communitas et caritas

My heart and thoughts are with a group of our sisters in Rome who will make their final profession tomorrow (Sunday)!  They come from all over the world, and have been preparing for this day together for the last several months.   May their lives be filled with love and deep joy! Some more information and pictures are found on the RSCJ international website, here .

I have the great fortune of living my novitiate within walking distance of the beach.  And it's southern California, so it's nearly always nice enough to go for a walk, even in January.   My favorite part is that the beach always helps me get a little perspective on whatever might be bothering me.  There's something about the waves, the power of the water, that reminds me that I'm not in control of any of this, and that God can handle all of the "whys" in my head.  Plus, I can ask those whys out loud and no one but God (and maybe the gulls) will hear them! (I took the picture in November, but it's my favorite right now!)

A little quote to celebrate Francis de Sales' feast day...   "But which are the virtues of the spirit?  There is faith which shows us the truths which are not accessible to the senses; hope which makes us strive for things invisible; charity which makes us love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves, not with a sensual, natural, selfish love but with a love that is pure, firm and changeless, being grounded in God." Happy feast to my Salesian friends!

I just spent two weeks with our retired sisters, and one thing everyone wants to hear is how I came to religious life-- the story of my call.  And then, lately, the Gospel readings have been accounts of the Apostles' call stories. What's in a call?  As I told mine several times recently, I realize that my sense of being called keeps me strong in this not-ordinary way of living.  It's mystery to me how and why God called me to religious life, but knowing that I've been called gives me strength to keep moving forward along that path that I can't clearly or fully see. God calls each one of us to something, and we have to listen to figure out how to follow that call. What is Jesus calling you to do today?