During our flower trip, we passed an orange farm where tractors were pulling long trains filled with fruit. In the orchards, pickers were working tirelessly.
Pick the fruit! Seize the day! Carpe Diem!
Easier said than done! Our lives are far from one breathtaking adventure. For some people, their days are spent in lonely or monotonous, long hours; and tomorrow it repeats again. What is there to grab with both hands?! Horace, the Roman poet from the first century who immortalised the “Carpe Diem” concept, was also rather pessimistic. He wrote: “Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in tomorrow.” It sounds like the contemporaries of Paul who lived with the motto: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (1 Cor 15:32).
I wonder how many of us draw back our curtains with every sunrise and shout, “Carpe Diem”? Sometimes I’m too afraid to open the curtains, unsure of what the day might hold. Sometimes I want to keep the curtains closed because my life inside feels dark. Sometimes it’s the fears of tomorrow that can already paralyse me today.
I sometimes wonder if we shouldn’t rather say “Carpe Deum” instead of “Carpe Diem”? Seize God (Carpe Deum), and then the rest will follow. Grab hold of God’s hand with both of yours before you try to seize the day. Because you are safe in God’s hands, you know that today can be lived with renewed energy. As Isaiah 41:10 teaches: “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Then each day becomes as Psalm 118:24 teaches: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
PRAYER: Carpe Deum: nothing can snatch me from Your hand. Therefore, Carpe Diem, Lord.
MUSIC:
We’re watching the music video of “Carpe Diem” by the South African composer Franco Prinsloo for the Landesjugendchor Südtirol from Northern Italy. Based on the text by Quintus Horatius Flaccus, Carpe Diem is a work that calls all people, especially the youth, to action: seize every opportunity that comes your way! The piece is performed with body percussion, emphasising the energetic call to action.
4o