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We come together today to celebrate one moment in a
long history of grace. It is a The gospel today describes a further unfolding of this history of grace. Jesus enters the synagogue at Nazareth and taking up the scroll of Isaiah, proclaims the fulfillment of God’s promise to heal our broken world: the poor receive glad tidings, captives are liberated, the blind see, and the oppressed are freed. From that moment to this one and ever after, all those who would follow Christ are invited to share in that mission. All are invited to join in the task of building a world that is a place of peace and a home for all people. This history of grace reveals a marvelous variety of ministries in the lives of all those who have been at work in the world bringing healing and wholeness. In 1843, three young French Canadian women, Eulalie Durocher, Melodie Dufresene and Henriette Cere, played their part in this history by founding a religious congregation “to give religious education to the poorest and most abandoned children” in Quebec. Twenty-five years later, six other young women, members of this Congregation of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, came to California, and began yet another chapter in this history of God’s love at work in the world. It has been the privilege of the jubilarians to share in this mission of our Congregation . Our ministries have taken many forms in response to the many needs of our world today, but always with the purpose of education in the faith and the full development of the human person. Whether by pastoral ministry, formal education, the promotion of justice and peace, shelters for broken families and battered women, spiritual care, retreat ministry, administration, art, music and liturgy , or by the unique and personal ministry of physical suffering, our ministries have been the means of our participation in God’s great plan to renew the face of the earth. In these ministries we have found God; we have found ourselves, and we have found you. You, dear friends, have been our companions, our mentors, our colleagues and co-workers in this pursuit. “We give thanks to our God in every remembrance of you.” (Phil. 1:3) You have been with us in good times and in hard. You have taught, encouraged, supported, pushed and pulled, prayed and fasted, and joined our tears and our laughter with your own. You have forgiven us those times we faltered or fell short, and when we most needed a sign that God was with us, you have loved us. “It is right that we should think this way about all of you because we hold you in our hearts, you who are all partners with us in grace.” (Phil. 1:7a) Our six times fifty years would not have been possible without you. The history of grace continues to unfold. We live in the time of “already, but not yet.” Already the kingdom has come. At Easter we celebrated Christ’s triumph over sin and death, over time and space. But not yet are all the captives free; there are countless who are poor, and many who cannot yet see. Already, the Risen Christ has come bearing peace, the gift of the Spirit, and a share in His mission to our world. But not yet does peace prevail. There are too many places where the fruits of the Spirit have yet to thrive. Already, in the lives of the jubilarians, fifty years have gone by. Much has been accomplished; yet there is much more to do. Already this history of grace continues to unfold. Are we finished? Not yet. And we hope, we trust, this is also true of you. Finished? Not yet! Sister David Emmanuel Paula, SNJM
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