Eternity alone measures time and gives it all its value. We must live the present moment in the light of eternal love, living joys and sorrows in the hope of this divine encounter marked from all eternity by divine Charity.
May 10, 2022.
Dear Friends and Benefactors,
After Easter, the liturgy leads us towards the Ascension, inviting us to turn our souls towards heaven and to follow Christ returning to the Father.
It invites us to listen to Our Lord Jesus Christ speaking to His Apostles: preparing them for His Ascension, for the descent of the Holy Ghost into their souls at Pentecost and, finally, for their life of apostolic toil on earth before joining Him in Sinu Patris.
Our Lord uses several times the word “modicum,” which, in the context of the Gospel, is translated as “a little time.” He wants to warn them against the attachment they might still have to the unstable things of the world, by emphasizing how soon they will see Him again in heaven.
The Savior’s insistence on the passing of time is not accidental. He wants us to understand how brief our time on earth is to serve Him, even when it may span several decades.
We know from experience that time is a very special and elusive reality. It is impossible for us to suspend it or accelerate it. It simply is. And immediately it runs away and is no more; and then it is again and again fades away.
The only way to “stop” time is to offer each moment to God in an act of homage and charity. Eternity alone measures time and gives it all its value.
Thus, according to the beautiful lesson that St. Paul teaches us, we must “redeem time” and live the present moment as a unique preparation for eternity.
This supernatural orientation is indispensable in order to rise above time instead of uselessly exhausting ourselves in trying to control it and make it serve our own desires.
To try to control time is nothing more than to become slaves of our impressions, of our hopes and ultimately of our disappointments. All of us, now and then, have found the days very long when we looked forward to an event and very short when it finally came to us; or conversely, very short and very long when the event disgusted us.
Modicum!
If time passes and runs away like a thief, we know the price and we do not want to waste it. Time is given to us and it will not return. We must live the present moment in the light of eternal love, living joys and sorrows in the hope of this divine encounter marked from all eternity by divine Charity.
This expectation takes on a special significance when it comes to preparing for the priestly ordinations that take place at the seminary at the end of each academic year. We prepare our souls with care for this infusion of graces into the souls of our young Levites and the whole Church – to include each of us, as well.
It is therefore with great joy that we invite you to be with us at the seminary on June 17 for the ordination of six deacons to the priesthood and two subdeacons to the diaconate at the hands of His Excellency Msgr. Tissier de Mallerais.
We also invite you to join us on the eve of Thursday, June 16, the feast of Corpus Christi, when we will surround His Excellency Bishop Fellay, who will celebrate the 40th anniversary of his ordination.
By inviting you to these beautiful ceremonies, we wish to express our gratitude for your unceasing kindness towards us and hope to share with you our joy: beyond the passing of time, there already exist on earth moments of eternity in which God’s mercy shines forth in his liturgy!
In Christo Sacerdote et Maria,
Fr. Yves le Roux