Our Marian Servant Community is reading ST THERESE, A TREASURED LOVE STORY by ArchBp Fulton Sheen, and it’s packed with spiritual gems! Chapter 5, titled “St Therese and the Value of Suffering,” is a chapter we all agree will be one to read and re-read. What has especially spoken to many of us are the final words of the chapter, where ArchBp Sheen speaks of being in a time of silence, and hearing a cry coming down from the cross.
He went in search of the cry, and when he found it, there was a man, being crucified. His heart deeply moved, he sought to help him down, beginning to remove the nails, when he was stopped by the words, “Let them be, for I cannot be taken down until every man, woman and child come to take Me down.” Sheen responded, “What can I do? I cannot bear to hear Your cry!” And the Lord spoke, “go into the world and tell everyone that you meet, there is a Man on the cross.”
I hear the cry from the cross when I read of natural disasters, hurricanes and wildfires that have brought massive loss of life and devastation to so many. I hear the cry from the cross of Christians in countries of oppression where their churches and homes are being burned, and their loved ones killed. I hear the cry from the cross coming from the hearts of those whose same sex attraction has shattered their dreams, and broken the hearts of their parents and loved ones, I hear the cry from the cross when I hear of another life that has been snuffed out by abortion. The cry rises in magnitude, to a crescendo that I cannot block out.
What am I to do with this? My faith is a faith of joy in the Lord; how am I to reconcile that with the call to allow my heart to be broken with all that has broken the heart of Jesus? The only response I can conceive is to do all I can to share the Good News that God has become Man, not only to share in our suffering, but to bring us to true freedom and joy in the hope of eternal life!
Every night in her bedtime prayers, my mother would pray for mercy for man’s inhumanity to man. That prayer has become my own, as I beg God’s mercy on this suffering humanity, that all may come to know the joy that belongs to a life of faith in the Risen Lord Jesus. In the midst of trials and disorders, God’s grace can bestow the strength and inner peace needed to live in this broken world. One by one, to make it a little less broken, to bring healing and compassion to each cry that is heard.
Lord God, may Your words from the Cross come to fruition, that all may come to know You and receive Your mercy. That we may become fully human, and cherish and respect all life that You have created. May I do my part in proclaiming, “there is a Man on the cross!” And He has come to set mankind free to love and serve one another, and to be happy with Him in heaven forever!
“Come and see what it’s like here at the Mission,” was the repeated invitation extended by my friend Loretta, the wife of a doctor serving at a mission hospital in rural Zimbabwe. We had been members of the same prayer group for many years, and had prayed together as she and her husband Dick discerned God’s call to return to mission work. They had served in Africa with the help of Mission Doctors of Los Angeles in the early 70’s, then returned to the States to raise their seven children. After retirement from a family medical practice, they felt prompted by the Spirit to return to Africa in 2001.
Dick’s work with HIV/AIDS patients and nurses’ training had been extremely rewarding, and Loretta had been blessed by helping to start up mothers’ prayer groups, and providing help for some of the many orphans. Their invitation to visit promised to be an adventure into a new world for me. None of us expected the challenges emerging from the upcoming elections in Zimbabwe.
I arrived a week after the elections had taken place, yet the results were yet to be released. The climate of hope for change was shifting to one of a tense peace, as people began to realize that the government in place was not about to concede defeat, regardless of election results. My visit at the mission seemed isolated from the growing unrest in the country. Here I was meeting so many beautiful gentle people, generous in their kindness and hospitality. I began writing journal/poems to process what I was witnessing…
Poem 1
Zimbabwe Mission 4/18/08
Peace and plenty
words on a wall hanging
family heirloom
at home in Wisconsin
but here in Zimbabwe
is fear and privation
seen in the faces
of people on the road
yet smiles too and handshakes
how are you?
