A Reply to Love
from the foot of the cross
One of our novices, Sr. Solana, wrote a poem about remembering her death and what that "one day" will look like when she lives beyond this life.
Why is Rome called “the heart of the Church”? It is certainly the seat of the hierarchy, a place where the Church has deep roots, and a place for much theological study and training. But “heart”? I might be more prone to consider the beating heart to be the family or the parish or the religious community, where life happens, where prayer happens. I spent two weeks in Rome recently for formator classes and pilgrimage, and it provided abundant opportunity for me to consider this question and experience it for myself.
Sometimes in hindsight, I feel like a pawn being moved around by a master chess player, especially when things work out better than I could have planned myself. Our mission house of sisters had an experience like this during our house time together earlier this month. All of our houses have a time away at the beginning of the year to get to know each other and have fun.
This may sound funny, but every spring I read the children’s book, “The Secret Garden.” For those of you who haven’t read it, it’s about a young girl whose parents die and she is sent to live with her uncle in a grand manor in Yorkshire, England. She grew up pampered by servants, but not loved by her parents, so she is a little spoiled and angry girl. The story is about how she comes alive and is ultimately transformed.
Do you ever find yourself needing a reminder about some of the basics of our faith? As I entered into Holy Week this year, I found myself trying to comprehend the profundity and mystery of Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection. In the Gospel of John, during the Last Supper, Jesus asks the disciples the question, “Do you realize what I have done for you?” (John 13:12). My honest answer was, “No, how can I? It all seems so big and beyond me and hard to grasp. How can I truly know what you have done for me?” And to be even more honest, I didn’t really expect to come to any kind of conclusions.
Since entering religious life, I’ve learned that the paschal mystery is constantly playing out in my life - over and over and over again. I’ve had many sufferings, deaths, and resurrections in my short time as a religious sister, yet each one is uniquely different and takes me deeper into the Heart of Christ. Each one makes me radiate Christ a little more and allows me to love in a way that is less about me and more about the other.
I am assigned to our foreign mission in Europe for the year and it has been full of change and unexpected new challenges around every corner - culture shock, Covid, and the war in Ukraine. It has challenged me to approach each day as a gift from the Father, not knowing what I will face that day or what type of new problem there will be.
Sr. Agnes Maria will make her perpetual profession of vows this coming June. In this interview, she describes her journey of preparation as a time of drawing near to Jesus at the foot of the Cross.
