Pastor's Spiritual Reflections |
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By Fr. Leo Schneider (08/05/2007)Dear People of Holy Name,
“tempus fugit momento mori!”
This old Latin phrase is what we all need to keep in mind if we aren’t going to make the same mistake as the rich man in today’s gospel from Luke. Unmindful of death, he piled up his wealth in a needless self-serving way. When death came, it found him unprepared, as death would bring him the realization that, he was a man who lived for himself and not for others as our faith in Jesus teaches.
I admire the wealthy among us who look out for the needs of others. Moments ago, I heard on public radio of a foundation that seeks to bring medical advancement to the needy. The foundation was sponsored by Bill Gates and his wife. There are probably hundred of other such foundations in their names and others. There are many wealthy people not looking out just for themselves, but for the world and its many people of diverse needs. It is their faith that inspires them and their goodness and thankfulness for their success and blessings.
Keeping death before us keeps us focused on why we are here. I think if each of us knew we only had a short time to live we would live in a way that treasured every moment, event and interaction. We would want our best time spent with family and friends. We would treasure and seek to build those relationships and celebrate them as gifts from God. Life would be rich in a way it might not be if we took things for granted as we usually do, thinking there will always be another day to say what’s on our hearts.
The gospel today is encouraging us not to wait. We will never know when our last day will be and so we should live each day as if it were our last. It makes sense. Why should we wait, when it would only be a waist of our most precious gift, our time. If we are living each day to the fullest, we will be ready for the Lord. Living each day in God, transforms our lives into a continuous sharing in the divine, that is part of every human experience because of the incarnation of God into humanity, in Jesus Christ.
Living in God we transcend time and are one with the God who was, is and will always be. In that timeless presence, we are one with those who have gone before us, connected to the God who is among us making us one, and moving us into the future, as a graced invitation to enter the fullness of the timeless reality of God in eternity. Sounds pious doesn’t it? But it is real!
When we are close to the Lord in our hearts it doesn’t matter if we are living in the body or away from the body, because our happiness is living in God who is all things and is in all things, past present and future. In God, we are one with our loved ones who have died, and are made one with the living family around us in the most meaningful of ways.
To remember death, is to live life to its fullest and in doing so, we will find ourselves united in love with God and all his creation, especially the people in our lives. Today’s gospel is good news and a gift reminding us of all that our lives can be.
Let us pray to the Lord and ask that we may be a people who will learn to live for others with our gifts and talents, and that we may enjoy fully the community created when we all serve each other in genuine love. As an act of commitment let us try and do something for another person this week we perhaps wouldn’t normally do.
God bless you!
In Christ Peace, Fr. Leo |