Transcription
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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.
Howdy, Sister. This is Sister Anya. This is Sister Mary. And we're happy to be back here on Let Love podcast with the Sisters of Life. And today, we're gonna talk about how to let love be your home.
Yeah, awesome. I love thinking, I love thinking about home. I love thinking about my experience as a kid at home, at my friends' houses.
Mm-hmm. It's, Anita, and you think to think about. Yeah, it's, it's one, I think it's a great thing to get us started, actually, Sister.
Yeah, yeah. Home. What, what comes up in your mind? What did you love about home?
Oh, you know, I love my, my dad is actually a stay-at-home dad, so it was fun. But I remember him pushing the, we had like a big hairy broom that was good to sweep, not like a normal broom, but one that you push. Mm-hmm. And that was just like the, the broom. And that there was just a sense of home. And he swept it, you know, a couple times every day, swept the house. And it was just very, it like made me feel just like all is right with the world, you know? He had the broom.
Yeah. Always there for you. Broom. Yeah. Like, Dad would make sure. You know, also love like the Saskatoon bushes. Probably don't know what Saskatoon berries are. Specific to my region in Canada. Okay. But those, you know, the couch, you just like have a long nap. Sun. Mm-hmm. And the other siblings would kind of like pummel you a little bit to like get off. Yeah. Sunshine through the windows. Oh, what about you?
Sounds wonderful. I think, well, what made home, home, you know? I loved kind of coming into the house, you know, after school or track practice. And, you know, the smell of dinner hitting you in the face. And Mom's there, either washing dishes, they're cooking at the stove. Again, that presence of love and preparation. That is preparing a place for you. You know, you had your spot at the dinner table. Yes. And no one messed with your spot. No. And that was your spot. Yeah. You know, it gave me a certain sense of security early on in my life. Yes. Or even, you know, my grandmother's house, she lived down the road. And she always prepared the table so beautifully. You felt so welcome. You know, the, the ways that she folded the laundry, how beautifully and clean that she kept the home. It just, it just surrounded you with a sense of love and hospitality. And you felt reverenced, you know, being there. Or at my friend's house, you know, again, there's, I think there's, I love what I love about homes is there's commonalities and unique elements to, to each and every home. Yeah. That blesses it. Yeah. And, and it's like, no matter what, there's something about home. It's like, I belong there. And it belongs to me in a way. There's a place. This is where I am, actually. And I know I can return to and be held by. Yeah. Wow. Yeah.
Well, it reminds me, Sister, that as Christians, the reality, the certainty that we have is that we have a home. Yeah. We have a home. And that love is, in fact, our home. Yeah.
I'd love, Sister. I cannot wait to unpack this because it's a desire we all have. We want to be home. The desire. It's a need. Yeah. And it's a, it's a reality that is both within us and with us. And it is what we tend towards. So we're gonna unpack that.
Amen. Shall we start with a prayer?
We start with a prayer. Do you want to start?
Amen.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Father, we ask that you draw us into your heart, into your eternal love for us, into your provident care, and the rest that we find in your heart. We ask in a special way for every grace to trust you as your beloved sons and daughters, to yield to your initiative of love, to your desire for us, to rest with you in your heart, in your love, in your protection. And we ask in a special way, Jesus, that you just share your own filial receptivity, your own attitudes and dispositions, that we might rest as you do in the bosom of the Father. Blessed Mother, help us as we say, 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 of Grief, pray for us. Amen. Amen.
So, let love be your home. And I loved what you were talking about, Sister, that we desire a home base. We need a kind of that place to call home. Yeah. It's intrinsic within all our hearts. We all have that. We want that desire for stability, somewhere I belong, somewhere I'm never afraid to go to. You know? And, and to be honest, we have to admit, like, sometimes people's experience of home is not great. Mm-hmm. It's like, I actually don't want to go home. I don't want to be there. Yeah. You know? But there's even in that, there's a sense of like, there's, there's something in my heart that knows there's something better than this. That something more than this is possible. You know? And, and I, I like to think too, like God doesn't, he's not at ease, you know? Like he puts that desire for home, for that stability, that place of belonging, he puts it on our heart for a reason because he wants to give it to us. And because he's actually giving it to us.
