Time with the Lord, prayer and mosaics
You ask, “What is my secret that keeps me going?” I am 91 and am not ashamed to say it. The answer is “my prayer life, my closeness with the Lord.” Well, throughout the day I often say, “Jesus.” Or “Jesus, I love you.” When I go up the stairs, I say “Jesus, Mary and Joseph.” And when I come down the stairs, I say the same. Everything I do is connected with the Lord in some way or another.
I used to be a teacher for 48 years. I know what it is like to be always in a rush, always busy. As a young sister, work was almost considered a priority. You could even skip a few hours of prayer because of work. You have to go to school. You have to get papers done. You rush into chapel. You rush out of chapel. Even though I made my morning offering of the whole day with all my thought, words, works and deeds unto the Lord during prayer, my mind was on work already. Forget it. We need to be honest with ourselves.
I am grateful to God that now I have the opportunity to spend more time in prayer. When I make my morning offering, I put in my mind “Lord, I mean every word that I say.” It’s not that I don’t have distractions; I have one million and one. But it is the effort I put into my prayer at the first hour of the day that counts. The Lord sees the hearts of all of us. God listens to us. God has one million and one ears. He knows us.
Every day I spend a half hour to an hour in adoration in the morning and in the afternoon. Time does not mean anything to me anymore. I will stay with the Lord as long as I can. That is a grace God gives us as we grow older. I also read some spiritual reflections from our mother foundress. Today’s one was “Don’t get too involved in all of the day’s activities.”
And then, of course, I look forward to going to Malia O Ka Malu convent to work on my mosaic projects. When I work with (artist) Karen Lucas, we work hard. “Clip, clip, clip; put a little glue here or there.” Sometimes I take a hammer to break the bigger tiles into pieces. I don’t know how many mosaics we have done. But (they) are in almost all of the churches where the Fathers are, and in the chapels of our mission Sisters.
I just finished four panels of Father Damien’s childhood, hidden life, apostolic life and crucified life for St. Damien Church in Kaunakakai. This work does bring me closer to the Lord.
Sister Dorothy Santos is a Sister of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. She has been professed 71 years. When not at Malia O Ka Malu convent in Kaimuki prayerfully working on mosaics, she can be found at St. Rose Convent, Kalihi Valley.
