December 2, 2009 by SiennaSun
During my 4 year dark night, I cast about wildly in every direction seeking an open doorway back to the God I had previously been securely enveloped in. Nothing worked, but many doors were anxiously jiggled and attempted.
One of the doors I tried briefly was that of Anne, a lay apostle. Anne, a wife, mother of six, and a Secular Franciscan, experienced a spiritual healing on an inspired pilgrimage to Medjugorje. A quiet but significant thing happened to her. During her communions, she spoke with Jesus conversationally. This had happened before on occasion so she was not stunned or overcome. The conversations continued all that winter. At some time in the six months that followed her trip, the conversations leaked into her life and came at odd times throughout the day. Jesus began to direct her with decision and she found it more and more difficult to refuse when He asked her to do this or that. She told no one.
I signed up to receive her monthly messages, but read them less and less as they had no impact on me. I am a former Catholic, and find Catholicism unwieldy as well as some parts of it questionable, including its high-profile centering on Mary. The messages actually seemed rather forced and created and so my reading ceased, although I continued to receive the email and to delete it every month.
The weekend past found an openness in me that was previously blocked. Its absence leaves me readily accessible, at least in quiet moments. Tuesday morning found a message in my email, and I followed the prompting to open and read it.
surprise, and yet no surprise, the message was for me. It follows:
December 1, 2009
Jesus
My dear apostle, you must remember that we are not separated. Sometimes, in your weariness, you pray and seek understanding of the situations in your life. When you do this, please remember that I am with you. You are not separated from Me when your thoughts seek to provide you with answers. If you remind your self that I am not separate from you, you will search for truth more calmly and with more confidence that there is an answer to your many dilemmas. Please do not concern yourself if you are distracted in prayer. Use these times of distraction to talk to Me. Tell me what is distracting you and we will talk about it together. We are together, after all, so I am there. If a certain pattern of sin is troubling you, ask Me how I feel about it. Ask for My observations. You, my beloved apostle, are a studier of Me and how I treated others. Because of your desire to know me, you have a familiarity with My heart that others lack. I will give you the answers you seek, both in terms of your spiritual condition and in terms of the holiest way to conduct yourself in each situation you confront. We are not separate. We are together. Worries of major proportion would only be problematic for you if you were being asked to assure a holy outcome alone or if you were being asked to travel through the period without Me. I promise you that I will be with you and that the outcomes occurring around you will be consistent with My will. I cannot promise you that in your humanity you will always rejoice in My will, especially when there is pain. But I can promise you that the greatest amount of mercy will be obtained through your commitment to remaining with Me, united in the life that is yours. All is well. I am with you. I will be generous to My beloved apostles in this holy time of Advent. Be acutely aware of My presence. When you look at all around you, look with My eyes. This will give you the understanding that will insure peace for you. All is well. The infant returns through your heart, as the King.
This will be my morning reading for the forseeable future.