"there is no better means of progress in the spiritual life than to be continually beginning afresh, and never to think that we have done enough." St. Francis de Sales

For Families

As we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family, let us pray for all families, both healthy and broken.

For those who are struggling to stay together, and those who are separated for whatever reason.

For homeschooled families, for children who are in public school, and those who are bullied.

For fathers and mothers, that they may be examples of love and compassion toward their children.

For families suffering abuse or deprived from their day to day needs.

For homeless families, for supportive families, for Christian families, that they may find strength and have their needs met.

Let us pray for all families throughout the world, through the intercession of the Holy Family.

Lord, hear our pray!  Amen.

One Pattern at a Time

It can be difficult to look at our lives as a whole.  The journeys we travel, the experiences we receive, the memories we cherish.  How did we become who we are, as individuals?  Only God knows.  He is the designer, we have only to follow His lead. 

Adult coloring has become the new “in thing.”  How does this relate to our lives?  While getting into this new past-time, I have found the patterns in adult coloring to be intricate and, oftentimes, overwhelming.  But a friend recently told me something that has really stuck with me: to look at one pattern at a time. 

The same goes with anything in life.  When different ideas are crossed and new paths are taken, life can seem very overwhelming.  But I took this friend’s words to light, and applied them to new ventures in my own life: look at one piece at a time.

Living in the present is key to this concept.  My friend may have no idea how seriously I took her words, but they can be applied to everyday life.  Taking things one day, one hour, one moment at a time, can make life much more bearable.

An open mind is also an allowing of new things to come.  Was it easy to move away from home as a young adult?  Was it hard to pick up paper and pen again?  Not always.  (Writers block is not uncommon.) 

Take one “mouthful” at a time.  One breath, one newly-gained knowledge, and you will be able to grow and develop, becoming a captured piece of the bigger picture.

Wishing everyone a blessed Christmas Season!  God be Ever Praised!

Christmas is fast approaching!  What gift will you give to the Christ Child?  And what are you letting Him give you?

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!

Happy 3rd Week of Advent!  Come Lord Jesus!

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

Consecration: the thought of it inspires me to use my time well.

Whether it is in prayer, pausing to recognize the Presence of God, or to offering up one’s work for a special intention.

On this day dedicated to Our Blessed Mother as well as to cloistered religious, we realize the meaning of consecrating one’s entire life to God.  We can do this as well.

Dear Mother Mary, help me consecrate my life to God, and to trust in Him as you did.  Make me a doer of His Word.  Amen!

Our Advent Challenge

Advent is a week away.  In the monastery, we have what we call an “Advent Challenge.”  It’s kind of like Lent.  The monastery is extra quiet, letter-writing waits until Christmas, and special readings are said during meals.  But what will our personal resolutions be?

I encourage you to let the anticipation of Christ’s birth fill your hearts like Mary’s; to be faithful like Joseph; be willing like the donkey.

What gift do you have for the infant Jesus?  Ponder this well, and never be discouraged.  Remember what I wrote a couple blogs ago.  We can also include our empty hands. 

Maranatha!  Come Lord Jesus!

There are many reasons for me to be with my religious community in spirit.

• ·        Sr. Mary Emmanuel’s (my novice mistress’) feast day on the Feast of Christ the King.  Happy feast day dear sister!
• ·         The little retreat in preparation for the renewal of vows on the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lady
• ·         The death anniversary of Sr. Alice Marie, my inspiration (well, each sister is an inspiration to me)

So many dear customs and memories!  But I choose to rejoice with them.  They are solemn commemorations.  Have a blessed week dear Sisters!

Empty Hands

St. Therese teaches that we must come before God with empty hands.  Sometimes offering things up is bearable, like doing an act of kindness for someone.  But there's also the times where things like an inconvenient illness can be hard to cope with.  

But this beloved saint of mine teaches us not to think of what we merit, but to see everything as a blessing from God- even the hard things!  And then, when it seems unbearable, we can give God the nothing in our giving.

Know that I pray for this nothing that you might have (no pun intended), that you may have the strength to bear it.  Amen.

