Coffee & Grace

At 11:00 today I have a meeting with a lady who would like to join the Church. I am so humbled to be a part of the RCIA process. Such a beautiful experience of the real movements and gentle call of the Fire of the Holy Spiri - grace.

Today is the Solemnity of All Saints. And I just found out that my beloved spiritual father from Rome is reading my blog! Hi, Father Paul! Its fun to have a blog.

What, you might ask, does that have to do with All Saints Day!? Well, it is in part because of coffee and grace. Fr. Paul Keller, O.P., whom one can see giving a beautiful homily on St. Francis here, is a brilliant priest and reminds me of the coffee I used to have in Rome. That coffee, much like Fr. Paul's pastoral care, gives your soul a serious charge and allows you to keep on going. This I hope for all parishioners of St. Jude that we all have the experience of the Catholic Church, at some point, as mine is of Fr. Paul. Now, not every person gets along with every priest, we are after all each fallen humans. Nevertheless, let us be patient, let us be open to what Christ has to give to each of us in the graces through each priest he calls.

It is in much the same way that we ought to approach the Feast of All Saints. We must realize that, in as much as we are all humans, we will not necessarily like every saint. Some are more inviting to us than others. Nevertheless, the Saints love us because we seek to serve Christ as they did. They realize that we are brothers and sisters in Christ, and like a good brother or sister, love us as family and pray for us as family. For us Catholics, our caffeine of family life is the grace of the Holy Spirit that binds us together. We are united in the Blood of Christ which has been poured over our souls sacramentally through the waters of baptism.

I love all Saints day. I love being Catholic. I, in some sense, love "missing" my dear Fr. Paul, because it reminds me that this world is not the end. We are striving to be united to our brothers and sisters in the Church Triumphant in Heaven. For only then will I be united with that dear friend of mine, and shall we each be freed from the temptations that constantly assail us. Let no one of us be stuck or stumble upon the things of this world, for this too - whatever it is - shall pass.