I am fine…
friendly encounters
sweets for the children
adults like them too
few and far between
here among these people
trip to Harare
lavish government mansions
high walls and fences
barbed wire and broken glass
security guards at the gates
uniforms hanging
on small gangly figures
hungry for bread
so many contrasts
seen here more clearly
living at the Mission
an oasis from fear
how to reconcile
poverty and plenty
how to reach out
and not expend one’s own self
Christ centered life-style
prayers and Eucharist
becoming the bread
to give to the poor
healing the sick
bringing hope to the dying
providing necessities
for the ones who come here
thank You Lord praise You
God of all humanity
You’re here in our midst
teaching us how to love…
The mission compound seemed a peaceful oasis in the poor rural area where it was located. People were going about their daily business and routines, each day waiting for the release of the election results, and wondering what their future would hold.
Poem 2
Zimbabwe Mission 4/19/08
Hangin’ out
no agenda
reading books
taking naps
time to hear You
am I listening?
I hear bird song
neighbor’s music
baby crying
children laughing
chickens clucking
roosters crowing
leaves rustling
insects buzzing
gecko skittering
cat meowing
fingers typing
radio crackling
so much news
of terrorism
not just here
but other places
bombs exploding
people dying
gentle breezes
warm late sunshine
blue blue sky
full moon tonight
shining down
on this oasis
shining too
on brutal beatings
Lord have mercy
on Your people
caught in snares
of sin and fear
so much suffering
so much joy
bound together
humanity’s calling
only You
can bring some meaning
into worlds
of mindless chaos
only You are
life worth living
all for Jesus
in reparation…
More and more news reached us of terrorism, abductions and murders. One of the doctors at the hospital was arrested and jailed for being suspected of transporting people of the opposition political party. We began to see the fear in the eyes of people visiting the mission, as the emotional wounds from the civil war of the 80’s began to re-surface. Stories of weapons being shipped into the country raised the level of anxiety and fear.
Poem 3
Zimbabwe Mission 4/19/08
Trip to Masvingo
almost went golfing
time for distraction
from uncertain future
rumblings of violence
army and police force
all being mobilized
what’s going on here?
munitions from China
the shipment’s in Durban
they won’t unload it
thank God it’s on hold
but what of tomorrow?
Green Bombers and militia
trained to raise havoc
instill fear and submission
in Mission oasis
we hear children’s laughter
roosters and chickens
beautiful bird song
sunshine and gentle breeze
flowers and fruit trees
ample provisions
life in enclosure
hearing the news
on the Voice of America
checking the internet
Zimbabwe situation
not a new picture
repressive government
power hungry leaders
exploiting the people
arms pact with China
exchanging for resources
darkness finds cohorts
when will it end?
prayer lifted to heaven
imploring intervention
when will it end, Lord?
Your Kingdom come?
thank You Lord praise You
You grant the far vision
helping us rise
beyond this hard circumstance
giving us courage
and peace in our hearts
like the oasis
of the Mission today
just for this moment
that’s all we have
trusting Your mercy
You’re here with us now…
Our days each began with prayer and mass at the nearby church. One morning Fr. Victor warned us all not to travel at night, and to always go out in twos or more. He met with Dick at the hospital and reported rumors circulating indicating increasing threats of violence. Dick and Loretta had planned on returning to the States for a family reunion in July, but the changing political climate called for a change in plans.
Poem 4
Zimbabwe Mission 4/20/08
Decision is made
time to go home now
cut short the stay here
danger is rising
aim for next weekend
tie up the loose ends
empty the freezer
distribute some food
some for the Sisters
some for the prayer group
all who come visit
will receive an offering
Dick and Loretta
had planned on July home
they hope to return
when things settle down
what does that mean
for the people who live here?
what will they go through
before peace is restored?
and this isn’t Your peace, Lord
not what You give
the peace that will come
is short lived and uneasy
peace that will bring
less open violence
less overt action
to keep rulers in power
and what after that, Lord?
when will real peace come?
the kind that takes root
in the core of our hearts?
