The Sisters Of the Visitation of Tyringham

Live + Jesus

BONDING WITH LOVE

Tutelage from the Turf of Tyringham

by Sr. Mary Francis

March 2007

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Dear Friends of the Sacred Heart

"Nothing or no one is more beautiful than I, since God-beauty itself-has fallen in love with me." (Angelus Silesius-17th Century Austrian priest-poet)
For the past three summers, I have had the joy of "co-op-ing" a stretch of Tyringham turf, 15' x 56', a handsome parcel beyond the down slope in front of the monastery. I refer to it as "my farm". Yes, my Creator and I work hand-in-hand with mother earth. During these months together, many insights were given to me about life, about myself, about my relationship with others and with God. Co-oping my farm has touched something very deep within me and I'd like to share with you what was "unearthed" to me.

God's earth is quite loquacious, you know! There was always something I needed to see and learn. I listened and I heard; I asked questions and they were answered. A sacred bonding developed as the summer moved along. Bonding with God's earth was a precious fruit of my farm: the fruit of loving presence, patience, perseverance and unconditional love. The "favorite" on my farm were the tomato plants. We had three types: cherry, roma and beefsteak. Each required staking proportionate to the thickness of the stem. A month passed before they really started taking off. Vibrant green foliage and blossoms gave promise of a bountiful crop. As the summer progressed and the plants became more mature, little green knobs developed into larger pinkish balls, which ripened with each passing day I could hardly keep pace with their growth. A veritable jungle of green greeted me every morning. Despite the care with which I staked the plants, a sturdier support system had to be devised: fencing around the perimeter, then rope to secure the fencing. To my amazement, the tomatoes hidden amidst the foliage, were the first to ripen, not the ones directly exposed to the sun's rays. Why was this? Within this cloistered seclusion, the heat of the sun was preserved and maintained, quickening the ripening process.

Gradually, despite the reinforcements, the weight of the tomatoes eventually snapped the stems, without, however, becoming totally detached. What to do? If I tried to bend the stems to an upright position, there was risk of breaking them altogether. Would the tomatoes ripen on cracked stems? There was only one way to find out: Try it. Be patient. Don't get in the way. Wait and see. Sure enough. Without tampering with the fragile plant, the fruit ripened by simply basking in the sun. We had such a plentiful crop that there was enough to share with any who passed by our way. The time for natural ripening was over now as the warmth of summer simmered to cool. The plants had to be stripped of their remaining fruit. Hard and green as they were, they, too, would ripen, but in a dark, cool space...and ripen they did.

The frost of Autumn nipped at the farm and it was time to bring another growing season to a close. I experienced mixed feelings as I walked among the shriveling remains of what was once a patch of thriving greens. There was a sense of satisfaction and achievement in working hand-in-hand with my Creator and this created gift of God. I felt pride in watching my plants mature from seeds and producing such delicious veggies which we enjoyed as well as others. I also felt sadness and loss that this precious adventure had come to an end. I missed working in the heat of the sun and feeling the wetness of the rain on my face. I missed sifting the warm earth through my fingers and watching my farm give birth. The words of Ecclesiaticus came to mind: "There is a season for everything, a time for every occupation under heaven: A time for giving birth, a time for dying; a time for planting, a time for uprooting what has been planted..." (Ecclesiates 3: 1-2)

I've walked by my farm countless number of times since then. God's earth seemed to be deadly silent. Yet something deep within me told me to listen to the silence. Surely, silence can speak to a heart that is open and eager to hear. "There is a time to lie fallow, a time of rest; there is a time to be hospitable, to receive what nature will send me: the warmth of sun, the wetness of rain, the sting of sleet, the breath of wind, the coldness of snow. Yet beyond what you can now see, new life is growing in the darkness; from death will emerge life beyond what you have ever known. Yes, I rest and I wait for the blessed seed arrive."

I was given to understand that I am sacred seed sown in the ground of a loving God, the Ground of my being. God has fallen in love with me and God wishes to gain my love. This is a sacred bonding, the vocation of every Christian. Bonding with Jesus is the passionate longing of His Heart and it is the passionate longing of every human heart to be one with God, whether one realizes it or not. It is not a temporary arrangement or a short term engagement; bonding with Jesus is for NOW and it is FOREVER. One need not be embarrassed for lack of skill in bonding with Jesus.

