Firstly, it’s good to be able to share our human struggles such as anger management as we journey through life not as passive observers but as human beings who search for what is true, good and beautiful. Given that it’s a journey, we will always feel that we are not there yet! Somehow, it’s always works in progress. Thus the first emphasis is not whether we got it right but how we keep this desire burning and our search honest. Where we fail, we start again.

Secondly, with respect to anger, it’s quite common that people automatically think that anger is wrong. Yet, this is not the case. What’s more important is to listen to the anger that we carry to recognise the sign it’s giving us and then identify what kind of action we need to take in order to choose what is good.

Anger from an overload of work

For example, I might be getting angry and worked up because I am too loaded, becoming tense and don’t have the energy to deal with my commitments or with the people who are closest to me. In this case, it might be necessary to check whether I could find a better balance in my daily or weekly schedule, or find some time for exercise to release the tension in a good way.

Anger from injustice

I might be getting angry because of the injustice that I see around me, or when I see someone hurting another person, or else someone is taking advantage of me and not respecting my dignity. In this case, this anger is giving me the necessary energy to address injustice and improve things. Here I would need to channel my anger into good initiatives. I need to challenge injustice without resorting to violence or taking the law into my hands.

Anger from being self-centred

Yet it could be the case that my anger arises because I think that the whole world should revolve around my needs and I’m becoming self-centred and angry when I’m not the centre of attention. In this case, I would name my anger for what it is, and find ways of diffusing it to strengthen my outward and self-giving self.

You also refer to our experience of yearning for good but find ourselves doing wrong. Beyond what was said above, I would add two things:

We are on a journey which takes time

i. Keeping in mind the idea of a journey, one of the challenges but at the same time wisdom in life, is how to deal with the process. While keeping to our struggle for what is good and just, we should do that with a sense of realism. The good seeds need a lot of cultivation before they grow and produce the desired fruit. We need to allow time for the process, both with respect to our own growth and that of others. Sometimes, when we forget God’s gentleness and mercy, we can become too harsh with ourselves and with others. Rather we should keep our ideals in focus while identifying the next good step to reach there. In this way, we avoid being overcome by discouragement and frustration or indifference and relativism.

We have our human limitations

ii. Like St Paul, we also experience our limits. “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.” (Romans 7,19). This experience of Saint Paul is important because it gives us the right direction of seeking for what is good. It is not through our own strength on its own, not through presumption and a sense of superiority, but in humble trust in the Lord’s strength and courageous generosity on our own part. “Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7, 24-25).

Managing Anger

Feelings such as anger are signs.  Rather than feeling guilty about them, we should:
– attend to feelings, listen to them, recognise them for what they are;
– humbly embrace them and recognise our fragility;
– recognise what they might be telling us and direct our attitude/behaviour in line with our beliefs and values.
– not get discouraged by our imperfect results, both our results and also those of others.
But rather pray to God and let God’s mercy be like a balm that heals and renews our ability to love, our ability to start again.

Updated: 1st February 2021
Catholic anger management.

Read more from Fr Jimmy Bonnici:
– Feeling Insecure – Love as the Greatest Security
– Comparing Myself to Others – How to Stop

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Lesson 1: Learn To Face The Different Seasons Of Life

Joseph is the son of a farmer. He starts his life lessons from the field by remembering his father: “I learnt everything from my father. He was a man of few words but he was willing to teach me all that he knew. And I was willing to learn. Joseph says that the first lesson he learnt in the fields was the need to face the different seasons; both the different kinds of weather as well as life’s seasons: “As a farmer you have to face all that happens in nature; the sunny days, the cold weather, flooding, drought, heat. Anything can happen in the outdoors so these conditions have to be faced. Farmers also work long hours. We usually stop either because the sun is going down or because we are tired and need to rest.”