that’s the peace of the Kingdom
given only by You
the kind that calls people
to care for each other
the peace of compassion
to show love to our neighbor
to help those in need
and share what You’ve given us
so now we’ll pack up
prepare for departure
we’ll head for Harare
on Saturday next
sending out emails
to make flight arrangements
hoping all goes well
to close out this stay
thank You Lord praise You
this doesn’t surprise You
we pray that we’re doing
what’s best in Your eyes…
Within a week we had rearranged our flights and prepared to leave this beautiful country. “Please pray for us,” was the mission peoples’ urgent plea, spoken both with quiet words and fear-filled eyes. “Don’t forget us,” was the second refrain, oft repeated
How can I forget the warm wide smiles and greetings we received? How can I forget stores that are empty of food, and parents unable to provide for their families with 80% unemployment and runaway inflation?
How can I forget the generous Sisters, who had so little yet always managed to share what they had with the stranger to their land? How can I forget Sr. Gertrude trying to teach me Shona, and gently wagging her head and smiling at my poor progress? How can I forget the face of the orphan boy with his little sister at his side, saying as if to himself,”We must pray to God,” and asking if we had a Bible he could have?
How can I forget the trip out in the country with the home-based care team, where the father lay dying of AIDS in his hut, being cared for by two small children? How can any of us forget how very blessed we are and turn a blind eye or deaf ear to our brothers and sisters asking for our prayers?
The day before we left the country, I fell ill and needed a place to rest. We had attended morning mass at a retirement home for religious in Harare, and they had kindly given me a room with a bed for a few hours. While resting, I heard a knock on the door…
Poem 5
House of Adoration in Harare 4/28/08
“Who is my neighbor?”
the question calls for an answer
a simple request
from an elderly Sister
I’d been given a room
a place to lie down
a thick warm blue blanket
to comfort my chilled bones
now a hesitant knock
on the door to the room
I rise up to answer
and see those blue eyes
such beautiful eyes
full of life and sparkle
make it hard to believe
when she tells me she’s blind
she lives next door
to the room I’d been given
she heard me enter
and came to greet the stranger
“Who is my neighbor?”
she asks it again
she says she is blind
and cannot see who I am
I’ve seen blindness before
in eyes that have sight
eyes that are open
but have no life within them
her eyes are alive
the eyes of deep faith
she sees more with them
than do others who lack it
“I’m only a visitor
come to find rest
not feeling too well
so I’m lying down for a bit.”
a kind gentle smile
accompanies her reply
she explains that she came
to greet a new neighbor
would that I
could have eyes like hers
full of love and compassion
Christ’s eyes for the world
What a beautiful Sister who had knocked on my door! The contrast between darkness and light that is being fought in Zimbabwe seemed to be highlighted again and again, with the light truly shining in the faith of this Sister. How the world longs for peace; would that the Kingdom come soon to bring an end to innocent suffering, and radiate instead the joy and peace only Christ can bestow.
We returned to the States, but a part of our hearts remains in Zimbabwe, with the hope that the world hears their cry for prayer. It will forever be engraved on my heart, along with the memory of the beautiful eyes of faith that help to sustain those struggling with oppression. “Who is my neighbor?” All of humanity, each person a child of God.
Fifth Glorious Mystery – Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven
On December 8, 2010, Bishop David Ricken of the Diocese of Green Bay celebrated Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion WI, and declared the appearance of Mary to Sr. Adele Brise in this very spot in 1859 to be worthy of belief. My friend Mary Ann, a third order Carmelite, had been offered a seat , along with a guest, to attend the Mass, and she invited lucky (blessed) me 🙂 Neither of us knew that Bp Ricken was going to make the announcement that day – we just thought it would be a blessing to celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception at the Shrine with the Bishop, which indeed it would be apart from anything else. To actually be there when the pronouncement was made was truly a blessing – I’m so grateful to Mary Ann for inviting me!
When Adele had asked the beautiful Lady who she was, Mary identified herself as the Queen of Heaven who prays for the conversion of sinners.
