On January 21st, we were blessed to be able to attend the Vigil Mass for the March for Life at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. It is estimated that 11,000 people were in attendance. The celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is always incredibly powerful, and it was especially moving to see all of the clergy, religious, and laity there. So many young people… we truly are the pro-life generation.

On January 22nd, we participated in the March for Life. It is a beautiful, peaceful march through our nation’s capital to celebrate the gift of life, and to show our solidarity in defending all human life, from conception to natural death. Hundreds of thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds walked together, some singing, some dancing, some praying, some chanting, some in reflective silence… but all moving as One. So many witnesses, including courageous mothers and fathers who had lost children to abortion. May we strive to build a culture of life everywhere that we go. “Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love” – Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

A letter to our Heavenly Father

My Beloved,

What is love? What is man that You keep him in mind, mortal man that You care for him? Who am I to have acquired Your Eucharistic Love? To have acquired You? I am seeking You. I am not far from You because of You; because of Your gifts to me: to mankind. It is by You alone that I know You are Good; that I am, in my essence, good. That You are Love, and that I can love. Love is a choice. May I always choose to love You and Your creation. May I always choose You. May I always choose Love.

I love You. Please help me to discern Your Will for me, and please accomplish it in me.

Love,
April Marie

Praised be Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, now and forever!

As we begin the new year, many of us may have special goals for ourselves. A new year is exciting because it gives us a fresh opportunity to better ourselves in some way. I would like to present to you a daily goal for the new year: to be transformed by Love!

If you are reading this blog, I think it is safe to assume that you have some vested interest in the condition of your soul. This is typically not something our worldly culture encourages us to think about, so it is really our choice (because God has given us all free will) to desire eternal life with God. This desire is really important for the spiritual journey. If you desire to become a saint, then God will make it happen….if you let Him. That is the real struggle.

In order for God to make you holy, you have to be open to receive His love. In Scripture, we read over and over again that God is love. What does this mean? St. John says in his first letter:

We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love. We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:16-19)
God created each of us in His image and likeness. Because He is love, we were created out of love. St. John, the Beloved Disciple, knew the heart of Jesus very well and he was open to receiving this special love from Jesus. It was John who stayed with Jesus at the foot of the cross with Mary when all the other disciples ran and hid. St. John ran faster than St. Peter to the tomb after he heard that Jesus was risen. St. John was transformed by Love.

We are all called to this same intimate relationship that St. John and Jesus shared, but many of us find this very difficult to accept. In order to be transformed and share in this authentic relationship with God, we need to be vulnerable. This means we have to share and surrender our pains, sufferings, joys, and who we truly are with God! This is not easy and it is often very painful.

You may be thinking, “St. John had it easy because Jesus was really there with him! He got to actually lean on Jesus’ Sacred Heart and be with Him.” Well, if this is your line of thinking, then I have some very good news: Jesus IS still with us everyday, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist.
My community is very privileged to have Eucharistic Exposition everyday as a part of our lives. Just by truly being present with our Eucharistic Lord, our hearts are being transformed by His Love. A very special spiritual father of mine once told me that, “prayer is simply heart speaking to Heart.” That is what we do and this is something everyone is called to do! Remember, if you have the desire to be transformed, God will respond. Even if our hearts are just a little bit open, He can work miracles. It was Jesus who said that if we had faith the size of a mustard seed, we could move mountains (Matthew 17:20).

Allow Jesus to transform you with His love in the Eucharist. Become like St. John and lean on the heart of the Beloved, and He will make you one of His saints.

United in the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus,
Katie McCloskey, Postulant

Liturgically, December 28th is the feast of the Holy Innocents–remembering all the infant boys two and under who were murdered under King Herod’s command. We remember the first martyrs of the Church, who unknowingly witnessed to the faith in Christ unto death. Children are beautifully pure and innocent–they speak what is on their minds, they seemingly have no concept of who is watching as they express how they are feeling at any time of the day, but they also play with you and warm your soul with smiles and hugs and sheer joy. In Mexico, this day is remembered for the innocence of children in that playful characteristic. Similar to our April 1st day tradition, the Mexican culture plays pranks on this day to always remember our call to be childlike. The Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament were founded in Mexico, thereby our sisters here in Cleveland continued the tradition and enjoyed this day at the expense of the pride of one said postulant (all in good fun).

