God’s Spirit
A Prayer for our Sisters

In this time of pain and promise,
we call on God’s Spirit to bless
the leadership of LCWR, of our
Congregation, and all women religious
who strive to live the gospel in these
uncertain times.

We call on the Spirit of God to reveal
the way forward that is faithful to God’s
dream for us and our lives together.

May all who are called to engage
in prayer and conversation come to
the table with hearts that are open,
transparent, and faith-filled. May their
reflection be marked by a deep listening
to the voice of the Spirit at work in
our world.

May the holy ones who have gone
before us inspire us by their courage
and wisdom and affirm that we are
not alone.

May we continue to faithfully live the
questions of our time and witness to
the people of God that we are women
at home with mystery and filled with
fierce hope for our shared future.
Amen.

by Sister Chris Koellhoffer, IHM

Please feel free to use this prayer and distribute widely!

Pentecost brings unexpected blessings … to say the least! On Sunday I went to church with my family and one of the threads in the sermon was about how the Spirit is especially close to us during those times when we feel broken. With the Spirit close by, breathing within us, we can find new life! Such a powerful message considering that these words were spoken before a church community who had lost its home in the 2008 floods in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and had for 2 years worshipped in several different places until a new home was found in late 2010.

Here’s what really blew me away. In the midst of the sermon, Simon my two-year-old nephew, who had been playing intensely with his new John Deere truck and must have heard the word “broken” a dozen times, looked up and said, “Broken.” It was terribly cute. But then he looked over to his father (my brother) and said, “Da-da fix?”

Simon (who was named after Simon Peter) had it totally right. He heard Scripture proclaimed, he heard the message, and he got it. He knew that his dad could fix whatever brokenness was being talked about because he’d experienced his dad’s handiwork before. My brother is an engineer and is a master at bringing broken or misfit toys, gadgets, and other random items to new life.

As Simon so aptly pointed out, you and I each have the responsibility of being part of the new life that is to emerge from our brokenness — our personal brokenness and our common brokenness. “Fixing” doesn’t mean slapping on some glue or painting over the problem; rather, it means being open to new life. If this church community had tried to glue and paint over their church building that had sat for days in a flood, it would have been in vain for all the destruction that had taken place. They grieved but did not remain in that space or place for long as they opened themselves to the Spirit who had drawn close indeed.

As Pentecost washes over us, consider what it means to be broken in your own life and also in our world. What does it mean for you to allow the Spirit to draw near and to be open to new life?

Today’s Scripture reading from Saint Paul’s letter to the Romans is a powerful reminder that each and every one of us has a calling.

All of us, in union with Christ, form one body, and as parts of it we belong to each other. Our gifts differ according to the grace given us. If your gift is prophecy, then use it as your faith suggests; if administration, then use it for administration; if teaching, then use it for teaching. Let the preachers deliver sermons, the almsgivers give freely, the officials be diligent, and those who do works of mercy do them cheerfully.

Do not let your love be a pretense, but sincerely prefer good to evil. Love each other as much as sisters and brothers should, and have a profound respect for each other. Work for the Lord with untiring effort and with great earnestness of spirit. If you have hope, this will make you cheerful. Do not give up if trials come; and keep on praying. If any of the saints are in need you must share with them; and you should make hospitality your special care.

Bless those who persecute you: never curse them, bless them. Rejoice with those who rejoice and be sad with those in sorrow. Treat everyone with equal kindness; never be condescending but make real friends with the poor. Do not allow yourself to become self-satisfied. (Romans 12:5-16)

A vocation is not just a calling to consecrated life (such as becoming a sister or monk or deacon); a vocation is a calling to each and everyone of us to live our life fully using the gifts that God has given to us and the grace that God continually gives us. Saint Paul gives us some examples (first paragraph) and he also gives us a kind of road map to living fully (second two paragraphs). Listen to some of the key words of this road map:

prefer good to evil … love … have profound respect for people
minister with earnestness of spirit … hope … do not give up
keep praying … share … give hospitality … bless and never curse people
be in solidarity with those who rejoice or are in sorrow
treat everyone with equal kindness … make real friends with the poor

These are some of the dispositions that we can take to heart and in doing so live more fully the life God has blessed us with.

Pick one, just one, of these “landmarks” on the road map and consider how you can take it to heart each moment of this day and into the week.

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Join us for prayer using this readin today at noon Central Time at http://anunslife.org/live. Prayer is still at noon, but because of Daylight Savings Time, it may have changed for you.
Here’s the time in your neck of the woods.

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