The Sea Shore

I, received a vision from the Lord of the spiritual journey. I was brought to the shore of a vast ocean. Its waters were unlike those I had ever seen before. Its waters were so still that overwhelming silence
pierced through the air. Towards the horizon, I could see the sun begin its ascent into the clear sky.
Vibrant colors of purple, orange, and teal flooded the sky. The waters began to glisten as the sun rose. It glistened like millions of diamonds, pure crystals, and brilliant sapphires and rubies. Their reflection of the rising sun blinded me so sharply that even when I closed my eyes, the memory of them was still as vivid as when I had had my eyes open. As I peered off towards the distance, I could see an immense mountain of gold leading towards some far off land. I felt within me a deep yearning to climb the mountain and to follow the path towards the land I could not see. But there was an ocean between me and the mountain that I could not cross. I began to cry as my soul groaned within me. As my tears fell into the water, they began to disturb the stillness, making the water move and ripple. Suddenly, a small boat appeared from the misty horizon. It floated directly towards me and stopped on the shore in front of me. It was big enough for me alone and just as it had appeared on its own, so did it take me on its own towards the golden mountain.

This is part one of a seven part project. For the full story click here

V.J.E

Greetings friends!
I want to share about a special day that happened back in January. It was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and that morning the Novice Mistress, Mother Jeanette Marie, received a mysterious phone call in which she had the biggest smile on her face. A few moments later, the doorbell rings, and she asked one of us sisters in formation to answer the door (which is strange because usually if she is near the door, she answers it). I approach the door and to my surprise I see the head of a very tall man through the window. It was my close friend (and a friend of the community), Daniel! I shouted at the top of my lungs as I opened the door. Of course, everyone came to see why I was screaming in excitement, and they soon joined in the loud greeting! If the day couldn’t get any better, our mutual friend Claude (who is a teacher at our school Our Lady of Mount Carmel) had already planned to come over to the convent that day to record a song with the novices and postulants, so you can only guess how shocked Claude was when he arrived to find his friend Daniel sitting on the couch in the convent community room! That day of surprises was filled and received with great joy! It was a gift to spend time with my brothers in Christ.

That special day was a wonderful surprise, but sometimes surprises aren’t so wonderful. For example, I am learning that one of the less wonderful surprises in the convent is when “my time” is taken away because of unexpected occurrences and circumstances. But all surprises are given by God. God gave me the surprise of my friend Daniel coming, but He also gave me the surprise of taking me away from “my time” of doing what “I want.” All surprises require a response to the grace present in the moment. With Daniel’s surprise, I accepted it with great joy, but with the surprise of “my time” taken away, I tend to reject it with sore and stubborn pride. But this is not my time to take but rather to give totally to God and to serve my community.

God tends to surprise us the more we follow Him. They come in all sorts of sizes: big, small, occasional, and/or daily. Sometimes we like the surprises. Other times we don’t appreciate a particular surprise of grace and just want to immediately reject it, complain, and have a grumpy face about it. How easily do we forget that whatever the Lord gives is meant to bring us closer in relationship with Him? We must not take for granted the delightful surprises nor must we be closed off to the unpleasant ones. Rather, we must respond to God’s grace in all surprises with great faith, hope, and praise. We must totally trust Him and choose Him.

As we begin this season of Lent, many surprises will come our way. Let us cling to Our Mother, Mary, who accepted the biggest surprise of human history. May she teach us to respond to God’s grace in union with His will. Mary, Holy Mother of God, teach us to receive the grace of God with humility and charity. Most Holy Trinity, give us a pure heart of love.

God of surprises, have mercy on us.
Our Lady of Mercy, pray for us.

“Accept whatever He gives, and give whatever He takes with a big smile. You belong to Him. Tell Him, I am Yours, and if You cut me to pieces, every single piece will be only all Yours.” (Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta)

Side note: Here is the link to the song we covered with Claude David! Take a listen! 🙂 Good Good Father

V.J.E

Dear friends,

I would like to share what came to my mind as I read the readings for this upcoming Sunday, January 24th. Specifically, my attention was drawn to the first reading, which is from Nehemiah 8:4-10. Please join me in reading this passage of Holy Scripture before continuing, and I encourage you to see what the Lord inspires you to reflect on. You can even write it down, as I did. Share it. Here is what I could capture with my pen:

The call to be a teacher is a great one, for every life is a lesson to be taught; every life a lesson to be learned. Every person from the moment of conception has a message to teach, a prophetic cry to be heard! But, how often are we deaf to this cry? How often do we clasp our hands over our ears to avoid even hearing it? Our world cries out to us, our brothers and sisters scream out to us, and often times, in very hidden, even silent ways. We must pray to learn to perceive these cries for help and deliverance. And, what must our response be? Love – a love based on the Eternal Word, in His speech and in His action, in His voice and in His flesh. How can we convey this Word?

Firstly, by learning how to be teachable; to become teachable. We must always see ourselves as students, ready and eager to learn from the “least” of our brothers and sisters. Secondly, we must take what little we know of Truth and make it accessible to all, as it is. Jesus was not a contortionist. He did not seek to slip into different molds in order to fit into what was socially acceptable or what would’ve been “nice” for His audience. As a great teacher taught me, there is a difference between what is “good” and what is “nice”. Jesus was who He was, and He was at peace with that. Still is. Truth is. On the other hand, we cannot forget that Jesus was and is the most sensitive of men, “a man full of sorrows” (Isaiah 53:3b). No man ever knew man’s needs as well as Jesus. He did not water down His message; instead, He brought all people to the source of it, the well-spring of life, by meeting them where they were and calling them to greatness. We must pray to imitate Jesus in this way – to learn how to proclaim the Eternal Word in all that we say and do. And, when it is time for us to teach, let us fight any temptation to see ourselves as above the listener. We are only handing on what we have received, and how much of a mess we can make of that! Rather, let us see ourselves as lifting up the other, the one who is indeed on the same plane as us by virtue of his or her human dignity, to contemplate the Face of God.

It is only by first seeing ourselves in the proper perspective that we can truly begin to do good. It is only by learning how to listen to the voice of the Lord that we can begin to decipher the voices of our brothers and sisters, and it is only by learning from our brothers and sisters that we can begin to hear the voice of God. Jesus, the greatest of teachers, was the greatest of students. Let us remember too that “no disciple is greater than his master” (Matt 10:24a).

St. Philip Neri, blessed teacher and student of Divine Love, pray for us.

In His Love,
Sr. April Marie
Novice