Spiritual bonds

Last night I participated in an internet meeting with members of a Secular Carmelite group based in a small town in a very rural area.  I have known this group for a few years and they are a model of enthusiasm and commitment to Jesus and to Carmel.  The town is quite a distance from where I live, and so in-the-flesh contacts have been only occasional, but when we meet online the sense of love and unity is tangible.  Last night this reminded me of the first meetings I attended of my own Carmelite group more than twenty years ago.  I had to drive a hundred minutes or so to get to the meetings, but some instinct kept me doing the journey.  The only problem for me was that at that time the meetings were so structured that there was very little time for basic socialising and chat, and consequently as time passed I felt that despite all the expenditure of effort to get there, I wasn’t really getting to know the other group members via the usual sort of social interaction.  It was only gradually that I became aware of a mysterious spiritual bond that was forming between us, and then I began to realise that my idea of human relations was very shallow.  Over the years since then this has truly been an experience of the Holy Spirit.

Intercessions:  Chris, in intensive care.

S, a seriously ill baby.

Long-term Covid sufferers.