A dying senator’s 4 regrets will make you rethink life
Senator shares four personal regrets as he confronts his impending death Regrets focus on missed family time, unpursued passions, lack of advocacy, and unexpressed gratitude His reflections serve as a prompt for readers to evaluate their own life choices The narrative underscores the emotional weight of facing mortality and the urgency to act The piece offers a contemplative look at legacy and the importance of living intentionally
2 days ago
Former U.S. Senator Ben Sasse, diagnosed with terminal cancer at the end of 2025, has publicly shared four regrets he wishes he had addressed earlier in life. In an interview with Ross Douthat for The New York Times and on his own “Not Dead Yet” podcast, Sasse emphasizes honoring the Sabbath, prioritizing family meals, limiting work travel, and living closer to relatives — messages that have quickly spread across social media 1.
Sasse says his top regret is not treating Sunday as a holy day. He wishes he had set aside the Lord’s Day for worship and rest instead of returning to work or other distractions 1.
He stresses the importance of device‑free meals with loved ones, describing dinnertime as “precious” and urging others to lock away phones at the table 1.
Sasse admits to a “road‑warrior” lifestyle, often exceeding seven hotel nights a month, and wishes he had imposed stricter limits on business trips 1.
He reflects that proximity to family would have enriched his life, wishing he had lived “down the block” from his parents and maintained stronger family ties 1.
How should the Catholic Church guide individuals toward intentional living?
The Church guides people toward intentional living by re-centering daily life on Christ, shaping the rhythm of work and rest, forming habits of holiness through concrete actions, and protecting the sacred dignity of every person, even in complex or imperfect situations.
Intentional living, for the Church, is not primarily self-improvement by willpower; it is living in response to a call. Pope Francis frames holiness as something the Lord addresses “personally” to each person: “Be holy, for I am holy”.
This matters for intentionality: your choices are not random. They become a living answer to God’s invitation—especially through everyday decisions that may look small but are actually spiritually decisive.
Pope Francis gives a concrete pattern: holiness grows “through small gestures,” such as refusing to join gossip, pausing to listen with patience to a child, praying when anxiety comes, and stopping to offer a kind word to a poor person.
So the Church’s guidance is practical: choose the good on purpose, repeatedly, in real circumstances—not merely when you feel inspired.
A person can intend good things but still be shaped inwardly by a distorted sense of time—an unbroken treadmill of work. The Church therefore forms intentional living through the Lord’s Day and the command to keep holy time.
The Catechism teaches that the institution of the Lord’s Day helps people enjoy “adequate rest and leisure” to cultivate their “familial, cultural, social, and religious lives.”
Saint John Paul II explains why this is not optional spirituality but a “sacred architecture” of time. The commandment is to “Remember the Sabbath day in order to keep it holy,” which means that before decreeing what to do, God urges what to remember—the work of God the Creator. The interruption of ordinary labor has a theological purpose: it expresses that humanity is dependent on God, because “Everything belongs to God!”
This also includes explicit prayer as an “intense dialogue,” making Sunday the day of relationship “par excellence.”
In short: the Church guides intentional living by training you to live with the awareness that you do not exist only for production; you exist for communion with God.
Intentional living is not a moral checklist for the already-steadfast. The Church also guides those living in irregular or imperfect conditions—while still calling them to conversion.
In Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis describes the Church’s pastoral approach as following “divine pedagogy,” turning “with love to those who participate in her life in an imperfect manner,” seeking “the grace of conversion,” encouraging them “to do good,” “to take loving care of each other,” and “to serve the community.”
He then describes family life as a process of mercy: “All family life is a ‘shepherding’ in mercy.” The goal is not only to stop wrongdoing, but to build habits of care that leave a mark on others, so that families become “letters… written on your hearts.”
For couples, Pope Francis calls Christian marriage a spirituality of “care, consolation and incentive.” He portrays love as concrete and tender—“a word, a look, a helping hand, a caress, an embrace”—not as vague sentiment. And he insists that forming a family is joining “God’s dream,” choosing to build with Him in such a way that “no one will feel alone.”
So the Church guides intentional living by insisting that real life is formed through mercy-driven accompaniment: you learn intentionality through how you care, encourage, and respond.
Intentional living also has a direct moral dimension. When the Church speaks about human dignity, it highlights not only acts but the intentionality behind them.
The Catechism states a foundational truth: “Every human life, from the moment of conception until death, is sacred.”
And it applies that to morally grave acts where intention is decisive. It says: “Intentional euthanasia, whatever its forms or motives, is murder.” This is “gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person.” Likewise, the Fifth Commandment forbids “the intentional destruction of human life.”
Here the Church’s guidance is clear: to live intentionally is to align one’s will with the truth about human dignity. You do not treat human life as disposable—because you are not the highest authority over life.
Finally, intentional living requires an interior foundation: what you believe about reality ultimately shapes what you choose.
In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis connects the crisis of the world to a deeper error: “the notion that there are no indisputable truths to guide our lives,” which leads to the idea that “human freedom is limitless.” He reminds readers that humans are not self-created and that “man does not create himself” but is also nature.
This is not only environmental teaching; it is spiritual anthropology. If you believe there is no truth beyond your preference, your “intentionality” easily becomes mere self-direction. The Church counters this by calling people to recognize a higher instance than the self.
At the same time, Laudato Si’ teaches that integral ecology includes human beings and the value of labor. Since God placed humanity in the garden “not only to preserve it (‘keep’) but also to make it fruitful (‘till’)”, labor maintains “the fabric of the world.” Developing the created world prudently is a form of caring because we become instruments by which God brings out potential inscribed in things.
Thus intentional living is both contemplative and active: it respects God’s primacy, honors work as fruitful stewardship, and still refuses the idol of the self.
Putting these teachings together, the Church guides intentional living through a consistent pattern:
Catholic guidance toward intentional living is neither merely moralistic nor purely emotional. It is Christ-centered, shaped by holy time, practiced in small courageous gestures, accompanied through mercy, and anchored in the sacred dignity of every person—all under the conviction that truth beyond the self governs freedom.