God's mercy and the strength of the human spirit

September 1, 2011: The sad news about Hurricane Irene abounds here in the Eastern States. The good news is that the flood waters are receding.  Thousands of businesses have sustained considerable losses and are wondering how they will survive. Just as God witnessed the dire straits of the Israelites in Egypt and called upon someone to take up the task of leading them out of a destitute situation, so, too, God is sending persons to help. God cares as much today for persons devastated by nature’s fury as He cared for the Israelites oppressed by Pharaoh’s cruelty. God weeps, I believe, with those who weep and is stirring up the hearts of neighbors across the country to reach out in compassion to provide in whatever ways possible.

As we deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, today’s Scriptures are consoling. They tell the story of Peter being asked to cast his net into the deep. He objects, saying “Lord, we worked hard all night long and caught nothing,”  but if you say so, we will try again. People’s nets are not only empty, they are ripped apart by Hurricane Irene--that for which families worked hard all their life has been snatched from them .  What they “caught” over time is gone, swept away in the flood waters. “Try again! Start over, find another way”—“cast into the deep” are probably not happy thoughts right now! 

 In times of disasters like this one, the only thing most people have to cling to is their faith in a caring, merciful  God.  That was true of my parents, who, as farmers, often struggled to make ends. That was certainly true when bills piled up as cancer ravaged my mother’s life and stole it from her at age 50, leaving four elementary-grade children without a mom.  Hours before she died, my mother writes to me: “When I get out of here (Sacred Heart Hospital in Tomahawk, WI), I am going to get a job so we can make ends meet.” In the face of death itself, she did not give up hope. Many people whose livelihood has been destroyed by Hurricane Irene are saying:  “We will survive. We will find a way. It may be tough for a while but we will come out of this.”  What strength rises within the depth of one’s being, where the human spirit meets the Spirit and the power of God.  What inspiration people with faith and trust are to a world marred by tragedies.

Religious Life--the fabric of Christian life for all ages

Many individuals today believe that religious life is on the decline. Why, some people ask, to you continue to promote religious life? Are you not aging? Diminishing? The answer to  that first question is "yes"; we are aging. The answer to the second question is "No”!   Like Gideon in the Scriptures whom God asked to reduce his army, so, too, have the number of women and men religious been reduced for varuiys reasons--attrition, fewer individuals answering God's call, fewer families supporting the call.  As with Gideon, however, the power of God is the force that builds religious life and is truly evident in a few good men and women-- yes, ordinary women and men--doing extraordinary things in a variety of ministries. In many cases,  women religious are involved in more ministries than when first founded! Through the power of God's Spirit this form of serving the Lord will continue for many, many years to come. It's part of the fabric of Christian life--always has been and always will be, in my estimation.

The Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, with fewer members than in the early  and mid 1900's, are serving the poor in several countries: the USA, the Caribbean countries of St. Lucia, Grenada, Trinidad, and the Dominican Republic; in the European countries of Austria, Germany and Italy; in Brazil and in Tanzania.  Our mission in Tanzania opened as recently as 2006.  The Franciscan Institute staffed by our Sisters in the Caribbean was created in a 2001 brainstorming session with the Sisters in the Caribbean who were looking to establish a corporate ministry.  This mobile ministry serves St. Lucia, Grenada and Trinidad. We also run a secondary school (high school ) on the island of Grenada. Our ministries in the Dominican Republic include healthcare, community development and education.  In the US we began and continue to serve the needy in several healthcare institutions. Some of our Sisters work with Native Americans, Immigrants, prisoners, the mentally ill and those suffering from the disease of alcoholism and drug addictions.  Others work in education to elementary school children. Through the generosity of God's love, this community will continue as it began, through a call from God that a community be founded that would unite action and contemplation as a means to ongoing conversion and thus to being a catalyst of transformation of the world in which we live.  The essence of our lives is this relationship with the Lord and one another, thus growing in trust, in faith, in love and interior strength to serve and seek the Lord above all. Through all these efforts,  the refounding of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother continues on a daily basis!

Serving, being blessed, witnessing God's delight in His children

What a privilege to be a staff member of the 2011 Summer Bible School at St. Rose Modern Secondary School in Grenada.  Several incidents stand out that communicated God’s caring, compassionate love at work among the participants. First of all were the volunteer young people and Sisters  who  orchestrated the daily schedule as well as helped organize the breakout sessions: bible study, banner-making, Tai Chi Chih, Karate, Arts-and-Crafts, sport events, and dance.   A support staff provided meals for the students and the staff as well. The chefs went out of their way to provide delicious lunches.  Throughout the two-weeks, teachers were completing and/or preparing for next year’s regular classes.  The children participating in the summer school experience were eager to learn and excited about being a part of this experience.  I was deeply touched by being able to help students learn ways of dealing with anger that would not add fuel to volatile emotional atmospheres and that would bring them increased self-confidence in their ability to defuse anger. It was a delight to witness students take pride in learning songs that expressed their desire to deepen their God-experiences, in discovering their artistic creations and proudly sharing the Scriptures their group was given to memorize.  I certainly would say that the challenges/difficulties and disappointments we staff members encountered along the way in planning this event were overshadowed by the results of seeing children’s delight in the service provided. As a friend recently reminded me, God did not say it would be easy but God did say it would be worth it! I am proud of everyone who made this experience an memorable one!  I am proud to be a Sister of the Sorrowful Mother and to have joined my companion Sisters in the Caribbean  in their efforts to reach out in love to those in need.

