At Pentecost, the Spirit came to bestow God’s blessing on all God’s people, so that they could experience Christ’s everlasting gifts of peace, love, and joy in the resurrection and ascension into heaven. We soon saw how our vocations were to be a blessing on all God’s people, so that we could offer the Lord our heartfelt thanks and gratitude for all the goodness He has revealed to us in the heavenly kingdom. While we prayed that one day all God’s people would see the glory of His Son in His resurrection and ascension into heaven, we hoped that they might receive God’s blessings on their future vocations, so that they could also enjoy the security and peace of His divine embrace. When we shared the good news of Jesus Christ we saw how His kingdom would one day be manifested in every area of our lives here on earth. As part of our daily offering of praise and thanksgiving, we proclaimed God’s Word to all nations, so that we could receive all those divine blessings and favors that would help us to live holy and sacred lives, no matter what troubles or trials we would encounter:
In the LORD I take refuge; how can you say to me,
“Flee like a bird to the mountains!
See how the wicked string their bows, fit their arrows to the string to shoot from the shadows at the upright of heart.
If foundations are destroyed, what can the just one do?”
(Psalm 11:1-3)
Our vocations in Christ’s name would ensure hat we would always find our peace, rest, and security in His Father’s divine embrace. Although many rely on the thoughts, opinions, and beliefs of others to define who they are and what they are capable of doing here on earth, we rely on God’s Word to help us see how Christ’s gifts of peace and salvation would enable us to proclaim the good news of God’s love for all people. As Christ sends us the Holy Spirit to guide us and to advocate on our behalf, we sang songs of praise and thanksgiving that would one day be heard around the world. Often, we have received God’s Word from on high to help us understand that our vocations would enable others to sing the Lord’s praises in the coming days. In acknowledgement of those gifts we have received in Christ’s Body and Blood, we joyfully gave our thanks and praise to the Holy Trinity. At the break of dawn, we came to acknowledge all those present with us in our prayers, as they would one day be able to turn confidently to the Lord in their hour of need. Having revealed those gifts of the Spirit to all mankind, we helped make known God’s presence here on earth, even through times of trouble, difficulty, or doubt. In those gifts we have each received in the fire and flames of the Holy Spirit, we were able to extend Christ’s peace, love, and joy to all mankind, so that God’s people might one day seek refuge in the Father’s gifts of love, mercy, and forgiveness.
As we were have been able to overcome pain, heartache, and sorrow through our adherence to God’s Word, we understood that those who are called into His faithful service would receive the blessings they needed for their vocations. So that we might begin to comprehend the height, depth, width, and breadth of God’s love, we offer our humble and faithful service to the Lord, so that others might begin to receive the Holy Spirits’ gifts of grace at Pentecost. Those gifts have enabled us to preach and to minister to all God’s people for the greater glory of God and help Christ to establish His kingdom of heaven here on earth. In Christ’s name, we revealed to others how our hunger and thirst for justice had been set aside after receiving those divine blessings in the kingdom of heaven. Reassured that God would help us overcome all obstacles to our vocations, we no longer sought control, worry, or favor as a way to endure the remainder of our lives here on earth. Instead, we sang songs of praise to God for the divine blessings we received in the kingdom of heaven. As the Beatitudes of Matthew’s Gospel reveal, Christ tells His disciples how they would be able to set forth and proclaim the good news of His resurrection and ascension into heaven even in the midst of persecution and hatred. Those beatitudes or blessings would include: the kingdom of heaven, comfort, the (Promised) Land, satisfaction, mercy, ability to see God, status as the children of God, and a great reward in heaven (Matthew 5:3-11).
Blessed with the Spirit’s gifts of understanding and wisdom, we were able to share with our family and friends how the sanctification of Christ’s Body and Blood helps us to be fed in our hunger and thirst for justice, mercy, and forgiveness, so that God’s loving ways would be revealed to all nations in Jesus Christ. Knowing that we would be cared for through all eternity, we celebrated the anticipation of His second coming at Pentecost, so that others would see how all those who have offered their lives to God in service to His Son’s mission here on earth would one day take part in the wedding feast of the kingdom of heaven. In anticipation of that glorious day when we would be reunited with all our family, friends, and loved ones here on earth, we welcomed all God’s people through those gifts of grace. Through Christ’s offer of peace and salvation , we were able to wait patiently for His second coming and minister to those in need of His love. Through those gifts of bread and wine, Christ’s presence here on earth in the Holy Eucharist helped us to remain with all God’s people even as we suffered in our pain and sorrow. Soon, we would reveal how God’s plan of salvation encompasses all mankind, as they would come to see God’s glory manifested through all those who have followed His Son, Jesus Christ.
