The Purpose and Value of Time in Our Spiritual Journey
Understanding the Liturgical Time
The question of time is one that seems to be very important during the liturgical part of the liturgical year. That is Advent. Both its materiality and also its necessity. So on the one hand, to exemplify the fact that it isn't as important as we tend to give its meaning. The church starts the liturgical year, which is supposed to be the very first epics of the creation of the world, with a story about the end of the world, the prophecy of the end of the world. The Catholic Church starts this way precisely because the whole point of having time is specifically to see why, to remind ourselves of why we do anything and everything.
Our Purpose in This Life
We have the blessing of being able to be conscious. We have the blessing of being able to know right from wrong. We have the blessing of being able to understand consequences to actions. And so therefore, as a result, we are called upon to take accounting for what that means. We know why we get up in the day. Or at least we should know. We know why we start the day. We know why we were born again. At least we should know. Unfortunately, we're not always conscious of it or we don't remind ourselves enough of it. But the very fact that we are alive is not an end unto itself. It is not a goal unto itself. It is a means to an end. We are alive so that we can serve God, know love, and serve God in this earth so that we can serve Him in the next life.
God's Intentions and Our Existence
That is the purpose for why we exist. That is the whole purpose of why we exist. Therefore, it is so much more important to us to consider and reflect upon this before every aspect of our lives. God created us. Not just close. God created us not just because he didn't have anything better to do that day. He didn't try to create us because he just really thought we were going to be such wonderful things. He didn't create us for any number of other reasons. He created us for a very specific purpose. So that we could be saints, so that we could live eternally and happily with him in heaven.
Reflecting on God's Love and Happiness
But let's not make the illusion that he did this because again, because of us, he did so because of his tremendous love. He wanted to share himself with us. He wanted to share his infinite, perfect, absolute happiness with us. He wanted to give us an opportunity, a choice. To be that happy as he is happy. That is the purpose for why we exist. There is no happiness without God. It's an impossibility. Even the things that make us temporarily. Happy and materially happy are from him. Is the only reason that we have happiness in this world is the only reason that we have eternal happiness offered to us in heaven.
Living with Purpose
So the first step that we must consider, the first thing we must consider in this first Sunday of Advent is why. If that is our final goal, to be a saint, to be eternally united with God in heaven. If that is our goal, to know, love him and serve him in this world so that we can be happy with him in heaven. If that is why we exist, well then why do I get up in the morning so that I can do that? Why do I go to work so that I can do that? Why do I eat breakfast so that I can do that? Why do I do anything precisely? So that I can. By doing any of these things, I can know him better. I can love him better, and I can serve him better so that I can be eternally happy with him in heaven. Because that is the whole goal for why we exist. Everything is a means to that end.
Prioritizing Time for God
Everything our life itself is a means to that end. It means nothing if we do not accomplish that. For what does a prophet, a man who gains the whole world, who suffers the loss of his soul. There is no answer to that. There is no gaining anything by it. So we have a choice that God gives to us, because one way or the other, we are glory. We're going to glorify God. Each creature. Of any level glorifies God. A rock in the street glorifies God. By the mere fact of its existence. It glorifies God, not through conscious activity, not through desiring to do so. Not because it chooses to do so. But. But just by being what it is, God created it for that purpose.
Conscious Service and Sacrifice
We are different because we actually have the free will to be able to choose. To serve God consciously and completely. Not selfishly, not holding stuff back for ourselves, but giving ourselves entirely to him. How do we do that? We consecrate each and every activity. This is why it's so important that the very first thing we do when we get up in the morning should be our morning offering. It should be an act, a conscious act by which we are giving our entire day, no matter what it is, no matter what it offers, and no matter what it is we have to do, we give it entirely to God.
Offering Every Moment to God
If we are stuck in a hospital and all we can do is sit there and the doctors take tests of us all day long. We still offer up all of those things to God. If we have to go to work for 16 hours during the day. You still offer up every instant of that to God? If we have to put up with our obnoxious family for Thanksgiving Day. Just an example. Going out of my hair. What can I say? We do that for the love of God. Whatever it may be, we offer it all for the love of God, and we do so consciously, voluntarily and completely. Because if we do so reluctantly. There were no better than the rock.
The Consequence of Time Misuse
The rock who glorifies God unconsciously. Even the souls in hell glorify God against their very will. The only opportunity that we have to actually merit. The only opportunity that we have to conform to the grace that God offers to us is during our life here. And so that is actually the first place I want to talk about how we are going to consecrate our lives better to the service of God is the question of time. How do we use our time? How much time do we actually use in the service of God? And how much time do we actually give to other things? Do we give God the leftovers or do we give God the first fruits?
Analyzing Our Use of Time
The difference between Cain and Abel. Do we give God just those little moments in between other, more important activities? Or do we make the day about God and let ourselves enjoy the things that are good to enjoy in life? But by serving him. Just a simple question. We put side by side how much time we spend praying. And how much time we spent, I don't know, scrolling through YouTube videos or whatever else. What will be the comparison? Who would have more time? How faithful are we to our different correspondences, to our Facebook updates or whatever else, and how faithful are we to our daily rosary? If we start to consider a little bit more what it is we're actually giving to God, we'll probably find out that, sadly enough, it's just the leftovers of the rest of our life.
