On the desk in my study, I have a small beautiful clock that Archbishop Brunett gave me for Christmas five years ago. While he offered no explanation for giving his priests such a gift, I thought that receiving a clock was very fitting to the occasion. After all, the mechanical clock was one of the most significant inventions of the past millennium, if not, pardon my pun, of all time. Granted, hourglasses and sundials have been around for centuries, but with the mechanical clock, we were no longer controlled by the sun.
Clocks have come a long way since they were first invented. Lacking minute hands, they pealed only on the hour. Originally, they were designed to enable monks to fulfill the
duty of praying at appointed times of the day; the third, the sixth, the ninth hour, and so on. Now we have atomic clocks that measure time in millionths of a second. It seems to me that we value every minute of the day.
In the past quarter century, the number of Americans holding two or more jobs has grown significantly. So too have the number of households where both spouses are working full time in order to keep up with the Jones, as the saying goes. Some do this out of dire need; but many do so because they find themselves consuming more. Statistics show that Americans work more hours than ever before, spend nearly four times as many hours shopping as do Western Europeans and vacationing on the average of two weeks a
year less than their European counterparts.
The end result is stress, which, literally and figuratively, is killing many of us. Did you know that the three best selling prescription drugs are prescribed for relaxation, high blood
pressure, and ulcers? Doctors have also seen an increase in depression and surmise that its epidemic growth is due to a decline in the belief of God and the afterlife.
Other reasons they give include broken families and our fast pace of life, which leaves no time for us to mend ourselves.
Since its invention, the clock has taken on a different duty. As I said, the mechanical clock started out intoning the hours for monks to gather in prayer. You could say it has evolved into a giant press determined to squeeze every moment of time out of us. We are trying to cram more into our days then ever before. Can you get through the day without glancing at a clock, a pda, or a watch? Do you feel naked without a watch?
Because we are busier than ever before, that leaves me concerned for both our spiritual and physical well-being. Several years ago, first lady Barbara Bush gave an insightful commencement address to some college students. She told the graduates, “As important as your obligation as a doctor, a lawyer, or a business leader may be, your human
connections with your spouse, your children and your friends are the most important investment you will ever make. At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict, or not closing one more deal, but you will regret time not spent with your spouse, your children or your friends.” To her last line, may I add God?
As we enter into this New Year, keep in mind that time on this side of death’s door is not infinite. It won’t always be there. The coming year began with 365 days, or 8760 hours, for us to do what? To rush, to acquire, and to ignore loved ones in the pursuit of what we call the better life? Or to be called to prayer, contemplation, and the deepening our relationships with others and God?
Much ado was made when we entered the new millennium. Actually, that was an arbitrary point in time, for we don’t know for certain when Jesus was born. Still, it marked a point in time, as does the start of any new year, to remind us that time doesn’t stand still, nor do our lives.
Traditionally, many of us make New Year’s resolutions for the sake of breaking bad habits, taking better care of ourselves, or getting certain things done. There is a line in
the gospel that prompts me to suggest one for all of us to make. “Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” That her life centered on contemplation shouldn’t
surprise us one bit. Mary was a woman of prayer. What might surprise a fair number of us is the notion that contemplation is really the vocation of every Christian.
At the top of your resolutions for the New Year, considering all the time that God has given you, may I suggest that you set aside more time for prayer than you did in the past year?
Take time, not just a hurried minute, each day to reflect as Mary did on all that God has done for you. That can be done in any number of ways, including daily Mass, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, praying the rosary, reading scripture, sitting quietly in contemplation, journaling, meditation, or doing the liturgy of the hours. May your resolutions, whatever they are, contribute to a holy and grace-filled year for you. All the time we have is God’s gift to us. How we use that time is our gift to God. With the grace of God, may we make the best use of this gift of time in the New Year, cultivating what really matters in our lives. May this time be filled with love. Just as Mary had much to reflect upon in her heart, so do we, but first we must give ourselves the time to do so.