Caritas Christi Urget Nos The Love of Christ Impels Us L'amour de Christ Nous Presse
RECOLLECTION Guide
PRAYING WITH OUR SPC ROLE MODELS
Celebrating 325 Years of Life and Mission
* SEPTEMBER 2021 *
Theme: CHARITY
Grace: My Lord Jesus, I beg for the grace of a loving heart, so that filled with an awareness of God’s unconditional love for me, I may genuinely desire and commit myself to seek the good of others.
Scripture Text:
“If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing…Faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.” 1 Cor 13:1-3, 13
POINTS FOR PRAYER AND REFLECTION:
A. Charity in the Life of St. Paul
For St. Paul, love is the greatest of all virtues and the foundation of his teachings. He provided 14 words to describe love: “Love is patient, love is kind, love is not boastful nor envious, nor arrogant nor rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrong doing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.”
The love that Paul consistently describes in this letter is a spiritual kind of love that motivates one to genuinely desire and commit oneself to seek the good of another. Paul also teaches us those human beings cannot hope to love with this kind of love except by the grace of God poured into our hearts at Baptism.
B. Charity in the Life of our Sisters
SISTER MAURA OF THE SACRED HEART PELAEZ (1913-1974)
Philippine Province
“For me the Singalong slum is a vast mission land. I see the image of God reflected in the thousands of wretched, hungry, disease-ridden, and oppressed. It is to them that we, Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres, are a sign of the Lord’s presence, of Christ’s love.” – Sister Maura
SISTER CECILE DE LOYOLA BORET (1920 – 2017)
Province of Madagascar
Sister Cecile was a bit timid but very efficient, calm, humble, and prayerful. Behind her fragile stature was inner strength, love for God and for His mission. She played an important role in the development of the Province of Madagascar. She had great concern for the formation of the Sisters, both in their spiritual and professional life. She significantly contributed to the growth
and development of the schools, hospitals, and various apostolic works of the province of Madagascar.
C. Charity in our Life
1. There are five “Love Languages,” according to Gary Chapman. These are words of affirmation, gifts, acts of service, quality time and physical touch/presence. I thank the Lord for the many ways in which I have experienced love. How generous am I in giving to others these five “languages of love”?
2. Loving those who love us is easy. But the challenge is to love those who do not love us and even to love those who make us suffer or whom we consider enemies (see Mt 5:44). How am I being invited to love in this Christ-like way?
3. Dialogue with the Lord on the points above.
4. Share your most significant prayer experience.
5. As a community, how can we become more effective bearers of God’s love to one another, especially to those who are not lovable enough.