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going, emailing, texting and acquiring are due to the deep pain and longing in us all.
This pain and longing began with the events of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
Once they had eaten of the forbidden fruit, their relationship with God was forever
changed. Instead of walking hand-in-hand with God through the Garden, they experi-
enced an emptiness, and a longing for the way their relationship had been prior to their
sin. Throughout all humanity, this emptiness, loneliness and longing have continued.
We experience this as a dull ache, or sadness. In order to counteract the sadness and
forget the ache, we immerse ourselves in constant activity, conversation, or other pur-
suits in the hope that we will feel happy and whole again. It is possible to relieve the
pain for a short time, but it will never leave. Our best and only hope to feel true relief,
which will give us the peace and joy for which we long so desperately, is to find God in
our world, and to focus on Him. Prayer, Mass, the Sacraments and love will all help to
bring this sense of peace, but it can also be achieved by marveling
at and truly experiencing the beauty in all of God’s creations. By
opening our minds and hearts to the beauty, and thus the God,
that exists everywhere, we place ourselves in the presence of our
Heavenly Father, and once again will feel the joy and elation which
we so desire. We become present to “listen to His words”, as
Moses speaks of in Deuteronomy; we will be open to His “teaching
with authority” as in Mark’s Gospel, and when we hear His voice,
we certainly will not “harden our hearts”, but rather open our hearts
to the outpouring of love which God so infinitely showers upon us
all.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the infinite love and care which
you constantly bestow on us. Guide us to always keep our hearts
and minds open to your love and your presence, amidst the crazi-
ness and chaos of our lives. We ask that Mary, our Mother and
intercessor may assist is in being in the here and now to be fully
present in our relationship with you, and that through our presence
and awareness; we may live your love to all others in this world.
Amen.
_______
Bill Chapman
Evangelization Team