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.
Hello and warm welcome to all those joining us for "Let Love" podcast for the Sisters of Life. This is Sister On You Stay, and this is Sister Veritas.
Sister Mary Veritas, with a cold? My goodness. Wow. So here we are again.
Sister, I know. It's wonderful, wonderful. I wonder, can I tell you one of my favorite jokes?
Sure.
Really? Been, it's been coming to mind, but I haven't had anyone to tell it to.
I'd be thrilled to listen.
I was wondering, sister, who's the richest woman in the Bible?
Esther? Good guess. It's a good guess. Nope.
Lois? Mother? You know, she... I probably... Yes, but in this case, it's actually the Pharaoh's daughter. Oh, my. Yes, because she went to the banks of the Nile and she pulled out a little profit.
You know, I think I probably sound worse than I actually am, getting over a cold, but it's all okay. You know, it stirs up memories of being sick as a kid. I think we all have those memories. But I was number seven of eight, so it was super tough to put it past Mom to stay home. But on rare occasion, then you do, right? You get Mom's special toast with the butter melted in in a magical way, and then, and then the jam on top. You actually cut it in half. It tasted miraculous, just for you to watch cartoons.
[Laughter]
But, you know, I was thinking, it was like, gosh, what is it about that? It's like we like to feel special. I say, you know, why don't we? Why don't we just live like that all the time? Like, why don't I just stay anchored in that truth?
Mmm, special. Mmm, not because I'm sick. It was that that connects well here with what we're gonna be talking about today.
Look at that, right? Letting love anchor you. Yeah, which I'm excited for. I need an anchor. We all do. I think we're all looking for anchors, and I want it, I can't wait to dive in. Should I kick it off with a little prayer?
Sounds great. And then you're made, Sister. Maybe, uh, maybe what if I pray, just in case I lose my voice by the end of this?
Father, Son, Holy Spirit, come. Holy Spirit, come. Lord Jesus, where do we praise Him and thank You for Your goodness, Your blessings, Your mercy to us? We ask You, Jesus, to pour upon us Your Spirit, Your light, Your truth. Help us to be anchored in Your love, Jesus. Help us to receive Your love. Help us to receive the truth of who we are and to rest in that, to live out of that. We ask that You speak Your Word to us right now. Give us the freedom of heart to receive You. We ask our Blessed Mother and all the holy angels and saints to be with us 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, praying for us.
Well, gosh, this is too, Veritas. How do we let love anchor us in life, hold us, keep us, but anchor us?
Well, you know what, what came to my mind, and again, please don't be alarmed. I'm really better than I sound. I just want to say that, so don't be alarmed for me. Um, what came to my mind actually was another story from my childhood. It was when I was about two or three, maybe three and a half, and my dad was at home. Two stayed home dad was fabulous, and he was at home with me and my little baby sister. And he got terribly ill, violently sick, and he couldn't move. He actually, he was like paralyzed. He couldn't move. And it was really scary. And he knew he needed help. But the phone was back in those days when there weren't cell phones in pockets. I'm not that old, but, you know, there was no cell phones in pockets. So he asked me, he said, "Can you go down to the basement and get the portable phone and bring it up to me?" And I, I was scared of the basement. It was dark stairs. I didn't like it. I didn't know what boogie men were down there. But in that moment, I had this courage to like, "Okay, Dad." And I walked down the stairs into the dark basement. I couldn't reach the, the light switch because I was so little.
Wow.
But I knew that because my dad asked me, I could do it. And nothing was gonna hurt me. I got the phone, I brought it up to him, and he was able to call my mom and get help. And it all worked out. But it was like this powerful moment of, I knew I was loved by my father, and I knew he asked me to do something, and I knew I could do it because I just loved him because he asked. And that kind of struck me when I was thinking about your, your question. But what it is to have love anchor us.
