The spiritualities of the resurrection and psychologies of self-actualization, whatever their other strengths, no longer permit us to be in pain, to be less than whole, ill, unattractive, aged, unfulfilled, or even just alone on a Friday night. Ron Rolheiser writes that the idea is all too present today that we can only be happy if we somehow fulfill every hunger within us – living lives that are completely whole and consummated so we are never alone on a Friday night. Unless every pleasure we yearn for can be tasted, we cannot be happy. Because of this, we over-expect. We stand before life and love in a greedy posture and with unrealistic expectations, demanding the resolution of all our eros and tension. However, life, in this world, can never give us that. We are pilgrims on earth, exiles journeying towards home. The world is passing away. We have God’s word for it. And we need God’s word for it! Maybe it is the movie and television industries with their leading men and leading ladies who are presented to us as already redeemed, gorgeous persons, immersed in love and meaning, and who have the wherewithal within their grasp to taste whatever life has to offer. But something has led us to the belief that we need not put up with tension and frustration and that there are persons in this life who are already enjoying a redeemed life. That belief, however unconscious and unexpressed, lies at the root of much of our restlessness and unhappiness today. Too much in our experience today militates against the fact that here in this life all symphonies remain unfinished. Somehow, we have come to believe that a final solution for the burning tensions within us lies within our present grasp. I am not sure who or what gives us this idea. So much of our unhappiness comes from comparing our lives, our friendships, our loves, our commitments, our duties, our bodies, and our sexuality to some idealized and non-Christian vision of things that falsely assures us that there is a heaven on earth. How tragic it is to go through life and not be able to taste every pleasure on earth! It almost isn’t worth living! There is wisdom and, yes, even comfort, in the old “mourning and weeping in this vale of tears” philosophy. Those who lived that philosophy were a lot less restless and greedy for experience than we are today. They could much more restfully enjoy God’s great gifts – life, love, youth, health, friendship, and sexuality – even as they are limitedly given in this life.