2. Jesus: The Star of Stars!

The words of that great Pope highlight two points. First of all, if your potential is your very own, only you can realize it --- no one else can do it for you. Secondly, it is larger than you, it lies beyond your horizon. It is a potential that God has given us, as He created us into his image and likeness."[8]

Let us look at the young man of the Gospel. From his childhood he had been fulfilling all the commandments; he had “many possessions” – material as well as spiritual.  Yet, he felt something was missing. Hence he asks: “All these I have observed; what do I still lack?"[9] The basic reason for one’s unfulfilled aspirations is not to be found outside oneself. And this was the condition of the young man."[10] Reflecting on this, John Paul II writes: “What he was, precisely as a young man - the interior treasure hidden in youth - had led him to Jesus."[11] You too will have your deep aspirations. Be sure, Jesus alone is the answer to them.

This is the conviction of those who, having come to Jesus, remained with him. On one occasion, the disciples of Jesus found his teachings difficult to follow. One by one, they began to leave him. Jesus, then, turned to Peter and asked: “Do you also wish to go away?” Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life!"[12] Those who put their faith in the words of eternal life spoken by Jesus grow to be more and more like Him. It is because St. Paul did this that he could say: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me."[13] 

I remember Josephine Bhakita, a saint who lived in our times. Born in Sudan, her childhood was wrought in pain, as she would be regularly scourged, resulting in 144 scars on her body. Her encounter with Jesus transformed her life. She spent the rest of her  life spreading the message of Jesus. She died in 1947 and Pope John Paul II proclaimed her a saint. Pope Benedict XVI writes about her: “The hope that sprang in her brought her freedom. This hope could not remain within her, this hope had to reach to others, it had to reach everyone"[14].

So, who is this JESUS?