The Southern Cross | August 2024

One of the earlier songs of the Irish rock group U2 was I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.

‘I have climbed highest mountains;
I have run through the fields
Only to be with you; Only to be with you I have run,
I have crawled, I have scaled these city walls. These city walls. Only to be with you.
But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.

I believe in the kingdom come.
Then all the colours will bleed into one. Bleed into one.
But yes I’m still running.
You broke the bonds. And you loosed the chains. Carried the cross.
Of my shame. Oh my shame. You know I believe it.
But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.’

Expressed in these lyrics is the yearning of the human soul that seeks and searches for fulfilment. Here is the understanding that the search is ongoing, lifelong and not immediately satisfied. Even when we do believe and are saved by Christ, the search and the journeying need to continue.

The Second Vatican Council referred to us as the ‘Pilgrim People of God’. As the people of Israel journeyed through the desert to the Promised Land, we are called to journey through this life seeking and building God’s Kingdom until in Christ it is fulfilled at the end of time. We believe in kingdom come, yes, but the openness to follow Christ, grow in faith and build the kingdom continues. Our final homeland is not here, so there’s always a sense that we haven’t found what we’re looking for. The human heart and soul always yearn for more.

In his message for World Day of Prayer this year, Pope Francis ‘invites us to reflect on the precious gift of the Lord’s call to each of us’. If only we can always see our lives from this perspective, that the Lord has a unique call and mission for us in this life. We need to break free from the superficial voices around us that continually say: ‘Do what you want to do. Be what you want to be, yeah.’ We are tempted to think that we can give meaning and purpose to our lives and find fulfilment wherever we choose. The only trouble is we can spend so much time and energy going from experience to experience and not being satisfied.

And here then is the truth about our lives that Pope Francis reminds us of and calls us to believe:

‘Hearing the divine call, which is far from being an imposed duty – even in the name of a religious ideal – is the surest way for us to fulfil our deepest desire for happiness.’

And then he continues: ‘Our life finds fulfilment when we discover who we are, what our gifts are, where we can make them bear fruit, and what path we can follow in order to become signs and instruments of love, generous acceptance, beauty and peace, wherever we find ourselves.’ And lest we think we lose our unique selves and surrender our freedom in following Christ, he says: ‘More than anyone else, Jesus respects our freedom. He does not impose, but proposes. Make room for him and you will find the way to happiness by following him.’

As we celebrate National Vocations Awareness Week from the weekends of August 3/4 to 10/11, we are called to recognise that God has a unique call and vocation for us. It began at our baptisms when we were all called to holiness and united together as the Pilgrim People of God to be on the mission of building God’s kingdom. And for the sake of the kingdom then our individual call is deepened. We are then called to the single life, marriage and family life, the consecrated life of sisters and brothers, the diaconate or priesthood. How important to see our lives from this perspective of God’s call to fulfilment and happiness by giving of ourselves, rather than from the narrow perspective of personal self-fulfillment.

Faith is required to sustain this vision of our lives from the perspective of God’s unique call, and faith is not sustained and cannot grow without prayer and worship. More than praying for ourselves, let us pray continually for our children and young people that they will hear and be open to the call of God echoing in their hearts. Let us continually encourage them, knowing that they can be no happier and more fulfilled than when they follow God’s call.

‘You know I believe it.’