Welcome to our daily rosary meditation. Let's begin in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Amen. Let's call to mind all those we've promised to pray for.

We are living in a time and a culture when people can retire earlier, yet they live longer.

And what happens then?

What happens when you and your spouse are empty nesters and you don't need to work as much or at all outside the home?

And maybe your kids are far away, so nobody really needs you very often.

So many couples find themselves in the second half of their lives simply drowning in time and money and nothing to do.

There's a kind of desperate pleasure hunting, restaurant and travel seeking

inflicting yourselves on your adult children.

But there has to be more to life than that.

Man was not made for pickleball alone even in retirement years.

Quite the opposite. The second half of one's life can now be a striving for a deep friendship with Jesus, growth in virtue

and helping others like never before. There is something that we can all learn from the man and

women who go into monasteries and convents so that they can grow in intimacy with the Lord and in virtue and holiness.

So what's stopping you?

Now I don't mean what's stopping you from entering a monastery or a convent. I mean what's stopping

you from committing to these things, to seeking a greater friendship with Jesus in prayer, to really converting from

your sins and vices to a life of virtue and to a real commitment to spend time helping others spiritually and

materially. You have the time, you have the money, you have the freedom. Why not try to create a place of monastic peace and holiness

right in your own home and in your life for you and your spouse so that you can both grow

closer to one another but more importantly closer to the Lord and this isn't just for empty nesters. It actually works for everyone.

Our Father who art in heaven, hallow it would be your name, Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

...