I was recently flying back from Chicago at the end of a long tour, feeling tired and very burnt out. I just sat there in a state of numbness, with a blank look in my eyes. We had just completed a wonderful revival of THE GIFT OF PEACE: THE FIRST SIX CHAPTERS OF ST. LUKE’S GOSPEL, which I had not performed for over five years. God allowed me once again to ponder His Word and share it with others, in all of its simplicity and hidden glory. However, as I sat on the plane in my exhausted state, I focused on my overworked self and was filled with thanklessness and discouragement, as I considered what awaited me when I arrived home.

Perhaps the hardest thing I knew I would face was the incomplete John of the Cross video, which we had high hopes of releasing December 1st, in time for Christmas. As we mentioned in our last newsletter, the filming was completed this summer, and all that was left was the music. Since then, Randall DeBruyn has written a complete musical score that will enhance the film and capture the lyricism of John of the Cross with deep sensitivity. However, like us, he has done all of this in the midst of family life. This father of eight has spent every spare moment writing, and as you receive this, we will be in the studio recording. Our release date for the video has been pushed back to January 24th.

As I sat on the plane, depressed and frustrated by this delay, I remembered something a friend had recently told me that gave me an insight into the source of my discontent. He said, "The cause of most unhappiness is false expectations, and the recipe for happiness is gratitude."

I always have my own plan for how things should go. My timetable is very ambitious, and when things don’t get accomplished at the pace I have set, I get angry. I cannot see what God is doing, so I stop believing that he loves me. I reminded myself on the plane that day that God has blessed the John of the Cross video abundantly, and that He will use even delays to His Greater Glory.

I also sheepishly realized that, as 1997 ends, I have so much to thank God for! The Therese drama has opened to an overwhelming response. The show is profoundly beautiful, a great success, and is now available on audio cassette. The John of the Cross video is also on its way to becoming a little masterpiece. Our family is happy, healthy and filled with zeal for the Lord. When I reflected on these things, my heart swelled with gratitude - Gratitude to the Lord, and to all the people who have made His gifts possible.

As the plane touched down in Portland, I was filled with hope for the future. Saint Luke Productions is growing - We now have six people working here, and in a month we will have eight videos, nine audios, and eight live productions available. We have all of you, our friends, believing in this work, and joining us with prayers and financial support.

I ask you all to help us to continue to create productions that allow the Holy Spirit to speak. John of the Cross is almost completed, and we could sure use whatever financial contribution you can send to finish the music recording and final edit. I know you will be so pleased with the result of our labors.

This Advent and Christmas season, let us adore Jesus in faith, be silent before Him with hope, and rejoice with the angels that He is indeed the God of Love. Our prayers for you and your family. Merry Christmas!

This faith is not part of my native culture. When I immerse myself in the trappings of the Church, I can only feel comfortable so long, and then I begin to feel like a stranger in a strange land. I find this Catholic "country" beautiful and profoundly moving, but I will always be an immigrant.

This is not true for my husband or children, who have lived all their lives in a Catholic world. Perhaps this feeling is something only a convert can understand. But then again perhaps on a deeper level this loneliness is universal. Our Faith is in what we can not see, and with everything around us denying its existence, it is easy for any Christian to feel out of place.

Although for years I have pretended successfully to be a native speaker of this language of Faith, it is only the Truth of Jesus Christ that can hold me in His Church. Sentimental attachments to rituals and style will fail me. If my Faith is not rooted in the undeniable reality of Jesus present in the Eucharist, I will slip back to the familiar ways of my comfortable past. I proceed then in darkness, and in total obedience to Him who called me to this path seventeen years ago. It is only Jesus who can touch my dry soul, and I beg him to draw me deeper and give me to drink.

Last November I read about the new production that Leonardo was planning on Saint Therese in this newsletter. Up until then I had never read her autobiography, The Story of a Soul, and I didn’t have a great devotion to her. But as soon as I began to know her I was attracted to her by her simplicity and confidence.

Have you always had a strong faith? Did you have a conversion experience that changed your direction?

I have always had a strong faith, but up until now it wasn’t my main focus. I had a "conversion" experience last fall, when I was attending junior college and was majoring in theater. Everything in life was "perfect." I had the lead in the fall play, I was dating a really cute guy, I had plenty of friends, I had a great job etc., but I wasn’t happy and I was lonely. I started asking myself "Maggie, when have you been the happiest?" I came up with two answers... World Youth Day in Denver in 1993, and, most of all, at Eucharistic Adoration. Eucharistic Adoration is silent prayer before Jesus present in the Blessed Sacrament. I only experienced this contemplative prayer when I would spend the night at my cousin Anne’s house. I recall especially one night when my aunt told Anne and me that we had to "fill in" for someone who couldn’t make it to their hour at the perpetual adoration chapel. People sign up for one hour a week of prayer, and the person we were replacing had the hour of 11:00 to 12:00 PM. I remember that we bundled up because it had snowed all day. It was so peaceful walking down the street in the quiet night with the snow crunching beneath our feet. When we arrived at the church we "unraveled" ourselves and entered the chapel where Jesus was waiting for us. For one whole hour we were in perfect peace. This was my most vivid memory of happiness. I knew what I had to do to be happy again! I started going everyday to Adoration, and also to daily mass. I can honestly say that I have never been happier.

How have the tour and performing a one-woman show affected you?

The tour life has given me a great deal of hope. It’s really wonderful to meet all types of people and hear their stories. It has shown me how God loves each of us in a very personal way. Tour life has also given me a greater respect for artists who are using their gifts to glorify God, because it’s not easy. It has been really interesting performing in a one woman show. A year ago I would never have imagined that I would be doing this, because I have always hated the idea of looking into the audience while performing. I thought that by doing this it broke the illusion of a play. However, Leonardo explained to me that the audience is actually part of the show, or rather part of the "prayer". Now I love looking at people while performing because I really want them to understand Therese’s message. The things I have learned are too numerous to name. I see more and more how much God loves me and how much I want to love Him in return.

HELP SAINT LUKE CONTINUE THIS EXCITING WORK

Thank you to all who have given generously to support our two new projects - the video of John of the Cross, and the Therese live drama and audio cassette. The video is nearly complete, with only the recording of the musical score and final edit left to go. We are still in need of funds to pay for this beautiful production.. When you see the video, you will know that you are a partner in a creation that will touch many hearts. Therese could also use some help in paying her bills! Both these projects were very expensive, and we’re still recovering.

FUNDS NEEDED:

John of the Cross video - $30,000

Therese drama and audio cassette - $15,000

More and more we realize that we are all in this together. If you believe in the mission of Saint Luke Productions, please give generously to help us produce new dramas that renew and evangelize the culture.

PLEASE KEEP US IN YOUR PRAYERS!

TECHNICAL ASSISTANT FOR LEONARDO NEEDED

We need a hard working and self-motivated young man who is willing to dedicate at least six months as the lighting and sound technician for Leonardo’s one man dramas. (No theater experience necessary.) Here is an exciting opportunity to travel around the country, seeing all aspects of the Church, and sharing the Scriptures and the Saints with many.

We are looking for someone 21 years or older who is open to living and working in a family environment, dedicated to the Church and his faith, and able to start work as soon as possible, mid January at the latest. Please call if you are interested, or pass the word on! (800) 683-2998.