God would soon lift His chosen ones up on high so that all nations would see the way in which Christ returns to judge all mankind. Joyfully singing the Lord’s praises, we watched as He once sat on His throne of Judgment before all God’s people. Setting aside a bit of fear and trepidation, we ran up to Him with great joy in our hearts and embraced Him. Having acknowledged all those who once revealed the good news of His glory, majesty, and grace to us as children here in the kingdom of heaven, we shared the good news with all those who would soon receive the Spirit’s renewed gifts of faith, hope, and love in Christ’s name. As Christ would send all God’s people the fire and flames of the Holy Spirit, the Father would begin to bless our vocations in His name. All those “little ones” we once ministered to would one day come to receive the gifts of faith, hope, and love they would need to receive God’s blessings on their vocations. Praying that they would be renewed in Christ’s peace, love, and, joy, they would soon begin their new lives in Christ’s name. As the Spirit once revealed to us God’s promises for our futures, we saw how much others would need the peace, love, and joy of Jesus Christ. As God’s Spirit comes to bestow on His people the glory of His love, we received the good news of His Resurrection to new life in the kingdom of heaven. Holding us in His divine embrace, we approached our Father in heaven with Christ as great joy rose in our hearts. With the blessings we would receive for our new beginnings, all those adopted sons and daughters of God would begin to celebrate the good news of Christ’s glorious resurrection and ascension into heaven, so that all nations would come to share in the blessings of God our Father.
Seated upon His throne in the kingdom of heaven, Christ comes to ensure that all God’s people would receive the blessings they need to endure those times of sorrow, pain, and suffering, so that they might continue their journey with Christ secure in His peace, love, and joy. Knowing that, at times, we would be rejected and scorned for our belief and trust in God’s Word, we placed our lives in the Father’s hands. In faith, we saw that He would always be there with us to bind our wounds, lift our spirits, and assure us that His everlasting gifts of peace would be with us until the end of our days. In the divine embrace of the Holy Trinity, we worked with Christ’s brothers and sisters to reveal His kingdom as already established here on earth, so that all nations might be reassured of God’s presence with them in the coming days and weeks.
As we begin to help all those in need of the Spirit’s gifts of faith, hope, and love, we offer our reassuring presence to those in need of His comfort, and aid. Setting forth on our journey to the kingdom of heaven, we would stay with all those who have experienced His love, peace, and joy in their hour of need. Around the world, all those who have yet to experience God’s presence remember how we once experienced the glory of God’s Son through our adherence to scripture. Although we might have held back from moving forward in our vocations in Christ’s name, we came to see how Christ’s own flesh and blood would be given to others through us in our vocations as priest, prophet, and king. As a sign of our future blessings and grace we would receive in the kingdom of heaven, we acknowledged how the Bread of Life would help all those future generations who would place their lives in God’s hands.
As God’s plan of salvation begins to unfold here on earth, we remember how all those we once prayed for would come to acknowledge the glory of God through our vocations in Christ’s name. When they see the joy with which we share the good news of Christ’s resurrection and ascension with all God’s people, they would see how we persevered through those days of hardship, heartache, and woe with God’s blessings in the kingdom of heaven. Now that we have come to see that the kingdom of heaven would be established here on earth beginning at Pentecost, we would soon experience the blessings of God on our vocations, so that the security and peace of Christ would be revealed through the Spirit’s gifts of faith, hope, and love. Encouraging God’s people to ponder scripture and meditate on God’s Word in scripture and deep within their hearts, they would be able to offer Him their prayers of thanksgiving and praise for all those gifts they would come to receive in His name. Taking the time to pray, they would receive all that they need for their futures lives in Christ’s name.
The rising tide of God’s love in our hearts would soon lift all those men and women of faith whose hopes and dreams for the future have been revealed to us in the kingdom of heaven. In the fires and flames of the Holy Spirit, they would find comfort and security in His divine embrace. Having overcome all those fears, worries, and concerns which once prevented us from carrying out God’s will for our lives, the Spirit helped us to reveal how our vocations in Christ’s name are to be priest, prophet, and king. Recalling those words Christ once spoke to Peter after His resurrection, we helped care for His flock so that His glorious name might be proclaimed around the world. In caring and loving all God’s people here on earth, we are better prepared to carry out that task of proclaiming the good news of our peace and salvation to all nations, so that all those who have united with us in Christ’s peace, love, and joy would soon be reunited with us in Christ’s Church.
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love (agape) me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love (philia) you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
He then said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love (agape) me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love (philia) you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love (agape) me?” Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, “Do you love (philia) me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love (philia) you.” [Jesus] said to him, “Feed my sheep.”
(John 21:15-17)
As Christ first came to help us resist those remaining worries and concerns about our future, we reunited with al God’s people here on earth. In the kingdom of heaven, Christ revealed to us that the timing of His second coming would mean that our lack of malice, anger, and hurt towards those who once betrayed us would enable us to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit in His name. While we were able to welcome all those in need of the Father’s love, mercy, and forgiveness, the fire and flames of the Holy Spirit would help us to see that God’s love for all mankind enables the Holy Trinity to dwell securely in our hearts, minds, and souls. At Pentecost, all God's people would see how those blessings we received in the kingdom of heaven would help us to carry out our vocations here on earth. Knowing that Christ would always be with us to light the path ahead, we share our prayers to the Holy Trinity with all those seeking to follow the Father’s will for their lives. Having revealed to all God’s people how the Spirit has guided us on that path to holiness, faithfulness, and peace in the Resurrection and Ascension into heaven, we sought refuge in the embrace of God's Son. As we received Christ’s everlasting gifts of peace and salvation in the kingdom of heaven, the Holy Spirit helps us to proclaim the good news of His second coming to all those facing hardship, suffering, and pain. Looking forward to that day when those fires and flames would ignite all God's people, we prayed that those whose vocations are to reveal the good news of Christ’s salvation here on earth would be reunited with us here on earth. As we partake in the wedding feast of the heavenly kingdom, we see how all God’s people would see one day receive Christ’s gifts of peace, love, and joy into their hearts, minds, souls in His gifts of divine mercy and grace.
