You are loved.

"And only where God is seen does life truly begin. Only when we meet the living God in Christ do we know what life is. We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary. There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ. There is nothing more beautiful than to know Him and to speak to others of our friendship with Him."

{Pope Benedict XVI, Homily April 24th, 2005}



I think I can speak for all Cross+Trainers when I say that at the root of all that we do, what draws us into ministry is our own faith life, which is catalyzed by a true encounter with Christ. We may not all have these huge moments of conversion, these big "AHA" moments, but I know we've all had intimate encounters with Christ that have moved and changed us to the very core of our being.

We cannot push forward in ministry without first forging and strengthening our friendship with Christ. It is only through the Eucharist, the source and summit of our faith, that we are strengthened and from which we draw the graces that allow us to go forth and do His work. If we do these great works but do not have the love of God in our hearts, then to paraphrase Mother Teresa's quote... we would be great volunteers but mediocre ministers.

Today is First Friday, and I'm blessed that I work at church where I can take breaks to sit and pray in the chapel, where the Blessed Sacrament is exposed all day long. One of our guest speakers in formation this past summer told us... if you want to be like the One you love, then spending more time with Him will make you more like Him! So spend some time with God today... pray! Invest in your relationship with Christ, who loves you unconditionally and continually invests Himself in you.

Yours in Christ,
Richelle