You may have
come across the book The Road Less Travelled, by M. Scott
Peck. He is a psychiatrist and a devout Christian. It is
a fantastic read and one of those books that I think everyone should
read. The book starts with one short sentence: ‘Life is
difficult’. Then he goes on to say that if you can accept the
fact that life is difficult, then it no longer matters, because
you’re not expecting it to be any different. We can then rise
above it. There is a lot of wisdom in that.
As a priest
people often come to me and tell me their problems. They are
not usually looking for an answer, but just someone to listen to them
who will not judge them. That is a privilege for me, because it
is a reminder that people see God in the priest in some way.
When I keep hearing all these different stories it reminds me that we
are all the same the world over. We all struggle; and no one
has it easy. Hearing confessions in any international place of
pilgrimage like Lourdes or Medjugorje is the same. You realise
quickly that people from all different parts of the world are all
struggling in the same way: problems with relationships, work,
marriage, addiction, finances. And somehow it is reassuring,
because it helps me to realise that this is what this life involves
so don’t expect it to be different. Now that is not just
being negative, but it is the reality of this life. What is
really important, however, is where it is going; the purpose of it.
When Jesus
asked his disciples who they thought he was, and Peter recognised him
as the Son of God, the first thing he did was to insist that they
tell no one. He wasn’t going to take the road of glory and
honour. The second thing he did was to tell them that he would
suffer greatly and die. And he then spelt it out for them: ‘If
anyone wishes to follow me, let him renounce himself, take up his
cross and follow me.’ He was saying, ‘The path is not easy,
but don’t be afraid of it because it is the most worthwhile path’.
The Lord is
teaching us that we will struggle, but there is a purpose to it.
In a mysterious way the suffering has its place. All the time
we are being formed; we are growing; we are learning to love and
serve; but as you know that doesn’t happen easily. When our
time of service is over the Lord will come and bring us home, unless
we have deliberately and consciously rejected him which I believe
very few people do.
I remember
when I was in school the time seemed endless as I didn’t like
school, but now it is almost forgotten. When I was in the
seminary for six years the time also seemed pretty long, but now that
is already 15 years ago. When our time on earth comes to an end
we will also look back and say, ‘Wow, it wasn’t really that long
after all.’ What is important is that it is heading somewhere
and there is a purpose to it, which is why we must try and hang on
and not give up when the going gets tough.
If we hope to
find complete happiness in this life, we will probably be
disappointed, because it is not to be found here. That was one
of the things that Our Lady said to Bernadette in Lourdes apparently:
‘I cannot promise you happiness in this life but in the next.’
That doesn’t mean that we won’t find a certain amount of
happiness and contentment; please God we will and much of it, but we
will never be completely fulfilled here. I think if we can
accept that it takes a lot of the pressure off. We just do our
best to love and serve for the time we are given here on earth, but
we also believe that the Lord Jesus is with us the whole time,
guiding us, teaching us, speaking to us; present to us in each mass
in an extraordinary way. So we know that we are not alone and
we need not be afraid.
The horrible
image of the crucifixion—which we have become so used to—also
tells us something very wonderful about God. It tells us that
God can be found in the midst of human suffering; that the Lord Jesus
knows what it is to suffer and feel abandoned by all, even by God
himself; and that when we are suffering we can be assured that God is
not just looking on ‘from a distance’ as the song says, but that
He is right there with us, helping us and encouraging us.
Life is often
difficult, but it has a purpose and the Lord is with us the whole
way.
‘If
anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and
take up his cross every day and follow me.’
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