The Worn and Torn Uncertainty

Author: Padre Alejandro Cortés González-Báez  

 

 

Some time ago I was quite rattled to hear an eight year-old girl tell me: "I have had some terrible moments in my life."
Without a doubt an eight year-old girl could have had terrible moments in her life, and sadly the happiness and joy of a family steeped in love is not known by many children; these unfortunates know quite the opposite.

It is no wonder that a very well-known prayer refers to our life as passing by the valley of tears. All of us have experience physical and moral pain in our lives, although in different degrees, so that it is so necessary to learn the tools to free us from these sorrows so that they do not consume us.

How unfortunate that the only certainties we have in life are they ones that give us fear. We know that we will die and everyday we grow older, with the accompanying consequences, limitations and weaknesses yet we avoid thinking of this. We prefer to close our eyes, bury our heads in the sand rather than face what could hurt us. Especially in this age we live in, with its emphasis on comfort and pleasure, beauty and physical excellence*. More than ever, having a chiseled stomach is the paramount goal of many.

Nobel -prize winning poet and writer Octavio Paz wrote:
I am man: I won't last forever
And the night is immense
But I look upwards:
The Stars write to me

Without understanding I understand
I am also the writings
And in this very same instant
Somebody is spelling me out.

Who is this "Somebody" referred to by the multifaceted (necesario?) poet? Is it the self-perfection of Random Matter of the Universe ? I am unconvinced by such an affirmation. There has to be a marvelous mind shaping what surrounds me, shaping me, and this is the image, this is the light which lets me know that we are not alone in this world. My life, with all its trials and tribulations is guided by a supernatural dimension, by He who created me. Then, at the end of the human voyage I will learn the "Why?" of the inevitable sorrows . My eagerness, my desire for happiness and for connection will transcend to the Infinite One and will overcome my temporary desires, the desires of someone limited.

All of us have experience the weariness of uncertainty, weariness of what we don't know, weariness of what make us afraid, yet I find tranquility knowing that I am loved by God who is also my Father. A voice once said that man is at his greatest, when kneeling before God.

Professing our Faith in God is not convenient in many of our surroundings, but he who dares will know the peace of certainty, understanding and loyalty.

Faith — It is a pity to see how abundantly many Christians have it on their lips, and how sparingly they put it into their actions. One would think it a virtue to be preached only, and not one to be practised. Jose María Escrivá. The Way. p. 579.