Transcription
[Music]
Welcome to Let Love, a podcast with the Sisters of Life. We invite you to join us for conversation, looking at life through the lens of love. You are loved. You are made in God's image, and your life matters. Let's talk about it.
Hello and welcome back to Let Love, a podcast. I'm Sister Marie Veritas. This is Sister Our New State, and it's wonderful to be with you today. It really is. I'm just so thrilled, thrilled, thrilled. And what are we going to talk about today, Sister?
Well, it's kind of exciting. Let love fill you. Oh, yeah. It's, I think, a lot to unpack in this one. Wow. Yeah. I love the idea of it. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. But, you know, Sister, I wonder before we get started, I have a bit of a confession to make.
You do? Yeah. I have to tell you something.
What? Well, I'm having a conversion to wood. Well, I know. I, I just have to come clean. On a previous episode, I spoke of squirrels. Yes. I remember that. Very. And again, my, I wouldn't say animosity, that's a strong word, but again, the squirrels in our neighborhood are troubled. And yeah, and I've had some negative experiences. Yeah. But and other sisters, that I could respect that. Okay. And I'm grateful for your understanding and you're receiving me. Yeah. But to be honest, I am having a conversion. My heart has opened to a squirrel.
This is amazing. What happened?
Well, his name is Scraggles. Wow. And it really did a can, it was just, it kind of came out of my heart like in a moment. Wow. And I knew his name was Scraggles. And again, I, the squirrel caught my eye because he was different than the other squirrels. Oh, yes. And my heart was really moved with compassion because this squirrel, Scraggles, highly unintelligent, he was eating his, eating leaves when I first saw him. His mouth was stuffed with leaves, which again, I've seen squirrels with bagels and pizza and other things. Squirrels in this neighborhood don't eat leaves. And then the next time I saw him, he was like gnawing on a giant stick and he looked confused and scraggly. The other thing about Scraggles is that he looks like he's been dipped. Yes. Like he's had a little squirrel pants on. Can your bottom half of him is like light brown, reddish. Yes. And the top is gray.
You've seen him? I have.
It's like someone to come by the talon and chicken nugget in ketchup. Yeah. Well, and here's the thing. It's like I knew he was struggling. And and he wasn't filling up on a good stuff. No. So the house rule here is no one is to feed the squirrels. No one. I never even thought about it. It's good for you. Thank you, Sister. But Scraggles is now my new duty area. And and I have been feeding him. And I don't worry. I've come sure that with all his sisters. And they all know. I've been transparent. And and it's been beautiful just to just engage Scraggles in relationship. He loves peanut M&Ms. He's buried them in various places. I see him getting stronger. I, I gave him some stale leftover pancakes. He was all about it. And I do, I just feel like a new place is open in my heart. And it's, you know, none of us want to live rejecting no other forms of life or life in general. And so, yeah, I, I'm just thrilled about this new beginning.
That's amazing. I mean, it sounds like as I struggled, husband filled with good things, you have been filled with a new awareness. It's a nice connection. Yeah. Yeah. No, it actually has. It's been a light in my heart. I can't tell you how much I love seeing him. That's beautiful. He is rather compelling and cute. I have. Highly unintelligent, which somehow makes him more endearing. Definitely. Yeah. He's kind of like the chicken on or like the squirrel in Ice Age, you know, that kind of personality or temperament. Anyway, I love it. Let love fill you. And I, I'm on the train. Any men. But I imagine maybe we should start with a prayer. Sure. Get focused. Sounds great. Thanks for endearing my antics. Oh, I'd love it. I'm so thrilled that you're on my team now. So you want to praise your shirt. Remember the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. Amen. Come, Holy Spirit. Come, Lord Jesus. Jesus, we praise and thank you for your goodness, your blessing, and your mercy. Lord, we come to you with thirsty hearts. We ask you to fulfill us with your light and your love. Fill us to overflowing, Lord. We entrust ourselves, our families, all the needs and attentions of our hearts to your heart as we pray. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Our Lady, Queen of Peace, pray for us. The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Well, I love this reality, Sister, because love wants to fill us. Yeah. God is love, and that's the reality. That's God's only motive. Yeah. It is to be with us, to fill us with his life, and give us abundant life. It's amazing. And he has, like, he has nothing other for us. It's no other motive, no other. I know what one priest says, God said, God has no other ulterior motive. It's not powerful. It's amazing when we even read this in scripture. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, Isaiah 55:1, invitation to the abundant life. I mean, it's the classic, but everyone who thirsts, come to the water. And he who has no money, come, buy and eat. You know, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. And I love this. He says, why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Hearken diligently to me, and eat what is good. This is one of my favorite. And delight yourself in fatness. Incline your ear and come to me. Hear, that your soul may live. Powerful. He wants to fill us. He wants to fill us. God, we have a God not just of abundance, but super abundance. He wants to lavish. I love this. Right. Yes. This is where we don't die. Delight yourselves in fatness, in the riches of his love. There, even in Psalm 81, it says, open wide your mouth, and I will fill it. Wow. And again, as you were saying, in Isaiah, it doesn't cost us anything. Mm-hmm. Maybe it costs us turning our ear over to the Lord. We have to come to him. We have to open our hands and our hearts to him. But the gain, the benefit, is being satisfied, is being filled. And I think this is what we want to break open. Definitely.
