Monday of the Second Week of Easter

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 64:1-6 The Election of an Abbess or Abbot
Mass: Acts 4:23-31; Resp Ps 2; Jn 3:1-

Blessed are those who take refuge in the Lord.

My mind is on Sister Josephine, OSB, of happy memory, one if not the only person I have known who was docile to the Holy Spirit.

Commenting on Jesus' definition of the Holy Spirit in today's Gospel: The wind blows where it will, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit (Jn 3:8), Pope Francis said this in his morning homily: "A person who is docile to the Spirit is one who lets himself or herself be carried from one place to another by the Holy Spirit. It is this way that a person attains freedom in the Spirit." I think of Sr Josephine after I accompanied her to take up residence at the nursing center next to the monastery, one where she served as chaplain for many years. She did not want to move out of the monastery, and I did not want to take her. However, I said we had to go together. And she said, "ok". And so did I. From that day on, Sr Josephine just kind of went with the flow, humbly accepting the care she needed and by her prayerful, quiet presence in the nursing center, continued to minister to those in her midst. She made quite an impact on me. Every time when I finished visiting her, I would ask, "Would you like to pray the Hail, Holy Queen?" And she would respond, "Sure." So easy. So accommodating. So docile to the movement of the Spirit. And another admirable trait of Sr Josephine, she always said "thank you", whether it was 2am or 2pm, she expressed her gratitude for care. Sr Josephine, free in the Spirit, rest in peace. Please intercede for all of us.

We pray with the Holy Father:

For the men and women who have a vocation to the political life, which is a high form of charity. We pray for political parties in various nations, so that in this pandemic they might together seek the good of the country and not the good of their own party.

Today's photo: A refuge of beauty. Courtesy of d.

© Gertrude Feick 2020