Quiet the Noise

This morning after an appointment in town, I took my journal to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception to have a little quiet time with the Lord. While there is no exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in the middle of the morning on a random Wednesday, Jesus is certainly present in the Tabernacle and, I’m sure, welcoming a visit.

The Cathedral is always open during the day, and a lovely retreat from the activity of a busy town center. I was looking forward to the soothing silence.

Instead, I encountered a crew of workers cleaning the spacious window by the altar. There is a huge restoration project going on, and the stained glass windows are looking beautiful. The restoration, however, requires a mess and a bit of chaos first — as evidenced by the noise in what I thought would be a prayerful and silent retreat for me.

You have to crack a few eggs to make an omelet, I suppose.

The noise was not distracting at all. On the contrary, it became a little bit of white noise as I went deeper into prayer until it finally disappeared from my conscious awareness. It was only when I started to journal that I became aware of the noise again.

I had gone to the Cathedral to seek silence, and I found it in the Lord. He quiets the turmoil, the chaos, the noises that distract me from Him. I was grateful to experience this literal expression in order to really see with my eyes or rather, with my ears, what my heart already knew:

“Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”

~St Augustine of Hippo

Called to Love Conference in Mobile

I’m so excited to be speaking at the Called to Love Conference in Mobile, Alabama. From the website:

NEW at the Called to Love Women’s Conference this year – Breakout Sessions! The team of Conference Planners realize that we have amazing talent right here in the Archdiocese, and we’re pulling together a team of presenters from which you can choose during our two breakout times.

Maria Johnson is one of our breakout presenters. Maria’s talk is: Our Lady of Charity: How Marian Devotions Help Us on Our Spiritual Journey

Award-winning author and international speaker Maria Morera Johnson shares how a pilgrimage to connect to her cultural roots in Cuba reveals the richness and spiritual graces of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre. She shares the history of this devotion, and why devotion to The Blessed Mother under this title of Love is consoling in today’s confusing and sometimes hostile public arena.

Ticket sales for the Called to Love Women’s Conference are going remarkably well – make plans to purchase yours soon! Our last two conferences sold out and we expect that this one will too!

www.mobarchconferences.org

afternoon stroll

This afternoon I visited the beautiful Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mobile, Alabama, completed in 1850 in the Greek Revival style to serve the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile. It’s a gorgeous church set in the historic part of Mobile. Cathedral Square is fast becoming one of my favorite areas for walking around and exploring my new home. It’s the perfect place for me to begin a pilgrimage to get to know the churches in the area.

Mardi Gras is going full blast, but today was about a little coffee, a little sunshine, and Mass. It was a perfect day.

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