All Hounds Go to Heaven, Part 2….

Erin and Colleen are certainly being welcomed home… 🙂

I was really hoping there wasn’t going to be a Part 2. No one should have to experience two terrible losses in such close proximity. Least of all a community like Assumption. Fr. Gallagher put it best: “It’s just been a very, very difficult semester for us here.”

Crazy Faith

A few weeks back, I was listening to some country and I stumbled upon Alison Krauss and Union Station’s “Crazy Faith”:

Music has always been incredibly cathartic for me, and this song is no different. Many of the lyrics speak directly to what I’ve experienced in these past six months. So why not use this song to frame a sort of discernment “mid-term?”

“I lit my love and watched it burn
Asking nothing in return
Except the lessons I will learn
By holding crazy faith.”

The Reality Check

Together again… 🙂

I wasn’t jumping up and down for joy last Thursday night. I wasn’t counting the hours. More than anything, I was a little nervous.

And when my parents and sister pulled in to Santa Maria Novella on the Freccia Rossa, it showed. I did not cry, but I did smile widely and gave them all a huge hug. But again: I did not cry for joy.

I guess I’m finally coming to terms with the fact that my future, if God chooses to call me to religious life, may be filled with goodbyes. Like Padre Gervais said in Cannero, “We live a missionary life for God. Our bags are always packed. Who knows? Tomorrow I could be called to Rome.” Back then, I was really scared. I hated the thought of leaving people behind who you care the world about, I hated being away from Worcester, I hated being away from Redding. I felt alone.