Going out into the deep
Monday, July 2, 2012
*Sr Silvia Maria,SCTJM
Before entering religious life, I was challenged when a priest shared that in his vocational process, he felt God call him one weekend a month to help the elderly. Then the Lord called him a second weekend a month to evangelize youth, then a third weekend to help the homeless. When the Lord asked for a fourth weekend to help with religious education, he said: “No, three weekends serving you is sufficient; I’ll keep the fourth weekend to myself.” Eventually, he realized he was unhappy holding back from God. He understood the Lord wanted his complete surrender, keeping nothing back for himself. Through the Lord’s grace, he gave away his fourth weekend, entered the seminary, surrendered all and became a priest.
On my path to answering God’s call, the Lord similarly asked me to increasingly trust Him with my time and every aspect of my life. He asked me to respond with confidence at each step. Eventually, He invited me to respond generously to His merciful call of wanting me all to Himself.
If you are being called to be all His, it is usually in this progressive manner of surrendering. So as you discern God’s call in your life, be generous; simply say “fiat” to what He is asking each step of the process. No matter where He is taking you, saying “yes” bestows on you the gift of cooperating with His plan of salvation for the world, and ultimately will help clarify your vocation.
This summer, 34 college students responded to Blessed John Paul’s invitation to “Go out into the deep.” They gave their “yes” to the next part of God’s plan for their lives. Students from the John Paul II Catholic Newman Center in Peoria, Ill., under the guidance of the Sisters Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary, hosted a Catholic summer camp for the kids at St. Mary’s Cathedral School in Miami. The camp was called “In the School of Mary and the Saints.”
These students met for a year to plan the camp, underwent training, purchased plane tickets, wrote grants, and sought donations of money, sports equipment, religious items, crafts and supplies to enhance the experience of the 100 kids they served. These missionary hearts shared their gifts to host the Catholic camp focusing on the scriptures, the Blessed Mother and the saints. With the power of the Holy Spirit they brought the Gospel of Love to kids.
In these missionary hearts we were able to see an enfleshment of the words of Mother Adela Galindo, foundress of our religious community: “I believe that the oars in which the boat of the Church will go forth out into the deep, in order to draw out the miraculous catch of fish, will be holiness and mission….The Holy Spirit has been poured forth to lead us to a life of holiness, and to send us forward on this urgent mission of the evangelization of our contemporary world.”
May we, like our Lady, all say, “Fiat.”
If you would like more information on religious Life: www.piercedhearts.org.
Comments from readers
Felicidades por tan inspirativo mensaje.