Everything is Grace!

This past weekend Nicolette and I were invited to visit with the Franciscan Sisters T.O.R. of Penance of the Sorrowful Mother in Toronto, OH.  The two days we spent with them were so incredibly blessed!  They are a beautiful and gracious religious community and our time with them was so helpful as we continue to make steps towards foundation. 

Before we arrived at the convent, we went to Franciscan University for the 12:05 Mass.  Walking around the campus, seeing the students frantically running to the Chapel so as not to be late for Mass, or towards the Cafe for lunch so they would make it back up the hill for their 1:00pm class, brought back a rush of memories of my 4 years on campus.  As I began to reflect on my time there, I was overwhelmed by the Lord's goodness, gentleness and love for me.  Here is where I first experienced the truth and beauty of the Catholic Church.  Here is where I was challenged to earnestly seek holiness.  Here is where I first experienced the joy of women religious and accepted my own religious vocation.  On this small hill in Ohio, God poured out His graces into my heart, and helped me to see and move beyond myself to a plan that I never could have imagined.  


  It's easy to become so distracted by the struggles of life that it begins to be difficult to see the graces that are before our eyes.  As St. Therese says, "Everything is grace."  How true those words ring in my heart!  As I stood in the Chapel during the opening processional, staring at the Franciscan Cross in the sanctuary like I had done hundreds of times before, I began to reflect on one particular moment during a Tuesday night Praise and Worship. The chapel was packed, and for a while it seemed that my praise was lackluster.  I became discouraged but, in a moment of grace, I felt the Lord call me to lift my hands and praise Him anyway.  I knew in that moment that I had to praise Him; not out of religious obligation.  I realized that my praise of His omnipotence, mercy and love is my life-breath, regardless of what is going on around or how I feel.  We, as Christians, are called to praise in every moment.  "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord!" (Job 1:21)  It reminds us, time and time again, of who we are in our relationship with God.  Someone once told me that life is like a painting.  We can look at the canvas before the painting is completed and see a brush stroke that seems to be a mistake.  However, once it is finished, one can see the necessity of that same brush stroke and begin to praise the artist for his work.


As we prepare for the Lenten season that is quickly approaching, let us pray that our eyes are open to the gifts and graces the Lord bestows on us daily.  Let us take on our Lenten penance, not out of a religious obligation, but out of love and praise of the work the Lord is doing in our lives.  

"Hold back nothing of yourselves for yourselves so that He who gives Himself totally to you may receive you totally."  -St. Francis of Assisi

Written by Alycia