Time: The Setting to Perform Acts of Virtue
I will take with me a little book … so that I will not waste time when I have to wait somewhere. From the first to the last, I will use the time to perform internal acts of virtue. (OOCC, X, pp. 541 - 542; STA, 105)
Time, the gift of God, is given to the human person to be used in a perfect manner. It is meant to be the place in which a person can perform good acts. Time is the context in which a person encounters events and situations that bring him pains or gains. Time is the background in which a person meets the people who love or hate him. Time is the milieu in which one experiences the ups and downs of living. Time is the framework in which one can come to know those opportunities which a person has missed in his life and make amends for them. Time is the scene in which one can explore and create new possibilities. Time embraces every situation of a person’s existence. In one’s gains and pains, in being loved or hated, in experiencing lows and highs, in making up the losses or creating possibilities, a person is called to sow the seeds of goodness in and around his environment. Hence, time provides the only place where one can perform inner and outer acts of virtue. St. Vincent never wasted his time. He utilized every bit of time he had at his disposal to accomplish what God wanted of him. Even if he had to wait somewhere, instead of wasting time, he would read a book and gain some insight for his life. In this manner, St. Vincent used time to help him constantly open himself to God and his grace.
Do I use the God-given gift of time to do good or to do evil? Is time a setting to love or to hate, to build or to destroy? Does time provide me with an opportunity to perform inner and outer acts of virtue? Is time a means to constant openness to God and his grace?
So be careful how you act; these are difficult days. Don’t be fools; be wise: make the most of every opportunity you have for doing good. (Eph. 5: 15-16)