Total gift of self

When one studies the life of so many saints, their gift of self becomes evident no matter what the circumstances. They are reflecting in their own way the gift of self that characterized Jesus. If we want to follow Jesus, to be united to Jesus, we will hear him call us, too, to this complete gift of self.

This is a quote from one of Sister Clare Pratt's Letters to the whole Society of the Sacred Heart in June of 2003:
"As we fix our gaze on Jesus poor and once more resolve to follow him in the midst of our fear-gripped world, our logo of the world inside the Heart takes on new meaning. The Heart of Jesus is a place of refuge and welcome, a shelter, a safe place, a place of peace where every fear is put to rest. His is a Heart open to ALL. Like a Mother, He reaches out to the weakest and most vulnerable, the mentally and physically handicapped, the psychologically fragile, the addict, the prisoner, the refugee, the unwanted and unloved, those suffering any form of rejection. His Heart is the wounded heart of humanity, pierced by injustice and oppression, crushed by rejection and exclusion, crying out: 'My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?'"

This paragraph from the Letter touched me deeply and has been a source of prayer for me since I used it for prayer on First Friday.
Jesus certainly gave Himself entirely to whoever was suffering, in need, and still is suffering in the wounded heart of humanity.

I need to go back to this Letter later as there is a call to real poverty to be following Jesus who chose to be poor; I felt that I really lived my vow of poverty in Chile and was happy to be sharing the life of the poor, at least in some ways. It is much harder for me now as I have all that I need and more so it is a challenge to live without desiring anything but being grateful for all that we are given. I need to reflect on what Jesus is asking me now with regard to poverty.