Many Christians take their time and have leisure enough in their social life (no hurry here). They are leisurely, too, in their professionally activities, at table and recreation (no hurry here either). But isn't it strange how those same Christians find themselves in such a rush and want to hurry the priest, in their anxiety to shorten the time devoted to the most holy sacrifice of the altar?
Interpretation
The quote highlights the irony in how some Christians prioritize leisure over spirituality, reflecting a disconnect in their values.
This quote by Josemaria Escriva captures the paradox of how individuals often spend ample time leisurely in social and professional activities, yet display impatience and urgency when it comes to participating in spiritual practices, particularly during the holy mass. It invites reflection on the prioritization of faith in our lives and challenges the notion of haste in sacred moments, urging believers to reconsider where they direct their attention and how they allocate their time.
In practice
During a sermon, when discussing the importance of spending time with God, this quote serves as a reminder of our priorities.
You must realise now, more clearly than ever, that God is calling you to serve Him in and from the ordinary, secular and civil activities of human life. He waits for us everyday, in the laboratory, in the operating theatre, in the army barracks, in the university chair, in the factory, in the workshop, in the fileds, in the home and in all the immense panorama of work.
As soon as you willfully allow a dialogue with temptation to begin, the soul is robbed of peace, just as consent to impurity destroys grace.
You strayed from the way and did not return because you were ashamed. It would be more logical if you were ashamed not to return.
Christian optimism is not a sugary optimism, nor is it a mere human confidence that everything will turn out all right. It is an optimism that sinks its roots into an awareness of our freedom, and the sure knowledge of the power of grace. It is an optimism that leads us to make demands on ourselves, to struggle to respond at every moment to God's call.
Don't you long to shout to those youths who are bustling around you: Fools! Leave those worldly things that shackle the heart - and very often degrade it - leave all that and come with us in search of Love!
Being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned.
As long as human labor power, and, consequently, life itself, remain articles of sale and purchase, of exploitation and robbery, the principle of the “sacredness of human life” remains a shameful lie, uttered with the object of keeping the oppressed slaves in their chains.
Ah, the prayers of the millions, how they must fight and destroy each other on their way to the throne of God.
Human models are more vivid and more persuasive than explicit moral commands.
Because philosophy arises from awe, a philosopher is bound in his way to be a lover of myths and poetic fables. Poets and philosophers are alike in being big with wonder.
Ethics is a code of values which guide our choices and actions and determine the purpose and course of our lives.
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