And I think it's so really, like, when you're through speaking, I keep thinking, you know, when we're honest, we can actually admit we're thirsty. Yes. No. And we don't, we don't like being thirsty. We don't like that experience of poverty, in a sense. We want to live filled up. But how often it can feel like so unattainable, right? Mm-hmm. Yeah. Totally. Or even, I know, in a sense, when I kind of am confronted with the wall of my own limitation or my poverty or my weakness or inability, whether that's emotional, psychological, in intelligence, in capacity, in gifts, whatnot, I can be tempted to believe it's my fault, like to blame myself. And actually, you get discouraged. And yet, I always, I love stepping back. And it brings so much peace when I step back and just say, you know, just being real with it, like, and actually real with the reality that I am poor. I am poor. I'm a contingent being. Like, I wasn't, and then I was. God created me. And I depend on that source of life at every moment. Scripture tells us, without me, you can do nothing. In a sense, God is gracious. He lets us, I think we can live thinking, hey, I've got this. This is, it's all on me. When in truth, the abundant life that we desire is claimed and received when we, when we depend, when we're willing to lean on him. And so, in a sense, just when I face my poverty, it's like, hey, Jesus, what do you want to do with that? You know? And not accuse myself again. Anything that smacks of blame or accusation, discouragement, condemnation, that's not of the Lord. And to reject that. And rather to say, hey, Jesus, I'm poor. And he's like, yeah, I know. And that's why I came. That's why I'm here. And I want to step in there with you and bring my life into that place. And in that, it's like nothing we, nothing in our lives can steal our peace or or separate us from God. Again, that's thing Paul. I know this is a dare. This is a dare. Yes. Countercultural. But I think, yeah, I'm with you, Sister. I'm thirsty. And I don't want to live that way. I want to live full. Yeah. I want those empty places, those empty cisterns, to be filled with God's love, like at the wedding of Cana. Yeah. Yes. And that's what we're made for. We're made to be filled. You know, and that experience of poverty or like, I'm grumpy or I couldn't do this, it's like, that's all like an indication to me. I need to be filled by God. We need love.
Well done, Sister. You nailed it. In the sense, our hearts as human persons, our hearts have this, someone once described it as this God-shaped hole in our hearts. Yeah. Augustine said it, our hearts are restless until they rest in you, O Lord. We need God, and we need his love. Mm-hmm. Life.
So how do we tap into this?
Yeah, that's a great question. Um, what I think first, like, even just to say, like, receiving. I think this is my beach. John Corban. Yes. And wellspring of worship. But he, he says something to the effect of, the greatest thing the human person can do is receive God. And it's so, it's like, that actually speaks to, like, the vessel of my heart. That's what I'm made for is to receive. You know, and it's the most fruitful thing I can do. And in every moment, it's like, love is there for me, you know, pouring himself out.
