The joy of conversion, Christian community, and the Catholic faith
A river runs through my life. It flows over pebbles and around jagged boulders. It twists and turns, disappearing into the dark underground, and then rises abruptly until it breaks forth into a glistening waterfall. This river always was a part of my life but, except for a few rare glimpses of it, I was unaware it was the faithful stream of God’s presence.
Excerpt from the Preface of Sharing Your Catholic Faith Story: Tools, Tips, and Testimonies Always be Ready – Part 2 (Part 1 here.) Was God calling me to evangelize with the story of my initial conversion and so many descriptions of how he manifested his presence in my life? As I prayed for guidance, I...
Was God calling me to evangelize with the story of my initial conversion and so many descriptions of how he manifested his presence in my life? As I prayed for guidance, I kept coming across two verses from the First Letter of Peter on the radio or a website, in a homily or a book. I kept hearing and reading: “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence” (1 Peter 3:15-16, NABRE), until I knew it by heart.
Merry Christmas Darling!
And to all my three daughters a happy one. I thought of all of you through the long Xmas eve night and just had to dig out this scrap of paper and say it to you even though it will be late getting there.
I’m sitting in the uncovered part of my hole and the sun is shining on the snow. “White Christmas” is a nice song but not for outdoor living.
We argued yesterday about whether it was Christmas Eve or not and finally found out that it was. One person has said, “Merry Christmas” to me so far and I guess that’s all I’ll hear of it, but plenty goes on in my mind and I know that you will understand my longing to be with you at this time.
Nancy Ward details how gratitude helps us keep hope alive, even in the most difficult times. It is not joy that makes us grateful, it is gratitude that makes us joyful. (Benedictine Brother David Steindl-Rast) We know that the Covid-19 quarantine will come to an end without returning us to our former status but with...
In 1 Corinthians 12:1-31, Paul teaches us that as members of His Body, we are given specific gifts by the Holy Spirit for building the Body.
During the pandemic, I’ve grown more aware of the presence of Jesus in the corporate Body of Christ around me. The individual members of His Body just don’t look like Jesus, and most of their actions don’t measure up to what I need to console me.
Perhaps I’m looking for big signs – a billboard that reads, “God loves Nancy,” While I read an email message from someone expressing love in their appreciation of me.
I can detect his presence in the world around me. When I walk by the lake near our home, with no mask needed; he’s in the sunshine on my face and the wind at my back. When I turn the corner into my street, his voice resounds in the laughter of children playing, unafraid of germs and viruses. He sings to me in anointed music in my earbuds. I feel him most intimately where no social distancing or masks are needed — at home in the smiles and hugs of my husband. As reassuring as these realities of the presence of Jesus are, they don’t quite touch the explicit ache in the depths of my heart for the Eucharist.
