Journey of the Heart

Artwork: “Saving Grace” by Garret Walker I’ve been struggling recently in my spiritual life. It’s like I’ve hit the first major speed bump in months. Prayer takes much more effort and discipline, and consolations don’t come as frequently as they used to. Guarding what I let into my heart and mind through my eyes and […]

I teach 13 year olds catechism class every Sunday. One day, I told them that God loves them and that God doesn’t want anybody to be in hell. I talked to them about living in love rather than in fear of damnation. After some animated discussion on salvation, grace, and hell, one of the boys […]

Back in January this year I was liberated – shackles that have been weighing me down for years were suddenly broken. My image of God began to heal. My image of self began to heal. I suddenly realized and experienced just how extravagant God’s enduring love was for me. Though that period of time was […]

October 1, 2009. Children’s Day. My heavenly Father gave me a surprise present. During my morning quiet time in the Adoration Room, I was drawn inwardly to being very still and silent. I usually start my prayers with the Rosary, but this time, the desire to stay silent was very strong and so I just […]

Over the past few days, I’ve been beginning to feel overwhelmed by work. It’s not just the actual work (which is heavy), it’s navigating the sensitive issues and relationships between people and trying to be aware of the potential landmines that are emotionally draining. I am where I am because I have followed where God […]

This past Sunday’s Gospel (Mk 8:27-35) had Jesus asking his disciples, “Who do you say I am?” after they had responded to his earlier question, “Who do people say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ.” But when Jesus began to teach them that he was destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected and […]

Today wasn’t that great a day for me – my throat was scratchy, I was tired, I didn’t do most of the things I had wanted to do (in both work and prayer), I felt distracted the entire day, grumpy, impatient and for a few hours I thought I had lost my beloved bible. But […]

I’ve always been the kind of person that gets teased a lot. And I know that the teasing is affectionate, at least most of the time. But there was a dark period in my life when I was in my teens, when my inner world was tumbling around me, and during that time, the laughter […]

Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) by Francisco de Zurbarán (1598 – 1664) During my most recent Sacrament of Reconciliation (which is often integrated with spiritual direction when I’m with this particular priest), my confessor suddenly turned his computer monitor around and showed me his wallpaper. It is the painting I have featured in this post. […]