In a homily towards the end of this past year, one of the faculty members said that the way we can measure our love for God is by how we recognize His love for us. This hit me like a ton of bricks (in a good way) as I had been praying that I wanted to love God more, but I didn't know exactly what that meant. Now, I had a clue; come to realize more how much God loves me! I began doing this in prayer by reading Scripture, especially the Gospels to see how God has loved His people throughout history.
This continued for a few weeks, thinking about it off and on until I went to confession one day. As a penance, I was told to go walk around the track at school and pray a decade of the rosary. I did so and started thinking about the homily mentioned earlier. It was then that I asked God, "How do you love me?" No sooner had I thought the question did I hear, "I'm calling you to be My priest!" Wow, OK God I get it! O how He loves me. He wants me to be His representative here on earth. He wants me to be a visible sign of His love. He wants me to bring the Body and Blood of his Son to men on Earth, to forgive sins, to welcome people into His Church through baptism, to bring people together for life in the Sacrament of Marriage, and to prepare souls to return to Him in the Anointing of the Sick. He loves me...He really loves me! I shouldn't be surprised, God IS Love!
Continuing this realizing how much God loves me line of thought, this summer has been a tremendous blessing for me in many ways. Coming home after two years away has been one of the best experiences of my life. From the moment I hit the ground in Lafayette on June 9th, I have felt God's love through others. I had about 30 people waiting for me at the airport to welcome me home, including a niece and a nephew that I had never met...how can I not feel God's love? I have had the chance to have dinner and visit with many of my family and friends over the past two months and have vacationed with my family and friends...how can I not feel God's love? I have been welcomed and thanked time and time again at my summer assignment at Our Lady of Fatima with the assurance of people's prayers for me and for all seminarians...how can I not feel God's love? I have been asked about my experiences from family, friends, parishioners and shut-ins that I visit and have watched them listen with wonder at only a few of the experiences I have had over the past two years...how can I not feel God's love?
Thank you for making this summer so wonderful! I look forward to the experiences of my last month in town and I look forward to serving you one day as a priest of the Diocese of Lafayette by the grace of God! Thank you for showing me God's love and for calling me to love and serve more each day.
In Christ,
Patrick
This continued for a few weeks, thinking about it off and on until I went to confession one day. As a penance, I was told to go walk around the track at school and pray a decade of the rosary. I did so and started thinking about the homily mentioned earlier. It was then that I asked God, "How do you love me?" No sooner had I thought the question did I hear, "I'm calling you to be My priest!" Wow, OK God I get it! O how He loves me. He wants me to be His representative here on earth. He wants me to be a visible sign of His love. He wants me to bring the Body and Blood of his Son to men on Earth, to forgive sins, to welcome people into His Church through baptism, to bring people together for life in the Sacrament of Marriage, and to prepare souls to return to Him in the Anointing of the Sick. He loves me...He really loves me! I shouldn't be surprised, God IS Love!
Continuing this realizing how much God loves me line of thought, this summer has been a tremendous blessing for me in many ways. Coming home after two years away has been one of the best experiences of my life. From the moment I hit the ground in Lafayette on June 9th, I have felt God's love through others. I had about 30 people waiting for me at the airport to welcome me home, including a niece and a nephew that I had never met...how can I not feel God's love? I have had the chance to have dinner and visit with many of my family and friends over the past two months and have vacationed with my family and friends...how can I not feel God's love? I have been welcomed and thanked time and time again at my summer assignment at Our Lady of Fatima with the assurance of people's prayers for me and for all seminarians...how can I not feel God's love? I have been asked about my experiences from family, friends, parishioners and shut-ins that I visit and have watched them listen with wonder at only a few of the experiences I have had over the past two years...how can I not feel God's love?
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| My family waiting for me to arrive at the Lafayette Airport! |
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| My two beautiful nieces and my handsome nephew! |
Thank you for making this summer so wonderful! I look forward to the experiences of my last month in town and I look forward to serving you one day as a priest of the Diocese of Lafayette by the grace of God! Thank you for showing me God's love and for calling me to love and serve more each day.
In Christ,
Patrick
Didn't know you were in!! Welcome home!! May your stay be blessed and filled with affirmations of your vocation!
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