I just returned from a magnificently joyful Easter Vigil at a vibrant church in Santa Fe.  Two young girls were baptized this evening and they obviously practiced their “I do” to the Profession of Faith with zeal and vigor!  The pastor, an energetic man, alerted the rest of us, when it was our turn to renew our Profession of Faith, that we were to be louder than the two girls:  “Let’s drive the devil straight out of this building tonight, shall we?!”  The result was an explosion of “I DO” in response to each statement.  The place was on fire!  Smiles everywhere!

Death has lost its sting … the long wait is over … Resurrection has come … Christ Easters in each one of us!  Alleluia IS indeed our song!  Let’s sing it loud and clear!  Let’s spread the joy of knowing Christ!  Let’s spread the Easter gift of peace!  Let’s join with all creation in giving praise to our God on this festival day!

Amen!  Alleluia!  Happy Easter!

 

A couple decades ago, Christian songwriter Michael Card graced the world with a marvelous song called Come to the Table.  Every Holy Thursday I take time to ponder its meaning.

“All have been welcomed to come if they might … he freely offers … we freely receive … the hand that is breaking the bread soon will be broken … he’s lived his life for them all … Come to the table he’s prepared for you … the bread of forgiveness, the wine of release… come to the table and sit down beside him … the Savior wants you to join in the feast!”

Jesus makes no distinctions.  He invites them all.  Judas, who betrayed him.  Peter, who denied him.  I, who ….  We, who ….  All are invited to join in the feast, to receive the bread of forgiveness, the wine of release.  He grants us a pardon of peace.

And so, my annual Holy Thursday reflections invite me to ponder these questions:

• Are “all” truly invited to my table?  The tables around which we Christians gather?
• Do I / we exclude anyone from the table?
• What makes it reasonable for me / us to act as “judge” and to exclude others when Jesus welcomes all to receive the bread of forgiveness and the wine of release?
• How deeply do I love the “all” God has placed before me in family … in community … in ministry … in my job?
• Who will join in my feast this Eastertide?

Happy Holy Thursday!  Receive the bread of forgiveness, the wine of release!

I’m gluten / lactose / soy free for medical reasons.  This means I can’t always enjoy the same foods that others might be able to eat.  Yesterday a phenomenal thing happened.  I walked into our monastery kitchen and our generous cook said to me, “Sister, I made you a cake.”  “Me?”  “Yes … and you can eat it!”  This lovely creation graced the steel counter top and I gazed at it in some wonder.  “No special reason,” she said.  “It’s just you don’t get to eat all the desserts I make for the others so I decided to bake you a cake!”

Have you ever had someone grace you with a spontaneous and unasked-for gift in this way?  In the midst of some trying days, this loving gift was treasured all the more.  I shared some generous slices with a couple of staff persons and enjoyed a piece myself.  I was touched by the baker’s tender regard and her sensitivity to my health needs.

For Christians, this is the holiest week of the year as we join to remember Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection.  Jesus’ self-gift is the best gift of all.  It’s as if he says to us, “No special reason.  I just love you.  That’s all!”  What an amazing tender regard our God has for each of us, for all of creation!

How will you share that tender regard in a spontaneous and unasked-for way this week?

A group of women with whom I meet once a month gifted me with a daily devotional entitled Jesus Calling.  This morning I read: “I created you to stay conscious of Me as you go about your daily duties.”

For Christians, this is the holiest week of the year as we join to remember Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection.  Imagine if we looked at this week through the lens of being created to stay conscious of God’s presence always.  Imagine if the mundane of this week becomes where we truly find the Passion and Resurrection come alive.

That’s my challenge these days.

Good Friday Pilgrimage to Chimayó, New Mexico

Where do you find yourself as you walk this Holy Week?

On a recent trip to the airport to fly to  California I, like all the other travelers, needed to produce a photo ID along with my boarding pass.  The security agent studied it carefully to be sure it matched the person he saw standing before him.

