FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK
Dear St. Mary’s Parishioners:
Permit to begin with a provocative question: Is life better with God or without? What would you say? Is a relationship with Him worth it or not? Let’s imagine for a moment that God is not important. The meaning of my life will be entirely of my own choosing. Without God as the source of my self-worth, I will quickly begin to compare myself with those around me. Who has the better job? Who has the most money? Who has the bigger truck? Who has the better looking body? Better clothes? Who has the better family? Better kids? Better husband? Better wife? It will feel like an endless game that never ends, with no real winner, no matter how much I achieve. There will always be someone with more. Without God, I must base my value in other external factors. No matter how hard I try, all of those things will eventually fade away. Hence, the preoccupation with always acquiring the newest and latest thing will become an obsession.
Without God, I must determine the purpose of my existence. I will forever search for the meaning of why I get up in the morning. I will travel the face of the earth, jumping from one experience to the next, hoping that if I keep moving, the hollow feeling in my soul might go away. Without God, I can fall into addiction more easily. Whatever that addiction may be, the result is always the same – for the pain to go away – at least for a brief moment. But the feeling always returns, doesn’t it? Even after years of doing the same thing over and over.
Without God, I become the king of what is right and what is wrong. I choose what is good and what is bad. No outside force can tell me how to live my life. At first, this way of living can be entertaining for a while, like eating ice cream for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The sugar rush eventually crashes and my body longs for true food. Without God, I only have my personal experience and feelings to lead me. As we all know, the human heart is fickle.
In other words, I dare say a life without God is like a dry, barren desert. I don’t know about you, but I don't want to live in a desert. I want my life to be like the first reading we heard at Mass today. From the Book of Isaiah, we heard the great prophet say, “The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song.” He is telling us that one day, God will send someone into the barren deserts of our lives. This mysterious person will give our lives a decisive new meaning and restore what was lost. This person of whom he speaks is none other than JESUS CHRIST! Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, the one whom God promised to send to save us centuries ago. It is he whom we seek when life becomes tired and hopeless. It is he, who reveals to us our true glory. Our value is not based on things or money, but rather on the fact that you and I are created in his image and likeness. That is why we are all here today. We rejoice with joyful song at the coming of the Messiah. It is he whom Our Lady of Guadalupe carries in her womb in that famous image. Look at her eyes; she looks down at the floor. Why? She recognizes she is not worthy to carry Him who will save us. My brothers and sisters, search no longer for the meaning of life. You have found him.
A Slave of Jesus Christ,
Fr. Brian J. Solive
