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An Open Heart

Pope Benedict XVI

“The love of God sometimes follows paths one could never have imagined, but it always reaches those who are willing to be found.” These words of Pope Benedict XVI for the 50th World Day of Prayer for Vocations reveal that a vocation is a gift so great that it often reaches beyond our ordinary, self-made plans—a gift that requires an open heart in order to be received. Here Pope Benedict explains what is means to experience the beauty and fullness of a life with Christ:

“[Jesus] lives now among the community of disciples that is the Church, and still today calls people to follow him. The call can come at any moment. Today too, Jesus continues to say, ‘Come, follow me’ (Mk 10:21). Accepting his invitation means no longer choosing our own path.

Following him means immersing our own will in the will of Jesus, truly giving him priority, giving him pride of place in every area of our lives: in the family, at work, in our personal interests, in ourselves. It means handing over our very lives to Him, living in profound intimacy with Him, entering through Him into communion with the Father in the Holy Spirit, and consequently with our brothers and sisters. This communion of life with Jesus is the privileged “setting” in which we can experience hope and in which life will be full and free.”

Led By the Spirit

In this college commencement season, young people are searching for a direction in life, looking for the next step. The possibilites seem endless, and yet, we often feel that there must be a “right path”. There is something deep within us that wants to believe there is a unique place in the world and a special role that only one person can fulfill. Is this just wishful thinking?

St. John Paul II was a strong believer in the “uniqueness and unrepeatability” of each human person. He knew that every soul was made by God to glorify him in a particular way. If we think there is a specific path for us, we are right! But while the thought of fulfilling an unrepeatable vocation might be exhilirating, it could also be anxiety provoking. “What if I miss it? What if I mess it up?”

The good news is this: God is always in control. Our part is only to follow his lead!  As St. Paul says, “All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Rom 8:14).  He leads us when we have a good intention and a seeking heart, even if it may be misguided.  After all, look at St. Augustine! He was often off the right track, but God was leading him nonetheless—even through the twists and turns—knowing that someday he would be a great saint. Therefore, we can listen to the words of St. John Paul in his message to the youth of Cordoba, Argentina: “Pray insistently to receive the needed clarity … then reply with a joyful yes!”

On the Road!

Jesus Appears at Emmaus, Gustave Dore (1880)

The Gospel of Jesus on the Road to Emmaus from this last Sunday, the Third Sunday of Easter, is a keystone text for the Easter season. As I was thinking about this gospel, the words “on the road” seemed to be a reminder of the that famous Jack Kerouac novel of the same name. Kerouac’s involvement in the counter-cultural beat generation, while at the same time being a Catholic layman, seemed to be an interesting and unusual mix. Well perhaps it is, but there may be something to glean from his experience.

As the disciples were walking on the road with Jesus, they exclaimed to him, “Are you the only one in Jerusalem who has not heard of all that has happened?” (Lk 24:18). In a word, they say to Jesus, “Are you not like everyone else?” And who is that “everyone else”? Perhaps they are those who, like the two disciples, have lost hope. As Jesus opens the scriptures to them, he reveals a fresh way of thinking—a way that is unlike the social norm.

Belief in Christ and the miracle of his resurrection runs contrary to the hopeless tendency of human nature. A Christian life stands in the way of Godless pessimism, as a light that shines in a dark place. Jesus’ message—the message of the Gospel—is at its core a counter-cultural one, because it gives supernatural hope to an unbelieving world.  Believe in me, says Christ, and your hearts will be set ablaze!

Breaking of Bread

On this Third Sunday of Easter, the Gospel reading of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus struck me in different way: the disciples did not understand that they were talking with Jesus himself. This is not unusual in the Gospels, for throughout the accounts of the Resurrection Jesus is not immediately recognized. But today’s passage says that Jesus “was made known to them in the breaking of bread” (Luke 24:35). Bread: he himself was broken as bread to be given to us. This is why St. Paul can later write: “You are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Cor. 12:27). Jesus wants us to recognize him in his body, that is, in one another. This brought me to consider the reality of the monastery.

As Benedictine nuns, we live in community, the form of monastic life called cenobitic. A monk or nun “lives under a rule and an Abbot” (RB 1:1), and this call to be cenobites is rooted precisely in the belief that it is through and in the other that we meet Jesus.

Every day, I must look to each of my sisters, as well as the guests, in order to recognize Jesus. The goal of all Christians is union with God, and as a Benedictine, this union with God, this recognition of him, is found through our life in community.

May Our Risen Lord help us all to recognize him in his other members!

Signs of Spring, Signs of God

Signs of spring are emerging, bringing with them a sense of all that we’ve just experienced in the liturgy: Resurrection! All the plants and trees that once experienced diminishment and death are now rising up again by a seemingly invisible power. And what is this power? Well, some would say it is simply the presence of a gene within the plant, telling it to begin growing when the conditions are right—the warming soil, adequate moisture and brighter sunlight. Others would say it is simply the miracle of God, our creator, who by his will makes the plant life bud forth each year.

Are these apparently opposing statements mutually exclusive? Not in the least. As the Psalmist rightly says in Psalm 104: “You make the grass grow for the cattle, and plants to serve mankind’s need….” and again in Psalm 147: “He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills.” Faith reveals that God governs all life on earth, down to the smallest gene, atom and particle; indeed, he manifests his will and his glory by means of the miracles of science.

And so, all of creation can rise up and praise God simply by being what it is: the bright red poppy, the humble dandelion, the hawk soaring above the trees and the worm tilling the soil. Each process of natural science, seen and unseen, hidden or observed, is a work of God. Every morning at Lauds we monks and nuns are blessed to reflect this truth in our own prayer of praise. “Praise the Lord from the earth … you mountains and all hills … fruit trees and all cedars … young men and women, old men and children…. Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!” (Psalm 148-150).

