{"id":381,"date":"2020-12-30T09:06:49","date_gmt":"2020-12-30T14:06:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=381"},"modified":"2020-12-30T09:06:49","modified_gmt":"2020-12-30T14:06:49","slug":"nunc-coepi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2020\/12\/30\/nunc-coepi\/","title":{"rendered":"Nunc Coepi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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You would expect Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers to make public appearances wearing a cap with the team\u2019s iconic horseshoe. 

But more often than not, the veteran slinger \u2013 who is about to finish his 17th<\/sup> season in the NFL \u2013 wears a cap that displays two Latin words: Nunc Coepi<\/em>. 

That hat \u201ctends to be on my head most of the time, unless I\u2019m asleep,\u201d he says. 

Nunc Coepi<\/em> (pronounced \u201ccheppy\u201d) is a catchphrase popularized by the Venerable Bruno Lanteri, an 18th<\/sup> century Catholic priest who lived in northern Italy.  It comes from the Latin Vulgate translation of Psalm 77:10.  It means, \u201cNow I begin.\u201d 

Rivers, a committed Catholic, made the phrase his own a number of years ago.  Nunc Coepi<\/em> \u201cis a never-ending beginning.  You are always beginning.  Now I begin again and again and again.\u201d

Rivers and his wife Tiffany are the parents of nine children, which essentially means they can field their own football team.  He says, \u201cIf you ask any of my children, \u2018What is Dad\u2019s favorite phrase?  What is our family phrase?\u2019 they would say it immediately.  I really try to apply it to my life all the way through as a dad, as a husband, in my faith, on the football field as a quarterback, as a teammate \u2013 anything you can do, you are always beginning again.\u201d 

This week, Rivers and my hometown Colts are definitely beginning again. 

Having squandered a 17-point second-half lead last Sunday to the Great Satan (sorry, I meant to type the words Pittsburgh Steelers<\/em>), Rivers and crew are now outside the playoffs.  There\u2019s just one weekend left to play, and the Colts will need help from other teams to qualify for the post-season.

Rivers, 38, is not fazed. 

Whether you win or lose, throw a touchdown or an interception, it\u2019s always time to move to the next step.  \u201cWe begin again,\u201d he says.  \u201cWe begin again.\u201d 

As a dad, Rivers coaches his kids to begin again whenever they struggle with their math, falter on a difficult test, face a towering stack of dirty dishes, or confront a pile of laundry.  \u201cIf you look at the whole big pile, it looks like a lot.  But if you just begin again, begin again, and begin again, you look up and then the sink will be clean and the laundry will be folded.\u201d

Nunc Coepi<\/em> is a crucial watchword for anyone who dreams of living a faithful life. 

January 1 is America\u2019s favorite day for New Beginnings.  \u201cStarting this New Year\u2019s, I will lose weight.  I will quit smoking.  I will keep a lid on my anger.  I will be patient with my spouse and kids.\u201d  But so often we frame such resolutions as Win\/Lose.  If we blow one of those promises \u2013 and usually we’re not talking about if<\/em>, but when<\/em> \u2013 our resolve may collapse like a house of cards. 

It can feel as if we\u2019ve gone back to Zero.  Now what do we do?

We first remember that an extraordinary proportion of everyday life is less-than-perfect.  Or just flat-out failure.  Our most earnest, heartfelt promises are never enough to keep us heading in the right direction. 

But when it comes to pursuing God, that\u2019s not fatal.<\/em>

Have I ever \u201csurrendered myself completely to Jesus\u201d?  You bet.  In fact, I\u2019ve done it several hundred times.  And every single time I absolutely meant it. 

You would think that at least one of those spiritual Final Decisions would have \u201ctaken.\u201d  But I\u2019ve always found myself in need of starting over.  Does that mean all my previous efforts were in vain? 

It took me a long time to realize this, but each of my previous this-time-I-really-mean-it moments was used by God to bring me to this moment<\/em>. 

And this moment matters because it\u2019s the only moment where I can experience, in the here and now, God\u2019s presence and power \u2013 even if I\u2019ve faltered in the past.

The Venerable Bruno Lanteri wrote, \u201cIf I should fall even a thousand times a day, a thousand times, with peaceful repentance, I will say immediately, Nunc Coepi<\/em>.\u201d  Now I begin again. 

Or as the gospel song puts it: \u201cA saint is just a sinner who fell down\u2026and got back up.\u201d

2021 is almost upon us.  Despite our fondest wishes, it won\u2019t turn out to be the perfect flip side of this very imperfect 2020.

But whenever we stumble, fall, or run into a roadblock of someone else\u2019s making, we\u2019ll know what to do.

Nunc Coepi<\/em>. 

Secure in the realities of God’s grace, power, and forgiveness, we begin again. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You would expect Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers to make public appearances wearing a cap with the team\u2019s iconic horseshoe.  But more often than not, the veteran slinger \u2013 who is about to finish his 17th season in the NFL \u2013 wears a cap that displays two Latin words: Nunc Coepi.  That hat \u201ctends to be on my head most… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":382,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[125,124],"class_list":["post-381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-beginning-again","tag-resolutions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=381"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":383,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381\/revisions\/383"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}