Only four floors above the body of the
famous pop icon lay in her room with the police conducting an investigation.
A basic respect for the deceased especially if they were a friend in
life, would seem to merit a moment of silence or a basic prayer for her soul. But at the
Beverly Hilton Hotel that Saturday evening, there was nothing. So why did the
party keep on chugging away?
Well if you’re rich and famous and have all your material needs met in
life, why pause to think on a reality such as death? After all, reflection
on death could possibly bring me to ask myself if there is more to life then
fun and games. No need for that; I like fun and games!
This superficiality makes for drastic
consequences. Living your life with the “volume of self-indulgence” turned way
up is what we call living on the surface. And folks, it’s not really living!
What most impressed the secular reporters at World Youth Day in Spain
last August was watching 1 million adolescents go from a noisy crowd to
complete silence as the Blessed Sacrament was exposed before them. These were young
men and women who lived connected with God. When it was time to reflect they went
deep and when it was time to have fun they partied.
Deep in our core man has the capacity to encounter God. There in his
depths God speaks, helping us to sort through the curve balls that life throws
at us. Jesus of Nazareth would have had a much harder time dying on Friday
morning had he not spent Thursday night in prayer trying to see the things the
way His Father did.
Whether rich and famous, or poor and unknown, life has its hard moments
and tragedies like the sudden death of Mrs. Houston. We can either keep on partying
and hide from the existential questions these tragedies suggest to us, or we
can use them as alarm clocks to remind us about what really matters in life.
A life filled with just noise is a life filled with nothing. And a life
lived in touch with God is a life truly lived.
By John Yep
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