A Purpose

On occasion, I've heard people say Catholicism is unspiritual. That the church is so bogged down in tradition that churchgoers exclusively focus on ritual, rather than the mystical presence of a Higher Being. No doubt there are those type of Catholics, but they also exist in every branch of Christianity (though nondenominational churches probably would be ranked spiritually superior to Catholic church). But, after my experience last night, I know for a fact that a Catholic ceremony can be just as divine, and almost more divine, as any other.

Last night, I attended my first Eucharistic Adoration. My roommate, Leigh, and I metro'ed into NYC for the monthly event, Catholic Underground. This event is hosted by the Franciscan Friars, who are all young men, filled with the love of Jesus Christ. They all have short hair, long beards, robes, bulky rosaries, and sandals (yes, even in the middle of winter). They sang worship songs as the lights dimmed. The Eucharist was then illuminated in the center of the cathedral. It was incased in a monstrance, a golden stand that resembles as sun and it was beautiful. The kind of glimmering beauty that caught my eyes when I was little, and it still does now.

I had never been to Adoration before, though many times I received the weekly Hillsdale Catholic Society email about it. Lately, I've wanted to go. Especially those times in the fall when I was jobless and didn't believe I had a purpose in life. I just wanted somewhere to go and think about life, churched seemed like the natural place to go. Now, even though I have a job, I still find it hard to get through the day. I often wonder if I do have a purpose.

Adoration is, "an act of religion offered to God in acknowledgment of His supreme perfection and dominion, and of the creature's dependence upon Him... The rational creature, looking up to God, whom reason and revelation show to be infinitely perfect, cannot in right and justice maintain an attitude of indifference. That perfection which is infinite in itself and the source and fulfilment of all the good that we possess or shall possess, we must worship, acknowledging its immensity, and submitting to its supremacy."

Last night, I didn't realize that this is what adoration is, but it truly was this. I found myself at the mercy of everything. Just one insignificant part of something much greater. But, it struck me that, every single other person in that cathedral felt the exact same way.

I found this quote while reading The Purpose Driven Life:

Unless you assume a God, the question of life's purpose is meaningless. -Bertrand Russell, atheist

I wholeheartedly agree. Doubt is universal. I was one of 700 people in that church searching for the meaning in my life. All I could do was pray to get through tomorrow and live tomorrow the best I could.

Every human being on earth is looking for a purpose in life and no one knows for sure if there is one. The only thing we can do is have faith. With faith, life has meaning.