Daily Retreat 09/27/08
2008 Sep 27 Sat: Vincent de Paul, p, rf M
Eccl 11: 9 – 12: 8/ Ps 90: 3-4. 5-6. 12-13. 14 and 17/ Lk 9: 43b-45
From today’s readings: “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth.... In every age, O Lord, You have been our refuge.... They were afraid to ask Him about this saying....”
Be Good to Your Old Man!
Among the pithiest and punchiest bits of advice I’ve heard in my life, I’ll always remember the admonition to “Be good to your old man!” The mentor explained that the “old man” he was referring to here was not my father, or even the Heavenly Father; rather, he was talking about the “old man” that I would be turning into as the years pass.
“What you do with your life now and in the months and years to come, “ he explained, “ - the behavior habits you form, the companions you choose, the books you read and the movies you view, the virtues you practice and the vices you cultivate, the patterns you set and the character you mold - all this will fashion you into the OLD MAN you choose to become! It is not the circumstances of life, so much as the choices in life that will determine who you will be later in life, so always remember to be good to your old man!”
The sage who authored such a sensible slogan certainly deserves credit for cleverness of expression, but the compelling truth of his wisdom was undoubtedly inspired by the insight found in Ecclesiastes and the other books of the Bible which all insist that the cumulative choices of our lives are determinative - not only of our later years, but also our eternal destiny!
Eccl 11: 9 – 12: 8/ Ps 90: 3-4. 5-6. 12-13. 14 and 17/ Lk 9: 43b-45
From today’s readings: “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth.... In every age, O Lord, You have been our refuge.... They were afraid to ask Him about this saying....”
Be Good to Your Old Man!
Among the pithiest and punchiest bits of advice I’ve heard in my life, I’ll always remember the admonition to “Be good to your old man!” The mentor explained that the “old man” he was referring to here was not my father, or even the Heavenly Father; rather, he was talking about the “old man” that I would be turning into as the years pass.
“What you do with your life now and in the months and years to come, “ he explained, “ - the behavior habits you form, the companions you choose, the books you read and the movies you view, the virtues you practice and the vices you cultivate, the patterns you set and the character you mold - all this will fashion you into the OLD MAN you choose to become! It is not the circumstances of life, so much as the choices in life that will determine who you will be later in life, so always remember to be good to your old man!”
The sage who authored such a sensible slogan certainly deserves credit for cleverness of expression, but the compelling truth of his wisdom was undoubtedly inspired by the insight found in Ecclesiastes and the other books of the Bible which all insist that the cumulative choices of our lives are determinative - not only of our later years, but also our eternal destiny!
posted by FrPitstick | 9/26/2008
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