Living in and for the Present Moment

     One of my favorite sayings is, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him what your plans are." Like most things truly humorous, it has a big grain of truth in it.

     When I was in the monastery, I came to know just how important it is to obey God's will; indeed, I learned that this simple principle is the key to salvation, not just for the individual, but for all mankind. Man's fall came about through disobedience; Jesus Christ redeemed mankind through his obedience even unto death on the cross. Though each man's earthly destiny is unique, he can only fulfill it successfully if he does what God wills him to do. Knowing what he wills, however, is sometimes a mystery.

     There is a wonderful classic of spiritual reading by Jean-Pierre de Caussade called L'abandon à la Divine Providence (Abandonment to Divine Providence). In it, de Caussade stresses the importance of fulfilling the duty of the present moment, that to know God's will for us is to recognize it in the duty that lies before us in that moment, even it's only sweeping the floor or having to wake up an hour earlier than usual. Simple—but infinitely wise—counsel. This keeps us, for one thing, from worrying about the future to the extent that we fail to live the present, and the present is all we have in our grasp. In the present lies both the formation of our intentions and the opportunity to realize them. The past is no longer in our grasp; the future has yet to become our present. What God asks of us here and now is his will, and whatever larger questions he gives us to face, he also gives us grace to find the answers.

     I chose my inspirational reading for today from Where Silence is Praise, by the same Carthusian author that wrote They Speak by Silences.

There is only one thing we must all do, and that is employ well the time and powers at our disposal. Only thus shall we realize our destiny, and that is the whole purpose of life.

     ... the concentration of our whole being on the duty of the present moment: it is this that gives us our true value and develops it.

     Once we have understood this and have the courage to live it; when, quietly and without undue strain and with just that effort of which we are capable at the time, we put all our strength into what we are doing, then we may be said to live fully.

     .... Live just for today, for the present moment, while it is yours to live ... for so soon it will be yours no longer.