Mission Soiled

“Am I a rich soil that helps my sisters, friends and family grow closer to God?” I was prompted by a friend of mine to ask myself this question and take a deeper look into the Gospel parable of the “sower who went out to sow.” I chose that verse as a theme and prayer for the next step in my religious formation, Mission!

Last fall when I found myself covered from veil to sneakers in dirt, I knew it wasn’t chance but divine inspiration that had led me to choose this Gospel parable: Luke 8:11-15. Hours of weeding and tilling and then preparing our garden with several buckets of compost made this parable come alive and gave me a new light to understand my mission.

As I joined our small community at Mater Redemptoris Convent and the House of Formation in August, I was elated to implement in a new way the life I’d been studying and learning about during novitiate. My apostolic work was full of variety. During the week, I assisted the Offices of Consecrated Life and Vocations in providing tools for vocational awareness and discernment and organizing vocations events. It was during these daily tasks, that I experienced the freedom and power of God made manifest through simple obedience.

Looking back on the “abundant harvest” of blessed conversations, youth events, vocation talks, retreats, and especially friendships and community life, I realize that God is the sower and will plant in us the seed that we need for each moment. We are simply the soil in which He chooses to toil. There were many times I felt my “littleness” this mission, but it was lost in the magnificence of God’s grace, which “is made perfect in weakness.” It is especially in challenging moments that He is enriching the soil of our hearts and souls so that they may “bear an abundant harvest through perseverance.” But it doesn’t happen at once in a single thrust of seed. God waits for permission from us to do great things with our very lives. Often, as with a garden, the fruit is grown in silence and small daily fidelity. We are soil, and soil receives. God is the gardener; He is the one who plants and never grows weary of working and dwelling in the soil of our heart. He gazes on us as we pray, as we work, or as we rest. His gaze, if we permit ourselves to encounter it and return it, becomes like the sun on a garden. Soon the plant sprouts and causes those who see it to rejoice in the gardener.

During mission, whether I was grocery shopping, cleaning, roasting the five turkeys to feed the youth with my beginners cooking skills, or talking to hundreds of youthful hearts eager for knowledge of Jesus, God Himself was carefully tending, weeding, and fertilizing my heart. My role was to say yes to His grace and be open to receive whatever He wanted to give me that day: His love, a task, a Word, a smile. What He gave me I simply received and gave back to Him. I can’t count the joys that filled those six months especially through the people that God brought into my life. But I will forever be a better religious because of the time I spent on the soil of Wisconsin and learned from the Divine Gardener how He is forming me to make His merciful love visible.

“But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.” Luke 8:15

- Sister M. Bernadette, FSGM

Fiat

Mary's Fiat:  "Let it be done." 

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation.  The angel Gabriel comes to Mary to announce the plan of God.  She responds with trust and a simple yes.  Yet, this yes is powerful!  She takes part in the plan of salvation.

Does Mary hesitate or wait for answers to many questions about what this yes will mean before saying it?  Does she allow fear of the unknown hold her back?  No.  She says yes immediately, in faith and trust.  She loves and has encountered the Lord.  She believes.  What was it like after the angel left her?  What were her thoughts?  Gratitude?  Wonder?  Trust?  Silence?  Questions?

What is the Lord asking of you, inviting you to, this day?  Have you responded yet?  What is holding you back?  Like Mary, through her intercession and example, may you have courage and trust to respond like she did.  Simply say your fiat today:  "Let it be done".  Be not afraid to do the Will of the Father.  Be not afraid to trust the One who loves you.  Be not afraid to take a step of faith.  "Let it be done to me according to your word."  Be at peace and know that the Lord is with you.

Pots, Pans, Needles and Mops

At the end of my first year as a novice, when I received my mission assignment in July, the only words and emotions that were going through my head were, fear, worry, and “I can’t do this. How in the world am I am going to fit into the Apostolic Nunciature and actually be helpful there?” August quickly came and as Christ was obedient to the Father, I went in obedience. With a mysterious eagerness I went off to my new apostolate. I arrived at the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington, D.C. which would be my new home until February. Our community helps to care for the household of His Excellency, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, and several other Monsignors. Some of the ways we serve them include cooking, cleaning, laundry, and taking care of the chapels. Throughout mission I felt God’s grace pouring out especially when learning how to cook, sew or fix things I had never done before in my life. I became a living testimony to the words of our foundress Mother M. Anselma, “Obedience works miracles”.

Often I worked in the kitchen as the assistant cook. At first I was really nervous because I had never really cooked before, but with the help of my Sisters I learned some good tips and discovered an unknown enthusiasm for the culinary arts! I made my first apple pie a few weeks after I arrived in Washington D.C. and it turned out scrumptious. Soon I was making a variety of desserts and soups. Working in the kitchen turned out to be a favorite job. God gives us more gifts than we realize.

I also learned to sew while on mission. I remember when one of my Sisters asked if I could try to make some new aprons. I had never made an article of clothing before but I thought to myself, “God’s grace is sufficient. Let’s give it a try”. So after taking apart one of the aprons and figuring out how to work the sewing machine I surprised myself, and the aprons didn’t turn out too bad. With God’s grace I figured out how to make aprons, hand towels, and a few other things. When my family came to visit, my mother and my sister (who both know how to sew well), were quite shocked when I showed them what I had made. Trust is what is needed!

During these months, I experienced God’s grace tremendously as I accomplished all that I thought I could not do. He opened my eyes to see that with Him all things are possible. When we place our trust in the Lord He will never fail us but will always remain faithful to His promises.

While on mission, I not only grew in my relationship with Christ but also with the Blessed Mother. I realized that in all the different things I was doing, Mary was asked to do for Jesus. She cooked, cleaned, did laundry, sewed and did all the tasks a mother does for her children. Because the priests act in the Person of Christ, I often thought about how Mary took care of Jesus and how I also was caring for Jesus. I’m sure it brought Mary great joy when she cared for Jesus. I definitely experienced the Lord’s joy throughout my time on mission.

One of the other greatest gifts on mission was experiencing what it was like to live in a smaller convent. I lived with four of my Sisters and experienced many joys of community life with them. In the fall, we went to an apple orchard. We also took trips to the National Basilica of the Immaculate Conception and the Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. I loved getting to know my Sisters and spending time with them. Each of them has a special and unique gift to share with the rest of the community. It’s amazing to see how the Lord works through us and gives us each other to make His love known and also in the ways we are loved in return.

I am so grateful to the Lord for all His amazing graces He showered on me during mission. Everything that the Lord asked of me was never too great. But it was always the little things, sometimes acts of love that often remained hidden, that brought the greatest joy. It was a gift to be at the Apostolic Nunciature and to be like Mary, a handmaid of the Lord making His merciful love visible.

- Sister M. Isabella, FSGM