Not Forever, But Eternal

We were sitting quietly in the back of the church. Her head was heavy on my chest, cold cheeks stinging from the biting wind. A modern-day pilgrimage, we had made our way through distant parking lots ,along glacial sidewalks, and up the winding steps. Anna's little face hardened and scrunched against the wintry onslaught.

In the darkened hush of holiness, her hands clasp around my neck. The soft candle light brushes our faces as we savor a moment of eternity. In the midst of fluster we are stilled. Peace. Love. Joy. They flood over us for an instant that cannot be grasped. The tears, the tantrums, even the smiles and laughs are all irrelevant at this point. I want to hold on. I want this forever. But the moment is gone- not shattered, but vaporized.




We are given glimpses of Eternity. Jean-Pierre De Caussade calls these the "Infinite treasures of the moment." We must open our hearts to the love that is present in every second of our day. Feel the depth of silence, Soothe the bruised and injured, laugh the exuberant and mirthful, clasp the fleeting, embrace the love...Rejoice! Live!