That's beautiful, Sister. Yeah. Every moment, love is there. Yeah. And looking back, it's like, you know, it's, he always has been. Hmm. You know, like in your own life. Yeah. I mean, I'm sure even, you know, it's actually, Sister, I remember sitting with the Lord and reflecting on that reality, kind of walking through life and looking at my history. Because actually, we only truly know our history. We only truly understand our lives when we look through love and we look with love and we allow love to bring meaning, the ultimate meaning to every event and piece and part of our journey. And what I have seen and borne witness to, and I, I think if you talk to any of the sisters, or well, we often talk about this, that it was never that God wasn't there. You know, those places where those hard runs or whatnot, it wasn't God wasn't there. What we recognized was my own lack of freedom in receiving. Mm-hmm. His love, receiving the gift of himself that he desired to bring. Mm-hmm. And then that's the cool part about prayer and and God. He is, he's timeless. So we can always go back and welcome him in and allow memories and past to take on new meanings and allow him to redeem those places. But, but yeah, it, like, ultimately, I love that quote from John Corban. Mm-hmm.
How do we expand our capacity to receive? Mm-hmm. Receive love from God. Think of when you're a kid. Did you ever have those foam animals that you, they came in capsules? They came in capsules, and you put them in water. I love those things. Yeah. And then they, using banded, thrilling. But then, like, depending on the size of the container, they would expand really bigger. Like, so the bathtub. Yeah. I mean, it was awesome. It's like 20 times, 50 times the size. Yeah. Like alligators. And it's like, but it's like, wow, like, how often do I put limits on myself and my capacity to expand and receive and to be filled with God's love? You know, it's like, I'm a little foam animal. And what kind of container am I letting myself be put in? Or you could think about St. Philip Neri. Love him. Who's amazing. He's one of my favorites, actually. He's amazing. He's the patron saint of joy. And I mean, I want to be that too. But it's like, he, he let the Holy Spirit fill him to the point that at one, they did the autopsy after his death, like his heart had expanded three times its normal size. It actually broke his ribs. Incredible. And he had to walk around without a jacket on in wintertime because he was so hot, so full of the fire of God's love. And all that it would take for him to, like, help people come to Jesus. He would like, take them, like a hardened sinner, and like, press them against his chest, and they would just melt and be like, Father, I want to go to confession. It was like, that was it. And why? Because he had let himself be filled. Isn't this powerful? So this is what we're about. Yeah. And he became literally this fire of divine love. Yes. It's amazing. It's well, and it makes me think, Sister, because it's like, what, when I think about, if we're going to receive God more deeply and more freely into our lives, I think the first kind of move is slowing down. It's stopping. You know, I like to think of a car. You know, when I'm driving in a car, I do have a bit of a lead foot. I do confess. And it is, you just want to eat up the road. You want to keep going. You don't want to stop and fill up. You don't. But if you don't stop, mm-hmm, you're gonna run out of gas. And we all know what that looks like. You're gonna get stuck on the side of the road. It's not a good day. And in that, I think spiritually, it's the same way. That in truth, and to have to grow the freedom to slow down, to stop, so that we can be filled, so that we can receive. And I think actually, there's a few little stepping stones or or different things we can, I don't know if exercise is the right word, but just engage, probably towards this. And I remember what someone laid these little stepping stones out. It was transforming for me because I, to be honest, I want to talk about leisure, celebration, and worship. Wow. And how they all kind of serve each other, grow each other, and help us ultimately to receive God and His love into a life of prayer. But I want to break some of these open. Like leisure. And in a nutshell, because leisure, I mean, just want to say, like, leisure, when I first think I was like, what? Cut, what leisure? You know, it's kind of like, isn't that being lazy? Isn't that, you know, a lot of things we can think about leisure. But total, actually, it's a gift from God. And He desires. Of course. Isn't no, I'm truly on board. Okay. Joseph Pieper. Mm-hmm. He's kind of the expert on this. And I highly recommend him. Incredible philosopher. But he said this, unless we regain the art of silence and insight, the ability for non-activity. Okay. Talk about a line. The ability for non-activity. Unless we substitute true leisure for our hectic amusements, we will destroy our culture and ourselves. Stakes are high. Yeah. I mean, it's incredible. In a sense, leisure, what is that? It's like reading a book in a hammock. It's going for a run without a watch. It's taking a stroll with a friend and looking at the life around you. Yeah. Stopping to smell the