There was a story about a tourist who visited a monastery run by the Poor Claire Sisters in a remote area in a province. She happens to know and speak to a resident sister of the monastery. The tourist was shown around and was asked to stay overnight before her next trip to another place. Sister led her to the room, and to her surprise, she saw her room was just about five by five meters, with only one old wooden bed, a stool, small table, and a toilet and washroom combined. And so, she asked the sister, where are your other furniture? The nun responded by asking the same question, “where are yours?” “Mine” asked the puzzled tourist, “but I am only a visitor here. I am only passing by.” The nun said, “I, too, am just passing by.” (An Adaptation)
We are all travelers on this earth. We are all passing by. But we seem to have forgotten this truth of “passing by.” Some live on this earth as if they are certain to stay here for good. Some pile up riches for themselves, thinking that their wealth will be the result of many possessions. Money acts like sea water, for the more they drink, the thirstier they get. The greedy person’s ambition knows no limit. Our assets may amount to millions of dollars, but our life may be without any value. For Jesus, our real value is in the richness we pile up before God. The value of our life should not be measured by the success of our greed but by our response to our neighbor’s needs
