1 Corinthians 1:26-31 / Matthew 25:14-30 (2024)
There is this quote from an unknown Greek poet : "I shall walk this way but once, therefore, whatever good I may do, let me do it now, for I shall never walk this way again."
It is a very profound reflection because it is so true that we only live this life but once, there is no going back, and yet there is so much to give to life and to learn from it.
Cardinal John Henry Newman had this to say : God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another.
Indeed, as we journey on in this life, there is so much to learn and there is so much to give when we realized how much we have received.
Only if and when we realized how much we have received!
Otherwise we might just want to feel safe and secure by burying ourselves in the ground.
But that is not God's plan and purpose for us.
Today we celebrate the memorial of St. Augustine.
In his early years, he knew about God from his mother St. Monica, but he didn't want to have anything to do with God, until much later in his life.
And when he started searching for God, God was right there for him.
His sombre reflection about his journey of conversion was worded like this :
Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you.
May we always remember that we walk this way once and will never walk this way again.
Whatever good we can do, whatever love we can give, let us do it now.
Let us not bury our lives in the ground and waste it away.
There is always the work of love to carry out, and we will not rest until our hearts find rest in the Lord.