roses. Yeah. In a sense. And it's not time out as much as it's time in to deeper themes and threads of life around us. That sister, holy leisure. This is what God did on the seventh day. Yeah. He gazed upon all he had made, and he took joyous delight in it. It's godly. It is. It's amazing. I love that. Time in, not time out. Amen. And it sounds like it's like doing what makes you feel like a kid again. Mm-hmm. Like just that sheer delighting. Mm-hmm. And I think it does repose you. Yeah. In in life-giving places. Yeah. You restore your innocence. It's in his life-giving in flow of life comes and it restores your vision too. Hmm. I love that, Sister. It's, it really helps us. Mm-hmm. It changes everything, actually. Yeah. It kind of leads to another friend, celebration. You're good at this. I love celebrating. But I love it because it's like Christians actually are called to live lives of celebration. Amen. There's a great quote from what I think I mentioned him in the last episode, St. Bernard. But he said something to the effect of, be Mary, be truly Mary. The life of a Christian should be a perpetual festivity, a prelude to the celebration of heaven. You know, it's like, so beautiful. But we're actually made for it. And it's like the gospel of Jesus Christ, it's the gospel of life. Amen. And it's, it's actually wired into us. It's stitched into our hearts, into our spirits, the spirit of celebration. You know, I know, right? Think about it. Birthday parties. You know, wedding parties. There's tons of parties. A lot of parties. There's a ton. And we, we love it. Oh, yeah. We absolutely love it. Yeah. Life, it's worth celebrating. Yeah. Love, it's worth celebrating. Yeah. I would love in Evangelium Vitae, the Gospel of Life, it says, in every child which is born, and every person who lives or dies, we see the image of God's glory. We celebrate this glory in every human being, a sign of the Living God, an icon of Jesus Christ. Powerful. It is that we have incredible gifts. My life is a gift. Your life is a gift. And that is something to celebrate. Yeah. Because of its, its magnitude. It's a mystery. It is. You are a mystery, Sister. Yes. A wondrous mystery of God. Thank you. It's powerful. One even I would say celebration for the Christian. Yeah. It's, it's infused into our daily lives, or at least it should be, right? Even in the way that we're animated to into our daily lives, to live with self-giving love. Yeah. To live in gratitude for the gift of the person beside us, the one who is within arm's reach of us. To let our whole lives be a song of praise to God. And that we had this capacity in good times and in bad. Evangelium Vitae, again, he says, despite his hardships, its hidden mysteries, its suffering, and its inevitable frailty, life is a most beautiful thing, a marvel ever new and moving, an event worthy of being exalted in joy and glory. And I think we know that's true deep within our hearts. Mm-hmm. Every yearn for it, you know. And, and it also, too, it kind of smacks up against what the culture says, because it's how often so many of us feel like guilty celebrating. More like, I shouldn't be celebrated. Or, but I just want to stay right now, and I want to say to every single person listening, I want to say to you who are listening, you are worthy of celebration. Amen. I'm gonna say it again. You are worthy of celebration. Amen. And actually, you're made for it. You know, and I think this really was brought home to me at our Sacred Heart of Jesus Convent in Manhattan, where I had the great gift of living for two years. One of those with you. Yes. Um, but I remember one of the guests, as a, this convent is where we, some of the women who are pregnant live with us for a time during their pregnancy and their time after. And we may have this practice of celebrating everything. So it's like birthdays, feast days, finding out the sex of the baby, one month, three months, you know, like everybody you can imagine, baptisms, everything. We party. I remember one guest saying to me, she said, Sister, all my bad birthdays, all my bad Christmases have been made up for in this year. Wow. And just the power of of celebrating another and receiving yourself. This is worthy of celebration. It's powerful. And like, watch out. I mean, I would say, put your spiritual seatbelt on, actually. And yeah, make a point of of celebrating. Amen. True celebration. You know what fills us, doesn't it? Mm-hmm. It fills us and restores us. Yeah. It orients us to what is true, what is good in myself and in others around me. I think it's healing. That's healing. It spurs the the gratitude to bubble up into in our hearts, you know. Amen. And a letting go of life, kind of a letting go of, in the sense of letting go of you need to control everything. But but letting go enough to celebrate. Yeah. You know, it opens us up. Mm-hmm. Well, even think about, you know, the surprise birthday parties or the different ways that people have celebrated you, and how meaningful that is. The gifts that that ushers into the heart. It's food. It's again, it fills us. Authentic celebration. And celebrating those things, life and love, the greatest gifts that we have and have been entrusted to us by God. It's awesome. It's awesome. Yeah.
