Journey of Gratitude

by Sister Theresa Darga, OSF

Summertime – a time of celebrations: the explosion of color and beauty with the summertime flowers, graduations, weddings, family reunions, and for women religious, a time of jubilee in gratitude of saying YES to our God. No matter the celebration, we gather together on the journey to share, support, encourage, celebrate and learn from one another in the graced encounters with our God and one another.

This month we honor ten of our Sisters as they celebrate their Silver (25^th), Golden (50^th), and Diamond (60^th) jubilees.  That is a total of 545 years of service touching the lives of so many – we can’t even begin to count that number!

Our journey of service takes many paths over the years. Sometimes we are surprised at the twists and turns that it takes, calling us to respond to unknown paths. We continue to respond with faith and hope, knowing that we have the support of each other and our God who walks with us.  We approach each day with gratitude for the graces that are given to us so freely; all we need to do is be open and aware of their presence in our lives. We do not walk alone; we journey with others as one body into a future filled with hope and possibility. We walk without maps, but we walk confidently because we have chosen to be light for each other on the way. We travel in need, dependent on our God for strength and assurance, dependent on each other for wisdom and support.  We choose to journey forward in faith with hearts filled with gratitude. We know that the grace of God’s loving presence blesses our life and the lives of those we encounter each day. We journey together in gratitude, unfolding our future through graced encounters!