The Sisters Of the Visitation of Tyringham

Live + Jesus

THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS IS CALLING YOUR NAME

by Sr. Bernadette Therese

May 2007

Printer safe version

Dear Friends of the Sacred Heart,

William Shakespeare has Juliet state unequivocally "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." I wonder. would it? What is a name? What is your name? How do you introduce yourself? What do those who are closest to you call you? What do co-workers call you? Do you have a nickname? How did you get it? Why were you given the name you have? Is it a family name? Are you proud of your name? What does it mean to you? Would you like to change it if it weren't a lot of hassle and paperwork? Almost universally (I should think), when a baby is born, the question asked is, "Is it a boy or a girl?" The very next question: "Have you got a name ready?" Typically, in our culture, expectant parents spend about the whole nine months of preparation trying to settle on a name.

From the book of Genesis, chapter two, verse 19, "what the man called each creature would be it's name", to Revelation, chapter 22,verse l3, "I am the Alpha and the Omega...I, Jesus, sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches... "(v. 16), names are given and used. Throughout scripture names are given to mountains and valleys, rivers and streams, rocks and altars, men, women, children and grandchildren, as well as to figures invisions.

The Gospel of St. Matthew begins with the genealogy of Jesus, beginning with Abraham down to "Joseph, husband of Mary." (Mt 1:1-16). In all, 47 different names are listed in this short passage alone. Clearly, names had great significance in Biblical times and they do still to this day. It is my understanding that in the Jewish culture, one's name was synonymous with the person. One's name was a reflection of who he was, his personality, his gifts, even his mission. A mission was often given with a change of name. Abram became Abraham, Jacob became Israel, Simon became Peter.

From the very beginning of recorded history and scripture, God has called us by name, specifically by name. He called Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Moses. He called Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. He called Simon, James, John, and Matthew. He called Mary and Joseph.
Consider now, how the Heart of Jesus calls your name.
The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI has said: "We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is willed, Each of us is loved. Each of us is necessary. Each of us has a name and a mission."

Since the second Vatican Council (and probably before that too) the Church has urged us to listen to the universal call to holiness. We, as Christians, whatever our age or situation in life, are necessarily bound to a life of holiness, to sanctity, yes, to sainthood!

"No, no!" you say, "Holiness! That's for the St. Theresa's of Avila and the John's of the Cross! That's for the Pope, my parish priest, and those Visitandines on the mountain in Tyringham. Not me-I'm just a poor college kid trying to keep my grades up, work part-time, and have a little fun besides. Not me-I own a garage-I've got employees to pay and cars to fix. Not me-I'm a busy Mom with three kids in school and an aging mother to worry about. Not me-I'm an upwardly mobile real estate agent. Who wants to buy a house from a holy person?

The litany of horrified exclamations and excuses can certainly go on. I am sure that this idea is not new to you. Pope John Paul II was always talking about the call to holiness. This philosophy is hardly a late breaking new bulletin.

Ever since we were born, the Heart of Jesus has been calling our names. Perhaps even now you can look back on your past and recall some periods in your life when you were feeling calm, focused, and kind of developing a real prayer life. Perhaps you were experiencing a crisis and you became more aware of the Heart of Jesus beating within you. Then the crisis resolved and you no longer felt that total dependence on God. The intensity of your weakness and inability to effect change was diminished and slowly you began to feel "back in control." The voice of Jesus began to fade... Those times in our lives when we have felt the most helpless, the most out of control, the most unhappy with our circumstances, these were the times when we were probably most likely to turn to God. Perhaps all we said was "Why?' or "Help!" or simply, "O my God!" "In utter terror is my soul-and you Lord, how long..?"(Ps 6:4). Ah, those are the times when our hearts are often the closest to Jesus' Heart. When we can fight no more, when our tears are all poured out, when our voice is fallen silent-that is the time we can best hear our names being whispered by the tender- hearted Jesus. This is the part where, if I were reading this, I'd say something like, "Yeah, sure. That sounds nice, but really, how do you hear your name being called?"

