The Purpose
There is something very special about having family pictures! They bring up fun memories, sad memories, good times, and hard times too! Why do we take pictures of these moments? I think simply we want to recall these memories, especially the happy ones, and it helps us to be grateful…it reminds us that every moment is special and that we should not take any moment for granted.
I am sure we can all think of days when we wish that time would just stay still forever in that moment. Maybe you were enjoying a nice fresh glass of lemonade and you were watching the sunset with all the beautiful colors, and you just wish that moment would last forever. You may even “take a picture” in your mind of that moment when everything is calm and peaceful. These are the times that remind us of heaven and our longing for heaven. In these moments that we wish would never end, we need to recall that God is somehow present in that moment. It is a very special moment that needs to be treasured.
What about in our Spiritual life? Do we seek that relationship with the Lord that will have no end…that will last for all eternity? As we all know, the Spiritual Life is not a “bowl of cherries.” Spiritual Life is hard and it takes work. Taking time to spend with the Lord is hard work. The hard work of prayer and the hard work of a career have differences. The hard work of prayer, you do not always see the results, and if there are results, they are not always on an external level. The hard work of prayer does not get you a pay check. But what does the hard work of prayer help us to do? It helps us to become saints. It helps us to love God and love neighbor! Prayer helps us through the storms of life. Prayer draws us into a deeper love; a more generous love! The hard work done in a career; you mostly see the results externally. People affirm you, you have the ability to rise up in the company. Most of the time, it is easy to devote our lives to something we can see such as a career. However, things that we cannot see, or do not always understand, like prayer, it is a lot harder to devote our lives to. So, what can be done?
You and I have been created by God for a purpose. This might shock you a bit but our purpose is to be loved by God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states this beautifully:
“God has no other reason for creating than his love and goodness” CCC 293
It was out of God’s great love that He created. Our purpose is to respond to His love.
So how do we do that? If our purpose is simply to respond to His love, how do we do that? By knowing, serving and loving.
1) Knowing: You cannot love that which you do not know. There are people in our lives that we just sense something very special in them and we want to get to know them. Perhaps it is a future spouse, someone you work with, someone you care for, and you want to get to know them, what are their likes or dislikes. What makes them happy or sad? You want to know who they are, or where they came from, or what their upbringing was like, or what do they like on their pizza, etc. As we get to know them, we experience something very special - relationship. Relationship is so important. We need to be able to share ourselves with others. We cannot hide because God never hid from us but revealed Himself to us as the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He wants to be in relationship with us!
2) Serving: It is hard to serve! Serving takes effort; it takes sacrifice; it takes a generosity that goes beyond the minimum requirement. Are we willing to serve without getting anything in return? Jesus came as the model of service for us. He could have come as a King with many servants and a big castle. Instead, He came ready to give. A person who serves is a person who is willing to give; to self-sacrifice. That word sacrifice is a hard one for all of us. Sometimes an act of sacrifice can seem like an inconvenience. Sometimes, the ways to serve come at the most inconvenient times! Yet those are the moments that test our love and fidelity to truly living the Gospel. And when we serve, we should not look for a thank you, but we should serve simply out of love and our reward will be great in heaven.
3) Love: I will refer to St. Paul with this one:
“Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).
Some of you reading might be saying, “I loved someone, and I just got hurt, how can I love again?” I would say, look at Jesus on the Cross. The same thing happened to Him. He loved and got hurt…very hurt. However, did that stop Him from loving? No. Neither should we stop loving either. Anyone who has hurt you, bring them before the Lord. Give them to the Sacred Heart of Jesus…that is love.
What is our purpose? To be loved by God and to respond to His love with love. How do we do this? Through knowing, loving, and serving Him. This will mean generosity and sacrifice, but in the end, it is all worth it and we will enter into eternity where there will be no end to the joys and happiness.
