Blessed

I am blessed with a love that never gives up, a long and lasting love, a love that is just constant and faithful it doesn't even depend on my response.
It is this love that makes me able to love.
Yes, I am blessed to be loved by God.

From faith to fidelity

 

The other day the priest who celebrated our Mass gave a very interesting insight. He said that faith is a gift from God that we have to constantly ask for; fidelity is our response to this gift of faith.
What is faith? There are so many responses and insights on this question.
At this point in my life I can say that faith is acknowledging that life is immersed in a greater mystery that is beyond myself and my concerns. This is the grace I ask from God: to see this truth and to live by this truth.
Living in faith will help me to make sense of, or at least to accept the contradictions and perplexities of life.
Living in faith will help me to live life with enthusiasm, creativity and activity even when I do not see the results of my efforts.
Living in faith will help me to see that I am connected to people, to the whole universe and to God. I am and will always be a daughter, a sister, a friend, a spouse, a mother.
And this is fidelity- a journey of living in faith.

Change

Fidelity is not about immobility. In fact, to refuse to change is to be unfaithful to God because God's is a love that is ever ancient and ever new.

Faithful

God is faithful to His promise. Always faithful.
But we should let God be God, and not want God to fit into our categories.
Instead, we implore for the gift of faith, to see God's hand always at work in the ordinariness of our everyday life.

Fidelity

Fidelity doesn't mean being in a static and unchanging situation. Fidelity means coming to grips with change and continuing to discover the sense in saying yes to your commitment, in good times and in bad times. Fidelity is to welcome change as the necessary backdrop of growing deeper roots. Fidelity is to have the courage to spread our wings.

We shall overcome

I recently watched a television interview of a man who, fourteen months ago, lost his eldest daughter in a terrible accident. Six months before that, his wife died. So this eldest daughter was practically like a second mother to his youngest son.
He is a permanent deacon, so it was understandable that he talked about how faith has sustained him throughout the whole ordeal of waiting until the definitive news that his daughter’s body has been found. It is still faith in God that colors his everyday life. He said, “I believe that it is part of God’s will, though it is not always easy to understand”.
What has struck me the most, however, were not his words but his eyes. I cannot describe them. Even without saying anything, his eyes would have communicated a certain depth that has been reached only through the royal road of suffering. It wasn’t sadness I saw in those eyes, but joy tempered by the awareness of one’s fragility. It was something quiet and silent, a joy that has been tamed by pain and the experience of brokenness.
His eyes seemed to tell me, to tell us that in the midst of the most terrible pain, something good can come out; that God is faithful, though He doesn’t take away the suffering and the pain.
Here was a man who live each moment and each day with gratitude and trust that God never fails even when He seems silent. He will never fail us. We just need to trust.
And I believe him because of his eyes.

Faithful

Today is the feast of our religious congregation. There is an air of celebration, as two Sisters in my community celebrate their 60th anniversary of religious profession, while two others celebrate their silver anniversary. As the priest said in his homily, it is a counter-testimony to a society that frowns on long-term commitments.
Having been a professed Sister for nineteen years, I can say that I admire these Sisters for staying on. Living in a community with people whom you have not chosen to be with is not easy. In our Constitutions and in the Letters of our Foundress, Mother Mazzarello, we read beautiful expressions such us "give the best to your Sisters" or "who loves Jesus agrees with everybody". But in concrete everyday life, it is not easy. I think that at least once in our life we have been tempted to just go away to a place where "I will be more appreciated and respected".
So why do people stay, why do I stay?
Is it just a habit that is difficult to break?
Or is it the fear of the unknown that prevents me leaving?
Both reasons are true, yet, deep in my heart I know that the reason why I stay is beyond me.
So today I celebrate "fidelity", not mine but God's.
Yes, in the story of my life, in the life stories of many religious men and women, the real "faithful one" is God. His fidelity is sure, creative, forgiving, hopeful, life-giving.
My favorite name for God is "Everyday compassion", my second favorite name for God is "the faithful one". He calls me, yes, imperfect, inconstant, weak me. He calls me everyday to give Him my hand and allow Him to lead me in the dance of life. At times I let go of His hands and go my own way, and then I feel insecure and alone. But maybe that is also part of the dance. God is such a faithful partner that He waits for me at the right time and with the right step.
I am never alone, God is a faithful dancing partner.

Searching for God's face

When I started this blog two years ago, I did it as a sort of experiment, to try my hand on this new technology. I had my own reservations as to writing down my deepest thoughts and experiences and sharing them online, so I opted to use a pseudonym. I even had a hard time looking for a title for this blog.
Looking back, I can see that everything has been a blessing. The title, "Everyday Compassion" is how I want to describe God. He is a God of the ordinary. He is a God who is with me in the monotony of daily life, in the exciting adventures, in my little victories and in my failures. As I read through the postings I've made these past two years, indeed, the face of God as "Everyday Compassion" emerges.
I wouldn't have arrived at this point if He hadn't stayed on patiently with me. God's greatest gift to me is not His magically resolving my problems or getting me out of my difficulties. His greatest gift is His choice to stay with me, in good and in bad times. He is truly Emmanuel, God-with-us.