Into The Desert- Week 5

  You sit down in your favorite prayer space and close your eyes.  You allow yourself to take a few slow deliberate breaths in and out peacefully entering into meditative prayer.  Again you call out to the Holy Spirit, "Lead me into the desert."
    As you enter the desert, you notice something unusual in the distance. It’s difficult to make out, so you slowly walk towards it. After a few steps you feel the familiar hand on your shoulder.   You stop and smile at Dominic. 

  “I am glad you were able to take some steps without me," Dominic says with a smile.  “Where are you going?”

  “I’m trying to figure out what that is over there. It almost looks like a bed. But what would that be doing in the middle of the desert?”

  “Well let’s go see," says Dominic.

After a  10 minute walk in the hot, shifting sand, you begin to see things more clearly. “Dominic, that is a hospital bed and there is someone in it!” You start running towards the bed when suddenly you run face first into a clear glass wall. You take a few steps back, and begin to rub your forehead. "What just happened?"

  Dominic does not seemed surprised at all.  "It looks like you just ran into a wall. Are you alright?"

  "Yes, I'm fine. But why is there a glass wall here?"  You place your hands against the glass.  "Dominic that's a hospital bed.  What is that person doing there?  I don't understand?  What is going on?"

  "You are peering into an isolation room.  This patient is very sick and also contagious.  He is not allowed to have visitors--not even his own family.  Day after day his body becomes weaker from the virus, and the loneliness of the isolation weighs heavily on his heart and mind.  Come, there is something else I want you to see."

  As you follow Dominic around two of the clear glass walls your heart goes out to the man in the bed.  He looks so frail. You notice the oxygen tube around the his face, the IV bags and lines going into his body, and the untouched tray of food next to him. As you round the next corner, you notice a cord exiting the room and entering into a box.  Dominic opens the lid of the box revealing several torn and weathered paper hearts.

  You try to make some sense of the situation. "Dominic, I don't understand what you are showing me?"

  "That one phone cord is the only connection to his loved ones.  The patient's loved ones feel trapped and helpless because they can't enter the room to take care of him. The situation is breaking everyone's heart."

  "Is no one taking care of him then?"

  "The doctors and nurses are doing everything they can.  But he is not the only one.  There are too many just like him." Just then rows and rows of beds appear before you.

  "This is terrible!  What can I do to help?"

  "That is exactly what the Lord would like to discuss with you.  He needs you to help." Dominic takes hold of your hand and says, "Come, the Lord is waiting for us, His great Mercy will open the door."

-Susan

Into the Desert: Week 4

  It has been a week of changes.  You once again settle yourself into a peaceful meditative spirit of prayer.  You close your eyes and pray to the Holy Spirit, "Lead me into the desert." After a few minutes you feel the heat of the sun on your face.  You open your mind and eyes to another prayerful encounter.  You seem to be standing all by yourself.  As you look down you notice in large letters the word "TRUTH".  You look at it and then look all around.  As your eyes search the distant horizon you feel the familiar hand on your shoulder.
  You turn and smile at Dominic.  "I'm happy to see you.  I thought I might be out here all alone."
  Dominic returns the smile and says, "You are never alone.  You did look a little lost, though, as if you were looking for something."
  "Well, I was.  I saw the word truth over there, and I wondered what that was all about."
  Dominic nodded as if he understood.  "Many wonder what the truth is, but they seem to have difficulty looking at it and turn their eyes away.  Can I ask you something?"
  "Of course."
  "How important is the truth to you?"
  "It's very important.  I don't like when people lie to me."
  "I see," said Dominic.  "Are you good at lying to others?"
  For a few minutes you think about his question.  "I don't know how to answer that question," you admit.  "Do I lie?  Of course I do, everyone does.  There are plenty of times when honesty  is just difficult.  It can hurt people's feelings.  It also helps me avoid uncomfortable situations and sometimes it is just necessary in order to to avoid being penalized. I don't go around telling malicious lies just the small ones that don't really matter."  As you awkwardly shift your gaze away from Dominic, you notice the word "truth" appears much smaller and then disappears completely.  "Hey, where did it go?" you ask.
  "Where did what go?" Dominic replies.
  "Truth" just disappeared," you answer.
  "It often does.  Are you willing to search for it?" inquires Dominic.
  "Where?"
  "In your own life.  Spend this next week searching for the truth.  What lies have you told others or told yourself.  Where is truth missing in your life?"