Lesson 2: Let Go Of Certainty, And Take Life As It Comes

Joseph states that life as a farmer is hard and there is no guarantee that things will always turn out well just because one has invested in them. One has to be ready for disappointments: “Life in general is intrinsically hard. Making a living out of farming is also very difficult. There are no guarantees. You sow seedlings, you sow a tree or a sapling, but there is no certainty whether you will have fruit. One can never tell. You sow some potatoes in good weather, a month later you see them sprout, and grow. Then one sunny day you find them black with potato blight.”

Lesson 3: When Things Go Wrong, Pluck Up Your Courage And Start Again

Last February, Malta was hit by a very bad storm. “I’ve never seen such bad weather in my whole life says Joseph. “I’ve seen some bad damage caused by weather in my work with the Civil Protection. So I could anticipate what I was going to find in my field. When I got there I started crying like a child. All the work and investment I had put in it were lost. All the crops were destroyed. Yet, in moments like these you have to pluck up courage.

We had to double our expenses this year. At least the crops which had not yet sprouted before the storm, were saved. Thank God we redeemed the expenses, even though we did not get any money for the hours of work which we put in. All farmers go through such periods. I am not on my own. But each farmer still feels the loss.”

Lesson 4: Speak Up In The Face Of Injustice

Joseph describes how hard it is for the Maltese farmer to make ends meet despite the subsidies they get: “I am a part-time farmer which has its advantages. I have more security because I know that at the end of the month I have a secure wage from my other job. But for the full-time farmer it is different. There are days when this farmer takes nothing home, and then his family will also suffer. I know of such situations where full-time farmers and their families pass through very difficult periods and find it hard to make ends meet because they would have made expenses and got nothing in return.”

Joseph says that part of this issue is related to the way the Maltese wholesale farmer’s market known as il-pitkalija is run. “The present system favours the middle man and not the farmer. Joseph explains how this situation also makes it harder to attract young people. “Some lose heart before having even started, especially when they see their parents being offered very low prices for their produce at the wholesale market.”

The work is hard and since fields are sometimes divided between several children, the land left for each individual is not large enough to support a family. One might survive, but will definitely not earn a decent living that is enough for one to live with dignity. In Malta it is also difficult to sell directly to the consumer unless there are family members who can help, because you are either going to work on the farm or focus on selling the produce and keeping up your stall. From what I have seen other farmers doing, it is difficult and this has been the case so far.”

Lesson 5: Learn From Your Mistakes And Move Forward

Joseph believes that when one is faced with a very bad situation one has to work out a way to move forward. “When I experienced this adverse situation at the wholesale farmers’ market, I felt as if I had my back to the wall. I was determined to change my situation. So I spoke to a friend of mine who was a full-time farmer and suggested we try to look for a new opportunity to sell our produce. At first he was reluctant but eventually he agreed to try and improve our conditions. We made contacts through the internet and then went abroad to make new contacts.

Today we are selling potatoes directly to a retailer overseas and have been doing so for the third consecutive year. We are happy to have arrived so far and to have made our farming viable. We also believe that by selling our produce abroad we are giving more opportunity to other Maltese farmers to sell their produce locally.”

Joseph emphasises how important it is not to repeat the same mistakes as a way of moving forward: “You keep growing from experiences and mistakes only if you are willing to learn. Sometimes you need to change your ways to be able to move forward.”

Lesson 6: Respect Rules, People’s Dignity & Be Aware Of Others’ Needs

Joseph is a firm believer that rules and instructions on the use of pesticides should be followed strictly. “Restrictions on pesticides are essential for people’s safety. Pesticides have to be used responsibly according to the instructions and within a safety period. We are monitored by a foreign entity called GLOBALG.A.P We are proud that throughout these years our results were always negative, that is, without pesticides or negligible amount.”

Joseph says that to live in harmony with others we have to show solidarity with the people around us even in farming. “You also have to realise that you are not alone. If there are farmers around me who are cultivating organic produce it is important that I do not use pesticides on a windy day.”

