The Wanderer and the Deer

It is near the end of the day, and the sun begins to set. Not too long from now, it will be dark out. The wanderer, facing downtime, decides to go for one of his walks through nature. He has no purpose or plan other than to just wander around nature. He starts to walk and eventually comes across a pathway with trees to each side. He walks upon this pathway when suddenly he encounters a deer. The deer starts running, but then the wanderer stops, and the deer stops shortly there after. 

The deer turns to him and starts looking at him as he starts to look at the deer. They both just stay where they are, fixated on eachother. They move around at points, but they mostly just stay put. Then along comes another deer, and the wanderer is staring intently at 2 deer. Shortly after a 3rd deer follows suit. So now, the wanderer and 3 deer are all staring at each other, fixating upon each other. To the untrained eye or the impatient mind, nothing appears to be happening. It is just a man looking at 3 deer. But inside the wanderer’s mind he isn’t just looking at animals, the wanderer is achieving inner peace. The wanderer sees and feels the presence of God. 

Everything is still, the outside world doesn’t matter, all that matters is the sense of inner peace occurring within himself during this encounter. The wanderer isn’t just looking at the deer though, he takes a glance at the forest and trees surrounding him and the animals in front of him as well, and all he sees and feels is God. God, God, everywhere God. As he basks in his inner peace he wonders what the deer are thinking, are they at peace as well? Do they feel a sense of calmness? Are they just wondering why some crazy guy is staring at them so intently?  

Eventually, however, one of the deer hears a noise piercing from the outside world and is gone. The other two deer start to move back slowly, and the wanderer does the same. The sun is setting and the sky is slowly but surely creeping into darkness. The wanderer walks back home, but the wanderer has changed. Before, the wanderer was walking briskly, now the wanderer walks gently and slowly. The wanderer feels God touching him, he feels a holy presence that lasts past this moment. The encounter with the deer has left the wanderer with a feeling of peace that only God can provide. For that moment, he conquered the noise of the outside world and achieved inner peace and oneness with God, through a chance silent encounter with 3 deer in the forest.

On Being Catholic

What does  it mean to truly be Catholic? What does it mean to truly follow God and his way? This is the question that ponders the Wanderer’s mind at this moment. It is such a deep profound question, one that seems to vary among those who call themselves as such, or at least those who think about the question. The Wanderer thinks about this as he believes it is an important question to ask and ponder. So what does being Catholic mean to the Wanderer?

Is it merely the belief in God? No, the Wanderer emphatically answers this without a millisecond of thought. The Wanderer understands that the mere belief or faith in God alone is not enough. For what good is believing in God when your actions do not reflect such beliefs, or if your belief does not impact you or strive to be better? Words alone are meaningless, to the Wanderer being Catholic requires more. So it requires more than mere belief, is being Catholic about following a set of rules then? Surely if being Catholic requires more than belief that more than must require following the guidelines set on what is permissible and not permissible as a Catholic. Well, no. It’s not limited to that either. The Wanderer knows following rules is important and it is great to have a moral framework to live by. However, the mere following of rules is not enough. The Wanderer feels like there is something missing from simply following rules. The Wanderer can’t help but shake the thought of showing up to mass solely out of obligation and not receiving spiritual fulfillment. The Wanderer can’t help but see a lack of God in mere procedure and technicality. 

It is then that a phrase enters into his mind, a phrase that gives him peace of mind and tranquility. A phrase that feels like it came from God itself. The phrase is “The Pursuit of God”, and from that something clicks in his mind. The lightbulb in his head goes off, and the Wanderer can’t help but think yes! To the Wanderer, being Catholic revolves around the pursuit of God, trying to be in sync with God, trusting in God and his plan, and that his plan is better than my plan. “That’s better!” thinks the Wanderer. The Wanderer feels he is getting it now. Truly being Catholic is trying to pursue God in all things. It is trying to be like God in all aspects, and trying to see God and his love everywhere both within and all around. That’s what truly being Catholic is to God.

With this mindset, following rules isn’t merely about just following them. Following rules stems from a desire to pursue God and an understanding that God knows what’s best for us and what will bring us true happiness. In God we get the most love, the most fulfillment and the truest form of happiness. The Wanderer understands though that by nature, he is sinful. He is a sinner prone to fall towards his ego, an ego looking to separate him from God. The Wanderer is prone to his anxieties and trust issues and temptations. The Wanderer is not perfect and he falls, but no one is perfect, everybody falls. However, being Catholic, the Wanderer seeks the Lord in all things while trying to fight the temptation to separate and break from his sinful nature as often as he can. To the Wanderer, his Catholicism, draws him to a simple goal, to follow God more.