Wow. Just one illustration. I'm sure you think of others. Even as you're speaking, Sister, what comes to mind is they did a beautiful movie called "Pele" about this soccer player. And he turns out, incredible soccer player from Brazil. And Brazil has actually named him a national treasure to that extent. And throughout the movie, some of the most powerful scenes, because again, he grew up in a very poor area of Brazil, and kind of that, you know, coming from, coming from poverty and disadvantage, being able to, through being true to himself, through being true to his identity, was able to rise and find the strength to, I mean, I think he played his first World Cup game when he was 16. I think he set a record in that way, the youngest player ever, and went on to win more and really bring the, the pride of Brazil to restore it. But the poignant moments and the turning points of that, that story, and as they depicted it in the movie, were precisely those moments where he had either failed or thought he was failing or was struggling. And in those moments, looked to his father, who's standing at the sidelines, looked to see the eyes of a supportive, fatherly coaching figure. And in that moment, returning to the heart of who he was, returning to his identity, returning to the fact that he was loved, that he was a beloved son. And, and you see him rise in and through that strength. And I think it is, it's one of the greatest sources of strength that we have. Which also, I don't know, Saints, the Saints reveal this to us as well, very powerfully. I don't know if you have any, any favorites.
You know, actually, one that comes to mind right now is, um, Blessed Jose Sanchez. Hmm. Who was one of the great, is still blessed, but hopefully soon a saint. One of the great heroes of the turbulent time in the 20s in Mexico, when there was a lot of persecution, mm-hmm, of Catholics. And he was a 14-year-old boy. And he was captured by the, the enemy. And not to be too graphic, but I think they cut off the soles of his feet and made him walk about a mile. And they had, they had dug out a grave for him. And on the edge of the grave, they, they basically, you know, tormented him and mocked him and said, like, "Deny the faith." Like, encourage him to deny the faith at gunpoint, you know? And this 14-year-old boy, 14, you know, you start showed his arms, it was like, "Viva Cristo Rey!" You know, "Long live Christ the King!" And they shot him, shot him into his grave, you know? But this was just, again, it is graphic. It's, it's violent to think of. But like, this, he so knew who he was. He so was anchored in the love of God, in his faith, and the truth of his faith. He's true though he was, that he was not gonna let anybody tell him otherwise. But he didn't. Why a testimony. Blessed Jose Sanchez, pray for us.
You know, it's outrageous. That's amazing. It's so powerful, Sister. So, what does it mean, do you think, in a nutshell, to let love anchor us?
I think, I mean, it was my best stab at it. Mmm-hmm. I think it's anchoring ourselves in the truth of who we are, you know, in our identity in God. Mmm. Man, what He says about us. Anchoring ourselves on that right there. Yeah. Right there. Yeah.
Well, you know, here, I think, okay, how, right? And where do we begin with that? Because I think, I think we're at the heart right there. And if we do, if we back it up a little bit, looking at the big picture, because it's consistent from the beginning to the end for each of us. The reality that, yeah, we're loved. We're beloved. And it's possible to live from that place. And what a difference it makes when we do. Yeah.
But it makes me think, actually, of going all the way back to Genesis again. I think sometimes whenever I'm lost in length, I'm like, "You know what? Let's just go back to the beginning." That's where, again, we can get some really important cues. And just looking at creation, you know, I love it. Looking at the glory of the stars, you know, the same God who, you know, set the stars on their courses, who formed the rocky mountains, who colored and designed thousands and thousands of different types of flowers, that same God created you. And the same God created me. And that's astounding to think about, right? Or to think about, like, none of us chose to exist. We weren't consulted. We didn't apply to live. We weren't. And then we were. And that wouldn't be when we became. We became in a very particular way. We were made in the image and likeness of God himself. And that in itself has guarantees. You know, before I do anything, before I, I don't know, even move my little pinky finger, I know that in God, I have a sacred dignity. I have an incredible worth. I have purpose. I'm good. I'm good. I, is in a sense, and this just flows from my business, from my being, from the fact that I was born from the heart of love himself. It's a, it's amazing. And it's true. It's true. That's astounding. And I don't think we think about it enough. You really think what is, what the fact, the gift simply in our being to be, to be. You know, what reminds me, I was reading this fabulous article on Business Insider, which I don't normally read. Actually, no, in fact, you know, not a good business rule at all, really, religious economy degrees. But I was recommended this article in Business Insider, and it was documenting this, this scientist, Dr. Ali Benazir, who had calculated the statistical chances of you existing. So taking into account, like, your parents meeting, all the biological realities, everything. And he calculated that the statistical chances of you existing are one over ten raised to the power of two million, six hundred and eighty-five thousand. I know. How do you remember that? Because it was so burned into my brain. It was. But you also get a fellow's example of what, like, just to illustrate the craziness of that. He said, "Imagine in all the oceans of the world, there was one turtle. And through a life preserver, somewhere into one of the oceans, the chances of you existing are the same as if that one turtle swam and stuck his head up the middle of a life preserver on one try." But basically, there's no chance of you existing. Not, it's like you are not an accident. Well, you are known as a result of chance. You are intentional. You are intentionally here.
