Writing for clarity of thought

This came from the Henri Nouwen Society today. It gives the reason I write.

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Writing can be a true spiritual discipline. Writing can help us to concentrate, to get in touch with the deeper stirrings of our hearts, to clarify our minds, to process confusing emotions, to reflect on our experiences, to give artistic expression to what we are living, and to store significant events in our memories. Writing can also be good for others who might read what we write.

Quite often a difficult, painful, or frustrating day can be "redeemed" by writing about it. By writing we can claim what we have lived and thus integrate it more fully into our journeys. Then writing can become lifesaving for us and sometimes for others too.
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Today I saw Angela's daughter make her first communion. She received both the body and blood from the server next to me, and I could see the wonderful expression on her face. God loves her!

Yesterday I watched my granddaughter Erin Smith also receive her first communion. As she and Natalie, her cousin (not my granddaughter), received, they were right in front of Audrey and me. It was an awesome sight; the innocence and faith that showed forth from their eyes, their trust in God and their families and the fact that the body and blood of Jesus was truly in their body and soul.

Laura, Jerry and Angela were at mass this morning. Laura and I share a bond of friendship that is at once mysterious and wonderful. Again, I say that I am graced with the presence of her in my life. It must have been Haiti; a place scarred by the greed of the world and therefore sacred. I gave her a copy of Aristide's Eyes of the Heart.