On Faith and Reason So much of the war on faith today seems to come from a lack of understanding that faith and reason are meant to be a unity. They complement each other, as Pope John Paul the Great once said: "Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth - in a word, to know Himself..." (Fides et Ratio) Just as two eyes and two ears allow us the necessary balance we need to arrive at the fullest picture of a thing, in sight or sound, so these "two wings" of faith and reason can lift us up to the Fullness of Who God is and who we are meant to be. Cut off the wing of reason and you are forever flying in circles. Cut off the wing of faith and you are forever grounded, never rising, always falling, spinning on the ground, unable to get up out of yourself to see the Big Picture! The harmony of faith and reason is what gives us light. Act as if you only need one, sole fide or sole ratio, and you are incomplete! The great mysteries of God and your own heart will always lie just beyond your reach. So rest in the reality of the two, use the great powers of faith and reason "so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves." (Fides et Ratio)