The line from the 2nd Letter to the Thessalonians that captured my attention was the last one:

May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the endurance of Christ.

Love and endurance. Two words that are deeply knit into our faith journeys. Life often does call for endurance — all too often, doesn’t it? Hopefully there are more things that bring enjoyment, but there are some circumstances that simply must be endured. Sometimes I can dig down into my strength, or even stubbornness, in order to endure. There other times, though, when I need God to help me to endure because I just can’t on my own. So, I have to agree with Paul. Endurance is a good thing to pray for, and Christ is a model of endurance. And love. We all need love, and the love of God can take us far. God’s love can take us anywhere, really, and it’s God’s love that ultimately helps me to endure when I have to.

This week we celebrate National Vocation Awareness Week (which may be an unknown commemoration, unless you’re a vocation director like me), so religious life has been extra on my mind these days. When I consider religious life, all that it has been and all that it is now, I think about both love and endurance. In terms of endurance, especially in the past, religious life was a challenging one. Now our life might look more middle class, and it’s much less rigid, but there are still plenty of us who are willing to enter into discomfort, not for its own sake, but for the sake of the Gospel. There’s something in us that just moves in the direction of service, and there are some of us who even run toward danger if it means helping other people.

I think of Sister Mary Antona Ebo, a Franciscan Sister of Mary who marched from Selma to Montgomery in 1965 with the Reverend Doctor King and many other activists. There were six Sisters who participated in that historic demonstration for voter rights, and she was the only African-American one. As a Black Sister she was already a minority, and she marched in her habit as an extra witness. My God, what a witness. Not only was she a sign of hope at the march itself, but her determination in pushing her community to allow her to march, and to march in habit, is quite amazing. She continued to be an activist throughout her life. She just died in 2017 at the age of 93.

I also think of Sister Dorothy Stang, a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur who was an important activist for human and environmental rights in Brazil. In 2005, she was murdered for her efforts to protect rural workers and economically poor people. Even though she was in danger, she wouldn’t leave her cause or the people. She wouldn’t stop advocating for them. Talk about endurance. Running toward danger like this seems to take the ultimate endurance.

Sister Mary Antona lived a long, full life and was able to tell her story, and Sister Dorothy died for her cause, but both risked it all. Why would either of them face such danger and endure so much? I think the only answer is love. Both had a love for justice, but I think it was their love for people and their love for God that helped them to persevere like they did.

I also think of many of us who are willing to run toward discomfort and uncertainty. A couple of years ago, there was a need for adults to be present to unaccompanied minors at the U.S. border, and one of our Sisters, Sister Alice, dropped everything and went down to serve. It turned out to be a good experience, but she had no idea what she said yes to when she packed a bag and headed to Texas. And she went anyway. I think of another of our Sisters who accompanies in a very different way. Sister Janet is a chaplain, and especially early on in her ministry, she served parents whose newborn babies didn’t survive or who died before they came to term. What a tremendous need for compassionate presence in that dark time, but how heart-wrenching to accompany people into that kind of sorrow. And yet, she does that. Most of us don’t minister in dramatic ways; mostly we care for people in little and steadfast ways, but there’s something in most of us that endures for the love of other people, and it’s God’s love that makes it possible.

Of course, there are plenty people besides Sisters who endure much for the sake of love. There were other religious leaders and activists who marched at Selma, including Dr. King, right? I think anyone who’s truly living their vocation, including single and married people, know both endurance and love. But there’s something about Sisters who tend to do that. In big and little ways, we keep on keeping on. We align ourselves with discomfort and lean into uncertainty and sometimes even run toward danger. In all that we run to and embrace, endure and uplift, we do it for love of people and love of God. Not that we do it perfectly — only Jesus walked on water — and not that we don’t have our own vulnerabilities, because we do, but there’s something in Sisters that moves toward the call of the Gospel.

To be sure, everyone is not called to this life. It’s definitely a fringe movement and always has been, and it’s meant to be that way. So, great numbers of people will not enter in, but if you’re called, you’re called. And if you’re called, you tend to know you’re called. And when you know you’re called, you also know belonging in a network of other women throughout the world with a special connection to each other. It’s not special in an elitist way but special in a relational way. No matter which community we belong to, we’re bound together by our call and by our vows. Whenever I meet another Sister, something resonates. Call recognizes call, and I know we’re related. It’s meaningful. It’s moving. It inspires me and affirms the call I felt years ago to enter this unique way of Gospel life.

And so Sisters everywhere continue to endure and persevere and love. People often wonder aloud to me about the decrease in our numbers that they’re seeing. Our demographic skews toward a lot of elderly members and fewer younger members, at least in the Global North. I acknowledge that we’re in the midst of a shift, and I don’t know what will happen. Sometimes that saddens me, mostly because for us it’s not about numbers but about people. Every time a Sisters dies, she’s not just a number; she’s someone we’ve lived with and prayed with, someone we love and respect. So, it’s not about maintaining constancy or preserving the structure of our life. Ever since hermits went to the desert to live the most authentic Gospel life they could, religious life has been evolving. It’s not made of stone; it’s made of living, breathing people who are on the move, internally in our prayer and deep listening and outwardly as we run toward God’s call to service.

True talk — this life does take a little bit of endurance. I do and do not love running toward danger. Or discomfort. Or uncertainty. And yet, when God calls me to move, I want to respond with yes, and I usually do. If God is calling me, I know I’m probably going to feel a little bit scared, and part of why I’m scared is because I know I’m going to say yes. Boo. And, yay! So, endurance, and a little bit of risk and a little bit of fear, a lot of joy and an overflowing abundance of love. I’m really proud to be part of this life and legacy.

No matter what our vocation is, each of us is called to live into the Gospel; God calls each of us to love and endurance. The opening line of this passage is a lovely prayer for all of us in our striving to live into the fullness of God’s call:

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God, who has loved us and given us everlasting encouragement and good hope through God’s grace, encourage your hearts and strengthen them in every good deed and word.

Amen. 

For reflection:

• How have endurance and love been a part of your life and faith?

• Have you ever felt that God was calling you to do something difficult or uncomfortable? How did you discern that call? How did you respond? How was God with you?

• Who do you look to as a model of faith? What about them inspires you?

• Do you have a sense of God’s call for you? Have you ever thought about religious life?

• What do you need from God to persevere in life and faith? Maybe take a few moments to talk with God about this or about whatever’s in your heart or on your mind.

You can also listen to this reflection! Click here.

 By Sister Leslie Keener, CDP

Leslie is the director of God Space, a community-building spirituality ministry in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. She’s a Sister of Divine Providence with a Masters in Ministry and a Certificate in Spiritual Direction and Retreats from Creighton University. She directs retreats, meets with people for spiritual direction, and serves as the vocation director for her community. She also serves on the Coordinating Council of Spiritual Directors International. She enjoys music, dancing, and meaningful conversations.