Everyday Living: A Memory of the Beginning and an Anticipation of the End
In the course of your [everyday] life, as often as you can, make believe that every moment of your life is the beginning of your conversion and the last moment of your life. And therefore try to act as you would in such a state. (OOCC, X, p. 50; STA, 222)
We often consider our life here on earth as permanent and ongoing. But our life in this world is impermanent and short lived. We are pilgrims journeying towards our final destiny. The fact that we are going to arrive at our destiny is certain, though the when and the how of our encounter with our destiny are uncertain. Hence, living our life with the sense of uncertainty calls for right attitudes to accept and face the everyday events of life. St. Vincent Pallotti attempted to live his everyday life as a memory of the beginning and an anticipation of the end. In other words, he lived each moment of his life as the beginning of his conversion and the last moment of his life. Facing his everyday life and its events with this attitude, St. Vincent was able to do each activity in the best way possible. In doing any act of his daily living, he would consider it as the first act that he performed after his conversion. The memory of the beginning would make him do the act in a most fervent manner. Similarly he would think of the same act as the last act he would be performing in his life. The anticipation of the end while performing the act would make him perform that act with greatest devotion. In this way, each action would be done in the most perfect manner. This attitude helped St. Vincent to live his life in the most perfect way.
Do I consider my life as permanent and ongoing? Do I recognize the shortness of my life? Do I perform each of my actions with the memory of the beginning and anticipation of the end? Am I performing every act in my daily life in the most perfect manner?
We glide along the tides of time as swiftly as a racing river, and vanish as quickly as a dream. We are like grass that is green in the morning… and withered before the evening shadows fall. (Ps. 90: 5-6)