This One's Secret!

Welcome to Word for the Week, the series in which I:

share my experience of hearing God’s Word in Mass last weekend,
explore what I believe the Lord is calling me to do about that Word, and
ask how this Word might impact your life, as well.

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Hello! Looks like I’ve been sharing my Word for the Week for well over a year now! Thank you to those of you who read this column consistently, and welcome to those who are new!

This week’s entry will be a bit different. Normally, I share about how I felt God speaking to me at Mass last weekend, explore what the Lord wants me to do about it, and ask how this Word for the Week might apply to your life, as well. But this time, my word is secret!

Sometime that happens, you know? In fact, I have an entire album called “Secretos Navideños,” or, “Secrets of Christmas.” The idea is that the works of the Lord begin in stillness.

So, I can tell you that we attended Mass as a family again last week. And there was music! Not only congregational music led by the organist, but there was a psalmist! And a full choral ensemble! Granted, the choir was composed of only a handful of vocalists. But to hear “Panis Angelicus” again in 4-part harmony was incredible. Be still my heart!

As for the word that stood out to me? Well, that’s what I feel the Lord is inviting me to hold in my heart. And yet, here I am writing about it. This is a comforting moment, really! Because sometimes I fear that doing public ministry will tarnish the authenticity of my spiritual life. What if I’m simply listening for my Word for the Week so I can write about it later?

But no. It can be both! The Lord is offering me a hidden spiritual life that enriches my public ministry and vice-versa: ministry that constantly compels me to love Christ more. Sometimes the Holy Spirit asks me to receive gifts (such my current Word for the Week) that I’ll never explain publicly. And yet the fruit of those gifts is always meant to be shared.

This reminds me of the Blessed Virgin Mary, when she “held all of these things in her heart” throughout Jesus’ childhood (Luke 2:19). Or how we have zero quotes from St. Joseph, and yet his presence speaks through the ages. Have you received any secrets from the Lord lately? Maybe you had a beautiful encounter with nature or even with a stranger, and you wanted to tell someone, but something held you back!

To anyone holding a secret joy today, let’s pray for each other! Someday everything will be revealed, and then we’ll get to rejoin in each other’s stories for eternity. I can’t wait!

“For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light.” -Luke 8:17

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