Wednesday, July 27, 2011

A Letter of Inquiry

Dear Mr. Life,
So talk to me, dude?   Exactly what is your purpose?  According to the Baltimore Catechism Number Two , Lesson One, Question Three,  the purpose of human life is to show forth God's goodness and to share with Him in the everlasting happiness of heaven.  In order to attain that everlasting happiness in heaven we must know, love, and serve God in this world.  Explain, please.
Waiting for wisdom, I remain your curious student,
Queenie

Dear Queenie,
You always go to a source don't you?  You don't appear to trust your own self with an answer.  You don't have much confidence in your own ability to answer the tough questions.  Why don't you ask yourself what you want the purpose to be?
Waiting for your wisdom to arrive, I remain curious,
Mr. Life

Good day, again, Mr. Life,
Thank you for your prompt reply.  However, you didn't get me very far along the road here, dude.  I can ask myself all I want but who am I to know the answers?  I am just a tiny speck, a drop in the ocean, a moon around a distant planet in a distant galaxy.  You have answers and I demand that you share.  So there.
Getting impatient, I remain willing to learn,
Queenie

Dear Q,
My, my, my - getting a bit uppity now, are we?  But, you know, I like that in a person.  I like that you are asking questions and insisting on answers.  Okay, let's start with the Baltimore Catechism.  When did that become the end all and the be all?  Since when have YOU bought into those words?  Probably the last time was when you in elementary school but, you must admit, that even though you won that Catechism Bee in 8th grade, you were good at memorizing but clueless about what the words meant.  You had a sharp brain capable of memorizing anything but you also knew that none of  this made sense to you.  There was some kind of comfort in the rituals, and sometimes in the English translations of the Latin text (very poetical and that appealed to even the 10 year old you).  You even resonated with some of the music, especially the music where the words were in Latin and the chant was meditative (Orate pro nobis....) .  Now you regurgitate that back to me and expect it to make sense.
So put that battered blue and white copy aside and go for another angle.
How about the purpose of life is to be present in the moment and get the most out of your life?  How about leaving the world a better place because you were here?  How about learning and teaching?  How about loving yourself and loving others? How about there is no purpose, just life as it is?  Why so many questions and what difference does it make?
Wondering why you care, I remain your confidante and companion,
Life


3 comments:

  1. There is no god Queenie...
    And barely any life...
    But maybe everything will be better tomorrow?

    ReplyDelete
  2. My dear anonymous - Your question mark says it all.

    ReplyDelete
  3. One could likely just erase the rest of the words from memory and leave the question mark as testament (or common denominator) of human existence...

    ReplyDelete