New York archbishop: Life passes quickly, be prepared to meet Christ

In his November letter to the archdiocese, Archbishop Ronald Hicks of New York encouraged the faithful to meditate on the coming of Christ and what it means to live a life prepared to meet Him, urging a recommitment to daily prayer and love of the Lord. 

Archbishop Hicks shared at the beginning of his letter about how much took place in the span of one week for him this October: He journeyed home from Spain, was told his father had died, attended the Al Smith Dinner, traveled to Chicago to celebrate his father’s funeral, and spent a day helping his mother with clearing his father’s room at his memory care facility. The following day, he traveled back to New York. 

“I share this with you because it reminded me just how quickly life passes,” Archbishop Hicks wrote. “Life can change in the blink of an eye. We do not know the day God will call us home, just as we do not know the day when Jesus Christ will return in glory.”

The Catholic Church invites the faithful to think about this, especially on All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, which offer reminders of the promise of eternal life, the faithful’s communion with the saints, and the responsibility to pray for those who have died, the archbishop explained. 

“It is also an opportunity to reflect on how we live our lives,” he wrote, “and whether we are prepared to meet the Lord when the time comes.” 

He noted that Jesus encourages preparedness, saying in Luke 12:40 that “the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.”

Being ready, Archbishop Hicks wrote, “means keeping God at the center of our lives, in our thoughts, our words, and our actions. It means nurturing our relationship with Him through prayer, serving others, and gathering as a family of faith to celebrate the Eucharist.”

The archbishop encouraged the faithful to not see preparation as merely an anticipation of death but as a daily choice to live and grow closer to Christ. He urged everyone to renew commitment to prayer, attend Mass, and pray for the faithful departed. 

“May the saints inspire us,” he wrote, “and may our prayers for the faithful departed strengthen our hope in the Resurrection.”