C.Ruegg

“I thirst” (John 19:28)  An article by Cara Ruegg image by kevron2001 Our Lord thirst. He thirst physically and He thirst for souls, for our souls, yours, mine, for those souls you might dislike or even hate. He thirst for us.  There are so many different types of thirsts. One of the most relatable is a thirst for what we desire. We thirst for love, a family. We have this ideal picture in our head of how we want our life to be. We thirst for money and fame. We misidentify our thirsts and go after things that give no satisfaction and may even be sinful. We don’t realize the only water that will quench our burning throats is God. It is not a child for the barren; a spouse for the lonely; a job for the homeless. It is God. He is the only love, the only companion, the only purpose that will fully satisfy us. These finite things we go after we go after only because they reflect in some way God. We see God in the kindness and attentions we might receive from a loved

A Mother's Sacrifice: A Short Story By Cara Ruegg Her hair was the color of wheat in the summer; her eyes the color of the gray Atlantic; pictures of yellow daffodils danced down her dress, as she gathered the blankets from the clotheslines, folded them, and set them gently on top of her twig-woven basket. My shadow, which was previously hidden behind the blanket, now lengthened to the tips of her sandaled feet. Her eyes focused on the spot, and then looked up at me, standing there with my fingers fidgeting with the collar of my shirt. “Oh, Thomas, I didn’t see you!” She waved me over, smiling. It was a smile that told memories – the same smile that greeted me after a long day at school, that said goodnight as I lay in bed, that comforted me after a fall. I had to tell her. It would break her heart, I knew, to have her little boy, her only boy, leave her. She had always wanted me to do something noble – become a doctor or teacher, do something, anything that

By Cara E. Ruegg Beautiful Sacred Heart of Jesus by  Theophilia ; you can view her artwork by clicking her name I have come to realize in life that the only way to immerse yourself deep in the Sacred Heart of Jesus is to penetrate through those thorns that surround His wounded heart. You can’t get to His heart, you can’t immerse yourself therein without likewise taking up your cross, be it great or small, and following Him. A great story cannot be great without a climax arising from or after a trial. The prince and princess who meet, fall in love, and marry would not win our hearts if the prince did not have to first slay the dragon or the princess overcome a family crisis. You can’t take an elevator up Mount Everest and then claim you’ve climbed the mountain. You can’t love without sacrificing yourself. Joy is made so much greater after suffering is experienced. The prisoner who comes out of his prison cell and gets to breathe the fresh scent of pine cones and g