by Bro.Mark

There comes a time in life where we come face to face with ourselves. The majority of time is spent with running toward a goal we desire to accomplish. It could be career or a championship belt. We empty ourselves. We sacrifice most everything to achieve our goal. We reach into our very soul and muster up all our strength. We walk the road of tribulation and suffering. We reach outward to fulfill an inner calling. When we were younger we experienced an inner calling. This calling was specific to who we are. It could have been a specific calling to help humanity in some way. Perhaps it was to be an architect or an engineer to build bridges or roads. Or how about a surgeon that healed people and gave others an opportunity to fulfill their own calling in life. But even through this dimension of our journey, we still find ourself searching for an inner fulfillment, to rest in that center within our soul where the peace and union with our Creator resides. We touch that peace and union with God in bits throughout our life as we journey along. It could be so delicate of a touch it passes our understanding. We experience these touches as a burst of joyful energy. We experience it as an explosion of love within the center of our being, like a warmth throughout our body. This gift is given to each of us as we journey through life. I believe these are love touches from God. God delights in His creation. He delights in life. When we stop and take a break from the journey we quickly come face to face with ourselves. We may be afraid to face ourselves because of the decisions we may have made on the journey. But with the grace God freely offers us we have an opportunity to embrace forgiveness, mercy and compassion. We can inwardly embrace God’s healing for our inner being. We touch peace, inner joy, contentment. We touch God. Actually, God touches us. For us, who are living with a physical disability, we have the opportunity to experience the touch of God more quickly. It’s not that we are more special than anyone else, it’s just that we come face to face with our inner self more quickly. Often times we are forced to stop the movement, the journey of fulfillment and rest in the nothingness of being. We surrender to the struggle. We are offered the gift of inner healing. We experience the closeness of God. We experience the knock on the door of our soul. We learn that God does not force His way in, but instead He gently waits for our invitation to welcome Him in to rest with us. He waits for our yes. We can’t see this encounter nor hear it, but we know the encounter is authentic for we experience it’s reality. We have difficulty expressing our encounter with others, but we know it took place. We understand that God seeks to remain hidden and this intimate encounter is but a moment in time in which God reveals a Divine Union. It is a gift bestowed by God where hope begins to take root within us. A hope that all our suffering in life does have meaning. Our physical disability has purpose. We did not ask for this heavy cross. Often, we push it away and seek to overcome it. What happens when we embrace it and accept it as the center of who we are? Do we experience God in its sorrow, in its pain? Will our willingness to embrace it bring us closer to God? I believe it will. I believe we will find the answers to our questions. I believe union with God will be experienced in this life. It may be a moment of Transfiguration, but it will provide the strength for each of us to continue the difficult journey until we meet God face to face and rest in Him for all eternity.
Have a most blessed day,

Your brother in Christ Jesus,

Mark

Hermits of the Holy Cross