Anniversary of Vows

Years ago, on August 29 I made my first vows as a Sisters of Divine Providence. Five years later on the same date, I made my final vows. It has been quite a journey since then with many ups and downs and surprises. I have done things that I never thought I would do and accomplished things I did not know I was capable of doing. I have been places I never know I would go and found myself enriched and challenged in the process.

I am thanking God for all the good times and the struggles of my life and asking that I grow daily in the knowledge that God provides for me with tender love. I am also praying that I will love God more faithfully and deeply and that I will rejoice in knowing the nearness of God.

Blog reader, I ask you to pray with me today in gratitude and to ask God to bless us with more women who want to witness to God's providential care, to grow daily in trust of God and who desire to abandon themselves completely into God's loving hands.

Not Knowing

Today I reflected on the passage about being ready because you do not know the hour when the master will return. It seems threatening at first. But then, if the one who returns is Christ, then it is a time to await with joy. I tried to do that today.

Sometimes I look at all my failures and all the things I find difficult or at disappointments and interpret them as ways in which I am not good in God's sight. Or I think that they mean I am not as loved by God as I desire to be. It was so clear this morning that all these things are not measures of my love for God or God's love for me. Human success in work and relationships, while an important part of life, is not what life is about ultimately. Giving self to God and not placing the other things above that love is what life is for. I tried to rest for just a few minutes in the sense that God loves me even when I am experiencing disppointment or what seems to me to be failure. For a moment I was at peace with that.

I want to wait today for whatever way God desires to come into my life.

Comfort

I am still thinking about those titles of Mary. The past few days have had some serious disappointments and have been difficult. Today, everything seemed brighter and there were small things that made my day one of joy. The weather is cooler, my students remembered what we did in the last class, some faculty lingered over lunch. We shared about current events but laughed some, too. I talked with Sr. Leslie who is making final vows Saturday and agreed to entertain her little nieces while adults decorate a hall. All small things but comforting. So I am thinking of Mary as "Comforter of the afflicted." And I say, "Pray for us."

Little Things

I am amazed at how good the nice cool weather makes me feel today. I was thinking how nice it is and enjoying it when it dawned on me that "God provides" it. So I need to take time to be grateful.

Yesterday, the chaplain, in his homily, suggested we reflect on the various titles for Mary in the litany. I thought about "Virgin, Most Faithful" because I had a do list a mile long and was anxious about accomplishing it. The title reminded me that accomplishment might not be within my control but fidelity was. I labored all day, didn't finish, but recall that I was faithful.

Today I think I will focus on "Comforter of the Afflicted" because one of the sisters in my community has been at the hospital all day yesterday with her nephew who had brain surgery. I want to remember him and pray for him. So, Comforter of the Afflicted, care for Jamie today.

New Beginnings

Time to prepare for the openning of another year of teaching. I love to think of meeting all the new students. There is so much life on campus, so many faces, so much hope, so much energy. I love it and look forward to it. Preparing the syllabi is another issue. But it gets done. I pray for a year of grace.