This Easter Season’s gospels seem to me to have one over-all
theme: Jesus telling us Who He Is: The Crucified One, The Risen One, Bringer of
Peace, Good Shepherd, The Vine. Through the witness of the Disciples on Easter
Day, we come to know Jesus by His wounds. Reflecting on this brought me to also
identify my deepest self by my wounds – the experiences of my life that have
transformed me.
This is not to say that I had mostly difficult times. In fact,
my life has been “a piece of cake” for the most part. But I recognize that I
learned some painful lessons about myself as I listened to critics,
supervisors, kindly and otherwise correction, etc. And I deepened my spiritual
life and developed compassion for others when I suffered through what could not
be changed about life circumstances.
Thinking about this brings to mind a new
metaphor, the UPC mark. Each line signifies some wound. Taken as a whole, the
mark is unique to each of us. Placed over a Light source such as Jesus Christ,
the Light shining through tells the whole world who we really are.
Sr. Dorothy Schuette, OSB
Dear Sister, thank you for this important information. Growth through suffering. We are more importantly the love that we give rather than the sum total of suffering. What remains of Jesus Christ in our lives is our goodness to love other people. It involves suffering often enough (but not always). Perhaps we need to move the focus more to the good results of His suffering = our enriched lives, as children, the love we enjoyed, and your gift, sister, the work, the prayers, the goodness and joy you have given. that is what you are surely. The UPC mark is the love we have given. You said it above. He is also the Risen One, the Bringer of Peace, the Good Shepherd. Happy Easter OSB Pentecost soon, God bless amen.
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