Living a Consecrated Life

During my uni years and as I began working, my faith was becoming more and more important to me, as I went to youth group and became involved in many things with my parish.

Exploring and growing in my faith and sharing it with others was what was bringing me most alive, and even though I enjoyed my work with kids, I felt a gentle invitation from God, asking me to give my whole life to serve him as a consecrated sister. It was as if he was saying, ‘you can make your whole life about these things that bring you alive’.

In time, I discovered the MGLs and found myself feeling very much at home, so I took the steps I needed to in order to join. The unique blending together of prayer, sisterhood and mission was and is for me, the perfect way of living and expressing my relationship with Jesus.

These days, I am based in Melbourne and have the privilege of being with young people in custody as a chaplain. I think it is fair to say that at this time in my life, their openness to God has inspired and encouraged me in my own journey.

Melanie Edwards MGL 

The Image of Jesus

I grew up Catholic, going to Mass every Sunday with my family in Adelaide. I knew my faith was important, however, I did not have a strong relationship with God. As a teenager, I struggled through some hurdles. I started to ask the big questions, “Was God good? Did God love me? Was He even real?”. I began to realise that nothing in this world would fill the gaping hole I felt inside. My prayer had become, “God if you are real, show me. I cannot keep holding onto this tiny thread of faith”. 

During an extended university holiday, I lived in Italy for a couple months working as an au pair. A friend and I travelled to Milan for a weekend. While we were there, we visited Duomo di Milano (the Cathedral). I was blown away by the Cathedral’s physical beauty at first. Then, I felt my whole body being filled with God’s love. I felt deep, profound peace. In that moment, I knew God was real, He loved me more than I could ever understand, and this was a gift I could not keep to myself. I wanted to share God’s love with the world. That moment changed the direction my life was going. 

Shortly after I returned home, I was sitting in prayer when God gently invited me to consider the possibility of religious life. I saw myself as a Sister and felt God say, “You could do that. You could be a Sister”. Before this moment, I had never considered religious life. I was convinced I would get married and have a big family; that was what I thought I desired. As I started to open myself up and ask God what He had planned for my life, I began to realise that God knew me better than I did. His plans for me were far greater than anything I could have dreamed or planned on my own. 

During the process of discerning before I joined the Missionaries of God’s Love Sisters, I had the image of walking with Jesus. Jesus was holding a lamp that had just enough light for me to see the next step. I could not see what was further down the track. I knew that Jesus would always be with me. All He asked of me was that I trust Him enough to take the next step. 

The image with Jesus carrying a lamp has continued as I have joined the MGL Sisters and journeyed through formation. I am so grateful for all that I have learnt in formation. God has laid a foundation of love that I know I will draw on in the future. I am beyond excited to be making initial vows. I have found what I am made to do, to share God’s love with others. 

Sarah-Jane Hollitt MGL

Journey to God

I was born and raised in the Philippines to a good Catholic family. As a young boy, I went to church every Sunday and did what every catholic did. That was until I got to 4th year high school where I started to experience peer pressure. Being part of the high school basketball team, my teammates introduced me to smoking and drinking after our games. And soon enough one of my classmates invited me to his home after drinks and introduced me to smoking marijuana. 

And from there it was all downhill! 

Looking back that was the start of my falling out with God. Because when I went into university, I found a new freedom that led me to more drinking and drugs. Eventually my mother decided it would be better for me to start working since I was not going anywhere with my studies. So, she found me a job. But that only led me to more vices as I was now earning money. I had money so I could afford to drink more, have more drugs and even gambling. Until one night coming home at 3AM drunk and high on drugs I started thinking of life after death. And the question that popped in my mind was “Is there really life after death?” Consequently, I tried to take my life away. But, I failed in my attempt and my mother woke up. 

The following morning, realising that I had just been given a new lease on life I decided that I needed to go to Mass. So, I asked an officemate if there was a church nearby and he told me there was. It was a Wednesday and he told me that they go to the Novena Mass for the Mother of Perpetual Help. That was the start of my devotion to the Mother of Perpetual Help. A few months later the girlfriend of my officemate invited me to a prayer meeting. She enticed me and 3 other officemates by telling us that we would get a free meal after the prayer meeting and to add to it we would meet a lot of nice catholic girls. However not understanding what was happening at the prayer meeting and hearing people speaking in this strange language they called “tongues” I told myself that I was not going back to that prayer meeting.

