communitas et caritas

From today's Gospel (John 17:11b-19):  "Consecrate them in the truth." Jesus is speaking to the Father about his followers.  I've been thinking about that phrase this morning, and I don't really know what it means to be consecrated in the truth.  Yet, "truth" has been on my mind a lot lately--finding my truth, my true self, and really speaking my truth.   The last year or so, at least since entering the Society of the Sacred Heart, has been a time for me to discover who I am and what I value.  I don't think my values have really changed, though my eyes have been opened to new things in new ways--things like human trafficking and the concerns about the environment.  At the same time, I've been trying to really speak up for what I think, feel, believe.  That's not so easy for me, but the encouragement and respect of my sisters has helped me with that. And I still have questions about truth, too.  There are some truths that are better kept in...

As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him. --Matthew 4:18-22 Today's gospel always blows me away.  Not only do Andrew, Peter, James and John immediately recognize Jesus as a worthy guide for their lives, but without any hesitation they drop what they are doing and follow him.  Are you listening well enough to hear Jesus call to you, inviting you to follow him? I wonder how many times I missed his voice among the cacophony in my head, before I started to pay att...