Tag: Time

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Give Us This Day – The Keeper of All Time

Carved into the soft wax of each Paschal candle is a message about the holiness of time. We don’t think of time as a thing to be consecrated like water, oil, or bread. Nor is time tangible, like the hallowed space of a church or the grounds of a cemetery. How can time, a reality we can’t hold in our hands or visibly perceive, be made holy?   

Yet as the presider at the Easter Vigil cuts the numerals of a new year into the Easter candle’s surface, he declares: “Christ yesterday and today, the beginning and the end . . .” We’re grateful that Christ is the healer of yesterday, with its broken dreams and misplaced allegiances, words uttered in haste that can’t be unspoken. We affirm that Christ is the light of today, with so many fresh choices to be discerned. And, thank God, Christ is present at the start and end of every journey, so missteps can be retraced and the true path regained.   

All time belongs to Christ, the priest proclaims, carving numbers into wax. What a stirring idea! We know too well what can happen in the space of a year or a moment. Sickness can overtake the world. Falling in love may comically rearrange our priorities. Disappointment or loss drops us down a well of despair. An act of sudden kindness restores hope.   

Time is an ocean of possibility. We must seek its consecration, making the future a holy destination to which we can all travel together.  
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Does Jesus Really Want Us to Sell All Our Possessions?

Does Jesus really want us to sell all of our possessions?

Jesus gives us a road map to heaven, not a to-do list.

RELIGIONJOHN T. GROSSO Published March 19, 2021

“Jesus said to him, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven’ ” (Matt. 19:21).

This directive to a young man who asks Jesus what he must do to enter into eternal life raises legitimate questions for Catholics today. Do we really have to give away what we have to get into heaven? Then why are there faithful Catholics with houses, cars, sports memorabilia, and entertainment systems?

Jesus’ response to the young man is actually threefold: “keep the commandments . . . sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor . . . follow me” (19:17, 21). 

Rather than a specific task that guarantees salvation, Jesus gives us the road map to heaven.

The lesson Jesus is trying to teach his followers is deeper and more complex than “throw away everything you have!”

Jesus demonstrates how easily “stuff” can get between us and God. If we possess too much, we can become consumed by what we have and forget about God. Jesus warns us to not be possessed by our possessions. The more we have, the harder it becomes to resist the temptation to obsess over worldly things, rather than keep our attention where it belongs: fixed on God.

Jesus is not asking us simply to declutter our lives or live in a minimalistic way for its own sake.

If we look at this story through that context, we can see that Jesus is not necessarily just calling us to reject all of the physical possessions we hold dear. He also wants us to share the other parts of our lives we try to possess: our time and talents. 

It might not be necessary to give up all that we own to get into the kingdom of God, but it is absolutely necessary for every disciple to offer time, talent, and treasure for God’s glory here on earth. How do we do that? By using those possessions to serve the poor, the hungry, the immigrant, the “least of these” (25:35–36).

Jesus is not asking us simply to declutter our lives or live in a minimalistic way for its own sake. He does not want us to empty ourselves for some arbitrary reason. He tells us to empty ourselves out of love and a desire to enter into relationship with him. 

In sharing our posessions with those on the margins, we fulfill the commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself” (19:19). In using our time, talent, and treasure to encounter the less fortunate, we encounter Jesus himself. 

So, while we don’t have to start packing away everything in our houses just yet, we’re not off the hook. Following Jesus isn’t easy, and true discipleship requires sacrifice. 

No matter who we are or what our socioeconomic status might be, we are called to offer what we have for God’s glory and to make sure our pursuit of possessions does not prevent us from receiving the one real treasure: the gift of heaven and eternal life. 

This article also appears in the March 2021 issue of U.S. Catholic (Vol. 86, No. 3, page 49). Click here to subscribe to the magazine.

