Back from vacation

It's been a week since I got back from vacation. And the first thing I did the next day was to sort through my pictures while waiting for the other postulants to arrive. So here they are. :)

It was wonderful to visit with family and friends and our Sisters from Chicago and Toronto. I would not have managed to see everyone I was able to visit without God's providence. I also felt your prayers for me and for all of us. Even the weather cooperated so well. The rain held up at all times when it would have been impossible and miserable for my family to travel where we planned to be. Needless to say, there were some very rainy days but those days were when the plants needed them more. ;-)

What was really special about this vacation is the awareness that Jesus has been giving me of His presence in each person. This has been recurring in the past 8+ months that I have lived in the convent and I can only hope that my eyes and my heart remain open to this truth...

"... I am with you ..."

These words are in every chapel of the Daughters of St. Paul around the world, and if I'm not mistaken, in every community of the Pauline family.

Now that I'm "slowly" getting back into the swing of things in the convent, I truly feel renewed and also challenged in a deeper way. This morning, we had our weekly shared meditation where we meditate on today's Gospel and share out loud the word or phrase that struck us and a bit of our reflection. What a blessing to be enriched by each others' reflection!

Love your enemies. It is what I find the hardest to follow out of Jesus' teachings as many Christians do. But it is also one of the things that define us as Christians. And so I pray for the grace of the Holy Spirit to be poured upon us and upon you (our readers), to grow in Christ's love, to see through the eyes of our heavenly Father, so that we may truly be children of God and that we may be perfect as He is perfect.

Peace,

Cheryl