-Susan

Into the Desert: Week Three

  It is week three and you are ready to venture back into the desert.  You close your eyes and pray to the Holy Spirit, "Lead me into the desert."  You clear your thoughts and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you again.  When you open your mind you are back in the desert but it seems to be bustling with activity. However, when you look individually at the people, they seem to be quickly moving in one direction only to circle back to where they once were. You feel Dominic's hand on your shoulder and you turn to smile at him.
  "There are so many people here today, but everyone seems to be going in circles.  Why?" you ask Dominic.
  "That is because they are lost," explains Dominic.
  "Why don't they ask each other for help?"
  "That's because they don't know they are lost. They look at each other and assume everything is okay.  Everyone is doing whatever everyone else is doing."
  You can't help but let out a sarcastic little laugh.  "Well that's stupid.  Why would they just follow along?  Aren't they trying to get somewhere?"
  "Of course they are. They are under the impression that as long as they are good at doing this, that should be good enough."
  "Well that doesn't make any sense.  They aren't going anywhere," you reply.
  "What would they need to do?"
  "They need to stop repeating their same steps.  They need to stop looking at what everyone else is doing and decide for themselves where they want to go if they want to make any progress."
  "I would agree.  What if I told you they all trying to get to heaven," revealed Dominic.
  Again you let a small laugh escape.  "How do they think that is going to happen?  They aren't going anywhere."
  "Are you sure you aren't just like them?"
  Dominic words cut right through you. "Oh my gosh, are you telling me I'm not making any progress towards heaven?"
  "No, I'm not saying that, but there was a time you were happy to just be good at going in circles."  You didn't want to admit it, but there were times when you just did the same old thing, said the same old prayers, went to weekly mass without giving it much thought, yet alone much of your heart.
  "Ok, your right.  Sometimes I don't always put a lot of thought into my spiritual life.  I kind of just do what everyone else is doing and think that it is good enough.  I can see now, that this is far from good enough.  I need to break my habits if I really want to get to heaven.  What should I do?"
  "That is a great question, but I can't give you the answer.  That is a question you should be asking God every day. You must desire the path He has for you more than the path which is comfortable.  I would be happy to bring you close to Him, but you would have to leave this circle," Dominic said with a smile.
  You nod and say, "Yes, I definitely want to move closer to the Lord. Help me step out of the comfort of my circle."
  Dominic smiles and hands you a torch. "Your heart must burn with desire for the Lord. Don't be lukewarm. Don't let others block His Light.  Be passionate about your faith." As you take the torch from Dominic you feel His flame in your soul.  It is an indescribable feeling.  "Come on, we are headed for the hill over there and then the mountain behind it. The journey will be long, but the Lord will be with us with every step. That will give you plenty of time to talk with Him."
 "But what about all of them?" 
 "Call out to them! Ask them to join us! Let them feel your love for God.  You would be surprised how many souls just one person could touch!  Be the voice crying out in the desert. Are you ready?"

