Not being known for anything.
Not being acknowledged.
No one at our funeral.
We
desire to be known for something...for anything!
We
want to be acknowledged. We want an epic eulogy.
The Magnificat
has a reflection on St. Nicarete.
She
was a little-known saint who pledged her life to Christ by way of service to
the poor. When asked if she would lead other women, she declined.
She remained with the poor until her death even though it meant a tough life for her.
The prayer at the end of the reflection reads:
I
don’t know that I have read a prayer so beautiful,
yet
so against our human nature. In what world does the human not want to be known?
Not an earthly or human world, that’s for sure.
A world where we don’t crave being known by others would be a divine world.
If
we are unknown by the world,
that
does not diminish our worth. See, the God who created us,
He has us engraved in the palm of His hand.
He knows the number of hairs on our heads.
He knows our fears, desires, weaknesses, prayers, cries, and joys.
He knows us on the deepest, most beautiful level imaginable.
I’m
not known to the world.
But
that has to be okay.
If
we are known by the world,
what
worth is that?What merit is found there?
For these things of the world,
they pass away.
If
we are known by Christ,
there
all worth and merit is found.So long as we are known by Him,
it matters not if the world knows us.
The reality is people will pass us by,
we won’t have a million followers on Instagram,
and people might make us feel unknown or unwanted.
But among this reality is also this reality-
you are known,
you are wanted,
you are worth it,
and you are loved.
We
might not be known to the world,
but
know that we are known on the deepest, most intimate levelby a God who died to know you,
who prayers that you might know your worth.
