Carpe Diem!

            So, I’m sure some of you have heard the phrase Carpe Diem before. A few of you may even know what it means. But do any of you actually understand the meaning of the phrase? Most people realize that the actual words are from Latin, maybe even realize that they are from a poem. But hardly anyone could name that poet. Well, here’s the stuff you should know.

Carpe Diem means Seize the Day, a phrase that has come to mean something like “live like you were dying.” Below is the actual poem that made the phrase famous.

 Don't ask (it's forbidden to know) what end

            the gods have granted to me or you, Leuconoe. Don't play with Babylonian

            fortune-telling either. How much better it is to endure whatever will be!

Whether Jupiter has allotted to you many more winters or this final one

            which even now wears out the Tyrrhenian sea on the rocks placed opposite

            — be wise, strain the wine, and scale back your long hopes

to a short period. While we speak, envious time will have {already} fled

            Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the future.

Alright, now onto the good stuff. So, now you know all the background and stuff for the phrase, now to put it into motion. Don’t let the rambling confuse you, I do have a point to this. And here we go.

            The phrase Carpe Diem is more than just a nice thing to say to try and encourage someone or yourself. It’s a powerhouse of meaning and sentimentality. To me, it’s something that needs to be applied to our Christian walks. Everyday needs to lived like it’s the day before the end. Don’t fall into the mentality of fixing it later. There may not be a later. Sometimes you fall into the delusion of “well, I’ll have fun for now and fix my life when I’m older and wiser.” That’s the wrong idea! God doesn’t say that saying the “I accept Jesus” prayer near the end and you’re golden. He desires a relationship. One that takes a lifetime to develop and all of your will and power to maintain. So you need to seize the day and use all the time that you have to fully develop your relationship with God. There will be hard times, but hunker down, carpe diem, and fight your way through. When the devil is trying to tear you down, don’t let him, just call on God’s power to pull you out of the devil’s grasp. When you feel yourself falling into the grip of old sins, fight back. Grab hold of God’s might and let God’s Will and Majesty take you out of the temptations. He is where all of your strength must lie, and all of your focus needs to be. The best is yet to come, but so is the worst. But for now, just carpe diem in Christi nomen! (Seize the day in the name of Christ.)