I am writing you today from the Divine Mercy Shrine in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, USA. Our family is taking a brief break, as the last leg of our concert tour unfolds.
WHEN the world seems to be caving in on you… when temptation seems more powerful than your resistance… when you are more confused than clear… when there is no peace, just fear… when you cannot pray…
Stand still.
Stand still beneath the Cross.
Hello, all!
Writing to you from Tallahassee, Florida after tonight’s concert here. Mark & I and our little brood are now halfway through our US/Canada Lenten Tour, and faring very well, considering the rough start we had! I think Mark gave you just a few of the "highlights" off the top of the tour… the long list of mishaps would be really quite unbelievable, had I not been there too to vouch for it all having actually happened! Suffice it to say, the highlight so far has NOT been the flushing pedal stuck on the bus’s toilet sending gallons of unthinkably nasty stuff for a mad dash to the driver’s seat! (we survived, thanks to a serious bottle of heavy-duty disinfectant.) Rather, we have been blessed to see many hearts powerfully moved during the concerts, and have ourselves been blessed by tremendous hospitality.
DEAR friends,
Writing you this morning from a Wal-Mart parking lot. The baby decided to wake up and play, so since I cannot sleep I will take this rare moment to write.
SEEDS OF REBELLION
As much as we pray, as much as we go to Mass, do good works, and seek the Lord, there remains in us yet a seed of rebellion. This seed lies within the “flesh” as Paul calls it, and is opposed to the “Spirit.” While our own spirit is often willing, the flesh is not. We want to serve God, but the flesh wants to serve itself. We know the right thing to do, but the flesh wants to do the opposite.
And the battle rages.
Artist Unknown
THERE are times when no matter how much we pray and apply our will, the storms keep raging. I mean the interior storms of temptation, unrest, or confusion. Much of this may be spiritual, but it is also the condition of our flesh. It is at times like this that we are tempted to think God has "left us."