don't want to forget this..

around a week ago i visited Canada's capital, Ottawa. one of the highlights was the Notre Dame cathedral. http://www.notredameottawa.com/
it was SUCH an amazing experience for me. i went to Sunday Mass, and then stayed for a couple of hours to pray.. at one point, i took some pictures :) oki i was only going to take a few but before i knew it i had around 50.

this church has the most beautiful side altars. one dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and one to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

before Mass, i said the novena to St. Therese.. and then when i came into the cathedral i saw her statue beside the Sacred Heart altar :) and she was holding roses. that made me smile.

most of all, this visit was just very spiritually moving for me.
after Mass, i lit a candle at the Sacred Heart altar, and knelt down before it to pray. there were lots of people praying there.. at one point there was a whole family with ..maybe 5 sisters, around my age, and they all held hands while praying. then there was a lady at the Mary altar who must have said the whole rosary. what i really liked was that there was a crucifix near the Sacred Heart altar..i spent half my time there just looking at it and trying to understand how much pain our Lord went through for us :( it was a powerful experience for me. some people laid their hands on it while they prayed, and one girl kissed Christ's feet on the crucifix. :) but what made it all really special for me..is that i felt SOO close to God there. i can't describe it.. it was like how i feel around the Sacraments or at Adoration. it's like God was inside of me..and i was completely filled with the Holy Spirit, and i was united to Him. i was totally overcome with peace, and joy, and most of all, love.. i knew i was loved and welcomed, i felt like Jesus was glad that i was there to visit Him. i felt that so much when i was kneeling beside that altar and praying. that's actually how i remembered that the Eucharist is present in the church, it's like in my heart i instantly knew and felt that, even if in my mind i forgot. it was so awesome. i didn't want to leave. lol the only reason i left is because we (my family) were all going on a tour of Parliament Hill.. i actually stayed behind for a few moments after my family left, and - at that time there were very few people in the church.. so it was just me and God, basically. i so didn't want to leave lol. i said bye and touched the crucifix for one moment lol and then had to run after my family, cause i was already so far behind.

so this experience is definitely something i'll never ever forget.

when i came back home, i still felt very close to God. for some reason, i just wanted to spend time with Him and to console His Heart for all the sin and unbelief in the world.. and my own sin.. i found it very easy to pray and worship.. and i felt so much remorse for my sins. i didn't know this was at the same time that professor Myers was desecrating the Eucharist!! :(( i wonder if other people felt that way too during those couple of days.
my Jesus..dear Lord how much pain you suffer day by day for our sake.. and how much you endured during Your sorrowful Passion. let me never forget this and give me the grace to love You always and to never stop loving You. amen.