By Sister Marie Carmen, O.C.D.
What do you think of when you hear the words “totally-given”? Perhaps you picture a mother who gets up in the middle of the night to nurse her newborn; or a father who comes home exhausted from work and still plays catch in the yard with his son; or a wife who sits daily at the bedside of her dying spouse; or a priest who spends endless hours in the confessional. What is the motivation in all these situations? What makes people act this way? Like most things in life, it boils down to love. It is love that makes us totally-given. It is love that will sustain us and urge us on when we are tempted to be only half-given or to give up completely. It is a love that goes beyond feelings and emotions; a love that can endure trials, time, and the storms of life is a “weathered-love”, a totally-given love.
On July 16, 2023, I will make my perpetual profession, promising to live the vows of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience to Jesus my Divine Spouse FORVER. In that ceremony, I will prostrate myself on the ground, symbolizing complete surrender and my desire to be totally-given to God for the rest of my life.
Each of us has a different path to holiness. Some are called to marriage, others to the priesthood, or religious life. Yet, all of us are called to be totally-given to God as baptized Christians. Although it may look different, we are all called to this kind of intimacy with God. For, to be totally-given to God simply means to be a soul deeply, authentically, personally in love with God and to let that love dictate one’s life. The only way we become this kind of person, however, is to let God love us. As the Italians say: “God is pazzo d’amore”, that is, crazy in love with us! Thus, it is His love that will sustain us; His love that urges us on; it is His love that will transform us and make our eyes sparkle as one in love. Thus, I echo the words of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity: “let yourself be loved!”
