Christ is the center. With Him, through Him we grow. Without Him, we wither. With Him, we find meaning beyond ourselves, our place among His creatures. As Father Lang so skillfully explained in our parish mission, we are not enough for ourselves. God made His creatures, humanity, as a community. He did not make each of us as a complete set of all the talents, thoughts, skills, personality traits, that a human being can possess. We are made to interact, to complement each other. We are pieces that make up the puzzle of humanity, and humanity makes up the body of the Church. When we look only to ourselves for fulfillment and peace, we limit ourselves to only what we individually have to offer. We search for satisfaction. Satisfaction comes from achieving something, and when it is something larger than ourselves it stays with us and makes us grow.
Satisfaction gained from good, lasts. We understand good by realizing God’s thumbprint on our heart. God’s image, His thumbprint, manifests itself through mercy and love. Anger, frustration and feeling lost results when we as single human beings try to redefine and rationalize our own version of “good”. When we do that, we turn into ourselves in self love. Being self-centered almost always results in hurting someone else. In a full circle, when we hurt someone else it goes against what is in God’s thumbprint on our heart, thereby eliminating the chance for satisfaction.
Achieving satisfaction through good, brings us peace. Peace is the basis for true and lasting happiness.
Christ makes available to us the total of all in humanity. In Him we reach beyond ourselves. Without him we have difficulty in finding peace, we rob ourselves of finding the meaning of our existence. With Him we grow, without Him, we wither. Christ is the center.