember and feel sorry for your sins, and think of ways you will amend your life.)
Pray the Act of Contrition.
God has set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Eternity is a mystery because we cannot comprehend it. Although, God has set eternity in our heart, we do not perceive it, nor do we pursue it. We, mostly, misunderstand the eternity that God has placed within us. Instead of pursuing that which is eternal, we pursue after everything that is perishing.
We live as if we are going to live forever, but this life, that we live, is very short, and it is too precious to be wasted on the perishing things of this world. We can comprehend eternity only by the grace of God because God is eternal. Even if we try to explain eternity to the best of our ability, we will not be able to explain it.
When we ask a mathematician to describe eternity, he will use a formula which will make no sense to most people. If you ask a theologian to describe eternity, they will speak in such a manner that you probably need an interpreter to explain it. If you ask people, in general, what is eternity, they probably will have no clue. What is eternity? It cannot be measured; it cannot be described.
Why should you ponder on eternity? Because we are all eternal beings and we are created in the image and likeness of God, who is eternal. The question is, where will we be for eternity, in heaven with God, or in hell away from God? Our body is mortal, but our soul is immortal. This means that when we die our soul continues to live. The soul does not perish when it separates from the body at death. The soul is reunited with the body at the final resurrection. So, for eternity, we will have a glorified body and a soul. Therefore, our primary focus must not be this earthly perishable body, which gets weaker and approaches death every day, but our focus must be to save our soul, and those of others, who do not know God, and the eternal consequences of their wrong choices.
Let us pray and ask God to reveal to us eternity, so that we may spend every moment of our lives pondering on things that are eternal.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end, Amen.
To receive abundance of graces during this retreat, you can choose to do any of the following daily:
Attend the Holy Mass daily.
Pray the Rosary.
Pray the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy.
Pray and meditate on the Way of the Cross.
Pray at least 15 minutes in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
Read the bible and mediate on scripture for at least 15 minutes.
Pray the Litany of Humility.
Invite others to join this retreat, as a family or as a group.