Today I encountered a sparsely attended Mass, quiet afterwards, properness settling into worship. Yesterday’s bustle of celebration and socializing proved rewarding, yet within today’s aloneness and silence before the Eucharist my heart easily recognized where it draws its strength. During Mass, the religious sister sat close, behind and to the left, providing consecrated fellowship. My mind and heart felt peace from the festivities, thrilling in conversation, comfortable with mature companionship, and the icing on the cake being the Cuban poet/political science professor enthusiastically expounding on the Battle of Lepanto, Cervantes losing an arm, and the relevance of the Rosary. God is good and all giving, illuminating and enlightening. Tomorrow morning will be breakfast with the Russians, and the purchasing of another chunk of smoked salmon. An amusingly antagonizing priest, a liberal priest prone to poking and prodding the spiritual life of parishioners, one whose homilies usually center upon the failings of those who think they are the most committed to Christ, recently stressed the importance of finding God within all those who are in, have been, and will be in our lives. God has placed them there for precise reasons and to shun them, thinking we can go to God alone and within the depth of our prayer life is a grave mistake. A prayer: Father, I honor the Sacred Heart of Your Son. Brutally corrupted by my deeds, yet symbol of love’s triumph, pledge to all that I am called to be. Teach me to see Christ in all the lives that I touch, and to offer to My Lord living worship through love filled service to my brothers and sisters. I ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.