Sr. Gail's Quote for Summer 2008

Quote and Reflection for Summer 2008

           “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”  John 10:10

Ah the abundant life!  It’s something we always look to and hope for.  Summer seems to me to be the time when I personally think of the abundant life – time to relax, no papers to grade, lovely weather, sometimes a trip or vacation or camping.  Yet it is never as I envision it.

Jesus tells us He is the one who has come to give us abundant life.  So what exactly is He saying, and how do I get it?  As I have been teaching fifth grade religious education this year, I have experienced the Lord teaching me, revealing more of His truth to me, as I have prepared for and taught my students.  I am sure that the abundant life my Shepherd has for me will always be far more than I will realize in the here and now.  “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him.” (I Cor 2:9) 

I want to share with you what I have come to “see” in a new way.  When Jesus rose from death, He returned in a glorified body, a body that is capable of drawing others into it.  This began to take place at Pentecost when His Spirit was poured out on the disciples and then through His disciples on all the baptized down into our day.  We are the Body of Christ, each of us a member.  His desire is provide abundantly for each of us.  We know as we care for our children and one another, that the body’s health depends on proper care, nourishment, sleep, exercise.  So too does Christ’s Body.  For the Body of Christ to be healthy Jesus had to make provision…and that provision is abundant.  As I taught the children about the sacraments, I began to realize that they were one of the chief ways Jesus gives us abundant life.  In Baptism we are made children of God, heirs of heaven.  We’re filled to the fullest with sanctifying grace.  The Holy Spirit dwells in us.  In Confirmation we are sealed in that Holy Spirit and given wonderful gifts to increase our joy and happiness, to bear witness in such a way that others are drawn to Christ.  In the Eucharist, Jesus brings us into the One Sacrifice He made on Calvary.  He feeds us with His own Body and Blood.  He nourishes us, strengthens us, reveals His love, and draws us into the depths of His love for us.  In Reconciliation He comes as our Shepherd to rescue us from the “snares” of the enemy, to forgive us, to heal our wounded souls, our bodies, to restore to us the health that we’ve lost, to restore our dignity as His brothers and sisters, children of the Father. 

In this summer, this time of “abundance” in time, let’s not be fooled into thinking we need a vacation from those things that really do provide us with the abundant life.  Sunday worship is where we are fed with the food we most need.  Opportunities for the Sacrament of Reconciliation bring the healing we long for deep within.  May your summer truly be abundant – filled with joy and happiness.  May you come to know ever more fully how deeply you are loved, how cherished is your life as you experience and know the Shepherd.  “I have come that you may have life and have it in abundance.”