Recently, Fr Mike Schmitz has been doing a brilliant series of homilies on one of my favorite life mottos: “Nunc Coepi“, latin for “Now I begin.” The concept of this saying was notably developed by the spirituality of Venerable Pio Bruno Lanteri (1759-1830). He was founder of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, and you can read about his remarkable life by clicking on the links provided.

“Say with courage: Nunc Coepi – Now I Begin and walk always in the service of God. Do not keep stopping to look back, because he who looks back cannot hasten forward. Do not content yourself with beginning this year. Begin every day, because each day and for each hour of the day the Lord taught us to say in the ‘Our Father:’ Forgive us our trespasses. Give us this day our daily bread.  And do you not see that the enemy seeks to take away your tranquility and confidence in God, two dispositions so necessary for praying well?  Take there the counsel of St. Teresa, “Let nothing disturb you”, not even your spiritual miseries, because these are the object and the foundation of the infinite mercy of God, which surpasses the malice of all the sins of the world!” – Letter to Sister Leopolda Mortigliengo

I have heard “Nunc Coepi” can mean “Now I begin,” and “begin again“, and “a never ending beginning”. What is the difference? Fr Mike wanted to point out the urgency in life as we need to make a new start with urgency with “now, I begin.” Although the gist of these translations is very close, I am most personally moved by “begin again” because it’s what I used to hear when trying to overcome or learn anything that was difficult but worthy of practice, like dance, piano, or drawing. To think of a never ending beginning is to perhaps consider the version of Nunc Coepi that I first read, which is God’s love for us in light of eternity.

A God Who is Never Weary of Weakness

I ordered some little gifts from a friend’s sister who has a shop called “January Jane.” In my order came a card with this quote by Venerable Bruno Lanteri. I was running through Hobby Lobby one day and they had these cool black canvases. I knew exactly what I wanted to paint on mine. I used acrylic paints (I am rekindling my friendship with acrylics) and bordered with florals and hand lettering (don’t look too close)…

I just wanted to share this week for anyone who is struggling and needed to know that you aren’t supposed to be perfect or carry the weight of your mistakes around with you. I can’t tell you how many times these words have broken me out of a rut. Just keep beginning again, even if it’s every other minute of the day.

“A saint is not someone who never sins but one who sins less and less frequently and gets up more and more quickly.” Ven. Bruno Lanteri