"I can guarantee, things are sweeter in Tennessee."

How I dream of the autumn trees in Nashville!

" If you listen with your heart, you will hear, you will understand... Until you know deep inside that Jesus thirsts for you, you can't begin to know who He wants to be for you, or who He wants you to be for Him."- Blessed Teresa of Calcutta


"Love Him trustfully, without looking back and without fear. Give yourself fully to Jesus. He will use you to accomplish great things on the condition that you believe much more in His love than in your weakness. Believe in Him, trust in Him with blind and absolute confidence because He is Jesus." -Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

great quotes from my current reading, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

'The most beautiful altar; said he, 'is the soul of an unhappy man who is comforted and thanks God.'

She had never been pretty; her whole life, which had been a succession of pious works, had produced upon her a kind of transparent whiteness, and in growing old she had acquired what may be called the beauty of goodness. What had been thinness in her youth had become in maturity transparency, and this etherealness permitted gleams of the angel within.

what a song...break away by john mayer

if melody
is my destiny
then what's left of me,
i'll give to you..
and if next to me,
is all that you need to be
would you settle for fantasy,
if it's the best you could do?

can I have my cake?
can i have you too?
would you follow me?
could i ask you to?

would the world between us,
break these ties?
we worked so hard
to realize..
can a postcard say,
what i see in your eyes?

could i ever break away?

would i be satisfied,
and find peace inside
rolling half my life
over broken white lines?

can i have my cake,
can i have you too?
would you follow me,
could i ask you too?

will i wake up one morning,
and see your face
and the streaks on the window,
that the rainstorm makes?
could you bear all the waiting,
and the strength that it takes?

could i ever break away?
could i ever break away?

can i have my cake?
can i have you too?
would you follow me?
could i ask you to?

would the world between us,
break these ties?
we worked so hard to realize..
can a postcard say,
what i see in your eyes?

could i ever break away?

From the moment when You let me fix the eyes of my soul on You, O Jesus, I have been at peace and desired nothing else, I found my destiny at the moment when my soul lost itself in You, the only object of my love. - Divine Mercy in my Soul, Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska

And all will see how great, how great is our God!

This past week at Camp Emmaus was truly a time of joy and prayer. The lively faith of the youth of the San Diego Diocese has truly captured my heart and my own faith. I could not believe how these kids truly know themselves and know that they love God beyond all measure. A particular profound experience for me was spending time with the youth in small groups. It was in the small groups that I witnessed a young man speak about his own struggles and sufferings. To see this boy share his suffering broadened the scope of my vision to see that these kinds love with a real love, a love purified through the suffering of their crosses. How ineffable is the love of the cross! It is more real and more tangible than anything we shall ever come to know and I thank the youth of San Diego for allowing me to encounter the Lord and truly feel his spirit living within you all. What a gift it was for me!

The past week was a very prayerful time for me. The beauty of the mountains, the rich sunsets and the open star-filled sky simply drew me into the quiet of contemplation. One day I had been contemplating Peter's jump out of the boat and onto the water, his test of faith. When Father Rob preached in this gospel, the spirit of the Lord enlightened my mind and I realized that everything I had been going through was exactly like Peter in this test of faith. I too, took a leap of faith out of the boat after the command of the Lord and felt tossed by the storms of my own discernment of God's will. Jesus spoke to my heart once again and said,
" Keep your eyes on me dear one. Do no be afraid of the uncertainty that lies beneath and before you. Know that I am here and I will never take my eyes away from you. Keep your eyes fixed on me, the one who loves you and I will lead you to your greatest joy."

there is something in the way that he looks at me, so gently, so sweetly, like a young man with a pure heart, purely in love.
there is something in the way two hearts united and purified as one through the soaring summits and deep wells of love, a love undeniable, in no other being than a God who became Man and defined love itself on a cross.

Faith, reason and the heart

"In my reading and in my studies, I always tried to achieve a harmony between faith, reason & the heart. These are not separate areas, but are profoundly interconnected, each giving life to the other. This coming together of faith, reason and the heart is strongly influenced by our sense of wonder at the miracle of a human person, at man's likeness to the Triune God, at the immensely profound bond between love and truth, at the mystery of mutual self-giving, and the life that it generates at our reflections on the succession of human generations."
-Pope John Paul II from Rise, Let us Be On Our Way

Yes, children, love God well during this life. This is the greatest source of happiness on this earth and the only thing that will make us eternally happy in heaven.
- Saint Bernadette

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us!

