God's Love

Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer. -- Romans 12:12

A week ago, I was blessed to be with my beautiful family in Pittsburgh celebrating the wedding of my gorgeous cousin, Kim, to the man who can always bring a smile to her face, Will.  It was a beautiful catholic ceremony followed by a classy and chic reception.  

Even on a day of such beauty and love, I was struggling with many different internal struggles that day.  One of the major ones being where God is calling me next year.  I have prayed and discerned over this for months now.  I felt called in one specific direction for a while and began pursuing avenues to make it happen.  But as doors began to close, I began to doubt that what I wanted was God's will.  Luckily, I was blessed to be able to go home for the wedding because God really used this as an opportunity to speak to me.

At the ceremony, I was reminded of God's love.  How even through hardship and trial, He will always be faithful to us.  Kim and Will's marriage will be a constant reminder of that as they continue to grow in love of each other. I gained in that moment a peace and reassurance.  I thought about all of the beautiful relationships that are witnesses to God's never-ending love for us: my parents relationship with each other, my relationship with each of them, my relationships with my brother and sister, my relationship will all of my family, all of the wonderful couples I know, my relationship with my two little loves Cecilia and Kateri, and so many more.  If all of these examples of love are so beautiful, imagine how incredibly magnificent the Father's love is for us! A great sense of peace and love was there in that moment. And even though that moment was fleeting, I still remember it and have hope that it will be again.

While discerning over the past week there have been a lot of ups and downs making me still really unsure of what God is calling me to for the next year.

But I rejoice in the hope that He is guiding me.  With Him at my side I will endure this affliction within myself about what is next. As long as I continue to preserve in prayer I will be able to better know His will for me.

Holy Week

Holy Week in Honduras is a week long celebration of being Catholic. Not only do they have your normal masses and services, but they have the most beautiful alfombras and a million religious processions. Instead of a normal post, this is just a photo series of the Triduum. Enjoy!

Holy Thursday- celebration of the institution of the Eucharist, then a play of the Last Supper on the Cathedral steps

Thursday into Good Friday- making the alfombra (carpet made of sawdust) with ICB!

Good Friday- stations, masses and processions

Holy Saturday, Vigil Mass- 9 baptisms!

On Easter Sunday I was blessed to fly home and was greeted by these lovely faces (and my dad and Jeff in the car).

Needless to say, the Triduum was blessed! I hope that yours was too!

God's Plan is Greater

I am a slightly Type-A personality. I like a plan, to see where things are headed, and to map a roadmap to get there. 

However, I have been left feeling lost and disoriented in the past by over planning my life and things not turning out the way I planned. Even though everything that was happening was fine, I saw my world, my plan, crumbling and I was unhappy.

If I only could have known then what I have learned from those experience s- God's plan is greater than mine. It's better than anything I could imagine. If we trust in Him, in His divine providence, He will give us the grace to handle whatever lies ahead on the road we are on. It's ok to have goals, and to have hopes about our future, but it's important not to get so caught up in the planning to see how God is working in each and every moment of our day. For His plan is always greater than mine, because He is love, beauty, and goodness itself.