Well, I think again, leisure, holy leisure, and celebration, authentic celebration, orients us. And it may not be surprising in a posture of true, authentic worship. And in since we're made to worship, a human person, you know, to offer ourselves back to ultimately the one alone who's worthy of our worship. And again, one of the greatest acts, one of the greatest things we can participate in, is to praise and celebrate and affirm what is most true, most good, most beautiful, which is God. And in a sense, this practices us for what we're gonna be doing, God willing, for all eternity. Yeah. Eternal celebration and communion with God. Yeah. It's awesome. I mean, and it's actually like us willing, like if we're willing, like God's willing, but are we willing it, you know? Do we will to let ourselves into the party? Amen. No. And it's like he said, eye has not seen, ear has not heard what he's prepared for those who love him. And it's like, happiness, scripture. He, it's like the image of the wedding feast, of the wedding feast, you know? He's inviting us to the wedding feast, to a party, to a celebration. And, you know, but we become, you know, and we can start now. We can start now.
Well, even to think too, I remember someone said this to me once, we all worship someone. We all worship something. And in a sense, is it worthy? Yeah. Of our worship? Yeah. Because in truth, God alone. Yeah. And when we orient ourselves towards God, and we hold him in that place, we're spared from things that are empty, the worship of false gods. Right. And I think we can all give ourselves away to things too easily, whether that's objects, pastimes, amusements, relationships that can't possibly hold the glorious, sacred, created in the image and likeness of God, gift that is you and that is me. And if we don't worship the Lord, no, no worship Jesus, it's like, it's gonna leak out in all the wrong ways. It's like, it's because that's what we're made for. And it just kind of leaks out. And, you know, when it leads to a life of of grasping after other things, right? Or I think this is where, yeah, you know, we can, we can fill up on stuff that ultimately doesn't satisfy me. It lets us down and leaves us more empty and more thirsty, right? Most ultimately, all these little stepping stones lead us into a dynamic relationship with God, which is ultimately this life of prayer. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
In prayer, it's like, what is prayer? I mean, this could be, and probably will be, a whole other episode. But, yeah, but just to touch on it, like, what is prayer? Prayer is relationship with God. Prayer is not about doing something, it's about being with someone. Capital S. You know? And it's like, think of when you're in relationship with someone, you know, here, like, what do you do with them? It's like, you take time with them, you listen, there's an exchange of hearts, your being with them. Sometimes you're just sitting in silence with them. And it's like, that's actually what God wants. Yeah. That's relationship. You know? And letting ourselves be loved in that. I think as you're saying, you know, it's just like, prayer is like taking time every day to talk to him. Like, really talk to him. I've spoken to a lot of people, and this is a kind of a new concept for them. I think often, especially as Catholics, we can think that prayer is just the Hail Mary, or prayer is just the Our Father, or is just the listing off my intentions that I need to to say, you know. And that is prayer. But actually, what's the nugget? What's the heartbeat of prayer? Is that deep encounter of intimate conversation of love. You know, kind of like you're talking about bringing it to him, all that stuff, and tell him everything. Amen. You know? And then listening to him, asking him, like you're saying, what is he gonna do about letting that that dialogue flow. But it does require us willing to open ourselves. And that requires silence. It requires stillness. It requires slowing down, stepping into the one-to-one conversation, finding some time for solitude. And then drinking. Mm-hmm. Allowing, giving yourself permission to receive from a God who loves to give. He loves to give. You love it. It's his favorite. It's his favorite. It's already wants to do. Yeah. God is love. God. Or even St. Francis de Sales, he would describe prayer as ultimately, I think we live in this constant doom and gloom. Like if I'm receiving consolation and receiving love, like we don't, rather than just receive and rest in it, we freak out that it's gonna stop. You know, I know. I better it's in a ziplock and freeze it. And the destination is coming back. Yeah. Actually, God. And I love St. Francis de Sales for this. He describes prayer as being like a little honeybee. And what do honeybees do? They fly to a flower and they drink, and they pull all of the nectar out of that flower. And then what do they do? They go to the next flower and they pull all the sweetness and the nectar out of that flower. And and actually, God loves leading us in this way in our lives of prayer. Not to say there isn't times of testing or desolation or trial. But ultimately, all is giving away. And and ultimately, God is always loving us. Yeah. And it's the deeper question is how? And then being generous in availing ourselves to the gift that he is desiring to give. Mm-hmm.