One need not be perfect to embark upon this relationship or have a PhD in theology. One whose life may have had limited exposure to God may feel awkward at the very thought of it. But surely He who formed our inmost being can remove every fear and obstacle, and lift the veil that will reveal His love vigilantly pulsing within us.

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock..." (Rev. 3:20) "It is true. I stand at the door of your heart, day and night. Even when you are not listening, even when you doubt it could be Me. I am there. I await even the smallest sign of your response, even the slightest hint of invitation that will allow Me to enter."

Jesus loves us with a personal love, a persevering love, a love that sets no pre-requisites. In Jesus, God did not hesitate to meet the human condition where it stood most in need in its poverty and brokenness. Jesus! love is unconditional. "I want you to know that my love for you never wavers, never changes. I love you infinitely and always. There is no amount of good you could do to make Me love you any more than I already do at this very moment. And there is no evil you could do that could make Me love you any less. Nothing about you, no weakness or sin, can ever turn My love, or My longing, away from you. At every moment of your existence I have loved you with the entirety of My love--and I always shall. If only you knew how precious you are to Me, you would die of joy."

We may weakly plead that we aren!t worthy of such a love or worse still, that we feel quite satisfied with the status quo: "Don!t rock my boat!" But Jesus knows the consequence for us when "no" is our last word and we shut the door in His Face. He appeals to us once again: "Do not think that you don!t know how to love Me, or that you are not able or worthy. Just begin--begin to love Me, exactly as you are at this moment. That is all I desire. Only begin. Love is only learned by loving. You need not wait to be better to love Me. I long and yearn for you--exactly as you are right now."

"I thirst for you. I thirst to love you, and to be loved by you. As the burning desert waits for water, so I wait for your love. As a thirsty person yearns for water, so I yearn for you. As a thirsty person seeks out the water, so do I seek for you. As a thirsty person thinks only of water, so My entire being is focused on you night and day. And as a thirsty person will give up anything in exchange for water, so I have gladly given all I have, and all I am, for you."

"Trust in Me. Ask me everyday to enter and take charge of your life--and I will. I promise you before My Father in Heaven that I will work abundant miracles in your life. Why would I do this? Because I thirst for you. All I ask is that you entrust yourself to Me completely. I will do the rest." Bonding with Jesus is similar to working a garden. It takes time, tilling, tending.....and patience. The seed of His love is already within us. He has made his home within us. May we be firmly rooted and grounded in Him in whom "we live and move and exist" (Acts 17:28). In the labyrinth of life, in the nitty-gritty of each day, we will encounter many opportunites and challenges that will test us in our faith in God!s unconditional love for us. May no illness, no weakness, no sin, no shame, no humiliation ever shake our belief in His love. In the Crucified and Risen One, grace and disgrace have been joined. In the strength of His love, may our sufferings "grow us" into a person whose mind and heart is of God.

There may be days or periods in life when we feel bereft of God's unconditional love. Our heart may feel like winter earth, cold, hard, devoid of human warmth and compassion. We need to remain rooted in the belief that Jesus has fallen in love with us and that His love for us is independent of how we may be feeling on any given day, whether life is going our way or whether we are swimming upstream. As we cultivate our faith in Jesus! love, so will we mature and our wounds be healed. "Although one has the scars of healed wounds, when one appears before God they do not deface but ennoble." (Julian of Norwich)

"I want you to always remember one thing that will never change: I thirst for you as you are. You don!t need to change to believe in my love, for it will be your belief in my love that will change you."
SOURCES: I THIRST (from the Prayerbook of the Missionaries of Charity, the congregation founded by Saint Teresa of Calcutta) THE FAITHFUL GARDENER by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D. INTO THE SILENT LAND: A Guide to the Christian Practice of Contemplation by Martin Laird, OSA THE GOD WHO WON!T LET GO by Peter van Breemen, S.J. God be praised!

This presentation was given at the Monastery of the Visitation of Tyringham, MA on Thursday March 1, 2007

God be Praised