Pathways: Fall 2001
The Holy Gift of Time!
-By S.Patricia Sheatzley,CSJ
We are born into it. We live and die within it. And anyone of us can spend it or keep it, find it or lose it, waste it or save it, moment by moment…
Certainly, we are not the only ones who have been enveloped by time! Again and again, passages in Sacred Scripture situate persons and events within the embrace of a definite time-frame:
"In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin… "Luke 1:26
"In those days, John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea… "Matthew 3:1
"When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill…" Mark 1:32
God visits each of us, too, in time. Are we at home when God comes calling?
Even without the gift of bi-location, so many people today have the potential for being in more than one place at a time. Picture a driver, trying to maneuver through city traffic and to converse, via a cell phone, with a family member at at distance. Think of how adroitly one can appear to be listening intently to a close friend while simultaneously planning what to say in response. Imagine a student working at the computer, listening to music, sipping and snacking.
Our gracious God is everywhere, forever; we mortals struggle to be in one place at a given moment! Bi-locating, clock-watching and calendar-cramming can be tempting, but these practice can contribute to anxiety, fatigue, tension, declining health and poor relationships.
Are there any remedies for such modern-day dilemmas? A recent, extensive study of the phenomenon of stress yielded some uncomplicated results. Since it seems that most stress results from trying to do more than one thing at a time, the most effective way to combat stress, and its resultant effects, is to focus on just one thing at a time. Focusing, then, and finding ways to down-size our daily to-do list might well qualify as forms of modern asceticism.
From God's humble, unassuming ones, we often learn invaluable lessons about living, day by day.
A revered elderly woman from an inner-city neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio, had borne incredible suffering and sorrow throughout her lifetime; yet she steadfastly maintained an indescribable serenity of spirit. Her minister, a social activist and friend of mine, asked how she had managed to endure so gracefully. She smiled and replied, "No matter what trials and tribulations I meet, I always remember my favorite words from the Holy Book. They keep my hope alive and get me through the day. The Bible says, "It came to pass." It doesn't say, "It came to stay."
Julian of Norwich offers words of similar wisdom, words worth etching in our praying hearts:
"All
shall be well.
And all shall be well.
And all manner of
things shall be well."
A feisty Cajun widow in Jackson, Louisiana, looks for a visit from my Sister and me each week. We bring her Jesus in the Eucharist and help her with a variety of simple chores. The most important gift we offer her is simply spending time with her on a regular basis. One afternoon, she stunned us by saying, "I live to see you on Thursdays."
From our CSJ booklet, Maxims of The Little Institute, comes this exhortation: "Be careful about the good use of time which is so precious, not losing a minute of it, devoting and offering it to God unreservedly with very pure and noble intentions."
Herein lies the secret of using time well. We are to offer it to God! But, before we can attempt that, we need to grow in the awareness that God first offers each minute to us. It is a gift made holy by the very presence of God within it.
God desires the same from us; namely, that we put ourselves into our lifetime, moment by moment. Whatever we are doing demands that we "be there".
Our dear neighbors long for our presence in the present. Unimaginable as it seems, God does the same.
I was regretting the past and fearing the future.
Suddenly God was speaking.
"My name is I AM."
I waited.
God continued,
When you live in the past,
with its mistakes
and regrets,it is hard.
I am not there.
"My name is not I WAS."
When you live in the future,
with its problems and fears,
it is hard.
I am not there.
"My name is not I WILL BE."
When you live in this moment,
it is not hard.
I am here.
"My name is I AM."
From Helen Mellicost
(On the kitchen wall of the Ranch
Guesthouse of St. Benedict's
Monastery in Snowmass Colorado.)
"God has enough of all good
things except one: Of communion with humans God can never
have enough."
From Mechtild of Magdeburg
God
also calls us to follow Him in the period of time we call
today – NOW. It is an invitation and God waits for our
generous response.
Some of us respond quickly in our youth; others take time
to be sure that it is right, or get distracted by other endeavors.
If you find yourself questioning whether or not God is calling
you to religious life, give God a YES in now time, and take
the first steps toward discovery.
You can write S. Ily, our vocation director at ilyfercsj@aol.com
or call her at 225-344-0515.