Ansokubi omedetou

One of my favorite authors is Shusaku Endo. He is a Japanese Catholic and his insights on God, life, and the purpose of paradox cutteth to the very center.

These are two of my favorite bits from Endo's The Girl I Left Behind:

"You can call it a chance encounter if you like. But which encounters in our lives do not stem from chance? And yet chance plays an even greater part in other events during the course of our lives. Maybe the occasion when you first met your spouse with whom you end up sharing the rest of your life was no more auspicious than the time you happened to share a lunch table in some department store cafeteria. However, it has taken me until today to realize that these are no mere trifles, but keys to understanding the true meaning of life. At that time I had no belief in God, but were such a God to exist, perhaps He would choose such insignificant and routine incidents in our everyday lives to reveal His existence."

"If Mitsu had taught me anything at all, it was that every single person with whom we cross paths during our journey through life leaves an indelible mark on us. So does loneliness stem from such marks? Furthermore, if the God in whom this nun believes truly exists, does He speak to us through these marks?"

Happy Sunday.