Do You Ever Cry at Weddings?

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I sometimes cry at Hallmark ads because I am moved by the concentrated dose of love portrayed..  For the same reason I shed tears at weddings and wedding anniversaries.  Interestingly, I had a similar experience when the Madison area sisters gathered to celebrate 50th and 60th year anniversaries of religious profession of five area sisters.

At the celebration we laughed and cried as we told stories on the jubilarians.  The light in the eyes of sisters as they told stories on one another reflected the Spirit.  It is God's Spirit that draws all together in love. Christian couples look outward on family, friends and the world with an extension of their unique love.  Sisters, each called in a special way to love the friends of God, shine a collective love on the world whenever they gather. Those gatherings are sacraments of God's love in a concentrated form. Whatever way one loves is a gift of the Spirit.  As the author of I Corinthians writes "There are different kinds of gifts but the same spirit."  1 Cor 12:4.

I am grateful when I witness the love couples have for one another and for us. I am also grateful that the Spirit calls sisters to love. While religious life is a call to celibacy, the gift of our love is full of energy and affection.

How is the Spirit calling you to love?

Joan Duerst
Monona WI

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