Friday of the 25th Week of the Year

Impermanence and change are the inevitable consequences of being bound by space and time. In our fallen state, birth must eventually surrender to death; times of joy and mirth must yield to those of mourning and sorrow; and progress and building up all too often precede disintegration, and collapse. Inner peace in the face of all this impermanence can only be secured by holy detachment that is, however, not indifference or spiritual aloofness. Instead, it represents that state of not clinging possessively to the good and prosperous times, or being spiritually undone by times of suffering, pain, and loss. Recalling that, in the words of Hebrews, we have here no lasting city, enables us to embrace impermanence and so savor and be grateful for the good times while patiently bearing the hard times in faith. In the power of that same faith we will eventually leave this impermanence behind and pass into the blissful permanence of Eternal Life where our joy and peace will be unassailable and sadness, loss, and sorrow will be no more.