Have you ever been allured by God?
In today’s reading from the prophet Hosea, God declares: “I will allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart.”
One hundred and thirty-seven years ago, God allured our Foundress, Blessed Mary of Jesus the Good Shepherd, into a different kind of desert. The desert was a large sailing ship, tossing and churning in the storm-ridden waters of the Atlantic Ocean, on route from Italy to America, where Mother Mary and eleven frightened Sisters waited to make landfall in New York.
Amid the waves and the storms, God spoke to their hearts, enkindling there a fire of love that would animate and energize them for their mission of establishing a new founding in a new land. There, they would selflessly undertake many ministries, bringing God’s love and care to those most in need. This was an experience of true freedom.
A freedom FOR, not a freedom FROM. In declaring their full dependence on the Lord, they gained an independence that the world can never give. Today, where is the desert to which the Lord allures you? Will you let Him speak to your heart? What will your true freedom look like?
Sr. Michele Vincent Fisher, CSFN
