Good morning,
When I first saw this story the other day I laughed quite a bit. I can picture in my mind the criminal running away and begging to go back to prison rather than stay with the monks. “Noooooooo……. Not back to the monks…..”
At the same time, however, it helps to remind me that living a life open to God and His will can be very difficult in the secular world in which most of us live and function.
We are no alone in our struggles. We are joined by God, the Angels, the blessed who have gone before us, and our earthly spiritual community.
God bless each of us as we follow the will of God. May we be strengthened in times of struggle and never give up. And, may we begin again when we fall, mindful of the fact that God is always ready for us to return to Him.