The Pastor's Corner

by Fr. Bob Hoffman

Often, we find that our faith runs counter to the ways of the world. One of the ways in which this is true is how the world encourages us to “be who you want to be” and to “follow your dreams.” However, our faith tells us that this is not what is best. In fact, it is often limiting us to something less.

Instead, we point to the famous quote from Saint Catherine of Siena: “Be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire.” An all-knowing and all-powerful God who is love itself and is the source of all goodness is going to want what is best for us. Following God’s plans for us leads to our greatest flourishing. God loves us more than we love ourselves, and God knows far more than we do. So, we are far better to follow God’s plans for us than to try to form plans of our own (that are likely nowhere near as good).

This does run counter to a world that says that we should do what we want, be who we want, and follow whatever plan that we want. We see this message everywhere. Even a Supreme Court justice once wrote in a ruling, “At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.”

But we cannot really define our own concept of existence. We can only deny the reality of what existence is. 

For our school students, we want them to embrace how wonderfully and uniquely God made them (cf. Psalm 139:14). We want them to discover the special talents and traits that God has given them. And we want them to begin the process of discovering God’s magnificent plan for them.