I Have Kept the Faith

2 Timothy 4:7

Peter Laslett (1915–2001), a British historical demographer, published in 1989 a book titled A Fresh Map of Life: The Emergence of the Third Age where he described four ages of life:

First Age (Childhood/Youth): The period of childhood, education, and dependence. It is the phase of preparation, socialization, and dependence on others.

Second Age (Adulthood): The era of working, family-raising, and high productivity. It covers younger and middle-aged adulthood, generally focused on career and family responsibilities.

Third Age (Active Retirement): The “golden years” or “crown of life” (approx. 65-84), occurring after retirement when people have fewer responsibilities, better health, and time for personal fulfillment.

Fourth Age (Old Age/Frailness): The final phase, characterized by frailty, dependency, and decline. It often involves significant physical or mental health challenges, with individuals frequently in their 80s, 90s, or older.

We are now in the Third Age and slowly entering the Fourth Age – slowly because we still do not have “significant physical or mental health challenges” but we cannot claim to have “better health.” Although my father passed on at the age of 95 and my mother at 103, my expectation isto live to 90, which is already less than 10 years from now having reached the age of 80 in October last year.

We have a special reason for wanting to live to 90. Our grandson, James, is showing signs that he is being called to priestly vocation. He is currently in college. If he enters the seminary after four years of college, he will need four years of theology and perhaps another two years before he is ordained priest – thus a total of about 10 years. Our prayer is to live long enough to be able to receive the Holy Eucharist from our grandson when he celebrates Mass for the very first time.

We have commenced the preparation for our eventual encounter with the Risen Lord by divesting from our material possessions. First to go are our shares of stocks in our 57-year old engineering consulting firm. Our partners have agreed to purchase our stocks, and the sale will be finalized at the end of this month thus ending Jean’s directorship and my chairmanship of the company.

Next to go, hopefully, are our two coconut farms in Barrio San Roque, Unisan, Quezon. We are looking for buyers of our five-hectare coconut farm in “Bundok”, where the house of my grandfather used to stand. Shown below is my son, Joubert, pointing to the remaining main pillar of this house. The other photo shows a foot path through the coconut trees leading to the house of the family of my cousin who takes care of the coconut plantation.

The other farm is called “Maysasa,” which is about 2.9 hectares. The photos below show the entrance to the farm and the creek where our small nipa hut, where I was born in 1945, was located.

Over the next five years, we also plan to sell our houses in Unisan (top left), Lucena (top right), and Quezon City (bottom). We plan to simplify our life for the rest of our years on earth.

As we approach the final and fourth stage of our earthly life, we will view this stage not as a decline, but as a final, profound, and active part of our Christian journey, where our inner vision becomes more focused on God. As an aging member of our community, we will shift our focus from active service to deeper spiritual maturity and legacy.

We will endeavor to live in hope with a serene, joy-filled, and hopeful anticipation of the final meeting with the Lord, seeing it as the ultimate homecoming. We will view old age as a special time of grace, expressing gratitude for both joyful and challenging experiences, recognizing God’s providence throughout life. We will move beyond formal prayers to a more contemplative, quiet time, and engage in consistent silent prayer to remain connected to God. We will recognize that physical decline and suffering is not a burden, but as a way to unite with the crucified Christ and offer it as a service of love. But most of all, we will continue to actively serve God and live out our CFC covenant despite physical limitations, ensuring that our life remains focused on Christ.

We plan to go on pilgrimage to two more apparition sites of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the shrines of Our Lady of Hope in Pointmain, France and Our Lady of Siluva in Lithuania. We may return to the shrines of Our Lady of Lourdes and Our Lady of La Salette where we experienced the most intense presence of the Blessed Mother.

Christian tradition places the age of the Blessed Mother between 60 and 72 years old at the time of her Dormition. While on earth, her faith was a continuous, deepening journey of “pondering” and total surrender to God’s mystery. Her faith journey was one of constant “fiat” that was refined in the fire of God’s love. Even as an aging woman living in Jerusalem, she bilocated to encourage James in Spain to persevere in his mission. With God’s grace, we will endeavor to imitate Our Lady of the Pillar so that in the end of our earthly pilgrimage, we can say with St. Paul (2 Tim 4:7): I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.

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