As a permanent deacon…
chaste lives.
My own vocation—husband, father, grandfather, son, brother—
shows another way of walking within God’s will.
Different paths, but the same call: holiness.
We are all called to walk with God.
To follow His will.
But life… can so easily get in the way.
Even good things, if held too tightly, can bind us.
Even spiritual gifts can become disordered when clung to too tightly.
This struggle is universal.
Every vocation must be purified.
No one is immune—not even priests.
So how do we follow God’s will—
and avoid disorder?
St. John of the Cross points the way.
The rugged path of Nada—nothing—
does not end in emptiness.
It opens to Todo—the All of God.
Jesus calls:
“Sell all you have…
give to the poor…
follow me.
Then you will have treasure in heaven.”
This is the rugged path—radical, but filled with promise.
On this path to holiness,
God does not leave us alone.
When the soul is consumed by love,
it no longer needs externals to stay on course.
God Himself becomes the compass.
He comes to help.
He comes to sustain.
His will moves, directs, steadies every step.
This is not our work alone.
It is God’s work in us.
He clears the path—
so His glory may be revealed.
And what does that glory look like?
Every valley filled.
Every mountain made low.
Every rough land made smooth.
This is the prophecy of Isaiah, fulfilled in Christ, and lived in us.
Like a shepherd gathering lambs in His arms.
Like a Father who will not rest
until the lost one is found.
Jesus tells us:
The Father rejoices more over the stray returned
than the ninety-nine who never wandered.
So the rugged path is not punishment.
It is the way of love.
It strips us of all but God—
so that we may discover His “All” is truly enough.
Enough to comfort.
Enough to guide.
Enough to save.
His All is enough—
always… and for each of us.
Prayer
Lord God,
You are my compass and my comfort.
Strip away what binds me too tightly,
and lead me on the rugged path of love.
Fill the valleys,
make low the mountains,
smooth the rough places in my soul.
Gather me as your shepherd,
carry me when I stray,
and let me discover that Your All is enough—
enough to guide,
enough to save,
enough to love.
Amen.
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