Dear Jesus,

A letter from a seventeen year old girl pursuing a Poor Clare vocation.

What consolations you give me! You see I am weak, unable to bear suffering, so you reveal Yourself to me again and again. You see I am oppressed, unable to live with my guilt, and you wash me clean, granting me a new start, day after day. How I love you! Jesus, I trust you. In the midst of my fears and my doubts, I hear your words to St. Faustina echo in my ears “My love deceives no one.” Indeed to me you are no phantom, but my Lover. You do not hover in lands above the skies, but your embrace is real and close. You words in my heart are not figments of my mind, but speak with your own Divine voice of the things of God. By your own promise you will not allow me to be deceived, and as a trusting child I look to you for everything. In you I find a stable truth, worthy of all my trust.

My love, my life, could you hear the cry of love from one so weak as me and deny me yourself? Truly the greatest suffering is in separation from you, and the longing which you have placed within my heart is the only thing capable of breaking it. Could you, so full of love, remain distant from my longing heart? My small hands cannot reach you, so deign to come down to me my Jesus, else I shall die from the magnetism of your love. My soul swoons with joy, for you could not remain apart. The blessed lot given to me, though filled with sufferings and trials, is destined to live in you and with you. What joy, and how unworthy I am of you. If it were not for my love, and the fire of your love burning with me, I could not accept.

My heart burns with the desire to love you, but does not turn to ask. For your love inspires life, and thus my soul lives only to feed this flame. No matter where I look, or what I think, I cannot doubt for my heart beats too avidly to allow even a moment of uncertainty. Yes, if I thought you would deny love, I would die from my longing. As it is I live, and my heart breaks beneath the strain. Indeed, I die of a broken heart only to end up in the arms of He who broke it. I care not for myself, or for my life, I care only to be permitted to give this love to you and others. For is not the curse of the damned that of never seeing your face, or exchanging love with you? I could not bear this. Therefore I write, until the day my prayer conveys love better than my pen.

Ah, I see it clearly. Born on the wings of the dawn, treading the clouds, sleeping with the blanket of the trees… Clothed with all the glamor of the flowers, head bedecked with roses, cheeks blessed with oils. He stands looking upon the oceans, and in His right hand He holds them in a basin. The birds fly beneath His feet, and sing their songs in His ear. Blues, and pinks, and yellows fall like rain into the beds of the brightened abyss of sky, and He ascends on the wings of doves. His voice echos in caverns, and resonates smoothly as off of ice from the stone ceilings. The ripples in the ponds betray His footsteps, as the souls of His feet are moistened by the coolness of the springs. Many eyes twinkle within His eyes, the winds blow in His hair, and through His gaze the striking depth of eternity is enigmatically revealed. The strength of His touch firmly holds the earth in place, but gently caresses the living sun. What marvel is it that I should love this King of magnificence and gentle beauty

GOD WAITS FOR US!

A rabbinical tale recorded by Elie Wiesel tells of Jehel, a little boy, who comes running into the room of his grandfather, the famous Rabbi Baruch. Big tears are rolling down his cheeks. And he cries, ”My friend has totally given up on me. He is very unfair and very mean to me.”
”Well, could you explain this a alittle more?” asks the master.
”Okay,” responds the little boy. ”We were playing hide and seek. I was hiding so well that he could not find me. But then he simply gave up and went home. Isn’t that mean?”

The most exciting hiding place has lost its excitement because the other stops playing.

The master caresses the boy’s face. He himself now has tears in his eyes. And he says, ”Yes, this is not nice. But look, it is the same way with God. He is in hiding, and we do not seek Him. Just imagine! God is hiding, and we people do not even look for Him.”

In this little story a Christian is able to find the key to the ancient mystery of Christmas. God is in hiding. He waits for his creation to set out toward Him, He waits for a new and willing Yes to come about, for love to arise as a new reality out of his creation. He waits for man.

Pope Benedict XVI in Co-Workers of the Truth

With Living Faith and Pure Love

Some men immerse themselves as deeply in prayer as fish in water, because they give themselves totally to God. There is no division in their hearts. O, how I love these noble saints! Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Colette used to see our Lord and talk to him just as we talk to one another.

How unlike them we are! How often we come to church with no idea of what to do or what to ask for. And yet, whenever we go to any human being, we know well enough why we go. And still worse, there are some who seem to speak to the good God like this: “I will only say a couple of things to you, then I will be ride of you.” I often think that when we come to adore the Lord, we would receive everything we ask for, if we would ask with living faith and with a pure heart.

-St. John Mary Vianney

I Ask

You must be strong, dear brothers and sisters. You must be strong with the strength that comes from faith. So, as I depart, I ask you to accept once again your spiritual heritage…with faith, hope, and love….
I ask that you never despair, never grow weary, never become discouraged; that the roots from which we grow are never severed; that you keep your faith despite your weaknesses, that you always seek strength in Him; that you never lose that freedom of spirit for which He has liberated man; that you never spurn that love…expressed by the Cross, without which human life has no roots and no meaning.
I ask this of you.

Pope John Paul II

What is God Whispering to You?

