Late for bible study at a church in Plainsboro recently.

As I walked from my car to the church building, I heard the sweet sound of church bells chiming the mid-morning hour. What a beautiful noise! From the Catholic church down the street, Queenship of Mary.

And I was reminded of two things in that split-second: the strong, regular sound of the "Adhan" or Islamic call to prayer from the minarets in Jerusalem when I visited one summer. And the Catholic Liturgy of the Hours. In the latter tradition, the memorial is two-fold: a thanksgiving to God for the gift of our lives and a sober recognition that, with each passing hour, our natural end draws nearer.

And I wondered at the absence of such time markers at this Plainsboro church. Don't we all need a reminder that every moment is sacred and that this life is passing away?