Living Every Day for God
We're not living as we truly, as if truly every instant were a gift directly from him. We think about that. God does not owe us life. He does not owe us existence. He does not owe us. Grace. He gives it to us because he is good. He gives them to us because he is good and infinitely good and infinitely generous. Every instant that we are alive is a act is an act of divine intervention. God is purposefully and willfully holding us into existence. He is holding us in this life. There is no medicine. There is no medical intervention. There is no nothing that could prolong our life an instant longer than what God wills. There is no magic pill that's going to give us an extra 50 years of life. We're not created to live for forever. We're not created for this earth. This earth is a means to an end. It is a pathway to the eternal abode in heaven.
Preparing for Eternal Life
Our purpose is to live. They're not here. It's an unfortunate and a beautiful reality that each and every one of us is going to die. And we have no say. And when that is or how that is or why that is. Those are things that are completely out of our hands, as they should be, because they belong to God and God alone. So therefore let's live as if that were the case. One, let's live as if we only had a finite amount of time. Not pretending as if we were going to continue on this earth for all time. Not pretending that we can just kind of keep the keep kicking the can of our salvation down the road a little bit longer. Let's actually live as if our survival, our salvation, depended on what we do here and now. That's the first step.
Using Time Wisely
Let's not waste any more time. On dreams, fantasies, trying to establish ourselves in this world and not in the next. Wasting the next. For the purposes of this life. But now they're neglecting this life and dreaming of what is to come. We have to live this life for the purpose of being able to achieve the next. Let's start making that a reality. And the first step is not wasting any more time. Of course we can. Scrolling the Internet. Of course we can watch YouTube videos or whatever else, but they need to be a means to an end as well. Not an end unto itself. We need to rest and relax. I prefer a good book. That's you. I prefer that you would read a good book instead. Would be much more helpful to you. But.
Leveraging Our Time for Salvation
Medic make it be a means to an end. And the end must be inevitably our salvation to know, to love, and to serve God so that we could be truly happy with Him. And having our time is a valuable, precious, limited commodity. And the thing that many people have said is, is what we lament the most when we end up in purgatory or, God forbid, even hell. The thing that we lament the most is how much time we wasted, how many opportunities we let slip through our fingers because we were so busy with so many other things which seemed so important at the moment. But then the moment we get to our final judgment, which is what the gospel is today, we realize they weren't that important. The service of God was was important. These petty arguments and discussions.
The Path to True Fulfillment
The resentments and anger that is that abides between us, the lack of charity and everything else. The hatred and then the that he all of this is a waste of time and resources. All of it is a waste. And if only when we see it from the perspective of eternity will we understand that. But we must drive that home deeply within ourselves. How are we using our time and how does it serve God? That is the sum total of our homework here. During Lent. We have these four weeks to prepare. Three and a half weeks to prepare for Christmas. And the whole purpose of the preparation is to get ourselves ready. The first step of doing so is to look at what God has already given to us and to use it more appropriately. If he is if he's coming to visit, it's the lord of the manor is coming to visit.
Preparing for Christ's Arrival
Well, maybe we should go through the manor and actually clean it. Actually put things back where they're supposed to be. Clean the rust off the weapons. If you're a soldier, things like that make everything look presentable and put them back to the use that God gave them to us in the first place. He is coming. That is the whole purpose of Christmas and that is the whole purpose of our life. He is coming and he comes again. But therefore, that means that we must be ready. So we spend these weeks preparing with the Blessed Virgin Mary, asking for her guidance. How can I better serve Christ? How can I better serve her son? How can we better serve our adopted brother?
Utilizing Time with the Virgin Mary's Guidance
How can we better live the grace that he has given to us? How can we learn true charity from her example? How can we take advantage of every moment of every day knowing that it is a seed that is planted for the purpose of the salvation of our souls? Knowing that all of these things are in our grasp because God Himself has given them to us and we are supposed to pay Him back with interest for all that he has given us. And so let us ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to teach us how to use our time appropriately, how to consecrate our lives through her to him so that we may be able to finally fulfill the end for which we are here, to know him, to love him, and to serve him, and therefore be eternally happy with him in heaven.
Summary
This lecture highlights the significance of time, especially during Advent, as a crucial element in our spiritual life. It emphasizes understanding our existence's purpose, transcending trivial pursuits, and dedicating time to serve God wholeheartedly. Our life's goal is to become saints, living eternally with God, achieved by dedicating all our daily actions and time to knowing, loving, and serving Him on Earth.
In recognizing time as a limited and precious resource, we are encouraged to evaluate how we use it daily, prioritizing activities that serve our spiritual growth and divine purpose. Living life with this awareness allows us to use our time wisely, focusing on achieving eternal happiness and preparing our souls for welcoming Christ not only at Christmas but for our eventual judgment. Through these weeks of preparation, seeking guidance from the Blessed Virgin Mary is recommended to enhance this spiritual journey.