Journal of Sacred Work

[Note: Thank you to Liz Wessel, a nursing leader with the St. Joseph Health System, Orange, California, for the following meditation and for creating the beautiful mandala that appears at left]   
   One Sunday morning Father George began his homily by declaring, “My goal is
threefold; 1) have something to say, 2) say it 3) and then shut-up.” This
caused me to sit up at attention and listen to his message of Love within the
context of two key words persistence
and perseverance.
   Long ago, my father cleverly taught me the
meaning of these terms without my conscious knowing. I was the fifth child among
six children; each of us had chores to complete before we could join our neighborhood
friends at play. Occasionally assigned duties, such as yard work or cleaning
out the garage, would squelch all hope of a fun-filled Saturday afternoon.   
    Although,
these responsibilities were difficult for youth’s exuberance to endure they
were quite instructive in learning how to delay gratification…

   Occasionally assigned duties, such as yard work or cleaning
out the garage, would squelch all hope of a fun-filled Saturday afternoon. Although,
these responsibilities were difficult for youth’s exuberance to endure they
were quite instructive in learning how to delay gratification. 
   It seems to me that anything worthwhile in life requires an athlete-like determination coupled with persistence and perseverance. To create something of lasting value takes painstaking time and patience. When we immerse our hearts’ in the waters of daily life, it helps to remember we will get wet!  The results of our daily efforts may seem imperceptible; but with a continuous stream of motion, the way advances in spite of daunting odds. The truth is, our dream may never become fully realized. The challenge is not to lose sight of our vision, understanding that we are a part of something far greater than any one of us is alone.
During his sermon, Father George asked a parishioner, “What parable in Christ’s teachings inspires you most? What is your favorite story?” Kandi said without hesitation, “Oh, the story of the Good Samaritan.”
Kandi emanates a rare and radiant light as one transformed by Love.  Her heart’s purpose is help people in need and her motto is “let’s put our community to work.” Kandi connects instantly with almost anyone she meets. Then she begins to work her magic by linking just the right person to lend support to someone in need, based on his or her gifts, as hand is to glove, she finds a perfect match.
Some years ago, Kandi’s teenage twin sons died tragically in a plane crash. Understandably, the death of her beloved boys affected her deeply. Yet, she lives Love in a profound and uncomplicated way.
Personally, the image I cherish most is of Christ who stands at heart’s door and knocks. Curiously, upon closer look one notices that there is no outside doorknob, for one must open one’s heart from within. Regardless of ones’ beliefs or faith tradition, Love is a universal truth that unites us all, for in Love we are one. 
“And I tell you, ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; and the one that seeks finds; and to the one who knocks the door will be opened.” Luke 11: 9-10.
A life worth living is a life of Love. Joy, pain, suffering, compassion, and heartache are all part of living Love. Opening to Love involves childlike trust, a sincere desire, willingness to show ones true colors, to be real, and vulnerable. I am learning to Love. To offer unconditional Love means being willing to let go the strings of expectation that bind us. To give our heart is to give Love’s gift – freely, and without need for reciprocation. Anyone who desire to live Love understands it takes daily persistence and perseverance. Over, and over, we learn to Love in the face of rejection and in the heartache of letting go. We feel the intensity of our emotions and accept all our feelings as an integral part of us. 
Alternatively, we may choose to play it safe, stay cloistered and risk nothing, our true selves never known.  Yet, will we wonder at life’s end if ours is a life full of regrets for not having Loved?
Love’s blessing asks only for a receptive and a grateful heart. This innate truth reveals itself in nature, as an ever-hopeful intelligent design, beneficent and with purposeful movement towards life, an unfolding into Love’s mystery. We hear God’s voice in a solitary   bird’s song at dawn, dancing to the cadences of a neighbors’ chatter, and in a child’s unrelenting questions. God’s voice floats on a breeze of rustling leaves, chimes silent reminders, and converges in one unending prayer of sweet devotion on one Sunday morning.