"Now is the acceptable time! Now is the day of salvation!" These words of Paul rank among his most quotable sayings, and are marked by a power of affirmation that clearly sees the meaning of the Old Testament accomplished in the mystery of Christ.

This "day of salvation" can be explained as the time between Jesus' life on earth and his coming in judgement at the end of the world. This period has already lasted for two thousand years. Whether it will continue for a long or short time, we cannot know, but we do know that it is a time given to us to complete our pilgrimage on earth and to respond to God's graces, so that we will be ready for death whenever it overtakes us.

We may also pay attention to the affirmation that the acceptable time and day of salvation are both "now". We can understand that Paul, like Jesus in the synagogue at Nazareth (Lk. 4), is calling upon us to live in the present moment, not to be always looking at the past nor over-concerned by some distant future that is not in our hands.