A God-Enlightened Space
Pope St. John Paul II describes fraternal communion as “a God-enlightened space in which to experience the hidden presence of the Risen Lord (Mt 18:20).” (VC 42) The mystery of God’s call in each of our lives brings us together with others along the journey, and in a special way, in a religious order, we are entrusted to each other in community.
As we look at how Jesus called each of the Apostles, His particular call to each of them was personal and unique. Even if they were called together, as in the case of Peter and Andrew, when Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Mt 4:19) they each had to give their “yes” to follow Him in their unique and personal I.
Yet at the same time, there is the reality that Jesus called them to live the “yes” of their vocation in community with each other. With all of their different backgrounds and journeys, different temperaments and preferences, Jesus called them to live community life, where they learned to live with and love each other.
On the journey of discernment, we often speak of finding ways to give a gift of yourself through the community that God has placed you in right now. This is where the Lord may give you many opportunities to grow in freedom and to come to know and experience yourself in new ways as you seek to love those around you. More importantly, this can become a place where God Himself reveals His love to you through the love of those with you along the journey: family, friends, Spiritual Directors, and mentors.
So too, as Sisters of Life, we are called to live our vocation alongside our Sisters, so that community life can then become a “God-enlightened space” where we come to recognize the presence of Jesus. Pope St. John Paul II goes on to say that, “This comes about through the mutual love of all the members of the community, a love nourished by the word and by the Eucharist, purified in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and sustained by prayer for unity, the special gift of the Spirit to those who obediently listen to the Gospel.” (VC 42)
When I was a novice, I had an experience of this “God-enlightened space” that Pope St. John Paul II is describing. One practice that we have as Sisters of Life is to have a reconciliation service sometime during the Advent season to ask for forgiveness for any ways that we have failed to love in community life. This particular Advent season had come with many unexpected ways that we felt united to the Holy Family on the tough journey to Bethlehem. So after having to reschedule our reconciliation service a couple times, we were determined to not let our Advent go by without having our reconciliation service. We were finally all able to be together on December 23 rd – the same night that we had planned to decorate the Christmas tree. To me, these two events seemed completely contradictory, but God knew exactly what we needed. After we asked forgiveness of our Sisters, we headed to our front foyer in the Motherhouse and immediately started to decorate the Christmas tree with lights, ribbons and ornaments. To my surprise, I experienced a much deeper communion with my Sisters after having my weakness and failures received by them in love. It truly became a “God-enlightened space” that went much deeper than any external Christmas lights, but a place where I was learning to encounter the presence of Jesus through the gift of community life.
God bless you,
The Sisters of Life Vocation Team
Sr. Maria Regina, Sr. Cora, Sr. Mary Hannah
