A lovely and inspiring Catholic blogger Jennifer Fulwiler, who blogs at
conversiondiary.com/ and
ncregister.com, wrote a fantastic commentary on a book she had read by Bronnie Ware, who had spent years working with those who are dying. She noted that people generally have similar regrets about their lives. As Jennifer was reading through these, she noticed a pattern. Each of these regrets, she said, is because we have bought into a specific lie from the Prince of Lies himself, the devil.
Look at these Top 5 Regrets Voiced by the Dying, where Jennifer Fulwiler writes:
1. “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”
When we say, “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself,
not the life others expected of me,” it was because we listened to the
devil say, “You can’t be happy without other people’s approval.”
2. “I wish I didn’t work so hard.”
When we say, “I wish I didn’t work so hard,” it was because we
listened to the devil say, “You’ll find your life’s fulfillment in your
career.”
3. “I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.”
When we say, “I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings,” it
was because we listened to the devil say, “God won’t help you to stand
up for what’s good and true.”
4. “I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.”
When we say, “I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends,” it was
because we listened to the devil say, “You don’t have time to spend time
with the people you love—just look at all those important things on
your to-do list!”
5. “I wish that I had let myself be happier.”
When we say, “I wish that I had let myself be happier,” it was
because we listened to the devil say, “Don’t bother to seek God’s true
purpose for your life—you’re obliged to do what people expect of you.”
When you are going through your day, take a minute to examine what is going on. "What message am I acting on? Am I acting this way because of things I heard from Jesus Christ, the bringer of Truth, or am I acting this way because I am reacting to a lie I have been told about myself.
Father Scott Courtney, our regular guest on Daybreak, offered this prayer to help you start living in Truth NOW from Jose Marie Escriva.
Come, O Holy Spirit!
Enlighten my mind to know your commands; strengthen my heart against the snares of the enemy;
inflame my will… I have heard your voice, and I don’t want to harden myself and resist, saying
“Later…, tomorrow.”Nunc coepi! Now I begin! In case there is no tomorrow for me.
O Spirit of truth and wisdom, Spirit of understanding and counsel,
Spirit of joy and peace! I want whatever you want. I want because you
want, I want however you want, I want whenever you want.
When we face the day today, let us be reminded that the Lord is our strength! He will not abandon us, he is already triumphant!
