Change your heart, Change the world

Praised be Jesus Christ! My six months on mission have taught me two main things: all the evil that I notice in the world is a constant proof that I must become a Saint and…that Jesus loves me!

Washington, D.C. was a wonderful city to be missioned in, and being able to serve at the Apostolic Nunciature as the sacristan was a very great honor! Being in two such prominent places allowed me the opportunity to see satan trying to work. However, the Lord taught me that I really can help change the world if I allow the Lord to change me. He taught me that it doesn’t matter what I am doing, it simply matters that I let Him do it through me, and by striving to let Him live through me He not only transforms my heart but also the world.

I don’t think it is possible to begin to understand the joy of allowing Jesus to live though us if we don’t first know the love He has for us as individuals. This too the Lord was teaching me on mission. I began to see His loving hand guiding everything, from the crazy traffic on shopping trips to the forgotten cookies in the oven. I have begun to see that at every moment, no matter what is happening or what I am doing, He wishes to lavish His love upon me and from my heart He then wishes to pour His love upon the world.

My time on mission could be described with many words: joyful, adventurous, busy, challenging, fun, etc… but only one word can really sum it up: love!

- Sister M. Xavier, FSGM

Comments

Welcome to our Family, Postulants!!!

Today, on the Feast of the Birth of Mary, our new postulants entered the postulancy of our American Province of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George! We thank God for the gift of these vocations. Pictured above - on their very first full day in the convent - are (from left) Ashley Vola, Samantha Goodson, Miranda Edgar, Jennifer Clark and Erin Leis. Welcome, Postulants! We Sisters are grateful that you have accepted Christ's invitation to belong totally to Him in our Franciscan community, and we support you wholeheartedly with our prayers and help! If you would like to send a word of welcome and encouragement to these new postulants, we will pass the greetings along to them. Just leave them as a "comment"!

Journey with Mary: Sacrificial Love of Spiritual Motherhood

Recently, I found a reflection I had written during my first retreat as a postulant. The last conference that had been given was on Spiritual Motherhood. As I approached the 4 th Station where Jesus meets His Sorrowful Mother, this is what struck my heart: What is the sacrificial love of a mother? It is the self-sacrifice made to love her children. Mary’s self-sacrifice to be there with Christ, her Son, in His passion was the selfless love that united her with Him. Her heart was pierced with 7 swords in the agony of watching her beloved Son endure a cross that He did not deserve, but which He embraced for the love of the Father and mankind. Could she not have said to Jesus, “You don’t have to do this, there are other ways. Do you know how much pain You are causing me and those who love you?” She knew He could have chosen any other way to save us, but this was the Father’s will, and so in silent love Mary trusted. If the world is suffering, why do y

Looking Back with Gratitude

“Christ is calling you; the Church needs you; the Pope believes in you and he expects great things of you!” My life would never be the same as the words of John Paul II coursed through my mind and beat with fervor in my heart. Me? Could he possibly mean me? Like many others, I felt Pope John Paul II was speaking directly to me as I sat behind him in the nose-bleed section of the stadium in Saint Louis. Throughout my high school years after this encounter, the idea of having a possible vocation to the religious life shocked and bewildered me, but at the same time brought me such peace. As each year came and went, my relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church grew with greater depth, understanding, and love. Through daily mass, Eucharistic Adoration, the Rosary, Scripture and God’s divine intervention through his priests and religious, I soon realized that, yes, the Pope did mean me. Christ was calling me and how could I say no? After one year of college, I soon came to the realizatio

1 Franciscan Way

Search This Blog