Between good and bad, choose

This has been the third time I watched the movie of the extraordinary and moving journey of Pope John Paul II. I bought this movie “Karol: A man who become Pope” a few months ago.

Ever since watching it for the first time, I grew in love with this man, Karol Wojtyla. Set in the 1930’s in the country of Poland, the 10-year-old Karol has dreams, many dreams. One by one they are shattered.

The loss of his beloved parents and brother, the outbreak of the war by the Nazis and the death-fleeing human exodus, and the Jewish persecution turned a worker to a poet and a teacher.

It was God who, through all these encounters, touched him and called him to become a priest and finally in 1978, to become the man who has marked an era, a man who has made history.

While I was watching this movie, I was caught with a conversation between Karol (when he was yet a Pope) with his students.

“Why do some men act like wild beasts while others become heroes? What makes some men betray their friends and other sacrifice their lives for people they don’t even know?” asked a male student.

“People are bad because they are scared and unhappy. And because of this they can be driven to violence and self destruction.” answered a female student.

Karol then proceed saying, “Happiness and unhappiness are deep down inside each one of us. Descartes: Man is in the middle, between God and nothingness. And he must choose.”

This reminds me of our choices we make everyday. Each day we get to choose to live happily or a day full of miseries. And of course we get to choose to act like a wild beast or a hero which the former betrays friends while the latter sacrifices his life.

I stared at the four walls around my room, thinking and searching for answers. If answers were easy to find, we would not be using the term “searching for answers”. There is still no answer as to why we have been given the freedom to choose between goodness and badness.

However, guided by faith and Christ teaching - love, that should the basis of our lives. That profound love for God and faith are what the Pope believed in, so should we.

Love is not something that can be taught. And yet, it is absolutely vital to learn about it. In the same way, faith is also something that cannot be taught but one has to learn about it. We must learn to have faith. We must learn to see everything in the nothingness, light in the darkness and salvation in destruction.

We are living in a difficult world. With prices of things rising, crime rates on the rise, the morality of human on the drop, and the persecution of faith by the media, we must not lose faith. If there were weapons and amours for us to fight this battle, that would be love.

Despite everything, we must find love within us. It is the only strength which can change us.

I am looking for that deeper love. How about you?