Three months later though, I needed help from my officemate’s girlfriend to debug a computer program that I had written (I was learning computer programming and she was a programmer). So, she said to me to come over to her place on Sunday afternoon and she would look at my program. And that’s when I discovered that her auntie who she was living with at the time was my grade one teacher. 

Right away when she recognised me, she invited me to stay and have dinner with her family AND attend a prayer meeting that evening. I tried to make excuses but she insisted that I stay. And because I needed help for the next 3 weeks from my officemate’s girlfriend; every Sunday I would end up going to that prayer meeting. 

And that was the start of my journey back to God. 

There is more to my story but to cut it short I ended up joining that prayer group which later on became a covenant community. And six years later, my officemate’s girlfriend became my wife. All things work for the good of those who love Him. God is good! 

Tomas Lara
Leader of Disciples of Jesus Community,
Sydney North Branch 

Jesus is Real

Margaret was raised by her widowed mother to be a good, faithful Catholic girl. She never once missed Sunday Mass, was educated by the nuns, etc etc. 

At 32, a married mother of 2 boys, her family relocated cities and moved into a new parish in a new suburb. Soon after, three parish ladies visited, to practice on Margaret their “parish visitation” skills. One of the ladies stayed on and shared her story with Margs, how she had been a hopeless alcoholic but had been miraculously and powerfully healed when a priest laid hands on her and prayed, rendering the lady instantly sober, even though she had just finished a whole bottle of scotch. 

She then asked Margs if she really loved God and would she like her to pray with her. Margs hesitated, wondering about how she really felt about God but finally agreed. The lady placed her hands on Margarets shoulders and said under her breath, “Lord Jesus, please just give this lady what she most needs”. Four year old Blair looked up from his toys and asked, “what are you doing to my mum?” The lady replied, “nothing darling” and quickly left. 

Margaret went back to her housework but as she was at the kitchen sink, felt an overwhelming desire to kneel at the foot her bed and pray. She gave in, threw the dishcloth in the sink and went to the bedroom. As her knees hit the floor, she felt as though she was being filled from the top of her head to the tips of her toes with liquid gold. Then, when it reached her feet, it welled up inside her and came pouring out of her being. At that moment one year old Craig toddled into the room and she said she saw God’s creation, God’s beauty and goodness in the little fellow. She took him up and went outside and looked in wonder at the hills and mountains and trees and again encountered the wonder of creation. She said afterwards, “why did I have to wait until 32 for this. I’ve got to tell young people that Jesus is real; He is alive”. She spent the rest of her life, the next 50 years doing exactly that, giving witness to Jesus to young people. 

The Late Margaret McWhinney
Written by Roger McWhinney, Disciples of Jesus Melbourne Branch 

Goodness Behind All of These

As a teenager I didn’t believe in God. Or at least I didn’t know whether I believed in God. Understanding the world scientifically seemed to make God unnecessary, so I was pretty unsure. Thankfully, though, I still kept up my involvement in ‘churchy’ stuff. 

Youth gatherings began in my parish when I was in year 12, and since my sister was going along, my Mum suggested that I should too. I went to Sydney for World Youth Day the next year, began running the youth group the year after, and throughout these years I was really enjoying my new friendships and the involvement I had in the parish and our youth ministry. But in the background I still had these doubts; I couldn’t honestly say I believed in God. 

A friend from a neighbouring parish invited me along to a regular game of soccer that some fellas had on a Saturday afternoon. Gradually I came to know that this was the Young Men of God Movement and that half the guys on the field were MGL brothers training to be priests. I really enjoyed the soccer games, but when they invited me to a retreat weekend, I said I couldn’t as it would clash with my plans to watch the footy – after four invites, I finally agreed to go to the retreat. 

The retreat was something I’d never experienced before, especially the challenging preaching and sharing with other guys about faith. On the Saturday night, we were invited to renew our baptismal promises, and kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament I faced up to where my faith was at. I didn’t know whether God was real or not, but I was in touch with so much goodness with all this churchy stuff I was doing, so I told God: “If you are the goodness that’s behind all this, then I want You.” That’s all I remember from that moment, but when I returned home after the weekend, I knew that God was real. 

As the weeks went by, I realised that there was a new desire in my life. Since God was real I knew that I wanted to live for his glory every moment of every day. I studied better, gave up alcohol, went to conferences and talks and, although I had no idea how, I knew I wanted to share this great gift I had received. It was six months later before I realised the answer to this desire burning within me was in becoming a MGL Priest. It is a wonderful privilege to spend my life sharing the gift of knowing God’s love with others.

