the time is now to fulfil each vow for i may never pass this way again

Remember, too, that "they who are ever taking aim, make no hits; that they who never venture, never gain; that to be safe is to be ever feeble; and that to do some substantial good is compensation for much incidental imperfection."

-Ven. John Henry Cardinal Newman

this quote is the near-miraculous answer to my recent argument with my dearest marc (bless your soul) about "when to act" - it is NOW. where did i come across the quote? well... today i read for 7.30am mass and between 8.30am and my lectors' meeting at 1pm, i attended stachoir's practice (which was extremely uplifting btw) and legion AF's meeting (boy i miss jr legion mtgs) and the quote is from the Legion handbook, under Chapter 32 "Objections which may be anticipated", Point 11 "Obstacles in the way of starting, there will always be". if you can get a hold of any Legion handbook, look for that chapter and read it - you will then be (more) ready to serve in any vocation.

or get it from the handbook of Life itself!

today's Gospel (13th ordinary sunday)
"Once the hand is laid on the plough, no one who looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
Luke 9:62, Jerusalem Bible*

next sunday's (14th ordinary)
"Start off now, but remember, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves."
Luke 10:3, JB

and for the lucky ones who still remember our CAW Rally...

i'm good at being sardonic with these words: are your hearts still on fire? do you remember when the time was now? but let's not be harsh la... until we finally meet our maker, he has given us all the time we need to find out what his teachings truly mean. and believe him: the truth will set you free (John 8:32).

*in case you didn't know, our missal uses the Jerusalem Bible, which includes J.R.R. Tolkien as one of its co-editors. so far i haven't been able to find an online version of the JB, but Universalis.com quotes from it for mass readings. the full New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) tho, is available online at Knights of Colombus - just that they protect the html so it's a bit difficult to copy n paste from there (you have to view source and search from there). yes, i'm a lector alright.