Posted by johnboy on September 01, 1999 at 17:27:36:
I don't know how many people there are (or have been) in this world, over the centuries, who have lived lives of almost totally implicit faith. The fact that these people exist has always been of great interest to me. Knowing it is perilous to generalize, let me say that I am talking about those, in particular, who persist in love and perdure in the moral life, with no thought of the threat of hell or the reward of heaven, and who have not ever conceived of Pacal's wager, not even implicitly. I am talking about those who also follow their conscience, unfailingly, without consideration of social and/or political sanctions.
It has always seemed to me that these folks are the existential embodiment of unconditional love. It also seems that to live on the margins of explicit faith is to experience marginalization to a real and profound degree. Those who adhere to a Gospel which proclaims Jesus' presence with, and preferential option for, the marginalized must see the connection I am trying to articulate. Jesus is with these people in a big way!
When Therese of Lisieux fell into such a profound state of doubt, as regarding things eternal, she walked the path of some of these gentle souls. Some atheists and agnostics, not methodological skeptics but existential *dark night trippers*, have been given the gift of unconditional love and I mean *unconditional* in every possible sense of the word.
Why this is so is a mystery. I suggest everyone consider this mystery because, at some point in most of our lives, we will "taste" of this bitter angst, if only for a moment, for a day, for a season of mourning due to loss of love or of life, or in some cases, for years. During those times, pray thru Therese or thru Simone Weil or St. Thomas, and stay in a loving faith community that is connected to your own spiritual roots. Seek spiritual direction. Defy the uncertain reality and ambiguities of the seemingly unfriendly universe and await the God who has promised that those who seek Him shall find Him when they search for Him with all their hearts. There is way too much testimony from mystics with no ulterior motives that suggests that you not rely on your feelings. The darkest hour is indeed before the dawn and *midnight is absolutely pregnant with morning. *Camara's phrase