Endurance

SCRIPTURE
- Hebrews 10:36
"For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised."

REFLECTION
- Sr. Kara

MUSIC
-

NOTES
-

PRAYER OF LETTING GO
To You do I belong, O God,
into Your hands I surrender my life.
Pour out Your Spirit upon me
that I may love You perfectly,
and serve You faithfully
until my soul rests in You.

Transcript

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SPEAKER_03 0:36

A very warm welcome to all of you joining us in prayer today. I'm Father Ron with the privilege of leading you this day in reflection. Thank you for being with us. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your race.

SPEAKER_00 1:03

Psalm 100. Give thanks to the beloved. Sing a joyful noise to God, all peoples of the earth. Serve him with a glad heart. Join hands in the great dance of life.

SPEAKER_02 1:25

Know that the beloved of your heart is the divine presence. God created us, and we belong to him. We are born to be loving. Expressions of the Creator's divine plan.

SPEAKER_00 1:44

Open the gates of your heart with gratitude and enter God's court with praise. Give thanks to the beloved. Bless his holy name.

SPEAKER_02 1:59

For love is of God and lives in your heart forever. With faith, truth, and joy, we are his children, sons and daughters of the Most High. Let us never stop giving thanks.

SPEAKER_00 2:21

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

SPEAKER_02 2:26

As it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 3:19

Perhaps discernment over a big decision like a job, marriage, move, a moment of anticipated change or transition. This discernment can be difficult because often we are choosing between two goods. Because if there was an obvious bad choice, it would be pretty clear, right? God wills for our ultimate goodness and joy. But it doesn't mean a journey without challenges or difficulties. And that's where endurance comes in. A secret to discernment that I've discovered over the years is that discerning God's will is not a one-and-done kind of thing. We don't just do God's will on one thing and then we're off the hook. Discerning and doing the will of God is the journey of our entire lives. A life in communion with God means a life following God's will. As we follow God's will, our Lord leads us deeper and deeper into relationship with Him, which invites us to keep venturing towards new horizons, the unknown. One step leads toward the path forward. I have learned that God gives us every grace needed to do his will, moment by moment. A quote from St. Vincent de Paul that often floats around the community reminds us that wisdom consists in following providence step by step. When I was back in college, desperate for God to tell me what I was supposed to do with my life, God didn't answer by telling me my vocation from some booming voice in the chapel, like I wanted. God told me to get out of bed each morning. And then I was like, then what, Lord? And then make your bed. And then what, Lord? And I discovered that by doing the little things step by step, answering the little yeses along the way, life was leading me toward the bigger yeses. And by that point, I was better able to discern the will of God and receive the grace to do it. I remember when I joined the Daughters of Charity, my community, there was and still is a process of discernment and initial formation that I look back on now and I really appreciate that. I didn't sign a piece of paper on day one and start doing all the things that make up the life of a daughter of charity in order to become one for a daughter. No. It started with visiting the sisters, going on retreats, praying and eating meals with the sisters. Then as a pre-postulate, I moved in with the sisters and experienced community life. Then as a postulate, I participated in more of the spiritual practices. I was expected to be more present during community activities. Then as a seminary sister, I became a daughter of charity for her. I wore the habit. I took a deep dive into studies of the community and sent in spirituality and integrating my life as a daughter of charity forever and forever. Then, while sent on mission, I engaged in full-time ministry, lived in community, and continued to deepen my identity as a daughter of charity forever and ever. Then when I made vows for the first time, I ratified my total gift of self to God in community for the service of those who are poor. But I'm not finished. I'm still a work in progress. Ten years in, and I continue to discern God's will and do my best to follow it. So there you have it. There's no finish line to the spiritual life while on this side of eternity. No matter our state of life, God invites us deeper and deeper into communion with Him. We have to choose to put in the time to deepen that relationship. We must have the patience to discern His will moment by moment and the wisdom to follow Providence step by step. This journey leads us to eternal life with the Lord, the ultimate promise. So, friends, let's keep moving.

SPEAKER_03 8:07

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. Let us pray. Father, your word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Thank you that we can live in your light and walk in your truth. May the things that you have revealed and thoughts that we have shared dwell in our hearts and stir us to action. We ask all this in the precious name of Jesus. To you do I belong, O God. Into your hands I surrender my life. Pour out your spirit upon me, that I may love you perfectly and serve you faithfully until my soul rests in you. May the light of Christ be upon you. And with your spirit. Go now in his love and protection in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. What a gift it is to be together in prayer, isn't it? All over the globe. Oh, praise God. And thank you for joining us. We'll see you tomorrow.