Fr Cameron Smith MGL

God’s Immense Love and Mercy

I was raised in a loving Catholic household and went to church every Sunday. I learned about the faith and was taught that God loved me, but I didn’t really believe it. 

As a young girl, I remember feeling like I needed to be emotionally and mentally self-sufficient because a number of key relationships I had developed had either been taken away from me or led to me feeling betrayed. 

As a teenager, I was driven by a fear of social rejection, humiliation and betrayal, and therefore could not be vulnerable or make real connections with anyone, which made me very lonely and angry. I turned to different forms of media and people that fuelled my sadness, anger, and self-righteousness. I developed an antagonistic attitude and cynicism to protect and defend myself. I had successfully locked everyone out behind what seemed to be a friendly, passionate kid. 

At 18, I was invited to a Catholic youth camp because they needed a drummer for the church services. Even though I had no interest in the actual event, I was a budding musician hungry for opportunities to perform and prove my worth, and so I agreed to attend. Little did I know that I would find myself praying in the church and experiencing the presence of God. I felt like God showed me an image of my hardened, caged up heart and wanted to bring it back to life, saying “I love you and I would never leave you”. I was tempted to dismiss these images and words until the priest that I was talking to in the sacrament of Reconciliation later that day had been inspired to ask me specifically what had happened in that time. I felt God’s immense love and mercy for me through what I thought can only be described as God working to speak to me and concluded that God was real and wanted me to see his care for me. 

After this, I really wanted to live a more fulfilling life, but that meant that I had to make real connections with the people around me… which was difficult considering I had years of an engrained mentality that the world was hopeless and not worth saving. I battled self-preserving, self-destructive, self-serving behaviours, and with the help of studying philosophy and theology and surrounding myself with faith-filled peers, I was gradually able to walk away from the hurt toward a life full of healing and hope. 

It was a long journey of reading Scripture and trying to reason through the greatest mysteries of existence but not being able to answer any of it without faith. I started to develop an understanding of the God of the universe through creating a habit of prayer and gratitude, seeking a personal relationship with Jesus, whom I found to be waiting for me with joy. 

With the vastness of experiences from terrible to mundane to extraordinary, one thing remains constant every day, and that is I am increasingly convicted that Jesus came to bring me life to the full (Jn 10:10), and God has a plan for me; a future full of hope (Jer 29:11). 

Marilyn Ng
Disciples of Jesus Wollongong Branch

Called to Change

I grew up in a loving Catholic family who were pretty connected to the Church. We went to Catholic schools, attended Sunday Mass, said grace before meals and regularly had priests over for dinner. When I was 16, I was really excited to be able to attend our parish Antioch youth group, and I felt that this was where my faith began to become my own and not just a family thing. 

In 2002, some of the older Antioch members attended the World Youth Day held in Canada and all came back really excited and refreshed in a way that made me commit to being at the next one to see what it was all about. In 2005, when I was 21, I headed off to the World Youth Day in Germany, saving many pennies and overloading uni subjects to make the trip possible. At the time I went, I was living a pretty normal life for a 21 year old. I had great friends, was pleased to have completed my university studies and had a boyfriend. 

I enjoyed our first week in Germany, but there was something niggling at me. For some reason I was really bothered by the expressions of faith around me – praying in German, very formal Masses and a particular priest on our pilgrimage who would challenge us to live out our faith more authentically (read: told us to stop drinking whilst on a Catholic pilgrimage). 

All of this came to a head one night and a bunch of us sat down this priest and just asked him all the questions we wanted about living the Catholic faith – why the Church teaches this and that. We kept that poor priest up til the wee hours (as we were much more accustomed to them than he was) even taking away his watch so he didn’t know what time it was. In the morning, I was grumpy on the way to Mass. I didn’t like everything this priest had said the night before and was underslept. 

Mass that day was something really special, though. During the Mass, they played the song, Open My Eyes, which has the words “Open my eyes, Lord, help me to see your face, Open my eyes, Lord, help me to hear your voice, Open my heart Lord, help me to love like you” and I felt like this was God speaking to me, loving me and inviting me to be open. I felt really loved by God that day, but really challenged because I felt like God was calling me to change, and I didn’t like it. 

Over the next three months of my travels in Europe, I gradually was able to respond to this call to be open, and upon coming home, I made some changes that altered the direction of my life: I began studying theology, joined a live-in young adult Catholic community and ended the relationship I was in. 

