This is a quotation from the best-selling job-hunting book What Color is Your Parachute? written by Richard Nelson Bolles, an American Episcopal clergyman and author.[1] He believed in marrying our work and religious beliefs and in the importance of pondering about God’s plan for each of us. It is often through this journey of self-discovery, into searching for the true meaning and purpose of life, that we come to know more intimately our spiritual self and recognise how this is part of what it means to be fully alive.
In a bible reflection ‘Finding in God a Meaning for Life’ the brothers of the Taizé community, an ecumenical Christian monastic community situated in the Burgundy region of France, express that “A person becomes fully alive only when he or she discovers, beyond themselves, a ‘why’ or a ‘whom’ to live for…Recognizing clearly the ‘why’ of our existence and anchoring it within God gives our desire a direction over the course of an entire lifetime”.[2]
In his first encyclical letter in 2013 Pope Francis wrote that “Faith is born of an encounter with the living God who calls us and reveals his love, a love which precedes us and upon which we can lean for security and for building our lives”.[3] My experience of my Catholic faith has been a gradual process of getting to know God and entrusting my cares to him. I have experienced consolation and hope through the presence of God in my struggles, particularly through the power of the Cross and praying in communion with Mary for the grace to surrender – to let go and let God. My dependence on God is also lived out in the healing Sacraments of the Eucharist and Reconciliation, which challenge me to begin again, transformed through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that “the Spirit is the source and giver of all holiness”[4]. It says it is “by the power of the Spirit”, that we as “God’s children can bear much fruit”.[5] For me, bearing fruit or striving to make a positive difference in the world, is at the heart of accomplishing some unique work, that I believe I have been called to do. I am sometimes prone to the temptation of dwelling on my own struggles, but I am challenged during those times to really allow myself be led by the Holy Spirit and to reach out in compassion and love to those people God puts in my path.
In my faith journey I have come to realise that I cannot do it on our own, that I need to rely on God and on my brothers and sisters in the Church, who walk the journey of faith with me to support me. I have experienced the goodness and providence of God in many ways, and so I am often reminded of my need to be in gratitude. It’s worth reflecting on a very short line in Saint Paul’s Letter to the Colossians “Always be thankful” (Colossians 3:14).[6]
In closing reflection on pondering meaning in life through faith I can certainly identify with the Northern Irish adventurer, writer and television presenter Bear Grylls, who in his 2011 Autobiography remarked, “the more of the Christian faith I discover, the more I realize that, at heart it is simple. To me my Christian faith is all about being held, comforted, forgiven, strengthened and loved – and our job is to stay open and gentle, so we can hear the knocking on the door of our heart when it comes”.[7]
[1] Bolles, Richard N. “What Colour is Your Parachute?: A practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers, 2005 Edition” Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, Toronto; p. 291-292
[2] Seeds of Trust, Reflecting on the Bible in Silence and Song, Taize (Harrisburg: Moorehouse, 2004), p. 75.
[3] Pope Francis, Lumen Fidei, The Light of Faith 4, (Dublin: Veritas, 2013), p. 9. We are each called to do some service, and in doing that we can hope that we contributing to making the community in which we live a better pace.
[4] Catechism of the Catholic Church, 749 (London: Burns and Oates, 2000), p. 172.
[5] Catechism of the Catholic Church, 736 p. 170.
[6] Catholic Online Bible, Colossians – Chapter 3, https://www.catholic.org/bible/book.php?id=58&bible_chapter=3
[7] Bear Grylls, Mud Sweat and Tears, Junior Edition edn (London: Random House Children’s Publishers UK, 2011), p. 73.
