The wind was blowing mercilessly outside the Chapel where I had spent the last hour at the Eucharistic Adoration. Such a contrast compared to the gentle Mercy and Love of God that I have just experienced. Once I was out the door, I started running to the car, hearing the quiet, yet assuring Voice. It said:

I will not abandon you, I will never forsake you.

Did I beg God not to leave me, again? Did I ask Him to be with me at all times?

Of course, I did, though I did not voice that out today. It is always my default prayer. And He must have read my heart, before I even realized what it was saying.

The Voice kept echoing in my heart, saying, I will not abandon you, I will never forsake you. I made a stop at a coffee shop to pick up coffee for my sister on the way back home, and even during the short walk from the parking lot to the cafe, I could still hear the Voice whispering in the heavy wind and it gave my heart butterflies. I felt so desired.

I got home and went straight to bed, but nap did not come. I was physically drained from work, but spiritually charged. Maybe I need to eat, I thought, suddenly remembering that I felt really hungry. I sat down to eat the Vietnamese noodle my sister made for lunch. I told her about the Voice I heard upon leaving the chapel, how that Voice kept echoing in my heart over and over. It sounded so sweet. Such loving words that made me feel so desired and loved. I felt– complete.

Then–  I remembered the prayer I wrote down in the prayer request book right before I left the chapel. I wrote:

Dear Father, guide me as I take a new step in complete trust in You. Help me to carry Your light and strengthen me to love more and more. Fill my needs as You Will, and open my eyes and my heart to recognize Your divine Will in the hearts of others. I love you, Lord Jesus Christ and Blessed Mother. Amen.

I guess God heard the prayer I wrote, and responded. He sent me such a quick response. He must really love me. He really loves me. And I love Him so much.

Love

Too Late have I loved you, O beauty so ancient and so new, too late have I loved you! You were with me, but I was not with you. You cried out and pierced my deafness. You enlightened my blindness. I tasted you and I am hungry for you. You touched me, and I am afire with longing for your embrace.

-St. Augustine

The more we love God, the more we will want to love Him.

-St. Joaquina

At last I have found my calling! My calling is love!

– St. Thérèse of Lisieux

We are born to love, we live to love, and we will die to love still more.

– St. Joseph Cafasso

There is only one thing to do here below: to love Jesus, to win souls for Him so that He may be loved. Let us seize with jealous care every last opportunity of self-sacrifice. Let us refuse Him nothing– He does so want our love!

– St. Thérèse of Lisieux

* Excerpts from The Essential Wisdom of the Saints, Edited by Carol Kelly-Gangi