Monsignor Pope Ping!
Excellent!
I fear pain.
Key to me is the ‘rebuke’ Msgr. Pope received from our Lord at the end of this paragraph:
I remember that at a low point in my own life, afflicted with anxiety and depression, I asked the Lord to please end my life quickly and take me home out of this misery. Without hearing words, I felt the Lord’s silent rebuke:
“Until you learn to love the life you have now, you will not love eternal life. If you can’t learn to appreciate the glory of the gifts of this life, then you will not and cannot embrace the fullness of eternal life.”
May we remember this reminder when we think all is lost here in this mortal realm.