Time and Time Again

By Father Jack Melito, CM

“Time past is time future.” No, that’s not a riddle
worthy of T.S. Eliot but an invention of my own that describes the interchange of the old year with the new, the apparent succession of one segment of time by another. Where does “old” time go, anyway, when it exits the scene on New Year’s Eve? Does it drop into a bin of used time? Actually, it never goes away; it stays with us in one way or another, for better or worse.

Before leaving behind its legacy as the old year, time’s departure reveals all the effects it brought on the people whose lives it touched, and on the historical events it affected. Within the year’s duration, time provided the occasions and the opportunities for change that led to gains in character or to its diminishments, to joys experienced or to disappointments endured. Then, as “new” time it restarts the cycle.

The reality of the new year comes into focus for many people by the traditional practice of “New Year’s Resolutions,” a measure that reflects a mindset for facing the days of the upcoming year and readjusting one’s sights as needed. Calling the time “new” suggests opportunities for a fresh start, either for expressing sorrow or regrets over the things that went awry and for taking steps to make them right; or for indulging a hope
to make even better those things that seemed successful.

It is evident that for some people their resolutions will dissipate after a few tries, either because the resolves lack substance or the person lacks conviction. Without any conviction in addressing needed change or in having serious intentions to transform what the past might have brought on, nothing will happen. Hope for success would call for a “conversion” not unlike the one that is the challenge of the Lenten Season: “Turn away from sin and believe in the Gospel.” That is, to turn away from deviations from virtue or from the distractions that hinder growth, and be faithful to the vision by which you live. This challenge to “conversion” does not always have so much a finality about it – as if everything has a “do or die” urgency – but it offers an opening to possibilities, to put oneself in a better frame of mind. This direction, in fact, would be the pattern for addressing any behavior in need of change.

Any worthwhile vision has to begin with faith, by which we view things in the divine perspective and live by that commitment. God’s perspective is beyond time and without limits, whereas our own understanding has boundaries. God sees the horizon and beyond, while we see in short spans, a restriction that makes our knowledge partial. To make our actions wise, relevant and effective, we must strive to “put on the attitude of Christ Jesus,” as Paul advises the Philippians (2, 5-7), to see reality in that light.

Out of the vision of faith, there come actions to demonstrate that viewpoint. This would be especially evident in our responsibility to the law of charity, first to love God as fully as possible and then to demonstrate its authenticity by our own relationships with our neighbors and fellow pilgrims, our brothers and sisters in Christ. As we bump against each other in daily life, the demands of Christian love come into play according to the need of the moment—to show love, compassion, tolerance, regret, understanding, and all the other ways that our mutual relations call for Christian responses, especially in works of justice.

We live in the middle of time’s flow, where we must face its steady momentum. “Time waits for no man,” says the old proverb. Meanwhile, we are called to respond to its urgency and its many moods that call us to act within that current, whether in concert with its force (go with the flow) or to stand up against it, for either strength or surrender. Signifi cantly, there is one person who was able to “slow down” time, as it were. That man was Vincent de Paul. He put himself into the timeframe of divine providence, “God’s own time,” as he used to say. In facing decisions or awaiting answers, he often declined to act precipitously. His slowness in reaching closure sometimes tried the patience of those who awaited fast answers, but he was not to be rushed until he was sure that it was wise to move forward.

As the next transition from “old” time to “new” approaches in December, thoughts of self-concern will arise: “How did I do last year?” some persons will ask; or “How can I do better?” As they experience the interconnectedness between the two, they will discover that “time past is indeed time future.”