I explained earlier that I don’t intend to go in order with these reflections on the Maxims of the Little Institute of Jean-Pierre Medaille. This week I’m offering Maxim 84 for your reflection:
Never go ahead of grace by an imprudent eagerness, but quietly await its movements and, when it comes to you, go along with it with great gentleness, humility, fidelity, and courage.
This is one of my favorite maxims. Many years ago, I wrote a song based on this maxim and it’s been sung over and over by our sisters. Several years back a co-worker actually invited me to sing this at her wedding. Here is my adaptation of Maxim 84:
May you quietly await the movement of grace, and when it comes move gently with humility, fidelity, and courage.
The major reason for the adaptation was so that the message of this maxim would blend with the melody that grew in my head and heart around these words. That said, this maxim is one I live by in the most ordinary moments of my life. In those moments when I feel stretched to capacity with a “to do” list that is growing, I hear God saying, “never go ahead of grace.” Over and over, Médaille cautions us about “imprudent eagerness,” or “over-eagerness.” How often in our need to get the next task checked off our list of things to do, do we become “over-eager” rather than going deeper and letting God’s grace move within us? In the moments when I do go deeper and “quietly await” God’s grace, I find that is when I can, indeed, enter into a situation with humility, fidelity, and courage.
Several years after I wrote this song, I was on retreat in Madison, CT. Retreatants were being encouraged to use all our senses for prayer and perhaps even draw or paint as a way of reflecting. That’s when I began creating Mandala designs. The first one I did used the words of Quietly Await and is pictured here. This is scanned from greeting cards that we made for a craft fair for our congregation.
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I enjoy reading your blogs. I have always been interested in nuns and how they live. I consider it a privilege to be able to live a life unencumbered by the demands that living with a spouse or children place upon one.
ReplyDeleteYou also show in you blogs the ability to travel all over to experience things that many will never have the opportunity to do, to study interesting concepts,and win the respect of most people.
I do not want to criticize however in most of your blogs you speak about a great many talents that you have...you write songs, you create mandela's...you draw...you write..is there anything you can't do?
I believe that nuns truly believe that they sacrifice however what they gain in education, travel, camaradiere outweighs what they would have gained had they stayed in the world.
Dear anonymous, Thank you for your comments… I consider it a real privilege that my congregation is supportive of my ministry as Director of Communication and encourages me to be present at gatherings that build relationships among sisters, associates, and other partners in ministry. My travel is almost exclusively related to my ministry.
ReplyDeleteI have to say, I’m quite humbled by what you call talents. Believe me, I hardly see myself as any more talented than anyone else. As for what I can’t do. Ask anyone who knows me. It would fill an encyclopedia.
You use the phrase “had they stayed in the world.” I grew up visiting a cousin who was a Carmelite Nun and developed deep respect for cloistered religious communities. The Sisters of St. Joseph are not and were never founded to be a cloistered religious community. For 360 years our ministry has been to live among the people and serve the needs of the “Dear Neighbor” in whatever ways women are capable – and, yes, we are encouraged to pursue an education that allows us to continue to fulfill our mission in today’s Church and world. Our education, too, is related to our ministry.
Finally, I’m glad you have noticed that there is a real camaraderie among my sisters and associates. Yes, this is a real gift.
Joanne,
ReplyDeleteThis maxim is also one of my favorites due to the beautiful song you created and it is a great way for me to slow down and go deeper and thus more gentle. Thank you for sharing your talents.
Kathy