Scripture:
Ezekiel 34:1-11
Matthew 20:1-16
Reflection:
"The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want." Psalm 23:1
I have been struggling to write this reflection… the reason being: I do want something… even though the scripture says "there is nothing I shall want." I want to live closer to our daughter, Sr. Cecilia Rose. She was just home for a visit after professing her first vows as a Sister of Life in New York. She hadn’t been home for over two years and it was so great having her with us again!
Julie is one of my most favorite people in the world. She is joyful, thoughtful, full of life, and she is our only daughter! She inspires me to be a better person, she teaches me about prayer and sacrifice and obedience. She lights up the room with her smile and she makes me proud to be Catholic.
And yet, as I ponder my deep longings to have more time with her, I realize that I am being selfish. God has called her to be a witness in the world and to minister to many, many people as a sister. She is too busy doing God’s work to hang out with me (even if I lived in New York!) She just gave herself totally to the Lord and she belongs to Him now, and part of her sacrifice and ours is that she only gets to come home once a year.
As I give her back to God (again), and realize that I too want His will more than mine, I find great comfort. I am thankful for her vocation and can draw close to Him whenever I am missing her. I can offer up my sadness for someone who needs my prayers, and I can rejoice that we will have forever in heaven to be together. I can also focus on what I do have: a lively faith and a beautiful family – my best friend and husband Jim, three amazing sons, two wonderful daughters-in-law, and six delightful grandchildren.
If we keep our eyes on Jesus and let Him shepherd us, there is truly nothing we will want.
Janice Carleton and her husband Jim live in Portland, OR and partner with Passionist Fr. Cedric Pisegna in Fr. Cedric Ministries. Janice also leads women’s retreats. She is the mother of 4 grown children and grandmother of 6. Visit Janice’s website at http://www.jcarleton.com/ or email her at [email protected]