“No day is lost if you remain vigilant” (Interior Word).
A few days ago, we heard St. Matilda of Hackeborn’s suggestion about how much we can gain in a single day by praising the Lord and fulfilling our duties. Undoubtedly, the spirit of piety was at work in this saint. Today’s sentence, however, breathes the spirit of the fear of God. These two gifts of the Holy Spirit go hand in hand. The first focuses on pleasing God; the second, on living vigilantly to avoid offending Him. Thus, these gifts complement each other in how we face our daily lives. There are days when we are unable to make significant progress, when we feel paralyzed or lack the necessary momentum. On those days, our goal is simply to persevere, keep our heads above water, and avoid anything that might hinder our following of the Lord.
In these cases, the best we can offer our Father is vigilance under a burden, so that we do not spoil the day and have to make up for what was lost. Vigilance is a basic attitude that we must renew day by day. Imagine that we are in a war; it would be fatal to lull ourselves into a false sense of security. In fact, we are in a spiritual war that is evidently becoming more intense.
The key is to consider each day as a new stage that the Father grants us on our journey to Him. Whether we advance swiftly or have to drag ourselves through it, suffering many struggles—perhaps even defeats from which we immediately get up again—the day is not lost. It is won for eternity. We can build on it, and our Father will reward us. God willing, tomorrow is another new day in which we can gain much if we are careful not to lose it.