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Only one time exists
This is one of two essays which Chiara Luce wrote during her illness. They are short reflections that show her deep maturity and the Paradise she was already living in here on earth.
17/07/2010
 Chiara Luce, the young woman who will be beatified in September, was already undergoing painful medical treatment for a tumor. But she desired to continue her studies and a teacher was found who could visit her periodically and tutor her in the Italian Language Arts. In 1989 Chiara Luce wrote a paper which began with some famous words attributed to Virgil: “«Fugit irreparabile tempus» (Time flees.)
The paper focuses on the value of time. Chiara Luce begins with the words of this Latin phrase which she saw inscribed on the sundial in front of Holy Trinity Church, in Sassello, Italy, which is where her body now rests in a small chapel dedicated to her.
“FUGIT IRREPARABILE TEMPUS”. This Latin inscription on the wall of an old building next to a sundial, reminds us, every time we raise our eyes to it, that our days, every one of them, fly by quickly. The wisdom of our fathers, recorded in these few words, causes us to pause for a moment and reflect on the meaning of our lives that so often run away in superficiality, because they are suffocated by a boring daily routine, or by the frantic course which the modern way of living sometimes forces on us. If we think about it, we will realize that often a person does not live his life at all, because he is immersed in a time that does not even exist, in memories or in regrets.
In reality, the only time that a person has is the present moment, which should be lived within ourselves, taking full advantage of it. If a person lives in this way, he will certainly feel free, for he will no longer be crushed by anguish over his past or his future. Certainly, being able to achieve this goal is not simple and requires a constant effort ... to give a meaning to each action, no matter how great or how small, for others.
Come to think of it, every person is already working for others, even the worker hammering a bolt or the farmer planting a field, only that the real and important meaning of work is often lost.
Perhaps if we gave a new intention to our actions, we would feel more fulfilled and be more conscious of the value of our life that is a precious gift not to be spoiled or burnt away in sterile and useless ambitions.
(Taken from «Io ho tutto». I 18 anni di Chiara Luce, by Michele Zanzucchi, Città Nuova 2010)
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