Editorial
 
Moments that Create Eternity
 

Time is one of God's greatest gifts to man. If time does not exist, whatever is the use of any other gift? But, if there is time, it may be possible to have everything else.

It is a great virtue to value the priceless gift of time given by God. On the other hand, it is a great evil to devalue or "kill time". What a beautiful and blessed life it is to realise the value of time and use every minute of it creatively and live with a spirit of gratitude!

All the time that God gives us is good. Nothing that he gives is evil. To differentiate time as good or bad is to insult God, the giver of time. Labelling certain days and dates as evil, and setting aside or avoiding important initiatives and events on those days, is to denigrate the precious treasure of the invaluable gift of time that God, who is goodness itself, gives. Those who have this mentality may not find any time auspicious. All time--every month, every day, every night, every date, morning, noon and evening-- are all given by God. It is all good.

However, there is a season for everything. It is not possible for anyone to live only in happiness and success. Pain, failure and grief are part of the limitations of human life.

"For everything there is a season,
and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to
pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down,
and a time to build up" (Eccl 3:1-3) Every moment is as priceless as eternity. Every moment spent according to God's will becomes an earnest of eternity. Those who wish to live every day and every moment profitably, creatively, responsibly, will never get bored. They do not need to look for means to "kill time". Can we say that those who perform their duties for name's sake and spend the rest of the time sleeping, whiling it away on trifles, reading pornographic literature or wasting it and then claiming their wages, are living creatively?

Time must be spent on spiritual matters as on material. As soon as the Apostles heard the call of Jesus, they left all and spent their time fully in following Jesus (cf Mt 4:18-22). Even if we cannot spend all our time for evangelisation, we have a duty to spend a part of our time for spiritual matters. Man does not live on bread alone (cf Lk 4:4). The moments spent in prayer and the worship of God become the most precious moments of life.
 

May the New Year 1999,
become a year that shapes eternity
through days and
moments of creative living!
 
-Editor