Holy Mystery Revealed in Our Midst

I wanted to share with you all some ponderings that come from a talk given at a recent LCWR meeting. For those of you who do not know, LCWR stands for the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. It is a body that brings together the leaders of many of the religious communities, including my own, to hope, dream, pray, and plan for the future God is calling forth from us.

            This month, I have been doing a bit of reflecting on the talk ”Holy Mystery Revealed in Our Midst”, given by Nancy Schreck, OSF at the recent LCWR Assembly. I believe, she is correct in saying that we are presently walking in some dark times, both in the world and in the church. As we were also reminded at our formation weekend in Villa Maria (September12-14), we are walking into an unknown future. This all can be frightening as we walk forward. I don’t know about each of you but, I surely woul like to know what is coming down the pike!

            The question, then, is how can we embrace that darkness and unknown and let it guide us as we walk into the future? In her talk, Nancy reminds us that God does not only manifest in light, the good things, but also in the dark times of unknowing. Is it easy to see God in the darkness? Not usually. It takes great trust and openness to allow the dark to teach us. If we look at the dark times in our lives as a womb, we might see them a bit differently, for in that womb of darkness, trust in and a relationship with God, who calls us into the unknown, develops. Let us embrace the darkness, knowing and trusting that it is a womb of growth as we move into an unknown future.