Wednesday, 9/12/12
Paul; tells us some unusual things in today’s reading. He does not tell us not to weep or not to rejoice. No, he concedes that when prompted to it we must weep, we must rejoice; but he tells us to weep as though we were not weeping, and to rejoice as though we were not rejoicing. The reason he puts forward for behaving that way is that “this world in its present form is passing away.”
Paul tells us that all the time we are doing our best in this life, we should maintain our awareness of that other life that is more important than this one.
St Bernard of Clairvaux would question anyone’s excessive preoccupation with present affairs by asking, “Quid est hoc ad aeternitatum?” or “What is this to eternity?”
A fine old lady I know keeps saying, “I don’t want to die.” As a religious person she is ashamed of feeling that way, but she loves life, and she doesn’t want to let go.
Of course many people live in such pain and sorrow that they are ready to cash in, but I for one, am like that old lady. I love white clouds drifting over a pale blue sky. I love my friends, and I love the old songs. I don’t want to let go. How about you?
You were given the gift of faith, and you must work with it. You must heighten your realization that “all things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be.” You must strengthen your conviction that God gave you the good things in life to whet your appetites for the more beautiful things to come.
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