Two-Hour Train of Thought

The Love of the Father be with you! Pax Christi vobiscum! Come Holy Spirit!

The last couple of weeks have been non-stop, fast-paced, over-the-top, out-of-control, one-of-a-kind, I'm-quickly-running-out-of-expressions-kind-of action, in terms of both spiritual and worldly wonders. There have been some great travels lately, as we have had two weeks off for Holy Week and Easter. The North American College therefore encourages us to get out and explore the wonders that God has worked in Europe. On one such journey, I was privileged to have a conversation with a man from England (made easier by the fact that they speak almost the same language as we do). As you may know, some conversations are awesome, while others are spectacular. This was one of the latter.

Nigel is a man from England who moved to Sicily 20 years ago to teach English to Italians--he continues to do so to this day. I am a seminarian from Dallas who moved to Rome 2 years ago so I can later teach the Faith to Americans. And it just so happened that on Saturday morning at 8:17, we were both departing for Florence in seats across from each other. Begin conversation.

Taking advantage of the lull in conversation between myself and the two Jesuit priests with whom I was traveling (I had bored them to sleep), I decided to strike up a conversation with the rather large British man seated across from me, whom I had heard speaking "a spot of English."

We started off talking about the countryside, weather, and where he came from and all. And then we quickly began to talk about how people in America--and England I come to find out--often work themselves to death, and then, after they are done climbing the corporate ladder, are still left empty, despite their success....

*Begin deep conversation.*

We then proceeded to talk about how all human beings desire more, how we are seeking truth. And also how we want both to love and to be loved. We are seeking truth. We are seeking love.

And then, (*cough*), I uh, (*cough*), mentioned (*erhmm*)... that Christ is both.

I mean, it only makes sense that we would encounter the fulfillment of Truth and the fulfillment of Love in a Person, with Whom we can relate as personal beings. And why would we have these desires if there were no fulfillment for them? Why would there be a lock that no key fits? And how awesome is it that only in Christ do we find both? Two fundamental human desires fulfilled in one single Person, with Whom we can interact, from Whom we can learn.

Now, I am taking this part of the conversation a little further than it went with Nigel (pronounced N-EYE-jill), but I really wanted to hit this point home with you all. It just makes so much sense, and I can't help but want to point it out. In the Person of Jesus Christ we find the fulfillment of our most fundamental desires. That's it. That's all you need.

So then we continued talking a bit more, and Nigel happened to say some things about how rapidly technology is running away with us and our ability to ask these kinds of deep questions. In fact, a lot of what he said sounded exactly like the content of John Paul II's first encyclical, Redemptor hominis, and I told him so. Nigel basically talked about how dangerous our technology has become, especially advancement in warfare with things like nuclear weapons. There's no joy in knowing that we have developed those kinds of weapons, and this is exactly what JPII says is the problem today: we feel alienated from the work of our own hands, because it has turned against us. Our hope then is in Christ who, by becoming man, has sought every man and woman. He has taken on our condition to redeem it from all that threatens it. And thus Christ is the Redeemer of Man, a.k.a. Redemptor hominis, to use the Latin. It's really a wonderful encyclical, and it was amazing to hear this man say things that reflected John Paul's thought from the beginning of his pontificate. Maybe...just maybe...there's something true in it?

So needless to say it was an awesome...no spectacular...conversation. God is at work. I mean, the harvest is truly abundant...the fruit is falling off the trees with how much people desire this truth. Excuse me, this Truth. Because our desires are only fulfilled in the Truth that is Love, Jesus Christ Himself.

May God bless you with His Truth and His Love. Happy Divine Mercy Sunday!