One of St. Augustine's earliest prayers after his conversion was a prayer to understand himself and to discover God. He came to realize that all humans follow more or less the same path of discovery, a path that begins in darkness and ends in Wisdom. Most of us never achieve the perfection of wisdom, but in the meantime we can be certain that we are showing our love for God by reaching out to our fellow human beings. In such loving we can be confident that God is close to us.