The Mail

Thanks to one statement in Fr. Dennis J. Billy’s article (March 2015), I can admit during the time that I was a nonpracticing Catholic, my experience of “foretasting of heaven” started. My first “intense experience of the divine” was in 2002, when I was driven to my heavenly home by an angel in a gold-framed, pearl-paneled chariot pulled by a gigantic white steed. While I was in awe of this beautiful animal, I heard the angel open the door of my mansion, and as I approached the entrance I looked up inside to see what appeared as an endless ceiling with nothing but cardboard boxes and wooden crates marked with my name. I asked, “What is all of this for?” God’s reply: “This is where you store your heart’s treasures.” Thank you for letting me share my heart with you and your readers.  —WANDA D., MS

I enjoyed the articles on prayer very much (March 2015). Thank you. And with that spirit, I can’t help commenting on how important prayer is for me. First up, I suffer from depression. Prayer has proved my best tool for defending myself from what I call “the demons of the mind.” And no form of prayer stands truer for me than contemplative moments in the outdoors. For me, prayer is my way of showing and feeling the deepest appreciation for God and the beauty he has given us in the world. In order to love something, I need to appreciate it. Appreciation and love become one. When I walk in the natural world, it consumes me in a way that fills me with God’s spirit. I have a home. God has a home in me. I am part of the ground I walk on and the air I breathe. I feel God’s presence, and I am filled to overflowing with joy. My mountains are his. His are mine. Absolutely nothing else matters, because it’s in this joy, love, and unity that I know I am not alone. No matter what walk of life we are in, this can be a shared appreciation and love. It is one thing, as humans, that we can share. We can part from our differences in the process. And when we open the eyes of our souls, we can appreciate all that is before us and surrounds us. We become one with God as our Creator, our Protector, and our Universe. What better hug is that? In him we find ourselves and walk in peace. That is such a wonderful gift! Thank you.  —LISA H., CO

Liguorian is one of my favorite Catholic publications. Reading it cover-to-cover is one of the highlights of my month.  —BILL Z., PA