Learning from wild flowers: Newsletter Update December 2018

Dear Family and Friends!

Merry Christmas! It’s, by now, my third Christmas in Rome. I can’t believe it! How time sure does fly by! I hope this Christmas season finds you surrounded by many loved ones. I know it’s hard for me to be away from my family but I also know that I have found here, in my community and the friends God has gifted me with, a much larger family than I ever imagined possible to have. How blessed I am!

Important Events

Dec 11 – my first nephew, Shepherd James Klekar, was born!!!

Jan and Feb – my period of exams for my first year of Theology (please pray!)

Feb 10 – my 26^th birthday…another little prayer for me please!

March 2 – my Mom’s birthday

March 25 – Brandon (my brother) and Jen’s 2^nd wedding anniversary.

March 29 – our founder, Fr. Salvatore, celebrates 67 years of priesthood.

May 25 – our AVI brother, Deacon Joel Haug, will be ordained a priest in Kansas City, KS.

Story Time

For those of you who don’t know, this year I was given a HUGE gift: a pilgrimage to the Holy Land! I could share many things about that trip and already have in my blog a few months ago (see blog post here). So to change things up, I’ll share a little story that I didn’t include in that post.

The first day of the trip Sr. Clara and I found ourselves with a free morning, as we awaited the arrival of the last part of our group. Not wanting to waste any of the precious time we were allotted in this most holy place we did a little research and found that our hotel was right next to a pilgrimage destination: Mount Precipice.

If you open up your Bible to the Gospel of Luke chapter 4 you will find a passage in which Jesus preaches from the prophet Isaiah in the synagogue at Nazareth. After He finishes and proclaims the Word fulfilled that day, the people begin to marvel at this and to question: is He not the son of Joseph? After explaining that no prophet is accepted in his hometown with examples from the Old Testament, He is immediately taken away to a nearby mount by the crowds who want “to hurl him down headlong” (v. 29) before He “passed through the midst of them and went away” (v. 30). We were on that mount.

Praying with this very passage looking out upon the valley below I had a very simple and beautiful moment with our Lord. First, I was marveled at Him wanting to bring me there and share with me the place where He grew up. When I think of my hometown, of the memories each corner holds, of the sounds and smells that call to mind faces and voices, of the failures and triumphs, laughter and tears that all made me who I am today, I realize how precious of a place it is to share with someone. Here was the Son of God making Himself vulnerable with me – His small, unworthy creature. Here was Jesus of Nazareth giving me the “local’s tour”. Wow. What a gift. What a humbling moment.

Then, more specifically in the passage I was struck by the last line from Isaiah that He chose to preach that day: He has sent me…to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord (v. 18-19). In the Italian translation, with which I was praying, it says “a year of grace in the Lord”. Upon reading these words and imagining them preached to me from the very voice of Jesus I felt a huge wave of consolation in my heart. Here was Jesus making me a promise: this year will be filled with grace. He was not promising me the best year of my life, nor the year filled with the most success or joy. No, He was promising me something much, much greater: a year filled with His grace, with His presence…a year filled with Him.

This message for me was very important seeing as I was about to embark on a year so full of novelty as to frighten me a bit. Even more so than other years I felt unprepared before many unknowns. Without previous experience to depend on I just had no idea how things would go. What would the new university be like? Would I like my professors? Would I make new friends? Would I lose my old friends? After years of always being the “littlest”, how would I handle the “big sister” role? What would it be like living with six other people? How would my relationship change with the sisters who still go to my old university? What does the formative journey look like for someone in “preparation for vows”? What will it be like having more responsibility in the apostolate? And so on and so forth…

In that moment these questions were not answered but they found a new location. No longer were they at the forefront of my mind but rather behind a much more important affirmation: “I am with you.” And so it was that my heart found peace and my Holy Land trip was off to a great start!

Where's my heart?

My heart is on a journey. The destination is freedom. And although I have caught glimpses of the finish line and tasted the glory just enough to be encouraged to keep going, I have yet a long, long way to go. In this journey I have a Guide but our means of transportation is not a taxi. No, this is not a passive trip but one that asks of me a very active participation. In fact, I often look down and find the reigns laying in my young, unexperienced hands. And this happens much more often than I'd think necessary. Clearly my Guide is not as rushed as I am to arrive.

As it is, the control is often mine. At least it is left up to me many crucial elements of the trip: the speed, how long (and how often) we stope to rest, which road we take...etc. I'm learning that by continually choosing to remain by my Guide's side in this journey I've accepted His invitation and am guaranteed arrival at the much desired destination of freedom. I am also learning, however, that there is no set length or time limit. The level of difficulty is not standard, and the enjoyment factor is really hit or miss. Some days I'm happily going full speed ahead and the next, I could easily be setting up camp for an undetermined amount of time not wanting to even look towards the direction the path is leading me.

The one constant in this journey is my Guide. He never leaves me, even when I think to have left Him. Although He asks of me to make the decision, He is always suggesting to me which path to take. Often I lack in trust, and don't believe that the road leading into the tunnel - dark and lurking with the unknown - could really be smoother and quicker than the open air mountain pass. But even then, when in mistrust I don't follow His advice, He remains with me and lives with me the consequences of my choice. Up the steep incline He holds my heaviest bag, and when the snows begin to fall at the mountain top He gives me His every coat. For me He finds wood to build a fire, and when food and water run scarce He nourishes me with His very self. He never ceases to seek my comfort and joy even when I am too absorbed in myself to notice. Along the driest of paths He plants a clump of colorful daisies (my favorite flower) just to make me smile. And in the harshest of winters He sets a flight a chorus of little birds that accompany me in song. He delights my way by filling it with numerous unique encounters: each person as beautiful as he/she is diverse. And when I feel all alone He sends a sweet breeze to brush my cheek and draw my attention back to Him who is forever whispering encouragement and love into my heart. He paves my way with His peace.

Yes, my heart is on a journey, and the destination is freedom but I have a long, long way to go.

Prayer Intentions

· For my brother Brandon, his wife Jen, and their newborn baby boy Shepherd James.

· For our exams between Jan 21 and Feb 15 (I have no exact dates yet).

· For the House of Formation here in Rome…for continued growth in unity and sisterly love.

· For all the girls in formation with our community in both Rome and the USA.

· For new vocations to our community and to the Consecrated Life.

· For our apostolate: retreats, missions, and moments of evangelization we have planned this year.

Thanks for patiently awaiting this newsletter that I got out a little late this year. I justify it by reminding myself that we are still in the Octave of Christmas – the eight days of Solemnities, one after the other, in which each day’s Mass is celebrated like a Sunday Mass singing “Glory to God in the Highest” and celebrating this great event of our Lord’s birth! I encourage you all to live according to this as best as you can with the demands of your daily life. Mass during the week is not obligatory but would be neat to go to anyways in these days as it is the highest form of Thanksgiving we can make to God. Also, I pray that you still find time to relax, rejoice, and continue to unite with family and friends to spend these days in an extra special way. They are not like any old day of the year after all!

Sending you all a hug and a big Thank You for your continued love, prayers, and support. These unique experiences I am having, my journey to greater freedom, and my all around joy would not be possible without each and every one of you! I will never be able to thank you enough but I assure you of my prayers and remind you that you may send me specific prayer intentions any time! Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and God bless!