“Wherever we are, in every place, at every hour, at every time of the day, every day and continually, let all of us truly and humbly believe, hold in our heart and love, honor, adore, serve, praise and bless, glorify and exalt, magnify and give thanks to the Most High and Supreme Eternal God.”—St. Francis of Assisi, Earlier Rule 23:10-11
For your reflection:
With Pentecost Sunday now in the rearview mirror, the 2013 Easter celebration is officially over and we return to what Roman Catholic liturgists quaintly refer to as “ordinary time.” This means that we are not presently preparing for some major feast as we do during Advent and Lent, nor are we unpacking the meaning of the Lord’s nativity and his resurrection as we do during the Christmas and Easter seasons. For the next several months, in the gospel readings at Mass, Jesus will go on with his life of preaching and healing even as we go on with our lives. But is there really any such thing as “ordinary time”? To be sure, we all have our established routines and fixed obligations. We go to work. We do our jobs. We tend to our families. We walk the dog. We meet friends for the occasional evening out. Even for the most sanguine among us, everyday isn’t Mardi Gras and the Fourth of July. Common things are common and time marches on. But who gives us the gift of time and who has promised to be with us at all times and in all seasons? Aren’t the Risen Lord’s final words in St. Matthew’s gospel, “Behold, I am with you always until the end of the ages”? If we are truly attuned to God’s presence in our daily lives, then no time is merely “ordinary,” for all time is God’s time, and within the humble soil of the familiar the fertile seeds of eternity are sown.
For your prayer and petition:
God, help me to live fully present to each moment so that I might sense your nearness even now and savor your extraordinary gift of time.
