Faith is where you find it

The 'Rose' window at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Poplar Bluff.

Today, I watched in horror and disbelief, the great Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris engulfed in flames. My heart crushed in grief for this historic icon lost.

Praying was my first instinct, then mournful tears came.

As a Catholic, I unabashedly uphold the bonds tying the history of our church and its cathedrals together. All of which have been built upon the foundation of faith. I believe that God is among us, most strongly on the altar, within the church.

Even with the extent of the damage to Notre Dame left to the unknown in the days or weeks to come, I am assured the damage to the hearts of the faithful will quickly subside, through faith.

Before you find offense, stop reading or wish to nitpick at any statement I make or presume about religion, please know I believe faith is where you find it. To me, it is a personal journey and unique to each individual. Something to seek and find on your own time.

This week is deemed Holy Week in Christianity. I use this week to understand the path Jesus took on his way to crucifixion. A week to simultaneously mourn and rejoice in his death and resurrection. A week to solidify my faith and spiritual awakening. A week to renew my faith, to bury self-doubt and worry. This is what my faith looks like.

Many of you reading this blog may not believe in God, or follow any of the 4,200 religions throughout the world. Faith may not even seem familiar to some of you, but I'd bet most of you have turned to something or someone during a time of need. Comfort and solace sought from intangible words, thoughts and beliefs in a crisis, constitutes faith, my friends. This is what your faith looks like.

Just as Dorothy realized in wearing her ruby slippers, you've carried faith with you all along. Now it's time to gather the courage to find it.