You Found Forever!

Some of my Dear Readers may be wondering why I haven’t posted in a while. To be honest, I have been a bit distracted as of late. What with finals, research, and other such things, my mind has been bouncing around from place to place.

It’s just the nature of the season.

Spring is both a time of beginnings and of endings, and for the first time since arriving at Notre Dame, there seem to be more endings than beginnings. My first real friend here, my mentee, is graduating. The first place at Notre Dame where I felt like I completely belonged, my Confirmation class, is no longer a part of my life. My classes are over for the rest of my life. 

To respond, I found many new things. I started playing DnD. I made a huge leap forward in my research. I started writing again.

Here are some of the thoughts I’ve had. I pray that they might end up coherent.

Time is a funny thing. We live in finite moments, and yet we also live in infinity. We leave places, and we remain there also. We forget faces, and we remember moments in solitude. Although we of Faith know that there is such a thing as forever, we fail to see that forever in our endless stream of goody-byes and hello’s.

It seems as though the limited time we have left will take away our friends, our loves, our enemies even. That is not so.

You see, Jesus said, “I should not lose anything of what He  gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day.” Jesus does not lose us; He holds us close in The Sacrament, and we are never lost to Him. No matter how far the world feels, no matter how silent God seems to be, no matter what, Jesus holds you in The Blessed Sacrament. 

Therefore, when we see Him, there our hearts shall be.

You have found forever! 

Forever is in Heaven. Forever is in Jesus. Forever is The Sacrament, where all of the souls we love are present, whether we see them or not.  Our hearts know this, but the fears of this life have masked the clarity of our soul’s vision. It’s scary when we cannot see. It’s scary when we cannot hear. All the same, you have a safe place to rest. Close to The Sacrament, Jesus will show you forever.

Before the Blessed Sacrament, our souls are joined with all of Heaven, with all of eternity.

Before the Blessed Sacrament, our souls can love anyone, no matter where they are.

How does a soul love? There is a probably more accurate answer with theological reasoning, but I will share all I know. In my experience, a soul loves another through prayer. You see, our souls are a reflection of Christ, and it is Christ revealed in a person that our souls love. Therefore, when are with our Jesus in prayer, our souls love at their greatest capacity.

Maybe that’s why Catholics are a little different.

We are loved every moment of every day by every soul that we have ever shared love with.

We know the joy of forever.

We are all Children of God. We suffer. We ache. We get lonely. All these things are a part of life. However, whenever a Child of God remembers forever, the Saints and the Angels fly to them. When a Child of God attends Mass and remembers their Heavenly Family, both on Earth and in Heaven, they are able to rest.

No matter how many endings we have to experience, we know that there is a purpose.

Endings bring us closer to Home, closer to forever.

There is nothing to fear when we have forever in our hands. In His wisdom, God granted us all of the tools we need to build His kingdom here: faith, hope, and love.

What have we to lose in love? Nothing. What have we to lose in hope? Nothing. What have we to lose in Faith? Nothing. There is nothing to lose and everything to gain because faith, hope, and love will always win. To have forever is to know that we do not have to fear losing love, losing Jesus, because no one can touch us.

However, it is really easy to forget forever.

It is easy to forget that no matter what it means to be a part of the Mystical Body of Christ, what it means to be loved every moment of every day, no matter what you have done or where you are.

I forgot my forever at the end of last year when my Novena failed and my family felt far away.

That’s why Jesus gives us friends. Friendships allow us to experience love, and it is this love that reminds us of forever. It is love that brings us Home. We experience this gift in two ways: through our bodies and through our souls.

My lab reminded me of forever. Whether they had already graduated or were an active member of the lab, I never felt like I couldn’t talk about Eggo Waffles, STARD9, or wear my sunglasses indoors. They reminded me that when we are doing what we are called to do that we are fully alive on this Earth.

Then I got my new Cell Team, a trio of faithful students. They lived their faith, and they reminded me that when we do what we are made to do, when we choose love over hate, when we grow instead of hide, that all is well in the end.

I can never thank my labmates enough for bringing Heaven to the basement of Galvin.

My Confirmation group encouraged me to spend more time before the Blessed Sacrament. There I started to pray for souls I hardly knew in person, and yet I could pray for them with ease. I never really thought that I would become close with any of these people, but in His loving kindness, God entrusted a piece of my heart to them. Not my whole heart, not the deepest part, but the part that needed healing.

Jesus introduced me to souls that I didn’t know, but I could love.

Then I had hands to hold in Mass, and at long last, my soul was at rest.

My Dear Readers, no matter how well I know you, no matter how you have come to this blog, know that I love you. Know that even though an ending comes that it is only a way to find forever. All endings have a purpose. All beginnings have an ending to thank.

But love is forever.

In The Blessed Sacrament, you will find what you are missing, whom you are missing, where you missing.

Should you ever forget that you are a part of forever, that there is a reason for all things, that you are loved, I encourage you to remember the souls who loved you. Then go to the chapel, gaze upon the Sacrament, and reflect on these words:

“I see you in the Mass, and I’ll never forget you.

I hear you in Scripture, and I’ll never fear your silence.

I love you in your Cross, and I’ll love you forever.”