Transcription
Welcome to Metta, 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.
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Welcome back to Let Love Podcast with the Sisters of Life. This is Sister Anne. You stay, and this is Sister Veritas. And we're thrilled to have you back. It's a joy, it's a delight, it really is. You know, I'm just thinking about this experience I've had fairly recently, um, going to the supermarket. You like going to the supermarket, Sister? You do. I don't get to do it as much as I would like, but I do enjoy it very much, especially here in the Bronx. Especially in the Bronx. And there was a local supermarket in the Bronx. Mmm. And going in, I actually, coming out, you see these pictures, as you leave, pasted on the wall beside it, behind the checkout. And they're people, like freeze frames from the security camera. But it's not just that, it's many different people. And then under each person is a word, like "fish," "snapper," and "caught in the act of swindling this store." Been posted on the white wall. De su Li, the market. It's, it's kind of like the wall of shame. The wall of shame. It's quite compelling. And you're coming from Canada, and you've ever seen anything like this before? No, no, I've never seen anything. Yeah. Wow. So, just kind of an interesting phenomenon because I've seen it actually quite a bit here in the Bronx, as we go out to get our little groceries. I imagine it, it's, I, I know seeing the wall of shame, I was terrified. You know, you just, I imagine it's an effective tool, a deterrent of some sort. Well, I guess this way, as you're talking, it's like, I don't, I don't know what our purpose was in sharing it, but actually, I see a strong connection with the content we have that we want to focus in on today. Yes, I also see that connection, which we do. In the sense that a lot of things are gonna try to reveal us, define us, perhaps, but reveal us. The wall of shame, it sounds like it seeks to, I don't know, name someone, define someone by an action or a deed, right? But I think, as, as we appeal to love, you know, we move to the wall of fame. The world is so much in store for us. Let love reveal us. Amen. And I'm looking forward to diving into it. I wonder, um, you want to kick us off with a little prayer here, Sister? I would love to. In the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. Come, Holy Spirit. Come, Lord Jesus. Lord, we just ask you to pour yourself upon us right now in this moment. Help us to know your deep love for us. We entrust ourselves to you, and we ask for the grace that you reveal us. You reveal us to ourselves through your love, through your presence. Help us to know the truth of who we are in you. We ask this through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, 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 of Guadalupe, pray for us. In the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Amen. Beautiful, Sister. Thank you. Thank you. And I have to say, I'm compelled. I'm compelled about this topic. Let love reveal you. Hmm. What does that mean? What are your thoughts on that? Mmm. Gosh, I think the first thing that comes to my mind as I think about what it means to let love reveal me is actually this image that our founder, Cardinal Connor, often put before us as Sisters. And I absolutely love, the little artist in me just loves it, if the image on the Sistine Chapel, right? Is this beautiful fresco painted by Michelangelo, an absolute masterpiece. And back in the '80s and '90s, they went to work, they took the risk to go to work to restore this incredible fresco. And it's so incredible. Artists laid on their backs with little Q-tips, little cotton balls dipped in solvent, and one little swoop at a time, one little inch at a time, they began the great work of restoring this fresco, taking off centuries of dirt and grime and candle soot. And Cardinal Connor told us, he said, he could not believe the difference that this restoration made. He said, in a way, the first time we saw this fresco, he was disappointed. He's like, gosh, it was beautiful. And yet, he said, he really, it was like electric when he saw it after this restoration. And the reality was, they didn't even paint it or repaint it, except for certain areas that had great damage, which were few. In the great fresco, he said that these colors that Michelangelo used were absolutely brilliant. They didn't even know they had colors like that back then. So this brilliant masterpiece, just by taking off the layers of grime and soot from that the centuries had been built up through the centuries, revealed a great masterpiece buried within, in a sense. And I love this image because this is what God is at work doing always, at every moment. Like, there's not, and the question is never if God is loving us, it's how. And that every moment, he is seeking to reveal to us who we are in Him, in the unique beauty that He's inscribed in us, and the unique image that we are of Him in our very being. He's bringing that masterpiece He has inscribed to life, and that we are worth restoring. You know, it's like He wants His image in us, and He wants our, our lives to just radiate and shine. And I think this image, I know the Sisters love this, as we seek, you know, to live lives of holiness ourselves. But it's so filled with hope. And I think it kind of puts us right into the heart of what it means to let love reveal us. This is the God that we know, the God that we love. This is what He's about. That is so beautiful, Sister. It's so beautiful. Yeah, I rest in it often. It encourages me. No, I imagine there's some Saints that, like, when it's speaking of us, it makes me think of the Saints who really were the part excellents, ones who let love reveal who they were. Amen. I think you're dead on, Sister. It's precisely in the witness of the Saints, in the witness of people's lives, that this becomes tangible and gains any traction, right? It's a nice idea, but what does this actually look like? I have a favorite. I would love to tell you about her. But I am thinking about letting love reveal St. Margaret, or actually, I think she's our Blessed. I'm trying to canonize her before her time, but St. Margaret of Castello. I think she was one of the best in this department. She's one of God's little, little Saints. She was born in 1287, I think, in Italy. And she was born to wealthy parents, but she was, she was born blind and hunchbacked. They said she was short of stature, and she was even facially disfigured. And so when born, it's a great sorrow, but her parents were so ashamed that they, they told people that she died at birth, and they hid her away. Yeah. Again, it's like a Cinderella story when you hear it. But so they hid her away. And then at around age seven, I think, someone saw her. And the parents were so mortified by this that they actually, again, Cinderella story continues on, the head of Mason, kind of built a cell, and they placed Margaret within the cell. And, and she really lived a life of solitude. A priest would bring her meals, apparently. And what's astounding is this. I mean, Margaret's this tale for her life, and it's not over yet. I mean, rejected by her parents, being ashamed, the priest was astounded to find this incredible love for God in Margaret's heart. That though she was living alone and in solitude and in very difficult circumstances and conditions, she was filled with God's love. I mean, stunning, right? It's stunning. And it gets even better. At age 78, her parents were like, okay, one last ditch effort. Let's bring her to this tomb of a holy monk in the city of Castello. She'll get a miracle, she'll get healed. When she wasn't healed, so they brought her, brought Margaret. When she wasn't healed, they actually abandoned her. Ha! So if you imagine crying, 17, helpless, blind, in a strange city. But again, even though those she was entrusted to walked away from her, abandoned her, God did not. And Margaret went about winning the hearts of every person in that city. And, and is now Blessed Margaret of Castello. That very city, they said her kindness was just radiant. People absolutely loved Margaret. And she died at the age of 33, just like Jesus. So I love her because she, all that love her. She let God have the first and final word on her life. She didn't allow the reverberations of the rejection, the pain that she suffered from others, to define her. Rather, she turned all those places to the Lord, and that love revealed to her who she was: God's beloved daughter, precious, worthy, valued, beloved of His heart. And she's a little blessed, and I think a saint for our times, truly. I often ask her to pray for me that I would let love reveal me, especially in those places where I'm most tempted, you know, to not love. Little Margaret of Castello, one of my favs. Sister, that's amazing. Just hearing about Margaret, isn't she amazing? She's amazing. She's amazing. And that makes me think, like, especially in this time when we're so tempted to, to let other people tell us who we are or try to reveal us, how she's such a model. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. For letting God speak the truth. But it brings me to the question, you know, really, I think the core question of our times. Hmm. Who am I? Well, let me put something on the table for you. So I was thinking, just in this moment, as you pitch this question, it's like, Who am I? Right? And I ask that question a lot. I think everybody does. Whether I'm eating my breakfast, when I wake up in the morning, when that bell rings and I don't feel quite alive yet, when I'm praying, when I'm walking down the street, Who am I? I think there's a simple answer. I think there's a one-word answer to that. It's "loved." I'm loved. Every moment, I am loved. That there is a love standing over me, behind me, beside me. Here, we can check into what St. Patrick's Breastplate is here, if we, if we sing it, if we pray it. A God who is within me, who made me, and who loves me. And that is the realest reality out there, I think, on my clearest thinking days, and when I'm most nestled deep in the nugget of my heart, I know that to be true. And I think it's the greatest reality. I just throw that out on the table. That's beautiful. So the whole idea that to be is to be loved. Hmm. It really is what you're saying. The fact that I exist means that I'm loved, anyway. You get pretty philosophical, Sister. Yeah, yeah. I mean, but that's what it sounds like. I think it's true. I think it's true that "I am," and that "I am" so to speak, flows from the fact that God is, and that He has shared His life with me, and that I reflect that in some unique, unrepeatable, outrageously beautiful way. Hmm. So I got to sign up and sign it, huh? It's receiving that love so I can live it and, and be the gift that I was designed to be for the world. Hmm. I don't know. Am I speaking too simply? I think it's beautiful. I mean, it resonates in the heart like, yeah, that I, I am, and therefore I am loved. You know, it's not, "I think, therefore I am." "I am, therefore I'm loved." But I guess the, my question is, it causes me to come to mind. A lot of people don't feel that. A lot of us go through life and we're not thinking, "Wow, I am, and I'm loved." It's, "Wow, who am I?" 'cause I feel like a total mix of my feelings, my desires, my emotions, who social media tells me I am, yeah, who my friends say I'm, you know, my failures, my mistakes, my fears, my dreams. I kind of feel like a big old mess of all those things. Yeah. And it, yeah, and all these things are telling me different things about myself. Mm-hmm. You know? And so I, I think there's the truth of what you're seeing, yet, in real lived experience, yeah, how can I, how can I get there? Well, gosh, these are very awesome questions, actually. I think you're being real, and I think that is real. I would propose as a matter of perspective, right? That yes, my emotions, they give me some information. Yeah, the culture may give me a word on or flick back to me what, how they may define who or what I am. What "I" is, a lot of, a lot of things like to get the microphone, you write, and tell us about ourselves. But I think if we stand and sit in the realist perspective, all those things may have a word to say to me, but it's not "the word." And "the word," I would argue, is Jesus Christ, the Living God, Emmanuel, the God who is with us. And it's a matter of placing ourselves and putting ourselves where we can be found by Him. Getting all my stuff, my joys, my sorrows, my, you know, my stuff, we've all got stuff, right? Get all of that talking to the person, Jesus Christ. I can talk to Him. He's a person. He's the answer, capital A. And ultimately, that's gonna put all my stuff into dialogue with love, which, I mean, if I was to be honest, at the end, at the beginning, in the middle of any given day, that's all I want and need is love. I need love. And I think after 12 years of religious life, if I've learned anything, it's all about being a good sister is about learning how to receive God's love more and more and more. Being a good baptized Catholic Christian, it's just simply learning to let yourself be loved. So it's real. The battle is real. The struggle is real. And we're on the struggle bus every day. But the truth is also real. More real. More real. The truth that fundamentally, I am created by God. Hmm. Loved into existence by Him. That there, from all eternity, He willed that I be. He desired that I exist. And at a certain point in time, I wasn't, and then suddenly, I, I was. I am. And I will exist for all of eternity. And, and that He loved me into that existence. And that there's nobody that has ever been like me or will be like me ever. There's only one me, and only I can love God in the way that I do. You know? And, and it sounds like living in that, like, I'm a unique, unrepeatable reflection of the glory of God. And, and no one can replace me. And, and nothing I do, nothing I do, or, you know, achieve or produce or fail, and at the end of the day, nothing that I actually do, none of that actually defines me. What you're saying, which I'm hearing, is what defines me really is the love of Jesus Christ. Letting Jesus tell me who I am. That's beautiful. Yeah, that's beautiful. And when I hear you saying is that that has been spoken, like Jesus Christ has spoken His "yes" to me. God the Father spoke it in creating me, and then Jesus ascended to the arms of the cross so He could descend into the deepest realities and all my pain, all my sorrow, and speak His "yes" of Himself, of His love, to me. That whatever I got, what He's got is way bigger. Can transform it. Yeah. Well, that's a good point. And it is especially an important point when we come to look at, like, our failures and our weaknesses and our sins. And it's, I think there's such a temptation to be like, "I messed up, and this is who I am. This is who I am." And to identify with what we've done wrong. Or even sometimes, only on the other end of things, to identify with what we've done right. And "I am my success." And there's that, there's kind of both ways of that. But I was thinking, the quote John Paul II said, you know, "We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures, but we are the sum of the Father's love for us." You know, and a real capacity to become images of His Son. And I don't know, that's why I'm here. What I hear kind of about you saying in that, too. Well, yeah, Sister, you speak just such beautiful words. And I guess, bring it to a practical level, right? How do you think we can stay anchored in the truth, in the reality that, well, the enemy, as well as I was listening to you speak, I'm like, "Oh yeah, I hear who shoes are those?" Right? The enemy. And then we have one, right? He's gonna try to define me by my sins. But God the Father is gonna profess that that gift of love that I am, and that He desires to continually pour into my life. But no, practically, do you have any tips on how to, like, I don't know, keep it real? You know, I think I was thinking of a story actually, when I just related to that. When I visited my little sister, um, back at home, we could have a home visit every, every with our family. And so I was at home visiting my sister, and she was a swim teacher. And she was teaching little three and four-year-olds how to swim. And after the swimming lesson, I was waiting in, like, the boot room area, the coat room area for her to come out with my, I was with my, my mother. And so one of my sister's little students comes out with her brother and her mom. And so her mom starts talking to my mom. And her brother, this little student, whose name is Maddie, Maddie's brother's church talking to me. He looks up at me. He says, "Who are you?" And I said, and I was like, "I know it's complicated. I know long flowing robes. I'm in the swimming area." You know, what a contrast. Dress. I said, trying to be simple, I said, "You know, wow, I'm, I'm Maddie's swim teacher, Sister. I'm, I'm Maddie's swim teacher." His sister. And he says, "Oh." And he runs up and pushes himself against his mom. And he says, "I'm her son." And then little Maddie's watching the whole thing. And she runs up to her mom, like, wraps her little three-year-old arms around her mom's thigh. And she says, "I'm, I'm, I'm." And then she could tell she was a loss for words. And she looked up at her mom. She says, "What am I?" A kid. And Maddie says, "You're my daughter." Or here's my mom said, "You're my daughter." "I'm her daughter." You know? So there's a practical level. One, to always ask, I think, ask the Lord every day, "Jesus, who do you say I am?" Every day. It takes ten seconds. "Jesus, who do you say I am?" That's, I think, what's one thing I'd say. And I think another thing I'd say would be in relation to identifying the voice of the evil one who whispers lies into our hearts and our minds about who we are. Hmm. You know, to be able to say, "Wait a minute, that's not how God speaks to me." You know? I mean, you really can give examples. What little things we hear in our head? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Thank you. Vol 1. As I'm listening to you speak, first, you've got to have a relationship. You've got to be talking to God, right? Yeah. Prayer. Another word for that. Talking to God. Stay in touch. I'm getting your stuff. Talking to Him and letting Him talk to your stuff. Exactly. Solves a lot of problems. Probably 90.9.9 percent of them. And then I hear also, we've got to learn the difference between the voice of God and other, right? Yeah. And we've got the voice of the Lord singing the song of love. Mm-hmm. To us. And then we've got other. Which I actually would categorize my voice gets in there, right? What I think, what I feel, my expectations. The enemy, right? The evil one. We've got, he's out to destroy us, ultimately, right? He's not about God. As a woman in the Bronx once told me, that ain't about God. Mmm. And I carry that with me because it's like, mmm, that's not about that. Yeah. Kick that out. And then there's the voice of others, right? What I think they think, what I think they feel. And ultimately, all of those, yes, you want to make those distinctions. And as discernment of spirits would would teach us and train us, be aware, you know, living with a spiritual awareness. Understand, is that about God? Is it not about God? And then you accept or reject. It's pretty simple, right? And as we make it habitual, I think we live a lot freer and more freely live in the greatest reality of our lives that we're left. Mm-hmm. I love that. That resonates. You know, it makes me think of just some examples of things you can maybe hear in your mind. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. You're like, "You're nothing. You're a failure. I can't believe you did that." "She is so much better than you. He's so much better than you. You'll never live up to that." You know, "You're nothing. You're unlovable." Oh, really? You can hear all these things in your mind, your heart, right? And it's like, "Hold on." Well, that's not what Jesus says. That's not what He says about us. Every time we hear that in our minds, our hearts, it's like, it's like immediately like a red flag. It smells like that devil gave himself away. It's like, "Aha! Back down." So good. You know, like, that's not, that's a lie. He's the father of lies. And so to be able to renounce and reject those thoughts immediately, you know? I mean, make a circle back. Jesus, who do you say I am? You do say I am. You know, yeah. I guess important because we can, we can, we can start believing a lot of lies about who we are. It's easy, especially in this culture. There's so much blasting at us, you know? Yeah, it's so true, Sister. And again, I think we all hear it. You know, we all hear it. Someone once told me, as I was talking to, just a good, a good spirit sister, we're talking about this reality, right? We're like, "Oh man, this is what I'm hearing." And my good sister told me, "Shake, Sister, you are listening to trash. Someone is trash-talking you." And we all know when we're being trash-talked, right? And yet, what I love to do with trash, I love to imagine myself in a river, right? And there's that current, and there might be trash in that river, but it's, I'm just gonna let that flow on by. Right? And found myself as a rock, and that's where Jesus stands. And I just look up. I just look at Him. I let Him look at me, in a sense. I dare to receive my life from Him. Not let that garbage float on by. Don't pick it up. Don't pick it up. Don't listen to it. Just float right by. And honestly, I think that decreases a pretty high percentage, at least 75%, of, you know, the burdens we can carry in the day. We drag a lot with us, but it's not, it's not necessary, actually. I just got to look up. I just look at Him. I got to look at my Father looking at me. Hmm. And let that trash roll on by. Or even, hey, if that trash is super troubling me, or that lie is really getting under my saddle, my skin, the burn under my saddle, so to speak. Looks like, "Jesus, what do you want to do about that? What does your love have to say to that?" Do you know what? You know what He's sent me? Jesus. And He actually, He takes action. It's pretty powerful. Mmm. I love watching Him. If we ask, we will receive. If we seek, we will find. If we knock, the door will open. And I lean into that promise, the truth of that word. Hmm. I don't know. What do you have any other side, Sister? My love, I love that image, just letting it, letting all the trash flow on by and looking at Jesus, hard gaze fixed on Him. Yeah. You know, it's, yeah, I think that's the most powerful thing. Keeps it real, right? Keeps it real. Keeps it real. Keeps it real. Gosh, you know what else I was thinking that too? I was thinking that it's good to remember. Hmm. It's good to remember. You know, I think we've all kind of, if we look at our lives, we can look poignantly and see, there was the before Christ, there was a B.C. in our lives, and there was an after. Right? And tapping into those moments, those the moments we experienced God's love the most, and to go back to those places and to remember His love, to remember and notice how He was looking at us, to remember how we felt, and actually then to ask for more, to ask for more and more and more. It's like a holy greed that I think that belongs to the children of God because God wants to give us the more, and our hearts want it. I'm thirsty. Mm-hmm. I'm thirsty. I don't know. What do you, I don't know, Sister, what do you think about that? My surrogate space to where we're not just remain in His image and likeness, we're made, and my maid for eternity, of eternal communion. And nothing is gonna satisfy your hearts except for that. It's not remembering that you're talking about is, is like dipping us into it, letting us ourselves be immersed in the reality that's surrounding it, constantly telling us who we are. But but really immersing ourselves in that. And then it's like, I'm remembering we're made for eternity, and we're starting to live our eternity now. And, and that's, I mean, that's huge. That, you know, that totally changes our lens on life. If we remember we're children of the Father, made us in His image and likeness, made for greatness and glory for eternity, that's sure a lot different than the trash floating down the stream is telling me a lot of other things about myself. It's beautiful to ponder. Gifted to be with you, Sister. It's a gift to be with you. It's a joy just to talk about all this stuff. Amen. Amen. Well, I wonder, um, before we go. Yeah. Got anything before we go? You know, I thought maybe we could do something together, and we could pray this Litany of Let Love. Whoa. I think that'd be awesome to pray together. Pray it together. Open up floodgates. Yeah. A little, little of that love. Yeah. Just come more deeply into our lives. Yeah. Let me just invite you all, you who are listening, invite you into it to pray with us. Okay? Here we go. And I'm in the Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Amen. Father, good and ever faithful. Jesus, Savior, ever merciful. Holy Spirit, wellspring of true life and love. I give you permission. Reign in my heart, mind, soul, and life. Let your love come into my past, present, and future. Let your love unfold in me. Then I let love reveal who I am. God, in whose image I've been made. Father, me. Then let love define me. God, in whose likeness I've been formed. Shape me. Then I let love with courage and hope. God, to whose glory I've been called. Be my strength. Then I let love forgive me. Save me, Lord Jesus. Then I let love love me to the depths of my being. Save me, Lord Jesus. Then I let love heal and glorify my wounds. Save me, Lord Jesus. Then I let love free me from sin. Save me, Lord Jesus. Then I let love liberate me from all my fears. Save me, Lord Jesus. Then I let love reconcile me to wholeness and peace. Save me, Lord Jesus. Then I let love awaken me. Come, Holy Spirit. Then I let love lead me in every moment. Come, Holy Spirit. Then I let love challenge me to live in and for love. Come, Holy Spirit. Then I let love grow my mind, heart, and soul. Come, Holy Spirit. Then I let love draw me to live in the truth. Come, Holy Spirit. Then I let love transform me into the life of Christ. Come, Holy Spirit. Then I let love fill me to overflowing. Come, Holy Spirit. Then I let love captivate my heart. Come, Holy Spirit. Then I let love live in me. Come, Holy Spirit. Then I let love inspire me. Come, Holy Spirit. Then I let love cherish me. Father, hold me in Your heart. Then I let love receive me. Jesus, keep me in Your wounds. Then I let love be my rock and security. Spirit, keep me in Your peace. Then I let love ask for me. Let Your will be done, Father. Then I let love in. Let Your will be done, Father. Then I let love strengthen me. Let Your will be done, Father. Then I let love let go. Let Your will be done, Father. Then I let love speak. Let Your will be done, Father. Then I let love call my name. Let Your will be done, Father. Then I let love bring me somewhere new. Blessed Trinity, reign over my life. Then I let love. The adventure. Blessed Trinity, reign over my life. Then I let love write the score. Blessed Trinity, reign over my life. That I might love win the victory. Blessed Trinity, reign over my life. That I let love be the answer. Blessed Trinity, reign over my life. In the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Amen. God bless you all. Good to be with you. See you next time. God bless you. 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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