I’m reading the book “The Sun Also Rises” by Ernest Hemingway and I gotta tell you, it’s a tough one to hang with.
The book follows some expatriates living in Paris not long after WWI. The reason it is hard to hang with is because the lives of these expatriates are so boring.
They are constantly eating, getting drunk, sullenly sitting around, or just trying to amuse themselves with whatever. There is no direction to life, no sustained verve, no growth.
The characters literally get up and go get a drink, then go eat, then go get a drink, then work a tad, then eat, then meet up for a drink, then irritate each other, go bathe, then drink, then eat, go dance, then get drunk, and then go to sleep.
I think the point is to show the dissolutionment of the “Lost Generation,” but my goodness, what mind-numbing boredom.
As I’m reading it, I keep thinking, “Where are you people going??!! What is the point of your lives??!!”
I’m not finished, yet, so maybe I’ll see some growth in the characters (don’t tell me how it turns out). Or maybe the point is to show the vapidness of life without purpose and direction. I shall see.
Today, in our Gospel reading, Jesus says, “Not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’”
I think it’s a good question to ask ourselves: “Where am I going?”
Are we living our lives for Heaven? Do we have our sights set on that goal?
If it is, are we growing? Are we living as though it is a reality? Are we pursuing it with all our minds, hearts, and souls?
If we are, we will grow as a person and our lives will feel full and purposeful.
If instead, we don’t know where we are going, like the characters in the book, we will become listless, selfish, and simply move from one external worldly pleasure to another, never satisfied or interested in much.
It’s a good question to ask, Catholic Pilgrims: “Where am I going?” The way you feel about life will be reflected in how you answer that question.
Live the Faith boldly and travel well.
