WITHOUT A PATH TO GOD
There are many people who are neither believers nor unbelievers. They’ve simply gotten themselves into a way of living in which the question of the ultimate meaning of existence can’t appear. More than unbelief, we should speak of these cases as a failure of the indispensable conditions for which the person could adopt a believing or unbelieving posture.
They are men and women who lack an «interior infrastructure». Their style of life keeps them from putting themselves into any kind of profound contact with their very selves. They never get close to the depths of their being. They aren’t capable of hearing the questions that arise from within themselves.
However, in order to adopt a responsible posture in the face of the mystery of life, it’s indispensable to arrive at the depths of oneself, be sincere, and open oneself honestly to life all they way to the end.
Behind the religious crisis of many people, isn’t there frequently contained an anterior crisis? If so many seem to be far away from God today, isn’t it because they’ve already distanced themselves from their very selves and have gotten stuck in a level of existence where God can no longer be heard?
When someone is satisfied with a wellbeing made up of things, and their heart is caught up only in worries of the material order, can that person possibly raise the question clearly about God?
When a person goes around always seeking immediate satisfaction and pleasure whatever the cost, can that person open themselves with depth to the ultimate mystery of existence?
When one lives deprived of interiority, forcing themselves to appear or present a certain image of themselves before others, can that person sincerely think about the ultimate meaning of their life?
When a person lives always knocked down by what’s going on around them, losing themselves in the thousand forms of escape and entertainment that society offers, can that person really find themselves and ask themselves about their final destiny?
«Make ready the way of the Lord». This cry of John the Baptist hasn’t lost its force. Whether we’re aware of it or not, God is always coming to us. We can again meet up with God. Faith can be awakened once again in our heart. What’s needed first is to meet up with our own selves with more depth and sincerity.
José Antonio Pagola
Translator: Fr. Jay VonHandorf
