Are we good for nothing?

Are we good for nothing?
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Some people  suffer from a delusion that they are good for nothing.

They want to  be the "best" at everything.

When they find it impossible they start   to think they are   completely worthless.

Fed by a faulty measure of "worth", they begin to think little of themselves .

There are some interesting things to be said to such folks.

Our body is one though it has many parts.

One part cannot say to another part that it is needless to the body.

Each part of our body has its own work to do for the welfare of the same body

All the parts of the body are equally important to it though they have different functions to do.

The head cannot say, "I am the most important  part, as I am the administrator"

as it cannot function without the help of other parts.

Head cannot walk, though it occupies the top most position.

Legs walk and run, 

of course,

at direction of the head.

Our Holy Mother the Church is the mystical Body of Christ.

We,

right from the Pope down to the ordinary Christian,

are its members.

The Pope is the Head and

the Bishops and the priests are the administrators.

We are the 'Laity'.

Each member may differ in the degree of importance from the view point of administration.

But all are equal in one respect,  all are sinners.

One who says that he has no sin is a liar.

"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." (1John.1:8)

"If we claim we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."
(1John.1:10)

"Mea culpa,  mea culpa, mea maxima culpa."

The phrase comes from a prayer of confession of sinfulness,

known as the 'Confiteor,'

used in the Roman Rite at the beginning of Mass 

or when receiving the sacrament of Penance.

"I  confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers [and sisters],
that I have greatly sinned,
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done and in what I have failed to do,

'through my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous fault;'

therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin,
all the Angels and Saints,
and you, my brothers [and sisters],
to pray for me to the Lord our God.["1]

The above prayer ' must be' said by all the members of the Church.

All of us are sinners

and acceptance of our sins is

the first step towards forgiveness and salvation. 

Jesus came to the world in search of sinners,

if one says that he is not a sinner

it would mean that Jesus didn't come for him.

It would look like he saying to Jesus ,

"I hear you have come in search of sinners,

I have no sin

and so you have no business with me! "

We will be judged not on the basis of our position in the church,

but on the basis of our holiness.

Our holiness does not depend on our status

or knowledge of theology
and philosophy,

but on how we obey God's commandments

and the precepts of the church.

An ordinary layman can prove himself holier than
the Pope himself.

So an ignorant man need not think that  he is good for nothing because of his ignorance.

Sometimes ignorance can prove itself a blessing,

because an ignorant man cannot disobey a law

he does not know.

There are poor and uneducated Christians,

in villages, 

who have no basic knowledge of theology,

but they  blindly obey the words of their Parish Priests.

Such obedient people are more pleasing to God

than the well educated but disobedient ones.

Their obedience will bring them salvation.

Our first parents' disobedience

must be set right by our,

their children's,

obedience.

In God's creation 'nothing is good for nothing',

everything is good for something.

Moreover no two persons should be compared,

not even  on a common basis,

because everyone is unique in God's creation.

We cannot say,

"The Pope's  duties are more difficult  than a Bishop's."

Because the Pope's duties are the Pope's.

The Bishop's duties are the
Bishop's.

How can they be compared?

Can I compare my nose with yours?

My nose is fit for  my body and yours for yours.

Let us not think ourselves good for nothing

by comparing ourselves with someone

whom we think better  than us.

We are unique.

No one can be like us or better than us.

This is the beauty of God's creation.

Lourdu Selvam