As we acknowledged God’s love to all those on whom His favor rests, we saw how His bountiful kingdom here on earth would help us to proclaim Christ’s peace and salvation to all mankind. With the Spirit’s blessings on our vocations, we acknowledged the beauty and wonders of His creation through our daily reception of the Holy Eucharist. With great thanksgiving and praise for all those who have come to us in Christ’s name, we are better able to leave our troubles and worried behind and resist that temptation to abandon our call.
While we rest peacefully now in the divine embrace of God's love for all mankind, Christ’s presence here with us helps us to make known to others how prayer, meditation, and adherence to God’s Word would help them to reveal the good news of His presence here on earth. Knowing that we are made secure in Christ’s gifts of peace, love, and joy, we take part in the mass by offering God’s people those gifts of His Body and Blood. In their reception of the Holy Eucharist, Christ’s physical presence in the bread and wine helped us to see that the Father’s will would one day be revealed to all God’s people in that place of resurrection. While acknowledging His gifts of grace for our vocations, we see how His love for all creation would help others to reveal His bounteous kingdom, so that all God’s people would find peace and salvation in their daily reception of Christ’s Body and Blood.
Remembering how we once gave our thanks and praise to the Father for all those who were given to us in His name, we see how His glory would soon be revealed to all God's people in the fire and flames of the Holy Spirit. At Pentecost, the Father’s will would be made known to them, so that those gifts of bread and wine would help them to sing their joyful songs of praise and thanksgiving to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Offering our lives to the Lord for faithful and humble service to the kingdom, we see how we would be together as One in Christ's name, when we celebrate our new lives in the living fires and flames of the Holy Spirit. In Christ’s peace, love, and joy, God blesses all those who have sought to carry out His will, so that more would see how their new lives in Christ would enable them to proclaim the glory of His resurrection and ascension into heaven to all God's people.
As we were first united with one another in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, the Lord’s presence here with us helped us to live out His call. In the fire and flames of the Holy Spirit, we were welcomed into Christ’s presence in the kingdom of heaven, so that the fire and flames of the Holy Spirit would help us to reflect on all those who once gave their lives in service to His Son. While our acknowledgement of the Father’s blessings on our vocations helps us to remain ever present to one another, offering Him the gift of our lives helps us to reveal God's love for all mankind. Secure forever in His divine embrace, that gift of Christ’s peace and salvation helped us to offer our thanks and praise to the Lord for those gifts we had received in Christ's name. With the Holy Spirit's gifts of faith, hope, and love, we were able to welcome all those who have taken part in His divine plan of salvation, so that we might be renewed in Christ’s gifts of grace. As we help others take part in that wedding feast in the kingdom of heaven, we assure others that the Risen Christ would soon reside here with us through those gifts we received at our baptism. In Christ’s Body and Blood, we revealed His second coming to all naitons, so that our salvation here on earth would help us to extend His peace, love, and joy to all mankind.
By acknowledging His gifts of wisdom and grace, we were better able to share the good news of His second coming with all God’s people, so that all those who have journeyed here with us would see how those vows to love God above all things and to love one another as Christ has loved us helped us to remain secure in Christ's peace, love, and joy. Understanding that Christ’s love for all mankind would help us to enjoy the blessings of the Father, we revealed the good news to all nations that His faithful promises to us were first revealed to us in the kingdom of heaven. As Christ’s message of peace, love, and joy helps us to reveal our hopes and dreams for the future to all mankind, we helped others to envision a day when they could accept God’s blessings on their vocations.
In Christ’s name, we proclaimed the good news of His peace and salvation to all mankind until we were overjoyed to discover that God’s Son was here with us on earth. As many have resisted God’s will for their lives, we understood that His kingdom would soon be established here on earth so that all those who came to listen His Word proclaimed joyfully in our hearts, minds, and souls would soon find that Christ’s presence deep within us was first revealed through those joyful songs of thanksgiving and praise. Offering the Lord our heartfelt thanksgiving and praise for all that He has given us in His name, we completed our task of proclaiming the good news for the glory of His name. While we wait patiently for our family and friends to reveal Christ’s presence here on earth, we take part in offering His gifts of peace and salvation to all God’s people. As His peace, love, and joy would soon be manifested in all those who have come to accept His freely offered gifts of grace, the Holy Spirit would ensure that our future lives together here on earth would remain secure in the Father's divine embrace. With the Spirit’s gifts of faith, hope, and love, our vocations in Christ’s name would be renewed in that place of resurrection, so that His glorious message of peace, love, and joy would be made manifest to all those in need of the Father’s mercy, love, and forgiveness.
