In This Present Moment

By Scott Ferrier, MJ • Phoenix, AZ

Every day we are faced with the unpleasant fact that we live in a fallen world. We live among fallen creatures. We are fallen ourselves and even our best and good desires are thwarted; we are at the mercy of circumstances, suffering contradiction and subject to the disorders that arise from sin.

The Lord God “has put eternity into man’s heart” (Eccles. 3:11b), giving each of us a longing for heaven. But because sin has entered the world, we experience within ourselves a perpetual conflict between what is and what should be. This dis-harmony is what constitutes much of our suffering. Contradiction arises when we claim entitlement to the conditions of an unfallen, perfect world, while expecting others to be more perfect and yet we cannot amend our own faults. How seldom do we give a measure to others that we have freely given ourselves! 

For this reason, St. Paul reminds us that the Christian should “bear one another’s burdens” (Gal 6:2). We learn to accept suffering knowing that the Father intends it for our good. So, we strive to do good, even if imperfectly. God’s holy highway — the taking up of one’s own cross — will lead us to that perfect joy we desire.

Today is the only day we have in which to serve God. It is from moment to moment that our day unfolds. We have our problems today and we must seek their practical solution today. Our Lord tells us: “Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Mt 6:34). 

God’s answer to our whole problem is the Incarnation. The Redemption is an ever-present actuality. St. Therese, the Little Flower, teaches that it is enough “to see only the present moment,” lest our weakness and instability overwhelm us by regrets of the past or fears for the future. She believed in the Father’s love for her because she based her confidence upon the accomplished reality that Jesus won for us upon the Cross. As sons and daughters of the Father, we possess Christ, and His infinite merits are ours — a gift of grace that is constantly being renewed in the present of each moment today.