By Mwongyera Eustakio
Today the world is full of radicalism. Peace, humility, and justice are gradually vanishing into thin air. Unfortunately, in their place, hypocrisy, selfishness, and wars have thrived.
Morality has incredibly been eroded. Immorality is the new normal. Subjectivity is more praised than objectivity. The cloud of uncertainty has covered the world in which we live today.
The world is being devoured by moral erosion triggered by sophisticated scientific innovations. Man has become more materialistic than spiritual. Needless to say, is that human knowledge is limited and meaningless without the guidance and inspiration of the holy spirit.
It is thus characterized by deceit, selfishness, hypocrisy, pride, corruption, and envy, to mention but a few.
Man is engulfed in the continuous pursuit of greatness in this materialistic world.
That man’s greatness is vested in his ability to reason beyond the paradox of life. Man can only live in total happiness and everlasting harmony if he accepts to draw inspiration and guidance from the holy spirit of God. Such a guided spirit is free from the worthless cravings and desires of this world; the unwavering yearning for material wealth.
Why can’t we pick a leaf from the life of the late Pope Francis? Pope Francis seemed to have discovered, during his lifetime, that living a God-fearing life is all that matters in this world full of uncertainty. He found that amassing too much worldly wealth for self-aggrandizement is elusive for man does not know who takes such wealth when he is no more.
During his evening days, Pope Francis demonstrated that the holy spirit had always been his guide since day one. He had never had a lust for material wealth. He well knew that earthly wealth is the vanity of vanities. His simple, evangelical life full of self-denial confirms the above authenticity.
Pope Francis’ humble life is a humiliating and at the same time an important lesson to the powerful and rich politicians all over the world who are overly obsessed and overwhelmingly fascinated by the wealth and fame of this world.
Pope Francis’ reconciliation mission to return lasting peace to earth was portrayed by his selfless act of bowing down to kiss the feet of South Sudanese rivaling leaders. This act was meant to request all conflicting leaders who continue to brutally shed innocent blood courtesy of their selfish interests to repent.
In a nutshell, Pope Francis’mission on earth was to break down the walls of hatred and hypocrisy, level the valleys of anguish, build bridges of peace, and conserve the environment of harmony for man and his mother nature.
As I draw toward the end, Pope Francis’ request for a humble and simple burial demonstrates how his gentle soul was completely detached from worldly pleasures. He seemed to show how his body was equal to that of any other poor soul outside dying of hunger and deprivation.
No servant is greater than his master. You and I shall sooner or later exit from this world. We shall reap what we sowed during our lifetime. May the soul of the departed Pope rest in eternal peace.
