THE SEARCH FOR LONG LIFE

St. Augustine said: "Wicked persons are allowed to go on living so that they may be reformed, or so that by means of their wickedness, the virtuous may be put to the test."

St. Jerome said: "The shortness of this life is the penalty for people's sins. So hate what the world loves. Be dead to the world and let the world be dead to you. During your life, despise what you cannot possess after your death."

St. Isidore said: "Only in this life can you do good. What awaits you in the next life is not the opportunity to do good but the reward for having done good."

If you seek a long life, you ought to be seeking eternal life through union with Christ. That is real life and it is eternal. 

Ignorance of why we exist causes the individual to die at a moment he least expects. So let us avoid all wickedness that we may have long life. As long as we are alive, Satan sets us on fire to desire what is wrong; no sooner are we dead and he hurls us into the torments of hell. 

In this world, nothing is long-lived; nothing lasts. Everything ends quickly. In fact, for the soul who is waiting for eternal life, time on this earth is very short, says St. Cyprian. 

Defensore Grammaticus (SC86, 301ff)

(10-05-02)