A wise Jesuit (Pedro Arrupe) said: "Fall in love, stay in love, and it will change everything."

The past few weeks, this unexpected feeling has been making its way into my heart: in my own small way, I am falling in love with Christ in the poor. Christ in the needs of those around me. Christ in the woman with a high-risk pregnancy six months along, who isn't sure she can make it through the day. Christ in her unborn child, wholly dependent on her all-too vulnerable mother. Christ in sorrow and heartbreak, in tiredness and cold, in wounds that show on the skin and those that bleed unseen. And I'm starting to see - slowly, slowly, slowly - what my wise supervisor told me over a year ago - it's not about me. It's not about spiritual consolation, or a job well done. It's not about being good at what I do. It's not even about whether or not my efforts succeed.

At the center of it all, it's about HIM - Love incarnate. Love laid down for others. Love broken and poured out.

Praise God.