I love that. I love that. And it's like, it's a, he wants to fill us with it, with his peace. That's what he says, right? At the resurrection, you know, peace. And that abundance, that overspilling life, right? And we want it. And God wants it more, actually. Mm-hmm. And it brings me just the image, just that ultimately, it's actually shocking. And I think partly it's shocking because of the prayer that's often attributed to St. Francis, Lord, make me a channel of your peace. But actually, in a way, we're actually called to be reservoirs, not channels.
Tell me more. I love, love, love that concept.
It is. And it's a little bit shocking. But there's a great quote from St. Bernard of Clairvaux. He said, the man who is wise, therefore, will see his life as more like a reservoir than a canal. The canal simultaneously pours out what it receives. The reservoir retains the water till it is filled, then discharges the overflow without loss to itself. And get this, this is what it's like. Love. Then he says, today, there are many in the church who act like canals. The reservoirs are far too rare. You must learn to to await this fullness before pouring out your gifts. Do not try to be more generous than God. Love it. It kind of turns a lot on its head, actually. Mm-hmm. That receiving. And that is okay. Terse, even actually, that's what we're supposed to do. That's what we're supposed to do. You know, in a sense, we're supposed to make a total gift of our lives. But but but remaining full of life. Mm-hmm. In the midst of that. Mm-hmm. God doesn't want us to be dry, empty, cracked pots, you know? He's actually, he wants his life in our life to be totally one. Mm-hmm. To be overflowing. Opulent. Yes. Luxurious. Yes. Totally overspilling. Mm-hmm. And St. Bernard of Clairvaux uses spiritual genius again. This is I think one of his great gifts to the spiritual life is this concept. And living like a reservoir. And I should, you see it in scripture, you know, that you think of Jesus in the multiplication of the loaves, you know, five barley loaves and two fish, and they had 12 baskets. It's like, what's going on? It was fragments. It's like, it was like way excessive. But he's not actually, it's like the an image, a true image, a true reality of the excessive goodness of God, the excessive love of God. Or, you know, in, I mean, the Eucharist. Mm-hmm. It's like, he made himself edible, actually, too, so that he couldn't bear to be any further from us than in us. It's amazing. You know? And to fill us completely with himself, you know? And, and where did this come from? It's like his total self-gift. Yes. You know, out of two lovers, there's that great, um, line from, there's a famous song of all the sisters we love so much, Great Silence Reigns. I think in Latin, it's Cielo et Reges. Yeah. Yeah. Geez. But it says, his life and love now flood the world. He said, there's no bars hold, no-holds-barred. Like he floods. Isn't that so? It's like being one of those little capsules, like letting the flood of his love melt that capsule so that I can expand and be filled. Mm-hmm. And become. Mm-hmm. Most fully alive. Yeah. In his love. Yeah.
