I congratulate and applaud all those who challenge themselves in various physical ways to find out what they are made of. Taking on personal quests such as walking the Appalachian Trail or participating in strenuous endurance events provides both an opportunity to test limits and experience new possibilities. These pursuits teach us about ourselves and lead to increased self-confidence and self-esteem. They can also prepare us for the ultimate challenge.

That challenge is finding the difference we were born to make and a purpose worth the rest of our days. That purpose may be found on the side of a steep mountain or along a wilderness bike trail. But, for those who have run their personal marathons, it is more often found in their own life story and narrative. It arrives in the form of a question, one they truly do not know the answer to, but one that will integrate everything they are and can be. It arrives with proof, a visceral rush that cracks open what needs to be cracked open.

It has been pointed out to me (Thank you, Mr. Michael Wick), that Pope Francis’ 1998 Encyclical “Fides et Ratio” (Faith and Reason) proposes certain fundamental questions “pervasive” in all times and places. “Who am I? Where have I come from and where am I going? Why is there evil? What is there after this life?

As promoted by this Institute, each and every Powerful Question addresses those questions, directly or indirectly, just as they allow an individual to approach God through the lens of their own truth. I say that because I firmly believe that God resides in that same truth. Could it be truth otherwise?

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Humans by nature are explorers. We have barely explored our oceans yet we are designing programs to reach Mars. In my opinion, what we have explored even less than the oceans is our own capacity to love.

The model of love that Jesus Christ left us can often feel unattainable and beyond our reach. That makes His greatest commandment, to “Love one another, as I have loved you,” more of an ideal than a goal. If it were a goal, people would be promoting it, marketing it, practicing it. Part of the problem is that it also requires that we love ourselves, a daunting task for many.

We romanticize love as a way to keep it at a distance, separate and distinct from ourselves and everyday living. We associate it with flowers and not with power.

I think this is the territory most in need of exploration today. I shudder to think how many spaceships will be needed if we fail to do so.

I just returned from a two day conference with the Institute for Religious Life at Mundelein Seminary. I was moved by the devotion and dedication demonstrated by the IRL staff and the 150 religious brothers, sisters and priests who attended. We had a Powerful Question booth at the conference that attracted a lot of interest and a number of leads for future involvement. I am very grateful to Michael Wick for initiating this connection.