We are all called by God. By our Baptism we are each called to be disciples of Jesus Christ and to give our lives for the life of the world. There is no one particular “special” call that is more holy than anyone else’s, not even the pope’s!
The call to Religious Life has its own particular colour and the colour of our life, the Sisters of the Good Samaritan of the Order of St Benedict, is one that focuses on the living out of the Gospel story of the Good Samaritan, who does not walk by, but rather looks with compassion on the one in need and acts accordingly. And for us this Gospel life is lived in the way of St Benedict. What is this Benedictine way? Saint Benedict calls us to seek God in community and in the living out of our daily lives wherever they may take us. He calls us to have hospitality as our special care. He calls us to a lifetime of prayer and community that leads us all together to everlasting life. And he calls us to prefer nothing whatever to Christ.
Our life is a call to personal contemplative prayer in the silence of our own hearts. And it is a call to pray together through the the two great hinges of the Church’s daily prayer: Morning and Evening. Here we sing the Psalms that Jesus prayed throughout his life. Together we listen to the Word that transforms us, and together we pray to God for our World and its needs.
In the living out of this communal life we commit to a shared table and shared accountability. We share each other’s joys, cares and burdens. We support each other in the journey of the ups and downs of daily life by encouraging each other when life is difficult, empowering each other’s talents, and delighting in each other’s achievements.
We work together not as individuals but in an attitude of mutuality where obedience is understood as listening deeply to the movement of Spirit within each of us, within the community, within the Church and within the World.
This call to Religious Life is different for us today from what it was in our beginnings on the streets of Sydney in 1857. It is now not reliant on being seen through wearing a particular type of dress, or having a communal ministry, or living in large groups in big houses. Our life today can be rather hidden and look like anyone else’s. This life we now live is hidden in God and God’s works. We work in parishes, schools, universities, hospitals, offices, just like everybody else. Yet this call demands that we witness to Christ’s work of transformation, through our communal life, our care of the aged, marginalised and especially women, our commitment to prayer and each other, a common table and a common Rule. Fundamentally, our call is to the search for God and the ongoing love of our neighbour in the hope of Christ’s continuing work of healing and reconciliation for our fragmented and broken World.
Image: L-R Sr Carmel, Sr Jill and one of their students at YTU
19 Brenbeal Street, Balwyn VIC 3103
Telephone: 03 9816 9291
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Monica says:
Thank you for sharing this piece and your gifts with the world.