The dawning of a new day is a reminder that we can always begin anew. Yesterday is past and tomorrow is unknown, so all we really have is today. And even the totality of the new day remains a mystery, so we must live in the present moment.
Catholic spiritual authors of past, such as the nineteenth century French priest Pierre de Caussade wrote of “the sacrament of the present moment,” and the seventeenth century French Carmelite friar, Brother Lawrence of the Resurrecton, wrote of “the practice of the presence of God.”
Both emphasized in their writings the importance of finding God in our lives here and now, not in a time that we really don’t possess, such as the future.
Benedictine monks profess a vow of “conversion of life,” which is a way of saying that we strive to begin anew every day. That doesn’t mean we deny the past or don’t plan for the future, but that we make the most of today, which is God’s gift to us to use to give glory to God by a life of seeking God and being at the service of one another.
Blessed week ahead.
Abbot Christian and the monks
