Saturday, December 30, 2017

Christmas Reflection: December 30

Luke 2:36-40

Anna, a widow, prayed, fasted, worshiped and stayed in the temple into her old age. God called and gifted her to be a prophetess. She spoke of the child Jesus when his parents presented him in the Jerusalem temple. She might have been the one least expected to have knowledge about the Messiah. Nevertheless, God chose Anna; through prayer and fasting, she did not let her status of widowhood prevent her from being faithful to God and from prophesying.

Prophecy is a gratuitous gift from God. As we grow in our Christian and Religious life, we advance in wisdom and understanding. Some among us have a pronounced gift of prophecy; they see things years in advance. Look at the last 10 years and remember a Sister who might have suggested something in a Congregational Assembly that might have sounded outrageous at the time. Perhaps little, if any, attention might have been given to the idea. It might have even become a topic of discussion for a while. However, a few years later, we might have done exactly what she suggested, sometimes after being forced by circumstances. That Sister is the prophetess among us. Whether she is chronologically older or younger does not matter. Rather, the good that is done for the Congregation by the great ideas that are generated is important. Blessed Pauline put it very well: “When good is done, it does not matter through whom it is accomplished.” 

Today, consider: Who are the prophetesses among us? Do we recognize them, or do we label them because they see, think, and speak outside our comfort zones and challenge the status quo of the Congregation? Identify and acknowledge a Sister you think is a prophetess among us and pray for her. Pray for greater inner freedom and for more prophetesses in our Congregation.

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