THE MYSTERY: ORIGIN OF EVERYTHING

 

Paolo Cugini

 

You are from God, little children, and have overcome them, because he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:1).  

There are questions that give no respite to the human soul, anxieties that pass through generations like the wind shaking the branches: "Where do we come from? What is the meaning of our existence?" These questions are only apparently simple, because they harbor within them the nostalgia for a lost origin, the profound desire to return home. Every man, at least once, finds himself gazing beyond the boundaries of the visible, perceiving that life itself is an open question, an invitation to dare beyond the horizon of the already known.

Mystery, that elusive presence that sustains all, reveals itself as the universal source from which every being draws life. We live immersed in its fabric, like fish in the ocean, often unaware of the vastness that surrounds us. The entire cosmos, with its harmony and complexity, speaks to us of a profound and intimate relationship between the creature and its origin, between the breath of the universe and that of our soul. Mystery is not a riddle to be solved, but an embrace to be enfolded in; it is the silent root that fuels our thirst for meaning.

To be aware of coming from the Mystery means recognizing our origin as a gift and an event. Yet, in contemporary society, a kind of widespread ignorance is rampant: we live as if everything were the result of chance or our own effort. We forget that existence flows from a deeper source, which precedes and accompanies us. Only those who allow themselves to be questioned by the Mystery can discover their true identity and not settle for the masks the world offers.

Here comes the noble task of educators: guiding young lives to encounter the Mystery that inhabits them. Educating does not mean filling empty vessels, but reawakening in others the question of what truly matters. Only those who have experienced their own origins can accompany others to the height of this discovery. The educator is therefore a witness to the Mystery, a wayfarer who invites young people to set out on the journey, to be guided by the discreet yet powerful light that rises on the horizon of being.

In living contact with the Mystery, selfishness dissolves like mist in the sun. The call to communion and the desire for collaboration emerge: the awareness that the self finds fulfillment only in encountering the other. The Mystery, in fact, does not isolate, but unites; it does not close, but opens to mutual giving. It is in the rediscovery of unity with all that exists that man heals the wounds of individualism and responds to his deepest calling.

This is the task that awaits us: to return to our origins, to allow ourselves to be shaped by the Mystery, to reawaken within ourselves and others the vocation to communion and collaboration. Only in this way, like seeds taking root in fertile soil, will we be able to blossom into a new humanity, capable of forging authentic relationships and safeguarding the Mystery that precedes and awaits us.