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EDUCATION AND FORMATION

Paul reminds us, Jesus has given us the graces needed to keep us a healthy, awestruck reverential determination that the Master
faithful and steadfast until the final day comes when we will “see who has loved us with an everlasting, faithful love will not find
him as he is”. We need not be anxious. We may be wandering us lacking.
in exile; but Christ will enable us to keep going to the end, to Meanwhile, we must stay awake; we must keep vigil in prayer,
the very last day. keeping our hearts and minds open to God even in the midst
“Be on your guard, stay awake, because you never know when of all our everyday trials; always remembering that He is just
the time will come.” Mark is always very much to the point! a breath away; and waiting “in joyful hope for the coming of
He does not give us gruesome details of the end of the world or our Lord Jesus Christ”. That hope – that burning desire – is
an account of the Judgement that awaits us; he simply delivers nourished and kept strong and alive and ever more eager by
a warning to be ready at all times, for we cannot know when the Word of God and in prayer. Even when deprived of the
precisely the Master will return. We should not, however, be Eucharist, we can still pray, knowing ourselves to be precious
in a constant state of terror; like the Prophet, with prayerful members of the Whole Body of Christ. We can still hope.
entreaties, we should be filled with hope and desire for that By the end of Advent, even in difficult times, we should be
coming. The Lord listens and will hear us. breathless with anticipation, ablaze with joy; and if this time
That Master has trusted us to be caretakers, and to keep the Second Coming of the Lord in glory is postponed again,
faithful vigil until he returns. If we fall asleep on the job, not we still have the consolation of celebrating the joy of that First
only will he be disappointed in us when he suddenly reappears, Coming in the flesh, in the secure knowledge that God, ever
but we will not be ready and able to respond in a fitting manner gracious, ever caring of His children, has given us yet another
– with joy and exultation that our day of destiny has at last chance to “tidy up our act” and be ready to greet His Son in the
arrived. There may also be a degree of fear: but it should not right frame of mind.
be a cringing fear, like a dog expecting to be beaten; but rather

we look at a crucifix and see the extent of God’s love for us,
we need to be convinced of this fact. The Father sent his
Son because he finds us lovable.
“How can this be true?” we wonder. Perhaps because
of our upbringing or the way our world operates, we
have been influenced to think that our lovableness in
God’s eyes depends on our good works and virtues. If we
have performed sinful actions or been caught up in ugly
situations, we think that somehow we are not good enough
for God to love us any more. St. Paul assures us, however,
that “God loved us while we were yet sinners” (Romans
5:8). How? The Father’s love is creative, not conditional. It
creates the lovableness in us. It creates us. It tells us we are
100% loveable. Still, it seems that the smudges of personal
weakness, sin, difficulties, and the occasional disaster brings
that percentage down a bit. The truth is, our likeableness in
the eyes of others and in our own estimation of ourselves
may be impacted by these things. But our lovableness is
inherent in our being, for we participate by the very fact of
our existence in the being and goodness of God.
Allowing God to love us to whom she posed the question: “What do you want to be
One of the sisters taught a class of secondary school girls

loved for?” Their various honest replies included that they
wanted to be loved for their personalities, their athletic
BY SR ANNA CHRISTI SOLIS OP abilities, their kindness or thoughtfulness towards others,
their good looks. One brave girl replied, “For me. I just want
to be loved for me.” This is the truest answer. We all just
ne Valentine’s Day, my father sent me a want to be loved for ourselves, without having to prove our
Valentine’s Day card which bore the printed lovableness. The good news is that this is the answer God
message: “100% Lovable.” It brought a tear the Father would most approve, for it is how he loves us.
Oto my eye then and I still keep it to look at “I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave
because the message is so surprising. A few questions himself for me,” St. Paul marvels (Galatians 2:20).
come to mind on reading it: “Is this true?”and “How can That merciful love of God the Father! It is the same love
this be true?” and “What makes a person lovable?” that created the world, established covenants with the
Our Father in heaven has sent proof of the truth that we Old Testament patriarchs and kings, saved us from eternal
are “100% Lovable.” “For God loved the world so much that separation from God in the sacrifice of Jesus, and continues
he sent his only Son, that all who believe in him might not to touch each one of us in the sacraments, especially of
perish but might have eternal life” (John 3:16). Every time
Reconciliation and the Eucharist. We don’t have to do
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