By: Alex J. Nagem © June 8, 205

Let’s try a simple math problem.

The average resting heart rate is about 70 beats per minute.

There are 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day, and 365.25 days per year, including leap years.

The average life span is 80 years.

How many heartbeats are in an average lifespan based on this information?

Don’t want to calculate the answer? Okay, it is 2,943,360 heartbeats.

This seems like a large number, especially if we are talking about the number of M&M’s I wish my wife would allow me to eat without reminding me that I shouldn’t. I do enjoy M&M’s and chocolate. Okay, sorry to digress.

To my point of this writing, we have all given thought to when the world will end. We’ve read articles about the end of the world. We’ve tried finding the answer in the Bible. We may have read articles about the predictions of Nostradamus on this subject. There are no clear answers. So, let’s forget about it and enjoy ourselves. We can also repent and say we are sorry later, right? But we are reminded of the end with news accounts of global warming, nuclear war, and asteroids colliding with Earth.

Instead of asking, “When will the world end?” perhaps we should ask ourselves, “Are we ready when it does?”

The end of the world is often portrayed with fire, chaos, and fear. But for Christians, it is not simply an ending, it is a revelation of eternal truth, the fulfillment of God’s promises, and the beginning of everlasting life in His presence.

We are not to live in fear, but in readiness. This is a readiness rooted in living faithfully in grace. This readiness is nourished through daily prayer, avoiding mortal sins, frequent reception of the sacraments, the humble offering of our daily lives to God, and a heart rounded in humility.

Every second that passes may be our last, and yet it also is a step toward our first second of eternal life in the presence of God. Our mortal life will end. Our eternal life will begin once we accept Jesus and follow His teachings. “Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me. ‘” John 14:6.

So, how many seconds do you think you have left? Are you ready for what may come?

“Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on which day your Lord will come,” Matthew 24:42.  

Prayer from Thomas Merton, “Thoughts in Solitude”

“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does, in fact, please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore, will I trust you always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”

Vocatus Atque Non Vocatus Deus Aderit

Alex J. Nagem