Retirement Planning

Investing for our eternal retirement in heaven

08/14/2022

Heb 11:1-2, 8-19 Brothers and sisters: Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Because of it the ancients were well attested. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go. By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise; for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God. By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name.” He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead, and he received Isaac back as a symbol.

Have you ever heard of this old saying: “Working for the Church does not pay much but the retirement plan is out of this world”? That means our retirement will be in heaven, because church employees will work till we die. But earthly retirement may not everything we hope it will be either. Here are some jokes about earthly retirement that may make you look forward to your eternal retirement. A woman came home to find her retired husband waving a rolled up newspaper round his head. She asked: “What are you doing, dear?” He said, “Swatting flies. So far, I got three males and two females.” The wife asked: “How on earth do you know which gender they were?” The man answered: “Easy, three were on the beer, and the other two were on the phone.”

A reporter was interviewing a 103-yeard old woman. He asked: “And what do you think is the best thing about being 103?” She simply replied: “No peer pressure.” Here’s another one: “I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible a whole lot more after they retire and get older. And then it dawned on me: they were cramming for their finals!” Okay, last one: “A retired man who volunteers to entertain patients in nursing homes and hospitals went to one local hospital in Brooklyn and took his portable keyboard along. He told some jokes and sang some funny songs at patient’ besides. When he finished he said in farewell, “I hope you get better!” An elderly gentleman shot back: “I hope you get better too!”

Our Scripture readings today invite us to think less about our earthly retirement and focus more on our eternal one. That is, stop swatting male and female flies and start thinking like an employee of the Catholic Church. For example, Jesus says in the gospel of Luke 12: “Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.”

Ask yourself right now: how much do you put aside for your 401K plan, or how much do you put in savings or in an investment portfolio? We make those financial sacrifices today in order to reap the benefits after we turn 65 and retire. Something similar but spiritual happens when we give our money to help church or charity. We are making a spiritual deposit today into a fund that “thieves cannot steal and moths cannot destroy.” It will be the poor people in Paradise who will open the doors of heaven to us because of how much we helped them today. In other words, your charitable donations will give you a return on your investment that is far more than a million-fold. When I don’t take a salary from the parish, or give my money to help children to attend Catholic schools, some people thing I’m not very smart with my money. They don’t realize I am saving for my retirement.

The second reading from Hebrews 11 also helps us do a little eternal retirement planning. The whole of Hb 11 is a marvelous exposition on faith, but the focus of the chapter is undoubtedly Abraham, the father of faith. We read: “By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promise was ready to offer his only son of who it was said, ‘Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name’.”

Hebrews continues, this is the important part: “He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead, and he received Isaac back as a symbol. In other words, part of the retirement package of heaven is receiving back those we have lost by death. No 401K, or saving account, or investment portfolio can offer you that: reunion with your loved ones you have lost. I do some retirement planning like Abraham every time I pray the rosary. How so?

At the end of the rosary, you typically say the “Litany of Loretto”, which is a long list of the various titles of Mother Mary, like “Seat of Wisdom”, “Mystical Rose”, “Tower of Ivory”, “Morning Star”, and so forth. But instead of reciting that great litany, I have created my own personal litany of saints, comprised of my own family and friends that I hope to meet in heaven. Like Abraham hoped to receive Isaac, I also hope to “receive my family and friends back alive.”

For example, I mention my nephew, Noah, my high school principal, Fr. George Tribou, my seminary rector, Msgr. Ken Roeltgen, the priest who gave me his chalice that I use at Mass, Msgr. Joseph Mrocskowski, and many parishioners from my parishes who have gone to their eternal reward and retirement. They have not been canonized saints by the official Church, but I have canonized them in my heart. They are dear to me, and I miss them, and I hope to see them again in heaven. In other words, every time I pray the rosary, I do some retirement planning. I plan to see them again.

My friends, when is the best time to start planning for your earthly retirement? Well, the sooner the better. But what do some people do? They start planning for retirement the day they retire! So, do not wait to start planning for your eternal retirement, either, and the sooner the better. Have you heard the story of the 3 year-old girl, Brooklyn Andracke? Every day she stood at her window in awe of the huge garbage truck that came once a week.

She started waving at the driver, Delvar Dopson, and the driver waved and honked back. Then, one day, she stood by the street with a cupcake, and he stopped and took it from her. It was her birthday. Do you know what she was doing? Clearly: she was giving her garbage man a cupcake. But do you know what she was really doing? She was retirement planning.

Praised be Jesus Christ!