My vocation is Love

Does your mind ever wander after communion? You know you should be meditating and praying in thanksgiving for what you have just received, but you end up people watching instead? If you say no- I am willing to bet that was a lie. It is human nature- our curiosity gets the best of us. And sometimes- the beauty you can observe during communion is a gift all on its own.  It was one of these mind wanderings and people watching that brought me a little gift to be thankful for during Mass tonight. Do you remember the story of the poor widow's contribution in Mark's Gospel? If not here it is as a quick refresher:  He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in Large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contri

Its funny, we never think about the way things look from the outside when we talk about our faith. We cannot understand why others are confused or don't understand. We just say it is right because we know our faith is the right one. We can't explain it, it just is right. Well, God recently blessed me with a wonderful opportunity. I was able to look and observe a beautiful ritual in the Catholic Church- Reconciliation and Penance Service. If you have received the sacrament of Reconciliation- you know that this experience alone can be quite moving and freeing. The Catechism calls this sacrament one of conversion. The act of confession and penance literally converts our soul and brings us closer to the Beloved. It tears down the wall we as humans, full of sin, have built between us and God and allows him into our hearts. I get super emotional even thinking about it. The experience of the service was different than anything I had ever experienced before. As a volunteer at the r

Well folks, it’s been a while. Much has changed and much has stayed the same. I have been writing, but keeping it private and using this space as mostly a private journal. However, over the past week or so, so much has happened I feel I need to share and publicly put my thoughts out there .  Unless you live under a rock, you know that a category 4 hurricane, affectionately called Harvey, tore into the Coastal Bend of Texas and continued to devastate the Gulf Coast for several days. As I watched the events unfold on television, I began to have flashbacks and fears that arose during Ike in 2008 and in Rita in 2005. Both times (now all 3 times), family and friends lost so much and I just saw the similarities. As the days dragged on, the stories of rescues and heroics were shown on TV from all over the region. I am sure you have seen them. What got to me though, was the pleas for help on social media. “My family is on our roof, Please someone save us.” And amazingly, people did. M