What then?
I recently read the story of Francis Zazzara.
When he was a young boy, Francis Zazzara went to visit Saint Philip Neri.
Saint Philip Neri was renowned for his intelligence and wit. When he was speaking with Francis, he demonstrated that wit very effectively. Francis was speaking to the Saint of his plans for the future. Saint Philip asked, “And after the exam, what then?” and the boy replied, “Then, I shall apply for a degree in law.” “And then?” questioned the Saint. “Well, then a barrister and I could marry and be a rich man.” “And then?” questioned the Saint. The boy replied, “Well, I might end up as a judge, and obtain some high office in the court of Rome.” “And then?” questioned the Saint. “Some day I should retire with a big pension and be able to enjoy an honourable old age.” Francis responded. “And then?” Asked the Saint. “Then? Well Father, some day I suppose I should have to die.” And the Saint responded quietly… “And what then?”
And the boy never forgot that final question and later in his life, gave up all his worldly things to become a member of Saint Philip Neri’s Congregation of the Oratory.
And I have been reflecting on that dedication. You see, “Peter began to say to Him, ‘Lo, we have left everything and followed You.’ Jesus said, ‘Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for My sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.’” (Mark 10:28-31).
Now, I believe in God. I really and truly believe in God. I believe in God as strongly as I believe in the skin on the hand with which I type. I believe in God as strongly as I believe that I will continue to breath oxygen into my lungs for all the remaining days of my life. I believe in God as strongly as I believe that the Sun rises in the East and sets in the West and shall continue to do so until the end of the world.
And even despite a belief this strong and a faith this fixed on God, I have failed to account for then… I carry all my worldly things on my back and work for those things and I do this firmly fixing my mind on the riches and the money and the wealth and the position and the prestige and all the fleeting things of this lifetime. And when I really stop to consider how things really will work out, it occurs to me that I am very sadly mistaken. You see, I am reminded to consider the question of Saint Philip Neri, when I suppose that I shall one day die… And today I ask myself, “What then?”
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.