Thirst for Fullness

It is Jesus that you seek when you dream of happiness; He is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; He is the beauty to which you are so attracted; it is He who provoked you with that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for compromise; it is He who urges you to shed the masks of a false life; it is He who reads in your heart your most genuine choices, the choices that others try to stifle. 

It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourselves to be ground down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal. 

John Paul II

Last week we celebrated the feast day of Saint John Paul II.  The above quote from his talk at World Youth Day 2000 in Rome is one of my favorites.  There is so much hope in his words, in the way he brings to light the working of Jesus in our everyday lives. 

There are so many times in my life when I settle for compromise - when I know the path Jesus is calling me to but  instead choose to do what is convenient, comfortable or of lowest risk.  My thoughts and actions are turned in on myself and enable such reasoning to somehow look acceptable.  It becomes easier to settle and harder to hope as the days and years pass - for the wine skins have aged and the consequences of choosing Christ's path would shatter the house of cards that I have so thoughtfully crafted.

Yet as JPII's quote points out, Jesus continues his jealous pursuit of my heart, and in numerous small ways reveals that HE LONGS to make all things new - even this old wine skin.  And once renewed His new wine can be poured in, inebriating me to once again hope in a life truly lived, set apart, glorious in His eyes.

It is a decision we face all day everyday - to be genuine in our choices, or let them be stifled by our selfishness.   

So I pray the Saints' words stir your hearts as they do mine, inspiring trust and hope in the path we all are called to walk...