The human person is born with a fundamental intuition, a kind of subconscious desire that can only be satisfied by unconditional love. This mysterious longing is the main driving force behind the plurality of ways that human spirituality expresses itself, and it forms the hidden motivation for human activity. In this way, religion seeks to satisfy the infinite capacity of the human heart, a capacity that is never fully realized by human effort alone.

In the absence of the unconditional love offered through Jesus Christ, humans impose this burden on other relationships. If you listen carefully to popular music, often artists turn romance into an ideal that no spouse can fully satisfy. Instead of directing this fundamental thirst towards the springs that truly satisfy, instead we turn romantic love into an idol. This, in turn, creates unrealistic expectations which result in either a flight from reality or a deep cynicism.

Although this proof of God’s existence will probably not convince the hardened atheist, I do believe it forms a powerful tool for evangelization. The promise of unconditional love is an ideal that can inspire the dreamer in each of us, the child who once looked out at the stars with wonder and amazement. Such an ideal is not about cold impersonal forces or cosmic energy, but rather is tied to that vision in which true reality is grounded in personal relationship. Thus at the center of things is not facts or information, but beauty, goodness, and truth; the whole gamut of possibilities that is grasped more by the artist than the technician.

The fundamental intuition of unconditional love is the source of human flourishing. It constitutes the foundation for human freedom in that the human heart is only able to rest in this beatific vision. When the human person is convinced that they are worthy of unconditional love and that this right cannot be satisfied by the things of this world, it is then that the true trajectory of human existence is first opened up. One who has awakened to this fundamental reality is forever changed because they have looked into the mystery at the heart of all things.

Today, let us dream that we will one day come to know this unconditional love. Let us dare to seek it with all our effort, confident that within it is the noblest adventure of the human experience. Let us draw others in this pursuit, not by angry confrontation, but the seductive invitation of one who has kissed the eternal.