All the evidence suggests that a question that resides in almost every sentient being takes aim at one’s purpose. “What is my purpose?” “For what reason was I born?” Mark Twain supposedly said, “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” Not everyone agrees that he is the originator of the statement, but its popularity reveals that it struck a chord.
Those who are faith-inspired, ask “Am I doing what God wants of me?” St. Francis of Assisi said, “I have done what was mine to do; may God teach you what is yours to do.” We can learn a lot about whether we are fulfilling our purpose by looking at where we place ourselves. In that process, we are better suited to listen, learn and grow.
In the Apocryphal Acts of Peter, he asks Jesus, “Quo vadis?” That is, “Where are you going?” This encounter comes after Christ’s Resurrection and He answers that He is returning to Rome to be crucified again, which gives Peter the courage to return to Rome himself to continue his work. Peter is subsequently crucified upside down. His martyrdom completed his life’s purpose.
In prayer, we can ask, “Quo debeo ire?” (my online translator tells me this is Latin for Where must I go?) There is no one-time answer as our purpose is found in our life’s accumulation of actions taken in various places with a range of people under differing conditions.
One of the most powerful resources in finding peace with the questions that we wrestle with is, quite simply, faith. John Henry Newman included in a prayer, “God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good; I shall do His work. I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it if I do but keep His commandments.”
Quo vadis? Go to where you can pray, listen to God’s answers, serve others and serve God. It won’t be easy to ignore the gnawing questions, but you will be able to be less anxious about the answers.
Possible additional reading from my past posts: