Make your lives extraordinary
Carpe Diem - Seize the Day
By
Fr. Mario Bugna SJ
(This
article originally appeared in 'Christian Traveller' our parish magazine.
It
is an adaptation of a homily given at St Ignatius, Norwood)
In the movie "Dead Poets Society" the teacher, John Keating, for
his first class takes his students to the old scholars' photos and trophy room.
He gets the class to look really closely at each of the faces, at each of the
photos. After getting one of the class to read a poem titled "To make much
of time", John makes several similar reflections between the photos and the
present students;
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same haircuts
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full of hormones just like you
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invincible just like you feel
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the world is their oyster
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they believe they are destined for great things, just like you
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their eyes are full of hope just like you
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But, did they wait until it was too late to make from their lives even one
iota of what they were capable because these students in the photos are now all
dead. John then asks the class to listen real close, to hear the photos whisper
their legacy to your
"Lean in ... listen ...Campe Diem ... seize the day ... make your lives
extraordinary"
The theology in the gospel of Luke expresses the same sentiment, the same
challenge. God has given each one of us time and talents. Use them!. Don't brag
about your ancestors, instead give your descendants something to brag about.
Or as the boy poet in the movie says;
"I went to the woods, because I wanted to live deliberately, I wanted to
live deep and suck out all the marrow of life. To put to naught all that was not
life and not, when I had come to die, discover that I had not lived"
"Carpe Diem" ...Seize the Day ... make your lives extraordinary!
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