Recently one of our Polish sisters produced a short video, in which several of our younger sisters from different European countries share what, for them, is the joy of consecrated life. In various languages - with English subtitles - they share briefly on the joy of their relationship with Christ, contemplation, mission, relationships, community.
The Lord calls you by name and sustains you by the power and strength of his love. He makes known to you his Word and makes you more and more sensitive to his saving presence within you, in one another and in events. He asks you to live in communion with others, to be his Heart in this world.
And it occurred to me that this is a simple description of what it means to be RSCJ; and, in pretty much summing up what the people in the video are saying, it's a description of things that bring deep joy. They are words I could easily make my own. And so, were Ewa to appear, webcam in hand, I would tell her that the joy of consecrated life for me is the fact that...
The Lord calls me by name... Every day, personally, intimately, quietly, urgently, since forever
...and sustains me by the power and strength of his love... and his grace and steadfast fidelity
He makes known to me his Word... Jesus, Word made flesh, Love incarnate
...and makes me more and more sensitive to his saving presence within me, in others and in events...
He asks me to live in communion with others... in community, in my relationships, as part of a worldwide family
...to be his Heart in this world... to be his love, his tenderness, his openness and compassion; to be his Heart in a world aching for healing and peace...
Call... love... relationship... mission... and in all this lies deep joy...
Watching the video, I inevitably wondered what I would say if Ewa were to appear before me with her webcam and the question: what, for you, is the joy of consecrated life? What words would I use to sum up - succinctly and simply - the central joy, or even joys, of my life?
And then I remembered some words which form part of our perpetual profession ceremony. They were said to me when I made my vows in 2003 - but such a day is a rich, sumptuous, multi-layered feast, and a short paragraph or prayer can easily get buried. Thus it was only last month, during the profession ceremony I attended, that I was really struck by these words, said by the formation team as a prelude to calling by name each of those about to be professed...
The Lord calls you by name and sustains you by the power and strength of his love. He makes known to you his Word and makes you more and more sensitive to his saving presence within you, in one another and in events. He asks you to live in communion with others, to be his Heart in this world.
And it occurred to me that this is a simple description of what it means to be RSCJ; and, in pretty much summing up what the people in the video are saying, it's a description of things that bring deep joy. They are words I could easily make my own. And so, were Ewa to appear, webcam in hand, I would tell her that the joy of consecrated life for me is the fact that...
The Lord calls me by name... Every day, personally, intimately, quietly, urgently, since forever
...and sustains me by the power and strength of his love... and his grace and steadfast fidelity
He makes known to me his Word... Jesus, Word made flesh, Love incarnate
...and makes me more and more sensitive to his saving presence within me, in others and in events...
He asks me to live in communion with others... in community, in my relationships, as part of a worldwide family
...to be his Heart in this world... to be his love, his tenderness, his openness and compassion; to be his Heart in a world aching for healing and peace...
Call... love... relationship... mission... and in all this lies deep joy...
Comments
Post a Comment