I've always been fascinated with time. From making up little schedules for myself as a child (nerdy, I know) to writing music with themes like nostalgia or daydreaming, what we do with our time is something I've always found captivating.
From a Catholic perspective, time is sacred. Practices like the Liturgy of the Hours, Friday fasts, Sunday feasts, and the Liturgical seasons are central to our life and worship. Given this centrality then, it seems paradoxical that we worship a God who exists outside of time.
God is infinite. He has no end and no beginning. In eternity, we will see God as He is in all His beauty, majesty, and splendour, experiencing all the joy He intends for us. Eternal life unfolds mysteriously, happening both forever and all at once, beyond the capacities of our linear perception.
It's at this thought that my mind comes to its natural limit.
Eternal life with God is a mystery. There are some things that we can intuit about it but ultimately, it's beyond our capacity to understand. In an ancient story, Saint Augustine was walking alongside a beach, meditating on the mystery of the Holy Trinity. He came upon a young boy pouring buckets of ocean water into a hole in the sand. Intrigued, Saint Augustine asked the boy what he was doing. "I'm trying to fit this great ocean into this hole!" he responded. Amused, Saint Augustine pointed out the futility of his task. "And so you cannot understand the Trinity," the boy said, and then disappeared.
This story is analogous to our understanding of the heavenly mysteries. The fullness of God in all His glory and the abundant life He offers to us is completely beyond our comprehension. We need a way to meditate on this mystery little by little to understand aspects of God's character.
Herein lies the genius of how time is structured in the Christian life. In the Catholic tradition, time is not just a countdown to our eternal destination; it's a way for us to experience glimpses of God's infinite nature within the confines of our linear existence. Our hope is that these glimpses will prepare us for eternity with the God who exists beyonds the constraints of linearity.
I believe that the Liturgical Calendar contains the key to our formation in life with Christ. By paying attention to and participating in these sanctified rhythms, we encounter profound themes: the end of the world, preparing our hearts to receive God, honouring Mary and the saints, denying ourselves, celebrating new life and Resurrection, finding joy in monotony, remembering our death, living under the Kingship of Christ, and so much more. These moments are not just theology lessons; they are tangible experiences with Liturgical and cultural expressions.
From a Catholic perspective, time is sacred. Practices like the Liturgy of the Hours, Friday fasts, Sunday feasts, and the Liturgical seasons are central to our life and worship. Given this centrality then, it seems paradoxical that we worship a God who exists outside of time.
God is infinite. He has no end and no beginning. In eternity, we will see God as He is in all His beauty, majesty, and splendour, experiencing all the joy He intends for us. Eternal life unfolds mysteriously, happening both forever and all at once, beyond the capacities of our linear perception.
It's at this thought that my mind comes to its natural limit.
Eternal life with God is a mystery. There are some things that we can intuit about it but ultimately, it's beyond our capacity to understand. In an ancient story, Saint Augustine was walking alongside a beach, meditating on the mystery of the Holy Trinity. He came upon a young boy pouring buckets of ocean water into a hole in the sand. Intrigued, Saint Augustine asked the boy what he was doing. "I'm trying to fit this great ocean into this hole!" he responded. Amused, Saint Augustine pointed out the futility of his task. "And so you cannot understand the Trinity," the boy said, and then disappeared.
This story is analogous to our understanding of the heavenly mysteries. The fullness of God in all His glory and the abundant life He offers to us is completely beyond our comprehension. We need a way to meditate on this mystery little by little to understand aspects of God's character.
Herein lies the genius of how time is structured in the Christian life. In the Catholic tradition, time is not just a countdown to our eternal destination; it's a way for us to experience glimpses of God's infinite nature within the confines of our linear existence. Our hope is that these glimpses will prepare us for eternity with the God who exists beyonds the constraints of linearity.
I believe that the Liturgical Calendar contains the key to our formation in life with Christ. By paying attention to and participating in these sanctified rhythms, we encounter profound themes: the end of the world, preparing our hearts to receive God, honouring Mary and the saints, denying ourselves, celebrating new life and Resurrection, finding joy in monotony, remembering our death, living under the Kingship of Christ, and so much more. These moments are not just theology lessons; they are tangible experiences with Liturgical and cultural expressions.
Liturgical living, as it has been called, needs to become something for more than just homeschooling mom bloggers (who in this respect do a fantastic job) but something embraced by all of us. By welcoming God into the confines of linearity and its slow passage, we might one day have the capacity be embraced by Him in all His fullness, in the mystery we call "eternal life."