Lesson 7: Learn To Be Flexible, Patient And To Adapt

Joseph continues with his life lessons from the field and describes how every farming year has a different story: “Every field has its own story and every farming year is different. You do different things and try different methods. If you were to keep a diary and try to repeat what you’ve done the previous year, you won’t succeed.

The farmer has to be flexible. The methods may be the same but one has to move according to the weather. The soil might be colder than the previous year or the weather might be different, so the final product and the abundance of fruit or vegetables will also vary. You have to be patient and learn to adapt! If you planned to work in your field today but the weather is not favourable, you have to be willing to change your plan and go on another day. If you are hard headed and insist on sowing on a day which is not good for sowing, you will bear the consequences.”

Lesson 8: One Does Not Reap, If One Does Not Sow

Joseph explains how in farming you reap what you sow, happens literally: “What you do badly today, you will bear in your fruit. If you have sown in muddy soil, the earth will harden, the soil will break, and the potatoes will go green. You also cannot force something to bear fruit before it is time.

You have to be patient. In farming you have to work and nothing comes out of nothing; there are no half measures. You cannot take short cuts and for example water your crops in the sun because it is a convenient time for you. Water has to be given in the evening, when the sun goes down. Even when you pick the potato crop; if you do it on a very hot day, or in sunny weather, you would take it out from the cool soil directly into the hot sun. This will spoil it and it turns black. This happened to me once. We noticed a smell of boiled potatoes and could see water oozing out of the potatoes. We threw away 100 boxes of potatoes which could have been sold. I was very sorry about it but I also learnt through the experience.”

Lesson 9: Learn To Work With Others

Another life lesson from the field is that Joseph says that in farming you learn to work with others; collaborators or farmers: “You have to learn to cooperate or to reach a compromise. You need to appreciate the strengths of the other person and respect the weaknesses and/but also to be aware of your own strengths and weaknesses. You cannot agree on everything, even with those closest to you. Sometimes you need to learn to be silent, or give the other person enough time to realise that he is making a mistake, or to learn from his experience. You also have to let others try to do things their way and not only do things the way you want.”

Lesson 10: Everything Comes From God

Joseph is Catholic, “I have faith in God and believe that he helps us. Yet, I did go through a rough patch with my faith when I lost my brother-in-law. He was a kind hearted twenty-nine year old young man who wouldn’t kill a fly. He was ill and suffering so much that I prayed that he would die. When he passed away a hospital chaplain told me to trust because “God knows what he’s doing. But I couldn’t understand God’s ways at the time and these words made me angry. His death at such a young age shocked me and I protested with God. He had three children and I helped in the upbringing of one of his children. It was only when I saw this family settle in a new life that I started to heal.”

Joseph also sees God in nature: “I also see God in nature, with every different sunrise and sunset. I am grateful for each day; grateful to wake up healthy. Everything comes from Him.”

Lesson 11: Do Whatever You Can Do, Don’t Wait For Someone Else To Do It

Joseph believes that we can all do something for nature. “Today we see many positive posts about farming and trees etc on Facebook, but we need to do something in real life. All of us can have a plant at home, or plant a tree. I like to take photos of young trees so that in twenty years time I can look back and see how much these trees have grown. If we just sit down and chat, nothing happens.

These are my life lessons from the field.”

Read more:
– Frate Jacoba House – An Experience Of Faith and Farming
– Course: Developing Environmental Responsibility

The post “I Was Raised on the Farm” – 11 Life Lessons From the Field appeared first on Universe of Faith.

Grace comes to meet us with the gentle and encouraging presence of the gardener as described in Luke 13, 6-9: “Give some more time” … “I will give the necessary nourishment, encouragement”. There is always time for hope. Hope fertilises time and then fruit can blossom.

