Sr Audrey Wong fcJ professed her final vows as a Faithful Companion of Jesus on October 14 in the chapel of Regis St. Michael’s Faculty of Theology (RSM) where she is studying for a PhD, on Wednesday Oct 14. During the Mass, Sr Joanna Walsh fcJ offered the following reflection.
There are occasions like this that just make us STOP, LOOK, and LISTEN!
STOP our everyday way of thinking we know best… of figuring out what we want to do and making plans to do it… of being quite sure we know what is best for us and for the world!
LOOK at what is actually happening in our lives, much of it not part of the “blueprint” we had created and keep trying to live out of.
LISTEN – really LISTEN, which can be challenging in our noisy environment. LISTEN for the ongoing rhythm of God’s action in this often confused and angry world.
STOP our everyday way of thinking and choosing, because today we are faced with a woman making a very different choice, one that the world of wealth, pleasure, fierce independence perhaps cannot understand, maybe some think foolish and naïve.
LOOK at what it means when someone takes God and Jesus seriously and makes choices in light of that, someone who believes that it IS possible to have a personal relationship with God, to be a Companion of Jesus, continuing his ministry today.
LISTEN, really pay attention to the readings Audrey has chosen, because they give us insight into the reasons behind the final vows she will pronounce before us here today. Really listen to the wording of these vows and to the questions and responses that will be part of the vow ceremony.
So let’s dig into today’s Scripture readings for a while.
Isaiah in the First Reading (61:1-3;10-11) has stopped striding forth full of confidence in his own plans. He somehow was given the grace to notice. He sensed the Spirit of the Lord trying to get his attention, not him as part of the crowd of humanity, but him as an individual with his history, his personality, his possibilities: that God wanted to anoint him for mission, that God has purposes for his life, purposes that he had not dreamed of.
- to being good news to the oppressed
- to bind up the brokenhearted
- to proclaim liberty to prisoners and those in other kinds of captivity
- to comfort those who mourn
And what was the effect on Isaiah of this surprising encounter with the Living God? “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord”. Joy, genuine Joy, often a true sign of the presence and action of God in one’s lived experience. The first reading puts us in touch with the joy and hope and enthusiasm of a young woman sensing a call from God to be a consecrated religious in the Catholic Church, like Audrey, for example.
Then we have the 2nd reading (2 Corinthians 12:7b-10): Paul, who is now deep into his faithful companionship with Jesus, pouring out his energy to bring the good news to as many people as possible. Wonderful, right? Satisfying, no? The reading gives us insight into the challenges of living out a call from God.
To keep Paul from being too elated because of his companionship with Jesus, a thorn in his flesh, a suffering so challenging that he pleaded three times that it could just heal and go away!
This path of faithful companionship with Jesus is a great gift and blessing, yet real suffering is part of it (because our efforts in ministry are not always welcomed). Audrey will receive a crucifix as a symbol of her final vows, her commitment to this pathway for life. Not just a cross, but a crucifix, which makes obvious the very personal, bodily suffering and humiliation Jesus experienced while carrying out his mission on this earth.
Being a companion of Jesus includes sometimes experiencing weaknesses in ourselves and others – hardships that vary according to our personality and that of the others. This challenges the faithful companion of Jesus to believe that God’s grace is sufficient, and that often power is made perfect in weakness, which is a very counter-cultural way of thinking.
Companioning with Jesus, we enter into the pattern of Jesus’ life – moments of great joy and satisfaction when grace abounds, and then times of struggle and disappointment when our best made plans and good intentions don’t pan out, or when our weaknesses and sins become obvious.
Sometimes in this walk with Jesus, we find ourselves weeping, like Mary Magdalen in today’s gospel. (John 20:11-18) I do not know where he is, she said. Like us, Mary jumps to conclusions. The body was stolen. She needs to find it and take care of it. She can fix this situation.
Then, unexpectedly, Jesus comes to her: Whom are you looking for? In other words, he is calling her into a deeper understanding of his person and his mission in the world. We religious return to this question again and again in living out our vocation. We need to keep revising our false images of God, of Jesus, of how God works in the world. Sister Constance Fitzgerald has said: we are “encumbered by old assumptions, burdened by memories that limit our horizons, and, therefore, unfree to see God coming to us from the future.”[1]
Then, in a moment of treasured intimacy she hears her name: Mary. Those precious moments when we sense our Companion Jesus close to us. Those moments of deep consolation, giving us strength to continue moving forward on mission. Jesus does not hang around chatting with Mary, but rather instructs her to Go and tell… Sends her on a mission: Bring the good news.
In the vow ceremony Audrey will be asked: Are you resolved to dedicate yourself unreservedly to the greater good of God’s people and the service of the Church?
In the vow ceremony Audrey will be asked: Are you resolved to dedicate yourself unreservedly to the greater good of God’s people and the service of the Church? The call to mission echoes through the ages. This call, this vocation to be a Faithful Companion of Jesus, is supported by three vows:
Chastity: that her relationship with Jesus will be central to her life, from which will flow her love and generosity towards others.
Obedience: that Audrey will try to create an inner atmosphere of listening, of receptivity, of discernment, in order to sense the next call of Jesus, the next way (sometimes unexpected) that he is saying Go and tell.
Poverty: That Audrey will try to live simply, so that clutter and accumulation will not blur her vision of Jesus or the gospel. Striving to remember that “all is gift” she will try to resist that human tendency to accumulate things, or roles, or honors, or people, as a way of keeping herself safe or significant.
Audrey’s vocation will continue to be supported by a community of women, a Society with over 200 years of living the vocation of a Faithful Companion of Jesus in a variety of cultures and contexts.
As will be stated in the vow ceremony in some moments: Audrey is resolving in a formal way today to dedicate herself unreservedly for the greater good of others and in the context of the Catholic Church.
Audrey, as with Isaiah in the First Reading, may the effect of your ongoing commitment to being a Faithful Companions of Jesus lead you to sing out
“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord
my whole being shall exult in my God”
in his companionship
in his ongoing efforts in the garden of creation
Yes! I will be a bearer of the good news
Yes! May God, who has begun this good work in you, dear Audrey, carry it through to fulfillment.
In the meantime, we are all inspired and blessed because of the life choice you are making today! Thank you for the blessing of joining you on this very special day of your final vows as a Faithful Companion of Jesus.
[1] FitzGerald, Constance, “From Impasse to Prophetic Hope: Crisis of Memory,” Catholic Theological Society of America, 64 (2009): 21-42.
