Safe Haven

We had to go early, if we wanted Confession. I feel compelled to say once again that this is the most misunderstood aspect in the life of the Church by outsiders. It is quite simply the second-greatest gift that Christ can give, after Himself. I have no idea how theologically accurate that is, but it's true. You'll hear people say, "Why do you have to confess to a priest? Why not go straight to God?" If you will forgive me, you do not know what you are asking. And to be honest, I won't give it back. It is a faithful testimony of God's love in the world that He has left to men His power to forgive sins. With apologies, I scarcely need a reminder of God's saving acts in history, as much as I need him to act here and now. To know that I, even I, am the subject of his loving concern is worth more than all the tent-meetings you care to imagine. So I prayed a decade of the Rosary, as the priest asked me to do. The penance isn't typically as onerous as pe...

In the course of the post-concert festivities, one of our group briefly told us about this happening to someone she knows. I was, and remain, so mad. I understand that it's more common than we realize, and that it's an opportunity to practice forgiveness in a huge way. And given how much the Lord has forgiven me, I don't suppose I can stand in judgment. BUT...all I could think was, I will cut you. First off, no one on this planet has had a more difficult time waiting on the Lord as a single person. Seriously, I don't want to hear it. I've got you beat. I'm sorry. No one is less inclined to this time of testing than me. So there's a special wrath that a single person feels at stories like this that I don't think can be replicated. I lament pretty much every day, wondering if there's someone out there for me, and this dude found his someone, and cast her aside? I cried a little. I don't even know this woman, and I still cried. I'm not going...

She held us like putty in her hands. When someone really has a special gift, when a musician has some offering to make, the best thing she can do is invite you along. And that's what she did. There's a magic that happens when you trust a musician; there's a special friendship between audience and performer where it doesn't matter what they sing and play; you'll go with them, and them with you. It's more than being a fan, but it's not less than that. It was mostly new material, but the thing is, it didn't feel like new material. It felt like we knew this, like we understood where it came from. It was a very intimate setting, no band, no guests, no big production. It was Audrey, a piano, and us, her new friends. And I think I understand that you have to earn the right to ask the audience to sing with you. She earned it. And the thing we sang was off-the-cuff, she said. We sang: "Lord, I need You/Oh, I need You/Every hour, I need You/My one defense...