Open Reflections

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INFORMATIVE BULLETIN OF THE PAPHOS LATIN PARISH

January 2017 – Part 1

 In time and beyond

It is customary, these days, to make new resolutions which we hope to keep during the coming year.

The year which begins is like a book with blank pages and we are called to write in them.

The succession of the seasons, the change of the night into day and of darkness into the dawn of a new day, the rhythmical ticking of the clock, all remind us of the passing of time; we are “children of time’.

Time is a basic dimension of our life.

However, have we ever thought that time brings into our lives everything good?

Our very existence, first of all, then, our maturity and our experiences which fill our life with interest.

Our life is full of the presence of others: family, friends, teachers, colleagues… and, to a certain degree, their presence defines who we are.

We belong to this family, that neighborhood, parish, village, town, society, nation, linguistic family and so on.

But, the main presence which does define us and guide us is God’s Presence!

Created in His image, we have planted within us the desire to get to know Him and to love Him.

His Presence “entered time” and took concrete form through the Incarnation of the Word of God.

His Word is full of promise.

For our sake He took flesh of the Virgin Mary and became one of us (except sin) in order to grant us, in time and beyond, the unending life in Him.

Every day is a challenge for us to live a better life and to come –with His grace– to get to know and love Him more and in this way to love our fellow men and women better and more.

Let us, then, bring our New Year’s resolutions to the light of Christ, not only today and tomorrow, but every day.

What better guarantee for us to have a truly good new year?

♥

For in Him we move and live and have our being

In the book of the Acts of the Apostles, (acts 17, 28) Saint Paul says to the Athenians: “In God we move and live and have our being”. He was addressing people used to philosophical and dialectic thinking. Philosophy is useful for ordering one’s thoughts and society, but without divine grace philosophy is incapable of freeing men from the darkness of sin and evil.

God, who is the author of life and of everything good, offers generously the sun and the rain to the just and unjust alike (Mt. 5, 45), patiently waiting for their conversion.

“Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1, 3).

So, put your trust in Him always!

♥

Did you know…

The word rhythm is derived from the Greek word ρυθμός (rhytmos).

It has the same root as the Greek verb ρέω (rheo) (=to flow), hence the nouns ροή and ρους (=flow).

Actually, the word hour, ώρα in Greek, is etymologically connected to the Indo-European root ya(h)r hence we get the German word Jahr (=year) and the English year.

The rhythmical ticking of our heart, the harmonious movement of the stars, the regular succession of the seasons help us to become aware that we belong to a word of harmony, order and security.

We belong to a word of harmony, where its only cacophony is sin. However, God has not abandoned this world to sin. The Church never ceases to preach the Good News of salvation.

The Son of God became man and has overcome sin and death by His Passion and Resurrection.

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