Quid gaudium est

Today I had an interesting epiphony. While at Mass I noticed a young man, a little older than I am, a senior here. In his arms was, as far as I could tell, his infant child. I don't know this young man personally, but I do have friends that know him and his girlfriend.
For the brief moment I saw him, a lot of thought came into my mind. How difficult of a journey has it been for him? How did his girlfriend react when she found out she was pregnant? What bumps did they encounter on the road to where they were? Did the thought of abortion cross their mind? Was it a difficult decision?
And as all these questions emerged, I had a realization: This is what love is. And this is what life is all about. I wondered if what people were really looking for in this world of misery and pain was simply love. What makes a couple with nothing going for them get married? What makes a young man decide to enter the seminary and become a priest?
I think that all humans really want is love. Love of God, love of a spouse, of a significant other. Love is what causes a basketball star to move to a different team for his child's well-being? What makes an adult take in an aging parent to her home? Love is what really drives us, what really makes us happy. This is why so many people who have nothing material going for them can be so happy. And this is also why people who have so much materially can be so miserable. The cliche, "All you need is love" maybe is true. Maybe if we stopped focusing on trying to get ahead in life and shifted our attention to how to love, we would be much more blessed people.

Quid caritas est?

"You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your might, with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like unto it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Upon these hang all the law and the prophets." (Matthew 22:37-40)
I find it perplexing how often this one small passage is ignored (by the way, St. Luke includes a similar passage whereby we get the parable of the "Good Samaritan") by those who would claim to be Christians. Jesus himself states "Upon these hang ALL the law and the prophets." There is nothing more important than these two commandments.
But what kind of a name has Christianity earned for itself within the last few years. Better yet, what of the last few decades? Last few centuries? Last thousand years? It is true that Christianity has a lot of atoning to do for the acts committed in the name of the Prince of Peace.
However, there is no way to change the past. The most we Christians can do is apologize for our past mistakes (viz Vatican II, In Eo Tempore) and pray that we make no more such egregious decisions. We must start now. The true Christians of today must work hard to shine brighter than the darkness brought upon us by such groups as the Westborrough Baptists and Randall Terry and his squad of fetus crusaders.
I use the term we, but I by no means wish to exclude any non-Christians from reading this. As a theist, and one who has had a very real struggle in finding my faith, I adhere to the Muslim notion of "لا اكراه في الدين" meaning "there is no compulsion in religion." Jesus commanded us to be lights on the hillside, not torches in people's faces.