Loving in the now

Travelling on the train yesterday, I overheard a group of young teenaged boys talking about what they gave their fathers for Father’s Day and I was mildly amused.

"He likes coffee, so anything coffee-related is good."  "My dad likes chocolate so I got him some." "Mine likes to smoke so I got him cigarettes." Hmmm...

While I did go visit my father in the columbarium to wish him and thank him, and tell him I missed him, I don’t believe in just setting aside one day in the year to be grateful to my parents, for it should be an everyday affair when it comes to honouring and showing gratitude to parents, living and deceased.

I am a student of the ordinary, of quotidian rhythms that can get tiresome for it is easy to impress with the big gestures: spend lavishly in gift-giving and go out to a fancy restaurant for a meal.

What is not so easy is to give time and constant effort to caring for loved ones, especially when so many other things seem more important.

Saint Paul said this to the Corinthians:

Behold, now is a very acceptable time
behold, now is the day of salvation.
We cause no one to stumble in anything,
in order that no fault may be found with our ministry;
on the contrary, in everything we commend ourselves
as ministers of God, through much endurance,
in afflictions, hardships, constraints,
beatings, imprisonments, riots,
labors, vigils, fasts;
by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness,
in the Holy Spirit, in unfeigned love, in truthful speech,
in the power of God;
with weapons of righteousness at the right and at the left;
through glory and dishonor, insult and praise.

Based on the above advice, living in the here and now is paramount: to live purely, wisely, patiently and kindly in the present, regardless of one’s circumstances.

Saint Thérèse  of Lisieux believed in The Little Way, in showing commitment even in the most mundane of tasks, and acting lovingly to all she met on a daily basis (even those who were not loving towards her). She was a humble, young woman who understood how to live out the now with an attentive mindfulness of God’s abundant love.  

In a day, there are many opportunities to show those around us that we care, especially our parents who are often forgotten when more pressing matters require our immediate attention.  

Now that Father’s Day and Mother’s Day have passed, let us not forget that every day can be a day for thanking our parents in little ways that can mean a lot.

Do it now.