Live in the Present, the Now
Homily for Tuesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
“The Spiritual life can only be lived in the present moment, in the now... When we go rushing ahead into the future or shrinking back into the past, we miss the hand of God, which can only touch us in the now.”
Cynthia Bourgeault is a modern-day mystic, Episcopal priest, writer, and internationally acclaimed retreat leader. She divides her time between solitude in her seaside hermitage in Maine and a demanding schedule traveling globally to spread the recovery of the Christian contemplative and Wisdom paths.
In other words, she is the very definition of a multi-tasker. This description of her can be found on her website. Though she has been busy in the past and seems to be busy in the present, I noticed that this description of her activity begins with “solitude in her seaside hermitage.” You might say that she is a perfect example of the kind of person that Jesus describes in today’s Gospel text – a person who has chosen the better part.
The insight that she shares in the quotation with which I started shows that she understands the need for balance in our spiritual life and our worldly pursuits. So much of our time is spent worrying about the past and speculating about the future. We fail to realize that there is nothing that we can do about the past and that it is fruitless to focus on the future because tomorrow is not promised to any of us. A good example of that is the death of Bishop Kevin Birmingham, an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago, who passed away in his sleep last week. He was buried on what would have been his 52nd birthday this past Saturday.
Focus on the present. Mary of Bethany realized how special was the visit of Jesus to their home. This episode in the Gospel of St. Luke comes very shortly after St. Luke writes: “When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem…” Jesus was going to Jerusalem where he would be executed. His visit to the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus may have been the last time that they would see him. Sitting at his feet and listening to his words, Mary gives us an example of living in the present moment.
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