The beloved disciple leaned against the bosom of Jesus at the Last Supper, welcoming unreservedly the outpouring of Divine Love, and through the strength of this Love remained close to Christ even through the agony of His Cross and unto the radiant light and joy of the Resurrection. In this most intimate place, he stood side by side with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, who was entrusted to his care, and whose son he became by the gift of Christ.

These two disciples, Mary and John, abide at the very heart of the Church, revealing her deepest mystery, which is communion with God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in intimate love. In them we see most radiantly what it means to be the “beloved” of God, and to welcome this Love as it pours forth into our world. All the rest of the Church’s life flows from and returns to this center of profound intimacy with God. Whether it is the ministry of Peter and the Apostles, whose office has been handed on to the Pope, the Bishops, and the priests to our own day; whether it is the mission entrusted to all believers to “go out” to the fringes of society, to the lost, the lonely, the homeless, the unloved, in order to bring them the light of the Gospel; whether it is the Church’s struggle to defend human dignity and the objective nature of truth which is being so widely rejected; whether it is the individual hopes, sufferings, and desires of each unique human heart…all of this is illumined by the light that pours forth from the Heart of Jesus Christ, this light that first irradiated Mary and John as they remained close to their Beloved, leaning against his breast, standing at the foot of his Cross, welcoming him in his Resurrection.

This mystery is like a “sanctuary,” like an inner space from which the rest of the Church’s life springs forth. It is like the heart which sends the blood of Divine Love circulating throughout the rest of the Body, and toward which everything is ordered as to its ultimate goal: intimate communion with God, and, in him, with our brothers and sisters. And this very heart, as central as it is, is not the prerogative of one kind of person or one state of life within the Church. No, it is that innermost mystery and heartbeat that surges in the recesses of the life and heart of every child of God.

Through this website, I will be sharing the reflections of my own mind and heart as I try to receive and to contemplate this mystery of the Trinity’s Love shining forth into the world through Christ. I will approach this mystery in the spirit of the Virgin Mary and the beloved disciple, leaning against the bosom of the One who is eternally “in the bosom of the Father” (John 1:18), and feeling with him this ceaseless heartbeat of Love, ever resounding: “I love you… I love you… I love you…”

I invite you to join me in this journey of contemplation. Many of the reflections I share will be of general interest, intended for persons in every state of life and situation. However, I will also be sharing about the unique mystery and vocation of the contemplative life within the Church–this vocation that in a special way reminds all of us of the most central and universal gift and call offered to us all: union with God in intimate prayer and abiding love, and love that unites us also, in the Heart of our Beloved, to all of our brothers and sisters.

P.S. — I will post on the “Blog” when new content is added, so you are welcome to follow through WordPress (if you are connected) or through email. I will also organize the content in the menu at the top of the site, for easier access to previously added material.