“Jesus lived Up to the expectations of the Father, He did not live down to the expectations of the people”
These thoughts given by Fr Dominic Nolan during an annual retreat was impressed upon me. It made me reflect on the clarity of the role of Jesus in becoming one among us. From the start, Jesus was focused on His mission, to bring all of us back to His Father in Heaven. He had many detractors but He overcame all the hurdles they placed in His earthly journey. In overcoming His own earthly difficulty He constantly taught His Apostles about the things of Heaven. He taught them to look beyond appearances with the hope of seeing the great promise of salvation. Evidently, all the lessons he taught the Apostles served as their compass in carrying out the mission entrusted to them.
Given a chance to walk through and pray with St Luke during the retreat strengthened my own convictions of learning more the ways of the Master. To listen more attentively to His teachings by devoting more time in reading and reflecting His Word. It has also increased the thirst for the Living Word that is the one thing necessary in my journey as a consecrated person, called to bring to the abandoned and tired, and harvest the food of the Word that can satisfy their deepest hunger. To always live up to the expectations of the Father is a great challenge for me. It is a wakeup call to go beyond the fatigue and struggles of everyday life that oftentimes obscures the path that I must tread. To live in a constant attitude of striving for the things that are above rather than being derailed by passing things. In a nutshell, to keep my heart ever free of earthly attachments in order to give witness to the values of the Kingdom.
Sr M Emmanuela Fajardo, fdz
Daughters of Divine Zeal Vocations 