Jan 12 Mon
Why do I sometimes feel empty, even though I have done many things?
Human life is characterized by a constant movement that drives us to do, to act. Nowadays, speed is required everywhere to achieve optimal results in a wide variety of fields. How does Jesus’ resurrection shed light on this aspect of our experience? When we participate in his victory over death, will we rest?
Faith assures us: yes, true rest is found in God. Entering God’s repose means peace and joy, not mere inactivity.
So, should we just wait, or can this change us right now?
We are absorbed by many activities that do not always leave us satisfied. A lot of our actions have to do with practical, concrete things. We have to assume responsibility for many commitments, solve problems, and face difficulties. Jesus too was involved with people and with life, not sparing himself, but rather giving himself to the end.
Yet we often perceive that too much doing, instead of giving us fulfilment, overwhelms us, takes away our serenity, and prevents us from living to the fullest what is truly important in our lives.
Sometimes, at the end of days full of activities, we feel empty. Why? Because we are not machines, we have a “heart”; indeed, we can say that we are a heart.
The Evangelist Matthew invites us to reflect on the importance of the heart, quoting this beautiful phrase of Jesus: “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Mt 6:21).
We must reflect on this because in the numerous commitments we continually face, there is an increasing risk of dispersion, sometimes of despair, of meaninglessness, even in apparently successful people.
Instead, when we look at life with the Risen Jesus, we find access to our “restless” heart, yearning for fulfillment. St Augustine writes: “Lord, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
Restlessness is the sign that our heart does not move by chance, without a purpose or a destination, but is oriented towards its ultimate destination, the “return home.”
The authentic approach of the heart does not consist in possessing the goods of this world, but in achieving what can fill it; namely, the love of God, or rather, God who is Love.
This treasure, however, can only be found by loving the neighbor. Our neighbor asks us to slow down, to look them in the eye, sometimes to change our plans, perhaps even to change direction.
No one can live without a meaning that goes beyond what passes away. The human heart cannot live without hope, without knowing that it is made for fullness, not for want.
Jesus Christ, with his Incarnation, Passion, Death, and Resurrection, has given us a solid foundation for this hope. In Christ, life will continue to triumph in daily life. This is Christian hope: let us always bless and thank the Lord who has given it to us!
Excerpts from Pope Leo XIV