The time of the election is coming to a close.  I have been praying for it all day!  For the next four years, we will be determining the fate of millions of unborn babies.  Will we set up laws to protect them or to sentence them to a brutal death because no one was able to support their mothers? 

Now is the time to trust in God as we prepare to face the next four years with whatever our new president has in mind.  Let us pray that he or she be open to the Wisdom of God according to what is best for the people. 

America, we are still one nation under God!

It is hard to accept things sometimes.  Do you think it was easy for me to leave the monastery?  Everyone has their own, personal story.  Change is not always fun.  But, because we choose to face them, they are filled with hope.
Trust is essential, as well as doing things to help oneself.  Set goals and keep God in decisions.  Let Him speak to you. Even if you don't know what He would say, let Him look down from the cross and love you- let Him love you to death.
It's a lot about listening, but it is also about deciding.  The rough times will pass.  The sun will rise again.
Again I repeat: The sun will rise again.

Apparently November is a good month to be storywriting, because that is what a certain website challenges many of us with.  (nanowrimo.com)  50,000 words is not easy, but I was able to accomplish just this while I was sick last year.  It gave me a goal to work towards.  I’m telling you, the last 10,000 words were not easy.

It’s November 3 and I have only written 400 words so far.  I’m behind!  But I like the challenge.  I don’t see 50,000 to be a realistic goal while I’m busy with school, youth group, and more important writing deadlines; otbut I like the idea of actually completing a story.  I feel all set with my peanuts and m&m’s from Halloween sales at the desk beside me! 

It’s always good to set goals.  They motivate us and encourage us to become better.  Even if, like me, the last segment is the hardest, it gives us that final push to end well.  Happy writing!

All Saints Day

            This past Tuesday, we celebrated the Feast of All Saints.  God be Praised!  Sometimes I wonder what it means to be a saint.  I have a two-pointer answer:

·         to live the message of the gospel and

·         that we can intercede for others from Heaven after we die. 

As St. Therese once prayed to Jesus: “I want to be a saint, but I feel so helpless.  Be yourself my sanctity!”  We are all called to take on the Way of Jesus.  After all, He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life!

            My religious community I used to belong to (The Sisters of the Visitation of Holy Mary in Tyringham, MA) have a long tradition of drawing one of the beatitudes.  We read about each one in the gospel on this special day. It helps each of the sisters to reflect on and to be assured by the one they chose.

            The witness of the saints inspires us to live the gospel in our own lives.  And it is not a hard way, so long as one feels open to the challenge.  It is the way of self-sacrificial, joy-filled love!  God be Praised!

Encountering the Lord

This is a quick thought for today.  In this Sunday's gospel, we hear about Zaccheus and his encounter with the Lord.  Do you ever feel small and unnoticed?  Jesus sees you.  He is very interested in you.  We can all have our personal encounters with Him.  How do you experience Him today?

Making Choices

My class and I at school were recently awarded with our Business Fast Track Program certificates.  Whew!  Some of us have continued on with other classes while everyone else has gone forth to their job searching.  While waiting for the perfect job to come along, I have continued on with other classes and volunteering at my school.

There are many choices we make in life, and we need to be unafraid of the positive or negative consequences.  For example, I had to leave behind St. Vincent de Paul Center in order to focus on a future career.  I still see my friends at church and they are happy for me.  I’ve embraced helping at youth group, and a new set of friends have cheered me on when I have had to defend the faith we so love. 

Having support helps, but it is also about having a goal and going after it.

You are called to greatness, but you must work hard to attain it.  Live your life as normal.  Going to school…. Looking for work.  But maintain an intimate prayer life, whether you have to get up early in the morning or make time throughout the day.  Daily Mass is preferred, or time spent before the Most Blessed Sacrament.  See Mary as your Mother.  She will guide you to the Ultimate Source, the Heavenly Father.  Be faithful as she is faithful. 

