His words of encouragement

Brothers and sisters:
In your struggle against sin
you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.
You have also forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as children:
My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord
or lose heart when reproved by him;
for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines;
he scourges every son he acknowledges.
Endure your trials as “discipline”;
God treats you as his sons.
For what “son” is there whom his father does not discipline?
At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain,
yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness
to those who are trained by it.

So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees.
Make straight paths for your feet,
that what is lame may not be dislocated but healed.

Strive for peace with everyone,
and for that holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
See to it that no one be deprived of the grace of God,
that no bitter root spring up and cause trouble,
through which many may become defiled.
( Hebrews 12:18-19,21-24)

Light

Alone in the dark

A desp'rate life of begging

Will it ever end?

Crowds of people here

He gently rubs my blind eyes

Sends me to wash them

A gift I received

No one believes me - I see!

Have you met Him, too?

Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you.
– St. Thomas Aquinas

What am I Looking For Again?

His will. I've wanted to find His will. The problem is that I've been looking everywhere except for in my own heart.

Hi, God. It's me again. I know it's been a while...

I feel like I'm going into an IR monologue.

The dreams. I can't figure out what they mean. At least the ones that I can't clearly remember when I wake up. The ones that have left me tired when I wake up. And a little sad.

Talking to myself in the car on the way home, trying to make sense out of this search. I've been with you, but I haven't been able to find you.

Pieces of my life are scattered all over the place. That's how I feel because people who used to mean so much and influence so much are out there somewhere not a part of my life anymore.

I used to talk to my friends about detachment. I went through the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises and should be some sort of a pseudo-expert on the matter (or not)...but whatever the case may be, I'm suddenly wondering why I'm experiencing this "disconnectedness".

You just let go, right? You just move on, right?

It's not that easy.

But life...it never stays the same. It's so incredibly fluid...like water...because it's moving and growing and changing.

New people come into my world - new students, new coworkers, new strangers who become friends - and they're all great, like all the ones who came before them were great.

Maybe I just want to be like God and always be connected to everybody all the time.

But then Jesus didn't even have that luxury while he was here on earth. He was limited to time and space.

He had to leave his mother. He had to leave his friends. He even had to accept the murder of his own cousin.

He loved everybody, but he served the one right there in front of him.

He connected with the poor and the sick. He healed some of them, but not all of them. But his encounters with each of them - as simple as they were - were unforgettable. Why? Because he was WITH them. For that day, for that hour, for those few minutes...he was really with them.

So at least I can say that I've had those "Jesus-moments" with you, too. All the souls I have been so blessed to have grown up with and prayed with...cried with and laughed with. At least I have been able to share those days, those hours, those minutes with you.

I pray for you all often. Every day, actually. You might not think that I remember you, but I do. Your faces have been painted on the canvas of my heart because I once looked into your eyes and saw Him.

So wherever I go, I take you with me...you, in this communion of saints He brought into my life.

A Day to Remember, A Dream Come True

The blessing of God

of faith, hope, and love

uniting two lives as one

as a witness to His goodness

a sacrifice to be shared

surrounded by joy

reminding us all of what happens when we trust

in the Plan from above