MERRILLVILLE – Young adults in the Diocese of Gary learned how to “Embrace the Life That God Has Given You” from two religious sisters who are joyfully doing just that as Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration serving in Mishawaka.
Opening a four-week Summer Young Adult Series of outdoor spiritual programs hosted by Our Lady of Consolation, Sister M. Regina and Sister Karol Ann mingled with the young Catholics during an icebreaker that encouraged partners to talk about themselves for a minute each before exchanging places.
“I think you two complement each other very well,” said Sister Regina after hearing from siblings Marlene and Jackie Garcia, from Hammond.
Sister Karol Ann shared that she is pursuing a Master of Business Administration while working in the convent business office – she also likes reading and walking outdoors.
Sister Regina, opening her talk, noted that she joined the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration due to its charism of perpetual adoration. “For 160 years straight, our sisters have taken hourly turns in adoration (24 hours each day),” she explained. “It is our reason for being and our favorite occupation of our grateful hearts.”
Posing the question “How do I embrace the life God has meant for me?”, Sister Regina discussed prayer as “a meaningful time with Christ. We know the closer we get, the easier it is to be together, which works great with Christ, because he lives in us.
“It’s important to be your real self, because you want to be loved for who you are,” she said. “He wants to know what you think, wants you to be honest. Bring to him whatever is on your mind, what is bothering you in your life.”
Freedom comes for religious men and women, Sister Regina added, “by being able to pursue God with all (your) heart, to attain the freedom to be who God wants us to be.”
A mentor, Sister Barbara, “taught me about St. Francis, and I read a book (about him). He was so free (because he did not let temporal things distract him),” said Sister Regina. “I wanted to be like that; he didn’t care what anyone thought but God.”
Sister Regina said she “came back to the Church in 2007 (two years before she entered the convent) and made a confession. Everything I told (the priest) in that confession I felt free of, but a year later I made a FULL confession and then I felt like a new woman, and I knew I wanted to give my life to Jesus.”
Wanting to build a relationship that is “strong, stable and that will withstand storms and stay together,” Sister Regina said she turned to her memories, seeing them as powerful. Writing down her conversations with Jesus in a journal, she realized that “When I see (the words) and remember them, it allows me to know what he wants of me. He said the Holy Spirit would teach us all the things that he, Jesus, had told us.”
By accepting that the Eucharistic equals Jesus, she added, those seeking freedom find thanksgiving. “Gratitude is life-giving, and actually keeps us alive, because if we are not grateful, we actually start to die,” Sister Regina noted.
Addressing “the act of embracing living in the present moment,” Sister Regina told a story about St. Teresa of Calcutta, who was asked how she took care of so many people. “’I take care of one, and when I’m done, I take care of another,’ she said. She and her fellow sisters took care of millions, one person at a time.”
Sister Regina pointed out that “We don’t (even) know our (own) stories, they are happening now; we don’t even know (what will happen) the rest of our day.” Not knowing, living in the unknown, she added, “teaches us to embrace sacrifice with love, “enabling me to live in the moment and say ‘yes’ to the unknown.”
Sharing with her audience an exercise in guided prayer, Sister Regina suggested that the young people “Practice listening to God. He speaks in many ways,” including through “head voices,” images and the senses. “He brings peace, consolation, encouragement and clarity. He does not nag, accuse, bite or confuse,” she noted.
After providing a series of questions and suggested paths to the answers, Sister Regina challenged the young adults to follow the Blessed Mother’s exercise by writing their own Magnificat, connecting aspects she had discussed to discover how to “live in the present moment in order to embrace the life God has given you.”
Facilitator Melissa Novak, director of Discipleship and Evangelization at Holy Martyrs and Our Lady of Consolation, led a group discussion to conclude the program, asking the young people to share their own personal prayer experiences, which included silent prayer, adoration, praying with music and journaling.
The final session of the Summer Young Adult Series will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 22, outdoors on the south side of the parish hall, with Father Ted Mauch, pastor, responding to the young people in a question-and-answer format. Attendees are asked to bring a chair; refreshments will be provided.