In His second coming here on earth, we would find that all those who have revealed Christ’s presence to us have eagerly anticipated His presence here on earth. Finding that those who have sought the Father’s will for their lives are revealed to us in the kingdom of heaven, we would pray that all God’s people see how the weights and burdens of the past would be lifted up from our shoulders, so that we could walk freely together as holy men and women of God. While our vocations have helped others to respond to God’s call for their lives, we revealed to them how the apostles, disciples, martyrs, and saints once encouraged others to reveal Christ’s kingdom here on earth. Proclaiming the good news of Christ’s peace and salvation to all mankind, all those in whom we have received Christ’s message of peace, love, and joy would soon be able to bear witness to those gifts of grace that enabled us to unite with all God’s people in His heavenly kingdom. As we begin to carry out our task to love the Lord and one another, we proclaim the good news of His second coming to all mankind. Revealing to God’s “little ones” that we would be forever united in His heavenly kingdom, we see that God’s love for all people would one day mean that the Holy Spirit would reunite us through the living fires and flames of His divine and all-encompassing love.
(photo of La Madonna della Strada at Los Altos Retreat Center, CA, courtesy of Nancy Nugent)
Ever since the first time we looked deep into the hearts of our friends and family, we saw God’s loving gaze reflected in their eyes. Having revealed to them the good news of Christ’s second coming, we wait for the Holy Spirit to prepare these “little ones” to bear witness to His loving presence reflected in their hearts, minds, and souls. Knowing that we would once more gaze upon the eyes of Christ from His own loving gave, we reflect on that day when we would be blessed to see the Lord face to face. Once we would have thought little but of the pain and suffering we had endured these last few years. Today, we see how our heartaches and pain enabled us to bear witness to all that Christ had done to help us heal and recover, so that His apostles would begin to bear witnesses to His miracles of love now present in every man, woman, and child.
And so the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven; there at the right hand of God he took his place,
while they, going out, preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it.
(Mark 16:19-20)
On our journey home to the kingdom of heaven, we would welcome God’s “little ones” to partake in the Eucharistic feast. Soon, they would be able to anticipate the glory of His kingdom through the resurrection and ascension into heaven. As we revealed to others the way in which the Holy Spirit once bound us to one another in faith, hope, and love, we received the bounty and blessings of His kingdom. Taking part in His plan of salvation for all God’s people, we chose those members of His Body who would begin to bear fruit in the kingdom of heaven. As Christ’s presence is reflected among all those men and women with the Spirit’s gifts of grace, we would be renewed and transformed in the blessings of God in the fires and flames of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. As our hearts, minds, and souls have understood that our future ministries in the kingdom of heaven would enable us to proclaim the good news of Christ’s gifts of peace and salvation to all mankind, the Spirit comes to reunite us with all God’s people through the Eucharistic banquet in the kingdom of heaven. Standing among Christ’s people, we accept those gifts which enable us to reveal Christ’s glorious kingdom here on earth. Having considered how Christ’s gifts of peace and salvation would enable us to carry out our future ministries in the kingdom of heaven, we received Christ’s peace, love, and joy. Now, as the Father’s blessings comes down to us to reveal our vocations as Ministers of His Word, the fire and flames of the Holy Spirit anoints us for our future lives together, so that God’s people would forever be able to seek and understand the Father’s will through the glory of the Risen Christ.
As His Church here on earth enabled us to proclaim the good news of His glorious resurrection and ascension into heaven, we waited while those newly appointed apostles came to acknowledge Christ’s peace, love, and joy in their hearts. Through those good deeds and words of wisdom we extended to all God’s people in their times of trouble and doubt, they would be able to observe the rising tide of faith, hope, and love that would once again unite them through the sanctification and glorification of Christ’s Body and Blood. Thus, in the resurrection to new life, the wedding feast of the heavenly kingdom would enable them to set aside all those worries and concerns which once consumed them. As the future would be soon laid out before them, we remember our own day of redemption, when we were free to pursue our vocations in Christ’s name. As the Spirit reassured us that we would be able to minister in the Church without fear of harm or retribution, we helped others to bear witness to those blessings we have received in Christ’s glorious resurrection and ascension into heaven. As everything we have received was given to us as a gift and a blessing from our Heavenly Father in our hour of need, we acknowledged Christ’s whisper to us that we are the Beloved of God.
I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
Now they know that everything you gave me is from you,
because the words you gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me.
(John 17:6-8)
Deep within our hearts, those gifts of faith, hope, and love enabled us to receive Christ’s brothers and sisters with enduring grace, wisdom, and love. Knowing that He would bestow upon us all that we would need to carry out our vocations as ministers of all God’s people, Christ came to help us overcome our fears of sin and death. Singing those words of exultation and praise for all that we received in His name, we rededicated our lives to carrying out the Father’s will in humble and faithful service to His Son. In the embrace of the Holy Trinity, we came to see how our participation in Christ’s resurrection and ascension into heaven would one day mean bearing witness to all those men and women whose vocations in the Church would enable them to proclaim Christ’s gifts of peace and salvation to all nations. As they begin to acknowledge Christ’s peace, love, and joy deep within their hearts, we note how His presence among us grows stronger every day. Now that we are able to bid one another welcome in the heavenly kingdom, we pray that the Holy Spirit would begin to reunite our brothers and sisters in Christ’s mercy, love, and forgiveness.
