TURN, TURN, TURN

 

TURN, TURN, TURN 

The ‘60s singing group, The Byrds, popularized something that both the Old  and New Testaments taught, as indeed, taught by the passage from Ecclesiastes  3:1-8: “There is a season for everything under the heavens.” 

One thing about getting older is that one can look back realistically and  see past events for what they were, not for what one wanted them to be. Being  young has its advantages definitely, but seeing things in future realistically may  not be one of them. One can dream of big things, but what one conjures up  in dreams and desires may or may not come true for you and me. 

God knows how many plans I have made, how many projects I started, and  how many worthy and unworthy dreams I have conceived, and not everything  ended up as what the world calls success. In retrospect, not everything was  meant to be. 

But Stephen Covey, more than two decades ago, taught us to look  realistically at something that is not yet but still to come. “Begin with the end  in mind,” he counseled. Start out not with whimsical dreams but with a long,  hard look at how everything will end up eventually, sooner or later. 

This, in essence, is what today’s readings remind us of—that there is an end  to the world and the realm of worldly time as we know them. The readings help  us set our sights on the end—the reality of the final judgment at the Second  Coming of the Lord, at the end time. This is something that has always been  part of the whole teaching of the Church since the beginning. 

The past is over and done with, and there is not much we can do about it  except accept it. The future is yet unfolding, and while we rightfully think we  can do a lot about its outcome, the one certainty that we all would do well to  remember is what the liturgy throughout this week reminds us of. 

The time to reap will come. Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

 

REFLECTION QUESTION

 

How do you regard your unfulfilled dreams?

 

Let me trust in Your ways, Lord—now and for always.

 

Today, I pray for: __________________________________________________________