Make Us Know the Shortness of Our Life

In praying the Liturgy of the Hours this morning, this particular verse in Psalm 90 always stops me in my tracks…Make us know the shortness of our life that we may gain wisdom of heart.

Have you ever had one of those moments when you look back and wonder how the years could have possibly gone by so quickly? As I approach 60, I am reminded how summer vacations as a kid seemed to last forever. Now, it feels like I barely blink and another year has already passed.

This is exactly what the author of Psalm 90 was getting at thousands of years ago with the line, “Make us know the shortness of our life that we may gain wisdom of heart.” This verse taps into a profound truth about our human perception of time and life.

Psychologists call it the telescoping effect - the way our recent memories seem bigger while distant events blur together. For example, my daughter’s wedding a few years ago, in many ways, feels like it just happened, while high school or college events seems like a distant blur.

This explains why time appears to move faster as we get older. Our brains compress those early years into a highlight reel and make recent events loom larger. Before we know it, decades have gone by in the blink of an eye.

I love how St. Thérèse of Lisieux embraced this truth in her “little way” of finding God in the moment. She knew each mundane task - like washing dishes - was an opportunity to love God. She didn’t wait for grand gestures, but lived fully awake to the spiritual potential of the present.

Her example makes me reflect on my own life. How can I become more aware of each moment as a gift not to be wasted? It’s so easy to sleepwalk through my days, focused only on checking tasks off my to-do list. But what if I approached each interactions, not as a means to an end, but as a chance to love, learn and deepen my relationship with Christ?

The Psalmist and St. Thérèse both call me to live with wisdom of heart - to number my days, to treasure each fleeting moment, and to stay spiritually awake to God’s presence here and now. This is how one can gain wisdom of heart. It is an important reminder in light of the Gospel yesterday regarding the 10 virgins and the bridegroom (Matthew 25:1-13).