The only thing necessary

I WAS happy to learn that in his New Year address, Pope

Francis recommended jettisoning what he called as life’s “useless

baggage” that includes empty chatter and banal consumerism.

            He advised setting aside a time of prayer everyday so as

to be with God. In the end, that is the only thing necessary. After

all, the other affairs, concerns, projects, challenges we have should

be considered as mere ways, means and occasions to be with God, to

give glory to him. We should not get confused and lost in our

priorities.

            In the words of Pope Francis, our daily prayer would help

“keep freedom being corroded by the banality of consumerism, the blare

of commercials, the stream of empty words and the overpowering waves

of empty chatter and loud shouting.”

            We should consider these words of the Pope seriously. They

precisely echo what Christ told the busy Martha when she complained

that her sister, the contemplative Mary, left her to do all the house

chores. (cfr Lk 10,38-42)

            “Martha, Martha,” Christ said, “you are worried and upset

about many things. But only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen

the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Lk 10,41)

            We cannot deny that the world nowadays is getting too

immersed in worldly and temporal affairs at the expense of forgetting

God. This is a terrible deal that we are having. All our affairs and

concerns should lead us to God or at least engage us with him, not

separate us from him.

            Christ already warned us: “What will it profit a man if he

gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Mt 16,26) That is even

presuming that we can gain the whole world without God. The most

likely consequence is that without God, not only would we lose our

soul but also everything else.

            Let us always remember that it is God who will give us

everything, but we have to have the proper priorities. Let’s never

forget what he said: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his

righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.” (Mt 6,33)

            To follow this divine indication, Christ himself has given

us what to do: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself

and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Mt 16,24)

            Indeed, we have to do some self-denial because we are very

notorious to follow only our own will and ways that usually are shaped

only by what we see, feel and understand. These can hardly capture the

whole picture of our real and objective needs.

            That is why we need to spend time praying if only to

recover and keep our spiritual and supernatural bearing that is proper

to us. Otherwise, we would just be at the mercy of our own powers that

can only do us harm if not inspired by God, by love for God and for

everyone.

            To be sure, spending time of prayer does not remove us

from our real worldly and temporal concerns. On the contrary, it would

greatly help us to deal with them properly in such a way that,

regardless of how we fare with them in human terms, they will always

lead us to God, to our eternal life with God, to live charity and all

the other qualities proper to us as persons and as children of God.

            We really need to rein in our human faculties so that

their use would contribute to our need for prayer and our need for

God, which in the end, is the only thing necessary in life.