Where We Belong and Why We’re Here

Each Psalm and Canticle in the Breviary has a little quip at the start.

Today’s quip, from the first Psalm Monday, Week III is the following:

For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the one that is to come. Heb 13:14

Psalm 84 is the first prayer of the morning the quip is tied to.

Blessed the man who finds refuge in you,

in their hearts are pilgrim roads.

As they pass through the Baca valley,^*

they find spring water to drink.

The early rain covers it with blessings.

They will go from strength to strength^*

and see the God of gods on Zion. Psalm 84: 6-8

Lately, with all of the political angst going on here in North America and abroad, and thus the requisite distractions as part of discernment, it' seems that we’ve come to lose sight of the “why” we’re here.

In many cases we’re being told that we are no longer relevant and should have no voice in the Public Square.

So, _why_ are we here?

We know that our ultimate home is with the Lord. The above makes that pretty clear.

But, what about the _here_?

We tend to make things so very complicated.

But the reality is really quite simple:

• To Love
• To Be Loved

The quip for the second Psalm is apt:

A new theme now inspires their praise of God; they belong to the lamb Rev 14:3

Indeed. We belong to Him Who first Loved Us. Loved us into existence. Then, Loved us into Redemption.

Our response should be simple: To love, and allow ourselves to be loved.

Pax! :)

John Everett

Feast of St. Charles Borromeo

Dominic: Our Little Intercessor from Above

From the beginning, when we lost Dominic through late miscarriage in October of 2010, I have always thought of him as our little Saint in heaven.

For some reason, many people refer to babies dying within the womb as angels. I believe this is a misrepresentation of who our child is within the womb. Angels are angels. They are messengers of God. They are not human.

I think Dominic and all babies who die within the womb can be ‘compared’ to an angel because they do send us a message like our heavenly angels do. In other words, they can act like a messenger so to speak.

Since a few months ago, I have been writing in a journal dedicated to Dominic. I write letters to him almost every day.

A couple of weeks ago, our oldest son woke up with a very stiff neck. Right away, I thought it was rather odd. I thought about calling for a doctor’s appointment but instead, I decided to wait and see thinking he may have just slept the wrong way. Later that same day, I took his temperature and he had a high fever.

We realized that there was a need to take him in to get his condition checked. Thankfully, the doctor did not think it was meningitis but requested blood tests just to be on the safe side.

Before going to bed, I wrote to Dominic in my journal. I wrote asking Dominic to ask Jesus to help his brother get better. The next morning Raymond had no fever but his neck was still pretty stiff. Raymond told me that he had a dream. He said Dominic was in his dream and he had fluffy, curly hair. I asked him if Dominic talked to him. He said he did not remember but a little later he said that Dominic told him, “I love you” in his dream.

I thought wow, coincidence? No, I believe this is not a coincidence. Did Dominic really intercede for us? Yes, I believe he did. I told this to a family member who said he has asked for Dominic’s intercession as well and whatever he asked for was granted.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church talks more in detail about the communion of saints and more specifically, the intercession of the saints. In regards to the intercession of the saints, the CCC stated:

Being more closely united to Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the     whole Church more firmly in holiness… They do not cease to intercede with the Father for us, as they proffer the merits which they acquired on earth through the one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus… So by their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly helped.

Furthermore, the CCC added, “Do not weep, for I shall be more useful to you after my death and I shall help you then more effectively than during my life” (p. 205).

The latter are two very powerful statements. They can truly be consoling to those who are grieving a loss of a loved one.

I am so proud of our little Saint in heaven. We miss him terribly yet what a gift God has given us in his short life here on earth.

Lucille Everett

A Taste of Heaven

Every once in a while, when I am completely in the moment the Lord gives me a taste, a glimpse into heaven. There are really no words to describe the experience other than perhaps a large number of adjectives like amazing, awesome and most especially peaceful.

One of those moments came when I was with a couple of friends in Adoration before the Lord. We were praying together, singing a few songs, and pouring over the Scriptures. It was after a song we were singing about the trees reaching for heaven that my whole person was lifted there. I experienced this deep joy and peace that lasted until one of my friends finally gently tapped me on the shoulder to ask me what was happening! It was neat to share with them how the Lord had just opened the door to heaven for me and we were there together.

Of course, I have to ask Him why I have had these experiences and one answer always seems to stand out before all others is to encourage me.

There are many sides to the reasons behind His need to encourage me.

One reason is that at times I sit in a moment where I am so fully aware of my entire self, good and bad - especially the bad, that I have a hard time believing that heaven could really exist for the likes of me. In these moments I am completely naked inside and out before Him. He, and those around me, need to keep affirming that I am indeed loved and that the gifts that they give me indeed are real and true.

The above self perception comes from years of physical, verbal, emotional, and sexual abuse by those who were supposed to love me and that I was supposed to trust, or those who were supposed to be my friends and that I was supposed to be able to trust. That self perception is completely distorted from the truth! Also, my experiences of heaven stand out in stark contrast with those experiences in the first twenty plus years of my life.

Another reason, and this one brings me to tears at times, is that He can be standing there with open arms in a mystical moment, or in the person of my wife, child, adoptive father, or others and I shrug them off. It is very difficult to accept love after being beaten up for so long. I am sure it is as difficult for Him as it is for my wife, child, father, and others to have to deal with me not fully accepting their love for me.

And the final reason, I have no concept of dying and what that means and entails. I am sure that we are all in this boat to some degree or other. Death indeed is a mystery and we are told that Jesus conquered death on the Cross, but it is still something that nags at the back of my mind. Tied into that is my fear of not being in the state of grace at that moment. This fear comes from the ongoing struggle with sin in my life. It is here, in pondering death (called eschatology - the study of the last things, death, judgment, heaven, purgatory, and hell) that I meet with the concrete need to make an act of faith. I have to believe in Jesus Christ's victory over sin, death, and Satan. This is the only way to conquer this fear.

It goes without saying that the Lord knows exactly what we need and when we need it. The tastes of heaven always seem to come at a time just when I need some affirmation and encouragement from Him.

Jesus, I thank you for blessing me with these moments, for the wisdom and understanding that You bring to me in them, and for Your encouragement.

Pax vobis,

J.E.