Slippery Slope

We were walking down the mountain and I fell. Slightly dehydrated, definitely undernourished, and eight-miles in were some of the conditions that lead to the blood trickling from the palm of my hand. However, in reality, it was the slippery slope that caused the fall. It’s not as though I was arrogantly frolicking, ignoring the warning signs. No, like any good slippery slope it just kind of happened. One foot in front of another and all of a sudden you realize you’ve lost your footing and are no longer standing on solid ground. In fact, you are no longer standing at all. 

If you’ve ever slipped up you know it can be jarring. It can prohibit your confident steps forward causing you to second guess as you tentatively search for the strength of step you used to have. The good thing about falling is that it teaches us not only how to get back up but also how to identify the situations and conditions which cause us to fall. How apropos can this be to our spiritual lives? When we are taking steps towards breaking an addiction or a negative thought pattern or a habitual sin, it is once we recognize where the beginning of the slippery slope is that leads us astray that we can adjust our footing and find an alternate path. What causes you to fall?

No matter what has tripped us up in the past or presently, it’s important to remember that nothing is outside of the mercy of God. Let us confess our weakness and rely more firmly on His strength. Let us walk confidently and humbly with our God trusting He never leaves. Bl. Pier Giorgio pray that we may always have a greater trust in His mercy than our weakness. May we journey onward and upward while straying from any slippery slope.

Verso l’alto,

Kathryn Grace

because we are not alone in the dark with our demons
and we have made mistakes
but we've learned from them

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czFgKa7YcIQ

But I keep cruising

Can’t stop, won’t stop moving

It’s like I got this music in my mind

Saying it’s gonna be alright

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlGMsAHoCzE

Even the winter won't last forever...
We'll see the morning, we'll feel the sun
We'll wake up in April, ready & able
Sowing the seeds in the soil
of love

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VHHDWc-SzE

Verso L'alto

Verso l’alto!

We started the steep ascent quickly, which brought on slightly labored breathing and the friendly reminder I was outta shape. We were supposed to be hiking. We were climbing quickly. I knew there was going to be some scrambling involved. I didn’t realize exactly what that meant. As I pinched my two feet together in a foot hold, I reached to the right and then to the left hoping to decipher which angle was going to give me the best leverage in order to continue the climb. There was a point where my feet nestled in between two rocks, I leaned into the rock face and reached straight up. As I was praying I also recognized “If this goes wrong, I’m screwed.” It wasn’t exactly the rock climbing gym.

The crazy thing though is that as dramatic as that sounds and as dramatic as the climb looks, it actually was exhilarating. It wasn’t a moment of fear but rather focus. “Failure” wasn’t an option. What happens when you’re on the ledge?

Looking at the iconic picture of Pier Giorgio you see an athletic young man climbing to the heights, daring greatly and reaching boldly. However, I would say its fair to guess that as he was in the midst of his climb, he recognized there was nothing more important than the next right thing. It wasn’t about how far he had come nor was it about how far he had to go. Simply, he seemed to understand the simple genius that many of the saints lived. As we ascend toward the heights of Heaven, the only way to get there is one foot in front of the other, trusting Providence to show us the way.

Pier Giorgio, intercede before the Blessed Mother that we may know the joy of climbing towards Heaven while recognizing the blessings of today.  Help us to see the beautiful gifts unfold that as we climb closer to Christ we can come to recognize and know there is so much more that we don’t understand. Let us see this as it is: a beautiful invitation to Climb On.

Verso l’alto,

Coop

That’s how a superhero learns to fly
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y7ygEDRpSo

You’ll be alright

Cause when push comes to shove you taste what you’re made of

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_Vzpjv_kR4

I’ve learned the path to heaven is full of sinners and believers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtPcPEUBp-w

Draw me a little closer, take me a little deeper, I wanna know your heart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTUWO636_-c

My Best Friends' Wedding

If you’ve ever gone to or prepared for your best friend’s wedding, you know it is a gift. Memories flash across in the midst of the ceremony. It’s beautiful to witness the current reality; however, it’s a gift to see it in light of the events that lead each to the alter. You know the inside jokes, the almost breakups, and the heroic and selfless decisions to love amidst confusion, chaos, and daily living. You know the special smile that comes when one thinks of the other, the voice inflection and the twinkle in one’s eye when sharing a story recounting the personal love of one’s lover and friend. It is a gift to see the transformation love brings about. Both the transformation that comes from falling in love and from choosing to continue to love is as beautiful as the poets describe.

A best friend’s wedding is a joyous celebration so heading to the Basilica for six of my best friends’ wedding was momentous. If you’ve never been to the profession of religious vows, do it. The joyful witness of self sacrificing love made often times by young, courageous, talented, men and women is inspiring. They sacrifice the goods of this world for the sake of the kingdom. They answer the call to be laborers in the vineyard. They exemplify radical love which defeats the secular cultures’ anthem to only give in accordance to what one will get back, to give some of oneself but not all. Rather, withdrawing from the illusory demands of keeping up with the Jones’, they lay down their lives (literally as they prostrate themselves on the cathedral floor), all of themselves. They sacrifice their present and their future and they submit their past, whatever it entails, to the mercy of God. They offer their hearts, gifts, and talents to their community and our Church. To say I am in awe of these women is an understatement. They lay down their lives so others might live. Not just for the sake of the unborn and marginalized but for all. They lay down so that we may each may hear the resounding and splendid Truth that we are called to live Life in abundance and that we are each uniquely and passionately loved by our Lord.

So like any best friend’s wedding there is the beauty of the service and the inspiration of the event, which draws forth the heart. And yet when it’s your best friend’s wedding you see the universal gift of the vocation with a particular love for the specific individual, which results in the only proper response

​ - ​

to say a little prayer for you.

May we imitate their selfless abandon and may we trust God’s P​rovidence that He allows us to respond as He calls because it is He that first loved us. Let us trust His plans are good (Jer. 29:11), all works for the good of those who love Him (Rom. 8:28), and that He desires us to abide in His love so that our joy may be complete. For whatever we give to Him is returned one hundred fold. Let us be cheerful givers trusting the will of God never leads us outside the grace of God. John Cardinal O'Connor, pray for us! 

Discernment can be something we want to put off, tending to think of all that we'd give up. The Lord gives and He gives. Discernment can be the greatest gift no matter the "outcome." The gifts of discerning religious life, because thats an invitation God offered to me years ago, resulted in friends around the world and Sisters in every essence of the word. 

Is He Calling you? Call a vocations director. It might just help you find what you're looking for. 

Verso l’alto,

Kathryn Grace

I say a little prayer for you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IlzGRBnino

You broke the bonds
And you loosed the chains
Carried the cross
Of my shame
Oh my shame
You know I believe it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_ISAntOom0

“And nothing again would be casual or small, but everything with Light invested.”

*from the Sister’s medals and a poem on the Annunciation as the Incarnation changes everything.*