Dear Friends, It has been a long time since I have written and so, so much has happened, too much to capture in words here and some of it too personal to share in a forum this public. Anywy, I am quite well while in the midst of being continually amazed at so many things going on here in Kenya with its poverty and political turmoil, in the USA and its unabated turmoil, its public lack of respect and verbal violence, and what strikes me as its increasing spiritual poverty, yet not without some extraordinary citizens who still believe in and live well from God's love and mercy, people for whom Jesus and His way still make all the difference. .............................................................................................................. I had a blessed December. It was especially so with a very enjoyable celebration of Christmas, a dinner for 35 people (20 of these being guests) on Christmas afternoon (with lots of turkey, wonderfully prepared, and cranberries which I love!) Then starting on December 27 my own 8-day of retreat in silence, alone with the Lord and a few scriptures and two readings that touched me greatly. Day 6 of the retreat, on January 1, seemed to be the most blessed of all the days. In that afternoon I had a very strong sense of God's depths and the quality and utter beauty of God's goodness and love. I had never experienced such like this before. It was heavenly. What was entirely new in this experience was how there is simply no "bottom" to God's depths. There is no "end" or limit to Divine Love. I knew this before in my head, but this time I SENSED it with much power and unforgettable wonder. The deeper I went into God's depths, the more this awareness simply opened out into the infinite spaces of everything good and true; not unlike what an astronout might experience looking out from a spacelab window and peering into space. Astronomers tell us the universe is perpetually expanding and we have no idea where and whether there is any outer boundary to the cosmos. Try to get your mind around that idea; Really, it is impossible. All one can do is accept and adore............................................................................................................................................................................................. So, we cannot even imagine the breadth and depth of the Divine Heart because it has no boundaries, no "outer limits." It seems to me we are all largely unaware of and mostly blind to the Source we come from and are being drawn back to. We see vaguely, maybe, but "as thorough a glass darkly," as St. Paul says. It is so, so humbling yet consoling to "taste and see" this aspect of God, to understand better why some mystics like the 14th century woman, Juliana of Norwich said that because of what God is like, "all is well, all manner of things are well." We have no good reason to fear or worry even though we suffer from the lack of love in the world, and in ourselves. And so, despite the craziness of the world and that same craziness welling up inside our own selves at times, and despite how it seems that the voices of self-centered arrogance and pride, lust and greed appear to be prevailing, there is something far deeper and will have "the last say" when all is over and death has met everyone of us. (That Presence is with us even now; we need not wait till death to claim it and live in its Assurance.) It will not be the deeds of our lives but the mercy, justice and sheer goodness of God expressed in the open Heart of His Son given totally for each of us that will make the ultimate difference. This gracious Source of all that is will write the last chapter of the book of our lives. It is good to remind each other of this overriding Truth and Power to ground us and save us from hopelessness, anger and blaming but to really intercede for the world and all of our loved ones and so too for all those whose deeds make them very difficult to love in Christ.............................................................................................................................................................................To all of you who read this, I wish a happy, blessed 2018. I will be visiting Detroit in late July and early August and hope our paths cross. God bless. I will see all of you, known and unknown, at the daily Eucharist where we are all one in Him; in Him who says, "Fear not, for I have overcome the world." We have to believe and trust Him when He says this and look for His reassuring presence and friendship along the way we are going each day. Bernie Owens