In A Hurry To Do Good

While in college, a theology professor pointed out how at home he could choose from over two hundred television channels. However, he also pointed out, that most of the time, though he had two hundred channels to choose from, there was absolutely nothing to watch. We have all experienced this while sitting in front of the television, remote control in hand, ready to go, but nowhere to go. There is nothing to watch. My professor concluded from this experience, that as a society, we are going somewhere at full speed, but we are not quite sure of where it is that we are going.

Modern society moves quickly. We can travel anywhere in the world within hours, we have at our disposal the latest medical and scientific advances, we can communicate instantly, and we have access to all human knowledge in a small, light gadget that is always in our pockets. For over one hundred years of human history, progress has been the goal. But I must ask, where and what are we progressing to? Saint Augustine used a wonderful phrase: bene currit, sed extra viam. “He runs well, but off course.” Running is useless if we run off course.

The Gospel of Luke describes a moment when Mary too was in a hurry. “Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste.” The Blessed Mother moved quickly to help her pregnant cousin Elizabeth; at least as quickly as you can riding a donkey through the Judean countryside.

Mary is in a hurry to do good. She is not in a hurry just to be in a hurry. She has a noble purpose in mind. Pregnant, unsure of her own future, and certainly still shocked at the announcement of the angel, Mary set out in a hurry to do good. She had a profound understanding of the meaning and importance of what she had to do. She decided to run well and to run on course.

The Virgin Mary hurried to serve a need, as well as to express love and concern. She hurried without taking into account her own worries and anxieties, but considering those of her cousin Elizabeth.

Many of us feel we are always in a hurry. Living rushed from one thing to the next without a clear sense of a destination. We run from distraction to distraction and at the end, we have nothing concrete. As a priest, there are few things sadder than talking with an elderly person who was busy his or her whole life, running here and running there, and now time is coming to an end. The running prevented the person from putting down roots, from enjoying the company of loved ones, and most importantly, from developing a relationship with God.

This month dedicated to the Virgin Mary can be a moment to ask, “am I running well and on course? Like the Virgin Mary, am I in a hurry to do good?” Being in a hurry is only worth it if the hurry is to repent and to believe, to reconcile with God and others, and to renew our commitment to live as children of God. These are the only destinations to which we can hurry with our whole hearts.

In a hurry to do good