Image: Heinrich Hofmann, “Christ and the Rich Young Ruler”, 1889 via Wikimedia CommonsT

//U.S. Catholic – Faith in Action//

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Daily Devotion – Pour Out Your Heart

“Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.” – Psalm 62:8 NASB

Throughout his life, David developed relationships with various people whom he trusted. Sadly, there were times when these trusted people let him down. Some failed to keep their promises. Some betrayed him for personal gain. Some simply forgot their commitments.

But through every circumstance, he realized that God always was faithful. He wrote, “My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him” (v. 5). God provided stability and a sure foundation: “He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken” (v. 6). He was his “refuge” and “the rock of [his] strength” (v. 7).

The Bible reminds us that we can trust God no matter what others do or say! It can be beneficial to confide in friends or family members, but it is most important to pour out our hearts before God.

This involves spending time with Him, confident in our relationship. It means being willing to share every detail of our needs – every thought, every feeling, every concern. Part of that process involves waiting before Him. David commanded his soul to “wait in silence for God only” (v. 5).

Pour out your heart to God. Release every concern to Him. Tell Him every detail of your needs. Receive His peace. Make Him your rock, your salvation, your stronghold. He is waiting, ready to hear from You. You can trust Him.

Prayer

Father, here are things I am concerned about: ______. I depend on You for answers. Take away my worries. Give me Your peace. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Extended Reading

Psalm 62

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Daily Devotion – Willing Generosity

“In a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality … They gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints.” – 2 Corinthians 8:2-4 NASB

The churches of Macedonia had to endure afflictions and trials. They experienced stress and pressure and faced oppression and tribulation. They had many needs and struggled with poverty. It would have been understandable if they hoarded their resources and focused on themselves. But, instead, they demonstrated a remarkable spirit of generosity.

They focused on ways they could give to help others. They did not just give a little, but they gave above and beyond what Paul expected. And their actions were voluntary. They begged to be able to give!

What was their motive? They were generous and eager to give because they had dedicated themselves to the Lord. They were His and committed everything to Him. They were obedient to God’s commands to give generously to the work of the Gospel. They were willing to trust in Him for every need and every problem they faced.

The Bible urges us to be like these Macedonians. People in the world may be self-centered and only think about themselves. But God’s people should be sold out for Him. They should be sowing liberally into His Kingdom with their time, talents, and treasures – their “seeds.”

Seek every opportunity to give to God’s work. Don’t be reluctant, but give freely and with joy. Remember that He promises to multiply your gifts. Be confident that He will provide for your needs. Let Him use you to bless others and impact lives for His kingdom.

Prayer
Father, I desire to serve You with all my resources and abilities. I long to give to Your kingdom. I trust in You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Extended Reading: 2 Corinthians 8
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Meditation of the Day – January 30, 2021: Time

“What is time, with regard to myself? It is my present and actual existence. Past time, or my past existence, is no longer anything, as far as I am concerned; I can neither recall it, nor change anything in it. The time to come, or my future existence, has not yet arrived, and perhaps never will arrive. I does not depend on me; I cannot count on it … No one is ignorant of these two simple truths, but very few draw from them the conclusions they ought to draw … This present moment, or this actual existence—from whom do I hold it? It is He who has preserved my existence from one instant to another, and who is preserving it at this present moment. Will He preserve it for me in the moment that shall immediately follow this one? I do not know; and nothing in the world can give me the assurance of it. Why has time been given to me? So that by it I may merit a happy eternity. I shall live forever: faith teaches me this; my reason even assures me of another life. The desire of immortality is implanted in the depths of my heart, and this desire, which God Himself has planted there, can never be frustrated of its object. I am, then, born for eternity, but this eternity will be happy or wretched … My fate for all eternity depends, then, on the use I make of time, and since neither the past nor the future is in my own power, it is quite true to say that my eternity depends always on the present moment. Now, at this present moment, what is my state? Would I like to die just as I am now?” — Fr. Jean Nicholas Grou, p. 82-83