Veni Si Amas

Our Veni Si Amas Spring Retreat held March 20-22nd was a weekend blessed with many graces!

Please pray for the young women who came to seek God's will for their lives. As we celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation today, may they respond like Mary with complete surrender and a resounding 'yes' to follow the Lord wherever He leads.

You can check out more pictures on our website!

Perseverance

"Rejoice in hope, be patient under trial, persevere in prayer."

Romans 12:12It's nearing the end of the 3rd week of lent. Are you feeling a little discouraged? Have you fallen a few times with your resolutions? Do not lose hope! Do not give up! Begin again.

Here is Sister M. Wencesla - an image of perseverance!

Every day she spends 2-3 hours in adoration. You see, we Sisters do not 'retire'. Instead, we become 'Adoration Sisters'. Sister M. Wencesla is an example of a Sister who has persevered in prayer, persevered in following the Lord, persevered in the midst of the Cross, persevered in serving Him wherever He has asked. Yes, she still perseveres in faithfulness today.

I don't know where you are in the journey of following Christ, but whether you are just beginning or it's been some years, do not give up in the face of tempatations or doubt. Remember, Jesus faced temptations in the desert too.

Another example of faithfulness to prayer is Sister M. Julia!

She too is an Adoration Sister! She is a witness of someone who looks forward to spending time with Jesus. On Monday she had an adoration hour from 8-9am. I took her place from 9-10am. As she was leaving she whispered to me, "I'll see you at 10!" As soon as she leaves Jesus she is already thinking about when she will return to Him!

These two Sisters - Sister M. Wencesla and Sister M. Julia - are lights to us! I know we have received much through their powerful intercession. May they receive in return for their 50+ years of love and service to the Lord!

Perseverance - I only have to look to these Sisters to see it lived out. Perseverance - defined by 50 years of service. I've only just begun at 10!

Don't give up dear friends! Persevere in LOVE!

More Advice from a Postulant - Emily

"Is God calling me to a religious vocation?" you ask. Dear sister in Christ, praise God! You are on your way to finding the answer to the deepest desire in your heart. But first, there is one thing God asks of you. He has given you the key to the eternal treasury which holds all that you are seeking. This key is your yes! Give your resounding yes as Mary gave her Fiat and God will unlock for you this priceless treasury.

Only months ago I was asking the same questions you are: "How does God want me to give Him my fiat?", "Is He calling me to religious life?" Among the many ways God filled me with strength to overcome my fears and honestly seek His will were the words of Jesus Christ re-echoed by John Paul II: "Do not be afraid!" Hold onto these words and remember that "perfect love casts out all fear."

Know also that your Heavenly Father gazes on you with a unique love just for you. He who created you, who "knit you in your mother's womb" wants to satisfy your deepest desires, which He knows. Do not put Him off any longer but seek wholeheartedly His will for in it is your eternal felicity.

Above all, I have one word for you. It is the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ. He calls to you and says, "Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one, and come." "Follow him eagerly" so that you may truly say, "My lover belongs to me, and I to him." All He asks is for your "Yes"!

Why Habits?

The months of January and February seem to be especially heavy times for Catholic Schools to focus on Vocations. Perhaps the Day of Consecrated Life that is celebrated often on the Feast of the Presentation, February 2, has something to do with it. As I student teach this semester and move away from the college setting and into the classroom, the opportunity to reach out into the community and participate in vocation awareness has presented itself.

An old classmate from college called me up to come talk to her second graders about what it’s like to be a sister. They were especially cute. One of the last three “questions” that I received was “This is really cool!” I agree it sounds more like a statement than an actual question, but with second graders what can you expect. (I especially enjoyed the stack of homemade cards that came pouring my way as a result of that particular vocation talk. One student even went so far to give me her phone number to call when I wasn’t doing anything. I don’t think I explained what a day in the life of a sister was like!) One of the most powerful questions that I received with the second graders and later when talking to high school students, however, was about the habit.

Why? Why wear a habit? What is it for? Some students ask me outright, and some students and adults try to finagle the answer through back door questions, but to most people in today’s world the idea remains a foreign mystery to be solved. In my high school student teaching experience I have received a chance to share a lot about religious life with the faculty and staff. I am the only religious sister of my community at this school, joined by one other sister in her eighties from a different community. That raises a lot of questions, right there, about who exactly the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George are. Perhaps being a 24 year old sister and being the youngest faculty member on staff has something to do with it too. It has raised questions in the inquiring minds of my students as well. I am obviously doing something radical and or extremely strange in their eyes.


