Fr. Don's Daily Reflection - March 01, 2022
Psalm 62: “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from you.”
College men’s table conversation is often banter, talk about sports or what's going on this weekend. (Or about women.) So, it's surprising to join some students at table and have very articulate and unchurched Jake ask: "Why am I here?" By 'here' it’s clear that it's not about why he's eating in this place rather than at Joe’s Burger. It's more profound.
Having snagged a retired theology prof, Jake expects more. I try my best. "My belief is that existence is a gift, not something I asked for or was owed me. I see my existence as coming from someone or something, for me, God. Understanding it as a gift, I have, not always very faithfully, come to see consequences: I should value every moment and use it out of gratitude in a responsible and generous way. Going further, I see that the end of this existence will take me back to the One whose love brought me here in the first place. And so, at least in my better moments, I strive to live with trust, hope and generosity."
Though Jake might not answer the same way, he seems to have come to a similar answer. Now in his last year in college, he has been active in good causes and lives responsibly. Following graduation he will spend a year volunteering his time and abilities at a school in India. Though he might not articulate the answer as I did, doesn't his life demonstrate a recognition that existence is a gift whose meaning we find in how we live it? Francis, the Bishop of Rome, puts the emphasis on what we do for poor and suffering fellow human beings more than on how we formulate our beliefs. Below: another way to say this.
Evening
Here dies another day,
During which I have had eyes, ears, hands
And the great world round me;
And tomorrow begins another.
Why am I allowed two?
(G. K. Chesterton)
Psalm 27: “I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness / in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong; / be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord!”