With renewed minds, hearts, and souls, they would freely offer themselves to all those in need of God’s help and assistance. Christ’s love, mercy, and forgiveness and are reflected in His majestic realm here on earth, so that all those present with us would be able to proclaim how their faith in God’s Son would enable us to welcome all those who are called to carry out the Father’s will. As our vocations would begin once again in His divine embrace, we love and serve the Lord through those renewed gifts of grace, so that His people would be prepared for His second coming. Asking that the Holy Spirit would help us in our vocations, we came to the altar as a people united in Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection. Dedicating our our lives to the Lord so that we might begin to acknowledge all those in whom we have received His divine favor and help, we saw how God’s promises to us would first be revealed in the heavenly kingdom.
As we would one day see our hopes and dreams take place here on earth, we wait with great anticipation for that dear future of our visions to begin. Accepting our status as sons and daughters of God, we prepare a place for His humble presence, so that we might be better able to help our sisters and brothers in Christ come to accept and believe in His plan of salvation for all God’s people. On that day, they would bear witness to Christ’s presence among all our family and friends, so that they might understand that what Christ needed to accomplish here on earth through us would be revealed in the glory of His second coming.
Put through every kind of task and situation, we arrived at this point on our journey free and without fear. The course our vocations in the kingdom of heaven would soon be revealed to us here on earth. While our final departure means that our task of proclaiming the good news would be completed here on earth, we understood that, in accepting His blessings on our vocations, we would be open to the possibilities of God’s future plan of salvation. Knowing that we would soon be enveloped in the fire and flames of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, God’s people would come to adore, love, and cherish Christ’s presence here with us. Hoping that they might begin to take part in the wedding banquet of the heavenly kingdom, with family and friends by our side, we would be able to share the good news of His return here on earth with all God’s people. As many would come to know and share in His divine gifts of peace, love, and joy, the graces we received on that day of salvation would begin to bear fruit in near future. Soon, men and women of every background and culture would be beckoned to the wedding banquet to reveal how their hopes and dreams in Christ were first envisioned through prayer and meditation on scripture.
Christ ones once beckoned us to welcome all God’s people into His divine embrace, so that we would understandd the full depth and meaning of our new lives in His name would be revealed in His ascension into heaven. In that wisdom which surpasses all human knowledge, we would see how our new lives in Christ would be revealed in the fullness of time. As God's glorious Son comes to be with His people, He helps us to see how the love we have for God and His chosen ones would continue to make known our salvation to all those who have remained here on earth. Deep within our hearts, we begin to welcome all those in whom we once acknowledged Christ’s presence within them, for we asked that they pray for us in return. So that we might complete our journey to that place of resurrection, we celebrate our wedding feast in the kingdom of heaven in the days to come.
Welcoming all our brothers and sisters into the Father’s divine embrace, we reunite with members of Christ’s household and royal family. As Christ has received all God’s people into His wounded and blessed heart, we looked forward to that day when more would come together in the Body of Christ and celebrate Christ’s presence with us in the Holy Eucharist. While each day we have been able to see how Christ’s second coming would help all those in need of God’s love and support, their vocations in Christ's name would enable them to receive His divine gifts of grace. Through the sanctification of Christ’s Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist, we would join together His people here on earth with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Now, the Lord bids us to invite all God’s people to partake in that Eucharistic banquet, so that more might begin to bear witness to His presence in those gifts of bread and wine. Recognizing that our last few days have enabled us to take part in Christ’s resurrected triumph over the grave, we overcome our remaining fears and come to accept His gift of eternal peace and salvation for all mankind.
“Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”
(John 16:28b)
While we often considered leaving behind those who presented challenges to our vocations, we remembered how all those who said that God’s Word meant that we could never be considered for a position in the Church’s hierarchy, we often wondered how we would endure those coming days when our fellow classmates and friends would step forward to become ordained ministers in Christ’s Church here on earth. As their vocations to the priesthood would one day constitute our great joy and happiness, we freely offered them our support and congratulations. Knowing that our own vocations would begin again in the fiery flames of the Holy Spirit, we continued to preach and minister to all God’s people the good news of His second coming. Praying that all those men and women with whom we shared our hopes and dreams would receive Christ’s light burning deeply in their hearts, we looked forward to that day when all God’s people would be prepared to step forward through that doorway and accept their new lives with Christ in the kingdom of heaven. As Pentecost would soon enable us to reflect on all those joyous and happy reunions we have shared with family and friends, we mark the anniversary of our vocations in Christ’s name which meant that we would be with one another in the kingdom of heaven. Knowing that all those times when we came together as a people united in the Spirit’s gifts of faith, hope, and love, we heard God’s Word whispered to us in the inner recesses of our hearts, we understood that we were indeed His Beloved and Favored ones. Finding it difficult to understand how the Church would receive the joys and possibilities of our future together in the unity of the Holy Spirit, we understood that all those who once left us behind would see a day when we would be able to walk freely through that doorway and find our hope and salvation in Jesus Christ.
