THE REALITY OF LIFE

         “LIFE IS FOR ITSELF AND NOT FOR A SPECTACLE.”  This is a statement of Immanuel Kant, a great German philosopher, in one of his books.  Time and again I have reflected on what this statement really means.  Today, May 22, 2012,  I pondered on a sentence in a Meditation published by THE ANAWIM WAY booklet for the Easter Season, which reads: “Those who live for fame find life unsatisfying, while those who live for God and for others can be content even in a very simple and unknown style of life.”

            I was then serving as a Commentator in a Eucharistic Celebration at the St. Peter’s Metropolitan Cathedral  when these questions came to my mind:  “Am I doing this in order to be seen and heard and thus be praised?  Am I doing a mere drama or having a personal encounter with God whose presence in the Mass is a reality?  Deep in my thoughts I then realized the wisdom of Kant’s statement – that, indeed, what I was doing was a reality – an action of life which in itself has a value in the eyes of God though perhaps not in the eyes of men.  It dawned on me that my life is, indeed, a Gift of God, which  I should use not to glorify myself  but to do whatever I should do under the particular circumstances of my life in accordance with God’s Will.

            In God’s infinite wisdom and almighty power I do believe that I have been created as a unique human being.  No one else in this world can be exactly like me, and no one else can take my place at this point in time where I am and with whom  I am.  Hence, I am solely accountable to whatever I do now with the gift of life that God has given me.  It is a gift to be spent for what really matters in God’s eternal design and not just for a spectacle for others to see or hear.

            The question “What am I living for?” helped me to find a meaning in whatever I may  do with the gift of life that God has bestowed on me, because the  answer I got is in the  Song: “What am I living for, if not for You?  What am I living for, if not for You? JESUS, JESUS, no one else but YOU!  From then on the melody of this song with its lyrics kept ringing in my ears as I  walk along the street leading to the Cathedral.  I consider it now as the over-all goal of whatever I do, be it small or great in the eyes of men.  CHRIST now becomes for me the REASON for my existence.  Quoting  St. Paul: “FOR TO ME, TO LIVE IS CHRIST”. (Phil.1:21).  It is my conviction that Christ became Man, so that man can become like Him, a Son of God.  Hence, everything I do should be in accordance with what Christ wants, so I could become ANOTHER CHRIST like HIM.

by: Buddy Cagurangan

May 20, 2012