Today is a New Beginning

In the Life of Wisdom Learned from the Desert Fathers, the Benedictine priest columnist in the Catholic Times reminds us to move forward without hesitation.

There is nothing that can stop the determined march toward God. Living means moving toward somewhere. Moving toward a specific goal is a journey. The process of moving toward God in this world is called a 'spiritual journey'. In this sense, we are beings on a journey.

This earthly journey is much like a pilgrimage. Like the Israelites in the wilderness, all Christians are pilgrims and travelers. The primary concern of the Desert Fathers was progress in the internal life. Their teachings focused on how to advance on this pilgrimage toward God.

They were concerned that the monotony of daily life might lead to stagnation or regression in the inner life. They paid attention to maintaining their zeal, mindful that each day is a new beginning.

Abba Moses asked Abba Silvanus: "Can a person start anew every day?" The elder replied, "If one is diligent, one can start anew at any moment.”

During a spiritual conversation between two monks, one monk said to the other, “What we need to do is to keep the fire lit, which represents our zeal. A cold heart without zeal is the greatest obstacle to the spiritual life. When the heart lacks zeal, life becomes bland and meaningless.

It means a continuous journey that extends through life. According to Saint Benedict, a monastery is a 'school for serving the Lord'. In this school, graduation occurs either voluntarily or involuntarily when one leaves this school or completes this earthly journey.

The same applies to the spiritual life. The spiritual journey of seeking God can never end. We must keep moving forward. Stopping is regression and death. We are still on Earth. The perfection that the saints achieved on earth is merely a foretaste of what will be fully obtained after the resurrection, 'when the resurrected body is clothed with a new divine garment and nourished with heavenly food'.

There is no end to perfection. We need the attitude of starting afresh every day as beginners. This is because we possess an insatiable longing. When we think we have had enough, or when everything becomes familiar and we grow complacent, we stop, and eventually, we fall behind. Moving forward is never easy. Still, we must strive endlessly to move forward. Until we complete this earthly journey, and even after crossing to the next world, we must continue to progress. This is because God is infinite.