I had been to the Shrine a few times prior to the elevation of its status, but now Mary Ann and I both decided what a blessing it would be to volunteer there and be able to go more often, helping visitors on their pilgrimages. I was able to do that for several years before moving out of state, and it was always a grace-filled experience. The Shrine is another oasis of peace, and Mary’s presence is often tangible. In October, the anniversary of the apparition, the Shrine will be celebrated as Our Lady of Champion, taking the name of its location, even as Our lady of Lourdes and other well revered apparition sites have become known.
I’ve been blessed to make pilgrimages to Medjugorje, and to Our Lady of Guadalupe in LaCrosse, WI and in Mexico City. More and more I recognize this life as a perpetual pilgrimage to Heaven, with each day offering the opportunity to journey both inward and outward seeking a deeper relationship with the Lord. Mary’s help along the way is that of a beautiful companion and gentle mother. As I’ve been able to make these pilgrimages, it’s become apparent that heaven is not far away, but rather more often encountered in unexpected familiar surroundings. Each day opens the possibility of meeting the Lord and receiving His blessing and grace – life has become an adventure filled with good surprises!
Lord God, thank You for all the times throughout history when You have appeared to simple people, often through Your Blessed Mother, bringing messages of hope and mercy. May we be open to receive these graces in our everyday duties and interactions with others ~
(re-visit from Rosary Reflections – Glorious Mysteries)
“Who do you say that I am? What difference does it make in your life?” These were the questions posed to us by Fr Dave Pivonka, President of Stuebenville University, at the recent Convocation of the Marian Servants of Divine Providence in Clearwater, FL. The Word that came to me was JESUS, and the difference it makes in my life is everything!
I was reminded of the short reflection by Joseph Whelan, SJ, often attributed to Fr Pedro Arrupe, SJ, called “Falling in Love…”
Nothing is more practical than finding God, than falling in Love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, whom you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in Love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.
My days are no longer limitless, as I thought they were in youth, and my desire to not waste time has grown. Hopefully everything I do will reside within God’s will for me, to respond to His love and be an agent of that love and mercy to others. By my baptism I’ve been anointed and appointed to be that agent of mercy, in a hurting and fearful world. And I’ve fallen in love with Jesus! Every word of Fr Whelan’s reflection resonates with me, calling me to write of God’s Goodness and pray that indeed His Kingdom may come, first in my own heart, and then to spread to those I encounter each day. Praise God for His Goodness and Mercy!
Thank you Lord, for pursuing me, and for claiming me as Your own! As one of your beloved children, kept safe under the protection of Mary’s Mantle and the cloak of St Joseph. May I respond to Your Love in ways that make a difference in others’ lives, even as You have made all the difference in mine…
When I meditate on the mystery of the Assumption, I’m reminded of an experience as a hospice volunteer that’s been a blessing in my life. I was spending time with a lovely elderly lady who was dying of cancer, providing respite care so her husband could have time to run some errands. She looked very beautiful, despite her sickness, with a radiance about her that testified to her deep faith. She usually was sleeping or resting while I stayed with her, and it was the story a nurses aide related to me that I remember.
The aide would help to give her a bath and help with personal cares, so she was often awake to interact with this aide. As she was nearing death and that time when a person is living both in this world and beginning to enter the next, the aide was asking her about her life and what she had experienced in all those years. The lady spoke about a dream she had had to run a day care center and take care of little ones, but that dream had never materialized. The aide suggested that in heaven she could have a beautiful day care for all the children there, and the lady smiled at her and said yes, and she would take care of the aide’s three little ones who were in heaven.
The aide was taken aback, and asked how could she know that she had lost three babies to miscarriages – she had never told her about that. But the lady knew – she was so close to the other side that she knew, and the smile on her face at the happy thought of caring for them affirmed that inner knowing.
