Oblates of St. Francis de Sales

New DeSales World Newsletter - Summer Edition

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (February 23, 2003)

Readings Is 43: 18-19, 21-22, 24b-25 Ps 41: 2-5, 13-14 2 Cor 1: 18-22 Mk 2: 1-12

Suggested Emphasis

"Remember not the things of the past. The things of long ago, consider not. See, I am doing something new."

Salesian Perspective

We have lots to learn from past promises or pain. We have lots to learn from past triumphs or tragedies.

But we can’t afford to live in the past. We need to keep moving forward. We need to keep growing. We need to be on the lookout for new insights, new lessons, new opportunities, new challenges, and new directions. In short, we need to look for how God invites us to become more of who God calls us to be with each new day.

We must live in the present. St. Francis de Sales wrote to the Duc de Bellegarde, a powerful courtier who served at the palace of Henry IV and Louis XIII in Paris: “Keep your eyes steadfastly fixed on that blissful day of eternity towards which the course of years bears us on; the passing of years carry us stage by stage until we reach the end of the road. But meanwhile, in each present moment there is found a tiny kernel of the seed of all eternity; in our humble acts of devotion there lies hidden the prize of everlasting glory.”

The practice of three virtues may go a long way in helping us to embrace the present, to fully live the newness of each present moment:

• Forgiveness – the process of letting go of hurtful things in the past.
• Gratitude – the process of thanking God for joyful thing in the past.
• Hope – the belief that with God’s grace, our efforts and the good will of others, the best in life – with all its ups and downs – is yet to come.

We catch a glimpse of the openness and freedom that living in the present makes possible in a letter that Francis de Sales wrote to his good friend and companion, Jane de Chantal on the eve of the new year in 1609: “The year that is past is about to be swallowed up in the gulf which has devoured all the rest. O how desirable is eternity in exchange for this passing state of uncertainty and change. May time continue to pass on, time with which we ourselves gradually pass, so as to be transformed into the glory of the children of God.”

The seeds of eternity – the power of God’s renewing, transforming love –can be seen in the unfolding of each day, each hour, and each present moment. May we not turn away our eyes by choosing to live in the past.

Rev. Michael S. Murray, OSFS, is Executive Director of the
De Sales Spirituality Center in Washington, DC