Ever Since I Was A Little Girl I Always Knew I Wanted To Be Some Sort Of Horrendous Freak

ever since i was a little girl i always knew i wanted to be some sort of horrendous freak

Favorite description of vowed religious life is now "Yeah, I've put all my eggs in the 'I'm Weird for Jesus' basket"

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me.”

-Isaiah 6:9

I work in an art gallery with some amazing works by Vincent Van Gogh, and I keep find myself defending his honor. People frustrate me to no end.

Some people look at his artwork, which is full of immense love for the world, and go, "Oh, how sad. He was crazy. Isn't this painting SAD?" And, it's one of the most joyful paintings on earth.

The worst people are those who mock his artwork because he was "crazy". Upon looking at a beautiful, delicate, loving, and meditative artwork, a father nudged his son. "Isn't this the lunatic who cut off his own ear?" The son laughed. "Disgusting," the son said, and they laughed together.

Worse yet, some people find the artworks scary. With this kind and gentle painting before us, a young woman shrieked and grinned like she was in a haunted house, running into her boyfriend's arms. After all, he was crazy.

Vincent Van Gogh wanted to be a priest. He felt God's love in everything and everyone. The priesthood didn't work out, but nevertheless Vincent especially felt God's love in the unloved. He painted every breeze in the air, and the veins in the unnoticed laborer's hands.

I don't think Van Gogh's swirling spirals are crazy. I think they're meditations on God's love, breathed through all Creation. To me, these paintings are a prayer.

You know you're Catholic when all your non-Catholic friends are shocked to hear that you are considering being a nun.

You don't have to be like other christians. If you're different from them, that's ok. Being a christian means believing in Jesus, following Him, loving God and your neighbour. You're not following other christians, you're following God. Literally everyone can become a christian. Jesus is for everyone, not just a certain group of people.