My own Calcutta

Sometimes on those perfect sunny days I find myself lost within my thoughts as I look up into the sky above, the endless blue that seems to stretch all the way to the heavens has a way of making me feel small and insignificant. Almost as if I’m nothing more then a grain of sand that lays beneath the feet of creation. It is easy I guess in life to feel insignificant, allowing ourselves to believe that in the end we will be forgotten. Very few are safe from being forgotten in the pages of history and even then in time we will all be forgotten. But what is it that lasts, is it possible to make a difference to leave an indelible mark on the world? As I sit here I find myself looking outside to the sky above and wonder why. What is this all about? Why am I here now, in this place and in this time? Am I insignificant, someone replaceable or am I unique and irreplaceable? Today I was thinking of Christ’s Ascension into heaven and after he had rose to complete the Pascal mystery we see his chosen apostles lost in their confusion not sure what to do. It is here that we find the meaning of all my questions. It is here that I learn that I am not insignificant and my actions are everlasting. What I do doesn’t just affect those around me but instead with my witness I can have a profound impact on all generations to come. The angel of the Lord appears to the apostils after Christ’s Ascension and asks them “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?” This reminds me of so many times in my own life when I too felt helpless, alone and not knowing what to do. Why am I left here standing? What is I am called to do.

The angel’s call wasn’t to take our eyes away from looking upward but it was a call to remind us to take our eyes off of ourselves and to look at the grand design. I read once somewhere that the Nativity was a reminder to us of God’s love and the Ascension leaves us with the responsibility for proving it. Often when we get lost looking upward we take our eyes off the simple fact Christ never left us. The angel stands before me now reminding me that it’s not as important to see what God does in my life but instead it’s important to hear what God is calling me to do in the lives of others. You see Christ didn’t leave or abandon me but instead he called me to be Christ to others, to put down my personal problems and care for others. The Gospels are unfinished. The Ascension calls us to see the world in a broader picture and to take responsibility for the coming of the Christ in a world that is crazed with lust for power which leaves so many in oppression feeling lost and alone, abandoned and afraid. This is even more important because we live in a culture that often teaches that material wealth is a sign of God’s approval.

It’s natural to look upward, to stretch your self to God but we can’t forget that Christ needs us to reach others, to co-participate with him in his redemptive mission. I read somewhere once that Theresa of Calcutta once said that Christ called me to be Christ to others. She was a woman who under harsh circumstances became a beacon of hope to a world that had become lost. She was very much Christ to the poor and downtrodden, to the outcaste and alone. She was Christ and mother to a hurting world. What she did affected millions around the world, and her legacy, her gift was incalculable. She will long be remembered through the actions of love long after the kings, princesses and most of those in history have come and gone. So I ask you right now viri Galilaei, quid admiramini aspicientes in caelum? (Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven?) Isn’t it time we find our own Calcutta?