Conversion to Vocation ~ from a Nun at St. Emma part 2

 I went to the University of Pittsburgh for my undergraduate degree of Biology. There was only one other person from my graduating class that was going to go to Pitt, main campus in Oakland. She just happened to be Catholic. I went to the Wednesday night cookout during orientation and heard about the RCIA meetings the next week. I just showed up on the door step and asked about converting. 

 I remember that one day while doing laundry the summer before going to Pitt, I was reading a spiritual book by a nun in the basement doing laundry (it was cooler down there)  and then the thought/ image came to my mind about being a religious sister.  

Conversion to Vocation ~ from a Nun at St. Emma part 1

My vocation story starts when I was interested in converting to Catholicism, in my senior year of High School.  I had a friend who was Catholic but hated everything about it, and would complain to me about what went on in the Church and other religious traditions. I wasn't raised in a particular church. I did end up attending the Methodist Church with my mother and step dad when visiting them on weekends. I became very involved in the youth program and went on a mission trip down to Appalachia, and loved it. As I became more and more involved with the Methodist Church I felt like there was something missing. God and thus religion had been around longer than John Wesley and where was the history. So I was listing to what my friend was saying and thinking there is something more in her Church. So I became very interested in the Catholic Church.

Pentecost, and the Gift of Tongues

This is the second reading from Vigils Saturday of the 7th week of Easter.

This is a great reading and it explains how we all have the gift of tongues

 if we are willing to share the Gospel in our own language. 

Second reading

From a sermon by a sixth century African author

The Church in its unity speaks in the language of every nation

The disciples spoke in the language of every nation. At Pentecost God chose this means to indicate the presence of the Holy Spirit: whoever had received the Spirit spoke in every kind of tongue. We must realize, dear brothers, that this is the same Holy Spirit by whom love is poured out in our hearts. It was love that was to bring the Church of God together all over the world. And as individual men who received the Holy Spirit in those days could speak in all kinds of tongues, so today the Church, united by the Holy Spirit, speaks in the language of every people.

Therefore if somebody should say to one of us, “You have received the Holy Spirit, why do you not speak in tongues?” his reply should be, “I do indeed speak in the tongues of all men, because I belong to the body of Christ, that is, the Church, and she speaks all languages. What else did the presence of the Holy Spirit indicate at Pentecost, except that God’s Church was to speak in the language of every people?”

This was the way in which the Lord’s promise was fulfilled: No one puts new wine into old wineskins. New wine is put into fresh skins, and so both are preserved. So when the disciples were heard speaking in all kinds of languages, some people were not far wrong in saying: They have been drinking too much new wine. The truth is that the disciples had now become fresh wineskins, renewed and made holy by grace. The new wine of the Holy Spirit filled them, so that their fervor brimmed over and they spoke in manifold tongues. By this spectacular miracle they became a sign of the Catholic Church, which embraces the language of every nation.

Keep this feast, then, as members of the one body of Christ. It will be no empty festival for you if you really live what you are celebrating. For you are the members of that Church which the Lord acknowledges as his own, being himself acknowledged by her, that same Church which he fills with the Holy Spirit as she spreads throughout the world. He is like a bridegroom who never loses sight of his own bride; no one could ever deceive him by substituting some other woman.

To you men of all nations, then, who make up the Church of Christ, you, the members of Christ, you, the body of Christ, you, the bride of Christ—to all of you the Apostle addresses these words: Bear with one another in love; do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Notice that when Paul urges us to bear with one another, he bases his argument on love, and when he speaks of our hope of unity, he emphasizes the bond of peace. This Church is the house of God. It is his delight to dwell here. Take care, then, that he never has the sorrow of seeing it undermined by schism and collapsing in ruins.

To pray the office of Vigils follow the link
http://divineoffice.org/

Liturgy of the Hours Vol. II:
Proper of Seasons: 1004
Psalter: Saturday, Week III, 1472

Come Holy Spirit day 9, 2013

Come Holy Spirit

and fill the heart of your faithful,

and kindle in me the fire your love,

so that I might renew the faith in
 the World

Come Holy Spirit day 8, 2013

Come Holy Spirit

and fill the heart of your faithful,

and kindle in me the fire your love,

so that I might renew the faith in
the Country

Come Holy Spirit day 7, 2013

Come Holy Spirit

and fill the heart of your faithful,

and kindle in me the fire your love,

so that I might renew the faith in
 the Universal Church.

Come Holy Spirit day 6 2013

Come Holy Spirit

and fill the heart of your faithful,

and kindle in me the fire your love,

so that I might renew the faith in
 my surrounding Churches. 

Come Holy Spirit day 5, 2013

Come Holy Spirit

and fill the heart of your faithful,

and kindle in me the fire your love,

so that I might renew the faith in
 my Religiuous Order/ Parish

Come Holy Spirit day 4, 2013

Come Holy Spirit

and fill the heart of your faithful,

and kindle in me the fire your love,

so that I might renew the faith in
 my Ministery & Work

Come Holy Spirit day 3, 2013

Come Holy Spirit

and fill the heart of your faithful,

and kindle in me the fire your love,

so that I might renew the faith in
 my Monastery/ Home

Come Holy Spirit day 2, 2013

Come Holy Spirit

and fill the heart of your faithful,

and kindle in me the fire your love,

so that I might renew the faith in
 my Community/ Family

Come Holy Spirit day 1, 2013

Come Holy Spirit

and fill the heart of your faithful,

and kindle in me the fire your love,

so that You might renew

 the faith in my Heart. 

