This month, the panelists took some time to reflect on the sources of wisdom that continue to sustain them on their journey of life. The sisters share their personal experiences of faith, the challenges they’ve faced, their moments of uncertainty, their relationship with God, and their ongoing commitment to personal and spiritual growth. We asked them the following question:
What is a piece of wisdom that you received in religious life that continues to sustain you today?
…
I had thought that this invitation to share the piece of wisdom that has sustained me through my vowed life in Christ would be easy. Instead, I have found myself befuddled — trying to bundle 66 years of the Spirit’s guidance in my life as a Daughter of Charity into this short reflection.
Yes, Spirit is “the gift that keeps on giving,” and, yes, we are all “better together” in this communion of abiding love. However, I found myself struggling to describe — let alone name — the core sustaining word of wisdom that is my heart’s resting place.
So, at times, I call it an edgy, trusted remembering — remembering how God’s Holy Spirit has somehow managed to draw wisdom out of all my/our successes and failures. It is wisdom when I trust that I’m being led to contribute to a holy purpose beyond knowing. It is wisdom to believe that my personal purpose is mysteriously and inextricably interwoven within God’s holy design of completion, even if that design is beyond my comprehension.
All this draws me, at last, to Luke’s Resurrection story, wherein two angels still invite us all to that Gospel invitation: “Remember what he said to you while you were still in Galilee? That the Son of Man must … be crucified and rise on the third day? And they remembered his words” (Luke 24:6-8).
Truth to tell, these days I don’t remember all that well. Most days I’m double-checking my calendar to be sure I’m ready for what’s coming down the pike. Yet every single day, I’m held secure by the abiding personal presence of wisdom.
This divine companion gently and insistently calls me, and all of us, to remember and trust one overriding fact of faith: Despite, through and especially beyond all my/our half-baked plans and expectations that have persisted throughout all the years and years, God’s Holy Spirit is the communal “piece of wisdom,” remembering each of us for the long, eternal haul.
Sister Honora Remes has been a Daughter of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul for 66 years. Born in New Prague, Minnesota, she was first attracted to the Daughters of Charity because of their vow of service to the poor. Her various ministries have included ongoing spiritual direction, annual retreats, vocation ministry, serving as pastor in several Michigan parishes in the Saginaw Diocese, serving as Daughters of Charity provincial, and offering spiritual awakening classes to homeless women in St. Patrick Center, St. Louis.
Originally posted by Global Sisters Report. Read the full article here.