Writer's Block

“God constantly surprises us. He bursts our categories; he wreaks havoc with our plans. And he tells us: Trust me, do not be afraid, let yourself be surprised, leave yourself behind and follow me!  Pope Francis

When I was in elementary school, we would have to write compositions every so often. I used to get frustrated because I always had difficulty coming up with an idea. I wanted to have this grandiose story that would wow people and make an impact. Whenever I ask the Carmelite sisters to proofread what I write these days, they would gladly do it for me. Once, I hadn’t written for a short while and they asked me why. I told them that I had writer’s block similar to when I was young. They reminded me that I just needed to write about experiences that I might have had recently. The Carmelites reminded me that God lives in the present and that daily life is not boring. Each moment of God is a mystery and a grace. This is where the Holy Spirit inspires us. Simple words but they made me reflect somewhat.

“Faith and Love are like the blind man’s guides. They will lead you along a path unknown to you, to the place where God is hidden.” St. John of the Cross

As pandemic restrictions lifted in my area, a group that I belong to needed a place to meet. A quiet nun at mass one morning lived in the centre across the street from the parish. She showed us the facilities and offered them to us without us even asking. How did she know? When we arrived as a group the first evening, she came down to see us and we were all quite happy. It came from nowhere this offer of assistance. It was so strange. We had not expected it. This is how the Lord works – in a mysterious way. He allows us to be surprised and sometimes I think He quite enjoys watching us be happy and smiling since He loves us so much.

“Pray to be ready for God’s will even when it takes you by surprise.” St. Mary Mackillop

I have been reading a book that is on a recommended list that I have. “For a Christian, spiritual growth presupposes rootedness in matter.”? Erik Varden, The Shattering of Loneliness: On Christian Remembrance. We are made in the image of God. True, but what does this mean? We still depend on Him for our salvation, and we need to recognize His place in the world and that Christ is part of the reality. He is not some distant being that forgot us. This is the God of surprises for me. For me, it is that He cares for us even though we forget Him so often. The gospel of the Prodigal Son from Laetare Sunday this Lent reminded me of that. How the father in the story must have waited for his son to return! He must have been looking down the road each day wondering and hoping that he would return. To the surprise of the Prodigal Son, his father was overjoyed to have his son back. Would Christ be any less overjoyed? He would be so happy when we returned. For me, this would surprise me, I would say.

"Never let anything so fill you with sorrow as to make you forget the joy of Christ risen” St. Teresa of Kolkata

We can easily get bogged down in the trials of life. We can get confused and wonder where to move next. We need to be reminded of the Lord’s goodness; and society works very hard at distracting us from what is important. The next time I get writer’s block I will remember how Christianity is the answer to our block. It is Christianity that is the champion for our negativity. In staying attached to Christ and the beauty we met at some point in our lives, we can be sure that writer’s block, in some way, might become unblocked. When I pray a novena, I have this in the forefront of my mind. I try to be sure that I am not alone.

“Hold your eyes on God and leave the doing to Him” St. Jeanne de Chantal