by Michael Podrebarac
Who am I? Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going?
Without our seeking and discerning careful answers to these questions, our lives will lack clarity beyond simply living in the here and now. And a life lived only for the here and now lacks a certain identity, an established foundation, the fulfillment of purpose and the hope of true vision. These questions are essential, and they demand conscientious answers.
Like with all matters of conscience, it is vital that we root our answers in objective truth. And the Mass is a storehouse of objective truth and lends itself to answering each of the four questions.
Consider just a few quotes from Mass itself.
Who am I? “That I have greatly sinned.” “You give life to all things and make them holy.” “We, your servants and your holy people.” “One body, one spirit in Christ.” “You have held us worthy to be in your presence and minister to you.” “You formed man in your own image.” “In you we live and move and have our being.”
These are truths about each of us.
Where did I come from? “You formed man in your own image and set humanity over the whole world in all its wonder.” “We have been restored to those gifts of yours that, by sinning, we had lost in disobedience.” “You have called us out of darkness into your own wonderful light.”
Our story is also proclaimed in the biblical readings of the Mass.
Why am I here? “We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks.” “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.” “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord in your life.” “For the redemption of their souls, in hope of health and well-being.” “Pleased to confirm in faith and charity” “The entire people you have gained for your own.” To know, to love and to serve the living God is the very truth of our existence.
Where am I going? “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.” “Order our days in your peace, and command that we be delivered from eternal damnation and counted among the flock of those you have chosen.” “A place of refreshment, light and peace.” “So that we may obtain an inheritance with your elect.” “Give kind admittance to your kingdom.” We have a destiny in Christ.
The Mass bears essential truths to tether us to truth itself. May we build from these words and so many others articulated in the Mass, the foundation of truth in our self-understanding and our quest for meaning.