Wow. You're chosen. Wow. So if you ever forget that, I think of Genesis and think of the turtle. What? And even in that, it's like, think about why, you know, why is the reason that you're here? Why you? And that actually brings me to another story. It's one that during Pope Francis's visit to the United States, he commented offhand at one point that a child had asked him, simply and just said, asked him, you know, "What was God doing before the creation of the world?" And it's kind of set the, the Pope back. He's like, "Huh." And he, he stepped back and thought about it. And he replied to this child, "You know, before God created the world, God loved." You know, that he was loving innocence. And I, again, it brings us back to the why. The why am I here? It's all that love dreamed me into life. Love speaks most truly to who I am. It's, in a sense, I'm established in this essential identity that I am, and that I am gift. Actually, it's a fundamental truth of being, of a Christian outlook, and, and kind of an underpinning of our faith. We are a gift of love to be given, to be received. No one will ever love like we can love again. The way that you can love, Sister, and I'll never be seen by this world again, or each and every person. It's, it's incredibly fabulous. Kind of like an irreducible core. I'm gift. And it's, it's, I mean, you can even look at scripture, right? In Isaiah, we hear the Lord telling us, "Your precious in my eyes and honored, and I love you." You know, and all of us, before we do anything, I don't have to prove anything. This is all before any of that. Isn't that astounding? It's astounding. I, I love resting in it. Hmm. And I find that my home, my whole life gets better when I tap into this reality. When I, you know, take time to pray, or actually just to be with mothers. Yeah. We kind of tap into this. We can return to our, our deeper sense about this. Mmm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah.
It's like returning to our true identity. Mmm-hmm. And it's like, 'cause the world, it's so noisy. It's so different than everything you're saying. When you speak, it's like, "Oh, it's like this breath of remembrance." "Oh, that's who I am." "Yeah." "That's what I'm made for." And like to take that time, like you're saying, to rest, to remember, to anchor ourselves in that truth. Mmm-hmm. Yeah.
But even, it makes me think of an experience I had. I was visiting my twin sister, and she has four children, one on the way, but two beautiful little girls, three and five. And per usual, you know, the house is totally chaotic. The kids are running around, and pressures on. You got to think fast. And my sister was just looking at me like, "Do something." You know, like, "So, so..." What did I do? I took my two little nieces, and we went and we bought some really beautifully decorated cookies. And then I brought them home, and I'm like, "Okay, girls, we are gonna have a cookie picnic." And their eyes got wide. And this was suddenly very exciting. And they were deeply motivated because we had to go to the picnic before we could eat the cookies. And I think that probably was the primary source. But so we packed, I mean, took a little basket, you know, took some colored napkins, put some Kansas soda in there, and these really beautiful cookies, like little flowers. And, and then we took off. I had, holding hands, and we walked the great long distance of about, you know, I don't know, 400 meters to the, to the duck pond. And we, we walked her in the duck pond pond, and sat down on a bench, and laid these little napkins over our laps. And it was, I just have to, it was magical what happened. Sat down. It's like the quiet that entered into all of our hearts. And these little, these little girls are three and five. And here I am. The calm that descended and filled our hearts and our senses. The freedom to kind of connect and, and just be and smile and simply notice little things about the ducks and the sky and the clouds. It was so powerful. And in a deep rest, there was no distraction. We were just being. And, what a delight it was to be. And far after the cookies were gone, which is what impressed me, that was the motivation, but something else caught us, told us, and anchored us in that moment. And, yeah, it was very special. But just the power of being so simple. And yet, you do have to take time and get creative. I don't know if that taps into anything for you, Sister.
