At some point in life, each and every one of us will have to face a dark moment. In all honesty, I do not think any of us is prepared for it! At times, too, when it rains, it tends to pour. Unfortunately, I tend to see that tragedies come in threes (close to one another) in my own priestly ministry. All of us, as human beings, get hurt when tragedy strikes because we are not immune to the pains and sufferings in life. Sometimes, losing someone or something that has an immense value to us will crush our spirit, leave us wondering about the value of life, and questioning the goodness of God.
I would like to say those things will never happen if we believe and have enough faith, but that would be an unrealistic and unimaginable LIE because we all know that is not reality at all. We will all have to lose people and things that are dear to us. People will come and go. At times, too, they will betray, hurt, or mean ill will against us. In those dark moments, we have to reach deep inside ourselves and be honest with ourselves as we seek His presence. There will not be a perfect answer for those moments, but there will be sufficient grace from the good Lord to get us through the trials. We will kick and scream. We will want to give up and blame others because we are so hurt. Nonetheless, we have to remind ourselves that God does not abandon us when things get tough.
Our salvation, world, and personal histories remind us that our God chose to enter into the deepest reality of human and spiritual evils and redeem us. Looking back at the darkest moments of world history and our very own lives, many of us would have questioned how we got through those events! However, someways, somehow, we did… and, I believe, it was because of His never-ending, everlasting, and faithful love. He worked in and through all of our human imperfections, hurts, and evils to bring goodness out of them, because He has the ultimate word. With God, there is always life because that is promised to us who persevere — for all eternity. But to get here to eternity is a very long, gruesome, and hard journey at times, and that is why we need one another.
In my own life and priestly ministry, I often find God’s consoling presence through other people’s kindness, compassion, and love, even when I had to deal with some evils, unkindness, and pitiful actions. Time and time again, I have witnessed people coming together to be one another’s loving support throughout those social, (inter)national, and personal tragic times. Those who understand life, endured the pain, heartache, and inconsolable sense of loss, often come together to console others through the trials of life because they understand what it means to be present without using many words. Too oftentimes, we like to make sense of things and package them nicely; nonetheless, we cannot always have it all together, and it is important to let our caring presence speak louder than what mere words can express. This is what is beautiful about our humanity and what faith affords to us, that we are able to care and love one another without many quantifiable measurements. The quality of genuine love gives life, and we can find within us the ability to carry on, support others, and help each other survive in our hardest times.
Our hope is real because it is grounded in Christ Jesus, who is ever faithful. We know what He had done and how much He really loves us with His very own life example of radical, sacrificial, life-giving, and intimate love. In Him, we have hope that in the very worst of times, we can help each other to rise above the pain, disappointment, tragedy, and agony. Indeed, hope is the most powerful force in this world because we can lift each other up and help them be anchored in God, even when it hurts the most. We can all choose to be hopeful and strong in bearing the evils of the day, yet knowing that tomorrow will be another day to begin anew.
We must never quit in life. Even though it might sound easy when things go right or when the challenges are not that immense, this is the most personal and profound choice that we can make as a person! Life will constantly puts us in situations where quitting seems so much easier than continuing on, when the odds are so stacked against us that giving up seems to be the rational thing to do, when the storms have battered us so much that we just want to give up, we must refuse to quit, to feel sorry for ourselves, and to carry on with perseverance.
Life is not always as we would like it to be. There will be days when we just have to intentionally will to wake up and start each day with simple tasks. It is important, too, to find people to help us through our trials and hardships. We have to learn to ask for help and humbly respect those who offer help to us. It takes humility to accept help and to know that things do not have to go our way in order to be good. It is important to remember that life does not have to be perfect in order to be worth living!  All we can do is to know that life is not fair and that we fail often, but if we get up and try again, do one small task at a time, we can change our lives — one step at a time.
How we choose to live, the perspective we see the world, the foundation we choose to ground ourselves, and the perseverance we will bear when things get hard will change us and others around us. In a more consumeristic and hopeless world where many are taught to chase after dreams, passions, likes, wants, and what is popular, it is important for us to remember that we cannot live a real life with dreamy wants and desires. How we choose to condition ourselves, humanly, psychologically, and spiritually speaking, is crucially important! So oftentimes, we become so lofty in wanting to change the world and others, but have missed the effort to change ourselves first.
Imagine the world that we can build with one another if we are humble enough to recognize that if each and every one of us, when we personally choose and will to do what right, to persevere when things get hard, to grow and mature in expanding our horizons, to step up when times get tough, to support others in their trials, and to do small things with great love! If we choose to be faithful in small matters, to wake up each day, and to be faithful with what is asked of us, especially in giving everything our personal and committed efforts (even when they are challenging), imagine the impact those willful actions and commitment can have on ourselves and others.
Too oftentimes, we have set our priorities and goals on things that are way beyond our control and end up being upset about how they are not being met. Too often, we have expected too much of others but never take the time to grow and mature in a complete and holistic way. If we persevere and are committed to doing small things well, being faithful and never giving up, willingly learn from our mistakes, and be humble enough to ask for help and depend on others, I believe, this world will become a better place. Without a doubt, a society cannot effectively exist without men and women of goodwill who desire to make sacrifices and work with one another for the greater good of all. That willingness, of course, has to be both on the personal and communal levels so that each of us becomes responsible, accountable, and willingly helps each other along the way. Therefore, let us begin small, consistent, and humble each and every day to persevere and do our best to make the best out of the life we have been given.
I Thirst (John 19:28) with Father Khoi 