Simply Life snippets II

As some of you know, I'm one of about a dozen religious - female and male, apostolic and monastic, Anglican and Catholic - who have been tweeting photos of the joy and simplicity of our everyday lives, prayer and mission, using the hashtags #SimplyLife and #Choice4God. I shared a few highlights here several weeks ago, and now seems a good time to share a few more. (And if you're on Twitter, you can find many more posts, from all of us)

We'll begin with something playful... A couple of weeks ago work took me to a school which had been founded many years ago by a community of nuns. I was taken to what had been the old convent, and - this will be your base, said the teacher, indicating a room labelled Reverend Mother's Parlour. I gleefully asked her to take this photo,  which I equally gleefully shared with my friends.  

Of course, there are no more Reverend Mothers in the Society, with or without parlours. Our Constitutions speak now of the service of authority, carried out with simplicity and love, and obedience to the Spirit. They remind us, too, of discernment, and a common search for God's will, and of our co-responsibility in living our charism and mission, and of being attuned to God's calls. Echoing Jesus himself, we're told that The spirit of our government is drawn from the interior dispositions of Jesus, who came to serve and to give His life for the world. And whatever else servant leaders might have, they do not have fancy titles or parlours! 

If I'm out and about and pass a church whose doors are open, I'll often pop in. There's always a lot to pray for, including the parish itself, and its people. And I always look around to see if there's a Sacred Heart. The statues' poses vary; some open and welcoming, others directing our gaze back to his Heart. Some, unfortunately, look pretty miserable - I truly cannot believe that One who loves so much could be anything other than overflowing with joy. 

On this occasion I paused by the statue, noticed especially the gesture it was making, and heard: Here is my heart... please give me yours... 

Heart of Jesus, please give me this grace...

And finally... It's been a mild autumn, wet or cloudy days alternating with still-warm sunshine. On sunny mornings the sun slants through my East-facing window, gilding and playing games as its beams travel across the room, accompanying and jesting with me through my prayer or my work. And oh, the pleasure of a slow, quiet morning, and time to simply sit and stare...

And you; how would you show snippets of your life, and your choice for God...?