From Light to Darkness

     “He came to His own, and His own received Him not.” John 1: 11

     I was suffering! Suffering for Our Lord and suffering for myself, or so I thought!

Thorns Among the Roses--Part 5

      It was our last day at Lourdes, and we would begin our day with Mass. It was to be celebrated at the Grotto. My heart was singing: another opportunity to stand in the place where Our Lady and St. Bernadette stood. I had gathered all of my prayer intentions, as well as those of family and friends and would place them in the box at the grotto to be lifted up in prayer. 

The Garden of Your Soul

     “Our first duty, therefore, precisely in order to heal this world, is to be holy, configured to God; in this way, we emanate a healing and transforming power that also acts in others, on history . . . In this regard, it is useful to reflect that the Twelve Apostles were not perfect men, chosen for their moral and religious irreproachability. They were indeed believers, full of enthusiasm and zeal but at the same time marked by their human limitations, which were sometimes even serious. Therefore, Jesus did not call them because they were already holy, complete, perfect, but so that they might become so, so that they might thereby also transform history, as it is for us, as it is for all Christians.”                                                                                                      Pope Benedict XVI


     As we look at the morals, values and shape of our world, we are tempted to entertain a feeling of hopelessness; to believe it has fallen too far and can never turn around for the good! Just when we think things can’t get any worse, they do!

     Where is God in all of this? What does He think of man, His beloved creation? Is His heart broken? Will God lose His patience with us and just let the end come? Is there anything we can do to help? Can we make a difference?

Powerful Hurts

     We all have memories of painful incidents that have occurred in our lives: betrayal, feeling forgotten or left out, being criticized or put down, not being good enough, smart enough, thin enough, pretty enough, and the list goes on.

     Associated with these difficult memories is usually a person or persons who inflicted our pain. At times, just thinking of them or hearing their name can cause us to suffer. After all, they are the ones who hurt us and inflicted the wound deep within our heart. They are not affected by it, yet we feel burdened and hurt.

The Ingenuity of God

     My husband and I stared in disbelief as we surveyed the extensive damage the termites had done to our home! Just a few hours ago everything looked perfect.

     We were in the midst of a renovation, which included replacing our front door. Before the door could be installed, we had to remove the wallpaper from the walls. “What in the world is that?,” we asked in unison. There were vertical tracks on the drywall. Our contractor was somewhat suspicious and suggested we remove the drywall to examine the wood beneath. Much to our horror, the wood had been ravaged by termites, which meant not only replacing the two by fours, but the header and footer as well! My husband and I stood shaking our heads as we gazed upon the ruins. What began with excitement dissolved into disaster!