Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:8-9.8
There are times in life we must let go and let love flow as it will. This Easter past was to be a time of healing and grace. Since my parents passing, quite a few years ago, holidays seem to have part missing. A space of love once reserved for them seemed so distant. We shared such togetherness and love from my birth. As my conversion deepened in my faith, so was my heart resting in peace with things. When a loved one leaves us it is a time to grow, a time to heal, a time to pray for their soul. I asked God for a sign of their salvation. I felt his presence leading me away from my doubt and to trust in him deeper still. I repented in confession for my doubt and that his will be done not mine.
The Rosary is powerful prayer. Every morning before work I go to church to pray the Rosary in the presence of the tabernacle. It is a time to contemplate on the life of Jesus and Mary. Virtues bloom from this prayer. This was Lent a time for us meditate on the ways of the cross. It was the Monday of Holy week, I was about to enter the pew to pray but instead I felt compelled by the spirit to kneel at the cross of Jesus. As I looked up at the suffering of Jesus, a voice whispered for me to follow, Your grace is enough. Three times I whispered Your grace is enough. I pushed back the tears and did the sign of the cross and back at the pew began to pray the Rosary. The next day I felt a gentle nudge leading me to the cross of the suffering Jesus again I whispered three times Your grace is enough. I needed to let go and let God do what he needed to deepen my faith in Him. Everyday until Good Friday I did the same. God was waiting and I followed.
Our family culture and stories intrigue me. I pined for the stories, their wisdom and understanding and most of all the deep love we all shared. It was Good Friday after attending Mass while having our family meal my husband mentioned he had heard there was someone offering tape recorded interviews of Italian families that had immigrated years ago from Italy. We looked into it and come to find a friend had the tapes for families to pick up. When I gave her my parents full names and asked if they were on the list of people who agreed to be interviewed, her answer was yes. We were overjoyed. Since we were hosting Easter, we decided to wait and listen to the tapes together with my sister and brothers and family. After dinner, we said we had something special to share with everyone. In 1980 a professor decided to interview Italians who had immigrated to Canada and gave them a series of questions of their life, struggles and hopes for their families. Everyone was speechless but full of smiles and hope. We heard the voice of my soft spoken, gentle and humble mother beckoning me to come Claudia don’t be afraid, come. She shared I love Canada, they have everything here, it is better for our family. My father always well spoken Yes we love Canada it has given us every opportunity…girls can do the same things as boys can…we have the same hope for all of our children. We all received an incredible gift that Easter flowing from God’s grace.
Easter is a time of grace. A time of renewal of God’s love. Letting go and letting love flow in different directions opens the floodgates of deeper love. As he reaches out to take our hand through the path of the unknown I know he walks with each of us who believe. He is relentless in loving us and mysterious. His loves flows through the crevices of our life. We have only to let go and let him do his work in us. Let His will be done not ours. We may pray, Your grace is enough.
In grace,
Claudia
OurNourishedSoul