Mary our Mother was assumed body and soul into heaven; this is our faith, and the witness of a kind and gentle soul who was about to go to meet her has reassured me of the truth of this belief…
Lord God, thank You for the gift of faith that beckons me to the eternal life promised in the Scriptures. May the knowledge of Mary’s entrance to heaven console and encourage us as we mourn the loss of those we have loved here on earth ~
(re-visit from Rosary Reflection, 4th Glorious Mystery, the Assumption)
At a time of deep distress and confusion about a family situation, my good friend was finding some solace by sitting on the dock, gazing at the lake. The gentle breeze and ripples on the water were washing away some of the stress and anxiety she had been experiencing. As she sat there, a sweet song was given to her ~ not of her own effort, but as it were just forming with simple lyrics and melody in her mind.
“What can I do when I’m feeling lonely, what can I do when my heart is sad, what can I do when all joy has left me? I’ll go to the water, go to the water, I’ll go to the water to soothe my soul, I’ll go to the water to soothe my soul…
What do I do when I’m feeling happy, what do I do when my heart is glad, what do I do when I’m filled with joy? I go to the water, go to the water, I go to the water to sing my song, I go to the water to sing my song…”
Her words sung with a sweet and gentle tune in her lovely soprano voice were a blessing for me. She recognized them as a gift, provided for her by Something beyond herself. They brought me to reflect on the power of the Living Waters that flow from the Heart of Jesus. These waters are within us always, flowing from the fount of our baptisms into the life of the Trinity. They refresh and renew us, washing away the anxieties and pain often encountered in our earthly pilgrimage, and replacing these with the peace only God can sustain for us.
How do we acquire this Living Water? God’s Word gives us the answer: “if anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘ from his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke of the Spirit, Whom those who believed in Him were to receive…” (John 7:38-39)
The water of the lake is a temporary relief; the Living Waters of the Spirit are forever! When Jesus speaks to the woman at the well in John 4, He says, “everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I will give them will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Not only will we be refreshed, but we will overflow to others for their refreshment also!
Lord God, thank You for the precious gift of Living Water which you pour into our souls. May our thirst always be directed to this Water, given by the Holy Spirit, that it may be a source of refreshment for our companions on the journey…
I was introduced to the story of St. Seraphim of Sarov by Jim Murphy at a charismatic day of reflection, and his story has blessed me over and over again as I meditate on the mystery of the Transfiguration.
St. Seraphim is a Russian Saint often compared to the Western St. Francis of Assisi. His story is well chronicled in the book FLAME IN THE SNOW, and includes a story about his own transfiguration, along with his nephew Nicholas.
As I remember it, Seraphim was a holy hermit, having lived a saintly life and often consulted for spiritual wisdom. His nephew came to him asking questions about the Holy Spirit, and Seraphim explained to him painstakingly about the Third Person of the Trinity. Nicholas still didn’t understand, so Seraphim put his hands on the young man’s shoulders and told him to look into his eyes. It was winter, and cold; snow lay on the ground around them. And as Nicholas gazed at Seraphim, the Saint was literally transfigured before his eyes. They carried on a conversation in this state, Seraphim noting and explaining the fragrance, the warmth, the incredible Joy that was being experienced by the two of them. Nicholas recorded all this carefully – you can find the whole story on-line, or in the book.
When the experience ended, Seraphim proclaimed that the Lord had given them this incredible grace not just for themselves, but to share with the world. It’s a beautiful and amazing recounting of an actual experience of transfiguration! And it fills the reader with a deeper love for and appreciation of the Holy Spirit – what an incredible Gift of God!
St. Seraphim tells us that the whole purpose of the Christian life is to acquire the Holy Spirit, that we may live in the power of the Spirit and be the agent of grace and blessing that the Lord calls us to be. Another favorite quote of his that I found is “acquire interior peace and many will find salvation near you.” When we begin to live in Christ, Who is our Peace, we do begin to acquire that interior peace which the world is so longing for. It’s the peace that remains in the midst of any circumstance, as we grow in our trust in God’s Goodness and Provision. St. Seraphim, pray for us…
Lord God, thank You for the lives of the Saints that help us to understand Your mysteries and call us to holiness. May we get to know them as our allies and friends, and call on them often for the help we need to be the people you call us to be ~
(re-visited from Rosary Reflection, 4th Luminous Mystery)
Spiritual Sun Pennies 