Why Do You Do What You Do?

Today in one of my classes, we did an exercise:  Our professor asked, "Why do you do what you do?"  This is my response.  What's yours?

I do what I do because I believe in love.  I believe that we possess the capacity to give radically, to act passionately, to know each other fully—in ways that demolish the walls that divide us.  When I say this, I mean it on every level.  I try—every day—and I fail—every day—to bring this love to the world.  It was probably in my time working at St. Mary that this drive took shape within me, though it was always present.  In my time in Teach For America, it was there.  And it came to be because I have such wonderful parents and have had such wonderful teachers and mentors in my life—people like John and Susan Michalczyk, Seb Bonaiuto, Michael Burgo, and Stephen Lintzenich (to name a few).  So, I owe it to them.  They loved me, and they showed me what it means to seek justice and to embrace the world and its potential with a radical openness and passion.  I didn’t ever think I’d study theology.  I wanted to be a musician and a filmmaker—to express visually and aurally this passion that I have (I do).  But something changed when I was working with the people of St. Mary.  They showed me the truth of sacramentality and drove me to seek more deeply the mystery I was encountering, a mystery that after some reflection I can say now is the God who is love—the God of Jesus Christ.

But don’t get me wrong.  I’m not out to proselytize or share “the truth” with anyone, except in so far as truth is the love that I have seen—and which motivates me to this day.  This love has, in the words of Maroon 5, taken control of me, and I have no choice but to follow it—though I admittedly fail to follow it every day.  So here I am studying theology.  Sometimes I question the decision; sometimes I wonder if it’d be better to be out in the trenches with people, and I have to admit that the jury’s still out on that decision.  But truth be told, there are still shining moments—moments with professors and friends—when I remember the love that called me to come to Fordham in the first place, and it’s in those moments that I continue to believe that theology can change the world, that we can through teaching and loving share the love of God with the world, and help the world understand the limitless power of the love that lies at the heart of all creation.  That’s what I want to do, and that’s what keeps me going on the hardest days.  With faith and hope, it’s love that dares me to move and challenges me to move others.  So, I try to live my life in a way that shows forth love, pure and simple, in the image of Christ and in the image of the God who is love.  I may not talk in those terms, but it’s there, just beneath the surface, prodding me on through this little thing called life.  “Seek justice,” it says.  “Seek peace.  Bring joy to the world.”

Why do you do what you do?