I’m inclined to self-criticism and I am concerned that my postings are too strident at times. I feel everything very deeply. I’m a very sensitive if not sensible person. Yesterday at work I was speaking with a grandmother of one of the local young men serving in Afghanistan. She said, “I liked the article you wrote for the paper.” I thanked her. She said she had talked to her grandson who is now serving in Afghanistan. I told her that her grandson and several other young men were on my prayer list. As I talked I began to weep and she could see how much I care for not only her grandson, but all the young men and women of our armed forces. I think our country is led by men and women who don’t much care what happens as a result of their policies. They have become detached from reality to the extent that human life is of little value to them. They speak of human life in euphemistic terms that allow them to distance themselves from reality. My prayer has removed from me a heart of stone and replaced it with a heart of flesh that feels very deeply. Sometimes all of this is too much for my heart and I begin to weep. It is in those times that I feel the presence of God most closely and maybe this tenderness is the creator’s gift to me.
I have been praying the rosary that Sr. Rita Michael, OSF recently gave to me and I carry a chaplet in my pocket everyday to remind me to pray for peace and for the young men who are close to my heart. I hope you too will pray for them and for peace. Ave Maria gratia plena.