Deep peace...

"God dwells within you, and God is closer to you than you are to yourself."

Fr. Wilfrid Stinissen, "The is the Day the Lord Has Made"

This is so true and it really got me thinking. What do we do with this? Can we tap into this vast God-energy within us? How will that change look? When we think back on difficult times, we may wonder, "How did I get through that time?" And here is our answer. We do tap into that energy, that grace! We make the tough decisions and do the hard stuff because we are fortified from deep within. We have a great reservoir of God's peace and Presence deep inside. When Sr. Joyce Rupp signed my book earlier this summer at the conference in Chicago, she signed, "Deep peace..." Deep peace? But I think I'm getting it now. Now, we just need to sit still long enough to drop a line into that deep peace river...Blessings on your Monday! Love, heidi

The backside is beautiful, too

"We can embrace our whole life story in the knowledge that we have been graced and made beautiful by the providence of our past history."

Brennan Manning, "Reflections for Ragamuffins"

This is so amazing to ponder. We can look through the pages of our past and see God's hand in so many of the events. And then we can realize that God was so present for us even when we couldn't see God's hand, exactly. And we can also realize that the mistakes we made, were lessons to be learned. The people who crossed our paths, even briefly, were teachers for us or, perhaps, students. They needed to touch our journey in their own way, somehow. All that we have been through has prepared us for where we are right now. And that is such a neat God-thing. Take time this weekend to reflect on the life you have led and appreciate that it is a tapestry of beautiful design. The dangling strings on the backside of it may seem haphazard and disorganized. But they made up the front of it, which is beautiful. Blessings on your weekend! Love, heidi

Holy is his name...

..."and Holy is His Name..."

Luke 1:49

The Canticle of Mary (Luke 1:46-55) is one of the most magnificent scripture passages in the whole bible, in my opinion. And it was put to music beautifully by John Michael Talbot in his song, "Holy is His Name." We sang it last night at our Assumption mass and the chorus occurred as I was walking up to communion. It was one of the most beautiful experiences I've encountered! To think such a young girl, as Mary was when this occurs in scripture, could be so profound and wise...and know exactly what it's all about. I urge you to go to the link below and play this song...close your eyes and just meditate on the words of young Mary. Your heart will be so awed by the greatness of God! Love, heidi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TEL_7TS5FE

God in the munching...

"I will bless the Lord at all times; praise shall be always in my mouth..."

Psalm 34:2

I spent the weekend with my Sisters of Charity friends in the mountains of Montana. It was everything I hoped it would be and more! Yesterday, we silently watched a doe making her breakfast of the foliage around the cabin. She didn't seem fazed by our presence at all, but must have felt safe there. Watching the doe, I noticed she would munch, munch, munch for a bit, then suddenly look up, twitch her ears and glance around. Munch, munch, stop, look, listen. When she decided all was well she returned to her breakfast. Observing this gift of nature taught me: there is great beauty in our day to day lives. I return to work today, after this wee respite, and my work-a-day life seems different; more meaningful, perhaps. God is in the details, the mundane, the beautiful. And for that, praise shall be always in my mouth. Love, heidi

Give cheerfully!

"God loves a cheerful giver."

2 Corinthians 9:7

What can we give to God, cheerfully, on this summer Friday? Can we give some time...spent quietly and peacefully with God? Can we give some treasure...helping St. Vincent de Paul or the City of Refuge or any of our favorite charities? Can we give some of our talents...can we spend some time with people who are lonely, in need of a ride to the store, a cup of coffee or just time with another person? Can we do this all cheerfully? We need to, because God cheerfully gives to us. And what we receive in abundance we need to share...in abundance! The harvest time is coming and the abundance of what we have is so great. We need to cheerfully share it! Love, heidi

Give a little, get a lot...

"What you give to God--everything in your life that you freely offer to him--you get back in a form so that you can give it to others."

Fr. Wilfrid Stinissen, "The is the Day the Lord Has Made"

Yesterday, I went to see a lady at the same nursing home where Helen died a year and a half ago. I hadn't been back there since then...I was kind of avoiding going back. But, there I was. I felt her presence with me as I walked down the hall; the place brought back a flood of memories. Some of the staff has changed, so they didn't have the familiarity with me as I enjoyed back then, but then I saw an old friend. Missy, the old black dog, who always came around Helen's room for an illicit snack or two. She was laying in the hallway, still looking like she's never missed a meal (or a snack!) It was the sign of familiarity I needed to feel at home there again. I realized that the little I gave to Helen came back to me a hundredfold, as the nuns used to say. The little I opened up to this once-stranger in my life, the more gifts I received. Isn't that just like God to pull something like that? Blessings on your Wednesday! Love, heidi