June 2011

Dear Friends,

I recently spoke with a group of young men who are trying to find their way.  These young men are looking at spending “time” in prison for using and selling the drug Methedrine.  The Methedrine drug has been around for many years and has become an epidemic in our country.  This drug kills. It kills the body and the soul.  There is nothing that this drug does not leave alone in a person’s life.

My question to the young men was simple. Why?  They explained that it is the only way for them to make money, knowing they would be locked up for many years in prison.  It did not make sense to me, but I felt there was the desire that they wanted to become free of this drug and to live a normal life.  One of the young men asked me how he should pray.  His dad is a Protestant preacher, and the only message he heard was hell and condemnation.  So, I taught the group the Lord’s Prayer.

Spirituality does not come from complex theology.  The spiritual life is built upon the reality that when all fails. . . God our Father will not fail us.  He will not leave us nor forsake us.  The beauty of God’s love comes from His love for man.  Here is part of a letter I received yesterday from one of my “flock”:

"I also have faced feelings that I am not loved.  My greatest fear is living a meaningless life.  A life that didn’t matter.  A life that made no difference. I am ever more reminded of these thoughts as I approach another Father’s Day, separated from the love of my children.  However, I am struggling to remain faithful in the face of these deeply disappointing and hurtful circumstances.      More than ever, I need the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of my heart so that I can find the grace I need to live out Jesus’s commands. I know the more open [I am] to the Holy Spirit's work of convicting me of my sins, and convincing me to love the Lord, the closer to Jesus I will become and the holier I will become.” (Joe in Washington)

May the beauty of heaven consume you,

Fr. David Ogan