WE ARE BLESSED
In following Jesus, we can be sure that we are on the right way, a path
that leads to true happiness.
At times, famous
men and woman are asked to name the most influential person in their lives. The
idea behind the question is that usually people do not rise to prominence
without the help of some significant person. We may not think of ourselves as
prominent, but as a matter of fact, we are very important in God's eyes.
The most
influential and significant person in our lives is Jesus Christ. He is our Way,
our Truth, and our Life. As Thomas á Kempis says in the Imitation of Christ,
"Without the way there is no going, without the truth there is no knowing,
and without the life there is no living." But in following Jesus, we can
be sure that we are on the right way, a path that leads to true happiness. In
embracing the truth, that is Jesus, we are certain that we have the correct
understanding of, and approach to, human existence. And by accepting Jesus as
the Life, we are made like Him, children of God, favored and beloved by God the
Father.
I used to travel
frequently by air at my former job, and I think about some of the bigger city
airports I have been through. They make a good analogy to a life without
Christ. Some airports are confusing, impersonal, and so-called madhouses. Amid
thousands of people, I can feel completely lost and alone. It is so large and
sprawling that I am lucky to find my way on time to the right place for the
departure of my plane. Isn't that a bad feeling? I'm sure we have all felt this
at some point in our lives.
Today's final word
in the Gospel is a memorable and comforting passage of Scripture: "I am
the Way and the Truth and the Life." With Jesus, we are not lost souls
amid a large crowd of people that we do not know. Rather, through Him we are in
union with an untold number of brothers and sisters in the family of God, the
Church. We are all on the same journey with the sure, safe, guidance of Christ
Jesus. Filled with the life of Jesus, we are already well on our way to our
eternal destiny. Jesus always invites us to trust in God rather than the powers
that be. Saint Bernardine, in the fourteenth century, accepted this invitation
of the way of Jesus and His truth. He is the Franciscan priest who invented the
familiar "IHS" monogram, derived from the first three letters for the
Greek name of Jesus. Bernardine didn't except the office of bishop which was
offered to him three times. He reminds us there are powers in this world
greater than the ones we count on. Bernardine was simply a loving servant of
God.