“For I know well the plans I have in mind for you… plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope.”
– Jeremiah 29:11

God created us for fearless relationship with Him. From that beginning, we enter a life that sometimes throws us situations that seem bigger than we can handle – situations that leave us feeling alone. In that space, we can start to doubt and ask hard questions.

Does God see me?
Does God love me enough to change this situation for me?
Is there something wrong with me?

Somewhere along the way, we might start to believe that God is not the answer to the problems in our lives. The voices that whisper distorted lies of fear and shame impede our ability to fearlessly pursue the love of God.

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What is the purpose of this weekend conference? It’s simple: individual hearts and their journey with Christ. Imperfectly, with mistakes along the way, this weekend is about joining the journey of hearts being pursued by Christ.

The Closing Prayer at Mass says, “… to lead us from former ways to newness of life.” This weekend, a time of restoration, is a beginning point of Jesus leading us to be better than we were before we came. Somewhere along the way, God touched your heart this weekend. Maybe it was during Mass, Adoration, Reconciliation, or in the words of a talk. What He has in store for you next a mystery. The graces from this weekend will bear fruit in the days and years to come. There is a whole journey of life and grace ahead. The key to this weekend is what you do next.

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“Scars tell a story. Your scars tell a story. My scars tell a story.”

There are different kinds of scars. Some are physical, visible scars. Others are scars that no one sees.

What are the scars on your heart?

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At every Mass we hear the words, “…deliver us from all distress.” The Church understands that we tend to be anxious people, but the Lord doesn’t want us to live in distress. He wants us to rest in Him and be restored.

This afternoon, Fr. Martin used the life of St. Peter to identify four things we tend to focus on that cause us to lose our interior peace and experience distress.

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St. Therese of Lisieux wrote, “Prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.”

So, let’s get one thing out of the way. God is never over ‘there’ because ‘there’ implies distance. And He is never distant from us. He is here.  Therefore, we begin with a reality check that prayer is not us speaking into a void and hoping God is close enough to hear. Prayer is a response to our ever present Father who is paying attention and listening even before we begin to speak.

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