No, no. Yeah. Well, I love that, Sister. That regardless of what our experience is, regardless of where we are right now in this moment, and we might feel exiled from ourselves and every other place, every corner of the world. And yet, the promise that the Father holds out to us is that, yeah, we have a home. We can claim right now. One that he's placed in our hearts through our baptism. One that he has, in a sense, united us to His Son, Jesus Christ, and the love, the reality of that love. And that we're tending towards as we throw the anchor of our life into His promise, into the, the promises of the Father. We are drawn into His heart, which is ultimately our final home. Yeah. For all eternity. He's got it. It's awesome.
But I think, gosh, let's start. I hear three things here, in a sense. The, the home within us. Mm-hmm. The home of love. You know, being a home for others. Isn't that true? I think we can do. Yeah. Provide that gift for those who are on this pilgrim journey with us. It's true. And I think we've all experienced that. Being in someone's presence, it's like, wow. Mm-hmm. I mean, I mean, at home in their presence. Amen. Amen. And then our eternal home. Mm-hmm. The Father's heart. Mm-hmm.
So, uh, our selves. Where do we find this home? Where do we find love rooted, planted, established within ourselves?
Well, Sister, actually makes me think right away of a great Saint. She was not too long ago canonized, Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity. And her whole thing, like every saint, you know, has their thing. Their thing, you know? Like St. Francis, like the poor. You know, St. Dominic, preaching. Exceptionally. Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity, she was a Carmelite who came a little bit after St. Therese. Mm-hmm. In terms of history. But her whole thing was the indwelling of the Trinity. But actually, her, there's a great prayer she has where she speaks about this. And I'd love, I'm sure you have thoughts on this too. But she actually holds out to us that our home is living within our heart because the Trinity is within our heart. And we can rest in that place with Him.
That is so powerful, Sister. I, and I actually hear her coming onto the stage more and more and more. I actually think she's a saint of our time. In, kind of, at a time and culture that there's so many things that can draw us outside of our, and we live from different places outside of ourselves. What actually the Lord is drawing us to. And what a saint, Elizabeth of the Trinity, basically teaches us and through her own life and what she discovered is living from the heart of our hearts. Living from that place you speak of where the Trinity actually dwells in us. And came to dwell in us in our hearts at the moment of our baptism. Yeah.
When I want to break this open, and I know I mentioned it, Sister, but it's my favorite section of the Catechism. And honestly, it cannot be underestimated in its power. And it will help you if you tap into it. Well, here it is. Number 2563. And it tells us about this place within ourselves, the heart. Mm-hmm. A sacred place within ourselves. And this is what it says. That the heart is the dwelling place where I am. Wow. That's awesome. Isn't that awesome?
It continues. The heart is the place to which I withdraw. I think we're all aware of this place. Yeah. It says, the heart is our hidden center, beyond the grasp of our reason and of others. You see how interior it is? It's, and it's so intimate. It's so personal. I can't really, it's a place. It's like untouchable in a sense. Amen. Yeah. And yet so thirsty. Yeah. So in need of being attended to. Yes. And it goes on to say, only the Spirit of God can fathom the human heart and know it fully. Mm-hmm. Isn't that reassuring? It's so reassuring because so often my heart is a mystery to me. I mean, maybe yours is to you. Yeah. And it's like, I want to dwell out of it. But Jesus, like, explain what's happening here. Amen. It's, yeah, there's a lot going on.
Or even, too, I think I know we're digressing, but it's like, sometimes I can put, you know, okay, somebody, you know, my friends, my, my good sisters around me, like, you desire to be known, loved, and seen in the depths of who you are. And we can do that for each other to an extent. And yet, I love what the Catechism provides for us here. That God alone. Yeah. God alone can actually satisfy that. You know, we've got this God-shaped hole in our hearts. And He knows it fully. And as we go to Him, we can come to know it more fully. So here we are, the heart. But it continues. It goes. It tells us even more that the heart is the place of decision. It's the place of truth. It's the place of encounter. Mm-hmm. Okay. Because it's the image of God. We live in relation. And it says, ultimately, it is the place of covenant. Wow. And covenant is this incredible gift, this bond that God has established between Him and us. You and Him. The reality that, and it's not a contract. This isn't a superficial contract. This is an eternal kind of love covenant. It's, it's real. It's real.
