Editorial

Jul-Aug '19
What’s the Ultimate Purpose of Life?
" You need not be highly educated or hugely influential to fulfill the ultimate purpose of your life."

“You need not be highly educated or hugely influential to fulfill the ultimate purpose of your life.”

A recently published book “The 21: A Journey into the Land of Coptic Martyrs” by Martin Mosebach struck a deep chord in my heart. The book takes you through the lives of 21 Copts who were kidnapped while they were working in Libya and beheaded by the ISIS in 2015.

The whole world was stunned while watching the video of these men being slaughtered. The 21 Coptic Christians were ordinary laborers working in the oil fields, with meager earnings for their living. While working in Libya, they slept side by side on the floor, in a single room. They sang, and prayed together in the evenings; and read the Bible, even though some could only listen as they were illiterate. Mosebach rightly describes them: “These were average young men, completely normal guys. I never would have thought that they would become saints!”
After being kidnapped these men were tortured and threatened to disown their faith. The ISIS made sure that each one saw the beheaded, mutilated body of the other. Such was the way the men were terrorized to give up their faith in Christ. One among the 21 was Mathew who hailed from Ghana. He was neither a Coptic nor a Christian; he had no affiliation to any religion.

When it was his turn the persecutors asked him to declare that he had no faith in Christ. Mathew paused for a while and then said, “I am not a Christian. I don’t know much about Christ. But I know my friends. I have been working with them for the past 12 years. If they were ready to give up their lives for the cause of Christ, then I’m quite sure that it is worth it to give up my life for that cause.” You might have heard about baptism by water and spirit; then there is baptism by desire; but the most powerful of all is the baptism by blood!

Even today Christ attracts people of all generations to be witnesses for him to the ends of the earth. On one hand, we see a sweeping impact of godless secularism on our nation, our children and on our grandchildren. On the other, there are hundreds of people who commit their life for the cause of Christ. Witnessing Christ in the modern world is challenging yet fascinating. How serious am I about what is ultimately important?

God considers you so seriously, even to the extent of sending His only begotten Son to this world. You need not be highly educated or hugely influential to fulfill the ultimate purpose of your life. All you need to do is to keep your heart close to the Lord. Remember that you are made for heaven. As E. Dickinson the poet once wrote: “We never know how high we are till we are called to rise.”
Rise and see the mission the Lord wants to entrust to you.

Fr. Roy Palatty CMI

Spiritual Director

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