"True loving affection cannot lie."

-- Fr. William Pahram a.k.a. Papa P

This morning the RICA candidates made their first confession. It's always awesome to see people enter into the loving forgiveness that is God. And on that I must confess that I that this morning I didn't give up to that loving grace. I had felt like saying something to another person and I didn't give into the love and affection that I was feeling. And then, of course, I hear Fr. Pahram say what he said at the penance service, "True loving affection cannot lie."

To understand what happend this morning I have to let you into my relationship with Fr. Pahram. He has this ability to speak directly to me and spark my intellect and focus on parts of my life that I'm not doing so well in. I don't know if he has ever spoken something that doesn't blow my mind. The man is such a conduit of Christ, that when you look up "in Persona Christi" you see Papa P there. The man is just, well, THE MAN!

So, any who, back to my story. Papa P was breaking down the first part of "The Loving Father" or "The man with two sons" parable (a.k.a. "The Prodigal Son"). And he focused in on how the father didn't even let his returning son finish his speech, he just called for a robe and a ring, and for the fatted calf to be prepared. It's here that he said the quote above. He explained that the fater didn't need to hear the speech that his son had prepared because he knew the love that his son was returning with and no amount of words could have expressed it, but his showing up expressed all that he could have wished to say. I think it's Woody Allen in one of his movies that says "90% of life is just showing up", there's great wisdom there.

Lord, words cannot express what You have done for us, for we are all constantly turn from You and wish that You would just leave us alone and to ourselves, but You, O God, know us better than we know ourselves and continue to persue us and call us home to You. Thank You, Lord for Your supreme act of Love to us who couldn't deserve it less.

God Love You.