As we helped the Lord in His mission to save the world from all its troubles, heartaches, and ills, we understood that the trials and travails of Christ’s Church here on earth would enable them to one day accept our vocations in Christ’s name. As the day would come when the God’s people would allow God’s Word to penetrate deeply into their hearts, we heard with joy the Word that came to us in prayer and great thanksgiving that we were to reunite with all those we have encountered in our preaching and healing ministry in the kingdom of heaven. Having come to the end of our journey here on earth, all those to whom we once preached the Word of God would soon be able and willing to stand up for all those whose vocations may run counter to our current societal and political understanding.
The Lord comes to earth once more to protect us from all those opposed to our vocations in His name. Setting aside the danger we once foresaw, we entered into a newer and deeper relationship with the Lord. Coming to accept our new lives in Christ, our future vocations meant that we would be able to experience our first taste of freedom, faith, and love in the embrace of those family and friends who once told us that what we wanted for our lives and for our futures would be impossible. Despite the rest and the respite we experienced in those early days when we first entered into the embrace of our Heavenly Father, our journey to the kingdom of heaven has meant that we were enabled to proclaim the salvation of all mankind to all God’s people. Having once sought to uphold the Church’s status as the one and only favored people of God, we understood that we would one day be required to help all those men and women who had yet to consider a deeper relationship with the Lord. Sharing with them our future hopes and dreams in the kingdom of heaven, the new community we would establish would begin to take place in the kingdom of heaven. As our Father in heaven would help us to address those fears and concerns we once had during our dark night of the soul, we saw how His presence here with us in the living flames and fires of the Holy Spirit first came to us at Pentecost. Calling to mind His faithful and sacred promises, we need never have feared that our hopes and dreams for the future were simply a flicker of the imagination. Instead, our hearts now burn with the joy of receiving our future hope and salvation in Jesus Christ.
Having taken heart in the Spirit’s instruction that all those newly appointed apostles here in DC would come to share our vision of renewing Christ’s Church here on earth, we shared with our friends and family the good news of His second coming here on earth. Soon, it would be time to make our way to that place in which we first heard our call to unite God’s people as One with the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Knowing that the future path of His Church would coincide with Christ’s resurrection and ascension into heaven, we sought assurance from our Father that our new lives here on earth would enable the Holy Spirit to unite God’s “little ones” in the kingdom He would establish here on earth. Each and every night in prayer and thanksgiving, we came to see how God would send ask us to remain with God’s people until we were able to establish a new community of men and women who would begin to devote their lives to serving one another in the embrace of the Holy Trinity. In discerning our unique vocations with them, we came to love them as Christ has loved us. Knowing that Christ would be with us to help us on our future course, we began to experience the freedom and the love of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Coming together to live our out lives as priests, prophets, and kings in God’s embrace, we recognized that our future hope and salvation would rest on that future dream in which Christ would establish His heavenly kingdom here on earth.
In that dream for all mankind, we knew that what had been told to us in scripture, prayer, and meditation would soon be revealed to the whole world. Set aside to serve God’s people through His holy Church, we helped all those who had come to seek the Father’s will for their lives. Looking forward to that day when the Church would come to accept the possibility that women’s vocations in the Church entitle them to take part in Christ’s vocations as priest, prophet, and king, we considered how those renewed vocations might involve new and innovative ways of approaching the sacrament of Holy Orders. Through our baptismal call, we came to receive God’s blessings to enable us to take part in Christ’s Church here on earth. Knowing that our lives would often reflect Christ’s life, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven, we found it difficult to remain idly by while friends and family members acknowledged how everyone in the pews should receive the support and affirmation of their vocations in Christ’s Church. Having helped our brothers and sisters in Christ with their vocations, we waited for our new lives to begin in the kingdom of heaven. As often as we considered how many times we once tried to seize the day and try to make a life of on our own, we saw how every door seemed to slam shut except for the one to preach and to minister to all God’s people. The one door we are able to accept within the Church is that small door, off to the side, where no one notices our gifts of preaching and healing. Through my writing, I think often sometimes of these vocations as being akin to the door in the tree where that white rabbit disappeared and through which Alice would attempt to follow for the sake of curiosity. Through that open door, I would find a world where God remains with me always and where the Spirit explains to me the inner workings of the human heart. It is in these gifts of wisdom and guidance that we receive from the Holy Spirit that we ultimately find our true peace and rest, as we begin to understand that everyone’s attempts to eek out an existence sometimes prevents our vocational stories from being told.
Having made the “mistake” one day of wanting more than a typical existence for this life; I found that the only way I could live, laugh, run in freedom was to be united with Christ in the kingdom of heaven. Seated upon His throne, God came to assure me in prayer that what was not possible for human beings was possible for God. Here on earth, I waited for that day when the Lord would come to make all things possible. He tells me now that the day would come in the fire and flames of the Holy Spirit.
On that day you will not question me about anything. Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.
Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.