This is your calling, oh Christian.  Remain steadfast in it.  Then, you will obtain strength of character, an open attitude, and a strong interior life.  Save many souls, and fight well in the spiritual life.  Read from St. Francis de Sales and the other great authors in our Catholic history- even from today’s times.

Seek out the best way to serve God.  Reinforce it by your actions.  Find a ministry that helps you to exhale the fruits of your labor.  What do you seek?  What do you enjoy?  What will enable you to bear witness.

Go forth my friend, and follow the vocation God calls you to.

Love

For those of you who are strong in English grammar, love is a noun.  But, in my own prayer life, both while I was in the monastery and now more recently, I have seen the word to be a verb.

How is this, you ask? 

Love must always be in action, just as verbs are.  It is not stagnant.  It is always, in a way, proving – giving - itself to others. 

My favorite Bible verses come from 1 Corinthians 13 (Love is patient, love is kind…) I have seen it used as an examination of conscience before.  Do we really consider if we are following this beautiful definition by St. Paul?

I’m still contemplating and seeking ways to live out my love for God and neighbor – I probably always will be!  It is all part of the journey.   I strive to do this through my direction of intention for love of God and neighbor as a single person.  But that is for another blog post!

Happy Feast Day!

Happy belated Feast of St. Margaret Mary!  I celebrate with my dear sisters, especially in honor of a recently deceased sister’s feast day, Sr. Anne Marguerite, and a certain somebody’s profession anniversary.

There are many reasons for me and my Order to be celebrating.  As a former member, it is also bittersweet.  Should I still be celebrating, or should I be grieving that I am not with them at this time? 

I choose to accept where I am and hope I will be back someday.  I can still rejoice with my sisters, even though I no longer pray the Divine Office regularly or follow their customs.  But that’s okay. 

We are all called to do something in life and I am happy to be a Catholic laywoman writing this blog at this time in my life.  I am happy to be going to school and I am happy to find myself still being sentimental when it comes to remembering my three years in the monastery – even if the sentiments can be sometimes sad still.

I can still be a spiritual mother and sister to all of you, and I am so grateful for that! 

And as the sisters conclude every letter: God be Praised!

Self-Acceptance

Loving yourself unconditionally is something I have learned over the past few years. 

Let me give a recent example.  The other day, I had misplaced my car keys.  I knew they had to be in my purse, because I had just taken them out from the ignition.  I kept reminding God that I could not have anymore "bad luck."  

My point is, I’ve decided from now on to accept my mistakes and not see myself as a failure.  Yes, God may permit things to happen, but that does not mean He wishes ill upon us.  He loves us more than we could ever imagine! 

                How are you going to treat yourself the next time you make a mistake?

A Letter Written To the Reader Aspiring Towards Greatness:

            In seeing your witness toward your vocation, I see the desire and the nervousness.  Am I right?  Don’t feel bad, or think you are doing less than God is calling you to.

            It takes perseverance to reach one’s highest potential.  But don’t ever, ever settled for something less.  I know in my own life, as well as in the stories I so enjoy writing, that it often has to do with overcoming oneself, when things seem to hold us back.

            Be courageous, be motivated, and always focus on God’s Lead.

A Peaceful Heart

A peaceful heart.  Sometimes, it is hard to know of what true peace is.  Let me distinguish it “Salesian-style.”  The lower level is our human nature, which hungers for want, though it be passing.  This can come from the emotions (I still tend to go after this myself) or preferential pleasures like what kind of food you like.  But there is also a higher level, which may seem to “leave us” in a continual search, but that of steadfastness in faith strengthens us.  This is one with lasting meaning, which “moth cannot decay.”  Further, referring to the example regarding food: I have likes and dislikes in taste, but there is more to life than that!  It comes from a gentle surrender to the will of the Father, which means an undisturbed resting in the Heart of Jesus.  The Holy Spirit helps us.  (How Trinitarian is that!)  Yes: true, authentic, restful, interior peace.  It can take a great search, but never ends unfulfilled.  For me, it could be my struggle with being attached to charges (work assignments at the monastery) and wondering how on earth I will manage to get it all done?  For the lay person, it could be the full time job, keeping up with bills, and night classes.  Fill in your own example.  In the end, you go to Sunday Mass with a distracted mind, and likewise affects the heart.  What do I still need to do today?  Agh!  We need to let go with true purity of heart.  It is time to get away.

