One thing people seem to always get excited about is seeing and meeting celebrities. We see a well known person and act like a little kid at Christmas. The person doesn’t even have to be a good or moral person for us to get excited about seeing them. I’ve gotten excited seeing some minor celebrities and some who aren’t even celebrities in my book.
I think that part of the excitement of seeing celebrities is the thought that we might somehow become more famous because we got to meet them. People love to brag and meeting a celebrity is another thing we can brag about to others. Another reason why we enjoy seeing celebrities is because we idolize and respect them in some way.
The biggest celebrities in my book are the clergy. I lift priests and bishops up on a pedestal of respect. They gave up a lot when they chose their vocation and I deeply respect them for it. The clergy are like rock stars to me and I get excited when I get to meet them. When I see a priest in the airport, I feel the same way as when a celebrity walks by.
It’s unfortunate that some of the stars we look up to let us down. They are all human and they can all make bad choices that affects their lives and the way people look at them. We sometimes hold people in such high regard that when they do something bad, it really hurts us. Some of the clergy have let us down as well through the sexual abuse scandal or by publicly speaking against Church teachings.
While it’s good to lift up priests as role models, the saints make for even better role models and celebrities. They will not let us down, because, in the end, they made the right choice and have already proven themselves worthy of Heaven. It’s nice to see people just like us who passed the ultimate test and made it to Heaven despite all the things life threw at them.
The star we all should be excited about meeting is Jesus. He came to us as a human and showed us the things we should do in order to succeed in life. Jesus is the ultimate role model and celebrity out there. We need to live our life in such a way that will give us the best path to meeting Jesus. The red carpet that leads to Jesus was stained through His blood that He shed for us. We may not be called to suffer as Jesus did, but the path to meet Him requires us to walk the red carpet of suffering as well. Instead of focusing on what we want, focus on what our neighbor wants and what Jesus wants. Then, we will be like a child again on Christmas Day as we find the ultimate Star.
