Quo vadis? is a Latin phrase meaning "Where are you going?" or "Whither goest thou?". The modern usage of the phrase refers to Christian tradition, related in the apocryphal Acts of Peter (Vercelli Acts XXXV), in which Saint Peter meets Jesus as Peter is fleeing from likely crucifixion in Rome. Peter asks Jesus the question; Jesus' answer is, "I am going to Rome to be crucified again" (Eo Romam iterum crucifigi). This prompts Peter to gain the courage to continue his ministry and eventually become a martyr.
The phrase also occurs a few times in the Vulgate translation of the Bible, notably including the occurrence in John 13:36 in which Peter also asks the question of Jesus, after the latter announces he is going to where his followers cannot come. (Wikipedia)
This was also the title of a movie, which came out in 1951, the year that I was a junior in high school. Since I had some Latin in my freshman year in high school while I was in Denver, I have used this phrase occasionally to ask myself and others where they were going.
To often our day-to-day routine overwhelms us to the point where we lose our direction in life. We go through the day with this thought that we will accomplish the daily tasks and wake up early to go to work, come home, watch the news, eat, and go to bed.
We are in charge of our life. We may need to spend a certain number of hours sleeping, working and eating, but where does this all lead? Are we improving ourselves or being of service to our fellow man?
When I was young, I had a certain goal in mind and I set out to accomplish it. I always wanted to be a doctor and I read and studied about what it would take to become one. There were always things that I was interested in but I always came back to my original goal. After I had accomplished my goal and went out into practice I became quite miserable and I did not know what the reason was. After I was drafted into the military service, I gained some introspection. The reason that I was so miserable is because I did not have any goals and I did not know where I was going.
Since that time I have always had some direction in my life. It is true that this is self- directed but it is always satisfying to accomplish that task. For many years at the first of each year I have written down those goals that I wish to accomplish. Recently as I was going through the files I found some of these that I had written down. The most important of these has always been things that would improve my spirituality and give me a closer relationship to my Father in Heaven.
They have always answered the question “Quo vadis?” as in the Wikipedia definition above.
Each of you must map out a course of what you are going to do with your life and what you are going to become. My hope for you is that you will be a good person first, a dedicated member and disciple of Christ, an excellent and loving parent and an example for good in the community.
And now I ask of you this question, Quo vadis?