I have found a simple way to hear His voice, to hear my name on His lips... This is not a brand new, original, or an earth-shattering method. It is noteven a method at all. No special education or preparation is needed. It is possible for all.

Gratitude. That is all. Thankfulness. Appreciation. Who among us does not like to be thanked? Who among us isn't grateful for gratitude, thankful for thankfulness, appreciative of appreciation? Who is most deserving of our thanks? Who actually has the right to be thanked? In fact, to whom is all praise and thanksgiving due?

Need I say it? It is Jesus! Here we are still in the Easter season celebrating His glorious resurrection. His Incarnation, Life as a Man among us, His Passion, His death-- all for us, no other reason in the world. What can we say? "Thanks, Jesus"? "Thanks a lot! "? If we were really serious about thanking the Sacred Heart of Jesus we would not be able to utter another word besides words of gratitude. Truly.

Perhaps you are in a place in your life where everything, and I mean everything, is going wrong. Maybe your spouse cannot stop drinking and it's tearing the family apart. Maybe your parents have died within six months of each other and your son committed suicide two days ago. Maybe your favorite niece is so strung out on drugs that no one knows where she is if she isn't in jail. Maybe you just found out that your cancer is back. Maybe you just got fired because you made a pretty bad mistake and can't find another job that will support your pregnant wife and four other children. Life is hard. It is not fair. It isn't even fun, that's for sure, and I'm talking about gratitude. You may wonder, "For what shall I be grateful?" Here I know I must be cautious or I risk sounding banal. So I will not and do not presume to recommend a prescription of things for which to thank God. I speak from my personal experience.

One Spring, I was working in the sacristy. I looked out the front windows at the hedge of forsythia and I thought, "Oh, how I'd like to cut those branches and create a beautiful arrangement in the sanctuary." But the hedge is outside the enclosure boundaries and besides I knew I'd never be allowed to cut them anyway. That very morning, after Mass, what was delivered to us? Two huge armfuls of forsythia were given to us from our neighbor down the road! We had enough flowers to make arrangements to flank the tabernacand also one in front of the altar. I was still pretty new here and struggling with some separation andenclosure issues. All I had had was a little fleeting wish in my heart and there! Jesus fulfilled it! As if to say, "Don't worry, little one. Don't be afraid of enclosure for I will take care of every need." Thanks, Jesus!

One time I was driving from Montana to Florida the week before Christmas. As I plotted my route, I was fairly crowing with delight at myself for deciding to head south first and then go east which was the opposite of my original plan of going east and then south, backtracking the route I had taken to get to Montana in the first place. Do you know the Steinbeck quote about the best-laid plans of mice and men?

As I was leaving Utah, I ran into some snow, around the southern most entrance to the Grand Canyon. It wasn't much though and when I woke up the next morning, the weather was clear. I was hoping to make it to Arizona by nightfall, the second night. Late afternoon seemed much later in the desert as the sun hid behind mountains much of time. There was not too much traffic and I was getting a little hungry but I didn't want to waste valuable daylight at a sit-down kind of restaurant, so I stopped at a very dubious looking gas/store/restaurant/motel place located in the desert. I selected some snacks from shelves that were nearly empty, pumped gas from a pump that looked like it was made in 1940, paid a leering, unshaven, reeking-of-beer gentleman behind the counter and I hurried into my car, locked the doors, and sped away. There was not another soul in sight either in the gas place or on the road.

Did you know that in the desert night falls suddenly? Well, it does. At first the weather became windy and sleety. Then the precipitation stopped. I realized as I motored along that I could not see a thing except the little stretch of road illuminated by the car headlights. Blackness behind me, to my left and to my right. I looked up through the windshield and what I saw absolutely astounded me. My eyes were literally dazzled by the plenitude, intensity and seeming nearness of the stars. I slowed the car down and pulled off a little on the side of the road. No cars were coming from either direction as far as my eyes could see. I turned off the car and the lights. I got out of the car with keys and flashlight firmly in hand. Once I turned off the flashlight, I couldn't see the car. I couldn't see anything.

