Ruth's Musings...

Ruth, whose blog is on my list of blogs at left. passed away on the 20th after a long battle with breast cancer. We had been writing back and forth for some time now, and praying for each other. I did send her a green scapular that she was keeping in her prayer book as a bookmark. I never met her in person.

My blog is in desperate need of a facelift...
I have been very non-communicative lately. There is so much happening, but let it suffice to say that God is the great loofah- scraping off that which is dead to reveal what lives, breathes, bleeds underneath. I'm not quite sure what will be left at the end, but I am happy to feel the sun on my face.
Am I speaking in riddles? I'm sorry.

Monica Update

Please increase your prayers for Monica, who's website is listed here, "Sol and Monica". The chemo doesn't seem to be working; the tumors are larger and there are some new growths in her bones. PLease pray for clarity, for peace of mind and of course, for healing.

Good Advice

You know you are receiving good advice when it stings as it penetrates. Fr Chad said to me, "you know, it's not our health or our job or any of those things that is ultimately the hardest thing to let go of, but our own plans. And often one of the greatest gifts God can give us is to free us from those. There are no dead ends; when you hit a wall and can no longer move forward, just look to the left and the right and keep moving wherever you see an opening."

Hope

i spent this weekend with 100 high school students on a confirmation retreat. It was a great group of kids and very encouraging to see their positive responses to this experience of their faith. At the end of the retreat there was open mike time; the students were asked to share what was their favorite part of the experience, and about 1/3 said that the best part of the experience was going to confession. Can you believe it? Several students said their favorite part was Eucharistic adoration. Some shared tearful testimonies about feeling that after confession they had laid down burdens that they'd been carrying for years, or how for the first time they had really felt that God was there with them, that they were not alone in this world anymore.

It was an honor to be a part of it, even just as a spectator.