During meditation, I have read in the Gospel passage where Jesus appears in the Upper Room after His resurrection.  What does He tell Thomas?  “Peace.  See My Hands and put your finger into My Side.”  There are many ways of looking at this scene.  Allow me to bring you through it, in the shoes of St. Thomas after the Resurrection of Our Lord, as we search for peace in the Heart of God.

                “Peace.”  Everything around you stops.  The Maker of time lets what overwhelms in it cease- even if for only a brief moment. 

Jesus calls us in the midst of our lives to be and to abide, in His peace.  Let Him address you by name.  Enter into His Divinity that calls you to His Heart.  “Come to Me all you who are weary, and I will refresh you.”

                Breathe.  Kneel before Him and hold His Hands.  He shows you the slits from the nails.  If you dare lower your eyes (like I tend to do with Him), you notice the holes in His Feet instead.  He gently raises your chin so as to see your eyes again.  Let Him repeat your name.  Nothing else around you should exist.  Return with His Name.  Then He says: “Come be with Me.” 

                I found another passage.  Reading this letter from St. Paul:

 “I want no more trouble from anybody after this; the marks on my body are those of Jesus.”  (Gal. 6:17)  Yes, touch them.  Feel them.  But also let Him impress them, live them on your own life.  Sounds like the stigmata, right?  But I mean in being Christ to others, and enduring all pains with Him.  You are not alone.  What do you see in His wounds?  These wounds that are pierced, cut open, but never intended to be “healed.”  He has no intention, nor can He be worn out in, of putting an end to His GREAT LOVE for us!  They are beyond imprint, for an imprint is only on the surface.  In meditating on this personally, I see compassion, gift of self, Love…  Do I bear these “signs,” this Proof?

                Come away to the open wounds of Christ.  They are redemptive, and His Way, Truth, and Life, is our peace.  As I am so often told of Him by the Sisters: Just Look at Me.

In His unconditional Love, He enables us, invites us, and practically urges us, to realize His burning Love for us as He places our fingers to rest upon, even to go into, His wounds.  He wants us to know unconditional Love, willing to suffer for us.  This personal Jesus, this Savior Who disregards no one.  He is not violent about it like me, as an impatient human, would be frustrated.  “For crying out loud, believe that I came looking for you, love me back!”  No!  He is very gentle.  “He knows that we are but dust.” 

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.

O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.
(St. Francis of Assisi)

Happy Feast of St. Therese

Thank you Therese for being such a good example for us “little ones.”

For obeying your superior in explaining the little way,

And sharing it with your novices.

Thank you Therese for teaching us confidence and holy abandon,

For responding to you vocation, to be love in the Heart of the Church!

I thought this quote by St. Francis de Sales was very helpful.  As he also says: "In prayer we must not seek the consolations of God, but the God of consolations."

"The mere comfort of a prince’s presence or that of someone we greatly love makes watching, pain, and toil a delight, and danger itself desirable.  But nothing is so grievous as to serve a master who knows nothing of our service, or if he knows about it, still gives no sign that he is satisfied with it.  In such cases, love must be strong, because it stands by itself alone, unsupported by any pleasure or any expectation.  Thus is sometimes happens that we have no consolation in the exercises of sacred love, because like deaf singers, we do not hear our own voices and cannot enjoy the sweet melody of our song.  Besides this we are oppressed by a thousand fears and troubled by a thousand false alarms that the enemy raises around our heart, suggesting to us that perhaps we are not pleasing to our master and that our love is fruitless- yes, even that is false and vain, since it produces no consolation.  Then, Theotomis, we toil not only without pleasure, but with very great distress, since we see nei9ther the good of our labor nor the satisfaction of Him for whom we labor.

