MtM 41 - When a match is struck

It occurred to me that to remain relevant, and offer truly life-changing results, faith should be viewed in a fresh light. If we wish to renew the spirit and integrate it in our daily life, we might consider changing the fixation with “Sin and Salvation” into a focus on “Solidarity and Service”. When obsessing about sin, people are caught up with self-salvation or a personal desire for eternity without raising their eyes towards others. A wiser approach is to contemplate the deep connection a mother has with her child, caring, rejoicing and wishing every good for her baby. Which mother wants to be saved whilst her daughter is lost? The Hebrew word for compassion derives from "rehem", which means womb. Therein a woman discovers an unconditional love she never thought she was capable of – fiercely protective and ardently passionate. We men instead have much to learn, emotionally and spiritually, from the wondrous dedication of maternal love.

If only we could harness the power of this love, mankind would be free of a weight of chains that fetters feelings and restricts potential. In truth, everyone is connected to everyone else, like mothers to children. We all carry inside at least one piece of somebody else’s puzzle. We are all incomplete until these parts connect, as they do in friendship and marriage. Sometimes we know we are incomplete alone, sometimes we don’t. A marvelous connection is made when we offer a piece of our puzzle to someone else, like mothers to their babies. When you present that piece, freely and spontaneously, the receiver is strengthened, renewed and transformed. In that moment we are to others a spark of divinity and become messengers from that which resides eternally. This demonstrates how faith is above all a relationship, a connection that unites and nurtures, a community that welcomes everyone into a bountiful circle of solidarity and support.

Any loving relationship becomes a light in our life. It brightens our world and defines who we are in relation to everybody else around us. Love is the only acceptable orientation to life. It is the core of being, the source of action and the summit towards which we ascend. Love starts with a free and willing devotion to others, but its essence is manifested through action. To paraphrase the French philosopher Jean Guitton, love is a choice between two solutions: absurdity and mystery. If love is absurd, then the world remains bound up in a weight of chains, a depressing and impenetrable wall against which mankind crashes miserably. Instead, if love is a mystery, it is comparable to when a match is struck and brilliant light dispels darkness. My enduring wish is to encourage others to break their chains. May we turn towards the light and climb towards the Ocean of Love in which, one day, all the hatred of the world will surely be plunged and nullified.