As\nit could not be otherwise, the Coronavirus pandemic finds its way into almost\nany conversation you can have nowadays. Amidst all the negatives, people try to\nlook for silver linings and lessons to be learned from the current situation.\nIn this regard, on more than a few occasions, I have heard it said that \u201chaving\nmore time and living at a slower pace\u201d has been good. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\nfind this to be a sobering remark. As it is, the reality is not that we\nhave more<\/em> time. Indeed, the amount of time we have is the\nsame: the day has the same 24 hrs as it did before the pandemic. Instead, what\nhas happened is that the time we have, we have had to spend in different ways\nthan we did before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Nonetheless,\nthe remark is significant. For many, the pandemic has served as a reminder that\ntime is precious because, in a way, it is all we have. Every day that goes by,\nwe have less of it. Therefore, for many, the lockdowns and restrictions have\nbeen a wake-up call to recognize how important it is to use well the time that\nwe have. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In\nthis regard, the Gospel for today provides us with an important lesson. As the\ndisciples begin to follow Jesus, he turns around and asks: “what are you\nlooking for?” The disciples reply: “Rabbi, where are you\nstaying?” Jesus invites them to ‘come and see.’ They follow him and remain\nwith Him that day. <\/em>Notice that this stands in direct contrast with\nthe responses that Jesus will later get to His invitation (Lk. 9:59-62);\nanswers that are more akin to the fast-paced modern civilization. Yet, if we\nare to grow in our relationship with God and see the fruits of it, we have to\nfollow the example of the disciples and spend time with the Lord. Time carved\nout from our busy lives for prayer is not time wasted. In fact, there is no\nadvancement in the spiritual life without prayer, without time devoted to\ngetting to know the Lord. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There\nis still another lesson to be learned from the disciples in today’s Gospel.\nContrary to what our fast-paced society would want us to believe, the value of\nthings is in their doing and not necessarily in being able to cross them off\nthe to-do list. Technology and science have striven to cut time in all aspects\nof life, such as communication, learning, transportation, etc. Although this\nhas positive consequences, it also creates the mindset that there is no value\nin actually spending time doing <\/em>things. Why? Because it\ntakes time. However, the reality is that it is precisely in the doing that\nvalue resides. It is the time spent in prayer, writing a research paper, or\ncalling up a friend, which gives value to those activities. Not merely being\nable to check them off as done. If I rush through them simply so that I can\ncross them off the list, then I’m being cheated of actually growing in my\nrelationship with God, learning the content of my research paper, or\ncultivating a friendship. The disciples knew this and were desirous to know\nwhere Jesus is staying so that they could stay with Him. In other words, so\nthat they could spend time with Him. It is in being with <\/em>Him\nthat they come to know and learn from Him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This\nSunday, let us reflect on the use we make of our time. Let us ponder about the\nthings that may be getting in the way of spending time with the Lord in prayer\nand about the areas where we are perhaps being cheated from the real value of\nlearning or relationships by taking shortcuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\nleave you with Gandalf’s wise words to Frodo: “All we have to decide is\nwhat to do with the time that is given us.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n Santiago Torres<\/strong> \u2013\nSt. Joseph Seminary, Edmonton, Alberta<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fot. \u0141ukas Blazek\/Unsplash.com<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2382,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,17,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-strona-glowna-najnowsze","category-strona-glowna-slider"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n