Protecting the Fortress of My Soul

      When a person moves toward God: Second rule—In persons who are going on intensely purifying their sins and rising from good to better in the service of God our Lord, the method is contrary to the first rule. For then it is proper to the evil spirit to bite, sadden, and place obstacles, disquieting with false reasons, so that the person may not go forward. And it is proper to the good spirit to give courage and strength, consolations, tears, inspirations, and quiet, easing a taking away all obstacles, so that the person may go forward in doing good.                                                         St. Ignatius of Loyola--Discernment of Spirits                                                                                            

 

     With a heart full of gratitude, sitting before the Lord, I wrote in my journal:

     Oh, My Dear Sweet God, 

     The revelation that You gave me about being a pilgrim on this pilgrimage back to You was a game changer!

Victim No More

     It was the morning of the second day of my retreat. Upon waking, questions that I needed to pose to God became apparent.

     As a secular Carmelite, I will choose a name at the time of my profession. Although it is more than a year away, it is something about which I have already been thinking and praying. The name that God placed upon my heart is “Therese Joy of the Wounded Hearts.”

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!