Pilgrim progress- a disciple on a journey!

“Mary brought in a pound of very costly ointment, pure nard, and with it anointed the feet of Jesus, the house was filled with the scent of the ointment” (John 12: 3) As I listened to today’s Gospel being read on this Monday of Holy Week, my mind returned to the day of my Perpetual Profession back in June 2011. The text of the Gospel was that used for the liturgy of the rite of Profession. It is a passage from John’s Gospel where a woman anoints the feet of Jesus with precious ointment (John 12:1-8). The story of Jesus’ feet anointed with tears and perfume by a sinful woman is a love story, pure and simple. Not some cheap romance or TV soap love but one of complete and oblivious donation! As I stood on the threshold of complete dedication to Christ in religious life, I saw this biblical woman’s gesture and felt Jesus  saying to me: “Louise, are you ready to do the same? To be this self-emptying gift of prayer and joyful love, unafraid of stares or conflict from an often uncomprehen

  With the celebration of Vespers this evening, the Church begins the celebration of the Solemnity of the Annunciation. Indeed, it is a celebration! The first word of Archangel Gabriel’s greeting to Mary was Rejoice . And the feast of Annunciation is, first of all, a feast of quiet heavenly joy—joy over reconciliation with God, joy over the return of grace to earth. Annunciation is also a feast of triumph of humility, purity and chastity , a feast of unshakable faith in the power of God and in His unlimited love toward us his children. We see this unlimited love every day as we look at the Cross, at the outpouring of Jesus for us. At times it’s a love that doesn’t make sense. There is a Scripture passage in the Gospel of St. John, Chapter 12 which has the image of the grain of wheat. We read: “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains but a single grain.” The image of the grain of wheat dying in the earth in order to grow and bear a harvest can be seen as a me

The picture is of a statue I keep in my room. It's not the nicest of statues but it has a special place in my heart as it was a model done by Sr M. Paul our sister who passed away in 2015. It was in her art studio and almost ended up in the bin but I rescued it! It reminds us that when the burdens of life seem to crush us and weigh us down, Jesus takes them if we allow him to take them. If you look closely you can see the cracks from the weight of the boulder. I was tempted to fix it but left it as a reminder that Jesus takes my pain, suffering, nothingness and carries it willingly and lovingly. Three years later I found a scrap of paper among some art designs Sr. Paul had. It had the explanation of the piece of clay: 'the weight Jesus carries is the love He gives to us but we reject'. This Lent may we be aware of how infinitely loved we are, we are beloved and we never walk alone!