The Sacrament of the Present Moment

"A Sacrament is an outward sign, instituted by Christ to give grace."
- The Baltimore Catechism

As we march through the numbered Sundays of Ordinary Time, I can't help but think of one of the lectures we had in Seminary ... the "sacramentality of creation."  I had great professors, so I can tell you that they didn't mean that the whole world is "the 8th Sacrament." What they were saying is that the world shows the presence of God and can lead us to experience God in a more full and beautiful way.  That's the whole structure of a sacrament, after all -- something from this world (bread, wine, water, oil, man, woman) and used to bring the presence of God into the world.

One of these things is time.  Yep, that thing I spend, use wisely, pass, and waste.  Even time itself can be one of those parts of God's creation that bring us into His presence -- if we use it!

SO: How did I use my time this weekend?  Did I rush home from Mass and put The Game on TV?  Did I run out and go shopping?  Did I do housework or schoolwork?  Or did I take the time to be with God, even outside of Mass?  Did I read a spiritual book or take time to be quiet with God?  Or did that sacramental time of Sunday just "pass me by"?

The Church herself even offers up her time to God in a prayer called the Liturgy of the Hours -- prayer offered up at specific times of day, so that "the purpose of the liturgy of the hours is to sanctify the day and the whole range of human activity" (General Instruction to the Liturgy of the Hours, n.11).  If you've never heard of it, let the folks at Divine Office pray it with you!