Saturday, January 31, 2015

Laughing through Anxiiety

"I should like you to be free of anxieties." 1 Cor 7:32

In recent days I have been leading a retreat for about fifty Dominican Sisters of Sparkill, a well know community in New York. They are a welcoming and kind group. Some are living independently in this very large convent, some are in assisted living and others are in nursing care. It is a beautiful place with a marvelous new chapel that, because of the balcony next to the nursing floor, allows everyone to pray together.

Naturally, some of the sisters have more anxieties than others. Those wondering whether they will soon need nursing care suffer a lot with the prospect of losing even more independence and freedom, but there is one symbol here that we all had a good laugh about.

The doors between buildings and those the open on common rooms like the refectory are automatic. Step on the mat and the doors open magically. On the second day of the retreat, in order too address their anxiety, I mused aloud that the pearly gates would be surely automatic doors for women like them who had been so faithful to the Gospel. Perhaps that is the vision Paul had for his communities when he told them he wanted them to be free of anxiety!

Today, no matter your anxieties, put yourself in God's hands.

Does your faith help you with your anxities?

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