Deacon Tom Anthony

It is very easy to say that we believe in God. Over 90% of the people in the United States of America say that they do. The challenge is to act on the statement and make it a central theme in our lives. If so many people do in fact believe in God then why are there so many problems in society today? It is almost like an after-thought that individuals make such a statement. They do not realize its implications. Believing in a creator indicates that we are all answerable to the one who brought us into existence. We are being watched over and guided in a particular way that insinuates that we have surrendered some aspect of control over our lives. The role of the creator might be defined differently by different people but the end result is the same: there is faith in something beyond this physical reality and we should all contemplate what it truly means.

In our lives we naturally struggle to control our actions in the present and into the future. There is an inclination to strive for some sort of freedom to pursue what we want to say and do. Happiness can be based on how much freedom we can actually achieve and is founded in the accomplishment of set goals that we put forth. An overall plan is naturally formulated that has its foundation in various tasks which are carried out daily. The more things that are completed to our satisfaction the more we feel content. When we are confronted with obstacles we spend time and effort to overcome these obstacles and continue our journey. The plan then continues forward with modifications and adjustments. Through it all, we become the central player in this design while those around us take a secondary role either supporting or interfering with it.

Some questions for all of us are these: “Where does God fit into this plan? What role does God have in our overall pursuit of freedom and happiness?” Unfortunately these questions are not asked enough. God is reduced to a secondary role and goes unrecognized as the one who created us. We become blinded by our own desires and reduce our creator to an inactive participant with no real influence. It is a natural phenomenon that is permeating throughout the world today. There is no reliance on God; only a passing recognition that he is out there somewhere. The results of this are evident everywhere by the presence of so much stress, anxiety, and perceived failure of the self and society.

We are not failures. We are human and with that reality we will make mistakes and will not accomplish anything to the perfection that we want to see. There will always be something that is missing from our lives; that missing piece of the puzzle that alludes us at every turn. It is a great mystery but is part of the human condition that drives us forward. We are sculptors working on ourselves; trying to mold ourselves into a masterpiece that we can put on display. Unfortunately, we are not perfect so our project will not be perfect. There will always be something lacking that will challenge us and prevent us from completing the project. We will convince ourselves to continue working on it but it will never be finished.

The reason for this is simple: we cannot complete it because we did not start it. God indeed created us and is continuing to shape us at the same time that we are struggling to participate in the process. There are two artists working on us at the same time; one is perfect and the other is not. We are actually struggling against our creator instead of letting go and letting him have a greater influence over the work that he started. This leads to conflict on a physical and spiritual level. Taking a moment to step back and release ourselves is exactly what we need to do so as to reach that perfection that we cannot reach alone.

Sacred Scripture offers us God's Divine Plan for humanity. Through it we can understand what God wants for us and can offer us an opportunity to discover how he is shaping us. It is the initial step in a relationship that is then strengthened through prayer and an understanding that he is with us in a loving way. We are an important part of this creation around us yet many of us don't realize it because we are too busy trying to change it with our own vision that at times doesn't even include God. Removing God and his love from his creation is a dangerous thing. A void becomes evident in our lives and everything around us. It is illogical to take away the only perfect thing in the universe and try to live without it. We are offered the perfect yet incline ourselves towards the imperfect.

To complete our plan we must welcome the perfect back into ourselves and let it influence everything that we do. That perfect is God and his love. We must embrace God and surrender everything to him. We will then have the answer to all the questions that we seek that usually include why we are here and how are we to be truly happy and content with our lives. Our own plans can then be redrawn with us taking a secondary roles while God becomes the primary mover. With him guiding us we will definitely be steered in the right directly. For he is perfect in every way, especially in the way that he loves us.

Deacon Tom