Wednesday Sept. 8, 2004
From Fr. Luke Mary Fletcher, CFR
This is a special day for our community. Not only is it the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Our Lady’s birthday!), it is also the day that our newest candidates begin their 6-month postulancy. As the vocations director, I have spent the last year praying and working with expectant anticipation for this day. Like Mary’s father St. Joachim, in some way I feel like a proud father as we celebrate the arrival of these new baby friars.
They are quite a sight to behold with their freshly shorn haircuts and stubble beards, gray trousers, white shirts, and simple wooden cross (I must also mention the “deer-caught-in-the-headlights” expression on their faces)! I recall the day that I entered the community eight years ago and am inspired by their fervent generosity and enthusiasm for the Kingdom. They have all come from diverse backgrounds and places (all 13 of them!). Freely responding to the Lord’s call, they are stepping out onto the water.
When Ann and Joachim pondered the gift of their baby daughter, did they have an inkling that she was the chosen Daughter of Zion, called from all eternity to be the Mother of God? The implications of this mystery are astounding! Pondering the gift of the postulants reminds me of the reality that we are all chosen and called to our vocation. Our Father has a plan for every single one of us without exception. No one else can do what God has in mind for you. You are just as important in your place as an Archangel is in his.
I have spent the past year encouraging these young men to find and fulfill God’s will for their lives. Let us pray for the grace to know what the Most High wants for us. And like our Blessed Mother, let us pray, “Ecce ancilla Domini. Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum. Behold your servant, O Lord. Let it be done in me according to your word.”
God bless you. Let us pray for each other,
Fr. Luke Mary Fletcher, CFR (vocations director, residing at St. Joseph Friary
in Harlem)
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