Saint Augustine famously wrote, in his Confessions, that our hearts are restless until they rest in the Lord. As college students, I believe this restlessness is something we feel constantly and acutely, if not consciously; After all, our restlessness drives us to get an education and to pursue our callings, whether we associate it with Christ or not. This restlessness is a gift from God, it leads us to His love. Nevertheless, it can be frustrating to feel as though we are wandering towards an ambiguous goal, an unclear goodness that seems to disappear just as we approach it. This week, as the semester becomes more difficult, I have been struggling with this frustration, and wondering the point of the work and, more importantly, what to do next. How do I get to the shimmering something at the end of the tunnel? I cried out to God about this, and basically begged Him to tell me my mission. Over the rest of the week, through several conversations and events, He made it abundantly clear to me that panicking is not how one finds his or her way. Rather, one makes his or her way to the Lord through love.
In the book Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse, a boy begins a journey to find the truth, and, when he reaches old age, he discovers it. He comes across an old friend, Govinda, who is still searching. Siddhartha tells him, “It seems to me…that love is the most important thing in the world. It may be important to great thinkers to examine the world, to explain and despise it. But I think it is only important to love the world, not to despise it, not for us to hate each other, but to be able to regard the world and ourselves and all beings with love, admiration, and respect”. Coincidentally, this relates directly to today’s gospel, Matthew 7:7-12. Here, Christ shares the “Golden rule”—“Do unto others what you would have them do unto you”. So perhaps this is the only true mission, to love the world and ourselves unfailingly, and act with love at all times.
Cailin Class of '16
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