Readings and celebration call us to renew our faith in God
by Sister Sally Ann Brickner
Faith is a major theme in this Sunday’s texts from Sacred Scripture. St. Paul writes to the Hebrews about Abraham’s deep faith in God that led him to pitch his tent in lands unknown and to be willing to sacrifice his most beloved son. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus enjoins his disciples to be faithful servants ever ready for their Master’s return, and to put their faith not in perishable things but in treasure that will last forever.
At our Motherhouse this weekend our Eucharistic Celebration will be a time of great joy, of jubilee! We rejoice in the abiding faith of our three jubilarians: Sister Joanne Kinjerski (70 years), Sister Monica Bongert (60 years) and Sister Maria Drzewiecki (60 years). These three women of faith ventured from familiar familial settings in Kewaunee, Oshkosh and Duck Creek to lands and ministries unknown when they responded to God’s call to religious life as Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Cross. Like Abraham and Sarah, they trusted that God would be with them in all the circumstances of their lives. As they continue to serve in community today, they are amassing a treasure that neither rust nor moss will consume, a treasure that will last forever.
May God bless abundantly these, our jubilarians! These Sisters would readily recount how enriching and meaningful their lives have been. May many more women and men be inspired to follow in their footsteps to proclaim Jesus’ Good News as religious, should that be their vocational call. For what Jesus said to His disciples is true even today: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”
Prayer for our jubilarians:
“We thank God every time we remember you,
constantly praying with joy in every one of our prayers for all of you,
because of your sharing in the Gospel from the first day until now.”
~Philippians 1:3-5
(adapted to first-person plural)
Congratulations to the Sister Jubilarians and God’s blessings on all the Sisters.