By Fr. Francis Carvajal
5/17.1 To live in the present moment.
We have a lot to do if we are to present ourselves before our Father God with our hands full of fruit. Sacred Scripture teaches us that for everything there is a season.
People frequently become engrossed in activities that have little to do with the responsibilities which they have at hand. For example, despite an apparent physical proximity, a father can be far away from his children when they are in most need of his attention. A student may allow his imagination to range far beyond the subject matter before him. He thereby fails to use his study time to good advantage and wastes his energies on chimerical pursuits and worries. Time is very precious because time quickly passes away. It is a testing ground for our eternal destiny. Our fate depends to a large extent on our fidelity to our duties in life.
Time is a gift from God. He invites us to prove our love for him in a free and determined fashion. We should therefore be miserly in our use of time. We should use it well by working with love and intensity. A Christian should never give in to sloth or boredom. It is fine for us to rest whenever necessary (cf Mark 6:31), but we should always have our eyes fixed on our final resting place in Heaven.[5495]
Scripture invites us to live our life in the presence of God. Everything has its proper time: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal, a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance ... a time to keep silence, and a time to speak ...[5496] We can waste our time by doing whatever we want instead of what God wants. For example, we might spend time at our place of work when we are needed at home. Conversely, we might choose to read the newspaper when we should be working. The life of each man and woman exists in the present moment. These are the only moments which we can truly sanctify. The past and the future only exist in our imagination. The memory of our past can inspire us to acts of contrition or thanksgiving, yet even these prayers take place in the reality of the present.
We should not become overwrought by future events because they may not come to pass. In any event, we will have the grace of God when we need it. The secret to building the city of God within us is this: we have to build on a brick by brick basis in the reality of the present moment.[5497] This is the only time which God gives us to sanctify. Hodie, nunc. We must live the present moment with love, with full concentration. What a wonderful offering this will be to the Lord! Let us not miss this opportunity.
In Conversation With God
ICWG is rich and extensive enough to serve as your spiritual reading for a lifetime, as it helps you relate the particulars of the message of Christ to the ordinary circumstances of your day.
In Conversation With God
[5495] Paul VI, Address, 1 January 1976
[5496] First Reading, Year II, Eccles 3:1-11
[5497] Ch. Lubich, Meditations, p. 61
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rev. Francis Fernandez-Carvajal
Rev. Francis Fernández-Carvajal is a Priest of the Opus Dei Prelature and the author of many popular spiritual works. His seven-volume series In Conversation with God provides over 500 meditations to be used throughout the liturgical year. It has sold over 2 million copies and has been translated into many languages.
Rev. Francis Fernandez-Carvajal
Rev. Francis Fernández-Carvajal is a Priest of the Opus Dei Prelature and the author of many popular spiritual works. His seven-volume series In Conversation with God provides over 500 meditations to be used throughout the liturgical year. It has sold over 2 million copies and has been translated into many languages.
