Transcript of the Video Above

Daily reflections for Lenten Easter, written by Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI.

‘In the event of the insufficiency of everything attainable, we come to understand that here in this life, all symphonies remain unfinished’. Carl Rahner wrote those words and not to understand them is to risk letting restlessness become a cancer in our lives. We are congenitally overcharged and overbuilt for this earth. Infinite spirits living in a finite situation, Hearts made for union with everything and everybody, meeting only mortal persons and things.

Small wonder we have problems with insatiability, daydreams, loneliness and restlessness. We are Grand Canyons without a bottom. Nothing short of union with all that is can ever fill in that void. To be tormented by restlessness is to be human. But in truly accepting that humanity, we become a bit more easeful in our restlessness.

As Rahner puts it, ‘in this life there is no finished symphony. Everything comes with an undertow of restlessness and inadequacy.’ This is true of everyone. Peace and restfulness can come to us only when we accept that fact. Because it is only then that we will stop demanding that life.

Our spouses, our families, our friends, our jobs, our vocations and vacations give us something that they cannot give. Namely, the finished symphony. Clear cut, pure joy, complete consummation.