(John 16:23-24)
The Ascension into heaven has meant that the Lord would go up into the heavens to take His place on His throne in the heavenly kingdom. All those who have longed for the Father’s blessings on their vocations would begin to receive all that they need to move forward in the Spirit’s gifts of faith, hope, and love. Singing joyful songs of praise for the blessings of the Holy Trinity, we rise with great humility and peace and begin to offer our hearts to the Lord for having remained by our side through this dark night of the soul. As we rejoice together in the brightness of the day, we will come together as One and so begin our future lives here on earth with all God’s people:
With great anticipation of the second coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we recall how all that had once been foretold to us in our dreams would one day come be revealed as God's Word found deep in our hearts. As His Spirit of truth is passed down through the generations, Christ’s love is revealed once more as being for all God’s people. As the gifts of the Holy Spirit have enabled us to take part in Christ’s ministry here on earth, we reflect on that special task bestowed on all His disciples to preach the good news of His second coming. As Christ's Spirit would help ensure that future generations would be able to give their thanks and praise to the Lord for having rescued them from sin and death, our troubles and worries begin to melt away. Soon, all those blessed to live lives in union with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit would help us to bring God’s chosen ones home secure in the Father's embrace. Helping us to see how all that had once been foretold to us would ensure the future salvation of our family and friends here on earth, our faith and adherence to God’s Word helped us to sing songs of praise to our Father in heaven. Like the canticle of Mary, also known as the Magnificat, we were able to hear those songs of praise revealed deep within our hearts. As we have proclaimed the good news of the coming Messiah, God's resurrection of His Son would ensure that all that we have learned from the Spirit about the Messiah's identitywould be known in our hearts as God's wisdom and truth. What we now know to be true forever and always, God has revealed to us through His blessings on our vocations of His mercy, love, and forgiveness. Bestowing those divine blessings on our friends and family, we eagerly awaited news about the status of those future sons and daughters of God.
His children throughout the ages have lived secure in that love when they came together in unite with His Son in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Standing together as a people united in Christ's peace and salvation, we came to understand the full depth and meaning of God’s love for all mankind. As we were often reunited with those family and friends who have taken part in that daily offering of bread and wine in the blessed sacrament, all those in need of Christ’s peace, love, and joy would be made welcome with open arms. Praying that they would come together as One, all God’s people would rejoice once more in the embrace of our heavenly Father. Taking the time to reflect on the love we have shared with one another in His divine embrace, we were better able to endure those periods of our life when we were made to feel the pain and sorrow of our empty days and nights. Unwanted and forsaken, we anticipated with joy that wonderful celebration of our lives together with those family and friends who have sought our happiness and peace. Seeking the Spirit’s wisdom and guidance for our futures, we asked the Lord to help us always find a way in which we could love and serve God’s people in friendship, faith, and love.
Coming to see how each and every generation would always have its moments of sadness and despair, we are sent the Advocate to help us overcome our worries and concerns about the future. As often as not, we are able to reassure others that God’s love would one day embrace the whole world. While we anticipated with joy that day when all mankind would be fully encompassed in the Spirit's gifts of love, faith, and hope, we proclaimed the good news of His peace and salvation in our Resurrection to new life. While praying that God’s chosen ones would soon begin to internalize all that we have shared with them through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we wait for the Spirit to come again to ignite in them the flames and fire of love to advocate for us here on earth. When all that was revealed to them in the darkness of our nights is proclaimed with joy in the brightness of our days, then the blessed miracle of His love for all mankind would soon be made known throughout the whole world. Through faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, every man, woman, and child could once again affirm their sense of God’s presence here with them on earth.
In their new lives in Christ, they would be able to overcome all those fears we once held deep within our hearts. As we move forward together in our vocations to proclaim the gospel with the joy, peace, and love of Jesus Christ, His name would be made known to others as our Lord and Savior. Reaching out to those among us who seemed lost, alone, and afraid, we came to share the good news of Christ’s return here on earth, so that all those suffering from the loss of family and friends would take courage in having witnessed God’s presence here on earth. In our Resurrection to new life, we encouraged them to see how our concerns and worries would be addressed by our faith in God's Son, as our reunion with one another in the kingdom of heaven would soon be made known throughout the world.
Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.
When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world.
So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.
On that day you will not question me about anything. Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.
Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.
(John 16:20-24)
Assuring God’s people that all would be well for those who would remain behind, we look forward to our new lives together in peace, love, and joy. As we unite with God's people in the Holy Eucharist, Christ's presence within us is raised up towards the heavens to give praise and thanks to our Father. As those faithful witnesses have come to recognize the committed love we share with Christ in proclaiming the good news, the Spirit's presence residing deep within our hearts helps us to call to mind how our Lord was once lifted up among those believers and apostles who had born witness to the Father’s love in Jesus Christ.
Resting securely in His plan of salvation, we see how our journey to the heavenly kingdom would not begin until they were able to recognize and bear witness to God’s presence in one another. Seeking solace in those messages of hope we first received from Him in the kingdom of heaven, we shared with Him the gifts of the Holy Spirit we had received in Christ's name. Clinging to our faith, hope, and love in Jesus Christ, we prayed that the Spirit would be with us once more as we move forward on our journey together to preach the good news. As God’s presence would be made known to others through our ministry of preaching and healing, the time would come when God’s people would begin to acknowledge His presence here with us on earth. Proclaiming His glorious ascension into heaven, more would begin to see that Christ’s peace, love, and joy would always be revealed in the hearts, minds, and souls of all those who believe in and trust in His Word:
God has gone up with a shout;
the LORD, amid trumpet blasts.
