I wanted to write a letter to all the TV stations, all four of them. I was 10 and I wanted to complain that they were ruining my summer.
All those advertisements about “back to school specials” because “school is just around the corner!” were intruding on my carefree vacation. In my mind, the start of school was far enough away that I did not have to think about it, not until those commercials came on the TV. My mother, God rest her soul, told me that you can’t always wait until the last second to get ready for important things.
Today as a pastor, my 10-year-old-self is still annoyed with calendar meetings for next winter when it is still summer. Recently I was reminded that the parish was late in getting all the scheduling done since this year the Fourth Sunday of Advent is Christmas Eve. I am also reminded that many parishes completed the entire year’s liturgical calendar last May.
Nonetheless, the liturgical seasons of the Church have their time to prepare for future promises fulfilled in Jesus Christ (Advent). Jesus wisely instructed his followers to “not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself” (Mt 6:34). So too, there is a time to prepare for atonements for the past, in order to know the power of the cross over sin (Lent). The sacred Scriptures, from the Book of Genesis to the book of Isaiah, from the teachings of the Apostle Paul to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, remind and warn us that being stuck in the past is the future’s greatest saboteur.
The present is Ordinary Time. We know how excessive attention to the future, or the past, can take away from the joy of the present. While at times necessary, all the details of preparing for what might happen distract us from an immediate appreciation for what is happening. So too, all our time given to dreamy nostalgic thoughts or ruminating with remorse about the past can blind us to the grace given today.
A long time ago I was with a group of young priests at a dinner with a long-serving pastor. He had the parish phone right on the dining room table. We were quietly scandalized when the phone rang and he interrupted our conversation to answer the phone — twice. Today, most every diner at most every dinner table has their phone handy and ready to interrupt the moment.
When the “to do” list has more things to do than there is time to do them, it can be a source of great stress. The demands on our attentiveness for tomorrow can also include the weight of worry about the challenges of life in the relatively distant future.
The spiritual path is not so much about reducing the list of things to do or having no regrets as it is taking some time to set aside all thoughts about the future and the past. Particularly during times of prayer, adoration and worship, turning off the intrusion of the future can bring calmness and an inner peace. It is a moment in time when we do not need anything and have no worries. In times of prayer, adoration and worship, reflections on the past should only serve to strengthen the virtue of hope.
Ordinary Time is a season of the present. The beauty of nature, the fertility of the fields and the serenity of summer nights. It may only be for a short time, but there is great value in an unencumbered experience of the very presence of God wherever we are able to take that time.
The start of school and Labor Day are just around the corner. With the drumbeats of fall already echoing in our ears, it is good to take as many ordinary moments as possible in an unbridled, single-minded obedience to God’s command in Psalm 46:
“Be still and know that I am God.”
