February 12, 2022

Do you remember your first kiss? What power! What fire! The brain seems to store the memory of such a primal connection at a place too deep for words. An equally common human experience, however, is the dissatisfaction we feel when that graced moment comes to an end, the passion fades, and two people return to the hard fact of their separateness (cf. Song 5:5-6). In the Christian life, it seems that we are constantly in search of a kiss that lasts, but do we look to the God who made all things by his cosmic kiss in the beginning (cf. Gen 1:1)? Do we really and truly seek the “kisses of his mouth” (Song 1:2) in our life of prayer? Do we admit that we too have betrayed the Lord (cf. Mt 26:49) by the things we have done with our lips? Indeed, we must learn to make every syllable that rolls off of our tongue, every bite of food, every smile, and every breath we take the kiss that puts us in touch with the infinite. In doing so, we shall become attached to our Beloved in some durable way that takes away our separation anxiety and expands our hearts for love (cf. Ps 119:32). Ave Crux, Spes Unica!