Divine Mercy Sunday

Today is a wonderful feast of the Church, as we praise and thank God for his eternal mercy upon the whole world. For us at St. Scholastica Priory, this day has extra significance because we also celebrate the feast day of one of our sisters. (Here at the monastery we celebrate the feast of our namesake rather than our birthdays.) It is our custom to decorate the sister’s place at table, prepare her favorite meal, and leave cards at her door with offerings of prayers.

It’s a wonderful reminder that we belong to God, as we praise him for his gift of the sister whose feast day it is: for her vocation, for her generous response to God, and for the life of prayer and service that she leads every single day. So that is what we are doing today for our sister: thanking God for her and storming heaven on her behalf!

Happy feast to you all! May God pour his mercy on us and the whole world!

Divine Mercy

As we rejoice in the first days of Eastertide with all its gladness and joy, we simultaneously find ourselves in the midst of the Divine Mercy Novena: nine days leading up to Divine Mercy Sunday, the Second Sunday of Easter. This is a time to reflect on how the Resurrection bears the message of God’s mercy in the fullest possible way, a time to understand more deeply that “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!” (Romans 5: 8-10). Mercy is far more than a pious word, a pleasing concept; it is the very life that sustains us.

Perhaps we could say that mercy is love in its highest, purest form. Mercy is God’s forgetfulness of sin, his refusal to allow any obstacle to obstruct his deep desire to be with us. Mercy is an all-powerful cleanser, dissolving every stain that is not of God. Mercy is transformative, for it is his tool to perfect the divine image in every soul that receives him. Mercy is God’s constant repetition of his words of Scripture: “I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you” (Isaiah 44:22). Return to me, dwell with me, abide with me!

May this upcoming Feast of Divine Mercy bring God’s deepest peace into our souls, as we trust in his promise to save us. May we  believe in the power of mercy, the mercy that will carry us to heaven.

Joy, Cross, Young People!

Palm Sunday is the day we remember who we are called to follow, who directs our path, who our King is. So we sing, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” recognizing the Kingship of Jesus. Reminding ourselves and telling him that he is the one we follow. Thy will be done! Pope Francis in a homily on this day in 2013, which was also World Youth Day, emphasizes three words: joy, cross, young people. The joy of being called to accompany Jesus, the cross of our salvation, and a call that will always keep our hearts young. He says:

Dear young people! With Christ, the heart never grows old! Yet all of us, all of you know very well that the King whom we follow and who accompanies us is very special: he is a King who loves even to the Cross and who teaches us to serve and to love. And you are not ashamed of his Cross! On the contrary, you embrace it, because you have understood that it is in giving ourselves, in giving ourselves, in emerging from ourselves that we have true joy and that, with his love, God conquered evil.”  Here is a link to the entire homily.

As we begin Holy Week, the Pope reminds us of what we are called to be. This is the week in which Jesus most emphatically teaches us who to love and serve. The Holy Father ends, “Let us ask the intercession of the Virgin Mary. She teaches us the joy of meeting Christ, the love with which we must look to the foot of the Cross, the enthusiasm of the young heart with which we must follow him during this Holy Week and throughout our lives. May it be so.” For all of us.

Our Lady’s “Yes”

This past weekend at St. Scholastica Priory was an eventful and exciting one. Vivian Webster entered our community on the Feast of the Annunciation (which was also Sr. Mary Angela’s feast day)! Vivian donned her blacks and whites to join the Benedictine ranks, “trusting in the Lord’s help” (Rule of St. Benedict 68:5) to begin her new and beautiful way of life. The next day, Laetare Sunday, was therefore all the more joyful, and we were doubly blessed with the presence of our postulant-to-be, Elena, and her family from New Hampshire. It was a lovely day to share stories over coffee and dessert—even as our dog Chaeli kept trying to steal the homemade cheese!

The Annunciation is a hallmark feast for those who are discerning a vocation, and also for those who seek to respond more fully to the call they have received. “Be it done unto me according to Thy word,” says Our Lady—the young woman who answered God’s invitation with a resounding yes. May we also accept God’s will for our lives with a heart as open, as humble and as generous as hers.

Citizens of Heaven

Christ and the Woman of Samaria, Anton Laurids Johannes Dorph (1831-1914)

Recently, the Gospel of the Woman at the Well was presented to us in the liturgy, a gospel that reminds us of how truly cross-cultural Jesus was.  During his public ministry, Our Lord was always breaking down cultural barriers, tearing apart the stereotypes that so often define our perception of others.  Here was a woman who was filled with her own “cultural limitations”: she saw Jesus initially only as a Jew and herself as a Samaritan woman, which implied all sorts of presuppositions of how they should act, how they should or should not interact (cf. John 4:9). Again and again, Jesus transcends these cultural implications, raising humanity above societal norms and expectations.

In the modern age, with instant global communication, cultural awareness has increased exponentially.  It is a beautiful thing to become aware of the richness of the various traditions within nationalities, and Christ himself was born into a culturally rich environment.  His incarnation sanctified culture, while simultaneously transcending it—calling all to something greater than the what the cultures of earth dictate.  Jesus elevates our ways of thinking to show us that culture is useful only to the extent that it draws us closer to God and thereby one another. He helps us to see that we are not defined primarily by what country or region we’re from or what heritage we have, but that we find our true identity in God, our divine heritage.  Indeed,  he calls us let go of cultural divisions in order to enter into something far greater: to become citizens of heaven.