Anything without heart, anything without love - and I mean politics, music, law, art, even religion - anything without love, no matter how brilliant, is finally inadequate and weak. At the end of the day, the human soul yearns to be loved, and to love in return.  And it won't settle for anything less.

God loves us so deeply that he sent his only son to live, suffer, die and rise again for our salvation. That's the message of Easter. The message of Pentecost - the "birthday of the Church" that we celebrate this Sunday - builds on Easter.

In sending his Holy Spirit to the Apostles in the upper room, God invites each of us to join him in a passion for evangelizing the world. We are Christ's witnesses. Our mission is to respond to the fire of God's love. But desire alone won't remake the world. So how do we accomplish the work God sets before us?

First, we need to wake up, shake off the cocoon of the world's narcotic noise, and recover our clarity about right and wrong. We do this by praying, and we need to pray every day. Praying, no matter how unfocused we might be at first, clears the head and the heart. It also clears the ears, so we can hear God's quiet voice.

Setting aside some silent time with God each day plants the first seed of sanity. It sends down deep roots, and the soul grows a little stronger every day. If we listen well enough and long enough, God will tell us what he wants uniquely from each of us.