“Why do you where a habit?” Because I am a Bride of Christ. I was amazed at the ready acceptance from my students with this simple yet profound reason. My class of sophomore and junior girls exclaimed with understanding as it hit them full force. “That’s why you wear a veil, just like a bride!” one student in particular explained. Yes, that’s why I wear a veil and simple garment, because I am a bride of the poor, chaste, obedient one, Jesus Christ. It makes so much sense now! That’s why I wear it everyday, because there is not a moment or time when I cease to be that Bride of Christ. It serves as a constant reminder to me and my students of the purpose of my life. I am to be a bride. Thanks to vocation days, many other people now understand why I wear my habit as well.

- submitted by Sister Mary George Brown

Hide and Seek

Did you ever play hide and seek as a kid? What did you enjoy more - hiding or seeking? Personally, it wasn't one of my favorite games because I would get a little scared! What if I didn't find a place to hide before the 'seeker' stopped counting? Then it was the time waiting to be found, hearing them come close - "Will they find me or not?" It almost seemed like my heart was going to pound right through my chest because it was beating so fast!

Hide and seek. Two words. They provoke many thoughts to ponder. If you haven't noticed by now, I like questions.

Do you hide from the Lord? Why?

Do you seek Him?

Have you found Him?

Do you let Him seek you?

Sometimes it is hard to find the Lord. He's hidden. Sometimes I expect Him to reveal Himself clearly to me. Yet, He doesn't, but does He? I have to look, to seek, Him out! I have to remember that His ways are not my ways. He is present ALL the time. I have to learn to look with new eyes and to let go of my own expectations.

What are your expectations? Are you waiting to respond because He hasn't spoken to you in the way you wanted Him to? Do you expect Him to reveal Himself to you directly? clearly? on your terms? OR have you surrendered to His ways?

I encourage you this Lent to persevere in seeking the Lord! When you played "hide and seek" did you ever give up looking? No! You wanted to find everyone who was hiding! Well, don't give up on seeking the Lord. He may be hiding, but He can be found. On the other hand, if you are the one hiding from God, then you may need to reflect on why you are doing this. Let Him seek you!

So - go play "hide and seek" with the Lord! Let me know who wins!

I'll leave you with a quote from Archbishop Luis M. Martinez in his book Secrets of the Interior Life:

"Here we meet with the key of the interior life. The explanation of these apparent contradictions lies in this: that our God is a hidden God, as the sacred Scriptures tell us. 'Verily Thou art a hidden God.' (Isaiah 45:15) And a hidden God must be sought. If there is a secret hiding place in a room, and if there is a person concealed in it, we do not encounter him, even though he is near us. We do not even suspect his presence. Thus it is with God. He is a hidden God. He is present everywhere, but everywhere He is concealed: in the stars of the heavens, in the earth that supports us, in the air that we breathe, in the neighbors that surround us. But will we always discover God?

...As our Faith tells us, God lives in our heart. But sad experience teaches us that we do not always encounter Him. Why? Because, although He is there, He is hidden; and to find a hidden person, it is necessary to seek him. God is in the Eucharist in a special way, and of all the places where He is, there we encounter Him most easily. However, even there He is hidden. How often we draw near to the tabernacle without perceiving or feeling anything!

Consequently one of the secrets of the interior life consists, not in knowing where God is, because we already know that He is everywhere, but in knowing that, wherever He is, He is hidden. Hence, the secret of entering into communication with Him is to find Him."

- submitted by Sister M. Consolata, FSGM

Setting the bar high

Tis the season for reflection.

It seems that in the jumble of these days, people talk about what they are "giving up" for Lent -- and it always sounds like they are making a heroic sort of sacrifice. But in reality, what are we really giving up? We forgo sweets, or some t.v., or some other superfluous indulgence.

But what did he give?

It seems like it might be good to set the bar high; to give a bit more - not so much to "give up", but to "give to"; to remember that this life will pass, and the way we make use of our time now will influence how we are for all eternity. It may be time to "go for the gold," or, as someone once said, "to run so as to win.

May God bless us in his mercy.

--submitted by Sister M. Luka, Kansas City in Kansas