Today, the Church celebrates the memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a day very special to the Order of Carmelites and for all those who confide themselves to the heart of Mary. I love Marian feast days!
I woke up this morning and read my Magnificat as I ate breakfast, and was so grateful for a day dedicated to Our Lady. I just love how the Church makes these days so a part of our lives. If today were not a feast day dedicated in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I would not be so renewed with fervor today to love our Lady! The Church in all her wisdom and love sets these beautiful days to commemorate beautiful saints, so that as one Church, we may celebrate them together. There is just something about these days that draw us evermore closely to the heart of Mary. What could be said about Mary, the mother of God, the cause of our joy, the queen of heaven? Well I must say that she surely is the queen of my heart.
I have always desired a devotion to our Blessed Mother. Throughout the years loving the faith, I always knew that Mary was important and that we should imitate her fiat. I always wanted to have a close relationship with her, but never made a great effort to other than praying the holy rosary. I suppose Mary was drawing me ever near to her heart while in Rome, when I spent almost everyday running to the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore for Mass and adoration spent with the One who swept my heart away. It wasn’t until I entered the convent in Nashville that the desire to belong completely to Mary grew with great fervor. I learned that loving Mary was a very Dominican thing, so I was on the right track! Remember, Our Lady gave the rosary to Saint Dominic!
After seeing the true love and devotion particular sisters had for Mary, I knew I wanted one too. There was Sister Marie Laboure, the beautiful and sanguine Cajun from South Louisiana, who took her name after Saint Catherine Laboure who received the Miraculous Medal from Our Lady. Of course, in the spirit of Saint Catherine Laboure, she too passed out Miraculous Medals right and left, spreading the love of Mary to all. There was also Sister Katherine, one of my postulant sisters who deeply, deeply loved Mary. She encouraged me to make a Total Consecration to Mary through St. Louis de Montfort’s (3rd Order Dominican) book and so I did. I too desired to belong completely to Mary. I made the prayers and reflected on the readings pretty half-asleep for a month and a half each morning during meditations. I did not realize at the moment while preparing to consecrate myself to Our Lady how many graces were flowing from the Lord. I made my consecration on October 1, 2007 the feast day of Saint Therese of Lisieux, who is one of the greatest little saints in my heart. Most people make their consecrations on Marian feast days or even on St. Louis de Montfort’s feast day, but I wanted to give myself to our Lady through the prayers of Saint Therese who also loved Mary as queen and mother of her heart.
I just remember that after I made my consecration everything changed in my heart. The desire to belong to Mary and love her increased! I wanted to love her more and more as my dearest mother. When I was having a bad day, I would just look up at her statue just in front of my chapel stall and her prayers would lift me up to Jesus. Loving Mary was never an end for me. Loving her has only made me love Jesus more and more, He who is our ultimate end. She truly is the cause of my joy.
What I initially wanted to write about concerning Mary, has to do with today’s beautiful feast, Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Today we remember the brown scapular that was given to Simon Stock by Our Lady. The scapular I’ve learned is a sign that you belong to Mary. How grateful I am to bear such a beautiful sign! If I had continued religious life in Nashville, I would be preparing to receive the holy habit of St. Dominic in 11 days. The long white scapular is usually a sisters’ favorite piece of the habit, along with the veil. I was so excited to bear such a visible sign of inward consecration to our Lady, but the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord! I still bear the sign of complete belonging to Mary through my little brown scapular and more deeply, my entire heart bears the love of Mary. What more could I ask for? Blessed be the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel!

The Call by Regina Spektor It started out as a feeling Which then grew into a hope Which then turned into a quiet thought Which then turned into a quiet word And then that word grew louder and louder Til it was a battle cry I'll come back When you call me No need to say goodbye Just because everything's changing Doesn't mean it's never Been this way before All you can do is try to know Who your friends are As you head off to the war Pick a star on the dark horizon And follow the light You'll come back When it's over No need to say good bye You'll come back When it's over No need to say good bye.. Now we're back to the beginning It's just a feeling and no one knows yet But just because they can't feel it too Doesn't mean that you have to forget Let your memories grow stronger and stronger Til they're before your eyes You'll come back When they call you No need to say good bye You'll come back When they call you No need to say good bye..

The Lord's will is such a mystery, but I know that the true joy of my heart lies in this mystery of love. So, what do you do when the Lord asks you to give up a life that means everything to you? Well, I just gotta keep trusting, loving and sharing the gift of my year with the Nashville Dominicans. I would not give up this past year for anything. And even though leaving was not my desire, God granted me the grace to choose to leave to pursue the greater truth of His vocation for me,whatever it may be.

My Soul is open before you.Like a blank sheet of paper. Write on it what you will. O Lord: I am Yours.
—Pope Blessed John XXIII, Journal of a Soul

Fiat

"When we hear the voice of God
calling out our names,
Lord, we pray you give us faith
to answer you in anything.
And we may not understand
the wisdom of your plan, but we will answer:
'Let it be. Let it be done unto me.' "