Last week, the Church celebrated the feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas. He is a Doctor of the Church and was one of the greatest theologians in church history. With this in mind, there is a lot you could reflect on regarding his life and writings. But there is a simple story about him that stands out to me. The story says that St. Thomas was in a chapel in prayer before a crucifix when Jesus said, “you have written well of me, Thomas. What reward will you receive from me for your labor?” St. Thomas replied, “nothing but yourself, Lord.” This is the kind of faith that I want.
Imagine being asked what you want and your response is Jesus. If we could have anything we wanted in the world, what would it be? Would we believe that Jesus alone is enough for us? As we go through life, a goal of the journey is to deepen our faith so that all of our hopes and desires point to one thing, or rather, one person: Jesus.
For most of us, there are so many different things we want. Whether it’s goals we want to achieve, a good career, material possessions, or a certain salary, there are many areas that we want to obtain more. While none of these are bad, we must determine what is the root of these desires?
We must recognize the deep longing we all have for Jesus. And from there, we must realize that it is He alone who can fill the emptiness within. He alone can fill the empty spaces that we try to fill with everything but Him.
We have countless opportunities to come before Jesus and encounter His love. Whether we are at Mass receiving Him in the eucharist, sitting in eucharistic adoration, praying before a crucifix, or reading scripture, these are all times that we can experience His love pouring out on us. Imagine thinking that it’s not enough. Yet, we often do.
When we recognize that it is only Jesus who can satisfy us, we will have made great progress in our spiritual journeys. May we never give up and continue to desire a deeper relationship with Christ. My prayer today for each of us is that we would all be able to honestly say, “only you, Lord.”
Faith and The Good Stuff 