Embarking

OK, it's been a little while, but to bring you up to speed I need to glance back to Saturday of the First Week of Advent:

I was able to witness 13 sisters on Saturday as they launched into a new chapter of life; on a crisp, clear December afternoon, these Missionaries of Charity of Mother Teresa's order made their final profession at the Church of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem.

Walking from the Basilica of John Lateran:
















Already having begun their journey in the first stages of discernment, living in the community as beginners, they had arrived at the point of launching into a lifelong commitment.

Walking to the church where the Mass would take place, we passed the statue of Saint Francis shown arriving in the city with his brothers. Seen from the front he is shown in the joy of arriving, but when seen from behind, his upraised hands are apparent as holding up the Basilica of John Lateran.















So also are these sisters, who arriving a new point of arrival, in making this commitment form the vital support to the neediest in the Church and in the world.

The Church of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem houses the relics of the true cross in Rome. What an appropriate image as these sisters, who pray daily before a crucifix that has beside it the words, "I Thirst", affirm that true love is deepest in the deepest of suffering.