7 Quick Takes: Beach days, WYD & Tolkien

1.

I finally made it to the beach this week! And it was later in the day so it was nice and cool out, instead of boiling and humid. It was so good and refreshing to just lay there and read a book, the sounds of the waves just washing over me. I plan on doing a lot more of this before summer ends.

2. 

Picked up my Divine Office today, and nothing felt better than the familiar thin sheets of paper, the red letters, the rhythm of psalm-antiphon-psalm-antiphon-psalm-reading. It was like drinking from a cool glass of water after subsisting on nothing for so long. I'm ashamed to say I stopped talking to God for a while, back when I was still working in South Dakota. And it hurt. I felt like God had gone silent on me, so I did too. I've been going to Mass again, and adoration. And now, today, I opened up my book of prayer. One that had sustained me for many long, hard months.

What do you do when you feel spiritually dry? Distant?

3. 

Found this heartwarming little story amid all the World Youth Day Rio preparations. Two small stories in this wide world; simple faith.

 

4.

Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament… There you will find romance, glory, honour, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves on earth...The only cure for sagging or fainting faith is Communion.

Who doesn't love a little J.R.R. Tolkien? I found this quote at just the right time, just when I needed it.

5.

It's been a rough few weeks, a rough news cycle, a rough economy, just rough. We've seen, played across our screens, and our Twitter feeds, some really dark places in the human heart. But I think we, as Christians, need to be the ones to keep hoping, keep praying, keep believing that God is alive and working and healing.

6.

And if I do speak, I still want it to be holy and broken. I want to find this pain and minster out of it because it’s through His own broken body we find our healing.

This. This beautiful post from over at Deeper Story about being and knowing God in the silent places and the broken places.

7.
So my quick takes this week were kind of a downer, I know, but this is what I felt these things needed to be said. Let me know what you think about anything I've mentioned above and if there's anything you want me to pray for.

This week, though, you should really be catching any World Youth Day coverage you can. Here are some places I like to follow along at:

For the telly - EWTN, CatholicTV
For the internet - SaltandLightTV, Magis,
For the Twitter - WYD official, The Jesuit Post guys, USCCB

WYD Cross & Icon on Sugarloaf Mtn, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil