Always Joyful

“Look for Christ and you will find him, and with him, everything else.” C.S. Lewis

We look for many things in life and along the road. Universities, friends, careers among a host of other things that might make us happy. In my class, the topic was abstract nouns and words such as happiness, friendship, loyalty among other things became a topic of discussion. I traveled to my hometown recently to visit some people from my youth. What might have changed for all these people? It was interesting to watch them living a quiet life. It was interesting to see this peaceful existence but it also made me wonder if they were looking for more from their lives. Being happy is not the place, it is the person. We search for so many things, travel to so many places yet we still wonder why we might not be so happy.

“Cast yourself into the arms of God and be very sure that if he wants anything of you, he will fit you for the work and give you strength.” St. Philip Neri

It is a great sentence but not so easy to follow. Recently at mass, the homily touched upon Cardinal Josef Mindszenty. He was imprisoned in Hungary under communism. He warned against them and the fascists, too. His book, Memoirs is something to read. He had refused to eat thinking it could corrupt his mind. I could not imagine living like that. He suffered yet he continued to hold steadfast in his faith. He was isolated in freezing cells, put on trial in a kangaroo court and he lived in the embassy until he was exonerated. He is buried in the Basilicata in Budapest. I think these stories need to be told. They are witnesses for us. Another church leader who can be an example for us is Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster. He led the Archdiocese of Milan and he was determined to be an effective leader in a very turbulent time. He was part of the liturgial movement in Milan. Also, Cardinal Van Tuan continued to live his fatih while in prison in Vietnam. Mindszenty stated that one of the most dificult things to endure was his period without the Eucharist.

“You ask me whether I am in good spirits. How could I not be so? As long as faith gives me strength, I will always be joyful.” St. Pier Giorgio Frassati

We are all looking for something more from life. We want so many things. I thought about the Memoirs book written by Mindszenty. I immediately ordered it. I think about leadership in the workplace, in society and in where we are every moment in life. Leading by example is so essential. In a world and era that craves this leadership, there is only one leader for us. THe people around us need to point us in the direction of Christ because only He can give us this clarity. Cardinal Mindszenty recognized this in prison and over his 23 years of suffering. We need to look at our own lives and wonder where we can do better. Maybe we need to spend some time in silence and see what is really important for us.

“Nowhere other than looking at himself in the mirror of the Cross can man better understand how much he is worth.” St. Anthony of Padua