TOTUS TUUS MARIA !

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF HUMAN LIFE?

ABOUT TRUE HAPPINESS AND THE MEANING OF LIFE

The questions which occupy man probably the most are those about the meaning of life here on earth, and those about true happiness. Yet the very heart of our soul actually knows the answers. Why, then, do we ask these questions? Because the answer was hidden to our consciousness when man lost true sanctity through his Fall. The original sin threw a veil over the real purpose of human life. Jesus says in the Gospel that he who, for the sake of being His follower, foregoes worldly things, will receive many times more and gain eternal life. This shows what is the actual purpose of life on earth: to gear EVERYTHING to God, for the benefit of God’s Plan of Salvation (God’s Plan for the Redemption of souls from evil). The Eternal Father has shown us the key of His Plan of Salvation in His Son’s life on earth: Explicitly offering God all sufferings as expiatory sacrifices for the sins, yields the redemption of souls.

Like God had a plan with the Incarnation of His Son Jesus Christ, He also has a plan with every one of us. Every human being is born with a specific mission, an assignment given to him by God to be fulfilled during his life on earth. Man can only be happy if his soul can feel his life running in the direction of the accomplishment of this plan. However, we are not sent on this mission 'empty-handed': each one of us is given specific graces and gifts by God, which we have to use in order to reach our goal. This goal is: making our contribution to the accomplishment of God’s Plan of Salvation, for mankind to be able to regain its original sanctity and God’s Kingdom to be established on earth. Jesus was the Messiah, the One sent by God to announce to mankind the coming of the Kingdom of God on earth, and through His preachings (the Gospel, teaching God’s only and Eternal Truth) and the example of His Life and Sufferings for the sole benefit of God’s Plan of Salvation He taught every one of us how to make their personal contribution to the same Plan.

God’s Plan with us has not got anything to do with worldly, material goals. When God created the earth, and subsequently man to populate the earth, man was allowed to use everything on earth for the satisfaction of his needs in life. But man got blinded by the inspirations of evil, and the things intended to be means became goals in themselves: man no longer aims for the sheer satisfaction of his needs, he makes efforts to acquire the means to satisfy them as goals in themselves, in order to gain richness, prestige and standing and to dominate his fellow man. Our soul, however, is dissatisfied about this, for she still possesses a core of the original sanctity, which makes her feel that man is cutting himself off from God in daily life by elevating material things to be his actual goal in life, whereas his true goal in life, which is the accomplishment of his task at the service of God’s Plan of Salvation, is turned a blind eye to. This feeling of dissatisfaction which is thus raised in the soul, is what we call: not being happy. Very often this feeling is so vague that man himself does not know what exactly is the matter with him and why he 'just does not feel good'. Daily life makes us blind to the actual reason and the true purpose of our existence, especially as soon as our cross becomes heavy.

Life will come with its crosses, there is no other way. Every human being has got to pay his share of the debt incurred by the whole of mankind towards Divine Justice as a consequence of the original sin and of all sins all human beings have committed ever since. Many disagreeable events are caused by forces of evil. Why does God allow these to happen? Because certain setbacks are necessary for the development of our soul and of other human souls, and because suffering is necessary for the redemption of the world. If man does not pray, God will not intervene, for He has given every one of us a free will and will never interfere with the dispositions of this free will. If man does pray, he can be heard. If he is not heard (or is not heard soon), this means a long-term sacrifice is needed. Why this is needed, is a Divine Mystery of which usually no understanding is imparted to us. In that case we can step up the value of our sacrifice by trying to bear our sufferings in a spirit of surrender, of acceptance, and if possible even in a spirit of buoyancy.

One of the keys to a holy life is the following: With any of your actions, words, thoughts and aspirations ask yourself the question: 'Is this likely to yield fruits for the coming of God’s Kingdom?' The more often you are able to answer the question in the affirmative, the more rapidly you will grow in sanctity, the bigger will be your contribution to the accomplishment of your mission on earth, and the more valuable will be your help with the deliverance of souls. Remember the word of Jesus where He said that he who makes sacrifices to follow Him, will be rewarded a hundred times over and will receive eternal life. Following Jesus is done by disregarding one’s worldly needs in order to assist one’s fellow creature through one’s sacrifices, mortifications and prayer, and by offering oneself and one’s entire life up to God, preferably by consecrating oneself totally to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary. Each time you are able to answer the aforementioned question in the affirmative, you are contributing to true happiness within your soul, a feeling of silent contentment and peace at heart, in spite of all suffering, for a soul that truly makes use of this key to sanctity, lives her life in unity with God. This soul again becomes aware of the true meaning of life, which is the mission she has got to accomplish while on earth: her vocation. This vocation has been buried in the soul by the Eternal Father, the soul has become aware of it through opening up to the Holy Spirit, and she makes it take shape by following the Son, Jesus Christ. The soul can follow Jesus in a very fruitful way by following an example of which the power is unparalleled: our Heavenly Mother Mary.

Myriam, July 2002