The more I thought about the series, the more I thought about how the whimsy of it had captured my imagination as a child, but how I, like Susan, had “grown up” and moved to Lewis’ more mature works. But did that mean that the Chronicles were a lesser work of fiction because of this? Or was there something hidden in the pages that I was missing?

We’ve all been there – talking with friends, colleagues, family, and the subject turns to how good people had it before us. We wish we had this president again, or that time of goodwill. Yes, we undoubtedly have ties to the past – we are creatures of time and space, after all. But there’s something important and worthwhile about being grounded in the present.

I’ve proclaimed this theme quite often over the past few articles. This is not an accident. I want to urge you, dear reader, that while this world may seem cold and hard (which it can be), that you are capable of more. The joy of life is to be found today, here, now! It’s to be found as we engage in the world around us, in perfecting and working amid the work of creation, no matter how dark and stormy it may become. If we are truly encountering the Gospel, the good news, we want to do something with it.

If we Christians are to be the counter culture, let’s start by showing the world how to be silent, how to be still. If we want to bring Christ to others, we can’t bring Him if we don’t know Him; and that takes conversation. Take example from Mary and learn to cultivate a daily period of silence before God, perhaps starting with the daily readings. And in doing so, we may hopefully become better contemplative souls in a world that has sadly forgotten how to be contemplative.