Within six months of returning home to Adelaide, I was also sent to Rome for a big event at the Vatican celebrating that the next World Youth Day would be held in Sydney, with a delegation of about 60 other young Catholic Aussies. On this trip, I met some amazing young priests and religious sisters and brothers and it surprised me that young people were still choosing this option. There were two Missionaries of God’s Love on this trip: a priest and a sister, and I got to know them along with the others. 

Having returned from World Youth Day in Germany, I had a new zeal for my faith and found that I wanted to share what had happened for me with others, as I felt that God had become very real in my life. 

This took on a whole new dimension when I was chosen to travel around Australia for six months with a youth ministry team ahead of the World Youth Day in Sydney in 2008. My team included two male MGLs, and throughout the time we met many of the Sisters. 

I returned from this experience and spent the next few years working as a Youth Minister in a high school and enjoying single life, but also wondering what my vocation was. One night, at the seventh wedding I’d attended in as many months, it dawned on me that I wanted to know what God was up to, and whether I was meant to be married, or maybe something else. 

I took this question on a five day retreat to Jamberoo Abbey in 2010 and while on the retreat became really filled with joy when I thought about living my life as a religious sister: living with other women, being a sister to those who need it and sharing God’s love. While initially I wasn’t sure where I’d end up, I was reading a book by the MGL Founder, Fr Ken Barker, on the train one day about the founding of MGL, and my heart was on fire to live this radical way of poverty, chastity and obedience in imitation of Jesus and at the service of the world. 

Something about the MGL charism has just captured my heart and to this day has brought me joy and fulfilment and excitement for whatever is ahead. 

Bernadette Toohey MGL

Peaceful Presence of God

When I was coming to the end of my time at school, I found myself in a pretty challenging place. I’d never experienced school as my ‘scene’… I guess I never really fit into any of the established groups in my cohort, and really, I didn’t really know who I was or what I wanted to do! I knew I loved, lived and breathed my footy, but outside of that I didn’t feel comfortable. I would often play up or turn to humour as a way of fitting in: I’d do what I thought people wanted me to say so I would be liked and accepted. A result of this was that I kind of ended up losing myself in the midst of everything. 

At the start of year 12, I was really struggling with this dynamic. I was increasingly uncomfortable within myself, and was quite down about things. It came to a point where everything coalesced and I felt pretty terrible. In the midst of all of this I felt the urge to pray…but I didn’t really know how to do it! I knew Hillsong made music, so I googled them, found a song and said a pretty honest prayer, saying to God that I didn’t know whether he was there or not, but if he was, I needed help because I didn’t know who I was or what I could do. 

In that moment, I experienced the gentle, peaceful presence of God. It wasn’t like a lighting bolt experience, but something like a gentle breeze and a quiet voice. In that moment, I knew in the depths of my being that God would say to me that he loves me, he knows me and that I didn’t have to strive or earn his love; I was already who he wanted me to be. In the 12 years since then, God has been leading me on a wonderful, challenging adventure, not without its twists and turns! Through all the challenges and difficulties I’ve faced in that time, I’ve always been so thankful for that initial encounter, and for the abundant blessings God has poured out upon my life. Most importantly I’m thankful for the deep truth I’ve come to know in the depth of my being; that there is a God, and he loves me with a love beyond comprehension, and that he wants to know me and live with me forever. 

Br Josh Whicker MGL

A Healing Miracle

Mark had been in pain right through the ‘across Australia’ car trip he, Michelle and their 5 young daughters had embarked on in late December 2007 and January 2008. Back in Perth, he entered hospital in severe pain on 3rd February and is still there. All the while the doctors have not been able to effectively reduce the pain level and Mark has had little respite. Some of us have spent much of our time beside his bedside. Many, many people across the world have been praying for him.

Cat scans and an MRI found the tumour. Mark had two biopsies but neither was able to determine what the tumour was. On 19th Feb he underwent a 6 hour operation to remove it, or at least remove enough of the tumour for a decent biopsy to be performed. Mark’s collarbone had to be broken and it is now fixed with a metal plate and 9 screws. The surgeon told us that he was unable to remove all of the tumour, it was wrapped around the brachial plexus (a network of nerves located in the neck and axilla, composed of the anterior branches of the lower four cervical and first two thoracic spinal nerves and supplying the chest, shoulder, and arm), and there was a significant danger of cutting some of the nerves if he tried to remove everything. But he said he took enough of the tumour to enable an effective biopsy. Since 19th Feb, the specialists have been trying to identify the tumour. They are still not sure but think they have narrowed it down to a couple of benign tumours (giant cell tumour, or aneurismal bone cyst) and research is continuing. The surgeon said it was absolutely necessary to remove the remaining tumour, otherwise it would regrow and crush the nerves. However, there was a distinct possibility that removing it could severe the nerves that control the right arm, hand and fingers. According to the doctors the whole thing is ‘very rare’; the location was highly unusual, and this type of tumour is usually found inside the bone. So, the 2nd operation, to remove all of the tumour, was set for 28th Feb.

On 17th Feb a friend, Steve Gillespie, reminded me of God’s promise in Mark 11:23-24. Since then, many of us have been vocally claiming that promise in relation to Mark’s tumour.

On 22nd Feb Fr John Rea, a member of Lamb of God Covenant Community who has a strong healing gift, arrived from New Zealand to stay with Disciples of Jesus for a week. During that time Fr John celebrated healing Masses and ran Healing workshops.

On Saturday 26th Feb evening Fr John and a few of us prayed for Mark at the hospital. Fr John specifically prayed that the tumour would go within 24 hours.

On 28th Feb Mark underwent the operation to remove the tumour. The surgeon was surprised to find that the tumour had disappeared. A cat scan confirms there is no tumour. The surgeon has no explanation. We have, because that was what we have been praying for, and claiming!! According to one of the nurses who was part of the Theatre Team for Mark’s first operation, the ‘whole hospital’ is talking about it. God is a God of miracles. Our challenge is to believe His promises.

Pain is reduced and is attributed now to the broken collarbone.

All glory to God, and sincere thanks to you for your prayers.

Reg (March 2008)

Testimony to Community Life

The Story of the Little Seed

Once upon a time, there was a little seed, in a big garden full of all kinds of living things. This little seed was born into a nice family, where it was protected and nourished. It was connected to a source of life, and had full potential to grow into something beautiful.

Suddenly, a storm came. The little seed was picked up by the storm, and taken away to another part of the garden, far, far away from its family. It had to learn how to survive in this new land, but it was so difficult, because the conditions and lifestyle in this land was so different from what it had known. The little seed struggled to put down roots. Even though it had access to some water and nourishment, there was no one to watch over it and make sure that it grew into what it was meant to be.

The little seed, now a seedling, could see that it would not survive on its own. It cried out to the Great Gardener to help, to put it back on the right course. The Gardener heard its cry. His heart melted, for He loved all of His plants, and wanted each of them to grow to their fullest potential, for only then would the garden be at its most beautiful.

The Gardener picked up the little seedling and brought it to a pond, where there was ample water and sunlight for the seedling to grow, and where it would be safe from danger. He sent His servants to watch over it, to fertilise, cultivate, water and protect it.

Little by little, the seedling was able to extend its roots and grow to maturity in its new home. Nourished and nurtured in this pond, it was able to bloom and blossom into a beautiful lotus flower. In realising its potential, it was able to play its part in the Gardener’s plan for an exquisite and pleasing garden!

What does it mean?

My mum tells me that my name, Sulyn, in Chinese, means “little lotus flower”. So from this story, you can guess that I am the little seedling that struggled to grow, until the Gardener placed it in the right environment, providing the right kind of nurture and care for it to blossom. The Gardener, of course, is God, and the right environment, the pond, is Disciples of Jesus Community (“DOJ”, “Community”). The servants are my brothers and sisters in Community.

When I was 17, I moved out of my parents’ home in Perth, and came across the country to Sydney to study. I did well enough, in a worldly sense, but I struggled to maintain and practise my Catholic faith, because I had no one to support me, to journey with me, to help me grow. Going to church was a lonely experience for me, as none of my peers were interested in it at all. During this time, I knew deep within me, that something was missing. I knew that there was so much more to God, and to life, than I had discovered so far. I cried out to God – “If you are real, then show me!” And He did!

He brought me to the Summer School of Evangelisation in 1997, run by DOJ. This was a life changing experience. There, I found other young people who believed in God – other young people who were trying to walk the same road as me, trying to live a life of faith in this secular world. There, I also discovered that there is such a thing as a personal relationship with God. There, I found Christian community.

