When I was a seminarian, I remember one day, I started reflecting about my future job as a priest. And my reflection was based on this question: «What kind of job or ministry that other priests do, will I be able to do or not?». Finally I concluded that I would be able to try any job that other priests were doing, except for two: «teacher» and «journalist». Those two jobs were out of the question. I was sure that no Bishop would give me that kind of work. I didn’t like them and I knew that I would never be able to do a good job as a teacher or as a journalist. Well… years later, even before I was ordained as a priest, my first two jobs that I was supposed to do simultaneously, was a professor of religion and a journalist. Now I understand better the saying I heard later in life: «If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans».
One day I was in front of a class of little girls «teaching» religion in a public school in Mozambique. The theme was about our purpose in life. The question was «what do you live for». I even told them that if they went to the streets and stopped cars, or entered coffee shops or stopped people in the streets and asked this question, it would be interesting to find out how many people would be confused about that question.
I didn’t suggest that they do it. It was only an example. What happened was that they went to the streets, and to public places, with a pencil and paper in their hands and started questioning people.
«I am sorry for stopping you. We need your help. We are doing a school work. Would you please tell us what do you live for?».
Most of the answers were really funny. Nobody was impolite or rude to them. Many answered:
«I live for nothing». – «Thank you. Can we have your name?» «Wait… wait…»
The majority of the people started reflecting and giving more serious answers. This was in a small city where everybody knew everybody. When, in the following class, they told me about this experience I was glad that they had not asked me. I thought, and I think, that I know my purpose in life but if I was surprised with a question like that I was not sure if I knew how to formulate my answer.
It was Isabel, a 12-year-old girl, who taught me when she gave me her answer:
«My purpose in life is to continue the work of God».
In this field, Isabel was my best teacher in Theology. Since then, I was able to formulate my answer in a second. And learning how to formulate my answer helped me a lot on how to live accordingly.
«I live to continue the work of God».
What I find amazing is to discover that God needs us to build this world at all levels. Our purpose is to continue what He started and is still doing. Unfortunately we have two choices. One is to work with God and daily help Him to build a better world, or we also have the power to sabotage and destroy His dream and His work and slowly kill and destroy His project.
We have a choice. Planting a tree or taking care of a little garden, we are helping God to fulfill His dream and His project. A simple plastic bag thrown into the ocean is sabotaging His project. Freeing the poor from their poverty and alleviating the suffering of the world is an essential part of this project that involves every human being. And this is part of our spirituality
Love and Peace
Fr. Bernardino Andrade