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The Hound of Heaven: Family Reflection Video

The Hound of Heaven: Family Reflection Video

Love thy Neighbor

Sometimes good people simply misunderstand each other.

From time to time, we all experience difficulties or differences with others. When we’re really troubled and there seems to be no solution, just like Father Peyton did, bring your worries to Mary.

Time and time again we’re shown we are not alone. God is so persistent in tracking us down! And the Holy Spirit is determined to help us.

When poet Francis Thompson emerged from the lowest point of his life, he wrote The Hound of Heaven. Within these words we discover how God is constantly pursuing our hearts. Sister Mary Ignatius also speaks to this:

Holy Spirit:

It’s this that makes my spirit spin,

My flesh to melt inside my skin,

My bones to quake,

My blood run thin,

My very pulse create a din,

It’s this that makes my spirit spin,

that heaven is not “up” but “In.”

The Holy Spirit dwells within us, my friends. Always, always like the Hound of Heaven seeking us out. We only have to open our hearts.

About Father Willy Raymond, C.S.C.

Father Wilfred J. Raymond, C.S.C. (Father Willy), a native of Old Town, Maine, is the eighth of 12 children. He joined the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1964 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1971. He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Stonehill College in 1967 and a master’s in Theology from the University of Notre Dame in 1971. He served in ministry at Stonehill College (1979-1992), Holy Cross leadership (1994-2000), National Director of Family Theater Productions, Hollywood (2000-2014), and President of Holy Cross Family Ministries (2014-2022). In addition to English, he is conversant in French and Spanish. He remains a diehard fan of the Boston Red Sox, even though he has served as Chaplain for the Los Angeles Dodgers.