A Man's Way of Light

"There is no handbook of life that I can read to help me... no one told me it was going to get confusing!" a young man on social media yells.  

His rant received a bajillion views on the Vlog, which explains that some might agree.  But the young influencer's constant mistakes in life only mean a lack of personal trajectory.   I agree; life is confusing.  But there is a book of life and, specifically, a letter for men to help curve struggles during life's journey.

The following letter is ascribed to Barnabas of Cyprus (56), a co-worker of the Apostle Paul who ministered to the Gentiles during early Christendom.  Today, its message still has purpose and meaning for all men. 

The letter has helped me navigate the darkest moments of my life and offers points for life efforts and daily destinations.  I share the letter below:   

Consider now the way of light; any man bent on reaching his appointed goal must be very careful in all he does. Now these are the directions that have been given to us for this journey: love your creator; reverence your maker; give glory to him who redeemed you when you were dead; be a single-minded but rich and spiritual treasure; avoid those who travel down death's highway; hate whatever is displeasing to God; detest all hypocritical pretense; do not abandon god's commandments. Do not put on airs, but be modest whatever you do; claim no credit for yourself. Plot no evil against your neighbor, and do not give pride an entrance to your heart.

Love your neighbor more than your own life. Do not kill an unborn child through abortion, nor destroy it after birth. Do not refrain from chastising your son or daughter, but bring them up from childhood to respect the Lord. Do not set your heart on what belongs to your neighbor, nor give in to greed. Do not associate with the arrogant, but cultivate humble and virtuous ones.
Accept whatever comes your way as a blessing in the knowledge that nothing ever happens without God's concurrence. Avoid duplicity in thought or words, for deception is a deadly snare.
Share with your neighbor whatever you have, and do not say of anything, this is mine. If you share an imperishable treasure, how much more must you share what is perishable? Do not be hasty in speech. The mouth is a deadly snare. For your soul's good, make every effort to live chastely. Do not hold out your hand for what you can get, only to withdraw it when it comes to giving. Cherish as the apple of your eye anyone who speaks to you of the word of the Lord.

Night and day, you will bear in mind the hour of judgment; every day, you will seek out the company of God's faithful, either by preaching the word, earnestly exhorting them, ever considering how you can save souls by your eloquence, or else by working with your hands to make reparation for your past sins.
 
Never hesitate to give, and when you do give, never grumble. Then you will know the one who will repay you. Preserve the traditions you have received, adding nothing and taking nothing away. The evil-doer will never be hateful to you. Be fair in your judgments. Never stir up deception. But act as a peacemaker and reconcile the quarrelsome. Confess your sins, and do not begin to pray with a guilty conscience. 

Such then is the way of light.



And for the young influencer, chin up, little buck, set your sights on the higher plains.

Comments

Post a Comment

I would like to hear your thoughts.

Popular posts from this blog

From Disciple to Lay Apostle

Image
Is it impossible for Christians to be Lay Apostles?  Growing from being disciples of Christ toward being a Lay Apostle might seem lofty, but it is a calling for all Christians. The Church teaches a lot on the subject using scripture and the Catechism of the Church, but my favorite is the Second Vatican Council's document Lumen Gentium .  But what about a simple visual? How would this teaching look in today's world?  Check out this short animated video, which describes what it might look like:  This is Discipleship In the comments below, write how you feel when viewing the video.  Is this calling hard or easy? Be brief. 
Read more

Learning To Live

Image
Some people say that college leads to a good job and others affirm that college is self-discovery of truth in one's life.  So how did I traverse a collegiate path?  What did I want to learn? The answers are related to joy and energy. Today, potential college students answer these questions through analytic influences such as job forecasting and economic trends.  It is a sure thing to get on the right path, right?  Well, sometimes graduates later discover that the  status quo has interfered with a good education. Most agree that what brings them joy and energy in the workforce has very little to do with job forecasting before college.  Instead, a question to ask is, “what brings me joy and energy now?” The practice of reading scripture and contemplating Christendom brings me joy and energy.  So, I asked myself one day “How do I learn more about this?”  I sought answers by volunteering at my parish. I thought it would be a good way to get some answers.  Initially, this was exc
Read more

Stranger In The Woods

Image
There is a road that climbs up a dense forest mountain. It is everything medieval but without the hustle and bustle of people. Or so I thought.  We were driving on a forest road in the middle of Lincoln National Forest, scouting for another campsite. We had been exploring these parts for about a week and felt the need to set up basecamp. With internet service lost, using Gaia  Maps to traverse was our only option. Meeting the adventure head-on and being ready for the risk is what exploring means. As we ascended to 8000 feet, we passed a deserted car off the trail. It appeared to have slid into a ditch. I wondered how a vehicle like that made it up the mountain. "This is a strange place to see a car like that," I said to my wife, for the trail was rugged, narrow, and dark. In a two-wheel drive, no faster than I could walk, we made our way up the mountain, passing melting snow drifts. But in the distance, a figure emerged from the forest. It was hard to see, but the silhouette
Read more