A path to eternity

 

 

Paolo Cugini

 

 

Whoever does the will of God abides forever!  (1 John 2:17). 

A question has permeated the ages and dwelt in the human heart since the dawn of time: is our existence limited to our brief passage on earth? Is there a path, revealed by the Mystery, that opens us to the possibility of eternity, that dimension which transcends all barriers of time and space? Today, like a voice rising in the desert of conventional thought, I wish to proclaim a certainty: the path to eternity is open to us. And the threshold of the Mystery, made accessible by the experience of Jesus, opens before us as a real possibility and a living promise.

We are not abandoned to a blind fate or a labyrinth of unknowns. Human history took an irreversible turn when, in the fullness of time, Jesus walked our paths, fully embracing the human condition. His path was not that of the powerful or the wise, but that of those who allow themselves to be guided by the will of the Father, who is also Mother, in the profound docility that transforms history into an ascending parable toward infinity. In Him, the Mystery became close, a friend, a traveling companion. By following in His footsteps, we become pilgrims of eternity, called to a destiny that neither wealth nor power can buy.

Eternity: a word that fascinates and unsettles, that promises and eludes. It consists neither of an infinitely long time, nor of a boundless space. Eternity is the fullness of being, the absolute "here and now" where all the fragments of time and the distances of space are recomposed into perfect unity. It is the day without sunset, the fire that never dies, the abode where every tear is dried and every desire fulfilled. Only those who allow themselves to be guided by the Word of Jesus can perceive that this fullness is not a distant utopia, but a presence already felt deep within the heart, like the echo of a promised homeland.

In the face of death, the Mystery becomes denser and more silent. But its shadow, for those who believe, is no longer the seal of an end, but the threshold of a passage. Jesus, by passing through death, transformed it into a door opening onto a new dimension. It is not about abandoning everything, but about being welcomed into a greater embrace, where life is no longer threatened by the anguish of passing time. Christian hope is not mere comfort, but the certainty that death has been conquered and that those who enter it with trust rise again transfigured, finally freed from the chains of transience.

The human mind, designed to understand and control, is confronted here with an insurmountable limit. Any attempt to grasp eternity through reason breaks like a wave against a reef. Yet, we are not left unscathed: in intuition, in aspiration, in sudden flashes of joy and beauty, the Mystery reveals itself as something too vast to be contained in a formula. Perhaps folk wisdom is merely fragments of a deeper truth: the human heart is made for eternity, and only by listening deeply to the Mystery can it find peace.

But what is the path that leads to eternity? It is not the path of outward triumphs or possessions, but the path of obedience, of renouncing the ego, of listening to the will revealed by Jesus. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of God, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Here is the key that opens the door: a docile heart, capable of trusting, letting go, and welcoming the Word as light and guide. Eternity, therefore, is not the reward for accumulated merits, but a gift for those who allow themselves to be guided on the path of trust and love.

The Word of Jesus is not a distant, luminous sign, but a fire that burns today and illuminates the steps of those who listen to it. To live his message is to allow oneself to be transformed daily, to welcome each situation as an opportunity to make room for the Mystery. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105): putting this Word into practice is already to participate in eternity, to make visible here and now the new life that Jesus brought. The love we give, the forgiveness we offer, the hope we bear witness to are seeds of eternity sown in the field of history. It is his Word that contains the mysterious power that led Jesus into the new dimension of eternity. To do the will of Jesus is to listen to this mysterious Word and put it into practice. The path is visible only to those who live what they hear from the Master. In the Gospel, we encounter all the signs of this mysterious path, revealed only to those who live what they hear. Let us therefore listen to its message, let us help one another to live it, so that we too may pass with Him from this world of death to the new dimension of eternity.

Here, then, is the solemn invitation renewed today: let us not be deceived by the appearances of a brief and fragile life. The Mystery calls us to lift our eyes and commit ourselves, with ardent hearts, to the path inaugurated by Jesus. Eternity is not an unattainable mirage, but the secret goal of each of our steps, the fulfillment of what we can already experience insofar as we trust in the Word and obey it. May our existence be like that of the prophets: a voice that proclaims, hands that welcome, a heart that hopes. Thus, we too will be bearers of eternity, in time and beyond time, in history and beyond history.