Time or Not?

A blog post by Maria Rocha, Spring 2011

Before my semester in Gaming, I was preoccupied by the idea of not having a cell phone to tell the time. I convinced myself that I needed to buy a watch. This imaginary watch would not only increase my fashion points but also keep me grounded in the time. A watch was a great idea because the only way I can keep track of something is if I attach it to my body…and even then the odds aren’t that promising.

I never bought that watch. I forgot before I left and they became too expensive in Europe. The entire semester, I was forever misplacing the cell phone provided by the school or it was buried so far in my backpack that pulling it out just to check the time seemed silly, especially while on a packed and moving train.

Thinking back, however, my favorite part about this experience was not knowing what time it was. It allowed me to stop counting and allotting myself minutes to sit and do nothing or sit and talk to someone without checking to see how many minutes I’d used up. I didn’t miss counting the minutes. Keeping exact track of how many minutes I had to endure or how many minutes I wasted. I lost myself and didn’t worry about the time. I reveled. I wandered. I lived and time went on whether I kept track of the thing or not.

When it became desperately necessary to know the time I had to reach out of myself and talk to my travel companion or a complete stranger to find the time. Or, I had to look around me, really observe and take in the room to find a clock, glance at it and keep running.

So now, it’s time to go. I still don’t have a watch but I can feel the minutes we have left growing more precious as they melt away. I’m still not counting because you can’t capture the value of all the minutes lost in thought, the moments you really look someone in the eyes, and the second you know your life will never be the same.

I don’t need a watch to know how quickly life moves and how much I’ve changed. Everything else has already told me.

Time in Europe / Vienna Pictures

Time is a funny thing. It seems to just get away from you when all you want to do is cling to it. Time is escaping from me here in this land of wonder and awe. I have already been here for more than two weeks. I just can’t believe this. Yet, when I think about my time here in Austria, and all that has already happened, I can’t believe that it has only been two weeks.

Already, we have done so very much. From touring the glorious Melk Abbey, to seeing the sights of Vienna, exploring the wilderness on pilgrimage to Mariazell and experiencing the beauty of Salzburg and Munich. Each experience holds a special value. Each place is extraordinary in its own beautiful and unique way.

Vienna was the first major city we visited—and what a city to visit! Ordinarily, I don’t like cities whatsoever; Pittsburgh makes me cringe, (and that’s not only due to the Steelers) and I’m ready to just scream by the time I leave Cincinnati. But Vienna was different. The atmosphere had a certain charm. Nobody was in a hurry to get anywhere. People were just enjoying themselves, content with life and where they were.

Horse drawn carriages filled the streets, the clickety-clang of the horses hooves’ matched perfectly with the music floating from instruments as musicians performed on the streets. Quaint little coffee shops were found on nearly every corner. Cobble stone walk-ways led from square to square. Beautiful Hapsburg palaces and ornate cathedrals faced one-another as an example of the unity between Church and State.

Possibly the best part of my visit was touring the National Treasury Museum. The museum displayed fairy-tale-like garments; crowns and staffs and robes and gowns. A crib, decadently adorned, offered a lavish bed for a sleepy Hapsburg prince. Jewelry and treasure chests revealed the riches and luxury that the royal family experienced daily. The museum was full of grandeur, wealth, and fantasy. It was straight out of a Disney movie.

But all of this didn’t even compare to the final display of the museum. Because Austria was Catholic, along with other riches and treasures, the Hapsburgs collected innumerable relics throughout history. Pieces of the actual cross and first class relics of many saints could be seen.

One piece stood apart from all the rest. The actual veil of Veronica hung right before my eyes. The very climax of my entire experience in Vienna, maybe even in Europe, was at this moment. It was made of brown material; stains darkened it where Jesus’ face (His actual face!) imprinted in it. It wasn’t as clear as a photograph, but features were certainly distinguishable. Very easily, you could see His eyes, His nose and His mouth. One eye was swollen, a tear drop fell from the other. He had a long, narrow face. Even as a write this, I can’t believe that I saw that. In the Eucharist, He is physically present. I know this. But there is just something different about looking at a stained piece of cloth and knowing that the face of God is what stained it. And knowing that it was His blood—blood shed for me, for you—that stained it. It was so powerful. As I recall it in my memory, it is still powerful.

I think that it is for moments like these that God has us here in Europe. We have been given an incredible opportunity to be here. The time we have here is unique. God has a special plan for all of us; I think we need to remember that. When I started writing this, I wasn’t going to make it a sermon or something. I’ve actually tried writing a different conclusion a couple of times but the truth is, in the end, this is still all I can think of. God is here, waiting to reveal Himself. In the most unlikely of places (like a treasury museum), He will surprise you. He will lift you out of time. And then you will not lose time anymore. It doesn’t even matter anymore. Rather than cling to time, I think we should cling to experiences, to moments in our lives—to our Austrian experience.

--Patricia Huelseman, Fall 2010