In honor of St. Joseph the worker, today we begin a three-part series compliments of our Second-Year Novices. These sisters are preparing to make their first profession of vows and have reflected on their six month mission experience where they shared in the active apostolates of our community.
Today's reflection comes from Sr. John Mary, named for Pope St. John Paul II, whose theology of work and of the human person informed her mission experience at Bonacum House in Lincoln, NE.
“Perhaps God wills to give that person to you,” Pope St.
John Paul II’s spiritual director once said to him in the beginning years of
his priesthood. These words served to help him, as he put it, “…trust God
and accept the gift one man becomes for the other.” This “communion of
persons” is at the heart of our mission as disciples of Christ and the six
months I spent at Bonacum House in Lincoln, Nebraska. As a retirement
home for priests in which our sisters also live and work, it was a unique
opportunity to witness how God calls us to a culture of communion.
Today's reflection comes from Sr. John Mary, named for Pope St. John Paul II, whose theology of work and of the human person informed her mission experience at Bonacum House in Lincoln, NE.
“Perhaps God wills to give that person to you,” Pope St.
John Paul II’s spiritual director once said to him in the beginning years of
his priesthood. These words served to help him, as he put it, “…trust God
and accept the gift one man becomes for the other.” This “communion of
persons” is at the heart of our mission as disciples of Christ and the six
months I spent at Bonacum House in Lincoln, Nebraska. As a retirement
home for priests in which our sisters also live and work, it was a unique
opportunity to witness how God calls us to a culture of communion.
While the apostolate consists of domestic duties such as
cooking and cleaning, the heart of it all is really the essence of our charism,
to make the merciful love of Christ visible, both to the priest residents and
our sisters. I was constantly in awe of the ways the Lord’s desire to
give Himself to us was manifested, whether in the sacraments, through our
sisters, the priests and staff, and simply the unexpected gifts and events of
each day. For example, when one of the priests was ill I had the honor of
bringing Holy Communion to him (this was quite the role reversal as the priest
is usually the one giving me Holy Communion). Upon my arrival with
the Blessed Sacrament he became extremely reverent and freely prayed in
gratitude that the Lord had come to him. I returned to the Chapel with a
sense of humble gratitude for the Real Presence of the Lord in the Eucharist
and His tender attentiveness to each of us. This presence of God’s love
created an atmosphere of constant gratitude which made for a very joyful six
months. I am immensely grateful for the gift I received at Bonacum House
as I recall the following words of Pope St. John Paul II, “We must ourselves be
a total gift…in order to recognize, in every man, the gift that he is, and to
thank the Giver for the gift of the human person.”
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