Belonging to the Lord

St. Paul tells me in the Scripture readings of Nov. 3, 2011 that  in life and in death, I belong to the Lord.  I live for the Lord and I die for the Lord, as does every human being and all of creation. All who enter this world do so for and through and with the Lord.  In God, with God and through God each of us lives, moves and has our being.  Blessed by the name of the Lord. What an awesome, humbling thought: the newest member of our families and the ones to be conceived in the future, the eldest member of our families and the ones who will be the next to die, each of our co-workers, all those we serve, every one with whom we live as well as those we struggle to love--yes, all have been created to live for God and die for God. Every knee, St. Paul tells us, shall bend before God and every tongue praise God. So what an insult when any one of us lives for selfish reasons and chooses that which is not of God, not for God and not through God but leads us on a path away from the Holy of Holies, the Giver of Life and the Savior from death.

All Souls' Day: The faithful departed gazing on no stranger!

Today we celebrate “All Souls Day.”  In Job 19: 23-27, Job says: “I know that I have a living Defender and that he will rise up last, on the dust of the earth.   After my awakening, he will set me close to him, and from my flesh I shall look on God. He whom I shall see will take my part: my eyes will be gazing on no stranger. My heart sinks within me.  …. since the wrath bursts into flame at wicked deeds and then  you will learn that there is indeed a judgement!”  Our loved ones who have passed through the threshold of death have learned that there is indeed a judgment.  In purgatory, the faithful departed are between death and eternal happiness as they endure the purification necessary to enter into the presence of God. Heaven is theirs but not yet. That intense longing is the pain that purifies them.  “They are joyful with their desires, for they already possess what they seek; they are sorrowful with their desires, for they do not completely possess what they seek. Their pain, consequently, is evoked by the intensity of their desire. This pain is purifying,… The more it purifies, the greater the love, the closer the full possession, and mysteriously  enough the greater the pain. Loving ever more passionately yet separated ever more slightly, how much more painful is the longing for the loved one”  (Carroll Stuhlmeuller, C.P., Biblical Meditation for Ordinary Time—Weeks 23-34, p. 414).

Mother Frances Streitel: Saved in the wounds of Christ

Amalia Frances Rose Streitel aka Mother Frances Streitel, Foundress of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, and, as a Maria Stern Franciscan, known as Sister Angela.  Sister Angela is assigned to the Marian Institute in April of 1880, “when conditions there were sorely in need of betterment” (Walk in Love, p. 27).  Sister Angela assumed the administrative position, knowing that the condition of the Marian Institute had serious economic problems as well as other challenges that needed the attention of a skilled administrator.   She went to the Marian Institute under obedience but knew in her heart, already then, that God had other plans in store for her. She says “yes” to her Superior General, but adds “I shall not work there long, for God is calling me elsewhere” (Walk in Love,  p. 27).

No reformer is met with open arms and exuberant cheers.  Sister Angela, in reforming the “financial, domestic, and even religious conditions” at the Marian institute, met significant opposition.  Some Sisters believed that she abused her authority and went too far in what she asked of the Sisters, especially in the observance of the vow of poverty. Complaints against her reached the ears of her Superior General. Sisters at the motherhouse regarded her with disdain. The results of her actions, even though she had permission to make changes, were disastrous, as some of the Sisters even  left the order as a result of Sister Angela’s reforms.   

Ever address issues that you were convinced needed to be talked about and changes made with the end result being anything you ever imagined! Suddenly the tables are turned on you, your intentions misinterpreted, your actions judged harshly!  That is the position in which Sister Angela found herself. She says “If the help of grace had not been so plentiful at that time, mind and body would have suffered ruin.  The salvific power of the wounds of the Lord saved me” (Walk in Love, p. 29).

By their fruits you will know the source

Discernment: If the choices we make are respectable ones, ones that lead us to virtue, then, of course, the spirit directing us is also good. Any desire from God will lead to godliness, a noble, virtuous end, one that delights us.   Inner promptings that lead to an evil end, even if our first impression is that what is happening is good, the spirit moving us is not of God.  So we need to look at the results of an action. If the results are evil, degrading, malevolent, sinful, obviously the inner movement that led us toward that end is also evil.  The spirit guiding us to sin is not the Spirit of God.

