It was Lent. I don’t remember what year exactly. As Carmelite Sisters, we pray the Rosary every day, and like other Catholics throughout the world, because it was Monday, I knew it as the day for the “Joyful Mysteries” of the Rosary… Somehow or other I got the idea of “Praying the Rosary with St. Joseph” or described in another way – “Praying the Rosary through the Eyes of St. Joseph.”
I have always struggled with the story of the unnamed man in the Gospel who, for 38 years, seemed content to lie on his mat by the pool of Bethesda. Why didn’t he ask those who brought him there every day to move him closer to the water or help him into the pool?
Lent. The Holy Land. Mother Luisita. Let’s connect the dots together, because, yes, there is a connection and it contains both a Lenten reminder and an invitation. The other day, I was reflecting on an article I had recently read, The Tale of Two Seas. Its lesson impacted me in a deep way. When I finished reading it, I felt, rather I realized, that it contained a special message for me personally.
One of the priests in the Los Angeles Archdiocese shared the story of his conversion to Catholicism and, ultimately, to the priesthood. It all began when a friend invited him to attend a Catholic Mass. He told us that the moment he stepped into the church, he sensed a special presence of God.
“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” (C.S. Lewis)
In this world filled with so much pain, there remains one sure and certain foundation on which we can place our hope: heaven is at work to bring good out of all things (cf. Romans 8:28).
There is something compelling about the sea. The vastness of it. The quiet, gentle waves rolling on shore. The rock formations with their panorama of misty spray bursting from the crashing waves. The sparkling of playful sunlight dancing upon its surface.
Mother Luisita was a soul of deep prayer in a union with God that permeated her daily life and could be seen in her motherly love and kindness with each person. In addition, she would write to the sisters: “My prayer for you is to be what God wants you to be – a saint. Is your soul taking little steps towards heaven or is it flying there?”
“If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation” 2 Cor.5:17
Close your hands for a few seconds and check out your knuckles. How does it feel? Does it hurt? Can you do anything important without using your fingers? To keep them closed for a lengthy amount of time ultimately becomes painful, does it? Just think it probably makes it impossible to lovingly caress the faces of those you love most, to live a normal life full of love, inner peace and joy.