No Abiding City
"For here we have no abiding city, but we seek the one that is to come." Heb. 13:14
This time of the year can be for many somewhat disconcerting. As our children or grandchildren make their First Communion, receive their Confirmation or graduate from elementary school, high school or college, we see the movement of time in our lives. Wasn’t it just yesterday that we were holding them in our arms or walking them to their first day of school? How could time have passed so quickly? And how did our own lives pass so far, so fast?
We are never static. We cannot stay in one place or at one time forever. Rather the world is passing before us. But this is something not to be feared or mourned. Rather it is to be embraced and cherished.
The author of Hebrews tells us that we cannot stay in one place, because our home is not of this world. While it is good to appreciate the joys of the earth, we cannot hold onto them, for they are fleeting. And, they shall be replaced by the infinite joy of heaven. This is not our lasting home. Rather, we were made for the eternal Kingdom of Heaven with our God!
The Vatican II Constitution Lumen Gentium refers to us as a “Pilgrim Church.” Our whole lives (individually and collectively) are a journey toward God. Bede Jarrett, O.P. noted that we are not really “growing children,” but “travelers.” He proposed that the key to a happy journey is to always remember that we are traveling towards the greatest of destinations. Fr. Jarrett suggested that it is when we try to settle down that we feel the most pain and the greatest dissatisfaction. For when we do, we fight against the very hand of God, which relentlessly draws us to Himself.
The difficulty in being a pilgrim is not the journey. It is not even the rough terrain that must be traversed. The pain comes when we have lost sight of our destination or feel that we are lost and are wandering aimlessly.
On the LOTW weekend, we committed ourselves to a total surrender to God. This was but a new start to our ongoing journey. We refreshed ourselves at the well of God’s life-giving water and prepared ourselves to travel on. Are we using the means God has given us? Are we attending Mass frequently? Are we reading scripture and other spiritual texts? Are we meeting in small faith groups in order to receive from and give assistance to our sisters and brothers traveling with us? Are we constantly (daily, hourly) calling upon the power of the Holy Spirit to guide, guard and strengthen us?
Here we have no abiding city. We may not stay in one place, physically or spiritually. Rather, let us constantly move toward that heavenly city, that perfect vision, that state of absolute love and consolation.
+JITIY+ |
