Emerging out of the Darkness

"Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament. There you will find romance, glory, honour, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves on earth."

-J.R.R. Tolkien

I couldn't resist looking up a quote from my favorite author today, and was pleasantly suprised to find such beautiful lines about the Blessed Sacrament. I chose this one, which is from a letter Tolkien wrote to his son. This quote talks about the importance of centering your life on Christ first. Christ should be your greatest love, the One you answer to first, the One you live to please. He should fulfill all desires and be the One who determines your actions. This encompasses something I have been having trouble with lately. I have been so busy trying to find happiness in worldly things. I work-out to try to make my body more attractive, thinking that once I'm pretty THEN I'll be happy. When that doesn't work I double my efforts in school, thinking that once I'm a genius THEN I'll be happy. After that fails I daydream about falling in love, thinking that once I have a partner THEN I'll be happy. But, as you all have guessed, none of this fills that "God-shaped hole" in my heart, just crying out for spiritual food. And the greatest spiritual nourishment God could have ever provided for us is in the Eucharist. Once my first love is Christ then my life will fall into place. Is living for God always easy? No, but it can always be filled with joy. So I have decided to try even harder to put Christ in the center of my life- to fall in love with Him first. Then, as Tolkien says, I will find, "The true way of all your loves on Earth."

"And May God Hold You in the Palm of His Hand!"