I love that, Sister. It's just such a great image of resting. Not trying to prove anything. Mmm-hmm. Not trying to produce anything. Just being together, and it's enough. And enjoying. It's like reality. It's like living in the moment. The present moment. Yeah. Like, it's so powerful. Just that image. Like, I'm like, "I want to do that." You know? Makes me think, like, we just to give a little example too, but like, even, like, the power of eating together, like resting at each other's presidents. Do you that time to just be, just with each other? You know, it's like, "Oh, I don't know, do we do that?" You know, like, as families, whoever's listening, just to ask, like, "Do we do that?" Mmm-hmm. 'Cause I just, it's just such a compelling and delightful image.
Well, even, I was hearing some young adults were telling me that there's a new game. Again, I don't, I, but apparently the game is when people go to eat, these young adults or families, the challenge is putting your phone away, or I guess flipped over on the table. And if anyone checks their phone, they have to pay for dinner.
Oh, that's wonderful.
So it's like a way of challenging each other. Or I know couples, married couples, who they turn their phone off during dinner time, and they really make that time. That's intentional. And it does, it draws us into a deep, deep goodness and of each other that, wow. Yeah. It's so important. And yet, I think today, you kinda have to work for it a little bit. It's not kind of given to you or kind of a natural overflow of the day, you know? That the current and the pace of the culture is fast. And being intentional about eating out, yeah, is important. Yeah. And having the rest. 'Cause you didn't, I mean, I just hear stories about people scrolling at night on their phones, just scrolling Facebook pages after Facebook page, you know? And it's like, there's never that kind of arrest. This, like, "It's okay to be." "It's okay." Just want to give you permission right now, or anyone who's listening, it's okay to be. You don't have to keep scrolling. Pressures off. You know, when we need it, we really need it. And I think even if you, if you kind of step back and say, "Gosh, what are things that bring me life? What are the things that kind of draw me back to the eternal perspective? To the reality that life is good?" You know, I think about, man, when I had come out. Mmm-hmm. I, I feel so alive up there. I remember last time on hiking, it was so powerful. And I was just sitting on top of a mountain. And it's powerful. The difference it makes. It's the little things. Yeah. You know, if you like to sketch, you know, picking up a pencil, sketching. Mmm-hmm. Like to read, like read something that gives you life. Yeah. Sing. Us, like you'd like to play music, sing, play music for the sake of doing it, for the sake of doing it. Just, you know, not to be the next whoever, just, just to do it is to do it. I don't have any current cultural references. I can't see. But just yourself, just to do it for the sake of doing it. And, and to allow that beauty to, to remind you who you are and whose you are. Mmm-hmm. Yeah. Drawing into a new space. Yeah.
But even, it might be, it might be worth kind of unpacking a little bit. I think being real with the fact that there are a lot of threats to, in a sense, letting love anchor me. And I mean, I think we see this on every level of our lives. And I think to be humbly real with that, you know, that to be real. Our church, it's, it's going through some storms right now, sailing through some, some stormy seas, you know? In our family, you know, no doubt there's different sufferings here and there, different things that our family is carrying, different sorrows that touch and afflict our hearts. Or even if we pull into the radius of our own lives, the burdens we carry, the stuff we're struggling to overcome, the distractions, the, I don't know, there's, there's so much that kind of can push you around. And I think often, if I think about it, you know, if I think of my life as a hurricane, assumes stay with me, you know? If you look at a hurricane, there's these huge turns of storms. At the center of that storm, though, they call the eye of the storm. It's quiet. There is no storm in the very center. And, and it is, it's like we can live in those outer rings of the storm. And I think this is where the challenge is. How do I stay and pull back? Stay anchored in love? How do I pull into the center of that storm and be able to move from that place? In and, yeah, reconciling and allowing God and love to bring life to the different places of sorrow or distraction or burden that, that I might be carrying. I don't, you ever thought to that, Sister?
