On Friday we went to see "In the Heights" on Broadway! The productions was a humbling reminder of how important these two things are - PATIENCE and FAITH.
PATIENCE
It hard for me to remember to wait. I'd imagine that you might struggle, too, so we're in this together! It's important to be active in our lives, but so often, there's an element that we cannot control about what happens in our life: timing! Sr. Grace always says that, "Everything happens on God's time and God is ALWAYS on time." That's hard to remember when we're working and not seeing results. It's especially hard for me in times of frustration and uncertainty. We're all challenged to grow and move forward. It's easy to think that should have happened...yesterday. Tonight was the reminder that it's not about my schedule, or even yours. It's about His! How can we wait?...with faith!
FAITH
Faith is an essential element in having the patience to wait for God's timing....it's a willingness to believe and really trust that God will be and do all that we need as it fits into the bigger picture. That's probably even harder than waiting! But together they give us the strength to continue. We receive the strength to be active and move forward based on the promptings of our heart. We receive the courage to be, knowing nothing more than that we feel what we are doing is of God.
My prayer is, then, as we enter into the Advent season, that we be ever mindful of the need for patience and faith in our lives, as we await the birth of Jesus, and as we continue to try answer God's call in our lives as Mary and Joseph did!
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
JOY!!!
"I rejoice and share my joy with all of you.
In the same way you also should rejoice and share your joy with me."
Yes!! In Paul's letter to the Philippians, read in the Church today, we hear the reminder to SHARE JOY!!! I LOVE THAT! :) Don't you?
Last night I met with the Medical Missionaries of Mary. In their communtiy, there was such a sense of joy! I had dinner with 5 of their sisters, and when their postulant came home, again, LOTS OF JOY! :) She had missed dinner because of class, so they gave me the opportunity to talk to her on my own. We were talking about the components of peace and joy in discernment. She definitely, after discerning between a draw to two communities, that this is the one, with which she felt both joy and peace. Peace is good, but without joy, we begin to lose part of who we are!
So, joy....do I still have it? I sure hope so. Please tell me if you don't see it! When I came to Cabrini last year, I learned that joy and peace were key to my own discernment. When I applied to come here, despite many unknowns, I felt, through the Holy Spirit abounding joy and peace. Does that mean that the year was ALL joyful and ALWAYS peaceful? No, but in difficult times I had to go back to the beginning, to be mindful of why and how I came here. I need to remember how enthused I was to be part of the Cabrini Mission with Crys, Mish and the sisters. I had to go back to how alive I felt when I first read Mother Cabrini's story. That, with prayer and support of my community helped me through my first mission year.
Now, I've entered a new time of discernment, and though there are challenges, I need to remember what it was that made me think that I was doing the right thing. Knowing that I have been called to this mission in some capacity; that through prayer, I really felt that this is where I am supposed to be. That I became so excited at the idea of, and ready to begin, the process of a growing commitment that I asked for an application. Though I was excited, my family and friends, the sisters...that didn't mean that along the way it would always be joyful and peaceful, but I can go back to how much I've felt a constant balance of affirmation and challenge along the way. Talking to other communities has really helped to facilitate that, especially in the last month. At Maryknoll, first it was a little unsettling...the thought of, "Is this really for me?" Taking it to prayer, to community, I've thought, "I think so." :) Heading to second community, I was nervous. Am I going to leave thinking the same thing? No!
After my conversation with MMM's postulant, I was very grateful. She, like a spiritual director, asked me a lot of questions that I needed to process and answer out loud to know if I am in the right space. And I think that I am. Talking about my year last year, with the 19th Annotation of the Exercises, the sisters, and missioners, I was reminded of how much JOY was exuded last year. Sometimes when I'm stressed or confused, that goes away, but I hope that the majority of the time I share my joy. I hope!
Joy is so beautiful and so powerful. Joy, along with Love and Peace, is among the fruits of the Holy Spirit!! I hope, in the the time to come...as I move forward, to be mindful of those fruits. It's a pretty good diet to be on, don't you think?!
Happy Wednesday!
Galations 5:18-25
Brothers and sisters:
If you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are obvious:
immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry,
sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy,
outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness,
dissensions, factions, occasions of envy,
drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.
I warn you, as I warned you before,
that those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Against such there is no law.
Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh
with its passions and desires.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.
Amen? AMEN!
In the same way you also should rejoice and share your joy with me."
Yes!! In Paul's letter to the Philippians, read in the Church today, we hear the reminder to SHARE JOY!!! I LOVE THAT! :) Don't you?
Last night I met with the Medical Missionaries of Mary. In their communtiy, there was such a sense of joy! I had dinner with 5 of their sisters, and when their postulant came home, again, LOTS OF JOY! :) She had missed dinner because of class, so they gave me the opportunity to talk to her on my own. We were talking about the components of peace and joy in discernment. She definitely, after discerning between a draw to two communities, that this is the one, with which she felt both joy and peace. Peace is good, but without joy, we begin to lose part of who we are!
So, joy....do I still have it? I sure hope so. Please tell me if you don't see it! When I came to Cabrini last year, I learned that joy and peace were key to my own discernment. When I applied to come here, despite many unknowns, I felt, through the Holy Spirit abounding joy and peace. Does that mean that the year was ALL joyful and ALWAYS peaceful? No, but in difficult times I had to go back to the beginning, to be mindful of why and how I came here. I need to remember how enthused I was to be part of the Cabrini Mission with Crys, Mish and the sisters. I had to go back to how alive I felt when I first read Mother Cabrini's story. That, with prayer and support of my community helped me through my first mission year.
Now, I've entered a new time of discernment, and though there are challenges, I need to remember what it was that made me think that I was doing the right thing. Knowing that I have been called to this mission in some capacity; that through prayer, I really felt that this is where I am supposed to be. That I became so excited at the idea of, and ready to begin, the process of a growing commitment that I asked for an application. Though I was excited, my family and friends, the sisters...that didn't mean that along the way it would always be joyful and peaceful, but I can go back to how much I've felt a constant balance of affirmation and challenge along the way. Talking to other communities has really helped to facilitate that, especially in the last month. At Maryknoll, first it was a little unsettling...the thought of, "Is this really for me?" Taking it to prayer, to community, I've thought, "I think so." :) Heading to second community, I was nervous. Am I going to leave thinking the same thing? No!
After my conversation with MMM's postulant, I was very grateful. She, like a spiritual director, asked me a lot of questions that I needed to process and answer out loud to know if I am in the right space. And I think that I am. Talking about my year last year, with the 19th Annotation of the Exercises, the sisters, and missioners, I was reminded of how much JOY was exuded last year. Sometimes when I'm stressed or confused, that goes away, but I hope that the majority of the time I share my joy. I hope!
Joy is so beautiful and so powerful. Joy, along with Love and Peace, is among the fruits of the Holy Spirit!! I hope, in the the time to come...as I move forward, to be mindful of those fruits. It's a pretty good diet to be on, don't you think?!
Happy Wednesday!
Galations 5:18-25
Brothers and sisters:
If you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are obvious:
immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry,
sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy,
outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness,
dissensions, factions, occasions of envy,
drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.
I warn you, as I warned you before,
that those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Against such there is no law.
Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh
with its passions and desires.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.
Amen? AMEN!
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