Memorial of St. Vincent de Paul, Priest
The words of Qoheleth continue in their haunting mood. There is an appointed time for everything under the sun, a time for everything. When we are in a reflective moment, this could be an assurance that all our days are not just about business—frantic rushing from one thing to another. This passage is sometimes used at funeral masses. It is seen as a comfort reminding us that life covers an entire range of things, actions, moments. And in some way, there is a time for everything in life. The lifespan of each of us includes many moments—moments of joy and moments of sadness, moments of accomplishment, and moments of challenge, even seeming defeat. Sewing and harvesting, life, and death, weeping and laughing, beginnings and endings. All these moments are, or can be, moments of grace even though some may not always appear to be.
Qoheleth tells us that God has put the timeless into the human heart. God has put the eternal into our hearts. The eternal design of God that we should be united with God in eternity. The spark of the eternal is the thirst for God. The restlessness that keeps us seeking rest in God. And our hearts are restless until they rest in the Lord.
There is an appointed time for everything under the sun. Some moments are “scheduled” in our way of looking at things, but many more are spontaneous, even unexpected. Let us ask for the grace to see God’s hand in all these moments of grace and to respond in charity and with peace of heart.
Reflection by Fr. Peter Ullrich, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections