I know this is only the third week for this blog, but I’m already discovering a theme that I didn’t expect when I started. Jesus chose some pretty amazing women to do some really important work for Him in this world. Again, in St. Margaret Mary we see a young woman with a strong devotion to Jesus. Her life was an example of Christ’s love. Clearly He recognized her potential to share His important message.
She, too, was fairly young when He came to her with this important calling. I can’t imagine bearing that responsibility at such a young age. She also endured persecution for her mission, first from her Superior, then from the visiting Theologians, and from the others in her order. Fortunately, she was persistent, and now we have the opportunity to enhance our spiritual life with devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
I’m curious if any of you remember learning about devotion to the Sacred Heart when you were young. I have a vague memory of my parents and others in their generation talking about the first Friday of the month, but I don’t remember if it was about the Eucharist. And I certainly don’t remember knowing that it was about Sacred Heart devotion.
Meanwhile, I haven’t heard about First Friday devotion in a long time. I’m sure there are some Catholics (and other Christians?) who continue devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Maybe I’m just not hearing about it. At any rate, I need to look at the routines for my life. I would love to find a way to incorporate Eucharist on the first Friday and an evening hour of prayer on Thursdays.
I’m not expecting that any of us will be called to such a monumental mission as St. Margaret Mary, but I do believe that we all have some mission. In fact, God probably calls us at various times throughout our lives to fulfill various missions. Have you thought about what God might be calling you to do right now? I pray that I fulfilled His will throughout my life, but I don’t think I really spent time reflecting on His will for me until I reached my early fifties. I have so much admiration for St. Margaret Mary, and for those of you who are much younger and are already taking time to discern God’s calling in your lives. What a blessing!
Lord Jesus Christ, we thank You for sharing with us such wonderful role models as St. Margaret Mary, who inspire us all to live in Your will. We thank You for demonstrating the importance of women in our faith by Your choice to use them as Your messengers, Please continue to inspire us all, men and women, to continue to share Your good news in the world.