I don't use that. I think, yeah, I think that's a good, yeah. How do we choose that? And I think that's an important point to make, actually. Because when you think of an anchor, it's like, you're, you know, not that extensive, you know, experience with ships, but boating, you know, mostly rubber dinghies. But I do know that when you anchor something, like you're throwing it out, yeah, and it's, you're submerging it in the, the ocean floor or the lake floor, whatever. So it's solid, and it's submerged, and it's intentionally being, being so, being thrown and she's sunken. And you're choosing to put it there so that you can be routed to that. And so you're not gonna drift around. There's a real choice in that, you know? And the only way you can be unanchored, you know, unless there's an earthquake or something, you know, that just the floor of the ocean or whatever you, you anchor is if you choose to. If you choose to, you know, pull up that anchor. And I think, like you're mentioning, too, there's a lot of things that can disturb our peace, disturb our, yeah, our world, our relationships. It's like the storm is tossing us every which way. But it's like, are we? Well, we choose to remain anchored in the choice we've made, you know? And in Christ's love for me, for my family, for the church, His promise that He will not leave us orphan, you know? If I choose that, the storm can can batter me about as much as it wants, but I'm gonna stay rooted where I, where I know is true. But if I get, if I get distracted or thrown about it, or stop trusting, or start being afraid, and I choose, and I choose to pull up that anchor, well, I don't know where. So there is a real choice, and choosing to remain anchored or not.
Gosh, I love it. Well, it reminds me of another image. You want to work with another metaphor?
No, no. I love metaphors. Oh, yeah. This is terrible. But okay, Lord of the Rings. Okay. Second, second movie. Again, I'm not a movie, but it seems I'm thinking a lot these days. But Helm's Deep. Okay. Big battle. And I go back to this again and again. And even as you're speaking, it's like, how do I stay in the fortress of God? Okay. And we just, we talked about that. We brought that to life. It's real. God's love for me is real. And God is loving me at every single moment. And He's holding me in existence. How do I stay anchored in that fortress? And in a sense, the temptation is to, to, when you have people, let's say these, you know, the orcs or the powers, enemy powers here are attacking this fortress. I think in my own life, if I look at it, the temptation is to say, "Oh, I hear some noise outside the walls. Let me go check that thing out. I'm gonna go quiet those guys down. I'll go, I'm gonna go take this battle on." And then I go out and I lose. Okay. I get beat on. In a sense, what I've learned and since interiorly and spiritually and just in life, it's like, how do I bring that? So let's just say there's a particular sorrow in my life that's burdening my heart. Rather than going out and outside of the walls, I answer myself in the love within that fortress. And then I bring that in and I say, "Hey, Jesus, what does Your love have to say to this?" And in a sense, there I'm anchored, and I'm strong, and I am with the Lord. And I can then bring all my stuff to Him to, to love, to bring life to, to touch and transform. Just another image, but I hope, in a sense, resonant to what you're saying, Sister.
It's so powerful. And it is so powerful. Oh, I love it. I love that image. It's just, it's very vivid. The image of that, but like, yeah, staying the fortress, staying anchored, choosing to remain. So even when it's, even, I don't know, the end, you know? Or I don't, I mean, we know the end, Jesus wins. But like, you know, what I don't know exactly how all it's gonna pan out. To trust. It's like staying anchored in them, you know, just the process.
Well, it reminds me of a great Saint. No, tell me more.
St. Mary Magdalene. Again, let's just think about it because I think, too, we can get discouraged. We can think, "Oh, man, you know, like St. Mary Magdalene, she had seven demons." Her ship tells us what that would mean. That's she was completely. Seven means complete. She was completely gone. Again, what that, what that means, what we can infer is that, yeah, she was suffering a lot and great darkness. And yet, she has become, she was the apostle to the apostles. She was, after Our Lady, the first to see our Risen Lord. She has taken on, I feel, a new edge in this time. And I don't know. And it's, well, I do know. It strikes me. She chose this anchor. Mmm-hmm. In a powerful way. I don't know. It's, it kind of blows me away.
