It was an absolutely fabulous week with our sons and their significant others in New Orleans. Both couples had been together for a number of years, and we were fortunate that all six of us genuinely enjoyed being together—both as an entire family and individually with one another.
A couple of weeks later, the Lovely Mrs. Prior found herself in the hospital facing a very challenging surgery. In the hours leading up to the procedure, the two of us entered into a vulnerable space. Our conversation drifted back to that week in New Orleans with our kids and their girlfriends, when I reflected aloud:
“You know what came to me during that trip…whatever happens to either one—or both—of us, we know our sons have a beloved. Somebody who will love them and care for them and they will do so in return. It’s hard to want anything else for your child.”
This week, our youngest and his fiancée are getting married. In August, our eldest son and his fiancée will be married. There may be no greater blessing than the gift of love and the opportunity to share it with another.
These words from theologian Pedro Arrupe best encapsulate, for me, the gift of love:
“Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way.
What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything.
It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.
Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.”
Whether it is a spouse, a significant other, a sibling, or a dear friend, the gift is both to love and to be loved.
“To love someone is to see them as God sees them.” — Rowan Williams
“The most fundamental experience of God is the experience of being loved.” — Karl Rahner
May we recognize love as the gift it is, receive it with gratitude, and share it generously with those entrusted to our care.
+BP