I joined DOJ in 1998. They are family to me, in a city where I had no one. They are the ones who have loved me and cared for me. They have walked the journey with me. They challenge me to live a spiritual life. They pray with me, teach me, support me and nurture me in my faith. They inspire me to keep going when times are tough, and they celebrate with me in good times. They are living examples to me, of what it is to live a Christian lifestyle – I see married couples who love one another deeply, and who, despite difficulties, continue on in their commitment to God, and to one another; I see how it is possible to raise a Christian family; I see men who are not afraid of responsibility and commitment, and who are able to show affection for one another and for their wives and children; I see women who know what it is to be loved and cherished, and who are able to freely do the same for their husbands and families and friends; I see men and women who are free to say YES to God’s calling on their lives, and NO to the ways of the world; I see a deep love for the Church and the Sacraments; I see a deep respect for consecrated life; I see God every day in these people.

I thank God for the gift of Community. Without it, I would not have grown and blossomed into the woman that I am. I would be a lot further away from realising my potential as a child of God, and perhaps a lot further away from God Himself.

Sulyn (November 2007)

Nothing Short of Miraculous

This story is nothing short of miraculous. In 2000 a friend of mine, Mary, and I went to Karrinyup shopping centre with the intention of just ducking in and quickly renting a suit. Mary is a very generous person and she had wanted us all to look very handsome for our YMT brother’s 21st birthday party. So generous that she had hired suits for all 3 of the brothers! What a giver!

Anyway to cut a long story short, when we arrived at the suit hire place we both realised that the rest of Perth was in the shop too! So we went off to get a coffee and on the way did some window shopping. One man walked straight into Mary and her handbag swung on her shoulder like the pendulum of a clock. Right now you might be thinking, what on earth does this have to do with anything but it will make sense soon.

The coffee tasted great, but to our complete shock and horror Mary’s handbag was gone, so we got our coffee and cake for free, but at a cost. The first thing that we did was retrace our steps back to the shops, the car and the cafe. But the bag was gone! We did the only thing that we could think of PRAY.

Mary prayed to St Anthony and I prayed in tongues and all we did was trust in God that everything was going to be OK. I had never before walked through the shops praying in tongues, but I strangely felt completely at ease. By now we thought that we had better alert security. We asked the security to look back on the security video. While the video was being looked at, over the twenty to thirty minutes we were sitting there, for some absurd reason Mary decided to call home and asked her housemates to check if the bag was there and it was, but how could that be? The man bumped into Mary, I saw it move like a pendulum and I recall it being at my feet in the car on the way to Karrinyup.

As I stated in the beginning it was a miracle, nothing short of a miracle. This story shows the importance of trusting in God; He will repay you, even in ways you NEVER thought possible.

Bruce

God Answers Prayers

Every night, the family prays over one another for God to protect and provide for each of our needs for the following day. It has become a routine prayer. Unknowingly, our prayers on the night of the 23rd of June was to be the prayer that miraculously saved Angelo’s life.

On the afternoon of July 24, Angelo was hit by a car in a 60 kilometre speed zone as he was crossing the road. The impact hurled him on top of the car’s bonnet damaging the windshield and threw him about 2 metres away from where the car stopped. But miraculously, he went away from that crash with only a broken collarbone and minor scratches. No injuries to the head, spine or even death. He was even able to stand up on his own, walk to the bus stop and go home!

To us, that was a miracle. We know God’s angels cushioned the impact and protected Angelo from any major injury. God never takes our prayers for granted. He hears them and he answers. We prayed for God to protect Angelo on the 24th of June and of course, He did answer our prayer!

Epay

A Witness to God’s Love

A friend of Margaret Cantrall died at Waitara who was a fellow parishioner for over 20 years. A family man and very kind soul. Another friend of his felt his passing greatly and was very alone in life. One morning after a short dialogue before Mass, this surviving friend went into church, but was too agitated and distressed to remain in church. Relying on the Holy Spirit’s prompting, Margaret restrained herself from offering any assistance and let him go.

An hour or so later, this man arrived at Margaret’s place with a letter of explanation. He was greeted by acceptance and a comforting hug with a desire to ease his pain and struggle with himself at this stage of his life. The letter contained an affirmation of being able to see the clarity of God’s love i.e. Jesus, in Margaret’s life. Not just a momentary glimpse, but from an observing gaze over 20 years, outside witnessing of the trials and struggles of bringing up a family and maintaining a Christian aspect to life. The friend had recognized God’s sustaining presence in Margaret’s life and had valued this more than any of the scripture passages in the Bible.

Praise God that through our faithfulness to Him in living out our ordinary lives, we can give witness to His living presence among us. God has given (in)sight to the Blind!!

Margaret