Understanding what is and what’s not wasted time

I have a challenging situation to face but I find myself going on social media. Already 20 minutes wasted. Avoidance sent me offroad. Then procrastination invites me to focus on other things “to do . They all seem to be urgent. Soon the day is over leaving me with the feeling that I wasted the necessary time for what’s important. At other times I get the feeling that I am wasting time when it might not be the case. Rushing from one thing to another, maybe feeling important because of feeling busy, I find it difficult to stop and play with my children, with my nephew and nieces. While eating with spouse or friend, I try to finish another email “not to waste time . And prayer feels like wasted time as the “to do list scrolls up while trying to be silent. Up to the point of feeling guilty of taking a holiday. Sometimes we invest in a relationship and, in some way, it comes to an end.

Was it wasted time? Is the water that slips through our hands necessarily wasted? Staying with our experiences of “wasted time can be very revealing: not only of the sources of our frustration but also of the life-giving ones. 

Understanding struggles related to time wasting – “Give some more time

One of the sources of our struggles is the mentality “I want it all, I want it now . We might panic because we did not do everything: “I did not read everything , “when I made a choice for one thing I missed many opportunities . If the online world gives us immediate access to information, it is also accompanied by the fear of missing out. The fear of not reading every piece of news or information, or missing a rewarding interaction continues to feed our anxiety.

Grace gently pricks the balloon and saves us from the suffocation of living inside of it. “Give some more time enables us not to value our life in terms of immediate success or failure, of accumulation and achievement. Grace opens up new vistas. There is someone who cares. There is room for trust. Giving time for growth makes growth possible. Be open to give fruit, but time invested in roots in not time wasted.

Spiritual tips to deal with wasting time in your life:

1. Start by being thankful:

Find time to be thankful for time given, for what you learnt from your mistakes, for the patience you experience by someone else, by God who is giving you time again and again, today.

2. Confront guilt and be open to the words of the gardener “give it some more time :

Sometimes we need to confront guilt. It is true that we have to face our responsibilities. And we should be thankful for family, friends and colleagues who help us not to avoid it in a wishy-washy way. But in the context of grace we can overcome that kind of guilt that blocks us into more inaction. Bring to mind those gestures of care, patience, and love that give encouragement, open you up towards the future, fill you with hope. Saint Francis said to his companions that they should never let anyone go away from in sadness. Everything you say must be an encouragement. As the late Cardinal Godfried Danneels said, “those who crush hope take away the joy of life, creativity, and imagination. And that, it seems to me, is fatal to the Kingdom of God in our times . Confront the guilt that leads to discouragement and be open to the words of the gardener who out of manure nourishes the roots, and out of our death brings new life.

3. Appreciate the time given today:

Instead of regretting wasted time, appreciate the time given today. Appreciate the trust invested in the seed, the investment and patience in a tree to bear fruit that I might not see. The limited time given to me now, is a gift. A gift by the One who is taking care of the bigger picture.

This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realising that.
(Prayer attributed to Oscar Romero)

4. Forgive:

Overcome regret over wasted time by forgiving. One of the paradoxes of the Christian message is that of forgiveness. Lack of forgiveness , out of concern for the good wasted , leads to more blockages and thus no fruit. Whereas when God forgives, the giftedness, goodness increases.

5. Give time to find balance:

The parable of the gardener giving more time to the fig tree is immediately followed by the woman healed from a “spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years . Jesus, the risen “gardener , freed her on the Sabbath. It’s the day celebrating God’s rest. It’s the day of finding the balance (work and rest), the day for cherishing the good done (yours and that of others). It’s the day when Jesus transforms our acts of wasting someone’s life (his death) into a source of new life.

So be freed from perfectionism. “One must not destroy oneself trying to be too pure. The best souls, the most nourishing, are made up of a few great radiant goodnesses and a thousand little dark miseries which sometimes nourish their kindnesses like the wheat that lives from the rot of the soil.” Marie Noël .

6. Make time for true rest and connection with God:

Find time to celebrate the Sabbath: enjoy rest, connect with God, and start afresh, giving yourself, giving your best.

Published: April 2019

Read more:
– Feeling Insecure – Love As The Greatest Security
– “I’ve Hit Rock Bottom” – Getting The Basics Right To Get Up

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In this poem about time and life, the poet describes how he has perceived the life and the world during his childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age.

