True spiritual enlightenment lies not in going to Church every Sunday or believing in a specific set of dogmas, but rather in understanding how religious parables can be used to shed light on mankind's greatest challenges.
For every Grand Inquisitor, there is a St. Francis of Assisi. For every Osama bin Laden, there is a Mother Teresa. Anything in the universe that humans touch will be ever thus: strands of good, evil and everything in between.
And yet, here is grace. There are hundreds of rescue workers: firefighters and police officers and army personnel and construction workers and truck drivers and counselors and doctors and nurses. Almost all are in motion.
How overwhelming the first Christmas must have been for Mary and Joseph. Few things can provoke such intense worry as a newborn child. But few things promise such unreasonable hope, such unexpected change and such unbounded joy.
Desire is a key part of Christian spirituality because desire is a key way that God's voice is heard in our lives. And the deepest Christian desire, planted within us, is our desire for Christ, the Desire of the Nations.
Similar to common and uncommon longings are times that might be best described not as ineffable desires, or strong connections, but times when one is "lifted up" or feels a sense of exaltation or happiness.