There is much hopelessness in this world. It saddens me to see more people who have no purpose, meaning, or will to live. They drift and do the same, old, redundant things, hopelessly wanting to find something enticing, happy, or fulfilling in the earthly, worldly, or hedonistic sense. There is a great emptiness and void that exists, and it is getting bigger each and every single day among our young people.
I have seen so many people who are successful, living according to what society wants of them, operate and act according to what is expected of them, but they are not happy from within. I have seen people who are very vocal, popular, and influential in their own rights because they are able to stand out from the rest of the crowd as objects of envy for many, but they have little respect for themselves and for others. I have seen people who seem to have it all but they have nothing to look forward to, nothing to live for, nothing to be happy or feel fulfilled deep from within. In my own life as a priest, I have seen too many people comparing themselves with those they admire or want to be, wishing they would escape the present life that they have, daydreaming of what should be or resentful of what is in front of them, constantly chasing pavements of a dreamy path that is theirs. I think many of these discontentments happen because our society has told us to have, possess, seek, want, desire, chase, and reach for “more” in quantitative measures but never taught us how to be joyfully content with the present quality of life.
Unfortunately, the ones that are popular and often gain the most attention are those who are often vain and easily lose themselves, too. They can be very appealing, attractive, successful, influential, powerful, and prestigious on the outside, but those qualities do not always equate to their own identity, depth, substance, and understanding of who they are deep from within! Everything that is going on around us tells us that our society is not open to life because too many do not know how to live. So many in our society do not see life as worth living. We were simply told to chase after “happiness” and do everything that will make us happy but nothing really matters with those empty promises. We have become a hopeless generation, living without joy and seeing life as burdensome, so that is why we cannot be truly pro-life in our very own lives.
Many teachers, staff, faculty, and members of the administration at local schools, people who work with children, teenagers, and young adults have confirmed that many of our children come back to broken homes. They come back to adults who change often in their lives, fight all the time, ignore them, and sometimes treat them like they are not wanted. A good amount do not want to come home, want to run away and escape, want the pains or brokenness in their lives to end, or see life is no longer worth living. Since many of our young people have not received life from their own family life, they do not know who they are and what it means to simply be loved.
Furthermore, when life becomes burdensome and meaningless, people often become hopeless. They no longer find joy in life and only try to live from one day to another. Hence, everything and everyone becomes objectified and can be manipulated as pieces of the chessboard, because people are only good if they can do something for us or help us feel good for the moment. We have cheapened people and relationships because we do not see the true beauties and gifts that are deep from within, because too many of us only know how to use and take advantage of others for our self-centered and individualistic benefits. We might have a lot more ways to get what we want, but many of us have become more isolated, lonely, depressed, and loathing in life because we hate ourselves.
When life becomes too burdensome, when we no longer feel happy, fulfilled, and content with whatever quantifiable means and measures we have set for ourselves, hopelessness kicks in and despair begins to eat us alive. When we no longer feel like what we have been told and taught by this world is meaningful, we simply choose to give up and allow ourselves to just let go and end whatever is hurting us. It hurts me to see the concerning rise of hopeless despair, depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicidal tendencies (and even the unfortunate consequential actions, too).
In a social-media-centered and more technologically connected world, people have become more disconnected. In a day and age where we have more means, luxuries, comforts, and advances than generations before us, we have become more discontented. The social disconnectedness and self-centered discontentment create a deep sense of loneliness and hopelessness. We, too, might experience these similar sentiments and emotions when we are going through our own trials, hardships, challenges, obstacles, and desolations. However, we are reminded by our faith that the Lord is with us and that we are called to lift up our hearts to Him in how we pray and worship, individually and as a community of faith. The greatest miracle is to be able to sense His presence and to receive His love totally and completely as to praise and thank Him with joy, to reflect on what He has done for us, and to refocus on what we are called to do as His disciples.
Our faith journey teaches and reminds us that God is not our enemy who takes away our freedom to do whatever we want or simply as a vending machine to give us what we desire at all costs. His love cannot be cheapened as an enabler, for He desires a loving, mature, and deepened relationship where hearts understand love, speak to one another, and give life that is much more than the present one. We do not have to get everything we like in order to have a purposeful and grace-filled life. We do not have to be busy about not living our “best life” to find contentment and happiness. We are called to seek and live in His loving peace so that, filled with His Spirit, we can understand His loving mercy and redemption.
To love is to allow ourselves to be more Christlike so that we can receive and respond, as well as to acknowledge and reveal the love of God to others who are struggling and in need of Him. If the love of God is not with us, we have not given anyone anything substantial or life-giving until we have given what is truly personally and intimately received, understood, and embraced by the Creator deep within our heart of hearts. Therefore, we need to remember that the desire to change hearts has to begin with us. Once our hearts are changed and conformed to His loving will, we are able to radiate and shed His life-giving love to others without many words, excuses, demands, expectations, and other human causes. Truly, true love begins with us by how we love God and allow ourselves to be loved by Him.
The easiest — but hardest — answer to hopelessness and despair is to love! It takes a lot of effort, willingness, and sacrifice to love, especially when it hurts the most. It is important to know who we are, especially what it means to be loved by God; because without Him, we cannot be where we are today. To love is to allow ourselves to be more Christlike so that we can receive and respond, as well as to acknowledge and reveal the love of God to others who are struggling and in need of Him.
Hopelessness and despair are parts of life, just like there will be sunny days as well as heavy storms. There will be times that are harder than others. Nonetheless, if we know who we are and where we are going, the journey will be worth it. Even though it will not be perfect, and there will be hard and challenging times, we are reminded that our soul is eternal and its destiny is not here on this earth. That is why no matter how many things we try to fill it, it cannot be filled except by the everlasting and infinite love of God because we are meant for much more than this world, Let us never forget that every instance in this life is an opportunity for prayer! Therefore, it is important for us to never stop praying, listening, being filled, and immersed in His loving presence.
We are only truly living when we live, breathe, radiate, and draw life from Him. We have nothing really to give until we receive from His infinite and everlasting love. Without a doubt, if our faith is not grounded in the Lord and focused on matters that are eternal, it will become a self-serving and dying one. We might be able to be appealing and attractive for a good (short) while, but we have nothing to give unless we draw water from Him. Indeed, we can only change our current culture of death by being counter-cultural and building up a culture of life that gives, nourishes, and radiates God in our words and actions, lives and deeds.
My brothers and sisters, no matter what happens or can happen, we have to be joyful in the Lord, for our hope is sure. We know that happened and will happen in the story of salvation and at the end! We know that He is true to His promise and He will not abandon us if we do not abandon Him. This is our joy! May we spend lives grounded in prayers, always joyful, prudential, careful, and loving in our words and actions so we can radiate His love. May our lives speak louder than empty, vocal, divisive, egocentric, and condemnatory words so people who see and come to encounter us will see our love for God enlivened.
I Thirst (John 19:28) with Father Khoi 