A spiritual train of thought came to me at a Mardi Gras parade last month. To understand, you’ll have to endure a bit of explanation. Bear with me. Mardi Gras parades are not traditional parades where viewers watch and wave and riders ride and wave. Mardi Gras parades are interactive events. As the floats roll by, people are jumping up and down with hands held high in the hopes that they will be the lucky recipient of a “throw.” A throw is an object that the masked riders, well, throw. Throws traditionally include plastic necklaces, plastic cups with the “krewe” logo (A krewe is the organization putting on the parade), stuffed animals, plastic swords, cheap wooden spears – in other words, pretty worthless junk. But nevertheless, it is the loot each spectator wants. Actually that’s not true; he just wants to “get it.” Once in hand, the thrill is over. Without even a backwards glance, the throw is tossed it into a big pile of other throws and the spectator’s eyes move skyward in search of more. The whole value of a throw is from the brief couple of seconds it leaves the riders hand until it reaches a victorious grasp. After that, its usefulness is complete.
It occurred to me that this is exactly how mankind is valued by Satan. Again, bear with me. The value of a soul to the devil is from the time he or she first begins believing that the world offers more than God. The devil will spend hours, days, years grooming the soul to believe he or she is justified in their grudges, only need to be true to themselves and can accept or reject Truth based on their own truths, desires and wants. He reinforces all efforts by the soul to become his or her own god free of the burden of faith in God or content with his or her own version of God. Then, when the soul finally turns completely from the Truth choosing instead his or her own values molded by the flesh, the world and the devil, Satan grasps the soul in victory. And just like the throw, the soul is immediately tossed into a big pile never to be thought of again. Because you see, the devil has no desire to spend eternity with this soul, he only wants to “get it” so he can make sure his hated enemy, God, does not. The sinner is nothing more than a means to an end.
In our search for love and happiness, it is so easy to succumb to the empty promises of the world and ultimately, our destruction. Who among us has not bought into, to some extent, the culture of sex, drugs and rock-n-roll only to find that we are even more unhappy than before? This is because we believed the lies. It is possible to separate ourselves from the crowd and be the unique, special and very important person we have always yearned to be.
Here’s the secret they don’t want you to know: God, the Creator of the Universe, the One who always was and will always be, the One who designed the stars, the Sun, the Earth, the animals, the plants and all the systems that operate them, created you. Why? Because He thought you are a good idea and would fit perfectly into His Kingdom. The same goes for each and every one of us who ever was and ever will be. Can you believe this? Can you believe that God specifically thought of you and decided, Yes! You must be born! He will be good for my Kingdom. She is a perfect for my Plan.
You did not just happen; you were chosen to be created.
Psalm 139: 13-16
“You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works! My very self you knew; my bones were not hidden from you, When I was being made in secret, fashioned as in the depths of the earth. Your eyes foresaw my actions; in your book all are written down; my days were shaped, before one came to be.”
Does this mean we are to be God’s puppets? By no means! It means He who created all deemed each of us so important to His Plan, that He is individual with every soul placing him or her precisely where that soul will grow and love. God, who is perfect in Himself in need of no one or no thing willed Himself to need each individual to help Him fulfill His Plan for creation.
So, how do you want to view yourself? As a means to an end? A strand of worthless beads tossed into the pile? A number? Or, would you rather take your rightful, special, unique place as the individual fashioned by the Creator to be exactly who you are, with all your own individual traits, specifically born in the time, place and into the lives of the people that God Himself chose just so that in your own unique capacity you can cooperate with the Creator of All to achieve His Plan of Perfection?
A no-brainer right? Then why do we so often choose to exist as zombies following mindlessly the fickle whims of pop culture and measuring our worth based on what "they" say we should be? We don't even know who "they" are. Why do we listen? Why is it so darn easy to choose the wrong path? The Catholic Church gives three reasons: the flesh, the world and the devil. The original sin of the flesh draws us to our base instincts, the secular enticements of the world dazzle and beguile our desires for happiness, and the devil uses all the power at his evil disposal to convince us that God is not who He says He is.
The logical next question is why would God allow these three reasons to keep us from Him? Because, He has created in each of us ALL the skills and talents needed to overcome these negative forces. We will be victorious against them. There is, however, a catch. To understand and utilize these skills and talents we must CHOOSE a relationship with God. It HAS to be our decision because God does not want a realitionship with mindless zombie puppets. He wants willing cooperators.
We were not created to live on our own. God desires to live within us and guide us to our unique purpose. He can do all on His own, He has chosen not to. The upside for us is He ONLY wants what is good for each of us individually and He desires it for us for ALL ETERNITY. He WANTS to spend eternity with us . . . with you!
So now that we know we cannot achieve our unique individual greatness without God, how do we cooperate with Him? We use the resources He has given us. The resources He provided are the Scriptures and the Church.
Jesus Christ died on the cross and returned to His Father but He did not leave us on our own. He left us the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, to instruct, enlighten and guide us. This is clearly stated in the parable from Luke 16: 19-31 in which Jesus tells of a rich man who lived his life “of the world” and soon realizes his error when after death he finds himself in the netherworld. When he asks Abraham to take pity on him, he is told it is too late. When he then asks Abraham to warn his still living brothers of their fate if they do not turn to God, he is told, “They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.” The man protests and says, “If someone dead goes to them they will repent.” Abraham ends the discussion with, “If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.”
Following God on His terms is difficult yes, but with each step through the unknown to the KNOWN, we have a companion. God, through the Blessed Trinity, stoops down from Heaven to walk with us, talk with us, tell us what we are to do and why He thinks we are such a good idea.
Separate yourself from the crowd and struggle to enter the narrow gate to your greatness.
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