This reflection is written for those readers who possess a faith and trust in essential goodness, and who possess a simple belief in the triumph of mercy, sweetness, and gentle love.

The context of this little writing is the sense of obligation within to respond to a just request on our Editor's behalf - to give answer to the primary mechanism, dynamic, and internal voice that led me here, in later midlife, to a group of men in community, serving the people of God in the Southwest United States.

As a convert to Catholicism, (April, 1987), like in many converts, the heart runs ahead of the mind and there seems to be present within the soul an unfettered desire to please God and explore newfound familial connections within the
Church.

Excitement, wonder, astonishment! These are some of the sentiments that permeate the spirit in a newly baptized adult that mirror the
immature experience of a newborn babe. What thrilled me the most, aesthetically, were the plethora of biographies of heroic men and women whose examples we canonized and included in our 'lives of saints'. What astonishing tales of miraculous achievements and influence!

Rising to occasions of response-ability, these thaumaturges, single-minded in purpose and intent, proved beyond a doubt that humankind could reflect the love and glory of the Almighty,while infusing those within reach - of and with this same love and desire for the things of heaven - casting all worldly cares behind.

Amazing! Answers to the questions (and quests) that find conception within the hearts of all can be duly satisfied within a sincere and open-minded research into the methodology of these wonderworkers.

I must say that I was fortunate to have had one of these inspirational leaders as an
English and Theology teacher in my senior year of high school, and which relationship was cultivated for the two years following my graduation. Her name was Sister Ernestine Vollmering, IWBS. I never tire of speaking of her to this present day and her memory is rightly honoured in the South Texas town where she served heroically until her final capitulation to cancer after having reached
the age of 55.

Other examples, namely St. Benedict, St. Francis of Paola, St. Francis of Assisi, St.
Bernard of Clairvaux, and St. Catherine of Siena, radiate the warmth and love of God in such a way as to penetrate the heart and mind of any sincere follower of Christ.

To fall in love with God and to learn from our admiration of these devotees can be the guiding principles of an emulation that sparks a revolution of peace and joy through faith and the practice and participation of and in the sacramental life of the Church.The dynamo of reciprocal self-giving culminates into an upward spiral of never-ending growth, maturity, and wisdom. And a respect for this inner reality can be the defining cathartic impulse that carries one to the doors of a monastery, or in my case, the Franciscan Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

I hope this briefly answers in some small way any initial inquiry into my 'calling'. We seek God, because of God. We know God, because of God. We love God and others because Love preexisted from all eternity, and deigned to invite all of us into this marvelously participatory life that we like to call Grace.