I have stood alone on rocky shore,
asking for forgiveness in contrition,
And looked across the sea into the sunset
and known God's benediction.
~ Aileen Mercurio with thanks to Richard Pottios
When silence, wonder, adoration are diminished, so are human beings. We imagine we can get by on love and indeed we can. But love shrivels up and dies in the absence of contemplation and adoration. Love, human love, needs to be transfigured, transcended, if it is to be true to its deepest self.