Sister, what do you see in her? Everything you're saying resonates. You know, and like the fact that she, yeah, she was possessed by seven demons. She met Christ. He freed her. He healed her. And she never left His side. I know. It's like, even to the foot of the cross. But she looked at Him, bloody and mangled on the cross. And all, you know, all the other disciples except for John had fled. And she could, about that moment, said, "This is crazy." Mmm. "Who am I following?" This guy who's, you know, like a common criminal, crucified. She could have just, you know, pulled up her anchor right then and, I don't know, took off. But she knew the One. Mmm. She knew the One she loved and who loved her, you know? She knew she knew her God, you know? And it's like, she knew she would not leave. And she did it. And she really did it. I mean, after the crucifixion, to even leave that tomb. It wasn't, you know, the angel had to help her out a bit, you know? But like, to me, she's like a tenacious, tenaciously anchored in who I'm kind of like we talked about before, but who Christ revealed her to be, and who she is, who she was. And that, I mean, I was you're saying, but what a powerful image for times when we, when we could feel so easily adrift by the current of the world telling us who we are, who we think she should be, how we should identify ourselves, you know, how we feel, whatever. It's like, "Well, no, I'm gonna identify myself in in what He says about me. I'm gonna anchor myself in that." You know, I've encountered Him. It's one, it strikes me, too, Sister. It's so powerful that it's precisely when we're confronted with the cross in our own lives that we need to make that choice. And look what St. Mary Magdalene, staying anchored, and she trusted the process. She claimed to that cross as it, and walked through it, you know? I love the guarantees in the Christian life. For every passion and death, there's a resurrection. If we stay anchored, choose to abide in love, despite the scandal of it, despite, I'm sure, I mean, everyone, John, Mary, St. Mary Magdalene, it's like choosing to cling to that cross, to cling to Christ. Mmm-hmm. Just stay anchored in His promises. It's, it's real. It gets really real when you're confronted with the cross in your life. I'm trusting Him. I'm trusting Him when He's on the cross. Hmm. That's, yeah, that's powerful.
Well, and even as we're talking, it's like, what, what word the Living Word of God, what can we find there that that speaks this words who lost to hold on to? And I do, I think John's Gospel in the first chapter, we can find a beautiful word. It says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. And all things were made through Him. Without Him was not anything made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." Again, this passage in Scripture, it's a beautiful place to waste a lot of time, a lot of beautiful time with the Lord. But in a sense, this Word, this eternal "yes" of God spoken to us, everything, all life has flowed forth from Christ. And that includes you and me. And this is in my reality here as I'm sitting here, is huge. This is absolutely huge. The Word is Jesus Christ. The Word is Prince of Peace, is Wonder Counselor, is Redeemer. This is the source of life backing us up. This is who we have behind us. This is who we have within us. This is who, who has gone before us, who is constantly seeking at every moment to to love us and to draw His home to that love. You know, He's built this bridge back to the Father's heart. Love is our anchor. Mmm-hmm. It's our anchor. And we can throw that thing overboard and let it hold us and endure every storm, and through every question mark, and through every twist and turn that life can find us. And in holding on to that anchor, we stay true to ourselves, and we come forth into new life. It's powerful. And again, St. Mary Magdalene, I think, illustrates it. It is in a way that is absolutely stunning. Mmm-hmm. Yeah.
I love that, Sister. It's so beautiful. Like, just anchored in the Word. The Word who tells us who we are, who tells us who He is. And I think that's another just point I'm thinking about too, is because it's so distracting and so noisy in the world, we need to feed ourselves to be anchored in. But feed ourselves with a constant diet of of the Word of truth, you know? Because we're, there's a lot of poison, honestly, coming at us. And it's like, to just remain anchored, it's helpful to keep, to keep letting the truth speak over us, to keep, you know, reading Scripture, praying, reading the teachings of the Church, you know, just to stay anchored in that. We are. Well, in other ways, so it's a, here using ways to strengthen ourselves. I mean, how do we do that? And I hear prayer as an essential first stop, you know? Even, even if it's just a little bit of prayer. I think we can get overwhelmed thinking, "Oh, my gosh, what's this gonna demand of me?" You know? What a couple minutes a day, just to eddy out, take a deep breath, a miracle minute. And always mentioned that before. And I think, too, this concept, I know as a community, we talk about a lot, but being over doing. And again, being actually gives gives rise to a deeply fruitful life. And it might seem a contradiction, but I think as, as sisters, we found the more that we live in this love, actually, the greater fruitfulness we see. The more that God can, we give God, who