Fall in Love
Nothing is more practical than
finding
God, than
falling
in Love
in a
quite absolute, final way.
What
you are in love with,
what
seizes your imagination, will affect everything.
It
will decide
what
will get you out of bed in the morning,
what
you do with your evenings,
how
you spend your weekends,
what
you read, whom you know,
what
breaks your heart,
and
what amazes you with joy and gratitude.
Fall
in Love, stay in love,
and it
will decide everything.
-Pedro Arrupe, SJ
 |
| S. Donna offers her homily |
Sister Donna Steffen, Andrea’s and my new
Novice Director, offered us these words as part of her homily during our
Novitiate Opening Ceremony on June 26th. The special moment happened on the first day
of the Gathering, an event that occurs every four summers. All of the Sisters of Charity and Associates
that are able come together at the Cincinnati Motherhouse for a week of fellowship,
prayer, learning, and fun.
The ceremony marked for us the beginning of
Canonical Novitiate, the next step on the journey to becoming a vowed Sister of
Charity. This is a sacred time that
every person who wishes to become a Sister or Brother will experience, as
directed by canon law (from the Vatican).
The program varies depending on congregation, but the idea is the
same: a year “set apart” with a focus on prayer and
solitude and going ever deeper into one’s relationship with God. And so, Donna invited us “fall in love”
totally and absolutely as we consider giving ourselves and our lives as Sisters
of Charity.
 |
| Novitiate ceremony |
 |
| Novitiate ceremony |
 |
| S. Joan, me, Andrea, and Donna |
What an honor it was to stand on the altar
where so many Sisters have walked before as we made our commitment to the
Novitiate. The Motherhouse chapel is
alive with their spirit – the spirit of women who are and were deeply in Love
with God. Love is what has seized their
imagination; Love gets them out of bed in the morning. When we stood up to face the Sisters and
Associates and our family and friends, I just plain bawled from all of the Love
that was filling that Chapel clear up to the ceiling. The President of our community, S. Joan Cook,
introduced us to the community as “Sister Andrea Koverman” and “Sister Tracy
Kemme.” S. Lois Jean Goettke, a member
of the Leadership Council, adorned each of our dresses with our official SC
pin. I cried again, amazed with joy and
gratitude.
I wish all of you could have felt the
undeniable presence of Love that was just as real as the air we were breathing. As we processed out of the ceremony – Joan,
Lois, Donna, Andrea, myself, and S. Janet, who was our Affiliate Director – it was
like walking on air. Andrea and I couldn’t
keep the smiles from bursting off of our cheeks, and when we reached the back
of the chapel, we leapt with joy and hugged everybody in sight.
 |
| New novices, overcome with joy |
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| With Mom and Dad after the ceremony |
Two weeks into Novitiate, the transition is still
fresh for me. Newness is always good and
tough at the same time. But, I have a
sneaking suspicion that I’m already a tad bit in Love, and that makes
everything worth it. During this year,
we’ll have three days a week of study, a day of volunteer ministry, and one day
designated as “Sabbath Day.” During our
free time, we’ll be fully involved in our house community with Sisters Carol,
Maureen, Nancy, and Terry, and with the wider congregation that surrounds us
here in Cincinnati.
And of course, Andrea and I will be opening our
hearts wider to God, hoping to find God and knowing that God will certainly
find us. Some might see the choice we’ve
just made as crazy or incomprehensible.
But, really, it’s all about love, and what could be more practical?
