A Wing and a Prayer

We were flying over the east coast towards Naples, Florida this
afternoon, when the sun broke through this bank of clouds. Amazing!
Having a snazzy camera in this iPhone sure comes in handy. I know, I
know... Nerd Boy strikes again. (PS - the 3G version of the iPhone was
released today. Double the memory, half the price, dang it. Good
things come to those who wait!)

I've been invited to speak at a Youth Conference at Ave Maria
University tomorrow. Fresh from an incredible week with the Theology
of the Body Institute, I get to carry some of that fire down south to
the youth who will come to the weekend. So I'm flying, praying,
preparing, missing Rebecca, fumbling through the pages of the
experiences of my life and asking Jesus what He wants me to share. Did
I mention I'm missing Rebecca?

Giving talks over the years, I've discovered that the best ones come
pouring from these experiences of life. I stress about the flow, the
bullet points, and Jesus just keeps saying "Relax. Share the story."
That's what much of Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body is rooted
in, as well as his book Love and Responsibility (which Dr. Janet Smith
led us through beautifully this past week): our human experiences.

What is the deepest desire of my heart? What draws me to do this or
that? What were those restless years, of fear and longing, hopes and
dreams that in my own younger days were nearly as tangible and
substantial as bread?

What is it about human love, about Rebecca, that draws me out of
myself (finally) and into something so much bigger, deeper, richer?
What is this paradox that when I give my life away, I find it again...
and more?

What are the cravings for truth and beauty and goodness that pull me,
magnetically, through this world? This is what I'll speak about; the
desire in each of us for union and communion. The fact that a mystical
marriage with the Divine is what awaits us! That we have a capacity
for the Infinite within the hollow spaces of our hearts that no finite
thing can ever fill. Love has stamped this yearning in our hearts.
That I have tasted it in my marriage with Rebecca, that we drink from
this same fountain in our quiet time after Communion, that when we
walk hand in hand, we don't just face each other, as if the fullness
of love lies in our own power and person. But we look out and up to
the One from Whom all graces flow.

Amen. Time for some sleep!