And it's this, I mean, even as you're describing this place of encounter and relationship and love and truth, and it's like, gosh, I want to live out of that. But how often do we live in exile from our own hearts? You know? And I'd love to know, I love your thoughts, Sister, like, how do we engage this, enter into this, and not live on this surface level of ourselves, which is sometimes because we're afraid, actually, of going deep? Mm-hmm. You know, we're afraid of what others, God might think, what others might think. But how do we live, live this, not from the heart?
It's a great question, Sister. And I think it's a lifelong work and journey. I think it's enough acknowledging the other places we can live from. Or even, I know, actually, in our last episode, we mentioned, you know, an Eastern monk. Well, here's another one. His name is Archimandrite. And he noted this. He said, the great tragedy of our times lies in the fact that we live, speak, think, and even pray to God outside of our heart. Outside our Father's house. And truly, our Father's house is our heart. He's acknowledging this. He said, the place where the Spirit of glory and of God would find repose, that Christ may be formed in us. And in a sense, I think to answer your question, mm-hmm, I think the first thing to being able to live from your heart more deeply and consistently is noticing what, where do I habitually live from? Mm-hmm. And I think there's a lot of places we can live from, Sister.
It's so true. It's so true. Right? You've been like, I mean, I know, like, even on a biological level, I can live on the surface level of, I'm hungry, I'm tired, my feet hurt, you know? And I want a cold glass of water. Amen. You know? Or that could drive me just to fill my, my biological needs. Perfect. And I can never go deeper than that. And then it's easy. Well, that's a great place to start, you know? And again, an authentic place of need and desire. And yet, if we live solely from there, it's not enough. Right? It's not enough. Right?
Or, okay, another place is relations, our relational side of our humanity, which is deep and broad and wonderful, actually. But if this is our place of habitual focus, like, all the time, then we can actually, we can get distracted. Or in a sense, again, we're gonna hit a pothole. You know, for sunk in a world of texting or of gossip or of being overly concerned about whether others are saying or doing, right? Social media. Mm-hmm. We, we can get into this black hole. Right? It really is. And you can, to be so focused on, I'm trying to fill myself with the relationships of others. And actually, it can actually lead to an experience of resentment because it's like, you kind of come to that point, it's like, they can't fill me. They can't fill me. And I start resenting it. And it's actually like, it's actually like Jesus waving his arms like, hey, even is that exactly it? It's the point. It doesn't satisfy. It does not satisfy. We're a good thing when it's held in, in order, in proper perspective, right?
I think another big place we can live from is our minds, our world of ideas, you know, news, my thoughts, and other thoughts. We can kind of become mad little scientists inside, you know, thinking, thinking about everything, think about something all the time. And while thinking is very good, again, ultimately, if we're living from there, it's not gonna satisfy. That we're not at home, ultimately, in any of these places. We're made in God's image. Okay. In a sense, the, the heart is our home. Right? And we can't build our places, we can't build our homes in these, like, I mean, I'm thinking of there's a great parable that she just tells, you know, the wise man who built his house upon a rock. And the rains fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon the house, but it did not fall because it'd been founded upon a rock. You know? But, but then in contrast, the foolish man who built his house upon sand. And the rains came, and the floods came, and the winds came, and it fell. And the ruin of that house was great. And, you know, and building ourselves upon our houses, our homes, upon these things of biological needs or social needs or even the, my own thoughts, it's like sand. It cannot stand. It cannot stand the weight of glory. It cannot stand what our hearts are made for and longed for. And we need actually to enter into eternal, infinite, divine love in order to find our true home. Amen. Yeah. Sister, it's so powerful. Yeah.
