I read this paragraph yesterday. It's from a book called Too Deep For Words, by Thelma Hall.
"For most English speaking people, the words 'self-surrender' have an almost totally negative connotation. They imply a giving up, a kind of defeat, in submission or capitulation. A quite different sense is found in the French equivalent. The foundress of [the Religious of the Cenacle], St. Therese Couderc, has left a spiritual legacy in the form of a monograph on self-surrender, entitled in the original French, 'Se Livrer,' which has the more positive meaning: to 'hand or deliver oneself over to'- i.e., a freely chosen act of love. This is the axis of conversion: the total turning to God in self-donation" (Hall 23).
Whoa! And that's what Jesus did for the Father on the Cross. And that's what he calls us to do everyday in ways big and small. First to Him, and then to the people we love.
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Another piece of my prayer today: the refrain of a hymn comes to mind. It's called "You Are Mine."
"Do not be afraid I am with you.
I have called you each by name.
Come and follow me,
I will bring you home.
I love you and
You are mine."
Peace and prayers for you today,
FrC
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