As a child I looked around me
and watched the lofty trees
wondering what made them grow so tall,
while swaying in the breeze.
I watched the birds and bees
and all creatures that can fly,
I watched the tiny insects
and every thing that crawl.
I watched little toddlers
creeping on all fours,
knowing that soon they stand
to walk up straight and tall.

I watched the mighty blazing sun
and the endless deep blue sea,
that reached each and every shore
so far away from me.
I heard the roaring thunder
and saw sudden flashes of light
as I tossed in my cosy bed
on a fearful stormy night.
Then at the break of dawn
when almost all the clouds had gone,
I used to reason how and why
a colourful rainbow filled the sky.

In my teens I tried to figure out
how all these wonders came about,
who had made a world like this
and keeps it going with such bliss.
I learned about the big bang theory
and of Darwin’s evolution,
but though proved these things can be,
they don’t really convince me.
For what made this big bang happen,
surely not a nuclear weapon.

They say that gases
had caused this big explosion,
and set the universe in motion.
This can be true in many ways,
but who moved all gases to one place
In a still and static space?
Or how could the first bee survive’
without a swarm and hive?
Mr. Darwin please explain
’cause I’ve tried but all in vain.

Now that I’m old as I can be
most things are still a mystery,
but though it’s hard to comprehend
someone so mighty and so grand,
is holding everything in His hand.
I believe in His love for me,
and for all humanity,
and that all He asks from you and me,
is to live in peace and harmony.
Now I believe sooner or later
I will be meeting my creator,
And though unworthy as I am
I pray that through His loving grace
My poor soul He will embrace.

Read more:

– Top Popes’ Life Quotes

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 #Happiness 1: Adequate Means To Go By

“Studies carried out on life satisfaction and well-being clearly indicate that a person who does not have adequate means to live a decent life, will experience lower levels satisfaction in life. Sometimes we hear romantic statements like “some people don’t have anything and are still happy or “be happy with what you have . These create a false perception of reality. If you are going through poverty your happiness will suffer. Material deprivation or poverty has a substantial effect on one’s happiness and satisfaction in life. Poverty is serious suffering. I have witnessed people who cannot make ends meet, who live in constant anxiety. Persons with low income who at the end of the month look helplessly at empty cupboards as they run out of money. I have witnessed persons who resort to emergency shelters with humiliation.

On the other hand, having lots of money does not necessarily make you happy. On the contrary, if the acquisition of wealth is your basic drive in life you run the risk of living a very dissatisfied life, always chasing the next acquisition. Running after material gain, is running after something which you cannot reach. Pleasure is experienced on the acquisition only to be replaced by a void and another chase. In a way it is like running after happiness and never finding it.

So basically, not having enough money to make ends meet and the feeling that you never have enough money, can both lead to unhappiness.

#Happiness 2: Meaningful Relationships

On their deathbed many people recount how at the end of the day, rather than their material acquisition or career advancement, what really counted was the quality of relationships they held with others. It is about the meaningful relationships they built, how much they succeeded to share their life with people, how much they helped those around them improve their life. People who invested in relationships look back on their life, with greater satisfaction and might feel more peaceful facing death.

What about quality in relationships? The more secure you are as a person, the healthier the relationships. Security is simply defined as , a sense of trust in self and others: trusting that you can depend on yourself and trusting that that you can depend on others. Persons who are very emotionally dependant struggle with autonomy, are not self-reliant and fear aloneness. They run the risk of staying in a relationship even if it is toxic, for fear of ending alone. On the other hand there are those who withdraw from the world because they do not trust others but only themselves. These struggle to share with others, always expecting that others will hurt them, always disappointed with others’ rejection. We need a balance of self-reliance and social support because to be able to cope and thrive there will be times when one has to stand on his/her feet alone and other times where one needs to reach out for support. This balance will help the person not despair when alone and also be able to welcome and accept the available support.