Well, I think, I mean, it's there for us. And this is the unbelievable part that it's there's this indwelling. Mm-hmm. And as they pull into the heart, pull into that place of covenant, pull into that place where my baptismal grace and the waters of my baptism, I can be washed in those graces and new. I can be enter into communion with God. And this is what St. Elizabeth of the Trinity teaches us. This is what the history of the life of prayer, yeah, in our church teaches us. Totally. And like, I know we've said it many times in our episodes, but, but how do we get here? I mean, one is silence, stillness, a solitude. And then to really enter that place, heart. And it's, it's actually irreplaceable. Because if you're, if we're living in noise constantly, we'll never be able to even recognize or acknowledge my heart. You know? So just, yeah, it's just the importance of that. Powerful. Mm-hmm.
So this is, okay, let love be your home. Love is in you. And as we're opposed, it's almost like pulling into a recliner, getting into a recliner in your heart, pulling that little lever and tucking back. Mm-hmm. Hammock spirituality, resting in that place with God, being still within yourself. And it is initially scary. But Dr. Jesus about that. Yeah. Let Him lead you. Yeah. Into, hate Jesus, show me. Bringing me to the heart of, of who I am in You, and You and me. Yeah. It's true. Love your home. I love that, Sister.
And I have a, I mean, it's kind of leads me to a question, like, what does that look like? Like someone who lives this? What does that look like? Which actually kind of leads also to our second point, you know? But someone who, who has made love their home and is living in that, no matter what circumstance, no matter what difficulty in relationship. And I'm sure you've known people in your life like this. But it's someone you know. And I can think of people who have come into their presence, and it's the experience of peace. And that I, I feel like I am home in their presence. I don't need to prove myself. I don't need, I'm not trying to get anywhere. I'm not trying to say the right thing. It's, I can be, I'm completely received in their presence. And why? Because they have let themselves be at home in their hearts, in the love of God. And it radiates. You know, there's a great quote from St. Seraphim, "A soul at peace will save a thousand souls." Hmm. It literally radiates. And I think, I mean, we see this in John Paul II, we see in Mother Teresa, the great saints. But even the people of our own life, like my grandma. Yeah. You know, I just, I just want to be with her. Yeah. You know? Yeah.
Well, I think again, you've you've brought us beautifully into our second point, Sister. How we can, as we are letting love be our home within our own hearts, we can become incredible gifts to others. In a sense, this is the great catch of Christianity. You know, people notice Christians who are living in the love that they're being given and accessing that love. But they have, through their baptisms, through a relationship with God, that they become a home for others. A place of refuge, a harbor where others can pull into and take a deep breath. There are people who are so secure within their own hearts that they can approach the person before them, trusting, knowing that they are made in the image and likeness of God. They are wonders. And without presumption, can receive this person without the spirit of utility or of trying to run over someone to get to the next thing. But they are going to stop and receive. Mm-hmm. The gift of the person before them. And, wow. When we experience, when we receive this gift, I mean, it's amazing. It's probably one of the greatest, I would say, on this side of heaven, it is. And if someone really receives you, it really is. Yeah.