(Psalm 47:6)
While our vocations in Christ have often seemed challenging to all those who once assumed that our status as a woman had limited our capacity to proclaim the good news, we sought God’s help to take on those institutional structures of our day that prevent women from achieving their hopes and dreams in Christ's peace and salvation. Yet, having been asked to address the greater possibilities for our lives, we were able to set aside those fears and concerns we once had about the future, as we saw how the life we had chosen to live out together in the kingdom of heaven would be revealed as God's plan for us. Knowing that our lives here on earth would give rise to so much more than what we had originally planned or intended, we kept faith in God’s Word that His plan of salvation would be there to save us from the effects of sin and death.
As our hearts have taken delight in those first steps we took into that wide-open space spread before us - our future - we asked God to help us live out our remaining days here with God’s people with joy and happiness. In the Resurrection and Ascension into heaven, we would be better able to accept all those who would one day join us in ministering to God's people in the heavenly kingdom. Reflecting on our new lives we received through Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection, we provided instruction and assistance to our fellow disciples, so that they would keep the faith even in times of heartache and sorrow. As God’s ways have conquered the ways of the world, His promises to us would be revealed in all those we once ministered. As they begin to take part in the Paschal Mystery, they would call to mind how Christ’s promises for our new lives began in the Ascension into heaven.
The Ascension is what reveals Christ’s true glory in His identity as being One with the Father. In the kingdom of heaven, the thoughts, deeds, and words of Christ would help us to overcome the ways of the world, so that we might institute His new family of believers here on earth. Finding in God's embrace that Christ's message of hope would be a bit difficult for others to comprehend, we understood that these final days until His return would help us to live lives of freedom, faith, and love in the arms of our heavenly Father. As God himself came to rule over our lives here on earth, we saw how those changes we have long awaited for in our family and friends began to occur in their Resurrection to new life in Christ's name. All that we once foretold to them of Christ’s second coming would soon be revealed to all God’s people, as they prepared to bear witness to the evidence of God's love for us rising up before their very eyes. As more are convinced of God’s love for them in the Resurrection and Ascension into heaven, we prayed that they would look deeply into their hearts, minds, and souls for that piece of information or evidence that would help them to recognize how all that they had learned from the Holy Spirit would one day be revealed to the whole world through faith, hope, and love.
Coming to recognize that our faith, hope, and love in Jesus Christ has enabled us to reveal God’s love as trustworthy for all men and women, we asked that they would find peace and rest in the Father’s embrace once more. As our our future lives remain secure in His glorious resurrection and ascension into heaven, we find once again the peace and serenity which we have longed for through faithful adherence to His Word.
Women Beneath the Cross was a small idea about young adult women in the Church who were tired of being asked if they were going to be simply nuns or housewives. . . In the Catholic Church, the assumption seemed to be, if you're spiritual, you're clearly destined to be a nun, but, if you're secular, you're supposed to go work or stay at home and have kids. What if I wanted it all? After I became more serious about my faith life, I realized that we are and always were more than our state in life. We were more than a job title or identifiable by our function (i.e. mother, daughter, etc.). We were women who had a calling from God.
As Christianity always reveals, the answer is usually "both/and" rather than "either/or." This website is dedicated to helping other women understand how to live out their true and full identity and mission, and contribute to the building up the community as God has called them to. Therefore, it follows a very Ignatian approach to prayer and spirituality. Whether you want to remain single, are searching for a spouse, are married, have children or don't, are widowed, are a member of a religious congregation, or are uncertain as to all of the above, you have a calling!
With master's degrees in Theology (WTU '09) and International Relations (GWU '99), Nancy has been working as an operations research analyst for the past 11 years. She has both Hill and media relations experience. Currently, she is following her own vocation in building up the Body of Christ via this blog, leading an Ignatian meditation group, designing retreats, and writing a book on Mary's spirituality.
Disclaimer: To paraphrase from St. Teresa of Avila - So I begin this work on the Feast Day of Teresa of Avila in the year 2010, in my apartment in Washington, DC, where I am living, and I submit all my writings to the judgment of learned men and women. That it will be the fault of ignorance, not malice, if I say anything contrary to the doctrine of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, may be held as certain. By God’s goodness I am, and always shall be, faithful to the Church, as I have been in the past. May He be for ever blessed and glorified. Amen.
Women Beneath the Cross was a small idea about young adult women in the Church who were tired of being asked if they were going to be simply nuns or housewives. . . In the Catholic Church, the assumption seemed to be, if you're spiritual, you're clearly destined to be a nun, but, if you're secular, you're supposed to go work or stay at home and have kids. What if I wanted it all? After I became more serious about my faith life, I realized that we are and always were more than our state in life. We were more than a job title or identifiable by our function (i.e. mother, daughter, etc.). We were women who had a calling from God.