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus proclaims boldly and without hesitation that His identity is I AM. He knows who He is and is confident that the person others see coincides with that identity.  As a baptized Catholic, I know my identity is to be a beloved child of God and witness of that love to everyone I meet.  Others have a right to expect that the words and actions they experience in my life are a good match to my professed identity.

Would I be able to pass through “security” today if I were checked on my Christian identity?

 The sculptures of Michelangelo; the beauty, climate, and food of Tuscany; the whole experience of Italy: these are the positive memories that brighten the windiest March day. The feelings of appreciation in my heart held there even a short while change me.

Scientifically I know that my heart vibrates at a different frequency, which every cell in my body picks up. Because the electromagnetic field of my heart is about five thousand times more powerful than that of my brain, my brain is less likely to focus on worry and stress and more likely to focus on love and creativity.  I’ve read that my heart’s electromagnetic signal can be measured from six to ten feet away, so anyone near me can probably benefit from my trip to Italy, too.

What if everyone in the world would hold positive memories for a few minutes every day?  Would our world receive the healing it so desperately needs?

As I heard the Scripture story of the Woman Caught in Adultery (John 8) read both yesterday and again today at Mass, I was struck by the vulnerability of women and how this has been true throughout the centuries.  Whether or not the woman is actually guilty almost seems secondary; so often she is “used” for the purposes of others.

Coming from Mass this morning and still reflecting on this story, I am heartened to read an email from Sister Mary Jo Toll at the U.N. telling us that she and Sister Mary Pat Dorobek will be together for the Commission on the Status of Women, meeting women and girls from all over the world and listening to NGOs, government Ministers for Women, and other agencies who focus on the issues of women and girls. I am grateful to know that our Congregation is represented in helping to make a difference in the lives of women and girls throughout the world.

So often, I don’t really know the story behind the faces of the women I encounter each day.  I pray that today I may look at each one with the same compassion that marked Jesus’ life and ministry.

Foundresses Sr. Mary Aloysia and Sr. Mary Ignatia

Our founding sister, Sister Maria Aloysia Wolbring, put herself into the hands of the dear God and, whether in Germany or the United States, did whatever needed to be done. Sometimes she was a local superior, sometimes not. She taught school, catechized, took care of the aged, managed a farm, struggled with American climate and language, served as advisor to the Superior General (although never a major superior herself), started many new affiliations, and most importantly prayed. In everything she trusted in God’s provident care.

Where are you being called to trust in God’s provident care?

I had the opportunity yesterday to read a piece on St. John of the Cross, and while it was about the fourth time I read it, it touched me in a whole new way.

In the book, Impact of God, Iain Matthew writes of God’s intense desire to enter our lives and give Himself to us.  He writes: “John dares to place on the lips of his God the words: ‘I am yours, and for you, and I am pleased to be as I am that I may be yours and give myself to you.'”

My reflection on this passage led me to pray the words of Psalm 63, but to hear them as though God was speaking them to me: “O Marilyn, you are my Marilyn whom I seek; for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water. Thus have I gazed toward you in the sanctuary….”  What an amazing God who desires us more than we could ever desire Him!

Is God calling you to recognize in a new way His incredible desire to be part of your life?

As we celebrate today the Feast of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, I’m reminded of how grateful I am of the gift of true friendship.  These two women of the early Church had a relationship deeper than owner and slave; they supported one another in a friendship that led to closer union with Christ. Together they lived for Christ and together they died a martyr’s death for Christ.

Our Constitutions as Sisters of Notre Dame remind us that “We appreciate true friendship which has its center in Jesus Christ and unites us in him.”  Only when our friendships are centered in him will they bear fruit.  Our Congregation has a rich tradition and history of friendship from Mary and Elizabeth, Saint Julie Billiart and Francois Blin de Bourdon, to Hilligonde and Elisabeth.  We have been richly blessed by friends who have influenced our desires to grow in our union with Christ and to bring about His kingdom. I thank God today for the friends within the community and outside the community who have influenced my desires.

Who has influenced your desires? For what friends are you most grateful?