Since I have begun preparations for entrance, the phrase that holds almost constantly in my mind is from our dear Saint Therese: “everything is grace”. I never would have argued with her before, though lately it has penetrated into my heart in a new way where it is not only accepted but more actively understood.
One of these moments came as I was working and additionally fundraising to pay off my loans. He called family, many dear friends, and even strangers to donate and enter in with me on my journey as benefactors. Everything seemed to be on track, but then our Lord surprised me greatly when fundraising was finished and it appeared that my entrance expenses were somehow already covered! That was certainly not a part of the plan that I had! Oh how much better His was! I cannot point out exactly how this happened, and so I like to think that our Lord Himself had His hands in multiplying my funds! I cannot tell you what an immense relief to be freed from debt so that I may enter. Moreover, the grace is being poured upon my family as well, for I have been given an additional month, where I would have been working to obtain funds for entrance, to spend with my family before I enter!
This is a rather concrete and prominent example, though it seems that our Lord has turned the whole of my life at present into a kind of song of preparation, for even the “small moments” and details of life do not seem so very small anymore. Rather, they seem to carry a greater concentration of that grace, appearing as confirmations of His will in my arrangements. I have been given innumerable interactions, lessons, and opportunities for new growth in these “moments of grace” as well. He has delighted in showing me that I am being impelled by this Love, expressed to me in one hundred thousand moments like these. In this way He has given Therese’s quotation a deep meaning for me in this joyful time of preparation. I am greatly humbled as I am made aware that it is not my own steps and will that are carrying me, but rather His grace, moment by moment, that is carrying me deeper in my vocation and fortifying my response to His call.
