Following Jesus
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| Sister Charitas renews her vows for the 50th time! |
In today’s Gospel, our Lord seems to be about throwing cold
water on the enthusiasm of the crowd following Him. He turns around and says that if anyone does
not hate every member of his loved family and even his very self, he cannot be
the disciple of the Christ! That must
have stopped at least some of the people dead in their tracks! We too must pause and reflect on what this
saying means for us.
As with many of Jesus’ words, this one too contains a
paradox which is not be immediately apparent.
The lived experience of cloistered Poor Clares may be of help to
understanding how “hatred” can be reconciled with love. When each of us left our homes to follow the
Lord’s call into the strict enclosure, it seemed to many of our loved ones that
we indeed loved them no longer. Does not
voluntary separation and abandonment imply aversion, neglect and even
hatred? Yes, except when it is done for the love of God! When one chooses, or better, when one is
chosen, to abandon all other loves for the sake of Divine Love, then it is that
the paradox is manifested. God is Love,
and all our love relationships have their origin and end in Him. Putting God in the first place, which is His
proper place, and everyone else second, makes us more loving, not less. Our
natural, human loves are freed from the possessiveness, controlling
manipulation, dependency and suffocating need that so often poisons and ruins
our relationships. God Himself, is the
fulfillment of our every need, so now in His abundance we overflow with generous,
self-giving love. We and our family
members can testify that far from separating us, the cloister actually unites
us in a deeper and more fruitful bond.
As we begin September, we look forward to celebrating the
willingness of our Sisters to embrace the Cross and so become transforming
instruments of God’s mercy to the world.
Sister Veronica Mary will pronounce her First Vows on the 17th
and Sister Mary Joyce will renew hers for the twenty-fifth time on the 29th. We have posted on YouTube a video remembrance
of Sister Charitas’ golden jubilee celebration that took place earlier this
year. This video is also a celebration
of her life with some very endearing family photos of her early past! Please
view and enjoy! Sister Charitas Golden Jubilee
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