Love Outpoured
We have a school right next to our convent in the Bronx, so it’s normal to hear the kids playing and yelling next door. As I was walking past the school approaching the convent, I heard from a distance a little voice yell “Maria!” I didn’t think anything of it, so I kept walking only to hear another even louder cry, “MARIA!” Concerned for the child and wondering who “Maria” was, I turned to see a woman holding the hand of a little girl looking at me from the parking lot. The woman was laughing with joy as her little granddaughter thought I was the Blessed Mother! The little one had just learned about the Virgen Maria in class and could not believe she was before her very eyes. The language barrier made it a bit hard to communicate the reality of the situation, but I knew that “no” was universal. With a big smile I said “Oh no, I’m not the Blessed Mother, but I love her so much and try to be a little more like her every day.”
As we continue with our study of the encyclical Vita Consecrata, chapter one, St. John Paul II lovingly refers to the Virgin Mary as the model of consecration and discipleship. We can be comforted to know that as we come down from the mountain of the Transfiguration, we have a mother who will catch us and gently guide us on the path of her Son.
“Mary in fact is the sublime example of perfect consecration, since she belongs completely to God and is totally devoted to Him. Chosen by the Lord, she reminds consecrated persons of the primacy of God’s initiative… a model of the acceptance of grace by human creatures” (VC 28).
While on this road of life we can check our disposition of heart. Are our hands tightly gripped on the steering wheel in a posture of control, or are they open and available to receive His gifts at His initiative? When I enter into prayer I physically open my hands on my lap as a reminder to put all control in the hands of the One who made me, my loving and heavenly Father. For encouragement in this practice I look to Mary, as she is “fully attentive to her Bridegroom ready to accept his gift” (VC 31).
I want to accept His gifts! St. Paul reminds us in the letter to the Romans that the “Love of God poured into their hearts by the Holy Spirit” (Rom 5:5). The Holy Spirit is our friend as we strive to live with discerning hearts, making decisions with the Lord. The Blessed Mother receives the love of God through the Spirit and shares it at every moment of her life; at the Nativity, in Nazareth and even at the Cross. This same sharing of love enables us to offer our life every day to Christ and cooperate with His grace.
No matter who you are or where you’re at in discernment, St. John Paul II urges us that “a filial relationship to Mary is the royal road to fidelity to one’s vocation and a most effective help for the advancing in that vocation and living it fully” (VC 31). Being on this “royal road” helps to open our disposition, allowing our hearts to be led by the Spirit as opposed to the tight grip in the driver’s seat. This paves the way for our deepest flourishing in any way that He may be calling. May we become a “little Mary” in the world, so captured by the love of God that we become the very place Jesus wants to be born.
God bless you,
The Sisters of Life Vocation Team
Sr. Maria Regina, Sr. Cora, Sr. Mary Hannah
