I listened to a Fr Larry Richards cd while we were on the road and a couple of things he talked about have been haunting me. First, what is life all about? and second, Why am I so judgmental? Answering the first question correctly and living it faithfully will take care of the need for the second question so here goes.
The purpose of life, according to the old Catechism, is to "know love and serve God". Simple, huh? Then why is there so much confusion in the world. Why have there been periods of confusion in my own life. I have gone through the stages of believing that life is about accumulating stuff, about being "happy" (whatever that means), about being successful, independent, and well liked. I spent quite a bit of time after college and in our early marriage working my tail off for 60+ hours per week with my eye on "the prize" - a promotion, a raise, or a big bonus. This effort did bring me some "success" but it came at a high cost. I missed many events, games, activities that my kids were involved and a plethora of extended family meals and events. My employer was good to me and compensated me well but I question how I could have been that blind to what was truly important.
Anyway, my faith life has been the center of my life for many years now. A couple of decades ago, after studying the Bible and Catechism extensively, I realized that knowing a lot about Jesus and about God and about Catholicism doesn't mean much unless all of that knowledge is rooted in a loving relationship with God through Jesus Christ. That "epiphany" came to me on the last day of Cursillo Weekend. Thank goodness for the holy people that put that weekend together and keep it going in our diocese today.
Understanding at the very core of my being that God loves me has become the touchstone of my life. Realizing that God wants that relationship with EVERY person on earth has directed much of my "knowing, loving and serving". My goal every day is to be a witness. People don't care how much I know unless that know that I care. People don't want to hear about Jesus Christ from me unless they can SEE what He has done for me. Our Church call this the "New Evangelization - letting our actions and our deeds speak LOUDLY.
In the next days and weeks I will be posting a great deal more about this. Our Pope has declared a "Year of Faith" to be celebrated beginning October 11th (the 50th anniversary of the opening of the 2nd Vatican Council and the 20th anniversary of the publication of the new Catechism). In the meantime, ask yourself "What is the purpose of my life?" Be honest with yourself and then, through prayer and time spent with God, become more and more the witness he created you to be.
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