#Happiness 3: A Simple Lifestyle

There is that well-known Brazilian story of the fisherman and the entrepreneur, where the fisherman was happily enjoying his simple life which the businessman didn’t quite understand. Material things can alienate us both from ourselves and from the people around us. Materialism and consumerism decrease not increase happiness. The world we live, especially the media and the commercial world, work on this idea that if you consume this product, buy this brand or have this car, people will love you and respect you more. It is a sort of trap. If you get caught, it can rob you of happiness.

Residents at San Blas therapeutic communities and the Prison Inmates Programme describe with great joy the discovery of happiness in life’s simple things. They start to re-experience the rewarding feelings of going for a swim in the weekend after a week’s hard work, a genuine encounter, the joy of tasting chocolate on the rare occasion of receiving this treat, or even a good cry. John*, a resident at our drug rehabilitation programme described to me.. “with time I have started to experience ‘crumbs of happiness’… I still feel anxious most of the time and it is difficult for me to be happy but I have started to experience these crumbs more often .

#Happiness 4: Appreciation and Acceptance

Being able to see what is positive in one’s life and appreciating this, while embracing and accepting the fact that life cannot always be a bed of roses, has alot to do with happiness. John, the person in recovery who spoke to me about ‘crumbs of happiness’ (little moments of happiness amid several struggles) confessed that these moments help him keep going on.

When you are going through dissatisfaction or a challenging period it is particularly important to keep an eye out for good things that come your way or good things that you seek out. John described to me his appreciation for small joys in daily life, and how these helped him hang on to his recovery. He reflected on what was contributing to his feelings of fulfillment and also tried to invest in what was behind these happy moments. John described the joys of seeking out the support of his keyworker, appreciating a genuine encounter, learning to accept his difficulties rather than continuously fighting unpleasant emotions, accepting that there are times of sadness and accepting that this is part of human living. Being able to see, embrace and enjoy what is positive while also accepting that life cannot always be easy and befriending the unpleasant feelings, has a lot to do with experiencing happiness and living with difficulty peacefully.

#Happiness 5: Altruism

Acts of kindness and show of support to others is another aspect which makes people happy. Across the board, volunteers and staff at Caritas speak about the deep satisfaction of contributing to others’ lives. What one gives is received many times over in fulfillment and meaningful living. This is not to say that people who engage in pro-social behaviour and help others, do it for their own selfish intent to feel happy, however the very act of helping has this aftereffect. A person who engages in helping needs to make sure that the satisfaction of personal needs do not take over the needs of the persons receiving help. When this happens it may lead to more harm than good. This happens when for example a helper has a need to be needed and fosters the dependence of the helpee onto the helper. However if the priorities are right, helping others is a life-giving act and gives meaning and fulfilment to ones own life.

#Happiness 6: A Good Laugh

A beautician once told me that we need to laugh five times a day to keep our face muscles toned. This might well be true but surely laughter is the best medicine. Laughter releases endorphins, a pain killing, relaxing hormone. Laughter adds value to life, helps us take life with a pinch of salt, not take ourselves too seriously, ease our anxieties, helps us connect, lightens our life and makes it more fun. While I can be very serious about life I also don’t need to take life too seriously. This is paradoxical but life is all paradoxical.

#Happiness 7: A Spiritual Life: A Meaning for Living and Transcendence

What is the meaning of life? What is the meaning of my life? What is my place in the world? How do I make sense of death? Existential questions that remain unanswered add anxiety and at times despair in one’s life. We are meaning making beings. We ask questions and seek out answers. A meaning for living is like the wind in the sails of a sailing boat. We draw the energy and drive to live life in its fullness.

In my own personal journey I have found meaning in enjoying this human life while I have it, and contributing to making the world a better place to live in, I find meaning in nurturing my wife and children, I find meaning in helping others see the beauty that lies within them. I find meaning in feeling connected with others, with creation, with God. Spirituality is the part of human living that has to do with meaning in one’s life and with the experience of transcendence i.e. connecting with what is beyond you. It took me ages to come to understand the meaning of the word transcendence. I could come to understand it when I slowly started to experience a deep spiritual connection with others, with creation and God.