The details aren’t as important here about how said prank happened (see below if interested in the whole story), but what is essential to notice is the humanity found within the person of a Religious and one seeking such a state in life. We are human, and enjoy a good
laugh as much as anyone. God longs to give us the desire of our hearts–which, at the root, is the same no matter what vocation you may be called to; holiness and happiness. He wants all of us to be happy; and loving jokes between sisters are just one of the many ways we can live out this holiness and happiness.

Yet humanity knows that not every day can be so innocent and carefree, with the world exists hardships and pain–with a purpose though. In the midst of these trials, we are drawn to cling more tightly to someone who understands our weakness. Christ best empathizes with our crosses for He models that when we fall, we get back up and persevere. We are never alone on this journey but are supported physically at times and at other times spiritually through another’s prayers. These crosses do not define or conquer us, but rather help us to recognize our great need for a Savior and His ceaseless Mercy.

My joy stems from the depth of a heart united to my Lord who took on flesh in order to redeem my sins through a death He didn’t deserve. I can be nothing but grateful for this endless grace of mercy–“Only when I discover [God] loves me in spite of all my infidelities, when I really discover the mercy of God to me, only then shall I discover the true, compassionate face of Jesus: only then shall I discover that I was a captive, I was the oppressed. He comes to break the yoke (Jean Vanier).”

My dear brothers and sisters, I beg you during this Jubilee Year of Mercy to CELEBRATE as we approach the end of the Christmas season and begin Ordinary Time. There is nothing ‘ordinary’ about everyday waking up with the intention to be charitable to those you encounter. There is nothing ‘ordinary’ about boldly standing up against an injustice at your work. There is nothing ‘ordinary’ about choosing to give of your time to those in need. And these ‘ordinary’ tasks of daily life are how we are called to live as children of God. May we rejoice like children in the little moments of each day where we encounter the hidden Christ. Hardships may come but I promise you they will also go. Thirst for the more that is found in the manger, in the Monstrance, on the cross. It is there, my friends, where we are free to climb into the arms of our Savior, as a little child in need, and smile, because we are safe! United on the Altar of Sacrifice, I’ll see you in the Eucharist.

Prank Story:
The sisters have come to realize that I know a lot of people all over the world–thanks be to God for beautiful friendships. When I returned on December 28th from one of our usual afternoon walks to the lake, I was told by our Superior that my sister had taken a message for me and it was urgent, so I was given permission to call them back. I anxiously received the note with an area code I was unfamiliar with (that is not unusual for me), so I randomly called ‘mystery number’ back.

To my dissatisfaction, the voicemail was a generic recording, ‘you have reached this 7-digit number…’. I proceeded to explain who I was, I had received this message to call back urgently, and left the best times to reach me in which our schedule would not conflict (again, anyone who knows me can attest to my thorough messages). I looked up where the area code was from to help me try and figure out who was calling and recognized that I knew someone who lives in the area of the number.

I did worry (I know, what good does it do Marianne to worry), but then I brought the people to prayer. God saved me from an extra dose of humility by keeping my prayer silent instead of vocalizing it at Vespers. The phone rang as dinner was beginning and the sister who answered asked if I could have permission to take it immediately, which I was granted. I went into the community room excited to solve the mystery when a women’s voice I did not recognize came through on the other end. My brain began to think of every person I knew or knew that I was entering, but no voice was connecting with a name. The conversation got awkward as I began apologizing for not knowing whom I was speaking to even though she explained how she has seen my picture on Facebook; I was clueless, wanting to rejoin my community at dinner and hoping to offer more time to figure out who I was talking to–I should have known by now something was up. I politely inquired if I could call her back later when I hear an echo down the hallway in her response saying, ‘no, I’ll be busy the rest of the night’. One of our sisters was on her cell phone (from when she lived in one of our other houses in the states), laughing. They got me so good! I walk back into dinner where my other sisters in initial formation has been told about the prank and we just all laughed and shared in the joy of each other. Thanks be to God for the humanity that is found within the convent!