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- “A SABBATH MONTH”
- IT IS THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE START OF THE CONGREGATION THAT I HAVE HEARD SUCH AN EVIL-SOUNDING WORD
- BECOME ONE WITH YOUR SUPERIOR, SO THAT YOU AND HE ARE OF ONE HEART, ONE MIND, ONE WILL
- MY HEART OF A FATHER WAS FULL OF LOVE FOR YOU WHO ARE DOUBLY MY SON
- WE MUST DISCOVER ALL THESE ADVANTAGES IN THE BLESSED CONGREGATION THAT HAS GIVEN BIRTH TO US
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- Eleanort Rabnett, Lay Oblate Associate on IT IS THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE START OF THE CONGREGATION THAT I HAVE HEARD SUCH AN EVIL-SOUNDING WORD
- Eleanor Rabnett, Lay Oblate Associate on BECOME ONE WITH YOUR SUPERIOR, SO THAT YOU AND HE ARE OF ONE HEART, ONE MIND, ONE WILL
- Eleanor Rabnett, Lay Oblate Associate on MY HEART OF A FATHER WAS FULL OF LOVE FOR YOU WHO ARE DOUBLY MY SON
- Eleanor Rabnett, Lay Oblate Associate on WE MUST DISCOVER ALL THESE ADVANTAGES IN THE BLESSED CONGREGATION THAT HAS GIVEN BIRTH TO US
- Eleanor Rabnett, Lay Oblate Associate on YOU MUST BE A FATHER TO YOUR NOVICES, YOU MUST BE CLOSE TO THEM IN THEIR DIFFICULTIES AND ENCOURAGE THEM
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“A father’s communication with his many children… that is one of the most agreeable occupations of my life” 1857
Often a door closing looks like letting-go of something we have mistakenly held close, thinking it to be the only thing that matters, is good, or what we really need – simply because it is what we know… But there is something deeper waiting to be discovered through the open window which appears before our hearts, which can be seen through eyes of trust and daring.
Looking at Eugene’s response to Bishop Bourget we see the living reality of trusting in God for those he continued to send to Canada and the growing of his family and congregation. Not just a holy ‘story’ but a lived reality throughout his and the congregation’s lives.
For a brief moment I look at Eugene’s words about departing for Rome after just saying yes and I am reminded of another door closing as Fr. Louis Lougen finished his 2nd term as Superior General and giving his report of what had been done and what yet still needed to be looked at. The unknown and then the opening of a new window as the capitulants dared and humbly trusted the Holy Spirit to lead them in the choosing of their next Father General. And I idly wonder at the thoughts of Fr. Luis Ignacio Rois Alonso, O.M.I. as he very quickly set out for Rome and Nemi; after he flung open his own window of grace to hear the whispers of the Spirit.
“Simplicity… Charity… Obedience…”
What doors have I stepped through, allowing God to close?
The closing of my doors is not the Beloved turning away from me, but rather tenderly picking me up and carrying me towards a new window that He has opened; offering a new invitation to dare, to trust. Setting me down as the window becomes a door to be walked through, figuratively and really.
Small or big… Each night is a rest, allowing God to hold me as he gently closes the door of a day and each morning rising an invitation to look and see the beginning of a new day, a new window to look through. It all depends on how I look at it. It is trust and joy that transforms that window into an open door, that we can choose to step through – or not.
This morning I choose to step through…