I Am Nothing

            “I AM NOTHING.”  This is the thought which occupied my mind in the past two days and was further reinforced in the Concluding Prayer  in the Liturgy of the Hours this morning  which reads: “Our very existence is a gift from you, oh Lord; to you we offer all that we have and are.”

            This made me realize more fully my “NOTHINGNESS” … that without God I would simply be nothing.  This, I believe, must be the basic reason for the virtue of humility.  This also should be the basic reason to enflesh the virtue of forgiveness.

            If I am nothing; how can I be hurt?  The one who really gets hurt is God Himself, because He is my Creator, the Source of my existence.  Hence, forgiveness rests on God.

            What then should I do if and when someone hurts me?  I believe that I simply have to lift up to God whoever hurts me and pray that God would extend to him the grace of forgiveness.

            This full realization of my nothingness makes me acknowledge further my complete dependence on God.  Since I owe everything to Him, my life should be a constant act of thanksgiving, praising and glorifying God.            Everything I do must be according to God’s Holy Will and for His glory.  In other words, I should always be GOD-ORIENTED and not SELF-ORIENTED.

            This is an attitude which I should strive to develop by the grace of God, so that together with St. Paul I could say: “It is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me.” (Gal. 2:20)

by: Buddy Cagurangan

June 15, 2013