Regardless of the manner used in prayer, prayer gradually makes our lives more a prayer. At some point prayerful living and living prayer fuse. A person facing long weeks of bone marrow transplants or chemotherapy prays, and their struggle for life is their prayer. Such a patient reaches for the hand of God. Whether God leads to a place she does not want to go or to the place of the patient’s delight, one’s following God’s lead in faith is the life of prayer.

We speak of a “day of reckoning” when our deserved rewards and punishments will be meted out, sometimes in the context of death. The reward will be due in part to our response on “the day of beckoning,” when we were asked to follow Christ. The day of beckoning began at the first instance of our existence, became stronger at baptism, and has continued through every daily response to the call “Follow Me.” Every day is a “day of beckoning.”

How will you use this day of beckoning so that the day of reckoning will be one of joy?

Recently I took a two-mile wagon ride through Rolling Ridge Ranch in the Amish country in eastern Ohio. Beefalo, zebu cattle, yak, Brahma cattle, Nigai, antelope, emus, ostriches, llamas, alpacas, and many other animals gathered at the wagon whenever it stopped. They knew they would be fed from our buckets. Feeding animals with wide antlers and long horns can be a bit daunting, to say nothing of the animals’ strength as they worked to take the whole bucket of feed—and often did. The wagon driver was an excellent guide, who could match babies and parents, knew when the animals had been born or had arrived at the ranch, and warned us of their feeding idiosyncrasies. “Raise your bucket higher. Make him stick out his tongue.” I admire the guide’s oneness with the animals. Isn’t such oneness what is meant to be in God’s plan?

Take some time today to notice animals and birds, and give them your care.

Pentecost is coming (June 8), so it’s time to pray “Come, Holy Spirit” often—perhaps while mowing the grass or walking the dog. Will the Holy Spirit really come?  Of course it will! The Spirit may even strengthen our personal spiritual journey.

Wouldn’t it be great if we all considered Pentecost this year as a time to commit ourselves to being a disciple, a true friend of Jesus?

In a church where the custom is to ring bells at the consecration, a small child quite loudly said “Ding-dong!” imitating the bells. “Ding-dong”: the sound of a doorbell indicating someone wants admittance. Today listen for the “ding-dongs” of those persons who seek some admittance into our lives, and remember that everyone and everything is connected in the cosmos that can be described as the Great Interconnectedness.  When your mind is free, reflect upon the “ding-dongs” of God. Will you let God become more involved in your life?

Where did the expression “Holy Mackerel” come from?  Was it the surprise catch of 153 fish by the apostles a few days after the resurrection of Jesus? You’d think that these fisher-apostles would instinctively try to prevent torn nets and a capsized boat. Instead their attention was on the man on the shore. They said, “It is the Lord!” Once on land, the disciples enjoyed their breakfast of fish cooked by the Divine Chef who must have been a Divine Fisherman, too, to have caught a big one for the six hungry apostles at daybreak when the professional six hadn’t caught anything all night! Whether it was the best breakfast they ever tasted is not recorded in Scripture. What is recorded is the fact that Jesus took bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. “Took” and “gave” – key words in a Eucharistic meal. 153 fish were certainly miraculous, but the big miracle is the fact that the Risen Lord is ever present in the simple elements of bread and wine.

When have you experienced the presence of the Risen Lord in a very simple thing or event? What simple thing could you do today to let someone else experience God?

Except for the time Jesus was asleep in the boat during the storm, Jesus always seems on the go. Even after a long day of teaching, he managed to feed five thousand. Wearied by his itinerant preaching, he still had the energy to bless children.

Perhaps his work ethic came from his foster father. We don’t know much about Joseph, but “worker” is a well merited title. Beyond his labor with hammer and chisel, Joseph must have really worked at attention to God. Otherwise, would he have believed his dream to take Mary for his wife or his dream to flee into Egypt? In his humility, perhaps Joseph had to work at believing that God had actually entrusted Mary and Jesus to him—an unknown, quiet carpenter from a little town. As we go about our work today, we might ask Joseph to help us realize the work God wants us to do.

If Jesus were to ask me, as he asked his disciples, “Who do people say I am?  Who do you say that I am?” I know one thing for sure: Whatever I say will miss the Reality. I’m conditioned by pictures, early education, Scripture studies, life experience, cosmology and its impact of theological expression, and what other people say. I’m sure I could say something! But would Jesus respond as he did to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus:  “How little sense you have”? Or would Jesus say, “Right on!” because who Jesus is for me is who Jesus is for me. That’s the only Jesus I know. And perhaps that’s exactly how Jesus wants to be known by me, because after all God is the one who inspires our faith and our God-picture.

Who is Jesus for you? Where did you get your image or impression?

Today is my youngest sister’s birthday. She and her husband have great plans to celebrate together without other family members, but she is very much in my thought and prayer. Sometimes people think that Sisters have given up their families.  In some ways that’s true. We do place our religious community first in many ways; for example, we spend holidays like Christmas and Easter with other Sisters of Notre Dame. Probably any Sister of Notre Dame was a hostess or guest at another convent this past Sunday. But attachment and care for our families rank high in our ministry. We visit, phone, e-mail and pay attention to Facebook. We help when a sick family member needs a care-giver. We attend anniversary and birthday parties; in turn, our families attend our jubilee celebrations of religious profession. Sometimes we vacation together. We are very blessed to have family.

Has it been a while since you’ve told a family member of your love or gratitude?

We wait with Mary as she reflects….

Gone is the sorrow of realizing that the Scriptures would be fulfilled in him.

Gone is the sorrow of anticipating the agony of the Suffering Servant.

Gone is the sorrow that tore my heart yesterday as I stood beneath the cross.

Gone is the sorrow of seeing his lifeless body laid in a borrowed tomb.

Gone is the sorrow of seeing that heavy stone across the entrance of the tomb.

And now there is only hope-filled waiting.           

Waiting to look on the face of my Son, my God once again.

     Waiting to enfold him in my arms once again.

         Waiting for his chosen twelve to believe in him once again.

                  Waiting for the world to believe in him.                                  

I wait in silence.

     I wait in hope.

         I wait in wonderment.

              — with a mother’s love

              –with a mother’s longing

              –with a mother’s trust