What is a spiritual friend? Who are your spiritual friends? Do they incite goodness? Are we more prayerful? Do they help us confront our sin? Do they encourage us to be better?

How am I called to share the Good News? Where can I be a evangelist to others? We look at “Evangelization” following Katie Warner’s book “A Parent Who Prays”

“When all seems confused and inconsistent, then you must turn to Me with an even greater confidence, for I remain all wisdom, all love, all mercy, and nothing escapes My providence. Have no fear, for I remain constant even when you are inconstant. I am strong when you are but weakness. I am holiness itself when everything in you seeks compromise with sin. I am wholeness and peace when you are broken and disordered.” (P199 – 200, from “In Sinu Jesu”)
The above quote comes from a book of meditations by “A Benedictine Monk” that has been making it way through the Catholic Community the last several years. The book is this monk’s deep conversation with God in front of the Blessed Sacrament in prayer and adoration. I have been using this book daily in my Holy Hour in front of Jesus as a way to enter into prayer and focus my heart in a deeper appreciation of God’s love for his Catholic Church and my need to pray for my brother priests and the people of God.
Every once in a while there is a meditation in the book that brings me to a hard stop and forces me to spend a couple of days or even weeks listening to God’s word through the whispers of love. The above quote is one of those passages. During this time of “shelter-in-place” and seeking to find ways to be the sacramental Church we are called to be, “when all seems confused and inconsistent” we must and need turn to God to seek His presence in our daily lives, even in the suffering and hunger we experience for His Eucharistic presence in our lives.
So, where does that leave us? First and foremost, this is a strange and terrible time. I often sit back and think about what examples I could use to help me explain and make sense of the thoughts God is placing in my heart…but I don’t have a great amount of experience with this type of situation. Perhaps this I do have a small one to share. When I was serving in the Marine Corps, the squadron I was attached to, was deployed for a year aboard the USS Forrestal. One of the Marines I served under was married with several young children. A memory I have of him was his sitting at his desk daily and writing a letter to his wife and children. We have to remember, this was before email, before FaceTime, before cell phones, it was when to call from a foreign country back to the United States cost a small fortune for just a few minutes. But each day he would write something to his wife and children which would then on an irregular basis be picked up and eventually arrive at his home. I wrote occasionally to different family members but never with frequency and diligence exhibited by this Marine.

I think in some way, his year away from his wife and children, his family, caused a hunger with him for the love that is shared the sacramental life we are all called to live. His desire was to be united with his wife and children yet he knew this longing could not be fulfilled even through the letter writing and the brief call home when we made our ports of call and yet he still reached out even this only gave a shadow of the joy he knew and had lived. In the same way the prayers, the spiritual communion, the self-isolating we are called to take upon our hearts in this forced deployment away from Mass and the other Sacraments creates a longing that cannot be fulfilled but must be seen as a sign of hope for the day of reunion and celebration of the communal celebration of the Eucharist. “Know that I am with you, and that my plan for you is constant, not changing. Trust in Me as it unfolds, even in the midst of uncertainty and setbacks, for I am faithful to all My promises and I have set my heart upon you and upon this work, which is all Mine.” (p. 200)
Please pray for Bishop Cantú and for all your parish priests and lay leaders in the Diocese of San Jose that we may seek to find ways to end this deployment and return safely home to our parish churches to celebrate the feast of heaven and earth.
God bless
Fr. Mark

ps. Thank you Hector, Jenny for the gift of “In Sinu Jesu”

Consecration of the Family to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
May 1st.
Most holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary, united in perfect love, as you look upon us with mercy and caring, we consecrate our hearts, our lives, our family to you. We know the beautiful example of your home in Nazareth was meant to be a model for each of our families. We hope to have, with your help, the unity and strong, enduring love you gave to one another. May our home be filled with joy. May sincere affection, patience, tolerance and mutual respect be freely given to all.
May our prayers be filled with the needs of others, not just ourselves and may we always be close to your sacraments. Bless those who are present, as well as those who are absent, both the living and the dead; may peace be among us and when we are tested, grant us the Christian acceptance of God’s will. Keep our family close to your Hearts; may your special protection be with us always. Most Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, hear our prayer.

Do my goals lead me to holiness? Are my goals aligned with God’s plan for my life?