Give us silent, unreasonable, unspeakable prayers/Danos oraciones silenciosas, irrazonables, e indecibles.—Adriana Zarri
Marie Kolbe Zamora, OSF, S.T.D., a religious sister from Wisconsin, was the keynote speaker not only at the Religious Education Conference in Anaheim earlier this year, she also was the main presenter at the diocese’s vicariate meeting in February.
Her talk was titled “Seeing Jesus From the Inside Out.” Her approach looked at verbs in Scripture for a “fresh perspective,” a tool she uses when a passage starts to feel "old" or "too familiar." The verbs in John 1:29-34 she pulled out were, saw, said, behold, and testified. In looking at these words she zeroed in on the action of “seeing,” saying “the Gospel reveals that it is not enough for us to “see” Jesus or His Church in a merely physical, i.e. institutional way.” At times we see the disciples physically in the company of Jesus but "their physical seeing of Jesus or their physical presence with Jesus did not automatically result in understanding...Institutional belonging to Jesus is simply not enough.” So, what can help us flip this on its head?
“The Lord Jesus invites us to ask for the grace to understand Jesus and His Church from the inside out,” Sr. Marie said, “to peer deeply within Jesus and His Church to perceive the divinity that is really, if distinctly, present in both. [A] seeing that understands is the kind of seeing that bears fruit…”
Jesus invites us "to a more activated capacity to perceive God’s divine presence in those places and persons we least expect to find His presence…Our ability to embrace God’s presence and to hold one another in gentle regard...is at the heart of letting the Lord build us into the communion He has called us to be.” In choosing verbs Sr. Marie steers us toward putting love into action.
Showcasing SHA talent: Jack in 6th is active in nailing that nail.
God bless,
Mrs. Alhadef
4th grade Aide
Campus Minister