…It is now, my dear Theotomis, that we must show unconquerable fidelity to the Savior, serving Him purely for love of His will, not only without pleasure, but under this deluge of sorrow, horror, dread, and attack, as did His glorious Mother and St. John on the day of His Passion."

New beginnings can either be exciting or scary.  I’ve got to admit, I was nervous when I went back to school this year.  But it was thrilling when I had entered the monastery a few years before that.

            

Change is good; we just have to be ready for it.  Preparation is key to doing well, be it a test or time of transition.  Personally, I find it intimidating.  But, as I get ready for my next class, I am more prepared for what to expect.  Experience always helps.  But you have to begin somewhere, at some time.

Having an open mind and being full of optimism are good qualities to have when it comes to new beginnings.  It helps us to accept whatever comes our way and any new information to be received. 

 Learning new things is good for the mind, and it heightens our experience and increases our wisdom.

Life is beautiful,

No matter how hard.

Every sacrifice is worth it,

United with Christ’s cross.

Life is beautiful,

Every step we make.

The joys, the laughter, the tears,

For better or for worse.

This is your life, accept what it costs,

Bring Jesus to others, and save what is lost.

Life is beautiful,

Rejoice in His Name.

Since entering my adult years, I have realized more and more what kind of world I live in.  Though sheltered by good morals and being around the right kind of people, we are surrounded by violence, immorality, and clashing politics. 

Knowing what is truth is so important: what is right, and what is just.  I have heard so much about witnessing during times of persecution, and I must admit my confidence has not dared me to always step out of my comfort zone of passivity and shyness. 

But, since going to school, I have been unafraid of witnessing to friends that, yes, I was in the monastery for three years, until I got really sick.  Yes, I am Catholic.  And yes, I am not ashamed to pray grace before meals in public. 

Yes, I am shy about sharing my political views, because I still strive to know them; but I also need to decide when my voice needs to be heard.  Should Target be excluded from my choice of shopping?  Yes. 

This is only a “scratch off the surface” to living in a troubled world in need of much prayer.

New Beginnings at Youth Group

At the beginning of my religious life, my novice mistress often spoke of “new beginnings.”  And so we are doing as we begin a new school year at youth group.  Leaders come to know students by conversation, students come to know God by word and example.  As a leader myself, it is also I who am coming to know God through what I teach.

            I appreciate the preparation for each Sunday Youth Group.  It reinforces my prayer life and reminds me of what I believe, so as to testify to this faith with my own personal enthusiasm.

            The youth have been my greatest priority when it comes to intercessory prayer, which is an intention to present before God.  That you, oh young people, may open your hearts to God Who is Love.  To have a relationship with Him and His Blessed Mother.  And by grace, to bring that love to the world.

Our Lady of Fidelity

Isn’t it a wonder that Our Lady was able to handle standing at the foot of her own son’s cross?  This was the fifth of the seven sorrows she would endure throughout Our Lord’s life and death. 

But she was not only a woman of sorrows, she was also a woman of joys.  According to http://catholicism.org/the-seven-joys-of-mary.html, “The Seven Joys of Our Lady are: (1) The Annunciation; (2) the Visitation; (3) the Birth of Our Lord; (4) the Adoration of Jesus by the Magi; (5) the Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple; (6) the Resurrection of Our Lord; (7) the Assumption of Mary in body and in soul into Heaven.”  So life balances with its joys and its sorrows, as Our Blessed Mother experienced. 

But one title I decided she is also worthy of is that of Our Lady of Fidelity.  Her faithfulness to her Son is one of trust and confidence: God is faithful to His promises.  And I see in her, especially in my enfolding vocation to religious life, an example of this faithfulness. 

How do you see Our Blessed Mother?

God Alone

The word monastery indicates a place where one lives for God Alone.  

But what does this mean?

To live within a community, yet to do everything to please God and not one's peers.

It is to be in love and to do everything in union with a loving God.

Let us ponder this theme and strive to live it out: to live for God alone.

Can we live it in our day to day lives as lay people?  Can we offer to God our works and not only our prayers?

To live for God alone.

