By Sister Michele Morek
Now, (spoiler alert!) I am no theologian, but if you met Jesus and asked him to summarize his message and ministry in one word, I think he would say “Love.”
Saint Angela bench at the Brescia House School, Bryanston, South Africa
If you met Angela Merici and asked her the same question, I’ll bet she would say the same thing. After all,
- She said, “there will be no other sign that you are in the grace of the Lord than that you love one another.”
- She quotes Saint Augustine in saying “have love and charity and then do what you please.”
- She calls Jesus “my Lover and the Lover of us all.”
- Her writings are full of the words love, charity, union/united, harmony, esteem …
I was sitting in chapel during our July Community Days, just looking at each one of my Sisters with love. When I was discerning whether or not to retire from my most recent active ministry, I had an insight that helped me decide. Especially as a member of a religious community, in a sense my major “ministry” has always been to my Sisters, perhaps just as a mother’s/father’s ministry is to their spouse and their children.
In my discernment, I spoke to Madre Angela about this, and she agreed with me.
What are your priorities in ministry? To whom do you feel that you owe your strongest obligations, and how is that reflected in your decisions?
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