I Want to See God

One of my favorite books is the collection of Therese’s poetry, which has only been available in English for about 15 years.

I have even considered studying French, so that I could read her original words, but I have not yet followed up on that idea!  However, the Institute of Carmelite Studies, (ICS) translation seems excellent, and I have found much to ponder within its pages.

My favorite poem written by Therese is the 15 stanza, Living on Love.  It was also the favorite of her beloved sister Celine (Sister Genevieve of Saint Teresa.)  Therese composed it during Forty Hours Devotion before the Most Blessed Sacrament in 1895.  She later wrote it down from memory.

To choose one stanza to share is so difficult.  Each one breathes Therese:  love, simplicity, confidence…

In stanza 12, she wishes to imitate Mary Magdalene, and this stanza also references her deep love for…

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I Want to See God

 I beg You to choose in this world a multitude of little victims worthy of Your LOVE!!! (sic)

In my previous post, Will you be a victim…of Love, I shared the account of how Therese had been seized with the desire to offer herself as a victim to the Merciful Love of God.

Therese saw her Offering as a means to relieve the suffering of God Whose Love must remain pent up within His Heart, because It is rejected and refused by so many.. Enlightened by the Holy Spirit, she resolved to offer herself to be “consumed unceasingly” by this torrent of Love. Her dream was to become a true “holocaust” of Divine Love, being so burned up within these Flames, that she would eventually become “a martyr to Your Love, O my God!”

But Therese knew immediately that this revelation from the Most Tender Heart of God was…

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I Want to See God

In my thanksgiving after Holy Communion today, I found myself consumed with how completely I am owned by God.

The Price He paid overwhelmed me, as I recalled the Stations of the Cross, His Holy Face pressed into the dust and rock as the Cross fell heavily upon His scourged Body. More blows from the soldiers as He struggled first to His knees, and then to His feet….for me.

Before me was the Crucifix where I could see the nails, the nakedness, the agony, the forsakenness. Heart racing, lungs burning, muscles cramping, Blood spilling, cold sweat….Tears.

Within me, the Sacred Host. Jesus dwelling in nothingness, wretchedness, yet robing me in the Grace He had purchased with so much suffering.

I am motionless. How does one move when they contain within their dust not the universe, but the One Who made the universe? Not a pure and sacred thing, but Holiness…

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I Want to See God

St. Therese had a saying, “Souls are more different than faces.”

I heard something similar growing up in Catholic school, under the wise and devoted instruction of glowing nuns in flowing habits who appeared to have vast insights into the mysteries of God.  I listened intently, but found it difficult to believe that each of the billions of people God had created was absolutely unique and unrepeatable.  But the nuns said it was true.

My friends and I seemed pretty similar as far as I could tell.  We might have looked different, but I didn’t see how our souls could be all that unique.  In fact, my best friend and I thought we were just about exactly alike.

But the nuns taught that each soul was created to reflect one of the Infinite Perfections of God with such beauty and intensity that even the angels would be in awe.  And they went on to say…

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The present…featuring another blog

There are so many beautiful Catholic blogs out there.  I love roaming about, clicking on new ones I find on the blogrolls of my favorite blogs.  Last week, I came across Fun, Feminine & Faithful, written by a young college student, from what I can discern.

I read the following post, and just loved it.  Thought you might too.  Check it out if you have time….but only if your dream of a Prince Who will love you as no one else ever has……

http://funfemininefaithful.wordpress.com/2012/02/02/today-is-a-gift-that-is-why-it-is-called-the-present/

The “almost” mother-in-law…..

Dear Friends,

I am leaving this afternoon for a few days, as my son is getting married in another town on Saturday.

So, I am sharing with you a few reblogged posts…

I ask your prayers for my son and his bride, for a long and happy marriage and the blessing of children. Also, if you can spare a few prayers for this “almost” mother-in-law, I would be most grateful. 🙂

Wishing everyone a most blessed weekend.

I Want to See God

I read yesterday that God is truly, completely, absolutely, Our Father. Our existence comes forth from Him.  He gives His Own Life to us. He is really Our Father — much more than our earthly fathers could ever be.

How beautiful to call God “FATHER” — not just as a title, but as a true relationship.

This is a truth of our faith which we can never completely comprehend or exhaust.  We must return to it again and again to allow God to reveal its wonders, its heights and depths, and privilege beyond all imagining.

I recall with joy how I knew and cherished every inch of my son’s tiny body when he was an infant. I loved the sweet smell of his hair, the softness of his tiny feet, and the roundness of his baby tummy. There was never a scratch or a rash or a mark of any kind which…

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I Want to See God

Just the other night I was thinking about how life has been pretty much humming along for the past year or so.  A bump or two in the road here and there, but otherwise, pretty peaceful — especially in contrast to the past dozen or so years.

Those were loaded with some heavy-duty crosses, like my husband losing his job -right after we’d built a brand new house, and having to work 5 hours away from home for three years (commuting back and forth on weekends.) 

This happened in the midst of my sister and me moving our parents out of their home of fifty years in New Orleans, to a house in our town so that we could look after them.  We did so for five years, until they both died in 2008, only 13 days apart.

I won’t go into the many other humdinger crosses that fell upon me during those years.  I know everyone…

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I Want to See God

I have a migraine today, and so while I have been hanging around not doing much of anything, my husband got out his tools and went to work in my closet.  He lowered the clothes bar from 75 inches to 65 inches.  The contractor had installed it too high when we built the house a few years ago.  It was usable, but not convenient.  (My arms did get a nice workout though.)

My sweet husband even took out all my clothes to do this chore, and then re-hung them again after he was finished.  He insisted that I rest with my headache.

After he was done, I was genuinely surprised at how much of a difference those ten inches made, and I gratefully exclaimed, “Oh, this is SO MUCH BETTER!  Thank you!”  And I gave him a big hug.

I could tell by the way he hugged me back, and the proud little grin…

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Modesty scruples…

I really enjoyed this post on modesty. It gives a different perspective, as the writer struggled so hard to find peace with herself as she explored different degrees of “covering up.”

http://imperfectkate.wordpress.com/2012/06/11/modesty-monday-7-kaylas-take-on-modesty/