This is an incredibly beautiful post by Ann Voskamp shared by my beautiful future sister-in-law Kristin.  Thanks, Kristin!

Do enjoy. When You're Struggling Through Holy Week

The Great Flood

He's my big brother, and I'm one of his biggest fans, so this might sound biased, but Kevin Heider's new double-album The Spark is completely wonderful.

I started listening to the album two weeks ago when Kevin came home to visit for a few days, and I haven't stopped listening since.  The album is a wide range of fun and serious and everything in between.  The emotion and experiences he sings about are so real and honest, creative and meaningful, and every time I listen, I find new treasures. 

I say all this not merely as a shameless plug for my starving-artist-brother's benefit, but also because his song "The Great Flood" is a perfect reflection for us as we enter into the Holy Triduum.  The inspiration for this song came at a Holy Thursday mass when Kevin had his feet washed.  The great flood refers to our baptism, our being born again, the flood of grace and mercy we receive from partaking in the sacraments and passion of our Lord.

The song also features background vocals by the extremely talented Alanna-Marie Boudreau, and the heartbeat of my nephew Pierce (when he was still in-utero), who will soon receive the sacrament of baptism himself.  I encourage you to listen to the song and read the full explanation, and then to consider buying the album and spreading the word about Kevin's music.

Again, shameless plug.  Happy Holy Thursday!

Simple and Sweet

Heather King has done it again and I have to pass it along.

She so perfectly, simply, and sweetly explained the Church's 'laws' on human sexuality and summed up the entire Theology of the Body in her post Pope Francis.

Do read it.  You won't be sorry.

Overjoyed

I lift my eyes up for a moment,
and it's all He needs
to fill this heart
with grace sharp and sweet
until it overflows
and I am lost in Love.

There are no more answers than before,
but there is peace in the mystery.

I am Overjoyed.

Love Come Alive

If only the good die young, then why be good?

That's what I want to know.

Still I try

and fail most times

to live, give, and be love.

Words quench my thirst and spark a fire

that sets me on my knees before Your throne

as grace melts this hardened heart.

Grace floods 

in anticipation:

of a reunion with a dear friend

who saved me from myself;

in memories:

of words longed for but dared not spoken

until shouted unexpectedly across the hushed night,

words that didn't mean what I wanted,

but meant so much more

in the process:

of growing up and learning

just how much more those words mean,

how much more the Word means,

what it means that the Word became flesh,

that the Word dwelt among us,

that the Word dwells among us still,

that Love has come alive,

that we die and rise in Love,

that Love is the final reality.

"Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair." ~G.K. Chesterton

This is what it means--the Theology of the Body, to live love.