Climbing mountains

ACCORDING to a story I heard, one day a man, feeling tired and disheartened by life's countless trials and hardships, prayed and complained to God. "Lord, why do I have so many mountains and hills to climb in life?" he asked. And God answered: "For you to have a better view, my child."

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The Gospel today (Mk. 9, 2-10) is about Peter, James and John being led up a high mountain by Jesus where He was transfigured before them. The climb must have been difficult, but the view must have been so magnificent that Peter ended up saying, "Lord, it is good for us to be here!"

It is not easy to climb a mountain, but the climb itself is its own reward. Don't give up. Go slowly, step by step, one day at a time. Don't rush the climb. Learn from the climb, for he who climbs learns to travel light and leaves luggage behind. So if you are on a mountain climb right now, maybe God is freeing you from unnecessary attachments and prisons that you don't need in life.

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One of the luggage we need to learn to let go in life is worry. How many of us are so burdened by day-to-day worries? Actually, there are only three days to worry about: yesterday, today and tomorrow. But, as someone beautifully put it, we need not worry about yesterday because we can no longer change it. Neither should we worry about tomorrow because we can't control it, nor should we worry about today because it is in God's hands. For those who worry so much that they can't even sleep at night, remember the old advice: Instead of counting sheep, try talking to the Shepherd instead!

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One other luggage we need to leave behind is the burden of wealth and possession, especially our greed to have more. Someone said that if we look at what we don't have in life, we will never ever have enough. The desire never really ends, so instead of focusing on the treasures we have in the bank, why don't we look at the treasures we have banked in our hearts. For those who already have much and who do not share, listen to what Mahatma Gandhi had to say: "If people possess something they don't use, they become thieves."

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Something beautiful awaits him who climbs a mountain. The view at the top is beautiful and literally breathtaking. This is the reward for one who persevered.

But something beautiful happens also within the beholder: a sense of achievement for having persevered, a deep feeling of confidence to be able to climb more mountains. Some kind of "transfiguration" occurs whenever you climb a mountain. You do not only get a better view, you also come down from the mountain a better you.

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We just received the good news that Blessed Arnold Janssen, founder of the SVD, SSpS and SSpSAP, together with Blessed Joseph Freinademetz our first SVD missionary to China, will be canonized in Rome on Oct. 5 this year. These were two simple men who experienced God in a very personal way and who concretized the vision God had shown them by carrying out diligently the mission assigned to them, braving deprivation, loneliness and even persecution "that the heart of Jesus may live in the hearts of all."

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No one stays at the mountaintop forever. Sooner or later, we must descend and go back to our realities. There are people who think they can have instant and constant "peak" experiences either through drugs, alcohol, pleasures and irresponsible relationships. These people end up hurt, disillusioned and broken in the end, not to mention the many, many hurts and troubles they scatter along the way.

When you are on a mountain climb, remember there are no shortcuts, and once you're at the top, its only a temporary stop. A mountaintop is not the end, but only a bend as we journey on in life.

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We all need "transfiguration moments," moments when we are assured of God's presence and power as we journey through life. Weak as we are, we forget, we doubt, we falter. The memory of God's presence and constant love will carry us through the valleys of tears and deserts of dryness. And, if God touched us once, He will touch us again and again at opportune times. Let us continue to be open to the stirrings of the divine, at work in the most simple and ordinary moments and events of our lives.

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I will be at the mountaintop of Baguio this week for a meeting of SVD mission secretaries and superiors. We will be sharing our experiences and ways of sharing God's love with people far and wide, especially the poor, the marginalized, the un-churched, those of different cultures and religious traditions.

A religious experience is not something to be kept, but something to be shared. Every Christian is a missionary. Have you shared your God with others? Have you brought anybody closer to God? Have people become better because they encountered you?

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A moment with the Lord:

Lord, when burdened by the mountain climb, remind me that You are with me every single step along the way, and that there's a beautiful view at the top. Amen.