In the end all of the commonly considered worldly pleasures are fleeting. A good meal is in the past seconds after it's consumed. Even the modern worlds sacrament, sex, is in the past after the passion is spent. But what one does, the choices one makes, live on forever.
We regret for our entire lives hurting a friend. We feel our chests tightening when we recall an instance of cowardice. We feel the guilt even as we rationalize away our failures.
Similarly we feel good when we remember an act of kindness we committed when our selfishness was weak. We feel good even as we dismiss our charity as foolishness.
Society inundates us with noise. Noise about the latest fashions, the latest girlfriends, the latest fad. But in the end possessions, relations, and awards don't matter. All that matters are the choices that we made. Sure some of those choices will lead to worldly acclaim, the firefighter who rushes into the burning building the soldier who stands up to protect his unit, but it is the choices we make not the awards we receive that make us feel good.
But everyone makes choices. So everyone can be victorious. The widow can give her mite to the poor and know that she's done the right thing. The billionaire will have to give a lot more to enjoy the same feeling. The ugly man can spend his life helping others. The handsome man may stumble and cheat on his wife.
In the end we are all equal not just because we are all loved by God but because the fundamental thing that makes us human, our free will and our ability to make choices, is the same for each and everyone of us. Ted Kennedy has no more ability to make the right choices than someone living in a slum in Calcutta.
God is a loving father. He blesses all of his children with the greatest gift, the gift of being able to choose rightly. We in turn should turn to Him for help in knowing what is right so that when we get ready to meet Him face to face we can bask in the warmth of choices well made.
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