I stood in the middle of the road. It was very, very cold; The wind had become almost ferocious. Every nerve, every sense was titillated. I looked up and my breath left me. I felt as if I myself were a star. The words of the prophet Baruch came to me. "He who dismisses the light, and it departs, calls it, and it obeys him trembling; Before whom the stars at their posts shine and rejoice; when he calls them, they answer "Here we are!" shining with joy for their Maker. Such is our God: no other is to be compared to him."

I had been going through a rather extended period of time during which I was feeling the burden of loneliness and separation from my family and my Catholic faith. Disappointment seemed to be dragging me away from God. Now, as I stood there, quite literally in the middle of nowhere, totally alone, feeling the immensity the universe and its Creator, instead of the predictable or expected emotions of despair or fear or confusion, a sense of peace and place in God's plan filled me. There in the desert, where there was no sound but the flapping of my hopelessly inadequate coat I was at last overcome with cold. My neck had become stiff from looking up at infinity which was sparkling blackness, and at last I reluctantly returned to my car and drove off to Flagstaff where sleet and snow awaited. My heart felt lighter than it had in a long time and 1 gave thanks to God for his gift of stars.

In fact, sleet and snow accompanied me across Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma. When I finally departed from 1-40 to go southward, that storm which had kept me company for four days turned northward. A trip that should have taken three and a half days took six days, but that's what happens when one drives 35 miles an hour for eight hours a day. The whole long, steering-wheel-gripping drive I saw trucks and cars gone off the road to my right and to my left. It was remarkable. Sometimes I was almost alone on stretches of Interstate (which was a little eerie) and I prayed almost constantly. I never had engine trouble, my tires never spun or lost purchase and the battery held up. Nothing, nothing went wrong on this trip and I was so grateful when I drove into the Florida panhandle and knew I would be home by supper the next day, December 23. The graces and blessings of that trip were plentiful. I left out much of this story for the sake of brevity, but I did meet quite a number of interesting people along the way.

I'd like to share one more thought as an illustration of living in gratitude. In the past eleven months since I made my Solemn Profession, I have experienced trials and difficulties, darkness and death. I certainly did not anticipate these past events, but now that I have essentially moved beyond these challenges that God has sent me, I can call them "gifts". I have seen and felt the love of God through my Community and my family. I have been the humble recipient of love, compassion, kindness and finally, joy. So now, not only do I call these past months through which I slogged and struggled "gifts". I also call the Sacred Heart of Jesus my strength, my salvation, my Gift-Giver.

What does all this talk about gratitude have to do with Jesus calling my name? Earlier I said that life is hard, it is not fair, and often it isn't any fun at all. We are given pain, loneliness, exclusion, and disappointment. All the very real people in the Bible suffered these afflictions. Sometimes they even gave up and abandoned God, but again and again we read and learn that God never abandons us.

Nowhere in scripture are we promised a life free from difficulty. We are promised strength and help and courage. "Wait for the Lord, take courage: be stouthearted, wait for the Lord!" (Ps 27:14). When Jesus compares himself to a good shepherd, he wants to invite us into a closer relationship with Him. He tells us that his sheep (that's us) hear Him as "he calls his own sheep by name"(Jn 10:3). He waits so patiently for us. His patience is endless. It is important to remember this should you fear that your chances for answering have run out. Jesus does know and love each one of us. He really is calling us by name. "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are mine." (Is 43: 1). And again, "Because you are precious in my eyes and glorious, and because I love you" (Is 43: 4).

"Wow!" you might think. "Imagine! Me! Precious! Glorious!" Look for yourself if you don't believe me. Every citation in this little talk is all in the Bible, in black and white, in whatever language you prefer. God speaks to us through the stories, psalms, prophets, and evangelists. Read what the pages of scripture have to tell you. Hear His words in your heart and there take your consolation with Him, Heart to heart, for "See, upon the palms of my hands I have written your name"(Is 49:16)

This presentation was given at the Monastery of the Visitation of Tyringham, MA on Tuesday May 1, 2007

God be Praised