7.Hundredfold

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Day 7: Sacrifice and the Hundredfold

Peter began to say to him, "Look, we have left everything and followed you."
Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life." (Mark 10:28-30)

1. Sacrifice
Every Christian is called to make sacrifices for the sake of the reign of God. For religious sisters, some sacrifices are very specific to the vowed life. Others are common to many committed Christians.

	Husband and children. According to Sister Sandra Schneiders, IHM, "consecrated celibacy is the constitutive vow of Religious Life. It creates the lifeform of unmediated quest for God to the exclusion of all other primary life commitments" (Selling All [Paulist Press, 2001], p. 132). Nevertheless, let us not deceive ourselves: giving up marriage and children is a real sacrifice and one not to be entered into lightly.
	Autonomy in decision-making While always respecting conscience, the sacrifice of autonomy can sometimes take the form of living graciously with decisions we don't like. Community requires consultation and an interdependence which stands in contrast to the extreme individualism of contemporary Western society. Remember, however, that if one is to be in relationship with others in this world, complete autonomy is impossible in any realm.
	Sometimes a lack of physical comfort may be required in a situation where financial resources are limited or where the call is to live among the very poor. In any case, religious life includes the choice of a simple lifestyle in opposition to the culture of consumerism, which makes false promises regarding what brings happiness.
	The sacrifices demanded by community, by love of our sisters, in the ups and downs of daily life. With some of these women we may have little in common except our love of God and our common mission. We can choose our friends, but not always the people with whom we live and work. Can we love not only the lovable, but also those who get on our nerves?

Lack of understanding on the part of family and friends.
Not everyone will understand your call to religious life. Your family and friends may or may not support your decision to become a sister.

What would be the sacrifices that would touch you most deeply, either those from the list to the left or others that are not mentioned?

Talk to God about these.

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in [her] joy [she] goes and sells all that [she] has and buys that field."

Matthew 13:44

You might want to visit the Virtual Chapel, and simply sit in silence for a few minutes.

However, let's not forget the promised hundredfold...

2. Hundredfold.
The promises of Jesus for those who follow him are abundant. Even in this life disciples are assured a hundredfold, multiples of all they have given up — and more, including persecutions! (See the passage from Mark 10 quoted above).

Some of the Hundredfold

	The blessing of community. If community requires sacrifices of us, it is also a great blessing. Even the difficult times can become occasions of grace.
	Prayer as a priority: time set aside for prayer both alone and together, the requirement of making a retreat and days of prayer, and perhaps, depending on the community, the gift of silent times.
	The comfort of living and working with people who respect the call of God and the necessity of growing in the spiritual life.
	The opportunity to use one's gifts for the good of God's world.
	The opportunity for one's life to be a public witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
	Freedom from the tyranny of social norms and public opinion, for example with regard to dress, possessions, lifestyle, honors. No longer the need to keep up with the Joneses in our appearance, in our opinions, in our finances, in our lifestyle. The joy of knowing that what matters is not what we have or what people think of us. What is important is God.
	Knowing that one is in the right place, and would do it all again.

What do you imagine would be special blessings for you in religious life?

Talk to God about these.

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, [she] went and sold all that [she] had and bought it."

Matthew 13:45-46

Close with the Our Father or the following prayer:

Loving God,
may I take on the mind and heart of Christ,
that I may hear your call for my life
and embrace your world
through my prayer, my work,
and my life with others,
in Jesus Christ.
Amen.

Contact:
In the Diocese of St. Augustine, Sister Maureen: mkelleyop"at"comcast.net
Elsewhere, Sister Janice: sr.janice.m.bemowski"at"usa.net

In each address, replace the "at" by @. We have had to remove the active e-mail links to prevent the onslaught of spam.