“Be Who You Are, and Be That Well.”  (St. Francis de Sales)

This must have been my novice mistress’ favorite quote by Our Holy Founder!  I continue to ponder it to this day.  What does it mean?

Coming home from the monastery, getting over a sickness, and deciding what to do for the time being has challenged me to live out this very message.

What does it mean to be myself?  What will lead me to be what God is calling me to be?

If you want to add comments with your thoughts, please feel free to do so!  So far, I think it’s about knowing your talents and having a relationship with God to know how to best use those talents.

What do you think?  This is a good quote to ponder for yourself!

This is an article I wrote shortly after my reception of the habit on September 8, 2013

A New Novice’s Reflections

So many graces received- or so many to come because of the experiences I have had during my year in the postulancy.  The day before my reception of our holy habit, I was making frosting for Our Lady’s birthday cake.  To make it light and fluffy as a cloud, each ingredient must be incorporated into a gradually transforming concoction.  The consequences of my efforts?  Not so great, resulting in a humbled rebeginning.  Sr. Mary Francis explained the science of it all.  Leave it to an experienced professed.  My second trial brought on a time of insightful reflection- God has His ways of speaking to us!  (There was much time using the beaters- I think one transformation took 15 minutes!) 

                Sr. Mary Emmanuel would mention during the last remaining months of my postulancy that she had noticed changes in me that I may not be realizing.  It was a good motivator, being blind to my own progress.  Like those egg whites that refused to foam at first, changes can be so gradual that we don’t always see them.  It doesn’t happen overnight. 

So I’m guiding the beaters and seeing a slight change of thickness.  The vibrations from the machine were going up my arm.  I switched hands.  We examine our conscience a lot in living out this lifelong road to holiness.  As one on retreat, I had asked pardon of all the sisters for all my failings.  This having to start over would be a fault for next week, but it has helped me to realize something.  As I am a novice now, I am called to renew my commitment.  I am getting a fresh start, since last year.  I had learned and supplied the “ingredient” customs and spirituality of our monastic life.  Now I can know them and begin to express myself as a “wanna be/gonna-be.”  It seems like something you would come with as a visiting retreater or even as a postulant.   But, no matter how much you desire the life, you don’t understand the practical reality of living within the enclosure.  It takes humility to prune and reshape our ideals and dreams of the religious life.  As of right now, I find my behavior towards some things to be quite different from how I would react “out in the world.”  I’m still learning, and as St. Francis de Sales says, every day is a new beginning.

                Two days following my reception, we were in the midst of festivities for our Mother’s feast day.  The novitiate put on a fifteen minute play that I had originally written as a narrative.  This time of reflecting and resoluting has covered a wide spectrum, more than I would realize.  The play covered my intimidated experience as a retreatant, and then a postulant, figuring out how to appropriately break open a hardboiled egg in the refectory.  (I can do it now, by the way). 

                God has been there for me as the central focus of my life, whether I could grasp, sense, and interpret, or if I could not do any of these.  Sometimes it takes time.  And just like the icing for the cake, God provided us with the ingredients and the love to respond.  God be Praised!  Always!

Being With God

I have thought about how much we need to be with God, as He calls us through the Psalms to “Sit and be Still” with Him.                                                        

When first discerning the possibility of a vocation to the cloister, one of the questions I crossed was whether I could handle sitting in chapel all day?  I didn’t think I would be able to.  Fast forwarding to my first visit to the monastery, I couldn’t grasp how to meditate, which the Sisters do an hour and a half of, each day!  It can be quite a journey.  And after receiving many explanations from various sources and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I realized just how simple it is, and that I had done it even when I was still living “in the world.”   

Shortly after my entrance into the monastery, I took up an informal challenge to “live in chapel” during my free time.  (Just as a quick explanation, praying in the chapel is the life and love of a religious, though we still have our jobs throughout the day of “keeping up the house” and supporting ourselves, as any family would.)  I would make an extra effort to be in His Presence physically, when I did not necessarily have to. 

