Auspice Maria: Carpe Diem

In the motion picture industry, a movie or a particular scene from a movie occasionally impacts our memories. For me, one of these scenes is from the movie Dead Poets Society (1989), starring the late Robin Williams. In the movie, Robin Williams portrays the unconventional literature teacher at the fictional Welton Academy, an all-boys prestigious boarding school in Vermont.

The scene that I find impactful is at the beginning of the movie.  It is the first day of class, and Mr. Keating enters the classroom filled with high school boys and abruptly leaves, inviting the boys to follow him.  He leads them to a foyer with display cases of trophies, awards, and pictures of students from the school’s illustrious past. This foyer is adorned with three banners reflecting the school's emblem and colors, and each banner bears a word: discipline, honor, and excellence. One of the boys is asked to open his hymnal to the poem, “To the Virgins to Make Much of Time,” a 17th-century poem written by Robert Herrick.  The opening verse of the poem is:

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying:
And this same flower that smiles today
To-morrow will be dying.

Mr. Keating instructs the youth to read the stanza and tells the boys that the Latin phrase capturing the meaning of the opening stanza is carpe diem, a phrase that means "seize the day.’" Mr. Keating then applies the meaning of carpe diem to their experience at Welton. He tells them to seize each day, to live it well. He tells the boys, “Make your lives extraordinary.” Upon encouraging the boys to make the most of their time and opportunity at Welton, to emphasize his point, he calls their attention to the old pictures on the walls of the foyer of former students of Welton who would then have been deceased due to the passing of time. Mr. Keating tells the boys rather abruptly that they, too, will one day die like these students, so again, he encourages them to seize the day and make the most of their lives. It is a dramatic scene. As the boys study pictures of students from Welton’s past, Keating says in a slow, hushed, haunting voice, “Carpe diem. Carpe diem.”

The phrase, seize the day, seems to have its origin in the Roman poet Horace's work, Odes, which dates to about 23 BC, Horace writes, “Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.” Translated, it means, “Seize the day, putting as little trust as possible in the future.” It is interesting that Horace's philosophy of living etched in Latin still finds its way into creative literary and dramatic works. 

A good carpe diem scriptural reference is the story of Zacchaeus, the tax collector, found in Luke 19:1-10. St. Luke tells readers that, on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus passed through Jericho, which is about 15 miles away from Jerusalem. Zacchaeus, a wealthy Roman tax collector, was in the crowd and desired to see Jesus, so he climbed a sycamore tree, something most adults would consider too embarrassing to do. However, Zacchaeus wants to see Jesus and considers moving to a higher altitude. Jesus, seeing Zacchaeus in the tree, calls him down, invites himself to Zacchaeus’ house, and shares a meal with Zacchaeus and a crowd filled with other tax collectors and so-called “sinners.” St. Luke presents this as a pivotal moment in the life of Zacchaeus, who publicly states that he will make amends for defrauding anyone during his career as a tax collector. Basically, it is a moment of real conversion for Zacchaeus. At the end of the biblical account, Jesus says, “Today, salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.” (19:9-10) 

In keeping with our brief exposé about carpe diem, we would be correct in saying that Zacchaeus seized the day when Jesus passed through Jericho. Desiring to “see” Jesus in the Scriptures is analogous to desiring faith. Zacchaeus desired to change, grow, mature, and choose a more honest life from that point. “Seeing” Jesus is symbolic of Zacchaeus now having faith in Jesus. Faith in Jesus leads to conversion. Faith in Jesus means setting our hearts and minds on holiness and Heaven. We grow in holiness by being fully alive in Jesus. In the fullness of our humanity, we embrace virtue and a high moral, Christ-like character. For Zacchaeus, his new discipleship meant a life of honesty and integrity. No more defrauding or taking advantage of people. Zacchaeus seized the day, and Jesus seized Zacchaeus by calling him down and sharing a meal with him.  Sharing a meal in Jesus’ day was more than "fast food." It was an opportunity for fellowship and cultivating relationships. Zacchaeus has found new meaning in life by sharing a relationship with Jesus. 

I would urge us all to seize the day as disciples of Jesus. Every day is an opportunity. The Lord invites us to union with him. Seize the day! I leave you with the beautiful carpe diem words of Psalm 95 (vv. 7c-8a):

Oh, that today you would hear his voice: 

Do not harden your hearts….

-Bishop James T. Ruggieri