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Monday, April 11, 2005
Llera: End of world jitters
By Abraham V. Llera
IT HAS been with us ever since. With the death of Pope John Paul II, it will come as no surprise if it will invade the world's imagination once more.
I'm talking of end of the world jitters, which usually grip the world when something very important, unusual, or remotely ominous happens.
In the days leading to the change from 1999 to 2000, I remember the world getting jumpy about talks that the world would end, never mind that the new millennium starts not in 2000 but in 2001.
As a kid, I distinctly remember the fear that gripped our family over talks that the world would end in a nuclear holocaust brought about by the Cuban missile crisis.
There are other sources. One is Nostrodamus, which has caught the world's imagination with his famous quatrains, which allegedly not only told of things in the past but also foretold the future.
The third secret of Fatima also fueled speculations, especially when it spoke of threats from within and of bishops fighting bishops.
So do the prophecies of one Blessed Ann Emmerich, who had the singular ability to see things that people normally do not see.
The world will surely end--no doubt about that--but as to when is something that is not for us to know. Not is it something we should worry about.
Come to think of it, so what really if the world will end tomorrow? We will all die, of course, but will not our death result in something better? Will not our death bring us a step closer to our final destiny?
Of course, we will lose those who are dear to us. As I have been telling my wife, one reason why I dread dying so much is that she would cease to be my wife and I her husband. After having been part of me for so many years, how could I do without her? And the kids. What can be more heartbreaking than being parted with one's kids?
Good for us, we have had a shot at life, but how about them? What will now happen to their dreams in life? All pretty disconcerting prospects.
But you know, I always have recourse to the knowledge that if God allows it, it must be the best for us. Omnia in bonum, remember? Everything works out well for those who love God.
So let's get on with the tasks of everyday as if tomorrow will just like be any other day, not the day the world will end. If we have done what we ought to have been doing, we would have brought ourselves to a situation where any timer we are called we are ready-at least more or less.
(April 11, 2005 issue)
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