My day begins with praise of God
Three years ago when I was asked to accept the mission to come to Hawaii, I had to reflect back on my motivation for joining the congregation, the religious life. The motivation I had was to share the love of God. Yes, it was to share that love which I experienced from my family, my friends and other people of God. Thus, I said “Lord, I cannot do this if it is not coming from you.”
God gives us the grace we need to carry out any mission. In my work at St. Joseph School, I always have in mind that what I do is not about position or privilege, it is a responsibility entrusted to me by God. Surely, there is a lot of work and demands, especially as people see me as a religious that they look up to when they have questions of faith or their relationship with God. But, I know this is God’s work and not mine. And, I need to make sure that when I encourage them to do something, that it is seen in my life as well. Thus, I try to be constantly aware of how I live and what I say.
My day begins with praise of God for the gift of a new day. I offer him all that I do and everything that will happen. I don’t leave God in the house after that. I bring God with me to the office and to school. At the end of the day my religious community gathers again for evening prayers. This is preceded by a half hour of consciousness examen, a spiritual exercise of reviewing the day and asking God’s graces for the next.
In the examen, we begin with a prayer to the Holy Spirit. Then, we reflect over some questions such as: “What am I thankful today for?” “Where, or in what moment of the day have I loved much?” “In what moment of the day have I failed to love?”
Do I get mad sometimes? Yes. But, I keep it to myself first as I reflect, “If I say these words they will listen. But what might be the consequence after?” The choice of words we use with others is important. After reflecting on the questions, there is a period of personal prayer where we listen to uncover some of the factors that may have kept us from loving much. I always end with a prayer of thanksgiving to God for the overflow of blessings received.
Another thing I do to keep myself in my proper sanity is to regularly receive the holy Eucharist. I also have a spiritual director. And, of course, I make my work lighter through putting some moments of play into my load. Sometimes I sing with the Lord. If I feel like dancing, I dance. These things make my day lighter. I am always amazed when people ask me “Sister, why are you always smiling in spite of all the things you are doing here?” When you have the proper motivation, and you know the motivation of doing things, then God is never outdone with generosity.
Sister Judith Abique is a Sister of St. Paul of Chartres of the Philippine Province. She is vice-principal at St. Joseph School, Waipahu. She is five years perpetually professed and resides with her community in Royal Kunia.
