"May the Souls of the Faithfully Departed Rest in Peace"
I love it when my soul is totally quiet! Not easy to achieve now a days with all the pulls from different directions.
At a nearby parish, confessions are held daily which I find to be such a help. When I depend on Saturday afternoons, I can get lost in the rushing around of doing chores,etc., but if I go to mass at this parish, I know I am sure to have the opportunity for confession. A true gift.
As always, in my humanness, I have been struggling with some things lately. In light of the struggles, we had the perfect homily on the topic of humility, what it is, and what it is not. Now, I do know what humility is, ( one of my favorite saying is "Humility, once you think you have it you have lost it.")but living it is another story, especially when you are caught up in the middle of things and your emotions take over. It is easy to forget, that standing up for something can also be humility at times. Humility is truth. I needed to be reminded of that, so, it was also helpful to have the same priest hear my confession.
This priest gave me a beautiful penance. He asked me, in the next few days, to stop at a cemetery and pray for the departed souls. I decided to go right away.
I went to the cemetery where my mom,dad and many relatives and friends are buried. I thought of all these souls who have gone before me, prayed for them and all souls, and really contemplated how all that is really important is God's truth and doing the will of God in my life so I can spend eternity with Him. Nothing like a cemetery to remind you, "From dust you came and to dust you will return".
It truly was a beautiful penance. Thank you Father!
With all the craziness in life it is so important to do this.
I know I can easily get caught up in the frenzy of life. Work, family and just the world in general. These are not easy times.
It can be hard to keep myself in the present, trust more, and not take on things I do not have to because of my emotions or others behaviors. Just to live in the moment with God. Live in the truth of the present moment.
Which brings me back to the cemetery, and knowing we are all in the presence of God, living or dead. That ultimately, that is where our peace is and all that matters, so as we pray today for the souls of the dead, let's remember the communion of the saints and our ultimate goal of heaven together with Christ in truth/humility.
And so I will close with another of my favorite lines:
"Humility is the fertile sol upon which the divine Sower sows His seed."
Amen.