But maybe you’re thinking the same thing I did…  Don’t you run out of things to talk to God about?  Well, there are different methods you can use.  You can pray for people, do your personal devotions, discern ways of loving God, meditate on Sacred Scripture… or you can just sit there.  It’s almost the same as unwinding from a busy day of constant movement.  Work, school, shopping, chores, social time.  You just need to stop and calm down and not think about it for awhile.  Wondering how I apply it in regards to my own lifestyle?  I take out from my mind that I just scrubbed a staircase, the mental plans I was making for what I would do after the Divine Office, what I will do with the fifteen minutes between meditation and supper… 

Let it all go away.

My novice mistress said to write down what needs to be done, and

           

                                                                         

then I just sit before Our Lord and Our Lady.  Nothing needs to be said.  That in itself can be hard to do, so I begin with a short phrase, having a direct awareness of His Presence and adoring Him. 

“I’m here, Jesus.  I’m here.”  Just breathe it in and let it wash over you.  Try it!  Give yourself five minutes before turning on the TV or texting a friend.  Jesus will appreciate it!  There might be distractions at first, but grace comes with the effort.  Sometimes it helps to get ideas from the prophets and the saints.  Since I started off with referring to Lent, let me conclude with some thoughts, if you choose to make this part of your Lenten resolution: don’t stop practicing it!  These forty days are a time to draw closer to God and being more prepared for an even more advanced, contemplative level.  Be open and let Him affect you!

There’s a story of how someone walked into a church and found a man gazing at the Most Blessed Sacrament.  When asked what he was telling Jesus, the man replied that he was saying  nothing.  “I look at Him and He looks at me.”  

Basking in God’s Presence

When I was growing up, I liked to sit outside during the early summer and bask in the sun.  It felt good, its warm rays shining down upon me and everything it can touch. There have been times after Office of Readings in the monastery, as we positioned ourselves 

“forward,” that the late morning sun would shine right on my face.  I wouldn’t be able to see, it was so bright.  With no way of avoiding it, I would “piously” close my eyes.  But this inconvenience soon turned into a prayer: Lord, radiate Your love ,Your graces upon me as this bright light is doing.  The question is: am I receptive to it?  It is a question worth pondering.

To be open to this radiating grace.  All I have to do is receive, receive, receive, and let Him respond, respond, respond through me.  His Presence.  His Love.  His graces.

With this availability comes trust and effort.  We let God work in us.  We are the people He uses.  He acts in us.  But we need to give Him permission.  I have learned to prefer Jesus’ will over that of my own, because it is so much better than anything I could have in mind!  He gave us a free will, and He is so gentle about offering His Plans to us.  Will I be open to it?  Can I be receptive, even though it may be the unexpected?  When an inspiration comes at prayer, an insight or a way to improve, I must use it- how dare I let it bounce off, unappreciated and denied? 

Like I’ve already shared, it can also offer a lot of insight for contemplation.  I recently realized that the beginning of the Hail Mary relates to this.

                Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.

                Mary, the Lord is with you.  And you are with the Lord.  You are Present to one another.

God is always there.  Do I always make myself present to God, in everything I do, as He is always Present?

                Blessed are you among women.

No wonder Elizabeth thought Mary blessed, as her cousin is so receptive!  Mary is present to Christ, and now so completely that He is physically with her.  Yes, His incarnation was prophesized with a messianic purpose, but He chose her to be the channel of His enfolding as man.

                And blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus.

This places Him in the picture as the Promised One.  This Precious Child within Our Lady must be always adored.  It is good for us to address Christ in this prayer.

                Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.  Amen.

                Yes, we must ask for her prayers, to help us so we can be as receptive as she.

Three times a day, the community prays the Angelus to the ringing of bells.  Now I notice the meditation of each part as contemplation, and even my own response, to the Word being made flesh.  Like Mary, to receive, receive, receive.  If nothing “comes,” we can still be confident that Jesus is here with us.  Breathe Him in.  Soak in His Great Love like the rays of the sun.  He is here.  Bask in Him!

In the Presence of God... A Scratch Off the Surface

Mission: To encourage and catechize an ultimate relationship with God.