13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem in today's Gospel. Someone comes and says: "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus tells him: "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head."

Then to another Jesus said, "Follow me." But this one asked to go first to bury his father. Jesus tells him, "let the dead bury the their dead. But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."

That is what we also are called to do: proclaim the kingdom of God!

How am I doing this? What might Jesus be saying to me today?

It is Sunday, the Lord's day; take some time to be with Him today!

Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul

I love the entrance antiphon for this feast as it is such a good summary of these two great saints.

"These are the ones who, living in the flesh, planted the Church with their blood; they drank the chalice of the Lord and became the friends of God." 

It is good to go back over the lives of each of these saints and see how the Lord worked in each. He also is working in each of us to bring us into the Communion of Saints and make us good "friends of God".

Feast of the Sacred Heart

The liturgy for the Feast of the Sacred Heart this year is my favorite with Jesus addressing the parable of the shepherd who would leave the 99 and go after the lost one until he finds it and then rejoice with his friends because he has found his lost sheep.

Jesus is our good shepherd and does not abandon us. We are so loved and called to go forth and love others. We are all one flock and no one is to be excluded. We had a wonderful letter from our Mother General in which she told us that knowing we are so loved by God no matter what is the essence of hope!

Happy Feast to all. We will have our Liturgy and renewal of vows at 4:00 followed by dinner with the RSCJs in the area and other guests. 

Reviewing the retreat

The first day of the retreat opened with a handout that has a picture of Christ with a multitude of people in the cavity of His Heart. Below is this quote from Teilhard de Chardin's Hymn of the Universe:
"I love you, Lord Jesus, because of the multitude who shelter within you and whom, if one clings closely to you, on can hear with all the other beings murmuring, praying, weeping,..."

Then come these questions: Who is in your heart? What do you bring to the retreat?

Then, we said the following response together: We entrust to you, O God.
The cares of our hearts
The needs of your Church
The wounds of the world
The hopes we carry, for ourselves and for others
The times we have been too self-protective
The many gifts we've been given
The deep desire for peace

Besides the readings from our Constitutions, we were given the following Scripture passages as suggestions for prayer:
Ephesians 1:7-10; Wisdom Chapter 9; 1 John 1:1-4; and any Taize antiphon you love.

We are called to be prophets

One of the thoughts that struck me in the retreat was the reminder that we are all called to be prophets. I think this means for me to not only announce the good news, but to help motivate others to change things that are not so good. This means studying the issues, not being afraid to speak out and to work for a better world. For me, the top issue to be resolved immediately is the plight of the refugees. We are detaining them in horrible conditions; we are creating "concentration camps"! If we saw another country doing this, we would all be against it. Children are being detained in camps for months separated from relatives, having to follow a prison routine; I learned that in the detention camp in Florida the average stay for a child is 67 days. Think what that does to anyone, but especially to the young. We must rally round those who are trying to welcome refugees and allow them to experience the freedom that the United States has always held in such high esteem. We need also to remember that many of our ancestors came to this country as refugees. We have land and resources to still receive others and not lock them up on arrival.

Friends

Last night when I wrote my blog about the delightful supper with the girls from Villa Duchesne I forgot to put today's date so, of course, it was published last night. That is the reason I am writing again this morning. I have been thinking so much about the value of friendships and how grateful I am to having had so many really wonderful friends; I still have wonderful friends, but I also have many now in heaven. I think friendship is a gift, but it is also to be cultivated. Pope Francis speaks so often about the culture of encounter - going out to others, listening to them to know their stories, their hopes and dreams. 

I have been reading the Pope's Apostolic Exhortation, Christus Vivit to Young People and to the Entire People of God. I think that the Holy Spirit is inspiring me to use some of this Exhortation in my blogs after this week. Now, I still want to share more of my retreat and prepare for the feasts of the Sacred Heart of Jesus this Friday and the Immaculate Heart of Mary on Saturday.

Wonderful Surprise Today

We had a lovely surprise this evening. Twenty-five girls from our school, Villa Duchesne, in St. Louis arrived to spend a few days here. They had supper with us and they were delightful! They will be sleeping on the third floor of the original building built in 1898 when we began a boarding school here. They arrived straight from the airport and could not get over the beauty of California; they came on 280, a highway that is gorgeous to drive and arrived just in time for our 5:00 supper which we ate with them in the patio. The weather has been perfect and we had at least eight tables set for six or eight so we were two RSCJs at each table. One of the girls at my table could not get over the fact that I grew up in a house not only on the same street in St. Louis, but only two houses down from hers. I taught at Villa Duchesne in 1953 which was no doubt before their parents had even been born! They are going to do some social work in San Francisco, and feed the hungry, pick up trash and also see something of our surroundings. They will have Mass with us on Wednesday morning and then something with us in the Fireside room. It is just good to see young people and these girls were so polite and wholesome! 
Not a very spiritual blog tonight, but I am so proud of these Sacred Heart Seniors that I had to write about them.

Thoughts from retreat

We came out of retreat on Sunday morning, the Feast of the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It was a great retreat and I have many thoughts to share. One of the first is a great gratitude for apostolic friendships. We were looking at the friendship between St. Madeleine Sophie and St. Philippine Duchesne but were also asked to look at the friendships we have had and even to write to thank some of our friends. Many of mine are in heaven now, but I realized that I still have many and, although I only wrote three notes, I could have written to many; friendship is a gift!

Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

We come out of retreat today!

This is a beautiful feast and I am so grateful

for the attraction I have for the Eucharist.

That is a such a gift!

Feast of the Most Holy Trinity

Today we are in retreat for this feast of the Trinity. I will, however, finish today with the gifts of the Holy Spirit for I think it is good that we ask for Wonder and Beauty.

Draw us into Yourself, Spirit of Wonder and Beauty,

so that we may worship You and glorify You.

In union with Jesus who has given us this Spirit,

we return to You, loving God, all that You have given us. Amen!

Do keep praying for the retreat!

The gift of Reverence

Abide with us, Spirit of Reverence,

so that we may be transformed into Your image

and become holy.

I entered the Society of the Sacred Heart on this day, 69 years ago! And today, Oakwood begins our annual retreat until June 23. I count on your prayers.

The gift of Knowledge

Fill us with insight, Spirit of Knowledge,

so that we may put on the mind of Christ

and see God in all creation.