Ascension 2013

He ascended to His Father in heaven.

 The union between the created flesh made man in Jesus and the Father brings forth the out pouring of love between them the Holy Spirit. 

Jesus had to bring the created in to the Trinity, for our salvation. The only way was by offering himself on the cross, rising and then ascending.

But the love that the Father and the Son have between them when He ascended was so powerful that the Holy Spirit came down to fill our hearts with the love that the Father and the Son share. 

Rule of St. Benedict Prologue 1-3

St. Benedict statue in Mother Mary Anne's office

Hearken continually within thine heart, O son, giving attentive ear to the precepts of thy master. Understand with willing mind and effectually fulfill thy holy father’s admonition; that thou mayest return, by the labour of obedience, to Him from Whom, by the idleness of disobedience, thou hadst withdrawn. To this end I now address a word of exhortation to thee, whosoever thou art, who, renouncing thine own will and taking up the bright and all-conquering weapons of obedience, dost enter upon the service of thy true king, Christ the Lord.



Reflection:
Hearken continually within thine heart, ( Listen carefully)  giving attentive ear to the precepts of thy master.
The master, is one who has truly lived the monastic life (or what ever vocational you are called to) and can by instruction and example, form the hearts of the new comers.
We all need to be constantly forming our hearts into Christ's heart.
We need time to stop and reflect on how God is instructing us in the vocation that we are called to fulfill.



The Rule of St. Benedict, translated into English. A Pax Book, preface by W.K. Lowther Clarke (London: S.P.C.K., 1931).

Copyright information: The text is in the public domain.
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This material is put online to further the educational goals of Liberty Fund, Inc. Unless otherwise stated in the Copyright Information section above, this material may be used freely for educational and academic purposes. It may not be used in any way for profit.

What are our chains?

I was reflecting on today's reading that thought came to me. What are the chains that hold us down and what kind of earthquake needs to take place to set us free.

These questions can be applied to multiple situations in our lives. 

Vocational:  

What are the chains that prevent us from looking deeper into our heart to see if God is calling me to a deeper relationship as a vowed religious. 

What is holding me back from pursuing the inner longing in my heart?

Spiritual:

What are the chains that are holding us back from bringing our faith in to the world. How would you like God to help with the fears. 

What is holding us back from encouraging family members, friends, co-workers, etc...to seek out how God is working in their lives?

Thoughts and questions to ponder.

Find Solitude

There is no blessing I would withhold from them that walk in obedience to Me-- who follow when I call, and who respond when I speak unto them. They are near to my heart and precious in my sight who have eyes to discern My purpose and ears that listen to My direction.
Be not intent upon great accomplishments. By what standards do ye judge the importance of a matter? It was a relatively small thing that Hannah prayed for a son, but what great things I accomplished through Samuel! It may have seemed incidental that Simeon and Anna perceived the Christchild and prophesied over  Him; but it was to Me a word worthy to be recorded in Holy Scripture and preserved forever.
Nay, ye cannot ascertain the ways of God amidst the pathways of men. Ye may feel the wind as I pass, and yet see only the swirling dust. The earthy beclouds the heavenly. The voices of men drown the voice of God. Only in much solitude can ye begin to sift away the chaff and come at last to the golden grains of truth.
The World will confuse thee. Silence will speak more to thee in a day than the world of voices can teach thee in a lifetime. Find it. Find solitude -- and having discovered her riches, bind her to thy heart.

Roberts, Frances J. Come Away My Beloved  pg.135

"the thrust of a vocation."

In creating us, God implants with in the depths of our person hood the thrust of a vocation. From inception, we begin becoming who the Lord calls us to be. From the womb already, we start inching toward how God wills us to become our true selves. From the outset too, we commence groping toward what the Lord destines us to do. Throughout life's journey our self-identity, lifestyle and mission develop and interact along the lines of the Lords's calling. 

Called by God, pg 115  Frances Kelly Nemeck adn Marie Theresa Coombs 

Alleluia

Today's second reading for vigils caught my attention. I have read this passage every year and I was surprised in that I have read this passage many time and today it was like I had never seen it before.

This is why lectio is very important in our lives, you never know how God is going to speak to you today.

From a discourse on the psalms by Saint Augustine, bishop

The Easter Alleluia

"Now therefore, brethren, we urge you to praise God. That is what we are all telling each other when we say Alleluia. You say to your neighbor, “Praise the Lord!” and he says the same to you. We are all urging one another to praise the Lord, and all thereby doing what each of us urges the other to do. But see that your praise comes from your whole being; in other words, see that you praise God not with your lips and voices alone, but with your minds, your lives and all your actions."

From the Liturgy of the Hours 2nd vol pg 865

It makes me stop and think about how my actions are praising God.  Is my life an Alleluia life?

Beauty of light and shadows

Beauty of light and shadows!

Cor Jesu Chapel 

The Lord is having fun with the light and shadows, 

and we enjoy every minute of it.