IT would be dishonest for us to say that we wouldn’t want an easy life.
Who wants to be poor? Who wants to struggle all the time? Who does not want to enjoy some pleasures of life?
Even the poor nun who ministers to people living in squatter areas desires comfort and release from seeing pain and poverty. By the fact that she dedicates her life in assisting the poor and the sick, she’s claiming that she does not want people to suffer.
Assuming that all people enjoy comfortable lives, is this all the meaning of life and the answer to all our quests? Wouldn’t there still be angst for something more fulfilling and enriching? What would that be?
In our hearts where the Law of God is written there is hunger for self-realization that can only be achieved by loving and serving our fellow men and women. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength…You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself,” the Lord God said in his covenant to us, his people. He has engraved this Law in our hearts, and this is why our hearts will remain restless until they rest on and fulfill this Law.
But the Law of God entails self-emptiness or self-sacrifice. We cannot give or serve until it hurts. Greed, corruption, selfishness, and indifference have to die in our hearts. As the Gospel this Sunday relates, “…unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat, but if it dies, it produces much fruit.”
Now, for some people the Law of God that is grounded in love is too difficult to practice. This is evident by crimes, poverty, inequality and injustice that abound in our society. The lack of faith in God and fear in Him, the inability to let go of pride and jealousy, and the unwillingness to share God’s blessings with others prevent many people from fulfilling God’s Law.
During this time of Lent, we need to reflect on how we have responded to the hunger of heart to find meaning and self-fulfillment that cannot be obtained from self-preoccupation. As we approach Holy Week, we contemplate on the life, suffering, and death of Jesus Christ, our Lord. As the Son of God, he has shown us the Way and Meaning of Life. In self-sacrifice we find meaning, in death to one’s self we find salvation, new life, and true joy!
Have a Blessed Holy Week!
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Reverend Rodel G. Balagtas attended St. John Seminary in Camarillo, California and earned his Doctor of Ministry in Preaching from Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, Missouri. For twenty years, he has been in the parish ministry of large multi-cultural communities. Since 2002, he has been the pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Los Angeles. Please email Fr. Rodel at [email protected].
