of glory.”[1] This one moment produces for us an everlasting weight of glory, an eternity of joys, the possession and enjoyment of an infinite Good; such is the fruit of a moment of well-spent time. I take as witnesses to the truth of this all those who are now happy in heaven. A momentary good thought, a single word, a work directed to the honor and glory of God, an act of patience and mortification, of repentance, of the love of God, such was the seed they sowed; an eternal crown of glory, a superabundance of delights, an everlasting dwelling in heaven, an infinite Good whom they will possess forever; such is the fruit they have reaped from it. The same fruit, my dear brethren, we may gather and heap up every moment of our lives if we only wish.
A great blessing for us to use this time well. What consolation and happiness for one who, being in the state of grace, labors diligently for the good of his soul! If the joy of the blessed in heaven could be disturbed by any feeling of remorse or regret, it would be at the thought of having lost but a single moment while on earth by not devoting it to the service of God; and nowhere would there be greater unrest than in heaven, through the desire all its inhabitants would have for a little more time on earth in order to gain more glory even by suffering all conceivable torments. Yes, holy souls, if you were not satisfied with the will of God, you would be capable of a feeling of envy in that place where charity is to be found in perfection; you would envy our good fortune, and would desire to be in our place, or with us, that by making a good use of your time you might increase your glory in eternity. So much profit can time bring us, my dear brethren, when it is well employed.
An irreparable loss to misspend it. From this we can see how great is the injury we do ourselves by making a bad use of time. Come forth from hell, ye lost souls, and tell us what the loss of time has caused you to suffer; for you can give impartial testimony in the matter! This loss, they say, is as great as the Good from which we are forever excluded; great as our misery; terrible as the fire that the divine anger fans to torment us! If I could give you back one of those afternoons that you wasted in immoderate drinking, and in playing dice and cards; one of the evenings that you spent in dangerous company; one of the mornings that you lost by lying too long in bed, or in spending too much time in dressing, or in idle thoughts; one of those nights that concealed your impurity
- ↑ Id enim quod in præsenti est momentaneum et leve tribulationis nostræ, supra modum in sublimitate æternum gloriæ pondus operatur in nobis.—II. Cor. iv. 17.
