TRUE LIFE | KAIROS GLOBAL | JANUARY 2022

Author: Anil Israel

intro: Anil Israel asks us to take stock of our lives. Do we live as princes and princesses of the heavenly kingdom or are we like paupers, blind to our royal inheritance?

We are born, we grow and we finally bid adieu. We dream, we pursue, we excel. We fall, we fail, we learn. Life can either make us or break us. Life is not what happens to us, it’s all about how we respond to what happens to us. We either think in terms of excuses and miss the fun or dare-to-explore the world of possibilities and enjoy the run. Do we just go with the flow or do we choose to row? Are we merely existing or are we truly living?

Many youngsters in developed countries opt to take a voluntary year off, after their schooling in a potential attempt to discover what they are meant for here on earth, before consciously following the call of their heart. Sadly, some on attaining adulthood, bring their childhood religious practices to a grinding halt, probably under inappropriate misguided peer-influence or a deliberate attempt to concede to one’s disillusioned ill-formed immature convictions or perhaps in response to their indigenous search for answers to a cloud of surmounting doubts. After all, no matter how tall one’s parents are in life, we all have our own unique share of learning and growing to do.

Even when surrounded by a strong circle of pious companions, it still takes time for one to reach a conclusion and admit that now is the acceptable time (2 Corinthians 6:2) for me to change. The unending list of countless blessings might have failed to draw our attention and we might have failed to see his power at work in us (Ephesians 3:20). We all need his merciful patience, for our response to his marvellous loving kindness (Psalm 17:7) is as if we are consistently stubbornly slow at heart (Luke 24:25).

We think we are trapped in the ‘dungeon of darkness’ and are unworthy to be in the presence of him who dwells in unapproachable light (1 Timothy 6:16). We tend to forget that for him who is the Light of the world (John 8:12), even our deepest darkness is like daylight (cf. Psalm 139:12).  We fail to realise that as children of light (1 Thessalonians 5:5) and co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17), we are indeed his offspring (Acts 17:28). We are sons and daughters of the Lord of lords and the King of kings (1 Timothy 6:15). We are princes and princesses of the heavenly kingdom. Yet we end up dragging our lives as if we are paupers, turning a blind eye to the riches reserved for us in the storehouse of spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3) – our royal inheritance. ‘We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures, we are the sum of the Father's love for us and our real capacity to become the image of His Son Jesus’ (Pope St. John Paul II).

We once met a religious sister, who left her country and joined a congregation on another continent with an altogether foreign language. While sharing her testimony informally she mentioned that she started discerning her vocation at age 21 and finally decided to join the convent at age 29. What struck me most was her humble confession: I am so bad. For 8 long years I said ‘No’ to Jesus. This made me ponder over all the times I too failed to say ‘Yes’ to the divine inspirations – the gentle promptings of the Holy Spirit. Christ has been waiting in the Eucharist for the past two thousand years. It is encouraging to see senior citizens with mobility challenges coming for daily Mass with their support strollers. Yet, how often have I rejected the one necessary thing (Luke 10:42) to be with him (Mark 3:14)? How often have I failed to watch an hour with him (Matthew 26:40)? How faithful am I to my pursuit of personal holiness? Do I own up genuine responsibility for the eternal salvation of my immortal soul?

Like the prodigal son, we too tend to return to our senses only when we happen to hit rock-bottom – having wasted every lavished blessing. What are the squandered blessings in my life? Do I turn a deaf ear to the early morning nudge to wake up a few minutes earlier than usual to start my day in a quiet time of prayer? Do I end up busying myself from dawn to dusk that I miss to read from the Holy Scriptures a nourishing verse or two? Do I just let things clutter my life that I end up having hardly any time for God? Am I just drifting through life, swayed by the winds of the world, that I am least bothered to approach the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16)?

Are we so distorted by a culture of rapidly changing lifestyles and superficially laced flavours that we crave only for that which gives us instant gratification? God always answers prayer. It is either no or go or slow. We cannot expect God to always answer now, for he alone knows what’s best for us and when we are ready to receive what he has kept in store for us. Being infinitely patient, he wants us also to learn to be unfailing in patience (2 Timothy 4:2). Waiting for warm water on a cold winter morning is a strong lesson on patient endurance (Hebrews 10:36). We can either take a hurried cold shower and grumble there was no warm water or just be a little patient for the initial cold water to give way to the warm water that will eventually follow.

This reminds us that in order to really cherish, we need to learn to pause and be still (Psalm 46:10). For it is when we are in silence that we can hear God speak.  We were delighted to be in a prayer session led by the Taizé brothers, where there were no explicit verbal instructions to keep silent. Only a couple of volunteers holding sign-boards that read ‘SILENCE’, represented a powerful reminder that ‘silence is God’s first language’ (St. John of the Cross).  

Your true life is not made up of the things you own, no matter how rich you may be (Luke 12:15). It’s not at all about temporal material possessions that will one day wither, decay and fade. It’s all about the priceless immaterial things that money can’t buy. It’s about sharing and caring, loving and forgiving, letting selfishness die and letting selflessness live to the full. In the ebb and flow of life, may we not forget to cooperate with the present moment grace and celebrate this ineffable gift (2 Corinthians 9:15) called ‘Life’.

We are more than conquerors through him who saved us (Romans 8:37). ‘Dear young people: do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away and he gives you everything. When we give ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ – and you will find true life’ (Pope Benedict XVI, Verbum Domini, 104).

Anil Israel lives in Mannheim, Germany, with his wife Sunitha and their 5 children. He is the current National Formation Coordinator of JY Germany.