Well, even to break this down, I am thinking about who embodied this. And two examples come to my mind. Saint John Vianney. You know, they think he, from what I understand, you know, they kind of stuck him out in a rural country parish. He might not have been the brightest guy or whatnot. Meanwhile, he sat and adored the Lord, received his love, was filled so full and overflowing that literally thousands upon thousands of souls of people started making pilgrimage to this obscure parish in France. And what are the holiest, holiest of priests? I'm an icon, I think, diocesan priesthood. Yeah. And incredible. Yeah. And nothing could shake him or empty him. Like, there's this one story. Have you heard it? When there's this petition, they started a petition. I was sending it around that John Vianney should be kicked out of the parish because he was not smart and not a good person. And so maybe see. Yeah. And so this petition went around and that came to him. It came to John Vianney. Kidding. And he signed it. Humble, too. Yeah. I want it. But then when I finally got to the bishop, he's looking through all the signatures and he's signed. He's like, this man is a saint. But like, nothing could shake him because he had been filled. Well, and he transformed people. People's lives. Like what God did through, yeah, Saint John Vianney. I think. Or even a more modern-day example, which it's kind of funny, he comes to mind, but bear with me. Mr. Rogers.
Well, again, I'm having a conversion. This is my day of conversion. Yes. Because I totally wrote Mr. Rogers off when I was seven or eight. And yet, I did recently watch the video, and then I've been doing just some research on this man's life. I have been blown away. This man, he was, I think, a Presbyterian. He was a Presbyterian minister. I believe spent over 30 years in television. Now, any person who's spent even 30 days in television, usually it's a tough environment. You know, it's a hard place to stay pure of heart and stay focused and, you know, not kind of find your way into confusion. Meanwhile, 30 years. And Mr. Rogers was totally who he was. I think he was one of the most sincere people, as far as I can perceive, I've ever come across. And even he spent the first hours of his day in prayer. You know, he kept this routine. He looked to receive God's love. Even this man was thrilled that he weighed 143 pounds because it, to him, that was God's way of saying, I love you. One for it. Translation, love you. Three. I mean, and one would say, this man was simple, or, you know, naive, or whatever accusations you could place on him. But this man, when he received his Lifetime Achievement Award on television, I mean, superstars all over the place. And here's Mr. Rogers, totally pure of heart. And he's like, let's take 15 seconds of silence to remember those people in our lives, those special people who have loved us into being, who have helped us become who we are, who have cared about us, wanted the best for us in life. I mean, everyone in the room was crying, was totally melted by the purity of his man's heart, of his faith, of his fidelity to to receiving God's love and loving that to overflow and overspill into his life and into. I mean, he raised the generations of kids who came to know their worth and dignity through, you know, the sensitivity and reverence in which he kind of conducted his show. So again, surprising. But even the movie, we were, we saw the movie. It really is. It really is. And it's so compelling, actually, because it's, you actually see, I mean, in the movie, but also in the documentary, he's a man of prayer. Like, he woke, he woke up at, I think 4:30 every day to pray for two hours before he went swimming, you know? Like, he, a real contemplative. Get there's that quote. He said, the most important part of his book was the space between the lines. Does it give you time to think about what was written? It's powerful. It's like, this is a man who lived full and constantly let himself be filled. And then, you know, and how much that's what we desire. So we desire. And nothing can do it like the social media, the video, the whatever, shopping. It's not gonna do it. It's not gonna cut it. Oh my God. We're made for more. We're made for him. Whoa.
Well, Sister, before we go, here we go. What do you think?
You know, I, before we go, my thought would be to ask, Jesus, Lord, show me what I have filled my life with. Hmm. And he'll be very gentle. He's so gentle. He's so kind. It's just, it's almost like a, a request for light. You know, for an awareness of Jesus, what have I filled my heart with? What have I filled my life with? Mm-hmm. And that Jesus speak into that. Amen. You know, just a simple, yeah, simple challenge. That.
Sister, it's beautiful. Uh-huh. Hmm. Can't wait to go do it. Yeah.
Well, I would offer before we go, taking 10 minutes at some point this week. 10 minutes. And maybe a peaceful park bench where there's a nice view. You know, some of my best prayer is is sitting on a park bench at this end of this beautiful trail that overlooks the water. And just being silent. Just being silent. And ask for the grace to simply receive God's love as it is, with and for you in the moment. But 10 minutes of silence.
That's great. That's great. No praise. Good. It's so good to be with you, Sister. Good to be with you, Sister. See you next time.
This was Let Love, a podcast for the Sisters of Life, a religious community of women consecrated for the protection of the sacredness of human life. Be assured of our prayers and learn more at SistersOfLife.org.
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