We must not wait for expressions of tenderness until the other person dies. Let us express love when the other can perceive it and reciprocate. Share words of love or gratitude while others can still hear them. I visited my father the day before he died. As I was leaving the room with my mother, I felt he was looking at me, that perhaps he wanted to say something more. But since we were already delayed, I thought to myself, "I can say that tomorrow." However, the next day it was too late.
Do not wait. Before the Last Supper, a woman anointed Jesus with oil. The disciples had objections to this. But he said to them: "She has done a good deed for me. For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me. She has done what she could: she has anointed my body beforehand for burial." By the time the women come to anoint Jesus in the grave, it will already be too late. Carpe diem: seize the present moment to express love.
(Timothy Radcliffe OP /*1945/, The Stations of the Cross for Believers and Nonbelievers, 13th Station)