Let’s say that the choices we are making lead us more into selfishness than altruism, more deeply into self-centeredness than being other-centered, more toward avarice than generosity, further into deceitfulness rather than the truth of who we are,  then the spirit directing us is not of God. The good spirit always leads to unselfishness, concern for others, charity and truth.

Source: Discernment of Spirits by Warren Sazama, SJ, National Religious Vocation Conference, Chicago, IL 60615.

The Feast of All Saints

Today is the feast of All Saints! We are celebrating the people in heaven from   every nationality, every culture, every language, every race upon the earth—too many to count, we read in the book of Revelation—who stand “before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They cry out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.’”  I believe, that the fullness of salvation—the gift of life with God in heaven--has come to  my deceased grandparents, parents, siblings, Aunts and Uncles, cousins, and every deceased Sister of the Sorrowful Mother, SSM Associate, and their family members. They are, I believe, among the huge, uncountable number of saints in heaven. And I know that is our inheritance, as well, as Peter praises God on our behalf in 1 Peter: 1: 3-5: Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into a heritage that can never be spoilt or soiled and never fade away. It is reserved in heaven for you who are being kept safe by God’s power through faith until the salvation which has been prepared is revealed at the final point of time.”

The two kinds of spirits involved in our lives

Discernment:  Back to St. Ignatius’ teaching on the two kinds of spirits involved in our lives: those that encourage us to carry out the will of God and those that put whatever obstacle possible in our paths. When following the urges of the Holy Spirit, one’s being is filled with joy, peace, and contentment.  There is an upsurge of confidence that one is able to overcome whatever obstacles one comes upon in doing what is perceived as God’s will.  Nothing is too much for the person who is determined to follow God’s will, as God’s help is abundant. Think of David slaying the Phillistine or Moses going to Pharaoh or parting the Red Sea. Think of Mary and Joseph. Think of the apostles who immediately left their boats and followed Jesus.   For the person being called to religious life and following that call, the Holy Spirit offers encouragement and provides the necessary strength. The discerner is consoled as he/she encounters opposition.

 The evil spirit, on the other hand, will put doubts in the mind of the discerner, do whatever possible to discourage the person from taking the necessary steps, and will surface all kinds of fears. Think of Moses telling God that he is not an eloquent speaker (Ex. 4: 10-12), Jeremiah telling God that he is too young (Jer. 1:4), Gideon telling God that he is unimportant (Judges 6:15), and Isaiah telling God that he comes from a people of unclean lips(Is 6:5). Or think of the people Jesus invited to the banquet and all of them had excuses: I just got married, I just bought some oxen, I have to bury the dead; in short, I’m too busy with other things.

Source: Discernment of Spirits by Warren Sazama, SJ, National Religious Vocation Conference, Chicago, IL 60615.

Which spirit is guiding you?

Mother Frances Streitel: Strong in the storms of life

Amalia Frances Rose Streitel aka Mother Frances Streitel, Foundress of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, and, as a Maria Stern Franciscan, known as Sister Angela. As you probably surmised from the entries above, Father Beckert repented of his actions and begged for Sister Angela to be reassigned to the Marian Institute. In one of his correspondences or by word of mouth, he says: “Tell Sister Angela I will entrust the direction to her with utmost confidence, and not only shall I keep Father Braun entirely away but myself shall also keep out of the way….”   That statement certainly must have meant a lot to Sister Angela, at least it would have been a welcomed message to my ears. One of the most difficult situations to be in, humanly speaking, for me is to be given a position and then have another person micromanage that position or interfere in its operation. Confidence is eroded, to say the least; creativity is then stretched to the hilt!  Sister Angela reveals her strength in her prayers for Father Braun, begging the Lord to “preserve him from grief such as He permitted me to have”  (May 9, 1879 Letter to Mother Salesia Ellersdorfer, her Superior General). In that same letter she prays that God’s holy will be done concerning the Marian Institute and thanks the Lord for the humiliations she endured. That she has been blessed throughout this ordeal is obvious in the following statements: “May the Lord extol me in eternity. Oh, how good the Lord is to the soul who loves Him. It will be strong in the storms of this life….In spite of insomnia and lack of appetite, I am, God be praised, well and cheerful. Never before have I felt, as I do this time, the power of sufferings borne for the love of God” (Ibid.).  Wow! What a testimony to grace working within her.  Definitely she did not get in God’s way but let God be God in working through the messiness of this situation.