Publisher's Synopsis
Poetic stylings, private memoirs, scriptural interpretations. Suitable for self-help. A source of encouragement for the weary Christian traveler. Have you ever wondered if Heaven actually exists? If it does exist then what does it look like? Could Heaven actually be a physical place or is it something that cannot be touched? There are many questions that people sometimes ask but the answers are often vague and disappointing! Those who have suffered a loss search with a passion for answers but are sometimes left more distant from their faith as a result. Going to church on Sundays no matter how repetitive sometimes yields a sense of being lost; like a wandering soldier, fighting to be with righteous forces, wanting to be among those that will have eternal life! Who hasn't wondered about that fateful day when the world and faithless people reach their nadir! For the sake of truth and eternal life, I bring my own private memoirs to the forefront! I examine my own experiences through hopeful and sometimes poignant descriptions: Blessed to be around religious figures and fortunate to experience spiritual celebrations; but also about the times when religious rituals left me feeling abandoned; an empty vessel searching to be filled by another more faithful human being -smarter than I, that could take control and simply pass their gift onto me! I delve into the unknown, when tragedy struck, I was left in a state of shock waiting to heal by letting the clock run out on my sadness! Fate brought me into religious experiences: I walked among incredible people! After having been a cantor in the Catholic church for many years and befriending Catholic clergy I didn't think much of myself because their lives to me had so much purpose and spiritual meaning. How could I ever hope to get to Heaven if I couldn't even come close to these people who devoted their every moment to prayer, and service to the poor and downtrodden? And then when I went to other churches that were Baptist and Christian I was confused because people were dressed in plain clothes, the music was different. I really didn't think I was welcome in their churches; I was like some fossil that was stuck in a different time when God only existed where there were statues of saints and people said their Hail Mary's! I remember being small, and the times my father had to lift me up to see the Priest. I didn't understand: The Latin mass was something that I attended knowing that it was OK if the priest said Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) or Kyrie eleison (Lord have mercy) and nobody understood because people were supposed to be innocent and dumb like a child in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven! My father told me that when I was baptized, they put a bunch of us ignorant babies into a dark room, turned on the lights and said," By the light you are baptized!" It took a Jehovah witness to tell me "Read the Bible yourself!" When I grew up, sometimes, I would sing songs in Latin at weddings and at masses without knowing what every single word meant! I sang in ignorance just as I had prayed in ignorance as a child. Then one day I decided that I was going to take those significant experiences I had when I met other people that were having their worst day, or when I was experiencing my greatest challenges and try to understand if everything that happens to us truly happens for a reason! I read the Bible and I poured out my soul in poetry! My journey brought me full circle before that empty glass once again and I found that that which could heal my emptiness was always there; I am anxious to share this in the hopes that through my memoirs, poetry, and scriptural interpretations, those who are feeling depressed, lost, hopeless, or discouraged will find their way to a better more vibrant today! When fear takes over and it's time to get rid of those thoughts about death, demons, monsters, zombies, being alone, then it's time to reach higher!