letter from the past

When I was on retreat last month, I received a letter from the founder of my community, Margaret Anna Cusack. What's that you say? She died in 1899? Yes, that's true and no, I didn't receive a paranormal message from the beyond. I just spent some of my prayer time in conversation with her, and the end result was a "letter" from her to me. Here's an excerpt:

Thank you for sticking through the tough times, and for trusting that better times are on the way.

But my daughter, have you learned yet that peace does not mean the absence of conflict? Rather, true peace is the reward of conflict. As a Sister of Peace you will often find yourself in messy situations. We live in a world and church run by men – and women too! As human institutions, they are subject to confusion of heart and mind. Our call is to be peacemakers in our world, in our church, in our very community, and in our own hearts as well.

I hope I don’t scare you with this talk of conflict. Lord knows I knew enough of it in my day! But I trust that deep within, you have the knowledge of God’s love and the peace that comes from Christ. He is indeed the source of our power. I’ve been watching you this year, as you’ve been drawn down the nonviolent path. God is calling you to walk the way of peace. It will not always be easy – as my life shows – but know that I and all of our Sisters who have gone before are with you on the journey.

Please know and trust that the Spirit of God that dwells in our hearts is in our midst and will lead us – will lead you - to peace. I promise.

Love, Peace & Joy,
Margaret Anna

The rest of the "letter" is personal. Actually, it's all personal but this part seemed appropriate to share. Plus, it's something I needed to be reminded of today.