Seeing God at work

This past week the three of us Sisters at Our Lady of Sorrows Convent hosted a retreatant from Grenada. She requested three days apart with the Lord and was truly blessed.  When I said "yes, I would direct her", I was nervous, as is a teacher on the first day of school. Directing a retreatant is an awesome task, as it requires faith in the Holy Spirit directing the retreatant and in the Spirit guiding the director.  The retreatant was overwhelmed by how God worked in her life during the three-day experience. Needless to say, so was I, her retreat director.  Each day I met with her for about an hour, listened to how God spoke to her in the assigned Scriptures and in the solitude of the day and then reassigned other passages for prayerful reflection. As always, I was awed by the power of the Spirit in the lives of those who are willing to set time aside just to focus on the Lord, to listen to His Word, and walk in the quiet of His presence throughout the day.  Truly, as Scripture says, "those who sow bountifully will reap bountifully."

Testing one's patience; growing in faith

As I reflect back on the past few weeks (July 19th-August 6), it was an amazingly challenging but rewarding time. On August 1, I returned home from a two-week bible school camp at St. Rose Modern Secondary School in Grenada--my energy was drained, especially after a return trip that started at 6 a.m. on Monday and ended at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, aug. 2nd.  The bible school, however,  was a wonderful experience of seeing God at work in the children we served, the team members, and the events of the day.  Each day, following morning praise, a presentation on a chosen saint and on a value demonstrated by that saint,  the students reflected upon, discussed, and dramatized bible stories. In the afternoon, the students had the choice of participating in arts and crafts, karate, dancing, banner making,  Tai Chi Chih, and tye dying of tee shirts. All students throughout the two-week period participated in skill building, learning to deal with anger and other feelings in ways that build self- esteem.  To witness the children's joy and to be a part of this joy is one of the rewards of religious life and part of what religious life is all about: service to those in need, sharing faith and growing in that faith.

The week back in the office included catching up on many things: answering mail from those inquiring about religious life, completing an overdue quarterly report on my ministry and filling out a budget for the year 2012 that included researching some budget items that seemed quite high. All turned out well, as I reminded myself that God is in charge of my life and that what really counts is that I serve the Lord and seek Him above all.

My patience was tried in many ways, as I returned home to a very dead battery on the car I use (someone used it in my absence and left the lights on)--it needed to be jumped twice. The last time I was gone, this same car was hit in the parking lot--I still need to get that issue resolved! Obviously, I didn't pass the first test on my patience. God had a second test ready for me when I took the car in for an oil change. I waited two hours for proper authorization from the company overseering maintenance of community cars, so this oil change, scheduled for 12:30 lasted until 4:45! That every one of our actions effects others was a reminder I was given when another sister reminded me that some of the things that were happening were beyond my control and that I need to maintain my cool. Obviously I had not done that very well.

As I took all of this to prayer this morning (Aug. 6th), I felt a great peace in the Lord and certainly needed to humble myself before Him, asking for forgiveness for my impatience and reminding myself again that I am to serve the Lord and seek Him above all else.

Seeking God's will

Concerned about your will being one with the will of God for you? Ask the Lord to tell you what His will is for you. When you know what God's will is--the Spirit is whispering the way to go, what to say or leave unsaid--ask for the grace to carry it out in the daily events of your life.

 

If you are seeking God's will concerning your vocation in life--the married state, the single vocation or religious life--ask for clarity. Once you know to which vocation in life you are being called--you have an inkling, a sense, a hunch--follow through. Contact a vocation director/s; browse web sites of religious communities. Discuss your desires with a vocation director and ask how to proceed.

 

Love God's will above all! Seek God's will above all! Do whatever needs to be done to carry out the will of God cheerfully, courageously. God will not fail you, even in the challenges of daily life in whichever vocation God has  placed you.

A call to live by faith

As I reflect on the news around us--local and world situations--my mind is challenged as a Christian. How do we renew a world that seems so far away from its Creator, a world that seems to have put other things first and set God on  a back burner, so to speak.  How do we recognize the Divine Presence in all that is and will be? My mind is preoccupied with the realization that a Holy, Powerful energy continues to bring order out of the chaos we have created in all aspects of human existence. We have a God who rights the wrongs we have committed against all of humanity and all of creation; a God who pardons all our ills, as Jesus pardoned His executioners and us from the Cross, when He said: "Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing."  My heart rejoices this Easter Season that the One who came into the world 2000+ years ago, and continues coming, did not and does not come to condemn the world but to save it. What a God we have in Jesus, in the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit! God be praised and served! And God, have mercy on us, for we know not what we are doing when we continue to spread violence and perpetuate wars at home or abroad, in foreign lands or in our city streets, with strangers or friends and family members and with the universe itself.  God, have mercy!