Our Perfect Destiny
Why are we here? Whence did we come? Where are we going? Who are we? Who am I? These are some of the most profound and mysterious questions that man asks himself. Being the way we are, we would prefer simple, straight answers to these questions. In reality though, the hard truth would have it otherwise, for now at least. It may come as a disappointment to many that we can never really plumb the immense depth of these questions in a way that is completely satisfactory to our human wonder. These queries are worlds different than ones like "Where do you work?" or "How are you doing?" The deepest questions man asks himself bear much more significance than questions about, say, your favorite sports team, your summer job, or your favorite book, regardless of how good or moving it is.
Though these things are good and fulfilling to some degree or another, they never can be man's last end, man's destiny, man's ultimate beatitude and fulfillment. Just as that Christmas meal you had last year does give you the complete and lasting satisfaction for you hunger (it's deliciousness notwithstanding), so to the wonder and desire for truth, goodness, and beauty, the three great transcendentals, never reaches its complete fulfillment in this life of ours. Nonetheless, we still experience little tastes and glimpses of future happiness and joy in this world we presently live in. Every time we come upon these things, it is as if the door separating this world from the next is opened a crack and a ray of light shines through, illuminating the darkness we live in and filling us with hope for a perfect destiny to come.
So, despite the inherent mystery and deepness of the questions I asked earlier, we are able to arrive at one simple answer for them: God.
It is God who made us, who sustains us, who draws all men to Himself, and who defines our very existence. It is from His very essence that the transcendentals spring forth, like flowing stream-water from the summit and heart of a great mountain. It is God who is our perfect destiny, who has made us for Him. It is because God is existence itself that we feel drawn towards Him. It is the great truth of God's existence, His very Being, that dictates all truth to us. Because He is man's beatitude, we know, as Saint Augustine wrote, that "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you." It is with this great truth of goodness that we live our lives and journey towards our perfect destiny in the glorious Kingdom of God.
Though these things are good and fulfilling to some degree or another, they never can be man's last end, man's destiny, man's ultimate beatitude and fulfillment. Just as that Christmas meal you had last year does give you the complete and lasting satisfaction for you hunger (it's deliciousness notwithstanding), so to the wonder and desire for truth, goodness, and beauty, the three great transcendentals, never reaches its complete fulfillment in this life of ours. Nonetheless, we still experience little tastes and glimpses of future happiness and joy in this world we presently live in. Every time we come upon these things, it is as if the door separating this world from the next is opened a crack and a ray of light shines through, illuminating the darkness we live in and filling us with hope for a perfect destiny to come.
So, despite the inherent mystery and deepness of the questions I asked earlier, we are able to arrive at one simple answer for them: God.
It is God who made us, who sustains us, who draws all men to Himself, and who defines our very existence. It is from His very essence that the transcendentals spring forth, like flowing stream-water from the summit and heart of a great mountain. It is God who is our perfect destiny, who has made us for Him. It is because God is existence itself that we feel drawn towards Him. It is the great truth of God's existence, His very Being, that dictates all truth to us. Because He is man's beatitude, we know, as Saint Augustine wrote, that "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you." It is with this great truth of goodness that we live our lives and journey towards our perfect destiny in the glorious Kingdom of God.
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