Tempus Fugit

I was chosen to be the chaperon for the 3 day retreat for the graduating accountancy and education students of Christ the King College – Gingoog City, where I am presently assign for my one year ministry year. On the first day of the of said retreat, the retreat master Rev. Fr. Cian Marquez, SSP opted to show us a film entitled “IF ONLY” – a heartwarming love story of Wynelhaw (Paul Nicholls) and Samantha (Jennifer Love Hewitt) who have been given a chance to relive the day all over again in the hope of changing the events of their lives, to rectify the past, to fix what has been damaged, to bring out what has been lost, to express heartily what was not spoken and to cherish together each moment that has been wasted in the past – all in the name of LOVE.

“You all have the choice” – a touching life form the movie. Life indeed is always a matter of choice and that every choice creates a story of our personal life. These series of choices are always bounded by the precious moment of time. Time is a phenomenon that cannot be altered. When it happens, it would form part of the reality of yesterday. Tempus fugit! (time flies) – Time is fast, time is short, no rewind, and no replay. Every second, minute, hour pass is already part of history. Present moment is too elusive that we could not hold back time. Though how elusive it may seem, it is always a GIFT. We are all given equal time to live, 24 hours a day, No more extra minute, no more extension. With such realization, I came to think of it that LIFE IS NEVER UNFAIR. WHAT MAKES IT UNFAIR IS OUR PERSONAL USE OF THE GIFTEDNESS OF TIME. It is truly our choice that is bounded in time that makes life seemingly unfair. We hear in songs, “…why the good times never last for long?”; “…why couldn’t we keep time form moving on?” We normally tend to hold earth’s axis when we are in the midst of too much pleasure, joy and serenity. Why is this so? Perhaps we need to keenly evaluate the choices we made in time. A choice that eventually alters the course of our life and that we might not say IF ONLY……

In a nutshell:

What I have (time) is a gift from GOD, what I would be (choices) is my gift to GOD.

I don’t know what lies ahead, but I know I’m on my way.

The Sacrament Of Waiting

Waiting is a mystery - a natural sacrament of life.
there is a meaning hidden in all the times we have to wait.

It must be an important mystery because there is so much waiting in our lives.

Everyday is filled with those little moments of waiting;

testing our patience and our nerves, schooling us in self-control.

We wait for meals to be served, for a letter to arrive, for a friend to call or show up for a date.

We wait in line at cinemas and theaters, concerts and circuses.

Our airline terminals, railway stations and bus depots are

great temples of waiting filled with men and women who

wait in joy for the arrival of a loved one - or wait

in sadness to say goodbye and give the last wave of hand.

And we wait for ourselves to grow from childhood to maturity.

We wait for those inner voices that tell us when we are ready for the next stop.

We wait for graduation, for our first job, our first promotion.

We wait for success and recognition. We wait to grow up - to reach the stage where we make our own decisions. We cannot remove this waiting from our lives. It is a part of the tapestry of living.

Most of all waiting means waiting for someone else.
It is a mystery, brushing by our face everyday like a stray wind of leaf falling from a tree.

Anyone who has loved knows how much waiting goes into it.
How much waiting is important for love to grow, to flourish through a lifetime.

Why is this? Why can we not have it right now what we

so desperately want and need?

Why must we wait – two years, three years - and seemingly waste so much time?

You might as well ask why a tree should take so long

to bear fruit - the seed to flower - carbon to changeto diamond.

There is no simple answer - no more than there is to

life’s other demands - having to say goodbye to someone

you love because either you or they have made other

commitments; or because they have to grow and find the

meaning of their own lives - having yourself to leave

home and loved ones to find your own path - good-byes,

like waiting, are also sacraments of our lives.

All we know is that growth - the budding, the flowering of love needs patient waiting.

We have to give each other a time to grow. There is no way we can

make someone else truly love us or we them, except through time.

So we give each other that mysterious gift of waiting;

of being present without asking demands and rewards.

There is nothing harder to do than this. It truly tests the depth and sincerity of our love.

Waiting is a good thing only if something is worthwaiting for.
How will you know if it’s worth it? Gut feel.

What if you don’t trust your gut? Pray. You will been lightened. Trust me!

Is it wrong to expect while waiting? It’s not wrong,

but it will increase your chances of heartbreak and

disappointment if things don’t work out in the end.

Is it good to expect while waiting? It is better to HOPE.

What’s the difference between hoping and expecting?
HOPING means you’re open to either side of the coin

landing though you’re more inclined to believe that

things will turn out well. EXPECTING means you’re

thinking single-track…which won’t do you much good at all.

What’s the difference between waiting and expecting?

EXPECTING is waiting for something TO DEFINITELY

HAPPEN. WAITING is staying where you are, but not

necessarily expecting something to happen definitely.

Do you need assurance from someone you’re waiting for

while you’re waiting? Ideally, yes. But realistically,

do you really want assurance from this person? It’s so

easy to just point at something and make that the

reason why you’re waiting (”Because she said…”

“Because he told me that…”). With WAITING, all you

really can rely on are 3 things: your gut feel, your

heart and mind. Just YOURSELF, not anyone else.

So should you wait? What does your gut say? How does

your heart feel? What does your mind think?

If they’re saying different things, keep asking yourself these 3 questions;

And PRAY, until you get a solid answer.

THEN you’ll know if he or she is worth waiting for