Our Endless Search for Purpose
“What is the meaning of life?”
The Catholic answer to this most important question begins and ends with the Church’s divine Founder, the Lord Jesus Christ, who became man to fulfill all men and women, both here on earth and forever in heaven. As the Gospel of John famously proclaims,
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him (John 3:16-17).
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy,” Jesus adds in John’s Gospel. “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).
In addition, Jesus wants us to have abundant life not simply for our own sake, but so that our witness will help others seek and attain the meaning of life in him as members of his Catholic Church. As Jesus teaches,
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:14-16; see John 13:34-35).
Why Are We Here?: The Meaning of Life Made Clear
We start with why we even exist at all: that God created us out of love, for love, and thus in communion with him. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) provides,
God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life (CCC 1).
Our foundation in—and destiny for—Christ summarizes the purpose of our lives, which the Catholic Church in her divinely established mission proclaims and otherwise carries out in her saving mission (Matt. 28:18-20):
The whole concern of doctrine and its teaching must be directed to the love that never ends. Whether something is proposed for belief, for hope or for action, the love of our Lord must always be made accessible, so that anyone can see that all the works of perfect Christian virtue spring from love and have no other objective than to arrive at love (CCC 25).
Because we do not exist by happenstance, we should not seek meaning apart from the Lord. As Jesus teaches us, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me” (John 14:6), and he reaffirms that he and the Father will fulfill us: “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well” (Matt. 6:33).
Within this general, common purpose for humanity, we each have our individual callings or vocations. Some of us are called to marriage, others to the priesthood or consecrated life, others to generous single life as lay people. In addition, our lives take shape within our families, friendships, and work, as well through our exercising the respective gifts and talents God gives each of us.
So, again, all of us share in the universal call to holiness: to know and love God in this life, and ultimately attain eternal life with him forever in heaven.
What Does It Mean to Be Human?: We Were Created by God and for God
We human beings exist in the physical world, but the merely material realm cannot fully explain who we are and who we’re called to be.
Scripture tells us that we—as men and women—are created in the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:26-27). The Catechism therefore teaches that, of all visible creatures, only man is “able to know and love his creator” and so is called to share in God’s own life (CCC 356). Indeed, “the desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God” (CCC 27; see Rom. 2:13-16).
This unique status we have as God’s creatures gives every human life an inherent dignity.
Our fundamental worth, thus, does not depend upon our intelligence, independence, health, age, productivity, wealth, popularity, or what we can offer other people. A human being is priceless precisely because of what and who he is: a human person whom Jesus Christ uniquely created and loves.
Because we humans have the powers to reason and choose—to freely love, sacrifice, worship, and consider realities far beyond our mere physicality—it is clear that while we are bodily creatures, we are not merely just bodies.
We Are Body and Soul Composites
The Catholic understanding of the soul is sometimes confused with the idea of a ghost, or spirit, inhabiting a body. However, the body is not a shell or vessel from which the “real” person eventually escapes. Such a view is consistent with the ancient heresy of Gnosticism, which includes the dualistic belief that our spirits are good and our bodies inferior and evil. That’s why, for example, the Albigensians opposed marriage as a good, and yet engaged in sex apart from marriage, arguing that such bodily actions were inconsequential. They therefore failed to see that we express who we are as humans persons, choosing good or evil, in the bodily choices we make.
Body and soul together constitute our human nature as persons (CCC 362-366), and our souls are spiritual souls because we are made in God’s image and likeness. Consequently, we possess both an intellect and free will: we can know truth and freely choose what is good and avoid what is evil (CCC 356-361).
The Church teaches that each person’s spiritual soul is created directly by God, that it is infused into our body at our conception, and that it is immortal (CCC 366; 2270). Death therefore does not mean that a human person ceases to exist. Rather, our souls are separated from our bodies at death, at which point we each face our particular judgment with the Lord; ultimately, we will be reunited with our bodies in the hereafter, for better or for worse (see CCC 1021-1022; 1038).
