(Photo of Siberian cocklebur by Miroslaw i Joanna Bucholic from Pixabay)
By Sister Michele Morek
To the casual observer, I didn’t do a very good job of making retreat. It was not our Benedictine Brother Zachary’s fault: we were distracted by the deaths of two of our Sisters during those days. There was the exhaustion that follows on grief, and the nights of interrupted sleep through keeping vigil with them. I would fall asleep during the day, and (OK, I will admit it!) occasionally console myself by taking refuge in an NCAA basketball game.
Sister Michele Morek
But his theme was appropriate: “Hoping in the Word of God.” I had chosen to make his retreat because I was intrigued by his interesting background in nursing and prison ministry, and I was not disappointed.
In a discussion of the prayer of Lectio Divina, he said he told the prisoners that it was like walking through a field of cockleburs: after your walk you see what stuck to your socks. So, I am doing that now.
What managed to stick with me was a reminder that God speaks to us in many ways – scripture, our own thoughts, nature, other people, and our experiences. Our part in it is to SAVOR those words of God, like fine wine.
As hard as it was, in that week before Holy Week, God was speaking to us in the deaths of our Sisters – whether we wanted to hear that particular message or not. But the message was one of hope. As Brother Zachary reminded us, Community is a ministry of Hope.
A blessed Easter season to all of you!
“Be consoled; do not doubt; we want to see you in our midst in heaven, for the Lover of us all wants this too, and who is there who could resist him?” (Angela Merici: Last Legacy)
- Can you remember a time when you heard the Word of God in scripture, in nature, from other people, or from your own experiences? Give thanks.
- How has one of the “Communities” to which you belong been a source of Hope for you?
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