Church Talk: True happiness transcends material things

By focusing on faith and fearing God’s judgment, we can avoid prioritizing worldly possessions and live more meaningful lives, wrote Catholic Bishop Reynaldo Bunyi Getalado.

We had a Congregational priest named Father Pizarro. In our recollections, he told us a story about a human skull that sat on his desk. He was always looking at this human skull and pondering what this human skull meant to him. One day, he said to us, it was as if the human skull was talking to him. The human skull said to him, “You know, Pizarro, yesterday I was just like you. I was flesh and blood, active and healthy. Now I am a skull. Tomorrow, Pizarro, you will be just like me.” These conversations with the skull helped him understand what was most important in life and curbed his ambition to be a celebrity. It helped him to humble himself and curb his pride.

Allow me to share some perspectives that can help us live lives worthy of being Christians.

1. The things that are indispensable in life are invisible to the eyes. In this world of consumerism, we are bombarded with all kinds of advertisements saying that we should have these products to be happy and successful. These products should be labeled with brands. It manipulates us and makes us feel that having these products will make us happy and satisfied. They are an indispensable part of our lives, as if we are not human without them. But the indispensable and most important part of our lives is faith. Faith is not fully perceptible by the human eye, it requires the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit and the guidance of the Church. Faith is a gift from God. Through the gift of faith, it gives meaning to our lives. It answers the fundamental question of the meaning and destiny of life. If we don’t know the meaning of life, how can we enjoy life. A billionaire and politician from Thailand was asked by a reporter, now that you are successful, what is indispensable in life for you? He said family. The relationships and harmony in his family and extended family play a major role in his happiness.

• Through meditation on the skull, we are able to prioritize what is important in life. A successful businessman was diagnosed with cancer. He had only six months to live. He said to himself, what should I do. He made a list and wrote down what he wanted to do. He chose one activity from many. He decided to do charity work. He volunteered for a feeding program. A few weeks later, he said, if I had done this charity mission before, then my life would have made sense. Meditation on the skull opens our eyes to see and prioritize what is most important in life. We should prioritize eternal spiritual wealth over temporary earthly possessions. In this world of consumerism, we tend to overemphasize the material world as supreme rather than spiritual wealth. At the end of the day, we are all the same, whether we are billionaires or ordinary people, buried six feet deep in the ground. Jesus reminded us in the Sermon on the Mount: Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:19-21). We should store up treasure in heaven, not temporary earthly wealth. When we live on earth, we ask, what is meaningful to me in life? Where do I invest? The choice is between living for worldly gain or giving to gain heavenly rewards. In addition, Jesus taught people not to be enslaved by power and money, winning the whole world is not the purpose of our lives. We must set our hearts on eternal heavenly treasures.

• Other fruits of meditating on the human skull are that we develop the fear of the Lord. Ecclesiastes 1:16 says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This profound insight is found throughout scripture, especially in the Old Testament wisdom literature. The fear of the Lord is not a slavish fear, but a deep reverence and awe for God’s majesty and holiness. As Pope Francis has said, it is not God that I fear, but a respect that is indispensable for receiving the gift of wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the foundation upon which true wisdom is built, for it leads humanity toward God, the source of all wisdom and understanding. The fear of the Lord leads to a deeper understanding of God and His ways, and inspires a life of humility, obedience, and trust. The Book of Proverbs reinforces this teaching, stating that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Knowledge and understanding flow from a right relationship with the Lord, a relationship characterized by reverence, reverence, and obedience to His will. As the late Pope John Paul II said, faith liberates reason because it allows it to properly acquire the knowledge it seeks and place it in the final order of things, in which everything acquires its true meaning. In conclusion, the fear of the Lord is not a burden but a gift of the Holy Spirit that frees one to receive God’s wisdom and live accordingly. As Pope Francis said, this gift does not make us shy and submissive Christians, but inspires us with courage and strength. This gift makes us firm, fervent Christians who obey the Lord not out of fear but because we are moved and conquered by his love. With God-given wisdom and obedience to God’s will, we develop a strong character to resist the temptations of everyday life. That kind of pride does not bring us any good. It is only a vitamin for our ego. Infidelity damages our good relationship with God. Jealousy only destroys our good relationship with each other and does not promote our spiritual growth. Always live in peace with God.