A Few Things Fulton Sheen Taught Me About Rising Older

In a couple of months, I’ll rejoice my 65^th birthday.

On that day, I’ll formally turn into a “senior citizen” and can be entitled to a couple extra reductions on the native shopping center. I may even obtain my first Old Age Security test. And it has already been earmarked by my ten-year-old grandson, for some sweet and journeys to McDonald’s for himself and his 4 brothers.

Reflecting on this fast-approaching milestone, I recall that about fifteen years in the past, I deliberately determined to cease counting birthdays and as a substitute begin counting blessings. And it was none apart from Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen who taught me this holy behavior.

As a cradle Catholic, I suppose I used to be “late to the game,” having discovered Fulton Sheen’s legacy solely slightly greater than fifteen years in the past. I first found Fulton Sheen after I learn his New York Times best-selling e-book, Peace of Soul, the place he wrote within the first line, “Unless souls are saved, nothing is saved.” From that second on, I used to be a fan.

For the following three years, I learn most of his books. In my fifties, I might say that I admired Fulton Sheen’s brilliance and readability of instructing. But now in my sixties, what I like most is the instance he gave of a peace-filled life in his later years.

But the place did Fulton Sheen discover that peace? We can uncover the reply within the timeless classes he taught about rising older.

Retiring or Re-treading?

On October 6, 1969, upon resigning because the Bishop of Rochester, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen memorably acknowledged, “I am not retiring, only re-treading.”

Hearing this, I believed to myself, What a fabulous approach to talk about retiring! While society was perennially instructing us to ask, “When can I stop working?”, Sheen was encouraging us to ask, “What mission has God reserved for me now?”

Reading Sheen, I discovered that retirement is just not the tip of usefulness however could very effectively be the start of one other necessary work. I’ve since met many retirees who turn into lively grandparents, mentors, volunteers, evangelists, prayer warriors, and caregivers. They uncover that whereas their careers could have ended, their vocation to serve with charity by no means does.

Perhaps rising older does entail slowing down. But as we alter gears, we will ask God, “What would you have me do next?”

I used to be fifty-three years outdated within the fall of 2014, and having spent thirty years within the trades, first as a plumber and later as a enterprise proprietor, I discovered that it had taken a toll on my well being. Working sixteen-hour days had been each bodily and mentally taxing. I used to be sensing that the time was approaching handy over the reins to my son Michael, who had been working faithfully at my aspect within the household enterprise for ten years. 

Two years earlier, in 2012, I used to be invited to share the works of the Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen on my native radio station by internet hosting a one-hour program every week. To my shock, this present was very effectively acquired, and inside two years, it was picked up by two different radio stations as a syndicated program.

In the spring of 2013, I used to be impressed to go to my native diocesan seminary to provide a chat to fifty seminarians and monks concerning the writings of Archbishop Sheen. The seminary welcomed me, however I used to be nervous as I stood earlier than the seminarians and monks. Then I believed to myself that if Jesus had used fishermen, tax collectors, and tentmakers to do his work, He may definitely use a plumber from a small city in Canada to do the identical.

This first presentation at my native seminary became 5 extra, as each main seminary in Canada requested me to come back and converse to their seminarians. Over a couple of months, I travelled coast to coast (in my plumbing truck!), visiting seminaries in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia.

Following upon these experiences with radio work and seminary shows, the concept of “re-treading rather than retiring” appeared attainable. So, in the summertime of 2014, I trusted in God, handed the household enterprise to my son, put down my set of pipe wrenches, traded them for a laptop computer and a microphone, and started sharing the knowledge of Fulton Sheen throughout North America and world wide.

This choice to “re-tread instead of retire” has given me a number of the most rewarding experiences of my life. For me, re-treading has turn into a unique project: working within the winery of the Lord, establishing friendships with seminarians and monks, and sharing the gospel by means of podcasts, shows, and books.

You Are Made for Eternity—Get Used to It

While studying about Fulton Sheen’s appreciation for the spirituality of St. Therese of Lisieux, one other necessary lesson got here into focus. He recounted the story of St. Thérèse, sitting beside her father, gazing up on the night stars. As she did so, she noticed them forming the primary letter of her identify. In the marvel of that second, she exclaimed, “Papa! I know that God loves me and that I will be in heaven with Him one day forever. My name is written in heaven!”

St. Thérèse grasped one thing which we spend a lifetime attempting to grasp: we’re all made for eternity. Peace comes from understanding these three issues:

• We are made by God for God.
• We got here from God and are returning to God.
• Heaven is just not wishful considering—it’s our homeland.

I keep in mind within the yr 2000 being identified with most cancers and having to bear surgical procedure and months of remedies. It was the primary time I confronted the truth of loss of life. It felt like the precise time to sit down down with my kids and discuss to them about the potential for dying. To my shock, our youngest daughter, Louisa, who was eight years outdated on the time, mentioned to me, “Dad, remember what St. Therese taught us. We are made for eternity, and God loves us. It is going to be OK.” She gave me the truth test I wanted, and a few hours later, as additional encouragement, she introduced me with a handwritten word that learn “One Way Ticket to Heaven.” This little memento of hers nonetheless sits on my desk to remind me the place my true residence lies.

Thank you, Louisa, and thanks, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. God love you.

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Author’s Note: One lesser-known side of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen’s non secular life is that he grew to become a Third Order Carmelite in 1948, drawing nice inspiration from Carmelite saints reminiscent of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Her spirituality of childlike belief, abandonment to Divine Providence, and union with Christ profoundly formed his preaching and writing all through the rest of his life.

Readers may even uncover an introduction to those similar Carmelite themes in my forthcoming Sophia Institute Press retreat e-book, The Soul of a Disciple, the place Archbishop Sheen’s reflections on St. Thérèse, the Holy Face of Jesus, and the inside life are woven right into a guided non secular journey designed to attract readers nearer to Christ.

Editor’s Note: This article is part of a CE unique sequence, “Cultivating the Soul of a Disciple with Blessed Fulton Sheen,” in celebration of and preparation for Archbishop Sheen’s beatification this September.

Image from Wikimedia Commons