Heat wave in California.
Massive flooding in Texas.
Relentless wars in many borders.
Terrorist attacks in Europe.
Simmering tensions in Asia.
We are paving our own road to perdition.
But even as the sun sets, there is always hope for a new tomorrow.
The world can use some love and loving.
And yet, we refuse to see the wisdom of that thought.
Much less to live it in our lives.
It is really the only choice that makes sense.
I am reminded of this beautiful quote from Blaise Pascal:
Le cœur a ses raisons, que la raison ne connaît point.
On le sent en mille choses.
C’est le cœur qui sent Dieu, et non la raison.
Voilà ce que c’est que la foi parfaite, Dieu sensible au cœur.
(The heart has its reasons, which reason does not know.
We feel it in a thousand things.
It is the heart which experiences God, and not the reason.
This, then, is faith: God felt by the heart, not by the reason.)
Later, Antoine de Saint-Exupery would paraphrase
this truth in his immortal classic The Little Prince:
“One sees rightly only with the heart; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
With a wedding coming up in our family soon,
I would like to believe that every wedding, every marriage,
is an affirmation of the power and the power of love:
between the couple, among their family and friends.
Love is essentially an act of faith:
belief in each other and in one another,
belief in perfect love despite the imperfections,
belief that giving makes more sense than taking,
belief that life is meant to be spent for the other and others,
belief that in a world gone mad with selfishness and greed.
Love in indeed the only choice that ultimately makes sense.
I hope and pray for more happy and fruitful marriages and families,
for all the couples that have made the decision to believe and commit in love.
Then perhaps, we will see the dawning of a new day and a new world
where people can live in peace, love and harmony.