If we human beings were only material organisms, then we would be like the rest of the animal kingdom. Non-rational animals—whatever their intelligence—do not possess the powers to freely choose and love; and thus we don’t hold them accountable as we do humans who can—and actually do—choose good or evil on a daily basis. Indeed, we know this from our everyday human experience. For example, if a pit bull kills a child, the dog is not put on trial; rather, it is simply put down because an interrogation would be useless. We’re not dealing with a rational being who can account for his actions.
Also, gorillas and elephants have a greater form of animal intelligence than a pit bull, and yet we do not put them on trial for murder either when they kill a man or woman, as if they could actually plot such a crime. If anything, we would likely fault the human for irrationally getting too close to the gorilla or elephant in the wild or at a zoo. Ditto when such animals kill one of their own or of another non-human species. We don’t set up a court and seek the testimony of witnesses. Thus the term “the law of the jungle,” a brute survival of the fittest which governs non-rational animals.
In marked contrast, we human beings are accountable for our actions, precisely because, again, we can make rational choices. That men and women throughout the world recognize that we should do good and avoid evil is further evidence that there is such a thing as a common human nature, reaffirming that we are all made in God’s image and likeness—and thus that we all have the law of God inscribed on our hearts (Rom. 2:13-16). In addition, that we can even ponder the meaning of life further affirms that we are not mere material beings.
Why Life Can Still Feel Meaningless
Part of being human in our imperfect world means that we will not always experience happiness and fulfillment; and thus our lives can seem meaningless. Jesus understands this. He created us good, and yet, because of original sin and our own personal sins, the devil seeks to keep us enslaved (CCC 388-390). Jesus redeemed us through his one sacrifice of Calvary, and we need to respond to whether we will allow him to set us free, now and forever (John 8:31-32). Fr. John Riccardo, the founder of Acts XXIX, distills the Christ-centered meaning of our lives in his Rescue Project.
Jesus established his Church, founded on St. Peter and the apostles (Eph. 2:19-22), so that we can know and embrace his liberating truth, including through the power of his sacraments. Still, we’re reminded that while we can experience a foretaste of heaven on earth, including the peace which the world cannot give (John 14:27), this world has sufferings that will be wholly absent from the next. We can experience that suffering in the form of restlessness, with fulfillment elusive as we seek to discern and attain our purpose in life.
St. Augustine, one of the Doctors of the Church, could relate. He knew this restlessness firsthand. Before his conversion, Augustine pursued intellectual achievement, ambition, and sexual fulfillment apart from marriage while exploring various philosophies. In time, he came to realize that our lives only have true meaning in the Lord Jesus: “You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you” (CCC 30, emphasis added).
Augustine realized that created things, however good they are, cannot truly satisfy us apart from faithful discipleship with the Lord.
St. Augustine had “been there/done that” before his conversion, and thus he serves as a role model not only for young people—especially re: the fleeting fulfillment of unchaste relationships—but also for all men and women in general on the emptiness of a life without God. And therefore the need to seek the Lord Jesus amidst our various life struggles, including seeking him anew if you are Catholic and have strayed from discipleship.
Until we reach heaven, we will wrestle—at least periodically—with restlessness. We pursue relationships, careers, experiences, accomplishments, pleasure, and security, often hoping that once we have enough we will finally be satisfied. But without God at the center of our lives here on earth, none of these will truly satisfy us. Nor will they begin to compare to our fulfillment in Christ when we experience the beatific vision in heaven, please Lord (see CCC 1028; 1032).
Are We Alone in Our Suffering?
In addition, in solidarity with Jesus and our brothers and sisters in Christ, our sufferings gain meaning and so are redeemed, reminding us that we are not alone in our struggles:
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matt. 16:24-25).
So life is always meaningful when we keep our eyes on the Lord, even when it is very difficult. Human life does not lose its value because someone is suffering, dependent on others, unsuccessful by worldly standards, or unable to accomplish everything for which he had hoped.
And, please, don’t lose hope. Jesus loves you, and he has shown it by dying and rising from the dead to redeem you in particular. Never despair that God has abandoned you, and remember that he typically loves us through the people he has put into our lives, including those who are only a phone call away if you experience suicidal ideation. There’s no shame in seeking support for mental and spiritual health problems. So, please, reach out to those around you.