Is this an essential list to happiness?

This list  is from personal experience, the experience of 14 years of practice as a counselling psychologist, and from research.  For some, the search of happiness is straightforward, for others bumpy and for some others it might feel outright impossible. My own personal process of searching for happiness brought me to this list. It is important that we are in the process of searching. As John said, sometimes we come along ‘crumbs of happiness’ but as we become more expert in how and where to search we can come by more and more happiness and potentially also live in happiness.”

*Name has been changed.

Photo of Anthony Gatt by Christina Gatt
Photo of Emojis by Mark Schembri

Published: December 2018

Read more from Dr Anthony Gatt:
“I Hit Rock Bottom” – Getting The Basics Right To Get Up

Watch:

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 “One person is precious more than the whole of the universe

Human persons are not simply part of humanity; every human person is always more! We can also zoom out in this regard: no human person is simply part of the universe, every human person is always more! That is: you are more precious than the whole universe! And that is true for every human being. That sounds paradoxical; after all each of us is, of course, part of the universe too.  Also, if I am precious, it seems that I must be precious to someone. Now, that is true of my parents, my siblings, my friends. They try to treat me with respect, they love me and cherish me, and I attempt to do the same in their regard. But I never say to myself: ‘My mother is more precious than the entire universe’! I rather say that the love I have for my mother is unique she is completely irreplaceable and so am I. But that is scarcely enough what could we mean by ‘unique’? What do we mean by ‘human dignity’, after all?

“I exist because I am loved for myself, not for what I can do

And this brings us to what we mean by ‘soul’. My human soul is not part of me but it is my relatedness, primarily with God. And this ‘relatedness’ is personal and completely unique. That is, my existence means that God wants me and wants me for myself. I exist because I am loved for myself, not because of what I can do or say, but simply because my creator – the Lord God wants to love me irrevocably. And this is true for every human person; God does not love humanity in general; God loves every human being personally and uniquely. And neither can I love humanity in general; I can love my mother, my father, my friend personally and uniquely. So the real question of “what are we living for” is really, ‘why do I exist?’

“Every person reflects something of who God is like goodness, knowledge, beauty, love..

This brings us to another point each of us is created in the image and likeness of God. That is, each of us is a unique participation in what it is to be God. And this is why we have such immense capacities, why we have infinite wishes and desires. Each of us reflects, through his or her existence, a unique light on God’s existence, goodness, beauty, knowledge, love. Each of us is a unique mirror on what God is personally like so that we can see that whole of humanity , throughout the ages, as a kind of immense reflecting telescope on what God is personally like.

“Our uniqueness shows God as one, our relatedness shows God as trinity

And God is certainly unique; God can only be one! So each of us, through his or her uniqueness, shows what it is like for God to be one. God is always greater so no one of us can exhaust what this means – neither can the whole of humanity do so. But each of us is a unique take on God. The Lord God is also related – God is Trinity. So each of us, through his or her relationships, is called forth to uniquely show part of what the relationships within God are like.

“Facing our weak reality

Now, we know that our reality is not so idyllic. We face grave difficulties. We know that we are tarnished mirrors. Not only, but we tend to be narcissistic in that the mirror that we are is facing inwards. This is what we mean when we speak of the seven deadly sins: pride, greed, lust, gluttony, envy, anger and acedia. We cast shadows with our presence.

“The more we turn to God, the more we feel encouraged

The Lord God, our creator, continues to call us to look outward through the love that the Lord God shows us in so many ways and all the time. The Lord God calls us to turn the mirrors of our lives towards Him. We are scared to do so but the Lord God reassures us. As we slowly turn our gaze towards the Lord God, we receive the light of sanctification — beautiful light. And that light enkindles and encourages our hearts. And we are made more and more capable to relate beautifully and with true goodness and transparency, with purity and self-gift.