-Susan

Into the Desert: Week Two

  It is week two and you ready to venture back into the desert.  You close your eyes and pray to the Holy Spirit, "Lead me into the desert."  You clear your thoughts, relax, and wait in silence.  As you open your mind and heart to the Holy Spirit, it is not long before you find yourself back in the desert. This time things are much different.  It is night.  It is dark and it is cool.  You can see the stars above you and feel the sand beneath you, but everything else seems hidden behind the darkness.  This time you jump when you feel a hand on your shoulder.
  "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."  You instantly recognize Dominic's voice and allow yourself to smile.
  "I didn't even see you next to me."
  "I know.  Sometimes our vision can be limited by our surroundings or the events in our lives.  Sometimes we allow the darkness to blind us."
  "I'm not sure what you mean?"
  "Come on follow me."  The two of you begin walking, however,  you find yourself having trouble keeping pace with Dominic tonight. "Can I ask you something?" inquires Dominic. "Would you cross this desert by yourself?  I mean, if I hadn't shown up, would you have started walking?"
  "Probably not.  I have no idea where I am and I can't see much more than a foot in front of me.  I can barely see you."
  "Have you ever felt that way in your spiritual life?"
  "Are you trying to tell me something?"
  "Of course I am," said Dominic with a playful laugh.  "Do you know God's Will for your life?"
  You take a minute to think and answer honestly.  "Well sometimes I think I do, but there were many times I was not so sure."
  "So what did you do?"
  "Hmm....I'm not really sure.  I guess I just kept praying.  There are times when I feel like I'm going in the right direction, but I have also had moments of being completely confused."
  "Like you were in the dark?"
  "Yes, exactly, and let me tell you, that is not a fun place to be."  You take some time to think about those moments as you continue to walk.  "Dominic, those moments when I feel lost, is it because I am praying wrong?"
  "Why would you think that?"
  "Well I don't understand why sometimes God hears my prayers and my heart hears Him, but there are times when I feel alone."
  "Do you think God has ever abandoned you?"
  "I don't know.  I know in my head that He would never abandon me, I know He always loves me, but sometimes.....I'm just not sure."
  Dominic stops for a minute.  "I know what you mean.  During my lifetime there were many times when I felt God's love intensely in my life.  It was amazing!  But there were plenty of times I didn't feel anything, and there were definitely times when I felt anxious wondering if I was doing God's Will."
  "What did you do then?"
  " To be honest, I tried not to see too far in front of me.  I trusted God to reveal Himself and His Plan in His timing.  Trusting in God dispels the darkness."  The two of you continue to walk for another quarter of a mile when Dominic announces,  "Ok, we are almost there.  Are you ready?"
  " We are almost where? I don't see anything."
  "Do you want to?"
  "Of course."
  "I told you, you have to trust God in order to dispel the darkness.  In a few more feet we are about to encounter the Holy Family.  Joseph and Mary want to share how they trusted God as they walked through the desert.  Dark nights come to everyone, but our trust in God directs our path. Maybe we should stop and pray together and ask the Holy Spirit to help us trust in God more." You bow your head as Dominic stretches his hand out over you requesting a blessing.  A few moments later the sky is illuminated with a fiery light and you see Joseph and Mary coming towards you. Mary is carrying baby Jesus in her arms.  Spend this next week close to the Holy family learning how to trust God and His Plan.

-Susan

Into the Desert-Week One

  It is week one.  You have spent the last few days praying with the Holy Spirit and preparing to venture into the desert.  You have no idea what the desert might be like or what you might be expected to do, but that’s where Jesus is and that’s where you want to be.
 As you enter into your favorite prayer space, you close your eyes, and tell the Holy Spirit, “Lead me into the desert.”
 As you relax and open your mind to prayer, you suddenly feel a hand on your shoulder and a friendly voice, “I’m glad you came. My name is Dominic, I’m going to be your guide.”  The young man gives you a warm smile and says, “The Lord wanted me to show you something. Please, follow me.”
 The two of you walk nearly a quarter of a mile.  The sun is incredibly hot and your thirst is building.  Dominic leads you up a small rock formation. When you reach the top you are surprised to see so many people there and so many standing close to the edge.
 You turn to Dominic and say “Where did all these people come from?  I didn’t even notice them until just now.”
 Dominic looks a little confused. “They have been here the whole time.  I wonder why you didn’t see them?”
 Feeling a little embarrassed you look at the crowd .  Oddly, no one is really conversing.  Each seems to be standing alone amidst the crowd.
 “Why does everyone seem so isolated?"  
 “That is how they feel,” explains Dominic.  “They don’t feel like they fit in so they stand lonely and detached from others  and nobody seems to notice or care.”
 “That’s so sad.  How could this many people go unnoticed?”
 “That’s a good question, but an even better question is how many times have you passed these people over?”
 “What do you mean?”
 Dominic  lets out a small sigh as he chooses his words carefully. “These are people the Lord as put in your path and you have walked around them as if they weren’t even there.”
  "What? When?" You shake your head refusing to believe Dominic. As you look closer at the crowd, a few of the individuals begin to look familiar, and your uneasiness begins to grow. As you study the crowd your realize that some of the people were from your childhood, some were classmates, some were people at your workplace,  some were neighbors,  some you've seen around town, some were even family members.  Your stomach tightens and the day's heat is feeling even more unbearable.  You search for an explanation, but nothing comes to mind. 
 “What should I do?”
 “I’m glad you asked.  Jesus would like to talk to you about this. Would you be willing to spend some time talking with Him now?”
 “Yes.... “
 “Come on then. He’s been waiting for you. “.  After a short walk, Dominic brings you very close to Jesus and before he leaves he says, “ Keep an open mind and listen carefully.”
 Spend some time now with Jesus. Who does Jesus need you to notice in your life?  How could you bring God’s love into their life?

-Susan