Sister Lydia Timkova of the Dominican Sisters of Blessed Imelda, teaches a catechism class in Mukachevo, Ukraine, in February 2023. Her students include new arrivals from other parts of Ukraine displaced during the war. OSV NEWS PHOTO/GREGG BREKKE, GLOBAL SISTERS REPORT

Many may remember their first formal religious instruction being presented in a question-and-answer format; that is, a catechism.  

Question: “Who made you?” Answer: “God made me.”

Question: “Why did God make you?” Answer: “God made me to know him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world and to be happy with Him in the next.”

This is a very simple formula, and one can find volumes of theological discourse on these questions, but we might be hard-pressed to state this any more succinctly and accurately.

For sure, this simple question-and-answer only opens the door to delving more deeply into the mystery of our relationship with God and with our neighbor.

To know God is a lifelong project. God continues to reveal himself to us in many times and places throughout life. If you were asked as a second grader how you know God, that answer might be different from that of a teenager. It continues to change through life and that knowledge required more of us.  With God’s grace, our growing knowledge brings many blessings and strengthens us to endure difficult times. If we have spent time with persons nearing death, for instance, we see them even then continuing to grow in the knowledge of God.

Knowing God is not a passive exercise. As children and students, we consciously study the tenets of our faith. Even beyond our formal education, we can learn about God in homilies presented at Mass. This underscores the tremendous obligation of the preacher, deacons and priests, to thoughtfully prepare homilies with the intention of helping others grow in knowledge of God.

To love God is not an academic task. We love God with heart and soul and mind and strength. That is, when we are our best.

Love can be imperfect. I think of the reality that St. Peter failed Jesus famously in many Gospel stories. Yet it was Peter whom Jesus chose to be the rock upon which he would build the  Church.  Jesus recognized the depths of Peter’s love when Peter said, “You know all things, Lord, you know that I love you.” And Peter always recognized Jesus’ love for him.

Love is a difficult virtue for others to judge or perhaps even to observe. This is true not just in the divine-human relationship but in all of our human relationships.  Sometimes people can seem positively indifferent to the needs of others, but in a trial, they may be the first to step up.

To serve God we need to study and follow the commandments. The commandments draw a course for worship and respect for God but also for all that God has created. First, we serve those created in the image and likeness of God – but must be mindful as well to honor all of creation: we must care for God’s creation

Over my years as a priest, I have preached hundreds of funerals. Many times I have come back to this simple catechism understanding of our purpose in life. I have found this formula especially comforting when facing the death of a young person. Had their purpose to know and love and serve God been completed? Not in our eyes, perhaps – but in God’s eyes. At the same time, I also have referenced this life’s mission when celebrating the funeral of one who has lived a very long life.

For all of us, our destination is to be happy with God in the next life.

This is God’s gracious gift to give, and his wisdom to determine when.

Most Reverend William F. Medley
Diocese of Owensboro

Originally printed in the April 2025 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.