Further, Jesus’ love for us continues. That’s why he describes himself as the Good Shepherd who seeks out a lost sheep, instead of waiting for the sheep to come home (Luke 15:3-7). So, turn to the Lord Jesus in prayer, and, again, reach out to those around you.
Can We Create Our Own Meaning?: And Answering the Charge that the Catholic Church Has No Credibility
Modern culture often offers another answer: perhaps life has no objective purpose, and we simply must create one.
Certain forms of existentialism, specifically atheistic existentialism, approach human existence this way. With no divine purpose in one’s life, the individual must choose what his life will mean.
In addition, such people (and many others) will argue that the Catholic Church has no credibility in pontificating on the meaning of life, including because of the bad witness historically of Catholics, particularly a good number of her leaders, e.g., in the clerical sexual abuse scandal of recent decades. But please don’t let sinful Catholics, especially leaders who have betrayed the Church’s God-given mission, be a stumbling block for you. The Catholic Church has credibility precisely because Jesus Christ is God incarnate, and because Jesus founded his Church on the rock of St. Peter and promised the gates of hell would never prevail against it (Matt. 16:18-19); and that Jesus promised he would always be with his Church until his Second Coming (Matt. 28:20), and that he would lead the Church into all truth (John 16:13). In that light, being Catholic is the fullness of following Jesus on Jesus’ terms, not our own.
In summary, while we concur with atheists and others that our choices do matter, we can’t attain true fulfillment without the right moral compass, which entails embracing the teachings of Jesus as safeguarded by his Catholic Church (John 15:10-11; CCC 84-87). God determines objective truth, not us as individuals, and despite what the U.S. Supreme Court stated in its Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision in 1992:
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.
In fact, we either prove true the teachings of Jesus to our benefit, or substantiate them negatively through our self-destructive choices.
John Lennon once stated, “All we are saying, is give peace a chance.” To which Jesus and his Church respond, “Give the Prince of Peace a chance.” And if you’re not yet Catholic, you don’t necessarily have to formally enter the Catholic Church to realize the worthiness of this proposition.
In fact, you don’t need to be a baptized Christian, or even in a state of grace, to encounter Jesus in an intimately profound way. You can simply visit your nearest Catholic church and spend some time quietly praying before Jesus, as he is reserved in the tabernacle of every church. This intimate form of prayer is known as Eucharistic adoration, in which we draw near to the Eucharistic Lord Jesus.
So please take advantage of this edifying encounter. And if you’re already Catholic, please encourage fallen-away Catholics, non-Catholic Christians, and non-Christians to spend some time praying to our Eucharistic Lord Jesus. And encourage your parish pastors and bishops to do the same on a wider level. Jesus always speaks to us through his still, small voice when we choose to draw near to him (1 Kings 19:11-13).
Death Is Not the End
Getting the meaning of life right means everything, and only in God will man “find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for” (CCC 27, emphasis added).
We see this every day among those who face imminent death. They’re not concerned with the superficial aspects of life, e.g., financial deals not made or the ephemeral pleasures of the flesh left unrealized. Rather, they focus on what matters most: their relationships with family and friends, and, by extension, the afterlife and how it might provide an opportunity for a reunion with their loved ones.
At death, the soul separates from the body, and then each person faces his particular judgment before the Lord Jesus (Heb. 9:27; CCC 1021-1022). Those who die in God’s friendship are destined for heaven, although some first must undergo the purification Catholics call purgatory. Catholics use the term “beatific vision” to describe our perfect union with God in heaven:
The beatific vision, in which God opens himself in an inexhaustible way to the elect, will be the ever-flowing well-spring of happiness, peace, and mutual communion.” (CCC 1045).
In stark contrast, those who freely and definitively reject God face eternal separation from him, for love coerced is not love at all (see CCC 1033-1037).
For those of us who have lived well and thus chosen well, we will attain the beatitude for which God created us and so realize the ultimate meaning of our lives. There will be no more internal struggle for fulfillment. When we enter into communion with the Holy Trinity and our fellow blessed in heaven, please Lord, we will have no need to yearn for meaning, because we will exult in perfect, heavenly joy forever.
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