Friends, again I ask you, what about today? What are you seeking? What is God whispering to you? The hope which never disappoints is Jesus Christ. The saints show us the selfless love of his way. As disciples of Christ, their extraordinary journeys unfolded within the community of hope, which is the Church. It is from within the Church that you too will find the courage and support to walk the way of the Lord. Nourished by personal prayer, prompted by silence, shaped by the Church’s liturgy you will discover the particular vocation God has for you. Embrace it with joy. You are Christ’s disciples today. Shine his light upon this great city and beyond. Show the world the reason for the hope that resonates within you. Tell others about the truth that sets you free.

-Pope Benedict XVI
Greeting to Young People
St. Joseph’s Seminary, Dunwoodie
19 April 2008

Again…

So, I was nominated again as community secretary… and again I did not win (hehe) Well, there’s always next year… During Meeting de Advance the nominees should have a good piece to persuade and earned votes from the community…so here’s my piece.

Somehow or other being serious seems to have got itself a bad name. At worst, it becomes an accusation: you’ve no sense of humor, you are a wet blanket, you’ve got a problem, you tend to self-importance. In its lighter forms, there’s the invitation to ease up, see the brighter side, join in the fun. But, all in all, whether light or heavy, being serious is not “in”.

For an event, a celebration, a presentation, to be considered a success, it must be “happy”, and this kind of “happy”,  it would seem, is the sworn foe of seriousness. Being serious, our culture suggests, means of lack of joy.

Come to think of this: might it not indeed be that a moderate dose of seriousness would in fact facilitate joy all around? if those responsible for collecting the garbage, the seminarian in-charge of comfort rooms, or the seminary officers were to apply themselves more seriously, would not the community truly be happier?

If we seminarians were to smile less and pray harder, would not joy be more the order of our day? If we seriously listen and open in every community meeting to reach some sensible conclusion that was acted upon, would we not all be ready to take a new step forward?

For seriousness in our book is just another name for professionalism, responsibility, accountability, for simple honesty – and these things, though requiring sacrifice, bring joy.

I feel so fortunate to have been a part of this Meeting de Advance. Thanks to my brothers who seriously nominated me. I am most grateful to the Lord for bringing me here on stage.

My seminary experiences taught me many things. I have learned to deal with different types of people, adjust a totally new surroundings, to adjust my pace to be on time for every activity, and possibly the best, to act without fear of being dislike by others.

I was always too conscious in dealing with others, that I often disregard doing things I wanted to do for fear of other people’s reactions hindering my own happiness and progress. I have learned to come out of my shell and be my natural self with others.

For me it is a great privilege to be here, I mean wow! For the second time I could not believe I am nominated again. If I’ll be the next secretary, even it requires sacrifices, even the idea of leaving my studies hanging, its worth it.

My daily relationship with the seminary has helped me a lot. After all was said and done, I thought to myself, if all of us seminarians would work hand-in-hand for a better community, we would succeed. Excellence must begin in one’s heart. If all of us could reach out with this in mind, the seminary could produce excellent men and soon excellent priests. We don’t need to be an officer to be a leader… we can be a leader to ourselves, and good books will help us to be one.

I am not certain that I will win, besides my fellow nominee is one of my best friends and I can assure you he is serious and excellent in any task he’s in. But there’s one thing I am certain, God is with us always…

God bless.

Next Post

I watched people get together and wonder with fear if their love was true or not. What was true love and what was infatuation? What was being in love with love and what was in love with someone?

All I know was that some girls made my heart beat faster than the others but I always mistook it for love. No, love is not your heart racing. It is something entirely different and much more indescribable.

“Come…Follow Me”

Each of us journeys in this life from birth to death. God has chosen a path for us and call us to walk along it. But he has also created us with free will and allow us to follow a route of our own choosing. There is nothing more important than choosing a path that leads to meaning , fulfillment, compassion and joy. If we chose our own path, we risk the cosequences of walking along, with only our own meager resources. But if we choose to walk in God’s ways, he will give us all we need for this journey. When there are forks in the road, obstacles to be overcome or alternate routes to take, God accompanies us and helps us discern his path from others.

Wherever our journey of faith takes us, it inevitably encounters suffering. Our culture, to the contrary, tells us to avoid suffering at all cost. Advertisers tell us that if we buy the right products we can avoid not only suffering but also the smallest inconviences. A popular commercial for pain relief used to tell us that when we hurt, even when a little bit, time counts- not hours of time but mere seconds!

However, Jesus and his gospel teach us that suffering is a natural part of human life; indeed, it is essential for Christian life. As Christians, we are invited to accompany Jesus on his journey, and we cannot avoid suffering if we do so. There may seem to be a tension in the Gospel between Jesus’ rasing someone from the dead and himself setting our resolutely toward Jerusalem and the Cross that awaits him on Calvary.  But as the saints and martyrs shows us, if we walk with Jesus and listen attentively to his words, we will begin o understand how this tension is resolved- how his suffering and death leads to new life.

The journey of faith remains a venture of great risks and costs. It requires us to renounce reliance on any and every human resources in order to acknowledge our utter dependance on God for everything. This does not come easily to us. Wea re used to relying on others, and especially to ourselves. That is why it is very important that we come regulary…to stand in God’s presence, sing his praises, open our minds and hearts to listen to his word, and acknowledge our need for his help so that we might walk in hus ways, not in those of the world.