Journey to Christendom: The Freedom Dance

On a blustery, sunny October afternoon in 2008, I left the Church of St. Stanislaus Kostka in Chicago heading northward on the Eden's expressway toward my home in Lake County. It was mid-afternoon and rush hour traffic had yet to materialize. As a result, traffic was relatively light, and I was able to cruise at a steady pace. My mind began to wander.

My thoughts began to drift. As they did so, the following phrases rolled through my head like a contemplative mist:
One day
I was walking
Through a forest

I continued pondering that for a while. As I moved further northward, the traffic became even lighter, my thoughts drifted further, and the contemplative mist became softer and more mysterious:
In an open field I saw an
Unusual scene
There, a group of bright,
Smiling people were,
Dancing

Just a half hour earlier, while adoring the Blessed Sacrament at St. Stanislaus, I had the following contemplative image. I saw myself walking in a beautiful meadow with the Blessed Virgin Mary. She spoke to me, saying, "If you have something you feel you need to say, you should probably think about saying it." I thought for a moment. Then I responded to her. "Yes, I believe I do have something I would like to say now."