“When I allow myself to be fully loved, I become love

So the answer to the question: ‘why are we alive?’ or rather ‘why do I exist?’ is to receive love from God my creator. I am created to be loved by God. The Lord God loves me in creating me, in walking alongside me, in being always closer to me than I am to myself and in transforming me into a more beautiful image of Godself. The Lord God loves me through thick and thin: even in my doubts, even in my suffering. The Lord God enables me never to lose joy. Even when I am in pain and suffering, the Lord God grants me a deep peace which is joy. And when I allow myself to be fully loved, I become love. And I am created to give and receive love from all persons around me and also, to relate well to all creatures around me. I exist in order to relate well and beautifully. I exist in order to receive and to give joy and peace. And this is also what we mean by ‘vocation’.

Read more:
– Feeling Insecure – Love As The Greatest Security
– The Poor Boy Who Became A Successful Entrepreneur And A Happy Husband

The post Why Are We Alive? Why Does the Human Race Exist? appeared first on Universe of Faith.

1. Life Is A Mixed Blessing

“Life is not only happiness and games: it is pain, temptation, and failure. And yet in all this it is beautiful if it is supported by love and possesses a hope that transcends the present moment. If we cannot show a picture of life in which even pain, hardship and death are meaningful and belong to a larger whole, then we cannot rehabilitate human existence.
Pope Benedict 16th, From his book – A turning point for Europe?, 2010

2. Life Is A Precious Gift

“Life is a precious gift, but we realise this only when we give it to others.”
Pope Francis,Twitter, 27th March 2015

3. Life should not be denied to anyone

“Life, which is a work of God, should not be denied to anyone, even the tiniest and most defenceless unborn child, and far less to a child with serious disabilities.”
Pope Benedict 16th, Angelus, 4th February 2007

Read more:
– The Poor Boy Who Became A Successful Entrepreneur And A Happy Husband
– Feeling Insecure – Love As The Greatest Security

The post Top Popes’ Life Quotes appeared first on Universe of Faith.

Life Quote 1 – John C. Maxwell

“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily.”
John C. Maxwell

Life Quote 2 – Socrates The Philosopher

“Beware of the barrenness of a busy life.”
Socrates

Life Quote 3 – Michael Jordan

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
Michael Jordan

Life Quote 4 – Proverb 

“We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love…and then we return home.”
Australian Aboriginal Proverb 

Life Quote 5 – Alain de Botton

“There is no such thing as work-life balance.
Everything worth fighting for unbalances your life.”
Alain de Botton

Life Quote 6 – William Shakespeare

“I cried when I had no shoes, but I stopped crying when I saw a man without legs.”
Shakespeare

Life Quote 7 – Christian D. Larson

“Promise yourself today to be just as enthusiastic about others as you are about your own.”
Christian D. Larson

Life Quote 8 – Leo Tolstoy

“The most difficult thing, but essential one – is to love Life,
to love it even when one suffers, because Life is all,
Life is God, and to love Life means to love God.”
Leo Tolstoy

Life Quote 9 – Saint Oscar Romero

“Aspire not to have more, but to be more.”
Oscar Romero

Life Quote 10 – Mary O’Malley

“I have been asking questions for a long time, most answers easily and quickly appear within me. But there are questions I have lived in for years, and I am still growing into the answer. I know that the answers will come at the right time.”
Mary O’Malley

Short Deep Quotes About Life

Read more:
– True Love Quotes By Famous People
– Top Pope Francis’ Quotes About Global And Local Solidarity

The post Short Deep Quotes About Life by Famous People appeared first on Universe of Faith.

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.

Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is life, fight for it.

Mother Teresa 

Read more:

– Radiating Christ – A Prayer By Mother Teresa
– “I Lived With Mother Teresa” – Mother Teresa Personality Traits

The post “Life Is” – A Poem by Mother Teresa appeared first on Universe of Faith.