And you find, there's also, like, a safety to it. Like, as home is, home is a safe place. We know we're safe. Home. And there's something about the person who can receive you deeply. And there's a safety in being, a safety place. You know, it's really powerful. What if the power of being drawn out of your places of exile? Right? Like, I know, gosh, we can live with these tapes playing in our headset. I'm alone. I'm outside. I am, I am apart. No one loves me. No one desires to be with me. And when you can rest in the presence of another receiving you, it's like all of those literally vanish, like in a snap, melt away as you are simply being received. And that we can do that. Free. Yeah. And it is inestimable in its value and its gift. It really is. And we all, I mean, like we said, we all want that. And we, what we want, actually, we, we all want to be with others. You know, whether we're extrovert or introvert, have you categorized yourself? We want to be with others to receive and to be received. Like you're saying. And it makes me think of one story. One of our sisters met a gentleman on the plane. Hmm. Just sitting beside him. And he just shared this story of he had, just coming back from visiting his kids. And he was recently divorced. And he had gone to visit his kids. And he had asked his ex-wife, you know, can I just visit them at your house? Because just complications. And he was kind of hard on life at the moment and didn't have, you know, solidity. So she's sure. And she left for the day. And he came to visit with his, with his kids. And his four-year-old daughter started, you know, he's there. And she starts throwing a temper tantrum. Hmm. Just screaming, hitting the couch. I don't want you to visit. I don't want you to visit. I don't want you to visit. You know? And he's having like this, he's already down on life. He's so depressed. He's just has no speck of confidence in himself. And to hear his little four-year-old daughter screaming this, I don't, I don't want you to visit. I mean, it shattered him. And he was just about to get up and call his ex-wife and say, come on home, I'm done. My visiting's done. When he felt this prompting in his heart, like, go sit beside your daughter. Okay. So he went on the couch where she's, you know, beating the couch in anger. And he sits beside his daughter on the couch. And he says, honey, why don't you want Daddy to visit? And she turns and looks at me. She has, because I want you to stay. I want you to stay and be with us forever. Hmm. You know? What is it? This, isn't this the cry of our hearts? Yes. And actually, as you're speaking, and we can find someone who receives us, like, we want you to stay. I want to be home here. I want this to be home. And home is never a place of being alone. We're never alone in a true home. We're with. And as you're saying, to be, to be a home for others. And when we've experienced being received by others, how powerful. It's so beautiful. History and irreplaceable. Irreplaceable. Yeah.
Well, it strikes me, it's love, you know? Home is love. Authentic for your, for your flourishing. Love. I remember, just to echo that, you know, when we kind of moved away from our, my childhood home and and sold with kind of our family homestead, it's a sorrow. You know, it's a tremendous sorrow. And yet, at the same time, it was so powerful to experience that at the end of the day, home ultimately was the love that filled those walls. And that was something I could bring with me and keep with me for eternity. Because love is eternal. Actually, once it's given, mm-hmm, it's eternal. It echoes eternally. Wow.
Which brings us, I think, to our last point. The reality that we have a home to look forward to. We have someone waiting for us to arrive. Yes. And that is God the Father. And that place is His heart. Yeah. I mean, it's like Jesus says, you know, Gospel of John 14, "In my Father's house there are many rooms." Hmm. "If it were not so, what I have told you that I go and prepare a place for you." Like, He's preparing a place where He's prepared a place for us in the Father's house. What crazy. It's crazy. And it's unique and special. Yeah. You know, it's kind of in the same way, like, you know, when you meet someone or you, you know, go to school with someone, when you encounter someone else, it creates a new place in your heart. Yeah. And in the same way, when God creates each of us, it's almost like this new place is created in His heart. And He can't wait for us to return. He's waiting. Come back. The lights on. Yes. And for us to be aware of that. For us to live with that at our sight. It kind of reminds me, it's powerful, actually. It strengthens us for this pilgrimage. Because I think you don't have to walk too many days in life to say, you know, I'm not home. Like, this side, life on this side of the veil isn't, isn't cutting it. Well, you know what? It's not supposed to. Yes. God has given us many things for us to rejoice in and to take delight in and many goods. And yet, all of them were just getting a taste, ultimately, of the eternal life that we are destined for with Him. That will satisfy. It's really true. It's like C.S. Lewis's book, The Great Divorce. Mm-hmm. You know, he talks about, you know, when people get to heaven, and everything is more real. You know, the grass is harder, and the trees are more like, everything is more real. And it's actually like, this is the realness that we've been called to. Yeah. It's the realest thing there is. Yeah. And we have to keep it in our sight, I think.
