Week Beginning May 11, 2025
Time of Our Lives
Today we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday with a Gospel reading from Saint John:
“Jesus said: ‘My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one’” (John 10:27-30).
The enormity of the gift of eternal life is challenging to fathom. As we contrast our changing and temporal human existence with the unchanging, infinite nature of the divine, we realize that our lives are short…but eternity is long. Even the longest of our earthly lives are merely fleeting moments compared to our afterlives. Once we truly comprehend this concept, we can keep everything in perspective and properly steward the time we are given. “The secret of happiness,” according to Saint Gianna Beretta Molla, “is to live moment by moment and to thank God for all that He, in His goodness, sends to us day after day.”
Saint Francis de Sales reveals that “By giving yourself to God, you not only receive Himself in exchange but, eternal life as well!” Saint Ambrose of Milan observes, “what is seen belongs to time, but what is not seen belongs to eternity.” The saints have great appreciation for this notion and share with us their insights on the topic.
When it comes to suffering, we are taught to take up our crosses, unite our struggles with the Lord, and cooperate with God in our own redemption and the redemption of others. Saint Catherine of Siena explains: “We must therefore bear this little trial willingly. Little, we may call it, like all our sorrows, because of the brevity of time; since no trial can last longer than our time in this life. How much time have we? It is like the point of a needle.” Saint Thérèse of Lisieux elaborates: “Life is passing. Eternity draws closer; soon we will live the very life of God. After having drunk deep at the fountain of bitterness, our thirst will be quenched at the very source of all sweetness.” Saint Augustine notes: “From now on, regard this life as a desert through which you pass until you come to the Promised Land, the Jerusalem which is above, the land of the living.” When we hand our troubles over to Jesus, our temporary adversity takes on an infinite purpose.
The same principle applies to our efforts and pastimes. “The root of every good work is the hope of the resurrection, for the expectation of a reward nerves the soul to good work. Every laborer is prepared to endure the toils if he looks forward to the reward of these toils,” explains Saint Cyril of Jerusalem. “We have only short moments of this life to work for God’s glory. The devil knows this and that is why he tries to make us waste time in useless things. Oh, let us not waste our time! Let us save souls!” exclaims Saint Thérèse of Lisieux.
Of course, we can only reap our eternal rewards and help to save souls through the grace of God. Saint Augustine expounds: “We are commanded to live righteously, and the reward is set before us of our meriting to live happily in eternity. But who is able to live righteously and do good works unless he has been justified by faith?”
Our meritorious acts are not performed to earn or buy our way into heaven. Rather, they are executed out of love. We are moved by our faith to follow Christ. When we spend our time with Jesus, we conform to his ways. With Christ alive in us, we become like him. We begin to love like he loves. That love compels us to spend our time willing the good of others. In the words of Saint Gregory the Great: “The proof of love is in the works. Where love exists, it works great things. But when it ceases to act, it ceases to exist.”
“See, my children, we must reflect that we have a soul to save, and an eternity that awaits us. The world, its riches, pleasures, and honors will pass away; heaven and hell will never pass away,” remarks Saint John Vianney. Right now, we have the opportunity to forego worldly distractions for an eternity of bliss. It is not too late to start directing our lives toward becoming saints. Saint John Vianney continues his statement with words of encouragement: “Let us take care, then. The saints did not all begin well; but they all ended well. We have begun badly; let us end well, and we shall go one day and meet them in heaven.” Saint Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer says, “A saint is a sinner that keeps trying.”
This week, honestly and objectively examine how you allocate your time. Does it accurately align with your values and your faith? Pray for the love of Christ to grow within you. The Venerable Fulton Sheen breaks it down for us: “It is never true to say that we have no time to meditate; the less one thinks of God, the less time there will always be for God. The time we have for anything depends on how much we value it. Thinking determines the use of time; time does not rule over thinking. The problem of spirituality is never, then, a question of time. For it does not require much time to make us saints; it requires only much love.”
Week Beginning May 4, 2025
Time for All Seasons
“There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens.
A time to give birth, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to build.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them; a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.
A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away.
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to be silent, and a time to speak.
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.”
~ Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Our lives provide a time for all seasons, with each season presenting us with crosses to weather and blessings to reap. Pope Francis describes our earthly life as a novitiate or apprenticeship designed to teach us to appreciate God’s gifts and to prepare us for our ultimate purpose. “Our stable place, our destination is not here,” he notes. “It is beside the Lord, where He dwells forever.” Whatever we do, whenever the season, Christians know that every single thing stems from one reason: to glorify God. We are not made to know exactly when and how things happen. However, we can recognize the signs of the times and be ready to embrace the dynamic nature of the seasons of our lives.
Springtime bears the lush greenness of new life and the sprouting up of dewy buds that bloom into fragrant blossoms. We start fresh and unblemished, hopeful for a bounty of experiences yet to behold. Despite some growing pains, we burst into Summer bigger and stronger than ever. As we toil in the heat of our pursuits, we enjoy peaks in our performance, our accomplishments, and our connections. A refreshing Autumn breeze offers a respite from our labors as we begin to slow down. We take time for reflection and realize the wisdom we gain. Our Fall colors are brilliant and deep, but equally as vibrant as the beautiful and softer tones of Spring. As the leaves fade to brown, we are freed from the constraints of appearance. Superficialities of this world are stripped bare like the branches of the Winter trees. We focus less on the body and more on the soul. Under a pure white blanket of snow, life is changed, not ended. The promise of rebirth emerges as the light of Spring returns.
Saint Paul encourages us as “children of the light” to use our time wisely so that we might gain the inheritance of eternal salvation (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11). Faithful stewards of time study and follow the guiding principles that God gives us for righteous living. By investing time in our relationship with Jesus Christ, we obtain a deeper understanding of God’s plan for us. We are better able to discern our role in creation, to stay vigilant, and to find fulfillment in all the phases of our journey.
Although many people in our society view the passage of time as a problem to be solved, this mindset overlooks one of the greatest benefits of aging. “In old age the works of faith, which bring us and others closer to the Kingdom of God, are by now beyond the power of the energy, words, and impulses of youth and maturity,” observes Pope Francis. He explains: “Old age is the phase in life most suited to spreading the joyful news that life is the initiation to a final fulfilment. And the best is yet to come.”
Regardless of the season, our life takes on greater purpose when we spend our days traveling along the path of the Lord. This week, think about how you can make your minutes more meaningful by uniting the time you have with God. Prayerfully discern what efforts are best suited for your current phase of life. As you contribute to His good works, offer your time for His intentions. “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal” (John 6:27).
