Encountering...

    By Sr. Angela Tran

May I learn to love you… in all that love can be.

Jubilee Farm

It was a sunny day at Jubilee Farm. We gathered at this Center for Ecology and Spirituality to dive deeper into our Creation Story with Sr. Sharon Zayac, OP. As she explained how our Creation Story shapes our cosmology, theology, and spirituality, we were reminded of our interconnectedness to our Creator and all of creation. I soon recognized that this part had been absent in my relationship with God. Coming from a developing country, the idea of a “common home” I grew up with was so narrow that it only included the house we lived in. Listening to what Thomas Aquinas once said, “A mistake in our understanding of creation will necessarily cause a mistake in our understanding of God,” I was challenged by my own preconceived notion of “who” God is. Sr. Sharon shared with us, “Even in the language we use, ‘who’ is not enough to define God.”

During our break, I wandered outside and eventually sat on a swing. The wind blew, and for a moment, I was captured by the scene of falling leaves. It was not something to be awestruck by. It was just a simple movement of an ordinary life circle. Yet I found myself gazing at all the colors in front of me. The abundance of emerald green brightened in sunlight. Shades of saffron let themselves “fly” with the flow. It just dawned on me, “God, it is you. All… is you. You have revealed a part of you that I never expected to encounter.” As I was processing, I started to write…

HOME: WHERE LOVE ENCOUNTERS…

Mass during Orientation

I heard a story
A story I have heard before
A story I have ignored
A story that is a part of other stories
A story that is a part of the whole.

I heard this story
Yet I heard it again…
And this time, something shifted.
A myth that goes beyond facts
The sacred flares forth…
Through the gift of this beautiful land.

First day of school at CTU

Emmett – This Truth we repeat
Adamah – Wonders in your eyes
Dominion – Blessings upon all
For we are made to be a part of…

The whole of life
If only I recognized…
Sooner
The heart you hold
You have revealed without reserve. A part of you has been beckoning… To be a part of my heart.

Apple picking at County Line Orchard

How love sustains With all that love is
To see you dancing on these verdant leaves
To breathe in your presence as Summer swings by
To hear you through the dawn chorus of new life
To feel your touch in the whistle of the wind
To behold you in this Season of Creation

For you have created all before me
Brought life to all so I can flourish
In my Mother's womb, you have held me tight
Nourish me with fruits from her soil
Mesmerize me with the shades of olive and amber
In the beauty of which Love utters…
Your tenderness
That a part of me is now beckoning…
To save the Heart you let yourself fall for.

Planting trees

Abba,
I have known you…
Now I am encountering you again
Your arms have opened,
Now I am stepping into what remains…
To reach the Heart that holds all its beats.
I am searching for hope
In the midst of so much pain
In resistance to such constant change
Yet listening is present
In its intense attentiveness to the “how”

If an uncomplicated witness is what Love invites, May I learn to start with myself…
That I am moved to do my part
That relationships matter
That communion surpasses responsibility That kindness contributes to this cosmic energy…

Morning Prayer with our Dominican
Sisters of Springfield (MH) - Sacred
Heart Convent Chapel

For we are ONE in the being you have awakened We hold dear the life you lay down before… We join the life you continue to bring forth May you save the Heart you let yourself fall for May we be at home in your love.