“He said to me, ‘My divine heart is so in love with people, and with you in particular, that it can no longer contain the flames of its ardent charity. It needs you to spread them. It must manifest itself to people and enrich them with the precious treasures that I will reveal to you. These treasures are the graces of salvation and sanctification, necessary to rescue people from the abyss of perdition…’ This divine heart was shown me on a throne of flames. It was more resplendent than the sun and transparent as crystal. The heart had its own adorable wound, and was surrounded by a crown of thorns, signifying the stings caused by our sins. And there was a cross above it.” St Margaret Mary Alocoque
Once upon a time…. A young woman stumbled in the darkness, seeking something deeper… a love, a desire for ecstasy and happiness that only one true prince could provide. She searched the land, her heart and only found pain, fear and loneliness. On one fair day a great light shined upon her and directed her to a castle. She wasn’t certain of it’s existence. As she followed the light directing her path, she stepped through the doors and fixed her eyes upon her Prince Charming, her Lord, her King, the one true love of her hearts desire.
Have you ever dreamed of your fairy tale, your happily ever after? Or perhaps your fairy tale or happily ever after has come true?
I’ve spent a week in Disney World among princesses, princes, and villains. I’ve watched the fairy tales of my childhood unfold before my eyes. Among the adventures and the thrills, there is always a hero or a prince and a happy ending.
The fairy tales we heard as a child have a few things in common…
1. Heroine
2. Hero
3. Villain
4. Magical element
5. Happily ever after
Being engrossed in all of these fairy tales and happily ever after, I venture to imagine my own happily ever after, my own Prince Charming.
As I marvel in this dream of my personal fairy tale, I realize my life has definitely had these elements and I’m certain yours probably has as well.
Take a moment and reflect on these elements and your life. Reflect on yourself needing to be rescued, awakened from the depths of your sin and temptation. The villain is lurking around constantly trying to pull you away from your hero in your story…. Jesus. You may say, “well, my story doesn’t have a magical element.” What if the magical element is not supernatural but a decision, a choice that only you can make. That choice becomes the defining moment when the hero, your Prince Charming swoops in and rescues you from the villain that lurks around you and may be even within you. The story you were living begins to turn, perhaps rewritten, into the elemental finale of a happily ever after – your prince has rescued you and resides with you throughout eternity.
Yesterday, as I entered a place that had once given me great peace in a time I needed it the most, I fixed my eyes upon the prince that has always been a part of my life. It was then that I realized my Prince Charming was always there – here in this peaceful castle, the chapel of my church. I had already met my Prince Charming. He had captured my heart in the purest, deepest way many years ago and continues to do so. My satisfaction can only be found through Him and in Him. The key ingredient was that I had to choose Him. I had to make the decision to open my heart to Him and let Him fill it.
Phil Wickham has a song called “Til I Found You.” This song is a constant reminder to me in how my own story as I knew it was being rewritten as God’s story, my happily ever after when “I found [Him].”
I invite you to search within find the magical element to choose your happily ever after by finding your Prince Charming, residing in the castle – YOU.
Although He lives within me, I find great comfort in visiting Him in a tangible castle, the chapel of my church, as I fix my eyes upon Him in Adoration in the most simplest form waiting to satisfy me in every way. “I see you in a transparent Host as material substance, but faith takes away the veil with which you cover yourself, love shaking the foundations of my heart makes me feel your presence, and the joy you cause it to feel lifts it up to the sublime hope of possessing you, overcoming all the obstacles that separate us.” Conchita Cabrera de Armida’s, Irresistibly Drawn to the Eucharist
Women Who Walk By Faith 
It’s interesting that you bring this up, because in Grimm Fairytales the actual “Magical Element” or “Fortune” is choice. Which, is interesting to me. How you nailed it right on the head. Though, I’d like to simply reinforce the idea you’re talking about here by saying you’re absolutely right.
In German culture, there is a predominant theme of “Will Power”. Which, the force of wills is one of those German Elements—that and the Deux Ex Machina, or in other words the supernatural intervention. We see it in Faust, where he makes a choice, albeit the wrong choice, and then lives with the consequences. Then there’s Grimm Fairy Tales, where choice is so the whole point of the story.
Because the Grimm Fairy Tales never rely on providential success, but always the creating success through decisions. Which, it entails magic, of course, but only in the sense of it being, as you pointed out, will power.
All in all, very good essay. You said all of this in a simple to understand way. :”>.
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Very interesting! Thanks for reading and dropping a note. I especially enjoyed reading the German culture piece. Blessings!
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