We find ourselves in the eye of a tornado, in the epicenter of a pandemic. Everything is swirling by. It’s very much like being in war. Death surrounds us. Everyone is a soldier now. Everyone is a soldier now.
We must remain vigilant, keeping ourselves safe and everyone around us safe. We come to see, to know, to realize that ultimately our destiny is in God’s hands. God’s will be done. Maybe before we didn’t fully see or sense that, now we do. Now we do. Never lose hope, our Lord is victorious. Do we believe that, do we feel that, even if it is only grasping at His outreached hands and fingers which have been nailed and crucified?
It’s important, it’s essential to recognize or be aware of signs of beauty every day. Those moments of beauty may be with our children, our spouse, a co-worker, or a kind gesture by a neighbor. In moments like these, it’s easy to be sleepwalking, to be overwhelmed with anxiety, or to fall into depression. We must stay fully awake, fully alive. Christ blows all of reality wide open. Do we see these little miracles each and every day? They are there. Do we see them?
In a very real way, we are living the Paschal Mystery. It’s not a lot of fun, is it? We as a people know about the story of the Crucifixion and Resurrection. Now His Crucifixion and Resurrection are our own. The Crucifixion and Resurrection, these facts, give us meaning to our suffering. They also give us hope and joy. As a joyful people, we must remember to smile, to laugh, to dance, and to cry, to really truly cry. Our Lady did all of these with her son during His Life, Death, and Resurrection. In Our Lady, we see how we should live in our day, this very day!
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Friar David L. Jones is an Independent Catholic Priest, specifically an ordained Celtic Catholic Priest of the Celtic Catholic Church USA in the Independent/Apostolic Sacramental Movement (ISM/ASM). He is a Friar of the Celtic Franciscan Companions, a religious order within New Monasticism. In 2017 by the grace of God and the working of the Holy Spirit, he along with family and friends began a small church plant/mission named Our Lady of Mount Carmel Celtic Catholic Church in St. Joseph, Missouri.
Friar David holds a Masters in Theological Studies from the Institute of Religious and Pastoral Studies, University of Dallas. He has spoken internationally in Italy at the Rimini Meeting and throughout much of the United States. He is a regular columnist for Il Sissidiario, Catholic Online, the Clarion Journal of Spirituality and Justice.
His conversion story is published in the Italian book entitled Sotto Il Cielo D'America (Under the American Sky) written by Marco Bardazzi. The introduction of this book has been translated into English and is available on-line. Another story of his life is published in the Italian book entitled Mi Mancano Solo Le Hawaii (They Lack Only Hawaii - Living and travel notes of an Italian transplanted to America) written by Maurizio "Riro" Maniscalco. A beautiful interview of Friar David can be found on the Sacramental Whine Podcast.
Friar David is a 26-year active-duty U.S. Army retiree. He is a combat veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as a humanitarian mission to Haiti. He currently teaches full-time at a local high school, freshmen through seniors, in St. Joseph, MO.
Friar David has been married to Becky for 25 years. They have four children, four dogs, one cat, one guinea pig, and a home full of books.
DISCLAIMER - The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and not those of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Army.
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