 |
Reflection
for the Vigil of Monastic Profession for S.
Suzanne Fitzmaurice
ByS.
Anne Shepard
June
26, 2004
The Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary time. Tomorrow will be no ordinary
Sunday for our community and contrary to the popular notion of
the number, it will be a very lucky day for us. The mystery of
the Word of God in all of the prayers and readings of the Eucharistic
liturgy, phrases also quoted in The Rule, and the gift of your
promise, Suzanne, of perpetual commitment to us, causes us to
be full of joy and hope tonight.
We have been taught by Mary Irene that the psalm focuses the
readings and sets a theme for the Sunday liturgy. This
Sunday we pray Psalm 16:
“ You are my inheritance, O Lord...
You will show me the path of
life and fullness of joys forever.”
God is our inheritance.
While having the theme of inheritance percolate for a couple
of weeks, I noticed when I went into sisters’ offices that
almost all have some memento from their homes. The only
family treasure I requested when our family home was dismantled
was the Hummel statue of the Madonna and Child, a wedding present
from my father to my mother, a symbol to me of the primacy of
our Catholic upbringing. Others have a rocking chair, a wall
hanging, a rosary, a picture, a clock, a vase, a table or the
like. We keep simple reminders that we were introduced
to the life of faith and we first walked the path of truth in
our families. For many it was where we were baptized as
infants, confirmed as young adults and thus introduced to the
call to be disciples of Christ.
Inheritance can be a title or property; it can be attributes
acquired via biological heredity, or it can be an attribute passed
from our parents. For instance we inherited our hair texture
and eye color, our pigeon toes or bucked teeth. Whatever it is,
it’s given without our choosing or given out of unconditional
love. Nothing had to be earned or proven. Ordinarily
inheritances are given from one who loves the other so much,
one who has such a deep care that he or she wants to make sure
their life is made easier and that they are remembered by the
gift left upon death.
God is our inheritance. The psalmist tells us that the
gift is a promise that God will show us the path of life. And
the fullness of joys forever - forever. Not just on my
good days. Not just when I feel like accepting the joy. Not
just when I measure up by trying to prove to all around me that
I am capable. God’s going to show us the way
and then if I follow that way freely, if I commit wholeheartedly, I’ll
share in that divine joy forever.
Our religious tradition, the biblical tradition and The Rule
of Benedict assure us that we are heirs of God’s goodness. The
Hebrew and Christian scriptures are full of guarantees that we
are children of a God of unconditional love and heirs of this
God forever. God has promised us that. Our profession
is a way of saying out loud to our God, our community, our family, “God
I believe you and I want help for the rest of my life responding
to that love. Show me the path.”
The direction we are to follow as adults is initiated by a call
from God, a call that is mysterious and often obscure at first. We
have glimpses of differences in the call and the responses to
that call in the readings for tomorrow.
In the book of Kings, God told Elijah to appoint Elisha
as his heir. So Elijah calls out and tells Elisha to follow him
right away. Elisha tells Elijah not now, but not to worry. He’ll
be there as soon as he takes care of his parents. In the gospel,
we read about Jesus calling the apostles. Jesus gets a
bit annoyed and seems to be saying “I don’t want
you to wait to think you have to take care of everything before
you follow me.” Perhaps the difference in the divine response
has to do with the motivation behind the listener’s temporary
delay in following. Elisha was coming - he had a desire
to go. He was going to follow as soon as he thought he
was able to after he said goodbye to his parents, took
care of the oxen and fed his people. He knew he’d
get the throne. But you get the sense in the gospel of
Luke that the apostles seemed to be stalling because they were
afraid of the demands and conditions of following. “The
son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Heck, they
weren’t even sure they would have a bed. Jesus demands
more than Elisha. He believed that ploughing for the kingdom,
for the reign of God, meant sacrifice and looking toward the
future. Dianna Bergant says in her reflection on the readings
in America magazine “commitment to the service of God supercedes
all other valid commitments.” What we have in front
of us are examples in our sacred history wherein God haunts until
people freely give in to the response God wants. This chapel
is full of women who have responded to God to follow on a given
path, who have a deep sense of presence and communion with God,
who have placed the commitment to the monastic way of life above
all other commitments, and who know that this presence prevails
after death.
Suzanne, our monastic lives have more fullness, our vision is
made more clear and our inheritance made more secure and manifest
in your promise of profession. It is a profound personal
moment for you. It is a more profound moment for us, members
of your community. Your “yes” marks another
historical free act in salvation history, in our monastic history. You
will freely proclaim your intent to commit to lifelong fidelity,
obedience and stability in this place. By doing so you
are adding to the fullness of divine joy of which the psalmist
spoke.
“
You will show me the path of life and fullness of joys forever.” St.
Benedict refers to this psalm in the Prologue to the Rule. “What
is more delightful than this voice of the Lord calling to us? See
how the Lord in His love shows us the way of life.” (Pro.
20)
God is whom we have inherited and God is whom we meet in serving
others. Yes, divine gift is what this whole profession is about.
Thank you for accepting and sharing the gift with us. |
