God's Love

So this month has been about diving into the heart of God. I don't think I question God's love for me, but in not questioning it, I find I haven't tried to dive deeply into the immense love He has for me specifically. I guess I just took it for granted. By diving into His unconditional, sacrificial love, I have come to see my incredible worth in his eyes. I am starting to see more with God's eyes at others, who are created in His image and His likeness. I guess that is what Mother Teresa was saying when she said that she sees the face of God in the poor she cares for.

The missionaries had the blessed opportunity to go hear Christopher West speak on Theology of the Body. It is this amazing teaching that John Paul II wrote on the truth and fullness of our sexuality, love, and our identity. It is amazing teaching and truth and freedom lie in the teachings. Sex and us being male and female are holy things that are good and pure. Marriage and family are the center of our faith. It was amazing conference and one of the things that he said that stuck was that "Love never is, it is only becoming." That is daunting but good at the same time. With my time here I am coming to learn how to love better and deeper all of God's creations, but I will never arrive at perfect love. It is more about the journey than the destination. I was amazed at the people of St. Monica's parish. They generously opened their doors to us to attend the conference for free and provided food and places to stay! It was hospitality at it's finest.

Paul, a missionary from Ghana, has come to live with the community for the month. It has already been a blessing to hear from him and his mission. He is married and has 2 children. He traveled here alone, for a month. He has been talking a lot about his people and most of them don't have access to school, health care, and the average family makes only 1 dollar a day. Yet today, when he was speaking on Charity, he said that God's first gave to us his son. So what is our gift going to be? If we have the Son in our hearts, we can give him to others. If we have gratitude for the blessings we have as Americans, we can share that gift. We need to give out of our love and not just to do good.

Ahhh...the lessons I am learning. I am working hard, serving, praying and each day going to bed utterly exhausted. It has been so good. Hopefully it will only get better. If you need any prayers, shoot me an email carlaheinsch@gmail.com. I do holy hour everyday, so I would love to lift specific intentions up!! I loved having St. Thomas the Apostle up here last weekend. I knew I missed you, but didn't realize how much I missed you until I saw all of your smiling faces and got your hugs! Keep being holy!

Blessings,

Carla