And I think, Lord of the Rings, I know we quote it often, but can you quote it? I think, my goodness, what? And even it, I think it's depicted so powerfully in the movies, but also in the book. When Frodo and Sam are on the slopes of Mount Doom, I mean, they're at the end of this outrageous epic. They have nearly no strength left. And Frodo is totally like, passed out in exhaustion on the side of the mountain. And Sam, you know, kinda looks Frodo in the eye. And he's like, Frodo, he's like, "Do you remember the Shire?" I mean, of all things to be asking your buddy here, we are at the end of all things, and you're asking about the Shire. Like, what? What's what's up with this? But it was so powerful because as Sam was talking about the Shire, you know, the strawberries, the, the sights and the sounds and the smells of this, of their homeland. Sam is filled with new strength that he is able then to say, you know, "Mr. Frodo, I can't carry the ring for you, but I can carry you." I mean, wow. Again, loose quote, but so powerful. As Sam puts in front of himself his homeland, he finds new strength to to climb this mountain, to to finish this epic, to do his part in bringing, you know, Middle-earth to reconceive. Yeah. I mean, right? You saved Christmas. It's amazing. This is what we all want to do every day. It's so powerful. Remembering our home. Because as Christians, it's like we were there, but we're not there yet. It's like that living that indwelling and the promise and the reality and the nowness of it. But it's also like, but there's still, it's not yet. And so, is this this interesting kind of tension of our lives, of our hearts? But remember, keeping that home, our true and our home, envisioned. It changes everything. It affects every decision we make. You know, it's like, what, what do I believe about my life? What I believe about my life affects what choices I make. You know? And if I, if I really believe it, have my eyes set on, yes, I have a home in heaven and it's waiting for me. He's waiting for me. And that's what I'm made for. I'm gonna, I'm gonna live. I'm gonna live differently. I'm gonna live differently. Yeah. You know, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna treat myself cheaply. Mm-hmm. Actually, because He's not, He's not. He has prepared a place for me. You know? I love it. I love it.
And I think all the lies, you know, "I don't know who I am. I'm exiled. I am outside of love." Whatever the lies, it's like they dissolve in an instant when we live in the sight of that eternal home. Like, no, I have a Father. I am a daughter. I am a son. I belong. I have the grace to become. Yeah. And I have a place. Yeah. My Father's heart. And I'm gonna walk towards it. Yeah.
So, Sister, before we go, before we go, I think just to, um, remember, I think my challenge is remembering maybe three things. Your, of your home, your childhood home, that delighted your heart. And, and I'd remember that that could be you. I don't know, drawing on the sidewalk with chalk, or or the smell of Mom's coffee, or whatever. But just things that you remember from being home as a kid. Yeah. Just a simple remembrance. Amen. Yeah. Beautiful. Yeah. What about you?
I think this is a trick. It's saved me a lot of miles of grief. I think is to live the present moment in the light of eternity. Mm-hmm. Sounds really deep, Sister. Well, in a sense, to take whatever you might be looking at in the present moment, or the crisis you might feel, or the burden you might be carrying, and hold it up to, yeah, eternity. In the light of eternal love. In the light of the Father's love for you in this moment. And this love that is going to allow that love to gather that moment up, basically. It's really just letting love be your home.
I love that, Sister. Yeah. Take refuge in love. Amen.
Can I have one more thing? I'm gonna add one more thing as a PS, because I'm really inspired by that, actually. And to recall someone in your life whom you felt completely home with. You're beautiful, you know? And, and ponder that person. What was it about them? You know, what qualities? How did you feel in their presence? And I just meditate on that, you know? And even, maybe thinking like, how can I be that for someone in my life? You know, what did that, what did that person do to my heart? You know?
Love it, Sister. Yeah. Wow.
Well, can you close this down in a prayer?
I would love to, Sister. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Jesus, thank you for this time. Thank you for Your blessings and Your graces. Lord, You promised us that in Your Father's house there are many rooms. That You've prepared a place for us. Jesus, we ask You right now for a tenacious faith in this, that we belong to Your house, that You love us, that You will never leave us alone, and that You are drawing us at every moment into the home of Your heart. We ask for the grace to live this, Jesus. We place all of our needs and intentions, all those whom we love, all those who are struggling with. We place them, Lord, into Your heart and ask for Your grace.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
Thank you, Sister. Thank you, Sister. God bless all of you. We're praying for you and we hope you're well. See you next time.
This was Let Love 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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