Eucharistia

Thank you so much to all of you who have been praying for me. I can genuinely say that my heart has been consoled by the Holy Spirit many times in the past week, and I believe that this is the fruit of all of your prayers. 

The Holy Spirit seems to be whispering, With my help, one can discover that even something like cancer can be a blessing and one can grow in gratitude even for life's sorrows. 

In my experience, this type of gratitude is often like the broken rays of sun that come and go between the cloud breaks, glimpses of hope. In this journey I am on, I experience good moments and difficult moments. Indeed, I always have. However, my awareness of how God uses the challenges of our life has grown, a truth that God has been reminding me of repeatedly this week. Perhaps with the grace of the Holy Spirit, my capacity to find joy and to be grateful amid all circumstances will grow. 

I just finished reading The Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan. I was so delighted to discover before my surgery that the author of one of my absolute all-time favorite books, Beneath a Scarlet Sky, has published two other books. 

Both books are based on true stories, and The Last Green Valley describes the journey of Adeline and Emil and their family fleeing the dictatorship of Stalin in Ukraine at the end of World War II under the protection of Nazi German troops. It is an inspiring story of strength, resilience, perseverance, and faith. At the end of the book, the real life people whom the author interviewed testify to the value of the greatest challenges in our lives.

Try to be grateful for every setback or tragedy, because by living through them, you become stronger. I see the hand of God in that . . . I also see his hand in every right step and every wrong one we took in our lives, all somehow moving us forward, but sometimes around and around like a leaf I've always remembered seeing blowing in the wind the first day of the Long Trek.
 
- Adeline 

 

Being imprisoned now seemed to have been one of the best things that ever happened to him because, after his escape he had never looked at life the same way again.
-Emil

I also watched the BBC series of War & Peace with Paul Dano and Lily James in the past few weeks, which I would highly recommend. I have never read Tolstoy's masterpiece and am probably not up to the over 2000 page epic right now. However, towards the end of the series, the protagonist, Pierre Bezukhov, reflects:

They say sufferings are misfortunes. But if I was asked, would I stay as I was before I was taken prisoner, or go through it all again? I would say, 'For God's sake, let me be a prisoner again.' When our lives are knocked off course, we imagine everything in them is lost. But it is only the start of something new and good. As long as there is life, there is happiness. There is a great deal, a great deal still to come.

I love when God saturates the everyday experiences with the message our heart needs to hear. Of course, these truths point us to the Truth, the Word which tells us:

Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. (Romans 5: 3-5)

This past week we received the news that I will need chemotherapy and radiation in the New Year. While this is not what we were hoping for, I am still waiting in Advent with peace, with hope, and at times, even with joy. Tomorrow we celebrate Gaudete Sunday, rejoicing with faith that Jesus is near, that Jesus entered and continues to enter into our world of humanity over and over again. 

He does this most miraculously and most powerfully through the Eucharist. The word Eucharist comes from the Greek eucharistia, meaning thanksgiving. Each time we receive the Eucharist, we are called to an act of thanksgiving for God's presence in the Eucharist and in our lives. 

I am thankful. Thankful for the way I continue to experience God's love through my husband, our children, our family, our friends and community. Thankful for God's powerful and transformative presence in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist. Thankful for the way the Holy Spirit journeys with us in all circumstances, giving us comfort and guidance. Thankful for my body which has carried, nourished, and brought forth six children into this world. Thankful even for cancer, which my Lord in His infinite wisdom has not caused but has permitted, for He knows the plans He has made for me, plans to prosper me and not to harm, plans for a life of hope. 

Much love to all.