Don't Forget Recess

Ministry Tip of the Week

by Seth Evangelho

Over the past two weeks, we've really been talking about the virtues of hope and trust. After all, cheerfulness is only a virtue when we have a reason not to be cheerful; which means a cheerful Christian lives from an enduring hope that, no matter the circumstance, God wins. And so we do the task at hand. We trust that it's worth it, and that God will carry the burden of everything else.

This week, let us remember recess. Stop and smell the roses. (Really, they smell wonderful!) God's goodness is all around us, and we can see it when we get our minds off of "life" and turn our gaze toward him in the blessings of his creation.

This doesn't happen easily without the aid of the first two virtues. As long as we dwell on life's difficulties and/or frantically work to be as productive as humanly possible, another year goes by and we find ourselves even further from the playgrounds of life we glimpsed in childhood.

St. John Bosco, in his final piece of wisdom, reminds us to be thankful. He reminds us to appreciate the gifts we've been given. He reminds us to live the beautiful gift of eternity now, where everything is thanksgiving. He reminds us to relax, to enjoy ourselves, and to play a little.

That's what the hope of salvation is all about. We live it now! The victory of Christ is certain and the glory of heaven awaits us, but both of these realities are brought into the 'muck' of the present state of affairs. Through such a hope, our tasks can now be done "eucharistically," we might say - through him, with him, and in him - ever grateful for our share in his glory. Even the mundane takes on a new sense of wonder; and, in the words of St. Catherine of Siena, "on the way to heaven is heaven."

May we always remember to give thanks for the great blessings of life, for the wonders of new life in Christ, and for the ability to slow down long enough to enjoy them.

St. John Bosco, Pray for us!