GOSPEL MATTERS: What was I made for?

By Dr Christine Wood, Director of the Office of Evangelisation & Catechesis

Billie Eilish’s Grammy winning ballad, ‘What was I made for?’ closes with these poignant lyrics:

Think I forgot how to be happy
Something I’m not, but something I can be
Something I wait for
Something I’m made for

Indeed, what are we made for? This is the perennial question at the heart of every man, woman, and adolescent.

If we turn to Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars recent pop song, ‘Die with a smile’, we’re presented with a somewhat inadequate answer to the question:

If the party was over and our time on Earth was through
I’d wanna hold you just for a while and die with a smile

This song strikes a chord since no one wants to be alone, especially in death. Likewise, authentic love bears a foretaste of the eternal. But ultimately, nothing and nobody in this material world can fulfil the longing in our hearts.

Popular culture gives us a clue to the deep yearnings of the human heart. But all too often this same culture falls short of delivering genuine answers.

We were made for “life without death, joy without sorrow, that place where reigns sovereign freedom, free security, secure tranquillity, delightful happiness, happy eternity, eternal blessedness, the vision of truth and praise”.

St Thomas Aquinas articulated those words in his ‘Prayer for the Attainment of Heaven’. This poetic vision was his way of expressing the soul’s ultimate union with God in eternal life. “Where you, O Lord, are the pleasantness of spring, the radiance of summer, the fecundity of autumn, and the repast of winter.”

As we journey through Lent, it’s worth considering what would fulfil our heart’s ultimate desire, and take a serious look at what God offers through his Son, Jesus Christ.

If I could make a recommendation, it would be to make the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) a serious part of your prayerful reflections this Lent. Jesus calls us to a new relationship with God.

How should we live? Repent from sin: turn away from those behaviours that rupture our relationships with God and others. Turn towards God, asking for forgiveness and the helps necessary to keep following Jesus.

A thorough examination of our lives, and having true remorse for our sins, should lead us to approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Trust in God is essential for mental and spiritual health. Trust is fostered by daily prayer and thanksgiving to our heavenly Father for his abundant blessings upon us.

Jesus said, “do not be anxious about your life…. Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”