is the great doer. I mean, look what He did with creation. I think He did a darn good job. Good. Let's gonna do it again in our lives. But this concept of of being over doing. And it doesn't mean that we turn into couch potatoes, but it actually means it's not time off. It's time into these deeper truths, you know? And how do we, how do we? We've mentioned a lot of these, you know, being with each other, prayer, taking time to watch a sunset and let it bring you and lift you to its, its source, you know, the great divine artist. Listening to the stars, what do they have to say? They always fill my heart with an incredible hope. I'm always delighted and surprised again and again at that. Watching snowfall. Mmm-hmm. And that, there's this, there's this, I can't even say the Saint's name. It's a state Porphyrios. It's actually the most random thing, but he said, "Whoever wants to become a Christian must first become a poet." Wow. In a sense, right? And Cardinal Newman, recently beatified, he spoke with Christians, a poetical view of things as a duty. Isn't what he said? He said, "We were bid to color all things with hues of faith, to see a divine meaning in every event." It gives us new eyes to see a God who is truly in all things. And even in, even in the tough places, letting Him bring this light. As the Word of God, we read, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." Asking that light to come into our darkness with courage and with trust, with invincible hope that we have in Him. It's actually amazing because that, the anchor is a symbol of hope, you know? Isn't that? Look at that. I think I think we've rested on. Yeah. Yeah. Good. Good symbol. It is. Good sign. It's really beautiful. Wow. Wow. And, and you know, and also just saying anchored in Him, it gives us a peace that the world cannot take away. Mmm-hmm. You know, it just took what another obscure sea say? It's Seraphim, who I know nothing about. Subjects. A great name. St. Seraphim. He said, "A soul at peace will save a thousand souls." You know, that peace will save a thousand souls. So I'm more anchored. The top of the waves might be all crazy and turbulent, but when you go into the depth of the ocean, its peace. Its stillness. And so just to stay there. It is so power. It is so far. And even, it's like you're saying, give Him all our broken pieces. Give Him to the cross, you know? Got a confession. Let Him restore you. Mmm-hmm. You know, give Him the peace that your soul desires. Mmm-hmm. There's that cinnamon confessed forever, but she'll sit, whatever. Give it to Him. Give it to Him. Yeah. And let Him, let Him anchor you. Mmm-hmm. And the truth of who you are and who He is. Well, I don't let Him give you back His peace. You know. Beautiful stuff, Sister. Amen. Beautiful.
I wonder, before we go, how many thoughts? You know, I think I need one minute.
[Laughter]
Wow. I think I think my word, or the word that comes to my heart, is courage. I know for me, for, you know, others, whether friends I have, my own family, it takes courage, actually, to slow down. Courage to be. Courage to step back and trust. Trust that as we do something even greater, this greater life that we long for, the more that we long for the love that we long for, the peace that we long for, He waits. He stands over us and waits to give Himself to us. And it is in kind of being stepping back that we create a space for Him to be able to come into. So I think small acts of courage, maybe one small act of courage a day, just, yeah, drawing yourself into this posture of being so that you can more freely find this anchor of love that that love holds out to us.
That's beautiful. I love maybe just to piggyback on that idea. I just want to encourage you, you know, who's listening. There's like a little kind of homework, sort of, but to look up. I think it's on YouTube. To look up Morten Lauridsen. Oh, it's called "O Magnum Mysterium." Oh, Magnum Mysterium. It's gorgeous. And I just encourage you to find it. There's many different recordings of it. Press play and just sit and let it wash over you. And then repeat as necessary, as it would see a new medical bottle. But, but really, our medicine. It is really, it is a powerful thing. Could you do that? I think it would help. It helps anchor me when I hear it. So, yeah. It's been such a delight. And, you know, I might have been healed.
He said, "Well, you sound great." Thanks. I think I'm like, healing is is moving along great. Jesus, we just ask that You draw us into Your Sacred Heart, into the depths of peace to be found there, to the depths of calm that You seek to draw us into. And we just ask, Jesus, that You anchor us and that the grace for us to give You permission to anchor us in the depths of Your love for us. We turn over to You all those things that draw us away, that we might be afraid to give You, that our hearts desire most to know Your touch of love. And we give those to You now, Jesus. And we ask You to provide for us there and speak to us there, Howard Your Living Word of Life and light and of love. Blessed Mother, be a mother to us now and pray for 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 Grace, pray for us. Amen.
God bless you, Sister. Bless you, Sister. God bless everyone with us. And can't wait till next time. No repairs for you. 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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