I entered St. Ambrose Parish in Cambridge, ON, making my way towards a pew (just to reflect), I noticed a small little shelf-like “library” they had. They had shelves of Catholic books for children, teenagers, adults, a few cassettes, and a collection of DVD’s! I don’t know why I chose to do this, but I decided to look into the box where all the index cards stating who has borrowed which item and decided to pull out a random card. What I saw brought me smiles… The book I saw was about the last hours of Christ and the last two names written were Catherine Quinto and Jen Ocampo, two of the most inspiring leaders of my generation in the community! One of them became a nun and is currently placed in Philippines, and the other has moved forward with her life exploring other vocations! And I immediately thought, “Lord, what does this mean? I want to find this book! (HAHA)”
I searched for the book, but couldn’t find it. And maybe that was what God what wanted to happen. As I continued to search, I heard the faint noise of a ceremony being conducted inside the church… and then I heard laughter. Moved by this, I made my way inside and took a seat at a pew. As I sat down, I noticed a large family gathered at the front having JUST finished a child’s Baptism! And as I admired the beauty of such a gathering, I began to notice the children – probably cousins – rising and running around to play – HIDE AND SEEK… inside the church and no one seemed to mind… No one came out from the office (as one could hear any noise inside the Church despite of where you are) to tell the children to stop. In the midst of this, I was overcome with confusion – NOT BECAUSE OF THE SITUATION I WAS WITNESSING, BUT BECAUSE OF MYSELF.
A situation like this would have typically annoyed, frustrated and angered me before, yet here I am, right in the middle of this, feeling nothing but peace! And I noticed, this is something I’ve been feeling for a while… peace. As the sound of small running footsteps and tiny little giggles began to grow louder and louder, closer and closer, and began to fill the church, in peace, I began to understand…
this is how our Father must feel when He hears us -His children – filled with joy.
In the noise indicating our joys, the louder they become, the more peaceful and joyful our Lord must feel! When we attend Mass and sing, or even when we utter our praises to Him, and when we spend time with our families, conversing and laughing and sharing our joys… He must be smiling down at us 🙂
Love and joy go hand in hand. Imagine the world. Which would you rather see more often: Serious, straight, focused, analytic faces filled with deep thought and silence, OR a world filled with the sound of joyful chatter, laughter, and celebration? Love does not always have to be serious and reflective. Love can be expressed in joy! Love can be expressed in celebration! JOY…
“Just
Offer
Yourself“
I feel as though as we grow from one generation to the next, we have become more silent. More analytic. Less expressive. These children have become my idols. They know simplicity… They know joy… But most of all, they know the love of the Lord and they know how to express it in simplicity! We must be more joyful in what we do. If this is the peace I feel seeing how joyful these children can be, then how much more peaceful and joyful would the Lord be if I learn to offer myself with the same kind of crazy joy? I must carry a “zero self time” mentality to always strive to give my all to God – first, others – second, then myself – LAST. The call in this is ONE FAMILY – a family in the Lord, and hopefully, one day, my own little family as well 🙂
…in His time, for His greater glory, Amen.