Monday of the Sixteenth Week of Ordinary Time

Today's Mass Readings

“What have I done to you, or in what have I offended you?” (Micah 6.6)

Whether you are young or old, you will come to find that, sometimes, life just doesn’t make sense. Events or circumstances happen that seem unfair and unjust. We wonder why God is allowing these things to happen at all. How hard it is to know how to respond and how to react.

When I first discerned monastic life at Conception Abbey, my former classmate named Lucan was a postulant in the monastery. We went for a walk during one visit, and he told me that monastic life was very intentional. This means it values giving meaning to experiences and the events one encounters in life. Lucan left the monastery before I officially joined. His insight into what monastic life means has always stayed with me. It applies to life’s events as well. Our intentions give meaning to life.

I’ve encountered this same topic from spiritual directors who have told me again and again, “life only makes sense if you give meaning to it.” Life won’t be always sunflowers and roses. You will encounter many obstacles as you go through life, and there will not always be a silver lining to the dark clouds that block your sunlight. We seek an obvious meaning to life and can’t always find it. Yet, God’s light is still shining, and no light is brighter than the lumen Christi, the light of Christ.

The meaning you give to your life is so important. Living your life as if it were just a random string of events will not lead to fulfillment. To say life “just is” is not a true answer. “Why am I here”, or “why are we here?” These questions cannot be answered simply by saying life “just is.” The miracle of life on Earth never was a guarantee. You will find meaning in life if you just look hard enough.

St. Benedict knew this well. That’s why he encouraged his monks to “test the spirits” when making decisions and to say that “God may have called” a monk to a monastery simply so he could give insight. According to St. Benedict, no coincidences exist. God acts in the world, and there is a hidden meaning to find. Let this call to intentionality educate how you view the world.

Reflection: How intentional are you in your life? How much meaning do you put into your life, or do you seek to find in your life? Turn your intentions to Jesus to be the meaning of your life.

Reflection by Br. Matthew Marie, OSB