My journey back to the safety of The Father's House began nearly 15 years ago when Our Mother took my hand in Hers and posed a gentle question to my broken and tattered soul: Am I not your Mother?

I didn't acknowledge it, or even realize it at the time, but Our Lady of Guadalupe was preparing to guide me on a great journey of mercy, a journey in the footsteps of the prodigal son, from the barren darkness of a languishing faith in self and the world, to the unfathomable light of Our Lord's infinite love, mercy and compassion.

It began simply enough on a hill in Tepeyac. This was not the Tepeyac Hill near Mexico City where Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego. This was Camp Tepeyac, located in Arizona's central mountains at an elevation of 6,700 feet.